Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. Sean Williams, center, at a "Strollin' with the Homies" event in Atlanta last year with Fadelf Jackson, left, Chris Classic and their daughters. Read more Sean Williams life changed four years ago at his local grocery store in Long Island. Williams, a 37-year-old Black man and father of three, was running errands with his youngest daughter when a white woman approached him. She wanted to commend him for sticking around, he said. This wasnt the first time Williams received this type of comment. In his predominantly white neighborhood, the stay-at-home dad recalled getting frequent praise from neighbors, who applauded him for being an involved Black father. Williams knew why people were congratulating him: They were perpetuating the racist and pervasive myth of the missing black father, which purports that black fathers are too often absent from their childrens lives. I spoke with my friends who are all active black dads and asked them if they had similar experiences, Williams said. The answer was yes. After the grocery store incident, Williams made it his mission to shatter a stereotype that he knew was baseless. Data from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that the majority of Black fathers do, in fact, live with their children. The same study also showed that Black fathers are more likely to feed, bathe, diaper, dress, and play with their children on a daily basis than their white and Hispanic counterparts. Williams aimed to debunk the misconception of Black fatherhood by creating an initiative called The Dad Gang. He began by posting photos of him and his kids, now ages 15, 4, and 3, on social media. Then he started posting photos of other black fathers he knew. It started as an Instagram page, with the goal of focusing exclusively on positive stories, images, and videos of active Black dads, Williams said. I wanted to showcase the reality of Black fatherhood and rewrite the narrative. When he and some friends called out to Black fathers to share their stories, submissions started overflowing. The account, which now has more than 112,000 followers, features dads doing it all: From braiding hair to dancing, teaching to cooking, The Dad Gang Instagram page shows Black fathers collectively smashing the stereotype. Over the past year, The Dad Gang grew from a digital platform to a sprawling community of fathers across the country. Last June, Williams organized a Strollin with the Homies event in New York, where more than 100 dads came together with their kids for a group walk. The purpose of the stroll was to visually demonstrate the strength of Black fatherhood. I dont think anyone has seen Black dads congregate and connect on such a large scale like that, Williams said. It became a real movement after that. It was then that Williams decided The Dad Gang needed to transcend social media. He began organizing regular in-person events, including father-child karaoke, brunches, workshops, and community playdates. He also facilitated a discussion panel at Google, both in New York and Washington. Edward Smith, 34, is Williams right-hand man and helps to facilitate the events and organize their efforts. Smiths own father wasnt around when he grew up, and though he isnt yet a father himself, I wanted to help change the narrative, he said. When you Google dad, you rarely see Black dads, Smith said. There is such a limited, one-dimensional representation of Black fathers. For too many years, its been projected that all Black fathers are not in their childrens lives, said Kevin Riley, 32, a father of two children, ages 5 and 16 months, who has been involved with the initiative since the beginning. The Dad Gang has become more than a platform; its a support group. Muhammed Nitoto, 36, agreed. Nitoto is the mastermind behind the popular Instagram account Chronicles of Daddy, where he blogs about his experiences as a Black father of six. Images are powerful, Nitoto said. They change the perception of people, which is why its so important to have platforms that display Black dads in a positive light. Amid the recent reckoning of race in America, spurred by the killing of George Floyd, Williams said the need for The Dad Gang has grown exponentially. Now more than ever, we need to fight against injustice and social inequality, and bring Black fathers together, Williams said. I feel this is my purpose. Williams ultimate plan is to take The Dad Gang across the country and possibly even the globe by adding local chapters where Black fathers can go for support and community. Its an ambitious mission to say were going to change the way the world sees Black fathers, Williams said. But were going to try. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 15:02:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China Securities Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese securities broker, reported a 122.4 percent rise in net profits in June. The company's net profits totaled 1.005 billion yuan (about 143 million U.S. dollars), according to a statement the company filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Its revenue rose 92.3 percent year on year to 2.04 billion yuan, the company said. Enditem In France, reigns horror at the deadly attack on a bus driver. It was an "absolutely vile, unspeakable act," said interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Saturday evening with a visit to the city of Bayonne. There, the bus driver had been attacked about a week ago a dispute over the protection of masks was gone. The Endfunfziger died on Friday. Politicians are now calling for harsh penalties for the perpetrators of France's new Prime Minister promises to resolve. Darmanin met in the afternoon with Bayonnes mayor Jean-Rene Etchegaray a Meeting with the security forces and bus drivers on the agenda. He made a picture of the safety on site. He did not know that bus drivers, inspectors, or U-Bahn drivers would often be afraid. "We are here to reassure you." This unprovoked violence should never be a habit. French Prime Minister Jean Castex had previously assured them that the justice "the perpetrators of this despicable is crime punish". according to Reports, the driver had asked on last Sunday, near the border to Spain and nearby Bayonne, a group of three men in his Trambus to wear a mask. At the same time, a fourth man rose, whose Ticket he wanted to control. The men insulted thus, finally, the bus driver and attacked him; he was violently beaten on the head. At the beginning of the week, he was declared brain dead. politicians call for harsh penalties The bus driver, Philippe M. was on the verge of retiring and the father of three children. "I feel like in a nightmare," said his wife, Veronique, the French press. "You can't do that yet because of the bus tickets. To kill but not just like that. She called for a tough, deterrent punishment for the perpetrators. "We need to strike with the fist on the table, so something like this never happens again, she said. "It is barbaric, not normal." Updated Date: 11 July 2020, 15:19 Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Biodiesel to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: On the basis of Feedstock, the Biodiesel Market is studied across Algae, Animal Fat, Jatropha, and Waste Vegetable Oil. New York, July 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Biodiesel Market Research Report by Feedstock, by Application - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913591/?utm_source=GNW On the basis of Application, the Biodiesel Market is studied across Automotive Fuel, Cleaning, Heating Oil, Power Generation, and Solvents & Cement Manufacturing. On the basis of Geography, the Biodiesel Market is studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region is studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region is studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region is studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Company Usability Profiles: The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Biodiesel Market including ACCIONA Energy, American Energy Producer, Archer Daniels Midland Company, BIOX Corp., Cargill Inc., China Biodiesel International Holding, Crimson Renewable Energy, Deerfield Energy, Green Earth Fuels LLC, Imperium Renewables, Neste Corp., and Wilmar International Limited. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Biodiesel Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on sulfuric acid offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Biodiesel Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Biodiesel Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Biodiesel Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Biodiesel Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Biodiesel Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Biodiesel Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913591/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 20:39:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HANOI, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam reported a new case of COVID-19 infection on Saturday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 370 with zero deaths so far, according to its Ministry of Health. The latest case is a 29-year-old Serbian man recently entering the country from Oman, said the ministry, noting that he was quarantined upon arrival. Meanwhile, as many as 350 patients in the country have recovered from the disease, said the ministry. Vietnam has recorded no local transmission for 86 straight days while there are nearly 10,000 people being quarantined and monitored in the country, Vietnam News Agency reported. Enditem The first lesson of crisis management, say the experts, is this: if you screw up, admit it, put out all the sorry details before your critics do, and move on. The Trudeau government does indeed have a screw-up on its hands, in the form of the controversy roiling around the WE Charity and its connections (were still not sure how many) with the prime minister, his family and at least one of his senior ministers. And yet the government has chosen to handle it in a way that would make the crisis managers cringe. First it denied there was a problem at all with WE being handed (without a competitive bidding process) a lucrative contract to manage its $912-million student volunteer grant program. Then it abruptly reversed course; WE conveniently announced it was pulling out of the deal, and the government said the civil service could manage the task after all. Worst of all, it failed to disclose the full extent of the connections between WE and the Trudeau family. It wasnt just speeches by Trudeau himself and a long-ago gig involving his wife, Sophie. It turned out his mother Margaret and brother Alexandre have been paid some $282,000 over a few years by WE. The charity itself has benefited from millions in contracts and grants since the Liberals were elected. To top that off, we learned on Friday that two daughters of Finance Minister Bill Morneau have links to WE one as a contract employee, the other as a speaker (unpaid, apparently). It may well end there. But at this point the blood is in the water and who knows what else may be unearthed? Even if theres nothing more, the impression is created that the government, and Trudeau in particular, was at the very minimum economical with the truth in this matter. Instead of disclose and move on, its been stonewall and hope. As others have noted, weve seen a similar pattern from Trudeau in previous scandals, involving his family holiday to the Aga Khans Caribbean island and the SNC Lavalin affair. Wont he ever learn? they ask. Of course, everyone has his blind spots, and for Trudeau family may be a big one. Given his privileged background, he may just see connections to the likes of WE and the rewards that come with them as just the natural order of things. But surely by now, with a string of crises behind him, he should have people around him whose job it is to spot these rocks in the river and steer him away before he dunks yet again. Government ministers are sticking to their line that civil servants gave a non-partisan recommendation that WE was best-placed to administer the volunteering grants program. But given the Trudeau familys well-known connections to the organization, did it occur to no one around the prime minister that handing out a substantial contract with no competition might be problematic? And did it not occur to Trudeau and Morneau and their advisers that, at a bare minimum, they should recuse themselves from the decision when it came before cabinet? Evidently not. And now the government must endure whatever damage emerges from three probes into the matter, one from the ethics commissioner and two from committees of the House of Commons. The Conservatives want the RCMP to look into it as well as a possible violation of Criminal Code provisions outlawing fraud against the government. But, unless a lot more damaging information emerges, that looks like an overreach. In fact, the Conservatives themselves hardly sound convinced that this is a criminal matter. In the short to medium run, this whole affair is unlikely to go very far. The Liberals, and Trudeau himself, have built up a lot of credit with Canadians for guiding the country through the COVID-19 pandemic. And the Conservatives are still in disarray, awaiting a new leader. This is no time, even in a minority Parliament, to put the survival of the government in jeopardy. But these things take their toll over time. The prime minister needs strong people around him able to warn him off when hes about to succumb to his worst instincts. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 02:33:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) passes by the troops after the military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War on Red Square in Moscow, Russia, June 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn) Putin and the Security Council also discussed "the Balkan issue" and issues regarding the domestic Russian socio-economic agenda. MOSCOW, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday held an online conference with the country's Security Council, mainly to discuss developments in Ukraine and Libya, the Kremlin said in a statement. In particular, disappointment was expressed due to a lack of dynamics to resolve the crisis in the southeast of Ukraine, the statement said. The situation in Libya was touched upon with a focus on the lack of an alternative to a peaceful settlement in this country, it said. The participants also discussed "the Balkan issue," in the context of which they noted "the need to build all processes taking into account the fundamental UN Security Council 1244 resolution," without providing details, it added. Putin and the Security Council also discussed issues regarding the domestic Russian socio-economic agenda, the statement said. PHILIPSBURG:--- In collaboration with the Department of Foreign Relations (DBB), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sport (ECYS), and the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT), a repatriation flight has been arranged with Spirit Airlines for students and residents to return to St. Maarten. The flight will depart from Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and proceed to Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM). Students and residents who have already registered via the DBB, ECYS, and TEATT, have been forwarded to Spirit Airlines. Spirit Airlines will make the flight available for online booking via spirit.com as of 3:00 PM today. SPIRIT AIRLINES FIGHT NUMBER: NK#6221 Saturday, July 18, 2020 Departure Time: 10:30 AM Arrival Time: 1:00 PM Arriving passengers are required to fill in the health declaration form on stmaartenentry.com and will have to quarantine for 14 days at home, per the requirements of the Department of Collective Prevention Services. This flight is also an opportunity for U.S. citizens to return to the U.S. The flight will depart Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) at 2:30 PM for Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Ft. Lauderdale. The Ministry of TEATT continues to collaborate in order to arrange the possibility for a repatriation flight from the Dominican Republic. More information will be forthcoming once the plans have been finalized. For updates and the latest information, visit the Ministry of TEATTs Facebook page: Ministry of TEATT SXM, and monitor our website stmaartenupdates.com. Warsaw, July 11 : Incumbent Polish President Andrzej Duda and his rival, opposition-backed candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, were tied in a final poll ahead of country's run-off presidential election on Sunday. On Friday, the poll, conducted by IBRiS for internet publication Onet.pl, confirmed a neck-and-neck between the two candidates, a trend since the first-round of election on June 28, reports Xinhua news agency. The poll showed Trzaskowski, the Mayor of Warsaw and a candidate of the main opposition party Civic Platform (PO), at 47.4 per cent support, followed by Duda at 45.7 per cent. "We need to read this result as a tie," IBRiS director Marcin Duma told Onet. Seven per cent were still undecided, the poll found. Duda, supported by the conservative Law and Justice party seeking a second five-year term, won the first round with 43.5 per cent of the vote, followed by Trzaskowski with 30.5 per cent. Szymon Holownia, an independent who garnered 13.3 per cent voters in the first round, has already endorsed Trzaskowski for the run-off. Exit polls had indicated 62.9 per cent of voters cast their ballots on June 28, up from 49 per cent five years earlier. The presidential race, originally planned for May 10, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown. To date, Poland has a total of 37,216 COVID-19 infections, with 1,562 deaths. By PTI ISLAMABAD: An umbrella group of Muslim organisations in Pakistan has extended its support to the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad and denounced the controversy over the issue, according to a media report on Saturday. The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), whose members include Islamic clerics and legal scholars of different Islamic traditions, also said the Constitution of Pakistan categorically defines the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims living in the country, Dawn newspaper reported. "We denounce the controversy over construction of the temple. This [making it controversial] by extremist clerics is not correct. The PUC will call a meeting and will also present its point of view to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII)," PUC chairman Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi said on Friday. The CII is a constitutional body responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the Pakistan government. Pakistan's religious affairs ministry has written to the CII to seek its opinion on the government's funding for the construction of the temple in the capital city amid opposition from some Muslim groups. Minister of Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri on Wednesday said there was no problem related to the construction of the temple, but the real issue was whether it could be built with the public money. The government has approved Rs 10 crore for the Krishna temple, which will come up in a 20,000 sq ft plot in the capital's H-9 administrative division. Ashrafi said those opposing the construction of the temple have an incorrect interpretation of Sharia (Islamic law). "To have their own place of worship and offer a life as per their faith and tradition are the right given to all non-Muslims in the Constitution and as well as in Sharia," he was quoted as saying by the paper. Ashrafi, who is also the chairman of Muthahida Ulema Board, Punjab, said that the Hindus living in Pakistan were not residents of any conquered land; therefore, the interpretation presented by certain clerics about the rights of non-Muslims in Sharia is not applicable to Hindus and members of other religious minorities living in the country, the paper reported. "Dozens of worship places have been established in the country for religious minorities and recently the government constructed the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims. Did anybody observed any threat to Islam - No," he said. "We are very clear; no extremist group or individual should be allowed to usurp the rights of minorities in the country," he added. A Pakistani court on Tuesday dismissed three identical petitions challenging the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad. A single bench of the Islamabad High Court delivered the judgement, making it clear that there was no bar on the Institute of Hindu Panchayat from building the temple on the land allotted to it, using its own funds. Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country. Majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows. Twelve former residents of St Brigid's Nursing Home in Crooksling died from Covid-19 after moving to Tymon North Community Nursing Home, while 34 staff members tested positive for the virus. The first resident of Crooksling to test positive for Covid-19 was diagnosed on March 23 in Tallaght University Hospital. Shortly after that, all residents staying in Crooksling, bar three residents, were transferred to Tymon North Community Nursing Home in Tallaght. Eight of the residents were awaiting test results at the time of the move. The HSE was provided with advice from the Department of Public Health and the Community Geriatrician before moving the Crooksling residents to Tymon North, which was partly opened ahead of schedule to help cope with the pandemic. After the move from Crooksling, 17 former residents died, with 12 of those Covid-19 related. Billy Timmins, former Fine Gael TD, has been contacted by numerous worried people associated with Crooksling and wants the nursing home included into any investigations into the number of Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes since the start of the pandemic. He said: 'The information I have received is disturbing and I have contacted the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, requesting that all aspects of the move from Crooksling to Tymon North to be included in the investigation into nursing home deaths during the pandemic.' While Mr Timmins is reluctant to go into any specifics, he stated that he wished to extend his sympathies to the families, relatives and friends of those who had died. 'Our thoughts must also be with the staff, a number of whom contracted the disease and had to work in difficult circumstances,' said Mr Timmins. Forty-six former residents of Crooksling were moved to Tymon North, while two residents were moved to Baltinglass Hospital, and one resident to Maynooth Community Care Unit. Residents who were displaying symptoms of Covid-19 were placed in a specific controlled area, while residents with no symptoms were placed in a separate area. According to a HSE spokesperson: 'There were no single rooms available in St Brigid's in which to isolate residents. During the move, residents were transported and provided with appropriate PPE while the staff providing the transportation were also provided with the required PPE and appropriate disinfection occurred of vehicles between each journey. 'This process was further supported by the risk assessment and transportation plan completed prior to the move. On arrival at Tymon North residents were cohorted into separate ward areas, each with their own room and bathroom and in line with their clinical needs and Covid status.' Cllr Gerry O'Neill has a notice of motion supported by fellow Dublin Mid-Leinster Regional Health Forum members, Councillors Joe Behan, Patsy Glennon and Deirdre O'Donovan, calling for a full report into the movement of residents from Crooksling to Tymon North. Cllr O'Neill said: 'The HSE have had the move from Crooksling on the cards for some time now, and I think they took full advantage of the pandemic to close Crooksling. I am bitterly disappointed that the move was made at that time. 'Seventeen people died within 10 days of the move. You are talking about elderly people, many of whom have dementia. To be moved by people with masks on and then to be met by complete strangers, also wearing masks, must have been very traumatic. I think it was incredibly irresponsible of the HSE to do what they did and questions need to be answered.' A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has called on Counselor George Lutterodt to stop using the title "Counselor." He also appealed to the Ghana Police Service to arrest George Lutterodt over his rape comments. Mr. Lutterodt, in an interview on Adom TV, stated that rape victims enjoy the act and added some even reach orgasm while in the act of rape. The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has condemned him for making disparaging remarks about rape victims and described him as a threat to the country. The Gender Minister, Cynthia Morrison further called on the Ghana Psychology Council to take appropriate action against Mr Lutterodt. Adding his voice to the calls, Mr. Otchere-Darko asked the Police to ''take immediate steps to invite Mr. Lutterodt (and, please stop using the title Counsellor!)''. Read post below: May I suggest that the Police take immediate steps to invite Mr Lutterodt (and, please stop using the title Counsellor!) to interrogate him to provide further and better particulars as to how many of his own victims enjoyed being raped, as he so claims? https://t.co/AfwqFVwlbN Gabby Otchere-Darko (@GabbyDarko) July 11, 2020 Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has begun distribution of relief materials to 5,000 victims of recent Communal conflict in Adamawa. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in May, a communal conflict erupted in Tingno, Tito and Wadugu villages in Lamurde local government area. NAN reports that during the conflict many people lost their lives and over 270 houses and other properties were destroyed. Distributing the materials, in Tinguo and Tito villages, the Director-General of NEMA, Muhammadu Muhammed, said that the intervention was a directive from President Muhammadu Buhari, to bring succour to affected communities. Mr Muhammed, a retired air vice marshall, was represented by Iliya Midala, the agencys operations officer in charge of Adamawa and Taraba. Today, we are presenting these relief materials for intervention under the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to the victims of recent communal conflict in Tingno and other affected villages. President Muhammadu Buhari sympathised with the affected communities and called on them to live in peace with one another. The relief intervention was targeted to reach out and bring succour to over 5,000 people affected by the conflict, Muhammed said. He noted that no meaningful development could take place when communities cannot live in peace with another. He urged the beneficial communities to effectively use the relief materials to improve their livelihoods. READ ALSO: Responding on behalf of the communities, Richard Anjelo, the village head of Tingno, thanked President Buhari for the intervention. Mr Anjelo noted that the people of the area were living in peace and harmony with one another until recent conflict. He attributed causes of the conflict to lack of parental good upbringing to their children, adding that drugs addiction played a vital role in the conflict. We are appealing to the Federal and State Governments to establish security outpost in Tingno town. We have over 60, 000 people under Tingno District but we have only four policemen in charge of about seven villages under Tingno, Mr Anjelo said. NAN reports that six trucks of building materials, food and other household materials were distributed to the communities With a blink-and-you-missed-it appearance, an Allentown art installation is spending the weekend encouraging all passersby to be prepared to vote. Entitled Inscribete A Votar, the three-dimensional, 10-foot tall installation made of suspended canvases is sitting at 835 W. Hamilton Street in the Queen City, though itll only be around for this weekend, according to a press release. The title is a call for Pennsylvanians to register to vote. One side of it reads the pieces name, the other side reads, Por Nuestra Comunidad, Spanish for for our community. The three-dimensional suspended canvases read "Inscribete A Votar," the title of the installation, on one side and "Por Nuestra Comunidad" on the other. The artwork is a call to action for community members to register to vote, translating to "Sign up to vote for our community."Connor Lagore | For Lehighvalleylive.com The installation, which was made in collaboration by painter Calo Rosa, a Pennsylvania resident originally from El Salvador, and Brooklyn-based sculptor Michael Murphy, marks the launch of a voter registration campaign from nonprofit PennFutures Democracy for All program. PennFuture is a group focused on promoting the use of clean energy and sustainable communities. The campaign, which is largely geared towards Latinx communities, also has radio and digital ads set to roll out for the next month in Lancaster, Lehigh and Luzerne counties, which direct those in need of registering to pavotar.org, which re-routes to a Rock The Vote registration page. Due to limitations from the coronavirus, the installation is only going to be in Allentown through the weekend. But after that, images of the artwork will be used around the state and the country, according to the release. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com. Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com. Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. J.S. writes: Would it be possible for you to look into our situation? My wife and I are in our 70s and we took out an annual travel insurance policy with the Post Office. Since then, because of the Covid-19 restrictions, we have been unable to travel. We have been in touch with the Post Office, hoping to get a refund or to transfer the policy to next year but it refused. Good news: Post Office officials have now had second thoughts and, as a gesture of goodwill, J.S. will be getting a full refund of his premiums A month ago, I reported how two senior citizens spent almost 500 on a one-year multi-trip travel policy from the Post Office. They managed one visit to Madeira before lockdown but their holiday plans for the rest of the year seemed to have evaporated, leaving them with some very expensive but completely useless insurance. What made the policy useless was the Post Office's own announcement saying: 'Policies may be invalidated by travelling to areas that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against. Currently the FCO advises against all international travel.' In other words, just like you, the couple had paid for travel insurance that ceased to cover them if they actually travelled. That is like paying for car insurance that cancels itself if you dare to turn on the ignition. No travel meant no lost luggage, no cancelled flights, no accidents or illnesses that needed expensive treatment in a foreign country. And, as a result, insurers pocketed premiums without any risk that they would have to meet claims because there could be no claims. I had a word with officials at Post Office HQ and found that although the Post Office markets these policies, the purse strings are really held by two German firms that underwrite them. Decisions on how to treat policyholders were really up to them. Since then, events have moved on. Travel to some countries is now possible again. Holidays are back and travel insurance too. Last week, insurance giant Zurich said it would repay policyholders who had been unable to travel because of lockdown. LV= said it would offer refunds or change policy dates to cover rearranged travel plans. But there was no similar news from the Post Office. A few days ago, I was about to warn on this page that nobody should pay for Post Office policies while earlier customers found they had forked out for nothing. Then on Thursday came the news I had been hoping for. A spokesperson told me: 'We now have a solution for our annual multi-trip customers, for policies taken out prior to June 17, 2020, whereby we can offer a pro rata refund for the unused part of their policy.' For all the time the Government advised against foreign travel, policyholders will get their cash back. And for you, the outcome is even better. After lockdown began, you actually asked the Post Office to cancel your policy completely. At the time, it refused. Officials have now had second thoughts and, as a gesture of goodwill, you will be getting a full refund of your premiums. PayPal says 'guest' used debit card D.M. writes: My bank statement showed an odd debit card payment of 66, said to be to PayPal for something from Royal Mail. My PayPal account showed no such purchase, so I contacted my bank, NatWest, which cancelled my card and sent a replacement. PayPal told me a 'guest account' bought something unspecified from Royal Mail but denied this was unauthorised. Eventually, my bank managed to claim back my money but PayPal has never explained how a 'guest account' used my card. Unauthorised: PayPal says that a 'guest' transaction is one where a customer does not have to have a PayPal account PayPal has told me that a 'guest' transaction is one where a customer does not have to have a PayPal account. The customer simply enters the card details, rather than logging in to any account. In short, the fact that you yourself have a PayPal account is a coincidence. Your debit card was misused but your PayPal account was not. Someone has got hold of your debit card details and enough information to impersonate you to make a purchase. PayPal accepts what you say, which is why it did not oppose a refund, but the problem lies in the leak of your card details rather than with PayPal. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. House Speaker Michael Madigan is calling for removing statues and portraits of the 19th century U.S. Sen. Stephen A. Douglas from the Statehouse, along with those of other known slaveholders. While reading Sidney Blumenthals book All the Powers of Earth concerning the pre-Civil War period a few months ago, I learned of Stephen Douglas disturbing past as a Mississippi slave owner and his abhorrent words toward people of color, Madigan said in a statement. I advised my staff to research and confirm the history to support removing the Douglas portrait from the House chamber. Douglas was a prominent Democratic politician in Illinois during the 1840s and 1850s. He served briefly as secretary of state and, later, as associate justice of the Illinois Supreme Court before he was elected to the U.S. House in 1842. The General Assembly elected him to the U.S. Senate in 1847 and he served there until 1861, just as the Civil War was beginning. While in the Senate, Douglas helped write the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which allowed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide by popular vote whether to enter the union as free or slave states. That effectively overturned the Missouri Compromise, which banned the extension of slavery into new territories, and it led to violent tensions along the Kansas-Missouri border, setting the stage for the Civil War. In 1858, Douglas was up for re-election, but Abraham Lincoln of the newly formed Republican Party challenged him in the election by the General Assembly. The issue of whether to expand slavery to the new territories of the U.S. was the subject of a series of high-profile debates, known as the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, with Douglas arguing that it should be a matter of popular sovereignty and Lincoln arguing against the expansion of slavery. Douglas tolerance for slavery has long been known, but the fact that he actually owned slaves in another state was not widely known before the publication of Blumenthals book last year. Madigan said he plans to offer a resolution to replace Douglas portrait in the House chamber and replace it with one of former President Barack Obama, calling that a more fitting representation of the modern-day Democratic Party. In the meantime, he said he is looking into ways to cover the portrait immediately. He also called on the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, which supervises all repairs and alterations to buildings in the Capitol Complex, to move swiftly to remove statues of Douglas and Pierre Menard, a slave owner and the states first lieutenant governor, while relocating a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. to a more prominent location. He said that office should also conduct a review of all statues, portraits and symbols on the Capitol grounds in order to identify and remove any inappropriate fixtures. Madigans call for removing images of Douglas from the Statehouse comes amid nationwide protests over racial inequality and calls for the removal of statues and monuments that honor slaveholders and the Confederacy. Memorializing people and a time that allowed slavery and fostered bigotry and oppression has no place in the Illinois House, where the work of all Illinoisans is conducted, Madigan said. We can only move forward in creating a more just world when these symbols of hate are removed from our everyday lives. 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. Chaos out there says US national who does not want to leave Kerala India oi-Briti Roy Barman Thiruvananthapuram, July 11: US citizen Johnny Paul Pierce fell in love with God's Own Country, Kerala, after staying over here for the past five months and now does not want to leave the southwestern state of India. The 74-year old US citizen even wants to spend the rest of his life in the state and Pierce is really serious about this as he approached the Kerala High Court to convert his tourist visa into a business visa. For the next 1 year Kerala will follow these COVID-19 rules On asking the reason behind of his wish to stay in Kerala Pierce says to ANI, "There's chaos in US due to COVID-19 and govt is not taking care like Indian govt. I want to stay here." "I am making a petition to allow me to stay for another 180 days in Kerala and get a business visa to start a travel company here. I wish my family could also come here. I am very impressed with what is happening here. People in the US do not care about COVID-19." He approached the Kerala High Court through advocate Saju S Nair. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News The Indian government permits foreigners on tourist visas to continuously sta in India for only 180 days and as Pierce's 180 days will expire on August 24 he aspires to convert his tourism visa into a business one. So he has approached the Kerala High Court for the same. Johnny also plans to set establish a centre for foreigners to explore Kerala's tourism potential and he wants to recruit American residents who can afford to stay for long terms in Kerala. Pierce stressed that he is absolutely safe in Kerala as the entire state only reported 25 deaths. According to Pierce, Kerala's Wagamon is a perfect place as it's not too crowded and it's a quiet secluded place. The American citizen wants to produce a film with his Indian scripwriter friend. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 11, 2020, 12:49 [IST] Bengaluru: Curfew will be imposed in the Bengaluru city starting 8 PM on Saturday (July 11, 2020) till 5 AM on Monday (July 13, 2020) to contain the spread of COVID-19. Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City, Bhaskar Rao, said, "Curfew will prevail in Bangalore City Commissionerate from 8 pm today to 5 am on Monday." He also requested all Bangalureans to cooperate and stay home. "This is in the public interest. Those moving without reason will be dealt with legally," said Rao. Curfew will prevail in Bangalore City Commissionerate from 8 pm today to 5 am on Monday. Requesting all Bangalureans to cooperate and stay home. This is in public interest. Those moving without reason will be dealt with legally.. Bhaskar Rao IPS (@deepolice12) July 11, 2020 In other news, Bengaluru city and Bengaluru rural will go under total lockdown for a week starting from July 14 to July 23. All essential services including supply of milk, vegetables, fruits, medicines and groceries will continue uninterrupted. I appeal to people to cooperate with the government, follow all guidelines, take all precautionary steps and help us contain the pandemic. (2/2) B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) July 11, 2020 The move comes after the increasing number of cases in the State, especially in the capital city. Earlier on Friday, Karnataka reported 2,313 new coronavirus positive infections. According to the Union Health Ministry on Saturday, Karnataka has witnessed a total of 33,418 COVID-19 confirmed cases, out of which 19,039 are still active. The State has also reported 543 coronavirus deaths. Photograph: Octavio Jones/Getty Images Coronavirus cases are rising across the US, some regional hospitals are filling up and some of Americas most populous places are seeing record deaths as the pandemic surges. At the same time, as some states reverse reopening plans, public health interventions such as encouraging people to wear public face coverings and closing schools have become increasingly politicized and divisive. Related: Texas border county had 'model' Covid-19 response then the governor stepped in Sunbelt states such as Arizona, Florida and Texas have been especially hard-hit after pushing to reopen their economies earlier in the pandemic. Cases a day have nearly doubled in Florida, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 40 hospitals across the state maxed out their intensive care unit capacity, NBC News reported. Were putting ourselves at risk and other people arent willing to do anything and in fact go the other way and be aggressive to promote the disease, Dr Andrew Pastewski, intensive care unit medical director at Jackson South medical center in Miami, told Reuters. Pastewski himself was diagnosed with Covid-19. Its just disheartening, he said. In Texas, the number of new cases a day doubled in two weeks, to more than 9,100 a day. Texas and California, the two most populous states, both reported record deaths on Wednesday, according to Reuters. In Texas, bars were closed and restaurants forced to further reduce capacity. Arizona cut restaurant capacity in half. Health officials in New Mexico, which bordered both states, halted indoor restaurant service and closed famed desert parks to out-of-towners. Florida bars will shut their doors a second time. Many of the same states are now facing immediate questions about how and whether to reopen school buildings. Students in many sunbelt states return to classes in early to mid-August. The Trump administration ratcheted up the pressure this week by threatening the funding of schools which remain closed. Story continues Were truly not ready, Marcia Andrews, a Palm Beach county, Florida, school board member, told the Palm Beach Post. Were not ready from a health standpoint. And were not ready from a planning standpoint. The district, where Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago is located, will hold entirely virtual classes this fall. But with cases rising in 41 states, even less densely populated areas are now seeing hospitals fill up, with no end in sight. Mississippi hospitals cannot take care of Mississippi patients, Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi health officer, said at a press conference on Thursday, according to the Mississippi Free Press. He said the states five largest hospitals were filling up, and he and other health officials begged the public to wear masks. Many days, we have more patients than we have rooms, said Dr LouAnn Woodward, vice-chancellor of the University of Mississippi medical center. The Trump administration has largely sought to ignore the pandemic. On Friday, the nations top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, told the Financial Times he had not directly briefed the president in two months. You have a random virus jump species from an animal to a human that is spectacularly efficient in spreading from human to human, and has a high degree, relatively speaking, of morbidity and mortality, Fauci told the FT. We are living in the perfect storm right now. Seeking the large, admiring crowds of the 2016 election, Trump had planned to hold a rally at an airplane hangar in New Hampshire this weekend, before it was cancelled due to bad weather. The states Republican governor, Chris Sununu, defended the presidents right to have the rally, but said he would not attend. I will not be in the crowd of thousands of people, Sununu said citing health concerns this week, according to CNN. Im not going to put myself in the middle of a crowd of thousands of people. Meanwhile, local health officials believe Trumps last rally, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, probably spread Covid-19 despite its depressed attendance. The campaign has expected an overflow crowd from the 19,000-seat arena. About 6,200 people actually attended, according to the New York Times. Whether the presidents plan is an effective re-election strategy remains to be seen. A new poll out Friday showed 67% of Americans disapproved of Trumps handling of the pandemic, driven by a drop in independent support and even waning confidence from Republicans. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Channel Seven's reboot of reality dating show Farmer Wants A Wife is set to premiere in coming months following a four-year hiatus. And on Sunday, the show's host Natalie Gruzlewski hinted that an engagement will take place during the new series. In an interview with Stellar magazine, Natalie, 43, said: 'I love seeing people fall in love. There's plenty of romance on the farms this year, so I'm really looking forward to a wedding invitation or two.' 'I'm really looking forward to a wedding invitation or two': Farmer Wants A Wife host Natalie Gruzlewski (pictured) has hinted there will be an ENGAGEMENT during the upcoming rebooted series Unlike other popular reality TV dating shows, Natalie promised that the new season of Farmer Wants A Wife will be 'heartwarming and genuine'. 'It's the original dating show it's heartwarming and genuine. We get to celebrate our farmers. And who doesn't love a good love story?' 'It's exciting witnessing that obvious chemistry and trying to predict who will be the next couple sending me an invitation to their wedding,' she added. 'It's the original dating show': Unlike other popular reality TV dating shows, Natalie promised that the new season of Farmer Wants A Wife will be 'heartwarming and genuine' Farmer Wants A Wife first aired in 2007, and was originally on Channel Nine. Interestingly, Australia's version of the show has resulted in nine marriages and also 19 babies. It ran for eight seasons before it was cancelled, before being renewed in 2016 only to be axed again due to disappointing ratings. Exciting! Seven are rebooting the franchise in 2020 and released the first adverts for the new series in November Seven are now rebooting the franchise in 2020 and released the first adverts for the new series in November. Since Farmer Wants A Wife originally debuted in the UK in 2001, the show has gone on to have more than 25 other international versions. Worldwide there have been 147 marriages and 280 babies come out of the dating series. By PTI MUMBAI: The government can turn COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity by investing in healthcare, and it should also pursue making all the cities slum-free by 2023, according to economists. At the seventh economic conclave - organised by State Bank of India on Saturday, there was an unanimity among the economists on laying greater thrust on decentralisation in policy-making in the future, as a one size fits all approach may not work always. India at present has the third highest number of COVID-19 cases after the US and Brazil, and has already lost over 22,000 people. "Its very concerning that a lot of this discussion of the Aatmanirbhar (Bharat) package or other packages are not talking at all about what investments are taking place in the health sector. How much are we spending on testing, basic information campaigns. "This is a health induced crisis, you got to respond to that in order to respond to the economy," Rohini Pande, who is associated with Yale University, said. India has historically under-invested in health and the increase is not very much right now as well, she said, stressing that we need to recognise that for economic recovery, humanitarian and health crisis are all interlinked. "To change this crisis to an opportunity, let us invest in the health sector," SBI's chief economist S K Ghosh said, suggesting a plan to build a 500-bed hospital in 250 districts at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore over the next two years. Pande said frontline health workers are not paid, and we can immediately start paying them and expand their base, which will lead to better case spotting and also contact tracing. Arjun Jayadev with Azim Premji University said concerns on the health infrastructure affect the broader economy as well and pointed out that the animal spirits can only be rekindled once the fear of health shock goes away. "Many migrant labourers may not want to return to the cities not just because they are not getting a good conducive environment to live, but they are bothered about their health condition as well," he said. The Indian economy runs on two gears one which have access to expensive private healthcare and the others who don't, Jayadev said, adding that universalisation of services should be a key theme while investing the money. "You've this horrific situation where 5 lakh die of TB, 1.5 lakh children die and we don't bat an eyelid, except when the situation comes to us as COVID," he added. Rathin Roy in National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) suggested a radical change in output measurement where gains on agriculture, health, education and housing become the lead indicators of economic strength rather than focusing on automobile sales and FMCG good sales. Roy also proposed making a slum-free India as a policy objective by 2023. "It is obvious from the migrant labour problem, it is obvious from the COVID situation that a slum free India (by) 2023 should be our objective. I do not see enough economists, enough policymakers, even mentioning a slum-free India," he said. All the economists also seemed to agree that the Reserve Bank of India will have to monetise a part of the fiscal deficit this year due to the extreme strain on government finances, but did not offer a quantum or timeline. Re: Does GMAC release GMAT online score during the weekends? [ #permalink Kinglucktsui wrote: :) Took my test on 7/7 and has been updating the website every 1 hour Be a master of the mind, not mastered by the mind Signature Read More Hahaha hahahaExcitement damnBut Official scores will be posted in your mba.com account within 7 business days after completing your examThough some people have got scores within 48hours too. Keeping checking your mba.com account regularly.All the best._________________ Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - President Felix Tshisekedi has condemned the violence that resulted in the death of a man and the destruction of public and private property following the popular demonstrations of July 9, denouncing in particular irregularities and contradictions in the designation of leaders of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 11:51:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The United States plans to impose 25-percent additional tariffs on about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of French products in response to the country's digital services tax that impacts major U.S. technology companies, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced Friday. "In determining the level of trade covered by the additional duties, the U.S. Trade Representative considered the value of digital transactions covered by France's DST (digital services tax) and the amount of taxes assessed by France on U.S. companies," the USTR's Office said in a notice. "Additional duties of 25 percent on the products of France covered by the trade action should result in the collection of tariffs on goods of France at comparable, though somewhat lower amounts," the notice said. The USTR has also determined to suspend the additional tariffs on French products for up to 180 days, a period ending on Jan. 6, 2021, to "allow additional time for bilateral and multilateral discussions that could lead to a satisfactory resolution of this matter." The United States had launched and completed a Section 301 probe into France's digital services tax regime but agreed to delay the imposition of tariffs on the country, as the two sides were negotiating a multilateral deal on international taxation at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But in a letter to four European finance ministers in June, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the United States will not continue with the negotiations on digital taxation at the OECD as discussions had reached an "impasse." In response, French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that "this letter is a provocation towards all the partners at the OECD when we were centimeters away from an agreement." France will apply taxes on digital giants this year "whatever happens," he said. The United States has also launched Section 301 investigations into digital services taxes considered by 10 U.S. trading partners, including the European Union (EU), Brazil and India. The so-called Section 301, under an outdated U.S. trade law adopted in 1974, allows the U.S. president to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions on foreign countries. The global trading community has become increasingly concerned that the U.S. government's frequent use of Section 301 would go against the World Trade Organization rules, undermine the multilateral trading system and disrupt the global supply chain. Enditem Indeed her much loved character has been one of life's greatest blessings for the performer. And she's also very good at playing Irene. But McGranger, a stalwart of Home & Away, now holds the record for the longest character portrayal by a female performer on Australian television. Job security is not something usually associated with an acting career, especially in a competitively small market like Australia. The way Lynne McGranger sees it, playing Summer Bay's loveable battler Irene for nearly 28 years, who solves all manner of calamities over a cuppa and a good ol' chin wag, is akin "to winning the acting lottery". "There are a lot of things I really love about playing Irene," McGranger explains. "To be honest, as an actor when you play a character you really only have yourself and your experiences to draw on, and what you can remember from acting school .. but there are a lot of differences between Lynne and Irene, even after all these years. "Irene is very upfront and will call a spade a front end loader, I'm not quite as outgoing as that in real life. Irene wants to take in every wayward teenager she comes across, but I think I'd rather swallow a hammer!" McGranger was living in Melbourne with her husband and a new baby daughter when she landed a three-month part on Home & Away. "I remember telling my husband, who is a musician, that I really needed a role in a soap because I'm not really going to be a very good stay at home mum," she says. "He was happy to be a stay at home dad, the role kept getting extended and now, three decades later, Irene is a major part of our lives." Only a few actors in Australia have reached the sort of milestone McGranger has, including her co-star Ray Meagher, who is the only remaining original cast member on Home & Away since its debut in 1988 and holds the record for any Australian TV performer playing the same role. By Trend The Latvian airline AirBaltic has announced a schedule of flights from Riga to Baku in April 2021, Trend reports referring to the companys website. According to the source, AirBaltic also has reported about the new network in summer 2021 and announced flights to the first 15 seasonal destinations including Baku that were postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. The flight from Riga to Baku will be operated twice a week from April 28, 2021, by Airbus A220-300 aircraft. The scheduled travel time is 3 hours 35 minutes. Departure from Baku will be at 22:45 (GMT+4), and arrival in Riga - the next day at 03:20 (GMT+3). In total, the AirBaltic schedule offers 82 routes for next summer season. Besides, the company AirBaltic will also increase the frequency of flights to several popular destinations, including Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Dublin and others. Currently, AirBaltic performs direct flights from Riga to various European business hubs and to such popular leisure destinations as Dubrovnik, Rijeka and Split in Croatia, Barcelona in Spain, Nice in France, Larnaca in Cyprus as well as Rome, Catania and Milan in Italy. Moreover, during upcoming weeks, AirBaltic will launch direct flights from Riga to Billund, Reykjavik, Madrid, Zurich, Turku, Warsaw, Prague, Stuttgart, Budapest and Liepaja. The company also offers a number of direct flights from Tallinn and Vilnius. AirBaltic (AIR BALTIC CORPORATION) is connecting the Baltic region with over 55 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS. It is a joint-stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds around 80 percent of the stock, while Danish businessman Lars Thuesen holds about 20 percent through his fully-owned Aircraft Leasing 1 LLC. AirBaltic operates 22 Airbus A220-300 aircrafts. The company has received numerous international awards for excellence and innovative services, as well as achievements in the field of business restructurization. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Caring for my sweet son helped to heal me and keep the ghosts at bay. With each pregnancy my ability to hold a baby within my womb was diminished. During my subsequent and last pregnancy, I was to spend three months in a hospital bed in an effort to carry the baby to full term. Piers was sent to Perth to live with my mother, where he attended the kindergarten of her old school, St Hildas. Being in hospital, my terrible history of complications and mishaps was guarded against with daily monitoring by an impressive team of medical experts. This time we would succeed, or so everyone hoped. I was to surprise everyone yet again, and in the process almost lose my life. The whole dreadful business began at 24 weeks gestation in the delivery room, where I was attached to drips while premature labour pains racked my body. Medication followed and the placement of a second cervical ligature, which stopped the contractions, enabling my pregnancy to settle down. Ashley with her children, Piers and Adelicia, in 1980. Back in the ward, I occupied myself on the telephone, organising a surprise party for Phils 40th birthday to be celebrated in the first week of June. On the night of June 6, however, his friends came to an empty house. Oblivious of the arrangements, Phil was stationed at the hospital, where I was in the emergency theatre delivering our baby. My body had developed an infection and my temperature soared; it was subsequently discovered I had a small tear in my uterus from the previous delivery that allowed infection to occur. Both the baby and I were in danger of going into septic shock. Knowledge of that Friday evening was later augmented by stories told by the nurses: of the young obstetrician who ran hospital corridors gathering specialists to save my life and the life of my baby. How I thanked the medical team in the theatre, before they anaesthetised me for a caesarean section. And the ward sister, searching for a camera to photograph the baby, her face resting beside a pink camellia to show how tiny she was. I had been living in the hospital for so long it had become my home and they all knew my story. Afterwards, I was transferred to intensive care, while my baby battled for an hour in the neonatal intensive care ward. Attached to drips, I constantly exhorted the sister to ring for news of the babys progress as I willed her to fight for each tiny breath. Phil stayed near her. It was not long before I saw the lean figure of my obstetrician framed in the doorway, and I knew he had come to tell me my baby girl had lost her struggle and died. Begging him to return through the door and bring me news that she lived. Frightened I would descend into a pit of madness, I made the decision not to hold my dead baby. Grieving mothers, left to deal privately with their unspoken and unvalued loss, were given no tools then with which to deal with their grief. It was only a short mental step for us to come to the conclusion that we had no value. I continued to believe I was responsible for the deaths of my little ones by failing to give them life. I desperately sought relief, salvation, and some sanctuary in the belief that I had value as the nurturing mother of my son. It was only a short mental step for us to come to the conclusion that we had no value. I continued to believe I was responsible for the deaths of my little ones by failing to give them life. During the following week, while my body fought infection with the help of intravenous antibiotics, my mind fought to deal with the truth. I overcame the infection, but slid into a mental breakdown. While I lay in a hospital bed and before my breakdown, I organised the burial place for my babys ashes. I may not have held her or kissed her, but I was determined she would have a grave and be named. Her ashes lie in the memorial wall in a rose garden of my local church, and I named her Henrietta, after a courageous ancestor. I was given a photo of my blonde cherub and it sits in a small, heart-shaped silver frame surrounded by antique porcelain figurines of three Beatrix Potter animals. I call them her guardian playmates. Throughout my last pregnancy, I updated the adoption department on my condition. I had now reached the top of the list for my second baby, a girl, and the next suitable baby would be made available, if I was unsuccessful in producing my own. Feeding Adelicia. Phil and I were invited to an initiation evening run by the adoption department of NSW Youth and Community Services, where we watched a large doll being bathed, after which we mixed with other potential adoptive parents. I found the evening interminable and hated the expectant excitement in the room and cosy bonding among the couples, and I hated the plastic doll. It was on that night I first met the imposing woman who was head of the department. Anxious that her piercingly intelligent gaze would uncover my secret grieving, I played a role that appeared to fool everyone, including Phil. He whispered during the bathing display that I was clearly in my element. Three-and-a-half months after the loss of Henrietta, Phil and I collected our six-week-old baby daughter, Adelicia. Although I had been granted a great gift, I could not overcome my depression and I struggled to love this baby, who was to be my last. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 09:44:43|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ATHENS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday strongly condemned Turkey's decision to convert Istanbul's Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque, warning of its impact on Turkey's relations with Greece and the European Union. Hagia Sophia is an iconic Byzantine church built in the 5th century. Throughout the centuries, the former Greek Orthodox Christian church had also served as a Roman Catholic cathedral and an Ottoman mosque as the city changed rulers. Since 1935, Hagia Sophia has been open as a museum. It has been recognized by UNESCO as a monument of world cultural heritage since 1985. "Greece categorically condemns Turkey's decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. This decision, taken 85 years after Hagia Sophia was declared a museum, is an affront to its ecumenical character. Furthermore, it is a decision that offends all those who recognize Hagia Sophia as an indispensable part of world cultural heritage," Mitsotakis said, according to an e-mailed press statement. "This decision clearly affects not only Turkey's relations with Greece, but also its relations with the European Union, UNESCO, and the world community as a whole. It is a truly regretful development that the Turkish leadership, after working for the Alliance of Civilizations in 2005, has now taken the decision to reverse course," the prime minister added. Earlier on Friday, the Turkish State Council reached a verdict on the fate of the monument and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the first Muslim prayer at the site will be held on July 24. Enditem Using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, an international research team led by Chinese scientists has developed a rapid and accurate screening model to detect lymph nodes, which can assist doctors in cancer treatment. Lymph nodes are the human immune system's first line of defense, protecting people from illnesses and virus infections. In the human body, lymph nodes are hundreds of small, round or bean-shaped glands that gather in the neck, armpit, abdomen and groin. Cancer that starts in another part of the body and spreads to the lymph nodes is called metastasis, which is important for clinicians to judge the development of cancer. However, the current MRI screening methods are time-consuming and can not identify all the lymph nodes in the scan regions, lowering the detection accuracy. A single lymph node occupies less than one-thousandth of an MRI sample, and it is easily confused with blood vessels and other tissues, said lead researcher Gao Xin, of the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "Even an experienced radiologist has to spend three to 10 minutes examining lymph nodes on one sample, and each case needs approximately 20 samples." "For small lymph nodes with a diameter of less than 5 mm, the detection accuracy is always less than 70 percent," Gao added. Based on MRI image data selected from 293 patients with rectal cancer at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University from 2013 to 2016, researchers developed the AI-assisted screening model. This turned detection experiences, accumulated by experts, into algorithms. The AI can detect the lymph nodes by a higher percentage, with only 1.37 seconds on each sample. This is 100 times faster than human detection. The researchers tested the AI model in patients at four medical centers in Guangzhou, Beijing, Suzhou and Guizhou, and compared its results with those of four Chinese radiologists, specializing in gastrointestinal diseases. The results showed that it can accurately identify 3-mm-diameter lymph nodes with a detection accuracy of 80 percent. The results were recently published in the journal EBioMedicine under The Lancet. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health also participated in the study. The AI model can also be used to detect metastatic cancers in other human organs or tissue, according to Gao. "We believe the AI-assisted screening model can save a great deal of manual labor and improve clinical efficiency, which will benefit more patients," said Gao. In view of surge in Covid-19 cases, the Assam government is likely to extend the lockdown in the Kamrup (Metro) district for one more week after the 14-day shutdown ends on Sunday. "The Chief Secretary as the Chairman of the executive committee of the disaster management in consultation with the citizens' forum and MLAs of the Kamrup (Metro) district would take the decision on the extension. "Though the health department has said one-week extension will be enough, others are advocating two more weeks in view of the rising infection," Health minister Himanta Biswa ... 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More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor The Bureau of Elections has been asked to investigate an allegation of signature fraud in a Michigan ballot drive to ban dilation and evacuation abortions. Signatures gathered by the group Michigan Values Life are being challenged by the Coalition to Protect Access to Care. The window to challenge the ballot drive closes on July 13. Today I called to the attention of the Bureau of Elections staff a pair of signatures which appear to be signed by the same person, a clear violation of the law, said Mark Brewer, attorney for CPAC. We are asking that the BOE conduct an investigation, including an interview of the petition circulator who should have witnessed those signatures. It is unacceptable to attempt to enact legislation by breaking the basic rules of signature gathering. Michigan ballot drive to ban abortion procedure gets another chance Michigan Values Life in December 2019 submitted about 380,000 signatures in its effort to have Michigan voters decide whether to define the procedure as a dismemberment abortion and make it a felony for a physician to perform one unless it was to save the life of the mother. To get the measure on the ballot, 340,047 signatures are required. In an initial review of a sample of 500 petition signatures, the Bureau of Elections staff found 446 valid signatures and estimated that the group was 7,276 signatures short. But the Board of State Canvassers voted last month to pull a larger sample of 1,600 signatures for review. The Coalition to Protect Access to Care reviewed the expanded sample and alleges multiple instances of sloppy signature gathering. For example, CPAC found two petition pages where every address on the page required correction after the fact an action that isnt illegal, but is indicative of a poorly run drive with little quality control, the group said in a July 9 press release. The Bureau of Elections will review the signatures and make a decision for itself, said Genevieve Marnon, legislative director for the Right to Life of Michigan. The organization will be given time to counter CPACs allegations. Marnon said she doesnt believe mistakes were made with ill-intent. All of our circulators are volunteers. We do our very best to train them. We had over 8,000 individual circulators and as much as we try to train them, mistakes do happen, Marnon said. Every petition initiative has mistakes that are made. Lawyers for Michigan Values Life and lawyers for the Coalition to Protect Access to Care met with the Board of State Canvassers before the board decided to expanded the sample size of signatures. The bureau must make a recommendation on the new sample of signatures before July 24, which is when the board of canvassers must decide whether the petition gathered enough signatures. Related coverage: Planned Parenthood challenges validity of signatures in ballot initiative for abortion procedure ban See Michigan counties ranked by 2018 abortion rate See latest abortion numbers for your Michigan county Robert Kubica smiled on Friday when asked if he is hoping to race Alfa Romeo's 2020 car later this season. As the team's reserve driver, the Pole drove in the Friday practice session in Austria. But he was then asked if he is hoping a driver reshuffle - with Sebastian Vettel potentially stepping down from Ferrari early - might open a race vacancy at Alfa Romeo. "Giovinazzi replacing Vettel at Ferrari? You should know me better than to ask that," Kubica smiled to Sky Italia in Austria. "You don't get too far in this sport with 'ifs' and 'buts' like that. I just have to concentrate on my role as reserve driver," he said. "I hope I can drive more, and I also have the DTM season that I will focus on too." When asked for his assessment of Alfa Romeo's 2020 car, Kubica said: "It's difficult for me to assess after such a long time away from the car. "I last drove the C39 in March, then I drove the DTM car so the first laps were quite strange," he added. "We tried something different to optimise our package, but apparently we still miss something. The car is easy to manage and drive, but we lack efficiency." Finally, Kubica was asked about the return next year of his friend Fernando Alonso. "I have no doubt about Fernando's return," he insisted. "He is the strongest driver of my generation, doing things that probably no one else could do with certain cars. "I have doubts about what the Formula 1 he will return to will be like, but I have no doubts about him," said Kubica. (GMM) National carrier, Air India (AI), has terminated 200 of its cabin crew, and refused to accept the withdrawal of resignations of 50 pilots amid the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak that has roiled the civil aviation sector. These 200 cabin crew were recently inducted in the airline on a contractual basis. AI has had around 4,000 cabin crew and 1,800 pilots on its rolls until April. The 50 AI pilots had resigned from the airline after securing jobs in private airlines before the pandemic struck India. Their job offers were withdrawn because the Covid-19-induced lockdown restrictions led to the suspension of domestic and international flights since end-March and adversely impacted the civil aviation sector. The domestic flights have since resumed limited operations. The 50 AI pilots wanted to withdraw their resignations, but the national carriers management turned down their proposal and asked them to serve out their notice period. The decision was taken after the AI management met representatives of the pilots unions met on Wednesday (July 8). A senior airline pilot said, The management needs to look at these employees with some compassion amid these hard times. Earlier, HT had reported in May that the wide-body (Boeing) pilots union, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), the narrow-body (Airbus) pilots union, Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), had questioned AI authorities about the measures taken while operating cargo flights during lockdown restrictions to ensure the generation of maximum revenue. On July 6 (Monday), the unions wrote a letter to Rajiv Bansal, the interim chairman-cum-managing director (CMD), urging the management to ensure that a fixed percentage is cut from an employees salary based on the income and also implement a monthly leave without pay (LWP) for all the staff because of truncated operations due to the viral outbreak. The unions also demanded that 25% of their pending dues be cleared immediately and they are allowed to quit their jobs with immediate effect in case the LWP is not implemented for all the employees. A senior airline official said layoffs were a new normal because the pandemic has heightened AI woes. The letter has set things in motion. The heads of departments have failed to tackle the situation and stand up for the employees, who have been asked to leave, the official added. The crisis has deepened because a limited number of flights are operating due to the pandemic. The management needs to study the non-operating and operating departments and reduce the workforce accordingly amid an acute cash crunch, said a retired AI official. AI spokesperson, however, refused to comment on the stand-off between the employees and the management. These are internal issues on which we wont like to make any comment, he said. Update: Power is fully restored for all of the Eversource customers in New Canaan, according to the region report, and the outage map on the electric services companys website. Update: Twenty-eight Eversource customers are currently out of power in New Canaan, according to the region report on the electric services companys website. Update: Twenty-nine Eversource customers are currently out of power in New Canaan, according to the region report on the electric services companys website. The outage map on the website says that there are fewer than five customers without power. The information follows the number of outages being at zero after Tropical Storm Fay. Udpate: Power is fully restored in New Canaan after Tropical Storm Fay came to the town Friday into Saturday, according to the outage map, and region report on the electric services companys website. The number of power outages in the town from the tropical storm is at zero. Update: There are 89 Eversource customers without power in New Canaan because of Tropical Storm Fay, according to the outage map, and region report on the electric services companys website. Update: There are fewer than two Eversource customers without power in New Canaan because of Tropical Storm Fay, according to the outage map on the electric services companys website. Update: There are fewer than three Eversource customers without power in New Canaan because of Tropical Storm Fay, according to the outage map on the electric services companys website. Update: There are fewer than two Eversource customers without power in New Canaan because of Tropical Storm Fay, according to the outage map on the electric services companys website. Update: Five Eversource customers in New Canaan are currently without power because of Tropical Storm Fay, according to the outage map on the electric services companys website. Update: Eight Eversource customers in New Canaan are currently without power because of Tropical Storm Fay, according to the outage map on the electric services companys website. Update: The New Canaan Fire Department has also sent out a tweet on its Twitter account about Tropical Storm Fay. Update: Train service on Metro-North Railroads New Canaan Branch train line has resumed after it was delayed when trees fell during Tropical Storm Fay. Update: Train service on the Metro-North Railroads New Canaan Branch train line is going to resume with the 6:28 a.m. train departing New Canaan, and making all stops to Stamford, according to the railroads latest tweet on its Twitter account. Train service will resume on the New Canaan Branch beginning with the 6:28 AM train departing New Canaan making all stops to Stamford (#6705). Thank you for your patience, the railroad said in the tweet. Update: There is substitute bus service for the 1:06 a.m. train from Stamford to New Canaan, according to Metro-North Railroads latest tweet on its Twitter account. Substitute Bus Service is being provided on the New Canaan Branch for the 1:06 AM train (#6798) from Stamford to New Canaan due to power issues resulting from weather-related fallen trees. Please listen for announcements at your station, the railroad said in its latest tweets on its Twitter account. Nine Eversource customers are also without power, according to the power outage map on the electric service service companys website. Update: There is substitute bus service for the 11:01 p.m.train from Stamford to New Canaan, and the 11:28 p.m. train from New Canaan to Stamford, according to Metro-North Railroads latest tweets on its Twitter account. Substitute Bus Service is being provided on the New Canaan Branch for the 11:01 PM train (#6766) from Stamford to New Canaan due to power issues resulting from weather-related fallen trees. Please listen for announcements at your station, the railroad said in one of its latest tweets on its Twitter account. Substitute Bus Service is being provided on the New Canaan Branch for the 11:28 PM train (#6771) from New Canaan to Stamford due to power issues resulting from weather-related fallen trees. Please listen for announcements at your station, the railroad said in another one of its latest tweets on its Twitter account. Update: There is a substitute bus service for the 10:01 p.m. train from Stamford to New Canaan, and the 10:28 p.m. train from New Canaan to Stamford, according to Metro-North Railroads latest tweet on its Twitter account. New Canaan Branch - Substitute Bus Service for the 10:01PM train (#6762) from Stamford to New Canaan and the 10:28PM train (#6769) from New Canaan to Stamford due to power issues resulting from weather-related fallen trees, the railroad said in it its latest tweet on its Twitter account. Update: There is substitute bus service for the 9:01 p.m. train on the Metro-North Railroads New Canaan Branch train line due to power issues resulting from weather-related fallen trees, according to Metro-North Railroads latest tweet on its Twitter account. New Canaan Branch - Substitute Bus Service for the 9:01PM train (#6758) from Stamford to New Canaan due to power issues resulting from weather-related fallen trees, the railroad said in the tweet. Update: The 7:01 p.m. New Canaan Branch Metro-North railroad train from the Stamford train station to the New Canaan train station, and Metro-Norths 7:28 p.m. train on the same line from the New Canaan train station to the Stamford train station are canceled due to power issues from the weather-related fallen trees, according to Metro-Norths latest Tweet on its Twitter account. More information will be given out as soon as it is available. New Canaan Branch: 7:01PM train (#6750) from Stamford to New Canaan and the 7:28PM (#6757) from New Canaan to Stamford have be cancelled due to power issues resulting from weather-related fallen trees. As more info becomes available we will notify you as soon as possible, the railroad said in the tweet. Update: Trains on the New Canaan Branch train line are still delayed, according to a tweet on Metro-North Railroads Twitter account. Update: Fifteen people are also without power, according to the outage map on Eversources website. Update: Train service on the Metro-North Railroads New Canaan Branch train line is delayed due to power issues resulting from weather-related fallen trees, according to a tweet from Metro-North on its Twitter account, Metro-North Railroad. Wear a Mask-Stop the Spread. As more info(rmation) becomes available we will notify you as soon as possible. Please listen for announcements, the railroad said in the tweet. Update: New Canaan First Selectman Kevin Moynihan has given an update to the towns residents about the tropical storm. In it Moynihan said that the towns Emergency Operations Center was activated at the New Canaan Police Department at 6 p.m. for the tropical storm. Moynihan also mentioned information about the weather forecast for the storm, saying that it is projected to arrive in western Connecticut by 9 p.m. Friday evening, July 10, 2020, with 2 to 4 inches of heavy rain, and wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour, inland, and lasting until 2 a.m., Saturday morning, July 11, 2020. We may have downed trees, and possibly closed roads, and minor to moderate power outages, Moynihan also said. Moynihan also informed the residents of the chance of an isolated tornado that could come to the area as a result of the tropicla storm, and about any power that goes out from the tropical storm starting to be restored early Saturday morning, when the tropical storm ends. As with most tropical systems there is also a small chance of an isolated tornado. Due to the heavy winds expected, Eversource does not plan to begin restoration of any power outages until early Saturday morning, Moynihan said. Moynihan also stressed the importance of residents calling Eversource at the companys 800-286-2000 phone number if they lose power so that the company can identify, which residents are out of power, and restore their power. It is very important if you lose power that if you lose power, that you call Eversource at 800-286-2000 because it is the only way Eversource can map power outages. Moynihan also gave instructions to the residents about if they see a downed wire on a street in the town, dont walk, or drive over it. Rather, call 911, or the EOC at 203-594-4100. Also, if you see a down wire on a street, do not walk, or drive over it, and call 911, or the EOC at 203-594-4100, Moynihan said. Check back to this story for any updates about the tropical storm. Update: Eversource continues to closely monitor, and prepare for Tropical Storm Fay. Update: Eversource is closely monitoring, and preparing for high winds, heavy rains, and possible flashing flooding that are expected to impact the New England region Friday night, July 10, 2020, into Saturday morning, July 10, 2020, as a result of the tropical storm, according to a press release from the electric services company. The company is also doing this while it continues to operate under its coronavirus pandemic plan, and adhering to its strict social distancing, hygiene, and enhanced sanitation measures to safeguard the health, and well-being of its workers, customers, line, and tree crews, and natural gas technicians, the release reads. They ready to respond to any damage, or outages caused by the tropical storm. We recognize how important it is for our customers to have reliable power, especially during these unprecedented times as many people continue working remotely, the companys Vice President of Electric Operations Mike Hayhurst said in a statement. Working under challenging conditions releated to the pandemic, our crews are positioned around the state, and ready to respond to any damage, or outages caused by this tropical storm. Our team will work around-the-clock to restore power as quickly, and safely as possible yet some restorations may take longer as we work to ensure the safety of our employees, and customers, Hayhurst said. The virus causes COVID-19. COVID-19 is a disease. The company urges customers to always stay clear of downed wires, and to report them immediately to 9-1-1. Customers are also asked to report any outages online at the companys website, www.eversource,com, or by calling the company by phone at 800-286-2000. Customers who are signed up for the companys two-way texting feature can also send a text to report an outage, and receive any outage updates from the tropical storm as they happen. Cutomers are also reminded that flooding can cause damage to a home furnance, or other natural gas appliances. Some natural gas heating systems may also be affected in the event of a power interruption. If flooding is severe, then natural gas appliances should not be used until they are inspected by a licensed plumber, or contractor as, in the event of an outage, once that is completed the company can turn a customer(s) gas service back on, and safely re-light their applicances. The company is also offering general tips on its website about what people can do before a tropical storm comes, during a storm while it is happening, and after a storm following its departure from an area that it was in. Before a storm, people should build an emergency storm kit, and be certain that all of their wireless communication devices are charged up, and have a car charger available if the power is out for a long time. During a storm, people should stay connected to the company by following it on their Connecticut Twitter social media platform handle, @EversourceCT, their Connecticut Facebook social media platform page https://www.facebook.com/EversourceCT/, and by signing up for the companys text updates about the tropical storm, which provide the latest information on efforts to restore any of their power that goes out. After a storm, people should stay alert, and power their devices up slowly to avoid a power surge. The tips with complete information, and also other ones, can be found on the companys website. Original story: New Canaan will activate its Emergency Operations Center on Friday, July 10, 2020, as southern Connecticut braces for the arrival of Tropical Storm Fay. The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning on Friday for a large swath of Fairfield County, from Bridgeport down to Stamford. The storm, which formed off the coast of North Carolina, features dangerous, strong gusts of wind from 30 to 50 mph and peak rainfalls of 2 to 4 inches, and more in some cases. Click here to sign up to receive updates from the EOC. High winds are possible, which could bring down trees and branches, causing power outages. Outages should be reported to Eversource. Information for Online Attendance to the 2020 AGM Sydney, July 10, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Empire Energy Group Limited ( ASX:EEG ) ( OTCMKTS:EEGUF ) provides the following information regarding the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") to be held on Tuesday, 14 July 2020 from 11 am (AEST).Empire s trongly encourages shareholders to attend electronically through the Lumi app rather than in person due to strict attendance limits at the venue of the AGM. Shareholders who attend electronically may participate in the AGM including:- Voting by Poll;- Asking the Company's Directors and Auditor questions; and- Watching the Managing Director's presentation.Please refer to the following pages for instructions on downloading and navigating Lumi's platform to participate electronically in Empire's 2020 Annual General Meeting.Strict attendance limits will be implemented at the AGM venue due to social distancing requirements designed to protect attendees from the risk of COVID-19 transmission. As such, the Company cannot guarantee that all those who attend in person will be able to join the meeting in person.During the registration process, attendees will be required to provide their name, mobile phone number and email address for post-event contact tracing purposes. Collection of this information is required by the building's strata management as a condition for allowing the Company to host this public event. The Company will not use this information for any other purpose.To view the full guide, please visit:About Empire Energy Group Ltd Empire Energy (ASX:EEG) (OTCMKTS:EEGUF) holds over 14.5 million acres of highly prospective exploration tenements in the McArthur and Beetaloo Basins, Northern Territory. Work undertaken by the Company since 2010 demonstrates that the Eastern depositional Trough of the McArthur Basin, of which the Company holds 80% has very considerable conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon potential. The Beetaloo sub-Basin, in which Empire holds a substantial position, has independently assessed world class hydrocarbon volumes in place with a major ramp up in industry activity underway to appraise substantial discoveries already made by major Australian oil and gas operators. Empire Energy is an experienced conventional oil and gas producer with operations in the Appalachia region (New York and Pennsylvania). Empire has been successfully developing and producing oil and gas since 2006. I note that India is now third in the world with COVID-19 deaths and infections. India has 700,000 infections and 20,000 deaths. Meanwhile, Canada has 100,000 infections and 8,500 deaths. But no one has mentioned the relative populations. India has 1.3 billion, while Canada has 37 million. India has seven times our infection and 2.5 times our mortality numbers, but India has 35 times our population. It looks to me like Canada is doing far worse, per capita. Russia has four times our population, but only 1.1 times our death rate. The U.S., one of the few countries in the world worse than Canada, has nine times our population, but 28 times our infection and 16 times our death rate. Why has no one compared the relative rates? Not politically advantageous? Edward Collis, Burlington Read more about: Mental health issues have been the bane of human existence for centuries. However, it wasn't until the mid-twentieth century that the medical communities were able to recognize the differences between real mental health disorders and disorders that were manufactured by earlier century doctors to explain away patient behaviors and problems. The stigma of mental health problems even remained an issue until about twenty years ago when a movement to stop stigmatizing people with mental health problems began. Now there are dozens of medications that help patients and several other forms of treatment that can be added to medication to help a patient get better and feel better. Some of the most recent breakthroughs in treatments for mental health disorders are quite surprising, but they are showing real promise. The Use of Magnetic Pulses Magnetic pulses are a kinder, gentler upgrade from electroshock therapy. The headgear may look similar, but TMS (or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) doesn't use electricity at all. Instead, it uses amplified magnetic waves in a pulse formation delivered to a patient's skull through nodes attached to the headgear. Patients may feel a pulsing sensation but hardly notice much else. Doctors are using TMS for OCD treatment as well as depression. Transcranial magnetic stimulation treats those who are not adequately responding to medication and other forms of treatment. The way it works is that these patients' brain cells are being stimulated by the magnetic frequency to alter their ability to receive or block the biochemical agents contributing to impulsivity or depressed feelings. Ketamine Ketamine is both a controlled substance and a street drug. Commonly referred to as "special k" on the black market, ketamine as a prescribed medication showing promise for people who are disabled by their OCD, bi-polar, and depression disorders. Because of its initial hallucinogenic effects, the drug is first administered under the watch of the prescribing doctor to see how it will affect the patient. After the hallucinations wear off, these patients typically reach normal levels of daily functioning that can last for up to two weeks. Patients receive a prescription, but a doctor administers the dose, and most patients have to spend an evening in the hospital until the hallucinations wear off. The patient remains until they are safe to release on their own recognizance. A new form of ketamine is being tested and possibly released to the public. It's in the form of a nasal spray. A single squirt up each nostril and the patient is good to go with few side effects. Anti-Glutamate Drugs The International OCD Foundation has determined that one-third of all patients suffering from OCD and depression share a unique link. This link has to do with the high levels of glutamate in their brains. These are the same people that are resistant to most medications for treating their mental health disorders. The Foundation's research supports the idea that if anti-glutamate drugs were developed and used, these particular patients with depression and OCD could finally find some relief in their symptomatology and disorders. The research and development of these drugs continues and may be ready for testing in the next few years. Bill Clinton pardoned his own brother for felony distribution of cocaine. And a key witness in the Whitewater scandal for which he and Hillary Clinton were under investigation. And three others convicted in independent counsel Ken Starrs probe. And Marc Rich, in what was a straight up political payoff. And his CIA director. And his HUD secretary. And eight people convicted in an investigation of his Agriculture Department. No surprise there: The Clintons and their supporters then, like Trump and his supporters now, regarded the special-prosecutor probes into the administration as witch hunts. Clinton also commuted the sentences of convicted terrorists, some of whom hadnt even asked for clemency. Shameless as he was, though, even he couldnt bring himself to pardon Oscar Lopez Rivera, the defiantly unrepentant FALN leader. President Obama took care of that. Obama also commuted the sentence of a U.S. soldier who passed top-secret information to WikiLeaks. He pardoned his former Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairman, whod been convicted of making false statements about a leak of classified information to the New York Times. And when he couldnt get Congress to amend federal drug laws the way he wanted them amended, Obama used the pardon power to slash hundreds of sentences, under an executive initiative later sharply criticized by the Obama-appointed DOJ inspector general. That doesnt even account for the Obama administrations penchant for making sure things never got to the pardon stage by distorting the law to give Hillary Clinton the same Hillary Clinton who was nearly indicted in the aforementioned Clinton-era scheme a pass, asserting executive privilege to obstruct the Fast and Furious investigation (for which Obamas attorney general was held in contempt of Congress), ignoring his CIA directors spying on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and turning a blind eye to the abuses of power and obstructions attendant to the scandal that engulfed his IRS. Story continues So, as abuses of the pardon power go and they do go I cant get too whipped up over President Trumps commutation of Roger Stones 40-month sentence for non-violent criminal obstruction of a bogusly based and ridiculously over-prosecuted investigation. Not under circumstances in which jail-house doors have been swung open all over the country by federal, state, and local governments, which are using the coronavirus pandemic as a rationale to release both hardened criminals and elderly convicts (i.e., those around Stones age). Not under circumstances in which Trump is keeping Stones felony convictions intact (i.e., Stone has not been pardoned . . . at least not yet). Not under circumstances in which many of Trumps loudest critics are the same Democrats and media cheerleaders who not only soft-pedaled the outrageous Clinton and Obama pardons, but who would have been blissfully content to have the pervasively corrupt Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office exercising the pardon power no doubt on her husbands model. I should here specify that Roger Stone is a whack job. If we are assessing President Trumps job performance, though, it is more damaging that he has brought people such as Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, and Stone into his inner circle than that he has used the pardon power to spare one of them from imprisonment. Especially since the one in question poses no threat to society or at least, no threat other than to those who choose to endure his rantings (Practice your Frank Pentangeli!) on night-time cable. Thats just my opinion, of course, which is the point: The check on abuses of the pardon power is political. If you are offended by Trumps act of clemency on behalf of a longstanding ally of checkered character, go ahead and vote him out of office. Just please spare us the righteous indignation if youd be perfectly happy to have the Clintons or the Obama-Biden team back in power making the clemency calls. Beyond that, the worst thing about the Stone pardon is the damage Trump has inflicted on his Justice Department. If he was going to commute Stones sentence, then he should have done it after Stone was convicted or just pardoned Stone outright, since he claims to believe Stone did nothing wrong. Instead, because Trump did not want to take the political heat for that, the trial prosecutors, accurately applying the harsh sentencing guidelines, recommended a nine-year sentence. That induced Attorney General Barr to intervene and propose a much more reasonable sentencing recommendation, along the lines of the 40-month term that the judge ended up imposing. Naturally, this caused the AG to be scalded by the Democratmedia complex for purported corruption in intervening on behalf of a Trump crony, notwithstanding that he did not lift a finger to undo Stones multiple felony convictions and was content to send the near-septuagenarian to a penitentiary for over three years even as the COVID-based humanitarian release of convicts ensued. Moreover, Stones day of reckoning was at hand he was due to surrender to begin serving his sentence on Tuesday only because Barrs Justice Department opposed any further delay, and Barr reportedly recommended that Trump not grant clemency. In any event, if the president had been transparent about his intentions, there would have been no cause for Justice Department infighting over Stones sentence. Instead, that will be the subject of congressional-hearing fireworks later this month. As for the rest it, were left with the usual unhinged commentary from people who ought to know better. Take top Mueller deputy Andrew Weissmann. After the clemency was announced, Weissmann took to Twitter to assert, Time to put Roger Stone in the grand jury to find out what he knows about Trump but would not tell. Commutation cant stop that. Well, no, but the Fifth Amendment can. Stone is appealing his convictions. Weissmann, a longtime prosecutor who is intimately familiar with the appellate process, has to know that because Trump did not pardon Stone, the case is still on direct appeal. That means the convictions are not final as a matter of law. Stone thus maintains his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and cannot be forced to testify in the grand jury. He probably has scant hope of getting his convictions reversed, but hes entitled to try. A lawyer of Weissmanns acumen should not get such a basic legal point wrong, but he is so politically and emotionally invested in attacking Trump that he obviously tweeted without thinking things through. The tweet underscores that Weissmann an overt Biden surrogate these days was a terrible choice for a special-counsel probe that should have been rigorously non-partisan. He scorched the earth investigating Trump for three years; to imply that he might have nabbed the president were it not for Roger Stones omerta is pathetic. Weissmann could have immunized Stone if he believed Stone was withholding vital incriminating evidence against Trump and then he could have prosecuted Stone for contempt if Stone resisted. He didnt do that because there is no reason to think Stone had incriminating evidence. Stone was alleged to have lied about discussing WikiLeaks; thats why he was charged only with process crimes, despite all of the heavy breathing about collusion in Muellers indictment of Stone. Weissman & Co. did not come close to proving that he or Trump had anything to do with the hacking of Democratic Party emails by Russia or by anyone else. The Stone episode has been farcical from the start, and its still not over. More from National Review Jailed Assam peasant leader and founder of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) Akhil Gogoi tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. He will be treated at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH). His former KMSS colleague and Congress leader Kamal Kumar Medhi has heavily criticised the Assam government alleging that it has been ignoring Gogoi's health. "We suspected politics is going on and now it has been proved. Today, jail authority said in court that Akhil tested negative but now it is being said that his report is positive." Targeting the Assam health minister, Medhi said, "Himanta Biswa Sarma is not saying a single line on his health. Some said his samples were sent to Delhi too. Why is this positive-negative drama taking place? We knew he was corona positive and his health needed serious attention. If BJP govt is thinking that they can push him to death like this, then they are wrong. The people of Assam know all this and they won't allow anything wrong to happen to Akhil." Earlier this week, two of Gogoi's arrested associates had tested positive for Covid-19 and were first admitted to the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) on Wednesday night and then were shifted to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in the morning. All three activists were lodged at the central jail in Guwahati where an inmate was found positive last month. The test result of another KMSS activist held in the same jail is also awaited. Gogoi is facing a legal tangle that has denied him bail or interim relief and he has spent almost 200 days behind bars after participating in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Reports of his deteriorating health have sparked off campaigns on social media demanding his release. Several people and opposition leaders have slammed the "injustice" towards the peasant leader and accused the government of being vindictive because of his anti-CAA, anti-dam protests. Gogoi's wife Gitashree Tamuly, who is a college teacher, recently expressed her angst in a Facebook post. Its been a few months. There is no TV in the house. A lot of things stay without knowing. Just saw this on Facebook. Akhil is sick, symptoms of Covid. Dont know what to say. Many people call and ask me if brother is okay? But what do I know? This time there is no news, no phone calls, she wrote. China to Take Countersteps in Response to US Sanctions on Xinjiang Sputnik News 08:07 GMT 10.07.2020 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - China will take measures in response to the US sanctions against the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, a representative of the Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, said Friday. "The US decision is a blunt intervention in China's internal affairs and a serious breach of key norms of international relations. We reject and condemn this", the diplomat said. According to the representative, "China has decided to take countermeasures regarding US citizens and organisations for unbecoming behaviour on issues related to Xinjiang". The statement comes as a response to recent US sanctions on the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB) and four current or former Chinese officials, imposed on Thursday under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act that allows Washington to apply sanctions against Beijing over alleged human rights violations. According to the US, China has been holding up to one million ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims in re-education camps in the autonomous region, abusing their rights. China has repeatedly refuted the accusation, stating that the only reason for detentions in the area is linked to "fighting violence, terrorism, and separatism". Beijing also stressed that the facilities called "re-education camps" by the US are actually education centres, where Uyghurs can learn the official language. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address World needs to coordinate, think and cooperate for an exit strategy against this Black Swan event. It would require determination and transparency at multiple levels. Last month, Thomas Friedman wrote in his New York Times column that world history should henceforth be divided into B.C. and A.C. Before Corona and After Corona. Its far too early to make any sweeping pronouncements on how the world will change after the coronavirus pandemic is over or if it will change at all. Within a few months of inception of Covid-19, the virus has affected almost all the countries around the world killing lakhs of people. It has caused and will continue to cause severe damages to the global economy. Coronavirus is reshaping world societies, politics and economies slowly but surely. When we analyse recent developments, five clear trends emerge, especially in geopolitics and geo-economy. First is the slowing down of the United States. When Donald Trump began his presidency in 2016, his main mantra at the Oval Office was to Make America Great Again. But he wanted to ride this wave of American revivalism through the odd vehicles of de-globalisation, protectionism and trade wars. Questioning the role of the US as a global policeman was central to his strategy. But in the middle of the election year, a virus made things bad for Trump as well as America. Also Read: Roadmap to counter the Dragon in the factory With more than 6.65 million people having filed for unemployment benefits in the last week, the latest figures highlight the devastating economic impact of the pandemic on the US economy. America with the worlds best scientists and resources to fight the pandemic now faces the highest number of Covid-19 cases as well as deaths in the world. Who would have imagined more than 500 people dying each day in the city of New York? With the US losing its lustre, would China be able to fill the vacuum remains a question. The second trend is the strengthening of the Russia-China axis. After sidelining Russia post to its invasion of Crimea and sanctioning its exports for a proxy war in Ukraine, the US and its allies in Europe have pushed Moscow towards Beijing. During the Cold War, the US was successful in keeping the two communist countries separate, which ultimately led to the fall of the erstwhile Soviet Union. But in todays global scenario when the US is retreating from its role of global policeman, the bond between Russia and China is at an all-time high. Energy, military coordination, global political cooperation, etc, are a few spheres where these two countries are seen to be working together. Russias recent support of China in the UNSC to ban a discussion on Covid-19 is the example of the strategic ties between the two nations. Russias geopolitical presence, especially in West Asia, and the recent dominance politics of oil in OPEC+ along with Chinas global economic might, are signals of big future developments. The third trend is about the struggle of the emerging economies. The global economies which were already facing the brunt of trade and tariff wars were brought to the knees by the sudden coronavirus pandemic. With countries around the world in lockdown, economic activities have come to a standstill. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggested that the pandemic would cause a global recession in 2020 that could be worse than the one triggered by the global financial crisis of 2008-09. This is because the Covid-19 has brought the demand as well as the supply side problem, while in 2008 subprime financial crises were just a demand side problem solved by stimulating the economies through quantitative easing. The adverse effects of prolonged restrictions on economic activities in developed economies will soon spill over to developing countries via trade and investment channels. A sharp decline in consumer spending in the European Union and the United States will reduce imports of consumer goods from developing countries. Also, global manufacturing production could contract significantly, amid the possibility of extended disruptions to global supply chains. As per the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the global GDP could shrink by 0.9% in 2020, instead of growing a projected 2.5%. A huge stimulus along with a coordinated approach at the global level is the need of the hour. The fourth trend is disruption in the global value chain. With more than 55% of the Global Value Chain (GVC) either directly or indirectly linked to China, the world has now realised its dependency on Chinese manufacturing. The sheer manufacturing scale, production lines and cheap output of products by the Chinese are unreplaceable as of now. The world has to slowly but steadily find a replacement to the dragon and countries like India, Vietnam, Mexico, Bangladesh, etc, can help the world with their cheap labour and revived capacities. The last trend is multilateralism, which is the only way forward. The current crisis is even more deserving of a multilateral response because it presents challenges above and beyond those previous threats. Globalised cities are the most vulnerable and, by extension, any country that transacts through them is at risk. In what amounts to an economic perfect storm, the pandemic has combined with pre-existing recessionary pressures, the broader disruption to global trade, and a new and somewhat unexpected complication: a sharp drop in oil prices. Institutions like International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation, United Nation and G-20, which were slowly becoming irrelevant due to the rise of de-globalisation, protectionism, and nativism, have a great opportunity to show the world their importance. This can only be achieved through a calibrated response of global leaders at every front. The sooner the world comes together, the faster it heals. Its now or never! Every crisis brings hidden opportunities with it, the world needs to coordinate, think and cooperate for an exit strategy against this Black Swan event. It would require determination, willpower and transparency at multiple levels. I would make five recommendations for future geopolitical engagement: 1. The strengthening and revival of multilateral and global democratic institutions by countries like the US, the EU and India. 2. Questioning China and holding it accountable for the Wuhan pandemic. 3. Finding alternatives to Chinese dominance in global manufacturing and trade. 4. Promoting globalisation, free trade and multilateralism for a speedy recovery from economic recession. 5. Bringing all the biological labs under the inspection of the UNGA. The writer is educationist and social activist. Yuvraj Pokharna is an Engineer turned Educationist and Social Activist from Surat who keeps a keen eye on contemporary issues including social media,politics and Government Policies. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Maggie Sillero was 28 weeks pregnant with triplets when she got the terrifying news that she had Covid-19. She wasn't sick on May 8 when she went to The Woman's Hospital of Texas in Houston -- and never showed any coronavirus symptoms. She was admitted for observation because she was considered high-risk and her doctor wanted to monitor her and her babies' health for the final weeks of the pregnancy. Sillero told CNN that she hadn't left her house since March, so she thought the coronavirus test would just a routine precaution. "When I got the news, it was very shocking. I could not believe it," she said. Her husband also tested positive and was also asymptomatic, she said. Sillero said her mom and her 5-year-old son, Alexander, both tested negative, even though they'd all been together. Her mom was able to care for Alexander. Being away from her family was tough, but they were able to FaceTime and her nurses would sit with her and talk -- even though they had to wear their full protective gear. "I got to know them each personally, which was great," she said. "I felt like I had made new friends. So I didn't feel alone at that time at all." One of the nurses was one of Sillero's childhood friends, who she hadn't seen since they were in middle school. Sillero was tested regularly in the hospital and on June 4, when she was in her 32nd week, she got her second negative result which indicated that she was free of the virus. She didn't have much time to celebrate because her ultrasound that morning showed that one of her babies had her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. The three babies -- a girl and two boys -- were delivered by emergency Caesarean section that afternoon. "Luckily, everything came out good," Sillero said. "The doctors were amazed at how well the babies were doing as soon as they were born." Her mom was with her for the delivery because her husband had not yet gotten word that he was negative. Isabella, the oldest, weighed 3.11 pounds, Nathaniel weighed 3.7 pounds and Adriel was 2.1 pounds, according to the hospital. They were all taken to the NICU, where Sillero visited them every day. "They are doing really good. They're being healthy. They're growing as expected," Sillero said."Of course, they are premature. So there's going to be some delays in certain things, but I mean, they've been doing really good that weight has been going up." They turned one month old on July 4 and the hospital said they've almost doubled in sized. Sillero got to bring Isabella home on Monday and doctors said the boys would be ready to get out of the hospital soon. "They're good fighters and they've been doing really good -- progressing very well," she said. "Their weights have gone up, they're bottle feeding, so they're doing really good." She said Alexander is looking forward to having everyone home, so he can take on the role of big brother and help his parents change diapers and do things around the house. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Move to Communalise CBSE Syllabus - Press release by the Communist Party of (...) Communist Party of India Central Office Ajoy Bhavan 15, Com. Indrajit Gupta Marg New Delhi- 110002 Tel: 011 23235546 July 8, 2020 Press Release CPI Condemns Move to Communalise CBSE Syllabus Communist Party of India General Secretary D RAJA has issued the following statement today (on July 8, 2020) condemning the move to communalise CBSE syllabus: The Communist Party of India strongly condemns the move of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to remove from the syllabus for IX to XII classes relevant portions regarding Indias historic developments. The nefarious attempt to implement the Hindutva agenda of RSS using COVID-19 restrictions in the school syllabi calls for all-out condemnation from all democratic and progressive forces in the country. The CPI strongly objects to the move to remove chapters on human rights, social movements, citizenship rights, etc. The Party condemns the move to condition the minds of our youth so that fascist poison can be easily injected into them. Ever since the RSS-BJP government came to power, they have been trying to communalise and commercialise education. The present move is part of their hidden agenda towards that purpose. There is already an attempt to centralise education in the name of New Education Policy. The Party warns the RSS-BJP government that our youth and students will outrightly reject the move. CPI demands immediate reversal of the nefarious move. S/d (Roykutty) Office Secretary A US judge has ordered Iran to pay another $879.1 million over a 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 US airmen, ruling again that Tehran bore responsibility. President Donald Trump's administration hailed the judgment, the latest over the attack against Iran, which denies involvement and refuses to pay. Saudi Hezbollah, a militant group from the conservative Sunni kingdom's Shiite minority, allegedly carried out the attack by driving an explosives-laden truck into the eight-story Khobar Towers complex where Western and Saudi forces were staying. Beryl Howell, the chief judge of the US federal district court in Washington, cited previous evidence as she wrote that Iran "aided Hezbollah in carrying out a horrific, violent attack that killed 19 people and injured hundreds more." In a July 2 ruling that was made public this week, she ordered the damages for 14 US service members who were injured in the attack as well as 21 family members. Explaining why the amount includes punitive damages, she said that the plaintiffs "suffered physical injuries and psychological trauma" and that "there is a need to deter future terrorist attacks". Glenn Tyler Christie, who led the suit, was cleaning a nearby kitchen at the time of the blast and still suffers both physical and psychological problems including chronic headaches and depression, the ruling said. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus hailed the decision, writing on Twitter: "Justice is overdue for the many victims of Iranian-supported terror." 24 years ago, Iran-sponsored terrorists killed 19 Americans at the Khobar Towers and injured hundreds more. A U.S. court has once again found Iran liable to pay damages to victims and their families. Justice is overdue for the many victims of Iranian-supported terror. Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) July 9, 2020 Howell in 2018 had ordered Iran to pay $104.7 million in a similar case over the Khobar Towers bombing. At that time, she had rejected the punitive part of the damages, saying that changes in US law precluded such penalties for incidents before 2008. But in May, the US Supreme Court allowed for punitive damages for pre-2008 attacks in a unanimous decision involving Sudan. A separate court decision in 2013 ordered Iran to pay $591 million to the family of one of the US airmen who died. Iran, which has no diplomatic relations with the United States, has hit back that Washington should pay for past wrongdoing including support for Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war. The International Court of Justice last year let Iran continue with legal action seeking to unblock Iranian assets frozen by the United States, which says the money should go to pay victims under court judgments. Christian Bruckner - ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE/AFP via Getty Images Portuguese police have started interviewing former neighbours of the German paedophile suspected of abducting Madeleine McCann after launching new searches of nearby wells for her body. In a stepping up of the investigation specialist firefighters and divers were brought in to comb three isolated wells in Vila do Bispo, a town just ten miles from Praia da Luz, where the young girl went missing 13 years ago. The Telegraph understands the searches took place on Thursday morning and centred on three disused wells over a 100m stretch of remote farmland between Budens and Boca do Rio beach. National broadcaster RTP said that detectives have discovered fundamental evidence relating to prime suspect, Christian Bruckner, but these claims have not been verified by police. Bruckner is known to be familiar with the area, and it is where his distinctive yellow and white VW Westfalia campervan was photographed. The images were later released by German police. Christian Bruckner's Volkswagen (VW) T3 Westfalia camper van - METROPOLITAN POLICE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Now, under the direction of the German authorities, Portuguese police are reportedly following up with neighbours of his, possibly armed with new information. This is the first time Vila do Bispo has become a focal point in the investigation, but suspicions have been raised before about a number of wells dotted around the dilapidated farmhouse he lived in until 2006. Set back in scrubland overlooking Praia da Luz, the German was known to race his Jaguar up and down the dirt track and was often heard engaged in shouting matches with a string of women. This was his last known location before being sent to prison for stealing fuel in the Algarve. He was released in December 2006, just months before Madeleine went missing, and moved into his camper van. Bruckner, who denies being involved in Madeleines disappearance is currently in prison on drugs charges, and is appealing against a rape conviction for an attack on a 72-year-old American tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005. His hearing is expected in Germany next week. Masks a part of the answer Mr Andrews said it was "almost certain" that wearing masks would be part of Victoria's eventual reopening. 'It's quite noticeable that many more people are wearing masks now, and I'm grateful to them," he said. He said two million Australian-made, perhaps even Victorian-made, masks would be ordered and distributed to "priority groups". "In the meantime... we have ordered some additional single-use masks to replenish any reuse in coming days and weeks. That will principally be in healthcare settings and other settings where we think there's a really big reward." New testing sites Health Minister Jenny Mikakos has announced new testing sites will be set up in Mernda, Greensborough, Tarneit and on the Mornington Peninsula. There are now more than 150 testing sites across Victoria. "Ultimately our ambition here is to provide a testing site to everyone within 10km of their home within metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, the areas where we have a key focus at the present time," she said. Ms Mikakos said the state had now conducted 1,000,095 tests, more than 25,000 since yesterday. "In terms of our testing rate per 100,000 people, that is now 16,606," she said. Hospitals 'well prepared' Ms Mikakos said Victoria's hospitals and health services were "well supported and prepared". "They have been working since January to respond to this pandemic. Even when the numbers came down, they never paused in their efforts. They are well resourced and well trained to respond," she said. "We have ventilators in our warehouse. We have medical equipment in our warehouse and being distributed to our health services all the time, and personal protective equipment - 32 million masks are sitting in our warehouse as we speak." Loading She also urged anyone who was sick with any illnesses to ensure they sought appropriate medical care. "I take this opportunity to reassure the community that our hospitals remain safe for them to visit." Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said there had now been more than 100 outbreaks across the state and acknowledged there were risks with schools. "Certainly the Al-Taqwa outbreak had a lot of school-aged children.The risks were in school and out of school. And the physical distancing at school wasn't ideal. I'm absolutely mindful of the risk with kids in school." Professor Sutton said it would be important to exclude unwell children as year 11 and 12 students returned to school, to ensure children were temperature tested and try to ensure social distancing within the classroom. He also singled out aged care facilities as a source of concern. "We are seeing single cases with staff members in aged care facilities. That's the workforce that we have to be really mindful of," he said. Professor Brett Sutton said he hoped to see the second wave of infections across Melbourne flatten within the next three to five days. Photo Illustration: Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images A rise in antibiotic-resistant infections is a looming global crisis with the potential to eclipse COVID-19 in terms of deaths, according to a group of drugs companies. The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), a trade association representing global pharmaceuticals companies, plans to inject nearly 1bn ($1.3bn) into research and development to target this issue. Unlike COVID-19, [this] is a predictable and preventable crisis. We must act together to rebuild the pipeline and ensure that the most promising and innovative antibiotics make it from the lab to patients, said Thomas Cueni, Director General of the IFPMA, one of the organisers of the new fund. The AMR Action Fund is one of the largest and most ambitious collaborative initiatives ever undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry to respond to a global public health threat, he added. Around 700,000 people die around the world every year as a result of antibiotic resistance, the IFPMA said. According to studies, antibiotic-resistant bacteria could kill up to 10 million people a year by 2050. READ MORE: Coronavirus: One in 10 of Wagamama group sites to remain closed The Times reported that Emma Walmsley, one of the pharmaceuticals industrys most senior leaders and CEO of Glaxosmithkline (GSK.L), said that the coronavirus pandemic had shown the world needs to be better prepared for global health threats. She said antimicrobial resistance was another such threat that left untackled risks taking us back to a time when a simple cut could become lethal. The 20 companies supporting the project, including industry giants Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Bayer (BAYRY), hope to bring up to four new antibiotics to the market by 2030, the IFPMA said in a statement. Meanwhile, drugs companies are racing to create a coronavirus vaccine. Hopes currently lie in AstraZenecas (AZN.L) partnership with Oxford University. The company has already struck a deal to supply 400 million doses to Europe by the end of 2020, should it get a winning formula. Moscow Slams Hague's Decision to Bring Russia Before European Court of Human Rights Over MH17 Crash Sputnik News 12:28 GMT 10.07.2020(updated 17:11 GMT 10.07.2020) The news comes after the Dutch Public Prosecution Service agreed to delay the hearings from this autumn to February-March 2021, after a request by attorneys and representatives of the victims. The Netherlands plans to file a lawsuit against Russia with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the flight MH17 catastrophe, according to Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok. The Dutch cabinet also plans to send an official note about the lawsuit to the UN Security Council. The statement is issued as the Dutch court, holding the hearings at the Schiphol Judicial Complex in Badhoevedorp, declined a request by the defence to ask NATO to provide satellite data on the crash. According to the judges, the information from the AWACS aircraft "did not yield any relevant data for the investigation". Previously, Ukraine also failed to present primary radar data on the incident, "as the radar was not operating at that moment". Commenting on the hearing, Moscow stressed that the court has generally ignored the information provided by Russia, while unquestioningly accepting data from Ukraine, despite it being an interested party. ECHR Confirms It Received Dutch Claim Against Russia Over MH17 Case The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) confirmed on Friday that it had received the Netherlands' claim against Russia regarding its alleged role in the 2014 deadly crash of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine. "We confirm that the Court has received an application filed by the NL [the Netherlands] Government and directed against the Russian Federation concerning flight MH17. It is currently under examination and further details will be given in due course," the ECHR said. ECHR Has Not Notified Russia About Dutch Claim Over MH17 Crash The Russian authorities have not received any notification from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about the Netherlands' claim related to the circumstances of the MH17 flight's crash over eastern Ukraine back in 2014, the Russian Ministry of Justice said on Friday. "The Russian Federation authorities have not been notified by the ECHR about the Netherlands filing a claim against Russia over the Malaysian Boeing's crash in 2014 in the skies over Ukraine," the Ministry of Justice said in a statement. The ministry added it would engage in necessary action in cooperation with relevant agencies if it was notified about the claim. "Before considering the claim on the merits, the ECHR should evaluate its applicability, with the participation of the sides. This stage could last for several years. It should be noted that Russia firmly refutes accusations of playing a role in the Boeing's crash," the statement read on. MH17 Crash Over Donbass Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 was downed over the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014, amid a military conflict in the county caused by a violent coup d'etat in Kiev. Ukrainian forces in the area were clashing with militia from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic, which refused to submit to Kiev and expressed their intention to unite with Russia. All 298 passengers on the aircraft, including 198 Dutch nationals, died in the crash. Almost immediately after the incident, the US and its European allies claimed without presenting any evidence that Russia was responsible for the tragedy. These allegations were used by Washington and Brussels as a pretext to introduce sanctions against Moscow, while Russia repeatedly denied the accusations. A Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT), formed soon after the crash, invited Ukraine, Belgium, and Australia to join the probe, but excluded Russia from the investigation. In 2018, JIT claimed that the plane was shot down by a Buk missile system, which allegedly came from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian military, citing "classified information" provided by the Dutch and US authorities that could not be revealed. It was also noted that the team used images from social networks to prove the claims. Addressing the allegations, Moscow conducted its own investigation showing that the Buk missile which allegedly hit the flight was made at the Dolgoprudny Plant in the Moscow Region in 1986, delivered to a military unit in Ukraine, and remained there after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, the evidence was completely ignored by the Dutch-led investigation. After several years of investigating, JIT has named 3 Russian citizens (Oleg Pulatov, Igor Girkin, and Sergey Dubinsky) as well as one Ukrainian (Leonid Kharchenko) as suspects in the MH17 downing. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Governors across the country are facing increasing pressure to pass statewide mask requirements and mount a more coherent pandemic response as coronavirus cases soar to record levels, daily deaths rise and hospitals in the South and West face a crush of patients. A growing chorus of local officials and health experts have warned that infections could continue to spiral out of control unless governors issue public health measures that apply to everyone. "We've been begging for a uniform response from the state," said Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, a Democrat, of Jackson, Miss., where hospital intensive care unit beds were nearing full capacity. "It's of great concern to us here in Jackson, not only because we are the most populous city by a factor of three, but because we're the capital city, and the capital of health care," Lumumba told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Saturday. "Other cities, as their numbers increase, it is likely our hospitals that will receive the increased burden." Here are some significant developments: - Louisiana's Democratic governor on Saturday announced a new requirement that most people wear a mask in public. The state's Republican lawmakers, who have opposed coronavirus restrictions, are likely to speak out against the measure. - Disney World in Orlando, Fla., reopened after having been shuttered for nearly four months, even as Florida continued to report record infections. Testing supplies in the state are running low, and some big labs are taking several days to return results, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said at a news conference. He partly attributed the backlog to testing many people without symptoms. - The White House is pressing the Food and Drug Administration to reverse course and grant a second emergency authorization for the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19. Scientists have widely criticized the new study that the White House is relying on as "flawed." The calls for more decisive leadership reflect a growing urgency at the local level as more signs emerged this week that the United States was losing its grip on the pandemic. More than 131,000 people in the country have died of the coronavirus, and more than 3.2 million confirmed cases have been reported. The daily coronavirus death toll in the United States has recently increased after months of decline, with more than 4,200 deaths reported nationally in the past seven days and experts warning that the trend would probably worsen. Texas, Arizona and South Carolina have all seen their death toll rise by more than 100 percent in the past four weeks. Five other states - Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, California and Louisiana - have seen at least a 20 percent jump in that time span. The country reported a total of 67,211 new confirmed cases Friday, eclipsing the previous single-day record set earlier in the week by nearly 6,000. Cases continued to rise in hard-hit states in the Sun Belt, with Midwestern states also tallying significant increases. Texas set three records on Saturday: new single-day cases, seven-day average of cases and seven-day average of deaths. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations remained at the state's high, 10,002. The situation was dire inside many of Texas's medical centers. Houston-area hospitals have been keeping patients in their emergency rooms for longer periods as they scramble to find available, staffed beds, the Houston Chronicle reported. Several counties are buying refrigerated trailers to serve as makeshift morgues, according to the Texas Tribune. The chief medical officer for San Antonio's Methodist Hospital, Jane Appleby, posted a video warning that young people are not immune from the virus's most serious effects. She shared the story of a 30-year-old patient who said they had attended a "covid party," where people supposedly gather to see who will get infected. "Just before the patient died, they looked at their nurse and they said: 'I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it's not,' " Appleby said. Even amid the pleas for more significant action and the rising infections and deaths,many state leaders have balked at issuing more stringent requirements, saying they would be difficult to enforce. The country's approach to the pandemic has been "a tale of two cities," said former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb. Northeastern states "sought to crush the virus," he said, while others such as Florida, Texas and Arizona tried to manage the spread to vulnerable people. "Without a more uniform U.S. approach," Gottlieb tweeted Friday, "it'll be hard for either strategy to work." Tension over statewide rules was on display in Louisiana on Saturday, when Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards mandated face coverings in public for most people age 8 and older in the face of soaring case numbers. Some members of the state's Republican-controlled legislature and other conservatives will probably push back on the order. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican, recently spoke out about potential mask requirements in schools, writing Thursday in a letter to education officials that such coverings should be encouraged but not required when classes resume. "We believe that mandating students to wear masks creates a situation that may cross the line on liberty, and may also become a tremendous distraction with enforcement," Landry wrote. "Again, masks may be allowed, even encouraged, and certainly not discouraged, but I am concerned that our teachers and school administrators will be mask-enforcement police rather than educators." Edwards's mask order takes effect Monday and allows parishes to opt out if they log fewer than 100 new cases per 100,000 people over a two-week period. At a news conference, the governor said informal backyard gatherings are strongly contributing to increased infections and that older people have started getting sick again in larger numbers. Edwards implored residents not to make the mask rule political. "While I know that this is going to be unpopular with some and controversial with some, we know that face masks work," he said. "It really is that simple." Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, also imposed a mask requirement after the stated recorded more than 5,600 cases in the first eight days of July. His order, announced Thursday, applies to 13 of the state's 82 counties, including some of Mississippi's largest cities. Lumumba, the Jackson mayor, argued the order was toothless unless it covered all state residents. "The communities here in Mississippi are far too interconnected," he said. "You can literally go across the street in some areas of our city and find another city adjacent to us. And so it becomes more of a notion than a reality if you have restrictions imposed in your city but people can go across the street and congregate; they can go across the street and find communities where people are not wearing masks." A bipartisan group of 10 mayors from Alabama's largest cities also argued in favor of a statewide mask order, telling Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, that it was necessary as cases have climbed steadily in the state. Ivey has previously dismissed the idea. Other governors have waffled on whether to issue statewide mask requirements, which health experts say are key for preventing transmission. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, tried to mandate masks in the spring but backed down after a torrent of criticism. He has since instituted a county-by-county approach, only requiring masks in places where health officials say the virus spread is "very high." In a rare front-page editorial Saturday, the Columbus Dispatch said the move was "akin to closing the barn door after the horses have escaped." In states with statewide mask orders, governors are having trouble persuading people to comply. Dozens of counties in Texas have either refused to enforce or opted out of Gov. Greg Abbott's order to wear masks in public. The Republican governor, whose aggressive reopening plan preceded the virus surge in Texas, said new cases were expected to keep climbing after hitting new highs this past week, and warned that the state would have to go back into a shutdown if people continued to defy the mask mandate. "I made clear that I made this tough decision for one reason: It was our last best effort to slow the spread of covid-19," Abbott told KLBK. "If we do not slow the spread of covid-19 . . . the next step would have to be a lockdown." Other public health efforts by local officials have been met with pushback from governors. In Georgia, which reported a record 4,484 new cases Friday, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, announced she was rolling back the city's reopening plan to its first phase while officials tried to curb the spike in cases. The move drew an immediate rebuke from Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, who called it "unenforceable" but stopped short of invalidating it. - - - The Washington Post's Mark Berman contributed to this report. The Hague, July 11 : The Dutch government has decided to bring Russia before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) "for its role in the downing of Flight MH17" six years ago. "By submitting an inter-State application, the government is sharing all available and relevant information about the downing of Flight MH17 with the ECtHR," Xinhua news agency quoted the government as saying on Friday. "The contents of the inter-State application will also be incorporated into the Netherlands' intervention in the individual applications submitted by the victims' next of kin against Russia to the ECtHR. "By taking this course of action the government is offering maximum support to these individual cases," it added. In a statement, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok: "Achieving justice for 298 victims of the downing of Flight MH17 is and will remain the government's highest priority. "By taking this step today -- bringing a case before the ECtHR and thus supporting the applications of the next of kin as much as we can -- we are moving closer to this goal." The Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed in the conflict zone of eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, including 196 Dutch citizens. A report published by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which comprises representatives from the governments of the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium and Ukraine, in September 2016 alleged that the plane was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from a region in eastern Ukraine controlled by independence-seeking insurgents. Russia has denied any involvement. Discussions are on-going about when and whether children will be returning to school during the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, with parents wondering how school officials plan on ensuring the safety of their students, faculty and staff if a decision is made for everyone to return to school. Another discussion taking place is whether children will be required to wear masks throughout the day if schools bring them back for in-person instruction. While it is not yet mandatory for children to wear a mask, many districts, such as New York City Public Schools, will mandate children to wear face masks. Miami-Dades school board approved a plan on 1 July that called for the reopening of schools this fall with the mandatory use of masks for everyone, with other measures including smaller classes and a mix of in-person and online instruction. Mayor Bill de Blasio later confirmed that students would be welcomed back through a mix of in-school and at-home learning, with most attending school two days per week so that there would be enough space in the building and classroom. However, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said a decision about reopening schools would not be made until August. Meanwhile, public schools in Texas, Pennsylvania, Utah and North Carolina have all said they're requiring masks in their buildings for everyone. Seattle Public Schools will also require masks according to information provided from PEOPLE. But not all schools that are physically bringing students and faculty back will be making facial coverings mandatory. For Columbus City Schools in Ohio, masks will be required for all staff and students who ride on the Columbus City buses, but will only be "recommended" for students in the schools. The plan is to split students into two groups and have them come into school twice a week. The remaining three weekdays will serve as remote learning days. The Center for Disease Control maintains its stance that although face coverings may be "challenging for students, especially younger students, to wear in all-day settings," wearing one can prevent the spread of the virus. New corrections officer will monitor home-confinement program The Brown County Sheriff's office will be able to hire a new full-time corrections officer to handle the oversight of the home-confinement work release program. The clipboard detection in iOS 14 isnt just prompting developers to rethink app privacy its also putting these companies in legal trouble. Reuters reports that iPhone user Adam Bauer has sued LinkedIn over claims the job-focused social network secretly read iOS clipboard data often, including the Universal Clipboard that shares copied content with nearby devices. The Microsoft-owned firm was spying on users, according to the lawsuit, and allegedly violated California law in the process. LinkedIn spokesperson Dan Miller told Engadget the firm was aware and reviewing the lawsuit. The company previously said it doesnt store or transmit clipboard data, and that it planned to fix the issue with an app update on July 14th. There was a flawed equality check between the clipboard and what you typed, VP Erran Berger said earlier. Theres no guarantee the lawsuit will get class action status or move forward at all. It does, however, put added pressure on app creators to limit their access to user data. Even if the intentions are good, users might balk to the point where theyre willing to sue. That could improve overall privacy, if just due to the steep legal costs of ignoring concerns. A former school principal convicted of sexually abusing seven of his pupils has been jailed for three years. After a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last March, Patrick Harte (78) was convicted of 11 counts of indecently assaulting seven pupils at the Sancta Maria Christian Brothers primary school on Synge Street, Dublin between September 1968 and September 1970. Following the sentencing yesterday, outside the Criminal Courts of Justice building, Fr Tony Conlon, a victim who is now a Catholic priest, said he "hoped and prayed" that this day would come. Fr Conlon said the victims had fought the case for seven years and that "finally vindication has come for all of us". He said he had not thought they could ever get justice and no matter how long ago it was, "that there is justice". He called on people to come forward "if you have been abused or hurt in anyway". Urging them not to be ashamed he said if they came forward they would, "get the best help and support". Fr Conlon said he wished to thank his solicitor, his counsellor, One in Four, his friends and family, the "wonderful and dedicated" staff of the DPP, the prosecuting barristers, and the detective unit in Kevin Street who had all "worked tirelessly to bring the investigation to its successful completion". Vendetta The court heard previously that when gardai put the victims' allegations to Harte in 2015, the former teacher claimed they had "a vendetta against him". Anne Rowland SC, prosecuting, said there was no evidence that any of the victims were ever in contact with each other since the offending took place. Detective Garda Garvan Ware said "as far as I'm concerned, they are all independent". Harte, of Glendown Park, Templeogue, Dublin had denied the charges, claiming the State had "validated" his teaching at the time and could not now "invalidate it". He said "I abhor all forms of child abuse, discrimination and social injustice" and told Judge Martin Nolan that he would go to "the High Court" if his sentence reflected a "sectarian" motivated prosecution. Passing sentencing yesterday, Judge Nolan said that at the time of the offending Harte was the victims' teacher and that they found him cruel and "too fond of punishment". Judge Nolan said the evidence disclosed seems to indicate "a pattern of misbehaviour". He added that the victims were "particularly courageous" in coming forward to give evidence and the court thanked them. He sentenced Harte to two years' imprisonment for the first count of indecent assault on the indictment and a year for the second count, which he ordered to run consecutive to the former sentence. Judge Nolan sentenced Harte to a year's jail on each of the remaining nine counts of indecent assault, but ordered that they run concurrent to the other sentence, resulting in three years' imprisonment. At an earlier hearing, the court heard that Harte repeatedly molested the children amidst an atmosphere in his class of severe corporal punishment and verbal abuse. Victims said he would find reasons to call them up to his desk, sometimes for praise and other times for correction of minor misbehaviours. He would warn the rest of the class to look at their books and not raise their heads before proceeding to fondle the boys' genital areas. Ms Rowland told the court that three of the victims wished to waive their anonymity. Asked about this, Dermot Hallion confirmed this was the case, saying "Yes, I didn't commit any crime". He said that the abuse continued to affect him into adulthood, causing him to feel worthless and low in confidence. Fr Tony Conlon said the abuse had "a paralysing effect" on his life and prevented him from achieving so many things in life. "Throughout my life I always believed I was the only one, I had no idea there were others who suffered. I felt I had done something wrong and afraid I would be found out" he said. He said he was terrified someone would find out he was the victim of child abuse and that this might cause them to think he would be an abuser himself. Ms Rowland said Harte would regularly beat pupils who were punished for the slightest thing with a leather strap. Fr Conlon told gardai that Harte once smashed a pupil's head up against a wall and other victims described "constant beatings" with the leather. One victim's mother confronted Harte in the staff room and Harte denied he had done anything wrong. Det-Gda Ware agreed with Patrick Gageby SC, defending, that the prosecution had not brought any charges of child cruelty or physical abuse against his client. Shocked Harte was due to be sentenced twice this week. On Monday Judge Nolan denied a defence application to adjourn the case because of Harte's risk of getting Covid-19. On Tuesday Harte failed to show up again and his lawyers told the court he had gone into hospital with cardiac issues. Harte had pleaded not guilty and gave evidence during the trial in which he strenuously denied the allegations. In his statement another victim told the defendant: "We trusted you, but you let us down, this has been with me all my life and always will be". In his victim impact statement, Kevin Byrne said that an insignificant event can have a profound effect and that "this was not an insignificant event". Mr Byrne said he was shocked when the defence counsel thanked him for giving evidence and then said that Harte denied any offences ever took place. He said that statement "rocked me to my core". Mr Byrne said that the fact that his mother believed him and tried to do something saved him from experiencing worse events later in life. He said this statement was not about vengeance and he was not seeking to inflict hurt. Another victim said that "as an adult and teacher he was to nurture me. Instead, his actions demolished all goodness". He said that Harte played the role of "good teacher, bad teacher", and this was a ploy. He said Harte abused his "very privileged teaching position" and betrayed his parents, the Christian Brothers "and the darkest betrayal was trust". Mr Gageby said his client continued to work at Synge Street and became principal before retiring at an appropriate age. Flanked by the home-ground goal posts of his beloved Moree Boomerangs Rugby League Club, hundreds of mourners gathered on Saturday for the state funeral of Uncle Lyall Munro Senior. During a farewell befitting one of Australia's hardest-working advocates for Indigenous equality, dignitaries including Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, Moree Mayor Katrina Humphries and Aboriginal Employment Strategy founder Dick Estens, paid tribute to a man who dedicated his life to improving race relations. Uncle Lyall Munro's great grand-daughter Armani Munro at his state funeral in Moree. Credit:Georgina Poole Tributes from Indigenous leaders including Pastor Uncle Ossie Cruse, Sugar Ray Robinson, Michael Ghillar Anderson, Harry "Phillip" Hall, were a testament to his unwavering dedication to Aboriginal affairs. While stories of his involvement in watershed movements such as the Freedom Rides in 1965 and recognition of the Myall Creek Massacre of 1838 are etched in Australian history, his legacy at a grassroots level was remembered as being just as significant. Jockey Victor Espinoza poses with American Pharoah after winning the 2015 Arkansas Derby. (Danny Johnston / Associated Press) Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to his agent Brian Beach. Espinoza is the third high-profile jockey to test positive in the last few days. Martin Garcia announced he was positive as did Luis Saez, who was tested at Keeneland. Espinoza, Garcia and Saez rode at Los Alamitos over the weekend. Garcia had been riding in the Midwest, winning the Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows. Saez recently raced at Belmont Park, Indiana Downs and Keeneland. Beach said that Espinoza learned of the results Friday night after he was taken off his mounts at Del Mar as a precaution. He was tested Thursday in Orange County but because of a machine malfunction had to be retested in La Jolla on Friday. He had some flu-like symptoms early in the week but was feeling much better but decided to get the test just to be safe after hearing the Martin Garcia news, Beach said in a text to The Times. The news is likely to get some attention at Del Mar, which had not been testing jockeys before Fridays opening day. Later on Friday, Del Mar announced it was expanding its protocols. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune those protocols include: Anyone coming from out of state, or an out-state trip must test negative 72 hours before racing. Even if a jockey receives a negative test, they will be housed in auxiliary jockey room and would require a second negative test before the following weekend to rejoin main colony. When Santa Anita was allowed to resume racing in May, it housed all its jockeys in trailers in the parking lot during the race meeting. They were allowed to go home after the last race on Sunday but had to come back on Wednesday to be tested in order to race on Friday. Espinoza will not be allowed to ride for at least two weeks. A fraternity at St Andrews University has 'suspended two members' after 'multiple' sexual assault allegations were made. Instagram account St Andrews Survivors started sharing anonymous accounts of the allegations at the world-famous Scottish university last week. Multiple claims were reportedly made against members of the 50-strong fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), which 'immediately suspended members involved in current allegations' and vowed to include 'mandatory consent education and anti-rape culture education' in new member and chapter programming. A university spokeswoman told MailOnline that AEPi is not an official St Andrews society but vowed to 'take action' and 'facilitate Police reporting'. According to The Daily Telegraph, a fraternity at St Andrews University has reportedly 'suspended two members' after assault allegations were made (stock photo) According to its bio, the St Andrews Survivors account aims 'to expose the reality of sexual abuse at our university' and 'empower survivors'. A university spokeswoman told MailOnline that not all accounts shared by the channel occurred at St Andrews, and some predated students' time there. One anonymous post said: 'I was out drinking and had met a frat boy through friends. I had a meltdown outside The Union and he comforted me, I explained that I had been sexually assaulted on another night out. 'He offered to take me to his for some water since he lived nearby and I didn't. I was very drunk and so he put me to bed and he was going to sleep on the floor. According to its bio, the St Andrews Survivors account aims 'to expose the reality of sexual abuse at our university' and 'empower survivors' 'I woke up sometime later and he was in the bed with me feeling me up. I can't believe anyone could do this.' One female student described an alleged incident from this February, telling The Daily Telegraph: 'I had been at a frat party and got very drunk. One of the boys I knew said he'd walk me home. I thought he was someone I could trust. 'He put me to bed and the next thing I remember is waking up to him raping me. I ran out and I was in quite a state. I ended up locking myself behind the bathroom door because I didn't want to go out.' She has not reported the alleged incident to either the university or the police. 'It's difficult when you know these people are still going to be around and I'm still going to see them. I obviously want them to get what they deserve, but I've just sort of been debating the best way to do that and how to go about it,' she added. The 50-strong fraternity said in a statement: 'Alpha Epsilon Pi St Andrews was made aware of allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and rape against multiple members of our fraternity, including incidents at chapter events. We find the contents of these allegations abhorrent, and are taking them extremely seriously. ALPHA EPILSON PI'S VOW TO STAMP OUT SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT In a statement, the fraternity said: 'Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity unconditionally opposes, and its conditions of membership absolutely prohibit, any conduct considered as 'sexual harassment' or 'sexual assault'. This includes such behaviours as repeated propositioning, coercive pressure, unwanted touching and physical violence.' It then compiled a list of reforms including the suspension of all members involved in current allegations and a review of the chapter leadership to hold 'them accountable for the actions of our members': Advertisement 'Coming forward in any capacity takes tremendous bravery, and we want to thank everyone who has both told their stories and those who have supported them as we confront these difficult issues. We hear you, and want to help.' It added: 'The chapter was unaware of these allegations before they were brought to light. As soon as chapter leadership was made aware of the allegations we assembled our members to gather additional information. 'Following these discussions, the chapter immediately suspended members who acknowledged any role in the alleged incidents and entered them into Alpha Epsilon Pi's expulsion process, which allows for thorough investigation, a standard that will apply any time more evidence comes to light.' A spokeswoman for the University told MailOnline: 'We welcome the 'St Andrews Survivors' account's efforts to provide people of all genders a space to voice their experiences of sexual misconduct. 'The Proctor met with the account creator this week to establish how we can work together to signpost support and reporting mechanisms to students who require them. It is categorically untrue to suggest the University tried to suppress survivor testimonies, as the account creator has made clear. 'The University's primary concern is to ensure Survivors know that we are ready and willing to support their decisions and take action, facilitate Police reporting, and provide ongoing support accordingly. 'We appreciate these are difficult issues to speak about, but our Student Services team has a 90 per cent satisfaction rating amongst students, and Survivors who wish to see perpetrators investigated must be willing to make reports through the appropriate channels. 'We have clear and established procedures for investigating allegations of this nature. However, the details of any investigations must remain confidential to offer appropriate support and fair outcomes to all concerned. 'It would not be appropriate for us to comment on whether any specific individual or group is under investigation. Police are urging victims to come forward and bring their 'assailants' to justice (stock photo) 'The University will always act when incidents are formally reported, and is committed to working collaboratively with students to promote a culture of responsibility and respect, in which everyone can trust in our procedures and that our community is intolerant of all forms of sexual misconduct.' Police Scotland told MailOnline that no crime has been reported but confirmed they are working with St Andrews University. Yvonne Stenhouse, Community Inspector for North East Fife, told MailOnline said: 'We are aware of these online reports and are working with the university to make sure students in St Andrews feel safe while they live and study in the town. 'We are committed to bringing sexual offenders before the courts and treat all reports of sexual crime with the utmost seriousness. Anyone wishing to report such offences should do so to Police Scotland by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency. 'Within busy town centres, such as St Andrews we have regular deployments of officers to deter such offences and provide a visible and reassuring presence to our communities. We will continue to work with the University on this matter and any criminal complaints will be progressed accordingly.' New Delhi/Lucknow, July 11 : Widening the probe against slain gangster Vikas Dubey, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has started to gather details of the properties accumulated by him through money laundering, sources said on Saturday. An ED source related to development in Delhi told IANS that the agency is in touch with the Uttar Pradesh Police to gather the details of the properties of Dubey, who was killed in an encounter on Friday morning. The source said that Dubey had gathered huge wealth in the form of properties in several states and that the agency has got information about 11 buildings and 16 flats of Dubey in several cities and several plots bought through 'benami' transactions. Another ED source in Lucknow said that besides Dubey, the agency is also looking for the details of properties of other gangsters in the state. He said that the agency is collecting the list from the Uttar Pradesh Police of the gangsters of Lucknow, Kanpur, Azamgarh and other districts. The source further revealed that the agency has received the FIRs and charge sheets against such gangsters from the state police. On Friday morning, Dubey was shot dead when he reportedly tried to flee, following a road accident in which the vehicle he was travelling in overturned near Kanpur. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text coronavirus patient texas Healthcare workers talk to a COVID-19 patient at Houston's United Memorial Medical Center on July 2. Note: The woman photographed is not the patient who appears in this story. Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images A patient in their 30s reportedly died from coronavirus after attending a "COVID party," according to healthcare officials in San Antonio, Texas. "This is a party held by somebody diagnosed by the COVID virus and the thought is to see if the virus is real and to see if anyone gets infected," Dr. Jane Appleby, chief medical officer for Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children's Hospital, told News4 reporters. "Just before the patient died, they looked at their nurse and said 'I think I made a mistake, I thought this was a hoax, but it's not,'" Appleby said. Appleby decided to make this case public to urge Bexar County natives, particularly young people, to "realize that this virus is very serious and can spread easily." Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A patient in their 30s reportedly died from coronavirus after attending a "COVID party" in San Antonio, Texas. According to healthcare officials, before the patient's death, they admitted they believed the virus was a "hoax" and intentionally attended a party with an infected person. Related: Risk ranking of everyday activities for COVID-19 "This is a party held by somebody diagnosed by the COVID virus and the thought is to see if the virus is real and to see if anyone gets infected," Dr. Jane Appleby, chief medical officer for Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children's Hospital, told WOAI NBC News Channel 4. "Just before the patient died, they looked at their nurse and said 'I think I made a mistake, I thought this was a hoax, but it's not,'" Appleby said. coronavirus hospital houston texas Healthcare workers in the COVID-19 Unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas on July 2. Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images Appleby said she decided to make this case public to urge Bexar County natives to take the pandemic seriously particularly young people, many of whom still seem to believe they cannot be seriously affected by the virus. Story continues "It doesn't discriminate and none of us are invincible," Appleby said. "I don't want to be an alarmist and we're just trying to share some real-world examples to help our community realize that this virus is very serious and can spread easily." "This is a concerning increase from a positive rate of about five percent only several weeks ago," she added. On Friday, WOAI reported that San Antonio's case count has reached 18,600. After a local teenager died, the death toll in Bexar County which includes San Antonio, and has a population of approximately 2 million rose to 166. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said there are just 10% of hospital beds available. Appleby did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Insider Follow our live coverage of the 2020 election between Joe Biden and President Trump. WASHINGTON With President Trumps poll numbers sliding in traditional battlegrounds as well as conservative-leaning states, and money pouring into Democratic campaigns, Joseph R. Biden Jr. is facing rising pressure to expand his ambitions, compete aggressively in more states and press his partys advantage down the ballot. In a series of phone calls, Democratic lawmakers and party officials have lobbied Mr. Biden and his top aides to seize what they believe could be a singular opportunity not only to defeat Mr. Trump but to rout him and discredit what they believe is his dangerous style of racial demagogy. This election, the officials argue, offers the provocative possibility of a new path to the presidency through fast-changing states like Georgia and Texas, and a chance to install a generation of lawmakers who can cement Democratic control of Congress and help redraw legislative maps following this years census. Mr. Bidens campaign, though, is so far hewing to a more conservative path. It is focused mostly on a handful of traditional battlegrounds, where it is only now scaling up and naming top aides despite having claimed the nomination in April. After stirring up tensions in the Taiwan Straits by frequently sending military aircraft and warships near the island, and meeting countermeasures by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the US on Thursday announced the approval of yet another arms deal to Taiwan involving the recertification of air defense missiles for $620 million. The move shows the US is advancing its plans to contain the Chinese mainland regardless of the issues it has with handling the coronavirus at home, and it will lead to more chaos and complexity to the region instead of peace and stability, Chinese mainland experts said on Friday. The arms sales will not change the power balance across the Taiwan Straits, in which the PLA holds an overwhelming advantage, but will only give Taiwan secessionists false courage, the experts said, noting the missiles will be among the first targets to be eradicated if a military operation is needed. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) of the US announced Thursday that the US State Department approved a request by Taiwan for the recertification of its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) air defense missiles, at an estimated cost of $620 million. The recertification package the US is offering Taiwan includes replacing PAC-3 components that are near expiration, testing and repairing the capability and spare parts for ground support equipment, and other logistics support, US media Defense News reported on Friday. This marks the second time that the US has approved arms sales to Taiwan this year. The US had previously approved the sale of 18 MK-48 Mod 6 advanced technology heavyweight torpedoes to Taiwan on May 20. Already in service, the PAC-3 air defense missiles are an important weapon in Taiwan's high-altitude defense systems, which are deployed in Taiwan's major cities and surround Taiwan's important military facilities. The PAC-3 is the most advanced model, with a maximum interception range of 70 kilometers, and maximum interception altitude of over 24 kilometers. The search range of its radar is 100 kilometers, and can track 100 targets at the same time. According to US military contractor Lockheed Martin, the PAC-3 is capable of intercepting tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft. Yang Chengjun, a Chinese mainland expert on missile technology and nuclear strategy, told the Global Times that the arms sale is symbolic, and only gives Taiwan secessionists false courage, rather than boosts its military capabilities. Compared to the PAC-2 air defense missiles, the preparation time required for the PAC-3 is shorter. It can finish its launch preparations in 60 minutes, and its interception chances are also improved. The interception probability has reached as high as 80 percent in some missile tests, but this data was taken under strict conditions, when the launch time, location, and flight trajectory of the targeted projectile have already been predicted, Yang said. Yang pointed out that if the Chinese mainland decides to use force to reunify with Taiwan, the PAC-3 will not be useful since the specific time and location of our missile launches are unpredictable. The mainland will deploy a combination of military means, such as air and water raids. "At the moment, the Chinese PLA's conventional missiles can be used for mobile operations, and their launch preparation time is very short, meaning the PAC-3 could not react in time. Considering their success rate of launch and limitations to interception, there is a much more symbolic meaning to the arms sales, rather than actual military value," Yang said. Yang added that if the Chinese mainland decides to reunify with Taiwan by force, it will be a comprehensive application of multiple means, rather than just missiles. The armed forces, including the navy, army and air force, will all attack. That means Taiwan may need to buy at least 30,000 PAC-3 missiles. Nevertheless, the PAC-3 systems will possess a certain level of threat to PLA aircraft and could intercept some missiles, so they will likely be some of the first targets to be destroyed in a potential military operation, analysts said. Beijing-based military expert Wei Dongxu told the Global Times on Friday that by selling overpriced arms to Taiwan, the US has three evil intentions: create trouble between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan island (to contain China), use Taiwan's military as a shield to block PLA missiles for US fleets, and earn dirty money for US arms firms. Rising tensions The US arms sales announcement came after the US frequently sent military aircraft and vessels to and near Taiwan since June. In an apparent response, the PLA also frequently conducted warplane sorties near Taiwan. Multiple types of PLA warplanes, and Su-30 and J-10 fighter jets, Y-8 special mission aircraft, and H-6K bombers were involved. For these, the Taiwan Straits was listed as a region with a deteriorating situation by the International Crisis Group. This has led to discussions by observers on whether a reunification-by-force operation by the PLA is on the horizon. After the national security legislation for Hong Kong, the US realized it had lost the Hong Kong card to contain China, so it has shifted its focus and allocated more resources to the Taiwan card, analysts said. Fears of a regional military conflict in the Taiwan Straits looms large because of provocative and aggressive actions by the US and Taiwan secessionists, and while the Chinese mainland is willing to find peaceful solutions to the Taiwan question, it has never waived the choice of unifying with Taiwan by force and has been treating it as a main strategic mission objective of the PLA, analysts said, noting the responsibility lies in the US and Taiwan secessionists to stop provocations and de-escalate the situation. Wei said that secessionist forces in Taiwan island rely on the US to achieve their goal of secession, and the US might also further show off its military presence by sending reconnaissance aircraft, anti-submarine aircraft and warships, or even aircraft carriers to locations near Taiwan. But the PLA has the capability and confidence to safeguard peace and stability in the region and stop any foreign military intervention, Wei said. Also on Thursday, the DSCA approved a planned purchase by Japan for 105 F-35 joint strike fighters worth $23 billion. Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Friday that US arms sales to Taiwan and Japan happen regularly. "The special thing about this year is that US perception of China's threat is more urgent than ever. The fact that the US arms sales arrangement happened as scheduled amid the pandemic shows that it is speeding up its plans to contain China." Li believes the political intentions of the US are apparent: it plans to strengthen its regional alliance's confidence in its ability to ensure security. Thus, the US, Japan and Taiwan have gradually formed a military companionship with which the US expects to strangle the Chinese mainland's development. Li said he believes US military plans in the region will have a limited impact on the military balance in East Asia. The arms sale exposes why the US plays up the PLA's military drills in the South China Sea and East China Sea: it hopes to make Japan and Taiwan more dependent on it by hyping the threat of the Chinese mainland. "In the future, the US may further expand its arms sales to Japan and Taiwan to achieve what the US believes is sufficient to constrain the Chinese mainland's military development," Li said. Li considers it meaningless whether the US sells arms to Japan or Taiwan; it cannot change the Chinese mainland's dominant position in the region. In other words, its underhanded dealings with Japan and Taiwan will only end up with the region becoming more complicated and chaotic. It will not help the US realize its goal of containing China, Li said. Months before F.B.I. agents arrived in darkness at his Florida home to take him into custody, Roger J. Stone Jr. promised that he would remain loyal to his longtime friend. I will never roll on Donald Trump, he said. He did not, and Mr. Stone is now a free man. The presidents decision on Friday to commute Mr. Stones prison sentence for impeding a congressional inquiry and other crimes was extraordinary because federal prosecutors had suspected that Mr. Stone could shed light on whether Mr. Trump had lied to them under oath or illegally obstructed justice. Even Mr. Stone suggested a possible quid pro quo, telling a journalist hours before the announcement that he hoped for clemency because Mr. Trump knew he had resisted intense pressure from prosecutors to cooperate. It was the latest example of how Mr. Trump has managed to bend Americas legal machinery to his advantage and undermine a criminal investigation that has dominated so much of his presidency. Mr. Trumps move was so stunning that Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel who investigated Russias election interference and has insistently refused to go beyond what was in his report, responded with an op-ed published late Saturday in The Washington Post. When a subject lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of the governments efforts to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable, Mr. Mueller wrote. Because his sentence has been commuted, he will not go to prison. But his conviction stands. Parents who have lost children to opioid overdoses gathered outside the State House Friday to urge the governor to lower flags to half-mast in honor of International Overdose Awareness Day, part of a national push to get all 50 states to bring flags down halfway on the day. The Massachusetts-based nonprofit Team Sharing organized the event and works with parents who have lost a child to substance use disorder by providing social networking, grief services, and advocacy. If you ever have gone to a funeral and and watched a mom put her child in the ground, oh, my gosh, youd do anything for them, Cheryl Juaire, whose son Corey Merrill died in 2011 from an overdose, said. Hes sending a clear message that he doesnt care, and thats what were really upset about. There was not a good enough reason why he couldnt do it. Baker has focused on reducing opioid overdoses during his time in office and the governors office plans to issue a proclamation on Aug. 31 declaring the day as International Overdose Awareness Day but said in a July 9 letter that U.S. Flag Code authorizes only certain, specific reasons for the lowering of the U.S. Flag to half-mast. But the group says Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont lowered flags in his state to half-mast last Aug. 31 and urged more governors to do the same to bring more awareness to opioid overdose deaths. We are asking that on this day, for all states to lower their flags to half-staff in remembrance of those lives lost from the disease of addiction, the groups wrote in a post shared on social media. And we know that it can be done because it was done for [COVID-19] when 100,000 lives were lost from it. Preliminary Department of Public Health numbers show 2,015 people in Massachusetts alone died of opioid overdoses in 2019, a 4 percent drop from a 2016 peak of 2,102 deaths. Almost all of the 2019 deaths where a toxicology screen occurred -- 94 percent-- involved the presence of fentanyl, while 24 percent of the screens indicated heroin was present, the DPH said. The DPHs latest report tallied 467 confirmed or estimated opioid overdose deaths in the first quarter of 2020, down 5.7 percent from the previous year. The least you can do is lower the flag in recognition of the problem this state continues to face and all the states across the country, step up governor, step up, Juaire said, looking up from the State House steps towards Bakers office. "The truth still exists, the truth still matters," the judge said when handing down the sentence in February. The veteran Republican political operative's friendship with Trump dates back decades. Donald Trump has defended his friend Roger Stone, right, who was sentenced to prison for lying to the law enforcement. The announcement came as the US reported a new record in the number of daily infections of coronavirus of 67,149, with eight states Georgia, Ohio, Utah, Iowa, Wisconsin, Idaho, Montana and Alaska also reporting new records. There's also been an increase in the number of hospitalisations in 26 states since last week. Texas, South Carolina and California also reported an increase in average daily deaths. But the pandemic did not feature in a speech Trump gave in Florida, where intensive care units are at least 90 per cent full and daily infections on Friday were at the near record. At a round table with Venezuelan and Cuban political exiles the President sought to highlight his administration's efforts to curb the flow of drugs from Central America into the US to shore up support from Latinos as part of his re-election effort. Also on Friday, campaign officials said they were postponing a planned rally for the following evening in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, citing safety concerns associated with an incoming tropical storm. Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, told reporters travelling with the President aboard Air Force One that a rally planned for Portsmouth, Florida on Saturday would be delayed by a week or two because of an incoming tropical storm. President Donald Trump claps after delivering a speech about the US anti-narcotics operations in Doral, Florida. Credit:AP Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign's communications director, said that the delay was due to "safety reasons because of tropical storm Fay" and that a new date would be announced soon. It was not clear whether the New Hampshire rally was on track to fill up. Aides were adamant they would fill the venue. But people familiar with the registrations said the interest was significantly lower than for rallies that took place before the pandemic. Loading Even before the storm warning, the state's Republican governor, Chris Sununu, had said he would not be attending, citing safety concerns related to the coronavirus, and it wasn't apparent how many other Republican elected officials were planning to come. The postponement came as a spate of new polls show that Americans are being increasingly cautious about the coronavirus, as cases across the country have surged. According to a recent Ipsos survey, about 76 per cent of Americans said they were concerned about being infected by the virus, up from 69 per cent in June. Trump's decision to commute Stone's sentence comes amid criticism of his handling of the crisis and marks his most assertive intervention to protect an associate in a criminal case and his latest use of executive clemency to benefit an ally. In announcing its clemency decision for Stone, the White House again took aim at Mueller's investigation and the prosecutors who brought the case against Stone. The White House said Stone "is victim of the Russia hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump presidency." "There was never any collusion between the Trump campaign, or the Trump administration, with Russia. Such collusion was never anything other than a fantasy of partisans unable to accept the result of the 2016 election," the White House said. Congressional Democrats and other critics have accused Trump of undermining the rule of law by publicly complaining about criminal cases against associates including Stone, former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff condemned Trump's action, saying: "With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else." A Washington jury in November 2019 convicted Stone on all seven criminal counts of obstruction of a congressional investigation, five counts of making false statements to Congress and tampering with a witness. Stone was convicted for lying to the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee about his attempts to contact WikiLeaks, the website that released damaging emails about Trump's 2016 Democratic election rival Hillary Clinton that US intelligence officials have concluded were stolen by Russian hackers. A commutation does not erase a criminal conviction as a pardon does. The US Constitution gives a president the "power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment". Trump's use of this executive clemency often has benefited allies and well-connected political figures. He pardoned hardline former Arizona county sheriff Joe Arpaio, former Republican White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza and convicted "junk bond king" Michael Milken. He also commuted the prison sentence of Democratic former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who had been a contestant on Trump's former reality TV show. It's time to let family caregivers back into Ontario nursing homes, medical officer says Dr. Jobin Varughese knows all too well the heartbreaking toll wrought by COVID-19 at Ontario's long-term care homes. He's chief medical officer at Holland Christian Homes' Grace Manor in Brampton, near Toronto, one of the facilities where the military was first deployed in the spring as death tolls across the province's care homes were rapidly rising. Grace Manor lost 12 residents. Dozens more, including staff, fell ill a dark time followed now by another threat causing Varughese just as much, if not more, concern than the coronavirus: the ongoing isolation and loneliness of those in his care. "As a home that's had COVID, I never want to see it come back," he said. "But one of the problems is, we're never going to be able to replace a family member." "There's a lot of different roles that [family] caregivers play that we're just missing." Varughese is now calling on Ontario's government to allow family caregivers back inside long-term care facilities, describing them as essential. He argues that with infection control training and protective equipment, it can be done safely even as the pandemic drags on. "Our homes are finding themselves not able to provide everything that they would love to provide because that next level of glue of [family] caregiver is just not present," he said, adding family members often play a crucial role in feeding residents, helping them fall asleep, and calming those with dementia. Submitted by Shah Family "One of the benefits of having caregivers is that some of the tasks that may take an hour, or hour-and-a-half, families are very willing to spend that time ... and staff can then move to another task they're then able to do two or three more things during that same time frame." 'Our visits were definitely what kept her together' It's the exact kind of care father-son duo Ali and Azeem Shah say they used to provide for their mother and wife, Naila Shah, who lives at Seven Oaks long-term care home in Scarborough, Ont., where 42 residents died during of COVID-19. Story continues Before the lockdown began in March, the family went to the home twice a day, helping out at meal times and with other tasks. They consider themselves essential caregivers and they're desperate to be allowed back inside to help care for Shah. Her family said she feels like a prisoner. "There can be so many other things taken care of that us family members can do that will alleviate the home and give them a break," said Azeem Shah, her son. "Our visits were definitely what kept her together in terms of being happy and living a life worth living not being abandoned or alone." WATCH | Growing calls to allow family caregivers back in Ontario nursing homes: For Ali Shah, the twice daily visits helped too. The retiree has been married to Naila for more than 40 years, and he misses her terribly. "Usually she won't callnow she calls about three to four times a day," Shah said. "That means she's really, really lonely." Despite what she's going through, Shah said Naila is "more concerned about the family [than herself] ... that everybody is OK. How are the grandchildren?" 'We've still got to be very, very careful' Currently in Ontario, family members are only allowed to see long-term care residents during 30-minute outdoor visits, with few exceptions. Homes are only required to provide those visits once a week and they must be pre-scheduled. One visitor is allowed at a time and they must wear a mask and practice physical distancing from their loved one. Visitors are also asked to confirm that they have tested negative for COVID-19 in the previous 14 days before their scheduled time. Beyond those visits, Ontario's long-term care residents remain confined inside while other provinces are allowing more freedoms and visitor access. In Quebec, where more than 3,600 people living in long-term care died from the virus, residents are once again allowed on outings outside their facilities. Visitors are allowed inside homes and as many as two people can visit at a time, so long as a home isn't experiencing an active outbreak. In British Columbia, where one of Canada's first widely-reported long-term care outbreaks occurred at the Lynn Valley care home, visitors are also allowed to see their loved ones inside. Visitors are being trained on the proper use of personal protective equipment. Ontario has no immediate plans to follow suit, according to its health minister, who cited the threat of the virus in a press conference earlier this week. More than 1,800 long-term care residents in the province have died from COVID-19. "While we know that there are many family members that want to visit their loved one in LTC and do a lot of essential duties and help them in many ways, we are still very concerned about the transmission of COVID-19," said Health Ontario Minister Christine Elliott on Wednesday. "We've got to still be very, very careful." 'They're missing the point' Still, several prominent geriatricians have been arguing for weeks that the benefits of carefully opening up homes to family caregivers would far outweigh the risk of COVID-19. Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Toronto's University Health Network, said the province's current rules are too restrictive, even damaging. "They're missing the point," Sinha said. "I think a lot of people are going to die of loneliness and isolation and the fact that they're not getting care at levels of what their families were providing before ... if we keep putting these restrictions up." WATCH | Frustration surrounds visiting restrictions at Ontario nursing homes: Others point to chronic under-staffing in long-term care homes, and families' long-time role in filling that gap. They argue loved ones would be eager to learn proper infection control to keep risk as low as possible. "To assume that families are these walking viral receptacles of plague is patently incorrect, and it's unfair," said Vivian Stamatopoulos, a professor at Ontario Tech University and advocate for family caregivers. "They have, quite frankly, provided a crucial supply of caregiving labour that is missing in these facilities. "Without their support, that system collapses. And that's exactly what's happened." A bittersweet reunion There have been some exceptions in Ontario. Anil Reddi, whose mother lives in a Toronto long-term care home, is now one of few family caregivers allowed back inside a facility in the province. But Reddi's access was only granted after he received alarming phone calls from nurses at the home, telling him that his mother had stopped eating. Their reunion was bittersweet. Submitted by Anil Reddi "She was angry ... my absence was interpreted by my Mom that I didn't care, I had abandoned her," he said. "That was so sad that she felt that way." Reddi now goes to help feed his mother at mealtimes, like he did daily before the pandemic. "I'm grateful for that but it's just sad to see how far she's gone downhill," Reddi said. "The words 'pandemic prison' have been coined. It's so apt." 'It's a constant worry' Still being able to help his mother multiple times a day in her own room Reddi knows he's getting the kind of access so many others, like the Shah family, are yearning for too. "For me, it's really upsetting...and I can only imagine what she's feeling inside," Azeem Shah said of his mother. "It's a constant worry. It's something in the back of your head that you can't get rid of." Ali Shah has had an outdoor visit with Naila under Ontario's current rules a half an hour that went by far too quickly, he said. Now the 71-year-old lines up for COVID-19 tests every two weeks so he's allowed to keep seeing his wife especially with the couple's 42nd anniversary coming up at the end of the month. He hopes to see her on, or at least, near the date July 26. But, from a distance and with the clock ticking, it will be far from a celebration. "It has affected everybody," Shah said. "It is a hard time." It is no easy task to prioritise the systems which need to be put in place as Covid-19 blazes its way across the country. But often the issue of mental health, especially for women, slips through the cracks. The virus has created financial distress; loss of jobs for the main breadwinner, most often the man; friction within families and domestic violence. The pandemic will also exacerbate the insecurities women face on the economic front. There is already a significant wage gap between men and women in India, indeed in most of the world. There was already a trend towards a decline in women entering the workforce. Now, as they assume the roles of caregivers to children out of school and the elderly most vulnerable to Covid-19, their position becomes even more marginalised. This will add to anxiety. Of particular concern are adolescent girls. They are out of the school system; they are not sure whether they will ever get back to it; not everyone has access to online classes; and they are vulnerable to early marriages. The focus on mental health is patchy in general. The last Union budget cut down the allocation for mental health from Rs 50 crore to Rs 40 crore. Additional resources could now be garnered from the PM CARES fund, corporate social responsibility funds and other private initiatives. The helplines are stretched due to a lack of trained counsellors at the best of times. Now the situation has worsened. Earlier, there were counselling centres and clinics people could visit; now, most are shut down. For those who require medication for psychological problems and mental illness, there are fewer, if any, stocks in pharmacies. Most of these are prescription drugs and not available online. The situation is particularly fraught in rural areas where infrastructure is inadequate. Migrant workers who have gone back home face severe mental stress, from anxieties about livelihoods to social stigma. Mental health needs are not seen as a priority nor is help readily available. In a few areas, there are NGOs working to provide counselling, but these are few and far between. There appears to have been an increase in reported suicides in some states. Some of these involve people who have lost close relatives to the virus or have tested positive for it. There are certain groups which are more vulnerable than others, including those who have just lost their jobs, migrant workers who have no means of income or food security, and women facing domestic abuse. They must be targeted by health workers. In 2015-16, the National Mental Health Survey found that one in 20 Indians suffers from some sort of depression. It would be reasonable to assume that this figure would have gone up now. There are just 0.3 psychiatrists, 0.17 nurses and 0.05 psychologists per 100,000 patients who need help for mental disorders in India. According to the same survey, between 85-90% of those who need help dont get it either because the condition is not recognised as threatening, the stigma associated with mental problems or simply lack of qualified health providers. The National Crime Records Bureau registered 134,000 deaths by suicide in 2018, many of them young people. The Mental Healthcare Act passed in 2017 provides the right to mental health care, but many of the systems required to make it effective are still missing. The virus has occasioned a rethink in our health care systems and infrastructure in general. It is now time to put mental health into the mix and prepare for the future which will bring many more challenges on this front. lalita.panicker@hindustantimes.com The views expressed are personal SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Gender roles have always been a major topic of conversation, and contention, for 90 Day Fiance stars Elizabeth Potthast Castravet and Andrei Castravet. Andrei, a 33-year-old from Moldova, made no bones about the fact that he expected to be the head of the household when it came to his relationship with 29-year-old Elizabeth. Elizabeth pushed back against some of Andreis stricter expectations, especially when it came to modesty and drinking. She also often wondered why her husband didnt find steady work after moving to her home state of Florida, given his traditional ideas about gender roles. In a new sneak peek of an upcoming episode of TLCs 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After, these issues between the couple cropped up yet again in front of Andreis parents. Just a day after the pair arrived, with their baby Eleanor in tow, for their second wedding in Moldova, Andrei and Elizabeth argued bitterly about their cultural differences over breakfast as his family looked on. Elizabeth Potthast Castravet, Andrei Castravet, and baby Eleanor | Elizabeth Potthast Castravet via Instagram Andrei and Elizabeth had a tense discussion about Americans and Moldovans over breakfast The morning after their arrival in Moldova, Elizabeth and Andrei sat down for a sumptuous breakfast spread with Andreis parents, Vasilisa and Stefan. Due to the language barrier, Elizabeth explained, she had trouble communicating with her in-laws. Still, she wanted to try to get to know them on a more personal level if she could. Elizabeth, clearly impressed by the breakfast Andreis mother had prepared, wanted to know if the elaborate food display was just for guests. Does she do this every day? she asked Andrei. Every day, but I make it nicer when we have guests, Andreis mom told Elizabeth, with her son translating for her. Doesnt it make her tired, though? her daughter-in-law asked. Andrei seemed to take a jab at Americansand his wifewhen he replied (without asking his mother first), Mom says, Theres no room for tired. This is how it is in Moldova. You work all the time and just move. His wife immediately took umbrage at his backhanded comment. Okay, so are you trying to say I dont do that? the 90 Day Fiance star asked, the atmosphere in the room clearly getting tense. Were more energized, Andrei told Elizabeth of Moldovans. RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Fans Speculate That Elizabeth Potthasts Family Is Trying to Get Their Own Spinoff RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Andrei Castravets Wife Elizabeth Potthast Is an Actress With IMDB Credits; See Clips and Read Reviews Elizabeth called out her husband for not having a job Elizabeths eyes flashed with irritation as she faced off with her husband. Calling attention to his unemployed state, she reminded him that he wasnt exactly working at the time himself. Is that why you have a job? Is that right? she asked him pointedly. Visibly annoyed, Andrei responded in a challenging tone, Okay, you want to insult me? Well, youre a man, right? Youre head of the household? Elizabeth asked, as Andreis parents looked on in confusion. I am, Elizabeths husband said confidently. Pointing out the contradiction in what he was saying, Elizabeth pointed out, But I thought you were a hard worker from Moldova, right? Andrei put a stop to Elizabeths comments, retorting, You dont want to insult me like this in front of my parents. Its good that they dont understand that. He told 90 Day Fiance producers that he was simply pointing out cultural differences between Moldovans and Americansno matter how his wife had taken his remarks. This is how Moldovan women do it, Andrei said. They make breakfast. They clean the table. They clean the house. And plus, they raise children, and plus, they work. Libby got a little bit offended. I didnt mean no harm by it. Maybe shes gonna take example for it. The tension between the 90 Day Fiance stars was palpable as Elizabeth called Andrei chauvinistic But Andrei wasnt quite finished with his own comments. This is not America over here already, he declared. When Elizabeth asked what her husband meant by that, Andrei responded in a clipped tone, Over there you listen, and here you listen double. As the 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After sneak peek concluded, Elizabeth complained that her husbands behavior was incomprehensible. In particular, she pointed out that Andreis opinions about gender roles didnt exactly match with his own life, in which he was a stay-at-home father and his wife had a full-time job. I dont know what is going on with Andrei since we arrived, she told producers, acting like this chauvinistic alpha male that talks about Moldovan housewife traditional roles when he lives in America, and hes a stay-at-home-dad, and Im the breadwinner. The 90 Day Fiance star worried that this was a bad omen for the rest of the trip. And I think its too early in the trip to be insulting each other, she lamented. Utah Governor Gary Herbert has declared a state of emergency late Thursday in response to tense protests in Salt Lake City. The governor cited "civil unrest" as reason for the declaration he made, according to the order that will stay in effect until Monday at 11:59 p.m. The governor noted that recent protests "have become violent," and the riots have caused injury and destruction on private and public properties, The Epoch Times reported. The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office was one of the properties cited by the governor that was destroyed because of the protests. With the declaration, this means that the governor and his office can now use "all available resources of the state" to deal with state's emergency. The Utah State Capitol grounds will have to be closed to the public until at least July 14 due to the order, reported Fox 13 Salt Lake City. The protesters flooded the streets and squared off against Salt Lake City police after the district attorney announced that the fatal May police shooting of Bernardo Palacios Carbajal was justified. In a statement, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said the District Attorney Sim Gill's findings had "significant evidence" that the police officers did justifiable actions even it resulted to Palacios' death. According to Mendenhall, the evidence showed that the officers acted as they were trained to given situation and that the state's law about the use of lethal force was followed. In a report by The Hill, she also said that the decision may not feel like justice for some. She noted that there have been big differences across people in the city and in the United States as a whole when it comes to seeing things as "morally correct," right and justified under the law. Salt Lake City Police Department said the protesters broke down windows at the district attorney's building. With that, they declared the demonstration unlawful. Police also said traffic in the downtown area was getting disrupted because of the protest. The protesters were said to have used pepper spray on the officers. At least one of the police officers was injured and taken to a hospital, the CNN reported. Two protesters, on the other hand, were arrested, the department said. Palacios died on May 23 after a report of someone making "threats with a weapon." In the encounter, police fired 34 shots and Palacios had more than a dozen wounds. Body camera footage showed police chasing the man for a few blocks before firing at him as he ran away. More Than 200 Protesters Gathered A protest has already took place before the decision on the police officers involved in the shooting of Palacios was rendered. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that about 200 people gathered in downtown Salt Lake City on Tuesday to protests the police violence that went on in Utah's capital city. The protest started with about 70 people holding signs that read "Justice for Bernardo" near the district attorney's office. Most of the crowd wore masks. After more than an hour, the crowd grew to 200 people as they marched along 500 South to Main Street. They did the protest under the gaze of a few counter protesters, who were along the route. Want to read more? Check these out! Pace, one of the region's leading architecture and engineering practices based in Kuwait, has announced that its design for the Future Schools of Kuwait project has made it to the 2020 World Architecture News Awards (WAN 2020 Awards), one of the largest architectural and interior awards programmes in the world. The Kuwaiti project is an entry in the Future Projects - Education Category. Pace's architrectural marvel had last year won the Merit Award at the annual American Institute of Architects (AIA) Middle East Conference and Design Awards held in Beirut, Lebanon, under the 'Architecture Unbuilt' category. Commenting on the Kuwait project, the awards jury said: "It marked a critical investigation to the outdated educational platforms in a region desperate for change in the educational model." "Its key highlights were adaptive and resilient approach to school design, permitting open and creative educational adaptation, while encouraging students and teachers encounters through the well-defined and shaded inclusive outdoors courtyards," they added.-TradeArabia News Service Ghislaine Maxwell has applied for release from jail on the grounds she might be infected with coronavirus while awaiting trial for allegedly grooming young girls for convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The British socialite is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, ahead of her appearance in court next week on charges of trafficking and sexual exploitation and abuse of minors. However, in a request filed to the US District Court in Manhattan, her lawyers argue that she is at significant risk of Covid-19. At least 55 inmates and staff at the facility have tested positive since the start of the pandemic. Her lawyers are proposing a $5m (4m) bond, the surrender of her passports, stringent travel restrictions, and home detention with electronic monitoring. They also argue she is not a flight risk because she remained in the US after Epsteins arrest and death in prison. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty She did not flee, but rather left the public eye, for the entirely understandable purpose of protecting herself and those close to her from the crush of media and online attention and its very real harms, the filing stated. Ms Maxwell also vigorously denies the charges and intends to fight them at trial, it adds. Her lawyers also raised several legal challenges to the indictment, including the 2007 non-prosecution agreement made by US government which covers Epsteins potential co-conspirators. Recommended Ghislaine Maxwell given paper clothes over suicide fears Prosecutors are seeking her continued detention, arguing that she is at extreme risk of flight and has absolutely no reason to stay. They add that Ms Maxwell is potentially facing a long prison term and can make use of multiple passports and citizenships. Ms Maxwell, the wealthy daughter of the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, is due to be arraigned in court on 14 July. She faces six criminal charges, including four related to transporting minors for illegal sexual acts, and two for perjury in depositions about her role in Epsteins crimes. Epstein was arrested in July last year for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York but died in his cell at a Manhattan jail a little over a month later. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. Additional reporting by agencies More than half of Britons want to see Huawei banned from the UK's 5G network amid more evidence of a backlash against China. With a decision expected within days, a poll for MailOnline found 52 per cent would approve if Boris Johnson cuts the firm out of the massive project. Meanwhile, there is also strong support for standing with Hong Kongers by granting them residency after Beijing launched a major crackdown on free speech. Ministers are considering whether to axe Huawei amid fears the network could be used for spying by the Chinese state. A recent intelligence report said the security implications were 'severe' and that US sanctions on the firm may make its equipment less reliable and safe. There are also calls from dozens of Tory MPs to strip Huawei's technology from the wider telecoms network by 2024, and cut involvement in building nuclear power plants. A poll for MailOnline found 52 per cent would approve if Boris Johnson cuts Huawei out of the massive 5G project Speaking at a 'People's PMQs' online event yesterday, Mr Johnson insisted he was 'not a Sino-phobe'. 'I want to engage with China. On the other hand we have to protect our critical national infrastructure. There are ways of doing that in the nuclear sector... 'In the case of 5G there is a particular issue that is caused by the US sanctions on chips. We will have to find a way of doing that.' Beijing has threatened consequences if the PM follows through with the move, and said it would show the UK is a slave to America. The poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, conducted on Wednesday, found 52 per cent would approve of dropping Huawei from 5G, including 28 per cent who felt 'strongly' on the issue. Just 12 per cent disapproved of the idea, although a substantial 36 per cent did not say either way. It comes after the Mail revealed a controversial dossier this week accusing China of trying to manipulate key Establishment figures in the UK to back Huawei. China imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong this month, bypassing the legislature in a move that has been condemned around the world. Critics say the law effectively ends the 'one country, two systems' framework that guaranteed the territory a high level of autonomy and civil liberties when it reverted from British to Chinese rule 23 years ago. Mr Johnson has vowed to extend residency rights for around 2.9million Hong Kongers who are eligible for British National Overseas passports, introduced in the 1980s under colonial rule. However, those born after 1997 cannot apply, leaving out many young student activists at the core of the pro-democracy movement. China condemned the British move, saying that holders of the BNO passports are Chinese citizens and that the UK had violated a commitment it had made not to grant them the right to stay in Britain. Australian officials are considering options 'to provide similar opportunities' to those offered by Britain. Nearly a month after Sushant Singh Rajput's demise, the Mumbai Police continue investigations with regard to the case. They have been recording statements from Sushant's friends, family, and colleagues in the industry. Salman Khan's ex-manager Reshma Shetty was the latest to record her statement with the police. On Friday, she was questioned for five hours. Sushant Bollywood High profile manager Reshma Shetty | FilmiBeat ANI wrote in a tweet, "Bandra Police has recorded the statement of Celebrity Manager Reshma Shetty, in questioning which went on for 5 hours. Statements of 35 people have been recorded so far: Mumbai Police on actor #SushantSinghRajput death case." Bandra Police has recorded the statement of Celebrity Manager Reshma Shetty, in questioning which went on for 5 hours. Statements of 35 people have been recorded so far: Mumbai Police on actor #SushantSinghRajput death case pic.twitter.com/2EjCtzwnzI ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2020 Sushant was found hanging in his Mumbai apartment on June 14, 2020. Postmortem results stated that his death was caused by asphyxiation due to hanging. Sushant was reportedly suffering from depression, and had been seeking treatment for it from around six months. According to news reports, Reshma has helped many a-list celebrities bag major endorsement deals. She has worked with Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Alia Bhatt and others. As of now, the Mumbai Police have questioned 35 people with respect to Sushant's suicide case, including filmmakers like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mukesh Chhabra, and Sushant's rumoured girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty. Meanwhile, a Bihar court has rejected a petition seeking to register a case against celebrities Karan Johar, Salman Khan, Ekta Kapoor and others for alleged abetting of Sushant's suicide. The petition was filed by local advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha, who claimed that certain people were to be blamed for driving the actor to suicide, and named Kangana as one of the 'witnesses' to this. ALSO READ: Sushant Singh Rajput's Death Case: Bihar Court Dismisses Case Against Salman, Karan And Others ALSO READ: Sushant Singh Rajput Doing All That He Loved In Video Made By His Sister, Will Leave You Teary-Eyed Worried about your mental well-being or of someone you know? Help is just a call away. Reach out to the nearest mental health specialist at COOJ Mental Health Foundation (COOJ)- 0832-2252525, Parivarthan- +91 7676 602 602, Connecting Trust- +91 992 200 1122/+91-992 200 4305 or Sahai- 080-25497777/ SAHAIHELPLINE@GMAIL.COM Positive energy urged between China and US People's Daily Online (China Daily) 08:48, July 10, 2020 Relations facing most severe challenge since diplomatic ties established in 1979 China on Thursday proposed a list of interactions with the United States on specifying cooperation, maintaining dialogue and properly handling differences as their relationship faces the most severe challenge since the establishment of diplomatic ties. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remark when addressing the China-US Think Tanks and Media Online Forum. Wang suggested China and the US compile three lists that outline bilateral and global issues they could work on, detail issues on which they have disputes but expect can be resolved through dialogue, and identify the few tough issues that the two countries have little chance of agreeing on. The two countries should properly manage tough disputes and minimize their damage to bilateral relations based on the spirit of seeking common ground while reserving differences, he said. This is the second day in a row for senior Chinese diplomats to send positive messages on China-US ties, after Vice-Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said on Wednesday at a video dialogue that the trend toward China-US cooperation is unstoppable, urging the US to get its relationship with China back on track. China-US relations have been deteriorating as the two countries have been at odds on issues such as dealing with the novel coronavirus, Washington's interference in issues related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and Taiwan, and disputes in areas such as trade and technology. Last month, China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Hawaii to discuss sensitive factors in bilateral ties. China and the US should jointly explore ways for peaceful coexistence and release more "positive energy", Wang said at the forum. Some people in the US with ideological biases are resorting to all possible means to portray China as an adversary and even an enemy, Wang said, adding that they relentlessly seek to frustrate and contain China's development, and impede interaction between China and the US. He clarified that China never intends to challenge or replace the US, nor does it expect a full confrontation with the country. While the US unscrupulously encircles and smears China around the world, and meddles in China's domestic affairs, it should not unrealistically demand that China show understanding and support for the US in bilateral and global affairs, he said. Wang said he hopes the US will develop a more objective and coolheaded perception about China and formulate a more rational and pragmatic China policy. "As long as the US is ready, we can restore and restart the dialogue mechanisms at all levels and in all areas," he said, adding that "only communication can dispel falsehoods, and only dialogue can prevent miscalculation". China needs to seriously consider and map out the development of its relations with the US in the future and propose options and solutions that safeguard China's fundamental interests while addressing the reasonable concerns of the US, which is also in the interests of world peace and development, said Fu Ying, chair of the Center for International Strategy and Security at Tsinghua University and former vice-foreign minister. Zhao Qizheng, former director of the State Council Information Office, called on think tanks and the media from both sides to help reduce misunderstanding among the two peoples and build a good foundation of public opinion for cooperation between the two governments. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Donald Trump's advisers are reportedly trying to lift the spirits of the embattled president, who believes that he built a highly successful country only to have it battered by COVID-19 and the 'sick, twisted' officers who killed George Floyd. Sources speaking to The Washington Post painted a picture of a man seething with resentment about turn of events in the spring and summer. They described how the president rants about coronavirus destroying 'the greatest economy' - which he claims to have personally built. Donald Trump, pictured on Friday at a briefing on counternarcotics in Florida, is said to be increasingly upset that his presidency is being 'undone' by forces beyond his control He decries the unfair 'fake news' media, which he says never gives him any credit. On Friday the death toll rose to 133,777 And he reportedly bemoans the 'sick, twisted' police officers in Minneapolis, whose killing of George Floyd on May 25 provoked the nationwide racial justice protests that have confounded the president. On Thursday, the president erupted with a volley of tweets attacking the Supreme Court after they ruled that the Manhattan district attorney could have access to his financial records, and that Congressional committees could potentially see the documents too. 'This is about PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT,' he tweeted. 'We catch the other side SPYING on my campaign, the biggest political crime and scandal in U.S. history, and NOTHING HAPPENS.' Trump on Thursday vented his fury in a series of tweets, misspelling 'caught' in his haste The president's outburst was sparked by a Supreme Court ruling on his financial information The court ruled that the Manhattan district attorney could have access to his documents Barbara Res, a former executive at the Trump Organization, told the paper that his feeling of being victimized was a common trait. When she worked for Trump, she said, he interpreted nearly everything in deeply personal terms. Barbara Res worked for the Trump Organization 'Whatever bad happened, no matter what it was, it was always against him, always directed at him,' Res said. 'He would say, "Why does everything always happen to me?"' She added: 'It was as if the world revolved around him. Everything that happened had an effect on him, good or bad.' The paper said that his son-in-law Jared Kushner was attempting to soothe him, with the help of Hope Hicks, counselor to the president. Hicks, with the help of communications adviser Dan Scavino, has reportedly tried to lift Trump's mood with events they thought he would enjoy, such as celebrating truckers by bringing 18-wheelers onto the White House South Lawn in mid-April or creating social media videos that feature throngs of his adoring fans, according to aides speaking to the paper. Advisers also tried to assuage his temper by presenting him with internal polling that shows him in a better position than public surveys, which universally show him trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Bodies are moved to and from refrigerated morgue trailers at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Brooklyn, in April. Trump is said to be maddened by the pandemic's progress Coronavirus has ravaged the United States, enraging Trump with its economic toll There have now been more than 3.1 million cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the U.S. White House spokesman Judd Deere said that Trump was focused on the 'Transition to Greatness', and was promoting a message of 'resilience, hope and optimism.' George Floyd's death beneath Derek Chauvin's knee sparked weeks of protest 'The United States of America did not ask for this plague and every American has been affected from the closure of our economy to caring for the sick and mourning those tragically lost,' he said. 'But under the leadership of President Trump our Transition to Greatness has already begun, and the American people are showing tremendous courage to defeat the virus, responsibly open the economy, and restore law and order to our streets. 'The President's message has been consistent: resilience, hope, and optimism.' Yet Jen Psaki, former communications director in the Obama White House, agreed with private assessments that the president's complaining could be costly. 'I don't think he has many sympathetic ears to his claims that he's been mistreated,' Psaki said. 'Leadership, as we've seen at many moments in history, is about not only accepting adulation when you do something great but also accepting responsibility. 'That lack of accepting responsibility is seen as a lack of leadership and that doesn't sit well with people who might be more open to supporting him again.' New York The U.S. Roman Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups. The church's haul may have reached or even exceeded $3.5 billion, making a global religious institution with more than a billion followers among the biggest winners in the U.S. government's pandemic relief efforts, an Associated Press analysis of federal data released this week found. Houses of worship and faith-based organizations that promote religious beliefs aren't usually eligible for money from the U.S. Small Business Administration. But as the economy plummeted and jobless rates soared, Congress let faith groups and other nonprofits tap into the Paycheck Protection Program, a $659 billion fund created to keep Main Street open and Americans employed. By aggressively promoting the payroll program and marshaling resources to help affiliates navigate its shifting rules, Catholic dioceses, parishes, schools and other ministries have so far received approval for at least 3,500 forgivable loans, AP found. The Archdiocese of New York, for example, received 15 loans worth at least $28 million just for its top executive offices. Its iconic St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue was approved for at least $1 million. In Orange County, Calif., where a sparkling glass cathedral estimated to cost more than $70 million recently opened, diocesan officials working at the complex received four loans worth at least $3 million. And elsewhere, a loan of at least $2 million went to the diocese covering Wheeling-Charleston, W. Va., where a church investigation revealed last year that then-Bishop Michael Bransfield embezzled funds and made sexual advances toward young priests. Simply being eligible for low-interest loans was a new opportunity. But the church couldn't have been approved for so many loans which the government will forgive if they are used for wages, rent and utilities without a second break. Religious groups persuaded the Trump administration to free them from a rule that typically disqualifies an applicant with more than 500 workers. Without this preferential treatment, many Catholic dioceses would have been ineligible because between their head offices, parishes and other affiliates their employees exceed the 500-person cap. "The government grants special dispensation, and that creates a kind of structural favoritism," said Micah Schwartzman, a University of Virginia law professor specializing in constitutional issues and religion who has studied the Paycheck Protection Program. "And that favoritism was worth billions of dollars." The amount that the church collected, between $1.4 billion and $3.5 billion, is an undercount. The Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference, an organization of Catholic financial officers, surveyed members and reported that about 9,000 Catholic entities received loans. That is nearly three times the number of Catholic recipients the AP could identify. The AP couldn't find more Catholic beneficiaries because the government's data, released after pressure from Congress and a lawsuit from news outlets including the AP, didn't name recipients of loans under $150,000 a category in which many smaller churches would fall. And because the government released only ranges of loan amounts, it wasn't possible to be more precise. Even without a full accounting, AP's analysis places the Catholic Church among the major beneficiaries in the Paycheck Protection Program, which also has helped companies backed by celebrities, billionaires, state governors and members of Congress. The program was open to all religious groups, and many took advantage. Evangelical advisers to President Donald Trump, including his White House spiritual czar, Paula White-Cain, also received loans. 'Truly in need' There is no doubt that state shelter-in-place orders disrupted houses of worship and businesses alike. Masses were canceled, even during the Holy Week and Easter holidays, depriving parishes of expected revenue and contributing to layoffs in some dioceses. Some families of Catholic school students are struggling to make tuition payments. And the expense of disinfecting classrooms once classes resume will put additional pressure on budgets. But other problems were self-inflicted. Long before the pandemic, scores of dioceses faced increasing financial pressure because of a dramatic rise in recent clergy sex abuse claims. The scandals that erupted in 2018 reverberated throughout the world. Pope Francis ordered the former archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, to a life of "prayer and penance" following allegations he abused minors and adult seminarians. And a damning grand jury report about abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses revealed bishops had long covered for predator priests, spurring investigations in more than 20 other states. As the church again reckoned with its longtime crisis, abuse reports tripled during the year ending June 2019 to a total of nearly 4,500 nationally. Meanwhile, dioceses and religious orders shelled out $282 million that year up from $106 million just five years earlier. Most of that went to settlements, in addition to legal fees and support for offending clergy. Loan recipients included about 40 dioceses that have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the past few years paying victims through compensation funds or bankruptcy proceedings. AP's review found that these dioceses were approved for about $200 million, though the value is likely much higher. One was the New York Archdiocese. As a successful battle to lift the statute of limitations on the filing of child sexual abuse lawsuits gathered steam, Cardinal Timothy Dolan established a victim compensation fund in 2016. Since then, other dioceses have established similar funds, which offer victims relatively quick settlements while dissuading them from filing lawsuits. Spokesperson Joseph Zwilling said the archdiocese simply wanted to be "treated equally and fairly under the law." When asked about the waiver from the 500-employee cap that religious organizations received, Zwilling deferred to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A spokesperson for the bishops' conference acknowledged its officials lobbied for the paycheck program, but said the organization wasn't tracking what dioceses and Catholic agencies received. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "These loans are an essential lifeline to help faith-based organizations to stay afloat and continue serving those in need during this crisis," spokesperson Chieko Noguchi said in a written statement. According to AP's data analysis, the church and all its organizations reported retaining at least 407,900 jobs with the money they were awarded. Noguchi also wrote the conference felt strongly that "the administration write and implement this emergency relief fairly for all applicants." Not every Catholic institution sought government loans. The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy based in Stamford, Conn., told AP that even though its parishes experienced a decline in donations, none of the organizations in its five-state territory submitted applications. Deacon Steve Wisnowski, a financial officer for the eparchy, said pastors and church managers used their rainy-day savings and that parishioners responded generously with donations. As a result, parishes "did not experience a severe financial crisis." Wisnowski said his superiors understood the program was for "organizations and businesses truly in need of assistance." Lobby for a break The law that created the Paycheck Protection Program let nonprofits participate, as long as they abided by SBA's "affiliation rule." The rule typically says that only businesses with fewer than 500 employees, including at all subsidiaries, are eligible. Lobbying by the church helped religious organizations get an exception. The Catholic News Service reported that the bishops' conference and several major Catholic nonprofit agencies worked throughout the week of March 30 to ensure that the "unique nature of the entities would not make them ineligible for the program" because of how SBA defines a "small" business. Those conversations came just days after President Trump signed the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which included the Paycheck Protection Program. In addition, federal records show the Los Angeles archdiocese, whose leader heads the bishops' conference, paid $20,000 to lobby the U.S. Senate and House on "eligibility for non-profits" under the CARES Act. The records also show that Catholic Charities USA, a social service arm of the church with member agencies in dioceses across the country, paid another $30,000 to lobby on the act and other issues. In late April, after thousands of Catholic institutions had secured loans, several hundred Catholic leaders pressed for additional help on a call with President Trump. During the call, Trump underscored the coming presidential election and touted himself as the candidate best aligned with religious conservatives, boasting he was the "best (president) the Catholic church has ever seen," according to Crux, an online publication that covers church-related news. The lobbying paid off. Catholic Charities USA and its member agencies were approved for about 110 loans worth between $90 million and $220 million at least, according to the data. In a statement, Catholic Charities said: "Each organization is a separate legal entity under the auspices of the bishop in the diocese in which the agency is located. CCUSA supports agencies that choose to become members, but does not have any role in their daily operations or governance." The Los Angeles archdiocese told AP in a survey that reporters sent before the release of federal data that 247 of its 288 parishes and all but one of its 232 schools received loans. The survey covered more than 180 dioceses and eparchies. Like most dioceses, Los Angeles wouldn't disclose its total dollar amount. While the federal data doesn't link Catholic recipients to their home dioceses, AP found 37 loans to the archdiocese and its affiliates worth between $9 million and $23 million, including one for its downtown cathedral. The Chinese used to have a brutal remedy for those who transgressed the teachings of Chairman Mao. The rebels were dragged to so-called 'struggle sessions' where they were subjected to vicious abuse from an audience of true believers. Offenders who failed to give grovelling apologies for their misguided views were, at the very least, shunned by society. In other words, 'cancelled'. The online mob so keen to erase Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling for taking a stand on transgender politics now uses a similarly ugly tactic to silence dissenters. Never mind the subtleties of Rowling's case, denouncing her is all that counts. What does it feel like to find yourself at the bottom of an internet 'pile-on'? The Mail on Sunday spoke to some of the victims of 'cancel culture' to find out [File photo] The trans debate is only one front in a cultural war between strident activists many of them Left-wing and those who dare to disagree with them. Other recent battlegrounds have included race, Brexit and immigration. Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, who receives daily requests from people who have been or fear they will be 'cancelled', compares the prevailing atmosphere to some of history's darkest episodes. 'What's disturbing about cancel culture is that we've seen it so many times before in 17th Century Salem, in Paris after the French Revolution, in America during the McCarthy era, in China in the 1960s,' he said. 'It's as if a group of people are re-enacting some of the worst moments in human history, but because they're not actually killing anyone they think it's okay.' But what does it feel like to find yourself at the bottom of an internet 'pile-on'? The Mail on Sunday spoke to some of the victims of 'cancel culture' to find out. The left-wing cartoonist Civil servant Stella Perrett had supplied edgy cartoons for the Communist Morning Star newspaper for years until February 2020 when she found that being on the Left is no protection against cancellation. A lifelong feminist, she had strong views about 'self-identifying' trans women being allowed into female-only spaces such as domestic violence refuges and toilets. She wanted to highlight the dangers of the 'pledge' by three women candidates in the Labour leadership contest backing self-identification to be enshrined in law, so she drew a cartoon of a crocodile sliding into a bathing pool and telling several worried newts: 'Don't worry your pretty little heads! I'm transitioning as a newt!' Ms Perrett, 60, also included a note for publication explaining that when she was a girl, she was convinced that she was really a boy, but realises now it was just a phase. Civil servant Stella Perrett had supplied edgy cartoons for the Communist Morning Star newspaper for years until February 2020 when she found that being on the Left is no protection against cancellation She wondered whether in the present climate she would have been encouraged to change sex, with disastrous consequences. The Morning Star didn't run her note, but it did publish the cartoon and faced a ferocious backlash led on social media by Guardian columnist Owen Jones, who described it as 'vicious'. Others joined the fray, including members of trade unions who bankroll the Morning Star, which has a dwindling circulation of a few thousand copies. Without informing Ms Perrett who is disabled by a condition called Erb's palsy the Morning Star immediately published an apology, but some of the bigger unions, including Unison, were unhappy even after that. A lifelong feminist, she had strong views about 'self-identifying' trans women being allowed into female-only spaces such as domestic violence refuges and toilets According to some insiders, there was even talk of pulling the plug on the ailing newspaper, so within days came a much longer 600-word apology to its readers and a promise to the unions behind the scenes not to use Ms Perrett again. A phone call from the police followed after a 'hate crime' was reported and recorded, but the police confirmed yesterday that no further action was taken. Then, someone in the PCS civil servants' union, for which Ms Perrett was an unpaid official, started baying for her to be kicked out of her post. She was summoned to a disciplinary hearing. 'I was close to retirement, and while I loved my union work, I just decided to stand down,' Ms Perrett told The Mail on Sunday. 'The whole thing was tremendously stressful. I felt very let down by the paper and by the union. They both threw me under the bus. 'Cartoons are supposed to be edgy even offensive to provoke debate, but these days some people seem to want to stifle views which are different from their own.' The Morning Star declined to comment. The radio talk show host Manx Radio presenter Stuart Peters was last month suspended, following an argument with a listener on-air during which the broadcaster said he had not benefited from white privilege. Manx Radio presenter Stuart Peters was last month suspended, following an argument with a listener on-air during which the broadcaster said he had not benefited from white privilege It followed a blog post by Mr Peters, 65, in which he had stated 'white lives matter' in response to the worldwide Black Lives Matter protests. He said his suspension, following complaints from 13 people but also messages of support from 27 listeners, amounted to an 'Orwellian attempt at mind and speech control'. A few weeks later, he was cleared by the Isle of Man's Communications Commission, which said that while it considered his comments insensitive, they were not made to 'stir up racial hatred' and did not breach its broadcasting code. Mr Peters returned earlier this month, but in a somewhat muzzled form, with the phone-in section of his show voluntarily removed. He said: 'I believe that the vast majority of people are kind, considerate and open-minded, and I fully intend to ensure that their voices are heard. 'But I will not expose myself, Manx Radio or anyone else to the comments and abuse of the last three weeks, and have asked the station to remove the live phone-in element of my show'. The gay pride parade organiser Charlie Shakespeare had his plans for a virtual gay pride parade earlier this year torpedoed because he had retweeted statements from Nigel Farage and free speech campaigner Toby Young. Left-wing activists led by Labour's diversity adviser announced a boycott when anonymous Twitter posts revealed he was a Tory supporter who had called for a 'clean-break Brexit'. Linda Riley, the publisher of Diva magazine, who was appointed as an LGBT+ adviser by Jeremy Corbyn in 2017, told event planners: 'My brand will not be associated with anybody who RT's [retweets] Toby Young and Nigel Farage.' Riley subsequently wrote in Diva that this was the 'deal-breaker' but that she had other concerns. Mr Shakespeare said: 'Once the event was derailed, we did not receive promised sponsorship money and so our own funds, which we had put into the event to that point, were lost.' His employers at a children's theatre in South London also received emails calling on them to sack him, but refused. He said: 'We tried to create an uplifting event, which would raise funds for charity, with acts putting in hours of work. 'We'll never know what we might have achieved because cancelling me was far more important to them than the happiness of the LGBT+ community I had put hours of work into representing.' The free speech academic Dr Adam Perkins, who specialises in the neurobiology of personality, was looking forward to addressing guests at his university, King's College London, on the subject of free speech, but the event two years ago was postponed after organisers said his security could not be guaranteed. An earlier controversial lecture had been abandoned when it was disrupted by demonstrators, and while a new date was offered, Dr Perkins was not available and the lecture never took place. King's, dubbed 'Cancel College' by one of its academics in a recent anonymous article for The Critic magazine, has been accused of becoming a particularly 'woke' institution. In a book entitled The Welfare Trait, Dr Perkins had argued that children whose families depend on benefits tend to be less motivated and more resistant to employment than their parents. He recommended that policies should be altered so the welfare state did not encourage families in disadvantaged households to have more children. His views sparked complaints to his employers, a response that Dr Perkins says is a favoured route for cancellation. 'Since my book came out, there have been five separate complaints alleging, for example, that I possess 'a small narrow mind' or have 'contempt' for working class people,' he said. 'The unfortunate truth is that scientists like me are permitted to toil away in peace, provided our findings are restricted to obscure journals, but the moment we publicly blaspheme we are targeted by the Witchfinder Generals of the academy. To be fair to King's, the fact I still have a job there despite multiple attempts by the liberal lynch-mob to get me fired shows that it does actually stand up for academic freedom. The same can't be said of other universities, which have caved in and fired non-PC academics after campaigns by online mobs of Left-wingers.' A King's College spokesman, said: 'We take our own commitments to freedom of expression seriously. Universities in particular have a unique challenge to create environments in which open and uncensored debate from all sides can take place without fear of intimidation and within the framework of the law. 'We work hard to meet these responsibilities and have not cancelled any events.' The Twitter row lecturer Dr Mike McCulloch found himself under investigation by his employers at the University of Plymouth for 'liking' tweets saying that 'all lives matter' and 'gender is real' on his Twitter account. The PhD physics lecturer made clear that 'opinions are mine & not those of my employer', but this did not satisfy those angry at his dissent from the liberal academic orthodoxy. Earlier this month, the 51-year-old former Labour Party member was summoned to a hearing after a colleague sent copies of his Twitter feed to his bosses. 'I was reported to the equalities team over tweets I'd liked, including the 'all lives matter' one and another opposing mass immigration,' said Dr McCulloch, who has worked at the university for a decade. 'I was told there would be an investigation by a senior colleague with a panel, and I could feel my career slipping away. 'I could sense they were going to ask me to promise not to express my political views on Twitter, and I don't like people telling me what I can say or think, and I would have had to say no.' His ordeal ended when the Free Speech Union found a lawyer for Dr McCulloch who pointed out that universities are required to protect the right to freedom of speech of their staff under the Human Rights Act 1998. 'When the lawyer wrote to the university to ask which rule I'd actually broken, they dropped the case the next day,' said the academic. 'It's very sinister if people are now telling me what I am allowed to 'like'. 'It seems it is possible for a single anonymous person anywhere in the world to destroy somebody's career. Our whole society is becoming hysterical, which is a very dangerous thing'. The University of Plymouth said it 'fully upholds freedom of speech and academic freedom'. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 19:14:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MANILA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen Philippine students participated on Saturday in the 19th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition in the Philippines finals sponsored by the Chinese Embassy here. It is the first time the "Chinese Bridge" contest finals in the Philippines, organized by the Confucius Institute at Angeles University Foundation (AUF), was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contest on Saturday afternoon was divided into four parts, including the knowledge quiz about China, the speech about the topic "One world, one family", performances by participants to show their different talents using Chinese language or arts, and freestyle final massage. Inspired by her outstanding performances, the 14 online judges gave the highest point scores to Jessa Bugarin, whose Chinese name is Bi Yuechen, a student of the host Confucius Institute at AUF. "'Chinese Bridge' contest gives me a platform to showcase my talent," she said, adding that she hoped to communicate with more friends who love China as well as the Chinese language in the future. "Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's competition was held online, which caused many difficulties for the organizers and participants. However, the online contest is also a meaningful attempt, and may become the 'new normal' of overseas Chinese teaching and learning activities in the future," said Huang Xilian, China's ambassador to the Philippines, in the opening remarks. "I hope that all Filipinos who are interested in learning Chinese can take the Chinese language as a bridge to better understand China and strive to promote the friendship between the two countries," Huang added. The "Chinese Bridge" is an annual competition aimed at arousing the enthusiasm of students in various countries to learn Chinese and strengthen the world's understanding of the Chinese language as well as culture. Joseph Angeles, the president of AUF, said in the finals that the "Chinese Bridge" contest is evidence of the friendship between the Philippine and Chinese peoples, which helps bring up more talents devoted to the cultural exchanges between the two countries. The contest in the Philippines has become important as it builds a communication bridge between young Chinese and Filipinos, according to the Confucius Institute at AUF, which has been holding the finals of the "Chinese Bridge" contest for three consecutive years. Enditem When I started marketing my vegetables four years ago, I didnt take it seriously. I was just posting my products just to weigh markets and get money for little things such as doing hair, nails and other small things. I did not consider it a business venture. But in the past two years I became serious after noticing that I was getting more orders for my products. The clients increased during the Covid-19 lockdown when some markets were shut down in Bulawayo. Although closure of some markets has been bad for some people it has really worked in my favour, she said. Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank celebrated the end of lockdown by joining celebrity friends for dinner at a trendy Notting Hill restaurant this week. The Queen's granddaughter, 31, and her partner were joined by popstar and close friend Ellie Goulding, 32, and her husband Caspar Joplin as they hit the town for a night at Casa Cruz on Thursday. Princess Eugenie donned a pair of black leather leggings and a bold scarlet coat for the outing, while Jack looked opted for a more relaxed look in jeans and a blue pull-over. The couple returned to their Kensington Palace home Ivy Cottage in June after spending lockdown with Eugenie's parents Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew at the Royal Lodge in Windsor. Princess Eugenie, 30, donned black leather leggings and a bold red jacket as she and her husband Jack Brooksbank joined friends for dinner at a trendy Notting Hill restaurant this week The royal, who has taken an active role in praising frontline staff who have been working tirelessly amid the coronavirus pandemic, could be seen beaming as she strolled out of the restaurant with her beau. She teamed her all black outfit with a bright red jacket and black high heels, and swept her hair back into a neat ponytail. Princess Eugenie is known to be close with the popstar, with Ellie singing at both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding party in 2011 and at Princess Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018. Meanwhile Eugenie and Jack were also among the guests when Ellie and Caspar were married at York Minster last summer. The royal was joined by friends including popstar Ellie Goulding and her husband Caspar Jopling at Casa Cruz Prince Andrew and Fergies daughter once worked with art dealer Caspars uncle, Jay Jopling, at New York auctioneers Paddle8. The night out comes after Princess Eugenie joined her sister Princess Beatrice for an emotional video call with an award-winning fundraiser, who admitted her charitable efforts make her 'feel closer' to her grandson after he died from cancer. The royal sisters called Teenage Cancer Trust Award winners last week - which included both fundraisers and frontline workers - to thank them for their contributions to the charity. During the chat, they spoke with Enid Waterfall, 85, from Wrexham in Wales, who is said to be an 'unstoppable fundraiser' because she wants to show appreciation for the care her grandson Richard received when suffering with rare bone cancer Ewings Sarcoma, aged 21. Princess Eugenie's night out comes days after she joined her sister Princess Beatrice (pictured left and right) for an emotional video call with an award-winning fundraiser, who admitted her charitable efforts make her 'feel closer' to her grandson after he died from cancer During a chat with Teenage Cancer Trust Award winners, they spoke with Enid Waterfall (pictured), 85, from Wrexham in Wales, who is said to be an 'unstoppable fundraiser) He sadly passed away in January 2018, and Enid dedicated her award to her grandson - causing the Queen's granddaughters to become quite emotional. The princesses remarked on the never-ending fundraising efforts Enid and her family have undertaken following Richard's death - having raised more than 28,000. Princess Eugenie said: 'First of all, to hear about your grandson Richard - what an amazing thing to do, in honour of his memory. It almost chokes me up a bit because it must be so difficult to do that. Enid wants to show appreciation for the care her grandson Richard (above) received when suffering with rare bone cancer Ewings Sarcoma, aged 21. He sadly passed away in January 2018 The grandmother replied: 'You feel closer to Richard when you are doing it. Its not me, its the people who give, the people who work with me and who keep giving money time after time. 'This really is for all those people, my family and for Richard who did so much fundraising before he died. Im delighted to win this award.' She apologised as she smiled and wiped away a tear and Princess Beatrice also dabbed at her eyes as she said: 'Thank you for all your incredible work... for you and also for Richard's legacy - thank you for everything.' Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 10) President Rodrigo Duterte praised the commissioning of the country's first missile-capable frigate on Friday, saying it is a "new era" for the Philippine Navy. "Today is the beginning of a new era of development and transformation of our Philippine Navy as we witness the commissioning of Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas Jose Rizal," he said in a taped message played during the ceremony. Duterte was not in attendance during the commissioning and christening of the vessel at Alava Wharf in Subic Bay, Zambales. In his message, he also congratulated the Navy for its feat. The Navy had earlier said it was studying options for the President to physically attend the ceremony. The commissioning was initially scheduled on June 19, the birth anniversary of its namesake, Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, but was delayed due to COVID-19 health protocols. BRP will be focused on conducting anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and electronic warfare operations. It has a maximum designed speed of 25 knots, a cruising speed of 15 knots and a range of 4,500 nautical miles. Another frigate, the BRP Antonio Luna is expected to arrive by year-end. All exams have been abolished in Universities that are run by the state government in Delhi. Students will be graded in accordance with their internal assessment and performance in past examinations. Delhi government has cancelled all State-run University exams due to the rising number of coronavirus cases. Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, said that the performance of students will be evaluated by internal assessment and previously held exams. This decision applies only to the universities that are run by the state government. For universities that are under Central Governments administration, there is no cancellation of final year exams as of now. This only applies to state-controlled Universities, as such, Universities run by the central government, Delhi University (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will still conduct the examinations. Students, teacher and parents had long since been speaking against educational institutions, demanding that they cancel their exams and grade students based upon their performance in earlier exams. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted few hours after this decision asking Prime Minister Modi to intervene and cancel final year exams. For the sake of our youth, I urge Honble PM to personally intervene and cancel final year exams of DU and other central govt universities and save the future. pic.twitter.com/V7iinytR9O Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 11, 2020 As there has been no announcement by the central government, meaning that exams will be held in DU and JNU while cancelled in other Universities, the people protesting against their decision to conduct exams will only continue to do so with renewed vigour. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that he will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to cancel exams in DU and JNU as well. Also read: HRD minister defends UGCs decision to conduct final-year university exams Also read: Hisar girl Rishita tops BSEH 10th results 2020 with 100% marks Students rejoiced the news on social media, but not all are wholly satisfied, as exams will not be scrapped in Universities run by the central government. Hashtags such as StudentsLivesMatter, StudentsAgainstExams and CancelFinalYearExams are being run on social media, with the aim of getting the exams in all Universities cancelled. Also read: BSEH 10th results 2020: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar congratulates students For all the latest Education and Jobs News, download NewsX App Anwer Gillani, owner of the Samirs chain of convenience stores, said he and his businesses have been affected by it as well. Ive been struggling because the banks cant give me change for a month, he said to The McDowell News. He has been able to get some coins from various banks in the area. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Weve been struggling for three weeks and to run 20 stores without any change to very hard, he said to The McDowell News. I have to go around to different places. Gillani said his stores are not asking customers to give exact change. Friday morning, The McDowell News spoke to representatives of two downtown businesses, Killoughs Music & Loan and McDowell Local. Both said they are not asking customers to give exact change but are aware of the problem. Representatives of local banks and credit unions are seeking to help their customers with this situation. All we know is the Federal Reserve has not gotten the coin deposits so the banks have not received new coins, said Teresa Branch, head teller at First Bank in Marion. A man who strangled a kitten to death has pleaded guilty in the 406th District Court, according to court documents. On Monday, Kevin Miguel Turner, 19, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty. READ MORE: Laredo BP aids lost immigrants crossing border illegally He received a probated sentence of three years. He was granted deferred adjudication and was placed in the Mental Health Court Docket, according to court records. Laredo police officers responded on Sept. 7, 2018, to the 200 block of West San Pedro Street. Police said Turner had gotten into a heated argument with a relative. Turner then strangled a kitten to death. Officers then found the kittens body in the driveway of the home. Guwahati, July 11 : As many as 55 inmates lodged in Guwahati Central jail have tested positive for coronavirus, causing concern among the authorities, health officials said on Saturday. A senior officials of the Health and Family Welfare Department said that the authorities of both health and prison departments are inquiring how the jailbirds were infected by the contagious virus during the past few days. In pursuance to the Supreme Court's order, different state governments of the northeastern region including Assam have taken several steps to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus in jails. In all the eight northeastern states, several thousand prisoners had already been released on interim bail or PR Bond to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic inside the jails. Meanwhile, the Assam government has refuted the media reports that Akhil Gogoi, jailed top farmers' leader, tested COVID-19 positive. On Akhil Gogoi's Covid positive report, Inspector General of Prisons Dasarath Das said he had not received any such information from the health department. Gogoi's legal counsel Santanu Barthakur told the media, "I received the news that Gogoi has tested positive for COVID-19." The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samitee (KMSS) founder is lodged in the Guwahati Central Jail for the past seven months for his role in the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. On Wednesday, two associates of Gogoi, who are in judicial custody, tested COVID-19 positive. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Topic 1: Why the Food Prices on SXM are higher than in Curacao and Aruba? Topic 2: State Secretary Knops will not withdraw the cost cutting measures! Topic 3: What should be the development of the people of St Maarten? Topic 4: Checklist to evaluate governing program and Dutch proposal for reform Topic 1: Why the Food Prices on SXM are higher than in Curacao and Aruba? Under the heading INVESTIGATING HIGH FOOD PRICES TOP PRIORITY FOR MINISTRY OF TEATT the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunication (TEATT) on July 1st issued a press release. The ministry announced that they are looking into why food prices on the island remain persistently high in comparison to Aruba and Curacao, despite having similar economies. Over the period 2010-2016 St. Maartens Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by more than 50%, while Aruba and Curacao experienced lower increases over the same period, respectively +11% and +20%. How to explain that the food prices in Aruba and Curacao increased much less than in St Maarten? Aruba and Curacao have higher shipping costs and import duties. St. Maarten has no import-duty and a lower shipping cost. Why then the prices in St Maarten are still relatively higher than in Aruba and Curacao? NOT THE SHIPPING COSTS A study on price developments and logistics in the region commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2017 just before Irma struck the island analyzed St. Maartens import supply chain and concluded that there was an effective competition, with steady imports from the EU and the US. The report concluded that there were a sufficient number of operators, which minimized the risk of artificially high prices within the shipping market. TOO FEW FOOD DISTRIBUTORS The report expressed doubts about the degree of competition in St. Maartens food distribution market. The report concluded that there exists an oligopoly situation dominated by a few very large players who not only sell at the wholesale level but also compete at the retail level as well. Last year the Consumers Coalition proofed this point in a 4-month pilot program. With the Affordable Health and Nutrition program everybody could experience that it is possible to import quality fruits and vegetables which are more durable and for affordable prices! WHAT IS THE MINISTRY OF TEATT GOING TO DO? In the press release we could read that one of the ministrys priorities is to prevent price gouging and to promote fair competition. The Ministry is almost 10 year in existence. How the Ministry prevent the prices to go up? How the Ministry promoted fair competition? The St Maarten Consumers through the Affordable Health Food and Nutrition pilot program has proven how better durable quality produce could be imported from the region for affordable prices! Food importers and distributors are not interested to provide our consumers with better durable quality produce for affordable prices The Ministry of TEATT will ensure that there is constant monitoring of food prices to safeguard fair competition on the island within St. Maarten. For years the Ministry of TEATT is exercising price control and the prices did not go down, but increased higher than in Aruba and Curacao. The Ministry of TEATT will keep the public informed about food price developments and encourages consumers to be informed as much as possible so they can make better choices for themselves and their families. We could see every so now and then a publication in the newspaper of a price comparison that took place in a few supermarkets. No analysis why the food price development in the supermarket over a period of time is increasing. The Minister of TEATT said to continue consultations with stakeholders. They mentioned the Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), the Chamber of Commerce, and the Indian Merchants Association (IMA). The St Maarten Consumers Coalition was not mentioned in the press release. As Consumers Coalition we will request a meeting with the honorable Minister of TEATT to discuss how the consumers in St Maarten can be assisted in getting more affordable and durable quality produce locally grown and/or imported from the region. Topic 2: State Secretary Knops will not withdraw the cost cutting measures! On July 2nd State Secretary Knops answered the letter of the united unions in the Chamber of Labor Unions of June 10th which was delivered through the Dutch representative on the island in Front Street. The State Secretary denied the request of the Chamber of Labor Unions to withdraw the cost cutting measures imposed on the government of St Maarten. He refused to agree with our analysis that the conditions imposed on the workers of the three Caribbean islands in the Kingdom were violating our human rights! State Secretary Knops wrote that the decisions to cut were autonomous decisions taken by the governments of the islands and therefore he referred us to contact our own government with our concerns! Well we have contacted the Council of Ministers! Until now we did not receive the promised answers to the letters of the WICLU from March 31st , May 28th and the last one of June 19th . Two short meetings to dialogue with the unions took place which did not result in a written agreement in the interest of the workers and the more than 13.000 poor and needy households in St Maarten. The Council of Ministers is still busy implementing the measures of State Secretary Knops and the Kingdom government! Yesterday the WICLU unions were called to a meeting with the Council of Ministers were we were informed about the position of the Council of Ministers regarding the new entity which State Secretary Knops and the Dutch government want to impose on the governments of the three countries in the Kingdom as a condition for further liquidity support! We heard all the arguments how the new Dutch condition of the entity is violating our local laws and our Charter of the Kingdom! The over 200+ pages document which will be decided upon today in the Kingdom Council of Ministers meeting in the Hague, were confidential! What were the additional conditions to be implemented in the coming 7 years by the three Dutch wise experts? Based on the Declaration on the Right to development signed by the Kingdom in 1986 10 issues were brought to the attention of the Council of Ministers. These issues we will illustrate in a while. To evaluate the Dutch proposal these issues have to be considered and should be in the governing program of this government and in any development proposal offered to our government by the Dutch government! As Anti-Poverty Platform we will continue to support the unions in the dialogue with the Council of Ministers to eradicate the poverty among the more than 13.000 households in ST Maarten and for all workers and their families to realize all their human rights! Topic 3: What should be the development of the people of ST Maarten? As informed the United Unions have requested a dialogue with the Council of Ministers and with Parliament of ST Maarten to reach to a consensus on the way forward with ST Maarten. The status of the workers rights and the human rights of them and their households are still not fully realized! The unions with support of the Anti-Poverty Platform are championing for the people of St Maarten to get an equal social protection floor as in the Netherlands (minimum wages should be living wages, social pensions and social allowances should not be poverty income, but should be at least equal to the ones in the Netherlands). The Council of Ministers in all their press conferences until now did not explain which targets and objectives they want for our people to achieve! As Anti-Poverty Platform we have been very consistent in our demand to eradicate the poverty and to get the human rights of the people in the more than 13.000 poor and needy households respected on an equal footing in the Kingdom! Now the Council of Ministers is asking the support of the unions in the fight and discussions they have with the Dutch government! Statements of individual Ministers of the Council of Ministers as we are in this together, it is not the Council of Ministers against the unions, have to create the impression with the general public that the Anti-Poverty Platform, the unions and the government are on one page! We will be on one page if we have a signed MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the Council of Ministers and with the Parliament! We presented 10 issues to the Council of Ministers yesterday based on the Declaration on the Right to Development. The Right to development is a human right which counts for each individual as well for our people since 1986 when it has been codified by the United Nations and signed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The right to development includes the full realization of all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights! What is the status of this right to development of the people of St Maarten today 34 years after the signing of this United Nations Declaration? What is the status of the realization of the civil and political rights as well as the economic social and cultural rights of our people in the Kingdom of the Netherlands since these rights have been ratified 41 years ago by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1979? How is the governing program addressing this right to development? How is the National Recovery and Resilience Plan prepared by the World Bank Group, and how is the Dutch proposal for structural reform in the Caribbean countries of the Kingdom contributing or obstructing the right to development? We have not reached to a consensus yet with the Council of Ministers and our representatives in Parliament as you can see based on our questions just mentioned. Topic 4: Checklist To Evaluate Governing program and Dutch Proposal for Structural reform. In the meeting called by the Council of Ministers were last minute the unions and the Chamber of Commerce were invited, the Chamber of Labor Unions brought the following 10 issues to the attention of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT AND FULL REALIZATION OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS According to art 1.1 of the Declaration of the Right to Development (RTD), the RTD is an INALIENABLE HUMAN RIGHT. By virtue of this right every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, and in which development ALL HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS CAN BE FULLY REALIZED. The persons and people in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands have not realized this right to development, neither all human rights or freedoms to the same human development extent as the people in the Netherlands. The full realization of these rights on an equal footing in the Kingdom of the Netherlands should be in the Governing Program 2020-2024 and in the multiannual budgets as of 2020 Is it the objective of our governing program and of the Dutch proposal to realize the right to development of the people of Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten to an equal level as in the Netherlands? The people in Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba after 10 years integration as a special municipality of the Netherlands have still not realized all their human rights to an equal level as in the Netherlands. Is it the objective of the governing program 2020-2024 and the Dutch proposal to fully realize all human rights of the people of Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten to be equal to the one of the people of the Netherlands? RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION AND FULL SOVEREIGNITY OVER ALL WEALTH AND RESOURCES According to art 1.2 of the Declaration on the Right to Development (RTD), the human right to development also implies the FULL REALIZATION OF THE RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION. This includes, subject to the relevant provisions of both International Covenants on Human Rights (the Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic Social and Cultural Rights), the exercise of their INALIENABLE RIGHT TO FULL SOVEREIGNTY OVER ALL THEIR NATURAL WEALTH AND RESOURCES. The people of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands have not fully realized their right to self-determination. They do not have a full measure of self-governance, and have a limited degree of sovereignty over all their natural resources. The recent motion adopted in Parliament to finalize the decolonization process and fully realize the right to full measure of self-governance, is this in the governing program? Is it the objective of the governing program Dutch proposal to fully realize the right to self-determination of the people of Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten? How the people of St Maarten will be guaranteed the right to full sovereignty over the natural wealth and resources of the former Netherlands Antilles (in the Saba Bank, the territorial waters surrounding Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX The Netherlands Rank among the top 10 best human development indices of the world based on the United Nations Human Development Index during 1980-2013. The governing program 2020-2024 should target the same human development index as the Netherlands or higher. Is it the objective of the governing program and the Dutch proposal to realize the same human development index as the Netherlands for the people of Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten on the following indicators: Health, Education, Income/Command over resources, Inequality, Gender, Poverty, Employment and Vulnerability, Human Security, Trade and Financial Flows, Mobility/Communication, Environment and Demography? APPROPRIATE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES. According to art 2.3 of the Declaration of the Right to Development, the State the Kingdom of the Netherlands has the right and the duty to formulate appropriate national development policies, that aim at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals, on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of the benefits resulting there from. Since 1986 the Kingdom of the Netherlands has not realized an equal improvement of wellbeing of peoples in all parts of the Kingdom. The National Development Plan discussions in SXM should be continued, revised and implemented in this governing program taking into consideration art 2.3 of the Declaration on the Right to development. Is it the objective of the governing program and the Dutch proposal to fully realize an equal wellbeing of the people of Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten to the level of the people in the Netherlands? DEVELOPMENT IS A STATE RESPONSIBILITY According to art 3.1 of the Declaration on the Right to Development, the CREATION OF CONDITIONS FAVOURABLE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLES AND INDIVIDUALS is the primary responsibility of their State, IN OTHER WORDS OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. The right to development is an inalienable human right and EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY FOR DEVELOPMENT is a prerogative both of nations and of individuals who make up nations. The national development plans of Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten to develop their people to the same level as the people in the Netherlands have not received the commitment and support from the State government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Is it the objective of the Dutch proposal to fully realize an equal development level for the people of Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten to the level of the people in the Netherlands? ELIMINATE VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS According to article 4 of the Declaration of the Right to Development STATES shall take resolute steps to ELIMINATE THE MASSIVE AND FLAGRANT VIOLATIONS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS of peoples and human beings affected by situations such as those resulting from apartheid, ALL FORMS OF RACISM AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, COLONIALISM, FOREIGN DOMINATION AND OCCUPATION, aggression, foreign interference and threats against national sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity, threats of war and refusal to recognize the fundamental right of peoples to self-determination. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has not yet eliminated human rights violations in the State. The recent solidarity cuts in remunerations conditions imposed on the three Caribbean countries of the Kingdom is another act of racial discrimination. From the recent statements of appointed officials of the three Caribbean countries in the Kingdom the Dutch proposal of structural reform the new entity is a form of re-colonization and foreign interference in the autonomy of the Caribbean countries in the Kingdom Sint Maarten (and the other Caribbean islands in the Kingdom) should look for collaboration with the CARICOM Reparations movement. Is it the objective of the governing program and the Dutch proposal to eliminate all violations of human rights? ELIMINATE OBSTACLES TO DEVELOPMENT According to art 6.2 and 6.3 of the Declaration on the Right to Development (RTD) STATES SHOULD TAKE STEPS TO ELIMINATE OBSTACLES TO DEVELOPMENT resulting from failure to observe civil and political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights. All human rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible and interdependent. EQUAL ATTENTION AND URGENT CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO THE IMPLEMENTATION, PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS. The elimination of the obstacles to development should be included in the Governing Program Is it the objective of the governing program and the Dutch proposal to eliminate all obstacles to development? NECESSARY MEASURES According to art 8.1 of the Declaration of the Right to Development STATES should undertake, AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL, ALL NECESSARY MEASURES FOR THE REALIZATION OF THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT and shall ensure, inter alia, EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL IN THEIR ACCESS TO BASIC RESOURCES, EDUCATION, HEALTH SERVICES, FOOD, HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT AND THE FAIR DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME. Effective measures should be undertaken to ensure that women have an active role in the development process. In the governing program these measures should be mentioned to be realised Is it the objective of the governing program and the Dutch proposal to take all necessary measures for the realization of the RTD? ERADICATE ALL SOCIAL INJUSTICES Art 8.2 of the Declaration on the Right to Development APPROPRIATE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REFORMS should be carried out with a view to ERADICATE ALL SOCIAL INJUSTICES. Is it the objective of the governing program and the Dutch proposal to take all appropriate economic and social reforms to eradicate all social injustices (poverty, health care quality and packages, discrimination, etc)? PROPOSALS FOR FULL REALIZATION OF OUR RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT According to art 10 of the Declaration on the Right to Development steps should be taken to ensure the FULL EXERCISE AND PROGRESSIVE ENHANCEMENT OF THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT. This includes since 1986 the formulation, adoption and implementation of policy, legislative and other measures at the national and international levels. The results of more than 13.000 households in poverty (9 of the 10 households) illustrates that after 34 years the State has failed to provide these households with the right to development! Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 14:08:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WELLINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's Ministry of Health on Saturday reported one new case of COVID-19 in its managed isolation facilities. The new case is a woman in her 20s who arrived in New Zealand on July 2 from London via Doha and Sydney. The woman, who had previously been identified as a close contact of another case, was in managed isolation at a hotel in Christchurch and is now in quarantine. Regular testing was carried out before she tested positive on the sixth day of her arrival, said the ministry. The ministry said 71 days had passed since the last case of COVID-19 was acquired locally in New Zealand from an unknown source. The new case brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 1,193, which is the number New Zealand reported to the World Health Organization. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 24. There is no one in the country receiving hospital-level care for COVID-19. Laboratories across New Zealand completed 2,057 tests overnight, bringing the total number of tests to 426,776. Enditem Race has long been a contentious issue in the fashion and modelling industry. Fashion's complicated relationship with race is decades in creation, deep-seated and well overdue a reappraisal. When George Floyd was killed by US police, few could have foreseen the shockwaves that would ripple across our collective culture, from the arts to media and business. Who would have predicted that Anna Wintour, the doyenne of high chic, would be making an apology for Conde Nast's failings in relation to diversity and opportunities for black staff, in the wake of that event? The fact that fashion has been fixated on unreal beauty standards is widely acknowledged - and the degree to which these standards have been almost exclusively based on ideals of white beauty is now the focus of revived scrutiny. For many fashion and beauty businesses, women of colour have been an afterthought: nude skin-tone underwear was for Caucasian skin only, foundation ranges didn't have enough shades to suit black or brown skin, and many brands never seemed to consider featuring a black model in their imagery. The culture of hair-straightening and skin-whitening followed by black women was deeply rooted in the idea that black wasn't beautiful enough, that colourism was acceptable and that feeling inferior because of your skin colour was somehow normal. These insecurities have been exploited to create huge profits for the fashion and beauty industry. In light of all this, it is ironic that fashion has taken inspiration from black culture, music and art for decades. Hip hop, rap and street culture have been the defining force behind the fashion trends of the past 20 years (think athleisure, trainers and sportswear) while black people have always been passionate consumers of fashion and style. A quick roll-call of celebrated black style icons such as Josephine Baker, Grace Jones, Iman, Sade, Beyonce and Michael Jordan (whose iconic Air Jordan trainers have just been reimagined as Air Diors by Kim Jones, at an eye-popping 1,800) shows the extent to which black style has "inspired" Western fashion. Likewise, famous designers have had black models as muses, including Yves Saint Laurent and Mounia; Azzedine Alaia and Naomi Campbell; Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino and Adut Akech. But for all this, black models, designers and brands have mostly struggled to penetrate the rarefied hallways and catwalks of luxury brands, exclusive department stores and international fashion weeks. Expand Close Designer Virgil Abloh takers a bow at the end of his 2019 menswear fashion show in 2019 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Designer Virgil Abloh takers a bow at the end of his 2019 menswear fashion show in 2019 Western designers have appropriated black African culture and costume since Yves Saint Laurent (born in Algeria) unveiled his first African collection during Haute Couture Week in 1967. The designer used black models and debuted a series of brightly patterned shift dresses with wooden beads, copper bangles and raffia accessories that paid homage to Africa's rich tradition of personal ornamentation. The show was a sensation and in later years Saint Laurent continued to mine black culture for ideas, showing his signature safari jacket and vivid kaftans (also inspired by Africa) and his "Broadway Suit" or Porgy and Bess collection (inspired by Gershwin's famous black American opera). Since then, countless designers have referenced Africa and its traditions as inspiration, including Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs, Pucci, Valentino, John Galliano for Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci. Of course, in the 1960s the concept of cultural appropriation didn't even exist - but today designers must be sensitive to how they interpret black culture, and cautious not to merely appropriate the aesthetics without paying credit to the origin of the ideas. Otherwise they face deserved criticism. For example, Stella McCartney was called out for using Ankara prints in her 2018 collection but featuring only one black model in her show. Marc Jacobs was heavily criticised too for showing white models with dreadlocks in 2016, and Valentino's African-inspired collection in 2015 - described by the brand as "Primitive, tribal, spiritual yet regal" - was slammed for featuring few black models and, worse still, white models in cornrows. It might seem more appropriate that collections inspired by Africa be shown on a cast containing black models, as Saint Laurent did, but many brands perceive their clients as predominantly white and cast shows accordingly. Still, there have been recent improvements in the industry, with increased prominence for black designers and models. Last New York Fashion Week was the most racially diverse ever (47pc of models cast were black) and Edward Enninful's stewardship of UK Vogue has translated into covers for black stars such as Rihanna, Oprah Winfrey and Adwoa Aboah, as well as increased representation in the fashion bible for models of diverse ethnic heritage. In his first Editor's Letter, Enninful referenced how he hoped to broaden the scope of the title, stating: "The time seemed right to redefine what Vogue can mean today. To open it up." But for every genuine step by game-changers like Enninful, there are many who remain silent on the issue of the whiteness of mainstream fashion. Fashion's glaring blind spot about its own lack of ethnic diversity, and its homogeneous white-centric aesthetic and culture, has made it non-inclusive - sometimes even actually hostile - to black designers, models and brands. For every Naomi Campbell, there are thousands of struggling black models who will never get a cosmetics contract, a big-name cover or a call-back for a show casting. For every Virgil Abloh (LVMH), Olivier Rousteing (Balmain) or Kanye West (who has just signed a major deal with Gap), there are many talented black designers who will never be employed by a major brand. Fashion's reckoning with race is long overdue. The reforms inspired by Black Lives Matter mean that issues of race have become part of the conversation in all spheres of society, and fashion needs to examine deep-seated prejudices and foster initiatives to redress anti-black bias. It is shocking how recent incidents such as Gucci's "blackface" sweater, Prada's monkey-character charm, H&M's "Coolest Monkey in the Jungle" hoodie, and white models in blackface have all highlighted how ignorant, even indifferent, fashion has been to racism. That all of the above occurred in the past decade is truly shaming for the labels involved and adds insult to injury for black consumers. Expand Close Adut Akech and Pierpaolo Piccioli / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Adut Akech and Pierpaolo Piccioli It seems obvious that no black person was on the teams responsible for those images, editorials and products, otherwise the insensitivity would presumably have been flagged immediately. There is a need for real change and new initiatives to promote greater diversity - not only in design roles but also in PR and marketing teams and on the boards of brands - to halt racially insensitive imagery, representations and cultural appropriation in advertising, fashion shows and editorial. Levi's in the United States has recently led the way, with the jeans maker pledging to fill a position titled Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, to add an African-American person to its board of directors, and to strive to have 50pc of candidates interviewing for jobs be people of colour. This move is hugely important, as racism also permeates the fashion system at its most basic level: manufacturing. The exploitation of people of colour is endemic in the fashion supply chain. Off-shore manufacturing relies on cheap labour in the southern hemisphere, where miserable wages, long hours and poor working conditions are the norm. Racism isn't just on magazine and fashion runways: it is in trade policies and agreements that allow poorer people (mostly black and of colour) to be paid peanuts so that richer, white people can have access to fast, disposable fashion. The WTO has facilitated the move of fashion brands to Asia, Africa, China and the Pacific Rim, where labour is cheap and protection for workers minimal. The human and environmental cost of fast fashion is predominantly borne by non-white and female workers. Social justice for garment workers may not be as glamorous as Vogue covers for aspiring supermodels, but diversity isn't just about representation; it is also about equal rights and respect for all black people and people of colour who work in the industry. Ethical manufacturing is fraught with complications and the challenges of producing fashion in developing regions are legion. Bono and Ali Hewson's EDUN label (founded to promote trade in Africa by sourcing production in the continent) was wound down in 2018 after sustaining huge losses over 13 years. The brand, though fuelled by altruistic intentions, failed to establish a consistent visual style as it replaced designers frequently. It was also pitched at a price point beyond the reach of ordinary consumers. But credit has to be given that the brand probably suffered from being one of the first to attempt an ethically driven fashion business model. Now, the ethos that drove EDUN is emerging as an important initiative for the industry. Into the future, brands must continue to improve their record as consumers demand more accountability. According to an Edelman consumer study of 2018, two-thirds of shoppers now make purchasing decisions based on ethical stance and not just style. Already 70pc of consumers say they are willing to pay more for products that don't infringe on human rights. Ethics is emerging as a major consideration when shopping - young clients today shop with their conscience, not just their credit card. Brands helmed by black owners are rare, so LVMH's decision to create a luxury brand based around superstar Rihanna is notable, but it was inspired primarily by the stellar success of her Fenty makeup range. So struck was the group by the success of Rihanna's makeup launch that it immediately saw the commercial potential of an entire fashion empire bearing her name. Altruism may not be Bernard Arnault's main motivation, but LVMH is anticipating a trend that the rest of the industry will soon follow. Brands need to be about more than just "stuff". On a personal level, seeing a brand led by a confident black woman will be hugely inspiring for a new generation of black designers and creatives, and will hopefully pave the way for more diversity in the fashion business. As concepts of beauty become more inclusive to all skin colours, so should opportunities for black models. But race dynamics need to extend beyond modelling to include encouragement for the promotion of black designers, ethical manufacturing models to protect workforces in poor economies, and a greater emphasis on corporate social responsibility to build business models that have ethical as well as financial targets. Racism in fashion is more than skin deep: it continues to permeate the industry as long as fashion remains a largely white arena. The industry must now take up the challenge posed by Black Lives Matter, work to eradicate stereotypes and offer equal opportunities to black people at all levels of the fashion industry. As Naomi Campbell recently said at Haute Couture Week, "The time has come to build an industry with checks and balances. It is now more than ever compulsory to include them in a permanent way and not a transient one." Fashion should see talent, not colour - in terms of race, it should be colour-blind. Four Black Irish brands to follow Highly Recommended Expand Close Highly recommended / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Highly recommended Abdel Afonso started Highly Recommended in July 2017 so this month marks its third year in business. He outlines his motivation as: "Simply for the love of fashion and wanting to have my own 'thing'." He continues, "There have been ups and downs, and many doubts, but my endurance and drive kept me going - and having the correct people around me, of course. Many doors have opened and great opportunities have arisen." The brand offers all types of products, from tees to jackets, jeans and tracksuits. Abdel adds, "In terms of the Black Lives Matter movement, it's good to show racists that black people have more to offer and hopefully can eradicate any stereotypes." highly-recom.com MIO Prints Expand Close MIO prints / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp MIO prints MIO stands for "Moulded Inside Out" and the designs are a reflection of Florence Olufemi-Ojo's passion for the African prints popularly known as Ankara and Kente. Dublin-based Florence's fabrics are from Nigeria and she says she started her business in 2018 after stopping chemically straightening her hair. As satin is known as a great way to keep hair moisturised and protected, she decided to start selling hair bonnets for night-time. Later she launched more products, including MIO's best-selling Ankara satin pyjama set. Florence says, "The ethos of my business is to create a social movement and build a community that celebrates the beauty and artistic patterns of the African prints." shop.mouldedinsideout.com Emerald & Wax Expand Close Emerald and Wax / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Emerald and Wax Emerald & Wax makes wearable art inspired by Virtue Shine's passion for the African wax prints that connect her to her Ghanaian childhood. Through her work, Virtue strives to bring explosive colour to European design. Now based in Galway, she explains, "I feel that fashion should encompass all styles and cultures and in no way restrict itself due to any form of prejudice. The BLM movement has highlighted prejudice and discrimination in all areas of our lives and, though difficult, I want to grasp the positive from the racism it exposes - and take the opportunity to join the fight to make the world we inhabit a more tolerant one that is blind to ethnicity and sees, and rewards, only talent." emeraldandwaxdesigns.com Umoja Production Expand Close Umoja Productions / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Umoja Productions Umoja Production is an Afrocentric business founded by Afro-Irish entrepreneurs China Soribe and Liswa McDonald. Umoja means "unity" and the concept behind the founding of Umoja was to champion Afrocentric businesses who they felt did not receive the attention and recognition that they deserved. Umoja is an e-commerce platform for designers who wish to share their art and love of Africa through their products. They explain: "In uniting Afrocentric brands under one umbrella, we are shining a light on African designers and are committed to normalising African fashion globally. Following the increase in awareness received by the Black Lives Matter movement, our vision for Umoja Production remains the same. It's been an ongoing struggle, but we are happy to have more allies on board." umojaproduction.com The police arrest an Ohio man for abusing a corpse of a young woman that he allegedly found hanging in his basement. He later got a box cutter and severed all her fingers, then razored off all the tattoos on the body. When done the body was stuffed into a metal drum. According to the Butler County coroner's office, the body of 21-year-old Cecily Cornett of Somerville was discovered inside a barrel at the residence of William Slaton, 35, located at Yankee Road in Middletown, reported Daily Mail. When he was arrested with charges of child pornography conviction, and was alleged to have thrown the body of Cornett over another fence, just when officers arrived, cited Dayton Daily News. Circumstances of Cornett's passing is yet to be investigated. Slaton has not been charged with murder yet. According to the officers who opened the barrel, there were already blowflies on the remains, confirmed Cincinnati Enquirer. But Slaton was not off the hook because he was charged with tampering of evidence and not reporting a crime. Court documents reveal that Slaton said he awoke one morning in June. He was heavy into drugs the night before when he found Cornett's body hung in his basement. He then cut off her fingers with a razor to skin off her tattoos in the basement. Records mentioned that he put all the severed fingers with the skin in a bow which was sealed and left in the basement. When interviewed by the investigators, he revealed that the body was just in the cellar for a few days. Later, he stuffed the woman's remains in a metal drum in his backyard. Also read: Missing Maryland Teen Murdered in a Walking Trail Before 18th Birthday An unnamed source who was also living in Slaton's home. That woman dialed a relative in Tennessee, who called the police who got tipped. The unknown caller told 911 that a person died of an overdose about three days ago, reporting the address at 3200 block of Yankee Road mentioning the body was on the premises, reports YC News. Furthermore, the caller mentioned that the body was dumped into a large metal drum. Slaton appeared in court on Wednesday and had a bond of $210,000. But, police told the suspect that he will be subject to other charges when the county coroner was done with the autopsy of Cornett's corpse. Marilyn Hardy Cornett, the mother of the deceased said on Facebook that she doubted that her daughter was even taking drugs and doubted the overdose claim. She wrote that the overdose rumors were lies. Her daughter was not connected to being a drug addict. She wrote in capitals and added references to Slaton, who defiled the body of her daughter. An investigation into the background of Slaton as a felon stretches back a decade, said sources. Records in 2011 show that he was guilty of eight counts of child porn and engage in nudity with a minor involved. Included in the charge were four instances of child pornography. He got seven years for six instances of child porn which he pleaded guilty too. Last May 2018, he got released. Authorities are awaiting autopsy result of the victim's body. Related articles: Pastor Shot Two Neighbors Dead In Front of His Daughter After Heated Altercation Escalated @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. International students worried about a new immigration policy that could potentially cost them their visas say they feel stuck between being unnecessarily exposed during the coronavirus pandemic and being able to finish their studies in America. Students from countries as diverse as India, China and Brazil told The Associated Press they are scrambling to devise plans after federal immigration authorities notified colleges this week that international students must leave the US or transfer to another college if their schools operate entirely online this fall. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a lawsuit this week to block the decision, and now California and Washington state are seeking injunctions against enforcing the new visa policy. Shame on the Trump Administration for risking not only the education opportunities for students who earned the chance to go to college, but now their health and well-being as well, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Thursday. Some said they may return home, or move to nearby Canada. Im generating research, Im doing work in a great economy, said Batuhan Mekiker, a Ph.D. student from Turkey studying computer science at Montana State University in Bozeman. Hes in the third year of a five-year program. If I go to Turkey, I would not have that, he said. I would like to be somewhere where my talent is appreciated. Mathias, a Seattle-based student who spoke on condition his last name not be used for fear of losing his immigration status, said he is set to sell his car, break his lease, and get his cat Louis permission to fly back to his home in Paris in the next two weeks. Everyones very worried, he said. We have our whole lives here. Seven students from China and Germany who attend universities in California sued Friday to block enforcement, alleging potential threats to their health and financial calamity. The policy treats them as pawns for the presidents politically motivated decision, Mark Rosenbaum of nonprofit Public Counsel, which filed the suit, said in a statement. Many American universities have come to depend on the revenue from more than 1 million international students, who typically pay higher tuition. President Donald Trump has insisted they return to in-person instruction as soon as possible, alleging that schools are being kept closed to harm the economy and make him look bad. The guidance was released the same day Harvard announced it would keep all undergraduate classes online this fall. Harvard said the new Trump directive would prevent many of its 5,000 international students from remaining in the US. The University of Southern California sent a letter to students and faculty, saying it is deeply troubled and that the the policy could negatively impact countless international students. Like other universities, USC said it was pushing back and working to ensure students academic careers arent harmed, while exploring ways for students to safely study in person if they wish. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the directive could inflict significant harm on colleges, students, the business community and the economy. A U.S. State Department press release said the policy provides greater flexibility for non-immigrant students to continue their education in the United States, while also allowing for proper social distancing on open and operating campuses. A day after Harvard sued, the university notified the court that immigration authorities appear to be already enforcing the policy. A lawyer for Harvard urged the judge to suspend the rule, saying that a first-year student from Belarus was turned away from his flight at a Minsk airport. There is another hearing Friday. This is very dangerous and cruel, said Jessie Peng, a Chinese graduate student in analytics at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. We have nowhere to go, said Peng, 27. Either risk our lives and go to school or we risk our lives flying back to China. Jasdeep Mandia, a doctoral candidate from India studying economics at Arizona State University, said he has breathing problems that could worsen if he gets sick from Covid-19. Mandia, 35, originally planned to conduct all his fall studies online. He says the Trump directive puts the shaky standing of international students on display. It has never been a level playing field, he said. But this makes it more apparent. At Indiana University, American scholar Dakota Murray wrote in the school newspaper about his uncertainty over how the guidance would affect him and his wife, a fellow doctoral candidate who is from South Korea. Murray, 27, said he and his wife had discussed going to live in South Korea or maybe Canada, where she has relatives. He spoke on condition that his wifes name not be used because she is trying to obtain a green card that will let her work and reside in the U.S. after she finishes her studies. Vanderbilt University student Safa Shahzad went home to Manchester, England, for a visit in March but got stuck there when the U.S. imposed travel restrictions to slow the spread of the virus. Still in England, the 19-year-old, who is double majoring in politics and computer science, completed her freshman year from afar after the university transitioned online. Although Vanderbilt has said courses will be a hybrid of online and in person this fall, Shahzad cannot travel to the U.S. until the Trump administration lifts the travel restrictions. Im just kind of waiting, she said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON At the height of the pandemic, many Americans are experiencing firsthand the flaws in the Affordable Care Act and the health insurance it guaranteed. They are also facing the possibility that even the protection it does afford may be stripped away. The fate of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is again uncertain. The 2010 law that began to whittle down the large number of uninsured Americans is back at the U.S. Supreme Court awaiting a decision most likely next year about whether it is constitutional. The court has upheld the law against court challenges twice before. In late June the Justice Department filed a brief asking the court to overturn the ACA. The administration argued that the entire law is invalid because Congress eliminated the individual mandate in 2017, which had required almost all Americans to carry health insurance. Without that mandate, the administration argued, the ACA can no longer be considered a tax, which was the basis on which the court found it constitutional in 2012. 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 By Express News Service CHENNAI: Yet another minister tested positive on Friday, even as the State recorded 3,680 new Covid cases and 64 deaths. The tally now stands at 1,30,261 and toll at 1,829. Chennai recorded 1,205 cases and 27 deaths. The Central team, which has been reviewing the pandemic situation in Chennai and surrounding districts, held discussions with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, details of which were not revealed to the press. Minister Sellur K Raju tested positive on Friday, and is being treated at a private hospital in Chennai. He is the third minister, after electricity minister P Thangamani and higher education minister KP Anbazhagan, to test positive. Deputy CM O Panneerselvam and DMK chief MK Stalin wished the minister a speedy recovery. Meanwhile, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar announced the setting up of an exclusive plasma storage bank at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital at a cost of `2 crore for Covid treatment. We have administered plasma-based treatment for 20 patients so far, of which 18 have fully recovered, the health minister said in his statement. The bank has been set up at the second floor of Tower-II. Five apheresis machines to separate the convalescent plasma, four couches, and freezers will be procured for the bank. All blood banks that have an ICMR license for the procurement of apheresis machines, can collect plasma. Which means, Stanley hospital, Omandurar hospital, MGR medical university, and the medical college hospitals in Tiruchy, Salem, and Coimbatore can soon start collecting plasma and begin treatment, the minister said. The collected plasma can be stored for about a year, if preserved at below -40 degrees. Any recovered Covid patient, in the age group of 18 to 65, can donate plasma 14 days after testing negative. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Photo: The Canadian Press Shoppers are seen in a Loblaws in Montreal. Executives from three of Canada's largest grocery chains were in communication before launching and ending temporary wage increases for grocery store workers during COVID-19, but maintain their decisions were not co-ordinated. Metro Inc. was aware of Loblaw Companies Ltd.'s decision to stop its so-called pandemic pay program before it made a similar decision, chief executive Eric La Fleche told the House of Commons standing committee on industry, science and technology Friday. La Fleche said that a Metro competitor's move was one of several influencing factors in its decision-making process. He joined the Loblaw president and Empire Co. Ltd. chief executive at a two-hour session about why they stopped paying a temporary wage bump to employees as of June 13. "Let me be absolutely clear, we did not co-ordinate our decisions," said Michael Medline, Empire CEO, in his opening statement before the committee. Medline, whose company owns the Sobeys and Safeway brands, was the first of the trio to give his opening remarks. "The decision was our own." Loblaw president Sarah Davis echoed the sentiment, but noted she sent a "courtesy email" to both competitors, as well as Walmart and Save-On-Foods, on June 11. The latter two did not appear at the hearing. The email notified competitors of Loblaw's decision to end its pandemic pay program on June 13. The company had already informed its roughly 200,000 employees, she said, and recognized "the news would be public immediately." La Fleche said in later questioning that he was aware of the email when Metro made its decision to end its bonus pay program on the same day. "We made our own decision based on the information we had, which included that last piece of information, yes," he said. He called it "one factor among others" contributing to its decision. Other factors included the broader economic reopening, other retailers starting to open their doors, lower business volumes and a gradual return to more normal conditions. Empire had not received Davis's email when the company made its decision to terminate the extra wages, said Medline, but had heard through the grapevine that Loblaw was considering doing so. Davis received a reply to her June 11 email, and said she would provide copies of the original and all answers to the committee. She also sent a courtesy email to competitors when Loblaw decided to begin its extra pay program. Davis said she doesn't recall sending courtesy emails to competitors on other topics, including executive compensation. In addition to receiving the email, La Fleche said he made several phone calls to competitors in May and June to ask whether they planned to extend their bonus pay programs or end them on previously announced dates. "In perfect compliance with The Competition Act, I asked my counterparts their intentions regarding whether or not they would maintain the temporary bonus," he said, in a translation from French, during his opening remarks. In each case, competitors, including Medline from Empire and Davis from Loblaw, told him they had not yet decided. "Whatever the case, those calls were made in a decisional process that was much larger and ... did not inform our decisions." When asked why he made the phone calls, La Fleche answered he "wanted as much information as I could have in order to make a best decision for our company, our employees at the right time." He said he would "absolutely not" characterize those conversations as trying to obtain a tacit agreement on wages. Those who sent emails and made phone calls said they consulted with company counsel before doing so and lawyers were present during at least one phone discussion. The appearance was a chance for the executives to admit they were wrong to end the pay increases, said Jerry Dias, president of Unifor, a private sector union. "What we got instead was highly paid grocery executives insisting they did not collude, and then going on to say remarkably virtually the same thing over and over again," he said in a statement. "The executives all admitted to exchanging 'courtesy emails' and 'courtesy calls' on pandemic pay, and yet insist there was no collusion. I look forward to the committee's ruling on that." Unifor has been critical of retailers ending temporary wage increases while the pandemic continues and has called for the pay bump to be permanent. Trevor Phillips The greatest danger to young black men is gangs not the police, Trevor Phillips has claimed, as he urged people not to compare Britains problems to the racial tensions erupting across America. Speaking in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, the former chairman of Britain's equalities watchdog warned that hundreds of youngsters were dying every year due to gang-related crime. Appearing on the latest episode of The Telegraphs Planet Normal podcast, Mr Phillips said there was clearly a problem with the Governments stop and search policy. Discussing his own experiences, the 66-year-old said it was absurd that as a man in his forties he had been pulled over whilst driving, describing it as humiliating and ridiculous. He added there was a need to address perceptions that people of colour, particularly black men, are more likely to be stopped and likely to be stopped in a way that is not courteous, that is not founded in some proper crime fighting activity. It comes amid an ongoing row over the treatment of two British athletes who were recently stopped and handcuffed by police officers close to their home in west London. Their trainer, Linford Christie, Britains most successful Olympic sprinter, said the incident showed that racist police arent just in America. However, cautioning against comparisons with police brutality in the US, Mr Phillips argued that black people in the UK are not as separated and the UK had the highest proportion of black-white mixed race children anywhere in the world. Asked whether he agreed with Kevin Hurley, a former Scotland Yard chief, who recently said that stop and search was primarily aimed at preventing black-on-black crime, Mr Phillips added: There is absolutely no doubt that if you are thinking about what is the greatest danger today to a young black man in the capital, the answer is not the police, its somebody else in a gang. That person is very likely to be a person of colour. While we have to get the police to do the right thing and behave in the right way, let us not forget that young black men are dying in hundreds every year. Story continues Never mind the ones that are being injured and maimed. He also took a thinly-veiled swipe at some media outlets over the Black Lives Matter protests, arguing that some of the coverage was why it was really difficult for people to discuss controversial issues on race. The reason it is so difficult for anybody to talk about [black on black crime] is because the media is dominated by white people, and particularly by a white liberal consciousness that is consumed by guilt, he added. Almost anything to do with black people must involve them reporters, editors showing us how much they care about black people. It just astonishes me. Listen to Planet Normal on the audio player above, or subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your podcast app. VANCOUVER, British Columbia , July 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Candelaria Mining Corp. (TSXV:CAND, OTC PINK:CDELF) (the Company) is pleased to provide a corporate update. Venture Liquidity Providers The Company has, subject to regulatory approval, retained Venture Liquidity Providers Inc. (VLP) to initiate its market-making service to provide assistance in maintaining an orderly trading market for the common shares of the company. The market-making service will be undertaken by VLP through a registered broker, W.D. Latimer Co. Ltd., in compliance with the applicable policies of the TSX Venture Exchange and other applicable laws. For its services, the corporation has agreed to pay $5,000 per month for a period of 12 months. The agreement may be terminated at any time by the corporation or VLP. The corporation and VLP act at arm's length, and VLP has no present interest, directly or indirectly, in the corporation or its securities. The finances and the shares required for the market-making service are provided by W.D. Latimer. The fee paid by the company to VLP is for services only. VLP is a specialized consulting firm based in Toronto providing a variety of services focused on TSX-V-listed issuers. Resignation of Curtis Turner, Chief Executive Officer The Company announces that it has accepted the resignation of Curtis Turner as Chief Executive Officer and Director. Mr. Turner resigned to pursue other opportunities. The Company had retained Mr. Turner as a strategic advisor. "We are thankful for Curtiss service, leadership and many years of commitment to the Company. We wish him well in all of his future endeavors," said Ramon Perez, President and a Director of the Company. Ramon Perez will act as Interim Chief Executive Officer as the Company assesses the vacancy in the position. About Candelaria Mining Candelaria Mining is a Canadian-based gold development and exploration company with a portfolio of highly prospective projects in Mexico, one of the worlds best mining jurisdictions. Candelarias 100% owned Caballo Blanco Project hosts an Indicated Resource of 521,000 ounces of gold and 2,170,000 ounces of silver (31,220,000 tonnes grading 0.52 g/t gold and 2.16 g/t silver) and an Inferred Resource of 95,000 ounces of gold and 590,000 of ounces of silver (8,630,000 tonnes grading 0.34 g/t gold and 2.14 g/t silver). Potential exists to increase these estimated resources through continued drilling and exploration. Candelaria also holds the Pinos Gold Project which hosts a Measured Resource of 4,444 ounces of gold and 228,892 ounces of silver (85,847 tonnes grading 1.6 g/t gold and 82.9 g/t silver), an Indicated Resource of 20,586 ounces of gold and 267,745 of ounces of silver (175,697 tonnes grading 3.6 g/t gold and 47.4 g/t silver) and an Inferred Resource of 60,657 ounces of gold and 811,082 of ounces of silver (529,267 tonnes grading 3.6 g/t gold and 47.4 g/t silver). For more information on resource estimates, please see the technical reports prepared pursuant to NI 43-101 which are available on the Companys website at www.candelariamining.com . ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, Ramon Perez President For further information, please contact: Investor Relations Email: info@candelariamining.com Phone: 604-349-5992 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. Flash Some municipalities belonging to the main opposition party in Turkey on Friday banned the use of fireworks at celebrations following two explosions that recently rocked the northwestern part of the country. The municipalities, including Istanbul, the capital Ankara, and the western city of Izmir, declared the decision one by one on their social media accounts. Speaking to reporters at an event, Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of Turkey's biggest city of Istanbul, announced that the firework shows are now over in the city. On July 3, a massive blast occurred at a firework factory in Sakarya province, killing seven people and injuring 122. In less than a week, on Thursday, another explosion happened on a truck, which was transferring some explosive materials loaded from the same factory, leaving three Turkish gendarmerie forces killed, and 12 people wounded. "Fireworks celebrations from now on would remind us of our painful losses in Sakarya," Imamoglu said. "Therefore, we will no longer use any fireworks at any of our events. " Imamoglu added that he would discuss the issue with the governor of the city for a more widespread resolution. The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality also announced that the use of fireworks and pyrotechnic items in various openings, social events, special days, and celebrations are banned. 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe NORWAY has announced a list of red and green countries, i.e., the safe or unsafe countries for traveling during the coronavirus pandemic. As of July 15 and the following 14 days, Norwegians can travel without restrictions to many European countries, such as Greece, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, which are the green countries. They can travel to these countries for vacation and return without having to quarantine, the Norweigan Standard wrote. Advertisement Croatia among the red countries There are only six countries from the EU/EEA/Schengen area for which the quarantine rules apply, i.e., after traveling to those countries, Norwegians will have to self-isolate. Those countries are Bulgaria, Croatia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, and Hungary. The Norwegian Public Health Institute will approximately every 14 days make a new assessment about which countries meet the new criteria. President Donald Trump did it. After hints and suggestions that he would, in the end, come through for his longtime friend, Trump took pen to paper and commuted the 40-month prison sentence of Roger Stone on seven felony crimes on Friday night. The move came shortly after a federal appeals court panel denied a last-minute effort by Stone to delay an order for him to surrender at a federal prison in Georgia on Tuesday. By granting a clemency rather than a full pardon, Stones criminal record will remain intact even though he will be able to stay out of prison. Stone was in a celebratory mood last night and was grateful to his longtime friend for finally acting on his behalf. The president has saved my life, Stone said. And hes given me the opportunity to fight for vindication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stone had previously characterized any prison sentence for lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing the investigation into whether Trumps campaign colluded with Russia as a virtual death sentence because of his age and history of asthma that put him in a high-risk group for the coronavirus. Even though he was grateful, Stone acknowledged the presidents decision wasnt exactly shocking. Well I was, I was elated, he said Friday night outside his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida while wearing a face mask that read, Free Roger Stone! Obviously I was somewhat relieved, but I was not surprised. Trump had hinted several times in recent weeks that he was getting ready to commute Stones sentence. The White House released a lengthy statement announcing the move that amounted to yet another effort by the president to discredit Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The statement was peppered with the sort of language that is common to read in the presidents Twitter feed, including phrases like collusion delusion, witch hunts, and Russia hoax. The statement does not actually claim Stone is innocent of the false statements and obstruction charges but rather was a victim of overzealous prosecutors who should have never gone after him because they did not file charges on the broader conspiracy claims between Trump and Russia. Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency, reads the statement that ends with a celebratory statement: Roger Stone is a free man! Advertisement Advertisement Biden campaign reacts to President Trump commuting Roger Stones sentence, accusing Trump of abusing his power. Full statement from @BillR: pic.twitter.com/tw0UPJQwqC Sarah Mucha (@sarahmucha) July 11, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement Democrats were quick to blast the president for the move, with former Vice President Joe Biden taking care to note the timing of the controversial action. Trump once again abused his power, releasing the commutation on a Friday night, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world, Biden said in a statement. Rep. Adam Schiff, who heads up the House Intelligence Committee said the move was among the most offensive to the rule of law and principles of justice. Sen. Kamala Harris said it amounted to an illustration of how the justice system is not equal to everyone in the country. Trump commutes the prison sentence of Roger Stone while the officers that killed Breonna Taylor are still free, Harris wrote. The two systems of justice in this country must end. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said that Trump truly is the most corrupt president in history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Schiff says Pres. Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's sentence is "another appalling attack on the rule of law" "There are two systems of justice now in America. One for criminal friends of the president like Michael Flynn and now Roger Stone and one for everybody else." pic.twitter.com/vp2R21cLyI MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 11, 2020 Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Rep. Carolyn Maloney made clear lawmakers will be looking into the issue. This transparently corrupt commutation damages public confidence in the justice system and the rule of law. Among other things, we intend to seek an immediate briefing from the White House Counsel on the circumstances surrounding Roger Stones commutation, they wrote in a statement. In addition, the Department of Justice should release grand jury materials related to Roger Stone and his communications with the President. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats were not alone in criticizing Trump. Sen. Mitt Romney, who has long been clear about his dislike of Trump, characterize the pardon as unprecedented, historic corruption. In a Saturday morning tweet, Romney noted that the president had commuted the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president. Trump defended the move Saturday morning, taking to Twitter to once again claim his longtime friend was victim of an unfair prosecution. Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place. It is the other side that are criminals, including the fact that Biden and Obama illegally spied on my campaignAND GOT CAUGHT! Trump tweeted. Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday broke his silence on the ongoing investigation of Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, saying that as far as his government is concerned, there are no sacred cows in its war against corruption Sorry! This content is not available in your region An excerpt from the Hidden Value Stocks June 2020 Issue, featuring an interview with Andrew Oskoui, the portfolio manager and founder of Blue Tower Asset Management. Interview One Andrew Oskoui: Blue Tower Asset Management Andrew Oskoui, CFA, is the portfolio manager and founder of Blue Tower Asset Management. Blue Tower combines quantitative and value philosophies by using algorithmic screens to find securities with strong fundamentals and cheap valuations. These securities then undergo traditional due diligence on the management team and a line of business industry analysis. Andrew previously worked in investment research for YCG and managed an equity strategy for Allometric Research & Management. Prior to beginning his career in finance, Andrew led a materials science research group for Halcyon Molecular (a Founders Fund portfolio company) and researched nanoparticle drug delivery for cancer therapies as an engineer for Covidien. HVS: Our last interview was just over three years ago in December 2016. How would you say your outlook on the markets has changed since then? Andrew Oskoui: The most obvious change is the current Coronavirus pandemic. While the virus does not appear to be as lethal as some of the prior pandemics that the world has faced such as the Spanish Flu of 1918 or the 1957 H2N2 pandemic (Asian Flu), there has been a much greater reaction from governments and consumer behavior to this pandemic. Several noteworthy things are happening in the markets. The underperformance of the value factor has only accelerated in the last few years. The valuation gap between growth and value stocks has widened to levels not seen since the 1999 tech bubble. Some stocks have been trading this year at multiples not seen since the bottom of the global financial crisis, and high yield bond spreads are at crisis levels. The monetary and fiscal stimulus from central banks and governments is more substantial than anything seen before. One could argue that this deficit spending, low-interest rates, and rapidly increasing money supply will lead to a sharp increase in inflation after the health crisis passes. It is hard to predict how all of these extreme forces will interact with each other. Story continues At the beginning of the year, I believed that the U.S. construction sector and new housing starts were going to have a solid year due to a housing deficit in the U.S. after multiple years of below-trend construction. Whether this prediction comes true now depends on how fast employment recovers, the length of pandemic-related lockdowns, how much infrastructure spending comes from the U.S. government, and progress on coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics. HVS: Would you say your investment strategy has changed at all since our last interview? We have not changed significantly. Andrew Oskoui: We are investing more internationally, and that is primarily driven by the shift in valuations between U.S. equities and those in Europe and Japan. The U.S. is still our single largest country for investment, but in general, I would agree that the U.S. market is not trading at an attractive multiple compared to Japan or Europe. Some investors point to the higher GDP growth rate of the U.S. as a reason for it trading at higher multiples to other countries, but historically there has not been a strong relationship between national GDP growth rates and returns to equity investors in those countries. Another argument is that the U.S. dollars status as the world reserve currency creates a constant demand for dollars globally. This gives a funding advantage to U.S. enterprises as they have easier access to capital markets. However, this has been true in the past without creating a concurrent elevated market multiple for publicly listed stocks. By most measures of overall market valuation such as public total market cap vs. GDP, weighted average P/E, or weighted average PEG ratios, the U.S. is at very high multiples relative to other developed economies. HVS: At the time of our first interview in 2016, Bluetower had 40% of assets in just two positions. Today the fund is a bit more diversified with the top five holdings making up 40% of AUM. Is this a reflection of how your strategy has changed? Andrew Oskoui: When we had 37% in our top two positions in 2016, that was a reflection of our opportunity set. When an investor can find a large number of attractive investment opportunities which are subject to risks uncorrelated with the rest of the portfolio, they can make a more broadly diversified portfolio than if they can only find a handful of opportunities. Currently, we see a more extensive set of investment opportunities than ever before. HVS: One of the top ten holdings in the portfolio is Facebook (FB). This is a bit of an outlier compared to the rest of the portfolio, which has a median market cap of $435 million and a weighted forward P/E of 7. Why have you decided to include Facebook over other large caps? Andrew Oskoui: While Facebook is not as cheap as it was in 2018, it is still a good value. Facebook is highly attractive due to the competitive moat of its network effect and the long-term rotation into online advertising from traditional media advertising. Furthermore, investments in other businesses create multiple pathways towards future growth and monetization of their large user base (currently at 2.4 billion daily active users). Facebook recently completed a 9.99% purchase of Jio, an Indian phone company that is the largest provider of 4G services in the country. Facebook will be able to integrate JioMart with WhatsApp, a messaging platform particularly popular in India, to create a powerful e-commerce and digital transaction platform for tens of millions of small businesses in that country. Facebook also has a venture-like portfolio of businesses such as virtual reality focused Oculus and user interface focused Ctrl Labs. For value investors, the future growth of a business is an essential determinant of its present value. It is acceptable to pay higher current multiples if investors will be sufficiently compensated in the future. In the case of Facebook, I believe the company can achieve 20% annualized revenue growth over the next four years while maintaining margins. At current prices, this suggests the stock is trading at a low-teen multiple of 2023 free cash flow. The most considerable risk to Facebook is the threat of regulatory action either from the U.S. or European governments. Facebook could face challenges on anything from monopoly concerns, ad policies to user privacy. Some countries are also enlisting Facebook to act as a censor on user content with threats of fines for failing to police content unacceptable to regulators. Another possible avenue of regulation involves news aggregation and revenue sharing with publishers. HVS: One international investment we discussed in our last interview was the Russian bank Sberbank (SBER). The stock is still a top-five holding in the portfolio today. Has the business outperformed rivals as you expected since 2016? Andrew Oskoui: Yes, Sberbanks stock price has dramatically outperformed its main public competitor in Russia, VTB Bank. The company has roughly maintained its market share in Russia from where it was in 2016. The business has used its earnings to significantly deleverage its balance sheet over the last several years as well as invest in technology to create new lines of business and increase efficiency. This has allowed the banking group to decrease its number of employees and branch locations in Russia while still growing their business. Globally, Sberbanks headcount has reduced from 325k employees in 2016 to 281k in 2019. At current prices (197.25 RUB), it now offers a forward dividend yield of approximately 9.5%. SBER HVS: In 2016 you highlighted that between 2011 and 2015, Sberbanks total assets grew by 26% per year and book value per share by 17% per year. Has the company managed to maintain this rate of growth? Andrew Oskoui: Sanctions on Russia have significantly impacted Sberbanks ability to grow internationally. This has led to a loss of market share in some countries and persuaded them to sell their subsidiary in Turkey (DenizBank) and scale back operations in Ukraine and E.U. countries. As a result, they have failed to maintain their asset growth. Per share assets grew 5.7% per annum between the end of 2016 to the end of 2019. Due to increasing efficiencies, reinvested earnings, and deleveraging, Sberbank has managed to maintain the growth of its book value per share at 16.7% per annum. It has continued to grow and gain market share in some countries, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Another business you spoke about in 2016, and thats still in the portfolio, is Ezcorp (EZPW). HVS: At the time of our interview, you placed a total market value of $813 million on the stock, giving a conservative target share price of $15.90. Has your estimate of intrinsic value changed? Andrew Oskoui: I believe the company is even more valuable today than it was in 2016. It has paid off much of its convertible debt with cash and has made significant technology investments, including a new point of sale system, specialized for the pawn industry, and a new mobile app for customers to manage their loans online. Given the current global situation, it is difficult to make an accurate sum-of-the-parts value analysis of the company. It had not reported a quarterly result since February 3rd before the Covid-19 pandemic had spread throughout North America. If Ezcorp were trading at the same trailing EV/EBITDA multiple as public competitor, First Cash Financial Services, on May 1st, the shares would be worth more than $17. HVS: Do you think the stocks still a buy after recent declines? Andrew Oskoui: Yes, as a countercyclical industry, a recession is an excellent environment for pawn shops to operate. With Ezcorps U.S. geographic concentration within Texas and Florida, the group will likely see increased credit demand from borrowers affected by the declines in the tourism and energy sectors. HVS: Another stock you highlighted in our interview in 2016 was Nicholas Financial (NICK). You suggested that a return to a pre-crisis valuation of 1.64x tangible book value would translate into a price of $22.78 per share. The stock has struggled to get above $12. What has gone wrong for the business? Andrew Oskoui: For financial stocks, a company needs to have either an underwriting or funding advantage. Otherwise, there will be no ability for them to outperform their competition over the longterm. Originally, Nicholas Financial had an underwriting advantage over other subprime auto-lenders due to its unusual compensation structure for local branch managers where compensation was tied to the credit quality of their loan book. However, technological innovation and aggressive competition have put Nicholas Financial at a significant disadvantage. For example, some subprime auto-lenders have started using starter interrupt devices, which allows the lender to disable a car when the borrower is behind on payments, and GPS trackers in the cars they lend against. This makes collections and repossession much more manageable and creates a strong incentive for the borrower to be on time with their payments. Nicholas Financials failure to integrate these new technologies and regulatory changes from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) affected their collections, and the lack of scale put them at a significant disadvantage. For the above reasons, we exited in July 2017. We sold for less than our average weighted purchase price, and the company has declined significantly more since we sold. The lesson to take from this investment is to be observant of how legislative changes or technological disruption can break a companys competitive advantage. Many value stocks in the world today are melting ice cubes; businesses that will have deteriorating enterprise value and negative organic growth. Historically, many of these companies have been excellent investments if their decline was slow enough, and the purchase price low enough. Technological disruption has become a more significant factor in investing, and today ice cubes melt faster. Want to hear more from? Andrew Oskoui Sign up to see the full thing By Jacob Wolinsky Video: Top 5 Stocks Among Hedge Funds At Insider Monkey we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. There is a lot of volatility in the markets and this presents amazing investment opportunities from time to time. For example, this trader claims to deliver juiced up returns with one trade a week, so we are checking out his highest conviction idea. A second trader claims to score lucrative profits by utilizing a "weekend trading strategy", so we look into his strategy's picks. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. We recently recommended several stocks partly inspired by legendary Bill Miller's investor letter. Our best call in 2020 was shorting the market when the S&P 500 was trading at 3150 in February after realizing the coronavirus pandemics significance before most investors. You can subscribe to our free enewsletter below to receive our stories in your inbox: The Safest Driver in the State of California by Woody LaBounty (Originally appeared in SF West History, Jul-Sep 2015) She is Champion Safe Driver Six hundred and fifty thousand miles of driving without a single mishap is the record on which a safety committee headed by Ray Ingels, director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, declared Mrs. Nell A. Leavitt of San Francisco the States safest driver. Mrs. Leavitt is seen here starting in her Dodge sedan for New York City and a national Safety conference once at which she represented California. That was the news copy accompanying the image, transcribed from text pasted on the back of the print. I stumbled onto the photo on eBay, and thought the scene looked like a western San Francisco locale. I was intrigued. The Department of Motor Vehicles used to track the safety of state drivers and award them prizes? The winner selected was a woman? In the 1930s, most women didnt have motor vehicle licenses, much less drive hundreds of thousands of miles. A quirky story, I thought. So I bought the print, planning to perhaps put it on the back page of SF West History magazine with no more than the short caption that came with the image. First, I wanted to do a little research to pin down the western San Francisco location, since I assumed Mrs. Nell A. Leavitt was posing in front of her house. Turned out I was right. The photo was taken on the 800 block of 42nd Avenue. But I got much more than I bargained for, discovering an unusually adventurous and independent woman that experienced a terrible tragedy six years before she smiled for a press photographer in front of her Dodge sedan. Nell Anthony was a graduate of Polytechnic High School (the school changed its name from Commercial High School while she was attending in the 1890s). She later said she chose the school specifically because it was the only high school offering commercial subjects. Polytechnics mission was to prepare students to enter the trades and the world of work capable in shorthand or cabinetry or accounting or welding. Nell Anthony was a hands-on type of person. Shortly after high school, she married John Wheeler Leavitt, a man who started as a bicycle salesman in 1894 before moving into motorcycles. By 1902, had taken on two partners, W. J. Pedlar, and a teenager named Albert D. Plughoff, to run one of the first automobile dealerships in San Francisco. The age of the motorcar had begun. In 1902, alone, fifty new companies formed to manufactured automobiles in the United States. J. W. Leavitt & Co. became one of the countrys largest auto dealerships, and its energetic president became head of the citys Automobile Dealers Association. Leavitt was an adventurous and confident face of automobile ownership and enjoyment when people werent quite sure if the new inventions were little more than rich mens toys. Taking a new roadster or touring car on a three-day ride across California Leavitt would make sure to get a short article in the newspapers about the ease and convenience, touting how well his product could tackle wild country while simultaneously advocating for new and improved public highways. In the days when roads were often rutted, muddy, and impassable in bad weather, when a day of driving could mean two or more flat tires, Leavitt headed for the Sierra Nevada mountains in winter, drove one of the first automobiles into Yosemite, and accompanied a buyer to christen Calaveras County with its first motorcar. He became one of the earliest transcontinental drivers, going to the East Coast multiple times to find new models and drive a sample back to his San Francisco showroom. Nell accompanied her husband on most of these publicity jaunts, not only as a passenger, but also as an enthusiastic driver. She knew her way around an engine and a tire change. In 1908, she was called one of the citys best known women motorists. Oh, and along the way she had six children. Selling automobiles had become a very good business by the 1910s and 1920s. In 1902, when Leavitt started his auto dealing, about 23,000 motor vehicles were registered in the United States. In 1929, that number had risen to 23 million. Leavitt and his partner Plughoff, vice president in the firm, prospered. They were great friends outside of business that went on hunting and fishing trips and had neighboring country estates in Belvedere. Both were rumored to be millionaires. The Leavitt family lived in the Richmond District at 101 20th Avenue, a stately home on the corner of Lake Street. But fortunes fell after the stock market crash of October 24, 1929. As the world slid into what would become known as the Great Depression, Leavitt and his partners found themselves scrambling. Sales plummeted so much in the auto industry that production was halved in 1930. In late July 1930, J. W. Leavitt & Co. had to shut down. Behind the doors of the firms showroom and offices at 1414 Van Ness Avenue, the citys Auto Row, the owners made a desperate attempt to reorganize the firm and save it from bankruptcy. The pressure on 62-year-old Leavitt must have been overwhelming. He rewrote his will in early August, simplifying it to leave the entirety of his estate to his wife, Nell. He borrowed a pistol from his son-in-law, saying he was planning on doing some squirrel shooting. Then, in the middle of the negotiations to rescue the company, Plughoff told Leavitt he had accepted a well-paying job from General Motors. The old friend and business partner, whom Leavitt had hired as a 15-year-old to sell bicycles thirty years earlier, said he wanted out. The two began negotiations on a financial settlement for Plughoffs exit that looked to leave a near-death J. W. Leavitt & Co. $40,000 in the red. On the afternoon of August 11, 1930, employees cleaning up the mostly-emptied showroom heard a muffled report they assumed was a car backfiring. President Leavitt walked slowly out of the building, remarking Looks like a quiet day in the automobile business. He drove away. Soon after, the body of Plughoff was found at his desk. He had been shot behind the ear, and a note on the desk signed by Leavitt read Sorry to do this. Nell greeted her husband when he arrived home on 20th Avenue. She didnt notice anything odd in his demeanor. Leavitt went upstairs, still in possession of the borrowed pistol he had used on Plughoff. He wrote two blank checks made out to his wife and stripped off his shirt. When he heard the police arriving outside, he went into his sons bedroom and shot himself in the head. When Nell filed final accounting of her administration of her late husbands estate, after the payout by the life insurance policy and the settling of debts, there was a net balance of $13,573.11. Six years later, when Ray Ingels announced the winner of the California State Automobile Association safety campaign contest, Nell A. Leavitt was living at her daughter Dorothys house at 847 42nd Avenue. Dorothy had divorced her husbandthe man who had lent her father the pistol he used on his partner and himselfthree years earlier. The California contest had been part of a national campaign. Each states designated safest driver would meet in New York City for a safety motorcade and conference. Nell Leavitt definitely deserved the honor in California: no recorded accidents or violations in a 34-year-old driving record, much of it in the days of poor roads, horse-drawn wagons, few signals or traffic controls. But prejudicial assumptions and jokes about women being bad drivers were commonplace in 1936. Only two other states picked woman drivers, and the Associated Press noted Ingels admittedly stuck out his chin in the direction of male drivers when [] he picked Mrs. Leavitt as the queen of Californias driving army. Leavitt herself said she was surprised to be chosen, because of how women drivers were criticized, but took the opportunity to say that women were as good, if not better drivers then men, mostly because of attitude and manners. Look at any traffic crowded intersection where there are only male drivers in a tieup due to a lack of courtesy. As if to alleviate fears that Mrs. Leavitts title somehow threatened the presumed role of women in society, articles across the country described the 57-year-old as a motherly individual with grandchildren. A list of her safe driving maxims were published in the newspaper, including watch the left front wheel of an approaching car to find out what the driver is going to do and watch the feet of old people to determine how long they will take to cross the street. The national safety conference and motorcade took place on August 31, 1936. As part of the rules of participating, Leavitt had to drive herself to New York City. She planned to cover 300 miles a day in getting there and visit some East Coast family afterwards. Her 20-year-old son Robert came as a passenger to keep her company. On August 19, she officially launched her trip from City Hall, where Mayor Angelo J. Rossi offered her a personal farewell at the window of her Dodge sedan. Shed owned 21 different makes of car between her first, a 1902 model she described as a one lung red roadster, with tiller control and chain drive and the Dodge, which she praised highly on her return after covering 7,000 miles of the United States. Her time in the limelight didnt end after the successful conference and cross-country trip. As Californias No. 1 safe driver, Nell Leavitt went on in the next few years to speak at luncheons, appear on radio shows, advocate for newsboys to be more visible by wearing white at night, and pose for public service photos checking her oil and getting her windshield cleaned. Nell Leavitt died October 18, 1960. A simple notice in the newspapers listed her as the widow of J. W. Leavitt, named her children, and identified where the funeral service would be held. There was no mention of her onetime title as Californias safest driver. Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places! Members of the gator family may hold the title of magnificent beings for many. But for a massive portion of people, crocodiles and alligators are extremely dangerous creatures. Probably thats the reason why even the little members of this family are feared by many. Just like, this one baby alligator who freaked out the Westchase family in Florida but was fortunately rescued by a team dedicated to rescuing such reptiles in distress. Posted on their official Facebook page, Croc Encounters happen to be a rescue team in Florida, whose job is to attend to any croc related emergencies. On July 9, after getting a call from the terrified Westchase family, the rescue team came over to find a baby alligator in the pool filter. Every time the lid was opened, the little one would dart out into the pool. Fortunately, it was rescued by some warm-hearted members of the group and was later released into the wild. Todays emergency call was for this cute, little alligator that was found in a Westchase familys pool filter, reads the caption. Take a look at the whole post: The post has garnered many shocked reactions from netizens as well. While some found the baby alligator to be a cutie, others lauded the teams effort for a flawless rescue and release mission. What a cutie he is! writes a Facebook user. Look at that cute smile, comments another. Amazing efforts, congratulates a third. What are your thoughts about this rescue? A man was in stable condition at Midland Memorial Hospital on Friday afternoon after a shooting incident Thursday night, according to a press release from the Midland County Sheriffs Office. Deputies responded to a shots-fired call in south Midland County at about 10 p.m. Thursday. They found a male victim with gunshot wounds, according to the release. He was transported to MMH. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Partly sunny, brisk, and chilly. Winds should ease up later in the day.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy and cold. Four people are now facing charges in connection to the homicide of Bill Horace. (Colin Butler/CBC News) London police have charged two more people in connection to the shooting death of Bill Horace, the former Liberian rebel leader who was shot and killed in a home invasion in east London last month. Investigators arrested two women in the greater Toronto area on Tuesday. Tianna Almeida, 22, and Tera Amoatemah, 22, both of North York, have been charged with being an accessory after the fact to the offence of assault with a weapon in relation to the Horace case. Police did not say what the women are being accused of or how they are connected to the homicide. Almeida and Amaotemah have been released from custody and are expected to appear in a London court on Sept. 28. The latest charges come after a Toronto police officer was charged in connection to the case. Const. Trevor Gregory, 46, who was arrested and charged with breach of trust Tuesday. Front Page Africa Gregory is the father of Keiron Gregory, 22, who was charged with second-degree murder in the case on June 25, but remains at large. Police have not revealed what Trevor Gregory is accused of. He was released from custody Tuesday and has a London court date set for Sept. 29. Bill Horace was shot and killed following a home invasion at 232 Pochard Lane on the morning of June 21. Police say four men forced their way into a home, attacking and shooting him. When emergency crews arrived on the scene, he was found in front of a neighbour's house. Horace allegedly served as a rebel commander under Charles Taylor, a former Liberian warlord and convicted war criminal. He fled Liberia and landed in Canada in 2002 where he applied for refugee status but was denied. All four suspects in the case remain at large. The identity of three suspects has not been released. Anyone with information is being asked to call London police at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Information can also be sent in online anonymously to www.londoncrimestoppers.com. Following the announcement of Government Ministers and Junior Ministers last week, the Model County has been left without a voice around the cabinet table for the first time in a decade. Wexford is one of just five counties in Ireland - alongside Tipperary, Roscommon, Louth and Clare - that has been left with no senior or junior ministries in this government. The government make-up was an evident problem for the oft-neglected south east as a whole, with neighbouring Waterford managing just one junior ministry as Mary Butler was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Health, with special responsibility for Mental Health and Older People. The Waterford TD received the role at the expense of Enniscorthy's James Browne, who will feel aggrieved having put in a substantial effort as Fianna Fail's spokesperson on mental health during the last government. 'Of course, I'm very disappointed,' Deputy Browne admitted. 'I felt I had done enough to prove myself over the last few years. I think I was only the 17th TD in the history of the state to have a piece of legislation enacted into law from opposition. I served as the spokesperson for mental health and I feel that I represented Fianna Fail very well in that portfolio. It's very disappointing that Wexford and the south east have no senior minster at the cabinet table, especially when you have counties like Meath with two juniors and a senior. Geography seems to have come into it and the south east wasn't dealt with fairly.' The new Taoiseach Micheal Martin had previously spoken very highly of Deputy Browne on his many visits to Wexford and it therefore came as a shock that he wasn't in line for a position. 'I think we all maybe felt we were in a good position listening to his comforting words,' Deputy Browne said. 'I spoke to Micheal afterwards and told him how disappointed I was and that I thought I had done enough to be given the role.' 'I certainly won't be feeling sorry for myself though. I'm aware there's plenty of people losing their businesses and jobs out there and I still have a very good job. I'll dust myself off now and continue to be a voice for the people of Wexford in Dail Eireann and work even harder to ensure that next time it's simply not possible to be overlooked when positions are being handed out. It's not the right approach to moan or complain about it, it's to stand out even more. I won't just rant and rave in the Dail either. Sometimes the shouting can be mistaken for action, but the hard work is really done behind the scenes and I'll continue to do that.' 'The lack of a voice at the cabinet table does concern me,' he continued. 'The south east region is one of the poorer regions and it does need special attention. I will certainly continue to make sure that Wexford issues are heard in the Dail and with ministers and I will harass and harangue them until the job is done. Whether it's a Fianna Fail, Fine Gael or Green minister, I will hold all of them to account and will call them out if I feel an issue is not being dealt with,' he said. Wexford's only other hope of a Junior Minister was Fine Gael's Paul Kehoe who has been an ever-present at the cabinet table since 2011. However, with three parties scrapping for positions, perhaps the writing was on the wall for the Enniscorthy man and he opted to rule himself out of the running for a position early on. 'I've thought long and hard about it,' Deputy Kehoe said. 'We sat down with Leo and when he said that there wasn't a senior position at the cabinet table for me, I told him I had made my mind up there and then and didn't want to be considered for a junior ministry.' 'I have a young family,' he explained. 'The children are nine, eight and six now. It's a busy household and I want to focus on that for a while. If there was one positive from Covid, it was that I got to spend more time at home with the family and it kind of made me realise what I've been missing out on.' While there are concerns about the implications of Wexford not having a voice in the current government, Deputy Kehoe is confident that the Model County won't be forgotten. 'I feel I can do as much for Wexford now as I could when I was at the cabinet table,' he said. 'I can also focus a lot more on constituency work. When you're a Minister of State you spend a lot of time outside of the constituency. Mondays were the only day I got to spend in Wexford. Now, I'll be able to get through more constituency work and I know well how government works after the past nine years, so I'd be confident going forward.' Looking back through the history books, periods where Wexford has not had a voice at the cabinet table over more than two decades have been few and far between. Fine Gael's Michael D'Arcy also occupied a junior ministry in the last government and notably, Labour's Brendan Howlin served as Minister for Public Expenditure from 2011 to 2016. Before that, Fianna Fail's Sean Connick served a year as Junior Minister for Fisheries, a brief that was also held by party colleague John Browne from 2002 to 2004. Browne then moved to a Junior Ministry at the Department of Agriculture, following a reshuffle by then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, before returning to his previous role in 2006 until 2008. Going back a little further, Ivan Yates notably served as Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry from 1994 to 1997, a period which also saw Avril Doyle serve as a Junior Minister, while Brendan Howlin was Minister for the Environment from 1994 to 1997 and Minister for Health from 1993 to 1994. The overwhelming conclusion is that Wexford is used to having a voice at cabinet level. Now, as we face into a period of financial uncertainty and a potential recession, that voice has been silenced. While there's no doubt the five TDs will continue to lobby for Wexford in Dail Eireann, it remains to be seen if this will have the same clout that comes with holding down a position within the government. Foreign passport holders trying to leave Australia during the coronavirus pandemic say they have struggled to get permission due to bureaucratic delays by the Department of Home Affairs. Australian citizens, including dual nationals and permanent residents, cannot leave the country because of the travel restrictions unless they have an exemption, which are given for limited reasons including compassionate grounds or urgent and unavoidable personal business. Dennis Parlevliet, his wife Liesbeth and their children Zoe, Finn and Neo faced a lengthy process to obtain an exemption to travel to the Netherlands. Credit:Steven Siewert Dennis and Liesbeth Parlevliet, both Dutch and permanent residents, received a travel exemption to depart the country with their three children, who are dual citizens of Australia and the Netherlands, late last week after more than a month of delay. Mr Parlevliet said bureaucrats had been unhelpful and insensitive in handling their exemption request after knocking it back twice. "We felt like we are being held against our will," he said. This action was intentional, organized and widely supported by members of the Winston-Salem and Forsyth County community as a method of social justice protest with a long history in the U.S. and around the world, the statement said. The groups criticized Winston-Salem Police Chief Catrina Thompson, who they said broke a promise to protect peaceful protests. The groups statement also noted what it described as ONeills warning that law enforcement would prosecute protesters not complying with law enforcements newly outlined command to remain on sidewalks during any protest action. ONeill responded to the protesters statement in a message Friday night to the Winston-Salem Journal. I would suggest that they spend a moment to actually read the article in The New York Times covering the press conference to educate themselves that what I said was that I supported an individuals right to protest peacefully, but that those who chose to cross the line and break the law that they, too, would be prosecuted, ONeill said. Thompson could not immediately be reached Friday night for comment. NEW YORK - A long-expected upturn in U.S. coronavirus deaths has begun, driven by fatalities in states in the South and West, according to data on the pandemic. The number of deaths per day from the virus had been falling for months, and even remained down as states like Florida and Texas saw explosions in cases and hospitalizations and reported daily U.S. infections broke records several times in recent days. Scientists warned it wouldnt last. A coronavirus death, when it occurs, typically comes several weeks after a person is first infected. And experts predicted states that saw increases in cases and hospitalizations would, at some point, see deaths rise too. Now thats happening. Its consistently picking up. And its picking up at the time youd expect it to, said William Hanage, a Harvard University infectious diseases researcher. According to an Associated Press analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day rolling average for daily reported deaths in the U.S. has increased from 578 two weeks ago to 664 on July 10 still well below the heights hit in April. Daily reported deaths increased in 27 states over that time period, but the majority of those states are averaging under 15 new deaths per day. A smaller group of states has been driving the nationwide increase in deaths. California is averaging 91 reported deaths per day while Texas is close behind with 66, but Florida, Arizona, Illinois, New Jersey and South Carolina also saw sizable rises. New Jerseys recent jump is thought to be partially attributable to its less frequent reporting of probable deaths. The impact has already been felt by families who lost kin and by the health care workers who tried to save them. Rublas Ruiz, a Miami intensive care unit nurse, recently broke down in tears during a birthday dinner with his wife and daughter. He said he was overcome by the number of patients who have died in his care. I counted like 10 patients in less than four days in our ICU and then I stopped doing that because there were so many, said the 41-year-old nurse at Kendall Regional Medical Center who lost another patient Monday. The virus has killed more than 130,000 people in the U.S. and more than a half-million worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true numbers are believed to be higher. Deaths first began mounting in the U.S. in March. About two dozen deaths were being reported daily in the middle of that month. By late in the month, hundreds were being reported each day, and in April thousands. Most happened in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere in the Northeast. Deaths were so high there because it was a new virus tearing through a densely populated area, and it quickly swept through vulnerable groups of people in nursing homes and other places, said Perry Halkitis, the dean of the Rutgers University School of Public Health in New Jersey. Many of the infections occurred before government officials imposed stay-at-home orders and other social-distancing measures. The daily death toll started falling in mid-April and continued to fall until about a week ago. Researchers now expect deaths to rise for at least some weeks, but some think the count probably will not go up as dramatically as it did in the spring for several reasons. First, testing was extremely limited early in the pandemic, and its become clear that unrecognized infections were spreading on subways, in nursing homes and in other public places before anyone knew exactly what was going on. Now testing is more widespread, and the magnitude of outbreaks is becoming better understood. Second, many peoples health behaviours have changed, with mask-wearing becoming more common in some places. Although there is no vaccine yet, hospitals are also getting better at treating patients. Another factor, tragically, is that deadly new viruses often tear through vulnerable populations first, such as the elderly and people already weakened by other health conditions. That means that, in the Northeast at least, many of the vulnerable people have already died, Halkitis said. Now, the U.S. is likely in for a much longer, slower burn, Hanage, the Harvard researcher, said. Were not going to see as many deaths (as in the spring). But were going to see a total number of deaths, which is going to be large. In other virus-related developments: Walt Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom are reopening Saturday; Epcot and Disneys Hollywood Studios will follow four days later. The move comes as there has been a surge in the number of Floridians testing positive for the coronavirus and the state set a record of nearly 500 confirmed deaths in a week. The number of New Yorkers hospitalized with the coronavirus 799 has fallen to the lowest point since March 18. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo fears a resurgence in cases is inevitable amid outbreaks in other states. Kristin Urquiza is worried things may get dramatically worse soon in at least some American cities, like Phoenix, where her 65-year-old father died recently. When the dangers of the virus first became known, Mark Anthony Urquiza, a quality assurance inspector, took precautions such as wearing a face mask and staying home as much as possible, his daughter said. But that changed after Gov. Doug Ducey ended Arizonas stay-at-home order on May 15, eased restrictions on businesses, and initially blocked local lawmakers from requiring residents to wear masks. By June 11, the elder Urquiza had developed a fever and cough. He was hospitalized and eventually placed on a ventilator. He died June 30. His life was robbed. I believe that terrible leadership and flawed policies put my fathers life in the balance, Kristin Urquiza said in an interview with The Associated Press. Ducey, a Republican, has more recently changed direction, closing many businesses and allowing mayors to make mask-wearing mandatory. But Kristin Urquiza is worried. Her father received the care at a time when beds in intensive care units were readily available. Now some Arizona ICUs are becoming swamped. Other families are not going to be reassured the hospitals will have the capacity to give (coronavirus) victims the dignity and the health care that they deserve. And that breaks my heart, she said. ___ Associated Press writers Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. A still from the bodycam worn by a policeman showing him pointing a gun at Paramjit Parmar on his own property in Aurora in Colorado. The bodycam was released by the police department. Image Source: IANS News A still from a cellphone video made by Paramjit Parmar showing a policeman in Aurora, Colorado, confronting him with a gun on his own property. Image Source: IANS News New York, July 11 : An Indian American doctor known for his work among refugees and the poor is preparing to file a federal case over a policeman in Aurora in Colorado state pulling a gun on him in a threatening manner while he was entering his own property, according to media reports. Civil rights lawyer David Lane, who is representing Paramjit Parmar, said he is preparing a federal lawsuit against the city claiming that an Aurora police officer used excessive force when he held a pistol in front of Parmar's face, the Sentinel reported over the weekend. Lane believes the incident was racially motivated, KUSA TV reported. Although the incident took place in March, the video made by Paramjit Parmar on his cellphone and another from the bodycam worn by the officer have gone viral only now amid the national protests against police brutality against minorities after an African American man, George Floyd, was killed in Minneapolis by police. "It wasn't until the George Floyd protests that I felt any societal support on this," Parmar wrote on the Medium website. Parmar works with refugees and his clinic, Ardas, and provides services for them and for the poor. He is also a campaigner for healthcare reforms in the US. He wrote that the incident began when he was driving into a building he owns and saw a car parked there blocking his garage and honked. When the policeman came from the vehicle with his gun drawn, Parmar wrote that he began recording on his cell phone when he heard a noise like the gun being cocked. The policeman shouted an obscenity at him and had the gun at his head, he wrote. And he when he asked him to leave his property he demanded he prove that he owns the property, which also houses facilities and asylum seekers. Lane told KUSA TV station that anytime police draws a gun it is considered "use of force." He was prepared to not file the suit if the Aurora Police Department would sit down with them and discuss the matter. In a lawsuit the jury can only award him money at the expense of taxpayers but "they can't fire the cops, they can't change policies," he explained, according to the station. While the national spotlight is on police conduct, there was a recent incident of alleged brutality against an Indian origin man. On Monday a policeman in Schenectady was caught on video with his knee on the neck of Yugeshwar Gaindarpersaud, a manoeuvre that was outlawed in New York State last month following the killing of Floyd by a policeman who knelt on his neck. Aurora police department is under scrutiny because of the killing of an unarmed African American man last August when a policeman put him in a chokehold. That incident like many others that had been ignored has been revived because of the wave of protests. The matter was compounded by two policemen and a policewoman jokingly reenacting the chokehold at a shrine for the victim. The three were dismissed last week. The policeman who drew the gun on Parmar was identified as Justin Henderson. He had shot and killed an African American man who had a machete last year but was cleared of any charges, according to the Denver Post. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) Metro Rail Transit Line 3 trains will be up and running on a limited scale starting next week after the operator managed to secure a sufficient number of employees free of COVID-19, the Transportation Department announced on Saturday. "As of 11 July 2020, 1,093 MRT-3 depot personnel and 1,010 station personnel have tested negative for COVID-19, exceeding the 1,308 number of personnel required to resume train operations on a limited number of train sets," said the agency in a Facebook post. It saiod 12 train sets will be deployed on Monday, ten of which are CKD and two are made in Dalian. Passengers will also be made to answer health declaration forms before boarding the train as the rail line will "strictly" implement contact tracing. The MRT-3 ceased operations beginning July 7 after a rise in coronavirus cases among its employees. To date, 281 of its personnel have contracted COVID-19 and are now being isolated in quarantine facilities, the statement read. RELATED: Gov't to MRT-3 passengers: No contact tracing yet, check yourselves for COVID symptoms for now MRT-3 boosts health, safety measures To ensure public safety amid the pandemic, the MRT-3 said it has ramped up the implementation of its health and safety protocols. For instance, all of its facilities were disinfected during its temporary shutdown, read the DOTR's statement. The MRT-3 likewise boosted its health and safety measures by requiring depot and station personnel to wear full personal protective equipment (PPE) and implementing the '5-minute disinfection hustle' on its trains every half loop at the North Ave and Taft stations, the rail line's end stations. Employees are also required to submit health declaration forms twice every day, the agency added. Every name on the BrandBucket marketplace is exclusively listed with BrandBucket. That means that all of our sellers are very responsive, making for quick domain transfers. A dedicated BrandBucket agent will manage your domain transfer from beginning to end, ensuring a secure and easy transaction. They will manage the receipt of the domain into one of BrandBuckets secure registrar accounts and then complete the transfer to you. 1. Verification and registrar choice After we receive the payment and verify it, we will reach out via email to confirm which registrar you want the domain transferred to. We also provide a link to our tracking system, where you can communicate with us, check on the status of your transfer, view your invoice, and download your logo files. In most cases, if a domain is moved between accounts at a single registrar, the transfer is quick and usually completes within 48 hours. If a domain changes registrars (in other words, you would like to move it away from where it is currently registered), the transfer is slower. The total transfer time can then be anywhere from 48 hours to 7 days. BrandBucket has vetted and supports the following registrars: GoDaddy Namesilo Uniregistry NameCheap Google Domains Network Solutions Name.com Dynadot Amazon Route 53 123 Reg Gandi 2. We request the name from the seller. Once we know where you would like the domain transferred, BrandBucket will request the domain from the seller. All of our sellers are very responsive, making for a quick process. 3. Transfer the name into your account As soon as we receive the name from the seller, we start the transfer into your account and guide you through the whole process. 4. Verify with the buyer that the transfer is complete Once we confirm that you have received the name, we consider the escrow process to be complete. Only then do we release payment to the domain seller. It is the most violent Corona outbreak since the end of the state of emergency in Spain two weeks ago. Since Saturday, the district of the Segria in Catalonia, with more than 200,000 inhabitants, is sealed off. You are allowed to enter the area only with the exception of permits and leave, possibly for more than two weeks. Meetings of more than ten people, and visits to nursing homes, were prohibited. According to information from the health authorities, the number of new infections had risen sharply. Until the weekend more than 4030-Infected were registered. On Sunday, a part of the Region of Lugo followed then in Galicia in the North-West of the country, The 70,000 residents of A Marina are not allowed to leave until Friday, your residential area. Almost half of the total of 258 Infected in Galicia, where on the next Sunday regional elections take place, originate from there. Hans-Christian Roler Political correspondent for the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb, with its headquarters in Madrid. F. A. Z. The new rise of infections increases the pressure on the country fighting due to the Corona to its economic Survival. With a diplomatic Offensive by the socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is now trying to help on the summit in mid-July, the planned EU meeting-it is decided to build-up funds. Spain is hoping for grants and loans of up to 140 billion euros. First of all, Sanchez agrees with its southern European partners. On Monday, he visited the socialist Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, in Lisbon, on Wednesday he receives in Madrid the Italian head of government, Giuseppe Conte. Before the EU summit seeks the Spanish Prime Minister, but also the conversation with the "Thrifty Four" that want to make the EU support to conditions. Sanchez wants to speak to the Dutch head of government Mark Rutte as well as Sweden, Stefan Lofven, personally, to explain why a quick solution is so urgent. the most Serious economic crisis in decades Spain crisis for decades, is facing the most difficult economy. The International monetary Fund the IMF is concerned that the gross domestic could shrink the product by up to 12.8 per cent; during the last big economic crisis, the Minus amounted to only 3.8 percent. The government is launching a programme of assistance to the other in order to bring the economy back in gear On Friday, there were a further 50 billion euros; the largest part of which is in the Form of state loan guarantees the Survival of companies. In March, the government had already put in 100 billion euros available, of which, according to the press 78 billion reports already available. Updated Date: 10 July 2020, 19:19 MUMBAI: In a Sea-Air Coordinated Operation, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued six Sri Lankan fishermen who were stuck in a capsized boat, stranded and adrift at the sea in rough weather for four days. The operation was carried out nearly 190 Nautical Miles north-west of Port Blair, 170 miles east of Chennai. A tweet from the Indian Coast Guards official Twitter handle read, In a Sea Air coordinated operation, @IndianCoastGuard ship Rajkamal rescued six Sri Lankan fishermen from a distressed boat 190 Nm NW of Port Blair AM 11 Jul, , despite adverse weather and sea conditions. Boat taken under tow and likely to reach PBlair 12 Jul @DefenceMinIndia In a Sea Air coordinated operation, @IndiaCoastGuard ship Rajkamal rescued six Srilankan fishermen fm distressed boat 190 Nm NW of Port Blair AM 11 Jul, ,despite adverse weather and sea conditions. Boat taken under tow and likely to reach PBlair 12 Jul @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/loXfP69gj7 Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) July 11, 2020 According to reports, an On July 5, a merchant vessel, which was on its way to Visakhapatnam, sighted a capsized fishing boat with six sailors. The Merchant Vessel, MV YM Summit informed the location of the boat to be about 170 NM east of Chennai to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC). The information from MRCC, Mumbai, was timely shared with Chennai for further coordination. MRCC Chennai later coordinated with the vessel for the safe rescue of the survivors. The six survivors were identified as natives of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. They were reportedly stranded in the sea for four days in-between the rough weather. After identification of the rescued men to be from the neighbouring country, the ICG officials further coordinated with Colombo to verify the credentials and arranged for their safe return home. India and Sri Lanka have a robust cooperative framework in place in the form of a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Coast Guards and the MRCCs of both the countries, reads the ICG statement. Emmanuel Philip, a Nigerian has been arrested by the Aflao Sector Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) with the new voters identification card. According to Assistant Inspector, Mr Felix Klu-Adjei, Volta Regional Public Affairs Officer of the GIS, the suspect was intercepted on July 6, this year, at about 1333 hours, when he attempted to enter Ghana territory through the main Aflao border illegally. He said a search on him revealed the card with registration number 231400549. He said the suspect admitted in his written statement that he lives with Mr Jerry Azametsi, a native of Aflao and his wife Madam Abigail Azametsi of Aflao. Mr Klu-Adjei said Philip mentioned the Azametsi family as accomplices and guarantors to the illegal acquisition of the new voter card at a registration centre the previous day. Subsequently, the couple were invited to GIS to assist in investigations. He said Azametsi admitted in a statement that the suspect is a Nigerian friend, who lives in the Republic of Togo, however the suspect frequently visits him in Ghana. The Public Affairs Officer said Mr Azametsi confessed during interrogation that he advised his friend to cease the opportunity to acquire the card, which eventually led him to serve as guarantor to the suspect. The trio were handed over to the Aflao District Police for further investigations and subsequent and prosecution. In a related development, the Aflao Sector Command of GIS has repatriated seven Togolese nationals to their home country. The seven had entered the country through unapproved routes of the border and were released to the Togolese border officials after going through the COVID-19 mandatory quarantine. The Regional Command of GIS admonished all to respect and abide by the laws of the Service at the various border enclaves, while promising to do business only with genuine entities. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video By PTI JAIPUR: Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Lalchand Kataria on Friday urged the Centre to declare the menace of locusts a national disaster as he demanded the Union government to release the first instalment of centrally-sponsored schemes at the earliest. Kataria was interacting with the Union Agriculture minister in a video conference. Apart from Kataria, Nagaur MP and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) convenor Hanuman Beniwal also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare locust problem a national disaster. Giving information about the outbreak and control of locusts and crop loss in the state, Kataria also asked the Agriculture Insurance Company to pay the outstanding insurance claim of Rs 380 crore for Kharif-2019 of farmers at the earliest. Kataria claimed that the first instalment of most of the centrally-sponsored schemes for the year 2020-21 has not yet been released. In view of the interest of farmers, the first installment of all schemes should be released immediately to the state, he said. Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grant of Clemency for Roger Stone, Jr. July 10, 2020 Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Grant of Clemency commuting the unjust sentence of Roger Stone, Jr. Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency. There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia. Such collusion was never anything other than a fantasy of partisans unable to accept the result of the 2016 election. The collusion delusion spawned endless and farcical investigations, conducted at great taxpayer expense, looking for evidence that did not exist. As it became clear that these witch hunts would never bear fruit, the Special Counsel's Office resorted to process-based charges leveled at high-profile people in an attempt to manufacture the false impression of criminality lurking below the surface. These charges were the product of recklessness borne of frustration and malice.This is why the out-of-control Mueller prosecutors, desperate for splashy headlines to compensate for a failed investigation, set their sights on Mr. Stone. Roger Stone is well known for his nearly 50 years of work as a consultant for high-profile Republican politicians, including President Ronald Reagan, Senator Bob Dole, and many others. He is also well known for his outspoken support for President Donald J. Trump and opposition to Hillary Clinton. Mr. Stone was charged by the same prosecutors from the Mueller Investigation tasked with finding evidence of collusion with Russia. Because no such evidence exists, however, they could not charge him for any collusion-related crime. Instead, they charged him for his conduct during their investigation. The simple fact is that if the Special Counsel had not been pursuing an absolutely baseless investigation, Mr. Stone would not be facing time in prison. In addition to charging Mr. Stone with alleged crimes arising solely from their own improper investigation, the Mueller prosecutors also took pains to make a public and shameful spectacle of his arrest. Mr. Stone is a 67-year-old man, with numerous medical conditions, who had never been convicted of another crime. But rather than allow him to surrender himself, they used dozens of FBI agents with automatic weapons and tactical equipment, armored vehicles, and an amphibious unit to execute a pre-dawn raid of his home, where he was with his wife of many years. Notably, CNN cameras were present to broadcast these events live to the world, even though they swore they were not notifiedit was just a coincidence that they were there together with the FBI early in the morning. Not only was Mr. Stone charged by overzealous prosecutors pursing a case that never should have existed, and arrested in an operation that never should have been approved, but there were also serious questions about the jury in the case. The forewoman of his jury, for example, concealed the fact that she is a member of the so-called liberal "resistance" to the Trump Presidency. In now-deleted tweets, this activist-juror vividly and openly attacked President Trump and his supporters. Mr. Stone would be put at serious medical risk in prison. He has appealed his conviction and is seeking a new trial. He maintains his innocence and has stated that he expects to be fully exonerated by the justice system. Mr. Stone, like every American, deserves a fair trial and every opportunity to vindicate himself before the courts. The President does not wish to interfere with his efforts to do so. At this time, however, and particularly in light of the egregious facts and circumstances surrounding his unfair prosecution, arrest, and trial, the President has determined to commute his sentence. Roger Stone has already suffered greatly. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address When Florida couple Cecilia and Marvin Lawton were infected with the coronavirus, their daughter Briana worried her mother was most at risk because of her history of high blood pressure, diabetes and respiratory illness. But as Cecilia recovered at home, Marvin lost his battle to the virus. He died in the hospital at age 60. "I really wasn't expecting my dad to get as bad as he was," Briana Lawton told CBS News' Dr. Tara Narula. "I really expected kind of, those roles to be swapped." Researchers have been studying the effects of the coronavirus on both men and women, and they've found that men are more likely to suffer worse outcomes from the disease, and are as much as 2.4 times more likely to die. Cecilia said her daughter, a nurse, still "struggles with the guilt that she couldn't save her dad." The coronavirus' gender gap is similar to those seen with diseases like influenza and hepatitis, which women tend to recover from faster than men. Women also generally mount stronger immune responses from vaccines. "One of the biggest questions that I have is the extent to which these differences between men and women are being mediated by our hormones versus our genes," said Sabra Klein, who studies gender differences in immune response to viruses and vaccination at Johns Hopkins. Some scientists believe the advantage lies in the X chromosome, which carries genes linked to immune function. Women have two X chromosomes, while men only have one. Dr. Sara Ghandehari is researching whether the COVID-19 gender gap could be linked to pregnancy-supporting hormones estrogen, testosterone and progesterone. She's conducting a study on the theory after observing that pregnant women tend to have a "mild presentation" of the virus. In the study, 40 men infected with COVID-19 will receive a five-day course of progesterone to see if it raises their odds of surviving on par with women. Story continues "The hope is that progesterone will get to the disease when it's at a level that there's not an overwhelming amount of inflammation," Ghandehari explained. Another Florida family, the Begazos, saw husband and wife Leo and Carolina infected with the coronavirus. Similarly to the Lawtons, Carolina Begazo had underlying conditions a history of pneumonia and asthma that should have made the virus harder on her. While Carolina got stronger at South Bay Hospital near Tampa, Leo was at the same hospital being intubated, with a 40% chance of survival. A month after he beat the virus and was discharged, he was still weak and needed supplemental oxygen. "I don't have asthma, I don't smoke, I don't have COPD, I don't have hypertension, high cholesterol, nothing," Leo Begazo said. "I should recover faster and easier, and actually it was the other way." Transcripts of police bodycam video released in George Floyd's arrest Mysterious elephant deaths under investigation in Botswana U.S. coronavirus deaths on the rise again Matthias Schoenaerts ("Booker"), left, Charlize Theron ("Andy") and Luca Marinelli ("Nicky") in a scene from "The Old Guard." (Aimee Spinks / Netflix) The Old Guard just launched on Netflix, but the movie's ending quite neatly sets up a sequel and things being what they are, it'd be great to see that next film as soon as possible. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and adapted by Greg Rucka from his own graphic novel, the action movie is exciting and fresh, especially in a summer that has been robbed of the usual blockbusters. Warning: spoilers ahead. If you haven't yet seen "The Old Guard," check out our review or interview with stars Charlize Theron and KiKi Layne instead, and come back later. In the film, Theron's 6,000-year-old Andromache the Scythian, known as Andy, leads a small team of immortal soldiers as they defend themselves against Merrick (Harry Melling), a pharmaceutical executive who wants to extract the secret to their self-healing abilities and nearly eternal life. One of the team, Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), sells them out to Merrick. As punishment he is exiled from the team for 100 years. Earlier in the film, in flashbacks, Andy is seen fighting in the Middle Ages alongside Quynh (Van Veronica Ngo) until they are captured and hanged as witches. When that doesnt kill them, they are separated and Quynh is locked inside an iron casket and tossed overboard from a ship into the sea. She is doomed to drown and reawaken, drown and reawaken for the rest of time. In a final scene, Booker is surprised to find Quynh in his Paris apartment, somehow freed from her underwater tomb. Presumably, this sets the stage for the two of them to band together to seek revenge on the rest of the team. THE OLD GUARD (L to R) CHARLIZE THERON as ANDY and MATTHIAS SCHOENAERTS as BOOKER in "The Old Guard." (Aimee Spinks/NETFLIX) I love that. That was from the graphic novel, Prince-Bythewood said of the films open-ended final beat. And for me, I didn't want to leave that loose end of 'Where was Quynh?,' but also it was important that this film has a beginning, middle and end, that there is a satisfying ending to it. Greg always envisioned the story as a trilogy, Prince-Bythewood said. So there's certainly more story to tell if the audience wants it. Story continues A second series of graphic novels, The Old Guard: Force Multiplied was recently released, which may provide the blueprint for where the next movie could go. The sequel would presumably provide a bigger role for Ngo, the Vietnamese actress best known to American audiences for her roles in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and more recently Da 5 Bloods. Obviously we had Greg Rucka along with us this whole journey, making the film, and he shared with us how he was writing Volume 2 of his graphic novel, said Theron, also a producer on the film. Having insight to that and knowing exactly what that graphic novel is, we know that we want to go and explore another volume and we definitely set it up in the way that Greg is setting up his graphic novel. The character of Quynh is going to be a really interesting character to explore in the sequel, if we get to make it, Theron said. As producers, this wasn't a mistake. We're like, 'OK, how do we set this up in a way that would be intriguing for people and entice them to want to come and join maybe another volume?' And I think having a brand new character set it up in the way that we did it is an interesting one. Charlize Theron ("Andy"); Kiki Layne ("Nile") in "The Old Guard." (AIMEE SPINKS/NETFLIX) In recent interviews, Theron, Layne and Prince-Bythewood all expressed interest in making a sequel. As Layne said, I think we just gotta wait and see how it goes. Please, everybody, watch this, tell everybody to watch this. Cause I mean, we would all love to come back. Call us to come back and do it again. Speaking before the release of The Old Guard, both Theron and Prince-Bythewood were cautiously optimistic about the possibility of a sequel. Ive got to wait and see with the audience, said Prince-Bythewood. I never want to get ahead of myself. I think everybody is going to just wait and see how everything goes, Theron said. People are really responding to the film. And I don't want to jinx anything, so I'm just not going to say anything. I feel like if I'm going to say something right now, I'm going to somehow create energy where it's not going to happen. But it's all looking good. I'll say that. The Lagos state government has sealed off a private medical laboratory for allegedly conducting COVID-19 tests without approval. The... The Lagos state government has sealed off a private medical laboratory for allegedly conducting COVID-19 tests without approval. The state government had warned hospitals and laboratories against conducting COVID-19 tests without approval from the ministry of health. In a tweet on Saturday, the states ministry identified the medical facility as Acouns Medical Laboratory and Diagnostic Centre located in Ikoyi. It said the laboratory situated in a pharmacy was sealed off on Friday for violating COVID-19 guidelines. The ministry warned residents to desist from patronising unaccredited facilities for COVID-19 tests and management. It added that such an action poses danger to citizens health. Yesterday, the Lagos state ministry of health through Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency sealed a private laboratory located on Banana Island, Ikoyi for carrying out #COVID-19 tests without the required government approval, the tweet read. The lab; Acouns Medical Laboratory and Diagnostic Centre was also situated in a pharmacy! Citizens are advised to desist from patronizing Health facilities not accredited by Lagos state government for testing or management of #COVID-19 cases as this poses danger to the community and staff of such facilities. It is illegal to manage COVID19 cases outside of an accredited facility. As a public, we implore you not to go for test or treatment in a private facility that has not been accredited by government. It is dangerous and you might certainly put you at risk. Lagos state ministry of health will continue to do its best to ensure that health facilities in the State adhere strictly to standards to guarantee the health and wellbeing of Lagosians. Members of the public are encouraged to cooperate fully with Lagos state government to ensure the safety and health of all even as we strive to contain the spread of the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/KkMzxYDBFq Yesterday, @LSMOH through @HEFAMAA_LASG sealed a private laboratory located on Banana Island, Ikoyi for carrying out #COVID19 tests without the required government approval. The lab; Acouns Medical Laboratory and Diagnostic Centre was also situated in a pharmacy! @followlasg July 11, 2020 It is illegal to manage COVID19 cases outside of an accredited facility. As a public, we implore you not to go for test or treatment in a private facility that has not been accredited by government. It is dangerous and you might certainly put you at risk. LSMOH (@LSMOH) July 11, 2020 Members of the public are encouraged to cooperate fully with @followlasg to ensure the safety and health of all even as we strive to contain the spread of the pandemic. July 11, 2020 Nothing in the Constitution requires states to use the winner-take-all method. Again, as the high court just reiterated, its entirely up to the states how they do it. So why do all but two of them do it in such a brazenly anti-democratic way? Simple: partisan politics. That, and nothing more noble than that, is why Missouris ruling Republicans, and Illinois ruling Democrats, would never in a million years consider giving the minority party the fair share of the votes it earned if they dont have to. Multiply that cynicism by 48 states, and you have the definition of the problem. Solving it wouldnt even require abolishing the Electoral College. It could be kept in place, maintaining the modest advantage it gives to small states and its useful incentive for coalition-building. As for that little side-effect of disenfranchising millions of Americans every four years, all it would take to fix it is a 15-word constitutional amendment: Each state shall apportion its electoral votes based upon the popular vote within the state. Dont expect to see that amendment any time soon. It would have to get past a lot of elected officials who have little incentive to put the health of democracy over their partisan interests. But until that or something like it happens especially with the courts ruling last week Hamiltons wall against unfit presidents remains, in reality, a gate, inviting them in. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. She may be the golden girl of British comedy, but Phoebe Waller-Bridges first American TV venture has been axed after just one series. The Fleabag creator helped bring the comedy thriller Run to screens and had a recurring role as a lesbian taxidermist. But network bosses at premium channel HBO have pulled the plug after only seven episodes, with TV insiders admitting that it failed to connect with audiences. Phoebe Waller-Bridge (pictured)'s US TV series has been pulled after one series after it 'failed to connect with audiences' It is the first hiccup in the award-winning stars glittering career, which also includes writing Killing Eve and helping with the script for the next James Bond film, No Time To Die. Run, which aired on Sky in the UK, was created by Waller-Bridges long-standing collaborator Vicky Jones, with the Fleabag star acting as executive producer as well as appearing on screen. It starred US actress Merritt Wever and Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson, as Ruby and Billy, former college sweethearts who made a pact 17 years ago: if either texted Run, and the other replied with the same, theyd drop everything, meet in New Yorks Grand Central station and travel across America. But despite being well received by critics, the show struggled to find an audience, averaging just 232,000 viewers an episode when it aired on HBO in April and May. A Hollywood TV source said: Run was liked by network bosses at a time when Fleabag and Killing Eve were the hottest things on the planet. However, Run just did not translate to HBO audiences as expected. According to the source, Waller-Bridge and Jones held talks with network bosses on how to draw a bigger audience with a second series but failed to reach agreement. 'Run', which aired on Sky in the UK, was created by Waller-Bridges long-standing collaborator Vicky Jones, with the Fleabag star acting as executive producer The source added: Sure, its the first flop for Phoebe Stateside, but she does not have time to lick her wounds. Her deal with Amazon Studios means she has three years of pitching concepts and series to them exclusively with a fine budget on the table. HBO had seen off fierce competition from other broadcasters to snap up the rights to Run. But a spokesman said: After exploring potential ways of continuing Ruby and Billys journey together with showrunner Vicky Jones, we have come to the decision that we will not be moving forward with a second season of Run. Waller-Bridge, 34, is still regarded as one of Hollywoods biggest rising stars thanks to Fleabag, which has picked up six Emmy awards. WHO chief applauds the steps taken by the authorities to control the deadly coronavirus in the biggest slum of Asia, Dharavi. He said that no matter how strong the outbreak was in some countries, it could still be chased through hostile action and gave examples of Italy, Spain and South Korea, and Dharavi. WHO (World Health Organisation) chief applauds the steps taken by the authorities to control the deadly coronavirus in the biggest slum of Asia, Dharavi. He said that the key to breaking the chain of transmission of the extremely communicable disease is testing and tracking. WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that no matter how strong the outbreak was in some countries, it could still be chased through hostile action and gave examples of Italy, Spain, and South Korea, and Dharavi. WHO continues to work with partners to ensure that the neediest and most marginalized are prioritized, Tedros added. The WHO DG stressed on the essentiality for leadership, community involvement, and collective solidarity. Tedros statement comes on the day, Mike Ryan, head of the WHOs emergency program said that it was doubtful that the new coronavirus would be eliminated. Shiv Sena leader, Aaditya Thackeray, also showed appreciation over WHO chiefs comments and encouraged the authorities to keep following the path to victory. This is huge for our very own Dharavi that has chased the virus. State Govt and @mybmc teams, along with NGOs, Elected Representatives and most importantly, Dharavikars! Lets keep this going! Thank you @WHO for recognising their efforts, and will keep going on https://t.co/RSVGILaoLo Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) July 10, 2020 Also read: US-EU alliance against China: Mike Pompeo dials German Foreign Minister Assistant commissioner of G (North) ward, Kiran Dighavkar, which has authority over Dharavi, said that Testing, massive screening, identifying patients and their high-risk contacts, and quarantining them from the community has worked very good for Dharavi. The total number of cases in Dharavi, Asias largest slum is 2,359, yet the number of active cases is just 166. It was a hot spot in June but has seen a sharp decline in cases in July. Indias recovery rate has been fairly better than the rest of the world. The recovery rate of the country is at around 63 percent, even though the total coronavirus cases in India crossed the 8 lakh mark on Friday. Also read: China warns US of reciprocal measures over sanctions on CCP officials For all the latest National News, download NewsX App You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Imperial Valley News Center Man Sentenced for Killing a Woman on a Cruise Ship Kansas City, Kansas - A Kansas man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison for murdering his longtime girlfriend during a cruise from Florida to the Bahamas in January 2018. Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Stephen R. McAllister of the District of Kansas and Special Agent in Charge Rachel L. Rojas of the FBIs Jacksonville Field Office made the announcement. Eric Duane Newman, 55, of Topeka, Kansas, pleaded guilty on December 19, 2019, before Chief U.S. District Judge Julie A. Robinson of the District of Kansas to one count of murder in the second degree for killing Tamara Tucker with malice aforethought. Chief Judge Robinson also sentenced Newman to five years of post-release supervision and ordered him to pay $8,496.00 restitution to Tuckers family. According to the admissions made in connection with the plea, Newman and Tucker boarded the Carnival Elation cruise ship on January 18, 2018, in Jacksonville, Florida, to take a round-trip voyage to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Newman and Tucker were staying together in a cabin room on the 13th deck of the cruise ship. Before midnight on January 18, Newman became involved in a verbal argument with Tucker inside their cabin room. At approximately 12:15 a.m. on January 19, Newman physically attacked Tucker, and strangled her by placing both of his hands around her neck. In the process of strangling her, Newman pushed Tucker over the cabin room balcony railing causing her to fall to her death onto the 11th deck. Tucker died from blunt force trauma as a result of the fall. At the time, the cruise ship was sailing on the high seas in international water, approximately 30 nautical miles from New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The investigation was conducted by the FBIs Jacksonville Field Office with the assistance of the FBIs Topeka Field Office. Trial Attorney Rami S. Badawy of the Criminal Divisions Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine E. Kenney of the District of Kansas prosecuted the case. Assistance was also provided by the Criminal Divisions Office of International Affairs and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas Office of the Attorney General. The spread of the Covid-19 is putting even greater strain on Yemen, a country already badly affected by conflict and the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, writes Khadija Elrabti Over the past few weeks, cries for help for Yemen, caught up in war and a humanitarian crisis, have taken the form of social media posts on the Internet as more and more people are talking about the worst crisis to have hit the country in the last 100 years. Graphic images of people starved almost to bags of bones, with only their eyes showing signs of life, are circulating on the Internet as depictions of the lives of many in Yemen today and the result of the humanitarian crisis and collateral damage from the war. Yemen will be wiped off the world map should things continue as they are is the headline on most news sites, videos and online posts from Yemen, where the damage from the war still outweighs the aid arriving. Some 24 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian aid in Yemen at a time when such help is decreasing. This months UN appeal for humanitarian aid for Yemen has fallen short by more than $1 billion. Even with the coronavirus now also rapidly spreading throughout the country, only three medical supply shipments arrived in Yemen on Friday in what is one of the Arab worlds poorest countries. Programmes covering crucial sectors from healthcare, nourishment and basic amenities have been cut. The UN World Food Programme has cut the rations it issues in half, while the UN has reduced its funded health services to Yemens hospitals. In an already crisis-stricken country, the global coronavirus pandemic can only put an even greater strain on the lives of all Yemenis, among them the elderly and women and children. The inability of the Yemeni authorities to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the country is based on events prior to its arrival. The five years of conflict in Yemen have left the country devastated, leading to a vacuum producing instability and insecurity throughout all areas of the country, said British Yemeni researcher Mohamed Murshed. The insecurity does not lend confidence to the aid agencies and NGOs in carrying out their work in regions of danger, and even if conflict can be avoided Yemens poor infrastructure is scarcely able to deliver much-needed aid on roads planted with mines and blown-up bridges, he said. All this reduces the speed of distribution of the aid and in turn increases the rate of the viruss spread. But the aid is a matter of life or death for many Yemenis as they struggle to survive in the face of famine. The situation on the ground is now described by locals as catastrophic, and the coronavirus is spreading among a population that lacks the awareness and ability to act appropriately. Some government data suggest there are just over 900 cases of Covid-19 in Yemen. But these figures are probably unreliable, and the true numbers are much higher, Murshed said. Frontline healthcare workers in Yemen are vulnerable as they have to work knowing that they do not have the medical equipment needed, but still have to expose themselves to the threat of the virus and put themselves and their families in jeopardy. The lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other equipment makes them vulnerable and puts them at high risk. Should they contract the virus, this would only further weaken the defensive front lines in a country that is desperate for doctors rather than soldiers, Murshed said. Yemen has one of the lowest rates of doctors in the world, with a World Health Organisation report stating that there are just five doctors per 10,000 people. This figure expresses the need to protect doctors and those on the frontline so that they can have a chance against the virus. The UN has already labelled Yemen as suffering from the worlds worst humanitarian crisis even before the first case of Covid-19 was recorded in the country. The already fragile healthcare system has been pushed to the brink by patients from the civil war and people suffering from diseases and infections due to the total collapse of facilities such as clean water, sewerage systems, food supplies and medication, Murshed said. Yemen has been caught up in a civil war for the past six years, and since the conflict started around 100,000 people have been killed or severely injured, while millions of others have been displaced from their homes. The absence of governance and financial resources has reduced Yemens healthcare system at a time when investment was crucially needed. This has also increased the number of patients, especially the vulnerable such as children, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, stretching the hospitals and healthcare system to their limit, Murshed said. Alongside the damage from the conflict, Yemen has also been fighting against cholera for the last four years, a horrific battle against a disease that should have been left in the 19th century. According to the UN, Yemen has been facing the worlds worst cholera outbreak. A total of over 35,500 cholera cases was reported in the first month of 2020 alone, with this highly infectious disease wreaking havoc and leaving people fragile and barely able to move. The rationing of medical supplies had already started before the arrival of Covid-19, making the situation even worse as supplies become scarcer. At this point, many Yemenis are asking themselves not when they will perish, but how. By the time you have read this article a Yemeni child could have died from a preventable disease, Murshed commented. *A version of this article appears in print in the 25 June, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Short link: Purnea, July 11 : A road and a roundabout here have been renamed in memory of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, a resident of Bihar. The people of Purnea, Sushant's home district, had been demanding the renaming of a road and chowk in memory of the actor. The municipal corporation has now changed the name of Ford Company Chowk to Sushant Singh Rajput Chowk. Savita Devi, the mayor of Purnea, inaugurated the newly renamed road and chowk, pictures of which have gone viral on social media. Devi said that Sushant was a great artist and to name the road after him is a tribute to him. The mayor said that the road that goes from Madhubani to Mata Chowk will now be known as Sushant Singh Rajput Road. Not only this, the name of the roundabout of the famous car company has also been changed to Sushant Singh Rajput Chowk. People of the state, including some organisations, are demanding a CBI probe into the actor's death. Sushant had allegedly committed suicide on June 14 at his flat in Mumbai's Bandra. Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text President Donald Trump wears a mask as he walks down the hallway during his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Saturday, July 11, 2020. President Donald Trump wore a mask during a public visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Saturday, after long resisting bipartisan prodding to lead by example and demonstrate to Americans the importance of wearing a face covering to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. Trump was visiting wounded service members and their families as well as health-care staff who have been caring for Covid-19 patients during the pandemic, the White House said. The president was accompanied by military leaders and followed by staff who were also wearing masks. Trump donned the mask as the country continued to experience record increases in infections. Overall, more than 3.2 million Americans have been infected by the coronavirus, while more than 134,000 have died. Before departing for Walter Reed, Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn that he would "probably have a mask" while visiting the hospital. Walter Reed requires visitors to wear masks when maintaining a safe social distance isn't possible. Profits at stock market-listed home builder Abbey, which is almost entirely owned by the Gallagher family, slumped 38pc to 33m in its last financial year as trading in the three months to the end of April was significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The results were in line with guidance, however. And while the Irish company paid dividends totalling 2.3m last year, no further dividend has been proposed in respect of the 2020 financial year due to the pandemic, Abbey said. The construction firm, whose executive chairman is Charles Gallagher, said it completed 490 sales in the year to the end of April, with 405 of those in the UK and 57 in Ireland. The remainder were in the Czech Republic. Last October, Mr Gallagher signalled that the company hoped to complete 100 units in Ireland in the 2020 financial year. Abbey's revenue from continuing operations tumbled to 182.1m in the last financial year from 230.9m in the previous year. "In Ireland we ended the year with a strong forward sales position," the firm noted yesterday. "Sales completions will rise significantly this year." The home builder said that work is "well advanced" on projects in Navan, Co Meath, and in Portlaoise. A significant new project in Oranmore in Co Galway will be getting under way in the first half of the group's current financial year. Abbey said it has more projects in the planning process. "Trading in the last quarter was significantly impacted by the Covid crisis. In this context the overall results were satisfactory," the company said. Abbey said its activity in the UK resumed at reduced levels in May, with sales having held up, underpinned by the British government's 'Help to Buy' programme there. "Production is steady but constrained by Covid regulations and some material supply interruptions," it said. "All new projects placed on hold are planned to start before the end of October. Budgeting this year is more than usually difficult and the delayed start to new projects will result in lower than previously planned completions," Abbey told shareholders. It ended the financial year with just under 1,800 plots in the UK. WUHAN, CHINA - FEBRUARY 19: A doctor examines a pregnant woman in a private obstetric hospital on February 19, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei, China. Getty Images / Stringer / Stringer New research coronavirus may be able to infect fetuses if the pregnant mother has the virus. Researchers looked at samples of breast milk, placenta, and umbilical cord blood to see if they could detect the virus. The study was done on 31 women in Italy during the outbreak. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A small study in Italy has found evidence suggesting that, in pregnant women, the coronavirus can reach their fetus. Researchers examined samples of various specimens, like breast milk, placenta, vaginal swabs, amniotic fluid, and umbilical cord blood, from 31 women from three Italian hospitals during the outbreak during March and April 2020, all in their third trimester. They found signs of the virus and antibodies across the samples in one vaginal swab, one breast milk sample, one placenta sample, and in nine samples of cord blood. After weeks of health officials assured the public that vertical transmission wasn't possible, this small study adds more weight to evidence showing the opposite appears to be true. "Our study shows that vertical transmission in utero from mother to child of COVID-19 is indeed possible," study author Dr. Claudio Fenizia, immunology specialist at the University of Milan, said said at a virtual medical conference. At the start of the pandemic, experts believed fetuses could not be infected There was a time when women were told vertical transmission wasn't possible, but a growing body of research is suggesting otherwise. Three studies that came out in March also suggested that pregnant women could infect fetuses in utero. The studies were small, with sample sizes of a single mother and child, six infants, and 33 infants. None of the infants died. The studies "suggest to me that the virus can cross the placenta," Sonja Rasmussen, a pediatrician and a professor at the University of Florida, told STAT. Story continues Other infectious diseases, like HIV and Zika, can be passed on to a fetus by a pregnant women. One of the children in the study was born with COVID-19, doctors said The newborn children were all tested for coronavirus, and in the case of one child, "there's strong evidence suggesting that the newborn was born already positive because we found the virus in the umbilical cord blood and in the placenta," Fenizia said. Only two of the 31 newborn children tested positive for COVID-19, making fetal infection relatively rare. Those two children quickly recovered from the virus. "Generally, children have much less of a chance of having an adverse [COVID-19] outcome, except maybe for newborns," Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the conference. Uncertainty about the virus is making pregnancy a scary prospect Researchers still don't know a lot about the health ramifications of having coronavirus while pregnant, which makes pregnancy a scary prospect for many women. "I'm feeling less in control, more worried, as new data comes in about infected infants and pregnant women," one pregnant woman previously told Business Insider. "I feel like we don't know enough about this virus; however, what we do know seems to worsen daily," another woman said. "One moment they are saying pregnant women should be OK, then a week later, the UK is recommending pregnant women stay home for three months." Read the original article on Business Insider Some lawyers in Lagos have commended the suspension of Mr Ibrahim Magu, the Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ... Some lawyers in Lagos have commended the suspension of Mr Ibrahim Magu, the Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), by President Muhammadu Buhari over alleged corruption. In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday, the lawyers said the suspension reinforced the principle that nobody could be above the law. They asserted that Magus suspension would enable free and fair investigations into the allegations levelled against him. Magu is currently being investigated by a presidential panel over allegations of corruption. President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday approved Magus suspension as acting chairman of the EFCC. Mr Chibuikem Opara, a lawyer at the Justification Law Firm, Ikeja, said the president took a good step in suspending the EFCC acting chairman to show his commitment to the fight against corruption. One good thing about Magus suspension is that it reinforces the principle that nobody is above the law. The revelation herein is that this has shown the level of corruption in the country. A situation where the chairman of an anti-corruption agency is enmeshed in corruption allegations does not speak well of the country, Opara said. He advised that the action not stop at the level of suspension. If he is found culpable, he should be charged to court, he said. Mr Ogedi Ogu, a lawyer at the Source Chambers, Yaba, Lagos, told NAN that Magus suspension was expected, considering the weight of allegations against him. It is interesting that his investigation is being carried out by the same government that appointed him to show non-tolerance to corruption by the government. It also shows that nobody is above the law. If there is an allegation against the holder of an office, it is expected that an investigation is launched. It is an unfortunate situation to have the head of an anti-corruption agency enmeshed in corruption allegations, Ogu said. He urged the Federal Government to ensure the conclusion of the investigation. Ogu also advised that the era of EFCC media trial should end by ensuring Magus prosecution if indicted. According to him, this is another test to show our commitment as a nation interested in the war against corruption. There is no other apt opportunity than now, Ogu said. Another Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Emmanuel Ofoegbu, said, Magus suspension is proper so that the allegations against him could be fairly and freely investigated. A virologist from Hong Kong, who fled to the United States in April when the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak, has said that China knew about the deadly infection much before it claimed it did and that her supervisors at her university as well as higher-ups had an obligation to share this information with the world. In an interview to Fox News on Friday, Li-Meng Yan, who has specialised in virology and immunology at the Hong Kong School of Public Health, said her supervisors ignored her research being carried out when the pandemic had just started that she believes could have saved lives. "The reason I came to the US is because I deliver the message of the truth of COVID," she told Fox News from an undisclosed location, adding that she "will be disappeared and killed" if she had attempted to tell her story in China. Yan says she was one of the first scientists in the world to study the coronavirus and was allegedly asked by her supervisor, Dr Leo Poon, last year to look into the cluster of SARS-like cases emerging from mainland China. The China government refused to let overseas experts, including ones in Hong Kong, do research in China," she said. "So I turned to my friends to get more information." Yan, who grew up in China, tapped into her network of professional contacts working in medical institutions there. A scientist friend working at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China, who knew about the cases, in December allegedly told Yan about human-to-human spread much before China or the World Health Organization (WHO) WHO admitted to the possibility. When Yan informed her supervisor, "he just nodded", she said, telling her to continue working. Yan realised her Chinese colleagues soon stopped talking about the virus and would refrain from discussing the issue. "'We cannot talk about it, but we need to wear masks'," Yan recollected them as saying. As the numbers of human-to-human transmission cases burst, Yan decided to leave Hong Kong, sneaking out in the middle of the night of April 28 to catch a Cathay Pacific flight to the US. Yan is now in hiding and claims that the Chinese government is trying to tarnish her reputation, accusing government goons of setting up a cyber-attack against her in order to keep her quiet. Yan said the Hong Kong government tore apart her apartment in her hometown of Qingdao and also questioned her parents. When she spoke to them, they begged her to come home. The US has consistently accused China of covering up the beginnings and spread of the pandemic, with President Donald Trump saying Beijing must be held fully accountable for its "secrecy, deception and cover-up" that allowed it to spread the coronavirus all over the world. Trump has expressed disappointment over China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the past. In May, he claimed that it was the "incompetence" of Beijing that led to the mass killing across the globe. China has denied the claim of "covering up" the extent of its coronavirus outbreak and has accused the US of attempting to divert public attention by insinuating that the virus originated from a virology laboratory in Wuhan. Boris Johnson is under mounting pressure to strip British Airways of prized airport landing slots over its 'fire and rehire' jobs plan. More than 100 MPs from across political parties have urged the Prime Minister to review BA's right to slots at airports such as Heathrow as it embarks on a huge restructuring that will axe 12,000 staff. The airline is struggling after flights around the world were grounded for several months and travel is only just starting to pick up again. More than 100 MPs have urged the Prime Minister to review BA's right to slots at airports such as Heathrow as it embarks on a huge restructuring that will axe 12,000 staff It insists cutting 12,000 jobs or 28p per cent of its 42,000-strong workforce is crucial to its survival and that it is being unjustly vilified. The airline is on the cusp of agreeing a deal with pilots but has not been able to engage with unions that represent cabin crew. Trade union Unite has accused the airline of planning a 'fire and rehire' system involving remaining employees having their terms and conditions downgraded. IAG-owned BA has insisted its proposals have been put forward for consultation, adding that no decisions have been taken in regards to actual redundancies. The airline holds more than half of the slots which give planes the right to take off and land at a certain time at Heathrow, which can be worth several million pounds each. Boss Alex Cruz has previously told staff that every slot the airline loses 'will lead to jobs in BA being permanently lost'. Sharon Graham, Unite executive officer, said the company was 'essentially creating an unrecognisable airline'. The pledge, organised by Unite, encourages the PM to prevent airlines being able to keep hold of the coveted slots without factors such as 'internal investment, social responsibility and connectivity' being considered. It has been signed by MPs of all parties including 15 Tories such as Huw Merriman, the chairman of Commons transport committee. A BA spokesman said: 'We are acting to protect as many jobs as possible. We call on Unite and GMB to consult with us on our proposals as our pilot union, Balpa, is doing.' *** BALPA has branded proposals by EasyJet to use sick days as a factor when deciding who to axe as part of its wave of redundancies as 'unnecessary and wrong'. A spokesman for the airline denied that sickness was a 'key component' and said that absence was one of a number of criteria being put forward in the proposals. Harry and Meghan are taking a stand against institutional racism. Credit:AP Not in the mood In response to my request for Tweets of the week, one of my followers nominated another follower @mbabbbage, who posted on Thursday: My call from Nora at "Westpac security" today. Nora: Good morning, I am Nora blah blah. How are you today? Me: Good thanks Nora but to be honest Im not in the mood to be scammed today. [Long pause] Me: So who is going to hang up first, you or me? [Long pause] Nora: I will. Wrong steer on Speers Its like that famous quote from Abraham Lincoln you often see circulating: Dont believe everything you read on the internet. On Monday morning the ABCs David Speers was trending on Twitter, for a quote he was purported to have said on the coverage of the Eden-Monaro byelection, which showed him to be a dyed-in-the-wool Liberal man: I hope we can hang on in Queanbeyan. The problem is, of course, he never said it. The closest approximation of this classic example of #FakeNews was this Speers quote: The government, even if they dont get there tonight, will say Labors primary vote really fell off here, we held up though where it counts in the economic message in Queanbeyan and Yass and so on. But, once on the internet and circulating, the thing took on a life of its own. Like everyone else, Speers noted to me on Monday, Im happy to be held to account for what I say, not false quotes invented by others. Insiders presenter David Speers. Credit:Justin McManus Joke of the Week Finally, the negotiations are concluded. Moses comes down from the Mount to speak to the gathered Israelites crowding around him. "I have good news and I have bad news!" he says. "What is the good news?" the crowd chimes. "I have negotiated with God and I have him down to just 10 commandments!" An uproar of cheering breaks out: "Hooray!" "Hip-hip, hurrah!" "Good on you, Moses!" "Moses is the man!" And then, when the cheering has subsided a little, another voice from the back calls out. "And what is the bad news, Moses?" "Well," Moses says, suddenly appearing crestfallen. "I am afraid the one on adultery stays in." Quiz answer: 86 is indeed a restaurant term for getting rid of something, taking it off the menu. 45 is Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States. 11320 is the date of the presidential election, so all put together it means "vote out Donald Trump, next election". We can only hope. Quotes of the Week I also laugh but I don't have a laughter problem. - Johnny Depp, on the stand, when asked whether he has an anger problem after being shown footage of him being angry. Today, Donald is much as he was at three years old: incapable of growing, learning, or evolving, unable to regulate his emotions, moderate his responses, or take in and synthesise information. - Backcover quote on the book by the US Presidents niece, Mary, which seeks to air the familys dirty laundry, going back generations. Im very good at processing emotional stuff. You have to accept the lows and highs. One makes you appreciate the other. Ive had a little bit of time to sit back and all I can say is I loved every minute of it. No regrets. - Cook Poh Ling Yeow being philosophical about leaving MasterChef last Sunday. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly reviewed a report detailing sustainable development progress achieved in Egypt in 2020. The report, prepared by engineer, Randa el-Minshawy, the premiers first assistant, tackled Egypt's status pertaining to sustainable development according to 2020 indices, along with the impact of the the current pandemic on attaining development goals. Egypt has placed sustainable development on the top of its priorities, in line with President Abdel Fattah El Sisis directives; a matter clearly embodied in "Egypt Vision 2023" that envisaged a long- term sustainable development strategy encompassing all sectors, with a view to meeting citizens needs, said the premier. According to the report, Egypt has advanced nine ranks as per 2020 sustainable development index. The report highlighted tangible progress achieved in eradicating poverty, hunger, improving health and education services, providing clean water, offering clean energy at affordable prices, along with securing more decent work opportunities, improving marine life and establishing new cities and local communities, that all contributed to economic growth. Search Keywords: Short link: Orlando, July 11 : Walt Disney World in Florida is set to open to members of the public on Saturday for the first time in months, despite a recent surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the US state. There will be a phased re-opening of the theme parks in Orlando with a smaller visitor capacity than usual, said a BBC report. Florida recorded 11,400 coronavirus cases on Friday, and cities and counties have been reinstating restrictions that had been lifted two months ago. From Saturday, one will need to book in advance but you can visit Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom. Epcot and Hollywood Studios will open on July 15. Visitors and employees will have to wear masks and undergo temperature checks before entering the parks. Parades and fireworks have been cancelled over fears that crowds could gather. Other theme parks such as Universal Studios and SeaWorld opened in June. Meanwhile, the Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea reopened on July 1 after the company after Disney decided to resume operations at their Shanghai and Hong Kong parks. Disneyland Paris is also expected to reopen this month. Since the coronavirus shutdowns began in March, everyones been wondering the same thing: Are city residents really leaving? And if so, are they ever coming back? Eager journalists have rushed to quote suburban real estate brokerswhich is like asking Oscar Mayer if people like hot dogs. Local TV is following families out to greener pastures, and Instagram shows a never-ending stream of vacations. To find out how many people have really left, I consulted some experts on cities and suburbs: Emily Badger of the New York Times, Natalie Moore of WBEZ Chicago, and Amanda Kolson Hurley of Bloomberg Businessweek. On Fridays episode of What Next: TBD, we talked about whos really moving out of cities, why, and what comes next. This transcript has been condensed and edited for clarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henry Grabar: What would be the data or the anecdotes that you would look for to tell if there really is an exodus going on from cities? People are facing eviction and then there are folks who want to talk about urban planning. Natalie Moore Natalie Moore: I would start looking at vacancy rates for apartments, checking in with apartment buildings, with real estate agents, to see if people are pulling out of deals for rentals and for home sales or condo sales. I think that that would be the first starting point, to see if theres any pandemic panic. Emily Badger: Right. Its sort of frustrating to ask people to be patient when everyone wants to talk about how the world is fundamentally changing right now. But I think its going to take a while for us to really sort out whether or not something is happening right now thats fundamentally different from what would have been happening right now, otherwise. We definitely know that people have left. We can see it in cellphone data, or you can see it in garbage collection data. Its clear that people have temporarily left, but I dont think that we can necessarily translate that to those people are never going to come back again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grabar: Has anyone seen signs of cities being flexible, adapting, working for the people who live there? Moore: People are facing eviction, when they are losing their jobs and you have all these other immediate things, and then there are folks who want to talk about urban planning. I look on social media about people complaining really, really strongly about the lakefront not being open because they want to take walks. And the transportation folks are like, Heres our moment to close down streets and become a carless society. And I dont think thats the message that Black neighborhoods in particular want to hear right now. Advertisement Advertisement Badger: Yeah. Weve been talking a lot over the last couple of months about the benefits of cities, the benefits of density, and to some people, thats a conversation about the benefits of having lots of diverse kinds of restaurants or of having amenities and cultural institutions. But then theres this whole other category of benefits, which are things like really big hospital systems, a lot of beds in ICUs, hospitals that have ventilators. Theres this infrastructural, social service side of things that we have in cities that a lot of less dense communities dont have. That includes a lot of social services that are designed to support the poor, creating a safety net. But those conversations, to come back to Natalies point, I think are a little bit different from the conversations about whether or not were giving people access to restaurants on the street right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The more weve learned, the more the city-suburb distinction really breaks down. Amanda Kolson Hurley Grabar: Amanda, theres a lot of suburbs that have some citylike features, including yours [outside of D.C.]. Do you think it makes sense to draw this hard line between cities and suburbs when we talk about the pandemic? Amanda Kolson Hurley: I definitely think the distinction is limited in its utility. In the early days of the pandemic, there were a number of articles speculating about: Is COVID a sort of urban disease? Is this an urban phenomenon? Is it because of density? Is it because of the subway? And from the beginning, that struck me as the wrong question to ask. In suburbs, whatever level of density and whatever that suburb looks like, people are going to houses of worship, kids are going to school, people are going to the gym, theyre going to Walmart or whatever, theyre going to the grocery store. And actually the more that weve learned about how the virus spreads and what the riskiest situations are for becoming infected, the more that kind of city-suburb distinction really breaks down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grabar: It turned out you cant escape COVID-19 in the suburbs, but at least you could get a backyard for your kids, right? Advertisement Moore: It takes a lot to move. It takes money, it takes time, resources. So I have a hard time thinking someones going to move just because of the pandemic, whether were in it right now or if theyre looking six months from now. But with child care, everybody is suffering with that, no matter where you live. And I dont know if you get a house in a suburb where youre going to pay higher taxes so you can have a backyard for your kid because she might not be in school five days a week, if thats worth it. Advertisement Grabar: Despite all the talk about the resurgence of cities before the pandemic, suburbanization has never really gone away. In most cities its as much a part of the big-city life cycle as ever. If the families moving out now are the same ones who wouldve moved out next year or the year after that, then whats happening right now might not be so significant. But what is new is remote work. Hurley: If that becomes very widespread, that would be enough of a push factor, I think, to actually accelerate suburbanization. If you have families where you used to have two people commuting to jobs, two adults commuting to jobs, and one or more children commuting to school, and now everybodys at home and this becomes a long-term or medium-term situation, I think that the spatial strain at that point would be enough to push people to say finally, OK, we just need more space. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moore: The commuter rail line here [in Chicago] is concerned because the suburbanites, many of them come to the central business district, but theyre not living in the city. So will that transit line or system be able to sustain itself if you have all of these workers staying home? I do think that the short-term thing to look at is office buildings and space. I think we can see some clear things there right now about how theyre being retrofitted, how people arent coming back, buildings that are vacant or have vacancies probably wont be able to be filled, and what does that mean for the commuter? Its not always just city versus suburb, but how are we connected to a region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grabar: Right. Another question is how fragile are the amenities that keep people in the city, that make cities exciting? Im thinking about fast, frequent transit in the public bucket, and then also all the private culture of a city, its live music venues and restaurants and comedy clubs. It seems like, even under the best-case scenario, some of these places are going to be in real trouble. And Im wondering how durable you think that infrastructure is. Advertisement Badger: One, its really hard to predict, what is that landscape going to look like? And then the other question is how are people going to respond to that landscape if it really changes? I think it depends on who you ask. There are clearly some young, professional twentysomethings who have a lot of disposable income for whom the appeal of city life is that they would have those places to spend their disposable income. But then I also think there are a lot of people who wouldnt want to move away from the city because they have extended family who live nearby or they have social networks that theyre embedded in. And those kinds of things are going to still be here regardless of what happens to the economy. Advertisement Grabar: It seems like one thing were coming around to is that its kind of a luxury to be able to uproot your life. And even remote work, which is what enables a lot of this conversation about suburbanization to even happen, is something of a luxury. If it is only the richest urbanites who decide that theyre going to a farmhouse in the mountains for the fall so that they can send their kids to school every day and go for walks and whatnot, why should we care? Does that matter for cities? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Badger: If in fact there is some exodus of wealthy people, it definitely matters for cities if their tax base is going to further shrink on top of the fact that sales taxes have completely disappeared. Cities are going to be in this terrible moment going forward with their budgets, regardless of what happens with these demographic changes, at the very same moment when theres going to be enormous need for spending on a lot of programs by cities. So simply from the point of view that we would like to spend some of rich peoples money on things that benefit everyone, I think we should care whether or not those people leave. Advertisement Grabar: That issue of municipal budgets is about to be pretty pressing in the longer term, if city schools lose their guidance counselors, if the bus only comes once every 20 minutes. Does that weigh on these places appeal? Hurley: The idea that you can relocate your way out of the problem is false. All types of urbanized areas have hard times ahead. I dont think that theres any retreat to some kind of idyllic place thats not going to be affected by this economic crisis. Listen to the full episode using the player below, or subscribe to What Next: TBD on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. New Delhi, July 11 : Domain registration and web hosting giant GoDaddy on Saturday announced a partnership with crowdfunding platform Ketto to help Indian businesses hit by Covid-19 disruptions to host a fundraiser campaign for free. As part of this initiative, a small business based in India, with a website holding an active .in, .co.in, org.in, net.in or IND.in domain name, can apply to start a crowdfunding campaign on Ketto to support their business. GoDaddy will work with Ketto to evaluate the applications based on a set of eligibility criteria. On average, Ketto charges a commission of five per cent as platform success fee and subsequent three per cent payment gateway fee on the total funds raised by each fundraiser. As a result of GoDaddy's partnership with Ketto, the small businesses will get the opportunity to host a fundraiser on Ketto for free, without paying any intermediate fee. GoDaddy said it will incur these fee expenses on behalf of eligible small businesses, for combined funds raised up to Rs 2 crore. "GoDaddy will work with Ketto and shortlist the applications basis a set eligibility criteria, and help these entrepreneurs and small business owners get financial aid to not just support their business goals but also their employee base," Nikhil Arora, Managing Director and Vice President, GoDaddy India, told IANS in an interview. "By joining forces with Ketto, we have made our first step in trying to bring some financial relief their way," Arora said. Enabling easier access for GoDaddy customers, Ketto's landing page will be highlighted on GoDaddy's #OpenWeStand India website. #OpenWeStand is GoDaddy's global initiative which supports small business owners across the world navigate the challenging times presented by COVID-19, with special offers on services and tools, expert advice, and community for entrepreneurs to share insights and experiences with one another. Over 70 companies have joined in support of #OpenWeStand and pledged action to make a difference together by contributing their expert advice, services, and special offers to help ease the financial stress caused by the ongoing health crisis. "Ketto has already raised over rs 100 crore to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. Having GoDaddy onboard will allow us to reach out to many local businesses in India and enable them to raise funds to help ensure sustainability in the mid to long term," said Kunal Kapoor, Bollywood actor and Co-Founder of Ketto. "Today, local businesses stand impacted by this global pandemic, and it is essential to assist them to the best of our capacity, helping them rebuild and re-establish their business identity." After the City of Laredo mandated that all school systems begin the school year virtually and to provide a plan for resuming on-campus instruction, Dr. Victor Trevino elaborated on the decision Friday. READ MORE: Laredo told to exhaust local resources before state can lend COVID capacity assistance The mandate will affect all school systems, Pre-K through 12. School leaders reassured locals that decisions are being made based on the ever-changing instructions, despite having to switch their reopening model for now a third time this week. This is a result of the mandates from both the Texas Education Agency and the city. Regardless of the TEA mandate, Trevino said that the mandate is focused to preserve life, as he believes there is an increased chance of infection if on-campus instruction is provided. He cited the nine people lost in the last 72 hours as an example for the decision. The mandate was made as an increase in cases and the limited capacity in hospitals are a growing worry that they could at some point overwhelm local health staff and hospitals. Trevino said that the pandemic is being handled on an hour-to-hour basis, and the decision was not easy. UISD administrators will be seeking advice and guidance from both the local health authority and the TEA as both have mandated conflicting mandates. It states that the district is seeking guidance from the Texas Education Agency and the Office of the Governor to ensure that the district will not face consequences for complying with the order. LISD is intending on providing a copy of the Laredo mandate to the TEA and other officials close to the agency to collaborate on a platform of instruction for students. The focus is on protecting students and staff, but as the week has shown, the situation is fluid and changes daily, LISD states. Triumph also stated that the TEA mandate would impact the funding for the schools in the case of not-reopening, but the school board and leadership will stand behind Trevinos decision. The school is expecting more clarity from the TEA and will send out a statement after receiving more details. School districts will be required to send in a reopening plan to both the TEA and the city in the following months. More instruction is expected to follow as the TEA learns about the conflicting mandate by the city. For students in dual-enrollment courses at either TAMIU or Laredo College, both institutions are working with the Laredo Health Department, state and federal agencies to provide more information and ensure student, staff and faculty safety. We are reviewing this local public and private school mandate alongside our Texas A&M University System and will be better able to address its possible implications after that review is complete, TAMIU president Dr. Pablo Arenaz said. At Laredo College, Dr. Marisela Rodriguez, the Provost and Vice Presient of Academic Affairs, said that dual-enrollment courses will be predominantly online but certain programs like the workforce and health sciences will require limited face-to-face instruction. READ MORE: Laredo confirms 40th death due to coronavirus, 142 cases capping record week Laredo College continues to emphasize the health and safety of our students, faculty and community as our highest priority, LC President Dr. Ricardo Solis said. We have made decisions and taken steps since the inception of the pandemic to transition into a primarily virtual environment in an effort to ensure safety. Christian Ocampo may be reached at cocampo@lmtonline.com Gandhinagar, July 11 : Looking at the rising number of coronavirus patients in Surat, the Ahmedabad civic authorities and the State Transport services have decided to restrict the entry of visitors from the Diamond City and South Gujarat to Ahmedabad. The Gujarat State Roads and Transport Corporation (GSRTC) has taken two decisions intending to put a curb on visitors to Ahmedabad city coming from South Gujarat, especially from Surat. The GSRTC has decided to stop the ST bus services for travel to Ahmedabad from Surat. Another decision is that all the buses coming from south Gujarat to other parts of the state will not be allowed entry in Ahmedabad and they will have to bypass the city. Similarly, the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Rajiv Kumar Gupta, who has been designated as special officer for the Covid-19 situation in Ahmedabad, took a decision for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation on Thursday, to screen all the vehicles from south Gujarat entering Ahmedabad, at toll plazas on the Express Highway. Following the decision, screening was started on Friday, where out of 574 persons from south Gujarat, wanting to enter Ahmedabad, 23 were found to be positive for coronavirus. The testing was carried out through the Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) method at the special booths set up by the AMC officials at the toll plaza. Out of the 23 positive cases, two drivers were immediately admitted in an Ahmedabad hospital and two, who were the residents of Ahmedabad were allowed to go home with the condition of 14 days quarantine. While the rest 19 were told to return to Surat, after sending their details to the Surat health authorities. the Gujarat government, following the Unlock-1 phase, had decided to resume the state bus services, after 2 months gap. But as the health authorities achieved success in containing the virus spread in Ahmedabad, the situation deteriorated in the Diamond City over a fortnight ago. Since the start of this month, Surat has been leading the daily coronavirus positive cases count and has emerged as the new hotspot, replacing Ahmedabad. Surat has registered almost 8,000 Corona positive cases and more than 310 have succumbed to the virus. Around 250 to 300 positive cases are being detected daily for over a week now. Apart from Surat, cities like Valsad, Bharuch and Tapi have also been registering high number of cases in the past couple of days. A legal dispute between the Regina Folk Festival and its former executive director has drawn in two key organizers of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A legal dispute between the Regina Folk Festival and its former executive director has drawn in two key organizers of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Lynne Skromeda, the Winnipeg festival's executive director, and Chris Frayer, its artistic director, have signed a letter of support for Sandra Butel, who was dismissed from the Regina fest's top job in February. Butel, who had led the Saskatchewan festival for 21 years, filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit in April, seeking 20 months' salary and benefits, as well as damages. In its statement of defence filed in June, a third-party investigator's report accuses Butel of significant misconduct, threatening staff, making inappropriate sexual comments and racist comments in a work environment, as well as from the festival's mainstage, the Regina Leader-Post reported. None of the claims have been proven in court. Calgary Folk Festival artistic director Kerry Clarke brought the letter of support for Butel forward during the Regina Folk Festival's annual general meeting Thursday, which was held via an online video-conference call. The letter, which was signed by 38 individuals from Canada's live music community, including heads of folk festivals, record company officials, agents and artists, says the Regina board's accusations are "in complete opposition to our experience, having worked with and known Sandra for decades." "She is held in high regard across the country and beyond and deserves to be treated with respect and fairness," the letter adds. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Skromeda and Frayer wouldn't elaborate further when contacted by the Winnipeg Free Press. "I think the letter speaks for itself, and we dont have any further comment at this time," Skromeda said Friday. Regina Folk Festival board president Melissa Biro wouldn't comment on the letter during Thursday's meeting. A majority of board of directors voted to strike the letter from the meeting's minutes after a long discussion, the Leader-Post reported. alan.small@freepress.mb.ca Twitter:@AlanDSmall US Secretary of State on Friday discussed the possibility of strategic collaboration between US and the European Union in talks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, transatlantic ties, and role of the two global giants in combating Covid-19 challenges. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo on Friday (local time) spoke to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, wherein the two leaders discussed among other things, US-EU cooperation in confronting China. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas today to discuss Germanys priorities for its presidencies of the Council of the European Union and the United Nations Security Council, which began July 1, said a State Department spokesperson. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Maas also discussed the path forward to economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S.-EU cooperation in confronting China, and steps toward a lasting cessation to violence and progress on political dialogue in Libya, the State Department. Pompeo underscored U.S. commitment to the Transatlantic relationship and the need for continued coordinated action to confront global challenges. Also read:US suspends all PIA flights over pilots suspicious licenses Also read: US sanctions 3 CCP officials over gross violation of human rights Relations between US and China have been on downward spiral with two countries being at loggerheads on a range of issues. China on Friday rejected US sanctions on Chinese officials and said it will impose reciprocal measures on US institutions and individuals. We firmly reject US sanctions on Chinese officials. The wrong move is serious interference in Chinas internal affairs and detrimental to China-US relations. China decides to impose reciprocal measures on US institutions and individuals with egregious behaviours on Xinjiang, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian, said on Friday during a press briefing. The US had on Thursday (local time) imposed sanctions and visa restrictions against some senior officials of Chinese Communist Party in response to the human rights violations in Xinjiang. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said in a statement that he was designating three senior CCP officials under relevant US laws for their involvement in gross violations of human rights and they and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States. Also read: After India and US, Australia to ban TikTok over data security concerns For all the latest World News, download NewsX App Foodtech unicorn Zomato expects its net loss in July to be under $1 million even as Covid-19 has set it back by about a year in terms of the size of the business, the company said in its annual report on Friday. For June, it posted EBITDA loss of $1.5 million, while revenue hit $17 million. Zomato said its revenue in FY20 grew by 105 per cent to reach $394 million as compared to $192 million in FY19 while the costs grew by only 47 per cent in the corresponding period. For FY19, Zomato posted EBITDA loss of $277 million which increased to $293 million in FY 20. In the first quarter of FY21, Zomato posted revenue of just $41 million, reflecting how Covid-19 impacted its business size. The company posted $12 million EBITDA loss for the same period. "Covid-19 has positively impacted the health of our business -- we seem to have gained 2-3 years along this vector. In July 2020, we estimate our monthly burn rate to land under $1m, while our revenue should land at approximately 60 per cent of pre-Covid peaks ($23m per month)," said Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal. However, he said that the pandemic impacted the size of the business. "We expect to make complete recovery over the next 3-6 months while continuing to maintain tight control on costs/profitability," Goyal said. In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, 75 per cent of Zomato employees volunteered for partial salary cuts. "As of today, all the original salaries have been re-instated, and our net losses of under $1m for July reflect the increased payroll cost already," the Zomato CEO said. Zomato generally publishes its annual report in the first week of April. But this year it delayed the release of the report due to the uncertainties brought about by the pandemic. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} She worked there for 15 years, leaving the job when she had children to stay at home with them. "I was determined, when they told me they were going to tear it down, I told Debbie (my daughter) if they've got a place where I can sit ... I want to go," Epley said. "They brought me this morning ... and I enjoyed it." The building came down to make room for a new National Guard training center that will be built on the site. National Guard Lt. Col. Kent Caldwell told reporters that the readiness center coming to Morganton will be one of eight across the state. "This readiness center will house equipment and soldiers from four different units that will come here and train for state active duty and their federal mission to support ... the state of North Carolina," Caldwell said. The readiness center received $23.33 million from the Connect NC bond for the readiness center, according to a previous News Herald article. "This allows us basically to be well-trained and prepared to respond to any state active duty event that North Carolina needs, emergency management needs the National Guard's assistance in," Caldwell said. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump wore a mask during a visit to a military hospital on Saturday, the first time the president has been seen in public with the type of facial covering recommended by health officials as a precaution against spreading or becoming infected by the novel coronavirus. Trump flew by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Washington to meet wounded servicemembers and health care providers caring for COVID-19 patients. As he left the White House, he told reporters: "When you're in a hospital, especially ... I think it's expected to wear a mask." Trump was wearing a mask in Walter Reed's hallway as he began his visit. He was not wearing one when he stepped off the helicopter at the facility. The president was a latecomer to wearing a mask during the pandemic, which has raged across the U.S. since March and infected more than 3.2 million and killed at least 134,000. Most prominent Republicans, including Vice President Mike Pence, endorsed wearing masks as the coronavirus gained ground this summer. Trump, however, has declined to wear a mask at news conferences, coronavirus task force updates, rallies and other public events. People close to him have told The Associated Press that the president feared a mask would make him look weak and was concerned that it shifted focus to the public health crisis rather than the economic recovery. They spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private matters. While not wearing one himself, Trump has sent mixed signals about masks, acknowledging that they would be appropriate if worn in an indoor setting where people were close together. But he has accused reporters of wearing them to be politically correct and has retweeted messages making fun of Democrat Joe Biden for wearing a mask and implying that Biden looks weak. The wearing of masks became another political dividing line, with Republicans more resistant to wearing them than Democrats. Few masks were seen at recent Trump campaign events in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Phoenix and South Dakota's Mount Rushmore. The only time Trump has been known to wear a mask was during a private part of a tour of a Ford plant in Michigan. On its website, Walter Reed carries this recommendation: Whenever youre out in public, like at your local grocery store or pharmacy, where its difficult to maintain 6 feet of social distance, you should wear a cloth face covering. The facility also notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the coronavirus. -- The Associated Press A mother of a child whose MRI was delayed due to Covid-19 has said she was "left stunned" after being told they will now have to wait until 2029 for the scan. Carmel Sheehan (39), from Kilcock, Co Kildare, is a full-time carer for her daughter Kerri (15), who has Down syndrome and juvenile arthritis. If Kerri was to wait until 2029 for the MRI with general anaesthetic, she would be 24 and no longer in child health services. On Thursday, her mother took to social media to write to new Health Minister Stephen Donnelly after she was told it would be a nine-year wait for the procedure. Pain Last night, Ms Sheehan still hadn't received a response. She wrote: "@DonnellyStephen so I've just been on to Crumlin Hospital wondering when my daughter's MRI will be done, which we had a date for (August) pre-Covid.... To be told our new date is 2029!!!! "This better be addressed asap. There is no way I will stand for this, no way." Ms Sheehan told the Herald Kerri takes the drug Humira to help with the pain associated with arthritis. But this medication can cause serious side-effects including cancer, she said. Kerri has to be regularly monitored by blood tests to ensure her health isn't negatively affected. Kerri is also meant to undergo MRIs every six to nine months to help monitor the drug, Ms Sheehan said. "The drug is really important for Kerri. It controls the arthritis," Ms Sheehan said. "She's meant to get an MRI to see if the drug is working or not. She's been on it since last September and we don't know if it's working or not. "Kerri is non-verbal and puts up with so much pain. We need this MRI to know if the drug is working because she can't tell me. "We were told in January the MRI would take place in August. I totally understood a bit of a delay was likely due to Covid-19, but a nine-year wait? "It's appalling. I am actually stunned." Children with Down syndrome are at an increased risk of developing arthritis and Ms Sheehan said a general anaesthetic was a necessity for Kerri as she couldn't cope with the procedure unless she's put in a sleep-like state. "It's a mess. We have two paediatric rheumatologists in Ireland, the lowest rate in Europe. We need six for a country our size," Ms Sheehan said. "There's no full-time pain consultant specialist in Crumlin. If Kerri is in pain, I've no one to refer her to. "It's a case of she has to just stay in pain. We were seen in January and Kerri was assessed. "They suspected the arthritis was more in her joints than they'd previously thought. I asked for a date for the MRI and they told me it would be around nine months, so that should have been the end of August. "I couldn't believe it when I rang Crumlin on Thursday and was told it would be 2029. "I couldn't believe my ears. I got off the phone and rang the MRI section. They repeated it - 2029. "Kerri is 15 now so she won't be in Crumlin then, she'll be an adult. In the meantime, I'm expected to pump the drugs into her without knowing if they are working." A spokesman for Children's Health Ireland (CHI) said: "CHI regrets the cancellation of any in-patient and day case procedure that patients and their families endure. "CHI is working closely with the HSE in relation to planning and delivering care in the new normal and in the context of the overall service continuity plan for the health system." Downing Street is advertising for 135,000-a-year worker who will be responsible for a new data science unit at No10. The candidate will head the 'skunkworks-type organisation' and lead the new analytical unit known as '10ds', which stands for '10 Data Science'. The new unit is aimed at 'transforming' decision-making in the government, The Telegraph reported. The term 'skunkworks' originated in the U.S. during the Second World War and describes a project developed by a small and loosely structured group focusing on radical innovation. Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister's chief aide, has been a longstanding critic of the way the civil service works It says: 'The vision of 10ds is a skunkworks type organisation that builds innovative software to allow the PM to make data driven decisions and thereby transform government.' The unit 'will ensure that No10 is an intelligent customer of analysis, providing challenge and feedback across government'. The Analytical Unit is 'a pseudo start-up within No10 designed to drive forward the quantitative revolution. The current plan is to establish a data engineering team, data science team, a skunkworks and an analytical deep dive unit.' The job is offered as a two-year appointment and applications close on July 27. Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister's chief aide, has been a longstanding critic of the way the civil service works, calling for more modern organisation and data-driven policies. The successful candidate will be able to advise Prime Minister Boris Johnson at pace What does Skunkworks mean? How term was first used during World War II to describe crack team of radicals The term skunkworks originated in World War II. It was used to describe a small and loosely structured group who focused on radical innovation in their research and development. Lockheed's Advanced Development Projects Division in Burbank, California, designed the P-80 Shooting Star, the first U.S. jet fighter plane, under similar circumstances in 1943. Now, it typically refers to technology projects developed in semi secrecy such as Google X Lab. Advertisement During the 2016 Vote Leave campaign, Mr Cummings used data to transform polling done during the lead up to the referendum. In a blog post, Mr Cummings wrote: 'One of our central ideas was that the campaign had to do things in the field of data that have never been done before.' They integrated data from social media, online advertising, websites, apps and canvassing alongside direct mail, polls, online fundraising and activist feedback. He added that they had experts in physics and machine learning with skills far beyond the normal applied to political campaigns. The physicists looked at campaigns from around the world and built a scientific model based on the research. They exploited themes and tactics in successful campaigns. In January, Mr Cummings posted an advert for 'assorted weirdos' to apply for jobs within the civil service. This was a direct challenge to the civil service and Whitehall establishment which Mr Cummings had long criticised and Mr Johnson planned to reform. Writing on his personal blog, Mr Cummings set out plans for a Downing Street shake-up in which maths and physics PhDs would mingle with 'weirdos and misfits with odd skills' and people who 'fought their way out of appalling hell holes'. Mr Cummings warns recruits that he will 'bin you within weeks if you don't fit', adding: 'Don't complain later because I made it clear now.' One of the appointees, Andrew Sabisky, quit in February amid criticism of controversial past comments on pregnancy, eugenics and race. Changing rules at state borders have left travellers and workers battling to navigate new permits and isolation requirements. Mechanic and business owner Michael Murphy was on his way to Queensland from Melbourne to deliver an engine but is stuck in a motel in Tweed Heads due to restrictions that prevent anyone who has recently visited Victoria from entering Queensland. Michael Murphy, from Cowra, has been staying at the River Road Motel in Tweed Heads while he waits for COVID-19 test results. He recently spent time in Melbourne and now needs to be cleared before entering Queensland. Credit:Elise Derwin The Cowra resident said he didn't know about the restrictions until he arrived at the NSW-Queensland border. "We got there and they said that because I'd been in Melbourne recently, I'd have to wait until Tuesday," Mr Murphy, 59, said. "But we don't mind, we're going fishing, we need a break." President Donald Trump on Friday granted commuted long-time friend and confidant Roger Stones 40-month sentence for obstructing justice, lying to congress and making false statements in connection with the probe into Russian interference in 2016 election. Stone was the seventh person convicted and sentenced as a result of the investigation into the Russian interference by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller. Stone is a free man because of the commutation, the White House said while announcing the presidents decision, However, he has not been granted a presidential pardon and is not absolved of his crime. The White House said in a statement that Stones sentence was being commuted because he was a victim of the Russia hoax. This is how the president and his allies describe Muellers investigation into the Russian interference. As a 67-year-old man with medical conditions, he would be put at serious medical risk in prison, the statement added. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man! Stone, a long-time Republican operative who shot to fame for his work for President Ronald Reagans campaign, had been convicted of seven charges including lying abut his role in alleged Trump campaigns collusion with the Russian interference, withholding information and threatening an associate to not cooperate with the investigation. Stoner had publicly lobbied for presidential commutation of sentence in recent days as a quid pro quo for not implicating the president. He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him, he told Howard Fineman, a journalist who tweeted about his conversation with Stone shortly before the White House announcement. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didnt. Meanwhile, critics of the president wondered if Stone has a piece of information that he leveraged to get a commutation. No other president has exercised the clemency power for such a patently personal and self-serving purpose, said a statement issued by Representatives Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House oversight committee, and Carolyn B. Maloney, both New York Democrats. Social media star Halley Elefante (aka The Salty Blonde) has partnered up with LA swim and active brand Skatie on a sassy swimwear collection for the girl next door. Like Halley, Skatie co-founders, Skatie Noyes and Mandi Glynn are young entrepreneurs who value inclusivity, sustainability and affordability. 'My inspiration was summer in quarantine,' said Halley. 'I saw myself and girls around the world wearing these in their backyards in kiddie pools, grilling out, not taking themselves too seriously, and enjoying their summer at home.' Social media star Halley Elefante (aka The Salty Blonde) has partnered up with LA swim and active brand Skatie on a swimwear collection for the girl next door Like Halley, Skatie co-founders, Skatie Noyes and Mandi Glynn are young entrepreneurs who value inclusivity, sustainability and affordability. Staycation: 'My inspiration was summer in quarantine,' said Halley. 'I saw myself and girls around the world wearing these in their backyards in kiddie pools, grilling out, not taking themselves too seriously, and enjoying their summer at home' 'What I love about this collection is that you have something for everyone. Prints across the board and a style that suits everyone.' For a fun summer twist, every print comes with a matching beer koozie. 'I think that's pretty unique and awesome,' said the social media maven who is a big fan of the insulating sleeve designed to keep a beverage cold. Picking out the many prints, including polka dot, tie-dye and animal, was Halley's favorite part of the design process. 'We knew we wanted classic prints that could be worn forever and never go out of style, but also a couple bright and bold ones that Skatie Swimwear is famously known for. 'I think we nailed it with our final decisions.' Inclusive: 'What I love about this collection is that you have something for everyone. Prints across the board and a style that suits everyone' Pattern play: Picking out the many prints, including polka dot, tie-dye and animal, was Halley's favorite part of the design process Coordination, baby: For a fun summer twist, every print comes with a matching beer koozie Keep an eye out: The collection's first of three drops launched today, Friday, July 10th. Each drop will have two prints with numerous styles to choose from Striking a pose: The 34-year-old New York native was photographed modeling the different styles for the campaign imagery The collection's first of three drops launched today, Friday, July 10th. Each drop will have two prints with numerous styles to choose from. The 34-year-old New York native was photographed modeling the different styles for the campaign imagery. She's shared many of the snaps with her 585,000 Instagram followers looking absolutely stunning in every suit. She revealed to the Daily Mail her favorites: 'I am a big fan of the Salty bottoms when I'm feeling bloated (or want to eat everything in sight). They're high waisted, but it's not too much material so you still feel sexy. 'The Suzanne bottoms are a similar version of The Salty, but show a little more skin. 'The Bobbi bottoms are so amazing and great for laying out because they are pretty skimpy, but so flattering. Variety: 'We knew we wanted classic prints that could be worn forever and never go out of style, but also a couple bright and bold ones that Skatie Swimwear is famously known for' Own it: Halley believes that the best way to style a swimsuit is with 'CONFIDENCE. We want our girls to feel their best in these suits and have a good time. A hat and some sunnies don't hurt either' 'The Kelly bottoms are their new style and might be my #1 right now because it's a super high-cut bottom and it lands just under your belly button. 'My all time favorite top is The Ella. It's a classic triangle string top that pairs well with all of the bottoms. You will see me pictured a lot in these styles!' Halley believes that the best way to style a swimsuit is with 'CONFIDENCE. We want our girls to feel their best in these suits and have a good time. A hat and some sunnies don't hurt either.' The Pope to donate 100,000 to help migrants on border of Belarus and Poland Fourth vaccine against COVID-19 is not enough for Omicron World is on verge of country defaults French Foreign Ministry considers unacceptable Azerbaijan statements about Pecresse US to return two valuable artifacts over 4,000 years old to Iraq Germany may consider halting Nord Stream 2 if Russia attacks Ukraine Israel successfully completes test of anti-ballistic missile system Plane landing in Sochi struck by lightning Putin and Aliyev discuss Ukraine situation Greek PM Mitsotakis threatens Turkey with sanctions Handelsblatt: US and EU abandon idea of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT international payment system Artsakh President meets representatives of non-governmental organizations Avalanche kills person in Iran Erdogan says he is pleased with decline in volatility of lira NEWS.am daily digest: 18.01.22 Turkey and Azerbaijan to start laying gas pipeline to supply Nakhichevan UK begins to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons Armenian PM holds meeting on Armenia's Transformation Strategy until 2050 Nagorno-Karabakh: Remains of another Armenian soldier found in Jrakan region Tehran to not accept any border change in South Caucasus Dollar holding relatively steady in Armenia Armenia special representative: Future process depends on Turkeys constructiveness degree Erdogan: Gas from Mediterranean to Europe can only be pumped through Turkey Iranian Consul General discusses customs cooperation in Nakhijevan Inecobank brings Apple Pay to customers Parliament vice-speaker says he is familiar with Armenia proposals on border demarcation commission work US Secretary of State to visit Kyiv Russia, Iran and China to hold joint naval drills OSCE Chairmanship on Aliyev statement: We reiterate our full support to Minsk Group Co-Chairs Artsakh NSS denies rumors about penetration of Azerbaijanis into Karabakh villages Indonesian parliament approves bill to relocate capital Armenia PM to Bulgaria colleague: Our interstate relations are marked by continuous development of cooperation Armenian President meets Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Azerbaijan to ban foreigners from visiting Nagorno-Karabakh occupied part European Parliament new speaker elected Armenian National Interests Fund participates in Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week summit North Korea fires missiles for fourth time this year ECHR recognizes violation of Armenian PM's rights after 2008 elections Turkey reveals plans to produce combat aircraft Karabakh official: Azerbaijan presidents impudent behavior is due to OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs silence Azerbaijan special services force Artsakh resident to intelligence work Copper price is stable Minister of State: OSCE MG Co-Chairs must accept exercise of Karabakh people's right to self-determination Armenia President, UAE Minister of State discuss possibilities of cooperation in science and technology Investigation into criminal case of several Armenia soldiers returned from Azerbaijan captivity is over Canada sends detachment of special forces to Ukraine Armenia ex-President Kocharyan, former deputy PM now MP Gevorgyan case trial resumes 2 more persons die of coronavirus in Artsakh Armenia family has 10th child Converse Bank brings Apple Pay to customers Gold is getting weaker Lacote: French institute to operate in Armenia (PHOTOS) Ardshinbank Brings Apple Pay to Customers Armenia President in UAE, meets with Emirati environment minister Armenia legislature approves changes to several laws Differences in data on coronavirus deaths in Armenia are corrected 360 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Norway to begin Breivik early release hearing Economy minister to head Armenia side of commission on economic cooperation with Kazakhstan Mexico crime photojournalist killed Newspaper: Criminal case against Armenia archbishop dropped Newspaper: Opposition Armenia Bloc in parliament to toughen its tactics Scientists discover large breeding colony of icefish in southern Antarctica China creates low-gravity artificial moon Tehran welcomes normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations Russian and Iranian Foreign Ministers discuss regional issues UN Secretary-General: Vaccinate whole world to end pandemic Giant asteroid to fly past our planet Armenian President meets with Executive Director of Mubadala Investment Company UAE counting on Turkey Indonesia to move capital by 2024 Passenger traffic at Armenian airports decreased by 30% Armenian Investigative Committee: Six soldiers captured in November arrested Turkish government to discuss Rubinyan-Kilic meeting results German FM threatens Russia in case of aggression against Ukraine Armenian MFA senior staff meets with ambassadors to European countries Turkish court acquits German journalist Mesale Tolu Turkish UAV intercepted over Greek island Protest in front of Armenian Health Ministry France introduces vaccine passes Bitcoin begins to lose out competitors Exchange rates in Armenia Safari browser caught leaking user data Xi Jinping: Confrontation between major powers can have disastrous consequences Lukashevich: Russia concerned that OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs may not be able to visit Nagorno-Karabakh Court obligates Armenia ruling force MP to prove ex-President Sargsyan lost more than $100M in casinos Ex-ruling party official: Armenia authorities may renounce Genocide, Karabakh Armenian PM's party decides to provide free textbooks to non-state schools Times: Johnson prepares cadre purge to save his own skin Pecresse accuses French government of inaction after Aliyev's statements on her Karabakh visit Armenia President attends Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week forum opening Armenia legislature ruling majority member: It is possible for us to have neighborly relations with Azerbaijan President approves Artsakh government decisions on provision of financial assistance Armenia parliament opposition faction leader on canceling US visit: We must fulfill our international duties Fire in Abu Dhabi kills three people ANIF Anti-Crisis Fund to invest in Armenia cargo transportation Azerbaijan to soon open bus routes to Artsakhs occupied Shushi Armenia ruling force MP, businessman: Turks will be able to use our medical services in Gyumri, Yerevan Erdogan wants to save Turkish economy with oil production in the Black Sea Copper rises in price Alberta Simmons moved to Portland in 1978 as a single mother of three children with nowhere to live. But she settled in, found her path and dedicated herself to helping other women, especially older women, find affordable housing eventually in a large Northeast Portland complex that bears her name. Simmons died Monday. She was 87. Simmons, who was born in Houston, Texas, in 1933, worked as a teachers aide at King Elementary School in Northeast Portland until she retired and turned her attention to advocating for senior citizens. Her daughter, Valerie Simmons, remembers her mother as always active in her community, whether taking on leadership roles at her childrens schools in their youth or being the voice for senior citizens at town halls. She was always there, always active, Valerie Simmons said. She was a social butterfly nobody was a stranger. She was just such a warm type of person. Simmons co-founded Housing Our Families, a nonprofit that aimed to create affordable housing for families in inner North and Northeast Portland. Simmons told The Oregonian in 1999 that the nonprofit arose from a group of women who organized to see what they could do for the community. She said they agreed to focus on single women running a household. Soon, the nonprofit saw the need for more housing. They started by renovating a four-plex on North Mississippi Avenue, where the women who would be future tenants helped tear out the interior. The number of housing sites grew, as the group renovated and developed other housing. But as the nonprofit matured, Simmons urged its leaders to look beyond the needs of younger generations. I said, Were going to get old, Simmons said at the time. And old people need inexpensive housing, too. Housing Our Families built the Alberta Simmons Plaza with a $7.2 million grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. At 73 units, it was the nonprofits largest project. Simmons called herself a strong woman and a shoutin Baptist, but admitted she thought the others had lost their minds, when they shared the name theyd settled on for the new project. The low-income retirement living home opened in 1999 on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Joan Miggins, Housing Our Families executive director, told The Oregonian at the time about Simmons impact on the agency and the city. She has not compromised to be recognized, Miggins said. But rather she has recognized the importance of ensuring that all people have the right to the essentials such as food, clothing and a future. Simmons herself said in 1999 that she would spare no effort to support those who needed it. When I make up my mind, I will fight the devil in hell because I believe in my community, she told The Oregonian. Her work was even acknowledged by American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, who met Simmons while visiting the community that Housing Our Families supported. One of her daughters favorite aspects about Simmons was her sense of humor. She wouldnt even try to make you laugh, she would just stay stuff and you would just crack up laughing, Valerie Simmons said. She would give people the benefit of the doubt, always. Valerie Simmons said her mother made everyone around her feel special and thats more apparent after her death than ever before. Simmons lived in the Alberta Simmons Plaza for much of her elderly life, and joked in 1999 about the monthly ritual of paying rent. "It's so funny," she said, "to make my check to Alberta Simmons Plaza, my own self." Simmons recently moved to Porthaven Nursing Facility in Northeast Portland. She died Monday, July 6, at Providence Portland Medical Center. She is survived by her four children, Valerie Simmons, Frederic Simmons, John Simmons, Alicia Simmons; 11 grandchildren; four great grandchildren; and her brother Archie Harvey. She will be buried in California. -- Celina Tebor ctebor@oregonian.com @CelinaTebor Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Poland, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Poland and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Poland (issuer rating A2) is supported by the country's "a1" economic strength, reflecting its economic resilience based on the scale and competitiveness of its economy as well as one of the highest growth rates among regional peers during the past 10 years balanced by skill shortages and medium-to-long term challenges such as demographic trends and potential lower EU funds over the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-27 (MFF). "a3" institutions and governance strength reflects the favourable Worldwide Governance indicators and sound macroeconomic framework against elevated policy unpredictability. "a2" fiscal strength reflects its moderately affordable debt burden, which stood at 46.0% of GDP in 2019. Poland's "baa" susceptibility to event risk is driven by political risk. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit. This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. Heiko Peters Asst Vice President - Analyst Sovereign Risk Group Moody's Deutschland GmbH An der Welle 5 Frankfurt am Main 60322 Germany JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Yves Lemay MD - Sovereign Risk Sovereign Risk Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Deutschland GmbH An der Welle 5 Frankfurt am Main 60322 Germany JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 2020 Moody's Corporation, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Moody's Analytics, Inc. and/or their licensors and affiliates (collectively, "MOODY'S"). All rights reserved. CREDIT RATINGS ISSUED BY MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE, INC. AND/OR ITS CREDIT RATINGS AFFILIATES ARE MOODY'S CURRENT OPINIONS OF THE RELATIVE FUTURE CREDIT RISK OF ENTITIES, CREDIT COMMITMENTS, OR DEBT OR DEBT-LIKE SECURITIES, AND MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY MOODY'S (COLLECTIVELY, "PUBLICATIONS") MAY INCLUDE SUCH CURRENT OPINIONS. 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(TNS) California rolled out its vision for high-speed trains between San Jose and San Francisco on Thursday, plotting a 30-or-so-minute ride on what would be one of the busiest stretches of the states proposed 520-mile rail system even as the project is mired in financial uncertainty.The California High Speed Rail Authority is calling for 220-mph trains, coming from the Central Valley, to merge onto the Caltrain commuter line for a 49-mile jaunt up the Peninsula. Stops would be made at San Joses Diridon Station, a new hub in Millbrae and at the Caltrain depot in San Francisco. The San Francisco stop would eventually move to Transbay transit center.Service between the Bay Areas largest cities, scheduled to begin in 2031, is expected to take less than 45 minutes, including the stop in Millbrae near San Francisco International Airport. The ticket price is yet to be determined.The details are part of an environmental review of the Bay Area segment of the ambitious Los Angeles-to-San Francisco project. While the rail authority so far has identified only enough money to build the line through the Central Valley, at a cost of about $20 billion, its moving ahead with planning the rest of the estimated $80 billion venture.The funding picture always evolves, said Boris Lipkin, a regional director for the rail authority, in an interview. Were taking the steps and doing what we need to do to bring high-speed rail to Northern California.Public comment on the environmental impact report for the Bay Area segment is being taken through Aug. 24, and rail officials intend to finalize a plan next year.Beyond laying out service details, the new document identifies a range of impacts the line will probably have on the area. Figuring out how to run high-speed trains on the densely populated Peninsula was challenging, and rail officials ultimately decided to share existing tracks with Caltrain that roughly parallel Highway 101.Still, as many as 62 homes and 202 businesses may have to be displaced to upgrade the tracks and build new infrastructure, according to the report. Most of the properties subject to acquisition are in San Jose, San Mateo and Belmont. The Brisbane Fire Station, Millbrae Station Historic Depot and San Joses Templo La Hermosa church are among them, the report says.Once the rail service is up and running, residents of the area also can expect to hear the rumble of more trains and the wail of more horns, the report says.In anticipation of the project, Caltrain has already started electrifying its tracks to shift from diesel to electric trains that can match the 110-mph speeds the high-speed trains would travel while on the Peninsula.The two systems will run in close coordination, rail officials say. Faster trains, for example, will be directed to use stretches of track in the rail corridor designed for passing. One of two alternative proposals laid out in the new report calls for several miles of additional passing tracks. That option, though, would come with the greatest expense and the greatest displacement of homes and businesses.The high-speed trains initially would run twice an hour during peak times, and eventually four times an hour, rail officials say. Because there would be just one stop, its expected to be at least 15 minutes faster than Caltrains Baby Bullet service.Service on the segment is scheduled to begin two years after the Bakersfield-to-Merced line, which is expected to start in 2029. The Peninsula stretch will kick off in tandem with the Merced-to-San Jose line, meaning riders will be able to travel from San Francisco to Bakersfield.The segment south of Bakersfield, to Los Angeles, is scheduled to begin operation in 2033. Trains, at that point, would be able to make the entire journey between Los Angeles and San Francisco, which is scheduled to take two hours and 40 minutes.The rail line is ultimately planned to continue to San Diego and Sacramento.High-speed rail has long been a dream of many in California. The project got going in earnest in 2008, when voters approved a bond committing $9 billion to the effort. State and federal funds have since padded the enterprise.While construction began in 2015 in several Central Valley counties, and continues today, many have raised doubts about the projects viability. Repeated cost overruns and delays, on top of recent difficulties getting state and federal dollars, have dogged the effort.The Trump administration canceled a nearly $1 billion federal grant last year, saying the state hadnt made adequate progress. And this year, the coronavirus pandemic dealt a financial blow to Californias cap-and-trade program an arrangement in which businesses pay to pollute and the money is channeled to climate-friendly projects like the train.Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, are joined by some Democrats in calling for the project to be scrapped. Theyd prefer the money be spent elsewhere. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form New Delhi [India], July 10 (ANI): The last month's virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison that discussed a wide range of untapped potential between the two countries elevated the bilateral relations, said India High Commissioner to Australia Anumula Gitesh Sarma on Friday."A significant feature of India-Australia relationship is that we are in very exciting times. We have been close. But this is the moment. The virtual summit between two Prime Ministers elevated our bilateral relationship," Sarma said during a virtual session at the India Global Week 2020.Talking about the trade prospects between India and Australia, the High Commissioner said that the two countries will not allow the coronavirus pandemic to come in the way of doing business."Trust will elevate our trading relations further. We will not allow the pandemic to come in our way of doing business together. Australia will do a serious evaluation of business opportunities in India. There are different aspects of our relationship. Political level is at top of the league. But we need to drive in other levels as well," he added.Sarma also highlighted that the diaspora element has become a bigger driver than ever before in forging the relations between the two countries."In 10 years, we have moved from strategic to comprehensive strategic. In addition, we have an understanding of each other. Diaspora element has become a big driver than ever before. Diaspora numbers are growing. India's achievements reflect on the quality of our people. We are the world's most competitive society. Indian diaspora is highly skilled and capable. We integrate well," Sarma remarked.On collaboration prospects in the field of education, the High Commissioner said that Australia has some of the world's top educational institutions. More people in India should know that it is about cooperation in the education sector."Education is a very promising sector. I have a deep respect for Australian teaching. In the midst of this COVID-19 crisis, when Australia was in crisis efforts, were made to make our students comfortable," he said.Speaking on the economic comprehensive agreement between the two countries, Sarma said that the process is on track and everything is going in the right direction.The High Commissioner also said that Australia is a top priority for India and it can provide a comprehensive experience."In terms of priority, I am under pressure to deliver a country which is the top of India's priorities. The economy cannot just expand on its own. We need resources, investments, technology. We cannot grow in isolation," Sarma said."Engagement has dramatically improved. Indian economy is maturing. Nothing is uniform for India. We can produce an example of anything. We need a partner. Australia provides a comprehensive experience," he added. (ANI) Delhi government has decided to cancel all forthcoming semester and final exams of universities under it due to the Covid-19 situation, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Saturday. Sisodia said these state universities have been asked to promote their students and award them degrees adopting a progressive method of evaluation. He said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to replicate Delhi governments decision for all central universities across the country to end uncertainty among students regarding the exams. Sisodia said Delhi governments decision did not concern Delhi University (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and other central universities in the national capital. The state universities under Delhi government include National Law University, Delhi Technological University, Ambedkar University, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Netaji Subhas University of Technology and Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women. The deputy chief minister who is also Delhis Education minister said studies in the universities were disrupted due to the pandemic, and it was not possible to conduct examinations. Unprecedented times require unprecedented decisions, Sisodia said. The issue was complex since no studies or any other academic activities took place in the semester. It was not possible to hold exams without any studies. So we have asked universities to cancel exams and promote students to next semester on the basis of past results or some other progressive method of evaluation, he said. Sisodia said even though it was not possible to conduct final year examinations, providing degrees to students for jobs and future academic pursuits was necessary. We have asked the universities to cancel final year exams and come out with some formula of evaluation for awarding degrees, he said. Sisodia also hoped that the prime minister will take cognizance of the chief ministers request to cancel exams of all central universities across the country and soon issue some direction. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) The decision of a House of Representatives panel to reject ABS-CBNs franchise application is a "blatant disregard" for press freedom and journalists must fight back, a veteran media expert said Saturday. Pag walang ginawa ang mga mamamahayag tungkol dito, eh tutuluyan tayo nito. Tuloy-tuloy na ito, Vergel Santos, a trustee at the advocacy group Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility told CNN Philippines Newsroom, referring to government officials. Voting 70-11, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises on Friday adopted the report of its technical working group rejecting ABS-CBNs application for a fresh 25-year franchise. The TWG's report maintained that ABS-CBN does not deserve to resume broadcast operations due to the dual citizenship of its chairman emeritus Eugenio Gabby Lopez III, the validity of issuing Philippine Depositary Receipts to foreigners, alleged tax-avoidance schemes, failure to regularize its employees and its suspected use of a "dummy" in the business. The panel insisted that the recommendation is not related to press freedom, but denial of a privilege granted by the State because the applicant was seen undeserving of the grant of legislative franchise. READ: House panel denies ABS-CBNs bid for fresh franchise But Santos said ABS-CBN has been able to disprove the allegations they violated the terms of their franchise. Santos also questioned why the committee failed to make a finding based on ABS CBNs alleged biased reporting, which also involved some of the House members. The panel claimed that press freedom, fair comment and self-regulation of media prevent any attempt at doing so. But Santos pointed out the House committee skirted the territory of press freedom, lest they would lose ground. Ayaw nilang tahakin yung teritoryo na 'yon ng press freedom dahil talo sila doon eh, he said. [Translation: They did not want to go the territory of press freedom because they would lose in that argument.] Santos stressed that with this decision, the Philippines is "officially" governed by an oligarchy. He said the ruling, which he described as "arbitrary and whimsical," may have "come from the top," noting the time when President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to block the franchise renewal of the media giant, which is known for its critical reporting on the chief executive. The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) earlier said in a statement that they stood behind ABS-CBN in its bid for a new franchise. We believe that ABS-CBN bravely and ably defended itself against the charges hurled at it, justifying why it is entitled to the franchise it sought from Congress, the statement read. For its part, the Commission on Human Rights noted "with concern" the denial of ABS-CBN's franchise bid. The loss of a major has inevitably left millions of Filipinos in the dark, especially those in far-flung areas with no access to the internet as an alternative, CHR said in a statement. CHR also added that unless Congress can disabuse the minds of the public that its decision was not based on a fair review and was devoid of any political consideration, the denial of the franchise, gives a chilling effect on the freedom of the press. A woman who died after an overdose at the home of Brandons former city manager a year ago Friday was lively and had a heart of gold, a close family friend told the Sun. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us A woman who died after an overdose at the home of Brandons former city manager a year ago Friday was lively and had a heart of gold, a close family friend told the Sun. Cathy Bell, who said she knew Christine Robin Mitchell since she was three months old and is counted as a close friend of her mother, Doreen Mitchell, said the RCMP investigation into her death is taking too long. Christine Mitchell (inset) reportedly died in hospital following an overdose at the house of former Brandon city manager Rod Sage, pictured. (File) July 10 marked the one-year anniversary of Christines death, when the family decided to take her off of life support. Christine, who was 30 when she died, had overdosed on purple heroin while living at Rod Sages house. She had been living at his residence for nearly five years. Bell said she was in the room when the decision was made, along with her fathers side of the family, to take Christine off life support. "Her brain was swollen so much it was down in her throat, so it was a very emotional day to say the very least," Bell said. The Sun reached out to Christines mother, Doreen Mitchell, last week but she said it was still too hard to talk about her daughters death, instead asking Bell to speak on her behalf. Brandon police became aware of Christines death on July 11, 2019, from a member of the public, Brandon Police Service Sgt. Kirby Sararas said last fall, and opened an investigation immediately. The RCMP first launched the now nine-months-long review on Oct. 4 after attorney general Cliff Cullen requested the RCMP review of both the circumstances of Christines death and the Brandon Police Services investigation. Sage was first placed on paid administrative leave in mid-October 2019, during the investigation. He formally retired from the City of Brandon on Feb. 21, 2020. City treasurer Dean Hammond is currently serving as acting city manager and took over Sages position on the Brandon Police Board. In early June, Mayor Rick Chrest said the process to hire a new permanent city manager was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Christine had a big heart and was a lovely person, Bell said, but she struggled with drugs for years before her death. "She was a very giving, very kind person. She had a drug addiction, she had been through some very traumatic events that created a lot of PTSD and mental illness in her, which led to more drug use and the need for seclusion. But before she got formally involved in the drugs she was the sweetest kid you would ever meet. But they always are. "Then mental illness took over and the drugs took over and she became a recluse." Sage said in an October 2019 interview with the CBC that he met Christine at a Tim Hortons restaurant when she was living in a local hotel, something Bell corroborated. Bell said she believes Sage tried to help Christine through her addiction, but was ultimately unable to. On Thursday the RCMP said there were no updates in their review into the situation. "Unfortunately I dont have any updates for you. It is still under review," said RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Julie Courchaine. Bell said she is personally frustrated with the pace of the RCMP investigation and the lack of information about what is going on. She said she has never been contacted to give her side of the story or tell police what she saw in the days after Mitchells death last July. "I think some of the information I have is invaluable to them," she said. In a Facebook comment, Doreen said she hopes the investigation is completed soon to give answers to her questions and other concerns. "I pray for closure soon," she wrote. Its impossible to get closure with an open investigation and Bell said she hopes there are charges laid at the end of the process. "Just because you hold a high position doesnt mean you get a free pass. You still need to be held accountable as much as anyone else would be and it just seems like the longer its taking the more the realization is that its just going to get swept under the rug, its just another poor addict gone." dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ A British man has died at a luxury Costa del Sol hotel after plunging on top of a Spaniard enjoying a late-night drink on the terrace below. The man he fell on, thought to be a local living in the upmarket resort of Marbella, also lost his life. Police are trying to establish if the holidaymaker jumped or fell by accident. A British man had died after he fell from the seventh-floor of the Melia Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella this morning. The Spanish man also died The British tourist was staying at the five-star Melia Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella and fell from its seventh-floor The tragedy occurred at 1.45am this morning at the five-star Melia Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella. Local reports have described the Brit as being aged around 50. He is understood to have been on holiday with family. The two men died instantly after the tourist plunged from the seventh-floor. Police are investigating the incident to determine whether the man, believed to be aged around 50, fell or jumped Staff at the hotel said they would not be making any comment. National Police in Malaga, which is investigating, said: 'I can confirm two men have died at a hotel in Marbella after one plunged from the seventh-floor and landed on top of another. 'We are investigating.' A well-placed sourced confirmed: 'The man who jumped or fell is a British man aged around 50. The man who was enjoying a drink on the hotel terrace below him is a 43-year-old Spaniard.' An elderly man has died after being infected with coronavirus in a Melbourne aged care home as the state records another 216 cases in the past day and health authorities battle to contain more than 100 outbreaks. Glendale Aged Care home resident Alf Jordan, 90, died with COVID-19 overnight in a Victorian hospital, while another elderly resident and nine nursing home workers have tested positive to the virus. Alf Jordan died from coronavirus. He was a resident at the Glendale Aged Care home in Werribee The outbreak is among a surge of clusters to infiltrate aged care homes and hospitals this week, infecting dozens of healthcare workers, vulnerable patients and elderly residents at heightened risk of dying from the virus. Ten cases have now been linked to a cluster at Menarock Life Aged Care in Essendon after two staff members tested positive to COVID-19 on Thursday. Forty-nine people infected with coronavirus are in hospital, including 15 people in intensive care units. Liberal MPs have welcomed a controversial open letter from 150 public intellectuals condemning attacks on free expression, arguing that "cancel culture" has ruined lives and calling for people to "stand up for the right to be offensive". The Harper's magazine letter on justice and open debate was backed by high-profile writers such as JK Rowling and Salman Rushdie and warned of a rising intolerance of opposing views that was constricting free speech. J.K. Rowling, who has clashed with critics on social media for her posts on gender and sex, was among those who signed the Harper's letter. Credit:AP Liberal member for Goldstein Tim Wilson said the reason people were speaking out now was because they had been targeted themselves. "[We] need to stop being so brittle," Mr Wilson said. "Not everyone likes you, and theyre not always going to like you: welcome to a free society where tolerance is the only sustainable objective. We laid it, we dedicated it: PM Modi after inaugurating Kanpur Metro Rail Project Vikas Dubey encounter: UP Police arrest two men for helping gang members India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, July 11: A day after Vikas Dubey was killed in an encounter after he allegedly tried to escape, the Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday arrested two men in connection with the killings of eight policemen in Kanpur by gangster Vikas Dubey and his men on July 3. The gangster was shot dead on Friday morning after what the police have said was an escape attempt after a road accident near Kanpur city. Seeking protection from cops, cop accused of being Vikas Dubeys mole moves SC It is reportedly said that the two are from Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior and were arrested for harbouring two men for more than four days before they moved to another hideout. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News JN Singh, additional director general (ADG) of police of Kanpur Zone, said the two men have been identified as Om Prakash Pandey and Anil Pandey. Singh said they allowed Shashi Kant Pandey alias Sonu and Shivam Dubey, accused in Kanpur cops' killing case, to stay at their homes despite being aware that the Uttar Pradesh police are in their search. He also said that the two carry a reward of Rs 50,000 each for their head and are among the list of 21 active members of Vikas Dubey's gang released earlier. Meanwhile, Vikas Dubey and five of his gang members, including Atul Dubey, Amar Dubey, Prem Prakash Pandey, Praveen Pandey and Prabhat Mishra, have been killed between July 3 and 10 and three have been arrested while 12 others are still at large. MEanwhile, Seven people, including former Chaubeypur station officer Vinay Tewari and sub-inspector KK Sharma, have been arrested for criminal conspiracy and harbouring Vikas Dubey's gang members as well as helping them escape after the ambush. Even though there isnt an official release date yet, Better Call Saul fans are already counting down the days until the anticipated release of the final season of the show. Season 5 in early 2020 was so good that critics are starting to speculate the series could surpass Breaking Bad in terms of quality. But when will we find out? There havent been too many details released about season 6 beyond the fact that the writers are hard at work via video conferencing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shutdown. However, fans are speculating that the final season might be split into two parts for a couple of practical reasons. The last season of Breaking Bad was split in half It may seem like Breaking Bad had 6 seasons, but really the fifth season was just broken down into two halves. The first installment 5A aired in summer 2012 while the second half, 5B wrapped up the series in fall 2013. The extended timeline gave the writers more time to come up with and film the final episodes of the Emmy-award winning series. And now they must be glad they did. The final episodes of Breaking Bad, especially Ozymandias, are considered some of the greatest examples of dramatic television ever created. Better Call Saul could face delays due to coronavirus Kim Wexler and Jimmy McGill on Better Call Saul | Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television Breaking Bad writers took their time writing the final season because thats what made sense from an artistic perspective. When it comes to Better Call Saul, however, that decision could be more practical. No one knows how long production shutdowns in Hollywood will last or what sort of social distancing guidelines will be in place when the writers finish figuring out whats going to happen to Jimmy McGill, Kim Wexler, and the rest of the Better Call Saul cast. Theres a good chance the schedule could be interrupted by local rules in New Mexico, where the series is filmed. Everybody on Better Call Saul and everybody at AMC and Sony is not going to do anything until its safe for all of us to work on the show, actor Rhea Seehorn told TV Insider. We would be shooting in New Mexico again. We have to fly places. You have to take in all of those factors. RELATED: Better Call Saul Showrunner Says He Feels No Obligation for Walt and Jesse Cameo in Season 6 Better Call Saul showrunners might need more time to complete the story With or without production shutdowns, the writers will benefit from having more time to tell the story. And as a bonus for fans, splitting the final season 6 into two parts would mean getting to see the initial efforts sooner. Hypothetically, the first half could be released in 2021 and the second in 2022. Otherwise, its more realistic to see the sixth season in 2022, especially if the coronavirus continues causing delays. This would give writers plenty of time to answer lingering questions about what happens to Kim Wexler and when, precisely, Jimmy McGill fully becomes Saul Goodman. It would also finish up the flash-forward scenes with Gene Takovic and show exactly what becomes of Jimmy. Whether the premiere happens in 2021 or later, fans are eagerly awaiting the final chapter of the series. Amid the strain in the relations with India, Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Friday stressed that it was important to implement the consensus reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Modi. He also mentioned that the Special Representatives of India and China on the Boundary Question- NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had agreed against escalating disputes and easing the situation in the border area. Taking cognizance of some negative opinions about the India-China friendship, he rejected the exaggeration of conflicts. Recalling that both countries have upheld the five principles of peaceful coexistence, he contended that the people should view China and India as positive factors in the emerging global landscape. According to him, it was essential to have a positive, open, and inclusive attitude for ensuring stability in bilateral relations. Additionally, he warned against "strategic miscalculation". The Chinese envoy to India remarked, "First, India and China should be partners rather than rivals. China and India have a history of friendly exchanges for more than 2000 years. Friendly cooperation has dominated most of the time. For both China and India, achieving development and revitalization is the top priority. China and India reached an important consensus that the two countries pose no threat to each other. During the Wuhan informal summit in 2018, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again stressed that the two countries provide each other with development opportunities instead of posing threats." Read: China Suspends Import Of Ecuador Shrimps After Detecting COVID-19 On Packaging He added, "I have noticed some emerging opinions in recent days which repudiate the essence of China-India friendship due to the border-related incidents. They make false assumptions about China's intentions, exaggerate conflicts and provoke confrontation and regard a close neighbour over thousands of years as enemies and strategic threats. It is not a fact. It is harmful indeed and not helpful. China and India have jointly upheld the five principles of peaceful coexistence. We should see each other as positive factors in the changing global landscape...Only through the correct view of each other's intention with a positive, open, and inclusive attitude, we can ensure the stable and long-term development of bilateral relations and avoid any strategic miscalculation." Read: 'Fake News': Kazakhstan Shuns China's Warning About 'unknown Pneumonia' Worse Than COVID Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong issues statement over India-China border issue. "The boundary question left over by history, is sensitive and complicated. We need to find a fair & reasonable solution mutually acceptable through equal consultation & peaceful negotiation." pic.twitter.com/WPti3oTVLi ANI (@ANI) July 10, 2020 Concerns on reducing the economic influence of China During his address, Weidong raised concerns about the growing chorus in India to reduce the economic influence of China. He alleged that there was an attempt to exclude 'Made in China' products. Mentioning that his nation's cumulative investment in India exceeded 8 billion US dollars, he contended that this had boosted the local manufacturing of mobile phones, household appliances, and automobiles. The Chinese Ambassador claimed that any self-protection, non-tariff barriers against China shall be unfair to Chinese enterprises, Indian employees, and Indian consumers. He called upon practical cooperation for economic development and noted that the Chinese President and PM Modi had set up a high-level economic and trade dialogue mechanism. Read: China's Kuaizhou-11 Rocket Fails On Maiden Launch After 3-year Delay; 6 Satellites Lost Read: Japan PM Backs QUAD Alliance With India, US, Australia; Warns China Of 'free Indo-Pacific' Photo credit: Tim Enthoven - Esquire From Esquire Esquire's Summer Fiction series, in aid of Unicef UK, brings together some of the world's finest writers, and greatest actors, for a collection of original stories and readings that offer, we hope, a ray of light in these dark times, as well as the chance to raise funds for Unicef's Generation Covid campaign. (Read Unicef ambassador and Esquire editor-at-large Andrew O'Hagan's piece on why the campaign is so vital here). Where a child is already experiencing hardship, outbreaks of diseases bring a new emergency to an already precarious situation. This is the story of Generation Covid. For vulnerable children all over the world, it poses the biggest threat since the Second World War. Please enjoy these stories, then visit Unicef UK's Generation Covid page to donate and hear a special message from Unicef UK High Profile Supporter Claire Foy. Audio: read by Claire Foy To listen, click 'Unmute' in the video at the top of this page. Alternatively, listen and download on SoundCloud, or listen on YouTube. 'The Greater Blue-Legged Bulbul' by Miranda Collinge Shed been listening to the drip for days. Though the rain seemed to be easing, it was as steady as ever. Thunk. Thunk. Somehow the water was getting through, however many floors down they were, somewhere in the hold, which was, she noted, almost in admiration, the darkest place shed ever been. The walls were coated in something black and pungent; even the cylinder of light slanting through the open porthole didnt seem to be penetrating the blackness so much as getting sucked in by it. She could see only dimly the criss-cross of dried reeds that surrounded her on every side. Dank was the word. Dank. Dank. Dank. So he said. So, she said, quickly. For a moment shed forgotten he was there. You going to talk to me today? She exhaled. Sure. Cos youre attitude so far has been, you know. A little sucky. I know, she said. Im sorry. Its not fair on you. Story continues No, its not. Were in the same boat, after all. I know. His voice brightened. What day do you think it is anyway? Im thinking 25, 30. Its 37, she said. Wow! Thirty-seven? No way. I would not have guessed. I would say time flies but, ha! You know. Uh-huh, she said. And seeing as were here, and its just us, we might as well keep each other company. Hmm-hmm. Photo credit: Jordi Matas She heard a rustle and saw him out of the corner of her eye, through the reed bars that separated them, step into the sloping column of light. He stood quietly, craning his head every which way to take in his surroundings, seemingly lost in thought, though she knew that he couldnt be. He didnt seem to notice her. He was, she had to admit, breathtakingly beautiful. The dark crest above his brow, the pale pink at his throat, the outrageous shock of blue at his feet. All at once he was looking right at her. Were you checking me out? he asked. No, she said, crisply, and turned back to her pile of seeds. Ha ha! You were too! You were totally checking me out! He gave a small, delighted hop. She went back to pecking, keeping her eyes trained firmly towards the floor of her cage. She could feel him looking blinking dumbly and she sensed the sudden sideways movement as he cocked his head. He looked away, up to the ceiling, as though noticing the drip for the first time and trying to locate its source. He looked at her again. Where was it you said you were from anyway? Oh, you know, around, she looked up to gauge his interest; he returned her gaze, blankly. Kind of near the almond groves, towards the river, near the bend with the big rock in the middle, she replied, not lifting her head. Okaaay! I had an aunt over that way, though she and my mother didnt get along so well. Im from the hillside, as you know; I think you can see it from down there. Mother nested up higher because it was leafier, less crowded, and a bit more, I dont know, civilised maybe. No one in each others faces all day. Did you tell me that before? That you were from the groves? I think so, yes. Photo credit: Unicef He was already looking wistfully towards the porthole as he spoke. So, you have any idea why they chose you? Chose. It didnt seem quite the right word. Thered been three of them huddled together, looking for grubs under the shade of a tamarisk, cooing and bustling and busy in their work. Shed felt the hands before shed seen them, the fingers fastening around her rib-cage, the palms flattening her wings, the womans thumbs on the sides of her throat, keeping her head from turning. She had felt herself being lifted up, the other two scrabbling away in different directions, their wings batting the tamarisks pink flowers as they made their escape. When the lid of the wicker basket closed over her head, she remembered how the world had gone dark. Just lucky, I guess, she said. Huh, he said. You know and I realise this may sound arrogant but I kind of knew it would be me. I just He gazed towards the light, his yellow eyes drifting out of focus. Knew. How come? Well he laughed, sheepishly. There arent a lot of us around, as you know, so when it started happening to all the others, the pipits, and the sandpipers, the redshanks, and the thick-knees I mean, come on, the thick-knees!? it just seemed like theyd come for us too. I made a point of keeping on top of my grooming, making sure my plumage was on point he looked at her expectantly I mean, I dont know if youve noticed the sheen on my wingbar but Ive been buffing my coverts pretty meticulously, even in here Theyre nice, she said. Very shiny. His chest flushed. Aw, thanks. I just knew that theyd want to make sure they got a good one. Right, she said. I dont know, with me it just felt a bit more arbitrary. I can imagine! he laughed. No, no. Im just kidding. Im sure they took you for a good reason. I know we get all the glitz but, he looked sympathetically at her breast, theres something homely about all those taupes and browns. I bet you blend right in. Except when it matters! She laughed abruptly, but he didnt. She realised he was waiting. So, how did they get you? she obliged. Ha! Well, I was obviously keen to be the one we all were but I didnt want to make it easy for them. Men like the thrill of the chase as you know! You want this he fanned his tail, gave a coy dip of his head youre going to have to earn it! Am I right? She laughed, flatly. I was out on my own for the morning; it was one of those super-nice days when the crocuses are peeking out on the lower hills but there are still snow blotches on the peaks. I was flying over the valley and I saw a couple of the younger guys, the sons I guess, walking under the date palms with a whole bunch of baskets and cages on this kind of wooden cart thing. It wasnt hard to twig what they were doing. I thought to myself, OK, lets do this, and I pulled off one of my ha, if I do say so myself! next-level flying displays. It was one of the really complex ones, with all the loop-the-loops and swoops, and I was doing as much trilling as I could and making sure that the sun caught my leading edge just so. It must have been kind of spectacular to see. I know it felt good. And then just to mess with them a little I landed right on the top of the tallest palm I could see. It must have been 30ft high. It was honestly hilarious. They were so mad. But they got you down somehow? She was annoyed that she wanted to know. Well, I sat on the top of that tree for a long, long time. I could see them looking up at me and pointing, so I knew they were interested. Then I see the smallest one Ham, maybe? start shinning his way up the trunk towards me. Like I said, it was a tall tree, and even though it was early morning, the air was already heating up and I could hear his grunts and see the sweat on his forehead as he got near the top. Then and this is the best part when he was almost up to the crown, and I could see him holding out the net, using all the strength in his other arm not to fall off, I glided, graceful as can be, all the way down to the ground and landed right in front of the one with the scraggly beard. Shem. Yeah, right, Shem, and I let him scoop me right up. Ha! If he hadnt put me in that basket quick I think Ham would have straight-up wrung my neck! Wow, she said. They must have really wanted you. Yeah, he looked shyly at the floor. I guess they did. Do you know what happened to any of the others? she asked. The others? You know, the ones they didnt pick. Well, I guess we kind of know, dont we? Yes. I suppose we do. She looked out towards the porthole. Was it still raining? In the flat light it was hard to tell. The sea, dark grey and angry, stretched out to the horizon. She tried not to think about her mother, her sisters, her brothers, who would have flown as far and for as long as they could before exhaustion won over and they dropped like rocks. She hoped none of them had been the ones that theyd heard about whod tried to land on the deck, while the sons and their wives had flapped furiously at them with their sleeves and everything was a flurry of squawks and feathers and globs of bird shit. Eventually, rumours spread that the old man had let the tigers loose to pace up and down and the birds had stopped coming. Anyway, he spun around once, twice. This place isnt really so bad, right? Plenty of fresh air, some good seed, a nice pile of soft leaves She did not follow his gaze. Hows your nest-building, by the way? he asked. Well, to be honest, Ive never tried. Oh. He looked disappointed. So thats OK. Youre young. But I guess you can learn! And what about bugs and stuff? You know how to find the good ones? I dont want our kids our future kids, I mean getting skinny now! I get by. Well, you can learn that too, I suppose. It just so happens I come from a long line of expert bug-hunters my mother said Dad was honestly one of the very best and Im sure I can give you a few pointers when its time to get started. Thank you, she said. Thats kind. Speaking of getting started, he said, cocking his head towards the pile of leaves, and no pressure from me, of course, but ha! what do you think folks do for fun around here? Wow, I dont know, she said. But I think there are bars here for a reason. She gestured towards the panel of reeds between them. They dont want the place to be overrun. And anyway, this is no place for an egg. Ha! Right. Of course. Well maybe we just keep talking then. Talking is good. I could talk all day. How far did we get last time? Lets see You listed what you like to eat, ran through some favourite songs, you mentioned youve got sisters and a brother... Ha! I dont know if we should be using the present tense anymore. Oh yes, sure. Sorry. Had I mean. Ah, dont sweat it. Were all adjusting, right? To be honest, we didnt stick together too long after we hatched anyway. We all had places to be: my brother headed east because he heard there were some A-grade figs out that way, and my sisters got hitched pretty quick, so it was just me and Ma really, which was kind of how we liked it anyway. We were so close. But I know shed be proud of me now. It was her dream. For me, I mean. I had brothers and sisters too, she said. No way! he said. Thats so cool. I mean, weve got so much in common. Yes, she said, feeling anxious now. She scrabbled around for another question. What do you like doing for fun? When youre not bug-hunting? Oh yeah, thats a good one! OK. Yeah, I guess I like hanging with my buddies, practising my aerobatics displays like I say, you never know when theyre going to come in useful and you know, just generally taking care of myself. Preening. Being the best version of me I can be. She waited for the return question but it didnt come. What did she like anyway? Soaring over the marshes, feeling the warm air cushioning her breast feathers and wings, pressing her up. Watching the day break over the mountains, seeing the violent pinks creep up the sky. Curling up in the nest, nestling her beak under her wing, and her whole body into her mothers. Yes, she thought. A selfish breed. To be honest, he continued, I think theyre pretty lucky to have me. Us, I mean. You dont get a lot of specimens that look this good, that fly so well, that can spot a cricket from 50ft up. I mean, they didnt call us Greaters for nothing. I think its more of a size thing, she said. What is? Greater. Its because were bigger. The Lessers are just a bit smaller than us, thats all. Well, its an interesting theory, but I respectfully disagree! Ma told me it was because our brains are bigger and our feathers are brighter, and you know, the whole package is just more. But still His eyes became serious. We have a duty to care for the others too, the weaker ones, its not their fault. Its our job to be leaders. To step up. You mean the Lessers? Im not sure the Lessers are even on here to be honest. I mean, they had a lot to gather. And no disrespect, but theyre farmers, not zoologists. Its kind of impossible they wouldnt have missed a few. He seemed not to have heard. And when this whole thing is over with, when they let us out of here assuming thats His wish, of course weve got a serious job to do. Repopulating a whole species is going to take time and effort and commitment. Weve got to be ready. But its going to be worth it. Can you imagine? A nest packed tight with little blue speckleds? A whole new, fresh world populated by us. Full of little mes. Ha! I mean, its going to be something else. She said nothing, but with a swift twitch of her head, turned towards the reed panel nearest the porthole. She snapped a frond in her beak and began twisting. Hey! What are you even doing? he shouted. You know they wont like that. She could feel the reed straining, the fibres loosening. It was easier than she had expected. She realised, almost with a smile, that she could have done it days ago. Weeks. Look thats not even funny, if they catch you doing that theyll stop our seed supply for a week, and I need my food or I get super-cranky. There was a tiny snap-snap-snap as each fibre gave way to the next. With a final twist, the reed broke in two. She pushed her head between the frayed ends, wiggling her folded wings into the gap, feeling her breastbone squeezed tight, then she was out the other side, flapping madly in the close air. She reached the open porthole, and landed on its rim, breathing hard. Below her, the waves heaved and fell. Hey, he said again, quieter this time, his crest raised like a question mark, his breast feathers flushing from pink to red. If you even think about it, even think about it, I swear to you, its the end of us. The end. She looked at him, his yellow eyes blazing, his chest puffed. Sensational. She hoped shed always think of him that way. Ill take my chances, she called to him, over her wing, as she took off towards the furious sea. Miranda Collinge says: "A year or so ago I made a note of a short story idea about a pair of birds on Noahs Ark who dont get along. It had occurred to me that the stakes of such a union would have been rather high what with being responsible for the very survival of their species and all and, if humans are anything to go by, the chances of compatibility somewhat slim. So, to be honest, I thought it might be funny. "Then Covid-19 happened, and the idea of two characters stuck together in confined quarters against their will took on an unanticipated meaning, though I suspect the notion of being buffeted along by circumstances, of waking up and finding yourself in a place in your life that you didnt really plan for (this is not my beautiful house, etc), was there all along. Im sure weve all found ourselves gazing longingly at the porthole at various times during lockdown, but Im at least grateful that the strange lull it provided finally prompted me to commit the idea to paper." This story appears in the July/August issue of Esquire. SUBSCRIBE NOW Miranda Collinge is a writer and journalist, and the features director of Esquire UK. Claire Foy is an award-winning British actress who has won a Golden Globe, a Primetime Emmy and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performance in Netflix's The Crown. She started her journey with Unicef UK when she travelled to Lesotho in February 2020. She visited a range of programmes to learn about Unicefs work, including a young mothers' support group, a health centre to see maternal care and vaccinations and a school to see Unicefs Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme (WASH). Visit Unicef UK's Generation Covid page to donate now. You Might Also Like A couple waits in line to enter Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California on July 9, 2020, the first day the outdoor shopping and dining complex has been open to the public. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) Walking up Main Street to Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida may look at little different in the wake of the coronvirus pandemic, but that doesn't seem to be dampening the spirits of Disney's cast members or its most avid fans. On Saturday, Disney began its phased reopening of its theme parks in Florida in the midst of a record number of new Covid-19 cases in the state. The company is keenly aware that all eyes are on it this weekend, but its leadership has expressed confidence in its increased safety measures and altered operations. "There's a lot of trust here, both from our cast members and our guests, and we've got a responsibility to deliver on that trust," said Josh D'Amaro, chairman of Disney's Parks, Experiences and Products segment. While D'Amaro declined to give specific ticketing numbers, he noted that guests are booking reservations to visit Disney's parks and resorts as far out as 2021. "People love Disney, they love the experiences here," he said. "They understand the world is different, they are watching us put together these great plans and we are seeing them book for the near term and the long term." D'Amaro was officially named to the post of chairman in May, about four months after Bob Chapek departed the position to replace Bob Iger as CEO. He took the helm of Disney's parks, resorts, cruises, experiences and consumer products a little under three months after the company was forced to shutter all of its theme parks due to the coronavirus pandemic. It's no easy feat to restart such a massive part of Disney's business. The segment as a whole accounted for 37% of the company's $69.6 billion in total revenue last year. While rival parks Universal Studios and SeaWorld reopened their gates in early June, Disney postponed its reopening until mid-July in order to bring back its massive number of employees and retrain them in its new safety procedures. As Disney has prepared to reopen its parks, D'Amaro has spent the last week interacting with cast members and guests during soft opening events at its parks in Florida. He said that cast members are comfortable with Disney's new safety measures, which include a mandatory mask policy and temperature checks, and that guests have been "cooperative" with the parks' new rules. At Disney Springs, which reopened in late May, "all guests are wearing their face masks and everyone understands their shared responsibility," D'Amaro said. Disney has employed specific cast members to look out for guests that "may have had a little slip up" and didn't replace their mask after eating or drinking, D'Amaro said. Because of all the signage and communication from the company about expectations and rules, he doesn't expect there to be too many incidents. Disneyland in California is still awaiting guidelines from government officials before announcing its new reopening date, but guests can expect a similar set of safety measures in Anaheim, D'Amaro said. Additionally, the construction of Avengers Campus, a new land that was slated to open in July of this year, "will definitely be moving forward" and is "looking fantastic," he said. D'Amaro did not provide a specific timeline for when that new Marvel-themed land would open to the public. On Saturday, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom in Florida reopen to the public, and will be followed by Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15. Disneyland Paris is also slated for reopening on July 15. "We feel really good about everything that is in place," D'Amaro said. Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Universal Studios and CNBC. Assam activist Akhil Gogoi (Image: PTI) Assam peasant leader and anti-CAA activist Akhil Gogoi, who has been lodged in Guwahati Central Jail, has tested positive for COVID-19, a jail official told The Indian Express. Around two days ago, his legal counsel had also reportedly said the activist had tested positive for coronavirus, but it could not be confirmed. Two of his associates, who have also been in jail since December last year, had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. Founder of the Assam-based peasant organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), Gogoi has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). He was arrested late in December 2019 following widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and has been in judicial custody ever since. A chargesheet was filed by the NIA against Gogoi and his associates who are also members of the KMSS, earlier in May. President Donald Trump made it to the critical battleground state of Florida on Friday for a one-day trip to raise campaign cash and tend to issues of high interest there for his base supporters. Trump opened his Florida visit at U.S. Southern Command, where he got a briefing and spoke about U.S. counternarcotics operations. He also attended a roundtable in nearby Doral to show support for Venezuelan expatriates seeking the ouster of Nicholas Maduro. At the campaign-organized event focusing on Venezuela, Trump criticized former President Barack Obama's efforts to lift some sanctions against Cuba and warned that the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, would take a similar approach and even embrace socialism domestically. Trump reversed some but not all of Obama's efforts to normalize relations with Cuba, an ally of the Maduro regime. Republicans are the party of freedom and Democrats are the party of socialism and worse, Trump said. Despite the risks, the Trump campaign believes it needs to return to the road, both to animate the president, who draws energy from his crowds, and to inject life into a campaign that's facing a strong challenge from Biden. On Friday, Biden pointed to Florida's rising coronavirus cases, saying, "It is clear that Trumps response - ignore, blame others, and distract - has come at the expense of Florida families. July 10, 2020 - release at 8:30 am CET Sophia Antipolis, France Nicox SA (Euronext Paris: FR0013018124, COX), an international ophthalmology company, today congratulated its partner Ocumension Therapeutics on its successful IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and provided an update on the programs in the collaboration. Ocumension Therapeutics (01477.HK) began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 10, 2020 after an IPO raising HK$1,424 (~US$184) million at a valuation of approximately HK$8,430 (~US$1,090) million on the first day of trading. Nicox and Ocumension have collaborations on NCX 470 and ZERVIATETM (cetirizine ophthalmic solution), 0.24%, in the Chinese and certain Southeast Asian markets, and on NCX 4251 in the Chinese market. NCX 470 and ZERVIATE have been identified by Ocumension as key drug candidates, among four in total. Ocumension is a key partner for Nicox as we are convinced that the Chinese market offers significant future revenue potential for our partnered products. Ocumensions successful IPO demonstrates the strong interest by investors in the potential value of their pipeline, including Nicoxs NCX 470 and ZERVIATE. said Michele Garufi, Chairman and CEO of Nicox. We are working very closely with the outstanding Ocumension team on both of these programs, and in the future on NCX 4251, and we believe they are well positioned to maximize the value of our assets in the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets. Update on Programs in the Nicox-Ocumension Collaboration NCX 470, Nicoxs lead product candidate, a novel, second-generation nitric oxide (NO)-donating bimatoprost analog: Mont Blanc, the first Phase 3 clinical trial of NCX 470 for lowering of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, was initiated on 1 June, 2020 (see Press Release ). It is being conducted principally in clinical sites in the U.S. and will include a small number of Chinese clinical sites. A second Phase 3 trial, Denali, jointly managed and equally funded by Nicox and Ocumension, is expected to start in Q4 2020. It will include clinical sites in both the U.S. and China. The two trials together are expected to be sufficient for filing NDAs in both the U.S. and China. Nicox may potentially receive over $18 million in development and sales milestones for ZERVIATE and NCX 4251, and is eligible to receive tiered royalties on Ocumensions sales of NCX 470, ZERVIATE and NCX 4251. Nicox and Ocumension expanded their collaboration on NCX 470 in March 2020 when Ocumension paid Nicox 15 million upfront in place of the milestones in the original agreement, gained additional rights to NCX 470 for Korea and South East Asia and agreed to pay 50% of the costs of the second Phase 3 clinical trial of NCX 470 in glaucoma (Denali). Nicox continues to closely watch the spread of COVID-19 and its impact around the world. We do not currently anticipate delays to our clinical timelines and will provide updates in due course if there is an impact on our development projects and timelines. The numbers are alarming and the answers hard to find as local law enforcement officials and others face a summertime surge of gun violence in the city of Madison. Since June 30, the city has seen two fatal shootings, at least 18 incidents of shots fired, nine residences and nine vehicles struck by gunfire, and about 160 shell casings recovered, police said. That doesnt include incidents in neighboring communities. Madison police and community activists are struggling to contain the unprecedented level of gun violence in recent weeks at a time when attention and resources are focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn, along with ongoing protests for social justice and racial equity. No one is sure what sparked the uptick in gun violence, but city officials and activists suspect its a combination of hot weather and people living with chronic poverty, stress and trauma now compounded by a pandemic that has increased job loss, financial insecurity, frustration and despair. Its happening spontaneously, said Anthony Cooper, executive director of the Focused Interruption Coalition (FIC), a community-based organization that responds to gun violence incidents and uses peer support to prevent further conflict and retaliation. There are a lot of people who are hurting. People are carrying weapons now for their own protection or how theyre looking at life now. Interim Police Chief Vic Wahl said, I dont think anybody has a definitive answer or wed be closer to solving these things. Nationally, a lot of cities are seeing significant spikes in gun violence. We are not alone in this. In some respects, Madison is less equipped to respond because it cut funds for FIC in the 2020 budget and a public health approach to violence that took shape after spikes in 2016 and 2017 has stalled amid the coronavirus pandemic. I am deeply concerned about the recent violence, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said. We have to invest in our community and reduce the stressors that can lead people to violence. Struck by gunfire Some incidents involved people in moving vehicles shooting at each other on streets. A majority of residences struck by gunfire were occupied by both adults and children at the time of the shootings. Evidence indicates both handguns and rifles were used, Wahl said. The police have responded to 99 shots fired incidents including a record 29 in June and recovered 267 casings in the first six months of the year, with incidents continuing in July. For perspective, police responded to 144 shots fired incidents, and recovered 473 shell casings in all of 2019, Wahl said. There have been six homicides so far this year, compared with four in all of 2019. The incidents do not appear to be direct conflict between cliques or gangs, but rather disputes among individuals who might be tied to cliques or gangs, Wahl and community activists said. We dont have a lot of pure gang shootings, Wahl said. Typically, theres some other underlying motivation. Drugs, money, relationships. But people may belong to different cliques or gangs. Rhodes-Conway said a small number of individuals can be responsible for a lot of gun violence. The majority of incidents in Madison are targeted, come in clusters and involve very few people, she said. Michael Johnson, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County, who has long been engaged in trying to address gun violence in the community, said its a combination of factors. Like most urban communities, its getting warm outside and most people have been isolated for weeks, he said. In Madison, there are neighborhood cliques, individuals who are underemployed or unemployed who are dealing with life challenges like trauma, a lack of education, poverty and a lack of direction. In some of these cases, conflict within individuals are causing an uptick in violence and there seems to be a lack of deescalation skills among those involved and embedded in our community. FIC, which responds 24-7 when someone is hit by gunfire, usually at the hospital, sees those issues playing out. Cooper quote "If you have a person who's struggling, can't find a job, can't pay rent, what do you think is going to happen?" Anthony Cooper, Focused Interruption Coalition executive director You have folks who are living in cars, who are homeless with babies, Cooper said. Theres a lot of things that have happened to folks. If you have a person whos struggling, cant find a job, cant pay rent, what do you think is going to happen? The desperation can lead to robberies, theft, drug dealing, prostitution, desperation and acting out, he said. This (expletive) is hard. This (expletive) is real, he said. The struggles people are going through are tough. Sometimes these things seem small. Now theyre a lot bigger. When it comes out, it comes out in rage. People are hurting. People are trying to figure it out. Theres a reality to all of that. We have to do something as a community. Wahl said hes disappointed by a lack of urgency. People are losing lives to gun violence, he said. There is no recognition. No outcry. New approaches In the spring of 2016, after three gang-related and retaliatory gunshot homicides with African American shooters and victims, organizers of the group that would become FIC and City Council members offered an ambitious 15-point plan with a top priority of peer support for teens and young adults at risk of committing violence, victims and families, and those re-entering the community from incarceration. In the fall of 2016, former Mayor Paul Soglin proposed and the council approved $400,000 for peer support. In 2017, as incidents rose, the city awarded two $200,000 contracts. One went to the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development and its subcontractor, FIC, for crisis-focused peer support with 24-hour emergency response and services to those who have experienced or been involved in acts of violence. The other went to Madison-area Urban Ministry, now called JustDane, to provide peer support to those returning to the community from jail or prison. Each organization got $200,000 in 2018. Soglin tried to boost peer support funding to $700,000 for 2019, but the council trimmed that back, raising FICs funding to $409,500 and keeping MUMs support at $200,000 that year. Rhodes-Conways first proposed budget reduced FICs funding, providing FIC and MUM $200,000 apiece for 2020, the same as in 2018, but the council added back $25,000 for FIC. Meanwhile, Public Health Madison & Dane County began an effort to build a community violence prevention coalition and conduct broad outreach to forge a comprehensive plan to address violence similar to those adopted in Minneapolis, Milwaukee and other cities. But the effort has stalled amid the pandemic. For many months now, a majority of the agency including our violence prevention coordinator and data analyst since February have have been focused on COVID full time, Rhodes-Conway said. Its unclear when those positions will be revived, Public Health spokesperson Sarah Mattes said. Seeking solutions Gun violence is the top priority for the Police Departments Violent Crime Unit (VCU) with multiple detectives assigned to a growing number of cases, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said. The VCU is also working with the departments Gang Unit, Criminal Intelligence Section, district Community Police Teams and neighborhood resource officers, and the Dane County Narcotics Task Force, and sharing information with partner law enforcement agencies including names, photos or surveillance images, vehicles and addresses to which they may be connected, he said. But continuing protests are straining police resources and complicating cooperation with victims and witnesses, Wahl said. People refuse to talk but thats not always the case, he said. There are plenty of cases where victims are cooperating and want to talk. The protests havent affected commitment to duty, Wahl said, noting that arrests were made in both homicides within 48 hours. The community must refocus on root causes, many said. The City Council unanimously voted to support the 15-point plan years ago but failed to fully fund it, Johnson said. I believe if fully funded, some of the issues we see would be minimized. The city is seeking to link families facing eviction with housing supports; create work and leadership programming for young people; support Black enterprises and small businesses; analyze models of crisis intervention that dont involve police; and connect with City Council members and the county on models to better support mental health needs, Rhodes-Conway said. We are hoping to pivot many of the budget discussions into deeper community investment, but the city also faces a financial crisis and will not be able to solve every problem, she said. Community proposed 15-point plan to address violence The 15-point plan developed in August 2016 by dozens of grassroots community leaders, faith leaders and elected officials in a process led and facilitated by the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County, calls for investment in key programs to prevent and address violence and the creation of a violence prevention office, independent of the Madison Police Department, to oversee implementation: Peer support coaches for violence prevention and hotline. Peer support coaches for recidivism reduction. Madison Peace Project, based off of a similar project in Milwaukee, that would invite individuals between the ages of 8 and 18 to develop ideas that would reduce gun violence. Awards and protection for witnesses for the reporting of and information leading to the arrest and conviction of any offender(s) in a homicide. Youth Employment. Mentoring. Connecting youth with positive adult role models. Task Force to establish a Restoration Center to establish a positive alternative for individuals who would otherwise be arrested or taken to the hospital because of behavior, intoxication, and/or mental health issues. Expansion of community center hours. An independent office called Madison Alternative Policing Strategy (MAPS) that would become an independent civilian division working in conjunction with the Madison Police Department and led by a full-time executive director governed by an independent board of community representatives from each police district and grass-root community groups to help the community work with police and the philanthropic and business communities to develop violence prevention strategies. Alternative Sentencing. MAPS would work with the courts to lobby the criminal justice system in support of offering inmates charged with nonviolent offenses an opportunity to trade their sentences for a chance at completing a two-year college degree program at a technical school with the guarantee to transfer to a UW state school. Quality, culturally-competent mental health support. Lobby for policies that address social determinants of violence. Remove from CCAP all offenses that aren't violent crimes for anyone 25 and under. Court advocacy. Collaboration with the Madison Out of School Time (MOST) program and Madison School District. Pilot programs of functional family therapy and parent management training. Police protests: How Madison responded to the police killing of George Floyd Protests erupted across the country, including Wisconsin, to condemn the police-related death of a Minneapolis man, George Floyd, on May 25. Heres a collection of photos looking at how the protests in Madison have unfolded since then. If you have a person whos struggling, cant find a job, cant pay rent, what do you think is going to happen? Anthony Cooper, Focused Interruption Coalition executive director Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Beijing, July 11 : A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said since the United States has already declared withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), it is in no position to make unwarranted comments on China's cooperation with the WHO. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Friday made the remarks when responding to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's comments on China's cooperation with the WHO on tracing the origin of the virus. China and the WHO have been in close communication and cooperation since the epidemic broke out, Zhao said. Now China is undertaking an arduous task of preventing both case import and domestic resurgence, and China is the first to invite WHO experts to discuss science-based origin tracing. "It is our contribution to global public health cooperation as a responsible major country," Zhao said. By contrast, the United States has been shirking its own responsibilities and undermining global solidarity in combating the virus by declaring to exit the WHO, politicizing matters related to the pandemic and smearing others. Since it already declared withdrawal from the WHO, the United States is in no position to make unwarranted comments on China's cooperation with the WHO, Zhao said. "If the United States truly cares about global efforts against the pandemic, the first thing it needs to do is to fulfill its due international responsibilities and obligations and cooperate with the WHO in ways like inviting WHO experts to trace the source of the virus in the United States." -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Rishita from Tagor Senior Secondary School, Narnaund in Hisar district has topped the BSEH 10th result 2020. She has secured 100% marks in the 10th board exams. Rishita scored complete 500 marks in the exams. A student of the Tagor Senior Secondary School, Narnaund in Hisar district named Rishita is the topper of Haryana Board Class 10 Exams 2020. She gained 100% marks in the top five of her subjects: English, Maths, MHV, Science and Social Science. The marks scored in the top five subjects are counted when calculating the total score of any student. So, she has scored complete 500 marks out of 500. Rishita is the only topper to bag the first position this year in BSEH 10th results. There are 5 students who share the 2nd position with 499 marks while 9 students share the third position. 3 other students of the same school, Tagore Senior Seccondary School located in Narnaund in Hisar achieved the next (second) position in the Board Exams. Kalpana, Sneh and Uma score 99.8% marks. Other students who bagged the second position include Nikita Maruti Sawant of GNJN Goenka Girls High School, also in Hisar and Ankita from DN High School in Khanda Kheri, both of them scored 99.8% marks. 3,37,691 students sat for the Haryana Board Class 10 Exams 2020. Of the total students who attended the examinations, 64.59% managed to pass. The Board of School Education Haryana, or BSEH, just announced the result details today on its official website. Students will be able to check their individual results at 10 p.m. Also read: BSEH 10th results 2020: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar congratulates students Also read: HBSE 10th result 2020 declared: Know highlights and check result @bseh.org.in Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar congratulated the students for passing BSEH class 10th 2020 exams. He also wrote in his tweet that he wishes for a bright future of the students. Also, he wrote that these students have made their parents and everyone proud. Also read: Maharashtra SSC and HSC Result 2020 to be announced soon, know how to check For all the latest Education and Jobs News, download NewsX App Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Mas Achmad Santosa and Januar Dwi Putra (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 10:27 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406658de92 3 Opinion transnational-crimes,fishing-boat,fishing-industry,slavery,illegal-fishing Free The ocean provides humans with many valuable live-sustaining resources. Its global economic value of US$24 trillion dwarfs the largest sovereign wealth funds owned by Norway, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and China, which total $3.1 trillion, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Boston Consulting Group in 2015. The oceans economic value derives from marine living resources at $6.9 trillion, shipping lanes at $5.2 trillion, the productive coastline at $7.8 trillion and carbon absorption at $4.3 trillion. However, the vastness of the ocean also creates challenges to monitor and enforce all activities taking place in it. The oceans economic value is dwindling rapidly due to habitat destruction, pollution, impacts of climate change and overfishing. The Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) found in its latest report that 34.2 percent of the global fish stock had been overfished, up from 31.4 percent and 33.1 percent in 2016 and 2018 respectively. Furthermore, one in every five fish found in the market is likely to be illegally caught or unreported, making illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing one of the primary drivers of overfishing as Sjarief Widjaja et al say in their report IUU Fishing and Associated Drivers (2020). The lucrative potential of the fisheries sector is appealing to many. Some business players have taken advantage of lax monitoring on the ocean to reap maximum profit by engaging in IUU fishing. Worse, law enforcement officers across the globe have often found crimes that were associated with IUU fishing, such as human rights abuses, human trafficking, document forgery and tax evasion. Vessels involved in this crime often use forged licenses and registrations documents, and flags of convenience to obscure the beneficial owners. The owners often cloak themselves in shell companies and complex ownership structures. They also employ cheap labor, who are recruited through deception, and abuse them physically and mentally. These crimes are committed in an organized manner by actors from various nationalities. This fits the definition of transnational organized crime (TOC) under the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime adopted in 2000. Following these findings, governments and experts have been pushing for the acknowledgment of the connection between IUU fishing and TOC and encourage countries to take necessary actions against IUU fishing. Evidence of TOC in the fishing industry can be found in several cases in Indonesia. In 2015-2019, Indonesia successfully ended the operations of three notorious fishing vessels. All three vessels committed TOC to support their IUU fishing operations. FV Viking, apprehended in 2016, was owned by a Spanish national through shell companies run by an Australian national and a Singaporean financier. FV Viking was identified to have committed criminal offenses, including countless forgery of documents to support illegal fishing operations in Southern Atlantic waters. Other examples are MV Andrey Dolgov and MV NIKA, which are connected to a Russian national domiciled in South Korea who orchestrated similar crimes as FV Viking. In 2015, Indonesia also dealt with gross human rights abuses committed by fishing companies affiliated with Thai owners in Benjina. The successes stemmed from political will and strong leadership shown by the government to combat fisheries crime. Indonesia also managed to build strong cooperation with international partners, notably Interpol and likeminded countries. In investigating FV Viking, Indonesia and Norway established a Multilateral Investigative Support Team (MIST), which enabled a joint investigation. In handling MV Andrey Dolgov and MV NIKA, Indonesia took advantage of Interpols Regional Investigative and Analytical Case Meeting (RIACM). Through this mechanism, Indonesia and Interpol managed to gather enforcement officers from Australia, South Korea, the United States and Panama to take enforcement measures in various jurisdictions. TOC in fisheries massively drain marine living resources, undermines human rights, mocks legitimate fisheries business environment, and threatens maritime security. These practices can still be found today, including in the recent abuses against Indonesian nationals onboard Chinese fishing vessels. During the COVID-19 pandemic, illegal fishing is likely to escalate as a result of reduced monitoring at sea, especially in the Africa and Asia regions. Countries must therefore develop a shared understanding of TOC in fisheries and formally support the 2018 International Declaration Against Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry (the Copenhagen Declaration). To date, only 28 countries have signed the declaration. Based on our experience, political will, strong government leadership, interagency cooperation and international cooperation are the prerequisites for effective enforcement against fisheries crimes. These elements shall be complemented with strong laws that adopt corporate criminal liability with severe criminal punishments and extraterritorial principles to ensnare perpetrators abroad. Governments should also consider prohibiting registers for foreign fishing vessels to operate in their waters to combat fisheries crimes. Closing access for foreign fishing vessels has had positive impacts on Indonesia. The country enjoyed a boost in fish stock from 7.3 million tons in 2013 to 12.54 tons in 2017, and the fishermen savor economic improvement, as evident in the average increase of fishermen exchange rate from 104.63 in 2014 to 112.88 in 2018. The tax revenue from the fisheries sector neared Rp 2 trillion ($138 million) in December 2019. Banning foreign fishing vessels from operating in sovereign waters, including Exclusive Economic Zones, will contribute significantly to the prevention of fisheries crimes and to drive sustainable fisheries management. *** Mas Achmad Santosa is the founder and CEO of Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative. Januar Dwi Putra is an ocean governance specialist and formerly worked on the Presidential Task Force to Combat Illegal Fishing (Satgas 115). Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu has held a virtual interaction with members of the Sikh community in the United States, during which the participating diaspora leaders pledged to contribute in India's development with particular focus on Punjab. Wonderful interaction with prominent members of the vibrant Sikh Indian-American community, Sandhu said in a tweet soon after the virtual interaction on Friday, which was attended by about 100 eminent Sikh leaders. Wonderful interaction today with prominent members of the vibrant Sikh Indian American Community! pic.twitter.com/QpNNQgPGz4 Taranjit Singh Sandhu (@SandhuTaranjitS) July 10, 2020 During the two-hour-long virtual meeting, the ambassador briefed the community on India-US strategic ties and praised their immense contribution in the socio-economic milieu of the United States and development of India. The Sikh leaders expressed interest in helping to develop Punjab, in sectors such as education and the environment. There was lot of enthusiasm to do something towards the overall development of Punjab, according to a participating official. During his previous postings here in various capacities, Ambassador Sandhu has been instrumental in engaging the Sikh diaspora. He had played a key role in the first-ever meeting of the Sikh community leaders here with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter's visit in 2016. Mrs. Jordan and husband Abraham traveled to South Africa and Mexico and across the country on a train. Their next destination was to be Cuba. Read more People Weve Lost Jane Jordan 78 years old Lived in Wyndmoor Everyone said she was kind and gracious More Memorials It happened so often when the Jordan family was out together that it became a running joke among the three children. No matter where they were, someone invariably would approach their mother and exclaim, Mrs. Jordan, you taught me at Germantown. And the kids would roll their eyes. Here we go again. They were everywhere, Natalie Jordan, Mrs. Jordans middle child, said about her mothers former students. But she would be over the moon each time that they remembered her. That was one of my students,' she would say. It humbled her. Mrs. Jordan, 78, died Friday, June 12, from COVID-19 at Abington Hospital. She had been ill with the virus for about 17 days. Born at home in Germantown in 1941, the young Mrs. Jordan liked to ride around town with her older brother, Kermit, in the front seat of his car. She graduated from Germantown High and wanted to be an archaeologist. Instead, she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, graduated from Cheyney State Teachers College (now Cheyney University) in 1964, and became a history teacher. In those days, women became secretaries, teachers, or nurses, Natalie Jordan said. She loved history and architecture, so she became a teacher. After working briefly at an elementary school, Mrs. Jordan returned to her alma mater and spent the bulk of her career teaching history at Germantown. Natalie graded papers with her mother on the weekend and received impromptu history lessons on what happened there and how that was built during family car rides. Mrs. Jordan was especially interested in the history of women, African Americans, and Philadelphia. She had met Abraham Jordan on a double date, and they married in July 1966. They set up house in West Mount Airy and raised daughters Regina and Natalie and son Blair. Being her only son, Blair was her heart, Natalie said. During their nearly 54-year marriage, Mrs. Jordan and her husband traveled to South Africa and Mexico and across the country on a train. Their next destination was to be Cuba. The couple moved to Wyndmoor in 2000. Kind and gracious is how everybody described her, Natalie Jordan said of her mother. Even when she wasnt feeling well when she got older, she always smiled. " In addition to her husband and children, Mrs. Jordan is survived by five grandchildren. Gary Miles, gmiles@inquirer.com AFP via Getty What goes up must come down. And like his SpaceX rockets, Elon Musk's support of Kanye West for president appears to have fallen back to Earth. Musk's new-found scepticism came after West's first interview as a presidential candidate in Forbes revealed plans to run the White House like Wakanda, which would assume the fictional home of Black Panther was also anti-abortion and anti-vaccinations. "We may have more differences of opinion than I anticipated," Musk said in a now-deleted tweet, according to screenshots circulating across Twitter on Thursday. Musk's 72-hour orbit around the "Birthday Party" presidential bid came to an end three days after West announced his candidacy on 5 July, when Musk proclaimed his "full support!" You have my full support! Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2020 In his interview with Forbes, West said "Planned Parenthoods have been placed inside cities by white supremacists to do the Devil's work", called vaccines "the mark of the beast", and said that his White House organisational model would be based on Wakanda, where the crown can be won by combat. When Twitter user @GalwayJohnC suggested the Tesla founder was too "intelligent for this BS", Musk appeared to have second thoughts. It was a fast trip around the Sun since West posted a photo of the "boys" on 1 July, a few days before the #2020vision announcement. He was widely criticised by many on the left who feared West's announcement was an attempt to pull black voters away from Joe Biden in support of Donald Trump's re-election bid. Story continues In the Forbes interview, West said he no longer supports Trump and that to say the black vote is Democratic is a "form of racism and white supremacy". "A lot of times just like political parties they feel all Blacks have to be Democrat. This man, Joe Biden, said if you don't vote for me, then you are not Black," West said. "Well, act like we didn't hear that? We act like we didn't hear that man say that? That man said that. It's a rap." When you go to your boys house and you're both wearing orange pic.twitter.com/IyPOdEKaVY ye (@kanyewest) July 1, 2020 Read more Kanye West faces backlash for deleted anti-abortion tweet Sharon Osbourne says embarrassing Kanye West should return loan Who do people care more about Kanye West or Donald Trump? Can Kanye West actually run for president? Kanye West says he's done with Trump After 23 years serving up home cooked food to diners in New Ross, Patricia Whelan has closed the Riverview Restaurant in the L&N car park due to social distancing limitations, a drop-off in business and the high VAT rate. When Patricia started out in October 1997 she ran The Crusty Kitchen opposite the Riverview. She said: 'It's really heartbreaking when you are in business for that length of time. It was a hard decision to make.' Since Patricia and her team of four staff left the restaurant on March 18 due to Covid-19, she said she tried to find a way to make it work. 'I thought we were only closing for a couple of weeks. The freezers were full of food. With all of the new regulations I ended up with seven tables when we always had 16. Especially with the two metres and the overheads you couldn't continue. I would have had to take on an extra person.' She said it was a great business up until a few years ago. 'We had great times. I started off in The Crusty Kitchen and had four years there. I ran the two of the restaurants side by side, taking over the Riverview in 2000.' At the time the economy was good and Patricia and her staff were busy feeding builders from 7 a.m. and had their regulars throughout the day. 'Everything was great. We used to be so busy. Of course we had our ups and downs over the years,' she said. Priding her business on its home baked and home cooked food, Patricia said the Riverview's scones were always in demand from workers at businesses in the town. Among the business's busiest days were the choral festival every year when streams of people would flood into the restaurant all weekend from St Michael's Theatre. 'In 2009 we could see business starting to fall off a bit. It improved then up until three years ago and since then it's really gone downhill.' Among the reasons why Patricia decided to close was the increased VAT rate from 9 per cent to over 13 per cent and new cafes opening. 'Covid was the final nail. We had already ended up paying an extra 800 every two months in VAT; you can't really keep going with that. There are too many cafes and many don't survive.' She will miss her staff, two of whom have worked at the Riverview for 14 years. Patricia, who lives in Ramsgrange, said New Ross has great potential, especially once the greenway opens. Patricia said: 'We would like to thank our terrific staff without whom it would never have been the success that it was. They were the most loyal and hard working bunch of women that any business could wish for. I will miss the regulars wicked.' Days after President Donald Trump sought to use its recommendations to justify an aggressive push to reopen school buildings, the American Academy of Pediatric s has joined with several education organizations to urge caution on the issue. Science should drive decision-making on safely reopening schools, the AAP said in a joint statement with the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and AASA, the School Superintendents Association. Public health agencies must make recommendations based on evidence, not politics. We should leave it to health experts to tell us when the time is best to open up school buildings, and listen to educators and administrators to shape how we do it. The statement follows a tumultuous week in which the president repeatedly threatened schools federal funding if they dont reopen their builldings for in-person learning, despite concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The administration has provided few details, stirring confusion as Trump sought to leverage the issue for his re-election campaign. The push comes as school is scheduled to start in less than a month in some parts of the country, and as several states announced plans this week to delay the first day of classes in response to spikes in virus cases. AAP President Dr. Sally Goza attended a White House event Tuesday in which Trump administration officials repeatedly cited a June policy recommendation from her organization and urged schools not to use guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to justify keeping their buildings closed. (See a comparison of the two sets of recommendations here. ) In that recommendation, the AAP said it strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school. But that doesnt mean states should force schools to open against the advice of local health officials, Goza told NPR Wednesday. In Fridays statement, the AAP and other organizations sought to pump the brakes further. Local school leaders, public health experts, educators and parents must be at the center of decisions about how and when to reopen schools, taking into account the spread of COVID-19 in their communities and the capacities of school districts to adapt safety protocols to make in-person learning safe and feasible, the statement said. For instance, schools in areas with high levels of COVID-19 community spread should not be compelled to reopen against the judgment of local experts. A one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate for return to school decisions. The organizations also called for more federal funding to aid schools. Withholding funding from schools that do not open in person full-time would be a misguided approach, putting already financially strapped schools in an impossible position that would threaten the health of students and teachers, the statement said. In a virtual meeting with the American Federation of Teachers Thursday, Jill Biden, wife of former Vice President Joe Biden, praised the organizations support of the HEROES Act, a House-passed relief bill that has not been taken up by the Senate. Trumps opponent supports re-opening schools, but he believes they need resources and flexibility to do so, she said. A generation of students, families and educators are counting on us to prevent the spread of this virus, Jill Biden said. A Threat With No Specifics To be clear, school administrators around the country have planned for months for the start of the 2020-21 academic year, aiming to start classes in-person if at all possible. Education organization also have pushed for more federal guidance for months, and they campaigned for release of the initial CDC recommendations, which were reportedly delayed by the White House before they were released in May. Because social distancing and other precautions may not be possible in crowded buildings, many districts have favored starting under a hybrid planbringing rotating cohorts of students into their buildings a few days a week and offering remote learning on the other days. That idea was included in the CDC recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which Trump slammed this week as impractical and expensive. The White House has been unclear on exactly what it is asking states and districts to do. Despite urging schools to use federal relief funds to pay for distance learning efforts, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos this week criticized hybrid plans. Reporters pushed White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany two days in a row about whether Trump supported hybrid reopenings, and she did not have an answer. Also unclear is what funds Trump is threatening to withold from schools. On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence said the administration may make education funds in future relief bills conditional on school reopenings . On Thursday, DeVos told Fox News the administration wanted to allow families to take that money and figure out where their kids can get educated if schools are going to refuse to open. Trump does not have any clear authority to cut off existing funds allocated through federal education programs, and school governance is largely a state and local issue. But the conversation alone has made the issue even more politically charged, even as many Southern states struggle to control surging cases of COVID-19. Arizona rescheduled the start of its school year to Aug. 17, and school board members from around the state urged Gov. Doug Ducey this week to delay it even further. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice delayed his states school start to Sept. 8 on Wednesday. On Thursday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson pushed back the start date for for Arkansas schools from Aug. 13 to Aug. 24. Meanwhile, state education chiefs in Florida and Texas, states that have drawn national concern for surging virus rates, have directed their schools to open for in-person learning five days a week . DeVos and Trump held up Florida as an example, even as local leaders there say the plan isnt safe or feasible for some districts. Follow us on Twitter @PoliticsK12 . And follow the Politics K-12 reporters @EvieBlad @Daarel and @AndrewUjifusa . Bachelorette couple Angie Kent and Carlin Sterritt confirmed their split earlier this month after being plagued by break-up rumours for weeks. And heartbroken Angie, 30, who is now back home in Queensland, has revealed that the split has been so tough that she's seeking professional help. 'I am navigating it all and dealing with the feelings and thoughts as they arise... and have an amazing therapist who is helping,' she told House Of Wellness on Sunday. Scroll down for video 'I am navigating it all': The Bachelorette's Angie Kent, 30, has admitted to seeing a therapist to deal with her heartbreaking split from Carlin Sterritt 31, after 'hiding in bed for weeks' The former couple, who met on last year's season of The Bachelorette, took to their respective Instagram accounts on July 1 to announce the news. 'We have not wanted to confirm until this point because there have been much bigger issues going on in the world and we've both been taking space to think about what we really want,' Angie wrote in a post on Instagram Stories at the time. Speaking to House of Wellness this weekend, Angie added: 'I was hiding in bed a lot for the first couple of weeks dealing with all the feels and the constant speculation for over a month that Carlin and I had broken up when in fact we had not. We were taking time to navigate what was going on,' Angie said. 'I was hiding in bed a lot for the first couple of weeks dealing with all the feels': Angie said she was seeking support from friends, family and a therapist in Queensland The former Gogglebox Australia couch commentator claimed the constant split speculation, fan comments and media interest contributed to the break-up. 'As much as people seem to think I am just some character on a show, I am a human just like everyone else with huge feelings and my own personal life going on, on top of navigating this relationship and then having to accept the fact that it didnt pan out the way I thought it would,' Angie added. With the exes now living in separate states, Angie hopes to focus on 'rebuilding' herself and purchasing her first house. 'It didnt pan out the way I thought it would': The former Gogglebox Australia couch commentator claimed the constant split speculation, fan comments and media interest contributed to the break-up Last week Carlin also spoke said his recent breakup with Angie had 'taken a toll' on him while discussing his battle with anxiety. The 31-year-old revealed that he had sleepless nights as a result of his anxiety. Posting to Instagram, the reality star revealed that his anxiety is 'crippling' and that he 'barely slept'. Brokenhearted: Last week, Carlin revealed that his recent break up with Angie Kent had 'taken a toll' on him Trying to move on: Carlin said he was ready to 'heal' after attempting to distract himself from the pain of his breakup with Angie in another Instagram story on Wednesday It came after the actor said he was 'ready to heal' after attempting to distract himself from the pain of his breakup with Angie in another Instagram post. He said that he was ready to take on his problems by 'not beating himself up about it' and by 'thinking about all the positives in his life'. Angie revealed at the start of this month that the couple, who met on last year's season on The Bachelorette, called it quits because their 'values didn't align'. The House of Wellness July lift-out is available in Chemist Warehouse stores and News Corp Sunday papers including the Herald Sun and Daily Telegraph Dont assume you can read your partners mind. Some of the most common things that the psychotherapist Matt Lundquist hears are: I already know what she is going to say, or, I already know what he thinks. Its almost always untrue, though. I will plead with them to suspend their disbelief and really work to deeply and sincerely engage in curiosity, said Mr. Lundquist, the owner and clinical director at Tribeca Therapy in Manhattan. In any fraught situation, sit down with your partner and listen. Instead of offering rebuttals, try to treat it more like an interview about where he or she is coming from. Ms. Fitzpatrick suggests asking only open-ended questions which cant be answered with a simple yes or a no. Some of the most tense discussions might be about work or money. You could try, How are you feeling about our finances right now? Or if you have been working from home: How should we approach our safety when you go back to the office? Karen Osterle, a couples therapist based in Washington, D.C., said to give your partner the benefit of the doubt. She suggests using language like: I know you probably dont mean to come across as dismissive or condescending right now, but when I hear you say I shouldnt worry, I find myself feeling disregarded. Or, Can you see what I mean, even if you dont mean to make me feel that way? A partners need might come across as just a preference for example, if one of you wants to visit family in a different state, it might seem like something that can be postponed. But it could be that a parent really needs help, or your partner is overwhelmed. Youll find out whats going on only if you ask. Youll know you have truly listened when you can describe your partners perspective in a supportive way regardless of whether you agree with him or her. Find a way to do both things. Just as fights about the dishes arent ever just about the dishes, fights about going to a birthday party post-lockdown arent just about the party. Look deeper into the anxieties and frustrations undergirding each position and see if you can fulfill the emotion without doing the precise activity. Actor Angelina Jolie expressed pride about her daughter Zaharas African roots in a conversation for Time, with Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate. Jolie adopted Zahara from Ethiopia when she was six-months-old. Jolie and Nakate were discussing the Black Lives Matter movement, and the actor began her question by speaking about Zahara. One of the things thats also been interesting is the education, Jolie said I dont know about the schools in Uganda, but I know in the United States theres a very big question particularly about themy daughter is from Ethiopia, one of my children. And I have learned so much from her. She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman and her connection to her country, her continent, is veryits her own and its something I only stand back in awe of. She continued, But what I see in, for example, American history books and how limited they are, they dontthey really start teaching people who are Black about their lives through the Civil Rights movement, which is such a horrible place to begin. Jolies comments come a day after her ex-husband Brad Pitt paid her a visit at her house. It was his second visit in two weeks, as reports of their previously icy relationship thawing emerged. Its taken them a long time, with a lot of family therapy, to get to this point. The younger kids go back and forth between their houses, and Brad loves spending as much time with them as possible. He seems much happier, People magazine quoted an insider as saying. Also read: Brad Pitt spotted at Angelina Jolies house for the second time in 2 weeks, amid reports of ex-couple mending relationship The former couple has six children. In addition to the 15-year-old Zahara, theyre parents to Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Knox, 11, Shiloh, 14, and Vivienne, 11. Jolie recently spoke to Vogue about her decision to split. I separated for the well-being of my family. It was the right decision. I continue to focus on their healing, she said. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON PHILIPSBURG:--- The Carnival Pride cruise ship, will be arriving at Port St. Maarten on Saturday morning in connection with the repatriation of crew who are returning to their home countries in Europe. Countries around the world have been asked by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to facilitate the safe and efficient operation of the maritime transportation system, which moves over 80 per cent of global trade. Critical to this is the ability of shipping and cruise companies to continue conducting crew changes throughout the world while complying with restrictions and following the national guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Carnival Pride operation at Port St. Maarten entails the repatriation of crew who will be traveling to Europe on Saturday. Some of the crew are scheduled to depart the island on a commercial flight to Paris and Amsterdam. Crew members will be bussed to the Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) to directly board a charter and commercial flight. Port St. Maarten is playing a key role in this repatriation process under humanitarian grounds, and for the overall welfare of the crew. The global shipping industry estimates that, since March 2020, only about 25 per cent of normal crew changes have taken place. Port St. Maarten was chosen due to its strategic location in the Northeastern Caribbean as well as its international connections with airports in Europe. Also, plus points for the destination is the countrys infrastructure that caters to homeporting services, therefore, making the island an ideal location for international crew changes. Other plus points for the destination are fuel bunkering and food provisioning services for the cruise industry. All cruise vessels must adhere to stringent public health measures as well as to the rules and regulations. Port St. Maarten has a Sterile Port Protocol in place since mid-March with respect to COVID-19 ensuring safety and security. The Sterile Port Protocol falls under the scope of the Ordinance Public Health which is part of the International Health Regulations as issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). Toronto: Canadian officials confirmed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's mother and brother were paid nearly $300,000 over four years by a charity recently awarded a no-bid contract to disburse hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to student volunteers. The revelation raised ethical questions anew for Trudeau, who has faced earlier conflict-of-interest complaints along with a high-profile ethics investigation that had once threatened to derail his tenure. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau celebrates with his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, last year. Credit:The Canadian Press/AP Last week, the country's ethics commissioner opened an investigation into whether the Prime Minister had breached the rules by awarding the aid contract to an organisation, known as the WE Charity, with which he has close personal ties. Facing an uproar, the government reconsidered and said it would run the aid program instead, known as the Canada Student Service Grant. A British Army major general faces a court martial for the first time in more than 200 years. Nick Welch, 57, has been accused of illegally claiming around 50,000 in allowances to send one of his children to private school. He appeared before Bulford Military court in Wiltshire on Friday where he was charged with fraud. Army regulations allow claims of up to 23,480 a year towards private school fees - but Welch is accused of claiming more than double that. Nick Welch appeared before Bulford Military court in Wiltshire on Friday where he was charged with fraud He allegedly used the money to send his child to a school within 10 miles from his 800,000 Shillingstone home in Dorset - complete with a pool - The Sun reported. His barrister Sarah Jones QC said she plans to try and get the case thrown out before Welch is due to stand trial next year. The father of three was commissioned in the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1984 and he has served in Berlin, Northern Ireland and Belize. Welch (pictured above with the then Prime Minister David Cameron) allegedly used the money to send his child to a school within 10 miles from his 800,000 Shillingstone home in Dorset After stepping down in 2018, Major Welch now works as Chief Operating Officer at Bournemouth Arts University He was awarded an OBE in 2006 and was previously the highest ranking Army officer at the Ministry of Defence for his role as Assistant Chief of General Staff. After stepping down in 2018, Major Welch now works as Chief Operating Officer at Bournemouth Arts University. He is most senior officer to face a court martial since 1815. That year, Sir John Murray, who commanded a 16,000 strong army in Spain while fighting Napoleon, was convicted of abandoning his siege guns. The U.S. Department of Energy announced this week it will allow firms to export liquefied natural gas to international markets from the proposed Jordan Cove terminal on the southern coast of Oregon. The move brings natural gas producers in landlocked states like Wyoming closer to tapping into demand for the commodity overseas, proponents said. U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette issued an order this week authorizing up to 1.8 billion cubic feet a day of liquefied natural gas to be shipped out of the terminal. The Jordan Cove terminal has yet to be constructed, due in part to significant regulatory issues over the past decade. But if completed, it would be the only liquefied natural gas port on the West Coast. Energy companies convert natural gas into a liquid using cold temperatures and pressure. In its liquid state, the commodity can be transported across the globe in ocean vessels. Todays issuance to Jordan Cove serves to further expand opportunities for U.S. LNG abroad, particularly in the growing markets of Asia, and encapsulates what the Trump Administration has been working hard on for the past three years providing reliable, affordable and cleaner-burning natural gas to our allies around the world, Brouillette said in a statement on Monday. Wyoming Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, a longtime proponent of coal and LNG export terminals on the West Coast, welcomed the announcement. Its great news that the Trump Administration has provided federal approval to the Jordan Cove project, he said. This project will create and sustain thousands of jobs in Wyoming. The Department of Energys authorization comes on the heels of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions decision in March to give the green light to the Jordan Cove export terminal and corresponding 229-mile pipeline, called the Pacific Connector Pipeline. Though the state of Oregon challenged the approval, federal regulators declined to reconsider the decision in May. Despite the federal endorsement for the project, the projects owner, Canadian energy company Pembina Pipeline Corp., has yet to obtain the required state permits and cannot begin construction until it has done so. Supporters of the terminal have insisted landlocked Wyoming could see high returns if the export terminal on the West Coast comes to fruition. For years, natural gas operators have looked for ways to tap into international demand for natural gas. But some energy analysts contend liquefied natural gas prices in Asia remain too low, and the market too volatile, to make investment in the commodity worthwhile. The drawbacks Along the way, the controversial export terminal has faced significant opposition for well over a decade. Its also hit several roadblocks from state regulatory bodies. Oregons Department of Environmental Quality blocked necessary water quality certificates last year. In another setback, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development objected to the project. Pembina Pipeline Corp. still needs to obtain a dredging permit from the Department of State Land, too. The proposed facility has also faced significant protest from several environmental groups for well over a decade. Constructing and operating the facility would significantly damage coastal ecosystems, crucial waterways and the climate, opponents say. According to the environmental impact statement, the terminal would also cough up over 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. Environmental groups filed a lawsuit in May challenging the FERCs vote to approve the terminal. In March, Randall Luthi, chief energy adviser for Gov. Mark Gordon, called the export terminal simply a glimmer on the far horizon. Though supportive of making additional markets and export capacity available for Wyomings energy sectors, Luthi said it will likely take years before the export terminal is complete and the benefits trickle over to Wyoming. The U.S. is one of the worlds leading exporters of liquefied natural gas. Export of the commodity increased by nearly 4,000 percent between 2015 and 2018. Facilities started popping up on the coasts left and right. But the past year has tested the financial viability of the hot energy commodity. A decrease in demand, deflation in prices and market volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic have hit the industry hard. Follow the latest on Wyomings energy industry @camillereports Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 11.07.2020 LISTEN Liberia's Oceanographer and Queen's University Belfast PhD Scholar, Sheck A. Sherif joined scientists from across the world to discuss actions to address global ocean acidification - a challenge facing the ocean and marine resources worldwide particularly in Africa. Mr. Sherif, a Co-Chair of the Ocean Acidification Africa Regional Network (OA-Network)- a pan-African network specifically supports coordinated approach to promote ocean acidification (OA) awareness and research in Africa. The Liberian scientist Sherif said Africa's major challenge is the lack of fully equipped laboratories to conduct ocean acidification testing especially in the long term, and viable research cruises to address the danger posed by ocean acidification. Sherif indicated that the OA-Africa Regional Network is advised and supported by the Ocean Foundation, Future Earth Coasts, and the Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre (OA-ICC) in "working towards addressing these challenges regarding ocean acidification. A 3-minute video was funded by by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Environmental Laboratories to showcase what the international community is doing to address Ocean Acidification (OA). According to the Liberian Oceanographer, ocean acidification can be remedied when all hands get on deck in tackling the challenge of how carbon dioxide is emitted. Sherif called for global support to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.3 which seeks to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources because the ocean drives global systems that make the Earth habitable. Sherif further disclosed that with additional support from the International Atomic Energy Agency and other partners, the Ocean Acidification Africa Regional Network has taken steps to create awareness on the continent about the impact of ocean acidification to enhance research, monitoring capability, and mitigation. The Queen's University Belfast PhD scholar mentioned that ocean acidification was highlighted among critical issues discussed at the Blue Oceans Conference in Monrovia in March 2019. The video, according to the IAEA OA-ICC, includes short interview clip from 7-8 key people from around the world who are working together to address OA. The main objective is to raise awareness on the fact that while ocean acidification is an increasingly important threat to our oceans, the OA community is taking action to address OA in a collaborative way. Other scientists on the panel included Alexis Valauri-Orton from the International Ocean Acidification Initiative of The Ocean Foundation; Jean-Pierre Gattuso, Associate Researcher of the French National Centre for Scientific Research; Jan Newton, Co-Chair of the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network and senior principal oceanographer with the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University of Washington, and an affiliate professor in both the UW School of Oceanography and the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs; Marine Lebrec, Research Scientist at the International Atomic Energy Agency; Bronte Tilbrook, Co-Chair, Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network; Jessie Turner, International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification. The guard tower flanks the sign at the entrance to the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., on Dec. 10, 2019. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo) Judge Halts First Federal Execution in 17 Years Justice Department plans to appeal ruling A judge has blocked the first federal execution in 17 years over concerns regarding the CCP virus from the family members of the victims of Daniel Lee. The Justice Department plans to appeal the ruling. Lee, 47, of Yukon, Oklahoma, was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1996 killings, by him and a co-conspirator, of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife, Nancy, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell. His execution by lethal injection was scheduled for July 13 at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Danny Lee waits for his arraignment hearing for murder in the Pope County Detention Center in Russellville, Ark., on Oct. 31, 1997. (Dan Pierce/The Courier via AP, File) Chief District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson of the Southern District of Indiana ruled to delay Lees execution because of concerns over Lees victims family members over the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virusa novel coronavirus from Wuhan, Chinawhich has reportedly spread throughout prisons across the United States, reported The Associated Press. Family members of Lees victimsEarlene Peterson, Kimma Gurel, and Monica Veillettewere selected by the warden at the U. S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana to attend Lees execution. They had requested that the execution be called off because their fear of the CCP virus would keep them from attending. The harm to Ms. Peterson, for example, is being forced to choose whether being present for the execution of a man responsible for the death of her daughter and granddaughter is worth defying her doctors orders and risking her own life, the judge wrote. There are at least four confirmed CCP virus cases among inmates at the Terre Haute prison, and one inmate there has died, according to federal statistics. The injunction means the execution is delayed until there is no longer such an emergency. The court order applies only to Lees execution and does not halt two other executions that are scheduled for later next week. Read More First Person Slated for Federal Execution is White Supremacist Who Murdered a Family The Justice Department, just an hour after the ruling to stay Lees execution, filed a notice to appeal to the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and filed court papers asking the district judge to stay the order pending the appeal. In the filing, the department contended that preparations for the execution cannot easily be undone, having taken extensive efforts in planning and coordination with other law enforcement officials. The department also said that dozens of staff members were being brought in from other facilities ahead of the scheduled execution. The family is hopeful that the federal government will support them by not appealing todays ruling, a reversal of which would put them back in the untenable position of choosing between attending the execution at great risk to their health and safety, or forgoing this event they have long wanted to be present for, Baker Kurrus, an attorney for the victims family, told the Associated Press. He said that the family were grateful to the court for this ruling, which will enable them to exercise their right to attend the execution in the future while protecting themselves against the ravages of COVID-19, reported the Wall Street Journal. The family had earlier asked that Lee be given a life sentence instead of being executed. The Justice Department said it would not comment on ongoing litigation. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. A body that represents British dentists has called for a crackdown on DIY braces sold online which promise to straighten teeth in just six weeks but could, in some cases, lead to irreparable damage, including the loss of teeth. The braces being offered are known as aligners removable moulds that fit over the teeth to gently move them into new positions, and highly effective when used under the supervision of a dentist or orthodontist. However, some experts warn that some patients may have underlying dental problems, often without knowing, that can make the devices more likely to cause loosening of the teeth, bleeding and bone damage. The braces being offered are known as aligners removable moulds that fit over the teeth to gently move them into new positions, and highly effective when used under the supervision of a dentist or orthodontist These patients need regular monitoring to minimise risks, they say. Our investigation has discovered companies selling aligners directly to the public via Instagram and Facebook sometimes promoted by social-media stars to their millions of followers. Treatment costs up to 1,500 less than it would if purchased from a clinic. While this is legal, customers are not always given enough medical support or supervision, say worried dental chiefs. The firms argue passionately that, for many patients, the treatment can be completed safely at home without a visit to the dentist. They consider themselves disruptors to the orthodontics industry, arguing that their remote methods are in fact superior and even safer than traditional methods involving x-rays which, they say, could put patients at risk of cancer. They dispute the warnings of top British dentists suggesting the concern is rooted in their desire to protect their financial interests. Experts are adamant that this hands-off service is indeed a risk to patients as a number of those with dental problems, which render them unsuitable for braces, may be exposed to complications. One concerned professional is Dr Saaqib Ali, dentist and owner of Sherwood Dental Practice in Birmingham. He said: Increasingly we are seeing patients reporting problems with loose teeth, bleeding gums and difficulty getting advice from a clinician after undergoing DIY braces treatment. I rejected a patient for braces two years ago, because he had ongoing gum disease and bone loss. He was then treated by an online aligner company I was amazed. When he came back to see me afterwards, he had bleeding gums and had lost further bone from around his teeth. The pressure that aligners put on the teeth can further accelerate gum disease, causing teeth to become wobbly and, in worst cases, premature tooth loss. The Mail on Sunday had planned to name all three companies investigated, yet the threat of legal action from one firm prohibited us from doing so. The same company has asked at least three patients seeking a refund and compensation to sign a general release form, including a non-disclosure clause preventing them discussing their treatment. When approached, the company said this is standard practice when customers request a refund outside of the published refund policy. Another customer alleged an attempt to censor his feedback, writing on a review website that the company had tried to remove his negative review. The General Dental Council, which regulates dentists and orthodontists in the UK, is gathering evidence about the potential risk of harm to patients from direct-to-consumer orthodontics. One social media user complained that she lost a tooth while using dental aligners Dentist Mick Armstrong, chairman of the British Dental Association, is another who has warned that DIY braces could leave patients with irreparably damaged mouths resulting in lost teeth or worse. And Peter McCallum, from the British Orthodontic Society, said: Many of our members are already seeing patients whove had problems after DIY braces treatment. If a tooth is moved to an unstable position, the damage can be permanent. Aligners, when offered by a dentist, can cost upwards of 3,000. Treatment includes X-rays, other scans and numerous face-to-face consultations over the course of six to 12 months. All the DIY companies investigated say they employ qualified dentists or dental assistants who provide support for patients. However, most patients are not routinely offered physical checks or examinations, with most interactions via email or phone. One unhappy customer is Paula Keirnan, a personal assistant from Birmingham. The 31-year-old claims to have suffered severe bleeding and scarily loose teeth while wearing aligners sent to her in January by the same company threatening legal action against this newspaper. Paula says that, despite raising concerns with the firm via emails in April and then June, asking for a refund, she never spoke to or heard from a dentist. The first time she spoke with her nominated dentist was last Sunday, after the MoS approached the company for comment. Days later, the company offered Paula compensation and a full refund, and asked her to sign a legal document containing a non-disclosure agreement also referred to as a gagging clause. Paula was attracted to the braces, which cost about 1,500, after seeing adverts on Instagram. She hoped one receding tooth beside her front teeth would be straightened. She said: Six months on my tooth is still not straight, and Im in agonising pain when I eat anything that isnt soft and often spurt blood into the sink when I brush. One night I burst into tears, convinced that all my teeth would fall out. Paula Keirnan, pictured, claims she suffered severe damage using dental aligners The companies websites claim to have transformed the smiles of millions providing links to thousands of rave customer reviews. Scores of young customers can be seen documenting their success stories on social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook. But The Mail on Sunday has also seen more than 200 online reviews by unhappy customers. Alleged complications range from mouth ulcers and pain to snapped, cracked teeth and, in one case, a crown falling out. Two customers who contacted The Mail on Sunday, but cannot be named for legal reasons, claim to have required root-canal procedures after wearing aligners sold to them by the company threatening legal action. Writing on the consumer review website Trust Pilot, one customer said: I had a very badly cut mouth, which bled and ulcerated and took nearly a month to heal fully. Another reviewer wrote that his front teeth were left visibly crooked. Other reports online include patients complaining of loose teeth, and gaps. Although we were unable to further verify the accuracy of these reviews, they remain online. On the video-sharing app TikTok, one DIY braces customer is seen holding an aligner that appears to have pulled out a tooth. The woman, posting under the username @nelliesmilees, says: I have been using smile aligners and Ive just taken out my aligners and my tooth just fell out. In a later post, she clarifies that it was a crown. The content cannot be verified as the video has now been removed. Dr Ali said: A crown that is bonded properly shouldnt come off with an aligner. Its a risk if aligners are poorly fitted, or if a dentist hasnt inspected the quality of the crown to begin with. Plastic aligners have surged in popularity as a cheaper and less visible alternative to traditional train-track orthodontic braces. The most popular brand, Invisalign, involves dentists taking scans and X-rays of the mouth which are used to create a bespoke series of aligners. They differ slightly in shape and each is worn for a number of weeks before its swapped for the next in the series, gradually coaxing the teeth into new positions. FACT BOX TITLE Q: I heard that coronavirus might be airborne. What does that mean? A: Airborne transmission is when a virus is spread in tiny particles, exhaled by someone, which can stay suspended in the air before coming into contact with other people. This is thought to occur with some types of viral infection, for example measles. At the moment, the evidence suggests coronavirus is primarily spread by droplets expelled when an infected person coughs, sneezes, shouts or sings. These droplets may land on surfaces, where other people come into contact with them, or may land directly on other people nearby. However, the World Health Organisation has said there is emerging evidence of airborne transmission of coronavirus. An official added that the possibility of this happening in crowded or poorly ventilated spaces should not be ruled out. If confirmed, it could affect social-distancing guidelines for indoor spaces and make the argument for wearing masks inside much stronger. And, if airborne transmission of coronavirus is found to take place, scientists will need to work out if it is a major contributor to infection, or a rare one. Q: Is it really safe to go back to my gym or swimming pool? A: The opening of gyms and pools has had to be done carefully, because of the increased risk of Covid-19 spreading indoors. Indoor facilities will be able to open from July 25, while outdoor pools reopened yesterday. Leisure facilities have the ideal conditions for the virus to pass from person to person. They are usually filled with lots of people in close proximity to one another, often breathing heavily while exercising, and equipment is shared. To limit these risks, strict new social-distancing guidelines will be introduced. These include limits on the number of people able to use facilities at any one time, reduced class sizes, one-way systems and more space between equipment. Customers will be encouraged to shower and change at home. Gym-goers do not have to wear masks, but, Government advice is that they should be worn in enclosed public spaces where social distancing is not possible. Indoor gyms in Northern Ireland reopened on Friday, but no date has been set for Wales or Scotland. Advertisement Companies offering DIY braces design them using a 3D image of the teeth, based on a dental mould made at home by the patient or specialist scans taken by an assistant at one of the companies stores to create a computer model of the teeth. A dentist or orthodontist then designs a custom treatment plan, before the set of aligners is posted to the customer. It is standard, when aligners are prescribed by a dentist at a regular clinic, for a physical examination and dental X-rays to be carried out. However, these are not always offered by the DIY firms. Dentist Dr Keshvi Patel, of Smiledent Dental Practice in North London, said: X-rays are essential. You need to check how much bone, or root, is under the gum, as too little can cause teeth to become loose when they move. Many people, even in their 30s and 40s, have lost a significant amount of bone due to gum disease, and dont realise it. It is impossible to detect this with 3D scans. According to DIY firms, a patient can be deemed appropriate for aligner treatment based on digital photographs, scan results, a complete medical and dental history and, in the case of one company, a patients mould of their teeth. Dr Ali said: Teeth might look perfect in photographs, but you wouldnt be able to detect rot inside. Equally, scans and moulds wont show the telltale sign of gum disease pockets between the gum and the teeth which can trap bacteria, causing bleeding and pain. You need a specialist probe to do this, in person. Before beginning treatment, customers purchasing online braces must sign a form to confirm they have had a full dental check-up, including X-rays, within the past six months. According to the company that treated Paula, its registered dentists and orthodontists provide regular virtual check-ins, guiding treatment remotely throughout. The firm promised her that a dentist would make contact after 90 days of treatment, in April. She claims this never came, despite her complaining to the customer care team. The company say that Paula had contact with dental assistants on multiple occasions, and the dentist overseeing Paulas case completed a progress check-up in mid-April, based on photographs emailed to him by Paula. He concluded that progress was being made. Paula was not aware of this assessment. Dr Patel says: Dentists need to physically examine the patient at least every month to check if the aligners are too tight, which can cause ulcers and painful cuts. Its also common for patients to need filing down of tooth enamel, to prevent overcrowding. They also need to check for evidence of gum disease, which three-quarters of us have but dont know it. Aligners can trap bacteria that can cause or worsen gum disease. Infection can spread to the bone, increasing the risk of tooth loss or a poor cosmetic result. A review of Paulas oral health, carried out by an independent dentist last week, identified severe gum disease, including an abscess and infection spreading from the gum to one of her back teeth. It is not clear if the disease existed prior to wearing her aligners. The independent dentist said: Its unlikely Paulas problems would have been detectable via scans, both at the outset and in follow-up photographs. In an email on June 16, the company told Paula she would benefit from more time in aligners. However, the independent dentist said: I would not deem this patient appropriate for aligner treatment at present she would need significant treatment to restore the health of the gums and teeth first. After it was approached by The Mail on Sunday, the company offered, with no admission of liability, a full refund to Paula and 7,500 in compensation, as well as payment for an appointment with an independent dentist. Paula says: Im miserable, uncomfortable and self-conscious when I go out of the house. People need to realise that investing in braces is not like buying a pair of jeans. In a statement, the General Dental Council said it is concerned about a number of consumer reviews brought to our attention. A spokesman added: Should anyone suspect a cause for concern, we would urge them to bring this to our attention In a statement, the General Dental Council said it is concerned about a number of consumer reviews brought to our attention. A spokesman added: Should anyone suspect a cause for concern, we would urge them to bring this to our attention. In a statement, the company that treated Paula said: Ms Paula Keirnan, has made representations about her treatment that are false. [The company] notified the Daily Mail [sic] that the third-party dental experts the producers consulted for their story have no experience with [the companys] platform and therefore have no authority to comment as to the safety and efficaciousness. The claims presented by third-party dentists around teledentistry and bone imaging are not supported by any clinical evidence. In fact, it is the exact opposite. Ample evidence exists as to the efficaciousness of bone imaging and oral exams via a remote platform to diagnose suitability for low-risk orthodontic procedures such as clear aligner therapy, and there are plenty of studies as to the harmful health effects of unnecessary radiation exposure. The feedback from our customers is overwhelmingly positive (more than 99 per cent) and the conclusions being offered in this report are inaccurate. Houston companies this week said they would lay off or furlough hundreds of workers as the coronavirus pandemic continues to shake the local economy. Transocean Deepwater, the worlds largest offshore drilling contractor, said it will lay off as many as 110 workers after the Houston company failed to secure a new contract for one of its drillships. The 75 to 110 workers on the Discoverer Inspiration, which operated in international waters off the Gulf of Mexico, are expected to be cut beginning Sept. 15, Transocean told the Texas Workforce Commission on Tuesday. Some could return if the rig gets another contract, the company said. While the oil bust has hurt energy companies across the board, its been particularly tough on offshore drillers because their operations require large amounts of upfront capital and a longer return on investment. Hotel workers furloughed Employees of downtowns recently renovated C. Baldwin Hotel will be out of work for more than six months, longer than the hotel operator expected when it first began reducing its workforce in March. The furloughs affect 144 employees, according to a Thursday letter to the Texas Workforce Commission. Contrary to our expectations, governmental orders continue to impose substantial limitations on our operations at this location, including social distancing guidelines, limits on large public gatherings and capacity limitations, a hotel official said in the letter to the agency. The COVID-19 pandemic has slammed the hotel market since the first stay-at-home orders were issued, with business and leisure travel limited. Grocery wholesaler cuts 90 Houston-based Grocers Supply will close its administrative offices and lay off 90 people, according to a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission. The company plans to permanently eliminate positions at its Kirby Drive offices beginning Sept. 4, Alan Kintisch, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for parent company C&S Wholesale Grocers, wrote in a July 3 letter to the commission. GSC Wholesale is taking steps to be more efficient and reduce costs, Kintisch wrote in a memo to employees. Grocers Supply recently occupied a new 727,600-square-foot distribution center on Woodham in North Houston and acquired 34 acres surrounding that property. The company said the distribution center would consolidate several of its operations into one facility to more efficiently distribute food products throughout Houston. Arhaan Khan Says He Holds No Grudges Against Ex Rashami Desai, Says It's Her Habit To Keep Changing Her Statements The World Council of Churches has sent a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. In a letter, the World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof Dr Ioan Sauca is expressing hope that Hagia Sophia will not become a focus of confrontation and conflict. The letter runs as follows: Dear Mr President, Since it began functioning as a museum in 1934, Hagia Sophia has been a place of openness, encounter and inspiration for people from all nations and religions, and a powerful expression of the Republic of Turkeys commitment to secularism and inclusion and of its desire to leave behind the conflicts of the past. Today, however, I am obliged to convey to you the grief and dismay of the World Council of Churches and of its 350 member churches in more than 110 countries, representing more than half a billion Christians around the world at the step you have just taken. By deciding to convert the Hagia Sophia back to a mosque you have reversed that positive sign of Turkeys openness and changed it to a sign of exclusion and division. Regrettably, this decision has also been taken without prior notice or discussion with UNESCO regarding the impact of this decision on Hagia Sophias universal value recognized under the World Heritage Convention. Over the years, the World Council of Churches has made great efforts to support the active engagement of its member churches in interreligious dialogue, in order to build bridges of mutual respect and cooperation based on values shared between the different religious communities. Furthermore, in times of challenge, the WCC together with its member churches has spoken out in defence and support of other religious communities, including Muslim communities, for their rights and integrity to be respected. The decision to convert such an emblematic place as Hagia Sophia from a museum back to a mosque will inevitably create uncertainties, suspicions and mistrust, undermining all our efforts to bring people of different faiths together at the table of dialogue and cooperation. Moreover, we greatly fear that it will encourage the ambitions of other groups elsewhere that seek to overturn the existing status quo and to promote renewed divisions between religious communities. Mr President, you have repeatedly affirmed modern Turkeys identity as a secular state, but yesterday you overturned a commitment that since 1934 has preserved this historic monument as the shared heritage of humanity. In the interests of promoting mutual understanding, respect, dialogue and cooperation, and avoiding cultivating old animosities and divisions, we urgently appeal to you to reconsider and reverse your decision. We join with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in expressing our fervent hope and prayer that Hagia Sophia will not become once again a focus of confrontation and conflict, but will be restored to the emblematic unifying role that it has served since 1934. Yours respectfully, Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca Interim General Secretary World Council of Churches Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is responding to the collapse of Israels economy and a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic with a turn to dictatorial measures against the Israeli and Palestinian working class. Netanyahu admitted Friday that the country was once again in the grip of a major outbreak. He introduced a controversial lawpassed shortly after midnight on Tuesday by a 29 to 24 majoritygiving himself and the cabinet emergency powers to impose pandemic restrictions for up to a week before lawmakers can discuss, amend or cancel them. He justified this blatant erosion of the Knessets control over the government saying that debating proposed laws delays the implementation of governmental decisions. He declared, The legal rules restrict us, its simply unbelievable to pass everything through legislation. Netanyahus deputy and Minister of Defence Benny Gantz approved the call-up of an additional 2,000 reservists for the rest of the month, in addition to the 750 reservists previously approved, to help the governments response to the pandemic. Another new law enables the Health Ministry to work with Israels domestic spy agency Shin Bet to use its tracking system, employed against Palestinians suspected of terrorism, to identify people who had contact with those infected with the coronavirus and order them to quarantine. So flawed is the system that gives Shin Bet legal access to the cell phones of all its citizens that hundreds of the tens of thousands of people contacted and told to quarantine said they were at home at the time and had no contact with anyone. People have taken to going out without their cell phones to avoid being caught by the tracking system. Netanyahu also gave the green light to his far-right supporters to initiate a vote in the Knesset to set up a commission to investigate Supreme Court judges he has long accused of carrying out a vendetta against him, encouraging his own Likud Party to support it. Gantzs Blue and White Party had called the move a declaration of war on democracy. In the event, Netanyahu absented himself from the vote, which failed to win a majority. These measures follow on from Netanyahus efforts to neuter the media and social media to maintain his grip on government. He has filed numerous complaints with the police about alleged threats and incitement to violence against him and his family, some of which he claims are are clearly affiliated with the radical left. Netanyahu has been indicted on serious charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases that all involve attempts to secure a suitably pliant and obsequious media. The second hearing takes place on July 19. It is expected that his lawyers will ask for a delay after the State Comptrollers Office rejected Netanyahus requests for permission to accept donations from wealthy benefactors for his legal expenses and instructed him to return funds already received, prompting his lawyer Micha Fettman to quit his defence team. The health authorities announced that the number of active coronavirus cases had exceeded 15,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemicstanding at 17,302 on Friday. There were 1,335 new cases reported on Wednesday, 1,268 on Thursday and 1,441 on Friday in contrast to the numbers during most of May, when new cases dropped to the low double digits. Some 46,000 people are in quarantine, 130 people are in a serious condition, up from 45 two weeks ago, and 39 people are on ventilators. The number of deaths has risen to 351. The ban on visitors imposed in March remains in place, while any residents returning from abroad must quarantine for two weeks on their return, so this surge is the result of local transmission. In the West Bank, there are 5,829 active cases, while 25 people have died. In the Gaza Strip, 72 people have been diagnosed with the virus and one person has died. President Mahmoud Abbass Palestinian Authority has extended the lockdown of the entire West Bank. Gantz is in quarantine after coming into contact with a confirmed coronavirus carrier, as is Rafi Peretz, the Minister for Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage, Public Security Minister Amir Ohana, one of Netanyahus key cronies in his war on the judiciary, and Aviv Kohavi, Israels military chief, and other senior officers. Netanyahu had announced a return to work at the end of April, as the cost of the closures reached $285 million a day, in a bid to ensure a continuing flow of profits to Israels corporate and financial elite. He declared victory over the pandemic and encouraged people to go out and enjoy yourselves. Having guaranteed a resurgence of the disease, he now blames the public for the surge, saying they should have worn masks in public. His remarks have led to a massive increase in police enforcement of mask wearing, including fines, arrests and detention, prompting a spike in violent conflicts between police and the public and complaints against the police for using unnecessary force. The police are also enforcing the quarantining of tens of thousands of people. Professor Siegal Sadetzki, the leading epidemiologist heading the coronavirus response and director of the Health Ministrys Public Health Services, resigned Tuesday. She said the government ignored her warnings, reopening the country too quickly, and refused to listen to advice to address the rising number of infections already apparent more than a month ago. Sadetzki posted a nine-page critique on Facebook, describing the governments chaotic and ineffective approach and saying it had lost its bearings. Sadetzki wrote, The achievements in dealing with the first wave [of infections] were cancelled out by the broad and swift opening of the economy. She blamed the recent surge on the reopening of schools in May and wedding venues in June, allowed to host up to 250 guests. Professor Eli Waxman, who heads the panel of experts advising Israels National Security Council on the pandemic, said Israel faced the most dramatic crisis in its history. This is not just a health care crisis, but an economic, social and political crisis. More than five weeks after the infection rate clearly began to rise again, the cabinet has reluctantly approved new restrictions. These include closing bars, clubs, banquet halls, gyms, public swimming pools, banning cultural events, limiting the number of people allowed on buses, in restaurants and synagogues and hiking fines for people not wearing masks in public. It is discussing whether to impose lockdowns in neighbourhoods or towns with a high infection rate and the measures schools must take when they reopen in September after the summer break. Under conditions where Netanyahus government has gutted public services and the social safety net and put in place few measures to protect the health, safety and economic well-being of Israeli and Palestinian workersincluding 150,000 families who are short of food, people unable to pay their rent and facing eviction, and the tens of thousands of people isolated and alonethis is tantamount to premeditated murder as he allows the pandemic to spin out of control. Netanyahu is facing growing anger and criticism over his handling of the economic fallout of the pandemic, with polls indicating only 38 percent of Israelis trusted the governments handling of the crisis. More than 800,000 workers are still unemployed, 21 percent of the workforce. In the West Bank, unemployment has risen from 25 percent to 40 percent. A mass demonstration has been called for Saturday night in Tel Avivs Rabin Square against the lack of a social safety net for workers and delays in receiving the limited funds promised. It follows last Saturdays rallies by thousands across the country, organised by the Black Flag movement, demanding Netanyahus resignation in the wake of the surge in coronavirus cases, the governments response and its plans to annex parts of the West Bank. The number of cases, hospitalizations, and death rates continue to worsen since the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a health official of the Los Angeles County said. L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the stay-at-home order may return due to the worsening number of cases, while business closures stay for an undetermined period of time. "There's too much unknown and there are lots of things that could happen that could put us in much worse shape, including, you know, some serious mutations of this virus that make it more dangerous. So I would never be the person that's going to say, 'Absolutely, out of the question, we can never go back to Safer At Home'," she was quoted in a report. The county's Department of Public Health has confirmed 2,667 new cases of coronavirus, and 51 more deaths on Friday. L.A. has a total of 127,358 coronavirus cases with 3,783 deaths. Around 1,995 people were hospitalized, of which 26 percent are being treated in intensive care units, while 17 percent on ventilators. The department has already increased its contract tracers to 1,500. "Prior to the pandemic, Public Health had approximately 200 staff, who did contact tracing as part of their regular duties, with a focus on tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases and other acute communicable and vaccine preventable diseases such as measles," the health department said in a statement. San Gabriel Valley Area Cases A total of 17,431 cases of COVID-19 and 539 deaths related to coronavirus have been recorded in San Gabriel Valley area as of July 8, according to the L.A. and Pasadena health department. Outside San Gabriel Valley, in Whittier and its nearby communities, there are a total of 10,461 coronavirus cases and 238 deaths. The Burbank-Glendale area has 2,449 cases and 169 deaths. The county is still investigating 3,160 possible cases and 14 deaths. The officials said there might be more people infected with COVID-19, but have yet to be tested due to limited coronavirus test kits. Los Angeles Apparel Closure Meanwhile, county public health officials have ordered the closure of Los Angeles Apparel's manufacturing facilities in South Los Angeles after more than 300 workers tested positive for COVID-19 and four have already died as of Friday. "Business owners and operators have a corporate moral and social responsibility to their employees and their families to provide a safe work environment that adheres to all of the health officer directives - this responsibility is important, now more than ever, as we continue to fight this deadly virus," Ferrer said in a separate statement. Public health officials said three workers from the plant died in early June, and one more died early this month. The health officials said investigators earlier asked the company for a list of all employees to compare test results, but it was not immediately provided to them. The company has only sent the list on July 4 and the names of the employees was even incomplete. By then, 198 positive cases have already been reported. The company was also found to ignore distancing requirements and infection control protocols. Check these out! To President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his religious conservative supporters, the reconversion of the Hagia Sophia to a mosque is a milestone in Turkey's rebirth as a powerful, Muslim nation after a century of misguided efforts to imitate the Christian West. Opponents of the move -- at home and abroad -- see it as the latest dramatic evidence that a less secular and tolerant Turkish state has emerged on Erdogan's watch. "To convert it back into a mosque is to say to the rest of the world, 'Unfortunately we are not secular any more'," Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Prize-winning Turkish novelist, told BBC News. "There are millions of secular Turks like me who are crying against this, but their voices are not heard." The Byzantine cathedral has seen its status shift on two previous occasions in the past millennium, both of them momentous junctures for the region. It was turned from a Christian church into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, now Istanbul -- and from mosque to museum in 1934, as part of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's efforts to secularize his new Turkish Republic. Friday' court ruling, which annulled Ataturk's move, was less dramatic than the fall of Byzantium. Still, Erdogan -- an Islamist who's governed Turkey for almost two decades -- sought to frame it as a hinge of history. "The revival of Hagia Sophia is the harbinger of freedom of Al-Aqsa and the footsteps of Muslims emerging from the era of interregnum," the Turkish president said late Friday, referring to the mosque in Jerusalem that many Muslims consider under occupation. Erdogan will open the Hagia Sophia to worship on July 24, the anniversary of the 1923 treaty that established Turkey's current borders. That settlement was long considered a victory by Turks, but lately Erdogan has criticized it for ceding territory and robbing Turkey of its rightful status as a great power. On Friday evening, thousands prayed outside the building, many crying with emotion at the symbolic triumph. For Turkey's religious conservatives, "converting the Hagia Sophia is the ultimate moment," said Mustafa Akyol, a senior fellow specializing in Islam and modernity at the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank. "They believe in what they call the right of the sword, the right of the Ottomans to convert the church into a mosque as a result of conquest," Akyol said. "Turkey has the sovereign right to do what it wants. But I ask them: What will you say if Israel does something to Al Aqsa? Will that also be the right of the sword?" Hagia Sofia isn't the only cathedral or mosque to have been converted. In Cordoba, for centuries a center of Islamic rule in Spain, the great mosque was made over to Christianity with a cathedral built at its heart after the region's reconquest in the 13th century. One possible difference, according to Akyol, is that Muslim imagery remains for all to see in Cordoba. Islam does not permit Christian-style depictions, and it remains unclear whether some of the Hagia Sophia's iconography, whitewashed by the Ottomans and uncovered in 1934, will be hidden once more. Erdogan said in Friday's address that the building would "maintain its status as a cultural heritage of humanity." The decision has been a long time coming. And like Ataturk's museum conversion -- which helped smooth the path to a defense pact with Greece, at a time of rising military threats in Europe -- the timing was political. Erdogan's popularity has been sagging under the weight of a damaged economy, and conservative rivals threaten to eat into his vote. Today, though, Erdogan's move is more likely to damage already difficult relations with Greece, for which the Hagia Sophia carries a special significance as one of the most important Orthodox Christian monuments. Tensions between the two countries have been rising already over rights to energy exploration in the Mediterranean. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis condemned the decision in a statement Friday night, saying it affected "not only Turkey's relations with Greece, but also its relations with the European Union, UNESCO and the global community." Hagia Sophia is on UNESCO's World Heritage list and the organization said it "deeply regrets" the decision by the Turkish authorities. The EU also described Erdogan's move as "regrettable." "It really is in many ways a shocking decision," said James Ker-Lindsay, a visiting professor at the London School of Economics, who focuses on security in southeast Europe. "It just contributes to the downward spiral in relations between Athens and Ankara that we've been seeing in recent years, and this is calculated to remove any remaining levels of trust." Police have dismantled a migrant camp near Calais after complaints from local businesses and residents. Most of the migrants have been taken to shelters. The evacuation took place in the business park near Dunes, early on Friday morning. Authorities say 519 migrants who had been living in tents were taken in buses to accommodation centres and shelters in various parts of France. Among them 76 were taken to a centre in Merlimont, not far from Calais. Thirteen others, all sole minors or families were taken to special accommodation, with 20 migrants who were deemed illegal to be taken to detention centres, according to the local police department. The migrants had settled on private land belonging to the companies in the business park, without any authorisation to do so. Local authorities said their presence had led to serious problems concerning security, hygiene and noise, especially for people living nearby and in the area. Local police said the Mayor of Calais had alerted state authorities to the problem and the owners of the land concerned took legal action. On 10 June a court the expulsion of the migrants and the dismantlement of the camp which took place at 5am on Friday. On numerous occasions migrant camps have been dismantled in northern France but migrants keen to try to reach Britain return to the area in the hope of being able to cross the Channel. The Lord Venkateshwara temple on Tirumala Hill in Andhra Pradesh recorded a sharp decline in the number of pilgrims as well as revenue since it opened a month ago. The temple was closed on March 19 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams authorities, around 2.63 lakh pilgrims had a darshan of the Lord till Friday, since June 11 when it was thrown open for pilgrims. This is not even equal to the four days footfall of pilgrims during the normal days, a TTD official said. The daily footfall in the temple before its closure in March was around 65,000-70,000 during the normal days and nearly one lakh during Brahmotsavams (annual grand festival of the Lord) and other festival days. The drop in the number of pilgrims has had a consequent effect on the revenue of the richest shrine in the country which has seen a substantial drop in the offerings by devotees in Hundi (a cash chest adjacent to the main temple, where devotees drop money). In the last one month, the collections from the Hundi was just Rs 15.80 crore. This is not even equal to the five days collections during the normal days. On an average, the temple used to get Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 4 crore a day during the normal days and during festival days, it used to exceed Rs 5-6 crore a day, the TTD official said. In fact, in its annual budget for 2020-21 presented in February this year, the TTD had projected an expected revenue of Rs 1,351 crore in the form of cash offerings by the devotees. The total revenue projected in the budget for the year was Rs 3,310 crore. The hundi collections in April and May were absolutely nil and were partial in March and June. If the Covid-19 situation continues like this for a few more months, the TTD revenues will be abysmally low, the official said. Andhra Pradesh endowment minister Vellampalli Srinivas who had the darshan of Lord Venkateshwara on Friday, said the TTD had been adopting a cautious approach in allowing pilgrims in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, even pilgrims are cautious. Although 12,000 tickets were issued for darshan every day, only 10,000 were opting for darshan, he said. The minister praised the temple authorities for the arrangements made to curb the spread of coronavirus infection, saying that fool-proof arrangements had been made at Tirumala for safe darshan of the Lord, as per the guidelines of the central government and the state government. Masks and social distancing of two meters was made mandatory for all pilgrims coming for the darshan. All the crucial locations of the temple, including queue lines, guest houses and dining hall were being regularly sanitised, he said. TTD trust board chairman Y V Subba Reddy said so far, there had been no complaints from the pilgrims with regard to darshan and other arrangements and there were no instances of any pilgrim with Covid-19 symptoms coming to Tirumala, because of stringent screening everywhere. Around 70 people in Tirumala tested positive, but none of them is a devotee. Majority of those who tested positive were security persons and other temple staff, who were immediately shifted to hospitals so that the virus does not spread to the pilgrims. All of them are healthy and recovering, Reddy said. The UK, which has the worst coronavirus death toll of any European state, has rejected the chance to join a European Union-wide vaccine programme, it said Friday. Britain's ambassador to Brussels, Sir Tim Barrow, said in a letter that London would not sign up for the programme because it had concerns over key issues. He said if the UK joined the scheme it would have no say on price or which vaccine manufacturers it could negotiate with. For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here "The UK Government has decided on this occasion not to join this internal EU initiative, but given our shared interest in ensuring that vaccines are available to all, we are committed to strengthening our collaboration with the EU outside the framework," Barrow wrote. The EU programme aims to enter deals with individual vaccine producers on behalf of the 27 member states. The UK officially left the EU at the end of last year but is currently in a 12-month transition period with the bloc until December 31. CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH Official figures published on Friday showed that the number of people who have died in the UK after contracting the virus stands at 44,650, although the final figure is expected to be much higher. Prince Andrew has been seen entering his home at Windsor a week after Jeffrey Epstein's madam Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested on charges she lured at least three girls to be sexually abused by paedophile Epstein. The Duke of York took a Range Rover for a spin outside the gates of Windsor Castle, where he has been keeping low profile at his lodge on the Queen's estate. Andrew, 60, is involved in a war of words with the US authorities over whether he will assist their inquiries into the sex crimes of his paedophile friend Epstein, who hanged himself in a New York jail cell last summer. It follows Maxwell, 58, being arrested last Thursday on charges she helped lure at least three girls - one as young as 14 - to be sexually abused by Epstein, who was accused of victimising dozens of girls and women over many years. According to a former friend of Maxwell's, she 'has tapes of two prominent US politicians having sex with minors' and boasted of 'owning' powerful people. Prince Andrew has been seen entering his home at Windsor a week after Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested on charges she lured at least three girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein Andrew, 60, is involved in a war of words with US authorities over whether he will assist their inquiries into the sex crimes of his friend Epstein, who hanged himself in a New York jail cell Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts, aged 17 at Ghislaine Maxwell's townhouse in London and the Duke of York is in a war of words with the US authorities and the royal insists he is willing to speak to them about Jeffrey Epstein Socialite Maxwell, above in 2013, the daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, is the former girlfriend and long-time close associate of Epstein How Duke of York's annual meetings with Epstein including after he was sent to jail caused Prince Andrew decades of trouble Here is a timeline of the duke's relationship with Epstein. - 1999 Andrew first meets Epstein, reportedly introduced through his friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell. Andrew welcomes Epstein to the Queen's private Scottish retreat in Aberdeenshire. Andrew later says he sees Epstein 'infrequently', adding 'probably no more than only once or twice a year'. - 2000 Andrew and Ms Maxwell are seen on holiday with Epstein at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Epstein and Ms Maxwell attend a party at Windsor Castle hosted by the Queen to mark Andrew's 40th birthday, the Princess Royal's 50th, the Queen Mother's 100th and Princess Margaret's 70th. - 2001 Virginia Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew 'three times, including one orgy', with the first encounter allegedly taking place in Ms Maxwell's London townhouse. Ms Roberts claims to have had sex with Andrew on two more occasions, at Epstein's New York home and at an 'orgy' on his private island in the Caribbean. - 2008 Epstein admits prostituting minors and is sentenced to 18 months in prison. - 2010 Epstein is released from jail. Andrew is photographed with the disgraced Epstein in New York's Central Park. Footage emerges years later, reportedly shot on December 6 2010, showing him inside Epstein's Manhattan mansion, from where he is seen looking out from a large door of the property waving a woman goodbye after Epstein leaves to get into a chauffeur-driven car. - 2011 The duke quits his role as UK trade envoy after the fallout from the Central Park photos. - 2015 Buckingham Palace denies Andrew has committed any impropriety after he is named in US court documents related to Epstein. A woman, later named in reports as Ms Roberts, alleges in papers filed in Florida that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, which is under the age of consent in the state. In April the claims against Andrew are struck from US civil court records following a federal judge's ruling. - 2019 Newly released legal documents show that Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged Epstein victim, claimed Andrew touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire's Manhattan apartment in 2001. Buckingham Palace said the allegations are 'categorically untrue'. Epstein is found dead in his jail cell on August 10, having killed himself after being charged with sex trafficking. Later that month a pilot on Epstein's private jet claims Andrew was a passenger on past flights with the financier and Ms Roberts. On November 16, the prince gave a 'disastrous' BBC interview in which he spoke about his friendship with Epstein and addressed allegations of his own sexual conduct. The duke denied he slept with Virginia Roberts, one of Epstein's victims, on three separate occasions, twice while she was underage, saying one encounter in 2001 did not happen as he spent the day with his daughter Princess Beatrice, taking her to Pizza Express in Woking for a party. The same alleged sexual liaison, which the American said began with the royal sweating heavily as they danced at London nightclub Tramp, was factually wrong as the duke said he had a medical condition at the time which meant he did not sweat. He cast doubt on the authenticity of a picture that appears to show Andrew with his arm around the waist of Miss Roberts, when a teenager. 2020 Ghislaine Maxwell is arrested in New Hampshire as pressure grows on Andrew to speak to the FBI. Advertisement The ex-jewel robber, who used the pseudonym William Steel, said they 'forced' him to watch the footage as they wanted to convince him of their 'power'. He also claimed to have seen clips of 'celebrities' and 'world figures' having 'threesomes, even orgies' with minors. Steel told The Sun: 'They wanted to convince me of their power and who they held in their grip. They boasted about 'owning' powerful people.' He added: 'I saw videos of very powerful people - celebrities, world figures - in those videos having sex, threesomes, even orgies with minors.' The former friend also referred to two 'high-profile' American politicians who were in videos with minors. Maxwell, the daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, is the former girlfriend and long-time close associate of Epstein. She is accused of facilitating his crimes and on some occasions joined him in sexually abusing the girls, according to the indictment against her. Several Epstein victims have described Maxwell as his chief enabler, recruiting and grooming young girls for abuse. She has denied wrongdoing and called claims against her 'absolute rubbish.' Maxwell was arrested by a team of federal agents last week at a $1 million estate she had purchased in New Hampshire. The investigators had been keeping an eye on Maxwell and knew she had been hiding out in various locations in New England. She had switched her email address, ordered packages under someone elses name and registered at least one new phone number under an alias 'G Max,' prosecutors have said. The British socialite will appear in New York's southern district court on July 14 at 1pm and the hearing will take place over video-link due to coronavirus. She will join from the 'hell-hole' jail where she is being held and only the judge, Alison Nathan, will be present along with one prosecutor and one defence attorney. Maxwell - a friend to billionaires, celebrities, presidents and royalty before her arrest - is facing a six-count federal indictment which could see her jailed for 35 years. She is accused in four counts of acting as Epstein's madam, hunting down and 'training' young girls for him to abuse in the late 1990s. Another two counts accuse her of lying about the abuse to a court when she was sued by one of the victims - Virginia Roberts - in 2015. However, observers and experts believe she is not the state's primary target, and will likely be offered a plea deal to turn on others in Epstein's circle. Epstein was initially jailed for 18 months in 2008 after being allowed to plead guilty to a single charge of soliciting sex from a child prostitute, despite at one stage facing a 53-page FBI indictment. Speaking to ABC News Mr Barr said the government had Maxwell's security 'locked up' to ensure she would neither be able to kill herself or be harmed, Barr answered firmly: 'Yes. We have asked them to tell us specifically the protocols they're following and we have a number of redundant systems to monitor the situation.' He added that he was 'livid' when Epstein killed himself and that he wanted to see him brought to justice. 'I was livid obviously. I believed very strongly in that case and I was very proud of the work done by the department, the Southern District on that case, and as you recall, after he committed suicide, I said that I was confident that we would continue to pursue this case vigorously and continue to pursue anyone who was complicit in it. I was very happy we were able to get Ms Maxwell,' he said. Maxwell, 58, is currently in custody in Brooklyn, awaiting her first court appearance on charges of child sex trafficking and perjury. Speculation is rife that she may talk to prosecutors about others in her and Epstein's circle in an effort to reduce her potential sentence. Among the names on the list is Andrew, who allegedly slept with a 17-year-old after being introduced to her by Maxwell in London in 2001. Barr said that prosecutors 'definitely' want to speak to the royal and claims they have been trying to contact him. The Duke, who stayed with Epstein at his homes, including a Manhattan mansion, and flew on his private jet nicknamed the 'Lolita Express', has categorically denied seeing or suspecting anything untoward. He has also strenuously rejects claims by Epstein sex slave Virginia Roberts, who has alleged that she was forced to have sex with the duke on three occasions. Andrew has been urged to start talking to the FBI before British socialite Maxwell, the daughter of the late media tycoon Robert Maxwell, gives her own version of events. The Duke resigned from his royal duties following intense criticism after his car crash interview for the BBC's Newsnight programme last November. Andrew allegedly slept with 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre after being introduced to her by Maxwell in London in 2001. He denies the allegations, and told Emily Maitlis that he had 'no recollection of ever meeting' Giuffre and had 'absolutely no memory' of a photograph taken of him with Giuffre at Maxwell's residence in London. Maxwell, left, was last seen at an In-N-Out Burger in August. She is now in custody in Brooklyn. Epstein killed himself in jail last August. Some believe he was murdered A former friend of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, pictured in 2005, claimed they 'forced' him to watch the footage as they wanted to convince him of their 'power' Attorney General Bill Barr said the government had Maxwell's security 'locked up' and that she won't be able to kill herself or be harmed US authorities regard the Duke as a witness to a criminal investigation, and have filed a mutual legal assistance request to UK authorities to question Andrew. Attorney General Bill Barr said that Andrew must speak to the FBI, adding: 'The department wants to talk to Prince Andrew. 'That's why the Southern District has been making efforts to communicate with him. We've made it clear that we'd like to communicate with him'. A source close to Prince Andrew previously told DailyMail.com that he was 'bewildered' by the ongoing claims that he wasn't cooperating, and says his team tried to reach prosecutors several times. 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 BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11 By Elnur Baghishov Trend: As many as 2,397 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) were detected in the past 24 hours in Iran, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Trend reports citing the ministry. According to Sadat Lari, 188 more people have died from the coronavirus over the past day. The spokesperson added that the condition of 3,338 people is critical. The official said that situation is dire in Khuzestan, Hormozgan, North Khorasan, East Azerbaijan and Razavi Khorasan provinces. So far, more than 1.94 million tests have been conducted in Iran for the diagnosis of coronavirus. Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 255,100 people have been infected 12,635 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 217,600 have reportedly recovered from the disease. The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread of coronavirus. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease. The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19. Lakeland Community College recently announced it has received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the colleges annual, women-focused art exhibit. The show will open February 2021 and feature the theme of womens right to vote. Womens suffrage marks 100 years Aug. 18, the day that the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1920. According to Lakeland, the funds will allow for the development of an online calendar guide and interactive map of all Northeast Ohio gallery and studio art exhibitions that will celebrate the milestone during National Womens History Month, recognized annually every March. In addition, the project will bring Lakelands art gallery and geography and geospatial technology departments together to create an interactive, online guide aiming to provide a one-stop, online resource to exhibits with the theme of womens suffrage. The plan calls for a web application map directory to be developed using a geographic information system to design a spatial data layer that will collect and geocode data. Once completed, the map will be embedded on the colleges website for anyone to access publicly and share with others. We are excited for this project to bridge the arts and sciences, to provide teaching moments using art created by and about women, said Adam Cloutier, dean for arts and sciences at Lakeland. We hope to unite the Northeast Ohio art community around this central theme while also providing an educational opportunity about a landmark event in our nations history, he added. We are extremely grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for this award. Lakeland held its first gallery exhibition celebrating Womens History Month in 2008. Gallery coordinator and exhibit curator Mary Urbas recognized there were numerous other galleries in neighboring communities that also had important exhibits celebrating women and developed the first exhibit directory in 2014. History has shown that women artists have not been promoted or represented as much as male artists, Urbas said. So, when I saw others also promoting female artists, it made sense to create something bigger so that art enthusiasts could do a type of exhibit crawl but on a larger scale. This will provide the roadmap of must-see places that are promoting womens artwork. When completed, the project will connect Northeast Ohio residents to approximately 100 art exhibitions celebrating Womens History Month, college officials confirmed. We celebrate organizations like Lakeland for providing opportunities for learning and engagement through the arts in these times, said Mary Anne Carter, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. These awards demonstrate the resilience of the arts in America, showcasing not only the creativity of their arts projects but the organizations agility in the face of a national health crisis. According to the independent agency, Carter recently approved more than $84 million in grants as part of the second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2020. Lakeland was one of 17 Ohio organizations that received an award. Maharashtra government on Saturday issued guidelines for the celebration of Ganeshotsav in the state, which include reducing the size of idols as well as recommendations to organise online viewing and postpone the immersion of idols to next year. The 11-day Ganeshotsav is one of the most important Hindu festivals in Maharashtra and mandals in the city attract huge crowds. It will be held in end-August this year. As of July 10, BMC has started accepting online applications to erect a pandal or set up a stage on roads and footpaths in its jurisdiction. Mumbai has nearly 12,000 public pandals every year. The state home department has issued detailed guidelines for Ganeshotsav organisers to limit the spread of Covid-19 through contact and prevent overcrowding. It is mandatory for all public Ganesh mandals to take prior permission from local authorities. Previously, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had called for a low-key celebration in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The state in its notification has recommended marble or metal idols, adding that if clay or other materials are used, then immersion ceremonies should be performed either at home or in artificial ponds. The guidelines also recommend postponing immersion ceremonies wherever possible to Maghi Ganeshotsav (in February 2021) or next years Ganeshotsav. For Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has laid down a number of conditions for Ganeshotsav organisers. These include reducing the size of pandals, a ban on offerings like flowers and garlands, sanitising pandals thrice a day, and ensuring only five workers are inside a pandal at a time. Organisers have also been asked to conduct public awareness campaigns, blood donation camps, health check-ups and other public health programmes during the festival. Senior civic officials said that a decision allowing a limited number of devotees inside a pandal is yet to be taken. In a meeting held on June 27 between the state government and representatives of the public mandals, a decision was taken to cap the height of idols at 4 feet for idols at public mandals and at 2 feet for household idols. Public mandals have also been asked to adhere to distancing norms, carry out fumigation, use sanitizers, and pay special attention to the safety of children and senior citizens. Organisers have been asked not to advertise in order to reduce crowds in attendance at their pandals. They have been encouraged to tie up with local cable networks and/or use social media to let devotees see rituals like the aarti and get darshan of the idols online. Assembly Democratic leaders Friday officially backed a challenger to Green Bay Rep. Staush Gruszynski and warned they wouldn't allow him to return to the caucus if he ends up winning re-election. Though leadership had previously asked Gruszynski to resign from the chamber after he sexually harassed a Capitol staffer in 2019, the Democratic freshman rebuffed the calls and kick-started his campaign with the backing of at least one of his female colleagues in the state Assembly this spring. Wisconsin Democrats call on Rep. Staush Gruszynski to resign over sexual harassment investigation Meanwhile, Democratic challenger Kristina Shelton, vice president of the Green Bay Area School Board, has launched a campaign to take on Gruszynski. On Friday she got the backing of Minority Leader Gordon Hintz along with caucus leaders Reps. Dianne Hesselbein and Mark Spreitzer. We look forward to welcoming Kristina into the Democratic Caucus and working with her to advance Green Bays priorities in Madison," they said in a joint statement. The move is an unusual one in a system where parties typically don't get involved in primary battles, let alone publicly throw their weight behind an individual who is not an incumbent. But the trio stressed in their statement they "take sexual harassment seriously" and said they continue to stand by their call for Gruszynski to step aside. "As leaders, we see no place for Representative Staush Gruszynski in the Assembly Democratic Caucus now or in the future," they noted. An internal investigation late last year found Gruszynski verbally sexually harassed a legislative employee at a Madison bar in October. He has apologized for his actions. "I need to be responsible for my actions and following that night Ive taken steps with my family, and more importantly myself, to rebuild what Ive broken," he said in December, adding: "My concern and focus at this time is my family, and how in the New Year I continue to move forward serving the constituents of the 90th district. This spring, Gruszynski planned a re-election kickoff event in Green Bay that would feature fellow Democratic Rep. Amanda Stuck, who's running for Congress in the northeastern 8th Congressional District, and 6th District contender Jessica King, a former state senator. At the time, Stuck, who has been sexually assaulted, told the Cap Times that while there's "no doubt that he did something wrong," Gruszynski has taken responsibility for the incident and is "worthy of a second chance and redemption." Few other details are available about the incident. The Cap Times and other media outlets requested copies of the complaint and the investigation, but they were denied by the Assembly Chief Clerk's office. That's because the Legislature determined keeping those documents confidential while "respecting the privacy and dignity" of complainants outweighed the public interest in disclosing them. News organizations sue Assembly over lawmaker's sexual harassment records Assembly Chief Clerk Patrick Fuller said Gruszynski would attend anti-harassment training. The Legislature's human resources director said in a March email that Gruszynski "was very proactive and cooperative in scheduling his required training" and has completed it. This spring, the Cap Times joined other news organizations in suing the state Assembly and its chief clerk in Dane County Court for refusing to release the records. The case is pending. Gruszynski is a former political director for the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, a group that in June endorsed Shelton in the race. Shelton is a former teacher and current program director at the YWCA Greater Green Bay. Assembly Democratic leaders last session asked a different member of their caucus to resign in light of sexual misconduct allegations: former Rep. Josh Zepnick, of Milwaukee, who was accused of kissing two women without their consent at political events in 2011 and 2015. Zepnick in late 2017 declined to do so, though he was stripped of his committee assignments, and he ultimately failed to win re-election in 2018 after losing in an August primary. While Hintz at the time said he had no plans to restore Zepnick's committee assignments, leadership didn't publicly endorse his challenger in the race, current state Rep. Marisabel Cabrera. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation seal View Photos Sacramento, CA As California sees a spike in coronavirus cases in prisons, nearly 8,000 inmates could be eligible for release by the end of August. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has already reduced its population by about 10,000 since the start of the pandemic in March to reduce the risk of transmission within facilities. That was achieved by releasing around 3,500 inmates in April who were within 60 days or less of the end of their sentence a the rest by suspending intake from county jails. In a memo to inmates released Thursday by CDCR Secretary Ralph Diaz, it outlined a 12-week credit that applies to everyone in CDCR custody except those who are on death row, serving life-without-parole, or who have a serious rules violation between March 1 and July 5. Under those guidelines, an estimated 108,000 inmates are eligible for the credit. That breaks down to about 2,100 inmates that will be granted the one-time three-month credit from July to September. It follows other measures that are expected to quickly lead to the release of about 8,300 inmates six months before they normally would have been paroled. To continue to effectively fight this virus, we must create more space in our prisons, both to expand physical distancing to slow COVID-19s spread and to ease some of the immense challenges staff face every day, relayed Diaz in the memo. In all, Californias efforts could free nearly 10-percent of prisoners as Gov. Gavin Newsom responds to intensifying pressure from advocates, lawmakers and federal judges to allow the releases. Newsom criticized those calling for freeing inmates without careful consideration. When people are just saying just release thousands and thousands of people, I hope theyre being thoughtful and considerate of not only the victims but the prospects of people re-offending, cautioned Newsom. The governor also acknowledged that there is an urgent need to decompress the system in a judicious and thoughtful way especially with an outbreak in San Quentin impacting 1,300 inmates, including seven that have died. To date, 2,300 inmates in California have contracted the coronavirus and 31 have died. The CDCR discloses that it has lost 32 employees to the virus, click here. To read the CDCR secretarys entire release with the directives for prisoner releases and past efforts for reducing prison populations for the safety of inmates and staff, click here. Earlier this year, Tuolumne and Calaveras County released a total of 24 inmates from their jails to help reduce jail populations in an effort by the governor to protect against the spread of coronavirus. As reported here, Tuolumne released ten prisoners while Calaveras freed 14, as detailed here. More than two-thirds of Ontarians believe police treat Black and Indigenous people worse than others and 90 per cent want mandatory body cameras for all officers, a new poll has found. The Campaign Research survey for the Star also revealed opinion on cutting police budgets by 10 per cent was evenly split and that most dont think officers all need to carry guns. Campaign Research principal Nick Kouvalis said the findings should be concerning to police forces across the province. The major takeaway is the police have a big problem they have lost the support of the super majority of the public and they need to work hard to get it back, Kouvalis said Friday. Campaign Research polled 1,395 people across Ontario on Wednesday and Thursday using Maru Blues online panel. It is an opt-in poll, but for comparison purposes, a random sample of this size would have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The survey comes against the backdrop of Black Lives Matter protests around the world after the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minnesota on May 25. Four Minneapolis officers, who have since been fired, have been charged. Asked if they feel Black people and/or Indigenous people and/or other people from racialized communities are treated worse by police than other citizens, 68 per cent of respondents agreed with that statement. Only 22 per cent disagreed and nine per cent werent sure. Its not surprising two-thirds of people believe that, because its true, said Kouvalis, who has worked with Conservative and Liberal candidates across Canada and managed the winning Toronto mayoral campaigns of John Tory and Rob Ford. Brown, Black, and Indigenous people know when they meet a police officer that they could have a problem because the officer has preconceived notions about them, he said. The poll found 51 per cent agreed that it is only a minority of police officers who engage in racist behaviour while 35 per cent said this is a widespread problem that has infected police culture. Similarly, 61 per cent said it is workable to have a segment of our police officers who are not armed and can deal with appropriate calls where a firearm is not required. About one-quarter 26 per cent disagreed and 13 per cent werent sure. A staggering 90 per cent of respondents believe all Ontario officers should have mandatory body cameras with only five per cent opposed and five per cent unsure. The sense is that not only will people be protected, but the police officers themselves will be protected if they have body cams they cant shut off, said Kouvalis. There was 41 per cent support for the Ontario government mandating a 10 per cent reduction to all police budgets and 42 per cent opposed to that with 17 per cent unsure. But the pollster stressed the public is split on it if theres a hard choice in poll questioning. When he asked about defunding the police in a different way, 74 per cent said they would prefer reforms to policing while nine per cent said budgets should be cut as much as you can with two per cent wanting police abolished and 15 per cent unsure. Theres way more support for reforming police, he said. Campaign Research found 65 per cent back speed cameras in order to free up officers to do other duties while just 23 per cent opposed that and 12 per cent werent sure. What that shows is that all the noise made by the right on speed cameras is just noise, said Kouvalis, noting the traditional opposition to photo radar by conservative-leaning voters. Most people support them. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reviewed the COVID-19 situation in the country in a meeting attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Member of NITI Aayog, Cabinet Secretary and other senior officials of the central government. During the review meeting, the PM appreciated the concerted efforts of the Centre, State and local authorities in containing the pandemic situation in Delhi. The PM further directed that similar approach should be adopted with other State Governments in containing the COVID-19 pandemic in entire NCR area. He made these remarks at a meeting to review the coronavirus situation in the country, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said. The Prime Minister reiterated the need to observe personal hygiene and social discipline in public places. The PM directed that we must reiterate the need to observe personal hygiene and social discipline in public places. Awareness about COVID-19 should be disseminated widely and a continuous emphasis on preventing the spread of the infection should be laid, the PMO said. PM Modi said that there is no room for any complacency in this regard, according to the statement. He also directed that real-time national-level monitoring and guidance should be provided to all affected states and places with a high test positivity rate. "The Prime Minister appreciated the concerted efforts of the Centre, state and local authorities in containing the pandemic situation in Delhi," the statement said. "He further directed that a similar approach should be adopted with other state governments in containing the COVID-19 pandemic in the entire NCR area," it said. During the meet, the "successful example" of surveillance and home-based care through 'Dhanvantri Rath' in Ahmedabad was highlighted and it was directed that it may be emulated in other places, the statement said. India on Saturday (July 11, 2020) recorded the highest single-day spike of 27,114 COVID-19 cases with the total number crossing 8 lakh mark. As per the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data the tally stood at 8,20,916 out of which 2,83,407 are active, 5,15,387 have been cured and migrated and 22,123 have died so far due to the infection. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are the hotspots for Covid-19 cases among the states in India. Tucson may rewrite the weather record books this weekend. Old Pueblo inhabitants could experience temperatures above 110 degrees both Saturday and Sunday, weather officials say. An excessive heat warning is in place beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday through Monday night as forecasters expect Saturdays high to reach 111 degrees, which would match the days record set in 1958. For Sunday, a 113-degree high would eclipse the record of 110 degrees set on July 12, 2005. Typically, the warning is in place when temperatures are expected to be 105 degrees or higher for at least two days. The National Weather Service says residents should take precautions: If working outside, stay hydrated and remain in the shade as often as possible; residents should limit strenuous outdoor activities; and motorists should check for people and pets before exiting their vehicle. Meanwhile, as weather officials advise residents to stay indoors, if possible, the same cant be said for firefighters battling the Bighorn Fire thats still burning in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Advertising in France may be about to get a lot greener after a bill was tabled in parliament that obliges large companies to use their advertising euros as a force for environmental good. Putting forward the proposed law, the newly created political group Ecologie, Democracie et Solidarite (EDS) argued that advertising had the potential to be a powerful lever in propelling Frances ecological transition. The bill aims to give advertising a driving role in the transition towards a greener economy, and to iron out the incompatibilities between some ads and Frances green ambitions. Along with a series of progressive bans on polluting products and services, it suggests the creation of a "responsible advertising" support fund to help retrain professionals working within the advertising sector. 'We need a revolution' Group co-president Matthieu Orphelin said the world of advertising needed to undergo a major revolution if it was to play any real role in the fight against climate change. Let us be the first country to make advertising work towards a serious goal, to put advertising at the service of the (ecological) transition, Orphelin told FranceInfo radio. Suggested measures in the bill, which also aims to reduce overconsumption, include giving local politicians more power to regulate advertising, and a total ban on the promotion of toxic products. EDS estimates that, each year, French companies pour 34 billion euros into the countrys marketing industry something they say should be redirected towards protecting the environment and preserving resources. The Citizen's Climate Convention, a group of French residents chosen at random to devise solutions to the climate crisis, also suggested tougher advertising standards in a report delivered last month. By Taiwo Okanlawon American rapper 50 Cent has joined the list of people trolling Will Smith on social media after his wife Jada Pinkett Smith admitted to having an affair with August Alsina on the recent episode of the Red Table Talk. Although Jada said that she and Will were separated at the time, but folks on social media are not buying it, and they see it as disrespectful to tell the world about it. Jada admitted that her relationship with August was exciting, adding that no one made her feel like August has in years. Will Smith noticeably struggled through the interview and seemed at one point like he was holding back tears. She describes their relationship as an entanglement and that she and Will were actually separated at the time and it seemed as though they wouldnt get back together. Thats when she started to get into a relationship with Alsina that eventually ended soon after. However, not long after the interview, Will Smith Cuck began trending on Twitter with fans of the prolific actor expressing their disappointment. It didnt take long before the troll king, fiddy chimed in. 50 Cent went straight into Will Smiths DM, he started by acting like he cares. Yo Will, you okay over there? he asked. Yes Im cool, I appreciate your concern my brother, Will replied. But it ended up with a fuck you 50. Related Soon after being appointed as working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, Hardik Patel said on Saturday that he will fulfill the responsibility with "utmost sincerity". He will work to win the confidence of the people and resolve problems, especially those of unemployed youths and farmers, he said. The Congress on Saturday announced Patel's appointment as working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee. Patel, 26, rose to prominence during the Patidar reservation agitation in Gujarat. He is facing sedition cases in connection with the 2015 agitation which turned violent. "I am grateful to the party for giving me the responsibility of working president at such a young age. I will fulfill the responsibility with utmost sincerity," he said. "My first question to the (BJP) government is what is it doing for unemployed youths and farmers," said Patel. "The (BJP) government has failed to fulfill its responsibility. We would win the confidence of six crore people of the state and ask them to join us so that we could work together and try to resolve their problems," Patel told reporters. "Congress will go to the people with greater strength under the leadership of (state unit president) Amit Chavda and (leader of opposition) Paresh Dhanani," Patel said. "The BJP government has proved inefficient during its three-decade rule, so people should join the Congress," he said. Patel's appointment comes at a time when eight Assembly seats in Gujarat will have by-elections after respective Congress MLAs resigned ahead of the Rajya Sabha election recently. Five of them joined the BJP. Patel claimed that the Congress will win all the eight seats. "We will form the government in Gujarat in 2022," he added. She's expecting her first child with wife Kate Brooks. And Emmerdale star Michelle Hardwick was counting down the days until the third trimester of her pregnancy, as she shared a snap of her growing bump on Friday. The actress, 44, showcased her bare tummy under a t-shirt honouring the NHS, as she counts down to the birth of her first baby in October. Baby on the way: Emmerdale star Michelle Hardwick, 44, was counting down the days until the third trimester of her pregnancy as she shared a snap of her growing bump on Friday Michelle look radiant as she highlighted her growing bump under a t-shirt and pink tracksuit bottoms. As she reached the final months of her pregnancy Michelle captioned her post: 'Third trimester here we come.' Last month Michelle also revealed she'd been feeling her unborn child kick for several days as she shared another snap of her blossoming bump. Stunning: Emmerdale star Michelle Hardwick looked radiant on Friday as she showcased her growing bump in a candid Instagram snap Michelle - who has played Vanessa Woodfield on Emmerdale since 2012 - looked glowing as she shared a glimpse of her bump. The star, who is now around six months into her pregnancy, pulled up the top of her grey polka dot pyjamas as she gazed lovingly at her growing tummy. She captioned the post: 'Feeling the kicks.' Exciting: The actress is expected her first child with wife Kate Brooks in October (pictured after announcing their baby news in April) In April, the soap star confirmed her pregnancy in a sweet announcement shared on Instagram, in which she debuted her growing bump. Michelle is due to give birth to her child with her Emmerdale producer wife Kate in October. Taking to Instagram, Michelle shared a photo of her and Kate posing together with their dog Fred. The photo was captioned: 'Fred's big brother duties commence in October #babybrooks.' Soap star: Michelle has played Vanessa Woodfield on the ITV soap Emmerdale since 2012 Gorgeous: During the COVID-19 lockdown Michelle has been passing the time by baking brownies as shown in a recent snap The soap star and Kate first went public with their relationship in October 2018 and announced their engagement just two months later in December that same year. They tied the knot at Elvis Presley's home Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee in September 2019. Michelle confirmed the pair had wed on Instagram and told fans: 'In over 100 degrees heat, on Tuesday 10th September, I became Mrs Brooks,' adding the hashtags: '#graceland #chapelinthewoods #memphis #nextstopnashville.' Happy: The actress and Kate first went public with their relationship in October 2018 and announced their engagement just two months later in December that same year Michelle's marriage to Kate is her second. She previously wed ex-wife Rosie Nicholl in 2015, after two years together. They later announced they were divorcing in 2017. At the time, Michelle had addressed her split with Rosie in interviews and admitted the former couple had 'drifted apart.' They were the frontline workers picking food to keep West Australians fed during the pandemic, but now 400-odd migrant workers, mainly from the Pacific Islands, have found themselves jobless, homeless and stranded in Manjimup and its surrounding townships. As the May picking season drew to a close, the Shire of Manjimup was approved $428,364 from the LotteryWest financial hardship assistance scheme to provide food, shelter, crisis accommodation, transport, gas bottles, firewood, and other emergency relief items. Relieved backpackers in Manjimup after receiving food donations from Second Bite. It was the most money granted to a regional council, aside from the Western Desert Lands Aboriginal Corporation (Jamukurnu-Yapalikunu) which got $608,000 to support the disadvantaged and vulnerable across seven Martu communities in the Central Western Desert of the Pilbara and the states Red Cross, with $716,645. With a number of neighbouring shires using a somewhat assertive approach to move on itinerants that had no work, Manjimup Shire saw a rapid escalation of movement to the shire of itinerant job seekers, Manjimups community services director, Gail Ipsen Cutts, said. The resurgence of COVID-19 across the country this summer has deepened anxiety for millions of American small business owners who face another imminent cash crunch in their battle to survive a historic pandemic. The governments $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program, first rolled out in April, was supposed to help many businesses and their employees weather the storm. Nearly half of all American workers are employed by a small business. But now many of the nearly 5 million US companies that got loans say the relief money is running out with little sign the virus is loosening its grip on the economy. PHOTO: Will Eastman, owner of U Street Music Hall in Washington, D.C., was able to rehire five full-time staff with a loan through the government's Paycheck Protection Program. (ABC News) "We're literally the guy who was jogging and got hit by the meteor like the one in a trillion chance," said Will Eastman, owner of U Street Music Hall, a nightclub in Washington, D.C., shuttered since March. "We were the first to close and we'll be the last to reopen." In May, Eastman received a $120,000 PPP loan to help keep five full-time staff on payroll and pay for rent and utilities. He says those funds run dry in less than two weeks; his only revenue is from T-shirt sales and online donations. "It is a psychological trauma not to know if your entire industry will be here next year," he said. MORE: Heres how small businesses threatened by COVID-19 are surviving the pandemic Hope that phased reopenings of local economies would lead to a financial rebound are now overshadowed by customers' renewed health fears, more forced business shutdowns and a possible vaccine still months or years away. PHOTO: Farid Nouri of Washington, D.C., is shutting down his popular nightclub of 25 years and auctioning off furniture and leftover liquor to pay off debt. The pandemic made the decision 'pretty clear cut,' he says. (ABC News) Farid Nouri, whos owned Eighteenth Street Lounge in D.C. for 25 years, recently made the decision to fold after his PPP loan ran out. "Were looking at at least a year and a half of staying idle and accruing more rent debt, more insurance debt," said Nouri in an interview as he prepared to auction off the club furniture and leftover liquor stock. "Were talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars at the end of the day before we can even be able to reopen." Story continues Karen G. Mills, former Small Business Administrator who helped guide the recovery from the 2008 Great Recession, predicts as many as 20-30% of all American small businesses could close for good during the pandemic. "Cash is the number one need for small businesses -- money that is not a debt burden to them, that helps tide them over until we get our arms around this health crisis and they can open safely," said Mills. PHOTO: Small business owners Mia and Okera Stewart of Washington, D.C., say the coronavirus pandemic and looting during recent protests have dealt a financial blow that is testing their ability to remain open. (ABC News) Since March, Congress has allocated more than $670 billion in guaranteed loans to help businesses with fewer than 500 employees. If recipients use at least 60% of the loan to cover payroll or rent, the loan will be forgiven. Businesses can only apply once, and data shows that many of the nations smallest businesses still have not taken advantage of the program. There is roughly $130 billion up for grabs before the program expires on Aug. 8. Mia Stewart, who owns Haute Hair in Washington, D.C., a custom wig and hair extensions shop, is among the small business owners who have struggled with the PPP application process, which requires accounting and legal skills that some say they dont have. "I think there needs to be more of a streamlined process to allow us access to these funds," Stewart said. "It should have happened months ago, and here we are still waiting. Its July." PHOTO: Mia Stewart, owner of Haute Hair in Washington, D.C., is among small business owners who have experienced difficulty applying for an emergency loan with the government's Paycheck Protection Program. (ABC News) To make matters worse, Stewarts shop was looted during the recent protests after the death of George Floyd, who was killed in Minneapolis police custody in May. She says more than $150,000 in merchandise was stolen. "The PPP loan has just been a really difficult process," Stewart said. "And I just think its completely unfair that these other corporations were allowed to get such large sums of money." The Trump administration this week revealed for the first time the names of the biggest recipients of PPP loans so far. Among them are major restaurant chains like P.F. Changs China Bistro; hedge funds; real estate firms; and clothing lines, including Kanye Wests sneaker brand Yeezy LLC. At least a dozen businesses have ties to political leaders, including a hotel partially owned by the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a shipping company run by the family of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. MORE: While some PPP beneficiaries have raised eyebrows, most remain secret "I was very disappointed, because the most vulnerable small businesses out there are the little ones," said Mills of the data released by the Small Business Administration and Treasury Department. "Overall the program is going to have saved a lot of businesses, but if you were a bad actor, do not do that again." PHOTO: Rent and insurance payments present a daunting financial challenge for millions of American small businesses that have been unable to reopen to customers for months during the pandemic. (ABC News) President Trumps small business chief Jovita Carranza says shes "ecstatic" about the PPP, telling SirusXM radio in an interview that it is "one of the most successful and consequential federal disaster response programs in memory." Many economists have credited the program with helping to blunt the tide of job losses. After a historic spike this spring, the unemployment rate fell from 14.5% in April to 11.1% in June, according to the Labor Department. PHOTO: Bars, nightclubs and entertainment venues were among the first businesses ordered closed during the covid-19 pandemic. In many states, they will be among the last to reopen. (ABC News) Pia Carusone, owner of Republic Restoratives in Washington, D.C., one of the worlds only women-owned distilleries, says she considers her business a PPP success story -- with a caveat. A $150,000 PPP loan the distillery received this spring helped "save well over 50% of our team," she said. PHOTO: As local economies gradually reopen during the pandemic, the return of walk-up customers is helping small businesses financially, but owners worry about the resurgence of covid-19 cases. (ABC News) "But I dont know why anyones taking a victory lap about anything. You cant claim a huge success when, first of all, many businesses are going under today," Carusone noted. "It has been very helpful but were not anywhere near done with this yet." Working in her favor is steady demand from walk-up customers who are trickling back and restaurants slowly resuming orders of craft vodka and bourbon. PHOTO: Bookstore owner Adam Waterreus of Washington, D.C., relied on the government's Paycheck Protection Program to keep the majority of staff on payroll during the coronavirus pandemic. (ABC News) Other retailers see a similar cautiously upward trajectory but remain on edge. "I was able to bring back a majority of my staff" with a PPP loan, said Adam Waterreus, owner of Lost City Books in Washingtons Adams Morgan neighborhood, where increased foot traffic has meant renewed book browsing and sales. "Im still fairly uneasy about the next few months," Waterreus added. "I was listening to the news this morning about Texas and these big surges [in COVID-19 cases]. There seems to be little reason to think that wont come back to us." As loans run out, small businesses face reckoning amid COVID-19 surge originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Seattles mayor and police chief have been told to remedy the unacceptable treatment of journalists, including an Independent reporter who was arrested covering Black Lives Matter protests. Andrew Buncombe was shackled, assaulted and detained for more than six hours after being accused of failing to disperse from a demonstration he had the legal right to report on. On the same day, local journalist Omari Salisbury, a common presence at Cal Anderson Park, said he was threatened with arrest unless he stopped broadcasting as police cleared the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP). Mr Salisbury was not arrested, but Mr Buncombe, The Independents chief US correspondent, now faces a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 (4,000) fine. He said he was alone at the time of his arrest, remained on the correct side of a police cordon, repeatedly identified himself as a journalist and showed his State Department-issued press badge. Amid international anger over the incident, a member of Seattle City Council has written to mayor Jenny Durkan and police chief Carmen Best. Councillor Lisa Herbold said the charges against Mr Buncombe may be dropped by the Seattle City Attorney, but that would not excuse his initial arrest. The action of removing the reporter from the scene prevented him from covering the story and informing the public of what he saw, she added. Ms Herbold said Mr Buncombes arrest violated the Seattle Municipal Code, which states that failure to disperse orders cannot apply to news reporters unless they are physically obstructing lawful efforts by police to disperse a group. The city council also adopted a bill in 2017 that enshrined the right of public observation, recording or expression in the vicinity of police actions. It is our job as elected officials to ensure the press remains free and is able to carry out its work, in accordance with the constitution and city law, Ms Herbold wrote. The constitution and Municipal Code protections for the press, and observers, do not exist for the convenience of government, to be cast aside whenever they happen to be inconvenient. Story continues The non-partisan councillor said first amendment protections for the press were a lynchpin of American democracy, warning: Unless respected by government, the quality of our democracy is diminished and eroded. Ms Herbold called for the mayor and chief of police to explain the plan to remedy this unacceptable abridgement of First Amendment rights and improper use of city law. Mr Buncombe was arrested on 1 July, while covering the police operation to clear the CHOP an area of Seattle that had been occupied by protesters since early June. He said he was arrested five minutes after arriving at Cal Anderson Park by an officer who told him to stop taking photographs and leave, despite the fact Mr Buncombe had not crossed the police cordon. He was handcuffed, shackled and taken into custody at the West Precinct station, where he described crowded and unsanitary conditions despite the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Buncombe said he was assaulted by a guard, while other inmates said they had been threatened, mistreated or accused of crimes they did not commit. UK consular staff gave assistance to Mr Buncombe on the day of his arrest, and it is understood diplomats at Britains Washington embassy have raised the police treatment of British journalists with the Trump administration. Christian Broughton, editor of The Independent, said: It is imperative that democratic leaders everywhere stand up unequivocally for truly independent journalism. The arrest and appalling treatment of Andrew Buncombe must be condemned. As a global news organisation, The Independent has correspondents based permanently in countries with poor records for press freedom, and we frequently send reporters into conflict zones and dangerous situations. So when the phone rings to tell you a journalist has been arrested, you dont imagine that the correspondent in question would be in the United States. Andy is an experienced and highly respected reporter. As he writes in his article, the job of a journalist is not to disperse. Our job is to be present. The deputy director of research for Amnesty International USA, Justin Mazzola, said Mr Buncombe was one of at least 60 journalists arrested as they covered protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd in May. The media has an important role to play in protecting the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, but especially right now, when society is taking to the streets to protest the unlawful killings of black people by police while simultaneously combating a highly contagious virus, said Mr Mazzola. The media have a right to attend and report on these protests, and law enforcement officials have a responsibility not to prevent or obstruct their work. If not, human rights violations like the ones we have witnessed over the past two months will breed in the darkness. The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was very concerned by Mr Buncombes arrest. Programme director Carlos Martinez de la Serna said: We are horrified by the continued use of harsh and sometimes violent police actions against journalists who are doing their jobs. Read more I was arrested, jailed and assaulted. My crime? Being a journalist Committee to Protect Journalists concerned over arrest of reporter Journalist with Independent arrested covering clearance of protest Melbourne's The Alfred hospital has moved to restrict access to its COVID-19 ward after eight healthcare workers tested positive, sending hundreds of staff into 14-day isolation in the hospital's second outbreak since the pandemic began. Hospital administrators have placed a concierge at the entrance to the infectious diseases ward, where COVID-19 patients are treated, to ensure the movements of all staff who enter the high-risk area are logged. Photos taken in the Alfred's COVID-19 ward show trolleys and bins overflowing with contaminated waste. A healthcare worker at the hospital, who spoke to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald on condition of anonymity, said there were serious concerns about infection control in the ward. Photographs taken inside the restricted area this week show rubbish bins overflowing with contaminated clinical waste including discarded medical gowns and other personal protective equipment. The University of Southern California (USC) has decided to remove an exhibit featuring John Wayne amid continued pressure from students decrying the actors racist history and a newfound push in society to reckon with racism. The exhibit, which was showcased in the main building of the School of Cinematic Arts Complex at Waynes alma mater, will be taken down and the material moved to the library archives, Evan Hughes, assistant dean of diversity and inclusion at USC said in a statement. Conversations about systemic racism in our cultural institutions along with the recent global, civil uprising by the Black Lives Matter movement require that we consider the role that our school can play as a change maker in promoting antiracist cultural values and experiences, Hughes wrote in a statement the university tweeted. Also Read: Beyond Blackface: Can Hollywood's Reckoning on Race Lead to Substantive Change? USC students have pushed to have the exhibit removed since last year when a 1971 Playboy Magazine interview with Wayne resurfaced. With a lot of blacks, theres quite a bit of resentment along with their dissent, and possibly rightfully so. But we cant all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the leadership of the blacks, Wayne, then 63, said in the interview. I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. The actor also made comments regarding the history of slavery in America, saying: I dont feel guilty about the fact that five or 10 generations ago these people were slaves. Now, Im not condoning slavery. Its just a fact of life. Also Read: John Wayne Airport Should Be Renamed Over Actor's Racist Statements, Orange County Politicians Say Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival, Wayne continued in the interview, speaking on Americas colonialism and mistreatment of Native Americans. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves. In June, Orange County Democratic Party officials filed a resolution to remove Waynes name from the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, citing the late actors past white supremacist, anti-LGBT, and anti-Indigenous views. The resolution cites a recent survey of Orange County residents saying that 79% of respondents see the countys increasing ethnic diversity as a source of great strength. Read original story John Wayne Exhibit at USC Removed Following Student Protests At TheWrap A group gathers around the Tommy Trojan statue at USC. Seven international graduate students at USC, UC Irvine and UCLA have filed a lawsuit over new Trump administration rules that would bar them from remaining in the U.S. if they enroll only in online courses. (Los Angeles Times) Seven international graduate students in California filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to prevent the Trump administration from enforcing guidelines issued this week that would bar them from remaining in the country if they enroll only in online courses this fall. The policy requiring foreign students to attend in person classes, even where their universities have determined that to do so will cost lives and endanger the campus community, in keeping with the judgment of public health experts, treats them as pawns for the presidents politically motivated decision, attorney Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, the nonprofit law firm that filed the suit, said in a statement. The students' lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California, follows another filed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University this week, to which 180 colleges and universities signed an amicus brief in support. On Monday, the Student Exchange and Visitor Program, under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, announced that international students will not be allowed to remain in the U.S. if they enroll at schools or programs that hold classes entirely online this fall. Those students must depart the country or transfer to an institution holding in-person classes, ICE said. The announcement prompted outcry among higher education leaders in California and across the nation, as well as disbelief and worry among students. The seven plaintiffs in the case filed Friday are from China and Germany and are enrolled at the USC Gould School of Law, UC Irvine School of Law and a UCLA graduate program in cinema and media studies. The complaint said they will face "financial calamity," suffer health consequences and be forced to pause or halt their education and jeopardize their career prospects if made to return to their home countries. Some of the students had already signed leases on apartments and don't have the means to pay for a return flight or housing in their home country, the complaint said. One would be separated from his wife. The students from China in particular would lack access to the tools they need for online learning, including Google products, and the time difference would put them at a disadvantage for participating in discussion-based classes and on-campus job interviews, the complaint said. In March, the Student Exchange and Visitor Program issued guidelines stating that international students would be given flexibility in order to continue progress in their degrees during the coronavirus emergency. According to the lawsuit, the guidance laid out Monday abruptly and without appropriate notice or rationale reversed course. It also said the action violated international students' right to due process. The suit seeks a temporary restraining order and an order vacating the policy. Hong Kong: Precautions needed for gatherings Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan said social gatherings pose certain health risks amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases and that those organising events must adhere to infection control measures. Prof Chan made the remarks while speaking to the media after attending a radio programme this morning. I think if there are gatherings that need to be held, they must have infection control measures. Also, the flow of people must be very carefully orchestrated in order to lower the risks as far as possible. She emphasised that the epidemic is worrying, adding the Government is assessing the risks on a daily basis. We are also trying to trace all the confirmed cases as well as all the contacts, whether they are close contacts, contacts of the confirmed cases or contacts of contacts. The Centre for Health Protection colleagues are working tirelessly in terms of doing all these. We are also doing a lot of testing with regard to all the confirmed cases, including the places where they live, where they work, and their whereabouts - where they go to, for example, markets and also shopping malls. We are also working on testing targeted groups, for example, the staff of the elderly homes, taxi drivers and also workers of catering businesses. Prof Chan urged the public to stay at home and avoid gatherings as far as possible. This story has been published on: 2020-07-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Advertisement Glee star Naya Rivera may have hit her head diving from her boat into a California lake, a diver searching for her body told DailyMailTV. Search and rescue diver Robert Inglis said Rivera could have dived into the water from her boat and hit her head on one of the branches, shrubs and rocks beneath the surface of the Ventura reservoir that can be deceptively shallow. The actress' four-year-old son was found alone in a rented boat on Lake Piru in Ventura on Wednesday evening with no sign of his mother. 'People have broken their necks before. Its happened in pools quite frequently, it can happen in lakes as well,' Inglis told DailyMailTV. Naya Rivera remains missing and is believed to have died in a 'tragic accident', two days after she disappeared on a boating trip at Lake Piru with her four-year-old son Josey Diver Robert Inglis said Glee actress Naya Rivera could have dived into the water from her boat and hit her head during her Wednesday outing on Lake Piru with her son Josey 'If you go into some coves you could have 3ft off bottom and not even see it until you jumped in,' he added. 'There are places [like that] with the lake when you start to get more north because thats where the shallow part of the lake is. Theres a lot of brush, you have these trees that are there and they do stick up.' Police are using sonar, underwater robots, a chopper and even sniffer dogs on boats searching for the body of the Glee star. Ventura County Sheriff's Department released footage Friday from a camera on the underwater drone, showing the murky view underneath the surface of Lake Piru which can reach 130 feet at its deepest, according to Ventura Sheriffs Department Captain Eric Buschow. During a media briefing on Friday, Captain Eric Buschow shared that the search on Friday began at 6am. As boats combed through the lake, helicopters could be seen flying above assisting in the search The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is now assisting in the search for Rivera. It is believed she may have hit a branch or rock while jumping into the reservoir Lake Piru is scheduled to be drained to 65 feet next month to perform 'seismic retrofitting on the lake's dam,' the Wrap reports. The project was planned prior to Rivera's disappearance. During Friday's search, there were only 40 rescue personnel looking for Rivera. Dangers of low visibility prompted the reduction in workers, according to Deadline. Inglis said search teams from San Luis Obispo, Tulare and Los Angeles counties pitched in with the extensive three-day search that has so far yielded no results. The 48-year-old search and rescue diver told DailyMailTV it's also possible Rivera, who was not wearing a life vest, got into difficulty swimming amid two-foot waves out on Lake Piru on a windy day. During a media briefing on Friday, Captain Eric Buschow shared that the search on Friday began at 6am Only 40 rescuers were at the scene looking for Rivera on Friday, a sharp contrast to the 100 that were at Lake Piru on Thursday 'You should have a life vest when youre in the water. The wind starts to bring up a lot of surf, one or two feet high. When youre not familiar with it, it can break on you and that can get tiresome,' he said. Inglis, who has 20 years diving experience, explained that parts of the lake used to be above water and so the murky depths, where visibility drops to zero at 20 feet, conceal an 'underwater forest' of trees and brush. He said it was possible Rivera hit her head on the submerged vegetation or hidden rock when diving into the water. The Ventura Sheriff's Department are using side-scan sonar to locate Rivera's body by bouncing soundwaves off the lake bed, and an 'underwater drone' to investigate more dangerous parts of the brush-covered bottom. This diagram shows where Naya Rivera and her son rented a boat on Lake Piru before the four-year-old was seen alone. The map in the top left shows the location of the lake in relation to Los Angeles where Rivera lives Police are using sonar, underwater robots, a chopper and even sniffer dogs on boats searching for the body of the Glee star One blue-eyed human remains detection dog called Piglet was also aiding with the search, standing at the front of a search boat nosing out any bubbles of gas rising to the surface from a submerged corpse. Inglis said sonar and a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) were a great help to divers scouring the bottom with their hands, often in total darkness. 'You could swim right by something if you didnt happen to be in that right spot,' he said. 'We brought in some side-scan sonar which allowed us to search a 20-30ft swath at a time. That will give us targets to go search. Ryan Dorsey and his son Josey are pictured on Friday, just two days after the four-year-old was found alone in the pontoon boat on Lake Piru A rescue worker is led by a German Shepherd brought in to detect gasses released by cadavers The Ventura County Sheriff's Office released CCTV footage showing Naya Rivera and her four-year-old son arriving at the dock on Lake Piru on Wednesday 'Sonar gets a reflection from things in the water. Its a shadow that we see, and we have to interpret that shadow. It could be a rock, a bush, a person. They put down a float and mark that then call in a dive team to come in and check that area.' Ventura County Sheriff's Department Sergeant Kevin Donoghue told DailyMail.com that it was 'definitely a possibility Rivera hit her head while diving, and added that the calm lake can be deceptively dangerous. The 911 call the boat rental facility made, incorrectly calling Naya Rivera's son a girl when reporting the actress missing The Ventura Sheriff's Department has released audio of the 911 call made on Wednesday by the boat rental facility at Lake Piru after an employee noted that Naya Rivera and her son had not returned. In the call, the employee initially notes that a girl was left alone in the boat, adding that she was not actually down at the scene to see. Employee: 'Lake Piru, the emergency is we have a missing person. We found a little girl in one of the boats by the south end the mom is nowhere to be found.' Dispatcher: 'Okay, Lake Piru... Okay and is she white, black, Asian or Hispanic?' Employee: 'I have no idea, I'm headed down there right now to go check. My husband was one of the people who were first there and I am going to get more information. He just told me to call it in.' Dispatcher: 'Okay... Do you know if it is a boy or a girl?' Employee: 'I believe it is a little girl.' Dispatcher: 'Approximate age?' Employee: 'Like I said, I have no idea. I'm heading down there right now. Do you want me to call it back when I get there?' Dispatcher: 'I'll put the little bit of information that I have but yeah when you get there, can you give us a call back.' Advertisement 'Ive been up here for other drownings in the past. Water safety is one of those things where people can easily get complacent and can quickly get into trouble,' he said. 'In this case we dont know if Ms Rivera had some sort of medical episode. Thats something we wont be able to learn until we find her and the medical examiner does his investigation.' Donoghue said Rivera's family told police she was in good health when they last spoke to her. 'The only information Ive been given from the family is that shes been to this lake before, shes physically fit, she enjoys the outdoors, enjoys the lake. I dont know if shes been out here previously with her son before. 'As far as we know there was no question about her mental health, she was fine.' Donoghue said police interviewed everyone they knew was on the water at the time but got no leads. 'On Wednesday when this began, some time around 1pm she came to the boat launch concession stand, rented a pontoon boat for a three-hour period,' he said. 'The CCTV camera footage was also released and the video shows the boat going north. 'The concessionaires noted that at 4pm she didnt come back when she was supposed to. At 4.30pm they took one of their own boats and went out looking for her and they found the boat adrift with the son on board. 'The employee that made that discovery called their supervisor and that supervisor made the 911 call. 'There was an adult-sized life vest found on the boat. Her purse and ID were found on the boat. All of her other belongings were found in her car that was parked here.' Rivera's son told authorities he and his mother had gone swimming but said she never made it out of the water. It's unclear how the boy was able to get back onto the boat on his own and in which area she vanished. Four-year-old Josey has meanwhile been returned to his family and was yesterday pictured in the arms of his father, Rivera's ex-husband Ryan Dorsey, 36. The pair were pictured also on Friday, once again with the doting father holding his son. Search operations have been hampered by the poor visibility in the water which rescuers say is murky and full of plants and debris. Police said it's possible Rivera's body 'may never come back up' if it is 'entangled on something beneath the water'. Divers say the waters are murky and full of plants and debris, limiting their visibility to less than one foot and forcing them to use their hands in what crew member Max O'Brien described as a 'braille search'. On Thursday authorities released CCTV footage of the actress and her son arriving at Lake Piru and boarding their pontoon boat hours before she disappeared on Wednesday. Rivera was seen pulling up to the dock in her Mercedes-Benz SUV around 1pm on Wednesday, before hopping on a rental boat with the boy and heading out into the lake in the north direction. Along with the surveillance footage, cops have also shared the 911 call from the boat rental facility at 4.37pm when Rivera was first reported missing. The caller had apparently been sent to check on Rivera and her son after the actress failed to return the rental boat at the expected time. Mistaking four-year-old Josey for a girl, the caller said they had 'found a little girl in one of the boats by the south end' and added that 'the mom is nowhere to be found'. The dispatcher asked for the child's age and ethnicity, but the caller had yet to see the toddler close up and was told to gather more information before calling back. It was the first week in June that my neighbor approached me in my side yard, with a picture in his hand. Paul Elice had been walking the roadside on Martin Road picking up the trash in the ditch and road opposite his home when a white paper caught his eye. Paul showed me what he found and he said, I thought only you, the town historian, could find the owner of this picture. I hope we can return it to them. The folder held a graduation picture in a white folder taken by Ernsberger of Auburn, and printed in red lettering on the side stated, "The Class of 1940." I studied the picture carefully and said to Paul, Well, this young man is either a Mizro, Martinez, Sierzenga, Podolak or Dec. I explained to Paul that living in Owasco since 1961, I knew most of the farm families living on the roads around me. John Martinez built the ranch house around the corner on Route 38A, and his older brother Bill lived down the road near the curve in the Martinez family homestead. The Sierzengas lived on Town Hall Road. Where did this picture come from? Which family? The student, if alive, had to be 97 years old! June is graduation month. I could not help but think of the over 250 Auburn seniors in 2020, and what their graduation would be like with the current pandemic closing every public activity and building. I took the folder, and began the research. I am indebted to five people who took the time to help. Their kindness and caring was very much appreciated. I called the Cayuga County Historian's Office and talked to Ruth Bradley, the county historian. The office was closed to visitors, but Ruth suggested I talk with Dorie Fielding at the Seymour Library history room. Ruth did not have the high school yearbooks I requested, but assured me the history room did. At the library, I talked with Dorie on the phone and suggested she look in the 1940 yearbooks for West High School or Holy Family. Most of the boys of farm families went to West High. I then sent the pictures to them three times. Dorie wrote, She couldnt open the file. Lin Sullivan tried to help by asking me to send the pictures to the library. Three more times. They still could not open the file. The following Tuesday at the Owasco Town Hall, our town clerk, Tammy Flaherty, was the next one to help. She had me send the pictures to her. I sent the pictures to her and she sent them (on the town website) to the history room at Seymour Library. Within two hours, I received a reply from the library. Lin said, I should be a Canadian Mountie, because I got my man. He is in the 1940 Holy Family yearbook. His name is John Joseph Renahan. Renahan? Why, Sophie Martinez Renahan lived on the corner of Honeysuckle Road and 38A in Owasco! She lived the next road over! I worked with her at General Electric in the 1950s. She was John and Bill Martinezs sister. Linda Coretti, our billing clerk at the town hall (and No. 5 helper), gave me Sophie Martinez Renahan's telephone number from our records. I called Sophie and told her the chain of events since Paul found the picture by the roadside, and of the many caring people who helped me get the picture back to her. She laughed and explained she knew how the picture was lost, and even remembered driving down Martin Road with her daughter Lisa from Colorado, with her son's twin grandchildren in the back seat. They were looking at the pictures and one must have flown out the open window. She said her husband went by the name Jake, and her grandson was named after him. The three pictures shown with the column are of Jake and his graduation picture, Paul Elice holding the folder, and presenting it back to Sophie. What a heartwarming story this was. Laurel Auchampaugh is the Owasco historian and can be reached at the Owasco Town Hall from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoons or at historian@owascony.gov. Love 9 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Th 2020 Hyundai Venue Denim provides a road map to how automakers will offer entry-level models despite their shift to more profitable SUV-style vehicles: in part by omitting one of the defining features of most SUVs, but nonetheless offering lots of other goodies and tons of room. Objectively, the Venue is a compact station wagon or hatchback, but it delivers the design and packaging benefits buyers love about SUVs, successfully dodging the cheap car stigma that dogged compact and subcompact hatchbacks for generations. In many ways, the Venue is the automotive apotheosis of Stephen Colberts concept of truthiness, which Merriam-Webster defines as the quality of seeming to be true but not necessarily or actually true according to known facts. It doesnt actually have the off-road capability widely expected from SUVs not even the most rudimentary all-wheel-drive system is available but The Venue sure seems like an SUV, thanks to a clever design that delivers a little more ground clearance, interior volume and better sight lines than people expect from small cars. Forget what the Venue isnt. It is an outstanding value and a strong competitor to be the best entry-level vehicle you can buy. It belongs on the shopping list of parents looking for max quality and safety per dollar for young drivers. 2020 Hyundai Venue Denim Car buying tips amid COVID-19: 6 key questions answered on new, used cars, trucks, SUVs Unemployment benefits: This is the number of weeks each states pays in COVID-19 jobless aid with CARES Act How much? The Venue competes with small vehicles call em SUVs or cars, whatever you like; the distinction barely matters any more like the Kia Soul, Nissan Kicks and Toyota C-HR. Like the Venue, they all offer only front-wheel drive. Because it has the look, room and ground clearance of a small SUV, and because its inexpensive, shoppers may also consider vehicles that offer AWD, including the Chevrolet Trax, Ford Ecosport, Honda H-RV and Mazda CX-3. Story continues Venue prices run from $17,350 to $22,050. All prices exclude destination charges. Front-wheel drive, a 1.6L 122-hp four-cylinder engine and continuously variable transmission are standard. The Venue is in dealerships now. The Venue offers lots of safety, comfort and convenience for the money. Standard features on all Venues include plenty of driver assistance and connectivity aids: 8.0-in. touch screen Apple CarPlay Android Auto Front collision alert and automatic braking with pedestrian detection Lane keeping assist Automatic high beams Automatic headlights Driver attention warning Cruise control Air conditioning Power windows, doors and locks Two-level cargo floor I tested a top of the line Denim model that came with dark blue paint, a white roof, denim-style upholstery with accent stitching and matching interior trim. It stickered at $22,185 and had a single option: $135 carpeted floor mats. Standard features on my Venue Denim included: 17-inch alloy wheels LED head, tail and running lights Push button start Blind spot and cross traffic alerts Leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob Automatic temperature control Four-wheel disc brakes Roof rails tested to 175 pounds . 2020 Hyundai Venue Denim Driving impressions The Venues 1.6L normally aspirated four-cylinder engine produces 121 hp and 113 pound-feet of torque. Neither figure is impressive, but acceleration is adequate around town and on the highway. A six-speed manual transmission is standard on the base SE model, while the SEL and Denim come with a continually variable automatic transmission. A continuously variable transmission contributes to the 2020 Hyundai Venue Denim's good fuel economy. The EPA rates Venues with the CVT automatic transmission at an impressive 30 mpg in city driving, 34 on the highway and 32 in combined driving. The combined rating is better than FWD versions of the the CX-3, H-RV and Soul, 1 mpg less than the Kicks. The steering is direct and has good on-center feel, while the suspension absorbs bumps well. The overall impression is of a chassis that could handle more power, opening the door for tuners to turn the Venue into a bargain sport compact. That formula helped Hyundai win a generation of buyers with the Tiburon, another inexpensive small car amenable to upgrades on a budget. Roomy, practical interior The four-door Venue hatchback is a tidy 159 inches long, riding on a 99.2-inch wheelbase. Its 69.2 inches tall and 61.6 wide, with practical upright sides that maximize passenger and cargo space. Theres good head and leg room. At 18.0 cubic feet behind the rear seat, cargo space trails the competition. The seats are comfortable, with nice denim-look fabric and faux leather trim. The interior controls include an 8.0-inch touch screen for phone and audio; CarPlay and Android auto compatibility for navigation and simple web searches, and buttons and dials for climate. Hyundais Blue Link system lets Alexa digital assistant control features like locking, remote start for cooling and heating and flash the headlights if you forget where you parked. Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2020 Hyundai Venue SUV packs features, value into small package Actor Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek Bachchan have been admitted to a Mumbai hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus. The two actors confirmed the news of their diagnosis on Twitter, with Abhishek informing that they have mild symptoms. Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you, Abhishek, 44, wrote. According to sources, 77-year-old Amitabh is stable with minor breathing problems. Earlier in the evening, the senior actor tweeted, I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested ! Also Watch | Covid: Amitabh Bachchan, son Abhishek Bachchan infected, admitted to hospital According to sources at the hospital, Amitabh was experiencing breathlessness. On Saturday, around 10pm, he was rushed to the hospital. Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you. Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) July 11, 2020 T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested ! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 11, 2020 Amitabh was last seen in Shoojit Sircars comedy-drama Gulabo Sitabo alongside Ayushmann Khurrana, while Abhisheks debut web series Breathe Into The Shadows released on an online video streaming platform on Friday. Both Amitabh and Abhishek were tested at the hospital on Saturday through rapid antigen tests. The senior actor had been shooting from home and had shot for a couple of ads and apparently, even a promo for the next season of his TV quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and industrialist Anand Mahindra were among those who tweeted their wishes for Amitabh Bachchan. Were all cheering for you. And you have nothing to worry about. Theres a vaccine you possessits code named the Big Vand its inbuilt & organic. Grows inside all those like you who are natural fighters, Mahindra wrote. Also read: Amitabh Bachchan tests Covid-19 positive: Harsh Vardhan, Taapsee Pannu wish him a quick recovery Actors and other Bollywood colleagues have also tweeted their wishes for Amitabh and Abhisheks quick recovery. Taapsee Pannu wrote, And you shall be back to health n happiness soon!champ ! Sonu Sood wrote, Get well soon sir. Sending you tons of love and best wishes ... please take care ... you ll be okay very soon!, wrote Neha Dhupia. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Anuradha Shukla By Express News Service NEW DELHI: With no signs of a fast enough recovery in the first half of this fiscal year, the Centre is considering a request from bankers to extend the loan moratorium until the end of November. According to sources, some bankers believe that there may be a major spike in non-performing asset (NPA) otherwise. Some of the bankers have suggested that the period of moratorium should be extended till November since they do not see any sharp recovery in the September quarter. The (Finance) Ministry is examining the proposal, a senior official from the Finance Ministry said. According to the initial announcement, the moratorium was to be be for the period of March to May. However, an extension to August 31 has already been given. Bankers expect that a sharp rise in the number of bad loans is likely. And, with no restructuring order so far from the central bank, they feel that the only way out is extending the moratorium by another three months. Although there is no official word on the worth of loans under moratorium, according to Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic advisor to State Bank of India, the figure could be around 35-40 per cent of the average portfolio. ...the moratorium has prevented any loan-account from a downgrade and helped the banking industry in reining in fresh slippages. But the real picture will emerge after the September quarter, Ghosh had said in an SBI Ecowrap report dated June 29. According to internal assessment of the finance ministry, about Rs 40 lakh crore of credit is under moratorium. Given the pace of the economic revival, experts fear that even in the best case scenario, only seventy five per cent of borrowers will be able to repay their loans by August 31. This would mean that loans worth Rs 10 lakh crore are under risk of turning NPA. Possible solutions include either a one-time restructuring of debt or extending the moratorium. The ministry is aware of the problem faced by businesses and individuals. "Negotiations with the RBI for a one-time restructuring is on. However, by the end of July, if there is a requirement, bankers have said there is a fair case for the extension, finance ministry officials said. MOSCOW (AP) Russias top diplomat on Friday dismissed U.S. intelligence information alleging that Moscow offered bounties to the Taliban for killing American soldiers as a product of election year politics in Washington. U.S. intelligence officials said information about Russia's alleged bounties on the heads of troops in Afghanistan was included in an intelligence brief for President Donald Trump in late February. The White House has denied Trump received the information at that time, arguing that the intelligence wasn't credible enough to bring to the president's attention. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the intelligence claims as a sham. The intelligence assessments that Russia offered bounties were first reported by The New York Times, then confirmed to The Associated Press by American intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter. There has been a hype in the United States over speculation on alleged ties between Russia and the Taliban and our alleged push on them to fight against U.S. servicemen or even a reward for their heads, Lavrov said during a videoconference on foreign policy issues. "I can only say that the entire thing has hinged on unscrupulous speculations, and no concrete facts have been presented whatsoever. He charged that the intelligence claims were floated to hurt the Trump administration before the U.S. presidential election in November. The entire story looks like it has been written and designed specifically for the purpose of the domestic political struggle in the run-up to the election, he said. "Once again, theyre trying to attack the incumbent administration and discredit everything its doing, especially on the Russian track. Lavrov noted that Russia welcomed a February peace deal between the U.S. and the Taliban aimed at ending the protracted war in Afghanistan. We have provided assistance via our channels to help this agreement work, the Russian foreign minister said. Top Pentagon leaders told U.S. Congress on Thursday that reports of Russia offering Taliban militants bounties for killing Americans weren't corroborated by defense intelligence agencies, but said they are looking into it and the U.S. will respond if necessary. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the threats were taken seriously, but haven't yet been found credible. By Online Desk Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has now overtaken Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffet in the list of the world's richest people. This comes after a string of deals in which stakes of the conglomerate's telecom arm Jio were sold to many companies including Facebook, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and many more. According to various media reports, the business tycoon is now worth $68.3 billion, surpassing Warren Buffett's $67.9 billion as of Thursday. On June 19, the billionaire announced that his oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries is now net debt-free after raising a record Rs 1.69 lakh crore from global investors and a rights issue in under two months. Reliance Industries Limited's market valuation, on July 6th, crossed Rs 11.5 lakh crore mark due to a rise in its share price. Ambani is now the eighth richest person in the world, pushing Buffet to ninth place after the billionaire investor gave away billions of dollars to charity. To add to the might of India's wealthiest man, British petroleum major BP Plc and Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries (RIL) recently announced the official launch of their retail fuel joint venture: Reliance BP Mobility Ltd (RBML). This unit, in which BP owns a 49 per cent stake with RIL holding the rest, will retail fuel on the market under the Jio-bp brand, a joint statement said. (With agencies inputs) By Tiemoko Diallo and Fadima Kontao BAMAKO (Reuters) - Police in Mali on Friday fired gunshots and tear gas to try to dislodge protesters demanding the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita from occupying the state broadcasting house and parliament, according to a Reuters witness. By Tiemoko Diallo and Fadima Kontao BAMAKO (Reuters) - Police in Mali on Friday fired gunshots and tear gas to try to dislodge protesters demanding the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita from occupying the state broadcasting house and parliament, according to a Reuters witness. Two sources said at least one person was killed outside the national assembly building. Mali's state television ORTM went off the air after hundreds of protesters occupied the building in the capital Bamako. The protesters, called to a rally by an opposition coalition, also tried to take over two major bridges. The protest was the third since June, and came after the opposition coalition rejected concessions from Keita aimed at resolving a months-long political stand-off that began after a disputed legislative election in March. Mali's neighbours and outside powers worry the impasse could further destabilise the country and jeopardise a joint military campaign against Islamist insurgents in the West African Sahel region. Protesters pelted the national assembly with rocks and shattered its glass facade, then ransacked and set fires in parts of the building. Videos on social media sites showed a fire burning outside the building while protesters ran away with what looked like files, computers, furniture and other items. The authenticity of the videos could not be verified by Reuters. Gunshots could be heard in the vicinity of both the national assembly and the ORTM building, a Reuters witness said, while other groups of protesters fought running battles with the police along a main bridge and surrounding neighbourhoods. Leaders of the protest had called on supporters to occupy buildings, including the Prime Minister's office, as part of a civil disobedience campaign aimed at forcing Keita to resign for failing to tackle Mali's security and economic problems. Before the rally, influential Muslim cleric Imam Mahmoud Dicko, one of the leaders of the protest, told France24 television that they had dropped the demand for the president to resign but wanted further gestures from him. "This is because we think it (the resignation) will cause more problems than it will resolve," Dicko said. "Mali's problem is not about a government of national unity. It is a problem of governance." Other leaders of the coalition said at the rally they still want Keita to resign, however, and said they would persist with the disobedience campaign until he quits. Keita was re-elected in 2018 for a second five-year term but his leadership has faced mounting opposition amid a surge in jihadist violence and an economic crisis. J. Peter Pham, U.S. Special Envoy to the Sahel, warned that any unconstitutional change of government in Mali was out of the question. (Writing by Alessandra Prentice and Bate Felix; Editing by Frances Kerry, Hugh Lawson and Sonya Hepinstall) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Our Divisions Copyright 2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet naming an Islamic State operative from Tamil Nadus Cuddalore Khaja Mohideen and five others in the killing of a police officer in Kanyakumari in January this year as part of Mohideens plan to revive Jehad, the agency said in a statement on Friday. Apart from 53-year-old Mohideen, those charge sheeted include Abdul Shameem and Y Thowfeek of Kanyakumari; Jaffar Ali (Cuddalore); Mahboob Pasha and Ejas Pasha of Bengaluru. NIA spokesperson DIG Sonia Narang said the charge sheet was filed in the murder of Wilson, Special Sub-Inspector (SSI) of Kaliyakkavilai police station, who was shot and stabbed to death on January 8 by Shameem and Thowfeek while the officer was on duty at Kaliyakkavilai market road check post. She added that the accused revealed their intention of creating terror in the minds of people as part of waging a violent jihad. The NIA took over the case on February 1 from the Tamil Nadu Police and during investigation, the roles of Mohideen, Mahboob, Ejas and Jaffer in the larger conspiracy were revealed and they were arraigned as accused. Narang said Mohideen, a member of the ISIS, had radicalised Shameem and Thowfeek on the jihadi (violent extremist) ideology since May 2019, and recruited them into his terrorist gang to carry out violent attacks. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said the Congress has thwarted a brazen attempt to topple his government while accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to buy legislators like goats for the purpose amid the Covid-19 pandemic. His allegations came after the Rajasthan polices Special Operation Group said it has arrested BJP members Bharat Malani and Ashok Singh for allegedly trying to topple the government by offering Rs 20-25 crore bribe each to unspecified legislators. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against the two under Indian Penal Codes sections related to sedition and criminal conspiracy on Friday. The complaint is based on a purported conservation between the two over the phone. According to the FIR, the attempts to topple the government started last month. The Congress has 107 members in the 200-member House and also enjoys the support of 18 other lawmakers. The half-way mark in the assembly is 100; the BJP has 72 legislators. BJP leaders tried to topple the Rajasthan government when the entire administration was busy tackling the coronavirus outbreak. When we all should have been focused on fighting the virus, the ministers, legislators, and leaders had to divert their attention towards saving the government, Gehlot said at a virtual press conference. Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia dismissed Gehlots allegations and said they were a result of infighting within the Congress. This entire strategy has been worked out by the chief minister to prevent factionalism from coming out in the open. His reference is to the uneasy relationship between Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot. Gehlot said Rajasthan did not have a tradition of horse trading and added BJP leaders have become brazen and were promising Rs 10-15 crore to lawmakers to switch allegiances to destabilise his government. The BJP leaders have crossed limits of shamelessness. ...there are markets, where goats are sold...like that the BJP is trying to buy [lawmakers]..., he said. Gehlot alleged the BJP succeeded in buying seven Congress lawmakers in Gujarat to win two Rajya Sabha seats last month. But we thwarted their similar game plan in Rajasthan and, with all our supporters, we won two [Rajya Sabha] seats and taught them a lesson. But they are shameless and are still trying their machinations, he said. Seven Congress lawmakers resigned from the Gujarat assembly and brought down the partys tally in the 182-member House to 66 in the run-up to the June 19 elections to four Rajya Sabha seats from the state. Seventeen lawmakers quit to bring down the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka last year and paved the way for BJPs return to power. The BJP returned to power in Madhya Pradesh as well in March after 22 lawmakers quit and toppled the states Congress government. Gehlot insisted there was no threat to his government and added it will complete its full term in 2023. He attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, saying they cannot tolerate him or his government. Gehlot said the current BJP is different from when Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister between 1998 and 2004. During Vajpayees time, this was not the case. But since 2014, the arrogance in the BJP has come out in the open. They are dividing people on religious and caste lines and murdering democracy. Their thinking is fascist. Poonia said Gehlot was only trying to hide the divide and friction within the Congress and is using BJP as a scapegoat which is not justified. He also accused the CM for crossing the limits of political decency by using derogatory words for the legislators and BJPs central leaders. Poonia said Gehlot called lawmakers, goats and BJP leaders, shameless. This has never happened in Rajasthans politics, Poonia said at a virtual press conference. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Two persons accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case were taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Bengaluru on Saturday night. "Accused Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair have been detained in the Kerala gold smuggling case. They are being examined and will be arrested in due course. They have been detained from BTM Layout in Bengaluru," said the NIS spokesperson. Sources say both were hiding in a hotel in the Karnataka capital when a specific input lead the NIA to them. Both Suresh and Nair are believed to be the main conspirators in the smuggling of 30 kg of gold through diplomatic baggage, which arrived at the International airport in Thiruvananthapuram earlier this week. "Initial inquiries have revealed that the proceeds of smuggled gold could be used for financing terrorism in India," said an NIA official. The agency registered a FIR on Friday and named Suresh, Nair, Sarith and Fazil Fareed as the main accused. The NIA is likely to produce Suresh and Nair in a Kochi court on Sunday. The NIA could also seek the custody of Sarith who was earlier arrested by the Customs Department. By Trend The information that the quarantine regime will be extended for 60 more days is rumors, Assistant to Azerbaijans president, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said. Hajiyev made the remark at the briefing in the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, Trend reports on July 10. The assistant to Azerbaijans president stressed that the decisions are made on the basis of the analysis of the epidemiological situation. "Therefore, a decision will be made depending on the assessment of the situation," Hajiyev said. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Startups COVID-19 has been punishing for the Indian startup founders, but the bug of entrepreneurship is not so forgiving either. It is this itch which has forced Saurabh Soni to take the plunge giving up his position as a business head at Happy Loans, a Mumbai-based lending startup to start his own venture in the middle of a pandemic. Soni has joined hands with Akhilesh Gandhi, a technology professional to start DigiSparsh, a lending startup concentrating on the healthcare space. While lending is a difficult business to be in and COVID-19 has hammered the sector bad, Soni believes healthcare fintech is attractive and is set to grow. Health tech is growing leaps and bounds during the pandemic and going forward consumers will need financial support beyond simple mediclaims and health insurance covers. That is where DigiSparsh intends to build a full scale lending platform for the sector. Citing a Redseer report, Soni said that the healthcare market in India is around $135 billion in size and out of this around $88 billion is in the private sector. Only $8 billion is insured, the remaining $80 billion market is where DigiSparsh will come to play, he said. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show The idea is to replicate the consumer durables lending story in healthcare, something Bajaj Finance has already tried and so have few other new age startups, but Soni wants to do it in a wholesome manner and target the overall ecosystem as such. Just to draw some comparison, Bajaj offers a Health EMI card which allows patients to access quality healthcare through zero cost EMIs at more than 5500 partner clinics across 1,000 cities. In its latest annual report Bajaj Finance said that in its lifestyle finance business the company has funded more than 5.4 lakh transactions, out of which more than a lakh were through the health care finance business. So Soni already has some competition in this space. While he intends to start with invoice discounting for hospitals, only then will he foray into consumer lending or patient financing. The uniqueness of our product lies in going through the aggregator route and capturing the health data from hospitals which can be used for underwriting both hospitals and patients, he said. But healthcare continues to be a difficult market to organise and digitise. Industry experts have pointed out that healthcare as an industry is built on relationships between patients, doctors, suppliers and insurance companies. To break into this nexus is not easy, but Soni is confident. Having scaled up businesses in the past, Soni believes he can replicate the success with DigiSparsh as well. The company will start with two types of products, invoice discounting and consumer loans. Having partnered with aggregators which work in the health space, DigiSparsh gets access to rich transaction data of hospitals. They are building credit models around these hospitals and creating products accordingly. The biggest challenge for hospitals currently is the cashless insurance cases, it takes them 30 to 45 days to get those payments, we can discount these invoices, lend to hospitals to help them in their cash flows, said Soni. Eventually he wants to lend to the hospitals supplier ecosystem as well. Starting up in April 2020 bang in the middle of a raging pandemic, Soni said while it was tough, some factors did help their cause. As of now the company is bootstrapped, but Soni has started some discussions with investors to raise the first round by end of this year. Being in the intersection of health and fintech, Soni believes that investor interest will continue to be there. Further being part of the finance ecosystem for a long time Soni has his contact book full. Before Happy Loans, Soni was the chief executive of Essel Finance and had spent a considerable time at Tata Teleservices before that. Also if you see within three months we have built our tech for the first product already, stitched partnerships with some players, which shows our execution capacity and that will be our differentiator, said Gandhi who doubles up as the chief technology officer of the startup. Further with Gandhi at his side, Soni believes the tech play will also be strong. A postgraduate in computer applications, Gandhi has spent a considerable amount of time in the Silicon Valley. He has served as the tech head at Shopkirana and was also the chief technology officer at IT solutions startup MoreYeahs before this. JOHANNESBURG South African police said five people were dead and more than 40 were arrested after an early-morning hostage crisis at a church near Johannesburg. A statement said the police and the military who responded to reports of a shooting at the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in Zuurbekom found four people shot and burned to death in a car and a security guard shot in another car. Six other people were injured. The police said they rescued men, women and children who had been held hostage and appeared to have been living at the church. The statement didnt say how many were rescued. The police said more than 30 guns were found and the attack by a group of armed people may have been motivated by a feud between church members. Multiple cities in Alameda County will continue to close streets to allow for expanded outdoor dining despite Alameda County's announcement that a new state guidance requires the county to limit restaurants to takeout and delivery. In a statement released late Friday night, Alameda County officials announced that the state now prohibits outdoor dining in counties that have not received a regional variance from state officials. Alameda County and Southern California's Imperial County are the only two counties in the state that have not gone through the attestation process for a variance. "While Alameda County's Health Officer Order allowed for outdoor dining, under this stricter state guidance, all restaurants, wineries, and bars in Alameda County may only be open for drive-through or pick-up/delivery options," the statement reads. In response, officials in Hayward, Livermore, and Pleasanton announced plans to proceed with street closures aimed at creating more outdoor seating, and Oakland officials announced that while street closures will be halted, there will be no local enforcement of the state guidance. The cities noted that the Alameda County health order allowing outdoor dining on June 18 has yet to be formally rescinded or superseded with a new order. "The closure of downtown streets this afternoon and evening to allow for expanded outdoor dining and encourage shopping has been planned and is being carried out in accordance with the current Alameda County Shelter-in-Place Order issued on June 18," Hayward officials wrote in a statement released Saturday afternoon. "The City of Hayward intends to go through with the street closure event as planned and will support local restaurants who choose to participate whether by providing outdoor dining service or just takeout service." Livermore City Manager Marc Roberts directly criticized the county's announcement, stating, "While the press release is confusing and unhelpful, it is not a new Order. Nor has the State of California issued a new Order this evening. In addition, the guidance referred to at the State level is not an Order. So at this point there is not a valid State or County Order to shut down outdoor dining, and I am not going to independently issue a local Order. ... In the absence of new Orders, we will proceed with our street closure." Officials in Pleasanton issued a similar statement and will continue to close streets to support outdoor dining. The city of Oakland announced it is suspending street closures, but will not enforce the new state-mandated guidance. However, state officials may still take action, and the city warned restaurants accordingly. "The State has chosen to issue orders to shut down businesses in other counties and may choose to do so for Alameda County," city officials wrote in a statement released Saturday. "While the Citys enforcement has not changed, the State may enforce the ban on outdoor dining in Alameda County, including issuing citations. We share this information so business owners may make informed decisions on their daily operations." The city of Berkeley is under a separate health jurisdiction from Alameda County, and Mayor Jesse Arrequin tweeted, "While we are an independent health agency, until we get approval of seeking our own variance, we are under the strict guidance of the state. The stricter order is what must be complied, which means we have to close outdoor dining. We are hoping to change this." Alameda County plans to apply for a regional variance next week. Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Dublin planned to close streets to accommodate outdoor dining. The city is not closing streets, but is choosing to not enforce the new guidance until the county receives more information from state and county officials. MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. San Francisco releases guidelines for schools Coronavirus cases increasing at UC Berkeley due to frat parties Bay Area coronavirus hospitalizations continue to rise - but there's a catch America is running short on masks, gowns and gloves. Again. Health official: Trump rally 'likely' source of virus surge Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting Every year, American libraries feature displays of banned books to promote freedom of speech and of the press. Of course, the books they display arent banned; hence their ability to display them. The books are titles like Ulysses, Catcher in the Rye, Lady Chatterlys Lover, and so on. This reflects the fact that for close to a century, no books were actually banned in the United States. But book banning is back. Amazon dominates U.S. book sales (42% of physical books and 89% of e-books, according to Bloomberg) and will sell pretty much anything. You can buy books by Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Mao Tse Tung and Noam Chomsky. But you cant buy China Virus by Canadian Ezra Levant. China Virus criticizes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus relationship with Communist China and in particular his policies regarding the Wuhan virus. Why did Amazon ban China Virus? Because Due to the rapidly changing nature of information around the COVID-19 virus, we are referring customers to official sources for health information about the virus. As a result we are not offering your book for sale. This despite the fact that China Virus, according to its author, reached #1 in Canadian Kindle sales. Amazons position makes no sense, obviously. China Virus is not a medical tract, it is a critique of the policies of Canadas Prime Minister. But Amazons response is chilling nonetheless. Only official sources can be heard, apparently. It is the execrable Dr. Fauci or nothing. This is one more reminder of why big government loves big business. If the U.S. government tried to ban China Virus legally, it would have a problem with that pesky First Amendment. (I assume something similar would be true in Canada.) But Amazon, as a private company, like Facebook and Twitter, can ban to its hearts content in service of official sources. Anyone who doesnt find this frightening fails to understand how the modern world works, and where it is trending. Rehan Staton, a hard-working college student from Maryland, landed a spot at one of the most prestigious law schools in the country after collecting garbage to make ends meet. "It was the people that were on the bottom of the hierarchy who really lifted me up," Staton told CBS News of his path to Harvard Law School. "It helps me keep my eyes on the prize. If this were just about me and just fighting for myself, I definitely would have quit." Staton spent years waking up in the early morning hours to collect trash for Bates Trucking & Trash Removal before attending class at the University of Maryland. It was an arduous job that left him no time to shower, he recalled to the Boston Globe, and he often sat in the back of his lecture halls to steer clear of classmates. But the 24-year-old worked this tireless schedule to overcome some of the numerous obstacles he's faced. From an early age, Staton said his father struggled to raise him and his older brother as a single parent. My mom abandoned my dad, my brother and I when she moved back to Sri Lanka, Staton told the newspaper. I was probably too young to notice some of the things that happened, but I know it was bad. RELATED: Harvard Announces Plans for Students to 'Learn Remotely' for 2020-21 School Year with No Change in Tuition "Things just kept falling on us," Staton said. "My dad lost his job at one point and had to start working three jobs in order to provide for us. It got to the point where I barely got to see my father, and a lot of my childhood was very lonely." These financial difficulties often meant the family went without food or electricity, Staton recalled. Despite this, Staton excelled in high school while also training to become a professional boxer. But his dreams were diverted when he experienced a double shoulder injury during his senior year, CNN reported. When he didn't get into college, Staton signed up to become a sanitation worker and the experience would be life-changing. Story continues "It was the first time in my life people were lifting me up for the sake of lifting me up and not because I was good at sports," Staton told the outlet. Soon, a higher-up at the company caught wind of Staton's story and took him to meet a professor at Bowie State University. That professor eventually persuaded the university's admissions board to allow Staton to enroll, and he started that year. RELATED VIDEO: Lori Loughlin & Mossimo Giannulli Deeply Regret What They Did in College Admissions Scandal: Source Staton later transferred to the University of Maryland and set his sights on going to law school. But during his studies, his father experienced a stroke, and Staton rejoined Bates Trucking & Trash Removal to support his family and continue his schooling. "We all took losses and made sacrifices to take care of each other," Staton told the Boston Globe. After graduating in 2018, Staton took an analyst job at a consulting firm in Washington D.C. He eventually applied to law school, and was accepted to Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California and Pepperdine University. (Georgetown University; New York University; the University of California, Berkeley; and UCLA placed him on their waitlist.) RELATED: Harvard Will Not Take Coronavirus Money for Students After Trump Criticized Them, Pointing to Their Endowment Ultimately, Staton chose Harvard Law School, and he'll start class this fall. A GoFundMe has been set up to raise funds for Staton's tuition and has raised more than $46,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. "When I look back at my experiences, I like to think that I made the best of the worst situation," Staton told CNN. "Each tragedy I faced forced me out of my comfort zone, but I was fortunate enough to have a support system to help me thrive in those predicaments." Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. South Africas confirmed coronavirus cases have doubled in two weeks to a quarter of a million, while India has seen its biggest daily spike as its total passed 800,000. Inequality concerns are growing, as health workers seek better protection while some among the wealthy are hoarding equipment at home. Globally more than 12 million people have been infected by the virus, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. More than half a million have died. (PA Graphics) Shortages of testing materials and poor data collection in some countries mean the true numbers are unknown. Some of the worst-affected nations are among the worlds most unequal. In Johannesburg at South Africas epicentre, badly-needed oxygen concentrators, which help people with Covid-19 breathe, are hard to find as private businesses and individuals are buying them up, according to public health specialist Lynne Wilkinson, who volunteers at a field hospital. Meanwhile South Africas struggling public hospitals are short on medical oxygen and they are now seeing a higher proportion of deaths than in private ones, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said. A pupils hands are sanitised on returning to school in Johannesburg (Denis Farrell/AP) South Africa now has more than 250,000 confirmed cases, including more than 3,800 deaths. To complicate matters, the countrys struggling power utility has announced new electricity cuts in the dead of winter as a cold front brings freezing weather. Many of the urban poor live in shacks of scrap metal and wood. And in Kenya, some have been outraged by a local newspaper report citing sources as saying several governors have installed intensive care unit equipment in their homes. The country lost its first doctor to Covid-19 this week. The welfare, occupational safety & health of frontline workers is a non-negotiable minimum, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union tweeted after her death. On Saturday, the union and other medical groups called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to implement a promised compensation package to ease the anxiety and fear that has now gripped healthcare workers. Story continues KMPDU mourns the death of Dr. Doreen Adisa Lugaliki who passed on due to COVID-19 contracted at the work place. We reiterate & remind GOK & ALL Private health facilities that the Welfare,Occupational Safety & Health of frontline workers is a non-negotiable Minimum!! KMPDU (@kmpdu) July 10, 2020 More than 8,000 health workers across Africa have been infected, half of them in South Africa. The continent of 1.3 billion has the worlds lowest levels of health staffing and more than 550,000 cases, and the pandemic is reaching full speed, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. Many parts of the world are now struggling with trying to reopen their economies and facing a fresh wave of infections. In India, which reported a new daily high of 27,114 cases on Saturday, nearly a dozen states have imposed a partial lockdown in high-risk areas. A surge in infections saw cases jumping from 600,000 to more than 800,000 in nine days. The total is now 820,916. Health workers wearing protective clothing arrive to screen people for Covid-19 symptoms at a slum in Mumbai, India (Rafiq Maqbool/AP) Infected people are packing Indias public hospitals as many are unable to afford private ones that generally maintain higher standards of care. Officials on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa said dozens of marines have been infected at two US bases in what is feared to be a massive outbreak. The officials said the US military had asked that the exact figure not be released. We now have strong doubts that the US military has taken adequate disease prevention measures, prefecture governor Denny Tamaki said. In Australia, the beleaguered state of Victoria received some good news with health officials reporting 216 new cases in the past 24 hours, down from the record 288 the previous day. It hopes a new six-week lockdown in Melbourne, Australias second-largest city with a population of 5 million, will curb the spread. And in Latin America, where inequality is sharp and Brazil and Peru are among the worlds five most badly hit countries, the Covid-19 pandemic is sweeping through the continents leadership, with two more presidents and powerful officials testing positive in the past week. Flash The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) won 83 of the 93 parliamentary seats in Singapore's general election, Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui said on Saturday. The PAP won the election with 61.24 percent of votes, compared to 69.86 percent in last election in 2015. The Workers' Party (WP), which got six seats in the 2015 election, won 10 seats this year. A total of 191 candidates from 11 political parties and an independent candidate competed for 93 seats in the election, which is organized into 14 Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) and 17 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). The PAP won the 83 seats from 13 SMCs and 15 GRCs, while WP retained the 10 seats from Hougang SMC, Aljunied GRC and Sengkang GRC. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his team won Ang Mo Kio GRC with 71.91 percent of the votes. Lee told a press conference that the percentage of popular votes the PAP won in the election was not as high as he had hoped. Nevertheless, the result reflected broad-based supports for the PAP, he added. The prime minister, also PAP's secretary-general, said he was honored and humbled by the faith Singaporeans had put in the ruling party and the heavy responsibility Singaporeans had entrusted with the party. "I will use this mandate responsibly to deal with COVID-19 and economic downturn, and to take us safely through the crisis and beyond," he said. Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, along with his East Coast GRC team members, won with 53.41 percent of the votes. Heng moved from Tampines GRC to East Coast GRC this year. The PAP took 83 of the 89 seats in the 2015 election with 69.86 percent of the popular votes, which was higher than the 60.14-percent gain in 2011. Chris Evans and Lily James continue to spark romance rumors following their second sighting in London. The two enjoyed a night out in London over the weekend and later got extra cozy during an adorable date in a park. The actors have not confirmed that they are together, but an insider claims that their romance started before the lockdown went into effect a few months back. Chris Evans | Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images Chris Evans sparks romance rumors When the coronavirus pandemic first hit, Evans isolated in his house in Massachusetts but managed to say in the spotlight. The actor took part in some promotions for Defending Jacob and even did an interview with his Marvel co-star Paul Rudd. But as countries began to ease restrictions, Evans flew to London where he recently sparked romance rumors with James. Reports of a romance surfaced after Evans and James were spotted at the same club in London. The pair left the venue in the same taxi and drove to his hotel, The Corinthia Hotel, where she was seen joining Captain America himself inside. Considering how there is currently a ban on Americans traveling abroad, it is interesting that James was allowed inside the hotel. Although Evans likely got in the country because he is filming Little Shop of Horrors, Americans are supposed to quarantine themselves for two weeks. This has raised a bunch of questions about the nature of Evans relationship with James, with some fans speculating that their romance may have started a while ago. Inside the UKs bubble rules With coronavirus cases on the rise in America, Cinema Blend reports that those traveling to the UK are supposed to quarantine themselves and then remain in their own bubbles to help prevent the spread of the virus. There are various classifications of bubbles, including ones for family and work. With Evans visiting the UK for a film, he should only be in contact with people that are working on the same project. It is unclear why Evans and James were allowed to hang out with each other given the bubble restrictions. We cannot confirm that they are dating, but this would allow them to spend time together without violating any of the rules. James was last linked to Matt Smith (The Crown). The two parted ways in December after dating for five years. They reportedly got back together, however, during the lockdown and were last spotted together in May of this year. While the Captain America star and James have not confirmed that they are dating, there seems to be somewhat of an overlap because an inside source claims that their romance started before the coronavirus pandemic. How long have Lily James and Chris Evans been dating? Amid all the speculation about Evans and James, an anonymous source told @deuxmoiworld that their romance actually started a few months ago. It is unclear where the source got their information, but they assured fans that the two have been dating for quite a while. The insider stated that they have known James since she was a kid and that the actress has been dating Evans since before the lockdown. Although we cannot back up the sources claims, Evans and James were spotted together a second time after their hotel rendezvous. A few days ago, the two enjoyed what looked like a date in the park. via deuxmoi Evans and James kept the outing casual and got some ice cream before sitting in a park in London. They both appeared to have a blast together and couldnt stop laughing throughout their conversation. Back in January, Evans revealed that he was a single man. He has previously noted that he wants to settle down and start a family, while sources say that he is also looking to be more private with his love life. We dont know if Evans and James have started a romance, but they certainly looked the part during their adorable date in the park. Considering how Evans is trying to keep his relationships private, it might be a while before we get official confirmation. A week after cancelling a 900-crore deal with China, chairman of Hero Cycles, Pankaj Munjal, spoke to Hindustan Times about alternatives being explored and how investing in indigenously-made cycle components is the future. Talking about the road ahead, Munjal said they are localising components with domestic vendors as well as resourcing from European makers. Our supplier base has shown great support in this initiative and are now investing in indigenous development of the parts that we would generally import. They understand this needs to be done in an accelerated manner. Our most recently added research and development centre in Berlin is leading the charge in this. Secondly, we are now looking at Germany, which is also our European base, as the alternative source. There are many high-quality suppliers in Europe that already work with our group company, HNF GmbH in Germany, and are more than keen to partner with us for India, he said. Munjal admits that it was easy to send product teams to China, get quotes and then order. But it was not right, he adds. With German R&D support, we are committed to introduce new technologies to India which would be a credible alternative to the China where IPs and patents remain insecure. Talking about the impact of the cancellation of deal with China on the price of cycle parts, Munjal says negotiations with European parts suppliers are underway for this. In many models, our approach is to upgrade the product with higher quality and better functioning German component which may increase the price a little but will tremendously increase value offered to customers by making the product superior in its class, he added. Talking about the 900-crore deal that has been cancelled, Munjal said the time frame for the deal was around five years, which included life cycle of existing models and new models under development for next year. The deal included import of some high-end bicycles and e-bikes which would be readily substituted with German products without much cost impact. It January this year, the R&D centre in Berlin was added, which is part of Heros acquisition in Germany, he adds. Components such as complex alloy frames, bicycle drivetrain, E-bike motor, battery and controllers, wheels and rims and disc brakes are all being imported from China and we are actively looking at indigenisation of these components, Munjal said. The US withdrawal from the Inermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has become an irreparable mistake, which makes the return to the agreement impossible, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with the Duma TV channel on Friday, TASS reports. "I would like to say that several mistakes, committed by the US, entailed irreparable consequences. One of those huge mistakes, for example, is Washingtons unilateral withdrawal from the INF Treaty. Its evident that there can be no return to this document, which served as a solid foundation for European security for decades," the Russian diplomat said. Speaking about Washingtons mistakes in relations with Russia, the deputy minister noted "US reluctance to deal with humanitarian issues," in particular the refusal to cooperate on repatriating Russian citizens, convicted in the US "for contrived reasons." "Im also ready to admit my own mistake: apparently, I underestimated how persistent our US colleagues can be in following dogmas and cliches, which, to put it mildly, seem inadequate to us. We should have worked with more energy at various stages. We will continue this work," Ryabkov added. He went on to say that given how profound the crisis in Russian-US relations is, the tactics of small steps will be the only way to overcome it. According to the deputy minister, Russia calls upon the United States to search for compromises, but will not sacrifice its national interests or agree to impossible requirements, deliberately put forward by Washington in an attempt to avoid solving true problems. Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties? No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer. Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties. The safe reintegration of the temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions will take 25 years at least. "Ukraine must be ready for the fact that safe reintegration will take much time. The safe reintegration is my red line. Even if we hold elections in those territories tomorrow, which means that they will be free from the occupying forces, and there will be no illegal armed formations, and Ukrainian flags will be hoisted there, this territory will remain a territory of war for a long time. Both in terms of mine contamination and the mentality of people Therefore, safe reintegration will take 25 years at least," Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with Glavkom online media outlet. In his opinion, a new generation should appear so that the restored Ukraines control in the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions will also result in overcoming the discord. "Because children were already born there who do not know a free Ukraine, and today they go to school. Therefore, this [reintegration] will take much time in any case, and we have to prepare for it," the official said. ol Roger Stone arrives with his wife, Nydia, at the federal courthouse on Nov. 15, 2019, the day a jury found him guilty of seven felony counts. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison. (Erik S. Lesser / EPA/Shutterstock) President Trump has commuted the prison sentence of Roger Stone, a longtime confidant and Republican operative who was found guilty last year of seven felony counts, including witness tampering and lying to Congress during the Russia investigation. Stone was to report to prison on Tuesday to start serving 40 months behind bars. Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia. She said Stone, 67, would be at serious medical risk in prison. Trump had long argued that Stone was improperly targeted by federal prosecutors, and he repeatedly hinted that he would grant clemency to Stone. Ill be looking at it, Trump had told reporters earlier Friday. I think Roger Stone was very unfairly treated, as were many people. Unlike a pardon, a sentence commutation does not erase the conviction. It leaves the felonies on Stones record but allows him to avoid prison. Stone has remained unrepentant. The decision marks the latest effort by Trump and his administration to undo the work of former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who successfully prosecuted several members of the presidents inner circle as part of his investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 election. Stones case became a focus of concerns about political meddling in criminal cases after Atty. Gen. William Barr overruled his own prosecutors in February and requested a lower sentence for Stone. Four career prosecutors withdrew from the case, one of whom quit. Barr, however, signaled in an interview with ABC News this month that he disagreed with Trump and believed Stone should still spend time behind bars. The prosecution was righteous, and I think the sentence that the judge ultimately gave was fair, Barr said. Story continues Barrs handling of cases stemming from the Russia inquiry has been controversial. In May, he asked a federal judge to drop the felony charge against Michael Flynn, Trumps first national security advisor, even though Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents. That case is still pending. Although Stone was convicted of seven felony counts and sentenced to more than three years in prison, he was free as he appealed his conviction. Witnesses at Stones trial said he communicated with Trump and other top campaign advisors during the 2016 campaign about WikiLeaks plans to release emails stolen from Democratic Party computers. Prosecutors never established that Stone had coordinated with WikiLeaks, but they said Stone lied to the House Intelligence Committee to cover up his efforts and to protect Trump. They said he also encouraged Randy Credico, a comedian and talk show host, to withhold information from lawmakers. Testimony from the trial cast doubt on the presidents written answers to Mueller, in which Trump denied recalling any conversations Stone had with him or his campaign about WikiLeaks. He was not prosecuted, as some have complained, for standing up for the president, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said at Stones sentencing. He was prosecuted for covering up for the president. Stone worked in Republican politics for decades and famously has a portrait of Richard Nixon tattooed on his back. Over the years he developed a reputation as a dapper and quotable purveyor of political dirty tricks. During the Watergate era, he donated money to a Democratic campaign in the name of the Young Socialist Alliance and then leaked the information to a local newspaper to embarrass his opponents. Ive always made it clear that I practice hardball politics, but I draw the line at breaking the law, Stone told The Times in 2018. Stone found a kindred spirit in Trump, who gained political influence by promoting false claims that President Obama wasnt born in the United States, and he worked for years as an informal political advisor to Trump. Stone left his official position in the Trump campaign in 2015 under acrimonious circumstances, but he continued to speak with Trump and some of his top aides. As Mueller began to build a case against Stone, Trump publicly praised him for not cooperating with prosecutors, calling him very brave. There is evidence that the president intended to reinforce Stones public statements that he would not cooperate with the government when the president likely understood that Stone could potentially provide evidence that would be adverse to the president, said a recently unredacted portion of the Mueller report. Stone appealed for a pardon even as the jury was deliberating at the end of his trial, working through Alex Jones, founder of the conspiracy website Infowars. Jones delivered what he said was a message from Stone on his radio show. Alex, barring a miracle, I appeal to God and I appeal to your listeners for prayer, and I appeal to the president to pardon me because to do so would be an action that would show these corrupt courts that theyre not going to get away with persecuting people for their free speech or for the crime of getting the president elected, Stone said, according to Jones. Trump appeared to agree with that sentiment, tweeting after the jury pronounced Stone guilty that Stone may have been subject to a double standard like never seen before in the history of our Country. Trumps use of his clemency power has stirred controversy before. He overturned the conviction of Joe Arpaio, the former Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff who was found in criminal contempt for violating a federal court order to stop racially profiling Latinos. In November 2019, he cleared three soldiers accused or convicted of war crimes after heavy lobbying that included appeals on conservative media. And he pardoned Dinesh Joseph D'Souza, a conservative writer who had been convicted of campaign finance violations. Community mourns after search for missing girl ends in tragedy KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) -- A community's search for a missing three-year-old girl ended tragically Friday when police announced they'd found what they believe to be the body of Olivia Jansen in the woods near 34th and Steele. "We all still hold each other's hand in grief when bad things happen to the children in our neighborhood," one resident said. Father of 3-year-old KCK girl booked into jail after daughter found dead KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The father of 3-year-old Olivia Jansen has been booked into jail just hours after his daughter was found dead in Kansas City, Kansas. Howard Jansen III has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse of unknown circumstance and first-degree murder, according to Wyandotte County Jail booking logs. Group prays for end of violence in Kansas City Members of seven different churches gathered at Mill Creek Park Thursday to pray for peace. Some of the faithful said federal agents are not enough. Neighbors feel loss after search for girl, 3, ends Neighbors said they are trying to understand what happened at the home of Olivia Ann Jansen, 3. Police said Friday evening that they believe they have found the toddler's body near a walking trail at 34th Street and Steele Road."Everybody's crying," neighbor Holli Denney said.Neighbors are reacting after an extremely emotional day and concerns for a family friend and her daughter. 'Beautiful ceremony': Family celebrates life of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Hundreds of people attended the private funeral service for 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro on Friday. Family and friends delivered words of reflection, song, scripture and prayer during the hour-long service. "Although we would rather him be here with us, it was just beautiful. White House announces 'Operation: Legend' effort in Kansas City WASHINGTON, (KCTV) - The White House announced Wednesday a plan to send federal agents in to Kansas City in an attempt to address growing levels of violence in the city. "Operation: Legend" is being touted by the Department of Justice as a response to the surge in violent crime in Kansas City. Protesters in KC push back against Operation Legend KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Kansas City residents are pushing back against Operation Legend. Earlier this week we learned federal agents are coming to Kansas City. The White House says it's to combat violent crime in KC. On Friday, there was a protest downtown right outside KCPD headquarters. Tonight we reflect on the innocent of Kansas City threatened by a rise in homicide.The nightmarish Kansas City spate of violence surging across the metro has resulted two very real tragedies which resonate far more deeply than any political campaign or movement.3-year-old Olivia Jansen was found dead in KCK earlier today as an abuse investigation unfolds.4-year-old LeGend Taliferro was laid to rest today after he was shot dead in his sleep. His killer remains at large.Two dead youngsters should remind us that American politics is nothing more than bad theater and protecting innocent lives remains infinitely more important than gaining a rhetorical advantage for social media arguments. Sadly, as the murder count continues to rise in the shadow plague and death across the nation, it's unclear if anyone is attempting to learn from one catastrophe after the next.And so we share these links to more resources and information for our most dedicated readers . . .Developing . . . In this file photo, a demonstrator takes a knee in support of George Floyd during a march that ended at the Philadelphia School District Headquarters in early June. Read more Angela Crawford has said it for years: Philadelphia schools cant make meaningful improvements until theres a reckoning over the racial injustices that underpin the education system. As a veteran English teacher at Martin Luther King High School, Crawford has lamented a lack of cultural competence and systems that disadvantage Black children and other students of color, leading to disparities in achievement, discipline, and access to elite classes and schools. The way to begin fixing it, she said, is a move toward antiracist curriculum and away from practices that center only on the experiences of white people. Antiracism, Crawford said, needs to be the overarching theme of every single school in the city. In a post-George Floyd world, as Black students speak out about their experiences with racism inside schools, its an idea whose time has come in a growing number of school systems. On Sunday, teachers and education supporters are planning to rally and march up Broad Street for racial justice, underscoring the ways they believe the Philadelphia School District must change, from equity boards in schools and a curricular overhaul to ridding buildings of environmental toxins and making ethnic, indigenous, and Black studies courses available at all levels. As educators released their demands this week, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. announced the formation of a district-wide equity coalition and pledged policy and curricular changes that have not been laid out yet, as well as ongoing antiracist staff training and other work in the school system of about 125,000 students, a majority of them Black or brown and taught by an overwhelmingly white teaching force. READ MORE: Philly-area students, alumni are demanding their schools address systemic racism Philadelphias actions are happening as some school districts across the nation are moving in the same direction. Detroits school board recently promised antiracist measures; closer to home, the Bethlehem, Pa., district has done the same, and its superintendent, Joseph Roy, has said that our curriculum needs to expose our students to the history and horrors of racism. The American Association of School Administrators has called upon its members to move beyond equity into antiracism because we are living at a time of obscene inequities and merely trying to compensate is not enough, said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director. Now is the time for all educational leaders to intensify our commitment to address inequities and work to dismantle systemic racism. For those Philadelphia teachers for whom the call isnt new, the need to march Sunday is still urgent. School leaders are speaking out now, but problems have persisted for generations and they fear the change offered by the system will be cursory, gone when Floyds death no longer commands news headlines. Its not a do this checklist and now youre cured, said Crawford. In Philadelphia, Black students are 3.1 times more likely to be suspended as white students; white students are 1.5 times more likely to be enrolled in Advanced Placement courses as Black students, according to a ProPublica analysis of federal education data. Black and brown students are experiencing systemic racism and discrimination at every turn in the Philadelphia School District, said Keziah Ridgeway, a history teacher at Northeast High. Enough is enough. Its time to challenge what has become normal and reenvision and implement a just and equitable education system. The work will not be easy, and it must be shared by white educators, some said. Kathy Cohen Volin, a white teacher at Greenberg Elementary in Northeast Philadelphia and member of Building Anti-Racist White Educators (BARWE), a coalition of city teachers, said that not all her colleagues are comfortable with her call for change or inclusion of a Black Lives Matter curriculum. (A group of Philadelphia educators has developed the curriculum, based on state and district content standards; it is not endorsed by the district.) But the work is crucial, Volin said, and must push into schools where such conversations are not common. We all need to look at our own internal racism, which is painful, Volin said. Ive cried over it, thinking about how I interacted with Black male students. We just all need to do more to help, to change the structures in our schools and in our district. Still, Volin said, it feels as if Floyds death was a turning point. After the unarmed man was killed by Minneapolis police, even her seventh-grade students who had expressed more conservative viewpoints in the past said change was needed. Public opinion has shifted, said Volin. Teachers went from feeling like, I feel unprepared to talk about racism, so maybe I shouldnt,' to It doesnt matter that I dont know how to talk about this, we need to talk about it. Other local schools have pledged action on racial equity issues, many in answer to student concerns: Cherry Hill has said it will examine its curriculum and do more to teach Black history; Germantown Friends said it is working to create and implement a comprehensive approach to antiracism; before students return to school in the fall, Lower Merion staff will have training on equity and antiracism. Philadelphia School District officials said changes will begin when students return to school in September. District staff is already examining and infusing antiracism into the social studies curriculum, and other subjects will eventually be addressed. But the goal to amplify the work of activists goes well beyond that, said Estelle Acquah, a special projects director working on antiracism. This is an organizational-wide effort, said Acquah. Nothing is off the table. Were looking at what policy changes we need to make as a system, but also how we affect every worker in the systems thoughts and beliefs. Equity has been a focus of his administration, Hite said; it is accelerating. I think the collective will is different now, he said. New Delhi: Chinese military put up an elaborate display of its air strike capablities by showcasing the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter for the first time in public domain on Tuesday. The Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter made its maiden apperance at Airshow China, the country's biggest meeting of aircraft makers and buyers in the southern city of Zhuhai. Airshow China, offers Beijing an opportunity to demonstrate its ambitions in civil aerospace and to underline its defence ambitions. China is set to overtake the U.S. as the world's top aviation market in the next decade. Two J-20 jets, Zhuhai's headline act, swept over dignitaries and hundreds of spectators and industry executives gathered at the show's opening ceremony in a 60-second flypast, generating a deafening roar that was met with gasps and applause and set off car alarms in a parking lot at the site. "It is clearly a big step forward in Chinese combat capability," said Bradley Perrett of Aviation Week, a veteran China watcher. Analysts say it is too early to say to what extent the new Chinese fighter can match the radar-evading properties of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor air-to-air combat jet, developed for the U.S. Air Force and the J-20's closest lookalike, or the latest strike jet in the U.S. arsenal, Lockheed's F-35. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. In Pics: PM Modi to inaugurate new campus of Classical Tamil institute in Chennai today India has everything needed to be hub for medical tourism: PM Modi Son of former SBI employee held for opening fake bank branch in Tamil Nadu India oi-Briti Roy Barman Chennai, July 11: Son of former SBI employee, including three people have been arrested by the Tamil Nadu police for running a duplicate branch of State Bank of India. The fraud bank has been running as an SBI branch in Panruti has been busted in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. The plan to run a duplicate bank was hatched by the 19-year-old Kamal Babu, son of former bank employees. Viral posts claiming 'Cycle girl Jyoti Paswan was raped, murdered in Bihar's Darbhanga is FAKE Kamal Babu's father passed away 10 years ago and his mother Lakshmi retired from a bank two years ago. Kamal, who was unemployed, came up with the idea of duplicating a branch of SBI. The duplicate branch was opened three months back. It came under lens when an SBI customer noticed it and informed his Branch manager. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News The matter was later escalated to the Zonal office, and it informed that only two branches of SBI are running in Panruti, there was no third branch opened in the area. The SBI officials who visited the duplicate branch were stunned seeing the entire set up which exactly looked like a bank branch. The officials immediately filed a complaint and three people were arrested. As per the report, the police arrested three people including the mastermind, Kamal Babu, an unemployed youth whose parents were former bank employees. The other two who were arrested by the police, include a person, Kumar (42), who runs the printing press from where all the receipts, challans were printed and the other person, Manickam (52), owns a rubber stamp making company, printed rubber stamps. The police have said that no transactions had taken place in the branch and no one has been duped so far by the bank. On a same note, in 2018, Uttar Pradesh Police had arrested a man, Aafaq Ahmed for opening a fake branch of the Karnataka Bank in Ballia city. Police recovered Rs 1.37 lakh in cash which Ahmed had collected by opening savings and fixed deposits accounts for local residents. In snap general polls conducted amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Singapore's People's Action Party has won 61% popular vote and retained power in 90% of contested seats, but the opposition also records historic high as support for PAP takes a slight plunge. Singapores ruling Peoples Action Party (PAP) secured victory in the Fridays general election, which also saw opposition Workers Party (WP) winning record 10 seats. PAP has formed the next government with final results showing it won almost 90 per cent of 93 seats contested, reported South China Morning Post. As per the report, while the ruling party which is in power since 1959 won 15 multi-seat constituencies and 13 single-seat wards, with a vote share of 61.24 per cent of all votes cast, the opposition Workers Party (WP) won a record 10 seats, retaining the five-seat Aljunied constituency. Well, its not as strong a mandate as I hoped for, but its a good mandate, I think the popular vote, 61 per cent is very respectable, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was quoted as saying. Also read: US-EU alliance against China: Mike Pompeo dials German Foreign Minister Also read: China warns US of reciprocal measures over sanctions on CCP officials According to a report in The Straits Times, the PAP won 61.24 per cent of the votes, an 8.7-point swing from its 69.9 per cent share in the 2015 polls. The polls in Singapore had been extended by two hours as polling stations were witnessing long lines as people are taking precautions o to ensure social distancing amid Covid-19 pandemic. As the polls were held amid the Covid-19 pandemic, mask-wearing citizens were seen casting their ballots under strict precautions to ensure social distancing. The number of polling stations had been increased from 880 to 1,100 from the last elections in order to reduce overcrowding. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had called the snap vote in June, soon after the easing of a two-month partial lockdown, citing the need to urgently refresh the PAPs mandate during what he termed a crisis of a generation. The governments term was due to end in January. Also read: UN lauds Indias efforts in the field of renewable energy For all the latest World News, download NewsX App (Newser) Ford Motor Co. makes about two-thirds of America's police vehicles, so a recent ask by some of the automaker's workers in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd, racism, and police brutality is a significant one: They want the company to consider not making and selling police vehicles, including repurposed F-150s and a modified Explorer known as the Interceptor. "We, the undersigned employees, call for Ford to cease development, production, and sale of all custom police vehicles and products," reads a letter written by about 100 employees, some of whom are Black staffers with Ford's African-Ancestry Network, an employee resource group, per the Detroit Free Press and the Verge. "Our resources can and should be diverted to other forms of first response and public safety." story continues below The employees say in the letter they want some kind of action by July 15, per Jalopnik, which notes that white employees joined their Black colleagues in penning the message. It's not exactly clear how this will play out, but signaling from top brass suggests that police vehicles will, for now, still be on the production lines. Ford CEO Jim Hackett wrote an internal response to employees on July 1, stating his support for racial justice, and also for first responders. "We will ... continue to be a powerful voice for Black Lives Matter, holding ourselves accountable for significant change, while also continuing to help keep communities safe by producing Police Interceptors and partnering with law enforcement in new ways to strongly support the safety for all members of society," Hackett writes (full letter here). Jalopnik's in-depth analysis of what's going on is worth a full read. (Read more Ford stories.) North Korea has warned Britain will 'pay the price' for putting two organisations on its sanctions list. The British government has said the two organisations are involved in forced labour, torture and murder in North Korean prison camps. The move is part of the first sanctions under Britain's new global human rights regime. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced sanctions against 49 organisations and individuals who are accused of human rights abuses on July 6. He said the new sanctions regime will target people responsible for the 'very worst human rights abuses around the world'. The organisations in North Korea have been named as the Ministry of State Security Bureau 7 and Ministry of Peoples Security Correctional Bureau. North Korea denounced Britain for announcing sanctions against two organisations the British government has said are involved in forced labour, torture and murder in prison camps. Pictured: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement carried on state media KCNA: 'Britains latest move is a flagrant political plot to jump on the bandwagon of the United States inimical policy. 'We strongly condemn and reject the UKs daring to impose sanctions on the institutions responsible for our countrys security as violent interference in domestic affairs.' The sanctions will enable ministers to impose travel bans and to freeze the assets of both state officials and non-state actors. The organisations and individuals are from four different nations, including 25 from Russia and 20 from Saudi Arabia. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced sanctions against 49 organisations and individuals who are accused of human rights abuses on July 6 The rest are from North Korea and Myanmar. Mr Raab told MPs the UK's first sanctions for human rights abuses will cover those involved in the deaths of the Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, as well as Mr Khashoggi, the systemic killings of the Rohingya population in Myanmar and the North Korean gulags. North Korea and the United States have failed to find a compromise over North Koreas nuclear weapons programme or international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang. Recent North Korean statements, including one by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un, have reiterated Pyongyangs objections to what it sees as hostile and self-serving policies of the United States. She said another summit with the United States would only be useful for Washington at this point, but added that her country had no intention of 'threatening the US', according to state media. Kim said in her personal opinion another summit between leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump might not happen this year 'but we never know', news agency KCNA reported on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday he was 'very hopeful' about resuming talks with North Korea and appeared to leave open the possibility of another summit between the countries leaders. Kim Yo Jongs comments came a day after the U.S. point man for North Korea, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, wrapped up a three-day visit to Seoul where he rejected speculation he was seeking to meet North Korean officials during his trip, but said the United States was open to talks. In a recent statement Kim Yo Jong reiterated Pyongyangs objections to what it sees as hostile and self-serving policies of the United States Recent North Korean statements have rejected the idea of new talks, and Kim reiterated Pyongyangs objections to what it sees as hostile and self-serving policies by the United States, including continuing to impose sanctions. Kim Yo Jong said: 'We are not saying we will never denuclearize, but we are making it clear that we cannot do it now.' She added: 'We have no intention of threatening the U.S. As long as they dont touch us and hurt us, everything will flow as is.' Her comments were couched in a somewhat softer tone than previous statements. She even noted she had received special permission to view recordings of the recent Fourth of July Independence Day celebrations in the United States. Russia threatened to retaliate after Britain sanctioned officials including Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the powerful Investigative Committee which reports directly to President Vladimir Putin. The Russian embassy in London said in statement: 'The Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures in connection with Britain's hostile decision.' The mission said Moscow was particularly outraged by the sanctioning of top directors of Russia's Investigative Committee and General Prosecutor's Office as well as judges. Turkey's Assyrians Worry About Declining Community, Fragile Heritage Members of the Assyrian Christian community arrive to attend a Sunday mass at the More Benham Kirklar Church in Mardin, south-eastern Turkey. ( AFP) Gulgoze, Turkey -- Turkish Assyrian leaders are worried about the future of their community in Turkey. They have become a small minority despite a slight recent increase in population figures, and their churches, houses and schools are disappearing while their youth continue to leave the country. Assyrians, one of the oldest communities in the Middle East, are trying to preserve what remains of their heritage, like the sixth century church in south-eastern Turkey where dozens of Assyrian Christian women, men and children in their Sunday best attend a service, one of only a few held in their ancient homeland. They are among the nearly 4,000 Assyrians left in the region after violence and poverty forced the community to leave Turkey in the 20th century. They are now scattered across Europe, with over 100,000 living in Germany, nearly 100,000 in Sweden and tens of thousands in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Assyrian Christians, also known as Syriacs, are part of the eastern Christian tradition and pray in Aramaic, which Jesus is believed to have spoken. Yuhanun Akay, 40, lives in the historic region of Tur Abdin (meaning "Mountain of the servants of God" in Syriac), in the centuries-old village of Gulgoze in Mardin city in southeastern Turkey. The village, known as Ain Wardo, meaning "eye of the rose" in Syriac, was once home to hundreds of Assyrian families, where they farmed, prayed and educated their children. Now only three families remain, including Akay, a farmer and father-of-eight. "In the past there were 200 Syriac Christian families, and seven priests in the village. We had three churches, so each neighbourhood had a church," he said. "Every Sunday there would be a service in all three churches and they would be full," he added. There are 2,500 churches and 300 monasteries in Tur Abdin, according to Evgil Turker, head of the Federation of Syriac Associations. Members of the Assyrian Christian community attend a Sunday mass at the More Benham Kirklar Church in Mardin, south-eastern Turkey. ( AFP) Like other communities, Turker said, Assyrians were affected by the same economic issues and "political pressures" under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. During Erdogan's tenure as prime minister between 2003 and 2014, there had been overtures to Assyrians to return to Turkey while confiscated properties were given back to their owners. Despite hope that this would see old villages restored to their former glory, many members of the Assyrian diaspora only come in summer but return to their homes in Europe afterwards, Akay said. Although the three churches endured for centuries, there has not been a priest serving the community since 2001, according to Akay. The concern is not only religious. Akay described how he would go to a special school to learn Syriac that no longer exists. "It's difficult now. There is no one to teach or educate (children)," he lamented. With his wife, Sonia, the two try to do as much as they can to teach their children about their roots and the language, and when they need a priest, they are in contact with one in the nearby town of Midyat. Assyrians refer to the killings of their community in 1915 as a genocide ("sayfo," meaning sword), which took place around the same time as the massacre of Armenians. Some fled to Gulgoze, Akay said, as he described people sheltering in one of the churches where his family pray today. There was then a steady decline in the numbers of Assyrians in Turkey during the 20th century, especially in the 1980s and 1990s when many were forced to move abroad or to Istanbul. There are around 20,000 Assyrians in Istanbul. There were fears earlier this year that Assyrians were being targeted after a couple belonging to the Chaldean Catholic minority went missing in January in Sirnak, near the Iraqi border. While Hurmuz Diril, 71, remains missing, his wife Simoni, 65, was found dead in March. The arrest of Syriac Orthodox priest Sefer Bilecen on terrorism charges also caused concern. Back inside the sixth century church on a side street in the old city of Mardin, families solemnly listen to the priest, surrounded by images of Christ and the Virgin Mary. People attending, including retired teacher Deniz Kirilmaz, described how life had improved since the 1990s, with greater freedom to pray. "Living here is very important for our churches, for our monasteries, because our ancestors lived here. To continue this is very significant to us," she added. Turker is one of those who returned to Turkey, describing how he felt a responsibility to serve his community. "This is my country," he said. But Assyrians remain concerned over their heritage in Turkey. "It's as if the language is slowly starting to melt away, and that's upsetting. For a religion like this, a race like this, a people like this to fade away is really bad, it's saddening," Akay said. "God willing it will endure until the end," he added. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks on the fall in oil prices due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran on April 22, 2020. Iran is determined to develop its oil industry in spite of U.S. sanctions imposed on the country, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in a televised speech on Saturday. "We will not surrender under any circumstances ... We have to increase our capacity so that when necessary with full strength we can enter the market and revive our market share," said Zanganeh. The minister was speaking before the signing of a $294-million contract between the National Iranian Oil Company and Persia Oil & Gas, an Iranian firm, to develop the Yaran oilfield that is shared with neighboring Iraq's Majnoon field. The agreement aims to produce 39.5 million barrels of oil from the Yaran oilfield in Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran, the Iranian Oil Ministry's news agency SHANA said. Hit by reimposed U.S. sanctions since Washington exited Iran's 2015 nuclear deal in 2018, Iran's oil exports are estimated at 100,000 to 200,000 barrels per day, down from more than 2.5 million bpd that Iran shipped in April 2018. The Islamic Republic's crude production has halved to around 2 million bpd. A cartoon by Hong Kong artist Kit Man depicts protesters facing police with blank sheets of paper after the passage of a new national security law. (Kit Man) There were no slogans and no words, only blank white sheets of paper, quivering in the hands of a few dozen Hong Kong residents standing in a shopping mall, saying nothing at all. The police arrived in full riot gear, waving a flag that read: You are in breach of the law. They arrested eight people, searched others and dispersed the rest. Local artist Kit Man made a cartoon of the confrontation that drew a comment at once satirical and foreboding, distilling China's determination to crush even a whisper of dissent: A state that can be subverted by a blank piece of paper is it made of tofu? Less than two weeks under a new national security law enacted by Beijing, Hong Kong residents already feel a curtain of control falling over a city that for so long had been a brash and defiant home to intellectuals, capitalists, artists and pro-democracy activists. Mass protests consumed the semiautonomous former British colony much of last year, escalating as the Hong Kong government gave police free rein and refused protesters demands. Now the central Chinese government, empowered by the worlds distraction with the COVID-19 pandemic, is imposing its will to stop what it calls secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. Suddenly, words and even the imagined intent behind them have become crimes. Pro-democracy lawmakers raise white papers to protest during a meeting to discuss the new national security law at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong. (Vincent Yu / Associated Press) Hundreds of people have been arrested for unlawful assembly since the law came into effect, some charged with violations including carrying items bearing protest slogans and Bible verses. No one knows what is safe. Even the word "conscience" printed on a sticker can get you into trouble in an atmosphere that is scary and increasingly surreal. The first blank-paper protester on July 1 was a young woman who told reporters she held up white paper because she wasnt sure what would be illegal under the new law. She had remembered a joke shed read from the Soviet Union: an officer once arrested a person handing out fliers on Red Square, only to find that the fliers were blank. Undeterred, the officer shouted: You dont think I know what you wanted to write? Story continues I suddenly wanted to see whether that seemingly absurd joke has become reality, the woman said. Since then, a steady insinuation of authority has reached across the city the mainland Communist Party wants firmly in its grip: the protest slogan Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times has been deemed illegal and subversive. Books by pro-democracy lawmakers and activists including Joshua Wong have been removed from public libraries. The protest anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" has been banned in schools. Earlier this week, the night before primary elections for pro-democratic legislators, police raided the Public Opinion Research Institute, an election organizer and prominent polling group that had published studies showing wide dissatisfaction with the police and government. Police confiscated computers and told local news agencies they had a warrant for dishonest use of computers. Hong Kong became a different world overnight, said Lee, a coffee shop owner who asked not to use her full name for protection from authorities. Stickers with messages of the pro-democracy movement are posted in Hong Kong. (Kin Cheung / Associated Press) Everything seems to go on as usual, but you know nothing is the same, she said. You feel this constant pressure, like an invisible hand is clasped over your mouth. The night before the law was implemented, Lee stood in her cafe, gazing at the artwork shed had on the walls for months. On one poster, protesters in yellow helmets and face masks stood with lifted chins before a cloud of tear gas, emblazoned with: We create our own destiny. Lee began ripping the posters down. I have no other choice, she said. Her shop was one of many displaying protest artwork that had been harassed in recent months with accusations of having faulty licenses or blocking public space. Staff of restaurants that openly supported protesters had been attacked in broad daylight, their shops trashed at night. But the latest crackdown felt different. Police detain a protester who was doused with pepper spray during a protest in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong on July 1. (Vincent Yu / Associated Press) The new law established a national security office within Hong Kong, staffed by agents who were not bound by local common law. The office could override Hong Kongs jurisdiction in special cases. Some offenders could even be extradited to mainland China for trial the very fear that had sparked the protests last year. Police had also been granted new powers to raid premises without a court warrant, confiscate property, intercept communications and order internet companies to remove sensitive information. The law would only target an extremely small minority of people, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam asserted. But the text of the law extended its reach to Hong Kong residents and nonresidents alike, inside or outside of Hong Kong. These actions sparked a small wave of wordless resistance. Pro-democracy shops took down their famous Lennon Walls massive collages of protest messages and images that had blanketed the city last year only to replace them with colorful walls of blank Post-it Notes. Cartoonists drew protesters with empty speech bubbles, made emoji versions of their slogans and wrote out the tune to Glory to Hong Kong in numbers signifying the notes. A new graffiti theme appeared across the city: eight blank squares, each one holding space for a slogan whose absence seemed to speak out loud. A cartoon by Hong Kong artist 365.dllmy depicts a protester speaking in blank speech bubbles after the promulgation of a new national security law. (365.dllmy) At independent bookstores, sellers said they were busy restocking political titles as customers began panic-buying books, just as they had done for rice and masks during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak. Five of the top 10 bestsellers were sold out at Hong Kong Reader. Many of the titles were about Hong Kongs protests, including a compilation of letters written from jail by Chan Kin-man, a leader of the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement. Our role becomes more important as censorship tightens at mainstream bookstores, said Amy Lam, an employee at Mount Zero Books. There was no formal list of banned titles as in mainland China, Beijings censorship requires its subjects to figure out what may or may not be sensitive, thus training them in preemptive self-censorship. No one knows where to draw the line, said Sidney Lui Chi-kong, a retired school librarian who runs a consulting network in Hong Kong advising librarians on keeping quality book collections. With the new law, hed suggested that school librarians make their own judgments on what books to remove. Many swept books about the Tiananmen Square massacre and Cultural Revolution right off the shelves, he said, but some had also removed books on protest movements in Taiwan and on Hong Kongs colonial history. This is essentially a cultural purge, Lui said. Lee thinks so too. Back at her cafe, she poured coffee beans into a grinder. The new Hong Kong would make it harder even dangerous and criminal to be a decent person, she said. It would be so much easier to just give in, comply with the new laws, drop ones ideals, stay alive. But could you live with yourself? she asked. Two days after the white-paper protest, one of the arrested women was photographed walking out of the police station. She had been charged with illegal assembly and obstruction of police, according to local news reports. She paused, her belongings slung over each shoulder, her eyes steady between a face mask and cap, and raised the blank paper once again. Times staff writer Su reported from Beijing and special correspondent Cheung from Hong Kong. WATERLOO REGION An expert in occupational cancer research has submitted his final report to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development recommending a number of changes to the claims process in this province. The independent review and report from Paul Demers, director of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre and professor at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, includes 11 recommendations to increase the recognition of occupational cancers, improve the adjudication and claims process, and help prevent future workplace cancers from developing. It was ordered by the Ministry of Labour in January 2019 after The Record published multiple stories exposing how hundreds of sick rubber workers and their families in Waterloo Region had their claims for compensation rejected, sometimes decades after they stopped working. The final report was published in July 7 and some of the recommendations include: Expand the scientific capacity of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) by bringing in scientists with graduate level training in epidemiology, toxicology and exposure science. And expand the WSIBs ability to investigate occupational disease clusters using current scientific knowledge. Develop more policies to facilitate the recognition of cancers caused by well-established workplace carcinogens. Develop policies to consider the impact of exposure to multiple cancer-causing agents. Create an independent scientific review panel to review and update WSIB policies. Demers says the new guidelines and recommendations may have helped Kitcheners sick rubber workers receive compensation for their illnesses. That is certainly my hope, he said. He said the proposed changes could make the claims processive more co-operative and less combative, opening up an easier path to compensation. A number of the recommendations are fairly straightforward and can be accomplished quickly, such as setting up an independent review panel, but others like increasing the scientific capacity at the WSIB by bringing in more scientists and experts could take years, Demers said. WSIB chair Elizabeth Witmer said the board and the ministry are working together to review the recommendations and said its a significant issue for the government and her agency. Their review includes determining which recommendations can be accomplished in the near term, and which ones might take longer to implement especially those that might require increased funding. I can assure you this is a very important issue, she said. We were looking forward to receiving this report. Its believed that occupational diseases in Ontario are largely under-reported. According to a 2017 study by Cancer Care Ontario, approximately 3,000 Ontarians are diagnosed with cancer every year due to work. However, only about 400 cancer claims are submitted annually to the WSIB, and approximately 170 of them receive compensation. Some workers and their families worry the claims process will be rife with conflict as they try to prove their work made them sick, and that could be why so few claims are submitted, Demers said. Thats the feeling I think people get, and it becomes a disincentive when you have bigger things to worry about, Demers said. The WSIB recently reviewed about 300 previously denied worker compensation claims from former Kitchener rubber workers and reversed the decision on 31 of those claims. Those claims were reversed in part due to new evidence and updated scientific research, the board said. Witmer said its critical for the WSIB to help workers and treat each case fairly. We must not be perceived as a barrier, she said. We want people to know we are here to help. The Ministry of Labour did not issue a press release or announcement to mark the release of the report, and declined a phone interview with The Record. In an email statement, the ministry said it contacted impacted stakeholders directly and is working with the WSIB to review and consider the recommendations contained in the report. Occupational cancer, and its compensation, are issues our government takes very seriously and will continue to address, the statement said. Demers believes the political will exists to act on his report and implement the recommendations. Ive been optimistic on this because what Ive seen is its become a priority area for them, he said. Some recommendations are not easy, but Im optimistic there is a will. James Jackson is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on business and technology for the Record. Reach him via email: jjackson@therecord.com Read more about: The inclusion of the long awaited Narrow Water bridge in the Programme for Government has led to fresh hopes the project will be given the green light. The three-party Programme for Government document committed to 'working with the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver key cross border infrastructure initiatives, including the Narrow Water Bridge'. Dundalk TD Ruairi O Murchu welcomed the inclusion of the bridge, which is set to span Carlingford Lough, linking counties Louth and Down, in what would be a major tourist attraction for the area. But he said it was 'action, not words that is required now'. 'The inclusion of a commitment to deliver the bridge as part of a number of cross border projects is to be welcomed, but it must be remembered that the Narrow Water Bridge has received written commitments before from authorities North and South. It has been included in various documents.' Indeed, decades have passed since the bridge was first mooted and it came close to getting the green light in 2013 'But the estimated costs spiralled and the European funding ultimately wasn't forthcoming,' he added. 'However, the planning application remains live, thanks to Louth County Council and its commitment to seeing the bridge built and everything is now in place to make it happen.' 'What is clearly needed is funding and every and all avenues have to be explored in order to ensure it is secured. This is a major piece of infrastructure for the area and would open up the whole region to more tourism, not to mention making it easier for cross border workers to commute.' 'Serious work needs to be done at government and Northern executive level to progress the bridge beyond the pages of the Programme for Government and into reality.' 'We have all seen the benefits of working together on a North South basis, with the co-operation during Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit. 'We will continue to do what it has always done in regards to this project - we will support it, we will speak up for it and we will remind the authorities on both sides of the border of their repeated commitments to getting it built'. Sinn Fein is accusing unionists of conducting "a witch-hunt" against Belfast City Council's two most senior officers as councillors voted for an independent investigation into the Bobby Storey funeral controversy. Every party, except Sinn Fein and People Before Profit, supported the motion calling for the investigation at an emergency council meeting on Friday. The DUP, Alliance, SDLP, Greens, Progressive Unionist Party and Ulster Unionists insisted that a full and rigorous investigation was essential to restore public confidence in the council. The cremation service at Roselawn Cemetery for the former IRA leader on June 30 was the only one of nine that day where 30 people were allowed to attend. Read More Council chief executive Suzanne Wylie and Director of City and Neighbourhood Services Nigel Grimshaw have apologised to the eight families denied the same treatment as Mr Storey's. Both senior officers have lodged a formal grievance with the council and have threatened to resign. Sinn Fein group leader Ciaran Beattie said their treatment had been "terrible" and there was a strategy in place to undermine two people who had "done nothing wrong". He said that some people wanted "a pound of flesh", adding "this is a witch-hunt". Mr Beattie said that Ms Wylie and Mr Grimshaw had put in 80 hour weeks throughout the coronavirus crisis and "no two worked harder". He said that he had every confidence they would be vindicated. He added that Bobby Storey had "fought for equality his whole life" and would not have wanted other families treated differently to his own. Ulster Unionist councillor Sonia Copeland said that she held the two senior council officers in high regard as "good and honest public servants". Read More But she continued: "Nothing I have heard has changed my view that public confidence could not be restored by anything other than a full and independent investigation. "I will play no part in any witch-hunt, I will not join bombastic calls for rolling of heads. "I expect the facts, warts and all." DUP group leader George Dorrian said that the council was "corporately responsible" for what happened to the eight other families. He said that he had never experienced such "anger and sadness" in the community since he had joined the council. PUP councillor Dr John Kyle said: "It is important we have an independent investigation. Every institution makes mistakes. "We need to know what happened and when and why decisions were made." Alliance councillor Sian Mulholland said there was a need for "clarity and transparency" around events in Roselawn Cemetery rather than the "drip-feed of information" there had been to councillors. The Greens' Malachai O'Hara apologised to the eight families but said words would be "cold comfort" to them. It appeared that there was "one rule for senior politicians and those with power and influence and another for ordinary people", he added. SDLP group leader Donal Lyons said that a comprehensive investigation was needed. People Before Profit group leader Fiona Ferguson said her thoughts were "very firmly with those families who were denied the opportunity that others had to grieve". But she said that she could not support the motion because of the double standards of other parties "who shirk suggestions of similar inquiries into deaths in care homes and fines for Black Lives Matter protesters". She objected to CCTV footage of grieving families being handed over to an investigator without their permission. The motion was passed with 36 votes in favour, and 21 Sinn Fein and People Before Profit councillors abstaining. This being an election year, and with the media determined to send President Donald Trump into retirement, we shouldnt expect to hear anyone give Trump credit for anything. All they have to offer is blame and criticism. Even as a Trump critic myself and an original Never Trumper who has despised the real estate mogul since June 2015, when he declared his White House bid and revved up the crowd by essentially calling my Mexican grandfather a criminal, rapist and drug dealer I get sick of it. No president gets everything wrong or everything right. Whether were talking about CNN on the left or Fox News on the right, the media is always trying to hypnotize the public. Why not just report events? Trump haters are stuck on the narrative that failed Democrats in the 2016 election, i.e. Trump is a bad person. Why, even going to Mount Rushmore to praise America on the Fourth of July, we are told, is a diabolical attempt by an evil president to stoke divisions and start a culture war. If there is a war, the first shot was fired decades ago. In the words of Billy Joel, Trump didnt start the fire. I dont think the left has thought out this line of attack. It takes as least two parties to go to war. If Trump supports America, then can we assume his opponents are against America? Is that really where anti-Trump liberals want to make their stand? The 2020 election should be about a whole host of things from reviving the economy to battling the coronavirus to curbing police violence. Instead, the election could boil down to how we all feel about America. Ill play along. I dont care for Trump, but I love America. And I liked his speech. We declare that the United States of America is the most just and exceptional nation ever to exist on Earth, Trump told cheering supporters. Now that the activist fringe has succeeded in pulling Biden to the left and away from the moderate center, whenever the Democratic candidate talks about America, his robotic cadence sounds like this: We wont just rebuild this nation. Well transform it. You know whos been transformed? Joe Biden. To think this is the same guy who, in 2008, Barack Obama put on the ticket because the Delaware senator had built his whole brand around being the working-class whisperer. While Democrats abandoned their common-man roots and became the party of coastal elites, Biden remained connected to blue-collar folks who wear hard hats and carry lunch buckets. This year, Trumps campaign message is obviously: America the Beautiful. Bidens message seems to be: America the Broken. Thats a stark choice. Which message do you suppose will resonate with more Americans? Yeah, me too. I was afraid of that. Most Americans think the country is like a house that could use a touch-up, a little paint, maybe some minor repairs. But America does not need to be torn down to the studs and rebuilt with safe spaces, woke culture and police-free CHOP zones. Our country is not perfect. But nor is she, as many on the left claim, rotten to her core. The left wants to give America a stern scolding. Its going to wind up giving Trump something he doesnt deserve: four more years. The media know this, which is why they wasted no time in demagoguing Trumps Fourth of July speech. They know a winning message when they hear it. And coming up with a better, positive message takes too much work. Its easier to go on the attack. But do you know what really bugs me about the medias attack on Trumps speech? Its not partisanship or politics. Its personal responsibility, or rather the lack thereof. Trump told the crowd: Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our Founders, deface our most sacred memorials, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities. All true. Did protesters really think they could go on rampages, create mayhem, destroy public property, burn down police stations, break windows, loot stores and generate chaos and there would be no consequences or condemnation? Americans are all supposed to feel good about that, just accept it as a healthy exercise of free speech? That settles it. The hard left and the Democratic Party it now controls should be disqualified from leading this country. How can they run it? They dont even understand it. ruben@rubennavarrette.com The ranks of Queensland's specialist child sex offender surveillance officers will almost double to a total of 40, the state government has announced. On Saturday, Police Minister Mark Ryan and Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll announced an additional 18 child protection offender register coordinators monitoring child sex offenders across the state. Police Minister Mark Ryan. Credit:Jorge Branco Mr Ryan said the police service's Taskforce Argos, a dedicated child abuse investigation team, along with other police departments, had caught 115 offenders and charged them with 352 offences since September last year. The total number of officers coordinating child protection management will rise from 22 to 40. D R Karthikeyan is investigating a similar killing by the Telangana police Police inspect the encounter site where gangster Vikas Dubey was killed when he allegedly tried to escape from the spot following an accident, near Kanpur, Friday morning, July 10, 2020. Dubey, accused of killing eight policemen, was being brought to Kanpur from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh a day after his arrest. (PTI) Hyderabad: The early morning 'encounter' of gangster Vikas Dubey was described as a ''very strange happening'' by a member of the Supreme Court-appointed inquiry commission that is probing the ''encounter'' killing of four alleged accused in the gangrape and murder of veterinary doctor Disha near Hyderabad last year. With the COVID-19 pandemic hampering their work, the three-member commission will return to Hyderabad to restart their proceedings in the 'Disha' case killings once the situation normalises. ''It (the Vikas Dubey ''encounter'') is a very strange happening,'' D R Karthikeyan, former CBI director and one of the members of the inquiry commission, told Deccan Chronicle on the telephone from New Delhi, a clear indication that the former IPS officer, who headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, is not convinced by the Uttar Pradesh police's version of the gangster's killing in police custody. The four accused in the Disha gangrape and murder case -- Muhammed Arif, J Naveen, J Shiva and Ch Chennakeshavulu -- were gunned down in an early morning ''encounter'' in Shadnagar, while in police custody on December 6. The Cyberabad police had claimed that the accused snatched the weapons of the policemen and opened fire . All four were killed in retaliatory fire, they had said. The UP police came out with more or less the same version after Vikas Dubey's killing. ''Going by all the reports about Vikas Dubey's killing, the entire incident is very strange. I would not like to say more on this,'' Karthikeyan said, which was obvious as he is one of the members of the commission probing the Disha 'encounter.' Referring to the Disha probe, the former IPS officer, said that the commission has not yet finalised the date for its return to Hyderabad to restart proceedings. ''We will return once normalcy is restored in Hyderabad,'' he said referring to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Supreme Court had granted them six months to probe and submit their findings. The Commission, appointed in December, will be seeking more time from the apex Court, as the six month deadline has already come to an end. While retired Supreme Court Judge Justice V S Sirpurkar is heading the commission, retired High Court Judge Rekha Sundar Baldota and Karthikeyan are its members. The commission had visited Hyderabad in the first week of February and they had been allotted office in the Telangana High Court premises. PHOENIX - International students worried about a new immigration policy that could potentially cost them their visas say they feel stuck between being unnecessarily exposed during the coronavirus pandemic and being able to finish their studies in America. Students from countries as diverse as India, China and Brazil told The Associated Press they are scrambling to devise plans after federal immigration authorities notified colleges this week that international students must leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools operate entirely online this fall. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a lawsuit this week to block the decision, and now California and Washington state are seeking injunctions against enforcing the new visa policy. Students from countries as diverse as India, China and Brazil told The Associated Press they are scrambling to devise plans after federal immigration authorities notified colleges this week that international students must leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools operate entirely online this fall. Shame on the Trump Administration for risking not only the education opportunities for students who earned the chance to go to college, but now their health and well-being as well, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Thursday. Some said they may return home, or move to nearby Canada. Im generating research, Im doing work in a great economy, said Batuhan Mekiker, a Ph.D. student from Turkey studying computer science at Montana State University in Bozeman. Hes in the third year of a five-year program. If I go to Turkey, I would not have that, he said. I would like to be somewhere where my talent is appreciated. Mathias, a Seattle-based student who spoke on condition his last name not be used for fear of losing his immigration status, said he is set to sell his car, break his lease, and get his cat Louis permission to fly back to his home in Paris in the next two weeks. Everyones very worried, he said. We have our whole lives here. Seven students from China and Germany who attend universities in California sued Friday to block enforcement, alleging potential threats to their health and financial calamity. The policy treats them as pawns for the presidents politically motivated decision, Mark Rosenbaum of non-profit Public Counsel, which filed the suit, said in a statement. Many American universities have come to depend on the revenue from more than 1 million international students, who typically pay higher tuition. President Donald Trump has insisted they return to in-person instruction as soon as possible, alleging that schools are being kept closed to harm the economy and make him look bad. The guidance was released the same day Harvard announced it would keep all undergraduate classes online this fall. Harvard said the new Trump directive would prevent many of its 5,000 international students from remaining in the U.S. The University of Southern California sent a letter to students and faculty, saying it is deeply troubled and that the the policy could negatively impact countless international students. Like other universities, USC said it was pushing back and working to ensure students academic careers arent harmed, while exploring ways for students to safely study in person if they wish. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the directive could inflict significant harm on colleges, students, the business community and the economy. A U.S. State Department press release said the policy provides greater flexibility for non-immigrant students to continue their education in the United States, while also allowing for proper social distancing on open and operating campuses. A day after Harvard sued, the university notified the court that immigration authorities appear to be already enforcing the policy. A lawyer for Harvard urged the judge to suspend the rule, saying that a first-year student from Belarus was turned away from his flight at a Minsk airport. There is another hearing Friday. This is very dangerous and cruel, said Jessie Peng, a Chinese graduate student in analytics at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. We have nowhere to go, said Peng, 27. Either risk our lives and go to school or we risk our lives flying back to China. Jasdeep Mandia, a doctoral candidate from India studying economics at Arizona State University, said he has breathing problems that could worsen if he gets sick from COVID-19. Mandia, 35, originally planned to conduct all his fall studies online. He says the Trump directive puts the shaky standing of international students on display. It has never been a level playing field, he said. But this makes it more apparent. At Indiana University, American scholar Dakota Murray wrote in the school newspaper about his uncertainty over how the guidance would affect him and his wife, a fellow doctoral candidate who is from South Korea. Murray, 27, said he and his wife had discussed going to live in South Korea or maybe Canada, where she has relatives. He spoke on condition that his wifes name not be used because she is trying to obtain a green card that will let her work and reside in the U.S. after she finishes her studies. Vanderbilt University student Safa Shahzad went home to Manchester, England, for a visit in March but got stuck there when the U.S. imposed travel restrictions to slow the spread of the virus. Still in England, the 19-year-old, who is double majoring in politics and computer science, completed her freshman year from afar after the university transitioned online. Although Vanderbilt has said courses will be a hybrid of online and in person this fall, Shahzad cannot travel to the U.S. until the Trump administration lifts the travel restrictions. Im just kind of waiting, she said. Computer science student Vivian Degasperi, 23, from Brazil, said the new guidelines are going to make my life harder at Erie Community College in Buffalo, New York. Degasperi said the college has announced that almost all classes will be taught remotely, and is examining how to keep international students from losing their visa status. Because she lives near the northern U.S. border, Degasperi said she would consider moving to Canada. My family is worried, she said. Everyone is calling me all the time. Natalia Afonso, a Brooklyn College student, also from Brazil, said she hopes the school will adopt a hybrid model of remote and in-person classes but she fears riding the subway to campus could increase her chances of catching the virus. I dont see myself moving back to Brazil at this point, said the 27-year-old, who is studying education and just finished her first semester. Its very unfair. ___ Naishadham reported from Atlanta and Powell from Washington. AP writers Collin Binkley in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Anita Snow in Phoenix contributed to this report. O ne of Bollywood's biggest stars has been admitted to hospital with coronavirus. Amitabh Bachchan, 77, confirmed to his 43 million Twitter followers that he had tested positive for Covid-19. The Indian movie icon said in a message posted on Saturday evening that he had been shifted to hospital after contracting the disease. He added: Family and staff undergone tests, results awaited. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested." David Cameron (centre) and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan (right) sit side-by-side at a 2015 ceremony unveiling a statue of Mahatma Gandhi / AFP via Getty Images His son Abhishek, 44, also an actor, then tweeted that he, too, had been struck down with the virus. He said that both he and his father have mild symptoms, adding: I request all to stay calm and not panic. The elder Bachchan, who is a household name in India, has previously been named among the highest paid actors in the world on Forbes rich list. In 2015, he was present for the official unveiling of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square alongside then-Prime Minister David Cameron. India is currently in the midst of a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. On Saturday the country reported a new daily high of 27,114 cases. Meanwhile, a partial lockdown has been imposed in several high-risk areas. The Armenia government said on Friday it will likely extend a state of emergency by yet another month due to the continuing coronavirus crisis in the country. In all likelihood, the decision to extend the state of emergency by another month will be made public on Monday, Mane Gevorgian, the spokeswoman for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, told RFE/RLs Armenian service. The government declared a one-month state of emergency on March 16 following the first outbreaks of the coronavirus registered in Armenia. It imposed a nationwide lockdown later in March. The government began easing lockdown restrictions in mid-April. But it has extended emergency rule on a monthly basis since then, citing the rapidly growing number of new coronavirus cases. Pashinian said earlier this week that the government has no choice but to resort to another extension due to the continuing spread of the deadly disease. He said it needs special powers to continue to make people wear mandatory face masks in public areas and to enforce other anti-epidemic rules. Armenia has one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in the world, with a total of 30,903 cases confirmed in the country of about 3 million so far. According to the Armenian Ministry of Health, 557 people tested positive for the virus on Thursday. The ministry also reported on Friday morning the deaths of 18 more people infected with COVID-19. It said COVID-19 was the primary cause of 11 of those deaths. The official death toll thus rose to 546. The figure does not include 177 other infected people who the ministry says have died from other, pre-existing conditions. Under Armenian law, the National Assembly has to meet for an emergency session immediately after the declaration or extension of emergency rule. Ani Samsonian, a parliament deputy from the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK), said she and her colleagues will attend the upcoming session to question the governments very ineffective strategy of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of new infections is not falling while the [number of] deaths is already very troubling, Samsonian told RFE/RLs Armenian service. Arusyak Julhakian, a lawmaker representing Pashinians My Step bloc, dismissed the criticism. She argued, in particular, that Armenias coronavirus mortality rate is low by Western standards. If we speak of ineptness, then I think Ms. Samsonian should blame the entire world and say that the entire world has been inept and failed so far to defeat the pandemic, said Julhakian. Samsonian further suggested that the authorities will again extend the state of emergency also because they want to keep up the existing ban on street demonstrations. They are afraid of anti-government protests, she claimed. Its not that thousands of people would take to the streets if there was no state of emergency, countered Julhakian. Our only fear is that if people gather in large numbers they will get infected. Shaddick said he doesnt believe the culture at his school is racist, but he does acknowledge that racism exists at his school. Its not something that we hear on a regular basis, but I think theres validity in what (Amoo and Gonzales) said, Shaddick said. To address it, Shaddick and SBPS Superintendent Rick Myles said the district has been working with several partners on the local and state level. Myles saidthe district also consulted speaker and consultant Vernon Wall. Wall describes himself on his website as a nationally known speaker in the areas of social justice and leadership styles" and is one of the founders and facilitators of the Social Justice Training Institute. Last winter, Wall met with SBPS to consult its diversity team, according to Myles. Shaddick said Wall was also consulted in the development of training at the high school. Wall did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article. If conversation is the first step, as Shaddick suggests, Gonzales and Amoo have moved to the second and third steps. Both teens have ideas about what should be done to address racism and discrimination in the district. Company Announcement no. 58 2020 Copenhagen, July 10th, 2020 GreenMobility will enter Helsinki to extend its Nordic green car sharing business GreenMobility prepares to launch its car sharing service in Helsinki in Q4 2020 with an expected fleet of 200 electric vehicles. From Helsinki, GreenMobility sees additional potential synergies in also including Espoo and Vantaa during 2021. Helsinki has a strong focus on green innovative solutions for mobility and is therefore an ideal market for GreenMobility. The city was the first to adopt UN Sustainable Development Goals and has a detailed action plan to make the city carbon neutral by 2035, where GreenMobility will play a significant role. Car sharing is naturally welcomed by the city of Helsinki to help achieve the sustainability goals. GreenMobility has an ambition to offer its car sharing solution in all larger Nordic cities, and with Helsinki the company now covers 5 Nordic cities, with more to follow. Through shared customer service, marketing and platform across these cities, GreenMobility expects operational synergies with its existing operations in Sweden and Denmark, benefiting customers traveling between the Nordic cities. Depending on the final launch date, it is not expected that the service in Helsinki will contribute significantly to the overall result of GreenMobilitys in 2020, but will have a positive effect going forward. For further information: Anders Wall, VP Investor Relations GreenMobility, phone: +45 2540 3020, mail: aw@greenmobility.com GreenMobility A/S, Landgreven 3, 1301 Kbenhavn K, CVR: 35521585, www.greenmobility.com Certified Advisor NORDEN CEF ApS John Norden Kongevejen 365, DK-2840 Holte +45 2072 0200 jn@nordencef.dk GreenMobility offers modern urbanites easy, flexible and sustainable transport in the form of electric, shared city cars. Users have access to these cars via the GreenMobility app. Trips are paid per-minute. Today, GreenMobility operates 400 EVs in Copenhagen; 200 EVs in Malm and Gothenburg, and 100 cars in Aarhus together with our partner NRGi. More than 75,000 people have signed up with GreenMobility. Driven by global megatrends, GreenMobility sees a rapidly growing market for car sharing in large cities, that demand green transport for their citizens and aim to reduce the number of private cars. GreenMobilitys ambition is to be among the leading global operators of green shared mobility solutions. GreenMobility is listed on the Nasdaq First North GM in Copenhagen. The North Korean supreme leader has frequently become absent from the public eye this year, which has led many to speculate that he may have already been dead for quite some time. Talks between the US and North Korea Amid the claims, Kim Jong-Un's sister Kim Yo-Jong has shared her concerns that the US summit might likely not continue due to only giving the United States the advantage, as reported by Express UK. The controversial announcement that North Korea may not join the summit re-ignited the rumors that tell worrying details of the supreme leader's health and condition, which have become viral earlier this year. One user posted on Twitter asking for confirmation if Kim was actually dead, and another shared similar confusion on the leader's health. Previously, the state-run media NK News reported Kim was away from public view from June 8 until he appeared on July 2 at a government meeting that aimed to discuss the coronavirus status of the nation. In early May, the supreme leader was not seen for nearly three weeks before showing up in public to attend the opening of a fertilizer factory. At the time that Kim was missing, observers spread claims that the leader's health deteriorated rapidly. The North Korean leader has since debunked the claims by appearing to the public in apparent good health. With the continuous spread of death rumors surrounding Kim, he was seen yesterday visiting the memorial site of his grandfather to commemorate his 26th death anniversary, as reported by The Sun UK. The event was joined by top North Korean officials Choe Ryong Hae, Pak Pong Ju, Kim Jae Ryong, and several others that the state media reports were making their way towards the statue of Kim Il Sung. Historically, no supreme leader has failed to attend the anniversary as the late dictator is considered to be North Korea's "eternal president" even after being dead for more than two decades since 1994. Also Read: Kim Jong-Un's Sister Kim Yo Jong May Become the World's First Female Dictator Constant disappearance The past three months have seen the constant disappearance of the supreme leader before the commemoration and has resulted in numerous concerns for his well-being or if he is still alive. The first time Kim went missing, claims quickly went viral, stating he died during a failed heart surgery. Again, Kim disappeared for 20 days before resurfacing on May 1 at the newly opened fertilizer factory and quickly vanished afterward. On May 24, after a second three-week vanishing act, the supreme leader was once again seen by the public as he discussed his plans of placing his nuclear forces on "high alert." He has since been in the since and has not made any reappearances for more than three weeks. According to CNBC, the supreme leader's sister, on the other hand, Kim Yo Jong, has stated that it was unlikely that North Korea would join another summit that she said would only be beneficial to the United States. Yo Jong also revealed the country had no intention of threatening America. Yo Jong noted a summit that involves the US and North Korea would be unlikely but that there was still the possibility of a surprise, reports KCNA on Friday. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, expressed his hopes that negotiations would continue between North Korea and the US to agree about denuclearization and opened the potential for both countries' leaders to meet once again. Related Article: North Korea Expands Nuclear Capabilities After Failed Diplomacy With the United States @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 23:47:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHANGSHA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China's Shibadong village, the birthplace of "targeted poverty alleviation," has lifted all families out of poverty, sending a heartening message as the nation scrambles to eradicate absolute poverty by the end of this year. The village in central China's Hunan Province has seen the poverty headcount ratio drop to zero, down from 57 percent in 2013, said Shi Jintong, Party chief of the village, in an interview with Xinhua. Home to 225 families and 939 villagers, Shibadong's per capita net annual income increased more than eight times, from 1,668 yuan (238 U.S. dollars) in 2013 to 14,668 yuan in 2019, Shi said. The once-impoverished village has been closely watched as a testing ground for "targeted poverty alleviation," first put forward there in 2013. This concept of designing relief policies to suit different local situations later became a guiding principle in China's fight against poverty. Faced with rugged terrain and scarcity of arable land, the village has substituted traditional crop planting with more profitable kiwi farming and developed other businesses that suit local conditions, including the tourism and embroidery industries that prosper on the local ethnic Miao culture. Shi Basan, a 70-year-old local villager, was amazed by the speed of change. "Back in 2013, the only thing 'electric' in my house was a light bulb, and meat was a luxurious food for us," said Shi, whose family cast off poverty by joining a kiwi cooperative. "Now we eat meat whenever we want, and we have extra meat to make preserved pork for sale," she said. Ma Huihuang, a township official assigned to Shibadong to aid the poverty-reduction drive, accredited the success to the launch of local industries that have helped the village wean itself off external aid. The official said the most difficult part of the campaign was that some families either lack income-earners or had been dragged down by medical or educational burdens. They now receive dividends from the booming industries and benefit from local policies that exempt them from medical and educational fees. The COVID-19 epidemic brought a temporary lull to the village's tourism business, but locals said the quick recovery in business has boosted their confidence. "We had no income in the first quarter due to COVID-19. But since the epidemic is under control now, tourists have returned to the village in large numbers. We can surely recoup the losses in the months to come," said Shi Quanyou, who runs a family inn. Saturday marks World Population Day. China has slashed the number of people living in poverty by more than 700 million since 1978, making it the first developing country to meet the United Nations target of halving its poor population. Yet the country is still in an uphill battle to enrich millions of people who still live below the poverty line, to achieve the goal of eliminating absolute poverty by the end of this year, in a country with a population of 1.4 billion. Across the country, rural industries like the ones in Shibadong have helped many shake off poverty. Others have improved their lot through such major measures as relocation, ecological compensation and education. Social security allowances are given to the sick, the disabled and others who cannot work their way out of extreme poverty. The key is to identify the poor population, tailor relief programs to local conditions, and send appropriate resources and personnel to implement the programs, said Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development. He hailed this round of poverty reduction efforts as implementing properly the "targeted poverty alleviation" concept. The Chinese government has set the end of 2020 as its target for eradicating absolute poverty, known as one of the "three tough battles" that the country must win to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020. Enditem Fisher folks around the Bui Dam are defying the COVID-19 safety protocols, particularly the directive on social distancing and wearing of face mask as they believe the disease is only in Accra and Kumasi. Most of the fishermen and buyers are living in denial that the disease exist and go about their businesses in crowded places without the wearing of face masks and adherence to the social distancing protocol to protect themselves. Some of the Fisher folks told the Ghana News Agency that they saw no reasons to wear the face masks. Ms Haw Yakubu, said: We were told by some people who travelled to the cities and returned that the disease has not reached the Northern side and that it doesnt exist within these areas at all. We know it is in Accra and Kumasi that is why we are not wearing the masks. Another fisher, Ms Sekina Adams, said: I have heard about COVID-19 but I am not wearing the mask because I havent seen anyone in the North with the disease. I also know it doesnt exist in our communities here. Mr Fuseini Mensah, who was in a face mask, said: I wear the mask sometimes but it is so uncomfortable wearing it, so I dont wear it always except there are many people around me. I know journalists are always talking about people not wearing the mask on their platforms. That is why I started wearing it when I saw people approaching with cameras, especially knowing how we are crowded here. Madam Akua Sakyi, the Assistant Corporate Affairs Manager, Bui Power Authority (BPA) in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said the Authority was collaborating with the Ghana Health Service and the respective District Assemblies to intensify education on the COVID-19 safety protocols among fisherfolks on the shores of the Dam. As the BPA is mandated to secure the livelihoods of the people around the communities in which they operate and ensure that they become financially independent, Madam Sakyi said they were also to protect the lives of the people, especially in this challenging period of COVID-19. The BPA is worried that the fishermen and buyers are not wearing face masks and adhering to the social distancing protocol but we believe continuous education is what is needed to let them understanding the implications of the lives they are living now, she said. The Authority earlier distributed hand sanitizers to inhabitants in Bui and surrounding communities and checked their temperatures. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Rescuers pulled Jarail C. Lee Jr., from the water at about 6:24 p.m., a little more than an hour after the boy disappeared under the water and did not resurface. Lee was identified by the Lake County Coroners office and pronounced dead at the scene at 7:13 p.m. The scene where the attempted hijacking took place A woman thrown to the ground during a hijacking in south Belfast endured a "terrifying" and "shocking" ordeal. The vehicle theft took place on the Ormeau Road around midnight on Thursday. The victim was targeted by a man as she was getting out of her car, a Fiat 500, outside a takeaway outlet close to Fitzroy Avenue. She was approached by the hijacker who then threw her to the ground before fleeing the scene in her vehicle, making off towards Belfast city centre at speed. The woman, whose vehicle was later recovered from Fairhill Park in north Belfast during the early hours of yesterday morning, sustained cuts and bruising as a result of the incident. Police have taken away the car for examination. The hijacking comes weeks after a man was dragged from a BMW car in an early morning incident in Coalisland, Co Tyrone. In this incident, in May, the perpetrator then fled the scene in the car. There were 43 personal hijackings and 10 business hijackings in Northern Ireland during 2018-19 - one a week on average, according to PSNI statistics reported by the BBC. Paula Bradshaw, the Alliance MLA for South Belfast, said the victim had been subjected to a horrifying ordeal. "My sympathies go to the victim of what was clearly a terrifying attack. No one going about their business should face such an ordeal," she told the Belfast Telegraph. "I would urge anyone who saw anything at all, no matter how apparently minor, to call the PSNI on 101." Her comments were echoed by SDLP councillor, Gary McKeown, who represents the area. He described the incident as "shocking and upsetting", adding that his thoughts are with the woman. "People need to be able to go about their daily business without fear of becoming victims of incidents like this," he said. "And I would urge anyone with any information to please make contact with the PSNI or Crimestoppers." Detective Sergeant Rachel Miskelly urged anyone with information, or who may have witnessed the incident, to contact detectives at Musgrave on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 6 10/07/20. "Or submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/," she added. There likely wont be any retaliation for the murder of Hamilton mobster Pasquale (Pat) Musitano, who was shot dead on a Burlington street Friday afternoon, according to a former undercover cop. Pat was done . . . , Paul Manning said in an interview of Saturday. He burned his bridges . . . I think thats the end of it. Halton Region police havent identified any suspects in the murder of Musitano and the wounding of a second man, who has not been identified. The second shooting victim was in serious condition in hospital on Saturday while Musitano was pronounced dead at the scene. Police report that one male suspect fled the scene of the 1 p.m. shooting at 484 Plains Road East in Burlington, heading west in a grey, four-door sedan, which police described as similar to a new model Infiniti Q50 with a sunroof. This vehicle will have fresh damage to the drivers side near the doors, police said. Musitano, 52, had fallen far in the past decade, from when he had been considered by police to be an Ontario lieutenant for Vito Rizzuto of Montreal, who died of natural causes in December 2013. In the past few years, Musitano grew increasingly isolated after his younger brother Angelo was murdered and his uncle Tony Musitano died of natural causes. No one has been charged in Angelo Musitanos murder. Pat Musitanos father Domenic died of natural causes in 1995 at age 57. Domenic Musitano was cleared in 1983 on four charges of conspiracy to commit extortion and jailed in 1985 as an accessory after the fact in the slaying of Domenic Racco, the son of Toronto mobster/baker Michele (Mike) Racco. Pat Musitano made plenty of enemies recently through a scam that involved drawing investors into a gravel company, Manning said. One Toronto investor was able to get some $400,000 back, after threatening Musitano, but plenty of others were angry and frustrated, Manning said. In the final days before a hitman shot him dead Friday afternoon, Musitano found comfort in the frequent company of a senior citizen who was once his fathers bodyguard, sources say. The man is now 77 and never was an imposing specimen standing five-foot-six and weighing 134 pounds, according to his RCMP file. He was also of British heritage, meaning he could never be inducted into the Mafia, Manning said. Manning doesnt expect that man to have any epiphany and begin co-operating with police because of his companions murder. He was a rounder, Manning said. He was a tough guy. That dude wont flip either. Musitanos elderly companion is described in a 2002 RCMP intelligence report as a liaison between the Buffalo mob and the Musitanos. In its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, the Buffalo mob nicknamed The Arm was led by Stefano (The Undertaker) Magaddino, who ran a funeral home in Lewiston. Police said The Arms reach stretched from Western New York into Pennsylvania, Ohio and Ontario. The report says Musitanos elderly friend had previously been close to Niagara Falls, Ont. mobster Carmen Barillaro, but something went wrong and there was a split in 1988. Barillaro was murdered by hitman Ken Murdock in 1997 on the orders of Musitano and his brother, Angelo. Both Musitano brothers were sentenced to 10-year prison terms. Related charges against Pat Musitano for the 1997 murder of Hamilton mobster Johnny (Pops) Papalia were withdrawn by the Crown. Pat Musitano was also a suspect in ordering the murder of Salvatore (Sam) Alaimo, 53, a factory janitor and father of five who was shot to death in the garage of his home on Nov. 21, 1985, after running up gambling debts. Regarding Fridays shooting, Halton police investigators appealed for anyone with dash cam and/or commercial or residential surveillance footage from the area between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to contact them. Correction - July 11, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the year in which the murders of Carmen Barillaro and Johnny Papalia took place. The U.S. Mint in February released its $1 coin commemorating and honoring the late Alaska Native civil rights leader Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich, but its not easy to get one or two or three. The public can order the coins from the U.S. Mint, but the minimum is 25 coins. And while the Mint recently set up a special program for financial institutions in Alaska only to order the coins, the minimum is 1,000. Before the new program, Alaska banks could order $1 coins but would receive an assortment with no guarantee if or how many Peratrovich coins would be in the boxes. And the Peratrovich coins cost you more than $1 each from the Mint. They are sold as numismatic products (collectors items) at a premium above face value, explained the Numismatic News, which has been writing about coin collectors, dealers and scholars since 1952. A roll of 25 coins costs $34.95, plus shipping. A banks 1,000-coin order would come in at $1,159. The brightly gold-colored coins are mostly copper, with a little zinc, manganese and nickel mixed in, according to the U.S. Mint website. At just a little over one inch in diameter, each coin weighs almost three-tenths of an ounce. Its the first time any U.S. currency has depicted an Alaska Native. On its other side, the coin features Sacagawea, a Shoshone tribal member who served as interpreter for the Lewis and Clark expedition from the Dakotas to the Pacific Northwest in 1804-1806. Peratrovich was an Alaska Native of the Lukaax.adi clan of the Tlingit nation. She was born on July 4, 1911, in Petersburg, and lived in Sitka, Klawock and Juneau. The Alaska Legislature in 1988 established Feb. 16 each year as Elizabeth Peratrovich Day to honor her work. Her advocacy for Alaska Natives and an impassioned speech to the Alaska Territorial Legislature helped convince lawmakers to pass the states anti-discrimination law in 1945, the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood reminded people in a July 3 press release. The organizations asked people to consider purchasing some of these coins for family and friends to honor Alaskas Indigenous history and to signal hope for the future. An inscription on the coin, just below the images of Peratrovich and a raven, representing her Tlingit moiety, makes note of the 1945 law. Anyone can order the coins from the U.S. Mint at catalog.usmint.gov or call 1-844-467-1328. On July 4, the 109th anniversary of her birth in Petersburg, the community dedicated a mural in her honor. Installation of the mural at the courthouse is significant, Brenda Norheim, vice president of the Petersburg Indian Association, told Petersburg public radio station KFSK. Seeing Peratrovich honored on the courthouse is an important representation for Native cultural history, she said. The current chain of events taking place at Line of Actual Control at the Tibet border among Indian and PLA soldiers has generated uproar against China's autocratic and expansionist regime. This article addresses problems and obstacles faced by our business, entrepreneurs and service sector during these times. The recent series of events occurred at Line of actual control at Tibet border between Indian and PLA troops has created outrage against the autocratic regime of China and its expansionist spree. People have started self-boycotting possible products of China and nationwide protests have taken place. The government also banned 59 Chinese online applications with huge user base & popularity. But can we afford to boycott without quality alternatives? We should be realistic and sincerely upon issues & challenges faced by our Industrialists, Entrepreneurs & Service industry. Manufacture in China and sell it in India is the new trend because we have failed to build up the eco system for Research & Developmentand innovation in the country. Investing on R&D is assumed to be waste. We could not develop a single indigenous product in the software industry with a global brand value like Apple, Google, Facebook, twitter though we have the best IT companies and brains in the country. We have copied their products like Flipkart from Amazon, Ola or Uber etc. We need to understand the challenges and try to improvise and innovate at the earliest. China has emerged as a manufacturing superpower in last decades. World could not realise how they got enslaved with cheap and bulk items with value for money. They have products for each pocket both in quality and price. Today China controls major items sold by top brands on likes of Apple, Sony etc. Each electronic device manufactured in world has a part manufactured in China. Chinas cheap labour and speedy execution of projects made it Numero Uno of manufacturing world. Post COVID-19 world is anti-China, thanks to Wuhan virus. It has demonised China and its approach to human life, values, ethics and work culture. The world is searching for options where it can have goods with quality, competitive price and timely delivery. Over 300 foreign companies have decided to shut their manufacturing units in China and move to safe and better place. Japan declared two billion $ relief package for companies to shift from china. India is placed better to address the situation and grab this opportunity. We have cheap labour compared to the rest of the world except China, Vietnam or Bangladesh. We have better infrastructure now. We have a democratically elected Government committed for growth and welfare of people. Whereas what dictatorship can lead to can be witnessed in China. No human rights, no transparency, massive corruption, uncertainty in policies and hostile conditions. If weevaluate proand cons of Indian business environment in an objective manner, our weaknesses and strong points as compared to China.We already discussed democracy and human right index is well above in India compared to China. Civil rights are enjoyed to the maximum or we can say at times its been abused. Censorship on the media and other communication means there is almost no transparency. The recent corona pandemic is evident how China risked humankind by hiding corona virus. There is no concrete information about actual number of deaths by corona virus in China. Had there been free media thousands of lives and huge resources could have been saved. The areas which needs to be addressed immediately: Policies are still not fully business friendly Corruption in middle and lower rungs of bureaucracy Slow processes of decision making, implementation and communication Absence of long-term policies [ policies may change with the change of a government] Politics in business related decisions. [ Location of new plant, political pressure for jobs etc] Specialised Banks for each sector Also Read: Maharashtra puts agreements worth Rs 5000 crore with Chinese companies on hold Policies We dont industry-friendly policies which can inspire new entrepreneur and industrialist to venture in to large scale production facilities as the market is still controlled by few business houses. They kill each opportunity for the MSME to emerge big. Intensive focus needed to mitigate challenges faced by the MSME industry. Draconian laws of British era still exist in Indian regulatory system, Environmental laws, Land acquisition and conversion of land for industrial purpose is biggest source of corruption and major road block in development. Files take month and years to be cleared despite capitation money being paid to officials at each Collectorate or revenue department. Digital Mapping of land and its conversion should be done online. Alternatively, Centre or State Governments themselves should identify land parcels in advance, purchase them from farmers or other sellers, obtain necessary clearances, build infrastructure [ like roads, power and water lines] and keep them ready for sale. In any case for so many business-like electronics, IT, Argoproducts,environment and forest clearances are unnecessary. It takes years for approval and promoter starts losing interest on the project even before project gets off the ground. This is because bank loan starts accumulating interest on it. South Korean steel giant POSCO waited for so many years to set up its steel plant and has finally walked away because of such delays. Bureaucracy is biggest hurdle in development as the decision taken at highest level fails to get implemented at ground. For example, in recent corona pandemic, govt of India has decided to reduce performance security deposit up to remaining project cost but it has not been passed on to agencies by departments, contractors are suffering serious financial crunches. In short, policies should be well thought out and must be for long term, should not be influenced by changes in the government or ministry or officials. Polices should be such that there are no scopes for corruption or delays. Corruption Though an autocratic regime is believed to be more corrupt, in china the corruption is limited to the top rungs of Chinese Communist Party only. Autocracy helps them in implementation of policies and projects in real-time. Fear of being severely punished works well with such way of governance. Contrary to this India has seen a non-corrupt regime at Centre in last 6 years. But mid and lower level is still the same, its big roadblock to policies and programs of the government. For example, Banks are told to lend to SME, MSME sectors to support it to revive. But banks are hell-bent on not doing it. They follow same old line of no work is better than to be held accountable. They fear of being booked by ED or CBI for any wrong lending. PSU bank and government enforcement agencies must understand that they are also doing business and some cases resulting in NPA doesnt necessarily mean corruption. One classic example is Dholera SIR, the brainchild and dream project of PM Modi. A huge 72 square kilometre area has been developed with world-class infrastructure near Ahmadabad out of the proposed total area of 920 Square kilometres. It was conceived when PM Modi was CM of Gujarat, over 6 years since he became Prime minister but not a single industry has moved in. A sum of over Rs 5000 crores already spent on development so far. Its time to invite those 300 companies moving out of china to Dholera SIR. They can start manufacturing within a year with ready to move infrastructure in place. Present Modi government has been talking about so called Plug and Play model for new business, Dholera SIR is ideal location to execute this Plug and Play model. The lower and mid-segment of government must show accountability towards timely implementation of the government schemes from time to time. Technology can play a big role to settle this issue. As the world is making new norms post COVID work culture, we should focus on online meetings for quick approvals, disbursements of disputes if any. Unnecessary movement of physical applications and paperwork should be avoided. The human interface only can reduce corruption and speed up the work. Specialised banks for each sector The rapid growth of china is largely attributed to planning of finances to new enterprises. China has separate bank for each business sector like Industrial bank of China is for industry-specific. Agricultural Bank of China is for agro-business only. Infrastructure bank of china is for infra projects lending. This makes the officials expert in their respective field and easy to understand customer needs. In India, all our private or public sector banks are doing all the businesses and they dont have expertise in any specific business. They struggle to learn new type of project or consumer demand comes to them. We have our own ILFS or NABARD or NBFCs but they too are mired in red tape and corruption. We should improve and upgrade work culture of these lending institutions to make them more business friendly. Large PSBs should have desks or single widow systems for specific businesses. Presently our yearly imports from China are about Rs. 5 lakh crores. Bulk of them comprise of following segments: Electronics Telecom equipment Organic & Inorganic chemicals, intermediates, bulk drugs, agro chemicals, dyes etc Textiles [ including manmade fibres and yarns] Air conditioners & Refrigeration equipment Automobile batteries Government must approach concerned trade bodies for above businesses to seek implementable solutions from them to replace these imports in time bound manner. Most of the items mentioned above are already being made in India. Some of them can be imported from other countries for time being [ Refer case of Hero Motor Cycles, they cancelled their orders worth Rs 700 crores from China for auto components and planning to buy with little higher price from Germany but will eventually make them in India] In short term our objective should be to meet domestic demands for these products. While doing this, we can address issues of quality and prices. This will enable us to globally compete China and should focus on suppliers of first choice because of anti-China environment across the world. We are able to produce best of engineers and managers for the global businesses. Time is ripe for us to harness this talent to counter this Chinese challenge. Key take aways * Encourage all government departments dealing in revenue, environment, and pollution control to go digital and online to speed up the process, transparency, avoid harassment to industrialists. * MSME sector must get close attention of Top decision-makers. They are backbone of economy and employment. About 50% of export earnings are from MSME sectors also employs 55% of our work force. While political leadership has realised importance of this sector, bureaucracy is yet to respond positively to this critical sector. * One nation one tariff for electricity. It varies from Rs 2.5-7.00 per unit. * The manufacturer is confused, by the time they start production with pre-existing benefits announced by the incumbent government, the government changes and new policies come to force. They should have a protection pact for a minimum of 25 years. * People should be encouraged to establish units in their own locality/ state and must be given incentives for such initiatives. * Consumption of goods made locally should be encouraged. Such goods are bound to be cheaper as they dont involve storage and transportation costs. * Bank lending must be done easily with lower collateral security & rate of interest to encourage new entrepreneurs & should be on top priority. Any business decision involving huge capital outlay will be taken with prime consideration for the risks involved in safeguarding the capital deployed. This can be assured only with consistent long-term policies, political stability, rule of law, corruption free administration, efficient funding institutions and availability of skilled manpower. All these areas need to be addressed by political leadership. Beginning has already been made. China has provided us with the impetus to move ahead quickly in all these spheres. The writer is a PHD scholar from NIT surat. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Eliminating COVID-19 from Ireland over the course of the summer is possible and would require only a modest amount of additional effort, according to new modelling analyses conducted by UCC infectious disease expert Professor Gerry Killeen. Professor Killeen said that it was likely that COVID-19 would establish itself as a permanent disease with unpredictable waves every few years. The UCC medical boffin warned that repeatedly imposing, lifting and re-imposing restrictions to merely suppress the epidemic until it hopefully burns itself may prove a dangerous gamble. According to Professor Killeen, who holds the AXA Research Chair in Applied Pathogen Ecology in UCC, more stringent and effective restrictions and measures now could shorten the time to the complete suppression of the disease. As Ireland begins to gradually emerge from lock-down, Professor Killeen has appealed for sustained and enhanced measures to completely eliminate the virus. "The quiet tail of a fading epidemic may be just as dangerous as the silent onset," Prof Killeen warned, He added that Ireland should look to countries with ambitious national strategies to crush the curve of their epidemics. He includes China, South Korea, Japan and Australia among such countries. "With their approaches to eliminating the virus with sustained and uninterrupted restrictions, their time-lines to that exit point are about three months and New Zealand is already there," he said. "Countries like Ireland, France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom, where daily incidence rates have been slowly falling, may well have achieved 80 per cent suppression of transmission," the professor added. Michigan college campuses are going to look very different this fall. People will be wearing masks, some buildings will be closed, residence halls will be at reduced capacity and events have been canceled. A police officer drives his quad on a street, on July 10, 2020 in Saint-Apollinaire, Que. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) Quebec Police Say Girls Who Were Subject of Amber Alert Found Dead SAINT-APOLLINAIRE, Que.The bodies of two girls who were the subject of an Amber Alert were found in a suburb of Quebec City on Saturday, in what Premier Francois Legault is describing as a national tragedy. Quebec provincial police said they found the bodies of Norah and Romy Carpentier, aged 11 and 6, in a wooded area of St-Apollinaire, Que., drawing to a close a days-long search that gripped the province. Like all Quebecers, I am devastated, without words. Losing two children, what we hold most dear in life, is incomprehensible, Legault said on Twitter. It is a national tragedy. He said that all of Quebec is grieving with Norah and Romys loved ones. A spokeswoman for the provincial police confirmed the news of the girls deaths on Saturday afternoon, saying the investigation into the cause of death is ongoing. But Ann Mathieu said the current priority is to locate the girls father, Martin Carpentier. We think that he is still in the area, so the police operation is still on to find him as soon as possible, she said. The girls had been missing since late Wednesday. Their disappearance has gripped people across the province who had hoped they would be found safe. Police had said the girls and their father were believed to have been in a car crash on Highway 20 in St-Apollinaire on Wednesday evening. Investigators said the car was heading east on the highway when it skidded into the median, flipped over and landed on the shoulder on the opposite side of the highway. An Amber Alert was issued for the girls Thursday afternoon, and an extensive police search began in the rural area south of Quebec City. That search had resumed Saturday morning, with police deploying a helicopter, as well as canine units, ATVs and on-foot search teams, to try to locate the three people. Police believe Carpentier could still be in St-Apollinaire or the nearby town of St-Agapit, Que., Mathieu said. We ask the residents of St-Apollinaire and also St-Agapit to really be alert, she said. Bernard Ouellet, the mayor of St-Apollinaire, said earlier Saturday that the tragedy touched the hearts of people across the province. Everyone has tears in their eyes, Ouellet said in a brief interview. Its not easy for anyone. Mathieu said police are asking anyone who sees Carpentier or has any information on his whereabouts to immediately contact 911. Police say the 44-year-old was wearing a grey T-shirt and jeans when he was last seen. He is listed as being five-foot-ten and weighing 130 pounds. Iran Made 'Procurement Attempts' for Its Nuclear Programme Last Year, Report Says Sputnik News Oleg Burunov. Sputnik International 09:08 GMT 10.07.2020 The crisis around Tehran's atomic programme resumed in 2018 after President Donald Trump announced America's unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The German federal domestic intelligence service BfV has claimed that last year, the Iranian government made efforts to secure goods for its nuclear programme, The Jerusalem Post reports. A BfV report seen by the newspaper disclosed that in 2019, the German intelligence agency "was only able to find occasional indications of Iranian proliferation-related procurement attempts" pertaining to the Islamic Republic's atomic programme. "Such indications arise when the methodological approach to the procurement of goods, [and] their application also in a nuclear programme and/or available knowledge about the final recipient respectively to the inquiring point indicate a potential procurement background relevant to proliferation", the report argued. At the same time, the BfV admitted in the document that "as far as verification of these indications was possible, they did not provide any evidence of a violation of the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal] in Germany". The report did not clarify whether Iran's nuclear proliferation-related findings were sent to the UN Security Council, the JCPOA signatories, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for review. The document's disclosure comes after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated in late June that Washington should compensate for its exit from the JCPOA, urging European countries, trying to salvage the deal, to oppose US pressure. "We have no problem with talks with the US, but only if Washington fulfills its obligations under the nuclear deal, apologises, and compensates Tehran for its withdrawal from the 2015 deal", Rouhani pointed out. In a separate development last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that the US has not only violated the Iran deal and "bullied" others into doing the same, but also earned the "dishonour of being the first" nation "in UN history to punish law-abiding countries for NOT violating a Security Council resolution". He referred to Resolution 2231, a UN measure to approve the JCPOA which, in particular, offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for a commitment not to pursue the production of nuclear weapons. The crisis around the Iranian nuclear programme, which Tehran says is purely peaceful, resumed on 8 May 2018, when the US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, agreed upon by Iran, the UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the EU in 2015. The nuclear deal was set to limit Iran's stockpile of medium-enriched uranium and reduce its number of gas centrifuges in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. Apart from leaving the JCPOA, the Trump administration also reinstated crippling economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic, prompting Tehran to call upon other signatories to stick to the agreement and safeguard the Iranian economy from a US blockade. Tehran said that otherwise it would start gradually suspending its obligations under the deal every 60 days, a pledge that Iran started to implement in May 2019. The US exit from the JCPOA sparked tensions between Tehran and Washington, which escalated in early January 2020, when top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad, authorised by President Trump. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address I want to thank Secretary Mnuchin I spent hours and hours with him at all hours of the day. I want to thank someone I didnt know very well Chief of Staff Meadows who is very good at making sure an agreement can come to fruition even in the wee hours of the morning, Schumer said in an April 21 floor speech before the additional PPP funds were approved. (Natural News) A Black Lives Matter mural painted on a street in Oak Park, Illinois, was targeted by unknown individuals who altered the mural to make it say All Lives Matter instead. The artists behind the mural have decried the incident as a so-called act of racism, even though some of the most well-known proponents of the counter-slogan are people of color themselves. This includes Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, one of only three Black people in the Senate. The Oak Park Police Department said that the incident happened in the middle of the night and that the case was now being investigated as an act of vandalism. The mural is considered a testament to community acknowledgment of the Black Lives Matter movement that has focused public attention on the inequities and systemic racism that have such a negative impact on people of color, said the city in a statement. On Wednesday, city employees cleaned up the mural. Camille Watson, executive director of the Oak Park Area Arts Council thanked the citys public works department for their quick response. She said that the mural cleaned up well, but that the artists might have to restore parts of it. (Related: YOU GOT DUPED! Nearly 25 million Americans got hoodwinked by the Black Lives Matter Terrorist Organization that first pretended to be peaceful to reel in all the suckers.) Similar incidents happening across the country At least eight other Black Lives Matter murals across the United States have been attacked, mostly by unknown individuals. In Orlando, Florida, a 30-foot Black Lives Matter mural painted in red, black and green the colors of the Pan-African flag was targetted on June 27. Organizers, who had not yet completed the mural, said they found a variety of slogans written on top, such as ABOLISH THE POLICE and NOT ENOUGH. These suggested that other left-wing demonstrators who were not satisfied with the citys Black Lives Matter movement were behind the vandalism. In Cleveland, messages were also scrawled on top of the citys Black Lives Matter mural. One of the most prominent of these was BLM ORGANIZATION IS MARXIST, a charge that Democratic City Councilman Blaine Griffin has denied. Organizers believed the vandal to be one person, and that they have attempted to attack the mural several times in the past. In the state of Vermont, three Black Lives Matter roadway murals were defaced. Two of the murals were marked with rubber from burnouts. A third was daubed with brown and white paint, which suggested that this incident was not connected to the previous two. In Park City, Utah, the word Black on a mural was painted over with a solid coat of gray paint so that it just read Lives Matter. The i on Lives was also made to look like a raised fist a symbol used by the Black Power movement. Other murals painted all across the city, which bore messages such as Solidarity, Unity and Justicia Para Todos Spanish for justice for all were not vandalized. Suspects charged with hate crimes In Martinez, a city in Californias East Bay region, two suspects were charged with a hate crime after they were recorded on video vandalizing a Black Lives Matter mural. According to the Contra Costa District Attorneys office, Nicole Anderson, 42, painted over the mural with black paint while her companion, David Nelson, 53, stood by with a camera to record the hecklers who were harassing them for their actions. Were sick of this narrative, thats whats wrong, Nelson said. The narrative of police brutality, the narrative of oppression, the narrative of racism. Its a lie. On top of the hate crime charges, both Nelson and Anderson have also been charged with violating another persons civil rights, vandalism and possession of tools to commit vandalism. If convicted, Nelson and Anderson could spend up to a year in county jail for their actions. Learn more about other criminal acts carried out by the Black Lives Matter movement at DomesticTerrorism.news. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com FoxNews.com Fox32Chicago.com NYDailyNews.com ClickOrlando.com Cleveland.com Edition.CNN.com SLTrib.com ABCNews.go.com KIRO7.com Iran Promises To Publish Details Of Pact With China As Negative Reactions Grow Radio Farda July 10, 2020 Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Gholamreza Ansari has promised to publish the details of a controversial pact with China, amid a strong public outcry against concessions to Beijing. The promise that was made on national TV Thursday night, came after massive negative reactions by the Iranian public and social media users to the idea of the pact that has been described as "the country's sell out for 25 years." Iranians on social media say a protest gathering in front of the Chinese Embassy in Tehran has been scheduled for later on Friday. Demonstrations are also planned online to be held in front of Iranian embassies in various countries. Ansari described the signing of the pact as a strategic measure that would guarantee the future of Iran's economy. Various reports from Tehran say that the pact is currently nothing more than proposals to China about purchasing Iran's oil and helping Tehran to grow its problematic economy that has been badly damaged by U.S. sanctions. However, the same reports say it is unlikely that China would be able to ignore the U.S. sanctions. The Rouhani administration announced last week that that it has approved the draft for the pact. Critics say that the proposal given to China will have no effect before the approval of the Chinese Communist Party. In the meantime, neither Iran, nor China have revealed anything about the details of the pact. Nevertheless, the news of the Comprehensive 25-Year Strategic Cooperation Plan has raised a lot of sensitivity among Iranians. In one of the latest developments, former prominent lawmaker Ali Motahari tweeted on Friday that "regardless pf the content of the pact, the fate of two million Chinese Muslims in concentration camps in China must be determined as they are being tortured to give up their faith and culture and their mosques have been demolished." Meanwhile, other Twitter users quoted prominent reformist analyst Ahmad Zeidabadi as having said in an analysis that "the pact reveals Iran's final decision for turning to East, but at the same time, it shows that Iran is returning to [pragmatic] rules of international politics after some 40 years." He added that "the strategic cooperation with China will change Iran's policy in the region and will make it dependent on Beijing's policies." However, he continued that "What America has not been able to do with its maximum pressure policy, China is doing through a strategic cooperation plan." Meanwhile, Abbas Mousavi the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the opposition to the Sino-Iranian pact is propelled by some foreign countries. In another development hardliner Iranian lawmaker Abdollah Ganji, the former editor of the IRGC's newspaper Javan, wrote on Twitter, "the critics have not read the text of the pact and that the reason they do not like it is that it has made U.S. sanctions ineffective," but did not explain how. Using the same argument, Ansari said in his interview with the Iranian state TV that "It is natural to see concern among Western countries about Iran's tirs with China." Meanwhile, several Iranian lawmakers including Morteza Aghatehrani of the ultraconservative Paydari Front have said that Parliament will make sure the Contract with China will not be as problematic as Iran's nuclear pact with the world powers. Rouhani administration officials on the other hand have labelled the pact's critics as "enemies". Ansari, as well as the secretariat of the Iranian Free Trade Zones have rejected critics statements about handing over the Kish Island to China for 25 years. Ansari, who supported the pact on TV, said China is currently the only country that purchases oil from Iran and its trade transaction with Iran in 2019 amounted to $24 billion at the peak of U.S. sanctions against Iran. He failed to mention that China has greatly reduced its oil purchases from Iran. But experts believe Iran cannot rely on business with China amid U.S. sanctions. China has imported more than one million ton of oil from Iran since the beginning of 2020 and that this marks a 90 percent decline in Beijing's oil import from Tehran during the same period in the previous year. Meanwhile, China's non-oil imports from Iran in May 2020 has been a modest $370 million, which is the lowest figure during the past ten years. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-promises- to-publish-details-of-pact-with-china-as -negative-reactions-grow/30719558.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Doctors at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in Delhi have said the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) can spread from the mother to her child when the baby is still in the womb, a report said on Saturday. Hindustan, HTs sister publication, reported that a child born at RML Hospital to a woman, who recovered from Covid-19 recently, has been found positive for the infection. Dr Rahul Chaudhary, an assistant professor with RMLs department of neonatal diseases, said the mother had recovered after contracting the virus at the time she delivered her baby. But after the child was born and her sample was sent for examination after six hours, the newborn tested positive for Covid-19. Chaudhary claimed that the birth of a coronavirus-infected child from the corona negative mothers womb is the first case in the country. He said research in China had shown that a child can be infected with Sars-Cov-2, which causes Covid-19, through the umbilical cord, although there was no solid evidence regarding it. A woman giving birth to her child after being cured of coronavirus disease suggests that the corona infection can also reach the baby from the mothers umbilical cord. However, it is very unlikely, Dr Chaudhary was quoted as saying by Hindustan. The 25-year-old woman, a resident of Nangloi, was pregnant and was admitted to RML Hospital last month. She was tested for coronavirus disease on June 11 and was found to be infected. After this, her husband was also tested positive. The woman was again found positive after a repeat Covid-19 test on 25 June and on July 7 when the doctors conducted the RTPCR examination for the third time, the report came back negative. Dr Chaudhary said the womans delivery was done the next day after the report came negative and the child was examined only after six hours. Doctor Kirti, an assistant professor of the hospitals department of microbiology, said coronavirus is present in the baby with high viral load. The baby is in the hospital. Scientists, in an editorial in the American Journal of Perinatology in June, have said that the spread of Sars-Cov-2 from a mother to foetus had not been well-established. The researchers at the University of California Davis Health, however, said it could happen in multiple ways including viral transmission from the mother to the foetus or intrauterine transmission. The transmission from mother to baby during or directly after delivery and superficial exposure to Sars-Cov-2 are also possible, they added. Extending their support to people facing hardships, especially the migrant labourers during the nationwide lockdown, residents of Surat in Gujarat have donated food packets worth Rs 100 crore so far. Known as laghu Bharat (mini India), the city houses workers from 22 states of the country. Also, various institutions, organisations, NGOs and religious groups were seen feeding around 6 lakh people daily. This is also said to be one of Indias biggest donation or charity operations during the nationwide lockdown feeding over half a million on a daily basi. A large number of civic organisations are working on the ground, with around 500 officially registered with the administration. A total of 3.35 crore food packets, each costing Rs 15- 20, have been distributed. Also, more than 56,000 medical kits, each consisting of gloves, masks and sanitisers and costing Rs 300 each, were distributed to the needy. The diamond merchants associations, the builders associations, the industrial units associations, and many such associations have pledged to take care of their employees to ensure migrant labourers welfare. Surat, according to the Mahabharata, is the place where Karnas last rites were performed. Karna is known as danveer (great donor) and also, there is a local saying that nobody sleeps with a hungry stomach in Surat. SMC with the help of various NGOs have started donating essential goods & supplies in LIG for the welfare of the poor and needy, on regular bases. Today it was held at different places in Surat. Help us fight this pandemic of Corona by showing your support donations of goods. pic.twitter.com/iIarh4InHJ My Surat (@MySuratMySMC) April 4, 2020 This was evident when people from all walks of life started coming out to help each other during these tough times. An Odia migrant, Dhaneshwar Jenna, for instance, didnt think twice in spending the savings raised by him and his wife for his 4-year-old sons education in an English-medium school for this noble cause. Another man named Jignesh Gandhi donated the money he had saved to buy his dream car. Jignesh has so far spent a whopping Rs 40 lakh, feeding hundreds of needy twice a day, serving milk and masks. Dinesh Rajpurohit, a hotelier and a social worker, who started by feeding 500 people after Janta Curfew was announced is now feeding around 4,500 people per day. In addition, he also supplied masks, PPEs, sanitisers and train fares for migrants. Many societies decided to make two rotis extra from every household to feed the underprivileged cluster near their location, without violating the lockdown norms. The city is the only parliamentary constituency which gave us a Deputy Prime Minister and a Prime Minister in Morarji Desai. With a population of about 5 million, this has been one the fastest growing cities in the world since the 1970s. Its population grew by 68 per cent in the decade from 2001 to 2011, against the national average of 14 per cent. But, after 24 March, when lockdown was declared, it became difficult for labourers in factories and daily wage earners to get their ends met. Following the age-old tradition of Surat, the Municipal Corporation and local government authorities gave a call for help. And, people in Surat rose to the occasion, letting a ceaseless flow of human compassion. Day-and-night kitchen services were started by various individuals and groups, organisations and institutions, to feed the needy. Notably, due to collective efforts, the city has also been declared a garbage-free city in 2020 and has been among the cleanest cities in India for years now. According to worldometer info, the Maldives has a population of 5.16 lakh as of 2018. So, Surat serving around 6 lakh people daily is like serving the entire Maldives on a daily basis. This was done with 3Cs compassion, coordination and consistency. When the last of the 445 Shramik trains departed Surat, a record seven lakh odd migrant workers were enabled to reach their native places safely. The people of Surat are also active in organ donation, blood donation, eye donation and body donation, giving alms and food to the homeless in normal times. But this time during Covid-19 crisis, people here surpassed all the previous records of donations. The city showed how to fight a pandemic, with humanity and compassion intact. Yuvraj Pokharna is an Engineer turned Educationist and Social Activist from Surat who keeps a keen eye on contemporary issues including social media,politics and Government Policies. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App 1. Yes. Too many kids are staying home. They need a virtual learning option to keep up. 2. Yes. Teachers are out sick and subs cant handle the load. Online learning is needed. 3. No. Its too late in the school year to make a wholesale switch in teaching platforms. 4.No. Many parents arent in a position to stay home while their kids learn virtually. 5. Unsure. It may seem like a good idea from a health standpoint, but it has shortcomings. Vote View Results Baramulla: One of the two terrorists gunned down by the security forces in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmirs Baramulla on Saturday has been identified as a member of the Pakistan-backed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The slain terrorist has been identified as Idris Bhat, who was a resident of Natnusa, Kupwara. He went to Pakistan through the Wagah Border in 2018. Meanwhile, the identity of the second terrorist is still being ascertained by the security forces. Earlier today, the two terrorists were gunned down by the security forces in an ambush at the Naugam sector, the Srinagar-based Defence PRO said. Besides, the security personnel also recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the two slain terrorists. General-officer-Commanding (GoC), 19 Infantry Division, (Baramulla), Major General Virender Vats said that two terrorists were killed in the operation in Naugam and ''a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including 1.5 lakh of Indian and Pakistani currency, was recovered from them." He said the cache of arms recovered from the slain terrorists comprises 2xAK and 1x Pistol with magazines, ammunition, and some grenades and medical supplies. The terrorists, who were trying to infiltrate into the area by cutting the anti-infiltration fence, were dressed in combat fatigues. They had taken the route through Pakistani forward posts in the area, which clearly indicates that Pakistan is pushing terrorists to this side, he added. The timely action by the alert security forces ensured the killing of two heavily armed terrorists. However, a massive search and cordon is still on in the area. Major General Vats warned that Pakistan is trying hard to push more and more terrorists into the Kashmir Valley to disrupt the peace in Jammu and Kashmir. A 15-year-old boy has died after a suspected shark attack on the Mid North Coast of NSW on Saturday afternoon. Friends have remembered Mani Hart-Deville, a year 10 student at South Grafton High School, as "gentle" and "so caring". Mani Hart-Deville, 15, died after being bitten by a shark near Grafton on Saturday. Witnesses said Hart-Deville was bitten while surfing at Wilsons Headland at Wooli Beach, north of Coffs Harbour, about 2.30pm. He suffered serious injuries to his legs and was assisted by other surfers, before being taken to shore and given first aid and CPR. India reported the highest single-day spike of 27,114 cases in the last 24 hours, as mentioned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday morning. There were 519 deaths reported at the same time. So far India, total positive cases stand at 8,20,916 including 2,83,407 active cases, 5,15,386 discharged and 22,123 deaths. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that India has conducted 1,13,07,002 tests so far, out of which 2,82,511 tests were conducted on July 10. With 2,38,461 cases, Maharashtra is the worst affected. The state has 95,943 active cases, along with 1,32,625 discharged and 9,893 deaths. Tamil Nadu has reported 1,30,261 cases, including 46,108 active cases, 82,324 discharged and 1,829 deaths. Delhi has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases in the country. It has reported 1,09,140 cases along with 21,146 active cases, 84,694 discharged and 3,300 deaths. There are currently 15 states with more than 10,000 cases including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Three states have more than 1 lakh cases of coronavirus, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim have fewer than 500 cases of COVID. While cases continue to increase the search for a COVID vaccine has also sped up. Experts informed a parliamentary panel on Friday that a vaccine would be available only by early next year. Meanwhile, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has commended Dharavi for its efforts to curb coronavirus. "There are many examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control. Some of these examples are Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi - a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai - a strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus," Tedros said. Also read: Coronavirus: Another Toyota employee at Bidadi plant tests positive; total number of cases reach 14 Also read: When to expect Indian coronavirus vaccine? Early next year, experts tell parliamentary panel Inside Hook What might a world where police departments are defunded look like? As many advocates of the practice have noted, this wouldnt represent the end of everything police currently do; rather, it would involve increasing funding for other areas of local government. Presently, police departments handle a host of tasks, many of which are far removed from the actual practice of law enforcement. An upcoming vote in Berkeleys City Council might be the start of a shift away from that, however. As Kate Larsen at ABC 7 News reports, the council is set to vote on a proposal which would create a new Department of Transportation for the city, making the new department responsible for handling traffic stops. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has called on French business to participate in the privatization of Ukrainian enterprises and announced the resumption of work of the Joint Ukraine-France Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation. We need to discuss ways to enhance Ukraine-France economic cooperation with the involvement of your companies combined with the opportunities that Ukraine can provide in terms of business and investment support, Shmyhal said at the meeting with French businesspeople, the Government portal informs. According to the PM, Ukraine-France relations has a special nature as French business is one of the largest employers in Ukraine and a major investor, and Ukraine is interested in intensifying cooperation with French businesses. Shmyhal pointed out the special role of the Joint Ukraine-France Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation as an instrument of intergovernmental cooperation. "Unfortunately, its eighth meeting, scheduled for March 13, 2020 in Paris, had to be postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that the Commission will gather as soon as the epidemiological situation is favourable and will continue its work, in particular on the development of those projects and areas that have already been launched," the Prime Minister said. He also assured that Ukraines course towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration remained invariable, as well as Ukraines commitment to systemic reforms, the implementation of which would have a positive impact on working conditions of the French business in Ukraine. The meeting participants also touched upon the possible participation of French business in the privatization of state-owned Ukrainian enterprises. "To date, the State Property Fund of Ukraine has prepared about 400 small and medium enterprises for privatization. Such privatization process has already been launched and is underway. Now we are standing on the threshold of large-scale privatization. We didnt rush the process expecting the market situation to improve. Large-scale privatization will begin with one of the major facilities, the Dnipro Hotel, and about ten large enterprises may be offered for privatization this year," PM Shmyhal said. ol The top writer for Fox News host Tucker Carlson has resigned from his position at the network after racist posts that he allegedly authored surfaced. Blake Neff, who is originally from South Dakota, had allegedly posted offensive material over a number of years on an Internet message board called AutoAdmit that often contains bigoted content. Neff's resignation came after the story was broken by CNN who then contacted Fox for a comment. Blake Neff, who served as the top writer for Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, has resigned after a number of racist and sexist posts written by him came to light On Friday evening, Neff's digital public persona had been removed from online sites with his personal Twitter and LinkedIn accounts deactivated. The CNN report cites several examples of questionable postings on the site AutoAdmit, with bigoted and derogatory comments about women, black, Asian, and LGBTQ people. 'Black doods staying inside playing Call of Duty is probably one of the biggest factors keeping crime down,' he reportedly wrote a few weeks ago. In another he stated: 'Honestly given how tired black people always claim to be, maybe the real crisis is their lack of sleep.' The AutoAdmit forum is supposedly frequented with lawyers and law school students in which racism and sexism run rampant. Neff resigned Friday morning from Tucker Carlson Tonight, after an investigation revealed that Neff had been posting under the pseudonym 'CharlesXII' was posting on AutoAdmit for the entire four years he worked on the show Fox News said in an internal memo to employees that it 'strongly condemns this horrific racist, misogynistic and homophobic behavior. 'Neffs abhorrent conduct on this forum was never divulged to the show or the network until Friday, at which point we swiftly accepted his resignation. Make no mistake, actions such as his cannot and will not be tolerated at any time in any part of our work force,' read the memo from FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and FOX News Media President & Executive Editor Jay Wallace. Neff attended Dartmouth College, a private Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire. An article written about him in an alumni magazine spoke of the supposed influence he had on the show. 'Anything he's reading off the teleprompter, the first draft was written by me,' says Neff. In the past three-and-a-half years he has been working on the show, Neff explained that he would Initially speak to Carlson each day about what to cover but said that he shared similar views as the right-wing pundit on many issues. 'I've gotten used to what he likes and what he thinks about,' he said. Sometimes Neff's posts even overlapped with Carlson's on-air lines which would be repeated 'We're very aware that we do have that power to sway the conversation, so we try to use it responsibly,' he told the magazine. 'Our show is controversial - that's just objective - but I don't believe that we're stoking conflict. When people accuse us of that, they're allowing actual firebrands to stir them up.' According to CNN Business, Neff allegedly made disparaging remarks towards black and Asian people. He derided a woman for being an 'Azn megashrew' in posts that were all allegedly posted under a pseudonym. His abuse led to other users then getting involved and abusing the woman for several years in follow-up posts. Neff stated how he 'wouldn't get LASIK from an Asian for free' in response to an email thread with the subject line, 'Would u let a JET BLACK congo n***** do lasik eye surgery on u for 50% off?' Neff allegedly made a number of openly racist comments and has since removed all of his social media 'I wouldn't get LASIK from an Asian for free, so no,' Neff is alleged to have responded. In other parts of the forum, he is said of have joked about 'foodie f*****' and 'Third World sh*******.' At times, his posts even overlapped with Carlson's on-air lines. In one example, Neff allegedly wrote on the forum, 'It is your f***ing right as an American to wear whatever T-shirt you want, and hold whatever political views you want. Christ.' The former Fox writer held a great amount of power over the highest-rated show on cable news for a number of years The following night on his show, Carlson mirrored the comments. '...And they can wear whatever shirts they want. You thought that was true. You thought that was your right as an American,' he allegedly wrote. CNN received an anonymous tip revealing Neff's username as 'CharlesXII'. Researchers were then able to corroborate messages on the noticeboard with public information about him. In photos which he had allegedly posted to the forum, Neff's reflection could also be seen taking the picture. Commentators on the site reportedly knew that the person behind the account worked on Carlsons show. Carlson has come under fire a number of times in recent years for racist and sexist comments made both on air and off yet he remains at the top of Fox News ratings. He has been accused of stoking racism and xenophobia, while also claiming the threat of white supremacy is a 'hoax.' In one instance, he implied that accepting immigrants into the county make America 'poorer and dirtier.' On Monday, Carlson claimed that decorated war veteran Tammy Duckworth was a 'coward' for not wanting to appear on his show. Following his comments on Monday, Duckworth - who became a double amputee after losing her legs while serving in Iraq - suggested on Twitter that Carlson 'walk a mile in my legs.' Carlson will address the issue on his show Monday night. Serbia and Kosovo need to mend ties to qualify for EU membership. The worlds biggest trading bloc, already reluctant to take in new members, wont consider candidates with open territorial issues. Serbia is nominally on track to join, while Kosovo is striving to become a candidate. One hurdle is that while Kosovo, with U.S. backing, has won recognition from more than 110 countries, five of the EUs 27 members dont acknowledge it. Serbia is lobbying to block its neighbor from joining world bodies such as Interpol and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and has persuaded at least a dozen nations to revoke their recognition. The ultimate proof of statehood for Kosovo would be entry in the UN, but Serbia is relying on Russia and China to prevent that until a compromise is found. That gives the governments in Moscow and Beijing a foothold to increase their influence in the region. Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson mingles in high profile circles. She calls Amal Clooney her best friend and was spotted rubbing shoulders with Prince Charles at an exclusive charity event in London before the COVID-19 outbreak took hold. But it was the 39-year-old's turn in the spotlight this week, making international headlines standing as Amber Heard's barrister during the Johnny Depp's libel case against The Sun newspaper in London. Ms Robinson was pictured accompanying Depp's ex-wife into court, where the Pirates of the Carribean star is suing the newspaper over a 2018 article that suggested he was a 'wife beater'. Jennifer Robinson, 39, made headlines this week over her role as Amber Heard's barrister in Johnny Depp's libel case against The Sun newspaper in London. She is pictured during a hearing for Julian Assange in 2019 Ms Robinson (centre) was pictured accompanying Johnny Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard (second from the right) into the High Court in London on Thursday. Ms Heard was also joined by her partner Bianca Butti (left) and her sister Whitney (top left) Explicit details of the couple's turbulent marriage has dominated headlines, including claims Depp bashed Heard's head into a fridge and sent texts threatening to cut off Elon Musk's penis after suspecting they were having an affair. In another, the model, 34, claimed her ex-husband, 57, used his severed finger to paint 'I love you' in blood on a mirror while they were temporarily based in the Gold Coast while he was filming. Ms Robinson is part of the powerful group of women who are supporting Ms heard through the blockbuster libel trial. Ms Robinson came from humble beginnings in the small village Berry, south of Sydney, where her father works as a horse trainer. She is now a leading human rights lawyer from Doughty Street chambers who also represents Julian Assange. She has become one of the UK's highest profile human rights and media lawyers, working in the practice established by prominent Australian lawyer Geoffrey Robertson. Ms Robinson is a close friend of Amal Clooney and attended her wedding to George in 2014, where she was asked to carry out bridesmaid duties. She arrived via Venice in a boat with fellow guest Bill Murray (pictured) The Australian (pictured in 2019) has appeared at the International Court of Justice and given expert evidence at the UN and in Parliament 'I am proud that women from my chambers, like Jennifer and Amal Clooney, are proving that young women can rise high in the law and overcome the bars and sexism in what used to be a male-dominated profession,' Mr Robertson told News Corp this week. 'She is quite brilliant and has assisted me on those important cases and has done very well and is having a successful career working at my Chambers. 'She has represented the West Papua independent movement and other human rights causes.' Ms Robinson has appeared at the International Court of Justice and given expert evidence at the UN and in Parliament. Her areas of expertise are free speech and civil liberties, and she regularly advises newspapers on media law. Ms Robinson attended Amal Clooney's wedding to George in 2014, where she was asked to carry out bridesmaid duties. She arrived via Venice in a boat with fellow guest Bill Murray. In 2017, she was seen canoodling with Jeremy Corbyn's former spin doctor Seumas Milne - with her father later telling MailOnline that his daughter was just enjoying a night out and a 'few drinks' with a friend. Johnny Depp pictured arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice in Strand, London, on Friday. The Pirates of the Carribean star is suing The Sun newspaper over an article suggesting he was a 'wife beater' Actress Amber Heard, 34, pictured above leaving the High Court in London on Friday Her father, Terry, insisted his daughter is a 'good girl' who has been in a 'few relationships' but dismissed suggestions that she was having an affair with the married father-of-two. In 2011 she gave an interview about her private life and described herself as 'passionate' and 'infinitely curious', and said: 'My friends would probably add, ''the eternal optimist'' or ''a bit bonkers''.' She admitted that while being serious as a proud Australian she enjoys 'taking the p**s' and said she swears too much. Ms Robinson also confessed that she 'partied' a lot when she was younger. She said: 'London has too much fun on offer to be stuck at your desk all day and night'. And responding to a question about the contents of her London fridge she said: 'Nothing but a few bottles of champagne (and maybe a mouldy piece of cheese)' because she so rarely eats at home. She was also asked: 'What comes into your mind when you shut your eyes and think of the word 'law'?' and replied: 'Jude' - a reference to the British actor. Amber Heard is pictured above arriving at the High Court with Jennifer Robinson. It is hard to imagine Ms Wass, who defended the serial killer Rosemary West, ever walking hand in hand with a client, as Ms Robinson did with Miss Heard on the opening day of Depps case It was impossible to see Ambers expression, or if she even glanced in her former husbands direction, or if those glances were filled with regret or antipathy or something else. (Above, the 34-year-old actress and her 'Team Heard' arriving at the High Court; far right, her lawyer Jennifer Robinson) Ms Robinson was mainly an observer in Heard's case, which saw Depp hit with 14 allegations of domestic violence, claims he defending during the three days of testimony. The newspaper, which failed to have the case thrown out of court, is relying on Heard's claims to defend their article as true. The actor has denied hit his former wife on several occasions, but admitted he 'accidentally' headbutted her during a fight in Los Angeles in 2015. The court also heard Depp allegedly threw a phone at Amber Heard and called her 'Amber Turd' after she allegedly defecated in their marital bed after a blazing row on her 30th birthday party in which he threw a champagne bottle at her. Heard denied the claims, and suggested it may have been one of their small dogs, Pistol or Boo. The court was also shown photos Heard provided of her injuries, including bruises on her arms and black eyes. The model also alleged Depp tried to set fire to a painting Heard's former partner Taysa van Ree gave to her, that was hanging in her bedroom. While denying the claims, Depp has accused Heard of violence towards him, saying his finger was severed actually severed after she threw a bottle of champagne. He said he would be frequently 'punished' if he 'broke her rules', such as whether she took his boots off or whether he put his arm around her while watching TV on the sofa. Depp's case against The Sun is expected to continue for another two weeks. Kylie Jenner knows how to get attention. And the youngest of the Kardashian/Jenner sisters had all eyes on her after sharing a gorgeous social media shot on Saturday. 'Morning,' the stunning makeup mogul, 22, wrote in the caption. Looking good: Kylie Jenner looked glamorous in a chic outfit shot shared Saturday Kylie stunned wearing a skin tight Maree Noire look covered in a blue crescent pattern. Taking a small step away from her usual raven locks, Miss Jenner rocked chocolate brown tresses which flowed down past her waist in romantic waves. Giving a shout out the artist, Kylie tagged hairstylist Jesus Guerrero. She didn't hold back with the glam, showing off a glow courtesy of pal and longtime makeup artist Ariel Tejada. Kylie is fresh from a relaxing vacation to the Utah desert with sister Kendall and their friends. Desert dreams: Kylie is fresh from a relaxing vacation to the Utah desert with sister Kendall and their friends Glam: The makeup mogul made the most of her surroundings at the five-star Amangiri resort in Canyon Point, Utah During the trip the group embraced their outdoorsy side, enjoying the red rocks and canyons with a few hikes. But they still found time to snap their share of fashionable photos while lounging around their accommodations at the luxurious Amangiri resort in Canyon Point, Utah. The remote five-star hideaway is said to be a perfect escape for either an adrenaline-fueled adventure or a peaceful desert retreat. The upscale desert destination was also recently visited by Hailey and Justin Bieber during their road trip through the southwest. VIP: Kylie and pals stayed at the exclusive Amangiri resort in Canyon Point, Utah, an upscale location where famous friends Hailey and Justin Bieber have also vacationed It's no wonder why Amangiri is a favorite with the celeb set. Situated on 600-acres of private property, the resort boasts privileged access to National Parks and Lake Powell, a 25k square feet spa and private transfers directly from the local airport. During a stay, celebs can enjoy sustainable, seasonal menus inspired by the culinary heritage of the Navajo and the American Southwest served indoors and alfresco as well as 'ultimate personalization of bespoke adventures and cultural activities.' A basic suite starts at just over $3200 per night. Washington: Indian ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu has held a virtual interaction with members of the Sikh community in the United States, during which the participating diaspora leaders pledged to contribute to Indias development with particular focus on Punjab. Wonderful interaction with prominent members of the vibrant Sikh Indian-American community, Sandhu said in a tweet soon after the virtual interaction on Friday, which was attended by about 100 eminent Sikh leaders. During the two-hour-long virtual meeting, the ambassador briefed the community on India-US strategic ties and praised their immense contribution in the socio-economic milieu of the United States and development of India. The Sikh leaders expressed interest in helping to develop Punjab, in sectors such as education and environment. There was lot of enthusiasm to do something towards the overall development of Punjab, according to a participating official. During his previous postings here in various capacities, ambassador Sandhu has been instrumental in engaging the Sikh diaspora. Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah has refuted claims that there is military presence at the various registration centres in the Region. The leadership and members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been lambasting President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for deploying Military officers to border Regions like the Volta Region, their stronghold. They claim the government wants to intimidate some Ghanaians participating in the ongoing registration exercise. Although the President has denied sending the troops to the Regions to intimidate and prevent some people from partaking in new voters' registration exercise, his political opponents still hold on to their arguments and feel vindicated by claiming the Army is terrorizing Ghanaians at the registration centres. Contributing to a panel discussion on 'Kokrokoo' on Peace FM, Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah told host Kwami Sefa Kayi that nowhere in the Ashanti Region is a Military officer stationed at a registration centre. He called on residents in the Ashanti Region and other Regions to alert the security forces should an army officer be found at any centre. In Ashanti Region, it is the Police that is manning the registration centres. Then we have mobile teams made up of the Police and the Military; they are moving. So, in case, something happens somewhere; they will rush to the place. There is no Army officer stationed at any of the registration centres. They are rather moving and in case of emergency, they call upon them. He further emphasized that the registration exercise has been successful. As at now, it is very successful. When you come to my Region, so far I haven't witnessed any serious problem. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Customers wait outside the Perth Apple Store wearing masks on May 8. But that fundamental disagreement goes a long way to explaining why Australia has remained reluctant to enforce compulsory mask-wearing even as more and more US states make face-coverings mandatory. That started to change on Friday, as mounting community spread - and a significant new piece of evidence - encouraged the Victorian government to call on the community to wear masks in public. Dogmas dont die easy When it comes to masks, experts agree on most things. If you cough or sneeze, wearing a mask will help prevent you spreading a virus onto others. If you cannot socially distance and youre in an area of high transmission, a face-covering is a good idea. What many experts do disagree on is this: how far can COVID-19 travel through the air? How far can a sneeze spread? Respiratory viruses like COVID-19 spread through droplets the tiny particles of virus-containing saliva or mucus we spray when we cough and sneeze. If infected droplets land on a persons mouth, nose, or eye, the virus can gain entry into the body. If enough virus gets in, we can get sick. Thats why the Australian government advises people to keep 1.5 metres away from each other. The theory is, at that distance, all the big, heavy and highly infectious droplets from a cough or sneeze will drop to the ground before they can reach you. Thats why social distancing and hand washing (to kill any droplets you may have on your hands) are health authorities front-line weapons, rather than masks. But the belief that most virus-carrying droplets will fall out of the air over 1.5 metres is based on aging evidence that now looks increasingly shaky. In the 1930s and 40s scientists tried to get an idea of how viruses spread by having people cough onto plates. They then studied the size of the droplets under a microscope. Most of the droplets about 95 per cent were found to be too big to spread further than 1.5 metres. But the tests they used were not sensitive enough to pick up tiny particles. More recent studies have found the vast majority of particles generated are actually much more tiny than previously thought and can hang in the air for some time. And these tiny particles are exiting our mouth all the time to waft about the room. Credit:Oxford University Press This diagram, from a paper by Professor Morawska, shows how a virus can spread through a poorly-ventilated room. Credit:Oxford University Press Yet the 1.5 metre rule has become dogma and held up the push for masks, said Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Air Quality at the Queensland University of Technology Professor Lidia Morawska. If its not accepted the virus can be transmitted through the airborne route, you dont need to wear a mask, she said. Dogmas dont die easy. A simple meal Lets return, for a moment, to the restaurant in China. One person infected with COVID-19 enters. Six leave. Yet security camera footage reviewed later by scientists show the infected patient never coughed or sneezed on any of the people who fell sick never had direct contact with any of them. For Professor Morawska, that is clear evidence COVID-19 can spread indirectly and over long distances. Two of Australias key infection control experts disagree. Professor Lyn Gilbert is chair of the federal governments Infection Control Expert Group, an influential body that advises the states chief health officers. Associate Professor Philip Russo is deputy-chair, and president of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control. Speaking in their personal capacity as researchers, both told The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald they did not believe there was strong evidence airborne spread was a major transmission route for COVID-19. Wearing a mask is not as simple a solution that some people make out and is unlikely to be effective on its own, irrespective of whether transmission is predominantly by droplets or sometime airborne, said Professor Gilbert. COVID-19 is spread by direct contact being coughed or sneezed on. If youre that close to someone, youll get droplets on the other parts of your face. Even if youre wearing a mask, Dr Russo said. Most transmission happens in households, not in public spaces, he said. Airborne spread is not a major source of infection, he said. What about the Chinese restaurant? Professor Gilbert argued that was most likely direct spread, not airborne transmission and at any rate, people cannot practically wear masks in restaurants. There may not be direct contact between people, but they are close together in small, crowded spaces, she said. Thats exactly the space where these small particles dont have to hang in the air for very long to get to someone else. It is not clear the tiny droplets Professor Morawska worries about are big enough to contain enough virus to cause an infection. Further, if COVID-19 really was airborne, it would behave more like measles where every sick child infects about 12 to 18 others on average, said Dr Russo. COVID-19s reproduction number hovers closer to 2 than 20. People who get the virus are those that have close contact. If this was a true airborne infection like tuberculosis or measles, that would come out in the epidemiology, said Dr Russo. And the inappropriate wearing of masks can be more dangerous. You can end up touching the mask a lot, touching the face a lot, and end up contaminating yourself that way. Do masks work? Setting aside how long COVID hangs in the air, the evidence for how well masks actually work to stop the spread of infection is more contested than you might think. In part, that's because there is no high quality direct evidence that shows asking the general public to wear masks prevents COVID-19, as the World Health Organisation says (the organisation, nevertheless, recommends masks). One way to prove masks prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to run a randomised controlled trial. We dont have one for COVID-19 yet. That leaves us with randomised controlled trials of mask wearing to prevent the spread of the flu, which tend to show positive if modest results, and observational studies. These studies look at virus transmission in groups of people who claim to wear masks all the time. They can provide evidence only of a link, not an actual effect. A major review of observational studies, published in the Lancet on June 1, found wearing a mask in the community reduced the risk of spreading COVID-19 by 69 per cent a huge drop. That paper has led many experts, as well as the Australian Medical Association, to back calls for mask-wearing in Melbourne. The effectiveness of masks reducing transmission is now really clear, says Burnet Institute epidemiologist Professor Michael Toole. "We hear that wearing a mask will make you stop washing your hands or forget to keep your distance from others there is no science to support this. In fact, the science shows the opposite that masks protect," says head of biosecurity at the Kirby Institute Professor Raina MacIntyre. It was also enough to swing Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, who on Friday told media that study had provided the strong evidence he needed to make the call on asking Melburnians to wear masks in public. Not everyone agrees. That Lancet study is seriously flawed, said director of the Institute for Evidence Based Health Care at Bond University Professor Paul Glasziou. Its all based on observational evidence. And they did not adjust for the confounding. Mask wearers are known to be worried people who do the appropriate behaviours: they socially distance, they worry more. He and a team of academics from Bond University reviewed 14 randomised controlled trials of masks. In a study that has not yet been peer reviewed or published, they found there was weak evidence masks reduced the risk of catching a flu-like illness. One problem, Professor Glasziou said, is that even if people were educated on how to wear masks they typically did not wear them correctly or often enough. Masks also do not protect the eyes from droplets. And as the WHO points out, studies have suggested wearing a mask can encourage people to regularly fiddle with it, potentially contaminating it, and may even create a false sense of security which may cause them to drop their guard. Sean Eacrett is an Auctioneer based in Ballybrittas. He auctions full or part house clearances as well as individual items from Vendors. He values for individuals as well as for probate and insurance. It is a family business involving his wife Sinead, his daughter Kate and his mother Merle. He also relies on a core team of committed personnel. Sean grew up on a small farm. I helped with seasonal chores and where I learnt to drive in the fields from a very young age, first on a tractor and then driving a cut down Opel Record, which we used to transport hay and straw in, a good grounding for when I took my driving test, says Sean. I left school at 16 as I was offered a cabinet makers apprenticeship with Billy Dann. Carpentry was in the family as my grandfather, uncle and my father were all carpenters. I worked there for three years and then, with a friend I made in Danns in Tullamore, we went to Dublin and finished our apprenticeship there. Two country boys in the big smoke in the 80s, what a life we had! We then set up a restoration business and also an Antique shop on Francis Street in Dublin. After spending 19 years in Francis Street I met my wife, Sinead. We decided that we preferred country living so came back to my home in Laois and built a house there. Three children later life is great in the country and I would not change it for the city for all the money in the world. How did you get into the business? When the recession came people held back from buying antiques or getting furniture restored so I needed to find an alternative and auctions seemed a good step as I had so much experience with the value of antiques and could put this to good use when valuing items for auction. I started in November 2005 and the business quickly grew. We were the first auction house in Ireland to use online live bidding auctions as I could see that this was the way to go and it has proved me right as most Irish auction houses use this method now. In 2016 Sean Eacrett Auctions moved to Ballybrittas village from its base just up the road. Sean has held some huge auctions since then to include The Central Bank, Prumplestown House and many more high profile period property auctions, and at Ballybrittas. The Into The Badlands Auction will be the biggest auction ever in Ireland where we will be using three live providers to bid on line. We hope you all enjoy the experience, he said. Career highlights Emo Court Sale, The Penny Dreadful Auction, The Central Bank Auction, Prumplestown House, Downings House, Griesemount House, New Park House, Doyle`s Schoolhouse and Oaklawn Stud. Advice Sean's advice is to buy antiques now. They have never been as reasonable, even if you have to store them. What do you collect and why I collect Art. What do you collect and why I collect Art When I was a dealer I was offered a complete clearance in the North. There was a wide range of furniture books and paintings. In it was a small half painted picture by Walter Frederick Osborne. It was of a young boy sitting looking at a dog. These pictures were sometimes done by the artist in pencil/ink and just the focal point highlighted to see what the actual picture would look like. It is my pride and joy." What is your favourite work of art. I dont have any but I do like the work of the Old Masters. I also love to spend as much time as I can in the Musee dOrsay when in Paris. Recently appointed Minister of State, Joe O'Brien TD may be a little 'green' around the edges when it comes to his new role in government, but already he has Fingal set high on his agenda. The Green Party TD has been appointed Minister of State for Community Development and Charities, having been elected as a Fingal TD in the November 2019 by-election and in the 2020 General election. Speaking after his appointment to the Department of Rural and Community Development, he explained what his focus for Fingal will be as Junior Minister. He said: 'I think one of the things that I want to immediately do is to try to get a hold on the Community Call Response on COVID-19; there's lots of grass-roots reaction at a community level, across the country and across Dublin Fingal as well, to COVID. 'What I want to do at a Fingal level, and I'm trying to arrange a call with AnnMarie Farrelly (Chief Executive of Fintal County Council), but also at a national level, is to firstly get a hold on what was done, and what continues to happen, and identify some of the good things that have been done.' He continues: 'So for example, there's a lot more older people who are now more connected I think with their community, and there's a little bit more interaction with them. 'So it's how do we keep things like that, really, how do we build on it and keep things like that into the future.' The new Minister of State for Community Development and Charities has been working in the voluntary sector a number of years, and has been employed by the Immigrant Council of Ireland the past three. He previously worked for more than a decade at Crosscare, the social care agency of the Dublin Catholic archdiocese, one of the biggest providers of services to the homeless in Dublin City. Such wide-ranging experience in the voluntary sector has left him well-placed to take on his new position as Minister of State, as he explains: 'I'm very happy really that it's in an area that I know quite well. 'I've worked in the community and voluntary sector pretty much all my life until the by-election last year, so I know the landscape pretty well and know the kind of things that need to be done to make it easier for community and voluntary bodies to do the part that they do. 'I think a big part of my role will be to facilitate organisations to do the good work they do as much as possible.' The newly appointed Minister of State concludes: 'The good thing about it is that obviously there's lots of small and larger community and voluntary organisations, charities across Fingal as well, and I think it's a role where the department would like me out and about, so thankfully it's not a role where I'm going to be stuck in an office with officials or in meetings in government buildings.' O'Brien was a member of Fingal County Council from May 2014 to November 2019. He was subsequently elected to the Dail in a by-election in Dublin Fingal, last year to fill the seat vacated by Clare Daly after she was elected to the European Parliament. He is married with three children, and currently resides in Skerries. The government has warned of the manipulation of information on social media platforms as viral video app TikTok faces a global backlash over security concerns. Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, the mobile app has come under increased scrutiny in Australia after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week said he was looking at banning it over data and national security concerns following a similar ban in India. TikTok has defended the security of the data it collects in Australia. Credit:Bloomberg TikTok has an estimated 1.6 million users in Australia who log on to upload and watch 15-second videos of users lip syncing and dancing. The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald asked Attorney-General and acting Home Affairs Minister, Christian Porter about security concerns involving TikTok and he said the government was working to combat disinformation through social media. From expanding patio space into parking lots, to encouraging guests to bring their own blanket for a picnic, Michigan breweries are getting creative this year to get us outdoors to enjoy their brews. With blue skies and warm days, Michigan in summer is delightful. Theres not much better than joining friends for a beer outside, and patios across the state are bustling. Many of our Michigan breweries offer outdoor spaces to enjoy, and weve picked a few spots to experience that are truly special. Enjoying a fresh, local beer outside in the summertime is one of my favorite pastimes, said Scott Graham, executive director of the Michigan Brewers Guild. Lots of Michigan breweries have great patios and outdoor seating. Sitting outside sipping a local beer is one of lifes simple but fabulous pleasures. We have over 400 breweries here in Michigan, from big international ones to little local spots that just serve their neighborhood. July is MIchigan Beer Month, Graham explained. Lets all celebrate by supporting our local breweries by enjoying a fresh, local beer. Or two! Some of Michigans bigger breweries are well-known for their fabulous outdoor areas. Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, Shorts in Bellaire and Bells in Kalamazoo are patio destinations, and we love these spaces. We thought wed shine a light on a few lesser-known spots that are also great for outdoor drinking. Michigan Beer Month is the perfect time to enjoy a pint of local beer and reflect on what really matters, Graham said. We couldnt agree more. Check before you go for the current status of hours, beers and food availability. Not all patio amenities may be available at this time. A beer sampler from Blackrocks Brewery in Marquette. Blackrocks Brewery, Marquette One of the most charming patios in Michigan, Blackrocks offers up lovely space around the little yellow house that is home to the brewerys taproom. You can gather with friends around tables, hang out on swings on the sides, or snuggle up by the fire pit in the back, all while sipping on a MYKISS IPA, a clean and crisp Grand Rabbits or a summery Presque Ale. Cognition Brewing in Ishpeming has created a patio outside the brewery in the street.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Cognition Brewing, Ishpeming Theres nothing fancy about this street patio set right outside the brewery, but its offered The Cog a way to still serve guests in a safe manner. Set up in front of the brewery in the street under a tent, the patio lets you enjoy a cold Gnome Wrecker Belgian pale or the fresh grapefruit wheat Edenic Places under the Upper Peninsula sky. Drafting Table in Wixom has an expanded patio for you to enjoy this summer.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Drafting Table Brewing Company, Wixom An expanded patio is ready to welcome you at Drafting Table, wrapping around the building and into the parking lot. Authentic German Biergarten tables and umbrellas provide seating and shade at this dog-friendly patio. Try their Professional Pils, a beautiful rendition of a classic pilsner, with delicate hopping, a crystal clear view, and an underlying complexity in what is still a light beer. The perfect summer sipper to enjoy on the patio. Griffin Claw Brewing Company has a lively patio that they've recently expanded.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Griffin Claw Brewing Company, Birmingham Open and inviting and dotted with wooden barrels topped with heat lamps for chilly nights, GCBC has expanded their popular patio into some adjacent space, and have christened it Park on Palmer. There is now plenty of space to social distance, all while enjoying one of their great beers. Try the summer special Mr. Blue Sky Raspberry, a refreshing American wheat brewed with coriander, grapefruit peel and fresh berries. A second Griffin Claw location recently opened in Rochester Hills, which also features a nice, shady patio. HOMES Brewery in Ann Arbor offers up uniquely delicious beers served in a colorful setting.MLive.com HOMES Brewery, Ann Arbor A colorful and welcoming patio awaits you behind the industrial building that houses HOMES Brewery. The patio almost matches the brightly colored beers from the constantly changing tap list. Beers here feature fruit notes, creative combinations, and oftentimes a hint of sour for some of the most interesting brews in Michigan. Sit back and enjoy the sun on a low-slung couch, or sit under the awning or inside the open garage doors for a bit of shade. Steve and Drew Lutke own Hop Lot Brewing in Suttons Bay, home to one fantastic outdoor dining and drinking space. Hop Lot Brewing Company, Suttons Bay Hop Lot offers up the ultimate Michigan outdoor patio, located out amongst the hop bines. A huge fire pit welcomes you, where you can roast marshmallows or just take off the nighttime chill. Picnic tables, a sandbox and game areas all make for a family-friendly environment at this very lively spot. Grab a fresh-made sandwich to pair with your beer, wine, cider or mead. Theres something for everyone here. Jolly Pumpkin in Traverse City has opened up their expansive lawn for customers to enjoy this summer.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Jolly Pumpkin, Traverse City Located on the stunning Old Mission Peninsula, Jolly Pumpkin always has a lovely stone patio to enjoy overlooking the water. This year, they have expanded seating throughout the expansive yard, offering a full food and drink menu. Order ahead online, and then bring your own blanket for a picnic on the lawn. At Jolly, you can indulge in one of their fantastic barrel-aged beers including the practically perfect La Roja, a sour red ale. Or, you can sip on a cocktail featuring Civilized spirits. Order up the JP nachos to nosh on - they come loaded with pulled pork, black beans and gooey pepper jack cheese. Motor City Brewing Works, Detroit Double decker outdoor dining in a distinctly urban setting is offered by Motor City. Head upstairs to the deck to sit amongst the trees and gaze out over the Midtown neighborhood, or sit below in the biergarten for some shade. Pizzas come out hot from the wood burning oven and are the perfect pairing with Motor City beers like their classic Ghetto Blaster, an English Mild, or the Corktown Stout for something dark and sultry. The Michigan's Best Beer of the Week (April 3, 2020) is Rainmaker Pale Ale from Stormcloud Brewing Company in Frankfort, Michigan. The beer won a Bronze Medal winner at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale category. The beer was selected by MLive.com's John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman.John Gonzalez Stormcloud Brewing Company, Frankfort Stormcloud Brewing is known for their world-class Belgian style ales, as well as being named Michigans Best New Brewery by MLive in 2016. Located in the absolutely lovely beach town of Frankfort, Stormcloud makes the most of its patio, packing it with sun seekers in the summer, and curling enthusiasts in the winter. Twinkle lights overhead, flatbread pizzas on your plate, and beers like their flagship Rainmaker Ale in your glass, Stormcloud is just steps from the beach, and pretty close to heaven. Third Nature Brewing is located in Rockford, just a few minutes north of Grand Rapids and right off the White Pine Trail. They have an expansive patio, with several fire pits, and multiple seating areas.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Third Nature Brewing Company, Rockford Located just off the White Pine Trail, which means you can ride your bike right to the brewery, Third Nature has a sprawling outdoor space, with multiple fire pits, a variety of seating options, and plenty of space for you (and your four-legged friends) to enjoy. Try a summery Gose style beer here, Heather Gose to the Beach has passionfruit and key lime, or try the Blue Raspberry Lemonade, a true summer thirst quencher. Witch's Hat Brewing has recently expanded their patio, and have added cooling misters, to chill you out on the hottest days of summer.Courtesy Photo, used with permission. Witchs Hat Brewing Company, South Lyon Newly extended, the patio at Witchs Hat is super cool, literally. Theyve installed cooling misters all around for added relief on hot days. Use the walk-up window to order food from The Hats newly installed scratch kitchen. Try the barbacoa or chicken tinga tacos, or a mess of sliders. You can also order beer at the window. We recommend their version of a New England IPA, Defloured, which is juicy, with notes of grapefruit. Not into beer? Try the Bumble Bee Water, a low-calorie seltzer. The Escanaba-based Upper Hand Brewery, which is a division of Bell's Brewery, has never been distributed in the Lower Peninsula. Look for the beer in the fall of 2020 in Northern Michigan, then throughout the Lower Peninsula in 2021. This is a look at the taproom in Escanaba.Upper Hand Brewery July is Michigan Beer Month, here is more beer news from around the state: Upper Hand Brewery beers will finally arrive below the bridge Crafted in Michigan: The special Brew Bakers behind Beer City Dog Biscuits Many breweries, distillers can stay open in Michigan despite bar closures Muskegons Pigeon Hill Brewing got lucky during long shutdown Theres nothing odd about this juicy ale Embrace the haze craze with this one from Witchs Hat This cherry explosion is perfect for your Fourth of July party A perfect lager for a hot summer day July is Michigan Beer MonthCourtesy Photo, used with permission. Follow our Michigans Best adventures on social media @mlivemibest on Twitter @mlivemibest on Instagram Facebook at MLiveMIBest. Join in by using the hashtag #mibest In addition: Amy Sherman is on Twitter @amyonthetrail, as well as Facebook and Instagram @amyonthetrail. Email: asherma2@mlive.com John Gonzalez is on Twitter @michigangonzo, as well as Facebook and Instagram @MichiganGonzo. Email: gonzo@mlive.com The USAID has observed in its recent reports on its progress towards the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free targets, children dying from AIDS-related illnesses, in Western and Central Africa despite its progress. In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, said to see so many tools available, so many new HIV infections among children that were prevented, so many children living with HIV doing well, but to see others missing and still left behind was a tragedy. We cannot accept that tens of thousands of children still become infected with HIV and die from AIDS-related illnesses every year, she said. Angeli Achrekar, Principal Deputy United States Global AIDS Coordinator, United States Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief said as a global community, it made remarkable progress toward the control of HIV pandemic, yet were missing far too many children, adolescents and young women. We must all re-double our efforts to urgently reach these critical population, she said. It said the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free framework had three simple concepts. First, babies have a right to enter the world free from HIV. Second, through HIV prevention, children, adolescents and young women have a right to stay free from the virus. Third, children and adolescents who do acquire HIV have the right to be diagnosed, treated and cared for, so that they can remain AIDS-free. It said countries have agreed to a range of HIV prevention and treatment targets for children to start out their lives HIV-free, one of those targets was to reduce new child (aged 014 years) HIV infections to less than 40 000 by 2018 and 20 000 by 2020. It said newly published estimates show that 150 000 children were newly infected with HIV in 2019 a 52 per cent reduction since 2010, but still four times the 2018 target. It said pregnant women living with HIV were diagnosed, started on and retained on anti-retroviral medicines during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding, the chance that they will pass on the virus is less than 1%. Globally, 85 per cent of pregnant women living with HIV received those medicines in 2019. Despite this high coverage, children are still becoming infected due to unequal access to treatment services (primarily in western and central Africa), women falling out of care and pregnant and breastfeeding women becoming newly infected with HIV, it said. Henrietta Fore, the Executive Director of the United Nations Childrens Fund, said for too long, the response to HIV had overlooked children, adolescent girls and young women, but there was hope. She said the recent momentum to reduce new infections among adolescent girls and young women in countries like Eswatini and South Africa showed what was possible when governments and communities, led by girls themselves, join forces. We must not let COVID-19 and its economic headwinds slow us down. We must remain bold and ambitious in our joint efforts to ensure that the next generation of children remain free of HIV and AIDS, she said. It said in 2019, however, only 950 000 (53%) of the 1.8 million children living with HIV were receiving HIV treatment, which was much lower than the 67 per cent of adults on treatment; It was clear that to save lives, the missing 840 000 children not on treatment an estimated two thirds of whom were estimated to be between 5 and 14 years must be diagnosed and treated as a matter of urgency. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization said lack of optimal HIV medicines with suitable paediatric formulations has been a longstanding barrier to improving health outcomes for children living with HIV, contributing towards low treatment coverage and access to services for vulnerable groups must be expanded through stronger community engagement, improved service delivery and tackling stigma and discrimination. He said despite the failures, the positive news is that we do know how the world could have met the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free targets. And with enough commitment, we can still overcome the main obstacles to the targets and reverse the failures. Chip Lyons, President and Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, said the past decade was marked by innovation and progress in the field of paediatric HIV, but the dramatic miss on targets for children in this latest report was simply unacceptable. We must urgently renew our commitment to fighting for an AIDS-free generation, but today, as a global community, we are failing the most vulnerable among us: children and youth, he said. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Expansion of Bahrain's 5G network will help boost the kingdom's as well as the regional economies during Covid-19 recovery, said leading experts at the Samena Telecommunications Council Leaders summit held recently. Industry leaders and experts from Bahrain and across the world gathered at the summit to review plans for unleashing the potential of 5G networks to boost economies and societies in a post Covid-19 environment. Held virtually for the first time due to social-distancing requirements, the summit was hosted by Huawei for the seventh consecutive year. This year, the event welcomed Queen Silvia of Sweden, Founder of World Childhood Foundation; Houlin Zhao, Secretary General of the ITU; Mats Granryd, Director General GSMA; Isabelle Mauro, Head of Telecommunications at the World Economic Forum in the US; Mark Spelman, Head of Thought Leadership at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland; Dr Boutheina Guermazi, Director - Digital Development at The World Bank Group in the US; Dr. Sanguchul Lee, Chief Advisor of LG Uplus and LG Group; and Kamarul A. Muhamed, Founder & Group CEO of Aerodyne Group. Several senior executives from telecommunications service providers, local regulatory authorities, global NGOs, and other ICT industry professionals representing decision makers for different verticals and government entities in countries from across South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe also took part. The Samena summit, which was held under the theme 5G-X: Harnessing 5G Across Industries for Investment Revival, highlighted how technology and ICT infrastructure play a significant role in the societies and economies. The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the need to strengthen digital infrastructure to better prepare societies for future crises and to make systems more resilient and sustainable, guaranteeing a better and more effective outcome. A shift to cloud, IoT, and better integration of AI into the public health response was also spotlighted, in addition to harnessing of other technologies for smart service delivery, which should be a key priority moving forward, said the organisers. The summit stressed on topics which are more societal in nature than business-focused, but are essential to industry dialogue, they stated. Attending speakers shed light on the impacts of collaborative efforts when deploying technology in the Middle East region to overcome digital transformation challenges. The summit also explored how ICT stakeholders could work together with industry verticals to turn their vision into reality at the local and regional level. Participants reviewed 5G ecosystem cooperation in the Middle East, and also discussed how 5G paired with complementary technologies such as cloud, AI, and AI-driven autonomous and BVLOS commercial drone applications, could inspire new vertical industry applications, the organisers said. Leading Huawei executives - You Qianwen, VP Middle East, and Wang Su, VP of Carrier Network Business Group Marketing led the summit whose key highlights included a dedicated Huawei 5G Ecosystem Conference held for the third consecutive year under the theme Unleash 5G potential, build a better world. It was attended by industry experts including Ahmed Al Sharif, General Manager Network at STC Kuwait, Cesar Andres Lopez, CEO of Datumcom, and Kamarul A Muhamed, Founder and Group CEO of Aerodyne Group. With more economies becoming digital today, the Samena summit also explored business resilience strategies in a hyper-connected world. Andy Purdy, Chief Security Officer for Huawei US, was one of the experts leading the discussion on what regulatory frameworks will be needed to help vertical industries as well as governments to leverage cloud environments for future efficiency. Ryan Ding, Executive Director and President of Carrier Network Business Group at Huawei, said: "Despite the unprecedented challenges we are facing, governments, regulators, and operators across the globe have spared no effort to maintain social stability, protecting peoples livelihoods and helping the entire society fight against COVID-19." Charles Yang, President of Huawei Middle East, delivering the opening keynote, said: "Although the pandemic has brought uncertainty to our lives, the advantages of 5G infrastructure are increasingly clear." "The outbreak has led to increased demand for ICT solutions specifically in areas like 5G amid a boost in network usage and 5G 2B innovations. Meeting that demand will require new forms of public-private partnerships based on open collaboration, supporting strong industry policies that will enable social value, economic development, and provide enhanced service experiences to consumers across the region, he added.-TradeArabia News Service On Friday, July 10th, President Trump commuted Roger Stones prison sentence. The clemency order, not to be confused with a pardon, allows Stone to fight in the appeals court to clear his name against what many consider a legal railroading. Friends of Stone claim that Trump had offered a pardon only to be rebuffed by Stone who asked for clemency to remain out of jail as he fights through the appeals court. The decision to grant clemency came after a series of revelations which proved that Muellers team of prosecutors had tampered with evidence, manufactured statements, and buried exonerating evidence in their case against General Flynn, prompting the Justice Department to drop the case out of embarrassment. Muellers prosecutorial misconduct in the Flynn case strongly mirrors the prosecution of Roger Stone. Despite no underlying crime or Russian collusion found, the prosecution chose to push forward with process crimes. Stone was accused of threatening a witness after sending text messages to comedian Randy Credico, telling him my lawyers are dying to rip you to shreds...prepare to die. Stone felt Credico had spun a false narrative to Muellers investigators to throw him under the bus. Even Credico claims the texts were taken out of context and were not threats of violence or intimidation. Stone was also charged with lying to Congress. When Stone was asked by Congress if he was speaking with Wikileaks, Stone replied that he did not have a contact in the organization, but was speaking with Credico, who had interviewed Julian Assange. This turned out to be a factual statement, but prosecutors alleged that Stone claimed his contact was Credico in order to protect Jerome Corsi. In hindsight, the claim that Stone was lying to protect Corsi from prosecution rings hollow, as Corsi was never found to have committed any crimes and was never charged. Stones case was assigned to Judge Amy Jackson, the same judge who had sent Paul Manafort to months of solitary confinement, 23 hours a day, while awaiting trial. Jackson immediately issued a sweeping gag order against Stone which prohibited him from defending himself in the public eye, later reinterpreting her order to retroactively prohibit forwarding, liking, or sharing any social media post. No such gag orders were issued against the prosecution, which routinely leaked case details, including the infamous pre-dawn raid of Stones Florida retirement home conducted by dozens of FBI agents with automatic weapons and tactical equipment, armored vehicles, and an amphibious unit as a CNN camera crew looked on. Mueller issued a statement denying the tip off, but video from Stones surveillance cameras show the FBI directing the CNN crew where to set up, conferring with them multiple times before the arrest. Stones trial raised eyebrows when Judge Jackson asked the jury forewoman if a verdict had been reached, prompting an irritated response from the forewoman that they had not. It would later turn out that the forewoman had gloated at Stones arrest and had made a celebratory social media post the morning of the jurys conviction. Tomeka Hart, an active Democratic operative with multiple runs for public office, had gained the lead position on the jury which would decide Stones guilt. Citing the tainted jury, Stone went on to ask Judge Jackson for a new trial, only to be rebuked by the judge for looking into the jurys private lives. Despite Justice Department sentencing guidelines stipulating 15 to 21 months in jail for obstruction of justice cases with no prior crimes, Muellers prosecutors went on to recommend 7 to 9 years. Senior officials at the DOJ balked, reversing the recommendation and setting off a media firestorm which accused Roger Stone of having privilege due to his friendship with President Trump. The jury forewoman once again entered the spotlight with a comically timed statement supporting Muellers sentencing recommendation and further cementing proof of her anti-Stone bias. Judge Jackson sentenced Roger Stone to 40 months to be served at FCI Jesup, a COVID-19 hotspot with 30 confirmed active cases as of July 2020. Stones known history of asthma and other respiratory problems failed to convince the judge to delay his prison sentence despite prisons releasing thieves, rapists, and murderers due to the virus breakout. After months of fence sitting, President Trump granted Stone clemency on July 10th. Roger Stone has reportedly spent $3 million over 3 years in legal fees battling Mueller, forced to sell his house to finance his defense. The case has prevented him from earning income and ruined his reputation in international media. Despite this, Stones decision to forgo a presidential pardon in favor of a path that allows him to clear his name and embarrass Muellers prosecution team speaks volumes of his character. The story will make one hell of a book someday. For now, the White House Press Secretarys statement will do: As it became clear that these witch hunts would never bear fruit, the Special Counsels Office resorted to process-based charges leveled at high-profile people in an attempt to manufacture the false impression of criminality lurking below the surface. These charges were the product of recklessness borne of frustration and malice. This is why the out-of-control Mueller prosecutors, desperate for splashy headlines to compensate for a failed investigation, set their sights on Mr. Stone. Photo credit: YouTube screen grab Labor and environmental groups are calling for changes to how the extinction threat to koalas and other species is set, and for beefed-up protections near Sydney to preserve the state's healthiest koala colonies. A cross-party parliamentary inquiry recently found the much-loved marsupial was on track to be extinct in the wild well before 2050 if no action was taken. Its recommendations included the creation of reserves such as a Georges River National Park to Sydney's south. Bushfires hammered koala habitat during the 2019-20 fire season, spurring calls for more action to save the marsupial. Credit:Aidan Kean Labor's environment spokeswoman Kate Washington said government action should also include reverting to how it assessed the status of a species before its new Biodiversity Conservation Act came into force in 2016. Since then, the NSW Scientific Committee has been barred from granting local populations of a species a higher rating than the statewide one. For koalas that means hard-hit colonies near Port Stephens or Port Macquarie aren't rated more highly than the lowest "vulnerable" status, even though they were hard hit by the bushfires. Leaders agonizing about whether, and how, to safely reopen colleges and universities this fall now have another worry: The frat house. In recent weeks, as students have trickled back onto campus, public health officials have been warning about an alarming spike in coronavirus cases that appear related to fraternity housing and parties that had been a staple of the college experience. With students often crammed into houses that were hard to police and regulate before the pandemic, public health officials say they believe major changes are needed to better protect the health of students and the broader community in college towns from coast to coast. The concerns center on how easily the virus spreads during social gatherings - particularly those that are indoors. There is also skepticism about whether students in group housing will follow safety precautions, including eliminating roommates and communal dinners, and wearing masks. "There's no doubt that this is a massive change, a massive transition for all of us," said Judson Horras, president and chief executive of the North American Interfraternity Conference, a fraternity membership organization representing 6,000 undergraduate chapters and 250,000 fraternity members. "It won't look like a normal fall this fall with social events." In a sign of the growing concern, the leadership at the University of California at Berkeley sent an urgent appeal Wednesday to students, noting that the number of coronavirus cases on campus had more than doubled in just a week. The majority of cases have been traced back to fraternity or sorority social gatherings, UC-Berkeley University Health Services' medical director, Anna Harte, and assistant vice chancellor, Guy Nicolette, wrote in a letter to students. "At the rate we are seeing increases in cases, it's becoming harder to image bringing our community back in the way we are envisioning," Harte and Nicolette wrote. The explosion in cases at UC-Berkeley comes on the heels of major outbreaks at the University of Washington and University of Mississippi, both of which have been traced to fraternity housing or social functions this summer. At the University of Washington, in Seattle, at least 155 of the school's 1,100 fraternity members have tested positive for the coronavirus since an outbreak began about two weeks ago, according to Erik Johnson, the president of the school's interfraternity council. At the University of Mississippi, in Oxford, health officials said last month they had traced more than 160 cases back to off-campus fraternity rush parties, which are held to recruit new members. The University of Mississippi has warned fraternities they would be placed on probation if they are found to have hosted parties. The PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia raised concerns in a report this week about a growing number of infections in several other college towns, including Auburn, Ala., and Tuscaloosa, Ala., where the University of Alabama is located. The report did not specifically mention Greek life, but researchers said college towns in general should brace for a sharp increase in cases as students return for the fall semester. "If these places are having problems with half-empty campuses, we can only assume the fall will take a major toll on these college towns," the researchers wrote. In recent days, residents in Kalamazoo, Mich., have been complaining to local news media that parties have continued throughout the summer near fraternity row at Western Michigan University. The complaints follow a message the school's health center posted July 2 on Twitter warning students to change their social behaviors. "We answer phone calls everyday from people who were in crowds, at gatherings, and then learned later someone they met was COVID-positive," the health center wrote. "There is no 'safe' party that looks like parties you attended in 2019." In a statement, Western Michigan University said college officials are trying strike a balance by finding ways that students can "be social and enjoy new and old friendships" while still taking "personal responsibility," including by staying six feet away from others as much as possible. "Put more simply, our message is: stay social but stay safe," said Paula Davis, a university spokeswoman. Thomas Russo, chief of the division of infectious diseases at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, said fraternities will continue to pose a risk for rampant spread of the virus. He said many fraternities have characteristics of a bar and indoor restaurant, both of which are said to be locations where the virus spreads efficiently. "If they are crowded indoors, and they're in close quarters for a long period of time, it's just a recipe for getting infected," Russo said. "And the setting almost guarantees if multiple individuals get infected, you suddenly you have scenarios where they can spread it to 10, 20, 30 or 40 other individuals." Johnson said that is exactly what happened at the University of Washington this summer. He said the school's 25 fraternities have not been having parties or large social gatherings since the virus began circulating on the West Coast this spring, which forced the university to shut down. But as students began moving back into fraternity housing in June, the virus quickly spread among roommates, he said. "There is not one event, or multiple events, that we can identify as being the repository of this," said Johnson, who is a senior. "It just spread from people living in a house, or visiting others in a house to hang out, or even just running into someone at a grocery store. . . . It was truly community spread." Johnson said most University of Washington cases involved people who were asymptomatic, which Russo said is common for carriers of the disease who are in their late teens or early 20s. But Russo said colleges and their broader communities should not underestimate the danger facing students and others should an outbreak develop on campus. "We think in that age group only a small number will become seriously ill from coronavirus," Russo said. "But if you have thousands people infected, unfortunately some of these young adults are still going to have a bad outcome." While the death rate among people ages 18 to 29 is very low, Russo said, students are almost certainly going to interact with university staff and faculty who could be more vulnerable, as well as parents and grandparents. Acknowledging that risk, elected leaders and university administrators are stepping up efforts to draft new guidelines for student housing. Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine Thursday called on colleges and universities to step up coronavirus testing while also identifying housing units to "rapidly relocate individuals" should they become sick while living in residence halls or fraternity or sorority houses. Fraternity members are also vowing to do more to police themselves, including limits on social gatherings. Penn State's interfraternity council voted Tuesday to halt all social activities indefinitely. The vote came after a 21-year-old student at the university died of coronavirus complications last month shortly after he returned home to eastern Pennsylvania. The student was not a member of a fraternity, but his death rattled university officials and student leaders as they prepare to resume classes in the fall. "It is important to us that the residents of State College are not put at high risk as students return to campus this fall," the council said in a statement. At the University of Virginia, where approximately a third of undergraduates belong to one of the 61 fraternities and sororities at the school, conversations between the school and Greek student leaders have been ongoing for months, said Julie Caruccio, assistant vice president and associate dean of students. The discussions have focused on how to return to school safely. "Our fraternity and sorority students are abundantly aware that the spotlight is on them," Caruccio said. "They know, fairly or unfairly, that what they do is going to be watched carefully." One aspect of sorority and fraternity life at U-Va. that may work in its favor is that the recruitment of new members - or rush - does not take place until spring. And many of the organizations have already said they will recruit new members online rather than through parties or social gatherings. At the University of Washington, Johnson said the council is calling on fraternities to dramatically limit rental occupancy this year, even if it means chapters may need to lean on alumni or other sources to help pay the bills. Members will be encouraged to wear masks in their fraternity houses, except in their private rooms, Johnson said. Although Johnson admits it may be hard to "change behaviors" among some upperclassmen who remember what college life was like pre-coronavirus, he expects the new rules will be fairly easily for younger students to abide by. "We are bringing in a new member class every year," Johnson said. "Those new members won't know what the norm was last year." New York The U.S. Roman Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups. The church's haul may have reached or even exceeded $3.5 billion, making a global religious institution with more than a billion followers among the biggest winners in the U.S. government's pandemic relief efforts, an Associated Press analysis of federal data released this week found. Houses of worship and faith-based organizations that promote religious beliefs aren't usually eligible for money from the U.S. Small Business Administration. But as the economy plummeted and jobless rates soared, Congress let faith groups and other nonprofits tap into the Paycheck Protection Program, a $659 billion fund created to keep Main Street open and Americans employed. By aggressively promoting the payroll program and marshaling resources to help affiliates navigate its shifting rules, Catholic dioceses, parishes, schools and other ministries have so far received approval for at least 3,500 forgivable loans, AP found. The Archdiocese of New York, for example, received 15 loans worth at least $28 million just for its top executive offices. Its iconic St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue was approved for at least $1 million. In Orange County, Calif., where a sparkling glass cathedral estimated to cost more than $70 million recently opened, diocesan officials working at the complex received four loans worth at least $3 million. And elsewhere, a loan of at least $2 million went to the diocese covering Wheeling-Charleston, W. Va., where a church investigation revealed last year that then-Bishop Michael Bransfield embezzled funds and made sexual advances toward young priests. Simply being eligible for low-interest loans was a new opportunity. But the church couldn't have been approved for so many loans which the government will forgive if they are used for wages, rent and utilities without a second break. Religious groups persuaded the Trump administration to free them from a rule that typically disqualifies an applicant with more than 500 workers. Without this preferential treatment, many Catholic dioceses would have been ineligible because between their head offices, parishes and other affiliates their employees exceed the 500-person cap. "The government grants special dispensation, and that creates a kind of structural favoritism," said Micah Schwartzman, a University of Virginia law professor specializing in constitutional issues and religion who has studied the Paycheck Protection Program. "And that favoritism was worth billions of dollars." The amount that the church collected, between $1.4 billion and $3.5 billion, is an undercount. The Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference, an organization of Catholic financial officers, surveyed members and reported that about 9,000 Catholic entities received loans. That is nearly three times the number of Catholic recipients the AP could identify. The AP couldn't find more Catholic beneficiaries because the government's data, released after pressure from Congress and a lawsuit from news outlets including the AP, didn't name recipients of loans under $150,000 a category in which many smaller churches would fall. And because the government released only ranges of loan amounts, it wasn't possible to be more precise. Even without a full accounting, AP's analysis places the Catholic Church among the major beneficiaries in the Paycheck Protection Program, which also has helped companies backed by celebrities, billionaires, state governors and members of Congress. The program was open to all religious groups, and many took advantage. Evangelical advisers to President Donald Trump, including his White House spiritual czar, Paula White-Cain, also received loans. 'Truly in need' There is no doubt that state shelter-in-place orders disrupted houses of worship and businesses alike. Masses were canceled, even during the Holy Week and Easter holidays, depriving parishes of expected revenue and contributing to layoffs in some dioceses. Some families of Catholic school students are struggling to make tuition payments. And the expense of disinfecting classrooms once classes resume will put additional pressure on budgets. But other problems were self-inflicted. Long before the pandemic, scores of dioceses faced increasing financial pressure because of a dramatic rise in recent clergy sex abuse claims. The scandals that erupted in 2018 reverberated throughout the world. Pope Francis ordered the former archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, to a life of "prayer and penance" following allegations he abused minors and adult seminarians. And a damning grand jury report about abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses revealed bishops had long covered for predator priests, spurring investigations in more than 20 other states. As the church again reckoned with its longtime crisis, abuse reports tripled during the year ending June 2019 to a total of nearly 4,500 nationally. Meanwhile, dioceses and religious orders shelled out $282 million that year up from $106 million just five years earlier. Most of that went to settlements, in addition to legal fees and support for offending clergy. Loan recipients included about 40 dioceses that have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the past few years paying victims through compensation funds or bankruptcy proceedings. AP's review found that these dioceses were approved for about $200 million, though the value is likely much higher. One was the New York Archdiocese. As a successful battle to lift the statute of limitations on the filing of child sexual abuse lawsuits gathered steam, Cardinal Timothy Dolan established a victim compensation fund in 2016. Since then, other dioceses have established similar funds, which offer victims relatively quick settlements while dissuading them from filing lawsuits. Spokesperson Joseph Zwilling said the archdiocese simply wanted to be "treated equally and fairly under the law." When asked about the waiver from the 500-employee cap that religious organizations received, Zwilling deferred to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A spokesperson for the bishops' conference acknowledged its officials lobbied for the paycheck program, but said the organization wasn't tracking what dioceses and Catholic agencies received. "These loans are an essential lifeline to help faith-based organizations to stay afloat and continue serving those in need during this crisis," spokesperson Chieko Noguchi said in a written statement. According to AP's data analysis, the church and all its organizations reported retaining at least 407,900 jobs with the money they were awarded. Noguchi also wrote the conference felt strongly that "the administration write and implement this emergency relief fairly for all applicants." Not every Catholic institution sought government loans. The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy based in Stamford, Conn., told AP that even though its parishes experienced a decline in donations, none of the organizations in its five-state territory submitted applications. Deacon Steve Wisnowski, a financial officer for the eparchy, said pastors and church managers used their rainy-day savings and that parishioners responded generously with donations. As a result, parishes "did not experience a severe financial crisis." Wisnowski said his superiors understood the program was for "organizations and businesses truly in need of assistance." Lobby for a break The law that created the Paycheck Protection Program let nonprofits participate, as long as they abided by SBA's "affiliation rule." The rule typically says that only businesses with fewer than 500 employees, including at all subsidiaries, are eligible. Lobbying by the church helped religious organizations get an exception. The Catholic News Service reported that the bishops' conference and several major Catholic nonprofit agencies worked throughout the week of March 30 to ensure that the "unique nature of the entities would not make them ineligible for the program" because of how SBA defines a "small" business. Those conversations came just days after President Trump signed the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which included the Paycheck Protection Program. In addition, federal records show the Los Angeles archdiocese, whose leader heads the bishops' conference, paid $20,000 to lobby the U.S. Senate and House on "eligibility for non-profits" under the CARES Act. The records also show that Catholic Charities USA, a social service arm of the church with member agencies in dioceses across the country, paid another $30,000 to lobby on the act and other issues. In late April, after thousands of Catholic institutions had secured loans, several hundred Catholic leaders pressed for additional help on a call with President Trump. During the call, Trump underscored the coming presidential election and touted himself as the candidate best aligned with religious conservatives, boasting he was the "best (president) the Catholic church has ever seen," according to Crux, an online publication that covers church-related news. The lobbying paid off. Catholic Charities USA and its member agencies were approved for about 110 loans worth between $90 million and $220 million at least, according to the data. In a statement, Catholic Charities said: "Each organization is a separate legal entity under the auspices of the bishop in the diocese in which the agency is located. CCUSA supports agencies that choose to become members, but does not have any role in their daily operations or governance." The Los Angeles archdiocese told AP in a survey that reporters sent before the release of federal data that 247 of its 288 parishes and all but one of its 232 schools received loans. The survey covered more than 180 dioceses and eparchies. Like most dioceses, Los Angeles wouldn't disclose its total dollar amount. While the federal data doesn't link Catholic recipients to their home dioceses, AP found 37 loans to the archdiocese and its affiliates worth between $9 million and $23 million, including one for its downtown cathedral. By Express News Service TPURAM/KOZHIKODE: Youth wings of Congress, Muslim League and BJP take out marches, Police use teargas, water cannons to disperse protesters, Several party workers, police personnel injured in clashes, CPM alleges protests part of move to destabilise govt As Opposition UDF and BJP intensified protests against the government over the gold smuggling case, Kerala on Friday witnessed violent agitations across the state demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. A slew of outfits, including the Youth League, Youth Congress and Yuva Morcha, took out protests across the state. The police used grenades and water cannons to disperse protesters near the Kozhikode Collectorate. In Kannur, Youth Congress march to the chief ministers house turned violent. The CPM leadership meanwhile hit out against violent protests and alleged that the protests were part of a move to destabilise the government. Both Muslim Youth League and Yuva Morcha took out protests to Kozhikode Collectorate. Police had to use tear gas and water cannons to clear the protesters who marched towards the collectorate by breaking the barricades. A total of 18 Yuva Morcha workers and 15 Youth League workers including its state general secretary P K Firoz were injured. Yuva Morcha state president C R Praful Krishnan, state secretary K Anoop, district president T Raneesh and four mediapersons were among the injured. Police forcibly removing Youth League workers during a protest marchin Kozhikode on Friday | Express After the march taken out by Youth Congress to the CMs house at Pinarayi in Kannur turned violent, the police registered cases against 115 persons, including K Sudhakaran, MP, and Shafi Parambil, MLA, for organising a march by violating the Covid protocol.The Youth Congress workers marched to the house of Pinarayi Vijayan at Pandyala Mukku in Pinarayi. The police blocked the march at Padinjittam Muri, one kilometre away from the house by putting up barricades. As the workers tried to break the barricades, police used tear gas and water cannons. The workers clashed with the police and pelted stones at them. Six Youth Congress workers and four police personnel were injured in the incident.The Muslim Youth League workers took out a protest march to Malappuram collectorate while another protest was staged in front of Wayanad Collectorate. In Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram, Yuva Morcha workers took out protest to the office of Sandeep Nair, one of the accused in the smuggling case.Meanwhile the CPM leadership has hit out against violent protests taken out by Opposition parties demanding the chief ministers resignation in the gold smuggling case. Viewing it as a challenge against human lives, the CPM alleged that the protests were part of a move to destabilise the government.In a statement here, the CPM state secretariat pointed out that the LDF and the chief minister want the culprits in the smuggling case to be brought before the law. Thats why the chief minister demanded an investigation at the earliest and NIA has already begun the probe. The Left government will not protect anyone involved in smuggling, reiterated the CPM. With its four-year rule till date, it has always been evident to the masses that the Chief Ministers Office represents the states dignity. The protest to weaken the Left government - which has made Kerala a model for the world in Covid control - are simply parochial political moves with power-hungry motives. Such violent protests by throwing Covid protocol to wind amounts to playing with human lives, the party said. The CPM alleged that the UDF and the BJP are moving ahead with an ill-motive to defame the chief minister and the Left government. People are against such anarchist forms of protests. As directed by the Centre, the NIA has already started its investigation. The UDF and BJP are afraid that many of them could get trapped if the probe moves in the right direction. It should be suspected whether the agitations are aimed at sabotaging the investigation, the party mused. South Korean stocks are set for a mild rebound next week despite new coronavirus concerns, as experts bet on improvements in global economic indices in June, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,150.25 points on Friday, down 0.1 percent from a week ago. The KOSPI started off the week with a 1.65 percent jump on Monday on tech gains, led by Samsung Electronics' surprise earnings guidance. But it shed all those gains by the end of the week on the global hike in COVID-19 infections. Local analysts said the KOSPI is likely to gain next week, with investors weighing economic rebound hopes over COVID-19 worries. "The KOSPI is likely to follow the global stock markets (next week)," NH Investment & Securities analyst Noh Dong-kil said. "The global stock markets have continued hiking on the improving U.S. economic indices, along with health officials' predictions that the COVID-19 toll would likely show sporadic increases rather than a major resurgence," he said. A series of key economic events and indices are scheduled for next week. On Monday, South Korean government is set to release details of the so-called New Deal stimulus package, aimed at creating jobs and supporting the pandemic-hit economy. Market consensus bet on improvements in U.S. retail sales in June and China's second quarter gross domestic growth, both set to be released on Thursday. The Bank of Korea is widely expected to freeze the policy rate in the monetary policy meeting on Thursday. (Yonhap) Lavrov 'Not Optimistic' About New START Treaty Talks With U.S. By RFE/RL July 10, 2020 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he is "not particularly optimistic" about a possible extension of the New START nuclear arms-control treaty with the United States. Lavrov said in Moscow on July 10 that the insistence by the United States that China join the treaty, a move that was quickly rejected by Beijing, suggests Washington has already decided not to prolong the pact once it expires in February next year. "It seems that the U.S. has already decided not to prolong this treaty. Their vigor in focusing on the lack of an alternative to trilateral talks shows that this has been decided," Lavrov said, according to the Interfax news agency. Last month, U.S. and Russian envoys held talks in Vienna to discuss a replacement for the pact, but Washington wants Beijing to be included in any future agreements on nuclear weapons. China has repeatedly rejected trilateral talks on nuclear weapons, arguing that it has a much smaller nuclear arsenal than the United States and Russia. The New START treaty limits the number of U.S.- and Russian-deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 each, . The meeting in Austria -- the first such U.S.-Russian talks in more than a year -- ended with both sides expressing hope for a second round of talks. The U.S. envoy for arms control, Marshall Billingslea, said that he and his Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, agreed to set up "multiple" technical working groups and that a second meeting would ultimately depend on their progress. Lavrov said on July 10 that three Russian-U.S. working groups will hold consultations in Vienna in late July on "space, transparency in nuclear weapons, and nuclear doctrines." "Big day for strategic security diplomacy with Russia," the U.S. State Department Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN) tweeted earlier. U.S. Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Chris Ford and the Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, have "finalized planning for a Space Security Exchange at end of July," it said. Ford also invited Ryabkov to a "new round of the Strategic Security Dialogue" that the two last held in January. With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and RIA Novosti Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/lavrov- not-optimistic-about-new-start-treaty- talks-with-u-s-/30719433.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Democratic Republic of the Congos Justice Minister Celestin Tunda tendered his resignation in the wake of a dispute with the president over proposed laws that would give politicians more control over criminal prosecutions. In a televised statement on Saturday, Tunda gave no reason for his departure. The disagreement over a proposal from Tundas political allies to give the justice ministry more control over the judiciary highlighted strains in a fragile coalition government between President Felix Tshisekedi and his long-serving predecessor Joseph Kabila. Tunda is the first minister to resign from the government, which took eight months of talks to form before it was finally presented last August. Tshisekedi had said in a speech he would oppose any reforms that undermined the independence of the judiciary. I leave the government with the conviction that my actions in the ministry of justice made a contribution to the consolidation of the rule of law, said Tunda, a senior figure in Kabilas FCC political alliance. Peter Kazadi of Tshisekedis UDPS party said Tunda had sent a letter to Parliament approving the judicial reforms without consulting the government. His resignation is normal because the minister acted in violation of the line laid down by the government, Kazadi told Reuters news agency. Tension mounted in late June when Tunda was briefly detained by police, prompting Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga to threaten the government would resign over the matter. His resignation removes one element of tension between the two camps, but its far from the only point of contention, said Vincent Rouguet at London-based security firm Control Risks. (It) is not going to be enough to restore collaboration, Tshisekedi has struggled to assert himself since forming the coalition government with Kabila, who maintains extensive powers through his parliamentary majority, control of most cabinet ministries and the army. Friction between their parties has spilled into the streets in recent weeks. On Thursday at least three people, including a policeman, were killed during protests in Kinshasa and elsewhere over the nomination of an election commission chief. Haiti - News : Zapping... Education : 10,000 new civil servants Pierre Josue Agenor Cadet, the Minister of National Education, said that more than 10,000 new teachers now have their letters of appointment and are civil servants. They will receive their first paychecks for the last 4 months of the fiscal year (June to September). Minister Cadet stressed that in the absence of a provision in the current budget, the payment of salary arrears will be addressed in the 2020-2021 budget. Teleconference with Diaspora Thursday was held a teleconference between Louis Gonzague Edner Day, the Minister of Haitians Living Abroad accompanied by its Director General Ketlene Jean Louis and the President of the "Haitian Diaspora Federation" Ms. Yanick Martin accompanied by some members of this Federation. Penal Code Friday afternoon on instructions from President Jovenel Moise, Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe convened the Presidential Commission, which worked on justice reform, to deepen discussions and consultations around the new Penal Code, the subject of much debate in the society. RNDDH concerned In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe this week, the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) expresses its concerns at the deterioration of the security climate and the systematic violation of the freedoms of expression and assembly of the population, by the police. Covid-19 : Monitoring of preventive measures at airports Friday July 10 at the National Airport Authority, the Airline Operators and the various state authorities followed up on the evaluation of the first 2 weeks past relating to the preventive measures linked to the spread of Covid-19 in airports. The various actors and authorities concerned have jointly decided to prepare specifications to answer questions about the protection and prevention measures taken by the Ministry of Public Health with regard to passengers and employees. End of term of the German Ambassador On Thursday, July 9, the German Ambassador, Manfred Auster, accredited to Haiti, at the end of the mission, made his farewell to President Jovenel Moise during an audience at the National Palace. HL/ HaitiLibre Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro appointed Milton Ribeiro as the nation's new education minister on Friday, after the previous minister stepped down amid a series of scandals in June. Ribeiro has degrees in education, constitutional law and theology, according to information posted on a government website. He is also a pastor at an evangelical church in Sao Paulo state and was previously a lieutenant in Brazil's armed forces, a common qualification for appointees of Bolsonaro, who has surrounded himself in Brasilia with current and former army officers. Ribeiro replaces Abraham Weintraub, who stepped down on June 18. His aggressive style made trouble for the president, including racist remarks about China, Brazil's top trading partner, and a comment that Supreme Court judges should be locked up. The court had included Weintraub in an investigation of an alleged libel and disinformation network run by Bolsonaro's supporters. Bolsonaro's first pick for a replacement, economist Carlos Decotelli, stepped down before he was sworn in after various irregularities in his curriculum vitae came to light, including over a doctorate degree he claimed to have received and post-doctoral work that was never completed, according to Brazilian media reports. The Home Secretary is understood to think that 'cultural sensitivities' prevented the police from tackling Leicester's 'slave' sweatshops. Priti Patel is said to have raised concerns behind closed doors that government agencies turned a blind eye to the factories where staff were paid less than the minimum wage and worked in poor conditions, as reported by The Sunday Times. Ms Patel is thought to now be considering new laws on modern slavery after fears the current legislation is no 'fit for purpose'. A source close to the Home Secretary told the newspaper: 'This scandal has been hiding in plain sight and there are concerns cultural sensitivities could be in part to blame for why these appalling working practices haven't been investigated.' The investigation last week revealed that clothes workers in Leicester are being paid as little as 3.50 an hour to produce items for some of the UK's biggest fashion brands. Ms Patel is thought to now be considering new laws on modern slavery after fears the current legislation is no 'fit for purpose' At one factory, where clothes at bound for online giant Boohoo and Nasty Gal, employees are said to work for less than half the national minimum wage. The undercover report by The Sunday Times also found that no additional hygiene or social distancing measures were in place, despite the city being in a localised lockdown due to an outbreak of the virus. In covert footage, the undercover reporter records himself packing garments clearly labelled as 'Nasty Gal'. He is also approached by the factory foreman, who warns: 'These motherf***ers know how to exploit people like us. They make profits like hell and pay us in peanuts.' 'Take me for instance, I've been working for so many years in this industry, I've been here for five years but never could I take a proper pay packet. I'm still only on just over 5 an hour.' Workshops in Leicester are used to produce incredibly cheap clothes for online retailers. Pictured: Workers at the Faiza Fashion factory in Leicester working despite the Leicester lockdown Police presence in the centre of Leicester after the Health Secretary Matt Hancock imposed a local lockdown following a spike in coronavirus cases in the city Following the report a number of textile factories in the area were visited by seven different agencies, including Leicestershire Police, Leicestershire city council and Immigration enforcement. The city is currently in local lockdown due to a spike in coronavirus cases. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen told The Sun he reckons there could be 10,000 'slaves' working in Leicester. He said: 'Covid-19 has brought into focus what's been going on. 'It'll take a Tory government to end the despicable work practices and human exploitation in Leicester.' One business owner running a shop in the North Evington area of Leicester has called for police to intervene in the situation. He told The Sun: 'It's crazy what is happening in these factories. These men and women are decent, hard-working people but they are risking their lives to produce clothes for big fashion brands right here in the UK. Some factories in Leicester pay staff as little as 4 an hour in order to turn a profit on cheap clothing supplied to online retailers including Boohoo. Pictured: A 5 party dress sold by Boohoo, advertised as perfect for transitioning from day to play 'It's is wrong but no one is doing anything to put a stop to it. The police should go into the factories and close them down. 'What they are doing is slave labour, there is no other word for it. 'They are only getting 2.50 an hour and they make so little money they have to live with 10 others in two or three-bedroom houses.' A female machinist at a factory, Faiza Fashion, spoke to the Mail last week and gave a chilling picture of life at these establishments. The mother of three in her 50s, who we have decided not to name, said: Three weeks ago, I wasnt feeling well and there were others who also had flu-like symptoms. But what can you do? We are not rich people and need money to survive. She also said they are not provided with face masks or gloves from the factory. It comes as bosses at under-fire fashion company Boohoo last week appointed a top lawyer to look into allegations that factories involved in the making of its clothes were paying below minimum wage and breaching safety rules. A female machinist at another factory, Faiza Fashion, spoke to the Mail this week and gave a chilling picture of life at these establishments The fashion chiefs said that Alison Levitt, a QC, would be reviewing its supply chain in a bid to find out whether factories were meeting minimum wage and Covid-19 rules. The board said it was 'shocked and appalled' by the allegations, which were aired in the Sunday Times last weekend. While there he saw Boohoo and Nasty Gal branded clothes in boxes. Nasty Gal is owned by Boohoo. It is not the first time serious questions have been raised about the Leicester garment industry where Boohoo is a major customer. Before the Sunday Times report, Channel 4, the Financial Times, the BBC and the Guardian had all highlighted the issue, as early as 2017. Boohoo said it had found 'some inaccuracies' with the report last Sunday. It said that the clothes had been made in Morocco and were just being repackaged in Leicester at a premises formerly operated by Jaswal Fashions. However Jaswal has never been a supplier to the company, Boohoo said. The order was instead placed with Revolution Clothing, which outsourced the order to Morefray Limited. Morefray made the clothes in Morocco and repackaged them in Leicester. 'Our investigation to date has not found evidence of suppliers paying workers 3.50 per hour,' Boohoo said. Belgians told not to go to Leicester Belgium's government has told its citizens not to travel to Leicester as it has been put into a 'red zone' of risky destinations. Leicester is the only area in the UK that is in the 'red zone' with regions in Portugal and Spain after the east midlands city was put back into a stricter lockdown. Advice from the Belgian foreign affairs department states that 'travel is not allowed' and 'quarantine is mandatory upon your return'. For travellers who have been to Leicester this means they will have to self-isolate for 14 days in Belgium. Brussels Airport will put signs up reminding travellers who have not been able to avoid the city of this requirement. The Belgian government regularly updates its website and the site notes that the regulations are based on 'currently available information'. The government's 'green zone', that lists where people are allowed to travel, includes other areas of the EU, the Schengen zone and the rest of the United Kingdom. Leicester was the first city in England to have tighter restrictions reimposed on June 30, after it had an infection rate of 141 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people. The city's infections rate has continued to fall but the lockdown will continue until at least July 18 when it is due to be re-evaluated. Advertisement However it had found other areas where the suppliers did not comply with Boohoo's code of conduct, so cut them both off. In 2018 the Financial Times reported that employers were getting around minimum wage rules by not paying workers for all the hours they put in. Ms Levitt will now review how compliant suppliers are with minimum wage and Covid standards. She will also look into working hours and record keeping, as well as staff's contracts. In September, Boohoo will publish an update on her review alongside its half-year results, with a second update due in January next year. When asked if the company would commit to publishing the full findings of Ms Levitt's review, the company said that it would be her decision, but added that Boohoo would welcome transparency. Boohoo has also said that experts from Verisio and Bureau Veritas will audit its supply chain, and carry out other work that the QC gives them. Chief executive John Lyttle said: 'As a board we are deeply shocked by the recent allegations about the Leicester garment industry. 'We wish to reiterate how seriously we are taking these matters and we will not hesitate to terminate any relationships where non-compliance with our Code of Conduct is found.' Boohoo's share price was sent into a tailspin this week despite a statement from the company on Monday trying to fight the fire. By Tuesday the company's shares were down by a third compared to where they had been on Friday. It is bad news for the company's top bosses, who are set to share a 150 million bonus package if they can add two thirds to the company's share price in the next two years. Analysts at Liberum, who had been sceptical over the company's original response on Monday, said: 'All these steps we commend and should start to help re-build confidence that Boohoo intends to do the right things. 'They fully acknowledge that further investigations will be ongoing and have committed to their full co-operation with the Home Secretary and local authorities. 'While serious questions will remain for some time, today is the first positive step forward in transparency.' However, shareholders seemed less impressed - Boohoo's shares dropped another 10% on Wednesday morning. Cars began to be towed at 3 a.m., the statement said. Three dispersal orders were given for the reason of trespassing on park grounds past curfew. Police say there had been a few violent incidents at the demonstration. A 59-year-old was stabbed in the shoulder while attending the protest by a man also attending the event, according to St. Louis police. The attacker then threw the victims tent into the street, police said. The 59-year-old went to a hospital for treatment and was stable, police said. City officials also reported that two city workers were assaulted at the protest Thursday morning as they attempted to tow cars parked in front of City Hall. Police said protesters surrounded the city workers, climbed on top of the tow truck and laid down in the street in front of the truck. Two men then attacked the workers, police said. One of the employees was hit in the face with an assault rifle, city Director of Public Safety Jimmie Edwards said in a statement. The other man was punched in the back of the head, Edwards said. Francis Wilkinson writes editorials on politics and U.S. domestic policy for Bloomberg Opinion. He was executive editor of the Week. He was previously a writer for Rolling Stone, a communications consultant and a political media strategist. Some Christian leaders in Ghana Saturday joined their counterparts across the globe to mourn the renowned American pentecostal evangelist Morris Cerullo, who died Saturday at the age of 88. The evangelist, whose missionary work brought him to the country for a number of crusades and teaching programmes, impacted leaders such as Evangelist Dr Lawrence Tetteh, President of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Archbishop Bishop Nicholas Duncan Williams, General Overseer of the Action Chapel International and Bishop Charles Agyin Asare, Presiding Bishop of the Perez Chapel International. In his tribute, Dr Tetteh said: "The world has lost one of the generals in the faith who was a father to many modern preachers of this generation and a true man of God. "Papa Morris Cerullo was a man of God who was fit in any pair of shoes that was given to him. He carried a unique anointing and an undeniable gift of healing that transformed many lives from all walks of life. "I have followed him to many nations of the world and have been impacted greatly by his apostolic unction. "We will miss him greatly but I believe heaven is rejoicing in his honour". The well-travelled evangelist said Dr Cerrullo encouraged him to never lose his unique style of preaching with the stories, singing and dancing. "I cannot say thank you enough for your love and support to my ministry, my wife Barbara and I. "May your faith find a resting place in Him. "Papa! Rest well in the bossom of the Lord." Bishop Agyin Asare of the Perez Church, who hosted Dr Cerullo in 2017, wrote on his twitter page: "My father Dr Morris Cerullo is gone to join the great cloud of witnesses after having fought a good fight and having run his course. His legacy lives on in us." From Uganda, the founder of the Miracle Centre Cathedral Rubaga, Robert Kayanja, described the preacher as one who fought a good fight even in his old age. The Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, Nigeria, Bishop Mike Okonkwo also paid his tribute via a twitter post saying:"My father Dr. Morris Cerullo! Like a good soldier of Christ, you fought a good fight, finished your course and kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7). Dr. Cerullo was a world-renowned evangelist and the President of Morris Cerullo World Evangelism, which was founded in 1961. He travelled to many developing nations for over seven decades. According to his official website, he ministered in 93 nations, in more than 400 cities, on seven continents, where he ministered to millions. "He dedicated his life to helping hurting and travelled more than 250,000 miles every year to minister healing and salvation to the world". Dr. Cerullo, who was raised in a Jewish Orthodox orphanage in New Jersey, is said to have given his life to Christ when he was 14 and a half years old. "By 15 years old he was preaching three to four times per week in local churches. At 17 years old, he received a scholarship and graduated from the the New York Metropolitan Bible School in Suffern, New York". He was ordained by the Assemblies of God as an evangelist minister in 1952. Dr Cerullo founded the Morris Cerullo World Evangelism, Incorporated in, San Diego, California, in 1961. He published about 80 inspirational and Christian Literature books and hosted the popular television programme, 'Victory Today', from 1991. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the sentence of his longtime political confidant Roger Stone, intervening in extraordinary fashion in a criminal case that was central to the Russia investigation and that concerned the president's own conduct. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2019, file photo, Roger Stone accompanied by his wife Nydia Stone, right, arrives at federal court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the sentence of his longtime political confidant Roger Stone, intervening in extraordinary fashion in a criminal case that was central to the Russia investigation and that concerned the president's own conduct. The move came just days before Stone was to begin serving a 40-month prison sentence for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the House investigation into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. The action, which Trump had foreshadowed in recent days, underscores the presidents lingering rage over special counsel Robert Muellers investigation and is part of a continuing effort by the president and his administration to rewrite the narrative of a probe that has shadowed the White House from the outset. Democrats, already alarmed by the Justice Department's earlier dismissal of the case against Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, denounced the president as further undermining the rule of law. Stone, 67, had been set to report to prison on Tuesday after a federal appeals court rejected his bid to postpone his surrender date. But he told The Associated Press that Trump called him Friday evening to tell him he was off the hook. The president told me that he had decided, in an act of clemency, to issue a full commutation of my sentence, and he urged me to vigorously pursue my appeal and my vindication, Stone said by phone from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was celebrating with friends. He said he had to change rooms because there were too many people opening bottles of Champagne here. Although a commutation does not nullify Stones felony convictions, it protects him from serving prison time as a result. The move marks another extraordinary intervention by Trump in the nation's justice system and underscores anew his willingness to flout the norms and standards that have governed presidential conduct for decades. As Trump stares down a coronavirus pandemic that has worsened his chances for reelection, he has been more willing than ever to test the limits of his power. Democrats denounced Trump's action. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff called it offensive to the rule of law and principles of justice. Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez asked, Is there any power Trump wont abuse? White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, in a statement, called Stone a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media," and declared, Roger Stone is now a free man!" Stone had been open about his desire for a pardon or commutation, appealing for the presidents help with a monthslong television and social media campaign and seeking to postpone his surrender date by months after getting a brief extension from the judge, in part by citing the coronavirus. Trump, who had made clear in recent days that he was inching closer to acting, had repeatedly publicly inserted himself into Stones case, including just before Stones sentencing. That earned a public rebuke from his own attorney general, William Barr, who said the presidents comments were making it impossible for him to do his job. Barr was so incensed that he told people he was considering resigning over the matter. With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else, Schiff said. Donald Trump, Bill Barr, and all those who enable them pose the gravest of threats to the rule of law. Stone, a larger-than-life political character who embraced his reputation as a dirty trickster, was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to have been convicted of charges brought during Muellers investigation. A longtime Trump friend and informal adviser, Stone boasted during the campaign that he was in contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through a trusted intermediary and hinted at inside knowledge of WikiLeaks plans to release more than 19,000 emails hacked from the servers of the Democratic National Committee. But Stone denied any wrongdoing and consistently criticized the case against him as politically motivated. He did not take the stand during his trial, did not speak at his sentencing. His lawyers did not call any witnesses in his defence. Prosecutors had originally recommended Stone serve seven to nine years in prison. But in a highly unusual move, Barr reversed that decision after a Trump tweet and recommended a more lenient punishment, prompting a mini-revolt inside the Justice Department, with the entire prosecution team resigning from the case. Department officials have vehemently denied Barr was responding to Trumps criticism and have insisted there was no contact with the White House over the decision. Barr has also pointed out that the judge, in imposing a 40-month sentence, had agreed with him that the original sentencing recommendation was excessive. Barr has said the prosecution was justified, and the Justice Department did not support Stones more recent effort to put off his surrender date. Though the Justice Department raised concerns about the handling of Flynns case, including what it said were irregularities about his FBI interview, prosecutors did not point to any similar issues or problems with the Stone prosecution. Even so, the commutation will almost certainly contribute to a portrait of a president determined to erase the impact of the Russia investigation and to intervene on behalf of allies. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The commutation was the latest example of Trump using his unlimited clemency power to pardon powerful men he believes have been mistreated by the justice system. Trump went on a clemency spree in February, commuting the 14-year prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, and pardoning former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik, financier Michael Milken and several others. Trump has also offered clemency to other political allies, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was awaiting sentencing at the time, conservative commentator Dinesh DSouza, who had been convicted on campaign finance violations, and Conrad Black, a newspaper publisher convicted of fraud who had written a flattering book about the president. Trump, however, has spent much more time trumpeting his decision to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving life in prison for nonviolent drug offences and who came to Trumps attention after reality star Kim Kardashian West took up her cause. Her story was featured in a Trump campaign Super Bowl ad. Stone told the AP he expressed his gratitude to Trump in the phone call. You know, he has a great sense of fairness, Stone said. Weve been friends for many, many years, and he understands that I was targeted strictly for political reasons. LANSING, MI Authorities are warning Michigan residents about fraudulent cards claiming to exempt the holder from wearing face coverings in businesses and other areas where masks are required. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan & the Upper Peninsula jointly issued the warning on Friday, July 10. They said groups such as the Freedom to Breathe Agency have made available Face Mask Exempt Cards to residents as an attempt to bypass health and safety measures at retailers and other establishments. While the groups Facebook page and website are no longer active, Freedom to Breathe Agency was offering a downloadable PDF of the exemption cards. Some of these cards may have a logo for the Freedom to Breathe Agency, and even the U.S. Department of Justice. The cards also contain an implied threat that any business that denies access for failure to wear a mask will be reported as having violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, Nessel reports. The cards are not legitimate and related face mask-exemption flyers and similar information being circulated by such groups are not endorsed by the Department of Justice or other government agencies, Nessel said. These groups are trying to spread misinformation about the use of face coverings, and the unfortunate outcome is that they are also endangering the lives of many people, Nessel said. Business owners should understand that these face mask exempt cards are fake, and people should continue to wear face coverings unless the individual is unable medically to tolerate one. This group, along with others, are attempting to pass themselves off as government agencies and are using fear as their tactic to get businesses to comply with their demands, added Melanie Duquesnel, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan & the Upper Peninsula. We all need to be doing our part by wearing a mask in public unless one is, truthfully, medically unable to do so. In Michigan, face coverings are required under Gov. Gretchen Whitmers executive orders in many situations and venues. On Friday, Whitmer issued an executive order requiring businesses to refuse entry to people who fail to wear a face covering as required by the executive order. A willful violation of that order is subject to a misdemeanor fine of $500. The use of face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic is widely supported, including by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The CDC notes that face coverings should be worn in public settings around people who dont live in the same household and when social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Cloth face coverings may help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus, and are most likely to reduce the spread of the virus when they are widely used by people in public settings, according to the CDC. For more information on the effectiveness of cloth face coverings, visit the CDCs website. MDHHS recommends the use of face coverings even for healthy individuals, and offers guidance for the use of face coverings for the general public online. MDHHS has additional information on its website, including how masks work and a chart showing the chance of COVID-19 transmission among individuals wearing masks and those who do not. COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus. Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. Related: Michiganders mostly have to mask up, but here are 9 exceptions Whitmer orders mask use in Michigan, violators could be fined up to $500 Masks are required in Michigan. But with no enforcement mechanism, compliance is hit or miss. Gov. Whitmer aims to increase mask use, doesnt rule out penalties for those who dont comply Michigan sees largest one-day coronavirus case increase in 7 weeks The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has condemned Counselor George Lutterodt, for allegedly promoting rape. In an Adom TV interview, Mr Lutterodt indicated with no empathy that at a point rape victims enjoy the act of rape. His comments have received wide condemnation, with some actresses including Juliet Ibrahim, calling for his arrest. There is also a campaign on Change.org calling for him to be banned from appearing on TV and radio shows. In a statement signed by the Gender Minister, Cynthia Morrison, the Gender Ministry says there is no justification for rape. It says there was also no justification for the Counselor to make such comments on TV, calling on all well-meaning Ghanaians to condemn him. The Ministry also called on the Ghana Psychology Council to take the appropriate action against Mr Lutterodt. Source: daily guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A New York City ER doctor who killed herself at the height of the coronavirus crisis told friends she felt she 'couldn't help anyone' and was 'embarrassed' when she suffered a breakdown because of mental health stigma in the medical community. Dr. Lorna M. Breen, 49, the medical director of the emergency department at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, committed suicide in Charlottesville, Virginia on April 26. Her tragic death came just weeks after she recovered from coronavirus and days after she was discharged from a psychiatric ward following a mental health episode. Breen's devastated family, friends and colleagues spoke out about her shock suicide to the New York Times and told how they believe it was triggered by her traumatic work in a Manhattan hospital during the pandemic. They say the talented doctor should be included in America's coronavirus death toll because she was indirectly killed by the effects of the outbreak. Dr. Lorna M. Breen, 49, (pictured) the medical director of the emergency department at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, committed suicide in Charlottesville, Virginia on April 26 Anna Ochoa, 45, said her friend felt helpless because of the number of people whose lives she could not save from the virus. A staggering 18,667 people have so far been killed by coronavirus in New York City, with daily deaths topping 800 at its peak in April when the city's hospitals were buckling under the weight of the crisis. 'I couldn't help anyone. I couldn't do anything. I just wanted to help people, and I couldn't do anything,' Ochoa said Breen told her in their last conversation before she died. Ochoa told the Times she can't stop thinking about her friend's final words to her which she kept saying on repeat in a phone call days before her death. Several other friends said they noticed a drastic shift in Breen's outlook as the outbreak ramped up in the virus epicenter. The New York City ER doctor (center) who killed herself at the height of the coronavirus crisis told friends she felt she 'couldn't help anyone' and was 'embarrassed' when she suffered a breakdown because of mental health stigma in the medical community Breen center with her siblings including sister Jennifer Feist on left. Breen's tragic death came just weeks after she recovered from coronavirus and days after she was discharged from a psychiatric ward following a mental health episode 'People I work with are so confused by all of the mixed messages and constantly changing instructions,' she wrote to her Bible study group on March 14. 'Would appreciate any prayers for safety, wisdom and trust.' On March 18, Breen started showing symptoms of coronavirus and had to quarantine at home. She returned on April 1 as the outbreak was at breaking point in the city. 'I'm totally lost,' Breen wrote to a colleague at the time. 'Just baffled and overwhelmed,' she told another. In the 'Allen', bodies of COVID-19 victims were piling up in the X-ray room as the hospital ran out of space and, in one particularly shocking incident, a man was found dead and his skin turned blue in a chair while waiting to be moved to a different ward. Breen's colleagues say she was working gruelling 15-hour shifts supervising the emergency department where people were dying all around. The usually upbeat doctor told one friend it was the 'hardest time of my life' while she told others she was 'drowning right now'. Breen's devastated family, friends and colleagues spoke out about her shock suicide to the New York Times and told how they believe it was triggered by her traumatic work on the frontline of the pandemic. Pictured the 'Allen' hospital in NYC where she worked EMS workers wheel a patient to a New York hospital in May. A staggering 18,667 people have so far been killed by coronavirus in New York City, with daily deaths topping 800 at its peak in April when the city's hospitals were buckling under the weight of the crisis Breen's sister Jennifer Feist, who she spoke to almost every day, recalled how her sister called her on April 9 sounding distant and telling her she couldn't get up. 'I don't know what to do. I can't get out of the chair,' Breen told her. Dr. Angela M. Mills, her supervisor, visited her and Breen told her she wanted to hurt herself. Breen checked in to the University of Virginia Medical Center psychiatric ward, by which point Feist said her sister was in a near-catatonic state, unable to answer simple questions. Breen's family told the Times she had no history of mental illness prior to the pandemic. Breen's family say the talented doctor (pictured) should be included in America's coronavirus death toll because she was indirectly killed by the effects of the outbreak Former colleagues also said that - pre-COVID times - Breen was always a calming influence among the chaos of working in an emergency department. 'You'd come into a shift in the morning, and the E.R. could be in chaos,' said Dr. Gino A. Farina, who was the director of the emergency medicine residency program at Long Island Jewish Medical Center when Breen had a residency there. 'Everybody looked exhausted, their hair was a mess, and they looked like they were destroyed. And she looked like she was ready to start a shift.' Doctors at 'the Allen', which Breen joined in 2004, told similar accounts of her pushing residents to consider all possible diagnoses and different methods. 'She had something that was a little bit different and that was this optimism that her persistent efforts will save lives,' her colleague and friend Dr. Barbara Lock told the Times. Her sister told the Times Breen, on leaving hospital, became 'embarrassed' for suffering a breakdown during the pandemic. She said her sister feared her career was over because of long-running attitudes toward mental health in the medical community. 'Lorna kept saying, 'I think everybody knows I'm struggling,' said Feist said. 'She was so embarrassed.' Feist slammed the 'culture' of the medical community and called for change. 'If the culture had been different, that thought would have never even occurred to her, which is why I need to change the culture,' Feist said. 'We need to change it. Like, as of today.' Breen's untimely death has sparked concerns over the toll the pandemic has taken on medical professionals battling the virus on the frontline. Several studies have found healthcare workers have experienced higher rates of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and distress after treating COVID-19 patients. NewYork-Presbyterian said it began offering mental health services to its front-line staff in late March to help them cope with the pandemic. The reopening of First Youth Church after three months of remote sermons was going to be a party. No kid would want to miss the event, a Facebook flier promised of a night filled with free food (yeah you read that right, FREE), basketball, and karaoke!! Sixteen-year-old Carsyn Davis was a dedicated student at the Fort Myers youth ministry, her family said. She loved Jesus. So, naturally, Carsyn was among the hundred or so kids to attend the churchs reopening event on June 10. Carsyn didnt wear a mask when she attended the party, even though she was obese, asthmatic, and had a history of childhood cancer and a rare autoimmune disorder, according to a county medical examiners report. None of the other kids around her wore masks either wearing a mask wasnt required by state officials despite the known risks of indoor transmission. Less than two weeks later, on June 23, the teen died of pneumonia brought on by COVID-19. She had turned 17 on June 21, in the hospital. Carsyn was the youngest person in Florida to die from the disease at the time. Her persistent health issues contributed to her death, according to the medical examiner report. Now Carsyns death has become tangled up in the super-heated politics of COVID-19. As public health experts question Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Health for the fast pace of reopening and for not mandating mask-wearing statewide they worry that more vulnerable people like Carsyn will die amid the misinformation and mixed signals cascading out of the White House. In the teens case, there is another wrinkle: Her mother seems to be an adherent of the theory known as QAnon, a viral cult that traffics in conspiracies, including one holding that COVID-19 is part of a cover for President Donald Trump to break up the Deep State. First Assembly of God, the Fort Myers megachurch that runs the youth ministry, did seem to take the pandemic seriously, adopting precautions far beyond many other Florida congregations. In March, the church shut down, even as many others stayed open. It did not reopen until June 6, a day after most of the state entered the second phase of reopening at DeSantis order. Many Floridians believed it was safe to start congregating again at events like the youth ministry party. Story continues They were wrong. Since Carsyns death, cases in Florida have skyrocketed, with the percentage of people testing positive well above a level that would suggest the spread of the virus is under control. On Thursday, the state reported 120 deaths, the most fatalities it has confirmed in a single day since the pandemic began. That same day, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a Trump administration official and the nations top expert on infectious diseases, said that Florida reopened too fast. A Miami Herald investigation found that DeSantis, a Trump ally, chose to start reopening in May despite the state already showing signs of a possible rebound in transmission. Its clear that Florida officials have failed. The pandemic is out of control, said Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York Universitys Langone Medical Center, And people like [Carsyn] and others are going to continue to pay the price of denial, mismanagement and political and public health malpractice. If Carsyn contracted the virus at the party and its not proven that she did one thing might have protected her: a mask. But her mother, a registered nurse, did not believe in children wearing masks, according to a Facebook post Carole Davis made that linked to a website called Dont Mask our Kids. Instead of science, Davis seemed to subscribe to conspiracy theories. On social media, she expressed skepticism about vaccines and showed faith in QAnon. In March, Davis shared a QAnon post suggesting that the coronavirus pandemic was a cover for Trump to break up the so-called Deep State of corporations, financiers, media conglomerates and Satan-worshipping child molesters fighting against him. Accounts linked to the QAnon movement have pushed an unproven and scientists say potentially dangerous theory that taking a combination of azithromycin, an antibiotic, and hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial, can cure COVID-19. The QAnon believers took their lead from the president: Trump has heavily promoted the cocktail as a miracle cure, even saying he himself had used it, although doctors warn hydroxychloroquine can have severe cardiac and psychiatric side effects. Trump has also spoken dismissively about wearing masks, saying at a spring news conference: I dont think Im going to be doing it. He almost never wears them in public, although his tone has shifted somewhat in recent days as advisers worry his stance is damaging his chances for re-election. President Trump signs an executive order creating the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative on July 9. On the day of the church party, Davis gave her daughter azithromycin as a preventative, according to a report from the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner. A summary from the state medical examiners commission said there were 100 other children and no masks at the June 10 event. Carsyn started feeling sick three days later, according to the medical examiners report. She developed frontal headache, sinus pressure, mild cough, the report said. The family thought her symptoms were due to a sinus infection. Its not clear from the report if Carsyns mother or stepfather, a physicians assistant, gave her permission to attend the party. Carole Davis did not respond to requests for comment. Kenneth Miller, Carsyns stepfather, declined to comment. Even after Carsyn got sick, Carole Davis didnt think masks were important for keeping children safe. On June 18, she posted anti-mask content to Facebook, calling it a useful resource, according to screenshots of her account obtained by the Herald. The link she posted, which lobbied against mandatory mask wearing in school, put the burden on personal risk assessment for families with children in higher-risk categories like Carsyn. For the families who have children who are actually immunocompromised ... the universal masking of all students is not a solution to their concerns, the website said. That childs family will have to weigh the risks of having the child attend school during COVID-19. On June 19, Davis noticed her daughter looked gray while sleeping, and she and Miller gave Carsyn a single dose of hydroxychloroquine, in addition to the antibiotics she had been administering, according to the medical examiner. Its unclear when the drugs were prescribed, by whom and why, although azithromycin is frequently used to treat sinus infections. Carsyns oxygen saturation was around 40 percent that night, and rose only to 60 after her mother gave her oxygen from her grandfathers tank, the report shows. Normal oxygen level for a healthy person is 95 to 100 percent. She was taken to the ER and admitted into a Lee County hospital, where tests indicated her liver was not properly functioning. That same day, Carsyns COVID test results came back positive. But doctors wouldnt give her the drug touted by Trump, despite her mothers wishes. The doctors are refusing to give [Carsyn] Hydroxychloriquine, citing new studies that it does not work and can be harmful. Using it is against their policy, Carole Davis wrote on Facebook about her daughters treatment plan. This is very upsetting to me, as many of you know how I feel about that. Doctors wanted to intubate her, but her mother and stepfather refused, the medical examiner reported. Carsyn spent June 21, her 17th birthday, in the hospital struggling to breathe. The next day, the doctors intubated her. She didnt get better. On June 23, after being airlifted to a Miami-area childrens hospital for a hail-Mary procedure, Carsyn died. She endured years of treatment, doctor visits, specialists, and the effects of those treatments. She lost her dad at the age of 10, her mother wrote. Yet, she survived it all, never complaining and never focusing on herself. Even through the ravages of Covid, fighting to breathe, she never once shed a tear, complained or expressed fear. In obituaries, friends remembered Carsyn as a kind and dedicated person who loved singing, photography and competing on her high schools bowling team. No mask mandate Ultimately, it wasnt Carole Davis scientifically questionable decisions regarding her daughters treatment that caused the teen to succumb to the disease, according to health experts. Given Carsyns medical history, it was unlikely that any other course of treatment would have been more effective, said Dr. Richard Sutton, professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the Yale School of Medicine Sutton said the biggest mistake was Carsyn attending a party with dozens of other unmasked kids. But he also heaped scorn on the president for his using his position to spurn the wearing of masks while relentlessly touting an unproven drug as a potential game changer. For the president to spew utter nonsense is really unfortunate because some people maybe this family, for instance took him at his word and thought he actually knew what he was talking about, Sutton said. How many other stories like this are out there? Stories where the parents think they have some degree of expertise and yet theyve been misled by the highest level of the government to do this sort of stuff? The White House declined to comment. DeSantis has also not insisted on mask usage. Despite mounting evidence suggesting widespread mask wearing can reduce COVID-19 transmission rates by 80 percent, his executive orders have not mandated that masks be worn in public settings or at gatherings like church functions. In its messaging to faith groups, the Florida DOH has followed guidance from the CDC encouraging rather than mandating congregants to wear masks. After it reopened, First Assembly of God provided masks to those who wanted them at in-person services and advised social distancing, according to social media posts and its website. But the church never mandated their use. Its not clear if the church provided masks to kids attending the youth ministry event. An analysis by Univision found cases are spiking in states that have not imposed widespread face mask mandates compared to states that have. Everybody clearly should be masked. Were past recommended, said Caplan, the NYU bioethicist. If were going to stop stacking up bodies, we need to get to no mask and you cant come in. On Tuesday afternoon, July 7, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis holds a press conference at the Miami Medical Center, a COVID-19 only nursing facility that can care for up to 150 patients being released from hospitals but who cant be taken back to their nursing homes. Helen Aguirre Ferre, a spokeswoman for DeSantis, said the Heralds questions about Daviss death were both troubling and offensive. Ferre said the governors policies had saved lives and that he had always told the elderly and people with serious medical conditions to stay home. You are trying to sensationalize this case by [implying] that somehow the tragic death of this 17-year-old is the result of the Governors policies, she said in a statement. Any sense of dignity would dictate that you treat her memory with respect. Carsyns death first gained attention thanks to a website run by former Department of Health employee Rebekah Jones, who was fired from her position as a data manager after criticizing the states transparency. In a July 5 blog post, Jones called the church gathering a COVID party, suggesting the event itself had been somehow designed to spread the disease. The allegations were picked up in early news reports. In a statement, First Assembly of God of Fort Myers, the megachurch that runs the youth ministry, said those allegations are false. First Assembly of God of Fort Myers is following all of the health protections and protocols recommended by the state and local government with regard to holding its church services, the church said. Let us be clear media reports and postings accusing the church of ignoring protocols or actively engaging in behavior intended to expose our congregation to the virus are absolutely false and defamatory. Several outlets have modified their stories to clarify that no evidence has been found showing parents sent their kids to the party hoping they would contract the virus, possibly to develop immunity. But that didnt stop social media users from attacking the church and the Davis family. A report was made to the Florida Department of Children & Families. The agency is investigating, as is standard practice. Miami Herald Tallahassee bureau chief Mary Ellen Klas contributed to this report. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday reiterated his charge that the BJP has been trying to destablise his government by luring several Congress MLAs. In another major development, the state police's special operations group (SOG) has issued notices to Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot to record their statement in connection with the alleged attempts to topple their government. The SOG on Friday had registered an FIR against two people, who have been detained for their alleged involvement in horse trading of Congress MLAs for toppling the Ashok Gehlot government. On the basis of the information that came up during the call interceptions, the SOG on Friday registered FIR under IPC sections 124-A (sedition) and 120-B (conspiracy). The FIR mentions that two persons were allegedly talking about the rift between chief minister and deputy chief minister and toppling the Congress government by poaching MLAs. They also talked about the chances of earning Rs 1,000-2,000 crore by toppling the government, it stated. On Saturday, while addressing a press conference, he alleged that amid the coronavirus pandemic, BJP leaders have "gone beyond humanity" and are engaged in toppling his government, but exuded confidence that the Congress dispensation will complete its five-year term. "The government in Rajasthan is stable, will remain stable and will last five years," Gehlot said, and alleged that Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria, Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore and BJP state president Satish Poonia were executing the agenda of their party's central leadership. Government deputy chief whip Mahendra Chaudhary added there is no infighting in the Congress. It is to be noted that reports of infighting have come at regular intervals since 2018 Assembly election, when both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot were in the race for the chief minister's post. Amid this political drama, movement of Congress MLAs have started at the chief minister's residence. The legislators and party leaders would meet Gehlot on Saturday. On Friday night, over 20 Congress MLAs issued a joint statement alleging that BJP was trying to topple the Congress government in the state by "luring" legislators. They also alleged that the top leadership of the saffron party was involved in the "conspiracy", while insisting that no temptation can shake their integrity. The BJP, however, has rejected the allegations saying whatever is going on with Congress is the result of infighting between the chief minister and his deputy. The party's state president Satish Poonia said, "The BJP has nothing to do with all these allegations. During the Rajya Sabha elections also, they had levelled such allegations which are baseless." "The Congress government has failed to deliver and could not manage the COVID-19 crisis properly. Which is why the state government is just trying to divert public attention." Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appreciated the efforts of the Centre and Delhi government in containing the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in the national capital and directed that a similar approach against the pandemic be adopted in the entire National Capital Region, remarks that came at a meeting to review the public health crisis. Delhi recorded 1,781 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday, taking the tally in the city to 110,921, while the death toll from the disease climbed to 3,334. On June 23, the national capital reported the highest single-day spike so far of 3,947 cases, but the daily cases have since reduced amid increased testing. Priority is close monitoring and guiding the containment works in regions where the infection rate is high, the Prime Minister tweeted after the meeting to take stock of the Covid-19 situation in various parts of the country and the preparedness of state governments. He said there was no room for complacency in the battle against Covid-19, with the review meeting focusing on ramping up testing and keeping the death rate low. The meeting was attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan and other senior officials. Shah has held a series of meetings with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, lieutenant governor Anil Baijal and senior officials over the strategy to augment Delhis health care infrastructure amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Kejriwal said recently the situation in Capital appeared to have come under control amid joint efforts by the Centre and the Delhi government. Among the efforts launched in Delhi recently were widened testing, a serological survey to gauge the prevalence of the disease and a more refined strategy on containment zones. People aware of the developments said Modi asked for better coordination between the Centre and other states of the National Capital Region during the meeting. This comes weeks after the Union home minister emphasised the need to have a unified strategy in Delhi-NCR to tackle Covid-19, adding that suburbs such as Gurugram, Noida and Ghaziabad cant be separated from the Capital in the public health emergency. According to an official, who did not wish to be named, discussions were held on the situation of different states and Union territories including Delhi, supported by data on the Covid-19 outbreak. The Prime Minister appreciated the concerted efforts of the Centre, State and local authorities in containing the pandemic situation in Delhi. He further directed that similar approach should be adopted with other State Governments in containing the Covid-19 pandemic in entire NCR area, an official statement by the Prime Ministers Office said. The Prime Minister said that real-time national monitoring and guidance should be provided to all affected states and places with high test positivity rates. He said that the need to observe personal hygiene and social discipline in public places must be reiterated. The awareness about Covid should be disseminated widely and a continuous emphasis on preventing spread of the infection should be laid. He (the PM) said that there is no room for any complacency in this regard, the statement said. The official quoted above said that testing will be intensified for vegetable vendors and grocery sellers as they have a high rate of mobility and interaction with people. The PMs directions came after NITI Aayog member VK Paul made a presentation on the Covid-19 situation in the country, according to the official. The discussions focused on ramping up tests, with those present stressing that intensified diagnoses can bring down the positivity rates in several places and contain the pandemic, the official added. The meeting discussed how Delhi increased its daily tests to about 22,000 and the positivity rate in the Capital reduced to 10%. Pauls presentation also spoke of the urgent need to curb the number of deaths, especially in states where case fatality rates have shot up in the recent weeks. The Prime Minister, according to a second official, agreed on the issues raised by Paul. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was a detailed discussion on ways to suppress the transmission of Covid-19. Pauls presentation suggested that the best way to suppress transmission was to ensure that in at least 80% of the new cases, the patients close contacts are traced within 72 hours and kept in quarantine. The Prime Minister also spoke about the need to ensure quality care and that there must be a standard that is followed across the country, the official added. Other suggestions by Paul included revamping Indias ambulance system and monitoring their response time to address the needs of patients, the official said. The successful example of surveillance and home-based care through Dhanvantri Rath in Ahmedabad was also highlighted, and it was directed that it could be emulated in other places, the statement said. Also discussed ways to further step-up our capacities to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We also highlighted successful initiatives being undertaken across India to ensure the Coronavirus is kept under check, Modi said in a tweet. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON An exterior view of the Rivers Casino Philadelphia, formerly the SugarHouse Casino. Read more When the Rivers Casino Philadelphia reopens after four months of coronavirus lockdown, regular patrons may find a few amenities missing: buffet dining, smoking, and poker, for starters. Some employees will find a portion of their paychecks missing as well. Rivers Casino has imposed a pay cut of up to 15% on salaried employees who are preparing for the reopening of the Fishtown casino, formerly known as SugarHouse. The casino has not announced a reopening date, but Pennsylvania regulators said Rivers Casino management was hopeful for a restart next week. Despite generating zero revenue since suspending operations on March 15, Rivers Casino Philadelphia fully paid all team members for the first month of the shutdown, plus weve continued to pay employee health benefits the entire time, Jack Horner, a casino spokesperson, said in an email Friday. Returning salaried personnel are receiving reductions not to exceed 15% with no reduction for hourly workers. Pay cuts have become a common tool for employers facing cash crunches in the face of the pandemic recession, experts say. READ MORE: How COVID-19 is accelerating the shift to a cashless society About 11% of people who have retained their jobs have seen pay cuts, according to data collected by payroll processor ADP. Thats about twice the rate of pay reductions experienced during the Great Recession of 2008 to 2009, said Nick Bunker, research director at Indeed Hiring Lab. Theres a lot of remarkable and frankly bad ways that this recession stands out from previous recessions, and what were seeing are pretty elevated rates of wage cuts, he said. Employers are making an effort to retain employees rather than lay them off, Bunker said. But the pay cuts also reflect the lack of leverage that the workforce can wield in the face of elevated unemployment rates. The Indeed Hiring Lab, an economic research firm that follows international labor markets, has noted about a 25% reduction in job postings compared to last years trends. About 30% of companies surveyed by research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas last month said they had cut some pay in response to the pandemic; about half of those were able to avoid layoffs as a result. It used to be that companies would do everything they could to avoid cutting pay, Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of the firm, said in a statement. Now they try to avoid layoffs, which can hurt morale, lead to survivors guilt, and create anxiety, with employees wondering who will be next. More than half of survey respondents said pay cuts would last until business conditions improve, and a quarter said they expected pay cuts to remain in place until the end of the year. READ MORE: Coronavirus has kicked off a massive economic shift and no one knows where its going The pay reductions are concentrated among higher-paid employees, labor experts said. Temple University, facing a budget shortfall of more than $40 million, in May implemented 5% pay cuts for about 470 employees who are paid more than $100,000, and 10% cuts for 25 officers, deans, and advisers to the president. Outgoing President Richard M. Englert, who is paid $800,000, took a 20% cut. But there are some instances of unionized employees agreeing to pay cuts to avoid layoffs. Public teachers and school staff in Ravenna, Mich., this week took a 6.7% pay cut to avoid workforce reductions in the face of expected state funding cuts due to the coronavirus. Some employers have begun to reverse pay cuts imposed during the first weeks of the coronavirus lockdown. Consulting giant Aon recently announced that it would repay cuts imposed due to COVID-19, and Dallas-based money-transfer firm MoneyGram reversed the 20% pay cuts for its non-hourly employees imposed in March, according to a regulatory filing. A. Duie Pyle Inc., the West Chester small freight carrier, has called back all but 34 of the 410 people furloughed in March and this week told employees the company would pay them a total of $2 million to make good on 80% of workers losses from a temporary pay cut, and half of a managers pay cut. Sales have risen and the company was able to end the pay cuts June 1, two weeks earlier than projected. ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters. Many casinos around the world ordered furloughs and pay cuts during the lockdown, which has devastated the gaming and hospitality industries by reducing brick-and-mortar traffic to zero. In Pennsylvania, casinos continued to generate some revenue from online gaming. Rush Street Gaming, which owns the Rivers Casino Philadelphia and three other properties including the Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, announced on April 9 that it would furlough some employees. The pay cuts will remain in place indefinitely, the company said. We hope to revisit team member compensation once business levels normalize, it said in a statement Friday. With the unveiling of Bernie Sanders and Joe Bidens joint task force proposals for the 2020 Democratic Party platform, Sanders has put the final nail in the coffin of his so-called political revolution. The joint task force initiative was first announced when Sanders gave his endorsement of Biden in mid-April. The task forces were composed of leading members of the Sanders and Biden campaigns, including two members of the Democratic Socialists of America: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. The initiative was meant to promote party unity ahead of the election. The result of the Biden-Sanders collaboration is nothing short of a total repudiation of all the central pillars of Sanders campaign amid the greatest social and economic catastrophe in US history. Most notably absent in the proposals is Sanders hallmark Medicare-for-all plan, which has been replaced by calls to re-open the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and provide a public option. A reduction in the age of eligibility for Medicare from 65 to 60 is meant to serve as Bidens progressive fig leaf on health care. Just four years ago, Hillary Clintons campaign had called for a lowering of Medicare eligibility to age 50. Other policies central to the Sanders campaign that were dropped include a federal jobs guarantee, the Green New Deal, free college tuition and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Instead, the non-binding recommendations for the Democratic Party platform consist of platitudes about ensuring equity for all Americans and minor policy reforms that the Democratic Party has no intention of implementing. The Democratic Party platform has no practical import in any event. Many young people and workers will recall that when Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton, he proclaimed that she and the party had adopted the most progressive party platform in history. Sanders, who is proving in real time to be the Democratic Partys most enthusiastic cheerleader, is once again getting out his pom-poms ahead of the 2020 elections. Following the announcement of the task force proposals, Sanders went as far as predicting that Biden could become the most progressive president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Who does he think he is fooling? Biden has a nearly 50-year history of carrying out the dictates of the ruling class. He supported the Iraq war and the end of the GlassSteagall restrictions on financial speculation. He helped pass legislation that led to the mass incarceration of the poorest and most oppressed layers of the population. If elected, a Biden administration, with the participation of many of those involved in the unity initiative, will preside over an intensification of austerity, further attacks on democratic rights and an expansion of war and militarism. The prostration of Sanders before the Biden campaign was entirely predictable and in line with the nature of his campaign. As reality has demonstrated so clearly the need for socialism, Sanders response has been to shift ever further to the right. The events of the last four months in particular are worth reviewing. The last act of the Sanders campaign was the senators vote for the $2.2 trillion CARES Act on March 25. Prior to voting yes on the bill, Sanders hailed it on the Senate floor as a boon to workers. In reality, the bill was a boondoggle for corporate America that allowed for the funneling of $6 trillion to keep the stock market afloat and cover any losses suffered by major corporations. On April 8, as coronavirus cases in the US were reaching their first peak and hospitals were being overwhelmed, Sanders announced that he was dropping out of the race, and he held his groveling discussion with Biden on April 13. His capitulation to Biden was followed by an interview with the Associated Press in which he slandered as irresponsible any of his supporters who failed to campaign for Biden. Just a day earlier, Biden had signed on to Trumps back-to-work campaign, as the US COVID-19 death toll reached 10,000. Soon after, former top advisors to the Sanders campaign harnessed its organizational structure to launch a new super PAC, Future to Believe In, to direct resources to the election of Biden. On May 23, as the US COVID-19 death toll was nearing 100,000 and the wealth of the super-rich was booming, Sanders political team issued a threat to his delegates: they would be removed from their positions if they criticized Biden or other Democratic Party leaders. Two days later, George Floyd was brutally murdered by police, triggering massive multi-racial and multi-ethnic protests against police brutality across the US and around the world. In response to the protests, Trump attempted to carry out a coup that would involve the mobilization of active-duty troops to put down the protests and establish a presidential dictatorship. In response to these developments, Sanders was silent. When he did finally address the situation, he called for police officers to receive a pay raise. Now, as a direct result of the bipartisan policies of the government, the pandemic is spiraling out of control. This week, over 375,000 coronavirus cases were reported in the United States, more than the number of cases reported in February, March and the first week of April combined. Workers are waiting in lines for over five hours in states like Florida and Arizona just to receive tests. Many states are nearing ICU bed capacity. And over 1.3 million people filed for unemployment for the first time last week, the 15th week in a row that new unemployment claims have been above 1 million and more than six times the number who newly filed this week last year. On top of this, there is mounting pressure for schools to pursue a reckless reopening in the fall and massive resistance brewing among key sections of the industrial working class. It is under these conditions that Sanders has chosen to release his so-called unity proposals. Sanders' actions express his political function--to keep social opposition within the framework of the Democratic Party. As the WSWS wrote in February 2016: Sanders aims not to create a revolution, as he asserts in his campaign speeches, but to prevent one. There are many groups in and around the Democratic Party, most notably the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), that have spent the last five years promoting illusions in the Sanders campaign. Since the ending of his campaign, the DSA has held dozens of call-in meetings to urge workers and young people not to leave the Democratic Party. Eventually, it explains, such a break will be needed, but not now. In the bankruptcy of the Sanders campaign, the DSA has exposed its own bankruptcy as well. Workers and young people have to draw the necessary lessons from the Sanders experience. It is not, at its root, a question of proving the bankruptcy of Sanders as an individual, but more fundamentally the bankruptcy of the political perspective he represents--that of reformism. Every advanced capitalist country has its own variety of Sanders. In Great Britain there is Corbynism, in Greece there is the experience of Syriza, and in Spain, Podemos. The attitude of the SEP toward the Sanders campaign, and its cousins around the world, is based on a scientific, historically grounded Marxist analysis, which proceeds not from what political tendencies or individuals say about themselves, but from their history and program and the class interests they represent. The only way forward for the working class is on the basis of a genuinely revolutionary policynot a political revolution to promote the Democratic Party, but a socialist revolution to overthrow capitalism. The Socialist Equality Party is running its own presidential campaign to elect Joseph Kishore and Norissa Santa Cruz for president and vice president of the United States. We are running our campaign in order to bring our program and international perspective to the widest possible audience of working people and young people, both in the United States and worldwide. We call on all workers and young people to join this campaign and support this fight. New Delhi: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and his actor son Abhishek Bachchan on Saturday night said they have tested positive for coronavirus. They have been taken to Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital while their other family members and staff have undergone COVID-19 tests and are in isolation. Both Big B and Abhishek took to their respective Twitter accounts to share their health update and added that the test reports of their family members are awaited. Amitabh Bachchan stays in his Jalsa bungalow with wife Jaya, Abhishek, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai and granddaughter Aaradhya. "I have tested COVID-19 positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests, results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested," tweeted the 77-year-old superstar. T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested ! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 11, 2020 Meanwhile, Abhishek said, "Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you." Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you. Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) July 11, 2020 As soon as the news broke, fans of Bollywood celebs and fans of Big B and Abhishek took to social media to pray for their speedy recovery. On the work front, Amitabh Bachchan was last seen in Amazon Prime's 'Gulabo Sitabo', along with Ayushmann Khurrana. He has 'Chehre' and 'Brahmastra' in the pipeline. Meanwhile, Abhishek made his web series debut with 'Breathe: Into The Shadows' on Friday. Stone was sentenced to 40 months in jail for lying to legislators investigating Russian interference in US election. US President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone on Friday, sparing him from prison after he was convicted of lying under oath to legislators investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Trumps decision to commute Stones sentence days before he was due to report to prison marked the Republican presidents most assertive intervention to protect an associate in a criminal case and his latest use of executive clemency to benefit an ally. Democrats condemned Trumps action as an assault on the rule of law. Roger Stone has already suffered greatly, the White House said in a statement. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man! The announcement came just minutes after an appeals court in Washington, DC denied Stones request to postpone his surrender date. Stone told The Associated Press news agency Trump called him on Friday evening to tell him he was off the hook. The president told me that he had decided, in an act of clemency, to issue a full commutation of my sentence, and he urged me to vigorously pursue my appeal and my vindication, Stone told the agency by phone from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was celebrating with friends. He said he had to change rooms because there were too many people opening bottles of champagne here. A commutation does not erase Stones felony convictions in the same way a pardon would, but it would protect him from serving prison time as a result. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany called Stone a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media. Not only was Mr Stone charged by overzealous prosecutors pursing a case that never should have existed, and arrested in an operation that never should have been approved, but there were also serious questions about the jury in the case, she said in a statement. Two systems of justice Democrats were quick to denounce Trumps decision. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, said: With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else. The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, added: The United States was founded on the rule of law. It seems our president has nothing but contempt for it. Stone, 67, was sentenced to 40 months in prison in February after being convicted on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. The charges stemmed from Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation which detailed Russian meddling in the 2016 election to boost Trumps candidacy. Stone was one of several Trump associates charged in Muellers inquiry. Just had a long talk with #RogerStone. He says he doesnt want a pardon (which implies guilt) but a commutation, and says he thinks #Trump will give it to him. He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didnt. howardfineman (@howardfineman) July 10, 2020 Scott Anderson, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, called Trumps decision a remarkable move that was likely to incur political costs ahead of Novembers presidential election. This appears to be an indication either that the president is acting non-strategically, thats he acting somewhat emotionally or perhaps that he sees his political future, whether its in the White House or perhaps in some other role as lying with his political base, who buy into the narrative of the deep state that he is using to justify this, Anderson told Al Jazeera. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Twitter about Stones case, accusing prosecutors of being corrupt, the juror forewoman of political bias and the judge of treating his friend unfairly. Attorney General William Barr earlier intervened in the case to scale back the Justice Departments sentencing recommendation, leading four career prosecutors to quit the proceedings. Two months in jail for a Swamp Creature, yet 9 years recommended for Roger Stone (who was not even working for the Trump Campaign). Gee, that sounds very fair! Rogue prosecutors maybe? The Swamp! @foxandfriends @TuckerCarlson Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2020 One of them, Aaron Zelinsky, testified to the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives last month that his office received heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice to ease its sentencing recommendation. Zelinsky said Tim Shea, the acting US attorney at the time who was appointed by Barr, ultimately caved in to the pressure because he was afraid of the president. The US constitution gives a president the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. Trumps use of this executive clemency often has benefitted allies and well-connected political figures. He pardoned hardline former Arizona county sheriff Joe Arpaio, former Republican White House aide Lewis Scooter Libby, conservative commentator Dinesh DSouza and convicted junk bond king Michael Milken. He also commuted the prison sentence of Democratic former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who had been a contestant on Trumps former reality TV show. Judge Nancy Porter Department 1 May 4Dylan Eugene Jerome, 24, of Coeur dAlene, Idaho, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance and was given a suspended sentence of 180 days in jail and was placed on probation for three years. May 19Jeffery Paul Shiflet, 38, of Richland, Washington, pleaded guilty to attempted battery by strangulation and was given a suspended sentence of 19-48 months in prison and was placed on probation for five years. June 1Bobby Ray Mizzell, 62, of Orron, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to three counts of abuse or neglect of a child by means of sexual abuse and was sentenced to 16-108 months in prison and lifetime supervision, was ordered to pay $1,050 evaluation fee, and is required to register as a sex offender. - Robert Lewis Newman, 38, of Fountain Valley, California, pleaded no contest to one count of attempted home invasion and one count of threatening or intimidating a public officer and was given a suspended sentence of 19-48 months in prison on the first count and one year in jail for the second count, was ordered to pay $1,614.37 restitution, and was placed on probation for five years. - Dominick Jon Michael Palmer, 32, of Greely, Colorado, pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to one year in jail. - Hope Ariana Vasquez, 28, of Fresno, California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit possession of a stolen motor vehicle and was sentenced to 312 days in jail. June 5Perino Kruner, 59, of Riesa, Germany, pleaded no contest to one count of unlawful possession of personal identifying information and three counts of open or gross lewdness in the presence of a child and was given a suspended sentence of 12-30 months in prison for the first count and was placed on probation for five years, and was sentenced to 57-144 months in prison for counts two, three and four. Steven P. Elliott Senior District Judge May 28Jake Monroe Vega pleaded guilty to one count of possession of visual presentation depicting sexual conduct of a person under 16 years of age and one count of coercion which is sexually motivated and was sentenced to 2-8 years in prison and is required to register as a sex offender. Judge Al Kacin Department 2 May 1Stephen C. Grubbs, 47, of Russellville, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to grand larceny of a motor vehicle and was given a suspended sentence of 15-38 months in prison and was placed on probation for five years and ordered to enter the Adult Drug Court program. May 7Shawn Joseph Freed, 42, of Reno, pleaded no contest to eluding a police officer in a manner posing danger to persons or property and was sentenced to 19-48 months in prison. - Tessa Rose Patchett, 28, of Elko, pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a controlled substance and was given a suspended sentence of 270 days in jail and was placed on probation for five years. May 11Pavel N. Prokoshev, 37, pleaded no contest to attempted receiving, possessing, or withholding stolen goods and was given a suspended sentence of 16-40 months in prison, was ordered to pay $6,053 restitution and was placed on probation for five years. May 13Adrian Serrano, 28, of Payson, Utah, pleaded guilty to uttering a forged instrument and was given a suspended sentence of 12-34 months in prison, and was placed on probation for five years. May 14Dion Marcell Larue, 40, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and was given a suspended sentence of 12-32 months in prison and was placed on probation for five years and ordered to enter the Adult Drug Court program. May 15Thomas Gaspard Wall III, 31, of Grass Valley, California, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance and was given a suspended sentence of 180 days in jail and was placed on probation for three years. May 20Joshua Dare Abell Sr., 41, of Ely, pleaded no contest to principal to statutory sexual seduction and was given a suspended sentence of one year in jail, was ordered to serve 90 days in jail, pay $902.50 evaluation fee, and was placed on probation for three years and ordered to follow the required terms and conditions for sex offenders per NRS 176A.410. - Michael Jared Tognarelli, 37, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty to grand larceny and was sentenced to 19-48 months in prison and pay $2,970.63 restitution. June 2Adam Michael Lambros, 37, of Salt Lake City, pleaded no contest to attempted uttering of a forged instrument and was sentenced to 26 days in jail and ordered to pay a $400 fine. - Ciano Vaughn Sweat, 33, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 21 days in jail and ordered to pay a $112 fine. June 3Clarence Jay Faulkner, 71, of Waco, Texas, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary and was given a suspended sentence of 19-48 months in prison and was placed on probation for five years. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 New Delhi: Lt Gen JS Sandhu has taken over as the Corps Commander of the strategic 15 Corps army formation after Lt Gen Satish Dua handed over the charge of the Srinagar based Corps to him on Monday. Lt Gen Sandhu takes over as the 46th Corps Commander of the Srinagar based Corps, also called 'Chinar Corps'. Commissioned into the regiment of 5th Gorkha Rifles (FF), Lt Gen Sandhu has had an illustrious military career spanning 36 years during which he has held varied prestigious command, staff and instructional appointments. The Gen officer has an incisive understanding of J&K having served five earlier stints in the state including command of an Infantry Battalion on the Line of Control, a Mountain Brigade and the elite Kupwara Division. A Graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Higher Command Course and National Defence College, Gen Sandhu has also served in the Army Headquarters, Infantry School, Army War College and the DSSC. The Gen officer has also represented the country in the Indian Embassy at Kathmandu, Nepal. On assuming the charge, Gen Sandhu conveyed his greetings to the Awaam of Kashmir and the entire Chinar Corps fraternity. Earlier on Tuesday, Lt Gen Satish Dua was given a befitting farewell in Badami Bagh Cantt which began with both the Gen officers laying wreath at the War Memorial to pay their homage to martyrs. Gen Duas tenure, which began on 27 Aug 15, has been characterized by a balanced approach of robust operations along the LC and in hinterland on one hand, and constructive engagement with the populace, especially the youth on the other. The Army has played a very significant role during the ongoing phase of unrest assisting the Civil administration in restoring peace and calm. Gen Duas tenure though, will be defined by the successful surgical strikes in Sep launched by the Army in response to the Uri terror attack. The opening of Chinar 9Jawan Clubs all across the Valley to provide the youth a platform for growth and recreation has been a major contribution to Kashmir during his tenure. Gen Satish Dua who now proceeds to New Delhi on promotion to assume the charge of Chief of Integrated Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee ( CISC), expressed his hope that situation in Valley would soon return to normal and conveyed his best wishes to the people of Kashmir and soldiers of Chinar Corps. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Saturday, July 11th, 2020 (7:43 am) - Score 23,795 Chinese firm CDATA, which makes networking kit for FTTH and Hybrid Fibre Coax based broadband ISPs (often sold re-branded as OptiLink, V-SOL CN, BLIY etc.), is facing a serious problem after security researchers found 7 vulnerabilities in OLT kit including backdoor accounts that grant access to a hidden Telnet admin. The researchers Pierre Kim and Alexandre Torres (via Zdnet) examined a number of Optical Line Terminal (OLT) devices from CDATAs range of Gigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON) kit. The vulnerabilities they discovered affect a wide range of the firms devices and latest firmware, including modern 10Gbps capable kit like the FD1608GS, FD1608SN, FD1616GS and FD1616SN among many others. A total of seven very serious vulnerabilities were discovered in these devices, which included everything from a weak encryption algorithm to insecure management interfaces and credentials leaking. But by far one of the worst is the allegedly intentionally placed (by the vendor) existence of backdoor access with telnet. As security goes, you really cant get much worse than this in such a key piece of hardware. The Seven Vulnerabilities * Backdoor Access with telnet * Credentials infoleak and credentials in clear-text (telnet) * Escape shell with root privileges * Pre-Auth Remote DoS * Credentials infoleak and credentials in clear-text (HTTP) * Weak encryption algorithm * Insecure management interfaces The researchers found that a telnet server was running on the appliance, which is reachable from both the WAN interface and the FTTH LAN interface (from the ONTs). But they also discovered a bunch of (undocumented) credentials (i.e. logins and passwords) that give backdoor admin access. The undocumented credentials seem to vary, depending upon the firmware version, but they appear to include some surprisingly simple ones (e.g. login: debug password: debug124, login: guest password: [empty], login: suma123 password: panger123 etc.). The passwords are so basic that even a regular brute force attack, in our view, could probably uncover them without much effort. Ordinarily the expectations of responsible disclose would demand that the company be informed and given time to fix the flaws before they are exposed to the public. But in this case the researchers opted for full disclosure without taking that step as we believe some backdoors are intentionally placed by the vendor. Yikes. Off the top of our heads we dont know of any UK broadband ISPs that are using CDATAs OLTs in their networks, but that doesnt mean to say that somebody somewhere isnt doing so as very few operators talk openly about their suppliers. Nevertheless, it just goes to show that the current excessive focus on firms like Huawei (and ZTE before them) may come at the cost of overlooking much weaker links in the chain at other, smaller, vendors. The vulnerabilities themselves were validated against FD1104B and FD1108SN OLTs in a lab environment with the latest firmware versions (V1.2.2 and 2.4.05_000, 2.4.04_001 and 2.4.03_000), although static analysis shows that these same issues also appear to affect all available OLT models as the codebase is similar. See the list below for more kit examples. 72408A 9008A 9016A 92408A 92416A 9288 97016 97024P 97028P 97042P 97084P 97168P FD1002S FD1104 FD1104B FD1104S FD1104SN FD1108S FD1204S-R2 FD1204SN FD1204SN-R2 FD1208S-R2 FD1216S-R1 FD1608GS FD1608SN FD1616GS FD1616SN FD8000 We have asked CDATA for a comment and await their response. China will flood direct flights to India with wholesale takeaways of the authentic stuff; Indian businessmen will fight for the commission and the consumers for the cuisine, predicts Sunanda K Datta-Ray. Photograph: Kind courtesy digitalphotolinds/Pixabay Xi Jinping is hurt. Narendra Modi ignored his birthday. The Son of Heaven had taken great trouble arranging a surprise party on June 15 on those bleak heights where not a blade of grass grows although tanks roll, artillery crackles and shells explode. But nary a tributary tweet from Modi. His silence was especially surprising because, like all Indians, Modi loves bragging about foreign VIPs. 'Barack' and 'Bibi' trip off his tongue. But perhaps the Middle Kingdom's president-for-life and supreme commander isn't foreign or VIP enough for someone who counts Trump and Netanyahu (the fond 'Bibi') as buddies. Xi's handling of the coronavirus pandemic probably injected new meaning into Mao Zedong's boast that the Chinese alone would survive a nuclear holocaust but however Celestial or Imperial, he is still only Asian. Trump and Bibi are sahibs, not pukka of course, but who can tell? Certainly not Amit Shah who boasts that the US and Israel defend their borders like India. As home -- not foreign -- minister, he is innocent of Pax Britannica or the Monroe Doctrine. Aksai Chin and the McMahon Line are outside his jurisdiction. So is the Indian's Aryan obsession. When one demanded American citizenship on race grounds, the US court held Aryan he might be, White he wasn't. Clearly, China's then president Liu Shaoqi was modest in affirming that as 'a great power', China "had to punish India once". Once is not enough, especially if they are so remiss about the Son of Heaven's dues. Reluctant to pull rank, Xi has swung in a cane chair in Ahmedabad, squatted on the ground beside an antediluvian spinning wheel in Sabarmati, and politely admired Modi's sarong and angavastram at Mamallapuram. At the same time, the iron fist ordered People's Liberation Army troops to Ladakh just in case his hosts thought he was all velvet glove. They should have known he meant business when Xu Qiliang, who crushed the Tibetan uprising and massacred Tiananmen Square protesters, was appointed chief of the Western Theatre Command. But as always, they were napping. China drove a highway through Aksai Chin while Indians slumbered. Local shepherds had to nudge them awake when Kargil was swarming with Pakistani infiltrators disguised as herdsmen. Indians hadn't a clue about the Chinese road between two spurs on Lake Pangong that unilaterally shifted the LAC in China's favour. The ultra-nationalists didn't even hear Shyam Saran's warning that 'deception is an integral element of Chinese strategic culture'. Beguiled by tales off a 56-inch (or millimetre?) chest, they were cock-a-hoop that Beijing had accepted Sikkim's annexation until China claimed the Finger Area tract just to put them wise. Not that anyone was much wiser. Brajesh Mishra didn't know whether Mao smiled at him or merely beamed good-naturedly which seemed unbecoming to any highly-placed Indian. Kamaraj was similarly bewildered when a Chinese visitor resisted his garland. Instead of 'Pakkalam' (Let's wait and see), his favourite tactic, the burly Tamil forced the garland over the reluctant Chinese head. The man had just done the same to him. 'Not the same man'" murmured K Natwar Singh. Then vice-minister Chen Chen Tho, the delegation leader, had garlanded Kamaraj who, in turn, insisted on garlanding Chen's interpreter. One Chinese looked the same as another. Perhaps Jawaharlal Nehru suffered from Kamaraj's disability. That's why Zhou Enlai, who thought two centuries were not long enough to decide whether the French Revolution had made an impact, recognised Nehru in a jiffy as the most arrogant man on earth. Since Modi isn't a sahib like Nehru, China welcomed him when Europe and the US wouldn't. He greeted Xi on Weibo, the Chinese Twitter, in deferential Mandarin even when China had to be stern about the Nuclear Suppliers Group and Doklam. But they are all coconuts (brown outside, white inside) or wannabe coconuts. Like that India-loving banana, Lee Kuan Yew, who refused Hua Guo Feng's gift of Neville Maxwell's book on the 1962 War. Taking his cue from the Doordarshan broadcaster who thinks 'X' and 'I' are Roman numerals, Modi may now dismiss Xi as 'Eleven'. But Xi wants him to go ahead with banning Chinese restaurants. China will then flood direct flights from Kunming to Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai and Trivandrum with wholesale takeaways of the authentic stuff. No matter how grim the news from Ladakh, Indian businessmen will fight for the commission and Indian consumers for the cuisine. Xi's will be the last laugh as India's trade deficit soars far above today's $53.6 billion. Feature Production: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday nearly $19 million in funding awards to assist in mitigating the impacts of the coronavirus on homeless families and individuals and to prevent future homelessness across the commonwealth. The Wolf administration, through the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), is awarding the first of two allocations of Emergency Solutions Grant CARES Act (ESG-CV) funding provided through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act supplemental appropriation, according to a press release. The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected housing opportunities, safety, and reliability for thousands of Pennsylvanians. As we begin to recover our economy, we must also ensure that our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians and those at greatest risk of losing their homes and housing stability are able to recover as well, Wolf said in the release. Our homeless providers and partners are working tirelessly in their communities to end and prevent homelessness, and these distributions will drive direct support and assistance to counties in need across the state. The CARES Act provided for two allocations of homeless assistance funds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus among individuals and families who are homeless or receiving homeless assistance and to support additional homeless assistance and homelessness prevention activities to mitigate the impacts created by coronavirus, according to the release. Sixty-three percent of funds awarded are targeted to address homelessness prevention, 22 percent to rapidly house those who are homeless and 8.4 percent to provide emergency shelter services and street outreach. The balance of funds awarded address data collection and administration needs, the release said. A total of $18,973,829 in ESG-CV funding was approved for the following recipients representing awards in 52 counties: Adams County Commissioners - $340,732 Armstrong County Commissioners - $457,515 Beaver County Commissioners - $49,820 Berks County Commissioners - $300,000 Blair County Community Action Program* - $1,385,373 Bucks County Commissioners - $996,400 Butler County Commissioners - $1,546,519 Center for Community Action* - $312,700 Central Susquehanna Opportunities* - $566,424 Centre County Commissioners - $341,549 Chester County Department of Community Development - $498,200 Clinton County Housing Coalition* - $192,565 Community Action Partnership of Cambria County* - $318,678 Cumberland County Commissioners* - $79,500 Dauphin County Commissioners - $628,633 Domestic Violence Services of SWPA* - $403,711 Franklin County Commissioners - $480,526 Indiana County Commissioners - $99,640 Lawrence County Social Services* - $3,355,362 Lehigh County Commissioners - $305,004 McKean County Commissioners - $150,148 Mercer County Commissioners - $351,477 Monroe County Commissioners* - $381,761 Montgomery County Commissioners - $498,200 Philadelphia Office of Homeless Services - $4,176,301 Schuylkill County Commissioners - $448,335 Union-Snyder Community Action Agency* - $131,440 Wayne County Commissioners - $177,316 *Asterisks note a regional grant. Blair County Community Action Program will distribute funding to Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, and Somerset counties. Center for Community Action will distribute funding to Bedford, Fulton, Huntington, Mifflin, and Juniata counties. Central Susquehanna Opportunities will distribute funding to Columbia, Montour, and Northumberland counties. Clinton County Housing Coalition will distribute funding to Clinton, Lycoming, and Tioga counties. Community Action Partnership of Cambria County will distribute funding to Cambria and Somerset counties. Cumberland County Commissioners will distribute funding to Cumberland and Perry counties. Domestic Violence Services of SWPA will distribute funding to Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties. Lawrence County Social Services will distribute funding to Beaver, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clarion, Elk, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Potter, Venango, and Warren counties. Monroe County Commissioners will distribute funding to Monroe and Pike counties. Union-Snyder Community Action Agency will distribute funding to Union and Snyder counties. Applications were accepted from general-purpose units of local government, including cities, boroughs, townships, towns, counties, home rule municipalities, and communities that desire to apply on behalf of other municipalities, the release said. Local governments may apply on behalf of nonprofit organizations. Non-profit organizations can apply only for a regional project as long as it demonstrates a regional need and would serve multiple counties. Using routine profiling and with the assistance of detector dog Eva, Revenue officers seized 75kg of tobacco at Cork Airport on Sunday. The smuggled tobacco was discovered in the checked baggage of three Irish nationals who had disembarked a flight from Alicante, Spain. The 'Amber Leaf' branded tobacco had an estimated retail value of approximately 44,260 representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of 36,735. Investigations are ongoing. These seizures are part of Revenue's ongoing operations targeting the supply and sale of illegal tobacco products in the shadow economy. If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding the smuggling or sale of illegal cigarettes or tobacco, they can contact Revenue in confidence on Freephone 1800 295 295. Australians living overseas have criticised the Morrison governments decision to make it harder to return home, while forcing people to pay for two weeks in quarantine has been labelled as almost cruel. Matthew Spence worked in the aviation industry in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, until he was made redundant on June 30. Mr Spence said flights from Malaysia to Sydney were sparse, and he was booked on the first available flight on July 18. I am concerned that the intake cut will result in flight cancellations, further adding to the stress of Aussies trying to return, Mr Spence said. If you are an Australian citizen you have the expectation that you can always return home when you need to. Kerryn Finnis (right) has been separated from her fiance Nick (left) by the travel restrictions Australia has imposed. Prime Minister Scott Morrison ordered airlines to slash the number of flights and available seats to Australia from Monday to reduce the number of international arrivals in a bid to relieve pressure on hotel quarantine. Vikas Dubey Kanpur: The wife of gangster Vikas Dubey, who was killed in a police encounter Friday, said her husband was wrong and deserved this fate, as his last rites were conducted here amid tight security. Superintendent of Police, Rural, Brijesh Srivastava told reporters that Dubey's brother- in- law Dinesh Tiwari performed the last rites in the presence of his wife and son. Advertisement Vikas DubeyDubey was shot dead on Friday morning by police, who claim he was trying to flee after the car carrying him from Ujjain overturned on an isolated stretch of the highway on the outskirts of the city. Dubey had allegedly masterminded the killing of eight policemen on July 2 when they were going to arrest him at his Bikru village. Richa Dubey and Vikas DubeyWhen asked about these incidents and if she thought her husband deserved such an end, Richa said, Yes, yes, yes. Vikas did wrong and he deserved this fate. Advertisement After the last rites, policewomen took Richa and her son in their vehicle and left for an undisclosed location. New Delhi: On the occasion of Bhai Dooj on November 1, women passengers will be allowed to travel free in all buses operated by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). All Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses AC, non-AC and cluster buses will provide free travel facility for women. Transport Minister Satyendar Jain said the decision has been taken to allow women and girls to travel without any hassle throughout the day to meet their family members and celebrate Bhai Dooj. He said all necessary formalities have been completed in this regard and relevant orders issued to the concerned officials for implementation. WASHINGTON, July 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- We are pleased to announce that the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) (https://www.memri.org) has launched a website redesign that gives visitors an optimally responsive experience across all devices desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. For over two decades, MEMRI has been meeting the evolving challenge of "bridging the language gap" between the Arab and Muslim world and the West providing vital research, translations from primary sources, and original analysis and maintaining the world's largest online archive of such translated material. NEW WEBSITE FEATURES INCLUDE: Speedy Page Loading The top-to-bottom website redesign provides a completely responsive platform, allowing users to navigate MEMRI content in a new, highly efficient landscape. The mobile site has been enhanced with heightened responsiveness to match users' needs in real-time. New Trending Page Highlighting The Latest Current Issues As one of the world's most productive nonprofit think tanks, MEMRI releases clips, translations, and analyses on a daily basis. The new Trending page displays the most relevant curated MEMRI content for an at-a-glance understanding of the latest issues and news of the day. THE TRENDING PAGE IS CONSTANTLY BEING UPDATED WITH NEWS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THE REGION: The Reactions to Protests and Riots Across the U.S. section on the Trending page features reactions and opinions from the region about the unrest that broke out across the U.S. following the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. The Reactions to Coronavirus section on the Trending page highlights statements by columnists, writers, government officials, and others on the coronavirus pandemic. Also on the Trending page are sections for current events in the region. The Iran-U.S. Relations section examines the ongoing tensions between the two countries. The Turmoil in Iraq section focuses on Iraq as it emerges from a decade of Iranian hegemony. The U.S.-Taliban Deal section follows the latest developments in that arena, as the U.S. readies to withdraw troops. The Trending page also features sections with the latest reports from some of MEMRI's most important projects most recently, the Domestic Terrorism Threat Monitor (DTTM) and the Reform Project. OTHER NEW SITE FEATURES Audio Feature For Listening The new SpeechKit feature, located at the top of each report, allows readers to listen to audio of the report similar to a podcast while driving or otherwise engaged, offering a user-friendly listening experience. This feature is proving very popular readers have told us they have become daily listeners. Enhanced Search Results That Present Customized And Relevant Content Site visitors will gain a more cohesive and centralized view of resources. This translates into the best possible search engine results, fully tailored to the individual user's needs. Expanded Social Sharing Capabilities Allowing Even Easier Access To Multiple Platforms At the top of each report, MEMRI has integrated unique features for sharing and reposting informative content across the web via a wide range of platforms. SUBSCRIBE FOR UPDATES Subscribe today to receive emails of MEMRI research. ABOUT MEMRI Exploring the Middle East and South Asia through their media, MEMRI (https://www.memri.org) bridges the language gap between the West and the Middle East and South Asia, providing timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu-Pashtu, Dari, and Turkish media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends. MEMRI Middle East Media Research Institute: https://www.memri.org MEMRI TV https://www.memri.org/tv Jihad & Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) - https://www.memri.org/jttm Cyber & Jihad Lab (CJL) - https://www.memri.org/cjlab MEMRI In the Media - http://www.memriinthemedia.org Contact Information [email protected] 202-955-9070 SOURCE Middle East Media Research Institute Children were playing gangland feud games in the schoolyard during the height of the murderous Kinahan-Hutch feud, according to the senior officer who led the garda battle against the gangs. Pat Leahy, who retires as an assistant commissioner after 38 years in the organisation, also said that teenagers groomed into gangs by the lure of wealth and power often end up either perpetrating violence or being victims of it. TDT | Manama Listed as a vulnerable species, whale sharks are termed docile fish, which sometimes even allows swimmers to hitch a ride. In Bahrain, two sailors say they experienced the same. The shark, presumed dead, was spotted by two sailors in the North Sea waters of Bahrain, said an Al Bilad report citing social media accounts. The sailors, however, got the surprise of their life, when the fish suddenly sprang to life as they approached to take a look. The men said they even spent some time with the fish, locally known as Deeba, before informing the authorities. The sailors hope the concerned authorities would do the needful to rescue the fish. Preferring warm waters, whale sharks populate all tropical seas, says National Geographic. They are currently listed as a vulnerable species; however, they continue to be hunted in parts of Asia, such as the Philippines. As the largest fish in the sea, reaching lengths of 40 feet or more, whale sharks have an enormous menu from which to choose. Fortunately for most sea-dwellersand us!their favourite meal is plankton. They may live up to 70 years, according to NatGeo. The meat factories' representative body has been accused of "stonewalling" questions on the Covid-19 outbreaks in meat plants around the country. Meat Industry Ireland (MII), which represents the factories, told an Oireachtas committee yesterday there has been approximately 1,100 positive cases in meat factories, since one of its members first reported a positive Covid-19 case on March 17. However, Independent TD for Limerick Richard O'Donoghue accused MII of "stonewalling" questions and going "around in circles", with MII representatives unable to provide details of how many of the 1,100 positive cases involved migrant workers or if the majority of its meat factory members have sick pay for workers. MII chairman Philip Carroll said it was "completely unfair" to be accused of stonewalling questions and they had answered around 75 questions at that point. Measures Mr Carroll said meat factories had implemented a comprehensive set of measures to deal with Covid-19, but admitted there have been "too many" positive cases associated with plants. Expand Close Status yellow: PETA supporters (left to right) Ide Fagan, Clodagh OBrien and Siobhan Buckley in hazmat suits as they protested against the meat industry outside Leinster House yesterday. They called on the public to go vegan. Representatives of the meat industry addressed the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response about the large number of cases among its workers. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Status yellow: PETA supporters (left to right) Ide Fagan, Clodagh OBrien and Siobhan Buckley in hazmat suits as they protested against the meat industry outside Leinster House yesterday. They called on the public to go vegan. Representatives of the meat industry addressed the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response about the large number of cases among its workers. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins The 1,100 positive cases, he said, is "not a badge of honour" for the sector, but that there are no active cases in meat plants today and "our absolute focus is to maintain this". MII also said five sites had carried out mass testing of workers. Five factories had more than 100 positive cases among its workers by June 1, according to HSE figures. The committee also heard that 70pc of the country's 15,000 meat factory workers are non-Irish, with 20pc from outside the EU. However, MII could not provide a breakdown of how many Irish and non-Irish workers had tested positive for Sinn Fein TD Matt Carthy. MII said it would "strive" to provide the information. In relation to sick pay, committee chairman Michael McNamara asked three times if the majority of its members had sick pay available to workers. "Some of them have sick pay scheme and some of them don't," Cormac Healy, senior director of MII, told the committee. Medical personnel move a deceased patient to a refrigerated truck serving as make shift morgues at Brooklyn Hospital Center on April 9, 2020 in New York City. ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images Autopsy studies are helping doctors understand how the coronavirus attacks the body. A new study published last month showed blood clots were present in "almost every organ" the researchers looked at, co-author and New York University pathologist Amy Rapkiewicz told CNN. When the virus was first discovered, doctors thought COVID-19 was mainly a respiratory disease like pneumonia, but they've since learned that it can cause blood clots that can lead to serious complications like strokes, kidney failure, and immune system complications. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Autopsy studies of coronavirus patients show that blood clots from the disease are not only present in the lungs, but can be found in "almost every organ", a New York University pathologist told CNN on Thursday. NYU Langone Medical Center's chair of the department of pathology, Dr. Amy Rapkiewicz, described the new findings, which her team published in The Lancet journal EClinicalMedicine last month, as "dramatic." When the virus was first discovered, doctors thought COVID-19 was a respiratory disease like pneumonia, but they've since learned that the virus can cause blood clots. These can lead to more serious issues like strokes, kidney failure, heart inflammation, and immune system complications, Business Insider's Holly Secon reported. Doctors previously reported that excessive blood clots can occur in large blood vessels, as well as the lungs, heart, brain, and skin. Related: What it's like to be a 'deathcare' worker amid coronavirus But the new study suggests that blood clots can also affect smaller blood vessels. "And this was dramatic, because though we might have expected it in the lungs, we found it in almost every organ that we looked at in our autopsy study," she told CNN's Erin Burnett. The autopsy study also showed the noteworthy appearance of large bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes. Rapkiewicz said these cells "usually don't circulate outside the bones and lungs." Story continues "We found them in the heart and the kidneys and the liver and other organs," she told CNN. "Notably in the heart, megakaryocytes produce something called platelets that are intimately involved in blood clotting." According to CNN, researchers plan to determine the connection between the large bone marrow cells and small blood vessel clotting in the coronavirus. Read the original article on Business Insider Around 500 British tourists arrived in Ibiza via air bridges on Saturday as the first holidaymakers to travel to the Balearic Islands since quarantine restrictions were lifted. On the first weekend since the air bridges were announced by the UK Government, sun-seekers from London and Manchester airports took flights via travel agency company TUI. However, British tourists travelling to Spain's most popular destinations, including the Costa del Sol, Mallorca as well as Ibiza, will have to wear masks in most public areas - or face fines of up to 100 (90). Around 500 British tourists travelled to Ibiza on Saturday as the UK's first travellers to the Balearic Islands, including Katy De Freitas (pictured left) and boyfriend Bart Dwurczeuk (right) Quarantine rules were lifted by the UK Government earlier this month and Brits do not have to self-isolate upon their arrival in Ibiza nor when they return to Britain Travel agency company TUI arranged the flights from London and Manchester airports over the weekend The Balearic Government ruled on Monday that face masks must be worn by everyone in shops and other public places, but not on beaches and by swimming pools. A similar rule has been adopted by the Andalusian Government which will see the Costa del Sol conform to these regulations, while city of Barcelona will also follow this policy following an announcement by the Catalonia government. Juanma Moreno, president of the Andalusian Government, revealed that the Costa del Sol is not in a critical health state, saying: 'All cases are being controlled and isolated, but this can change at any time. 'Therefore, the best we can do is prevent and adopt with all rigor all the measures within our reach. We all have to work together until there is no effective treatment or a vaccine.' Some Britons were initially fearful of travelling to places on holiday due to fears of contracting the virus. Katy De Freitas, who travelled to Ibiza with her boyfriend over the weekend, said: 'We were quite worried because a lot of our close friends or colleagues at work, they thought it was too risky to travel abroad and they didn't think it was a good idea to make a rash decision and go away any time soon. 'We did have initial worries and we wanted to make sure we read the Government rules correctly and that we didn't do anything wrong.' In Ibiza, the need to wear masks is being followed by British tourists, even though some do not agree with the decision. Britons travelling Ibiza will have to wear to wear face masks in public areas but not on beaches and next to swimming pools Similar rules have been adopted in the Costa del Sol in Andalusia (pictured), as well as in Barcelona and Mallorca Some Ibiza holiday resorts have been taking extra precautions to make sure visitors are safe during what is likely to be the first weekend abroad for tourists Some Brits believe that this way of holidaying is the 'new normal' and that wearing face masks on holiday could stay over the next year Lee Peacock, a 41-year-old gas engineer who travelled to Ibiza from Manchester, told PA: 'I don't agree with the masks. I don't think they do anything but I'll wear them to help get the economy going again.' Other Britons have found social distancing to be difficult while travelling to and spending time in Ibiza. Graham Milne, 55, from Newcastle said: 'You've just got to have your wits about you and be as careful as you can. As for social distancing, I think sort of, on the plane, that goes out the window to be honest. 'You wear a mask when you are on the plane but you've just got to be careful and wash your hands as much as possible.' Despite gaining a reputation amongst Brits for being a party island, Ibiza's main nightclubs are still shut in order to maintain social distancing rules. In Ibiza and Mallorca, tourists do not have to wear masks on beaches (pictured) and next to swimming pools As the pandemic ebbs and flows it would be unwise to pick one set of figures to shape a response. There are too many cultural variations involved to make comparisons as watertight as they must be to underpin a successful, agreed course of action. Yet some comparisons are so stark they cannot be ignored. The huge contrast in Covid-19 deaths between Ireland and Norway, pretty comparable countries if not societies, is one such case. Norway, with a population of 5.4m, had, as of Thursday, 8,954 cases and 252 deaths. This Republic, with a population of 4.9m souls, has had 25,565 cases and 1,743 deaths. That comparison screams challenge. How has Norway navigated the pandemic so much better than we have? Why do we have seven times the number of deaths? The culture of Janteloven, one that places the collective before the individual, is part of the answer but not a full one. Norway continues to enforce travel restrictions far beyond anything applied here. At the early stages of the pandemic, Norwegians who overwintered in Spain of Portugal to avoid Norways bitter winters were not allowed to repatriate. While the Irish partied in Cheltenham, Norway told its citizens in pandemic hotspots to stay where they were so they might not become a plague conduit. This clarity, this discipline is one reason for the onerous seven-to-one comparison. American Airlines yesterday resumed its six-times-a-week service from Texas to Dublin three days after that state recorded more than 10,000 new cases, around 10 times Irelands highest single-day figure. I will tell you, a month ago one in 10 people were testing positive. Today, its one in four, Houston mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS this week. That Anthony Fauci, the Trump-derided senior member of the White House coronavirus taskforce, reported that, on Wednesday, America set a world record - 60,000 for new cases in a day must colour the welcome those American Airlines passengers will get, just as it will for those arriving on four Aer Lingus transatlantic flights landing in Dublin today. Dr Faucis warning that Americas states needed to pause reopening, as ours accelerates, adds to those concerns. That those passengers, like all travellers arriving in Ireland by land or sea, will, at best, face rudimentary screening and lets be honest nominal follow up highlights this soft underbelly in our Covid-19 war. Just as those passengers were packing to fly to Dublin, Tokyo decided to pay nightclubs and hostess bars to close after the capital recorded 224 cases on Thursday, the highest daily tally since the pandemic began. Hong Kong closed their schools again. A new outbreak, minuscule compared to Americas, follows weeks of normal activity as people returned to work and restaurants opened. Hong Kong started reopening schools in late May after four months of home classes. Italys prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, yesterday warned that Italy will likely extend its state of emergency beyond July 31. Italy declared a six-month state of emergency at the end of January. Unfortunately, there are all too many examples of this back-to-the-future recurrence. Many of them spring from a premature return to travel norms and inconsistent policies in neighbouring jurisdictions. Taoiseach Micheal Martin yesterday highlighted the inconsistency around passengers arriving in the Republic from Britain. Travellers arriving here must self-isolate for 14 days, apart from those coming through the back door of Northern Ireland. Mr Martin said: We have issues with the UK... Its not just the UK; its international travel in general. Our current advice is against international travel off the island of Ireland because we believe its problematic and our public health people are saying that to us. Britains inability to even stem the pandemics advance justify those concerns, which may be a precursor of how a hard Brexit might change relationships across these islands. Those concerns were reiterated by the director of the National Virus Laboratory, Cillian De Gascun, who implored people not to travel overseas this summer. That fact that, according to acting chief medical officer Ronan Glynn, 15 of the latest 23 cases were directly or indirectly related to travel may, hopefully, encourage an Irish outbreak of Janteloven. That, of the 140 cases last week, the median age was 34 might stir a wider appreciation that a consistently unified response is essential. As is so often the case, when joined up thinking goes AWOL, this saga is alive with irony. Anyone who arrives in Dublin from Texas today can drive to the West and, while enjoying one of that coastlines wonderful pubs, face a one of 7,000 garda inspections designed to ensure social distancing rules are being observed. This is like checking on a horse that may be a vector for a contagious disease long after it has bolted far over the horizon. No-one could have prevented the first wave but there is a lot we can and must do to minimise a second wave. Phoning Norway, a new level of personal responsibility, and temporarily stopping all tourist flights in or out of the country would be good first steps. There is hardly an alternative if our schools and pubs are to reopen in a few weeks just as there is a growing sense that we are our own worst enemy in the Covid-19 war. Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson spoke with a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor just four days after posting anti-Semitic messages on his Instagram page. Introducing Eagles Extra: Sign up for a free trial now. Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text directly with reporters Jackson video chatted with Edward Mosberg on Friday. The wide receiver, who was fined earlier in the day, posted a picture of their meeting on Instagram: Shortly before Jacksons post, the Eagles announced they penalized the former Pro Bowl playmaker. The team released the following statement on social media: This has been a difficult and emotional week for our community and organization. The Philadelphia Eagles do not tolerate hate towards any individual or group. We believe in respect and equality for all races, ethnicities, and faiths. We as an organization want to help be an instrument of positive change. This can only occur through strong, deliberate actions and a commitment to learn and grow. Today we have penalized DeSean for conduct detrimental to the team. He accepted these consequences and apologized. In our many conversations with him, it has also been made clear that this is only the beginning. We have discussed a concrete plan for how we and he can heal moving forward. He understands that in order to remain on the team, he must also commit to supporting his words with actions. We have been encouraged by his desire to educate himself, but we all understand there is still a lot of work to be done. We will continue to assist DeSean in this process, and we also know that all of us in our organization need to listen and learn more about things that are unfamiliar or uncomfortable to us. We must continue to fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, while not losing sight of the important battle against systemic racism. Since Tuesday, Jackson has apologized publicly twice on social media and has reached out to a local rabbi for guidance and education. According to 6ABCs Jeff Skversky, Jackson also met with an anti-Semitism educational group on Thursday. New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman has also spoken with Jackson after offering the Eagles wide receiver a deal to visit Holocaust and African American museums together in Washington, D.C. Get Eagles text messages from reporters: Cut through the clutter of social media and text directly with the Eagles beat writers. Plus, exclusive news and analysis every day. Sign up now for a free trial. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Mike Kaye may be reached at mkaye@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 08:26 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406658627f 1 Editorial diplomacy,fugitive,extradition,maria-pauline-lumowa,Serbia,#Editorial Free The absence of mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties between Indonesia and other countries has hindered the hunt for criminals on the run overseas, squashing any chances of recovering the state assets they have stolen. But as in the case of Maria Pauline Lumowa, such legal impediments can be resolved with good diplomacy. After 17 years on the run, Maria was repatriated from Serbia on Thursday by Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly and his team. The eastern European country and Indonesia have not signed any extradition or mutual legal assistance agreements (MLA). Yasonna said Maria, who holds a Dutch passport, had tried to evade the extradition. The extradition process began after the Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB) in Belgrade apprehended Maria on July 16, 2019, as she was entering the country through Nikola Tesla Airport, then alerted the Indonesian NCB in Jakarta. Maria was held responsible for a fictitious letter of credit to obtain US$136 million and 56 million euro ($118,846) in loans from state bank BNI between 2002 and 2003. She fled Indonesia for Singapore in September 2003, a month before the police named her suspect. She had been hiding in the Netherlands, from where she reportedly made several trips to Singapore. Indonesia had twice requested the Netherlands for Marias extradition, in 2010 and 2014, but to no avail, according to Yasonna. The two countries have no extradition treaty. Therefore, Indonesia relied heavily on diplomatic efforts to bring home one of its most wanted persons. Unsurprisingly, Yasonna gave credit to Indonesian Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro M. Chandra Widya Yudha for his high-level diplomatic approach. Only April 6, the Serbian Ministry of Justice approved Marias extradition or more than seven months since her arrest. One of the Serbian governments considerations for allowing Indonesia to extradite Maria is the latters assistance in handing over fugitive Nicola Iliev, who was wanted for cybercrimes, in 2015. A few days before the transfer of Maria, Yasonna paid a courtesy visit to Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Davic, who is also Serbias foreign minister, during which Yasonna conveyed Indonesias support for Serbias territorial integrity in the conflict in Kosovo. There is nothing new about reciprocity in diplomacy, which is indeed exercised for the sake of mutual benefits. In fact, long historical ties have marked the Indonesia-Serbia relationship, which dates back to the era of founding president Soekarno when Serbia was part of Yugoslavia. If anything, the extradition of Maria should set a good precedent in Indonesias bid to capture fugitives hiding abroad and recover stolen state assets deposited in overseas banks. Indonesia has signed extradition treaties with China, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and Hong Kong, and MLAs with China, ASEAN countries, Hong Kong, the United States and Australia. But they will not help unless interagency coordination at home is solid. Poor teamwork should be blamed for repeated incidents of heavyweight graft suspects slipping through law enforcers fingers and fleeing the country unchecked. (@ChaudhryMAli88) WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th July, 2020) A century after fueling Panama separatism, US economic interests still aggressively dominate the region, including Venezuela, analysts told Sputnik ahead of the 100-year anniversary of the dedication of the Panama canal. The Panama Canal, opened in August 1914 but not dedicated until July 12, 1920, is an artificial 50-mile long waterway built by the United States that cuts through the isthmus that joins North and South America and connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The canal was under Washington's sole control until a US-Panamanian joint agency took over in 1979. The Panamanian government assumed complete control in 1999. The canal is considered one of the most strategic shipping lanes in the world, with around 14,000 vessels crossing it every year, representing roughly 5 percent of world trade. It serves 144 maritime routes and connects 160 countries, according to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). The canal has a highly-controversial geopolitical history - its creation seen as the ultimate end product of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), wherein the US declared its intent to establish hegemony over the hemisphere. In 1903, Washington supported a rebellion that allowed Panama to gain independence from Columbia, which thereby allowed the United States to gain full possession of the canal zone via treaty. Human rights lawyer, historian and Latin America analyst Dan Kovalik told Sputnik the US political machinations and orchestrated military coups to destabilize and maintain control of the region continue unabated to this day. "As we know, the United States helped create and finance military forces in 1903 to rebel against the Colombian government and to sever Panama from Colombia in order to seize control of what would become the Panama Canal," Kovalik, who teaches International Human Rights at the University of Pittsburgh school of Law, said. In addition to stealing a potential source of major revenue for Colombia, this action of supporting the paramilitaries would haunt that nation for many years to come, Kovalik said. "Colombia has suffered internal civil strife ever since, including from paramilitary forces which have continued to rear their ugly head, many times with the support of the US, until the present day. Colombia continues to suffer from horrific human rights abuses carried out by such forces which now dominate much of the countryside," he said. The United States also continues to destabilize and foment regime change in countries throughout Latin America in the pursuit of its economic and geopolitical interests, Kovalik continued. "We can see that now with the United States's open and aggressive regime-change operations in Venezuela," he said. These activities have included the United States seizing the US-based oil company Citgo and cutting Venezuela off from life-sustaining supplies such as food and medicines, Kovalik pointed out. "The Monroe Doctrine is alive and well, quite sadly for the people of Latin America," he said. Independent Institute Center on Peace and Liberty Director Ivan Eland agreed that the United States continued to ignore international law and still used the 1823 Monroe Doctrine to justify its repeated interventions in the internal affairs of Latin American nations. The carving of Panama out of Colombia in order to build the canal "was an early case of the United States using the military to move toward hemispheric hegemony under the long-standing Monroe Doctrine. As US Senator [Samuel] Hayakawa said humorously but accurately much later, the United States stole it fair and square,'" Eland said. The US economic interest in Latin America continued to impact on countries' sovereignty in the region to this day, Eland cautioned. "Yes, the 'colossus of the North' - still the most potent country on earth, economically, politically, and militarily - still has great effect on the Western Hemisphere. Economics gets politicized and so a free market doesn't exist. Moreover, the economics of the drug war undermines the region's sovereignty too," he said. Beijing and Washington in recent years have vied for influence in Panama, with China investing in development projects and attempting to strike a free trade agreement. However, Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo, who took over as president a year ago, has stalled initiatives with Beijing while the trade agreement remains unsigned. Moreover, apparently due to US pressure, in 2018 Panama abandoned plans to allow China to build a new embassy on the canal, the Guardian reported. Analysts warned that the US-China trade dispute could present a new threat to the future of the canal. Kovalik said that for a number of years now, China has been the major partner with Panama in terms of financial and infrastructure investment. China has invested in modernizing the canal and its locks, in the railroad services to and from the canal, and in potentially building the first land route between Panama and Colombia, he added. "Now, the US appears to want to cut off such influence of China in the region, and may act in aggressive ways to halt it," Kovalik said. Eland said the US-China trade dispute could significantly impact on the volume of trade passing through the Canal. "In that protectionism is contagious and reduces trade volumes and general world prosperity, the trade war between the two largest economies could lessen trade through the canal. There has also been talk of an alternative route," he said. However, the canal would probably survive, although it has less strategic importance than it used to, Eland concluded. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks at her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, on June 26, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Pelosi Plans Measure to Limit Pardons Following Roger Stone Commutation House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suggested that the House may introduce a bill to limit presidential pardon power following President Donald Trumps decision to commute the sentence of his longtime associate and former adviser Roger Stone. Pelosi, along with many of her Democrat colleagues, excoriated the president for providing clemency for Stone, who had been scheduled to report to prison on July 14. She called the decision an act of staggering corruption, while vowing Congress would take steps to prevent similar actions in the future. Legislation is needed to ensure that no President can pardon or commute the sentence of an individual who is engaged in a cover-up campaign to shield that President from criminal prosecution, Pelosi said in a July 11 statement. Stone, 67, was sentenced on Feb. 20 to three years and four months in prison. He was convicted in November 2019 on all seven counts he was charged with, including obstruction, witness tampering, and making false statements to Congress, in connection with an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. The political consultant and lobbyist had recently escalated his bid to delay the start of his prison sentence by filing an emergency request that asked an appeals court to push back the date of his self-surrender. He argued that his age and undisclosed medical issues would leave him vulnerable in the prison system to COVID-19. The appeals court rejected the request, saying that Stone is not legally eligible for further postponement of his reporting date under the law he used to request his delay. Because Stone has failed to show, as a matter of law, that he is eligible for release under Section 3145(c), the motion must be denied, the judges wrote (pdf). The ruling was quickly mooted as Trump signed an Executive Grant of Clemency commuting Stones sentence later in the day. The White House said in a statement that Stone was a victim of the Russia Hoax that had been perpetuated for years by the Left and its allies in the media in an effort to undermine the Trump presidency. The collusion delusion spawned endless and farcical investigations, conducted at great taxpayer expense, looking for evidence that did not exist, the statement said. Once the prosecutors from the special counsels office were aware that the investigations would not bear fruit, the prosecutors then turned to probe alleged wrongdoing by Trump associates, the White House claims. These charges were the product of recklessness borne of frustration and malice. This is why the out-of-control Mueller prosecutors, desperate for splashy headlines to compensate for a failed investigation, set their sights on Mr. Stone, the statement said. Then-special counsel Robert Mueller spent about two years investigating allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. His report concluded that while Russia did attempt to interfere in the election, there was no evidence to establish that any members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia ahead of the election. Trump defended his decision to grant clemency to Stone in a statement on July 11, saying that the 67-year-old was targeted in an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place. It is the other side that are criminals, including Biden and Obama, who spied on my campaignAND GOT CAUGHT! the president wrote. The presidents power of executive clemency is granted by the U.S. Constitution and allows him to pardon sentences for federal criminal convictions or grant clemency in the form of commutation, amnesty, remission, and reprieve, except in cases of impeachment. A presidential pardon sets aside the punishment for a federal conviction, while a commutation of a sentence could reduce a sentence either totally or partially without wiping out the felony convictions. Presidential pardons have long been a subject of debate, and presidents using this power in the past have attracted criticism and accusations of misconduct. President Gerald Fords controversial decision, for example, to pardon former President Richard Nixon for involvement in the Watergate scandal was unpopular at the time and resulted in allegations that Ford had made a secret deal for Nixons resignation. Similarly, the 140 pardons and 36 commutations issued by President Bill Clinton during his final hours in office triggered a criminal investigation. Congress has previously made attempts to amend presidential pardon power in an effort to prevent self-serving pardons. Some proposals include limiting the pardon power during a lame-duck period, and allowing Congress to vote by resolution to disapprove the granting of a pardon within 180 days of its issue, according to legal scholars (pdf). More recently, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced the Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Bill in 2019 to prevent presidents from abusing the pardon power for their own personal benefit or to obstruct justice. Schiffs proposal requires the attorney general to submit material of an investigation related to any individual who is pardoned if the individual was convicted on a charge that arose from an investigation in which the president or a member of his or her family is the target, subject, or witness. A bill that limits the presidential power of clemency is expected to face an uphill battle, given that Republicans hold a majority in the Senate. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, on July 1, 2020. (Manuel Balce Cenata/AP/AFP via Getty Images) Pompeo Hits Spurious UN Report That Claims Soleimanis Killing Was Unlawful GENEVAU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticized an independent UN human rights experts report insisting an American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January was a watershed event in the use of drones and amounted to a violation of international law. The report presented by Agnes Callamard to the UN-backed Human Rights Council on Thursday chronicled events around the death of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and the legal implications of his killing as part of a broader look on the use of drone strikes. Callamard, the special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions who has been commissioned by the council, called the January strike in Iraq the first known incident in which a state invokes self-defense as justification for an attack against a government official outside a declared armed conflict. Pompeo said in a statement late Thursday that the United States rejected her report and opinions. Ms. Callamards conclusions are spurious, he said. The strike that killed Gen. Soleimani was in response to an escalating series of armed attacks in preceding months by the Islamic Republic of Iran and militias it supports on U.S. forces and interests in the Middle East region. Pompeo said the strike on Baghdad International Airport was carried out to deter Iran from launching or supporting further attacks against the United States or U.S. interests, and to degrade the capabilities of the Qods Force. He said Callamard gives more cause to distrust UN human rights mechanisms. The Trump administration pulled the United States out of the rights council two years ago, accusing it of anti-Israel bias and alleging that it is too accepting of autocratic regimes that regularly abuse human rights. Callamard is perhaps best known for leading an investigation into the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi national, and issuing a scathing report on the actions of Saudi officials. In her new report, Callamard acknowledged in her report that international humanitarian and human rights law can provide diverging answers on the legal validity of some drone strikes, and the one against Soleimani raised genuine uncertainty as to how to interpret its lawfulness. She said the United States had not engaged with her as she drafted the drone report. But based on the evidence the U.S. provided, the targeting of Gen. Soleimani, and the deaths of those accompanying him, constitute an arbitrary killing for which, under (international human rights law), the U.S. is responsible, she said. Callamard wrote that the strike targeting Soleimani was qualitatively different from other drone strikes that targeted non-state actors. This is the primary reason the Soleimani strike is considered a watershed change in the conduct of extra-territorially targeted strikes and killings, she stated in the report. It is hard to imagine that a similar strike against a Western military leader would not be considered as an act of war, potentially leading to intense action, political, military, and otherwise, against the state launching the strike, she added. Among other recommendations, the report calls on the UN to examine the legal framework on the use of drones and for the UN Security Councilwhich Callamard called missing in action on the subject of drone strikesto take up the issues. The reports release came as the United States mounts an increasingly intense diplomatic offensive to try to depict Irans Islamic Republic as the worlds most rogue regime. Tehran has countered by issuing an international arrest warrant and asking Interpol for help in detaining President Donald Trump and dozens of others it believes carried out the drone strike on Soleimani. Trump faces no danger of arrest, and Interpol said it would not consider Irans request. By Jamey Keaten KEY FACTS 8:41 a.m.: Dozens of U.S. Marines infected in Okinawa 7:19 a.m.: Texas sees deadliest week of pandemic 7:15 a.m.: Australia approves experimental drug to treat severe cases The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Saturday. This file is no longer updating. Click here to read the latest coverage. Web links to longer stories if available. 7:35 p.m.: U.S. President Donald Trump appeared in public wearing a face mask Saturday, after long resisting, as the country broke its own record for new coronavirus cases in a single day, with more than 66,600 fresh infections documented in 24 hours. The U.S. has broken its own record in three out of the last four days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, with the Friday total coming in above 66,600. Trump donned the Navy mask, with an official presidential seal, as part of a photo-op as he visited wounded soldiers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Its the first major such appearance, amid reluctance on the presidents part to be seen in public with a face covering. Ive never been against masks, but I do believe they have a time and a place, Trump said before he left the White House for the visit. He has at times appeared to mock people who wore masks. 3:44 p.m.: After 117 days, Disney World opened Saturday to the general public after the coronavirus pandemic swiftly shut down the Flordia amusement park. People who snagged advance reservations in addition to tickets or annual passes could visit the Magic Kingdom or the Animal Kingdom Saturday. Epcot and Hollywood Studios will be open again starting Wednesday. Disney World is a world very different than the one that closed back in March, said Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. Going to Disney World for that experience in the past was so fundamentally defined by the very things that now have to be regulated. Disney loyalists wont line up to get the best view of the daily Magic Kingdom parade. Guests can only see a lone float or a marching band spontaneously travel around the route as entertainment. And kids cant hug Mickey Mouse. 3:40 p.m.: Cases of COVID-19 in Florida pushed past a quarter million Saturday, as the state reported 10,383 additional people with the disease. The state posted 95 additional deaths. A state summary released Saturday morning listed 188 additional deaths, but that appears to have been a miscalculation. Neither total is a record, but both reflect the worsening trends of the past two weeks. The record for deaths was set Thursday, with 120. 3:37 p.m.: Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in downtown Tel Aviv on Saturday, protesting what is widely seen as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus failure to address economic woes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Many Israelis think the government has not done enough to compensate hundreds of thousands of workers who lost their jobs as a result of restrictions and shutdowns. Unemployment has surged over 20 per cent, and Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet. The protest was organized by unemployed, self-employed, entrepreneurs and business owners who gathered in central Tel Avivs Rabin Square. Participants wore masks, but did not appear to be following social distancing rules. One man held a photo of Netanyahu with the words The No. 1 Corrupt Person. We are not working already nearly five months and unfortunately most of us have not received any compensation from the Israeli government and this is really a tragedy, said Daniel Tieder, a protester. In every country all over the world people have received compensation and support from their government. Unfortunately, here in Israel, nothing yet. On Thursday, Netanyahu announced an economic safety net promising quick relief to the self-employed and stipends over the coming year for struggling workers and business owners. The government is expected to approve the plan Sunday. 1 p.m.: Case numbers rose steadily in B.C. this week, with health authorities recording a total of 106 new cases since July 5. Last weekend saw case numbers staying low at under 10 per day. By Friday, new cases rose to 25, the highest number of recorded cases in the last two weeks. Minister for Health Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry did not address the rising number of cases in their joint written statement, instead reiterating the importance of personal safety measures. The total number of test-positive COVID-19 cases in B.C. has now reached 3,053. There were 10 new deaths reported this week, bringing the total number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the province to 187. 11:50 a.m.: Quebec reported 91 additional cases of COVID-19 on Saturday from the previous day, pushing the provincial total to 56,407 confirmed cases. Four additional deaths were also reported in the past 24 hours, the health department said. 11 a.m.: A second town south of Montreal is making masks mandatory in indoor public places after a COVID-19 outbreak linked to two house parties grew to about 80 confirmed cases this week. Mercier, Que., about 30 kilometres south of Montreal, says it intends to make face coverings mandatory as of Wednedsay. The town of Saint-Chrysostome, Que., where the house parties were held last month, passed a similar rule Friday mandating mask-wearing inside all commercial businesses. Quebecs public health director, Horacio Arruda, said Friday the house parties were the source of the outbreak. Health officials also say they believe the parties are connected to a series of infections that forced several businesses to close in Mercier. Quebec reported 100 additional cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the second consecutive day new cases topped the 100 mark. 8:41 a.m.: Dozens of U.S. Marines have been infected with the coronavirus at two bases on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa in what is feared to be a massive outbreak, Okinawan officials said Saturday, demanding an adequate explanation from the U.S. military. Okinawa prefectural officials said they could say only that a few dozen cases had been found recently because the U.S. military asked that the exact figure not be released. The outbreaks occurred at Marine Corps. Air Station Futenma, which is at the centre of a relocation dispute, and Camp Hansen, Okinawan officials said. Local media, citing unnamed sources, said about 60 people had been infected. Okinawans are shocked by what we were told (by the U.S. military), Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki told a news conference. He questioned disease prevention measures taken by the U.S. military and renewed his demand for transparency regarding the latest development. 8:01 a.m.: Working in an industry where you arent properly represented or embraced, there is always a constant fight. For me personally, I think the challenge I have felt is one that is mental, Toronto-based fashion designer Spencer Badu says. These are some of the lessons on how to be vulnerable, voice his emotions and find a larger purpose in his identity the 27-year-old has learned amid the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing global protests against anti-Black racism. Internalizing and suppressing the trauma is part of the Black experience, he adds. He has to deal with both the feeling of sorrow and pain from seeing his Black brothers and sisters being killed on the streets and the feeling of pressure to be creative and constantly moving toward the future and trying to inspire change. Another huge test in the recent months the COVID-19 pandemic which slowed down and shuttered businesses across the country. Ive been on a constant grind and the pace of fashion is ruthless. Were a small team so the work can get really exhausting. Read the full story from the Stars Evelyn Kwong on how a young Black fashion designer is channelling his energy into his craft amid a pandemic. 7:31 a.m.: On June 30, North York General Hospital marked a milestone: After 100 days there were no COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit. That morning, staff gathered to quietly celebrate and reflect on the harrowing weeks of treating the sickest coronavirus patients. The hospital, at Leslie Street and Sheppard Avenue East, was among the first in the GTA to see a wave of critically ill patients with the virus; at its peak, the community hospital had 12 COVID patients in its 21-bed ICU. Now, during this lull, staff are taking some much-needed time off, though they are not letting down their guard. There are still six COVID patients in the hospital who could require intensive care, and they know new patients can be admitted any time. Read the Stars Megan Ogilvies latest on a hospital staffs fear of a second wave of COVID-19. 7:19 a.m.: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says things will get worse in the state as more than 10,000 patients are now hospitalized with the coronavirus. The deadliest week of the pandemic yet in Texas continued Friday with 95 new deaths. On the Texas-Mexico border, Starr County Judge Eloy Vera says his rural community is trying to get a refrigerated trailer because the local funeral home cant keep up with more than two bodies a day. Texas members of Congress are asking the Trump administration for a field hospital in the Rio Grande Valley. They warn in a letter sent Friday to the health and human services secretary Azar that there is no indication that case counts will level out soon. 7:15 a.m.: Australias Therapeutic Goods Administration has given provisional approval to the drug remdesivir, an experimental medicine that has shown promise in the recovery time of the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients. The approval comes as Australia is seeing a sharp increase in coronavirus infections in the state of Victoria, which reported a record 288 new confirmed cases Friday. Authorities say remdesivir will be available only to patients who are severely ill, require oxygen or high-level support to breathe, and are in hospital care. It is the only drug licensed by both the U.S. and the European Union as a treatment for people with severe illness from the coronavirus. With a population of 26 million, Australia has recorded more than 9,000 coronavirus cases, with 107 deaths. 7:11 a.m.: South Korea has reported 35 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its caseload to 13,373 infections and 288 deaths. South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday that 13 of the new cases were in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, which has been at the centre of a virus resurgence since late May. Infections were also reported in other major cities such Daejeon and Gwangju, where patients have been tied to various places, including churches, a Buddhist temple, churches, nursing homes and a sauna. Fifteen of the new cases were linked to international arrivals as the virus continues to spread in Asia, North America and elsewhere. 7:08 a.m.: New coronavirus cases have dropped sharply in China, and authorities are turning their attention to concerns that the virus could spread through imported food. Those worries have risen since a June outbreak in Beijing that was linked to the citys largest wholesale market. Testing has been stepped up on incoming food shipments, and on Friday customs officials said they are halting imports from three Ecuadorian shrimp producers after tests showed the virus present in recent shipments. Authorities say the coronavirus was detected on the outer packaging of the shipments July 3. The inner packaging and the shrimp themselves tested negative. Products from the three companies received after March 12 have been ordered to be returned or destroyed. 7:03 a.m.: Indias coronavirus cases have passed 800,000 with the biggest spike of 27,114 cases in the past 24 hours, causing nearly a dozen states to impose a partial lockdown in high-risk areas. The new confirmed cases took the national total to 820,916. The Health Ministry on Saturday also reported another 519 deaths for a total of 22,123. A surge in infections saw the cases jumping from 600,000 to more than 800,000 in nine days. The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at more than 62%. Eight of Indias 28 states, including the worst-hit Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi, account for nearly 90% of all infections. 6:06 a.m.: At least two doctors in Syrias opposition-held northwest have been infected with the coronavirus, according to a monitoring group Saturday, raising the total number of cases in the overcrowded rebel enclave to three. The Syrian opposition and militant groups control the Idlib area, which is home to more than 3 million people, most of them displaced by the war and living in tent camps and overcrowded facilities. Local health facilities have been targeted in Syrian government attacks that have recently displaced nearly a further million people. The Early Warning and Alert Response Network, which reports on the virus, said the two doctors had been in touch with patient zero, another doctor who works in a hospital in Idlib. The first case was reported on Thursday and the hospital where the doctor works has since suspended its operations and quarantined patients and support staff to carry out testing. 12:47 a.m.: In his push to get schools and colleges to reopen this fall, President Donald Trump is again taking aim at their finances, this time threatening their tax-exempt status. Trump said on Twitter on Friday he was ordering the Treasury Department to re-examine the tax-exempt status of schools that he says provide radical indoctrination instead of education. Too many Universities and School Systems are about Radical Left Indoctrination, not Education, he tweeted. Therefore, I am telling the Treasury Department to re-examine their Tax-Exempt Status and/or Funding, which will be taken away if this Propaganda or Act Against Public Policy continues. Our children must be Educated, not Indoctrinated! The Republican president did not explain what prompted the remark or which schools would be reviewed. But the threat is just one more that Trump has issued against schools as he ratchets up pressure to get them to open this fall. Twice this week Trump threatened to cut federal funding for schools that dont reopen, including in an earlier tweet on Friday. Friday 11:54 p.m.: Health officials are reporting eight cases of COVID-19 linked to public gatherings in Kelowna, British Columbia, during and around the Canada Day long weekend. The Interior Health Authority says people who attended private gatherings, restaurants and bars from June 25 to July 6 in downtown and waterfront areas of the city may have been exposed to the illness. Six of the eight cases are people who dont live in the region and public health contact tracing is underway. Officials are urging anyone who took part in such gatherings during this time period to closely monitor themselves for symptoms. Friday 6 p.m.: Ontarios regional health units are reporting 38,470 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, including 2,752 deaths, an increase of 118 cases since Thursday evening, according to the Stars latest count. The rate of new infections has fallen sharply in the province over the last two months and has remained low so far in July. Over the last seven days, the provinces 34 health units have reported an average of 130 new infections per day, well down from a sustained peak of nearly 600 cases per day, seen in late April. Fridays low total included two days worth of data in Toronto, which nevertheless reported a low 42 new cases. Starting this week, Toronto Public Health switched to reporting cases only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. As such, the provincewide count of COVID-19 cases reported each day is likely to be higher than typical on those days. Another 10 new fatal cases were reported Thursday, seven in Toronto and one each in York, Waterloo and Niagara Regions. During the worst of the provinces epidemic, the health units reported as many as 94 deaths in a single day. Earlier Friday, the province reported 117 patients are hospitalized, including 34, who are in an intensive care unit, of whom 24 are on a ventilator. These numbers are themselves near the lowest the province has reported since first publishing hospitalization data in early April. The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths, 2,710, may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that, in the event of a discrepancy, data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date. The Stars count includes some patients reported as probable COVID-19 cases. This means they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test. Click here to read more of Fridays coverage. Here's a collection curated by The Associated Press' entertainment journalists of what's arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. MOVIES "Da 5 Bloods": It's always the right time for a Spike Lee joint and thankfully Netflix has his latest ready to debut Friday. Four veterans travel back to Vietnam to try to find the remains of their squad leader in this film that traverses decades and genres. Full of complex ideas, "Da 5 Bloods" is guaranteed to enlighten and provoke. Case in point? He's made one of the veterans (Delroy Lindo) a Donald Trump supporter. Celebrating Pride: Pride parades will be few and far between this year, but a number of channels are celebrating the LGBTQ community with special programming. On Friday starting at 8 p.m., film critic Alonso Duralde will be on TCM discussing three formative films, "Our Betters," "Victim" and "Word is Out." And on Sunday, the Criterion Channel drops the second installment of its Queersighted series, with seven films including Jean Cocteau's "Orpheus," Gus Van San's "My Own Private Idaho" and Celine Sciamma's "Water Lilies." "Artemis Fowl": Originally intended for theaters, Disney Plus is releasing Kenneth Branagh's big budget adaptation of Eoin Colfer's "Artemis Fowl" Friday. In the film, a young Irish genius (Ferdia Shaw) discovers a magical world in a quest to save his father (Colin Farrell) from a pack of fairies. Judi Dench and Josh Gad also star. AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr MUSIC Chloe x Halle: The sophomore album from Chloe x Halle was originally supposed to be released last week, but the duo decided to push it back out to honor Black Out Tuesday and the music industry's plan to turn off the music and take time to reflect and implement change in response to the death of George Floyd and the killings of other black people. "Ungodly Hour" will be released Friday and features a more grown-up side of Chloe, 21, and Halle, 20. The girls co-wrote, co-produced and engineered the album, which features the viral R&B hit, "Do It." Norah Jones: Over the last two years Norah Jones has held monthly recording sessions with various musicians to create epic singles instead of a full album. The result of those gatherings, along with unreleased songs from her 2019 project, make up "Pull Me Up Off the Floor" a new 11-track album coming out Friday. Jones produced nine of the songs alone and wrote seven of the tracks by herself. Collaborators include Jeff Tweedy, Emily Fiskio and Sarah Oda. AP Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu TELEVISION Gabrielle Union, engaged in a battle with NBC over her firing from "America's Got Talent," is firmly in control on "L.A.'s Finest," the drama she produces and stars in with Jessica Alba. The series returns for season two on Spectrum, with the first three episodes out Monday. To set the scene: detective Syd (Union) is searching for a friend's killer, her partner McKenna (Alba) is dealing with marital woes, and then a crime wave hits. Medical practitioners can be heroic with or without a pandemic to battle, as made clear in the docuseries "Lenox Hill," shot before the COVID-19 crisis. Cameras follow two brain surgeons, an ER physician and an obstetrician at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital as they pour their energies and dedication into their patients' care while also tending to their own lives a challenge that includes pregnancy for two of the doctors. The eight-episode series is out Wednesday on Netflix. If mystery is your cup of tea "Grantchester" is here to oblige, returning 9 p.m. EDT Sunday to PBS' "Masterpiece." Set in an English village in the 1950s, the series boasts an unlikely pair of crime-busters in the Rev. Will (Tom Brittney), and police detective Geordie (Robson Green). Also back are closeted man of the cloth Leonard (Al Weaver) and Tessa-Peake Jones as an indispensable if stern housekeeper. AP Television Writer Lynn Elber Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access When you buy and hold a stock for the long term, you definitely want it to provide a positive return. Better yet, you'd like to see the share price move up more than the market average. But Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE:VSH) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 29% over five years, which is below the market return. Unfortunately the share price is down 4.2% in the last year. Check out our latest analysis for Vishay Intertechnology While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price. During five years of share price growth, Vishay Intertechnology actually saw its EPS drop 0.7% per year. By glancing at these numbers, we'd posit that the decline in earnings per share is not representative of how the business has changed over the years. Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics. On the other hand, Vishay Intertechnology's revenue is growing nicely, at a compound rate of 5.0% over the last five years. It's quite possible that management are prioritizing revenue growth over EPS growth at the moment. The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). NYSE:VSH Earnings and Revenue Growth July 11th 2020 This free interactive report on Vishay Intertechnology's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Vishay Intertechnology, it has a TSR of 41% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! Story continues A Different Perspective While the broader market gained around 9.0% in the last year, Vishay Intertechnology shareholders lost 2.1% (even including dividends) . However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 7.2% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Vishay Intertechnology better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Vishay Intertechnology . If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges. 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. By PTI NEW DELHI: A 51-year-old official of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) died due to coronavirus infection on Saturday taking the pandemic death toll in the country's largest paramilitary to eleven, officials said. The force also reported 58 fresh cases of the disease across its various units in the country. Head Constable Damodar Reddy passed away at a hospital in Hyderabad on Saturday, they said. He was suffering from chronic kidney problems and some other health issues and was found positive for COVID-19 last month, the officials said. This is the 11th coronavirus death in the force that has over 1,925 cases of the pandemic till now, according to latest data. Out of the total, 936 personnel are under treatment across the country while the rest have recovered, officials said. The about 3.25 lakh personnel-strong CRPF is the lead internal security force of the country with its main operations being in the left wing extremism-hit states and counter-terrorist combat in the Kashmir valley. Rajasthan agriculture minister Lalchand Kataria on Friday urged the Central government to declare the menace of locusts a national disaster in the interest of farmers. During a video conference with the Union Agriculture Minister, Kataria also demanded the Centre to release the first instalment of centrally-sponsored schemes at the earliest. Giving information about crop loss in the state due to locusts, Kataria asked the Agriculture Insurance Company to pay the outstanding insurance claim of Rs 380 crore for Kharif-2019 of farmers as soon as possible. The minister claimed that the first instalment of most of the centrally-sponsored schemes for the year 2020-21 has not yet been released and the first installment of all schemes should be released immediately to the state in view of the interest of farmers. Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) MP from Rajasthans Nagaur has also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to declare locust attack a national disaster and provide relief to the farmers. A health-worker checks the temperature of a woman during a check-up campaign for the coronavirus disease, at a slum area in Mumbai, India, on June 29, 2020. Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters India is rapidly becoming a new coronavirus hotspot after surpassing Russia to record the third-largest coronavirus caseload in the world. A lack of testing and a complacent attitude surrounding the virus is thought to be the blame for the emergence of new clusters seen especially in megacities like Mumbai and Delhi. Even though lockdown measures were eased in May, cities are now planning to reimpose some rules to stop the virus from spreading. Scroll down to see how India, the world's second-largest population, is handling the coronavirus pandemic. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. India is rapidly becoming the next global coronavirus hotspot after the country surpassed Russia to record the third-largest caseload in the world. The country saw a huge spike in cases last month, even though it reported its first case back in January and imposed one of the world's strictest lockdown measures from March to May. But despite authorities implementing strict measures, many Indian's are still complacent about the dangers of the virus, and a lack of testing is making it impossible for authorities to clamp down on the virus. Scroll down to see photos of how the world's second-largest population is handing the coronavirus pandemic. Last weekend, India surpassed Russia to record the third-largest coronavirus caseload in the world. A woman wearing a protective face mask walks past a graffiti, in Mumbai, India, on June 12, 2020. Hemanshi Kamani/Reuters At the time of writing, India has more than 820,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, although it has managed to keep its death rate relatively low at just over 22,000 deaths. Source: Johns Hopkins University, Business Insider The country is still struggling to contain the virus, even though it recorded its first case back in January and imposed a strict lockdown from March to May. Women watch Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi address the nation on TV screens inside a showroom in Ahmedabad, India, on June 30, 2020. Amit Dave/Reuters Back in March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed one of the world's strictest lockdown measures, leaving many of its 1.3 billion citizens jobless and without food. Story continues In a weekly radio address to the nation, Modi said he was sorry for the impact the strict stay-at-home measures had on people but added that there was "no other way" to stop the spread of the virus, according to the BBC. "Especially when I look at my poor brothers and sisters, I definitely feel that they must be thinking, what kind of prime minister is this who has placed us in this difficulty?" Modi said. "I understand your troubles but there was no other way to wage war against coronavirus... It is a battle of life and death and we have to win it." The lockdown has since been lifted, although schools, transportation in cities, cinemas, gyms, and swimming pools remain closed and international flights are still grounded, the Guardian reported. There is a lack of coronavirus testing as labs across the country struggle to keep up with demand. A medical worker collects a sample from a woman using a swab in New Delhi, India, on June 30, 2020. Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters In India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, one testing lab serves around 30 million people, according to the Guardian. While the country has tried to ramp up testing in the last few weeks, it's still only limiting it to a pool of high-risk people and their contacts, the BBC reported. This is stopping health officials from discovering new cases that have emerged undetected in the community. Source: The Guardian Even though wearing a mask is mandatory and parts of public transport have been suspended, many Indians are still complacent about the dangers of COVID-19, according to health experts. A healthcare worker waits to test residents during a medical campaign for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a slum area in Mumbai, India, on June 30, 2020. Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters Source: The Week Jayaprakash Muliyil, an epidemiologist at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, Tamil Nadu told Nature journal: "The general population's anxiety about the disease is low." A police officer wearing a helmet depicting coronavirus requests a commuter to stay at home to limit the spreading of COVID-19, in Chennai, India, on March 28, 2020. P. Ravikumar/Reuters Source: Nature For many health experts, the mindset around the virus is worrying especially as megacities, like Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai, witness large clusters of new infections. Commuters travel in a crowded bus during evening rush hour, in New Delhi, India, on March 18, 2020. Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Dr. Preeti Kumar, a vice-president at the Public Health Foundation of India told the Guardian: "In India, this is a concentrated epidemic, it is very urban-centric. While rural areas seem to have it more under control, the way the virus has been spiking in our densely populated big cities indicates the epidemic will continue here for some time." On top of this, thousands of healthcare workers have reportedly become infected on the frontline or are increasingly reluctant to risk exposure. Staff members of a hospital carry candles and oil lamps to show solidarity with people who are affected by the coronavirus disease, in Kolkata, India, on April 5, 2020. Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters Source: The Guardian However, recent data published by the BBC revealed that people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 are recovering from it faster than they are dying from it. A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease prays at the emergency ward of Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi, India, on May 28, 2020. Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Source: BBC The death rate in the country of 1.3 billion people is also low compared to others. Currently, it has had more than 21,000 fatalities, ranking it eighth in the world. A priest walks in front of the body of a person who died of the coronavirus disease, as he collects woods to make a funeral pyre at a crematorium in New Delhi, India, on July 3, 2020. Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters Source: Johns Hopkins University But this hasn't stopped officials from reconsidering new measures. Prime Minister Modi opposes a new national lockdown but some cities are preparing to reimpose the restrictions in 10-day phases. A man wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) sprays disinfectant on the walls in an alley in a slum area in Mumbai, India, on June 29, 2020. Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters Source: Business Insider The country is still months away from reaching its peak, with the vice-president at the Public Health Foundation of India telling the Guardian: "We are definitely entering a worrisome phase of the epidemic." A doctor in a protective chamber takes a swab from a man to test for COVID-19 at a newly installed Walk-In Sample Kiosk (WISK) in a government-run hospital in Chennai, India, on April 13, 2020. P. Ravikumar/Reuters Source: The Guardian Read the original article on Insider Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Darnell Christie (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Sat, July 11, 2020 15:09 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066594094 2 Science & Tech Instagram,social-media,united-states,conversion-therapy,sexual-orientation,gender Free Instagram said on Friday it would block content that promotes so-called conversion therapy, which aims to alter a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, as pressure to ban the practice grows. The social media giant announced earlier this year it would no longer allow adverts for conversion therapy services, which can range from counselling and 'praying away the gay' to electric shocks and sexual violence. "We don't allow attacks against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity," Tara Hopkins, Instagram's public policy director for Europe, Middle East and Africa said in an emailed statement. "(We) are updating our policies to ban the promotion of conversion therapy services." A spokesman for Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, said it would take time to update all policies and content flagged by users may not be removed immediately. The United Nations independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity called last month for a global ban on conversion therapy, describing it as "cruel, inhumane and degrading". A growing number of countries - including the United States, Canada, Chile and Mexico - are reviewing their laws. Brazil, Ecuador and Malta have nationwide bans on conversion therapy, while Germany outlawed the treatment for minors in May. Read also: Trans anger as J.K. Rowling compares hormone treatment to gay conversion therapy Instagram's move is "a step in the right direction, but we'd have to wait and see exactly what kind of actions they take," Harry Hitchens, co-founder of the campaign group Ban Conversion Therapy, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Ban Conversion Therapy sent an open letter yesterday to Britain's Equalities Minister Liz Truss, urging her "to introduce a truly effective ban on conversion therapy for all lesbian, gay, bi, trans and gender diverse people in the UK". Among those who signed the letter were musicians Elton John and Dua Lipa and writer and actor Stephen Fry. Truss pledged in May to ban conversion therapy for sexual orientation. In a global survey of 1,641 survivors of conversion therapy published by the United Nations in May, 46 percent identified the perpetrators as being medical and mental health providers, while 19 percent were religious authorities and traditional healers. Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian LGBT+ activist who underwent conversion therapy aged 16, welcomed the ban but said it had been "a long time coming". "What is missing for me in all of this conversation is the face of it, the horror of it. And I don't care how terrible it is, people need to see it and see real human beings sharing their story in public," he said. Fifteen full-time City of Welland employees have not been called back to work since 101 people were given temporary layoff notices in April. This is according to human resources manager Andrea Daisley, who said Friday that a potential return to work date has not been established at this time for them. There are 18 part-time employees that remain out of work, said Daisley. Steve Leavitt, national staff representative for Canadian Union of Public Employees, represents unionized city workers in Welland. He told The Tribune there are five CUPE members who have been sitting at home watching their phones and email accounts since a city-wide shutdown of programming and facilities. Three employees from the recreation and culture division, as well as a traffic technician and parking-bylaw officer are currently not working. On July 6, the citys recreation and culture departments Facebook page posted that volunteers were being sought to assist with the farmers market, which will resume operations with a soft opening Saturday. Asked if this is unsettling, he said it depends on what type of tasks the volunteers are given. Its always a concern, he said Friday. I dont know what theyll be doing in particular. If theyre doing the work of the bargaining unit, thats going to be an issue for us, said Leavitt. One unionized full-time worker is on the job overseeing the operation of the farmers market, as well as a market co-ordinator. If there are any issues with volunteers doing work we should be doing, she will let us know, said Leavitt. Other municipal employers in Niagara have redeployed staff to other responsibilities that were not part of their daily routine before COVID-19. Welland could do the same, he said. Theyve done whatever they can to keep people employed, even if its not the job they normally do, said Leavitt, using Niagara Region bringing out-of-work employees back to handle COVID-19 screenings at long-term care homes as an example. Finding new tasks for people has already been discussed with the city, which he believes could be applied to CUPE Local 1115 members employed with the local government. Weve suggested that to the city, but with not much luck, unfortunately, said Leavitt. Corporate Services general manager Steve Zorbas said Friday afternoon he did not have a breakdown of what departments the 15 laid-off staff are from. Out of the more than 100 people given notice in April, approximately 70 per cent of them are unionized, said Zorbas, adding that volunteers will not be taking on tasks they shouldnt be and that the two individuals behind preparations and operation of Saturdays market reopening will be able to cover the necessary work. For this weekend, its all we require, said Zorbas, unsure of how many city employees would be at the market on a typical weekend before COVID-19 arrived. He hopes staff who are on hiatus will eventually return, but when there is work to be done. The staffing levels we have are sufficient to deliver the programs we currently offer, said Zorbas. If theres no work, theres no need to call back staff, he added. The city may increase staffing as services and programming are restored, and provincial government restrictions are loosened. We continue to review this on a weekly basis, said Zorbas. The three recreation and culture employees work out of the wellness complex on Lnicoln Street, said Leavitt. Zorbas said there are no timelines established for when the facility might reopen. He said the arena on King Street being put back in service will be discussed in the coming weeks by the municipalitys corporate leadership team. A total of 15-full time unionized employees were told early April that their services were not required when the COVID-19 pandemic took over. This was in addition to 12 full-time transit drivers, 17 full-time public works casuals, and 23 part-time staff, which included transit operators, transit terminal clerks, and recreation staff. Welland Public Library issued temporary layoff notices to 22 part-time workers, as well as eight full-time unionized library staff. Kris Dube is a St. Catharines-based reporter for the Welland Tribune. Reach him via email: kris.dube@niagaradailies.com Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Good on the Progressive Conservative government for finally going against the flow of Grade 9 streaming. By undoing the damage from a previous PC government under Mike Harris, Doug Ford has done good. But not good enough. This is a quick fix to a long-term problem. The premier is slowly learning the lesson that educators have been teaching for years. The last Liberal government never got around to damning (or damming) streaming. But Fords Tories must do more than damage control if they truly want to help students navigate their way to a post-secondary education. It cannot simply be a simplistic message about back-to-basics. With a calculator on every desktop, the answer isnt merely mastering multiplication tables. Setting the table for success means levelling the playing field. Streaming in Grade 9 punished and pushed people onto the sidelines forcing them to choose between applied versus academic classes closing off pathways to first-year college or university before students could even gain traction in their first year of high school. This weeks announcement by Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce recognizes reality, even if only belatedly. Given the premiers initial thoughts on systemic racism (nothing to see here), Ford had the good sense, on second thought, to see the writing on the wall and on the placards on the streets about systemic screening. Like police carding, student labelling can be an insidious form of racial profiling. By pigeonholing people in their early teens not just Black kids, who bear a disproportionate burden, but immigrant children for whom English is a second language we are writing off their unrealized potential. Pushing off streaming for later years is a good beginning a necessary but not sufficient condition for graduation day. On its own, however, it wont get us where we need to go. Eliminating streaming cannot be a political or pedagogical panacea. Pooling everyone in the same class wont magically solve the challenge of students falling behind, which is the reality that teachers face every day. Whether streaming is the root cause of inequity or merely the symptom and perpetuation of different rates of student learning sparks endless debate. What cannot be disputed is that streaming is a shortcut a quick and easy way to get slower students out of the way, so that they wont slow down everyone else. It is rough justice or more precisely, injustice because it unjustifiably holds kids back. But merely ending the inequities of streaming wont be enough if we do not start supporting student learning with more intelligent instruction. If we open all classes to all students, struggling kids will stumble unless they also get the extra support to help them thrive. If streaming too often amounts to giving up, the remedy is to double up with more teachers and smaller classes, as opposed to fewer teachers and larger classes and more online learning (post-pandemic), which Ford and Lecce have long pretended is the path to success. All that said, left unsaid in the current debate is that the university stream is overrated, while the college and trade streams are underappreciated in our society. Stripping away our racial biases reveals a slew of cultural and elite biases by people of all colours and backgrounds about the value of trades and other applied skills, whether acquired in colleges or apprenticeships. Just ask our premier, who wrote about his own decision to drop out of college in his autobiography. Fords experience also reminds us, however, about the importance of choice. He got into college and then quit because he could. Afford it, that is. Ford had a job waiting for him in his fathers firm. More importantly, he had access to the cash that covered his tuition, which was considerably less in his day than today. For all the lip service his government is paying to paving the way to post-secondary education, the premier must recognize the full cost equation. Its not just about the inequities of individual streaming but the inequalities of personal cash flow. The biggest barrier that students face to a college or university education, if they have the marks, is the money. Its not just about admission but tuition. Thats why a previous Liberal government promoted the goal of free tuition for eligible students, with grants declared upfront so that students (or parents) wouldnt be deterred by the high sticker price of post-secondary education. The PC governments early populist ploy to mandate a 10 per cent tuition reduction for all rich or poor wont move the dial for students struggling to pay their way, given that the Tories quietly dialed back total student aid (outweighing the benefits of the gimmicky cut by burdening them with daunting debt loads). The criticism of this weeks move on streaming is that its mostly messaging. The fact that Ford now gets the message and is spreading the word is half the battle. But thats just the half of it, for every student learns that words are not enough. Numbers also matter. If Ford wants to overcome the obstacles faced by racialized students, he needs to go beyond symbolism. Now is the time to match the message with the money. Read more about: The Thai Immigration Bureau said on Friday that it had dispatched hundreds of officers to patrol the porous areas bordering Myanmar for fear of illegal migrants crossing to Thailand and spreading COVID-19, Trend reports citing Xinhua. Thai army troops, police and administrative officers of the border town of Mae Sot, in the northern province of Tak province, were conducting inspections along jungles and the Mekong River, the two main areas dividing Thailand and Myanmar. The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said that despite the border seal-off during the COVID-19 lockdown, there have been reports of illegal entries of Myanmar workers. "We are about to reach 50 days of free local COVID-19 transmission, and since the ban of inbound flights still prevail, the second wave of infection would likely come from those who illegally crossed the border to Thailand," said CCSA spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin. Taweesin said that as Thailand had already entered into its Fifth Phase of easing of business lockdown, illegal migrants are searching for ways to enter Thailand to meet the soaring demand for cheap labor. "It is a challenging job for border taskforce to intercept the flow of illegal migrants," said Taweesin. "Our borders are intricate and porous." For the second day in a row, the number of Ukrainians who recovered from coronavirus infection significantly exceeds the number of those who fell ill, noted the participants of a traditional meeting with the representatives of the government and law enforcement agencies, which was chaired by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. "Although the distribution numbers of COVID-19 are far from perfect, we came to the point that more people are recovering than are getting infected. This is also evident from the reports of each service. This means that our coordinated actions were correct, and the Ukrainians listened to the recommendations of the authorities. We need to continue to move in accordance with the situation," the head of state stressed at the meeting, as the press service of the President of Ukraine said. Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov reported on the situation on the Sophia ship, whose crew is on quarantine. According to him, coronavirus infection was detected in most of the crew members, patients are under the supervision of doctors, the entire crew is isolated, routes are determined in case if the hospitalization is needed. Chief of the National Police, Ihor Klymenko, said that law enforcement officers were checking operation of children's camps, which did not receive permission to open in light of the pandemic. Also, the National Police for the last day issued 235 protocols in connection with the violation of quarantine measures in institutions, public catering establishments, and outlets. In general, from the beginning of inspections, almost 18,000 administrative protocols for UAH 6.6 million were made up. By Charles Wowkanech Since when is keeping food on New Jerseys tables not essential work? More than 100,000 members of the United Food & Commercial Workers in New Jersey have been on the job around the clock since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, stocking grocery store shelves as quickly as items flew off them. Politely encouraging shoppers to maintain social distance. Cleaning and sanitizing and then cleaning again for the safety of customers, even as these UFCW members lacked enough personal protective equipment themselves. UFCW members put themselves in harms way, and employers such as Stop & Shop, ShopRite, Acme, Foodtown and a host of other grocery stores in New Jersey did the right thing by negotiating hazard pay premiums for these unsung frontline heroes. But now, even as the coronavirus infection rate is creeping up again, Stop & Shop is doing the wrong thing. Stop & Shop has stopped paying its workers their negotiated COVID-19 hazard pay premiums. Thats unthinkable. Stop & Shop must restore hazard pay immediately for these frontline heroes. The work is still hazardous, maybe even more so. The workers are still essential. New Jerseyans need to eat. It is a disgrace for a company that made hundreds of millions of dollars during this crisis to fail to recognize the value of the workers who served their communities in a time of uncertainty and contributed to the companys bottom line. Our fellow union members of the UFCW are the people who show up to work during hurricanes and blizzards to make sure our families basic needs are met. Our fellow union members of the UFCW are the people who continue to report to work every day during this unprecedented global outbreak. Yes, they continue to be on the job for every person in New Jersey. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO, a labor community of 1 million-plus people in this state, urges our brothers and sisters and all working families to tell Stop & Shop and any other supermarket owners who do not value their workers to pay the UFCW members the hazard pay they contracted for. Restoring hazard pay will go a long way toward showing these workers the recognition and respect they have earned. If you shop for groceries in New Jersey, honor the people who keep the doors open and the stores stocked and safe. Voice your concerns to Stop & Shop or any other employer who deems these frontline heroes less than worthy. Charles Wowkanech is president of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-12 05:51:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close File photo taken on Oct. 14, 2018 shows the campus of the Harvard University in Cambridge of Massachusetts, the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) The extraordinary number of colleges and universities pooling together so quickly is indicative of the serious nature of the opposition to the brash move. DENVER, the United States, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Some 180 academic institutions in the United States joined the avalanche of opposition to the Trump administration's controversial visa policy for int'l students, according to an amicus brief document filed to the Massachusetts federal district court and released to the public on Friday. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a new visa policy for international students and this move prompted Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to launch a legal action against it. The 22-page document issued by the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration representing 180 higher education institutions showed a nationwide support for rescinding the guidance. "ICE's new policy serves only to severely disrupt international students' educational attainment, and our country is worse off for it," said Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration in a statement posted on the group's official website. "This quasi-international student ban represents another unfortunate assault by the administration against immigrants and higher education," she added. Policemen patrol on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Boston, the United States, April 19, 2013. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun) (lyx) The Alliance is composed of over 450 presidents and chancellors of public and private colleges and universities, representing over 5 million students in 41 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. The extraordinary number of colleges and universities pooling together so quickly is indicative of the serious nature of the opposition to the brash move, academic pundits said. The ICE announced on Monday that students currently in the United States on F-1 and M-1 visas must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status, if their schools' classes are entirely online in the fall semester. The measure also stipulated that those in violation would risk "immigration consequences, including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings." The White House defended the action Wednesday. In academic circles, the decision hit a stone wall. Two Chinese students walk on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, the United States, June 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ying) As of Saturday, hundreds of thousands of signatures have been collected online from supporters of several open letters and petitions that slammed the Trump administration's decision. The University of Southern California (USC), where a total of 12,265 international students were enrolled during the 2019-20 academic year with around 7,000 from China, announced on Wednesday it had joined an amicus brief strongly supporting the lawsuit filed by Harvard and MIT. The University of California (UC) also announced plans to file suit against ICE. The UC's 2019 fall enrollment data showed that 27,205 of the university's 226,125 undergraduate students are non-resident international, while 13,995 of the university's 58,941 graduate students are non-resident international. "I am deeply concerned about the timing, motivation, and substance of this government action," said Alan W. Cramb, president of Illinois Institute of Technology in the statement released by the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. "Our university, our city, and our nation are profoundly enriched by the contributions of international students. We stand with them and higher education institutions across the nation to ensure that America continues to be a place where all are welcomed and encouraged in their pursuit of educational excellence." People attend the Cal Day event at the University of California, Berkeley Campus in Berkeley, California, the United States, on April 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) (zf) The public health danger was highlighted by Danny J. Anderson, president of Trinity University, in the statement. "While so many people in the United States are suffering and recovering from COVID-19, it is even more important that campuses protect and ensure the health and safety of their students," he wrote. "By issuing such ill-advised guidance, the administration is in effect pressuring campuses to reopen prematurely, thereby endangering their students' health; or to deport their international students, placing their international students' health in danger. " "This ICE policy will have far-reaching detrimental effects on our students and communities," noted Wake Forest University President Nathan O. Hatch, who urged more schools to join the movement and to "resist new federal restrictions that threaten the education and wellbeing of international students." The harshest assessment of the new restrictions came from Dwight A. McBride, president of The New School, who was quoted by the statement as saying "The proposed ICE guidelines are cruel, unnecessary and deeply flawed - for students, for higher education, and for the country." "Caught in the crosshairs of politics, dedicated scholars and future leaders who contribute mightily to U.S. culture and the economy could be exiled from the country they have seen as a haven. We need to be building educational bridges for our students right now, not bureaucratic trap doors." he concluded. A welder works on the roof of a new house construction at Karratha in the North-West of Western Australia on June 17, 2008. (Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images) Construction Begins in SA Housing Stimulus South Australians will soon be able to buy affordable homes across metropolitan Adelaide under a $21.4 million state government housing stimulus. Construction is underway to build 100 new homes, which are expected to be completed by early-to-mid 2021. Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink said many properties were built on the outskirts of metropolitan Adelaide because it was more affordable, but higher travelling costs were incurred as a result. She said the state government was acting as a developer to fund a gap in the market. There are lots of South Australians who would love to buy their own home but just need the opportunities because there is not enough supply for that particular price, she said. At the same time, (were) supporting the building industry, which we know needs a pipeline of work to keep people employed on a constant basis. Of the 100 homes to be built, with up to three bedrooms and either single or double-storey, 70 will be sold for no more than $419,750. Centina Homes is currently building 23 of the new properties. Its director Paul Nardinocchi said the stimulus helped provide continuity of work for trade contractors, suppliers and those within the construction industry. To be eligible, applicants must have a maximum income of $85,000 for a single person or $110,000 for a family with assets worth no more than $500,000. It is also required that property owners live at the address for a minimum of six months. Emily Cosenza in Adelaide Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 04:16:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ROME, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Italy's gross domestic product (GDP) will likely contract by 9.5 percent this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the Bank of Italy forecast in a 77-page Economic Bulletin released on Friday. Italy's GDP is set to contract by 15 percent in the first half of the year and to expand slightly in the second half "largely due to the end of the effects of the containment measures," the Bank of Italy wrote in reference to the March 10-May 3 national lockdown that paralyzed the country's economy but brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control. This contraction in 2020 would be followed by "a gradual recovery in the following two years," with GDP expanding by 4.8 percent in 2021 and by 2.2 percent in 2022, according to the Italian central bank. This baseline scenario also sees foreign demand for Italian goods shrinking by 13.5 percent this year, followed by an expansion of 7.9 percent in 2021 and by 4.6 percent in 2022. Exports will likely fall by 16 percent in 2020, and expand by "about 6 percent in 2021-2022," the Bank of Italy wrote. These numbers are based on a baseline scenario in which "the pandemic remains under control both on a global level and in Italy, and the gradual removal of the measures to contain the infection continues," central bank analysts wrote. However, a second and more negative scenario is also possible if the pandemic continues and new outbreaks spark more lockdowns, damaging business and household confidence, causing further significant drops in global trade, creating bottlenecks in global value chains, and causing a "marked deterioration of financial conditions," the central bank warned. In the second scenario, Italy's GDP would contract by 13.5 percent this year and recover moderately in 2021 (up by 3.5 percent), the Economic Bulletin explained. Central bank analysts cautioned that it is difficult to make accurate forecasts at present due to "uncertainty as to the duration, virulence, and geographical extension" of the pandemic. Enditem For Sudheer Rajbhar, his experimental luxury brand, Chamar, is more than just a business. He attempts to accord respectability to the word chamar (untouchable). The quest led the art graduate to the world of design, leather artisans, cobblers and, ultimately, luxury. In 2017, he established the new-medium brand Chamar and a collaborative design studio that works with artisans to create a sumptuous range of luxury bags which sell in India and Europe. Chamar Studio does more than just make bags it upcycles waste and supports Dalit communities to make a space for them in the world of Indian luxury. I wanted it to be a sustainable brand so I eschewed leather in favour of recycled thin rubber tyre sheets as material. The idea was to be earth-friendly and move away from animal abuse. The idea was also to break the myth that Dalits and animal slaughter go hand-in-hand. Sudheer Rajbhar with an artisan from Dharavi. The three-year-old accessories brand, which is rooted in social reality, hopes to position Indian craftsmanship and artisans as capable of creating a world-class luxury brand, by melding sustainability with Dalit pride. Rajbhar collaborates with 13 artisans and craftsmen, many of whom live in Dharavi (though a few are in remote villages of Maharashtra). The buzzing slum, a microcosm of several businesses, has suffered an immense setback due to the spread of coronavirus infection and was turned into a major containment zone by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). He set up a Ketto fundraiser in end-April since many of them did not even have enough food to eat, and has managed to raise Rs 3.2 lakh in the last two months for his artisans. Varun Sheth, Co-founder & CEO of Ketto, who set up and ran the fundraiser, says, We have raised over Rs 100 crore for causes such as food and hunger, sending migrant workers home, supporting small businesses and medical relief. For Chamar, the strategy was driven by their team via social media and digital communication channels. We have focused attention on raising funds for Make in India brands and raised Rs 10 crore in the last 8 years. Crowdfunding is an important step for SME brands to test out the market, get early feedback and now raise relief funds. Varun Sheth. For a boutique brand such as Chamar, says Rajbhar, it was a matter of survival of its artisans. The origins Before the lockdown, Rajbhars contemporary bags stood cheek-by-jowl with global brands in avant-garde fashion and concept stores such as Le Mill in Mumbai, Kochis Pepper House and Indian Goods House in Frankfurt. The designer-entrepreneur began his career as an assistant to artists, a job he quickly grew disillusioned with. I found that most artists treat their assistants as cheap labour. So, in 2017, he set up a collaborative studio with a few artisans who traditionally worked in the leather and tanning industries. They are spoken of disparagingly. I decided to call my brand, Chamar, to reclaim the word and accord its attributes such as skill and artistry. Also, the 2015 beef ban had hit the artisans hard and they were looking for alternatives. The collaboration took him to the home of artisans in Mumbais slums, and their clusters across Maharashtra. I had to understand where they came from. They work with some of the best brands in the world, but are treated as unequal, paid badly and discriminated against. Also, his dream was to confer a new meaning to Indian luxury, much like his young peers running luxury startups in the country. India has a heritage of craftsmanship that can compare to the best in the world, but it hasnt been able to leverage it because of the way we treat our artisans. We can be leaders in luxury, but most artisans are involved in mass production. I wanted to make super-quality accessories and create a boutique brand, which would work in collaboration with the artisans. Going the sustainable way Rajbhar re-trained the artisans to apply their craftsmanship to new materials such as rubber from recycled tyres, cotton, latex and canvas, to create handbags, belts and other accessories. It took a bit of convincing for the artisans to believe that the craft their ancestors practised down centuries, using leather, can also be used to create products with recycled material such as tyre or rubber tubes. They did not think it was possible. But crafting bags or accessories from leather is a lengthy, toxic process. This is far simpler: all you have to do is convert the material into sheets and then stitch a bag according to the design. Besides, the piece you create can truly be an heirloom, lasting for up to 30 years! Even if you pay a higher value, it is worth the investment. Besides, all too often Dalits are associated with animal slaughter, a stereotype he sought to break. The cult of individuality is the Holy Grail of contemporary fashion and the designer-entrepreneur was quite clear that Chamar would be unconventional, not just in the social messaging but in its design. Indian design tends to be flamboyant, even garish because we associate luxury with embroidery, gold and bling. That is not the road I did not want to take. During the lockdown, Rajbhar has worked to acquire the CHAMAR trademark and create an e-commerce site to sell his brand. The designs Chamar has three collections on sale: Bombay Black (inspired by how Mumbai appears from up above, like a landscape of black roofs due to the black plastic draped over the slum houses), Blue Collar (references the blue-coloured uniform worn by shoe-shine boys on railway stations), and Black Fortune (from the daily objects he found in Dharavi). I have reintegrated conceptual thinking into what is often described as folk art, industrial art or handicrafts. Rajbhar set up Chamar Foundation to provide artisans with a space of their own, raw materials and tools. Last year, for its project The Reclaimed Tote, the Foundation invited 66 designers, including the likes of Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Tarun Tahiliani, to re-imagine a canvas piece of 14 x11 inches into a tote that would use discarded textile and fabric scraps from their studio. Kunal Kapoor, co-founder, Ketto. The collection of repurposed rubber bags, handcrafted by 10 artisans, was sold at Ensemble in Mumbai and included embroidered totes by Payal Singhal and Mukherjee, as well as texture play by Akaaro, Gaurav Gupta and 11.11/Eleven Eleven. Rajbhar hopes to work with Maharashtra government to spruce up an old Mumbai institute, The Government Leather Working, which teaches the art of making products using leather. It is in very bad shape. There are only four students, the roof leaks in the monsoon. But it has great potential. If we spruce it up, create a good curriculum and teach how to design using new eco-friendly materials, it will attract students, particularly from the communities that have traditionally worked in tanneries and leather businesses. He also hopes to open retail stores, where he can invite cobblers to create a range of shoes or even repair them within the confines of a luxury space. Most cobblers are forced to sell cheap Chinese shoes in their roadside shops to earn some money. Their skills can be put to better use. Among the inspiring stories that have emerged from the studio: Sachin Bhimsakhare, a designer who began collaborating with the studio four years ago, works as a sweeper supervisor with BMC in the morning and pursues his passion for making bags in the latter half of the day. Chamar Studio does not have a fixed studio space. The idea is rather nomadic: artisans can work from their homes, their small shops or even the railway station to create bags and accessories based on Rajbhars slick, sophisticated design. Deepali Nandwani is a journalist who keeps a close watch on the world of luxury. Actor Ronit Roy missed out on a chance to appear in critically acclaimed projects such as Kathryn Bigelows Zero Dark Thirty and the Showtime drama series Homeland, because of prior commitments. He said in earlier interviews that he regrets it. I was offered a very interesting role in Zero Dark Thirty. But unfortunately, I couldnt do it due to date problems. I did see the film, and I do regret not being part of it, he told PTI in 2013. I was shooting for Karan Johars Student of the Year, and I was looking to work with him and couldnt let go of this opportunity. We were shooting in Thailand for the film, and there was no way I could manage my dates for Zero Dark Thirty, the actor continued. Based on the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden, Zero Dark Thirty was nominated for five Oscars, winning one. It made over $130 million worldwide. Meanwhile, Indian actors such as Nimrat Kaur and Suraj Sharma have appeared in Homeland. Also read: Ronit Roy opens up on battling depression, turning to alcohol when he was jobless: I had gone through everything In 2016, the actor said in an interview to Hindustan Times, I really regret not being able to do Homeland and ZDT. I would have loved to work with Kathryn Bigelow. It would have helped me grow as an actor. But I dont live with regrets. In a 2018 interview to SpotboyE, Ronit said that he wanted to kick himself for not being able to do Zero Dark Thirty. I also missed out on Homeland as they wanted me in South Africa for 6 months. But at that point, Adaalat Season 1 was on, he said. Also read: Ronit Roy says he was jobless for 4 years, didnt have money for food, but I didnt kill myself The actor revealed in a recent interview to ETimes that after the success of his debut film in 1992, his career hit a rough patch. For four years I was sitting at home. I had a small car, but I had no money for petrol. I would walk up to my mothers house for a meal as I did not have money even after being in a silver jubilee film, he said. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON But as the center of trade moved from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, Venice lost centrality, and by the end of the 18th century, when it fell under foreign rule, its decline was unstoppable. It was then that wealthy Europeans started visiting Italys art-rich cities, including Venice, in a tradition known as the Grand Tour. Lord Byron and Stendhal were among the citys earliest holidaymakers. By the 19th century, Venices Lido became the place of pilgrimage for Europes well-off bourgeoise (think of Thomas Manns Death in Venice). The proposed mine is in a protected national forest some 90 km from the capital. China is financing the US$ 2 billion, project building roads and bridges in exchange for access to bauxite. Environmental groups warn that rare species and water supply for millions of people are at risk. Increasingly, activists are turning to the courts to stop polluting activities in Africa. Accra (AsiaNews/Agencies) Ghanaian environmental activists are taking their government to court in order stop a China-backed project to mine for bauxite in a protected national forest. Activists warn that the new mine would endanger the forests delicate ecosystem, harming the health and well-being of local communities. In 2018, China pledged to build US$ 2 billion worth of roads and bridges in Ghana in exchange for access to the bauxite from a proposed mine in the Atewa Range Forest. Bauxite is used in making aluminum. China's policy towards Africa, considered by many to be a form of neocolonialism, is based on buying raw materials in exchange for investments and loans for infrastructural projects (largely with Chinese labour and materials) in target countries. According to the China Global Investment Tracker, China has invested US$ 211 billion in Africa over the past 15 years. Johns Hopkins Universitys China Africa Research Initiative estimates that China lent US$ 143 billion to 49 African states between 2000 and 2017. Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo has promised that mining activities will be environmentally sustainable. Ghanaian authorities say that the project will create 35,000 new jobs. Conversely, environmental groups note that the forest is home to very rare animal and plant species. It is also the source of three important rivers that supply water to millions of people, including the residents of the capital, Accra, which is only 90 km away. According to Global Forest Watch, the rate of deforestation in Ghana rose by 60 per cent between 2017 and 2018, the highest in tropical countries. In Africa, local groups are increasingly turning to the courts to block the polluting activities of mining companies. They demand that economic development be reconciled with forest protection. The Akwa Ibom State government has urged parents to provide face masks when schools in the state reopen. A statement signed by the s... The Akwa Ibom State government has urged parents to provide face masks when schools in the state reopen. A statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information, Charles Udoh on Friday said the use of face masks is compulsory for children and adults to be allowed into school premises. Udoh said the decision was aimed at reducing the possibility of community spread of coronavirus infection in schools. He added that the order for the re-opening of schools will be announced in due course. Although, basic education remains free and compulsory in Akwa Ibom State; and the government continues to pay the annual WAEC fees for indigenes, parents and guardians are expected to provide face masks for each child and also ensure they are washed daily. Libya's NOC Says Lifting Force Majeure on Oil Exports But Production Low for Now Sputnik News 09:24 GMT 10.07.2020 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said Friday it had lifted the force majeure regime off oil exports, adding that the production was still low because of technical issues. "National Oil Corporation (NOC) has lifted force majeure on all oil exports from Libya. The first vessel to load is the Kriti Bastion from Es Sider oil port. The increase in production will take a long time due to the significant damage to reservoirs and infrastructure caused by the illegal blockade imposed on January 17," the company said on Facebook. "For NOC, the work has just started. Our infrastructure has suffered lasting damage, and our focus now must be on maintenance and securing a budget for the work to be done. We also must take steps to ensure Libya's oil production is never again held to ransom," NOC Chairman Eng Mustafa Sanalla said, as quoted in the statement. In early June, the company stated that it had resumed oil production at the El Feel field in the southern part of the country, one day after resuming work at the Sharara field, and said that it was lifting force majeure on exports from both oilfields. Libya collapsed into a failed state after Muammar Gaddafi's assassination by rebels backed by NATO airpower in 2011. In the years that followed, various factions, criminal gangs, and Islamist terrorist groups established control of large chunks of the country. The largest factions the Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the Tobruk-based House of Representatives supported by Haftar, emerged as the country's largest competing power blocs, and have engaged in a series of armed clashes after defeating smaller rivals. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Middletown Area School District sent parents a letter Saturday detailing its reopening plan, which includes mandatory mask-wearing, a full school year and four different options for attending classes, pending approval by state lawmakers. The letter, sent by Superintendent Lori Suski, lists several options the district will offer to families this year: online, in-person instruction and a blend of both. These options will be available if the MASD School Board votes in favor of the health and safety plan at its July 21 board meeting. If approved, the school year will begin a week later than normal, on Aug. 31 instead of Aug. 24, to give teachers another week of preparation time to give both in-person and online instruction. This wont change the end date of the school year next June, however. Because the Pennsylvania General Assembly does not intend to waive the 180-day requirement for the 2020-21 school year, attendance will be taken daily, and students will be expected to participate daily, whether online or in-person, to meet requirements for attendance. Additionally, and in line with Secretary of Health Rachel Levines mask order, all students and employees of the district will be required to wear masks at all times, including on buses, with few exceptions for medical reasons and eating and drinking. Thats part of the reason MASD has four options on the table for the upcoming school year: Full reopening: For elementary and some special education classrooms. Students would return to school buildings with social distancing and other precautions in effect, including daily temperature checks and masks. Students would spend most of their day in one classroom with teachers rotating in. Lunch would be eaten in classrooms. Blended model: Available for middle and high school students. The student body would be divided into to parts that attend school buildings separately for two days in a week, going online the other three. Full-time cyber school K-12: Already available to middle and high school students, the district plans to make it available to the smaller grades. Scaffolded model K-12: All students may attend school through a combination of in-person and remote learning at parents discretion. Instruction is supplemented through Zoom recorded lessons and digital content. Parents will decide how many days per week the student will attend in person. The blended model and scaffolded model both require approval from Pa. Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera, Suski said in the letter. No matter which option families choose, students will be held accountable for work completion, to take tests, and engage in other tasks to determine grades. There will be no leniency as there was during the final quarter of the last school year, the superintendent said. An academic plan is being created to address the students who fell into the COVID-19 slide, Suski said in the letter. A brief survey will be sent to parents the week of July 20 to see which families are planning to transport their students to school rather than on school buses. More: Explaining the expanded facemask order in Pa.: Rules for schools, medical conditions, more FAQs Bus safety, drivers, costs add to the long list of concerns for reopening Pa. schools Trump threatens to pull tax exemption for schools, colleges: Schools must open in the Fall, he tweets New Orleans monuments to John McDonogh, a slaveowner who donated to the citys schools he died, and to the first Confederate officer killed in the Civil War were toppled overnight Thursday and a third statue was spray-painted in the latest instance of activists taking matters into their own hands and knocking over monuments they argue promote white supremacy. Later Friday, Mayor LaToya Cantrell condemned the acts and said those responsible will be held accountable, but added that she supports a more formal process to determine what monuments should be removed from city streets. A representative of City Councilwoman Kristin Giselson Palmer, who has been one of the leading voices on the council supporting a commission to rename streets named after Confederates, also said Friday that monument removal could be on the table. Its unlawful to vandalize public property and there is a way to support a process and be involved in creating what that process needs to look like to be fair and equitable," Cantrell said during a press briefing. "Let's focus more on that and less on vandalizing that puts people in harms way." The three monuments damaged or knocked over were on a list of statues targeted by Take Em Down, a group that has pushed for the removal of all honorifics the group says put white supremacists in places of veneration. Malcolm Suber, an organizer with Take Em Down, said his group wasnt involved in the incidents and didnt know who was, but that they applauded their efforts. Suber said he expects these wont be the last statues to come down. There will be more coming, he said. The damage to the three statues was discovered Friday morning and comes as statues of Confederate leaders, slave holders and others seen as supportive of oppressive or destructive policies are either being taken down by cities themselves or by protesters. McDonoghs statue was left on the ground in Lafayette Square, surrounded by police tape, as mourners came to pay their last respects to Carnival float-maker Blaine Kern, whose body was lying in state at Gallier Hall across the street. Kern died June 25. A bust of Charles Didier Dreux, who was killed near the outset of the Civil War, was likewise knocked to the ground near its pedestal on Jefferson Davis Parkway near Canal Street. The Dreux statue has been repeatedly vandalized in the five years since former Mayor Mitch Landrieu began work to have the city take down four other monuments to Confederate officials and white supremacists. At one point, its nose was knocked off and it has regularly been covered in graffiti. A statue of Sophie B. Wright at Magazine and St. Andrews Streets by the celebrated artist Enrique Alferez, whose other works include fountains at City Park and Lakefront Airport, was spray-painted with the initials BLM, for Black Lives Matter, and left with a hood over its head. Cantrell denounced the actions and said the New Orleans Police Department was investigating the incidents. She added that the statues that had been knocked down had been retrieved by the city. Vandalizing public property will not be tolerated and we will ensure, through the efforts of the New Orleans Police Department, that individuals responsible will be held accountable according to the laws that are on the books, Cantrell said. Asked whether the city should look at taking down monuments itself, Cantrell said she would support it if the council chose to go that route, referring back to the process for taking down the prior monuments under Landrieu. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up I support a process that engages our community fully and not just about taking down but also about how we can reconcile and heal and really embrace unity in this community in ways we havent in the recent past, Cantrell said. Andrew Sullivan, Palmers chief of staff, said that expanding the existing commission on street renaming to include monuments was possible. Were absolutely open to having that conversation and I think thats something that were going to put before the commissioners and get their feelings on it, Sullivan said. Suber and his group, however, have argued that a commission process simply amounts to a lengthy way to skirt the issue. This is a case of the public responding to a cry for justice and seeing the city is pussyfooting around so some enlightened citizens took it into their own hands, and we congratulate them and hope the rest of them can come down, Suber said. New Orleans City Council takes next steps to address Confederate street names, police funding The New Orleans City Council moved forward on Thursday with measures aimed at addressing the widespread anger over racism and police brutality McDonogh was a shipping magnate and slaveowner, which has earned him the ire of activists, who was widely known as a miser. He left most of his estate to New Orleans and Baltimore when he died in 1850, with instructions to build schools for both black and white children. The statue had been the site of a yearly ritual where children from the various schools that bore his name throughout New Orleans would place flowers at its base. +3 John McDonogh bust -- dumped into the river and fished out again -- now back in city's hands The beleaguered metal bust of John McDonogh knocked from its pedestal in Duncan Plaza and dumped into the Mississippi River last week, then A separate bust of McDonogh was knocked off its pedestal in Duncan Plaza across from City Hall and thrown into the Mississippi River by protesters last month. NOPD arrested two demonstrators who allegedly were involved in driving the statue to the river. The bust was later retrieved by unidentified people and eventually returned to the city. Wright is primarily known as an educator and philanthropist who founded multiple free schools in New Orleans and earned the nickname Saint Sophie after using her money to provide clothing, food and supplies from one of her school buildings during the 1897 Yellow Fever epidemic. Born after the Civil War, Wright was active as a member of the Daughters of the Confederacy, a group that sponsored some monuments to Confederate officials. Suber also argued that she did not deserve a place of honor because her schools and other works were reserved for white people. She was a staunch segregationist, they emphasize all the stuff she did but it was for white women, Suber said. She was also a founder of one of the confederate organizations in the city. Anyone that is associated with the confederates in the city and a racist, we dont want those statues in the city. A Caddo Parish judge on Friday temporarily halted Shreveports citywide mask order, two days after Mayor Adrian Perkins issued it, KSLA reported. Rep. Mike Johnson took to Facebook on Thursday to criticize Perkins for overreach, and to announce the lawsuit would be filed. The maintenance of public health is critically important but so is defense of the CONSTITUTION, Johnson wrote. Perkins declined comment on pending litigation when reached by phone on Friday, but said he remains committed to doing everything we can from the citys standpoint in keeping our citizens safe. Where are masks required in Louisiana?These areas require them While Louisiana as a whole does not currently have a mask mandate, various cities and parishes across the state have rolled out local face cov Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The order requires people to wear face coverings in commercial and public buildings, places of worship and outdoor public spaces where social distancing is not possible. People with medical, mental health or other disabling conditions preventing them from wearing masks are exempted, as are church choirs while performing and church members while addressing congregations. Perkins acknowledged that enforcing the order is difficult, but he said it is no different than enforcing Gov. John Bel Edwards initial coronavirus stay-at-home order in the spring police primarily respond to complaints, while also doing occasional spot checks. Enforcement over a city of roughly 200,000 is going to be difficult with anything. Considering we are dealing with possibly the deadliest virus to ever touch Shreveport, we absolutely still have to give it our all, Perkins said. Caddo Parish was hard hit in the first coronavirus peak, and it is again seeing increased caseloads along with the rest of the state. The parish has recorded 247 COVID-19 deaths, including 12 this month. When issuing his mask order, Perkins noted that COVID-19 hospitalizations in Shreveport and Bossier City are the highest level since the outbreak began. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 15:25:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Aerial photo shows villagers demonstrating a funeral ritual for deceased carp in Puyuan Village, Puyuan Township, Zhouning County, southeast China's Fujian Province, July 4, 2020. At the first glance, Puyuan Village appears no difference from other historical villages in China. But it's the carp fish in a local creek, known as the Carp Brook, that make the village special. Puyuan village covers an area of 9.2 square kilometers and has a population of about 6,200. Originated from the Ziyun Mountain, several streams converge into the 3,000-meter-long Carp Brook, with 800 meters of it flowing through the village. For over eight centuries, Puyuan residents have lived in harmony with the carp ever since their ancestors settled down in the village. Rules were made to protect the carp as well as to keep the brook water clean. Some villagers still prepare funeral rituals and burial places for deceased carp. Although this carp-loving tradition began to reel in tourists as early as the 1980s, it was not until 2016 that Zhouning County authorities officially made carp tourism a key element in local plans to promote tourism-based development. So far, the county government has invested 150 million yuan (about 21.46 million U.S. dollars) to improve the ecology and tourism amenities within Puyuan's Carp Brook scenic area. While carp viewing remains the main tourist attraction in Puyuan, activities which derive from the village's carp culture are also available for visitors. Many villagers have become business owners and profited from the tourism industry. In 2019, more than 600,000 tourists have visited the Carp Brook scenic area, bringing in 304 million yuan (about 43.47 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) The U.S. Army ordered an independent review of Fort Hood following the murder of 20-year-old Spc. Vanessa Guillen, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy announced Friday. The big picture: An alleged lack of urgency from Fort Hood staff in response to Guillen's disappearance has called the command's leadership and culture into question. Guillen's family says she faced sexual harassment while on the Texas base that she did not report for fear of retaliation. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy wrote in a tweet: "I am directing an independent & comprehensive review of the command climate and culture. We have to listen in order to create enduring change." The state of play: Guillen was last seen on April 22 in the parking lot of her barracks at Fort Hood, according to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. Her remains were found on June 30, according to the family's attorney, CNN reports. What to watch: The review will be conducted by a panel of four civilian consultants that will spend an estimated five to 10 days at Fort Hood, per ABC News. Families are again likely to withdraw children from childcare centres as the state's coronavirus rates soar, triggering potential ruin for centres when federal government subsidies end on Monday. Senior businesswomen are urging the federal government to extend its free childcare program urgently to prevent Victorian centres going under and to allow families who have lost income to continue accessing care. Victorian childcare centres are predicted to be vulnerable to collapses when free childcare ends on Monday. Credit:Glenn Hunt The national, three-month free childcare subsidy and JobKeeper allowances for childcare workers hit by the first round of childcare centre withdrawals both end on Monday. The Andrews government will announce on Monday that it will continue free sessional kinder for eligible children living in the lockdown zone of Melbourne and Mitchell Shire until the end of term three. She welcomed her first child a - baby girl - two months ago. And Millie Mackintosh appeared to be every inch the multitasking mummy as she pumped her breast milk, while holding her daughter Sienna and a glass of wine. The former Made In Chelsea star, 30, shared the candid snap on her Instagram page on Saturday afternoon, as she posed with a glass of rose wine. Cheers! Millie Mackintosh appeared to be every inch the multitasking mummy as she pumped her breast milk, while holding her daughter Sienna and a glass of wine The new mum wore her breast pump and a flowing floral skirt for the snap, which she captioned: 'Multi tasking #motherhood.' Many of Millie's followers applauded her for the realistic snap, and thanked her for 'keeping it real', rather than showing an airbrushed version of being a mum. One person wrote: 'You're smashing it.' Honest: It comes after Millie posed for a refreshingly honest postpartum snap on Wednesday night, saying she is 'in awe of what her body has achieved' since she became a mother While another added: 'Yes mama Love this - thanks for keeping it real.' A third said: 'Omg! You are an absolute boss!' Another person wrote: 'Love this soo much. Welcome to the chaotic world of motherhood.. it's fantastic.. and so rewards. Best thing I ever done in my life.' Thank you! Many of Millie's followers applauded her for the realistic snap, and thanked her for 'keeping it real', rather than showing an airbrushed version of being a mum It comes after Millie posed for a refreshingly honest postpartum snap on Wednesday night, saying she is 'in awe of what her body has achieved' since she became a mother. She gave birth to baby Sienna 10 weeks ago and proclaimed her daughter is worth 'every extra inch, pound and stretch mark' as she posed in underwear in a selfie posted to her Instagram page. The TV personality took aim at cruel social media trolls and said although she is not 'totally happy' with her body, she is doing her best to ignore 'hurtful comments' about her appearance. Honest! On Wednesday, Millie took to Instagram to share a photograph of her post-pregnancy body while cradling baby Sienna, and to discuss post body confidence In the Instagram selfie, Millie can be seen wearing just a nude pair of knickers and a white maternity bra while cradling baby Sienna in her arms. She wrote in a lengthy caption: 'With Sienna nearing 10 weeks old nothing has given me more purpose than knowing that a small life depends entirely on me to feed and nourish her as she grows. 'I try to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle and I count myself lucky that throughout my adult life I've felt and identified as pretty body confident but now all that has changed along with every other aspect of my life, which makes me look at my body in a totally new light and it's been a big adjustment! 'Fitting into my pre pregnancy clothes seems a long way off and I have no intention of rushing into 'getting my body back' but it would be a lie if I said I feel totally happy and at one with my body post pregnancy,' admitted the reality star. Raw: In a lengthy caption, the MIC star insisted that despite not feeling 'totally happy' with her body, her daughter is worth 'every extra inch, pound and stretch mark' Sadly, Millie admitted that trolling on social media has been difficult to endure, but that ultimately she is astonished that he body enabled her to become a mother. She wrote: 'The process has been made a lot harder by some overly strong and hurtful comments online about my appearance (as much as you try and ignore them). 'I'm in awe of what my body has achieved over the last year but I find it hard not seeing the girl I know to be me looking back at me in the mirror. 'I now see photos of myself pre-pregnancy and remember thinking at the time I didn't like my body at certain angle but now I look back and think I looked great! 'It's made me realise how critical I am of myself and how it's so crucial, as women, that we learn to let ourselves off the hook. Sweet: Millie Mackintosh shared an adorable snap with baby Sienna after the newborn had her first vaccinations last week 'My mantra has always been that you exercise because you love your body not because you hate it, so any movement I do now is with the intention to feel good and never to punish myself. 'Sienna is worth every extra inch, pound and stretch mark. My body made me a Mother and for that I'll always be grateful.' At the end of last month, Millie shared an adorable snap with baby Sienna after the newborn had her first vaccinations. The MIC star revealed on social media that her daughter had her eight week jabs the day before, also known as the 6-in-1 vaccine. The 6-in-1 vaccine is given at 8, 12 and 16 weeks old and protects against diphtheria, hepatitis B, Hib, polio, tetanus and whooping cough. Millie looked radiant as she cradled her baby girl in the sweet snap, penning: 'Poor baba had her eight week vaccinations yesterday and needs extra cuddles'. The new mum also shared a striking picture of herself in a fuchsia dress as she revealed she had given her patio area a mini makeover. Last month, Millie finally unveiled the name of her baby daughter, five weeks after welcoming her first child with husband Hugo Taylor. She introduced little Sienna Grace to the world as she cradled her adorable girl in a stunning cover shoot with Hello! magazine. Glowing: The new mum also shared a striking picture of herself in a fuchsia dress as she revealed she had given her patio area a mini makeover The blogger gushed she's 'on cloud nine' and praised sunglasses entrepreneur Hugo, 34, for being present during labour amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused most hospitals in the UK to allow only one birthing partner. Revealing that the couple settled on Sienna Grace's name 'months' before the birth, Millie added of their first few weeks of parenthood: 'We've been on cloud nine; it's gone so quickly. 'We've been in our little love bubble at home, cherishing those newborn moments, whether that's her sleeping on me or just lapping up all the cuteness.' 'Time has gone so quickly. She is so adorable, even down to the little noises she makes.' Hugo added: 'Sienna has turned our world upside down. It's like first love all over again that wondrous feeling of excitement, joy and endless possibility for the future. I can't wait to watch her grow.' US President Donald Trump has for the time being ruled out a second phase trade deal with China, saying the relationship between the two countries has been severely damaged with Beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. The relationship with China has been severely damaged. I don't think about it now, Trump told reporters on Friday from Air Force One when asked about the trade deal. Earlier in the year, the Trump adminstration had signed a mega phase one deal with China, after intense negotiations between the two countries. Relations between Washington and Beijing have spiralled downward since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. US President Donald Trump has questioned the Asian powerhouse's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries have also sparred over China imposing a new national security law in Hong Kong, restrictions on American journalists, treatment of Uyghurs Muslims and security measures in Tibet. Relationship with China has been severely damaged. They could have stopped the plague, they could have stopped it, (but) they didn't stop it. They stopped it from going into the remaining portions of China from Wuhan province. They could have stopped the plague, they didn't," Trump said. The coronavirus, which first emerged in China's Wuhan city, has claimed over 1,30,000 lives in the US with 3.1 million confirmed cases. The virus toll in China stands at 4,641 with nearly 85,000 confirmed infections. Indiaspora, a nonprofit organization of global Indian diaspora leaders from various backgrounds and professions, released their inaugural list honoring executives of the Indian diaspora who are leading the largest global corporations in 2020. Drawing from the latest editions of Fortune and Forbes US and global lists, the Indiaspora Business Leaders List includes more than 50 executives who are serving at the helm of their respective company in the role of Chief Executive Officer, President, or Chairman of the Board. The list includes immigrants from India as well as professionals born in countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, England, and the US. The companies that the executives lead are headquartered in ten different countries, including the US, Canada, England, and Singapore. "This inaugural list shares so many shining examples of the quintessential immigrant story," said Indiaspora Board Member Rajan Navani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Jetline Group of Companies. "Hardworking, enterprising, and innovative, these executives have achieved the highest success in their respective fields, often drawing on their Indian heritage to help guide and ground them along the way. No doubt they will inspire generations to come," added Rajan Companies on the Indiaspora Business Leaders List collectively employ more than 3.6 million worldwide and account for a combined USD 1 trillion in revenue and USD 4 trillion in market capitalization. The companies' collective shares also outperformed the stock market, averaging 21 percent returns during the tenures of the leaders on the list, compared to the S & P 500, which offered 9 percent returns during the same time frame. "It is gratifying to see the growing impact of individuals from the Indian community on business on a global scale," said Indiaspora Board Member Arun Kumar, Chairman, and CEO at KPMG India, who also served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Obama administration. "I have had the opportunity to work with several of the individuals on our 2020 Business Leaders List in a professional and personal capacity and can attest to their dynamism as leaders not only of their companies but also for the larger diaspora community. In addition, many of them bring a remarkable sensitivity to issues relating to social change," added Arun. The 2020 Indiaspora Business Leaders List represents 56 executives and 57 companies, as Raj Gupta, an Indiaspora member, serves as Chairman of two companies on the list, Aptiv, and Avantor. "I'm amazed to see how far we've come in terms of representation in business. There used to be only a handful of us leading corporations," said Raj Gupta, former CEO of Fortune 300 company Rohm and Haas, and one of the first executives of the Indian diaspora to join the ranks of corporate leadership along with pioneers such as Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo and Dinesh Paliwal of Harman International. "Now that we are reaching prominence, I am eager to see how the next generation leaves its own legacy," added Raj. Several executives on the list have led their companies in advancing social change by addressing racial injustice, climate and sustainability justice, and the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 through policy and financial commitments. Tech industry leader Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, for example, has announced new goals for racial equity, including improving leadership representation of underrepresented groups at Google, and an "economic opportunity package" for the Black community. Ivan Menezes, CEO of British multinational beverage alcohol company Diageo, also led his company in creating a USD 20 million social justice fund in America. Several leaders' companies have created or contributed to funds in response to COVID-19. In addition, Sunny Verghese's Singapore-based agribusiness and supply chain company Olam International donated COVID-19 testing kits to the government of Ghana. Francis deSouza, head of gene analysis company Illumina, is developing a test for the novel coronavirus using sequencing technology. "It's inspiring to see so many leaders of Indian heritage playing a significant role in business and in society," said Ajay Banga, President, and CEO of Mastercard. "Our culture and our values are a common starting point (any chance we can get a bit more color here?). But it's what we do with the opportunities presented to us that make a difference. And, when we lean into our diverse experiences to deal with challenges like the pandemic or racial injustice, we can have an even greater impact on the lives of those around us," added Ajay. The Indiaspora Business Leaders List also calls attention to the presence of a glass ceiling in which women, including Indian women, still face. Out of 1,000 companies represented on the Fortune 500 list, only 61 have women CEOs; the Indiaspora List has a marginally higher percentage of women, yet only accounts for five women out of more than 50 leaders. For more information about the Indiaspora Business Leaders List, including information for each of the honorees, actions that the executives and their companies are undertaking in response to COVID-19, the current racial justice movement, and climate and sustainability needs, please visit here: https://lists.indiaspora.org/businessleaders/2020 The following lists were used to identify honorees: Fortune 500 (which features 1,000 companies), Forbes Global 2000, Fortune Global 500, and the Forbes Largest Private US Companies. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Danielle Kayahara is a self-described 35-year-old awkward teenager. By day, she is a mild-mannered digital marketing manager at UpHouse Inc. in the Exchange District. But by night, she often performs standup comedy with a unique, deadpan delivery, capable of delivering a tight five discussing the prickly social complications that arise from doors. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 11/7/2020 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Danielle Kayahara is a self-described "35-year-old awkward teenager." By day, she is a mild-mannered digital marketing manager at UpHouse Inc. in the Exchange District. But by night, she often performs standup comedy with a unique, deadpan delivery, capable of delivering a tight five discussing the prickly social complications that arise from doors. Born in Mississauga, Ont., "the home of the Toronto International Airport," Kayahara moved to Winnipeg after college, where she found the freedom to pursue comedy. "I was only planning on spending a few weeks, but I liked it enough to stay," she says in an email interview. "Its a big little city. The population is about the size of Mississauga but theres a downtown and arts scene that you couldnt find (there) unless you were willing to venture into Toronto." Kayahara, a fan of comedians like Maria Bamford and Emo Phillips, says shes always loved to make people laugh, "which is why a friend of mine suggested we attend a comedy workshop together." "Though I was terribly hesitant, as I am with most things, I agreed," she says. "It turned out it was all part of her grand plan to get me on a comedy stage." It worked. The workshop led to Kayahara attending Wee Johnnys for the weekly comedy open mic; shes been at it ever since. "For me, comedy is about creating relationships between ideas and people," she says. "I like to expound upon the silly encounters and thoughts I have and hope that people can relate at some level and ultimately feel a bit less alone in this wacky world." Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press Wisecracks for Weirdos offers wonderfully weird jokes and wonderfully weird folks. Shes only had one opportunity to do live comedy since the lockdown, and shes missed it. "I was lucky enough to be able to work from home during the pandemic, so Im very lucky in that it hasnt affected me financially," she says. "It was a bit hard on me emotionally, though. "The two hardest parts were living alone and trying to fit a workspace into in my tiny Osborne Village studio. It definitely got a bit lonely and it was very hard to separate work and personal time when my office was within sight from everywhere but the bathroom." Over time, shes gotten better at reaching out to friends and setting up boundaries. "I also found a way to make my workspace compact enough that I could hide it at the end of the day." Shes looking forward to performing next week at Wee Johnnys in a comedy showcase called Wisecracks for Weirdos on Saturday, July 18, at 9 p.m. (Alex Ateah, Ava Julien, Michael Blomquist, Jeff Sinclair and Tim Gray are also on the bill). "Comedy is all about expectations," she explains. "I find that laughter is generally a result of subverting the expectations a comedian has set for their audience. That said, expectations can sometimes work against you, it can sometimes be difficult for more offbeat performers or performances to connect with audiences when the crowd is expecting a more traditional standup experience. "This show is my attempt to set a clear expectation for what a comedy lover can expect to see at the show," she says. "Dont expect a show full of average jokes for average folks." Kayaharas list of five things getting her through the pandemic is likewise unexpected. 1. Active Sitting Not sure what "active sitting" is? Neither was Kayahara, "until I tried to figure out how to explain the odd office chair thats helped carry me through the past few months. Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free PressLocal Comedian, Danielle Kayahara inside Wee Johnnys Wednesday afternoon. Danielle where she will be hosting a comedy event at Wee Johnnys on July 18-19thJuly 8, 2020 "Active sitting is the result of sitting on a chair thats barely made for sitting on, think a rounded bottom or exercise-ball chair," she says. "Left to my own devices, I have the posture of the gentlemen whos second in line on the evolutionary chart. My spine could not have survived working from home without the rounded garbage can-esque stool that forces me to sit upright at my desk. "If anyone is going to be working from home long-term, I cant express how important it is to have a chair thats got your back." 2. Comedy "Early into the pandemic, comedians took to the internet to post well-produced videos of their comedy on social media," she says. "Seeing this, local comedian Sarah London began to request submissions for the #COVID19ONLINECOMEDYOPENMIC on Instagram. "It was a low-stakes endeavour that saw comedians talking into anything but microphones while cracking wise about the impending end times," she says. "It was fun and silly and gave me confidence that comedy would find a way to survive anything. "It was also great at making me laugh at a time when laughter was as difficult to find as toilet paper." 3. Socially Distant Collaboration "With the help of Zoom and audio editing software, I was able to continue to produce song parodies with my friend Jenny-Lynn Sheldon," Kayahara says. "Wed rewrite a verse or two of a late-90s pop or rock song and create short music videos about our new found love of sanitizer or the dangers of door knobs. "Getting to bounce ideas back and forth over video chat, while laughing and singing ridiculous things while making equally ridiculous faces helped take away some of the seriousness of the situation weve found ourselves in." 4. Routine "When the pandemic hit, I did what I could to maintain any sense of the routine Id had in the before-times," Kayahara says. "While I no longer took half an hour to walk to work, I still made sure to get up at the same time each morning. I maintained my daily writing habit and did my best to get out of the house for a walk whenever I could. "I continue to cling to whatever little bits of normalcy I can," she says. 5. Shopping Local "As someone who had the privilege of working from home and a consistent income, I began to feel something akin to survivors guilt, knowing that so many people, including friends and family, were experiencing layoffs and uncertainty," she says. "Luckily, many of my creative friends were able to fall back on their talents and I was able to use money that I was no longer spending on my voracious movie habit purchasing their candles, jewelry and art. Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press Local comedian Danielle Kayahara outside Wee Johnnys in the Exchange District, where she will be hosting a comedy event July 18. "I also became a regular customer of a number of local small businesses, some of which Ive never stepped foot in," she says. "It was wonderful to know that the purchases I was making were also helping people keep their lights on and their metaphorical doors open." Tickets for Wisecracks for Weirdos are $10, plus online ticketing fees, at Eventbrite.com. Capacity is limited, to ensure safe distances between tables and seat. Advance ticket purchases are recommended, though some tickets will be available at the door if possible. randall.king@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @FreepKing If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. New Delhi, Jul 11 (UNI) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday called upon architects in the country to adopt Green Architecture, saying the use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy should be promoted in upcoming building projects. The Vice-President, who was virtually addressing the inaugural ceremony of the National Convention of the Indian Institute of Architects: IIA NATCON 2020 - TRANSCEND, also emphasised the need to strike the right balance between aesthetics and sustainability in any structure. Recalling the evolution of Indian architecture right from Indus Valley Civilisation to the Konark Sun Temple to modern times, Mr Naidu noted that the country was home to many monuments which were created by artisans using local materials and techniques. Architecture was one of the most enduring achievements of any civilisation, he added, an official release here said. Urging for the creation of a self-reliant, resilient and inclusive architecture, he asked the professionals to draw inspiration from Indias diverse architecture and take the legacy forward by adopting the designs and concepts that are environment-friendly and best suited to the needs of the people. Referring to the Governments flagship programmes such as Smart Cities and 'Housing for all', Mr Naidu highlighted the need to promote culture and heritage of the respective areas in these projects and called for the involvement of local artists and artisans in these projects to encourage and give employment to immensely talented craftsmen, who were struggling to keep their culture alive. The Vice-President further advised the architects to seek the views and suggestions of the locals while designing a new project to ensure that such projects were in sync with their requirements. He also asked architects to give preference to comfort and blend comfort with style and fashion, while designing any structure. "The aim should be to build structures that not only provide shelter and security but also provide comfort and safety," he emphasised. Mr Naidu said he had advised municipal authorities across the nation to make the use of solar roof panels and rainwater harvesting mandatory for new buildings. Referring to urban flooding and water logging during heavy rainfall, he called for finding ways to ensure effective drainage system. Drawing attention to the increasing population and consequent rise in housing needs, he said, "We must ensure that habitats are not destroyed to make space for new infrastructure." Expressing concern over the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the health and livelihoods of people, the Vice- President said the construction sector was severely affected due to massive decline in on-site works and called upon the architects and designers to answer the challenge posed by the pandemic. "Architects need to explore new ideas and create a dialogue across design boundaries to help find solutions that can address the pandemic and its aftermath," he added. UNI SD SB 1413 SpaceX has once again stood down from its 10th Starlink mission to deliver internet satellites into orbit. Lift-off was scheduled for 10.54am local time (3.54pm BST) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, with weather looking favourable before it was cancelled. "Standing down from today's launch of the tenth Starlink mission to allow more time for checkouts," SpaceX tweeted just over an hour before the launch time. "Team is working to identify the next launch opportunity. Will announce a new target date once confirmed with the Range." The launch would have brought the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit close to 600. SpaceX boss Elon Musk ultimately hopes to create a 12,000-strong constellation in order to beam high-speed internet back down to Earth. The launch was initially scheduled for 26 June but was delayed by 12 days as SpaceX said its team "needed additional time for pre-launch checkouts". A second launch attempt on 8 July was scrubbed due to poor weather. Please wait a moment for the live blog to load... Haiti - FLASH : A negative Covid-19 PCR certificate will be required for travelers arriving in Haiti (Official) As announced on July 2 by Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe, a negative covid-19 test certificate will not be required for the first 15 days of resumption of flights https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31180-haiti-flash-haitians-returning-from-the-usa-do-not-need-temporarily-covid-19-test.html However, this deadline ending Wednesday July 15, 2020, it will now be required from this date from any traveler coming from a country where the rate of Covid-19 is high, that it presents at upon arrival in Haiti a negative Covid-19 test certificate. In a press release Marie Greta Roy Clement, the Minister of Public Health explains that following numerous criticisms concerning the reopening of air links with countries experiencing massive cases of Covid-19, the Ministry of Health Public will now require passengers from these countries [from July 15], a negative PCR test, issued 72 hours before the flight, without however specifying the list of countries concerned... In addition, Minister Clement specifies that her ministry will authorize the entry into Haiti of passengers declared officially cured (with certificate in support), 10 days after the disappearance of the symptoms. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31180-haiti-flash-haitians-returning-from-the-usa-do-not-need-temporarily-covid-19-test.html TB/ HaitiLibre President Trumps move on Friday to commute the 40-month prison sentence of the political operative Roger J. Stone Jr., a longtime friend of the presidents, is far from the first time the use of that presidential power has raised eyebrows. The authority to issue pardons and commutations is one of the few executive powers that do not require direct approval from Congress an echo of the British monarchy that the framers chose to include in the Constitution. Heres a look at controversial pardons and commutations throughout U.S. history. George Washington A restored Spitfire emblazoned with Thank U NHS flew over the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn on July 10, video released by the facility shows. The flyover was part of a celebration of the NHS 72nd anniversary, which was officially marked on July 5. After flying over Kings Lynn, the plane was scheduled to continue onward to nearby Norwich University Hospital. New coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom have fallen off steeply since their April heights, though the country remains seventh globally in total confirmed cases, with over 290,000, and has recorded the third highest number of deaths nearly 45,000 as of July 11. Credit: The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Foundation Trust via Storyful The grizzly is foundational to many Indigenous cultures, said Rain Bear Stands Last, who assisted plaintiffs with the lawsuit and is the executive director of the Global Indigenous Council, a body of Indigenous tribes from around the world. Had the decision gone against tribes, he said, it would have set a devastating precedent. In 2017, the Fish and Wildlife Service removed the grizzly bear from its list of endangered species, prompting conservation groups, tribes and individual citizens to sue. The delisting was overturned in Federal District Court a year later, which forced Wyoming and Idaho to cancel planned grizzly bear hunts. (Hunting grizzly bears is not allowed in Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Parks.) Those in favor of delisting the grizzly bear, including the Fish and Wildlife Service, point to the increased grizzly population as a conservation success story, but one that can pose threats to livestock and humans. The wildlife service was joined in the lawsuit by the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, as well as private hunting and farming organizations including the Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association of America. Environmentalists argue that more needs to be done to protect the grizzly, and that climate change and a fluctuating food supply could lead to a population decrease. Sarah McMillan, a spokeswoman for WildEarth Guardians, a conservation group involved in the lawsuit, said allowing hunting outside the park would prevent interaction between groups of grizzly bears across the country, jeopardizing the long-term viability of all North American grizzly bears. Its like a kill zone right outside Yellowstone National Park, and those are exactly the kind of bears that need to be dispersing and providing that genetic connectivity, she said. So its not just the individual bears being killed even though I and many others find that appalling its that it puts the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem population at risk of the extinction vortex. The other day I stepped out to do grocery shopping. As I walked through the market, I passed by a toyshop and my mind flew to our little seven-month-old granddaughter. And I thought of buying a sipping cup for her. The shopkeeper showed me a couple of sippers. All of them, though American brands, were Made in China. An alarm bell went off in my mind; it was saying, Hindi Chini not Bhai Bhai. I told the salesman, I dont want to buy anything Chinese. Can you give me an Indian brand? He said, Madam, I dont think you will find it anywhere. I left the shop disappointed and needless to say empty handed. Back home, I told my daughter-in-law that if there was no Indian sipping cup available, it would be better to start using a normal glass from the kitchen because I could not bring myself to buy a Chinese product. In my heart I felt miserable. The Chinese had taken over or should I say ruined our plastic industry among many other industries. My home is in Sector 18, the hub for buying electronics and crockery in Chandigarh. Most of the electric fittings like lights, switches, cables, chandeliers available in the market were made in China! A visit to a crockery store made me realise that there was nothing but made in China stamps on plates, glasses, tablemats, curios, decoration pieces, centre table pieces, crystal, trays, flasks I realised that this was only the tip of the iceberg. Back home, I heard my children discussing huge Chinese investments in Paytm, Byjus, Ola, Flipkart and Swiggy. I felt sick. I recalled that a few years ago I needed to buy small idols of Ganeshji and Lakshmiji for our office. I had found the right size idols made of POP/marble dust in a shop in Sector 19, but soon realised that something about them was different the little traditional touches that an Indian artisan would put were missing. It was clear to me that these had been made by the Chinese, with moulds probably fashioned in their country, I opted to buy brass idols that resembled the Gods we pictured in our minds eye. Sadly, the Chinese have invaded our idol making market too, with images of Rama, Krishna, Shiva etc. I have not bought Chinese lights on Diwali for years. And on Holi I insist on buying only herbal colours. The day I heard the news that the Indian Government has banned 59 Chinese apps, I felt like someone had applied balm on my aching heart. I knew it was time each one of us resolved to stop buying Chinese products. Every bit mattered. It would take some time for us to weed out all the Chinese stuff which had entered out homes, but at least we could resolve not to buy more. Slowly I am sure India would be able to produce everything that we imported from China and we would become self-reliant. The intermittent phase could be difficult no doubt but what had to be done had to be done. The government could make policy decisions but unless the people fell in line the progress could not be manifest. That is because every drop goes to make the ocean! priya@tandonindia.com The writer is a Chandigarh-based freelance contributor The world continues to reflect on the decision of the Turkish government to convert the Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque, Ahval reported. To convert it back to a mosque is to say to the rest of the world unfortunately we are not secular anymore, Turkish Nobel prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk told the BBC on Friday. There are millions of secular Turks like me who are crying against this but their voices are not heard. According to Pamuk, this step of Ankara deprived the "pride" of some Turks who believe they are a secular Muslim country. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree on Friday to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque after a Turkish court overturned a 1934 government decree that changed it into a museum. In his TV address, Erdogan said that prayers will be held at the site on July 24. The Hagia Sophia was the Roman Empire's first Christian cathedral: it was converted from a Greek Orthodox cathedral to a mosque in 1453 and then became a museum in 1935. Over the years, Erdogan has repeatedly proposed re-converting the cathedral into a mosque in response to the long-term demand of Turkish Islamists. At the same time, the world is concerned about this decision. Thus, US Senators Jim Risch and Bob Menendez have also denounced the decision to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque. "Erdogans move today is a deep affront to Christians around the world who look to Hagia Sophia as a shining light and deeply revered holy site. This conversion of its status is unnecessarily divisive at a time when we need more, not fewer, efforts to build bridges between Islam and Christianity," the senators said. "We strongly urge Erdogan to reverse this decision and sustain Hagia Sophias remarkable legacy and maintain its status as a religiously neutral museum for people of all faiths and cultures to visit and celebrate our common world heritage." The Russian Orthodox Church also expressed its concern. "The concern of millions of Christians has not been heard," the Russian news agency Interfax cited Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida. "Today's court ruling shows that all calls for the need for extreme delicacy in this matter were ignored," Legoida said. UNESCO announced that the World Heritage Committee will review the status of Hagia Sophia. "UNESCO calls on the Turkish authorities to open a dialogue without delay in order to avoid a step back from the universal value of this exceptional heritage whose preservation will be reviewed by the World Heritage Committee in its next session," the UN cultural body noted. The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell declared the decision as "regrettable". "The ruling by the Turkish Council of State to overturn one of modern Turkey's landmark decisions and President Erdogan's decision to place the monument under the management of the Religious Affairs Presidency is regrettable," he said in a statement. Greece called this step of Turkey an "open provocation to the civilised world". "The nationalism displayed by Erdogan... takes his country back six centuries," Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said in a statement. According to her, this court ruling "absolutely confirms that there is no independent justice" in Turkey. This decision was approved only in northern Cyprus and Palestine. VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI -- Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott knew he would be causing a bit of controversy with his decision not to investigate violations of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers latest mask order. It didnt take long to surface when Abbott, the top cop in the county sandwiched between Kalamazoo and Lake Michigan, came out with a public statement Saturday, July 11 about Whitmers order. I knew there was going to be backlash, Abbott said. Still, Abbott said its simply not practical for police to enforce the order, which requires masks in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces. Violators could face a misdemeanor charge that comes with up to a $500 fine. Whitmers goal is to prevent spread of coronavirus. A statement issued Saturday by Abbott reads: The Van Buren County Sheriffs Office will strive to protect its citizens and ensure that the constitutional rights and civil liberties given to every American are protected. We will dedicate our services to investigating crimes against persons and property and we will not pull valuable resources away from that to investigate complaints against the Governors Executive Orders. Abbott said people who want to report violations in his jurisdiction should call the state police or the state Attorney Generals office. In certain circumstances, such as a trespassing complaint arising from a mask situation, deputies may respond, he said. Abbott said he doesnt have a problem with Whitmer as a person, but thinks shes overstepped her bounds with executive orders that seem to come out every few days. He wants her to use the legislative process to make rules. He noted that he believes Centers for Disease Control guidelines about mask use should be followed and he wears one himself. While he did receive some negative feedback about his stance, Abbott said the majority of it has been positive. Hes not the first Michigan law enforcement official to have concerns over Whitmers orders. On Friday, the Bad Axe Police Department issued a letter telling citizens not to contact them with complaints about people not wearing masks. The department said people should call the attorney generals office instead. In mid-April, four northern Michigan sheriffs issued a joint statement saying they would not be strictly enforcing what was then a stay-at-home order. More from MLive Michigan attorney general warns of fake mask-exemption cards Michiganders mostly have to mask up, but here are 9 exceptions Last weeks three-day strike of Coal India Limited (CIL) workers had a huge impact on coal production at the Indian government-owned company, indicating that a large majority of its more than 500,000 regular and contract workers joined the walkout. The miners and ancillary workers mounted the walkoutwhich ran from Thursday, July 2, through Saturday, July 4in defiance of management threats that they would be punished for joining an illegal job action. CIL reportedly deployed large numbers of personnel from the paramilitary Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) with the double aim of intimidating the workers and preventing striking permanent workers from persuading precariously employed contract workers to join them in walking out. Indian coal miners on strike [Credit: @Rabindra2u via Twitter] On the first day of the strike, CIL management claimed that it was having no impact on production. This transparent attempt to demoralise and confuse the strikers manifestly failed. Earlier this week, CIL said that during the three-day work stoppage, average daily production fell by 56 percent to 573,000 tonnes, as compared with an average daily production of 1.29 million tonnes during the 10 days prior to the strike. A company executive who spoke to Indias Economic Times stated that lost revenue amounted to at least Rs. 4 billion ($US54 million). In the 20192020 fiscal year, CILs total revenue was about Rs. 1.24 trillion (US$16 billion). The company accounts for 80 percent of the countrys total output of coal, which is the primary fuel used in electricity generation in India. The company has now also said that there was on average 36 percent worker attendance during the three days of the strike. While managements claims should not be taken at face value, given CILs previous lies and obvious interest in understating support for the strike, this would mean almost two-thirds of the workers were off the job at any time during the walkout. The miners were protesting against the latest privatisation measures of Indias far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. In mid-May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP made a quantum jump in pro-investor reforms the centrepiece, alongside forcing workers back-to-work amid a surging COVID-19 pandemic, of their post-lockdown economic revival plan. As part of this plan, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that coal mining, which has been the exclusive preserve of CIL and other central and state government-owned enterprises since Indira Gandhis Congress Party government nationalised the coal industry in 1975, will now be thrown open to private bidders. Henceforth, private companies, both foreign and domestic, will be able to bid for coal blocks. In the future, they may even be permitted to export coal despite India currently importing 20 percent of its coal requirements, costing about Rs. 300 billion (US$4 billion) annually. In opening the coal industry to the private sector, the BJP government is realising a longstanding aim of BJP- and Congress Party-led governments alike. Last November, Reuters reported that government sources had said they intend to make coal mining in India attractive for global miners such as Glencore PLC, BHP Group, Anglo American PLC and Peabody Energy Corp. In announcing the governments privatisation plans, Sitharaman said, We have been suffocating the [coal] sector by regulating it, and preventing it from producing what is required by industry. In other words, the environment and miners jobs and working conditions are to be ravaged in the interests of private profit, while the government justifies the enhanced exploitation in the name of efficiency and self-sufficiency. The strong support for the strike reflects an awareness among the CIL workers, who already labour under brutal conditions, about the threat this poses to their jobs and wages, and to the environment. The entry of giant transnational mining companies will inevitably herald a further increase in the contractualisation of labour. Already at CIL, as at most other Indian public sector enterprises, the past two decades have seen a massive increase in the proportion of lower-paid, precarious contract workers. Currently, more than 200,000 workers, or some 40 percent of CILs workforce, are supplied by body shops or labour agencies The workers are also opposed to CILs plan, adopted under pressure from the Modi government, to hive off the companys design, planning and exploration arm, Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL), into a separate entity. This move would allow CMPDIL to perform work for private companies so as to generate profit. It would also pave the way for CMPDILs privatisation and open the door to CIL employing private mining consultancy companies. Despite last weeks strike, the BJP government is pushing full-steam ahead with its plans to open the coal industry to the private sector. It is currently soliciting bids for the first round of coal-block sales. Meanwhile, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd., CILs Odisha-based subsidiary, has announced it will dock workers who participated in the illegal July 2-4 strike eight days pay. The company and government have been emboldened by the knowledge that the five trade union federations that called the July 2-4 strike are adamantly opposed to an indefinite strike that would paralyze electricity production across the country and, above all, to a working-class political challenge to the Modi government and to the ruling class agenda of austerity, privatisation, and a global comprehensive partnership with US imperialism that it is implementing. Were the coal miners to make their struggle against privatisation the spearhead of a working-class counter-offensive, there is no question but they would win mass support. In the months prior to the BJP government imposing its ill-prepared anti-COVID 19 lockdown, there was a mounting wave of militant worker struggles and anti-government protests. This included a one-day all-India general strike against the BJP governments big business policies in which tens of millions participated and countrywide mass protests against the Modis anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act. The pandemic has only intensified the social crisis facing Indias workers and toilers. The governments hastily organised lockdown left tens of millions without jobs or income. Now the government, with the full backing of the ruling class, is seeking to exploit the crisis to ram through a raft of socially incendiary anti-worker measures, even as India emerges as one of the worlds main COVID-19 epicentres. The five union federations that called last weeks strike against Coal India include: the Indian National Trades Union Congress (INTUC), the union affiliate of the Congress Party, until recently the Indian bourgeoisies preferred party of government; and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the trade union wing of the Stalinist Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM. For decades, the CPM has functioned as an integral part of the political establishment, supporting and implementing pro-investor policies, while systematically containing and suppressing working class opposition. It has responded to the Indian ruling elites embrace of Modi and his Hindu supremacist BJP by shifting still further right and redoubling its efforts to tie the working class to the Congress Party and the Indian state. The strike call was also endorsed by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh. The BMS is the trade union arm of the fascistic RSS, the shadowy organisation that founded the BJP and to which Modi and the top BJP leaders continue to pay homage. In an attempt to contain workers anger, the five union federations have announced plans to hold a further day of strike action on August 18. That day is the deadline the Modi government has set for private companies, including the transnational mining giants, to submit their coal-block auction bids. Thousands of residents march in protest against Myanmar military troops who opened fire in a civilian village, killing one resident and injuring another amid a clash with a local ethnic army, near Kyaukme town, northeastern Myanmar's Shan state, July 10, 2020. Thousands of residents of Myanmar's northern Shan state protested on Friday over an incident last month when government troops allegedly killed one civilian and injured another in a clash with a local ethnic army, local residents said. Shan state, Myanmars largest state and home to countrys second-largest ethnic group, has been under armed conflict between government forces and ethnic-based armies fighting for autonomy almost without pause since the former Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948. The estimated 10,000 people who protested Friday in Kyaukme township were angered by a killing in late June during a showdown involving the government army and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S), one of seven ethnic armies operating in the state. Amid a dispute over army accusations that the RCSS had crossed without advance notice into army-controlled territory when it burned a cache of illegal drugs to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, a Myanmar military column opened fire on June 29 as it entered Pan Kin village. The gunfire fatally wounded civilian Lone Hsu, and injured a middle-aged woman named Nang Moon Sang in her hip, villagers told RFAs Myanmar Service. The shooting came two days after Myanmar troops detained Sai Maung, a man from a different community, and forced him to take them to Pan Kin village to search for RCSS troops. They later beat him unconscious and left him by a roadside where a monk found him and took him to a hospital, villagers said. For the man who died, we want compensation, said protester Sai Su Kyar Lin. For the injured, we want compensation for treatment as well, he said. We are protesting because we want justice for the man who was killed and the other injured people. During a two-mile march through town, protesters held photos of the dead man and injured villagers along with placards that read No Military That Kills People. Police initially barred protesters who tried to enter Kyaukme town for violating COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings, but later failed to stop the crowd, estimated by police to be about 10,000 strong. We had stopped them because of the Ministry of Healths guidelines that prohibit gatherings of more than five people, Banyar Oo, deputy chief of the Shan State Police, told RFA. Though they asked for permission to protest, we cant let them do it at this time, he added. We will take action against the protesters who dont have permission according to the law. Banyar Oo also said that the Myanmar military formed a court martial led by a colonel to investigate the shooting and beating incidents. Human rights violations Local lawmakers said they filed a complaint over the human rights abuses with the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission. One of the victims was killed and the other was injured by irresponsible acts, said Sai Tun Nyan, a state lawmaker from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) party, adding that the middle-aged woman was shot at close range. We talked about this violation of human rights with our party leader, and four lawmakers from SNLD, including me, reported the case to the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission on July 2, he added. On Friday, the Myanmar military issued a statement saying that authorities would take action under the countrys Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law against three protest leaders in He Kwi village Sai Than Maung and two monks, Ashin Zawtika and Ashin Arlara. The statement did not say how the three led the protest or what their specific roles in it were. Myanmar spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told RFA that the armed forces would not ignore the matter if the shootings and abuse were in fact committed by soldiers. There can be collateral damage due to any fighting, he said. The government army has been fighting the RCSS, and weve had casualties too, but we dont know about civilian casualties. If government troops violated rules, then we cant ignore the findings of the investigation, and we will take action against them, he said. [But] we consider this protest to be a form of pressure [by the RCSS] because they did it without waiting for the results of the investigation. RCSS spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sai Ohm Khay said that the ethnic army was not aware that locals were going to stage a protest. We didnt suggest it or force them to do so, he said. We dont have the right to do that. Displaced civilians Though the RCSS/SSA-S is a signatory of the governments nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) the only ethnic army in Shan state to sign the 2015 pact tensions with Myanmar troops have reignited over troop movements into each others territory. The latest flare-up occurred despite a temporary unilateral cease-fire declared by Myanmar forces and in effect from May 10 to Aug. 30 to prevent and contain the spread of the coronavirus. Clashes between the RCSS/SSA-S and Myanmar forces on June 23 and 26 in Kyaukme and Namtu townships forced about 940 civilians to flee their homes, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Humanitarian groups and local authorities have provided basic emergency assistance to the displaced villagers, the organization said in a regional briefing issued in early July. Until these incidents, fighting and displacement in northern Shan state was on a downward trajectory compared to 2019 when an estimated 26,000 people were temporarily displaced in the area due to sporadic clashes throughout the year, OCHA said. Reported by Kan Thar for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Congress President is likely to discuss lack of Parliamentary discourse on policy decisions amid the Covid-19 pandemic, issues to target government, including proposal of direct cash transfer to the poor, and India-China tensions at the LAC today. Congress President Sonia Gandhi will hold a meeting with partys Lok Sabha MPs on Saturday through video conferencing. The meeting is expected to discuss the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the current political situation. The Congress has been seeking direct cash transfer to the vulnerable sections in the fight against coronavirus. It has also been targeting the government over its handling of border tensions with China. The party has also slammed the government over hike in the price of petroleum products. Also read: Rahul voices student concerns, says unfair to conduct exams amid Covid-19 Also read: Hyderabad International Airport car parking goes fully contact-less It has also said that the government is taking important policy decisions without debate or scrutiny in parliament. Also read: Akhilesh Yadav questions Vikas Dubeys arrest, asks if he surrendered For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Stone, a larger-than-life political character who embraced his reputation as a dirty trickster, was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to have been convicted of charges brought as part of Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. A longtime Trump friend and informal adviser, Stone had boasted during the campaign that he was in contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through a trusted intermediary and hinted at inside knowledge of WikiLeaks plans to release more than 19,000 emails hacked from the servers of the Democratic National Committee. But Stone denied any wrongdoing and consistently criticized the case against him as politically motivated. He did not take the stand during his trial, did not speak at his sentencing, and his lawyers did not call any witnesses in his defense. Trump also targeted those involved in the case. He retweeted a comment by Fox News commentator Andrew Napolitano that the jury appeared to have been biased against Trump, and called out Judge Amy Berman Jackson by name, saying almost any judge in the country would throw out the conviction. Fianna Fail minister Mr O'Brien said officials have told him that they expect that 80pc of the social homes build target of 7,736 will be delivered.. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins An extension of the rent freeze and eviction ban beyond July 20 may not be legally possible, it has emerged. Former attorney general Seamus Woulfe warned the last government that an extension of the Covid-19 emergency measures may not be permitted under existing legislation and could face a legal challenge. Read More The revelation casts serious doubt over newly appointed Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien's commitment to extend the ban on rent increases and evictions until October. The current freeze on rents is due to expire in two weeks and the new Cabinet will have to make a decision on extending the legislation in face of serious concerns over the legality of the move. Last month, Mr O'Brien publicly pledged he would not allow any rent increase for at least another three months. Speaking to the 'Sunday Independent', the Housing Minister said: "In the short-term [with] the certainty that gives and stability it gives, it would be useful to extend it for another three months." However, the Irish Independent has learned Mr Woulfe warned former housing minister Eoghan Murphy extending the ban could pose serious legal problems for the Government. The former attorney general said the freeze was put in place under emergency legislation which aimed to reduce the movement of people at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Woulfe said extending the ban while the country was being reopened could leave the Government open to legal challenges from landlords who had not been able to evict tenants. Before Mr Murphy extended the rent freeze he was told the public interest clause in the emergency legislation may not be met if people are being encouraged to return to work and businesses are being asked to reopen. The legislation allows the extension of the emergency measures as long it meets three conditions. The first is that there is a threat to public health presented by Covid-19. The second requirement is that the virus must still be "highly contagious", and the third is that the Government needs to "restrict the movement of persons in order to prevent the spread of the disease among the population". Mr Woulfe and his officials said they did not believe the third condition could be legitimately met when the Government was lifting restrictions on travel within the country. Mr Murphy is understood to have asked that the rent and eviction ban be extended further into the summer. However, he was forced to compromise on June 20 due to the legal concerns expressed by the Government's legal adviser. On Wednesday, Mr O'Brien told the Dail he was obliged to write to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to seek public health advice before he made a decision on extending the ban on rent hikes or evictions. "If it is justified, I will bring a proposal to Government accordingly," he said. The new Housing Minister conceded the criteria for an extension of the emergency laws include the threat to public health and the need to restrict people's movement to prevent the spread of the virus. Mr O'Brien was speaking during a debate on a Labour Party motion which sought an extension of the moratorium on evictions and rent increases among other measures. It also sought the introduction of laws to protect people threatened with eviction due to rent or mortgage arrears accrued during the pandemic. During the debate, Labour Party housing spokesperson Aodhan O Riordain said "huge numbers" of people whose livelihoods had been hugely affected by the coronavirus pandemic were in rented accommodation. "We are now in a situation where the collapse in employment is disproportionately affecting those who have been renting," Mr O Riordain said. The Dublin Bay North TD said there were about 200,000 renters in the sectors most severely affected by job losses. He said renters accounted for 38pc of workers in the accommodation and food sectors, 28pc of workers in the administration and support sector, 27pc of retail workers, 23pc of those who work in the arts, and 21pc of those who work in construction. Labour Party leader Alan Kelly insisted rent freezes were constitutionally possible as he introduced one when he was housing minister while in coalition with Fine Gael. Sinn Fein housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin said as a "matter of urgency" Mr O'Brien must extend the ban on rent increases and evictions. "We will work constructively with him and other colleagues to achieve those ends, but the time to act is now and I urge the minister to do so," he added. confuses racial privilege with the financial advantages she has always been fortunate enough to enjoy...One is left to wonder why, given her stated conviction that she has unfairly benefited from her skin color, there seems to be no record of her involvement in any charity or civil rights work...Nor, as far as I can tell, has she spent any time teaching the underprivileged or working directly to better anyone's condition but her own. Instead, she has contented herself with a generous six figure salary, and has not shown any particular eagerness to hand her position over to a more deserving person of color. f you had told me a couple of years ago that a book like Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism would be topping the bestseller lists and receiving accolades from all over, I wouldn't have believed it.And I'm speaking as someone who, in my 2012 book The Victims' Revolution: The Rise of Identity Studies and the Closing of the Liberal Mind, warned about the dire ascendancy of identity studies, which are far less about education than about ideological indoctrination and the promotion of social activism.Although I focused in my book on Women's Studies, Black Studies, Queer Studies, and Chicano Studies, I devoted a few pages to DiAngelo's then-fledgling field, Whiteness Studies, which, given the current preoccupation with white racism, is now poised for prominence on a level outstripping even those behemoths.There is a key difference between Whiteness Studies and other identity studies: to quote David Horowitz,Strangely, Whiteness Studies almost didn't make it.The election of Barack Obama made it difficult for practitioners to assert with a straight face that black Americans were still victims of brutal systemic white racism-the discipline's principal claim. "Having Obama is, in a curious way, putting us behind," Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, author of White Supremacy and Racism in the Post-Civil Rights Era and now president of the American Sociological Association, admitted to CNN in 2012.Charles Mills, a distinguished professor of philosophy at CUNY whose books have titles like The Racial Contract, Blackness Visible, and Black Rights/White Wrongs, agreed, lamenting that Obama's election had fooled many white Americans into thinking the U.S. was now "post-racial." Among those who had been "fooled" was the African American linguist John McWhorter, now an associate professor at Columbia University, who in a December 2008 article for Forbes pronounced that racism was no longer a serious problem in the U.S.Had this view become more pervasive, it would have been disastrous for Whiteness Studies, whose argument for its own existence is that the poorest white Americans continue to enjoy social and cultural privileges that people like Oprah and Obama don't.Even if you're a white person who's been passed over in college admission, hiring, and/or career advancement because of affirmative action, you're still, in the view of Whiteness Studies, more privileged than a black person who's benefited repeatedly from racial preferences.Fortunately for Whiteness Studies advocates, Obama's presidency proved to be anything but post-racial. He never missed a chance to tell Americans that race relations remained deplorable. That gave Whiteness Studies a shot in the arm.In February 2015, The New York Times reported that elite primary and secondary schools in New York had begun holding "white privilege" seminars and courses. After Obama's departure from the White House, the annual White Privilege Conference has grown apace, and the lists of course offerings in Whiteness Studies have expanded.If you sent your child to Northwestern , he or she could sign up for "Deconstructing Whiteness," a "6-week caucus" in which "undergraduate students who identify as white" can explore their own "biases and white privilege." At Duke, your son or daughter could have taken Whiteness 101, described as "an entry point for students who want to address racial privilege and how it operates in society." Students were told about "the history of whiteness in America" and encouraged "to become anti-racism advocates for change."Not only are white Americans suddenly preoccupied with their own supposed racism; in an effort to understand and eradicate it, they're turning to merchants of Whiteness Studies ideology. Writers such as DiAngelo, who rejects colorblindness as a goal and paints a picture of a world in which race is the alpha and the omega, and Ibram X. Kendi, who considers it racist to fret about fatherless black homes, black-on-black crime, or the black achievement gap (and has two books on Amazon's top ten), have become fashionable.Whiteness Studies has become big business. That marks a major step down from ordinary identity studies, which at least recognize factors other than sex and race as determinative of individual status.By contrast, Whiteness Studies, as a rule, sees the world in strictly black-and-white terms, even in circumstances where race is all but irrelevant.Take the case of Peggy McIntosh, whose 1989 essay "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" is one of the field's founding documents. The daughter of a top Bell Labs scientist, McIntosh grew up in the wealthy suburb of Summit, N.J., was educated at Radcliffe, the University of London, and Harvard, married the son of a former president of Barnard College, and has spent her career on college faculties. In short, she's extremely privileged. But the nature of her privilege isn't racial.As William Ray observed in a 2008 essay for Quillette, McIntoshWhat about black practitioners of Whiteness Studies? Typical of them is Yale's Claudia Rankine, who last year published a 6,000-word piece in The New York Times Magazine about her encounters with everyday racism.Rankine explained that as she travels around the worldshe's surrounded by white men.If McIntosh chooses to portray her economic privilege as racial privilege, Rankine acknowledges her own economic privilege only to deny its impact on her social status, which, she insists, is solely race-determined.Rankine's examples of racism are astonishingly lame. At one airport, "a white man stepped in front of me" and she had to tell him to wait his turn. This has happened to everyone; but to Rankine, this incident, upon which she expatiates at length, reveals deep truths about "white privilege" and "white solidarity" in "white spaces;" to this man, she instructs us, her presence in his "white space" represented "an unexpected demotion."Even when a white stranger seated beside her on a plane chides the flight attendant for forgetting Rankine's drink, Rankine interprets his act as a manifestation of "white male dominance." She compares notes with him: although both have "Global Entry," he never gets flagged by the TSA, while she's sometimes stopped. One wonders: Are these the worst run-ins Rankine ever had with white people?Rankine is Whiteness Studies: an exceedingly privileged person whose "work," as she puts it, consists of pointing to ridiculously minor events in her lush life as evidence that she's miserably oppressed. In fact, she owes her privilege to her ability to keep banging on about her oppression.It's a shabby way to make a living mischievous, drenched in hypocrisy. It certainly has nothing to do with serious research, scholarship, or education. It's social activism, based on grotesque misconceptions about how society works.Such destructive nonsense has no proper place in an institution of higher learning. Like other identity studies, it's a waste of time and money, having little or nothing to do with expanding a student's knowledge of the world; but, even more than other identity studies, it's malicious and dangerous, designed to sow hatred and intensify racial discord.Bruce Bawer's book While Europe Slept (2006) was a New York Times bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. His other books include A Place at the Table (1993), Stealing Jesus (1997), Surrender (2009), and The Victims' Revolution (2012). The only man convicted in connection with the Northern Bank robbery is now suing the bank for taking possession of millions of pounds sterling found by gardai at his home. Retired businessman Ted Cunningham (72) has issued High Court proceedings seeking damages for "conversion" of the cash, which he says was seized by gardai under legislation found to have been unconstitutional. Conversion is the wrongful assertion of control over someone else's goods. Some 26.5m was stolen in the raid on Northern Bank's headquarters in Belfast in December 2004, which then PSNI chief constable Hugh Orde blamed on the Provisional IRA. Mr Cunningham, of Farran, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to two money laundering offences at a retrial in 2014 and received a five-year suspended sentence. But in proceedings against Danske Bank, as Northern Bank is now known, he says he pleaded guilty based on concerns for his health and after being told he would likely get a non-custodial sentence. Although his pleas related to sums totalling 275,400, Cork Circuit Criminal Court ordered the confiscation of 2,985,680 and 45,154, which gardai say Mr Cunningham came into possession of after the robbery. In proceedings initiated in Dublin on Thursday, Mr Cunningham maintains that apart from the substance of the offences for which he was convicted, there was no determination by the circuit court that the monies seized were linked to the Northern Bank robbery. Mr Cunningham alleges his constitutional property rights were breached by the handing over of the cash to the bank. He claims the seizure and transfer of the monies by An Garda Siochana to Danske Bank was unlawful. The claims are expected to be contested by the bank. Mr Cunningham is being represented in the case by Belfast solicitors KRW Law. The legal action comes eight months after he filed another lawsuit against the Garda Commissioner, the DPP, a former senior garda and a former Criminal Assets Bureau official in which he claims he should never have been prosecuted. In that case he is seeking damages for alleged false arrest and loss of reputation. Mr Cunningham claims he was a scapegoat and says he wants to clear his name. The one-time financier was arrested at his home in February 2005, two months after the raid, and large sums of cash were seized by gardai. Mr Cunningham initially went on trial in 2009 on 10 money laundering charges. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty but released by the Court of Appeal in 2012 and a retrial was ordered. His release came after the Supreme Court found a section of the Offences Against the State Act 1939, under which the warrant used to search his home was issued, was unconstitutional. He faced nine charges at his retrial in 2014, but the case ended when he pleaded guilty to two of these. In 2018 he issued High Court proceedings seeking "a proper accounting" of the money seized at his home. However, the court refused to grant the reliefs sought. In his latest action, Mr Cunningham says Cork Circuit Criminal Court ordered the confiscation of sums far in excess of the 275,400 in the charges he was convicted on and that it remains unclear how the court arrived at those figures. Mr Cunningham also alleges Danske Bank made no application to Cork Circuit Criminal Court for the monies and must have known these were transferred without lawful authority or was reckless in receiving the cash. The Northern Bank raid remains the largest bank robbery ever committed in Ireland or the UK. LunART- Lunar Amateur Radio Transponder The European Space Agency (ESA) website has published a proposal by radio amateurs from AMSAT-DL for LunART (Lunar Amateur Radio Transponder): a Communications Platform on the Large European Lander to support communication and payload experiments. Peter Gulzow DB2OS and Matthias Bopp DD1US say a LunART Communications Platform on the Large European Lander will support direct communication with earth through amateur radio frequencies in the microwave bands, support University and Student Payloads with direct access to their experiments, allow Radio Science for a huge community of radio amateur operators and scientists worldwide. It would also provide an important back-up communication capability and capacity during emergency or when ESA network is busy, for example during non-critical times. Read the proposal at https://ideas.esa.int/servlet/hype/IMT?userAction=Browse&templateName= &documentId=81f70b2b01f6993c1b76fb6b572ee6c5 11.07.2020 LISTEN On the 1st of July at 16:00GMT the Axim District-police invited comrade BORZAR ANGATE through the phone to the station to assist them in investigations. He was detained and marshaled to court the following morning and has been remanded in police custody since then. Comrade BORZAR ANGATE a 25year old pupil-teacher at St Augustinus primary school and a resident of Akono a suburb of Axim. He is a known member of the NDC in the Evalue Ajomoro Gwira constituency. According to the police charge sheet, he called into a radio program and allegedly made certain allegations about the persona of the Evalue Gwira Constituency MP, Hon Catherine Afeku. The husband of the MP is on record to have reported the case to the police which the police followed with the arrest. The party is in no way justifying the conduct of our comrade. However, we are not happy with how he has been treated. Hon. Catherine Afeku is afraid to lose the December polls because she has failed woefully. Instead of her to humbly apologize to her constituents, she and her husband have resorted to intimidation and harassment of her political opponents. Human rights are "rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled". Proponents of the concept usually assert that everyone is endowed with certain entitlements merely by reason of being human. At this time and age that we are celebrating almost 2 decades of the repeal of the criminal libel law by the parliament of Ghana that she serves, how can one be incriminated for his comment on anyone? We believe that our comrade BORZAR ANGATE has been unfairly treated by being remanded for over a week without bail. This constitutes an abuse of his fundamental human rights and is in total disregard to the Repeal of the Criminal and Seditious Laws Amendment Bill) Act 2001 of which the NPP governments and President of republic his excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo add to their achievements. This clandestine ploy to reintroduce the criminalization of speeches and comments does not only destroy our democratic credentials but take the nation back by over 20yrs We are calling on the Ghana bar association, General legal council, peace council, Ghana journalists association, and peace-loving Ghanaians to rise and have a say by resisting this grand scheme by the NPP to introduce the culture of silence to people who share opposing views. SIGNED RICHARD KIRK-MENSAH (Regional Communications Officer) TikTok has been such a big part of everyones quarantine and helping everyone get through this pandemic, he said. Influencers who watched the fall of Vine, another popular short-form video app, in 2016 learned the importance of diversifying ones audience across platforms. But even for TikToks biggest stars, moving an audience from one platform to another is a huge undertaking. I have 7 million followers on TikTok, but it doesnt translate to every platform, said Nick Austin, 20. I only have 3 million on Instagram and 500,000 on YouTube. No matter what its going to be hard to transfer all the people I have on TikTok. Some of TikToks biggest stars have already successfully migrated to YouTube. Members of the Sway House, like Bryce Hall, have quickly become stars there. Other TikTok influencers, such as Charli DAmelio and Josh Richards are also already in the millions. When Vine ended, all the Viners took over YouTube, Mr. Hurley said. If TikTok gets banned, TikTokers are taking over YouTube. TikTokers are the ones in the headlines right now. TikTokers are the talk right now. If TikTok gets taken away, these people arent just going to disappear. Ellie Zeiler, 16, said that a glitch on Thursday afternoon where TikTok temporarily showed zero views on videos across the app led some users to believe that the ban could be imminent. She said she saw hundreds of users going live, saying goodbye to their followers and urging people to follow them elsewhere. I was like no, this cant be it, she said. It is past time to stop this runaway VIA bus. In recent weeks VIA Metropolitan Transit warned the public of dire budget projections, only to have those numbers challenged by city officials. Now its board is pushing forward with a planned November vote to seize a 1/8-cent sales tax, a move that would undercut workforce development and a burgeoning effort to use these funds to address income inequality, poverty and education gaps. We have long supported boosting public transit in this city, but we oppose this push forward by VIA. It is the wrong move at the wrong time, lacking political and community buy-in. It is coming at a time when local leaders have rallied around workforce training and development, and when there remains widespread support for Edwards Aquifer protection and completing the Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails System, for which these sales tax dollars are presently dedicated. The community deserves a better conversation and a bigger vision about how these funds will be spent in this COVID moment and the recovery that will follow. While it is true public transit has been historically underfunded in this city, the COVID-19 pandemic requires new thinking. For that reason, Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff sidelined their own signature initiative, ConnectSA, and the vision of shifting Edwards Aquifer sales tax dollars to improving public transit. We liked some of that plan, mostly the possibility of a rapid transit line that would run from San Antonios North Side to the far South Side. Again, though, this was before the pandemic and the sight of thousands of people lining up for Food Bank distributions in their vehicles, mind you. The pandemic has changed the conversation and made clear other priorities. VIA also has not been particularly clear about its budget. At one point VIA President and CEO Jeff Arndt had projected a budget deficit of $126.2 million over five years and a drastic cut in service due to the recession caused by this pandemic. This was despite $92.3 million in CARES Act funding. VIA officials asserted the sales tax dollars, which wont be available until next calendar year, were necessary to maintain basic service. But this projection did not account for about $10 million a year from the citys general fund, and VIA made worst-case assumptions about sales tax revenue. As City Manager Erik Walsh wrote in a June 22 memo, after reviewing VIAs financial projections and speaking with Arndt, I would conclude that the drastic reductions presented to Council Offices on Thursday will not have to occur. How, then, will VIA use these additional sales tax dollars? A recent presentation alludes to planning for advanced rapid transit, bike- share and ride-share possibilities; and it places a heavy emphasis on suburban service outside Loop 410. But its also vague. Far more compelling is the idea of investing in people. Thats why, in June, we supported a COPS/Metro Alliance plan to invest $80 million in workforce development. With those funds the goal is to train 10,000 people for new jobs, particularly in health care and information technology. Program recipients will receive a weekly stipend of $450 $15 an hour for 30 hours in a week to help pay the rent, and cover groceries and other essentials. In this city plan, which mirrors a county effort, we see the potential template for a program sustained with sales tax dollars. Such a program could be coupled with clear indicators related to poverty reduction and workforce growth in key sectors. Before the pandemic, census data showed San Antonio was the poorest big city in the country. Here is an opportunity to change lives. That said, lets also not lose sight of Edwards Aquifer protection and completing the greenway trail system. Those are popular programs, and the tainting of the Trinity Aquifer raises concerns about water security. Whether through sales tax or another source, funding has to continue for these efforts. In moving forward with a November vote, VIA is going against Nirenberg and Wolff, undermining workforce development and complicating the future of aquifer protection. This is not the right way to build political consensus or community support, and we worry it will undermine VIA in the future. Please, hit the brakes on this effort. A 53-year-old man who admitted a public order offence in Dundalk has earned the wrath of a judge after she heard he required a legally-aided interpreter, despite being 15 years in this country. Sigytas Kancauskas, 5 Highbury, Rathmullen Road, Drogheda, pleaded guilty to being intoxicated in public in Marian Park, Cox's Demesne, on 11 December, 2019. Evidence was given that after leaving a house there voluntarily, he failed to comply with a garda direction to leave the scene. He was stumbling on the street. The court also heard he has two previous convictions, in 2010 and 2011, for drink driving; and that in 2008 he received the benefit of the probation act for two public order matters. Solicitor Eleanor Kelly added her client is originally from Lithuania. He is married and earns 370 per week as a general operative in Boylan Print. He supports the whole family He had a difficulty with alcohol but is six months sober. Once he drank, he couldn't stop. He wanted to apologise for what occurred. Judge Miriam Walsh imposed a 250 fine, and when Ms Kelly sought to confirm that the interpreter was certified, the judge remarked she found it 'unreal' that he needed one after being in Ireland for 15 years. The solicitor said that she had required an interpreter for all consultations with her client. Judge Walsh asked about his workplace, and was informed by the defendant that the management was Irish but most of the employees were foreign. Speaking through the interpreter, Kancauskus also told the judge that he drank whiskey and bought it in Tesco. She then wanted to know did he understand how much he paid when he went to the checkout. Kancauskas replied that he did understand. 'I bet he does,' Judge Walsh said. 'We have to pay for a translator, the whole nine yards. 'He knows what he's buying, and yet the Irish taxpayer has to pay for a translator, and all the while he's running in and out of Tesco, and getting sozzled. 'Welcome to Hollywood. This is one hell of a gravy train,' the judge continued. She said the defendant should do a Linguaphone test 'instead of buying whiskey and getting sozzled'. Legal aid was granted. By Steve Scherer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came under pressure on Friday from opposition parties he depends on for support in parliament amid heightening controversy over his family's ties to a charity at the heart of his conflict-of-interest probe. The Bloc Quebecois said he should temporarily yield his post to his deputy, Chrystia Freeland, until the investigation is over, while the main opposition Conservative Party urged a criminal probe. The left-leaning New Democrats said the situation was "more than disturbing". The Liberal leader lost his majority in parliament in October and depends on opposition parties for support, but none has said it wants to topple the government, and it would take a concerted effort by all of them to do so. "For a few months, I think the prime minister must step aside and leave ... the responsibilities to the deputy prime minister," Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC). "This is a pattern of behavior with Mr. Trudeau," New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh said in a statement. "Canadians deserve to know the truth and need to know this won't happen again." Trudeau, 48, found himself facing a third investigation for conflict of interest in a little over three years last week after his government awarded a sole-sourced, C$900 million ($662.9 million) government contract to WE Charity Canada to administer a student grant program. The charity backed out about a week after the contract was announced. Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, have regularly participated in WE Charity events, and Gregoire Trudeau hosts a podcast on the charity's website for which she is not paid. But Trudeau's rivals went into attack mode on Thursday when WE Charity disclosed it paid honoraria to Trudeau's mother, Margaret, amounting to C$250,000 ($184,000) for speaking at some 28 events, while his brother, Alexandre, received about C$32,000 ($23,540). The payments were handed out between 2016-2020, during Trudeau's first mandate. Story continues There was no immediate comment from Trudeau's office on Friday, but he has said he never accepted any payment from the charity. Last week, Trudeau said: "It's clear there are lessons to be learned about how we can deliver the best programs for young people without attracting controversies like this." 'DO-GOODERITIS' Trudeau's popularity took a beating last year ahead of his re-election bid when he was admonished from breaking conflict-of-interest guidelines in a corporate legal case. The first ethics sanction came in 2017 for accepting a vacation on the Aga Khan's private island a year earlier. "Trudeau has do-gooderitis," a former Ottawa insider said. "He thinks: 'My motives are so pure and I'm so good, how could anything I do be suspect?' He doesn't pause to think about what these things look like from the outside." Trudeau was not the only member of government to have ties to WE Charity. Grace Acan, who was born in Uganda but joined Finance Minister Bill Morneau's family as a teenager in 2010, works at the charity. "There is absolutely no link between her employment and any work that WE does with the Government of Canada," Morneau's spokeswoman, Maeva Proteau, said in a statement. Neither Trudeau nor Morneau recused themselves from the Cabinet decision to award WE Charity management of the grant program. They said the public service recommended the charity for the job. Trudeau has proven to be resilient in the past, including after decades-old blackface images surfaced during last year's re-election campaign. Furthermore, the prime minister's approval rating doubled to about 70% on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Ekos Research polling. "I don't know if he's made of teflon, but he's shown the capacity to make really good adjustments," said Frank Graves, president of polling company EKOS Research, adding that the opposition is doing "a lot of sabre rattling". (Reporting by Steve Scherer, additional reporting by Kelsey Johnson; Editing by Nick Macfie) Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 23:41:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Some U.S. politicians are obsessed with fabricating lies and shifting the blame to China on the response to COVID-19, wreaking havoc on bilateral relations, which now face the most severe challenge since diplomatic ties were established in 1979. They continue to attack China's political system and epidemic response, ranting about the origins of the virus, while Chinese people have grown fed up with such words. Lies repeated a thousand times are still lies, and the truth of China's achievements in combating the novel coronavirus is undeniable. By introducing a series of stringent and multifaceted measures, China has made strategic achievements in containing the outbreak within the space of a few months. Recently, precise measures were adopted in Beijing to quash new cluster infections, and the capital city had reported no new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases for five consecutive days by Friday. Out of deep-seated Cold War mindset, zero-sum game mentality and ideological prejudices, the U.S. side has ignored such facts and blamed China groundlessly, drawing mockery for its absurdity and ridiculousness. The words and actions of some U.S. politicians fit neatly into the narratives scripted for an election year in which scapegoating China is politically rewarding in the short-run. Especially so, since the United States became the country worst hit by COVID-19, with infections spreading rapidly across the country, a situation for which some politicians should have been held accountable. In such circumstances, buck-passing by U.S. politicians is a cunning attempt to cover up their incompetence at home. However, in truth, it reveals their tendency toward lying and cheating, their ignorance, arrogance and hypocrisy, their lack of honesty, credibility and accountability. Sadly, such egregious act by some U.S. politicians has dealt a heavy blow to bilateral relations that have been built up over several decades. While Washington goes its own way to contain China, with growing talk of an all-around decoupling of the two countries, Beijing still believes that there are no reasons to harm the China-U.S. relationship as it is too important to break up. China does not intend to challenge or replace the United States, nor does it expect a full confrontation with the country. The U.S. side should develop more objective and coolheaded perceptions of China and discard whims and bigotry, working with China to explore means of peaceful coexistence and create more positive energy. It is in the fundamental interests of the people of both countries and the world at large. Enditem By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Owing to weak demand from domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEM), the replacement market and exports, Indias auto component sectors revenues are estimated to decline by 14-18 per cent in FY2021, according to rating agency ICRA. In a report released on Friday, ICRA said it expects the recovery to be gradual and slow-paced, with the industry pinning hopes on revival in rural income to support growth during the festive season and thereafter. Estimated revenues of ICRAs auto component sample set (excluding Tyre-makers) declined by 19.9 per cent in Q4FY20, the steepest quarterly year-on-year decline over the last several years. For FY20, revenues declined by 12.3 per cent, a fall far steeper than that experienced during the financial crisis of the FY08. Subrata Ray, Senior Group Vice-President, ICRA, said, The aftermarket component demand which accounts for 18% of the industry turnover, is also expected to be subdued in the near term, the exception being components like batteries. The global light vehicle outlook too is expected to remain negative in the next 12-18 months and these factors will have a serious bearing on auto component industrys prospects, added Ray. Though auto and auto component production has partly restarted across various zones in India since early May 2020, production levels continue to be sub 30 per cent, he said. Lockdowns in auto component clusters, like the current one in Chennai, and the ensuing supply chain disruption will keep the industrys recovery on a slow footing, ICRA said, adding that the shortage of labour and productivity loss because of social distancing will also impact the output of automobile factories. 3 1 of 3 Rebecca Carballo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Rebecca Carballo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 SCHENECTADY The Schenectady chapter of the NAACP gathered Saturday afternoon to discuss policing and how to move forward after a video emerged of a Schenectady police officer kneeling on a mans neck in early July. Nicolle Harris, pastor of Duryee Memorial AME Zion Church in Schenectady, spoke at the news conference and recalled how she first heard the news. She was in New Jersey visiting family, and recalled reading an article that reported there were police officers who knelt to pray with Black Lives Matter demonstrators earlier this summer. She said she was elated. It did my heart good. I even did a little bragging, Harris told the crowd in front of Schenectady City Hall. I told my family thats Schenectady. Thats the place Im pastoring now.' But the feeling didnt last. More recently, she saw her city made headlines again, but this time it was in national news. She saw the story about how an Schenectady officer allegedly made a young man lose consciousness by putting his knee on his neck. Im asking local police officers and police officers across the nation to remain mindful of what you do with your knees, Harris said. The issue of police knee holds became a flashpoint and sparked worldwide protests to end police brutality and racism after George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died in May after a white Minneapolis police officer held a knee on his neck while restraining him. It is not just hypocritical, its disingenuous to kneel with someone to pray with them and then use that same knee to restrain them, Harris continued. Cynthia Farmer, Chair of NAACP Education Committee discussed solutions the organization would like to see implemented, which include police mentoring programs to build positive relationships with youth and a residency requirement for city police, among several other initiatives. Several city council members and Schenectady Police Chief Eric Clifford were all in attendance. However, Mayor Gary McCarthy was not there. Its important for the mayor to be a part of this, Dr. Odo Butler, president of the Schenectady branch of the NAACP, said in regards to conversations about race. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dyaning Pangestika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 07:43 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066585502 1 City COVID-19-in-Indonesia,COVID-19,Istiqlal-Mosque,Idul-Adha,coronavirus,idul-fitri-2020,virus-korona-indonesia,mass-prayer,health-protocol Free Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta will refrain from holding congregational prayers for the upcoming Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice) this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi has said. In a statement on Thursday, the minister said the decision was made because around ten thousand people would be expected to attend the prayers in the country's biggest mosque, which would make it difficult to implement health protocols. "For example, it will take a long time to check the attendants' temperature because there will be ten thousand of them. It will not be an easy task despite efforts to limit access at the entrance," Fachrul said in the statement. The Religious Affairs Ministry previously issued a circular to ban the public celebration of Idul Adha in areas considered "unsafe from COVID-19" by the authorities. Read also: Idul Adha festivities banned in COVID-19 red zones The letter stipulates procedures for Idul Adha prayers in "safe zones" to contain any potential virus spread, including sterilizing locations, implementing physical distancing among the congregation and shortening the prayers' duration. People participating in the mass prayers also have to ensure they are healthy and are required to wear face masks and bring their own prayer mats. The ministry's circular also stipulates provisions for qurban (animal sacrifice) events, which require spectators to keep a distance from each other and for butchers to refrain from touching their faces during the event to avoid potential virus transmission. Muhammadiyah, the country's second-largest Muslim group, has also advised its members and Muslims in general to take part in Idul Adha mass prayers with their own families or in small congregations, while adhering to strict COVID-19 health protocols. The Religious Affairs Ministry will hold an isbat (confirmation) meeting on July 21 to determine the exact date for Idul Adha, which is expected to fall on July 31. The Newark Fire Division rescued 18 people from rising floodwaters on roadways on Friday as Tropical Storm Fays rain drenched city streets, a city public safety spokeswoman said. The tropical storm caused the city to activate its Emergency Operations Center, so all divisions of the Newark Department of Safety are on full alert to address any emergencies, officials said. The operation center allows officials to keep track of downed wires, flooded streets and other hazardous conditions. While we hope for little to no damage from this storm, Police, firefighters and members of the citys Office of Emergency Management are preparing for the worst, Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said. We caution drivers to avoid high water if they see that streets are flooded. The Newark Fire Divisions Zodiac Boat helped rescue eight people from flooding waters in the 300 block of Wilson Avenue, a roadway that has long grappled with flooding. Eight others were rescued from their cars at Pulaski and Clifford streets, while two others were saved from a sedan at Miller Street and New Jersey Railroad Avenue, a public safety spokeswoman said. Fay dropped several inches of rain on areas in New Jersey and gusts reached 70 miles per hour in some parts, according to the National Hurricane Center. Public safety officials in Newark say the tropical storm conditions could last through Saturday. Mayor Ras Baraka urged residents to not drive through flooded streets, to use flashlights instead of candles during power outages and to secure outdoor furniture. The following streets should be avoided in Newark due to the potential for flooding: Clay Street and McCarter Highway South Street and Van Buren Street Jefferson and Chestnut Streets State Street near Broad Street Jabez and Backus Streets 357 Wilson Avenue Manufacturers Place and Hyatt Street Magazine Street and Avenue L Avenue L and Wilson Avenue Ferry and Foundry Streets Norfolk Street Orange Street Nesbitt Street McClellan and Frelinghuysen Avenue, and Frelinghuysen Avenue and the Route 22 underpass Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. The World Health Organization has urged countries grappling with coronavirus to step up control measures, saying it is still possible to rein it in, as some nations clamp fresh restrictions on citizens. With case numbers worldwide more than doubling in the past six weeks, Uzbekistan on Friday returned to lockdown and Hong Kong said schools would close from Monday after the city recorded "exponential growth" in locally transmitted infections. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on countries to adopt an aggressive approach, highlighting Italy, Spain, South Korea and India's biggest slum to show it was possible to stop the spread, no matter how bad the outbreak. The health agency's comments came as US President Donald Trump was forced to cancel an election rally in New Hampshire, citing an approaching storm. Trump has pushed to hold large gatherings against health advice as epidemiologists warn of the dangers posed by the virus moving through the air in crowded and confined spaces. - Lashing out at China - On a visit to Florida on Friday, Trump hit out at Beijing over the pandemic. "(The) relationship with China has been severely damaged. They could have stopped the plague.... They didn't stop it," he told reporters. The virus has killed at least 556,140 people worldwide since it emerged in China last December. More than 12.3 million cases have been registered in 196 countries and territories, triggering massive economic damage. The United States, the country worst hit by the illness, reported almost 64,000 new cases Friday and the death toll now stands at just under 134,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. Brazil, the second-hardest hit, surpassed 70,000 deaths and reported 45,000 new infections, the health ministry said. In Uzbekistan, citizens were from Friday facing lockdown restrictions again that were originally imposed in March but lifted gradually over the past two months. The Central Asian country's return to confinement followed a decision by Australia to lock down its second-biggest city Melbourne from Thursday. A police officer manning a checkpoint on the outskirts of the former Soviet republic's capital said only drivers with "a good reason" to enter Tashkent -- such as delivering food or other vital supplies -- could pass. Restaurants, gyms, swimming pools and non-food markets have all shut their doors until at least August 1. Private transport within cities will be limited to morning and early evening journeys and essential purposes such as travelling to work and purchasing food or medicine. In Hong Kong, the spike marks a setback for the city after daily life had largely returned to normal with restaurants and bars resuming regular business and cultural attractions reopening. Despite being right next to mainland China where the virus first emerged, the city had managed to quash local transmission in recent months. But new clusters have started to emerge since Tuesday, including at an elderly care home that reported at least 32 cases and a housing estate with 11. - 'Turn this pandemic around' - "Across all walks of life, we are all being tested to the limit," the WHO's Tedros told a virtual news conference in Geneva. "From countries where there is exponential growth, to places that are loosening restrictions and now starting to see cases rise. "Only aggressive action combined with national unity and global solidarity can turn this pandemic around," he said. Elsewhere, French officials warned of rising cases in metropolitan France as the death toll topped 30,000. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted a decision to allow businesses, including bars and event spaces, to reopen may have been made "too soon". The Middle Eastern country recorded its highest number of infections over a 24-hour period, at nearly 1,500. In Australia, meanwhile, authorities said they would slash by half the number of people allowed to return from overseas. From Monday, only 4,000 Australian citizens or permanent residents will be permitted to enter each day. burs-har/pvh/dw/axn The WHO says aggressive control measures can rein in the spread of the coronavirus US President Donald Trump has pushed to hold large gatherings against health advice In Uzbekistan, citizens were from Friday again facing lockdown restrictions originally imposed in March but lifted gradually over the past two months Usually-bustling parts of Melbourne are deserted amid a lockdown in the city Google Maps A toddler was killed Friday after being struck by a car in a gas station north of Houston, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. The 3-year-old was walking with another small child and a grandparent around 1 p.m. in the parking lot of the Valero at 13075 Kuykendahl Road. Bengaluru: The urban and rural districts in Bengaluru will go under lockdown for one week from July 14 due to the surge in COVID-19 confirmed cases. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Saturday (July 11, 2020) said, "In view of sudden surge of COVID 19 cases in Bengaluru and on the advice of the experts, it is decided to impose lockdown for a period of one week in Bengaluru Urban and Rural Districts starting from 8 pm on Tuesday, 14th of July." He informed that the detailed guidelines will be issued on Monday in this regard. He also stated that during the lockdown period, the supply of essential commodities like groceries, vegetables, fruits, milk, and medicines will continue uninterrupted. All essential services including supply of milk, vegetables, fruits, medicines and groceries will continue uninterrupted. I appeal to people to cooperate with the government, follow all guidelines, take all precautionary steps and help us contain the pandemic. (2/2) B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) July 11, 2020 "MBBS, post-graduate examinations will be conducted as scheduled," said CM Yediyurappa. He added, "I appreciate the tireless efforts of our healthcare and police personnel, ASHA workers, volunteers and media persons in containing COVID-19 pandemic in the state." He also appealed to people to cooperate with the Government and asked them to wear masks, maintain social distance, follow all guidelines, take all precautionary steps to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier on Saturday, Bengaluru City's Commissioner of Police, Bhaskar Rao, said, "Curfew will prevail in Bangalore City Commissionerate from 8 pm today to 5 am on Monday." He also requested all Bangalureans to cooperate and stay home. Curfew will prevail in Bangalore City Commissionerate from 8 pm today to 5 am on Monday. Requesting all Bangalureans to cooperate and stay home. This is in public interest. Those moving without reason will be dealt with legally.. Bhaskar Rao IPS (@deepolice12) July 11, 2020 Karnataka had reported 2,313 new coronavirus positive infections on Friday. According to the Union Health Ministry on Saturday, Karnataka has witnessed a total of 33,418 COVID-19 confirmed cases, out of which 19,039 are still active. The State has also reported 543 coronavirus deaths. July 11 : Love is all we need! Being in love is a beautiful frame of mind that makes ones life better and progressive. Actor, director, and producer Shekhar Kapur getting affectionate shared beautiful quotes on love on his Instagram handle. The quotes will surely make you mull over about your loved ones. The quote shared by Shekhar read, Look beyond your need to be loved and see that you are already loved Meanwhile, on the work front, Shekhar Kapur has given many knockout films. As per the reports, Shekhar Kapur was all set to make his futuristic magnum opus Paani under Yash Raj Films banner, with late Sushant Singh Rajput. However, the film, which was initially announced at the Cannes Film Festival, never really got helmed. The film, Paani, was shelved in 2015 after Yash Raj Films backed out as the producers. About Sushant Singh Rajput, he was reportedly found hanging in his Mumbai apartment. However, no suicide note was found in the house. The post-mortem report has proved that it is death due to suicide. It's no secret that Sushant was going through very tough times and was depressed from the last six months. No one in the industry stood up for him nor did they lend a helping hand. Many claim its because he was made to feel an outsider in Bollywood and was never welcomed as one of their own. Extra funding to support children over the summer holidays in Wrexham This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jul 11th, 2020 An extra 2.6 million is to be invested in support for children in Wrexham and across Wales during the summer holidays. The funding will help local authorities provide childcare and play provision over the summer and enable children aged five to 16 to take part in activities they may have missed out on while they couldnt go to school during the lockdown. The extra funding will come from two sources 1.6m will be made available from the local authority emergency hardship fund to support local authorities to provide childcare and play provision. 1m will be provided from the education budget to help children and young people re-engage with education over the summer, giving them the opportunity to take part in activities they might have missed out on while not at school such as socialising with their peers and physical activity. Free school meals will also continue to be available for all eligible children over the summer holidays Wales was the first UK country to make this commitment. Lesley Griffiths, Wrexhams Member of the Senedd, has welcomed the Welsh Governments latest announcement. She said: Marcus Rashfords sterling work and high-profile campaign for free school meals placed the issue firmly in the spotlight and ultimately forced the UK Government to U-turn last month. The fact is, in Wales, the Welsh Labour Government announced in April it would guarantee funding to ensure all eligible children continue to receive free school meals throughout the summer holidays. The health and welfare of children is of paramount importance and improving the provision of free school meals is something I have fought for here in Wrexham. This latest announcement demonstrates once again the Welsh Government will do all it can to support the most vulnerable in our society. Children have missed out on a significant amount by not being in school during this challenging period and this funding will aim to target those most in need. AFRICOM logistics lead discusses international partners with U.S. logistics experts U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Leonard Kosinski, U.S. Africa Command director of logistics, spoke to international logistics experts during a webinar hosted by the Lexington Institute July 8. By U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs , United States Africa Command Stuttgart, Germany Jul 10, 2020 U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Leonard Kosinski, U.S. Africa Command director of logistics, spoke to international logistics experts during a webinar hosted by the Lexington Institute July 8. Kosinski discussed the logistical challenges in Africa and the need to partner with commercial industry to help overcome challenges and leverage lessons learned. "I believe a 'whole of nation' approach is needed in Africa and that includes involving private industry," Kosinski said. "Many commercial businesses have found ways to overcome the logistical challenges of operating in Africa, and the U.S. government can learn from their experiences and leverage their expertise." The U.S. military's engagements with African partners focus on improving their capacity to respond to security issues in their countries. A secure and stable environment advances economic development and creates opportunity for business to operate safely on the continent, he said. Logistics plays a crucial role in executing the command's mission. In East Africa, U.S. Africa Command supports missions and the building, training and equipping of Somali combat units. This requires significant logistics operations, including airlift of supplies and equipment as well as navigation through dangerous conflict-torn and remote areas. In the Sahel, U.S. Africa Command routinely shares assets, such as medical evacuation, logistics support, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and air refueling with our French partners committed to addressing the terrorist threats in that region. Kosinski told the group that COVID-19 has created another logistical challengethis is the first time since World War II that the U.S. military had to address a "continent-wide" crisis. However, the command's support to African partners continues despite the pandemic. U.S. Africa Command also works with international partner networks to meet U.S. and partner logistics needs. The command recently partnered with the multinational Heavy Airlift Wing (HAW) to deliver critical supplies to troops supporting operations as part of an effort to strengthen international logistics support in Africa. The HAW, based in Papa Air Base, Hungary, provides strategic airlift support for 10 NATO nations and two Partners for Peace. Partners for Peace is a program of practical bilateral cooperation between individual Euro-Atlantic partner countries and NATO. "Working with this multinational HAW not only strengthens partnerships, but brings together collective international capability to support Africa," said Kosinski, who accompanied the HAW on the mission. Kosinski's engagement with the Lexington Institute underscored the importance of leveraging the lessons learned from multiple government, international, and private sector partners while operating in Africa. "Our partnerships are what enable us to meet our logistics needs," he said. "I look forward to continuing to work together and develop new and innovative solutions to shared challenges in Africa." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Two terrorists entering Jammu and Kashmirs Kupwara district were shot dead by the army barely 100 metres from the Line of Control past midnight, a senior army officer said on Saturday. The terrorists are suspected to be part of Pakistans effort to scale up violence in Jammu and Kashmir to mark the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370. One of the two terrorists has been identified as 23-year-old Idrees Ahmad Bhat, a local from Kupwaras Handwara area who had gone to Pakistan via Wagah border in 2018. We believe the two are part of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba , a senior police officer said. The second man, unidentified so far, is suspected to be a foreign terrorist. Besides AK 47 assault rifles and hundreds of bullets, the terrorists killed on Saturday also had a pistol made in China and four grenades based on Austrian technology that had been made by Pakistans ordnance factory. The grenades are concrete evidence that links the terrorists to the Pakistan army and government, said a top J&K police officer. Also Read: Terror launch pads across LoC full, says top army commander in Kashmir Similar grenades were also used by Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists who stormed Parliament in 2001. The 480-gram anti-personnel grenade is filled with 95 gram of highly explosive organic compound PETN and 5,000 steel balls, designed to kill or maim everyone in a 20-metre radius. One of the Pak-made Arges grenade that has been found on the terrorists killed near LoC In the Saturday morning encounter with the armys Sikh Light Infantry soldiers deployed on the anti-infiltration grid, the two terrorists were shot before they could come down to using them. A senior police officer said the soldiers had spotted the two terrorists moving from an area close to a Pakistani Post across Nowgam sector in Kupwara district. They had cut the fence to cross the LoC and were stopped by the soldiers about 50-100 metres later. Major General Virendra Vats, GOC 19 division, said the soldiers took appropriate response to eliminate the terrorists trying to infiltrate by cutting the anti-infiltration fence. A Chinese pistol along with two magazines and 36 rounds of ammunition was also seized Top counter-terror officers said the infiltration attempt came at a time the security grid was on high alert over intelligence inputs that terror groups sponsored by Pakistans ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) could use load-carrying Chinese commercial drones - like the ones used to smuggle weapons and drugs into Punjab - to ferry firearms and explosives to its terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. The army is working to deploy anti-drone systems to shoot down such drones in sensitive systems. Officials said security agencies had been able to prevent the Pakistan-based terror groups from carrying out most of the deadliest terror strikes through the summer, the first after India scrapped Jammu and Kashmirs special status on August 5-6 last year. Given that much of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans pitch against India is centered around Kashmirs scrapped special status, a senior police officer said it was but natural that Islamabad and Rawalpindi would like to see terror strikes that help Imran Khan put the focus on the situation in the Kashmir valley. Pakistans foreign ministry and its leadership routinely attacks India for killing terrorists in encounters, describing them as innocent Kashmiris. According to the Indian security establishment, a large number of terrorists killed in Kashmir this year are Pakistani nationals. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON New Delhi: Former Congress party president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday trained his guns at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the PM-CARES Fund and said why was the latter scared of sharing details of the donations received from the Chinese firms. The Congress MP from Keralas Wayanad sought to know why the Prime Minister was not sharing details when everyone knew which Chinese companies donated to it. Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and tweeted, Why is the PM so scared of disclosing the names of those who donated money to him for PM Cares? Everyone knows Chinese companies Huawei, Xiaomi, TikTok and OnePlus gave money. Why doesn`t he share the details?" The tweet from the Gandhi scion came after the Public Accounts Committee, one of the most important parliamentary panels that scrutinises key reports by the auditor general, failed to arrive at a consensus on Friday on examining the government`s response to the COVID-19 pandemic or the PM-CARES Fund, set up to tackle the crisis. The PAC had in the past taken up issues like the 2G spectrum scam. According to media reports, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury attempted to name the PM-CARES Fund for examination by PAC but the move was blocked Bhupender Yadav, the leader of the ruling BJP, which enjoys a majority in the panel. Yadav said that PM Cares funding was not sanctioned by Parliament and therefore it couldn`t be taken up by the committee. Rahul Gandhi and his party have been demanding that the PM Cares Fund be audited for the money received by it from the public. He had raised the issue in the meeting of party MPs with Congress president Sonia Gandhi earlier during the day, saying since the fund received money from the public, it should come under audit and review. The main opposition has also been very critical of the BJP over its handling of border faceoff with China in Ladakh. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 21:25:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JOHANNESBURG, July 11 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were left dead and more than 40 arrested after a church hostage drama unfolded in early Saturday morning at the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in Zuurbekom, West of Johannesburg, said South Africa Police Service (SAPS). "A group of armed people came to the Modise church and allegedly attacked people who were inside, indicating that they were coming to take over the premises," said National Police Spokesperson Vishnu Naidoo in a statement. Four people were found shot and burnt to death in a car, while a fifth victim, a security guard, was also fatally shot in his car while he was apparently attending to the complaint. Police arrested over 40 suspects and seized 34 firearms, including rifles, shotguns and pistols. "These units have also rescued men, women and children who are said to be living in the compound and were being held hostage," Naidoo added. It is believed that the attack may have been motivated by a feud between conflicted parties in the church. In November 2018, a shoot-out between feuding factions of the church left three people wounded outside the church. The factions have been at loggerheads since the church leader and founder Comforter Glayton Modise died in 2016. Enditem Official Solution: Up until the mid-19th century, most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to 1 million poor and uneducated Irish Catholics began pouring into America to escape starvation. Despised for their alien religious beliefs and unfamiliar accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country's cities took to the streets on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys. The American Irish soon began to realize, however, that their large and growing numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the "green machine," became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick's Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman attended New York City 's St. Patrick's Day parade, a proud moment for the many Irish Americans whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to find acceptance in the New World. All of the following are implied by the passage EXCEPT A. The Irish immigrants came to America to find new opportunities and break away from the scarcity in Ireland which was ravaged by the Potato Famine.B. Green Machines were first created to exploit the growing Irish population in America and form a formidable voter group.C. The first St. Patrick's Day celebrations were not welcomed positively by the American public.D. Most politicians who supported the cause of the Irish immigrants were Democrats.E. The Irish population in America had grown to more than several hundred thousands by the end of the mid 19th century.The passage does not talk about the political party that the politicians came from. Option D is correct.Answer: D_________________ The flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has finally named his running mate for the 2020 election. Contrary to some leading names that had been widely circulated since last year, John Dramani Mahama settled on a woman. She is a former Minister of Education, a university professor and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast. Her name is Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang. Its the first time a winnable political party has selected a woman as a running mate. Its an opportunity to have a first a female vice president in a country where some people are still not comfortable taking instructions from women. As expected, the scathing scrutiny has started, with some escalating it beyond the boundaries of sanity and decency. But let us stay with the printable ones. What are they saying? She cannot match Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). She brings nothing to the ticket. Ghanaians, especially women, will not vote for a woman. She signed the petition to release the Montie 3, the three young men imprisoned by the Supreme Court in 2016 for criminal contempt. Her record as a Minister of Education is poor. The list goes on and on. Politically, it may be true that her choice doesnt bring much to the Mahama ticket because she doesnt appear to have an identifiable constituency. Shes a woman, but she should be accepted based on the strength of her character and accomplishments, not because she is a woman. In terms of governance, it would be difficult to say how she can serve as a check on John Mahama should they win. John Mahamas first term was not impressive and one would have expected a stronger figure that could serve as a check on him should he win, but that is not likely to come from his former appointee. But has a strong figure really counted in the output who occupies the second most important office of the land? Historically, vice presidents of this country would have their say, but the president and his inner circles often have their way. It is also true that many looked to a choice that would provide an antidote to Dr Bawumia. The NDC would not agree publicly, but inwardly they will admit that Dr Bawumia was instrumental in the NDCs defeat in 2016. They will admit that he and his wife, Samira, were the most exciting pair of tongues on any campaign platform in 2016. Since Dr Bwumia burst into the political landscape like an unexpected spring of water in a desert, the subject that has dominated our political discourse has been the economy. Mention Bawumia and one is tempted to think about the economy. His agenda-setting role in making the economy the front burner of national and political discourse cannot be ignored, even if you have reason to question the sincerity and the ability of his government to implement the economic sermons he preaches. In my book The Fourth John: Reign, Rejection & Rebound, there is a chapter titled The Bawumia Factor in the 2016 election in which I wrote: When the campaign took off, Dr Bawumia was like a dribbling striker in the midst of a disorganised defence, too slippery to contain. In the political game of 2016, he was the supporting striker to his flag bearer. At a point, however, he appeared as though he was the main striker, attracting the attention of the defenders, leaving the main striker to enjoy a kind of freedom that was unusual with presidential candidates. The arsenals of the NDC in 2016 were directed at Dr Bawumia and the prevailing economic conditions made him believable even when he did political propaganda with the economy. In bad times, even the lies of the opposition sound more credible than the truth of the government For this reason, many, including some members of the NDC, expected an economist with a witty tongue as sharp as a circumcision blade to match Dr Bawumia. But Dr Bawumia has not always been like this. In my book, I indicated that when he was first appointed as running mate in 2008, he did not appear to have what it took to convince a class of primary school kids to vote for his party. Some political opponents of the NDCs running mate also argue that the position of a vice president is key because, in the absence of the president, the vice president acts as the president of the country. The Majority Leader of Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, has stated this publicly, questioning the ability of Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang to take over should anything happen to the president in the course of the four years. This brings us to the next important question. Can Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang be president of Ghana? Why cant she be? If Nana Akufo-Addo has been president and still wants to be president, why cant Professor Opoku-Agyemang be president? After all, what does it take to be president? Or rather, what does it take to be a good president? Ghana and the rest of Africa are not this miserable because we have lacked people with ideas to turn our situations around. We have not grown to that stage where our problems are complex and need complex manoeuvrings to outdo other nations to remain dominant. Ours are not the problems that face superpowers or trillion-dollar economies. We are still faced with the most basic problems of our liveswater, electricity, healthcare, decent schools, deplorable roads and lack of hospitals among other necessities of life. The solutions to our problems are in our textbooks right from the primary schools to the universities. Our economic problems and their solutions are available in university dissertations and policy documents from the World Bank to the IMF. They are even written better by nations that were once like us, but which now lend to us. Our political parties remind us of the solutions when they are in opposition. So it isnt for the lack of knowledge that we are perishing. Dr. Bawumia has been championing the digitisation of our economy and pushing for us to move into a cashless regime. At the same time, his government is printing bigger denomination of our currency that will make it easier to carry huge amounts of cash and move around easily. This has happened not because Dr. Bawumia, the President, the Finance Minister and members of the economic management team are dumb to the fact that the bigger denominations will defeat the cashless economy campaign. There are factors that cloud common sense and throw good judgment out through the window when knowledgeable men and women sit in the boardroom. So we dont lack the ideas. What we lack is honest and principled leadership. What we need are people who will put the nation ahead of their greed and prevail on their appointees to do same. What we have lacked are men and women who dont even attempt to impersonate a fraction of the virtues they advertise when they are in the wilderness of opposition. It drills down to values, principles, conscience and character. If a leader has these, he or she could assemble the right people and experts to help run the nation. A president does not necessarily have to be an expert. Our elders say it is the wisdom of others that prevents the king from being called a fool. I agree with those who are faulting Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang for signing the Montie 3 Petition. It contradicts the case people are making for the fact that shes a woman. What the Montie 3 said about the female Chief Justice at the time was unfortunate, and the first female vice-chancellor of a public university in Ghana shouldnt have gone near that petition. Even the Presidents lawyer advised against freeing the recalcitrant three. But if Akufo-Addo is president and still wants to be president, why should we subject Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang to different standards? We still remember the virtues that were extolled about candidate Akufo-Addo. Were we not told he was incorruptible and hated corruption, the right man to fight the menace if given the chance? Were we not told he was a staunch defender of human rights and a consummate apostle of the rule of law and justice? And what have we seen when we gave him the highest office of the land? Was he not president when the nation witnessed brazen acts of vandalism by vigilante groups from his party as soon as he was sworn into office? Did Akufo-Addo cease to be a believer in the rule of law when a Commission of Enquiry he set up recommended sanctions against perpetrators of the Ayawaso West Wuogon violence and he refused to act? Where were these credentials when even after disbanding groups, the Kandahar Boys in Tamale still went and seized about 400 tricycles belonging to the Northern Development Authority and no one was arrested even though evidence abounds, of who took them and where they were kept? Ask any journalist or civil society activist how safe they are speaking up against the government, and youre likely to be reminded that they were safe until an undercover journalist was threatened by a leading member of Akufo-Addos party. He put his picture on television, told his viewers where the journalists lived and instructed that he should be attacked and he would take responsibility. The journalist was murdered by unknown assailants and nothing has come out of it. Nobody has been held responsible. They would tell you they were safe until the National Security operatives invaded a media house, arrested journalists and seized their laptops, phones and other gadgets. They were detained for days and allegedly tortured, but no evidence of wrongdoing was ever established against them. So if Akufo-Addo has the chance to lead Ghana again, why are his followers saying Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang cannot be a running mate? After all, her position is lower than that of the president, so why should we subject her to higher standards? In their lives outside politics, Nana Akufo-Addo managed a small law firm in Adabraka, with a few tens of lawyers. Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang managed a big public university with thousands of employees and tens of thousands of students. If Akufo-Addo can be trusted to manage our nation, why cant the professor do the same? Have we not amply demonstrated that we do not care about the character and actions of our leaders? How has Akufo-Addos background as a human right and rule of law advocate influenced his presidency that Professor Opoku-Agyemangs background cannot? The good thing about Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang is that since her name came up, no one has talked about corruption even though, as a Vice-Chancellor and minister of state, she was in a position to make big procurement decisions. If she doesnt bring much to the ticket, she definitely takes nothing away from it, the way a scandal-ridden candidate would have done. Leadership must go beyond what someone decides to use our money for. I have said it before that anybody at all can decide to use our money to build hospitals and schools at inflated costs. Anybody at all can decide that, instead of building hospitals, they would rather use our money to pay the fees of high school students, even if it means the public basic school system is almost dying. One does not need to be a genius to do that. But it takes more than that to lead a nation. A leader should be the custodian of our values, principles, morality and good conscience. This is what we have lacked in a long time and that scrutiny or expectation should not be limited to the NDC running mate. Or is it because shes a woman? Im not very old but Ive read and listened enough to know that wielding a manhood, no matter how potent it, is not a determinant of good leadership. We can decide to either keep the bar for presidential aspirants high for all or lower it for all, irrespective of ones gender, ethnicity, profession or status. The writer is a freelance investigative journalist. He is the author of three books: Voice of Conscience, Letters to My Future Wife and The Fourth John: Reign, Rejection & Rebound. Source: Manasseh Azure Awuni Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results By Express News Service BENGALURU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a charge-sheet against six people, including two from Bengaluru for the murder of Tamil Nadu Special Sub-Inspector Wilson, a spokesperson said.Wilson was shot and stabbed to death on January 8 around 9.20 pm by Abdul Shameem and Thowfeek inside the Kaliyakkavilai Market Road check post. They were arrested from Udupi on January 15.The NIA chargesheeted Shameem (30) and Thowfeek (27) of Kanyakumari district, Khaja Mohideen (53) and Jaffar Ali (26) of Cuddalore district, TN, Mahboob Pasha (48) and Ejas Pasha (46) of Bengaluru under the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the Arms Act. The killers murdered the SI to terrorise people and the police, as part of waging jihad. The NIA invoked the provisions of UAPA, said the officer. The NIA re-registered the case on February 1.The investigation also revealed the role of Mohideen, Mahboob and Ejas Pasha and Ali (A-6). Mohideen has been a member of the proscribed terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) since May last year. He had recruited and radicalised Shameem and Thowfeek on jihad to carry out attacks against the TN police, the officer added. According to the NIA, in October 2019, Mohideen had also instructed Mahboob, Ejas and Ali to procure illegal firearms and ammunition for carrying out the attacks. In December, on the instructions of Mohideen, Shameem and Thowfeek were given shelter in Karnataka and Maharashtra by Mahboob Pasha, where they were also given illegal firearms and ammunition. In January, when the TN police arrested Mahboobs associates in Bengaluru, Mohideen instructed Shameem and Thowfeek to attack TN police at check posts along the inter-state border in Kanyakumari district. They travelled to Kaliyakkavilai on January 8 and killed Wilson. They escaped to Kerala and concealed the murder weapons, a knife and firearm, near the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Bus Stand in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam. They then went to Kozhikode, changed their appearance and travelled to Maharashtra to live in disguise before returning to Udupi from where they were arrested, the spokesperson added. UTV office attack: Cops submit chargesheet against Poojary Bengaluru: Police have submitted a chargesheet against gangster Ravi Poojary for his alleged involvement in the attack on the UTV office on CMH Road a decade ago. Six men had barged into the UTV office located on CMH Road in Indiranagar in July 2009, brandishing gun-like objects. Claiming to be associates of don Ravi Poojary, they ransacked the office, saying that the companys Managing Director Ronnie Screwvala, also a Bollywood film producer, was not paying heed to Poojarys demand. The police had nabbed seven people the next month. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said that this was the fourth case in which a chargesheet was submitted against Poojary. The police have already filed chargesheets against Poojary in connection with Shabnam Developers shootout case in Tilaknagar in which two were killed, and for a builders extortion case in Whitefield and another case. In a bid to attract investments in the textile and apparel manufacturing sector, the Odisha government has said it has "world-class" infrastructure facilities, strong logistics base and skilled manpower required for such units to flourish. Industries Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra, while addressing the 'Invest India Exclusive Investment Forum for Textiles and Apparel Sector' event on Friday, highlighted Odisha's unique competitive advantages in the textiles and apparel sector. "Textile and apparel manufacturing is one of the focus sectors of the Odisha government and several firms have already set up their units in the state," he said. The abundant skilled workforce in the state is available at competitive wage rates, Mishra said. Exports and imports can be facilitated through Paradip, Dhamra and Gopalpur ports, he said. Industries Department Secretary Hemant Sharma said new infrastructure facilities are being developed in the state, including textiles parks in Bhadrak and Dhamra. During the event, officials from Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Punjab and Tamil Nadu also highlighted the investment opportunities in their respective states. Also Read: Tesla CEO Elon Musk's net worth surpasses Warren Buffett's Also Read: Coronavirus impact: Zomato reinstates salaries; aims to make complete recovery in 3-6 months Jaipur, July 11 : Will "Operation Lotus" be successful in Rajasthan and will the desert state reprise the Madhya Pradesh story? This was the most asked question in political corridors here soon after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday called a press meet, where he termed the BJP as a "shameless party which was trying to topple the Congress government when it was busy tackling the Covid-19 crisis in the state". Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot reached Delhi on Saturday, triggering more speculations. There were reports that around 15 MLAs are camping in Delhi to show his support to Pilot, who is also the state unit chief. According to sources, MLA P.R. Meena, considered a member of the Pilot team, wanted to meet interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of the step-motherly treatment being given to them by the Gehlot government. Meanwhile, Gehlot called a meeting of ministers at his official residence late on Saturday and asked all the party MLAs to write a letter of support for him. Senior ministers have been roped in to make Congress MLAs to write a letter showing their solidarity with Gehlot. However, ministers from Pilot camp did not attend this meeting. Gehlot, sources said, has also spoken to Sonia Gandhi, Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pandey and party General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal to apprise them of the developments taking place in the state. In fact, the state government has also sealed the borders in the name of Covid-19 spread. Earlier, the borders were sealed in the run-up to the Rajya Sabha polls soon after the Chief Minister hit out at the BJP over its alleged plans of 'horse-trading'. Earlier, the day saw a buzz of political activity as Gehlot openly accused the BJP of indulging in 'horse-trading' and trying to topple his government while the BJP dismissed the allegations, saying that the Congress has been unable to keep its own house in order. Angelina Jolie has "learned so much" from her daughter. The Hollywood actress and activist has heaped praise on her 15-year-old daughter Zahara, branding her daughter as an "extraordinary African woman". Speaking to Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate for her Time100 Talk, she said: "My daughter is from Ethiopia, one of my children. "And I have learned so much from her. She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman. Her connection to her country, her continent, is very - it's her own and it's something I only stand back in awe of." Meanwhile, Angelina - who also has 18-year-old Maddox, 16-year-old Pax, 13-year-old Shiloh and 11-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, with ex Brad Pitt - previously explained how her children means she is constantly "reminded of what is most important". She added: "Having six children, I am reminded daily of what is most important ... But after almost two decades of international work, this pandemic and this moment in America has made me rethink the needs and suffering within my own ... A system that protects me but might not protect my daughter - or any other man, woman or child in our country based on skin colour - is intolerable. We need to progress beyond sympathy and good intentions to laws and policies that actually address structural racism and impunity ... It feels like the world is waking up, and people are forcing a deeper reckoning within their societies. It is time to make changes in our laws and our institutions - listening to those who have been most affected and whose voices have been excluded." The Rules Sometimes Apply What might real change look like for the social media giants? The week of bans suggests one specific vision. When platforms tout the banning of these big names, its an important step in the right direction, said Becca Lewis, a researcher at Stanford University who studies online extremism. But it doesnt address underlying issues and incentives that have led to the flourishing of white supremacist content in general. In some cases, social platforms have taken action against figures and groups with roots and power elsewhere, who have found audiences on YouTube or Reddit, in effect banishing them to where they came from. Often, though, these bans are more like corrections, shutting down accounts and groups that were conspicuously successful on the services own terms. The content and behavior of extremists may run afoul of particular YouTube rules, but those users are very much examples of success on the platform. They have cultivated large audiences, are easy to find in searches and seem to perform well in YouTubes automated recommendation system. They are practiced in the formats, styles and subjects that YouTube seems to reward not just as a marketplace full of autonomous viewers, but as a complex and assertive system with its own explicit and implicit priorities. (A representative from YouTube declined to comment on the record about the proliferation of extremist content on the platform, but pointed to a recent blog post about the companys commitment to curbing it.) YouTube, Ms. Lewis, a Ph.D. candidate, said, made early commitments to a relatively hands-off style of governance, and has gradually adjusted the shape of its marketplace over the years, often in response to controversy. Like many platforms of its era, it characterized its commitment to openness and free speech as a democratizing force, giving cover to the realities of living and coexisting within strange and materially limited new space. Whats popular on YouTube is a reflection of what its users want to see, but also what YouTube wants them to see, what YouTube wants them to want to see, and what advertisers want them to see. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 03:45:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ATHENS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- An extra-virgin organic olive oil produced in China has won the top award at an international competition hosted in Greece recently, organizers told Xinhua on Friday. The Xiangyu Coratina oil, produced by Xiangyu Olive Development Co. based in Longnan City in northwest China, was selected as the best product in the 5th edition of the Athena International Olive Oil Competition, according to a press release from the organizers available recently. The olive oil product, which uses Coratina olives, a variety from Toscany in Italy, won a "double gold" medal, among others. In addition, two other olive oil products from the same company were awarded silver medals. A total of 430 extra-virgin olive oil products from 17 countries were present at the annual competition, which was held under special conditions in Spata near the Athens international airport on June 11-13, due to the pandemic, said Greek Vinetum company, one of the organizers. Initially, the event was scheduled for April 2-3 on the island of Lesvos, one of Greece's leading olive oil producing regions. The Chinese company was the sole competitor from China and the first one in the five years of the event, the organizers told Xinhua on Friday. The top distinction for the Chinese olive oil may surprise average Greek citizens, who enjoy good quality olive oil in traditional Greek cuisine on a daily basis, but it was no surprise for connoisseurs who had seen the Chinese company winning awards in previous international competitions, they stressed. Despite the pandemic, samples from China, Australia, Brazil, France, Spain, Portugal and many other countries closer to Greece, like Turkey, Croatia, Libya and Lebanon were sent to the competition. This year, 176 entries out of the total 430 were from abroad. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, no award ceremony was held this year. The competition is held each year in a different olive oil producing region of Greece. Greece is one of the world's largest olive oil producers with centuries-old tradition and the first in extra virgin olive oil production, organizers said. Enditem Want more good news? Marques and other experts say there's also a lot you can do to manage anxiety at home techniques you can use to feel better and make wise choices. Here's where to start. Why is it so hard to make decisions? When we're feeling anxious, we've fired up a set of structures in our brain called the limbic system, said Marques. That's an area responsible for emotional responses, memory and motivation. Our best reasoning and decision-making comes instead from the prefrontal cortex, what Marques called our "thinking brain." The limbic system and the prefrontal cortex fight for attention, she explained. If your brain is in fight-or-flight mode, your overheated limbic system can cycle through an endless series of scary possibilities. Scientists call that "amygdala hijack" it's like your prefrontal cortex has lost control of the vehicle altogether. The amygdala is a part of the limbic system. "When you're on [amygdala] hijack, you're 'spinning,'" Marques said. "You might say: 'If I don't put on a mask right now I'm going to catch the virus, and if I get the virus, who's going to take care of my kids?' which of course makes you more anxious." Elaine Duke, who was acting secretary of Homeland Security for a little over four months in 2017 has become the latest White House official to speak up against her former boss. In an interview with the New York Times, Duke says a lot of things weve come to expect from those who have gotten a front-seat view of how President Donald Trumps White House operates. But one little detail jumps out and manages to show that there is still a margin to be shocked by the president. Apparently, Trump suggested that maybe the United States could consider selling Puerto Rico. That happened shortly after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in the late summer of 2017. Advertisement Duke was already feeling frustrated before the hurricane even caused any devastation as she argued that there should be an emergency declaration before landfall. Quit being so emotional, Elaine, its not about the people, its about the money, Duke claims that Mick Mulvaney, who was then the presidents budget director, said. Mulvaney, who went on to become acting chief of staff , vehemently denies that was the case. But Duke said she got the biggest shock during the response when she heard Trump raising the possibility of getting rid of Puerto Rico entirely. The presidents initial ideas were more of as a businessman, you know, she said. Can we outsource the electricity? Can we can we sell the island? You know, or divest of that asset? The idea wasnt ever seriously considered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This wasnt the first time that there were reports that Trump had raised the possibility of getting rid of Puerto Rico, albeit jokingly. Last year, the New York Times reported that a former official said Trump had joked about trading Puerto Rico for Greenland sometime in 2018. Duke, who became acting secretary on July 31, 2017, when John F. Kelly became White House chief of staff, said Trump is a fan of hate-filled, angry, and divisive language and doesnt really care about policy. We get distracted by slogans, by maybe words we heard like the president allegedly saying Haiti is a shithole, Duke said. So we get only spun up in that, and then we never get to the issue. 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The HSE has confirmed that the hospital will be compatible for respite and long-term support in a post Covid situation. The day care centre for the elderly service already on site, but which had to close due to Covid-19, will also be reintroduced. The HSE closed the hospital in November 2010, despite the Save Wicklow Hospital Campaign, which saw over 3,500 protesters take to the streets in opposition to any closure. Issues raised in a Health Information and Equality Authority (HIQA) report were given as the reason for the closure. Deputy John Brady has warmly welcomed the news that the 20 beds recently installed at Wicklow District Hospital will remain open post-Covid. He said: 'I'm delighted that there is now a commitment that the 20 recently refurbished beds in the closed Wicklow District Hospital will remain open into the future. The HSE have confirmed that the now closed Hospital will be used for frail older people from mid and South Wicklow leaving Acute Care settings. I had been informed initially by the HSE that the reopening of the 20 beds was for Covid related activity and there were concerns that the beds would close again in a post Covid situation. 'This confirmation about the long-term use of the hospital shows that the political decision to close Wicklow District Hospital ten years ago was wrong and short-sighted. An independent survey was carried out following the HIQA report which showed the work could have been carried out ten years ago, without being too expensive. It does make you wonder how much money was spent on private nursing homes when you had a perfectly good facility available in a community setting?' Sections of the hospital had already been reopened as a Covid test centre prior to the start of the refurbishment works required for the provision of the 20 beds. Deputy Brady added: 'It's good that the HSE are also looking at using the hospital for respite and long-term care support in the form of a day care centre for the elderly of Wicklow. This is a support that was previously on site but had also closed. The confirmation that the reopening of Wicklow District Hospital is not a short-term initiative is really important for the people of Wicklow. It will also play a critical role in freeing up acute care beds in other Hospitals. 'I will continue to work with the HSE on the reopening of the 20 beds in Wicklow District Hospital also the day care services. It's important that adequate funding is in place to ensure the day care service can resume as quickly as possible and I call on the Minister for Health to make sure the necessary funds are in place.' Earlier in the week, Jim Curran of the HSE, in response to a parliamentary question submitted by Deputy Brady, confirmed plans to retain the 20 beds. Mr Curran's reply stated: 'The former District Hospital Wicklow is being refurbished in contemplation of egress challenges from Acute Care settings for frail older persons domiciled in the general area of mid and south Wicklow. The HSE would anticipate that this use is also compatible with that of respite and long-term care support into the future together with support already on site (but presently stood down) in the form of a day care centre for the elderly of the general Wicklow area.' This past Sunday, Pope Francis spoke to the Catholic faithful during the traditional Angelus prayer. Many throughout the world, especially those in Hong Kong, anticipated that the Bishop of Rome would speak out against the suppression of political and religious freedom by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) the week prior -- as per protocol, the pope normally gives an exegetical explanation of Scripture followed by a brief address, normal on an international current event. To the dismay of many, Francis made reference to the resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council that proposed some measures to deal with the devastating consequences of the coronavirus, particularly for areas in conflict zones -- the request made is for a global and immediate ceasefire by countries that are currently engaged in combat with each other. As reported and confirmed by various news agencies throughout the world, there was a bulletin distributed to journalists before the Popes Angelus prayer that contained some important words on the crisis in Hong Kong -- the speech was to be read immediately after the Angelus exhortation: In recent times, I have followed the development of the complex situation in Hong Kong with particular attention and not without concern, and I would like first of all to express my cordial closeness to all the inhabitants of that territory. In the current context, the issues addressed are undoubtedly delicate and affect everyones life; therefore it is understandable that there is a marked sensitivity in this regard. I therefore hope that all the people involved will be able to deal with the various problems in a spirit of far-sighted wisdom and authentic dialogue. This requires courage, humility, non-violence and respect for the dignity and rights of all. I then express the vow that social life, and especially religious life, express themselves in full and true freedom, as indeed various international documents provide for it. With my constant prayer I accompany the whole Catholic community and the people of goodwill in Hong Kong, so that they can build a prosperous and harmonious society together. Vatican personnel did not provide an explanation, let alone acknowledge, why the Pope omitted the prepared statement at the last minute. Not only would it not have been an overly condemning proclamation against the CCP, it would have not been a significant intervention. Why this abstention? It appears that it is part of the Vatican protocol to refrain from any direct criticism with a rogue nation after a mutual agreement has been made. In 2018 the Holy See -- the universal government of the Catholic Church -- made a provisional agreement, designed by the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, with China with the hope of reconciling... to the full communion of all Chinese Catholics, in particular, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, that is, the clergy and the faithful of the State Church. The immediate impression is that Catholicism has found real serenity in China. Although the details of the 2018 agreement have not yet been made public, we know that the Communist Party of China (CPC) has the authority to appoint bishops; the Pope confirms them. Brief History of Vatican Agreements with Rogue Regimes This is not the first time the Holy See has agreed with an authoritarian state, such as: The Lateran Treaty of February 11, 1929, which ended a long and troubled historical, diplomatic and political journey that led to the dual recognition between the Italian State and the Vatican City State. The paradox was that Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was able to consolidate his power, and with the support of almost the entire Italian Catholic hierarchy, he led Italy into two wars: the one against Ethiopia (1935) and World War II. The Reichskonkordat between the Holy See and Nazi Germany, which was signed on 20 July 1933, by the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII) -- despite the misgivings of Pope Pius XI -- and Franz von Papen, the Vice Chancellor for Adolf Hitler. It also ensured the loyalty of bishops to the state through an oath and required that all priests be Germans and subjects to German superiors. Restrictions were also placed on Catholic organizations. In the 1960s, the Church began, under its principal architect, Archbishop Augustine Casaroli, the strategic policy of Ostpolitik -- the policy of normalizing relations and openness towards the Warsaw Pact nations: the satellite countries of the former Soviet Union. The tactics included ending all public criticism against communist regimes and endless negotiations with such rogue governments. The results were, to put it gently, terrible: In Hungary in the mid-1970s, the leadership of the Church and its properties were micromanaged by the Hungarian Communist Party, which also had de facto control of the Hungarian College in Rome. In Czechoslovakia, the ostpolitik empowered a band of Catholic collaborators who served as a front for the Communist Party and its repressions. All of this began to end with the election of Pope St. John Paul II in 1978 who unmasked the hypocrisy of the Warsaw Pact communist dictatorships -- it was through the efforts of this pope, together with then-President Ronald Reagan, that communism in Poland collapsed, triggering a domino effect that brought down the other communist regimes including the U.S.S.R. Present-Day Relation with China Let us not forget that Communist China has one of the greatest human rights violators in the world, as demonstrated by the CCPs demographic genocide pursuit of Uighur Muslims. The U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China and AsiaNews.it have reported that -- I shall limit myself to one example -- Chinese authorities have demolished the crosses on top of churches, such as in the Diocese of Xinxiang in Henan Province. A priest, Father Shanren Shenfu, explained that silence in the face of the destruction of crosses is part of the price for the Vatican's agreement with the CCP: Now when a cross is removed, Christians must be calm and smile. Accepting the removal of crosses as a daily occurrence therefore seems to be the only great contribution that the Chinese Catholic faithful and all the people of God can make to the continuation of the agreement. The 88-year-old Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, condemned the entire China-Hong Kong affair as the most cruel thing the Vatican has done concerning the Catholic Church in China, and absolutely against the doctrine of the Church, because it encourages people to be part of a schismatic Church. One could perhaps understand the Popes reluctance in condemning the Chinas suppression of democracy in Hong Kong for fear that the Xi regime will renege on the provisional agreement, which is expected to be renewed for another two years this September -- the Holy See has yet to establish formal diplomatic relations with China. That being said, as conveyed by Cardinal Zen -- who said this week that he is prepared to be arrested by the CCP under Hong Kongs new draconian National Security Law -- the Vatican silence is deafening. More than 40 Latin officials, including two presidents, have already tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) this week. Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday said he tested positive for the coronavirus and he was using extol hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, to treat his illness. Bolsonaro promotes extol hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. Bolivia's stand-in President, Jeanine Anez, publicly declared her "positive" diagnosis on Thursday. She said she's self-qurantining and feels fine. She added that she will "work in isolation" at home. Venezuela socialist party chief Diosdado Cabello on Thursday tweeted that he was also infected with coronavirus. On Friday, another Venezuela official, Oil Minister Tarek El Aissami, said he was also positive for COVID-19. More Cases El Salvador's Interior Minister, Mario Duran, was diagnosed on July 5. He was the second Cabinet member to be infected with the virus. "I am asking you, now more than ever, to stay home and take all preventive measures,'' he was quoted in a report. On Friday, Duran said he was already receiving treatment to also protect his family from the illness. According to an Associated Press review, at least 42 confirmed cases of coronavirus in leaders across Latin America have been recorded. These officials range from presidents to mayors of major cities, including dozens of officials from smaller cities and towns. In most cases, high-ranking officials, who recovered, were already back at work. But there are still many struggling with the disease. On June 16, 52-year-old Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez announced that he tested positive for the coronavirus, including his wife and two other people he worked closely with. Hernandez was brought to the hospital the next day after doctors found out that he had pneumonia. He said he had started a trial treatment called "MAIZ treatment." "MAIZ treatment" is an unproven combination of microdacyn, azithromycin, ivermectin, and zinc. Hernandez's government was promoting this as an affordable way of fighting the disease. He was released from the hospital on July 2. Venezuelan political analyst Luis Vicente Leon said Cabello having the illness will wake up people from the thought that their country was relatively protected from the virus. "I think this shows Venezuela is on the same route with all the other countries," Leon was quoted in a report. Newly elected president of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader also got the disease and recovered from it during his campaign. Professor of medicine Felicia Knaul said this shows a growing risk to leadership in the region. "We're trying to keep our health providers safe. It's the same for our government leaders," Knaul said. We don't want a Cabinet ill and in hospital. It would be tremendously destabilizing in a situation that's already extremely unstable," she added. Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei put his entire Cabinet and their staff in quarantine on Thursday after one of his ministers tested positive for the coronavirus. COVID-19 in Latin America Latin America and the Caribbean have become "a hot spot" for the COVID-19 pandemic, said United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Guterres believed that COVID-19's effect on Latin America and the Caribbean would be an economic decline. In a statement, he said governments should think of giving poor people with emergency basic incomes and anti-hunger aids. Guterres noted that reducing the spread of COVID-19 is important. However, he said we should also talk about its impact on the economy. "Latin American and Caribbean countries - and in particular small island developing States - should not be excluded from global assistance," he added. Check this out: By PTI MUMBAI: A major fire broke out at a shopping mall in suburban Borivali here early on Saturday, but there was no report of any casualty or injury, a fire brigade official said. The fire brigade received the call about the blaze in the basement of Indraprastha Mall on S V Road in Borivali West around 3 am, he said. "The mall is a three-storey structure, excluding the basement. The fire started from the basement and spread to the two floors," he said. The official said that the blaze was initially categorised as level-2 fire, but was tagged as level-3 around 4 am and then level-4 at 6.25 am. Maharashtra: A level 4 fire broke out at a shopping centre in Borivali West of Mumbai earlier this morning; 14 fire engines and Police are at the spot. Fire fighting operations are still underway. pic.twitter.com/tRAXr8guSt ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2020 In level-4 fire, at least 16 engines are roped in for the firefighting operation. "Thick black smoke enveloped the surrounding area and it was visible from a distance," the official said. The fire-fighting operation is still on, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 21:11:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said on Saturday that the promulgation and implementation of the law on safeguarding national security in the HKSAR marks a turning point for Hong Kong's education. The social unrest since last June has not only afflicted Hong Kong society and impacted the rule of law, but also exposed once again the problems in Hong Kong's education, Lam said at an education forum held here. Pointing out that Hong Kong's education has been "politicized", Lam said that the erroneous description of history and smearing of government and law enforcement agencies by some media are reflected in textbooks, classes, test questions and students' extracurricular activities. Lam said she hopes the promulgation and implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR will help education return to its essence and get the students' study back on track. "Let's join hands to cultivate a new generation with a sense of national identity, an affection for Hong Kong and an international perspective," she said. The chief executive said she has asked the HKSAR government's secretary for education to make a plan for school education on the Constitution, the Basic Law, National Anthem Ordinance and the national security law for Hong Kong. Enditem The relatively small size of the gold sector could lead to out-sized investor gains, said Vrify CEO Steve de Jong. De Jong sat down for a podcast on Friday with mining reporters Neils Christensen, Michael McCrae and Paul Harris. Before founding Vrify, which produces virtual mine tours, de Jong had a huge success in the mining space at another firm. He headed Integra Gold, which was acquired by Eldorado Gold in 2017 for $590 million. De Jong advanced the Lamaque project towards production. Gold appears to be gaining interest in the broader investment community with the precious metal hitting fresh, multi-year highs. "Sometimes we forget how small sector actually is," said de Jong. "You can take everything that we do and combine us together and we're almost one Google." De Jong said there is nearly a perfect setup to add another thousand dollars to the price of gold. There is a lot of money out there that is "...coming into a very, very small sector." "This is what happens when you try to herd elephants through a really small door," said de Jong. This week gold miners started publishing their Q2s, so the impact from COVID-19 disruptions could be weighed. Kirkland Lake kept production in Q2 at the same levels as Q1, just about 330,000 ounces. Mines in Australia and Ontario helped, which side-stepped fewer suspensions. Eldorado Gold powered through COVID-19 disruptions. The company announced yesterday that its 2020 preliminary production was 137,782 ounces of gold, a 50% increase over Q2 2019. Despite mine suspensions in Quebec, operations at Eldorado's Lamaque were higher in Q2 2020 compared to Q1 2020 due to higher grades and an increase in tonnes mined per day enabled by the recently received Certificate of Authorization from the Quebec Ministry of Environment. "I think I've gotten a dozen emails in the last 24 hours saying 'why did you sell that thing?'," said de Jong. WASHINGTON Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on Saturday criticized President Donald Trumps decision to commute the prison sentence of Roger Stone, calling it unprecedented, historic corruption. An American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president, Romney wrote on Twitter. Romney, a leading critic of the president, was the first prominent Republican to condemn Trump for his decision to clear Stone's 40-month prison sentence. Other Republicans have been quick to rally around the president, taking to Twitter to voice their support for Stone's commutation. "In my view it would be justified if President @realDonaldTrump decided to commute Roger Stone's prison sentence," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tweeted shortly before Stone's commutation was officially announced. Image: Roger Stone reacts after Trump commuted his federal prison sentence in Fort Lauderdale (Joe Skipper / Reuters) Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote that "Trump has the constitutional right to commute sentences where he believes it serves the interests of fairness and justice." Democrats have fiercely criticized Stone's commutation, likening Trump's actions to that of a "Mafia boss." Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania was the only other Republican to join Romney in publicly disagreeing with the president on Saturday. "While I understand the frustration with the badly flawed Russia-collusion investigation, in my view, commuting Roger Stones sentence is a mistake," Toomey said in a statement on Saturday. "Any objections to Mr. Stones conviction and trial should be resolved through the appeals process. Romney was the only Republican to vote for Trump's removal from office during the president's impeachment trial earlier this year. The White House announced Friday evening that Trump commuted the prison sentence of Stone, a former campaign aide, sparing his longtime adviser from having to report to prison next week. Stone was sentenced in February to three years, four months in federal prison for obstructing a congressional investigation of Russia's 2016 presidential election meddling. After the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation, the Bureau of Prisons gave him an extension on reporting to prison. He had been on home confinement in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. 11.07.2020 LISTEN Today is exactly two (2) years since Mr. J. H. Mensah + passed away into eternity after serving relentlessly his country of birth, Ghana politically in diverse Ministries. DEDICATION: The two years remembrance anniversary is dedicated to Mr. Joseph Henry Mensah +, known as Mr. J. H +, the brilliant economist, the celebrated politician, the unwavering Ghanaian patriot, the architect behind the famous seven-year development plan of the first President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the Chairman of the powerful Ghana Democratic Movement, GDM, in Europe which was headquartered in London for his political contributions. He served under the Colonial Administration from 1953 up to 2005 / 2006 as a Senior Minister of Government Business under H. E. John Agyekum Kufour's administration/government of the NPP in Ghana. Today, on the second anniversary of the death of Mr. J. H. Mensah +, l write vehemently once again in my capacity as a Founding Member and one of the few remaining active serving members of the powerful Ghana Democratic Movement- GDM who are still very active in the NPP in Hamburg, founded by him, who was internationally recognised worldwide as Chairman & Founder with London as it's head office and equally the merchant city of Hamburg as head office in Germany. Historically, it's on records that the GDM challenged, protested strongly against the PNDC bogus military regime through demonstrations, published articles condemning the junta about the atrocious crimes against humanity, organised seminars and distributed flyers to expose crimes committed against innocent Ghanaian citizens, stripped women naked in public etc. for unlawfully removing a democratic government of Dr. Hilla Limann on 31st December, 1981 in Ghana. We, the few leading Executives including myself were exiled for twenty years (20) for not visiting Ghana since declared wanted to face treason charges by the PNDC in Ghana for our direct and open protest against the regime. We are proud today as we remember and mourn the loss of a unique statesman, a charismatic man, a father, an uncle and a friend for his many great political achievements. Mr. J. H. Mensah + is one of the greatest celebrated politicians and an international economist, Ghana, has produced in modern political history of our Nation. I served under the GDM in the position as Assistant General Secretary & National Financial Secretary simultaneously from 1982 - 1992 in Hamburg chapter and Germany until ban on party politics was lifted in Ghana. Obviously, l had so many political interacts with Mr. J. H. Mensah+, personally during the political struggle against the PNDC killer regime outside Ghana in the UK, Hamburg, Dortmund, Kiel and Dusseldorf etc. in Germany on several times. I would like to say emphatically with pride apart from my earlier description about him as a good counsellor and a highly respectable Ghanaian traditionalist. Mr. J. H. Mensah + was optimistic that one day Democracy will be restored in Ghana to benefit future generations. Significantly, Mr. Joseph Henry Mensah +, was my political MENTOR in Hamburg, Germany and in the United Kingdom during the time of the political struggle against the PNDC in the 1980's. INAUGURATION OF THE GDM The official Inauguration of the GDM took place on 21. 04. 1984 at Mensa, Dammtor, at the Hamburg University. EXTRACTS FROM HIS ADDRESS : Mr. J. H. Mensah+, main speaker of the inauguration lamented about the deep cries of Ghanaians on crimes against humanity and bad economic infrastructure, detentions without trial, low level of Ghana's educational system etc. conditions 27 years after independence with the hall filled to capacity. He reiterated that, historically, there has not been any successful military rule over the world. He cited an example that Sir Winston Churchill, who rallied the British to victory during the 2nd world war as a Prime Minister was forced to resign immediately after the end of the war because they didn't want to experience any military dictatorship in Great Britain and received standing ovation from the invited guests and participants, journalists, lawyers as well as human right groups etc. who came to listen to his powerful speech. He concluded finally not for Ghanaians to rely on United States Of America, Great Britain or Germany to fight for our freedom but to get involved in the struggle irrespective of one's political affiliation, religion and tribe through the mass media and with GOD ON OUR SIDE, the fight to restore DEMOCRACY IN GHANA will be successful one day in his life time and will spread over the continent of Africa to end military regime's which was becoming rampant on the continent of Africa. A GOOD GUESS IS AS GOOD THINKING A DREAM REALLY COMES TRUE REGISTRATION OF NPP MEMBERS IN HAMBURG AND IT'S ENVIRONS It was through Mr. J. H. Mensah +, that Hamburg gave birth to both the GDM & NPP in Germany of fame stretching to the Scandinavian countries and other European cities apart from the United Kingdom since there were no branches in these countries. THE FIRST GIANT BIG TWO (2) FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE NPP IN GERMANY I, Oheneba Oduro-Opuni, Hamburg & Mr. George Kofi Afrifa, Kiel, a political scientist, who later became the General Secretary of the NPP until he suffered a stroke barely fourteen (14) years ago organised the first historical meeting of the NPP in Hamburg at Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr's house, University of Hamburg in June, 1992 with some few Ghanaians when ban on party politics was lifted in Ghana officially. Ghanaians were still scared to openly attend NPP meetings and activities because of the threat on their lives and businesses in Ghana. Soon after these memorable meetings, Mr. J. H. Mensah+, sent twenty (20) NPP membership cards which was scarce to get in Europe to me to register Ghanaians in Hamburg. Within weeks, ALL the cards were sold out at fifty Deutsche Mark (DM50), per one and more copies were ordered and have records of those register in my archives in Hamburg for reference purposes. The vacuum created by the death of Mr. J. H. Mensah + will take a very long time or years to be filled in modern day Ghanaian politics generally. Finally, with deep sadness and painful reflections of memories, l stand up firmly like an ancient and active trained professional Roman soldier and SALUTE MR. J. H. MENSAH +, my political mentor, adviser, lecturer and motivator as l celebrate his yearly anniversary after serving honestly, truly, sincerely, courageously Ghana, the country he loved and care so much and a chapter in history has come to an end at his final journey to eternity. I extend my sincere condolences to the bereaved family worldwide once again, more especially in Ghana and the great OSONO party members for the loss of such a DOYEN politician. Honestly, Mr. J. H. Mensah +, will be remembered by generations of Ghanaians who believe in Democratic principles and the rule of law especially in the merchant city of Hamburg and generally in Germany for his unflinching support politically for those few fellow citizens who had direct political contact and relationship with him during the 1980's. SEE THE BELOW CLASSICAL PICTURES AND THE EVENTS DEPICTING MOST OF MR. J. H. MENSAH'S ACTIVITIES IN THE GDM IN THE CITY OF HAMBURG GERMANY INAUGURATION OF THE GDM The official inauguration of the GDM took place on 21. 04. 1984 at Dammtor, Mensa at the University of Hamburg. See the attached classical Talking Drums publication front page with the General Secretary, Mr. George Kofi Afrifa reading the resolution of the demonstration at the hall with a helping hand from Oheneba Oduro-Opuni, his Assistant General Secretary. DEMONSTRATIONS NR. 1 3 GDM members mostly Ghanaians, Germans and some African countries sympathisers demonstrating through the streets of Hamburg from Monckebergstreet to the inauguration hall at Mennsa, Dammtor, University of Hamburg. 2. PICTURE NR. 4 : Mr. J. H. Mensah +,(main speaker), addressing the audience at the great hall of the University where he delivered his powerful and penetrating speech with Mr. S. E. Osei (Agya Osei) of Hamburg, GDM Director Of Operations assisting him with the microphone. 3. PICTURE NR. 5 Line up of GDM Executives at the inaugural hall - R - L Oheneba Oduro-Opuni, Messrs: George Kofi Afrifa, Dr. Edgar Twumasi, R. O. Frimpong-Manso, (London) delegate, Mr. J. H. Mensah +, (main speaker) of the inauguration, Edward Osei Ampadu, Dickson Kankam Boadu and Agyemang Duah, (London) delegate. 4. PICTURE NR. 6 Mr. J. H. Mensah +, discussing a point with Mr. Edward Osei Ampadu, National Chairman of the GDM with Mr. Dickson Kankam Boadu sitting besides Mr. E. O. Ampadu. 5. PICTURE NR. 7 Oheneba Oduro-Opuni, Assistant General Secretary & Financial Secretary of the GDM Launching an Appeal For Funds as part of the programme from the invited guest and participants at the inauguration hall at the University of Hamburg. 6. AT GLOBUS HOTEL NR. 8 A classical picture of some Senior Executives waiting for Mr. J. H. Mensah +, at the Globus hotel before attending the Thanksgiving Service on the 22. 04. 1984 in Hamburg namely from L - R : Messrs : Justice Amoateng, Nuemunster, Oheneba Oduro-Opuni, Hamburg, George Kofi Afrifa, Kiel and Edward Osei Ampadu, Hamburg. 7. PICTURE NR. 9 Mr. J. H. Mensah +, in a memorable picture with Oheneba Oduro-Opuni on 22. 04. 1984 after the Thanksgiving Service of the successful inauguration of the GDM at Bei der Hopfenkarre, Tonndorf, Hamburg where a private reception was reserved for the buoyant politician and the delegation from London. 8. PRESS CONFERENCE NR. 10 A press conference organised by the GDM in Dortmund on the 06. 03. 1987 which coincided with Ghana's 30th Independence Anniversary with Mr. J. H. Mensah+, assiduously addressing the participants. With Oheneba Oduro-Opuni sitting besides him with some active members surrounded together with Mr. Ismael Oppong, an organiser from Nurnberg in a group picture with Mr. J. H. Mensah, and Mr. R. O. Frimpong-Manso, a delegate from London. See the attached publication in the RUHR NACHRICHTEN SAMSTAG 07. 03. 1987 in Dortmund, Germany. 9. PICTURE NR. 11 A FOUNDING MEMBERS CERTIFICATE OF THE GDM A Founding Members Certificate Of the GDM issued to Oheneba Oduro-Opuni based on his unflinching political contributions and services signed by Mr. J. H. Mensah +, the giant politician himself on 01. 06. 1985 in the merchant city of Hamburg in one of the numerous seminars and activities the movement organised with him personally. NOTE : 1. A POLITICAL BACKGROUND IDENTITY IN THE PFP IN GHANA : A registered and dues paying membership card of the POPULAR FRONT PARTY - PFP of Oheneba Oduro-Opuni in Ghana in the 1970's confirming his political career background. 2. TALKING DRUMS PUBLICATION An article written by Oheneba Oduro-Opuni and published in the Talking Drums - entitled A DEMOCRATIC STATE NOW condemning the junta about the secret death squad in Ghana in 1984. 10. PICTURE NR. 12 The attached classical picture depicting from L-R : Dr. Wolfgang Peters, a young German legal consultant for the GDM, who helped the movement to get registered at the Hamburg Administrative Court, Oheneba Oduro-Opuni, the Assistant General Secretary/Financial Secretary of the GDM and Mr. Dickson Kankam Boadu, National Coordinator in one of the numerous symposiums in September, 1984 at the University of Hamburg. 11. PICTURE NR. 13 A classical picture of Mr. J. H. Mensah+ standing addressing the participants namely, GDM Executives in Germany, German business gurus, lawyers, human rights groups and the general public. He enlightened the audience about the current political situation in Ghana at that time and what future NPP government will do to bring investment in Ghana. He equally answered questions participants raised perfectly. 12. PICTURE NR. 14 A SYMPOSIUM AT THE AUDIMAX UNIVERSITY OF HAMBURG- 29. 09. 1984 A symposium organised by the GDM at the Audimax, University of Hamburg which coincided with Ghana's 27th Independence Anniversary. From L - R : Messrs : R. O. Frimpong Manson, (speaker), London, Col. rtd Annor Odjija, ex-Director of Ghana's Military Intelligence (main speaker), and Prof. Dr. Rainer Tetzlaff (chairman), lecturer in political science at the University of Hamburg NOTE: The Ghanaian Sphinx, reflections on the Contemporary History Of Ghana, 1972 - 1987, by the late Prof. Albert Adu Boahene, formerly Professor and Head of the Department of History, University of Ghana. Being the J. B. DANQUAH MEMORIAL LECTURES, 1988, Under the Auspices of The Ghana Academy Of Arts & Sciences. The above powerful and historical lectures ever held in Ghana during the culture of silence period under the PNDC was Edited and Published by THE GHANA DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT (GDM) branches in- ACCRA, LONDON, HAMBURG, NEW YORK AND PARIS under the able chairmanship of the late Mr. J. H. Mensah+. MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE AMEN MR. J. H. MENSAH DAMIRIFA DUE ENE AMANIHUNU Regards, Signed: Oheneba Oduro-Opuni Founding Member NPP Hamburg - Germany Vice - Chairman Acting Secretary Council Of Elders NPP - Germany Harley Sitner was in Brooklyn for a wedding in March, feeling as if hed just been sprayed by a skunk. Sitners hometown, Seattle, where he owns a camper-van restoration, repair and rental business called Peace Vans, was the site of one of one of the first huge coronavirus outbreaks. People were like, Stay away, he recalled. Back home, with peak road-trip season approaching, his employees reported a rush of cancellations on rental vans. Sitner had just hired a super-awesome marketing manager and began thinking he might have to lay her off. School was cancelled, and all but the most essential businesses were ordered to shut down. Sitner was compelled to give his employees a month off, save for a skeletal crew that stuck around to perform essential services like repairs. We were looking at some pretty significant revenue black holes, he said. Then, in mid-April, the phone started ringing in the repair shop. People started thinking theyd have a summer and wanted their classic Volkswagens looked at, Sitner said. But it wasnt just that. There was also a run on a new line of modern camper vans his company had announced with Mercedes-Benz at the Chicago Auto Show in February: produced by a third-party manufacturer called Driverge, sleeping four apiece, and starting at $93,000 without kitchen and cabinetry, $120,000 with. We sold like 28 of them in 30 days, Sitner said. Some people are saying theyre not getting on a plane for two years or never going to Europe again. Sitner is 52, with a 10-year-old daughter named Eden Peach. In person, he projects a tender, Michael Stipe-ish vibe, wistfully remembering that until recently, we hugged so many of our customers and brewed espresso in the shops front office. He became acquainted with Peace Vans as a customer, running his Vanagon (a.k.a. the Volkswagen T3) in and out of the shop, in Seattles industrial SoDo neighbourhood, between jaunts to Burning Man. In 2013 he learned from the shop owner that he planned to close the business, and Sitner persuaded him to hand it over instead. Over the years, Sitner has served clientele from aging hippies to Instagramming millennials, and all political persuasions. (In the lot of Peace Vans there was an old VW bus from Iowa awaiting restoration with a National Rifle Association sticker on the drivers-side window and a painting of the word Peace on the side panel.) But the venture with Mercedes, which began casually after he began buying the chassis of the brands Metris van from a dealership down the street, has brought a new kind of buyer, Sitner said. Ed Stevens, a 51-year-old tech entrepreneur in Dallas, had planned to take his wife, Robin, and two adult children scuba diving in the Caribbean when the pandemic took hold. The viruss spread, he said, was the reason he started looking to buy a camper van. We cancelled the reservation and hunkered down, and then I started thinking, I can work from anywhere, Robins taking a class online, and we thought wed just cruise the whole country, he said. As soon as I saw the official partnership between Mercedes and Harley, that was the motivating factor. (The idea of building on a Nissan or a Ford light van did not meet the quality bar we wanted, Sitner said, explaining his choice of chassis.) Mark and Linda Kimlin had just spent the winter in Spain before returning to New York City in mid-March, feeling very lucky to escape unscathed, said Mark Kimlin, 63. But New York was itself about to get scathed, and with the lease up on their Upper East Side apartment, the Kimlins hightailed it to a home they owned in New Paltz, north of the city. (They expect to return to the city when things settle down, Linda Kimlin, 65, said.) Their daughter had planned to get married in California in July (the celebration has been postponed, although not the ceremony) and, Mark Kimlin said, it seemed like a good time for wide-open spaces and not getting on an airplane. His son-in-law-to-be had driven a simpler version of the Metris camper van and shared his positive experience with Kimlin, who bought one from Peace Vans on the strength of that recommendation and the fact that his wife likes camping, but with a comfy bed. Talk to any camper-van owner and theyll tout the relatively small size of their vehicles compared to traditional RVs and the taller Mercedes Sprinter vans that many Amazon delivery drivers whiz around in, explaining that the more compact Mercedes Metris and VW Vanagons are easily usable as second cars in dense neighbourhoods in major metropolitan areas. But theyre also great for when a wildfire jumps the highway and bears down on your house the precise scenario Naomi Neilson stared down in mid-June at her house in Shell Beach, California. Everyone was like, Where are you going to go? And I was like, I dont know, Im going to take my van and go, said Neilson, 46, who owns a Metris camper van and runs a bathroom-fixture company called Native Trails. I just threw some food and drinks in the fridge and was ready to go. It took me 10 minutes. I went down the coast a little way and just relaxed. I didnt end up needing to evacuate for the whole night, but it was nice to be able to just throw a couple things in there and know I had a place to sleep and cook for as long as I needed. Of course, this is something owners of Volkswagen Vanagons have taken comfort in for decades. While Metris owners like Ed Stevens never considered buying such a lovable relic of hippie culture because he didnt want to be spending two days somewhere while my transmission gets shipped in from God knows where, VW owners like Brian Kolonick of Cleveland think the hassles worth it because, he said, my kids think Im cool for a minute. Its the way it smells, the way it drives, the way people look at you youre bringing them some level of joy, said Kolonick, 42, who works in digital health for a company called Conversa in Portland, Oregon. He rented a Vanagon from Sitner before he bought one and said some VW scenesters turn their nose up at him because he cant repair things and has to call a mechanic. Hell often visit Vanagon forums online, where he occasionally finds diehards dissing the Subaru engines in some custom conversions, arguing that theyre taking away from the slow-running intensity of the stock motor. And its fair to surmise that some VW devotees think Metris owners are a tad soft. We have friends who have them, and Ive got to admit, we joke about their vans, said Jim Samuel, 58, a real estate agent and University of Oregon grad in Seattle who named his 1991 Vanagon Bertha, after the Grateful Dead song. But it comes down to people, ultimately. Joayne Andrews agrees. A 72-year-old retiree, she lives in Cathedral City, California, just east of Palm Springs, and has owned 26 Volkswagens in her lifetime, four of them vans. A Jetta is her daily ride, but when she really wants to get away, shes got a 2000 Eurovan at home and an 82 Westfalia stashed in Seattle that Sitners crew has been restoring for the past two years. When she visits friends up and down the West Coast, she thinks her vans make her a better houseguest. Its nice to be able to pull into their driveway and not take up space in their house, she said. Weve got our own little studio apartment. As for the Metris campers, her neighbour has one, and Andrews thinks theyre lovely. She then added, Theyre superexpensive, but probably with what I had to have my van restored, I could have bought one. Authorities in Uttar Pradesh constituted on Saturday a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe various aspects of the Kanpur ambush involving gangster Vikas Dubeys men who killed eight police personnel on July 3, according to a statement by the state government. The SIT will be headed by senior Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer and additional chief secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy, and will look into a failed raid that eventually led to the ambush, the nature of action taken against Dubey and his group in the past few years, and the gangsters alleged links with policemen and government employees, the statement said. The SIT, which also comprises two Indian Police Service officers additional director general of police Hari Ram Sharma and deputy inspector general (DIG) of police J Ravinder Goud, was asked to submit its findings by July 31, the statement added. It will also look into whether there was any intelligence failure on the firepower possessed by Dubeys gang. The probe will focus on whether ...steps were taken to get Dubey and his men convicted in court, and what action was taken by police personnel posted at Chaubeypur police station and other supervisory police officers in complaints against Dubey and his gang members, a senior home department official said. Dubeys Bikru village, where the late-night attack on the police team was carried out, falls in the jurisdiction of Chaubeypur police station. The government said the SIT should analyse the call records from Dubeys cellphone over the last 12 months to find out if policemen were in touch with him, and recommend action against them if their involvement is established. The SIT has been asked to make a list of all policemen and government officials associated with Dubey for a long time. A senior police officer, who is associated with the case, said sub-inspector Vinay Tiwari, the Chaubeypur station officer in charge at the time of the ambush, and sub-inspector KK Sharma were arrested on charges of tipping off Dubey about the raid at his house. Earlier in the day, four people were arrested from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh over their links with Dubey and the July 3 ambush that prompted a five-day manhunt for the gangster who faced 60 criminal cases. The manhunt ended with police arresting him from Madhya Pradeshs Ujjain on Thursday. He was shot dead while being brought back to Kanpur after he snatched a pistol and tried to escape, police said. Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Arvind Ramvilas Trivedi, 46, an aide to Dubey, and his driver, Sushilkunar alias Sonu Tiwari, 30, from Thane. Trivedi was wanted for the shootout. The Uttar Pradesh police separately arrested two people from Madhya Pradeshs Gwalior for allegedly harbouring members of Dubeys gang for over four days before they moved to another hideout. JN Singh, the additional director general of police (Kanpur Zone), identified the two as Om Prakash Pandey and Anil Pandey. . Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 05:42:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A pedestrian walks past a Brooks Brothers retail store in Manhattan of New York, the United States, July 8, 2020. Brooks Brothers, one of the oldest apparel retailers in the United States, filed for bankruptcy protection on July 8, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact businesses. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) The state on Friday also lifted the ban on nursing home visits, resuming limited visitations for facilities that have been without COVID-19 for at least 28 days. NEW YORK, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. state of New York topped 400,000 on Friday, reaching 400,299 by Friday morning with a death toll of 32,307, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Once the epicenter of the pandemic, it took the Empire State two months to see COVID-19 cases surge from 1 to 300,000 in early May. Daily death toll once reached nearly 800 in early April, when hospitals statewide were scrambling to procure enough personal protective equipment and get more beds. After months of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, New York now sees key indicators stable and continue to trend in the right direction, as dozens of other states are experiencing a resurgence of the pandemic. A healthcare worker wheels a stretcher into the emergency room at Lenox Health Greenwich Village during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, the United States, May 26, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua) The state reported eight COVID-19 deaths on Friday, and the positivity rate in COVID-19 testing was 1.06 on the day before, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo's office. However, the governor urged residents to keep practicing "the behaviors that have successfully bent the curve" as an alarming spike in cases throughout the nation was reported. Malls in the regions that have entered phase four of reopening with high-efficiency venting systems are allowed to reopen on Friday. For better ventilation, malls have to ensure increased outdoor air, reduced air circulation, longer system run times and frequent filter checks, the governor said earlier this week. A man passes by the Isabella Geriatric Center, a nursing home, in New York, the United States, May 3, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua) The state on Friday also lifted the ban on nursing home visits, resuming limited visitations for facilities that have been without COVID-19 for at least 28 days. Only 10 percent of residents at a facility can be allowed visitors at any time, with a limitation of two visitors at a time. The visitors must undergo temperature checks, wear face coverings, and socially distance during the visit, according to the state's Department of Health. "With the knowledge we now have about how COVID-19 came into nursing homes -- mainly through asymptomatic staff and visitors through no fault of their own - it is critical that as we resume visitations to these facilities we do it in a smart and cautious way to ensure the health and safety of residents and staff," State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a press release. Nursing homes were among the hardest-hit facilities in New York during the pandemic, as over 5,000 people have died in them due to COVID-19 across the state. The marble lion "Fortitude" is seen with a face mask in front of the New York Pubulic Library on the Fifth Avenue in New York, the United States, July 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) Governor Cuomo also announced on Friday that New York will send the COVID-19 medication Remdesivir to Florida as the latter has become a new hotspot of the pandemic with a dramatic increase of new cases and hospitalizations. "When New York was climbing the COVID mountain with no end in sight and resources were scarce, we were incredibly moved by the generosity of states around the country that stepped up to provide supplies and medical personnel in our time of need," said Cuomo. The governor said late June that some 60,000 healthcare workers from outside New York came to help the state when it was at the peak of the crisis, and the state would return the favor. "Today, on behalf of all New Yorkers, we will deploy Remdesivir to help Florida care for patients as it waits for further supply from the federal government. We will stand by our fellow Americans every step of the way as our nation fights COVID-19 together," he added. The supply will help Florida care for 280 COVID-19 patients until the federal shipment arrives, according to the governor's office. (Natural News) New statistics out of Florida show that coronavirus cases are actually higher than first believed, but there is a silver lining here: It means that the actual fatality rate of the disease could be lower than initially believed. A study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that tested for antibodies found that the true number of coronavirus cases in South Florida as of the 10th of April was actually 11 times higher than initial reports indicated. This drove the total number of coronavirus cases in South Florida up from more than 10,500 to an estimated 117,400 as of April 10. The CDC study covered Palm Beach, Martin, Broward, and Miami Dade Counties in South Florida. These figures, when combined with data from the Johns Hopkins University tracker, reveal a more favorable Infection Fatality Rate, or IFR. According to calculations carried out by Breitbart News, South Floridas death rate as of May 1 dropped by more than 80 percent from the estimated 3.6 prior to the antibody study down to 0.6. This IFR accounts for a conservative three-week lag between the identification of a COVID-19 infection and when the infected person passes away. When the data is taken at face value, however, without accounting for the time it would take for the person to go from diagnosis to death, the death rate was even lower at 0.19 percent. This might indicate the mortality rate for coronavirus could be higher than that of the average flu, at least in the South Florida area. In the state overall, the number of coronavirus cases, excluding asymptomatic ones, has risen sharply in recent weeks while the numbers of deaths remained relatively stable. As the countrys third most populous state, Florida has been one of the hardest hit by the virus recently. COVID-19 cases in Florida climbing since reopening In the week leading up to July 8, CDC data shows that Florida is leading the nation when it comes to the most new cases overall, racking up 9,989 new cases on Wednesday alone. South Florida, which accounts for just under a third of the states population, makes up 47 percent of the total new cases. In a news conference on Wednesday, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx stated that officials would be taking a closer look at the spike that started in Florida in June and doesnt appear to be slowing down. She said a similar increase is being seen in states such as Arizona, Texas and California. Although there are several potential explanations, the most obvious one, according to some epidemiologists, is the states re-opening. Once Florida opened up again in early to mid-May, many people gathered closely in homes, beaches and bars. Graduation parties, Memorial Day weekend celebrations and large protests also contributed to the spread. Cases started climbing again just two weeks after most of the state had already re-opened. The state experienced less than 1,000 cases per day in May, but that started to multiply pretty quickly, with the number of new cases going from 2,581 on June 13 to 5,511 on June 24. A pandemic high was seen on the Fourth of July of 11,458 cases in one day. Nevertheless, the Sun Sentinel reports that although Floridas overall death toll puts it in the top 10 states since the beginning of the pandemic in terms of numbers, it has a smaller death rate than most on a per capita basis. Florida has recorded less than 20 deaths per 100,000 residents, while states like New York and New Jersey have seen more than 100 per 100,000 residents. NIAID Head Dr. Anthony Fauci believes Florida reopened too fast, saying that Southern Florida had jumped over a couple of checkpoints. He said that Florida and states seeing similar spikes should consider closing down again. Other experts concur, saying that the death toll is only going to get worse. Sources for this article include: Breitbart.com Sun-Sentinel.com The United States on Saturday warned citizens of heightened risk of arbitrary detention in China as tensions between Beijing and Washington soared over issues including Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. US citizens in China may be subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention for reasons related to state security, the State Department warned in a security alert. The State Department said Chinese authorities may also impose exit bans as part of arbitrary enforcement of local laws for purposes other than maintaining law and order. Beijing and Washington have traded barbs and sanctions on a slew of issues in recent months, including the coronavirus pandemic and Chinese policies in the far west regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, with Chinese authorities threatening retaliation this week for US sanctions on Chinese officials. A controversial security law pushed on Hong Kong by Chinas central government in June has also caused international concern over the wording of the legislation, which bans subversive acts and speech against the Chinese government made anywhere in the world. Australia and Canada have also issued travel warnings over fears of arbitrary detention by Beijing. Last year China arrested Australian-Chinese writer Yang Hengjun, who was indicted earlier this year for espionage. China has also arrested two Canadians after Canada detained a high-profile executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei in late 2018. IONIA COUNTY, MI -- A on-duty trooper from the Lakeview State Police post was critically injured late Friday when another car collided with his cruiser near Saranac. State police said the trooper was driving west on Grand River Avenue, west of Nash Highway, about 10 p.m. Friday, July 10 when the collision happened. A vehicle headed east on Grand River Avenue collided with the cruiser, police said. The trooper was trapped in the wreckage and needed to be extricated by rescuers. He was then flown by Aero Med helicopter to Spectrum Health Butterworth hospital in Grand Rapids for treatment. The other driver, a 28-year-old Utah woman, also was critically injured and taken by ambulance to Spectrum Health Butterworth hospital. Other details about the crash were not immediately available. More from MLive Police-involved shooting leads to protest, teargas in Detroit Man hurt after exchanging gunfire with police in Marshall A UN Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images) Russia, China Veto Syria Aid via Turkey for Second Time This Week NEW YORKRussia and China vetoed a last-ditch attempt by Western members of the U.N. Security Council to extend approvalwhich expires on Fridayfor humanitarian aid to be delivered across two border crossings into Syria from Turkey for the next six months. The United Nations says millions of Syrian civilians in the countrys northwest depend on the humanitarian aid delivered from Turkey, describing it as a lifeline. The remaining 13 council members voted in favor of the resolution on Friday. The 15-member council has been split, with most members pitted against Syrian allies Russia and China, who want to cut the number of border crossings to one, arguing those areas can be reached with humanitarian help from within Syria. Later on Friday the council voted on a Russian draft text to approve aid deliveries for one Turkish crossing for one year, but it failed after only garnering four votes in favor. Diplomats said work would continue to see if a compromise could be reached among council members. The council has now unsuccessfully voted four times on the issue and Russia and China have cast two vetoes this week. Syrian protesters carry placards expressing their opposition to regime ally Russias attempt to reduce cross-border aid, as they wear protective masks and maintain social distancing due to the first case of coronavirus recorded a day earlier, in the city of Idlib, Syria, on July 10, 2020. (Abdulaziz Ketaz/AFP/Getty Images) The Security Council first authorized the cross-border aid operation into Syria six year ago, which also included access from Jordan and Iraq. Those crossings were cut in January due to opposition by Russia and China. On Tuesday, Russia and China vetoed a bid to extend for a year approval of the two Turkey crossings. The remaining 13 members voted in favor of the resolution, drafted by Germany and Belgium. Russia then failed to win enough support on Wednesday for its proposal to authorize one crossing for six months. Russia has now vetoed 16 council resolutions on Syria since Syrias President Bashar al-Assad cracked down on protesters in 2011, leading to civil war. For many of those votes, Moscow has been backed in the council by China. Her Instagram account is a hot bed of sizzling snaps. And Bella Hadid was turning up the heat once again on Friday as she took to social media with a slew of smouldering selfies. The supermodel, 23, looked stunning in a brown bandeau bikini top with matching thong, which accentuated her enviable physique. Flawless: Bella Hadid turned up the heat once again on Friday as she took to social media with a slew of smouldering selfies She accessorised with a canary yellow bandana securing her cropped brunette locks and a pair of delicate drop earrings. Bella's sun-kissed skin glistened as she posed up for a storm for the camera under a canopy of luscious green trees. The star uploaded the sizzling throwback snaps alongside a caption that read: 'May 29.2020. Day 92 of soul searching in these mf trees.' Stunning: The supermodel, 23, looked stunning in a brown bandeau bikini top with matching thong, which accentuated her enviable physique Cheeky: She accessorised with a canary yellow bandana securing her cropped brunette locks and a pair of delicate drop earrings Bella's impromptu photo shoot comes after her pregnant sister Gigi, 25, attended friend Leah McCarthy's birthday at her mother Yolanda Hadid's Pennsylvania farm on Thursday, but the family took precautions to ensure her belly remained hidden. Both Gigi's father Mohamed Hadid and pal Leah posted snaps of Gigi, who is expecting her first child with former One Direction star Zayn Malik, at the picnic celebration, where they posted a Tinkerbell emoji over her bump. In the photos, a happy Gigi wore a flowing, floral print number as she hung out with her friends and gave the camera a thumbs-up. Enviable: Bella's sun-kissed skin glistened as she posed up for a storm for the camera under a canopy of luscious green trees Reflective: The star uploaded the sizzling throwback snaps alongside a caption that read: 'May 29.2020. Day 92 of soul searching in these mf trees' Gigi beamed with joy as she celebrated Leah's birthday alongside sister Bella Hadid, brother Anwar Hadid and his girlfriend Dua Lipa. Earlier this week Bella hit out at Instagram for censoring a post that stated her father Mohammed Hadid was born in Palestine, after she shared a photo of his passport. On Tuesday, Bella - who has 31.4 million followers on the platform - revealed that an Instagram Story she posted was taken down which said 'My baba and his birthplace of Palestine', as it apparently breached Instagram's company guidelines. Bump under wraps! Bella's sizzling photo shoot comes after her pregnant sister Gigi, 25, attended friend Leah McCarthy's birthday with the family took precautions to ensure her belly remained hidden Special day: Both Gigi's father Mohamed Hadid and pal Leah posted snaps of Gigi at the picnic celebration with a Tinkerbell emoji over her bump Bella explained to her followers: 'Instagram removed my story that only said "My baba And his birthplace of Palestine" with a photograph of his American passport.' She then challenged the social media site, asking: '@instagram exactly what part of me being proud of my fathers birth place of Palestine is "bullying, harassment , graphic, or sexual nudity" ?' The supermodel, who has Palestinian & Dutch heritage, added: 'Are we not allowed to be Palestinian on Instagram? This, to me, is bullying. You can't erase history by silencing people. It doesn't work like that.' Censored: Earlier this week Bella hit out at Instagram for censoring a post that stated her father Mohammed Hadid was born in Palestine, after she shared a photo of his passport Bella shared a snapshot that said Instagram had told her that the post in question went against their community guidelines. She shared a generic response from the social media platform that says 'We removed your story because it goes against our Community Guidelines on harassment or bullying. We have these guidelines because we want our community to feel respected and safe.' A representative for Facebook Company, which owns Instagram, told MailOnline: 'To protect the privacy of our community, we dont allow people to post personal information, such as passport numbers, on Instagram. 'In this case the passport number was blurred out, so this content shouldn't have been removed. We've restored the content and apologize to Bella for the mistake.' The rise in the number of coronavirus cases has gained pace significantly. It took 110 days for the number of cases in the country to reach one lakh but just 53 days more to race past the eight-lakh mark. IMAGE: Medics and patients at CWG village COVID care centre near Akshardham in New Delh. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo With a record single-day increase of 27,114 cases, India's COVID-19 tally zoomed past the eight-lakh mark on Saturday, just four days after crossing the seven-lakh post, according to health ministry data. The total coronavirus caseload in the country surged to 8,20,916 on Saturday while the death toll climbed to 22,123 with 519 people succumbing to the disease in 24 hours, the updated data at 8 am showed. This was the eighth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases in the country increased by more than 22,000. IMAGE: A medic aids a suspected COVID-19 patient to get down from an ambulance after arriving at M R Bangur Hospital in Kolkata. Photograph: Swapan Mahapatra/PTI Photo The rise in the number of coronavirus cases has gained pace significantly. It took 110 days for the number of cases in the country to reach one lakh but just 53 days more to race past the eight-lakh mark. It took 64 days for COVID-19 cases in India to rise above one lakh from 100, and another fortnight to cross two lakh on June 3. It took 10 days for the tally to touch the three lakh-mark and another eight days for the cases to climb above four lakh on June 21. In another six days, the total tally raced past the five-lakh mark. Then it took 10 days to cross seven lakh. According to Union health ministry data on Saturday, the number of recoveries stands at 5,15,385 while there are 2,83,407 active cases. The total number of confirmed cases include foreigners. "Thus, around 62.78 per cent of patients have recovered so far," an official said. IMAGE: Social activists dressed as Lord Yamraj, the Hindu god of death, and wearing coronavirus themed helmets offer face masks to people during an awareness campaign against COVID-19 in Bhopal. Photograph: PTI Photo According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 1,13,07,002 swab samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to July 10, of which 2,82,511 been tested on Friday. Of the 519 new deaths reported on Saturday, 226 are from Maharashtra, 64 from Tamil Nadu, 57 from Karnataka, 42 from Delhi, 27 from Uttar Pradesh and 26 from West Bengal. Andhra Pradesh reported 15 fatalities, Gujarat 14, Telangana eight and Rajasthan six. Assam, and Jammu and Kashmir reported five deaths each, followed by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab with four deaths each, Haryana and Puducherry three fatalities each while two persons have succumbed to the viral infection in Chhattisgarh. Of the total 22,123 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra tops the tally with 9,893 fatalities followed by Delhi with 3,300 deaths, Gujarat 2,022, Tamil Nadu 1,829, Uttar Pradesh 889, West Bengal 880, Madhya Pradesh 638, Karnataka 543 and Rajasthan 497. IMAGE: Health workers wearing PPE suits arrive to conduct screening of the residents in a COVID-19 containment zone in Ambujwadi area in Mumbai. Photograph: PTI Photo So far 339 people have died of COVID-19 in Telangana, 292 in Andhra Pradesh, 290 in Haryana, 187 in Punjab, 159 in Jammu and Kashmir, 119 in Bihar, 56 in Odisha, 46 in Uttarakhand and 27 each in Kerala and Assam. Jharkhand has registered 23 deaths, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry 17 each, Himachal Pradesh 11, Goa nine, Chandigarh seven, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya two each, Tripura and Ladakh have reported one fatality each. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 2,38,461 followed by Tamil Nadu at 1,30,261, Delhi at 1,09,140, Gujarat at 40,069, Uttar Pradesh at 33,700, Karnataka at 33,418 and Telangana at 32,224. The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 27,109 in West Bengal, 25,422 in Andhra Pradesh, 23,174 in Rajasthan, 19,934 in Haryana and 16,657 in Madhya Pradesh. IMAGE: A medic along with family members carries a suspected COVID-19 patient on a stretcher at LNJP Hospital in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI Photo Assam has 14,600 instances of the infection, Bihar 14,575, Odisha 11,956, and Jammu and Kashmir 9,888 cases. Punjab has reported 7,357 novel coronavirus infections so far, while Kerala has 6,950 cases. A total of 3,767 have been infected by the virus in Chhattisgarh, 3,419 in Jharkhand, 3,373 in Uttarakhand, 2,251 in Goa, 1,918 in Tripura, 1,582 in Manipur, 1,272 in Puducherry, 1,171 in Himachal Pradesh and 1,064 in Ladakh. Nagaland has recorded 732 COVID-19 cases, Chandigarh 539 and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 459 cases. Arunachal Pradesh reported 335 cases, Mizoram has 226 cases, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has 156, Meghalaya has registered 207 infections so far, while Sikkim has recorded 134 cases. "Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said, adding that 3,416 cases are being reassigned to states. State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it added. Bengaluru, July 11 : Two more Karnataka Congress legislators tested Covid-19 positive, while the party's state unit office in the city has been shut after three employees were infected with the virus, an official said on Saturday. "Our party MLAs Ajay Singh from Jewargi Assembly segment in Kalaburagi district and Prasad Abbayya from Hubli-Dharwad East seat tested positive on Friday and are under treatment at the designated hospitals," party's spokesman M.A. Saleem told IANS. The party's office on Queen's Road in the city centre has been shut till Monday after three staffers tested positive for the corona virus symptoms. "As the party's office is located in a containment area, we have shut it after the three staffers had contracted the symptoms and tested positive," said Saleem. Singh, son of former Congress Chief Minister Dharam Singh, tweeted that he was asymptomatic and would be in quarantine for two weeks in Bengaluru. "I request all those people who were my primary contacts to take precautions and stay safe," Singh said in the tweet. Abbayya got admitted to the state-run KIMS hospital at Hubli in the state's northwest region after his throat swab tested positive. Singh and Abbayya attended the oath-taking ceremony of the party's state unit president D.K. Shivakumar at the party's office in the city on July 2. Another party MLA H.D. Ranganath from Kunigal Assembly seat in the neighbouring Tumakur district, who also attended the Shivakumar function, tested positive and is under treatment at a private hospital in the city. Party's MLA T.A. Raje Gowda and Chikmagaluru MLC Bhoje Gowda also tested positive and are under treatment in designated hospitals in Chikamagalur. Chikamagalur is 240km northwest of Bengaluru in the southern state. BJP's MLA Rajkumar Patil Teklur from Sedam in the state's northern Kalaburagi district also tested positive and is under treatment at a private hospital in Bengaluru. Independent MLA Sharath Bachgowda from Hoskote Assembly segment in Bengaluru Rural also tested Covid-19 positive and is under treatment at a private hospital in the city, an official from his office said. BJP's MLA Bharat Shetty from Mangaluru North segment and its MLC M.K. Pranesh also tested positive and have been under treatment since July 5-6. Veteran state Congressman B. Janardhana Poojary also tested positive for the virus and is under treatment at a private hospital in Mangaluru. "Poorjary, 83, is under treatment at a private hospital here after he tested positive for Covid on Sunday," party official Ravi Gowda told IANS earlier. Mangaluru is about 360km west of Bengaluru in the southern state. Poojary's son J. Santhosh said his father's condition was stable and no cause for worry as he was asymptomatic. Karnataka's Independent Lok Sabha member and multi-lingual South Indian actress Sumalatha Ambareesh tested positive and was under home quarantine. Sumalatha, 56, is a parliamentary member from Mandya, about 100km from Bengaluru on way to Mysuru. The celluloid heroine developed symptoms of headache and throat irritation on July 4. Hence, she decided to get tested, as she might have been exposed to the virus during the course of her duty and tour in her constituency. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text President Trumps re-election bid has had a rough few weeks, with challenges coming from both his stewardship of the presidency and past personal controversies that may be catching up with him. Coronavirus is worsening in much of the country, hes down in the polls, his response to the pandemic has been heavily criticized and he gets low marks from voters on race relations. He's also had to endure the publication of high-profile and deeply critical books from his former national security adviser and his only niece, with another book by a former assistant to first lady Melania Trump set to be published next month. Heres a look at some of the presidents biggest problems as the general election heats up. The virus Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (Al Drago/AFP via Getty Images) There has been a wave of new infections since states began reopening in late May. That surge has included troubling milestones, such as the countrys 3-millionth case and the worst single day of new cases on Tuesday. This spike came as the virus spread beyond its initial epicenters in New York and on the West Coast. There are now growing outbreaks in many states, including eight that saw their average number of new cases double this week. To add insult to injury, the European Union, which is in the process of reopening, barred American travelers this month due to the scope of the outbreak here. The troubling and deadly rise in coronavirus cases came as Trump has consistently minimized the threat and clashed with his own experts, including those at the Centers For Disease Control and Dr. Anthony Fauci. Trumps efforts to downplay the virus were best symbolized by his rally in Tulsa, Okla., on June 20, which was the largest indoor event in the country since widespread mitigation measures began in March. The event was plagued by poor attendance and, on Wednesday, the citys top health official declared that Trumps event more than likely fueled a spike in new cases of the virus there. The protests Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images The nationwide protests that erupted following the death of George Floyd led Trump to seek refuge in an underground bunker as demonstrators breached barricades outside the White House in late May. On June 1, federal law enforcement agencies teargassed protesters on the streets outside the White House ahead of a photo op for the president. Story continues Along with these incidents, the protests reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked a nationwide conversation about racial issues. And while Trump has increasingly attempted to make criticizing violent protesters a focal point of his campaign, polls show most Americans give him poor marks for race relations and a majority support the Black Lives Matter protests. The books Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images This summer has already seen a pair of high-profile books that excoriated Trump. In June, the presidents former national security adviser, John Bolton, released a tell-all that accused the president of asking Chinese leader Xi Jinping for help with his reelection effort, among other things. Boltons book was a blockbuster, with about 780,000 copies sold in its first week on sale. Meanwhile, Mary Trump, the presidents niece and a clinical psychologist, has a tell-all of her own coming out on July 14 that describes the commander in chief as a textbook narcissist who had a friend take his SAT exam for him. Trump and his allies have disputed the claims made in both books, and the presidents lawyers tried and failed to block their publication. And theres a third tell-all on the way from Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former aide to first lady Melania Trump. The courts The U.S. Supreme Court building. (Craig Hudson/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Trump has suffered a series of defeats in the Supreme Court since June 15, when the court expanded protections for transgender people despite opposition from conservatives. Two weeks later, in a blow to the presidents evangelical supporters, the court struck down a law in Louisiana that would have left the state with just one abortion clinic. And on Thursday, the court ruled that the Manhattan district attorney had the right to obtain Trumps tax returns and business records, which the president has long fought to keep secret. To make matters worse for Trump, justices he appointed, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, broke with the president in some of the cases, with both siding with the courts liberal members on the tax ruling. The decision to allow Manhattans top prosecutor to obtain Trumps records leaves him vulnerable to investigation and, possibly, prosecution. The drama Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., right, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images) Fallout from the Tulsa rally ratcheted up internal tensions on Trumps campaign, and some of Trumps allies outside his team have gone rogue in recent weeks. Republican senators like Lindsey Graham have been increasingly critical of his performance. On Fox News, Tucker Carlson the host of the most popular show on cable has also criticized the president for his inability to stop recent protests. Meanwhile, the influential online news aggregator Matt Drudge, once a major Trump backer, also seems to have turned on him. In other words, Bolton isnt the only defector from the presidents camp. The Polls Joe Biden at a campaign event in Lancaster, Pa., in June. (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images) Trump is now trailing Biden by an average of roughly 9 points in national polls. Surveys of key states, including some that were reliably red, are also starting to break for Biden. Along with endangering the presidents hopes of a second term, the numbers are starting to indicate a potential Democratic Senate takeover. This isnt the first time hes had a turbulent stretch on the campaign trail. During the 2016 race, the infamous Access Hollywood tape prompted widespread speculation that Trump might actually end his campaign just weeks before Election Day. But he weathered the storm, defied the odds and won a surprise victory over Hillary Clinton. Trumps allies often describe him as a counterpuncher whos at his best when under attack. In a statement to Yahoo News, Trump campaign spokesperson Erin Perrine dismissed concerns that the presidents reelection was in jeopardy. We know from our data that President Trump runs consistently strong against a defined Joe Biden in all of the key states that will decide this election, she said. The President has an undeniable record of success for all Americans, including building the worlds strongest economy once and he will do it again. Joe Biden is a disaster of a candidate who would raise taxes and kill jobs, just like he has always done. Voters will have a clear choice in November and the winner is President Trump. On Thursday, the president took to Twitter and rattled off a litany of grievances. He framed the decision about his financial records as part of a years-long series of unjust attacks against him. Despite this, I have done more than any President in history in first 3 1/2 years! Trump wrote. While the president is projecting confidence following this political rough patch, his rival, Joe Biden, described Trump as having given up on fixing the economy in a speech on Thursday. Hes waved the white flag, Biden said. Photo Illustration: Yahoo News; Photos: Getty Images (7) _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Evening Standard Londoners working from home on a Monday are skipping exercise and feel more demotivated and stressed as a result, research has found. The introduction of Plan B restrictions last month saw most workers return to their homes, though Boris Johnson has been urged to scrap working from home guidance at the end of the month to boost Londons economic recovery. According to a study conducted by Fitness First, nearly half (45 per cent) of Londoners said that exercising on a Monday made them more productive. 11.07.2020 LISTEN Let me first begin by Congratulating the NDC for their perfect choice of running mate for the 2020 general election. This is a good sign that the party is listening not only to its followers but actually paying good attention to the relevant issues shaping Ghana's fledgling democracy. Today's article is not about the NDC. Its is also not about the NPP. It is actually about the needed third force this great country needs going forward. I can tell you without any form of equivocation, that the opportunity has presented itself for women in Ghana to seize the moment to rally behind Professor Naana Opoku Agyemang to vote massively for her in December 7th 2020 and to make the clarion call that Ghana, through your careful, premeditated and strategic conduct, have decided collectively as women to make 2024 a year to produce a female president for Ghana. It should be an exercise not in futility but one strategically engaged in by all of you to help your political course as women since the men will not make it easy for you. It is now up to women in Ghana to do this simple task. And oh! Yes she is, Professor Naana Opoku Agyemang - the 2020 game changer. Every woman in this country, irrespective of your political association, must seize this opportunity to rally massively behind her if indeed you want the men in this country to take you seriously. You must become the third political force needed for this country. If all of you do not come together under one voice to give your support to this competent lady to be vice president of this great country, the opportunity for a female to become president of Ghana will not only be near impossible but will also elude all of you for the next fifty years. Take it from me, the men will not make the opportunity for a woman to become vice or president for that matter, easy irrespective of women's call for equality. However, you can, through careful, strategic moves to rally massively behind and vote massively for Professor Naana Opoku Agyemang in the 2020 general election to create a new order in Ghana's political history in hopes of making the 2024 general election an all women presidential affair. I am wonderfully shaped and made because a woman raised me. To this end, I am of the considered opinion that the problems bedeviling this country are not too great, complex and or too confusing than the complexities associated with pregnancy, in order for the former to be considered incapable to be handled by a Ghanaian woman who by choice carried pregnancy for nine months, nurtured a child or children as the case may be and comfortably combined same with the exigencies of work and the complexities of life in today's Ghana. We have seen the work of men in Ghana, we know what we can do and we have shown to the world what we are capable of doing. The time is right to give the Ghanaian woman an opportunity to run the affairs of this great country. The time is now. Nobody will do it for you, you need to have it done all by yourselves. It is too possible and can indeed be done. The men will not help you if Indeed you cannot help yourselves. If women in this great country will treat this rare opportunity as one to engage in their usual childish partisan conduct by making extensive use of the phraseology *we are our own enemies*, then I can assure all of you that the very first and last time a woman would be selected even as vice in the history of Ghana will be 2020. Get tired as a woman to be seen and referred to as one not fit for any purpose but only for the purpose of child bearing. The time is right for this great country to first have a female vice president by virtue that the selection of a woman is based on the vice presidential ticket and subsequently a president of Ghana in order to make it clear to everyone in this country and beyond to know that when it comes to women affairs in Ghana, ghanaian women belong to the women political party and must be seen as the necessary third force in today's modern political dispensation. The 2020 general election is not too close to be called. It has been called by women. If they do not want to be taken and treated serious by their male counterparts, they should work hard to ensure that the 2020 vice presidential ticket eludes Professor Naana Opoku Agyemang . And when this happens, women in this great country, would have, by their conduct, admitted that they are indeed not fit for the purpose of occupying the presidency. And yes I am a man. And I am encouraging women to have a common voice and position on the subject. If you are a woman and cannot support your kind purely because you strongly believe you are each other's enemies, shame on you. Is this the first time a woman is selected on a political party ticket to run for presidential office? The answer is a simple no. However, this is the first time the largest opposition party has selected a woman hence its relevance. To the many who strongly are of the view that I am doing the bidding of a political party, think again. My interest has nothing to do with partisan politics. Rather, it has everything to do with supporting what is good for the country's development. The NPP equally have women capable of leading it to victory at any time T. They should give them the needed opportunity and support. Let's agree to hand over Ama Ghana to women to nurture. Let's give Ghana to women to develop. Let give her the chance to be literally raised by a woman, for in their arms will she see true development and growth. Delali kojo Tsikata [email protected] Facebook has been under fire for not addressing racism, disinformation and hate on its platform, and hundreds of businesses have been pulling advertising from the social media platform. The coalition group Stop Hate for Profit has tracked about 300 businesses that have paused ad spending in July in order to boycott Facebook. Businesses often use Facebook to advertise, which comes with the cost of indirectly running ads alongside hateful content. According to Stop Hate for Profits website, the goal is to force Facebook to stop allowing untruthful political ads and hate-filled groups. Stop Hate for Profit is also calling on Facebook to create a call center for victims of online hate, increase transparency around civil rights issues and halt the placement of ads next to content that violates terms of service. These are some of the major retailers that have pulled back advertising from Facebook: These are some of the major food companies that have pulled back advertising from Facebook: Stop Hate for Profit is tracking the full list of all the companies boycotting Facebook, and you can see each one here. RELATED STORIES ABOUT RETAIL: Bed Bath & Beyond to close about 200 stores over the next 2 years Coronavirus face masks for kids: Where to buy disposable or reusable styles online With online shopping sales rising, Amazon updates lists of most popular products Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Nicolette Accardi can be reached at naccardi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @N_Accardi. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips She has already established herself as a popular author, but now Katherine Schwarzenegger is branching out into her own virtual cooking class. The 30-year-old wife of Chris Pratt showed off her talents on Thursday in a virtual cooking segment featuring Rubbermaid Brilliance storage containers. She and her co-host Jocelyn Delk Adams showed off some of their meal prep favorites, including Katherine's delicious granola, a favorite among her siblings. Kitchen class: Katherine Schwarzenegger, 30, showed off her radiant smile while divulging her family-favorite granola recipe for a Rubbermaid cooking tutorial on Thursday In publicity photos for her course, Katherine beamed radiantly while wearing a simple white T-shirt over her growing baby bump. She kept the look minimal with black pants, and she wore her brunette locks in lovely waves cascading over her shoulders. For her segment with Jocelyn, the author of Grandbaby Cakes, Katherine changed into a dark blue patterned dress and showed off her darker locks. 'I've been super eager to get more experience in the kitchen since being in quarantine,' Katherine said at the start of her cooking class. Low key: In publicity photos for her course, Katherine beamed while wearing a simple white T-shirt over her growing baby bump Simple style: She kept the look minimal with black pants, and she wore her brunette locks in lovely waves cascading over her shoulders Blue mood: For her segment with Jocelyn, the author of Grandbaby Cakes, Katherine changed into a dark blue patterned dress and showed off her darker locks Katherine already had some granola ready, and she said she was 'comfortable and confident' about her recipe. The daughter of Maria Shriver also admitted that she 'love[s] to bake,' but didn't consider herself a strong cook, so she was looking forward to their tutorial. Jocelyn focused her segment on staple ingredients most families would have in their refrigerators and pantries. Katherine added that grocery stores might not have the ingredients people wanted due to supply disruptions from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Her co-host's recipes included a mouth-watering chicken piccata recipe that could be easily stored for later. Has it nailed: Katherine already had some granola ready, and she said she was 'comfortable and confident' about her recipe Yum! The sweet treat is a favorite among her siblings, who request it for family gatherings. Here, she added it to lemon curd and mixed in some plump blueberries In an interview ET from Thursday, Katherine admitted she'd been sticking with her comfort favorites while quarantining at home. 'I've been baking a lot, and I would say my husband's been cooking a lot. I've been baking this granola, which I get the most requests from my family to make,' she said. 'I would say a huge amount of our time is definitely spent in the kitchen.' The time has been a great learning experience for her, especially with kitchen matters. 'For me, learning a lot. For Chris, teaching me a lot,' she continued with a laugh. 'It's been really fun. It's like a silver lining to be able to get more experience in the kitchen, and also be able to spend time with your loved ones in this quarantine. So, it's been a fun part of it.' Keeping busy: 'I've been baking a lot [in quarantine], and I would say my husband's been cooking a lot. I've been baking this granola, which I get the most requests from my family to make,' she told ET on Thursday; shown July 7 Baby on board: Katherine's expecting her first child with her husband Chris Pratt, who already has a seven-year-old son, Jack, from his first to Anna Faris; pictured in April 2019 'It was my New Year's resolution to get more comfortable in the kitchen with cooking,' she said, adding that Chris normally handles the more intensive cooking. Though Katherine was on her own for her cooking tutorial, her husband has a habit of interrupting her baking videos, sending her into a fit of laughter. The loved-up couple have been together since June 2018, and they tied the knot in June last year with a ceremony in Montecito, California. The two announced they were expecting their first child together in April, though Chris also has a seven-year-old son, Jack, from his first marriage to Anna Faris. A woman who lost her brother in the Omagh bomb has challenged councillors who voted to oppose the extradition of a man found liable for the atrocity to talk about human rights while looking her in the eye. The vote by members of a Fermanagh and Omagh Council committee on the motion, involving Liam Campbell, has caused fury. Campbell was previously found liable, along with convicted Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, for the 1998 bombing. It followed a landmark civil trial by some of the families. Wednesday's motion proposed that the council "writes to the offices of An Taoiseach and the Department of Justice and Equality in support of Irish citizen, Liam Campbell, against his extradition to Lithuania, to protect the fundamental human and civil rights of an Irish citizen against human rights abuse". The proposal, brought before the council's Policy and Resources Committee by independent councillor Bernice Swift, came in at 23-14 in favour of opposing the extradition. It was opposed by unionists but passed with support from the SDLP, Sinn Fein and others. The SDLP has since apologised and said it will oppose the motion when it comes before the full council for debate later this month. Yesterday an independent councillor who opposed the extradition apologised for any hurt caused to the families. Dr Josephine Deehan said she too reserves the right to change her vote when it is discussed by the full council. Claire Monteith's brother Alan Radford (16) was among the 29 people - including a woman pregnant with twins - killed in the August 1998 bombing. She has challenged councillors to meet her. She described the proposal as "insensitive, cruel and intentionally hurtful". She said: "Victims are accustomed to their emotions being trampled on, but this was in a class of its own. "The intent was to get this hastily moved toward ratification, without any thought or concern for those affected by the actions of Liam Campbell." Ms Monteith questioned the rationale of the motion. She added: "The proposal was apparently grounded on human rights. What about victims' human rights? "They were wiped out. Others lives were destroyed, some physically, some mentally. All are wounded for life. "These festering wounds, compounded by injustice, are now worsened by this insensitive, cruel and intentionally hurtful move. "If they want to rely on human rights - stand up and fight for ours too." She added: "I challenge every councillor who voted for this to look me in the eye and tell me about human rights and that of every innocent murdered." Yesterday Michael Gallagher, who lost his son Aiden in the bomb, said he accepted the SDLP's apology after being contacted directly by the party's West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan. Mr Gallagher said Mr McCrossan "apologised profusely" during their conversation. SDLP councillor John Coye had earlier blamed his party's support for the motion on the fact that it was brought forward late and they did not know details about the individual. Dr Deehan, the independent councillor who voted in favour of the proposal to oppose the extradition of Campbell, joined the SDLP members in criticising how the proposal was presented to the meeting. "I regret that the families of the Omagh bombing feel hurt as that was never my intention. I voted on this purely on human rights grounds, but I reserve my right to change my vote when it before full council," she said. "But the whole situation was badly handled. Councillors were caught unawares by the way the proposal was tagged on to any other urgent business at the end of the meeting." Ms Deehan said she made her judgement purely on human rights grounds. "There is an issue, whether we know the individual or not. I would oppose the extradition of anyone if we cannot guarantee fairness," she said. Sinn Fein have not responded to repeated requests for comment. Campbell, from Dundalk, is wanted in Lithuania over allegations he was part of an operation to buy guns and ammunition for the Real IRA. Residents of Gautam Budh Nagar have welcomed the Uttar Pradesh governments move to fix a price cap on the Covid-19 treatment in private hospitals. The residents had been requesting for such a move for a while. According to the guidelines, districts in the state have been divided in three categories. With GB Nagar being in category A, NABH accredited hospitals in the district will have to provide an isolation bed for a day at 10,000 for moderate sickness, 15,000 for ICU and 18,000 for ICU with ventilator. The prices include the personal protective equipment (PPE) cost, the order said. Though residents feel that the prices are on the higher side, the capping will be helpful in the coming days. The residents had been pushing for such an action for a long time. More adjustments are needed, but it is the first step in the right direction. Apart from PPE kits, the government should also clarify whether medicines and other items are included in these prices, said Amit Gupta, president of apartment owners association, Prateek Wisteria Sector 77. The residents feel that the capping will put an end to exorbitant prices being charged by private hospitals. There have been incidents when patients received extraordinarily high bills for treatment. This is a good move. But sometimes hospitals keep on adding extra charges for tests, medicines, etc, and it should be clarified what the package includes. Also, it is important that these prices are strictly implemented. Otherwise, it wont be beneficial to the common man at all, said Col (retd) Shashi Vaid, chairman, Arun Vihar residents welfare association. Currently, the district has four private hospitals offering Covid-19 treatment -- Fortis, Kailash, Yatharth and Jaypee. A spokesperson for Yatharth hospital said that the prices fixed by the government include the cost of PPE, basic medicines and basic tests. The new prices will be implemented. We have a dedicated premises for Covid patients, and will continue providing good health care, said Dr. Kapil Tyagi, managing director, Yatharth. Jaypee hospital is also working to revise the price structure according to the new guidelines. We have prepared a new structure and will implement it. We currently have 63 Covid-dedicated beds and will keep a multi-bed structure for now, said a Jaypee hospital spokesperson. Fortis Hospital refused to comment on the issue, while spokesperson of Kailash Hospital did not respond to calls. Nepal Singh, additional chief medical officer of the district, said, Action can be taken against those hospitals which dont follow the set guidelines. "Kerala is a beautiful place to live in. This is my fifth trip here. I usually stay here for six months. It is such a magical place to be and I want to share that with people from the US," Pierce told ANI. Kochi (Kerala) [India]: Johnny Paul Pierce's five-month stay in Kerala has been a soul-soothing experience, for the 74-year-old US citizen. He now wants to spend the rest of his life here. He came to India on February 26 on a tourist visa and is staying at Kandanadu in Kochi. According to Pierce's Advocate, his tourist visa is valid up to January 26, 2025. But on this visa, he can only stay consecutively for 180 days. The guidelines of the Indian government permit continuous stay for only 180 days for foreigners on tourist visas. His 180 days were set to expire on August 24, which the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) extended to August 30. The US citizen has approached the Kerala High Court seeking to convert his tourist visa into a business visa. The petition will be considered next week. Pierce has sought a directive to the government to permit him to apply for the conversion of his tourist visa, into a business visa and also to extend his stay, without having to leave the country. "I am making a petition for an extra 180 days to stay. And I would also like to get a business visa in order to begin a tour company, to bring people from the US to Kerala after the coronavirus. I wish my family could also come here. I am very impressed with what's is happening here. People in the US don't care about COVID-19," he said. He talked about the risk of going back to his home country saying, "There are only 27 deaths in Kerala and in the US there are over 1.3 lakh deaths. I do not want to go back to the US. I am 74 years old and I am at risk. This is a very safe place for me. I hope India embraces and allows me to stay." "There's chaos in the US due to COVID-19 and government is not taking care like India. I want to stay here," he added. Pierce further talked about his future plans, saying that if he is allowed to stay, he would like to lease a small resort and make a retirement community, which will be a COVID free zone. Lastly, he made an appeal to the Indian government to let him stay in India saying that "all the immigration rules were made before COVID-19." "There should be special consideration for people like me," he added. Dov Charney Dov Charney Dov Charney, the disgraced founder of American Apparel, was ordered to cease production at this new company, Los Angeles Apparel. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said there were "flagrant" health violations at the company's factory. The department accused Los Angeles Apparel of replacing sick workers with new employees, in violation of its shutdown order. More than 300 employees have contracted COVID-19, the department said, which is twice what the company itself admitted. Four workers have died. Charney was forced out of American Apparel following allegations of racism and sexual harassment. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Dov Charney, the disgraced founder of American Apparel, was ousted over allegations of misconduct. Now he's accused of disregarding the health of workers at his new company, four of whom have died in the last several weeks. Citing "flagrant violations" of public health orders, Los Angeles County announced Friday that it was shutting down the garment factory run by Los Angeles Apparel, the company that Charney started after losing control of the one he founded. The factory, in downtown Los Angeles, was initially shut down on June 27 after three employees died of COVID-19. Another employee has since passed away, with more than 300 workers testing positive for the disease. "Business owners and operators have a corporate, moral, and social responsibility to their employees and their families to provide a safe work environment," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said in a July 10 statement. Marissa Nuncio, director of the Garment Worker Center, said it was "heartbreaking to hear of worker deaths at Los Angeles Apparel," saying she hopes it "raises awareness of the urgent need to protect workers." Los Angeles' garment industry is notorious for labor violations, as Nuncio told Business Insider back in March, when factories began shifting from clothing to the manufacture of personal protective equipment, such as masks. Workers largely undocumented women of color often report sub-legal wages, paid not by the hour but by the object they sew, in poorly ventilated sweatshops. Story continues Charney, who denies allegations of harassment but admits to sleeping with his subordinates, had also shifted his factory's production in the age of the coronavirus. "Ideally, I don't want one COVID case in here," he told the website Los Angeleno in an April piece about the company's pivot to making masks, which sell for $30 a three-pack. Charney also insisted that he and his employees would all be wearing masks. In a statement to Business Insider, Charney argued that the spread of the coronavirus in his factory was the product of its spread across Los Angeles, particularly among the Latinx population. The county, he maintained, "provides no support with testing and no support or assistance for those that test positive" (in fact, testing is available to all for free). He also claimed that his company "approached the Health Department about the high rates of infection amongst our employees." "We are determined to do anything in our power to provide continued support for our employees and are happy to make any investment necessary to keep our employees safe at work," Charney said. But the Department of Public Health says that hasn't been the case thus far, and that it only learned of the infections at Los Angeles Apparel after a "concerned healthcare provider" reached out. County health inspectors then discovered "multiple violations of distancing requirements and infection control protocols," including the use of "cardboard as a barrier between the workers." The company repeatedly failed to provide a list of its workers, the department said, and only after its factory was shut down on June 27 did it provide an incomplete list, a week later, of its staff, confirming 198 cases of COVID-19. However, comparing the company's list of employees to its own database of test results, the Department of Public Health said there are actually more than 300 cases. According to the county, Los Angeles Apparel then violated its shutdown order and reopened "with apparently new employees." It also attempted to block health inspectors from entering the factory, the county said, leading to the latest order that it remain closed until it can demonstrate "full compliance" with public health mandates. In 2017, a former American Apparel employee wrote in a piece for Vox that Charney told workers to expect an "unconventional" work culture, stating that it "was widely known that Charney had sexual relationships with plenty of women [who worked for him] at the company." In court papers, American Apparel accused Charney of retaliating against former employees and using ethnic slurs, which he denies. He responded, in kind, with a $30 million defamation suit, which he lost. Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com Read the original article on Business Insider The head of the House Rules Committee believes the appetite for cannabis reform remains strong and is closer than weve been to getting this done. The decisions being made by some states during this pandemic I hope will add urgency to reforms we clearly need to make on the federal level, especially surrounding policies toward medical cannabis, said Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, who will be a keynote speaker at Advance 360 and NJ Cannabis Insiders upcoming webinar Cannabis Reform 2020: Americas Growing Pains and Possibilities on Monday, July 13 from 1-2:30 p.m. EST. (10 a.m. PST) In his role as chairman, McGovern, a supporter of decriminalization and expanding access to medical cannabis, has ended the longstanding practice of blocking amendments examining our nations marijuana policies from being debated on the House Floor. McGovern who co-sponsored Congressman Ed Perlmutters cannabis banking reform said he was proud to see it pass the floor of the House earlier this year. It was a landmark moment, he said. I hope it spurs more leaders on the other side of the Capitol to also take action on this, which at the end of the day is also a matter of public safety. It may take another year and different leadership in the Senate, but we are closer than weve been to getting this done. Along with the congressman, several industry power players will take part in the 90-minute panel discussions, they are: Toi Hutchinson is the Illinois cannabis czar. In her role as the Illinois Regulation Oversight Officer, shes overseen the roll out of statewide legalization of adult-use cannabis, which has seen nearly $240 million in sales since the beginning of the year. David Clapper is the chief financial officer of Ethos Cannabis. Earlier this year, Ethos, which is one of the licensees in the Keystone State, announced a clinical research partnership with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Pennsylvania. Roz McCarthy is the founder and CEO of Minorities for Medical Marijuana. McCarthy, who was named on High Times 100 Most Influential People in the Cannabis Industry in 2018, is responsible for the day-to-day operations and is the chief strategist involved in developing advocacy, education, and marketing campaigns to promote awareness, information, and education about the efficacy of medical marijuana. Leo Bridgewater was an Army specialist who served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and the national outreach director for veteran affairs at Minorities for Medical Marijuana. Bridgewater, an advisory board member at the CWCBExpo, has many roles in the cannabis space but hes known primarily for his advocacy for veterans and cannabis reform including his work to pass legislation for additional recognition and coverage of medical treatment options. Karen OKeefe is the director of state policies for Marijuana Policy Project. OKeefe manages MPPs grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in many state legislatures. She has played a significant role in passing more than a dozen major cannabis policy reforms, including managing MPPs state legislative department during the legalization campaigns in Vermont and Illinois. Justin Zaremba, an NJ Cannabis Insider editor and a longtime news reporter for NJ.com, will moderate the discussion. Audience members will be able to post questions in advance (here) of the July 13 webinar, which starts 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST). After the live event, attendees will have an opportunity to continue the discussion and network in a closed forum, moderated by journalists covering marijuana and hemp industries. To reserve tickets, go to advance360.com/cannabis-insider-live. NJ Cannabis Insider, a local sponsor, is a weekly subscriber-based trade journal produced by NJ Advance Media, which has also produced several live events. As with its May event, featuring Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Cannabis Insider has has partnered with Advance Local sister media groups across the country, including Staten Island Advance, Advance Media New York, PennLive, LehighValleyLive, MassLive, MLive, Advance Ohio and Oregonian Media Group. For more information, you may reach us via email here. The court granted the prosecutor office's motion to arrest three suspect for 60 days without the right to bail. Poltava's Zhovtnevy district court has ruled to arrest three suspects in a bomb attack on an Ukrposhta cash-in-transit van in Poltava region. The court granted the prosecutor office's motion to arrest three suspect for 60 days without the right to bail, as reported by the Police Communication Department in Poltava region. Read alsoUkrposhta's cash-in-transit van robbery: Police detain four suspects (Photos) As UNIAN reported earlier, unidentified persons blew up a cash-in-transit van near the village of Tyshky in Poltava region on the morning of July 7, seized over UAH 2.7 million and a security guard's gun. An improvised explosive device had reportedly been planted on the vehicle and exploded above the driver's head. Two men in the car were injured; the driver is currently in the intensive care unit. The GAZelle van belongs to Ukrposhta, Ukraine's national postal operator. The Pension Fund of Ukraine told UNIAN that the van was to transport cash to pay pensions to residents of Poltava region's Chornukhy and Lokhvytsia districts. Norwegian Cruise Line has decided to give up on bringing its ships to Alaska even in late September and early October, putting an end to any chance of a large cruise ship season in the state. The other major cruises serving Alaska Holland America, Carnival, Princess, Disney and Royal Caribbean had already canceled all their summer 2020 sailings to Alaska. Norwegian had held off canceling the end of its season before becoming the last operator to admit defeat to the COVID-19 pandemic. Your safety is our #1 priority both on and off our ships, the cruise line said in its June 30 announcement, attributing the cancellations to the current global environment. Before the new coronavirus forced the shutdown of ports, drove people to shelter at home to avoid infections and decimated tourist travel worldwide, Alaska had anticipated about 1.4 million cruise ship visitors this summer. Though Haines had expected just eight visits by large cruise ships a drop from last year after Holland America took the community off its itineraries tour operators in town will feel the lost summer the same as Skagway, which had been scheduled to receive about 1 million cruise ship travelers. Haines has averaged about 120,000 visitors each summer the past few years, with about one-third coming here aboard the Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry, said Steven Auch, tourism director for the Haines Borough. Most of the Fast Ferry riders were passengers off the large cruise ships that fill Skagways harbor all summer. The largest can accommodate 5,000 passengers. The passengers would book Haines tours, such as rafting trips, and could board the private fast ferry in Skagway, come to Haines for their adventure, and make it back to Skagway in time for the cruise ships departure. There are quite a few companies in town that depend on tourists from Skagway, Auch said Tuesday. He said about 85% of passengers who came to Haines aboard the fast ferry, which is not running this year, had booked tours here as part of a package. Of the rest of the 120,000 past summer guests in Haines, about one-third arrived aboard cruise ships and one-third arrived by state ferry, drove the highway or flew into town, Auch said. Still unknown is whether any smaller ships will come to Southeast Alaska this summer. All have canceled except for UnCruise Adventures, Auch said. The company has not announced any change to its plans to start sailing Aug. 1. Haines is not on the itinerary for the companys small ships, which can accommodate fewer than 100 passengers. Haines was supposed to be a port call for American Cruise Lines, which had planned to run a 175-passenger ship in Southeast. But the company announced Tuesday that it was canceling all sailings this year, Auch said. Not that it mattered much, since the Haines Borough Assembly decided last month to ban even the smaller ships until further notice. Skagway and Wrangell have made similar decisions to protect their communities from the risk of infected travelers. One piece of good news, Auch said, is that Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line have teamed up to hire a panel of high-profile health advisers to help the companies figure out how to safely return to operations. And they plan to share with other cruise lines whatever they come up with. The two cruise companies are splitting the costs for the brain trust of health experts, as Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain described the team on a CNBC news program July 7. The panel began meeting in June and will present their recommendations by August. Were looking to establish protocols that protect the health of our guests and crew and do so without undermining what makes the cruising so special, Fain said on CNBC. It will be different. 11.07.2020 LISTEN Although there is now little attention on violence and its related matters, violence especially sexual abuse is still part of our world system. Instances such as men abusing their partners, others inflicting emotional and mental torture to those vulnerable especially in countries where patriarchy is dominant. In Ghana, for that matter, women and girls have suffered a lot of violence and injustice which mar their developmental aspirations. Cases of this nature cannot be addressed in the institutions that are responsible for protecting the right and privileges of these vulnerable people because these institutions are weak, porous, lack the necessary resources to roll out their duties, and not independent as written on paper. Majority of women and girls living in countries have directly and indirectly experienced violence and injustice and the commonest one is sexual violence/abuse. Sexual violence /Abuse victims endure physical, mental and emotional trauma. This act takes a longer time for the victims to adapt and adjust to a new way of living. Processes in addressing this issue can be overwhelming due to the fact that the healing process takes times and normally this abuse vary from person to person due to their responses to variables such as stress, age, social relationship and the intensity of the abuse. Sexual violence/abuse in the case of rape which has been up and rising in recent times has serious health implications such as increasing cost of health care for the abusers, weak systems, inability to work hence slowing productivity, developing mental health problems, death and having prolonged issues with men due to the picture of the act in mind. In recent times myriads of rape cases have been pictured in West Africa and particularly in Ghana of the telling effects on the victims are not something to write home about. Not ago, a rapist of young age died, some got bleeding during and after the scenes and others have been hospitalised due to disgusting nature of the act. Again, from the sociological perspective, victims of sexual abuse are more likely to experience trouble raising their children thus they become aggressive, hostile, development of hatred towards the opposite gender and being insensitive to care and love. This affects the primary socialisation; family, which is the first agent of socialisation. This in turn, affects the other institutions as the individual grows up, in some cases. And to extreme cases, society's disequilibrium as the functionalists talk about. In another dimension, sexual violence /abuse has psychological consequences on the victims; i.e they are more exposed to effectuating depression, anxiety, resorting to substance abuse and to some extent, committing suicide! In the foregoing dynamics, sexual violence is said to have eroded the social fabric of society by dismantling family ties and causing ripple effects on many within the family. Again the victims of the abuse must do well to open up to their family members especially their significant others and the family members should not sweep the abuse of the victim under carpet in the sense that is intimate was between a prominent person (haves) and the victim. Considering such implications, the best way to mitigate sexual violence is through education in the form of awareness creation to all (men and wen), strengthen and regulating our social institutions, outlining a more stricter law enforcement policies to deal with people who fall foul to these cases, condemning people speaking for such act to happen in the society and lastly, exhibiting good leadership in addressing issues of violence that comes to the front desk of the institutions responsible. Sexual violence (rape), not only physical abuse, but all the abuses must be addressed properly in order to make it a thing of the past because it affects almost everyone - directly or indirectly. We cannot blame who does the act or enjoys it but we can blame the structural setting if and only if our sexual orientations and orientations of gender is look at. #stop the rape #stop sexual abuse The active cases of coronavirus reported on Saturday in the national capital were the lowest in the last 31 days, Delhi's health department data shows, while not a single coronavirus patient under home isolation in the city has died in July and there has been a "sharp decline" in daily fatality figures in the past two weeks, a government study on COVID-19 deaths has said. According to the state health department's bulletin, 1,781 fresh cases of the viral disease were reported, taking the total coronavirus count in the city to 1,10,921. Since June 27, the fresh cases' figures have remained in the range of 1,000-2,000. The bulletin said there were 19,895 active cases -- the lowest since June 11. According to the data, on June 10 there were 19,581 active cases in the city. Since then Delhi has seen a sharp rise in daily cases, pushing the active cases to nearly 28,000 (June 27 reported 28,329 total active cases). It is for the first time since June 11 that the total number of active cases has gone below 20,000. Thirty-four fresh fatalities were reported, taking the death toll in the capital to 3,344, as per Saturday's bulletin. The current recovery rate of coronavirus cases is a little over 79 per cent, according to the data. "During the June 24 to July 8 fortnight, a total of 691 deaths took place in Delhi, which is an average of 46 deaths per day during this period," the government said in a statement. According to the study, the number of daily deaths in the past few days has come down. From a high of 101 daily deaths in mid-June, daily deaths due to COVID-19 have come down to around 46 during the last fortnight, registering a significant decline, it said. Delhi's overall death rate has come down to 3.02 per cent from 3.64 per cent in June. However, daily average has come down to roughly 2.5 per cent with average daily number of deaths being less than 50, the study said. "Out of the total 691 deaths that took place in the last fortnight, only seven deaths happened in home isolation (between 24 June to 30 June). Not a single coronavirus patient has died under home isolation in July," the statement said. This can be attributed to the chief minister's decision to distribute oximeters to all patients under home isolation, it said, adding that the use of these oximeters alerts the patients of any dropping oxygen levels which is an early sign of deteriorating health. The chief minister held a review meeting on Friday to discuss measures which need to be taken to further reduce mortality. In view of the deaths at the hospitals (and not in home isolation), it was felt that systems in each hospital need to be examined in detail, the statement said. The chief minister has asked for the ratio of deaths to total number of patients discharged from each hospital. Hospitals with low ratio would mean better management, it said. Good practices in the hospitals would be studied and implemented at those facilities where more deaths are taking place. The chief minister will continue to monitor all serious cases on a daily basis, it added. Of the 691 deaths in the last fortnight, 505 patients were in serious condition when admitted to the hospitals and 291 were already in hospital when they tested positive for COVID-19. The study also found delay in hospital admission in case of 28 patients. According to a central government committee, 45 per cent of COVID-19 deaths in India occur during the first 48 hours. In Delhi, this has come down to 15 per cent, the statement said. A number of steps have been taken by the Delhi government to lower COVID-19 deaths which have contributed to the reduction in number of fatalities, it said. The interventions at six crucial points - enhanced testing, home isolation of asymptomatic and mild symptom patients, faster ambulance service, quick hospital admission, easy hospital bed availability and enhanced ICU capacity - have started showing results, it added. In a related development, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the Delhi government has decided to cancel all forthcoming semester and final exams of universities under it due to the COVID-19 situation. Sisodia said these state universities have been asked to promote their students and award them degrees by adopting a "progressive method of evaluation". The state universities under Delhi government include National Law University, Delhi Technological University, Ambedkar University, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Netaji Subhas University of Technology and Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women. The deputy chief minister who is also Delhi's education minister said studies in the universities were disrupted due to the pandemic and it was not possible to conduct examinations. Separately, Kejriwal requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his intervention in cancelling final year exams of Delhi University and other central universities in view of the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to Modi, Kejriwal said "unprecedented decisions" need to be taken during the prevalence of a pandemic such as COVID-19. Delhi has central universities like the Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University. The phased release of lockdown reached farcical levels last night after it emerged that men can have their eyebrows styled but women cant. Although barbers are offering to trim beards and eyebrows, there is still a ban on beauty salons offering facial treatments when they reopen tomorrow. Critics have seized on the horrendous double standards and say it highlights that the Cabinet is overwhelmingly made up of men. Beauty experts say that while the loophole remains, brow bars and salons offering mainly facials will be forced to stay shut, putting livelihoods at risk. Critics have seized on the horrendous double standards and say it highlights that the Cabinet is overwhelmingly made up of men Tory MP Caroline Nokes, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, said she plans to challenge Ministers over the galling decision. Its definitely not a level playing field for female beauty versus male grooming, she added. Weve seen barbers trimming brows and trimming beards. Even if it looks like I could get my eyebrows done at a barbers this weekend, Ill wait until its deemed OK to go to a salon. A critic of the policy, Chloe Stanhope, told of the difference between how she and her boyfriend were being treated. He went to get a haircut and they trimmed his beard and did his eyebrows using an electric shaver, she said. Neither had a mask on. Im really frustrated this is able to happen and that women arent able to go to a hygienic salon where the beauticians are wearing full PPE. This shows nothing but sexism. One industry source said it was possible to pluck or thread eyebrows from above a customer who is lying backwards, similar to the way a hairdresser would wash a clients hair. Pictured: Stock photo of a beautician applying permanent makeup to a woman's eyebrows. One industry source said it was possible to pluck or thread eyebrows from above a customer who is lying backwards, similar to the way a hairdresser would wash a clients hair Pictured: Stock photo of a barber threading a man's eyebrows. They added it was safer than a beard trim because both participants could wear masks They added it was safer than a beard trim because both participants could wear masks. Experts say the restrictions on offering work to the face could devastate the beauty sector, which employs largely women and is worth 30 billion a year to the economy. Lesley Blair, Chair at the British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology, said: Theres no doubt that it will have a devastating effect. We cant underestimate what this will do to brow bars and facialists. The row comes as nail bars, tanning salons and tattoo parlours were yesterday making final preparations to reopen after 112 days. Tattooist Scott Mclaren, who has inked the likes of David Beckham and Ed Sheeran, said: Im so excited. Ive been in the studio since 5am on Friday to get it ready in time. Pint with a mask on...how does that work? By Michael Powell Boris Johnson was facing a backlash last night for mixed messages over whether the Government will force people to wear a mask when they are out shopping or in pubs. The Prime Minister warned on Friday that a stricter approach was needed in England to cut infection rates after he wore a mask for the first time on a tour of businesses in his Uxbridge constituency. However, his comments came 24 hours after the Government published official advice to pubs, restaurants and takeaways, which said that the evidence of the benefit of using a face covering to protect others is weak and the effect is likely to be small. Pictured: Boris Johnson visiting his constituency in Uxbridge as he wears a mask while pulling a pint Last night, Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, called for clarity and detailed evidence to explain why consumers need to wear masks, adding: There needs to remain a degree of individual choice, especially when you are in a restaurant or a pub and you are actually eating and drinking so it becomes much more challenging to wear a mask. Although masks have become the norm in many countries, particularly in South-East Asia, the UK Government has claimed for months that there is not enough evidence that wearing one halts the spread of Covid-19. However, last month rules requiring people to wear masks on public transport in England came into effect after studies in Hong Kong and Germany suggested they may, in fact, reduce infection rates. Pictured: A staff member pulling a pint at the a bar bistro in Old Portsmouth on Super Saturday But Tory MP Philip Davies questioned the volte-face, saying: For months all the scientific experts said wearing masks was neither here nor there in terms of transmission of the virus and now it is the best thing since sliced bread? It seems to me that as the number of cases goes down, the Government is getting stricter and stricter it doesnt make any sense. How are you going to drink your pint through a face mask? How is that going to work? Professor Robert Dingwall, a sociologist who advises the Governments Sage committee, has suggested masks are a stunt, adding: Masks are something the Government can do which is cheap, which is symbolic but which is probably not particularly effective. A Government spokesman said the issue remained under review. Many critics accused The Mother and the Whore of being 'immoral' and 'obscene' at 1973 Cannes Film Festival. Today, of course, the film's 'transgressions' are hardly provocative. When the French filmmaker Olivier Assayas made a Top 10 list for the Criterion site, he included Federico Fellinis La dolce vita. He said it summed up an era, a culture, a city. He said the film was of historical importance. Maybe it is the great Italian film of that period, in the same way that The Mother and the Whore, by Jean Eustache, is the ultimate nouvelle vague film made 10 years later, by someone who had been a marginal figure of the movement, and embodying a city, a time, a culture now all gone. Marginal may be right. The adjective pops up again in The Rough Guide to Film, which covers top studio moguls and filmmakers by era, genre and region. It labels Eustache the least-known of the great New Wave filmmakers, outside France. Heck, even a self-confessed fan like Michel Gondry, director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, didnt know all that much about him. Gondry said he thought of Eustaches My Little Loves when he made Microbe and Gasoline (2015), and added, [he] was one of the greatest filmmakers in France, but he made maybe three or four movies. Actually, Eustache made only two narrative features: the two films mentioned thus far. The Mother and the Whore, from 1973, is a three-hour-forty-minute meditation in black and white on men and women and relationships and the Zeitgeist of French youth post the civil unrest of May 1968. The protagonist is an unemployed youngster named Alexandre (played by Jean-Pierre Leaud, the poster-boy of the New Wave). The three women he is involved with to various degrees are all working women. Marie (Bernadette Lafont), Alexandres live-in girlfriend, runs a boutique. Alexandres ex, Gilberte, is a college lecturer. And the unabashedly promiscuous Veronika (Francoise Lebrun), whom Alexandre starts dating while hes still with Marie, is a nurse. The film (said to be largely autobiographical) is essentially a series of interactions between these characters, and its an intriguing mix of the real and the unreal: it juxtaposes a documentary style of shooting (static camera, long takes) with florid dialogue that often feels like monologues from long-ago theatre. The French critic Serge Daney (whose translated writings are available on the wonderful blog, Serge Daney in English) called the film an act of ethnology. Without [Eustache and this film], we would have no face to set to the memory of the lost children of May 68: lost, already ageing, talkative and old-fashioned Without [Eustache], nothing would have remained of them. And what is this face? Take the scene where Alexandre visits his friend. After a sip of a drink, he says: I picked up a girl after I left you She looked at me, or I wouldnt have noticed her. Im only interested if shes already interested, even if its only shown in a glance. The same way I cant love a woman who doesnt love me. She smoked Gauloises. She wore a Moroccan robe, and no bra. She got up, I followed her. I was in a hurry, so I just asked for the number. She gave it to me It's her work number, theres an extension. She said to call between 8:00 and 3:00. I wonder what she does. Id like to find out before I call. Alexandre delivers these lines non-stop, without a single interjection by the friend (as youd expect in a normal conversation). Like a New Wave filmmaker, he keeps dropping directors names: Bresson, Nicholas Ray, Murnau. When Marie asks if there are any films worth going to, he reads out a newspaper synopsis of The Working Class Goes To Heaven, a 1971 drama by Elio Petri: a political film, which denounces the workers oppressed condition whilst defining a new concept in human relations. Much later, he muses about the end of cinema. Soon, all this would be over, housing projects, cars, theatres Maybe someone very old, really old, will still remember and tell the youths about movies, pictures that moved, and talked. And the young wont understand. In short, unlike some other films of the New Wave, The Mother and the Whore probably works better if you are aware of the context. Its still possible to see it as a series of conversations about this and that, but the through-line comes from the era the film depicts. The women are especially fascinating. Marie, who appears to have embraced the sexual revolution, doesnt seem to mind that her boyfriend is seeing Veronika, whose sexual attitudes seem even more liberated, even though she doesnt appear to have heard of Womens Lib when Alexandre brings the topic up on their first date, before even asking what her name is. (When he explains what it is, she doesnt seem impressed. I like bringing a man I love breakfast in bed, she says.) On their second date, she talks about her affairs. If I meet a guy, I go with him, theres no problem. I can f*ck with anyone Once, in the operating room, an intern said to me: Veronika, There is a patient that needs to be undressed. So I take my kit and off I go. I was in the elevator, not paying attention, and I realise were not going there at all. It was his ploy to f*ck me. So I took out my Tampax, f*cked him and went on back to work. And yet, she reveals a deeply conservative side in an affecting monologue that gives the film its title. She weeps, Ive been f*cked like a whore. But, you know, I think some day a man will come along and will love me, and will make me a baby, out of love A couple that doesnt want a baby is not a couple. Its a shit, its anything, dust The Cinema of France, edited by Phil Powrie, says that The Mother and the Whore created scandal and outrage at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, with many critics accusing it of being immoral, obscene and, as the conservative broadsheet Le Figaro put it, an insult to the nation. Today, of course, the films transgressions are hardly provocative, and what we are left with is a wonderful time capsule. A tragic one, too. The woman on whom Veronika was based killed herself after the premiere, and Eustache was apparently never the same again. About a decade later, he killed himself, too, leaving behind two lovely quotes about the art he chose for himself. You have to record things; whether theyre pretty or not, theyre important. When the cameras on, cinema is happening Baradwaj Rangan is Editor, Film Companion (South). Lawyers for the state's public sector unions will attempt to force the Berejiklian government to release Treasury advice that showed halting pay rises for public servants would worsen the state's economic recession. It comes as the government is locked in a wages dispute with unions in the Industrial Relations Commission, where it is prosecuting the case for public sector wages to be frozen for 12 months as part of its economic response to the coronavirus pandemic. Nurses and midwives hold a protest against the Berejiklian government's wage freeze proposal outside NSW Parliament House last month. Credit:Rhett Wyman Acting Treasurer Damien Tudehope downplayed the significance of the Treasury advice, describing it as "not the government's policy" as it did not incorporate the proposal to reinvest the savings from the wage freeze in infrastructure projects. The existence of the advice was revealed in an April 16 email authored by NSW Treasury executive Sam Walker, which contained a "discussion pack" of policy options on the government's wages policy. On Thursday of this past week, parishioners returned to public Mass in St John's. This was the first time they had done so since St Patrick's Day on March 17. There was clear delight as they people returned to a practice which had been part of their daily lives for many years in some cases. Others, however, stayed away, unsure about venturing out when it is clear that the coronavirus is still around. The St John's Parish team had given a lot of thought as to how to make the church as safe as possible. In line with the directions coming from the Northern Ireland Executive, the local diocese (in this case, Down and Connor) had issued a checklist, as well as a risk assessment to ensure parishes had all the necessary measures in place for a safe return to daily worship. In St John's, we have decided to return slowly to the routine of daily and Sunday Masses. During the months of the pandemic, I made the point again and again that, while the church building was closed, the Church was very much open. In many ways, as a parish, we developed an outreach we didn't have beforehand. At the end of his earthly mission, Jesus, in returning to the Father, gave what is called the "Great Commission" - the command to go out and preach the Gospel. He sent His disciples on a mission which still continues and is taken up by the modern-day followers of Jesus. One of my concerns about returning back to the routine we had before - granted it will be different because of the hand-sanitising on the way in and out of church, as well as social distancing - was the possibility that we would lose some of the learning and the valuable experiences of the last few months. In thinking about the experience of online ministry, I believe that churches and dioceses need to invest in this area and I note that the Church of England clearly has done so. Within its communications department, they have a section dedicated to digital media, where they employ a variety of people, including the head of digital, senior digital communications officer, web and insights manager, content producer, church digital social media officer and web and analytics officer - to mention only some of the posts. Going back to the "Great Commission" given by Jesus, the message has not changed; the way it is communicated certainly has. During these months of the ongoing restrictions in pandemic times, churches have had to develop new ways to communicate with their members. During the week, within the Common Lectionary there was a reading from Matthew's gospel, in which Jesus encouraged His disciples/apostles to go out to the "lost sheep of the House of Israel". One of the interesting things about these months of lockdown has been the number of people, particularly in the early days, who had turned to various faith experiences, such as night-time prayer services, as well as Sunday and daily online worship. I was very struck by a comment recently from one man who, in talking about his daughters during the early days of lockdown, said that they were watching Clonard (a large church in west Belfast) more than they were watching EastEnders. I am aware from various conversations, including with my co-writer of this column, Rev Steve Stockman, that some churches will not be returning back to their physical buildings until at least September. I would hope that congregations, when they do return to church buildings for worship, don't stop all the online ministry they have developed over the past few months. Apt Bible readings Fr Martin Magill is parish priest of St John's, Belfast Some Scripture readings for the week ahead: Monday: Matthew 28:19-20 Tuesday: Matthew 10:5-6 Wednesday: Romans 10:14 Thursday: Matthew 11:28-30 Friday: Isaiah 38:16 The Egyptian military continued on Saturday its Hasm 2020 drills, which involve exercises performed by naval, air and special forces in the western military region, the Armed Forces said in a statement. Saturdays drills were attended by Army Chief of Staff Lt. General Mohamed Farid. The beginning stage of the drills saw training to target enemy command posts with several intensive airstrikes in parallel with paratrooper drops to secure beachheads. Naval units conducted several amphibious operations against non-typical surface targets, including the firing of shots by naval artillery of various calibres and the use of depth charges against enemy submarines. Special naval forces trained to attack coastal targets by using speedboats dispatched from a Mistral helicopter carrier. Frigates launched several surface missiles in parallel with special forces units landing on the coast under aerial protection. The drills, which started on Tuesday, come amid the ongoing and rapid developments in the region, the military statement said. Search Keywords: Short link: While visiting the National Locust Control Center in Islamabad to review the locust situation, Khan said locust attack in parts of the country combined with COVID-19 has become a huge challenge for Pakistan, according to a statement released by the office on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported. Islamabad, July 11 (IANS) Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan urged a coordinated national response of federal and provincial governments and organizations to cope with locust attack to ensure food safety, the Prime Minister Office said. The prime minister was briefed about the efforts being made for monitoring, survey and control, inter-organisational coordination, resource allocation and mobilization and awareness campaign for locust control in the country. Khan said his government will undertake every possible effort for locust control since it involves food security of the country, according to the statement. Due to the trans-boundary nature of locust swarm movement, Pakistan has maintained close liaison with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and affected countries in the region to take timely pre-emptive measures, the statement said. At a briefing to the diplomatic community in Islamabad, Pakistan had called for regional and international cooperation to combat desert locusts in Pakistan and beyond, the country's foreign ministry said late Thursday. The Pakistani government earlier this year declared national emergency over locust swarms after the pest destroyed large quantities of crops across the country. --IANS rt/ New York, 11 July 2020 (SPS) - The Polisario Front on Tuesday called in New York to extend the MINURSO mandate to the Human Rights Monitoring, adding that the UN mission should be no exception in this regard. "Although the Security Council has included a human rights component in UN peace missions mandates since 1991, the United Nations Mission for the referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) remains an exception in this regard," regretted the Polisario in a press release issued in New York during a Security Council debate on peace operations and human rights. The Polisario Front stressed that after 29 years of deployment, the mission created in 1991 to ensure the organization of a referendum in Western Sahara, failed not only its initial mandate but also the protection of the human rights of the Sahrawi civilians in the occupied territories. Moreover, Morocco continues to commit massive violations against the Sahrawis. This repression has been documented by NGOs such as the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. All the occupied territories are under siege and subject to media blackout. Western Sahara remains so far a prohibited exclusion zone to international media and human rights monitors," he said. The Polisario noted that it had repeatedly asked the Security Council to extend the mandate of MINURSO to human rights monitoring in accordance with the fundamental principles of United Nations peacekeeping operations. This demand was also raised to the UN Security Council by numerous African and international organizations for human rights defense that have urged the United Nations main body to act in this regard. Without naming it, the Polisario Front accused France of having prevented the Security Council from making recommendations on human rights monitoring in Western Sahara, mainly to ensure that Morocco's appalling human rights record is not examined. He recalled that the UN chief had repeatedly insisted on "impartial, comprehensive and sustained" monitoring of the human rights situation, necessary for the protection of the Sahrawi people. "It is unacceptable that MINURSO remains an exception at a time when the promotion and protection of human rights becomes a priority in all United Nations peace operations," reiterated the Polisario in the same press release. (SPS) 062/SPS/APS An Aurangabad division bench of the Bombay high court (HC) has directed the Aurangabad District Central Co-operative Bank to disburse loans to farmers with immediate effect. Earlier, the bank authorities had refused to disburse fresh loans, as they were seeking to recover interests accrued on loans, which were waived off by the Maharashtra government under the Mahatma Phule Karj Mukti Yojana. The move has come as a major relief for thousands of farmers in Maharashtra, who were fearing of being deprived of the fresh loan benefits amid the Kharif season that started from June. The bank had disbursed the loans between January 1 and October 1, 2019. The two-member HC division bench, comprising Justices SV Gangapurwala and RG Avachat, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Kishore Tangade, a farmer, through senior advocate SB Talekar, was informed that the Kharif season has started amid the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak that has battered the economy, including the agriculture sector. Talekar submitted before the court that many farmers were eligible for a loan, but only 49.62% got the money after they paid interests on their outstanding dues. The bench was informed that the bank was insistent on recovering interests on loans after October 1, 2019, and only those, who have settled their outstanding dues by selling their gold ornaments are eligible for a fresh loan. Talekar submitted that though the state government under Section 79A of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, had directed the bank to disburse loans to eligible farmers on January 17, the lending institution did not comply with the order. The banks move has denied many farmers sowing activities for the Kharif season and they are staring at massive financial losses amid the viral outbreak. Government pleader DR Kale reiterated the petitioners submissions and reminded the court that the bank is bound to comply with the state governments January 17 order. However, RS Deshmukh, who represented the bank, stated that compliance of the government order would lead to acute financial losses. The court observed that the bank must comply with the state governments order and sought a compliance report. The court will hear the PIL next on July 20. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker collects a swab sample from a civil servant to be tested for the coronavirus in Jakarta JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia on Friday reported 1,611 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total count to 72,347, its health ministry said. Deaths related to COVID-19 rose by 52 on Friday, taking fatalities to 3,469, ministry official Achmad Yurianto told a televised news briefing. There are 33,529 people who have recovered. (Reporting by Nilufar Rizki, Stanley Widianto; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Martin Petty) Political leaders on the island of Ireland must devise a plan around the easing of travel restrictions amid fears that it will trigger a resurgence of virus cases, a public health expert has warned. Concerns have been raised about different restrictions around travel either side of the border. The UK has announced a list of more than 50 countries where people can travel to, and from, without needing to promise to quarantine. While Northern Ireland is following the UK, the Republic is maintaining its quarantine policy but allowing almost unrestricted inbound travel, including from the United States, where cases in some of the states are soaring. There have been multiple reports of US holiday makers visiting the Republic in recent weeks. Meanwhile, countries in the EU Schengen pact have released their own lists where people can travel to and from, but still barring many others, including the US. Dr Gabriel Scally, a professor of epidemiology and member of the independent SAGE panel, said he was not in support of either the policy in Northern Ireland or the Republic. "I am concerned about the relaxation of controls, in particular the approach to holidays and airlines, and the absence of quarantine rules," Dr Scally said. "All the cases at the start came by airline and there is no reason that will not manage to happen again. It is complete nonsense to be dropping our guard." In the Republic, the rules are not tight enough, largely because it is about self policing, and there is no quarantine required if travelling into Dublin and then north, Dr Scally said. The epidemiologist is advising that First Minister Arlene Foster, Taoiseach Micheal Martin, and Health Ministers Robin Swann and Stephen Donnelly, sit down and "have a very robust conversation." Mr Martin has expressed his own concerns about travellers coming into the Republic from Great Britain now that the quarantine rules have been lifted. The Republic is maintaining its quarantine policy until at least June 20, and then may announce a list. Mr Martin told the BBC that travel off the island of Ireland at this time was "problematic". Heres what it takes to topple a school board engorged on its own racist practices and behaviour and either incapable or unwilling to reform itself: persistent advocacy, a rallying cry or catalyst, dogged determination and confrontation, and political help to get over the top. In Peel, they had all the elements. And still it took so long. Three years later, the director of education has been removed, the board is in the hands of a supervisor selected by the provincial government, and change is possible. As well, there will be many more days and nights of protests before all Peel students get equity in education. A quick reminder of the indictment against the Peel District School Board, the second largest in the province, revealed in a provincial review: Black students are called the N-word; Muslim students are characterized as mad bombers; school officials watch as police handcuff and traumatize elementary school students; principals cavalierly removed Black students from classes, leaving them, as one vice-principal explained, to spend days staring at a white wall not learning and parents never know about the de facto form of suspension? And repeatedly, Black students are suspended from school, as early as junior kindergarten. And Black students are disproportionately placed in the non-university streams. Peel parents, led by those in the Black community, were magnificent in their protest and advocacy and pressure, and were the key to getting the province to act, say those involved in the three-year battle. Heres what they did: Every two weeks for 10 months, many Black parents attended and participated in four-hour PDSB meetings, in person and virtually during COVID. Made daily phone calls with other parents and offered them real-time solutions to issues they were facing at their childrens schools. Engaged a core group of parents, usually early mornings and late nights, to plan strategy. Held quarterly meetings with board administrators and parents and community organizations at the We Rise Together Community Advisory Council Participated in regular monthly meetings with teachers, staff and community members. Populated monthly school council meetings to ensure that commitments voted at the board were being implemented at the school level. Worked closely with the Ministry of Educations review, to ensure that the review was respectful, reflective, and what the community wanted to see. So, while the in-your-face grassroots confrontation and verbal jousting was playing out in street protest or deputations before the board or at public meetings often organized by parent leader Idris Orughu, who was even banned by the trustees from attending board meetings a strategic team never lost sight of the deliverables. Dogged determination is a prerequisite. But every movement needs a catalyst. For Peel parents it came last September after Trustee Will Davies referred to McCrimmon Middle School, a school with a highly racialized population, as McCriminal. Calling him out was Kathy McDonald, a second-term trustee who is a champion for the Black community and a much-needed addition to the board. She insisted on an apology. Davies stiffened his back, then grudgingly apologized. But the boards integrity commissioner failed to condemn his action, rekindling the parents outrage, and they had a rallying point. The protests intensified. Trustee Davies became the poster child for all of the ills that plague the PDSB a total indifference to hurting and harming Black children through explicit racism. You had McDonald in the tent with the trustees, Orughu leading the charge at the barricades and policy wonk Danielle Dowdy plotting the behind-the-scene strategy that would allow the government to act politically. Still, it took an unprecedented alliance of issues and conflicts to deliver the prospect of a new PDSB: years of pent-up anger, the McCriminal comment, the provincial government review, COVID having everyone stay home, and the racial upheaval caused by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Education Minister Stephen Lecce did behead the structural monsters hindering progress in Peel. His action represents a measure of accountability, but it still rankles that the school trustees elected to provide oversight failed to do so and still hold their jobs, insulated from any desire to remove them, until election time two years hence. Yes, there is the ballot, of course. But school trustees are the least scrutinized politicians. Frequently, voters on municipal election day dont know who they are, their voting record, and what they stand for. In Peel, we know the dead-beat trustees. In preparation for the next election, voters there should adopt the same dogged determination of the Black parents and replace the trustees who have presided over this travesty. It will take no less of an effort. Correction - July 13, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly referred to the citys integrity commissioner failing to condemn the actions of Peel District School Board Trustee Will Davies. In fact, it was the school boards integrity commissioner who did not condemn the actions of the trustee. An image from "Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado" on Netflix. (Netflix) Love is the reason for everything. That was the tenet that steered Puerto Rican astrologer and Latinx icon Walter Mercado for over 40 years as he was beamed into households eager for horoscopes, and even more for hope. He preached positivity with unwavering conviction while cloaked in outlandish capes and dazzling jewelry, a vision of opulence at once otherworldly, genderless, yet perpetually familiar. Magnetic to a fault, he commanded attention. A fixture in the lives of 120 million Latinos in the U.S. and Latin Americans across the continent, Mercado, whose mortal body departed this metaphysical plane in November 2019, had been absent from the small screen for more than a decade, but never from the memories of those for whom his image symbolizes a comforting childhood souvenir. Two years prior to his passing, a trio of Latinx storytellers co-directors Cristina Costantini and Kareem Tabsch, and producer Alex Fumero embarked on an astral voyage to make a movie about Mercados life, legacy and his sudden banishment from the airwaves. With nearly empty pockets (at first) as they went into production, but with the stars aligned in their favor, they achieved alchemy in the documentary Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado a loving title taken from the astrologer's catchphrase sign-off after every appearance. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and debuted Wednesday on Netflix. We were amazed that a documentary had not been made about Walter. We all understood just how much he means to all of our friends who are Latinos, says Costantini, who is Argentine American. She grew up in Milwaukee without many Latinos around other than those on the Spanish-language network Univision, where Mercados segment was featured on the on the newscast "Primer Impacto" for many years. Like many Latinx millennials and xennials, Costantini associates Mercados presence with her grandmother. She remembers laying on her lap quietly as she waited for the astrologer to call out her sign. Story continues I can't separate the nostalgia that I have for my childhood and Walters persona," she says. "Theyre synonymous for me, like how other Americans see Mr. Rogers, maybe even Oprah or Big Bird. For me its always been Walter. Flamboyant and unafraid to overtly tap into his femininity, Mercado transcended binary notions of sexual identity without ever formally coming out or explicitly discussing his orientation. Latina matriarchs rationalized his demeanor and attire based on the mystical context in which he performed. Seen as a regal, near holy figure, anything was permissible. He understood his audience, what he could or could not say, and prospered to legendary status within a traditional community where homophobia still runs rampant. Costantinis own grandmother only recently came to terms with the possibility that Mercado might have not been heterosexual a major step for those raised in a generation for which any concepts outside the norm were taboo. He made a conscious decision to create a larger-than-life character in a literal way that shielded him from the types of scrutiny that other people who are different in that way face. If you are a wizard you can be anything," Fumero explains. "Your magic gives you a veil. The Walter test Mercado tapped into Latinos unique relationship with spirituality, one often ruled by Catholic practices but which tacitly admits esotericism as well. His brand of astrology, which fused Santeria, Eastern religions and Christianity, guided his every step, business-related and otherwise, even the decision to participate in Mucho Mucho Amor. As soon as we got on the phone to pitch him the project he said, This is very interesting, but I have one question: What are your astrological signs? We were floored that this would come into play, says Costantini. In that initial interaction, after tracking down his family in order to reach him, the team understood that Mercado, true to his nature, would be far from an easy subject to decode. As Costantini points out, Spanish-language press tends to behave in a rather pushy and sensationalist manner, and Mercado had half a century of media training in that harsh environment. He was prepared for anything thrown at him. Any question we asked, he would have a flirtatious answer that would crack us up and make us forget the line of questioning we were going through, she recalls. Before foraying into documentary filmmaking, Costantini made a living as an investigative journalist. But not even that training prepared her for the difficulty of interviewing Mercado. Ive interviewed drug lords, corrupt CEOs and lawyers who were at the top of their game, and Walter is still the most media-trained person of them all, she says. He has taken such care to curate his public persona of Walter, that getting behind that was really one of the hardest things that Ive ever done in my career. Guarded in his infectious optimism, Mercado was willing to dish about the good times. But getting serious and honest about the unglamorous parts of his day to day, or his legal battle with former manager Guillermo Bakula over the right to the use of his own name, required the directors to ask the same questions multiple times and with different approaches to arrive at an approximation of the truth from his standpoint. In the debilitating court dispute to regain control of his brand, Mercado was forced to renounce to the glitz of the cameras his lifeline in 2006. Futile attempts to return were made. Which makes the documentary's new account of his storied existence a long-overdue final performance. Over the months, the filmmaker's professionalism evolved into sincere closeness with Mercado, and some, though not all, of the walls came down. He started as this magical being in our childhood memories," Costantini says, "then slowly became a real person to us, and eventually he turned into an eccentric, fabulous tio abuelo [great uncle]. By the end we were very close to the family. Testament to that earned and mutual affection is that Tabsch and Fumero served as pallbearers at Mercados funeral in Cupey, Puerto Rico. The maximalist We jokingly used to ask him if he would describe himself as a minimalist and he would say, No, Im a maximalist, and that was true for more than just his fashion and decor," Tabsch says. "He had saved material that spanned the entirety of his life and career. There were loads of photographs, newspaper and magazine clippings, and programs much, much more than what we could use in the film. Countless hours were spent digitizing those mementos with the help of the Wolfson Archives in Miami. The more intimate the relationship between the team and Walter and his family became, the more access they were given to go hunting in his home, which was, as Tabsch puts it, a treasure trove. Tons of VHS tapes of TV appearances were in his closet, under beds and in bookcases, and a stash of Betamax tapes with recordings of some of his earliest shows was found in the laundry room. To complement the monumental amount of archival footage and heart-to-heart interviews, the directors used animation as a vehicle to creatively engage the audience in key moments of Mercados life. Created by artist and filmmaker Alexa Lim Haas, the animated sequences are stylistically inspired by Walter's preferred Tarot cards, the Rider Waite Deck. But with so much gold on hand, some of the most candid moments didnt find a place in the films final edit. Cut scene highlights include a dinner party Mercado hosted for his lifelong friend, where Fumero believed they would finally get someone to talk about his secretive love life. But none of his confidants broke their silence. Also cut was a bizarrely tender moment of Mercado pre-chewing food for his beloved dog Runo, a stray he rescued and fell head over heels for, as well as a humorous anecdote about Mercado trying to learn English and struggling because of his heavy accent, which on one occasion made him mispronounced the word focus to sound like the F-word. He was very much like Norma Desmond from 'Sunset Boulevard,'" Tabsch says. "The house is similar and he shared that grand personality at all time. Its like visiting the North Pole and you are about to meet Santa, explains Fumero. Walters house is a combination of your abuelas house and an ashram. When you walk in you see all these little Lladro figurines everywhere, then mala beads and Ganesh images, but also a Virgen de la Caridad statue, and at the same time its a museum to Walter. For Mercados nieces Ivonne and Betty Benet Mercado, he was a magical entity of flesh and blood. When we were very young he would dress up as Santa and played with us. He was an excellent uncle, almost like a father to us, says Ivonne. Extravagant but always caring, Mercado was a constant part of their lives, and as they grew older, every time a new baby was born in the family he would ask for the child's time of birth to get a precise horoscope. There was no difference between the uncle with the capes that we saw on TV and the uncle in our everyday life, adds Betty. He was just as glamorous off-camera. Now in charge of preserving the lavish and heavy garments (many of which are double-sided since he would film a months worth of content during a single shoot), the sisters are excited to share them with his fans. They say theres interest from the Smithsonian to display Walter Mercados capes and artifacts as part of a celebration of famous Latinos; however, the pandemic has delayed those plans. The two Boricuas Ostentatious as his facade may have been, Mercado never took himself too seriously. Though he didnt always get new trends, he adored the idea of the youth maintaining his image alive on Internet. We tried to show him memes one day and they were way over his head, Costantini says. Still, as long as there was no malice in his depiction, he could handle them with humor. Parodies of Mercado had emerged over the decades, the most famous being impersonations by Mexican comedian Eugenio Derbez, who for his 1990s sketch show Al Derecho y al Derbez portrayed a character in homage to Mercado called Julio Esteban. People might not understand that Walter was in on his own joke," Costantini says. "He understood what he looked like and what he was doing. Thats the brilliance of it all. Like in any religion, you have to dress things up in order for the message to carry. These things that seem trivial are actually quite important to his success. As little kids we were enthralled by the capes, but his message is the thing that sticks around for so long in so many of us, that feeling of love. One of the kids nourished by Mercados radiant aura is none other than Puerto Rican American superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda. Fumero, whod previously worked as an executive for HBO, harnessed his network to make contact with the playwright. Through his efforts and the benevolence of mercurial forces on their side, they managed to arrange a meeting of the two Boricuas, Mercado and Miranda, while the latter was in Puerto Rico to perform Hamilton. Through his emotional reaction, Miranda functioned as an avatar for the filmmakers and, in turn, for many Latinos in the audience who will wholeheartedly comprehend the magnitude of the encounter. We couldn't be in the documentary explaining how we felt about Walter, but Lin could, Fumero says. For Costantini, Mirandas moving experience was not surprising but utterly relatable. She knew the mass appeal and international viability of a movie about Mercado and thought it would be easy to get money to bring it to fruition. It was a no-brainer for anyone attuned to the Latino community; however, the gatekeepers werent. When she and her collaborators got into boardrooms trying to pitch Mercado's story to mostly white executives, those on other side of the table couldnt see the potential. Both as a morale boost and a practical asset, Mirandas involvement came at a time when the team needed it the most. They had almost no money at that point, but he provided a sense of validation and a weapon to push on. The fact that we had this footage of Lin freaking out about Walter is what helped us sell it, because that allowed people who didnt grow up with Walter to believe that he was just this big of a deal, Costantini says. The entire way of making the film has been a process of finding the Latino person who can tell their white friends why this movie needs to get made. I dont know if it could have been made 10 years ago in the mainstream way thats been made now. Im not sure there were enough Latinos in positions of power to trust us. For over a year and a half of the production, there was no actual budget in place, and the three had gotten into debt to pursue this vision. It was a gamble, but they knew Mercados health was rapidly deteriorating. Left with little time to second-guess, they moved forward. We were entrusted with Walters legacy and had the responsibility of getting that right," says Tabsch, who is Cuban American. "But we were also the Latino filmmakers making a Latino film for a wide audience sometimes we say that means a white audience and we had the responsibility of doing it right because it always feels like its the only shot you are going to get. When you are a Latino filmmaker," Fumero adds, "you have to fight tooth and nail for even the most interesting projects. In retrospect, the filmmakers say undertaking such risk was a minuscule price in exchange for the privilege to spend time with someone so significant to so many. The most exciting thing to him about the three of us is that we were young filmmakers or young to him, Costantini says. She fondly recalls how Mercado would introduce them as his filmmakers, as if they were part of his entourage rather than independent artists capturing his fabulous story. Yet there was no reason to correct him; they felt blessed to enter his inner circle. I would be a planet in his solar system any day. Even today Costantini and her fellow filmmakers speak about Mercado in the present tense, as if the timeless clairvoyant was still physically among us. That may be a side effect of how recent his passing feels or perhaps, as he would have liked, theyve subconsciously internalized the belief that his energy remains untouched by the transition of death and that, from whatever constellation his soul resides in now, he is sending us all cosmic, unending amor. Web Toolbar by Wibiya National Newswatch reports that a basically self-serving group of 29 U.S. federal lawmakers led by New York representatives Brian Higgins and Elise Stefanik recently sent a letter to Public Safety Minister Bill Blair and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, urging both countries to immediately craft a comprehensive framework for phased reopening of the border. Higgins, a Democrat, and Stefanik, a Republican, are co-chairs of the Northern Border Caucus, which focuses on cross-border commerce and investment as well as border infrastructure. The group also calls for interim measures to ease restrictions on family members and property owners, particularly those with property only accessible through cross-border travel, and restore the social bond that unites our two nations. It is because of exactly this mentality that COVID-19 runs amok in the United States and why we, in Canada, have thus far been successfully getting the coronavirus under control and putting it in remission. Reports suggests that the original source of the coronavirus in Canada was not from China but rather from the United States, and now these American lawmakers, in their efforts to renew a "social bond," apparently want to share some more of their coronavirus with Canadians. The social bond that these American lawmakers seem to be pursuing is not an altruistic one. Their actions are no better than those people who knowingly have a sexually transmitted disease and seek to spread their "social bond" among their unsuspecting victims. These American lawmakers have no regard for the lives and wellbeing of Canadians. Such lawmakers in the United States scarcely even have regard for the lives of their own American compatriots. In Canada, our society is driven by a commitment to social responsibility, which inspires support for our universal and comprehensive system of public healthcare. The same group of American lawmakers who now seek to put pressure on the Trudeau government to re-open our borders are members of a society which positions the interests of the capitalistocratic U.S. political-military-industrial complex over saving lives. The prevailing pandemic in the United States is the product of the same mentality which now seeks to spread its own pandemic once more back into Canada. These same American lawmakers spend literally trillions of dollars on its nuclear-war-supporting weapons systems so they travel fractions of a second faster. America now has enough nuclear weapons to destroy our planet well over 100,000 times. The diverting of a small fraction of money away from nuclear-weapons-making could have provided American frontline workers with the kind of support that would have prevented the current disaster in the United States. It is unfortunate that U.S. Democrats like Higgins are much more interested in digging-up more dirt on U.S. President Donald Trump and seeking to open the Canadian border than saving American lives. Then you have in Higgins own state governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City mayor Bill de Blasio who are two supposed Democrats that are constantly at each other like two estranged lovers as Americans suffer. So, Higgins is making a sad mistake if he thinks that the pandemic problem in the United States boils down to a Trump problem, and we Canadians want no part of a runaway crisis that can also be blamed on self-serving egos like those of Higgins and his colleagues who now seek to interfere with our Canadian sovereignty. I say, thank God for a border that separates us from the political incompetence and lack of social responsibility that have led the United States to become the global centre of the coronavirus pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic exposes the iniquities of American society that result from the misappropriation of American taxpayer resources away from the kind of public healthcare infrastructure which has enabled Canada to get the pandemic under control. If these American lawmakers respect our "social bond" as they claim, they ought to apologize to both the Trudeau government and all Canadians in general for seeking to put pressure on a foreign government to open its borders and inflict their public health nightmare on Canadians. The Northern Border Caucus is in no position to be lecturing Canadians on a strategy which has been successfully applied to save Canadian lives. In response to the letter, a spokesperson for the office of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said while conversations between Canada and the U.S. about the border are ongoing, both sides agree that the current measures in place have worked well. It is apparent that these American lawmakers have no respect for any "social bond." Rather, they speak as mouthpieces of a superpower which has developed a reputation of seeking to bully their way into having the objectives of its political-military-industrial complex prevail. The priority of the so-called Northern Border Caucus ought to be doing what they can to save American lives and hopefully get the pandemic under control in the United States, rather than seeking to insult Canadians with their disingenuous desires to support a "social bond."Unfortunately, thanks to such self-serving politicians in the United States, American lives that could have been saved have been cast aside in favour of a completely bizarre and Balkanized approached to the pandemic, one not guided by science or social justice, implemented in a greed-driven private healthcare system which treats its citizens as profit-centres and disposable commodities. About the writer: Peter Tremblay is the author of the book Justin Trudeau, Judicial Corruption and the Supreme Court of Canada: Aliens and Archons in Our Midst Art deco became a worldwide sensation in 1925 when it was unveiled at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. The highly decorative style, with its distinctive geometric and floral motifs, appeared on everything from furniture and carpets to lighting and objects d'art. The finest pieces of art deco are becoming rarer and fetch big prices at auction. Credit:Peter Rae Almost 100 years later, art deco style continues to be sought after by connoisseurs of fine furniture. "Art deco, unlike a lot of other design periods, really never went out of style," says Andrew Shapiro, director of Shapiro Auctioneers in Sydney. "If anything, the finest pieces only become rarer, many of them being one-offs," he adds. The debate about Stones role in 2016 what he really knew and who he was really talking to is one of the lingering mysteries that Muellers investigators were never able to fully solve. The known interactions between Stone and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks suggest he was trying to find out what sort of hacked Democratic emails might be made public and when, but the digital trail also suggests those efforts may have been largely unsuccessful. In the summer of 2016, Stone claimed to have a conduit conveying him information from WikiLeaks, but the group denied it and the people Stone talked to about it told investigators they never had those kind of conversations with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange or anyone close to him. One of the mysteries of the Libyan civil war was the sudden retreat of the LNA (Libyan National Army) from Tripoli and western Libya in general. A major reason doe the retreat was the inability of LNA personnel to safeguard Russian electronic and air defense systems or for Libyans, in general, to deal with Russian offers to negotiate. That is why the Russians suddenly withdrew, and later returned, many of the troops and military contractors it had in Libya supporting the LNA. What angered the Russians most was not the role Turkey played in the GNA (Government of National Accord) forces capturing the LNA al Watiya airbase on May 18. This was the main LNA airbase near Tripoli the defense was based on Russian anti-aircraft (Pantsir) systems as well as at least one Krasukha truck-mounted EW (Electronic Warfare) system. The attack on al Watiya was supported by over fifty airstrikes carried out by Turkish UAVs and supported by Turkish EW jammers. Here's where the situation went off the rails for the Russians. It was GNA militias that actually took possession of Watiya and seized several warplanes and three Pantsir air defense vehicles along with a Russian Krasukha vehicle. It appears the victorious Libyans sold the Krasukha vehicle to the United States, along with other captured Russian equipment. That has not been confirmed but most such transfers of modern Russian military gear to the United States are not acknowledged for a while. The U.S. has monitored Krasukha use in Ukraine and Syria. But having one would answer a lot of questions, some of them major but most being minor. The analog Krasukha 2 first entered service in 2015 and the more advanced digital Krasukha 4 showed up about a year later. Russia has said the Krasukha and other new EW systems are components of an even more powerful EW system still under development. Russia had earlier sent post-Cold War ground-based jamming systems like Krasukha to Syria and also used them against Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine (DonBas). The most notable of these new EW systems was the truck-mounted Krasukha-4 ELINT/Jammer, which had capabilities similar to those cited for the new Il-22PP EW aircraft. The Krasukha-4 passive monitoring systems were used in Syria but the jammer, with a range of 250 kilometers, apparently was not. This was not the case in Libya where Russian forces there, supporting the LNA, used Krasukha against the Turkish troops who came to support the UN-backed, but unpopular in Libya, GNA. This UN backed Libyan government was unelected and also unpopular because it depended on militias to control Tripoli and Misrata, two large Libyan cities which were all it controlled when the Turks intervened in late 2019 to basically save the GNA from being completely defeated by the LNA. The Turks had defeated the truck-mounted Pantsir gun/missile air defense system in Syria, as had the Israelis. Russia knew this and should have been more careful in Libya. The defeat and loss of Pantsir vehicles was a major setback for Russian exports because they had already sold over a hundred Pantsir vehicles to export customers and those customers were demanding upgrades for their Pantsirs so that they would perform against foes like Turkey or the Iranians. Russia recently revealed a new, and perhaps final (S1M) update for the Pantsir. This Pantsir S1M had not been tried in combat yet. If Pantsir S1M also fails that will be the end of Pantsir and Russia will have a harder time finding export customers for all its air defense systems as well as its new EW systems. This includes expensive new EW aircraft that were also tested over Syria and Eastern Ukraine. In late-2016 Russia revealed the existence of their Il-22PP post-Cold War EW (electronic warfare) aircraft. Russia already had three Il-22PPs and this aircraft was described as an airborne electronic jammer that can detect and block all manner of signals, but particularly the digital ones (like American Link 16) used by Western warplanes and radars like those used by AWACS aircraft. The Il-22PP was also described as being able to protect itself from anti-radiation missiles like the American AGM-88 series. The Il-22PP was based on the Il-18D, which was an airliner that was frequently converted to Il-20 maritime and ELINT (electronic) surveillance or Il-38 ASW (anti-submarine warfare) aircraft. An Il-20 was spotted in Syria during late 2015 but apparently didnt stay long. Russian officials said the Il-22PP was a test model of a more advanced aircraft that would be based on a modern transport like the An-140. Since late 2015 Russia has revealed (to the public) the existence of other post-Cold War electronic warfare aircraft by using them in Syria or over Ukraine. The most prominent of these was the Tu-214R which showed up in Syria during early 2016. This is the Russian equivalent of the American RC-135 Rivet Joint. These aircraft can collect a wide variety of electronic signals in an area, and analyze them quickly and act, often by using onboard jammers. The analysis effort is looking for patterns. The enemy below leaves signs electronically (cell phones, walkie-talkies) or visually (images captured on surveillance cameras). Using the right math and analytical tools (software and computers), you can quickly discover where the bad guys are coming from and have the ground troops promptly shell, bomb or raid the location. This kind of work was popular with the RC-135 crews (about thirty aircrew and techies) in Iraq, Afghanistan (and elsewhere) because they were getting a chance to do, in a combat zone, what they have long trained for. Moreover, it's relatively risk-free, as the aircraft flies beyond the range of machine-gun or shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. In addition, the most productive work is done during night missions, when the bad guys can't even see the RC-135's (or Tu-214R) high above. Russia and China both studied the use of RC-135s in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Russian response was two Tu-214Rs. These aircraft completed their testing during 2015 and the one in Syria was getting its first combat experience. This allowed the United States and Israel to monitor the Tu-214R in action. Apparently, there was nothing particularly impressive about it. Russia has not mentioned sending the Il-22PP to Syria. It has been acknowledged that the truck-mounted Krasukha is basically using the same electronic gear carried by the IL-22PP. That means buying a captured Krasukha in Libya and driving it to U.S.-friendly Tunisia to catch an air transport flight to the United States is considered a big, if secret deal. It happened a lot during and after the Cold War when American intel operatives, equipped with lots of cash and orders to close deals quickly, bought up a lot of late-model Russian equipment from major Russian customers like Libya. Some Libyans may have remembered that and there were some unofficial communications available between the U.S. and the GNA. The Libyans have proved, especially since 2011, to be fast-moving opportunists and thats what makes it likely that the captured Krasukha disappeared, replaced by a large pile of hundred-dollar bills. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 22:22:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Saturday vowed retaliatory measures if Europe gives in to the U.S. pressures for extending a UN arms embargo on Iran, Tasnim news agency reported. "We have warned the European countries that if they give in to the political and diplomatic pressures from the United States, Iran has effective measures in response," Abbas Mousavi, spokesman of the foreign ministry, told Tasnim. Washington wants to portray Tehran as a threat to security in the region when the U.S. forces are the real threat to regional peace, stability and security, Mousavi said. The United States has recently pressed the UN Security Council for the extension of the UN arms embargo on Iran that will expire in October. Enditem "I was the first one there," he said. A store employee told Hamilton it was one of two of the devices in stock. He also stopped at another store to get his phone serviced to round out his trip. Keivon Harris and his friends were glad just to be back in the mall. They had stopped at Burger King for some food, but couldn't sit down in the food court to eat it. Mall officials said they were required by the state to remove seating from the food court and the surrounding common area. The young friends rattled off names of stores they had missed visiting. They've settled for online shopping instead. "That's annoying," said Monika Tatum. "It's a hassle." She said she would rather decide what to buy in person and get it the same day. Andrew Green and Fred Doug were wondering what kind of crowds they would have to contend with on the first day of reopening. "I thought it would be mobbed," Doug said. But there was still plenty of space to roam. Green had been waiting for months to exchange a pair of shoes, and he was able to do that. Doug was surprised to find some of the stores he wanted to visit weren't open yet. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) Rome, Italy Sat, July 11, 2020 21:02 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406659e972 2 Environment rome,zoo,Italy,lion,lion-cubs,lockdown,coronavirus Free A Rome zoo showed off two lions cubs on Friday, both born during the city's long coronavirus lockdown. Staff said the sisters were the first Asiatic lions born at Bioparco zoo since it started keeping the endangered species 22 years ago. "A true symbol of hope and resurgence," Rome's mayor Virginia Raggi said as she welcomed the news. Seven-year-old mother Sajani and four-year-old father Ravi looked on as the cubs posed for pictures. At one point they had a play fight with their mother's tail before she whisked it away. The zoo said it was planning to launch a social media campaign to ask people to name the cubs. Read also: Birth of baby tiger 'Covid' brings hope to Mexican zoo Sajani gave birth on April 29, her own birthday. "We saw just two days before that she was behaving kind of strange, and we suspected she was pregnant," keeper Yitzhak Yadid said. Staff only knew for sure the cubs had survived when they heard small yelps coming from Sajani's enclosure "Not all mothers can succeed usually the first time that they give birth. She's a very, very good mother," Yadid said. Cases were slapped against several foreigners who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Old Delhi from March 10-13. PTI photo New Delhi: A Delhi court Friday granted bail to 82 Bangladeshi nationals who were chargesheeted for attending Tablighi Jamaat congregation here for allegedly violating visa conditions, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines, issued in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur granted the relief to the foreigners on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. The accused will file their plea bargaining applications on Friday, said advocate Ashima Mandla and Mandakini Singh, appearing for the foreign nationals. Under plea bargaining, the accused plead guilty to the offence praying for a lesser punishment. The Criminal Procedure of Code allows plea bargaining for cases where the maximum punishment is imprisonment for seven years, where offences don't affect the socio-economic conditions of the society and when the offences are not committed against a woman or a child below 14 years. During the hearing, all the foreign nationals were produced before the court through video conferencing. PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz attends the Saint Laurent show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2020/2021 on February 25, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImage) Brooklyn Beckham popped the question recently, and Nicola Peltz said yes! The couple announced their engagement on July 11 with a sweet Instagram snap, and our eyes zeroed in on her gorgeous ring and matching bracelet. The ring's massive emerald-cut diamond is simply stunning and would fit right in among her future mother-in-law's own collection. Three of Victoria Beckham's 14 engagement rings (yes, 14!) are emerald-cut. Although Victoria hasn't commented on the ring choice yet, she did send the happy pair her best wishes in a lovely message - and she's the designer of the yellow midi dress Nicola wore for pictures. "The MOST exciting news!!" Victoria wrote. "We could not be happier that @brooklynbeckham and @nicolaannepeltz are getting married! Wishing you so much love and a lifetime of happiness We all love you both so much x." Nicola responded, "I love you so so much Victoria I'm the luckiest girl." Congratulations to the whole family! Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. Email address By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy In mid-April during the lockdown, a woman identified as Rose was physically attacked by her landlord in the Akowonjo area of Lagos. The man first complained about her use of the clothesline, and later questioned how she got the new car she drove, according to witnesses. A scuffle ensued and the landlord repeatedly hit the womans head against a wall and tried to strip her before shocked neighbours, some who began to record the incident, raised the alarm. They did so from a safe distance, wary of contracting the deadly virus. While the months-long lockdown imposed by the government to check the spread of coronavirus lasted, activists and authorities reported an increase in gender-based violence as victims were forced to stay more closely with their abusers, and found it more difficult to seek help due to the restriction of movement. But the lockdown had another strange impact: in many cases, victims could not get help because witnesses observing social distancing refused to physically intervene. Activists and community workers say they reviewed a number of such cases especially in densely populated areas like Lagos. Gabriel Oyediji, a social worker who intervened in Roses case after receiving the video recording from neighbours, described the case as a three-phase-tragedy. The first tragedy occurred when the womans neighbours did not interfere because they wanted to maintain social distance. This allowed the misunderstanding between the tenant and landlord to escalate, said Mr Oyediji, who is the national secretary of the Association of Orphanages and Homes of Nigeria. The second tragedy, he said, occurred at the police station as officers only arrested the woman and not her attacker. In addition, the female DPO at Sasha police station in Akowonjo, Lagos, passed judgement in favour of the landlord due to his influence in the area, he said. The third tragedy occurred when the investigating police officer demanded N25,000 to start an investigation. According to Mr Oyediji, the woman pleaded she had only N10,000 and once the money was paid, the offender was arrested. However, he was released within 30 minutes without making a statement, and after allegedly making some payment to the officer in charge of the case. After neighbours cried foul, Mr Oyediji said he informed the police area commander who ordered an investigation and a medical examination after the senior officer saw the degree of head injury. Gender-based violence Abiola Akiode-Afolabi, who is the executive director of WARDC, said although there was high prevalence of gender-based violence before the COVID-19, the pandemic and its attendant lockdown aggravated it. Tension has built up, there is a lot of uncertainty, there are fears around and people are not sure whether theyre going to get their jobs back, and many more are not sure what to expect, she said at the time. Foluke Ademokun, the executive coordinator at Ajoke Ayisat Afolabi Foundation, said most of the reports her organisation received during the lockdown were issues of domestic jealousy and anger, people living with their abusers, tension due to the economic impact of the lockdown, and tension between tenants and landlords. Activists said the lockdown left victims of abuse at the mercy of their abusers as many, due to restriction, were not able to escape from their abusers. And when they eventually did, neighbours afraid of contracting being infected with the virus, refused to offer close help like taking them in. Challenges To be fair, the shelter challenge predated the lockdown and has existed on a much larger scale. According to Julie Okah Donli, the director general of the agency against human trafficking and domestic violence, NAPTIP, the agency has only 338 shelters across 10 states in Nigeria. That leaves 16 other states in Nigeria with no shelters run by the national body in charge of protecting victims of abuse. Further complicating the matter, civil society groups and NGOs said they were not positioned to maximize their position as first responders to victims of domestic violence because they were not categorized as essential services by the government. Without passes, this made it difficult for them to provide quick professional service and support to victims of GBV during the lockdown. In Nigeria, the lack of post-intervention reliefs is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to managing gender-based and domestic violence. That is made clearest when the matter involves members of the same family. READ ALSO: You want to make the man face the music or woman face the music, but by the time you take the man out and put him in detention, the family suffers, and the man suffers, said Mr Oyediji. In most cases, the woman does not have a good job that can sustain the family, she cannot pay rent, feed the children, thereby leaving the disarray. When rent expires, landlords put pressure on the woman and we begin to regret the intervention because sometimes we create more problems than the ones were trying to solve. In countries with well-developed intervention systems, abused women do not suffer after their partners are arrested as they are provided with housing and monthly allowances for the family. In Sweden, for instance, 70 per cent of available shelters are run by NGOs. Nigeria became the first country in West Africa to pass the violence Against Persons Act at the national level. To date, 12 states in Nigeria have also followed suit in passing this law. These states are Ogun, The FCT, Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, Benue, Kaduna, Edo, Kogi, Anambra, Enugu, and Rivers. Advertisements However, according to Mrs Akiode-Afolabi of WARDC, the laws are not properly implemented. There are some statutory bodies that are supposed to be created under the law that have not been created at the federal level and in about 80 per cent of the states where the violence against a person act has been passed. Solutions To tackle gender-based violence issues during a difficult time such as a lockdown, the activists said there is need to use community radio stations to enlighten people and tap into social media spaces to create awareness in pidgin English, and local languages to reach diverse groups on how the prevention of gender-based violence can be done in the communities and in other places. They said the government needs to review laws related to gender-based violence issues and ensure they are applicable to recent events and are implementable. They urged the police to be more committed to justice in their handling of cases of abuses. Also, communities need to promote a zero-tolerance for violence. Also, they support mechanisms must be effective, accommodating, and responsive to the needs of the target audiences. They said there should be short-term shelters, free 24/7 manned hotlines across the country, legal, and trauma counselling services nationwide. Ejiro Umukoro is a freelance journalist. This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center and Code for Africas WanaData women data science initiative. People, some wearing face masks, pray outside the Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul on July 10, 2020. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Friday that the Hagia Sophia, one of the architectural wonders of the world, would be reopened for Muslim worship as a mosque, sparking fury in the Christian community and neighboring Greece. His declaration came after a top Turkish court revoked the sixth-century Byzantine monument's status as a museum, clearing the way for it to be turned back into a mosque. In an address to the nation, Erdogan said the first Muslim prayers at the Hagia Sophia would be performed on July 24. "God willing, we will perform on Friday prayers all together on July 24 and reopen Hagia Sophia to worshipping," he said, assuring that it would open its door to all, including non-Muslims. "Like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be wide open to locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims." The UNESCO World Heritage site in historic Istanbul, a magnet for tourists worldwide, was first constructed as a cathedral in the Christian Byzantine Empire but was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Last year, 3.8 million tourists visited the monument. The Council of State, Turkey's highest administrative court, unanimously canceled a 1934 Cabinet decision to turn it into a museum and said Hagia Sophia was registered as a mosque in its property deeds. The landmark ruling could inflame tensions not just with the West and Turkey's historic foe Greece but also Russia. 'Millions of Christians not heard' Greece swiftly condemned the move by Muslim-majority Turkey as a provocation while the United States also expressed disappointment. "Greece condemns most firmly" the decision, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, saying it "does not only impact relations between Greece and Turkey but also the latter's relations with the European Union, UNESCO and the global community as a whole." For Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, "the nationalism displayed by Erdogan... takes his country back six centuries." The Russian Orthodox Church was equally scathing. "The concerns of millions of Christians were not heard," Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida told Interfax news agency. The decision "shows that all pleas regarding the need to handle the situation extremely delicately were ignored," he said. UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay said she "deeply regrets" the decision made without prior dialogue with the UN's cultural agency. US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus stated that "we are disappointed by the decision by the government of Turkey to change the status of the Hagia Sophia." The move was also condemned by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom as an "unequivocal politicization" of the monument. Erdogan urged everyone to respect Turkey's decision and said the issue of what purposes Hagia Sophia would serve "concerns Turkey's sovereign rights." Hagia Sophia, which stands opposite the impressive Sultanahmet Mosqueh often called the Blue Mosque has been a museum since 1935 and open to believers of all faiths. Transforming it from a mosque was a key reform under the new republic born out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. Shortly after the court decision, Erdogan signed a presidential decree handing over the administration of "Hagia Sophia Mosque" to Turkey's religious affairs directorate known as Diyanet. Erdogan has in recent years placed great emphasis on the battles which resulted in the defeat of Byzantium by the Ottomans, with lavish celebrations held every year to mark the conquest. Muslim clerics have occasionally recited prayers in the museum on key anniversaries or religious holidays. In 2018, Erdogan himself recited a verse from the Koran at Hagia Sophia. 'Chains broken' A few hundred Turks carrying Turkish flags gathered outside Hagia Sophia shouting "Chains broken, Hagia Sophia reopened." Police heightened security measures around the building, according to AFP journalists. Hundreds of worshippers performed evening prayers outside the building after the alteration to its status. "It's been a dream since we were kids," said Erdal Gencler, an Istanbul resident. "(Hagia Sophia) finds its true purpose again. We are very excited, proud, and hopeful that there will be beautiful services here," he added. Anusha Ravi By Express News Service BENGALURU: On June 19, the Union Health Ministry lauded Karnatakas handling of Covid-19, especially its mechanism for contact tracing. Just three weeks down the line, contact tracing has taken a big hit. On Thursday alone, of the reported 2,228 new Covid cases, contact tracing was underway for 1,784 cases. The biggest chunk came from Bengaluru. Common people and elected representatives are raising concerns over health department and district administration officials not contacting them despite being primary and secondary contacts of positive patients. Between July 3 and July 9, of the 13,089 cases reported across the state, contact tracing of 10,230 patients was still underway. Government sources said that contacts of a very small percentage of positive cases have been traced so far. As on Thursday, sources of transmission for 13,395 of the total 31,105 cases were still unknown. On Thursday evening, Tabu Rao, wife of former Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president and Gandhinagar MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao, took to her social media pages to share her concerns. One of our staff members developed Covid-like symptoms and we got him tested on June 30. The results July 3 returned positive. The BBMP should have contacted him immediately and shifted him to a Covid care centre. There was no such call and we had to admit him to a designated hospital on our own. The BBMP should have started contact tracing without delay, but no action has been taken to date and no one can imagine how many people could have contracted the virus from him, she wrote. Similar concerns have been raised by many citizens. A ministers personal staff said that they did not receive any contact tracing calls from the BBMP even after the ministers kin tested positive earlier in June. TNIE on July 2 reported that the Karnataka government was mulling to do away with contact tracing as suggested by medical experts at a meeting with Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. It is a waste of resources, effort and time to trace primary and secondary contacts now with cases piling up by the thousands every day. The focus is now to reduce mortality rates. We have gone past the scenario where contact tracing was key, said a source from the government closely supervising the pandemic situation. Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said, The same people who have been doing contact tracing for the last four months are continuing with it and are fatigued. I agree that it has not been as good in the last two weeks as it was in the last 4 months. We have decided to change our model to local, booth level contact tracing and will ensure it is done, he said. Deputy Secretary of State and Special Representative for North Korea Biegun Visit to Tokyo Media Note Office of the Spokesperson July 10, 2020 During his July 9-10 visit to Tokyo, Deputy Secretary of State and Special Representative for North Korea Stephen E. Biegun met with Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Defense Minister Taro Kono, Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba, and other Japanese officials to reaffirm the strength of the U.S.-Japan Alliance during this 60th anniversary year of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. In his meetings, Deputy Secretary Biegun emphasized continued U.S. readiness to engage in dialogue with the DPRK and discussed the importance of continued close cooperation with Japan and other like-minded partners on promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific and countering efforts by those who seek to undermine good governance and the rules-based international order. Deputy Secretary Biegun also conferred with the Government of Japan on worldwide efforts to combat COVID-19, including the development of vaccines and therapeutics, the importance of continued business and education links between the United States and Japan, and efforts to prevent future pandemics. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 15:04:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BANGKOK, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A combined sum of about 500,000 liters of oil has been smuggled by fishing boats and seized by the Thai navy in the Gulf of Thailand so far this year, an admiral said on Friday. Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Center's First Area Commander Vice Adm. Sutthinan Samanrak confirmed the navy's patrol boats had seized the smuggled diesel from several trawlers in the sea. That total of smuggled diesel included 50,000 liters seized on Friday aboard a fishing boat near Koh Khram island in the upper part of the Gulf, Vice Adm. Sutthinan said. Six fishermen, including four Thai and two Myanmar nationals, aboard the trawler, named Kanokwan 17, were arrested on oil smuggling charges. The illegal oil, which was unloaded from oil tankers in the sea, would have been sold for very low prices at the black market. Despite patrols conducted daily by the navy, some maritime oil smugglers have managed to evade arrests and remained at large, according to the admiral. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 20:44:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Sixteen Taliban militants had been killed during clashes in Afghanistan's two eastern provinces, the country's Ministry of Defense confirmed on Saturday. Eight militants were killed and four others wounded after Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) repelled a Taliban attack on security checkpoints in Kharoti locality of Azra district in Logar province during Friday night, the ministry said in a statement. In neighboring Ghazni province, eight militants were killed in similar incident in Aboqala locality of Andar district, according to the statement. The statement did not say whether any member of ANDSF was hurt during the clashes. The militant group has not responded to the report so far. Since the signing of a peace agreement between Taliban and the United States in February, Afghan leaders, including President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, have frequently demanded the Taliban to reduce violence. The militants, however, have intensified attacks, killing and injuring scores of combatants and civilians. Enditem Researchers in northern Botswana have come up with a novel way to protect farmers' crops from elephants: disco lights have proven to be effective in redirecting the great beasts from their path as they trample their way through to floodplains in the Chobe National Park. Lines of flashing multi-coloured lights set up around farmers' fields in the wildlife-rich Chobe Enclave have been shown to be highly effective at scaring off elephants. The district lies close to the Chobe National Park, which is home to 7,500 elephants. It's the site of a floodplain whose nutrient-rich soils are a draw to farmers. But their maize and sorghum fields are frequently destroyed by elephants on their way to the floodplain to graze and drink. For two agricultural seasons between 2016 and 2018 the researchers, led by Australian scientist Tempe Adams, set up their lights at four villages. Half of the 18 study sites the control fields were unlit. The lights were found to be effective at repelling elephants in 75 percent of 104 recorded elephant incursions, the researchers wrote in their study, published early this month in the journal Oryx. 'Very dramatic' The likelihood of an elephant entering a crop field was significantly lower when lights were present compared to control fields, the study says. The lights, set up at 10-metre intervals on poles up to 1.7 metres high, constantly flash a different colour: red, green, amber, white, blue or yellow. During the study, the colour pattern was changed weekly to prevent elephants getting used to it. Adams, who is research coordinator for Botswana-based NGO Elephants Without Borders, said her team hit upon the idea of testing strobe light barriers after discussions with farmers who had reported scaring off elephants at night with simple flashing torches. The idea of flashing is what we wanted to explore further, Adams tells RFI. It might be the association with people that makes the elephants fearful, or that it appears foreign or unfamiliar to them. The strobe effect for each light is random and looks very dramatic especially on a moonless night, she adds. Shrinking habitat Adams says the solar-powered disco lights are inexpensive and easy to use, and don't even need to be turned on or off. They are the latest among several non-lethal elephant deterrents (dubbed EleSenses) that EWB promotes among communities. These include solar-powered strands of electric rope, sensor alarms and an organic oil repellent, which elephants hate the taste and smell of. Shrinking habitat for elephants throughout their range, and growing human populations, mean harmful interactions are increasing in Botswana and beyond. Crop destruction and human deaths caused by elephants are used by the authorities in neighbouring Zimbabwe to justify calls to reduce its own elephant numbers. Zimbabwe has an estimated 80,000 elephants compared to Botswana's 125,000. Flashing LED lights have been used to stop lions and other predators raiding cattle kraals in Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe. But this is thought to be the first time light barriers have been effectively used against elephants. Pride in elephants The light barriers have since been set up elsewhere in Chobe, and in Botswana's north-west Ngamiland district, Adams says. She hopes they can be used on the continent wherever there are negative interactions between elephants and people. Botswana's elephants are in the spotlight after around 400 were found dead from unknown causes between March and June, mostly near the Okavango Delta, another wildlife-rich area in the north of the country. Tests have been done on samples taken from the carcasses but the results are still unknown. It's suspected the animals died from a viral or bacterial infection. Adams said a countrywide survey carried out by EWB several years ago revealed that most people regarded elephants with pride, and "associated them with the natural heritage of the country". She added: "Many farmers do not hate elephants, but rather they want to find successful ways that they can continue farming in wildlife areas." By PTI NEW DELHI: As dengue season sets in across large parts of India with the onset of the monsoon, scientists warn that COVID-19 and the mosquito-borne disease have overlapping symptoms and worry the country's healthcare infrastructure won't be able to cope with this double whammy. The impact of a 'dengue-COVID-19' season would entail two different diagnostic tests and extract a huge toll on patients too, each disease making the other more complicated to deal with and perhaps more fatal. While the COVID-19 tally crossed the eight-lakh mark on Saturday to reach 8,20,916 cases with 22,123 fatalities, the incidence of dengue is also high. Based on 2016-2019 data, virologist Shahid Jameel estimated that India gets about 100,000 to 200,000 confirmed cases of dengue each year. According to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), 1,36,422 dengue cases were diagnosed in 2019 and an estimated 132 people died. CLICK HERE FOR COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES 'The virus is endemic and present around the year in southern India, and in monsoon and early winter in northern India,' Jameel, CEO at DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance, a public charity that invests in building biomedical sciences and health research framework. Both COVID-19 and have symptoms such as high fever, headache and body pain. The dengue season may aggravate the COVID-19 situation as both viruses may supplement each other, warned Dhrubjyoti Chattopadhyay, virologist and vice chancellor of the Amity University in Kolkata. 'This situation is not yet well studied. But the information available from South America is dangerous and found to create a major challenge to their medical infrastructure,' he said. 'The effect will be very critical. As major symptoms are overlapping, simultaneous infection will be much more fatal. Weakened immune systems will help the other to be more fatal.' Once the dengue season starts, added virologist Upasana Ray, the infection spreads aggressively due to high prevalence of its mosquito vector, aedes aegypti. 'Each season, we experience heavy loads in the hospital wards due to dengue outbreak and those times it gets almost unmanageable. So, have we thought about what will happen when we have two menaces to handle together? Both of them have overlapping symptoms. Are we geared to distinguish if a person has dengue or COVID 19?' asked the senior scientist, CSIR-IICB, Kolkata. The challenges are many. Almost each patient with a three-day fever would need to undergo a test for dengue and another for the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19. 'Considering the current numbers of COVID-19 patients, will our hospitals have beds available for dengue patients? Or will only severe dengue cases be handled at hospitals?' she asked. Explaining how the viruses manifest in the human body, Jameel said the dengue virus enters via a mosquito bite through the subcutaneous layer of the skin from where it reaches the lymph nodes that are rich in types of blood cells called monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells. The virus, he said, primarily reproduces in these cells and can severely alter cytokine production by these cells, a fundamental response to injury and infection in the body. On the other hand, SARS-CoV-2 enters the cells primarily through mucosal membranes of the mouth and nasal cavity and initially replicates in the epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract. 'In some cases, however, the infection moves down the trachea into the lungs, where it infects the air sacs that exchange oxygen with blood.' This causes inflammation as the immune system tries to fight the virus and leads to fluid accumulation in the lungs, which results in respiratory distress and oxygen demand. 'So, you see, both viruses infect via different pathways and different cell types. There would of course be overlaps in physiological effects and immunological responses. They would most likely make each disease worse than either infection alone,' Jameel noted. The most likely effect, he said, would be on healthcare capacity. 'Since initial clinical presentation is similar -- high fever -- one would be ignored at the expense of the other. With hospitals mainly in COVID-19 mode, they may also refuse dengue patients,' Jameel said. He said this has been already seen in connection with pregnancy care and deliveries, dialysis and tuberculosis treatment. ALSO WATCH: 'We need to be careful and deploy tests for dengue also for febrile illness. Thankfully, India makes some very good tests for dengue virus, e.g. NS1 antigen test that is positive on the first day of fever,' said Jameel. Ray pointed out that there is no vaccine available clinically for either and no specific antiviral to treat them. 'This infection may show low to severe forms of infection including simple dengue fever, severe dengue and the haemorrhagic fever,' said Ray. 'We are already amidst the SARS-CoV2 pandemic and hospitals are running out of beds although the government is trying its level best. We are yet to attain enough facility to handle the increasing coronavirus cases every day in India,' she said. According to Ray, careful preparation is needed as the country has very little time before a full-blown dengue season starts. 'While many dengue patients don't end up in critical care units (CCUs), a good fraction do. Do we have enough ICUs and CCUs to tackle dengue and COVID 19 together? Do we have enough trained manpower?' Healthcare and research, she said, need to gear up to fight this 'upcoming very realistic situation'. Its a night some had looked forward to for years. Dresses were already purchased. And plans were already being made for proms across Massachusetts in the spring. When the coronavirus pandemic hit and schools had to close for the year, some still hung on to the hope of hosting them later this year. Holyoke is a city of really proud tradition. Most homes in Holyoke have one to three generations of Holyoke High graduates, said Holyoke High School principal Stephen Mahoney while speaking about proms. Its a big, big deal. And it should be. Its a huge rite of passage for for young people. But as Gov. Charlie Baker released Phase 3 regulations, many of these hopes were dashed. The guidelines dont specifically mention prom but other guidelines prohibit much of what prom is about. The requirements for social distancing and the states limits on gatherings would make it hard to hold a prom right now, DESE said in a statement to MassLive. Indoor gatherings are limited to eight people per thousand square feet, but should not include more than 25 people in a single enclosed indoor space. Even hosting the prom outdoors, like many were planning, would be difficult. Outdoor gatherings are limited to 25% of a facilitys normal capacity with a limit of 100 people. The regulations also specially prohibit dance floors at weddings. Its critical we continue to be smart about how we want to do this, Baker said. The last thing we want to do is move backwards as weve seen other states have to do. 80 2019 Prom Photos: Chicopee Comp High School Senior prom at The Log Cabin in Holyoke Smith Academy and Minnechaug Regional High School have told MassLive they have canceled. Chicopee Comprehensive High School said they put any plans on hold after the announcement. And Agawam High School rescheduled the prom twice in hopes of still having it before finally deciding to cancel. It wouldve meant one last opportunity to have a good time with friends and classmates, said Smith Academy senior Karlie Guimond. It was not how I pictured my time ending there, but they made it as special as it possibly could be. Guimond said she was sad when she first heard prom had officially been canceled but now realizes how lucky shes been. I was very lucky to have two really fantastic proms, she said. Im just thankful. Still, schools are still hoping to provide their Class of 2020 with something. Some schools are getting ready to host in-person graduations this month. And others are still holding out hope theyll be able to do something more later this year. While prom has been canceled at Ludlow Senior High School, a reunion scheduled for Nov. 28 is still on the calendar, with the understanding things may change closer to time. And although Guimond might not get to wear the dress she had planned to borrow from her cousin, shes begun turning her attention to whats next even if that has its own set of unknowns. Im feeling excited and hopeful, she said. Even though college is not going to look like what I pictured, Im looking forward to meeting all the amazing people in the Smith College community, even if it is from a distance. 81 2019 Prom Photos: Ludlow High School prom at The Log Cabin in Holyoke Related Content: People march at a Black Lives Matter rally in Winnipeg on June 5, 2020, in solidarity with the George Floyd protests across the United States. (The Canadian Press/John Woods) Systemic Racism Claims Exacerbating Cancel Culture Climate Commentary Several incidents in recent months seem to indicate that the wave of cancel culture and political correctness is only becoming more intense. In particular, the claim of widespread systemic racism has reached a new crescendo since the death of African American George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis in May. There are a lot of influences coming together at the moment, says Jonathan Kay, longtime journalist and Canadian editor of the online magazine Quillette. One is that people are spending more time than ever online due to the pandemic, he says, which can undermine trust and promote groupthink. There is a lot of arguing and partisanship, but without the normal social lubricants and trust-building that comes from seeing people in person, Kay said in an interview. In addition, in a post-Christian and post-religious West, he says, anti-racism seems to have taken on the trappings of a religion for some. Its become fairly clear that a lot of the most fervent social-justice types are treating anti-racism as a new kind of religion, he says. It offers its adherents a totalizing theory of evil in the universe, so these adherents see their opponents as heretics who are not just wrong but literally evil. And in the battle against evil, any tactic is permittedeven if such tactics would otherwise be seen as cruel or even sociopathic. Stockwell Day is one of those who have been broadsided by the current anti-racism trajectorysimply for stating his opinion. As the protests and riots following Floyds death raged across the United States, the former Conservative cabinet minister participated in a discussion on CBCs Power and Politics in which the topic was systemic racism in Canada. Asked to respond to Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus comment that Canada may have its own problems with systemic racism, Day denied that the country is systemically racist. We celebrate our diversity around the world and for the prime minister to insinuateand it is an insinuationthat our system is systemically racist is wrong, he said. Yes, theres a few idiot racists hanging around, but Canada is not a racist country and most Canadians are not racist. Reaction was fast and furious, and Day ended up quitting his commentary role at CBC as well as his corporate posts, and also apologized for his insensitive and hurtful comments, pledging to commit himself to unending efforts to fight racism in all its forms. A few weeks later, CBC host Wendy Mesley was suspended after an internal investigation concluded that she had used unsavoury language during editorial meetings on two occasions. The offence was that Mesley had used the n-wordthough not as a slur, she explained later in a tweetin one meeting and when quoting the title of a book in another. Nowhere is cancel culture more prevalent than on university campuses, and free speech and academic freedom have been the victims. Wilfred Laurier University made headlines in November 2017 when graduate student and TA Lindsay Shepherd was infamously reprimanded by two professors and an administrator from the Diversity and Equity Office for showing a video in class of psychologist Jordan Peterson debating the use of gender pronouns. She was accused of creating a toxic climate for students and possibly violating the Ontario Human Rights Code. David Haskell, a Laurier professor who supported Shepherd, says the downward trend of political correctness, intolerance, and censorship at universities is becoming more entrenched. He points to a June 19 letter from Lauriers president Deborah MacLatchy to faculty and students noting that in light of the anti-racism protests in the broader society, the university had developed an action plan in line with its core values of equity, diversity, and inclusion to address systemic racism on campus. The plan includes institution-wide initiatives as well as faculty- and student-focused initiatives. In response, Haskell and his colleague William McNally wrote an open letter to MacLatchy challenging her claim of systemic racism at Laurier. They noted that the claim is not based on quality, empirical evidence and that the action plan would negatively impact academic freedom. This current incident at my university is emblematic of what is happening at campuses across North America and the U.K. Identity politics ideologyand the radical, unjustified conclusions it promotesis being promoted as Truth while empirically-backed challenges to those conclusions are being silenced, Haskell said in an interview. He said he and McNally were the only two among 550 full-time professors at Laurier who questioned the administrations claim of systemic racism on campus in the clear absence of a definition of the phenomenon and, two, empirical evidence of the phenomenon. When professors are willing to let unjustified claims be presented as fact, the university as an institution is worthless, he says. One of the other problems contributing to the cancel culture climate is the discrimination against conservative and more heterodox academics when it comes to hiring practices, Haskell says. Many universities are considering compelling new hires to submit a statement of diversity, equity, and inclusionsome have done this already, he says. In such a statement, one must swear allegiance to the notion of affirmative action and, in all likelihood, confess such imaginary sins as white privilege. A conservative who believes that merit and competency alone should determine hiringnot racial and gender criteriawill never find academic employment again as these required statements become routine. With conservative candidates for professor positions discriminated against in this way, the chance that diversity of opinion will win the day on campuses is not a reality, he says. The woke approach taken by universities, which is exacerbated by social media, serves to inform the mindset of students who go on to carry it into the workforce. These ultra-progressive young staffers can have a powerful effect in influencing their bosses or company policies, Kay says. Progressives have succeeded in medicalizing the vocabulary of disagreement. Even speaking about basic aspects of human biology is now seen as inherently traumatic to people who reject biology in favour of esoteric gender constructs. And since none of us want to be seen as inflicting medical pain on people, these complaints serve as a trump card. And so a single person in an organization of 1,000 people now can veto whole policies or products, he says. The whole thing is unsustainable. Shane Miller is a political writer based in London, Ontario. Follow him at @Miller_Shane94. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. New York, 11 July 2020 (SPS) - South Africa's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jerry Matthews Matjila, regretted on Tuesday that the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) still lacks a broad mandate for human rights monitoring, deploring the Security Council's "selective" and highly "politicized" attitude. "South Africa notes with concern that the issue of human rights components has not escaped the political dynamics of the Security Council as it continues to be politicized and selectively applied," said Ambassador Matjila during a debate in the Security Council on peace operations and human rights. "While some members of the Security Council advocate the importance of the human rights component in peacekeeping missions, it is regrettable that the same vigour and enthusiasm is conspicuously absent from other missions, such as the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara," the South African diplomat deplored. He added that the decisions of the Security Council to give several peace missions human rights monitoring mandates "reflects the general acceptance" within that body of "the relevance of this component in the UN peace efforts." Currently 12 UN peace operations (six peacekeeping missions and six special political missions) have human rights monitoring mandates, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, who took part in the debate. The ambassador stressed that members of the Security Council must not "stand on the wrong side of history" by allowing their "narrow interests to trample on the interest of the majority of the world's citizens whom the Council is mandated to serve." Matjila noted that peace operations are mandated to monitor and report on the situation on the ground. But, "if human rights violations do not fall within the realm of protection of civilians it would be difficult for peace operations to intervene without an appropriate mandate." (SPS) 062/SPS/APS More than one-quarter of Torontos coronavirus deaths in the community have occurred in the citys hard-hit northwest corner, according to new data released by Toronto Public Health on Friday. The new statistics emphasize how the deep social and economic disparities in the city have life-and-death implications. COVID-19 has put on display the glaring inequities and the systemic racism for everyone to see, said Tesfai Mengesha, co-executive director of Success Beyond Limits, a community organization in the Jane-Finch area. The reason weve got to this point is consistent structural neglect. The question now is: Are we going to do something about it, or are we going to continue to let people die? The new, detailed, case-specific data include deaths, hospitalizations and source of infection, all of which paint a picture of two Torontos. The data builds on neighbourhood-level data Toronto Public Health first released in May, which has made clear the northwest corner bore the brunt of the pandemic. The latest numbers show that the rate of infection is highest in 17 neighbourhoods in the northwest, wedged roughly between Dufferin Street and Highway 427 to the west, running south from Steeles Avenue to Eglinton Avenue West. Excluding cases in outbreaks in institutional settings such as shelters, nursing homes and prisons, Toronto Public Health has released residency data on 221 COVID-19 deaths in Toronto. (Another 18 fatal cases do not list the patients home neighbourhood). Fifty-eight of these, or 26 per cent, were people who lived in these hard-hit northwest neighbourhoods. But this area is home to just 12 per cent of the citys population. This produces a rate of death from COVID in these northwest neighbourhoods nearly three times higher than the rest of the city. The rate of infection in the northwest is almost four times higher than in the rest of the city (932 cases per 100,000 people vs. 238 cases per 100,000 people). This really goes to show the social determinants of health, said Kemi Jacobs, executive director of Delta Family Resource Centre, which has three locations in the northwest. The people who are the least able to handle the virus are the ones who are getting it, she said. Reporting from the Star last month explored the underlying inequities in the northwest corner of the city. The Star found the neighbourhoods hardest hit by the virus also have some of the highest concentrations of residents who are low-income, racialized and living in cramped housing while working in higher-risk sectors, such as manufacturing. This corner has historically been considered a primary-care desert, with higher-than-average rates of chronic conditions, such as diabetes, the Star reported. Health Minister Christine Elliott promised on Thursday to increase access to testing in Torontos northwest corner, and team up with other levels of government to create free accommodations for those unable to self-isolate at home due to overcrowding. The pledge came at the urging of the chair of Torontos Board of Health, Councillor Joe Cressy, who sent a letter to Elliott and Ontario chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, asking the province to take these steps to stop the spread of COVID. Premier Doug Fords Etobicoke North riding includes several of these northwest neighbourhoods. The new data also reveal a difference in how people acquire the virus in different parts of the city. In the northwest, people were more likely to catch the virus through close contact or community spread, but much less likely to catch the disease through travel. Weve long said that diseases prey on the most vulnerable and COVID has exposed that, said Cressy. And the northwest demonstrates the rift of vulnerability to a painful extent. He said the city believes the disproportionate exposure in the northwest through close contacts is primarily because of crowded housing. It is people who are underhoused and unable to self-isolate safely at home who are putting their relatives and their roommates at risk, he said. The response needed is an alert system stemming from positive lab results, to allow Toronto Public Health to triage higher-risk cases for contact tracing and isolate those people faster to prevent further community spread. Jacobs, from the Delta Family Resource Centre, said people are afraid to leave their apartment buildings, and mobile testing stations should be brought to them in order to encourage testing. Michelle Westin, a senior analyst for planning, quality and risk at Black Creek Community Health Centre, said the health disparity is a result of systemic disparities and any long term solution will require collaboration from many different parts of government. Its not just health, but housing, education, justice and employement. All of those systems that led to the disparities in the first place, she said. Clarification July 10, 2020: This article has been edited to clarify that the Toronto database includes 18 deaths from sporadic COVID-19 infections that do not list the patients home neighbourhood. With files from Kate Allen and Jennifer Yang Jennifer Pagliaro is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @jpags On Thursday, former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, gave what was billed as a major speech on economic policy. Bidens remarks, delivered at McGregor Industries near Scranton, Pennsylvania, were dominated by economic nationalism, with a focus on attacks against China. Speaking in a battle-ground state that was narrowly won by Donald Trump in 2016, Biden attempted to present himself as a blue-collar partisan of the hard-working middle class. The 77-year-old political windbag has been a fixture in American politics for nearly 50 years, having been first elected in 1972, at the age of 30, to the US Senate, where he served for 40 years before spending eight years as vice president under Barack Obama. The man who presents himself as middle-class Joe from hard-scrabble Scranton is implicated in virtually every crime and atrocity committed by US imperialism against the people of the world over that period, as well as the social counterrevolution of the past four decades, which has produced unprecedented levels of social inequality and financial parasitism. That includes the Obama-Biden administrations role in the bailout of Wall Street in 2008-2009 and the biggest transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top to that point in US history. In his speech, Biden offered no opposition to the administrations brutal back-to-work drive, which is being implemented by Democratic and Republican governors and mayors alike, and which has already resulted in an explosion of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, along with a new surge in deaths. Nor did he propose measures to restore the millions of jobs permanently lost during the pandemic. He was silent on the multi-trillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street and big business enacted in March with the near-unanimous votes of the Democrats in Congress. He did not even address the looming cutoff of the $600 weekly federal unemployment benefit, which threatens to plunge tens of millions of workers into homelessness and destitution. Instead, he pledged that a Biden administration would continue the economic nationalist, trade war policies enacted by Trump. Calling for an expanded Buy American program, he sought to attack the incumbent president from the right, claiming that Trump was insufficiently aggressive in cracking down on Chinese imports and bringing global supply chains back to the US. The speech was laced with the standard pseudo-populist pablum of American capitalist politics, such as the promise to build an economy where every American has a chance to get a fair return for the work they put in, an equal chance to get ahead. At one point, Biden called for an end to shareholder capitalism, meaning a return to a mythical capitalist past when corporations recognized that they have responsibility to their workers, their community, to their country. He got to the main point when he called for a future that is made in America, all in America. He proposed to double the tax on foreign profits and said he would allocate $400 billion in his first year to buy American products. This would constitute a $400 billion taxpayer handout to major US corporations. Bidens plan also calls for eliminating loopholes and waivers to Buy American requirements and affixing Buy American labels on products produced by US-owned corporations. The Wall Street Journal cited a Biden campaign adviser, who said in advance of the speech that it would serve notice to American trading partners that, even if Mr. Trump loses in November, allies shouldnt expect Washington to return to the embrace of economic globalization that had defined the policies of the Obama-Biden administration and two decades of Republican and Democratic presidents who preceded it. After proclaiming his own America First credentials, Biden launched into attacks on China, as well as denunciations of Trump for being soft on Beijing. The Chinese are spending multiple billions of dollars trying to own the technology of the future while we sit with our thumb in our ear, he declared. This means fighting unfair trade practices, curbing the theft of intellectual property by countries like China. Of Trump, he complained, He promised to buy American, then let federal contractors double the rate of offshoring jobs in his first 18 months He praised the Chinese government, even as the virus was coming to our shores because he was so afraid that theyd walk away from his trade deal At another point he denounced the way [Trump] coddles up to Putin and others. This was combined with praise for the trade unions, bastions of national chauvinism and protectionism and key instruments for suppressing working class opposition to the homicidal back-to-work drive. The unions built the middle class, he proclaimed. Other proposals announced by Biden include a research and investment program of $300 billion over four years to sharpen Americas competitive edge in new industries where global leadership is up for grabs, like battery technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and clean energythat is, another subsidy for corporate America. He pledged to raise the corporate tax rate from the 21 percent established in the Trump tax overhaul to 28 percent, which is still a substantial reduction from the 35 percent that prevailed prior to the December 2017 measure. He listed the most minimal of social reforms, including a $15 dollar minimum wage, a raise in Title One teacher pay to $60,000 a year and financial incentives for black, brown and Native American entrepreneurs. The Democratic Partys embrace of the extreme economic nationalism promoted by Trump is in large part motivated by fear of the emergence of a united mass movement of the American and international working class against capitalism. The US corporate oligarchy is well aware of the growth of socialist sentiment among workers and rising struggles by workers internationally against the brutal and incompetent response of capitalist governments to the pandemic. In recent weeks, for example, Mexican workers at auto parts sweat shops along the US border have refused to return to work and appealed for support from American autoworkers, disrupting supply chains and plans to reopen US assembly plants. Economic nationalism and trade war go hand in hand with militarism and shooting wars. Biden and the Democrats are no less committed to preparing for war against Washingtons great power rivals, first and foremost China and Russia, than Trump and the Republicans. Earlier this month, Defense One published an article titled How Biden Would Wage Great Power Competition, which asserted that, regardless which party wins in November, the National Defense Strategy published in the beginning of 2018 will remain the basic national security doctrine. That document declared that US military strategy had shifted from the war on terror to great power competition against China and Russia, two nuclear-armed powers. The article, which reflects the thinking of significant sections of the military-intelligence establishment, compared Bidens ability to execute and manage this strategy favorably to that of Trump. Trumps commitment to great power competition is a matter of debate, the author wrote, adding that the presidents actions contrast starkly with the presidents words, particularly on Russia and President Vladimir Putin. The article continued: The United States is in the process of updating its Cold War-era arsenal of nuclear bombs and delivery vehicles. Biden has boasted about the money that the Obama administration put toward modernization Biden might spend less on nuclear weapons than another Trump administration, but not by much No matter who is president, the money will continue pouring into things like hypersonic missiles and next-generation aircraft like the F-35, which Biden has described favorably. Biden has also signaled a willingness to spend more on key areas of defense he has described as overlooked, including cyber, space, unmanned system, and artificial intelligence. As for Bidens blue-collar credentials, through 2018, Biden and his wife, Jill, had cashed in on Bidens years as second-in-command to the president to the tune of $15 million after leaving office two years earlier. Between multi-million-dollar book deals, business ventures and $100,000-a-pop speaking engagements, the Bidens are estimated to be worth at least $9 million. Little wonder that in a speech to large donors in New York in June of last year, Biden said: What Ive found is rich people are just as patriotic as poor people. Not a joke. I mean, we may not want to demonize anybody who has made money. Gurugram: Prime Minister Narendra Modias on Tuesday visited Gurugram for Haryanaas Golden Jubilee celebrations. The police on Monday had issued a traffic advisory asking motorists to avoid major roads.A Here are the live updates: Gurugram: PM Narendra Modi honours Rio Paralympics Medallist Deepa Malik at Haryana Swarna Jayanti program pic.twitter.com/6xRgXDgfhQ a ANI (@ANI_news) November 1, 2016 #May the process of transformation begin in our villages and when this happens, the development of Haryana will receive an impetus #Sex ratio in Haryana has improved; Let us think about making Haryana Open Defecation Free in this golden jubilee year #Daughters of Haryana have made India very proud on multiple occasions; Let every citizen of Haryana pledge to protect girl child #In such a distinguished state, female foeticide cannot exist, hence, Haryana has undertaken an effort to ensure this doesn't happen #People of Haryana have given their lives for the nation by serving in the armed forces #It is believed that Haryana has only farmers but see the exemplary success of businessmen from Haryana #Haryana is a relatively small state but it has contributed in so many areas #Today is a day to look back at the time when Haryana was formed and the aims with which the state was formed #Haryana Swarna Jayanti na kisi sarkar ka hai, na kisi dal ka hai; ye har ek haryanvi ka hai For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- About 40 people gathered Friday outside the Department of Homeland Security offices in Grand Rapids to protest detention centers at the countrys southern border. Organizers of the event -- Rosy Rodriguez, Iliana Contreras and Elisha Cruz -- said they hoped to harness the energy from recent Black Lives Matter protests to the cause of immigration. Protesters carried signs that read Only monsters keep kids in cages and No one is illegal on stolen land and Abolish ICE and Free the children. Close the camps. Kyra Pricesanders brought her two children, ages 5 and 2, to the rally and spoke passionately about the cause of illegal immigrants. We need to fight harder for these kids, these women, these men. They came here for something better and we are letting them down. We are letting ourselves down and we are letting our country down. Our country is nothing but a big melting pot and we all know that, she said. Pricesanders urged others to know who youre voting for and know what youre fighting for. I look at my kids and its like What am I doing? What am I going to leave her with? she said, hoping for a better America. After a short rally at the Department of Homeland Security offices, the protesters marched through downtown Grand Rapids streets and later stopped at Monroe Avenue NW and Pearl Street to raise signs and chant slogans. A man is fighting for life after a "serious assault" in south London. The 42-year-old was attacked on Streatham High Road, near the junction with Ambleside Avenue, in the early hours of Saturday. Police said a suspect ran from the scene following the attack, which took place around 2am. The victim was taken to hospital where his condition is described as critical. Investigating officer, DS Rob Merrett, said: I want to hear from anyone who saw or heard anything suspicion, or who witnessed the assault. "A lone suspect, believed to be a white man, ran from the scene north along the High Road, and I want to hear from anyone who may have seen that man. There have been no arrests. Witnesses are asked to call 101 quoting CAD 942/jul11 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously. Roughly five hours after an internal email went out to employees telling them to delete the popular video app TikTok from their phones, Amazon appeared to backtrack, calling the ban a mistake. This morning's email to some of our employees was sent in error. There is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok, Amazon emailed reporters just before 5 p.m. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ardila Syakriah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 08:54 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066586790 1 National EIU,report,health,cancer,Indonesia,treatment,Asia-Pacific,medical-care-expense Free For 32-year-old Wiji Cahyono, the back pains that have cost him so many nights of sleep are now becoming so unbearable that he felt like dying, if it were not for the support of his friends and fellow cancer fighters online. In February, a hospital in his hometown of Madiun, East Java, diagnosed him with colon cancer, after an earlier diagnosis of grade 3 hemorrhoids at another hospital in late 2019. A month later, the company he had been working for in Yogyakarta for the past three years decided to lay him off, as COVID-19 began to sweep across Indonesia. Things got gradually worse when hospitals in the city began announcing that they were no longer able to provide further treatment for his cancer. Wiji said he was referred to a much larger hospital in East Javas capital Surabaya, about a four-hour drive away from Madiun. "I went there once and was supposed to go there again for a further diagnostic check-up, even though I have a file from the previous hospital. But then Surabaya turned into a COVID-19 black zone, so my family and I decided not to go, he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. "I'd rather die of cancer than of COVID-19." Read also: As COVID-19 transmission rate soars, Surabaya urged to restore restrictions But then his condition soon deteriorated and so was referred to another hospital in Surakarta, Central Java, about two hours away by car. Wiji had to redo his diagnostics there, which meant that he would have to go back and forth to the city in the near future. Wiji did not appear as concerned about being exposed to COVID-19 as he was about the transportation costs that must be borne, as well as any out-of-pocket spending on drugs and treatments that might not be covered by the National Health Insurance (JKN). "I'm relying on donations from my friends now. I've pawned my house certificate and in the worst case, I might have to sell my house too, he said. The JKN has been of very great help, though. Wiji's experience offers a glimpse into the extent of cancer preparedness in Indonesia, which has seen its cancer prevalence increase from 1.4 cases in 2013 to 1.79 per 1,000 people in the population. Indonesia should focus on "closing access gaps and ensuring quality of services across the cancer continuum through better infrastructure and service supply, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) researchers suggested following the launch of its latest report, Cancer preparedness in the Asia-Pacific: Progress toward universal cancer control. The report explored findings from the EIU's Index of Cancer Preparedness (ICP), which measures the readiness of healthcare systems by exploring three broad domains: policy and planning, care delivery and health systems and governance. It revealed that Indonesia ranked 7th among nine countries in the region Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam with an overall score of 57.4 out of 100, below the regional average of 66.5. Read also: What should our healthcare reform focus on after COVID-19? The report noted that in the lower middle-income group, which until recently included Indonesia, there were gaps in the availability of services, particularly the underprovision of care in rural or remote areas. "In middle-income countries, the primary concerns are management of rising cancer costs, inadequate quality and capacity, fragmentation in care and centralization of services in main urban centers," the report said. It also highlighted the country's lack of specialists, citing various data showing that Indonesia's density of radiology and clinical oncologists was way below 0.02 per 1,000 population, although there is no standard that constitutes an appropriate level of staffing. Indonesia, alongside Vietnam and the Philippines, also came in last in the EIU's indicator on the capacity of radiotherapy machines to meet patient demands. World Health Organization data from 2014 cited in the report showed that in all but two countries Indonesia and China radiotherapy is available in the public health system. In 2013, said the report, there were an estimated 37.8 machines available in Indonesia, or about 0.15 machines per million population for the countrys then-250 million people. Delayed diagnosis was also a key challenge in the region, according to the report, which researchers say could contribute to poor survival prospects. Last year, the National Cancer Prevention Committee said 65 percent of cancer patients in Indonesia only sought treatment in the diseases late stages. "[While] making sure that several screenings are in place for breast cancer, and colorectal cancer screening is available in the public health system, [it is more important that] its accessible to the wider population who need it these are key to start overcoming late diagnoses, said EIU managing editor Jesse Quigley Jones during a virtual media briefing on Wednesday. The report notes that while Indonesia has existing national programs for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical and breast cancer screening, the country was still lacking in clinical breast exams, fecal occult blood tests to screen for colorectal cancer, and colonoscopy to screen for bowel cancer, citing WHO data. Breast, cervix uteri and colorectal cancer comprised the majority of new cases in Indonesia in 2018, according to Globocan data, alongside lung and liver cancer. The JKN, while it has brought about positive outcomes and promised coverage for treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, still has limited screening and early detection programs for cervical, breast and prostate cancer, and has been known to delist several treatment drugs, the report said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appreciated the efforts of the Centre, state and local authorities in containing the COVID-19 situation in Delhi and directed that similar approach be adopted with other state governments in checking the pandemic in the entire NCR area. He made these remarks at a meeting to review the coronavirus situation in the country, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said. The prime minister reiterated the need to observe personal hygiene and social discipline in public places. Modi said the awareness about the pandemic should be disseminated widely and a continuous emphasis on preventing the spread of the infection should be laid. He said there is no room for any complacency in this regard, according to the statement. Modi also directed that real-time national level monitoring and guidance should be provided to all affected states and places with high test positivity rate. "The prime minister appreciated the concerted efforts of the Centre, state and local authorities in containing the pandemic situation in Delhi," the statement said. "He further directed that a similar approach should be adopted with other state governments in containing the COVID-19 pandemic in the entire NCR area," it said. The review meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and the cabinet secretary among others. During the meet, the "successful example" of surveillance and home-based care through 'Dhanvantri Rath' in Ahmedabad was highlighted and it was directed that it may be emulated in other places, the statement said. Also read: Coronavirus impact: Delhi cancels exams in state govt universities; urges Centre to follow suit Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Czech Republic, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes the Czech Republic and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of the Czech Republic (issuer rating Aa3) is supported by the country's "a3" economic strength, reflecting its medium-sized economy, relatively high wealth level and a track record of economic resilience balanced by very tight labor market conditions and strong wage growth which could weigh on competitiveness. The "aa3" institutions and governance strength score reflects the high policy credibility and effectiveness, as exemplified by the effective monetary policy framework. The "aa2" fiscal strength score reflects a low and declining general government debt burden and very strong debt affordability metrics. The Czech Republic's "a" susceptibility to event risk score is driven by domestic political and geopolitical risk, banking sector risk and external vulnerability risk. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit. This publication does not announce a credit rating action. 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President Mnangagwa has warned rogue non-governmental organisations (NGOs), trade unions, churches and some foreign embassies against destabilising prevailing peace, unity and harmony through dabbling in politics, saying the ruling party will not allow such conduct. In his address to the Zanu PF Ordinary Session of the Politburo meeting, at the Revolutionary Partys headquarters in Harare yesterday, the President said the Second Republics re-engagement efforts with all nations should never be mistaken for a sign of weakness, but signifies his Government commitment and value for international solidarity based on mutual respect. This comes as some NGOs, unions and embassies have been openly abusing their stations to stir anti-government sentiments through sponsoring industrial actions, notwithstanding the Second Republics commitment to dialogue. We continue to see acts that seek to outrightly destabilise the peace, unity and harmony we are enjoying, in particular through the use of platforms in the health, education and security sectors. We shall never quiver or capitulate in the face of these machinations. Zanu PF is a Revolutionary Party, a party of liberation, a party with a rich ideology, history and a vision for the future. This character of our party is stronger than any challenge we may face no matter from what front or force, he said. Daring union leaders, who are hiding behind the workers grievances to push their political agenda and machinations, the President said they should choose which side they want to be on, the workers or politics. I urge those who purport to represent workers to do just that. It is a one-way traffic lane. Political ambitions and views belong to another lane. Choose the lane you walk on. Those in politics must seek the mandate of the people every five years, through the ballot box. That is the constitutional way, that is the rule of law way, that is the democratic way, he said. Just a few years before the 2023 elections and with political parties now masking their agendas through employing trade unionists and other forms of economic sabotage, the President said they should instead focus on areas of their jurisdictions such as local authorities that reek of corruption and other malpractices. In between these years, I urge political parties to express their capacity to govern on correct platforms. Sadly, we are seeing opposition parties clamouring for spaces that we control as Zanu PF, yet the local authorities under their purview are havens of corruption, malpractice and poor service delivery. As a party, we have no interest in the politics of the opposition, our agenda and focus is to improve the quality of life of all Zimbabweans, leaving no one behind, he said Civil organisations must stick to the functions and roles for which they were registered. Those who deviate from their mandate will attract de-registration. Some of our guests of the state, our foreign embassies are reminded that Zimbabwe is an independent and sovereign nation. They are once again dissuaded from interfering in our internal affairs and should stop forthwith the funding of destabilisation activities. On re-engagement, an initiative of the Second Republic that has gained world acclaim, the President said some hostile elements are now abusing the Government goodwill through crab-like tendencies. As Zanu PF we are engaging and re-engaging not as a sign of weakness or a sign of surrendering our hard won independence and the values we hold dear. NO, not at all. It is because we know the value of international solidarity and believe in a shared future for all mankind. Foreign missions who have crab-like tendencies stand warned and should restrict themselves to their diplomatic mandates. Apart from embassies, and civil society organisations, that are openly interfering in the countrys politics, the President also raised the red flag on Churches that are enmeshing themselves in politics instead of nourishing peoples souls. To churches and men of the cloth, as a nation, we are yearning for you to churn out the incorruptible word of God to nourish and uplift us. There are some who are dabbling in politics, ko anotiparidzira shoko benyu ndiani kana topiringishana mu politics? President Mnangagwa commended the nation for its response and participation in the national day of prayer which was held on June 15, 2020. I exhort us all to continue in prayer for our beloved nation . . . Let us always increase our awareness of the needs of the people and seek to serve them wholeheartedly, shunning corruption, working hard, leading with integrity. Zimbabwe is presently under illegal economic sanctions that were imposed by some Western nations to effect regime change, and as if that is not enough, detractors of the New Dispensation are employing economic sabotage to derail the Government from attaining its 2030 Vision to make the country a middle-income country. Naoise Hennessy (centre), winner of the Gorey sketching competition organised by Gorey.pl Polish Cultural Association, with Sylwia Gut and Kasia Neumann-Kochanska from Gorey.pl. Craanford's Naoise Hennessy has won the Gorey.Pl Sketching Competition which asked the public to create images of Gorey's landmarks and historical places. Choosing Gorey's Market House, Naoise used charcoal to create her piece. Speaking to this newspaper, the 17-year-old she said she didn't expect to win the competition. 'Usually I work with paint and coloured pencil and I had never really worked with charcoal so it was a bit of a challenge for me to branch out like that. But it was nice to try something new. 'I chose the Market House because it's in the middle of Gorey and it stands out. I don't draw buildings much as I usually concentrate on portraits, so I thought doing a building would be a nice challenge and be a bit different. I looked at the building but I also had a reference photo so it ended up being a combination of both,' she said. 'It has been all praise since people saw it, with lots of positive comments but it's a great promotion for the Market House, Gorey.pl and myself as an artist. It benefits everyone and ever since I saw the competition, I thought it was a great idea.' Since winning the Texaco children's' art competition last year, the Colaiste Bhride Carnew student has seen a huge spark in interest for her work. 'I've gotten a lot of work done during the lockdown with my art because at school before, I didn't really get a huge chance to practise. I set up a Facebook page over the last few months and, since then, I've started doing commission work for a few people, so it's keeping me busy. 'Being asked to do art, it has really helped motivate me to do more artwork and it has encouraged me to do different pieces. I want to thank the family, as well as my mum Marie who encouraged me to enter the competition'. Kasia Neumann-Kochanska of Gorey.pl said that the idea for the competition came after the postponing of the PolskaEire Festival. 'We still wanted to do something, even something small and we got an idea to make an "event" during lockdown to comply with the regulations.' Naoise's winning sketch will be printed on eco-friendly canvas bags and the bags will promote Gorey Town, local art, local shopping and use of eco friendly bags instead of plastic bags. 'It will be a nice souvenir from Gorey which does not generate a waste at the same time,' Kasia said. The project was supported by Gorey-Kilmuckridge Municipal District and Wexford County Council, and the runners-up all received g-vouchers. In the coming weeks, the bags bearing Naoise's design will be available to buy online and in local shops. Kasia said that choosing the winner wasn't easy, as there were entries from people of different ages from Gorey and the surrounding area. 'It was very popular on social media, people liked the idea of the competition and we received nice comments,' she said. US President Donald Trump hinted he has lost interest in a potential phase two trade deal with China, the latest sign yet of worsening relations between Washington and Beijing amid the Covid-19 pandemic. "I don't think about it now," Trump said on Friday when asked about the possibility of another deal, adding that the US-China relationship "has been severely damaged". "Honestly, I have many other things in mind." Trump has touted the trade war and the phase one deal with Beijing as signature policy achievements " ones he has insisted would balance America's economic relationship with China. He has spoken for years of his desire to shrink American trade deficits with China, and as president has also called trade wars "good" and "easy to win". The two countries have levied piles of tariffs on each other's goods since the trade war began two years ago. The phase one trade deal, signed on January 15, included new commitments from China to buy more American goods and protect American intellectual property. Trump's potential about-face on a phase two deal with China comes one day after his top trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, could not say with certainty what the purpose of the two-year-old trade war was supposed to be. "I don't know what the end goal is," Lighthizer said on Thursday. The president spoke to reporters on Air Force One en route to Florida, which has seen record coronavirus infection levels in recent days, more than half a year after the outbreak began in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Trump is not scheduled to hold any meetings about Covid-19 in Florida, but told reporters he blamed the damage to the US-China relationship on China's mishandling of the virus. "They could have stopped the plague, they could have stopped it, they didn't stop it," he said, echoing a refrain he has used while batting off criticism that he has grossly mismanaged the pandemic. Story continues More than 130,000 people have died in the US from the virus. 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. Photograph: Joe Skipper/Reuters Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of Roger Stone, a longtime friend and former campaign adviser who was to spend three years and four months in jail for crimes related to the Russia investigation. In a statement released on Friday evening, the White House denounced the prosecution of Stone on charges stemming from the Russia Hoax investigation. Roger Stone has already suffered greatly, the statement reads. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man! Related: Roger Stone: five things to know about Trump's controversial ally Stone, 67, was convicted in November 2019 of obstructing a congressional investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. He was sentenced in February to 40 months and was due to report to prison on Tuesday. The commutation does not erase Stones felony convictions the way a pardon would, but it allows Stone to avoid setting foot in prison for his crimes. Echoing the language that Trump has used in tweets and speeches, the official White House statement attacked the witch-hunts led by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, who was investigating Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Stone had been openly lobbying Trump for clemency for months. The president told me he thought my trial has been unfair, Stone told the Associated Press on Friday. While not unexpected, Trumps move to spare Stone from prison will only increase alarm among critics concerned that the Trump administration has interfered with the justice system in order to shield the president and his friends. In February, Trump commuted the 14-year sentence of Rod Blagojevich, a former Democratic Illinois governor accused of trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. He also offered clemency for allies including the Maricopa county, Arizona, sheriff Joe Arpaio, who disobeyed a judges order to stop racial profiling immigrants, and the conservative commentator Dinesh DSouza, who was convicted of campaign finance violations. Story continues Last month, Trump fired Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney who had prosecuted the presidents former personal lawyer Michael Cohen and was investigating Rudy Giuliani another Trump lawyer. And in May, the justice department dismissed its case against the former national security adviser Michael Flynn after Trump complained that prosecutors were acting unfairly. With Trump, there are now two systems of justice in America: one for Trumps criminal friends and one for everyone else, said Adam Schiff, a Democratic US representative of California and the lead prosecutor in the presidents impeachment trial, in reaction to the news. Related: Roger Stone furore shows 'crisis of credibility' in US justice system, experts warn Regardless of our political parties or differences, we all know this is disgraceful, said Val Demings, a Democratic US representative of Florida. Pray that our republic will endure. The commuting of Stones sentence comes after the US attorney general, William Barr, revised prosecutors original recommendation that Stone serve seven to nine years in federal prison. Trump had railed that the conviction should be thrown out and called the justice departments initial sentencing recommendation horrible and very unfair. Following the reversal, the entire prosecution team working on the case resigned. Although the White House did not dispute that Stone had committed the crimes for which he was convicted, its statement argued that Stone would not have been charged if the special counsel had not been pursuing an absolutely baseless investigation. Stone was celebrating in Florida with conservative friends, according to the AP. He told reporters there were too many people opening bottles of champagne here. The Associated Press contributed to this report Gov. Tom Wolf acknowledged that a decision on when to allow a region to reopen is both art and science, with a high degree of uncertainty thrown in. He said Im trying to do this in a logical, reasoned, sequential, cadenced way, but recognizing that ultimately theres going to be a measure of subjectivity to this whole thing, Its time to get our state open again. Pennsylvanias state government cannot continue to destroy our economy and erode our civil rights. When the shut-down began, we were told the purpose of the shut-down was to flatten the curve, but the goal posts kept moving. The curb is flattened, and we are still closed. It is time to move on and get our economy started again. We were also told repeatedly that we need to listen to science. We did and they were wrong. Way wrong. Their models were severely incorrect. Now Gov. Wolf is adding art to science. This is not science. The predictions were incorrect by factors so great that there is no way this should be called science. What it is, is so-called scientists guessing and guessing wrong. The result is the destruction of our economy, the destruction of our civil liberties, and destruction of the American way of life that most of us hold dear. In Montgomery County, PA., 73% of the Covid-19 deaths were in long-term care facilities. In fact 35% of the total positives in Montgomery County are directly linked to long-term care facilities. Eighty Nine long-term care facilities have reported positive cases. Where is the breakdown? Which facilities? How many in each facility? How many individuals are currently infectious? What is the plan to separate and deal with this situation? In Pennsylvania, 51% of the deaths were associated with long-term care facilities. What is being done to mitigate this? Why isnt detailed information on this made public? If my financial security and my civil rights are being ripped from me, then why is this info on long term facilities being kept secret? The public has a right to this info. The goal here cannot simply be to keep the disease from spreading. There is much more at stake and its not all science. There are also fiscal responsibilities and civil liberty protections that are vital to our society, security, health, and way of life. Wolf said We are trying to keep people safe and we are being driven by the dictates of this virus. Not true. We are being driven by the dictates of this governor. Science has shown us that there has been an increase in suicides and drug abuse. Where are those numbers? How important is this? Where does this play into the decisions? Wolf further explained that expanded virus testing, sufficient hospital capacity, and the ability to quickly identify and contain flare ups through whats known as contact tracing must also be in place. Again the goal posts have been moved. Contact tracing is an entirely new assault on our civil liberties which will require each citizen to be put under 24 hour surveillance further eroding our civil rights. How far does this go? When does this end? Is this how Americans want to live? Trying to hit the governors benchmark of less than 50 new cases per 100,000 people is a new moving target that will get further and further from achievement. As testing increases so will the number of confirmed positive cases increase. Currently in Montgomery County, 14% of those tested are confirmed positives. It goes to reason that if the rate of positive cases of those tested stays the same and we double the number of tests, then we will double the number of positive confirmed cases. How does this fit into science? Does this mean we will never open this region, because we cannot meet the high degree of uncertainty that this science predicts? Tests are reserved for high-risk individuals meeting one or more of the following five (5) criteria: * Persons of any age with symptoms of sudden illness (such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, loss of smell/taste, OR gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea), with or without fever; OR * First responder (law enforcement, fire, EMS, or dispatcher) AND concern for exposure to a patient with suspected COVID-19 OR symptoms of any sudden illness, with or without fever; OR * Healthcare worker providing direct patient care AND concern for exposure to a patient with suspected COVID-19 OR symptoms of any sudden illness, with or without fever; OR * Anyone with known or suspected direct contact to someone with COVID-19; OR * Anyone who has been recommended by their doctor to get tested. So if the percentage of positive cases of those tested is 14% and we are only testing high risk people, then how low would that rate be if we expanded testing? If we are not in the position to significantly increase the amount of testing that can be done, then so be it. We cant continue to destroy our economy until that is available. It just doesnt make sense. Why wait for May 8 to open the rest of the state which is currently meeting the governors criteria based on art, science, a high degree of uncertainty, and subjectivity? We must open now. When we look at all the options available to us, our leaders must recognize when an idea is unrealistic, unreasonable, unconstitutional, doesnt help us in the long term, is not available in the near future, or is otherwise just a bad idea, and then dismiss that possibility. I strongly urge our governor and all legislators to quickly move to reopen our state. Look at all the possibilities ahead of us and decide how to get us reopened. Further, take a very hard long look at long-term care facilities and isolate that problem instead of isolating all Pennsylvanians. We need Pennsylvania open for business before this situation destroys all of us. -Rusty Oister, Gilbertsville NEW DELHI: Interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday approved a proposal to nominate Patidar community leader Hardik Patel as the working president of the party's Gujarat unit. Hardik Patel has been appointed as the Working President of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect, a release from the party said. INC COMMUNIQUE Important Notification pic.twitter.com/KLBzyo6BlW INC Sandesh (@INCSandesh) July 11, 2020 The press release regarding the appointment of Working President for Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee and DCC presidents was singed by KC Venugopal, General Secretary, AICC. Amit Chavda is currently the chief of the Gujarat unit of the party. The move is likely to boost the Congress party as Hardik Patel is quite popular among the powerful Patel community in Gujarat. Earlier this year, the Patidar quota agitation leader was arrested by the Ahmedabad Police in a three-year-old case of rioting. Patidar leader Patel, who launched a movement for reservation for his community in the state in 2015, had joined the Congress in 2017 ahead of the assembly polls. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Minister of National Defence (Photo: VNA) Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh highlighted Vietnamese peacekeepers COVID-19 relief efforts in Africa, saying they have also helped local children study and taught local people about good personal hygiene to prevent the transmission of the disease. The force has also produced and given away face masks to international colleagues and local citizens to fight the pandemic, he added. The official said Vietnam is actively preparing for the third Level-2 field hospital to replace the one in South Sudan. Khare, for his part, congratulated Vietnam on its success in containing the virus, saying he also appreciated the hospitals contributions to the local coronavirus response. He said he expects Vietnam will ramp up such activities to further support the UN Mission in South Sudan. The UN official suggested the two sides take necessary steps to enhance the preparedness of Vietnamese military engineers, who received intensive training for the peacekeeping mission the African country. The two officials later discussed the organisation of a conference on women and UN peacekeeping missions and a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) initiated by Vietnam./. Goya CEO Robert Unanue has been met with backlash and inspired a viral movement on Twitter with the hashtags #Goyaway, and#BoycottGoya, as critics seek to start an all-out war against the famed food company that is a staple among the Latino community. It's the speech that has been heard around the world: While visiting the White House Unanue stated that the U.S. is "blessed" to have a leader like Donald Trump. HOUSTON BLACK RESTAURANT WEEK IS BACK: Houston restaurants expect a big turnout for Black Restaurant Week In an unprecedented turn of events, Unanue's speech has caused an uproar among thousands around the country, especially Hispanics who feel attacked by Trump's previous comments suggesting Mexican immigrants are criminals and rapists. Ana Navarro-Cardenas said the following in a tweet regarding her thoughts on the matter-"When the vast majority of your customers are Latinos, you might expect a backlash from serving as a prop for a guy who puts brown children in cages." Goya is the largest Hispanic-owned food brand in the country, known for products like Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning and Chick Peas Garbanzos, not to mention the beloved Sazon GOYA, which many households swear by. NBC News reported that the meeting included the signing of an executive order on "Hispanic Prosperity Initiative," "an effort said to include more taxpayer support for charter and private schools, and added tax benefits for 'Opportunity Zone' development in urban neighborhoods." Trump hosted a group of Hispanic supporters, which included Unanue and other politicians and business magnates, according to the article. People across the Internet are expressing their feelings on Unanue's comment: "We're all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder." Julian Castro, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and former Mayor of San Antonio, didn't hold back in his opinion of Unanue's remarks. "En esta casa, compramos productos que ponen el interes y valores de sus clientes en lugar de apoyar un presidente que nos llama violadores y separa nuestras families! "In this house we buy products that put the value and interest of its clients ahead of supporting a president that calls us violators and separates our families," said HipLatina in a Facebook post. Many Latinos already feel attacked by Trump throughout his presidency, and this is the latest in adding fuel to an already blazing fire, but in this case, it's coming from one of their own. "It's shameful and appalling that the president of Goya Foods is praising the most anti-Latino president in the history of our country," Latino Victory Fund CEO Nathalie Rayes said by email to NBC News. "We call for a boycott of Goya Foods products and anyone who stands with Donald Trump and against our community." Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the outspoken U.S. representative for New York's 14th Congressional District, was front and center with a comical tweet. Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted what many already were thinking about this scenario. In what may seem like a response in their defense, Goya tweeted out the following today reminding people of their COVID-19 efforts: "Goya continues to work for the prosperity & education of our country! #GOYAGIVES two million pounds of food to food banks across the nation who are in desperate need of food for families impacted by COVID19." With phrases being used such as malagradecido (ungrateful), in response to Unanue's speech, you can be almost certain there won't be a shortage of Goya products flying off the shelves at grocery stores any time soon. STAY INFORMED: Sign up to receive breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. Camila Mendes is waiting to return to the set of Riverdale, as the show is on break amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Brazilian-American actress is keeping occupied as she enjoys some quality time with friends. She went sleeveless Saturday in a black crop top, as she made a coffee run with a gal pal at La Colombe Coffee Roasters in Los Angeles during a break from quarantine. Coffee run: Camila Mendes went sleeveless Saturday in a black crop top, as she made a coffee run with a gal pal at La Colombe Coffee Roasters in Los Angeles during a break from quarantine The 26-year-old paired the top with high-waisted jeans, cut-off at the ankle and white Reebok slip-on sandals. She finished the look with a yellow tartan face mask, a silver nameplate necklace and black leather handbag over her shoulder. Mendes previously opened up about defending her Riverdale co-stars after they were the subjects of fabricated sexual assault allegations. She told People: 'These are my friends, they've become my family over the years. More than even being put in a situation where they're being accused of something that they never did, the fact that this person went out of their way to potentially destroy these people's careers. Blue jean baby: The 26-year-old paired the top with high-waisted jeans, cut-off at the ankle and white Reebok slip-on sandals Like family: Mendes previously opened up about defending her Riverdale co-stars after they were the subjects of fabricated sexual assault allegations: 'These are my friends, they've become my family over the years' (pictured in July, 2019) Back to work: The Riverdale actress also gave an update on when the show will resume production in Vancouver, after production on season five halted in March due to COVID-19 concerns Fingers crossed: She said: 'I think Vancouver is looking a lot better than other places, so I think they're opening up quicker. Hopefully in the next few months, if everything's done properly. Fingers crossed' 'But also destroy the integrity of the #MeToo movement just to make a point about how easily people believe things, was so distasteful and destructive.' The Riverdale actress also gave an update on when the show will resume production in Vancouver, after production on season five halted in March due to COVID-19 concerns. She said: 'I think Vancouver is looking a lot better than other places, so I think they're opening up quicker. Hopefully in the next few months, if everything's done properly. Fingers crossed. 'We've all been like, all right, whenever it happens, it happens, and we've all just been hanging out and enjoying the time off until then.' Mendes can currently be seen starring alongside Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti in Palm Springs, which premiered Friday on Hulu. As Nenshi considers a mandatory mask bylaw, here's what Calgarians should know Calgary's mayor is musing about the possibility of making masks mandatory in certain situations and says he could bring forward a draft bylaw to council on July 20. That would be a step further than the province, which recommends use but hasn't appeared eager to force the issue. If Calgary did take the step, it would join three other major Canadian cities in making the masks mandatory. Here are some of the top questions and answers around the move. What's the current science on wearing masks? The Public Health Agency of Canada and Alberta Health recommend wearing a homemade or non-medical mask or face covering when it isn't possible to maintain physical distancing, particularly in places like stores and on public transit. Alberta Health says the use of non-medical masks hasn't been proven to protect the person wearing one, but "it can help protect people from being exposed to your germs." Both agencies, along with the World Health Organization, say mask use should not replace other preventative measures like physical distancing and proper hygiene. There is also the risk of self-contamination associated with mask use, if not worn and handled properly. While Alberta recommends wearing masks under certain conditions, it has resisted mandating the use of masks. Why is the mayor considering making it mandatory? Nenshi says mask use indoors in Calgary is too low and is one of three things Calgarians can do to reduce the spread of the virus along with keeping distance and proper hygiene. He says he's been pushing for increased mask use, but Calgarians aren't taking up the call, so the city might force the issue. He points to the lack of masks on transit as a concern. What can he do and what would the city have to do to make it mandatory in Calgary? Nenshi is just one vote on council, so he can't do anything on his own. He has said he could bring a proposed bylaw before council, who would have to vote for moving forward with it. Story continues Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press How would it be enforced? Bylaw officers and even police could levy fines if they find people without masks in public places, but it would all depend on the specifics of the bylaw. Calgary bylaw officers tend to prefer education over enforcement. Would there be exceptions? The details won't be known before a bylaw is written, but exceptions are likely. In Toronto, which introduced a mandatory mask bylaw, children under the age of two and those with certain health conditions are excluded. The bylaw there also doesn't apply to some spaces, including schools, child-care facilities, apartment or condo building common areas and restaurant patios. What other cities have done this? If Calgary brought in a mandatory mask bylaw, it would be following in the footsteps of other cities across Canada, including Toronto, Ottawa and, soon, Montreal. Quebec is considering a provincewide rule. What about other countries? It varies from place to place, but Asian countries have a long history of mask use, and citizens can face steep fines in places like Singapore for not wearing one. Linh Pham/Getty Images In the United States, multiple states have brought in mandatory mask laws. Vietnam, Slovakia, United Arab Emirates and Germany are just some of the countries that have introduced some form of mandatory mask usage. What are the different kinds of masks and what protection do they offer? The masks recommended for public use are non-medical, essentially covering the nose and mouth to avoid droplets from escaping and potentially infecting others. This also includes the free masks handed out by the province. There are also medical masks. N95 masks form a seal about the mouth and nose and are designed to filter most viruses. Surgical masks don't form a seal and provide a barrier to splashes and droplets. Both are used predominantly by health-care workers. What are common mistakes when wearing a mask? Don't touch your face and don't touch the front of the mask. Alberta Health recommends adjusting or removing the mask using the ties or ear loops. Even then, wash your hands before putting it on and before taking it off. The provincial website also recommends you don't share a mask, don't wear a dirty or wet mask, don't wear a torn mask and don't wear the mask under your chin or under your nose as that sort of defeats the point. If you're wearing a disposable mask, make sure you throw it away. If you're wearing a reusable one, make sure you wash it. Making these mistakes while wearing a mask can accidentally spread infection rather than prevent it. Who supports mandatory masks and why? Some doctors are calling for mandatory masks in Canada, including a group calling itself Masks4Canada. That organization wrote an open letter to the Government of Alberta urging use in all public indoor spaces, in crowds and on transit. Who doesn't and why? Others, including Alberta's chief medical officer of health, aren't as convinced. Yet. Dr. Deena Hinshaw has recommended mask use, and says the province is keeping an eye on the latest research, but she has argued recommendations are working and cautions about the concerns with improper mask use contributing to infection rather than preventing it. Are you out and about in a mask? CBC Calgary would love to see what you're wearing, especially if it stands out. Send us photos of your masked self to calgaryphotos@cbc.ca, through Facebook or on Twitter. Dozens of U.S. Marines have been infected with the coronavirus at two bases on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa in what is feared to be a massive outbreak, Okinawan officials said Saturday, demanding an adequate explanation from the U.S. military. Okinawa prefectural officials said they could say only that a few dozen cases had been found recently because the U.S. military asked that the exact figure not be released. The outbreaks occurred at Marine Corps. Air Station Futenma, which is at the center of a relocation dispute, and Camp Hansen, Okinawan officials said. Local media, citing unnamed sources, said about 60 people had been infected. Okinawans are shocked by what we were told (by the U.S. military), Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki told a news conference. He questioned disease prevention measures taken by the U.S. military and renewed his demand for transparency regarding the latest development. Okinawan officials asked the U.S. military on Friday to provide the number of cases and other details in order to address growing concerns among local residents, Tamaki said. The Marines said in a statement Friday that the troops were taking additional protective measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus and were restricting off-base activities. The statement said measures are to protect our forces, our families, and the local community, without providing details on the infections. Okinawa is home to more than half of about 50,000 American troops based in Japan under a bilateral security pact, and the residents are sensitive to U.S. base-related problems. Many Okinawans have long complained about pollution, noise and crime related to U.S. bases. Okinawans also oppose a planned relocation of the Futenma air base from the current site in a densely populated area in the south to a less populated area on the east coast. Local media reported that the Okinawan assembly adopted a resolution Friday protesting the U.S. militarys lack of transparency about its outbreak on base, and that local officials were considering demanding shutdowns of Futenma and Camp Hansen. Okinawa has about 150 cases of the coronavirus. In all, Japan has about 21,000 cases and 1,000 deaths, with Tokyo reporting more than 200 new cases for a third straight day Saturday. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Surveillance cameras are seen outside the CBIRC building in Beijing BEIJING (Reuters) - China's banks should brace for a big jump in bad loans due to coronavirus-induced economic pain, the financial regulator said on Saturday, noting the deterioration of asset quality at some small and mid-sized financial institutions was accelerating. China's Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said in a statement that profit growth would slow sharply at some banks while others could see profits decline. If banks were to make the minimum amount of provisions for their non-performing loans, which some have yet to do, profits for the sector would fall by more than 350 billion yuan ($50 billion), the statement said. Data from the commission shows that Chinese commercial banks booked 2 trillion yuan in profits in 2019, up 8.9% from a year earlier. Outstanding non-performing loans in the sector totalled 3.6 trillion yuan as of end-June, while the bad loan ratio rose to 2.10%, 0.08 percentage points higher than the beginning of the year, the statement said. Small firms have been allowed to delay loan and interest payments and the central government has called on the countrys financial institutions to sacrifice 1.5 trillion yuan in profits this year to help counter the economic impact of the virus on companies. Beijing has also allowed local governments to use the proceeds of special bonds to replenish the capital of certain small banks. The regulator warned of illegal fund flows into real estate and the stock market, and of renewed risks in the shadow banking sector without elaborating. It also vowed to strengthen regulation of capital flows and crack down on speculation in the financial sector to prevent asset bubbles. ($1 = 6.9990 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Lusha Zhang, Cheng Leng and Ryan Woo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) I dont have a zoom shirt but Ive spent all day making bleach tie dye shirts and Im addicted Reply Thread Link on black shirts, or what? dyeing and then bleaching? Reply Parent Thread Link You can do it on any color shirt, you tie it off like you would if you were doing regular tie dye but use a bleach and water mixture instead of dye Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Im trying to understand this obsession with tie dyeing. Can you explain whats is so addicting about it? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link cute!! A user here linked a boujie shirt that was tie dyed and it was kinda cute. lemme see if I can find it.. checked my history and couldn't find it Reply Parent Thread Expand Link My Zoom shirts are my regular work button downs. I do just grab when needed though. Reply Thread Link We have a 15 minute video conference call every morning at the beginning of the day(while everyone was working at home, not normally), and I would just get dressed from the waist up and put on some makeup, but Id still be wearing my PJ pants. But as soon as we were out of the meetingcontacts out, nice top off and PJs back on. But those days are over, my workload is getting too much to make working at home an option anymore, and I dont have the kind of job where I can work from home at my own pace, so starting next week Im back to going in every day from 7 or 8 until whenever. Unfortunately all my coworkers are social butterflies outside of work so I am guessing Covid will be coming for me. Its a matter of time before it gets me and the outcome wont be good so I gotta make my peace with that and get my shit in order. Reply Thread Link I am thankful my boss doesn't force video conferencing. We have audio calls quite often but I havent worn makeup in months, my hair is.... doing it's own thing now. Reply Thread Link I dont have a zoom shirt but I have a zoom blazer I throw on over whatever top Im wearing before a meeting to make sure I look fancy enough and most importantly to hide the fact that Im not wearing a bra Edited at 2020-07-11 10:10 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link omg, someone call that douche from the LA times who was mad people wear sweatpants while working at home LOL Reply Thread Link Lol fuck whosever said that. Seethe! /chillin in American Appeal gym short shorts Reply Parent Thread Link I'm too lazy and just adjust my camera so they can't see below the top of my shoulders. Reply Thread Link lol same, i haven't put on a bra since march Reply Parent Thread Link Mines just a nice black lightweight jumper And I keep it on the back of my chair for when I need it lol. And I keep dry shampoo on the desk too for last min zoom meetings/chats lol Reply Thread Link I love being a designer because no matter how high up the ladder I climb, I can still get away with a t-shirt. Because ~ creatives ~. Still can't get away with a sloppy hoodie and some cargo short like the developers tho. Reply Thread Link what kind of designer are you! Reply Parent Thread Link Digital products - I design websites and apps and the like. Reply Parent Thread Link the entire reason i switched to development right there Reply Parent Thread Link Wait people are buying shirts to wear on zoom? What? I do change my shirt when i have a call but to buy a shirt for a zoom call seems dumb. The only thing i hate is my background. I have a messy desk and you can tell. I try to clean it but its not working out for me. Those fake background look so bad so i dont try. At this point , im like whatever. Reply Thread Link right? like didn't they own shirts to wear to work already? Reply Parent Thread Link I had to read the article twice to understand what zoom shirts are. Yup idgi. Why would anything want to buy zoom shirts and not wear clothes that they own? Such a weird concept. I get that company want a uniform work but if you are just doing a team meeting with your colleagues, who cares what you have on? Reply Parent Thread Link wait are people's employers making them wear shirts at home? we've just been wearing home stuff. i've been living in tshirts and soft trousers/leggings since march Reply Thread Link yeah same here. the only time i got remotely dressed up was to do a zoom online lesson. but our work doesnt require us to dress formally for zoom meetings Reply Parent Thread Link same! and everyone compliments my wall since i make sure my camera doesn't show below my shoulders lol. i'm so glad my job is not forcing us to go into the office or use camera all the times in meetings. i just make sure my hair looks nice if i'm in a video call with a client but that's it lmao Reply Parent Thread Link Not for most people but for corporate and legal fields theres still some sort of dress code, especially when you are presenting at a virtual seminar/workshop in front of your peers Reply Parent Thread Link I unfortunately have to go in for work and see everyones mugs. Reply Thread Link i'm on and off zoom calls all day long so i'm very thankful there's no pressure to look more than basically presentable among my coworkers. i'm pretty much always in a t-shirt and sports bra with either running shorts or sweatpants, depending on whether i'm feeling chilly. i blowdried my hair today and i think it was the first time i'd done that in a month. Reply Thread Link Oh huh. How convenient~ lol. Id imagine youd need a onesie like business suit or something that you can zip yourself out after meetings and call it a day lmao. Im usually wearing my colleges school (I have like three or four in pink, white and blue, navy blue, and green). Proud student here repz A+ college in the entire California and our ~finest~ Los Angeles. Reply Thread Link I used to work in a spiderman and harry potter onesies, lol. I sleep hot so I'd slip it on "going to work" (5ft from my bedroom) and slip out of it after work Reply Parent Thread Link So China has won twice over: First rising with the active collaboration of naive American centrists, and then consolidating its gains with the de facto collaboration of a feckless American populist. Four months into the coronavirus era, Xi Jinpings government is throttling Hong Kong, taking tiny bites out of India, saber-rattling with its other neighbors, and perpetrating a near-genocide in its Muslim West. Meanwhile America is rudderless and leaderless, consumed by protests and elite psychodrama and a moral crusade whose zeal seems turned entirely inward, with no time to spare for a rival powers crimes. Furthermore, Trumps likely successor is a figure whose record and instincts and family connections all belong to the recent period of American illusions about China. Joe Biden speaks more hawkishly than he did five years ago, but the very thing that makes him effective as a foil to Trump his promise of a return to Obama-era normalcy also makes him an unlikely person to drastically re-evaluate the choices that gave China its advantages today. If you were scripting a historical moment when a rising power overtakes a fading hegemon, the cascade from establishment naivete through Trumpian folly to the coronavirus disaster would be almost too on-the-nose. And foreign policy hands who fear a Thucydides trap a scenario where a rising and an established power end up, like Athens and Sparta, in a war have good reasons to be nervous about how the current combination of Chinese ambition and American decline might play out in, say, the Taiwan Strait. But there is another way to look at things. Its possible that were nearing a peak of U.S.-China tension not because China is poised to permanently overtake the United States as a global power, but because China itself is peaking with a slowing growth rate that may leave it short of the prosperity achieved by its Pacific neighbors, a swiftly aging population, and a combination of self-limiting soft power and maxed-out hard power thats likely to diminish, relative to the U.S. and India and others, in the 2040s and beyond. Instead of a Chinese Century, in other words, the coronavirus might be ushering in a Chinese Decade, in which Xi Jinpings government behaves with maximal aggression because it sees an opportunity that wont come again. With the COVID-19 pandemic affected the education sector and the academic year of the students with schools, colleges and other educational institutions being shut, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to reduce the syllabus of the state's education board like the CBSE board to ease the burden on the students as the studies have been hampered due to the pandemic. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma while addressing the media in Varanasi through a virtual programme said that the government has decided to reduce the syllabus of the state's education board, however, he added that any decision regarding reduction in the syllabus will be taken only after suggestions from all the concerned sides and the due process for the discussion was being undertaken and information on the same would be provided soon. READ | CBSE Syllabus Removed Federalism, Secularism; Check CBSE's Deleted Syllabus For Class 9-12 READ | CBSE Syllabus Confusion Leads HRD Minister To Clarify False Narrative In Series Of Tweets CSBE reduced syllabus for Class 9 to Class 12 The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) notified the new syllabus for classes 9 to 12 for the 2020-21 academic session on Wednesday after rationalising up to 30 per cent of the curriculum. This means that the CBSE board has deleted certain chapters from each subject of Class 9 to Class 12. Taking to Twitter, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal announced, "Considering the importance of learning achievement, it has been decided to rationalise syllabus up to 30 per cent by retaining the core concepts." Looking at the extraordinary situation prevailing in the country and the world, #CBSE was advised to revise the curriculum and reduce course load for the students of Class 9th to 12th. @PMOIndia @HMOIndia @PIB_India @MIB_India @DDNewslive @cbseindia29 @mygovindia Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 7, 2020 To aid the decision, a few weeks back I also invited suggestions from all educationists on the reduction of #SyllabusForStudents2020 and I am glad to share that we received more than 1.5K suggestions. Thank you, everyone, for the overwhelming response.@PIB_India@MIB_India Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 7, 2020 READ | HRD Minister tells Netas Opposing CBSE's Syllabus To 'get Educated'; Exposes Selectiveness READ | 'Silly Issue Of Egos': Aaditya Thackeray Lashes Out At HRD Ministry & UGC For Exam Diktat The board has uploaded the list of subjects deleted in each subject for the curriculum of class 9 to Class 12. Here are some of the topics that have been deleted from specific subjects. However, the entire list is mentioned on the CBSE website at http://cbseacademic.nic.in/Revisedcurriculum_2021.html By Daniel Ramos LA PAZ (Reuters) - Local authorities are digging mass graves at cemeteries across Bolivia to receive a new wave of victims from COVID-19, unnerving Bolivians as the outbreak rips across the Andean nation. Bolivia has registered 35,500 cases of the virus and 1,200 deaths. Though the tally is low in comparison with neighbors Peru, Chile and Brazil, new cases have spiked in recent weeks, overwhelming the countrys fragile health care system in some areas. Cochabamba, a central Bolivian city, has been especially hard hit. Back-hoes and trucks there are opening up large pits in which to bury the most recent casualties. Raquel Loaiza, a representative of the regions funeral homes, said residents dying of natural causes had been buried but those who died of COVID-19 were in limbo. "Not one has been buried," Loaiza told reporters. She said as many as 135 bodies were awaiting burial. The predicament has alarmed local residents, who worry the mass graves could trigger new infections in the neighborhoods surrounding cemeteries. The landlocked country of 11.7 million people registered its first novel coronavirus infections on March 10. But cases have since spiked as the country eased up restrictions to allow its ailing economy to revive. (Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Writing by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Dan Grebler) Shimla: Senior BJP leader and Union Minister J P Nadda on Monday said Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh should resign on moral grounds since the cases registered against him by the CBI and ED are "blatant". "Investigations are being conducted by the independent agencies and the verdict of the court would be final. But, keeping in view the nature of the cases, the Chief Minister should tender his resignation even before such exigency arises," he said here. Parrying questions regarding his "return" to state politics, he said, "I have been given certain responsibilities. I am discharging those and will continue to do so." On Congress claiming Virbhadra Singh will become the chief minister for the seventh time, he said, "BJP is fully geared to defeat Congress under any circumstances and who will lead the party in the next polls is of little consequence." Expressing concern over delay in implementing projects sanctioned by the Centre, he said, "The state government should complete modalities and pre-conditions, and roll out the projects at the earliest." "The Surface Transport Ministry has sanctioned 61 National Highways. But till now not a single Detailed Project Report has been sent by the state, an essential pre-requisite to have funds released," Nadda claimed. "Similarly, health projects are pending execution due to non-availability of land, delay in selection of sites, forest clearance and other factors. The state government has failed to match the speed with which the centre is pushing the projects," the Union Health Minister alleged. Projects worth Rs 1,000 crore are in the pipeline but the state government is slow in implementing those, he claimed. "New medical colleges, super-speciality centres at IGMC Shimla and Government Medical College at Tanda, Cancer Centre at Shimla, Tertiary Cancer Centre at Mandi, trauma centres, mother and child care centres and several other sanctioned projects are hanging in fire," Nadda claimed. "The Centre is in talks with MCI for expansion of post-graduate (PG) courses in medical sciences and plans to add 15,000 PG seats," he said. The Centre will launch a health insurance scheme for eight crore poor families from April 1 next year to provide health cover of Rs 1 lakh to the head of the family and additional Rs 30,000 for each family member without any cap, he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Following the partial lifting of international flight restrictions by UAE and Indian authorities on travel for eligible individuals to and from Abu Dhabi to India, national carrier Etihad Airways will resume a limited number of special flights to six Indian gateways from July 15 to 26. The airline will operate services from the UAE capital to Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, and Mumbai. Etihad said as per the new system, all eligible passengers must possess the relevant UAE entry approvals set by the government of Abu Dhabi. Passengers travelling to India must adhere to guidelines set by the government of India, including the mmandatory quarantine period. Etihad has also requested passengers to be at Abu Dhabi Airport four hours prior to departure for undertaking mandatory rapid testing in Terminal 1A before check-in. On the schedule of special flights, Etihad said there will be a daily flight to Mumbai, while it will fly six times a week to Delhi. On both Chennai and Bengaluru sector it will operate five flights a week besides two to Kochi and one to Hyderabad. Etihad said it continues to follow UAE and international government, regulatory and health authority directives, and is playing its part in helping to limit the spread of Covid-19. The airline has implemented an extensive sanitisation and customer safety programme and is practicing the highest standards of hygiene at every stage of the customer journey, it stated. This includes specially trained Wellness Ambassadors, a first in the industry, who have been introduced by the airline to provide essential travel health information and care on the ground and on every flight, so guests can fly with greater ease and peace of mind, it added.-TradeArabia News Service The top-rated prospect in the Class of 2020, Jalen Green, passed on college opportunities to join the G League. Two other highly-regarded prospects made the same commitment, as did one from overseas. Now, Jonathan Kuminga ranked No. 4 in his class by ESPN may join them, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets. All signs point to Kuminga joining the G Leagues new Select Team and receiving as much as $500K, according to Zagoria. The 68 Kuminga announced on social media he would reveal his decision on Thursday. A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kuminga attended The Patrick School in Elizabeth, N.J. He narrowed his college options to Auburn, Duke, Kentucky and Texas Tech. Kuminga is currently training in Miami, Zagoria continues, and was recently seen playing pickup ball with Michael Beasley, who just signed with the Nets as a substitute player, as well as another of the prospects headed to the G League, Isaiah Todd. Todd is ranked No. 15 by ESPN while the other prep player who went the G League route, guard Daishen Nix, is rated No. 21. Kai Sotto, a 72 center from the Philippines, is also committed to the Select Team. Islamabad, Jul 11 (UNI) The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) has extended its support to the construction of a temple in Islamabad and said its incorrect to make the issue controversial. We denounce the controversy over construction of the temple. This by extremist clerics is not correct. PUC will call a meeting and will also present its point of view to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), Dawn quoted the PUC chairman Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi as saying. Ashrafi explained that the Constitution of Pakistan categorically defines the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims living in the country. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France Sat, July 11, 2020 14:36 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406659390f 2 Lifestyle Paris,France,fashion-designer,black-lives-matter,Black-people,fashion,Netherlands,Racism,Caribbean Free The Dutch brand Botter made an impassioned plea for the Black Lives Matter movement Friday at Paris men's fashion week. Its two designers Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh -- who both have Caribbean roots -- delivered a heartfelt plea for people to "unite against violence on the black community, against violence on any community" as they unveiled their online show. The couple, who were runners up in the prestigious LVMH Prize in 2018, made a one-and-a-half-minute call to action before showing two black models in gently poetic creations in white, black and brown creations. Such overtly political stances are extremely rare in the fashion world, where labels tends to fearful of attracting controversy. Paris fashion week has been forced online by the coronavirus, with brands showing short films about their collections. Rushemy Botter was born on the island of Curacao, part of the Dutch Caribbean, while his partner Herrebrugh's mother hails from the Dominican Republic. Read also: First-ever online Paris fashion week clicks off They said that their collection "was the hardest we have ever done because it was trying to express a positive vision of the Black Lives Matter movement.so we just send story out without pics "We are standing against racism, ignorance and a lack of empathy," they added. "As designers we are dreamers and the power of the dream is that it brings a belief to life. We all need to believe it is possible to unite," they added. The couple, whose inspiration tends to comes from black and mixed Caribbean cultures, said that prejudice and violence could be overcome "with our family, a family where nobody is left behind... a multicultural family in a global and diverse world." Paris fashion week, which began with three days of haute couture shows, ends on Monday. A plaque hangs just inside the entrance of Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday, June 18, 2020. MONTGOMERY, Ala. Just inside the entrance of Robert E. Lee High School a plaque that hangs declares: "ROBERT E. LEE HIGH SCHOOL BEARS THE NAME OF OUR BELOVED CONFEDERATE GENERAL AND EDUCATOR IT WAS HE WHO SAID DUTY IS THE SUBLIMEST WORD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAY THESE WORDS INSPIRE EACH STUDENT TO DO HIS DUTY ALWAYS NEVER BY WORD OR DEED DO ANYTHING TO DISCREDIT THE NAME OF THIS GREAT MAN For at least a decade, Black Montgomery residents have raised concerns over Lee High Schools namesake, a slave-owning Confederate general and admitted white supremacist whose legacy they say is undeserving of such an honor. Now, as protests against systemic racism and police brutality continue to disrupt American cities more than a month after the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, some in the city are raising their voices again though Alabamas recent passage of a memorial preservation law will prove an inevitable foil. Advocates of change believe the high schools demographics are reason enough. When the school opened in September 1955, four months after the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board decision ordered the integration of the country's public schools, it remained a segregated school for whites only. File photo from 1964 edition of The Thunderbolt. "J.B. Stoner, an Atlanta, Ga., attorney, waves the Confederate flag as he leads a four-member delegation of the National State's Rights Party in protesting the integration of Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery this morning. In the background is the Robert E. Lee statue. Lee High School is now 82% Black and has been majority African American since at least 2009. The Confederate generals ideology and actions, reformers say, make him unfit to inspire anything in Black students beyond confusion and disgust. In an acclaimed biography written of the defeated general, author Douglas Southall Freeman reprinted a letter Lee wrote to his wife five years before the start of the Civil War: The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. Robert E. Lee High School Graduation at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome in Montgomery, Ala., on Friday, May 17, 2019. Reading Lees words, Black citizens are left to question just who the schools administration believed would be motivated by the so-called beloved Confederate general, and what exactly about this slave-owning man who saw Black people as in need of instruction through brutality and exploitation would inspire these students to achieve success. Story continues Though its unclear how long ago the plaque was installed the question in some minds is why it remains. Calls to Montgomery Public Schools Superintendent Ann Roy Moore, and Lee High School Principal Antjuan Marsh were not returned. When Michelle Summers began teaching in 1999, she could see that the demographics of the citys public schools were changing. Michelle Summers speaks during a press conference at E.D. Nixon Elementary School in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, June 1, 2020. By the time I got knee-deep in my teaching career it was 50-50, and then all of a sudden there was white flight, Summers said. By 2011, when she began teaching theater at Lee, less than a quarter of the student body was white, a trend that shows no signs of reversal. Summers remembers the plaque that greeted her and students daily at the entrance of the school. In her three years at Lee High, she said she frequently raised the cruel irony she saw in the schools name to administrators. Historically and ancestrally how do we justify a school being named after this man with a predominantly Black student body? Its offensive, Summers said. Related: Judge in Alabama voids Confederate monument law (2019) Last month, three African American Lee High School graduates submitted a petition that demanded the school be renamed, in addition to Jefferson Davis High School, named for the Confederate president; and Sidney Lanier High School, named after a Confederate soldier and poet. The generations have changed and so should the times, said Marche Johnson, one of the petitions creators. Johnson, who ran for a District 3 city council seat last year, graduated from Lee in 2003. When Johnson was a student, she remembers a trip she took to visit family in Maryland. Her aunt asked her how she felt going to a school named after a Confederate general. She didnt have an answer. Johnson described what little she had learned of Lee and the Civil War as "brief" and glossed over. Back then, she said she couldnt appreciate the full weight of Lees legacy and what it meant to her own. Marche Johnson, candidate for city council district 3, is interviewed in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday, March 7, 2019. She believes the current social and political climate has only strengthened the grounds for the removal of these public vestiges of the Confederacy. Many people have tried before, but now the dynamics of the city have changed the dynamics of the U.S. have changed, Johnson said. Why would we celebrate something thats so negative and so belittling of a culture? "If were all Americans lets lift all Americans up. This most recent local battle over who is worthy of public honor may have begun on June 1, when four Black activists toppled Lees statue that stood sentry at the school, but its only just beginning. Reformers must contend with an unsympathetic governor in Kay Ivey, who after previous Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley ordered the removal of Confederate flags from the State Capitol signed into law the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017 the most stubborn and reliable defense against the will of the people who want to see Confederate memorials removed. In 2017, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin found his city the target of litigation after plywood walls were erected around a 52-foot Confederate monument to block its view. The state eventually won that suit. When protesters threatened to topple the obelisk during the height of the George Floyd protests in May, Woodfin dissuaded the crowd by agreeing to have it removed once and for all, and did just that. Attorney General Steve Marshall swiftly announced a lawsuit against the city the very next day seeking a $25,000 penalty. The pedestal that held the Robert E. Lee statue, that was removed on Monday night June 1, 2020, is seen in front of Lee High School in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday June 2, 2020. But a plaque is not a monument, which is defined in Section 2 of the 2017 law as: "A statue, portrait, or marker intended at the time of dedication to be a permanent memorial. ... The term does not include signage bearing historical or interpretive text ... or portraits or plaques installed by temporary means and not intended to be permanent at the time of installation. Unlike changing the name of the school or deciding whether to reinstate the fallen general on its campus, simply removing the plaque at the entrance of Lee High School requires no waiver and would yield no financial penalty. School administrators now appear to be more amenable to the prolonged calls of reformers. At a June 9 school board meeting, board president Clare Weil said she was personally offended by the three Montgomery schools names targeted in the petition and announced that the body would vote on whether to seek a waiver from the state that would allow them to avoid fines. In regards to the plaque, Weil said she had been unaware of its existence and thought it was not appropriate to be posted at Lee High or any school. Claudia Mitchell speaks as the Jeff Davis High School Youth in Government Club hosts an education Summit at the school in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday January 17, 2019. Claudia Mitchell, District 6s school board member, said she felt that the issues currently being rehashed shouldve been addressed long ago, but that many things had come together in this season that presented a ripe opportunity for change. Mitchells great-grandmother lived to be 106. She was born a slave but died a free woman. Mitchell said she could still remember sitting beside her, listening to the stories she told about her life, things that she would only truly understand as she grew older. For us to have to endure something like that, she said. You would not ask a white or a Jewish citizen to graduate from Hitler High it's offensive. It would be out of the question. Yet Black people have to graduate from Jefferson Davis" and Robert E. Lee High School. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Students at mostly Black school pass plaque for Robert E. Lee each day More than 41,000 applications have been submitted for New Jerseys $100 million rental relief fund since applications opened Monday, the Department of Community Affairs said. The Covid-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, a relief fund for residents affected by the coronavirus pandemic, will provide up to six months of rental assistance to low- and moderate-income households. The 41,374 applications came as the states first rental relief program opened for residents. While Gov. Phil Murphy has placed a moratorium on lockouts and enacted a rent freeze for some, this anticipated program was the first fund for residents in need. Applications for the program are extended through 5 p.m. July 17. Originally, it ran through July 10, but the Department wants to ensure that as many people as possible who might be eligible for the assistance have the opportunity to apply, spokeswoman Lisa Ryan said. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Governor Murphy and I urge renters who have been affected by COVID-19 to apply to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program today, said Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver, who is also commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs. We understand that these are difficult times and want to help as many people as possible to pay their rent. The program, which is largely funded through the federal CARES Act, is available to renters who havent been able to pay rent due to a loss in income related to Covid-19, according to the Department of Community Affairs. Applicants must have an annual income below the maximum income limits in their county. Tenants will be chosen through an online lottery pool, and no paper applications will be accepted, but residents can call to apply. And renters who are approved would still be responsible for paying 30% of their monthly rent. The payments would begin in September, and participants would be reviewed at the three-month interval if they are still in need of rental assistance. Pre-applications can be submitted online at https://www.waitlistcheck.com/NJ559-2809. Residents can also apply for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program for help with utility costs. The program recently received $29 million through the CARES Act. In April, Murphy also suspended rent increases for 36,000 low- and moderate-income homes, and some cities, including Hoboken and Newark, have independently imposed rent freezes. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips The Richmond County Medical Society, an organization thats been serving Staten Island for more than two centuries, is comprised of 186 attending physicians at major hospitals, medical centers, medical groups, and doctors in private practices on Staten Island. This society is an integral part of The Federation of Organized Medicine. Its goal? To enhance the delivery of medical care of the highest quality and to direct the public in regard to problems concerning medicine especially now during these uncertain and unprecedented times. Dr. Radha Syed, who was recently installed as president explains: I want the Richmond County Medical Society to become a community resource for Staten Island residents and physicians and to be a professional connection for all. And for the community of Staten Island I want for us to become a real resource for health questions. And thats why I want Staten Island to know about us. We can direct them to the right area. We need to be the resource center for our community. From left, Dr. Radha Syed, the 214th president of the Richmond County Medical Society, Linda Sabatino, executive director and Dr. Sangita Parab, immediate past president. (Courtesy/Linda Sabatino) Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance Borough residents searching for help for someone whos been afflicted with COVID-19 or those who have questions about various surgeries or seeking recommendations for a doctor with a unique specialty, may also call the RSMS for assistance and/or advice. People can call and speak to someone or they can leave a message. I want to get it out there. People dont know we exist. And for that reason were having meetings once a month every first Tuesday right now through Zoom and Teams for all members and for all physicians. And there is professional information we are always updating. Dr. Radha Syed toasts with a soft drink as Dr. Sangita Parab looks on. (Courtesy/Linda Sabatino)Staten Island Advance nDr. Syed, and obstetrician/gynecologist whos had a speciality in womens health for more than 40 years on Staten Island and is affiliated with Staten Island University Hospital/Northwell Health, was installed as the RCMSs the 214th president in June. In fact, she opens meetings with the time-honored gavel that was used when the organization was originally formed. Dr. Syeds executive board consists of Dr. Brian McMahon, president-elect, Dr. Melissa Grageda, vice-president, Dr. Murlidar Pahuja, treasurer, Dr. Sara Ahmed, secretary and Linda Sabatino, executive director. Dr. Syed reiterates her main focus is to have the RCMS serve as the primary health resource for all community members and physicians. I want the RCMS to help and assist our fellow physicians, engage politicians who will assist our health care in a positive way, inform our community with medical news and headlines globally. Also to help our community members as a strong resource to connect with physicians with general or specialized care, to direct them to resources available in Richmond County for those aspects of healthcare where physicians alone can not optimally achieve success. She adds, As a physician we also want the physical and mental health of our patients to be taken care of. A lot of their physical well being has to do with their mental health as well. And she wants the organizations social media pages to be active to show whats going in the medical community. We at RCMS want to build camaraderie which existed before in the good old days. I am proud to say I am old enough to remember those days,' Dr. Syed continues. The Richmond County Medical Society logo. (Courtesy/Linda Sabatino)Staten Island Advance Those interested in contacting the Richmond County Medical Society should email rcms.exec@gmail.com, visit www.richmondcountymedicalsociety.org or leave a message for the organization at 347 533-1113. . Model Elyse Knowles and her boyfriend Josh Barker paid tribute to late snowboarder Alex Pullin on Saturday. The Block stars attended a moving dawn memorial at the beach where the snowboarding champion drowned while spearfishing. The memorial was also attended by Pullin's heartbroken partner Ellidy Vlug and a number of his surfing mates. Tribute: Model Elyse Knowles and her boyfriend Josh Barker (pictured) paid tribute to late snowboarder Alex Pullin on Saturday Sharing some footage from the scene to Instagram, Knowles wrote: 'A beautiful morning remembering the legend @alexchumpypullin.' 'So many loved ones,' she added in another post. They weren't the only celebrities there, with famed surfer Mick Fanning also attending. Saying goodbye: Sharing some footage from the scene to Instagram, Knowles wrote: 'A beautiful morning remembering the legend @alexchumpypullin' Tragic: Pullin had been alone in the water at Palm Beach, on the Gold Coast, when he suffered an underwater blackout on Wednesday morning. (Pictured in 2017) Pullin had been alone in the water at Palm Beach, on the Gold Coast, when he suffered an underwater blackout on Wednesday morning. Paramedics performed CPR for 45-mintues on Pullin but were unable to revive him. Ms Vlug and a handful of friends waded into the same waters that took her beloved boyfriend to share an emotional farewell. 'So many loved ones': The Block stars attended a moving dawn memorial at the beach where the snowboarding champion drowned while spearfishing The group of mourners donned wreaths of flowers around their heads and surf swimsuits - one of Pullin's passions was to surf during the summer. Surfer Mick Fanning and Pullin's father joined the mourners in a paddle out while grieving locals who chose to remain on land planted bouquets of flowers in the sand. Pullin suffered a shallow water blackout on Wednesday morning while free diving and drowned. Support: Professional surfer Mick Fanning (center) also showed up to the memorial (pictured) On the morning of his death, the couple woke late before Pullin decided to go get some sun. Ms Vlug told Daily Mail Australia she last saw her boyfriend alive moments before he'd decided to go for a dive, telling him: 'Love you, watch out for sharks'. Bouquets have been steadily arriving since Wednesday afternoon, and are partially buried in the sand to keep them in place overnight. Adene Sanchez/iStockBy HALLEY FREGER, ALLISON PECORIN, and MATTHEW MOSK, ABC NEWS (AUSTIN) -- The senior citizens who populate Texas nursing homes were not jammed into bars or packed onto beaches on Memorial Day, but officials there now fear that coronavirus that began spreading among younger people over the past month is imperiling the lives of the states most vulnerable. It was a grim but predictable development for a state with more nursing homes 1,218 than any state in the nation, experts told ABC News. Some said they already suspect a link between the recent spread of the virus and a rise in deaths in the state's nursing homes over the past weeks, and said they fear the worst could be yet to come. Back in mid-May, nursing homes in the state had reported 561 deaths from COVID-19, according to an ABC News review of state data. By last week, that number had nearly doubled at 1,035 deaths. As [the infections] continue to grow in numbers in the community, we would expect it to continue to grow in numbers in nursing facilities, said Amanda Fredriksen, the Associate State Director for Advocacy for AARP Texas. While nursing homes nationwide are continuing to experience casualties from the virus, some states that have seen decreases in their case rates are also seeing fewer nursing home deaths. Connecticut, for example, was reporting over 80 probable deaths in congregate care facilities daily in April, when the state was at its peak number of coronavirus cases. Now, Connecticut is reporting fewer than five deaths in these facilities daily as case counts decline. Derrick L. Neal is the executive director of Williamson County and Cities Health District in Texas, near Austin. That district is home to Trinity Care Center, the facility in Texas that has reported one the highest number of fatalities to the federal government. In mid-June the facility had reported 138 resident deaths. The region has also seen a rise in cases in the wider community, which he attributes to the states late-April opening and Memorial day festivities. Now, Neal said, hes fearful that what he described as a continued failure by residents to adhere to social distancing guidelines could have a devastating impact on those living in congregate care facilities. The overarching concern is really a community, not everyone, but a large segment of society refusing to care for their neighbor by masking up and social distancing, Neal said. The same things that kept me up in March keeps me up in July. Since the beginning of the pandemic, nursing homes have been at the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis. Nationwide, those whove died in nursing homes account for nearly a third of all COVID-19 deaths, according to a recent survey of state-by-state data by ABC News a figure that advocates believe may actually be undercounted. In part, that is because national statistics have not fully accounted for some of the fatalities during the early days of the pandemic. Local news outlets in Texas also report that nursing homes in Texas have been among the worst in reporting conditions to federal officials tracking the outbreak. The official count of the federal agency responsible for regulating nursing homes and tracking coronavirus cases in nursing homes says that 35,517 nursing home residents have died nationwide. That number has continued to grow despite an evolving toolkit of preventative measures that began in March with the federal guidance to nursing homes to restrict visitors, isolate the sick, and require staff wear protective equipment. In June, Texas followed the lead of Maryland and other states in forming strike teams, which could mount a rapid response when a nursing care facility showed the early signs of an outbreak. Representatives for the Texas Department of State Health Services did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment for this report. The Texas governor has previously stated that protecting seniors in nursing facilities is a priority and earlier this month encouraged nursing homes to apply to receive parts of over $9 million in federal funding being allocated to Texas nursing homes. "We know that older Texans are more susceptible to COVID-19, and Texas is committed to ensuring that nursing facilities have the tools they need to keep their residents and staff safe, Abbott said in a press release. We must continue to protect our most vulnerable populations, mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Texas, and protect public health. But last month, when the state started seeing a rise in infection among young people, advocates for the elderly began to worry that their defenses would not be strong enough to prevent the virus' spread into nursing homes. That, said Patty Ducayet, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman for the Texas Health and Human Services Department, appears to be happening now. We are still seeing new cases identified in both our nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, Ducayet said. Neal said hes also concerned that staff, many of whom are low paid and lack the luxury of social distancing in their own living situations, are proving to be a vulnerability in the chain of transmission. It's really extremely difficult to stabilize a group of patients when you have a lower pay individual going in there to support them, Neal said. Organizations that advocate on behalf of nursing homes are urging that the rise in cases be met with a surge in testing and personal protective equipment for nursing homes. According to a survey by the Association for Health Care Associations, nursing homes report that they are still struggling to get tests processed in a timely fashion, and many report they do not have adequate access to protective equipment. Testing is once again becoming a challenge nationwide as some facilities report being overwhelmed by the recent surge in cases. Jo Lynn Garing, a spokesperson for a leading high-volume test manufacturing company Roche Diagnostics, said the company is focusing on vulnerable states like Texas. Garing said the company not only has been expanding its production capacity but also continues to be very intentional on its allocation and distribution of supplies, prioritizing labs with the broadest geographic reach and highest patient impact. Garing said the current priority areas are the same areas seeing surges, including Florida, Arizona, Texas and California. On Friday, Governor Abbott announced a new partnership with Omnicare, a CVS health company, to provide COVID-19 point-of-care testing for assisted living facilities and nursing homes throughout the state. A release states that this partnership will help the state meet its goal of processing up to 100,000 tests in the first month it is operational. "Our collaboration with public and private entities is crucial to ramping up testing in Texas and mitigating the spread of this virusespecially among our most vulnerable populations," Gov. Abbott said in a statement provided to ABC news after an inquiry for this report. Aggressive use of preventive measures now could help, advocates say. But while community spread continues, nursing homes remain vulnerable. As long as those cases keep rising and as long as they're active in the community where these facilities are, it's going to be a concern for all of these nursing home residents, Fredriksen said. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. A Chinese virologist working at the Hong Kong School of Public Health fled the city sneaking past the tight security implemented around the campus. The scientist left her loved ones behind with the risk of being thrown in jail or being labeled as one of the "disappeared." Coronavirus concealment Dr Li-Meng Yan took the massive risk of opening up about her knowledge that the Chinese government withheld information relating to the coronavirus before it announced it to the world. In an exclusive interview, Yan stated her supervisors, who were some of the top experts in their respective fields, disregarded her research before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic she believed was capable of saving lives, as reported by Fox News. With the campus' status as one of the World Health Organization's (WHO) reference laboratories, Yan believed they had an obligation to publicly reveal the information they had discovered as the coronavirus started to spread in early 2020. The scientist has now hid herself in fears of China's retaliation against her whistleblowing and is claiming the country is attempting to de-credit her reputation and accuses government officials of planning and conducting cyberattacks in an attempt to keep her quiet. The experts fear for her life and worry she would not be able to come back home to her family or friends but says that the risk was worth it if she can reveal the truth about the Chinese government's alleged cover-up. Also Read: Florida Man Who Sold Fake Coronavirus 'Miracle Cure' Busted by Feds In an interview at an undisclosed location, Yan told reporters her reason for coming to the United States was to send a message and reveal the truth of the coronavirus. The expert said if she attempted to make her reveal while still residing in China, she would disappear or be killed. According to The New York Post, Yan was asked by her supervisors to research an unusual form of SARS-like infections popping out of mainland China. Withheld coronavirus information A colleague from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) visited Yan in China on December 31 and warned her that the virus was capable of transmitting from person to person. She later notified her immediate supervisor of the findings who she claims simply nodded to the information. The WHO released a statement on January 9 stating Chinese officials notified them the human-to-human transmission was not possible and readily said that the virus was not capable of transmitting between humans. Yan revealed she knew the corruption that had existed between an organization like the WHO and the Communist Party of China but decided that she did not want the misleading information to spread across the world. The scientist said her boss told her to keep quiet about her research when she approached him in the middle of January who warned that information could risk their lives and could have them disappear. Chinese officials have ordered for an internal investigation looking into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic which was first reported last year in the city of Wuhan. However, Beijing has denied access to foreign investigators attempting to enter the country to support the investigation. Related Article: Coronavirus Facts Not Acceptable If It Fails to Match Anyone's Worldview, Dr. Fauci Says @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. GREENWICH Officers were engaged in another vehicle chase this week, one of a handful of pursuits involving stolen cars that have kept the Greenwich Police Department busy in recent months. The latest pursuit involved a stolen Honda that entered the Byram section of town from Mill Street around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to police Lt. Mark Zuccerella. Officers engaged in a brief pursuit before breaking off the chase, out of safety concerns, he said. The stolen Honda and its driver was later apprehended in northern Westchester County, N.Y., Zuccerella said. The driver was apprehended after a pursuit by law enforcement authorities in the area of Somers, N.Y. No more information was available on that case. In addition, three teens were caught in a stolen car in Rowayton early Friday morning, according to Norwalk police. A 17-year-old from Bridgeport, as well as a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old from Norwalk, were found standing around a Jeep Cherokee on Pine Point Road around 5 a.m. Friday. The car had been stolen from Greenwich overnight, according to Norwalk police spokesperson Lt. Jared Zwickler. Greenwich police have been involved in other investigations with stolen cars recently. Last weekend, an Alfa Romeo stolen from the Belle Haven neighborhood was involved in a chase with New York State troopers along the border of New York and Connecticut. Gunfire was directed at the troopers, and a shell casing was found near I-95s Exit 2 on the Delavan Avenue ramp, police said. The car was later recovered in Stratford. Zuccerella noted that law enforcement is facing a number of challenges in minimizing the number of stolen cars and pursuits. Many of the thieves involved in the thefts are juveniles, under the age of 18, he said. The legislators have changed the laws in Connecticut that makes the prosecution of these suspects difficult. ... If caught, they are returned home. The likelihood of them being held accountable, due to the changes in juvenile law, is minimal. he said. In addition, police officers are discouraged from pursuing stolen cars unless there is an overriding threat to safety, or the vehicle occupants committed an act of violence, he said. Property crimes alone do not necessitate police to initiate a pursuit. More than 50 cars have been stolen from Greenwich this year. Police have been urging car owners for years to take simple steps locking cars and taking out starting devices to prevent thefts and other crimes. rmarchant@greenwichtime.com The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has announced changes in the visa policy applied to international students planning to attend online courses for the 2020 autumn semester in the US. Students of online-only training courses will have to leave the US or face deportation. If they want to stay in the US, they will have to consider other measures. (Photo Business Insider) The US Department of Homeland Securitys Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division suggested students transfer to schools with in-person instruction or hybrid classes. Giang Nguyen, a student at Bryn Mawr College, said the students who have returned to Vietnam will have two choices, either to return to the US and face the risks from COVID-19 or stay in Vietnam and follow online classes. The students who are trapped in the US during Covid-19 and following online courses for the autumn semester will be forced to return to Vietnam. A Vietnamese student in Tennessee said for the students at schools using a mix of online and in-person classes, returning to the US is a must to maintain an F-1 visa. If they do not, their names will be eliminated from the list of students. However, commercial flights between the two countries have not resumed. If they cannot return to Vietnam, the students will be considered as illegally residing in the US and forced to leave the US. Some students are considering the gap year solution to cope with the new visa policy. However, Giang said that the students choosing the gap-year solution may see financial support cut for the next academic year. A Vietnamese student in Tennessee said for the students at schools using a mix of online and in-person classes, returning to the US is a must to maintain an F-1 visa. If they do not, their names will be eliminated from the list of students. The student fears that once international students return to the US, this will lead to higher risks of getting infected with Covid-19. All Harvard University students will learn remotely this autumn. Many other universities in the US also have announced the cancellation of in-person classes and are holding only online classes for the autumn semester. However, according to Business Insider, only 8 percent of schools are organizing online classes only, while 60 percent are drawing up plans for in-person classes, and many others are considering a mix. Cao Bao Anh, a Vietnamese student at Harvard University, on July 7 told Tuoi Tre newspaper that he was not too worried about the new policy, because he belives that each school will have its own plan for its students. He believes that Harvard University and other schools will make adjustments to cope with the new visa policy. Le Huyen VN Education Ministry to help Vietnamese students as US issues new visa rules The Ministry of Education and Training has said that it will continue to work with relevant agencies to provide appropriate and timely support for Vietnamese students in the US as the US adjusts its visa regulations. Children's fiction and activity books are flying off the shelves as Melbourne settles in for another six weeks of lockdown. Kids' books dominated bestseller lists during the first round of stay-at-home restrictions, with data suggesting the trend is set to continue as parents grapple with ways to keep their children entertained. Wayne Murphy and his seven-year-old daughter, Alexandra, with the cardboard pizza oven they've made following instructions in a children's craft book. Credit:Penny Stephens Between mid-March and early May, Australia's top three bestselling books were titles from the popular Bluey series, which is also an award-winning children's television show. Two out of those three titles were colouring-in books. Children's fiction has continued to sell strongly, even as the rest of the country emerged from lockdown. Australian booksellers are collectively turning over an average $1.9 million worth of kids' fiction every week, according to Nielsen BookScan. MP Police reported that two persons had been helping to hide criminals connected to the Kanpur encounter which killed 8 police officers early in June, leading to a chase after history-sheeter and accused Vikas Dubey and his death in claimed retaliatory firing after arrest in Ujjain. Police here on Friday arrested two persons with criminal backgrounds for helping to hide two wanted criminals at their residences in Madhya Pradeshs Gwalior in connection with the Kanpur encounter case. The arrested persons have been identified as Om Prakash Pandey and Anil Pandey who helped to hide two wanted criminals Shashikant Pandey and Shivam Dubey. Further action is being taken. Kanpur encounter case main accused Vikas Dubey was killed in an encounter with the police on Friday. Vikas Dubey was arrested by the police in Ujjain on Thursday morning. He was on the run for the last several days and had come to Ujjain to offer prayers at the temple, where he was identified by a security guard at the shrine. Also read: Sonia Gandhi to hold meeting with Congress Lok Sabha MPs today Also read: Kanpur Encounter: Opposition questions Vikas Dubeys death The gangster was the main accused in the encounter that took place in Bikru village in Chaubeypur area of Kanpur last week, in which a group of assailants allegedly opened fire on a police team, which had gone to arrest Dubey. Eight police personnel were killed in the encounter. Also read: Kanpur encounter main accused Vikas Dubey killed: Police For all the latest National News, download NewsX App A Queensland police officer moves a stop sign at a vehicle checkpoint on the Pacific Highway on the Queensland - New South Wales border, in Brisbane on April 15, 2020. (Patrick Hamilton/AFP via Getty Images) Two New COVID-19 Cases in Queensland Queensland has two new cases of COVID-19 as authorities engage in a balancing act, trying to let hordes of visitors into the newly reopened state while keeping COVID-19 out. The new confirmed cases were people returning from overseas, according to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. This brings the number of active cases in Queensland to three. The latest cases come as the Sunshine State opened its borders on July 10 to interstate travellers, except those from Victoria, for the first time since March 25. It meant carloads of tourists were bumper to bumper as police scanned thousands of border passes on the Gold Coast. Authorities are taking an educational rather than an enforcement approach at border checkpoints, Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Mark Wheeler said on Friday. Were trying to balance the need to get people into Queensland, but also to keep COVID-19 out of Queensland, he added. But anyone travelling from Victoria must prove they left the state more than two weeks ago. Supt Wheeler said a Victorian caravanner who had been in NSW for three weeks could use an accommodation receipt as proof. Queenslands airports are also teeming with interstate arrivals keen to soak up the sun and warmer weather, with another 4500 expected to touch down on the weekend. On Friday there had been almost 314,000 downloads of the week-long border pass that is needed to enter the state. Anyone who experiences symptoms within two weeks of their arrival in Queensland must get tested or face a $4004 fine. Cheryl Goodenough in Brisbane In this post from last month, I tried to explain why Republican presidents have far less success nominating reliably conservative Supreme Court Justices than their Democratic counterparts have in nominating liberal ones. The main reason, I said, is that the conservative legal movement in America has multiple strands, not all of which point adherents to a result that can be called, or agreed upon as, conservative. For example, if one compares Chief Justice Roberts judicial modesty with Justice Gorsuchs immodest rendition of textualism, its easy to see why they reached different results in the Indian lands case. Its also easy to see why both of them disagreed with Justice Alito, a less quirky conservative, as to whether Title VII protects gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals from employment discrimination. There may be different strands of left-liberal jurisprudence, too. I assume there are. However, they are not readily evident in the writings of the four left-liberal Justices. In crunch time, they tend to march in lock step. Maybe none of the strands ever yields a result that four conservative Justices could reach. In todays Washington Post, a Harvard law professor, Adrian Vermeule, takes his shot at explaining the indisputable fact that conservative justices often break ranks to give liberals a 5-to-4 majority, [but] liberal justices rarely do the same in reverse. He dismisses two possible explanations, before embracing a third. The first is that liberal justices are, despite their protestations, systematically less principled than conservative ones. Vermeule brushes this explanation off in a single clause as a suspiciously partisan view that credits the reported experience of only some justices and discounts that of others. Whose experiences are discounted? Vermuele doesnt say. He also dismisses a second explanation that conservative swing justices depart from their best judgment about what the Constitution requires in controversial cases because they are overwhelmed by the political, social and cultural pressures of the left-elite milieu, especially the praise or censure of the mainstream media. According to Vermuele, this account fails to explain why defections have persisted or even increased as the influence of the mainstream media has declined and also posits either conscious infidelity to law or an implausible lack of self-awareness. It may be true that the influence of the mainstream media has declined, even for people in the Justices age cohort. However, political, social and cultural pressures have not. Vermueles explanation for conservative defections is that conservative defectors are faithfully following the law, but not the written Constitution. Rather, they are enforc[ing] our real, unwritten constitution, a set of understandings that underlies and shapes our interpretation of the law. Hardcore conservatives Justices Thomas and Alito dont do this, but the gravitational force of our alleged unwritten constitution pulls in the others from time to time. As Ed Whelan points out, this is just a fancy, righteous-sounding way of saying that defecting conservatives are following political, social, and cultural pressures of the left-elite milieu the explanation Vermuele dismissed a paragraph earlier. Ed puts it this way: I see little or no meaningful difference between whether a conservative justice defects because he unconsciously surrenders to the political, social and cultural pressures of the left-elite milieu or because he allows the gravitational force of the liberal order to skew his decisions. Ed presents a different explanation for why conservative Justices defect far more often than liberals ones (who almost never do): A justice who likes to be liked, or who desires to be admired, or who is eager to go along to get along (what Ill call Type 1) is far more susceptible to stray than a justice who is inner-directed and anchored, who doesnt care about being popular or who is even contrary or cantankerous (Type 2). Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito are all Type 2. One unfortunate reality is that the process of selecting and confirming Supreme Court justices strongly favors Type 1 conservatives. The nomination and confirmation processes are intensely political, and the qualities of Type 1 conservatives correlate strongly with qualities that are politically appealing and salient. Advisers to the president want a Supreme Court nomination to be a short-term political victory, and same-party senators strongly prefer a light lift. A Type 1 conservative is going to be much more adept than a Type 2 conservative at charming senators, trotting out a list of liberal friends and admirers, and neutralizing a leftist mediaand thus at winning the support of the president and his advisers for the nomination in the first place. This is somewhat similar to an explanation I offered in my first post on the subject one that focused on the president, rather than his advisers and members of the Senate. Recent Republicans presidents, I argued, have been swayed by the personalities of the potential nominees presented for their consideration. George W. Bush probably preferred John Roberts persona young, vigorous, and charming to those of Michael Luttig and J. Harve Wilkinson. Donald Trump may have been more drawn to Neil Gorsuch on a personal level than to, say, Ray Kethledge. To the extent that charm correlates with some degree of malleability, its role in the selection process yields less reliably conservative nominees. In any case, charm at best is an extraneous consideration if the object is to select Justices who wont join the liberal bloc in big cases. Do Democratic presidents care as much about personal charm, etc? Perhaps not. President Obama went about selecting nominees pragmatically, selecting a ( wise) Latina when the situation called for it and a more tame-looking liberal (Merrick Garland) when extraordinary circumstances made that seem like the smart move. In any event, anyone presented to the president for consideration as a Supreme Court nominee Judge Garland included can be counted on to toe the left-liberal line once confirmed. The process by which Democratic presidents select reliable left-liberals for the Supreme Court is fool proof, and has been for many decades. Exclusive: India asks court to stymie potential challenge to Chinese app ban FILE PHOTO: Smartphone with Chinese applications is seen in front of a displayed Indian flag and a "Banned app" sign By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's government has petitioned the Rajasthan High Court to stop any of the Chinese companies whose 59 apps it recently banned from obtaining an injunction to block the order, according to two sources and the legal filing. India last month outlawed dozens of Chinese apps including ByteDance's popular video-sharing app TikTok, Alibaba's UC Browser and Tencent's messaging app WeChat, saying they posed a "threat to sovereignty and integrity". Chinese firms have faced hostility since a border clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers, with Delhi intensifying scrutiny of Chinese imports and any funding from China. Two sources with direct knowledge of the filing said the government had presented a so-called caveat in the High Court of Rajasthan, suggesting it expects one or more of the companies to challenge the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's ban. Such caveats are typically filed to prevent a ruling in favour of companies without hearing the government, Indian lawyers said. The filing, which one of the sources said was presented on Friday, has not previously been reported. "Let nothing be done till the applicants (government) are heard in the matter," said the court filing signed by Additional Solicitor General of India Rajdeepak Rastogi. GUARDING CYBER SPACE The order to ban the apps was passed to safeguard "the interests of Indian mobile and Internet users and ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian Cyber Space," said the filing, which was seen by Reuters. It was not immediately clear why the government approached the court in Rajasthan and whether there were plans to file similar petitions elsewhere. India's IT ministry and the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Indian courts do not comment on cases. Previously, China has expressed strong concern about the ban, which could hurt expansion plans and cost jobs, and said it may violate World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. None of the Chinese companies has yet mounted a legal challenge, with industry sources saying they were waiting for further clarity from the Indian government. Story continues India's IT ministry recently asked the companies associated with the 59 apps to answer a detailed questionnaire within three weeks on their business structure and data storage practices, the industry sources told Reuters. The decision to ban the apps has jolted companies like ByteDance, which counted on India as an important growth market for TikTok and had plans to invest $1 billion in the country. (Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Euan Rocha and Andrew Cawthorne) WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ended a momentous term with a trove of decisions more reflective of public opinion than of the nation's divisive political discourse, and Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. emerged as a formidable counterpart to President Donald Trump and the Congress. "This is one of the most consequential terms for a chief justice in modern history, given his role as the decisive vote in the most important cases and the landmark opinions he wrote," said former solicitor general Gregory Garre, who, like Roberts, was chosen by President George W. Bush. It was a term, and performance by Roberts, that had those who closely watch the court searching for historical comparisons. "Roberts is the most powerful chief justice since John Marshall," said Harvard constitutional law professor Noah Feldman, referring to the fourth chief justice, who established the Supreme Court's role in the federal government. "We haven't had a chief who was genuinely the swing vote since Charles Evans Hughes [1930-1941], and even Hughes wasn't always the swing vote." But it wasn't just Roberts. "I feel like the court returned to first principles this term, back to Marbury v. Madison and the independence of the judiciary," said Lisa Blatt, a Washington lawyer who frequently appears before the Supreme Court. "They decided to stand up to the executive and to Congress in case after case, defying expectations of court watchers who think the justices act reflexively by the presidents who appoint them." Some saw the looming election as a motivating factor - Trump has said he needs another term to truly transform the court into a conservative stronghold, his presumptive challenger, former vice president Joe Biden, has said he'll name the first African American woman to the bench, and liberal groups are pressing to expand the number of justices. The court's five Republican-appointed conservatives and four liberals picked by Democratic presidents may have looked for chances to cross lines and display their independence. - - - Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the court's decision that said federal anti-discrimination law protects LGBTQ workers. Liberal justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan joined two decisions important to religious conservatives. Gorsuch and fellow Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh helped form lopsided majorities rejecting the president's unprecedented claims of immunity from investigation. Kavanaugh wrote: "In our system of government, as this court has often stated, no one is above the law." "The justices, and especially the chief, are braced for the possibility of a contested presidential election this fall, and are probably therefore more than usually concerned not to be seen as in the pocket of one party or another," said Michael McConnell, head of the Stanford Constitutional Law Center and a former Republican-appointed federal judge. To those who closely watch the court, its decisions appeared to bob and weave: a vote for abortion rights one day, an opinion giving a long-awaited victory to religious schools who want public funding another. Another way to look at the outcomes this term is through the lens of public opinion. Conservatives were outraged when Gorsuch and Roberts joined the liberals to find that a 1964 federal law banning discrimination on the basis of sex was broad enough to cover gay, bisexual and transgender workers, even though that surely was not Congress's intent at the time the law was created. But about 9 in 10 Americans say such discrimination should be illegal. About 85 percent of the country believes immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children should be allowed to stay. Roberts wrote the 5-to-4 decision that stopped the Trump administration from ending the program that protects them, saying the administration's actions did not comply with the law. Most of the country thinks the balance of laws allowing and restricting abortion is about right, and the court struck down a Louisiana law seen as the opening shot in convincing the court to rein in abortion protections. Similarly with gun control. Despite pressure from Second Amendment groups and the Trump administration and with at least four conservative justices expressing support, the court passed up opportunities to loosen restrictions on permits and overturn bans on certain weapons. That seems to be in line with where the public is. - - - The court, of course, is to make opinions based on the law, not public opinion. But a term in which the average person thinks "that's seems sensible" is the outcome Roberts would like to see, said Feldman. Garre also made the comparison to Marshall. "One of the things that made John Marshall such a great chief justice is that he seemed to have a supernatural sense for knowing where the country was, and how far the country was willing to go, at any given point in time," Garre said. "Time will tell if Chief Justice Roberts has a similar knack. But it seems fair to assume that, at least in some cases, the chief was wary about moving too quickly." Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, agrees that Roberts has a "status quo bias." "Insofar as people do not look to the courts for dramatic change, I suspect it produces what are, on net, politically popular outcomes, but I think that is a consequence of his method, not the purpose behind it," Adler said. Most, but not all, of the decisions that will mark the term moved the court left, or at least toward the middle. But the most notable wins for the right were three cases important to religious groups, about school funding, employment decisions and the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive requirement. It is part of a remarkable winning streak at the court supported by Roberts and the conservative justices. But a term that in October was hailed as a chance for a court reinforced by Trump's conservatives to begin shifting its jurisprudence became something else. "By a large, it was a very good term for civil rights and civil liberties," said David Cole, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. Even he seemed surprised. "If you had predicted, when this term began, that the Supreme Court would extend employment discrimination protections to LGBT individuals, strike down an abortion restriction, reverse Trump's revocation of protections for Dreamers, reject Trump's efforts to bar subpoenas for his tax records, and declare half of Oklahoma to be Indian land, you would have been dismissed as delusional," Cole said. Roberts has found that being in the middle brings respect, but not affection. Conservatives were furious with his votes in favor of LGBTQ workers and to strike down the Louisiana abortion law. "What a disappointment Chief Justice John Roberts has turned out to be," said Penny Nance, president of the conservative Concerned Women for America, after his abortion vote. But Roberts said he was voting to strike the law only because of a court precedent that eliminated a virtually identical Texas law four years before. Liberals are suspicious that his reasoning in the Louisiana case will make it easier for lower courts to uphold abortion restrictions in other cases. "It speaks volumes about the current political moment that Chief Justice Roberts and the court he leads have been seen as having taken bold, surprising steps simply by affirming basic principles of rule of law, and respecting legal text and precedent," said Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center. Roberts, she said, "likely agrees with Trump on a slew of policy outcomes, but the chief will not allow his court to devolve into a reality-show circus . . . and it's difficult to understand why conservatives haven't figured that out yet." It will be Roberts's majority decisions in the Trump financial records cases that will be most remembered from the term. Their eye-of-the-beholder quality led to guessing about who won and lost. Both sent the cases back for more work in lower courts, which means Trump will likely prevail in his goal to keep his records and tax returns concealed until after November's election. But the larger lessons were for the executive branch and Congress. Regarding congressional subpoenas for the president's personal records, Roberts lamented that the court had to referee what the political branches usually work out on their own. He criticized the dragnet approach employed by House committees for their huge records request. He indicated if courts had to settle such disputes, they should not authorize fishing expeditions. "Without limits on its subpoena powers, Congress could "exert an imperious control over the executive branch and aggrandize itself at the president's expense, just as the Framers feared," Roberts wrote., quoting the Federalist Papers. But he schooled Trump for the limits the president wanted to place on Congress, and in the accompanying opinion regarding a New York prosecutor's investigation of Trump, dramatically reminded the president that he was not beyond the touch of law enforcement. He quoted, who else? "As Marshall explained, a king is born to power and can 'do no wrong,' " Roberts wrote. "The president, by contrast, is 'of the people' and subject to the law." Roberts wrote the opinion last term that said the Trump administration had ignored the law in trying to add a citizenship question to the Census form. And he wrote this term's decision about a similar lack of rule-following in trying to do away with the Deferred Action for Dependent Children (DACA) program. Liberals were critical of Roberts's hands-off manner in presiding over Trump's Senate impeachment trial. Feldman, who was a Democratic witness when the House began the process, reminds that Roberts sat through every minute of the trial. "He was listening, and no reasonable jurist could have sat through that and thought this is a president who's interested in the rule of law," Feldman said. "Maybe that had some tangential effect." It is worth remembering that every Supreme Court term is a contained unit, dependent on the issues the justices face. And the personnel matters, too. A replacement of one of the liberal justices by someone more conservative than Roberts, or vice versa, and the balance would shift. The chief justice would no longer be the member in the middle. - - - The Washington Post's Emily Guskin contributed to this report. Formula One's governing body has warned Ferrari about the risks of breaching the sport's COVID-19 protocol and protective 'bubble'. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel have been seen mixing with people outside their individual team groups. Leclerc returned to his Monaco home after finishing second in last Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix while Vettel was shown on television talking to Red Bull bosses, without face masks, in the Red Bull Ring paddock. "Ferrari have been issued with a reminder and warned that any further breaches of the COVID-19 code could be referred to the stewards," said an FIA spokesman. He added that the warning was about respecting the group system and need for social distancing rather than Leclerc's travel movements. The FIA's COVID-19 code states that any time spent outside the closed venue "must be spent with other members of the same group, keeping interaction with persons outside that group to a minimum." Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who won last Sunday, also went home to Monaco after the opening race but the Finn remained within his 'bubble' by seeing only those within his existing group - his girlfriend and trainer. Some team bosses also left the Red Bull ring, including McLaren's Zak Brown. "Zak had to fly back for business reasons but he was following all the necessary measures which are in place in terms of social distancing and isolating himself... I don't see any safety risk," said McLaren principal Andreas Seidl. Racing Point principal Otmar Szafnauer told reporters he was worried that some people might not be sticking to the rules. "I think the FIA should look further and make sure that everybody is doing it," he added. "We all have to stay vigilant because... if there is an outbreak here and we have to miss races, that would be disastrous." Formula One said 4,566 COVID-19 tests conducted on the drivers, teams and personnel between July 3-9 had all been negative. Also read: Coronavirus: Another Toyota employee at Bidadi plant tests positive; total number of cases reach 14 Protesters marched in Chicago, Illinois, on July 10, in a Free Them All! Free Gerald Reed! demonstration, rallying against police brutality and mass incarceration. Gerald Reed was allegedly tortured by the Chicago Police into confessing to a double murder he did not commit. The protest, organized by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, began at the James R. Thompson Center and ended at Governor JB Pritzkers mansion. Footage shows protesters marching through Chicagos North Side. A violinist played Lift Every Voice, demonstrators played a recorded message from Gerald Reed, and some wrote messages in chalk outside the Governors mansion. Credit: @delvecchiograce via Storyful Two resolutions were recently introduced by subcommittee leaders of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs to mark the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic ties (July 12). Resolution S. Res. 607 was submitted by Senator Cory Gardner and Senator Ed Markey of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations while Resolution H. Res. 1018 by Congressman Ami Bera and Congressman Ted Yoho of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and Nonproliferation of the countrys House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs. The two resolutions recognised that in the 25 years since normalising diplomatic relations, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the United States of America have worked toward increased stability, prosperity, and peace in Southeast Asia, and expressed the sense of the Senate and the House of Representatives that the US will continue to remain a strong, reliable, and active partner in the Southeast Asian region. They reaffirmed the importance of the countries comprehensive partnership, from politics, economy trade, security defence, settlement of war consequences, education training, health care, locality-to-locality ties, to cooperation within regional mechanisms. They also highly valued the large Vietnamese communitys contributions to the USs development while highlighting bilateral cooperation in the cleanup of dioxin, removal of unexploded ordnance, and search for remains of US and Vietnamese soldiers missing in the war. The US Congress welcomed Vietnams growing role and stature in the region and the world, especially when it serves as ASEAN Chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021. The US side also welcomed Vietnams readiness to protect freedom of navigation and international law in the East Sea, and affirmed that Vietnams rights and interests in accordance with international law must be respected. On this occasion, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc offered thanks to the US Congress for its support for the two countries comprehensive partnership. Leaders of Vietnam, US exchange congratulations on diplomatic ties Leaders of Vietnam and the US have exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries (July 12). In his congratulatory letter to US President Donald Trump, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong said the US is Vietnams leading partner in various areas. In recent years, the two countries have coordinated address bottlenecks, particularly in trade and finance, thereby consolidating and expanding the comprehensive partnership based on respect for the UN Charter, international law and each others political institutions, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Trong expressed his belief that the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership would be strengthened in an effective and sustainable manner, benefitting peoples of both nations and contributing to security, peace and prosperity in the region and the world. Meanwhile, President Trump affirmed the US is committed to enhancing and expanding the bilateral ties based on a shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific and respect for each others sovereignty and regulations. On the occasion, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc exchanged a message of congratulations with President Trump. Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan also exchanged congratulations with President of the Senate Michael Pence and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh cabled a congratulatory message to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. VNA Lichtenstein fetches $46,242,500 as historic ONE sale tops $420m setting seven artist records The first auction of its kind relayed in sequence from Hong Kong, Paris, London and New York totals $420,941,042 / 334,877,520 / 373,053,557 / HK$3,246,637,554 and sets auction records for Marden, Thiebaud, Condo and more On 10 July, Christies made auction history with ONE, a global live auction offering Impressionist and Modern, Post-War and Contemporary Art and Design. Using streaming technology, ONE took place in consecutive sessions in Hong Kong, Paris, London and New York, and realised $420,941,042 / 334,877,520 / 373,053,557 / HK$3,246,637,554, selling 94 per cent by lot and 97 per cent by value. The event welcomed global participation via Christies LIVE online bidding channel and, where regional government advice allowed, clients and phone bidders in the salerooms. More than 80,000 people tuned in to watch the new theatre unfold, with 60,000 of those accessing the auction through social media in Asia. This hybrid-format concept sale is a way to adapt and innovate, commented Christies chief executive officer, Guillaume Cerutti. We wanted to stage something that accommodates the current situation and serves our clients, wherever they are and however they wish to participate. The top price in the ONE sale was achieved by Nude with Joyous Painting (1994), a late-career tour de force by Roy Lichtenstein, which realised $46,242,500. Painted in Lichtensteins signature Ben-Day dot style, the landmark canvas features a blonde American beauty alone in her bedroom, wearing nothing but a blue headband and red lipstick. Ana Maria Celis, head of Evening Sale, Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christies, described the iconic work as the most important example of Lichtensteins last great series of nudes to have ever appeared at auction. The second-top seller was Barnett Newmans Onement V from 1952 one of six paintings in the breakthrough series that marked the moment the Colour Field artist came of age. The painting realised $30,920,000. Brice Mardens Complements diptych, above, painted between 2004 and 2007 and exhibited at New Yorks Matthew Marks Gallery in 2007, also sold for $30,920,000, establishing a new world record for the artist at auction. With its orange and blue rectangles traversed by a wiry collection of snaking coils, it is a standout example of the artists late, vibrant gestural style. Hong Kong Presided over by Elaine Kwok, the first leg of this international relay established two world auction records and saw active bidding in the Christies salesrooms in Hong Kong, Paris and New York, as well as via Christies LIVE. The top lot was Gerhard Richters Frost (1) (1989), which sold for HK$79,255,000. A dazzling example of Richters Abstraktes Bild paintings, it exemplifies the artists practice of continually laying down and then subsequently scraping off layers of paint with a squeegee, resulting in a fractured surface. Gerhard Richter (b. 1932), Frost (1), 1989. Oil on canvas. 55 x 39 in (140 x 100 cm). Sold for HK$79,255,000 on 10 July 2020 at Christies in Hong Kong. Gerhard Richter 2020 The Hong Kong section also saw strong results for George Condos Force Field from 2010, which achieved HK$53,150,000; and Yellow Quadrangle (1959) by the avant-garde Japanese painter Takeo Yamaguchi, which sold for HK$15,125,000. Both were record prices for the artists at auction, with the Yamaguchi, the largest work by the artist ever to come auction, selling for more than five times the high estimate. Takeo Yamaguchi (1902-1983), Yellow Quadrangle, 1959. Oil on board. 72 x 72 in (183 x 183 cm). Sold for HK$15,125,000 on 10 July 2020 at Christies in Hong Kong. 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris Other notable results included Martin Wongs 1990 Untitled (Statue of Liberty), which realised HK$4,925,000 nearly double the high estimate; and Homecoming by the self-taught Canadian artist Matthew Wong, which soared above its high estimate to fetch HK$3,000,000. Yayoi Kusamas 1981 Pumpkin, meanwhile, realised HK$14,525,000; and Nicholas Partys captivating large-scale Still Life in pastel achieved HK$7,925,000. Paris Following a swift transition, the Paris section got underway with Cecile Verdier at the rostrum. The top lot was Jean Dubuffets Pourleche fiston (1963), which fetched 6,528,500. Held in the same family collection for half a century, the painting represents the kaleidoscopic fusion of two worlds: the transformation of Dubuffets celebrated Paris Circus series into his career-defining cycle, Hourloupe. The second-highest seller of the Paris leg was Amedeo Modiglianis 1909 portrait of Maurice Drouard, below, which fetched 4,485,500, while Nicolas de Staels Plage a Agrigente sold for 4,031,500. An exquisite work from the artists series inspired by Sicily, it was painted from memory in the South of France in 1953, and unveiled in the artists landmark debut at Paul Rosenbergs New York gallery shortly afterwards. Other highlights included Pierre Soulages Peinture 130 x 89 cm, 25 novembre 1950, which realised 3,237,000. This dynamic oil on canvas had not been seen in public since 1953, when it toured to Australia for the exhibition French Painting Today. London In London, Jussi Pylkkanen was at the podium. Leading the auction was Rene Magrittes monumental LArc de Triomphe, one of only a handful of Magritte paintings on such a scale that is still in private hands. Painted during the opening months of 1962, it features one of the most iconic motifs of Magrittes post-war oeuvre: the tree. It sold for 17,798,750. There were other notable successes, too. Cecily Browns Carnival and Lent (2006-2008) went for 4,859,750, while Gebeugter Trinker [Bent Drinker] by Georg Baselitz realised 4,600,000. After an international bidding battle, David Hockneys 1988 Jade Plant sold for 4,178,750, nearly triple the low estimate. Manolo Millares (1926-1972), Cuadro 54, 1959. Oil and string on burlap. 59 x 78 in (150 x 200 cm). Sold for 1,091,250 on 10 July 2020 at Christies in London. 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York And Manolo Millares Cuatro 54 a large-scale example of the artists extraordinary burlap creations, executed in 1959 and widely exhibited realised 1,091,250, setting a new world record for the artist at auction. New York Led by Adrien Meyer, the fourth and final leg took the sale total to $420,941,042. In addition to the works by Lichtenstein, Newman and Marden (see above), other notable results included Picassos monumental Les Femmes dAlger (Version F), one of a series of 15 canvases based on Eugene Delacroixs masterpiece Les femmes dAlger, which achieved $29,217,500. Picasso created the series in a burst of activity between December 1954 and February 1955, assigning each work an identifying letter, from A to O. What makes Version F stand out is the way it marks a bridge between the first phase of the series (of regular-sized canvases) and the second, final phase (featuring much larger works). More than any other painting in the series, it also conveys the hothouse atmosphere of a harem. The Picasso was followed by Ed Ruschas groundbreaking early text painting Annie (1962), which fetched $22,975,000, while Four Pinball Machines, one of the largest canvases from Wayne Thiebauds early period, sold for $19,135,000, setting a new world record for the artist at auction. Painted in 1962, it depicts a row of arcade machines, decorated in a vibrant mix of oranges and yellows. Thiebaud is one of the most underrated and overlooked painters of recent times, said Stephen Jones, associate vice president of Post-War & Contemporary Art at Christies. Its only as we approach his 100th birthday that the world is really waking up to that. The New York leg also saw competitive bidding for Frank Stellas Sharpeville from 1962, which realised $11,625,000; Georgia OKeeffes From Pink Shell, which sold for $5,098,750, and two further Picasso works. Baigneuses, sirenes, femme nue et minotaure from 1937 sold for $8,106,500, while Baigneuses au ballon (1928) achieved $4,575,000, more than double the high estimate. Sign up today Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe Not all biotechs are highflyers in 2020. Despite some pharma companies elevated coronavirus driven valuations, some have had to settle for more pedestrian performances. Take for instance biotech Biogen (BIIB). The large cap has had a middling 2020 so far, with shares down by 6% since the turn of the year. Might that be about to change in the second half of the year, following a recent encouraging development? On Wednesday, Biogen disclosed it had submitted a BLA (biologics license application) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its potential Alzheimer treatment, aducanumab. Focus now turns to the FDAs reaction. The agency has 60 days to approve the filing, following which (if approved), the application will be reviewed. Biogen hopes the drug will be granted priority status due to the diseases unmet medical need. This means the review could be completed within 6 months instead of the 10 months it normally takes. J.P. Morgan analyst Cory Kasimov is not entirely convinced the treatment will make it through the whole regulatory process. The approval prospects for aducanumab, he notes, are little better than a coin flip, and he estimates the possibility of success at 55%. After conducting a poll among 30 US Alzheimers physicians, Kasimov argues aducanumab remains a controversial subject among industry professionals. In short, said the 5-star analyst, The results suggest that the majority of docs dont believe that aducanumab should be approved but plan to prescribe the drug to a substantial number of early Alzheimers patients if it reaches the market. With safety not being a major sticking point for most of these respondents, we suspect the regulatory debate is likely to come down to whether perceived tolerability + the unmet need win out over a questionable efficacy data + trial conduct/analysis. All in all, Kasimov reiterated a Hold rating on BIIB shares along with a $293 price target, which implies a modest 5% upside. (To watch Kasimovs track record, click here) Story continues Overall, based on Biogens Hold consensus rating, the rest of the Street agrees. The breakdown consists of 8 Buys, 13 Holds and 4 Sells, and is accompanied by a $312.16 price target. Theres upside of 11%, should the figure be met over the following months. (See Biogen stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for healthcare stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Uptown Charlotte is our home. Our office remains in the heart of the citys financial district and its central location allows us to benefit from the regions highly skilled and diverse workforce. We are well situated for continued growth. Commercial Credit Group Inc. (CCG), an independent commercial equipment finance company, announces that they will move the company headquarters, within Charlotte, effective Monday, July 13, 2020. The new office is located at 525 N. Tryon Street, Suite 1000, Charlotte, NC 28202 and will house 80 employees. When we moved into our current office space in 2010 we had 17 employees in the Charlotte office. Weve grown to over 80 employees here in Charlotte and the space simply isnt large enough. The new location accommodates our current staff and allows for continued growth. Additionally, amenities such as the fitness center, nearby restaurants, and proximity to the light rail will help us continue to attract top-caliber job applicants, stated Sr. Vice President and Corporate Secretary, Angelo Garubo. Company co-founder, President and CEO, Dan McDonough noted, Uptown Charlotte is our home. Our office remains in the heart of the citys financial district and its central location allows us to benefit from the regions highly skilled and diverse workforce. We are well situated for continued growth. In addition to the companys national machine tool and waste divisions and its southeast construction and transportation groups, the Charlotte office also houses corporate operations for parent company, Commercial Credit, Inc. and accounts receivable finance company, Commercial Funding Inc. Commercial Credit Group Inc. is currently hiring professionals to fill positions in accounting, documentation, finance and sales. About Commercial Credit Group Inc.: Commercial Credit Group Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Commercial Credit, Inc. is an independent commercial finance company that provides equipment loans and leases to small and mid-sized businesses in the construction, fleet transportation, machine tool and manufacturing and waste industries. The companys sales force is located throughout North America. Since its inception in 2004, CCG has originated over $4.5 billion of equipment loans and leases. CCG is headquartered in Charlotte, NC and operates full-service offices in Buffalo, NY and Naperville, IL. CCG Equipment Finance Limited services the Canadian Provinces of Ontario, west to British Columbia, from its Canadian headquarters in Hamilton, Ontario. For more information, please visit http://www.commercialcreditgroup.com. By Express News Service BENGALURU: The Karnataka government is preparing to bring back the Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation Bill, 2012, and officials from the State will be sent to Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to study similar laws in those states, Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan said here on Friday.He told reporters that once the law is implemented, selling and slaughtering of cows will be banned completely, along with transportation of cows to other states. Safeguarding cows is our priority. We have already started strengthening goshalas, the minister said, adding that they had announced the launch of Gau Seva Aayog during elections, to protect local cow breeds. The minister said they have already started making preparations at the ground level for the cow slaughter ban. Telangana, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and other states have implemented the Anti-Cow Slaughter Act, he said, adding that Karnataka too will implement it stringently soon. Once we overcome the Covid-19 crisis, officials will be sent to Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to study the laws in those states. When BJP was in power, we had passed the law in 2010. The Ministry of Home Affairs had instructed us to make some amendments. However, when the Siddaramiah government came to power, it did not follow up, Chauhan added. He said that as per the Supreme Court order, the State has constituted the Karnataka Animal Welfare Board. At present, there are around 85.22 lakh cattle, 29.98 lakh buffaloes, 110.91 lakh sheep, 61.96 lakh goats, 3.26 lakh pigs and 617 lakh hens, and 4,214 veterinary hospitals. The government is encouraging the construction of water tanks and sheds for stray animals. During the lockdown period, many such structures were put up, and animals and birds were rescued. Ambulance for animals Chauhan said that the department will soon launch dedicated ambulances which will reach farms to treat animals. The ambulances will be equipped with facilities for scanning, an operation theatre and testing lab. For the first time, a war room will be set up for cattle farmers, with a dedicated toll-free number, and a team will reach the spot within four hours of getting a call, he said. KEARNEY Alice Holscher didnt complain when COVID-19 kept her inside this spring. She got busy making clothes for dozens of dolls she had purchased at auctions during the years. These poor dolls had laid in a box in the basement for so long without clothes on. I thought it was time to get them dressed, she said. I kept saying, Im going to do it tomorrow, but tomorrow doesnt come. I always intended to do it, but I never got to it, so I thought being home all the time was a perfect opportunity, she said. Using pieces of material she found in her basement, she has made 20 outfits since March she thinks. Shes lost count. This is no small undertaking. Dolls are everywhere in Holschers house. In her kitchen. In her living room. In her bedroom and the guest bedroom. Theres even one in her bathroom, wearing a lacy pink and white frock and a wreath of flowers on her head. Her dolls do not have names Im just so glad to get a dress made that I never think about a name but each one has a tiny tag explaining her origin. One was purchased from a woman on the West Coast after Holscher saw it in a doll magazine. I think shes so pretty, Holscher said. The embattled owner of Glamour Salon, who reopened her downtown Salem salon on May 5 in violation of the states Stay Home, Save Lives shutdown order, filed a $100,000 civil rights lawsuit against Gov. Kate Brown, the State of Oregon and several state agencies on Wednesday. In the lawsuit, attorneys for Lindsey Graham accuse the governor and state of violating her civil rights and violating the Constitution by ordering a shutdown of her salon and other businesses in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The actions by state agencies made it "very clear that the government was targeting" her, Graham told the Statesman Journal in an interview Thursday. She accuses the defendants, which includes the Oregon Department of Human Services and the Public Health Division, of retaliating against her and abusing the civil process after she refused to comply with the governor's order. She said she hopes the lawsuit will hold government officials accountable so they don't have the authority again to shut and lockdown businesses without due process. Its to prevent Americans from losing their livelihoods, Graham said. The conduct of the Defendants represents the absolute worst abuses of power one could possibly imagine, Grahams attorney Ross Day said in the lawsuit. Even George Orwell would be shocked and appalled at the Defendants conduct. At the heart of the Defendants conduct is the Defendants ultimate goal: make Plaintiff Lindsey Graham an example to anyone else who may try to experience personal and economic freedom. Her attorneys said Graham wanted to get back to work to provide for her family. "In response, Governor Kate Brown, the City of Salem, the Oregon Occupational Saftey and Health Division (OSHA) the Oregon Health Licensing Office and, worst of all, Child Protective Services engaged in a systematic effort to harass, bully and punish Lindsey Graham and her family for engaging in legal business activities," they said in a statement. After being closed for six weeks, Graham announced in a semi-private manner on Facebook that she would be reopening her salon, according to the lawsuit. The family of a Minnesota mom who gave birth while on a ventilator fighting coronavirus is pleading for a transfer to a hospital that could give her emergency live-saving treatment. Aurora Chacon Esparza, 35, started displaying coronavirus symptoms in early June and was taken to North Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn Center where she was placed on a ventilator. By June 23, doctors were concerned that her baby was not getting enough oxygen and said she needed an emergency C-section despite being only 30 weeks pregnant. They delivered a healthy baby girl named Andrea ten weeks prematurely yet Esparza remains on a ventilator 21 days after being admitted. Aurora Chacon Esparza, 35, has been on a ventilator fighting coronavirus in a Minnesota hospital for 21 days. While there she gave birth to a baby girl named Andrea (pictured) Juan Duran (pictured above left with Esparza) said they believed her trip to the hospital would be short as the young mother was healthy when she first started showing symptoms The young mother's condition is worsening and doctors have recommended that an Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine - that will carry out the function of the heart and lungs outside the body - is the only other option. North Memorial Hospital is not an ECMO center, however, and all requests to be transferred to another hospital for treatment have been denied. 'She's one of the strongest persons I've ever known. That's why I have faith she's going to pull through this. She's going to make it,' her husband of seven years, Juan Duran, told Fox 9. Duran first believed his wife's trip to the hospital would be brief as the young mother, who already had two children, was healthy when she started displaying coronavirus symptoms. She went to hospital when she began to cough non-stop and had trouble breathing and was placed on a ventilator on June 19. 'She is a 35-year-old healthy woman with no pre-existing conditions,' Duran said. 'We never thought this could happen to our family.' Four days later, doctors decided to carry out the C-section, concerned for both mother and baby. 'That's when it hit me. I was thinking "okay she's going to get through this, a few days at the hospital." But when I received that phone call it just hit me,' her husband added. Baby Andrea was born by emergency C-section 10 weeks prematurely but is healthy Aurora Chacon Esparza, 35, (pictured left) is fighting for her life from coronavirus in a Minnesota hospital. Her family (husband Juan and oldest two children pictured) are pleading for a transfer to another hospital that can offer her potentially life-saving treatment Esparza, who already had a son, 1, and daughter, 7, was just 30 weeks pregnant Duran said that although on a ventilator, his wife can still see and hear and is somewhat alert. Baby Andrea is now in the NICU and continues to grow stronger but Esparza has never met her, according to KARE 11. 'She's four pounds, two ounces now and her heart is doing great,' Duran said. 'She can breathe by herself. She eats, she smiles, she cries.' Concerns are growing for her mother, however, as the family begs for the treatment that could potentially get her healthy and home to her newborn, 1-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter. 'About three days ago, [Aurora] started getting worse and worse,' Duran said. 'The ventilator was at a 100 percent and the oxygen just keeps going down, down, down.' North Memorial Hospital has said it is working with other hospitals to try and get Esparza transferred so she can receive the ECMO machine, a form of life support treatment. North Medical hospital has said it does not supply the treatment that could save Esparza Her husband Juan Duran has said he will continue to fight for a transfer despite the risks 'North Memorial Health partners with local and regional healthcare systems to care for patients who would benefit from ECMO, which is a highly specialized service that is typically only offered at ECMO Centers,' they said in a statement to Fox. 'We do not offer ECMO as a long-term or ongoing treatment which would be required to treat COVID-19, but we do use it for short-term emergency care as part of our trauma and cardiovascular surgery programs, when needed. 'ECMO Centers have stringent criteria for accepting patient referrals and our medical teams work closely with these partners to ensure that our patients have access to the care they need.' Yet doctors have warned the family that transfer requests are being denied because Esparza has been on a ventilator for too long. Aurora Chacon Esparza has been married to Juan Duran for seven years and they have three children together - newborn Andrea, a one-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter Esparza's condition is worsening and doctors have said an ECMO machine - that will carry out the function of the heart and lungs outside the body - is the only other option available. Esparza is pictured with her husband Juan, above left, and daughter, above right 'Aurora's doctor told me it was because she's been on the ventilator for too long,' Duran said. 'I know it's a small chance but we want to do everything possible. We want to have all of the resources available even if it's a one percent chance.' 'I know there's big risks but at this point the ECMO machine is the best option to save her life. I was told she could have hemorrhage, lose a lot of blood because of the C-section.' Despite those risks, Duran said he will keep pushing for her transfer. 'She's fighting and we want to give her every chance and every resource available for her to have a chance to survive and be with her kids,' he said. Duran added that he hopes others will realize the dangers of coronavirus once they hear his family's story. 'Just be cautious because you could be healthy just like my wife and still end up in the ICU on the ventilator,' he warned. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A Russian man has been convicted of hacking into three Bay Area tech companies, United States Attorney David Anderson announced Friday. Yevgeniy Nikulin, 32, was convicted by a federal jury for hacking into LinkedIn, DropBox and the social networking company formerly known as Formspring. The jury found Nikulin hacked into computers belonging to the three companies. He installed malware on computers belonging to LinkedIn and Formspring and stole the usernames and passwords of employees at the companies. He also sold and conspired to sell data he stole as a result of the hacks. Nikulin was arrested in 2016 while traveling to the Czech Republic, and he was extradited to the United States to face trial on multiple counts of computer hacking, fraud and identity theft. He is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 29. 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. Condolences pour in for Group Captain Varun Singh, only survivor of Gen Bipin Rawat's crash Wouldn't like to pre-empt any findings of Court of inquiry as it is a very fair process: IAF chief on chopper CDS chopper crash: What is CFIT that is pronounced as see-fit Completed delivery of all 22 Apache and 15 Chinook military helicopters to India: Boeing India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 11: In the midst of heightened tension between India and China, US aerospace major Boeing delivered the final five of the 22 Apache attack helicopters to the Indian Air Force last month, and the fleet has now been part of the assets deployed in key air bases along the Line of Actual Control, officials said today. Boeing said it completed delivery of all 22 Apache and 15 Chinook military helicopters to the Indian Air Force and is fully committed to meet their operational needs of the Indian armed forces. The AH-64E Apache is one of the world's most advanced multi-role combat helicopters, and is flown by the US Army. The Chinook is a multi-role, vertical-lift platform, primarily used for transporting troops, artillery, equipment and fuel. Indias new beast in the sky: Here is everything about the AH-64 Apache attack chopper J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News India finalised a multi-billion dollar contract with Boeing to procure 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinooks for the IAF in September 2015. Both the Apache and Chinook helicopters have been pressed into service as part of the air force's deployment along the Line of Actual Control in view of the bitter standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, officials told news agency Press Trust of India. "With this delivery of military helicopters, we continue to nurture this partnership and are fully committed to working closely with India''s defence forces to deliver the right value and capabilities to meet their operational needs," said Surendra Ahuja, Managing Director, Boeing Defence India. India is one of 17 nations to select the Apache and has the most advanced variant, the AH-64E Apache. Defence and security ties between India and the US have been on an upswing in the last six years. The bilateral defence trade touched USD 18 billion mark in 2019, reflecting growing defence cooperation between the two sides. Both sides have also been pushing for joint venture and collaboration between private sectors of the two countries in defence manufacturing. In June 2016, the US had designated India a "Major Defence Partner", intending to elevate defence trade and technology sharing with New Delhi to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners. In a statement, Boeing said the AH-64E Apache has an improved modernised target acquisition designation system that provides day and night target tracking system. "In addition to classifying air and ground targets, the fire control radar has been updated to operate in the maritime environment. It is uniquely suited to meet a commander''s needs, including reconnaissance, security, peacekeeping operations, and lethal attack, across myriad environments - without reconfiguration," Boeing said. It said 20 defence forces around the world either have Chinooks in service, or are on contract to receive them. "The iconic tandem-rotor helicopter has been the world's most reliable and efficient heavy-lift helicopter for more than 50 years, allowing customers to operate in climatic (hot), altitude (high), and crosswind conditions," the company said. It said the CH-47F(I) Chinook contains a modern machined airframe, a common avionics architecture system cockpit, and a digital automatic flight control system. "Those innovations and technologies will help the Indian Air Force meet evolving mission demands, maximize interoperability, and reduce life-cycle costs," it said. Earlier this year, India and the US signed a contract for the acquisition of six Apaches for the Indian Army during President Donald Trump's visit to Delhi. Boeing's joint venture with Tata in Hyderabad has been producing aero-structures for the AH-64 Apache helicopter for both US Army and international customers. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 11, 2020, 10:42 [IST] CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - A commission at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has voted in favour of a recommendation to rename four campus buildings that currently have ties to slaveholders or white supremacists. The recommendation from the Commission on History, Race & A Way Forward on Friday will go to schools chancellor, who can then decide to forward it to the Board of Trustees, the Charlotte Observer reported. The board, scheduled to meet Thursday, is expected to discuss a policy to change the names of facilities on campus. The four buildings at issue are named after men who used their positions to impose and maintain violent systems of racial subjugation, said history professor Jim Leloudis, who co-chairs the commission. The recommendation comes after the university last month lifted a moratorium that had been in place since 2015 preventing the school from removing names on campus buildings that may be associated with slavery, segregation and white supremacy. The newspaper reported the Daniels Building is named after former newspaper publisher and lifelong white supremacist Josephus Daniels, while Carr Building holds the name of Ku Klux Klan supporter Julian S. Carr. Carr gave a racist speech during the dedication of the Confederate statue on campus known as Silent Sam, which was torn down by protesters in 2018. Aycock and Ruffin residence halls are named after former North Carolina Gov. Charles Aycock and Thomas Ruffin Sr. and Thomas Ruffin Jr. Aycock led a white supremacy campaign that suppressed black voters, according to the newspaper. The elder Ruffin was the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and enslaved more than 100 people. Aycock led a white supremacy campaign that suppressed black voters. The elder Ruffin was the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and enslaved more than 100 people, according to the newspaper. One of the more intriguing police-reform ideas to emerge in the wake of George Floyds death in Minneapolis is remarkable for its simplicity. Many troubling incidents occur after officers respond to minor disturbances involving mentally ill people or non-criminal matters. Why not skip the cops and instead call social workers or mental-health professionals? Its a common-sense question asked not only by reformers, but by prominent police officials. Were asking cops to do too much in this country, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said four years ago. Here in Dallas we got a loose dog problem; lets have the cops chase loose dogs. Schools fail, lets give it to the cops Policing was never meant to solve all these problems. Fortunately, more localities realize it might be time not only to consider better police strategies, but non-police strategies, as well. San Francisco officials have approved a plan to use trained, unarmed social-work professionals to respond to routine calls involving homeless people, disputes between neighbors and school discipline issues. It has the police chiefs backing. Cities including Oakland, Sacramento and Los Angeles are considering similar models. Its not a new idea. Thirty years ago, Eugene, Oregon, a college town of 172,000 people, began staffing an old van with unarmed medics and counselors to respond to suicide threats, drug-addiction and homeless issues problems for which there are no easy fixes and that in the hands of police have often turned violent, according to a recent CNN report. The city has expanded this program. By most estimates, it is remarkably successful. The nation finally seems ready to consider alternative approaches. There are myriad potential benefits. Its easier to send trained social workers to deal with a minor incident than it is to retrain every police officer into being a de facto social worker. Its likely to reduce violent encounters. These policies would reduce the amount of time police agencies spend on minor disturbances and let them focus instead on serious crime. As the Los Angeles Times reported, police accounted for more than 90 percent of the $21 million that San Francisco spent over one year to enforce homeless-related laws. Thats a misuse of police resources. They are among the costliest services any city provides, so such reforms could result in cost savings. The California legislature is considering Assembly Bill 2054, which creates pilot programs to deploy counselors and other non-police staff to deal with homelessness, natural disasters and other crisis situations. This bill is designed to de-escalate crises, reduce reactive violence, and to send vital services to people who have a tougher time accessing critically needed emergency services, said its author, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Los Angeles, in a statement. This measure has bipartisan backing. We like the concept and pilot projects in general, given they provide a way to test new ideas before rolling them out across the state. Based on similar thinking, the Federal Communications Commission has developed an emergency 988 hotline. Its similar to 911, but is reserved for mental-health emergencies a sensible idea given that around a quarter of the people killed by police officers were experiencing mental problems. Theres no simple fix to the nations policing problems, but creating alternative responses to non-violent incidents is a humane, cost-effective and non-controversial way to start. - A young female graduate from Nigeria called Amarachi Okafor was able to start two businesses before leaving school - The startups the brilliant young lady initiated were serving clients with car wash and paint services, which are both male-dominated industries - Amarachi's amazing achievement garnered massive reactions on social media Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Amarachi Okafor, a young Nigerian lady, has been celebrated on her day of graduation as she was able to set up two all-girls businesses when she was a student. The story was shared on social media by Enugu Metropolitan Network in a heartwarming post sighted by YEN.com.gh on their official Twitter handle. According to the report, Amarachi graduated from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Nigeria. READ ALSO: 15-year-old author and philanthropist from Ghana changes lives abroad Source: UGC Source: UGC See post below: Interestingly, the startups the brilliant young lady initiated were serving clients with car wash and paint services. Both are male-dominated industries. Seeing the great work Amarachi had done to combine business with studies when she was a student, social media users could not help but shower praises on her. Chuky Unadulterated celebrated the young girls but also sent a word of caution: eugen_ogbodo indicated that the all-girls movement was wonderful and great: READ ALSO: Father of KNUST SHS student narrates chilling account of sons death According to Charles A. Opurum, Amarachi is the true definition of a slay queen: Meanwhile, it was earlier reported that Shamima Opoku Amankwah, a brilliant girl who grew up in Ghana, left Wesley Girls' SHS when she was in year one and ended up becoming the best graduating student at Our Lord Secondary School in Canada. In an interview with YEN.com.gh, the small lady reveals that she is originally Canadian but spent most of her formative years in Ghana. Shamima attended The Ridge School from inception to junior high school, after which she went to Wesley Girls' and then left Ghana the following year. Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Senior Minister, Osafo-Maafo, tests positive for COVID-19: Got a national or human interest story you think we should know? Get interactive via our Facebook page Source: YEN.com.gh ADVERTISE Hypebot & MusicThinkTank With the internet and digital technologies driving rapid change within the music industry, articles about new releases and who has been hired and fired are no longer enough. Our up to the minute industry news alongside insightful commentary helps our readers sift through the rumors and developments to find the information they need to keep their businesses moving forward. Hypebot is read daily by more than 30,000 music industry professionals including executives and senior staff of music related tech firms, internet based music sites, every major label group and most indies as well as many managers, artists and members of the live music community: Contact us for the latesst stats, ad rates and sponosorship opportunites. We also offer combined rates with MusicThinkTank. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Choi Ji-won (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network) Sat, July 11, 2020 16:06 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066597179 2 Entertainment Peninsula,Train-to-Busan,South-Korea,film,Seoul,Movie,zombie,thriller Free Peninsula, a sequel to Train to Busan, touts itself as a zombie flick that everyone can watch. I tried my best to deliver a universal message through a film which people of all ages could watch. Im hoping Peninsula becomes something for everyone to enjoy at the theater during this COVID-19 situation, director Yeon Sang-ho said during a press conference held Thursday in Seoul. Exactly four years after the release of Train to Busan in summer 2016, Peninsula was unveiled in Seoul during a press premiere held Thursday. The director, joined by actors Gang Dong-won and Lee Jung-hyun attended the event. The same amount of time -- 4 years -- has passed in the film, and the whole Korean Peninsula has become a deserted land of zombies and survivors who have given up sanity in the hopeless land. The zombies are faster and even more sensitive to sound and light, and savage madness is taking place inside the mysterious Army Unit 631. The film kicks off by putting Peninsula aside Train to Busan. When Gong Yoo was on the train to Busan four years ago, Gang Dong-won, playing Jung-seok, was heading towards Incheon to get on the rescue ship. Even without the zombies, survival for Koreans outside the country is not easy, and Jung-seok returns to Korea on a mission to find a truck full of money. A horde of zombies ambushes Jung-seok, and Min-jung -- played by Lee Jung-hyun -- and her family rescues him. Along with Min-jungs family, Jung-seok sets off to retrieve the truck seized by the men from Unit 631. I wanted to take a different ending to the film from that of Train to Busan. I intended to convey a more hopeful message. The characters want to escape Korea, but its not all pink in the world outside. I wanted to show that (survival is not about) where you are at but whom you are with, the director said. While it was not an easy choice to star in a sequel of a hit film, Gang said he feels confident that Train to Busan fans will also enjoy the upcoming film. I was intrigued by the visions and ideas of the director. When I read the script, I could see that it was telling a different story from Train to Busan, Gang said. Awaiting for a films release never feels easy. I feel a heavy weight on my shoulders, but watching the film today for the first time, I am actually feeling quite confident. We really tried our best to not let down those people who cherish Train to Busan, the actor added. Jung-seok is a former army captain who loses his family to zombies and escapes to Hong Kong with his brother-in-law. Although he leads the film, according to Gang, Jung-seok is no hero. Read also: Zombie thriller Peninsula to screen in 185 countries Although Jung-seok is a well-trained soldier, he is not a hero. In fact, the real hero would be Min-jung and her family. He sees hope again with them, Gang said. Min-jung lives with her daughter Yu-jin (played by Lee Ye-won) and step-daughter Joon (played by Lee Re) who she had rescued. An elderly former commander of Unit 631, who the girls refer to as grandpa, also lives with Min-jungs family. Once the protector of the survivors, Unit 631 has turned into a barbarous pit where humans prey upon their fellow humans, and Captain Seo (played by Koo Kyo-hwan) and Sergeant Hwang (played by Kim Min-jae) are portrayed as the worst of the villains. Jung-seoks brother in law Cheol-min (Kim Do-yun), who accompanied Gang on the mission, is captured by the men of Unit 631 and becomes a victim of their foul play of hide-and-seek with zombies. It was actually scary. There were people who I knew among the zombie actors, but it seemed ironically horrifying to see them throwing themselves at me, Kim Do-yun said about the zombie scenes. According to the director, the space in which the film takes place is what mainly decides how his zombies are characterized. For this film showing the post-apocalyptic state of Seoul, a car chase topped by an endless flood of zombies rushing at the cars, pulls the suspense to its climax. While Yeons zombie apocalypse universe expands over a huge series -- including Train to Busan prequel, the animated film Seoul Station -- the director noted his film is not about a massive universe or special people. This goes same for both Train to Busan and Peninsula, my films are about the trivial people. Jung-seok is a very average person with an average desire, and so are all other characters of this film. I made the film to show these people who are moved by their ordinary desires, Yeon said. We have prepared for the films July release since last year, and although there have been unexpected situations, we decided it was right to go as the original plan. Being at a press conference, I am reminded of the good days when the cinemas were fully packed with audiences. I sincerely hope this film could help revive the film industry. The film hits South Korean theaters on Wednesday. Topics : This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post By Ayya Lmahamad The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) chaired by Azerbaijan has held its first online meeting on combating the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Ministry reported on July 10. NAM working group on COVID-19 was established upon Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs initiative on May 4. During the online meeting held on July 9, the representatives of WHO expressed gratitude for Azerbaijans international efforts in fight against COVID-19, including permanent support to the activity of WHO, and expressed support to the activity of the Working Group established upon Aliyev's initiative. Moreover, the WHO representatives noted that based on relevant information provided by Azerbaijan, WHO has started to provide assistance to NAM member states. Furthermore, NAM member states participating in the meeting thanked Azerbaijan for its intensive activity in the field of fight against COVID-19 as chairman of the organization and informed about the work done in their countries in the field of fight against pandemic. In the course of the online meeting, the Azerbaijani delegation informed the participants of the work done for the past period on formation of the group and preparation of a single information database. Additionally, regular steps related to the activity of the Working Group were planned at the end of the meeting. The meeting was attended by representatives of many NAM member states, as well as Michelle Boccoz, Director-General of Multilateral Affairs of the World Health Organization and Paul Molinaro, Head of Operations and Supply Division of the organization. Working Group was established on the initiative of the Chairman-in-Office of the Non-Aligned Movement, President Ilham Aliyev on May 4, 2020 during the summit meeting in the format of videoconference on combating the pandemic COVID-19 of the Contact Group of the Non-Aligned Movement. The group is tasked to create a single information database reflecting the medical, social and humanitarian needs of the Non-Aligned Movement countries. It should be noted that Azerbaijan has also initiated holding a session of the UN General Assembly dedicated to fight against COVID-19. The session was held on July 10. Moreover, Azerbaijan has donated $10 million to the World Health Organization and provided humanitarian and financial aid to over 30 countries to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz According to this report, law enforcement officials in St. Louis served a warrant on Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple that brandished guns when an angry mob trespassed on their property and allegedly threatened them with violence. St. Louis police officers reportedly executed a search warrant and seized the rifle Mark McCloskey held during his confrontation with the mob. Attorney Harmeet Dhillon had this to say about the search and seizure: Missouri is a Castle Doctrine state, permitted among the broadest latitudes of any state in using even deadly force to protect yourself or your property. This couple used NO force, despite the imminent threat from a trespassing mob. The seizure of weapons is government overreach. Ill say. The Democratic St. Louis Circuit Attorney, Kimberly Gardner, seems to be serious about prosecuting the McCloskeys. She claimed that the McCloskeys defense of their property was a violent assault and said that authorities will use the full power of Missouri law to hold people accountable. She means white people who defend their property without resorting to actual violence. She does not mean the people who trespass on their property and terrorize them. Nor does she mean rioters. She had all 36 of those arrested during recent St. Louis riots released. The threat to liberty here is obvious. Apparently in St. Louis, a mob can terrorize citizens on their own property. If citizens try to deter the mob, the local government jumps in to persecute (and maybe prosecute) them, even if they dont use force. In addition, by confiscating the weapons, the city can leave citizens defenseless if the mob returns. This smacks of local government working hand-in-glove with thugs to injure or ruin citizens who simply want to be left alone. Expect the flight from our cities to proceed apace. BY THE WAY: Gardner is a crook. In 2019, she admitted to repeat campaign finance violations dating back to her time as a Missouri State Legislator. These violations included using campaign donations to pay for a private apartment. Moreover, the Circuit Attorneys Office has experienced a more than 100 percent turnover rate in staff since Gardner took office in 2017. More than 65 attorneys with a combined experience of over 460 years in prosecutorial experience have departed during this three-and-half year period. Its difficult to imagine any serious, self-respecting prosecutor working for Kimberly Gardner. Bank of Nova Scotia and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce say they will fill at least 3.5 per cent of senior executive and board positions in Canada with Black leaders by 2025. The two banks confirmed they plan to sign the BlackNorth Initiative CEO pledge, the brainchild of a group led by Wes Hall, a prominent Black executive who founded Toronto-based Kingsdale Advisors. Signatories to the pledge agree to hit the 3.5 per cent target within five years and other measures, such as hiring at least five per cent of their student workforce from the Black community. Another company in the S&P/TSX 60 Index, Rogers Communications Inc., told Bloomberg it will commit to the 3.5 per cent target. Enbridge Inc. said chief executive officer Al Monaco plans to attend the BlackNorth virtual summit on July 20, but clarified the company has yet to make a final decision on the pledge. Only companies that have signed the pledge are eligible to participate in the event, according to BlackNorth. Several other firms, including Royal Bank of Canada and Sun Life Financial Inc., said they are still reviewing the BlackNorth pledge. Royal Bank said earlier this week its instituting a policy of filling 30 per cent of open executive positions with Black, Indigenous and other people of colour. The most recent census found that Black people made up 3.5 per cent of the population in Canada, where the killing of George Floyd has led to street protests and stirred debate about whether the country is as inclusive as many of its citizens think it is. At Canadas six largest banks and two largest life insurance companies, about 10 per cent of top executive roles and eight per cent of non-executive board positions are held by visible minorities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. But only one of the 188 senior positions at those eight companies is occupied by someone whos Black a CIBC director who lives in Chicago. A lot of these companies are going to lose great talent if they do not act, because quite frankly they need those people who are stuck in middle management, Hall said in an interview with Bloomberg last month. Once they start leaving in droves its going to create a huge void in the company that you just cant ignore any more. The new organization leading the initiative is known as the Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism. In addition to Hall, the coalition is backed by CIBC chief executive officer Victor Dodig, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. CEO Prem Watsa, and Rola Dagher, president and CEO of Cisco Systems Canada. Read more about: A bear knocked a woman down and scratched her back in an attack Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Manitou Springs. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers are searching for the bear. A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva, Switerland, on Oct. 2, 2014. {Denis Balibouse/Reuters) North Korea Denounces UK for Sanctions on Organisations Accused of Links to Prison Camps SEOULNorth Korean regime denounced Britain on Saturday for announcing sanctions against two organisations that the British government has said are involved in forced labour, torture and, murder in North Korean prison camps. The move against the two organisations, named as the Ministry of State Security Bureau 7 and Ministry of Peoples Security Correctional Bureau, is part of the first sanctions under Britains new global human rights regime. Sanctions on 25 Russians and 20 Saudis were also announced. Britains latest move is a flagrant political plot to jump on the bandwagon of the United States inimical policy, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement carried on state media KCNA. We strongly condemn and reject the UKs daring to impose sanctions on the institutions responsible for our countrys security as violent interference in domestic affairs. The sanctions will take the form of asset freezing. North Korean Regime and the United States have failed to find a compromise over North Koreas nuclear weapons programme or international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang. Recent North Korean statements, including one by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un, have reiterated Pyongyangs objections to what it sees as hostile and self-serving policies of the United States. By Joyce Lee Sources said that status quo has been maintained at the LAC after the completion of the first phase of disengagement. New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday reviewed the situation in Ladakh with top military brass as Indian and Chinese troops completed their initial phase of disengagement by moving out of the flash points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The security review meeting on China was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria besides several other senior military officials. General Naravane gave a detailed account of the implementation of the first phase of mutual disengagement of troops from Galwan Valley, Gogra, Hot Springs and Finger 4 areas in Pangong Tso. He gave details about the measures taken by the Indian Army to prevent any aggression by the Chinese troops. Sources said that status quo has been maintained at the LAC after the completion of the first phase of disengagement and further movement of troops will depend on the outcome of the Corps Commanders meeting between India and China next week. While Indian and Chinese troops have moved slightly away from flash-points, the bigger concern is the presence of a large number of troops from both sides with heavy weapons, including artillery and tanks, in the forward areas along the LAC in Ladakh. Till these troops move from the LAC to their peace-time locations, tension between India and China will remain high. On Friday, Singh also held a telephonic conversation with his US counterpart, Mark T Esper, during which Indias standoff with China in Ladakh and the overall security scenario in the region was discussed. In a boost to the Indian Air Forces firepower, US aerospace major Boeing said on Friday that it has handed over the final five of the 22 Apache attack helicopters to the IAF in June at Air Force Station, Hindan. The company said that in March, Boeing had handed over the last five of 15 CH-47F(I) Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to the IAF. The body of a Sowerby's beaked whale which died after becoming stranded in Wicklow Harbour was retrieved and sent for an necropsy to try and determine the cause of death. Sowerby's beaked whales are reclusive creatures that tend to stay away from ships and are rarely sighted. They are not known to visit the coastline often and prefer deeper waters away from land. Volunteers with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group were alerted to the distressed whale on Saturday morning after being sent video footage of the stranded marine mammal by Eoin Byrne, who lives locally. Marine Biologist Meadhbh Quinn and other Irish Whale and Dolphin Group volunteers were able to identify the whale as a Sowerby's beaked whale and carried out a visual health check. From the offset it appeared to be in ill health. 'It was in a bad way. We could see it had sustained numerous abrasions and cuts and was very disorientated. It kept swimming into the harbour walls. It was distressing and very hard to watch. 'Sowerby's beaked whales are an offshore diving species so this was probably the first time it had ever seen humans. Handling it would cause the whale even more distress. In the end we had to take the difficult decision to let nature take its course so as to try and minimise the whale's stress,' said Meadhbh A large crowd of onlookers gathered at Wicklow Harbour to witness the stranded whale. They were encouraged to keep their distance to avoid causing any more stress to the animal, and to remember governmental social distance guidelines. After the whale sadly died later that afternoon, its remains were retrieved and taken to the DAFM Regional Vet Laboratory in Backweston for a post-mortem, the results of which will be released later in the week. These efforts were supported by the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS). One train of thought is that the male whale suffered some sort of acoustic trauma, which led to him losing the ability to navigate and ending up getting lost along the east coast. 'We are not sure what the necropsy is going to find and it can be difficult to determine the cause of death. But, hopefully some of the samples will help give us some insight into how it lived and died. We know it was a male because of the position of the tooth midway along the lower jaw. They don't erupt in females. We aren't yet sure if it was fully grown as an average male is usually 5.5 metres and this whale was just shy of that,' added Meadhbh. The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group also offer their thanks to the Irish Coast Guard, Wicklow Sailing Club, AlphaMarine Services, NPWS, Wicklow Harbour master Paul Ivory and all of the members of the public who assisted in respectfully retrieving the animal from the harbour. Former United States national security advisor John Bolton has said that if the Sino-India border tensions escalate, there is no guarantee that US President Donald Trump will back India against China. China has been behaving in a belligerent fashion all around its periphery, certainly in the East and South China sea, and its relations with Japan, India as well as others have declined, Bolton told WION TV in an interview. On how far Trump was prepared to go to back India against China, he said, "I don't know which way he would go and I don't think he knows either. I think he sees the geostrategic relationship with China, for example, exclusively through the prism of trade." "I don't know what Trump will do after the November elections once the guard rail is removed... He'll be back to the big China trade deal. If things were to develop between India and China in a more critical fashion, I'm not sure where he would come down," the former US envoy to the UN said. Asked if he believes that if things were to escalate between India and China, there is no guarantee that Trump will back India against China, Bolton said, "That is correct". Bolton also said he does not think Trump knows anything about the history of these clashes over the decades between India and China. Trump may have been briefed on it, but history doesn't really stick with him, said Bolton, who was the US NSA from April 2018 to September 2019 under the Trump administration. "I think his gut instinct for the next four months is to take anything off the table that complicates what is already a difficult election campaign for him," Bolton said. "So what he (Trump) would want is quiet along with the border whether it benefits China or India. From his point of view -- No news is good news," he said. The Indian and Chinese armies were locked in the bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last eight weeks. The tension escalated manifold after the Galwan Valley clashes in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. Both sides have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks in the last few weeks to ease tension in the region. Hamilton Mob boss Pasquale (Pat) Musitano has been shot dead in a Burlington parking lot, just over a year after surviving a previous attempt on his life amid ongoing mafia violence. Halton Regional Police have confirmed Musitano, 52, died after being gunned down Friday afternoon. A second shooting victim is in hospital in serious condition, police say. The Spectator has learned the second victim is Musitanos longtime bodyguard, John Clary. A third man is in hospital with undetermined injuries, The Spectator has learned. Police were called to 484 Plains Rd. E., a plaza at King Road that houses several businesses, including Pro Patio Furniture, around 1 p.m.. Two men were found with gunshot wounds. Musitano died at the scene. His body was covered with a tarp. Musitano was the reputed boss of Hamiltons Musitano crime family. Pasquale (Pat) Musitano is pictured leaving court in a 1998 file photo. Musitano was shot dead in Burlington on Friday, July 10. The Hamilton Spectator file photo Police said one male suspect fled the scene westbound on Plains Road East in a grey sedan. Police say they are looking for four-door grey sedan that is a newer model similar to an Infiniti Q50 with a sunroof. This vehicle will have fresh damage to the drivers side in the area of the door, a news release said. If you spot this vehicle, call police immediately. One woman who refused to be named was at the Tim Hortons about a half-block from the scene when she heard 10 gunshots. Then all of a sudden cops started coming from everywhere, the woman said. Another man said he saw police take a blanket off of a man who was limp and blood-covered under a billboard in the parking lot. They turned him to his side and took photos of his back, said the man, who also requested anonymity. At least 10 police cruisers were scattered along Plains Road East. Investigators could be seen in the parking lot of Pro Patio Furniture placing yellow placards on what appeared to be bullet holes on the roof of a black vehicle. A handful of vehicles, some unmarked, made an enclosure around a body which was covered by a white tarp. Two hands could be seen poking out of the tarp. The owners of Pro Patio Furniture declined to comment when reached by phone Friday afternoon. Musitanos black GMC Yukon Denali was in the parking lot where the shooting happened. It is the same vehicle he was getting into when he was shot in a failed attempt on his life in Mississauga last year. A shooting at a Burlington plaza has left Hamilton Mob boss Pasquale (Pat) Musitano dead and another man in critical condition and a third man with unknown injuries. Graham Paine/Torstar He survived being shot in the parking lot outside his lawyers office in Mississauga on April 25, 2019. A little more than a week after the attempted hit, he was released from hospital and there have been few sightings of him since. No one has been charged in that shooting. Musitanos younger brother, Angelo (Ang) Musitano, was killed in a hit in the driveway of his Waterdown home on May 2, 2017. One man, Jabril Abdalla, is charged with first-degree murder in that case and there are outstanding arrest warrants for two others. Abdalla is also charged with murder and attempted murder in a failed hit in Vaughn, where 28-year-old Mila Barberi an innocent victim was mistakenly killed. It is alleged an accomplice pulled the trigger. Angelo Musitanos murder was the beginning of a resurgence of mafia violence in Hamilton that has included several other murders and acts of violence, including the shooting deaths of Albert Iavarone and Cece Luppino. In March, realtor Giorgio Barresi, who in the past was tied to the Musitanos, was fatally shot outside his Stoney Creek home. The Musitanos are one of three traditional mafia families that stretch back generations in Hamilton along with the Luppinos and Papalias. However, with Pat Musitanos death, its unclear what will happen with the once prominent Mob family. Pat Musitano took control of the family business when his father, Dominic Musitano, died in 1995. He and his younger brother Ang spent time in prison after being accused of taking out notorious Mob boss Johnny (Pops) Papalia in May 1997. They were accused of ordering hitman Ken Murdock to commit the murder. However, the brothers struck a deal, pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Papalias lieutenant, Carmen Barillaro, in July 1997. They were sentenced to 10 years and served two-thirds of that time in prison. After their release the brothers kept a low profile. Pats SUV was torched outside his St. Clair Boulevard home in September 2015, but there were no other headlines about the brothers until Angelos 2017 murder. On June 27, 2017, less than two months after Angelos murder, Pat Musitanos house was sprayed with bullets in an apparent warning to the Mob boss. Yet despite the violence the family has never co-operated with police on any investigations and Pat refused police protection. After surviving the attempt on his life in Mississauga last year, Musitanos St. Clair home was put up for sale. In a bizarre incident on July 22, 2019, Clary, a 76-year-old close friend and protector of Pats, was checking on the house when there was an altercation. He allegedly accelerated his car across the street and crashed into a Mercedes from Montreal three men got out of the vehicle and ran. Hamilton police have noted a pattern of traditional organized crime using people from Quebec to carry out jobs. Police said Clary had visited Pat Musitano in hospital after he was shot in Mississauga. Stephen Metelsky, a criminology professor at Mohawk College who spent 21 years with Halton police, including specializing in organized crime, said Pat was lucky to have survived the attempted hit last year. Since the attempt on Pats life he has been keeping an extremely low profile with very few loyal street soldiers in his crew ... aside from John Clary and a sparse crew, he said. The once powerful Musitano crime family had been reduced to Pat and very few others. But while alive, Pat was still a threat, said Metelsky. Now it appears the Musitano crime family has been completely decimated. Halton police are investigating the shooting. Graham Paine/Torstar There was already a power vacuum here, that is part of the reason for the ongoing violence. But with so many Hamilton mobsters either dead or behind bars, the future is more uncertain. Halton police say there is no ongoing threat to public safety, but were asking the public to stay away from the area where the shooting happened on Friday. Plains Road East was closed in both directions between King Road and Waterdown Road. Sebastian Myslin, who works at an insurance brokerage firm just down the block from 484 Plains, was returning from lunch at about 1:15 p.m. when he saw two police cruisers zip by him. He said he pulled over and looked toward the lot. I saw one guy unconscious on the ground, Myslin said. There was blood all over his back. Myslin said when he returned to the office, colleagues told him they had heard a number of gunshots. I didnt know if the (suspect) was still loose on the street, so I locked the doors and made sure we were OK, he said. Residents of the area said the shooting comes as a surprise. The neighbourhood is nice and quiet, often peaceful. Two modern condominium complexes and a public school sit across the street from the scene. Ive lived here 28 years and this is definitely unusual, said Al Hannaford, 64. Stuff happens, but a murder is uncommon. I go out for bike rides every night and never feel scared, said Daniella Di Flaviano, who moved to a condo on Plains in December. Ive never heard of any stabbings or shootings here, no crime really. Anyone with information or video of the area between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. is asked to call Halton Regional Police Service at 905-825-4777 or via the homicide tip line at 905-825-4776. Western Australia accounts for nearly all production of Australias most valuable export - iron ore - which the government expects to be worth more than $100 billion this financial year. Since July 2010, miners have submitted more than 460 applications to disturb or destroy sites of potential cultural significance in the region, according to state parliament records, including Rios Pilbara request. All but one of those applications were approved. Now there are signs of change - the sole request to be declined occurred last month. The decision came after the Rio blasts at Juukan Gorge, which destroyed a site that showed 46,000 years of human occupation and focused attention on the heritage laws. The site at Juukan Gorge before it was legally destroyed by Rio Tinto. Credit: Rio acknowledged that it had blasted two caves as part of its expansion of the Brockman 4 iron ore mine and apologized for the distress it caused the traditional landowners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people. In addition to the detonated caves, Rio was cleared in 2013 by the state government to destroy four additional rock shelters at Juukan, according to government records, as part of its application to disturb the ancient gorge. Artefacts had previously been found at or near the sites, records show, and permission was granted before more extensive archaeological work could be conducted, with no ability to review that decision later. Loading Mapping data that Rio filed with the states Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage and viewed by Reuters indicate two of the caves were within metres of the ones blasted in May. The other two are about 170 metres away. Reuters could not independently verify whether the four additional sites have been damaged. Rio declined to comment on the four additional sites and referred to its May 31 statement saying it was reviewing all work in the area since the May 24 blast. Power imbalance The Rio case highlights the power imbalance in the worlds biggest iron ore precinct between miners and indigenous Australians who have no legal veto over development projects on their ancestral land, said indigenous academic Marcia Langton. Unlike their title suggests, traditional owners dont own the land and are only sometimes considered stakeholders in its management. Marcia Lynne Langton holds the foundation chair in Australian indigenous studies at the University of Melbourne in the Faculty of Medicine. Credit:Arsineh Houspian The missing ingredient in all of these arrangements is the right of the traditional owners to consent or refuse requests to destroy their sites, she said. Under state rules, miners can destroy heritage sites like the ones at Juukan Gorge - where archaeologists had previously salvaged part of a 4,000-year-old belt made of plaited hair that provided a direct genetic link to the present day PKKP - for mine development by applying for an exemption to its Aboriginal Heritage Act. As part of the state exemption process, a review is made by a departmental committee, which considers the economic value of the project rather than acting solely on behalf of traditional owners who have no right of appeal in the process. Loading The inclusion of indigenous voices in the heritage legislation is potentially an improvement, if it includes relevant local groups, said land rights barrister Greg McIntyre, who said he has was yet to see the details. But the new legislation wont affect existing agreements with miners where there is a clause that prohibits traditional owners from filing any formal objections with state or federal authorities. After the event, there is no remedy for Aboriginal people if the site is damaged, said McIntyre, who led a historic case in the 1980s and 90s that recognised land rights of traditional owners had existed since before British settlement. The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia said it supported a review of current legislation. Rio declined to comment on clauses in its contracts. Credit:Louie Douvis CME and its members remain committed to working with Government towards reforms to the Aboriginal Heritage Act that will provide positive, mutually-beneficial outcomes for both industry and Indigenous Australians, it said in a statement. Rio declined to comment on clauses in its contracts but referred Reuters to an earlier statement. As a company with strong ties and a long history of partnership with Indigenous Australians we are committed to updating our practices and working together so that we can co-exist for mutual benefit. Demolition of sites The decision to go ahead with the blast has confounded industry watchers given Rio had developed a strong reputation in the industry for its work with indigenous communities. High standards that Rio had set in the past have been eroded by departures of senior archaeologists as social responsibility reporting has become a largely tick-the-box exercise that can be done from an office, said Glynn Cochrane, an anthropologist and former senior advisor for Rio Tinto for nearly two decades. Theyve lost their base. Theyre not dealing with communities anymore. Theyre not interested in these folks at village level, said Cochrane, who left Rio Tinto in 2015. Rio said its iron ore team had around 100 people doing communities work in the Pilbara, many of whom have been with Rio Tinto for years. We employ anthropologists, cultural heritage experts, archaeologists and many Indigenous people, many of whom are based at our assets and embedded in our operations, it said in a statement to Reuters. To be sure, many miners have spent years developing relationships with traditional owner groups. And, besides royalty and tax benefits for governments, mining also drives employment. Loading Two Manitoba MPs have put aside political differences to draw the federal government's attention and money to local fishers facing financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Two Manitoba MPs have put aside political differences to draw the federal government's attention and money to local fishers facing financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conservative MP James Bezan (SelkirkInterlakeEastman) and NDP MP Niki Ashton (ChurchillKeewatinook Aski) are calling on Ottawa to fulfil its previously announced spending of up to $469.4 million on supports for Canadian fish harvesters. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement May 14; during a news conference Friday in Winnipeg, Bezan and Ashton reprimanded the government for not following through. "This is not a partisan issue," Ashton said. "The federal government itself recognized the need for help... The problem here is that money has not flowed." Both MPs have portions of Lake Winnipeg shoreline, and families of fishers, in their ridings. The financial and health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have forced many in the industry to stop working. "We have to get to a point of helping these families survive," Bezan said. "This is why we can put aside our partisan differences and work towards what is in the best interests of our communities." Bezan and Ashton said Friday they sent a letter to the federal Liberal government weeks ago, regarding money for fish harvesters, but got no response. In his May 14 announcement, Trudeau said Ottawa would launch the Fish Harvester Benefit, a program worth up to $276.6 million. It would give income support to fishers who couldn't access the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. Trudeau said the Fish Harvester Grant, worth up to $201.8 million, would provide grants to fishers ineligible for the Canada Emergency Business Account. There was also to be employment insurance changes for self-employed fish harvesters. Eight weeks later, "We've been communicating the same thing to the federal Liberals, that this is a five-alarm fire," said Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont. "I'm not going to make any excuses for the federal government in terms of... the pace of this. They say they're working on it around the clock." Gerald Valiquette, a fisher from the east side of Lake Winnipeg, took a plane to be at Bezan and Ashton's news conference Friday. Valiquette catches freshwater pickerel and whitefish. His season normally lasts from June 1 to mid-July, but he didn't go fishing at all this year usual buyers (restaurants in the United States and Europe) have closed during the pandemic. He has no income right now. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Even to go into the local markets, that takes time, research, finding buyers, fighting the competition price wise," he said. "It's not as easy as it sounds." Valiquette said he was relieved to hear Trudeau's announcement May 14; he began phoning MPs and government lines after a month of not hearing more information but didn't get any answers. "I feel like we were forgotten. Sure it was announced, but where's the funding?" He said he'd rather get paid for his work than receive government funding. "It takes your pride away. I grew up in a fishing family and it's always been in my blood. For you to actually go and ask for help, it's kind of like, do I have to? But I have no choice." gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca - It has been revealed that Richard Leonard Sam, the KNUST SHS boy who passed away from what people feared was COVID-19, actually died of a stomach ulcer - Leonard reportedly started experiencing stomach aches after breakfast on Tuesday and the situation worsened by lunch time - He was a day student who had been sent to be resident at the school for safety reasons Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Richard Leonard Sam, the young final year student who died at KNUST SHS over fears of having contracted COVID-19, reportedly died of a stomach ulcer instead. This is according to a report sighted by YEN.com.gh on Ghanaguardian.com where it was also revealed that he was originally a day student. A family source indicated that the boy had been sent to be a resident at the school to be kept safe from COVID-19 and to prepare for the upcoming West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). READ ALSO: Meet lady who got 10-ones in JHS, 6As in SHS, 1st class in KNUST & 4.0 GPA during Master's in Applied Mathematics Source: UGC Source: UGC However, after breakfast on that fateful Tuesday on 7 July, Leonard started experiencing pains in his stomach due to the ulcer. His friends encouraged and reassured him that all was going to be well, but it only escalated and by the afternoon that day the situation had become unbearable for the lad. Teachers shied away from attending to him and rather called his parents because they feared he had probably contracted the coronavirus (COVID-19). READ ALSO: Malawi's new president gives ministerial positions to wife, in-law & others Sadly, he lost his life at the hospital on the same day, sparking a protest among his fellow KNUST students. In another report, Amarachi Okafor, a young Nigerian lady, has been celebrated on her day of graduation as she was able to set up two all-girls businesses when she was still a student. The story was shared on social media by Enugu Metropolitan Network in a heartwarming post sighted by YEN.com.gh on their official Twitter handle. According to the report, Amarachi graduated from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Nigeria. Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Senior Minister, Osafo-Maafo, tests positive for COVID-19: Have a national or human interest story you think we should know about? Get interactive via our Facebook page Source: YEN.com.gh With coronavirus infections surging, public school teachers in San Jose are resisting plans to get kids and teachers back into physical classrooms as early as Aug. 12, saying that the effort would put teachers health at risk. Teachers do not feel that it is safe to return to teaching in person and, in large majority, they are unwilling to do so at this time, Patrick Bernhardt, president of the San Jose Teachers Association, said in a letter Friday to the San Jose Unified School District. District officials now say they are reassessing the details of returning students to their classrooms in the fall. The move affects Silicon Valleys biggest and most diverse public school system. The 2,700 staffers of San Jose Unified serve 30,000 students in 41 different schools, from kindergarten to 12th grade. The teachers union represents 1,500 educators. We all want schools open, right? Bernhardt told The Chronicle Saturday. Its a critical component to getting parents back to work and its definitely where the best teaching and learning will take place. We just cant do it if its not safe. You know, I dont want to die from teaching, I guess is the way to put it, explained Jodi Disario, 49. She teaches high school freshmen in the district and says she is at high risk of serious illness if she gets infected. I have limits. Ill work 60-hour weeks. Ill buy thousands of dollars of supplies, she said. But I think I need to draw the line at dying. In a statement posted to its website, the district said it remains committed to providing high-quality, equitable learning for our students for the 2020-2021 school year, but we cannot do that without teachers. The district now is asking parents, teachers, staffers and administrators to fill out an online survey by July 14 on school reopening. Of all the brutal decisions forced on communities by the pandemic, choices about education have been among the toughest. Research suggests that most kids learn best in physical classrooms, surrounded by other kids and adults, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has warned that the isolation of distance learning can bring its own harm. Americas threadbare system of child care also has left many working parents struggling to manage kids and hold onto jobs, creating political pressure to reopen. Some large districts in the Bay Area, like the San Francisco Unified School District, have yet to release detailed plans for the fall school year, while others have announced a hybrid approach that mixes some in-person classes with distance learning. Other districts, like the Oakland Unified School District, the Fremont Unified School District and the West Contra Costa district, have said classes will be virtual, at least initially. Starting in late June, in public letters and webinars, the San Jose district laid out a plan for students to return on Aug. 12. According to the district, the plan would allow as many students as possible (to) return to campus for in-person instruction while also meeting state and county health and safety requirements. But teachers grew nervous when they heard some of the details: Class sizes would not be capped, raising the possibility of 30 or more students packed into each classroom, and mask-wearing for elementary-school students would be optional; older students would be required to wear them, but there was no clear enforcement mechanism. Before reading the plan, Melissa Garcia, 40, a middle-school English teacher with 15 years of experience, was eager to return to her classroom. Im like, well throw masks on, well spread out, well be good to go, Garcia said. But then, as coronavirus case counts rose every week and she tried to imagine the logistics, she changed her mind. I am going to have grown eighth-graders, Garcia said. Theyre grown-ass people, these eighth-graders. Theyre going to be in my classroom in theory, it could be 30 kids. How was she supposed to enforce social distancing with 30 kids in a room in a 55-year-old building? And what if they forgot their masks? We have a dress code at our middle school, Garcia said. I cant get my eighth-graders to wear polo shirts every day. So how am I going to be able to enforce mask-wearing? Harveen Bal, 51, had similar worries. A fourth-grade teacher and the parent of two children in the district, Bal felt it would be impossible to create enough social distance in full classrooms. I dont have the physical space to spread out 31 desks and maintain a 6-foot distance between me and the children, she said. It just didnt seem feasible to adhere to the protocols. To me, that was surprising and concerning, and not just for me as a teacher but also as a parent. 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. Another parent in the district, 39-year-old Fabiola Pineda, said she supported the teachers stance. Being a single mother myself, yes, parents need to work, Pineda said. But she doesnt think its fair to make teachers feel unsafe or potentially expose them to the virus. They should be respected and valued, she said. Over the last week and a half, as the safety concerns of teachers mounted, many reached out to leadership at the union, asking about the process for taking a year-long leave of absence. Several teachers were even thinking about retiring, Bernhardt said. In the letter to the school district, he stressed that teachers were willing to help the district fight for more financial resources to reopen schools safely, and in the meantime to do what it takes to ensure robust, rigorous distance learning for all students. Our laser focus for the next five weeks should be: Lets get distance learning right, Bernhardt said. Talking about how much she will miss her students if distance learning continues, Garcia said she felt like she might start crying. Its really hard, she said. Nothing about distance learning is easy, added Bal, but teachers are willing to do the harder thing in order to keep our students and families safe. Jason Fagone is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jason.fagone@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfagone New Delhi: India and the European Union (EU) will hold their 15th bilateral Summit on July 15 via video conference, it was confirmed on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will represent India while the EU will be represented by President of the European Council Charles Michel, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Summit will review India-EU cooperation covering political & security relations, trade & investment and economic cooperation and is also expected to discuss developments around the Covid-19 pandemic and contemporary global matters of interest to both sides. The Summit was to have been originally held in the Belgian Capital Brussels in March this year but was postponed due to the Covid pandemic. It may be recalled that in February this year, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar had travelled to Brussels and had met top EU functionaries as well as certain Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) during which he had strongly defended the Indian position on the Kashmir issue and situation in J&K as well as on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which could both be raised now by the EU during the Summit. The top EU dignitaries the EAM had met then included Mr. Michel, President of the European Council of Heads of Government of the 27 member states of the EU. The recent Sino-Indian military tensions at the border could also come up during the discussions. EU sources said the Summit will be an opportunity to strengthen the EU-India Strategic Partnership, based on shared principles and values of democracy, freedom, rule of law, and respect for human rights, aiming at delivering concrete benefits for the people in the EU and India. EU sources also said bilateral, regional and global issues are expected to be discussed and that leaders are expected to discuss (bilateral) cooperation in security, climate, environment, trade and investment, digital economy and connectivity. In its statement, the MEA said, The 15th meeting of the India-European Union Summit will be held in virtual mode on 15 July 2020. The Summit will be co-chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the President of the European Council, H.E. Charles Michel; and the President of the European Commission, H.E. Ursula von der Leyen. The Summit will review India-EU cooperation covering political & security relations, trade & investment and economic cooperation. The Summit is also expected to discuss developments around the Covid-19 pandemic and contemporary global matters of interest to both sides. The 14th India-EU Summit was held on 6 October 2017 in New Delhi. EU sources meanwhile also said the leaders would discuss global cooperation and solidarity to protect lives, to mitigate the socio-economic consequences and to strengthen preparedness and response capacities in view of the Coronavirus pandemic that also severely affected EU countries including Spain, Italy and France. Leaders will also discuss global and regional issues and are "expected to reiterate their determination to promote effective multilateralism and a rules-based multilateral order, with the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at its core". News Washington, DC - The Department of Justice Tuesday announced $2.2 million in grant funding to law enforcement agencies and stakeholders through the Departments Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) Community Policing Development (CPD) Microgrants Program. COPS Office Director Phil Keith announced 29 awards with award amounts ranging from $15,090 to $100,000. The CPD Microgrants Program is a critical resource to advance innovative community policing projects across the country, said Director Keith. These strategic investments from the COPS Office pay huge dividends to state and local law enforcement agencies and the communities that they serve. CPD Microgrants Program funds are used to develop the capacity of local, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies to implement community policing strategies. Applicants were invited to propose demonstration or pilot projects to be implemented in their agency that offer creative ideas to advance crime fighting, community engagement, problem solving, or organizational changes to support community policing in one of the following areas: Human Trafficking Meeting Rural Law Enforcement Challenges Officer Safety and Wellness Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention School Safety Staffing and Allocation Studies Victim-Centered Approaches Violent Crime Youth Engagement Funding through this program is available for the first time since 2018, following the successful removal of a nationwide injunction. These awards are being announced at a critical time for our country, when community policing strategies are very much needed to improve police and community relations. Violence broke out at demonstrations demanding President Keita resign over economic woes and alleged corruption. Malian Prime Minister Boubou Cisse promised to rapidly form a government open to facing the challenges of the day, adding that the death toll from the countrys worst civil unrest in years had risen to four. Violence broke out at mass protests in the capital Bamako on Friday demanding President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resign over a long-running conflict, economic woes, and perceived government corruption. The president and I remain open to dialogue. I will very quickly set up an executive with the intention of being open to facing the challenges of the day, Cisse said while visiting a hospital. Demonstrators attacked Parliament and ransacked the national television station. Initial reports said two were killed in the violence and dozens wounded, but on Saturday Cisse said four people had died. 200709104643939 Cisse has been prime minister since last year and Keita reappointed him on June 11 following parliamentary elections in March and April that sparked a movement calling for Keita to go. Months after the elections, the fragile West African country still has no government. Keita has increasingly tried to appease a newly formed opposition movement, opening the door to forming a national unity government. The opposition has rejected his attempts, insisting he step down. Opposition headquarters raided Security forces on Saturday targeted the headquarters of CMAS, an opposition movement led by influential Muslim leader Imam Mahmoud Dicko that is part of the M5-RFP opposition coalition. While our activists were in a meeting, they came and attacked and ransacked our headquarters, M5-RFP spokesman Nouhoum Togo said. One protest leader, Issa Kaou Djim, was arrested and remains in custody, Togo said. There was no immediate comment from police. Malis neighbours and outside powers fear the impasse could further destabilise the country and jeopardise a joint military campaign against armed groups in the West African Sahel region. The protest came after the coalition rejected concessions from Keita aimed at resolving a political stand-off [Reuters] The streets of Bamako appeared largely quiet following the protests. National television channel ORTM resumed broadcasting after going off air when its building was occupied. Social media platforms Twitter and Facebook were restricted on Friday, internet blockage observatory NetBlocks said. Internet access remained patchy on Saturday. Keita issued a statement deploring the violence and said an investigation would be launched. However, I would like to reassure our people once again of my desire to continue dialogue and reiterate my readiness to take all measures in my power with a view to calm the situation down, he said. A call Friday morning around 8:30 a.m. for an unoccupied kayak ended with rescue crews pulling the body of a man from a lake near the Montgomery-Herkimer County line Friday, according to the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office. After deputies arrived on the scene, they learned through an investigation that a witness had seen a man in the Beardslee Reservoir (East Canada Lake) near the kayak who appeared to struggle and go under. Vietnam military doctors in Hanoi train for a U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan in June 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Chinh. Vietnam has revealed plans to upgrade its U.N. peacekeeping training center into a regional facility for the Asia Pacific. During an online meeting on Friday with Atul Khare, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, Vietnams Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Chi Vinh said, "We would like to have the United Nations agreement and support to set up this center with a suitable model. "Several countries have expressed excitement at this initiative by Vietnam, and they are waiting for the U.N. and Vietnam to come up with a suitable model for the center so that they could participate." The countrys Department of Peacekeeping Operations has a center to train Vietnamese forces, and this will be expanded to provide training in all aspects of peacekeeping. Khare said the U.N. supports Vietnams plan to set up the center and called on the country to work with U.N. agencies to define its functions, tasks and organizational structure. Since 2014 Vietnam has deployed officers for U.N. peacekeeping missions in South Sudan and the Central African Republic on 29 occasions. In 2018, for the first time ever, it sent a team of military doctors to work at the U.N. field hospital in South Sudan. A second team left for South Sudan last November. In March a decision to set up a third team of medical doctors was made. The debate has simmered for years. On one side is the Fraternity of American Descendants, the group that throws the annual party, tends to the Confederate cemetery grounds and promotes a Lost Cause orthodoxy reminiscent of the most ardent Confederacy apologists. On the other is the Black Union for Equality (UNEGRO), which has been leading a community charge to strip the festival of the flag considered by many to be a symbol of hate and repression. Father Af Ali, 30 (pictured) is horrified he may have infected his five-month old baby with the coronavirus A young father is horrified he may have infected his five-month old baby with the coronavirus. Af Ali, 30 tested positive for COVID-19 this week after moving house into one of Melbourne's coronavirus hotspots at Point Cooke where which has more than 100 active cases. Only hours after his diagnosis, his baby Ira began wheezing and struggling to breathe - showing concerning symptoms she may have contracted the virus herself. The 30-year-old is unable to hold or provide care to the toddler as he grapples with isolation while awaiting his partner and daughter's test results. Mr Ali said he feels awful. 'I am terrified to be honest, every minute everything is just stressing me out,' he told Nine News. He believes he may have become infected after hiring a rental truck to help him move into his new house. While his test came back quickly, the father initially struggled to find out how to get his toddler tested. 'There's no drive-through for the babies or paediatric clinic,' Mr Ali said. He said he tried to contact major hospitals and the coronavirus hotline, but no-one knew where to send him to have his daughter tested. Only hours after his diagnosis, his baby Ira (pictured) began wheezing and struggling to breath - showing concerning symptoms she may have contracted the virus herself 'We've called every single department since then and we've been put down to be honest.' After making contact with police he was advised to get a doctor's referral so he could take her to a pop up clinic. His daughter and partner underwent testing at the Hoppers Crossing clinic on Thursday night. But the terrified father could face a wait of five days before he finds out whether the two have tested positive. The father didn't know where to go after being told by health authorities he couldn't get the baby tested at a drive through clinic (pictured: officials check residents at a drive-through clinic in Melbourne) Health authorities have confirmed another 216 cases of coronavirus in Victoria on Saturday morning. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will be ordering two million reusable masks after a request people wear them as a way of preventing the possible spread of COVID-19. 'No mask is foolproof, but every contribution helps, and I'm very grateful to think that many more Victorians are wearing masks,' Mr Andrews said. Infotainment Netflix refuses to proactively censor film on HK activist July 11 (Agencies) | Publish Date: 7/11/2020 10:08:25 AM IST The Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported that streaming giant Netflix has decided not to proactively censor a documentary about Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong, despite concerns it might be ruled subversive under the totalitarian security law Beijing has imposed on the island. According to the HKFPs source, Netflix is still gauging the implications and risks posed by the security law, which gives the Hong Kong police sweeping powers to impose censorship and punish those accused of creating or broadcasting material that allegedly threatens Chinese national security. Virtually anything the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dislikes could easily be labelled as a threat, particularly anything that smacks of foreign interference in Hong Kong. Censorship orders can be issued without court review. Quite a few books, movies, and websites have already been proactively banned in Hong Kong by creators and providers fearful of being persecuted under the national security law, including books written by Joshua Wong. Proactive censorship might have been ruled out, but censorship is still on the table if China demands it. The HKFPs source said Netflix is willing to consider banning the Joshua Wong documentary Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower, or a 2015 sci-fi movie called Ten Years that imagines life in Hong Kong in 2025 after precisely the sort of crackdown China just imposed, if Hong Kongs Beijing-controlled administration specifically asks them to do so. Ten Years is already banned in China, where CCP apparatchiks denounced it as absurd and a thought virus. This, of course, means the film is deadly accurate in predicting five years ago what China was planning to do to Hong Kong. One of the five stories told in the film even revolves around China imposing a draconian national security law. The movie was enormously successful in pre-crackdown Hong Kong, counting a teenager named Joshua Wong among its many fans. When it won Best Picture at the 2015 Hong Kong Film Awards, the Communists abruptly cut the video feed of the awards ceremony to mainland viewers. Netflix does not proactively review its content based on local laws. The only instance where the company may consider removing these two titles is if the Hong Kong government submits a written demand for them to be taken down, the source said. Netflix admits for the record that it has banned nine movies and series at the request of various governments since the service launched in 1997. According to the HKFPs source, if Hong Kong officials ask for Joshua and/or Ten Years to be banned, they would only be removed from Netflix Hong Kong and could still be viewed in other regions. Joshua Wong himself warned on Thursday that Chinas security law will empower and encourage Hong Kong officials to make censorship demands of foreign news and entertainment media. He challenged companies like Netflix to clearly state, in advance, whether they would comply with such demands. Unfortunately, YouTube and Netflix alike still remain silent on their stances on the national security law and whether they will bend to Chinas whips and censor sensitive videos from their platforms. We hope all service providers can put democratic values ahead of dollar signs, he said. (Brietbart) County could finalize camping reservation policies at Feb. 1 meeting One change seems certain reservations for campsites cant be made more than 95 days in advance. Currently, they can be made a year ahead. Gangster Vikas Dubey, who was gunned down by the police on Friday, had a long-running feud with deputy superintendent Devendra Mishra, one of the eight officials ambushed by Dubeys men in Bikru village near Kanpur city, according to a person involved in the investigation into the July 3 attack on the policemen. The seeds of their rivalry were sown almost 22 year ago when Devendra Mishra was a head constable. Over the years, Mishra rose to the rank of deputy SP, a Kanpur police inspector said after interacting with Mishras family members on Saturday, requesting anonymity. It was not the first time that Vikas Dubey opened fire on Devendra Mishra. He did a similar act when Mishra was posted as head constable at Kalyanpur police station [close to Bikru village] in December 1998. Mishra survived and opened fire in retaliation, but he missed the target. Dubey was arrested after a scuffle with police personnel in full public view, said the inspector privy to the investigation. The inspector said records revealed that one Hari Mohan Singh was in-charge of the Kalyanpur police station in Kanpur at that time. In the 1998 firing, Dubey targeted Singh as well. Singh was under political pressure to release Dubey, but eventually the criminal was booked in two separate cases under narcotics act and the arms act. Later, a case was filed under the Gangster Act. These cases are still pending. Mishra was transferred from Kalyanpur after he was promoted to the rank of sub-inspector, and was posted in different police stations in Kanpur and districts. Mishra got promoted as an inspector in 2007 and as a deputy SP in 2016, the inspector said. He returned to Kanpur and took charge as the Bilhaur circle officer some time ago, he added. He said Mishra was aware of Dubeys history and was going tough on him and his aides. Mishra also kept tabs on Chaubeypur station officer Vinay Tiwari, who has been suspended and arrested after the ambush. Mishra even wrote a letter to the former Kanpur senior superintendent of police, alleging nexus between Dubey and some local policemen. Officials are probing the letter. The CO got two criminals cases registered against Dubey for extortion, murder and kidnapping since March 13 this year, the inspector said. Dubey wanted to settle scores with Mishra, the inspector said. A tip-off on an impending raid by a police team to Dubeys village helped the gangster plan the ambush and kill Mishra, three sub-inspectors and four constables. I am really getting sick of columnists using the word diversity to bash anyone they dont like. Any group that columnists disagree with is not diverse enough. They are just calling anyone they disagree with racists through subtle innuendo. I think Ted Slowik and others should define and print a list of what exactly is a diverse group. And then Ted and other columnists can explain why every leftist group is diverse and others are not. After Nepal and Sri Lanka, China is quietly trying to win over yet another neighbour of India Bangladesh. The communist country on July 1 extended the zero-tariff policy benefit to 97% of its imports from Bangladesh, allowing the South Asian nation to export an additional 5,161 items to China without paying any customs duty, a gesture that has warmed the hearts of the Bangladeshi government. For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here Bangladesh, a Least Developed Country (LDC), was earlier exporting 3,095 commodities to China duty-free. Though China implemented the zero-duty policy for 97% of tariff-lines in case of imports from some other LDCs as early as in 2015, the facility was not extended to Bangladesh till July 1. Chinas move has come when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government in Dhaka is struggling to revive the economy battered by the Covid-19 crisis. Beijing is also understood to be in discussion with Dhaka for granting loans to the tune of $ 6.4 billion for several infrastructure projects across Bangladesh. Chinas move has been widely welcome in Bangladesh. It is being considered as a major diplomatic victory in the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and China, Joyeeta Bhattacharya, a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), noted in a commentary she wrote for the think-tank based in New Delhi. CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH New Delhi has taken note of Chinas move. Beijing also stepped up its bid to spread its geo-political influence around India, providing Covid-19 aid to Maldives and Sri Lanka and offering the Indian Ocean nations new loans to deal with the crisis, even as they are finding it difficult to come out of the debt-trap China has put them in with its Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI). A source told DH that Chinas recent move to step up its economic relations might be a part of its larger plan to spread its geo-political influence around India, particularly in South Asia. Beijing already made Kathmandu ratchet up Nepal-India territorial dispute. China also prodded Sri Lanka to review an agreement, which the island nation had inked last year with India and Japan for development of the East Container Terminal of the Colombo Port. New Delhi, however, tacitly advised Dhaka to be careful about the dual trap of deficit and debt that Chinas trade concessions and development support for Bangladesh might entail. The bond between Bangladesh and India is rooted in history. The two nations are blood brothers. Bangladesh and China on the other hand share a transactional relationship, Bhattacharya, an expert on New Delhis policy on neighbourhood, told DH. India extended three Lines of Credit totalling $ 8 billion to support development projects in Bangladesh since 2010. Bangladesh is also Indias biggest trade partner in South Asia. Indias exports to Bangladesh in 2018-19 stood at $ 9.21 billion and imports from Bangladesh during the same period were worth $ 1.04 billion. Bangladesh exported $ 831 million worth items to China in 2018-19, while importing more than $ 12 billion worth of goods. A man in his 90s has died of COVID-19 and Victoria has recorded 216 new cases, putting NSW health authorities on high alert during the first critical days of the border closure between the two states. With COVID-19 hospitalisations expected to rise, the national medicines regulator approved the anti-viral drug remdesivir to treat seriously ill cases in Australia. People line up in their cars to be tested for coronavirus at the pop-up civic testing clinic at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula on Saturday morning. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer In Sydney, cars queued at the entrance to the Crossroads Hotel car park in Casula, where healthcare workers at a pop-up clinic are swabbing locals in an attempt to contain a new cluster linked to the pub. On Saturday Victoria recorded its second consecutive single-day increase of more than 200 positive test results, as the state contends with 1249 active COVID-19 cases. Harness racing driver Stephane Brosseau had the hot hands at the Hippodrome 3R on Friday afternoon (July 10), scoring a driving triple that included a victory in the $4,500 Preferred Handicap Trot. Sent off as the 2-1 betting favourite, Brosseau was patient with Upvote Hanover after the start of the race as Precieuse CC (Claude Beausoleil) went off stride on the lead. After the break, driver Pascal Berube inherited the lead with Lucky Promesses, who may have seemed to be riled up by Precieuse CC as she trotted to the opening quarter-mile in a speedy :27.2. Lucky Promesses cut the mile to the half in :58.1 with Stpattysday (Stephane Gendron) sitting the pocket seat and Upvote Hanover coming first-over for Brosseau and the war horse, Caroluzzo (Pierre Luc Roy), second-over. As the field reached the three-quarter-mile pole in 1:28.3, Lucky Promesses was still on the lead as Berube pulled from the pocket with Stpaddysday and came after Lucky Promesses on the final turn. They cleared to the lead with Upvote Hanover still first-over but now gaining ground. Coming off the final turn, Upvote Hanover was able to collar Stpaddysday and beat her to the wire by a long neck in 2:00.1. Eau Naturelle (Steeven Genois) was third. The win was the third this year for the six-year-old gelded son of Kadabra. He is trained by Brosseau for owner Francois Morin of Beauceville, Que. The victory was Upvote Hanovers 22nd lifetime and he paid $6.80 to win as the mild favourite. For Brosseau, it was his second driving triple of the H3R meeting. 15-year-old trotter racing on Saturday Chinnys Wings, who is 15 years old, gets another chance at racing Saturday when the Quebec Jockey Club hosts the Quebec Regional Fair Circuit races at H3R starting at 1 p.m. H3R is hosting four special Saturday Fair Circuit events. A career winner of $382,000 and 45 races, Chinnys Wings starts from post eight in the third race trot. He is trained and driven by Jean Lord and is owned by Lord's wife, Nancy, of Trois-Rivieres. Chinnys Wings is allowed to race on the Fair Circuit until he turns age 17 and that is when he must retire from racing. This is his first start back at the track since December 19. Track Notes: Driver David Pilon and trainer Francis Richard both had doubles on the program Friday. Live racing takes place all weekend at H3R. There are eight races both Saturday and Sunday with first race post time at 1 p.m. For a free race program, visit hippodrome3r.ca. To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Hippodrome 3R. (With files from Quebec Jockey Club) FILE PHOTO: A salesperson talks with visitors in front of a miniature model of an apartment complex which is currently under construction at its showroom in Seoul By Cynthia Kim and Joori Roh SEOUL (Reuters) - As Seoul property prices soar, there's a new apartment on sale this month: for the best part of an estimated $1 million (794,281), you could buy a piece of future Gangnam glitz from reluctant seller Noh Young-min - the chief of staff of President Moon Jae-in. Noh is one of a group of senior government officials facing a public backlash over multiple home ownership in one of the world's hottest property markets, where median apartment prices have rocketed more than 50% in three years, KB Bank data shows. His move to sell his Gangnam crib, the size of about three parking spaces but worth about 1.1 billion won ($915,000) by current market prices, came just ahead of Friday's government announcement that South Korea will further tighten property rules and impose heavier taxes on multiple homeowners in its latest effort to calm the market. But more than 20 rounds of cooling measures in the past three years have failed to stop runaway prices. Effective or not, the new steps announced by finance minister Hong Nam-ki - including raising real estate taxes on multiple home-owners to up to 6% per year - will keep public focus an issue that is wiping out a surge in President Moon's approval ratings from the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. His approval rating dropped to 47%, a Gallup Korea survey showed on Friday, down from last week's 50% - the lowest in four months. In early May, Moon's approval rating hovered around a lofty 70% after the ruling Democratic Party won an absolute majority in a parliamentary election. "Today's measures will not have much effect on stabilising the property market as the real estate tax hike will not be applied immediately," said Kwon Dae-jung, real estate professor at Myongji University. "The sale of high-ranking officials' houses is them doing the right thing morally, but that will not directly contribute to stabilising the property market. It can indirectly affect the market by hinting that the government will strengthen its regulations but that's about it - just giving signals." Story continues Anger over the failure to calm runaway home prices has extended to government officials with multiple residences, under pressure to sell second homes to show they are committed to policy focused on imposing heavier tax penalties and mortgage curbs for multiple home owners. For some voters, frustration has already turned to resignation. Park Byung-jin, a 40-year-old office worker in Incheon, west of Seoul, says he has lost hope in Moon's policies. "I'm not even angry. They have been keeping all the good homes, and telling us not to buy anything is extremely unconvincing," he said. 'DEEPLY ASHAMED' Chief of staff Noh has found himself at the centre of the controversy, because he hadn't sold his Gangnam apartment - small at about 46 square metres in size, but in an ageing building with huge development potential - some six months after instructing senior government officials to unload second homes. Noh, who didn't immediately answer calls seeking comment, announced the sale in a Facebook post on Wednesday. "With this opportunity, I will try to look back on myself and treat myself strictly going forward," he wrote. His statement came the day before Finance Minister Hong - announcer of Friday's new taxes - himself committed to selling a second property. "As a cabinet member, I'm deeply ashamed of myself in front of fellow citizens, and my acquaintances, amid controversy over multiple homes owned by public servants," Hong said in a Facebook post. Of 64 senior government officials required disclose their assets, some 18, or 28%, owned more than one property as of June this year, according to data analysed by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, a civic group. Apart from Noh, at least five other officials in top government posts own homes in Gangnam and other expensive districts, according to the group. The sales announced by Noh and Hong this week came after a stark warning by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Wednesday, ordering government ministries to look into homeownership status among senior officials. "Our policies won't win people's trust if senior officials own multiple properties," Chung told a meeting of top government officials. ($1 = 1,202.2700 won) (Reporting by Cynthia Kim and Joori Roh; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) Facebook executives are considering a temporary ban on political advertising in the final days before the U.S. election in November as the company continues to grapple with a large advertising boycott, employee unrest and other issues related to its policies related to hate speech and misinformation, according to two people familiar with the company's thinking. The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the discussions have not yet reached the senior executive levels of the company, and no final decision has been made amid intense internal debate. Both Democratic and Republican campaign officials have opposed this idea in the past, and President Donald Trump has blasted Facebook and other technology companies when they have considered curbs on what he can say on their platforms. But should Facebook impose a temporary moratorium on political advertising, it would mark a striking departure from its policy, announced last year, to allow such a freewheeling approach to campaign-related speech that politicians were free to lie without fear of being subject to the company's network of fact-checkers. Facebook spokesman Andy Stone declined to comment on the internal discussions regarding political advertising at Facebook, but he did not deny a report on the subject by Bloomberg News Friday afternoon. News of the internal discussions generated immediate waves, including from those who thought it was a bad idea. Alex Stamos, the former chief security officer at Facebook, tweeted, "Political ads are a tiny part of FB's revenue and a huge" hassle for the company. But he added, "Eliminating online political ads only benefits those with money, incumbency or the ability to get media coverage." Zuckerberg has previously made similar argument when discussing the possibility of limits on political speech, contending that it would disproportionately hurt smaller groups without the resources to demand attention for their ideas. But those arguments have come under sustained attack in recent weeks, especially since the national unrest over the killing of George Floyd rekindled debate over hate speech, disinformation and glorifying violence over social media, including when posts come from powerful politicians such as Trump. Zuckerberg's efforts to quell such concerns and the advertising boycott from such household names as Verizon, Unilever and Coca-Cola have so far failed. A meeting he held Tuesday with civil rights leaders did little to calm their increasingly vocal complaints about systemic racism on the platform and its subsidiary Instagram. An internal civil rights audit released on Wednesday blasted the company for being tone deaf on such issues. "This is nothing but a distraction," said NAACP President Derrick Johnson in a statement Friday afternoon, after reports emerged that Facebook was considering limiting political advertising before the election. "It does not address their platform being used by white supremacists and other hate groups, nor does it prevent political campaigns and domestic or foreign entities from promoting voter misinformation and interfering with our elections... Facebook has a lot of work to do. We need actions, not words." Facebook had considered banning political ads as recently as last summer, but ultimately decided on permitting them even as some rivals, such as Twitter, banned them. Google has sharply limited the ability of politicians and campaigns to use its powerful targeting tools - a move that Facebook also considered and rejected during internal deliberations last year. Facebook leaders also previously weighed whether to impose a blackout on political ads in December, as the company grappled with the controversy created over its policy to allow Trump and other politicians to lie in their ads, The Washington Post reported at the time. It was among a series of ideas that Facebook ultimately decided against adopting in January, when it announced it would instead allow users to have more control over the political ads they view. Facebook executive Andrew Bosworth, a longtime Zuckerberg confidante, wrote in an internal company blog post last winter that Facebook's ad policies, if left unchanged, would likely lead to Trump's reelection because his campaign used the platform so effectively in 2016 and would do so again. "As a committed liberal I find myself desperately wanting to pull any lever at my disposal to avoid the same result." But he argued that any changes to policies might corrupt the company. "As tempting as it is to use the tools available to us to change the outcome," he wrote, "I am confident we must never do that or we will become that which we fear." The company has come under mounting pressure in recent weeks to reconsider its long-standing stances on numerous issues in the face of withering criticism from civil rights activists, Democrats, advertisers and its own employees. A new study encourages teenagers to sleep earlier. It links asthma and allergies to late nights. The researchers compared the teenagers' symptoms with their sleep preferences, taking into account other factors that are known to effects asthma and allergies While it is essential to maintain a sleep timing for teenagers to maintain a body clock, a recent study suggests that teenagers who prefer to stay up late and wake later in the morning are more likely to suffer from asthma and allergies compared to those who sleep and wake earlier. The recent study was published in the journal ERJ Open Research. Asthma symptoms are known to be strongly linked to the bodys internal clock, but this is the first study to look at how individual sleep preferences influence asthma risk in teenagers. Researchers say the study reinforces the importance of sleep timing for teenagers and opens up a new channel of research into how sleep affects teenagers respiratory health. Also Read: Pet dogs may improve social-emotional development in young children: Study Also Read: Immunity boosting tips to stay healthy during monsoon The study was led by Dr Subhabrata Moitra from the division of pulmonary medicine at the University of Alberta, Canada, who carried out the research while at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Spain. He said: Asthma and allergic diseases are common in children and adolescents across the world and the prevalence is increasing. We know some of the reasons for this increase, such as exposure to pollution and tobacco smoke, but we still need to find out more. Sleep and the sleep hormone melatonin are known to influence asthma, so we wanted to see if adolescents preference for staying up late or going to bed early could be involved in their asthma risk. The study involved 1,684 adolescents living in West Bengal, India, aged 13 or 14 years, who were taking part in the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Asthma and Allergy-Related Diseases among Adolescents (PERFORMANCE) study. Each participant was asked about any wheezing, asthma, or symptoms of allergic rhinitis, such as a runny nose and sneezing. They were asked a series of questions to judge whether they were evening types, morning types or in between, such as what time of the evening or night they tend to feel tired, when they would choose to wake up, and how tired they feel first thing in the morning. Researchers compared the teenagers symptoms with their sleep preferences, taking into account other factors that are known to effects asthma and allergies, such as where the participants live and whether their family members smoke. They found that the chance of having asthma was around three times higher in teens who prefer to sleep later compared to those who preferred to sleep earlier. They also found the risk of suffering allergic rhinitis was twice as high in late-sleepers compared to early-sleepers. Dr Moitra adds: Our results suggest theres a link between preferred sleep time, and asthma and allergies in teenagers. We cant be certain that staying up late is causing asthma, but we know that the sleep hormone melatonin is often out of sync in late-sleepers and that could, in turn, be influencing teenagers allergic response. We also know that children and young people are increasingly exposed to the light from a mobile phone, tablets, and other devices, and staying up later at night. It could be that encouraging teenagers to put down their devices and get to bed a little earlier would help decrease the risk of asthma and allergies. Thats something that we need to study more. A second phase of the PERFORMANCE study is scheduled in 2028-29, which means it will be possible to repeat the study with a new group of teenagers to see if there has been any change in teenagers sleeping habits and their respiratory health. Dr Moitra and his team also hope to quantify their findings by taking objective measurements of participants lung function and sleep time. Professor Thierry Troosters is President of the European Respiratory Society and was not involved in the research. He said: We need to know much more about why asthma and allergies are rising in children and teenager and, hopefully, find ways to reduce these conditions. This is the first study to examine the possible role of different sleep preferences in teenagers risk of asthma and allergies, and it opens up an interesting and important new line of research. We already know that sleeping well is important for physical and mental health, so we should continue to encourage teenagers to get a good nights sleep. Also Read: Nag Panchami 2020 Date & time: Shubh Muhurat, Puja Vidhi and Significance As Laura Duarte swipes through a seemingly endless stream of suitors on Tinder, shes not only looking for a romantic spark, but COVID-19 chemistry. In the early days of the outbreak, Duarte ruled out the duds on online dating apps who flouted lockdown rules by proposing in-person meetups. Since then, many parts of Canada have eased social distancing restrictions to partially reopen bars and restaurants. Duarte said Torontos dating scene is heating up this summer, and the prospect of a real-life rendezvous no longer seems like such a remote possibility. Still, the 25-year-old said the novel coronavirus has compounded the complications of modern courtship to the point that shes yet to find someone whos worth the risk. Theres so many intrusive questions that you have to ask, Duarte said. Have you been with anyone else? Have you been tested lately? ... Are you wearing protection? Are you wearing a mask? Duarte is among the singles who say the pandemic has warped romantic rituals to turn casual dating into a serious commitment. But sex is an important part of physical and mental wellness, and the desires of those looking for casual hookups should be acknowledged in public health messaging, advocates say. For some, COVID-19 concerns have forced thorny conversations about intimacy and exclusivity before meeting face-to-face. Awar Obob in Halifax, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns they and them, said theyve encountered the full spectrum of romantic risk tolerance while exploring online dating apps, but none of these potential mates have proved to be a match. There are people who have thrown caution to the wind and say, Lets meet up right now, said Obob. Then there are the people who are so cautious that theyre like, Im not sure why Im even on here. Experts say there may be benefits to opening up communication about COVID-19 compatibility, and even public health officials could stand to be more candid about negotiating the forces of love and lust during a pandemic. Asked if there was any way for singles to have sex safely this summer, Canadas chief public health officer told reporters that standard social safety precautions should extend to amorous encounters, but admitted it was her first time fielding the question. Im not a dating expert, Dr. Theresa Tam said at a news conference last Friday. I dont know what to say except (proceed) carefully, slowly, like all other advice on reopening social and economic activities. The first tip Tam offered was dont date if youre sick, noting that people can carry the virus even if theyre not showing symptoms. She said singular dating is preferable to playing the field, so its probably best to get know someone virtually before meeting up in person. For first date ideas, Tam suggested picking a spot outdoors at a safe distance from others, such as a picnic in the park. The novel coronavirus is spread through respiratory droplets, so intimate contact, such as kissing, is a potential route of transmission, said Tam. This is a serious social contract you have with someone. Tam proposed a checklist to help daters consider how seeing someone new could have ramifications for their social circle, particularly vulnerable family members. Winnipeg sex therapist Reece Malone said many daters are already putting this concept into practice by asking COVID-19 screening questions to gauge each others comfort levels. Some of these topics can be touchy, Malone acknowledged, such as probing about a prospective partners recent sexual history or what kinds of physical contact theyd be open to. But he said the process of getting to know someone before deciding whether to take things to the next level tends to pay off in the long run, both in terms of personal safety and relationship prospects. Its an opportunity to increase your communication, as well as ask curious questions without the pressure of even having to meet immediately, Malone said. As COVID-19 brought the breakneck pace of high-speed dating to a virtual halt, Malone said many have come to appreciate the appeal of prolonged long-distance courtship, finding creative ways to fan the flames of desire from afar. This is bringing us back to slowing things down, getting to know somebody and expanding the quality of your relationship with that individual. However, delayed gratification isnt for everyone, Malone noted. Sex can be an important piece of a persons overall health and well-being, he said, and for some, serves as an outlet for stress during a time of extraordinary upheaval and disconnection. Matthew Numer, an associate professor of health promotion at Dalhousie University, said in the first few months of the outbreak, public health officials took an abstinence-only approach to sex outside of live-in relationships, as characterized by the common refrain, you are your safest sex partner. While that maxim may be true, its not always realistic, Numer said. Good luck in the fight against hormones, he quipped. We need look no further than the HIV/AIDS crisis to see the perils of stigmatizing sex during a pandemic, said Numer. And because the novel coronavirus is so transmissible, its all the more important to offer people tools to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19, he said. These harm reduction strategies should be tailored to each region, said Numer, but he expects common themes will include promoting frequent testing and wearing protection. From public messaging to private exchanges, communicating the importance of consent will be crucial to keeping people safe, said Numer. COVID-19 has normalized setting limits on physical contact without verbal permission, such as handshakes and hugging, Numer said. He hopes those habits will carry over to more intimate interactions, both during the pandemic and beyond. We need to acknowledge that were sexual beings and relationships are important, he said. People do need connections, so how do we make that happen when we cant always be physically connected? Doctors, nurses and other health care workers have been celebrated with choruses of applause and cheers from windows and rooftops for providing the front-line defense against the pandemic. But in some places health care workers, stigmatized as vectors of contagion because of their work, have been assaulted, abused and ostracized. Representational Image/PTI In another untoward incident, a team of health workers including a doctor, who had gone to collect swab samples from the local people in Kerala's Poonthura, were allegedly threatened by some people in the area on Friday. The team had gone in a car and were forced by the agitating local people to lower the car window and they allegedly spat on those inside the vehicle, PTI reported citing sources from the Indian Medical Association(IMA). All the four health workers have been asked to go into quarantine, IMA sources told PTI. Representational Image/BCCL Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Health minister K K Shailaja, have condemned the attack on the health workers. Describing the incident as "most unfortunate", Shailaja said the health workers are ignoring the threat to their own lives and working to help the people. The IMA has expressed its "strong protest" against this misbehaviour towards the health workers. "At a time when health workers are risking their lives to help others to tide over the COVID-19 situation, it is unfortunate such an incident has occurred," the association said. Agencies Hundreds of men and women had come out of their homes at Poonthura this morning protesting that they were facing isolation from various quarters due to media reports on a rising number of positive cases from the area. The protesters, many of whom refused to wear masks, alleged that there had been instances when doctors of certain hospitals had refused to treat them and they were asked to stay away. It was at this time that the car carrying the health workers reached the area to collect the swab samples. Poonthura has witnessed super spread of the virus as a fisherman is said to have infected many others in the fishing village. Thiruvananthapuram recorded 129 cases, the highest number for the second consecutive day on Friday out of which 122 people have been infected through contact and a majority of them are from Poonthura. Commandos and 500 police personnel have been deputed in Poonthura to strictly enforce the lockdown there. Brown, who lives in Florida, uses an eye-level wheelchair. "The difference that it's made in my life for these past 15 years is amazing," he said. However, he said he's gone through reviews and appeals over and over again. Getting equipment paid for, he said, is a "nightmare." "It's a battle every single day," he said. "And sometimes the battle isn't worth fighting and you just end up paying for it." Ingersoll said she spends about three hours a day working on insurance issues now. But she requires multiple hours of caregiving a day and has nerve pain that sets in and makes it harder to manage work, so she only has so many workable hours per day. So, she said, she has to be efficient. Moving forward, Ingersoll said she wants to work at getting insurance coverage for other equipment and full-time home care which she said takes up over half of her budget every year. She hopes her work will lead to change for herself and others. She's also made it a mission to keep a blog, on her Quirky Quad website and PushLiving magazine, in which she often tells about her self-advocacy and gives advice to others. She likes to say that she "fights for the underdog." "There are so many medical things in a day that sometimes it just takes all your energy to wake up in the morning," Ingersoll said. "But I really just get pure joy when I see somebody win a battle." Amid rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the country, the regulator IRDAI has given green signal to 29 general and health insurers to launch short-term Corona Kavach' health insurance policies to cover medical expenses of coronavirus disease. Several insurers have announced the launch of the Corona Kavach' policies for three -and-a-half months; six-and-a-half months; and nine-and-a-half months with sum insured ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh (in multiples of Rs 50,000). The 29 general and health insurance companies that have been allowed to market Corona Kavach Policy include state-owned and private insurers like Oriental Insurance, National Insurance, SBI General Insurance, ICICI Lombard, HDFC ERGO, Max Bupa, Bajaz Allianz, Bharti AXA and Tata AIG. Launching the product, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said premium for the base cover ranges between Rs 447 to Rs 5,630 excluding GST, which varies depending on the age of the person, sum insured and policy period opted. Amit Chhabra, Head-Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com said most of the prominent health insurance companies have launched the COVID specific health cover asked by the regulator. "Early pricing trends indicate that there is variation in pricing in different companies," he said. However, the plans are available which are very affordable and these can be bought by customers who cannot afford comprehensive health insurance plans, he added. The Corona Kavach policy, which can be availed by a person between 18 and 65 years of age, comes with an optional cover of daily cash benefit of 0.5 per cent of the sum assured during the period of hospitalization subject to a maximum of 15 days. "The general public may avail this product by approaching the...insurance companies," the IRDAI said, and added it can be availed by persons between the age of 18 to 65 years. Corona Kavach can be availed for self, spouse, parents, parents-in-law and dependent children up to 25 years of age. Launching its Corona Kavach policy, HDFC ERGO said the new indemnity health policy will offer cover against medical expenses incurred due to hospitalisation of individuals seeking treatment for COVID-19, on positive diagnosis for the virus in a government authorised diagnostic centre. In addition, the policy will also cover expenses incurred on treatment of co-morbidity along with the treatment for COVID-19, the company said, adding it will also cover road ambulance expenses, in case the service is opted for the purpose of hospitalization due to the virus. "Home Care Expenses benefit (up to a period of 14 days) will also be covered in the policy for those seeking treatment within the comfort of their own homes, on the advice of a medical practitioner. "Additionally, expenses incurred for inpatient care treatment taken under Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) systems of medicines will also be covered under the policy. Policyholders will also be liable for Hospital daily cash, which will be 0.5% of sum insured per day for a maximum up to 15 days, during a policy period, HDFC ERGO said. Premium for hospital daily cash optional cover is between Rs 3 to Rs 620 excluding GST depending on the age of the person, sum insured and policy period opted, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said. "So for instance, if a person between 0-35 years wants to opt for a base cover with sum insured of Rs 50,000 for three and a half months, the customer needs to pay Rs 447, excluding GST," the insurer added. Krishnan Ramachandran, MD & CEO, Max Bupa Health Insurance said the Corona Kavach plan from Max Bupa is competitively priced. The premium for Rs 2.5 lakh cover for an adult (31-55 year age group) is around Rs 2,200. "The growing incidences of Covid-19 cases in the country have made people prioritise their health. The Health Insurance awareness is at an all-time high and possibly the highest we have seen in the last decade," he said. ICICI LOMBARD General Insurance Co also announced plans of filing its 'Corona Kavach' product on Friday. Rakesh Jain, Executive Director and CEO, Reliance General Insurance said the hospitalisation cover includes expenses such as room rent, boarding, nursing, ICU, ambulance service, medical practitioner and consultant fees, operation theatres, PPE kit, and gloves. Irdai said for the purpose of this policy any set-up designated by the government as hospital for the treatment of Covid should also be considered as hospital. Also, any co-morbid condition triggered due to Covid-19 shall be covered during the period of hospitalisation. Also read: PPE cost now covered under IRDA's new short-term COVID-19 health plan; should you buy? Iran Parliament investigating Natanz site incident IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Qom, July 10, IRNA -- Head of National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament Mojtaba Zulnouri said various dimensions of incident in Natanz nuclear site is under investigation and the cause of incident has been identified. Speaking to reporters, Zulnouri said there are different scenarios with regard to the incident in Natanz site. He also referred to Iran-China 25-year-old cooperation agreement, saying Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will also attend Sunday meeting of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission. During the meeting, IAEA BoG resolution, US attempts for taking Iran's case to UNSC and Iran-China agreement will be discussed, he added. Earlier, Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi said that reconstruction of the damaged building will get underway at Shahid Ahmadi Roshan Natanz Complex with bigger plot of land for advanced equipment are supposed to be built there. Elaborating on the characteristics of the incident, he said its construction process started seven years ago and it was about to be completed after two years, but, due to issues related to Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), construction works did not continue. More samples of advanced centrifuges were supposed to be produced in the same building, he added. Meanwhile, Rapporteur of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Abolfazl Amouei said on Sunday that the dimensions of the Natanz incident and the report of the IAEA Board of Governors were discussed in the meeting in the presence of Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi. Meanwhile, Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) spokesman Keyvan Khosravi stated that the cause of the incident at the Shahid Ahmadi Roshan Natanz Nuclear Complex has been identified following the technical and security investigations and will be declared in due course for security reasons. 9376**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mark and Patricia McCloskey standing in front of their house holding firearms as activists walk through the gated neighborhood in the Central West End of St. Louis, Missouri, on June 28, 2020. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) Rifle Seized During Warrant Served on St. Louis Couple Who Brandished Guns No arrest or charges Authorities confiscated a rifle while serving a search warrant late Friday at the home of Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who last month wielded guns to defend their home from activists who walked through their private, gated neighborhood. We complied with the search warrant. They took my AR, Mark McCloskey told The Todd Starnes Radio Show. Im absolutely surprised by this. Citing sources, local outlet KSDK said St. Louis police officers seized a rifle from the couple. The McCloskeys said their attorney has the pistol that Patricia was wielding outside their home. No charges have been filed against the couple. Joel Schwartz, who replaced Al Watkins as the couples lawyer, told KSDK that he doesnt believe charges are warranted. He hopes to meet with St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardners office next week. Schwartz didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Gardner, a Democrat, said she was alarmed by what the McCloskeys did. We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation or threat of deadly force will not be tolerated, she said in a statement last month, adding that her office was currently working with the public and police to investigate these events. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, said during an appearance on Fox News @ Night on Friday: Under Missouri law, under the Castle Doctrine, an individual has a really expansive authority to protect their own lives, their home, and their property. Related Coverage St. Louis Couple Brandishes Guns After Activists Break Into Gated Neighborhood What Happened The St. Louis couple were eating on their back porch on June 28 when dozens of people entered their private neighborhood through a gate marked Private Street. Pictures later showed the wrought iron gate damaged. The McCloskeys grabbed firearms and stood outside their home, urging the group to keep going and not stop. As they did, some of the group shouted threats at them. The group was headed to the home of Democratic St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, who lives in the same neighborhood, to demand that she resign. They were upset she publicly read the names and addresses of activists who submitted complaints to entirely defund the citys police department. A police summary of the incident obtained by The Epoch Times stated: The victims stated they were on their property when they heard a loud commotion coming from the street. When the victims went to investigate the commotion, they observed a large group of subjects forcefully break an iron gate marked with No Trespassing and Private Street signs. Once through the gate, the victims advised the group that they were on a private street and trespassing and told them to leave. The group began yelling obscenities and threats of harm to both victims. When the victims observed multiple subjects who were armed, they then armed themselves and contacted police, it said. The McCloskeys said in a statement released through their lawyer that they believe they acted lawfully because they remained on their property. Their actions were borne solely of fear and apprehension, the genesis of which was not race related. In fact, the agitators responsible for the trepidation were white, the statement said. The couple later said they support Black Lives Matter. Security personnel stand on the balcony the home of Mark and Patricia McCloskey as protesters gather outside their neighborhood in St Louis, Missouri, on July 3, 2020. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images) Private Security Protesters returned to the McCloskeys neighborhood on July 3, but they were met with private security the couple had hired. The Black Lives Matter protesters stopped at the gate near the McCloskeys home for around 15 minutes but did not go over, video footage appears to show. The protesters were heard taunting and heckling the couple. The couple were not seen in the incident on July 3. The Associated Press reported that inside their gate, more than a dozen men in plain clothes walked the grounds and peered out from a second-floor balcony of the couples home, adding that one protester appeared to try to jump over the gate but didnt end up doing so. Zachary Stieber and Jack Phillips contributed to this report. New research shows 10 per cent of international students surveyed in the Ryde community say they have been called names, prompting Macquarie University and Ryde Council to join forces to combat racism with an education campaign. Macquarie University researcher Dr Alice Chik, a senior lecturer from the school of education said research to be released later this month has found about 40 of more than 400 students surveyed in the Ryde area had reported racism. Most of the students surveyed last year were born in Asian countries, with the vast majority of those from China. Alice Chik, a senior lecturer in the Department of Educational Studies at Macquarie University. Credit:Louise Kennerley Most had experienced verbal abuse including outside on streets, in shopping centres and supermarkets while grocery shopping. One Indonesian study participant said her friend who wears hijab was scared and fled from a supermarket after an older Australian woman deliberately rammed into her shopping trolley, twice. Pulkit Samrat Supports The Direct Release Of Films On OTT Platforms: We Need To Ensure Nobody Goes Home Penniless A one-year-old child was rushed to hospital with a serious head injury after he fell from the third floor of a block of flats in Birmingham. West Midlands Police have launched an investigation into how the baby managed to fall from the flats in Reservoir Road on Friday evening. According to reports in the Daily Mail, the building is believed to be a YMCA hostel for vulnerable adults. West Midlands Police said in a statement: "We are investigating after a child fell from the window of a flat on Reservoir Road, Erdington just before 7.30pm last night. "The one-year-old child was taken to hospital with a serious head injury, where he remains today as enquiries continue into how he came about his injuries." A witness told the Daily Mail: "I didn't see it happen, but I heard screaming from a woman. There were so many cops and ambulance people here, it was gut wrenching. "I heard from other residents here that there was another young kid inside when it happened, I'm praying the child is going to be okay." Anyone with information is asked to contact West Midlands Police via Live Chat or call 101 anytime. Crimestoppers can be called anonymously on 0800 555 111 with the quote log 4049 of 10 July. Your browser does not support the video tag. File photo Two United Nations Organisations the World Food Programme and United Nations High Commission for Refugees in a joint statement said that many displaced persons across the continent were engaging in transactional sex to feed daily. The two agencies said this in a humanitarian appeal on Thursday. The WFP said it requires more than $600m to meet its commitment to refugee settlements in Congo DR, Ethiopia, Nigeria and other African countries for the next six months where food prices have jumped massively 15 per cent in Congo DR for instance. The UNHCR on the other hand said it needs $227m to catch up with its own obligations in Africa. In some cases, refugees are resorting to begging, transactional sex or early or forced marriages to be able to afford food, the report said. Globally, WFP needs more than $1.2bn to support refugees globally for the next six months, just over half is for operations in Africa. As part of the broader UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19, UNHCR requires $745m for life-saving interventions, of which $227m is for operations in Africa. The agencies said in their joint statement that the increase in food prices has forced many to start skipping meals or going out to beg. In the Republic of Congo, the average price of a basic food basket has increased by 15 per cent, while in Rwanda, around refugee camps, food prices were already on average 27 per cent higher in April compared to a year earlier, and 40 per cent higher than in 2018. Many refugees are resorting to negative coping mechanisms, such as skipping meals or reducing meal portions. The agencies said they were already stretched and have started rationing out their resources between the needy and vulnerable populations they cater to. According to the report, cuts in rations are expected for Nigerian refugees in the country, while across East Africa, congestion at borders linked to COVID-19 have created congestion, delaying vital aid and trade flow. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNHCR and its partner agencies, worked to build four settlements in cross river and Benue for refugees displaced by a secession conflict between the English and French speaking regions of Cameroon. Head of RemaCare, one of the UNHCRs Nigerian partners, Eric Shu, told SaharaReporters the pandemic had made it difficult to construct more shelters for displaced Southern Cameroonians. Currently, we have one new settlement in Benue and three in Ogoja (Cross river), Shu said. When COVID-19 came up, we had to build emergency shelters. The challenge of getting cements and other building materials has forced us to put constructing permanent shelters on hold. Shu said the refugees are given cash based interventions per household, to help meet their feeding needs and leave them with some left over for petty trading. Although he did not state the average amount given to each family, he added that the Cross River State Government, the UN agency and its partners had provided support for farming as well. The little gains made by the UNHCR, the WFP and their partners are under threat from COVID-19 and might be entirely lost. While the situation continues to deteriorate for everyone, the disaster is magnified for refugees who have absolutely nothing to cushion their fall, said WFP Executive Director, David Beasley. In the best of times, refugees live in cramped conditions, struggle to meet their basic needs and often have no option but to rely on outside assistance for their survival. Now more than ever, they need our lifesaving support, he added. A 38-year-old driver accused of defrauding an Auditor of GH82,000 under the pretext of selling to him a Toyota Highlander has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court. Paul Kweku Anum, a.k.a Kweku Anum charged with defrauding by false pretenses pleaded not guilty. The Court presided over by Mrs Helen Ofei Ayeh admitted him to bail in the sum of GH82,000 with three sureties, one to be justified and he is expected to reappear on August 8. Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Emmanuel Ohene Agyei said the complainant, Mr Andrew Lurewic Banou resides at Tamale in the Northern Region whiles Anum is a resident of Buokrom in the Ashanti Region. Chief Inspector Agyei said about two weeks ago, the complainant expressed interest in buying a white unregistered Toyota Highlander 2012 model displayed on "Tonato", an electronic trading platform with the price of the vehicle at GH83,000. He said the complainant therefore contacted the alleged owner who introduced himself as Mr Frimpong, a businessman portraying himself as a very busy person. The Prosecution said the so-called Mr Frimpong agreed to sell the vehicle to the complainant at a cost of GH82,000. He said based on that the complainant arrived in Accra from Tamale and called Mr Frimpong but he claimed to be very busy and asked the accused, whom he introduced as his agent and errand boy to meet the complainant with the vehicle while he (Mr Frimpong) proceeds to the bank for payment to be done. Prosecution said the accused drove the vehicle from Achimota to Kaneshie where the complainant inspected it to his satisfaction. He said the accused, Mr Frimpong and the complainant then went to a Societe Generale Ghana bank at the Kaneshie Market branch where an amount of GHC 82,000 was handed over to Mr Frimpong in the presence of Anum. The Prosecution said Mr Frimpong and Anum counted the money after which Mr Frimpong handed over the receipt, ignition key, and supposed photocopy of his passport pictures to the complainant. He said Mr Frimpong instructed Anum to hand over the vehicle to the complainant as they stepped out of the bank. The Prosecution said on their way to a street parking lot belonging to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Anum pretended to have received a call from Mr Frimpong directing him to give something to someone. He said the complainant insisted to accompany Anum to wherever he had been sent but Anum took to his heels so the complainant raised an alarm and he was arrested. Prosecution said the said Mr Frimpong and the vehicle could not be found. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Malta, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Malta and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Malta (issuer rating A2) is supported by the country's "baa1" score for economic strength, reflecting the country's strong economic performance over the past decade and elevated wealth levels which in turn supports the ability of Malta's very open economy to absorb external shocks. Malta's "a2" score for institutions and governance strength reflects the country robust policy framework supported by euro area and EU membership, although the country's small size continues to constrain institutional strength. Its "a1" fiscal strength score balances the government's high debt affordability and low debt burden with the country's exposure to contingent liabilities from state owned enterprises. Malta's "baa" susceptibility to event risk reflects risks posed by the banking sector. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit. This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. Petter Bryman Asst Vice President - Analyst Sovereign Risk Group Moody's Deutschland GmbH An der Welle 5 Frankfurt am Main 60322 Germany JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Yves Lemay MD - Sovereign Risk Sovereign Risk Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Deutschland GmbH An der Welle 5 Frankfurt am Main 60322 Germany JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 2020 Moody's Corporation, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Moody's Analytics, Inc. and/or their licensors and affiliates (collectively, "MOODY'S"). All rights reserved. CREDIT RATINGS ISSUED BY MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE, INC. 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The Centre has taken various steps to control locust swarms, and carried out operations in over 1.5 lakh hectares area since April 11 to prevent crop losses. "As per the instructions of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, continuous action is being taken to control locust swarms," an official statement said on Saturday. Starting from April 11 till July 9, control operations have been done in 1,51,269 hectares area in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana by Locust Circle Offices (LCOs), it added. The control operations have also been done in 1,32,660 hectares area in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Bihar by state governments. Elaborating on the actions, the Agriculture Ministry said that in the intervening night of July 9-10, control operations were carried out at 16 places in 8 districts - Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, and Karauli of Rajasthan, 2 places in Bhuj district of Gujarat and at 1 place each in Auraiya and Etawah districts of Uttar Pradesh by LCOs. Besides this, respective state agriculture department/s also carried out control operations at 1 place in Alwar district in Rajasthan; and at 1 place each in Auraiya and Etawah districts of Uttar Pradesh against small groups and scattered population of locusts. "Presently, 60 control teams with spray vehicles are deputed /deployed in State of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and more than 200 Central Government personnel are engaged in locust control operations. In addition, 20 spray equipments have now been received," the statement said. To strengthen the control capacity, procurement of 55 additional vehicles has been done. Further, five companies with 15 drones are deployed at Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagaur and Phalodi in Rajasthan for effective control of locusts on tall trees and in inaccessible areas through spraying of pesticides. A Bell helicopter has been deployed in Rajasthan for use in Scheduled Desert Area as per the need. The Bell helicopter conducted anti-locust spraying aerial spraying operation in Bhopalgarh and Shekhala area of Jodhpur. Indian Air Force also has conducted trials in anti-locust operation by using a Mi-17 helicopter and the results are encouraging. "Swarms of immature pink locusts and adult yellow locusts are active in Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, and Karauli of Rajasthan; Bhuj district of Gujarat and Auraiya and Etawah districts of Uttar Pradesh," the statement said. No significant crop losses have been reported in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Haryana. However, some minor crop losses have been reported in some districts of Rajasthan. As per the Food and Agriculture Organisation's Locust Status Update on July 3, the ministry said that many spring-bred swarms migrated to the Indo-Pak border before the monsoon rains. Some remained in the east to northern states of India and a few groups reached Nepal. The forecast is that these swarms will return to Rajasthan with the start of the monsoon in coming days to join other swarms still arriving from Iran and Pakistan, which is expected to be supplemented by swarms from the Horn of Africa in about mid-July, it added. Early breeding has occurred along the Indo-Pak border where substantial hatching and band formation will take place in July. This will cause the first-generation summer swarms to form in mid-August, the ministry said. Weekly virtual meet on Desert Locust of South-West Asian countries (Afghanistan, India, Iran and Pakistan) is being organised by the FAO. 15 virtual meetings of the technical officers of South West Asian countries have taken place so far. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11 Trend: Nar is pleased to launch the "Heroes of the Day" contest in cooperation with TBIB to popularize the individuals who continue to serve citizens in various fields during the coronavirus pandemic. The contest will cover the stories of people who are risking their lives in the course of their daily work during the pandemic, as well as social projects and initiatives carried out during quarantine. The project is aimed both to introduce the heroes to the population and to support the promotion of social responsibility. The authors can choose, as their main heroes, doctors in the first place, as well as teachers who keep on teaching their students through online lessons, police officers, market workers, delivery servicemen, and customer service representatives, journalists reporting from special quarantine hospitals, those who have formed volunteering groups and anyone who takes care of citizens during the lockdown. Terms of the contest: 1) Journalists and social media users are eligible to join the contest. 2) It is required that the articles reflect the real-life stories and the author gets consent from the person highlighted in the story. The article can also be written directly in the protagonist's own language. 3) The article may include photos or videos upon the prior consent of the person. 4) The publication may also be in an interview format. 5) Each article can have max. 10,000 symbols. 6) In order to join the contest, journalists should send the article to [email protected] together with the relevant link, noting that the article was prepared within the framework of the contest held jointly by Nar and TABIB. 7) Social media users should send their articles to [email protected] Moreover, they can share stories on their social media accounts by using the hashtags of the contest (#GununQhrmanlar #Nar #TBIB). The winners will be determined by the panel of juries consisting of media experts. Top 3 winners will receive Samsung S10 +, Huawei P30 Pro and a cash prize of AZN 500, respectively. Also, the winners of next three places will receive a cash prize of AZN 300, each. The deadline for joining the competition is August 10. In case of any questions, please, refer to [email protected] e-mail address. Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO), a leading automaker in Vietnam, has sold 80 Kia Grand Carnival cars to Thailand. Kia Grand Carnival cars exported to Thailand (Source: THACO) It is the second batch of passenger cars that THACO has exported to Thailand, the Southeast Asias biggest auto hub, in 2020. Previously, the company delivered 40 of the same cars to Thailand in February. The vehicles were manufactured at the THACO Kia Plant in THACO Chu Lai Industrial Park in the central province of Quang Nam As planned, THACOs importing partner Yontrakit Kia Motor Co., Ltd will continue to place orders in line with the commitments between the two sides, with a total 560 Grand Kia cars to be delivered this year. The Kia Grand Carnival (known as the Kia Sedona in the Vietnamese market) is equipped with modern features, a spacious interior with 11 seats in four rows, and right-hand drive to meet Thai traffic laws. With the ambition of expanding its markets and joining the global value chains, over the past years, THACO has exported buses, trucks, cars, and semi-trailers to Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar, Japan, and the US. So far this year, in addition to the 120 Kia Grand Carnival cars shipped to Thailand, THACO has also exported 80 Kia Cerato cars to Myanmar and 36 semi-trailers and two modular house drawbar trailers to the US. On July 13, the company plans to ship another 33 semi-trailers for its US partner PITTS Enterprises. In 2020, THACO aims to export over 1,400 cars of all kinds to Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, the US and Japan, while expanding its market to Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Armenia. Honda Vietnams motorcycle sales down, auto sales up in June Motorcycle sales of Honda Vietnam decreased 3 percent in June, while its auto sales expanded 17 percent, the company unveiled on July 10. The company sold 174,755 motorbikes in the month, a drop of 4 percent year-on-year. The best-selling model was the Wave Alpha, with 40,260 units sold, accounting for 23 percent of Honda Vietnams total motorcycle sales. The Vision was the most popular scooter, with 42,166 units sold, or 24 percent. The joint venture also exported 10,198 motorcycles in the month. It delivered 3,188 automobiles to buyers in June, up 17 percent against May and 6 percent from the same period last year. Honda City, the only domestically-assembled model of Honda Vietnam, accounted for 68 percent of its total auto sales, with 2,183 units sold. This is also the highest sales of the model since it was introduced to the market in Vietnam. The CR-V was the hottest among imported completely-built unit (CBU) models, with 304 units, making up 10 percent of all Honda automobiles sold. Vietnamese electric motorbikes to be seen on Chinese, European streets Many international partners want to cooperate with manufacturer PEGA Vietnam to ship PEGA-S electric motorbikes to China and Europe. Doan Linh, PEGA Vietnam Chairman, said despite the complex developments of COVID-19, PEGA has still worked to further its reach to international markets, stressing that this is the first time a technological product like motorbike to be exported to China, dubbed as the cradle of electric vehicle manufacturing industry. PEGA has cooperated with a number of manufacturing and trading partners to sell PEGA-S in Europe, aiming to promote the Vietnamese brand globally, he added. PEGA-S, the companys latest and most advanced electric scooter model, was introduced in the domestic market last May at a price of 32.9 million VND (1,417 USD). Earlier, PEGA signed contracts to export two types of electric motorbikes to Cuba after its partner in the Caribbean nation had successfully tested and assessed the products overall quality. The first contract includes an order of 1,260 PEGA XMEN electric motorbikes with a value of roughly 20 billion VND. The order is currently being completed and preparations made to transport the bikes to Cuba. The second deal is for the shipment of more than 2,500 PEGA XMEN and PEGA AURA electric motorbikes, worth more than 40 billion VND, with shipment scheduled for August. PEGA XMEN and PEGA AURA are two popular types of electric motorbikes with 1,200Watt engines. Each electric motorbike can carry up to three people and has the ability to climb slopes with no difficulties. VNA/VNN Vietnam's automobile market sees 62 percent surge after social distancing The sales of automobile surged 62 percent month-on-month in May following the end of social distancing measures, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA). There may be a bidding war for the Toronto Stars publisher, but well have to wait a little longer to find out. The deadline to formalize a second offer for the company is now Monday at 5 p.m., buying extra time for technology executive brothers Matthew and Tyler Proud and finance industry executive Neil Selfe to make their offer official. They will be competing with a $52 million offer made earlier by entrepreneurs Jordan Bitove and Paul Rivett. While the deadline had previously been reported to be Friday at 5 p.m., there was some disagreement over whether that was in fact the case and the deadline is now agreed to be on Monday, sources told the Star. If the Proud and Selfe bid becomes official, Bitove and Rivett have five business days to match the new offer. To do so, they might have to go back to their lender: They were originally planning to finance the purchase with a $55-million loan from Canso Investment Counsel. The Proud and Selfe bid, made through Canadian Modern Media Holdings Inc., also includes former Ontario finance minister and Ontario Liberal Party president Greg Sorbara. Selfes firm Infor Financial Group is an underwriter for the IPO of legal software firm Dye & Durham Corp., where Matthew Proud is the CEO. Tyler Proud is CEO of technology company Avesdo Inc. The team has not yet disclosed the source of its financing. Both bids are still for less money than the $69 million in cash Torstar had on hand at the end of the first quarter. As of the end of first quarter, Torstar was debt free. A July 21 meeting where shareholders are being asked to vote on NordStars offer is still scheduled to go ahead. Torstars board has previously said it recommends the NordStar bid, calling it in the best interests of the company. The Proud brothers offer is worth 72 cents per share, while Bitove and Rivetts offer is worth 63 cents per share. Bitove and Rivett initially offered 56.6 cents per share, but that offer was rejected by Torstars board. Their current offer was made public in late May after being recommended by the board. Torstar shares closed at 71 cents per share Friday, down one cent on the day. Bitove and Rivett have said they intend to take Torstar private. Former Ontario premier David Peterson is part of Bitove and Rivetts bid. A spokesman for Douglas County Health Director Adi Pour said she has no particular concerns about door-to-door campaigning, as long as people wear masks, keep their distance and stay outside. Thats what the Nebraska Republican Party is doing while knocking on doors for candidates up and down the ballot, said the state partys executive director, Ryan Hamilton. Party volunteers have been asked to stand 8 to 10 feet away from doors after they knock and to wear masks, though Hamilton said voters often ask that the mask be removed. Grace Buttermore, a 19-year-old Omaha Republican, has been knocking on doors for GOP candidates, including Omaha City Councilman Rich Pahls, a former state senator who is running for his former legislative seat representing southwest Omaha. One example: She and Pahls, masked up, spoke to a veteran who was sitting on his porch near 156th and Q Streets. He seemed surprised to speak with the candidate he had backed for City Council. For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME. Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever. Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation. View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union. Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history. Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words. A man has appeared in court accused of grooming a child with intent to commit a sex offence. Norman Quinn faces two counts of communication with a person under the age of 17 with intent to commit and indictable offence, one of criminal damage and one of assault. No details of the alleged offences were given as the 54-year-old appeared for the first time before Belfast Magistrates Court on Saturday. District Judge Mark Hamill said Quinn, of Blythe Street in south Belfast, was to be released on his own bail of 400 on the condition that a suitable bail address is found. He is due to appear in court again on August 3. As the 25th anniversary of US-Vietnam diplomatic ties draws near, Professor H. Bruce Franklin, shared his thoughts about US- Vietnam relations with VNS. Professor H. Bruce Franklin is one of Americas leading historians and the author of many books on the American war in Vietnam like Vietnam War, Vietnam and America and Vietnam & other American Fantasies. Professor H. Bruce Franklin On January 27, 1973, the United States formally agreed to end its war in Viet Nam and pledged to respect the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Viet Nam. But it continued to support, arm, and finance military war until the final victory of Viet Nam in April 1975. Then for the next 20 years, it waged economic, political, and psychological war against the Vietnamese nation. Central to that war was the demand that Viet Nam account for thousands of Americans missing in combat, whom many Americans believed were being held by Viet Nam as POWs. During those two decades, many other Americans were working to end these attacks on Viet Nam and to begin - for the very first time - diplomatic relations between our two nations. In his 1993 essay U.S.-Vietnam Relations: The Past, the Present, and the Future, Professor David W. P. Elliott wrote: Human rights and democratization may be the next incarnation of the POW/MIA issue, a symptom of an underlying refusal on the part of many Americans to accept the historical verdict of the Vietnam War. Well, the POW/MIA flags still fly (by state law) in all fifty states and on federal buildings nationwide (by federal law, recently sponsored by a unanimous vote of the US Senate). Professor Elliotts prediction has also come true. Ever since the beginning of diplomatic relations in 1995, the US has continued to demand and insist that Viet Nam conform to American definitions of human right and democracy. As many tens of millions of Americans take to the streets to protest police terror and ongoing systemic oppression of people of colour, we are hardly in a position to demand that Viet Nam implement the realities of American human rights and democracy. In 1999, I was one of the dozen scholars of American studies chosen to meet with a dozen Viet Nam scholars of American studies in a conference in Ha Noi. One of the sponsors of the conference was Ambassador Pete Peterson, the first US ambassador to Viet Nam. Peterson, himself a former POW, declared the whole POW/MIA issue was a hoax". At the conference, an elderly Vietnamese professor asked us Americans if we knew who was the first Vietnamese scholar of American studies. Several of us immediately shouted out Ho Chi Minh.". This led to a discussion of great relevance today, as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two nations. Ho Chi Minh was deeply aware of the central contradictions of American history. On one hand, he knew that our revolution and Declaration of Independence had fed into the French Revolution, next to the Haitian Revolution, and then to the 20th-century liberation struggles of the colonised peoples around the world. But he also knew that our revolutionary nation was a nation built on slavery and genocide. Relying on our professed ideals, Ho Chi Minh wrote his 1919 appeal to the United States on behalf of the people of Viet Nam. He was equally conscious of the dark side of American history, expressed with overwhelming power in his 1924 essays Lynching and The Ku Klux Klan. Despite that, he understood the importance of the bright side of America. I wish every American today could know the opening that Ho Chi Minh wrote for Viet Nams Declaration of Independence, September 2, 1945: All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. This immortal statement was made in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in 1776. In a broader sense, this means all the peoples on the earth are equal from birth, all the peoples have a right to live, to be happy and free. As the great ideals expressed in our own Declaration of Independence are meeting an ominous challenge from those dark forces of our national history, we Americans should stop telling the Vietnamese people how to deal with their problems and instead deal with our own problems as well as problems we are inflicting on the world, including wars on other nations and on the Earth itself. Perhaps we have much to learn from Vietnamese people, including, first of all, how to respond to the global pandemic threatening us all. It is yet to be determined whether Homo sapiens will prove to be a successful species. The big test is whether or not we can recognise, and act upon, our common humanity. If Viet Nam and America can act as true friends, we can set an invaluable lesson for the world. VNS Secretary of State Pompeos statement on 25th anniversary of VN-US diplomatic relations US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States (1995-2020), according to the US Embassy in Vietnam. The son of "accountant to the stars" Ossie Kilkenny has moved out of a 500,000 Dublin property, partly left to him in his grandmother's will, in the face of court proceedings to evict him. Solicitor Michelle Collins had been seeking vacant possess- ion of 6 Balally Drive, Dundrum, on behalf of eight beneficiaries of the late Ann P Kilkenny's estate, including Osmond Kilkenny Jnr, one of her grandchildren. Executors His father, Ossie Kilkenny Snr, was originally named as one of the executors. However, he was removed from that role by the High Court five years ago because of an "inordinate and inexcusable delay" in executing it, Judge John O'Connor was told at the Circuit Civil Court. Instead, Ms Collins was app- ointed in 2015 as legal representative for Ms Kilkenny's estate. She sought an injunction against Mr Kilkenny Jnr, ordering him to vacate the house, and she looked for an order for sale. Ms Collins told the court that Mr Kilkenny Jnr had been bequeathed a one-eighth share of the property. After Ms Kilkenny's death in April 2010, the eight beneficiaries agreed among themselves that the property would not be sold due to a slow property market. They said Mr Kilkenny Jnr should act as a caretaker for the house. It had been agreed that Mr Kilkenny Jnr would leave the house on request, making it available for viewings if necessary. It was also agreed that if he failed to comply with the wishes of the other beneficiaries, he would have to pay rent. On July 5, 2015, Mr Kilkenny Jnr admitted he was liable to pay rent, which had been ass- essed in 2016 at 1,760 a month and which he had neglected to pay for four years despite demands, Ms Collins said in an affidavit. She said she had on many occasions requested that Mr Kilkenny Jnr quit the property. Withdrawn The court heard that if Ms Collins, in her legal capacity, was granted possession of the house, the best course of action would be to sell it immediately. Solicitor Brian O'Brien told Judge O'Connor that Ms Collins had achieved vacant possess- ion of No 6 Balally Drive on Thursday evening, and the applications before the court were being withdrawn. Judge O'Connor struck out the injunctive proceedings. Ossie Kilkenny Snr handled the finances of U2 for more than 20 years. Kumasi based small scale miners say their excavators which were seized during the banning of small-scale mining are being used for hiring and illegal mining in some parts of the country. It has been discovered that scores of the allegedly missing excavators seized from illegal miners are currently being used again for illegal mining by unknown persons, according to Kumasi based scale miners. According to the miners, the 500 excavators which were seized between 2017 and 2018 are not missing as alleged by the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, Professor Frimpong Boateng. Mr. Akwasi Nyamekye, an Ashanti region-based registered small scale miner whose seized excavators could not be traced and still scanning around but spotted an excavator that includes the seized ones at Prof, Frimpong Boateng's Kumasi Kwadaso Estate House which he blew alarm though the excavator does not belong to him. He said they have been able to find some of these machines in some parts of the country being used for hiring and other unlawful purposes. According to him, some of these machines had tracking devices, so they have been able to trace them. He said, when they take the machine in the Ashanti region then, they send it to the Northern region. They are engaged in one activity or the other. Some are even engaged in galamsey, he added. Mr. Prince Acheampong one of the miners based in Kumasi said, during when owners of these excavators have made several efforts to locate the whereabouts of their machines so it could be released to them and pay for the penalties and fines. Mr. Prince Acheampong said one of the missing excavators has been spotted in front of the house of Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng at Kumasi Kwadaso estates which have shocked many. He added that some of these missing excavators are kept at a Chinese firm known as Caitec Delta in Mallam junction in Accra, where the excavators are used for rentals in the name the minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovations. At Pakyi No. 1 junction on the Obuasi - Kumasi road in the Ashanti region, some seized excavators which were under the watch of Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng are being used for renting in his name Mr. Eric Boafo one of the miners also added. All these concerns have been raised by small scale miners whose seized excavators could not be traced to know its whereabouts. In an interview with the media, some Small scale miners insisted that government should arrest Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovations, revoke his ministerial appointment, face prosecution and dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land. The small scale miners have also threatened to vote against the Akufo Addo's NPP government in the upcoming general elections if the Environment, Science, Technology and innovations minister is not immediately arrested and probed to show the whereabouts of the missing excavators. Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our nonprofit public service journalism: Donate now. We've all heard about how the coronavirus pandemic prevented people from visiting their loved ones in nursing homes. The same thing has happened to another community: those with family members in locked psychiatric facilities. Annie Felix is part of the latter group. Her son, whom she identifies as Andrew R., is at La Casa mental health rehabilitation center in Long Beach. Growing up, Andrew was as normal a teenager as any, she said. He played drums, guitar and piano, had lots of friends, went surfing. But at the age of 15, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and other mental health conditions. "Now there's no way he can accomplish any of those things in the condition he is at this time," Felix said. icon DON'T MISS ANY L.A. CORONAVIRUS NEWS Get our daily newsletters for the latest on COVID-19 and other top local headlines. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy She says roughly over the past decade, Andrew had more than a dozen hospital visits, 10 of which resulted in inpatient stays. In 2014, things reached a breaking point. "My doctor told me that I couldn't have him at home anymore because it was affecting my health," Felix said. Last year, Felix said she was finally able to convince a hospital that Andrew needed to be treated at a locked facility, and he ended up at La Casa. At first Felix visited her son three times a week, she said. They were long visits, usually about two hours. Sometimes she'd bring a guitar and he'd strum on it. Then COVID-19 hit and La Casa was forced to shut its doors to visitors. HEART BREAK AND A HALF-VISIT Now, Felix trudges through the bushes to get to her son's parking lot-facing window so she can see him. On a recent day, Andrew's face appeared behind the large tinted glass. "I miss you," Felix said, her voice cutting through the glass to her son. "Honey, I miss you." Felix said she had a scare recently when she learned that Andrew's new roommate had tested positive for COVID-19. Andrew's test came back negative. As of early July, the city of Long Beach said there had been a total of 19 coronavirus cases among the nearly 200 patients at La Casa. There was one COVID-19-related death at the facility. "Maybe skilled nursing facilities is what you may hear about, but I feel like there's a lot of concern for any kind of population that's living in close contact," said Dr. Anissa Davis, the Long Beach Health Officer. Davis said mental health facilities like La Casa can sometimes have different things to think about than nursing homes when it comes to keeping their clients safe from COVID-19. Patients living with a serious mental illness may struggle to comply with new rules imposed since COVID-19, like staying in their room or wearing masks. So far, there have been five coronavirus outbreaks at Long Beach mental health facilities, according to the city. An outbreak means at least one resident has tested positive. Annie Felix said COVID-19 has meant isolation and reduced group activities for her son. Those setbacks in Andrew's treatment are especially hard because it took so much work just to get Andrew into a facility like La Casa. "It's very heartbreaking," Felix said, adding that she doesn't quite know how it feels to Andrew. "When I talked to him through the window when he was first isolated, he asked me, 'Mom, why are they doing this? Am I going to get sick?'" she said. NO RE-OPENING IN SITE As of early July, the facility's last batch of COVID-19 tests all came back negative, said David Heffron, vice president of operations at Telecare Corp., which runs La Casa. But he's not sure when the facility will be able to re-open to visitors, especially since L.A. County is seeing a surge of new cases. "Clearly we want our clients to be able to be with their families as much as they want to be," Heffron said. "But until it's safe enough and we're given some recommendations from the CDC or the public health folks, we're not doing that yet." So for now, Felix said she'll continue to visit her son from the other side of his darkened window. Like so many people across Southern California with family members in locked psychiatric facilities, she'll have to keep waiting out the pandemic in limbo. A French bus driver has died after being attacked by passengers during an alleged row over masks. Philippe Monguillot, 59, died in hospital on Friday, five days after he was left brain dead by the assault in Bayonne, in southwest France. His daughter, Marie, said his family and doctors had made the decision to let him go, Agence France-Presse reported Mr Monguillot was attacked after he reportedly asked three passengers to wear face coverings mandatory on public transport in France during the coronavirus pandemic and to see their tickets. Two men in their 20s have been charged with attempted murder. Two other men have been charged with not assisting a person in danger, while a fifth man faces a charge of attempting to hide a suspect. Thousands of people dressed in white to took part in a march honouring Mr Monguillot in Bayonne on Wednesday. The citys mayor Jean-Rene Etchegaray, condemned the barbaric attack. He tweeted: Philippe Monguillot has left us. He succumbs to barbaric aggression in the exercise of his profession. A faithful servant of the public service, he leaves the image of a generous man. Support for colleagues in grief. Our affection for his grieving wife and family. French prime minister Jean Castex said Mr Monguillots death following the cowardly assault while he was trying to do his job touches us in the heart. Thousands of people participate in a march as a tribute to French bus driver Philippe Monguillot in Bayonne, southwestern France, 8 July 2020. (Caroline Blumberg/EPA) He tweeted: The Republic recognises in him an exemplary citizen and will not forget him. Justice will punish the perpetrators of this abject crime. Interior minister Gerard Darmanin sent his condolences to Mr Monguillots family, saying those involved in the incident must be punished. He tweeted: I extend my sincere condolences to the family, relatives and colleagues of Philippe Monguillot, bus driver who was violently attacked last Sunday in Bayonne. This heinous and cowardly act must not go unpunished. He added: I will go tomorrow to #Bayonne to take stock of safety in the city with the heads of state services and meet the drivers and unions of public transport. The European Transport Workers Federation said it was shocked and saddened to learn of the senseless and heinous assault. The union called for greater protection for workers in the industry, saying in a statement: For us, it is essential that management quickly implement measures to ensure the safety of drivers. Companies must value lives over profits. It added on Twitter: We express our support and solidarity with Philippe Monguillots family, friends and colleagues. We condemn this barbaric and senseless act, and once again, we demand the swift implementation measures to protect workers from such attacks! For several years, fans of Yoruba movies have had to contend with shoddy subtitles while watching their favourite films. While some watchers attribute it to typographical errors, most say it is mostly due subtitle editors trying to make direct translation of Yoruba language to English in the form that is generally known as Yoruba English. Bolaji Amusan, the president of Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), told PREMIUM TIMES that subtitling is a major issue in the movie industry, The major problem we are having is not with these subtitlers, it is also the issue of our marketers and executive producers, said Mr Amusan. Instead of them to wait for us to package the movie and hand it over to them, they rush because they want to make their money, because they want to get it done very very quickly. So, they get half-baked subtitler to subtitle the movie and the result is what we are seeing today. On the level of our members, we have been able to educate our members to give their jobs to professionals, so that they will be able to meet up with the standard expected of them from the people, he said. Solving the problem The issue of shoddy subtitles is not restricted to the Yoruba movie genre. Other major languages like the Igbo and Hausa movie genres have the same shortcoming. Speaking on the efforts the association is making to improve the situation, Mr Amusan said they are taking the issue of subtitling very seriously and they have taken some steps to make things look better. As an association, we are trying our possible best, he said We have just inaugurated TAMPAN guild of directors, and we have over 145 directors giving them encouragement, seminars, and workshops. Very soon, we are going to inaugurate TAMPAN guild of producers. Screenshot of a Yoruba movie scene used to illustrate the story Why we are doing this is to make sure that they meet up with the current standard of movie production all over the world. We are trying as much as possible to live up to expectation and it is just a matter of time, he said. A subtitle editor, Biodun Adeoye, blamed the situation on the censors board, who he said do not properly screen the movies submitted to them. I have been in the movie industry and the subtitling area for a very long time, said Mr Adeoye, a member of TAMPAN guild of directors. Screenshot of a Yoruba movie scene used to illustrate the story There was this period when there was no movie that will go through the censor board without subtitles, at that time, we didnt have this kind of complaint. Subtitle is part of what is going to be censored before a movie is released. But at a point, I dont know why movies are being sent to censor board without subtitles. That is where the problem actually started. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry now feels is it not just to write from Yoruba to English? I can do it. That is what is going on right now. Mr Adeoye added that movie producers that are not willing to pay for the service of professional subtitle editors are part of the problem. We are going to blame some of our producers, we are going to blame some of our marketers who are not ready to pay for the services rendered, he said. Screenshot of a Yoruba movie scene used to illustrate the story They will just feel like, come, youre out of secondary school now and it is just Yoruba to English, you can just write it. That is why we have mostly direct interpretation, the one will call Yoruba English. READ ALSO: The jobs are not given to the right people, which is part of the problem. You know the way our people see things. If I tell you, Im going to charge you XYZ naira for this job and you find someone that says, is it not just subtitle, I will do it, just find me something, they just give it to the person. We dont see subtitle as a serious business, that is a problem, he said. He said further that things can get better if proper sanctions are taken on the people that release movies without proper subtitling. If there are proper sanctions on these people, even if the movie is already on air and we see that it is not of standard, in terms of subtitling, colour, lighting and every other thing, people will be forced to do better. A major challenge The Director of Nigerian Film and Videos Censors Board, Adebayo Thomas, said that movies with bad subtitles did not pass through the censors desk. Advertisements All the movies that you see that the subtitles are bad are definitely the ones that have not passed through our censor desk, he said. It is a major challenge and we are not resting on our oars to get the culprits arrested and prosecuted. Screenshot of a Yoruba movie scene used to illustrate the story Many of them bring it and when the subtitles are not good enough, we refer it back to them. When they bring it back again, we look at it and if it is okay to go, we pass it. Mr. Thomas added that there are huge sanctions for producers who try to release movies illegally. There is a big sanction. It becomes uncensored and unclassified. This is because whatever comes out of our own desk, the subtitle is always correct. There are equally some illegal things they do. When we approve first, when they take it away from us with our certificate, they submit the unedited, uncensored one for production. When we see this, we always call them to order. We also blacklist the producer and blacklist the film, he said. Robert De Niro onstage at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California. (Michael Kovac/Getty Images) Robert De Niro says coronavirus has decimated his finances to such an extent that he might actually only make $7.5m (5.94m) this year. The actors lawyers made the revelation during a recent court battle with his estranged wife Grace Hightower after she put in a request to increase her monthly American Express credit card limit from $50,000 back to $100,000, after the Oscar winner had reduced it. According to Page Six, De Niro was forced to halve Hightowers monthly allowance, insisting he has taken a massive financial hit after the restaurants Nobu and Greenwich Hotel, which he has stakes in, were partially closed during the coronavirus pandemic. Read more: Robert De Niro reveals the movie he and Al Pacino regret making Caroline Krauss, De Niros lawyer, said Nobu lost close to $5m in just two months, so he had to pay investors $500,000. Even that he had to borrow from business partners, because he just doesnt have the cash. ItKrauss explained: His accounts and business manager says that the best case for Mr. De Niro, if everything starts to turn around he is going to be lucky if he makes $7.5m this year. Cast member Robert De Niro and his wife Grace Hightower on the red carpet in 2016. (Reuters/Eric Gaillard) She added that he is likely to get just $2.5m over the next few months and years, as filming on Killers Of The Flower Moon has been delayed due to the pandemic. These people, in spite of his robust earnings, have always spent more than he has earned so this 76-year-old robust man couldnt retire even if he wanted to because he cant afford to keep up with his lifestyle expense, said Krauss, who says De Niro has cut his own spendings dramatically. However, Hightowers lawyer Kevin McDonugh did not believe this explanation, insisting De Niro has used the pandemic to stick it to his wife financially. Read More: Robert De Niro slams ex-employee's lawsuit accusing him of making 'sexually charged' comments Im not a believer that a man who has an admitted worth of $500m and makes $30m a year, all of a sudden in March he needs to cut down by 50% and ban her from the house. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper ultimately allowed De Niro to keep the credit card limit at $50,000 a month, but did order him to pay Hightower $75,000 so that she could find a summer home for her and their two children, 8-year-old Helen and 21-year-old Elliot. A Dublin-based man from Germany is facing charges for homicide and destruction of his wife's body while on board a Mediterranean cruise ship. Italian investigators announced today that their preliminary investigation into the mystery disappearance of Chinese national Xing Li (38), had concluded. Mr Belling's lawyer Luigi Conti told the Herald that he had been informed of the development in the long-running case this morning. "Mr Belling stands accused of two crimes," he said. "The first is homicide and the second is the destruction of the body, in the sea, where it has likely been destroyed by fish. Serious "These are very serious crimes and he faces life in prison." Mr Conti said he had tried to make contact with his client, who he believes is in Germany. "I cannot comment further until I speak to Daniel," he said. Mr Belling returned to Ireland in 2018 after 14 months on remand in an Italian jail in relation to the disappearance. His solicitor persuaded authorities to release him from custody, and he returned to the home he shared with his wife in Clarehall, Co Dublin. He is understood to have been living there until recently. Xing Li, also known as Angie, has not been seen since Feb- ruary 10, 2017. She, Mr Belling and their two children boarded the MSC Magnifica in the Italian port of Civitavecchia on February 9. After the ship set sail, it called at Genoa and ports in Malta, Greece and Cyprus. Crew members became aware Xing Li was missing when they did a head count at the end of the cruise. Mr Belling and the couple's two children were stopped by police at Rome's Ciampino Airport on February 17 after Xing Li could not be accounted for. They were about to board a Ryanair flight back home. Mr Belling has repeatedly denied killing his wife and has not been charged with any offence. Investigators thought they had a breakthrough in March 2017 when a suitcase containing the body of an Oriental woman was found floating in the Adriatic, off Italy's east coast. However, the remains were not those of Xing Li Mr Belling reportedly told an Italian judge that he and his wife had fought and that she wanted to "quit the trip". According to Italian press reports, he claimed his wife left the ship when he and the children joined a shore excursion. Impossible Mr Conti has said he has incontrovertible proof that Xing Li had been planning to dis- appear before she even set foot on the ship. "Interviews Xing Li did with psychologists and doctors in Ireland before they ever went on the cruise prove she was planning on leaving Daniel," he said. "In the statements, which I have copies of, she says in her own words, 'My life in Ireland is like a prison. I want to go back to China and leave the children with Daniel'." Mr Conti said that in interviews with police, Xing Li's mother defended Mr Belling, saying it was "impossible" that he had killed her daughter. Speaking in Italy after his release in 2018, Mr Belling told reporters he believed he was set up by his wife after she arranged her disappearance. He described her as a "cruel person" for allowing him to spend 14 months in jail for a crime "she knows I did not commit". "I think my wife is most probably in China," he said. "There is a small probability that something happened to her in Greece, but I believe she is in China. "I was worried about my wife for the first few weeks, but not any more. I think she knows I have been imprisoned." Mr Belling, who said he is not angry, claimed his wife "always had a strange personality". ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament passed a law on Saturday on changing the structure of bar associations, a move that lawyers argue will further undermine judicial independence in a country where they say the judiciary is already in disarray. Thousands of lawyers have protested in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities against the plan, saying it aims to silence some of the few institutions still speaking out against the government's record on rule of law and human rights. The legislation allows multiple bar associations to be formed in each province, in place of the current system where each province has a single association, diluting the institutions' power. A lawmaker for President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, Cahit Ozkan, said last week the law was needed because bar associations were no longer able to function properly following a 13-fold increase in the number of lawyers in Turkey since the previous law came into effect. Opponents say it will strengthen small provincial bars at the expense of the large associations in the main cities. The larger associations currently predominate and are frequently critical of the government. These associations say the judicial system has descended into chaos in recent years with lawyers jailed, defences muzzled and confidence in judges and prosecutors destroyed. The law was passed with 251 votes in favour in the 600-seat parliament, with only 417 MPs voting. The AK Party has 291 seats in the assembly, while its nationalist MHP allies have 49 seats. The legislation "appears calculated to divide the legal profession along political lines and diminish the biggest bar associations' role as human rights watchdogs," Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists said. Muharrem Erkek, deputy leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party, said the new law would erode and polarise the legal profession. "Their aim is to create partisan bar associations. If you weaken the bars, if you divide them, the citizens will suffer harm," he said shortly before parliament began debating the bill on Wednesday. (Reporting by Daren Butler and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Frances Kerry) If theres an upside to stardom, it isnt evident in Showbiz Kids, a new HBO documentary about the lives of child actors. Directed by Alex Winters, a former child star who achieved fame with the Bill & Ted series, Showbiz Kids lets some pretty heavy hitters Evan Rachel Wood, Henry Thomas, Mara Wilson and Wil Wheaton talk about the pressure, the solitude and the fear that filled their lives when they were at the top of their game. Consistently engaging, its also massively depressing, particularly when the subjects talk about the price they paid to maintain a career. Todd Bridges, the only surviving child star from Diffrent Strokes, says Gary Coleman had to work when he was sick and came back shortly after having a kidney transplant. Dana Plato died of a drug overdose one day after doing an interview about how great her life was. Wilson, who starred in Matilda and a Miracle on 34th Street remake, says her life was like being in a restaurant and everyone was singing for her birthday but she didnt like it. As a child star, Wheaton says, he needed attention because thats the only way I know how to exist. Backlash, however, was a very real thing particularly when he happened to star in a film that was just a money grab. Thomas, who became an international star after appearing in E.T., says he was expected to know what to do, even though he wasnt trained as an actor. Adults deferred and, when he didnt deliver, he felt he was letting them down. Bridges and Wheaton tell how money and jealousy complicated their home lives. Wood says she frequently felt isolated and learned solitary skills like juggling just to stay busy. She also says pedophilia is prevalent in Hollywood. Young male stars are often hit on by adults, adding yet another seedy element to the lifestyle. While Showbiz Kids mentions success stories like Ron Howard and Jodie Foster, it doesnt engage them or even explain why they emerged relatively unscathed. Instead, it shows two aspiring young actors trying to make it in the business and how their lives are affected. That hesitancy Wilson mentions is obvious, but theres also the hope that this could lead to something. Sadly, Cameron Boyce, an actor who was edging out of child stardom when he died of an epileptic seizure in 2019, is here to talk about his struggles in the business. He exhibits plenty of business savvy and seems like someone who could rise above. He has a rougher edge than some of the subjects and displays a distance that says he wasnt sucked in. Still, the documentary isnt filled with many happy endings. Winters hits the bases but doesnt necessarily come all the way home. In Showbiz Kids there are enough storylines to fill a stadium. Just watching the where are they now? aspects of film keeps us interested. But as soon as the actors begin talking, we have oh so many more questions. "Showbiz Kids" is the start, not the definitive word. Showbiz Kids airs Tuesday on HBO and HBO Max. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Staying in? We've got you covered Get the recommendations on what's streaming now, games you'll love, TV news and more with our weekly Home Entertainment newsletter! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Police are targeting pubs and clubs across Queensland this weekend to ensure social distancing measures are upheld, as the state records just two new cases from returning travellers. On Friday, 17 clubs and pubs were inspected and four received warnings, in a compliance program set to continue throughout the weekend. Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said police would return to the places where warnings had been issued on Friday and if compliance was still not being upheld, penalties would be issued. Two new cases were confirmed on Saturday, with one case previously reported now recovered, leaving Queensland with three active cases. Both new cases were returning from overseas and had been in isolation since arriving. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson was penalized by the Eagles for conduct detrimental to the team following his anti-Semitic Instagram post. Read more The Eagles have penalized receiver DeSean Jackson for conduct detrimental to the team in the wake of his inflammatory anti-Semitic Instagram post last weekend. The announcement was made by the Eagles Friday on social media. The penalty wasnt disclosed, but league sources confirmed it was a fine. Contacted by The Inquirer, the Eagles declined comment. In the post, Jackson praised Louis Farrakhan and shared a passage that included a fake Adolf Hitler quote. Jackson has faced harsh criticism from fans and the Jewish community at large since then. He apologized multiple times, said he promised to be better, and would educate himself, but maintained that the message he was trying to get across was misunderstood. That hasnt stopped the criticism toward the 33-year-old receiver. This is the Eagles statement: This has been a difficult and emotional week for our community and organization. The Philadelphia Eagles do not tolerate hate towards any individual or group. We believe in respect and equality for all races, ethnicities, and faiths. We as an organization want to help be an instrument for positive change. This can only occur through strong, deliberate actions and a commitment to learn and grow. We have had a number of constructive conversations over the last few days, not only with DeSean Jackson, but also with many other players, members of the organization, and leaders in the community. That has led us to the point where we and he are ready to take the next steps. Today we have penalized DeSean for conduct detrimental to the team. He accepted these consequences and apologized. In our many conversations with him, it has also been made clear that this is only the beginning. We have discussed a concrete plan for how we and he can heal moving forward. He understands that in order to remain on the team, he must also commit to supporting his words with actions. We have been encouraged by his desire to educate himself, but we all understand that there is still a lot of work to be done. We will continue to assist DeSean in this process, and we also know that all of us in our organization need to listen and learn more about things that are unfamiliar or uncomfortable to us. We must continue to fight against any anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, while not losing sight of the important battle against systematic racism. The Eagles, who have a Jewish general manager (Howie Roseman) and owner (Jeffrey Lurie), were quick to condemn Jacksons actions when the post first came out but said they were still evaluating the situation to determine the best course of action. What followed was a tumultuous week filled with speculation of whether Jackson could be or should be cut, and saw fans and players have to tackle the issue of anti-Semitism while the country is still heavily into the Black Lives Matter protests. One person who reached out to Jackson is New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, who identifies as Jewish. On Friday, Edelman said he has spoken to Jackson after offering an invitation to learn from one anothers experiences, and ESPN reported that Jackson had also met with a group against anti-Semitism on Thursday and then a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor on Friday. The Eagles faced a similar situation in 2013 with former receiver Riley Cooper after he was captured on video using a racial slur in a dispute with a security officer during a Kenny Chesney concert. Cooper was fined and sought counseling. - Inquirer staff writer Les Bowen contributed to the report. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday rejected worldwide condemnation over Turkey's decision to convert the Byzantine-era monument Hagia Sophia back into a mosque, saying it represented his country's will to use its "sovereign rights". Erdogan, who critics say is chipping away at the Muslim-majority country's secular pillars, announced Friday that Muslim prayers would begin on July 24 at the UNESCO World Heritage site. In the past, he has repeatedly called for the stunning building to be renamed as a mosque and in 2018, he recited a verse from the Koran at Hagia Sophia. "Those who do not take a step against Islamophobia in their own countries ... attack Turkey's will to use its sovereign rights," Erdogan said during a ceremony he attended via video-conference. A magnet for tourists worldwide, the Hagia Sophia was first constructed as a cathedral in the Christian Byzantine Empire but was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Erdogan's announcement came after a top court cancelled a 1934 cabinet decision under modern Turkey's secularising founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to preserve the church-turned-mosque as a museum. The court ruled that "there are no provisions whatsoever in the convention (concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage) that prevents ... the usage of the Hagia Sophia in accordance with domestic law." Erdogan then signed a presidential decree handing the control of the "Hagia Sophia Mosque" to Turkey's religious affairs directorate, Diyanet. "We made this decision not looking at what others say but looking what our right is and what our nation wants, just like what we have done in Syria, in Libya and elsewhere," the Turkish leader said Saturday. - 'A blow to global Christianity' - Erdogan went ahead with the plan despite appeals from NATO ally the United States and from Russia, with which Ankara has forged close relations in recent years. Greece swiftly condemned the move as a provocation, France deplored it while the United States also expressed disappointment. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Saturday Moscow regretted the decision. "The cathedral is on Turkey's territory, but it is without question everybody's heritage," he told the Interfax news agency. The influential bishop Hilarion, who heads the Russian Orthodox Church's department for external church relations, also expressed his sorrow. "It is a blow to global Christianity ... For us (Hagia Sophia) remains a cathedral dedicated to the Saviour," he told state TV Rossiya24 late Friday. And the World Council of Churches, which represents 350 Christian churches, said it had written to Turkey's president expressing their "grief and dismay". But Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara director of the German Marshall Fund, told AFP the move would win hearts and minds at home as most Turks "would favour such a decision for religious or nationalist sentiments. "This is a debate president Erdogan cannot lose and the opposition cannot win. As a matter of fact, this issue also has the potential to disunite the opposition parties." Erdogan's nationalist ally Devlet Bahceli welcomed the decision, saying that reopening Hagia Sophia to Muslim worship "has long been our desire." - 'It is closed'- After Friday's decision, hundreds gathered outside the iconic building and performed evening prayers. On Saturday, police had put up barriers around the Hagia Sophia. "We wanted to come and visit Istanbul and the Hagia Sophia museum but unfortunately we realised that from today it is closed," said Renato Daleo, tourist from Italy. Ksennia Bessonova, a Russian living in Istanbul flanked by her 16-month-old daughter and her husband, said they had also wanted to visit. "It was our little dream because since our daughter was born we were not able to come and here we go," she said. She hoped the authorities would not change anything inside. "From what our friends and family were telling us it was something special and we wanted to feel the same. At the moment I am not sure what to expect but I feel sad in a way." On Friday, Erdogan gave assurances that the Hagia Sophia would be open to all visitors, including non-Muslims. "The Hagia Sophia's doors will remain open to visitors from all around the world," his press aide, Fahrettin Altun tweeted Saturday. "People of all religious denominations are welcome and encouraged to visit it ? just as they have been able to visit other mosques, including the Blue Mosque." burs-fo/jj The Hagia Sophia was first constructed as a cathedral in the Christian Byzantine Empire but was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 Erdogan's announcement came after the cancellation by a top court of a 1934 cabinet decision under modern Turkey's secularising founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to preserve the church-turned-mosque as a museum On Saturday, tourists hoping to visit the Hagia Sophia found police had put up barriers around the building U.S. President Donald Trumps planned executive order on immigration will not include amnesty for migrants who are in the United States illegally but arrived in the country as children, a White House spokesman said on Friday. This does not include amnesty, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement, after Trump said in a television interview his planned order would include a road to citizenship for such immigrants, known as Dreamers. In the interview with Spanish-language TV network Telemundo, Trump said his executive order would involve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the program that protects hundreds of thousands of such immigrants from deportation. Im going to do a big executive order. ... And Im going to make DACA a part of it, Trump said. Were going to have a road to citizenship. The U.S. Supreme Court last month dealt a major setback to Trumps hardline immigration policies, blocking his bid to end DACA, which was created in 2012 by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. The ruling did not prevent Trump from trying again to end the program. But his administration may find it difficult to rescind it and win any ensuing legal battle before the November 3 election in which he is seeking a second term in office. The White House statement said Trumps executive order would establish a merit-based immigration system and reiterated that Trump would work with Congress on a legislative solution that could include citizenship, along with strong border security and permanent merit-based reforms, but no amnesty. Roughly 644,000 people mostly Hispanic immigrants born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are currently enrolled in DACA, which protects them from deportation and provides them work permits. Their average age is 26. It does not offer a path to citizenship. Trumps remarks to Telemundo drew an immediate rebuke from his fellow Republican, Senator Ted Cruz, who wrote in a Twitter post that it would be a HUGE mistake if Trump tries to illegally expand amnesty. There is ZERO constitutional authority for a President to create a road to citizenship by executive fiat, Cruz wrote. Trump gave the interview to Telemundo as part of his outreach to Hispanic voters, who will be crucial to the outcome of his November 3 election showdown with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Guwahati, July 11 : In view of the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, the Assam government has extended lockdown in the Kamrup (Metro) district for one more week after the 14-day shutdown ends on Sunday, officials said here on Saturday. A government official said that Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna issued an order on Saturday night extending the lockdown in Guwahati till July 19. The four-page lockdown order said that there is continuing large-scale spread of COVID-19 occurring in almost the entire district of Kamrup Metropolitan which may be a major threat to public health, hygiene and safety of the general population. Krishna, who is the Chairman of the executive committee of the Assam Disaster Management, in his order said that movement of individuals and public transport shall remain strictly prohibited in the district. "All government and private offices would remain closed. All business and commercial establishments, shops and trade activities shall remain shut except all standalone grocery and stationary shops, which would be allowed to operate in between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m," the order said. The Chief Secretary said that due to the extensive testing, isolation of people and other restrictive measures, community spread of the coronavirus has been contained to some extent and is showing encouraging downward trend which necessitates further extension of prohibitory measures in order to contain the spread of the pandemic and avoid large scale spread of incidence of COVID-19. With a population of 11.20 lakh, northeast India's main commercial hub Guwahati is the headquarters of the Kamrup (Metro) district. Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while talking to the media on Saturday said that with the recovery of 10,426 patients out of the total of 15,536 patients, the recovery rate in Assam is around 67.11 per cent against the national average of 62.78 per cent. With 16 deaths in the past two days, the COVID-19 toll in Assam increased to 35. According to the health officials, of the total of 15,536 COVID-19 positive cases, the Kamrup (Metro) district out of the state's 33 districts, alone registered around 4,000 patients. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Everyone needs a hero, and my hero is a man named Carmi Rapport. I love the guy. He is a valued member of the Board of Trustees of Northeast Public Radio, the public radio network that I head. If there is ever a problem, Carmi is the guy you want in your corner. He is reasonable to a fault. He never goes off half-cocked, and because is a lawyers lawyer, he has the ability to keep his clients (I am not one) out of the kind of trouble that people can sometimes find themselves in. Every small town in America, like Hudson, New York and the surrounding Columbia County has THE lawyer. Oh, there are others, but anyone reading this knows exactly what I mean. For well over fifty years, Carmi was the go-to guy if you really needed help. Heres just one story that makes me wet around the eyes when I tell it (which is why I try not to tell it on the radio). I had another hero, a man named Aaron Mitrani. Aaron was a social worker who for years headed the Bronx House Emanuel Camps in Copake, New York. When Aaron was dying, he called me and asked for a favor. Since I would have done anything for him, I set my mind to helping him. It seemed that as a social worker, he didnt have a lot of money, but he had a house in Ancram in Columbia County. The will Aaron wrote with his first wife left the house to the offspring in the family. Aaron had remarried and upon his death, his wife would have been left with virtually no resources. So Aaron asked me to figure out how his second wife could get the house. Of course, not being a lawyer or even that smart, I called the one guy who you go to, Carmi Rapport. When I told Carmi what I needed, he said, Of course, and asked for Aarons address. When I told him, with some trepidation, that Aaron had very little money, Carmi said something like, Shut up. Thats why I cry. The next thing I know, Carmi went to Aarons and straightened the whole thing out. Thats Carmi and thats why, despite a whole crowd of hungry for-profit lawyers coming to Hudson, Carmi remained the best and most trusted attorney around. Thats also why he headed the boards of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, the hospital in Hudson, and countless other not-for-pay endeavors where he distinguished himself. At some point, Carmi decided that he wanted to leave the law firm that had his name on the door. I have no idea what prompted him to do it, but knowing Carmi, I am sure he had good reasons for leaving and asking that his name be taken off the door. Of course, I could guess that philosophical reasons got him to go. You know that the world is not filled with Carmi Rapports. He is now in his upper eighties. His grown children adore him and he is very proud of them and their accomplishments. So Carmis name is no longer on the door of the firm which he was responsible for starting. The reason this column is important, not only to honor a great man and his contributions but also because I am sure that everyone reading this will know someone who has made an indelible impression on their community and their lives. Integrity is the key. When it is time to move on, they will know it. My sense is that a higher power has an eye on Carmi and his wonderful wife, Lynn, and that every once in a while, a really good soul comes along and leaves us a lot richer. Right? The next three days will signal if Melbourne's tough coronavirus lockdowns are taking effect after another explosion of community transmissions. Metropolitan Melbourne went into a six week stay-at-home order on Wednesday night after Victoria recorded an alarming spike in coronavirus cases. Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the impact of the stage three lockdown on the spread of the virus should emerge in the coming days. 'With respect to stage three restrictions across metro Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, it's in the next three to five days that it should be having an effect,' he explained. Metropolitan Melbourne (Flinders Street Station pictured) and Mitchell Shire was plunged into a six-week stage three lockdown on Wednesday after an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton (pictured) said the impact of the lockdown on the spread of the virus would emerge in the next three to five days Victoria recorded 216 new coronavirus cases on Saturday and has a total of 1,249 active cases. Professor Sutton said there was no guarantee of seeing immediate results given the 'pressure of infection' in the community and on frontline healthcare workers. 'Those restrictions limit substantially the number of interactions in homes, socially, outside but there are people who need to go to work. 'And when you have a significant pressure of infection that we have with numbers now, we know there will be transmission because of the work people have to do. 'We can't be guaranteed that will turn around in three to five days,' he explained. Of the 216 new cases announced on Saturday, 180 are under investigation and only 30 have been linked to known outbreaks. Victoria Health have indicated that as many as 535 active coronavirus cases could have been acquired through community transmission. Professor Sutton said just having people stay home wouldn't be enough to slow the spread of coronavirus. Victoria recorded 1,249 active coronavirus cases (testing in Melbourne pictured) on Saturday and it is believed that as many as 535 cases were acquired through community transmission 'We need to work with the masks, the workplaces, make sure people are doing the right things in terms of excluding themselves and getting tested as part of that,' he said. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Saturday urged residents not to search for lockdown loopholes. 'What I'm asking Victorians to do is not to spend time trying to find ways to get around the rules but instead to follow them,' Mr Andrews said. The state currently has 49 cases of coronavirus in hospital, including 15 in intensive care. Around 20,000 to 25,000 Victorians are being tested daily and capacity in the state's pathology labs has increased to 25,000 tests a day. Interstate labs are also being used to test Victorian samples. The premier said he had accepted all offers of support from Prime Minister Scott Morrison. He said defence force staff have also been deployed at checkpoints and more are on their way. Lockdown residents in Metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire are only able to leave their homes for essential supplies, study, work and local exercise. ATO's assistant commissioner Karen Foat (pictured) has revealed the five simple mistakes Australians are making when lodging their tax returns Australians have been making five simple mistakes while lodging their tax returns which is slowing down the returns process. The beginning of the new financial year on July 1 saw the Australian Taxation Office's website crash as people rushed to file their returns. Within two days, the ATO received a whopping 230,000 tax return applications, however many of them were riddled with mistakes. ATO's assistant commissioner Karen Foat said it was simple errors which slowed down the returns process. 'A lot of people who have rushed in to lodge early have left out income out such as employment income, information from banks, bank interest, private health insurance and JobKeeper as an employee and Jobseeker,' she told Herald Sun. Australians are making five simple mistakes while lodging their tax returns which is slowing down the return process (stock) 'That information is generally ready by the end of July and we tell people who are lodging before then to make sure that information is in there.' She said Australians were also not updating their bank account details and were incorrectly using the 80 cents shortcut for employees working from home. 'This rate is all inclusive so if you are claiming that, you cannot claim any other working from home expenses,' Ms Foat said. It comes as the ATO extended the 80 cents shortcut for each hour worked from home from between March 1 to June 30 up until September. This option can be used by multiple people working in the same house. Workers can also opt for the other two calculating methods if they think this will earn them a bigger return, as long as there is proof of purchases. The top five tax lodgement mistakes: Leaving out income for 2019/20 financial year Not updating bank details on ATO website Incorrectly using the 80 cents per hour shortcut rule for working from home. Copying last years return despite circumstances changing. Claiming tea or coffee which they say was 100 per cent used for work when they were not. Source: Australian Tax Office Advertisement Under the actual expenses method, workers can claim costs which occurred due to working from home such as electricity and internet bills. With the fixed rate method, workers claim a deduction of 52 cents for each hour worked from home for additional running expenses such as a decline in value of furniture, electricity, gas, heating, cooling, and repairs. Ms Foat also noted that Australians were copying previous years' returns when they shouldn't due to changed circumstances. Some people were also claiming coffee or tea which they say was 100 per cent used for work when they were not. H & R Block's director of communications Mark Chapman requested that Australians wait to lodge their tax until they have all the necessary information ready. It comes after the ATO website crashed with cash-strapped Australians rushing to take out another $10,000 from their superannuation. The first $10,000 could be withdrawn during the 2019-20 financial year, and the same amount again during the 2020-21 financial year. More than 2.2 million approved applications have already withdrawn a combined total of $18.5 billion. Applications for accessing super early in the 2020-21 financial year are available via the MyGov website and close on September 24. H & R Block's director of communications Mark Chapman requested that Australians wait to lodge their tax until they have all the necessary information ready (stock) Customers signing in to lodge their tax or apply to access their super fund were met with a error message (pictured) after the site crashed due to high traffic Australians can only access their super if they're unemployed, are eligible to receive a job seeker payment, have been made redundant since January 1 or had their work hours reduced by at least 20 per cent. However, experts have urged young Australians to consider the consequences of pulling funds early after billions of dollars were wiped from accounts in recent months. A 35-year-old who withdraws $10,000 now will see a $19,411 reduction in their super when they retire at 67, according to the Money Smart calculator. Pushkar Banakar By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Chinese ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Friday said India and China should pursue a win-win cooperation instead of a zero-sum game. In a video message, the Chinese envoy focussed on five key points by which India-China relations could move forward. In his 18-minute-long message, Sun made reference to the centuries-old ties between the two nations and the agreements reached by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their informal summits. We need to seek convergence while putting aside differences and not impose ones will on the other. We should honour our commitment, walk the talk, and ensure implementation of the leaders consensus in letter and in spirit, Sun said. He urged both sides to hold timely strategic communication, manage differences through dialogue and not let them become disputes. Calling the sensitive and complicated border issue a leftover from history, the Chinese envoy said both sides needed to find a fair and reasonable solution through equal consultation and negotiation. Pending an ultimate settlement, we both agree to work together to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, he said. The conversation between the Special Representatives resulted in positive consensus on easing the current border situation and frontline troops are disengaging on the ground in accordance with the consensus reached by the Military Corps Commanders, he said. However, Sun said both sides can avoid any strategic miscalculation only by having a correct view of each others intentions with open and inclusive attitude. Lebanese ambassador to Nigeria, Houssam Diab, walked out on the House of Representatives committee members on Diaspora Affairs on Thursday, July 9, 2020. Mr Diab had gone to the National Assembly for a meeting called by the House of Representatives to discuss the maltreatment of Nigerians in Lebanon. The meeting was also said to have been called to discuss the detention of one Temitope Arowolo, whos being detained over the alleged attempted murder of her master. The ambassador, who according to reports, was expecting a closed-door meeting, met lawmakers with other government officials and journalists at the venue of the meeting. Irked by what he saw, Mr Diab got up and walked out on the lawmakers. Reacting, Chairman of the committee, Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, said she was shocked that the ambassador could walk out on them. According to The Punch, some members of the committee went after the ambassador and later called for a closed-door session, sending journalists, security men and aides out of the venue. Speaking after the meeting, she said: It was an informal meeting because the Ambassador was nice enough to join us at the meeting. There is no law that says he has to be here today but because he has an interest in the joint relationship between Nigeria and Lebanon. We have a lot of Nigerians in Lebanon and we have a lot of Lebanese in Nigeria. We have a relationship with Lebanon from the 50s so you can imagine how we have been. This meeting today has further reiterated that the Lebanese community and the Nigerian community always stand together to ensure that justice and respect for human lives is a priority, and we will work together to bring modern-day slavery to an end, he noted. She said the Lebanese government had agreed to release Arowolo and other Nigerians held in the country. Source: pulsenigeria.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 As Chinas relations with India plummet over the fatal clash on their disputed Himalayan border amid an unfolding cold war between Beijing and Washington, it seems natural to assume that India would edge closer to the United States in the strategic triangle. The deadliest border confrontation in more than 50 years has rekindled a debate about whether New Delhi should forge a formal alliance with Washington to counter China and how that might alter the China-India-US triangular dynamics and reshape the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific. India and the US are natural allies in the quest for a better future for the world, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee proclaimed in New York in 1998, in a bold departure from New Delhis non-aligned policy during the Cold War. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. Many observers in China also appear to believe that Washington has played an implicit role in the simmering China-India border tensions and that it will just be a matter of time before India jumps on the American bandwagon to confront Beijing. But more than two decades later, despite all the talk about their natural alliance, India has so far remained hesitant to choose sides in the US-China rivalry, or to fully embrace President Donald Trumps Indo-Pacific strategy and a proposed quadrilateral coalition with the US, Japan and Australia. Instead, India has been reluctant to enter into a military alliance with the US over fears of losing its strategic autonomy and becoming a subordinate ally because of the obvious power asymmetry between Washington and New Delhi, analysts say. But the first border skirmish fatalities since 1975 could become a turning point as the long-running border dispute over which the countries fought a war in 1962 remains the weakest link in India-China relations. The flare-ups in border tensions will reinforce the case for a stronger partnership between India and the US in the face of an assertive China and may force India to seriously reconsider its stance on Washingtons anti-China Indo-Pacific concept, said Pang Zhongying, an international affairs analyst at the Ocean University of China. Story continues Analysts caution that Indias burgeoning ties and close diplomatic and security alignment with the US in the past two decades have changed the triangular relations with China and the regional balance of power. While China has been put on the defensive in handing the Trump administration, Beijing is very much on the offensive in its periphery region to get as much leverage as possible, said Yun Sun, a senior fellow at the Stimson Centre in Washington. But Trumps Indo-Pacific strategy, which was introduced three years ago in a bid to build an alliance with India and other like-minded countries to curb Chinas rise, has turned the tide and pushed China to reassess Indias strategic importance and appease New Delhi. Had Washington not adopted the Indo-Pacific strategy and pursued alignment with India, the trajectory of Chinas policy towards India would have looked very different, Sun said. For China, the complex and testy relations with India are a challenging security dilemma and a political powder keg. Chinas strategic goal is to stabilise relations with India in order to prevent the US wooing it away and avoid a two-front war with the US and India, Sun said. Despite their shared democratic values, Indias relationship with the US is often described as one of estranged democracies from Indias independence in the late 1940 until the turn of the century, largely because of Indias neutrality during the Cold War and Washingtons alliance with Pakistan. It was not until the late 1990s that India began to move closer to the US, enhancing their defence and strategic partnership out of shared scepticism over Chinas growing diplomatic and economic influence in Asia and beyond. Analysts also noted that despite greater cooperation with the US, India has been alarmed by Trumps disdain of allies and diplomacy and has no interest in abandoning diverse partnerships with other countries, especially its security and defence cooperation with Russia. Under Indias Act East policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modis version of his predecessors Look East policy since the early 1990s, India has pursued close trade, political and military links with Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations. But according to Mohan Guruswamy, chairman of the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Alternatives think tank and a senior fellow at the United Service Institution in India, India has no intention of joining an anti-China coalition or being part of any military alliance against China. India sees the US-China rivalry as akin to a fight between elephants. When two big animals fight it is the grass and small beings who get trampled. We do not want any rocking of the boat, and see very little role for ourselves in this tussle, he said. Guruswamy noted that India-China relations were heavy with suspicions, and two other parties heavily impinged on them. One is Indias suspicions that China deliberately stokes Pakistani malevolence, and the US would always like to keep the India-China pot near boiling, he said. Former Indian national security adviser Shivshankar Menon also pointed out the limits of an alliance and cautioned the Modi government not to ally with Washington, citing the 73-day border stand-off three years ago. The Doklam crisis of 2017 is only the most recent example that shows that no one else is ready to deal with Indias greatest strategic challenge China. It saw a tepid reaction from the rest of the world, said Menon, a distinguished fellow at the Brookings India, in an article published in May. With the changing power equilibrium and alignment among the US, India, China and Pakistan in South Asia, the suspicion and embedded hostility between Beijing and New Delhi have deepened since the introduction of the Indo-Pacific Strategy despite the warming of China-India ties on the surface. A case in point was when Trump proposed last month to expand the Group of Seven industrial nations into a G11 to cover India along with Australia, South Korea and Russia. Beijing was infuriated that Modi was positive about the idea. The Chinese nationalist tabloid Global Times ran five editorials last month commenting on the border situation and bilateral ties, including four after the deadly clash on June 15. On June 17, the newspaper, which is controlled by the Communist Partys mouthpiece Peoples Daily, raised the question of whether an alliance with the US and Americas Indo-Pacific strategy would strategically enable Indias desired rise. These concepts dominated by the US implicitly target China, and Washington needs a country like India to spearhead attacks on China, it said. Purchase the 100+ page China Internet Report 2020 Pro Edition, brought to you by SCMP Research, and enjoy a 30% discount (original price US$400). The report 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 31 August 2020. To purchase, please click here. More from South China Morning Post: This article New Delhi still hesitates to take side in China-US rivalry despite deadly border clash first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. China's customs authority said on Friday it was suspending imports from three shrimp producers in Ecuador after detecting the novel coronavirus in recent shipments. It said samples taken from shipments from Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila SA, Empacreci SA and Empacadora Del Pacifico Sociedad Anonima Edpacif had produced six positive results. However, tests on the frozen shrimp and inner packaging were negative. The companies did not respond to requests for comment. The findings are the first positive results announced by Beijing since it began testing imported frozen ... Earlier this year, Google published a detailed report on a dangerous Android malware called Joker which the company has been tracking since the year 2017. It appears that the malware is again back on Google Play with a new mask. Check Point warns that this malware is one of the most sophisticated threats of its kind, and reported that Joker malware has made a comeback to the Google Play Store as a result of a small change in its code which enabled it to get past by the security protections of Android. It has also been reported that Google has removed 11 malicious apps from the its Play Store (under various categories) that have been hosting the malicious malware. If you've any of these apps installed on your device be sure to remove them as soon as possible:com.cheery.message.sendsmscom.imagecompress.androidcom.hmvoice.friendsmscom.relax.relaxation.androidsmscom.cheery.message.sendsmscom.contact.withme.textscom.peason.lovinglovemessagecom.file.recovefilescom.LPlocker.lockappscom.remindme.alramcom.training.memorygameBack in February of this year, Joker infected over 300,000 devices just a month after Google removed nearly 1,700 malicious apps from the Play Store. Joker subscribes the victim to fraudulent services or dials, and texts premium numbers. Users need to track down and cancel those services even after uninstalling the malicious applications.According to Check Point, Joker has discovered a new place to hide to bypass the security protection of the Google Play Store. Aviran Hazum of Check Point explained that Joker now hides in the manifest file of the infected application. The actor pushed encoded malware payload into metadata fields in the file. It is decoded and loaded when it is on the device of the victim. Joker is now hiding its malicious dex file in the application as Base64 encoded strings.Every time Joker is caught, Google adds the samples and methods to its watch list which is used to screen Play Store applications for threats. The core functionality of Joker remains the same, but its methods keep changing every time. Although malicious applications are removed from Play Store, Check Point warns that there may be other malicious apps on Google Play Store.You will not know that your device has been infected, and you will need to keep an eye out for strange billing services that you have not subscribed to. Check Point explained that the malware detects the region where the victim is located, and then determines relevant premium services that can be accessed from that location. Joker registers the victims mobile number to the premium service, awaiting verification through SMS. It then reads the code and inserts that code to the verification page for that premium service as it has SMS permissions.Joker also deletes the messages so the victim will not be alerted. Thats how the victim subscribes to a new service without even knowing that they have subscribed to a new premium service.Read next: A dware that can't be deleted without damaging the host system found in numerous Android Devices! The Victorian government has rejected help from the army for a second time as call centre workers from private companies have been enlisted to help with contact tracing. Daniel Andrews refused several offers from Defence Force to use troops to help boost numbers for Victoria's contact tracing program. There are claims some of the more than 5,000 close contacts of the state's 1,172 active coronavirus cases have not been contacted daily as required. In other cases, it has taken days for people to be told they have potentially been infected, the Herald Sun reported. ADF personnel are seen working at a COVID-19 testing centre in Melbourne (pictured on July 2) The department contacted private companies on Friday afternoon to help with contact tracing instead of the ADF (pictured, ADF staff giving out coronavirus tests in Melbourne) But instead of allowing ADF personnel to assist, the Victorian government turned to the private sector and enlisted the help of call centre workers. Officials called Medibank, Telstra and the big banks on Friday afternoon to provide call centre workers to assist them instead. This latest snub comes after Mr Andrews rejected an offer from 800 defence members to help run the state's troubled hotel quarantine system, enlisting stood down Qantas staff instead. But on Saturday, Mr Andrews denied that the ADF had offered to help at call centres, and claimed they wouldn't have the appropriate skills. 'The private sector has been part of our response and will continue to be,' he said. 'It is not accurate to say that there have been requests made to the ADF or offers made by them in relation to these specific skills. 'I want to be crystal clear - the ADF are on the ground in unprecedented numbers, doing a fantastic job. Each and every request I made of the Prime Minister, the answer has been "yes". 'There's been no sense that they would necessarily have the right skills to do that. This is a call centre job. 'I don't want to get into to any sort of sense of blame or any of that. That's not relevant here. If I need something, I ring the Prime Minister, the answer is yes.' This latest snub comes after Victoria rejected an offer of 800 defence members to help run the state's troubled hotel quarantine (pictured, guests in masks at the Stamford Hotel in Melbourne on June 25) A member of the Australian Defence Force carries a batch of swab samples at a drive-through COVID-19 coronavirus testing station in the Melbourne (pictured July 2) An estimated 120 staff members from the National Australia Bank have already been enlisted to help call close contacts over the weekend. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement The Commonwealth Bank and Medibank have not confirmed they will take up the offer as they may be limited in the amount of staff they can provide. The two banks are considering other ways they could help. Telstra told the department they were unable to provide call centre workers to assist with the state's contact tracing initiative. The Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt reminded the Victoria government the Defence Force is ready to be deployed and help curb the spread of coronavirus. 'The ADF is capable and it's I think a potentially important addition to assist with that contact tracing where the standard has to be every case, every day,' Mr Hunt said. A state government spokesperson said: 'We continue to explore new ways to further expand our massive public health team, as we all work together to slow the spread.' 'The national guidelines for public health units managing contact tracing are very clear about the daily monitoring of those infected and the people close to them. 'Where feasible to do so, PHU should conduct active daily monitoring of close contacts for symptoms for 14 days after the last possible contact with a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case,' the guidelines state. 'Symptom screening should be conducted daily, for the negative (quarantined) cohort.' The Department of Premier and Cabinet have been contacted in regards to claims these guidelines are not being followed by call centre staff. A cleaner wipes down a rail outside the usually bustling Flinders Street station in Melbourne (pictured on July 10) Police and medical workers stand outside an entrance to a public housing estate which is undergoing a forced lockdown in Melbourne (pictured July 10) Corrections Victoria has taken over the management of hotel quarantine for returned travellers after private security guards allegedly breached protocols, contributing to the state's latest coronavirus outbreak. Support workers will be required to ensure social distancing measures and good hygiene practises are being adhered to at all times. Mr Andrews said thanked other governments for their support but said 'if we need more, I'll certainly ask for more.' The Victorian government came under fire over the program after it was hit with infection protocol breaches while hosting returned travellers. Instead of preventing the spread of the virus, the program was found to be central to the rise of the state's COVID-19 case numbers. Poonch: An army soldier and a woman were killed on Monday when Pakistani troops targeted Indian posts and villages using small arms and mortar shells along the Line of Control (LoC) in the twin frontier districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir. Ceasefire violations in Rajouri sector are being retaliated with massive fire assault. One army soldier was martyred, a spokesman of the Armys Northern Command said. Two women have also been injured, one of them seriously, in the firing in Poonch sector. Two women have been injured. One of them seriously and has been shifted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC) Jammu, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Poonch J S Johar said. Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by firing on Indian positions and villages in the twin border districts since early this morning. ALSO READ: (Maharashtra: Thousands bid tearful adieu to martyr BSF jawan Nitin Subhash Koli) Pakistani troops indulged in unprovoked ceasefire violation from 9 AM in the Balakot sector using 120 mm and 82 mm mortars, automatic and small arms, an army officer said. He said the troops were responding to the firing appropriately and befittingly. Pakistani Army fired and shelled the forward posts and civilian areas along the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district. They also violated ceasefire in several areas of Rajouri district this afternoon, the officer said. ALSO READ: (Encounter in Drugmulla, J&K: Fierce exchange of fire between security forces and millitants) There was firing and mortar bomb shelling in Mankot and Balakote areas along the LoC. A lull had prevailed along the International Border (IB) since 9 PM yesterday after ceasefire violations by Pakistani Rangers. They had targeted BSF posts and civilian areas using small arms and mortar shells in continuous ceasefire violations along the IB in Samba, Kathua and Jammu districts, prompting BSF to retaliate. ALSO READ: (Pakistan army violates ceasefire in Rajouri-Poonch) There have been more that 60 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC and IB in the state since September 29 surgical strikes against terror launch pads by Indian Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Eleven people, including three civilians, and eight security personnel were killed and over 40 people, mostly civilians were injured in the incidents. There were no reports of any firing last night in the RS Pura sector. Firing took place at one area in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district before 2000 hours, Deputy Inspector General of BSF (Jammu frontier) Dharmendra Pareek said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. On July 3, Sha-asia Washington died after giving birth at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn, making her one of several Black women in New York City whose deaths this year have been attributed to childbirth complications. On Thursday, protesters gathered outside of the Woodhull Hospital to draw attention to Washingtons death, which has sparked renewed outrage over the racial disparities in maternal health care in the city. An online petition was also launched shortly after Washington died, demanding that the state to require hospitals to report detailed accounts of maternal deaths and injuries and stillbirths as well as the racial breakdown of these patients. NYC Health + Hospitals, the public health system which manages Woodhull Hospital, expressed condolences for the unspeakable pain caused by Washingtons death while acknowledging the underlying racial disparities. While all maternal mortality is tragic, we are too well aware that pregnant women of color die at much higher rates, and we are particularly disheartened when such a death occurs on our watch, no matter the cause, Health + Hospitals said in a statement on Thursday. We are committed to addressing this unacceptable disparity and continue in our steadfast pursuit to expand access to care, eliminate race-based health care gaps and prevent such tragedies. Black women are eight times more likely to die from childbirth complications than white women in the city, according to city statistics, which is higher than the national breakdown. Theres no reason America should have the statistics of a third world country when it comes to black and brown birthing bodies, Tracie Collins, CEO and founder of National Black Doulas Association, told Rolling Stone this month. Theres just no reason for that. However, maternal health care isnt the only example of major discrepancies when it comes to race and medical care in the city. During the height of the citys COVID-19 outbreak in April, Black and Latino residents were dying at twice the rate of white and Asian residents. Enslaved Black people had frequently been used for medical experiments in the U.S., especially women, as it was a common belief that they experienced less pain than white people do. As far back as the 1800s. Dr. J. Marion Sims, considered the father of modern gynecology,performed experiments on enslaved black women without their consent and without using anesthesia. Sims had a statue in his honor in East Harlem up until 2018, when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had it removed. The National Association for Advancement of Colored People brought attention to medical racism, not just in the city but in the country, when it called for an investigation of the Harlem Hospital, in 1913. However, it wasnt until 1922 that the NAACP managed to get then-New York City Mayor James Hylan to commission an investigation into the hospital. The report found gruesome examples of the mistreatment of primarily African American patients, including the account of a mother who found maggots in the open wounds of her 11-year-old son, who died while at the hospital. The NAACP hoped the report would spur the hiring of more diverse doctors who would not neglect its patients and recommended that the hospital hire more Black physicians. However, this did not fix the underlying issue, such as the racist ideologies, including the notion that Black people have less sensitive nervous systems and that expectant Black mothers are less prudent about their health, that dictate how Black patients should be treated. Other racist beliefs about Black health have continued to permeate throughout the nations medical communities. As recently as 2016, a survey found that half of white respondents that were attending medical school held false beliefs about the biological differences among Black and white patients, such as the notion that Black people have thicker skin than white people. In 2015, Dr. Mary T. Bassett, then New York Citys health commissioner, acknowledged that medical racism and the inequalities that often face Black patients is a major issue and one that needs to properly be contended with. Physicians, nurses, and public health professionals witness such inequities daily: certain groups consistently have much higher rates of premature, preventable death and poorer health throughout their lives, Bassett wrote in The New England Journal of Medicine. Yet even as research on health disparities has helped to document persistent gaps in morbidity and mortality between racial and ethnic groups, there is often a reluctance to address the role of racism in driving these gaps. Bassett suggested that without having an ongoing public dialogue that confronts the undercurrents of racism within medicine, it will be difficult for things to change. The US state of California will release up to 8,000 prisoners to slow the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported referring to local authorities. Spike in COVID-19 cases has been reported in several state prisons, and the state corrections department announced the release of prisoners by the end of August. The release of prisoners is the states largest move to ease prisons and reduce the risks of transferring COVID-19 by freeing up space for social distancing and quarantine. These actions are taken to provide for the health and safety of the incarcerated population and staff, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Ralph Diaz noted. Prisoners who have to be imprisoned for a year or less are subject to release. Persons who have committed serious crimes and crimes of a sexual nature are not subject to release. California Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday 2,400 people in 35 state prisons had tested positive for COVID-19. By Trend European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will allocate a loan for Turkmenistans Ak-hunji company, the representative of EBRD Anton Usov told Trend. Ak-hunji company is engaged in production of building materials in Turkmenistan. Thus, the country's construction sector will receive a timely inflow of funds. "The loan will be allocated to the mentioned company at the end of July," Usov said, without mentioning the amount of the loan. The report dismissed previous news that EBRD has already provided a loan to Ak-hunji company, as reported by Business Turkmenistan news portal. "The loan amount is $1.8 million. An individual enterprise will be able to improve the quality and durability of its products, as well as increase its export abroad," the report had said. Launched in 2009, Ak-hunji operates using modern and safe raw materials from the Republic of Korea, China and Hungary. Ak-hunji company produces 60 types of decorative profiles and ceiling panels as well as 200 types of architectural elements for building facades. An important share of the company's products accounts for sandwich panels. Anton Usov added that EBRD may provide similar loans to Turkmen companies if the right opportunities emerge. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development pays special attention to expanding private sector activities in Turkmenistans corporate and financial sectors. To date, the bank has implemented over 70 projects in the country. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The number is staggering; one in five Americans who live in rentals face eviction by the end of September. While unemployment applications continue to rise and both the daily infection rate and numbers of death are climbing towards new record highs. The Republicans in Congress and the Senate up for re-election are in the process of committing political suicide by allowing unemployment assistance, and other coronavirus relief benefits expire, according to an analysis by the Aspen Institute. The Aspen Institute estimates over 20 million people roughly 20% of the 110 million Americans living in rented domiciles could face homelessness by September 30th, 2020, according to data from the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project. Former Democratic presidential candidate and HUD Secretary Julian Castro said in an interview with Salon about this housing Armageddon Were going to face the biggest homelessness crisis that this country has faced in decades, probably since the Great Depression. Weve never seen anything like that in our lifetime Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump its not surprising that theyre so disconnected from the lives of everyday people. Thats what people are thinking about. Thats what theyre worrying about. How am I going to pay the rent? According to Salon.com The federal government and many state and local governments have issued partial emergency eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, though these vary in degrees of protection and are set to expire in the coming weeks. More than 20 states, including hard-hit Texas and South Carolina, have already allowed eviction proceedings to resume and only about a dozen states will have any eviction protections by the end of the summer unless further action is taken. The federal moratorium, which was implemented under the CARES Act, is set to expire on July 25, after which renters will get 30 days notice of eviction proceedings. These moratoriums paused evictions but provided no rent relief, meaning that renters unable to pay during the pandemic will be on the hook for months of back rent once they expire. Vincent Reina, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies housing policy. Though its impossible to predict precisely how many people will be affected The number is just insanely massive, I really wonder what is the number that makes people convinced enough that this is actually a topic worth interveningWithout a multi-pronged meaningful response, what youre going to see is increased levels of eviction, increased levels of housing instability, increased levels of homelessness that have larger ramifications. A combination of 100,000 infections, 2,000 deaths, and evictions surging over 20 million, with some estimates of 28 million evictions into the November 3rd election, could wipe out the Republican party from the local, state, and national levels all at once. With this crisis housing Armageddon looming, many Democrats are urging Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership in Congress to pass a new stimulus bill that gives Americans $2,400 a month per member of the family each month through December 31, 2020. This would be carried out under the same broad qualifying basis afforded in the first bailout. Also, Democrats want to extend the same $600 surplus added to unemployment benefits, do another PPP round to businesses and pass a 700,000 million infrastructure bill. There are stiff objections by the GOP controlled Senate and President Trump to a approve generous second bailout that would also provide hundreds of millions to state and local governments. McConnell is proposing a bailout that excludes 150 million middle-income citizens by placing an income ceiling at $40,000 to participate in the program. If the House passes all the above and the Republican Senate takes no action or offers a package thats a fraction of what was passed in the House, they literally could face a political loss of historic proportions. The President and Washington Republican lawmakers are focusing on the stock market; its a political blind spot that is keeping them from realizing by the time theres housing Armageddon, it will be too late to prevent. More than 20 million Americans may be evicted by September North Korea Sends 30 Pyongyang Families of Missing Overseas Workers Into Internal Exile 2020-07-10 -- North Korea has banished 30 Pyongyang families to rural mountainous areas because their immediate family members working overseas went missing and are suspected to have fled to South Korea or other countries, sources in the North told RFA. The families who were sent into internal exile were mostly the families of workers North Korea sent to Russia to earn foreign currency for the government, large numbers of whom stayed in Russia despite U.N. nuclear sanctions that required them to return home at the end of 2019. "In June, 30 families from Pyongyang were sent into internal exile," a senior official from the capital told RFA's Korean Service. "Most are families of workers dispatched to Russia. The authorities just kicked them out of the city without informing them of whether or not their husbands or sons are even alive after the overseas workers went missing," the source said. North Korea routinely punishes people for crimes committed by their family members as a way to keep people in line. Internal exile, however, is usually reserved for the families of serious criminals imprisoned within the country, but appears to be increasingly used to punish the families of defectors and refugees. According to the Pyongyang source, the abrupt banishment goes against precedent in revoking the right to live in the capital, considered such a privilege that a Pyongyang residential permit is a symbol of elite status. Residents of the capital of 2.87 million people can enjoy modern conveniences unavailable in the countryside. The expulsions come amid a government campaign to discredit North Korean exiles, after groups based in South Korea sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets on balloons. Authorities have recently started branding North Koreans who have overstayed their visas to work in China as traitorous "defectors" after long looking the other way because they send money back to the North. "In the past, when Pyongyang citizens were sent to internal exile, the authorities always notified them of the area [they would be sent to] and the date of exile in advance, but the families exiled in June left without knowing why they were being banished or where they would be sent," the source said, adding that they were moved to the mountains in North and South Hwanghae provinces. Demotion to the undeveloped rural areas of the country is a disgrace, and the government sent the families of the missing overseas workers away even though it is unclear why they went missing. The source said that in the past, disgraced citizens were internally exiled to areas north of Pyongyang, but these days they are sent south of the city. "If they are sent to the mountainous area north of Pyongyang, they are likely to try to escape North Korea through the Sino-Korean border to reconnect with their missing family members," the source said. "Whenever the situation either at home or abroad is difficult, the authorities try to tighten internal discipline by controlling and censoring residents. At the large meeting of the Political Bureau held on June 7, the Highest Dignity mentioned how Pyongyang citizens enjoy lives of convenience," said the source, using an honorific term to refer to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Another source, a resident of South Hwanghae province who requested anonymity to speak freely, told RFA Tuesday that four families had been banished to remote villages there. "[They] were moved down to Ryongwol village and Changgom village. All of them are families of workers sent abroad. They were sent into internal exile because the head of their family went missing overseas," the second source. The two tiny villages are situated in rural Sinwon county, which had a total population of about 83,000 as of the 2008 North Korean census. "We know that there are several families who have been kicked out from Pyongyang who were placed in Chaeryong county here in South Hwanghae and Sinkye county, North Hwanghae," the second source said, adding that upon arrival the families had no place to live. "They are temporarily staying in the propaganda office of the work group they have been assigned to," the second source said. "Usually when people from the city voluntarily move to the rural areas, authorities are keen to try to help resolve any of their difficulties. The party committee of their villages conducts home visits and interviews," the second source said. But those forcibly sent out into rural areas do not receive the same courtesy. "Local officials pay no attention to the people that were sent into internal exile. They just push them to show up for farm work starting the very next day after they are exiled," said the second source. A North Korean refugee who asked to be identified only by his surname Lee, settled in South Korea after being sent to Russia to work as a lumberjack. Lee told RFA, "Dozens of North Korean workers who were selected to earn foreign currency in Russia leave their workplaces every year and go into hiding. Most of them are still in Russia, trying to find a way to go to South Korea or a third country." Most of the workers North Korea sends abroad work long hours in the construction or hospitality industries in China and Russia. They typically keep only a small fraction of what they earn, forwarding about 90 percent of what they earn to the North Korean government, sources familiar with labor exports have told RFA. Sanctions enacted by the U.S. and UN, intended to deprive Pyongyang of cash and resources that could be funneled into its nuclear and missile programs mandated that all North Korean workers were supposed to have returned home by the end of 2019. Several RFA reports showed that Pyongyang was ignoring the sanctions by sending workers abroad after the deadline because the government desperately needs funds to keep the country afloat. RFA was unable to independently confirm that the 30 families were officially exiled. Reported by Sewon Kim for RFA's Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Copyright 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content July not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A man in Madhya Pradesh married the girl of his dreams and a woman of his parents choice at the same time. Sandeep Uike, a resident of Madhya Pradesh's Betul, solemnised the marriage with two women at a ceremony in Keria village. IANS The wedding ceremony took place in the presence of villagers and family members about 40 km from Betul district headquarters on July 8. Also Read: This Pune Auto Driver Is Using Rs 2 Lakh Saved For His Wedding To Feed Hungry Migrant Workers According to IANS, Uike, a tribal youth of Keria village is now married to two women, one from Hoshangabad district and another from Koyalari village of Ghodadongri block. Image For Representation/Reuters Uike came in contact with a woman from Hoshangabad when he was studying in Bhopal. As the courtship with his girlfriend was going on, his family decided to marry him to a girl of their choice from Koyalari village. Also Read: After Triple Talaq, Government Set To Oppose Nikah Halala And Polygamy In Supreme Court This led to a dispute and to resolve this a meeting of the Panchayat was convened by the three families. It was decided that if both women are ready to live together with Uike, then both of them should be married to him. Image For Representation/Reuters The girls agreed to this and those who attended the ceremony included the village folk along with the families of bridegroom and both the brides. Mishrilal Parate, vice-president of Janpad Panchayat Ghodadongri and a witness to the event, said that the three families had no objection. However, permission for organising the wedding amid the pandemic was not taken by the family and the district administration is investigating the matter. Also Read : COVID-19 Super Spreader Wedding: Groom Dies, 100 Guests Positive. How Irresponsible Can We Be? CALGARY - Shaw Communications Inc.s third-quarter revenue and profit were down from the same time last year due to COVID-19s impact, but the cable and wireless company still beat expectations Friday. Net income for the three months ended May 31 fell 18.9 per cent from the same time last year to $184 million or 35 cents per share. Revenue slipped 0.8 per cent to $1.31 billion. But analysts had estimated just $152 million of profit and $1.26 billion of revenue according to Refinitiv, a financial data company. Overall, we delivered Q3 results that were ahead of our expectations, chief executive Brad Shaw told analysts in a conference call. That having been said, COVID and its related challenges will be a part of our story for the foreseeable future. The company noted that, besides the pandemic, its customers have been affected by low commodity prices that have weighed heavily on its home province of Alberta. Shaw said that 90 per cent of its Freedom stores were closed during the quarter due to COVID-19 lockdowns, affecting its ability to add subscribers and sell equipment such as smartphones. Its Freedom Mobile wireless business added about 2,200 postpaid customers but lost 7,700 pre-paid subscribers. Its wireline business lost 5,100 internet subscribers and 22,000 video customers. On the other hand, Freedoms churn rate which measures how many customers leave was a company record low of 0.96 per cent. At Shaws business services unit, revenue was similar to last year at $140 million, although it was down 2.8 per cent compared with the second quarter that ended in February.. Shaw Business primarily serves the small- and medium-sized market, and many of those customers temporarily suspended, cancelled or reduced their accounts due to pandemic closures. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2020. Companies in this story: (TSX:SJR.B) Activists take down a statue of Father Junipero Serra at Father Serra Park in Los Angeles on June 20. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Julie Tumamait-Stenslie scoffs when she hears defenders of the Father Junipero Serra statue in Ventura say it honors the citys founder. She is tribal chair of the Barbareno/Ventureno Band of Mission Indians (Chumash), whose ancestors lived for generations on the Channel Islands off the Santa Barbara-Ventura coast. There were cities on this land for thousands and thousands of years with social, political and religious customs, Tumamait-Stenslie says. Today you drive on our pathways, our trading networks. Weve been in Ventura for thousands of years. And when Serra defenders say the 18th century Franciscan friar, who founded the California mission system during Spanish rule, protected and cared for Indigenous people, she replies: He did that because we were the free work force, the slave labor for the missions. Of course he was going to protect us. What else would he do? Go out and actually pay somebody to do the work? He had free slave labor. Native Americans who tried to escape the missions were tracked down and often beaten. Many died of disease spread by the European invaders. Ninety percent of our people were gone by the end of the mission period, the tribal chair says. They died. Historians basically agree with her depiction of mission life for Indians. The late Kevin Starr, a state librarian and professor who produced several volumes on California history, wrote in his book California that the mission system was a violent intrusion into the culture and human rights of Indigenous people." They were being forced from their homelands, brought into the mission system frequently against their will and treated as children. As children, they could be beaten when they proved recalcitrant or ran away from the mission, as they frequently did, and were recaptured. Many died of shock at their displacement or of Spanish diseases. The sexual exploitation of Native American females by Spanish soldiers and other men in the colony was especially devastating as a matter of both personal violation and venereal disease. Story continues But theres much more to blame for the genocide of California Indians than Serra, Spanish soldiers or Christopher Columbus, who began the decimation of Native Americans in 1492. In 1851, Californias first elected governor, Peter Burnett, declared in his State of the State address: That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the two races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected. In the 1850s, the state Legislature appropriated $1.29 million to wage militia war against Native Americans. Some of that money was used to pay bounties for body parts 25 cents per scalp, up to $5 for a whole head. Californias indigenous population exceeded 200,000 in 1800 but plummeted to about 15,000 by 1900. Its called genocide, Gov. Gavin Newsom said last year at a ceremony with tribal leaders as he formally apologized for the state. No other way to describe it, and thats the way it needs to be described in the history books. California Indians always had a legitimate grievance against Serra, but their voices stayed relatively muted until Pope Francis elevated the friar to sainthood in 2015. Then the vandalism and toppling of statues began. When the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis policeman set off nationwide Black Lives Matter protests against racism, it rekindled anger over the mistreatment of Native Americans. Indigenous activists tore down a Serra statue in Father Serra Park in downtown Los Angeles. Protesters in San Francisco toppled a Serra statue in Golden Gate Park. Last weekend, demonstrators overturned a Serra statue in Sacramentos Capitol Park. And in Ventura, trying to protect the communitys Sierra statue from being spray-painted or ripped down, a coalition announced its intention to remove the monument from its prominent hillside location in front of City Hall overlooking downtown. Tumamait-Stenslie, who lives in Ojai, says the statue symbolizes the taking away of our livelihoods, our religion, our land the genocide that changed us forever. People say burn down the statue, she continues, but thats not what we want. We dont want it vandalized. We just want it removed from a public place. She, Ventura Mayor Matt LaVere and Father Tom Elewaut of the nearby Mission San Buenaventura, would like it to be transferred to the mission that Serra founded. The tribe, church and city have had positive discussions and weve asked the rest of the community to speak up and voice their opinion, LaVere says. Youve got to include the community in decisions like this. Hear that, governor and legislative leaders. Unlike you, Ventura is doing it in a more inclusive way. Prodded by Newsom, state Senate leader Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) and Assembly Rules Committee Chairman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) issued a brief statement announcing that a 137-year-old statue of Columbus and Spanish Queen Isabella would be removed from its centerpiece position in the Capitol rotunda. No public discussion by legislators, let alone the public. Christopher Columbus is a deeply polarizing historical figure given the deadly impact his arrival in this hemisphere had on indigenous populations, the statement read. The continued presence of this statue in Californias Capitol is completely out of place today. It will be removed. Several Senate Republicans protested. If the statue is a problem, why cant we have a conversation about it? asks Senate GOP Caucus Chairman Brian Jones of Santee. There should be a process for deciding these things. There is. Ventura is using it. A public discussion of removing such memorials might also allow for education about an ugly history that many still dont fully understand. My family was brought to the San Fernando mission in 1799, Tataviam/Chumash elder Alan Salazar told my colleague Carolina A. Miranda when he and others pulled down a Serra statue on Olvera Street. So when I talk about Native people who lost their culture, their language and their lives and were worked like slaves at the missions Im talking about my great-great-great-great-grandparents. Many of us are wrestling with this whole issue. For all the terror and misery Serra and Columbus brought, they are undeniably important figures in human history. One thing is clear: Society is now reappraising their legacies with clearer eyes, and we dont like what we see. Ishi, the last known member of the Yahi tribe (UC Berkeley) Here is one way of honoring California history: Their places of honor should be taken by important California Indians. My nomination: Ishi of the Yahi tribe, believed to be the last or one of the last surviving Native Americans to emerge from the California wild. The Times has reported the Yahi were virtually annihilated in a series of massacres described by anthropologists as the fiercest and most uncompromising resistance met by Indians on the West Coast. In 1911, Ishi came out from hiding, assuming he too would be killed by the white man. The University of California Anthropology Museum took him in, studying the Stone Age survivor, working him as a janitor and using him as a museum attraction as he chipped arrowheads and shaped bows. More recent reports document his mistreatment at Berkeley. He died in 1916 of tuberculosis. Ishi should be sculpted and honored in Californias Capitol. - Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang'ula were accompanied by a host of Luhya MPs to the 2022 consultative meeting - The function which attracted elders and religious leaders was convened at the home of MP Amboko Milemba - The two leaders were later on presented with symbolic walking sticks as a show that the Mulembe nation entrusted them with leadership The search for the ever elusive Luhya unity ahead of the 2022 equation is still on with the Mulembe leaders burning midnight oil to find the middle ground. Aware that the disunity and presence of numerous political parties in the region will pose a great challenge in quest for a united front, the community sought to reconcile its leaders. READ ALSO: Miguna Miguna: Photo of exiled lawyer looking worn out worries netizens Musalia Mudavadi and Wetang'ula (right) kneeling down for prayers over 2022 presidency. The two leaders are fierce rivals. Photo: TUKO.co.ke. Source: Original READ ALSO: Ex Ruto ally Cate Waruguru goes on her knees to rally Laikipia youths behind Uhuru, Raila On Saturday, July 11, a highly powered delegation of area leaders many of drawn from Amani National Congress (ANC) and Ford Kenya parties converged in Vihiga to chart their destiny. The meeting that went on for the better part of the day, was graced by ANC chief Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya colleague Moses Wetang'ula. READ ALSO: Coronavirus update: Kenya's COVID-19 count hits 9,726 as 278 test positive Musalia Mudavadi and Wetang'ula (centre) admire walking sticks they received during the meeting. Photo: TUKO.co.ke. Source: Original READ ALSO: Liverpool 1-1 Burnley: Reds drop first points at Anfield in one and a half years TUKO.co.ke gathered that the duo arrived together at the home of Emuhaya MP Amboko Milemba and were accompanied by several legislators from the region for the consultative meeting purposely to cement their presidential bids. During the function that attracted attention of the area residents, and church leaders, Mudavadi and Wetang'ula were asked to step forward and hold hands together for prayers. They went down and their knees to seek divine intervention to solve the 2022 equation and perhaps end any bad blood between for a common goal. The two leaders were later on presented with symbolic walking sticks as a show that the Mulembe nation entrusted them with leadership and would send them into the battle field if need be. The two leaders recently held an early morning indoor meeting on Friday, January 10, to discuss what Musalia's press team said touched on national and Western Kenya politics. "Party leader Hon. Musalaia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya party counterpart Senator Moses Wetang'ula held discussions today on various matters of national importance and western region in particular,"ANC stated. The pair had in the past skipped functions convened by COTU trade boss Francis Atwoli to discuss the future of Luhya on the national table. Atwoli had in the past challenged Wetangula and Mudavadi to fold up their parties for a one formidable outfit. 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. Babu Owino asks Kenyans not to put pressure on DJ Evolve while he is still recovering| Tuko TV. Source: TUKO.co.ke A group of men in the city of Bayonne, France attacked a local bus driver after they were asked to wear masks. According to a report from the Guardian, Philippe Monguillot, the 59-year-old bus driver, later died after being declared brain dead. The attack took place on Sunday, after Monguillot refused to let a group of people on the bus because they were not wearing face masks. In France, masks are mandatory on public transportation as the coronavirus pandemic continues. The four men, three of whom were not wearing masks, then attacked Monguillot before fleeing to one of the mens apartments. Following the attack, Monguillot was pronounced brain dead on Tuesday and later died on Friday. French prosecutors have now charged two of the men with attempted murder. The other two men were charged with non-assistance to a person in danger and one was charged with attempting to hide a suspect, according to the Guardian. Related: France buses, trams return to service with social distancing measures There were insults and then shoving. The bus driver was pushed out of the bus. Two individuals then violently kicked and punched the upper part of his body, including his head, assistant prosecutor Marc Mariee said during a press conference. Monguillots death prompted outrage in the community, as he left behind his wife and three children. On Wednesday, his family, other bus drivers, and protesters marched from the bus stop where the attack took place in his honor. "I will fight to the end, I have strength in me, I have almost no more tears," his wife Veronique said during the march. "I'm angry and I'm going to go. I am not afraid, justice is with me. The justice will help me to avenge my husband." Related Articles Story continues More Complex Sign up for the Complex Newsletter for breaking news, events, and unique stories. Follow Complex on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok The Board results, having been delayed, are likely to be uploaded online before July 15th. Know where to see them and also, how you can obtain your migration certificate. After the Board exam results are released, migration certificates are provided to the students. These migration certificates are given to the students who sat for the Board examinations. These certificates allow the students to continue their studies elsewhere. Central Board of Secondary Education, or CBSE, is anticipated to upload the Class 10 and Class 12 Board Exams 2020 results shortly. The results can be checked from the official website of the CBSE here or the result portal here. Candidates who failed in the exams or appeared for improvement/additional subject cannot apply for migration certificate. The Digital Migration Certificate of CBSE exams can be obtained from DigiLocker. DigiLocker is an enterprise by the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) created under the Digital India programme that works towards the digitalisation of citizens by providing access to digital documents straight onto the citizens digital handset. It associated with CBSE to provide certificates digitally in 2019. CBSE also provides the results on DigiLocker. Students need to sign up on DigiLocker with their Aadhaar Card number. They may log in to their account using their username or mobile number or Aadhaar Card number. Also read: After CBSE, NEET and JEE to reduce syllabus? Also read: Delhi govt cancels all forthcoming state university exams: Manish Sisodia This year, the date when the CBSE results would be released has been pushed back due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Board was unable to conduct examinations for many subjects. It was decided not long ago to upload the results according to the scores obtained in the exams already held and conduct the rest later. The class 10th and 12th Board results will probably be released before July 15th. Also read: HRD minister defends UGCs decision to conduct final-year university exams For all the latest Education and Jobs News, download NewsX App Mumbai Police often takes Twitter, to share different kinds of posts. From creatively sharing essential messages to applauding their brave officials, their tweets never fail to strike a chord with people. Case in point is their latest post involving a bird. While patrolling in the Kurla Mobile 5 Van, HC Surve & PC Raut came across an injured eagle on LBS Road, the department tweeted. Then they added that immediately the cops called Mangal Vardhini Bird Ambulance and handed it over to a doctor. They ended the tweet with a note of hope and wrote, May the bird recover and adorn the skyline of Mumbai soon. The department also shared an image showcasing the two police officials and the doctor holding the bird. A caption on the image further reads, Have a safe flight soon. While patroling in the Kurla Mobile 5 Van, HC Surve & PC Raut came across an injured eagle on LBS Road. They immediately called for Mangal Vardani Bird Ambulance & handed it over to Dr. Satam. May the bird recover and adorn the skyline of Mumbai soon.#CaringForAll pic.twitter.com/SGfl8B7hHT Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) July 10, 2020 Since being shared a day ago, the post has received over 554 likes. People couldnt stop praising the department for caring for everyone. Kudos to Mumbai police for showing concern not only for Mumbaikars but birds too, wrote a Twitter user. Hats off to Mumbai Police, praised another. Heres what others tweeted: Wow! The Monk (@newmon_k) July 10, 2020 There were a few who wrote that the bird in the picture is not an eagle but a kite: Sir, That is Kite bird, not an eagle. Anjali P (@AnjaliP05411914) July 10, 2020 It's a Kite, eagles aren't around Mumbai Advocating Bhakt (@BhaktAdvocating) July 10, 2020 What do you think of the post? Photo: The Canadian Press President Donald Trump wears a mask as he walks down the hallway during his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Saturday, July 11, 2020. President Donald Trump wore a mask during a visit to a military hospital on Saturday, the first time the president has been seen in public with the type of facial covering recommended by health officials as a precaution against spreading or becoming infected by the novel coronavirus. Trump flew by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Washington to meet wounded servicemembers and health care providers caring for COVID-19 patients. As he left the White House, he told reporters: When you're in a hospital, especially ... I think it's expected to wear a mask. Trump was wearing a mask in Walter Reed's hallway as he began his visit. He was not wearing one when he stepped off the helicopter at the facility. The president was a latecomer to wearing a mask during the pandemic, which has raged across the U.S. since March and infected more than 3.2 million and killed at least 134,000. Most prominent Republicans, including Vice-President Mike Pence, endorsed wearing masks as the coronavirus gained ground this summer. Trump, however, has declined to wear a mask at news conferences, coronavirus task force updates, rallies and other public events. People close to him have told The Associated Press that the president feared a mask would make him look weak and was concerned that it shifted focus to the public health crisis rather than the economic recovery. They spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private matters. While not wearing one himself, Trump has sent mixed signals about masks, acknowledging that they would be appropriate if worn in an indoor setting where people were close together. But he has accused reporters of wearing them to be politically correct and has retweeted messages making fun of Democrat Joe Biden for wearing a mask and implying that Biden looks weak. The wearing of masks became another political dividing line, with Republicans more resistant to wearing them than Democrats. Few masks were seen at recent Trump campaign events in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Phoenix and South Dakotas Mount Rushmore. The only time Trump has been known to wear a mask was during a private part of a tour of a Ford plant in Michigan. On its website, Walter Reed carries this recommendation: Whenever youre out in public, like at your local grocery store or pharmacy, where its difficult to maintain 6 feet of social distance, you should wear a cloth face covering. The facility also notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Brandon Petersen, dean of students and vice president of campus life Petersen Hired as Dean of Students and VP of Campus Life July 10, 2020 Brandon Petersen, OBU alumnus and director of consulting at JM2 Capital in Oklahoma City, has been hired as the dean of students and vice president of campus life at OBU. He will begin his duties on Bison Hill effective July 20. In his role, Petersen will be responsible for developing, cultivating and overseeing the transformational student experience on Bison Hill through leadership of campus life. He will lead in the ongoing creation and execution of a challenging and supportive co-curricular program in alignment with institutional objectives and student learning outcomes. As such, he will coordinate and oversee numerous areas impacting campus life, such as student housing, campus dining, student clubs and activities, the Recreation and Wellness Center, spiritual life, Welcome Week, university counseling and more. Petersen earned a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from OBU in 1995 and a Master of Arts in Christian education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1999. He previously served at OBU as an advancement officer from 1995 to 1996 before entering church ministry. He served on staff at First Baptist Church of Euless, Texas, from 1997 to 2002 as single adult minister. He then joined the staff at First Baptist Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, from 2002 to 2005 as the associate pastor of education. He was then called to serve at Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina, as executive pastor and education pastor, where he remained until 2018. At that time, he and his family returned to Oklahoma. He has worked at JM2 Capital in Oklahoma City since 2018 as director of consulting. Petersens wife, Amy, also an OBU graduate, works for Oklahoma Baptists (formerly the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma) as ministry wives regional ministry partner. Dr. Heath A. Thomas, OBU president, is pleased to welcome Petersen back to Bison Hill. Serbian police said Saturday they have arrested 71 people, including a Briton and a Tunisian, after violence broke out during a protest in Belgrade against the government's management of the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of people demonstrated in several Serbian cities on Friday for a fourth day in row, with protesters hurling stones at police in front of parliament in the capital. Some protesters also threw firecrackers and chanted nationalist slogans in Belgrade, according to AFP journalists. "Among those arrested are many foreign nationals from Bosnia, Montenegro but also from Great Britain and Tunisia," police chief Vladimir Rebic said at a press conference. Photographs of the British and Tunisian passports of two men were shown on a screen. According to local media, mostly tabloids close to power, the Briton is 24 years old, while the Tunisian is 54. "These are the documents with which they entered Serbia," said Rebic, who added that he intends to examine the influence of "these foreign factors on the violence of the demonstrations". "Serbia welcomed them hoping that they would come to have a good time with us, but they came to destroy and attack the police." Fourteen police officers were injured in Friday's clashes, and 130 since the protests began on Tuesday, the police chief said. No figures have been given for the number of injured protesters. The protesters have vented their frustration with President Aleksandar Vucic, who is seen by many as having facilitated a second wave of the virus by lifting an initial lockdown so that elections could be held on June 21 which his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) largely won. The first demonstration on Tuesday was triggered after Vucic announced the return of a weekend curfew to combat a second wave of coronavirus infections that has overwhelmed hospitals in Belgrade. The president later backtracked on his plan, but the protests continued, turning into a general rebuke of his handling of the health crisis. Police fire tear gas in Belgrade on Friday night during the protest against the government's handling of the pandemic Former Ghana Ambassador to the United States of America (USA), Dr. Kwame Bawuah-Edusei, has paid glowing tribute to late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, who is popularly referred to as Sir John, describing him as a great soul and a thoroughbred Asante who sacrificed his life for the development of Ghana. In a heart-warming tribute, the diplomat and medical practitioner, said Sir John was a utility man as he was willing and capable of doing any assignment without complaint. According to Dr. Kwame Bawuah-Edusei, Sir Johns terrific sense of humour and philanthropic nature made him touched many hearts, including the down-trodden. He further described the deceased as a passionate devotee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) political tradition and strong defender of human rights as a lawyer, proud, faithful adherent of the Christian Adventist faith which earned him considerable renown. Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie passed on at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital after a short illness on Wednesday, 1st July, 2020. He reportedly succumbed to coronavirus while undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Below is Dr. Kwame Bawuah-Eduseis full tribute With Sir Johns untimely death, we have lost not only a great soul in Ghana but a thoroughbred Asante as well. Late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, popularly known as Sir Johns final visit to the village is still a shock to me and all our dear friends. It will take a long time to handle this grief and we will forever miss him. We entered universities in the same year, he went to the University of Ghana and I went to the University of Science and Technology, now Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Our parts intertwined when Late Mr Amo Kwabena (Osei Prempeh), Mr F. F. Antoh, Dr Richard Anane and myself formed Asante Students Union (ASU) in 1979 in KNUST, to organize, inspire and develop students of Asante origin. We subsequently went to Legon to develop an ASU branch there and naturally connected with Sir John and the network of Mr Dua Adonteng, Prof. Konadu, Mr Osei Akuoko, Mr Victor Owusu, among others. The bound was formed there and then and I know it will never be broken even after death. Sir John was such a sacrificial human being. He was willing and capable of doing any assignment without complaint. His great works in the corporate boardrooms, high governmental negotiations, to all manner of political intricacies, and all the way to working with different kinds of down-trodden people so efficiently and with terrific humour was legendary. No wonder he sometimes called himself Mr Utility Man and we all called him so in agreement. Sir John was principled and blunt with the truth. He had very logical arguments and held on to his core believes of Adventist Christian doctrine, pure Asante traditional values and unyielding democratic principles to the last letter. Nevertheless, he respected varying opinions and interfaced with all kinds of people with ease. Sir John not only survived in every environment, but he thrived in all manner of challenges. Sir John was loyal to a fault and helped a great many people. Few years before the 2016 elections it became clear that he needed to attend to his ailing knee and yet he tried hard to postpone his medical care ostensibly till after the elections. I was charged to convince him to come abroad for medical attention. When I called one evening he told me: Kwame If even I have to sit in a wheelchair to campaign for Akuffo Addo I will do so, as I am needed in Ghana. I had to use all my wit to convince him that we can use high tech medical means to help him to recover and return on time to help with the campaign. Finally, he agreed, got the medical attention and quickly rushed back to Ghana to help us win the 2016 elections. Such was the man Sir John that I loved and respected and will always do. So humble and committed was he that when he did not get the post he anticipated in the new government, he made light of it and stated he was afraid of the sea and is a forest man so he was going back to his roots as CEO of Forestry Commission. That was a sacrifice for the love of party and country. When he noticed that our political fraternity was not good with Media relationships especially when it comes to propaganda, Sir John juxta positioned himself to coordinate and aggressively involved himself in all manner of media antics to keep our message crisp with the people. He used his natural jovial manner and impeccable use of Twi proverbs and jokes to effectively sell our noble message to all. He had to over-perform to compensate for NPP challenges. We have really lost a major political guru and peoples person. Late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie came from humble beginnings and rose-up high but he never forgot his roots. He was proud of his rural upbringing and living. His love for people shone, even more, when they faced challenges. Kwadwo, you did your bit and played your part appreciably and We pray God Almighty to keep you save and give you eternal rest. We will never forget you even in death, we are part of your family and will remain so till we meet again. Kwadwo, Damerifa Due! ASU, ASUA and ADI da wo ase! Ambassador Kwame Edusei, MD (Former Ghana's Ambassador to the USA) 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 KITCHENER For nearly four months, Brittany McLean and Aaron Lukasik have been pivoting their business. The co-owners of F45 Training Kitchener Sportsworld opened their gym in February. A month later, after building up over 130 clients, COVID-19 forced them to close. We had no idea what was about to happen, said McLean. Virtually overnight, about 98 per cent of their clients stopped paying their membership fees. Now, as the province nears its rollout of Phase 3, the new owners are hopeful the new list of guidelines will allow them to get back on track before its too late. Theres been lots of emotions, she said. The first month was challenging, we have never been through anything like this. Alex Kucharski is a director of the newly formed Ontario Independent Fitness Studio Association and an owner of a studio in Toronto. The association was formed in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, giving a unified voice to owners across the province after nearly four months of pandemic protocols. We thought this was just going to be a couple of weeks, said Kucharski. Its been four months and were still not open, and the question has moved to how we can keep our businesses afloat. Independent gyms often allow trainers to work as independent contractors, giving them the flexibility to work at different locations with different clients. But the problem with that model in the time of COVID-19 is that staff payroll doesnt meet government standards for wage subsidies. And to make matters worse, owners often choose to be paid in dividends or in loan repayments to pay off their investment. The only type of subsidy that small gyms have qualified for is rent relief, though even that is at the discretion of the landlord and hasnt been available for all owners. To this date, we havent received any support from the government, said McLean. Weve received a slight amount of rent relief, but other than that theres been no qualifications. And while virtual classes and limited outdoor sessions with groups under 10 has helped lessen some of the burden, many gyms are facing growing deficits. As the province looks to set new standards, Kucharski worries small gyms are being lumped together with traditional large-format gyms that have far more resources to fall back on. We are small businesses at the core of it, he said. We dont have the same access to debt financing or lawyers to negotiate rent relief or any of the other resources that larger gyms would have to help keep their businesses open. He also points to the difference in the way the two styles of gyms function. With smaller spaces and reduced sizes, smaller gyms and fitness studios often feature instructors watching over workout sessions. At F45, the new protocol will include individual squares of space for clients, with all the necessary equipment provided no one will be sharing equipment. Thats a drastic difference from larger gyms where clients go from machine to machine, forced to sanitize between each use. Its why small gyms are hopeful the province makes protocols based on space as opposed to human participation. In other words, mandating two metres of distance between clients as opposed to limiting every gym to 50 per cent of its approved capacity. If the government were to go down to 50 or 30 per cent capacity, no one would last, said Kucharski. And with a smaller membership to begin with usually ranging in the hundreds staff at smaller gyms are better suited to monitor how clients are interacting with each other. We know everyones first names, we know whats going on in their lives, said McLean. If anyone were to contract the virus, it would be much easier to track when they were in the gym, and who they were with. And while the province has yet to reveal exactly what Stage 3 will look like, other jurisdictions around the world like South Korea and Germany have shown that traceability is the key to stopping further outbreaks. But gym goers in Ontario do have one thing to look forward to. McLean noted that when gyms do reopen, clients wont be forced to wear masks inside the facilities. As long as youre working out, youre good. Holiday firms have been warned of legal action over a failure to pay refunds to millions of angry and disappointed customers. Holiday giants have been routinely trying to fob people off with vouchers or an offer to re-book for a later date. And many have added to the misery of people who have lost holidays by delaying paying refunds. Pictured: Stock photo of an annoyed woman at an airport. Many holiday giants have added to the misery of people who have lost holidays by delaying paying refunds The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has been investigating scams around the coronavirus pandemic, has written an open letter to more than 100 firms demanding changes under the threat of legal action. It has not named them. But some companies, including package holiday giant TUI, have previously been accused of failures by the consumer group Which? Separately, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is putting pressure on airlines, including Ryanair, over allegations they are making it extraordinarily difficult for customers to get their money back. But some companies, including package holiday giant TUI (plane pictured), have previously been accused of failures by the consumer group Which? Senior director of consumer protection at the CMA, George Lusty, said: If companies want to avoid CMA action, then they must follow consumer protection law by offering refunds where they are due and refunding customers on time. The letter states the CMA has received over 17,500 complaints about businesses in the package travel sector. The damning charge sheet alleges: Consumers are not being offered and/or provided full cash refunds in accordance with their legal rights. Companies are failing to pay refunds without undue delay and not later than 14 days after cancellation. They are only offering a voucher or the right to rebook a holiday instead of a refund. The firms refuse to repay deposits and/or charging cancellation fees when people exercise their legal right to a refund. They give misleading information about cancellation and refund rights. Travel operators make it difficult to claim a refund by referring people to telephone lines which are constantly engaged. The CMA recently secured policy changes from Hoseasons and Sykes Cottages to ensure they offer refunds for holiday accommodation cancellations. In May, the consumer champion Which? accused TUI of breaking the law by making customers accept a credit note to exchange for a cash refund at a later date. In the same month, it published a survey revealing that 84per cent of Ryanair customers had not received a refund they had asked for. Customers reported that Ryanair attempted to force them to accept vouchers. It even suggested, at one point, that refunds could take 12 months. Customers reported that Ryanair check-in sign pictured) attempted to force them to accept vouchers. It even suggested, at one point, that refunds could take 12 months The editor of Which? Travel, Rory Boland, said: The CMA is right to remind companies of their legal obligations given the huge volume of refunds that are still being withheld by package travel operators. Customers have been sympathetic to delays in companies returning their money, but firms need to understand they cannot continue to break the law without consequence. Its vitally important that as international travel resumes, consumers who have been let down by the industry are not forgotten about. The CMA must be ready to intervene with enforcement action, and the CAA must take an equally strong stance against airlines that are also withholding refunds from customers, as too many continue to flout the law without fear. TUI referred questions to the holiday industry trade body Abta, which said members had been placed under extraordinary pressures. It blamed delays on airlines. Abta said: Many airlines, in particular, have been and continue to be very slow in passing refunds back to package holiday businesses, which means they are unable to refund their customers as promptly as they would wish. It is essential, therefore, that effective regulatory action is taken against the airlines that are not currently refunding with seven days, as required under relevant consumer protection legislation. Many travel agents and tour operators have loyal customers, who have been understanding and supportive, and either rebooked holidays for a later date or accepted Refund Credit Notes, which are financially protected. Tamil Nadu Government has said that the new guidelines by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, which mandated that all the educational institutions across the country shall conduct examinations by September 2020 for the final semester students, will not be feasible. The new guidelines have many constraints and difficulties which include the students reaching the examination centres, as many of them reside outside the district or state and some even outside the country. It is also not feasible to conduct online examinations, considering the various issues relating to digital ... Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has hailed the Dharavi model of Covid 19 containment and said that Asias largest slum was an inspiration for the rest of the world on how to contain the spread of coronavirus disease. Uddhavs comments follow a similar commendation by World Health Organisation (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Dharavi is a densely populated slum area in Mumbai with around 10,00,000 people squeezed in an area spanning 2.5 square kilometers, making it highly vulnerable to spread of contagions such as Covid-19. Yet active surveillance and containment measures including intense screening, testing, sanitation and isolation of Covid patients and suspects has led to a continuous tapering off in the number of new infections in the area. This is all the more impressive given the high rate of infection in the rest of Mumbai and other cities of Maharashtra. Maintaining social distance is a challenge in Dharavi, which is spread over 2.5 sq km with population density of 2,27,136 per sq km. Not just that, according to a senior BMC official, at least 80 percent of its population depends on 450 community toilets and the administration had to sanitise and disinfect these toilets several times a day. The WHO director general cited Dharavis example to say that only aggressive action combined with national unity and global solidarity can turn the pandemic situation around. And some of these examples are Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi - a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai - a strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is the key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus, he had said. In a statement reflecting he shared the sentiment, Thackeray said, Dharavi is an inspiration for the world on how to curb the spread of a pandemic. Thackeray highlighted that 82 percent of patients in Dharavi have recovered from the disease and the number of active cases had dropped sharply in the area to 166. He underlined self discipline and community efforts as key to success achieved in Dharavi. 2,359 Covid-19 cases have been recorded in Dharavi so far, of which 1,952 patients have recovered from the deadly infection. Maharashtra as a whole, on the other hand, has registered 2,38,461 coronavirus cases so far. Late last month, the central government had acknowledged the efforts put in by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in bringing down the infection rate in the area. Basking under the glory, the civic body on Saturday told news agency PTI that it had to change its traditional approach of waiting for patients, contact tracing, isolation and home quarantine to begin proactive screening instead, which paid rich dividends. Also Read: Proactive screening helped curb Dharavis coronavirus spread, says BMC Proactive screening helped in early detection, timely treatment and recovery, Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner of the G North ward of the BMC was quoted as saying. He added that at least six to seven lakh people in the area have been screened so far and 14,000 persons have been tested apart from 13,000, who were placed in institutional quarantine that provided community kitchen apart from medical care for free. According to the official data, while in April, the doubling rate in Dharavi was 18 days, it gradually improved to 43 days in May and slowed down to 108 and 430 days in June and July respectively. The Italian composer was famed for his film scores but his work straddled jazz, pop, psychedelia as well as the avant-garde, influencing bands as diverse as Air and Metallica. Ennio Morricone left behind some 500 scores for both film and television. The theme tune to Sergio Leone's spaghetti western The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is undoubtedly one of the most renowned. Just 10 seconds into one of Morricone's soundtracks, you know it's him, you know which film it's from, you can see the pictures, said French composer Jean-Michel Jarre in the wake of the Italian composer's death on 6 July. To recreate this feeling of the American far west, Morricone added on drums, some flute, and of course the "cry" of a coyote. The trademark whistling came courtesy of Spanish guitarist and whistler Curro Savoye, who now lives in the south of France. The two men never met, but Savoye was "the" whistler on the vast majority of Morricone's work. The film soundtrack also includes Ecstasy of Gold a stirring three-minute orchestral bonanza with drums to set you galloping into the sunset and wordless vocals by Edda Dell'orso with whom Morricone regularly collaborated. The music is so stirring it became a fetish piece for U.S. band Metallica. Since 1983 they've played it to open all their concerts. They recorded their own version of The Ecstasy of Gold for their tribute album to Morricone in 2007, and performed the song themselves for the first time at a 2009 concert in Copenhagen. Metallica frontman James Hetfield said something special happened when they begun using the piece as their intro music in 1983. It set us up for the night and the fans got excited. In a tribute to Morricone on Instagram, he said the music had become part of our blood flow, deep breathing, fist bumping, prayers and band huddle pre-show ritual ever since. 'Elevated every film he scored' Morricone wrote scores for six of Sergio Leone's westerns. Their last collaboration was in 1984 for Once upon a time in America. It was customary at the time to write the soundtrack before shooting the film, but still, Morricone's music was so evocative that the director played it on set to conjure up the right atmosphere. Sergio Leone's westerns helped make Morricone a household name but the composer's artistic reach knew no bounds. Here in France, his biggest hit is the violin-heavy Chi Mai which famously featured in the 1981 film The Professional starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. Morricone was nominated for a Cesar, the French equivalent of an Oscar. His work elevated every film he scored, wrote composer John Zorn in the NY Times, adding that Morricone could make an unforgettable melody with a fistful of notes." He did that not just in films but during his foray into pop in the 60s. Arguably his most celebrated song, at least in his home country, was Se Telefonando sung by Mina. Were in not in Italian it could have rivalled with Burt Bacharach. The refrain was inspired by the three notes of a French police siren and builds into a stand-up finale thanks to eight key changes! Among the many French musicians who say they owe a lot to Morricone is electronic music duo Air. Nicolas Godin said Morricone was among the composers who had most influenced him for "the way he used timbres and sounds that were close to avant-garde music". Morricone's influence can be heard on Prologo per la puttana di closingtown from the album City Reading (Tre Story Western), recorded with Italian writer Alessandro Baricco in 2003. I realized my Roman fantasy around music from westerns, Godin told Les Inrockuptibles. Ennio Morricone will remain the absolute master of Continental music. It's often said that Morricone was sore and saddened at not being fully recognised as a classical composer. But he was. His score for the 1986 film The Mission, in which he incorporated religious chant and tribal rhythms, remains one of his most haunting pieces, not least for the melancholy of its main them Gabriel's Oboe. A fistful of notes that lifted, and continue to lift, anyone who cares to listen. Ennio Morricone's official website. Salman Khan missed out on giving a filmy-treat to his fans this Eid due to the ongoing lockdown. The actor who has a release almost every Eid, was supposed to release his next, Prabhudhevas Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai. But due to the pandemic infused lockdown, the actor still has 10-12 days pending to shoot and now according to reports in Mumbai Mirror, the film will be shot in Mumbai itself. The makers were initially set to shoot the pending portion in Azerbaijan which includes an action sequence and a song. But now the makers have planned the shoot in a city studio and will shoot the portions against a green screen so that visual effects can be added. The reports suggest that the action sequence and the song both will be completed in Mumbai studio itself and in such desperate situations, visual effects will have to save the day. According to some sources the theatres might reopen by October- November and hence Radhe might have a Diwali release and the makers will be ready with their film till then. Apart from Salman Khan the film also stars Disha Patani, Randeep Hooda, Jackie Shroff. Salman Khan who was quarantined in his Panvel farmhouse was said that he was working hard on his body to buff up for the action sequence. In the signature-Salman Khan action sequence, it's said that the actor might strip off his shirt and for that the superstar was busy beefing up and making sure that his body is perfect for the sequence. A team of investigators from the United States will come to Ireland later this year, to take another look at the 1993 disappearance of American tourist Annie McCarrick. Ms McCarrick, who was 26, was last seen taking a number 44 bus from Ranelagh towards Enniskerry on March 26, 1993. The investigators believe that she was in Poppies that afternoon, rather than in Johnny Fox's. Her father John died in 2009 without finding out what happened to Annie. Michael Griffith , A lawyer hired in 1993 by John McCarrick, as well as a former FBI agent Kenneth Strange, and Annie's uncle John Covell, are coming to Ireland to try to solve the case. They will work with Irish private investigator Brian McCarthy. They have identified a prime subject and hope to obtain access to the cold case files. Mr McCarthy recently became aware of a witness statement allegedly given to gardai back in 1993, which puts a woman matching Ms McCarrick's description at a cafe in Enniskerry. The private investigator believes the statement could put an entirely new timeline on the investigation. At the time gardai investigating her disappearance collected information to say Ms McCarrick visited Johnnie Fox's Pub, in the village of Glencullen. Mr McCarthy and the US-based team do not believe that information to be true. 'She wasn't in Johnnie Fox's,' said Mr McCarthy. 'It's not particularly well known, but the gardai were given a statement from a woman who worked in a small coffee shop out there called Poppies, in the village. The lady was in her 50s at the time, I think. She was adamant Annie was in there in the afternoon with a man who fits the description of a suspect. 'The female, if it was Annie, was hesitant about buying something and he said to her, "Do you want a cake, a slice of cake?" He paid for whatever snack she got, and they left. 'The woman has since passed away, but she gave an initial statement to police. She was not asked to help with an e-fit. We think this sighting is more crucial than initially thought.' As a professor at Villanova University, I am blessed with the opportunity to interact with international students from all over the world. They take my physics classes. They study black holes in my research group. And they are in danger. On Monday, ICE announced a new rule concerning online classes for international students, denying visas to students at universities that will be fully online and threatening international students with deportation if their institutions start in person but transition to fully online in the event of a campus outbreak. The new rule reverses a policy announced in March (in the wake of pandemic-related university closures) that allowed international students to take more online courses than usual for the duration of the emergency. This rule is deliberately cruel and dangerous. Using the pandemic as an excuse to go after law-abiding international students is callous. This sudden policy reversal comes on the heels of a pattern of cruelty in immigration policy and sentiment from the administration. This pattern includes tearing families apart at the southern border and the arbitrary and capricious rescission of DACA, which protects people brought to the US as children. It includes seizing children in hospitals for deportation along with detaining and deporting veterans. It includes large cuts to visas granted to Afghan and Iraqi citizens who aided U.S. forces during our 2001 and 2003 invasions. We should not forget the racist responses to the pandemic. This is not merely a matter of policy: we are seeing a spike in violent hate crimes and, this year, a wave of attacks against Asians and people of Asian descent. Now ICE turns its gaze toward my students, and these bright, hard-working people dont deserve to be terrorized. But the threat of deportation for circumstances entirely beyond their control is undoubtedly terrifying. And what is the purpose of this cruelty? Is it to reduce immigration? Is cruelty the point? Yes and yes. But it is also an election ploy, designed to pressure universities to reopen in full in the fall, despite the raging pandemic. This pressure is two-fold: moral and financial. Teaching physics is, for me, an act of love for my students. I love my students; I dont want to see them terrorized or traumatized or deported. This rule is a Catch-22: it is a danger the health and safety of our students if we return to campus in full, and it is now a danger to their health and safety if we dont. Moreover, many universities depend on the billions of dollars in tuition and fees paid by international students. Over one million international students studied in the United States in 2017-18, and international students pay approximately three times more than in-state students at four-year public universities, which means that they effectively subsidize the cost of college for domestic students. In a world where universities are already trying to juggle the human costs of reopening with the financial costs of closing (likely hundreds of millions of dollars for some institutions), pressuring universities on these fronts recklessly risks lives and hurts domestic students at a time when federal student aid is dropping. Making international students a pawn in this election-year gambit is unconscionable. Harvard and MIT have sued the administration to block the rule from going into effect; other universities need to join this suit. In the meanwhile, my faculty colleagues and our representatives in congress need to stand up for our students and condemn this policy as the needless and dangerous cruelty that it is. Joey Neilsen, PhD, is an assistant professor of physics at Villanova University. As Americans head into a holiday weekend in the shadow of a ravaging coronavirus pandemic, some governors are rethinking their stance on face coverings after days of record infections. The US reported more than 52,000 new cases of the virus on Thursday, a new daily record surpassing one set the previous day. More than two months after the first peak affected just a handful of states, the virus is cresting again across the South and Southwest. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects nearly 148,000 deaths in the US by the end of the month. "What we're seeing now in the Southwest is a surge in both the number of positive cases and the percent of people testing who are positive," Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a CNN medical analyst and professor of medicine at George Washington University, said on Friday. "There's no question about it. The virus is surging in large parts of the United States." Coronavirus has killed more than 128,000 people and infected over 2.7 million nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. Infection rates are rising in 36 states, with patients rapidly filling hospitals across the South and West. California, Arizona, Texas and Florida all posted record new cases this week -- Florida reported more than 10,000 additional coronavirus cases on Thursday while Texas had about 8,000. On Friday, the Sunshine State reported 9,488 additional cases, bringing its total to 178,594. Florida is now averaging more new cases per day -- 7,870 -- than any other state, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. California and Texas trail close behind. Nearly two dozen states have paused their reopenings to combat the spread while others have taken extra measures to keep it out of their borders. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut issued a travel advisory that requires people arriving from eight states with high coronavirus rates to quarantine for two weeks. Here are other significant developments this week: Masks alone cannot help combat coronavirus Some state leaders have blamed the spike in new cases on more testing. But experts attributed it to increasing infections caused by a lack of a comprehensive response. "If you turn your back on the virus, if you turn your back on science, it's going to bite you," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the former director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "And that's what's happening in most of the US, where we're seeing increases, and in some places, really fast increases of the virus." Contrary to what people think, he told CNN's Chris Cuomo, the virus cannot be stopped by a single measure. "Whether it's restricting travel or staying home or testing a lot of people or wearing a mask. And those are all important, but none of them, in and of themselves are going to control this," he said. "You basically need to physically distance. The three Ws: wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your distance, and you need to box the virus in with strategic testing, effective isolation, rapid contact tracing and supportive quarantine. We're not doing that yet in most of the country." Officials fear July Fourth could bring a surge in cases, and are urging Americans to limit their festivities to avoid outbreaks. The holiday weekend could be the "perfect storm" for a spike in coronavirus cases due to travel, easing restrictions and people not following preventive guidelines, said Dr. Joshua Barocas, an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center. No social distancing at massive event attended by President Trump The President and first lady Melania Trump will be at Mount Rushmore National Memorial on Friday for an early Fourth of July celebration expected to be attended by 7,500 people. No social distancing is planned for the event. "We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home, but those who want to come and join us, we'll be giving out free face masks if they choose to wear one," Republican Gov. Kristi Noem told Fox News. CNN medical analyst Dr. Celine Gounder said holding such an event during a pandemic is "beyond irresponsible." "This is the behavior of a cult leader who is jumping off the cliff but he is jumping into a safety net -- with protections around him, people around him are testing, he is tested on a regular basis," she said of the President Friday. "While he asks the followers to jump off a cliff into nothing. This is extremely dangerous behavior. And unfortunately this is becoming so politicized where you abide by public health and scientific recommendations on the basis of your political beliefs, not based on the science and people are going to be harmed as a result of this." Coronavirus cases in South Dakota currently remain stable, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, with 6,893 confirmed cases and 97 deaths as of Thursday. But it's unclear how many attendees will travel from other states. Virus has mutated to become more infectious The guidance is especially relevant following new research that the virus has mutated to become more infectious. A global study found strong evidence that a new form of coronavirus has spread from Europe to the US. The new mutation makes the virus more likely to infect people but does not seem to make patients any sicker than previous variations of the virus, an international team of researchers reported Thursday. "It is now the dominant form infecting people," said Erica Ollmann Saphire of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology and the Coronavirus Immunotherapy Consortium, who worked on the study. "This is now the virus." The team checked more genetic sequences and ran experiments involving people, animals and cells in lab dishes that show the mutated version is more common and more infectious than other versions. The new version seems to multiply faster in the upper respiratory tract -- the nose, sinuses and throat -- which would explain why it passes around more easily, the researchers said. But tests on 1,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients showed those infected with the new version did not fare any worse than those who caught the original strain. "We do know that the new virus is fitter. It doesn't look at first glance as if it is worse," Saphire said. The study was published in the journal Cell and confirms earlier work suggesting the mutation made the new variant of virus more common. US to be placed on UK travel 'red list' The UK government is expected to designate the United States as a "red list" travel destination due to concerns over the soaring US infection rate, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Friday. "Here, we've got things under control, but we know [the virus] is still raging in parts of the world, Shapps told BBC Radio 4. "So, I'm afraid there is a red list." "The US, from a very early stage, banned flights from the UK and from Europe, so there isn't a reciprocal arrangement in place," he added, noting the US still has a "very high" rate of infection. Thousands more deaths projected this month The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now projects nearly 148,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by July 25. US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams on Friday urged caution about the death rate for the virus remaining flat while the number of new cases increases. "We know deaths lag at least two weeks and can lag even more," Adams said on "Fox & Friends." "In the beginning, nursing homes were hit really hard, and the majority of our deaths were occurring on people who were 60, 65 and older. Now the majority of cases are in people who have an average age of 35, and so those folks are going to have less comorbidities, they're going to be less likely to end up in the hospital and to die." He added, "What we're really worried about -- particularly with young people -- is that they get it and then they spread it to their grandmother, to their grandfather." This week's national forecast relies on 24 individual forecasts from outside institutions and researchers. The new projections published Thursday offer the projection with a possible range of about 139,000 to 161,000 deaths. "The state-level ensemble forecasts suggest that the number of new deaths over the next four weeks in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wyoming will likely exceed the number reported over the last four weeks," the CDC said on its forecasting website. "For other states, the number of new deaths is expected to be similar to the number seen in the previous four weeks or to decrease slightly." Unlike individual models, the CDC's ensemble forecast offers projections for the next month. More states make sweeping mask mandates When mask mandates for Texas and Kansas go into effect Friday, 19 states and Washington, DC will have such requirements. In a major change of heart, Texas won't allow people who are in counties with 20 or more active Covid-19 cases to go out without a face covering. About 95% of Texans live in those areas. "We have the ability to keep businesses open and move our economy forward so that Texans can continue to earn a paycheck, but it requires each of us to do our part to protect one another -- and that means wearing a face covering in public spaces," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. Texans younger than 10 and people who have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask are exempted. Repeat violations can result in a fine, the order says. Other governors have also issued statewide orders, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois and Michigan. It's not possible to pinpoint what caused the current spike in coronavirus cases, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But it's likely a result of a series of events that occurred simultaneously, including protests, Memorial Day festivities and states reopening, he told the Harvard Business Review. Of the 36 states whose new cases have gone up this week compared to the previous one, nine of them have increased by over 50%. They are Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alaska and Delaware. CNN's Ray Sanchez, Arman Azad, Amanda Watts, Shelby Lin Erdman and Maggie Fox contributed to this report. By Stanis Bujakera KINSHASA (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo's Justice Minister Celestin Tunda tendered his resignation on Saturday in the wake of a dispute with the president over proposed laws that would give politicians more control over criminal prosecutions. In a televised statement, Tunda gave no reason for his departure, which comes a week after President Felix Tshisekedi privately threatened to fire Tunda if he did not quit, sources close to the president said. The disagreement over a proposal from Tunda's political allies to give the justice ministry more control over the judiciary highlighted strains in the coalition between Tshisekedi and his long-serving predecessor Joseph Kabila. Tshisekedi had said in a speech he would oppose any reforms that undermined the independence of the judiciary. "I leave the government with the conviction that my actions in the ministry of justice made a contribution to the consolidation of the rule of law," said Tunda, a senior figure in Kabila's FCC political alliance. Peter Kazadi of Tshisekedi's UDPS party said Tunda had sent a letter to parliament approving the judicial reforms without consulting the government. "His resignation is normal because the minister acted in violation of the line laid down by the government," Kazadi told Reuters. Tension mounted in late June when Tunda was briefly detained by police, prompting Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga to threaten the government would resign over the matter. His resignation "removes one element of tension between the two camps, but it's far from the only point of contention," said Vincent Rouguet at London-based security firm Control Risks. "(It) is not going to be enough to restore collaboration." Tshisekedi has struggled to assert himself since forming a coalition government in January 2019 with Kabila, who maintains extensive powers through his parliamentary majority, control of most cabinet ministries and the army. Friction between their parties has spilt into the streets in recent weeks. On Thursday at least three people including a policeman were killed during protests in Kinshasa and elsewhere over the nomination of an election commission chief. (Reporting by Stanis Bujakera; Additional reporting and writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Toby Chopra and David Holmes) Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The national broadband network project has finally limped across the finish line, completing a 10-year construction process hindered by ideological and economic constraints baked in from the start. Its lengthy gestation shouldn't come as a surprise given the project's ability to attract controversy and criticism, some of which is likely to stick around for some time to come. Mike Quigley. Former CEO of NBN, is adamant that the current network doesn't deliver value for money. Credit:Yianni Aspradakis The idea of a taxpayer-funded makeover of the entire telecommunications infrastructure, to the tune of $51 billion, was always going to generate criticism, not just from those opposed to heavy-handed government intervention but also those worried about the sheer scale of the project. Concerns about whether the government business enterprise, NBN Co, would be up to the task of handling the construction challenges and do the job at a pace that allowed the benefits of the NBN to be seen by the public, were present from day one. And as it turns out, they were well justified. Making more than 11.7 million premises ready to move over to the NBN proved to be far more complex than expected, irrespective of the technology changes implemented by the Coalition government in 2013. Advertisement With 99 per cent of the rollout now complete and NBN Co's construction division already cut loose, members of the original team assigned to building the NBN have mixed feelings about how things have panned out. Mike Quigley, the first chief executive of NBN Co, says while the NBN has allowed Australians to have access to better internet, the network is not value for money or future-proofed. The NBN would be in a much stronger position today if they had not changed to a multi-technology mix, he says. If they had put in fibre, they would have a more valuable network with a much lower ongoing operating cost with much higher performance, which means their revenue-generating capacity would have been much greater. Loading NBN Co's former chief technology officer, Gary McLaren, says the lack of bipartisan policy was a critical problem for the project, leading to multiple problems when securing construction companies to help with the rollout of the network. "It's a huge lesson if you are looking at it from policy terms," McLaren says. "There was very little certainty the construction companies could bank on to be able to think about a project over 10 years because it could change very quickly from fibre to another program." Advertisement Despite its struggles, McLaren says the completion of the NBN rollout is a milestone worth celebrating. "I always had confidence that the network would be completed," he says. "Regardless of the technologies, you would've been in a similar boat around now. It's unlikely that the Morrison government can dwell on the achievement for too long as the NBN board has important questions that need to be answered. Crucially, it needs the federal government to outline a new statement of expectations that will set guidelines for what and how the next few years will play out. "The current [statement of expectations] is looking stale and very irrelevant. I'd imagine the NBN board is crying out for a new set of expectations," McLaren says. The NBN would be in a much stronger position today if they had not changed to a multi-technology mix. Mike Quigley, the first chief executive of NBN Co. A difficult birth The early years of the NBN were tainted by political debate and the federal election cycle. A failed 2008 request for proposal, which included responses from providers like Acacia, Optus and TransAct and Telstra, prompted then prime minister Kevin Rudd and then communications minister Stephen Conroy to announce plans in April 2009 for the rollout of high-tech fibre-optic cable to almost every residence in Australia by a government-owned entity. That idea quickly shifted under the Tony Abbott-led Coalition government, which announced that the NBN's rollout would be deployed as a Multi Technology Mix model, which uses a combination of fixed-line technologies including fibre-to-the-node (FTTN), fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) and fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP). Advertisement "We really got the NBN as it is because of the collapse of the previous model in December 2008," telecommunications analyst Ian Martin says. "NBN 2.0 came out of that in April 2009 without much thought and consideration. Its fair to say that was something of a stopgap at the time to get them through the 2010 election. The 2010 election resulted in a hung parliament ... if the 2010 election had been a clearer outcome, we might have got a more considered model." More than a decade on, the NBN remains a political sore spot. Loading Communications Minister Paul Fletcher still insists the Coalition turned around a failing project that had connected only 50,000 premises under Labor. $6 billion had been spent, every target had been missed, board and management really didnt have deep telecommunications experience, he says. We set about changing the strategy really dramatically with the multi-technology mix Theres a lot of aspects of this that we would not have done but when we came into government, much of it was locked in. To this day, these ideas are still disputed by Rudd. Advertisement The upgrade equation and 5G competition The challenges of NBN are not limited to the differing views of government. The detection of asbestos in the Telstra pipes and pits that were being leased to the NBN in 2013 also delayed rollout and there were ongoing issues due to the complexity of hybrid fibre-coaxial upgrades. The NBN has also battled with reconciling two objectives the government's ambition for NBN Co to become a profitable private entity and existing efforts to provide a social good and reduce the digital divide that exists across Australia. Telco providers such as Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have previously condemned NBN Co for operating as a competitor. By the end of 2020, NBN Co expects 11.8 million premises to be connected and will seek to roll out over the next year a small remaining number of complex connections that have been hampered by construction, legal and environmental barriers. NBN Co chief executive Stephen Rue says the company will turn its focus to investing in the network and "evolving technologies", the specifics of which will be outlined in the new Corporate Plan to be announced later this year. "As a nation, we would have been in a very different position if we hadnt rolled out the network with the speed and agility that we did," Rue says. With the initial build of the network complete, the company is transitioning to a customer-focused service delivery organisation, which will be our blueprint for how we are going to continue to lift the digital capability of Australia in the future." Advertisement Five people have been killed and dozens arrested in an ongoing church massacre in Johannesburg. The bloodbath took place at the International Pentecost Holiness Church in Zuurbekom, and specialised police and a heavily-armed national defence force remain at the scene. It is believed the killings came amid a leadership battle at the church, as officers scrambled to the church at 3am local time following reports that 200 people were taken hostage. Four people were discovered 'shot and burned to death in a car' and a security guard was shot dead in another car, a statement said. Six other people were also injured in the attack. Suspects were seen laying face down as police urged people to steer clear of the area Officers said more than 25 firearms have so far been seized A series of photos were posted on Twitter as officers have arrested 30 suspects It is not yet clear if those killed were among the assailants or hostages. Forty people - including members of the police, defence forces, and correctional services - have been arrested and more than 30 firearms seized, police said. Horrifying images released by police show suspects laying face down on the ground with hands on their heads. Another image reveals guns stacked on the floor next to what look like boxes of ammunition. Authorities urged the public to steer clear of the area. Television station eNCA said there had been a leadership dispute at the church and cited a church official as saying roughly 200 people had been taken hostage. Police said they rescued men, women and children who had been held hostage and appeared to have been living at the church. The national police commissioner says the response by security forces 'averted what could have been a more severe bloodbath.' A post on Twitter revealed that hostage negotiators remain at the scene A Twitter post revealed: 'Early hours this morning #SAPS was alerted to a hostage situation & shooting @ International Pentcost Holiness Church, Zuurbekom, 30 suspects arrested & seized more than 25 firearms. '5 fatalities are confirmed. The scene is still active with SAPS Hostage Negotiators. TM.' The International Pentecost Holiness Church, which has a membership of three million, has become divided in its search for a successor to former leader Glayon Modise. He died in February 2016 without appointing a successor, The South African reported. His songs Leonard and Tshepiso have both since been vying for control, with Leonard having previously occupied church buildings by force during the dispute. The clashes have led to several court battles over the years. It has not yet known been confirmed if today's hostage situation relates to the ongoing row. In November 2018 two church factions confronted each other outside the church's Silo headquarters, News24 reported. Churchgoers at the time reported being narrowly hit by bullets. The church was founded in 1911 by Abner Blackmon Crumpler and Benjamin H Irwin following the merger of two older denominations. According to its website, the church has a faith that 'God's power is directly available to everyone to save, cleanse, empower, and heal'. Fayaz Wani By Express News Service SRINAGAR: Two militants were killed and arms were recovered as troops deployed along the Line of Control (LoC) foiled an early morning infiltration bid of militants in Naugam sector of border district of Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir. Defence spokesman in Srinagar Colonel Rajesh Kalia said troops detected suspicious movement near the LoC in Naugam sector of Handwara in the border district of Kupwara district in the early hours today. He said the army men immediately swung into action and launched an ambush, leading to a gunfight with the infiltrating militants. Two militants were killed in the ensuing firefight, Kalia said. He said two AK-47 rifles and war-like stores were recovered from the encounter site and combing operation was going on. The troops along the LoC are on the highest mode of alert and the counter-infiltration grid has been strengthened along the frontiers to prevent infiltration attempts. The security officials are apprehending an increase in infiltration attempts by militants before the onset of winter. Saturday's bid came a day after Pakistani troops resorted to indiscriminate firing and mortar shelling on army positions in Nowshera sector of Rajouri, killing an army jawan Havaldar Sambur Gurung of Nepal. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 00:12:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close China-Europe freight train X9202 loaded with cars, accessories, food and clothes bound for Ulan Bator of Mongolia prepares to leave a railway station in north China's Tianjin Municipality, May 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Ran) "We are willing to work with Mongolia to fully implement the important consensus of the two leaders, and push forward the construction of a community with a shared future for China and Mongolia," said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to join Mongolia to continue deepening the construction of a community with a shared future for the two countries, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday. During a phone conversation, Wang congratulated Nyamtseren Enkhtaivan on becoming Mongolia's foreign minister, and said that China and Mongolia are eternal neighbors linked by mountains and rivers. Wang said that long-term good-neighborliness and friendship is the correct strategic choice for both sides and fully conforms to the fundamental interests of the two peoples, adding that the leaders of the two countries exchanged messages a few days ago following Mongolia's parliamentary election, stressing the need to guide the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides for greater development so as to inject new and strong impetus into the bilateral relationship. "We are willing to work with Mongolia to fully implement the important consensus of the two leaders, and push forward the construction of a community with a shared future for China and Mongolia," Wang said. Wang noted that since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, China and Mongolia have helped and supported each other, joined hands to overcome difficulties, and deepened their traditional friendship. Container trucks loaded with coal wait to leave the Gashuun Sukhait border port in Mongolia, March 23, 2020. Mongolia has resumed coal exports to China starting March 23 via Gashuun Sukhait border port after the Mongolian government lifted a ban that was imposed in February to curb the spread of COVID-19. (Xinhua) He pledged to further push for anti-epidemic cooperation with Mongolia, continue to provide medical supplies to the Mongolian side, share China's anti-epidemic experience, and build a community of health for both countries. China is ready to speed up cooperation on the resumption of work and production, make good use of and expand "green channels," so as to ensure smoother exchanges of goods and necessary personnel, he said. Wang added that China is also willing to synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with the Development Road Initiative, advance the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor and the central railway corridor. Wang stressed that the Chinese side is willing to continue working with the Mongolian side to firmly support one another on issues concerning each other's core interests, step up cooperation in international and regional affairs, and further consolidate the political foundation of bilateral ties. He said the Chinese side respects Mongolia's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, respects the development path independently chosen by the Mongolian people, and appreciates the firm support the Mongolian side has shown regarding such affairs as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang. Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister Ulziisaikhan Enkhtuvshin (C) looks over the protective medical supplies in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, March 28, 2020. (Photo by Garid/Xinhua) Noting that viruses are the common enemy of all human beings, Wang said certain countries use the epidemic to discredit and smear other countries, shift their responsibility, and ignore international obligations, which goes beyond the bottom line of human conscience and is harmful to the common interests of all countries, especially developing countries. Wang said he believes that the Mongolian side, together with other nations, will adhere to an objective and fair position, and support the key role of the World Health Organization in the pandemic fight. During their phone talks, Enkhtaivan said Mongolia's newly-elected government will place the development of friendly relations with China a priority in its foreign policy, which will not be changed. Noting that in the battle against COVID-19, the peoples of Mongolia and China have sincerely supported each other and worked together, Enkhtaivan said the Mongolian side is grateful to China for its selfless help, and is ready to maintain close high-level exchanges as well as communication at all levels with China, strengthen cooperation in a wide range of fields such as economy, trade and energy, and advance major cooperation projects in a bid to make positive progress at an early date, so as to boost economic recovery in the two countries. He also said that China is playing an increasingly important role in international and regional affairs, adding that Mongolia stands ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China, and add more substance to the Mongolia-China comprehensive strategic partnership. A deputy chairman and a deputy chief of office in Ho Chi Minh City have been pursued as defendants in a case of mismanagement of state-owned property. Tran Vinh Tuyen, deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee, and Tran Trong Tuan, deputy chief of office of the citys Party Committee, are being investigated over the charges of "violating regulations on state asset management and use, causing losses and wastefulness." Tuyen became deputy chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee in April 2016. Meanwhile, Tuan was director of the municipal Department of Construction from 2013 to 2019. Tuyen, Tuan and other officials are allegedly involved in a case of state property mismanagement at the state-owned agro-forestry and fisheries company Saigon Agriculture Corporation (SAGRI), whose chairman was arrested last year. After launching legal proceedings against Tuyen and Tuan, officers searched the two mens workplaces and residences on Saturday as per warrants signed by the Supreme Peoples Procuracy. On the afternoon of the same day, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decision, effective immediately, to suspend Tuyen from his post as Ho Chi Minh City vice-chairman for 90 days for his violations. Deputy chief of office of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Trong Tuan is seen in this undated file photo. Photo: Tu Trung / Tuoi Tre Tuyen and Tuan were allegedly involved in violations at a residential project jointly developed by SAGRI in Phuoc Long B Ward, District 9. Particularly, in 2008, SAGRI signed with Phong Phu Joint Stock Corporation an agreement for their corporation in the construction of the 3.6-hectare project, with SAGRI contributing 28 percent of the investment capital while Phong Phu representing the other 72 percent. In August 2016, just two months after the project was approved, SAGRI signed another agreement to transfer its entire capital in the project to Phong Phu without organizing an auction and appraisal to determine the market price of the state-owned investment in accordance with regulations. In November 2017, Tuan, who was director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction at the time, assessed that the transfer met the prescribed conditions and proposed that the municipal Peoples Committee approve it. Tuyen, as the citys deputy chairman, gave approval to Tuans proposal. The citys inspectors later found out that SAGRI had transferred its capital in the project to Phong Phu at a price of VND168.2 billion (US$7.26 million), equivalent to about VND10.5 million ($453) per square meter of floor area, which is much lower than the market price of similar projects in the area. In July 2019, the municipal Peoples Committee withdrew its approval of the transfer and requested that SAGRI and Phong Phu backtrack on the deal. However, the request has not been implemented as the Ministry of Public Security had already begun legal proceedings against a number of officials at SAGRI for other violations at the same time. Last year, several SAGRI leaders were implicated for alleged violations in budget spending and land use. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Winnipegs police chief says he supports decriminalizing drug possession and setting up safe consumption sites in an effort to treat drug use as a health issue, not a crime. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Winnipegs police chief says he supports decriminalizing drug possession and setting up safe consumption sites in an effort to treat drug use as a health issue, not a crime. A day after the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police publicly called for national drug policy reform that would allow Canadian police to hand out fines for simple possession of street drugs instead of laying criminal charges, Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth said his police department already tries to avoid charging people for possession of small quantities of drugs. "Thats just not a really good use" of police resources, he said in an interview Friday. In 2018, WPS officers laid 316 possession charges under Canadas Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The majority of those charges, 160, were for methamphetamine, and 54 were for cannabis, which was legalized in October of that year. Updated police statistics set to be released later this month show charges for simple possession have been "steadily declining" in Winnipeg over the past few years, Smyth said. Smyth said he hasnt directed his officers not to lay simple possession charges, but said when they are laid, its most often in conjunction with other serious charges. "I would hesitate to direct somebody to not enforce the law, but our officers certainly have a fair bit of discretion available to them. So again, when it comes to simple possession, I think a more effective way of dealing with that is to try to steer people into some of the programming that they may need, like addictions treatment, to deal with the problem. Were not trying to criminalize people that are addicted to drugs. Our focus has been on those that are supplying and trafficking the drugs." Smyth is on the board of directors for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, which on Thursday released its findings from its committee on decriminalization of illicit drugs. The committee started looking into the issue about two years ago following spikes in drug-overdose deaths across Canada, including those caused by fentanyl and other opioids, which highlighted the use of supervised drug consumption sites. There are no sites in Manitoba, but Smyth said the idea has merit. "We dont have quite the same numbers of overdose deaths here in Winnipeg or in Manitoba (compared with British Columbia), but we do still have some, and I still think that an idea like this has merit. And theres a lot of work that would need to be done on the political side for it to happen, but this is a good first step, and one thats being endorsed by the (police chiefs)" he said. Health professionals have argued for years that drug use is a health concern that shouldnt be subject to jail time. The Manitoba Harm Reduction Network is among those advocates who say Canadas drug policies need to go a step further: they want drugs to be legalized, not just decriminalized. "Everybody, regardless of what their relationship is with their drugs, needs to be able to access a safe supply of it, just like you and I can walk into a Liquor Mart and know exactly what we are buying and we still have the agency and autonomy to make decisions around the alcohol we buy," said Shohan Illsley, executive director of the network. "People who use other drugs, whether its heroin or methamphetamines, should be able to go and access exactly what they want and not be worried about if it is... contaminated with anything," she said. Police chiefs dont support legalization, said Abbotsford Police Chief Mike Serr, co-chair of the associations decriminalization committee. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Their calls for decriminalization would require changes to Canadas Criminal Code, but the federal government hasnt made that commitment. In a joint statement, federal Justice Minister David Lametti and federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu thanked the police chiefs for their recommendations and said the government is taking a "public-health approach" to problem drug use. "We appreciate efforts made by law enforcement officers to consider alternative options to criminal charges for simple possession of illicit drugs in appropriate cases, and recognize the importance of reducing barriers to treatment, as well as integrated partnerships between law enforcement and health and social services. "Working with other orders of government, substance use experts, service providers, first responders, law enforcement and people with lived and living experience, our government remains committed to advancing evidence-based responses to help reverse the trend of opioid overdose deaths and other substance-related harms in Canada," the statement reads. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay A day after US President Donald Trump said that relation with China is 'severely damaged', editor of Chinese mouthpiece has attempted to warn the President. Claiming that 'decoupling from China' won't help in getting him a second term, he said that US should not take more action against China. Dont take more actions to damage China-US ties. Dont squeeze out Chinese students, block young Americans from using TikTok or undermining bilateral business ties. Decoupling from China isnt in the interest of American people. Remember this and it will help in your reelection. pic.twitter.com/J5pe55wfQ4 Hu Xijin (@HuXijin_GT) July 11, 2020 READ | WHO clears air on 'unknown pneumonia' in Kazakhstan as China claims it's deadly than COVID This comes after US has taken a number of measure against China. Donald Trump has recently said that his administration is mulling over the US-China trade deal amid tensed relations with Beijing. He had been blaming China since the outbreak of Coronavirus and has pulled out from the World Health Organisation (WHO), citing its bias towards China. The US has also announced visa bans on senior Chinese officials involved in restricting access to foreigners to the sensitive region of Tibet and reaffirmed its support for "meaningful autonomy" for Tibetans. Moreover, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that they are considering a ban on TikTok and warned American citizens from using Chinese-origin applications. READ | Trump reluctant to negotiate US-China trade deal phase two, blames it on COVID-19 US- China trade war The trade war began between the two economies when in 2018 the Trump administration imposed tariffs on more than $360bn (268bn) of Chinese goods, accusing it of 'unfair trade practices.' China retaliated with tariffs on more than $110bn of US products. Washington delivered four rounds of tariffs from 2018-2019. The most recent was a 15% duty on Chinese imports, from meat to musical instruments. Beijing hit back with tariffs ranging from 5% to 25% on US goods. READ | ' Global consensus to hold China accountable over human rights': Tibet's President-in-Exile Trade war & preliminary deal In January this year, the US and China had signed a deal to end their months-long trade war. According to the deal, China pledged to boost US imports by $200billion above 2017 levels and strengthen intellectual property rules. In exchange, the US agreed to halve some of the new tariffs it had imposed on Chinese products. While Washington termed it as 'transformative' for the US economy, Beijing had hoped for a 'win-win' situation.agreed to increase its purchase of US goods by USD 200 billion in 2020-2021. READ | Coronavirus Live Updates Wells Fargo does not want TikTok on its employees phones. According to The Information, the financial institution sent its employees a note, telling them to remove the app from corporate devices immediately. TikToks Wells Fargo ban wouldve come hot on the heels of a possible Amazon ban if the e-commerce giant didnt issue a statement to deny that its prohibiting employees from installing the app on company-owned phones. A Wells Fargo spokesperson confirmed the companys move to The Information, explaining that it came to the decision due to concerns about TikToks privacy practices: We have identified a small number of Wells Fargo employees with corporate-owned devices who had installed the TikTok application on their device. Due to concerns about TikToks privacy and security controls and practices, and because corporate-owned devices should be used for company business only, we have directed those employees to remove the app from their devices. A separate New York Times report claimed that Amazon told employees to remove the social networking application from devices that can access company email. The note reportedly warned them, as well, that they need to uninstall TikTok by Friday for email access to continue. However, an Amazon spokesperson told Engadget that the email was sent to some of its employees in error and that theres no change to its policies right now with regard to TikTok. The lip-syncing app has been under scrutiny due to concerns raised about Bytedance, its parent company thats based in Beijing. US authorities are worried about the possibility that Bytedance could be compelled to share data with the Chinese government under the countrys laws. In India, officials even banned the app completely. TikTok denied that it has ever been asked to provide user data to the Chinese government, though, and even pulled out of Hong Kong after Chinas new security laws that strengthen internet surveillance in the region came into effect. London has been rocked by three stabbings in the space of ten hours as blood poured onto the capital's streets following the easing of lockdown. Separate attacks yesterday saw a young man killed in Poplar, a police officer knifed in Hendon and another man left fighting for his life after an assault in Haringey. The attacks came just hours after another victim, stabbed to death in Dulwich on Wednesday, was named and pictured for the first time. The fatality in east London last night, near Crossharbour DLR station, is being treated as murder, and is the 60th in the city this year. London has been rocked by three stabbings in the space of just ten hours yesterday Police were called to Alexia Square shortly after 6pm and found a man believed to have been in his late teens or early 20s with stab wounds. Despite emergency services carrying out first aid the man was pronounced dead at the scene. A second man, believed to be in his late teens, was rushed to hospital by London Ambulance Service. A crime scene is in place and no arrests have been made, the Metropolitan Police said. The attack came less than five hours after a police officer was stabbed chasing a man suspected of having a knife. Scotland Yard said officers were called at around 1.15pm to reports of a man seen in possession of a knife in Hendon Way, north-west London. After tracking down the suspect, the man fled from officers who gave chase and one was stabbed in the arm, the force added. Forensic officers at the scene of a murder investigation after a man was stabbed to death in Poplar last night Despite emergency services carrying out first aid the man was pronounced dead at the scene Police cordoned off an area close to Crossharbour DLR station last night to investigate The man was then tasered and arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, it added. Police said the man was also taken to hospital as a precaution. The officer has been taken to hospital for treatment and his condition is not life-threatening, the Met added. North West North Area Basic Command Unit commander Roy Smith said: 'This is another example of the dangers our officers face on a daily basis as they go about their duty protecting the people of London. 'Knowing that there were reports of a man in possession of a knife, this police constable and his colleagues ran to challenge and apprehend him - these are truly brave actions. 'I have visited the injured officer in hospital and thankfully he should make a full recovery from his injury.' Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'In an appalling incident a police officer was stabbed while doing their duty and protecting Londoners. I'm thankful their injuries are not life-threatening and send my best wishes for a swift and full recovery.' The fatal stabbing in Poplar yesterday evening means there have now been 60 murders in London this year Then at around 10.40pm last night, another man was knifed in Westbury Avenue, Haringey. The 23-year-old has been taken to hospital where his condition has been assessed as critical. There has been no arrest at this early stage. Detective Inspector Paul Ridley from North Area CID said: 'This was a sustained attack which has left the victim fighting for his life in hospital. It is absolutely crucial that witnesses come forward. 'The nearby Westbury Public House was open and I urge any patrons that may have seen the assault or the offenders making off to come forward. 'I would also like any persons with private or dashcam footage on their vehicles to present that to the investigation team as there could be vital clues. 'If you know who is responsible then I urge you to do the right thing and inform Police or Crimestoppers in confidence.' Police also yesterday identified the victim of a stabbing in Dulwich on Wednesday evening as 18-year-old Donnell Rhule. Homicide detectives from the Specialist Crime Command are leading the investigation. They believe Donnell was attacked on Lyall Avenue before making his way to a parade of shops on Seeley Drive. A 26-year-old man was arrested on the evening of 10 July on suspicion of murder. The man has been taken into police custody. Police also yesterday identified the victim of a stabbing in Dulwich on Wednesday evening as 18-year-old Donnell Rhule DCI Rob Pack, Senior Investigating Officer, said: 'I would like to speak with anyone who witnessed the stabbing or who saw anyone leaving the scene. This is a generally quiet area, so I am certain that a number of people will have seen or heard something significant. 'Although one person has been arrested we are still very much in the early stages of the investigation. We know a number of suspects and vehicles were involved in this murder and I'm appealing for help in identifying and tracing them. 'If you have any information that can help the investigation, no matter how small you may think it is, please get in touch. It may be that vital piece of evidence that completes the overall picture. You can be assured that you will be dealt with professionally and any concerns you may have will be addressed.' Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room via 101 quoting reference CAD 6306/8July. Alternatively, to remain anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Ch Supt Colin Wingrove, Commander of the Met's Central South Command Unit, said: 'I am saddened to hear of this tragic murder and our thoughts are with Donnell's family, friends and the wider community. We are committed to bringing them the justice they deserve and we are supporting the Specialist Crime Command who lead the investigation. 'Our local safer neighbourhood officers will provide an increased policing presence in the coming days to provide reassurance and support. I urge anyone with any information about the events leading to this tragic loss of life to come forward and tell us.' In the last week alone there have been four fatal attacks, coming after more coronavirus restrictions were lifted by the Government last Saturday. Forces insisted earlier in the pandemic that they were braced for an explosion of violent crime with tensions that have built up during lockdown spilling onto the streets. Dr Simon Harding, director of the National Centre for Gang Research at the University of West London, and a former Home Office and Metropolitan police adviser, told the Guardian in May: 'We're going to have the backwash of everything that's happened over the last two months.' 'There's a crimewave coming, a tsunami on the way.' Gov. Phil Murphy has been adamant about the importance of wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic, to the point of mandating Wednesday they be worn outdoors nearly at all times. Dissenters called the order an overreach or exploitation of power from Murphy claims he vehemently railed against on Friday. The number of asylum applications lodged by Ukrainian nationals in the Schengen+ area decreased by 5%. A mere 10.2% of applications filed by asylum seekers from Ukraine were satisfied in European Union countries in 2019. "The asylum recognition rate decreased to 10.2% in 2019 (compared to 17.3% in 2018)," according to the third report from the European Commission to the European Parliament and the Council under the visa suspension mechanism. Read alsoEx-MP Onyshchenko refused political asylum in Germany The report was released on July 10, 2020. The number of asylum applications lodged by Ukrainian nationals in the Schengen+ area decreased by 5%, with 9,505 applications lodged in 2019 compared to 10,035 applications lodged in 2018. In the first quarter of 2020, some 1,570 asylum applications were reported, 41% less than in the same period of 2019. Between 2018 and 2019, the number of refusals of entry for Ukrainian nationals in the Schengen+ area increased by 25% (from 53,185 to 66,390) as well as the number of Ukrainian nationals found to be illegally staying increased by 11% (from 37,410 to 41,705). The report assesses the fulfilment of the visa liberalization requirements by Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. It concluded that the countries concerned continue to meet the visa liberalization requirements, and that visa-free movement continues to bring positive economic, social and cultural benefits to EU Member States and partner countries. Day 4 of the Johnny Depp libel trial and matters turned once more to the difficult issue that has dominated this torrid case so far. Barristers on 300 an hour struggled to solve the central conundrum of which tootsie did the whoopsie on the bed in the couples Los Angeles penthouse. Can anyone name the nincompoop who pooped on the 500 Thread Count Sheets? It was like a game of celebrity Cluedo, but with a distressingly feculent whiff. Johnny was convinced that the deed was done by Amber in the master suite with the dodgy piping because she was furious that he had ruined her birthday party by turning up late. And if not his ex-wife, then the 57-year-old actor aired his belief that it was her friend iO Tillett Wright who was born a woman but does not recognise gender (and who, utterly remarkably in the circumstances, is not an anagram). Actor Johnny Depp is pictured arriving at the High Court in London for a hearing in his libel case against the publishers of The Sun and its executive editor, Dan Wootton Depp leaving court. The Pirates of the Caribbean star has brought the action in response to an April 2018 article in which he was accused of being violent to his ex-wife during their marriage Sasha Wass QC acting for News Group Newspapers whom Depp is suing after The Sun described him as a wife beater started referring to the matter as The Defecation Incident as if it were right up there with the Boxer Rebellion and the Moon Landings in terms of international importance. Speaking with a no-nonsense Mary Poppins authority, Wass suggested that the culprit might have been Boo, one of the couples two Yorkshire terriers, who apparently had problems with her toilet habits. Well, we all know what that means, little Boo hoo! Mr Depp countered that the dogs were very well trained although Boo was not as trained as Pistol which made me suspect that Pistol might well be that smartest member of this blighted little household. In the overspill court, where socially distanced journalists were corralled watching the court feed on a monitor, we learned that Depp was convinced that whoever was responsible, it was not a three or four-pound dog. Do you know, I went right off my morning pain au chocolat after that. During another long day on the witness stand, Johnny issued rebuttal followed by denial as the accusations came thick and fast. It was exhausting testimony, but there were sparky moments. Miss Wass tried to make something of the fact that Johnny ordered magnums of wine at a party, not bottles. If there is a group of 12 or more, magnums just make more sense, he patiently explained. Depp had arrived in Court 13 before 10am, smartly dressed in a brown suit with a shirt and dark tie. A white handkerchief was folded into his breast pocket. He took the stand, poured a glass of water and drummed his tattooed fingers on the desk. With his clipped moustache and collar-length hair, he looked like a cowboy summoned to Dead End Gulch for one last showdown with the sheriff Day 4 of the Johnny Depp libel trial and matters turned once more to the difficult issue that has dominated this torrid case so far. Barristers on 300 an hour struggled to solve the central conundrum of which tootsie did the whoopsie on the bed in the couples Los Angeles penthouse. (Above, Depp leaves the High Court in London today after his fourth day on the stand in his blockbuster libel trial) Can anyone name the nincompoop who pooped on the 500 Thread Count Sheets? It was like a game of celebrity Cluedo, but with a distressingly feculent whiff. Johnny was convinced that the deed was done by Amber in the master suite with the dodgy piping because she was furious that he had ruined her birthday party by turning up late. (Above, Amber Heard leaving the High Court in London for a hearing in Depp's libel case against the publishers of The Sun) There was a flash of arrogance when asked if a Hollywood agent was trying to court his favour. Courting my favour? An agent in Hollywood? Sure, yes, he said, almost with a snort. Depp had arrived in Court 13 before 10am, smartly dressed in a brown suit with a shirt and dark tie. A white handkerchief was folded into his breast pocket. He took the stand, poured a glass of water and drummed his tattooed fingers on the desk. With his clipped moustache and collar-length hair, he looked like a cowboy summoned to Dead End Gulch for one last showdown with the sheriff. It was notable that he was scrupulously polite at all times. Yes, Maam, he would reply to Miss Wass. No, Sir, he would tell his own lawyer, David Sherborne. It was impossible to see Ambers expression, or if she even glanced in her former husbands direction, or if those glances were filled with regret or antipathy or something else. It was impossible to see Ambers expression, or if she even glanced in her former husbands direction, or if those glances were filled with regret or antipathy or something else. (Above, the 34-year-old actress and her 'Team Heard' arriving at the High Court; far right, her lawyer Jennifer Robinson) Everything about this case is astonishing. It has laid bare a restless world of the beautiful and the damned. Sherborne, sporting a lockdown tan the colour of baked clay, began his questioning of his client before lunch yesterday, quickly establishing that Depp was a good guy who would help little old ladies across the road, ate all his greens and couldnt help it if women such as actress Ellen Barkin, supermodel Kate Moss and French chanteuse Vanessa Paradis fell in love with him. Gosh Sherborne talks a lot a terracotta warrior of chat and when Depp could get a word in edgeways, he sounded more fluent and confident than the sometimes stumbling man whod read out his own oath-strewn texts earlier in the day. Later, I wandered over to Court 13 in time to see Depp exit the first-floor courtroom, pop on his sunglasses and make his way down the corridor. His waiting bodyguard swiftly folded in behind him, like a bald, muscular duckling. Johnny was wearing divine aftershave, was taller than expected and looked preoccupied. Next week it is his ex-wifes turn to tell her story, to lay out her own summer picnic of dread, distress and bruises that ripen like strawberries. Whatever happens next in the Amber & Johnny Show, I suspect she will want to put The Defecation Incident behind her. Like for ever. Japan is hoping to enter talks next week with a number of countries and regions including China and South Korea about the possibility of easing travel restrictions issued due to the coronavirus pandemic, government sources said here Friday. According to the sources, the talks involving around 10 countries will most likely seek to at first accommodate the travel of business people from countries who have effectively combated coronavirus outbreaks. Along with China and South Korea, countries that may also be approached by the government here to discuss the easing of restrictions include Brunei, Myanmar and Laos, the sources said. The Japanese government has already held similar talks with Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. Flights to Vietnam partially resumed on June 25 with a chartered plane carrying 150 people leaving Narita Airport near Tokyo. The flight, the first of three, was arranged by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam and operated by Vietnam Airlines. Japan currently has an entry ban in place for 129 countries and regions, with foreign travelers who have been to any of the areas within 14 days being denied entry to the country. 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, the sources said. Upon landing in Japan, they may be required to take another PCR test, they added. Those qualifying for entry will be also be required to submit to officials details of their place of residence during their visit here 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 smartphone so in the case they are or do become infected, contact-tracing can be carried out. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a press briefing Friday that Japan is looking to hold talks with countries and regions that have succeeded in tackling the spread of the virus and have seen numbers of infections decline. Motegi said that along with this, countries with a high demand for business trips will also be prioritized. "It won't take too long for us to begin looking at the second group of countries," Motegi said. (XINHUA) Dear Dr. Brimah, We are glad to inform you that we have finally secured the certified true copy of the judgment that was delivered on the 4th May, 2020 at the Federal High Court, Abuja by Hon. Justice Ijeoma L. Ojukwu. You will recall that the matter at the Federal High Court questioned the power of the Nigeria Army to declare you wanted. The ratio of Her Lordship is as follows at pages 15 and 16; "However, it must be stated here without equivocation that the defendant ( Nigeria Army) has no right to declare the Plaintiff (Dr. Perry Brimah) wanted without following the appropriate procedure. The Defendant ( Nigeria Army) cannot arrest the Plaintiff ( Dr. Brimah) arbitrarily without making a formal report to law enforcement agency with the mandate to enforce law and order, otherwise it would transmute to self-help. The duty of the defendant is to make a formal report to the appropriate authority like the police and await the outcome." And in conclusion at page 16, the Court held as follows; " It is hereby declared that: The Army of the Defendant has no vires to declare the plaintiff wanted without due process of law. This case fails in part and succeeds in part to the extent of the above declaration." It should be noted that we do not agree with the Judgment in certain areas such as the issue on the need for us to sue the newspapers against the Army and it would also appear that the court misconstrues the point on the publication by the Nigeria Army. This is more imperative in view of the fact that the Army did not even dispute the publication rather they justified it. It is therefore curious when the court seems to be defending them on this point. Subject to your view of this point, it is a point that may be considered for an appeal. A certified true copy of the Judgment is attached for your consideration and record. Once again thank you for the confidence reposed in us. Cheers and do stay safe. KASHOPEFOLUWA OLAWALE,BALOGUN ESQ. LL.B, BL,LL.M, MBA L egal Practitioners , Arbitrators & Notary Public 08033928546 In the span of a few hours on Friday, Amazon.com Inc banned and then unbanned the TikTok video sharing app from employee mobile devices, calling the move a mistake. The news generated widespread attention for the Chinese-owned social media platform coming the same week U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States is "certainly looking at" banning TikTok, suggesting it shared information with the Chinese government. It was not immediately clear what led to the initial ban by Amazon. One person familiar with the matter said senior Amazon executives were unaware of the request to delete TikTok from employee devices. The ban was reversed after TikTok and Amazon representatives discussed the matter, according to an email sent to TikTok employees. Earlier this week, Wells Fargo sent a note to employees who had installed TikTok on company-owned mobile devices telling them to remove the app immediately. "Due to concerns about TikTok's privacy and security controls and practices, and because corporate-owned devices should be used for company business only, we have directed those employees to remove the app from their devices," Wells Fargo said in a statement. "We have not been contacted by Wells Fargo, but as with any organization that has concerns, we are open to engaging with them constructively and letting them know about the actions we have taken to protect data security for our users," a TikTok spokesman told Reuters in a statement. The attention underscores the hotseat that TikTok's owner, China-based ByteDance, has found itself in over recent days. The Chinese ownership of TikTok, among the fastest growing digital platforms ever, has come under heavy scrutiny on issues including their handling of user data. India banned TikTok and other Chinese apps in June. The company has said user data is stored in the United States with a backup copy in Singapore. One person familiar with the matter said TikTok's user data is primarily stored in the Google Cloud in its Virginia-based data center. TikTok declined to comment. Google could not immediately be reached for comment. That did not stop Pompeo from floating a possible ban of TikTok in the United States. Asked if Americans should download it, he told Fox News: "Only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party." On Friday, the Republican National Committee asked its members via email not to download TikTok. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Friday also reiterated its guidance from December to stop downloading the app. A person familiar with the matter said the DNC has been advising campaign staff for months not to use TikTok on their personal devices and to use a separate phone and account if they use the platform for campaign work because of the amount of data it tracks. A spokesman for the DNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Two Republican senators in March introduced a bill aimed at banning federal employees from using TikTok on government-issued phones, citing national security concerns around the collection and sharing of data on U.S. users with China's government. Last year the United States Navy banned TikTok from government-issued mobile devices, saying the app represented a "cybersecurity threat." Last November, the U.S. government launched a national security review of TikTok owner Beijing ByteDance Technology Co's $1 billion acquisition of U.S. social media app Musical.ly, Reuters first reported last year. SECURITY CONCERNS To address concerns over its Chinese ownership, ByteDance has taken steps to shift its center of power away from China, Reuters previously reported. It is also looking to make changes to TikTok's corporate structure for the same reasons, a company spokesperson said this week. But concerns persist. Last month, when Apple released to developers a test version of its iOS operating system with new privacy features, developers showed images of TikTok's app triggering notifications that it was copying data from users' clipboards, where data is temporarily stored while copying and pasting from one app to another. TikTok said the notifications were caused by an anti-spam feature but that it would end the practice. Apple has not restricted TikTok use by employees, one of them said. Some U.S. semiconductor companies have been reluctant to consider a ban on TikTok because ByteDance is a customer, according to people familiar with the matter. Some firms providing security services to big companies have added TikTok to their lists of banned apps on managed devices. Protests erupted across the country after President Vucic announced the return of round-the-clock weekend curfew. For many Serbs, it was the last straw when President Aleksandar Vucic announced the resumption of a weekend curfew to fight the coronavirus pandemic and thousands took to the streets in anger. Who are these protesters, and what caused the outrage? And could the demonstrations, which have degenerated into violence, endanger the rule of Vucic, whom critics accuse of growing authoritarianism? Why are people protesting? Frustration has been building up over Serbias rollercoaster response to the coronavirus outbreak. After initially playing down the dangers, authorities swung from ultra-tight lockdowns to a speedy return to normal last month ahead of national elections that cemented Vucics grip on power. Critics blame Vucic for the second wave of infections, which shot up after the June 21 vote. Our government is simply looking after its own interest, the people are just collateral damage, said Jelina Jankovic, a protester. Serbia has reported some 370 deaths but many accuse the authorities of fudging the figures, which the government denies. On Tuesday, Vucic announced the return of a round-the-clock weekend curfew to combat the second surge. We relaxed too much, made many errors, and that is an individual blame on all of us, he said. Protesters outraged by the finger-pointing then flooded into the centre of the capital the same evening. While the government backtracked on the curfew, the protests have continued against a leader accused of trampling on Serbias democratic institutions. The pressure cooker is now exploding, said Bonn-based Serbian journalist Nemanja Rujevic, adding that the unhinged management of the health crisis compounded long-running frustration over Vucics authoritarian rule. Who is protesting? The demonstrations have not been led by any particular party, with groups spanning from the left to the far right. There are young people and families as well as groups holding religious icons and flags of Serbias former province Kosovo. On the first day of protests on Tuesday, a far-right group leading the front line broke into parliament, setting off clashes with the police with tear gas being fired. Most nights start peacefully before bands of protesters begin hurling stones, flares and firecrackers at police officers. On Thursday, some demonstrators sat down in front of parliament to show they came in peace. Many of them accuse the state of planting agents provocateurs to discredit them. I am always in favour of peaceful demonstrations because violence breeds violence and that is not why we came, said 30-year-old Tijana Milojevic. Analysts say these divisions could affect the movement. If no political leadership is identified the protests will probably die off as they could be hijacked by the far right, leading to a loss of popular support, or spawn several clashing factions, said Bosko Tripkovic, a law professor at the University of Birmingham. Is Vucic under threat? Probably not. From prime minister to president, Vucic has been steadily increasing his powers for the past eight years. This has been accompanied by sweeping control over the media with many television channels and tabloids serving as propaganda outlets, according to the US-based Freedom House, which no longer considers Serbia a democracy. The national broadcaster RTS ignored the first night of protests and aired a Jackie Chan film. Previous protests in Serbia have shown that the government can tolerate several months of peaceful demonstrations by several thousand people as long as it controls the media narrative, said Rujevic. The main opposition camp boycotted the June election, which means Vucics party firmly controls parliament. For the moment, the crowd is not big enough to worry the president, said Florian Bieber said, a Balkan expert from the University of Graz. With the opposition being divided, it cannot become a serious threat to the government, Bieber said. How has the state responded? Scenes of police brutality captured on cameras have gone viral, including an incident on Tuesday in which officers used batons to beat three men sitting peacefully on a bench. Yet the Serbian ombudsman has claimed that no excessive force was used to quell the protests. Vucic has branded the protesters criminal hooligans and made vague accusations of foreign meddling. Pro-government tabloids have evoked Russian interference. Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our nonprofit public service journalism: Donate now. UPDATE: In a poll taken on Friday, 83% of UTLA members said LAUSD should not physically reopen schools on Aug. 18. More than 18,000 of the union's 30,000-plus members responded to the informal poll. The poll inidcates the rank-and-file members of the union agrees with the position of the UTLA Board of Directors and the team that is bargaining with the school district over reopening. "It is hitting us hard to think we may not be back with our students in the fall," UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said. "And we know this is hard on our students and their parents, so many of whom have stepped up as our partners in teaching while struggling with the economic fallout of this crisis. But safety must come first, along with a commitment to focus on strengthening distance learning." ORIGINAL STORY: Amid pressure from the Trump Administration to fully reopen schools this fall, the union representing L.A. Unified School District teachers is calling for campuses to remain closed and for online learning to continue when classes start again in August. "The safety and well-being of our students is and will always be our priority," UTLA vice president Gloria Martinez told KPCC's Larry Mantle. "And because of the unknowns, it would be reckless for us to say, 'let's reopen schools and let's put students in danger, and see what happens.' We're just not ready to make that call." Martinez was speaking on behalf of the UTLA's Board of Directors and bargaining team, which released its stance on Friday morning. UTLA is polling its more than 30,000 members about their position on reopening campuses and plans to release the results on Friday evening. (We'll update this post with the outcome.) A spokesperson for the district declined to comment on the union's position. icon DON'T MISS ANY L.A. CORONAVIRUS NEWS Get our daily newsletters for the latest on COVID-19 and other top local headlines. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy LAUSD is scheduled to start the next school year, in one form or another, on Aug. 18. Though, as Superintendent Austin Beutner has pointed out in updates to the school community, that doesn't mean that all campuses have to resume pre-pandemic operations. Beutner has said that the district is considering riffs on a hybrid model, including options where students could spend one day on campus and the other four days continuing their studies via distance learning, or with student cohorts alternating weeks on campus with weeks learning online. While the California Department of Education and the Los Angeles County Office of Education have both released guidelines related to reopening schools, the decision ultimately comes down to districts themselves. Jennifer McAffee, who teaches eighth grade at Dodson Middle School in Rancho Palos Verdes and is a member of UTLA's bargaining team, said the union asked LAUSD about specific protocols, including how classrooms will be able to maintain physical distancing, what physically distant lunch and transportation might look like, how they'll be able to ensure students have and keep face coverings on, and what mental health supports will be available. The union on Friday released a 17-page document detailing the conditions it said would be necessary to safely reopen schools. SEIU 99, which represents food service workers, custodians, bus drivers, and teachers' assistants, also weighed in. "Unless Governor Gavin Newsom and the state legislature take immediate action to dedicate additional funds to school districts to implement social distancing protocols, proper PPE for all, training, testing and other safety measures, it will be almost impossible for classroom instruction to safely resume in the fall," SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias said in a statement. UPDATE, 5:30 p.m.: This post was updated to reflect a change in the deadline for the membership poll. UTLA has extended the polling until 7 p.m. LISTEN TO UTLA VICE PRESIDENT GLORIA MARTINEZ ON KPCC'S AIRTALK: READ MORE: Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - The UN women's rights committee has called for a new era of human rights and gender justice, stressing that the lives of black women and girls also matter As research around the COVID-19 vaccine continues, researchers have now suggested that tuberculosis vaccine may play a role in reducing virus-related deaths. According to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the researchers made the link to Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) after comparing data of coronavirus mortality rates across the globe. The preliminary study found that regions with lower deaths rates had one thing in common, a TB vaccination programme. The researchers from the US-based National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health found that several Latin American regions, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo and Mexico City, had considerably lower death rates than states in the US such as New York, Illinois, Louisiana and Florida. The scientists noted that some European countries like Germany also had surprising results. READ: UK Will Not Take Part In EU Vaccine Program; To Maintain Brexit Ideology Carolina Barillas-Mury, who is the co-author of the research, said, This is remarkable, considering that parts Latin America have much higher population densities than the North American states analysed, including New York. Death rate lower due to TB Vaccine programme While it was noted that death rate from COVID-19 was 2.9 times higher among people from former West Germany than those in former East Germany, the scientists also informed that mortality rate was four times higher in Italy than in Finland. As per the study, the place where death rates were lower varies in terms of age distribution, incomes, health care access, however, the researchers said they all had TB vaccine programme in common. READ: US Bets On Small, Untested Company To Deliver COVID Vaccine The researchers noted that former East Germany began inoculating children against TB a decade earlier than in the West. Scientists said that this means older Germans in the eastern parts if the country were likely to have been given the vaccine. After thorough research in Latin America and some European countries, the scientist estimated that a 10 per cent increase in TB vaccine coverage could lead to a 10 per cent reduction in deaths from the deadly COVID-19. While the new study challenged the World Health Organisations position on the TB Vaccine, it also said, The consistent association between BCG vaccination and reduced severity of COVID-19 observed in these and other epidemiological explorations are remarkable, but not sufficient to establish causality between BCG vaccination and protection from severe COVID-19. (Image: AP) READ: COVID-19 Vaccine Could Be Available By Early Next Year: Parliamentary Panel Told READ: COVID-19: Top US Doctor Fauci Cautiously Optimistic Over Vaccine Development By Early 2021 Investors who have flown the Union Flag over their portfolios this year have endured some stomach-churning turbulence as the UK stock market has fallen sharply and then recovered quickly. But some leading experts argue it will pay investors to hold tight. Among them is Nick Train, of investment house Lindsell Train, one of the country's leading fund managers. He strongly supports the view that the future for UK equities is a rosy one. 'Don't let the doom-mongers discourage you,' he told The Mail on Sunday last week. 'I truly believe we are lucky to be citizens of the United Kingdom today and to be active as investors during this phase of world economic development. Patriotic: The Red Arrows a perfect symbol of British quality and expertise fly over London in May 'I am as certain as you ever can be in matters of investment that UK companies will continue to be beneficiaries and creators of the global growth opportunities which I expect to be more numerous and more rewarding than ever before.' WHY THERE IS VALUE IN THE UK MARKET Nick Train is not a lone voice. Jason Hollands, a director of wealth manager Tilney, says the UK stock market represents 'good value' having been depressed by widespread dividend cuts. He explains: 'If you look at the value of UK equities compared with company earnings, they are trading below their long-term average. 'While the pandemic has had a severe impact on dividends this year with more than 36billion of UK dividends scrapped or cut from an estimated expected pool of 72billion payouts should rise next year as the economic recovery gathers steam.' Yet Hollands says investors need to tread carefully and ensure they have exposure to UK companies that represent the 'best of British'. He adds: 'Investors need to be selective because not every listed business is going to survive. 'Many companies will have to refinance in order to survive, while some sectors such as retailers and hoteliers will remain under pressure for much longer than others. 'This is an investment environment where it makes sense to focus on high-quality businesses with robust balance sheets that are able to generate lots of cash while avoiding the temptation to buy the most battered-up shares just because they are seemingly cheap.' THE SECTORS AND STOCKS TO WATCH Many fund managers are highly selective in both the UK sectors and individual stocks they will invest in. James Henderson is joint manager of UK-focused investment trust Lowland. He likes insurance as a sector, which he describes as an area where the UK is 'a leader'. He says: 'The insurance sector has suffered during the current market sell-off because of the cost of meeting claims on 'business interruption' cover and being criticised for not meeting some claims. The result is that valuations are now low.' Henderson, who works for investment house Janus, holds Hiscox, Aviva and RSA in the 268million fund. He adds: 'I think that in a couple of years' time we will be surprised by the level of dividends these companies will be paying.' Louise Kernohan, manager of investment trust Dunedin Income Growth, has remodelled the fund's portfolio with an emphasis on domestically focused stocks. She gives two examples Pets at Home and paving company Marshalls. 'Sales at Pets at Home are relatively defensive, with people reluctant to cut down on pet spending when times are tough,' she says. 'Marshalls has consistently generated above-market growth by taking business from its peers through its superior product range. It has also acquired companies, thereby leveraging its scale, customer base and expertise to improve profit margins and accelerate growth further.' Guy Anderson, lead investment manager at investment trust Mercantile, remains bullish about the British retail sector, despite the devastating impact of the pandemic on the country's high streets. He says: 'The UK continues to face significant economic headwinds, which the retail sector is not immune to. But we feel there are some bright spots that remain compelling from an investment point of view. 'Companies that have been showing strong growth in recent months and have sufficient balance sheet muscle to cope with the ongoing crisis will come out of this well placed.' Anderson says beneficiaries include store-based retailers that have recently invested in online infrastructure such as Dunelm and discounter B&M. He adds: 'B&M's like-for-like sales grew by 23 per cent year-on-year in April and May. 'Against an uncertain economic backdrop, we are likely to observe greater shoppers' use of discount-orientated supermarkets as they look to save on essentials.' Last week, B&M's shares reached an all-time high of 434p after falling to 278p in March. WHY SMALLER FIRM FUNDS ARE A GOOD PICK Juliet Schooling Latter, research director of investment fund ratings agency FundCalibre, says smaller companies are the place for investors to look for outstanding value in the UK. She says: 'Actively managed UK smaller companies funds have consistently provided exceptional returns for investors. The best funds have quite literally shot the lights out.' Smaller companies funds on FundCalibre's radar include Marlborough UK Micro-Cap Growth and Amati UK Smaller Companies. The Marlborough fund has recorded returns of 19.8 per cent over the past three months and 2.8 per cent over the past year. The respective figures for the Amati fund are 13.4 per cent over three months and 0.7 per cent over one year. James Carthew, head of investment company research at investment trust scrutineer QuotedData, believes 'investing in smaller companies can be risky, but over the long term the rewards are higher'. He recommends investment trust BlackRock Throgmorton, which 'buys well-run companies with strong, defensible business models'. The trust has generated a return of 10.7 per cent over the past three months and 0.6 per cent over the past year. Both Tilney's Hollands and Interactive Investor's Teodor Dilov like Liontrust Special Situations. Hollands says the fund has an 'excellent track record of consistent outperformance and in the past has done particularly well in tougher times.' Stocks it holds include global payroll software giant Sage, drinks giant Diageo and Domino's Pizza. Dilov says the Liontrust fund 'scours the UK market to identify companies with intangible strengths, such as a strong intellectual property and well established distribution channels'. These, he says, give businesses the power to produce higher levels of profitability for longer than expected. Carthew suggests brave investors should also look at investment trust Herald. Although it has exposure to US, European and Asian stocks, its portfolio is heavily skewed towards UK technology stocks and is one of very few funds currently backing British success stories in this sector. Investment trust Syncona is another option, investing heavily in the British biotech industry. Herald Investment Trust has delivered returns of 15.1 per cent over the past three months and 24.2 per cent over the past year. Respective figures for Syncona are 10.2 per cent and 19.4 per cent. THERE ARE STILL RISKS INCLUDING BREXIT Buying British companies can certainly reap investment rewards, but some experts still urge caution and recommend that investors diversify, no matter how patriotic they feel. Schooling-Latter says that despite being pushed out of the headlines due to coronavirus, there's still significant political risk in the UK. She adds: 'The obvious risk to an investment home bias at the moment is Brexit. It has taken a back seat due to Covid-19, but it will still need to be resolved. 'A bad outcome could result in lower economic growth and a depreciating pound which means overseas assets would be a better bet for UK investors.' She continues: 'A good Brexit outcome on the other hand could see the UK stock market rally which would be welcome as it's lagged most other markets for some time. As always, diversification is probably best for most investors.' It's a view shared by Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director at the Association of Investment Companies. She says: 'Old Blighty has been suffering from the harsh effects of lockdown and a cloud of Brexit uncertainty is still hanging over us. 'By all means invest in the best of British, but don't forget to invest elsewhere across the globe.' So, in short, don't be afraid to buy British, but make sure 'home bias' does not blind you to good investment value elsewhere. A FINAL WORD... The last word goes to Nick Train at Lindsell Train. In the long term, he says, there's a lot to value about the island we call our home and some of the country's traits can help lead to investment outperformance. He says: 'The UK has many advantages compared to other countries. Innovation, entrepreneurship, respect for the law and, to be blunt, honesty are embedded in our culture. This all makes the UK a sound home for your equity investments.' If his words do not persuade you to buy British, they should at the very least fill you with patriotic pride. Two rowdies, who stabbed a cloth merchant (35) from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and robbed his mobile phone and cash, were arrested by Mumbai Police on Saturday. The cloth merchant, identified as Aquil Shaikh, had come to Mumbai in end-June flouting prevailing lockdown restrictions, which were imposed since end-March in a bid to contain the spread of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, to catch a glimpse of actor Amitabh Bachchan. He was staying on a footpath near the actors bungalow Jalsa in Juhu. On July 4, the two accused, identified as Sanjay Gopi Kharwa alias Rajendra alias Khidki (25), a resident of Bhayander, and Suresh Kanji Kharwa (20), a resident of Matunga labour camp, spotted Shaikh sleeping on the footpath and targeted him. Initially, the accused asked Shaikh to drink liqour, which he refused. Then, they took him to an isolated location and again insisted that he drinks liqour. An altercation followed between Shaikh and the two accused, and they started beating him. One of the accused then took out a knife and stabbed him in his hand, chest and stomach, said Pandharinath Wavhal, a senior inspector at Juhu police station. The accused also robbed his mobile phone and cash and fled from the spot, he added. Locals spotted an injured Shaikh and rushed him to Cooper Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. Police have registered a first information report (FIR) based on Shaikhs statement under Sections 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), Section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), Section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and Section 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The suspects were identified after Juhu Police station authorities scanned the closed-circuit TV (CCTV) footage of the area. Harish Biradar, sub-inspector, Juhu Police station, and the investigating officer (IO) of the case, said, Sanjay had a criminal past, as eight cases of robbery are registered against him. We, through our informants, learnt that they would be coming to Juhu. The accused were arrested from Pushpa Park in Juhu on Saturday. Now, we are on the lookout for an accomplice of the accused. 1 of 1 India`s Covid-19 cases crossed the 8 lakh with 2,2123 deaths Indias Covid-19 cases crossed the 8 lakh-mark with 27,114 cases and 519 deaths reported in the last 24 hours across the country. Now the total number of positive cases stand at 8,20,916 including 2,2123 fatalities, 2,83,407 active cases, and 5,15,386 recoveries, according to data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India is the third worst-hit nation, behind only the United States and Brazil. Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state with 2,30,599 cases including 9,667 deaths, followed by Tamil Nadu with 1,26,581 cases. Delhi recorded 2,089 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the city to over 1.09 lakh, while the death toll from the disease mounted to 3,300. Also, with the highest single-day spike of 875 new cases, the cases tally in Gujarat breached the 40,000-mark, the health department said. Flash Political representatives said on Friday that the projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will bring peace, prosperity and development in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province. The webinar, convened by prominent Islamabad-based think tank the Emerging Policymakers' Institute, was attended by the representatives of Balochistan's mainstream political parties, the Chinese ambassador and Chinese companies undertaking development projects in the province. Speaking at the video conference event, Balochistan Governor Amanullah Khan Yasinzai termed the multi-billion-dollar project a game changer for the entire region which he said would bring economic development in Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan. Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing said CPEC will change the fortune of the province while highlighting the importance of Balochistan to Pakistan. Many projects under CPEC are under construction and the Pakistani people will reap the benefits in years to come, Yao said, adding that China and Pakistan have a close friendship and China will stand besides Pakistan through thick and thin. The political parties' representatives reiterated their commitment to making CPEC a success and pledged to expand the role of Balochistan and increase opportunities for the province in CPEC. The participants also appreciated the responsible role that China has been playing in combating COVID-19 at home and abroad, and thanked the Chinese government for the help it has extended to Pakistan to fight against the pandemic. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: Turkmenistan presented its program to fight infectious diseases to experts of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe), Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The presentation was made during a meeting of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov with WHO/Europe experts on July 10, 2020, who are in Turkmenistan on a working visit. The Turkmen side noted that the country follows the WHO recommendations and is currently implementing a program to ensure preparedness for countering and responding to infectious diseases, said the report. Turkmenistan also approved a plan of socio-economic measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The minister stressed that Turkmenistan is currently working with UN agencies to develop a third national plan that covers the humanitarian component of the country's measures to combat COVID-19. He highlighted the importance of Turkmenistan's proposal to create The Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) and noted the country's accession to The COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). On behalf of WHO, the organization's representative in Turkmenistan and Head of Country Office Paulina Karwowska expressed gratitude to the government of Turkmenistan for arranging the visit of the experts to Turkmenistan and support. The WHO mission to Turkmenistan arrived on July 6, 2020. To date, Turkmenistan has reported no coronavurus cases. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva Hundreds of party goers have angered owners of luxury apartments in east London after taking advantage of short-term lets to hold illegal raves. Issues have been raised by leaseholders over the past four years about at least three flats at One West India Quay, Canary Wharf, which they claim have been used to host parties after being rented out for short-term stays, breaching leases and planning rules. When short-term lettings breach a building's lease, the freeholder can take legal action to prevent it, but One West India Quay's freeholder, controlled by Monaco-based billionaire John Christodoulou has yet to take any action. Mr Christodoulou's Yianis Group did not comment when approached by The Times. Residents of luxury flats in One West India Quay, Canary Wharf, (left) were left furious after they claim lockdown rules were breached by 200 party goers attending an illegal lockdown rave at three flats in the building The lease on One India Quay bans any lets of under six months and dictates that the flats may not be used for 'actionable nuisance'. Yet The Times reports that as many as 200 people attended a party at a flat in the building on May 28, which had been advertised on Airbnb, leaving behind canisters of the nitrous oxide. A security guard has since been hired to turn away would-be party goers. The rave, where 20 notes were thrown around and sparkling wine was poured over the host, was held in one flat belonging to Lawrence Garry, 48, who bought the property in 2005 for 751,900, but lives in New York. A sale of the flat fell through in February and in a statement to neighbours, Mr Garry said: 'The agent went ahead [with letting] without coming back to me for approval... Of course the agent's conduct is my responsibility and for that I am sorry.' One West India Quay's freeholder, controlled by Monaco-based billionaire John Christodoulou (left) has so far not taken legal action against any flats carrying out short-term lets that breach the building's lease A similar property is currently listed on Airbnb with a minimum stay of 180 nights at a cost of 36,731. Minya Laher, 68, is the legal representative for Living in London City Ltd which let the property, and neither he nor Mr Garry responded to questions from The Times. One of the other flats claimed to have been linked to the raves is the four-bed property next door, bought for 1.55million in 2016, which has been listed on Airbnb since 2017 by 'superhosts' Patrick and Sara. Though not the leaseholder, wealth manager Patrick Veir represents Global TS Company Limited for the apartment. Despite allegations from neighbours that the property was involved in the lockdown rave, Mr Veir told a residents' Facebook group that the flat had been empty since last year and was not involved in the party. Global TS Company Limited said the flat 'has been vacant for many months and is not let for parties or Airbnb short stays especially not during the Covid situation'. Airbnb confirmed that no bookings had been placed on the flat during the lockdown months despite the property being advertised. It has since been removed from the vacation website. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 20:05:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NICOSIA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus on Saturday marked the ninth anniversary of a mammoth explosion of conventional explosives in 2011, which killed 13 people and injured 62 more. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades attended a memorial service for those killed, including Captain Andreas Ioannides, the commander of the Cyprus navy, and Lambros Lambrou, the commander of the Florakis Naval Base, where the explosion occurred. Most of the dead were navy personnel and fire fighters who were trying to put out a fire in containers with explosives. Anastasiades said in a memorial speech that the responsibility and self-denial shown by those killed make the holders of state office responsible to never allow mistakes and omission such as those which led to the explosion. The 13 people were killed in the early morning blast as they tried to put out fires in munitions which had been haphazardly stored for more than two years in the scorching temperatures of the Mediterranean summers and in humid conditions that eroded both the explosives and the containers in which they were stored. The munitions, stored in 98 containers, had been confiscated in 2009 under United Nations (UN) sanctions measures on Iran from a Cyprus-flagged ship sailing to Syria. The force of the explosion wrecked a power station less than one kilometer away, which covered half of the country's electricity needs, and damaged several houses in a nearby village. The explosion was estimated to have wiped out 2.83 billion U.S. dollars of the country's 24.66-billion-dollar economy and speeded up the onset of a looming crisis that culminated in a 2013 bailout of Cyprus by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 02:17:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HELSINKI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Responding to European Council President Charles Michel's proposal for the European Union (EU)'s COVID-19 recovery package presented on Friday, the leaders of Finland said their aim was to reduce the overall size of the recovery instrument and to see more money given in the form of loans. A week before EU leaders gather for their first physical meeting since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, Michel presented on Friday a revised proposal that includes a minor reduction to the EU next seven-year budget in a bid to secure the green light for his fresh wide-ranging plan to revive the European economy. In a statement published on Twitter, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin commented that Michel's compromise proposal takes some steps in the right direction with regard to the EU's multiannual budget, but there is still a lot of work to be done on the recovery instrument. Marin spelled out Finland's expectations for the recovery package. "We need a lower overall level and better balance of grants and loans," she wrote. Michel's compromise proposal aims at reaching an agreement among EU leaders on the recovery package and the MFF. In his proposal, Michel maintained the size of the recovery instrument as proposed by the European Commission in May. Of the 750-billion-euro (847.5 billion U.S. dollars) fund, 500 billion euros would be provided to member states in the form of grants and the rest -- 250 billion euros -- in loans. The best part of the changes to the European Commission's original proposal requested by Finland has been left out of Michel's compromise proposal. Finland had earlier said that it cannot accept the plan in its original form. Finland's Finance Minister Matti Vanhanen on Friday reiterated his country's position that 750 billion euros is too big a figure and that the share of loans should be higher than the 250 billion euros proposed by Michel. He noted that Finland has yet to specify the exact reduction of the total sum it will seek. Vanhanen told national radio Yle that it is "too early to describe the compromise plan as a disappointment." He also underlined that the criteria for the distribution of the money should be such that "a real impact on the economic situation is attained." The European Commission's original plan was based on a formula that factored in recent years' employment levels and economic indicators. According to Finland, the impact of COVID-19 should be more prominent among the criteria. Ville Tavio, chair of the parliamentary group of the largest opposition Finns Party, agreed on Friday that Finland must reject the package. Satu Hassi, chair of the parliamentary Grand Committee that handles EU affairs in Finland, said on Friday that she expected the draft to be changed during the summit of the EU member states' leaders scheduled for July 17-18. Hassi described Michel's compromise proposal as a "basis for negotiations." Vanhanen on Friday underlined the urgency of creating the EU COVID-19 recovery package. Noting that Finland's exports dropped by 30 percent in May, he said that the European markets should recover fast. On Thursday, Vanhanen said that the recovery package must take into account the economic growth projections of each EU member state. According to the European Commission's economic forecast published on Tuesday, Finland's economy is projected to grow by just 2.8 percent in 2021. Enditem Ministers fear China could unleash a devastating online attack on Britain dubbed a cyber-9/11 amid increasing tensions between London and Beijing. Senior sources say a perfect storm of diplomatic rows over Hong Kong, the tech giant Huawei and Covid-19 could lead to an all-out attack by Chinese-backed hackers. The warning comes as the Government prepares to formally announce a U-turn that would block Huawei from helping build Britains superfast 5G mobile network. Senior sources say a perfect storm of diplomatic rows over Hong Kong , the tech giant Huawei and Covid-19 could lead to an all-out attack by Chinese-backed hackers (file photo) The warning comes as the Government prepares to formally announce a U-turn that would block Huawei from helping build Britains superfast 5G mobile network. Pictured: A telecommunications mast damaged by fire in Birmingham After Australia adopted a similar hard line, it was hit by a sustained large-scale cyber attack. How a wave of 'revenge attacks' hit Australia By Harry Cole Seventy years ago, the UK was the first major Western country to recognise New China. Over the years, despite twists and turns, [the] China-UK relationship has continued to grow. The most important lessons we have learnt from the past 70 years are: mutual respect for each others sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in each others internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit. The past 70 years have told us that when these principles were upheld, China-UK relationship would make progress; otherwise, this relationship would suffer setbacks or even retrogression. We hope the British side will draw lessons from history and abide by those principles so as to contribute to the sound and steady development of China-UK relations rather than the opposite. China is a staunch guardian of cyber-security and also one of the biggest victims of hacking. We oppose and crack down, in accordance with law, all forms of cyber-espionage and attacks. This position is consistent and clear. Advertisement Boris Johnson has also infuriated the Chinese Communist Party with his tough stance on Beijings clampdown on Hong Kongs freedoms and calls for an inquiry into the true source of coronavirus, which is suspected to have accidentally leaked from a Wuhan laboratory. Security chiefs fear that, in a worst-case scenario, state-sponsored attacks would cripple computer networks, leading to phone and power blackouts and bringing hospitals, government and businesses to a halt. In other developments: Steve Bannon, who was Donald Trumps White House Chief Strategist, told The Mail on Sunday that spies were building a case that the Covid-19 pandemic had been caused by a leak from the Institute of Virology in Wuhan and that the subsequent cover-up amounted to pre-meditated murder; Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the Commons defence select committee, warned that China posed more of a threat to the UK than Soviet Russia did during the Cold War, writing in this newspaper: China is infinitely richer than the USSR ever was. It is also more subtle and long-term in its strategy than anything dreamt up by Stalin or Khrushchev; Respected Chinese virologist Dr Li-Meng Yan who has fled to America because she knows how [Beijing] treats whistle-blowers claimed the authorities knew about the coronavirus outbreak in December, weeks before admitting it to the world. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has briefed Mr Johnson on the assault on his nation that he said targeted government, industry, political organisations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure last month. Although the Australian government did not publicly name China as being responsible, it is understood officials concluded that the attack was linked to tensions with Beijing despite China denying any involvement. Britains National Cyber Security Centre says it is not expecting a rise in attacks. But as Britain is poised to dramatically harden its relations toward China, Ministers believe there could be brutal retaliation. One senior Minister said: Obviously this is part of our conversations. But at the same time, all risk must be looked at in the round. Huawei is a menace and not acting on it risks national security. Actions, however, have consequences and they cannot be discounted. Last night Shadow Minister Security Minister Conor McGinn said: At this time of heightened tensions, the Government must be alert to the risk of cyber attacks from hostile states and prepare accordingly. Our critical national infrastructure should be ready and able to repel any such attack on the UK. Global strategist Dr Alan Mendoza from the Henry Jackson Society foreign policy think-tank added: Far from being a benign friend, China is a strategic competitor with the means to strike at the heart of our infrastructure. China-proofing our critical systems must now become an urgent priority for the Government to avert a possible crisis. The fears come as Mr Bannon claimed that experts from the Wuhan laboratory at the centre of global suspicion over the coronavirus pandemic have defected and are in the hands of Western intelligence. In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, Mr Bannon said: I know certain defectors are working with the FBI to try to knit together what happened. I think people are going to be shocked. Mr Bannon also called on Mr Johnson to scrap plans to allow Huawei into the UKs 5G system, describing the tech firm as part of the military wing of the Chinese communist party. Tory MP Mr Ellwood added: Any notion that China can be trusted must surely have been dispelled following its initial and disastrous attempts to conceal the Covid-19 pandemic. The way of life we take for granted is under real threat. On Friday, the bar at Parlays was the one taking shots instead of serving them up. Workers with sledgehammers whaled on the charred remains of the long mahogany bar, the center piece of the Lakeview watering hole on Harrison Avenue. A fire last month scorched Parlays and dealt varying degrees of damage to three adjacent restaurants Lakeview Burgers & Seafood, Reginellis Pizzeria and the Steak Knife. This week, Parlays was finally cleared by inspectors to begin rebuilding. As a work crew dragged out pieces of the old bar, owner Mike Keiffer traced out what would replace it. Were building it back like people remember, with the same footprint, he said, casting his soot-covered arm down the 60-foot length of the bar top. A long bar right here, bench seats along the wall. We'll have a few things to make it better but it will be the same Parlay's at the end of the day. Keiffer said he's experienced an outpouring of support since the fire. This weekend, for instance, volunteers from the citys local rugby teams helped with the demolition work, pitching in for one of the players' local haunts. Once the space is stripped down to its masonry walls, Keiffer expects the rebuilding work to take two to three months. New Orleans bars and restaurants are not allowed to serve barside under the latest change to coronavirus restrictions announced by City Hall this week. But Keiffer doesn't expect the rule to be lasting and is proceeding with plans to build back as before. One change will be in the back room, where Keiffer plans to build a tiki-style bar with specialty rum drinks served in big collectible cups (think Port of Calls signature monsoon cocktail). One thing that wont change: Parlay's will not have a kitchen. Keiffer said he likes outsourcing his clienteles appetites to the nearby restaurants to spread the business around. Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up For the place next door, thats their bread and butter, you dont take that away from your neighbor, he said, referring to Lakeview Burgers & Seafood immediately adjacent to the bar. The neighborhood restaurant has been boarded up since the fire, but has been approved for demolition, said owner Joe Faroldi. He is working to secure a food truck to continue serving as he rebuilds. Hes also using this time to redesign the restaurant space. If we have this chance were going to do it right, Faroldi said. Lakeview has been good to us. We want to rebuild to be the best we can for this neighborhood. Reginellis resumed takeout and delivery service Thursday, even as repairs to its dining room continue. Founder Darryl Reginelli said full service would resume in the weeks ahead. The Steak Knife, a neighborhood steak house in business for nearly 50 years, was just preparing to reopen from the coronavirus shutdowns when the fire hit. Owner Bob Roth said with repairs nearing completion, his reopening date will hinge on the status of the city's business restrictions. I dont want to bring back my staff only to send them home again, he said. Well wait and see what happens next. At Parlays, Keiffer said security video footage shows the June 17 fire started in a light fixture, spread to an air handling system and quickly engulfed the bar. He shook his head as he watched the sledgehammers break off another chunk of its remains. It survived Katrina, did okay in the water, but it couldnt get past the fire, he said. "But rebuilding is what you do. At least we have experience with it." +12 Clancys Restaurant returns with hope, heartache and lots of lump crabmeat The names of the regulars were already in Clancys reservation book for its first night back in business, so it was no surprise as they starte +6 Why are more New Orleans restaurants closing? Coronavirus spike, money, face mask fights After finding ways to reopen or fighting to stay open through the coronavirus crisis, some New Orleans restaurants are now voluntarily shutting down. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The COVID-19 pandemic not only disrupted launch schedules of new cars but also the production plans of manufacturers. Since then, through trial-and-error methods, carmakers are looking to get back on their feet. From zero sales in April, the industry made a noteworthy jump in sales in June. But how much of the gain comes from actual retail demand? In todays auto wrap of the week, we take a look at this aspect. But first here is a detailed look at what made headlines in the auto space this week. Mercedes-Benz sales in H1 halve German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz on Friday reported a 55 percent decline in sales in the first half of the year at 2,948 units in India amid COVID-19 related challenges. The company had sold 6,561 units in the January-June period last year. The company said it witnessed positive momentum in June 2020 sales, which showed first signs of a gradual recovery buoyed by a rejuvenated SUV portfolio that accounted for 57 percent of total sales in the month. Ampere acquires Noida-based company Greaves Cotton-owned electric two-wheeler maker Ampere Vehicles has acquired 74 percent stake in Noida-based electric three-wheeler maker Bestway Agencies for Rs 7 crore. The acquisition price for the balance 26 percent, expected to be done in April 2021, will be determined as per the fair value of the equity shares as on March 31, 2021, subject to completion of various conditions agreed between parties, Ampere added. SC recalls order on BS-IV sale The Supreme Court has recalled its March 27 order that allowed the sale of BS-IV vehicles after the lockdown. The apex court has slammed the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association of India (FADA) for committing 'fraud'. The court has directed FADA to furnish the data of BS4 sales and directed the government to corroborate the sales data with the information available on the VAHAN portal. The SC noted that over 17.000 vehicles sold were not registered with the VAHAN portal. Capex to hit multi-year low in FY21 Investments lined up by a dozen automotive companies for 2020-21 sums up to just Rs 11,000 crore, a multi-year low, following corrective measures adopted to tackle the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. These vehicle-making companies and their auto parts-producing partners have decided to push back launches, delay the start of new factories, deferred development of new technologies and come down heavily on fixed and variable costs to cut down on capital expenditure (capex). Has real demand picked up? Last week most vehicle makers reported June sales that were more than double compared to sales in May. While they were still less than half compared to their usual monthly level it nevertheless is a silver lining coming on the back of the industry recording zero sales in April, a first ever. These were dispatches made to the dealers who were anyway working with the lowest inventory ever. Many of these were related to bookings made by customers that were never serviced due to lack of supplies from the manufacturer following the 40 day lockdown. So questions have been raised on whether this trend can be sustainable since pent-up demand will eventually get exhausted and the market will have to then survive on the fundamental demand. Though manufacturers themselves are not able to clarify if the sales trend will sustain itself given the widespread disruption by COVID-19, some initial trends in retail off-take may provide a better understanding. Maruti Suzuki, Indias largest carmaker, for instance, clocked wholesales (sales to dealers) of 51,274 units in June. However, as per sources, its retails (sales to customers by dealers) stood at a little under 100,000 units during the same month. While Tata Motors, the maker of Tiago and Nexon, did not disclose sales numbers for June, the Mumbai-based company claimed that its retail volumes was 27 percent higher than wholesales during the April-June quarter. The company had reported wholesales sales of 14,571 units during the June quarter. The manufacturer of Innova and Fortuner, Toyota Kirloskar clocked 3,866 units in wholesales in June. But as per the company, its retail volumes were nearly double than that for the same month. New launches (including those just before the lockdown), pent-up demand, a variety of finance schemes and the need for personal mobility are the factors determining retail demand at the moment. A higher-than-wholesale volume in the retail segment augurs well for the industry, indicating that there is no dumping of stocks on the dealers by the manufacturers but a natural demand pull from the buyers. This will make manufacturers push production to greater levels in July from zero in April. On an average, manufacturers are operating between 25 percent and 50 percent of their total installed capacity presently. All eyes are now on the July retail numbers. If they beat the June numbers then it would be easier to assume that the elusive natural demand has started to kick in. Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak during a phone conversation with Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus Igor Sergienko informed about an initiative of the Ukrainian party to prepare a number of bilateral documents for the meeting of the presidents of both states scheduled for this autumn. "The parties discussed the issue of deepening Ukraine-Belarus cooperation, in particular cultural ties. The parties agreed on further contacts for a more substantive consideration of the proposals," a press service of the Office of President of Ukraine reported on July 10. President Donald J. Trump stops to talk to reporters as he walks to board Marine One and depart from the South Lawn of the White House on Friday, July 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Friday fully commuted the criminal sentence of his longtime ally Roger Stone, just four days before the Republican operative was due to begin a 40-month prison term. The White House, in announcing the executive clemency grant to Stone, called the 67-year-old Republican operative "a victim of the Russia hoax," and someone who "would be put at serious medical risk" from the coronavirus if he was imprisoned. "In light of the egregious facts and circumstances surrounding his unfair prosecution, arrest, and trial, the President has determined to commute his sentence," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. "Roger Stone has already suffered greatly. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!" she said. Trump phoned Stone to deliver the news, NBC News reported. Roger Stone, a longtime friend and adviser of U.S. President Donald Trump, reacts after Trump commuted his federal prison sentence, outside his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. July 10, 2020. Joe Skipper | Reuters Stone said he was elated but not surprised. "The president has saved my life," Stone said, according to NBC News. "And he's given me the opportunity to fight for vindication." "Well I was, I was elated," he said Friday night outside his Florida home, according to NBC. "Obviously I was somewhat relieved, but I was not surprised." Although Stone is no longer required to serve any time in prison, he has said that he will continue to seek to overturn his conviction for lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering. Trump's long-suspected intervention in the case of his former campaign official came after more than a year of the president railing against Stone's prosecution as a miscarriage of justice and a "witch hunt." On Friday morning, Trump said he was "looking at" a pardon for Stone, who was "very unfairly treated." Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill on June 30, 2020 in Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis | Getty Image House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., quickly condemned the commutation, saying Trump has made it "clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else." About an hour before Trump's commutation of his sentence was announced, a panel of federal appeals judges denied a request from Stone to delay his prison surrender date until early September. The attorneys had argued Stone would be at risk of contracting the coronavirus if he reported to a federal prison camp in Georgia on Tuesday, as was scheduled. "Mr. Stone is incredibly honored that President Trump used his awesome and unique power under the Constitution of the United States for this act of mercy," Grant Smith, an attorney for Stone, told CNBC in a statement. "Mr. and Mrs. Stone appreciate all the consideration the President gave to this matter." Robert Buschel, another of Stone's lawyers, told NBC News: "We are grateful and relieved. And glad this nightmare is over." On Friday, Stone spoke with NBC analyst Howard Fineman and told him that he did not want a pardon, as that would imply guilt, but instead a commutation of his sentence, which he believed Trump would grant. Stone said of Trump, "He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn't," according to a tweet by Fineman. Tweet The charges in the case related to Stone's efforts during the 2016 presidential campaign to get information from document disclosure group WikiLeaks about emails stolen by Russian agents from John Podesta, head of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign, as well as from the Democratic National Committee. He also was convicted of pressuring his former friend, comedian Randy Credico, to back up his lies. The case against Stone was originally lodged by special counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who was cast with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, as well as possible coordination with Russian agents by the Trump campaign. Rick Gates, former campaign aide to U.S. President Donald Trump, departs federal court after being sentenced to 45 days in jail and three years probation, in Washington, DC, December 17, 2019. Al Drago | Reuters At Stone's trial, Rick Gates, a former top Trump campaign official, testified that he had been with Trump in July 2016 while the then-presidential candidate had a phone call with Stone. Gates testified that after the call ended, Trump indicated that "more information would be coming" from Wikileaks. Trump told Mueller in written answers in 2018 that he had no recollection of speaking to Stone about WikiLeaks. But Trump also told Mueller that "I was aware that WikiLeaks was the subject of media reporting and campaign-related discussion at the time." The White House statement issued Friday evening took aim at Mueller's investigation, which Trump has long criticized as a hoax. "Mr. Stone was charged by the same prosecutors from the Mueller Investigation tasked with finding evidence of collusion with Russia," the statement said. "Because no such evidence exists, however, they could not charge him for any collusion-related crime. Instead, they charged him for his conduct during their investigation. The simple fact is that if the Special Counsel had not been pursuing an absolutely baseless investigation, Mr. Stone would not be facing time in prison," the statement said. Trump's prior comments on Stone's case fueled speculation that he was considering pardoning Stone or commuting his sentence. The president left open the possibility of a pardon when asked about it in February, ahead of Stone's sentencing. That same month, Trump commented on a tweet from a supporter who had written, "Raise your hand if you believe it's time for a FULL PARDON for Roger Stone and Michael Flynn." The president responded in a tweet of his own, saying: "Prosecutorial Misconduct?" More recently, in June, Trump tweeted that Stone "was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history. He can sleep well at night!" Trump TWEET Stone's legal battle had been marked by the ostentatious operative's head-turning theatrics from nearly the moment of his arrest in January 2019, when he was cuffed in a dramatic predawn raid at his Florida home. A CNN film crew on the scene captured footage of the arrest and sparked the first of many moments of partisan rancor the case would inspire. Trump TWEET Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country! NO COLLUSION! Border Coyotes, Drug Dealers and Human Traffickers are treated better. Who alerted CNN to be there? After an initial appearance before a judge, Stone declared his innocence to the sea of reporters gathered outside the Ft. Lauderdale courthouse and vowed not to "bear false witness" against Trump. The president had previously applauded his ally's "guts" in taking a hard-line stance against then-special counsel Robert Mueller, whose grand jury would indict Stone on seven criminal counts. Stone's social media behavior became a regular source of controversy during his prosecution. Amy Berman Jackson, the judge in Washington, D.C., district court who would later sentence Stone to more than three years locked up, hauled him into court to explain himself after he posted a photo on Instagram showing the judge next to a rifle scope's crosshairs. The self-described "dirty trickster" Stone said he was sorry for his "stupidity," but Jackson suggested the apology rang hollow and imposed a full gag order on him. She later banned him from posting on social media entirely after ruling that he violated that gag order. Stone had fought to stay out of prison after a jury convicted him last fall of all seven counts. He sought to have his conviction set aside by claiming that the jury forewoman lied on a questionnaire she had filled out during jury selection. Jackson denied that request for a retrial in April. Later that same month, Stone appealed his conviction to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. As his prison surrender date approached, Stone asked the same appeals court to grant an emergency motion to delay his incarceration until Sept. 3. His defense lawyers, in making that request, cited "the COVID-19 pandemic and the medically documented life-threatening health risks that Stone would face if incarcerated at this time." Stone had openly and repeatedly beseeched Trump for clemency. "I want the president to know that I have exhausted all my legal remedies and that only an act of clemency will provide justice in my case and save my life!" Stone reportedly said in a text message to Bloomberg days ago. Read the full statement from the White House below: Advertisement Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida has reopened for the first time in nearly four months after it was forced to shutter amid the coronavirus pandemic. Visitors flocked to the theme park Saturday morning, despite the fact that Florida is one of the nation's COVID-19 hotspots, with more than a quarter of a million cases confirmed. On Saturday, the state recorded an additional 11,433 new infections, taking the total number to 254,511. Ninety-two Floridians died from the contagious virus overnight, with state's cumulative death count now at standing at 4,197. Meanwhile, the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration reported that almost 85 percent of the state's ICU hospital beds are now full. However, the alarming statistics did little to deter crowds who excitedly arrived at Walt Disney World where both Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom reopened to the public. 'It's the chance to come back and be in the magic,' Diane Watkins, a preschool teacher from Helena, Alabama,told The Associated Press. 'Hot or not, mask or not, we're just happy to be here. I feel like everybody here is in the same frame of mind. Everybody is just so excited to be here.' Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida has reopened for the first time in nearly four months after it was forced to shutter amid the coronavirus pandemic. Guests were undeterred by the soaring number of COVID-19 cases across the state Social distanced Disney! Staff were seen standing six feet apart on Saturday morning as they prepared to welcome guests back to the park Guests arriving at the Magic Kingdom theme park wait to get their temperatures checked before entering the theme park in Florida Guests wearing protective masks wait outside the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World on the first day of reopening, in Orlando On Saturday, the state recorded an additional 11, 433 new infections, taking the total number to 254,511 Watkins visits the park around eight times a year, and said she cried when she walked into the Magic Kingdom and saw all the cast members lined up and clapping on Main Street. Lori Lovell of Evansville, Indiana, was also there for the park's reopening on Saturday, accompanied by friends. 'I have missed coming here. This is where I've made so many memories. It's kind of our second home. Not being able to come here was hard,' she stated. Disney's new rules include mandatory masks and social distancing. Visitors will need reservations to enter a park, and they won't be allowed to hop between parks. Both visitors and employees will receive temperature checks when they enter. Fireworks shows and parades have been suspended to prevent drawing too many people together. Park-goers say that nearly everyone in sight wore masks on Saturday morning. Hand sanitizer stations have been set up, and photos showed guests respecting social distancing and guidelines. Since the park is at lower capacity, wait times for rides have significantly shortened. Whereas guests would once line up for 90 minutes to experience some rides, they are now able to get through in just five minutes. Hand sanitizer stations have been set up, and photos showed guests respecting social distancing and guidelines Guests wearing protective masks wait to pick up their tickets at the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World on the first day of reopening, in Orlando Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida has reopened for the first time in nearly four months after it was forced to shutter amid the coronavirus pandemic. Guests were undeterred by the soaring number of COVID-19 cases across the state Groups were seen respecting social distancing guidelines, and all patrons wore masks Guests are seen during the reopening of Walt Disney World on Saturday Park-goers enjoyed a socially-distanced rollercoaster ride. Disney executives believe the opening is safe, and everything has been done in accordance with state guidelines A guest adheres to the social distancing signage on Saturday However, visitors aren't allowed to hug and greet the costumed Disney characters - who instead wave from motorcades as they make their way through the park. Disney executives believe the opening is safe, and everything has been done in accordance with state guidelines. Josh D'Amaro, chairman of Disney's parks, experiences and products division. 'This is the new world that we're operating in, and I don't see that changing anytime soon,' chairman of Disney's parks, experiences and products division, Josh D'Amaro, said Saturday. 'I feel really good about our environment. We're taking this seriously,' he added. Visitors aren't allowed to hug and greet the costumed Disney characters - who instead wave from motorcades as they make their way through the park. A family enjoying the reopening are seen above Disney Springs shoppers wear face masks and Disney-themed clothing while Walt Disney World conducts a phased reopening A tent is set up outside the Magic Kingdom to screen the temperature of arriving guests Keith Cunningham from South Carolina buys Walt Disney apparel at the Bargain World gift shop located near Walt Disney World Tigger entertains guests wearing masks A Magic Kingdom cast member is shown in a face mask Disney has been opening its parks back up around the globe for the past two months The reopening of parks in Asia helped provide assurance about moving ahead in Florida. According to Fox News, Mayor Jerry Demings was also feeling upbeat about the reopening, stating: 'I will say that even though the virus is still within our community, we have to learn to live with it. 'And so, what Disney is doing is really, I call it, akin to a living laugh because this is a wonderful experiment to figure out if we can reopen and reopen our theme parks and do so in a safe manner.' There is a difference between a legal right and doing what is morally right, he said, warning Catholic leaders against decisions that could lead to the loss of some of their best employees and what little respect lay Catholics still hold for the churchs leaders. Passengers wearing masks sit in a bus in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on May 12, 2020. Photo:Xinhua Kazakh authorities refuted Chinese media reports on an "unknown pneumonia" on Friday, even if local media had reported that the unknown disease was more deadly than COVID-19. Some medical experts in China did not rule out the possibility that the so-called unknown pneumonia is actually the novel coronavirus, while the Kazakh side has been suggested to provide more information for prevention work. The Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan on Thursday warned Chinese citizens living in the country of a local pneumonia of unknown source, which local media reported has a "much higher" fatality rate than COVID-19. Organizations including Kazakhstan's health department are studying the "virus of this pneumonia," the embassy said, quoting media. The unknown pneumonia in Kazakhstan caused 1,772 deaths in the first six months of the year, with 628 in June alone and including Chinese citizens, the embassy said in a statement on its WeChat account on Thursday, citing Kazakh media reports. However, the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan on Friday refuted reports about an unknown pneumonia in the country. The ministry also said in a post published on Facebook on Friday that the country continues to monitor pneumonia in line with the World Health Organization's classification. It says that Kazakh Minister of Health Alexey Tsoy told a media briefing on Thursday that there are bacterial, fungal, viral and "unspecified" pneumonia in the country, saying that proves the reports from Chinese media are untrue. A media report claiming the number of patients affected by the pneumonia in Kazakhstan "is two to three times higher than that of COVID-19" came from Kazakh international news agency Kazinform on Thursday, but was deleted on Friday. Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao held a phone conversation with Kazakh Health Minister Aleksey Tsoy on Friday. Both sides spoke highly of the China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership and agreed that the bilateral cooperation has brought tangible benefits to both Chinese and Kazakh people, according to a press release from the official WeChat account of the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan. Tsoy thanked China for its strong support in the anti-epidemic work, noting that China's medical aid teams and assistance materials have played an important role in fighting the virus. Various possibilities Based on the little information disclosed thus far, it is difficult to conclude whether the pneumonia found in Kazakhstan is COVID-19 or a new pneumonia, Wang Guangfa, a leading Chinese respiratory expert at Peking University First Hospital in Beijing, who was also among the first group of experts dispatched by the Chinese National Health Commission to Wuhan in early January, told the Global Times. "Local health authorities should clearly state what the situation of patients is. It's also likely that local authorities lack the capabilities to diagnose COVID-19," he said. There are many kinds of viral pneumonia. Doctors are sometimes unable to confirm pneumonia through clinical diagnosis, Wang said, noting that in some remote areas in Kazakhstan, local hospitals do not have adequate testing means and cannot diagnose pneumonia. Since mid-June, some regions and cities, like Atyrau Region, Aktobe State and Shymkent, have recorded higher pneumonia cases than the same period last year. Some local observers said some regions across the country have less than adequate medical resources in fighting COVID-19, though the conditions are better in Nur-Sultan, capital of Kazakhstan, than other areas in the country. Jin Dongyan, a professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, told the Global Times on Friday that there is a big possibility that this "unknown pneumonia" is actually COVID-19, and local authorities were unable to identify it in a timely manner due to inadequate medical conditions. He said the chances that the coronavirus has mutated are very low. He noted that some Chinese people returning from Kazakhstan have been diagnosed with COVID-19, but there have been no cases of this unknown pneumonia among them. The negative COVID-19 tests may be the result of Kazakhstan's improper use of testing kits, and the reportedly high fatality may be caused by a low number of patients seeking medical treatment, Jin said. Xu Min, a doctor from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region who was a member of the medical aid expert team that China sent to Kazakhstan in April, told the Global Times on Friday that the medical situations vary greatly in the country, and many places lack adequate equipment. The medical team visited three cities - Nur-Sultan, Karaganda and Almaty. Xu said in many hospitals they visited, patients and medical staff shared the space and some patients did not even wear face masks. While China also uses CT scans to help diagnose COVID-19, Kazakhstan only uses X-rays, which may lead to inaccurate diagnosis, Xu noted. Some experts did not rule out the possibility of a virus mutation in Kazakhstan. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese CDC) also released the epidemiological investigation and analysis of the viral gene sequencing results of the latest outbreak at the Xinfadi wholesale food market, which suggested that the strain that caused the outbreak is the European branch I of the L genotype. The results of the high-throughput sequencing of the novel coronavirus genome from 52 confirmed cases in Beijing showed that all samples mutated at four sites, compared to the strain in Wuhan, analysis showed. Some experts said they won't rule out the virus detected in Kazakhstan as a new genotype, following its faster virus mutation. "The virus has various genotypes, which could not be detected by old measures, like existing nucleic acid test kits," Yang Zhanqiu, deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University, told the Global Times on Friday. Cooperation needed The unknown pneumonia has given rise to heated discussions among Chinese people living in Kazakhstan, who remain anxious about COVID-19, and some Chinese students are becoming more eager to return to China as the situation worsens. China expects to learn more about this unknown pneumonia and hopes to work together with Kazakhstan to fight the epidemic and safeguard public health in both countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Friday. China and Kazakhstan remain in close cooperation in fighting the pandemic. On July 4, the latest batch of humanitarian assistance sent by the Chinese government arrived at the Almaty International Airport to help the country fight COVID-19. The medical assistance includes 50,000 testing kits, 600,000 surgical masks, 70,000 protective glasses, 150,000 pairs of medical gloves, 30,000 protective gowns and 1,000 thermometers, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said. An ice rink featuring a frozen waterfall in Beijings Changping district has become a popular destination among climbing enthusiasts and newcomers to ice sports. Located in the Huyu Natural Scenic Area, the rink consists of a 40-meter-high climbing area. With the approach to the Beijing Winter Olympics, ice and snow activities are attracting fans across the country. The China Tourism Academy estimated that 305 million people will visit such venues nationwide this season Jan 18, 2022 05:36 PM Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 18:40:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIRUT, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Saturday denied reports that his government will resign, saying he is working at reducing burdens on citizens, a local media outlet reported. "We are working hard at supporting the most vulnerable families," Diab was quoted by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper, as saying after his meeting with Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, the Grand Mufti of Lebanon. "Our support has reached 140 families. We have allocated 1.2 billion Lebanese pounds (790,000 U.S. dollars) for industry and agriculture and will will soon pay 500 billion Lebanese pounds to support schools," he added. The prime minister also noted that his government is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the necessary reforms in exchange for the IMF's funds. Media reports circulated over the past days about a possible resignation of the current Lebanese government because of its inability to implement necessary reforms, mentioning several names that could replace Diab as prime minister. Enditem Frederick Goings is on trial in the January 2009 double murder of Nova Henry, Eddy Currys former girlfriend, and their infant daughter, Ava Curry-Henry. (CPD) Former Chicago Bulls star Eddy Curry's young son Noah was curled up asleep on a recliner in his mother's South Loop town house when relatives found him, a blanket over his head and blood splattered on his clothes but unharmed. A few feet away, the boy's mother, Nova Henry, and 10-month-old sister lay in a pool of blood by the front door, slain in a barrage of gunfire. Advertisement Noah's grandmother, Yolan Henry, said Monday she was waiting for police to arrive when she asked the 3-year-old boy, "Who hurt mama?" "He turned around and looked at me and said, 'Frederick,'" she testified. "He repeated, 'Frederick did it.' Then he put his finger to his lips and said, 'Shhh.'" Advertisement Frederick Goings, 40, is on trial in the January 2009 shooting of Nova Henry, Curry's former girlfriend, and their infant daughter, Ava Curry-Henry. Prosecutors alleged Goings, a family attorney, was an abusive boyfriend who had "dollar signs in his eyes" when he represented Henry in a child-support case against Curry and later struck up a romantic relationship with her. But attorneys for Goings contend no physical evidence ties him to the slayings and that Chicago police investigators ignored other possible suspects while zeroing in on him. According to prosecutors, Henry had taken out an order of protection against Goings in 2007 after alleging he threatened her and her son, but she later allowed the order to lapse. Shortly before the slayings, Goings learned that Henry hired a new lawyer and was going to contest paying Goings nearly $24,000 in legal fees, Assistant State's Attorney Jim McKay told jurors. On the afternoon of Jan. 24, 2009, Goings opened fire on Henry as she stood at the bottom of the stairs inside her town house, according to McKay. "She had to be running for her life, with her child in her arms," McKay said. Yolan Henry and her boyfriend, Reginald Carter, found the bodies a few hours later. "He was snoring in the chair, wrapped up under the covers," Carter testified about discovering Noah amid the gruesome scene four years ago. "There was dried blood on his hands and feet. I just scooped him up and carried him outside." After her testimony, Yolan Henry put her head in her hands and shook with sobs in the packed courtroom as she listened to the 911 recording from that day. On the tape, she could be heard shrieking hysterically as the operator asked Carter to repeat their location. Goings was found later that same day at a Comfort Inn in LaPorte County, Ind. A bullet matching the murder weapon was found on the front passenger seat, and witnesses will testify Goings was seen "going for a walk in the woods" near the motel despite the frigid weather, McKay said. Later, he went swimming in the pool without a bathing suit and scrubbed at his fingernails, according to the prosecutor, hinting that Goings was trying to wash away gunshot residue. Advertisement McKay told jurors that cellphone records and video surveillance placed Goings at the town house near the time of the slayings. A laptop found in the town house showed someone had emailed a message from Goings' account minutes before neighbors heard gunshots. Someone had also downloaded a file showing Henry was contesting the legal fees sought by Goings, McKay said. Curry, a former standout at Thornwood High School in South Holland, was drafted by the Bulls in 2001 and later played for the New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks before signing with a team in China in October. The 7-foot Harvey native is on the witness list for Goings' trial, but attorneys have not said whether he will be called to testify. jmeisner@tribune.com By Md Farrukh Ilyas, TwoCircles.net If Muslims become more than 30% of the population, that country is in danger, said a leader of the Rajya Sabha member on a show by the international media outlet The Vice. The RS member was none other than Subramanian Swamy of BJP. India being home to the 2nd largest population of Muslims in the world with 200 million Muslims in the population mass of 1.3 billion makes the path towards the attainment of beliefs in right to equality, justice and freedom a just one. Support TwoCircles The constitution of India is the fiercest pillar to support the will and social composition of the minorities in India. The law of the land, the guide book to law and rights to the citizens of India, the constitution of India, doesnt discriminate against any individual citizen of the country in terms of religion, colours, identity etc. India harbors a lot in its home, its a country with the egalitarian concepts of citizenship access to the national public policy and its distributions amongst them. Things and history both have changed according to the time and the pattern of politics. The institutional induction of Islamophobia in the politics and in the lives of common citizens in India is on the pinnacle. There are several players who have benefited from this plot of the story and the media is one of them. The media is at the top of this chain and assists the political clan and indulges in propaganda to take the helm of its success in civil society. Islamophobia is eating up the basic tenets of Indias stand in the global frame of accepting and celebrating pluralism, tolerance and Gandhism in the nation. History will go on record for the generations to come who shall witness in near future that Islamophobia was the greatest assault on the foundational values of the constitution and the idea of people of India. A nation is on the path forward to development when its social, political and economic institutions are regulated through the legislature and executive with an intention to serve the society with egalitarian motives, and any amount of bigotry will lead to the fatal abyss of the national interest to run for the larger goals. Unfortunately, the hatred towards selective minorities is being institutionalized through political means and self-interest in order to assist the selective good in the political class. A just society is that society in which ascending sense of reverence and descending sense of contempt is dissolved into the creation of a compassionate society, said Dr BR Ambedkar, in his book, The Annihilation of Caste. The question to ponder is, Where and how are the ascending sense of reverence and the descending sense of contempt used in the Indian civil society? The challenge with Indian citizens and civil society is, will the politically privileged class ever be able to establish a compassionate society in the long run? Is India being governed by obtrusive and obscene forces? The quest to witness constitutionalism as sense and belief is the need of the hour. The political distortion of civil society The manufacturing of hate and the creation of instilling a feeling of otherness in civil society is very cunningly done by the political class, who sit at the helm of power. The politics in India has always been of a divisive nature. The application of ideologies is severely hardcore that goes right straight to an individual that drives him to take up hatred against one particular community. This is done with a legitimate sense of appreciation and pride, without the fear of the clutches of the rule of law. All people are not equal, article 14 is for the equals, and Muslims are in the wrong category, said the Swamy in the same show. This is where the buck should start because its where the defined pattern of creating the society of hatred and dismissing the values of the constitution of India starts. If India fails here, future India will deny facing the nation of Gandhism and the justice and equality of BR Ambedkar. The roots to Islamophobia are from the rooms of divisive politics. The recent global break out of Coronavirus has left the world into a standstill, putting social, political and economic activities at halt. The only universal ambitions of the world are now to fight the virus and to survive. But the case in India is something different and astoundingly unbelievable. The recent case of Nizamuddin Markaz, and how Indian society and political class responded to it shows how Islamophobic the society has become. The consequence of the political statements added to this Islamophobia and the social media went into giving the results of those waiting for political opportunism. Twitter went on to trend with #CoronaJihad which appeared nearly 300,000 times and was trended by 165 million people on Twitter. This will assist the young minds of the nation to perceive the divisive politics in the long run. The future is dismal, as we forget to address the fundamental questions, how hate is manufactured against a particular community? Where is the feeling of constitutionalism? How will democracy be addressed to the minorities facing inequality, injustice and hate? These questions demand serious answers. The idea of India and inclusiveness in the nation is at stake. The well-transformed fear of Islamophobia has already ensconced in deep places of civil society in India. It has penetrated into the breadth and length of governance in the nation, and there is no check to this. It has been made legitimate and is institutionally practiced. A man with his wife in Rajasthan was denied access to basic health by the doctors for her delivery and her child died. She was denied for being Muslim. This should tremble your soul. As a believer in the constitution of India, justice and equality are under assault. The nation is passing through a lean phase in time of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are all in this together, but along the way, its our utmost duty and obligation to address Islamophobia in our society. Islamophobia runs like blood in our veins, we share lives with those who hate Muslims and we dont recognize this in the first place. The cultivation of hate starts from an individual before it becomes a political agenda accepted by the civil society. If intolerance against a community is entrenched so much in the social, political and economic life of an individual, it will only lead to more hate. The tides of hate and the production of hate-mongering will be an unimaginable strain for the constitution of India to serve its values for the citizens of the country. The country needs a collective conscience ignoring the divisive politics in India. The divisive politics will impact the philosophy of the preamble and this philosophy shall cease to exist. Royal-obsessed fans have been waiting for the fourth instalment of the hit Netflix series, "The Crown." The drama revolves around the story of the ever famous royal family, which started when Queen Elizabeth II took over as the head of the British monarchy. But even before the streaming giant drops the much-awaited fourth season, the creators of "The Crown" announced that they would stick to the original plan of wrapping up the series for six seasons. "The Crown" was initially a six-part season deal, but earlier this year, show creator Peter Morgan said that he thinks they could wrap all key events in just five seasons. "At the outset, I had imagined The Crown running for six seasons but now that we have begun work on the stories for season 5 it has become clear to me that this is the perfect time and place to stop," Morgan said in January. But six months after making that statement, Morgan said he realized that the epic royal drama needs to go back to the original plan to give justice to the story. "As we started to discuss the storylines for series five, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story, we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons," Morgan explained. Will Season 6 Cover New Generation Of Royals? With the further extension, fans are now wondering if Morgan has also changed his mind regarding the possible inclusion of the recent royal scandal aptly called "Megxit." However, Morgan made it clear that the show will still end at the events of around early 2000s. "Series six will not bring us any closer to present-day - it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail," Morgan said. In short, fans will never see the drama surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the family life of the Cambridges, or even either of the royal weddings of both couples. Season 4 Details The Emmy-winning series completed filming the fourth season just before the coronavirus global pandemic put all productions on hold. While Netflix has yet to announce its official release date, "The Crown" Season 4 is expected to drop by November or December of 2020 based on the previous years' releases. The new season will feature Princess Diana (played by Emma Corrin) in the royal family and her marriage with the next in line to the throne, Prince Charles. Olivia Colman will still portray the role of Queen Elizabeth II, while Helena Bonham Carter and Tobias Menzies will again be playing Princess Margaret and Prince Philip. Season 5 And 6 Spoilers According to the creators, the last two seasons will not lack in action and climax, as it will cover several crises that rocked the Buckingham Palace. Season 5 and 6 will retell the fallout of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the devastating fire at Windsor Castle, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's marriage, as well as the tragic death of the Princess of Wales. It might also show the deaths of the Queen Mother and Princess Margareth, which happened seven weeks apart in 2002. READ MORE: Kanye West In Bad Condition? Rapper Sparks MAJOR Health Concern! Adam Berger, better known today for his meatball joint, 24th & Meatballs, is back with a new pasta restaurant and market on Northeast 28th Avenue, just two blocks from where his elevated Italian restaurant Tabla reigned for 14 years. Montelupo, named for the Italian town where Berger learned to make pasta 23 years ago, took over the corner spot once home to Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brocks bar, Poisons Rainbow, earlier this week. The restaurant serves seasonal vegetable and pasta dishes in the $8-$14 range, grab-and-go items, cocktails and more for takeout or dine-in service at a dozen sidewalk picnic tables. In the kitchen is 26-year-old Executive Chef Sedona McCaffrey-Allen (Nostrana, Quaintrelle), who started her career at Bergers Tabla. I find that whenever Im looking to land my feet I end up back with Adam, she said, noting that she picked up a few shifts at 24th & Meatballs during the shutdown as Montelupo came to fruition. McCaffrey-Allen is making pastas daily using fresh-milled flours in a glass-fronted rolling station just off the front room. Her noodles appear in nearly 10 different pasta dishes, including a classic bucatini allamatriciana and spaghetti puttanesca, a rye pappardelle with milk-braised pork and sultanas and a casarecce with basil and mint pesto, asparagus and charred cherry tomatoes. McCaffrey-Allen is also excited about her desserts, which range from house-made gelato and sorbet to dressed olive oil cakes served in cute little clear cups. Former Trifecta bartender Eddie Riddell is in the house using Poisons Rainbows old slushie machine to whip up frozen Negronis. Also on board are co-owners Matt Lynch (Super Deluxe, Avenida Tropicale), who designed Montelupos look, and Blake Kusler, who will manage Montelupos dining room. An olive oil cake with edible flowers from Northeast Portland's new Montelupo.Courtesy of Montelupo/Marielle Dezurick Though the al fresco dining space is limited to start, Montelupo and Epif, the vegan restaurant and Pisco bar across the street, have been approved to close off a 25-yard stretch of Northeast Flanders Street to car traffic, making room for about 60 more seats. Montelupo is also available on most major third-party delivery apps. Asked what it feels like to be back in the pasta game for the first time since Tabla sold its last tajarin pasta with truffle butter in 2016, Berger notes that he actually never left. Through his small Northeast Portland company Rallenti, Berger and his team produce all the fresh gluten-free pasta for New Seasons Market. Montelupo is open from 4 to 9 p.m. daily at 344 N.E. 28th Ave., 503-719-5650, montelupo.co. -- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. INDEPENDENCE, OhioIndependence is looking to increase security at City Hall with renovations and technology upgrades that have been in the works for a decade. At the Public Lands and Buildings Committee meeting on July 1, Mayor Greg Kurtz said that funds have been allocated and appropriated over the past few years to be used for security and upgrades to City Hall. The building itself is currently 38 years old and Kurtz said the facility should be upgraded to be in tune with todays needs. The proposed changes would include a restructuring of the atrium when someone enters through the front doors of the building. Kurtz explained that currently, the police department desk is on one side of the atrium with a glass window and access only after an employee has unlocked the door for that person. Access to City Hall would work much the same under the proposed reconfiguration. A desk with bulletproof glass would take the place of the current gates that lead into City Hall and doors would be installed with ornamental and bulletproof glass. The receptionist would be placed in the middle of the desk and provide access to citizens who needed to enter City Hall. Kurtz said that times have changed, and the purpose of the updates is to improve the safety of employees and the general public. While citizens would have to be permitted access to the building, the door to City Hall would be open on days when Independence has City Council meetings, public forums and court hearings. In addition, a room that was originally used for the Clerk of Courts would be used as an area where people could pay fines from the atrium without entering City Hall. A unisex bathroom may also be placed in the atrium for citizens to use without having to be granted access by the receptionist to use facilities inside City Hall. At the Public Lands and Buildings meeting, Councilperson Jim Trakas said, I am just wonderinghow great of a need would there be to have a latrine out there. We could escort people back. It doesnt seem like we have that big of a rush of people who come into the building who would seem to need that type of a function. Kurtz said he is not married to the idea but believes it will provide more security. The total amount of funds set aside for structural improvements for City Hall according to Finance Director Vern Blaze is $165,000 with another $127,000 in the security fund for upgrades throughout the city. The security aspect of the updates would include security cameras that Kurtz said would capture any possible security incidents. There would also be a camera feed sent to screens in the Mayors office and the city court so they can see who is requesting access before allowing them to enter the building. Other technology improvements that were discussed include metal detectors at the doors to City Hall and cameras with drop screens in meeting rooms that Kurtz said would allow [the city] to be more efficient and transparent. The Technical Services Department and IT department would be involved in the installation of new technology. Independence Communications Director, Alla Lora, said, A number of security upgrades have been done by the Technical Services team working alongside the IT Department. This has included the installation of key card and keypad door access, cameras, and other items as well as programming the digital technology. Kurtz hopes to move forward with the project soon as he said that due to the pandemic, there is diminished pedestrian foot traffic in the area. Vice Mayor Dave Grendel echoed his statement during the Public Lands and Buildings meeting saying, Now is a good time because of the situation for your staff and the architects to get something together. Again, we never thought about security in 1982 when the building was built, it wasnt an issueNow its a lot different world. Both Lora and Kurtz said that the new upgrades will be securing City Hall rather than restricting it and the changes would be consistent with other public building setups. The original architect for Independence City Hall, Norm Casini, will be sketching the new design, after which the city will review the plan and determine what materials would be needed. The construction work would be performed by outside contractors while the IT and Technical Services departments would handle the technology upgrades. Its time to [perform] upgrades that would be utilized on a permanent basis, said Kurtz. F ive people have been arrested after a teenage girl was raped in a south London park. Police were called to Wandsworth Park, south-west London, at around 10.40pm on May 15 to reports that a girl had been sexually assaulted. The girl is being supported by specialist officers, police said. The five people, males in their late teens, have been released while the investigation continues. Officers have appealed for witnesses and more information that may help them in their enquiries. They want to speak to anyone who was in or near the park at the time of the attack and who may have seen or heard something suspicious. Police have asked anyone who may have useful information to get in touch via 101, quoting reference Cad 8209/15May. Phillipa Soo, right, shown with Lin-Manuel Miranda, lets out an ambiguous gasp in the final moment of "Hamilton," leading to fans theorizing what it means. (Disney+) Spoiler warning: The following story contains spoilers from Hamilton both the Broadway show and the filmed version now streaming on Disney+ including details of the ending. Though the "Hamilton" cast recording has 46 tracks, it purposefully doesn't encapsulate every single aural moment of the musical. So even the most seasoned listeners of the album were surprised by a few "new" moments in the movie, released on Disney+. "As someone who grew up ONLY listening to cast albums (we aint have money for a lot of Broadway shows, like most people) those withheld moments were REVELATIONS to me when I finally experienced them onstage, years later," Lin-Manuel Miranda explained in a Tumblr post four years ago. "'Hamilton' is sung through, and I wanted to have at least ONE revelation in store for you. I stand by the decision, and I think the album is better for it." What did the recording miss? The lyricless yet significant redcoat transition, between "You'll Be Back" and before "Right Hand Man." The tragic death of John Laurens (Anthony Ramos), which pushes Alexander Hamilton to work "Non-Stop." Eliza Hamilton's (Phillipa Soo) somber scream over the body of her son. And that tear-filled, guttural gasp from Eliza that closes the entire show. Over the years and especially in the days since the movie was released viewers have speculated as to what the final moment means. "I have heard all of these theories," Thomas Kail, who directed the stage show and the movie, told The Times on Thursday. "I'm very pleased that it's generating conversation, that people are thinking about it and talking about it." Just beforehand, the show's action has jumped to 50 years after the death of Alexander. Eliza lists just some of what she's achieved in that time: interviewing everyone whom her late husband fought alongside, raising funds for the Washington Monument, speaking out against slavery and establishing the first private orphanage in New York City. Story continues The final moment of "Hamilton" is at the center of numerous fan theories. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images) In the last few seconds, she steps up to the lip of the stage. With a spotlight shining right on her, she looks out into the audience and gasps. One popular interpretation is that Eliza, now 97 years old, has died and seen the face of God. Another is that she's seen the face of Alexander. "Oh, I can't wait to see you again / it's only a matter of time," she sings just before that moment. Another guess has to do with the ensemble, who stand behind her and ask: "Will they tell your story? Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?" Miranda as himself, the writer-composer of this show! then takes Eliza's hand and guides her to the lip of the stage. And as she looks out, she realizes that she is in fact the answer to those questions; she is the one who lived, who died, who told her late husband's story. In this theory, what she sees is "Hamilton" itself: the three-hour musical that recounts his story, and the sold-out audience who just learned about him. And that gasp is Eliza's realization that it was all possible because of her work to preserve his legacy. (After all, the show's title could be referring to her too, not just Alexander.) So which explanation is the correct one? Years after "Hamilton" opened on Broadway, Miranda remains mum on a definitive answer. "The Gasp is The Gasp is The Gasp," he recently said on Twitter. "I love all the interpretations." (While also gently pointing out that particular reading may be more difficult when he's not playing the role.) Kail recalled to The Times how the ambiguous moment which was not in Miranda's original script came to be. "It came from a conversation Pippa and I had when we were still off-Broadway, either in the [rehearsal] room or in tech, and it was once I knew what that final light cue was going to be. "I remember it was important for me to have a moment at the end of the show where the music and lyrics are resolving that extended past, that reached somewhere else. Pippa is so thorough and so intelligent and so precise, that it was a really fun conversation to have. Of course we'd only do it if Lin was OK with it, which he was. That speaks to Lin's generosity he was thrilled to have that be the final moment of the show." Phillipa Soo originated the role of Eliza Hamilton. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) Many fans are probably as surprised to see this moment as Soo's fellow actors were in 2015. "It's not something we talked to the rest of the company about; it wasn't like we had some big cast meeting or something. It was something only we spoke about, and then she just started doing it," said Kail. "I think everybody was experiencing it onstage together, just as the audience does. And it evolved she tried different things and then we talked about it, just like any other moment." Since Soo left the production in 2016, and with the opening of simultaneous stagings worldwide, many actresses have played the role of Eliza. Kail has spoken with the various performers about understanding and executing this gasp. "Other Elizas have their own version of it that's real and attached to the performer," he explained. "Our performances aren't recorded legally but if you were to put all of the Elizas' last moments together, back to back to back in a supercut, they would be related, but quite different. That's the beauty of the interpretive nature and philosophy behind making theater: It's always a little bit different, and each actor is going to bring themselves to the part. "We're not a group who tries to replicate or just mimic what happened before; we like to leave the space for whomever the actor is and where they intersect with the part. Even if they might have the same physical blocking or choreography or moments to play, their interpretation of the role is their own. That Eliza moment is in some ways a crystallization of that, down to this very still last few seconds." Does a definitive explanation for the gasp even exist? "There is an answer, but I don't know that I'm really keen to share it, because I love the conversation," said Kail. "And whenever I encounter something, I don't know if I'm all that interested in what the thing was supposed to be. I like to, as an audience member, absorb and hear all the conversation about it, and sometimes it's not always particularly satisfying to know what it was. It's like, 'Oh, that's dumb.'" The answer, ultimately, lies with Soo, who originated the role of Eliza. "She is the holder of that flame and if she wants to share that, I support her," said Kail. "Pippa can do whatever Pippa wants! But it will not come from me." Soo somewhat answered the question back in 2016. "It kind of always changes," she said. "To me, the moment always belongs to all of us in the entire room. It's a culmination of the entire experience that we just had as the audience, as the cast, as the characters. "People are like, 'Is it Eliza going into heaven? Is she seeing Alexander? Is she seeing God? What is it?' And it's kind of all of those things," she continued. "Sometimes it's literally: I look out and see the audience, and that's what it is. But I think the idea of transcendence is present in all of that, whether it's in Eliza's mind or Phillipa's mind, they're both one and the same, which is beautiful about that moment." Much loved television show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has resumed shooting after television shoots were stalled for more than 3 months owing to coronavirus pandemic. While leads actors Dilip Joshi (Jethalal), Mumnmun Dutta (Babita) were reportedly not present on sets, the child actors have started to shoot the next leg of the show. Talking to Mumbai Mirror, producer Asit Modi said that he was himself on the sets to ensure necessary precautions were taken for the safety of crew members from the COVID-19 virus. Yes, we started shooting yesterday. As the producer, I decided to also participate in the episode so I would know all the precautions that need to be taken and be able to guide my artistes on how to behave on the sets in the weeks to come. We followed all the SOPs laid down by the state government and the industry associations. Resuming work after three months was an emotional experience, he said. Pictures and videos of the shooting from sets are making rounds on the Internet. Take a look: View this post on Instagram A post shared by TMKOC FANPAGE (@tmkoc__official__) on Jul 10, 2020 at 5:41am PDT View this post on Instagram A post shared by FC TMKOC (@fctmkoc) on Jul 9, 2020 at 8:46pm PDT Meanwhile, to keep the fans entertained during the lockdown, the makers had decided that their favourite stars from the show will post a daily chore or activity that they are practicing at home including yoga, playing indoor games, cleaning up the home, watching their favourite movies or shows and reading books. The makers also are running the old episodes to keep their fans entertained. The show stars Dilip Joshi, Disha Vakani, Shailesh Lodha, Neha Mehta, Priya Ahuja among others in lead roles. As parents across Miami-Dade County wonder how schools will safely bring students back next month, they can look to local summer camps for an idea of how in-person learning during a pandemic may go. The county and its cities rolled out modified camp programs this summer, after Gov. Ron DeSantis lifted restrictions on youth activities in May. To keep kids safe, camp coordinators limited enrollment, imposed mask and temperature rules and kept kids in small groups away from others. Still, coronavirus cases associated with summer camps have popped up across the county. The summer programs which end in early August may prove to be a trial run for the school restart later that month. The first day of public school is Aug. 24. Of Miami-Dade Countys 36 summer camp programs, there has been at least one coronavirus case mostly among staff members at 16 of them, according to a county spokeswoman. At least 15 staff members and two campers in Miami-Dades program have tested positive for COVID-19 since the program started June 8. The two campers attended the same camp at Live Like Bella Park near Homestead. The county closed two of its camps Wednesday after two staff members tested positive there. Last week, the county closed two others. This is whats going to happen to schools if they open up! said Patrice Echevarria Cowan, a Miami-Dade County Public Schools employee, in a staff Facebook group Thursday. Lets be smart and teach online. Children who attend Miami-Dade Countys summer camps are required to undergo a temperature check and wear a mask much of the day. In a statement Friday, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and Mayor Carlos Gimenez said they will convene a group of health officials to set the science-based metrics for the conditions needed for a safe return to school. The superintendent and I are very worried about our children returning to school next month unless the spread of the virus is tamped down immediately, Gimenez said. I also want to make sure that working parents have options for the school year, but we must have a safe environment. Story continues On Thursday, the family of a 7-year-old child notified the city of Miami Beach that the child tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the city-run Flamingo Park camp in South Beach. Since camp started in Miami Beach last month, 120 children have dropped out of summer programs, City Manager Jimmy Morales said. For now, our view is that we are running our programs in compliance with the guidelines; parents understand the risks and are making their decisions accordingly, Morales said in a memo Thursday. I would recommend continuing our programs. My view is we are probably a safer option for many parents than private day care services, to the extent they can afford them. School will stay online if spike continues Despite an order from Florida Education Richard Corcoran mandating that public schools reopen in August, Carvalho said the Miami-Dade school district would not offer in-person classes until the COVID-19 surge plateaus enough that Gimenez reopens sectors of the economy like indoor restaurant dining, movie theaters and casinos that he ordered shut last week following a brief reopening in June. If come Aug. 24, when school is set to begin, the county remains in its current stage of reopening, Carvalho said schooling will be conducted entirely online. We are working closely with the mayor, seasoned medical experts and educators to guide our decision making, and ensure all community parameters are clear for the safe return of our students and employees, Carvalho said in Fridays statement. The Florida Department of Health has confirmed 58,341 COVID-19 cases and 1,118 deaths in Miami-Dade County to date, the highest in the state. In recent weeks, the county has reported surges in new cases and hospitalizations along with a spike in the percentage of coronavirus tests that come back positive. The average percentage-positive rate over the last two weeks is 25%, far higher than the 10% mark Miami-Dade set as a threshold in May to begin reopening the economy. The new surge in cases statewide has led to an uptick in reported deaths. An 11-year-old girl in Broward County was among the 120 reported COVID-19 deaths in Florida on Thursday, the most in a single day. An 11-year-old boy in Miami-Dade County died June 30 of complications due to the coronavirus. Both had pre-existing conditions, like kidney failure and heart disease, and they are the youngest known Florida patients who died after contracting COVID-19. Three deaths were reported Thursday in Miami-Dade, the second-lowest daily tally in the county in the last four weeks. Children and teenagers may not even know they have the virus, but they can be spreading it to their teachers and classmates with autoimmune problems or other medical conditions, as well as spreading it to their parents and grandparents, who are at highest risk of severe symptoms and death from COVID-19, Gimenez said. Thats why its so important for everyone to wear masks, social distance and wash their hands often. Its up to all of us to change the trajectory of this deadly virus. Miami Herald staff writers Douglas Hanks and Colleen Wright contributed to this report. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 19:41:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Major U.S. multinational bank Wells Fargo & Company has announced it would donate some 400 million U.S. dollars to help small businesses impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement released on Friday. "By donating approximately 400 million U.S. dollars in processing fees to assist small businesses in need, Wells Fargo's Open for Business Fund creates opportunities for near-term access to capital and addresses the road ahead to meaningful economic recovery, especially for Black and African American entrepreneurs and other minority-owned businesses," said Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf. Through Wells Fargo's Open for Business Fund, the company will engage nonprofit organizations to provide capital, technical support, and long-term resiliency programs to small businesses with an emphasis on those that are minority-owned businesses, said the statement released by the company. According to data from Wells Fargo's June Gallup/Small Business Index, more than half of small business owners surveyed expect either stagnant or decreasing revenues in the coming 12 months. The Open for Business Fund's initial grants will allocate 28 million dollars to Community Development Financial Institutions, also known as nonprofit community lenders, aimed at empowering Black and African American-owned small businesses, the statement said. "Black businesses have faced the largest shutdown of any diverse group in the country," said Ron Busby, Sr., CEO of U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. "We lost 41 percent, or 450,000 Black-owned small businesses, in this pandemic so far and all of those businesses provided jobs so we need to accelerate an economic agenda that helps them recover," said Busby. In specifically oversampling African American, Hispanic, Asian, and women business owners, June's survey also observed that 52 percent of these owners felt the U.S. economy was in a recession or depression, while 26 percent said they did not feel very prepared or at all prepared for the economic downturn from the pandemic, the company said in the statement. Enditem ANN ARBOR, MI The morning after City Council fired City Administrator Howard Lazarus in a controversial 7-4 vote, 1st Ward council candidate Lisa Disch emailed incumbent Anne Bannister, urging reconsideration. Anne, as your opponent, your vote is a gift to me, Disch wrote, referring to the fact that the firing angered many residents. It is in my interests to use it to rally dollars and support. But as a resident, Disch said, she wanted Bannister to change her vote, fearing Lazarus absence could halt progress on issues like carbon-neutrality, affordable housing and cleanup of the Gelman dioxane plume. Our talented city staff needs its chief executive for these initiatives to move forward, Disch wrote, arguing it was wasteful and counterproductive to fire Lazarus without cause, giving him over $223,000 in severance. This vote looks blatantly vindictive: Is it really any wonder that some people feel as though Trumps politics have come to our city? Disch told Bannister. Bannister maintained Lazarus needed to go following months of tension between him and the council majority. She offered this reply to Disch: Dear Lisa Yes, momentum will continue on climate action, affordable housing and the plume, and so much more. We are moving in a positive direction. Bannister then forwarded Dischs email to some of her allies on council, while Disch forwarded Bannisters reply to Mayor Christopher Taylor and his allies, who opposed the firing. Annes answer is below. Im SOOOOO relieved. (Not!) Disch told the mayor and his allies. Those exchanges, obtained by The Ann Arbor News/MLive under the Freedom of Information Act, show how Lazarus firing, which highlighted divisions on council, quickly became a point of contention between candidates in this years election. Emails show blowback against Ann Arbor council after firing administrator Five of 11 council seats are up for grabs and 13 candidates are competing in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary. Three incumbents who voted to fire Lazarus are seeking re-election, including Bannister in the 1st Ward, Jane Lumm in the 2nd Ward and Jack Eaton in the 4th Ward. Their challengers all opposed the firing. There are no incumbents running in the 3rd and 5th ward races, where most candidates said theyre against the firing. Bannister has said there were unnecessary obstacles to council doing its job and serving constituents under Lazarus. She and other council members have said they cant say much else due to a non-disparagement agreement. Linh Song, who is challenging Lumm in the 2nd Ward, said she couldnt understand the rationale behind firing Lazarus and it happened on short notice without much time for public input. Firing the leader of an organization should be a last resort, Song said, suggesting council should have found a way to work with and communicate better with the administrator. Song said shes talked about it with residents and theyre concerned and disappointed and want reassurances something like this wont happen again. Council recently launched a search for a new administrator, saying it wants someone who can be apolitical. That was a concern Lumm had about Lazarus, who cited tensions with the new council majority when he sought a job in Florida last year. Mr. Lazarus made it abundantly clear that he does not agree with the new direction of council the electorate delivered to him he stated as much in his Gainesville application. The administrator should be politically agnostic, Lumm wrote in an email obtained under FOIA. Why was Ann Arbor City Administrator Howard Lazarus fired? Emails shed some light In the 4th Ward, Eaton faces two opponents who also question his decision to fire Lazarus. It was an irresponsible and politically motivated decision that harmed us financially as taxpayers, said 4th Ward challenger Jen Eyer, arguing its going to be difficult for the city to recruit the best job candidates now, given how Lazarus was treated. Eyer said she and Lazarus had some differences of opinion, but she still thinks council was needlessly antagonistic with him. It comes up when shes talking with voters, she said. Right after the firing, she saw a flood of new support from residents who were very angry that the council would waste their money in such a way and would destabilize the city hall and harm our reputation, she said. People are frustrated. Theyre angry, she said. And its just a real sign of how partisan and politically motivated some council members have acted. " Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, the other 4th Ward challenger, said she doesnt know all of the details, but it seemed Lazarus was doing his job and firing him was too rash. I would say that they could have worked with him. They could have seen where the weaknesses were and they could have resolved issues instead of firing him, she said. Firing someone is a big step. It should not be taken lightly. If he has done things that were not in accordance with whatever the city approves, they should have talked to Mr. Lazarus. Eaton said he doubts the controversy over the firing will impact how the election goes. There are people who already didnt support me, who are angry at me for having participated in that effort and I wasnt going to get their vote anyways, he said. Whos running in the Aug. 4 primary in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County In the 3rd Ward, three candidates are competing for an open seat being vacated by Zachary Ackerman, one of the mayors allies who was against the firing. Two of the candidates Travis Radina and Evan Redmond have concerns about the firing, while the other, Tony Brown, said hes not going to state his opinion. It gets me nowhere. I wasnt even around when that happened, Brown said. Radina said hes disappointed in how the firing was carried out. The resolution went on councils agenda and became public only hours before the vote. While Lazarus relationship with council was contentious, he had support from his staff and the community, as his performance evaluation scores showed, Radina said. So, its disappointing Lazarus was fired without much opportunity for the community to weigh in and now its costing the community quite a bit of money, Radina said. It was a waste of money that we could have been using for other things, Redmond agreed, adding it seems to have been a consequence of political divisions on council. People want a functional city government and this was a real display of dysfunction, he said. Lazarus seemed to be doing a fine job, apart from pushing back on giving the police oversight commission more power when it was formed, Redmond said. Mayor slams conservative council majority in 2020 election endorsements In the 5th Ward, three candidates are competing for an open seat being vacated by Chip Smith, another of the mayors allies who was against the firing. Two of the candidates Erica Briggs and Dan Michniewicz opposed the firing, while the other, David Silkworth, isnt taking a position on it. Briggs called it inappropriate, fiscally irresponsible and a political move thats unhealthy for Ann Arbor, demonstrating councils inability to work well with staff. It also points to a misunderstanding of the roles of council and the administrator, Briggs said. Council as a whole sets policy and the administrator is supposed to follow it, and it seemed Lazarus was doing that, she said. And individual council members were maybe trying to exert influence at an individual level, she said. Briggs, a city planning commissioner, said city staff was shocked by the firing. It really shook the organization and morale has really suffered as a result, she said. 5 Ann Arbor council races, 13 candidates: Heres what they have to say Michniewicz said its laughable that council is now trying to find an administrator whos apolitical. Its naive to think someone that high up in local government wont bring with them their own political opinions, he said. Michniewicz said he wasnt really a fan of Lazarus, sharing concerns about his approach to the police oversight commission, but firing him wasnt a constructive step. He also thinks it traces back to the divided council, which is a major issue for voters, he said. Silkworth said he never had a working relationship with Lazarus and cant say whether he should have been fired. Personnel decisions are complicated, often involving an interplay of detailed contracts, labor agreements, codes of conduct and performance reviews, and sometimes involving investigations into personal conduct that includes details that are not made available to the public, and these decisions always require expert legal advice before theyre ultimately decided, so its impossible for me to provide a definitive answer about this without having all of this information, he said. Silkworth said his encounters with Lazarus were always respectful and cordial, and Lazarus personally thanked him for his advocacy on pedestrian safety. Silkworth said he also attended Ann Arbor Citizens Academy meetings where Lazarus was present and he was always professional. That said, Lazarus made some unflattering comments about members of the current City Council when he applied for a job in Florida, Silkworth recalled, adding he couldnt comment without more information on whether that violated his employment agreement or any codes of conduct. MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS: Ann Arbor Ward 1 candidates discuss political divisions, growth and change Ann Arbor Ward 2 candidates weigh in on racial justice, housing, key city issues Ann Arbor Ward 3 council candidates discuss gentrification, racial justice and political factions Affordable housing, racial justice discussed by Ann Arbor Ward 4 candidates Ward 5 Ann Arbor council candidates discuss policing, racial justice, housing 11.07.2020 LISTEN President Adama Barrow Office of the President State House Banjul The Gambia Dear President Barrow, We, the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), an institution established to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations in West Africa; the Africans Rising, a Pan-African movement of people working for justice, peace, and dignity; CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations and civil society organisations across West Africa unequivocally condemn the arbitrary arrest and illegal charges leveled against Mr. Madi Jobarteh a human rights defender, and his subsequent harassment by the Police force of the Gambia. Mr. President, we recall that Mr. Madi Jobarteh, on 30 June 2020, was invited by the police to clarify a media interview he had granted relating to George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement during a demonstration he organised on the 27 June 2020 in front of the United States Embassy in Serrekunda. Mr. Madi Jobarteh had during the said media interview criticised your administration for its inaction in investigating the reported killing of three Gambian citizens, Haruna Jatta, Ousman Darboe and Kebba Secka, by Gambian police officers between June 2017 and July 2019. He was subsequently arrested, charged with false information and broadcasting, was granted bail, and asked to report to the police regularly for an undefined period. This amounts to harassment and the curtailing of his rights to freedom of expression as guaranteed in the Constitution of the Gambia--which mandates the Government to respect, safeguard and allow for the enjoyment of those rights. Mr. President, we also use this medium to remind you that this continuous harassment of the person of Mr. Madi Jobarteh is a direct violation of the various international and regional human rights frameworks and norms such as the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and Human Rights Council resolutions 22/6, 27/5 and 27/31, and the African Charter On Human And Peoples' Rights, which The Gambia subscribes to, and should be respected. Mr. President, we would like to state categorically that Mr. Madi Jobarteh was exercising his fundamental human right to expression and any attempt to muffle him or intimidate him is unconscionable and must be condemned totally. Civil society organisations across West Africa and beyond commend Mr. Madi Jobartehs contribution to democratic governance, development, and goodwill in his defense of human rights, not just in the Gambia but across the region. For a country and people that have gone through 22 years of dictatorship, and for the same country and people who ushered in a new dawn with your leadership, Mr. President, the last thing they want to see is the remnants of the old regime - intimidation, arbitrary arrests, detentions, false accusations all calculated attempts to stifle dissent and the voices of citizens. Mr. President, we also wish to underscore the fact that Mr. Jobartehs arrest and false accusation is just one of the many, suggesting a dangerous descent for the country as far as human rights, freedoms and democratic governance are concerned. Several in the line of police mistreatment include Mama Kandeh (invited by the police for expressing his opinion on ministers and corruption); Fabakary Tombong Jatta (questioned by the police for asking the Government to release detained security officers); Dr. Ismaila Ceesay (detained for proffering advice to the President about the military); Fatou Badjie (arrested and charged proclaiming the President is not a good Muslim); Amadou Scattred Janneh (questioned by police for standing up against the destructive Chinese fishmeal factory in his community); and many others. Other instances include the deliberate clamping down on citizen groups and political organizing with parties been denied permits to protest or to hold rallies beginning with #OccupyWestfield in 2017. Gambians should not be treated as enemies of the state because they are only expressing their opinion on national and policy issues or defend human rights and good governance. Mr. President, actions such as these make citizens and the world question the change you promised the Gambia people. The blatant disregard of the abuse of the police and security forces, arbitrary and illegal arrests and intimidation of human rights defenders and citizens is a mark of the Gambia under the erstwhile dictatorial regime, and must not be allowed to fester in the new Gambia. If allowed, these actions would erode the very gains made when the Gambia Decided. We, in solidarity with the people of the Gambia, and Mr Madi Jobarteh in particular, therefore, call upon your administration to reverse this disturbing trend, and demonstrate greater commitment to civil and human rights, and protect the fundamental and constitutional rights to expression of Gambians. We call on your government to immediately; Drop all charges against Mr. Madi Jobarteh Stop all forms of harassment and victimization to the person of Mr. Madi Jobarteh Protect the rights to expression and freedom of speech of Mr. Madi Jobarteh, and all Gambians Conduct independent investigations into the alleged shooting of Haruna Jatta by ECOMIG forces in Kanilai in June 2017, the arbitrary detention and torture that led to the death of Ousman Darboe by the Anti-Crime Unit in July 2019 and the speedy trial of the case of stabbing to death of Kebba Secka by police officers in July 2019. Create an enabling environment for civil society organisations to operate by removing restrictions on the right to freedom of expression to ensure that civil society, activists, and citizens can express themselves without fear of reprisals. Sincerely Yours, The Undersigned Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States. Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation to become the leading pan-Africa focused listed alternative asset manager with unique capabilities to invest across the continent Creates a diversified investment platform combining best in class third-party investment management capabilities with the strength of long-term shareholders in a permanent capital vehicle Provides an enlarged capital base, increasing capacity to invest as well as to launch additional and differentiated Africa focused asset management strategies and initiatives Reinforces the parties shared long-term commitment to be a consistent and trusted provider of capital to growing African businesses across market cycles Tope Lawani and Babatunde Soyoye, the co-founders and Managing Partners of Helios Investment Partners LLP, will become joint CEOs of the combined holding company, enabling the company to build on the track record they have established over the last 15 years TORONTO and LONDON, July 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fairfax Africa Holdings Corporation (TSX: FAH.U) (Fairfax Africa), an investment holding company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange whose objective is to make investments in African businesses, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement (the Purchase Agreement) with Helios Holdings Limited (together with one or more of its affiliates, as the context requires, the Helios Holdings Group), the leading Africa-focused private investment firm, for the combination of their complementary businesses on one unified platform. The Helios Holdings Group will contribute certain economic streams (from the management and performance fees arising from current and future Helios funds) to Fairfax Africa in exchange for a 45.9% equity and voting interest in the pro forma share capital of Fairfax Africa (the Transaction). Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax Financial) will retain voting control of the combined entity. On closing of the transaction, Fairfax Africa will be renamed Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation (HFP) and continue to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Tope Lawani and Babatunde Soyoye, the co-founders and Managing Partners of Helios Investment Partners LLP (Helios), the investment advisor to the Helios funds, will be appointed as co-chief executive officers of HFP. Since 2004 they have jointly built the leading pan-Africa focused private equity business with four successful funds. The current CEO of Fairfax Africa, Michael Wilkerson, will become the Executive Vice Chairman of HFP. Upon closing, Helios will be appointed sole investment adviser to HFP. As a result of the Transaction, HFP shareholders will benefit from a broader team of experienced investment professionals fully focused on Africa, with deep local knowledge, differentiated capabilities and a successful track record across the continent in identifying and securing high-quality, largely proprietary, investment opportunities. In addition to being appointed as investment advisor to HFP, Helios will pursue the growth of its third-party investment advisory business in Africa-focused alternative assets, continuing to advise on its existing private equity and credit funds, with combined assets under management of over US$3.6 billion, and raising and deploying future funds in similar strategies and new initiatives. Current investors in Helios latest fund, Helios IV, include CDC Group (the UKs development finance institution) and the International Finance Corporation (a member of the World Bank Group). The Transaction will strengthen Helios third-party fund advisory capabilities by enabling greater investment flexibility and capacity, enhancing Helios position as a constructive and creative partner of choice for Africa. The Transaction creates a leading Africa-focused alternative investment manager with the strength and stability of an investment holding company and the enhanced cashflow and liquidity profiles of an alternative asset manager. HFP will continue to be publicly-listed and will represent an attractive investment vehicle offering exposure to high-quality investments in African markets. HFPs business will benefit from diversified revenue streams from both recurring and predictable asset management fees and carried interest income from long-dated third-party funds under management as well as capital gains from the appreciation of its proprietary capital. HFPs permanent capital base will support the launch of new third-party fund strategies and initiatives, leveraging Helios track record and expertise. Additional Transaction Details Fee streams contributed by Helios Holdings Group consist of: 100% of excess fees, defined as all management and other fees paid to Helios or any of its affiliates in connection with the management of any existing or future fund (including the management of HFP and its subsidiaries) less expenses, administrative fees or other fees necessary for the operation of managing those funds, 25% of all carried interest amounts generated by any existing private equity fund managed by Helios or any of its affiliates, excluding Helios IV, and 50% of all carried interest amounts generated by any future fund managed by Helios or any of its affiliates, including Helios IV. The current carried interest incentives for Helios investment professionals remain in place and the all-share transaction ensures strong alignment between the investment team, Limited Partners of Helios funds and the shareholders of HFP in delivering strong and sustainable performance across all parts of the combined business. Tope Lawani, co-founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners LLP said: We are proud to be partnering with Fairfax Financial and Prem Watsa on this next step of Helios development. The combination leverages our mutual strengths and enables us to provide public market investors with unique access to a differentiated set of investment opportunities on the African continent, as we have been doing for our partners in our private funds. This will strengthen our ability to deliver on our mission to generate globally competitive investment returns and create positive socioeconomic development outcomes for Africa by building profitable, value-creating and socially responsible businesses. Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited added: We are excited to partner with Tope and Babatunde in establishing Helios Fairfax Partners. They have an outstanding track record in investing in Africa over the past 15 years. Our cultures are very similar and Tope and Babatunde, with our support, aim to establish the pre-eminent investment vehicle for Africa in the years to come. We believe this partnership will be good for Africa, the shareholders of Fairfax Africa and Helios and the employees of both organizations. Michael Wilkerson, Chief Executive Officer of Fairfax Africa, said: This combination creates the pre-eminent pan-African investment platform, bringing together the complementary strengths of our respective expertise, cultures and people, in an attractive permanent capital vehicle. We are very pleased to partner with Tope, Babatunde and the entire Helios team, and look forward to working together to build sustainable value for our shareholders over time. Transaction Process Fairfax Africa will call a special shareholder meeting (the Meeting) at which shareholders of Fairfax Africa (Shareholders) will be asked to approve, among other things, an amendment to Fairfax Africas articles and by-laws in order to give effect to the Transaction. The board of directors (the Board) of Fairfax Africa has formed a special committee (the Special Committee) comprised of directors who are independent of Fairfax Africa management and of Fairfax Financial and its affiliates. The Special Committee, after receiving independent legal and financial advice (including a fairness opinion from Alvarium MB (UK) Limited (Alvarium) described below), unanimously recommended that the Board approve the Transaction and recommend to Shareholders (other than Fairfax Financial and its affiliates) that they vote in favour of the Transaction at the Meeting. Based on the recommendation of the Special Committee, the Board (with interested directors abstaining) has determined that the Transaction is in the best interests of Fairfax Africa and is unanimously recommending that Shareholders (other than Fairfax Financial and its affiliates) vote in favour of the Transaction at the Meeting. The Special Committee has retained Alvarium as an independent financial advisor. Alvarium provided its verbal opinion to the effect that, as of July 10, 2020, subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications to be set out in Alvariums written fairness opinion, the financial terms of the Transaction are fair, from a financial point of view, to the Corporation and its Shareholders (excluding any related party shareholders who may be entitled to receive a collateral benefit in connection with the Transaction). The written fairness opinion will be included in the management proxy circular (the Circular) to be filed and mailed to Shareholders in connection with the approval of the Transaction at the Meeting. HFP, Fairfax Financial, Tope Lawani and Babatunde Soyoye will enter into a new securityholders agreement pursuant to which, among other things, the board of directors of HFP post-closing of the Transaction will consist of nine members in total, of which Fairfax Financial will nominate three members, Helios Holdings Group will nominate two members, and four members will be independent and jointly nominated by Fairfax Financial and Helios Holdings Group. Completion of the Transaction, which is expected to occur in the third quarter of this year, is subject to customary conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange, and approval by Shareholders at the Meeting (including a majority of the votes cast by holders of Fairfax Africas subordinate voting shares (excluding any subordinate voting shares owned by Fairfax Financial and its affiliates)). Significant shareholders of Fairfax Africa (collectively, the Supporting Shareholders), being Fairfax Financial and OMERS Administration Corporation, have entered into voting support agreements (the Support Agreements) with Fairfax Africa and the Helios Holdings Group pursuant to which the Supporting Shareholders have agreed, subject to the terms thereof, to vote their shares in the capital of Fairfax Africa in favour of the Transaction. The Supporting Shareholders hold, collectively, 100% of the total votes attached to the multiple voting shares of Fairfax Africa, approximately 65.7% of the total votes attached to the subordinate voting shares of Fairfax Africa and approximately 54.7% of the total votes attached to the subordinate voting shares of Fairfax Africa (excluding those held by Fairfax and its affiliates). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Transaction is subject to additional closing conditions, including, among others, the acquisition by Fairfax Financial of Fairfax Africas equity stake in Atlas Mara Limited (Atlas Mara) for an aggregate purchase price of US$40 million. Fairfax Financial will also be guaranteeing the repayment of amounts drawn under a US$40 million secured credit facility made available by Fairfax Africa to Atlas Mara. Advisors McCarthy Tetrault LLP is legal advisor to Fairfax Africa and Fairfax Financial. Alvarium is financial advisor and Goodmans LLP is legal advisor to the Special Committee. Lazard is financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP are legal advisors to Helios Holdings Group. About Helios Investment Partners LLP Established in 2004, Helios Investment Partners is the largest Africa-focused private investment firm, with a record that spans creating start-ups to providing expanding companies with growth capital and expertise. Led and predominantly staffed by African professionals with the language skills and cultural affinity to engage with local entrepreneurs, managers and intermediaries on the continent, Helios leverages its local and global networks to create attractive proprietary investment opportunities, with an emphasis on building market leaders in core economic sectors and driving performance through a highly engaged approach to portfolio operations. The firm's unique combination of a deep knowledge of the African operating environment, a singular commitment to the region and a proven capability to manage complexity, is reflected in the firm's diverse portfolio of growing, market-leading businesses and its position as a partner of choice in Africa. Helios is the largest emerging markets-focused private equity firm, and second mainstream private equity firm globally, to receive B Corp certification. B Corp status recognizes the firms long-standing commitment to sustainability and responsible business practices. For more information, visit https://www.heliosinvestment.com/ About Fairfax Africa Holdings Corporation Fairfax Africa is an investment holding company whose investment objective is to achieve long-term capital appreciation, while preserving capital, by investing in public and private equity securities and debt instruments in Africa and African businesses or other businesses with customers, suppliers or business primarily conducted in, or dependent on, Africa. About Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited Fairfax is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and the associated investment management. Disclaimer Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, those identified by the expressions expect, will, believe and similar expressions. Some of the specific forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the Transaction and the terms thereof, the expected date of completion of the Transaction and the anticipated benefits to Shareholders. There can be no assurance that the proposed Transaction will be completed or that it will be completed on the terms and conditions contemplated in this press release. The proposed Transaction could be modified or terminated in accordance with its terms. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of key expectations and assumptions made by Fairfax Africa and Helios Holdings Group including, without limitation: the Transaction will be completed on the terms currently contemplated; the Transaction will be completed in accordance with the timing currently expected; all conditions to the completion to the Transaction will be satisfied or waived and the Purchase Agreement will not be terminated prior to the completion of the Transaction. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on what Fairfax Africas and Helios Holdings Groups management believes to be reasonable assumptions, Fairfax Africa and Helios Holdings Group cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such information. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties and should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking information. Those risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the Transaction may not be completed on the terms, or in accordance with the timing, currently contemplated, or at all; and Fairfax Africa and Helios Holdings Group may not be successful in satisfying the conditions to the Transaction. Additional information about risks and uncertainties related to Fairfax Africa are contained in Fairfax Africas annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2019 and in Fairfax Africas managements discussion and analysis of financial results dated April 30, 2020, both of which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained herein represents Fairfax Africas and Helios Holding Groups expectations as of the date of this press release, and are subject to change after this date. Each of Fairfax Africa and Helios Holdings Group assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Enquiries Vietnam-US relations now and 25 years ago are like night and day and will continue to flourish in the future, according to the first Vietnamese Ambassador to the US, Le Van Bang. Delegates at the kick-off ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations (1995-2020). (Photo: VNA) US President Bill Clinton announced the lifting of the embargo on Viet Nam on February 3, 1994, followed by the US declaration of normalising relations with Vietnam in July 1995. What were your feelings when witnessing the historic moment? During 20 years of perseverance to normalise Viet Nam-US relations (1975-1995), I witnessed countless ups and downs and difficulties in the struggle and Viet Nam's efforts. In particular, in 1986, when Viet Nam began to open its doors, the need for the lifting of the embargo was extremely urgent, so the USs embargo was a stone blocking the door, making it impossible for us to communicate with the world 'normally'. Typically, around 1988-1989, there were business owners who shared with me that they sold to Indian partners US$200,000 worth of copper scrap. Indian businesses paid through a US bank, so the money was held up there, making it very hard for Vietnamese businesses. I was assigned to be the United Nations Ambassador in 1993-1994, in charge of relations with the US. This was also the stage of normalising relations between Viet Nam and the US, starting from New York City. With the efforts of both nations, on the morning of February 3, 1994, the US Department of State invited me from New York to Washington DC to report "a special issue in the two countries diplomatic relations". Here, the US Department of State announced that from 3pm on February 3, 1994, President Bill Clinton officially announced the lifting of the trade embargo on Viet Nam and asked me to report this information to Hanoi. Then, at 3pm the same day, President Clinton appeared on TV, announcing the lifting of the trade embargo on Viet Nam. Despite knowing the information in advance, I still could not help but shed tears of joy and happiness. That meant after 20 years of so much struggle, we had achieved our goal. Removing the embargo meant Viet Nam had the right to trade with the US and with other countries in the world without being prevented via finance, investment and trade barriers. I remember very well a memory related to this important event. Earlier, in a conversation discussing when the US would remove the Vietnamese embargo, a US professor said: "This is very difficult". Therefore, right after the trade removal order was issued, that friend wrote me a brief letter "You win!. This proves the US people are very interested in the relationship between the two countries. After the US declaration of normalising relations with Viet Nam in July 1995, I remember very clearly the first time we conducted a flag-raising ceremony, sang the national anthem and saluted the flag in front of the embassy's headquarters in the US on August 5, 1995. To me, this was not only an important ceremony but also a glorious task, a very important task for diplomats like me in particular and Vietnamese people at that time in general. At that time, what challenges and opportunities did Viet Nam face when the US normalised relations? The fact that the US announced the lifting of Viet Nam's trade embargo on February 3, 1994 followed by the declaration of normalising relations with Viet Nam in July 1995, first of all, created opportunities for Viet Nam to normalise relations not only with the US but also connect with all countries in the world, in all fields. This was also a premise for us to achieve other important achievements such as joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995 and joining the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) in 1998. In short, this was the starting point for Viet Nam to integrate internationally normally. However, besides the opportunities, Viet Nam faced many challenges because of the 'war syndrome' between Viet Nam and the US still remained and was unable to go away in a day or two. In addition, to negotiate a trade agreement with the US, there were provisions that Viet Nam had to consider carefully, or even change laws to meet US requirements. Both countries still had to deal with the aftermath of the war, such as finding missing people, mixed-blood children, people in re-education camps. Therefore, during my first days as a Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States, one of my main tasks was to change the public opinion and thoughts of the American people about Viet Nam, and gradually eliminate 'Viet Nam syndrome'. At that time, I was active in many places, through many activities of sending messages of peace, co-operation, innovation and international integration of Viet Nam. In August 1995, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Mai assigned me the mission to come to Orange County, California, the US to meet and talk to the people here about the situation of Viet Nam about the Viet Nam-US relationship, thereby verifying public opinion and news in this locality. This was not only a difficult and sensitive mission but also requires wit and bravery when coming to speak in front of more than 500 people with different perspectives about Viet Nam, about the relationship between the two countries. I determined that I had to really try my best to get the job done; conveying Viet Nam's peace message to everyone. And when I did my job well, from debating, noisy reactions, and even objections, people there finally turned to ask questions and have constructive and kind discussions. How do you assess the development of Viet Nam-US relations at present compared to 25 years ago? Its totally different. In the economic field, in 1994, bilateral trade reached a modest figure of about US$400 million, in 2019 it reached nearly $70 billion, an increase of more than 130 times. In recent years, trade relations between Viet Nam and the US have begun to take off. Viet Nam has continuously experienced a trade surplus and the US has become Viet Nam's largest export market. Clearly, the trust between the people and senior leaders of the two countries has been significantly improved, which can be seen through high-level visits between the two countries. Therefore, I believe that in the future, relations between the two countries will develop very well. In particular, Viet Nam and the US established a comprehensive partnership in 2013, strengthening and expanding co-operation in all fields, from politics, diplomacy, economics, investment, to defence, security, culture, education, science and technology, overcoming war. In addition to co-operation and rapid development in recent years, the two countries share the goal of peace, stability and development in Southeast Asia in particular and the world in general. I believe this goal in the future will continue to be maintained and developed. Currently, Viet Nam's priority issues are economic development, science-technology and access to the US market, especially high technology development. I would like to emphasise the priority of Viet Nam-US economic co-operation in developing high-tech fields such as renewable energy, clean and sustainable energy, smart city development, and high-tech agriculture, high-tech industry. However, Viet Nam needs to overcome obstacles to attract US investment in this area, especially paying special attention to overcoming the limitations of the law. Similarly, the US wants to join Viet Nam in maintaining peace, stability and order in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific. Therefore, the relationship between Viet Nam and the US will continue to develop. VNS Vietnam-US relations at level no one could imagine 25 years ago: Ambassador Vietnam-US relations have reached a level in both scope and scale that no one could have imagined 25 years ago, Your browser does not support the audio element. The UNESCO's executive board approved this week the designation of Vietnam's Dak Nong Geopark as one of the UNESCO Global Geoparks, the third park in Vietnam to have been awarded this honor so far. The board passed a resolution on Tuesday that recognizes 15 new sites including Dak Nong Geopark, located in the namesake province in Vietnam's Central Highlands, as new global geoparks in 2020. The UN agency also approved the extension of an existing global geopark, Kula- Salihli in Turkey. With this year's additions, the number of sites in the Global UNESCO Geoparks Network is brought to 161 in 44 countries. The decision is a meaningful fruit borne from the Dak Nong authorities' efforts toward the designation over the last five years. The province has developed its geopark with the goal of becoming a UNESCO global geopark since 2014, when Japanese scientists discovered the local Krong No volcanic cave system. In December 2015, the People's Committee of Dak Nong Province issued a decision to establish the Dak Nong Geopark covering more than 4,700 kilometers and consisting of the provincial capital city of Gia Nghia and five districts Krong No, Cu Jut, Dak Mik, Dak Song, and Dak Glong. Provincial authorities launched a consultation process with experts in July 2018 to evaluate the holistic potential of Dak Nong Geopark based on UNESCO standards. Upon receiving positive feedback, Dak Nong officially applied to become a member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network. Before Dak Nong Geopark, two other Vietnamese parks were designated as UNESCO global geoparks including Dong Van karst plateau in the northern province of Ha Giang in 2010 and Non nuoc Cao Bang in the northern province of Cao Bang in 2018, according to the UNESCO's official website. The UNESCO and the Global Geoparks Network will co-organize a digital event via the GoToMeeting app to celebrate the designation of the new global geoparks at 10:00 pm Vietnam time next Thursday, July 16. In Vietnam, a virtual ceremony announcing the designation will be held at 8:00 pm between July 13 and 15 from the information center of Dak Nong Geopark. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Denmark has passed a Climate Act that makes it illegal to not act on climate change. The new law aims to ensure that the country reduces its carbon emission by 70 percent in 2030 compared to the 1990 levels. It further aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The Climate Act enables the Danish government to sets targets for tackling global warming with a ten-year perspective. The Climate Act is finally passed in the Parliament! A good day for the climate, Denmarks climate minister Dan Jrgensen tweeted with glee. Under the law, the government is bound to produce a Climate Action Plan every year to show its efforts in meeting these targets. The plan must include concrete policies for reducing emissions in various sectors such as energy, housing, transportation agriculture. Jrgensen said that the government will be held accountable by the parliament if it fails to reach the target. It may also lead to the government to step down. READ | Dutch Police Arrest Farmers Protesting Emission Cuts READ | COVID-19 Lockdown Has Lead To Drastic Decline In Global Carbon Emissions: Study Climate movement in Denmark Last year in January, a group of non-profit organisations filed a petition urging Denmark to adopt a climate law. It was aimed at bringing the country in line with the Paris Agreement. Over 50,000 people had signed the petition within the first week. While the petition was not supported by the Danish parliament, it generated a nationwide climate movement that the government could not ignore. As countrys the elections rolled around in June, climate act became a hot topic. The political parties overbid each other in their climate ambitions in order to win the election, paving way for the implementation of the crucial law. The law also sends an important message to the rest of the world in stepping-up efforts to act upon climate change before. READ | Greenpeace Protest Macron Climate Policy READ | Algae Turns Italian Alps Pink Causing Climate Change Concerns (Image credits: AP) Uttar Pradesh Police arrested two more people from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday in connection with the killing of 8 police personnel in Kanpur led by the history-sheeter Vikas Dubey and his cohorts on July 3. According to police officials, the two men were arrested from Gwalior for hiding two members of Vikas Dubey's gang for more than four days before they moved to another hideout. According to JN Singh, Additional Director General of police (ADG) of Kanpur zone, the two men have been identified as Om Prakash Pandey and Anil Pandey. Hindustan Times also quoted ADG JN Singh as saying, "They allowed Shashi Kant Pandey alias Sonu and Shivam Dubey, accused in Kanpur cops' killing case, to stay at their homes despite being well aware that the UP police are in their search." Om Prakash Pandey and Anil Pandey, carried a bounty of Rs 50,000 each and are among those members of the Vikas Dubey gang who were released earlier. Vikas Dubey was shot dead on Friday morning when the vehicle in which he was being taken to Kanpur overturned and he tried to flee, according to police. The police confirmed that four cops were also injured in this encounter. His other gang members, including Atul Dubey, Amar Dubey, Prem Prakash Pandey, Prabhat Mishra and Praveen Pandey have been killed in encounters from July 3 to July 10. Three of his gang members have been arrested while 12 others are still absconding. Of the 12 absconding gang members, Gopal Saini and Heeru Dubey carry a reward of Rs 1 lakh each whereas 10 others carry a reward of Rs 50,000 each. Also read: Who is Vikas Dubey, main accused in Kanpur encounter case: All you need to know Mount Greylock Superintendent Kimberley Grady participates in a February 2017 School Committee meeting. Mount Greylock School Committee Appears Poised to Part Ways with Another Superintendent WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee appears to be preparing to hire a new superintendent without having announced the status of its current superintendent. The committee has posted a single-item agenda for a special meeting for Monday, July 13, with the following business to be conducted: "Search process for the selection of a permanent Superintendent discussion VOTE." The meeting will come one week to the day after the School Committee hired Robert Putnam to serve as interim superintendent while Kimberley Grady is out on medical leave. School Committee Chair Christina Conry on Friday evening declined to comment on several questions iBerkshires.com had asked her earlier in the morning. One of the questions: whether there is any way to read the agenda item for Monday that does not mean the district is replacing Grady. A member of Grady's family on Friday said she was unavailable to talk about the situation in the district. On Thursday, the School Committee met in open session for nearly 2 1/2 hours and appeared to actively avoid discussing the purpose of or even existence of the Monday special meeting. Near the end of Thursday's virtual meeting, the following exchange took place: "The next item on our agenda is upcoming meetings, and we have an Education Subcommittee meeting scheduled for July 14," Conry said. After hashing out the timing of that subcommittee meeting, she continued, "Then the next upcoming meeting I have is the Finance Subcommittee meeting on July 16. And I do not have any other business." Committee member Carolyn Greene then interrupted, "Christina, I'm sorry, Robert [Putnam] mentioned [earlier in Thursday's meeting] that we have a meeting on the 23rd?" "Our next regularly scheduled meeting is actually the second Thursday of August," Conry answered. Putnam then pointed out that the School Committee's calendar on the district's website does list a meeting on July 23. "I believe [July 23] was a placeholder for when we were putting out the superintendent's evaluation," Regina DiLego said. "You're right, because we had postponed it," Conry said, referring to an evaluation that should have been completed in June. After some more discussion, the committee decided to schedule a meeting on July 30 to further discuss the plan for reopening the district's three schools in September. Four-and-half minutes into the discussion about next meetings, Al Terranova interjected. "We did a Doodle [poll], what's the meeting on the 13th?" Terranova asked. "You were supposed to get an agenda in your email," Conry said. "Are we meeting on the 13th?" Terranova repeated. "Yes, sir," Conry replied. "What time?" Terranova asked. "10 a.m.," DiLego answered. That was the extent of the conversation about a special meeting that may confirm what has been rumored in the district for weeks: Grady's tenure in the district has come to an end. If the agenda item is correct, the Lanesborough-Williamstown school district will be looking for its third full-time superintendent since the departure of Rose Ellis in December 2014. In the last two months, the School Committee has conducted 4 hours, 22 minutes worth of meetings in executive session with the following agenda item: "to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel (Superintendent)." Conry last week said Grady was not invited to and did not attend any of those executive sessions, which were held on June 3, 17 and 25 and July 1. The last time the Mount Greylock district parted ways with its chief executive officer, the School Committee provided no explanation and declined to characterize whether he was let go or quit in the middle of his second academic year in the district. On the night of Doug Dias' departure from the district, all voters, taxpayers and families got after an extended closed-door meeting between Dias and the elected officials was a vague statement from Dias' attorney to the effect that, "the parties agreed to sever the relationship." Mount Greylock Regional School District Superintendent Timeline December 2014: After 14 years as a superintendent in the Lanesborough-Williamstown public schools, Rose Ellis retires. After 14 years as a superintendent in the Lanesborough-Williamstown public schools, Rose Ellis retires. Jan. 1, 2015: Gordon Noseworthy begins tenure as interim superintendent. Gordon Noseworthy begins tenure as interim superintendent. April 8, 2015: The Lanesborough-Williamstown Tri-District, which includes Mount Greylock, Lanesborough Elementary and Williamstown Elementary, names Douglas Dias its next superintendent. The Lanesborough-Williamstown Tri-District, which includes Mount Greylock, Lanesborough Elementary and Williamstown Elementary, names Douglas Dias its next superintendent. Nov. 7, 2016: The Tri-District parts ways with Douglas Dias without explanation at the start of his second academic year at the helm of the Lanesborough-Williamstown schools. The Tri-District parts ways with Douglas Dias without explanation at the start of his second academic year at the helm of the Lanesborough-Williamstown schools. Mid-November, 2016: The Tri-District office releases documents that hint at some of the reasons behind Dias' departure, including a letter of no-confidence signed by Assistant Superintendent Kimberley Grady and all three of the district's principals. The Tri-District office releases documents that hint at some of the reasons behind Dias' departure, including a letter of no-confidence signed by Assistant Superintendent Kimberley Grady and all three of the district's principals. Nov. 14, 2017: Voters in Lanesborough and Williamstown approve expanded regionalization of the Mount Greylock district to include its two "feeder" elementary schools, LES and WES. In the run-up to the vote, advocates tell voters that having a single district instead of the previous "shared services" agreement will make it easier for the district to attract central office personnel, including the superintendent. Voters in Lanesborough and Williamstown approve expanded regionalization of the Mount Greylock district to include its two "feeder" elementary schools, LES and WES. In the run-up to the vote, advocates tell voters that having a single district instead of the previous "shared services" agreement will make it easier for the district to attract central office personnel, including the superintendent. April 5, 2018: Grady offered full-time superintendent position on a 6-0-1 vote. Grady offered full-time superintendent position on a 6-0-1 vote. March 2019: Online petition drafted by an author identified as "Marcia" asks School Committee to address "turnover of union and non-union personnel" in the district and intimates that Grady is the reason. To date, the petition has received 250 signatures. That spring a hard copy of the petition was delivered to the School Committee during a public meeting. Online petition drafted by an author identified as "Marcia" asks School Committee to address "turnover of union and non-union personnel" in the district and intimates that Grady is the reason. To date, the petition has received 250 signatures. That spring a hard copy of the petition was delivered to the School Committee during a public meeting. May 2019: District reports that from fall 2016 through May 2019, the district received "one (1) formal complaint made against Ms. Grady," which came in March 2019. District reports that from fall 2016 through May 2019, the district received "one (1) formal complaint made against Ms. Grady," which came in March 2019. June 2019: Four of the six current School Committee members (one seat was vacant at the time), give Grady marks of "proficient" on the first (and, to date, only) formal evaluation the School Committee completed since hiring her to be interim superintendent in 2016. Feb. 27, 2020: After social media rumors blame Grady for the recently announced plans by principals at Mount Greylock and WES to step down from their posts, both principals address the School Committee to refute the rumors. WES Principal Joelle Brookner calls them "extremely hurtful to me and wholly untrue." After social media rumors blame Grady for the recently announced plans by principals at Mount Greylock and WES to step down from their posts, both principals address the School Committee to refute the rumors. WES Principal Joelle Brookner calls them "extremely hurtful to me and wholly untrue." July 11, 2020: Grady announces her decision to step down from the position in an email to the district's community. Advertisement Naya Rivera's distraught mom has been pictured crumpled on the banks of the lake where her daughter disappeared as the search for the missing Glee star entered its fourth day. Rivera's mother Yolanda was pictured kneeling with her arms outstretched in desperation in front of Lake Piru in Ventura near Los Angeles on Saturday alongside Naya's brother Michael as the duo joined in the search for the missing star. Rivera, 33, disappeared while out boating on the lake with her four-year-old son Josey on Wednesday. Josey was found alone in a rental boat Wednesday evening with no sign of his mother, who is now presumed dead. Yolanda and Michael joined the Ventura County Sheriff's search team to scour the lake and were seen embracing on the shore. Footage has been released showing the nightmarish underwater hunt for Rivera's body as authorities warn she could be found 'five minutes from now or five days from now' and her devastated family say they 'need closure'. Naya Rivera's distraught mom is seen above with Rivera's brother on the banks of the lake as the search for the missing Glee star entered its fourth day and authorities released footage of the nightmarish underwater hunt Naya Rivera's mother Yolanda and brother Michael are seen embracing on the edge of the lake as the search for Naya continues Naya's mom Yolanda and the Glee star's brother Michael are seen getting off of the Ventura County Sheriff's boats after joining in the search for Naya Holding out hope: Naya's family joined in the search operation on Saturday Footage has been released in the underwater hunt (pictured) for Rivera's body as authorities warn she could be found 'five minutes from now or five days from now'. Authorities point to a tree limb which looks like nothing more than a long dark shape given the water's poor visibility, highlighting the challenges divers are facing in the search The search for the Glee star, 33, (pictured) entered its fourth day Saturday following her disappearance while out boating at Lake Piru in Ventura near Los Angeles with her 4-year-old son Josey Ventura County Sheriff's Department shared footage of the 'difficult' search for the missing actress on Twitter Friday night, which has been hampered by the poor visibility of the lake's murky waters. The video shows the imagery picked up around 30 foot deep in the water. In it, authorities point to a tree limb which looks like nothing more than a long dark shape given the water's poor visibility, highlighting the challenges divers are facing in trying to find the missing mother-of-one. 'Here's an example of the underwater visibility at a 30-foot depth in Lake Piru,' the Sheriff's Department tweeted. A second social media post shows footage of the a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) being lowered into Lake Piru and details that specialized equipment including sonar, divers and dogs have also been deployed in the hunt. 'Here's the ROV used by @TulareSheriff in the search for Naya Rivera at Lake Piru today,' the Sheriff's Department wrote. Naya Rivera's mother Yolanda is seen above with her brother on Saturday. The actress's distraught family said they just 'wish' she could be found so they could get some 'closure' over what is believed to have been a tragic drowning A member of the sheriff's office is seen above speaking with Naya's mom on Saturday amid the search Naya Rivera disappeared while out boating at Lake Piru in Ventura with her four-year-old son Josey on Wednesday and is now presumed dead. Pictured above Naya's brother can be seen on the front of the boat during the search Naya Rivera's brother Michael is seen at the front of the boat on the fourth day of the search on Saturday Ryan Dorsey, Rivera's ex-husband, is seen above standing on the dock near Lake Piru as the search for the Glee star continued Dorsey appears to be deep in thought as he gazes toward the ground on the shores of Lake Piru in Southern California on Saturday Dorsey was seen taking a few moments to himself as he walked on the banks of the lake on Saturday Dorsey was seen looking out at the water while he stood on the edge of a plank on Saturday Members of the family comfort one another in a touching moment near Lake Piru in Southern California on Saturday With almost zero visibility, human divers are resorting to search by feel, meaning it could take several days before crews can locate her body, Eric Buschow, Ventura County Sheriff's Office spokesman said at a press conference Friday evening. 'We don't know if she's going to be found five minutes from now or five days from now, so we're still going to be continuing this effort,' he said. 'The visibility in the water is one to two feet,' Buschow added. Buschow said 'promising' images had shown up on the sonar Thursday night but when the ROV was dropped into the water the objects turned out not to be Rivera. 'What they do is they go out and they tow these devices in the water that scan the bottom of the lake for any objects that might look like a body. 'Last night, they had a couple of images that showed up on the sonar that they thought might be promising to investigate,' he said. The video shows the imagery picked up around 30 foot deep in the water A second social media post shows footage of the ROV being lowered into Lake Piru Crew drop the ROV into the water in the hunt for the missing mother-of-one 'This morning, they sent an ROV, or a small robotic device, down into the water to examine those objects. Unfortunately, they did not locate Naya Rivera. They are still searching.' Buschow admitted the conditions of the lake made the search 'difficult' but said he is confident Rivera's body will be recovered. It could take several days before crews can locate her body, Eric Buschow, Ventura County Sheriff's Office spokesman said at a press conference Friday evening (pictured) 'It's very effective,' he said of the sonar system. 'They get a really detailed image and they can go down and focus on specific things rather than putting divers in the water where they're literally feeling around because they can't see.' The search resumed at 6am Saturday morning, with authorities now focusing on the north and east sides of the lake, based on where the boat was found and the currents of the water. A specially-trained dog is also being used in the search to sniff above the water's surface and alert handlers to a body beneath. Authorities confirmed the mission had shifted to a recovery Thursday as hope of finding Rivera alive vanished. The actress's distraught family said they just 'wish' she could be found so they could get some 'closure' over what is believed to have been a tragic drowning accident. A man thought to be 65-year-old Arnold Dorsey, the father of Rivera's ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and the grandfather to Josey, told The Sun the whole family was 'sad' and were rallying around Rivera's son. This diagram shows where Naya Rivera and her son rented a boat on Lake Piru before the four-year-old was seen alone. The map in the top left shows the location of the lake in relation to Los Angeles where Rivera lives The actress's distraught family said they just 'wish' she could be found so they could get some 'closure' over what is believed to have been a tragic drowning accident. Rivera pictured with son Josey A man thought to be 65-year-old Arnold Dorsey (pictured above with Josey), the father of Rivera's ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and the grandfather to Josey, told The Sun the whole family was 'sad' and were rallying around Rivera's son 'We are sad, we just wish they could find her so we can have some closure,' he said outside Rivera's mother Yolanda's home in Valencia. He said Josey was having some 'good days' after the four-year-old's terrifying ordeal. 'We still have good days [with him], I can't make any other comment at this time.' Josey was found asleep and alone on the rental boat Wednesday evening. He told police his mother had 'jumped' into the water to go swimming and never came back, but police admitted it was 'challenging' to interview a four-year-old. The lake was said to be a sanctuary for Rivera and somewhere she had been going to for years. However, the waters are also known for their rip currents and for being full of debris, and eight people have drowned there since 1994. Authorities have said there is no evidence of foul play or suicide and that everything points to the young star accidentally drowning. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office released CCTV footage showing Naya Rivera and her four-year-old son arriving at the dock on Lake Piru on Wednesday Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 11:29:43|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SINGAPORE, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Singaporean voters have delivered a victory to the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) in Friday's general election, according to the official election results. The PAP won 83 of the 93 parliamentary seats in the polling, compared to 83 of the 89 seats in the last general election in 2015, showed the results revealed by Returning Officer Tan Meng Dui early on Saturday morning. The ruling party garnered 61.24 percent of the votes, compared to 69.86 percent in 2015 general election. A total of 191 candidates from 11 political parties and an independent candidate contested in the election. The whole country is organized into 14 Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) and 17 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs), with a total number of 2.65 million eligible voters. A total of 96 percent of the eligible voters cast their votes in the election. The PAP won victory in 13 SMCs and 15 GRCs. The Workers' Party (WP), which got six seats in the 2015 election, secured 10 seats this year, becoming the only opposition party to succeed in some constituencies. The WP retained their seats in Hougang SMC, five-member Aljunied GRC, and took hold of the newly-formed four-member Sengkang GRC, narrowly defeating the PAP team helmed by Ng Chee Meng, minister in the Prime Minister's Office. The PAP team's failure in Sengkang GRC meant the party lost three office-holders from its fourth generation leadership, which also includes Lam Pin Min, who served as Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport, and Amrin Amin, who served as Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Health. Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, along with his East Coast GRC team members, won with 53.41 percent of the votes while the WP team attracted the rest 46.59 percent. Heng moved from Tampines GRC where he had served for nine years to East Coast GRC this year. As Heng is widely viewed to be Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's successor, analysts believe a hard battle will help cement his position in PAP. The prime minister and his team won Ang Mo Kio GRC with 71.91 percent of the votes. This election has carried Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to what is likely his last victory before retirement as a national leader who had noted before the election in an online rally that he would hand over the country "intact and in good working order" to the next team. The PAP team also safeguarded the West Coast GRC by challenging the 80-year-old politician Tan Cheng Bock, who formed the Progress Singapore Party last year. Tan lost the presidential election in 2011 with a narrow margin. Lee told a press conference early on Saturday morning that the percentage of popular votes that the PAP had won is not as high as he had hoped for, but the results reflected the broad-based supports for the PAP. He said the results reflected "the pain and anxiety" felt by Singaporeans in this crisis, and the clear desire for a diversity of voices in the parliament. With the election over, it is time for Singaporeans to put aside their differences and come together to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, protect jobs and "create the future together," the prime minister said. Amid the spread of the virus, Singapore's President Halimah Yacob dissolved the parliament and issued the Writ of Election on June 23. The contesting candidates spent nine days campaigning since the nomination day. After a cooling-off day on Thursday, the polling was held on Friday when voters went to 1,100 polling stations nationwide to cast their votes. The polling hours were formerly announced to be from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time, which was later extended by two hours. Additional protective measures taken in the election such as voters sanitizing their hands and wearing disposable gloves before receiving the ballot papers, may have triggered the long queues at some polling stations. Enditem BAMAKO, Mali - Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita went on national television early Saturday, urging dialogue with his opponents just hours after thousands of anti-government protesters marched through the capital with some pushing their way into state television offices. Fridays developments marked a major escalation in the growing movement against Malis president, who still has two years left in office in this West African country long destabilized by Islamic extremists. Earlier in the day, anti-government protesters had barricaded roads and burned tires in the capital, Bamako. Keitas overnight address to the nation took a conciliatory gesture days after he had tried to appease the protesters by promising to revamp the constitutional court whose legislative election results back in April have been disputed by several dozen candidates. I would like once again to reassure our people of my willingness to continue the dialogue and reiterate my readiness to take all measures in my power to calm the situation, he said in closing. The movement against Keitas government is now known as the June 5 Movement, or M5, a reflection of when demonstrators first took to the streets en masse. Keitas gestures in recent days so far have failed to win favour with the opposition group, which still wants the National Assembly dissolved. While the group has officially backed down from its calls that Keita leave office, some protesters still want him gone. Keita came to power in the aftermath of a French-led military operation to oust Islamic extremists from power in northern Malis towns in 2013, winning the first democratic elections organized after a military coup the year before. Despite the presence of U.N. peacekeepers, and French and regional forces backing Malian troops, the extremist groups have continued to mount attacks. Last year was particularly deadly for the army as hundreds of soldiers were killed in the north, forcing the military at one point to even close down some of its most remote and vulnerable outposts. Those losses prompted criticism of how the government was handling the crisis in the north. Tensions mounted in late April after legislative elections were held, and several dozen candidates disputed the official results issued by Malis constitutional court. A mission from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS has suggested that the government re-hold elections in the localities where results are contested. The last democratically elected leader before Keita, President Amadou Toumani Toure, was overthrown in the 2012 military coup after a decade in power. The political chaos that ensued has been blamed for creating a power vacuum that allowed the Islamic insurgency to take hold in the northern towns. Following international pressure, that coup leader later handed over power to a civilian transitional government that organized elections. In a recent interview granted to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Algiers, Nhuan noted that trade between Vietnam and these countries and Africa in general have all been affected by COVID-19. He cited preliminary figures from the General Department of Vietnam Customs that showed exports to Africa in January-May experienced a year-on-year decline of 6.1 percent. Meanwhile, African countries earnings from exports to Vietnam also fell slightly, by 1.2 percent. Trade items most affected were cotton, raw cashew nuts, wood, copper, and minerals. Vietnams exports to some African countries, however, headed upwards, as those countries boosted import of rice, confectionery, cereal products, pepper, and cashew nuts for stockpile in response to the pandemic. Vietnamese rice shipments to Senegal surged 26-fold in volume and 18.3-fold in value, contributing to raising total export turnover to the country by 88.6 percent. Though the governments of Algeria, Senegal, Mali, Gambia, and Niger have yet to determine when international flights will resume, trade and cargo transport have been maintained. The trade counselor suggested Vietnamese businesses focus on exporting farm produce and foodstuffs such as rice, coffee, cashew nuts, pepper, and cereal products, as well as medicine, means of transport, and automobile and motorcycle spare parts, all of which are in high demand. Regarding international integration, Nhuan said African countries are striving to realise the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), which is expected to increase regional trade to nearly 60 percent by 2022. He noted that governments in Africa have been encouraging foreign investment in the processing industry and developing high added value products. Trade between Vietnam and Africa stood US$7.4 billion last year, of which US$3.4 billion was from Vietnams exports, up 17 percent against 2018. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Odisha has recommended to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to take off the names of five Left-wing-extremist (LWE)-hit districts from the Centres consolidated list of Communist Party of India (CPI) (Maoist)-affected districts for which the state receives funds under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme. Abhay, director-general of police (DGP), Odisha, said the MHA has been urged to take off the names of Angul, Boudh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, and Nayagarh districts, as the Maoist violence has been on the wane in the state and more rebels are also laying down their arms because of an intensified bid by the security forces to crush the internal rebellion. If the MHA pays heed to the Naveen Patnaik-led governments plea, then 10 out of 30 districts in the state will remain under the SRE scheme. The Central scheme supplements the efforts of the Maoist-affected states by reimbursing the expenditures incurred by them for anti-Naxal activities. Under the SRE scheme, assistance is provided for recurring expenditures relating to insurance, training, and operational needs of security forces and also for Maoist cadres, who lay down their arms, in line with the surrender and rehabilitation policy of respective state governments. Initially, the scheme was launched in April 1996 and later revised in February 2005, covering 76 districts across the country. The Maoists have taken a massive hit and are on the retreat. The surrender figures convey this trend. Last year and this year to date, 13 and 19 Maoist rebels have surrendered, respectively, said DGP Abhay, days after five Naxals, including a state committee member, who carried a reward of Rs 20 lakh on his head, were gunned down. Kosa Sodi alias Sukru, a member of Odisha State Committee of the CPI (Maoist), was killed in an encounter with police in the dense forests of Kandhamal district last Sunday. Nayagarh, one of the five districts that may lose its LWE-hit district tag soon, hit the headlines in 2008, when Maoists had carried out their biggest-ever arms heist from the district police armoury. The rebels had looted hundreds of automatic rifles and magazines in a bid to boost their firepower. By the turn of the new millennium, the Maoist dominance started gathering momentum. And, the rebels held sway in the states 22 out of 30 districts by 2010. The internal rebellion intensified until 2015, when Odisha reported an unprecedented level of violence and loss of lives and property, as the Maoists targeted government installations and security forces with impunity. Abhay said the situation in Swabhiman Anchal area of Malkangiri district, considered to be the hotbed for LWE activities, has improved significantly over the past few years. Two police camps have been set up at Hantalguda and Darlaguda. Besides, a new police station has been set up at Jodaamba, the DGP added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 15:00:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BANGKOK, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A train was derailed on a northern route in Thailand, with passengers being stranded for several hours on Friday. The locomotive and three carriages of the train running between Bangkok and Phitsanulok were accidentally derailed from the rail track near Baan Mai railway station in downtown area of the northern province, said State Railway of Thailand Governor Nirut Maneephan. No passengers aboard the train were reportedly injured, and the cause of which is yet to be determined by investigating officials, he said. The passengers of the derailed train and those aboard several other trains were stranded along the northern route, waiting for the overturned train to be removed by truck-mounted cranes from the rail track so that they could proceed. The driver of the derailed train was reportedly injured and rushed to hospital. Enditem When Laura Goldman appeared on BBC Radio 4s flagship Today programme last Sunday, she confidently predicted her friend Ghislaine Maxwell would never betray Prince Andrew. She always told me she would never say anything about him. She really felt that in the 90s, when her father died, Prince Andrew was there for her in many ways, Goldman told listeners, adding that she had spoken to Maxwell only three weeks ago. Goldman has made something of a profession as a full-time Maxwell defender, receiving TV and newspaper coverage around the globe including in The Guardian and Telegraph. Laura Goldman (pictured), who is believed to be a close acquaintance of Ghislaine Maxwell, revealed on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that her friend would never betray Prince Andrew There is, however, just one problem: Ghislaine Maxwell has apparently never met her. She is a fraudster and a fantasist, a source close to Maxwell said. Ghislaine doesnt know this woman. Goldman is understood to have met one of Maxwells sisters at a business event for Jewish leaders in Israel in 2001, but the sister rebuffed attempts at friendship. After Epsteins arrest in 2019, Goldman again contacted the sister who had minimal contact with her. She is a convicted stalker with a prison record, the source added. But it now transpires that Maxwell has never met Goldman. The confidante is simply understood to have met one of Maxwells sisters at a business event in 2001 When she was pretending to know Ghislaine before Ghislaine was arrested, we let it go because there was so much rubbish being said. But now that Ghislaine is in custody some things she has said could put Ghislaines life at risk. It is baffling that prestigious news outlets like the BBC would put her on air without even the most cursory checks. The Mail on Sunday has seen court documents and statements from the FBI which show Goldman, a former stockbroker, was charged with stalking and harassing Thomas Lee, an ex-lover who sold drinks firm Snapple for $2 billion. Federal prosecutors said: Goldman engaged in a lengthy campaign of harassment, threats and extortion against Lee and members of his family from 1994 until 2002. A source described Goldman as a 'stalker' who pleaded guilty to harassment that took place in the late 1990s and early 2000s Goldman pleaded guilty to harassment. She was given five years of probation but during that time was arrested for threatening to kill Mr Lee and his children and for making threats against her probation office. Court documents show she was re-arrested after threatening to kill a judge and later sent to jail for four months before being released in January 1999. In 2000, she tried to blackmail Mr Lee by demanding $10 million in war reparations but the FBI began to listen into calls and an arrest warrant was issued. Goldman fled to Israel where she met Maxwells sister but she was extradited and pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted extortion. She was sentenced to five years probation. When the MoS approached Goldman and told her Maxwell had described her as a fraudster, she responded: Your reporting in inaccurate and flawed. When asked to provide proof that she had ever met Maxwell, she fell silent. Australia's latest coronavirus victim has been remembered as a 'kind, caring and friendly who loved his family'. Alf Jordan died in hospital in Victoria on Friday night from the killer COVID-19, taking Australia's death toll to 107. The much-loved grandfather recently celebrated his 90th birthday alone in isolation due to the coronavirus at a Werribee nursing home. His heartbroken family took to Facebook to share the tragic news and asking everyone to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus. Alf Jordan became the 107th death in Australia after passing away overnight due to the killer COVID-19 Mr Jordan was remembered as 'one of a kind' after dying overnight due to COVID-19 'It's with a heavy heart that I say, today Alf lost his fight against Covid,' his granddaughter Gabrielle Cordwell wrote. 'So many memories with this kind soul. Anyone that knew him knows he certainly was one of a kind! 'RIP Alf, you will be missed.' His family told Nine News he had only recently celebrated his 90th birthday alone in isolation and was an avid Collingwood Magpies fan. 'Up until he got ill with COVID-19, he could tell you each day what round it was,' they said in a statement. 'Alf loved the 'Pies. Whenever he met someone new, his first question was, who did they barrack for? And if he already knew you, there was no greetings of ''hello'', he would just yell ''Go 'Pies''!' 'It's with a heavy heart that I say, today Alf lost his fight against Covid,' his granddaughter Gabrielle wrote Mr Jordan's family said he was an avid Collingwood Magpie's fan Ms Cordwell said it was devastating not being able to farewell her beloved grandfather. 'At 90 years old you get that it's inevitable that he is going to pass away. But a week ago he was well,' she told Herald Sun. 'He shouldn't have had to die alone in a hospital bed. 'He spent the last 90 years with family loving him and then to die alone is what hurts the most. 'It's tough knowing he had to be alone. We didn't get to say goodbye.' Mr Jordan became the 23rd person to die from COVID-19 in Victoria Victoria recorded a total of 216 positive cases on Saturday as the state battles to contain the virus. There are currently 1,249 active known cases in the state. Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, in the state's north, have since gone back into stage 3 lockdown and as the state battles through a second wave. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement Residents are only allowed to leave their homes for four reasons which include: exercise, work, to buy essential items and for medical attention. Premier Daniel Andrews reminded all Victorian's that 'we're in this together' as they work on containing the virus. 'As inconvenient and as challenging as it is, we cannot deny the reality of the situation we face, and we cannot pretend that doing anything other than following the rules will get us to the other side of this,' he said. People in lockdown are also encouraged to wear face masks if the safe 1.5metre distance cannot be maintained. 'Through an abundance of caution, through the fact it is relatively easy, we should request of all Victorians when they are out of their home, and this relates principally to metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire ... it is our request of you (to wear a mask),' Mr Andrews said on Friday. 'It's not compulsory, we are simply asking that if you can wear a mask where you can't distance, that is exactly what we would like you to do. 'That's a relatively small contribution but one that could make a really big difference.' The state government has already ordered two million reusable masks and one million single use masks for the communities to slow the spread of the deadly virus. India's government has petitioned a court in Rajasthan to stop any of the Chinese companies whose 59 apps it recently banned from obtaining an injunction to block the order, according to two sources and the legal filing. India last month outlawed dozens of Chinese apps including ByteDance's popular video-sharing app TikTok, Alibaba's UC Browser and Tencent's messaging app WeChat, saying they posed a "threat to sovereignty and integrity". Chinese firms have faced hostility since a border clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers, with Delhi intensifying scrutiny of Chinese imports and any funding from China. Two sources with direct knowledge of the filing said the government had presented a so-called caveat in the High Court of Rajasthan, suggesting it expects one or more of the companies to challenge the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's ban. Such caveats are typically filed to prevent a ruling in favour of companies without hearing the government, said Indian lawyers. The filing, which one of the sources said was presented on Friday, has not previously been reported. "Let nothing be done till the applicants (government) are heard in the matter," said the court filing signed by Additional Solicitor General of India Rajdeepak Rastogi. GUARDING CYBER SPACE The order to ban the apps was passed to safeguard "the interests of Indian mobile and Internet users and ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian Cyber Space", said the filing seen by Reuters. It was not immediately clear why the government approached the court in Rajasthan and whether there were plans to file similar petitions elsewhere. India's IT ministry and the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Indian courts do not comment on cases. Previously, China has expressed strong concern about the ban, which could hurt expansion plans and cost jobs, and said it may violate World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. None of the Chinese companies has yet mounted a legal challenge, with industry sources saying they were waiting for further clarity from the Indian government. The IT ministry recently asked the companies associated with the 59 apps to answer a detailed questionnaire within three weeks on their business structure and data storage practices, industry sources told Reuters. The decision to ban the apps has jolted companies like ByteDance, which counted on India as an important growth market for TikTok and had plans to invest $1 billion in the country. President Donald Trump speaks to the press at the White House in Washington on July 10, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images) Trumps Planned Path to Citizenship Order Will Not Include Amnesty: White House President Donald Trumps upcoming executive order on immigration wont include amnesty for illegal immigrants, the White House said. As the President announced today, he is working on an executive order to establish a merit-based immigration system to further protect U.S. workers, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. Furthermore, the President has long said he is willing to work with Congress on a negotiated legislative solution to DACA, one that could include citizenship, along with strong border security and permanent merit-based reforms. This does not include amnesty. Unfortunately, Democrats have continually refused these offers as they are opposed to anything other than totally open borders. DACA refers to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program established through an executive order from then-President Barack Obama that protects people who arrived in the United State as children from deportation. Amnesty would give the migrants a permanent legal basis to stay in the United States. Trump, a Republican, said in an interview with Telemundo earlier Friday: Im going to do a big executive order. I have the power to do it as president and Im going to make DACA a part of it. Roberto Martinez, a DACA recipient, speaks outside the Supreme Court after the nations highest court blocked President Donald Trump from ending the program, in Washington on June 18, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) The anchor asked Trump whether a provision for the program would be included in the order. Trump said that was correct, but then said it would not give the migrants in question an immediate legal basis to stay in the United States. Were going to have a road to citizenship, he said. Proposals for paths to citizenship from immigration groups include service in the military. A recent Supreme Court decision gave the president the power to do the order, Trump said. The nations highest court ruled on June 18 that the Trump administration didnt follow the law when it tried rescinding DACA. Justices said the administration is able to roll back the program, but did not give a reasoned explanation for its action. Trump vowed to try again to end the program, directing the Department of Homeland Security to revise its guidelines regarding DACA. Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said the plan is to end the program by the end of the year. Some 700,000 migrants are currently shielded from deportation after enrolling in DACA. Advocates for immigrants with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, rally in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on June 15, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) The program provides permits to work but does not give migrants a path to citizenship. It wasnt clear when the executive order would be issued. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said he would make DACA permanent if he was elected president. Trump is considering a number of executive orders, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said last week. Were also going to look at a number of issues as it relates to immigration. Were going to look at a number of issues as it relates to prescription drug prices. And were going to get them done when Congress couldnt get them done, he said. This president will do more in the next four weeks than Joe Biden and his team did in the last 40 years. Recent orders from Trump include one establishing an outdoor park celebrating American heroes, one meant to protect monuments, memorials, and statues, and one implementing measures Trump said will reform law enforcement. Egyptian police have seized kites from people flying them after a ban by a northern governorate for safety reasons and a lawmakers warning they posed a national security threat. Police seized 369 kites in Cairo on Friday, Al-Ahram reported, while Akhbar Al-Youm, another state newspaper, said police confiscated 99 kites and fined five people in the northern region of Alexandria. The ban was brought in to ensure the safety of citizens after a number of accidents involving kites, Alexandrias governorate said this week on its Facebook page. Fines imposed for kite-flying in the Mediterranean city can reach up to 1,000 pounds (about $60). Egypts skies have been filled with thousands of colourful paper kites flown by youths from rooftops and on corniches, as the hobby took off during night-time curfews to limit the spread of coronavirus. But they have also raised complaints, including from an MP. Khaled Abu Taleb, a member of parliaments Defence and National Security Committee, said last month he wanted the prime minister briefed on the dangers of flying kites because they posed a national security threat. The kites might be equipped with surveillance cameras, he said. Abu Taleb was roundly ridiculed on social media in Egypt, where operating a drone is only authorised with a special permit. A three-month curfew was lifted in June, even as cases of COVID-19 in Egypt continue to rise, with over 80,000 declared infections and nearly 4,000 deaths to date. ff/lg/hc FACEBOOK SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Turkey orders Hagia Sophia, 6th century seat of eastern Christianity, be turned into mosque Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Religious and political leaders worldwide on Friday criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for officially declaring that the Hagia Sophia site, originally the seat of Eastern Christianity for 900 years, is now a mosque open to Muslim worship. Turkish people have no less right to Hagia Sophia than those who built it first 1,500 years ago, Erdogan said in a televised speech Friday after signing a decree transferring the management of the sixth century Unesco world heritage site from the Ministry of Culture to the Directorate of Religious Affairs, The Wall Street Journal reported. Istanbuls Hagia Sophia, built in A.D. 537 as a Greek Orthodox church, was the seat of Eastern Christianity for 900 years before the city was seized in the 15th century by Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror, who converted it into an Ottoman mosque. In 1934, modern Turkeys founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, banned worship in Hagia Sophia and designated it as a museum. Erdogans declaration came within an hour after the Council of State, Turkeys highest administrative court, on Friday ruled that the edict that converted the structure into a museum was illegal. Erdogan said Hagia Sophia would reopen to Muslim prayer as a full-fledged mosque this month. Like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be wide open to locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims, he said, according to BBC. Greece, where millions of Orthodox Christians live, condemned Turkeys move. The countrys Culture Minister Lina G. Mendoni called it an open provocation to the civilized world. The nationalism displayed by President Erdogan... takes his country back six centuries, she said in a statement, adding that the court ruling absolutely confirms that there is no independent justice in Turkey. The United States also responded to Erdogans decision. We are disappointed by the decision by the Government of Turkey to change the status of the Hagia Sophia, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement, according to Reuters. We understand the Turkish Government remains committed to maintaining access to the Hagia Sophia for all visitors, and look forward to hearing its plans for continued stewardship of the Hagia Sophia to ensure it remains accessible without impediment for all. U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch, R-Idaho, and ranking member Bob Menendez, D-N.J., called the move a deep affront to Christians around the world who look to Hagia Sophia as a shining light and deeply revered holy site, The Hill reported. We strongly denounce President Erdogans decision to convert Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque, they said in a joint statement. At points in its history, Hagia Sophia served as a place of worship for Muslims and Christians, and for decades has been an extraordinary and welcoming center to people of all faiths. The European Unions foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called Turkeys decision regrettable. The ruling by the Turkish Council of State to overturn one of modern Turkeys landmark decisions and President Erdogans decision to place the monument under the management of the Religious Affairs Presidency is regrettable, Borrell said in a statement, according to Al Jazeera, a Qatari government-run news outlet. The U.N. cultural body Unesco called on Turkey to open a dialog without delay in order to avoid a step back from the universal value of this exceptional heritage whose preservation will be reviewed by the World Heritage Committee in its next session. It is regrettable that the Turkish decision was not the subject of dialog nor notification beforehand, it said. Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida told the Russian news agency Interfax that the concern of millions of Christians has not been heard. Todays court ruling shows that all calls for the need for extreme delicacy in this matter were ignored, the spokesperson said. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based spiritual head of about 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, had said that the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque would disappoint millions of Christians around the world, according to Reuters. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had urged Turkey to continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum, as an exemplar of its commitment to respect the faith traditions and diverse history that contributed to the Republic of Turkey, and to ensure it remains accessible to all. The United States views a change in the status of the Hagia Sophia as diminishing the legacy of this remarkable building and its unsurpassed ability so rare in the modern world to serve humanity as a much-needed bridge between those of differing faith traditions and cultures, Pompeo had said in a statement. Many believe Erdogan made this decision as an attempt to gain support among his conservative base at a time when the opposition party has called for early elections. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-10 23:42:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on July 7, 2020 shows the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Friday said since the United States has already declared withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), it is in no position to make unwarranted comments on China's cooperation with the WHO. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks when responding to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's comments on China's cooperation with the WHO on tracing the origin of the virus. China and the WHO have been in close communication and cooperation since the epidemic broke out, Zhao said. Now China is undertaking an arduous task of preventing both case import and domestic resurgence, and China is the first to invite WHO experts to discuss science-based origin tracing. "It is our contribution to global public health cooperation as a responsible major country," Zhao said. By contrast, the United States has been shirking its own responsibilities and undermining global solidarity in combating the virus by declaring to exit the WHO, politicizing matters related to the pandemic and smearing others. Since it already declared withdrawal from the WHO, the United States is in no position to make unwarranted comments on China's cooperation with the WHO, Zhao said. "If the United States truly cares about global efforts against the pandemic, the first thing it needs to do is to fulfill its due international responsibilities and obligations and cooperate with the WHO in ways like inviting WHO experts to trace the source of the virus in the United States." NEW DELHI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong said on Friday that China and India should implement consensus and handle differences properly to bring the bilateral relations back on the right track. "It is even more important to firmly grasp the consensus reached by our two leaders when the bilateral relations are overshadowed," Sun said in video remarks on current China-India relations. "I believe as long as we follow the guidance of our two leaders, implement the consensus reached by the Special Representatives, focus on friendship and cooperation, defuse suspicion and misgivings, and properly handle differences and sensitive issues, we will be able to address challenges we are facing and bring the bilateral relations back on the right track for a sound and steady development," he said. Sun made the remarks after the Special Representatives of the China-India Boundary Question, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had a conversation over the phone on July 5 and reached a positive consensus on easing the current border situation. "Currently, our front line troops are disengaging on the ground in accordance with the consensus reached by the Military Corp Commander talks," he said. Sun noted that against the backdrop of what recently happened at Galwan Valley, some quarters in India raised doubts about the consensus reached by the two leaders and have wrong perception of the direction of China-India relations, bringing disruptions to the bilateral relationship. Clarifying some fundamental points, Sun said China and India should be partners, rather than rivals. "For both China and India, achieving development and revitalization is the top priority where we share long-term strategic interests," he said. Since the 1990s, China and India have reached an important consensus that the two countries pose no threat to each other. During the Wuhan Informal Summit in 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again stressed that the two countries provide each other with development opportunities instead of posing threats, which the two sides should adhere to. "This is the fundamental judgment on China-India relations, charting the course for the development of our bilateral relations," Sun said. "Only through correct view of each other's intentions with a positive, open and inclusive attitude, we can ensure a stable and long-term development of bilateral relations and avoid any strategic miscalculation," he said. Sun stressed that China and India need peace rather than confrontation, saying that the two countries should always bear in mind the overall bilateral relations, put differences in an appropriate place and not allow differences to interfere with bilateral relations. "We should seek common development as partners rather than opponents or adversaries," he said. "Why should we fight against each other that will only hurt those close to us and gladden the foes?" Sun noted that China and India need to pursue win-win cooperation instead of zero-sum game, saying the two countries are fully capable of achieving win-win results through cooperation as they boast huge market potentials and high economic complementarity. He said that China and India need to build trust, rather than suspicion. "If China and India wish to speed up the realization of our own development and revitalization, mutual respect and support is a sure way and meets the long-term interests of both countries," he said. "Suspicion and friction is a wrong path and goes against the fundamental aspiration of the two peoples." The ambassador said China-India relations should move forward rather than backward as this year marks the 70th anniversary of China-India diplomatic ties. "Now the China-India relations are facing a complex situation," he said. "We should take a broader and far-sighted view, work together to overcome and turn it around as soon as possible." "We should meet each other half-way, expand positive dimension of cooperation, narrow down negative factors and refrain from doing harm to mutual trust and cooperation," he added. Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Dr Paolo Ruffini will grace Vatican Radios English Africa Service webinar on Friday 17 July 2020. In the picture above. Standing from left to right: Godfrey Kampamba, John Baptist Tumusiime; Seated: Sr. Angella Rwezaula (KiSwahili), Fr Paul Samasumo and standing far right: Festus Tarawalie English Africa Service Vatican City The Holy Sees Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Dr Paolo Ruffini; former Vatican Radio Director-General, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ; Nigerian Bishop, Emmanuel Badejo representing SECAM and others are set to speak in a webinar, marking 70 years of Vatican Radios English language broadcasts to Africa. Storytelling as a tool to manage tribulations The webinar jointly organised by SIGNIS Africa and the English Africa Service of Vatican Radio will start at 2pm (CET) on 17 July. It will bring together several English-speaking Catholic communicators in Africa. The theme of the conference is Storytelling as a tool to manage racial and social tribulations in Africa. Explaining the webinar and theme, Head of the English Africa Service, Fr. Paul Samasumo said the team felt it was more appropriate to have a sober, reflective celebration given the sombre times we are living in. English Africa Service collaboration with SIGNIS Africa First, SIGNIS is the world Catholic association for communication professionals and has a presence on all continents. SIGNS Africa has of late been working to bring together Catholic Professionals in Africa, and we felt we could partner with them to host the webinar. We could have chosen to talk only about ourselves as a language programme of Vatican Radio. Still, perhaps there is more to be gained in reflecting together on happenings of the world in which we. We are delighted that the Prefect of our dicastery will be with us. And so too, Fr. Lombardi, who needs no introduction, said Fr. Samasumo. Catholic media have a duty to chart a pathway for the future Why this theme? Together with Professor Fr. Walter Ihejirika, the current President of SIGNIS Africa and others, we realised that as Catholic communicators in Africa, we have the duty of not only reporting social events but also of helping society chart a pathway for a better future. This webinar is our little effort to contribute towards providing a roadmap to this future of Africa and the world in general. We decided to use insights from Pope Francis 54th Message for the World Communications Day to stimulate the minds of African Catholic communicators on this important task of building a vibrant continent. We believe that if we communicate the message of the Gospel in a creative and positive manner, we can contribute, in some way, to uplifting Africa from the ashes of adversity, endless armed conflicts, poverty and discriminations to a future of wellbeing and social inclusiveness. The Catholic communicator cannot afford to stand aloof when confronted with these challenges, said Fr. Samasumo. Vatican Radio is 89 years old Vatican Radio was inaugurated by Pope Pius XI on 12 February 1931. The English World Programme was launched six years later in 1937, and English language broadcasts to Africa began in 1950. In 1979 the English Africa Service as we know it today was created out of the English World Programme. The idea according, Sean Patrick Lovett, former Head of the English World Programme, was to respond to the changing trends on the African continent. The English Africa Service began with short-wave evening broadcasts. Catholic FM radio stations in Africa re-transmit Vatican Radio Vatican Radio has partnered with many diocesan and religious Catholic Radio Stations, in Africa, that re-transmit the daily Vatican Radio programme on their FM radio stations. A free to download podcast of the daily audio programme is available on the main Vatican News English website every evening. There is also a corresponding section of news about the Church in Africa on the main Vatican News English website. This brings news and views of the African Church to the universal Church. President of the Nigerian Women Religious to speak The webinar will also feature presentations from Mother Mary Claude Oguh, Superior General of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Christ. She is the current President of the Nigerian Conference of Women Religious. Also speaking at the webinar, from South Africa will be Ms Sheila Pires, a Radio Veritas media practitioner, and Vatican Radio collaborator. Those not registered for the webinar are invited to follow the live stream of the webinar on the Vatican Radio English YouTube channel or on the Vatican News English website: 17 June 2020, 2pm -4pm, Rome time. Hyderabad: The Telangana government has decided to set up joint teams comprising officials from the Drug Control Administration, Task Force of the Hyderabad police, Director of Public Health and Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives to inspect hospitals and dealers to assess whether sale and utilisation of oxygen cylinders has been in conformity with guidelines. Chief secretary Somesh Kumar who reviewed the oxygen cylinders supply situation in the wake of extensive media reports on shortages and blackmarketing of cylinders, said the teams will initiate prosecution in case any violation of rules is noticed. According to a news release from the government, it was decided to advise all hospitals treating Covid-19 patients to migrate to cryogenic liquid oxygen tanks/vessels in order to avoid any likelihood of bottlenecks due to usage of cylinders. Any dealer holding stocks of oxygen cylinders must possess valid licences failing which they will be prosecuted under the Explosives Act. The police informed the review meeting that two cases have been booked under various laws with respect to illegal stocking or sale of oxygen cylinders in the city. Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2019, file photo, Roger Stone accompanied by his wife Nydia Stone, right, arrives at federal court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime political confidant Roger Stone on Friday, just days before he was set to report to prison. Democrats denounced the move as just another in a series of unprecedented interventions by the president in the nations justice system. Stone had been sentenced in February to three years and four months in prison for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. He was set to report to prison by Tuesday. Stone told The Associated Press that Trump had called him earlier Friday to inform him of the commutation. Stone was celebrating in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with conservative friends and said he had to change rooms because there were too many people opening bottles of Champagne here. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany called Stone a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media. A commutation does not erase Stones felony convictions in the same way a pardon would, but it would protect him from serving prison time as a result. Democrats were angered by Trump's move, with House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff calling it offensive to the rule of law and principles of justice," and Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez asking, Is there any power Trump wont abuse? The action, which Trump had foreshadowed in recent days, reflects his lingering rage over the Russia investigation and is a testament to his conviction that he and his associates were mistreated by agents and prosecutors. His administration has been eager to rewrite the narrative of special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation, with Trumps own Justice Department moving in May to dismiss the criminal case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Stone told the AP that the president did not mention the statuses of Flynn or his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, also ensnared in the Russia probe. What am I going to do now? I am going to work as hard as I can to make sure that Mike Flynn gets final justice," Stone said. Mike Flynn is an American war hero and hes done absolutely nothing wrong. Stone, for his part, had been open about his desire for a pardon or commutation, appealing for the presidents help and seeking to postpone his surrender date by months after getting a brief extension from the judge. Trump had repeatedly publicly inserted himself into Stones case, including just before Stones sentencing, when he suggested Stone was being subjected to a different standard than several prominent Democrats. Trump earned a public rebuke from his own attorney general, William Barr, who said the presidents comments were making it impossible for him to do his job. Barr was so incensed that he told people he was considering resigning over the matter. Schiff said the commutation demonstrated the corruption of the Trump administration. With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else, he said. Donald Trump, Bill Barr, and all those who enable them pose the gravest of threats to the rule of law. Stone, a larger-than-life political character who embraced his reputation as a dirty trickster, was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to have been convicted of charges brought as part of Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. A longtime Trump friend and informal adviser, Stone had boasted during the campaign that he was in contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through a trusted intermediary and hinted at inside knowledge of WikiLeaks plans to release more than 19,000 emails hacked from the servers of the Democratic National Committee. But Stone denied any wrongdoing and consistently criticized the case against him as politically motivated. He did not take the stand during his trial, did not speak at his sentencing, and his lawyers did not call any witnesses in his defence. Prosecutors had originally recommended Stone serve seven to nine years in federal prison. But, in a highly unusual move, Barr reversed that decision after a Trump tweet and recommended a more lenient punishment, prompting a mini-revolt inside the Justice Department, with the entire prosecution team resigning from the case. Department officials have vehemently denied Barr was responding to Trumps criticism and have insisted there was no contact with the White House over the decision. Barr has also pointed out that the judge, in imposing a 40-month sentence, had agreed with him that the original sentencing recommendation was excessive. Barr, who was attorney general during Stones trial last fall, has said the prosecution was justified, and the Justice Department did not support Stones more recent effort to put off his surrender date. Though the Justice Department raised concerns about the handling of Flynns case, including what it said were irregularities about his FBI interview, prosecutors did not point to any similar issues or problems with the Stone prosecution. Even so, the commutation will almost certainly contribute to the portrait of a president determined particularly in an election year to undo the effects of a Russia investigation that has shadowed his administration from the outset, and to intervene on behalf of political allies. The commutation was the latest example of Trump using his unlimited clemency power to pardon powerful men he believes have been mistreated by the justice system. Trump went on a clemency spree in February commuting the 14-year prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, and pardoning former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik, financier Michael Milken and several others. Trump has also offered clemency to other political allies, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was awaiting sentencing at the time, conservative commentator Dinesh DSouza, who had been convicted on campaign finance violations, and Conrad Black, a newspaper publisher convicted of fraud who had written a flattering book about the president. We have a full blown epidemic, an economic recession with the highest unemployment in Indian history, and a powerful enemy whose aggressive and offensive actions we did not anticipate, states Aakar Patel. IMAGE: Indian Army travel on a highway leading to Ladakh. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters For writers it has become difficult to pick which disaster to write about this week. There are so many. An embarrassment of riches, or actually whatever the opposite of it is. Let us start with health. On Friday, July 3, 22,000 Indians tested Covid positive and over 440 died of the plague. We are registering 10% of global cases now and are third highest in terms of number of cases. By the end of August, it will be a lakh cases a day. At that point, how many doctors workers will show up for work and how many will be able to is something to consider. There is no point in thinking about September and October, but consider that the places that are going through the peaks now are Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai which have the best health facilities in India. When the disease spreads rapidly in places without urban healthcare, what will come is not difficult to imagine. Let us turn to the economy. India has few high frequency indicators that can tell us the current state of the economy and the change. The best such indicator we have is automobile sales because at the beginning of each month manufacturers put out the number of units they have sold to dealers. We can compare the number to the same month last year to see how things are going. Passenger vehicle sales in January 2020 dropped to 2.6 lakh from 2.8 lakh in January 2019. This is before Covid, and two months before the lockdown. Commercial vehicle sales, meaning truck and other transportation and cargo vehicles that industry requires, fell from 87,000 units in January 2019 to 75,000 in January this year. Two wheeler sales fell from 15 lakh to 13 lakh. Across the middle class, the lower middle class and industry there is decline. In February commercial vehicle sales fell by 32%, passenger vehicle sales by 7%. After zero sales in April, we should have had a huge bump in May and June but both months are negative in substantial terms. There is something that is hurting the Indian economy and this pain began before the lockdown. The government has not admitted it, though the data is clear, and therefore the government is not doing anything to correct it. The pain will continue and our economy will continue to suffer. IMAGE: Healthworkers collect swab samples in Kolkata, July 4, 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo As if these two problems were not substantial enough we face the gravest strategic threat of the last two decades. China is bullying us and occupying parts of Ladakh that we used to patrol till March. We do not know why China is doing this and we do not know what it wants. This government has a former spy as its national security advisory, a position that is usually taken by scholars. We have a chief of defence staff whose focus has been on counter insurgency in Kashmir and was confident that the LAC with China was settled. He was wrong. Now we are moving troops to the area from the Pakistan front and rushing to buy new warplanes. The strategic affairs analyst Pravin Sawhney has reported the reason the talks with China are taking so long and not progressing. It is that the Chinese want India to acknowledge the current positions their army is occupying, meaning a shift in the LAC. Of course this cannot be conceded by us, but it cannot even be discussed properly because the prime minister has said there is no intrusion while the defence minister and the foreign minister have conceded that China has violated the LAC and are on our side. Modi's visit to Ladakh was to correct that confusion. His war-like speech is to confirm that the threat is real and the Chinese need to go back. He has still refused to name China, but perhaps that will come soon as it becomes obvious that we have a long and difficult road ahead to get the Chinese to vacate. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi on his visit to Leh, July 3, 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo One must say here that we have lost valuable time because of our refusal to accept the reality for whatever reason, whether it is embarrassment or the PM's image. We could have mobilised support around the world if we had said openly and clearly that China was violating the LAC, but there's no point in crying over spilt milk. We still have the opportunity when Modi goes to the G7 in a few months though it is not clear if China will have cemented its intrusion by then. So we have a full blown epidemic, an economic recession with the highest unemployment in Indian history, and a powerful enemy whose aggressive and offensive actions we did not anticipate. At the beginning of the year I would have said that the biggest problem in our nation was the fact that the ruling party was trying to divide Indians. Long term that remains our primary self-induced worry. But for now we have to unite to combat the immediate threat to our people and our nation. Aakar Patel is a columnist and writer. You can read Aakar's columns here. Production: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com Amitabh Bachchan's announcement prompted a wave of wishes from people wishing him a quick recovery. Actor Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday said he has tested positive for coronavirus and has been taken to a hospital. Test results of his family and staff are awaited, the 77-year-old tweeted. "I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested !t," he wrote. The legendary actor is at the Respiratory Isolation Unit at the Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. Actor Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday said he has tested positive for coronavirus and has been taken to a hospital. Test results of his family and staff are awaited, the 77-year-old tweeted. "I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested !t," he wrote. Amitabh Bachchan lives in Mumbai, which has been one of the worst hit cities by the deadly respiratory disease in India, recording 91,745 cases and 5,244 deaths so far, second only to Delhi. The legendary actor is at the Respiratory Isolation Unit at the Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. Doctors told NDTV he is responding well to treatment. "He is asymptomatic and stable," Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope told the Indian media. Mr Bachchan's announcement prompted a wave of wishes from people wishing him a quick recovery. A brain cancer patient has been left traumatised after he was allegedly viciously beaten by a thug asking for a cigarette. Kieran Fisher, 35, was taking a break outside St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney about 10.15am on Friday when Zac Cloutt-Oliver, 18, approached him asking for a cigarette. When he refused Cloutt-Oliver allegedly turned violent, yanking the IV tubes from Mr Fisher's arm and throwing him onto the ground before kicking him in the stomach. Kieran Fisher, 35, was taking a break outside St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney about 10.15am on Friday when Zac Cloutt-Oliver, 18, approached him asking for a cigarette Mr Fisher's IV tubes were ripped out by Cloutt-Oliver and he suffered bruising (pictured) 'I was hoping to go into surgery today but now my brain surgery has had to be setback until at least Monday,' a terrified Mr Fisher told 7News. Doctors and nurses rushed to Mr Fisher's aide when they heard him yelling for help as Cloutt-Oliver ran off. The former clinical nurse suffered horrific bruising on his arms from where his IV tubes were ripped out. 'Got ripped out and they had to reinsert them,' he said. 'I feel like my sense of security has been taken away from me.' Cloutt-Oliver was found across the road from the hospital at Green Park where he was arrested following a struggle with police. The patient had stepped outside St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (pictured) for a break in between his cancer treatment Detective Inspector Rodney Pistola described the brutal attack as 'cowardly'. 'Cowardly is probably an understatement,' he told reporters. 'He is a vulnerable person in society and someone that deserves respect. 'He seems in reasonable spirits considering what's happened to him.' Cloutt-Oliver appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Saturday and was formally refused bail. He is due to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday. Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita went on national television early Saturday, urging dialogue with his opponents just hours after thousands of anti-government protesters marched through the capital with some pushing their way into state television offices. Friday's developments marked a major escalation in the growing movement against Mali's president, who still has two years left in office in this West African country long destabilized by Islamic extremists. Earlier in the day, anti-government protesters had barricaded roads and burned tires in the capital, Bamako. Keita's overnight address to the nation took a conciliatory gesture days after he had tried to appease the protesters by promising to revamp the constitutional court whose legislative election results back in April have been disputed by several dozen candidates. I would like once again to reassure our people of my willingness to continue the dialogue and reiterate my readiness to take all measures in my power to calm the situation, he said in closing. The movement against Keita's government is now known as the June 5 Movement, or M5, a reflection of when demonstrators first took to the streets en masse. Keita's gestures in recent days so far have failed to win favor with the opposition group, which still wants the National Assembly dissolved. While the group has officially backed down from its calls that Keita leave office, some protesters still want him gone. Keita came to power in the aftermath of a French-led military operation to oust Islamic extremists from power in northern Mali's towns in 2013, winning the first democratic elections organized after a military coup the year before. Despite the presence of U.N. peacekeepers, and French and regional forces backing Malian troops, the extremist groups have continued to mount attacks. Last year was particularly deadly for the army as hundreds of soldiers were killed in the north, forcing the military at one point to even close down some of its most remote and vulnerable outposts. Those losses prompted criticism of how the government was handling the crisis in the north. Story continues Tensions mounted in late April after legislative elections were held, and several dozen candidates disputed the official results issued by Mali's constitutional court. A mission from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS has suggested that the government re-hold elections in the localities where results are contested. The last democratically elected leader before Keita, President Amadou Toumani Toure, was overthrown in the 2012 military coup after a decade in power. The political chaos that ensued has been blamed for creating a power vacuum that allowed the Islamic insurgency to take hold in the northern towns. Following international pressure, that coup leader later handed over power to a civilian transitional government that organized elections. (AP) The border between Australia's Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) has been closed for the first time in 101 years, owing to the surge in coronavirus cases in Victorias capital city Melbourne in the past two weeks. While Melbourne reimposed the lockdown on July 8, New South Wales government urged its citizens to stay away from the border region. The border seal has come as a double blow this year to businesses on both sides of the border that suffered a hit from devastating bushfires in January and February and the coronavirus lockdowns in April. read more 1 / 7 A car drives past a sign in the southern New South Wales (NSW) border city of Albury warning of fines for people entering NSW on July 7. Owing to the surge in coronavirus cases Melbourne has gone into a lockdown for the next six weeks. The entire state of Victoria will effectively be sealed off from the rest of the country. (William West / AFP) 2 / 7 Members of Surf Life Saving Victoria remove food trays from a public housing tower in Melbourne on July 8. Hotels and campgrounds faced mass cancellations and pubs and cafes prepared to dump food for the lack of customers. (Sandra Sanders / REUTERS) 3 / 7 A playground is cordoned off with caution tape to restrict public access during the coronavirus lockdown on July 8. The moves to contain a flare-up of coronavirus cases in Melbourne, home to 4.9 million people, come in the middle of school winter holidays, halting travel plans for thousands of families on both sides of the border. (Sandra Sanders / REUTERS) 4 / 7 A man looks out a window during the lockdown put in place to tackle the surge in coronavirus cases in Melbourne on July 8. Speaking to Reuters, Motel and campground owners said cancellations poured in this week, dragging occupancy rates down from more than 90% typical for this time of year to about 15%. (Sandra Sanders / REUTERS) 5 / 7 NSW police officers speak to drivers hoping to cross from the state of Victoria into New South Wales (NSW) at a border check point after the border was closed on July 8. The Victoria border with New South Wales closed on June 7, but a steady stream of cars continued to pass through police checkpoints with permits granted to travellers to cross for reasons such as work and medical treatment, reported AP. (AAP Image / Lukas Coch via REUTERS) 6 / 7 A support worker comforts a young child after he was separated from his mother. The announcement of lockdown brought rushed evacuations on both sides of the border. Weve had a mass evacuation of Victorians, Ray Bell, owner of the Twofold Bay Motor Inn in Eden, told Reuters. (Sandra Sanders / REUTERS) Carlos McArthur, a resident of Syracuse, New York, lost his job with a medical transportation company in March. He lived in his car for more than two months while waiting for his unemployment benefits to arrive. Carlos McArthur is one of millions of Americans who lost a job during the coronavirus pandemic. But his plight is particularly acute and provides a glimpse at how the nation's unemployment system may fail people when they need it most. McArthur, 51, worked for a medical transportation company, driving patients to and from appointments, before being laid off in early March. The Syracuse, New York, resident quickly applied for unemployment benefits to supplement the $13.50 in hourly wages he'd lost, slightly above the state minimum wage. His first check didn't arrive for more than two months. He soon became homeless. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards McArthur, who had separated from his wife before losing his job, had lined up a new apartment. However, without any income from work or jobless aid he couldn't afford the $750 monthly rent. Instead of moving in, he was forced to live in his car. Basic living eating, sleeping, hygiene took a major hit, he said. Amid all this, McArthur thought he'd contracted Covid-19 after developing symptoms like shortness of breath. Blood work confirmed he didn't have the coronavirus. Instead, he came away with a different diagnosis: leukemia. "It takes a lot to be unemployed and have no money," McArthur said. "Some people would crack and give up. I suffered for many months before I got my unemployment." Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards States also had to implement new procedures codified in the CARES Act, a federal relief law enacted in March. It extended jobless aid to a large group of workers, like the self-employed, freelancers and gig workers, previously ineligible for benefits, for example. But delays are also a function of antiquated systems, outdated policy and a lack of investment during the good times, experts said. State unemployment offices were staffed for jobless levels in February that were at their lowest point in half a century and therefore unable to manage the peak 14.7% rate that hit in April. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Nearly 33 million Americans are collecting unemployment benefits, according to the Labor Department. That's about five times the peak during the Great Recession. "The systems have been totally overwhelmed," said Jesse Rothstein, a former chief economist at the Labor Department during the Obama administration. "They sort of had to rebuild the airplane as they flew in the middle of this." 'Economic turmoil and desperate people' The hold-up in receiving benefits came in two tranches for Carlos McArthur. In the first instance, he applied for unemployment on March 9 and didn't receive his first check until May 20. The check, for $871, was for just one week of benefits. (It included the state's typical portion based on McArthur's prior earnings history, plus a $600-a-week supplement being funded by the federal government through July.) However, McArthur had to wait another three weeks for his next check. That one was for $5,500, containing back pay for sums owed going back to March. We too much design our system over the concern people might get benefits they're not entitled to. Jesse Rothstein professor of public policy and economics at the University of California, Berkeley All the while, McArthur had been living in his car. He'd tried going to a rescue mission for help, but feared for his health because people there weren't wearing masks, he said. "It took a major toll on his life," according to Julia Rosner, his attorney. Fortunately, the apartment McArthur had planned to rent before being derailed was still available. The back pay was enough for him to afford rent and a security deposit, and he received a lease June 9. He's been getting checks every week since. The New York Labor Department didn't offer a reason for the payment delays, said Rosner, who is a senior staff attorney at Legal Services NYC, which provides free civil legal services to low-income clients. And the state still owes McArthur at least one check, she said. "It's troubling there's no recognition or attempt to expedite the process, despite having 32,000 dead citizens, economic turmoil and desperate people," Rosner said. "It's extraordinary New York state hasn't risen to the occasion. They're still relying on pre-Covid policies." 12 years of benefits in four months New York has handled the surge in unemployment claims better than any other major state, said Cohen, the New York labor department spokeswoman. Since the Covid-19 crisis began in early March, the state has paid more than $25 billion in benefits to more than 2.9 million New Yorkers roughly 12 years' worth of benefits in a span of four months, she said. That's a much better record than states like Florida, which has nearly the same population as New York but has paid out just $9.5 billion, or less than half New York's total, she said. New York has also improved its systems during the pandemic. New phones, for instance, now help an average 30,000 callers per day, compared with 8,500 prior to the upgrade, Cohen said. It also launched an online application using Google Cloud to increase reliability and handle a higher volume, she said. There's typically a lag of about two to three weeks, even in normal times, between a state's receipt of an unemployment application and payment of benefits. And there are several reasons things could be held up longer, Cohen said. For example, the state may need additional documentation, like employment authorization or wage documents. Some applications may be missing data or have incorrect information needed before a claim can be processed. Investigators may need to dig deeper in the case of disputes, such as an employer contesting the worker's unemployment claim. Back pay could be delayed if a filer doesn't periodically check in online or over the phone to certify they're still unemployed. (Some states suspended this policy during the pandemic.) New York's labor department couldn't share the details of McArthur's unemployment claim due to privacy laws, and thus couldn't verify if one of these reasons was a factor in the delayed payments. Such safeguards are necessary to prevent unemployment fraud, which has increased across the country during the pandemic, Cohen said. A Nigerian fraud ring is suspected to have stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from Washington state as part of an unemployment scheme involving fake claims, for example. The state has recovered some of that money. Outdated design? At least one killed, 20 others wounded as police fire gunshots and tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters. Malis President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has said he has launched an investigation into violence committed during a mass anti-government protest on Friday, which saw at least one person killed and 20 others wounded. Thousands rallied in the capital city Bamako to demand Keitas resignation over long-running security issues, economic woes and perceived government corruption in the fragile West African state. The rally was organised by an opposition coalition and is the third such demonstration in two months significantly escalating pressure on the embattled leader. Led by influential scholar Mahmoud Dicko, the so-called June 5 movement is channelling deep-seated frustrations in the country. The protest was the third since June, and came after the coalition rejected concessions from Keita aimed at resolving a months-long political standoff that began after a disputed legislative election in March. But Fridays protest later descended into chaos as demonstrators blocked main thoroughfares, attacked the parliament and stormed the premises of the state broadcaster while police fired tear gas to disperse them. We have recorded one death, said Yamadou Diallo, a doctor in Bamakos Gabriel Toure Hospital, adding that 20 people had been wounded. An official from the prime ministers office also confirmed the death. The circumstances under which people were wounded and one person was killed were not immediately clear. The opposition alliance said in a Friday evening statement that, pending further details, it held the government responsible for the violence. It also urged security forces to protect the bare-handed protesters who are only defending democratic, secular and republican values. Keita, in a statement on Friday evening, said the scale of human and material losses remained unclear but that an investigation was under way. He also bemoaned the violence and suggested that some opposition leaders had incited it. Civil disobedience Opposition leaders had published a 10-point document calling for civil disobedience, with recommendations including not paying fines, blocking entry to state buildings, and occupying crossroads. Fridays demonstration came after the president unsuccessfully floated reforms intended to appease opponents this week, having rejected their calls to dissolve the parliament and form a transition government. Many protesters on Friday carried placards bearing anti-government slogans and blew vuvuzela horns, AFP news agency reporters saw. We dont want this regime any more, said one of the demonstrators, Sy Kadiatou Sow. Protesters later erected barricades and set tyres alight on two of the main bridges in the city, AFP journalists said, and entered the courtyard of state broadcaster ORTM, whose television channels later went off the air. National guardsmen also fired tear gas at demonstrators hurling stones at the parliament building. Such unrest is rare in Bamako, which has been spared much of the violence that is routine across swathes of Mali. The country has been struggling to contain a surge in armed violence that first emerged in the north in 2012, before spreading to the centre of the country and to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime confidant Roger Stone on Friday, using the extensive powers of the presidency to protect a felon and political ally while also lashing out against a years-long probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election. The move, which the White House announced in a lengthy and pugnacious statement, is the latest attempt by Trump to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation after it consumed much of his presidency. While the commutation was celebrated by Trump's most stalwart supporters, the muted response by Republican lawmakers and Stone's own history as a self-described "dirty trickster" indicated that the president's decision to interfere with the nation's justice system could be fraught with political risk. Trump, who has declared himself the president of "law and order" in recent weeks, used his unique presidential authority to undermine the unanimous finding by a jury that Stone broke the law multiple times by lying to Congress and obstructing justice. For a president who sparked a special counsel probe by firing an FBI director in the middle of an investigation and was later impeached for attempting to pressure a foreign government to investigate his political rival, the move to grant Stone clemency underscored his continued willingness to disrupt the nation's legal and political norms just months before an election. "Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement Friday that ended with the exclamation: "Roger Stone is a free man!" More for you Trump can't block all access to records While the 643-word statement recited a litany of Trump supporters' complaints about Stone's "unfair prosecution, arrest, and trial" - including several complaints about the media - the commutation leaves Stone's conviction standing. Unlike a pardon, which would have absolved the GOP operative of any wrongdoing, the White House action only lifted Stone's punishment, a 40-month prison sentence set to begin Tuesday. In so doing, the White House cited Stone's age, 67, saying it would put him at medical risk in prison while he continues his appeals. Stone "maintains his innocence and has stated that he expects to be fully exonerated by the justice system. Mr. Stone, like every American, deserves a fair trial and every opportunity to vindicate himself before the courts. The President does not wish to interfere with his efforts to do so," the White House said. Democrats quickly slammed the decision as yet another attempt by Trump to undermine the nation's justice system by protecting his friends and seeking to punish his enemies. Bill Russo, a spokesman for former vice president Joe Biden's presidential campaign, took issue with both the substance and the timing of the commutation. "President Trump has once again abused his power, releasing this commutation on a Friday night, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world," he said in a statement. "He will not be shamed. He will only be stopped when Americans make their voice heard at the ballot box this fall. Enough." Trump's clemency move, which went against the recommendation of his own Justice Department, is the latest sign of dysfunction within an administration that has received poor marks for its failure to control the coronavirus pandemic. The president signaled his intentions on Twitter last month, saying Stone "was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt" and "can sleep well at night!" President Trump then told reporters Friday that he is "looking at" pardoning Stone, as he continued to build suspense over whether he will intervene before Stone is scheduled to report to prison next week. "Well, I'll be looking at it," Trump said Friday, before traveling to south Florida for events including a fundraiser in Fort Lauderdale where Stone is living. "I think Roger Stone was very unfairly untreated, as were many people." Stone was sentenced to three years and four months in prison after being convicted of seven felony counts including lying about his attempts to get details from Hillary Clinton's private emails from the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, then threatening a witness who could contradict his story. He had been ordered to report to prison by July 14. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had given Stone a two-week delay to quarantine before traveling from south Florida to the prison Jessup, Ga. But she denied the two month reprieve that Stone had requested with prosecutors' assent. An appeals court Friday evening also rejected Stone's attorneys' renewed request for a delay in his prison reporting date, ruling they had failed to show why the reporting date was inappropriate or that he was likely to win an appeal for a new trial or reduced sentence. Stone's defense earlier Friday, echoing Trump's attacks against Stone's treatment by prosecutors, argued that 20 inmates at Jessup have tested positive for the virus in the past two weeks, up from zero, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Stone has argued the judge and jury in his case were biased against him. Jackson rejected that claim in April, saying Stone's argument that the forewoman's anti-Trump political views rendered the verdict against him invalid "is not supported by any facts or data and it is contrary to controlling legal precedent." Stone appealed her ruling to a higher court. The Trump administration's intervention in Stone's case has roiled the Justice Department and the federal judiciary. Trump has repeatedly attacked the prosecutors, judge and jury. Trump also sent tweets suggesting that "everyone" involved in prosecuting the case could be sued. All four of the prosecutors who handled the case withdrew after Barr publicly overruled their recommendation that Stone serve seven to nine years in prison. The suggestion of a more lenient sentence came after Trump complained about the initial recommendation, raising questions about White House interference in the independence of the Justice Department. More than 2,000 former Justice Department employees subsequently signed a public letter urging Barr to resign, and the head of the Federal Judges Association called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. Barr went on to intervene in the case of another former administration staffer, moving in May to drop charges against Michael Flynn. Trump's first national security adviser had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, but has now sought to reverse his conviction after claiming prosecutors mishandled his case. "At the time, I thought that the handling of the Stone case, with senior officials intervening to recommend a lower sentence for a longtime ally of President Trump, was a disastrous mistake that the department would not make again," Jonathan Kravis, one of the prosecutors wrote, having left the Justice Department over the Stone decision. "I was wrong." A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently ruled that Judge Emmet Sullivan must accept the Department of Justice's decision. Sullivan this week asked for a review of the 2-1 decision by a full panel of the appeals court. Stone's conviction was the last obtained in Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. At trial last September, prosecutors asserted Stone lied to Congress to protect Trump from embarrassment, making the president and his campaign a key component in their case. In arguments and testimony, prosecutors revealed a series of phone calls at critical times in 2016 among Stone, Trump and some of the highest-ranking officials in the Trump campaign: Stephen Bannon, campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates. Gates and Bannon testified that the campaign viewed Stone as a sort-of conduit to WikiLeaks who claimed - even before the Russian hacking was known - to have insider information. Gates testified that he overheard a phone call in which Trump seemed to discuss WikiLeaks with Stone, calling into question the president's assertion to Mueller's office that he did not remember talking about the organization with his longtime friend. Prosecutors buttressed the witness testimony with call and message records, which they said helped show that Stone's claims to the House Intelligence Committee were false. Stone's defense team urged jurors to treat his case as a referendum not on him but on Mueller's entire Russia investigation. Stone's attorneys urged jurors to reframe the question from whether Stone lied to whether that mattered, asserting that his hectic efforts to get information from WikiLeaks never amounted to anything. "So much of this case deals with that question that you need to ask . . . so what?" defense attorney Bruce Rogow said. "There was nothing illegal about the campaign being interested in information that WikiLeaks was going to be sending out," Rogow said. "If that's the state of affairs that we're in, I'm pretty shocked," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Marando told jurors in closing arguments, saying, "Truth matters. Truth still matters." In Mueller's report, the special counsel included Trump's interactions with Stone among examples of potential obstruction. The report noted the during the investigation Trump commended Stone for having the "guts" to say that he would not testify against the President, and called his friend "very brave." Mueller said evidence supported the inference that Trump intended to signal that he would reward witnesses who could implicate him for their silence. - - - The Washington Post's Manuel Roig-Franzia and John Wagner contributed to this report. The logo of the social network Facebook on a broken screen of a mobile phone on May 16, 2018. (Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images) Beijing Weaponizes Facebook to Push Taiwan Agenda: Leaked Documents The Chinese regime has begun using Facebook to amplify its propaganda that Taiwan belongs to China, according to leaked documents obtained by The Epoch Times. Beijing claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory, although Taiwan has its own military, democratically elected government, and currency. Researchers and Taiwanese authorities have previously highlighted indirect attempts to sway Taiwan voters to elect pro-Beijing political candidates into officeincluding by spreading disinformation on Facebookefforts that align with Beijings goals of convincing Taiwanese people to accept unification with the mainland. But the endeavors were difficult to trace directly to the regime. Now, documents from the Beijing city government, dated in early June and presented as reports to higher-ups to tout their accomplishments, provide evidence that the regime is using various proxy Facebook pages to promote the regimes claim of sovereignty and the idea of a military invasion of Taiwan. The documents are the first to confirm Beijings direct hand in creating and spreading such propaganda on Facebook, fanning pro-unification sentiments. From May 25 to June 8, at least 74 posts were posted across four pages, designed to deflate the insolent air of the pro-independence Taiwan groups and draw a contrast to the outbreak handling between China, U.S., and Taiwan, thereby to demonstrate the advantages of our system, according to the document. The term pro-independence has been a pro-forma accusation for Beijing to frame individuals and acts that demonstrate pride or solidarity for Taiwan identitysuch as waving Taiwanese flags. A screenshot of a June 2, 2020, video created by Beijing officials touting Chinas military preparedness against Taiwan. (Screenshot via Facebook) The pages have obscure names, with a modest following that vary from as low as a few hundred to more than 8,000 followers. But the effort has proved rewarding: Five of the best-performing videos from one page received more than 30,000 likes, shares, comments, and clicks during the two-week period, according to the document. Military Provocation The top video, demonstrating a hypothetical military attack on Taiwan, drew more than 137,000 user reactions over a span of 13 days and was watched 1.02 million times in that period. The video claims Chinese soldiers are invincible and that Taiwan must unify with the mainland. The videos title reads, If war breaks out tomorrow, here is the answer from Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). The video currently has about 800 comments and close to 2,000 likes. It cost about $400 to boost the post, according to the document. A screenshot of a June 2, 2020, video created by Beijing officials touting Chinas military preparedness against Taiwan. (Screenshot via Facebook) Another video, posted June 1, declared that advanced torpedoes that the United States sold to Taiwan in May were rubbish and no match for the Chinese military. Separately, Hu Guangqu, an editor and reporter for the Taiwan-focused, state-affiliated news site Huaxia Jingwei through the end of 2019, presented a summary of the Facebook special promotion work in a June 7 document. He says the videos have made a significant impact, and have drawn widespread attention from overseas netizens and ignited spirited discussions. Hu concedes, however, that most of them [overseas netizens] think the PLA doesnt dare to use military force against Taiwan. He also found that within the Facebook comments, many Taiwanese said that the United States would also come to Taiwans aid in the event of a military invasion, he wrote in the document. This represents the majority of Taiwan youths who have an extremely low sense of identification with the motherland, he concluded, describing such youths as radical forces. Only a small number of Taiwan internet users have an introspective awareness, Hu said. Facebook didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment about the influence pages. A screenshot of a June 2, 2020, video created by Beijing officials touting Chinas military preparedness against Taiwan. (Screenshot via Facebook) State Ties Huaxia Jingwei, a website established in Beijing, has played an active role in projecting regime-endorsed narratives about Taiwan. The site describes itself as having received an avid interest and strong support from the Taiwan Affairs Office and the State Council Information Office, both working organs of Chinas central government. The news site also boasted of being listed as a key government project in 2006 as a part of the Chinese regimes five-year plan. Wang Daohan, former president of the state-run, pro-unification Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, penned the website name himself. (PDF) (Text) Zhu Ming, a China-affairs commentator based in New York, called the site Beijings pro-unification propaganda front, operating through multiple proxies. He noted that the web page uses traditional Chinese rather than the simplified script, the standardized characters in the mainland, suggesting its target audience are non-mainland readers. Residents of Taiwan and Hong Kong predominantly use traditional characters. Propaganda Playbook While the Chinese regime, through its ever-tightening internet censorship, has long blocked mainland users from accessing Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, it has also increasingly taken to these platforms to push its views to international audiences. All major Chinese state-run media outlets have opened accounts on Twitter and Facebook. Some, such as China News Service and China Central Television, have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to boost their social media presence overseas. In a public tender document on the Chinese central governments website dated Aug. 16, 2019, which has since been removed, China News Service sought 1.25 million yuan ($176,461) from the government to boost its Twitter following by 580,000, and another 1.2 million yuan ($169,403) toward adding 670,000 Facebook followers. A Facebook video from Chinese state media China Daily that defends the Hong Kong national security law, on July 10, 2020. (Screenshot via Facebook) Chinese state media accounts were among four of the five fastest-growing media pages on Facebook from mid-November to mid-December 2019, the U.S.-based human rights watchdog Freedom House found. With each having tens of millions of followers, these accounts have a formidable online presence, making up three of the 10 largest media accounts on Facebook in 2019, according to social media marketing company Socialbakers. Such covert influence led Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to suspend more than 1,000 accounts total in August 2019 in an effort to dismantle a Beijing-backed disinformation campaign that vilified Hong Kong protesters. A March study by investigative news site ProPublica also traced more than 10,000 suspended fake or hijacked Twitter accounts to the Chinese regime, which carried out coordinated propaganda around Beijings response to the virus outbreak. In a March 2019 report, titled Chinas Pursuit of A New World Media Order, the international nonprofit Reporters Without Borders said the Chinese regime has been pouring as much as 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) a year into promoting its image globally. NEW YORK: The Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast (SCCEC) and American Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (AGPC) at an emergency teleconference here has decided to boycott the Indian politicians and stop funding them in elections besides continuing ban on Indian diplomats, political leaders and consular staff from speaking engagements in US Gurdwarason in protest against alleged recent arrests of Sikh youth in Punjab under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The Sikh Coordination Committee in a statement said that the intent of these arrests is not to convict on any specific charges but only to torture and detain behind bars for years without any hearing. More than 162 Gurdwara representatives from USA and Canada called in to share their concerns, comments and suggestions on this emergent situation. The Committee has named PM Narinder Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, SAD president Sukhbir Badal and other political and officers for terrorising Sikh youth. The following resolutions were tabled, discussed, and adopted unanimously: 1. All diaspora Sikhs condemn the reign of terror unleashed against Sikh Youth by rogue Indian establishment. We feel their pain and stand in full solidarity with our brethren in Punjab. We remind that SCCEC in January 2018 banned Indian diplomats, political leaders and consular staff from speaking engagements in US Gurdwaras. This ban is effective today and will continue indefinitely in future. In addition, we will also take legal action against the culprit police officials and politicians. 2. All Indian political parties and political leaders who come begging for election funds in North America will be totally proscribed and turned away. 3. India has effectively muzzled the voice Indian Sikhs by State Terror. Todays gathering strongly condemns it and declares India a Terrorist Nation. 5. It appeals to the Global Sikh community to unite to fight the biased and unfair policies of Indian establishment, Then-Defense Intelligence Agency director Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn testifies before a committee hearing on Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on March 12, 2013. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) FBI Kept Pushing Flynn Probe Amid Stream of Exculpatory Evidence, Documents Indicate News Analysis The FBI leadership kept pushing ahead with the investigation of former Trump adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn even though its agents had been coming back again and again with evidence that pointed to his innocence. Thats the picture painted by documents uncovered by a review of the Flynn case ordered in January by Attorney General William Barr. The latest discovery, 14 pages of material provided to Flynns lawyers on July 7, indicate that the FBI was looking to close the Flynn case in November 2016, but continued to investigate for no apparent reason. Flynn, a former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency during the Obama administration and former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI. In January, he moved to withdraw the plea and proclaimed his innocence. While the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped the case on May 7, the presiding district judge, Emmet Sullivan, has refused to accept the dismissal and insisted on further proceedings to inquire about the dismissal. Flynn was originally targeted by the FBI in August 2016 because of alleged ties to Russia and to determine if he was acting as an unregistered surrogate for Moscow. The allegation was mostly based on the fact that Flynn had given a paid interview to the Russian state-sponsored RT television and attended its anniversary gala in Moscow in 2015. He said it was one of many speaking engagements arranged for him by a speakers bureau he contracted. The FBI was looking to close Flynns case in November 2016 as it had not seen things to point to initial issue, according to Jan. 25, 2017, handwritten notes of Tashina Gauhar, then-deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJs National Security Division (NSD). Then, in November and December 2016, the FBI recovered Flynns calls with Sergey Kislyak, then-Russian ambassador to the United States, Gauhars notes say (pdf). The bureau made requests to foreign partners and info came back -> legitimate, the notes say, indicating that nobody saw anything untoward in Flynns calls. Indeed, then-FBI Director James Comey said the calls appear legit when he briefed President Barack Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden, on Jan. 5, 2017, according to notes jotted down by then-FBI head of counterintelligence operations Peter Strzok. It was Biden who brought up a possible Logan Act violation during that meeting, the notes indicate, while Obama told Comey the right people should be on the case. The Logan Acta potentially unconstitutional law that never has been successfully prosecutedmakes it illegal for citizens to negotiate with foreign officials without the consent of the White House. It appears the FBI used that as grounds for keeping the case open, based on Flynns conversations with Kislyak. Strzoks text messages show he scrambled to keep the case open on behalf of the FBI leadership, even as Flynns case agent had already drafted the closing document. The DOJ, however, poured cold water on that rationale. George: No reasonable pros do Logan Act, say Strzoks Jan. 25, 2017, notes, meaning that George Toscas, then-deputy assistant attorney general in the NSD, informed the FBI that no reasonable prosecutor would charge a Logan Act violation. These notes, just as those of Gauhar, memorialize a meeting with eight other DOJ and FBI officials a day after Strzok and FBI Supervisory Special Agent Joe Pientka interviewed Flynn in the White House. According to Gauhars notes, Flynn described his calls with Kislyak inaccurately on some points during the questioning, but the agents believe that F. believe that what he said was true. Flynn was telling truth as he believed it, she wrote down. These documents establish that on January 25, 2017the day after the agents ambushed him at the White Housethe agents and DOJ officials knew General Flynns statements were not material to any investigation, that he was open and forthcoming with the agents, that he had no intent to deceive them, and that he believed he was fully truthful with them, Flynns lead lawyer, former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, said in a July 10 court filing (pdf). In short, there was no crime for many reasons. These documents were known to exist at the highest levels of the Justice Department and by Special Counsel, yet they were hidden from the defense for three years. Among the new documents is also a draft Jan. 30, 2017, internal memo saying the FBI did not believe General Flynn was acting as an agent of Russia. For some reason, however, the investigation went on and the FBI was still relying on the Logan Act. On March 30, 2017, then-acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente memorialized an apparent briefing on the Russia investigation. He wrote down that the investigators do not view [Flynn] as source of collusion, but marked other liability areas of Flynns as the Foreign Agents Registration Act (which is hardly ever prosecuted) as well as the Logan Act. In August 2017, when then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein outlined the scope of jurisdiction for former special counsel Robert Mueller, who took over the Russia probe, one of the areas was whether Flynn committed crimes in his calls with Kislyak, which appears to be a Logan Act reference. In the end, Mueller didnt charge Flynn with a Logan Act violation. The prosecutors said it didnt even play a role in the plea negotiations. Flynn told the court in January he only pleaded guilty because Muellers prosecutors threatened to indict his son. Internal emails of Flynns former lawyers say that the prosecutors made a secret side deal not to prosecute the son in exchange for the fathers cooperation. Flynns case is now stuck in the District of Columbia appeals court, which ordered Flynn to respond by July 20 to a request for rehearing filed by Judge Sullivan after the appeals courts 3-judge panel ordered him to accept the case dismissal last month. When we speak of social change, we often describe it as coming in waves, an image that is both vivid and apt. To someone watching from the shore, its sometimes hard to tell where one wave ends and the next one begins: they move in swells, one after the other, breaking and falling back into the surge of the next. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. When we speak of social change, we often describe it as coming in waves, an image that is both vivid and apt. To someone watching from the shore, its sometimes hard to tell where one wave ends and the next one begins: they move in swells, one after the other, breaking and falling back into the surge of the next. But over a very long time, over the course of many generations, waves are immensely powerful. They can wash away entire cliffs, push back the edge of the shore. They recreate the world through the tirelessness of their motion, never ceasing, always pushing forward, doing more together than any one wave will alone. Look around at the world, and you can see a multitude of waves cresting, following their own ebb and flow. You could see one this week in Edmonton, where the sentencing hearing began for Matthew McKnight, a convicted serial rapist who once trolled bars and parties looking for victims; for years, he got away with it, until those survivors began to speak up, leading to his arrest and, at long last, his being held to account. And you saw one in Winnipeg, where people spoke up online about abuse theyd suffered at the hands of St. Pauls High School students, including an incident where students gathered intimate photos of teen girls and distributed them without consent; what disciplinary measures were taken in that case remains unclear. Free Press journalist Maggie Macintosh has covered that story. Though there are still many questions to be answered, the Catholic private school has vowed to implement "transformative change" in its sex education, and plans to make an action plan with input from the community, including the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. As that wave continues on its journey, another one is rising. On Instagram, the account @safespacewpg emerged, with a vision to become a place for survivors of sexual assault or abuse in Manitoba to share their stories; and the stories that have already come forward show just how deep the ocean of hurt in this province can go. The account made its first post on June 28, with its statement of values: "We deserve to have those guilty be held accountable. We deserve to no longer be silenced." By Wednesday morning, only 10 days later, it had posted 92 accounts of harm, with more submissions soon to be shared. On Instagram, survivors or sexual assault or abuse in Manitoba share their stories with the account @safespacewpg. The submissions are posted anonymously. Comments are turned off. In most stories, though not all, the victim is female; the account has spoken up in support of male survivors. Included in the accounts highlights are contact numbers for local crisis-support hotlines and resources on how to report sexual assault. Taken individually, one by one, the stories march out a grim drumbeat of harm. They differ in details, in ways that show the vast geography of abuse. In some, the person accused of doing harm is named. In others, theyre not. In some, they are a spouse or a partner. In others, theyd only just met their victim. It is in the common threads between them where the patterns of cruelty show through most clearly. In most stories, the victim is young when the assault happened, often in their teens. Many describe being isolated, unable to leave; some describe feeling frozen, too scared or too unprepared to say "no." This is a normal experience, too. Sometimes, it is the best thing a survivor can do just to get through it. There are other commonalities. In many, the abuser used alcohol to gain power over victims. And in nearly all the stories, they relied on the silence of others, including the person they harmed, believing that what they meted out behind closed doors would never emerge to find them in the light of the world beyond. Thats one of the most chilling things about sexual assault and abuse: often, someone else knew. For so long, that was usually true. Thats one of the most chilling things about sexual assault and abuse: often, someone else knew. Someone who saw that something was wrong, but did nothing. Someone who heard what happened but chose to defend the abuser, or simply to look away and not get involved. And the submissions to @safespacewpg often have this in common, too: they talk about the pain that followed them from the moment it happened, the nightmares that persisted, the challenges they faced learning to feel safe in future relationships. They talk about living in fear of the person who harmed them, sometimes for years. Often, the most vicious and damaging trick abusers pull is the way they push their shame onto their victims. How survivors are made to carry the weight of the wrong, instead of the one who delivered it. And shame is one of the most powerful feelings we know; it can make us feel small, or make us take it out on ourselves. It can silence. That, too, is familiar, that overarching dynamic of shame, power and silence. It is the same combination of raw forces that allowed abuse to persist in sports, in Hollywood, in churches. The specifics change, but those elements remain nearly constant: abusers get away with it when they have the power to press victims to silence. We seek a world in which, from the moment they are harmed, survivors of abuse can feel the power is still in their grasp, not able to be torn away from them. But there are other ways. If we close our eyes and imagine what healthy communities look like, they are invariably ones in which social bonds are strong enough that those who have suffered harm can be heard, and those who do harm can be called to account, and to make amends for what they have done. Because many of the stories on the @safespacewpg account share something else in common, too. In some of them, the writers speak of their relief at putting their story out in the world. They speak of a feeling of reclaiming power, of taking back what was taken from them when their abuse first occurred. Want more great journalism? Get our best news and features delivered in your inbox every weekday evening. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. That is the light in the darkness, the beacon. It tells us how we can move towards a safer world both for ourselves, and for our children. We seek a world in which, from the moment they are harmed, survivors of abuse can feel the power is still in their grasp, not able to be torn away from them. In magazines, in newspapers, we write about the "post-Me Too world," as if what happened three years ago, in the thickest part of the groundswell under that name, could be understood as having a beginning and an end, a before and an after. In truth, those borders are porous. The movement is both very old, and very young. Rather, the waves just keep rolling on, one after the other, each one changing the world a little bit more. melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca By writing a scathing letter to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on the breakdown in law and order in the state, is Governor R N Ravi creating the ground for consolidating his power and directly influence proceedings in the state, asks Sandeep Pandey. IMAGE: Nagaland Governor R N Ravi, left, briefs Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Phot. Nagaland Governor R N Ravi has written a scathing letter to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio alleging the complete collapse of law and order and the elected government's unwillingness to resist several armed groups indulging in extortion and violence. Ravi has revealed that some of these groups are running their 'governments,' illegally levying taxes on items from salt to construction material. The governor stated that government accommodation in forest areas have been taken over by some such groups which are involved in illegal felling of trees and encroachment of forest areas in contravention of a Supreme Court order of 2001. He goes on to say that offenders apprehended under the Indian Arms Act, Explosive Substance Act and Nagaland Security Regulations which carry punishment for five years get away easily because of collusion of public prosecutors with the accused, making a mockery of law and order. Ravi has just made public what is well known about the north east --that a variety of groups extort money from government employees, too. As the interlocutor on behalf of the Government of India, Ravi signed -- in Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's presence -- on August 3, 2015, a framework agreement with leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), the most prominent insurgent group in Nagaland, the leader of which Thuingaleng Muivah is described as 'Ato Kilonser' (translated as prime minister). The agreement itself has phrases like 'shared soverignty,' 'peaceful co-existence,' and 'inclusive relationship,' implying some scope for autonomy was visualised for the Naga people. Ravi retired from the Intelligence Bureau and also served as deputy national security advisor. So, Ravi could not have been unaware of the situation in Nagaland before he took over as governor. When the talks with the NSCN-IM got stuck over the demand of a separate constitution and flag for Nagaland, Ravi engaged other groups in Nagaland, possibly including some of those who he describes as 'gangs,' to try to find a way forward to clinch the peace accord. Ravi became Nagaland governor on August 1, 2019, with a mandate to conclude the agreement within three months, but there has been no word from him or the Government of India after the deadline passed. The Naga peace process, which has been going on for 23 years after the 1997 ceasefire, appear to have once again entered a limbo. The purpose of Ravi writing such a sensitive letter to the CM, which made it to the public domain, is unclear. It is either an expression of frustation with multiple local forces, including the elected government, realising that the situation is beyond redemption. Else, it could be a pre-emptive attempt to abdicate responsibility, especially if some untoward incident happens. As a third possibility, he may be creating the ground for consolidating his power vis-a-vis the elected government, wanting to directly influence the proceedings in the state as he indicates towards the end of the letter. It is instructive to note that Bharat Gandhi, the leader of a small political party from mainland India, Voters International Party, with a small presence in Assam, is currently in jail in Nagaland. He was arrested at a meeting of his party in Dimapur on March 13 this year. Even though he secured bail on May 11, before he could be released, two of his colleagues were kidnapped by an armed group and a ransom of Rs 1 crore was demanded. Bharat Gandhi is now lodged in the Mon district jail because of another First Information Report filed against him and awaits grant of bail. Indian civil society activists have demanded his safe exit from Nagaland. One cannot help but draw parallels with the social activist Sanjay Ghose's disappearance forever in 1997 from Majuli island in Assam. Sanjay is believed to have been killed by the United Liberation Front of Asom. When Irom Sharmila went on a fast for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act for 16 years, people in mainland India and the rest of the world became aware about the human rights violations in Manipur in particular and the north east in general. Similarly, Bharat Gandhi's incarceration makes Indian citizens aware about the ground situation in Nagaland Governor Ravi's letter is an admission of this reality. In a way it is surprising that the governor has admitted the failure of the government, something which is anathema to the current ruling dispensation in New Delhi. If Ravi's honest admission of the reality can set in motion a process of introspection by the government and the reining in of rampant extortion and violence so that some order is brought in the state, it would serve a purpose. That the ceasefire has been extended so long is a reflection of the will of the Naga people that they want peace. Most Nagas have given up the hope of complete autonomy in lieu of 'shared soverignty' and 'peaceful co-existence' within the Indian set-up. It is the failure of successive Indian governments to bring normalcy to the area. But Ravi's disciplinarian approach may not work because the Nagas don't consider themselves to have subordinated to the Indian State in their history. The Nagas never signed any instrument of accession with India and claim to have a unique history. Hence, any peace solution, if it has to last, has to be arrived at with the consensus of all or most of the Naga groups including the most powerful, the NSCN-IM. The Nagas want to have a unique system of governance, competencies of which have been worked out in great detail by the NSCN-IM. The Government of India, through the office of Governor Ravi, would do well to start building a consensus around that instead of trying to exploit the differences among various insurgent groups. Sandeep Pandey, winner of the Magsaysay Award, in 2002, is vice-president of the Socialist Party (India). Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 21:24:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China Post issued a set of stamps featuring the Palace Museum on Saturday, with a total face value of 11.40 yuan (about 1.62 U.S. dollars). The newly issued set consists of four stamps bearing architectural features in the Palace Museum, including the Inner Golden Water Bridge and the Hall of Central Harmony, as well as a miniature sheet showcasing a sketch-map of the Palace Museum, which is the first time the sketch-map presented on a stamp. A series of cultural activities will be held to promote traditional Chinese culture in 2020, as the Forbidden City, former imperial compound, marks its 600th anniversary. This year also marks the 95th anniversary of the establishment of the Palace Museum. Enditem Nobody howled louder than Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick when Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner barred the state GOP from holding its convention there amid a COVID-19 explosion. This is nothing but a political hack job by Mayor Turner, Patrick told Laura Ingraham on Fox News. Patrick failed to mention that he and Gov. Greg Abbott and various other GOP elected officials had earlier opted out of actually joining the 6,000 party stalwarts who signed up for the July 16th gathering at the George R. Brown Convention center. They had instead planned to address the gathering via video. All the elected officials are switching from a live, in-person speech to videos, state GOP executive director Kyle Whatley said during a virtual town hall on Tuesday night. Theyre doing that for us in order to focus all the attention on the business of the meeting and to get everybody in and out of here as quickly and as safely as possible. Surely, virtual appearances would require as much attention as live. But video might in fact prompt everybody to leave quicker. Each virtual speech would carry the unstated message that the official was leery of actually being there. And those who did attend would be left with the question, Then what the heck am I doing here? Even such big and bright stars of the Texas conservative firmament as Rep. Dan Crenshaw approved of the mayors decision. A prudent move for public health, Crenshaw said. Patrick had already made a prudent move for his own health when he opted to go virtual. He nonetheless denounced Turners push for the entire GOP convention to go online, as the state Democratic convention already had with no difficulties and zero infections. Loren Elliott/Getty Turner should have moved last month to stop the insanity of a large indoor gathering as COVID-19 continued to spike. The virus then became what he termed out of control. He was reportedly further spurred into action when one of his sisters reminded him that the convention would also endanger hotel workers such as their mother, who had long been at the citys Rice Hotel. He did not have to be told that your basic Texas Republican is not likely to worry about endangering a maid by failing to wear a mask in a hotel. Story continues Of course, scientific fact and common sense have not stopped the GOP from filing suit to stop the mayor from stopping their convention. Turner noted to the press that Harris County District Court is holding much of its business on Zoom. Its ironic theyre going to the courthouse, that in many cases is hearing and seeing cases virtually, to ask them to agree to allow 6,000 people to meet in person, Turner said. In fact, the entire Texas court system went largely virtual in late March. Courthouse News reported Texas held more than 8,500 virtual proceedings with 113,000 participants in the first months. Not even emergency matters were held in person. Obviously even that would put participants at risk, a spokesman for the Texas Office of Court Administration was quoted saying. District Court Judge Larry Weiman denied the GOPs application. The GOP said that was only what it expected from such a liberal court and appealed to the Supreme Court of Texas. Who Are You Going to TrustDr. Fauci or Texas Joke of a Lieutenant Governor? The states top court had also gone virtual, with oral arguments available for public viewing on YouTube. The GOP was now asking the nine justices to intercede and allow it to go ahead with an all too actual gathering. Never mind that the conventions own organizers implicitly recognized it as so risky that the state's two top Republican officials were appearing only on video. A spokesman for the state Supreme Court said the justices had asked for a response from the city of Houston and from the Houston First Corporation, which operates the convention arena. The citys response is due by 5 p.m. Saturday. Too early to know whether oral arguments might be held, the spokesman told The Daily Beast . If yes, would be on Zoom. If it goes to oral arguments, anybody who so desires will be able to go on YouTube and witness irony that has become quite literally supreme. Maybe if the state Supreme Court finds in favor of the mayor, Patrick and his GOP crew will dare to appear live on Zoom. Either way, two words come back that Ingraham uttered when interviewing Patrick. They started out talking about reopening the schools. And Ingraham remarked that a teachers union was holding a webinar. How brave, she said. The interview proceeded on to Turners decision to block the Texas state GOP convention. He didnt say a word when 60,000 people protested in the streets of Houston, Patrick said. Many of these people [are] now in the hospitals that are causing the spike. Where most major cities that had protests have found little if any accompanying risk in infections, health officials in Harris County, which encompasses Houston, have discerned what seems to be a resulting uptick. But they are quick to add that the biggest factor was, in the words of Harris County Public Health Director Dr. Umair Shah, People interpreting reopening as back to normal. And the experts agree that the risk is considerably heightened when people gather indoors. That would include the in-person convention where Patrick himself bravely planned to appear only from the safety of a screen. Apparently for him its only an afterthought that those at risk on the front lines of COVID include the people who clean the hospitals, hotels, transportation facilities, and gathering places such as the one where he wants to pack thousands. If People Die, People Die: Texas COVID Hot Spots Keep Getting Worse Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Q: Im a female, 31, with my boyfriend for five months. We dated exclusively after just one month then, due to COVID, moved in together. I could work from home, but he lost his job and was very bored, so picked up his photography hobby. He already had a lot of equipment at home. He constantly takes pictures of me: when Im just waking up, even when Im asleep. He snaps me in different sitting or lying down positions when I least expect it. He even tries to pose me when Im in the midst of doing my work. Im glad that he got busy with an interest, but Im a little uncomfortable as to what hes done or is planning to do with all those pictures. Im often complimented on my figure, so Im not being conceited when I say that I wonder if some of those wake-up or sleeping shots of me are suggestive. If Id been asked and agreed to that kind of photography, itd be one thing. But he just shot whatever he wanted while I was focused on work. I think I can trust him fully, but somethings niggling the back of my mind. I dont want to accuse him of anything and cause a big fight. How do I ask if hes used me for selling soft porn? Am I His Girlfriend or Model? A: Just ask. Whats pestering your mind is doubt. You havent mentioned whether he was eligible for government assistance during the pandemic. If hes not, and yet seems to have income, it could be a factor troubling you. You moved in together during very early dating. Your unasked questions about something so personal show that trust isnt a firm factor in this still-new relationship during unusual circumstances. Maybe he just finds you a delightful subject for photography. Or maybe theres more to it. But, as partners in a relationship, if you cant inquire what hes done, or plans to do, with so many close-up camera portraits of you, then trust IS missing. Q: Im 38, moved here from Europe, happy now. My siblings and I grew up with verbal/psychological abuse from our alcoholic father. Our mother helped us survive. My sister has also moved here. My brother (married with two kids) lives with my parents in Europe. Hes abusive to his wife, has a violent relationship with my father. He wont move out, wont get therapy, wont admit to any wrongdoing. He blames everyone for the failings in his life, especially my parents. I told him to seek therapy. He shamed me. His explosions occur frequently. I fear for my moms life (shes 71), how long she can take it. I fear my brother harming himself or someone else. I fear the terrifying hate between him and my father. How to Help My Brother? A: Try to help those caught in the middle of this terrifying hatred. Contact the mental health resources in the country and area where your parents home is located. Explain the volatile danger facing everyone there, including two children. Ask for confidentiality assurance regarding the authorities not informing the women and kids, whod be at further risk if suspected of reporting the situation. Seek whatever helps available, plus learn the laws regarding when authorities can intervene. Stay in close, private contact with your mother. If things worsen, try to convince her to find safety elsewhere (quickly and also privately) along with her daughter-in-law and grandchildren. Ellies tip of the day In a relationship, its the questions you dont ask that indicate fear of the answer, also known as distrust. The Cuddalore police in Tamil Nadu registered a case of forgery against three people for possessing an entire paraphernalia of objects found in a typical State Bank of India (SBI) branch: pay-in slips, transaction applications, vouchers, stamps, counting machines and so on. A case was filed against Kamal Babu and his two accomplices under Section 484 of the India Penal Code (IPC) for counterfeiting the mark used by a public official as well as forgery. The counterfeit objects were seized and Babu was produced before a district magistrate in Cuddalore. He was later released on bail. Police sources said the accused forged documents under the fake branch 'SBI North Bazaar'. However, the "branch" had no billboards and was operated out of a room in the man's house and no customers were cheated. "It was not really a scam, in the sense that no one was cheated. He did not run a branch, meaning there was no billboard, no retail space, no cashiers. Just reams of slips and official-looking stamps, etc," said a senior police officer aware of the case proceedings. Police sources said Babu was handling the accounts of his mother and her elder sister, committing funds to multiple Recurring Deposits and so on. He was running online transactions as well, but he was not defrauding public customers of SBI. Babu's aunt brought the fake pay-in slips to the notice of a bank representative, who escalated the matter. "I wouldn't call it a branch. It was a room inside his house. The place had a cash-counting machine, pay-in slips, passbooks, and so on. The SBI officials who came to know about this wanted a case filed." said a police officer aware of the details of the case. (With inputs from Premanand) With borders sealed following the cancellation of this years Kanwar yatra, there has been a rise in the number of people from other states, especially Kanwariyas, trying to enter Haridwar district illegally using interior border roads, said officials. Local villagers and officials pointed out that instead of using the main highway, they are using interior roads in Bhagwanpur, Laldhang and Narsain areas to escape checking. District administration officials said more than one thousand vehicles on an average are being sent back from the Uttarakhand border daily. These are from other states and have no legal permission to enter the state. Many who have succeeded in sneaking into the state have been quarantined. So far, sixteen people hailing from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have been quarantined for fourteen days at Maheshwari ashram in Haridwar under police vigil. Also read: Eight-month-old tests positive for Covid-19 in Uttarakhand, state tally rises to 3,373 To ensure total adherence of prohibition on entry of Kanwariyas in the state, the administration has started deploying police personnel at the interior and arterial routes on border areas. According to Shyampur station house officer Deepak Kathait, additional force has been deployed at sensitive border posts and entry points along the interior stretches of the district. We are carrying out round the clock checking at various border posts for people on vehicles as well as on foot who try to sneak into the state. Many times, people resist but when we tell them that they cant enter the state as Kanwar yatra has been cancelled, they agree to return, said Kathait. Local intelligence unit personnel and villagers have brought to light how people from UP, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab are deceiving the police by skipping highway routes where checking is being done and are using narrow-temporary routes that pass through forest and riverbeds. Taking cognizance of this, the police administration has deployed additional security personnel at such rural arterial routes through which other state people were trying to reach Haridwar. The police have also deployed personnel at Sirchandi, Badedi, Hasanpur villages that lie on the border with Uttar Pradesh. The whole district has been bifurcated into 10 zones and 21 sectors to ensure better management and monitoring of security aspects till Kanwar yatra period ends. Superintendent of Police (city) Kamlesh Upadhyay has been appointed as Kanwar nodal officer for the period. Police, along with PAC personnel, are monitoring the situation round the clock and carrying out checking drives to ensure no person enters the state illegally. Police deployment has also been done at all such connecting stretches that can be used to illegally enter the district, said Superintendent of Police (rural) SK Singh. The buildings at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill bear the names of men tied to racist practices. A commission at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has voted to recommend the renaming of four campus buildings that currently have ties to slaveholders or white supremacists. The recommendation from the Commission on History, Race and a Way Forward on Friday will go to the schools chancellor, who can then decide to forward it to the board of trustees, The Charlotte Observer newspaper reported. The board, which is scheduled to meet on Thursday, is expected to discuss a policy to change the names of facilities on campus. The move comes as racial justice protests have swept the United States following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota in May. The movement has accelerated a national reckoning with the countrys racially fraught past, with many calling for the removal of Confederate statues, as well as monuments and namesakes of prominent historical figures with racist beliefs or practices. The four buildings at issue are named after men who used their positions to impose and maintain violent systems of racial subjugation, according to history professor Jim Leloudis, who co-chairs the commission. The recommendation comes after the university last month lifted a moratorium that had been in place since 2015 preventing the school from removing names on campus buildings that may be associated with slavery, segregation and white supremacy. Historical reckoning The universitys Daniels Building is named after former newspaper publisher and lifelong white supremacist Josephus Daniels, while Carr Building holds the name of Ku Klux Klan supporter Julian S Carr, according to The Charlotte Observer. Carr gave a racist speech during the dedication of the Confederate statue on campus known as Silent Sam, which was torn down by protesters in 2018. Meanwhile, the Aycock and Ruffin residence halls are named after former North Carolina Governor Charles Aycock and Thomas Ruffin Sr and Thomas Ruffin Jr. Aycock led a white supremacy campaign that suppressed black voters, according to the newspaper. The elder Ruffin was the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and enslaved more than 100 people. The recommendation comes after Princeton University decided to remove the name of former president Woodrow Wilson from its school of international and public affairs over his racist views and policies. Photo credit: Courtesy From Harper's BAZAAR Few will be unaware that billionaire fiction writer JK Rowling has been very outspoken about trans rights in the past few weeks. She has talked at length on social media and via a 3,000-word statement about how the demands made by trans activists are dangerous to women, conflating sexual assault with the trans community. The author has most recently described hormone treatment as a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people. Not only has the media continued to fuel the fire of this debate, but The Sun launched a vile attack on Rowling over the domestic abuse she suffered, which over 60 high profile trans advocates publicly condemned in an open letter. The discussion on Twitter has been incredibly toxicbut its important to differentiate between the toxicity of twitter, and people who rightfully criticise and challenge what Rowling has said. A point that has been repeatedly put forward is that the concerns of women need to be addressednamely concerns that the inclusion of trans women who might not have undergone genital surgery causes concern or anxiety for women who have been abused by men. The fundamental fallacy made here is that their issue is with men, not trans women. Trans women, like all women, know what its like not to have their fears listened to or taken at face value. Research shows trans women suffer disproportionate levels of sexual and domestic abuse from their partners, showing quite clearly that this is a feminist issue - trans women need to be given access to these spaces too, so that they can escape abusive homes and process their trauma. Trans women, just like other women, use toilets, locker rooms and womens shelters every day in Britain without issue, and have been legally allowed to do so for over a decade under the Equality Act 2010. In countries where people can change their gender marker through self-identificationsuch as Iceland, Argentina, Norway, Denmark, Malta and Irelandthere has been no indication of a rise in attacks in public bathrooms or single-sex spaces. The reality is that if men wanted to abuse women, they certainly dont need to pretend to be women to do so. Nine out of 10 women in the UK suffer abuse from men they already know, such as partners or family members. We live in an unequal society already, and unfortunately abusive men dont need to go down such convoluted avenues to abuse us. Story continues Thankfully, the majority of people dont hold these very hostile and misleading views about transgender people in the UK. A recent poll by YouGov and Pink News showed that the majority of women across the UK support trans peoples right to self-identify their gender. This is a welcome addition to a discussion that has often been very one-sided and painted transgender rights in opposition with feminism or womens rights. In Iceland, where I am from, all major feminist organisations are staunch supporters of transgender rights. While there is definitely conflict and difference of opinion on particular issues, there is a fundamental understanding that the views held by Rowling and others are not constructive and conflate transgender rights with issues of male violence. Service providers in the Womens Aid Movement in the UK also reflect inclusive values, as they have been inclusive of transgender women for a very long time. This is because most people in the movement recognise that our challenges all stem from the same place, and we all suffer the same in terms of male violence, discrimination and rigid gender expectations. Those that oppose transgender rights often align themselves with organisations or politicians that have been against womens rights or LGBTQ+ rights, showcasing that these values are often built on conservative and fundamentalist attitudes towards equal rights. This should be a concern for anyone that cares about creating a more equal and fair society. At the heart of it all, transgender people are just people like everyone else, trying to get on with their lives as best they can. If we could let go of these hypothetical debates and instead listen to the stories of transgender people, wed all find out that we have way more in common and all share similar aspirations, fears and values in life. Transgender people just want an opportunity to be who we know ourselves to be in every aspect, and to create a society that values safety, inclusion and freedom. If that isnt a feminist cause, I dont know what is. In need of some at-home inspiration? Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for skincare and self-care, the latest cultural hits to read and download, and the little luxuries that make staying in so much more satisfying. SIGN UP You Might Also Like - GMAs late-night news program Saksi has trended on social media because of its recent newscast with a different extro - Netizens also noticed the words that anchors Pia Arcangel and Raffy Tima stated to end the program - The lights in the studio were likewise turned off during the closing credits to highlight the background screen that displayed ABS-CBNs transmitter and logo - ABS-CBN became one of the much-talked-about topics recently after the Congress denied its bid for another franchise PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed GMA networks late-night news program Saksi has trended online because of its recent newscast that showed a different extro. GMAs Saksi extro showing ABS-CBNs transmitter and logo goes viral Source: UGC News anchors Pia Arcangel and Raffy Tima, substituting Arnold Clavio, ended the program's latest episode with a closing spiel, ''Para sa malayang Pilipino, kaisa kami ng lahat sa pagiging Saksi." In the closing credits, the lights in the studio were turned off to highlight the screen behind Pia and Raffy that displayed a photo of the transmitter of their rival network, ABS-CBN. After a few seconds, the photo on the background screen was replaced by an image showing the logo of the Kapamilya network on its main gate along Mother Ignacia Street in Quezon City with candles underneath. The newscast did not play its theme music as well which gave moments of silence on air. PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! ABS-CBN is one of the leading broadcast networks in the Philippines. Its 25-year franchise expired on May 4 and the Committee on Legislative Franchises of the House of Representatives officially rejected on July 10 its bid to secure another franchise. Several personalities from its major rival, GMA 7, including prominent Kapuso talents and journalists then expressed sympathy to celebrities and employees from the Kapamilya network. Jennylyn Mercado even slammed netizens who rejoiced over the Congress decision to officially deny the franchise application of ABS-CBN. Please like and share our amazing Facebook posts to support the KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinions about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts and views on different matters! Source: KAMI.com.gh Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera on Friday fired back at critics over the choice of his maiden cabinet which they said was tainted by family ties, insisting that the appointments were based purely on merit. The newly-elected president was reacting to public outrage that ensued on Thursday when Chakwera unveiled a 31-member cabinet which included six figures who are related to each other, although not to the president. "The only thing that counts is merit because for far too long, we have defined merit wrongly in this country," Chakwera said during a swearing in of the newly-appointed ministers. "I believe that a just society is not only one in which familial, regional, and marital ties do not qualify you for service, but also one in which those ties do not disqualify you for service," he said. Chakwera said that in making the appointments, he did not consider what families or regions the candidates came from nor whom they were married to. "Many Malawians are not as persuaded as I am that you are the right people for this job," he told his new ministers, while challenging them to prove critics wrong by delivering "the transformation that Malawians have long cried, prayed, and fought for." He warned his new ministers against displaying "lazy, abusive, wasteful, arrogant, extravagant, divisive, and corrupt" behaviour. "I will not hesitate to have you replaced. Contrary to public opinion, I am not beholden to any of you, nor do I have any of you to appease, for I owe both my election and allegiance to God and the Malawian people," he said. Chakwera, 65, comfortably beat Peter Mutharika with 58.5 percent of the vote last month, marking the first time in African history that an election re-run led to the defeat of an incumbent. The former evangelical preacher vowed to tackle corruption on his election ticket. His victory had brought hope for change in landlocked Malawi, where around half of its 18 million people live below the poverty line. This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Former F1 driver turned highly respected broadcaster David Coulthard says the 'ghost race' measures in Austria "seem a bit strange to me". Strict procedures are in place at the Red Bull Ring, and for subsequent races, to guard against the risk of coronavirus infections. Widespread testing, the scrapping of the traditional podium, personnel 'bubbles', mandatory mask-wearing and even social distancing during interviews are all in force. "I'm sorry, but the whole thing seems a bit strange to me from the perspective of a TV commentator," Coulthard told the Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten. "Keeping a distance is good, but interviewing drivers outdoors with masks with the questioner more than two metres away is an exaggeration. "I don't want to criticise it, because it was a decision made by the authorities, the FIA and Formula One Management. But if everyone in public can get closer than that without a mask, it should be possible for the drivers too," he added. "Every politician on television isn't wearing a mask. I just think it's questionable from a discrimination point of view as well. Why? Deaf people understand by reading lips, but they can't do that with these masks," said the former McLaren and Red Bull driver. When asked if the measures can be eased up over the next races, Coulthard answered: "I want to believe the answer is yes. "With the same protective measures as are in the paddock, you can have people in the grandstands," said the Scot. "It's much tighter in planes or trains than in outdoor grandstands where you can keep your distance." (GMM) A Good Samaritan, with a history of being wrongfully accused by police, has been reunited with an officer he saved from a burning car wreck. Daylan McLee, who is black, had previously spent a year in jail after being falsely accused of pointing a gun at a cop. Mr McLee had also been subject to numerous traffic stops despite not breaking any laws, he told CBS News. However on 21 June in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Mr McLee rushed to the scene of a bad accident involving a police vehicle. One officer was trapped inside and another was trying to get the door open. The gas tank was leaking, and flames were spreading through the wreckage. Mr McLee stepped forward to help. I know this man is my brother through Christ, and I couldnt leave him behind, he told KDKA after the accident. I dont know how I got that door open, and I grabbed him out." The incident occurred at the height of nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and demands for racial justice led by the Black Lives Matter movement. Mr McLee was reunited with the officer he saved this month when he visited him at his home. Officer Jay Hanley said: It's amazing when there's true love in people and they can get you out of something like that no matter who you are or where you come from. There should be more people like that. The officer's wife also thanked Mr McLee for his bravery with a tearful hug. Mr McLee told CBS that despite his past experiences with the police he believes that there are lots of good officers worth keeping, and that painting groups with a broad brush doesnt allow for the subtleties that make up our humanity. I want people to start to look at everybody as Americans and not, 'He's White, he's Black, he's Asian.' We're people and when we start realising that, things should get better, he said. By Trend Azerbaijan will continue bringing back citizens from abroad next week, Assistant to Azerbaijans President, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said. Hajiyev made the remark at the briefing of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, Trend reports on July 10. Some 250 Azerbaijani citizens who are on the border area between Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as the Azerbaijani citizens from Iran, Turkey and other countries are planned to be brought back to the homeland, the assistant to Azerbaijans president said. Approximately 200 of our compatriots will be brought to Azerbaijan from Georgia, Hajiyev added. The Azerbaijani citizens will be brought back from Budapest to Baku this week, mainly the students studying in Hungary, Hajiyev said. Moreover, it is planned to return the Azerbaijani citizens from Tashkent, Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Doha to Baku via the flights. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Work from home is likely to get a major upgrade! Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has said that her government is planning to open up the country for all those who want to relocate and work from the country remotely for up to one year. Prime Minister Mottley stated, "You don't need to work in Europe or the US or Latin America if you can come here and work for a couple of months at a time; go back and come back." Mottley's government may soon be introducing the 12-month long Barbados Welcome Stamp programme "to allow visitors to come and work from here overseas, digitally so, so that persons don't need to remain in the country in which they are." In her speech, Mottley stated that in order to attract tourists, what Barbados offers "has to be world class and what we continue to offer is world class." Tourism accounts for 12% of Barbados' GDP and indirectly 40% for its economic activity, according to Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) data. This sector is also touted as the largest employer in the country. The island nation has relaxed certain coronavirus-related curbs and lifted curfews. Barbados is set to welcome travellers from July 12. Commercial flights to the island nation are scheduled to resume from July 12. Barbados has reported 98 coronavirus cases and 7 deaths so far, according to a Johns Hopkins tally. WHO official cites AIDS as guide to addressing coronavirus pandemic Healthcare systems worldwide need to upgrade to control disease transmission and cope with large numbers of sick people during the coronavirus pandemic as well as future outbreaks, the head of the World Health Organization's emergencies program warned on Friday. Dr. Michael Ryan of WHO, speaking during a video panel session organized by the International AIDS Society, said world leaders grappling with the current pandemic 'need to take a leaf out of the HIV/AIDS activist book' and make sure access to healthcare is equitable and evidence-based. The coronavirus pandemic, which has not yet peaked in many parts of the world, has exposed weaknesses and left billions of people without reliable and affordable access to essential health services, he said. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS, was often a fatal infection when it emerged in the 1980s, but today is considered manageable with antiretroviral drugs. There is no vaccine to protect against HIV, which is highly variable and cannot be eliminated by the body's own immune response. But researchers do expect to eventually have vaccines effective against the novel coronavirus, which people can recover from on their own. The WHO official said the two viruses are 'different in scope and nature, but are comparable in so many other ways,' exposing the same inequities and generating similar injustices and denial. 'We cannot become distracted with retrospection and finger-pointing. ... We need to look ahead,' Ryan said. Toyota enthusiasts, get ready! If you're planning to invest in a new car, now would be the perfect time to save up as the new Toyota Corolla Cross will hit US shores very soon. The new Corolla Cross, which is basically a fusion between the Yaris Cross and the Corolla (a.k.a. Corolla meets SUV), was first unveiled in Thailand this week. According to an article from Road Show, the body of this hybrid car is similar to the RAV4 with an upright appearance and a nearly identical greenhouse, as well as having thin taillights and a bumper covered in black cladding and a faux skid plate at the rear. What makes these two slightly different would be the distinctive front end with angry headlights and a large, black-framed grille that reminds us of a pug's nose, albeit more flattering. In Toyota's press release, it explained how this model was designed as a new type of SUV that combines dignified sturdiness in the exterior, and utility in a manner that exceeds customer expectations. "The TNGA*1 platform (GA-C) has enabled the Corolla Cross to achieve high-quality performance, a comfortable ride, and outstanding quietness. In addition to its exceptional comfort, the Corolla Cross provides a spacious cabin, easy entry into and exit from the car, class-leading*2 luggage space suitable for all scenarios, and safety equipment inherited from the Corolla series." added the press release. Daizo Kameyama, who is the Chief Engineer in charge of development, welcomed the vehicle into the Corolla family as he wished that the new car will be able to "assist customers in creating a new story by loading on their vehicle the people who are important to them, the luggage, and their dreams for the future." You can check out the video below: Read Also: Why Buy the New Build-it-Yourself 70's Themed $41,500 Caterham Super Seven 1600? Toyota Camry and Mazda MX-5 Miata Comparison Corolla Cross Features The Corolla Cross gets two engine options: a hybrid setup and a traditional gasoline mill. If you choose the hybrid option, it will feature a 1.8-liter powertrain with an electric motor that produces a total system output of 120hp as the power is sent to the front wheels via an electric CVT, as noted by TopGear. For the interior of the vehicle, drivers will see a 9-inch touchscreen equipped with Apple CarPlay. The Corolla Cross comes with power front seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power liftgate, a 360-degree camera system and Toyota's full Safety Sense suite of driver-assist features. As of this writing, this car is currently available in Thailand with other markets to follow shortly. Read Also: Toyota's Electric RAV4 Now Sells in Japan for over $42,000: Worth it or not? Three trade unions, representing 82,000 civilian employees of the countrys 41 ordnance factories, on Friday, rejected the appointment of consultants by the Union Ministry of Defence (MoD) for corporatising these factories and threatened the Centre with serious labour unrest. In a letter to defence minister Rajnath Singh, the unions said: there will be serious labour unrest resulting in disturbance of defence production in case the consultants appointed by the defence ministry visits the ordnance factories and OFB headquarters. The OFB is headquartered in Kolkata. The BPMS is affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The department of defence production in violation of the agreement reached before the chief labour commissioner (Central) on August 21, 2019, have arbitrarily issued a notification for appointment of a consultant , said the All India Defence Employees Federation, the Indian National Defence Workers Federation and the Bharatiya Pratikraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS) in a joint media statement. The ordnance factories are properties of the government. How can private parties enter these establishments to assess their values? The workers will not tolerate this. We will not allow the government to stretch this issue any further, Mukesh Singh, general secretary, BPMS, told HT. The workers observed a month-long strike last year against the proposed move of the government. On Friday, the unions said that workers would go on indefinite strike and the date would be announced shortly. The unions started a movement against corporatisation in last July. The agitation started soon after the Centre enforced Arms Rules 2016, which introduced new laws to facilitate the production of weapons by private players in collaboration with foreign partners. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The disengagement and de-escalation process between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is a work in progress, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday. Jaishankars remarks, made during an appearance on India Global Week, a three-day virtual event organised by a UK-based media house, reflected the differences that persist between the two sides despite the decision made by them almost a week ago to pull back troops from key friction points along the LAC. Asked by the moderator of the event about the border standoff with China, Jaishankar said: Whats just happened is that we have agreed on the need to disengage because the troops on both sides are deployed very close to each other. Also read: How PM Modi called Chinas bluff in Ladakh, writes Shishir Gupta So there is a disengagement and a de-escalation process which has been agreed upon. It has just commenced. Its very much work in progress. At this point, I really wouldnt like to say more than that. During the third virtual meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs on Friday, India and China said they would push forward efforts aimed at complete disengagement and easing of tensions along the LAC even as differences persisted on key issues such as Beijings claim on Galwan Valley. The corps commanders of the two sides are set to meet next week for the fourth time since the standoff began in early May to decide on the next steps of the disengagement and de-escalation process. Though both sides have pulled back their troops and created so-called buffer zones at key friction points, the presence of large numbers of Chinese troops and structures at places such as Pangong Lake continues to be a concern for the Indian side. Chinas envoy to India, Sun Weidong, on Friday said the two sides need to find a fair and reasonable solution to the border issue through peaceful negotiation and also work together to maintain peace and tranquillity along the disputed frontier till an ultimate settlement is reached. Also read: Arriving at a new normal in India-China relations | Opinion Jaishankar also spoke on Indias response to the Covid-19 pandemic, relations with key countries such as the US, the UK, Australia and Singapore and the emerging post-Coronavirus world order. India is conscious of the Covid-19-related challenges ahead and the next few weeks and months will be tough, he acknowledged. With India the worlds largest manufacturer of vaccines, the country will have a role in making any vaccine for the Coronavirus accessible and affordable and available to the rest of the world, he said. Referring to the UK, Jaishankar said India and Britain need to work together at a time when multilateralism is under stress and there is greater multi-polarity. Both countries have a shared world view and India sees the UK as one of our natural partners as it prepares for a stint in the UN Security Council from next year and takes on the chair of the G20 in 2022, he said. In the US, four presidents with very different outlooks Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump all agreed on the importance of India and the need to strengthen the bilateral relationship, he said. Indias ties with the US are now one of our key relationships, and this will become more important in future, he added. Also read | A timeline: India-Chinas deadliest border clash since 1975 explained Looking forward to the post-Covid-19 era, Jaishankar said he expected the political trends seen during the Coronavirus crisis to accelerate. A lot of countries are behaving more nationalistically and people are looking out for themselves, he said. I do see a world where many arguments will sharpen, I think there will be issues of trust, there will be questions on resilient supply chains. Its going to be a more difficult world, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Northern Thailand hit by flash floods (Photo: watchers.news) The flood was one metre deep and had blocked many roads, leading to wet muds and sinking grounds, the Chiang Mai provincial public disaster mitigation unit said on July 9. According to the unit, the area got flooded suddenly and residents had no time to prepare. The disaster also destroyed a few hectares of farmland. The local authorities have instructed rescue missions to assist residents stranded inside micro villages and in plantation fields. The Thai Army was also mobilised to remove the mud and help residents move to a higher ground. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), in coordination with UP Special Task Force (STF), has begun an investigation into the financial network of slain gangster Vikas Dubey after registering a money laundering case on Saturday. The police authorities are also tightening the noose against Dubeys associates across the country. In a turn of events, Maharashtra ATS has arrested Dubeys two aides - Guddan Trivedi and Suresh Tiwari - in Thane on Saturday. While Guddan Trivedi was present at Dubeys house during the ambush on police party on July 2, Suresh alias Sonu was working as the gangster's driver. The sources claimed that the gangster had amassed huge properties running into crores in Lucknow, Kanpur, Unnao, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. Recently, he had bought two penthouses in Thailand and Dubai. His declared and undeclared assets are now under ED scanner. The sources added that Dubey had bought an accommodation worth Rs 20 crore recently Lucknow. He was believed to have 11 independent houses and 16 flats across the country besides 150 bigha land in Bikru, his ancestral village. Dubey, the main accused of killing eight cops during a police operation against him in Bikru village in Kanpur, was killed in a police encounter when he tried to flee the police custody while being brought back to Kanpur. Dubey was arrested from Mahakal temple in Ujjain on Thursday morning. As per the sources, an ED team from its Lucknow regional office had visited Kanpur recently to meet top police authorities of that city including IG Mohit Agarwal. The directorate has also kept his financers and supporters on the radar. A highly-placed source claimed that ED officials of Lucknow region are already prepared with the details of legal and illegal assets of Vikas Dubey and his henchmen, including those who were involved in his illegal money transaction network. It is believed that at present, Jai Bajpai, one of Dubey's associates, is keeping his network running. Bajpai is believed to be involved in money lending business in Kanpur with crores of rupees as interest. The source claimed that ED has also sought information about the property and bank details of Jai Bajpai and others in this illegal financial network from Kanpur police. The sources further said as per information furnished to ED by the Kanpur police, Dubey had travelled to around 15 countries during the last three years. Meanwhile, a team of STF went to Ujjain to look for those who had helped Dubey in the city before he was arrested on Thursday morning. Dr Sunil Chandy By If there is one phrase that no one wants to hear or experience today, it is thisI cant breathe. In the current context, these three words may suggest the onset of a potentially serious phase of the COVID-19 infection. It sets into motion a rapid trail of activity ranging from simple oxygen supplementation to complex intensive care for the affected person and an ocean of anxiety for the near and dear. Today, there are thousands in this predicament, hospitalised throughout the country. Bystanders wait with bated breath, hoping for recovery. I cant breathe has earned public attention because of its dramatic presentation in pandemic proportions. It indicates the failure of life-sustaining oxygen to reach the blood due to the inability of the air-lung interface to absorb the same. Left unattended, life starts slipping away within a matter of minutes. This fatal sequence has conferred the Covid-19 infection the status of a killer disease and induced panic in the public mind. I cant breathe were also the last few words uttered by George Floyd under the crushing weight of a policemans knees on his neck, disrupting blood and gas to his lungs. His mumbled words and death have reverberated across the globe as a metaphor for police brutality and racial discrimination. Closer home recently, in Tuticorin, these would have been the same words leaving the lips of the two who were beaten to their deaths in custody. In all these examples, I cant breathe seems to be the common refrain for physical and social suffocation. I cant breathe is not exclusive to the pandemic. It existed in a subdued form even before. Better expressed as we cant breathe, it represents the unsaid lament of people who would inhale the heavily contaminated air of our metros. Polluted enough to leave a blurry haze till the late hours of the morning. Contaminated enough to smudge your white shirts grey. The rising air quality index made our cities difficult to breathe in. Despite the increasing number of children presenting with acute breathlessness to paediatric emergencies, the problem was never dramatic enough to attract action on a war-footing. We cant breathe represents a systemic decline in the quality of free air, for which gas-guzzling vehicles and smoke-producing industries must be held accountable. Paradoxically, the Covid epidemic seems to have come to the rescue of city-dwellers, evidenced by the plummeting air quality index values during the lockdown. Not for long, as we hear of vehicle manufacturers planning to ramp up their production to thousands of vehicles per day. There is scant regard for the respiratory health of citizens when it comes to boosting the key drivers of the economy. We cant breathe must be a slogan for the government to demand accountability from smoke producers to compensate for the irretrievable damage done to many lungs and lives. Another strange paradox that exists is that masks and visors meant to mitigate the risks can themselves be the reason for an occasional person to run out of breath. If masks were to become permanent fixtures to our faces, many will say I cant breathe out loud. To cut a long story short, we are confronting a problem of breathing difficulties, the solutions to which are equally debilitating in the long run. Mask-induced pathology, ranging from breathlessness to cosmetic facial scars, are bound to happen. The entire platform of facial recognition and identification stands challenged. The mask is likely to provide safe cover to miscreants looking for small-time mischief in all walks of life. All things considered, surely we are suffocated from all sides, arent we? We cant breathe. Finally, I cant breathe may have a larger figurative meaning against the backdrop of an ever-expanding register of dos and donts. To go out, you need a mask; to sneeze, your elbow; to touch something, you need a sanitiser; to travel, you need an e-pass; to buy something, you stand six feet apart; in your workplace, you may need a visor; you cannot party at home or eat out. When all these small joys of unrestricted life mutate into the lowered new normal post-Covid, many of us will complain about the social suffocation that this new normal will bring. Till then, let us take slow deep breaths. Dr Sunil Chandy Former Director, CMC Vellore, and Medical Director, ITC Healthcare Project, New Delhi (sunilchandycmc@gmail.com) Judge stays federal execution: A federal judge in Indiana has halted the first federal execution in 17 years over covid-19 concerns. Daniel Lee had been scheduled to die by lethal injection on Monday. But Chief District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson in Indiana ruled Friday that the execution would be put on hold because the family of the victims wanted to attend but were afraid of traveling during the coronavirus pandemic. The injunction delays the execution until there is no longer such an emergency. Lee, 47, of Yukon, Okla., was convicted in Arkansas of the 1996 killings of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife, Nancy, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell. An open letter about racism by a deputy police chief with the Niagara Regional Police has added fuel to the fire, an activist with the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association said. Erika Smith said the letter and Deputy Chief Bill Fordys subsequent comments denying the existence of systemic racism at the NRP have come across as defensive and self-serving. This isnt where we want to be, Smith said. We dont want to be attacking him. We want to work with him and find productive solutions and move forward, but systemic racism is in all of our institutions. It takes someone who is blind to the plight of Indigenous people and people of colour to make the statement that doesnt exist. In his letter Fordy said he was saddened by a recent pattern of stereotyping of all police officers based on the actions of a few. We are human, and we are not perfect, but the majority of police officers are authentic and kind-hearted people that want to make the world a better place. Fordy added, I, like other police officers and leaders, want accountability for any police officer that takes their responsibility for granted and works outside the boundaries of the law. Smith said that statement is the equivalent of sending thoughts and prayers to the victims of police brutality. There is systemic racism in the Niagara Regional Police service if not blatant racism. The deputy chief obviously isnt feeling it. People of colour definitely feel it. Its real. Its a problem. You cant begin the work of fixing the problem if you dont acknowledge that it exists. He said there have only been seven complaints about racism in the last five years but thats not surprising. If you dont trust the police, why would you file a complaint? Smith responded with her own open letter with suggestions for improvement including body cameras, increased training, and selling the militarized armoured vehicle. She also highlighted the issue of extra foot patrols in downtown St Catharines in terms of systemic racism. (The patrols) are based purely on the perceptions of class and white fragility, she wrote. Both your chief and the mayor admit downtown is already safe and extra patrols would not have stopped the recent shootings, but you went ahead with the patrols anyway to satisfy the emotions of a few at the expense of the real safety of racialized and marginalized people who suffer disproportionately from actual police brutality. Fordy said he wrote his open letter in response to ongoing conversations within the community, and protests as recently as this week in Vancouver. At one of protest, a pigs head with a police hat was brandished on a stick. Fordy said he would not be making any further comments at this time. He has reached out to the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association to arrange a meeting and dialogue. Ken Gansel, the chair of the Niagara Regional Police Services Board, said the board stands behind Fordy. He also doesnt believe there is a problem with systematic racism within the service. The board is very satisfied with the chief and the services direction in providing policing to this region, Gansel said. We put forth an updated plan for dealing with diversity at the June board meeting. That had nothing to do with the present circumstances. The chief began working on updating the plan in September. Its available on the web. We have a longstanding commitment to communication and dialogue with a number of groups in Niagara, be they indiginous, black or people of colour. 5 of 11 The Italian composer Ennio Morricone, whose scores can be heard in some 500 films, died on Monday at 91. He is widely known for his work with which director? BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: About 260 billion cubic meters of natural gas were exported from Central Asia to China via TurkmenistanUzbekistanKazakhstanChina gas pipeline, and more than 80 percent of this volume accounted for Turkmenistan, the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Azerbaijan told Trend. The biggest part of the gas supplied from the Turkmen side was extracted from the fields operated by Turkmengas State Concern. The embassy added that a new field in Bagtyyarlyk contractual PSA territory is being put into operation in the country. The exploration and development of this field are carried out by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). CNPC signed the Bagtyyarlyk Production Sharing Agreement with Turkmenistan in 2007, and began to purchase natural fuel in Central Asia since 2009, after the launch of a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China through the territories of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The total production volume has reached over 1.5 million tons of gas condensate and more than 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas, about 93 billion cubic meters of which are exported. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva If saying things 100 times could make them true, President Donald Trumps account of how the U.S. is doing with the coronavirus would be true. Covid-19 testing would be the envy of the world, the economy would be on the cusp of roaring back, the threat would be receding in a pandemic that has sickened more than 3.1 million Americans and killed more than 133,000. But repetition doesnt make for reality. The U.S. is taking a disproportionate hit from the coronavirus globally and does not have it under control. A look at how rhetoric from the past week compares with the facts on various fronts: VIRUS TRUMP: For the 1/100th time, the reason we show so many Cases, compared to other countries that havent done nearly as well as we have, is that our TESTING is much bigger and better. We have tested 40,000,000 people. If we did 20,000,000 instead, Cases would be half, etc. NOT REPORTED! tweet Thursday. THE FACTS: His notion that infections are high only because the U.S. diagnostic testing has increased is false. His own top public health officials have shot down this line of thinking. Infections are rising because people are infecting each other more than they were when most everyone was hunkered down. Its true that increased testing also contributes to the higher numbers. When you look harder, youre going to see more. But the testing has uncovered a worrisome trend: The percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus is on the rise across nearly the entire country. Thats a clear demonstration that sickness is spreading and that the U.S. testing system is falling short. A high rate of positive tests indicates a government is only testing the sickest patients who seek out medical attention and is not casting a wide enough net, says the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, a primary source of updated information on the pandemic. Americans are being confronted with long lines at testing sites, often disqualified if they are not showing symptoms and, if tested, forced to wait many days for results. ___ TRUMP on the coronavirus: We have the lowest Mortality Rate in the World. tweet Tuesday. THE FACTS: This statement is wholly unsupported. An accurate death rate is impossible to know. Every country tests and counts people differently, and some are unreliable in reporting cases. Without knowing the true number of people who become infected, it cannot be determined what portion of them die. Using a count kept by Johns Hopkins University, you can compare the number of recorded deaths with the number of reported cases. That count shows the U.S. experiencing more deaths as a percentage of cases than most other countries now being hit hard with the pandemic. The statistics look better for the U.S. when the list is expanded to include European countries that were slammed early on by the virus but now appear to have it under control. Even then, the U.S. is not shown to be among the best in avoiding death. Such calculations, though, do not provide a reliable measurement of actual death rates, because of the variations in testing and reporting, and the Johns Hopkins tally is not meant to be such a measure. The only way to tell how many cases have gone uncounted, and therefore what percentage of infected people have died from the disease, is to do another kind of test comprehensively, of peoples blood, to find how many people bear immune system antibodies to the virus. Globally, that is only being done in select places. ___ TRUMP: Deaths in the U.S. are way down. tweet Monday, one of at least a half dozen heralding a drop in daily deaths from the virus. THE FACTS: Its true that deaths dipped even as infections spiked in many parts of the country. But deaths lag sickness and the spikes have not played out. Its a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday. He advised Americans: Dont get yourself into false complacency. ___ ECONOMY TRUMP: Job growth is biggest in history. tweet Wednesday. THE FACTS: Yes, but only because it is following the greatest job losses in history, by far. The U.S. economy shed more than 22 million jobs in March and April, wiping out nearly a decade of job growth in just two months, as the viral outbreak intensified and nearly all states shut down nonessential businesses. Since then, 7.5 million, or about one-third, of those jobs have been recovered as businesses reopened. Even after those gains, the unemployment rate is 11.1%, down from April and May but otherwise higher than at any point since the Depression. ___ TRUMP: Economy and Jobs are growing MUCH faster than anyone (except me!) expected. tweet Wednesday. THE FACTS: Not really. Its true that Mays gain of 2.7 million jobs was unexpected. Economists had forecast another month of job losses. But most economists projected hiring would sharply rebound by June or at the latest July, once businesses began to reopen. The gains kicked in a month earlier than forecast. Now, though, coronavirus cases are rising in most states, imperiling the climb back. In six states representing one-third of the economy Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, and Texas governors are reversing their reopening plans, and the restart is on pause in 15 other states. Such reversals are keeping layoffs elevated and threatening to weaken hiring. ___ TRUMP ON BIDEN TRUMP campaign ad, playing out a scenario where a person needing help calls the police in a Biden presidency and gets a voice recording: You have reached the 911 police emergency line. Due to defunding of the police department, were sorry but no one is here to take your call. The ad closes with the message: You wont be safe in Joe Bidens America. THE FACTS: Biden has not joined the call of protesters who demanded defund the police after Floyds killing. Hes proposed more money for police, conditioned to improvements in their practices. I dont support defunding the police, Biden said last month in a CBS interview. But he said he would support tying federal aid to police based on whether they meet certain basic standards of decency, honorableness and, in fact, are able to demonstrate they can protect the community, everybody in the community. Bidens criminal justice agenda, released long before he became the Democrats presumptive presidential nominee, proposes more federal money for training that is needed to avert tragic, unjustifiable deaths and hiring more officers to ensure that departments are racially and ethnically reflective of the populations they serve. Specifically, he calls for a $300 million infusion into existing federal community policing grant programs. That adds up to more money for police, not defunding law enforcement. Biden also wants the federal government to spend more on education, social services and struggling areas of cities and rural America, to address root causes of crime. Democrats, meanwhile, have pointed to Trumps repeated proposals in the administrations budget to cut community policing and mediation programs at the Justice Department. Congressional Republicans say the program can be effectively merged with other divisions, but Democrats have repeatedly blocked the effort. The program has been used to help provide federal oversight of local police departments. Despite proposed cuts, Attorney General William Barr last month said that the department would use the COPS program funding to hire over 2,700 police officers at nearly 600 departments across the country. ___ REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE email: In the wake of rioting, looting, and tragic murders ripping apart communities across the country, Joe Biden said Yes, absolutely he wants to defund the police. email Wednesday from Steve Guest, RNCs rapid response director. THE FACTS: Thats misleading, a selective use of Bidens words on the subject. The email links to an excerpted video clip of Bidens conversation with liberal activist Ady Barkan, who endorsed Biden on Wednesday after supporting Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primaries. A full recording of that conversation, provided by the Biden campaign to The Associated Press, shows he again declined to support defunding police, Barkan raises the issue of police reform and asks whether Biden would funnel money into social services, mental health counseling and affordable housing to help reduce civilian interactions with police. Biden responds that he is calling for increased funding for mental health providers but thats not the same as getting rid of or defunding all the police and that both approaches are needed, including more money for community police. Asked again by Barkan, so we agree that we can redirect some of the funding, Biden then answers absolutely yes. Biden then gives the caveat that he means not just redirect federal money potentially but condition it on police improvements. If they dont eliminate choke holds, they dont get (federal) grants, if they dont do the following, they dont get any help, Biden replied. The vast majority of all police departments are funded by the locality, funded by the municipality, funded by the state, he added. Its only the federal government comes in on top of that, and so it says you want help, you have to do the following reforms,. ___ BIDEN ON TRUMP BIDEN: President Trump claimed to the American people that he was a wartime leader, but instead of taking responsibility, Trump has waved a white flag, revealing that he ordered the slowing of testing and having his administration tell Americans that they simply need to live with it. statement Wednesday marking the rise in U.S. coronavirus infections to more than 3 million. THE FACTS: To be clear, the government did not slow testing on the orders of the president. Trump at first denied he was joking when he told a Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally on June 20 that he said to my people, Slow the testing down, please because they test and they test. Days later he said he didnt really mean it. In any event, a succession of his public-health officials testified to Congress that the president never asked them to slow testing and that they were doing all they could to increase it. But testing remains markedly insufficient. Rishi Sunak is preparing to introduce sweeping tax cuts and an overhaul of planning laws - Leon Neal/Getty Images Europe Taxes and red tape will be slashed in towns and cities across the country next year, under government plans for a post-Brexit and post-coronavirus economic revolution. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, is preparing to introduce sweeping tax cuts and an overhaul of planning laws in up to 10 new "freeports" within a year of the UK becoming fully independent from the European Union in December, The Telegraph can reveal. The disclosure comes as Michael Gove declares the reasons for Brexit are "stronger than ever", in a rebuke to Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, who last week said he saw no "added value" from leaving the bloc. Writing in The Telegraph, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, also launches "The UK's new start: let's get going", a public information campaign to help individuals and businesses to prepare for life outside of the EU's structures and "seize the opportunities" of Brexit. Ministers are dramatically stepping up plans for the end of the transition period, with less than six months until the UK leaves the EU's customs union and the single market. In other developments: Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Gove announces 705 million investment for new border control infrastructure, jobs and technology. The announcement comes 24 hours after it emerged that the Government had purchased 27 acres of land to build a vast customs clearance centre for lorries, 20 miles from Dover. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, is preparing to unveil further details of the Government's planned points-based immigration system, including details of a new health and care visa for key health workers, and a "graduate route" from next summer, to allow international students to stay in the UK for up to three years to secure jobs. Senior Brexiteers warned Boris Johnson that key parts of his Withdrawal Agreement with the EU amounts to a "poison pill" that should be replaced as part of post-Brexit trade talks. UK negotiators are pushing to conclude talks with the EU by the end of the summer, in order to give businesses "total clarity" about the rules and procedures they will face from January 1. Story continues Liz Truss, the Trade Secretary, is understood to have been rebuked by Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson's chief adviser, on Thursday after the leak of a letter in which she claimed that the Government's border plans could result in smuggling and the breach of international rules. According to plans seen by The Telegraph, Mr Sunak will open the bidding for towns, cities and regions to become "freeports", in his autumn budget later this year, as he attempts to tackle the effects of a recession predicted to be the worst faced by the country in 300 years. He is planning to confirm the successful bids by the spring and introduce sweeping tax and regulatory changes in those areas at next year's budget, including research and development tax credits, generous capital allowances, cuts to stamp duty and business rates, and local relaxations of planning laws. The disclosure comes after the Chancellor unveiled an immediate national stamp duty holiday for six months on properties worth up to 500,000, as part of a package of measures to help the economy recover from the impact of Covid-19. Under the plans, up to 10 UK towns, cities and regions, will be designated as freeports, meaning that they will ultimately be legally outside of the country's customs territory, with goods imported, manufactured or re-exported without incurring national tariffs or import VAT until they enter the rest of the economy. The Government believes the policy can transform ports into "international hubs" for manufacturing and innovation, with the economic and regulatory incentives designed to encourage firms to establish new factories and processing sites in the areas. In a second wave of measures, customs duties, import VAT, and national insurance contributions would be cut from April 2022, making the freeports "fully operational" within 18 months of the UK's departure from the customs union and single market. The measures to be introduced in next year's autumn budget are understood to have been initially scheduled for the spring, but have been delayed slightly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Sunak first mapped out proposals for UK freeports in a paper he wrote as a backbencher four years ago, and Mr Johnson backed the idea during the Conservative leadership contest. The pair view the free trade zones as a prize of the "economic freedom" provided by Brexit, believing that the measure will boost manufacturing, create jobs in the areas in which they are most needed, and promote trade. Rishi Sunak greets an employee during a visit to the Worcester Bosch factory - Phil Noble/PA Earlier this year, before being promoted to Chancellor, Mr Sunak identified freeports as a key part of the Government's promise to "unleash the potential" of the country, by attracting new businesses, investment and jobs to historic ports such as Southampton. The city was among a series of ports that his 2016 report identified as disproportionately located in areas of higher unemployment and deprivation. The list also included Grimsby and Immingham in Lincolnshire, Tees and Hartlepool, Hull, and Harwich, in Essex. A government paper produced this year stated that an "ambitious UK freeport model that could work for rail, sea and airports". Mr Sunak has said that while freeports are a "no-brainer" for the UK, of 3,500 in the rest of the world, none operate in the UK as a result of the restrictions of the EU's single market and customs union. He is developing the plans with Ms Truss, and Robert Jenrick, the Housing Secretary. Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Gove states that "taking back control of our economy means we can put in place the right measures for our Covid recovery." He says: "Leaving the European Union is, Ive often argued, a bit like moving house. Instead of being lodgers under someone elses roof we are choosing a new place in the world where were in control. Four years after we made the decision to leave the EU, the reasons for moving are stronger than ever." Mr Gove's intervention comes after Mr Barnier said that he respected the UK's decision to leave the EU despite the fact that "nobody has been able to demonstrate to me the added value of leaving the most integrated economic and free trade area in the world". Mr Gove announces that the Government is spending 705 million to ensure that Britain's "new borders will be ready when the UK takes back control on January 1, 2021", with or without a post-Brexit trade agreement. The work will lay the foundations for "the worlds most effective border by 2025", he states. The spending includes 470 million for new customs posts, 10 million for around 500 more Border Force staff and more than 100 million on HM Revenue & Customs systems and technology to police customs rules. A new "border operating model" will set out how Britain's border with the EU will work. Meanwhile, Ms Patel stated that the Government's "skills-led" immigration system would ensure that Britain is "ready to welcome the best and brightest global talent" from January 11. The next formal round of talks with the EU begins on Monday, July 20. Last week it emerged that Mr Barnier had confirmed he was willing to soften his position on fishing rights, a key issue. Every day I still see unhappy, frightened people cringing from human contact. They have been terrified almost out of their minds by foolish government propaganda, and the most basic trust, the very heart of civilisation, has been destroyed. This is another side of savage, unforgivably cruel rules which have prevented grandparents from touching their grandchildren, or forbidden people to visit close relatives, even spouses, in their dying weeks. Millions of us know this is all the most appalling rubbish, based on wild, wrong guesses and twisted figures, and one day soon I hope an icy public inquiry will condemn those responsible for the grave, incompetents they are. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pictured above wearing a face mask in a shop in Uxbridge. Since the only other way for this madness to end is for Mr Johnson to admit he made a terrible mistake, which is hardly likely, I offer this as a serious, if slow, route out of our dangerous and damaging national madness But in the meantime what are those of us who have not been cowed into submission to do? I suggest that we are allowed to register as relaxed. We will sign declarations that we will not sue anyone or claim on anyones insurance if we catch Covid-19. We regard it as a minor risk of life, to be coped with. In return, employers, shops, pubs, restaurants, churches, swimming pools and transport operators should (if they wish) ask staff if they too are prepared to declare themselves relaxed. Or they could recruit new staff who are. Where this happens, all the footling palaver of visors, muzzles, plastic screens, incessant obsessive use of hand-sanitiser and social distancing will be abandoned. Trains can have special relaxed carriages where refreshments are served and baleful, doom-laden announcements are turned off. The upper decks of buses will be relaxed, or perhaps one entire bus in three (till we see what the take-up is). Airlines can offer entire relaxed flights. Everyone else can carry on, shrouded in gowns like the staff of a mortuary, muzzled in face-nappies, hiding from each other on footpaths and in doorways. A couple are seen wearing masks on a ride at Thorpe Park. I suggest that we are allowed to register as relaxed. We will sign declarations that we will not sue anyone or claim on anyones insurance if we catch Covid-19 If this appeals to you as a way of life, if you think it is a proportionate reaction to the Covid-19 virus, please carry on behaving in this fashion. I have no desire to stop you or interfere with your strange habits. And then we will see what happens. My guess is that the people who register as relaxed will be healthier, as well as far happier, than those who dont. Since the only other way for this madness to end is for Mr Johnson to admit he made a terrible mistake, which is hardly likely, I offer this as a serious, if slow, route out of our dangerous and damaging national madness. In return for it, even I am prepared to submit to tracking and tracing while the experiment lasts. An invented tale to twist your mind Some weeks ago I warned that the BBC would soon unleash a nasty bit of propaganda posing as drama. In fact, when the enemies of our once-free and once-happy society want to twist an issue, this is their favourite method. Even the once-bland Call The Midwife has been hijacked for this purpose, oozing pro-abortion bias. The latest bit of twisting is called Mrs America, and features Rose Byrne, right, as the 1960s American feminist Gloria Steinem, and Cate Blanchett as her opponent, Phyllis Schlafly. The latest bit of twisting is called Mrs America, and features Rose Byrne, right, as the 1960s American feminist Gloria Steinem, and Cate Blanchett as her opponent, Phyllis Schlafly The best line in it is an admission by one liberationist that, whatever they claimed back then, they were against housewives, a word which has now become a term of abuse. The much-hyped drama is, in fact, pretty lame expensively made but startlingly dull. But it clearly sees Mrs Schlafly a courageous lone voice who warned of the ultimate results of the sexual revolution as its target. She was right that the campaign to get women working outside the home would end in those women doing two jobs for less than the price of one. I do not know how many of the nasty things it suggests about her are true, though I am working on it. But I should point out the programme itself admits much of what it shows is invented. That is their word. But invented by whom and for what aim? If you can stomach this stuff at all, bear that in mind. What news from Leicester, where the dreaded virus surged after a huge number of new testing centres opened? Well, the number of cases (not deaths, or even illnesses) seems to be staying high. And why not when, as the council reports: This week, hundreds of staff and trained volunteers will be calling on people at home to offer them a free test, with mobile testing units popping up in local neighbourhoods. Community testing will initially focus on areas in the north-east of the city, where the number of positive results has been higher but it will be extended to other parts of the city from this weekend. Seek, and ye shall find, as the Bible says. Blood donors treated like toxic threats How I wish that the people who run the English Blood Transfusion Service were even one tenth as helpful as the wonderful people who work in it. A few weeks ago, at the height of the virus panic, I gave blood (as I often do) without any great fuss and with no need to wear a muzzle. Now the English Service demands I must wear such a muzzle at my next, fast-approaching appointment. It can offer no legal or scientific justification for this (there isnt one). In Wales, donors are asked to remove muzzles, because they hide the signs a donor is about to faint. Since I regard these muzzles as deeply distressing symbols of servile submission to unreasoning power, I face a very unpleasant choice. Why do these people want to treat voluntary donors as if they are toxic threats? The biggest crime of all You've said it. Ive said it. But when Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Tom Winsor, says victims of many crimes are receiving a limited service if they are getting any service at all then you know things are really bad. Among his most sinister figures is that a fast-growing number of victims do not support prosecutions of those who have wronged them. This means people are becoming more afraid of criminals than of the authorities. It must have taken a lot of effort to create a society in which criminals grow more free each day, while the rest of us become less free. But we have done it. Covid rebel silenced by the courts Last year, Gina Miller managed to beat the Government in the courts over its attempt to bypass Parliament over leaving the EU. I dont agree with her politics, but I thought she had a case and was not surprised when she won. Her action received huge coverage and was wafted swiftly into the courts. Compare and contrast the equally brave and justified effort by businessman Simon Dolan, who last week was refused permission to seek a judicial review of the unprecedented powers proclaimed and used by the Government on the pretext of Covid-19. It was a good case well-presented, and it could not be more important. The Government delayed it by dragging its feet. The judge then absurdly dismissed it partly because it had not been brought sooner, and some of the provisions (which could be clamped down again at any time) had since been lifted. The BBC and the courts simply will not give a fair hearing to anything except the causes they like. In many important ways, it becomes more obvious by the day that this country is no longer really free. And when we go bankrupt, which I think will be soon, this will matter even more than it does now. Compare and contrast the equally brave and justified effort by businessman Simon Dolan, who last week was refused permission to seek a judicial review of the unprecedented powers proclaimed and used by the Government on the pretext of Covid-19 If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens click here Lara van Ruijven, a world champion short track speed skater from the Netherlands, died Friday following complications from an autoimmune disorder, according a branch of the Dutch Olympic Committee and the Dutch skating federation. She was 27. Van Ruijven was admitted to a hospital on June 25 after feeling ill at a training camp in the French Pyrenees. Since June 29, she was in an intensive care unit, where she was in a coma. She experienced internal bleeding, including in her brain, and underwent multiple surgeries, according to Dutch press releases. Its incomprehensible that she has been taken from us while in the prime of her life, Dutch skating director Herman de Haan said in a release, according to an Associated Press translation. Van Ruijven is the reigning world champion at 500m. She earned bronze at the PyeongChang Olympics as part of the 3000m relay. At the 2019 Worlds, van Ruijven led the 500m nearly from start to finish. Italian Martina Valcepina caught her and made contact with van Ruijven as they crossed the finish line. That caused van Ruijven to fall as Valcepina outleaned her by half a skate blade. Upon video review, Valcepina was disqualified two minutes later for an arm block. Van Ruijven became the first Dutch woman to win a world short track title (not counting the 3000m super final). My dream came true and I cant believe it, I have to cry, van Ruijven said that day, according to the International Skating Union. In 2018, van Ruijven was part of a quartet that took Olympic relay bronze by winning the B final in a world-record time. Two of the four teams in the A final were disqualified, allowing the Dutch to ascend to the podium. Rust zacht lieve Lara. De doorzetter, met je onvergetelijke lach en je lieve zorgzame karakter. Ik ga je ontzetten missen voor altijd in mijn hart pic.twitter.com/aATnp43jfo Jorien ter Mors (@jorientermors) July 10, 2020 Lara van Ruijven, short track speed skating world champion, dies at 27 originally appeared on NBCSports.com Many universities including NYU, which is home to over 17,000 international students, plan to operate under a hybrid model in the fall. Facebook/NYU New guidelines from ICE prevent international students on certain visas from attending schools that are fully online, but may allow them to remain if they're taking a mixture of online and in-person classes. Many universities have announced they will use a "hybrid model," combining both in-person and online courses for the upcoming academic year. With "very little information" included in the announcement, however, the new policy lacks clarity in what may be required for a hybrid model, a Senior Legislative and Advocacy Counsel at ACLU told Business Insider. A number of faculty have spoken out on social media that they will offer "1-unit in-person study with any student that faces removal from the country" due to the new policy. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Universities have been scrambling to figure out how to support international students in the United States as the Trump administration threatens to deport them. On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a new policy that forbids international students with F-1 and M-1 visas to remain in the United States if their schools are "operating entirely online." But the rules have sown confusion among universities. With "very little information" included in the announcement, ICE has "put an entire system of educational institutions in upheaval without clarity around what is required of a hybrid model," Manar Waheed, Senior Legislative and Advocacy Counsel at ACLU told Insider, who said this decision is a by-product of the "Trump administration exploiting a pandemic to target more people just because they're immigrants." Many universities, including New York University and Boston University, where international students constitute 20% or more of the student population, have announced plans to operate under a "hybrid model," which combines both in-person and online courses. Story continues "NYU's academic program for the fall [should] ensure our international students are in compliance as long as they enroll in either an in-person or blended class," Josh Taylor, Associate Vice Chancellor of NYU Global Programs, told Insider in an email. But the guidelines released by ICE still lack clarity, experts told Insider, leaving many students confused about where they stand and universities unsure of how to protect them. Ambiguity around the rules has left universities scrambling The guidelines state, for example, that while a student with an F-1 visa enrolled in schools adopting a hybrid model "will be allowed to take more than one class or three credit hours online." These schools must also, according to the rules, certify that "the program is not entirely online, that the student is not taking an entirely online course load this semester, and that the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make normal progress in their degree program." Yet there remains little clarification on what determines that minimum standard. Additionally, the guidelines state that students pursuing vocational degrees while on M-1 visas, or students in English training programs while on F-1 visas are not permitted to enroll in any online courses, appearing to leave them in limbo. Manar Waheed, Senior Legislative and Advocacy Counsel at ACLU told Insider the new decision is a by-product of the "Trump administration exploiting a pandemic to target more people just because they're immigrants." Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Universities with the "hybrid model" may be able to keep the students in the US. Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, the Director of the Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic at Penn State University, told Insider that the "hybrid model" could be read "generously" to satisfy ICE's requirements. "If I teach immigration law next fall, and it's twice a week, and one day is in person and one day is online, that satisfies the hybrid model," she told Insider. But in some cases, universities offer very limited options for in-person courses, causing chaos for students. Bowdoin College announced in June that they will proceed with an online learning model with first-year students and a few others on campus in the fall. Bowdoin's spokesperson Doug Cook emailed Business Insider that the plan is "still intact." Harvard and MIT have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement over this new policy. Associated Press Wadhia said that whether research credits or dissertation hours for Ph.D. candidates not enrolled in coursework will allow them to remain in the US depends on how the university "codes" these hours. The parameters of "hybrid" courses remain unclear, but ICE's new guidelines state that the US State Department "will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester." This means these students have no choice but to opt to take in-person courses, assuming that their institution offers such options. "Universities are being forced into making choices about the health and safety of their faculty, staff, and students versus ensuring that international students are able to be here and study," Wadhia said. Some colleges are trying to get courts to block the rules altogether The US Department of Homeland Security has yet to provide further clarification. It stated in its original announcement that it plans to publish the "procedures and responsibilities in the Federal Register as a Temporary Final Rule," but it's unclear when they'll come. Meanwhile, Harvard and MIT have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement over this new policy. Universities across the nation, including Cornell, Princeton and Stanford have also announced intentions to file amicus briefs in support of Harvard and MIT in their lawsuit, and the University of California has announced its intent to sue the federal government for "violating the rights of the University and its students" in a separate lawsuit. As uncertainty looms over universities and international students, many of whom already face many difficulties due to travel restrictions in the pandemic, a number of faculty across the country have voiced out on social media that they will support international students that face "removal from the country" by offering a 1-unit in-person independent study. Sara Wallace Goodman, an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine, tweeted that she'll do one-unit courses to help students remain in the US. Her tweet has garnered attention from faculty and students across the country. Sara Wallace Goodman (@ThatSaraGoodman) July 6, 2020 She told Insider that she'd like to see other professors commit to similar strategies as well. "It's not about the retweets, but other professors for committing to it as well," she said. "And also thinking creatively about establishing labs or one-credit courses as a way to use our agency to step in and offset what we see as an unjust policy." Representatives for ICE declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Read the original article on Insider A woman drops off her main in ballot outside the Denver Elections Division polling center as she votes in the primary election on June 30, 2020. Michael Ciaglo | Getty Images Voting officials are concerned that drastic changes to election procedures in response to the coronavirus will confuse voters in November. Dozens of states have expanded vote-by-mail access to give people an alternative way to safely cast a ballot in November. Multiple states have also set up more polling locations, and some are considering expanding the polling period to spread out people opting for in-person voting. While election officials have ramped up communication efforts nationwide to inform voters of all changes, worries remain that voters will find it difficult to keep up. Already, there have been multiple reports of voter confusion during primary elections. Voters told local news outlets in New Jersey that they were confused about where to cast their ballot during the state's presidential primary last Tuesday. Others said they never received a ballot, despite an executive order from Gov. Phil Murphy ensuring that all voters would receive either a ballot or an application for one in the mail. Voters in Pennsylvania, which held its presidential primary June 2, noted that longtime polling locations had moved elsewhere the day of the vote, resulting in confusion and frustration. Georgia during its primary on June 9 chose to unveil a new voting system, leading to confusion among poll workers, who weren't properly trained on using the machines. Voters suffered long lines and delays, as well as technical and logistical issues. Critics said the state's primary was poorly executed and was tantamount to voter suppression. Anticipating confusion in November Many states fear that this kind of confusion where voters are either unaware of or misinformed about how to cast a ballot will also occur during the Nov. 3 election. "Aside from the administrative issues of polling places, poll managers, Covid-19 supplies, and processing absentee ballots, our ability to educate voters on changes (or lack thereof) will play a key role in a successful November election," said Chris Whitmire, director of public information at South Carolina's Election Commission. The most obvious potential source of voter confusion for South Carolina is the lack of new rules in place for the presidential election, Whitmire said. Gov. Henry McMaster signed a law that authorized any voter in South Carolina to request an absentee ballot for the primary and runoff elections. And a federal court ruling said that those requesting an absentee ballot did not require a witness. These rules have expired, leaving "no changes to election procedures" at the moment, according to Whitmire. "If there are changes, we'll work to educate voters on those. If there are no changes, we will have to work to ensure voters understand that the rules in place for the primary no longer apply," Whitmire added. South Carolina has been emerging as a coronavirus hot spot in recent weeks, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention forecasting an acceleration in Covid-19 deaths in the state in the next couple weeks. A sign reminds voters in Baltimore to practice social distancing. Tuesday, April 28, 2020. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images "We know that the number of Covid cases are expanding in the state at record levels and are more concerned today than ever about the impact on November," Whitmire said. "We don't know if the General Assembly will again expand reasons or make any other changes, and if any of the several pending court cases will result in any changes." In Missouri, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said he plans to mobilize his team in the next couple weeks to "explain what has changed and what people's options are for voting." The state legislature expanded vote-by-mail provisions, adding mail-in voting options, Ashcroft said. These options look similar to no-excuse absentee voting, but are slightly different, according to Ashcroft. Anyone in the state can request an absentee ballot this year, the state legislature determined. But the ballot envelope must be notarized unless the voter is immunocompromised or age 65 or older or has another condition that might put their health at risk. The notary requirement is what concerns Ashcroft, who suggested to CNBC that voters may not be aware of this distinction. "It is against Missouri law for a notary to charge to notarize an absentee ballot," Ashcroft said. "It is not against the law for a notary to charge to notarize a mail-in ballot." His office has put together a list of organizations that have agreed to provide free notary services for mail-in and absentee ballots. Getting ahead Several state officials told CNBC they are preparing to overcommunicate with voters to decrease potential for confusion ahead of Election Day. "Our office has been actively working to keep Alabamians informed in a timely and efficient manner," said Grace Newcombe, press secretary to Alabama's secretary of state's office. In the weeks leading up to the state's primary runoffs, "our office launched a multimedia campaign notifying Alabamians of the opportunity to vote absentee as well as important election dates to be aware of. We have sent out weekly press releases reminding Alabamians about how many days are left to apply for an absentee ballot and even introduced a video that walks voters through the process of applying for and casting an absentee ballot." An election official wears a mask and sits behind a plastic barrier as he checks in voters at McKinley Technology High School on primary Election Day on June 2, 2020 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer | Getty Images The attitude of the bands was changing, they were becoming more distant and drugs were taking their toll, she said. In photography, you can never relax. You always want to come up with new ideas, for yourself if for no one else. I think I was a very hard taskmaster to myself and it was becoming impossible to make things look different any more. (Photo : REUTERS/Mike Blake) Gilead Sciences Inc pharmaceutical company is seen after they announced a Phase 3 Trial of the investigational antiviral drug Remdesivir in patients with severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Oceanside, California, U.S., April 29, 2020. (Photo : REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh) A pharmacist doctor works on the basics of the raw materials for investigational of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment drug "Remdesivir", in Ibn Sina laboratory, at Eva Pharma Facility in Cairo, Egypt June 25, 2020. New data confirms that experimental drug Remdesivir reduces the recovery period for COVID-19 patients and can save lives. Foster City, California-based Gilead Sciences, Inc., which manufactures the drug, revealed new data on Friday, July 9, on the drug's late-stage clinical trial involving nearly 400 patients. According to a report from USA Today, the recent results show that 74% of patients treated with remdesivir had recovered after 14 days of hospitalization, compared to 59% of those who did not get the drug. Also, nearly 8% of the patients on remdesivir died by day 14, which is much lower than 12% of those who did not receive it. Meanwhile, Gilead Sciences recommended no to take remdesivir along with other drugs. This is after patients who combined the drug with hydroxychloroquine got worse results than those who only took remdesivir. Remdesivir is initially developed as an antiviral for treating Ebola. It received emergency use authorization to treat COVID-19 patients, although U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for widespread use is still pending. Nevertheless, President Donald Trump signed a deal with Gilead to purchase nearly all of the world's stock of Remdesivir last month. The U.S. has bought more than 500,000 doses of Remdesivir, which is equivalent to 90% of the production for July until September. This practically leaves nothing for the rest of the world. Remdesivir is one of the two drugs that were proven effective in treating coronavirus. According to a May study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the drug was proven to shorten the recovery time of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and lower their respiratory tract infections. Meanwhile, the other is the steroidal drug, dexamethasone, which early research proves to cure even the most serious COVID-19 cases. However, steroids were found to be ineffective for those who do not need oxygen support, although further research is on-going. Both are recommended for use in certain patients by the National Institutes of Health and the Infectious Disease Society of America. Gilead works on inhalant redeliver While Gilead aims to increase the production of remdesivir, it is also developing the drug's inhaled form. Currently, the drug can only be intravenously delivered. According to the newly released data, remdesivir seems to be safe and effective among high-risk groups. The drug appeared to be safe for pregnant women and children affected with COVID-19 without safety concerns raised in the new data. Also, 56 out of 77 children treated with remdesivir were released from the hospital within a month, while three of them died. Meanwhile, around 90% of pregnant and postpartum women have clinically recovered from coronavirus.Gilead began more detailed research on the effects of the drug on both groups. Although patients in all groups showed benefit, the recovery varied by race, the data also shows that among the 229 COVID-19 patients from the U.S. who take redeliver, 84% of black patients showed improvement by day 14, compared to 76% of Hispanic white patients and 67% of Asian-American as well as non-Hispanic white patients.In a call with media on Friday, July 9, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Assistant Professor Dr. Thomas Tsai said that while he is happy that these drugs reduce help serious COVID-19 patients recover, none of these drugs is "a silver bullet" that would make the coronavirus disappear. . Read also: Fauci Questions States Reopening as He Calls Pandemic a 'Worst Nightmare' 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. With drastic increases in cases of COVID-19 across Northeast Tennessee, Ballad Health officials warned Friday the pandemic could worsen quickly. More than 760 new cases of the virus have been reported across 10 Northeast Tennessee counties during the past two weeks a 53.7% increase in total cases according to the Tennessee Department of Health. Both Sullivan and Washington counties each registered more than 110 new cases during the past two weeks while Hamblen County continues to be this regions hot spot with 277 cases over the same period. Cases are also increasing across Southwest Virginia, but at much slower rates. Were really on the brink, in this area, of the pandemic becoming much worse, Jamie Swift, Ballads corporate director of infection prevention, said during a news briefing. We need for our communities to see what is happening and to partner with us. We are certainly starting to see this disease spread. It is spreading rapidly, and its spreading in various groups. Its no longer clusters, its no longer certain groups we can identify and limit that. We are seeing lots of community spread, various avenues; various groups. There is COVID anywhere you go, at this point. On Friday, Ballad was treating 29 COVID-positive patients in its hospitals the most since the pandemic began and those numbers are increasing daily, she said. Everyone is at risk. I just want to remind you this is a novel virus. We certainly do not know how its going to affect every single individual. Were seeing a vast array of symptoms so please do not get comfortable in the fact youre young and healthy. Eric Deaton, Ballads chief operating officer, said COVID-positive patients currently range from pediatric to elderly, with the average age about 60. About a dozen are being treated in intensive care units. Our COVID-19 inpatients are doubling about every week, Deaton said. If this continues to spread at the rate it is today, well have well over 100 patients with COVID-19 across our system. That would stress the system greatly. Ballad forecasts between 5% and 10% of area cases will require hospitalization. The ICU at Johnson City Medical Center is currently at capacity, but the system has additional capacity and plans to create more if needed, according to Dr. Clay Runnels. Ballad presently has about 125 beds dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients. If cases continue to rise, Ballad may take steps to increase capacity by again stopping elective surgeries and procedures, Deaton said, plus possibly limiting public visitation to its facilities. Patients contracted the disease through travel, in large and small business settings, from large gatherings, churches, among athletes and a fairly large spread among restaurant workers, Deaton said. As our numbers continue to climb, well have more and more hospitalizations in the future, Deaton said. This data is very real, and its very alarming. We need everyone, regardless of how you feel about this whether you support it or not its really important you wear a mask and you physically social distance and youre very vigilant about washing your hands and using hand sanitizer appropriately. Ignoring whats happening and acting like youre not going to be impacted is not going to make it go away; its only going to make it worse. Harvard issues risk rankings Tennessee currently ranks 10th among U.S. states for risk of contracting COVID-19, according to the Harvard Global Health Institute. Tennessee has a seven-day rolling average of 21.9 new cases per 100,000 people. Arizona has the nations highest risk at 48.1 cases per 100,000, followed by Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas. Virginia ranks 28th with an average of seven new cases per 100,000. In Tennessee, Hamblen County ranks fourth out of 95 counties with an average of 29.5 new cases per 100,000. Nearby tourist destination Sevier County ranks among the top five at 29.1. Most Northeast counties, including Washington, 7, and Sullivan, 6.1, presently rank well down the state. Vanderbilt tracking transmission rate A July 6 memo from the Vanderbilt University Department of Health Policy shows Tennessees average virus transmission rate the number of uninfected people who catch the virus from someone who is infected is between 1.15 to 1.3. An average of well below 1.0 for an extended period of time is needed to suppress an epidemic, according to the memo. The most recent Vanderbilt model assumes 95% of cases are mild enough to avoid hospitalization and 0.7% of infected cases result in death. At that time, the statewide transmission average was 1.13, which forecast 1,000 concurrent statewide hospitalizations in late July or early August. Should the transmission number rise to 1.25, the 1,000-hospitalization threshold would be reached earlier in mid-July, according to the document. Only in a scenario where the transmission number is reduced to 1.0 or below would the state avoid 1,000 hospitalizations in 2020. Southwest Virginia cases also rising The 10 counties and two cities of Southwest Virginia experienced a 25.3% increase in cases over the past two weeks with 86 cases reported. Bristol, Virginia reported six cases during the period, Washington County, 13 cases, and Smyth County, 10. We still are seeing regular increases in cases across our district, according to Breanne Forbes Hubbard, population health manager of the Mount Rogers Health District. We hope that our communities are continuing to take good protective measures for themselves and their neighbors social distancing, wearing face coverings, avoiding crowded places, hand washing and staying home while sick. We know that these steps are helping us stay as safe as we can be. The only hot spot in Southwest Virginia is in Galax and Carroll County, at the eastern end of the Mount Rogers service area, with more than 500 combined cases. Galax has 63 cases per 100,000 the highest risk average in Virginia while Carroll Countys is 10.1, according to Harvard. In the Twin County area, cases started in a few large families that had social gatherings and those who became ill worked in several different industries. From there, cases have spread throughout the community, Forbes Hubbard wrote in an email. Galax has the highest rate of cases per 100,000 in the entire Commonwealth. It is really important for residents of the rest of Southwest Virginia to understand that COVID-19 can spread quickly and easily through large groups of contacts and that the only things preventing the rest of the region from high numbers of cases like what the Twin County area has been experiencing are social distancing, face masks, avoiding crowds, hand washing and staying home when sick. Other cities and counties in far Southwest Virginia rank well below the state average on the Harvard risk map, ranging from Nortons 0, Scott Countys 0.7 and Bristols 0.9 rolling seven-day average to Lee Countys 3 and Wythe Countys 3.5 active cases per 100,000 average. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, Archbishop of Seoul, celebrated Mass for Catholic congressmen of South Korea at the National Assembly on Thursday. By Vatican News South Koreas Catholic congressmen have been invited to care for the poor and weak and commit themselves to a form of politics that serves peace and defends life. Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, Archbishop of Seoul, made the call on Thursday at a Mass he celebrated for Catholic congressmen from across all political parties of South Korea. Invited by the cross-party National Assembly Group of Catholics, the cardinal visited the National Assembly in the capital Seoul, to offer a Mass for the Catholic members of the newly-elected 21st National Assembly of South Korea. Forty-three Catholic congressmen, as well as some staff members of the national legislature, attended the Mass presided over by Cardinal Yeom along with nine priests. In his homily, the 76-year old cardinal reflected on the turmoil caused by Covid-19 saying, we once again realize that we are all vulnerable and helpless. He cited amply from the Urbi et Orbi reflection that Pope Francis delivered during the special moment of prayer he organized in Romes St. Peters Square on March 27, for an end to the pandemic against which countries were desperately fighting amid an alarming surge of infections and deaths. In this world, we have gone ahead at breakneck speed, feeling powerful and able to do anything, the Pope said at the event. Greedy for profit, we let ourselves get caught up in things, and lured away by haste. We did not stop at your reproach to us, we were not shaken awake by wars or injustice across the world, nor did we listen to the cry of the poor or of our ailing planet. Recalling the Holy Father who in his message for the 2019 World Day of Peace, described politics as an outstanding form of charity, Cardinal Yeom urged the Catholic congressmen to care for the poor and the weak. He underscored the Churchs commitment to life and urged the lawmakers to commit themselves to uphold the values of life and enable peaceful coexistence among all. After the Mass, Cardinal Yeom met the speaker of the National Assembly, Park Byeong-seug. He expressed hope that all the members of the National Assembly will ease the hearts of people by forgiving and harmonizing with one another and become more united during times of trial. Park noted that the pandemic has made the life of socially vulnerable groups more difficult. He thanked the cardinal for ensuring the safety of Catholics by holding Masses and other services online. Cardinal Yeom expressed hope that Catholic congressmen will be united among themselves to help the National Assembly work in unity. The Supreme Court has so far received four requests for setting up a CBI probe or a judicial enquiry into the encounter killing of gangster Vikas Dubey in Uttar Pradesh. The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), which had filed a petition in the top court in 2018 against the growing number of encounter deaths in UP, moved a fresh application highlighting the deaths of Dubey and his accomplices, Amar Dubey and Prabhat Mishra. Citing news reports, the application said that all three encounters followed a similar modus operandi. In two instances, the petition said, the criminals tried to escape after snatching a police pistol, attacked the police party and were shot dead in retaliatory firing. The PUCL application said, That the police version of the encounter raises many serious questions, in particular, whether they are simple administrative liquidations. The application said since January 1, 2017 till March 31, 2018, over 1000 encounters took place in the state resulting in 49 deaths and injuries to 370 persons. By October 2018, the number of encounters doubled and in 2019, the police claimed to have killed 103 criminals in 5178 encounters. The application further stated that only a judicial probe can expose the role of the state behind such crimes. It said, Police encounter or administrative liquidation is a serious crime murder/culpable homicide and is an offence against the entire society. If such a crime is committed with the support of the State or where the State condones such an offence, it takes a very serious dimension. PUCLs 2018 petition is still pending consideration with the apex court. Pointing to an alleged police-politician-criminal nexus behind Dubeys encounter, another petition has been filed by advocate Anoop Prakash Awasthi. In the petition, he has said that trigger happy officials in the Uttar Pradesh police consider themselves above the law and if this goes unchecked, it will pose a serious threat. In addition, the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) has also received a letter from lawyer Atal Bihari Dubey, demanding an independent probe into Dubeys encounter. Hours before Dubeys encounter, the apex court had also received a petition by a Mumbai-based lawyer Ghanshyam Upadhyay seeking probe into the death of Dubeys aides. In his petition, Upadhyay said he suspected that Vikas Dubey too would be killed in similar manner. Following the encounter, Upadhyay has asked the SC Registry to list his case urgently. So far, there has been no direction from the SC Registry to list any of the above-mentioned matters. Unionists have been accused by Sinn Fein of "a witch hunt" against Belfast City Council's most senior officers as It comes as councillors voted for an independent investigation into the Bobby Storey funeral controversy. The row over the funeral is rumbling on after all parties except Sinn fein and People Before Profit voted in favour of a motion calling for an investigation. Read More Meanwhile, Orangemen across Northern Ireland have said they will celebrate a Twelfth like no other as the festivities take on a different tone this year. Annual parades have been cancelled due to Covid-19 - with many making alternative plans for drive-in church services and small wreath laying ceremonies. Read More On Friday, the Department of Health confirmed there had been no further coronavirus-related deaths in Northern Ireland for the past seven consecutive days. The death toll in the region remains at 554. Follow our live blog below for today's latest developments: Nine days after they were inducted into the Madhya Pradesh cabinet, 28 ministers will finally get portfolios on July 12. The delay in assigning ministries had triggered speculations about an internecine conflict in the ruling BJP over accommodating loyalists of Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose exit from the Congress along with 22 MLAs led to collapse of Kamal Nath-led government in March this year, in the cabinet. "I will do it tomorrow (Sunday)," CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters in Gwalior when asked about the delay in allocating portfolios. After expanding his cabinet for the second time on July 2, Chouhan met top brass of the BJP in New Delhi apparently to discuss the portfolio allocation, which has become a political tightrope in the presence of assertive Scindia. The 28 ministers comprise at least a dozen loyalists of Scindia. Their induction in the cabinet reportedly caused heartburn in ministerial aspirants in the state BJP. The initial 'mini' expansion of the Chouhan cabinet took place on April 21 with the induction of five ministers, including two former Congress MLAs, over a month after Chouhan took oath as the CM for the record fourth term. Meanwhile, taking potshots at the BJP, Congress veteran Digvijay Singh tweeted: "8 days of cabinet expansion completed in Madhya Pradesh. CM's workout on allocation of departments doesn't seem to be over. "Has Tiger become a toothless? Let us see who runs away from his territory!". Speaking after the cabinet expansion on Thursday, Scindia had said he wanted to tell Congress leaders that "Tiger abhi zinda hai." International travellers flying into NSW will pay $3000 for their two-week stint in hotel quarantine from midnight on Saturday, July 18, no matter where they ordinarily reside in Australia. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the decision to charge all returning travellers, including Australian citizens, came after the national cabinet announced caps on the number of people arriving in Australia on Friday. "Australian residents have been given plenty of time to return home, and we feel it is only fair that they cover some of the costs of their hotel accommodation," Ms Berejiklian said. Travellers who buy their flight before 11.59pm AEST on Sunday, July 12, will not be charged for their hotel quarantine no matter when they ultimately arrive in Australia. Kenneth Branagh in Shackleton. Look at what the wearing of masks is telling us, See more, talk less. And we are collectively watching the actions of people who are meant to lead us out of this deadly pandemic. More and more people are realising how leaders around the world are hoping that the people will wear that mask over their eyes as a blindfold and agree with whatever is being told to them. The current state of play in most countries is disbelief in leaders. If only they would come out and say that we dont understand this virus, so everyone needs to pitch in and help. If only there were leaders like Ernest Shackleton who advertised: The Smithsonian Magazine says that this could be a myth, but it points us to a time when ships were made of wood and men were made of steel. Where have the leaders gone? Kenneth Branaghs Shackleton: Trapped in the South Pole is on Amazon Prime Video. He is and will remain one of my favourite heroes of all time. On the American Independence Day, July 4, Disney Plus (DisneyPlusHotstar in India) made history of sorts by releasing the film version of impossible to get tickets Broadway show called Hamilton. As an ambitious college student, I wanted to write under a pen name Publius and my mentor pointed me to The Federalist Papers (85 essays written by Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay under the pseudonym Publius). The essays are not an easy read, but the lofty ideals echoing in the words have made me a fan of the man who wrote like his life depended on it: Alexander Hamilton. The entire years subscription to the streaming service is worth that one show. For a fan of history and hip hop, this was a mind-blowing treat. Lin Manuel Miranda who has written songs your kids are singing today (Disneys Moana) has made history easy to understand and the Disney Plus Hotstar made it accessible to all. Tickets to the best seats for Hamilton were going for as much as $849 (is there any other way to watch a Broadway hit?), so you are in for a treat. They shot the film version over two live performances and one extra in an empty theater for the awesome closeups. I wish I were a student again and history was being taught like this: Since we are in the United States virtually, let us do what all explorers of that new continent did: let us go West Robert Redford has a way of looking at history that is unique. Plus he tells the story of the outlaws and the soldiers, the cowboys and the Injuns, and how the West was won so brilliantly, you will remember growing up with all the Westerns you read as a teen (Louis LAmour, Zane Grey, Oliver Strange). Its all there for you to binge-watch There is a price men and women have paid for wars and for land. Today when the Black Lives Matter protests are fanning the flames to destroy systematic racism not just in America but across the world, I hope that someday we, in India will feel the heat too. A beautiful film that talks about the great divide in America is Mudbound. Youre in Mississippi now, is such a powerful reminder that the rules have been different forever. There are revolutions everywhere. And filmmakers the world over have found ways to subvert and spread the message in subtle ways. The Chinese filmmakers hide behind myths, others, like this: Every revolution will throw up a hero or two, and legends that are spoken about in hushed words. Everyday heroes who save lives literally and metaphorically have David Bowie singing an anthem to them. Everyday heroes stand up and are counted, and even though Hamilton is said to have aimed at the sky during his duel with his long time political rival Aaron Burr (the honourable thing to do in duels), all his life he did not let a single chance of writing history. So when you travel to New York next, visit the American Museum of Finance. And find inspiration from the duelling statues of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and remember the words to this song: Hey yo, Im just like my country,Im young, scrappy and hungry, And Im not throwing away my shot. (July 12, tomorrow, is the day when Alexander Hamilton died after his duel with Aaron Burr in the Greenwich Village, New York in 1804) Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati an online writers forum, hosts Mumbais oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication. Congress leaders on Saturday performed a "purification" ritual at the entry gate of Mahakal temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain alleging slain gangster Vikas Dubey was made to surrender on the campus of the famous shrine as per a "conspiracy" on Thursday. Dubey was arrested outside the temple after purchasing prasad and an entry ticket to the shrine. He was killed in an encounter by the UP Police after he tried to flee following a road accident at Barra area in Kanpur on Friday morning. A group of leaders of the Congress performed "purification" by chanting mantras and sprinkling Ganga all (water of the Ganga river which is considered holy) at "Shankh Dwar" of the temple, said former minister and MLA Sajjan Singh Verma. "We performed purification as a dreaded criminal had entered the Mahakaleshwar temple," he said. However, it was not clear if Dubey was arrested immediately, before he could enter the temple, or later when he came out of the temple after performing darshan. Verma alleged Dubey was made to surrender on the campus of the temple under a conspiracy. "State Home Minister Narottam Mishra has been making false claims that Vikas Dubey was arrested on the basis of intelligence input. What was this intelligence doing when Dubey travelled a lot of distance in MP before reaching Ujjain...The BJP government in the state is protecting criminals," he alleged. The Congress had on Thursday demanded a high-level probe into Dubey's "safe exit" from Kanpur and the sequence of events leading to his arrest in Ujjain. The notorious criminal had been on the run since eight policemen were killed allegedly by his henchmen when they tried to raid his house in Kanpur district on July 3. Reacting to the allegations raised by the Congress, state BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal said the opposition party should not drag Mahakal temple into politics. "Law and order situation was very bad when the Congress was in power in the state. On the contrary, law and order has been a top priority of the ruling BJP," he said. Agrawal alleged that mafia cartels thrived whenever Congress helmed the state, first under Digvijay Singh and later under Kamal Nath, whose government collapsed in March this year. Mumbai, July 11 : Actor Ali Fazal is all for gender equality, and wants the issue of domestic violence to be destigmatized. He had earlier joined hands with actor-filmmaker Nandita Das for her short "Listen To Her", which addresses domestic violence. The film also has voices from actress Amruta Subhash and lyricist Swanand Kirkire. The film conceived and shot in the lockdown as a response to growing cases of domestic violence, identifies multiple forms of abuse. "Domestic violence is agnostic to class, religion and other such societal barriers. This was an important message for people to come forward and destigmatize the issue. For a systematic shift to happen, we need to support the survivors of domestic violence to speak up and create a safe environment for them," said Ali. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Detail from the poster for Species. (MGM) Returning $113m off its $35m production budget, the sci-fi horror film Species may have struggled to win over critics on its release in 1995, but it certainly found an audience. Not just that, it found a franchise too, with a collection of sequels continuing the story over subsequent years (to lessening effect). In the original film, Natasha Henstridge plays the adult form of an alien/human hybrid by the name of Sil. The cast also has Ben Kingsley, Forest Whitaker walking into rooms and stating the obvious, Michael Madsen and Alfred Molina. A young Michelle Williams appears as the young Sil, too. Yet it was quite a battle to get the movie made in the first place. Its genesis dated back to 1987 and a writer by the name of Dennis Feldman. Feldman first had the seed of an idea for the movie back then, and hed evolve it for many years before working it into a script. Natasha Henstridge in a swimming pool engaged in a kiss in a scene from the film 'Species', 1995. (Photo by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images) Said script was sent to the boss of MGM, Frank Manusco Jr, in 1993. He bought the project for the studio, assigned the budget, and hired director Roger Donaldson in 1994 to helm the movie. Which presented one of the films many challenges. VFX woes Donaldson, who had sprung to prominence off a pair of movies made in his native New Zealand Smash Palace and Sleeping Dogs had by this stage already a couple of American hits under his belt. Most notably the Kevin Costner-headlined thriller No Way Out, and the Tom Cruise hit Cocktail. But nowhere in his back catalogue was there any suggestion of working with special and visual effects. Its that particular challenge that drew Donaldson to Species, though, but also caused some real tests throughout the films production. Read more: How Scary Movie became a huge hit Donaldsons directorial style, as explained to Starlog magazine back in August 1995, involved him having complete freedom of where to place the camera. Against that, visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund looked to plan and map out in advance the shots that were required. Both men had to evolve their styles throughout the shoot of the film, with Edlund and his team coming up with ways to try things on set, and Donaldson increasing his knowledge and acceptance of FX. Story continues The effects work was also at the heart of some other behind the scenes sparks, too. Sorting Sil A poster for Species. (MGM) When it came to the creation of the central character, the alien side of Sil, some of the films budget was wisely spent on luring legendary designer, the late H.R. Giger to the film. Of course, Gigers most famous film work remains the xenomorph of Alien most notably, a creation he had bumps with over the course of his career. He also came with a bit of a reputation. Steve Johnson was in charge of creature and special make-up effects, and he admitted in the aforementioned Starlog piece that he had some trepidation about working with Giger. Ive read all the articles, he said at the time. Giger is a very difficult man to please. He set himself the goal of trying to make Species the first movie that Giger is going to be happy with in terms of the presentation of his work. To reach that goal involved a very busy fax machine, and an awful lot of phone calls. The production of species was based in America, whilst Giger worked from his base in Switzerland. H.R. Giger (Photo by RDB/ullstein bild via Getty Images) Giger and Johnson would have phone calls that went on for hours. It worked out, too, although right up to the last minute, Johnson feared that Giger was unhappy with how his work had been realised. Still, when he was sent the final photos, I got the greatest fax back from. The work had been worth it. Conflicts In fact, Gigers commitment to the production was such that he put his own money into it. In particular, there was to and fro with Frank Manusco Jr over the films ghost train sequence. This was a Giger idea in the first place, and originally, it was costed at $600,000 to realise. This was via CG, and MGM said no, not considering that there was a practical way to complete the scene. Read more: Cast Away at 20 Giger thought otherwise, to the point where he constructed a 20-foot-long model of the train, at a cost of around $100,000 to himself. He felt it the only way to convince studio bosses of his approach. Even when completed, though, the incredible train Giger constructed would be on screen for under ten seconds, although he would retain 3D merchandising rights to it. But then this also went to the heart of the films other internal conflict, between practical and digital effects, all on a tight budget. Both Edlund and Johnson concluded that a mix of both was going to be required. That and this was the first half of the 1990s they needed to combine computer work with in-camera effects too. Granted, 1993s Jurassic Park had done some pathfinding here, but also, Spielbergs dinosaurs didnt have the range of facial expressions that the character of Sil in Species required. Dana Hee, Olympic gold medalist taekwondo, was hired to be the stunt performer for the human Sil, although she was primarily used in water-featuring sequences that a 1990s computer would weep at. An animatronic was constructed too, and it was a blend of practical, digital and human that would ultimately realise the character. Understandably, a sizeable chunk of the films budget went on its assorted effects work. Species II would follow three years later, with a different writer, different director and no Richard Edlund either. Giger, too, would retain only a credit as original Species designer. The sequel would struggle to match the first film, financially and critically. But then, it was some achievement what the original production team realised on a $35m budget in the mid-1990s. The assorted arguments might just have been worth it. Species is streaming on Netflix UK. The director of the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (STATEC) was a guest on RTL Radio on Saturday afternoon. The institute recorded a higher mortality rate in April, i.e. more people died that month compared to the average of the past years. However, the director of STATEC, Serge Allegrezza, stated on RTL Radio on Saturday that this trend did not continue during the months that followed. Allegrezza explained that the situation in Luxembourg was different from other countries as there was no significant increase in death rates compared to past years. Number of new infections should be considered over a one-week period The STATEC director stated that the evaluation of weekly infection developments can point to potential trends. He added that other good indicators are the number of deaths due to Covid-19, and of people currently in intensive care. Allegrezza also confirmed that the figures which are published every day do not correspond to the actual number of new infections in one day which is "normal" in statistics. He explained that this is because the health care sector is communicating the data with a slight delay. STATEC is currently working alongside the sector. As for the higher mortality rate recorded in April, the STATEC director stated that this trend did not continue after the last death due to Covid-19 on 24 May. This is a major difference with other countries because Luxembourg does not continue to record an above average number of deaths. A possible repercussion of the pandemic could be an increase in inequality. Allegrezza announced a number of studies on this topic which could be published in October. The usual studies to measure inequality could however not be conducted because of the lockdown. Climate While STATEC did record a reduction of CO2 emissions during the lockdown, it was only for a short period of time. Allegrezza pointed out that there was a strong intention all across Europe to work out a "Green New Deal", and the Luxembourgish government also had an energy transition plan. However, this transition now required "much more time", and there was also the risk that it may be in contradiction to the economic relaunch. Allegrezza also stressed that a transition must be just: "People want a lot of changes, but when it comes to the details, they are already much more divided". Economy As for the economic situation, the STATEC director stated that the institute is still expecting a 6% recession this year and a 7% upturn in 2021. This despite the EU Commissions recent estimates of a minus of 6.2% this year and only a 5.4% upturn next year. When it comes to bankruptcies, Allegrezza explained that no unusually high figures had been recorded so far. However, he went on to say that bankruptcies are usually not an immediate repercussion, which is why he is expecting to see the effects "at the end of this year or maybe only next year". STATEC is also expecting the unemployment to balance itself out at 6.7% from the current 7% because the upturn is expected to take place during the second semester. However, if the pandemic worsens, there is a risk that the unemployment rate could climb to up to 10%. This would be the case if a second wave would hit the country and make another lockdown inevitable. This is also why Allegrezza thinks a second lockdown is not likely, while the possibility of a second wave on the other hand could not be dismissed. There are also many more risks "lurking around the corner". The virus could mutate, or protests could form against the restrictions put into place to fight it. Brexit is of course also still an issue as well as a potential trade war between the US and China. Since Luxembourg obviously does not have an influence on all of these events, the development of the situation abroad is just as important. Another important variable for STATEC is the basic reproduction value. For infections to go down, it must be under 1 in Luxembourg, it is currently at 1.09 When asked about a potential tracing app, Allegrezza stated that he was in favour of it. Everything should be done to avoid a second lockdown which the STATEC director thinks would be unbearable from an economical as well as a social point of view. A statue of Christopher Columbus in New York City on July 9, 2020. (Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images) Christopher Columbus Statue Taken Down in Buffalo, New York A Christopher Columbus statue in New York state was taken down Friday morning after local officials decided to have it removed. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, a Democrat, ordered the removal of the statue after reaching an agreement with the Federation of Italian-American Societies of Western New York. The Federation has asked the mayor to relocate the Columbus monument in Columbus Park in order to prevent damage to its cultural landmark, Don Alessi, an official with the federation, said at a press conference explaining the move. In a press release, the federation called the removal a proactive measure. Brown told reporters, No countrys heritage is either wholly bad or wholly good but a mix of both. Removing this statue to a location where the legacy of Columbus, his historical narrative, and the meaning of this statue to all of the different people who live in our City can be interpreted and explored is the right and proper decision. Columbus, an Italian explorer, is credited by some with discovering the Americas. He sailed from Europe in the 1490s. Activists have targeted Columbus in recent years for his treatment of Native Americans and pushed to have statues of him removed. While Christopher Columbus has long been associated with a celebration of Italian-American heritage not associated with his actions as a colonial administrator and fortune seeker, in recent decades there has been a growing movement to remove statues in his honor because of the oppression, enslavement, and murder of countless numbers of indigenous peoples he engaged in, the city of Buffalo said in a press release. Christopher Columbus landing in America with the Piuzon Brothers bearing flags and crosses, 1492. Original Artwork: By D Puebla. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) The Federation of Italian-American Societies of Western New York said the group originally erected the monument to recognize and honor the struggles faced by Italian immigrants in the United States. The federation now wants to erect a new monument that reflects the positive history of the Italian immigrant experience. The Columbus statue will be stored until a suitable location is determined for its display, the group said. Along with the removal from Columbus Park, city officials said the park will be renamed. The new name will honor the contributions of Italian-Americans to Buffalos history, officials said. Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh, an independent, created an action group to help decide what to do with the Columbus statue there. The state quo in Columbus Circle is not acceptable. Changes need to be made, but we want to be sure that everyone who wants to have a voice in that process gets an opportunity to be heard, he told reporters on Friday. To highlight Houstons Black restaurants and chefs, Black Restaurant Weeks kicked off Friday with a new model to safely participate during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Two Lake Houston area eateries Kid Kreole Kooking and Rocos Grill and Smokehouse LLC have joined the lineup. During Houstons Black Restaurant Weeks this year, held from June 10-19, customers get either a prix fixe brunch, lunch or dinner menu at restaurants and can follow a bingo card sheet for a chance to win a prize. Due to the difficulties the restaurant industry has faced this year, the events organizers have waived the financial participation fees for all 32 eateries. LOCAL: Humble area Black-owned businesses get economic boost on Blackout Day 2020 Supporting the entire culinary industry, from farm to table, is necessary for providing more opportunities for the whole community to thrive, Black Restaurant Week co-founder Warren Luckett said. From the increased exposure for Black-owned restaurants on our new national website to the professional business guidance gained from the educational events, Black Restaurant Week helps businesses expand its customer base and receive resources for ongoing success. Kid Kreole Kooking Business Manager Angela Bryant said the owner Desmond Lee felt it was important to join the event this year. Kid Kreole Kooking started in 2016 as a food truck doing catering events. As their customers continued to ask about a permanent store, Lee spent a year bringing the idea to fruition and opened his brick-and-mortar location in 2019 in addition to the food truck. Black Restaurant Week is pretty pivotal for us because were kind of out on the outskirts of Houston. And a lot of people are aware that our business is here, but this has shed light, not only for us but for other participating businesses, in terms of the food and the quality that we serve, Bryant said. A lot of people are familiar with Creole/Cajun food but theyre not familiar with our style. We typically do a Louisiana-style boil. Everything Lee creates is inspired by dishes that his family has given him and he hopes to expand in the coming years, even with the coronavirus impacting the industry, Bryant said. Not only is he preserving a legacy for his family, but hes also bringing jobs to the local area, Bryant said. More Information Participating restaurants in Houston for the Black Restaurant Week Craft Burger: 718 Main St., Houston Fainmous BBQ: 1201 Oliver St., Houston Five Central - Upper Kirby Bistro: 2736 Virginia St., Houston Kid Kreole Kooking: 9739 N Sam Houston Parkway E, Humble Houston This Is It Soul Food: 2712 Blodgett St., Houston Island1515 Kitchen & Rhum Bar: 1515 Pease St., Houston Lucille's: 5512 La Branch St., Houston Mikki's Cafe and Catering Pearland: 9603 Broadway St., Pearland Mikki's Cafe and Catering: 10500 W. Bellfort Blvd., Houston The Greasy Spoon Soulfood Bistro: 636 Cypress Station Dr., Houston Rosalie and Main: 3101 Main St., Houston Rocos Grill and Smokehouse LLC: 7211 FM 1960 W, Humble Island Spice Bar and Grill: 17802 W Little York Road, Houston Trez Art and Wine Bar: 920 Studemont St., Houston Ray's Real Pit BBQ Shack: 3929 Old Spanish Trail, Houston ReMo's Cafe: 8420 South Sam Houston Parkway West, Houston SO Veganly: 26515 Preston Ave., Spring Fleur fe Licious Catering: 1536 Kenforst Dr., Missouri City Flava Wings: 7395 McHard Road, Houston Ester's Cajun Cafe and Soul Food, 5204 Yale St., Houston Bar 5015: 5015 Almeda Road, Houston R&K Barbecue: 911 Normandy St., Houston OMG Seafood To Go: 4010 Synott Road, Houston Taste of Nigeria: 5959 Richmond Ave., Houston Pioneer Dreams Eats Inc: 4213 Bastrop St., Houston DB Delectables: 2346 Bermuda Shores, Missouri City Go Cajun Subs: 1027 Sawdust Rd, The Woodlands Bruffle Waffles!: 1210 Concord Place, Stafford The Pull Up: 610 Murphy Road, Stafford Cafe Abuja: 15015 Westheimer Road, Houston The Funnel Cake House: 4426 Dalmatian, Houston Fleur De Sweets: 3000 Woodland Park Dr., Houston See More Collapse Rocos Grill and Smokehouse LLC Chef and Owner Roco White left his career as a truck driver to follow his passion. He opened his business in February of 2016 by selling sandwiches to freight forwarding companies in his area. That led to him getting his barbecue trailer in 2017 that he works out of today, where he serves multiple cuisines and offers catering. I take the traditional, and I turn it into a mixture, White said. So like I have brisket quesadillas, boudin eggrolls, brisket eggrolls, brisket and mac eggrolls. [For] the vegans, we carry a colli-green eggroll. Our loaded brisket fries are the best in Texas of course. If you havent heard of us, you will eventually. ADVOCACY: Houston reform advocates: We want a seat at the police contract bargaining table Rocos Grill and Smokehouse LLC food truck has been hit by the coronavirus. White has had to stay in one location on FM 1960 rather than traveling to the airport and has had to cut his hours down to Friday from 4 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Saturday 12 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. or sell out, and on the third Sunday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Business slowed down as events were canceled in March, but since then it has started to pick up again while he stays in one location. Despite the challenges the virus brought, he continues to serve the Humble community with his unique menu. White hopes that Black Restaurant Week will bring a sales percentage boost to his business. As the Black Restaurant Week follows the protests supporting Black Lives Matter movement and continued conversations on racial injustice remain prominent at a national level. For White, its important to patronize Black-owned businesses and wants to continue to support them. With this movement thats going on, I feel like everybody is starting to open up and realize hey, lets support each other, lets keep our Black dollars in our communities in order to help one another out, White said. I really see some positive coming from it. I just hope it never dies down. I hope everybody understands that hey, lets continue to do this, lets carry this on. LIFESTYLE: Is the farmers market the future of food shopping? Black Restaurant Week was created to support Black restaurant businesses in the Houston area and highlight African American, African and Caribbean cuisine. Co-founders Luckett, Falayn Ferrell and Derek Robinson began Black Restaurant Week in Houston in 2016, which has extended to eight cities and 270 minority businesses and professionals nationwide, according to a press release. In addition to highlighting local Black restaurants and chefs, their goal is also to educate on cultural cuisines. For more information, follow the hashtag #HOUBRW and visit blackrestaurantweeks.com. savannah.mehrtens@chron.com Humanitarian aid to millions of displaced and destitute Syrians is due to stop at midnight Friday, after Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have extended a six-month agreement allowing assistance to continue flowing into northwest Syria. One of the world's largest humanitarian operations, the cross-border shipments of food and medical aid supplies assist at least 3 million Syrians, the majority of them women and children. Most have fled from other parts of Syria into the northwest corner that is the last major redoubt that has not fallen to the forces of President Bashar Assad, and his Russian and Iranian allies, during the nine-year civil war. The region's already dire circumstances worsened this week with confirmation of the first case of the novel coronavirus, a physician who entered Syria late last month to work in one of the remaining area hospitals. After the 13-2 tally, the council immediately began closed-door consultations to try to find a solution. The Friday vote came after three previous efforts to pass competing resolutions submitted by both the West and Russia failed earlier in the week, but there was some hope that the looming deadline would soften positions. "With their reckless brinkmanship, Moscow and Beijing are gambling with millions of Syrian lives," Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement after the vote. "They have deliberately stood in the way of this council's ability to get life-saving food and medicine into Syria. This heartlessness shouldn't surprise any of us, yet I am shocked each time my colleagues from both countries choose to blithely threaten the lives of millions." In its own statement, Russia's U.N. embassy blamed the stalemate on the refusal of the United States and others to lift sanctions against Assad's government and to recognize its sovereignty by funneling all international aid through Damascus rather than directly to Syrians in need. After a similarly contentious debate last December, Russia agreed that U.N. agencies could use two of what had been four border crossings. In the intervening months, conditions in the northwest have worsened, as Russian and Syrian aircraft bombarded the area, including hospitals and medical facilities, and schools. Large numbers of civilians, many of them already displaced from conflict elsewhere in the country, fled toward the closed Turkish border. Moscow and Damascus maintained that the attacks were against terrorist groups, who have come to dominate remaining Syrian opposition forces in the region. They include Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the leading Islamist militant organization, designated a terrorist group by the United States and the U.N. In the wake of the bombardments, a newly released U.N. report said that HTS "indiscriminately shelled densely populated civilian areas," pillaged civilian homes and "detained, tortured, and executed civilians expressing dissenting opinions . . . "What is clear from the military campaign is that pro-government forces and UN-designated terrorists flagrantly violated the laws of war and the rights of Syrian civilians," the report said. The U.N. provides coordination and logistics for the large-scale assistance operation, with a wide range of governments and nongovernmental organizations providing money and supplies. As debate over the expiring aid resolution began early this month, Russia - backed by China - insisted that the aid crossings were no longer needed and that Damascus should be recognized as the legitimate recipient of humanitarian assistance. The United States and others charge the Assad government with siphoning off the majority of assistance it has received and have said they will provide it with no aid until it agrees to a U.N.-mandated political resolution to the war. Bargaining began with the introduction of a German-Belgian resolution that would allow both existing border crossings to remain open for the next 12 months. All but Russia and China voted for it. That was followed by a Russian proposal allowing one of the two crossings in the northwest to remain open for six months, and agreement for the U.N. secretary general to report on the economic effect of sanctions on Syria. It received only four of the council's 15 votes, with Vietnam and South Africa joining Russia and China. Germany and Belgium countered with a new resolution, for two crossings for six months. Russia offered an amendment - one crossing for six months. The amendment was defeated, with support only from Moscow and Beijing. Vietnam and South Africa abstained. Friday's failed vote was on the last German-Belgian proposal. International aid agencies bemoaned the failure, and warned of catastrophe with the appearance of the novel coronavirus, from which the region had largely been spared. Even if agreement is eventually reached to leave one crossing open, "it will not be possible to scale up the covid-19 response," said Tue Jakobsen, who manages humanitarian operations in the region for CARE. Mustafa al-Eudo, deputy director of the Idlib Health Directorate, said the community there has been working for months to raise awareness and gather supplies for the possible arrival of the pandemic. So far, they have set up three hospitals and four isolation areas for the virus that "will help us in the first stage, to a certain extent," he said. But "we're talking about only 30 ventilators" and "a limited number of beds" in intensive care units and "a big deficiency" in protective gear for medical personnel." "Medical centers need to be equipped," he said, and refugee "camps need care and aid." - - - Dadouch reported from Beirut. ALTON Shannon Walker, the wife of Alton Mayor Brant Walker, requested on Friday in Alton city court a jury trial for a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct. She was granted a jury trial, the date pending, to be held at the Madison County Courthouse in Edwardsville. I cannot comment on anything right now, Walker said to The Telegraph. Any statements from here on out will be from my attorney, Travis Noble. Noble is based in St. Louis but practices in Illinois as well. Walker referred The Telegraph to her attorneys statement. He said they will not plead guilty in the case. We will have an opportunity to cross examine both the chief and the mayor about the chiefs report and contradict some things in the police report, Noble stated. Neither Alton Mayor Brant Walker nor Alton Police Chief Jason Jake Simmons appeared in the Alton court Friday. On April 5, Shannon Walker was among seven people cited at Hirams Tavern, 213 W. Third St., Alton, for allegedly violating Gov. J.B. Pritzkers stay-at-home order. Bar owner Hiram Lewis also was cited. A few days later Walker released a statement to The Telegraph, expressing her most sincere and humble apology for my poor judgment this past week. I hope others will learn from my mistake and that everyone will do their part to flatten the curve of this highly contagious virus, she said. I take the COVID-19 threat very serious, she said. It is through no one elses actions but my own that resulted in embarrassment for our great city. Alton police said they had received several citizen complaints alleging Hirams Tavern was continuing to operate on weekends despite Pritzkers March 20 executive order prohibiting all public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a single household or living unit. At the time, officers investigated the complaints and observed no unauthorized activity. At 1 a.m. April 5, several people were located inside Hirams Tavern in an area outside public view, clearly disregarding the executive order and public pleas for compliance, according to police. A criminal complaint for reckless conduct, a Class A misdemeanor charge, was signed against every person gathering at the bar, including Walker. Government Price Fixing Hugely Benefits Iran Steel Producers Radio Farda July 10, 2020 A lawmaker in Iran says iron ore prices dictated to mine owners hugely benefits steelmakers as they purchase the ore at half the international price but sell their products at 5 to 10 percent higher. The Iranian government dictates prices for various products, from food to electrical goods, fuel and commodities in a complicated attempt to regulate the markets. Speaking at the Mining Council of Kerman Province on Thursday, chairman of parliament's economic commission, Mohammad-Reza Pourebrahimi said steelmakers enjoy "an economic rent" of 40 trillion rials (approximately $95 million) annually due to the discrepancy between the real and dictated prices for the mineral. The price of iron ore is determined by the government after negotiations between mine operators and steel producers. Unlike iron ore, the price of steel has been considerably liberalized so producers can sell at international prices or higher while mining companies can only sell their products (such as fine ore, pellets and concentrate) at the dictated price. Many so-called "privately-owned" steel companies are at least partly owned and controlled by government agencies such as the state workers' retirement fund. The southern Kerman Province has some of the largest iron ore and copper deposits in the country. Mines including Gol Gohar mine in Sirjan supply the county's steelmakers. According to the statistics of the Organization for Development and Renovation of Mines and Mining Industries, half of the 5.2 million tons of iron ore produced in the country in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (beginning March 21), was produced by Gol Gohar. According to the Chairman of Iron Ore Producers and Exporters' Association Iran produces 80 million tons of iron ore a year, 90 percent of which is processed domestically. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/government -price-fixing-hugely-benefits- iran-steel-producers/30717969.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Adams County Commissioner Marty Qually criticized counterprotesters who showed up at Gettysburg National Military Park on July 4 in response to online rumors of an Antifa flag-burning protest, which he called an obvious hoax. There are people walking around with not just handguns on their sides, knives on their sides, but with AR-15s over their shoulders and confederate flags, Qually told FOX43 on Friday. Later when you see on social media and you start seeing Klan flags and you see people with swastikas tattooed on their neck you get outraged cause this is not what our community is like. RELATED: Dozens, some armed, come to Gettysburg to guard against rumors of Antifa violence Qually has received criticism for making a now-deleted post on Facebook calling for the Confederate statues at Gettysburg to be removed. My concern is not the monuments themselves. I dont think you take down some monuments and racism in America goes away, " Qually told FOX43. Its not the statue, its the reaction ... if thats going to happen every time someone says theyre going to threaten Gettysburg than our economy is going to collapse here. He has since deleted the post because it was receiving too many comments to monitor, but he told FOX43 that he might post it once again next week. PA State Rep. Dan Moul of Adams County said Quallys opinion that Confederate monuments at Gettysburg should be removed is insanity. If you wipe our history away, we are bound to repeat it. And, thats a place we never want to go again in this country, Moul said to FOX43. Moul said that people who carry symbols of hate do not belong in the community, but that no one who had shown up to Gettysburg was there to cause trouble. This town is sacred to a lot of people and they will go to just about any extent to protect this town, what this town stands for and the battlefield and the monuments on the battlefield, Moul said to FOX43. RELATED: Those involved with Gettysburg bike rally, BLM protest stress they want peace at weekend events Adams County Commissioners Randy Phiel & Jim Martin later released a statement about their positions on the events at Gettysburg during Independence Day: Along with celebrating our nations independence, this Independence Day in Gettysburg was held with threats and rumors of flag burning, monument damage and other forms of violent and non-violent protest. As a result, Federal, State, County and Local Law enforcement mobilized in force to react to any incidents. With extensive planning, preparation and resources, fortunately, there were only few incidents. Any protesters were greatly outnumbered by counter-protesters, as anticipated by law enforcement. We applaud those law enforcement officers and emergency responders for their efforts last weekend! As a result of these activities, and a posted public statement that afternoon by one commissioner, as the other two Adams County majority commissioners, we have been asked our position on activities this past weekend. To set the record straight, our position is that both groups had the constitutional right to lawful expression of their beliefs as allowed by the 1st Amendment. Whether it be decrying Confederate symbols, protesting the flag in public, or displaying other symbols of support or disagreement, it is a constitutional right to lawfully do so - whether others agree or disagree! Because Pennsylvania is an Open Carry state, it is also the constitutional right of the counter-protesters to openly carry weapons without a permit if the individual is legally allowed to possess a weapon in Pennsylvania. A permit is required in Pennsylvania to carry a concealed weapon. Such a display may be concerning to some and applauded by others; but that is the law in Pennsylvania based on statue and a plank of the 2nd Amendment. Despite the optics, it should be obvious that the multitude of law enforcement agencies at all levels, and the National Park Service, were very much aware this weekend of what was lawful and what was not - and they acted according to law. Turning to removal of Confederate monuments in Gettysburg National Military Park, we strongly oppose any such action. These are historical monuments and not statues. The relevance of these monuments, and the mission of the National Park Service, is and has been, to interpret our nations history for one of the worlds most famous and pivotal battles. Note that most of these monuments were erected during the Gettysburg Monumentation Period in the 1890s, only thirty years after the civil war when many veterans on both sides were still alive and making policy. To infer that monuments at Gettysburg National Military Park should be removed is mis-guided and troubling. Commissioner Phiel especially has a unique personal insight and interest on this subject as he spent 30 years of his life protecting National Park Service historic and natural resources, including the 1300 monuments, markers at Gettysburg National Military Park as a U.S. Law Enforcement Ranger. These monuments are not only visual messengers of history; but works of art and creativity. From both a personal perspective, and from our positions as Adams County Commissioners, we are aware that removal of the monuments from GNMP is not on the table; but loudly and adamantly denounce any effort to remove any monuments from this Adams County historic treasure! In conclusion, there are times that we as individuals and as a community will be tested. This past weekend was one of those tests. We are very fortunate to live in a country where we do have the opportunity to express our beliefs. God Bless America! READ MORE: National Park Service: Confederate monuments at Gettysburg an important part of the cultural landscape, will not be removed As monuments are toppled nationwide, what should Gettysburg do with its 40 Confederate statues? Mr. Trump also has invited Mr. Putin to join a Group of 7 summit in Washington in September, dropping past American insistence that Russia must first reverse its annexation of Crimea and its continuing, low-level war in eastern Ukraine. The president appears to be giving no ground on the bounty story; on Saturday morning, he tweeted anew that the story was a phony hit job by the @nytimes. They had no source, they made it up. FAKE NEWS! So far the White House has declined to declassify the section of a Presidential Daily Brief from February that described the evidence, or to make public a recently-commissioned national intelligence estimate about the evidence. Mr. Trump has never before taken credit for ordering a cyberattack, even one meant more as a public signal than a long-lasting, destructive strike. Just a few days ago, the United States was warning that Russians were engaged in ransomware attacks, suggesting that the 2018 attack may have been briefly effective, but did not establish a long-term deterrent. The president was not asked about other, more significant actions that American cyberforces have taken in Russia, including planting malware in its power grid to remind the Russians that if they turned off the lights in American cities, America was ready to retaliate in kind. (When The New York Times revealed that operation, Mr. Trump called it a virtual act of treason, but went on to allege that the story was not true.) Many of Mr. Trumps aides, most recently his former national security adviser, John R. Bolton, have said they could not discuss Russias election-related actions with the president because he believed the very conversation called into question the legitimacy of his election. But in the new interview, he seemed to acknowledge that the Russians acted and blamed President Barack Obama for underreacting. He said that Mr. Obama knew before the election that Russia was playing around. Or, he was told. Whether or not it was so or not, who knows? And he said nothing. And the reason he said nothing was that he didnt want to touch it because he thought Hillary Clinton would win because he read phony polls. Disgraced fund manager Neil Woodford last night sparked outrage after staging a comeback despite leaving 300,000 investors out of pocket. Woodford, once described as the man who made Middle England rich, was forced to shut his funds last year after angry investors demanded their money back following a series of bad bets. But last night, it emerged that Woodford has made an audacious return to the investments world even though savers in his disastrous funds are still waiting for 450 million to be returned to them. Fund manager Neil Woodford (pictured), once described as the man who made Middle England rich is back in business despite leaving investors 450million out of pocket last year News of his comeback is likely to anger those who ploughed vast amounts of their savings into his funds. Lord Mann, the former Labour MP who served on the Treasury Select Committee, said: Investors will be shocked and hugely unhappy at what they will perceive as a huge injustice. Self-styled maverick Woodford and his right-hand man Craig Newman are advisers to a company investing in start-up firms. Sky News reported that the duo were helping Juno Capital build a portfolio of private healthcare investments. One of the reasons for Woodford Investment Managements collapse was that he ploughed too much money into loss-making biotech companies that were not listed on the stock market meaning the investments were hard to sell. A source close to Woodford, whose main home is a 14 million mansion in Gloucestershire, said his role at Juno Capital was advisory and that he is not managing clients money. Juno is a little-known London-based company led by City grandee Sir Nigel Rudd, the former chairman of high street chemist Boots. It describes itself as a company aimed at wealthy investors rather than those targeted by Woodford Investment Management. It is unclear whether Woodford is being paid for advising Juno. Woodford continued to charge millions of pounds in fees after his main fund was suspended last year and clients were blocked from withdrawing their savings. The controversial move triggered a backlash from investors, MPs and campaigners. The former funds guru built up a reputation as a star investor over a number of years at Invesco Perpetual before he and Mr Newman launched their own firm, Woodford Investment Management, in 2014. Woodford made his name as a star investor over a number of years before he and right-hand man Craig Newman (pictured) set up Woodford Investment Management in 2014 Woodfords flagship fund was worth more than 10 billion in 2017, but collapsed below 3 billion last year as panicked investors rushed for the exit. About 300,000 investors are still waiting on around 450 million to be returned to them, with half invested in risky, hard-to-sell assets. It means investors will get significantly less back than they put in. Woodford and Mr Newman pocketed nearly 14 million in dividends from the investment business in the year before its implosion. A spokesman for Woodford declined to comment. Juno did not respond to requests for comment. The Guardian The Steelers quarterback is headed to the Hall of Fame. But he was unloved outside Pittsburgh for understandable reasons Ben Roethlisberger almost certainly played his final game in the NFL on Sunday. Photograph: Ed Zurga/AP Ben Roethlisberger is lucky that football legacies are not decided by finales. If Sunday night was indeed Big Bens last ever NFL game, as he has strongly hinted, it wasnt exactly a mic drop. In the 42-21 beatdown by the Chiefs, Roethlisberger struggled with rollouts, and l Actress Richa Chadha had a brutally honest reply for a troll who questioned the 'silence' of Bollywood celebrities on the matter of Sushant Singh Rajput's death. The troll suggested that celebrities such as Richa are not seeking justice for Sushant, to which Richa replied, 'You're a disgrace to his memory.' A person commented on Richa's recent Instagram post, "Why are u people so silent about seeking justice for Sushant? Had u all kept so silent if it had occurred with u??" Richa slammed the user by replying, "@sudeshna.riya exactly how are we 'keeping quiet'? How dare you suggest that ? You know that the police is investigating the matter and everyone is cooperating by providing statements and clues. Trolls like you ignore the role of mental health in this scenario, going after his real friends, harassing them...for what? And you call yourself a doctor ? What if someone kills themselves because of trolls like you ? Should you be booked for abetment to suicide? F**k off please for insinuating that anyone at all is keeping quiet. You're a disgrace to his memory." Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide on June 14, 2020. He was reportedly battling depression and had been seeking treatment for it, but he did not leave a note behind. His death came as a shock to not only his fans but also his colleagues in the industry, triggering debates on mental health, nepotism and favouritism in the industry and so on. Celebrities such as Mukesh Chhabra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rhea Chakraborty and others, including Sushant's family and friends, have recorded their statements with the Mumbai police, in connection to the case. ALSO READ: Farah Khan Wishes She Had Fed Sushant Singh Rajput A Little More, Hugged Him A Lot More ALSO READ: Richa Chadha Flaunts 'Not Fair But Lovely' T-Shirt: It's 2020 And A Lot Of BS Is Getting Dismantled Worried about your mental well-being or of someone you know? Help is just a call away. Reach out to the nearest mental health specialist at COOJ Mental Health Foundation (COOJ)- 0832-2252525, Parivarthan- +91 7676 602 602, Connecting Trust- +91 992 200 1122/+91-992 200 4305 or Sahai- 080-25497777/ SAHAIHELPLINE@GMAIL.COM We will continue to deal with Chinese PLA in firm, resolute manner: Army chief Viral Video: People forced to quarantine in metal boxes as China enforces zero Covid policy Hope 'relevant people' will refrain from making 'unconstructive comments': China on Naravanes remarks Tibetan group holds protest against China in Delhi India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 11: A small group of Tibetans held a protest against China here on Saturday, police said. The protest was held around 11 am, they said. China shares borders with 14 countries, has territorial dispute with all "Three protestors came here to protest. They were detained from near the Chinese embassy at central Delhi when they were trying to move ahead," a senior police officer said. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News They were taken to Chanakyapuri police station and will be released soon, he said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 11, 2020, 16:08 [IST] Recently, the OTT platform Netflix dropped the eight episodes of Zac Efron starrer web-documentary, titled Down to Earth. Apart from the exotic location, one thing that has managed to grab the attention of the audience is Zac Efron's looks. Seeing Zac Efron in a new avatar, many of his fans are swooning over his shirtless with a wild beard. Check out a few reactions below. Netizens reaction to Zac Efron's look When did Zac Efron turn in to a full bearded muscle daddy pic.twitter.com/Afxd8opRC1 just a pole (@quarantinedtop) July 10, 2020 READ | Jennifer Lopez & Alex Rodriguez's $10M Hamptons Mansion Is Sight For Sore Eyes; Watch Zac Efron can treat me like a hole pic.twitter.com/3Aww7jtG4d ok sis (@ChanceOfShade) July 10, 2020 READ | 'The Kissing Booth 2' Trailer: The New Love Triangle Will 'break Rules & Hearts' zac efron looks like one of those dream daddy characters now or st nee s.lucio spiritbomb (@rulerofate) July 10, 2020 READ | Unseen Pic Of The Day: Lisa Kudrow Reveals 'what A Great Mother Looks Like' In Rare Pic I know Im getting old when I see #ZacEfron daddy trending and I actually thought we became a Dad! Ashley Nasseri (@AshleyNasseri) July 10, 2020 Zac Efron's Down to Earth Hollywood actor Zac Efron had been travelling all around the globe before the Coronavirus pandemic. Netflix started streaming the eight episodes of Zac Efrons travel show Down to Earth from July 10 onwards. In the web-documentary, the actor can be seen experimenting with food while learning about energy and how to lead a sustainable life. The show took Zac Efron to France, Iceland, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Sardinia, Lima, Iceland as well as Iquitos. The 32-year-old actor is accompanied by Darin Olien, who is a wellness expert. The Netflix series focuses on helping the environment by learning about the sustainable ways of living as well as travelling across the world and learning about new people and their cultures. In Down to Earth, it has been showing that the duo will meet top eco-innovators who will teach them how to lead a sustainable life. In the trailer of Down to Earth, Zac Efron can be seen eating carbs and coming face-to-face with giant community fart bags. The official trailer also stated that the duo will witness how change is an inside job. Watch Down to Earth trailer: READ | Zendaya Dresses Down For The Perfect Date With Rumored Beau Jacob Elordi; See Pictures Interestingly, Zac Efron has been very vocal about bringing in a change to help the environment. Recently, on the occasion of World Earth Day, the actor joined hands with the discovery channels Great Global Clean Up. He also wrote a lengthy post on his social media to commemorate the day. Zac Efron wrote, Happy Earth Day! I have always been in awe of the magic and mystery of Mother Nature. Exploring the unknown has always been a true passion in my life and now, more than ever, I realize how important it is to take care of our planet, our people and every living thing we share it with. Please be safe, be healthy and be kind to one another. [sic] Huawei Huawei executives on Thursday refused to comment on the row with China over Hong Kong just moments after insisting that the companys UK leaders are free to express their opinions. Jeremy Thompson, a vice president of Huawei UK, told MPs that its management team was just like any other UK organisation and able to speak freely. However, asked seconds later whether he had a view on Beijings controversial national security law, which has been widely condemned around the world, he declined to comment. Okay, I am a telecoms executive...I dont have a view, he told the Commons science and technology committee. I am here representing Huawei, and Huawei doesnt get involved in judging the rules of different countries. When the same question was put to fellow vice president Victor Zhang, he replied: As a company we are not in a position to comment on that political agenda. Pressed on whether he could give his personal opinion, he added: Yes I can, but not at this hearing, because Im the vice president of Huawei. I could share my opinion probably offline with you. Dr Yao Wenbing, vice president of business development, said: I dont think my personal view is of interest to this public hearing. It comes amid a growing row between the British Government and China over the imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong, which critics say is being used to stifle the right to protest and freedom of speech. In response, Boris Johnson has offered approximately 3 million Hong Kong citizens eligible for BNO passports the right to travel and live in the UK, with a path to eventually gaining permanent citizenship. While Huawei executives told the committee that it was independent from any government, Labour MP Graham Stringer claimed it simply isnt credible that if China wanted Huawei to do something you would have the ability to resist that. His comments follow longstanding concerns over China's national intelligence law, which requires all domestic companies to share information with Beijing if requested. Story continues The US has claimed that Chinas laws mean that Huawei equipment could provide so-called backdoors for spying - a claim categorically denied by the company. During the hearing, Mr Thompson also urged the Prime Minister to give Huawei more time before deciding whether to ban it from the UKs new 5G network in the wake of fresh US sanctions. The decision by Washington to impose a ban on the company buying American components has reportedly led the UKs National Cyber Security Centre to conclude that its equipment is no longer secure. The Prime Minister is now expected to announce in the coming weeks that British 5G providers will be banned from buying new Huawei equipment by the end of this year, with senior Conservatives calling for it to be removed completely by 2023. However, executives from Vodafone and BT said the demands to remove all traces of Huawei equipment within three years would cost billions of pounds and cause significant delays to rolling out their 5G networks. Warning that a minimum of five years was required, they added that UK customers would face mobile phone signal blackouts as operators were forced to switch off multiple base stations at once to install new equipment. It is logistically impossible I believe to get to zero in a three-year period, BT chief technology officer Howard Watson told MPs. That would literally mean blackouts for customers on 4G and 2G as well as 5G throughout the country as we have to build that in. Think of London. London is mainly served by equipment on rooftops. Wed need to close streets, bring cranes in, lift new equipment to the top of rooftops, replace it, put the old equipment back down on the street. That is logistically not practical in the time frame being discussed. We believe we need a minimum of five years. An award-winning actress who has experimented with theatre, television, ads, films and web series, Aahana Kumra has received rave reviews for the strong characters she portrays and the power-packed performances she delivers. From a detective in the TV series Agent Raghav Crime Branch to a lusty beautician in Alankrita Shrivastavas Lipstick Under My Burkha to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi in The Accidental Prime Minister, Aahana has played a versatile repertoire of roles. In this candid chat, she talks about her daring role in the new Netflix show Betaal, the web as a democratic medium, and the female voice and perspective in the film industry. What was your experience of playing the fearless Deputy Commander Ahluwalia of the Baaz Squad for Betaal? DC Ahluwalia is very special and really close to my heart. Playing a soldier required a lot of physical training because we were shooting on ground for about 40 45 days, and it required a lot of physical strength too due to the inhospitable locations. Throughout the show, we literally became a squad. Also, for the first time in my life, I was experimenting with prosthetics, and it was fantastic. Tell us more about that. What was the experience and response? I found out about the prosthetics after I was signed on the show, and was very kicked to know that part of my face would be scarred. Its very rare for actors, and especially women, to get these kinds of parts and looks. The response has been overwhelming. Fans and friends tell me that it was very brave of me to look like this, because everyone is so obsessed with looking nice. It takes a while for one to even get used to looking at oneself in the mirror. The first day when I walked out of the vanity van with the scar on my face, everyone stopped and stared at me. It made me a little uncomfortable, but it just looked so real. I had to get into makeup two hours before everyone else, staying back after the shoot wrap to remove the prosthetics, and of course, I had to get used to the smell of glue, silicon, colours and paint. The makeup team had to always make sure I had a fan with me, that I didnt perspire, that I didnt get wet in the rain. So, it took a lot of precision, detailing and patience. Also, the terrain where we shot was not easy sometimes it was 45C temperature, sometimes there was rain. It really makes you look beyond looking pretty. From theatre to television, ads, films and web series, which has been most inspiring and interesting to you personally? I find all mediums interesting. For me, the work is the same. I need to put in the same amount of research into the character Im playing and give it my all. In a play, there are no retakes or cuts the show goes on. When youre doing a film, television or web series, you cant fall ill you are indispensable to your shoot, because nobody else can do that part for you. Theatre has really led me to where I am today. And anybody who has ever wanted to become an actor has always romanticised the big screen. On the other hand, the web for me has been completely democratic and something that I really owe my career to. It really has given me so much strength, recognition and love. For the web, I have played roles and collaborated with people that I had never imagined doing. What has been your most inspiring role or experience as an actor? So many! Lipstick gave me the freedom to think beyond the box. I was so fearful about having any kind of physical contact with another co-actor on screen and being open about the sexual regression in our country and the world. Ive travelled with the film to four continents and the reaction I got everywhere was fantastic. It opened my eyes that, wherever one goes, its the same story for women. All my roles have come to me at a point when I needed something new to think about they have almost lent me a voice and given me the courage to think differently. When did you decide to become an actor? What was your familys response? I didnt really plan to become an actor; I just liked to be on stage through school and college. I loved being in the performing arts. I got fascinated with the world of theatre when I started doing workshops with Prithvi in the summer after school. I remember Neeraj Kabi, my first teacher and then Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah when I went to film school. My mother actually took me to film school and she asked me what I wanted to do after college, because I didnt have the guts to tell anybody at home that I wanted to be an actor. So, its because of my mother that Im an actor today. My father didnt really take me seriously for a very long time until I did my first show with Amitabh Bachchan. Secretly, he still hopes I was in the Armed Forces or some other regular job or had pursued an MBA! My family has been really supportive. In theatre, you dont really earn an income for a long time. I am in gratitude to my family for not saying anything to me and blindly believing in and having faith in me for years for loving me, caring for me and not questioning me. Tell us about your role in the upcoming film Khuda Hafiz. I wear a hijab in the film, speak Arabic and theres a lot of action. The shooting was in terrains such as Uzbekistan, which was challenging, cold and pretty ruthless. I shared screen space with Vidyut Jammwal, who is a great human being. Theres a lot of hand-to-hand combat in the film, and we had to go through training. As someone who has been vocal about your #MeToo experiences in Bollywood, do you think the movement has helped the industry become more transparent? The industry has become more transparent, but its also to do with the mediums that we are now working in. The web is a very democratic medium everyone comes and auditions, and thats how you get your parts. Ive got all my roles through tests, not because people know me or have seen my work. Im so glad that people now look at you as an artist, they treat you with respect and love. Many of my colleagues are now my friends too. Im glad to be living in these times when women can be fearless, choose our parts and dictate monies, which is such an important part of our being. Having worked in a film like Lipstick Under My Burkha, do you think the film industry is waking up to the increasing need for the female voice and perspective? Yes. I think it a lot also has to do with the fact that web is such an integral part of our lives, and we dont have to worry about box-office figures on the medium. In film, theres a different structure that return-on-investment works on. You have to bring a big star into a film, because thats how you get people into the theatres to pay for the tickets. Whereas, in web, things are there forever you can watch a show or film anytime; its always going to be there in the luxury of your home, at your fingertips, whenever you want to. This has given a lot of voices to womens stories, and Im glad to see women in roles I would otherwise not have imagined them in. Aahana Kumra in Betaal. Tell us about the stories for children that you have been writing during the lockdown. I was at my sisters house when the lockdown began, and I have a three-year-old nephew. Children are so fearless and they live in their own little worlds; they say what they want and feel what they feel, they have imaginary friends and conversations, they ask a lot of questions. My nephew is obsessed with a lot of things. I got a lot of ideas from him and thought I could make characters out of the things that he talks about. So, I started writing. Im glad hes transported me into a world that is so fantastical. A collection of business executives including those of Apple, Facebook, Google and General Motors urged President Trump in a letter on Saturday to keep DACA in place following a recent Supreme Court ruling that deemed the administration's original attempt to shutter the program unconstitutional, the New York Times reports. Why it matters: Approximately 800,000 young immigrants rely on DACA as their means to remain in the U.S. Business leaders argued in the letter that deporting DACA recipients would negatively impact the economy and the fight against the coronavirus. "DACA recipients have been critical members of our work force, industries, and communities for years now, and they have abided by the laws and regulations of our country in order to maintain their DACA status," the letter notes. "This is no time to disrupt the economic recovery of our companies and communities, nor time to jeopardize the health and safety of these vulnerable individuals." What to watch: Trump has suggested he will again attempt to end the DACA program in spite of the Supreme Court decision, per the Times. Read the letter, provided to Axios by an industry source: Shortly after Mike Holloway won Survivor: Worlds Apart and Meg Maley competed on Big Brother 17, the two met at a charity event in Dallas, Texas. They began a long-distance relationship until eventually moving in together. More than five years after the couple started dating, Holloway popped the question to his girlfriend, who emphatically said yes. Mike Holloway at Tribal Council during the twelfth episode of Survivor | CBS Mike Holloway won Season 30 of Survivor In 2015, then 38-year-old Texas-based oil driller, Mike Holloway, competed on Survivor: Worlds Apart as part of the Blue Collar tribe. He got off to a great start as he formed an early alliance and won three straight immunity challenges with his tribe. However, his insistence that everyone else works hard around camp began to rub some of his tribemates the wrong way. Nonetheless, the oil driller had a strong alliance going into the merge until he reneged on a deal for everyone to put their money in for letters from their loved ones during the Auction. RELATED: Survivor: Do Camera Operators Reveal Where Hidden Immunity Idols Are Located? While the group read their letters, Holloway called out a secret four-person alliance that backfired, resulting in everyone turning on him. However, the oil driller got himself to the end by winning five individual immunity challenges and saving himself with a Hidden Immunity Idol. He ultimately pulled out the win in a 6-1-1 vote. Meg Maley on Big Brother 17 Then 25-year-old New Jersey-based server Meg Grandma Maley competed on Big Brother 17 a month after Holloway won the title of Sole Survivor. She joined the Goblins alliance in the first week and dominated. However, a blowup between two of the members made the group a target, and someone from the alliance went home for four weeks in a row. Even though a few former Goblins switched to the opposing group, Maley stayed true. Find out which fellow #BB17 HG joined Meg on a trip to jury house last night. http://t.co/jTs8RhqTDR pic.twitter.com/u1utcqArYO Big Brother (@CBSBigBrother) September 4, 2015 RELATED: Big Brother: Are Those Moments of Houseguests Crying Scripted or Real? Additionally, her diagnosed arthritis made it difficult for her to win any competitions, but she avoided becoming a target mainly due to her fun personality. The server got into a showmance with James Huling, and the two were nominated for eviction during Vanessa Roussos third Head of Household. She failed to win the Power of Veto and became the fourth member of the jury. Mike Holloway and Meg Maley engaged In December 2015, a few months after BB17 ended, Holloway reportedly bought Maley a vodka-soda and asked her to dance at a charity event in Dallas. The two then began a long-distance relationship. They vacationed to Puerto Rico in July 2016 and frequently visited each other. In February 2018, she moved to Texas with him, and they adopted a dog named Wallace seven months later. Two-and-a-half years after the couple moved in together, Holloway proposed to the Big Brother star. RELATED: Big Brother Star Clay Honeycutt Proposed to Girlfriend, Former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Ashley Prochazka According to Maleys Instagram, he drove 23 hours to her hometown in New Jersey to make sure her family was present and planned a scavenger hunt where he proposed to her at the end. Several of their Big Brother and Survivor co-stars, including DaVonne Rogers, Aubrey Bracco, Josh Martinez, Janelle Pierzina, and Natalie Negrotti, commented on the post congratulating the newly engaged couple. US Is Committed To Defending Arab States In The Persian Gulf, Pompeo Says Radio Farda July 10, 2020 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reiterated that Washington is committed to providing security help for the Persian Gulf Arab countries in the face of the Islamic Republic of Iran's increasing missile capability. Responding to a question during a briefing for foreign reporters July 9, Pompeo stressed that Washington is working in "more than one way" with its Arab partners to offset a growing missile threat from Tehran. One of these ways, Pompeo noted, is to prevent the lifting of Iran's arms embargo, which will end on October 18, and if not extended, it will have "serious, tragic consequences" for the Middle East. Another way is providing the Arab states in the region with arms, Pompeo asserted, adding, "We have been working with our Gulf state partners - not only to get them to assist the U.S. efforts to extend this arms embargo, which is very important for them - but also we provided a great deal of assistance, all kinds of U.S. sales of weapons, those are all public." There are also other measures taken to offset Iran's military power the Secretary of State noted, that are not public. A day earlier, Pompeo had announced the seizure of a ship that he said was carrying weapons sent by Iran to the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The cargo included 200 rocket-propelled grenades, more than 1,700 assault rifles, 21 surface-to-air and land-attack missiles, and several anti-tank missiles, Pompeo disclosed at his press conference on Wednesday, July 8. Iran rejected the allegation on Thursday, saying the "baseless" accusation was aimed to extend a UN arms embargo on Tehran. Despite Tehran's denial, a UN report released in June found Iran to be the source of the cruise missiles that hit Saudi Arabia's oil facilities last September. Furthermore, the U.S. Secretary of State said in his news briefing on that Iran's missile program violates UN resolution 2231 and is a critical threat that begs an extension of the UN arms embargo. "We think it's so important that the world unites to extend the arms embargo that expires just a handful of months that would be tragically dangerous for the region and would create instability throughout the Middle East," Pompeo said. The Secretary of State described Iran's aim to "ultimately establish missile capability that is robust enough to defeat missile defense capabilities throughout the region and strike in places beyond their near neighborhood." Pompeo also referred to Tehran's recent attempts to launch satellites and highlighted them as another aspect of the Islamic Republic's missile threat. "We watched as they continued to build their space vehicle program, they would, of course, claim it is for civilian purposes to put a commercial satellite up, but the world is smarter than that and realizes the program is deeply connected to their desire to have a longer and longer missile range system," Pompeo reminded. "The Security Council must extend the arms embargo on Iran to prevent further conflict in the region," Pompeo said. "No serious person can possibly believe Iran will use any weapon it receives for peaceful ends." This week, Tehran declared it is building underground missile cities along the Persian Gulf coastline, referring to them as "a nightmare for the Islamic Republic's" enemies." Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/us-committed- to-defending-arab-states-in-the-persian -gulf-pompeo-says/30717951.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker could be in even deeper trouble in Florida and could soon be out of a job. Introducing Giants Extra: Sign up for a free trial now. Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text directly with reporters Thats because he allegedly paid off victims in a $55,000 cover-up for his armed robbery case, according to a search warrant obtained by the New York Daily News, which further reported Friday that the Giants are expected to soon release Baker, in the wake of this news. The Giants drafted Baker 30th overall last year, and he struggled as a rookie. Now, he not only could be in (even more) serious legal trouble that might result in a prison sentence, but he could face an NFL-imposed suspension, even if he doesnt go to prison. So the Giants apparently feel they have the information they need to void Bakers contract, which contained about $9 million in fully guaranteed money. Baker and Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar are charged with armed robbery in connection with a May 13 incident in Miramar, Fla. Both have pleaded not guilty. Neither Baker nor Dunbar has been charged with any additional crimes yet, as a result of the alleged cover-up payoff scheme. Buy coronavirus face coverings: MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA According to the warrant, one witness to the alleged crime Dominic Johnson, who has known Baker and Dunbar since they were kids helped pay off the four alleged victims on May 15. The pay-off happened at the office of Dunbars attorney, Michael Grieco. The warrant which relies on video footage and social media direct messages most notably cites an incriminating Instagram direct message from Johnson. I made them same n----s that said they got robbed come in and say them Boys aint have nothing to Do with it, Johnson allegedly wrote a day after the pay-off. Those words corroborate a robbery had occurred and those who were charged were the participants, according to the warrant. Plus, the four alleged victims have said in sworn statements that they took the payoff $55,000 combined at Griecos office, according to the warrant. A Giants spokesman declined to comment on the warrant and on the report that Baker will soon be released. The warrant contains possibly incriminating messages from Baker to Johnson, too. Johnson is telling Baker to come to Dunbar Lawyers office, Detective Mark Moretti of the Miramar Police Department wrote in the warrant. Baker replied, Yo Im in the city now getting cash how much to bring ?? Im tryna get there too u ASAP. Closed-circuit video footage shows the apparent payoff starting in an elevator at Griecos office building, according to the warrant. In the elevator, an unknown man opened a bag, removed money, and showed the open bag to Johnson, with a large amount of money visible. Johnson took the bag. Johnson, Grieco, the unknown man, and the four alleged victims entered Griecos office together and left less than an hour later. About 45 minutes after that, Grieco told Moretti that the victims recanted their initial statements about the alleged armed robbery. One victim described the cover-up in his sworn statement by saying he was being directed that he didnt see what he thought he saw during the alleged robbery, according to the warrant. The warrant states that Johnson called Dunbar and messaged Baker after the four men signed documents recanting their initial statements. Police, in the warrant, are seeking access to Bakers and Dunbars iCloud accounts, so they can find further evidence of their possible involvement in the payoff. Johnsons actions contaminated the integrity of the investigation, as he made the victims recant their statements, only after given them cash, the warrant claims. Communication was established between all three parties [Johnson, Baker, and Dunbar]. However, the contents of that communication(s) could not be identified. Those messages could still be in possession of Apple Inc. Both of Bakers attorneys Patrick G. Patel and Bradford M. Cohen denied that Baker participated in a payoff cover-up. Baker refused to pay blackmail money because he is not guilty, Patel told NJ Advance Media. And [he] did not need to witness tamper. Cohen posted this statement on Instagram, while separately tweeting that Baker spent the entire day of the alleged payoff at his office: Get Giants text messages from reporters: Cut through the clutter of social media and text directly with the Giants beat writers. Plus, exclusive news and analysis every day. Sign up now for a free trial. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here. Tourism authorities in Northern Ireland and the Republic are set to battle it out this summer for the attention of the domestic market as foreign visitors are all but absent due to new travel restrictions. And it is a marketing drive that both parties hope will deliver long after the coronavirus pandemic. When the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced this week that VAT would be cut from 20% to 5% for the tourism trade in the UK until January 2021, there was a collective sign of relief in the trade here. The tax cut meant that hoteliers, restaurateurs and pubs here could pass on reduced prices to entice customers back to spend, or use the cut to weather the hardships of lockdown. It also means a level playing field for tourism businesses here competing with the South where tourism VAT sits at 13.5%. Howard Hastings, managing director of Hastings Hotels, described the move as "the perfect post-lockdown boost to the staycation industry". He said the reduction "combined with plans to give people a 50% discount to eat out in August, could not have come at a better time for an industry that needed an injection of confidence". But now in a very much expected turn of events, a new challenge has been forced upon those operating in the trade here - competition for our smaller, more local market - a market that is also being targeted by those in the South. It is a competition that Tourism NI anticipated and one it is confident it can succeed at. "We will be investing in attracting that market because the Republic is a very strong competitor, with perhaps five or six times the resources we have. We need to make sure to share our voice. They will be upping their investment and they too will be dependent on a domestic market so we will have to be competitive," said Tourism NI chief executive John McGrillen. On June 30 Tourism NI launched its Recovery Marketing Campaign, a mix of televised, digital and print advertising. It will run for 16 weeks in the North and South. But the fight will not be easy as rivals Failte Ireland continue with their own drive to encourage NI travellers into the South. In February, it launched a 6m (5.3m) domestic and Northern Ireland marketing campaign entitled 'Keep Discovering'. While it did not comment on whether it would ramp up this activity further, it has said the campaign is one of the largest and most intensive marketing campaigns it has ever launched. The drive aims to deliver a financial boost of 96m (86m) to the Irish economy over the next three years. Chief executive of Failte Ireland Paul Kelly said: "Failte Ireland research tells us that half of all visitors coming from Northern Ireland stay along the border counties. By directing a significant part of the 'Keep Discovering' investment at growing our share of visitors from Northern Ireland we can bolster tourism in the border counties, which will be critical as the challenges posed by Brexit unfolds." Mr McGrillen said that Northern Ireland's own campaign will celebrate the experience offered here. He added: "The Recovery Campaign takes account of the fact that it will take time for our tourism sector to fully reopen. Our consumer research has also informed the tactics we will use and when we will use them, to create the best prospects for immediate bookings." He said that now is the time to target the southern market. "Our visitor numbers from Ireland had not been as high as they should be, they'd grown over the last three years because of the devaluation of sterling, which made us more competitive, but there is still some growth in that area and we will attract that through the delivery of new campaigns. "In Ireland our marketing campaign will be about saying hello to more and creating awareness of the value for money opportunities here. There's a challenge with Ireland in selling what we have and that's the perception of distance. We need to work on that because the reality is Belfast is closer to Dublin than Cork or Kerry so another theme will be how a small step can lead to a great adventure." Mr Hastings said his group of hotels will fully participate in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme by offering 50% reductions in meal prices during the week in August. He said the latter, alongside new, lower accommodation rates will "be welcome news to people looking to book staycations who may not have considered the North previously." The Northern Ireland Hotels Federation chief executive Janice Gault agrees the VAT cut now enables Northern Ireland to "compete on an all-island basis". She said: "This is a real game changer for the industry and will increase our chances of survival. This will be the year of the staycation. Our job is to make sure it's so good that this pattern becomes the normal and is repeated for years to come." The crowd pullers in NI and Republic Titanic Museum and the Guinness Storehouse Titanic Belfast attracted around 0.8m according to NISRA lastest annual count. Cost: Family Ticket 46.50. The Guinness Storehouse drew in 1.7m visitors last year. Cost: The temporary 'welcome back' offer sits at 15 (13.41) (per adult, free for children). The Giant's Causeway and the Cliffs of Moher Giant's Causeway attracted 1m visitors last year. Cost: Free but access to the Visitor Centre with a tour is 32.50 per family. Over 1.5m visitors flocked to the County Clare's Cliffs of Moher. Cost: 16 (for a family of four) which includes the Visitor's Centre but free access is also available from other points. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 13:54 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066591dc1 4 National rape-culture,South-Sumatera,rape,Palembang,rape-case,sex-violence,sex-assault Free The South Sumatran police have arrested an 18-year-old man suspected to have raped and murdered his former elementary school teacher in Marga Rahayu village, Banyuasin regency. The victim, 51-year-old elementary school teacher Efriza Yuniar, was found dead in a large bucket in her home in the village on Thursday. The discovery shocked residents, who quickly reported it to the local police. The suspect, named Ardiansyah, was arrested as he was leaving his house in the same village, Banyuasin police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Danny Ardiantara Sianipar said. When we searched him, we found the victims mobile phones in his pocket, he said, as reported by tribunnews.com on Friday. Under questioning, Ardiansyah told the police that Efriza had been his elementary school teacher and confessed that he had killed her, Danny said. According to the police, the suspect said he had raped the victim after watching pornography on his mobile phone. Danny claimed the preliminary investigation found that Ardiansyah had broken into the house and had waited for the victim next to a refrigerator near the bathroom where she was showering. According to the police, he choked her as she was coming out of the bathroom and raped her in the living room. He allegedly gagged her with a cloth to prevent her from screaming for help and tied a belt and phone cord around her neck to asphyxiate her. After the victim died, he allegedly covered her body with bedsheets and put her in a large bucket. Danny said that Ardiansyah then left the house through the front door and locked it from the outside. He then allegedly slid the key under the door. Based on a forensic examination by a team of doctors at Bhayangkara Hospital in Palembang, Efriza had died two days prior to the discovery of her body. The victim's niece, Sela, 26, said her family demanded justice for what had happened to her aunt. "We want the perpetrator to be punished with a death sentence. My aunt was a teacher who should have been respected and not treated like this. We want justice," she told tribunnews.com. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker now knows who hell face in the general election this fall. Rik Mehta, a pharmacist and lawyer making his first try for public office, has won the Republican Senate nomination. The Associated Press called the race for Mehta Friday, three days after the polls closed in New Jerseys first election with mostly mail-in ballots. Mehta and Hirsh Singh, an engineer who lost primaries for governor in 2017 and U.S. House in 2018, had been in a tight race. Mehta served as vice president of Aquestive Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company, and was a board member of two privately held firms, Licentiam Inc. and Lactiga Therapeutics. He formerly worked for the Food and Drug Administration. While campaigning during the coronavirus pandemic, Mehta said people cared more about his background as a pharmacist and former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official than his status as a Senate candidate. Mehta, of Chester Township, largely self-financed his primary run, lending himself $315,000. He raised $78,640 in contributions, including $4,000 from state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr.s congressional committee, and had $48,214 in the bank as of June 17. Booker raised $3.8 million and had $2.9 million cash on hand. The two Washington-based publications that track congressional races, the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections, rated the seat as solid Democratic. 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. . To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. Should you have any doubt about how passionately George Conway and the other Never Trumpers at the Lincoln Project want to defeat the president, check out their ads. There are dozens at this point, and the best are minute-long masterpieces of derision, miniature operas of contempt, designed to get into President Trumps head and deep under his skin. Thats exactly where theyve burrowed. After the release of Mourning in America, which turned Ronald Reagans famous Morning in America commercial on its head, Trump had one of his trademark Twitter meltdowns. He shrieked at Conway in particular, mentioning his marriage to one of Trumps brashest aides. I dont know what Kellyanne did to her deranged loser of a husband, the president tweeted, but it must have been really bad. Dublin, July 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Smart Water Management Market - Growth, Trends, Forecasts (2020 - 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global smart water management market was valued at USD 7.14 billion in 2019, and it is expected to reach USD 13.81 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 12.31% during the forecast period. More than two-third of the world's population will be living in water-scarce areas by 2025, according to Xylem. By 2050, the demand for water is expected to increase by 55%, compared to the 2015 level, due to contamination, which leads to the destruction of water resources by humans. The worldwide demand for water from the growing population, increasing urbanization, and the cost implications of maintaining aging infrastructure are among the major factors driving the growth of the smart water management market. Similarly, with the proliferation of IoT, smart cities across various regions are also expected to promote the growth of the market studied. Technological advancements in smart meters and their integration with communication solutions (SCADA, GIS, etc.) have transformed water management in addressing the challenges faced by water utilities, residents, and industries, in terms of erroneous billing and water management. Owing to the global demand, the need to address the operational issues of water management becomes crucial. Consequently, the adoption of smart water management technologies is expected to gain traction. The smart water management ecosystem consists of sensors, smart meters, communication infrastructure, and supporting software to enable two-way communication, thus, allowing users to gather actionable information and make informed decisions about optimized water distribution and usage. Whereas, the market comprises technology giants, like IBM, Schneider Electric, Hitachi Ltd, Utility Systems, and SUEZ Group, who provide smart water management solutions with advanced cloud-based monitoring technologies, smart meter manufacturers (Honeywell, Sensus, etc.), and software providers, like Esri and i20Water Solutions. Story continues Key Market Trends Residential Vertical to Record Huge Penetration Residential usage of water accounts for a large portion of water consumption, globally, as water is considered to be one of the luxuries that need to be conserved efficiently. Therefore, technology also plays a vital role in making people liable for misuse of water. Consumers are upgrading their residences by adopting smart water management software and hardware. This adoption rate is rapidly proliferating, as software and hardware are becoming cheaper and affordable. For instance, WEGoT, a utility solution provider, provides sensor-based Internet of Things (IoT) devices and a software platform, VenAqua, which helps in reducing the demand for water by more than 50%, especially in residential buildings, by tracking real-time flow. The granular data collected from various installations across residential buildings is analyzed, and the insights are shared with the end-users on a mobile app. Digitization, along with the adoption of connected technologies, is impacting all applications of smart water management solutions, by revolutionizing the way smart water management systems interact with the surroundings in the residential sector. Asia-Pacific to Record the Fastest Growth Rate The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than 2.1 billion urban residents, with over two-third estimated to be living in cities by 2050. The region comprises countries with substantial non-revenue water (NRW) losses, like India (with almost 60% of revenue losses from the total water distributed) and Singapore, among others. Such figures signify the need for water management and indicate the potential for market growth in the region. The rising number of smart cities in the region is expected to create substantial business opportunities for the smart water management solution providers. Accounting for about half a million dollars, India is planning to build over 100 smart cities by 2022, which is expected to impact the total population of almost 1 billion. Also, Singapore spent over USD 1 billion in smart city initiatives in FY 2019. Such smart city initiatives in the region are expected to provide a huge scope for the adoption of advanced metering infrastructure. Significant initiatives, to develop smart water systems, are evident in the Asian countries, like Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand, among others, indicating the scope for the growth of the market. Japan, which has relatively lower NRW (US-24%), invests in water management infrastructure. Japan, with the aid of its Japan Water Research Center (JWRC), plans to achieve a 100% smart water meter rollout by 2025. Countries, such as India, are witnessing increased investments in the start-ups that are operating in the market. In October 2019, WEGoT, an IoT-based start-up, announced that it received an investment of USD 2 million in seed funding. The company offers integrated water management solutions in real-time to prevent and address the water crisis. Competitive Landscape The smart water management market is fragmented due to the presence of a large number of companies. Some of the major companies include IBM, GE, Siemens, among others. Some key recent developments in the market include: September 2019 - IBM applied big data technology to improve water security in northern Kenya. IBM Research-Africa developed a cloud-hosted water management platform that connects a network of sensors for monitoring water levels and groundwater extraction rates in boreholes. September 2019 - Siemens and Grundfos signed a digital partnership framework for the strategic cooperation between the two companies. The new partnership focuses on the complementary products and solutions provided by both parties in three main areas: water and wastewater applications, industrial automation, and building technology. Key Topics Covered 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Study Assumptions and Market Definitions 1.2 Scope of the Study 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 MARKET DYNAMICS 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 Market Drivers 4.2.1 Growing Need to Manage the Increasing Global Demand for Water 4.2.2 Increasing Demand to Reduce Non-revenue Water Losses 4.3 Market Challenges 4.3.1 Lack of Capital Investments to Install Infrastructure 4.4 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 4.4.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 4.4.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers/Consumers 4.4.3 Threat of New Entrants 4.4.4 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry 4.4.5 Threat of Substitute Products 4.5 Value Chain/Supply Chain Analysis 4.6 Assessment of Impact of COVID-19 on the Industry 5 MARKET SEGMENTATION 5.1 Type 5.1.1 Solution 5.1.1.1 Asset Management 5.1.1.2 Distribution Network Monitoring 5.1.1.3 Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) 5.1.1.4 Meter Data Management (MDM) 5.1.1.5 Analytics 5.1.1.6 Other Solutions 5.1.2 Service 5.1.2.1 Managed Services 5.1.2.2 Professional Services 5.2 End-user Vertical 5.2.1 Residential 5.2.2 Commercial 5.2.3 Industrial 5.3 Geography 5.3.1 North America 5.3.2 Europe 5.3.3 Asia-Pacific 5.3.4 Latin America 5.3.5 Middle-East and Africa 6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 6.1 Company Profiles 6.1.1 ABB Ltd. 6.1.2 IBM Corporation 6.1.3 Suez Group 6.1.4 Honeywell International Inc. 6.1.5 Schneider Electric (+ Aveva) 6.1.6 Siemens AG 6.1.7 Utility Systems (Micro Mega Holdings Limited) 6.1.8 Hitachi Ltd. 6.1.9 Arad Group 6.1.10 TaKaDu Limited 6.1.11 Sensus Inc. (Xylem Inc.) 6.1.12 Itron Inc. 6.1.13 i2O Water Ltd. 6.1.14 Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. 6.1.15 Esri Geographic Information System Company 6.2 Investment Analysis 7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bayhql Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 46-year-old man is dead after being shot early Saturday morning, police say. Arthur L. Shareef of Cleveland was killed in the shooting that happened about 2 a.m. on Hastings Avenue near Euclid Avenue, according to an East Cleveland police report. Police have named a number of people involved in the shooting but no charges have been filed. The reports also do not say where Shareef was struck or any other information about the shooting. Read more crime stories on cleveland.com: 13-year-old girl injured after driving car, crashing into pole in Clevelands Brookside neighborhood, police say Man dies after truck crashes into pole in Clevelands Kinsman neighborhood, police say 19-year-old man killed in Euclid shooting, juvenile shooter turns self in, police say Euclid police wont identify officer placed on paid administrative leave following shooting Video shows police shot downtown Cleveland resident in head, back with pepper balls as he tried to enter his apartment: they just lit me up registered its second COVID-19 death on Saturday when a 72-year-old man succumbed to the disease at a government-run hospital in Agartala, an official said. The count in also rose to 1,932 after 141 more people tested positive for the virus. State Health Secretary Sanjay Kumar Rakesh said that a man from Khowai district was admitted to the GB Pant Hospital on Friday with symptoms of COVID-19 infection and liver ailments. "His swab sample was tested and the result came out positive. He died at 8 pm," the official said. Earlier, a 42-year-old man died of infection in the same hospital on June 9. There are 544 active cases in the state while 1,372 patients have recovered from the infection, two persons have died and 14 persons have migrated to other states, the officials said. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday tweeted: "Spoke to CM Sh @BjpBiplab ji who assured me that situation is well under control. Door-To-Door Rapid Antigen Covid Testing shall start full swing Monday onwards. Aggressive testing & containment measures are being taken after Covid cases shot up recently." Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, in a tweet, on Friday night had requested people of the state to be cautious. He said that "141 People found COVID-19 POSITIVE today out of 2125 samples tested." According to the officials, 79,430 samples have been tested so far in the state for COVID-19. At present 4,759 patients are in home isolation and 329 patients are in institutional quarantine. In view of the spurt in the cases, the government has begun carrying out rapid antigen tests for detection of COVID-19, state Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath told reporters on Friday night. "The new antigen detection kits were used by health workers at Agartala Railway station on Friday. The kits will be used for carrying out COVID-19 tests across the state from tomorrow. It will deliver a report within half an hour," he said. Earlier, the state had planned to use rapid antigen detection tests from Monday but the plan was changed following a spike in COVID-19 cases. (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.) Russian agricultural production has surged more than 20 percent over the past six years. The country has managed to capture more than half of the global wheat market in recent years, becoming the worlds biggest exporter of grain, thanks to bumper harvests and attractive pricing. Since the early 2000s, this share of the global wheat market has quadrupled. Source: Worlds top grain exporter Russia keeps global supplies high despite Covid-19 pandemic RT Business News It is what I have talked about for years now on WtR and Article after article on WtR about the rise of Russia in the farming sector of the world. I was threatened with death even for thinking that Russia could and can do anything but drink vodka I have talked about the fields that lay dormant (from the Soviet era) for many many years being reopened and I watched this year the same. Fields that have been just weeded over since I have come to Russia in 2006, are now being and have been plowed up and growing grain galore Having driven Russia and enjoyed the countryside, I asked many questions and the biggest one I asked, Why are all these fields left unused? And I still ask it as I see they have just scratched the surface of opening up the old fields again.but as time goes by, every year more and more fields are being plowed again It is what the world has to have and the world needs to survive and Russia saw during the Medvedev presidency an opportunity to change the future in farming GMO free and plentiful. It is what it is and for those who want to see a future and plan for long term stability.farming is the soul and backbone of any country I see as I drive Russia in our Volga; Farming is food and food is life! Light at the end of the tunnel, is hard to get to, but Russia is trying WtR New Covid-19 laws obliging people on buses, trains and other public transport to wear a face mask travel come into force from Monday, July 13. Months after bus and train drivers demanded mandatory masks, the new Government has given the green light to the measure. Anyone who refuses to do so and does not have a 'reasonable excuse' not to can be forced to leave the bus or train. Not wearing a mask is an offence on under the law. The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has signed the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (Face Coverings on Public Transport) Regulations 2020 for the mandatory wearing of face-covering on public transport unless they have a reasonable excuse not to wear one or does not have to wear a mask. Reasonable excuse includes where a person Cannot put one on, wear or remove a face covering because of any physical or mental illness, impairment or disability or without severe distress. Needs to communicate with another person who has difficulties communicating. Removes the face covering to provide emergency assistance or to provide care or assistance to a vulnerable person. Removes the face covering to take medication. The Regulations do not apply to children under the age of 13. Where a passenger is not wearing a face covering, a relevant person under the Regulations may request the passenger to wear a face covering, refuse the passenger entry to the public transport vehicle, or may request the passenger to alight from the vehicle. A passenger must comply with these requests or with a refusal of entry. Failure to comply is an offence. MORE BELOW VIDEO. Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ronan Glynn, said people must be conscious of how to wear a mask. When wearing a face covering, ensure your hands are clean before putting on and removing. Do not touch the front of the covering, instead apply and remove the covering using the ear loops. If you require a number of coverings as you go about your day, store used coverings in a plastic, zip lock bag until you can wash them at 60 degrees. It is important to be aware that some members of the public are unable to wear face coverings due to health reasons or age and should not be criticised or judged for this. Ensure you are familiar with the appropriate use and disposal of face coverings through reputable sources such as gov.ie/health or hse.ie. Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, said the measure is needed to protect the public. Mandatory wearing of face coverings on public transport will not only protect staff and passengers alike, but reinforce the need for all of us to embrace new habits during this pandemic. Physical distancing, hand washing, cough/sneeze etiquette and face coverings are small, individual measures that can make a significant difference to many lives. The wearing of face coverings in appropriate settings is a sign of solidarity to your friends and family, your health service and their staff who continue to be at the frontline of this crisis and solidarity to your country as we all continue in our efforts to suppress this disease, he said. Wearing a face covering is recommended in situations where social distancing is not possible, for example shops and busy public transport, or if you are meeting someone who is vulnerable to the virus, for example people who are cocooning. Wearing cloth face coverings may help prevent people who do not know they have the virus from spreading it to others. Wearing of face coverings is recommended in the following circumstances: when staying 2 metres apart from people is difficult - for example, in shops, shopping centres or public transport by people visiting the homes of those who are cocooning by people who are being visited in their homes by those who are cocooning People wearing face coverings are still advised to do the important things necessary to prevent the spread of the virus. These include: washing your hands properly and often covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve when you cough and sneeze not touching your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean social distancing (keeping at least 2 metres away from other people) Cloth face coverings are not suitable for children under the age of 13 and anyone who: has trouble breathing is unconscious or incapacitated is unable to remove it without help has special needs and who may feel upset or very uncomfortable wearing the face-covering More below video Minister for Climate Action, Communication Networks and Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, said; As we work to safely reopen society, the number of people using public transport will increase. While I am aware that there has been a good response to the wearing of face coverings on public transport services, we need to ensure that everyone complies, with the exception of those who cannot do so for health reasons or due to young age. The mandatory wearing of face coverings will play an important role in ensuring that those who need to travel can do so safely. This is something we can all easily do to help control the virus and protect one another. More guidance on the appropriate use of face coverings is available here. For the 20th day in a row, there were no new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation, Peterborough Public Health reported Friday afternoon. More than 18,900 people have now been tested as of Friday. The jurisdiction has had 95 confirmed cases, with the last case reported June 20. Of those, 93 were resolved and there were two earlier deaths. There are no institutional outbreaks. Peterborough has a rate of 65.2 cases per 100,000 people, less than a quarter of the provincial average of 267.8 cases per 100,000 people as of Friday. Trent and Fleming thanked As the local pandemic response comes to the end of its fourth month, Fleming College and Trent University have accomodations for Peterborough Regional Health Centre workers who have been unable to go home to avoid spreading COVID-19. The university and college have made student residences available to frontline health workers at no cost. Students were sent home as the state of emergency in mid-March closed campuses across the province. That arrangement ended June 30 at Trent, while Fleming has extended its to the end of July. Both schools also donated certified personal protective equipment for use by healthcare workers. PRHC thanked the citys post-secondary institutions Friday. The strength and support of our community has been evident in so many important ways during the COVID-19 pandemic, stated Brenda Weir, vice-president and chief nursing executive at PRHC, in a press release issued by the hospital Friday. We are so pleased that our post-secondary partners have been able to offer PRHCs health care workers safe, comfortable housing alternatives while they have continued to work hard to provide care and support for our patients. The presidents of Fleming and Trent also commented in the press release. We are proud to serve our community and offer safe housing options to PRHC frontline healthcare professionals who continue to work tirelessly keeping our loved ones healthy and cared for, stated Fleming College president Maureen Adamson. Trent was very pleased to be able to support frontline staff at PRHC by providing accommodation at this challenging time, stated Leo Groarke, president at Trent University. We are happy that we were able to maintain the safety of their families or as a place of rest while their children were home during the day. Progressives condemn Americans for their alleged role in slavery, but their own past is not as innocent as they believe, and they have some explaining to do about the present. President Trump's recent visit to Mount Rushmore has given progressives another opportunity to condemn the President and to trumpet their own virtues. MSNBCs Tiffany Cross described Mount Rushmore as the "most grandiose symbol of U.S. imperialism." She claimed, "Mount Rushmore isnt exactly the innocent ode to our Founding Fathers as described in our textbooks." MSNBCs Lawrence O'Donnell claimed, "The place Donald Trump is going to is stolen land." Their Mike Barnicle announced, "He will inevitably and predictably talk about our heritage. In other words, he will talk about he's the protector of White America." Princeton University Eddie Glaude Jr. was invited on to explain, "In some ways Donald Trump is a reflection of the rot that has been at the heart of our fragile experiment since its beginning." CNN's Leyla Santiago declared, "President Trump will be at Mt. Rushmore where he'll be standing in front of a monument of two slave owners and on land wrestled away from Native Americans." "Imperialism," "stolen land," "protector of White America," "the rot," "slave owners." That is quite an indictment. Progressives are so much better than that. Or are they? Perhaps the outrage is dependent on who is being enslaved. Historically, progressives have had a favorable view of slavery under the right master and right name. Journalist Ann Louise Strong claimed Soviet "labor camps have won high reputation throughout the Soviet Union as places where tens of thousands of men have been reclaimed. So well-known and effective is the Soviet method of remaking human beings that criminals occasionally now apply to be admitted. FDR's Vice President Henry Wallace visited the port city of Magadan in Siberia in 1944 and described it as "combination TVA and Hudson's Bay Company." China expert Owen Lattimore who accompanied Wallace came to the same conclusion. Author George Bernard Shaw explained, "In England a delinquent enters the jail as an ordinary man and comes out as a 'criminal type,' whereas in Russia he enters as a crimianl type and would come out an ordinary man but for the difficulty of inducing him to come out at all." Progressives may have admired the Soviet slave labor system, but they were not responsible for enslaving people. Or were they? Prisoners work at Belbaltlag, a Gulag camp for building the White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal (source) Slavery is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. The Thirteenth Amendment reads, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." In October 1944 President Roosevelt announced, "The German people are not going to be enslaved - because the United Nations do not traffic in human slavery." Yet the Treasury's Morgenthau Plan and the Yalta Agreement initialed by FDR contain provisions for slave labor. Journalist Dorothy Thompson wrote, "That country [France], with our consent and connivance, and in defiance of the Geneva Convention, has been employing [prisoners] as slave labor under the same definition of slave labor as that used against Herr Sauckel in Nuremberg." General George Patton wrote in his diary, "I am also opposed to sending PW's to work as slaves in foreign lands [in particular, to France] where many will be starved to death." He also stated, "It is amusing to recall that we fought the Revolution in defense of the rights of man and the Civil War to abolish slavery and have now gone back on both principles." This system remained for several years. In 1947 Secretary of State Byrnes recorded that although this policy had been dropped, "I regret to say that Germans and Japanese still are being held in Allied hands for the use of labor." "it is a deplorable fact that thousands of Germans and Japanese are still being held as enforced laborers in violation of solemn international pledges." At the time Byrnes made this statement the number of prisoners engaged in slave labor amounted to several million. According to Eugene Davidson, the number was 4 million in March 1947. The figure did not include a sizable number of Japanese captured by the Soviets. Some of these former slaves still survive. Should they receive reparations? Surviving German POWs sought compensation and were informed "Compensation for work done by former German POWs can no longer be claimed." This form of legal recourse had been barred by the statute of limitation since September 29, 1978. Of course, this is all history. Conservatives argue that present day people cannot be held accountable for the actions of previous generations. Times have changed. Progressives could not possibly condone a slavery system. Or could they? According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute: "The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 83 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen." The Chinese Communist government's use of slave labor has not been a secret for some time. All the CEOs and Black athletes protesting about injustice need to take a look in the mirror. John Dietrich is a freelance writer and the author of The Morgenthau Plan: Soviet Influence on American Postwar Policy (Algora Publishing). He has a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations from St. Marys University. He is retired from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. He is featured on the BBC's program "Things We Forgot to Remember:" Morgenthau Plan and Post-War Germany. New Delhi: Rishi Jaitly has announced his resignation as Twitter India head. He has been Vice President for the companyas Asia Pacific region which includes operation in India, West Asia and North Africa for four years. His resignation has come at a time when company is facing low revenue growth and user base crunch. He made the announcement on Twitter through a series of tweets, one of which said, "Today, after 4 years of user/business momentum in India & the region, I'm sharing my intention to move on to new opportunities, same mission." Today, after 4 years of user/business momentum in India & the region, Iam sharing my intention to move on to new opportunities, same mission a Rishi Jaitly (@rsjaitly) November 1, 2016 Jaitly, who played a key role in expanding the company's operations in India, further said leading Twitter India and expanding Twitter across Asia Pacific and Middle East was leadership experience of a lifetime. Jaitly has earlier been associated with Google, Knight Foundation, and College Summit and was co-founder and CEO of Michigan Corps. Dr. Matija Snuderl has spent the last couple of months poring over tissue samples collected from the bodies of the recently departed. As a neuropathologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, hes usually diagnosing brain tumors and other brain diseases. But this effort goes beyond his typical duties: Snuderl is among a group of medical experts around the country on a detective-style hunt for missed cases of COVID-19. At this point, it is critical to better understand the silent spread that was happening before the outbreak officially began [in New York], Snuderl said. As cases surge in some parts of the country, doctors like Snuderl are working to better understand the early trajectory of the virus in hopes of discovering unseen patterns that could help inform future public health policies. I think if we better understand how the disease was spreading early on, when the next thing like this happens, we're going to be better prepared, and we're going to be able to act hopefully faster, Snuderl said. Pathologist and scientists at inside the molecular laboratory of NYU's Langone Medical Center test tissue samples of potentially missed Covid-19 cases, on July 10, 2020. (NBC News) Currently, there is no coordinated national effort to understand how early and how widely the virus may have been spreading, but this patchwork approach has begun in at least seven other states. Initiatives vary greatly and few teams are working at the directive of state governments. Some have told NBC News they lack staffing or funding to conduct this type of research, which requires special materials to preserve samples for retesting days after an autopsy. City and county medical examiners and coroners are taking up the bulk of this retrospective work, retesting blood and tissue samples preserved from autopsies to potentially uncover cases that may have gone undetected when testing was less available. Not only could newly revealed positive results upend the timeline of when COVID-19 took hold throughout the U.S., their efforts could help prevent future deaths by identifying communities that contact tracers and containment strategies should target. Medical examiners like Dr. Thomas Gilson say their insights are a crucial part of the long-term public health surveillance mechanism. Story continues Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak If all I had for information was how many health care workers tested positive and how many people who were really sick test positive, I really have the potential to miss a lot of people out in the community who either aren't that sick or are sick and don't access the health care system, said Gilson, who oversees the efforts in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the county with the second-highest number of infections in the state. Thanks to funding from the county, Gilson and his team have been able to perform antibody testing on 350 deceased people. About 3% came back positive, but additional testing on tissue samples pulled from the same bodies came back negative. He believes the antibody tests were false positives and cautions against relying on antibody testing for retrospective research. These results indicate that the number of people infected in our community is still relatively low, Gilson said. A similar effort is underway in California, which is the only state to have requested that all of its medical examiner offices re-examine past cases. People are dying at home without any medical diagnosis we're the last chance to catch those people and make sure that steps are taken to help contain the virus and spread, said Dr. Christopher Young, the Ventura County chief medical examiner, who has started reviewing files as far back as December. Dr. Christopher Young, the Ventura County chief medical examiner. (Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office) The initial look-back request was issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Department of Health in late April and asked teams to reconsider cases dating back to December 2019, before China announced the identification of the virus. The effort was triggered by Santa Clara Countys identification of two deaths on Feb. 6 and Feb. 17 as positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 predating the first established death in the country by weeks. As a physician and a forensic pathologist, I definitely would like to make sure we have accurate causes and that's why we do all the tests that we do on any case: to try to come to the right conclusion, Young said. Some medical examiners have access to facilities that can test autopsy tissue samples. California health officials send their specimens to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing, but certain criteria must be met and results can take up to eight weeks, the officials said. The effort has been slow to bear results diminished in part by the states recent record daily numbers, as teams work to keep up with the flood of new cases. Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak We are still very, very much in the thick of things, said Andrea Bowers, spokeswoman for the Imperial County Public Health Department. "So, we've had to bring in additional contact tracers, case investigators and epidemiology staff, and so they really have not had a moment to kind of look backwards. As caseloads swell across the U.S., teams in Washington, Nevada, New Mexico, Massachusetts and Illinois are also re-examining blood and tissue samples to identify any potential COVID-19 cases that were overlooked. Snuderl, of NYU Langone, is convinced the virus was spreading in New York well before the first official case was announced on March 1. His theory was bolstered by a recent finding by Mount Sinai Hospital researchers that some New Yorkers had COVID-19 antibodies present in their blood more than a week before the first case was announced in New York City. "We cannot go back in time, we can't turn the clock back and we cannot change what happened," Snuderl said, "but I think it will definitely help us to prepare for the next pandemic." A top aid official on Friday urged that the border crossings from Turkey into the northwest of Syria remain open a day after the territory had its first coronavirus infection confirmed. This comes as the UN Security Council struggles to agree on a resolution to keep the border crossings functional amid disagreement between Russia and the West. Russia and China vetoed a Western-backed resolution earlier this week that would have left the two currently open crossings functional, while a Russian draft, which would have closed one of them, was voted down. Kevin Kennedy, the UN's Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, told the AP that leaving only one crossing open would make aid delivery more time-consuming, more costly, and more dangerous in a territory that is controlled by different armed groups. The wrangling over access comes as the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Idlib province, the last rebel-held area of Syria, on Thursday. There have been major concerns of an outbreak in northwestern Syria, an area packed with more than 3 million people, many of them living in tents and encampments, and where health facilities have been devastated by Syria's long civil war. Hospitals are suspending non-emergency procedures and outpatient services, a doctor in the area said om Friday, and the regional education department also announced it was closing all schools as a response to the first confirmed infection. On Friday, hours before the current Security Council resolution on the aid was to expire, 31 trucks carrying medicine and other supplies crossed into northwestern Syria from Turkey through the crossing Russia wants to shut down. U.N. agencies have been stocking up aid and relief supplies in the enclave in recent few weeks, a sign of nervousness over continued access. (Representative Image) Accoridng to reports, Queen Elizabeth II will not return to Buckingham Palace any time soon amid the financial blow to the royal family caused by COVID-19. Her Majesty the Queen has been in Windsor Castle for almost four months now alongside Prince Philip due to the pandemic. The senior royals have also spent both of their birthdays together while in quarantine. It was previously reported that the couple, together with 22 other royal staff, are inside the quarantine zone known as the HMS Bubble. It is made as a precautionary measure to protect the Queen from the deadly virus. With that, the 94-year-old monarch -- who has been able to carry out two nation addresses since the lockdown began -- has long been expected to remain in their royal residence for the foreseeable future. Royal Family Facing Financial Blow Like other major institutions, the British royal family has also been affected by the global pandemic and has been struggling to cope up financially, as numbers of tourists drop significantly due to the ongoing travel restriction. To recall, multiple outlets recently mentioned that the Royal Collection Trust -- who manages major tourist hotspots like Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and the Queen's Galleries -- predicts a $37 million loss of income. Since these royal residences are entirely funded by visitor income from admissions and related retail sales, the Royal Household had to make a hard decision and lay off hundreds of staff. "The COVID-19 pandemic has posed by far the greatest challenge to Royal Collection Trust in the charity's history," a part of the statement from the charity read. "As an initial step, we will implement a pay freeze, begin a process of consultation about the reduction of employer pension contributions and offer a Voluntary Severance Program to employees." Her Majesty The Queen Unlikely To Return To Buckingham Palace Following this, one palace insider revealed that due to concerns regarding job cuts and the uncertainty of Buckingham Palace being reopened, the Queen will unlikely to return to London anytime soon. "The word is Buckingham Palace is not being opened up any time soon, which has huge implications for staff. The Queen is planning to spend the summer in Balmoral as usual, but after that, it's thought she will probably return to Windsor Castle," a source told Express.co.uk. Meanwhile, a spokesman from the palace revealed that just in case protocols regarding social distancing and non-essentials establishments have been lifted, the royal palaces are expected to only accommodate a low number of visitors on specific days. This new arrangement will help the monarchy to "survive" and adapt for the coming years. "Looking ahead, we believe that the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on tourism means we have to plan ahead to ensure we are well placed to survive in the coming years." READ MORE: Naya Rivera Missing Clue: 'Glee' Star Shares Haunting Instagram Post Days Before Disappearance BEIJING - Suspending imports from three Ecuadorean shrimp producers as they detected COVID-19 in recent shipments on Friday, now China faces an accusation of tarnishing the reputation of the industry from one of the Ecuadorean seafood producers. According to the customs authority of China, based on the samples from shipments from Empacreci SA, Empacadora Del Pacifico Sociedad Anonima, and Pesquera Santa Priscila SA six positive results were detected while the tests on the shrimps that were frozen and with inner packaging were negative, Reuters reported. Since Beijing started to test its imported frozen foods, it is the first time that their findings had positive results due to the presence of the virus. On the website of the General Administration of Customs, they stated that the test results suggested that the container environment and the outer packaging of the goods that the three companies delivered were at risk of contamination aside from the fact that the companies' food safety management system was not in order. Out of the three Ecuadorean companies accused by the said contamination, two of the companies involved made their sharply worded statements, emphasizing that the said virus was found only within the exterior part of the container, they also added that China was exaggerating the potential risks that the products may cause. In the statement of Santiago Salem, the President of the Santa Priscila he mentioned that it is regrettable that with the result of the virus found ' inside the wall of the container' China is tarnishing the reputation of the shrimp industry of Ecuador. Read also: Two Lysol Products Proven Effective in Warding-Off COVID-19 from Surfaces According to Bloomberg, during an outbreak of the COVID-19 among workers in their country, coronavirus was detected on a chopping board used to cut salmon at a large food market in Beijing prompting the Chinese officials to start their testing on the imported fresh and frozen foods as well. And because of the said detection, Chinese buyers cut the importation of salmon as the fish has been removed from supermarket shelves across the area. In charge of food imports at the customs authority, Bi Kexin shared with the reporters on their Friday briefing that up to that date there had been a total of 227,934 samples taken already and that includes samples from the food products packaging and environmental samples. The detected positive results from the imported shrimps of the said three companies were picked up on July 3 from cargoes at the Xiamen and Dalian ports. The minister of production and foreign trade of Ecuador, Ivan Ontaneda who is also in charge of overseeing the fishing industry stated that the shrimp producers in their country abide by the biosecurity protocols that they have implemented to ensure the quality of their imported products. Despite the statements issued by the companies of Santa Priscila SA, Empacreci SA, and Empacadora Del Pacifico Sociedad Anonima Pesquera and Ecuador's minister of production and foreign trade, the customs authority of China still ordered that shrimps produced by the said companies after March 12 and already imported into China should be recalled or destroyed. Related article: Florida Man Who Sold Fake Coronavirus 'Miracle Cure' Busted by Feds @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. She spent the day before catching up with her ex Jamie Mazur while viewing a house for sale. And Alessandra Ambrosio got in some more social connection on Friday when she ventured up to Malibu for lunch with a friend. The 39-year-old former Victoria's Secret Angel showed off her long, tanned legs in a pair of brilliant white shorts for the casual outing. Leggy display: Alessandra Ambrosio, 39, put her long tanned legs on display with a pair of white shorts as she enjoyed lunch outside in Malibu on Friday with a friend Alessandra paired the shorts, which were belted with string, with a salmon-colored shirt unbuttoned to reveal a hint of her cleavage. She rounded out her ensemble with brown sandals and kept her brunette locks tied back in a high ponytail. Alessandra did her part to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus by wearing a beige mask. California has seen record numbers of coronavirus cases in recent days, dwarfing the previous surge, which led Los Angeles County to close down all indoor dining after previously allowing it, though Alessandra was still able to dine outside with her friend. Rugged: Alessandra paired the shorts, which were belted with string, with a salmon-colored shirt unbuttoned to reveal a hint of her cleavage Safety first: She rounded out her ensemble with brown sandals and kept her brunette locks tied back in a high ponytail. Alessandra wore a beige mask to slow the spread of the coronavirus Earlier in the day, the Brazilian-born model tried out a sportier look as she arrived at her gym for a workout. She wore a mottled white and peach set of leggings, along with a crop top in the same design. The 5ft9in beauty covered up with a cropped white sweater that highlighted her trim tummy, and she wore brown flip flops and had a brown potato-shaped handbag slung over her shoulder with a thin strap. Alessandra started her day on the right foot by crafting a tasty beverage from fresh apples, grapes, celery and kale with her automatic juicer, which seemed to be a hit based on her face once she had a sip. Staying in shape: Earlier, she wore white and peachcolored leggings and a crop top under a white cropped sweater while visiting the gym to keep up her oustanding figure Yum! Alessandra started her day on the right foot by crafting a tasty beverage from fresh apples, grapes, celery and kale with her automatic juicer On Thursday, Alessandra and her former partner of 13 year, Jamie Mazur, visited a house for sale in Los Angeles' tony Brentwood neighborhood. The two story pink Spanish-style home wasn't far from where she lives, so Jamie might be looking for a place closer to his children. The co-founder of the denim label RE/DONE shares 11-year-old Anya and eight-year-old Noah with the model. In March 2018, Alessandra and Jamie amicably ended their decade-long engagement, and she has since taken up with Nicolo Oddi, who founded the knitwear brand Alanui. The Delhi government on Saturday said its home isolation model for Covid-19 patients is largely successful with no reported deaths among those recovering at home in the last 10 days. Data provided by the government, which was also presented before chief minister Arvind Kejriwal by the health department on Friday, showed that the number of Covid-19 deaths in Delhi has declined over the past two weeks. Delhis fatality rate also declined from 3.64% (before June 24) to 3.02% (between June 24 and July 8). According to Saturdays bulletin, 34 people died in a single day, which is the lowest number of deaths reported in a single day in a month. The number of Covid-19 cases in the Capital now stands at 110,921, which includes 87,692 recoveries and 3,334 deaths. During the fortnight between June 24 and July 8, 691 people died of Covid-19 in Delhi (an average of 46 deaths per day), the government said. The daily health bulletin reported 93 fresh deaths on a single day on June 16the highest number of deaths in a single day in Delhi so far. While sharing the data, the government, however, did not give the number of Covid-19 deaths in Delhi based on the ages of the deceased persons. The categorisation of deaths based on co-morbidities and non-co-morbidities was also unavailable when this report was filed. Of 691 deaths that took place during the last fortnight, only seven deaths took place in home isolation (between June 24 and June 30). Not a single patient in home isolation died in July. We can attribute this to the chief ministers decision to distribute pulse oximeters to all patients in home isolation. The use of these oximeters alerts the patients of a drop in oxygen levels, which is an early sign of deteriorating health, read the government statement. The report prepared by the health department also stated that Delhis overall death rate in June came down to 3.02% from 3.64%. It stated that during these two weeks, the delay in hospital admission was among the cause of death of 28 Covid-19 patients. Of the 691 deaths, 505 patients were in serious condition when admitted to hospitals. Of the 505 patients, 291 were already in a hospital by the time their test results came out, government officials said. A media advisor to the chief minister said that 15% of the 691 deaths took place during the first 48 hours of hospital admission, while nationally, 45% deaths in India have been taking place within this time frame. One reason for the declining fatality rate is that the condition of moderate patients is not turning severe because of plasma therapy. The therapy seems to have favourable initial results. This could further bring down the mortality rate in Delhi, a government official said. On Friday, Kejriwal led a review meeting to discuss what measures need to be taken to further reduce mortality. Since now, almost all deaths are taking place in hospitals and not in home isolation, it was felt that systems in each hospital need to be examined in detail. The CM has asked for the ratio of deaths to the total number of patients discharged in each hospital, the CMs office said. Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday (July 11, 2020) said that his government will do whatever is needed to put an end to corruption and crime in the state. While addressing the audience at a global event on Saturday, Adityanath said, "We will do whatever is needed to end corruption and crime in the state. Our policy is zero tolerance towards crime and corruption." While answering the question on maintaining law and order in the state Yogi said, "Providing security for more than 200 million people of UP is the responsibility of my government." UP has seen a huge influx of migrant labours since the interstate movement was allowed for the labours to reach their home amid pandemic. "Four million migrant workers returned to UP in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are making arrangements for providing jobs to these people," said Yogi Adityanath. "We are also making arrangements so that those migrant workers who wish to return to their place of work can do so," he said. The Chief Minister also throughout the discussion emphasised on Atmanirbhar Bharat while discussing progress on ease of business and economy. Yogi said, "I appeal to NRIs to do their bit for building our economy and to act as brand ambassadors for India." Discussing ongoing pandemic, Adityanath pointed out that when pandemic started, UP did not have a single PPE kit or N95 mask makers. However, now state has the capacity to even serve the export market. "Uttar Pradesh is conducting 45,000 COVID-19 tests every day," said Adityanath. Boeing Delivers Five Apache Combat Helicopters to India Amid Heightened Tensions with China Sputnik News 09:51 GMT 10.07.2020 New Delhi (Sputnik): India has urged its military equipment suppliers to expedite the delivery of weapons systems, as tensions along the 4,057 km Line of Actual Control have escalated since April. The US, France and Russia have agreed to supply military systems within three months once an order is placed, say government sources. Boeing, which had been contracted to produce Apaches for the Indian Air Force, has announced that all five of the multi-role helicopters have been delivered. The attack helicopter, in addition to its enhanced ability to shoot 'fire and forget' anti-tank guided missiles, air-to-air missiles, rockets and other ammunition, is also versatile in conducting network-centric aerial combat due to its modern electronic warfare system. "We're happy to have completed delivery of the 22 AH 64-E Apache and 15 Chinook helicopters to India," the company said on Friday. The five helicopters have been delivered in one consignment to the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Hindon air base, near the national capital Delhi. Earlier in March, Boeing handed over the last five of 15 CH-47F (I) Chinook heavy-lift helicopters it had contracted to sell India. "With this delivery of military helicopters, we continue to nurture this partnership and are fully committed to working closely with India's defence forces to deliver the right value and capabilities to meet their operational needs," Surendra Ahuja, managing director, Boeing Defence India said in a statement. Boeing has delivered nearly 2,500 Apache helicopters to 16 nations to date, including the US, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Greece, Japan, India, Singapore, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. The American-made helicopters feature two high-performance turboshaft engines and a maximum cruise speed of 284 kilometres per hour. The Apache can carry a maximum of 16 Hellfire missiles, giving it unprecedented firepower. Last September, the IAF inducted eight Apache helicopters at Pathankot airbase to guard the nation's border with Pakistan. India finalised its order with Boeing for the production, training and support of 22 AH-64E Apache and 15 CH-47F(I) Chinook helicopters in September 2015. Earlier this year, India and the US signed a contract for the acquisition of six Apaches for the Indian Army during American President Donald Trump's visit to New Delhi. The Indian defence ministry has also urged countries like Russia, France and Israel to expedite contractual deliveries of military equipment they'd agreed to undertake in the past. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, during his visit to Moscow in June, confirmed that Russia will supply some of the weapon systems to India at an early date. Indian government sources confirmed to Sputnik that the Quick Reaction surface-to-air missile system will be delivered to India by the Russian firm at an early date. Later this month, the first batch of Rafale fighter jets will also arrive to be deployed along the Chinese border. India and China have been engaged in a bitter border stand-off in several places, and there diplomatic efforts underway to diffuse the tension amid the withdrawal of troops by the two sides in Ladakh region. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address On Friday, the confirmed number of new COVID-19 cases rose by nearly 69,000 across the United States on Friday, according to Reuters, which is a new record high and the third consecutive day of new record highs. And yet, Disney is barrelling ahead with plans to reopen its theme parks in Orlando, Florida, a COVID-19 hot zone. Workers and public health experts are protesting, but the company's chief medical officer says it'll all be fine. Sure thing. From Reuters: New Delhi: The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) granted permission for the 'restricted emergency' use of Itolizumab injection on moderate to severe COVID-19 patients amid the rising number of cases across India. The DCGI gave approval to the use of this injection on COVID-19 patient based on clinical trials data. Itolizumab (rDNA origin) is a monoclonal antibody that is already an approved drug of Biocon for severe chronic plaque psoriasis. Biocon has been manufacturing and marketing this drug for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis since 2013 under brand name Alzumab. Biocon has presented the Phase II clinical trial results generated in COVID-19 patients to DCGI. The DCGI statement said, ''after detailed deliberation and taking into account the recommendations of the Committee, DCGI has decided to grant permission to market the drug under Restricted Emergency Use of the drug for the treatment of Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) in moderate to severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) patients due to COVID-19, subject to some conditions like informed consent of patients, a risk management plan, to be used in hospital set up only etc.'' This indigenous drug has now been repurposed for COVID-19. The results of these trials were deliberated in the Subject Expert Committee of DCGIs office. The average cost of treatment with this indigenous drug i.e Itolizumab is lesser than comparable drugs which are part of the 'Investigational Therapies' indicated in the Clinical Management Protocol for COVID-19 of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Screen grab of Karl Rock's vlog (Source: https___www.youtube.com_watch_v=eZX1dsZWQsI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has praised vlogger Karl Rock for donating plasma and posting a recording of the act to encourage other to do the same. Originally a New Zealand national, Rock now resides in Delhi, India and runs a YouTube channel with more than 940,000 subscribers. Calling on others to follow the example, Kejriwal tweeted: "Karl Rock, a New Zealand origin Delhiite donated plasma at Delhi govt's plasma bank. You must watch his video about his experience. I am sure this will encourage many more to come forward to donate their plasma and help save lives." Wah @ArvindKejriwal called me a Delhite... Such a nice thing to be called Thank you Ji Karl Rock (@iamkarlrock) July 10, 2020 A delighted Rock replied to Kejriwal saying: Wah Arvind Kejriwal called me a Delhite... Such a nice thing to be called Thank you Ji. He also linked the video in another reply to the CMs tweet encouraging others with: Thank you and Jai Hind. Please donate Plasma if you can, serving others is the greatest job you can do Rock donated plasma at Delhi governments plasma bank located at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) hospital in Vasant Kunj. The plasma bank is the first such set up in the state and all plasma donated here will be used to treat coronavirus affected patients. 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 In the video Rock shares his experience of battling COVID-19 and explained his reasons for the donation. He also shared and explained the procedure, encouraging others who have recovered to also come forward. The video posted on July 9, 2020 has already got 54,864 views and 5,600 likes on YouTube. On twitter Kejriwals post with the video attached has attracted 1,400 retweets and 6,900 likes. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The United States recorded 63,643 new coronavirus cases on Friday, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University. As of 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Saturday), 774 people died of COVID-19 in the country in the past 24 hours, the Baltimore-based university said. The worst-hit country in the world by the pandemic, the US has recorded a total of 133,969 deaths out of 3.18 million cases. Thursday saw a record surge in cases, with 65,551 new infections. Experts fear there will soon be a spike in deaths. In recent days, Texas and Florida reported record numbers of virus deaths. "As a country, when you compare us to other countries, I don't think you can say we're doing great," top infectious disease official Anthony Fauci told political analysis website FiveThirtyEight on Thursday. President Donald Trump, for his part, hit out at the respected scientist, telling Fox News: "Dr. Fauci is a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes." The US leader, who continues to downplay the spike in coronavirus cases, traveled to outbreak hotspot Miami on Friday for a high-dollar campaign fundraiser and other events. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2020 AFP Thousands of people took to the streets of Russias Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk to protest the arrest of their regional governor on murder charges, chanting slogans against President Vladimir Putin. Supporters of Sergei Furgal on July 11 gathered for a spontaneous demonstration before marching to the regional government office, carrying posters with slogans such as "I Am Sergei Furgal" and shouting "Putin's a thief!" Estimates by local media and the opposition put the number of demonstrators at between 5,000 and 35,000 seen as a notable amount for a city of 600,000. A member of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Furgal was elected in 2018 against a candidate supported by Putin in a major upset of the ruling United Russia party. Furgal has been placed in pretrial detention until September on charges of attempted murder and ordering the killing of two local businessmen in 2004-5 charges he denies. Lucknow: Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh, the state is currently under a strict lockdown as per the state government's order. The state entered lockdown from 10 pm on Friday (July 10, 2020) and will remain in place till 5 am on Monday. The Yogi Adityanath government, however, described it as an imposition of curbs on certain activities to keep the spread of virus under check. Only essential services will be allowed during the 55-hour lockdown and all government and private offices, shops for non-essential items, malls and restaurants, will be shut. Buses and other public transport services are also restricted for this period. Police barricading is done in different parts of Uttar Pradesh to check the movement of people during lockdown in the state. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued directives to officials concerned for the special cleanliness and sanitization campaign, beginning on Saturday. In a video conference meeting with all divisional commissioners, district magistrates and senior administrative and police officials on Friday, the UP CM said that the campaign should be carried out on July 11 and 12 in all rural and urban areas without fail. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh so far had more than 32,000 cases of coronavirus, of which more than 20,000 patients have recovered, 845 patients have died. Rape and sexual trauma may have long-lasting consequences for physical health as well as mental health, University of Otago researchers have found. The team of researchers, led by respiratory specialist Professor Bob Hancox and sexual health specialist Dr Jane Morgan from Waikato DHB, found a history of rape is associated with "dysfunctional breathing" in both women and men, and with late-onset asthma diagnosis in women. "Dysfunctional breathing", which is also known as Hyperventilation Syndrome, involves breathing too deeply or too rapidly. People can present with chest pain and a tingling sensation in the fingertips and around the mouth and it may accompany a panic attack. While previous studies have found that a history of adverse events and psychological trauma, including sexual trauma, are associated with self-reported asthma, links with other respiratory problems have not been examined. Professor Hancox explains the team set out to assess whether the experience of being raped - an extreme form of psychological trauma - was associated with dysfunctional breathing among participants in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. This world-renowned study is a longitudinal investigation of health and behavior in a group of 1037 people born in Dunedin in 1972 or 1973 and followed regularly throughout their lives. Nearly 20 per cent of women and 4 per cent of men in the study reported being raped at some stage throughout their life. Both men and women who had reported being raped were more likely to have dysfunctional breathing at 38 years of age. Rape was also associated with self-reported diagnoses of asthma and symptoms of wheeze among women, but not men. "If this is a true cause-and-effect association, these analyses indicate that 23 per cent of all asthma among women at 38 years of age, or nearly a third of adult-onset asthma could be attributed to rape." While both rape and the outcome of dysfunctional breathing were less common among men, the association between rape and hyperventilation syndrome was equally strong - or even stronger - among men who reported rape. The Otago researchers believe this is the first epidemiological study to investigate the possible origins of hyperventilation syndrome. The findings indicate that dysfunctional breathing may be a consequence of severe psychological trauma and are consistent with case reports of sexual abuse in patients with other patterns of breathing difficulty. Health professionals should recognize the possibility of prior traumatic experiences triggering either dysfunctional breathing or late-onset asthma and consider whether psychological counseling or other forms of therapy would help their patients." Professor Bob Hancox, Respiratory Specialist The researchers focused on rape because it is a particularly traumatic experience that can be clearly defined, but Professor Hancox says it is likely that other forms of sexual and non-sexual abuse may have similar effects. "We need to investigate whether other forms of sexual, physical and psychological trauma are also associated with breathing pattern disorders." The research was recently published in the European Respiratory Journal. A former Rutgers professor and director at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey who was accused of filming women in a workplace bathroom was sentenced to 300 days in jail, court documents show. James Goydos, 60, faced 160 charges, including more than 100 counts of invasion of privacy. He pleaded guilty in December to only six: burglary, impersonation, official misconduct, possession of an assault weapon and two counts of computer theft. Mycentraljersey.com first reported his sentencing, which court records show occurred on July 7. He was also sentenced to four years of probation. Authorities said Goydos, of East Brunswick, recorded at least 26 women in different states of undress in a workplace bathroom, although a Rutgers official previously said none of them were patients. He also broke into his coworkers offices to commit identity theft, authorities said. Goydos was fired from job as a melanoma specialist at Rutgers shortly after his arrest. He was making $437,500 a year, NJ Advance Media previously reported. The terms of his plea ban Goydos from holding another public position and he also agreed to not seek or accept any jobs at Rutgers or any RWJBarnabas hospitals in New Jersey. He cannot contact any of his victims as well. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of up to 364 days in county jail and up to four years of probation. Goydos was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Michael Toto in Middlesex County, court records show. Several civil lawsuits have been filed in connection to Goydos. A class-action lawsuit that was filed against Goydos and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey is scheduled for a trial in August, court records show. Another suit - filed by a woman who worked at the cancer institute and claimed she was fired after raising concerns about the cameras - was stayed. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. During the meeting at the IPU headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland), Ambassador Mai, who is head of Vietnams permanent mission to the UN, the World Trade Organisation and other international organisations there, affirmed that the Vietnamese NA attaches importance to the IPUs role and activities in promoting parliamentary diplomacy. It also highly values the Secretary Generals contributions to the IPU, especially the IPU Secretariats activities to support the implementation of the unions strategies and programmes and enhance the IPU-UN cooperation and partnership, thereby helping to promoting parliaments and parliamentarians role and voice in international affairs, she said. She noted that despite COVID-19-induced difficulties, Vietnam has still been making efforts to fulfil its role as Chair of ASEAN and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). Mai also conveyed NA Chairwoman Ngans invitation to Secretary General Chungong to attend the online conference on AIPA parliamentary partnership for cultural and educational cooperation for sustainable development, which will be held by the Vietnamese NA on July 30. The diplomat expressed her honour to, on behalf of the Vietnamese NA leader, present Vietnamese-made medical face masks to the IPU Secretary General and Secretariat to assist anti-COVID-19 efforts, saying the small gift represents the Vietnamese NAs solidarity and cooperation with the IPU Secretariat. At the meeting, Chungong spoke highly of connections between the IPU and the Vietnamese NA while applauding enormous achievements that the Vietnamese parliament has obtained not only in the country, but also in contributing to regional and international parliamentary diplomacy. He said he is impressed with Vietnams development in different aspects over the past years, including the successful organisation of the 132nd IPU Assembly in 2015 and the realisation of commitments in the unions 2015 Hanoi Declaration. Appreciating the gift from the Vietnamese parliament, he also confirmed his participation in the coming conference hosted by the NA. Ambassador Mai affirmed that it is an honour for her and Vietnams permanent mission in Geneva to serve as a bridge promoting cooperation between the Vietnamese NA and the IPU. They will keep working closely with the IPU Secretariat to step up cooperation activities between the union and the Vietnamese parliament. This was how other sculptors solved the problem of a horse rearing onto its hind legs. Sometimes, the back end of the horse would be solid, not hollow. Sometimes the tail would be attached to the statues base to provide support. Sometimes there would be an artistic element at the front a branch, a snake that served as a stabilizing crutch. A man who allegedly opened fire on three sheriffs deputies in Knightsen before they shot and killed him was the ex-boyfriend of the woman who said he had held her hostage overnight, the Contra Costa County sheriffs office said Friday. They identified the man as Eduardo Martinez, 44. A photograph taken before the deadly exchange of gunfire on Thursday night and released by the sheriff on Friday showed Martinez appearing to point a shotgun at deputies, his finger apparently on the trigger. The gunman, who kept deputies and hostage negotiators at bay for 11 hours before the shooting began, had previously been arrested for battery, spousal abuse and other offenses, according to a statement from the sheriff. The official account told of a harrowing ordeal endured by the former girlfriend during which Martinez sexually assaulted her, threw her on a coffee table, tied her to a chair with duct tape and poured gasoline on her. The suspect told his former girlfriend that he would shoot deputies and did not want to return to jail, deputies said. / Associated Press Deputies were summoned to the house in the 1700 block of Green Acres Lane in the small, unincorporated community in northeast Contra Costa County at 9:38 a.m. on a report of spousal abuse. Deputies and hostage negotiators ordered Martinez to come out of the house and surrender. Martinez fired the shotgun into the ground and shot at deputies several times during the day and would not give up, the sheriffs account said. Around 9 p.m., Martinez emerged from the house and advanced on deputies and fired his shotgun at SWAT team members, the statement said. One deputy was struck in the chest but was saved by his bulletproof vest. Another was hit in the head by shotgun pellets and the third was shot in the arm. Deputies returned fire, hitting the suspect (who) was later pronounced dead at the scene, the statement said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. All three deputies were treated and released from a local hospital. In the photograph released by deputies, Martinez is standing outside the house holding the shotgun at waist level in two hands, with his right hand apparently on the trigger, and staring in the direction that the weapon is pointed. The deputies and the former girlfriend were not identified. The case is being investigated by the sheriff and the district attorney. Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Ice climbing is an activity that involves ascending vertical ice formations such as frozen waterfalls, icefalls and cliffs. Climbers use equipment to scale the inclines; the type of gear used depends on the angle and texture of the ice. In order to determine how easy or difficult a route is, climbers use a grading system. The grades usually differ depending on the region or country. Ice climbing can be practiced as part of a mountaineering team or independently, and climbers tend to work together in pairs one serves as the anchor while the other climbs. Ice climbing is thrilling, challenging and rewarding. Try it yourself at one of the worlds best ice climbing destinations listed below: 10. Kandersteg, Switzerland Climbing ice in Kandersteg Switzerland. Image credit: Jonas Abdo/Shutterstock.com Kanderstegs frozen waterfalls are a favorite among ice climbers. The Oeschiwald area has waterfalls that are more suited to beginners as well as falls that are extremely difficult. Whether you are a complete beginner or seasoned professional, there are guided tours and courses available for you to try. If you do have a lot of experience with ice climbing, be sure to try the longer Gasterntal, at Giesenen and Oeschinen tours. The best time to visit Kandersteg is from the end of December to mid-February. 9. Ouray Ice Park, USA Ouray Ice park icefalls views in Ouray, Colorado. Image credit: shu2260/Shutterstock.com Ouray Ice Park is considered to be the best ice climbing destination in Colorado; Jim Donini, the former presidents of the American Alpine Club called the park the best venue in the world to develop ice climbing skills. Ouray Ice Park is home to over 200 manmade mixed climbs that range from WI2 to WI6 and M4 to M9; the park caters to all abilities and lessons are available for those who are just starting out. Once you have finished scaling the ice, you can wander into the nearby town of Ouray, or relax in one of the local hot springs. 8. Helmcken Falls, Canada Helmcken Falls is a 463-foot waterfall; it is the fourth highest fall in Canada. Located in the Wells Gray Provincial Park on the Murtle River. This was the first climb to be graded a WI 13, which makes it the hardest the ice climb in the world. The infamous route is a steep 130-foot incline with an overhang that will have you climbing completely horizontally. Only experts should attempt this route as very precise movements that take a lot of skill and technique are required. 7. Cogne Valley, Italy Cogne, Aosta Valley/Italy. Ice climbers climbing the frozen waterfall. Image credit: Anna Bakowska/Shutterstock.com The Cogne Valley is visited by many ice climbers around Europe due to more than 150 icefalls that are accessible to beginner and expert climbers. The most popular areas are Lillaz and Valontey, both offer a variety of climbs and a number of conveniently set routes allow for a couple to be completed in one day. Beginners should begin their journey with the Lillaz icefall, where local instructors provide lessons into basic skills, including abseiling and how to analyze ice. Not only is the area great for climbing, but it is also a fantastic spot to encounter a diverse range of flora and fauna. 6. Rjukan, Norway Ice climbng in Norway Rjukan. Image credit: Workerlv/Shutterstock.com In the winter, Rjukan boasts an endless supply of frozen waterfalls. The area has a lot of variation as difficulties range from WI2 to M10, so climbers of different capabilities will be able to find a route that suits them perfectly. Krokan is a popular climb that is situated at the top of the valley; the main attraction of the crag is its difficulty and easy access, but it can become crowded at the weekends. Further down the valley is the Gorge, which is famous for its atmospheric climbs and panoramic views; it is here you will find the world-known Lipton climb that is a WI7 rating. 5. Viedma Glacier, Argentina Exploring epic Viedma Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina, during a spectacular day. Image credit: Benedikt Juerges/Shutterstock.com The Viedma Glacier is the largest of its kind in Los Glaciares National Park and is the second-largest glacier in the southern hemisphere. The glacier is reached by catamaran; once you disembark, you will have the opportunity to practice on the training wall. Expert guides will be on hand to assist you. Beginners can scale the vibrant blue ice walls as more experienced climbers can ascend into large crevices. 4. Matanuska Glacier, USA Ice climbing at Matanuska Glacier, USA. Image credit: A.F.Smith/Shutterstock.com Opt to book a tour of the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska to become acquainted with this impressive feat of nature. Some itineraries will begin with a high-intensity hike before reaching the iconic ice walls. Here, beginners will receive an introduction to climbing and be taught proper training techniques. Those who are a little more experienced will be able to take on the more challenging and physically demanding walls. You will have the opportunity to lower into deep glacial shafts and canyons to be surrounded by ethereal bright blue ice. 3. Svinafellsjokull Glacier, Iceland Svinafellsjokull Glacier. Image credit: kanbron/Flickr.com Iceland is one of the world's best ice climbing destinations thanks to more than 4,500 square miles of glaciers. A popular climbing destination is the Svinafellsjokull Glacier as it has a number of glacier walking and vertical ice climbing opportunities. Take a tour to uncover Svinafellsjokulls otherworldly ridges, crevasses and cauldrons before climbing up one of the many ice walls. Absolute beginners and experienced climbers will love scaling this incredible glacier. 2. Lepaqoa Falls, South Africa Often referred to as the Switzerland of Africa, Lesotho is filled with dramatic mountain ranges and spectacular cliff faces that make it a perfect ice climbing destination. The most popular icefall is Lepaqoa Falls in the Maluti Mountains. The waterfall is a 196-foot vertical drop that is best suited to those who have a lot of ice climbing experience. However, the base of the fall offers easier climbs for those who have some experience. The best time to visit Lepoqoa is from mid-June to mid-August. 1. Otztal Valley, Austria Otztal Valley, Austria. Image credit: Henk Monster/Wikimedia.org Austrias Otztal Valley is the longest glaciated valley that runs southwards to the Tyrol mountains. There are approximately 39 icefalls in the area that vary from short ascents to mighty climbs that are over 1,600-feet tall. Experts can spend some time swapping between sun-lit routes and steep shaded inclines while beginners can practice on the smaller icefalls. This naturally frozen environment is a favorite among professionals and amateurs thanks to the outstanding alpine vistas and exhilarating routes. Tamaki demanded transparency in the latest development and said he planned to request talks between the U.S. military and Okinawan officials. He said Okinawan officials also asked the Japanese government to demand that the U.S. provide details including the number of cases, seal off Futenma and Camp Hansen, and step up preventive measures on base. Today makes it 21 years after the bloody cult attack in which five students were murdered at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife. It was Saturday, July 10, 1999, and the students killed included a 21-year-old 400-Level law student and the then Secretary-General of the Students Union, George Iwilade, popularly referred to as Afrika. Others killed were Eviano Ekeimu, 400-Level Medicine; Yemi Ajiteru, an extra year student; Babatunde Oke, 100-Level Philosophy, and Godfrey Ekpede. According to a survivor of the attack, Lanre Adeleke (Legacy), who was the then students union president, the then vice-chancellor, Wale Omole, was the sponsor of the deadly attack. He told PREMIUM TIMES that his colleagues were killed in Blocks 5 and 8 of Awolowo Hall of the university, allegedly by members of Black Axe Confraternity. While Mr Omole was accused of involvement in the attack, he has repeatedly denied the allegations and also said he was not found wanting by a panel of enquiry set up by the federal government through the Ministry of Education, then headed by Tunde Adeniran, a professor. Mr Adeleke told PREMIUM TIMES the attack was carried out in 1999 with the intention to kill union leaders fighting against irregularities after Mr Iwilade had led students to a parade of nine members of the Black Axe Confraternity four months earlier. He told our correspondent that he escaped being killed by jumping from the third floor of Block 8 of the Awolowo Hall where his room was. While arrests were made thereafter, he is saddened that Nigerias corrupt judicial system allowed suspects to escape justice. In an earlier report by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Adeleke said: We started the arrest from the day it happened. We went after some of them that we had their names. We were able to pick about 33 of them out of about 48, they were arraigned and we pursued the case in courts for good three and half years. For three and half years, I was practically doing nothing. We go to court almost every day to make sure justice prevailed. The matter was first handled by Justice Okoi Itam-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry, which rebuked Mr Omoles administration before the matter was left for the court to decide. We were always in court because we wanted justice. Unfortunately, there were internal issues in Osun State then, which was part of the reasons why justice was not done. That was the real set back we had after three and a half years due to the complications of the judicial system itself, Mr Adeleke told PREMIUM TIMES. Despite the fact (that) the judicial enquiry under the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo asked that the VC be tried, no government has made effort. No government has the morals. Even the bursar at that panel of enquiry confirmed to us what one of the cultists said; that they were given over N300,000 two days before the incident to buy ammunition for security reasons. It was established. The money was given to them on July 8 through one Kazeem Bello who was not even a student of Ife but a student of UNILAG. They arrested Kazeem then, and he made (a) confession. Despite evidence of identification by a witness who claimed to have seen Mr Idahosa, one of the suspects, with arms on the morning of the murder, and the confession of Kazeem Bello, the court held that he had no case to answer. Maintaining his demand for justice, Mr Adeleke, who is invited every year to give his account of the incident, insists that: A criminal case is not something that ends like that. It has a long life. Even if we forget about those that were illegally discharged, what about others? I knew many of them ran away immediately after the attack but thats not the issue. The issue of justice is not about arresting everybody. Even if it is few or even one or even Professor Wale Omole, people will have this sense of relief. The victory lies in how much we are able to make sure cultism do(es) not rise by bringing these people to book. In our earlier publication two years ago, Mr Omole did not return calls or reply to text messages sent. Meanwhile, in a telephone interview on Friday, he said: the matter is gone and I dont want to talk about it. Even my children have told me not to address the press on this again. People bring this allegation I know nothing about every year, he concluded as he refused further comment. Tayo Iwilade, a graduate of OAU, also speaks about the murder of his brother and others. Mr Iwilade, currently a lawyer and rights activist, said the family monitored the criminal trial of three of the suspects, which ended in circumstances we consider strange to date. For him, he wondered whether the investigative arm of the criminal justice system has delivered well on its duty towards the search for justice. Meanwhile, 21 years after the attack, the constant clampdown on unionism has raised concerns over the security situation on campus. Students on several occasions have accused their colleagues exhibit tendencies similar to those of cultists. This newspaper also reported how the institution suspended six students for involvement in cultism last year. For the authority, the schools chief security officer, Babatunde Oyatokun, said the university would keep working to maintain its reputation for a peaceful campus and zero tolerance for cultism. The university spokesperson, Abiodun Olanrewaju, did not respond to enquiries as to when the student Union ban would be lifted. Current students of the university will be holding a virtual conference today to discuss the past, present and future of students unionism amidst cult attacks across Nigeria. *** Source: SaharaReporters Dissident Vietnamese blogger Pham Doan Trang is shown in an image provided by the website danlambao. Outspoken Vietnamese journalist and author Pham Doan Trang has withdrawn from an independent publisher of books on politics because of intense harassment by police over her work and the abduction and abuse of colleagues, she told RFA on Friday. The Liberal Publishing House was founded in Ho Chi Minh City in February 2019 by a group of dissidents who wanted to challenge the authoritarian, one-party governments control of the publishing industry. Later that year, the government launched a targeted campaign aimed at shutting down the publisher and intimidating its writers and associates. As part of the campaign, public security forces questioned at least 100 people across the country, and searched the homes of at least a dozen, confiscating books on democracy and public policy printed by the publishing house, according to Amnesty International. Police also began abducting, detaining, and abusing people associated with the publisher, said Trang, a spokesperson and prominent author at the Liberal Publishing House with many titles under her name. There are many reasons, but one important reason is because Liberal Publishing Houses members must endure much suffering, she said. Someone told me that our struggle is like suicide, she added. We only publish books, but Vietnamese authorities call it a crime and have directly confronted us, using force and causing much damage. Whenever authorities have arrested and beaten the publishing house members, they have been seriously injured, she said, citing the case of Phung Thuy, who was abducted and beaten by authorities in early May and is now almost physically disabled. He cannot move his hands or foot, and he shows signs of kidney failure and stomach bleeding, she said. His case was the focus of an appeal by London-based Amnesty International on May 14 to Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. 'More and more violence' Trang wrote on her Facebook account that police have been harassing her for the past year, increasing their repression in September 2019 through this February, when they paused for the COVID-19 pandemic. They later resumed their activities with ferocity, she said. They arrested and tortured a shipper who delivered books published by Liberal Publishing House in Saigon on May 8, she wrote, referring to Phung Thuy. Since then, all members of LPH have been hunted down and abducted by police. Amid a spate of arrests and abuse of independent journalists this year in Vietnam, Trang told RFA in May that toleration of dissent was deteriorating and likely to get worse in the run-up to the ruling party congress next January. Freedom has always been restricted, but nowadays it seems to be narrower, and theres more and more violence, she said at the time. From now until the party congress, the scope of freedom can be tightened more and more, and the suppression will increase. Trang, who released a well-regarded book titled Politics for Everyone under LPH, was awarded the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2019 Press Freedom Prize. She founded the online legal magazine Luat Khoa and edits another web-based rights journal called thevietnamese. In June, the Geneva-based International Publishers Association (IPA) awarded LPH the 2020 Prix Voltaire for exemplary courage in upholding the freedom to publish and in enabling others to exercise the right to freedom of expression. The award carries a cash prize of 10,000 Swiss francs (U.S. $10,650). The work of Liberal Publishing House in Vietnam as guerilla publishers, making books available in a climate of intimidation and risk for their own personal safety, is nothing short of inspirational, said Kristenn Einarsson, chair of the IPAs Freedom to Publish Committee, in a statement at the time. Reported by RFA's Vietnamese Service. Translated by Huy Le. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Amazon employees last night faced something bizarre. First they were told to delete TikTok from their work phone. The employees were told about this in an email on Friday. The email was later leaked to the media and was shared on Twitter. Hours later, however, Amazon told the media in the US that the email was sent in error. "Due to security risks, the TikTok app is no longer permitted on mobile devices that access Amazon email," the short email informed Amazon employees. "If you have TikTok on your device, you must remove it by 10-Jul to retain mobile access to Amazon email. At this time, using TikTok from your Amazon laptop browser is allowed." Hours later Amazon said this was an error. "This morning's email to some of our employees was sent in error," an Amazon spokesman told the US media. "There is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok." While Amazon in its email to employees did not specify why it was banning TikTok from work devices, it was likely due to the data that TikTok often collects when used. This data can then be potentially shared with the Chinese government TikTok denies it shares data with the Chinese government under China's national intelligence law formulated in 2017. Amazon "acted" -- even if in error as we learnt later -- against TikTok at a time when the app is facing significant challenges in convincing the world that it is a safe app, that it has no connections with the Chinese government, and it does not pose any privacy or national security risk. However, few are convinced. India recently banned and blocked TikTok, along with 58 other Chinese apps, citing national security and privacy reasons. Although, India's move came at a time when India and China were having a border dispute in Ladakh, with the Chinese army acting as an aggressor and trying to encroach on Indian land. However, India's ban on TikTok has put spotlight on the app and its opaque privacy and content moderation policies. The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said that the Trump administration was looking at banning TikTok in the country. TikTok, meanwhile, has tried to distance itself from China. In the wake of China tightening its grip on Hong Kong, TikTok said that it was pulling out of the city. "In light of recent events, we've decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong," a spokesman told the BBC. By Friday, TikTok was no longer available on the iOS and Google Play store for Hong Kong. The recent moves from TikTok have been quite baffling. While TikTok has pulled out of Hong Kong, a small market for the app, saying that it is doing so due to a new regressive Chinese law, its parent company ByteDance also has a separate short video app called Douyin for Chinese users and that remains available in China. In India, TikTok has said that it was working with the Indian government to resolve the issue. A day after the 59 Chinese apps were banned, TikTok's India head Nikhil Gandhi had said, "The Government of India has issued an interim order for the blocking of 59 apps, including TikTok and we are in the process of complying with it. We have been invited to meet with concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications." A level three fire was reported at Indraprastha Shopping Centre located in Borivali West, Mumbai on Saturday. The incident was reported at around at 3.05 am. The fire escalated to level 4 at around 6.16 am. However, no injuries have been reported due to the incident so far. Fire-fighting operation is being carried out at the site, according to Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB). At least 14 fire tenders were reported to have rushed to the spot to put out the fire. According to the MFB, the fire is confined to the basement of the ground plus two-storey shopping complex. P Rahangdale, chief fire officer, MFB said, There are ten small engine lines in operation in the basement and one small line on the first floor. We are also using exhaust blower for the operation. Last month, a fire incident was reported at the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait office in south Mumbais Nariman Point area. In another incident, a level-two fire broke out in a few shops at Mumbais iconic Crawford market last month. Nobody was reported injured in the incident, a fire brigade official said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON As Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's opposition party the Convention People's Party (CPP), gears up for its national congress to elect the next line of its leadership, Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim, who is the current acting Chairperson has launched a bid to get hold of Chair position. Hajia is relying on her message Long Service and Loyalty- the bridge between the young and old. She believes that now is the time to blend, transform, and build the party on a solid foundation under the forth democratic dispensation. I am the walking encyclopaedia of the current CPP, having served as National First Vice-Chairperson, National Women Organiser, Constituency Treasurer, and Deputy Secretary to Youth League, and Secretary to the Women's League. I was also a key member of the campaign team of Mr. Kwasi Pratt Junior in 1996 when he contested the Ayawaso Central Parliamentary seat, Hajia Hamdatu told the Ghana News Agency in an interview to outline her commitment to lead and modernise the CPP. Hajia Hamdatu who is currently the Commissioner in-charge of West Africa, Women Academy for Africa (WAFA) since 2011 said she was ready to guide the party through strategic campaign model to target parliamentary seats in Election 2020 to ensure the party wins those seats. In May 2019, the Central Committee of the CPP installed Hajia Hamdatu as Acting Chairman and Leader of the Party following the unanimous acceptance of the resignation of Prof. Edmund Delle as the Chairman and Leader. Hajia Hamdatu said the CPP was the only party that could lead the country on to the path of progress and development and to make a positive impact on Ghanaians. She was confident of winning the upcoming congress, since she was a grass-roots person, adding, My track record will win the election for me. Hajia Hamdatu comes from Kumbungu in the Northern Region but was born and bred in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region. She started her political career in 1992 and in 1995, and was the Treasurer for the La Dade Kotopon Constituency and was also a member of the National Youth League of the party up to 2003. Hajia Hamdatu was elected as the National Women's Organiser in 2007 and in 2011, but lost the position and was offered a position as a member of the National Executive Council due to her unwavering commitment to the party. In the same year, she was appointed as the National Women's Organiser again after the resignation of the then National Women Organiser to join the Progressive Peoples' Party (PPP). In 2015, she was elected as the First Vice-Chairperson of the party and in 2019, she was named the acting National Chairperson. The National Delegates Congress shall elect the Flagbearer, National Chairperson and Leader, National Vice-Chairpersons, the General Secretary, the National Treasurer, the National Organiser, and the National Women's Organiser. ---GNA The old Chicago Transit Authority song from 1969, Does anybody really know what time it is, does anybody really care? - how true those words are today in our society, especially the does anybody really care words. The answer to that question is a big NO. Bob Tamasy, a Chattanooga Christian columnist, whom I regularly read, but do not personally know, had an interesting article last week, Where are we going? How will we know when we are there? I am not sure we will ever know, according to national leaders and state leaders. Who is in charge? Who can overrule whom? I hope that most of us know the answer to those two questions, because there is only one in charge - God, and he does overrule. I am not a Christian writer, (a Christian, I am, and I am not afraid to let you know, which scares some of my family members and lots of my friends) or actually much of a writer, period, but I do like to share my thoughts. I want to go back to my start of this piece, does anybody actually care? Does anybody care that almost every product Walmart sells with a Walmart brand name is made in China? NO. Does anybody care about the large number of American corporations (in name only) that oppose Presidents Trump order about foreign visas for workers. YES, and why, because they would then have to hire American citizens, and that my friend, would be a crime, a crime to put American citizens to work, so the answer becomes NO. Does anybody care that Walmart received raves for paying their workers bonus for working during Covid19, when they should be paying them bonus every year with the way Walmart abuses the America public on their lower price points from China? NO. Does anybody care that if school does not start this fall, a projected 25 percent of the students or more in low income and ethnic areas will never again attend a school? NO. Does anybody care that both political parties are sending out thousands of emails, letters asking for donations when millions of American citizens are out of work? NO. Does anybody care that you cannot trust anything you read in the paper, especially the New York Times, Washington Post, Chattanooga Times and others? NO. Does anybody care that you cannot sing in churches? NO. Does anybody care that thousands of American citizens live in inhumane conditions on a daily basis (I am not speaking about the homeless) and the pay a landlord to live in those conditions because they have no other choice? NO. (Unfortunately, they are paying to be slaves, in most cases, to so-called important people in the community and even community leaders?) Does anybody really care to hear the Truth? NO. Does anyone care that the national suicide rate has risen dramatically during Covid19 because of becoming shut ins? NO. Does anybody care about the radical groups that have formed in this country and the support for them from some of Americas largest corporations? NO. (In fact we endorse it.) Does anybody really care about anything? NO. And in closing, do I care if I offended anyone NO, NO, not ever. Douglas Smith Chinese Virologist Says Beijing Covered Up Virus Outbreak, Seeks Asylum in US: Report A Hong Kong virologist has revealed that she was looking into the CCP virus back in December 2019, and was allegedly told by a Chinese official about the virus risk of human-to-human transmission on Dec. 31well before this was publicly confirmed by the regime and the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Yan Li-Meng, in an interview with Fox News published on July 10, said she was told by her supervisor at Hong Kong Universitys School of Public Health to study the SARS-like virus coming out of the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last December. Unable to obtain information from Chinese authorities, Yan said she turned to a friend, a scientist at the Chinese regimes Center for Disease Control and Prevention who had first-hand knowledge of the outbreak. The friend told her that the disease could spread between humans on Dec. 31. The regime officially reported the outbreak that day, but did not confirm human-to-human transmission until Jan. 21 after weeks of initially claiming there was little or no evidence of this occurring. Yan fled to the United States in April and has sought asylum, fearing punishment if she were to return to Hong Kong. The reason I came to the U.S. is because I deliver the message of the truth of COVID, Yan told Fox News. The scientists claims add to mounting evidence showing that Beijing was aware of the severity of the initial outbreak and covered it up. By the time it acknowledged human-to-human transmission and locked down Wuhan, five million residents had left the city, seeding the virus across China and around the world. Yan said when she reported her findings of the outbreaks severity to her supervisor in mid-January, she was told to keep silent, and be careful. As he warned me before, dont touch the red line,' Yan told Fox News. We will get in trouble and well be disappeared. Numerous leaked internal documents obtained by The Epoch Times reveal that authorities have consistently underreported the number of CCP virus cases in various regions across China, even as fresh outbreaks emerged in recent months in northeastern China and the countrys capital Beijing. The WHO, which has repeatedly praised the regime for its transparency amid the pandemic, recently corrected its official account of how it was informed of Chinas initial outbreak. Previously, the bodys official timeline said Chinese health authorities notified it of the disease on Dec. 31, but this was changed to say that its office in China picked up a media statement by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission from their website on cases of so-called viral pneumonia in the Chinese city. Last week, the United States filed a notice to officially withdraw from the WHO over its role in aiding the regimes coverup of the pandemic. The United Nations body has started the process of investigating the origins of the outbreak. This article, Japan's theme parks ban screaming on roller coasters due to coronavirus, originally appeared on CNET.com. This may be one of the biggest challenges of the coronavirus outbreak, much more difficult for most people than strapping on a face mask. Japan's theme-park associations are telling roller-coaster riders not to scream, The Wall Street Journal reports, because those delighted, terrified utterances release all kinds of possibly infected droplets. A four-minute video shows two executives from the Fuji-Q Highland amusement park, Daisuke Iwata and Koichiro Horiuchi, formally clad and properly masked, riding the park's Fujiyama coaster, which revs up to 80 miles per hour (128 kilometers per hour). They're a lesson in calm. One adjusts his hair and mask. Their hands clench the safety bars tightly. Their bodies shake back and forth, as they take deep drops and tight turns that send them sideways. But from beginning to end, they're as quiet as sleeping kittens. The video ends with a pretty laughable message: "Please scream inside your heart." The science may make sense, but also, ha ha ha ha ha, good luck with that. Stomach-dropping terror respects no health guidelines. And riders who spoke to the newspaper said they might try to comply, but they aren't too worried if they end up shrieking. We're all riding an emotional roller coaster these days, anyway. The screaming ban is voluntary and riders won't be punished, the Journal article reports. A decorated Green Beret described as the real 'Captain America' by his friends died by suicide in front of his wife on Monday. Master Sgt. Andrew Christian Marckesano, 34, served six full tours in Afghanistan and a half dozen more combat tours overseas before recently moving to Washington D.C. to started a coveted new job at the Pentagon, Fox News reports. He returned home to Alexandria, Virginia, on July 6 after having dinner with his former battalion leader and then took his own life. Marckesano had three young children. Scroll down for video Master Sgt. Andrew Christian Marckesano, 34, died by suicide on Monday in front of his wife Marckesano's friends described him as Captain America. The decorated Green Beret had served six full tours in Afghanistan and a half dozen more combat tours overseas before recently moving to Washington D.C. to started a coveted new job at the Pentagon The young father had served with the 82nd Airborne and the Ranger regiment in Afghanistan and rose to become a decorated Green Beret and a Silver Star recipient. He was still on active duty. Marckesano's suicide was the 30th from the 2nd Battalion - 508th parachute infantry regiment, which had the highest casualty rates of any unit during the Afghanistan war. His friends told Fox that the soldier has never recovered from his tour with them in Afghanistan's Arghandab Valley in 2009. At the time the region was considered the most dangerous on earth, with the Taliban everywhere. A Foreign Policy report from 2010 described it as the place 'where Americans die'. 'That deployment was like being in the ring with Mike Tyson for a year,' the battalion's former Command Sgt Major Bert Puckett said. In 2009, the eighth year of the war, the 82nd Airborne Division deployed to Afghanistan to boost the number of U.S. troops., taking over Regional Command East from the 101st Airborne Division. It was America's third most deadly year of the war with 310 U.S. casualties. By the end of the year, Obama had send 30,000 more troops to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In December, the 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment were sent to the Arghandab Valley to support Operation Enduring Freedom, the official name given by the U.S. government to the war against terror. They were replacing the 1-17th Infantry Regiment after they encountered heavy losses due to large IED strikes and small arms encounters. Twenty-two out of 800 were killed that summer. The aim of the command was listed as a 'mission is to bring development, governance and security to Afghanistan and ultimately to deny terrorists safe haven to launch attacks against the United States and its allies'. Marckesano is the 30th suicide from the 2nd Battalion - 508th parachute infantry regiment In 2009, Marckesano (pictured right) toured through Afghanistan's Arghandab Valley with the 2nd Battalion - 508th parachute infantry regiment. His friends say that he never fully recovered from the tour in what was then considered the most dangerous place on earth Afghanistan's Arghandab Valley which 2009 was considered one of the most dangerous places in the world as American soldiers attempted to root out the Taliban The Arghandab river valley was considered critical to an upcoming NATO and U.S. battle in Kandahar city to the southeast, as insurgents there were able to slip into the city using the valley's fertile grape and pomegranate fields for cover. The area became known to commanders as 'the triangle' because of the extent to which the farmlands could be used or cover and concealment. 'We were going out on patrols and finding or hitting IEDs almost every single day,' Lukas Collum, who was a corporal during this deployment, told WUNC. 'That deployment I saw a lot of my friends come back missing legs, one of my really good friends missing an arm.' Collum said that there deemed to improvised bombs everywhere as they tied to make their way through the deadly orchards in the valley. 'When you first get there, you're there to take on the world,' he said. 'Six months in, you're just ready for it to be over, one way or another.' Puckett urged others who served in the battalion to get in touch if needed. 'Text me, I told you before my door is open... my phone is at hand,' Puckett said. 'We did things that people make movies about and in some cases, writers and producers wouldn't even try to write our story... the rucksack is heavy... and when it gets heavy we f*****g help each other, but you have to reach out... Don't let the Valley win.' Pictured, members of the 82nd Airborne Division's 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the Arghandab valley in Afghanistan where Marckesano served in 2009 Marckesano's death comes as concerns are raised about the effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on mental health resources for former combat troops. Currently, about 20 veterans die by suicide each day, about 1.5 times higher than those who have not served in the military. The government says about 14 of those 20 were not under VA care, pointing to a need for improved outreach. White House officials expressed concern about an even greater risk of suicide because of economic strain and isolation stemming from social distancing restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. On June 17, President Donald Trump released a long-awaited plan to address the persistently high number of suicides by veterans, with initiatives including firearm safety, wellness programs at workplaces and new barriers near railroads and bridges. As part of the $53 million, two-year effort, a public messaging campaign is launching that intends to raise awareness about suicide at a time of increased social distancing and isolation during a pandemic. The plan also awards grants to community programs outside the Department of Veterans Affairs, building on Trump's expansion of the private-sector Veterans Choice health program. 'My administration is marshaling every resource to stop the crisis of veterans suicide and protect our nations most treasured heroes,' Trump said at a White House event. He said he looked forward 'to big, big progress very, very fast'. President Donald Trump speaks about the PREVENTS 'President's Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide' task force on June 17 When announcing the plan he was joined by the wife of Staff Sgt Allen Thomas, who had served in the same battalion as Marckesano. Thomas died by suicide in 2013 after shooting two of his neighbors and their dog before turning the gun on himself. The three-time combat tour infantryman suffered with PTSD after a suicide bomber detonated and ripped through his body. He medically retired but in September 2013, asked his wife Danica to take him to the Fayetteville VA Emergency Room for a psychiatric evaluation. With no beds available, he was sent home with a prescription for painkillers. Days later Thomas suffered a mental breakdown, killing Ann Awaldt, 68, and her husband Todd. 'Eyewitnesses said Allens last words were "I got it. I cleared the house". We think at the time Allen thought he was back in Afghanistan,' his wife told Fox. 'But in body, Allen was in our residential neighborhood in Fayetteville. He thought he was taking out the enemy, but instead, it was two innocent neighbors and their dog. 'We believe he came back to the here and now and realized what happened. Then, he fell to his knees and turned the gun on himself. I heard the crack of the gunshot from across the neighborhood. 'He did everything right; he wasnt too proud to ask for help, and he asked for it. But the VA was too broken to provide it. And because of that, three lives were lost just days after he asked for help.' Staff Sgt Allen Thomas had served in the same battalion. He died by suicide in 2013 after shooting two of his neighbors before killing himself. He suffered from PTSD Thomas asked for help just days before his suicide but was turned away and given painkillers Since Thomas' death, Veteran Affairs has changed its policy allowing veterans to seek private-sector care, at the VAs expense, if the VA cant provide timely care directly to the veteran. Trump established a federal task force last year to develop a way to lower veterans' suicides. It was unclear, however, how much of the plan could result in immediate concrete action, especially in a presidential election year. Much of the effort will need congressional action, as well as cooperation from governors and local groups juggling priorities of public safety and health in a pandemic. Veterans' groups and some lawmakers said Trump's plan doesn't go far enough. Jeremy Butler, the CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, applauded the effort but said he was disappointed by a lack of direct action to address root causes, such as fixing barriers to education and jobs, improving housing opportunities and expanding access to health care. 'All these are things are stressors that exacerbate mental health conditions and lead to a point of crisis,' he said. Officials say the public awareness campaign will be similar in scope to those against drunken driving and will focus on dispelling myths, such as it being dangerous to talk openly about issues of mental health and suicide. Colaiste Bhride student Cora Tyrrell scooped first place in the senior Bishop's Medal Essay Writing Competition during lockdown. This year, the competition, organised by Bishop Michael Burrows from the United Dioceses of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory, saw students complete it online under exam conditions. The titles provided students with a great variety of genres and topics, which reflected several contemporary issues, with some asked to write their own manifesto, addressing national issues and indicating how Christian values may be of help in finding solutions. Other options included an essay on Covid-19, and what humanity must learn for the future from the unexpected crisis. Overall, there was great scope for the students to express their views, creativity and opinions. Cora's short story began with the following words: 'As I boarded the plane in Dublin, I wanted to escape the beliefs and traditions which I felt had suffocated my youth ...' and she decided to tackle the issue of gender in her essay, creating a transgender woman as the main protagonist. Cora explained that she tried to get into the mind of the woman to capture the protagonist's life through a collection of flashbacks and vibrant memories, with the message of equality, respect and acceptance. 'I felt it would be interesting to delve into the ambiguous morality of the protagonists' parents, as even though they showed immense kindness to the people in their church and community it seemed that they did not have the same unconditional love to show their children.' Cora was presented with the coveted Bishop's Medal for her essay writing achievement. New Delhi, July 11 : Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi again trained his guns at the Prime Minister over the PM-CARES Fund saying why Narendra Modi was not sharing details when everyone knew which Chinese companies donated to it. "Why is the PM so scared of disclosing the names of those who donated money to him for PMCares? Everyone knows Chinese companies Huawei, Xiaomi, TikTok and OnePlus gave money. Why doesn't he share the details?" he tweeted. His remarks came after the Public Accounts Committee, one of the most important parliamentary panels that scrutinises key reports by the auditor general and has taken up issues, like the 2G spectrum scam, in the past, failed to arrive at a consensus on Friday on examining the government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic or the PM-CARES Fund, set up to tackle the crisis. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which enjoys a majority in the panel led by senior leader Bhupender Yadav, blocked Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's attempt to name the PM-CARES Fund for examination, saying its funding was not sanctioned by Parliament and therefore it couldn't be taken up by the committee. The Congress has also been critical of the BJP over the handling of border faceoff with China in Ladakh. Thumbs down. Federal officials have denied a state request to allow Brooke Army Medical Center to expand its care of COVID-19 patients beyond military personnel, dependents and retirees, the Pentagon said Friday. The famed hospital on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston is not allowed to take other civilians sickened by the coronavirus, even as Army medical teams have arrived in San Antonio to help at other facilities. It also did not admit patients from China and two cruise ships who turned up positive and ill while in quarantine early this year on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. The number hospitalized with the disease reached 1,240 on Friday in other San Antonio hospitals, including 416 in intensive care, having climbed almost every day for weeks. Only 10 percent of staffed beds remained available as the weekend began. The decision was made by an organization that reports to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Emergency Support Function-8 council, as it is called, evaluated the request and rejected it, said Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell, a Defense Department spokesman. No reason was given. The request never made it to the Department of Defense, Mitchell said. On ExpressNews.com: As San Antonio hospitals near capacity, BAMC sits out COVID crisis Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff expressed concerns this week about BAMC not taking COVID-19 patients amid a surging local caseload. Neither had been told about the federal councils decision, nor had the Texas Division of Emergency Management, which last month asked the Pentagon through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to allow civilian COVID patient care at BAMC. The decision didnt surprise Wolff. Some of us expected it to be that way because of the experience we had when asking for the China and cruise ship evacuees who had been brought to and housed in San Antonio by the military be treated at BAMC when necessary, he said. We didnt get an answer to that one, Wolff said. At least we got an answer to this one, so we know that we cant count on that. So thats important for us to be able to plan our strategy. Nirenberg declined comment. He and other local officials have been careful not to blame BAMC commanders for a longstanding Pentagon policy. Eric Epley, the executive director of the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council, which oversees regional health care emergency planning, had suggested last week the hospitals command staff were supportive of the request and would be anxious to help if they could. An exception to the policy has existed since 1995 that allows the Army hospital to take civilian trauma patients at its emergency room. BAMC has been a major Level 1 trauma facility for 22 counties, caring for people injured in automobile collisions, shootings and oilfield accidents. It has taken more of those patients lately, said Mitchell, the Defense Department spokesman, easing the caseload at University Hospital, the citys only other Level I trauma center, to ensure the regions trauma response remains unaffected by the pandemic. BAMC typically has staffing to care for about 300 inpatients and currently has about 250, a spokesman there said this week, but its intensive care unit had only five vacancies out of 50 staffed slots. Mitchell said BAMC has expanded its intake of a limited number of non-Defense Department critical-care patients, who now include those fighting COVID-19, who need the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, called ECMO, on a space-available basis. ECMO is a heart-lung bypass system that circulates blood through an external artificial lung, oxygenates it, and delivers it back into the bloodstream. That is allowed under the current Pentagon policy. Defense Department medical facilities also are accepting some dual-status veteran-civilian patients from surrounding communities. All of these existing arrangements directly contribute to reducing the healthcare burden for civilian hospitals in Texas, Mitchell said. University Hospital continues to take trauma patients. A spokeswoman for the hospital, Elizabeth Allen, said BAMC is taking all of the trauma patients handled by STRACs regional communications center called MedComm which assigns patients to facilities based on space and the severity of injuries. We are still getting EMS trauma patients, but this shift of MedComm patients is enormously helpful, she said. We are very fortunate to have this one-of-a-kind military-civilian partnership in our community. BAMC is the Defense Departments sole Level-1 trauma center and is home to its only burn treatment facility as well. The trauma services agreement has been renewed every three years, with BAMC caring for about 4,500 patients a year, about 15 percent of its annual patient volume. A separate Secretary of the Army Designee program, which authorizes emergency healthcare for non-DOD personnel, has been in place since 2010. On ExpressNews.com: At BAMC, trauma team aces states first successful arm replant The Pentagon and state leaders have sent in hundreds of nurses to help create additional bed space at civilian hospitals. The Army this week sent an 85-strong Urban Area Medical Task Force from Fort Carson, Colo., that included 33 nurses and six respiratory specialists. The state provided 250 nurses, with more to come. Wolff was upbeat Friday about the nursing support over the past few days, calling it very beneficial. Another 200 nurses are due to arrive in San Antonio on Saturday, he said, noting that some assistance went to Eagle Pass and Del Rio. Were getting a lot of help through the state and some through DOD, so this is going to create more beds for us, staffed beds, so thats a very positive piece of that story, Wolff said. Sig Christenson covers the military and its impact in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Sig, become a subscriber. sigc@express-news.net | Twitter: @saddamscribe A British pilot who was Vietnam's most critical Covid-19 patient was discharged from a hospital on Saturday and will now return home to Scotland. Stephen Cameron, 42, was taken by ambulance from Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to the city's airport. He was scheduled to take a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, where he will depart on a flight to London, with a stop in Frankfurt. He is scheduled to land in London on Sunday morning. Vietnam has gone all out to save Mr Cameron, who was working for national carrier Vietnam Airlines when he tested positive for the coronavirus in March. The pilot had been critically ill and spent 65 days on life support. 'I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of the Vietnamese people, the dedication and professionalism of the doctors and nurses working' at Cho Ray Hospital, Mr Cameron said Saturday morning in a video released by the hospital, where he was last treated. Vietnam has reported 370 coronavirus cases. It has not found a local transmitted infection in nearly three months. A British pilot who was Vietnam's most critical COVID-19 patient is carried on a stretcher in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, Saturday, July 11, 2020. Mr Cameron was discharged from a hospital on Saturday, less than a week after doctors said he was virus-free and healthy enough to return home to Scotland After the meeting, Mr Cameron was handed a certificate stating that he is virus-free and healthy enough to travel on a long-haul flight 'I can only thank everybody here for things that they have done,' Mr Cameron said as he was sitting in a wheelchair next to a group of doctors. 'I'm going home with a happy heart because I'm going home, but it is sad that I'm leaving so many people here that I'm friends with.' The pilot is known in Vietnam as 'Patient 91,' as he was the 91st person in the country confirmed to have the coronavirus. He was Vietnam's last patient in the ICU, and his recovery means the country still has not had any Covid-19 deaths. 'The patient's recovery has been like a very long flight,' Dr. Tran Thanh Linh, the deputy head of the ICU ward at Cho Ray Hospital, said during a meeting between hospital officials, the British Consulate and Vietnam Airlines representatives just before the discharge. 'But he made it,' Linh said. 'All of the health workers are overwhelmed with joy to see him fully recovered and being discharged from the hospital today.' Vietnam has gone all out to save Mr Cameron, who was working for national carrier Vietnam Airlines when he tested positive for the coronavirus in March In this photo provided by Cho Ray Hospital, a doctor attends to Mr Cameron, a British pilot who survived COVID-19 and seated on a wheelchair as he was recovering at Cho Ray hospital on June 11, 2020 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam After the meeting, Mr Cameron was handed a certificate stating that he is virus-free and healthy enough to travel on a long-haul flight. The pilot was scheduled to be flown on one of Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787s - the same aircraft he used to pilot when he was flying for the carrier. 'We want to make him happy, to make him feel like coming back to his second home on the aircraft,' said Luu Hoang Minh, deputy head of Vietnam Airlines flight crew Division 919, where the man used to work. 'Its going to be a long night tonight, but he will have his colleagues with him on the flight. He will feel like being a pilot again,' Minh said. The pilot had been so sick with COVID-19 that doctors said at one point they considered a lung transplant, with the mans lungs 90 per cent damaged and nonfunctional. On Monday, a group of doctors who had been overseeing Mr Cameron's treatment announced that he 'has made substantial progress and his health condition allows him to travel' to London. The man is virus-free, breathes normally without any support and is no longer treated as a COVID-19 patient, Dr. Linh said. All recent cases are people who were infected abroad, and the patients were placed in the governments centralized quarantine facilities upon their arrival in Vietnam. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Martinne Geller (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Sat, July 11, 2020 14:05 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40665924fb 2 Lifestyle skin-whitening,Cosmetics,beauty,mercury-contamination,Unilever,dark-skin,Zero-Mercury-Working-Group,marketplace,Lazada,Alibaba Free Skin-whitening creams identified as containing potentially dangerous levels of mercury continue to be sold online more than seven months after a watchdog group raised the alarm, including on platforms run by eBay, Amazon.com and Alibaba, a Reuters review of the sites shows. The findings come at a time when skin lightening, a multi-billion dollar industry especially popular in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, is under renewed criticism for promoting light skin as a beauty ideal. Many countries ban or restrict mercury in creams, which can damage the kidneys, brain and nervous system. An international ban on manufacturing products with mercury in them comes into effect at end-2020. The Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG), an international coalition of non-governmental organizations, issued a report last November that found unacceptable levels of mercury in 95 skin-lightening creams out of 158 samples tested. The tests looked for concentrations of mercury above 1 part per million, the level set in a 2017 global treaty, and found levels ranging from 1.9 to 131,000 ppm. Reuters didn't independently confirm the levels of mercury found in the brands cited by ZMWG. The samples were sold under more than 20 brand names, mostly by smaller manufacturers in developing countries that had been flagged by governments or in previous testing. Major global brands from the likes of Unilever , L'Oreal and Procter & Gamble were not flagged and were not included. ZMWG bought more than two-thirds of the creams online, including on Flipkart, majority-owned by Walmart; South Africa's Bidorbuy; Nigeria's Jumia; and Lazada and Daraz, which are both part of the Alibaba Group and operate in Southeast and South Asia, respectively, as well as on Amazon and eBay, the coalition said. One month after its report came out, ZMWG said that eBay, Lazada and Daraz had pledged to remove its high-mercury product listings but had not done so, while Amazon removed products from its US and EU platforms, but not in India. Reuters checks in late June showed at least 19 listings of the products on different country sites run by all seven e-commerce platforms, however. Read also: Fair and unlovely: India confronts dark-skin bias After Reuters raised the issue, the platforms scrapped most of the specific listings or promised to do so. But as of July 10, brands cited by ZMWG continued to pop up, including on Daraz, Amazon, and eBay. Goree Cosmetics in Pakistan and Bangkok-based Smilephan, two companies whose name brand products were available on several sites and showed high mercury levels, told Reuters they do not use mercury and warned about counterfeits. Smilephan shared with Reuters an ingredient list, test reports from 2019 and 2011 showing no mercury in samples, and copies of certifications it said attest to regular audits. "We strongly believe those are not our original products," said Songkiat Kulwuthivilas, Smilephan's assistant managing director. The company no longer sells its Pop Popular brand in Africa because of the excess of counterfeits, he said. EBay said it would sweep its sites to remove listings and update surveillance filters imposed in December that had already blocked 250 listings. "We comply with local restrictions and also we have a long history of partnering with rights owners, industry groups and law enforcement," eBay spokeswoman Ashley Settle said. Daraz told Reuters it would to take "necessary action" if the listings were found to violate its policies or harm customers. An Amazon spokeswoman in India said the company was investigating, but that on its 'marketplace,' responsibility rests solely with the seller. A California judge in 2019 ruled that Amazon was immune from liability for third-party sellers in a case involving warnings about mercury in skin-lightening creams. "Most people buying on Amazon have no idea that Amazon isn't anything like walking down to your grocery store," said food safety lawyer Bill Marler. After meeting on Too Hot to Handle, Harry Jowsey and Francesca Farago continued dating. However, the long-distance and coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic proved too much for the young couple, and they parted ways. When they first began dating, the two got matching tattoos on their fingers. A month after they split, Jowsey recorded himself getting the tattoo removed. Francesca Farago and Harry Jowsey on Too Hot to Handle | Netflix Harry Jowsey and Francesca Farago met while filming Too Hot to Handle In March 2019, Australian-native Harry Jowsey and Canadian model Francesca Farago almost immediately fell for one another when they arrived at the villa. The couple couldnt keep their hands off each other and cost the house over $20,000. However, they earned the majority of the money back by spending the night together in the private suite without touching. Two weeks after filming wrapped, the Australian-native visited the model in her hometown of Vancouver, Canada, where he met her family. RELATED: Too Hot to Handle: Fans Are Convinced Francesca Farago and Harry Jowsey Broke the Rules on the Final Night The two then spent time in Australia, where they took care of farm animals and visited a wildlife sanctuary. They continued a long-distance relationship until they broke up a few months later in early 2020. Sometime before the show premiered in April 2020, they reconciled and planned to move to Los Angeles. However, they split up for good a couple of months later. Harry Jowsey and Francesca Farago broke up last month The upset Vancouver model uploaded a YouTube video in June 2020, announcing she and Jowsey were no longer dating. According to her, he ended the relationship due to the long distance. She claimed she visited him in LA while they were on a break and thought things would be fine once he saw her. However, he broke up with her instead. The Vancouver model also implied that Jowsey wasnt faithful in the relationship and admitted she felt played by him. RELATED: Too Hot to Handle: Harry Jowsey Reveals He and Francesca Farago Had a Massive Breakup Before Reuniting After she posted her video, the Australian-native broadcasted live on his Instagram and explained that nothing bad happened between them that led to the split. Instead, he simply fell out of love. Jowsey also promised his ex that she could still call him and use his Netflix account. Harry Jowsey removed he and Francesca Faragos matching tattoo A few weeks after Too Hot to Handle debuted, Jowsey and Farago announced they were still dating by posting videos detailing their time together after the show ended. In their videos, the two stated they were officially dating and called each other boyfriend and girlfriend. He also referred to the Vancouver model as the love of my life. Additionally, they documented their experience getting matching lightning bolt tattoos on the inside of their fingers. @harryjowsey We went through all of that to be strangers again Throw It Away Trippie Redd RELATED: Too Hot to Handle: Francesca Farago and Harry Jowsey Got Matching Tattoos A month after the two announced their breakup, Jowsey recorded himself getting the tattoo removed and uploaded it to TikTok. He captioned the video, We went through all of that to be strangers again, and selected Trippie Redds Throw it Away for the music. The clip has accumulated over 10 million views, the most since his May 2020 Couples Challenge with Farago. The Vancouver model seemingly still has her tattoo. Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, key accused in the gold smuggling case, were arrested by the National Investigation Agency from Bengaluru on Saturday, official sources said Kochi. IMAGE: Police charges Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha members who were protesting over Kerala gold smuggling case, in front of the Collectorate in Kozhikode, on Friday. Photograph: PTI Photo Swapna is among the four accused booked by the NIA in the smuggling of 30 kg of gold through diplomatic baggage which arrived at the Thiruvanathapuram International airport. Swapna,Sarith and Sandeep Nair of Thiruvananthapuram and Fazil Fareed of Ernakulam have been listed in the smuggling case as accused. The central agencies including the NIA and the Customs had opposed her anticipatory bail plea in the Kerala high court. Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the coronavirus pandemic is the worst economic and health crisis in the last 100 years. Speaking at the 7th SBI Banking & Economics Conclave on Saturday, Das said the pandemic dented the existing world order. "COVID-19 is the worst health and economic crisis in the last 100 years with unprecedented negative consequences for output, jobs and well being. It dented the existing world order, global value chains, labour and capital movements across the globe. The pandemic perhaps represents so far the biggest test of robustness and resilience of our economic and financial system," he said. Das said that from February 2019 onward RBI had cut 135 basis points repo rate till the onset of coronavirus. "That was done mainly to tackle the slowdown in growth which was visible at that time and we had elaborately touched upon it in our MPC Resolutions," he said. The RBI Governor said, "The lagged impact of these measures was about to propel a cyclical turnaround in economic activity when COVID-19 brought with it calamities, miseries, endangering of lives and livelihood of people." The Governor said that the topmost priority for the RBI is growth and financial stability. "The RBI has taken several measures to protect our financial system, and support the economy in the current crisis. The Indian economy has started showing signs of going back to normalcy after the easing of restrictions... Building buffers and raising capital is crucial to ensure credit flows and build resilience in the financial system," he added. Governor Das also spoke about the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank crisis and said that the RBI is working with the stakeholders of the PMC Bank. Also read: RBI grants substantial voting rights to SBI in YES Bank Britains first official red light district should stay, a report has found. An independent review of the scheme in Holbeck, Leeds, said there was no better option to tackle positively the problems caused by on-street sex working. The scheme is costing taxpayers 200,000 a year and has angered residents. Started in 2014, its so-called managed approach means police no longer issue cautions or make arrests between 8pm to 6am for loitering, soliciting or kerb-crawling offences. An independent review of the scheme in Holbeck, Leeds, said there was no better option to tackle positively the problems caused by on-street sex working [File photo] Leeds council commissioned the University of Huddersfield to review the policy. The report, published yesterday, concluded: There is currently no alternative approach that promises to be more effective and which fits within existing laws. But Save Our Eyes, a residents campaign group, said the review had not taken seriously the frequent threats to residents from prostituted women, pimps and kerb crawlers. A spokesman for the group added that many residents were furious with the report and one woman whose 12-year-old daughter witnessed a rape was too angry to even talk about it. The managed approach rules apply to a specific area in Holbeck, which is predominantly used by light industry, retail and small businesses, but the prostitution problem has spread to residential streets in the surrounding area. The reports recommendations will now be discussed by the council. Councillor Debra Coupar said the residents concerns cannot and will not be ignored by us. Sure, it might be warm Wednesday, but what about the rest of the week? Agra, July 11 : Contrary to views expressed by human rights groups and the opposition leaders, the general public here has expressed a sense of relief at the encounter of the dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey who killed 8 policemen in Kanpur on July 3. While the common man is happy and relieved, the experts and the anti-Yogi elements are at pains to point out the legal flaws and violation of human rights, social activist Shravan Kumar Singh said. Meanwhile, the police has tightened the noose and using the three-day lockdown, mounted a full throttled campaign to nab the history sheeters in the districts of Agra zone. Reports suggest there have been a few encounters already. A large number of criminals have been arrested in Mainpuri, Etah, Firozabad. The pressure is so much that a number of wanted criminals are now surrendering to avoid being encountered, a lawyer claimed. In the past couple of days, the special teams of cops have gone all out to book the wanted criminals who had fled to other districts or crossed borders. The Vikas Dubey encounter is a signal for the law enforcing machinery to bring to books the history sheeters in all Thana areas. The state government has asked for update and directed fresh lists be prepared to identify the big sharks. After the lockdown was lifted on June 1, there was a discernible spurt in the crime rate. From murders to ATM-cracking, burglaries and road hold-ups, it appeared that the criminals were using the freedom to catch up the backlog. Clearly, the Vikas Dubey encounter is a message. "We expect a big round up of criminals and anti social elements in the coming days, as the cops are trying to refurbish their image and are also under pressure from the Yogi government to show results," activist Pandit Jugal Kishor observed. Really, till you streamline your justice dispensation system and start giving prompt treatment in such criminal cases, encountering criminals seems the only way to instil fear, home maker Padmini reacted. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A special court constituted to try cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, rejected the bail plea of a man (50), who is accused of raping his minor daughter (16). The court refused the bail even after the victim, who is the complainant in the case, and the mother sought to withdraw the complaint against the accused, who was arrested on January 20 by Antop Hill police station authorities. The accused allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulted his daughter between 2015 and January 2020, when his wife was away at their native place. The incident came to light after the minor victim broke down before her friend and revealed about the sexual assault. Then, her friend contacted the victims mother and informed her about the incident. Soon, the victim filed a complaint with Antop Hill police station in Mumbai. The accused, in his bail plea, contended that the daughter had filed a false case, as he had refused to let her go out of the house frequently. The prosecution objected to the plea, citing it as a heinous offence. The court also considered the medical evidence collected by the police during the investigation that supported the contentions of rape of the minor. The medical evidence shows the direct involvement of the accused. The offence of rape is on the minor. It is an offence against the state and society. The submission that the mother and the victim want to withdraw the complaint, as allegations are not true, is rejected, observed the special court while rejecting the accuseds bail plea. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON New Delhi, July 11 : The chorus in the Congress to make Rahul Gandhi the party President again has grown louder, days after the matter was raised by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the CWC meet. In the virtual meeting of party MPs on Saturday, the matter dominated the meet even as Rahul Gandhi kept quiet during the discussion. Party MPs Gaurav Gogoi, who is close to Gandhi, and Manickam Tagore asked the party leadership to make Rahul Gandhi President to lead the party in the tough times, sources said. Gehlot had, at the Congress Working Committee meet in June, made a demand for Rahul Gandhi's return to head the party. Ahead of Saturday's meeting, veteran Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh asserted that the party leadership must take up the challenge of building the party organisation under the "dynamic" leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, saying both have the guts and courage to take on the duo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. "The Congress leadership must take up the challenge of building the party organisation brick by brick. This is where we need the dynamism of Rahul ji and Priyanka ji. I am sure both of them have the guts and courage to take on Modi-Shah twins," he said in a series of tweets. But Rahul Gandhi had indicated that he may not return to the post anytime soon. "You, please read my letter that I wrote one year ago on that issue," he said last month in response to a question on the topic. Rahul Gandhi had resigned as party chief after Congress was again decimated in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Priceless paintings and manuscripts from India gathered as gifts and other acquisitions during centuries of British engagement will be on display at a unique exhibition in Edinburgh from July 23 to January 21, the Royal Collection Trust said on Friday. Held in the Royal Library in Windsor Castle, the Royal Collection contains one of the finest south Asian paintings and manuscripts in the world, including the Mughal era Padshahnama, Tipu Sultans Quran and the story of Prahlada from the Bhagavata Purana, 177590, by the Nainsukh family workshop. Most of the items will be on display for the first time in Scotland in the Queens Gallery in the Palace of Holyroodhouse in the exhibition titled Eastern Encounters: Four Centuries of Paintings and Manuscripts from the Indian Subcontinent. Tracing more than 400 years of literary and artistic output, the exhibition offers new insights into the shared history of the British monarchy and the Indian sub-continent, the trust said. The items include those from the beginning of the British engagement with India, with the formation of the East India Company in 1600. The 17th century was a period of instability for the British monarchy, but in south Asia the Mughal empire was at its zenith, richer and stronger than any European power, the trust noted. It said: The extraordinary splendour of the Mughal court was captured by artists in intricate paintings and manuscripts. George III was given a number of these magnificent works, forming one of the greatest collections of South Asian works on paper outside the subcontinent. In 1798, Lord Teignmouth, Governor-General of India, presented the King with six volumes as gifts from the Nawab of Awadh. Among these was the mid-17th-century Padshahnama (Book of Emperors), an illustrated chronicle commissioned by the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah-Jahan as a celebration of his reign and dynasty, described by Teignmouth as the most splendid Mughal manuscript he ever saw. The rise of the East India Company was reflected in the gifts of manuscripts presented to successive British monarchs on behalf of the company and by company officers. Detailed architectural drawings were commissioned from local draughtsmen by Colin MacKenzie, the Scottish Surveyor-General of the Company. A pen and ink drawing from 1800 shows an elevation of the temple at Srirangam, one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage sites in India. The collection includes a posthumous portrait of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the Punjab, 1842, was sent to Queen Victoria by his successor, Sher Singh, in an unusual jewel-encrusted gold frame with a letter of belated congratulations on her marriage and the birth of her first son. It will be displayed in the exhibition alongside a sketch of his son, Maharaja Duleep Singh, by Queen Victoria. She received many books written about or dedicated to her from India, including a volume of her own published journals, The Queens Travels in Scotland and Ireland, translated into Hindi by the Maharajah of Benares. During Queen Marys visit to India in the early 20th century, she acquired numerous works of art, including Queen Tissarakshita, 1911, by Abanindranath Tagore, founder of the Bengal School of Art, and several Pahari paintings, which will also be on display. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON 4 Christian aid workers freed in Iraq after abduction 2 months ago Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Four Christian aid workers who were kidnapped in Iraq in January have been freed, according to the office of French President Emmanuel Macron. Those released are French nationals Antoine Brochon, Julien Dittmar, Alexandre Goodarzy and Iraqi national Tariq Madoka. All of them served with the French-based Catholic nongovernmental organization SOS Chretiens d'Orient (Christians in the Middle East). The charity served in Iraq since 2014 to help Christian communities rebuild in the wake of the Islamic State's reign of terror that displaced thousands from their homes. A statement released by Macrons office Friday only confirmed the captives were released but offered very few details on the conditions of their release except to say that Elysee Palace made "every effort to reach this outcome. "The president of the republic welcomes the release of our three nationals Antoine Brochon, Julien Dittmar, Alexandre Goodarzy and Iraqi Tariq Mattoka," the presidents office said in a statement. "The president expresses his gratitude to the Iraqi authorities for their co-operation. The release comes one day after it was announced that the French government would withdraw all troops stationed in Iraq until further notice due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. There are at least over 458 confirmed cases of the virus in Iraq as of Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. Jean-Remi Meneau, the deputy head of mission in Iraq for SOS Chretiens d'Orient, said in a statement that the darling freedom that was taken from his colleagues is finally back. This forced isolation, this withdrawn comfort and this imposed distance end this beautiful evening, Meneau wrote, according to a Google translation. Our Lady of Pontmain had said: But pray my children. God will hear you in no time. Then we prayed as a group, individually, or hidden in public, we prayed and we have been granted. I can't help but keep a thought for all these hostages around the world who have not yet experienced this joy of liberation, and who may never know it, Meneau added. Let us continue to raise our prayers to the Lord for them and their families. The organizations director, Benjamin Blanchard, explained at a news conference in January that the kidnapped workers were in Baghdad to renew their visas and register the association with Iraqi authorities. They were also in the city to inspect the organizations programs and the opening of a new school. According to the BBC, SOS Chretiens d'Orient released a statement last week explaining that no group had claimed responsibility for the abduction and that no demand for ransom was received. International Christian Concern, a United States-based persecution watchdog group, reports that kidnappings have become increasingly commonplace in Iraq. Iraq ranks as the 15th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. The killing and kidnapping of Christians; since 2003 this has occurred in waves, causing feelings of great insecurity, an Open Doors USA country dossier on Iraq reads. These two reasons are among the main causes for Iraqi Christian emigration and for the depletion of the Christian community in Iraq. In Iraq, Christians have faced a drastic decline in their population since the start of the Iraq War in 2003. Christians were further driven out of the country due to the rise of the Islamic State in 2014. The Obama administration was criticized for repeatedly refusing to label the Islamic States atrocities against Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria a "genocide" following two years of mass slaughter and crimes against humanity. At the time, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said they were hesitant to say whether the term "can be properly applied in this scenario," and were concerned about the "legal ramifications" if they did so. A month later, in March 2016, then-Secretary of State John Kerry finally called the Islamic State's terrorist acts in Iraq and Syria a genocide. Although the Islamic State has lost most of its territory in Iraq, Open Doors warns that their ideology remains and has influenced society as militants have simply blended back into the general population. Leaders of 12 Christian organisations on Friday urged the Trump administration to rescind a policy requiring international students in the United States to leave the country or transfer if their colleges hold classes entirely online this semester, saying it falls short of American ideals. In a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, shared with The Associated Press news agency, the leaders wrote that the policy robs our country of the significant contribution international students make to their colleges on both a personal and economic level. It lacks compassion and violates tenets of our faith, the letter continued, citing specific Biblical passages. International students who have already arrived in the United States and who are enrolled in degree programs should be allowed to complete their courses of study in this country without further disruption, the leaders said. This is reasonable, compassionate, and consistent with our national interests. Among the signatories are: National Association of Evangelicals president Walter Kim; Council for Christian Colleges and Universities president Shirley Hoogstra; and Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. A new visa rule would jeopardize the education of nearly one million international students and harm hundreds of colleges and universities, including in Maine. This policy must be rescinded to allow students to retain their visas if they attend classes online due to COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/vGwxA1yvzh Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) July 9, 2020 US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Monday the more than one million international students in the country would not be allowed to take all their classes online this semester. The agency notified colleges that no new visas would be issued to foreign students at schools operating entirely online that term, and those already in the US would be required to transfer or leave the country. Foreign students will be barred from taking all their classes online even if an outbreak prompts their schools to shift classes online, according to the policy. The decision has drawn backlash from universities and education groups who say the rules needlessly put students safety at risk. Many colleges have come to rely on revenue from foreign students, who are typically charged higher tuition rates. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have sued to block the policy, and California became the first state to seek an injunction against it. Kim and Moore previously signed onto a letter in April that asked the Trump administration to consider releasing low-safety-risk immigration detainees, particularly those with a higher risk for the coronavirus, to facilitate social distancing during the pandemic. They, along with several others joining Fridays letter, are part of the Evangelical Immigration Table, a group of Christian leaders advocating for immigration reform. Other signatories of Fridays letter include: the president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a campus ministry; the executive director of the international student ministry at Cru, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ; and the president of World Relief, a Christian humanitarian group. Washington: The White House praising the integrity of FBI Director James Comey, who has announced a review of Hillary Clinton's email scandal just before Presidential elections, is a blow to the Clinton Campaign, the rival Trump camp has said. "Today, the Clinton Campaign took another blow as President (Barack) Obama shot down their desperate politicisation of the FBI's criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton's email scandal," Jason Miller, senior communication advisor to the Trump Campaign, said on Monday. In a late night statement, Miller underscored that the White House spokesman has made it clear that the President does not believe the FBI is "secretly strategising to benefit one candidate or one political party." "It is a sign of the Clinton Campaign's troubling times when even the White House cannot defend their desperate accusations. "They have to take ownership that this is a result of corrupt Hillary having a secret illegal server for the obvious reason of shielding criminal activity from disclosure," he said. "Their reckless and deceitful actions are evidenced by the fact that thousands upon thousands of confidential and classified emails involving Secretary Clinton and her top aide were found on a laptop of a suspect under investigation for sexting with a 17-year-old," Miller said. Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest had described FBI Director Comey as a man of integrity. "He is a man of principle. He is a man who is well regarded by senior officials in both parties. He is somebody who served in a senior position in the Bush Administration," he said. "And he is somebody who got strong bipartisan support when his nomination to be director of the FBI was considered by the United States Senate. So, all of those things are true. They speak to his good character," Earnest said. "And the President's assessment of his integrity and his character has not changed. For example, the President doesn't believe Director Comey is intentionally trying to influence the outcome of an election. The President doesn't believe he's secretly strategising to benefit one candidate or one political party," he said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. President Trump on Friday declared a major disaster for the April 19 tornadoes and storms that hit parts of Alabama, allowing counties that sustained damage to access federal funds. Federal assistance for emergency work to repair or replace facilities damaged by severe storms, winds or tornadoes will be eligible for Barbour, Chilton, Coffee, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Henry, Pike, and Tallapoosa counties through the major disaster declaration. Eight tornadoes touched down in Alabama on April 19, and one person was killed -- Jerry Williams, a 61-year-old father of six, in the Tumbleton area. Gov. Kay Ivey thanked Trump for making federal funds available: Every year, more than 20 million visitors flock to Boston's Faneuil Hall Marketplace, which, after being closed for several months, reopened July 1. But for the first time in its nearly 300-year history, it's largely empty. "There is no foot traffic," business owner Sara Youngelson told ABC News. "It is so far and few between, it's just been really, really tough." For Youngelson, who owns five businesses in the Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market area, the past five months have been some of the most difficult of her 30-year career as a merchant in the historic marketplace Many merchants and shop owners across the Northeast were optimistic that reopening later in the summer could help offset economic damage caused by the pandemic, but with newly instated state travel restrictions affecting tourism, many are no longer as hopeful. PHOTO: Visitors walk outside Faneuil Hall Marketplace, one of Boston's most popular tourist destinations, as it reopens to the public, Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Boston. (Elise Amendola/AP Photo) As novel coronavirus cases surged across the country, Massachusetts and seven other Northeast states -- Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York and New Jersey -- implemented a 14-day self-quarantines, albeit with regulations that varied by state. "Tourism is a major part of our business," Youngelson explained. "We rely on the tour buses, we rely on planes coming in at Logan Airport. We rely on trains, we rely on cruise ships." MORE: Restaurant, food service industry has lost nearly $120B due to pandemic The new restrictions have only further reduced the number of tourists, who, from mid-May through October, help generate most of the revenue for these businesses. There are nearly 150 businesses in Faneuil Hall, mostly small businesses. Many already have closed or are facing a "bleak future," according to Youngelson, who said her sales down 88%, on average, compared with last year. Small businesses have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic, with many forced to lay off employees as bills and rent payments mounted. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research projects that about 2% of U.S. small businesses, approximately 100,000, have permanently closed since the pandemic ramped up in March. Story continues PHOTO: The main street of Bar Harbor, Maine is pictured here. (Danita Delimont/Getty Images/Gallo Images) In New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, travelers from states with high rates of COVID-19 are required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. "As states around the country experience increasing community spread, New York is taking action to ensure the continued safety of our phased reopening," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday. "Our entire response to this pandemic has been by the numbers, and we've set metrics for community spread just as we set metrics for everything." Similarly, although although Maine has lifted its 14-day quarantine requirement for travelers from five states -- New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- people arriving from Massachusetts and Rhode Island still must quarantine upon arrival. MORE: ABC News Exclusive: Harvard Law student sues university over tuition prices as classes remain online Maine typically sees some 22 million summer tourists, who help account for 17% of the state's employment. More than a third of those visitors, especially day-trippers, were from Massachusetts in 2019. Popular destinations such as Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island, for which tourism is "the lifeblood of the economy," are really struggling, said Alf Anderson, executive director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce. "Overall, most seasonal businesses are reporting losses in the neighborhood of 70% to 75% compared to 2019, and are just hoping to be able to hold on and be around for a fresh start in 2021," Anderson told ABC News. PHOTO: Mystic, Connecticut is pictured here. (Stephen Saks/Getty Images/Lonely Planet Image) Not all business owners see eye-to-eye on coronavirus-related safety measures. Joe Minutolo, co-owner of Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop, said that although business has slowed he "respects what the state has come up with." But Jean Ochtera, who co-owns Innat Bay Ledge Inn in Bar Harbor with her husband, Jack, strongly disagrees with the steps taken by Gov. Janet Mills, saying she's "being unrealistic." "There are many families who are losing everything, who no longer have a livelihood. They can't support their children," Ochtera told ABC News. "I understand our key cases will increase if Governor Mills opens up the state, but at least it will give some viability." Much of the money these businesses earn during the summer sustains them throughout the winter, explained Ochtera, who said she's only making about 20% of what she earned in 2019. "I have returned over $60,000 by the first of May for summer reservations. We can never make up the losses," she added. A spokeswoman for Mills said in a statement to ABC News, in part, that the governor "is working hard to protect the health of Maine people and ensure that our state is a safe place for people to visit this summer. She, too, is deeply concerned about our economy, but she can think of nothing more devastating than an outbreak or resurgence of this deadly, untreatable virus during the height of tourism season." MORE: Health officials shut down New Jersey gym that defied COVID-19 stay-at-home order Other states nearby still are uncertain about the long-term economic consequences. Among the nearly a dozen small businesses along the Jersey Shore contacted by ABC News, many reported that while some local customers had returned, overall foot traffic remained down. "People would rather stay home and barbecue," said Julia Kurdyla, manager of the Country Kettle Fudge shop in Beach Haven. Caroline Ranoia, who owns the speciality soap store Blue Eden in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, told ABC News that it has been especially difficult because "90% of my customers are tourists." "We have a really short season -- it's only about 10 weeks for us to really make our money," she added. Josephine Guarnaccia, a long-time innkeeper at the Mermaid Inn, in Mystic, Connecticut, told ABC News she's seeing about a third as many visitors compared to normal levels. Randy Fiveash, Director of the Connecticut Office of Tourism, told ABC News that the states leisure and hospitality industry was the sector hardest hit by the pandemic. However, he said that although tough decisions about travel advisories had to be made, he is cautiously optimistic that tourism will come back in the long run. Back in Boston, Youngelson remains concerned, particularly for many families who have owned businesses in Faneuil Hall Marketplace for generations. "It is going to be very difficult to stay afloat if this continues," she said. "I don't know how many people are going to be able to keep their doors open." Northeast travel restrictions add to small business owners' struggles originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Advertisement An export bar has been placed on a collection of 10 maps charting the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 at risk of leaving the UK. The hand-drawn charts map out the defeat of the 'Invincible' Spanish Armada including the decisive battle in 1588. Though the draughtsman is unknown, it is believed the maps could possibly originate from the Netherlands. The maps are undated but are believed to have been produced immediately after the battle and are valued at around 600,000 before VAT. Export bar: One of the 10 maps that have had an export bar placed on them in the hope that a British buyer will come forward and purchase them to keep them in the UK An export bar has been placed on the maps, meaning that the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art have deemed them of a high enough quality and to have a sufficiently significant British connection to prevent an export licence being given to a foreign buyer. While the licence is withheld it is hoped that British buyer will step forward to purchase the maps. Culture minister Caroline Dinenage said: 'The defeat of the Spanish Armada is central to the historical tale of what makes Britain great. 'It's the story of plucky England defeating a greater foe and helped to create the world we live in today. 'These incredibly rare drawings are a very important part of the story of our nation and I hope, even in these challenging times, that a buyer can be found so they can be enjoyed by members of the public for generations.' The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest noted the works offered a rich resource for the study of the marine painting genre's development. Committee member Peter Barber said: 'Robert Adams, surveyor of the Queen's Works, and military engineer, was one of the most skilled cartographic draughtsmen of Elizabethan England, the delicacy of his work resembling the finesse of miniaturists such as Hilliard. 'His maps of the Armada, engraved in significantly amended form by Augustine Ryther, became the official image of one of the most celebrated episodes in English history. 'Their importance in the creation of England's historic self-image cannot be exaggerated. 'They provided the models for tapestries which served as a backdrop for the proceedings of the House of Lords and for nearly 250 years. A painting of the retreat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The English navy utilised better cannons and faster ships to outmanoeuvre and defeat the Spanish vessels (file image) 'These drawings are as close as one is ever likely to get, in the absence of the originals, to the appearance of Adams's manuscript maps but there is much fresh information that can be gleaned from them. 'That they were probably copied, surreptitiously, by a Dutch artist for illicit publication in the Netherlands demonstrates the importance of the defeat of the Armada not only for England but for Europe as a whole. 'The drawings need to be saved for the nation so that the full story behind the creation of these iconic images can be properly researched.' The decision on the export licence application for the drawings will be deferred until October 9 2020. This may be extended until January 9 2021 if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase it is made at the recommended price. The testing of Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, Member of Parliament for Tema West will serve as the turning point for him and his supporters to dispel the negative propaganda that was woven around him after his resignation as a Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry. It will also assuage the pain and agony he and his family, supporters and loved ones had to go through during his days in isolation. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency after the declaration that the former Deputy Minister had tested negative for the virus, Mr Dennis Amfo-Sefah, Tema West Contituency Chairman of the New Patriotic Party said his clearance was bad luck for the detractors of the law maker and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. He said his clearance had also mortified detractors of the MP and the government especially those who were calling for his prosecution in court and resignation as a Member of Parliament. Now the balloon has burst and the propaganda against Mr Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah and President Nana Akufo-Addo, has crash-landed. Our MP is not a coronavirus carrier after all. His detractors have been shamed, now that the allegations have become obsolete, let us see what the detractors will do. Mr Amfo-Sefah, who is also known as Nana Boakye said in interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra. Mr Ahenkorah became the target of his detractors and some political thinkers when he allegedly mingled with members of the public after testing positive for the coronavirus. Some members of the public took advantage of the development and promoted all sorts of propaganda against him, including; the shocking claims that Mr Ahenkorah who was also the 2020 Parliamentary Candidate for the NPP, deliberately mingled with people after testing positive in order spread the virus. In response to the allegations, Mr Ahenkorah resigned his portfolio as Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, but the detractors also continued to demand his prosecution and should also be stripped of the Tema West Parliamentary ticket for the NPP. The Ghana Health Service on Saturday, wrote to Mr Ahenkorah to inform him that two consecutive tests on his samples had returned negative and that he was not carrying the virus any longer. For this reason, you are deemed to have recovered from Covid-19 infection and so can return to work the letter from the Ghana Health Service said. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Novel Coronavirus pandemic brought Bollywood to a halt, with shooting schedules stalled and celebrities cooped up at home owing to the nationwide lockdown. Now, as the country slowly begins its unlock mode, Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor has resumed work after 4 months of lockdown. The actor took to his Instagram page to give fans a sneak-peek from his work diaries. He captioned his snap as, "Every one of us will have to adjust to the new normal and slowly start resetting our lives. My work life restarted and I shot for the first time after 4 months. Sab badal chuka hai (everything has changed). New world order accepted." In the picture, the actor seems to be shooting for a photoshoot. Everyone on the sets including the photographer is seen wearing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) gears and masks. A few days ago, Arjun had stepped out for a haircut from the celebrity hairstylist, Hakim Aalim. During his stay at home, the actor entertained his fans by giving them a peek into his quarantine life. From posting throwback pictures to goofy videos with his pet pooch Max, Arjun made sure to keep his Instagram feed interesting for his followers. Arjun, who turned 35 on June 26, had celebrated his birthday in quarantine. His sister Anshula Kapoor had penned a heartfelt note for him, in which she spoke about how she feels blessed to have him in her life. During the lockdown, the Panipat actor also raised Rs 5 lakh through a virtual date to raise money for daily wage earners of the film industry. He was quoted as saying, "There is a section of people in our country who have lost livelihood during this crisis and are in dire need to sustain themselves and their families. I am talking about the scores of daily wage earners your favourite chaat wale bhaiya, construction workers, coolies, dhobis, rickshaw drivers and so many others." ALSO READ: Arjun Kapoor Steps Out For A Haircut After Months; Calls It A New But Safe Experience ALSO READ: Arjun Kapoor Shares Screenshot Of His Last Chat With Sushant Singh Rajput & It's Heart-Breaking! On April 26, suspects torched Palash Kumar Roy in a prison in Panchagarh district in northwestern Bangladesh. The lawyer, referred to as Palash by the local media, died four days later while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospitals burn unit. Previously, in a recorded conversation obtained by DW, the 37-year-old said that he had joined the Kohinoor Chemical Company as a legal officer in 2013. However, he was asked to do various illegal and immoral activities, including possession of government land, but he refused. In 2016, he resigned from the job, after which a false case was filed against him for allegedly embezzling 3.1 million taka ($11,381). On March 25, Palash and his family began a hunger strike in front of the office of Panchagarhs deputy commissioner and followed it up with a human chain on the highway. Palash was giving a speech when he was arrested by the police, who accused him of insulting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in his statements. A case was filed against him and he was sent to the district jail. He was threatened several times during his prison term, but his complaints were unheard and officials did not take any action. On April 25, around 10 in the morning, two people came to me and threw something from a bottle of Tiger [a local energy drink] and set my body on fire, Palash said in his audio statement. Prasenjit Kumar, the lawyers nephew, recorded the audio just before Palash died. Palash was suffering from breathing difficulties. We did not think he would die. He asked me, does your mobile have a recording option? I want to talk about something. Then I recorded his words on my mobile phone. He died after half an hour, he told DW. Prison officials deny accusations Speaking to DW, Palashs mother Mira Rani Roy said, On April 26, when I went to meet him [Palash] in prison, I came to know that he had been set on fire. Though, they [the jail authorities] concealed it from me. I went to the Panchagarh Sadar Hospital but they didnt allow me to meet my son. Roy added that her lawyer son had been sent to the local Rangpur Medical College Hospitals burn unit and then to a hospital in the capital. His treatment was neglected even after I repeatedly said that 40 percent of his body had been burnt. Mira Rani Roy alleged that the prison authorities did not administer first aid and also neglected his treatment. My son showed me his two fingers repeatedly. Two people, two people. he tried to say to me, she said, indicating that her son may have had some idea about his attackers. While in jail, some people met my son and threatened him. Besides, the Kohinoor Chemical Company sent people to collect information about my son. My son has been burnt to death in a planned manner, she told DW. However, Mushfiqur Rahman, who heads the prison in Panchagarh, denied the allegations. He said, Palash set fire to his own body with a lighter in the jails bathroom. Our staff extinguished the fire and he was sent to the prison hospital. When asked how he came to know of this and if anyone had seen Palash lighting up his own body, Rahman said he had heard about it and was saying so according to his impression of the event. He also claimed, We have not been late to treat Palash. But we have to maintain everything in accordance with the jail jurisdiction. We sent him to Dhaka Medical College just shortly after that day. The Kohinoor Chemical Company, Palashs former employer, did not react to any queries from DW about allegations against its officials. No case for murder -yet Until now, no official case has been filed and no suspects named in Palashs death. Panchagarh Sadar Police Station chief Abu Akkas Ahmed said, In my police station, there is a case against him for insulting the prime minister. No one has been sued over his death, and he died in Dhaka. So if there is a case, it will be there [in Dhaka]. Palash Kumar Roys mother seems helpless: We have not sued yet. I cannot understand what to do now and how. Meanwhile, Dhakas High Court has ordered a judicial investigation into the incident following a writ petition by lawyer Sayedul Islam Sumon: He [Palash] was burnt in jail and died. The prison authorities have to take this responsibility. And in the statement before he died, Palash said that two people torched kerosene on him and set him on fire. Were calling it a murder. The court has now ordered a probe into Palashs death. According to Bdnews24.com, the local content partner of Deutsche Welle, the order calls for a judicial inquiry into the incident by a magistrate under the supervision of Panchagarhs chief judicial magistrate. They are required to submit a report within 30 days of receiving the order. Judges have justified their decision saying a jail should typically be among the most secure places around. The probe will look into how it was possible to get kerosene or petrol inside the prison and use it to set fire to a person. Source : DW Mark Francois, chairman of the influential European Research Group - Paul Grover/Paul Grover Senior Brexiteers have warned Boris Johnson that key parts of his Withdrawal Agreement with the EU amount to a "poison pill" that should be replaced as part of post-Brexit trade negotiations. A 120-page report compiled by pro-Leave MPs and lawyers states that exiting the transition period with the current provisions of the agreement in place would have "crippling" consequences for the UK and prevent the country from becoming a "fully sovereign state". The document, which is published as the UK and EU carry out intensive trade negotiations, has been endorsed by a series of senior backbenchers, suggesting Mr Johnson could face resistance in the Commons if he fails to tackle some of their concerns. On Saturday, Mark Francois, the chairman of the influential European Research Group (ERG) of Eurosceptic Tory MPs, said: "The report argues that the remaining elements of the Withdrawal Agreement after we leave the transition period cannot be allowed to stand as they are, and particularly that there must be no remaining role for the European Court of Justice over any aspect of our national life. That is something that I and my colleagues in the ERG would very much support." The report, published by the new Centre for Brexit Policy, includes contributions from Lord Trimble, the former first minister of Northern Ireland, Martin Howe, the Brexiteer QC, and Owen Paterson, the former cabinet minister who chairs the think tank. The key elements it says make up the "poison pill" include the UK having to remain bound to some state aid laws, the creation of "burdensome EU customs mechanisms" at a border in the Irish Sea, a role for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for another eight years, and the vast divorce payments, for amounts the report states are "not owing under international law" and are "subject to the determination of the ECJ". The report states: "Although the Government sees the revised Withdrawal Agreement (WA) as only transitional until the end of the transition period in December, there remain serious threats to UK sovereignty that will have crippling economic and strategic consequences for years to come if they are not dealt with now. Story continues "Exiting the TP with these threats still in place will not return the UK to a fully sovereign state and is unacceptable." The report urges Mr Johnson to replace the Withdrawal Agreement with a "sovereignty compliant" agreement. A chapter by Lord Trimble states that the current deal "rips the Good Friday Agreement apart by handing law-making power over Northern Ireland to the EU. The paper's recommends returning to the Brexiteers' plan of "alternative arrangements" to achieve an "invisible border" on the island of Ireland and using independent adjudication. A government spokesman said: The Governments approach ensures businesses in Northern Ireland will have unfettered access to the rest of the UK market and that there will be no tariffs on goods remaining within the U.K. customs territory and no new customs infrastructure. Crucially, at the heart of our proposals is a consensual, pragmatic approach that will protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and the huge gains from the peace process. MANDALI, Iraq - Iraqs prime minister took a first step Saturday to combat cross-border corruption that has long plagued the countrys frontiers as part of a reform plan to grapple with unprecedented financial shortfalls. Mustafa al-Kadhimi launched a campaign to recover hundreds of millions of Iraqi dinars in import tax revenue lost to bribery in the northern province of Diyala. In the first phase, security forces from the Interior Ministry will supervise the work of border guards to ensure proper payment of tariffs at the Mandili border crossing with Iran, he told reporters. Today, military forces were sent and allowed to shoot anyone who violates customs, in order to protect the peoples money and to search for ghosts who blackmail businessmen. he said. The scheme is expected to be repeated at other border points. Local security and government officials said enforcement brings with it the risk of contending with powerful armed groups. A Mandali border official with the rank of lieutenant colonel said ghosts referred to armed factions, some with links to groups within the states Popular Mobilization Forces, comprised of an array of militia groups, some with links to Iran. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity fearing retribution. Hours before the prime ministers arrival at the frontier, Iraqi security forces announced the start of the fourth phase of a military campaign to root out Islamic State group elements from Diyala province, according to a military statement. At least 15 IS hideouts were destroyed since the dawn operation was launched. The launch of the border corruption campaign comes as Iraqs government struggles to plug a widening budget deficit amid spiraling oil prices that has slashed expected state revenues, leaving the country with little liquidity to pay state salaries and finance a response to the coronavirus. In June, the crude exporting state received $2.68 billion in oil revenues, about half of what a draft 2020 budget projected. Attempts at financial reform have been met with protests and rejection from parliament, which voted down proposals to cut public salaries, which represent a chunk of the governments monthly expenditure. The government plans to pay full salaries for the months of June and July by borrowing from reserves through state banks, but this is a short-term option, two Iraqi officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. With strong opposition to wage cuts from political blocs in parliament, al-Kadhimi is considering measures that dont require their approval, according two members of the government Crisis Cell, a high-level committee overseeing top economic issues. These include changing taxation methods and enforcing tariffs at customs. Iraq imports nearly all of its goods from neighbouring Iran and Turkey. We are in crisis mode, we have a 3-trillion (dinar) deficit every month, said one official. Its not sustainable for the future. Improving customs collections across Iraqs 21 border crossings had been on the reform agenda of previous Iraqi governments but officials have repeatedly said enforcement was the key obstacle. Mandali crossing, recently re-opened after a virus-related closure, has fallen victim to armed groups in the past, said Omar al-Waeili, director of the border ports. Once they even confiscated prohibited items by force, he said. With stricter policing he expects the crossing to bring in around 250 million dinars per day. The government alleges that corruption arises from certain border officers accepting bribes for charging lower tariffs, while others say they are intimidated by armed gangs with links to militia groups that are dominant in the area. Some local officials say plans to introduce automated security technology at the crossing and clamp down on corrupt officials would introduce fresh obstacles. PMF groups and some Iraqi security forces maintain security in Mandali. Two officials, one lieutenant colonel at the border and another in the government, said armed factions with militia links were involved. They give you a receipt of just 10 per cent of what is paid, the rest will be theirs, the officer said. He requested anonymity for fear of retribution. If someone opposes them or wants to implement the law, they threaten them. Al-Kadhimi visited the headquarters of the PMF during his trip to Diyala. I ask for time and patience, he said, in comments to reporters following his meetings. ____ Kullab reported from Baghdad. Two persons, who stabbed a 35-year-old cloth merchant from Uttar Pradesh (UP), and robbed his mobile phone and money, were arrested by Juhu police on Saturday. The complainant, Aquil Shaikh, came to the city in the last week of June, defying lockdown rules, to catch a glimpse of a Bollywood actor. He hoped to spot the actor by staying on the footpath near his bungalow in Juhu. On July 4, the two accused, Sanjay Gopi Kharwa alias Rajendra alias Khidki, 25, a resident of Bhayander, and Suresh Kanji Kharwa, 20, a resident of Matunga Labour Camp, spotted Shaikh sleeping on the footpath and cornered him. The accused first asked Shaikh to consume alcohol, which he refused. They then took the complainant to an isolated spot and again insisted him to consume alcohol. An argument ensued between Shaikh and the two accused, and they started to assault him. One of the accused then took out a knife and stabbed Shaikh on hand, chest, and stomach, said Pandharinath Wavhal, senior inspector, Juhu police station. The accused then robbed his mobile phone and money before fleeing the spot. Some locals rushed Shaikh to Cooper Hospital where he is undergoing treatment. A case was filed and Juhu police began the probe. The suspects were identified after the police scanned CCTV footage of the area. Sub-inspector Harish Biradar said, Based on a tip-off, we arrested the duo from Pushpa Park. I am healthy, dont worry says Karnataka CM Yediyurappa India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Bengaluru, July 11: Karnataka Chief Minister, B S Yediyurappa, who is carrying out duties from home for a few days has said that he is fine. I am healthy, no one needs to worry, the CM said in a statement. Earlier this week, he had said that he would work from home as a precautionary measure after staff members at his office cum residence tested positive for COVID-19. No community spread of coronavirus in Karnataka so far: State govt tells Centre I am going to discharge my duties from home from today for the next few days in view of some of the staff in the office-cum-residence Krishna testing positive for coronavirus, a statement read. Yediyurappa also appealed to the people not to panic. He said he would be giving directions and suggestions online. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News It may be recalled that a few days back the CM's residence had been shut for sanitisation after a relative of a police constable posted there was affected with COVID-19. The CM also urged the people to adhere to the guidelines as a precautionary measure to control the spread of the virus. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 11, 2020, 11:23 [IST] (Reuters) - New manufacturing orders in Finnish industries slumped 28.4% in May from last year, marking their fifth consecutive monthly decline, Statistics Finland said on Friday. The EU Commission expects Finland to post the slowest recovery among eurozone countries from the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis, as the Nordic economy is reliant on manufacturing industries and their clients' investments in export markets. Orders in the paper and paper-board industry dived 29.8% from a year earlier and down 30.6% in the metal industry. Adjusted industry output fell 3.8% in May, the statistics office said in a separate statement, adding that electrical and electronics industry posted a growth of 24.7% in May output, partly due to unusually low production figures a year earlier. "Without the impact of the electrical and electronics industry, industrial output adjusted for working days decreases by 9.4% from the previous year," it said. (Reporting by Tarmo Virki in Tallinn; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Sherry Jacob-Phillips) 1 Market Buzz Equity inflows tank in June; should you worry? Liquid funds registered an outflow of Rs 44,226 crore in June on the back of advance tax outflows, data shows. Net inflow slumped 95 percent to a little over Rs 240 crore as investors pulled out from largecap and multicap funds due to profit-booking. Mutual funds had Rs 25.48 lakh crore in assets under management, a growth of 4 percent compared to May. A careful examination of the data reveals that the underlying trend in the MF industry has not deteriorated too much though the slowing of monthly SIP contributions is worrying. Experts point out that the overall inflows into equity funds in June were higher as compared to May but there was a significant increase in redemptions that led to weak net inflows. Read here. 2 Big Story NPA trouble for top 5 private banks Top five private sector banks may see their slippages double to 5 percent this fiscal due to the poor loan offtake and the moratorium-driven contraction in net interest margins, warns a report. These five banksHDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank and Yes Bank --collectively control a quarter of the system and three-fourths of the private banking space, according to a report by India Ratings. "We forecast FY21 slippages to nearly double to around 5 percent for these banks from 2.3 percent in FY19 and 2.7 percent in FY20, even though net slippages would be lower if refinancing remains a challenge, resulting in a 4 percent contraction in their net interest margin," the report said. Read here 3 Your money Gold is glittering but dont get dazzled That thing that has been glittering in your portfolio in this past one year is gold. Gold price has appreciated to Rs 49, 240 for 10 gram in the spot market, registering a spike of 41 percent in the year ended 9 July 2020. Rising gold prices have been attracting investors attention for quite some time now. In uncertain times when other asset classes such as stocks and real estate move south, investors find it difficult to look away from the yellow metal. The question is: should you buy more gold or have gold prices peaked? Read here. 4 Global Watch Wear mask for faster economic growth The key to ensuring a faster US economic recovery is wearing masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said on Friday. "How the virus proceeds and what the incidence is, is going to be directly related to how fast we grow," Kaplan told Fox Business Network in an interview. "While monetary and fiscal policy have a key role to play, the primary economic policy from here is broad mask-wearing and good execution of these health care protocols; if we do that well, we'll grow faster." Goldman Sachs Group Inc economists, too, have argued that a national mask mandate would boost the chances of a faster recovery. Read here. 5 Tech Tattle $20 billion lost in transactions Online retailers suffered a loss of nearly $20 billion due to failed online transactions and falsely rejected payments in 2019, a study conducted by Checkout revealed. According to the report, merchants lost nearly $ 13 billion last year as customers got frustrated over falsely rejected payments. These false transactions often get flagged as false declines, resulting in monetary loss to retailers. Online retailers lost an additional $ 7.5 billion of consumer money due to unfulfilled digital transactions, the study said. Lack of payment options is also seen as a barrier for consumers. Read here. 6 Startup Tales Corona pain for Zomato Online food delivery major Zomato has reported a 105 percent year-on-year jump in FY20 revenue to $394 million. In Q1 FY21, revenue has been affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdown, with the restaurant aggregator and food delivery start-up reporting only $40 million. While the last year numbers show Zomato has taken a few steps forward towards earning money in the delivery business, COVID-19 has completely turned its financials awry. If Q1 FY21 revenue at $40 million is anything to go by, Zomato could end up seeing its business being set back by a year. Read here. 7 Tailpiece Mukesh Ambani 8th richest in the world India's richest man and CMD of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani has overtaken Warren Buffett to become the eighth richest man in the world, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Ambani's wealth is now worth $68.3 billion, surpassing Buffetts $67.9 billion as of July 9, Bloomberg reported. Ambani is the only Asian tycoon in the exclusive club of the worlds top 10 richest people. Warren Buffetts wealth dropped this week after he gave away $2.9 billion in charity. Lets have a look at the 10 richest people in the world on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, click here. Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. But tests on 1,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients in Britain showed those infected with the new version did not fare any worse than those who caught the original strain. David Montefiore of Duke University and colleagues tested the virus in the lab. "We were able to test whether the G form of the virus was more infectious than the D form," Montefiore, director of the Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine Research and Development, told CNN. "All the results agreed that the G form was three to nine times more infectious than the D form," he added. "We now had experimental evidence that supported, in part, what Bette was seeing in her analysis of the sequences across the globe -- the G form had a fitness advantage in terms of infectivity." The lab tests of the virus in action confirmed what the genetic maps had shown. "These findings suggest that the newer form of the virus may be even more readily transmitted than the original form. Whether or not that conclusion is ultimately confirmed, it highlights the value of what were already good ideas: to wear masks and to maintain social distancing," Korber said in a statement. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 11:35:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GENEVA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A young NGO representative from Hong Kong on Friday condemned the violence and foreign interference in the Chinese city while voicing support to the national security legislation for Hong Kong during the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Lam Lam Nixie, from the United Nations Association of China, told the council through video link that under the Basic Law, Hong Kong is a region of China with a high degree of autonomy. Hong Kong was once taken away from China by force and violence, suffered colonization, and then saw China's resumption of sovereignty over it in 1997, which should be celebrated, she said. Noting that violence and invasion can never be the answer, Lam told the council that the year 2019 is a heart-breaking one for Hong Kong, because the city was turned into a "Gotham City" overnight. Foreign media and politicians attempted to legitimize violence in Hong Kong and the intimidation of people with different views were widespread. "Youngsters were taught that it's OK to throw petrol bombs around the town because they are freedom fighters and the bombs are only 'fire magic,'" she said. "We've had enough," she stressed, adding that 2.9 million Hong Kong residents signed a petition in June to support the national security legislation for Hong Kong enacted by the central government. "We need to restore our city. We've seen it once, so we cannot risk seeing Hong Kong taken away twice by violence. Colonialism is outdated, and the same with violence. Get your hands off the city we call home," she said. Enditem A Sweeping Clampdown In Russia Has Putin Critics Warning Of New Repressions By Matthew Luxmoore July 10, 2020 MOSCOW -- As Russians cast ballots in a tightly managed vote on constitutional changes that would pave the way for President Vladimir Putin to extend his rule until 2036, some of his critics warned the changes would usher in a clampdown on dissent and strengthen the hand of Russia's powerful security services. Now, in Russia's capital, calls for protest by anti-government activists have capped off a week of raids, arrests, and prosecutions that appear to confirm those fears that the political landscape has changed in a way that makes opposition an even more costly enterprise. "What's happening now is different, because it's part of a formal state doctrine," Yulia Galyamina, an opposition politician who was targeted in one of the recent raids, told RFE/RL. "The regime is now officially positioning itself as a dictatorship." Events unfolded in rapid succession. On July 6, journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva was convicted in Pskov of justifying terrorism, after more than a dozen fellow reporters were detained for picketing in her support. The following morning, members of Russia's security services bundled former military reporter Ivan Safronov into a car in central Moscow and arrested him on treason charges that carry a maximum 20-year sentence. Another 27 people, many of them Safronov's former colleagues, were detained for picketing in his defense. On July 8, authorities stormed the apartment of opposition activist Pyotr Verzilov and moved forward with a criminal case against him for allegedly failing to declare Canadian citizenship. And on July 9, the homes of at least five other opposition activists were raided in Moscow. One thing connected them: All had campaigned against Putin's constitutional amendments, as part of a small but dogged drive to scupper the plan to extend his rule. 'Attacks On Freedom Of Expression' "Russian authorities should immediately drop the charges against the protesters and other journalists and end attacks on freedom of expression," Human Rights Watch said in a statement condemning the arrests. For some, it was an echo of another sweeping clampdown in Russia's capital last summer, when a series of protests against the conduct of local elections prompted a tough reaction from authorities and raids on the homes of opposition activists. "This is yet another intimidation campaign," tweeted prominent Putin critic Aleksei Navalny, whose allies were among those swept up in this week's crackdown. "An effort to demoralize Putin's opponents and publicly punish anyone who protested his amendments." But others suggested things are different this time. For years, journalist Andrei Soldatov wrote in The Moscow Times, "it had been almost impossible to accuse journalists of treason or revealing state secrets." Now, he said, the agency was "applying its paranoid definition of espionage to journalists -- and is going out of its way to make sure everyone knows." Ivan Pavlov, the lawyer representing Safronov, wrote in a Facebook post that the journalist's case is the first treason charge against a Russian reporter since the 1997-2001 prosecution of Grigory Pasko, whom Pavlov also defended. He implored fellow journalists to take a stand. "A lot will depend on the way you react to this blow, including whether accusations of treason against journalists will become a trend in today's Russia," he wrote. 'Life Has Only Gotten Worse' The reaction on social-media channels popular among the opposition has been loud and defiant. But on the streets -- where law enforcement actively polices public spaces and is quick to hustle away solo picketers, let alone rowdy crowds -- it has been muted. Earlier this month, opposition activists petitioned the Moscow government for permission to hold a protest on July 15 against Putin's constitutional overhaul. But they were rebuffed on the grounds that certain anti-coronavirus lockdown measures continue, and large gatherings are still banned. Galyamina, who sits on a Moscow district council, said this was merely an excuse. She cited the fact that the constitutional-changes vote dragged on for a week and involved millions of Russians visiting polling stations to cast ballots. Instead of forging ahead with a banned rally, which could expose participants to a violent police crackdown, she has called on supporters to gather on the central Pushkin Square on July 15 and sign a petition demanding that the constitutional changes be reversed -- in particular, the clause allowing Putin to run again for two more six-year presidential terms. "Putin's term limits have been reset," she wrote in a Facebook post on July 10. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia -sweeping-clampdown-putin-critics-warning -repressions/30719838.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A photo issued by the WWF of illegal deforestation found in the indigenous Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau territory - PA The Brazilian Amazon saw its highest level of deforestation in 2020 since records began, new figures have revealed. According to official data, deforestation increased by 25 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2020. This equates to approximately 1,184 square miles of rainforest, the highest figure since data collection began at the beginning of 2015, the country's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said. The destruction has put further pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under fire for worsening destruction of the rainforest on his watch. "The pressure is increasing," said Mariana Napolitano, advocacy group WWF-Brasil's head of science. "The deforestation data by itself shows that we now have a very complicated situation that is out of control in the Amazon." June, which marks the start of the dry season and fires, also hit a record with 642 square miles of deforestation, an increase of nearly 11 per cent. If July sees another increase, Brazil is on a direct path to losing more than 9,000 square miles - an area larger than the US state of Connecticut. That would be and increase from 6,293 square miles last year and the highest level of deforestation since 2005, according to official government data. Mr Bolsonaro has been blamed for the destruction by environmental activists and the international community. The nations hard-Right leader is accused of emboldening illegal loggers, ranchers and land speculators by weakening environmental enforcement and calling for more commercial mining and farming in the Amazon to develop the economy. An area deforested - Reuters Mr Bolsonaro argues that he is being unfairly blamed, and that Brazil has a strong track record for preserving its natural environment. "It's not true that we're destroying the jungle to produce food," he said. Following extensive global pressure, Mr Bolsonaro deployed the military to help slow deforestation in May and appears set to ban fires in the Amazon region for 120 days from next week. The military is expected to remain in the area until November, a notice published in the official government gazette on Friday said. According to scientists, preserving the worlds largest rainforest is vital to curbing climate change because of the extensive amount of greenhouse gas it absorbs. Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: Six militants, believed to be of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim or NSCN-IM, were killed by a joint team of Assam Rifles and police in a gunfight in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday morning. Official sources said an Assam Rifles jawan was also injured and was rushed to a military hospital. The incident took place in a forested area in Arunachals Longding district near the Nagaland border. Arunachal Director General of Police (DGP), RP Upadhyaya, confirmed the incident to The New Indian Express. Weapons recovered from the militants There was a specific input that an armed gang of NSCN cadres will move in Longding area to carry out a few kidnappings for extortion and might attack security forces. So, a joint strategy was made between Arunachal Police and Assam Rifles, Upadhyaya said. He said the site of the incident was two hours from Longding district headquarters and subsequent 40-minute trek from the nearest village of Nginu. When the team reached the spot, there was a heavy exchange of fire. They fired more than 250 rounds. We recovered six weapons including four AK 47 rifles, two grenades and an IED. More than 500 rounds remained unused, the DGP said. The nearby area is a thick forest and we cannot rule out the presence of more cadre and the operation is still on. Longding Superintendent of Police, Commanding Officer of Assam Rifles battalion and Deputy Inspector General of Assam Rifles were at the spot, he added. The several factions of the NSCN signed separate ceasefire agreements with the Central government. The territorial limit of the ceasefire is within the state of Nagaland. The NSCN-IM, which is the largest of the rebel groups in the Northeast, has been engaged in peace negotiations with the Centre since 1997 towards finding a solution to the decades-long Naga political problem. Metro is an enclosed space with favorable environment for infection, Assistant to Azerbaijans president, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said. Hajiyev made the remark at the briefing in the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, Trend reports on July 10. "The metro is an enclosed space where a big number of people may be infected with virus," the assistant to Azerbaijans president said. Hajiyev added that express buses operate instead of the metro and the number of the buses is regulated depending on the passenger flow. The president of the Junta de Andalucia, Juanma Moreno, has announced his intention of making the use of face masks compulsory in all public places in the region. The move comes as a preventative measure in the light of the local outbreaks of Covid-19 registered over the last few days. During a visit to Ceuta on Saturday, Moreno said that the measure would be considered on Monday at the meeting of medical experts who advise the regional authority on coronavirus policies. The use of face coverings is currently regulated by the national government decree that makes masks compulsory wherever a distance of a metre and a half from other people is impossible to maintain. The new Andalusian ruling would mean that masks must be worn in all public spaces, regardless of whether this distance can be observed. Moreno said he had already discussed the option of making masks compulsory with the regional Health Minister, Jesus Aguirre, who said on Monday that fines would be imposed for not wearing one. The recent cases, he said, "are significant but fortunately controlled and limited thanks to our excellent health services". He said that the use of a mask can be "positive" to avoid possible infection, despite the fall in cases of Covid-19 in Andalucia. He insisted that precaution must be taken and called for individual responsibility. It was only normal, said Moreno, for there to be new cases in Andalucia as this is the most populated region of Spain, but he added that the situation was not as extreme as in other parts of the country, but "prevention is better than cure and that's why we're going to put forward the measure of making mask-wearing mandatory". The regional governments in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Extremadura have already made similar moves to tighten the regulations on face masks. Published on 2020/07/11 | Source Korean movie "Farewell Restaurant" added to HanCinema database Advertisement "Farewell Restaurant" (2019) Directed by Lim Wang-tae With Go Yoon, Aprilann,... Synopsis A fresh romantic musical set against the backdrop of the Greek island of Skopelos! Hae-jin, a chef who suddenly broke up through Kakao, left for Skopelos, Greece, the same island he promised to come with for the summer vacation. Hae-jin opened a Korean restaurant called Farewell Restaurant. For couples' last farewell before their breakups, they play music and comfort them. And then one day, Eleni, a Greek girl came... and he falls in love again. Release date in Korea : 2020/08 CLEVELAND, Ohio - Coronavirus cases among Ohioans under the age of 40 are increasing three times as fast as the change in case numbers for people age 70 and older, the latest data from the Ohio Department of Health shows. Based on information available through Friday for the onset of symptoms, there have been 2,791 new cases over the last three weeks for people under the age of 40, up from 1,884 the previous three weeks an increase of 48%. But among those age 70 and up, the case totals were up just 16% 1,058 in the last three weeks vs. 909 the three weeks before then. The biggest change in the data could be seen for people under the age of 20 (cases up 62% to 748 over the last three weeks), but the age group with the largest share of new cases was the 20s. The number of cases for people in their 20s increased 52% to 1,131 in the last three weeks, in comparison to 743 the three weeks before then. For other age groups: cases were up 34% to 912 for people in their 30s, 26% to 846 in their 40s, 31% to 945 in their 50s, 26% to 792 in their 60s, 25% to 601 in their 70s and 7% to 601 for those age 80 or above. The numbers for the last three weeks likely will go up even more for all age groups, both as test results come in and as some people who just recently began experiencing symptoms go to the doctor. For all cases this year, deaths are have been heavily tilted to the oldest Ohioans. Among the 3,032 death to date, 77% have been age 70 or older, in comparison to just 1% under the age of 40. Hospitalizations have been more spread out - 38% age 70 and up versus 13% under the age of 40. Health officials have said that while cases in younger people are less likely to result in death or hospitalization, permanent damage can be done to lungs even in less severe cases, and young people can promote the spread of the virus to more vulnerable populations. Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See other data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral. Read related coverage See coronavirus cases by day for each Ohio county, including per capita and cases in last seven days Mapping Ohios 62,856 coronavirus cases, plus latest case, death, hospitalization trends Cuyahoga County 2nd in Ohio with 1,394 coronavirus cases reported in last week, and 4th per capita Coronavirus death total at Ohio nursing homes reaches 2,101 - 70% of all Coronavirus-related impact on your tax returns, including the new filing deadline of July 15 Taking college classes online this fall? Heres how students can save a lot of money Why Ohio widened criteria for counting coronavirus cases, what other states are doing, and the difference in numbers (Newser) Over 160 academics and journalists issued an open letter Friday in an ongoing battle over so-called "cancel culture," the Wrap reports. The letter rebuked an earlier letterpublished in Harper's and signed by luminaries including Fareed Zakaria, JK Rowling, and Gloria Steinhemthat decried "the intolerant climate" seeping into "liberal society." The latest letter attacked what it saw as a privileged elite trying to undermine a new brand of diverse liberalism: "The signatories, many of them white, wealthy, and endowed with massive platforms, argue that they are afraid of being silenced, that so-called cancel culture is out of control, and that they fear for their jobs and free exchange of ideas, even as they speak from one of the most prestigious magazines in the country." story continues below While certain events mentioned in the original letter are called "real and concerning"like a researcher who got fired after after sharing a study about protest and rioting tacticsthe new letter insists they aren't trends "in the way the signatories suggest." The letter also calls out Harper's signatories who allegedly "made a point of punishing people who have spoken out against them," including Bari Weiss and Anne-Marie Slaughter, per the Hill. Signatories of the new letter are perhaps less well-known and include journalists who said newspaper NDAs prevented them from signing. Now Thomas Chatterton Williams, a Black writer who led the Harper's letter, has tweeted the names of its signatories of color, saying, "Starting to think if these critics don't know a name they think it's white." (A newspaper editor was recently fired for allowing an op-ed to be published.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 14:48:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive grant of clemency commuting the prison time of his longtime confidant Roger Stone, said White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Friday. The announcement came shortly after an appeals court denied Stone's motion to delay the start of his prison term, scheduled to begin Tuesday. McEnany said in a statement that the sentence is "unjust," calling Stone "a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency." "Roger Stone is now a free man," McEnany added. Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, the chairs of the Democrat-led House Judiciary and Oversight committees respectively, said in a joint statement that Trump "abused the powers of his office" to reward "an individual that could directly implicate him in criminal misconduct." Stone, a former campaign adviser for Trump during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was sentenced in February to 40 months in prison for lying to Congress and witness tampering during former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. In November 2019, a federal court jury found Stone guilty of lying to a House committee about his efforts to find out what WikiLeaks planned to do with hacked emails dealing with Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The jury concluded that Stone also urged a radio host to lie to Congress about their WikiLeaks conversations. Stone was not charged with any underlying crime of coordinating with Russia during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, although Mueller's team investigated Stone over tweets claiming to be in touch with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Career federal prosecutors initially recommended a prison sentence of seven to nine years earlier this year. However, Attorney General William Barr intervened hours after Trump tweeted his displeasure and directed the Justice Department to submit a new court filing, saying a three-to-four-year sentence would be "more in line with the typical sentences imposed" in similar cases. Four prosecutors resigned in protest afterwards and Barr was under fire for allegations of "misuse of the criminal justice system" at the time. Enditem On July 12, Georgia surpassed 3,000 COVID-19 deaths. In Athens-Clarke County, the rate of new coronavirus cases was flat from July 6-12 compared to the previous week. In addition, new mask mandates from the University System of Georgia and ACC could help control the number of Athens cases. Fort Bragg, the home of the Special Operations Forces - Chris Seward/AP The elite Green Berets regiment has appointed a woman to join its ranks for the first time in its 68-year history. An enlisted soldier and a member of the National Guard, the woman, who has not been named, completed her training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Women have served in special operations for some years. However, this is the first time a female has graduated the gruelling year-long special forces qualification course. She is the first woman to earn this distinction since the Pentagon opened all combat roles to women in 2016. In doing so she had to pass a 24-day screening programme, before completing an array of tasks, including marching with heavy combat gear and demonstrating her competence at land navigation. The woman was one of around 400 soldiers to be formally enrolled in the US Armys Special Forces at a ceremony on Thursday. She is understood to be one of three who have been going through the course. Lt. Gen. Fran Beaudette, commander of Army Special Operations Command, who presided over the ceremony, hailed the womans achievement. From here, you will go forward and join the storied formation of the Green Berets where you will do what you are trained to do: challenge assumptions, break down barriers, smash through stereotypes, innovate, and achieve the impossible, she said. In all, there are more than 6,700 army Green Berets. Usually working in 12-strong teams, they are primarily used in specialised combat and counter-terrorism operations. They are also used for training other countries special forces. Many have been deployed in Afghanistan working with government forces against the Taliban. The appointment of a woman to the ranks of the Green Berets is the latest chapter in the gradual opening up of what had hitherto been male preserves in the US military. More than 700 are now understood to be in jobs which were previously restricted. They include a woman who joined the Armys 75th Ranger Regiment in 2017. It is estimated that more than a dozen others have completed the course at the regiments training school in Georgia. * Data reveals hundreds of cases in Cameroon prisons * Death rate highest in Yaounde Central Prison * Overcrowding and poor sanitation leave inmates vulnerable * Some released without being tested for COVID-19 By Edward McAllister and Josiane Kouagheu DAKAR/YAOUNDE, July 9 (Reuters) - On the morning of April 24, Fritz Takang became so breathless he could barely walk across the cramped cell he shared with 60 inmates at the main prison in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde. That night, he said, he was evacuated with five others to an apartment complex that was being used to quarantine suspected COVID-19 cases. Near dawn the following morning, Takang, 48, heard a fellow inmate in distress in a neighbouring room. With no doctors present, he said, he went to the man's bedside and laid a hand on his feverish forehead. Moments later, the man died. "I prayed for him before the last breath," Takang, a pastor, said. "I asked God to soften his pain." Correctional facilities worldwide have been fertile ground for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Africa's prison population of more than one million is especially vulnerable because of overcrowding, malnutrition and limited healthcare, health experts say. Patchy testing and reporting have frustrated efforts to track and contain its spread - both behind bars and in the community. Authorities in Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa and Kenya have reported outbreaks in their prisons. Cameroon's government has not publicly acknowledged infections inside its correctional facilities, although President Paul Biya signed a decree on April 15 to de-congest prisons in an effort to contain the virus. About 1,800 inmates were freed by May 8, according to preliminary figures from the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. The government has not provided numbers. Hundreds of cases of COVID-19 were recorded among the inmates released from five prisons dotted across Cameroon's central region in April, according to government data seen by Reuters which has not been made public. Story continues Some were allowed home before their test results came in, while others were released with little or no screening to determine if they could be at risk of spreading the virus into the community. Yaounde Central Prison, where Takang is held, was the worst hit, according to the data. The prison did not reply to requests for comment. Behind its mouldy walls, the virus appears to have swept through packed, squalid cells, overwhelming its ill-equipped infirmary, according to interviews with over a dozen current and former inmates, four prison officials and two lawyers. Some asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals. Prisoners are not officially allowed to possess phones, but many do. More than 31 inmates have died there since the beginning of April, compared with the usual one or two a month, a senior prison official told Reuters, adding that none were tested for COVID-19. A Cameroon health ministry spokesman declined to comment, as did officials at the prison authority and a leading official in the coronavirus response. The justice and communications ministries did not respond to questions sent via Whatsapp, email and in person. Two sources present at recent health ministry briefings that were not open to the press said the government has made efforts to stem the spread of the virus in prisons, often struggling with limited resources and manpower. "I am sure a thousand people are infected," Takang said in a croaky voice from an isolation bed at the Cameroonian Presbyterian Church Hospital in Yaounde, where he was taken on April 25. "You cannot leave your room without passing a hundred people. It is a horror." 'TICKING TIME BOMB' The inmate population exceeds prison capacity in 42 of the 47 African countries and territories where data is available, according to the World Prison Brief, a database compiled by the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (ICPR) at Birkbeck, University of London. In Europe, prisons are over-full in 17 of 57 countries and territories. For a graphic click here: https://tmsnrt.rs/2VGdhBo "This is a ticking time bomb. Prisons in Africa are already struggling to provide the most elementary standards of sanitation," said Catherine Heard, director of the World Prison Research Programme at ICPR. Cameroon has around 15,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, one of the worst infection rates in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 350 deaths. Of 832 samples collected from inmates released from five prisons in April, 358 tested positive for COVID-19, according to the unpublished government data - 16% of the national total at the beginning of May. The majority of positive samples came from Yaounde Central Prison, Cameroon's largest, where the infection rate of those released and tested was 58%. Its population is still around 3,000, three times capacity, said the senior prison official. Many who tested positive were quarantined. But dozens were allowed home before their results came back or without being tested, according to three prisoners released in April and May, and a guard who oversaw releases. "I signed my release papers; they opened the gates and let us out," said one inmate who said he was freed on May 22 with 15 others without testing. Others fled quarantine, the guard said. He could not say how many. CRAMMED CELLS Takang spent two weeks in hospital before returning to prison. A vocal supporter of Cameroon's Anglophone separatist movement, he has been confined there for over a year on charges of sponsoring terrorism, which he denies. His trial is ongoing. His test result for COVID-19, seen by Reuters, was negative. He tested positive for malaria and typhoid, he said. While he was in hospital, inmates and prison staff said they noticed an unusual number of people with coughs and fevers. Inmates cut up bed sheets and old t-shirts to make masks, they said. "There is fear everywhere. Everyone has the feeling that they are next," said Mancho Bibixy Tse, a 36-year-old inmate reached by phone. The prison infirmary, made up of a dozen metal beds with thin mattresses, overseen by one doctor and a few nurses, was quickly overwhelmed. By mid-April, patients lay three to a bed, said three inmates treated there. Patients bought medication from outside the prison - if they could afford it. In late April and early May, authorities disinfected cells and stopped prison visits, staff and inmates said. Inmates, prison staff and their families were given the anti-malarial drug chloroquine, although there is no firm evidence to show it is effective against COVID-19. Disposable masks and buckets of water and soap were placed in cell blocks so inmates could wash their hands. But overcrowding makes social distancing impossible, some inmates and guards said. In some quarters, hundreds of men share one pit latrine. Dozens are crowded into cells of no more than 25 square meters. "I am lucky that I am in a room with just 15 people. Some rooms you have to walk over (sleeping) bodies to get out," said Tse. When an inmate dies, their family has 24 hours to collect the body, the senior official said, no small task in a country the size of Spain with threadbare transport links. Of the 31 who died in April and May, the official said, only four were collected. The rest were taken away by authorities for burial. Deaths have continued since, the official said, but he has stopped counting. (Additional reporting by Hereward Holland and Stanis Bujakera in Kinshasa, Olivia Kumwenda in Johannesburg and Katharine Houreld in Nairobi; Editing by Alexandra Zavis and Mike Collett-White) When I was asked to write this article, I said why not. However its overall content pales into insignificance compared to the work that has been done by our front line workers which includes our doctors, nurses, gardai, fire personnel, ambulance crew etc. On a personal level I want to applaud their efforts on the Covid-19 Pandemic to date, and also to remember the people who lost their lives during unprecedented health crisis. Anyone that knows me is well aware of my love for music and this lockdown gave me the opportunity to do something that I have being threatening to do over the last ten years. My record collection has now become a treasure trove of music memories and quiet a vast one at that. It came to the point that trying to find something in the record room was becoming a major challenge, so I decided during this period when we were all spending so much time at home, it was indeed time to put it into some sort of alphabetical order and at least make it easier to access and find a record with ease. As with a major project like this there were many attempts to start at the letter A. But more often than not I became distracted back in time, when I would come across an album that I have not played in ages and I would find myself putting it on the turntable and sitting down and playing it while having a beer. This happened numerous times in the beginning but I eventually ploughed on because it is a huge undertaking. Music has a tendency to revive many memoriesits one of its beautiful strengths-- and it constantly happens to me when I hear a song, it can bring you back in time to when you had your first kiss. It can stir the memory banks to the first record you bought. In my case I can remember the first record I played in Kilkee was in the Olympic Ballroom, now long gone, on a very hot summer night in 1976. It still sticks in my mind playing Young Hearts Run Free by the great Candi Staton. I still play that record to this day as part of my Classic Hits Nights at the Whitehouse Pub and the Number 3 pub and for me it is still the best disco record of all time, and a huge crowd pleaser. Collecting music, memories and memorabilia has been part of my life for nearly fifty years now, which has included old black and white photographs, posters, magazines, and programmes and over this period, it has become a very sizable and precious collection. Over the years I have had the opportunity to tour with Thin Lizzy and Rory Gallagher working as a roadie, as well as several other international acts throughout the 70s and 80s. I have also run several venues in the city which included the Shannon Arms, The Speakeasy now The Texas Steak Out, and Arthurs Warehouse in Robert Street, now the Market Night Club. I have also been lucky enough to have a DJ career that has lasted 43 years to date and have played music in a number of clubs which have included, The Basement Night Club in the old Glentworth Hotel, The Brazen Head, Fernandos, Tropics, Shannon Arms and of course the rugby clubs which took on a life of their own on Saturday nights in the late 70s and right throughout the 80s. As a promoter I got to bring many of the top live acts to Limerick from the mid 80s, which included, Mary Black, In Tua Nua, The Blades, Something Happens, The Stunning, The Fleadh Cowboys, Mary Coughlan, and countless others. In 2014 with the help of the National City of Culture, I achieved one of my life long ambitions to showcase to the public part of my vast collection in an exhibition entitled Music Memories and Memorabilia. The exhibition was seen by over 6, 500 visitors over a six week period during the City of Culture, and I am happy to say I am still working on bringing this project to the public as a full time tourist attraction and I am confident it will become one of the must see and go to visitor experiences in Limerick, along the Wild Atlantic Way, for national and international visitors. Given this lifelong work, and the time afforded to us all at home under the lockdown, I no longer had an excuse and finally got down to the work of actually filing my record collection from A to Z. I found however thats much easier said than done.....because apart from the volume of records and CDs there are to sort out, there are also the thousands of memories each album evokes as soon as I look at the cover. Take for instance A, Abba, America, Allman Brothers, Ah Ha, or B, David Bowie, Blondie, Boston and these are just a few of the names in these sections and it is quiet difficult to venture in to each section without becoming a little bit nostalgic and remembering when you bought it and indeed when you played it for the first time. The adventure of filing my record collection is continuing and will for some time I feel. I Have recently gone back doing a radio programme on Limerick City Community Radio as I am filling the collectio , which is giving me a chance to play records five days a week on a programme called Afternoon Delights on their online platform on www.lccr.ie, which broadcasts between 2pm and 4pm. This is also giving me an opportunity to play music I am coming across in the collection on a daily basis which in itself is proving to be a lot of fun. Music has been a good friend to me and has given me thousands of great Memories, such as being at U2 in the Stella Ballroom to watch them start their career. The Hundreds of gigs I got to see in the old Savoy now part of our social history. The wonderful record shops that were very much part of my musical education. It has indeed been a wonderful life and in the words of musician John Miles, Music was my first love and it will be my last. NEW YORK, July 10, 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 Creating a personality brand Treating sleep apnea Controlling digital connections for businesses Payment technology needs of airlines MEDIA JOBS OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES 2020 Election Events Guide & Coverage Tips for Journalists Blog Profiles: Moth Blogs Creating a personality brand Sharon Haver Online Marketing & Branding Expert, Entrepreneur FocusOnStyle.com "Speak from your heart, address your situation, and that will immediately attract your best and most aligned audience and potential customers. It's the ultimate in attraction marketing." Since cell phones have become our broadcast center and Zoom our conference room, showing up authentically in the virtual marketplace as a go-to authority in your niche can seem like a huge undertaking. But it doesn't have to be. Backed by a multi-dimensional three decade career in online marketing, web entrepreneur and personal branding expert, Sharon Haver is in a unique position to help savvy business owners and driven entrepreneurs build thriving virtual businesses that shine a light on their own unique genius. Sharon shares her secrets on how to create a personality brand that humanizes your products and services, tips for letting your individuality shine on camera, how to use visual storytelling to position you for success, and more at FocusOnStyle.com. Media contact: Nicole Dickerson, [email protected] Treating sleep apnea Dr. Roger Roubal Sleep Apnea Dentist Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center "Paying attention to and treating sleep apnea right now is more important than ever due to the impact it has on our immune systems it helps prevent viruses and helps fight them quicker in the event we do come down with an illness." In today's climate, it's as important as ever to do what we can to stay healthy and limit the spread of COVID-19. This is especially important for people with sleep apnea, as the side effects of this sleep disorder can weaken your immune system (many people don't even know they have it - yet 75% of snorers have sleep apnea). Dr. Roubal of the Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center can speak to research findings by the Journal of Dental Sleep Medicine that states that oral sleep appliances are safer than CPAP machines. We feel this is an important message to get out to the public to help limit the spread of COVID-19 in our local communities in any way we can. For those people who refuse or cannot wear a CPAP, an oral appliance is a very effective alternative. During the pandemic, the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine has actually released a position statement stating oral appliances should be prescribed as first-line treatment because they do not generate aerosols that could potentially spread COVID-19. Whatever a patient chooses, it is vitally important that follow-up, objective testing is done to ensure the sleep apnea is controlled. Dr. Roubal is the foremost sleep apnea dentist in Omaha, Nebraska. His practice, Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center, is one of the select institutions in the nation accredited by the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. Although Dr. Roubal graduated with his DDS from Creighton University in 1974, he has never stopped learning, and he continues to add certifications and hours for advanced training in sleep apnea and snoring treatment. In 2013, Dr. Roubal became a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and a Diplomate of Craniofacial Dental Sleep Medicine, and is the Immediate Past President of the American Board of Craniofacial Dental Sleep Medicine. His facility is also accredited by the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, one of only 59 institutions nationwide to receive this distinction. These professional organizations and the recognitions they have given him set Dr. Roubal and the Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center apart from other dentists and practices, being the most highly trained, credentialed, and experienced within a 200 mile radius. Website: https://www.whywesnore.com Media contact: Kayla Eggenberg, [email protected] Controlling digital connections for businesses Miya Knights Head of Industry Insight Eagle Eye "Despite the immediate benefits, online delivery company fees are likely to put a big dent in operator margins. These fees can quickly erode any short-term revenue gains. More importantly, by outsourcing their digital connection to customers, operators are essentially relinquishing control over their customer relationships to these third parties as well. Abdicating control over digital customer connections to the likes of Uber makes it impossible to know who your customers are, much as less who the best of those new and frequent online customers might be that could be persuaded to spend more by dining in as lockdowns are eased. Only those that own the digital connection they establish with their customers and use it to understand and so serve them better will be best positioned to not only survive, but thrive beyond this pandemic." Miya can share insight on Uber's new grocery delivery service, how Covid-19 has changed grocery shopping patterns, and why grocers need to establish digital connections with customers. Miya Knights has 20 years of experience as a journalist (former editor of Retail Technology magazine), analyst and research director specializing in retail enterprise technology (with Planet Retail and IDC Retail Insights) and has co-authored two bestselling books. https://www.linkedin.com/in/miyaknights Website: www.eagleeye.com Media contact: Kelsey Dielman, [email protected] Payment technology needs of airlines Kristian Gjerding CEO CellPoint Digital "The challenges airlines and agencies have faced in issuing refunds for canceled flights has especially called out significant problems in payments tech. We know [airline] projects to deploy Apple Pay that can take a year... Apple Pay shouldn't take a year to deploy. That should be really fast. It's the result of complex legacy tech, non-integrated processes, and a lack of clarity on which teams are accountable for getting things done speaking generically." Kristian can share insight on what airlines can and should be doing to turn payments into revenue drivers, issues with legacy payment technology, and the rise of contactless payments. For more than a decade prior to founding CellPoint Digital, Gjerding shaped the payments ecosystem by helping global airline, payments and trade organizations establish best practices and standards around NFC communications, mobile payments and remote payments. His experience in this field includes current and past advisory roles with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Mobey Forum, National Retail Federation and others. Gjerding previously served in senior executive roles responsible for technology, wireless and mobile payments solutions at StorageTek, Sun Microsystems, Amdahl, Network Appliance and OIS. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiangjerding Website: www.cellpointdigital.com Media contact: Kelsey Dielman, [email protected] Remote work and cybersecurity Vineet Jain CEO Egnyte "Having weathered the initial shock of the fast-moving pandemic crisis, many leaders are now utilizing their recent experiences to reimagine the world of work. For them, new working practices like a more remote and distributed workforce will be the norm as they evaluate the future role of the office." Jain can discuss remote work, cybersecurity and reimagining the world of work in a post Covid-19 world. He also can discuss business survival tactics in difficult times. Vineet was awarded top 50 CEO for a mid-sized company by USA Today 6 months ago. He has appeared on national news and business TV programs, quoted in national business press and sought after for premier speaking engagements. https://www.linkedin.com/in/vineetkjain Website: www.egnyte.com Media contact: Michelle Marin, [email protected] MEDIA JOBS: Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://www.cisionjobs.com/jobs/united-states/ OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES: Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected] 2020 Election Events Guide & Coverage Tips for Journalists. Keeping up with election information is difficult in any cycle, let alone one with a global pandemic at the forefront. Current events often shape election dialogue and debate stages, but they rarely disrupt the process; this year, both the primaries and conventions have been shuffled around, and questions still remain around what voting will look like come Election Day. Here's a quick glance at how the political race continues to evolve. https://prn.to/2Dwr9bl. BLOG PROFILES: moth blogs. Each week, we feature blogs we follow. This week is all about moth blogs: https://prn.to/3iUKsvk. PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire. To contact ProfNet: [email protected] or 800-776-3638, ext. 1 SOURCE ProfNet Related Links http://www.profnet.com Credit: CC0 Public Domain The World Health Organization has urged countries grappling with coronavirus to step up control measures, saying it is still possible to rein it in, as some nations clamp fresh restrictions on citizens. With case numbers worldwide more than doubling in the past six weeks, Uzbekistan on Friday returned to lockdown and Hong Kong said schools would close from Monday after the city recorded "exponential growth" in locally transmitted infections. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on countries to adopt an aggressive approach, highlighting Italy, Spain, South Korea and India's biggest slum to show it was possible to stop the spread, no matter how bad the outbreak. The health agency's comments came as US President Donald Trump was forced to cancel an election rally in New Hampshire, citing an approaching storm. Trump has pushed to hold large gatherings against health advice as epidemiologists warn of the dangers posed by the virus moving through the air in crowded and confined spaces. Lashing out at China On a visit to Florida on Friday, Trump hit out at Beijing over the pandemic. "(The) relationship with China has been severely damaged. They could have stopped the plague.... They didn't stop it," he told reporters. The virus has killed at least 556,140 people worldwide since it emerged in China last December. More than 12.3 million cases have been registered in 196 countries and territories, triggering massive economic damage. The United States, the country worst hit by the illness, reported almost 64,000 new cases Friday and the death toll now stands at just under 134,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. Brazil, the second-hardest hit, surpassed 70,000 deaths and reported 45,000 new infections, the health ministry said. In Uzbekistan, citizens were from Friday facing lockdown restrictions again that were originally imposed in March but lifted gradually over the past two months. The Central Asian country's return to confinement followed a decision by Australia to lock down its second-biggest city Melbourne from Thursday. A police officer manning a checkpoint on the outskirts of the former Soviet republic's capital said only drivers with "a good reason" to enter Tashkentsuch as delivering food or other vital suppliescould pass. Restaurants, gyms, swimming pools and non-food markets have all shut their doors until at least August 1. Private transport within cities will be limited to morning and early evening journeys and essential purposes such as travelling to work and purchasing food or medicine. In Hong Kong, the spike marks a setback for the city after daily life had largely returned to normal with restaurants and bars resuming regular business and cultural attractions reopening. Despite being right next to mainland China where the virus first emerged, the city had managed to quash local transmission in recent months. But new clusters have started to emerge since Tuesday, including at an elderly care home that reported at least 32 cases and a housing estate with 11. 'Turn this pandemic around' "Across all walks of life, we are all being tested to the limit," the WHO's Tedros told a virtual news conference in Geneva. "From countries where there is exponential growth, to places that are loosening restrictions and now starting to see cases rise. "Only aggressive action combined with national unity and global solidarity can turn this pandemic around," he said. Elsewhere, French officials warned of rising cases in metropolitan France as the death toll topped 30,000. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted a decision to allow businesses, including bars and event spaces, to reopen may have been made "too soon". The Middle Eastern country recorded its highest number of infections over a 24-hour period, at nearly 1,500. In Australia, meanwhile, authorities said they would slash by half the number of people allowed to return from overseas. From Monday, only 4,000 Australian citizens or permanent residents will be permitted to enter each day. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2020 AFP Governing party comfortably wins election but opposition Workers Party increases its seats in Parliament from six to 10. Singapores governing Peoples Action Party (PAP) extended its unbroken rule in Fridays election, but its vote share slipped as opposition parties made historic inroads in a ballot held under the cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic. Having held power since independence in 1965, the PAP had been widely expected to win and carry Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to what is likely his last victory before retirement as the national leader. The PAP secured 83 out of 93 seats in Parliament. But the main opposition Workers Party won the other 10, the most ever won by the opposition, while the PAPs popular vote fell to 61 percent, down from 70 percent in 2015. Several key PAP leaders also lost, including two former ministers. Its not as strong a mandate as I hoped for but its a good mandate, Lee told a news conference on Saturday. The results reflect the pain and uncertainty that Singaporeans feel in this crisis this was not a feel-good election but one where people are facing real problems and expect more rough weather to come. Workers Party supporters celebrate the results of the general election in Singapore on July 11 [Edgar Su/Reuters] Bridget Welsh, a research associate at Malaysias University of Nottingham, told The Associated Press news agency the result was a defeat for PAP in the Singaporean context. Worst seat performance and loss of popular vote in an election that they called early in a pandemic mistakenly thinking the crisis would help them, she said. The PAP has a mandate but one that puts the party on notice that Singaporeans, especially young Singaporeans, expect more. Hit the ground running The PAP has dominated politics since 1959, when Lees father, Lee Kuan Yew, became Singapores first prime minister and built the resource-poor city-state into one of the worlds richest nations during his 31 years in office. But it has also been criticised for tight government control, media censorship and use of oppressive laws and civil lawsuits against dissidents. Lee, 68, has held the premiership since 2004 and had called the election to seek a fresh mandate to guide the country through a health crisis that has crushed the small but open economy. The prime minister retained his seat easily. But his deputy and earmarked successor, Heng Swee Keat, won his seat with a slim 53 percent of the vote in what analysts said was a key test of his public support. On Saturday, Lee acknowledged that citizens, especially the younger generation, want more opposition voices in Parliament. He said Workers Party chief Pritam Singh will officially be named opposition leader, an unprecedented move in the city-state. Two more non-constituency seats will be offered to top opposition losers to bring the opposition block to 12 seats, as provided for under the law, he said. In the Workers Party strongholds, streets swelled with supporters honking horns, cheering and waving party flags some seemingly paying little heed to social distancing rules. Im very grateful to all the voters, Im also very humbled, said Singh. Todays results are positive but we have to hit the ground running. We should not get over our head with the results, he added. Polling was extended on Friday by two hours until 10pm (14:00 GMT) after strict safety measures in place for the pandemic delayed voting at some stations. The Election Department also dropped a requirement that disposable gloves be worn during voting to cut waiting time. Apart from wearing masks and having their temperature checked, groups of voters were each allotted a two-hour slot to cast their ballots to spread out the process and reduce crowding, with senior citizens given priority in the first four hours. Election officials wore full protective gear and polling booths were sanitised every half hour. People treated for COVID-19 or under quarantine at home were not allowed to vote. Voting in Singapore is compulsory and turnout at Fridays election was 96 percent. NEW YORK - A federal judge in Manhattan has given lawyers for President Donald Trump a Wednesday deadline to say whether he will further challenge a subpoena for his tax documents, part of an ongoing investigation by local prosecutors here into hush money payments made during the 2016 election season. The order by U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero follows Thursday's highly anticipated Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who had been seeking the president's tax records as part of a probe into the Trump Organization's role in the payments. In its ruling, the country's top court said Trump did not have "absolute immunity" from the state court-level criminal subpoena. Trump could, however, pursue objections to the legality of the grand jury subpoena unrelated to the immunity question. The subpoena was issued on Aug. 29 and has been tied up in appeals in a lawsuit brought by Trump since shortly after it was issued. "We will respond as appropriate," Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said after Marrero's order Friday setting July 15 as a deadline by which the parties must say if there will be future legal challenges to the subpoena. Marrero, in the two-page order, also scheduled a phone conference for Thursday to discuss future proceedings, should the litigation continue. Laywers from Vance's office previously argued that delays could jeopardize their ability to file charges if any are warranted due to the timing of the payments as they apply to state statutes of limitations. The statute of limitations for a misdemeanor falsifying business records count has already passed and the five-year deadline by which to bring a felony-level case over the transactions is approaching. Vance is investigating whether the Trump Organization falsified business records to conceal alleged payoffs in exchange for silence made ahead of the 2016 election to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump years ago. Trump has denied the allegations. In public filings, lawyers for Vance's office said the records requested "relate to business and financial matters unrelated to any official acts" of the president "and are primarily from the time-period before [Trump] assumed that office." A spokesman for Vance declined to comment Friday. On Thursday, the Supreme Court shot down Trump's argument that, as president, he is immune from legal action on a local level and from investigations conducted by Congress. In its ruling, The court sent the cases back to lower courts, where, the justices said, Trump also could challenge the specifics of Vance's inquiry. Trump's lawsuit tried to block Vance from being able to subpoena his tax records from his accounting firm, Mazars USA, arguing that he was immune from facing criminal charges in a local court while in office - a claim his personal attorneys have also made in a set of lawsuits pending in New York. Vance, who called the landmark ruling "a tremendous victory for our nation's system of justice," has been investigating whether the Trump Organization doctored records to conceal hush money payments to two women during Trump's 2016 campaign. One of the women is outspoken pornography actress Stormy Daniels. The women were paid off by Trump's longtime personal lawyer and adviser Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to charges related to campaign fraud and tax cheating. Cohen, who had been free from his prison sentence on home confinement due to coronavirus concerns, was returned to Bureau of Prisons custody Thursday due to a dispute over his home confinement conditions. He was later sent back to the federal prison in Otisville, N.Y., his attorney said Friday. In a set of highly anticipated rulings Thursday, the Supreme Court shot down Trump's insistence that he is immune from legal action on a local level and from investigations by members of Congress. In its Trump v. Vance ruling, the court said Vance had the authority to look into Trump's financial records - personal and financial. Trump could raise a host of new challenges to the Mazars USA subpoena. Details of his tax filings, which he has staunchly refused to release to the public voluntarily as sitting presidents have traditionally done, are not likely to be made public in any fashion before November's election as both challenges are expected to face further litigation. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., writing the majority opinion in the 7-2 ruling in Trump v. Vance, wrote that the public was entitled to "every man's evidence," which "since the earliest days of the Republic" has "included the President of the United States." - - - The Washington Post's Robert Barnes contributed to this report. Carencro High English teacher Pamela Sorensson was named a finalist for 2021 Louisiana Teacher of the Year Friday. Sorensson, a sophomore English and honors English teacher, was among nine educators from around the state who advanced to the finals round. Other honorees include educators from East Baton Rouge Parish, Lafourche Parish, Madison Parish, Morehouse Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish, St. Charles Parish, Vermilion Parish and Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans. Nine Principal of the Year finalists were also named Friday. In addition to Sorensson, Acadiana had two other finalists with Carrie Varino from Vermilion Parish named in the teacher category and Rachelle Brown of Vermilion Parish named in the principal category. "We're in uncharted waters in education, but one thing that remains constant is the life-changing impact a high-quality teacher has on a child, Louisiana Education Superintendent Cade Brumley said in a statement. Sorensson said she watched the live video announcement Friday morning while attending a graduation meeting at Carencro High and her administrators and fellow teachers exploded with clapping and cheers when she was named. The 29-year-old said she felt humbled and blessed by the honor. Its cool because its kind of a win for all of us. I dont feel like its just something for me. I feel like its shared with Lafayette Parish and shared with Carencro. This is something we can all be proud of because we all work so hard together, she said. Any recognition I might have wouldnt be without the support of so many other teachers. Sorensson has worked at Carencro High for six years; she took a one-year hiatus after three years to work for an educational software company but was quickly pulled back into the classroom by her love for the students, she said. Each day, she said, she works to strike a balance between being firm and flexible, compassionate and challenging, to give the students what they need. Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up I really feel like God blessed me when he sent me to Carencro because I do feel like its a family unit whos encouraged me these last seven years and given me more opportunities than I deserve, Sorensson said. The overall finalists in each category elementary, middle and high school will be honored at a virtual ceremony during the 14th annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Excellence Symposium and Celebration later this year, a statement said. From those three category winners, an overall Teacher of the Year will be selected. Lafayette Superintendent Irma Trosclair said Lafayette educators work incredibly hard and its thrilling to see one celebrated at the state level. She said Sorensson brings enthusiasm and passion to her classroom and the district is lucky to have an educator like her on its team. Trosclair praised Sorensson as a model for young teachers in the district to look up to. I am so excited for her. I am so proud of her. A couple years ago in a previous role, I happened to walk into her class and observe one day. I didnt want to leave. I was so captivated, and you could tell it was what she did day in and day out. It wasnt because I was observing. I left her classroom that day and told Ms. Qualey, 'You have a keeper right there, Trosclair said. Carencro High Principal Mary Qualey cheered Sorensson in June after she was named a semifinalist for state Teacher of the Year. She described the 29-year-old as a compassionate, thoughtful and creative leader who brings a collaborative spirit to her work as the English department director. Qualey, like Trosclair, said the level of engagement and rigorous teaching Sorensson achieves in her classroom is impressive. She has a talent for pulling students deeply into the material and inspiring reflection and debate. She gives her heart to her students every day. She creates better people, Qualey said. I think she inspires everybody around her to be better people and to reach students. An investigation looking into the dark web has revealed at least 15 billion credentials being sold to cybercriminals, which consist of personal information of individuals. Worldwide data breach The research Digital Shadows conducted was named "From Exposure to Takeover" and discovered an average of two credentials for every person in the world that is available for purchase. According to Tech Radar, since 2018, the number of stolen information that was put on sale on the dark web has risen by 300%, consisting of more than 100,000 different data breaches. Out of the 15 billion credentials, at least 5 billion were considered unique as they have only been advertised once on forums used by cybercriminals. The research also showed that most of the compromised details were from consumers ranging from bank account usernames and passwords to video and music streaming services. With the massive amount of available credentials for purchase, the average price falls at $15.43, with bank and financial details being placed at higher prices with an average of $70.91. However, depending on the quality of the account, the sale could have a price tag of more than $500. In the last 18 months, Digital Shadows has cautioned clients of more than 27 million username and password combinations that are susceptible to hacks. Despite the continuous warnings, it has become far more accessible and cheaper for cybercriminals to access hacked accounts. The rapid rise of available purchases on the dark web in recent years has led to the decline of prices and ease of finding an account to purchase, as reported by Forbes. Coincidentally, tools used for hacking and breaching accounts are being sold on the dark web for as little as $4 ranging from brute-force password crackers to account checkers. Also Read: Common Customer Experience Mistakes You Should Avoid Cybercriminal brotherhood Cybercriminals had formed a community where when one shares breached credential databases, others quickly unscramble the passwords and convert them into plaintext format. The brotherhood continues as some individuals on the dark web then share the content for free. According to Independent, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of Digital Shadows Rick Holland said the massive number of breached accounts was shocking. The official also revealed that some of the hacked accounts contained highly sensitive information or at least gave them access. Holland noted the breaches conducted by cybercriminals could be used for future hacks elsewhere. It was also seen that the majority of compromised accounts were those whose usernames included the word "invoice" or "invoices," which gave access to accounts within organizations. Digital Shadow revealed it could not check the authenticity of the accounts put up for sale without purchasing them. Experts noted the sales included accounts from large firms, corporations, and government organizations located in different countries around the world. Security experts have urged the public to strengthen their online accounts by using individual credentials for every online service or account they use and to utilize security services such as two-factor authentication where applicable to increase their cybersecurity. Online tools such as HaveIBennPwned could also be used to determine whether an account's email address has become a victim of cybersecurity breaches. Related Article: Chinese Domestic Violence Database Could Help Couples Know Partner's History, Abuse Before Marriage @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Centuries later, local government officials honored both explorers by erecting statues and naming streets and plazas after them across Puerto Rico. The Columbus Plaza is located at the entrance of Old San Juan and bears a statue of Columbus unveiled in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of his arrival. Meanwhile, a nearby statue of Ponce de Leon stands facing south with his left hand on his hip and right finger pointed toward the first settlement he founded. The ruins still mark the spot of the islands first Spanish capital and is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The statue made of melted steel from British cannons also points in the same direction of the nearby San Juan Bautista Cathedral that bears Ponce de Leons remains and is a popular tourist spot. There has been a lot of talk of a second stimulus package during the past week, and it looks as though low-income folks could be getting some cash in the near future. But they might not be the only ones with money on the way. While Republicans are reportedly resisting calls to extend the $600 unemployment benefit that was part of Marchs CARES Act, there are reports that they are favoring a back-to-work bonus to incentivize returning to work. While the White House hasnt rolled out a plan of its own, Fox Business says there are several out there. According to its report, Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman has proposed a plan that would pay workers $450 on top of their regular wages for several weeks after returning to work. And, Fox Business said, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow called that plan a good idea. It also reported that Texas Republican Kevin Brady has proposed $1,200 in payments turning the $600 unemployment benefit into a back-to-work-bones for two weeks. The current $600 unemployment benefits are slated to end on July 31. Fox Business says the economists warn that without those funds, the U.S. economic recovery could be derailed. The leading American education brand Sylvan Learning, which first brought its 40 years of experience to Vietnam in 2017, is now expanding its program offerings in the country. Sylvan Learning offers Vietnamese students the best learning environment, with up-to-date teaching and learning methodologies, as well as a diverse curriculum portfolio. Based in the United States and boasting more than 750 points of presence worldwide, Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of personal learning for students in grades K-12. Sylvan Learning partners with schools and families and has thousands of school relationships in North America. Now, Sylvan is quickly becoming a coveted brand internationally with locations in Canada, Hong Kong, UAE, Kuwait and Vietnam. Vietnam is one of Sylvan Learnings recent destinations for services, said CEO John McAuliffe. Starting with a network of 11 centers and two satellites in Ho Chi Minh City, Sylvan Learning Vietnam inherits and is committed to the same educational beliefs and values that Sylvan Learning has been pursuing over the past 40 years in the U.S. Vietnamese students are benefiting from Sylvan Learnings proprietary learning programs in state-of-the-art facilities. The inclusive learning environment is personalized to each student and helps children reach their full potential by fostering a love of learning. Sylvan Learning Vietnam initially offered STEM programs exclusively, helping kids develop high-value skills like algebra, problem-solving, critical thinking and STEM vocabulary. Now, Sylvan Learning Vietnam is promoting a diversified training portfolio, including robotics, engineering, math, coding, SAT and ACT test prep, IELTS test prep and diverse EFL curriculums. Those programs, while helping the students achieve new levels of academic success, ignite their intellectual curiosity and nurture their love for learning. Sylvans proprietary Sylvan Method was developed through academic research, years of teaching experience and technology. In addition to STEM, Sylvan has a breadth of programs including reading, writing, math, SAT and ACT prep, study skills and advanced reading to challenge all students, build confidence, boost skills and help deliver better grades. The results speak for themselves. Based on independent research, Sylvan students see up to three times more academic growth than other students. Sylvans Personalized Tutoring programs guarantee progress results. As education and technology evolve, Sylvan continues to be at the forefront of using learning technology with their proprietary program, SylvanSync. Sylvan Learning in Vietnam is a strong partnership, said VP of Education Emily Levitt. We know that Vietnam has been committed to STEM education and supporting the growth of engineering and technology industries. As we add new programs, there's a need for Sylvan educational services, and we have the ability to help more children achieve their dreams. Moving forward, Vietnam is a promising and appealing market for U.S. educational models. Geographical distance is now no longer a barrier as students, either in the USA or in Vietnam, receive the same advanced learning resources and methodologies. As the brand continues to evolve its curriculum, Sylvan Learning believes that their caring and student-centered learning environment will help students become not only successful but also fulfilled individuals. ABOUT SYLVAN LEARNING With more than 40 years of experience and more than 750 points of presence throughout North America, Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of personal learning for students in grades K-12. Sylvan is transforming how students learn, inspiring them to succeed in school and in life. Sylvans proven tutoring approach blends amazing teachers with SylvanSync technology on the iPad for an engaging learning experience. Sylvan also leads the way with Sylvan EDGE STEM and accelerated courses and Sylvan Prep college and test prep courses. Sylvan supports families through every stage of the academic journey. For more information, visit http://www.SylvanLearning.com or SylvanLearning.com/blog. But the separate High Criminal Court of Appeal reissued the death sentences in January. The public prosecutor said the court reinstated the sentences after finding that the convictions were not based on the defendants statements. The court also rejected the conclusion that Moosas confession occurred because of torture and cited evidence that he had not been abused, according to a legal document obtained by BIRD. July 11 : Since the sad demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, the debate on 'nepotism' has been on. Many celebrities are coming forward and talking about the buzzword 'Nepotism' amongst whom Abhay Deol has been very vocal. The actor has once again opened up on the topic and has talked about the ways to deal with it. Sharing a picture of himself with the legend Dharmendra, he writes, "My uncle, whom I affectionately call dad, was an outsider who made it big in the film industry. I'm glad there is an active debate on the practises behind the scenes. Nepotism is just the tip of the iceberg. I've only ever made one film with my family, my 1st and I'm grateful to be blessed and have that privileged. I've gone that extra mile in my career to make my own path, something that dad always encouraged. For me he was the inspiration. Nepotism is prevalent everywhere in our culture, be it in politics, business or film. I was well aware of it and it pushed me to take chances with new directors and producers throughout my career. That is how I was able to make movies that were considered "out of the box." I' glad some of those artists and films went on to have tremendous success. While it plays a part in every country, nepotism has taken on another dimension here in India. I suspect caste plays a major role in it being more pronounced here than in other parts of the world. After all, it is "jati '' that dictates that a son carry on the work of his father, while the daughter is expected to marry and be a housewife. If we are serious about making changes for the better, then focusing on only one aspect, one industry, while ignoring the many others, will be incomplete and possibly counter productive. We need a cultural evolution. After all, where do our filmmakers, politicians and businessmen come from? They are people just like everyone. They grow up within the same system as everybody else. They are a reflection of their culture. Talent everywhere deserves a chance to shine in his or her medium. As we have learnt over the past few weeks, there are several ways in which an artist is either uplifted to success, or beaten down to failure. I'm glad more actors are coming out today and speaking of their experiences. I've been vocal about mine for years now. It's easy to smear one artist for speaking out, and I have been at the receiving end from time to time. But as a group, a collective, that becomes difficult. Maybe now is our watershed moment. #change #equalopportunity #nepotism #caste #jati #nuance #dialogue" The actor who has appeared in several critically acclaimed films, earlier spoke about why he boycotted the award functions as they being the 'FamilyFare' functions only recognise the filmy families and the star kids! Well, it looks like the actor wants to nip the evil in the bud. We hope his efforts and words do not go in vain! The former Congress chief tagged a media report that claimed BJP MPs blocked a Parliament panel's move to review the PM CARES Fund New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday wondered why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not sharing details of those who have donated money to the PM CARES Fund and asked if he was "scared" of doing so. He claimed everyone knows that Chinese companies like Huawei, Xiaomi, TikTok and OnePlus have donated to the PM Cares Fund, set up to fight COVID-19. "Why is the PM so scared of disclosing the names of those who donated money to him for PMCares? Everyone knows Chinese companies Huawei, Xiaomi, TikTok and OnePlus gave money. Why doesn't he share the details," he asked on Twitter. The former Congress chief tagged a media report that claimed BJP MPs blocked a Parliament panel's move to review the PM Cares Fund. Gandhi and the Congress party have been demanding that the PM Cares Fund be audited for the money received by it from the public. He had raised the issue in the meeting of party MPs with Congress president Sonia Gandhi earlier during the day, saying since the fund received money from the public, it should come under audit and review. Illustrative image (Photo: asean.org) Adhi told the Vietnam News Agency that ASEAN and six partners have discussed the document for a long time and it is time for them to reach consensus and implement it. He said WTO has called for trade liberalism and investment, especially in food and farm produce, in an effort to ensure food security amidst COVID-19. This is why GAPMMI has supported countries to agree on and sign the RCEP this year, he explained. Once signed, the agreement would benefit businesses operating in the sphere of food and beverages, especially those in big markets like China, India and Indonesia. To optimise opportunities and ease adverse impacts of the RCEP, it is a must to improve competitiveness, especially in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, he suggested. According to Adhi, total food and beverage trade value between Vietnam and Indonesia exceeded 300 million USD in 2019, of which about 265 million USD came from Indonesia's exports. Vietnam and Indonesia have great potential to boost trade, he stressed. Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday targeted the BJP, accusing its leaders of doing "disaster tourism" amid the coronavirus pandemic. Thackeray visited Kalyan in the district to review the measures taken by the civic body to check the spread of the virus. "We are focusing on keeping people healthy, but the opposition is busy with disaster tourism here," he told reporters. A few days ago, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis had criticized the poor health infrastructure in Kalyan-Dombivali area. Kiran Dighavakar, an assistant municipal commissioner in Mumbai who has played a key role in containing the pandemic in Dharavi, was also present at the review meeting. Thackeray asked officials to intensify "Chase the Virus" campaign in Kalyan and Dombivali on the lines of Dharavi by focussing on contact tracing and increasing the number of tests. Officials should not panic if numbers appeared to be rising, the minister said. Australia on Thursday offered pathways to permanent residency for thousands of people from Hong Kong, in a risky challenge to China over its crackdown on dissent in the city. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government was also suspending its extradition agreement with the city and in addition to extending the visas of 10,000 Hong Kongers already in the country, threw open the door to thousands more to start a new life Down Under. Morrison said the decisions were taken in response to the imposition by China last week of a tough new security law in Hong Kong, which he said "constitutes a fundamental change of circumstances" for the semi-autonomous territory. "Australia is adjusting its laws, our sovereign laws, our sovereign immigration programme, things that we have responsibility for and jurisdiction over, to reflect the changes that we're seeing take place there," he said during a press conference. Foreign Minister Marise Payne said China's moves in Hong Kong were discussed earlier Thursday with Australia's so-called "Five Eyes" security partners -- New Zealand, the United States, Britain, and Canada. Morrison's announcement came a day after China opened a new office in Hong Kong for its security agents to oversee implementation of the law targeting acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign collusion. The law, which followed sometimes-violent pro-democracy protests, is the most radical change in Hong Kong's freedoms since Britain handed the city back to China in 1997 under an agreement designed to preserve its freedoms for 50 years. China has bristled at widespread global criticism of the law and Australia's move to provide safe haven to some Hong Kong citizens was expected to worsen already rising tensions between the two. Beijing in recent months has imposed tariffs on some Australian imports and impeded trade in other key commodities in response to Australian steps to counter Chinese interference in the country. China, Australia's biggest trade partner and a competitor for influence in the Pacific, was notably infuriated when Canberra led calls for a probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. New Zealand is also reviewing its relationship with Hong Kong because of the new law, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said, "including extradition arrangements, controls on exports of strategic goods, and travel advice". - Permanent residency pathway - Morrison brushed aside questions about whether the challenge over Hong Kong would likely lead to further Chinese retaliation. "We will make decisions about what's in our interests, and we will make decisions about our laws and our advisories, and we will do that rationally and soberly and consistently," he said. Under the new measures, 10,000 Hong Kong citizens and residents in Australia on student or temporary work visas will be allowed to remain in the country for an additional five years. "If you're a temporary visa holder, your visa will be extended to an additional five years from today, in addition to the time you've already been in Australia, with a pathway to permanent residency at the end of that period," Morrison said. The five-year visa and possible permanent residency were also offered to Hong Kong entrepreneurs or skilled workers who wish to relocate to Australia in the future. "If there are businesses that wish to relocate to Australia, creating jobs, bringing investment, creating opportunities for Australia, then we will be very proactive in seeking to encourage that," he said. The move echoed Australia's response to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown when Canberra offered refuge to thousands of Chinese students and their families. But it contrasts with the current conservative government's policy of restricting immigration. Morrison said he did not expect a rush of new visa applications from Hong Kongers, in part due to coronavirus travel restrictions. And he added that it would be "very disappointing" if China tried to prevent Hong Kong citizens from taking advantage of the offer. Australia has already warned its citizens of the risk of detention under the new security law. Shortly before Morrison's announcement, the foreign ministry warned Australians in Hong Kong of the risk of detention under the new security law. A Chinese paramilitary police officer gestures while standing at the entrance gate of the Australian embassy in Beijing Australia's offer of a safe haven to Hong Kongers is likely to anger China Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 18:36:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close This photo taken on July 10, 2020, shows TANROADS Chief Executive Officer Patrick Mfugale (R, front) and AVIC INTL Project Engineering Company representative Li Huan (L, front) attend a signing ceremony in Tanzania's capital Dodoma. (Xinhua) Tanzania and two Chinese firms have signed agreements for the construction of Dodoma City Outer Dual Carriageway Ring Road worth about 95.7 million U.S. dollars. DAR ES SALAAM, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania and two Chinese firms have signed agreements for the construction of Dodoma City Outer Dual Carriageway Ring Road worth about 95.7 million U.S. dollars. The construction of the 112.3-kilometer road to be financed by the African Development Bank and the government of Tanzania marked another milestone towards improvement of the east African nation's infrastructure. The agreements were signed Friday in the capital Dodoma between the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS), on behalf of the government of Tanzania, and representatives from China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and AVIC INTL Project Engineering Company. This photo taken on July 10, 2020, shows TANROADS Chief Executive Officer Patrick Mfugale (2nd, R) and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation representative Zhang Junle (2nd, L) attend a signing ceremony in Tanzania's capital Dodoma. (Xinhua) Speaking after the signing of the agreements, Patrick Mfugale, TANROADS Chief Executive Officer, said CCECC will construct 52.3 kilometers of the road for 100.8 billion Tanzanian shillings (about 43.5 million U.S. dollars) within 39 months and AVIC INTL Project Engineering Company will construct 60 kilometers of the road at 120.86 billion Tanzanian shillings within 43 months. Mfugale, who was flanked by the Minister of Works, Transport and Communications Isack Kamwelwe, said the construction of the road will help boost the economy. To be very honest, I wasnt as engaged with the developments for GE2020 as compared to previous elections. I bought into the Flight to Safety theory, as with my friend, Katherine Goh in her contributed piece. I was quite certain the news headlines today would have been like this: Instead, it was more like this, closer to another contributed piece by another friend, Fong Wei Kurk: What happened? Do you remember this Kenneth Jeyaretnam meme from GE2015? This television interview screengrab of the Secretary-General of the Reform Party will make its round in online discussions and internet forums whenever people complain about the ruling Peoples Action Party (PAP) government, together with the quote 70% VOTED FOR THIS (the national vote share for PAP was 69.9% in GE2015). My conclusion after GE2015 was that the 70% PAP vote share will be the new normal and that the opposition parties may well become irrelevant in future elections. I stand corrected now. GE2015 results was an anomaly largely due to the death of the well-esteemed first Prime Minister of Singapore, the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and the SG50 feel-good effects. The late Mr. Lee bought the PAP government another term with a super strong mandate to reorganise, restructure and renew the party for the future generations. Alas, from the showing for GE2020, it seems that the opportunity had been squandered and there is an urgent need for renewal now. For GE2020, the PAP contested primarily on their track record in addressing bread and butter issues. The usual rhetoric about shaking international investors sentiments if Singaporeans rock the boat; the fundamentals about not raiding the reserves unless absolutely necessary; all came out with smoking guns. Our Lives, Our Jobs, Our Future, cried out the PAPs manifesto, right after the announcement of four tranches of relief measures to fight the COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore, totaling nearly S$100 billion. Story continues You cant get more bread and butter focused than this. The poor showing for GE2020 signifies that there is an undercurrent of unaddressed angst on issues beyond bread and butter (probably stuff like the bulldozing through of the controversial POFMA bill and the constitutional changes made to enable the stolen Presidential Election). The call for diversity of views, especially from credible Opposition parties with a point-of-view, comes across loud and clear with the strong stamp of approval for the Workers Party (WP). Likely even more so among the younger segment of voters. In the newly formed Sengkang GRC won by the WP, more than 60% are aged below 45. Whats next after GE2020 for Singapore? The PAP would probably urgently need to relook at the party renewal process and maybe even accelerate it after a rethink and regroup. Same with all the other opposition parties, with WP being the exception. From the result of GE2020, Singaporeans do seem to assess the contesting parties and candidates rationally. This is clear from the poor showing by some of the weaker opposition parties and solid showing for WP. No more fly-by-night opposition candidates who dont walk their ground and have no track record. We crave young blood to warm the cockles of our heart Its not Mee Siam Mai Hum: Its Mee Siam Jin Joi Hum: There seems to be a preference for younger candidates. It is perhaps time for those angry-old-man type of opposition candidates to give way to the next generation and also time for those long-time backbenchers in PAP to step down. Young voters want CHANGE, not more of the same. Covid-19 has turned the world upside down and Singapore is not going to survive this crisis of a lifetime if we do not reinvent the wheels on how we do things. The best examples? Nicole Seah , who proved herself to be the real #wokehypebeast. This 33-year-old millennial took on a former PM in GE2011 and a future PM in GE2020 in two different, large GRCs and she still managed to pull high votes each time 43.35% in GE2011 and an improved 46.59% in GE2020. On the other side of the fence, there is another millennial, Tin Pei Ling who showed us that if you work hard, you can win people over strongly. She did not have an easy political debut in GE2015 and was largely blamed for the poor showing for PAP in Marine Parade GRC. Nonetheless, over the next two elections, Tin Pei Ling worked hard and steadily improved her vote counts. In fact, by pulling in 71.74% of the votes in MacPherson SMC, she is the best-performing PAP candidate this election! Then again, her competitor was the ultimate angry-old-man politician who should have retired from politics long ago. Party renewal is crucial to stay relevant in politics The clear winner here is WP. Low Thia Khiang had a plan. Not an #EastCoastPlan (okay, maybe a solid plan to conquer the East as well), but a plan on party renewal and political legacy which started from the moment he stepped out of his stronghold in Hougang SMC in GE2011 to contest (and win) Aljunied GRC. Low brought his party to do the unimaginable by toppling a GRC helmed by a political heavy-weight and popular PAP Minister, George Yeo and started on his party renewal almost immediately over the subsequent election. WP did not gain any additional seats during GE2015, but it was evident that renewal was in process, with many young candidates fielded by WP and the angry-old-man type on the way out. By GE2020, Pritam Singh emerged as a shiny leader from Lows shadow and showed us what a true leader should be like by standing upfront to face the limelight in the light of the Raeesah Khan fiasco. The Workers Party played their strategy and renewal very well. They will be an even more formidable opposition after this election. For the PAP, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong seemed to hint that he will be staying on longer with his older 4G leaders. In his own words from his lunchtime rally earlier this week: You have my word. Together with my older colleagues like Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, as well as the 4G ministers, I will see this through I am determined to hand over Singapore, intact and in good working order, to the next team. Does this mean that Heng Swee Keat would have to wait longer to become the next PM? For the other opposition parties, Progress Singapore Party might have done better this election had they fielded more young candidates. Party renewal is crucial for PSP to prepare for the next election and to ensure that they will still be relevant, given that the party stalwart, Dr. Tan Cheng Bock is already 80 this year. The same goes for the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), which had a good showing of 46.26% votes at Bukit Panjang for Party Chairman, Dr. Paul Tambyah and 45.2% votes at Bukit Batok SMC for Secretary-General, Dr. Chee Soon Juan. They need to cultivate the next generation of SDP leaders. For most of the other opposition parties, especially those filled with angry old men, seriously, it is time for them to make way for the next generation. Chope here chope there and win around 20+% of the votes just to keep your election deposits is no glory and no future. I hope they see the light. Either renew their parties and make way for younger candidates or just disband honourably like what Tan Jee Say did with his Singaporeans First party. Singaporeans are truly embracing of diversity and our politics should reflect that Perhaps we should really do away with potentially racially divisive measures like the Reserved Presidential Election and the Group Representative Constituency (GRC). While touted as measures to ensure minority representations in the Singapore political arena with a Chinese-dominant population, these measures seem to be outdated in modern Singapore with a progressive, diversity-embracing younger generation. Racial politics can always be a thorny issue, just look across our borders to Malaysia and Indonesia to see how bad it can get. I get that and respect the cautious approach by the ruling PAP government to tread with care. However, judging from the recent reactions by my fellow Singaporeans on race-based politics, I am proud to say that the majority of Singaporeans value diversity, regardless of race, language or religion. Are Singaporeans not ready for a non-Chinese Prime Minister? With popular PAP Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam winning 74.62% of the votes at Jurong GRC for GE2020, I am not sure who is not ready. Can minority candidates win elections without GRC? To the best of my best of knowledge, Murali Pillai who won the Bukit Batok SMC, is indian. In fact, look at Aljunied GRC. The WP fielded THREE minority candidates Pritam Singh, Faisal Manap and Leon Perera, and still won. Can President Halimah Yacob win the presidential election against Chinese candidates? We dont know because we didnt get to vote for her, but I am certain she would have a very good chance, given her solid reputation and popularity among Singaporeans. Diversity is not just about race-based politics, saying no to anti-foreigners rhetoric is included. For this, the poor showing for hate speech prone parties like Peoples Voice is telling. Singaporeans are mature enough to differentiate between job protections for locals versus inciting hate towards foreigners for all our woes. All in all, I thought GE2020 was a very good outcome and paves the way for a better Singapore. Whether you are White, Blue, Red or whatever party colour, together, we can defeat Covid-19. Majulah Singapura! The text message conveyed urgency and alarm, even without all caps and exclamation points. "There's a 6-foot snake in the Pavilion terrorizing guests." It was June 4, the first day in nearly two months that Virginia wineries were allowed to welcome customers after being shut down as part of the commonwealth's efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus. At Afton Mountain Vineyards west of Charlottesville, co-owner Elizabeth Smith was struggling to adapt her usual hospitality to the new conditions while still offering guests a welcoming and safe environment. That's a dilemma faced by wineries across the nation as business resumes - though mostly without snakes. Reopening day at Afton Mountain, which Smith owns with her husband, Tony, went south from the beginning. Smith had advertised that the winery would not be receiving guests under age 21, but the first car to arrive spilled out three young children on their initial outing in weeks and two harried parents desperate for a drink. Smith decided to make an exception. Within minutes, she was herding the children away from the winery's goats and electrified deer fence. A staff member, Jill Schildkamp, began chasing them around the glass-walled pavilion, sanitizing everything they touched. Smith pleaded with them to sit still at one table. She had just stepped away for a breather when the text came from retail manager Michelle Kimmel. Smith rushed back to the pavilion to find Michelle and Jill using a broom to sweep the reptile into an empty wine box. As they were wrangling the snake, the children ran up and demanded, "Do you have ice cream?" The weary mother followed and asked Smith, "Do you have any other activities the children can do?" Smith and Kimmel took the snake in the box, walked far out into the vineyard and let it go. "Black rat snake," she wrote on Facebook, "a good kind." Smith's story is a reminder, as we venture cautiously back into the "new normal," that wineries are not playgrounds or day-care centers, as much as we might need a respite from our children after months of self-isolation. Winery staff are taking extra measures to keep themselves and their customers safe; we should respect their efforts by wearing masks, practicing social distancing and following guidelines set by wineries or local governments. At Afton Mountain, the tasting room is closed for now, but guests are welcome in the pavilion, which can be opened for extra ventilation in fair weather, and at socially distanced outdoor tables. "Self-guided" tastings are presented in flights with written information about the wines. Smith told me this feature will probably continue even after the tasting room reopens, for people who would rather enjoy their wines at their own pace and not crowd around a tasting room bar. At Inman Family Wines in Sonoma County's Russian River Valley, precautions are quite elaborate. The winery reopened June 19, and is now open Thursday through Saturday, welcoming two groups or families at a time. "When they arrive, they are greeted by me, in mask, with a squirt of hand sanitizer for each guest," co-owner and winemaker Kathleen Inman says. "We take all their details down so we have a contact tracing record, and we ask them to verify they have no symptoms. They have to sign a waiver of responsibility." The winery's two restrooms are assigned, one to each group. Everything - tables, chairs, restrooms, glasses and dump buckets - must be sanitized immediately after each group leaves, according to county requirements. "I have to question if (reopening) is worth it," Inman says, citing the health risk to herself and her new wine club manager, who has enabled her to expand to three days of tastings per week. She says she's been doing more online tastings for corporations looking to connect with clients and employees. California's reopening seemed more upbeat for Alison Smith Story and her husband, Eric Story, when they began welcoming guests back to their Smith Story Wines tasting room in Philo, in Mendocino County's Anderson Valley. The valley is less than three hours' drive from San Francisco or Sacramento, making it a popular day-trip destination. "I've never seen so many packed Suburus and RVs drive in," Smith Story says. Tastings are by appointment only, starting on the hour and lasting 45 minutes to leave a quarter-hour scramble to sanitize everything. Guests are limited to six per party from the same social circle, and they must wear masks when walking around the tasting room. Temperatures are taken upon arrival, and bottles of hand sanitizer are deployed throughout the room. Tastings are pre-poured, each guest using just one glass. And guests are not allowed to pet Lord Sandwich, the couple's adorable goldendoodle and winery mascot. "It's bittersweet to work this way," she says. "We are grateful for a full schedule, but only allowing private reservations cuts our customer count to less than half of what we are used to in the summertime here." Back in Virginia, Elizabeth Smith said snakes reappeared at Afton Mountain Vineyards a couple times those first days after reopening, but the "activity and vibrations" of business have kept them away since. And after that first day, "No more kids," she says. "No exceptions." Advertisement Coronavirus lockdowns around the globe have brought an epidemic of littering, not least in the UK where fly-tipping has become a scourge on the countryside. But these brave street cleaners may have the worst job in the world as they swim neck deep in rivers of rubbish to help clean Bangladeshi canals. Extraordinary photographs show volunteers cleaning up the riverbanks surrounding a canal in Savar, Dhaka. The water used to be a canal before heaps of urban waste made a land mass in the region 24 kilometres to the northwest of Bangladesh's capital. Street cleaners in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh, may have the worst job in the world as they clean rubbish out a canal in the region The volunteers swim neck deep in the mountain of urban waste that has turned part of the canal into a landmass A volunteer wearing a plastic hat hangs horizontally on a bamboo pole over the mountain of rubbish The water used to be a canal before heaps of urban waste made a land mass in the 24 kilometres to the northwest of Bangladesh's capital A volunteer leans on a broken bamboo pole as half his body submerges into the waste heap in the water The cleaners use bamboo poles to separate the mounds of rubbish at the river bank before clearing it Mountains of black bin bags, plastic bottles, empty wrappers and household waste clogged up the canal in Savar. The Dhaleshwari, Bangshi and Turag rivers and canals under the municipalities jurisdiction have been polluted by rubbish for years. Savar municipality cleaners have dumped domestic, plastic, medical, industrial and e-wastes at 50 spots mostly on canals and rivers, according to New Age Bangladesh. Last year, municipality officials said they collected at least 200 tonnes of waste daily, which were dumped in lowlands connected to rivers. A volunteer wearing a plastic hat paddles through the rubbish as pieces of wet paper cling to his skin The volunteers attempt to separate the island of waste with a bamboo pole as they clean the river bank without wearing protection A volunteers wades through waste holding a bamboo shoot to keep upright while wearing only a plastic bag on his head for protection Volunteers swim up to their neck in rubbish as they try to rid the river banks of mounds of waste dumped on the banks of the canal Last year, the Bangladeshi High Court declared all rivers in the country to have the same legal status as a human being in a landmark verdict. State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said 15,175 illegal structures were removed from the port areas of the Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakkhya rivers, and 566.12 acres of encroached riverbanks were recovered. Kabir Bin Anwar, secretary at the Water Resources Ministry, told Dhaka Tribune: 'Every district administration has worked tirelessly for a year to compile this list of illegal encroachment. 'We have also set up a control room dedicated to this task in the ministry. 'We will install walkways and plant trees to deter people from encroaching on these territories again.' Bay of Plenty Our client has plenty of work in the pipeline and as such they are in need of qualified or experienced carpenters for an... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) Lisbon, Portugal Sat, July 11, 2020 17:30 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406659b9f5 2 Environment dolphin,Lisbon,Tagus,Portugal,animals,environment,river,coronavirus,pandemic Free Amid hard times brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, one sight is putting a smile on people's faces in Portugal: dolphins splashing around near Lisbon's shores. "I have loved dolphins forever," wrote a social media user left in awe at a video shared online of a group of dolphins jumping out of the water. "It is great to see them up close, and in our very own Tagus river!" Though dolphins have been sighted in the Tagus since Roman times, the mammals are no longer seen often, according to a 2015 report by the Sea School and the Marine Science Association in Lisbon. But over the last two months, social media channels have been alive with videos and images of dolphins shared by those lucky enough to catch sight of them leaping out of the waves. "With the improvement in water quality, the river has been gaining new life and a friendly family of dolphins has been seen several times during the last month," Lisbon's mayor's office wrote on Facebook. Read also: Bali hosts first center to return captive dolphins to the wild The pandemic has halted the cruise ship industry and fewer commuter ferries have crossed the river. But marine biologist Francisco Martinho, who specialises in dolphins, said there was more to the story. "It's not because the river has become more peaceful that dolphins are spending more time there," Martinho said. "It's because there are more fish than usual for them to eat." Martinho said it was not clear why more fish were being found in the waters and said the dolphins were likely to leave in a few months if the fish run out. "It is a difficult time for everyone but something good happened," a Facebook user commented on pictures of the dolphins shared online. Topics : dolphin Lisbon Tagus Portugal animals environment river coronavirus pandemic Your browser does not support the audio element. Starting July, there will be street art performances on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City every Saturday as per a new tourism promotion initiative from the municipal Department of Culture and Sports. The citys deputy chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen has given the green light to the proposed idea. A total of 48 weekly street art shows with an estimated cost of more than VND1.4 billion (US$60,400), funded by the municipal culture departments budget for 2020, will be organized to reboot and promote travel to the city after the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The citys Peoples Committee has assigned relevant functional agencies to coordinate the effective implementation of the program in a way that ensures public order and security, fire and explosion prevention, and environmental sanitation. Nguyen Hue Street, located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City's District 1, officially became the citys first-ever promenade in April 2015. Since its opening, the 900-meter pedestrian street has been the iconic hang-out spot for both locals and tourists in the southern metropolis, attracting many people every night and getting even more crowded on the weekend. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone (Colossians 4:3-60). If we fail to understand the gospel ourselves, it can have eternal consequences as it shapes our view of eternity. There are ramifications for not proclaiming the gospel with clarity to others or omitting core truths because we fear what others will say. Having an eternal view should keep the gospel at the forefront of our mind and direct our conversations with others. This is the greatest news for a broken world desperately hungry for hope; we shouldnt keep it to ourselves. There is a need for urgency - do others know Jesus? How can we daily live our lives with fervor for the souls of those we encounter? Our minds can be filled with Gods Word which shapes our understanding of who He is and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ as we seek to faithfully proclaim it to others. 5. Jesus Is Eternal and He Spoke of the Eternal Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God (Psalm 90:2). Our chief aim is to glorify God who is worthy of all praise. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. God has always been and He will always be. In Isaiah 46:11, it says What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do. God brings about His plans and purposes for all things, for all time and He has revealed this to us through His Word. When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who had always been with the Father entered our world as a human, He had a purpose. This was planned from before the beginning of the world. He could see what His death and resurrection would accomplish. Jesus declared that He was the way and the truth and the life and that no one could come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). He also said that whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life (John 5:24). We should take the words of Jesus seriously as He spoke about the eternal frequently including heaven and hell. We need to remember the eternal reality that we will all encounter and not be fearful to speak of these truths. Photo credit: Unsplash/Ben White ISIS attacks return in Iraq; Andrew White warns jihadis 'seem more empowered' than before Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment As Muslims celebrate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and as governments try to combat the spread of COVID-19, there has been a resurgence of deadly attacks by the Islamic State in Iraq over two years after the groups territorial defeat. According to reports, militants aligned with the jihadi group have launched a series of attacks in the last week as they are trying to take advantage of gaps in security protection in Iraq. Attacks in Iraqs Diyala and Salahuddin provinces have resulted in the killings of security personnel and have also damaged sources of electricity. "Amongst all the Corona Virus news there has been no mention of the massive crisis in Iraq," Andrew White, an Anglican vicar who spent years serving in Baghdad, warned followers on Facebook. "Many people have been killed by gun fire and morters. The sad fact is ISIS has returned in force." "Some politician friends say it is like ISIS returning on steroids," White added. "They seem more empowerd now than ever before. We need serious prayer that order will be restoredi. Things are truly desperate." The attacks are creating fear that the militant group is resurging as governments are devoting their resources to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to The Military Times. Since its territorial defeat in late 2017, the Islamic State had lost the ability to carry out large-scale military operations. The group has also gone into hiding with reports that militants are quartered now in caves located in northern Iraq. Its a real threat, Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the northern Kurdish region of Iraq, told the news outlet. They are mobilizing and killing us in the north and they will start hitting Baghdad soon. According to Talabani, the Islamic State is taking advantage of a gap between Kurdish forces and the Iraqi military in Iraq. Salahuddin council member Subhan Jiyad told Al-Monitor that the first of several Islamic State attacks in a 24-hour period began just before devout Muslim security personnel was set to enjoy a pre-dawn meal last Saturday, May 2. Another source who was not named told the Arab media site that Sunni locals from the Albu Issa tribe were among those killed. According to Al-Monitor, the first attack occurred in the town of Mukashifa, a Sunni-majority town that lies on a road that links Baghdad with Tikrit. The city is northwest of the town of Samarra, which not only contains a pilgrimage site for Muslims but is also the hometown of deceased Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Six members of the local Popular Mobilization Units were killed in the attack on a checkpoint, Jiyad explained. Then, when reinforcements were sent in, three more were killed by an improvised explosive device set by IS. Middle East Eye reports that the attack near Samarra began in the early hours of the morning when six youth security fighters, who were preparing their pre-dawn meal, were burned and killed by Islamic State militants. After setting explosive devices that killed three more, Islamic State fighters attacked a police station around 9 p.m. that night in the Zaghaniya village of Diyala, about 35 miles north of Baghdad. Iraqs Security Media Cell disclosed that at least four police officers were killed in the attack and 10 others were injured. The media cell on Sunday said that the Islamic State attacked PMU forces located just south of the city of Tikirt, about 96 miles from Baghdad. Although some fear that the attacks could be an indication that the group is trying to regain a foothold in Iraq, one military officer who spoke with Middle East Eye said that the two operations were not high profile and did not mean that IS has regained its ability to carry out major operations. The officer blamed neglect and relaxation by security forces for allowing such attacks to occur. The same mistake always recurs, the senior military officer was quoted as saying. Calm breeds relaxation, speed creates confusion and the two lead to disaster. Clashes between the PMF, an Iraq-sponsored coalition of about 40 militias, and Islamic State fighters continued through Monday in Salahuddin as well as other parts of Iraq, according to Newsweek. The series of Islamic State attacks come after the U.S. has drawn down its troop presence in both Syria and Iraq. It also comes as Turkeys military activities against Kurdish rebels in Syria are hampering the U.S.-led international coalitions counter-Islamic State efforts, according to Military Times. In Syria, the Islamic State is also said to be responsible for the killing of six soldiers who were killed when their vehicle struck a landmine in the Homs province, as reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights last Thursday. On April 9, Islamic State fighters reportedly attacked government-held positions near the town of Sukhna in the Homs province. According to Military Times, 32 troops and 26 Islamic State fighters were killed during two days of fighting in the town. United Kingdom military intelligence had reported that a group of Islamic State extremists was hiding out in a series of caves northeast of the Bayji, an Iraqi city about 130 miles north of Baghdad. In a press release Wednesday, the Royal Air Force announced that two of its Typhoon FGR4 planes joined U.S. aircraft in attacking the caves in northeast Iraq on April 28. The Typhoons dropped precision-guided Paveway IV bombs and about [10 Islamic State] militants were killed in the joint UK-US strike, the Royal Air Force said. The raid was carried out following intelligence that had identified the location of the Daesh cell, which was operating in the Hamrin mountains, northeast of the Iraqi town of Bayji. The RAF jets targeted six caves, while US strikes were carried out on four other caves. A Serbian man who came to Vietnam as an expert to work at industrial steel manufacturing company, the Hoa Phat Corporation, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (SARS CoV-2) that causes COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases to 370. Samples are taken for people in a quarantine centre. Illustrative image. According to the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, he arrived in the country on July 9 at Da Nang International Airport onboard a flight from Oman and was immediately quarantined upon arrival. His samples were taken the same day and the result turned out as positive the next day. The 29-year-old patient is being treated at a quarantine centre at Dung Quat Industrial Zone in Quang Ngai province. Among the confirmed cases, 230 were imported and quarantined immediately after arrival. Up to 350 patients have recovered from the disease, and there are no deaths. Of the active cases, two have tested negative for the virus once, and two others at least twice. At present, 9,988 people having close contact with confirmed cases or coming from pandemic-hit areas are in quarantine, including six in hospitals, 9,509 in other quarantine sites, and 414 at home or accommodation facilities. Vingroup offers array of ventilators to countries worldwide Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup presented 1,000 ventilators to Russia, Ukraine, and Singapore on July 10 in an effort to treat novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the three countries. Through their embassies operating in the country, Vingroup was able to provide 500 Vsmart VFS-510 ventilators to Russia, in addition to 300 Vsmart VFS-510 ventilators to Ukraine during the schemes first stage. The remaining 1,600 VFS-410 ventilators will be handed over in the second stage of the plan before August 30, following previous agreements reached between Vingroup and the two countries. Along with the donations to Russia and Ukraine, the same day saw the conglomerate complete the donation of 200 Vsmart VFS-510 ventilators to the embassy of Singapore, with the aim of assisting Singaporean people to overcome challenges in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. The embassies have drawn up plans to ship the ventilators back to their countries so that they can be immediately put into use to meet the demand for COVID-19 treatment facilities as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase sharply each day. Vsmart VFS-510 is the first Made-in-Vietnam ventilator model to be officially recognised by the Ministry of Health. They help meet medical facilities increasing demand for ventilators to treat critically ill patients. 6-year-old boy recovers from COVID-19 A six-year-old coronavirus patient was announced to fully recover from the SARS-CoV-2 virus on July 10, bringing the countrys total number of patients recovering from the virus to 348 out of 369 confirmed cases. The boy, who lives in Hanoi, returned to Noi Bai International Airport from Europe on June 6 together with his parents and twin brother. The four were isolated at an concentrated quarantine facility of a vocational school in Hanois Nam Tu Liem district. After they were confirmed to carry the virus on June 19, they were all transferred to Hanois Hospital of Tropical Diseases for medical surveillance and treatment. They were said to respond well to the treatment, and all family members, except for the boy, were discharged from hospital in late June and early July. During his stay at the hospital, the boy had not shown any clinical signs of virus symptoms. He had tested negative at least twice, meeting the criteria to be discharged from hospital. The boy will be in quarantine at the hospital for another 14 days according to regulations before returning to his family. Currently, 21 COVID-19 patients are being treated at hospitals across the country. Indonesia considers to reinstate restriction after rise in COVID-19 cases Head of Indonesias COVID-19 task force Doni Monardo said on July 10 that tighter restrictions on home and public gatherings will be reinstated after a double-digit rise in coronavirus cases has been seen for a second straight day. Indonesias Health Ministry said July 9 witnessed another highest single-day rise of coronavirus infections, with 2,657 new cases, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 70,736. The country has never reported more than 2,000 cases in a day before. Monardo said as Indonesia braces to gradually reopen the economy, the government has announced that the country regions should meet two main conditions to be able to ease COVID-19 mobility restrictions and start welcoming the so-called new normal. Regions should either have maintained zero COVID-19 cases or have witnessed a significant decrease in the number of infections in order to relax curbs and reopen businesses under health protocols, he added. However, if the regions cannot properly maintain and suppress its COVID-19 cases, the policy will turn around quickly. The government has not ruled out the possibility of tightening social movements in the region again. Responding to the surge in new cases, President Joko Widodo, on the sidelines of his visit to Central Kalimantan on July 9, said the country was back in a red light position. Therefore, he ordered the ministers and all local governments to be aware of the situation and to take action immediately. Even teleprompter could not take so many lies: Rahul's dig at PM Modis Davos speech PM CARES Fund: No curb on use of PM's name, photo, image of flag, emblem, PMO tells HC Real time monitoring need of the hour says PM at high level meet India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed for providing real-time national level monitoring and guidance to all COVID-19 affected states. The intervention was made during a high level meeting the PM chaired on Saturday to review the status of the pandemic situation in the country. "PM appreciated the concerted efforts of the Centre, State & local authorities in containing the pandemic in Delhi. He further directed that a similar approach should be adopted with other State Governments in containing Covid19 in the entire NCR area," an official communication from the Prime Minister's Office said. COVID-19: 6 states against conducting university exams, HRD says student evaluation crucial J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News The PM also directed for a renewed emphasis on the need to observe personal hygiene and social discipline in public areas. He said that this should be done through renewal of awareness campaigns about COVID-19 and methods to prevent its spread. There is no room for complacency in this regard, he also said. The PM also praised the authorities for their efforts to contain the pandemic in Delhi and asked for all to adopt a similar approach in the national capital region. The review meeting was also attended by Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, health minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan among others. LOS ANGELESDemocratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has long held a murky position when it comes to net neutrality, even though the original, federal regulations were imposed in 2015, during the Obama administration in which Biden was vice president. During the primary campaign, while his chief opponent Bernie Sanders strongly supported net neutrality, Bidens position remained publicly ambiguous. But as he gears up for the general election campaign against Donald Trump, Biden has now collaborated directly with Sanders, releasing a policy statement Thursday strongly in favor of net neutrality principles. In the policy document, Biden pledges to restore the FCCs clear authority to take strong enforcement action against broadband providers who violate net neutrality principles through blocking, throttling, paid prioritization, or other measures that create artificial scarcity and raise consumer prices for this vital service. The policy notably stops short of saying that under Biden, a Democratically controlled Federal Communications Commission would reinstate the Obama-era regulations. Those net neutrality rules were repealed in 208 by the Trump administration FCC. Net neutrality is the principle that ISPs must treat all online data traffic equally, not offering a fast lane to any specific sites, or blocking and throttling others. But it also involves classifying the internet as a telecommunications service, which means it would be regulated by the FCC. The 2018 net neutrality repeal reclassified the internet as an information service, which moves its jurisdiction to the Federal Trade Commission, leaving the FCC with very little power to regulate online services. Though according to his campaign, Biden was outraged when the Obama-era net neutrality rules were ditched, his new policy statement makes no mention of whether he favors reclassifying the internet as a telecommunications service once again. But Biden has upset internet freedom advocates by supporting repeal of Section 230, the portion of the 1996 Communications Decency Act that has ensured open communication online. Section 230 shields online platforms from legal liability for content posted by third parties. Section 230 should be revoked, immediately should be revoked, number one. For (Facebook CEO Mark) Zuckerberg and other platforms, Biden said in a New York Times interview earlier this year. Many Democrats have supported legislation to weaken Section 230, such as the EARN IT Act which recently advanced out of a senate committee and now awaits a vote by the full Senate. But Bidens position as stated in the Times interview is stronger even than that of Republicans who have proposed legislation that would render elements of Section 230 ineffective, but would not revoke it altogether. Photo By White House / Wikimedia Common Public Domain Governments need to get creative if they are going to help restaurants recover to pre-pandemic business levels. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Governments need to get creative if they are going to help restaurants recover to pre-pandemic business levels. While early figures suggest several sectors are on their way to a strong economic recovery, data indicate the food and hospitality industry is lagging behind on several fronts. Advocates are criticizing one-size-fits-all approaches to economic recovery from government, urging feds to "get creative" or risk losing cultural hubs in city spaces. "Theres still that sense of hesitation were seeing," said Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. Jonathan Alward of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business pointed to their research which showed only 29 per cent of all restaurants in Manitoba had business at above or normal levels of revenue, with the national average of sales at 24 per cent. "Yes, every sector is being affected," said Remillard, "But everyones being affected differently." "We need better solutions for food and hospitality since recovery for them is very different than, say, energy and gas." Canadas leading food supply chain expert suggests Ottawa look to Britain for solutions. "We need to vouch for vouchers," said Sylvain Charlebois, from Dalhousie University, pointing to a British program called "eat out to help out" launching in August. For 13 days, the program will allow registered establishments to offer meals at a price with a maximum discount of about $15 per person. Consumers can use discount vouchers as many times as they want, even over consecutive days, but will only be allowed to use them for sit-down meals. "So, if youre a family of four, your $100 bill would be reduced to just $50," said Charlebois of the program that will cost Britain more than $1 billion. "I know that might not necessarily be feasible here in Canada," he added, "but I urge our government to look at things like that if theyre truly committed to save the hospitality sector." Chris Graves, who runs Kings Head Pub in Winnipeg, says he "couldnt be more ecstatic" about the idea of federally endorsed vouchers. "That being said, Manitoba needs to do more," he said. "Our provincial government simply doesnt understand the hospitality business if they want to, they need to talk to us." "There are so many pubs and restaurants and places Ive seen across Manitoba shutter and fold forever. Why are the feds the only ones doing something?" Award-winning chef and food consultant Dana McCauley believes there are many ways for provincial governments to step in. "The best help we can get from governments right now would be tax breaks and reductions over those fees theyve continued to mandate," McCauley told the Free Press. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. She said a re-introduction of the dining experience needs to take place "from someone taking your order to someone playing live music, to other ways you feel special." "I dont know if vouchers would work for all dining restaurants," she said, "but theres many other creative ways with apps like Restaurant Roulette that could be promoted." Chuck Davidson, president and CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, said its all about visual displays, reiterating that messaging from the government "must change about whats safe, whats not and whats at full capacity when it really isnt." "Its definitely not business as usual," he said. "Our local places are in deep trouble. "And at the end of the day what really makes our cities special is the food and people." temur.durrani@freepress.mb.ca Father Arrested After Body Believed to Be of Missing 3-Year-Old Olivia Jansen Found The father of 3-year-old Olivia Jansen was arrested late Friday on suspicion of first-degree murder and child abuse, after the girls body was believed to have been found following a missing report and an AMBER Alert early on Friday. Online records from the Wyandotte County Jail show that 29-year-old Howard Jansen was arrested and is being held for a minimum of 48 hours at the jail. There are no formal charges as of late Friday. Earlier in the evening, the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department said that at around 6 p.m., a body believed to be that of Olivia Jansen was discovered in a Kansas City neighborhood trail, according to WIBW. The AMBER Alert that was sent out earlier in the day is now canceled for the child. We are deeply saddened to announce that in the last 30 minutes our officers have discovered a body in the 3400 block of Steele that we believe to be that of missing 3-year-old Olivia Jansen, police said shortly after the discovery of the body, reported KWCH. We thank everyone who shared our posts and reached out with tips and offers of assistance throughout the day. For that reason we wanted to share this information as swiftly as possible. This is not the outcome we wanted, in fact it is the worst outcome. Olivia was reported missing in the morning when her father awoke to her empty bed. The back door to the residence was left open. Due to her age and a search of the area, investigators believe that she was taken from the location. There is no known suspect at this time and no known suspect vehicle, said Missingkids.org. Authorities told FOX4 in Kansas City that they received a tip that a body was located off a trail near Interstate 635. An autopsy has not been carried out to confirm the girls identity. In the incident, the girls father, who was not named, told officials that he last saw the child at 11 p.m. on Thursday night. When he woke up at 5:30 a.m., she was gone, he said. She was reported missing about three hours later, officials said. Kansas City, Kansas, police spokesman Tom Tomasic told the Fox affiliate that theyve heard several stories throughout the day and none of them made sense. The police department says it has called in the FBI to assist in the investigation and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation was called in. Kansas City, Kansas, is located next to Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Spalbar and other prominent Ladakhis insist that they have reported Chinese incursions for years, but that the Indian military refused to do anything about it. They say there was a code of silence, in which the Indian media was complicit, and that the Indian armed forces didnt want to face the fact that a more powerful and aggressive military was steadily nibbling away at its territory. Indian Army officials declined to comment for this article. Chinese officials have been stingy with details as well, including about whether any Chinese troops were killed in the clash in June. Western intelligence agents, who see the border as one of Asias most dangerous flash points, say they think that China lost more than a dozen soldiers in the fight. In early July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India swooped into Ladakh, rallying the troops while wearing a puffy green army jacket and aviator-style shades. Friends, he vowed, the era of expansionism is over, implying that India was willing to push back against China. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 17:09:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on May 29, 2020 shows the White House in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) - Roger Stone is a long-time adviser and friend of U.S. President Donald Trump. - He was sentenced to 40 months in prison for lying to the U.S. Congress in 2019. - Trump has commuted Stone's prison time as the White House calls Stone "a victim of the Russia Hoax." WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive grant of clemency commuting the prison time of his longtime confidant Roger Stone, said White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Friday. The announcement came shortly after an appeals court denied Stone's motion to delay the start of his prison term, scheduled to begin Tuesday. McEnany said in a statement that the sentence is "unjust," calling Stone "a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency." "Roger Stone is now a free man," McEnany added. Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, the chairs of the Democrat-led House Judiciary and Oversight committees respectively, said in a joint statement that Trump "abused the powers of his office" to reward "an individual that could directly implicate him in criminal misconduct." Photo taken on July 9, 2020 shows the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Stone, a former campaign adviser for Trump during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was sentenced in February to 40 months in prison for lying to Congress and witness tampering during former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. In November 2019, a federal court jury found Stone guilty of lying to a House committee about his efforts to find out what WikiLeaks planned to do with hacked emails dealing with Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The jury concluded that Stone also urged a radio host to lie to Congress about their WikiLeaks conversations. Stone was not charged with any underlying crime of coordinating with Russia during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, although Mueller's team investigated Stone over tweets claiming to be in touch with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Career federal prosecutors initially recommended a prison sentence of seven to nine years earlier this year. However, Attorney General William Barr intervened hours after Trump tweeted his displeasure and directed the Justice Department to submit a new court filing, saying a three-to-four-year sentence would be "more in line with the typical sentences imposed" in similar cases. Four prosecutors resigned in protest afterwards and Barr was under fire for allegations of "misuse of the criminal justice system" at the time. As hospitals and health systems around the country continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and work swiftly to develop strategies to be more inclusive, nursing leaders are searching for thoughtful guidance to meet these fluid, complex challenges. To help nursing leaders navigate the way, Tipton Health Communications will continue its free Nursing Leadership Webinar Series through the summer, featuring renowned experts who will discuss the importance of nursing recognition, resiliency and investing in frontline staff. And back by popular demand, Tipton will host a second installment of its special webinar on race, inclusive practices and nursing. Our summer Nursing Leadership Webinar Series schedule includes: The Why and How of Nurse Recognition During the Pandemic from the DAISY Foundation Tuesday, July 21, 12:30 1 p.m. EDT Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, co-founder and CEO of The DAISY Foundation, is joined by her foundation peers to discuss why nurse recognition is so important today and how to make sure it happens, even in the midst of the pandemic. SPECIAL WEBINAR: PART II A Discussion on Race, Inclusive Practices and Nursing July 28, 12:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. EDT By popular demand, Ena Williams, MBA, MSM, BSN, RN, CENP, senior vice president and Chief Nursing Officer at Yale New Haven Hospital, returns to moderate a follow-up discussion on race and nursing. This special webinar is part two of our June 28 webinar, A Discussion on Race, Inclusive Practices and Nursing. Williams will once again be joined by Ernest Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN, president of the American Nursing Association (ANA), and Martha A. Dawson, DNP, RN, FACHE, president of the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA). The panelists will focus on questions raised during the first webinar, including what they can do to be part of the solution. Dr. Jean Watson Discusses Caring Relationships During Desperate Times Tuesday, August 4, 12:30 - 1 p.m. EDT Jean Watson, PHD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, (LL -AAN), founder of the Watson Caring Science Institute and developer of Philosophy and Theory of Transpersonal Caring or Caring Science, will offer insight on how to maintain transpersonal caring relationships, Caritas Presence, micro-practices for caring moments and more in the midst of the sometimes desperate situations caused by the pandemic. Invest in Nurses NOW to Strengthen the Global COVID-19 Response Tuesday, August 18, 12:30 1 p.m. EDT Billy Rosa, PhD, MBE, NP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, speaks on the importance of redesigning existing services and introducing new and innovative services that maximize the contribution made by nurses, so that frontline workers are as prepared as possible for the continuation of COVID-19. Building Nurse Resilience to Battle COVID-19 Stress, Depression and Anxiety Monday, August 24, 12:30 1 p.m. EDT Courtney Vose, DNP, MBA, RN, APRN, NEA-BC, VP and CNO of NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia/Allen, will discuss a recent study on the mental health toll of COVID-19 on healthcare workers, which characterized distress, coping and preferences for support. In addition to the free webinars, Tipton Health Communications continues to provide resources to help make sense of a complex world following the pandemic. For more information on these upcoming webinars and the experts leading them, please visit tiptonhealth.com/webinars. Here you can also view recordings of our past sessions. About Tipton Health Communications Tipton Health Communications is a leading provider of executive nurse consulting and mentoring; nursing excellence program development; and Magnet, Pathway to Excellence and Practice Transition Accreditation Program consulting support to the nations hospital and healthcare systems. In addition, Tipton Health supports clients nationwide with award-winning communications services, including employee communications, human resources communications, public relations, marketing communications, intranet and Internet design, graphic design, and strategic communications. For more information, please visit tiptonhealth.com. Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc (Photo: vov.vn) Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc affirms the embassy and Vietnamese representative agencies in the US will try to protect Vietnamese students' interests there The US Department of Homeland Securitys Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division recently announced that the US Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will US Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the US. The new policy, due to take effect this autumn, will directly affect students with F-1 visa i.e. international students who are attending an academic program and those with M-1 visa i.e. international students who are attending vocational and technical schools. This decision prompted many international students, including thousands of Vietnamese students, not feel at ease in the context of the complicated COVID-19 pandemic in the US as well as its travel restrictions this time. In a short interview with a Washington-based VOV correspondent, Vietnamese ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc said the embassy and Vietnamese representative agencies in the US have contacted relevant US agencies to better understand the new policy in an attempt to guarantee Vietnamese students legitimate interests there. I would like to recommend that our students stay calm and frequently contact the external affairs service of the schools where they are studying and researching. In addition, you keep in regular contact with our embassy and representative agencies in the US. We have provided hotlines for you to contact and ask for more information. You also can keep in touch with the Vietnamese Youth-Students Association in the US so we can continue to provide more information. According to the ambassador, the embassy has worked with the relevant US agencies and requested that they take measures to meet and ensure the rights of Vietnamese students during their study there. Currently, many schools have received feedback from students, and we have also raised the question with relevant US authorities, said Ngoc. We have collaborated with other ASEAN countries in the US to raise the concerns and put forward the proposal. Ngoc also noted that the embassy and Vietnamese representative agencies in the US have made a number of proposals to repatriate Vietnamese citizens stranded in the US amid travel restrictions in the country. First, we have proposed increasing the frequency of Vietnam Airlines flights to bring our citizens back home. Second, we can conduct codeshare flights with foreign airlines to bring our citizens back home. Third, as far as I know the government has allowed the reopening of flight routes to Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei and Guangzhou on a trial basis. I recommend that our citizens return home through those transit locations./. New Delhi: An encounter between Indian security forces with 2 militants is underway in Ajar village in Bandipora sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Militants are believed to be holed up inside a house. Gunshots heard at Ajar Bandipora after it was cordoned. Firing was going for 20 minutes input was that two militants might me hiding in a house. Area is still cordoned fire is heard in intervals, reports said. Meanwhile, Pakistan troops violated ceasefire at two points along the Line of Control, instigating fitting reply from Indian forces. Pakistan violated ceasefire in Nowshera sector in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir. At the time of filing this report firing was on since 5 AM. In another ceasefire violation, Pakistan forces attacked BSF troops in Ramgarh sector of Samba (Jammu and Kashmir), strong retaliation on since 6:30 AM. According to reports, Pakistani forces were using small arms, automatics, 82 mm mortars. Two civilians have ben injured. Read more: 2 civilians injured as Pak violates ceasefire in Samba sector in Jammu, BSF gives fitting reply For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. What just happened? Today Amazon sent employees an email banning TikTok on devices connected to Amazon's email. This would have been just the latest on a number of setbacks for TikTok developer, ByteDance. However, a few hours later Amazon took back that stance, saying the email was sent by mistake. TikTok's Chinese ownership and privacy issues have garnered it much scrutiny from governments and companies around the world. Amazon apparently had planned to request its employees to delete TikTok from their phones according to a company-wide email obtained by The New York Times. The company cited "security risks" as the primary reason. The email specifically requested that employees delete TikTok from any device that can "access Amazon email." Presumably, this includes both employer-provided phones and personal phones that have access to the employee's business email. Later on, on the same day, Amazon issued a statement saying this mornings email to some of our employees was sent in error, there is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok. Amazon's retracted policy applied to employees' phones with a narrow window to remove the app in order to retain access to their Amazon email. Accessing TikTok from their laptops' browser was still allowed, however. "Due to security risks, the TikTok app is no longer permitted on mobile devices that access Amazon email. If you have TikTok on your device, you must remove it by 10-Jul to retain mobile access to Amazon email." Shots fired. Scott Hickle ? (@scotthickle) July 10, 2020 A TikTok spokesman responded to Amazon's decision stating, "While Amazon did not communicate to us before sending their email, and we still do not understand their concerns, we welcome a dialogue so we can address any issues they may have and enable their team to continue participating in our community." This would have been yet another blow to the popular bite-sized video creation app which has continued to face scrutiny over its Chinese ownership. Increased tensions between the United States and China has led many to view TikTok as a danger to national security. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that that U.S. is considering a ban on TikTok outright. The app has already been banned by both the Navy and TSA and is undergoing a national security review by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS). ByteDance has continuously maintained its stance that it's not subject to the whims of the Chinese government, citing its decision to withdraw the app from Hong Kong and keeping U.S. based data inside of the United States. Regardless, the company is having a difficult time proving to the rest of the world of its innocence. Pompeo Calls UN Expert's Conclusions On Soleimani Killing 'Spurious' By RFE/RL July 10, 2020 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has defended a U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Iraq early this year, after a UN expert deemed it as "unlawful." In a statement on July 9, Pompeo rejected the conclusions of Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, as "spurious." He said the United States had been "transparent" regarding the international law basis for the strike, citing a letter it sent to the UN Security Council explaining that "the strike was undertaken in the exercise of the United States' inherent right of self-defense." Callamard presented her findings earlier on July 9 to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, in which she said the January 3 drone strike near Baghdad's airport that killed Soleimani constituted an "arbitrary killing" for which the United States is responsible under international human rights law. She said the United States had provided no specific evidence that showed Soleimani was planning an imminent attack against U.S. interests, particularly in Iraq, for which immediate action was necessary and would have been justified. But Pompeo said the strike that killed Soleimani "was in response to an escalating series of armed attacks in the preceding months" by Iran. He also said it was conducted to deter Iran from launching or supporting further attacks against the United States or U.S. interests and was carried out to degrade the capabilities of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). According to the United States, Soleimani was responsible for orchestrating attacks on U.S. forces for years and in the process of planning further attacks on Americans and U.S. allies in the region. In retaliation for the assassination of Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force, an Iranian ballistic-missile strike on January 8 targeted U.S. bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces, leaving some 110 U.S. troops suffering from traumatic brain injuries. According to Callamard, Iran's retaliatory strikes also were unlawful. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of the Iran-backed Kataib Hizbullah militia and deputy head of Iraq's state-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Units, was also killed in the January strike that targeted Soleimani. Kataib Hizbullah and affiliated Iran-backed militia have been linked to multiple rocket attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, including one in late December that killed a U.S. defense contractor and wounded several U.S. and Iraqi soldiers at a military base in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. As the head of the Quds Force, Soleimani was a key figure in supplying weapons and explosive devices to Iraqi insurgents that killed or wounded U.S. soldiers in Iraq following the ouster of Saddam Hussein. He was also the main figure running Iran's policy in Syria and support for the Lebanese militant group Hizballah. With reporting by AFP and the BBC Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pompeo-calls -un-expert-conclusions-on-soleimani- killing-spurious-/30717720.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Delhi [India], July 10 (ANI): The Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan on Friday chaired a video conference meeting with States and Union Territories, Centres of Excellence and Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi and discussed the clinical case management to reduce fatality rate among COVID-19 patients. Earlier on Friday, the Union Health Ministry informed that the COVID-19 recovery rate has climbed up to 62.42 per cent whereas the fatality rate declined further to 2.72 per cent. The government said that 18 states/Union Territories (UT) have a recovery rate more than the national average, while 30 States/UTs have a fatality rate lower than the national average. According to the release dated July 10, at the national level, the case fatality rate has declined to 2.72 per cent. This is lower than the fatality rates observed in many other countries in the world. The focus of COVID-19 management in the country has been to keep the fatalities low. With the support and guidance of the Centre, the States/UTs have taken many steps in this regard like mapping the communities to focus on the high-risk group like the elderly/aged and population with co-morbidities and providing special care to them. There is a focus on the improvement of the quality of medical care of COVID patients. The country-wide strong network of ASHAs and ANMs along with Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centres have helped in effective surveillance and contact tracing of the cases, including the lakhs of migrants and returnees. As a result, there are 30 States/UTs which have a fatality rate lower than the national average, the release issued by Press Information Bureau read. (ANI) Sixteen years ago, the name Paris Hilton became a trending topic even at the absence of social media platforms. But the Hilton Hotel heiress became famous for the wrong reason: a leaked sex tape with her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon. According to reports, it was in 2001 when the American socialite and her poker player boyfriend filmed their intimate moment together, and three years later in 2004, it was leaked on the internet. The video that was meant to be a private memory of the couple became a huge sensation and landed on different porn sites (labeled as "One Night in Paris"). This led Salomon to file a lawsuit against the Hilton family, accusing them of tainting his reputation after they suggested he took advantage of Paris. In response, Paris filed a countersuit against Salomon and accused him of selling the video rights to a porn company. In the bid to take down the sex tape on the internet, "The Simple Life" star filed a $30 million invasion of privacy, illegal business practice and emotional distress lawsuit against the internet company that distributed the video online. but it was junked by the court. According to a New York Daily News report, Paris agreed to a settlement to accept a portion of profits from the distribution of the sex tape. But Paris strongly denied making money out of the sex tape, which reportedly produced millions in profit. A source told Dialy Motion that Paris gave all the sex-tape earnings to his co-star and now ex-boyfriend, Rick Salomon. Paris' leaked sex tape already become a part of Hollywood's history and will forever be remembered as the scandal that boosted her popularity. While everything has already been said about the sex tape, one of Paris' close relatives recently opened up about the harrowing experience their family had to endure during the height of the scandal. Devastated Family In a recent interview, Kyle Richards -- younger sister of Paris' mom, Kathy -- revealed that the entire clan thought that the sex tape would be the end of the heiress' career and reputation. Speaking to Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live" on Thursday, Richards became brutally honest and revealed how the family felt when the infamous video leaked on the internet. "When your niece Paris' tape was leaked, did you initially think it would ruin her career or help catapult her star power?" Andy Cohen asked during the virtual show's "Hollywood Spills" segment. The "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star confessed the whole family was "ruined." "Ruin! We were devastated. It was horrible," Richards said. Recalling the Devastating Scandal In a Netflix documentary "The American Meme," the 39-year-old Paris opened up about the struggles she experienced during the height of the scandal. "It was like being raped. It felt like I've lost part of my soul and been talked about in such cruel and mean ways," Paris said. "I literally wanted to die at some points. I was like, 'I just don't want to live. Because I thought everything was taken away from me. I didn't want to be known as that." READ MORE: Missing' Glee' Star Presumed Dead -- Ex-Fiance Speaks Up The corporate brand anthem Haq Hai Humara expresses gratitude to all frontline workers and citizens of the country for their contributions in the fight against COVID-19 Hyundai Motor India Ltd has released an anthem as a tribute to the Indomitable Spirit of India. The corporate brand anthem Haq Hai Humara aims to bring together the people of India and salute their resolve to stand united and stay strong in these unprecedented times. Haq Hai Humara features Hyundai Corporate Brand Ambassador Shah Rukh Khan and talks of gratitude to all frontline workers and the citizens of the country who have risen up to this challenge with their steadfast spirit and for their invaluable contribution in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The anthem in association with Universal Music Group & Brands (UMGB). Speaking at the release of the anthem, S S Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said: Hyundai has become an integral part of India over the last two decades, our success is intertwined with that of our valued customers who strongly believe in the Spirit of Hyundai. Through these challenging times, we have stood by the citizens of this great nation and looking back, we must salute the standing strong spirit of India that is witnessed in the peoples fight to bring back Normalcy. Haq Hai Humara is our humble tribute to the countrys solidarity, relentless spirit and never give up attitude in these testing times. We truly believe Together We Can and Together We Will build a New India. He further added, As a responsible and caring brand and in-line with our Global Brand Vision Progress for Humanity, Hyundai has been at the forefront of providing relentless support to the Government of India in its fight against the pandemic. We will continue to play an active role in economic recovery and chart a path for growth. The shooting for the anthem was done from distant locations over virtual platforms. Commenting on the spirit of this song, Shah Rukh said, I am proud to be a part of Hyundais Haq Hai Humara anthem which is a salute to the spirit of humanity, the ceaseless commitment from the frontline heroes and the small acts of kindness all around us which are the pivots for rebuilding the nation. As we all look forward to the future, Im sure this anthem will bring positivity and hope for a better tomorrow. Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) Toby Antony By Express News Service KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has registered a case in connection with the gold smuggling through the diplomatic channel in Thiruvananthapuram, has been directed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to unearth the entire smuggling chain in Kerala and abroad. The agency suspects the involvement of a big syndicate operating from the UAE. On Friday, the NIA registered an FIR which was submitted at the NIA Court in Kochi. The agency has charged Sarith P S, Swapna Suresh, Fazil Fareed and Sandeep Nair under Sections 16 (terrorist act), 17 (funding terrorist activity) and 18 (conspiracy for terrorist activity) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Sarith is currently in the custody of the Customs which is probing the smuggling aspect. Swapna, Fazil and Sandeep have absconded. Fazil who allegedly sent the 30kg of gold from the UAE is a businessman and has been under the radar of multiple agencies for smuggling activities. The Customs probe will continue to look into the smuggling of gold in the particular incident. The NIA probe will be into the smuggled gold being used for funding of terrorist activities. We will coordinate with the Customs and other agencies which are also tracking the incident, a source in the MHA said. The quantity and the modus operandi adopted for the smuggling prompted the NIA to launch a probe. First, the incident is related to diplomatic relations with a friendly country which also has asked the Government of India to conduct a thorough probe. No ordinary smuggler can bring in gold or any other contraband through the diplomatic channel, an officer said. End buyer of smuggled gold will be a big fish Similarly, the NIAs assumption is that a small financier cannot procure such a large quantity of gold. A small gold smuggling racket cannot afford to procure 30kg of gold worth more than `14 crore at a time. Likewise, the end buyer for whom the gold was brought will be a big fish. It is clear that there is a large syndicate behind it. The MHA has directed the NIA to look beyond Swapna, Sarith and Sandeep who are just facilitators in the deal. The role of Fazil will be key as his arrest will unearth the operations to a greater extent, he said. This could be a rare case in which the NIA was involved to track down gold smugglers. In usual gold seizure cases, the probe by the Customs and DRI gets limited to carriers and agents in the deal. As the NIA has close links with agencies abroad, the investigation is expected to shed light on the operations of gold smugglers abroad. The NIA probe will also help agencies like the Customs and DRI in investigating gold smuggling cases in the future, a Customs official said. Swapna member of gang: Centre to HC Kochi: The Central government on Friday informed the Kerala High Court that Swapna Suresh, who has gone into hiding after the Customs seized 30kg of gold smuggled through the diplomatic channel, had conspired and actively participated in the illegal activity. She is a pivotal member of the gang engaged in smuggling of large quantities of gold to India. Mars may now be considered a barren, icy desert but did Earth's nearest neighbour once harbour life? It is a question that has preoccupied scientists for centuries and fired up sci-fi imaginings. Now three space exploration projects are gearing up to launch some of the most ambitious bids yet to find an answer. Scientists believe that four billion years ago the two planets both had the potential to nurture life -- but much of Mars' intervening history is an enigma. The new Mars probes from the United States, United Arab Emirates and China will launch this summer. Their goal is not to find Martian life -- scientists believe nothing would survive there now -- but to search for possible traces of past lifeforms. These vast and costly programmes could prove futile. But astrobiologists say the red planet is still our best hope for finding a record of life on other planets. Mars is "the only planet with concrete chances of finding traces of extraterrestrial life because we know that billions of years ago it was inhabitable," said Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of French space agency CNES in a conference call with journalists this week. Le Gall is one of the architects of NASA's Mars 2020 exploratory probe, which is scheduled for launch at the end of July when Earth and Mars will be the closest for more than two years. The more than $2.5 billion project is the latest -- and most technologically advanced -- attempt to uncover Mars' deep buried secrets. But it is not alone, as enthusiasm for space exploration has reignited. - 'News from Mars' - Scientific enquiry of the red planet began in earnest in the 17th Century. In 1609 Italian Galileo Galilei observed Mars with a primitive telescope and in doing so became the first person to use the new technology for astronomical purposes. Fifty years later Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens used a more advanced telescope of his own design to make the first ever topographical drawing of the planet. Mars -- compared to the "desolate, empty" moon -- has long seemed promising for potential inhabitability by microorganisms, wrote astrophysicist Francis Rocard in his recent essay "Latest News from Mars". But the 20th century presented setbacks. In the 1960s, as the race to put a man on the moon was accelerating towards its dazzling "Giant Leap", Dian Hitchcock and James Lovelock were putting a dampener on hopes of finding life on Mars. Their research analysed the planet's atmosphere looking for a chemical imbalance, gases reacting with each other, which would hint at life. "If there is no reaction, then there is probably no life there," Lovelock told AFP. "And that was the case -- Mars has an atmosphere that is completely inactive as far as chemistry is concerned." Their conclusion was confirmed a decade later, when the Viking landers took atmospheric and soil samples that showed the planet was no longer inhabitable. This discovery was a "real tanker" for Mars research, Rocard told AFP. Mars programmes essentially paused for 20 years. Then in 2000 scientists made a game-changing discovery: they found that water had once flowed over its surface. - Follow the water - This tantalising finding helped rekindle the latent interest in Mars exploration. Scientists pored over images of gullies, ravines, scouring the Martian surface for evidence of liquid water. More than 10 years later, in 2011, they definitively found it. The "follow the water, follow the carbon, follow the light" strategy has paid off, Rocard said. Every mission since the discovery of water has brought "more and more evidence to light that Mars is not quite as dead as we thought," Michel Viso, an astrobiologist at CNES, told AFP. The latest US rover to make the journey -- aptly named Perseverance -- is scheduled to touch down in February of next year after a six-month journey from launch time. The probe is perhaps the most highly-awaited yet. Its landing spot, the Jezero Crater, may have once been a wide, 45-kilometre river delta. Rich in sedimentary rocks, such as clay and carbonates -- the same types of rocks that hold fossil traces on Earth -- Jezero could be a treasure trove. Or perhaps not. "We know that water once flowed, but the question remains: for how long?" asked Rocard. "We don't even know how long it took for life to appear on Earth." If the mission can bring these rocks back to Earth they might yield answers to the questions that have long confounded scientists. But they will have to wait at least 10 years for the analysis to be available. Viso said the results will likely be "a bundle of clues" rather than a clear answer. - In the beginning - Scientists are also considering perhaps an even more profound question. If life never existed on Mars, then why not? The answer to this could enrich our understanding of how life developed on our own planet, Jorge Vago, the spokesperson of the European Space Agency said. Due to shifting plate tectonics below the Earth's core, it is exceedingly difficult to find any traces of life here before 3.5 billion years ago. Mars has no tectonic plates and so there is a chance that four-billion-year-old signs of life that "one could never find on Earth" may be preserved there, Vago said. And if the latest Mars programmes fail to find signs of ancient Martian life, there are always further frontiers to explore. Encelade and Europe, two of Saturn's and Jupiter's moons, respectively are considered promising contenders. Although reaching them remains more science fiction than reality. Flash U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive grant of clemency commuting the prison time of his longtime confidant Roger Stone, said White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Friday. The announcement came shortly after an appeals court denied Stone's motion to delay the start of his prison term, scheduled to begin Tuesday. McEnany said in a statement that the sentence is "unjust," calling Stone "a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency." "Roger Stone is now a free man," McEnany added. Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, the chairs of the Democrat-led House Judiciary and Oversight committees respectively, said in a joint statement that Trump "abused the powers of his office" to reward "an individual that could directly implicate him in criminal misconduct." Stone, a former campaign adviser for Trump during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was sentenced in February to 40 months in prison for lying to Congress and witness tampering during former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. In November 2019, a federal court jury found Stone guilty of lying to a House committee about his efforts to find out what WikiLeaks planned to do with hacked emails dealing with Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The jury concluded that Stone also urged a radio host to lie to Congress about their WikiLeaks conversations. Stone was not charged with any underlying crime of coordinating with Russia during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, although Mueller's team investigated Stone over tweets claiming to be in touch with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Career federal prosecutors initially recommended a prison sentence of seven to nine years earlier this year. However, Attorney General William Barr intervened hours after Trump tweeted his displeasure and directed the Justice Department to submit a new court filing, saying a three-to-four-year sentence would be "more in line with the typical sentences imposed" in similar cases. Four prosecutors resigned in protest afterwards and Barr was under fire for allegations of "misuse of the criminal justice system" at the time. The frantic woman made a controversial yet compelling argument as to why Palm Beach residents should not be forced to wear face coverings: I dont wear a mask for the same reason I dont wear underwear, she said. Things gotta breathe. Her proclamation at the County Board meeting earlier this month was met with a chorus of whoops and cheers the rest of the room, it seems, agreed. A video of the hearing, at which commissioners unanimously voted to make wearing masks in public mandatory, has gone viral, and while some commenters poke fun at her anti-mask stance, others appear convinced by her argument. A study found that face coverings reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission by a third Boris Johnson, pictured, was photographed this week wearing a face mask Yes, tight face coverings can seem restrictive, but are they harmful? The claims, often made in widely shared social media posts, sound alarming. Face masks increase the risk of catching Covid-19; they suppress the immune system; wear one long enough and theyll push up your blood pressure, starve the body of oxygen and allow carbon dioxide to build to toxic levels. No wonder there are concerns, especially as face coverings are now compulsory on public transport in this country and many are pushing for the same rules to be applied in shops. After a study found that face coverings reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission by a third, president of the Royal Society, Professor Venki Ramakrishnan, suggested that failing to wear one is as anti-social as drink-driving or not putting on a seatbelt. If all of us wear one, we protect each other and thereby ourselves, he says. But public scepticism remains. So is there any evidence that wearing a mask can be harmful? And are some people, particularly those with respiratory conditions, at any additional risk from wearing one? The claims are, on the whole, nothing but fake news. The most outlandish have spread from America, where there is growing opposition to mask-wearing despite a terrifying surge in coronavirus cases. They are linked mainly to far-Right Christian groups who refuse to wear them, and have staged demonstrations about their right to breathe. Some face mask concerns do have a scientific basis, but they are mostly linked to studies on a specific type known as a N95 respirator, according to Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. These are tightly fitted to the face and are commonly worn by surgeons during operations on bones and joints, which generate large amounts of airborne particles. They are also highly effective at filtering out tiny molecules, including viruses such as Covid-19, so some members of the public have taken to using them. One of the main claims on social media is that masks cause a toxic build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood, known as hypercapnia. This happens when someone breathes in recycled air usually in confined spaces without ventilation reducing oxygen and increasing CO2 levels. It causes breathlessness, headache, confusion and, in extreme cases, irregular heartbeat. One small study found nurses wearing N95s on a 12-hour shift had significantly elevated CO2 levels and reported headaches and feeling short of breath. But these symptoms were not significant enough to be considered hypercapnia. In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said any build-up of CO2 would be unlikely in everyday use outside hospital settings, and could be avoided by simply letting some air in. The same effects are not linked to normal surgical or cloth masks. Other claims link masks to hypoxia, or reduced oxygen intake. One study of blood oxygen levels in surgeons before and after performing operations found levels of oxygen reduced the longer they wore a mask. Again, these have not been linked to normal mask wearing. The World Health Organisation is also clear: face masks of a breathable material, worn properly, will not lead to health problems. Another claim circulating on Instagram and Facebook is that wearing a mask makes catching coronavirus more likely, because the material traps infected droplets. Epidemiologist Prof Keith Neal, from the University of Nottingham, says this is nonsensical. The mask is to stop you spreading it you cant infect yourself if you are already infected, he says. However, Prof Hunter warns that it is important to regularly wash cloth masks and to use surgical masks only once. He adds: Particles of the virus might get trapped in the face mask. It could spread to someone else if they handle it. What about claims that masks suppress the immune system, making infections more likely? Unsurprisingly, there is no evidence for this. Masks may stop germs getting into your mouth or nose, so your immune system doesnt have to kick in, but this doesnt mean it is being suppressed, Prof Neal says. As for suggestions that face coverings can cause heart palpitations, and even raise blood pressure, this is likely to be caused by the psychological effects of wearing a mask. But what about those with medical conditions such as asthma? Many wont feel any effects from wearing a mask, says Jessica Kirby, head of health advice at the British Lung Foundation. But it can be a barrier to breathing for some people, she adds, which causes anxiety and in turn worsens breathing further. For those people, wearing a mask is not compulsory. Special exemption cards are available from transport operators to help these people explain to others why they are not wearing a mask. Images from the US on social media show people carrying exemption cards from the Freedom To Breathe Agency. These are fake the agency does not exist. Prof Neal says: The social media platforms need to get a grip on misinformation, including deleting accounts of persistent offenders. Close Coronavirus in numbers Face coverings will not be made mandatory in shops, Michael Gove said two days after Boris Johnson hinted that England could copy Scotland by introducing the rule. The cabinet office minister also stepped up calls for people to return to work following reports that the government was set to ease restrictions on using public transport. It came as a Herefordshire farm went into lockdown after 73 vegetable pickers tested positive for coronavirus. The 200 staff are being kept in isolation in mobile homes at the site. Meanwhile Scotlands first minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would be prepared to impose a border quarantine with England to prevent the spread of the virus if necessary, though there were no immediate plans to do so. Follow our live coverage below University of Houston researchers have designed a "catch and kill" heated air filter that can trap the virus responsible for COVID-19, killing it instantly. The nickel foam air filter was designed by Dr. Zhifeng Ren, the director of the Texas Center of Superconductivity at UH. Ren collaborated with Monzer Hourani, the CEO of Medistar, a Houston-based medical real estate development firm, and other scientists to design the filter. The original concept behind the filter that could eliminate COVID-19 was created by Medistar founder Monzer Hourani. Their unique design was outlined in a paper published in Materials Today Physics. When researchers conducted tests at Galveston National Laboratory, they discovered that 99.8 percent of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was killed rapidly in a single pass through a filter made from the commercially available nickel foam heated at 392 degrees Fahrenheit. 'WE'RE SEEING WORST OF THE WORST': Houston nurse describes dire situation in ICU surge This filter could be useful in airports and in airplanes, in office buildings, schools and cruise ships to stop the spread of COVID-19, said Ren. Its ability to help control the spread of the virus could be very useful for society. Medistar also hopes to introduce a desktop model, capable of purifying the air in an office workers immediate surroundings, he said. Ren added that the Texas Center for Superconductivity was approached by Medistar on March 31, as the pandemic was spreading throughout the United States, for help in developing the concept of a virus-trapping air filter. UH researchers had determined that the virus could remain in the air for about three hours. Medistar knew the virus cant survive temperatures, about 158 degrees Fahrenheit, so the researchers collaborated, using a heated filter. By making the filter temperature far hotter, about 200 Celsius, they were able to kill the virus almost instantly. COVID-19 STRAIN: What does a more contagious COVID-19 strain mean for Houston? A top doctor weighs in A prototype was then designed by a local workshop and first tested at Rens lab for the relationship between voltage/current and temperature. It then went to the Galveston lab to be tested for its ability to kill the virus. Ren said it satisfies the requirements for conventional heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Dr. Garrett Peel of Medistar, who collaborated in the filter's design, recommends a phased roll-out of the device, beginning with high-priority venues, where essential workers are at elevated risk of exposure (particularly schools, hospitals and health care facilities, as well as public transit environs such as airplanes). "It's basically a high-performance COVID-19 killer," Peel said. "This is safe and effective. We want to roll this out of Texas first and start deploying them in schools, nursing homes, " Peel said. "This unit could be deployed in 60 days." Peel hopes that this innovative filter will get the attention of state and national leaders. "It provides an extra sense of security, knowing that our children and elderly are protected," Peel said. We need our leaders to step up and create private and public partnerships to get this product into our schools and protect our children." alison.medley@chron.com Its the rare San Francisco public schoolkid, parent or teacher who thought our emergency experiment with distance learning in the spring went well. While everybody gave it a good old college try because they had no other choice, the overall results deserved a failing grade. While many teachers provided an enriching experience, others didnt have technology skills or hardly interacted with kids in real time at all. Some kids lacked strong internet connections or family members with the time or know-how to help. Parents lucky enough to do their jobs from home grew exasperated trying to play teachers aide while working, feeling like they were failing at everything. Parents who had essential jobs outside the home were sometimes forced to leave small children by themselves all day. And guess what? Nothing much has changed in the past four months. When San Francisco public schools start up Aug. 17, its 55,000 kids will be learning on screens from teachers whove been given no additional guidance from the school district since March on how to make virtual education successful. Distance learning across the country was pretty much a failure, said Mark Sanchez, president of the San Francisco school board. We are struggling, and Im looking to other districts that are doing it better than us. But with just five weeks of summer left, teachers dont know how many hours theyll be required to teach or how much of it should be conducted in real time. Theres no plan to bring the neediest children back to campus despite everybody agreeing that should happen. The city has not figured out a plan for child care for parents who require it. Nina Riggio / Special to The Chronicle The sad fact, and nobody wants to say it out loud, is that if we continue with distance learning, the vast majority of students will not get anywhere near what they would get in the classroom, Sanchez said. That is doubly so for students who are already vulnerable. Though the full plan wont be presented to the school board until July 28, its nearly certain distance learning will continue for most kids indefinitely. A recommendation from the district posted Friday evening in advance of Tuesdays school board meeting confirms the district intends to begin the school year with distance learning. Preparing facilities for even a hybrid model with some on-campus learning will take up to three months and will be considered only if coronavirus data improve. Its unlikely even the neediest children including English learners, foster kids and kindergartners will start school face-to-face with their teachers as the school board had hoped, Sanchez said. He added that special education students needing occupational therapy or physical therapy may not get it because thats hard to deliver over a computer, and school districts are expecting lawsuits from parents because of it. But despite these grim realities, San Francisco Unified has little choice but to continue distance learning. While other Bay Area districts are attempting to reopen schools in various fashions, San Francisco has gathered just 1 out of every 8 thermometers and containers of hand soap it needs and also lacks wipes, disinfectant, gloves, masks and other supplies. Many teachers and some parents understandably dont feel safe attempting to return to school. I dont how anybody in super-rich, high-tech, innovative San Francisco can read this without wanting to scream or cry or both. It didnt have to be this way. What if we had a president willing to bail out public school districts alongside corporations, airlines and banks? What if schools had been treated as essential places like hospitals and grocery stores from the start, with just as much money and effort spent on making them as safe as Safeway? What if the state of California added more money to schools because of the COVID-19 pandemic rather than less? What if the San Francisco Unified School District had run full-throttle out of the gate back in March to ensure virtual learning worked and we had enough supplies to open as soon as its safe to do so? Instead, its working groups began meeting June 24, and the one charged with the logistics of reopening didnt convene until July 1. What if the school board had agreed to allow Superintendent Vince Matthews to spend up to $93,000 from a private grant to hire a consultant to craft a sensible plan rather than ideologically rejecting the idea because the consultant had previously worked with charter schools? Matthews told the board in June when it rebuffed his idea that he had no backup plan and the rejection would be a body blow. Alison Collins, a school board member who voted against hiring the consultant, said she stands by that decision because it would have wasted money and is work that central office leaders should be directly involved in. The grant money was used for other purposes. What if San Francisco had coordinated with districts around California rather than each one re-creating the wheel and coming up with entirely different answers? What if the district had learned from the Boys and Girls Clubs, the YMCA and the Recreation and Park Department? In their child care programs and summer camps since March, there has been no reported case of a child contracting the coronavirus. Two staff members across all three agencies fell sick from community transmission and went into quarantine. Several hundred children participated in the three programs combined. But none of those sensible ideas happened not even close. And now were stuck with a scenario we know isnt going to work for anybody. Jana Asenbrennerova / Special to The Chronicle Laura Dudnick, a spokeswoman for the school district, said district staff has been meeting regularly to discuss the new school year for months and has been actively engaging families through town halls and surveys to ascertain their wishes. The district is engaged in defining a number of elements in terms of teaching and learning for the 2020-21 school year while prioritizing the safety of students, families and staff, she wrote in an email. An agenda from the districts logistics work group to figure out how to reopen schools shows some dire forecasts. A full return to school Aug. 17 and a hybrid option with kids in class a few days a week were both deemed not feasible. Starting either option Jan. 5 for the spring semester was rated possibly feasible. Even waiting to bring kids back until August 2021 was not a sure bet, described as most likely feasible. Thats terrible news for Jennifer Moless, a kindergarten teacher at Serra Elementary in Bernal Heights. In 2013, she was named by Mayor Ed Lee as one of five Teachers of the Year, but in the spring, she felt like a failure. I was bad at my job all spring, and Im dreading another year of feeling that way, Moless said. I think its going to be a disaster. Granted, nothings easy about working, let alone thriving, during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Moless has to welcome 23 little 5-year-olds to their first day of real school over a computer screen. She has to get to know them without the usual orientations. She has to figure out how to communicate with their families, many of whom speak little English and lack strong internet connections. She has to teach them social skills without being able to interact in person. At least by March, shed already formed strong bonds with her kids and their parents. In August, those wont exist. Her computer will be perched on a vanity in her bedroom, the only place she can get a strong enough Internet connection to make virtual teaching work. Her partner, an essential worker for the post office with a night shift, will have to sleep on the couch. She asked to use her classroom, which is large and has big windows, to do her virtual teaching, but said that is prohibited. Shed like some way to communicate with kindergarten teachers around the district to share ideas, but no such platform exists. Moless is not the only one feeling long on stress and short on answers. Parents went nuts in the spring trying to work from home while entertaining and educating their children. Kids were lonely, bored and sad. Many are regressing academically and socially, particularly English learners who lack someone at home with whom to practice their new language, according to teachers. Teachers reported many children of essential workers being left at home by themselves or with siblings because their parents had to earn money. Some families fell off the educational grid entirely. 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. Nina Riggio / Special to The Chronicle Dr. Kara Wright works as a pediatrician at Tenderloin Community School. She said that during wellness checks in the spring, parents reported feeling anxious, their children were acting out and not sleeping or eating well, and families had a hard time maintaining strong enough internet connections to make distance learning successful. For a majority of our families, it was a struggle to keep it going consistently and to have good, regular engagement with their teachers, she said. Im not sure how we can keep kids home for another semester. I really do worry about that there was already a big achievement gap, and this is amplifying all of that. Superintendent Matthews said at a virtual family town hall Wednesday: The learning that previously took place doesnt come close to what we want and what we expect. ... We know we need to do a better job. The district, to its credit, got computers and internet hotspots into the hands of thousands of kids and will continue to do so this fall. Collins said she wants the district to focus on improving distance learning and getting more devices to kids rather than focusing on how to reopen safely because doing both at the same time is slowing the planning process. Concerns about distance learning motivated Marin County to aim for kids being in school five days a week this fall. Berkeley and Alameda are planning for hybrid models in which kids are in school part of the time and learning from home part of the time. In San Francisco, the teachers union contract with the district expired June 30, and there was no date as of Thursday scheduled for both sides to meet, according to Susan Solomon, president of the United Educators of San Francisco. Theres been no discussion about how many hours teachers will be required to work each day, whether theyll need to teach live versus posting links and videos, or how theyll get the most vulnerable kids back to campus soon. The old contract continues until a new agreement is reached. Solomon said distance learning is the right move for health and safety, but she acknowledged there hasnt been much planning to make it work and that the district hasnt moved as fast as they could. We feel very strongly that we have to improve distance learning in many different ways. This is new to all of us, she said. Im sorry to say there are no firm plans right now. I wish I had more answers, but at this point I dont. Parents also want to know what their options for child care are. In the virtual town hall meeting with Matthews, scores of participants said their greatest concern with distance learning is that children would be left home alone all day because their parents need to work. A spokeswoman for the Recreation and Park Department said the goal is to offer programs for kids who arent in school like they offered in the spring for essential workers, but she had no details on where theyll take place or when parents can sign up for them. Supervisor Matt Haney, co-chair of the citys working group on children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic, said city departments have been in a holding pattern on how to help as the school district forms a plan. Its hard to plan for child care without knowing how schoolkids days will be structured. But with the start of the school year closing in, he said, they can no longer wait. We need to get out of that holding pattern very quickly, he said. Its time to fly. Its time to move. The clock has been ticking. Haney would like the city to take over empty school buildings to provide child care, but admitted theres been no conversation with the school district about the idea. Dave Alexander, who has an incoming second-grader, said in the spring there was just one hour per week of interaction on the computer between his 7-year-old son and his teacher. Hes worried theres been no effort to make that better. They were treading water before, barely getting by, and now theyre in real deep trouble, he said of the school district. People in the community have ideas. They want to help. Come on, were San Francisco, he continued. Lets try. Lets get creative for our kids. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf Syniti Logo Alliance Partners have always been a key pillar in our growth strategy. Our clients are industry leaders operating sophisticated, complex businesses. Aligning Syniti with their trusted advisors has driven innovation and cost savings for our clients." - Kevin Campbell, CEO of Syniti. Syniti, a global data solution provider, today announced a continued commitment to accelerating customers digital transformation with its Global Alliance Partners. In the first six months of 2020, Synitis revenue with Alliance Partners grew more than 200% over the same period last year. 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John Theberge, EVP of Syniti Global Alliances, said, Making the right decisions faster is paramount for our enterprise clients today, and thats easiest when their trusted advisors are synchronized. Businesses today are looking to increase their efficiency, agility and ability to innovate. By continuously improving our alignment with partners, Syniti will accelerate more high-impact results for customers worldwide. Synitis Global Alliances program provides delivery training and includes flexible levels of partnership, ranging across Opportunistic, Referral, Resell and OEM models. Syniti provides diversified solutions spanning Data Migrations, Data Quality, Data Harmonization, Data Governance, Data Strategy and Data Preparation for a Merger, Acquisition or Divestiture. The Syniti Knowledge Platform and the SAP Advanced Data Migration by Syniti are recommended and proven solutions for moving to the SAP S/4HANA platform that deliver significantly above-average benefits. 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According a just released IDC White Paper, The Business Value of SAP Advanced Data Migration by Syniti, sponsored by Syniti and SAP, customers using SAP Advanced Data Migration by Syniti experienced significant business values, such as: o A 303 percent three-year return on investment with an average eight-month payback on investment o 46 percent faster completion of data migration projects o 96 percent reduction of unplanned downtime About Syniti Syniti was founded in 1996 to solve business complex data challenges, bringing synergy between data and business, and delivering confidence and progress along clients business transformation journey. Through a combination of unique data expertise, services, and intelligent software leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, we help clients manage their data journey from data conversion to data quality, data archival and replication, master data management, analytics, information governance, and data strategy. Syniti is a portfolio company of private equity firm BridgeGrowth Partners LLC. Syniti is an SAP Solution Extension Partner. SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. The IDC White Paper, sponsored by Syniti and SAP, The Business Value of SAP Advanced Data Migration by Syniti was published June 2020 and is available for download at http://www.syniti.com/businessvaluestudy. http://www.syniti.com @syniti @synitidata Contact: Alana J. Hill, Syniti Alana.Hill@Syniti.com +1 202 549 3690 The conference saw the participation of more than 1,000 Japanese enterprises in Japan and around the world. Addressing the event, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thang said the conference provided the latest information on Vietnam's business and investment environment in the context that Vietnam has successfully controlled the COVID-19 pandemic and issued new policies, including the Law on Investment (revised), the Law on Enterprises (revised), and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Law. The Vietnamese National Assembly recently has approved the European Union -Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), he noted. Director of the MoPIs Foreign Investment Agency Do Nhat Hoang said Vietnam has a stable political situation, high economic growth, abundant human resources, potential market, and increasing per capital income. Vietnam has also expanded international integration and cooperation with other economies worldwide, he stressed, adding that the Southeast Asian country has a strategic position as it takes only 3-5 hours to fly from Vietnam to Japan, Thailand, India and China the key investment hubs in Asia. Vietnam also has preferential policies to attract foreign investment, with priority given to new technology, environmentally-friendly and high value projects, Hoang said. Aguin Toru, Chief Representative of JBICs Hanoi Office, said the bank considers Vietnam as a key area, and an important partner of Japan in many fields such as infrastructure, production and resources. Meanwhile, Envoy Okabe Daisuke from the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam said Japanese investors are now very interested in Vietnam. According to a survey on Japanese enterprises in Asia and Oceania conducted by JETRO in February 2020, 63.9% of asked Japanese businesses that are doing business in Vietnam said they will continue to expand business activities in the Southeast Asian nation, he noted. Okabe said in order to attract more investment, Vietnam needs to speed up the disbursement of capital for public investment projects, ensure transparency, fairness, and effectiveness in implementing policies, and further foster international integration. After much hullabaloo, a meagre fine up to Rs 10,000 has been held good enough to let off foreigners who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz. The 121 foreign nationals from Malaysia and 11 from Saudi Arabia pleaded guilty to their offences for violating lockdown rules and visa norms, following which they were punished only with a monetary penalty between Rs 7,000 and Rs 10,000. Delhi Police, which had chargesheeted 956 foreigners after a lot of rumpus, did not object to the foreign nationals being sentenced only to fine. The first flight could fly the first batch out as early as Tuesday next week. Saudi nationals are expected to go back home on protective passes after a magistrate issued appropriate directions to the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) a day ago. On Thursday and Friday, after the foreign nationals moved their applications for plea bargaining, metropolitan courts recorded "the mutually satisfactory disposition between the State and the convict." The magistrates concerned accordingly allowed the applications and sentenced the foreign nationals to a fine between Rs 7,000 and Rs 10,000. The foreigners were also given a token punishment of imprisonment till the rising of the court. This got over the same day and they were off the hook within hours. The development has come after a clarification by the Delhi Police that none of the 956 foreigners had been charged under serious charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder or the attempt to commit the crime. The foreign nationals then moved their bail pleas, which was also not resisted by the Delhi Police. Subsequently, applications for plea bargaining were filed by those out on bail. This time too, the Delhi Police did not oppose. Four months on, fresh developments raise a pertinent question whether the entire exercise was futile. The police, which filed a total of 48 chargesheets and 11 supplementary chargesheets, finally found favour with foreign nationals being exonerated only after a small fine. Officers of the Delhi Police Crime Branch are currently busy in identifying the hundreds of foreign nationals so that they could plead guilty and be free while those, after having stuck for almost four months, must be heaving a sigh of relief. If I was the type to keep a gratitude journal during Melbournes lockdown Mark II, one entry would read: Im grateful to be living in a society where face masks are about science and not a pretext for a culture war. (Please let this always be so.) Premier Daniel Andrews and Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton are urging the newly locked-down residents to wear masks when they leave home if social distancing is difficult Masks could be the difference between success and failure in controlling the pandemic and saving the economy. Credit:AP It is our request of you, its not compulsory, Andrews said on Friday. The government would be ordering 2 million reusable masks for distribution, and boosting local production, but in the meantime Melburnians are advised to make our own, which makes me nervous because I fumbled craft at school. The uprisings have also expanded the space for a reckoning with the failures of liberal reforms and with the possibility of doing things in radically different ways. Tinkering and training cannot fix our reliance on police officers to deal with routine social problems through violence and the threat of it. The demand for defunding calls into question the fundamental premise of policing: that it produces safety. It urges us to take collective responsibility for collective care, repair and redress. It shifts our vantage point on persistent problems: for example, to guarantee housing for all rather than to continue to arrest and cage this countrys more than 567,000 homeless people. The call to defund the police is often accompanied by a call to shift resources elsewhere, to education, housing and health care. The pandemic has put on display the spectacular contradiction such appeals reveal. We have no guaranteed health care, wages, housing or food; we cant even provide personal protective equipment. These failures have devastated Black communities in particular. But then, in response to Black Lives Matter protests, the police show up in high-tech gear and military-style vehicles to arrest, gas and bludgeon protesters, demonstrating where our tax dollars have gone instead. The demand for defunding shifts power and our imaginations away from the police and toward a society rooted in collective care for ordinary people. It brings into sharp relief who we have allowed ourselves to become and offers a vision for who we could be. Taking money away from the police is not the sole demand. Consider the push to cancel rent. It asks the state to abolish tenants obligations to pay their landlords each month. But rent is the product of a private contract about private property: the foundation of our social, economic and political order. So when organizers make the demand to cancel rent, they are conjuring up a state whose primary allegiance is to peoples needs instead of profit. The demand raises the possibility of a world where housing is an entitlement rather than a commodity. It aims to shift power from landlords to tenants, in the service of visions of housing for all. Or consider the environment. The Green New Deal does not merely call for less pollution. It requires that we restructure our economy so we can move to clean, renewable energy sources and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11 By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend: President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree approving the concept of water sector development in the country from 2020 through 2030, Trend reports with reference to Uzbekistan National News Agency. The document notes that due to global climate change as well as the growth of population and economic sectors, the growing demand for water increases the deficit of water resources from year to year. The main objectives of the concept are the development of interstate relations on the use of transboundary water resources, the development and promotion of mutually acceptable mechanisms for joint water resources management, and effective water use programs that balance the interests of Central Asian countries. The Ministry of Water Management, through the implementation of the priorities identified in the concept, is tasked to ensure that by 2030, the efficiency of irrigation systems will be increased from 0.63 to 0.73; the area of irrigated land with a low level of water supply will be reduced from 560,000 hectares to 190,000 hectares; saline irrigated land will be reduced by 226,000 hectares; and annual electricity consumption by pumping stations of the Ministry of Water Management will be reduced by 25 percent. In addition, there are plans to install Smart Water measuring and control devices at all irrigation system facilities with the introduction of digital technologies in the water accounting process and to bring the total area of land covered by water-saving technologies for crop irrigation to two million hectares, including drip irrigation technologies on 600,000 hectares. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @seyfaddini RTHK: Trump ally Roger Stone to be spared prison time President Trump on Friday commuted the prison sentence of his longtime friend, Roger Stone, shielding the veteran Republican operative from 40 months behind bars. "Roger Stone is now a free man!" the White House said in a statement, days before he was to report to a federal prison to start serving his term. Trump's act is certain to renew charges that the president intervenes in the US justice system to help friends and allies and punish critics and perceived enemies. Stone, one of Trump's oldest confidants, was convicted last November of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to help him win the 2016 election. The fiery White House statement reiterated Trump's charge that Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated an alleged crime that was never committed. It argued that Stone should therefore never have been charged in the first place. "The simple fact is that if the Special Counsel had not been pursuing an absolutely baseless investigation, Mr Stone would not be facing time in prison," it said. The Trump administration had already intervened once to help Stone. After prosecutors recommended a prison term of seven to nine years, Attorney General Bill Barr, who has been accused of acting like Trump's personal lawyer, stepped in and called that excessive. All four prosecutors handling the case quit it and a newly appointed prosecutor recommended a prison term of three to four years for Stone. Stone was the sixth aide of Trump -- who was impeached last year for abusing his power -- to be convicted of charges arising from Mueller's probe into Russian election interference. Critics responded quickly after Trump commuted Stone's sentence. Senator Kamala Harris of California noted that Stone, who is white, is now walking free while police officers in Kentucky accused of killing a black health worker in her home have not been arrested or charged. "The two systems of justice in this country must end," Harris tweeted. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-07-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Two Kent towns are on a list of 20 places facing fresh lockdown after government documents were leaked. Folkestone and Ashford have been identified as two of 20 areas of concern for the UK government, based on a document leaked to the Guardian and Observer. Three of the twenty councils - Kirklees, Bradford and Sheffield - are listed as requiring 'enhanced support'. The list is said to have been based on a document compiled by Public Health England, ranking the 20 councils with the highest current rate of positive infections. Each is named in a top 20 hit list of local authority areas drawn up by Government officials desperate for towns and cities to escape the fate of Leicester, which was the first place to have a so-called local lockdown imposed. Two of the top 20 Ashford and Folkestone, are in Kent but all the others are in the North and the Midlands. Like Leicester, many have large South Asian populations and are seen as areas of deprivation. Both factors large ethnic populations and poverty are officially recognised as being linked to greater spread of the virus. Public health experts know the virus is harder to stop in such areas, where large families often live together in multi-generational households. That means if one person contracts the virus, it quickly spreads to others. In addition, lower-paid workers are more frequently employed in jobs where they come into close contact with others, such as in factories. In Kirklees, 164 tested positive at a meat factory in June, while a bed factory in Batley, near Kirklees, was closed earlier this month after eight workers were discovered as having the virus. The Army is being deployed to set up more mobile testing centres across the towns, to make it easier for residents to get swabbed. The towns are listed in a ranking table of local authorities of interest based on testing data between June 21 and July 4. Groups of people enjoy the sunshine today and eat outside in Battersea, Northcote Road, after lockdown regulations were relaxed Marked official sensitive, the list was obtained by The Observer newspaper. The highest level of alert is intervention meaning lockdown the current situation in Leicester. Below that, Kirklees, Bradford and Sheffield have been targeted for enhanced support. Another six towns are classed as being of concern. A public health director familiar with the situation said the demographics of the areas meant they could be fighting local outbreaks for months to come. They added: Some of the most strapped-for-cash councils are going to be dealing with some of the worst outbreaks. Council bosses fear Leicester-style total lockdowns, which have resulted in all but essential shops being closed, pubs and restaurants prevented from opening, and children sent home from school. Yesterday, the East Midlands town was put on a red-zone list by the Belgian government, which warned its citizens not to travel there. It means anyone arriving in Belgium who has recently visited Leicester will have to quarantine for two weeks. Signs are due to be erected around Brussels Airport telling arriving passengers to inform the authorities if they have been in Leicester during the lockdown. Groups of people sat outside in Soho, central London, as people started to get back to a 'normal life' after lockdown HOW HAS THE R RATE CHANGED IN THE UK? AREA ENGLAND UK --- EAST LONDON MIDLANDS NORTH EAST NORTH WEST SOUTH EAST SOUTH WEST THIS WEEK 0.8-1.0 0.7-0.9 --- 0.7-1.0 0.7-1.0 0.7-0.9 0.7-1.0 0.7-1.0 0.8-1.0 0.7-1.1 LAST WEEK 0.8-0.9 0.7-0.9 --- 0.7-0.9 0.8-1.1 0.8-1.0 0.8-1.0 0.7-0.9 0.7-1.0 0.7-1.0 Advertisement According to data released yesterday, 43 authorities in England have suffered a spike in Covid-19 cases in the past week but the outbreak in locked-down Leicester has shrunk by 18 per cent, official statistics revealed today. Southampton endured the biggest week-on-week rise in coronavirus infection rates, jumping 12-fold from 0.4 new cases for every 100,000 people living in the city to 4.8 in the week that ended July 5. Bromley and Islington also suffered massive spikes, with outbreaks in the London boroughs increasing from 0.6 to 2.1 and 0.8 to 2.9 cases per 100,000 people, respectively. Public Health England figures today also revealed only three of the country's ten current coronavirus hotspots authorities with the highest actual rates of new cases endured an increase in infection rates this past week. Kirklees in Yorkshire saw its rate jump from 26.2 to 29.9, while it also increased from 20.8 to 24.2 in Blackburn with Darwen and from 18.1 to 19.8 in Bedford, according to the government statistics. Leicester still the worst-hit part of England with an outbreak three times bigger than the next worst-hit place saw its infection rate decrease from 141.3 to 116. Other hotspots also saw cases drop. The government now releases new data every week which shows how rates of positive coronavirus tests are changing in each area. The current national infection rate is 6.4 per 100,000 people, and 33 local authorities are currently tipping that average. ENGLAND'S COVID-19 OUTBREAK IS STILL SHRINKING AND CASES HAVE HALVED IN A WEEK England's coronavirus outbreak is still shrinking and the number of new cases have more than halved in a week, according to the results of a government surveillance testing scheme. The Office for National Statistics, which tracks the spread of the virus, estimates 1,700 people are getting infected with Covid-19 each day outside of hospitals and care homes down from 3,500 last week. The estimate based on eight new cases out of 25,000 people who are swabbed regularly also claimed there are just 14,000 people who are currently infected. This is the equivalent of 0.03 per cent of the population of the whole country, or one in every 3,900 people. It is down from 0.04 per cent last week and 0.09 per cent a week before. Separate figures, from King's College London, suggest the outbreak in England has stopped shrinking but its estimate is lower than the ONS's at around 1,200 new cases per day. Department of Health chiefs have announced an average of just 546 new positive test results per day for the past week but up to half of infected patients are thought to never show symptoms. A report by Public Health England and the University of Cambridge predicted on Monday that the true number of daily cases is more like 5,300, ranging somewhere between 3,500 and 7,600. Advertisement Fifty three authorities have either seen their infection rate stay the same or increase the past week compared to the week before (up to June 28). Of the top ten places where rates have hiked, eight are in the south of England, including Southampton, Bromley and Islington. Significant hikes in case rates were also observed in Gateshead, Hampshire, Coventry, Gloucestershire, as well as the three London boroughs of Hackney, Lambeth, Newham. But just because these areas saw the biggest increase in case rates does not necessarily mean the crises in the regions are spiralling out of control it could be down to more testing taking place. It is sometimes difficult to work out why the infection rate is rising in some places than others. The actual number of coronavirus infections in these areas is still very small and even just a handful of newly diagnosed cases in a week risks skewing the rate upwards. Officials are likely to be keeping their eyes on a handful of areas where local lockdowns might need to be imposed because their overall rate of infections is much higher than the rest of the country. According to the data, Leicester is still the worst affected area, with 116 cases per 100,000 people. The city became the first place in the country to have tight lockdown rules reimposed on June 30, while the rest of England started to loosen up, after a spike in Covid-19 infections. The Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in the House of Commons yesterday that the decline in the coronavirus infection rate in Leicester was 'good news'. However he added the city must remain in its local lockdown until at least July 18, when health chiefs first promised it would be re-evaluated. Mr Hancock said he would not put a number on how far the infection rate had to fall before the lockdown would be lifted. His counterpart, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth, said in Germany officials use a benchmark of 50 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 - which is more than half that of Leicester. Leicester still has more than triple the amount of Covid-19 cases than the next worst hit area of Rochdale (32.7) in Greater Manchester. Rochdale has seen its infection rate drop again for a second week in a row by six per cent, following a tumble of 34.75 per cent the week previously. Rochdale council chief executive Steve Rumbelow said that although Rochdale is 'not at all as bad as Leicester', the authority had found it difficult to get detailed data on testing from Public Health England - which is crucial in managing local outbreaks. The reason Leicester spiralled into a troublesome spot was because the withholding of testing information hindered local public health chief's ability to keep on top of the virus. Peter Soulsby, mayor of Leicester, told the BBC they had been trying to get 'information about the level of testing in the city and the results of that testing in the city' for weeks. While published data suggested Leicester only had 80 new cases between June 13-26, it had in fact suffered 944 more - which was not revealed until it was too late and a local lockdown was slapped on the city. Meanwhile, Bradford, with 31.83 cases per 100,000, has seen a week-on-week reduction in cases of more than 30 per cent. Rotherham, Oldham, Barnsley and Peterborough - all in the top 10 hardest hit local authorities right now - have also seen improvements in infection rates over the past seven days. Of the 50 authorities in England worst-hit by coronavirus, which has claimed at least 55,000 lives across the whole of the UK, 34 are in the North, suggesting a divide. Three hotspots - Bedford, Blackburn with Darwen and Kirklees - are all struggling to push forward and shake the virus, seeing infection rates rising still. Kirklees Council's strategic director for public health, Rachel Spencer-Henshall, said 'we are not where we would like to be' in relation to the West Yorkshire district's infection rate, Yorkshire Live reports. In a briefing note for councillors she said: 'After a steady overall decline, the rate of infection in Kirklees has gone up over the past week and we cannot ignore this. This is a powerful warning that now is not the time to become complacent and our fight against COVID-19 is not over. 'We still remain some way behind the rates in Leicester and this increase does not currently mean we will go in to a local lockdown, but we are not where we would like to be.' News Washington, DC - An American military contractor pleaded guilty Wednesday to his role in a theft ring on a military installation in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko made the announcement. Larry J. Green, 43, of Chesapeake, Virginia, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit theft of property of value to the United States worth over $300,000; one count of theft of property of value to the United States; and one count of aiding and abetting the submission of false statements. Sentencing is set for Nov. 19, 2020. Green admitted that, between April 2015 and July 2015, he and others conspired to steal and did steal property of value to the United States including generators and a truck. Green negotiated the sale of the stolen property with a third-country national middleman, who facilitated the sale of the items to unknown persons off of the military installation in Kandahar, Afghanistan. In order to effectuate the theft of a truck, Green admitted that he drove the truck off the military installation. Green also admitted that, in order to effectuate the theft of generators, he aided and abetted one of his co-conspirators, a security badging and escort pass supervisor, in creating false official documents to facilitate both the entry of unknown and unvetted Afghan nationals and their vehicles on to the military installation, and the removal of the stolen property from the installation. The falsified documents were used to deceive security officers and gate guards and compromised the security of U.S. military and civilian personnel on the military installation. SIGAR investigated the case with help from Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) and the 939th Military Police Detachment of the Indiana Army National Guard. Trial Attorneys Sasha N. Rutizer of the Criminal Divisions Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, Rosaleen OGara of the Criminal Divisions Public Integrity Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Kosky of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case. Witnesses refute rumors about blast, power outage near Tehran Iran Press TV Friday, 10 July 2020 2:27 AM Eyewitnesses have refuted rumors circulating across various news outlets and social media platforms about explosions and power outage in and near Tehran province. The rumors began surfacing early Friday local time, pointing to an explosion and a blackout in the province's Shahriar county. Other rumors also alleged that the incidents had taken place in the town of Garmdarreh in Karaj county of Alborz province that neighbors Tehran. The semi-official Fars news agency, however, ruled out the rumors on its official Telegram channel. The channel posted video of locals affirming that they did not either know or hear about any such alleged incidents at those places. Locals said on Twitter they had just heard three or four mortar-like sounds similar to firing of anti-aircraft weapons just after midnight. The rumors and reports emerged in the wake of a number of incidents across the country, including an explosion last Thursday that hit the Natanz nuclear facility. The blast at the nuclear site has been followed by an Israeli media campaign aiming to create the impression that Tel Aviv was behind the explosion. On Wednesday, though, Nour News, an Iranian news outlet affiliated to the country's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the Islamic Republic's top security body, warned that the campaign could invite "serious risks" for the occupying regime. The media fanfare seeks to "lend plausibility to Israel's role" in a series of recent incidents in Iran, including the blast at the Natanz site, the outlet said. It, however, warned that the masterminds of the media campaign happened to ignore "Iran's new social platforms and political circumstances" that could bring about "imponderable reactions" for Israel in case of prolongation of the propaganda. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Slovenia, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Slovenia and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Slovenia (issuer rating Baa1) is supported by the country's "baa1" economic strength, reflecting its high per-capita wealth levels supported by a diversified, export-oriented economy. Slovenia's "a2" score for institutions and governance strength is supported by the country's EU and euro area membership but is constrained by the government's sometimes slow policy response in dealing with major policy challenges. Slovenia's "a3" fiscal strength score reflects a debt-to-GDP ratio that is elevated compared to peers, although debt affordability is stronger. Slovenia's "baa" score for susceptibility to event risk is driven by the banking sector, although the associated risks have declined in recent years as the banking system has recovered from the country's financial crisis which peaked in 2013. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit. This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. Petter Bryman Asst Vice President - Analyst Sovereign Risk Group Moody's Deutschland GmbH An der Welle 5 Frankfurt am Main 60322 Germany JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Yves Lemay MD - Sovereign Risk Sovereign Risk Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Deutschland GmbH An der Welle 5 Frankfurt am Main 60322 Germany JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 2020 Moody's Corporation, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Moody's Analytics, Inc. and/or their licensors and affiliates (collectively, "MOODY'S"). All rights reserved. CREDIT RATINGS ISSUED BY MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE, INC. 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This moral ambiguity is why debates about reparations can never be satisfactorily settled, and not only when it comes to indemnifying the descendants of slaves in the U.S. Poles, Greeks and others regularly demand that Germany pay reparations for Nazi atrocities. Similar tensions exist between Japan and its former victims in Asia. But unless reparations are paid by the actual perpetrators directly to their victims, they can be counterproductive. Whoever ends up paying may feel absolved of all future responsibility. And both sides may inadvertently demean the original crime by haggling over its price. More than three quarters of a fund to expand preschools in booming areas was spent in electorates the Nationals held or were battling to win before the 2019 state election, under a program overseen by National Party minister Sarah Mitchell. The Sun Herald can reveal $3.6 million of the $4.6 million in grants awarded in 2018 or 78 per cent went to preschools in electorates belonging to the Nationals or its greatest electoral threat, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party. Nationals Minister Sarah Mitchell. Credit:Kate Geraghty The pattern was replicated the following year when electorates belonging to those parties snared $5.3 million of the $8.3 million on offer, answers to questions on notice put by Labor show. It means over the past two years they have scooped just under 70 per cent of the total $12.9 million funding pool from Start Strong Capital Works fund. The Zimbabwean embassy in London has told Sky News that at least 37 citizens of the southern African country have died in Britain during the coronavirus pandemic. It is a revelation which underlines the damage COVID-19 has inflicted on immigrant communities in the UK. Officials said the vast majority of those who died were working in health and social care positions. Qualified nurses and doctors from Zimbabwe have long been recruited to help relieve staff shortages in the UK, but the total number of Zimbabweans working in the health sector is small. According to a study published by the House of Lords in January, Zimbabweans made up a tiny percentage (0.3%) of the total workforce of NHS England. However, the number of deaths recorded by consular officials suggests that Zimbabweans may constitute well over 10% of all frontline workers who have died during the coronavirus crisis. This startling disclosure suggests that Zimbabweans have proven particularly vulnerable in the UK and there is a team of researchers and medical experts now trying to grapple with the reasons why. "This is something that we all need to focus on and we need to do it urgently," says Dr Brighton Chireka, a Zimbabwean GP who runs the Manor Clinic in Folkestone, Kent. Dr Chireka founded the Zimbabwean Diaspora Health Alliance, an organisation that has been collecting evidence and allegations from thousands of Zimbabweans and other ethnic minority health workers during the epidemic. The 46-year old physician says he has been disturbed by what he has found. "There is a perception amongst Zimbabweans and other BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) health workers in Britain that they are treated less favourably than white staff members," he said. "They frequently tell us that they are being targeted to work in the COVID wards, particularly those working for private agencies. We have been told that whites are more likely than blacks to be assigned ventilators in case of illness." Story continues Dr Chireka says there is an urgent need to analyse and quantify these claims and points to a survey by the Royal College of Nursing, which found that BAME staff experience greater PPE shortages. Less than half (43%) of respondents from a BAME background said they had enough eye and face protection, while 66% of white staff said they felt properly equipped. There are other UK-based Zimbabweans, such as Rumbizai Bvunzawabaya, who are dealing with this catastrophe in a different way. Ms Bvunzawabaya hosts a popular chat show on social media and has been exploring the communal trauma from her home studio in Coventry. "It caused so much anxiety and fear because it seemed like everyone was dying, every single day," she said. "We are not a big community in the UK, we didn't really understand what was going on." One thing that has struck Ms Bvunzawabaya in her interactions and conversations is the tendency among Zimbabwean nurses to head to work regardless of how they are feeling. "She said: Some continued working when they weren't feeling well, because they weren't sure if they had (the virus) or not - and I think Zimbabweans, we are a nation of very hard workers, it is difficult for us to stop working for fear of what will happen to us." Many Zimbabwean health workers are under significant financial pressure, supporting households in the UK and back at home. Rutendo Mukotsanjera was a Staffordshire-based NHS employee who worked extra shifts so she could send money back to her relatives in Harare. COVID-19 claimed her life in April. As well as dealing with her grief her mother, Monica Mukotsanjera, says she simply did not know what to do when the money stopped. "I am just helpless now," she said. "Rutendo was so good, she was looking after her children, making sure they were getting education, and here and there she would give me money because I am retired. "Now all that is shattered." The first case was reported Thursday and the hospital where the doctor works has since suspended its operations and quarantined patients and support staff to carry out testing. Meanwhile, hospitals in northwest Syria announced Friday they would be suspending non-emergency procedures and outpatient services for at least one week. Schools were to shut down until further notice. Before the confirmed cases, there had been only about 2,000 people tested for the virus. File Photo New Delhi: Six NSCN(IM) insurgents were killed in an encounter with security forces in Khonsa area of Arunachal Pradesh early on Saturday morning. One soldier of Assam Rifles was injured in the operation and his condition was stated to be stable. Advertisement EncounterThe encounter took place at around 4:30 am, the sources said, adding six weapons along with "war-like stores" were recovered from the area. The operation was launched by the Assam Rifles based on specific intelligence inputs that armed insurgents were present. The state government's new directive for people to wear masks where possible when out in public has prompted a massive spike in demand for both cloth and surgical masks. Chemists, hardware stores and major supermarkets were inundated with Melburnians searching for supplies on Saturday. Melburnians heeded the Premier's call to wear masks while shopping at Queen Vic Market on Saturday. Credit:Getty Bunnings placed temporary restrictions on masks, limiting customers to 10 packs each. Director of merchandise Phil Bishop said store teams were working to keep shelves well stocked. Elsewhere, customers were snapping up packs of masks ranging from packs of 10 single-use face masks at Chemist Warehouse for $12.99 to 50-packs of similar masks at Woolworths for $40. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact crude prices this week. West Texas Intermediate on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 93 cents, or 24 percent, Friday to close at $40.55, but below Mondays close of $40.63 a barrel. Fridays increase also did not overcome the $1.28 loss reported Thursday. The posted price ended the week at $37 a barrel. Natural gas prices on the NYMEX rose 2.6 cents to $1.805 per Mcf Friday, below Mondays close of $1.830 per Mcf. Prices Friday were boosted by a report from Gilead Sciences that its Remdesivir treatment for COVID-19 cut mortality risk by 62 percent, Bloomberg reported. But the news agency also quoted the International Energy Agency as saying rising cases around the world could derail the markets recovery. Unfortunately, what goes up must come down, Grant Swartzwelder, pesident and owner of OTA Compression LLC, OTA Environmental and Kimark Systems, told the Reporter-Telegram by email. With companies bringing production back on and the large number of DUCs, the industry can quickly respond to price increases by adding supply. With that supply being added to a very sensitive demand situation, the commodity price can swing more freely and quickly not a good thing. It sure looks like that will be the case for a while. Bloomberg said crude has struggled to extend a recent rally as traders weigh fresh outbreaks of the virus. California, Texas and Florida have recorded some of their biggest daily gains in cases and deaths this week. Theres a growing risk that a resurgence will impede efforts to reopen the economy. While the IEA said demand should rebound sharply over the next three months as economic activity resumes, the agency also warned a flare-up of the virus, which is raging across several U.S. states and re-emerging in Asia, is casting a shadow over the outlook, Bloomberg said. Even though U.S. oil prices are still down about 34 percent since the start of the year because of coronavirus demand destruction, U.S. crude futures have jumped 113 percent over the past three months on hopes that global economies will snap back as governments lift lockdowns. The development comes after some Indian channels aired reports critical of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and his government Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli. (AP) Kathmandu: Nepal on Thursday stopped the transmission of all Indian private news channels except Doordarshan, accusing them of airing reports hurting the country's national sentiment. There was no immediate reaction from India on the issue. People familiar with the development said the Nepalese embassy in New Delhi apprised its views to the Indian government over coverage of Nepal's political developments by the Indian channels. "We have stopped the distribution of all Indian news channels except Doordarshan," Dinesh Subedi, the chairman of Multi-System Operator (MSO), foreign channel distributor, told reporters here. "We have halted distribution of India's private news channels as they have aired news reports hurting Nepal's national sentiment," he added. The development comes after some Indian channels aired reports critical of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and his government. However, the Nepal government did not officially announce halting the telecast of the Indian news channels. Minister for Finance, Information and Communication Yuvraj Khatiwada also condemned some of the reports aired by the Indian news channels. "Nepal government condemns such acts," Khatiwada said while responding to a question on the issue during a press meet on Thursday. AThe government will seek political and legal ways against such an objectionable act," he added. Earlier in the day, former deputy prime minister and spokesperson of the ruling Nepal Communist party Narayan Kaji Shrestha said that the Indian media Amust stop the baseless propagandaA against Prime Minister Oli and his government. "The baseless propaganda by the Indian media against the Nepal government and our Prime Minister has crossed all limits. This is getting too much. Stop with the nonsense,A Shrestha said in a tweet. The India-Nepal bilateral ties came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8. Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through Nepalese territory. India rejected the claim asserting that the road lies completely within its territory. Later, Nepal updates the country's political map through a Constitutional amendment, incorporating three strategically important Indian areas. India termed as "untenable" the "artificial enlargement" of the territorial claims by Nepal. India has handed over a diplomatic note to Nepal over the map issue, Nepalese media reports said. A Spiderman fanatic visits the supermarket in different versions of the iconic costume to cheer up staff and shoppers during the coronavirus lockdown. Carlo Angelo Garces, 32, from Mandaluyong City, the Philippines has collected every costume in the Marvel Comics 'Spiderverse' over the years. During the Covid-19 crisis, he has been wearing them to bring joy to residents in the neighbourhood where he lives. Carlo said: "It feels good to spread good vibes especially during this time of crisis when people are very anxious." The Philippines has had some of the strictest coronavirus prevention measures in the world, including curfews, rationing, travel bans and community quarantines. A private-public partnership project, called Accelerating the Adoption of Circular Sanitation Demonstration Systems for Improved Health Outcomes (ACTUATE), has been launched in Accra to support the management of waste into profitable use in Ghana. The ACTUATE project also aims at generating electricity, sustainable fertilizer and sanitation improvement through the development of anaerobic digestion demonstrator systems in community schools. The HATOF Foundation, an environmental non-governmental organisation, is partnering the Council for Scientific and Industrial Researchs Institute of Industrial Research (CSIR-IRR), and the Lancaster University, United Kingdom, to implement the 18-month project, being funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund through the UK Research and Innovation. Mr Samuel Dotse, Chief Executive Officer of HATOF Foundation, at the launch on Friday, reiterated the importance of supporting governments efforts at managing waste, which had become a major challenge for most countries including Ghana. He said as the Government found ways of managing the waste being generated in the country daily, the ACTUATE project had come in to support such efforts. Mr Dotse explained that the Lancaster University was leading the project, which was also being piloted in Nigeria to improve sanitation in West Africa as a whole. The Community based pilot project involves the establishment of a digester at the Umar Bun Islamic School at Madina in Accra while the Nigerian project was being carried out at a University. It is hoped to be replicated in other countries. He said the HATOF Foundation would support cultural and generational changes in thinking and understanding the paradigm of safer circular economy through awareness creation, social mobilisation and environmental campaigns. Professor Roger Pickup, Associate Dean for Research, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Lancaster University, said the project would use faecal waste to generate energy. He said he was hopeful that the project would have the needed impact on improving the sanitation levels in communities and reduce waste. Dr Richard Bayitse, the ACTUTATE Project Coordinator in Ghana, explained that students of the Umar Bun Islamic School would be engaged and trained by the CSIR-IRR, to establish an integrated bio-digester, which would harness solar energy as well as using the faecal waste of the school to generate gas for cooking and other purposes. He said the new bio-digester would be different from the fixed-dome bio-digester that were buried in the ground adding that it would be a surface bio-digester to be built on the already existing septic tank in the school. The waste from the digester would be used for agricultural purposes and by the Blue Skies Company. Mr Oliver Boakye, Special Advisor to the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, commended the collaborators for supporting the countrys waste management system. This project seeks to demonstrate the way to provide a source of affordable and sustainable electricity for unconnected and hard to reach communities. Mr Boakye said proper waste management would not only improve the health of the people, especially in this COVI-19 period, but play a vital role in reducing poverty and generating wealth for the people. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Amid the Indo-Chinese standoff in eastern Ladakh, Pakistan had also intensified ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir. As many as 2,542 violations were recorded by the Indian Army till June 30. South of the Pir Panjal, the army lost nine soldiers in the Rajouri and Poonch sectors this year. A senior official, on condition of anonymity, said, In 2016, Pakistan had violated ceasefire violations 228 times, in 2017 the violations rose to 860. In 2018, they almost doubled to 1,629. In 2019, there were a staggering 3,289 ceasefire violations. This year, till June 30, Pakistan has violated the ceasefire 2,542 times and we anticipate more violations, he added. India and Pakistan, both of whom possess nuclear weapons, had mutually brokered a truce deal in November 2003, which of late has been left in tatters. Both countries have reiterated that in case of an issue, restraint will be exercised and the matter will be resolved through the mechanism of hotline contacts and border flag meetings at local commanders level. 15-16 terror launch pads across LoC However, Pakistan has always backtracked from its commitment because it has to export terrorists from terror factories operating on its soil. There are around 150 terrorists in 15 to 16 terror launch pads across the LoC waiting to infiltrate to this side of the border, said the officer. The 3,289 violations recorded last year were the highest in 16 years. The officer also said that in 2019 the Northern Command lost two officers, three junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and 72 other ranks along the LoC and in anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir. This year, we have lost nine bravehearts at the Pir Panjal range, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the Indian businesses and more so for the SMEs and Start-ups. With uncertainty in the business environment and an unexpected shift in the priorities of the Government as well as the corporates, many start-ups are struggling to keep the operations going. As per a nationwide survey on the Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Start-ups conducted by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), jointly with the Indian Angel Network (IAN) with 250 start-ups, 70 per cent of start-ups stated that their businesses have impacted by COVID-19. 12 per cent of the start-ups have shut operations and 60 per cent are operating with disruptions. Also read: Sumit Walia quits Oppo India as VP of Product and Marketing The survey depicts that only 22 per cent of the start-ups have cash reserves to meet the fixed cost expenses of their companies over the next 3-6 months. The findings show that 68 per cent of the start-ups are majorly cutting down their operational and administrative expenses. Close to 30 per cent of the companies stated that they will lay off employees if the lockdown was extended too long. 43 per cent of the start-ups have already started salary cuts in the range of 20-40 per cent over the period of April-June 2020. On the investment front, 33 per cent start-ups said that the investors have put the investment decision on hold and 10 per cent stated that the deals have been called off. Only 8 per cent start-ups received the funds as per the deals signed pre-COVID-19. The reduced funding has led start-ups to put a hold on their business development, manufacturing activities and has resulted in loss of projected orders. The survey highlights the need of an urgent relief package for start-ups, including possible purchase orders from the government, tax relief and swifter tax refunds. Further, immediate fiscal support measures including grants, soft loans and payroll grants need to be provided. Besides 250 start-ups, 61 incubators and investors also participated in the survey. 96 per cent of the investors stated that the investment in start-ups have been impacted by COVID-19. 92 per cent of the investors maintained that the start-up investments will continue to be low over the next six months. 59 per cent of the investors said that they would prefer to work with their existing portfolio companies in the coming months and only 41 per cent stated that they would consider new deals. A comparison of priority investment sectors pre- and during COVID-19 shows that 35 per cent of the investors are now looking at investments in healthcare start-ups, followed by EdTech, AI/Deep Tech, FinTech and Agri. 44 per cent of the incubators surveyed highlighted that their day-to-day operations have been considerably impacted by the COVID-19. Most of the incubators are now supporting their portfolio companies by providing them virtual platforms to interact with mentors, investors, and industries. Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI, noted, The start-up sector is stressed for survival at the moment. The investment sentiment is also subdued and is expected to remain so in the coming months. Lack of working capital and cash flows may lead to major layoffs over the next 3-6 months by start-ups. The survey indicates that the Indian start-ups need an enabling ecosystem and flow of funds to continue operations. According to Ajai Chowdhry, Chair, FICCI Start-up Committee and Founder, HCL, The start-up sector should be viewed as a propellant for the countrys growth and a contributor to Indias vision of being Atmanirbhar. Start-ups have a huge potential to innovate. However, in the current times, the start-up companies are reeling under huge pressure owing to lack of working capital. We need to act now to save a huge number of innovations created in the last few years. And government and industry need to reach out to support them through funding and business opportunities. Padmaja Ruparel, President, Indian Angel Network & Co-Chair FICCI Start-up Committee, added here, In these uncertain times, as investors, we must play an important role to provide the Indian start-ups funding, mentoring and handholding support to stay afloat and come out at the other end of this crisis. To that end, IAN recently announced a Debt Fund to help IAN portfolio companies raise working capital and ensure business continuity, by partnering with Debt providers. This must be replicated on a wider scale, so a larger number of start-ups are provided the capital support to make it during these tough times. Ganesh Raju, Co-Chair, FICCI Start-up Committee and Founder, TurboStart, said, The survey results clearly indicate that the start-ups are struggling in this unprecedented time in our history. To navigate the evolving situation, start-ups must focus on cash preservation so that sufficient capital is available to ride out the crisis. While some have been able to secure new funding, others might want to consider alternative sources of funding. We have also seen a number of start-ups re-think their businesses and evolve as per the current situation. Start-ups must use their strengths in innovation to re-strategise and re-think their business. Flights between French overseas departments French Guiana and Mayotte and the rest of France are prohibited until further notice, due to the high number of Covid-19 cases, according to a new decree published by the French government on Saturday. Flights are prohibited, unless they are based on a compelling reason of a personal or family order, a health reasonor a professional reason, according to the decree. Prime Minister Jean Castex is slated to arrive in French Guiana for a quick one-day visit focused primarily on health issues. French Guiana, located on the northeastern coast of South America, and Mayotte, an island off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, have been hard hit by the coronavirus. According to the French Public Health website, French Guiana has not hit the peak of the outbreak, as the numbers of cases continue to climb, while in Mayotte, the numbers are starting to fall, but the virus remains in high circulation in the area. French Guiana has 5,178 cases and 21 deaths, while Mayotte has 2,702 cases and more than 30 deaths. The health emergency was extended until 30 October in both French Guiana and Mayotte, while the state of emergency was called off in the rest of France as of Saturday. French Polynesia affected, too The decree also refers to the South Pacific, although they have not had a high number of coronavirus cases. Flights are banned to and from French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna, but the decree stipulates that depending on the prefect or the region, this edict can be lifted. French Polynesia is planning to resume international flights as of 15 July, and will be abolishing the two-week quarantine that had been imposed. A student walks past the front of an old shop on the Strand Campus of King's College London in this file photo. (Public Domain/Salamander4000/English Wikipedia) Universities Must Address Self-Censorship on China, Professor Says Universities should quickly create a strategy to protect researchers ability to openly discuss topics deemed sensitive by Beijing and say no to demands from China that violate their values, a China expert has said. The advice was given in an essay, titled China and Self-Censorship, by Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese Studies and director of the Lau China Institute at Kings College in London. In his essay, part of a collection published on July 9, Brown discusses the way Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence can affect research output from UK universities on topics related to China, citing self-censorship as a response to pressures from the Chinese regime, both actual and perceived. While one can sometimes find tangible evidence in the form of conversations, emails, letters, or other means, that pressure has been placed, with much self-censorship the act itself is invisibleit occurs in peoples heads, before and as they write and is very private, he wrote. Brown said theres a clear and pressing need for the protection of a middle ground, especially amid the CCP virus pandemic, in which China scholars can freely express their ideas to truly understand whats happening in China. This space for neutrality has become squeezed and compromised almost to the point of becoming uninhabitable, he wrote, noting the increasingly polarized environment of complex issues such as the Hong Kong protests. The need for credible voices, untainted by claims they are partisan or undertaking self-censorship, has never been greater. Pressure to Censor While pressure on researchers working in China to toe the Party line is well documented, outside of China, in the past, only some high-profile articles or books on sensitive topics such as Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Uyghurs, attracted the attention of the Chinese regime. But as the CCP has become more assertive in its messaging globally, so more China scholars are facing pressure to self-censor to avoid offending funders or research partners, Brown said. In America, institutions either having research centres in China, or hosting Confucius Institutes partially funded by the Chinese government have also been accused of avoiding contentious or difficult issues that might irritate the Chinese government, he wrote. Brown said this kind of pressure could particularly affect students doing doctorates and researchers at the beginning of their careers, as they could be cut off from visiting China to complete their research if theyre deemed to be critical of the regime. The pressure to self-censor, he said, can manifest in different forms. Sometimes this takes the form of attacks on social media when posts go up by commentators or writers critical of China by the army of wumao activiststhose sometimes paid by the Chinese Government to put content in comments sections attacking critics and defending China. Brown described academics as becoming increasingly fearful and anxious about the potential consequences for themselves as individuals, as well as for their institutions, when writing or even thinking of writing, on issues that may offend the CCP. Offending China was never difficult, Brown wrote. In recent times, it has become extremely easy, and the Chinese government has not been coy in expressing this for everyone who wants to hear it. Protecting Free Speech European and U.S. universities that already had formal protections for free speech and expression should ensure they are rigorously implemented, Brown said. He recommended that all universities rapidly compose and adopt a risk management strategy for any interactions with China. This should cover all areas of intellectual inquiry, he said. It should spell out clearly and without naivety the risks, and opportunities, of doing work with China and on China. Dr. Liu, an engineering professor at a UK university, says the issues Brown raises had been in the UK higher education system for years. This self-censorship has unconsciously been a form of so-called political correctness: universities often claim, We want to keep neutrality and we do not have any attitude toward any political issues. However, so-called political correctness or self-censorship has significantly harmed academic freedom and freedom of speech within the campuses, he said in an email. The universities should set up coordinated strategies to gradually eliminate self-censorship from the system and to protect our core values in higher education. Browns essay is one of a collection of eight in a Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) report on engagement with China, titled UK Universities and China. It comes at a time of heightened concern over Chinas influence on and within UK institutions. Other essays in the HEPI collection cover subjects ranging from the future for Chinese students in Australia to the ethical challenges of hosting international Chinese students. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected international condemnation over the decision to change the status of Istanbuls landmark Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque, saying it represented his countrys will to use its sovereign rights. In the past, he has repeatedly called for the stunning building to be renamed as a mosque and in 2018, he recited a verse from the Quran at Hagia Sophia. Those who do not take a step against Islamophobia in their own countries attack Turkeys will to use its sovereign rights, Erdogan said at a ceremony he attended via video-conference on Saturday. The colossal Hagia Sophia was built 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral and was converted into a mosque after the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, now Istanbul, in 1453. The secular Turkish government decided in 1934 to make it a museum. Erdogan on Friday formally converted the building back into a mosque and declared it open for Muslim worship, hours after a high court annulled the 1934 decision turning it into a museum. He said Muslim prayers would begin at the UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 24. Muslims gather for evening prayers in front of the Hagia Sophia after Fridays court decision [Murad Sezer/Reuters] International reactions The president went ahead with the plan despite appeals from NATO ally the United States and from Russia, with which Ankara has forged close relations in recent years. Greece swiftly condemned the move as a provocation, France deplored it while the US also expressed disappointment. Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko on Saturday said Moscow regretted the decision. The cathedral is on Turkeys territory, but it is without question everybodys heritage, he told the Interfax news agency. The World Council of Churches wrote to Erdogan expressing grief and dismay over the move and urged him to reverse his decision. As a World Heritage museum, Hagia Sophia has been a place of openness, encounter and inspiration for people from all nations, interim secretary-general Ioan Sauca said in the letter released on Saturday. Sauca said the museum status had been a powerful expression of Turkeys commitment to inclusion and secularism. The influential bishop Hilarion, who heads the Russian Orthodox Churchs department for external church relations, also expressed his sorrow. {articleGUID} It is a blow to global Christianity For us [Hagia Sophia] remains a cathedral dedicated to the Saviour, he told state-controlled TV Rossiya24 late on Friday. But Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara director of the German Marshall Fund, told AFP the move would win hearts and minds at home as most Turks would favour such a decision for religious or nationalist sentiments. This is a debate president Erdogan cannot lose and the opposition cannot win. As a matter of fact, this issue also has the potential to disunite the opposition parties. Erdogans nationalist ally Devlet Bahceli welcomed the decision, saying that reopening Hagia Sophia to Muslim worship has long been our desire. Police erect barriers On Saturday, police had put up barriers around Hagia Sophia. We wanted to come and visit Istanbul and the Hagia Sophia museum but unfortunately we realised that from today it is closed, said Renato Daleo, a tourist from Italy. Ksennia Bessonova, a Russian living in Istanbul flanked by her 16-month-old daughter and her husband, said they had also wanted to visit. It was our little dream because since our daughter was born we were not able to come and here we go, she said. She hoped the authorities would not change anything inside. From what our friends and family were telling us it was something special and we wanted to feel the same. At the moment I am not sure what to expect but I feel sad in a way. {articleGUID} On Friday, Erdogan gave assurances that Hagia Sophia would be open to all visitors, including non-Muslims. The Hagia Sophias doors will remain open to visitors from all around the world, his press aide Fahrettin Altun tweeted on Saturday. People of all religious denominations are welcome and encouraged to visit it just as they have been able to visit other mosques, including the Blue Mosque. The whole way the plan is set up, its different than the old plans, its not quite as prescriptive as the old plans used to be, its much more desired conditions and objective based, Erickson said. Challenges Two of the biggest challenges facing the forest is an increase in recreation use of the forest in the greater Bozeman area and the threat of climate change. The many effects of a warming climate could range from increased wildland fires to warming streams that are a refuge for native cutthroat trout. Erickson said the growth in recreation has been tremendous and is taxing the forests tight budget and staffing levels. That evolving science around recreation use, and the impacts of recreation use, is an area weve really tried to address in this forest plan, but I will also say its an area ripe for a lot of new research and better information about what really are the impacts of human disturbance and different types of recreation uses, Erickson said. Photo: Donal O'Beirne A photo of the Moose Lake train derailment on December 26, 2019. Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has released its annual statistics on transportation incidents last year. The findings represent the number of occurrences in 2019 that involve the air, marine, pipeline and rail sectors. Air A total of 226 air accidents were reported to the TSB, compared to 201 incidents in 2018. There were 33 fatal air accidents last year, which resulted in 70 deaths. "Overall, the number of air accidents has been decreasing over the last decade," says the TSB in a press release. "The 2019 overall air accident rate of 3.7 per 100,000 hours flown is above the 2018 rate of 3.3 accidents, but below the average rate of 4.9 accidents over the past 10 years." The accident rate for Canadian-registered aircraft has decreased from 6.3 incidents per 100,000 hours flown in 2009 to 3.7 in 2019. Rail Rail accidents were up from the previous year, jumping from 1169 in 2018 to 1246 in 2019. Compared to the average spanning over the past decade, the accident rate last year was 17 per cent higher than normal. "Rail fatalities totalled 72 in 2019, up from 57 reported last year and approximately the same as the previous 10-year average of 73," says the TSB. "Crossing accident related fatalities totalled 28 in 2019, up from 19 in 2018 and trespasser fatalities totalled 38, up from 34 in the previous year." The TSB noted that five rail employees were killed in 2019, which is above the decade-average of two. Marine 267 marine accidents were reported to the TSB last year, falling from the 2018 total of 289. The number of 'shipping accidents' decreased to 207, compared to 232 the previous year. But 'accidents aboard ship' went up slightly from 57 to 60. "17 marine fatalities were reported, which is down from the 22 fatalities reported in 2018, but still above the annual average of 15.2 in the 20092018 time period," the TSB says. "12 of the 17 marine fatalities in 2019 were fishing-related, and the data indicates that more needs to be done to improve safety in the commercial fishing industry." The TSB states that safety improvements in commercial fishing has been on their watchlist since 2010. Pipeline There were 48 pipeline occurrences in 2019, none of which were accidents, and is well below the decade average of 132. "There were no accidents, serious injuries or fatalities arising directly from the operation of any federally-regulated pipeline in 2019," says the TSB. "There have been no fatal accidents on a federally regulated pipeline system directly resulting from the operation of a pipeline since the inception of the TSB in 1990." Of the 48 incidents, 20 involved a release of product. Mr Daniel Agyei-Dwarko, the Eastern Regional Coordinator of the Research Extension Farmers Linkage Committee (RELC) has advised Ghanaian farmers to use organic insecticides extracted from neem leaves and oil which are safer mature on fruits and vegetables. RELCis is organised annually for players in the agriculture value chain to meet to discuss challenges facing the industry for solutions. Mr Safo Kafui, the Achiase District Director of Agriculture explained that, the outcome of the session would be forwarded to the Regional Agriculture Office for multivariate analysis in order to arrive at definite solutions for farmers. Participants at the meeting appealed to researchers to help find chemicals that could be used to protect rice plants from birds. Oil palm processors expressed concern about lack of funds to purchase machines to enhance their activity and were advised to form active groups to enable them get grants and loans from the government to purchase machines. Mr Richmond Amponsah, the Achiase District Chief Executive said, without farmers the world would be in dire need of food and urged them to protect themselves from the coronavirus by eating well and to observe all the safety protocols. He also urged them to involve themselves in the government flagship programmes especially planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ). Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Sydneysiders are expected to shun long commutes to the city centre after the COVID-19 pandemic, with experts tipping a renaissance in the suburbs while inner cities are drained of their former life. Keryn James, chief executive of ERM Consulting said the traditional stalwarts of vibrant cities - the retail, tourism and commercial sectors - had been "brought to their knees" by the pandemic. Visitors are slowly returning to Barangaroo, but the City of Sydney estimates pedestrian traffic has fallen 90 per cent during the pandemic. Credit:James Alcock "Post-COVID, the role of cities will need to be re-imagined as individuals and companies embrace remote and virtual working in a very significant way," she said. The City of Sydney estimates there had been a 90 per cent drop in the number of people on central Sydney streets since the start of the pandemic. Precincts such as Barangaroo face an uncertain future as office workers slowly return to their places of work. A total of 1.1 million has been approved and paid out to Louth businesses under the Government's Restart Grant to aid reopening after COVID-19. Senator John McGahon said, "The Government's Restart Grant involves direct grant aid to micro and small businesses of between 2,000 and 10,000, to help with the costs associated with reopening and re-employing workers following COVID-19 closures.' He added: 'Business owners and their staff have been through incredibly difficult times recently and it is so welcome that the Government is doing everything possible to support them to open up again.' 'This work was begun by Fine Gael in the last government and it is welcome that the new Government is prioritising the recovery from the economic shock of Covid-19. They are working to repair the damage that has been done, and restore confidence and prosperity. Small businesses will play a huge role in that as they are the lifeblood of the local economy.' 'The latest figures from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, show that 1.1 Million has been approved and paid to businesses in Louth since the Restart Grant was formed.' 'These targeted supports that have been developed by the Department in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices, will be available to companies of including micro enterprises, SMEs, and sectors most exposed with a focus on food, manufacturing and internationally traded services including exporters and importers.' This is in addition to a range of other supports for businesses to help them through the pandemic. The July Jobs Initiative, which will be announced in the coming weeks, will help to bolster our economy and get people back to work as quickly as possible. He added: 'It will enhance and add to the existing measures totalling 12 billion in supports for Covid-19 impacted businesses already announced. He said that 183 retailers have so far been approved for 6.5 million in funding as part of the Online Retail Scheme, which is targeted at online retailers to strengthen their online offering and enable them to reach a wider customer base. 'Other measures include the Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), liquidity supports such as 0% finance for 6 months from MicroFinance Ireland, rates waivers from local authorities and the warehousing of tax liabilities of SMEs by Revenue.' 'The Restart Grant is being rolled out through the Local Authorities across the country so Louth County Council has a crucial role here,' said Senator McGahon. 'Impacted firms that are in rateable premises can apply to Louth County Council for grant support of between 2,000 and a maximum of 10,000 equivalent to their rates bill of 2019. The application form for the Restart Grant is available on the Council's website. I encourage all micro and small business owners in Louth to apply for the grant.' Representative Image For about three months, a 'duplicate' branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) was being operated at Panrutti in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district. It was only after an SBI customer, who had visited the fake bank branch, discussed it with the manager of an existing one, that the case came to light. Following this, three people involved in the scam were arrested after officials of SBI filed a complaint with the police, according to a report by Business Standard. One of the three nabbed in connection with the matter of the duplicate branch is the son of two former employees of SBI. The second accused ran a printing press where all documents and challans were printed, while the third one was involved in making rubber stamps. When the manager at one of the existing SBI branches in the area took up the matter with the zonal office, he was informed that only two branches of SBI had been set up at Panruti. The fake branch was then visited by SBI officials, who witnessed the entire counterfeit set-up with all necessary infrastructure and systems. The accused, both of whose parents had been former SBI employees, had applied for his father's post after he passed away about 10 years ago. However, frustrated by the delay in his application, he decided to go ahead and open his own bank, according to an Indian Express report quoting an SBI official. The accused had been visiting the bank and observing its operations from an early age, the report noted. Three Springfield Democratic state legislators questioned the firing of a city police detective over a Black Lives Matter social media post after a federal study highlighted excessive, unconstitutional use of force by narcotics officers in the department. Reps. Bud Williams, Carlos Gonzalez and Jose Tosado submitted the letter to Mayor Domenic J. Sarno on Friday requesting a meeting and answers to several questions. They ask for the number of Springfield police misconduct cases that have been investigated under Sarnos tenure, the amount of taxpayer money spent in police-related lawsuits in the last two decades, the racial breakdown of officers who are suspended with pay and how much such suspensions cost taxpayers. The taxpayers of Springfield and Massachusetts deserve answers and the SPD must be fully transparent on how they hold police officers accountable, the letter states. We must not allow the honorable work of our men and women in blue to be tarnished by a few bad apples. We demand a proportional, reasonable and equitable disciplining policy for all police officers. The group called the firing of Springfield police detective unsettling and open to question. Florissa Fuentes, a newly promoted detective in the Special Victims Unit, was fired after she posted a pro-Black Lives Matter image to her personal Instagram account while off duty. The image showed her niece protesting in Atlanta. Flames leap up in the background and her niece holds a sign that reads: Shoot the F--- Back. A friends sign reads: Who do we call when the murderer wears the badge? Despite her passion for police work, Fuentes said in an interview with The Republican that she wanted to support her niece and the cause. The Atlanta demonstration was one of hundreds held following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died at the hands of Minneapolis police The letter states, The fact that a Latina officer was fired for an alleged violation of a social media policy infraction, while numerous white Anglo Springfield Police officers with allegations and evidence of police brutality remain on the city payroll, is unconscionable. Rep. Carlos Gonzalez sent a similar letter this week to Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood, asking her to reconsider Fuentes termination. The police department confirmed Clapproods receipt, but referred MassLive to the law department for comment because Fuentes has retained an attorney. The federal study released Wednesday night states the departments Narcotics Bureau had a pattern of excessive force, violating peoples rights. The report referenced two high-profile police brutality cases involving Springfield officers. Thirteen current and former members face charges in connection to an alleged 2015 off-duty police beating of four men outside Nathan Bills Bar and Restaurant. Five of those officers, who were suspended without pay for more than a year after being criminally charged, were reinstated earlier this year. At the time, Sarno said he supported the decision, but he said in June he would rescind their reinstatement. In a separate incident, former narcotics detective Gregg Bigda faces federal charges after allegedly kicking two Latino minors in the face during a 2016 arrest. The report outlines struggles in proving certain allegations, attributing the difficulties to poor record-keeping. Nearly half of the prisoner injury reports, a common record where force would be documented, were so vague that the federal investigators could not determine the severity of the force used. The state legislators requested a meeting with the mayor to better understand how the mayor intends to address such matters. They asked the mayors office to answer a series of questions regarding the racial and gender demographics of the Springfield Police Department, the number of police misconduct cases investigated since Sarno took office in 2008 and the cost of lawsuits against the department paid out. Williams, who served on the Springfield City Council before he was elected to the State House in 2016, said the report confirms what he had heard from residents, but couldnt prove as a local official and even beforehand when he worked as a probation officer. Its been going on for a while too. Its a deep-rooted problem. The roots run very deep into the system, Williams said. Maybe well get a chance to look at it and start some corrective actions. As protests in the wake of recent officer-involved deaths grew in June, Sarno announced the citys plans to create an Office of Racial Equity. Clapprood has also announced enhanced training, a planned new record-keeping system and body-worn cameras for officers. Williams said thats a start. Like other lawmakers, he recommends cultural competency training and recruiting officers who reflect the communities they serve. Williams also pointed to the need for a civilian review board, which was in place until 2005. Williams wrote a letter to the commissioner requesting the return of such a board to increase transparency. He said if the department resists efforts to bring back the board, it could be put to a referendum. It cant be business as usual, he said. It just cant be business as usual. Weve been sweeping stuff under the rug for years and putting the band-aid approach to it. Thats not going to work. City councilors and the mayor have clashed over efforts to replace the seven-member Community Police Hearing Board with a nine-member Civilian Review Board. Several councilors have called for a return to a civilian police commission, which would be tasked with reviewing complaints and internal investigations, holding hearings and disciplinary recommendations if a complaint is sustained. One key difference between the two is a CRB implemented by the council would have subpoena power. The current board was given subpoena power in the 2010 mayoral executive order that created it, but that clause was legally invalid. The council passed a measure creating the commission, but Sarno did not enact it, calling the commission model is outdated and inferior. While the hearing board conducts disciplinary hearings, it can only recommend punishment. Only Clapprood, a police department official, has disciplinary powers. In a statement Friday, Councilor Jesse Lederman again called for the installation of a civilian police commission, among other changes, noting the report highlighted the CHPBs failures to increase transparency and accountability. The third largest city in Massachusetts has the responsibility, the resources, and the ingenuity to address this, Lederman wrote. It should not take the Federal Department of Justice to push our city to do so. In September, Sarno threatened to issue an executive order to expand the current boards membership but keep the single police commissioner. Councilor Orlando Ramos pushed back saying only the council can give the civilian board subpoena powers and the mayor held off. The morning after the federal studys release, Sarno held a news conference to discuss the report he called disturbing and troubling. For most of the news conference, he focused on the DOJs occasional references to cooperation by city officials over the two-year federal investigation, even as the report noted that not one narcotics officer agreed to a one-on-one interview. No one is above the law, including police officers, Sarno said, moving on quickly to quote laudatory remarks included in the conclusion of the report, including: We are encouraged by SPDs cooperation and by its initial efforts to address reform. Related Content: BAD AXE - McLaren Thumb Hospital recently welcomed Katie Lange, a family nurse practitioner, to its oncology department. Lange received her undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and completed her Master of Science in Nursing at the University of Michigan - Flint. Having grown up in a small farming community similar to Huron County, Lange understands and appreciates small town life and looks forward to helping the oncology patients in the area. Are you from the area? "I recently moved from the Plymouth/Ann Arbor area but grew up on a small farm in Maybee, Michigan." What inspired you to become a family nurse practitioner? "I've always known I wanted to work in healthcare and was fascinated with the nursing role early on. Providing support and healing through the unique patient-nurse connection inspired me to choose nursing as my career. I was then blessed with fantastic nursing role models throughout both my education and my career who encouraged me to support patients at a higher level as a family nurse practitioner." Why did you choose to practice in this area? "I chose to practice in this area for the close-knit community, renowned McLaren healthcare system and to improve patient access to healthcare. Working in oncology, my main goal is to provide the best patient-focused, evidence-based care for our cancer patients and families. I knew I would have a unique opportunity to help increase patient access to oncology care in this area and I leapt at the prospect." What differences do you find being a FNP in a small community compared to a larger one? "One of the main differences, and perhaps greatest advantage, with working in a small community is the ability to develop deeper connections. Nursing is a profession that is based on the human connection and service to others. Getting back to my small-town roots in another part of Michigan, I have found working in a small community enhances this connection and allows me to support my patients and their family members in a more focused and meaningful way." What are some things you like about Huron County? "So far, my favorite parts of Huron County have been at the farmer's markets, getting outdoors at beaches and walking trails, and meeting people out in the community. Huron County has quickly become home to me, and it feels very comfortable and natural for me to join a farming community again. I look forward to learning more about the differences in crops and livestock in Huron County versus those downstate." What do you find to be the most rewarding aspect of your job? "The most rewarding aspect of my job is the time I spend with my patients and the relationships I develop with them and their family members. Working in a smaller community, I am able to spend more time during my appointments getting to know my patients and learning more about what is important to them. I believe healthcare providers who are able to develop a deeper relationship with their patients, and make time to listen to them, provide better patient outcomes." What do you think sets you apart from other providers in the area? "I think every healthcare provider brings a different skill set and unique experiences to their practice and my skill set is founded in a patient-centered approach. The ability to truly listen and respond with genuine care is sometimes lost in a fast-paced world. I work with my patients and their families to develop a plan of care that is patient-focused and will work with their schedules, expectations, and goals. I encourage my patients to communicate openly with me on a regular basis and I follow them closely throughout and after their chemotherapy treatments." BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 49 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts. President of Emirates Tim Clark says he is confident there will be a rebound in air travel and that it will get back to where it was prior to Covid-19 by summer of 2022. Speaking to Richard Quest of CNN, Clark said: "My own view is that by the summer of '22, we will see a restoration of normality. By that I mean pre-Covid levels. Not expanded as we were going, by 7% or 8% per annum. But it will be flat line compared to where we were in the last of the year of 2019." On the possibility of airlines shrinking, Clark said: "To be honest, we will be (shrinking) between 10% and 20% in the end. We are probably not quite the same as many airlines because, don't forget, most of our work force is expatriate. Once they have left the United Arab Emirates and Dubai, in particular, it becomes far more difficult to get them back as quickly as we may need them." He said first airlines have to get through this difficult time. "Not all will get through that. In the absence of government bailouts most of the airlines today would be in bankruptcy. Let's be honest about it. Going forward, if we can survive all of this -- I am not one of those people that believe that there is going to be a new normal. In other words that people will not travel or their incidence of travel, their frequency of travel, their capacity to pay for travel will be compromised. I think it is a little bit of a wakeup call at the moment. But one only has to lock at what happened for instance in the United Kingdom last week or week before, during the month of May, when they started to release the lockdown 500,000 people headed for the beaches. When they opened the bars, huge numbers turned out. "The pressure to return to degrees of normality, notwithstanding the point I made about the science and medicine, my own belief is that people will come back. They will want to restore the way it was as best they can because they experienced it. They savoured it. They enjoyed it. In the case of air travel, it had become very much part of their lifestyle and it wasn't so aspirational as it might have been 20 or 30 years ago. Now it is the way it is. And that's the way they want it back. That's the way I look at it. "Secondly, without being predatorial about it, I believe a number of carriers will have difficulty mounting long haul operations because risks associated with that. About the amount of debt on the balance sheet, the amount of cash, the risk aversion on boards, I would suggest theres going to be a reduction in capacity as compared to what it was a year ago," he said in the CNN interview. He said Emirates will be as good in the future as it has been the last 35 years. "Take my word for it," Clark declared. When Arlene Foster was elected to the position of honorary secretary of the Ulster Unionist Council in 1996 (she was just 26), a veteran party officer told me: "Watch her, Alex, and mark my words, she is going to be the first woman leader of this party. She has learned a lot from the likes of Thatcher when it comes to dealing with men in politics." The reason I remember it is that we had a bet, wrote it down and each kept a copy. We both lost when she left the UUP at the end of 2003. When I asked her, in May 2015, if she would ever have become leader had she stayed in the party, she gave me a one-word answer: no. Pushing her a little, she added: "Joining the DUP may have been perceived as a difficult move for a female Anglican to make, but it was actually made very easy for me by the warmth of the welcome I received. I found a vibrancy in the DUP that didn't exist in the UUP and a real and genuine support and interest in the individual. The DUP promotes on merit." It is often forgotten that when Foster and Jeffrey Donaldson defected to the DUP, he was regarded as the bigger catch and certainly someone who had greater potential to rattle the UUP and open the floodgates for anti-Agreement UUP voters to switch to the DUP. Expand Close DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds and DUP Leader Arlene Foster in Downing Street, London PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds and DUP Leader Arlene Foster in Downing Street, London For many of her new colleagues in the DUP, Foster would have been a relatively unknown figure. "She came as part of the Donaldson package," is how one DUP MLA put it to me. A former UUP MLA told me at the time: "She'll disappear in that party and be forgotten about within a year. Peter Robinson just wanted her to heap more embarrassment on (David) Trimble." Yet, it is Foster who is now leader and First Minister. Born on July 17, 1970, Foster's father, John, was a part-time farmer and full-time police officer, whom the IRA tried to kill when Foster was eight, forcing the family to move to the relatively safe area of Lisnaskea. Expand Close John Kelly. Arlene Fosters father. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Kelly. Arlene Fosters father. A few years later, she was on a school bus that was targeted by the IRA because the driver was a soldier in the Ulster Defence Regiment. A girl sitting near her was seriously injured in the attack. Memories like that never leave you, so it seems reasonable to conclude that they still play a central part in her attitude to Sinn Fein and her sometimes fractious relationship with key Sinn Fein figures. By her own admission, "I didn't grow up in a political household, but in one directly affected by the IRA along the border. I was recruited into the Queen's University Unionist Association by Peter Weir in 1989." Weir remembers being on the stall and signing Foster up: "Some new members take some persuading and some are never seen again after joining. But Arlene was an enthusiastic and active member from day one, both in association meetings and becoming a member of the Student Council. "As a minority political grouping, particularly at a time when the Troubles were still happening, there was a natural bonding for all of us, both politically and in terms of friendship." Expand Close The bus Arlene foster was travelling on when an IRA bomb detonated. June 28th 1988 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The bus Arlene foster was travelling on when an IRA bomb detonated. June 28th 1988 The friendships and common political bonds forged at that time included the nucleus of what became known as the "baby barrister" group (originally encouraged by Trimble when he became leader in 1995), which was to become one of the greatest thorns in his side during what is best described as the civil war which engulfed - and came very close to destroying - the UUP between 1998 and 2004. It was a difficult time for Foster: "Tony Blair once told the group that it was easy to say no to the (Belfast) Agreement. But he was wrong. He showed no understanding of the people he was talking to. It was actually very, very difficult for us to say no to the Belfast Agreement, as up to then we had all been very strong UUP members." Her other difficulty lay in the attitude of Trimble's core support group to the party's anti-agreement faction. There were a number of occasions when a common platform might have been constructed, but Trimble's camp (and not always with his knowledge, either) seemed determined not to pursue consensus. All that mattered was winning each showdown with the Ulster Unionist Council, even when it meant Trimbles majority shrinking each time. Expand Close Arlene Foster is hugged by her mother Georgina Kelly / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Arlene Foster is hugged by her mother Georgina Kelly Ironically, her own Fermanagh/South Tyrone Constituency Association the partys largest was the bedrock of Trimbles support base and was always able to deliver the key numbers he needed for each vote. Being one of the leading lights of the partys anti-agreement lobby in such an overwhelmingly pro-Agreement/pro-Trimble association cant have been easy for Foster. Denzil McDaniel, the former editor of the Impartial Reporter in Enniskillen, told me: Even in her early UUP days, Arlene Fosters people skills could see her work the room at party gatherings. Allied to her determination that she wasnt there to make the tea, the combination of the personality and ambition of a young woman didnt always sit well with the stiff, middle-aged male hierarchy. So, its fair to say there were already tensions when Arlene was outspoken about the direction of the party. And when she defected to the DUP, there was considerable animosity. Much of that animosity was fuelled by the fact that Foster had been selected by the UUP as a candidate for the 2003 Assembly election (held in November), yet defected to the DUP a matter of weeks later. And it was that animosity which made it impossible for the UUP and DUP to reach agreement on a joint candidate for the 2005 General Election. Expand Close Arlene Foster on BBC Spotlight. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Arlene Foster on BBC Spotlight. But as the DUPs Lord Morrow (a former MLA in Fermanagh/South Tyrone) told me: Locally, Arlene brought both new members and voters to the DUP. Having joined, she very quickly became an integral member of the party structures, both locally and province-wide. The enthusiasm and energy she brought were repaid in kind by the wider membership, who took her to their hearts immediately. On January 11, 2010, when Peter Robinson announced he was standing aside as First Minister to devote time to deal with family matters, there was considerable surprise that he chose Foster to stand in for him, rather than Nigel Dodds, or even Sammy Wilson. Some DUP MLAs and commentators wondered if he had chosen her because he trusted her not to take the opportunity to undermine him in what was likely to be a critical time in his political and personal life. Whatever the real reason for his decision (and he will have been aware that a number of senior members, including some who still resented the brutal coup against Paisley a couple of years earlier, were briefing against him), it was a clear signal that he recognised her as a potential leader, which she became five years later. To describe her time, so far, as leader as tumultuous would actually be an understatement: Brexit; RHI; the crocodile comments; the collapse of the Assembly for three years; the worst election result in unionisms history in March 2017, when it failed to win a majority in a local assembly/parliament; the Confidence and Supply arrangement with the Conservative Government; serial betrayals by Theresa May and Boris Johnson; the debacle over the Irish Language Act and the breakdown of the talks process in February 2018; the Ian Paisley free holiday saga; the loss of the kingmaker role, along with Nigel Dodds and Emma Pengelly, in December 2019; Covid-19; the rebooting of the Assembly and New Decade, New Approach agreement in January; the spectacular falling-out with Sinn Fein over the Storey funeral; and the seeming certainty of the border down the Irish Sea. Thats an awful lot of drama in just five years; the sort of drama which might have brought other leaders to their knees. But she has hung on, taking blow after blow after blow. At a couple of moments, there was evidence of internal dissatisfaction and even an attempt to organise a coup to remove her. On one occasion she got lucky: had the DUP not found itself in the kingmaker role in Westminster just weeks after the disastrous Assembly result, its likely that her weakness would have been mercilessly exposed. Expand Close First Minister Arlene Foster speaking at Stormont in Belfast. (Northern Ireland Assembly/PA Wire) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp First Minister Arlene Foster speaking at Stormont in Belfast. (Northern Ireland Assembly/PA Wire) On another occasion the findings of the RHI report she was personally vindicated, although the findings were still embarrassing for others in the DUP. With her 50th birthday just around the corner, she will be hoping for a present in the form of some lessening of the relentless pressure she has endured. That seems unlikely, though. The economic consequences of Covid-19 and the likelihood of higher levels of infection during the longer, colder, wetter, darker days of autumn/winter will require a mixture of difficult and probably unpopular decisions. And if the damage done to relationships between Sinn Fein and the other Executive parties isnt repaired fairly quickly, there remains the possibility of eventual collapse. Brexit, of course, hasnt gone away, either; nor has the possibility of a no-deal exit. The border down the Irish Sea dimension isnt, I think, an existential crisis for unionism (although it remains hugely embarrassing for the DUP), but leaving without a deal brings the prospect of economic chaos and a ramping up of the unity and border poll project by Sinn Fein. The year 2021 marks the centenary of Northern Ireland and, just a few years ago, the DUP would have hoped to have been leading the celebrations, hosting visitors from across the world and organising broader UK events. That will all be much smaller scale stuff now. Expand Close Boris Johnson meets DUP leader Arlene Foster at Stormont in Belfast (Niall Carson/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Boris Johnson meets DUP leader Arlene Foster at Stormont in Belfast (Niall Carson/PA) But Foster will still be determined to demonstrate the value of the Union and the long-term success of Northern Ireland, albeit against a background where the independence lobby in Scotland is building traction. Crucially, there doesnt even seem to be the whiff of opposition to her leadership within the party. And, given the assorted trials she has endured since she inherited the role (there was no contest), thats something shell be happy to celebrate. Also, there is no hammer-blow challenge to her from the UUP or TUV at the moment and thats likely to remain the case so, again, that takes some pressure off her. One of her former UUP colleagues, whom I spoke to for this piece (he didnt want to be named) had this to say of her: Looking back, the biggest mistake the UUP made was to let Arlene and others like her go. We should have taken her arguments on board and found a way of accommodating them. Sure, the DUP is doing what we would have done anyway had we stayed in top place. I was angry when she left and she has made some big mistakes since then. That said, I respect her and, since 2007, she has always got my first preference in this constituency. I think Foster would be very happy to view and then bank that comment as an unexpected and early birthday present. Trump acknowledges for first time that in 2018, he okayed covert cyberattack against Russia's Internet Research Agency, St. Petersburg-based troll farm that led Russian attacks on 2016 U.S. presidential election, and on 2018 midterms. Donald Trump, for the first time, confirmed the United States conducted a covert cyberattack in 2018 against Russia's Internet Research Agency, and intelligence experts say yikes, he probably wasn't supposed to reveal that information. But nothing matters. Trump blurted it out in a puff piece interview in the Washington Post published Friday evening. The Internet Research Agency is Vladimir Putin's military troll farm, and U.S. intelligence experts and the Mueller Report blame the entity for attacking the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the 2018 midterms. Thiessen writes in the Post that during his interview he asked Trump whether he had launched a cyberattack. Thiessen said Trump replied, "Correct." "Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have," the President told Thiessen. This is a lie. Trump appeared to confirm that the US had conducted such a cyberattack against a Russian entity during the 2018 midterm elections in a June 2019 Fox News interview, but this is the first direct confirmation, reports Kevin Bohn at CNN: Trump said during the interview that in 2016, then-President Barack Obama "knew before the election that Russia was playing around. Or, he was told. Whether or not it was so or not, who knows? And he said nothing. And the reason he said nothing was that he didn't want to touch it because he thought (Hillary Clinton) was winning because he read phony polls. So, he thought she was going to win. And we had the silent majority that said, 'No, we like Trump.' " Trump claimed that unlike his predecessor, he acted on intelligence the US had about Russia's election interference by launching the cyberattack. "Look, we stopped it," Trump told Thiessen. Obama in December 2016 did announce sanctions against Russia and expelled some Russian diplomats in retaliation for Russia's interference in the US presidential election. The Washington Post in October 2018 previously reported there was a cyberattack. The operation against the company, which is bankrolled by an oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was carried out in order to prevent any interference in the midterms, the paper was told. This is, however, the first official confirmation from Trump. Thiessen reports senior US officials also confirmed that the strike occurred and was effective, taking the Internet Research Agency offline. Trump confirms US conducted cyberattack against Russia in 2018 [cnn.com] Yikes. We all go to jail for talking about thisThe IC will now call this "unilateral Presidential Declassification by puff piece interview" https://t.co/PNLdHJvbPP Marc Polymeropoulos (@Mpolymer) July 11, 2020 Former Hale Center ISD graduate, Jonathan Soder, was named to the Oklahoma Baptist Universitys academic honor roll for the spring 2020 semester. Soder, a philosophy major, was named to the Presidents Honor Roll, which recognizes students who maintain a semester grade point average of 3.7 or higher. EU Delegation to Ukraine urges Verkhovna Rada to adopt bill on media in first reading during current parliamentary session The EU Delegation to Ukraine has urged Verkhovna Rada to adopt a bill on media in the first reading during the current parliamentary session that will provide more time for discussion and revision it by all of the interested parties. "The draft law on media is an important step in bringing Ukrainian media legislation in line with EU rules. We join the calls of other diplomatic missions to adopt this draft law in the first reading during the current parliamentary session. This will allows its further discussion and revision with the involvement of all interested parties," the EU Delegation to Ukraine said on Facebook. The current session of the Verkhovna Rada will finish on July 17. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur of Saket Court granted bail to 82 foreigners on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. They were produced before the court through video-conferencing. New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to several Bangladesh nationals who had participated in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz in March. The accused will now file a plea bargaining application, which is a pre-trial negotiation between the accused and the prosecution where the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for certain concessions by the prosecution. Till now, scores of foreign nationals belonging to different countries, including Afghanistan, Brazil, China, USA, Ukraine, Australia, Egypt, Russia, Algeria, Belgium, Saudi Arabia and others, have been given bail in the same case. They were all part of the meeting, which was in alleged violation of the visa norms and guidelines issued by the Indian government on COVID-19. The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has named more than 900 foreign nationals in connection with the case. They have not been arrested, though the Centre has cancelled their visas and blacklisted them. The FIR was registered against Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi and others on March 31. The accused have been charged under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, and also for violating the prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. --IANS aka/bg NEW YORK - A federal judge in Manhattan has given lawyers for President Donald Trump a Wednesday deadline to say whether he will further challenge a subpoena for his tax documents, part of an ongoing investigation by local prosecutors here into hush money payments made during the 2016 election season. The order by U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero follows Thursday's highly anticipated Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who had been seeking the president's tax records as part of a probe into the Trump Organization's role in the payments. In its ruling, the country's top court said Trump did not have "absolute immunity" from the state court-level criminal subpoena. Trump could, however, pursue objections to the legality of the grand jury subpoena unrelated to the immunity question. The subpoena was issued on Aug. 29 and has been tied up in appeals in a lawsuit brought by Trump since shortly after it was issued. "We will respond as appropriate," Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said after Marrero's order Friday setting July 15 as a deadline by which the parties must say if there will be future legal challenges to the subpoena. Marrero, in the two-page order, also scheduled a phone conference for Thursday to discuss future proceedings, should the litigation continue. Laywers from Vance's office previously argued that delays could jeopardize their ability to file charges if any are warranted due to the timing of the payments as they apply to state statutes of limitations. The statute of limitations for a misdemeanor falsifying business records count has already passed and the five-year deadline by which to bring a felony-level case over the transactions is approaching. Vance is investigating whether the Trump Organization falsified business records to conceal alleged payoffs in exchange for silence made ahead of the 2016 election to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump years ago. Trump has denied the allegations. In public filings, lawyers for Vance's office said the records requested "relate to business and financial matters unrelated to any official acts" of the president "and are primarily from the time-period before [Trump] assumed that office." A spokesman for Vance declined to comment Friday. On Thursday, the Supreme Court shot down Trump's argument that, as president, he is immune from legal action on a local level and from investigations conducted by Congress. In its ruling, The court sent the cases back to lower courts, where, the justices said, Trump also could challenge the specifics of Vance's inquiry. Trump's lawsuit tried to block Vance from being able to subpoena his tax records from his accounting firm, Mazars USA, arguing that he was immune from facing criminal charges in a local court while in office - a claim his personal attorneys have also made in a set of lawsuits pending in New York. Vance, who called the landmark ruling "a tremendous victory for our nation's system of justice," has been investigating whether the Trump Organization doctored records to conceal hush money payments to two women during Trump's 2016 campaign. One of the women is outspoken pornography actress Stormy Daniels. The women were paid off by Trump's longtime personal lawyer and adviser Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to charges related to campaign fraud and tax cheating. Cohen, who had been free from his prison sentence on home confinement due to coronavirus concerns, was returned to Bureau of Prisons custody Thursday due to a dispute over his home confinement conditions. He was later sent back to the federal prison in Otisville, N.Y., his attorney said Friday. In a set of highly anticipated rulings Thursday, the Supreme Court shot down Trump's insistence that he is immune from legal action on a local level and from investigations by members of Congress. In its Trump v. Vance ruling, the court said Vance had the authority to look into Trump's financial records - personal and financial. Trump could raise a host of new challenges to the Mazars USA subpoena. Details of his tax filings, which he has staunchly refused to release to the public voluntarily as sitting presidents have traditionally done, are not likely to be made public in any fashion before November's election as both challenges are expected to face further litigation. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., writing the majority opinion in the 7-2 ruling in Trump v. Vance, wrote that the public was entitled to every mans evidence, which since the earliest days of the Republic has included the President of the United States. When the largest food processing outbreak in the state hit Newport over a month ago, it disproportionally affected people of color, just as the virus has been doing statewide during the pandemic. And while Lincoln County has several Spanish-speaking case investigators and contact tracers who went to work helping those affected, it has none that speak indigenous languages. Thats a problem for the countys indigenous Guatemalan population, a small but growing community, many of which are essential workers who dont speak English as a first language and may struggle with finding and understanding resources due to a language barrier. Now, officials are working to lessen that disparity in Lincoln County, which is 88.2% white, according to the U.S. Census. One way state and county officials are accomplishing that is by working with community partners to establish a support call center for the Guatemalan community. Oliver Vera, manager of the Oregon Health Authoritys external relations division and community partner outreach program, said reaching and communicating with the indigenous Guatemalan community was immediately a concern and priority when he heard of the outbreak in Newport. The county has a high concentration of COVID-19 cases after the outbreak at Pacific Seafood in Newport, which the Oregon Health Authority has linked to 181 cases. Overall, an Oregon State University study suggests, 3.4% of people in Newport have contracted the virus. Susan Trachsel, executive assistant and public information officer for Lincoln County Health and Human Services, said about 5% of people that Lincoln County contact tracers and case investigators have reached speak a language besides English or Spanish and are from Guatemala. She said theres a wide range of indigenous Guatemalan languages spoken in the county, including Akateco, Kanjobal, Nahuatl, and Jakaltek, or Popti. The county has been using a phone interpretation service to assist contact tracers and case investigators so far. Now the Oregon Health Authority, in collaboration with the nonprofit Vive Northwest, is expanding translation and interpretation services to the local call center for indigenous Guatemalans to access resources. Jorge Guzman, founder of Vive Northwest, said indigenous language speakers in the county will be able to call the center and ask questions about available resources or what to do if theyve been exposed to coronavirus. The call line currently has four people who are able to assist callers, Guzman said. The call center was an idea created long before the start of the pandemic, Vera said. He and Guzman had discussed it in the past, but the outbreak in Newport inspired action. We saw the opportunity that this is needed now, and we have a resource that may be able to fulfill that need, Vera said. The community partner outreach program at the Oregon Health Authority that Vera manages has been in existence for over a decade and works shoulder to shoulder with communities in order to provide them with resources. Relationships with community partners like Vive Northwest are essential for the success of the program, Vera said. They allow us to learn where the needs are in these communities, Vera said. Were not going to learn that from being in an office and being in front of a computer all day. Were going to learn that by learning from community partners and community folks. The Oregon Health Authoritys relationship with Vive Northwest has existed for over two years, and Guzman said that it helped him bear the brunt of COVID-19 some of the legwork had already been done. I have to give a lot of credit to what OHA is doing, Guzman said. Theyve been able to adapt and be pretty efficient. In Multnomah County, county officials said the pandemic has been a renewed lesson about the importance of ongoing relationships with refugee and immigrant community leaders as cases rise among those groups. Despite the Oregon Health Authority and Vive Northwests pre-existing relationship giving them a leg up on helping indigenous communities, Trachsel said that Lincoln County is still looking for other ways to improve communication and access to resources for the most vulnerable groups. We know theres more work to be done, Trachsel said. The call center is a Lincoln County-focused effort for now, but Guzman said he hopes to eventually expand the center statewide. Individuals can call the Centro de Atencion a Comunidades Indigenas at 844-291-4970 for resources about COVID-19 in Lincoln County. -- Celina Tebor ctebor@oregonian.com @CelinaTebor Martina Purdy is a former journalist, former trainee nun and now public relations officer for the St Patrick Centre in Downpatrick. Q. Can you tell us something about your background? A. I was born in Belfast in 1965. My father, Albert (Al), was from Eastwood in Nottinghamshire and he met my mother at a dance in Belfast in 1962 when he was doing his national service in Holywood, Co Down. My mother, Margaret (nee Logan), a Belfast woman, was a full-time homemaker and my father was an elevator mechanic. I am one of four children and have three brothers, all of whom live in Toronto, Canada. My family emigrated there in 1971 due to the Troubles. I briefly attended Holy Child school in Andersonstown, but most of my education was completed in Canada. I went to Holy Redeemer School, then St Joseph's Morrow Park (secondary school). I earned a BA in international relations at the University of Toronto and a post-grad diploma from the Ryerson School of Journalism in Toronto. Q. How and when did you come to faith? A. I was a cradle Catholic. My parents gave my brothers and I an amazing example of self-sacrificing Christian love, commitment and faith. My father was an Anglican, but converted to Catholicism when he married my mum in 1963. My mother is a walking Catechism, so she instructed us and we attended Mass regularly. My late father was a very committed Catholic, often booming out his favourite hymns, How Great Thou Art, and Amazing Grace. He had a great faith in almighty God and the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Q. Does this faith play a real part in your life, or is it only for Sundays? A. I do my best to live my faith at all times of the day, but due to human weakness, I fail regularly. Having had a life of prayer during five years of the Adoration Convent, I try to maintain some of that life by praying the Divine Office and attending daily Mass. My house has a little prayer room and I try my best to always be aware of God's presence and to meet His gaze, whatever I am doing. I committed to working for the St Patrick Centre because of its dedication to educating people about the life of Ireland's patron saint. Q. Have you ever had a crisis of faith? A. No. I have always believed in God, but at some point that intellectual faith went from my head to my heart. Q. Why did you leave journalism and enter the Adoration Convent in 2014? A. It was a surprise to me. If you had told me I would be entering a Falls Road convent two doors away from the Sinn Fein offices, where as a journalist I interviewed Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, I'd have laughed in your face. In fact, I had felt that my life was too self-centred and I had a growing sense that I must give life to God. This became a burning desire and I fell in love with the Lord, the risen Jesus. Q. Why did you leave the convent a few years later? A. The Adoration Sisters Congregation had grown too small to meet governance in Canon Law. Three other sisters and I still had several years to conclude our nine-years' Formation, so it was decided it would be better to release us rather than wait and be told we could not complete our Final Vows. It was shocking and painful and a cross for us all. It was an adjustment going in and also coming out. I was quite disorientated at first, but gradually I've found a balance between work, prayer and leisure. None of us are built for more than a 24-hour segment and I try to live each day in the present moment and in the presence of the Lord. Q. Have you ever been angry with God? And, if so, why? A. Yes, the Lord sees flashes of my quick temper, but being perfect, He is always right, so He wins every argument. Sometimes, I'm angry over something stupid, like when I am hiking and fall flat on my face. Other times, I shout, "Why don't you do something when I see injustice?" Then I'm reminded of the phrase: "What are you doing?" I was rather mad at Him briefly when I realized I would have to leave the convent, but I worked through it in prayer. Q. Do you ever get criticised for your faith? A. Sometimes on Twitter, yes, especially when I take a rational position in favour of life in the womb. I try to remember that these insults, for the sake of God's Kingdom, are a blessing. Q. Are you ever ashamed of your own Church? A. I'm ashamed when I fail, or when priests, or consecrated persons, fail. And I am ashamed when the Church, as an institution, fails, especially over issues of child sexual abuse. Q. Are you afraid to die? A. I'm not afraid to die, though I wouldn't like to drown. I see death as a change, not the end; a door that opens to the deeper mysteries of God. Q. Are you afraid of hell? A. I don't think anyone goes to hell who wants to be with God. I would dread going to hell, but I take comfort in the words of John's Gospel that God is love; also St John's words that "perfect love casts out fear". I trust that Jesus, who was tortured, died and rose for me, will shield me from hell. A holy man once said to me: "Love is not a coward." Love and life are inextricably linked. Q. Do you believe in a resurrection? And, if so, what will it be like? A. For me, Heaven is life, love and joy without limit. St Basil described Heaven as "luxuriating in the inconceivable beauty of paradise". But, in truth, we can't conceive of it. Q. What do you think about people of other faiths or denominations? A. Every faith has some truth in it, but obviously I believe that my Catholic faith offers the fullness of truth and I long for the day when all Christians can share a common Eucharist. Q. Would you be comfortable in stepping out from your own faith and trying to learn something from other people? A. There's always something to learn. I met a lovely Muslim doctor in Paris called Rauda and I remember her saying: "It is sometimes very difficult to live with God. But it is impossible to live without him." Words to live by. Q. Do you think that the Churches here are fulfilling their mission? A. If they were, the churches would be packed. Q. Why are so many people turning their backs on organised religion? A. One reason is that people think God wants to take their freedom, when, in fact, He offers us perfect freedom from our own selfish addictions, our disordered desire for money, pleasure, power and prestige. The message of love and life, that God loves us so much He sent His only son, Jesus, to save us and to offer us a share in his divine eternal life, is often overshadowed by the rules. The message is mind-blowing. Q. Has religion helped, or hindered, the people of Northern Ireland? A. Christianity is always a help, when it is truly lived. In terms of the Troubles, the problem was not religion per se; the problem was that our cultural and political ties were stronger than our ties to Christ Jesus. Q. Your favourite film, book and music, and why? A. I love Anne of Green Gables, because it is about the transformative power of love. One of my favourite songs is Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen. I love films too many to mention. Q. Where do you feel closest to God? A. Eucharistic Adoration when I kneel before the Living Bread, Blessed Sacrament in silence and know that I am in the presence of the Living God, body, blood, soul and divinity. I am just still and I let Him breathe His Divine life into me, just like Adam in Genesis. And, whenever I experience beauty, or goodness, usually on a mountain top, by the sea, or watching the sun set or rise. Q. What inscription would you like on your gravestone? A. John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whomsoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Q. Finally, have you any major regrets? A. Yes, regrettably. I rely on God's mercy and thank God for the sacrament of confession. Yves here. One of the reasons the so-called Nafta 2.0 was touted as better than its predecessor was that it contained protections for labor bargaining rights in Mexico. The argument was that stronger labor rights in Mexico would reduce the level of labor arbitrage and hence the harm to US workers. The deal has only just come into effect, so its an open question as to whether these provisions were a big headfake or will turn out to have teeth. By Tom Conway, the international president of the United Steelworkers Union (USW). Produced by the Independent Media Institute When thugs gunned down Oscar Ontiveros Martinez in May, they did more than silence a promising figure in Mexicos beleaguered labor movement. The 29-year-olds killing sent a warning to anyone still thinking about organizing the mine where Ontiveros once helped to lead a strike. And Ontiveros fate showed that labor activism remains a deadly undertaking in Mexico even though the new North American trade deal theoretically ushered in the first real legal protections for workers there. Only strict enforcement of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which took effect July 1, will end violence against union activists and give the Mexican people true freedom to organize for better working conditions. Until then, no matter how lofty the rights enshrined in the USMCA, corporations will continue to exploit workers on both sides of the border. The United Steelworkers (USW) and other labor unions vehemently opposed the USMCAs predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA enabled U.S. manufacturers to shift about one million manufacturing jobs to Mexican plants paying workers just a few dollars an hour. When U.S. and Canadian corporations launched operations in Mexico, they did so intending to reap huge profits through the systematic oppression of poorly paid workers like Ontiveros and his colleagues at the Media Luna Mine, which is owned by Torex Gold Resources of Canada. Mexican workers who tried to organize and improve their lives faced severe repercussions from corporations, their corrupt government cronies and employer-controlled protection unions. Ontiveros was the fourth organizer of the Media Luna strike to be gunned down in three years. A fifth colleague, Oscar Hernandez Romero, disappeared in October. The murders remain unsolved, and no trace of Hernandez has been found. The USW and other labor unions long fought for a new trade deal that ended the servitude of Mexican workers and created a more level playing field for their American counterparts. And in January, thanks to the hard work and support of labor unions and their Democratic allies, Congress passed the USMCA with the pivotal labor protections Americas unions demanded. On paper, the USMCA gives Mexican workers the right to organize democratic, independent unions like the one Ontiveros tried to establish at Media Luna. It requires the Mexican government to eradicate the bullying of union activists and rewrite the thousands of sham labor contracts that employers foisted on powerless workers for a quarter-century under NAFTA. The agreement provides Mexican workers a mechanism for reporting labor violations, and it enables the U.S. and Canadian authorities, unions and other parties to investigate suspected abuses. Corporations that violate labor protections could even have their goods blocked at the U.S. border. These provisions have life-changing potential for millions of families throughout North America. Free to organize unions without risking their lives, Mexican workers could at long last throw off corporate tyranny and negotiate the family-sustaining wages, decent benefits and safe working conditions their employers denied them. They would even be able to afford products made in the U.S. and Canada. As these workers improved their standard of living, corporations would lose the incentive to shift U.S. or Canadian jobs to Mexico. That would end 25 years of offshoring that hollowed out American manufacturing communities, eroded the nations industrial capacity and enabled employers to hold down U.S. workers wages on the threat of relocating still more jobs. Rising wages in Mexico would even force U.S. and Canadian employers to pay their own workers more. Instead of being exploited on both sides of the border, workers could use their collective strength to hold corporations accountable. While the USMCA has the potential to end decades of predatory corporate behavior and lift up workers across the continent, however, the agreement itself isnt enough. Its really just the starting point. Enforcement of the new labor protections is crucial to realizing the USMCAs possibilities. Right now, there are lots of reasons to worry about Mexicos ability to effectively police the deal. Although Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador strongly supports the agreement, the continuing attacks on labor activists show the brazen resistance of corporations and officials at other levels of government. Ontiveros murder occurred five months after Mexico signed the USMCA and pledged to implement all of its provisionsa reminder that anti-worker elements in many parts of the country still prefer to resolve labor disputes with gunfire. Capturing Ontiveros killersand solving the cases of the other Media Luna activistswould signal Lopez Obradors all-out commitment to protecting workers and living up to the letter of the USMCA. Murder is one risk labor activists still face. Unlawful prosecution is another. In June, authorities in the border state of Tamaulipas trumped-up charges against labor lawyer Susana Prieto Terrazas, who led strikes at dozens of factories and shamed employers for failing to protect workers from COVID-19. Prieto knew shed be arrested sooner or later. And while she refused to be bullied into silence, a continuing atmosphere of fear will have a chilling effect on other organizing efforts just as the USMCA legally paves the way for more of them. Jailing Prieto enabled authorities in Tamaulipasone of Mexicos economic centersto do more than punish one vocal activist. It allowed them to thumb their noses at the USMCA and mock Lopez Obradors pledge to enforce it. The USW and other unions demanded Prietos release. A judge freed her July 1, just as the USMCA took effect, but ordered Prieto to leave Tamaulipas. If Mexico fails to begin safeguarding labor activists, she might disappear into prison for good one day or even suffer Ontiveros fate. On his first international trip, Lopez Obrador visited Washington, D.C., July 8-9 to celebrate enactment of the USMCA. But thats premature. Every day Mexico struggles to implement the USMCA, corporations will continue to exploit workers and keep them from organizing the unions that are essential to protecting workers in all three countries. As if the resistance of corporations and their allies werent enough, the COVID-19 pandemic also has affected implementation of labor reforms. Its delayed the review of existing labor contracts, for example, and impeded Mexican courts ability to resolve hundreds of lawsuits that employer-controlled unions filed challenging the new labor rights. U.S. labor unions and American officials will have to keep pressure on Mexico to ensure it invests the money, resources and political will necessary to enforce the labor rights that are the linchpin of the deal. Because if Mexico fails to relentlessly enforce the USMCA, the new trade agreement will be as big a failure as the old. Amnesty International has condemned the execution of a 55-year-old Iranian man in Iran for drinking alcohol as an example of the countrys "inhumane and cruel" system. "The Iranian authorities have once again laid bare the sheer cruelty and inhumanity of their judicial system by executing a man simply for drinking alcohol," Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director of the Middle East and North Africa, Diana Eltahawy said in a statement on Friday, July 10. "The victim was the latest person to be executed in [the city of Mashhad's] Valkalibad prison, the site of numerous secret mass executions and a grotesque theatre of Iran's contempt for human life," she asserted. Furthermore, Ms. Eltahawy noted, "We deplore the Iranian authorities' repeated use of the death penalty, which has earned it the shameful status of the world's second most prolific executioner. There is no justification for the death penalty, which is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, and we urge the Iranian authorities to abolish it." Based on social media reports, Morteza Jamali is the name of the person who was hanged in Mashhad prison on charges of drinking alcohol. He was 55 years old, with two children. Responding to widespread social media condemnations of the execution, the local judiciary on Friday and defended the verdict against Jamali. The statement widely reflected in state-owned media said the man had been arrested several times between 2007 and 2018 on charges of drinking and possessing alcohol. Earlier, the prisoner's lawyer, Hossein Habibi Shahri, said that his client had been sentenced to death for "drinking alcohol for the sixth time" and that his sentence had been carried out on July 8 in Mashhad's Central Prison. Based on Iran's Islamic Penal Code, a defendant can face the death penalty after being arrested and punished three times for alcohol consumption. The initial punishment for drinking is usually flogging. In its 2019 report Amnesty International said, with 251 cases, which accounted for more than a third of the world's executions, the Islamic Republic of Iran was ranked second after China. "Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution." Seoul, July 11 : South Korea and the US appear increasingly likely to scale back or even call off a major combined exercise due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after indefinitely postponing their annual springtime drill earlier this year, sources said on Saturday. "Both sides share the need to stage the summertime exercise as planned, and we've continued consultations on the matter. But things are highly flexible due to the COVID-19 situation," Yonhap News Agency quoted a Defence Ministry official as saying. Seoul and Washington usually carry out major combined exercises twice a year -- in around March and August. But they postponed this year's springtime exercise due to COVID-19, and it has not been held to date, as the health crisis continues. "It already seems practically impossible to push for the summertime exercise normally, given that the US has not taken action for the troop deployment to South Korea necessary for the exercise," a source said. "Most of the US members mobilized for an exercise are reserve forces, which means they have their jobs. Putting them in weeks-long isolation is far from easy," he said. "The adjustment or cancellation seems to be a plausible option." All overseas visitors to South Korea are required to be quarantined for two weeks due to the coronavirus. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The inside of one of the destroyed sheds following the 2016 fire The Bible Chapel in God's Cottage, Glendalough is now open daily as a place of prayer and pilgrimage. Future plans for God's Cottage were placed in doubt after a fire severely damaged two sheds on the site back in July of 2016. The outbreak of fire was described as 'suspicious' at the time. Now, four years later, the main building has been replaced by the Bible Chapel. The official opening had been scheduled for Sunday, April 5, with pastors from the different Christian Churches invited to attend, but it had to be postponed due to Covid 19. Fr. Thady Doyle said: 'In July 2016, we suffered the complete loss of our small yard buildings in a suspected arson attack. It was a major loss, especially as we hadn't them insured. However it spurred us into action, and now, four years later, the main building has been replaced by the Bible Chapel as a place of prayer and pilgrimage for all Bible believing Christians right at the heart of Glendalough.' The Bible Chapel is considered truly unique and the only one of its type in the whole world. 'The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus is as truly present in the Bible as in the Sacred Host. Yet, while there are many Blessed Sacrament Chapels, this is the first Bible Chapel within the orbit of the Catholic Church, though our Bible Chapel is ecumenical rather than solely Catholic. 'To help make ours truly a Bible Chapel, not merely have we the Bible facing towards the people on the altar, inviting a person to read, but we have the seven "I am" statements of Jesus framed and on the walls in a way similar to which one normally finds the Stations of the Cross on the walls of Catholic Churches,' explained Fr Thady. A quiet opening ceremony has now been held on Monday, June 29, after the initial ceremony had to be rescheduled, Due to Covid-19, the actual ceremony took place at the Mass rock in the adjoining field, with Mass celebrated by Fr. Thady. Ottawa, July 11 : Canada's opposition Conservative Party has called for a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to hand almost a billion-dollar program to a charity, which reportedly paid his family a large amount of money to speak at the group's events. "Not only did Justin Trudeau not recuse himself from the decision to hand almost a billion dollars to WE Charity, we know now that the organization paid his family almost C$300,000. It is clear that a criminal investigation is warranted. As such, Conservatives will be writing to the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) to encourage them pursue this case," the opposition said in a statement on Friday. The Conservative Party also alleged that Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act that "prohibits public office holders from making any decision or participating in the making of a decision that furthers their private interests or improperly furthers the private interests of another person", reports Xinhua news agency. The call came a day after media reported that WE Charity had financial dealings with Trudeau's family members. Trudeau's mother and brother have reportedly been paid a total of C$282,000 to appear at WE Charity events, according to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). CTV reported that Trudeau's wife received C$1,400 for participating in a WE Charity event in 2012, before the Prime Minister became leader of the ruling Liberal Party. She currently hosts a podcast for the charity group. Trudeau and his government have been under fire since the charity was announced as the manager of the Canada Student Service Grant program. Canadian Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion announced last week that he was investigating into a possible breach of federal conflict of interest act by Trudeau after his government's decision to award the WE Charity the contract to administer a summer student grant program of C$900 million. In a statement on Friday, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said that the hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to the trio of Trudeau's family members were "more than disturbing", and illustrate a "pattern of behaviour". Meanwhile, Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet called on the Prime Minister to "step aside" until the completion of the ethics commissioner investigation. WE Charity announced last week that it was pulling out of administering the program. Some 35,000 students and recent graduates have applied for the program, which connects them with volunteering opportunities in exchange for payments of between C$1,000 and C$5,000, depending on the number of hours worked. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text As Covid cases continue to touch record levels in the state, Bengaluru will conduct 20,000 antigen tests starting Saturday. Antigen tests are point-of-care tests which can be performed outside a lab and give results in 15-30 minutes. The RT-PCR test, which is the gold standard for diagnosing the virus, takes six to seven hours and can be done only in a lab. Rapid antigen testing will be done on the following categories on priority: Influenza like illness (ILI) in containment zones and fever clinics, severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), suspected Covid-19 deaths, healthcare workers, international travellers and asymptomatic patients undergoing chemotherapy, immunosuppressed patients including those who are HIV positive, patients diagnosed with cancer, transplant patients, and patients undergoing elective and emergency surgical procedures. For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that the state had procured one lakh antigen tests out of which 50,000 have been reserved for the state capital. The distribution to the rest of the districts will be based on their case loads and the number of international traveller arrivals. An additional two lakh tests will soon be procured. Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey said tests will be used in situations where reports are required immediately. In cases of dead bodies, for example, test reports are required immediately, to ascertain whether the patient was Covid positive. In such cases, antigen tests can be used. Pregnant women who need surgery or are due for delivery also require test reports quickly. Even prior to any surgery, the tests are beneficial because of the quick turnaround time, Pandey said. Pandey said that test kits will be distributed to fever clinics and testing centres within BBMP limits and Ravi Surpur will head the team that will be responsible for antigen testing. Dr Surpur was recently given the additional charge of the post of Special Commissioner (Projects), BBMP. On June 14, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued an advisory asking health workers to use antigen-based tests manufactured by South Korean firm SD Biosensor. The test detects proteins or antigens on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 that triggers an immune response in the body. Drawbacks The kit has a sensitivity of 50.6% and specificity of 99.3%. That means every person who tests negative via this kit has to be tested again via the RT-PCR method to confirm if he is a virus carrier or not, according to the ICMR. But those who get positive results need not get a retest. The test kit is also economical as it costs Rs 450 as against an RT-PCR test kit that costs at least Rs 2,250. Advance registration of students taking admission in class 9 and class 11 in over 28,000 schools affiliated to UP Board spread across the state will take place till August 25, inform officials. The UP Board has set August 5 as the last date for admissions in these classes. These students will be eligible to appear in UP Boards class 10 and 12 examinations as regular students in 2022, they add. UP Board secretary Divyakant Shukla issued the registration schedule on Thursday, they said. The principals of the schools concerned will deposit an advance registration fee at the rate of Rs 50 per student through a challan in the government treasury, the notification of the UP Board secretary, a copy of which is with HT, makes plain. Details regarding each student registered along with their academic details will be uploaded on the official website of the board www.upmsp.edu.in till 12 midnight of August 25. The principals will receive a check-list regarding details of students registered to be uploaded and undertake a scrutiny between August 26 and September 5 following which they would be able to undertake necessary changes and corrections in the online information between September 6 and September 20, the notification says. However, no information or details of any new student not already registered in advance till August 25 by the school would be permissible and only corrections in already uploaded information would be possible, the notification makes clear. The principals concerned would then deposit a list of advance registered students along with the photographs of each on the list besides receipt of the registration fee deposit of each student at their respective office of the district inspector of schools (DIoSs) by September 30. The DIoS office would then inform the regional office of the board concerned about these details, a UP Board official said citing the notification. On behalf of the UP Board, the offices concerned of DIoSs would issue user ids and passwords to newly affiliated schools for 2022 high school and intermediate exams to undertake this entire process, he added. New Delhi: Hours before gangster Vikas Dubey was killed in an encounter near Kanpur on Friday, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Uttar Pradesh government and the police to safeguard his life and ensure that he is not killed by the cops. The plea has also sought registration of an FIR and an apex court monitored probe by the CBI into the encounter of five co-accused, who were alleged to be associated with Dubey in the killing of eight policemen last week. Eight policemen, including DSP Devendra Mishra, were ambushed in Bikru village in Chaubeypur area of Kanpur when they were going to arrest Dubey and fell to bullets fired from rooftops shortly after midnight on July 3. Dubey was killed in an encounter this morning when a police vehicle carrying him from Ujjain to Kanpur met with an accident and he tried to escape from the spot in Bhauti area, the police said. Four policemen, including an inspector posted in Nawabganj, were injured in the accident, IG, Kanpur Range, Mohit Agarwal said. He was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead. Dubey was the prime accused in the ambush in which the policemen were killed. Prior to Dubey's encounter, five of his alleged associated were killed in separate encounters. The plea, filed in the apex court by advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay, has referred to media reports and claimed that encounter of these five co-accused by the police is "not only extremely illegal, inhuman, but also it is shocking to the conscience of the court and is nothing but Talibanisation of the country, which cannot be countenanced at all". "I had done e-filing of the petition at 2 AM and provisional number was also allotted," Upadhyay told PTI over phone. It has sought direction to the Uttar Pradesh government and police to register FIR for demolition of residential building, vehicles and other properties of Dubey and also regarding encounters of the co-accused. The plea said the investigation must be transferred to the CBI and the probe agency should be directed to submit its periodical reports before the top court. "In view of the extremely high handed and illegal action of Uttar Pradesh Government/Police so carried out inasmuch as completely pulling down/demolishing the residential building, shopping mall of accused Vikas Dubey .there is every possibility of even accused Vikas Dubey being killed by Uttar Pradesh Police after his custody being obtained by them from MP police and then concoct a story of encounter .," the plea alleged. It claimed that killing of accused by police and then "giving the same colour of encounter is extremely inhuman and against the very rule of law and orderly society" and the same cannot be countenanced under any circumstances. "Though, it cannot be denied the act of the accused of killing eight policemen is extremely heinous crime, yet the accused were/are required to be dealt with in accordance of law and in the process, upon their guilt being proved after full-fledged trial, they could have been convicted even for death sentence .," it said. It said that FIR should be registered against the concerned policemen and officials involved in demolition of residential building of Dubey and encounter of five co-accused. The plea said that in India, even criminals like 2008 Mumbai attack case accused Ajmal Kasab and those involved in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts were given complete opportunity to defend themselves during the trial and appeal up to the apex court. "Time has come when this court being ultimate custodian of law and Constitution, under which the country needs to be ruled/governed, needs to take serious view of the matter or else, a time will come when there will be only police raj in this country, which cannot be countenanced," it said. It claimed that emergence of people like Dubey is a glaring example of "corruption in police department and law enforcing machineries". Referring to media report, it alleged that Dubey had blessing of politicians of various political parties and had deep connection with police department. While on July 3, two of his alleged associates, Prem Prakash Pandey and Atul Dubey, were killed by police in an encounter in Kanpur, on July 8 the police killed, Amar Dubey, who carried a reward of Rs 50,000, in Maudaha village in Hamirpur district. On July 9, two more alleged aides -- Kartikeya alias Prabhat and Praveen alias Bauwa Dubey -- were killed in separate encounters in Kanpur and Etawah districts. Despite backing from France, Germany, Italy and several other countries, Spains candidate to head the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers has lost the race to Irelands Paschal Donohoe. Nadia Calvino went into the vote on Thursday as the lead contender after gaining support from a group of countries representing over 80% of the euro zones gross domestic product (GDP). She attracted nine out of the 10 required votes, pushing the contest into a run-off that was won by Donohoe. We had secured pledges for 10 votes, but someone did not do what they said they would do, said Calvino in a Friday interview on the radio station SER. Had it succeeded, it would have been a very important change. It would have been the first time for a large country [to head the Eurogroup], the first time for a woman... The outcome is a diplomatic setback for the Spanish government headed by Pedro Sanchez, of the Socialist Party (PSOE), who had been campaigning for weeks to gain backing for his economy minister. We had secured pledges for 10 votes, but someone did not do what they said they would do Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino The decision could have an impact on the upcoming summit on an EU recovery fund to help countries bounce back from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Spain, one of Europes worst-hit countries, supports a distribution of funds where grants play a large role, while some member states are pushing for this money to take the form of loans. But Calvino played down the notion of a north-south division preventing a unified approach to European recovery. The possible tensions between north and south are not new, although the lines are not so clear, she said. The negotiation is more multifaceted than the North-South axis. I think that what prevails now is the feeling that we are all in the same boat. Calvino had come to the vote as a leading candidate who could boast a strong career at the EU, where she once served as director-general of the European Commissions budget department. Considered politically neutral, over the years she was appointed to economy ministry positions by both conservative and socialist administrations in Spain. Calvino secured nine out of the 10 necessary votes in the first round, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the matter. Although the vote is secret, her supporters reportedly included Germany, France, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Malta, Greece and Cyprus. There were 19 ministers voting on the successor to the outgoing Mario Centeno of Portugal. Economy minister Nadia Calvino, with the outgoing president of the Eurogrupo, Mario Centeno of Portugal. But the EUs heavyweights were defeated by a group of smaller countries in a reminder that the votes are not weighted according to size or GDP. After the candidate from Luxembourg, Pierre Gramegna, was eliminated, Calvino and Donohoe went to a run-off in which the EUs small member states rallied behind the Irish candidate. Diplomatic sources said that Austria and several Eastern European countries voted for Donohoe, as did some member states who had earlier supported Gramegna. While Ireland which experienced a bailout during the previous economic crisis has backed the idea of issuing eurobonds to create a EU recovery fund, Donohoe had met with resistance from France, Germany, Spain and Italy because of his defense of low corporate tax and refusal to tax big tech companies. The outcome of the vote could play a role in the upcoming summit of July 17-18 to hammer out an agreement on a proposed 750 billion coronavirus recovery fund. The European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, warned Donohoe after his win about the risk of growing divergences within the euro zone. Donohoe has pledged to work very hard with my colleagues so that the Eurogroup can play a very positive role in the recovery fund. Calvino congratulated the winner and said she hoped to work with him to ensure a strong recovery that leaves nobody behind. In 2018, Calvino once remarked in public that the northern European members who make up what has come to be known as the New Hanseatic League, formed to make up for Britains departure from the EU, were small countries with a small weight. These words could now be the epitaph of her failed run for the Eurogroup presidency. English version by Susana Urra. July 10 (Reuters) - The United States reported at least 62,500 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, a record daily increase for a third day in a row, according to a Reuters tally. Seven states reported record increases in cases on Friday: Alaska, Georgia, Louisiana, Montana, Ohio, Utah and Wisconsin. Walt Disney Co stuck to its plans to reopen its flagship theme park in Orlando on Saturday even as Florida recorded its second-highest increase in cases ever with more than 11,000 new cases. Disney's chief medical officer said this week that she believes the broad set of safeguards the company developed with health experts would allow guests to visit the park safely. Americans have become increasingly divided on issues such as the reopening of schools and businesses and wearing face masks in public. There is near-universal consensus among health experts that wearing masks is one of the most effective ways to stop transmission of the virus, which has killed more than 133,000 Americans. The previous record on Thursday was when cases rose by 62,304. In June, cases rose by an average of 28,000 a day, according to a Reuters tally. (Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Daniel Wallis) Abhay Deol says nepotism is prevalent everywhere in India, be it politics, business, or film, and talking about one industry, while ignoring others, will be incomplete and counterproductive. Bollywood actor Abhay Deol has agreed that nepotism is prevalent everywhere in our culture. Abhay, who comes from a family of established actors such as Dharmendra and Sunny Deol, said that he chose to walk down a different path and pushed his chances to act in out of the box films. The actor, who was last seen in What are the Odds that released on Netflix, recently penned a long letter describing his feelings about the nepotism debate. He also talked about his uncle Dharmendra being an outsider in the Hindi movie industry who had to make a solid space for himself. Taking to Instagram, the Dev D actor posted a collage of his picture with an old photo of Dharmendra. My uncle, whom I affectionately call dad, was an outsider who made it big in the film industry. Im glad there is an active debate on the practices behind the scenes, he wrote. Read the post below Abhay Deol said that he had worked with his family in only one movie, which was his first film. Ive only ever made one film with my family, my 1st, and Im grateful to be blessed and have that privileged. Ive gone that extra mile in my career to make my own path, something that dad always encouraged. For me he was the inspiration, he added. The Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara actor agreed that nepotism is prevalent everywhere in our culture, be it in politics, business, or film. I was well aware of it and it pushed me to take chances with new directors and producers throughout my career. That is how I was able to make movies that were considered out of the box. Im glad some of those artists and films went on to have tremendous success, Deol added. He then mentioned that as nepotism was prevalent in every field in the world, it is wrong to target a certain profession and any particular person.If we are serious about making changes for the better, then focusing on only one aspect, one industry, while ignoring the many others, will be incomplete and possibly counterproductive. We need a cultural evolution. He concluded the post by saying that we needed a collective and productive voice to eradicate our society of such evils. Abhay Deol said, Its easy to smear one artist for speaking out, and I have been at the receiving end from time to time. But as a group, a collective, that becomes difficult. Maybe now is our watershed moment. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. Three days after an open letter signed by more than 150 cultural luminaires darkly warning of a growing intolerant climate stirred intense response on the internet, another group issued a counterblast on Friday accusing them of elitism, hypocrisy and complicity in the bullying they decry. The first letter, titled A Letter on Justice and Open Debate, was posted online on Tuesday by Harpers Magazine. Signed by prominent figures in the arts, media and academia, including Margaret Atwood, Wynton Marsalis and J.K. Rowling, it warned of a growing tide of illiberalism and a weakening of our norms of open debate and toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity. The response letter, titled A More Specific Letter on Justice and Open Debate, chided the Harpers statement for what it characterized as lofty generalities, as well as ignoring the realities of who actually gets to be heard. If its more than 150 signers were far less well-known, that was perhaps part of the point. The Harpers letter does not deal with the problem of power: who has it and who does not, according to the response, published at The Objective, a news and commentary site that explores how journalism has interacted with historically ignored communities. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE An independent arbitrator has ruled that Cowboys for Trump a group led by controversial Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin must register as a political committee in New Mexico, disclose its donors and pay $7,800 in fines. The decision by arbitrator Christian Doherty of Albuquerque is binding but separate from a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Cowboys for Trump against state elections officials. The suit is still pending. The arbitration ruling comes as part of the states own administrative process in which a group subject to an enforcement action by the Secretary of States Office may contest the decision and take it to an arbitrator on contract with the state government. At issue was whether Cowboys for Trump is subject to New Mexicos campaign law requiring political committees to register and file reports disclosing their donations and spending. Following the arbitrators decision, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver directed the group on Friday to register, file reports and pay $7,800 in fines. The ruling makes clear that Cowboys for Trump must abide by New Mexicos laws that provide the public with transparency about those organizations trying to influence our elections, said Alex Curtas, a spokesman for Toulouse Oliver. The group, in turn, has argued in federal court that state election officials are violating its civil rights by requiring registration and financial disclosures, interfering with its First Amendment rights. Colin Hunter, an attorney for Cowboys for Trump, said last month that the group isnt involved in state politics and shouldnt be considered a political committee. Cowboys for Trump has attracted attention for taking cross-country horseback rides to support the president and participating in rallies at the Roundhouse to protest abortions-rights legislation and other matters. In May, a video surfaced of its founder, Griffin, the Otero County commissioner, saying the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat during a rally in Truth or Consequences. He added that he meant the statement in a political, not physical, sense. The Journal wasnt immediately able to reach the groups attorneys Friday. New Delhi: Former United States national security advisor John Bolton has said there is no guarantee that Trump would back India if the situation between Beijing and New Delhi escalates. I'm not sure how much he understands the significance of the border clash. I dont think he knows anything about the history of these clashes over the decades between India and China. He may have been briefed on it, but history doesnt really stick with him," Bolton said, in an exclusive conversation with WION, Indias first international news channel. The former US NSA told Palki Sharma, WION's Executive Editor, I dont know which way he would go and I dont think he knows either. I think he sees the geostrategic relationship with China for example exclusively through the prism of trade. And trade is important because China has stolen intellectual property from the United States and other countries, engaged in forceful technology transfers for decades and it forms a major part of their economic success and therefore military power. And thats really how far it goes." Watch video: "I dont know what Trump will do after the November elections once the guard rail is removed. He'll be back. He won't be criticising Beijing for putting Uyghurs in concentration camps or repressing Hong Kong. He will be back to the big China trade deal. So, if things were to develop between India and China in a more critical fashion, I'm not sure where he would come down," he added. Let me make sure, I have understood this right. That if things were to escalate between India and China at this moment, there is no guarantee that Donald Trump will back India against China? Palki Sharma asked. That is correct," Bolton said, adding, I think his gut instinct for the next four months is to take anything off the table that complicates what is already a difficult election campaign for him. So what he would want is quiet along the border whether it benefits China or India. From his point of view - no news is good news. HERE ARE A FEW EXCERPTS FROM THE INTERVIEW: WION: Do you think things are developing for the worse between India and China? There is a lot of back and forth. The November elections are still a few months away. Do you think it could escalate to a limited conflict? John Bolton: Well, I hope it does not at the present time because with four months to go for an American election, you are simply not going to get Donald Trump's attention. The fact is China has been behaving in a belligerent fashion, all around its periphery, certainly in the East and South China sea. Its relations with Japan has declined, with India, you are well aware of the facts there. I think this is Chinas effort to assert itself through not just political and military means but also through the Belt and Road initiative and others to gain increased sway over countries that have become economically dependent on it. Sri Lanka has been subject to this death diplomacy and Pakistan and many countries in Central Asia. I think China has a grand strategy and it's pursuing it, the United States has been asleep at the switch and so have many other countries. It is time to wake up and talk more among ourselves. For example, trilateral been a big advocate of greater tri-lateral cooperation between India, Japan, and the United States and I think that makes a lot of sense. WION: Why is China on a warpath with the world right now? What do you make of Xi Jinping's moves at a time like this? Why is he picking fights with the world in the middle of a pandemic? John Bolton: It goes back before the pandemic. He sees American weakness when he sees Donald Trump and I think he is right. When Trump sits across the table with Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin, its not a contest of equals. It always made me worry about what he might give away. The Pandemic has probably persuaded Xi Jinping to be more assertive to cover up as they have been covering up these past 6 months despite how bad the medical effect of the disease was in China and on the Chinese economy and what they did to cover up the source and consequence of the disease. It is indicative of the government we are dealing with in Beijing. They didnt cooperate internationally and tried to use the World Health organization for their own purposes and I'm afraid largely succeeded. WION: What happened after India's Balakot strikes on Pakistan? How did Trump and the White house assess the situation? What was conveyed to Delhi and Islamabad? John Bolton: It took place when we were in Hanoi for the second summit with Kim Jong-un and both Mike Pompeo and me were there and away from our base of operations in Washington. We spent hours on the phone with Ajit Doval and others in India and counterparts in Pakistan. My assessment was and I said publicly at the time and told Ajit as well - we thought India had acted in self-defence and the actions were appropriate and we think there were responsible steps to de-escalate what could have been a very serious crisis. WION: The US president has repeatedly offered to mediate in Kashmir and he has been told it is a bilateral issue. Why does he keep repeating these offers? John Bolton: (Laughs) You know, I can remember several times where I have explained Indias longstanding position on Kashmir and it just doesnt sink in. There is no explanation for it. We tell him India thinks its a bilateral issue and it has to be resolved by negotiation with Pakistan. Donald Trump thinks everything is a deal and who better to mediate it than him and you are going to hear it again and if he wins, you are going to hear it for the next four years. (The interview will air on WION on Saturday at 9:30 pm and on Sunday 10:30 pm. It will also be available on wionews.com, and on its social media platforms.) Drivers stuck in traffic following a collision on the M25 received a sweet treat when an ice cream van rolled down its window and began serving people on the motorway. Highways England said that traffic was held in all directions to facilitate the attendance of air ambulances for a serious collision near junction 5 for the M26. Andrea Heribanova, who lives in Wembley, north-west London, said that traffic came to a standstill at around 2.30pm on Saturday. Just a normal day on M25... standstill because of a serious crash and a long queue for ice cream with people social distancing pic.twitter.com/W43G03CKbr Andrea Heribanova (@andreah1306) July 11, 2020 After around half an hour, people started coming out of their cars, the 40-year-old secretary told the PA news agency. I was two cars behind the ice cream van and saw one man going to him and asking if he could buy an ice cream. Other drivers saw it too, so they all started to make a way towards him, and he just opened his window and was serving them like he normally would. Ms Heribanova, who was driving to Ashford Designer Outlet, said the road reopened at around 4.15pm, which caused those still stood in the socially-distanced queue to start running back to their cars. There were also loads of drivers going in opposite direction who were noticing it and honking their horns and slowing down, obviously surprised whats going on, she added. Armed with a doctorate in psychology, a piercing pen and a decades-old grudge, Mary Trump has attacked one of the world's most powerful people. The target is her uncle, the president of the United States. Her new book about Donald Trump is unique in the annals of presidential biographies: the author purporting to probe the president's mind not only has personal access to family gossip but also professional credentials as a clinical psychologist. There is deep debate in her field about the ethics of making public pronouncements on the mental health of a public figure especially one she's never clinically observed. In Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man, Mary Trump describes the president's father her grandfather as a high-functioning sociopath and blames him for instilling in his children the value of aggression and the notion that kindness is weakness. She suggests the most damaged of the siblings is Donald Trump, who, she said, has a variety of psychological impairments: definitely narcissism, for which she says he meets all nine criteria, but probably other conditions. She lists as possibilities antisocial personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, a learning disorder and sleep disorder. The president of the United States, in her opinion, struggles to control his impulses; tell the truth; learn new facts; apologize for mistakes; and lives in constant terror of having people perceive his flaws. She said she was traumatized by his 2016 election win and feared that her uncle was uniquely ill-qualified to govern in a crisis. "It felt as though 62,979,636 voters had chosen to turn this country into a macro version of my malignantly dysfunctional family," writes Mary Trump, whose immediate family has feuded bitterly with the rest of the Trumps ever since it was sidelined from the grandparents' wills. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters "Donald's pathologies are so complex and his behaviours so often inexplicable that coming up with an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis would require a full battery of psychological and neuropsychological tests that he'll never sit for." Story continues She wrote that she hoped her book would put to rest the idea that Trump deploys strategies or has a tangible agenda when his only aim is to protect his own fragile ego and have others see him as strong and smart. The White House press secretary has called her work "a book of falsehoods." The Trump family lawyer has sued to try blocking its distribution, alleging violation of a nondisclosure agreement. But on the broader issue of global public interest, the mental state of the U.S. president, what do Mary Trump's colleagues say? CBC News reached out to about two dozen psychologists at U.S. universities who study pathologies and asked two questions: Is it ethically permissible to write what Mary Trump wrote? Do they agree with what she's written about the president, based on excerpts they've seen from media reports on the book? There's a formal taboo in psychiatry against opining publicly on public figures, named after Barry Goldwater, a presidential candidate who successfully sued a magazine that ran a series of psychiatrist opinions on him. Psychology does not have the same so-called Goldwater rule but does have professional standards discouraging public speculation about people's mental health. Nearly all the experts contacted by CBC News declined to comment, several citing various reasons: ethical considerations, fear of professional consequences and fear of harassment from Trump supporters. "All of the above," said one clinical psychologist, who requested not to be named, when asked why people wouldn't comment on the record. She said people in her profession could face expensive lawsuits, or lose career opportunities with public organizations if they're perceived to have a political bias, which she said would be "career suicide" for some. She also mentioned "intimidation." "I wouldn't want someone coming to my house and saying, 'How dare you say this?'" she said. She did agree to speak without being named. Several others responded to a request for comment by offering the names of two colleagues quoted here, who have previously spoken publicly. Here are their answers, which have been edited for clarity. Is it ethically permissible to write what Mary Trump wrote? Josh Miller, a clinical psychologist and director of clinical training at the University of Georgia, defended the author: "Does the Goldwater rule apply to psychologists, and does it make a great deal of sense in the modern day?... I think we sometimes privilege the idea that you can only make a diagnosis if you're treating a patient. But psychiatrists make diagnoses after one 50-minute session, or three, or four, all the time. We surely all have much more information on Donald Trump at this point in time than a mental-health professional would after somewhere between 50 and 200 minutes. Then, a family member I think clearly has much more information than a mental-health professional ever would. The ethics? I don't know I personally fall into the category that there is a duty to warn about potentially the most important person in the world and whether they have a pattern of personality traits that portend quite poorly." So did Donald Lynam, a distinguished professor of clinical psychology at Purdue University: "I don't have a real problem with a trained professional who has access to lots of behavioural data on a person making an assessment like this. I personally think that there is more than enough longitudinal life-history data available on many persons in the public eye that would enable professionals to make such assessments. I think Trump is no exception. He has always been a very public figure. Many books and stories have been written about his behaviour." The Associated Press Another clinical psychologist who works in the Washington, D.C., area, and asked not to be named, offered a more nuanced view: "The only ethical concern I can see is when someone puts their clinical hat on to diagnose, treat or make clinical recommendations based on a personal story not rooted in data. That's where, in my view, we run across some ethical grey zones. When we combine someone who has a title, and knowledge about a particular field, and offers an opinion, we can easily interpret that this is their professional opinion as opposed to a personal opinion. That can become very blurry. One of the reasons psychology is a science-based field is we root our conclusions in data, in scientific principles. [Otherwise] it becomes a question of opinion and that's where biases can come from. If a patient comes into my office and I really don't [like] them I still have to give them a fair and objective treatment, or I have to identify that I'm too biased to be able to evaluate them and refer out. That's why we use questionnaires, and ink-blot cards we give people sometimes ... [to] test a hypothesis. ...There is also a very high risk of bias when there's a particular family member who is not someone's favourite." Alexander Panetta, CBC News Do you agree with what she's written about the president? Miller: "[On narcissism] I agree entirely. 'Prototypical' doesn't describe the degree to which [Trump] meets the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Many of us who study it say that if we [described a character like his in a paper] other peer reviewers would say, 'You've made up too cartoonish of a case.' They wouldn't believe it would be possible. That's how incredibly well he fits those symptoms. I've viewed Donald Trump as an example of narcissism going back 15 years. Long before he was running for president, long before he was associated with the Republican Party. Literally, going back into the mid-2000s at academic talks he was one of the pictures I would put up. This is hardly new. Narcissism is associated with aggression, in general, and specifically under an ego-threat. When someone has criticized you, we're going to see lashing out. An inability to accept blame it's always someone else's fault. To not admit one's mistakes ...that inability to admit that one has ever been wrong is a really huge problem. I agree that we should not be distracted by his narcissism from his psychopathy. Search for the criteria for psychopathy. Look at traits and behaviours in the psychopathy checklist written by Hare. Grapple with how many would he not fit there. And psychopathy is associated much more strongly than narcissism with behaviours that are particularly scary. It's the callousness, irresponsibility, impulse-control problems, lack of remorse or shame." Lynam: "I agree that Trump meets most, if not all, of the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.... He certainly meets more than enough to deserve the diagnosis. I am not sure that I would say he has other pathologies, but I would say that he appears to have some additional traits outside of the ones included in NPD that make him more 'disturbed.' I think he is reckless, impulsive, unreliable and dishonest. There are some stories that suggest a tendency towards antisocial behaviour.... I am hesitant to say this, but I think the other diagnosis that should be considered is psychopathy... I have seen some commentators refer to a similar construct to psychopathy with the term 'malignant narcissism.' The only part with which I might disagree with Mary Trump (based on reported details of the book) is that I am not sure it is possible to pinpoint causes for these traits. It could be due to his father's treatment of him. It could be due to the genes he shares with his father. It could be due to a host of factors. I would not speculate on that." Anonymous: "[Mary Trump's book is] informative, but it's not surprising. Is it really surprising to many of us, the things that may come out of this book? Do we need a book? You just have to open the DSM [the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]. [Mary Trump] is a legitimate author. She is not a pop-psychologist. Again, her only bias is that she's a family member." IT is dismaying, although unsurprising, that police report a spike in pornography offences during the pandemic. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 11/7/2020 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion IT is dismaying, although unsurprising, that police report a spike in pornography offences during the pandemic. Albertas internet child exploitation unit announced last week it has arrested 18 people for online sex offences. In one month alone, it received a record 243 complaints of online child exploitation more than double the two-year average. A police spokesman told the Edmonton Journal the level of online pornography activity has been unparalleled in the existence of the ICE unit, and could be linked to digital dependency during COVID-19 isolation measures. The arrests reminded me of a young man I know who struggles with porn addiction. I wont publish his identity, but his story is instructive in highlighting the pervasive grip of online pornography for some people. He approached me in 2019. I didnt know him well at that time, but I know his family. He said he had a pornography problem and he asked if I would consider being his accountability partner. I said I was unfamiliar with the term, but we should get together and talk about it. Over a coffee, he told me that, as an accountability partner, I would install on my iPhone an app called Accountable2You, which would monitor all his devices. The app would give me a daily report of all his online activity. I invited him to tell me why he needed an accountability partner, and he told me his story: He was about 11 years old when he Googled "sexy girls" and got an eyeful. In the following years, he visited porn sites once or twice a week, careful to clean his browser history in case his parent checked. He kept it a secret, saying his porn viewing felt "dirty but exciting." In his late teen years, his consumption of porn escalated to more explicit sex acts. He said it became a daily habit behind the closed door of his bedroom, often when he should have been doing homework for school. In the two years before we met, he had experienced cravings when he didnt get his daily dose of porn. He would avoid everyday activities so he could spend more time with porn. He also it was affecting his relationships with real-life women. He recalled being on a date "with a girl I really liked," and feigning illness so he could go home and escape to his porn fantasy world. He decided to stop consuming porn when he heard a media report that named men who had been arrested for possession of child pornography. He realized with alarm that his quest for more extreme porn had led him to images of younger victims: "Theyre werent kids, they were young teenagers, but they could be children legally." He felt his future would be ruined if he was arrested and publicly shamed for viewing child porn. He tried several times to quit, his abstinence typically lasting a week or two before the cravings overcame his willpower. Thats when he decided to ask two people to be his accountability partners for his latest attempt to kick his addiction. I agreed to be one such partner, and asked if there were other ways I could help, such as checking in with him periodically or helping him financially to get professional counselling. He declined further help, saying, "I think it will be enough to know youre watching where I go online." It was enough, for a while. I checked the app daily and there were no obvious signs of improper activity. Then, after about five weeks, he emailed and said he was dropping me as an accountability partner. I offered to meet again to discuss his decision, but he declined: "I think Ill be OK now." Fast forward about a year I heard from him again several weeks ago. He asked if he could reactivate me as an accountability partner. While isolating during the pandemic and spending much more time online, he fell again into behaviour he knows is damaging and dangerous. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Hes not alone. Canadas Centre for Child Protection has warned police forces to prepare for new cases of porn-related abuse as pandemic restrictions on normal social activities push children and adults to connect virtually with other people and escape from the glum reality currently besetting the real world. "I couldnt think of a better way to create conditions to cause this to increase," Det. Andrew Ullock, head of Peel Police internet child exploitation unit, told The Pointer, an online news source in Ontario. "Theres more kids online more often and more predators online more often; its inevitable that theyre going to intersect with one another and when they do, theres going to be offences." His thoughts can be a timely warning to parents. Where are the children going online? carl.degurse@freepress.mb.ca Carl DeGurse is a member of the Free Press editorial board. Protesters in Mali's capital Bamako blocked two of the city's main bridges and hurled stones at the parliament Friday, AFP journalists said, during a protest against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Thousands gathered in a central square to demand the president resign over the country's long-running jihadist conflict and economic woes. They then rallied outside the parliament and in the courtyard of a state broadcaster. The protest, organised by a new opposition coalition, is the third such demonstration in two months, alarming the international community which is keen to avoid the fragile West African state sliding into chaos. Led by influential imam Mahmoud Dicko, the so-called June 5 movement is channelling deep-seated frustrations, heaping pressure on Keita, who unsuccessfully floated political reforms this week in a bid to appease opponents. Many protesters on Friday carried placards bearing anti-government slogans and blowing vuvuzela horns, AFP reporters saw. "We don't want this regime any more," said one of the demonstrators, Sy Kadiatou Sow. Protesters later erected barricades and set tyres alight on two of the main bridges across the river Niger that runs through Bamako, according to AFP journalists, and entered the courtyard of state broadcaster ORTM. National guardsmen also fired tear gas at protesters hurling stones at the parliament building. Mali has been struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that first emerged in the north in 2012, before spreading to the centre of the country and to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. Friday's demonstration follows an attempt by Keita on Wednesday to appease growing opposition to his government by offering to appoint new judges to the constitutional court. The court has been at the centre of controversy in Mali since April 29, when it overturned the provisional results for March's parliamentary poll for about 30 seats. That move saw several members of Keita's party elected to the parliament and triggered protests in several cities. It is also widely as having ignited the country's latest political crisis. Keita suggested on Wednesday that appointing new judges would mean that the constitutional court could revisit its earlier decision. Opposition leaders had been demanding that the 75-year-old dissolve the parliament and form a transition government, however. As of Friday evening, there were more than 12.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and 559,622 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The trend of new cases is at record highs, averaging over 200,000 daily over the last week. The United States is leading the global toll of new cases and deaths, with nearly 3.2 million cases and 133,885 deaths as of Friday evening, about a quarter of the global total of both metrics. Not far behind is Latin America, which has seen a surge in recent weeks, accounting for nearly half of all new COVID-19 cases globally. US officials reported a record single-day spike of 60,021 coronavirus cases earlier this week, setting a single-day record for sixth time in 10 days. This surge has been largely driven by states in the countrys South and West, which are seeing a dramatic rise in cases and deaths after being some of the first states to loosen restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. Texas set a record for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday, recording more than 10,900 cases. At least six states set single-day records on Thursday, including Alabama, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Oregon and Texas. In California, cases are up 275 percent since May 25. Since the state began reopening in early May, Florida has seen average cases increase more than tenfold. Cases in Arizona have risen by 858 percent since May 8 when the state began to reopen; cases in Texas have jumped by 680 percent since May 1. Hospitals across the country are seeing a surge of hospitalizations of COVID-19 cases, overwhelming capacity and staff. In Florida, 40 intensive care units (ICU) have reached capacity; hospitalizations in Miami-Dade Country are up 74 percent. In Arizona, people are waiting in their cars in miles-long lines for testing, with tests running out and people waiting more than a week for results as labs are overwhelmed. In El Centro, California, on the Mexican border, a surge of COVID-19 patients has forced the Regional Medical Center to set up tents taking up half of the facilitys parking lot. Despite this burgeoning catastrophe, Donald Trump maintains that his administration is handling it and that 99 percent of coronavirus cases are totally harmless. The basis of this contemptible attitude toward the suffering of the America people is the drive to force workers back on the job, no matter the cost to life. One of the main focuses is opening public schools, placing the lives of teachers and children in danger so parents can get back on the job. In Florida, which has seen a more than 1200 percent rise in cases since reopening, Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, is moving forward with a plan to require brick and mortar schools to be open five days a week beginning in August. The governor has also vowed not to order reopened businesses to close. On Friday, President Trump visited Florida, not to discuss the pandemics toll of the state, but for a fundraiser focused on fighting drug trafficking. Commenting Wednesday on the surge of cases in the US, infectious disease expert and White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, on a Wall Street Journal podcast, said that states should consider shutting down or pausing in their opening process. Over the past week, the US has reported an average 52,444 cases, up more than 30 percent over the previous week. What we are seeing is exponential growth, Fauci said. It went from an average of about 20,000 to 40,000 and 50,000. Thats doubling. If you continue doubling, two times 50 is 100. Hoping such sobering statistics will miraculously evaporate, Trump has reportedly not met face-to-face with Fauci in more than two months. South of the United States, Latin America is seeing a similar surge in cases. Latin America is home to 8 percent of the global population, but accounts for nearly half of all recent COVID-19 cases. Brazil has the second highest number of confirmed cases, 1.8 million, and 70,398 deaths, second only to the US. Mexico has also seen a recent surge in cases, recording 289,174 total cases and 34,191 deaths. Following the Tuesday announcement of Brazils fascistic pandemic-denying President Jair Bolsonaro that he tested positive for COVID-19, two other leading South American politicians have also tested positive for the virus: Diosdado Cabello, leader of Venezuelas Socialist Party, and Jeanine Anez, right-wing interim president of Bolivia. The World Health Organization (WHO) worldwide breakdown as of Friday is as follows: Africa: 428,051 cases, 7,733 deaths Americas: 6,264,626 cases, 276,370 deaths Eastern Mediterranean: 1,238,779 cases, 29,690 deaths Europe: 2,868,080 cases, 202,341 deaths South-East Asia: 1,065,093 cases, 27,382 deaths Western Pacific: 236,958 cases, 7,517 deaths Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, spoke on the rising tide of the pandemic at the WHO Member State Briefing on Thursday in Geneva. He said COVID-19 has exploited the inequalities in our health systems and the schisms in our societies. It has exposed existing inequities, widening and deepening the cracks between us. Ghebreyesus said, We know that when countries take a comprehensive approach based on fundamental public health measuressuch as find, isolate, test and treat cases, and trace and quarantine contactsthe outbreak can be brought under control, referring to countries like South Korea. But in most of the world the virus is not under control, he said. It is getting worse, obliquely referring to the Americas and Trump. He noted that the total numbers of global cases had doubled in the last six weeks. The director-general said that the damaging health effects of the pandemic stretch beyond the virus itself. Hundreds of millions of children are at risk of missing out on routine vaccines for tuberculosis, pneumonia, measles, polio, cholera, diarrhea and others. Many countries are running low on HIV medicines. Ghebreyesus referred to the impact of the pandemic on refugees who are among the most vulnerable to the pandemic, already facing limited access to adequate shelter, water, nutrition, sanitation and health services. COVID-19 could push them over the brink. And around the world, he said, in countries rich and poor, many more people are now going hungry, we can see poverty visibly now, with estimates from the World Food Program that global hunger could increase to more than 270 million people. These are not numbers: these are people. He added, It has been made devastatingly clear that the best defense against health emergencies is a strong health system. A strong health system is a resilient health system. That is why national governments and local governments need to invest in preparedness and essential public health functions. In a world in which health care systems are subordinated to the drive for profit and the enrichment of the health care system, such appeals from the director of the United Nations body will fall on deaf ears. Left to the likes of Trump, Bolsonaro and the UKs Boris Johnson, nothing will be done to organize a scientifically based response to combat the pandemic. The working class must take command of the situation, beginning with the establishment of workplace committees to protect the health of workers on the job and their families when they go home. Workerswhether at auto plants, restaurants, retail shops or schoolsmust be the ones to determine whether their conditions are safe. There are adequate funds in the coffers of the super-rich to ensure that wages, rents, groceries and other necessities are covered in the interim. At a press conference on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo set aside the glaring statistics on coronavirus cases and death in the US, telling reporters, Of course the US remains the world leader in the pandemic. Pompeo said the world turns its eyes to American scientists and researchers to develop treatments and to US aid to assist other countries in fighting the COVID-19 outbreaks. He neglected to say that the Trump administration turns its eyes away from the same scientific guidance. The reality? The US has provided a paltry $1.3 billion to more than 120 countries in emergency health, humanitarian and economic assistance during the pandemic, the State Department said Friday. By contrast, the CARES Act, passed with the unanimous support of the Democrats and Republicans, authorized the multi-trillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street and the corporate elite, with no restrictions. The US House Armed Services Committee also just approved an $840 billion budget, to fund the US militarys aggressive wars abroad while the pandemic rages at home. If Red River residents had any doubts that taking up arms to block a federally appointed lieutenant-governor from entering their settlement in the fall of 1869 was the right decision, a speech given by the disgruntled nominee eight months later probably put it to rest. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. If Red River residents had any doubts that taking up arms to block a federally appointed lieutenant-governor from entering their settlement in the fall of 1869 was the right decision, a speech given by the disgruntled nominee eight months later probably put it to rest. LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA William McDougall William McDougall, the MP for North Lanark, Ont. who was appointed lieutenant-governor in 1869, was stopped by armed Metis horsemen at the U.S. border in November of that year, during the early days of the Red River Resistance. McDougall, who ended up returning to Ottawa and never took his seat as the Queens representative, complained in a vile, bigoted speech to his constituents less than a year later that all the valuable land in Manitoba had been taken up by the Metis. "The only land, indeed, that any intelligent Canadian would seek, in the early settlement of the country to purchase or to cultivate, is reserved, locked up in the hands of lazy and ignorant half-breeds, without any claim whatever to this larger part of it, and for no purpose that anyone can see but to keep out white men, or to put money into the pockets of the priests," McDougall said. "This reserved tract contains the water and timber, and the river system, which constitutes the highway of the emigrant and trader. It contains all that is at present of any value to the province." An excerpt of McDougalls speech was published in Manitobas only newspaper at the time, The New Nation. The papers editor said it ran the excerpts to prove that allowing McDougall into the community, as some had suggested at the time, would have been a grave error. "His delicate reference to our lazy, ignorant half-breeds, is very flattering to our industrious and enterprising native farmers, the results of whose long labour and toil may now be seen on the banks of the Red River and Assiniboine, where some farms may be found to equal, if not exceed, in extent of cultivation and general prosperity, anything that Mr. McDougall can show among his favourites of North Lanark," the newspaper wrote. His delicate reference to our 'lazy, ignorant halfbreeds,' is very flattering to our industrious and enterprising native farmers, the results of whose long labour and toil may now be seen on the banks of the Red River and Assiniboine, where some farms may be found to equal, if not exceed, in extent of cultivation and general prosperity, anything that Mr. McDougall can show among his favourites of North Lanark. The New Nation Surely the most deserving people to occupy the "good" land are those who were born and raised in Red River, the newspaper added. That, along with the protection of language and democratic rights, was the whole point of the Resistance. "(McDougalls) language is that of the ruined and desperate politician and agitator, certainly not the statesman he was supposed to be at one time," the newspaper wrote. "And it is well for the people of this country that Providence ordained he should never rule over them." If the lopsided vote in the House of Commons in favour of the Manitoba Act proclaimed into law July 15, 1870, 150 years ago this month was any indication, McDougalls venomous remarks were not shared by a majority of Canadians at the time. Nevertheless, racism and colonial mentalities were alive and well in 1870 Canada. As the people of Red River awaited the arrival of Lt.-Gov. Adams Archibald during that summer (and the military expedition on its way from Ottawa) they couldnt help but feel some level of trepidation. LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA Adams George Archibald Would there be a peaceable transition of power? Would the federal government honour the property rights, land grants and other provisions contained in the Manitoba Act? Would Manitobans encounter bigoted, hateful views like those of McDougall from new settlers? Manitobans were busy in the summer of 1870, farming and getting furs to market. More than 100 carts of buffalo robes, otter, mink, lynx, beaver and other furs from Winnipeg merchants Bannatyne & Begg were already on their way to St. Cloud, Minn. for shipment to various parts of the world. Two hundred more carts were expected to get to market that year. There was a sense by many that joining Canada would take the settlement to new economic heights. A road from Lake of the Woods was nearing completion and the idea of a railroad from the east to Winnipeg was no longer an abstract notion. Regular mail would soon come to Winnipeg with three deliveries a week. Same-day telegraph service was less than a year away. Red River was about to graduate from a small frontier town with limited trading opportunities to one with access to broader markets in the east. Joining Canada was as much an economic union as a political necessity to protect the West from the threat of U.S. occupation. Key players Bishop Alexandre-Antonin Tache (Archives of Manitoba) Adams Archibald Manitobas first lieutenant-governor. Born in Nova Scotia and a Father of Confederation, Archibald oversaw establishment of Manitobas legislative assembly and governed from 1870-73. Bishop Alexandre-Antonin Tache Bishop of St. Boniface. Not present in Red River during most of the Red River Resistance, Tache fought for Metis rights and lobbied the federal government to make good on its promise to provide amnesty to those who participated in the Resistance, including Louis Riel. click to read more Adams Archibald Manitobas first lieutenant-governor. Born in Nova Scotia and a Father of Confederation, Archibald oversaw establishment of Manitobas legislative assembly and governed from 1870-73. Bishop Alexandre-Antonin Tache Bishop of St. Boniface. Not present in Red River during most of the Red River Resistance, Tache fought for Metis rights and lobbied the federal government to make good on its promise to provide amnesty to those who participated in the Resistance, including Louis Riel. Col. Garnet Wolseley Field commander of the military expedition sent to Red River in 1870. Described Louis Riel and the Metis who established a provisional government in Red River and negotiated Manitobas entry into Canada as banditti that oppressed the people of Red River. Louis Riel Metis leader who led the provisional government in Red River. Riel fled Upper Fort Garry when Wolseleys troops arrived, fearing arrest and persecution. Riel remained in hiding for several years but was in contact with his people during that period. He convinced the Metis to join the fight against a planned Fenian raid. Elzear Goulet A Metis who was part of the Red River Resistance and a member of the tribunal that sentenced Ontario Orangeman Thomas Scott to death. Goulet drowned in the Red River after he was chased by Canadian militia volunteers who threw stones at him while trying to cross the river. Close "We are glad to know that amongst their shipments there is a large one to Canada," the New Nation wrote of the Bannatyne & Begg exports. "This is as it should be, for when we are united to the Dominion, trade will be the strongest tie to bind us together... Let Canada prove itself a good market for our exports, and she will derive thousands we may say millions of dollars from this country. We, on the other hand, will be large consumers of such articles as the merchants of the Dominion are in a position to furnish us." Not everyone in the East saw it that way, though. Some in Ontario were concerned the financial costs of inviting Manitoba into the constitutional fold would be a drain on the federal treasury. The Hamilton Weekly Times wondered when the rest of Canada would benefit financially from the expansion, given the initial cost of buying Ruperts Land from the Hudsons Bay Company and the ongoing federal subsidies required for government administration, infrastructure, policing and transportation in Manitoba. "What are we to get in return for all this large expenditure?" the newspaper asked in a July 14 article. "We shall have a vastly extended territory without doubt. The Dominion will embrace an area larger than that of the whole United States. But that will not necessarily bring in any return for the large amount of capital we shall be called upon to expend in various ways, upon our new purchase." Meanwhile, The New Nation was remarkably complimentary of John A. Macdonald, especially for a newspaper that served largely as an organ of Metis leader Louis Riels provisional government. Despite the prime ministers attempt the previous year to unilaterally annex Red River without consulting its inhabitants, the newspaper praised him for ultimately doing the right thing by negotiating Manitobas terms of entry into Canada. "As soon as he discovered the blunders into which his government had been led, regarding this country, he at once took steps to repair them in a statesman-like fashion," the newspaper wrote. ISRAEL BENNETTO & CO Main Street, looking south from the market, in 1870. On some fronts, life was returning to normal in Red River after a bitter Resistance that pitted settler against settler. The constant fear of violent outbreaks while under martial law and the uncertainty about the future was over. The people of Red River were now Canadians. But for many, particularly the Metis, the trust and faith they put into joining the federation would be severely challenged in the coming months and years. Fears of antagonism and abuse from some Ontario settlers would soon prove true. It wasnt long before the Canadian "loyalists" in Red River who fought the Metis resistance in 1869-70 (many of whom were jailed by the provisional government and exiled from the settlement) would soon get their revenge. MANITOBA ARCHIVES A Metis cottage in a Red River Settlement in 1870. Four days after the arrival of Manitobas new lieutenant-governor, Adams Archibald, on Sept. 2, 1870, a mob of Canadian "loyalists" broke into the home of Thomas Spence, the publisher of the New Nation, tore him from his bed, horsewhipped him in front of his terrified wife and sabotaged the papers printing press. It was the beginning of what became known as "the reign of terror" in the new province after the Aug. 24 arrival of military troops led by Col. Garnet Wolseley. Whatever goodwill grew out of talks between Red River delegates and the federal government earlier that year was now under threat. John Christian Schultz, who administered the beating on Spence, was back in Red River after stirring up anti-Metis sentiment in Ontario during the spring and summer. Schultz and his "Canada First" supporters were now focused on seeking revenge against anyone who took part in the Red River Resistance, ridding the settlement of as many Metis as possible and clearing the way for new settlers from Ontario. The New York Times, one of many newspapers from outside of Manitoba monitoring the events in Canadas newest province, described the situation as a "military reign of terror in Manitoba." Even a year after his arrival, Archibald reported to the prime minister in stark terms the racism that existed in Manitoba. MANITOBA ARCHIVES Lt.-Gov. Adams Archibald shakes hands with Louis Riel in a depiction of an Oct. 8, 1871 inspection of troops in St. Boniface, after Riel rallied hundreds of Metis to defend against a suspected Fenian raid. "Unfortunately there is a frightful spirit of bigotry among a small but noisy section of our people," Archibald wrote in a letter to Macdonald in October 1871. "The main body of the people have no such feeling they would be only too happy to return to the original state of good neighbourhood with each other; but it is otherwise with the people I speak of, who really talk and seem to feel as if the French half-breeds should be wiped off the face of the globe." Archibald said the Metis had been so badly "beaten and outraged" they felt like "they were living in a state of slavery." Timeline Garnet Joseph Wolseley (Library and Archives Canada) 1870 May 12 Manitoba Act receives royal assent. May-Aug Louis Riel and the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia govern Red River and await arrival of new lieutenant-governor. July 15 Manitoba Act proclaimed into law; Manitoba officially part of Canada. Aug. 24 Col. Garnet Wolseley and the first British troops arrive at Upper Fort Garry, Riel and his supporters flee into hiding. click to read more 1870 May 12 Manitoba Act receives royal assent. May-Aug Louis Riel and the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia govern Red River and await arrival of new lieutenant-governor. July 15 Manitoba Act proclaimed into law; Manitoba officially part of Canada. Aug. 24 Col. Garnet Wolseley and the first British troops arrive at Upper Fort Garry, Riel and his supporters flee into hiding. Sept. 2 Lieutenant-governor Adams Archibald arrives in Manitoba. Sept. 6 John Christian Schultz and supporters break into New Nation editor Thomas Spences home, attack him and sabotage newspapers printing presses. Sept. 13 Elzear Goulet drowns after being chased into the Red River by Canadian militia. December Elections held for first Manitoba Legislative Assembly. 1871 March 15 First sitting of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. October Fenians plan raid of Manitoba, but invasion turns out to be a bust Close Wolseley helped set that tone. He wrote several times about his desire to capture and punish Metis leader Louis Riel, even though the military expedition was supposed to be one of peace. Wolseley said he was disappointed the Metis didnt resist his troops because it deprived his men of a good battle. Even though George-Etienne Cartier (the federal governments key cabinet negotiator) called on Riel and the legislative assembly of Assiniboia to continue governing the settlement until the arrival of the new lieutenant-governor, Wolseley treated the provisional government as enemies of the state. In a written valedictory address, which was read to the Canadian troops shortly after Wolseley and his British soldiers left the settlement in September, Wolseley stoked the flames further with disparaging comments about Riel and the provisional government. "Although the banditti who had been oppressing this people fled at your approach without giving you an opportunity of proving how men capable of such labor could fight, you have deserved as well of your country as if you had won a battle," he wrote. Schultz was the chief antagonist in Red River in 1870. By shutting down the local paper and starting his own, called the News-Letter, Schultz sought to control the political messaging in the new province. However, the monopoly didnt last long. Longtime journalist William Coldwell co-founded The Manitoban the following month, using the restored New Nation printing presses. It marked the beginning of a bitter newspaper war that lasted well into the following year. For his part, Archibald a Nova Scotian and a Father of Confederation had a daunting task ahead of him. He had to calm the hostilities between pro-Riel and anti-Metis forces while building a new government with an elected legislative assembly and an appointed senate. He needed a police force, new laws and the co-operation of all factions in the new province to make it work. Archibald was far more sympathetic to the plight of the Metis than McDougall would ever be. The new lieutenant-governor had a good read on the complexities of Red River and understood the competing demands within the settlement. What he wasnt able or refused to do was crack down on the persistent attacks against the Metis, including by members of the Canadian militia left behind by Wolseley. During the fall and early winter of 1870 we could always rely on several exciting fights between the soldiers and Half Breeds any afternoon after three oclock, by which hour the soldiers who were not on duty at the garrison were at liberty to come downtown. St. Paul Press, March 1871 The death of Elzear Goulet two weeks after the arrival of Wolseleys troops is the most documented act of violence against the Metis. Goulet drowned after he was chased by Canadian militia volunteers, who threw stones at him as he tried to swim across the Red River. Archibald ordered an investigation, but no one was ever held accountable for Goulets death. Very little of the violence against the Metis was reported in either of the local newspapers the News-Letter, for obvious reasons, and The Manitoban, for less-obvious ones. However, many papers from outside the province, including from Minnesota, Quebec and Ontario, did carry reports of the so-called reign of terror. Some sent correspondents to the settlement to witness the developments first-hand. "During the fall and early winter of 1870 we could always rely on several exciting fights between the soldiers and Half Breeds any afternoon after three oclock, by which hour the soldiers who were not on duty at the garrison were at liberty to come downtown," wrote the St. Paul Press in March 1871. ARCHIVES OF MANITOBA Andre Nault The list of reported attacks against Metis residents after the arrival of Wolseleys troops is long. Andre Nault, who played a significant role in the Resistance, was chased and beaten nearly to death in Pembina by Canadian militia soldiers in March 1871. In December 1870 James Tanner, a prominent English Metis, was killed after two unknown assailants startled his horse, causing him to be thrown from his buggy. He fractured his skull and died of his injuries. There was a report of a Metis named Landry who was attacked by soldiers outside Upper Fort Garry in November 1870. Soldiers allegedly put a noose around his neck and dragged him several hundred feet. According to the report, he may have died had his son not alerted police. James Ross, one of the key leaders among the English Metis during the Resistance, had his unoccupied, two-storey house in Winnipeg torched by unknown arsonists (witnesses saw the fire start at both ends of the house). Bob OLone, an American who was a member of the provisional government, died after a blow to his head from a revolver in a barroom brawl. The Quebec newspaper La Minerve reported that Metis Louis Hibbert from the QuAppelle Lakes, who came to Manitoba, was assaulted by soldiers and beaten with belts. He may have been killed if two women had not intervened. Two newcomers from Ontario are quoted in the newspaper saying the brutality by soldiers against local residents was far worse than they had heard about. In December 1871, a group of armed Canadian militia volunteers barged into the home of Louis Riels mother, looking for the Metis leader (who was still in hiding), and threatened his family. Archibald provided testimony on the home invasion at an 1874 House of Commons select committee hearing on the causes of the Resistance. "A party of some eight or ten disbanded volunteers had, without warrant, made a raid on the house of Riels mother, with faces masked and armed with revolvers, when they committed outrages that had excited the French half-breeds almost to a frenzy," he said. Archibald laid out the problems of violence against the Metis in broader terms in a November 1871 memorandum. The report provided further evidence that one of the reasons many Canadians enlisted in Wolseleys expedition was to avenge the death of Thomas Scott, the Ontario man executed by the provisional government in March 1870. "Some of them openly stated that they had taken a vow before leaving home to pay off all scores by shooting down any Frenchman that was in any way connected with that event," Archibald wrote. "When the volunteers came to be disbanded, and were thus freed from all restraint, the hatred of the two classes exhibited itself more and more. Some of the immigrants from Ontario shared the feelings of the disbanded volunteers, and acted in concert with them." Can anything more scandalous be conceived than this constant and persistent inciting to violence and mob law? The Manitoban Even The Manitoban, which was largely a pro-government newspaper, grew frustrated with the violence in the settlement and blamed Schultz and his supporters for the unrest. "Can anything more scandalous be conceived than this constant and persistent inciting to violence and mob law?" the newspaper wrote. Still, it wasnt all bad in the early days of Manitoba. There were many reports of life improving for local residents French and English and a return to the festive lifestyle many enjoyed prior to the resistance. Joining Canada brought greater political and economic stability to the region. Although many would be left out, Manitobans were starting to see a brighter future ahead. Metis stepped up for Crown, got stepped on for their trouble Just as life was returning to normal for many Manitobans in the fall of 1871, a new threat emerged that could have ended in bloodshed. Instead, it turned out to be a unifying event for the new province albeit a brief one. It demonstrated that during a crisis, when their community was under threat of attack, Manitobans could put their differences aside and stand together. Rumours of a Fenian raid from the United States began circulating in September 1871, raising fears that Manitoba may not be able to protect itself from a military invasion. The volunteer militia from Canada that was part of the Wolseley expedition was disbanded earlier that year. Only a small garrison was stationed at Upper Fort Garry. The threat of hundreds perhaps thousands of Fenian Brotherhood soldiers crossing the border into Manitoba became a serious threat that sent a chill through the Red River Valley. The Fenians Irish-Americans who had made several failed attempts to invade parts of Eastern Canada following the U.S. Civil War sought to occupy Canada (or British North America prior to 1867) as leverage for an independent Ireland. Manitoba, with no regular troops and only a small police force, seemed an easy target. The would-be invaders also hoped to convince disgruntled francophone Metis to join their cause, not only to bolster their ranks but to weaken Manitobas line of defence. click to read more Just as life was returning to normal for many Manitobans in the fall of 1871, a new threat emerged that could have ended in bloodshed. Instead, it turned out to be a unifying event for the new province albeit a brief one. It demonstrated that during a crisis, when their community was under threat of attack, Manitobans could put their differences aside and stand together. Rumours of a Fenian raid from the United States began circulating in September 1871, raising fears that Manitoba may not be able to protect itself from a military invasion. The volunteer militia from Canada that was part of the Wolseley expedition was disbanded earlier that year. Only a small garrison was stationed at Upper Fort Garry. The threat of hundreds perhaps thousands of Fenian Brotherhood soldiers crossing the border into Manitoba became a serious threat that sent a chill through the Red River Valley. The Fenians Irish-Americans who had made several failed attempts to invade parts of Eastern Canada following the U.S. Civil War sought to occupy Canada (or British North America prior to 1867) as leverage for an independent Ireland. Manitoba, with no regular troops and only a small police force, seemed an easy target. The would-be invaders also hoped to convince disgruntled francophone Metis to join their cause, not only to bolster their ranks but to weaken Manitobas line of defence. UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA ARCHIVES Irish-born William ODonoghue, right, was once a key player in Louis Riels provisional government. Irish-born William ODonoghue once a key player in Louis Riels provisional government was behind the planned attack. Now in exile for fear of arrest, ODonoghue, who had a falling out with Riel, was hoping to recruit enough Metis to topple whatever forces the Manitoba government could marshal. But to do so, he would need the backing of Riel, who, although himself also in hiding for fear of arrest, still wielded considerable influence over his people. By Oct. 3, the threat of invasion was real enough that Lt.-Gov. Adams Archibald issued a proclamation calling on citizens to form a militia to protect their homeland. There was no confirmation on how many Fenians might cross the border. But the threat was taken seriously because of the large number of Fenians in the U.S., many of whom fought in the Civil War and had military experience. We call upon all our said loving subjects, irrespective of race or religion, or of past local differences, to rally round the flag of our common country, Archibald wrote in the proclamation. The country need feel no alarm. We are quite able to repel these outlaws Rally, then, at once! We rely upon the prompt response of all our people of every origin Hundreds of Manitobans signed up immediately and a battalion of 200 men was sent to the border. However, the invasion turned out to be a bust. Rumours of a large Fenian contingent proved false. On Oct. 5, only about 40 armed men crossed into Manitoba, some of them Irish-Americans. They were arrested almost immediately by U.S. cavalry. The raid wasnt even sanctioned by the Fenian Brotherhood. However, Archibald didnt know that at the time. Because there were still fears of a larger invasion, the lieutenant-governor sought the support of the Metis to help repel a possible second raid. MANITOBA ARCHIVES Troops in front of Fort Garry prepare for an expected Fenian Invasion in 1871. Metis support wasnt necessarily a given, considering the abuse many continued to endure at the hands of former Canadian militia volunteers and newcomers. The land allotments promised by the federal government had still not materialized more than a year after the Manitoba Act was proclaimed into law. And the amnesty promised for those involved in the Resistance including Riel remained stalled. Riel was also concerned he could be arrested, or worse, if he showed himself in public, a fear Archibald addressed by getting word to the Metis leader that if he fought for Manitoba, he would not be detained. Despite the risks, and the fact Riel had been deceived by federal officials more than once since the passage of the Manitoba Act, the Metis leader eventually agreed and convinced hundreds of his people to assemble in St. Boniface. Several companies have already been organized, and others are in the process of formation, Riel wrote in a letter to Archibald. So long as our services continue to be required, you may rely on us. Archibald was invited to inspect the Metis troops in St. Boniface, which he did on Oct. 8. Its believed he shook Riels hand during the inspection, a show of conciliation that rankled the anti-Riel crowd, including some in Eastern Canada. I found assembled on the bank 200 able-bodied French Metis; of these 50 were mounted, and a considerable part of the whole body had firearms, Archibald later wrote. MANITOBA ARCHIVES Lt.-Gov. Adams Archibald shakes hands with Louis Riel in a depiction of an Oct. 8, 1871 inspection of troops in St. Boniface, after Riel rallied hundreds of Metis to defend against a suspected Fenian raid. The Metis cheered and told the lieutenant-governor they had rallied to the support of the Crown, and were prepared to do their duty as loyal subjects in repelling any raid that might now, or hereafter, be made on the country. Archibald assured the Metis that their show of loyalty would be communicated to the governor general in Ottawa. Fortunately for Manitoba, there were no more raids. Those arrested by U.S. officials were eventually released, including ODonoghue. Three Metis from Pembina who had joined the botched raid were arrested in Manitoba, although only one was ever convicted. Even though the Fenian threat turned out to be of little consequence, Archibald praised those who came together to protect their homeland. We gave proof to the invaders and to the world that, differ as we might among ourselves on matters of minor moment, our hearts were right and our hands ready when duty called us to the defence of our common country, Archibald wrote in a summary of his first year in office. The loyalty shown by Riel and the Metis wasnt reciprocated by the federal government, though. There was still no amnesty, the distribution of 1.4 million acres of land promised to Metis families continued to be delayed, newcomers were snapping up some of the most valuable land in the valley and Riel and Ambrose Lepine, the adjutant-general in the provisional government, were forced to retreat back into hiding after the threat of the raid subsided. Many Metis were still facing abuse and physical attacks in the streets of Winnipeg. Its something Bishop Alexandre-Antonin Tache, who was in frequent contact with Ottawa about the mistreatment of the Metis, pointed out in several blistering letters to federal cabinet minister George-Etienne Cartier. You do not know all the affronts, privations and even bad treatment we have endured, he wrote in one letter. Amidst all this, we have kept the profoundest silence, and we have refrained from making known, even to our friends, what was taking place here, in order not to create difficulties for the Ottawa Government. If threats of a Fenian raid helped unite Manitoba in 1871, it didnt do much for the long-term interests of the Metis. Whatever loyalty they showed during the crisis was soon forgotten. The Fenian raid, and the willingness of the Metis to join forces with the Crown, ended up being little more than a footnote in Manitoba history. Tom Brodbeck Close Local francophones would get their own newspaper in 1871, called Le Metis. And many who had taken part in the provisional government a year earlier were elected to the new legislative assembly, or appointed to high-profile positions. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The frequent Red River celebrations that were largely paused during the uprising of 1869-70 were starting to return. "A gayer, a happier, a more jovial people do not exist anywhere, than the people on both sides of the Red River," the Manitoban wrote in January 1871. "Every night of the week we hear of balls here and balls there, and balls almost everywhere. When the dancing has once begun there is no stopping it. On it goes, one set after the other, without cessation or intermission; and the fiddlers, as if catching the general elation of spirits, fiddle as if for very life." Like most aspects of the Red River Resistance and the early days of Manitoba, the story differs depending on whose perspective its told from. For recent arrivals, Canadas newest province represented opportunity; to farm, to trade, to own land and raise a family. For some of the old settlers, including many anglophones and some English Metis, joining Canada meant stability, economic growth and the benefits of being part of a larger nation-state. But for many Metis, anglophone and francophone, it meant oppression; a loss of self-determination and dignity. Canadas vision was to populate the West with white settlers a vision that didnt include Metis or First Nations inhabitants, many of whom suddenly felt unwelcome in their own land. Not everyone shared equally in the benefits of Confederation. That is part of Manitobas legacy as it looks back over 150 years of history. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca Enterprising street dealers, drug cartels and bikie gangs are some of the unlikely winners of the coronavirus crisis, with illicit substances being sold for up to double the pre-pandemic price - despite the relatively small impact of the pandemic on supply and demand. Cocaine, long priced in Sydney at $300 to $350 per gram, now fetches up to $450 a gram according to law enforcement intelligence reports and multiple sources contacted by The Sun-Herald. Similarly, MDMA and ketamine are selling at the higher end of the price range they commanded before the coronavirus lockdown, according to intelligence reports and sources familiar with street dealing. Cocaine remains popular, despite a price hike. Credit:Shutterstock To the north, where thousands of holiday makers have decamped to Byron Bay for winter fun in the sun, prices are similarly inflated compared to their usual baseline. Baghdad, July 11 : Iraqi security forces announced that it foiled a Katyusha rocket attack targeting the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. The troops found the rocket in al-Qanat Street in eastern Baghdad and dismantled it, Xinhua news agency quoted the Iraqi Joint Operations Command as saying in a statement on Friday without giving further details about the incident. No group has so far claimed responsibility. The military bases housing US troops across Iraq and the American embassy in the Green Zone have been frequently targeted by insurgent mortar and rocket attacks. The attacks came as the Iraqi-US relations have witnessed heightened tension since January 3 when an American drone struck a convoy near the Baghdad airport, which killed Qasem 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 US airstrike prompted the Iraqi parliament to pass a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country. More than 5,000 US troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the domestic forces in the battles against the Islamic State militants, mainly providing training and advising. Chinese officials say that nearly 200 people, most of them Han Chinese, died in what they described as riots instigated and directed from abroad, and carried out by outlaws in the country in the region. Another 1,700 people were injured and 1,000 arrested, according to government records. Its earnings seriously dented by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Railways have announced a series of austerity measures. These range from a freeze on creation of new posts, rationalisation of manpower at workshops, shifting outsources work to CSR and moving ceremonial events to digital platforms to cutting down on the use of stationary by half. According to sources, the financial commissioner of the Railways recently wrote to general managers of all zones on this. Apparently, the traffic earnings of the railways dropped by 58 per cent at the end of May as compared to the corresponding period last year. Under the austerity drive, the zones have been asked to control expenditure by reducing staff cost and rationalizing their tasks, review contracts, reduce energy consumption and cut administrative and other costs. The financial commissioner has also recommended that all work be transferred to the digital space and all correspondence be done through secure emails. Denied promotion, senior cop resigns In an earlier column (June 10) I had reported that senior IPS officer and director of Telangana State Academy Vinoy Kumar Singh was unhappy and had threatened to resign from the service. He has kept his word. Mr Singh has put in his papers. In a letter to the Union home secretary, Mr Singh said that he does not want to be a burden on the government. According to sources, in his letter, Mr Singh said he was seeking premature retirement from the service effective from October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Those in the know say that Mr Singhs exit was expected ever since he was overlooked for promotion as director general of police (DGP), although he was eligible. Earlier in May, in a letter to the state chief secretary Somesh Kumar, Mr Singh had reportedly complained that though he was empanelled for the post of DGP three months ago, the government had still not taken up the matter of his promotion. Mr Singh is a 1987-batch IPS officer and has alleged that officers of 1986 batch of regular recruits of Telangana cadre were promoted three years ago without clear vacancies. Similarly, IAS officers of 1989 batch of Telangana cadre were also promoted without clear vacancies. IPS officers of 1989 batch of many states, including Andhra Pradesh, were promoted long back. He has reportedly said that after retirement, he would like to work for reforms among the people of Telangana. Seems like hes hinting at a new career. TN cops shamed In the aftermath of the alleged custodial deaths of P. Jeyaraj and his son J. Bennix at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, the Madras high court passed an unprecedented order directing the district collector to depute revenue officials to take control of the Sathankulam police station, where the incident happened. The deaths had shocked the nation once the details of torture and police brutality came to light. Apparently, this is the first time since the Indian Police Act came into existence in 1861 that a court has ordered for a police station to be taken over by revenue officials. The court further initiated criminal contempt action against additional SP D. Kumar, deputy SP Prathapan and constable Maharajan for destroying evidence, not cooperating with the investigation and intimidating the judicial team conducting the probe. The Tamil Nadu government has ordered a CBI inquiry into the deaths of Jeyaraj and his son following a public outcry. Other steps are being taken. The Tiruchy range DIG V. Balakrishnan has reportedly released 80 cops with anger issues from duty and asked them to undergo behavioural therapy for one month. This coincides with a major reshuffle involving 39 senior IPS officers. But the states cops cant live down this disgraceful behaviour easily. Share a babu experience! Follow dilipthecherian@Twitter.com. Lets multiply the effect. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 00:44:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BAGHDAD, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Health Ministry on Friday recorded 2,848 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, bringing the total nationwide infections to 72,460. The ministry in a statement confirmed 78 more deaths, raising the country's death toll from the infectious virus to 2,960. It also said that 1,878 people recovered during the day, bringing the total recoveries from the disease to 41,380. The new cases were recorded after 12,054 testing kits were used across the country during the past 24 hours, and a total of 661,090 tests have been carried out since the outbreak of the disease, according to the ministry's statement. Also in the day, a statement by the Iraqi Higher Commission of Human Rights (IHCHR) warned of the spread of coronavirus pandemic due to deterioration of health conditions inside prison facilities. IHCHR's teams in Baghdad and other provinces have recorded a total of 111 infections of COVID-19 among inmates and personnel in Iraqi prisons and detention centers, including one death, the statement said. "The Commission calls on the Iraqi government to accelerate the finding of thorough solutions to limit the spread of the pandemic within detention centers and prisons, who are totally numbered more than 64,000 convicted and under arrest individuals," the statement added. Meanwhile, the first Iraqi parliament lawmaker was announced dead with coronavirus, when a medical source from Diyala province said that Ghaida Kambash, head of the parliamentary committee for higher education, died after two weeks of being infected with the disease. On June 22, the Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi said in an interview with local Dijla TV channel that 20 lawmakers and 28 of the parliament employees have been infected with the virus, including a director-general. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, Iraq has been taking measures to contain the pandemic. China has been helping Iraq fight the COVID-19 pandemic. From March 7 to April 26, a Chinese team of seven medical experts spent 50 days in Iraq to help contain the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and an advanced CT scanner in Baghdad. Since March 7, China has also sent three batches of medical aid to Iraq. Enditem Wednesday: Independence Day (1996) Film4, 9pm - Essentially a reworked version of War of the Worlds, Independence Day sees a whole host of aliens visit Earth, intent on destroying it. After the world's landmarks are laid to waste spectacularly, it seems to fall to the Americans - in the form of cocky, courageous fighter pilot Will Smith, computer genius Jeff Goldblum and plucky president Bill Pullman - to save the planet. Don't let the flag-waving patriotism put you off - or the Grand Canyon-sized plot holes, such as Smith's remarkable capacity to fly an alien space ship and Goldblum hacking into an alien mainframe with not so much a system error in sight, for that matter - this is glorious escapism. Featuring fun performances, a super David Arnold score and impressive special effects, it's blockbuster that deserved the hype. THURSDAY The History Boys (2006) BBC4, 10.40pm An acclaimed adaptation of Alan Bennett's award-winning play, The History Boys is a deeply moving lesson in schooldays nostalgia, centring on the tug of war between teachers and students at a grammar school in the mid-1980s. The headmaster (Clive Merrison) is focusing his attention on ushering his brightest boys into the esteemed halls of Oxford and Cambridge. He enlists the services of eccentric English teacher Hector (Richard Griffiths), but he also drafts in impassioned twentysomething supply teacher Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore). The boys - who include Dominic Cooper, Russell Tovey and James Corden - find their allegiances torn between inspirational and unconventional Hector, and newcomer Irwin, who favours flashy presentation over rigorous scholarship. FRIDAY Rush (2013) BBC1, 10.45pm During the 1970s, rubber burnt and tempers frayed between two very different Formula 1 drivers: charismatic ladies' man James Hunt and incredibly ambitious Austrian speed fiend Niki Lauda. Their daredevil duels reached a horrifying crescendo at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring when Lauda's Ferrari burst into flames, trapping him in the inferno. Just six weeks later, Lauda emerged from hospital with extensive scarring, determined to prevent Hunt from claiming the chequered flag at Monza. This incredible story of courage and resilience is dramatised in Ron Howard's superb biopic. It charts the rivalry between Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) from their early days through to the glamour of the Formula 1 circuit. SATURDAY Monsters University (2013) BBC1, 5.15pm Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) excitedly heads off to university to realise his dream of becoming a scarer. He befriends shy roommate Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi) and impresses his teachers by regurgitating facts from textbooks. However, classmate James P Sullivan aka Sulley (John Goodman) gets all the attention and is courted by the Roar Omega Roar fraternity and its dashing president, Johnny Worthington (Nathan Fillion). Eventually, Mike snaps and declares war on Sulley, and the rivals' fates rest on an end-of-term exam, which must be passed or Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) will expel them from the course. Monsters University boasts the same appealing cocktail of comedy, action and touching friendship as its predecessor, Monsters, Inc, including some lively supporting performances. SUNDAY The Ipcress File (1965) BBC2, 3.45pm Spy Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) hates his job, but at the same time seems unable to escape it. He's assigned to track down a missing doctor who possesses a file which, if it fell into the wrong hands, could spell disaster. While Palmer immerses himself in his man-hunt, his boss uses him as leverage to secure the information. Described as 'the thinking man's Goldfinger', this is a must for all devotees of Cold War thrillers. You may have to concentrate to follow the story, but after the first 10 minutes, you're hooked. Caine, in one of his trademark roles, is on superb form as the devil-may-care leading character. MONDAY American Sniper (2014) ITV4, 10pm Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper, excellent) enlists in the US Navy and gains a reputation for sharp shooting. Away from the base, Chris meets Taya (Sienna Miller). They marry and she raises their family alone while he fights overseas and attempts to outwit an elusive rival sniper called Mustafa (Sammy Sheik). With each successive tour, Chris returns home unable to communicate effectively with his loved ones. American Sniper is an impeccably crafted biopic of the most lethal marksman in US military history. Clint Eastwood's film unfolds from Kyle's fervently patriotic perspective and the lack of narrative balance might trouble some viewers. However, the veteran director is more interested in the psychology of a father and husband than wading through the politics and morality of modern warfare. New Delhi, July 11 : "Illegal weapons seized" might be a headline you see in Delhi newspapers too often, indicating firearms are freely making their way into the national capital. These come not only from the NCR but also from as far away as the illicit manufacturing hub of Bihar's Munger and the repercussions can be seen on the city's streets with the activities of trigger-happy criminals. Though Delhi Police's Special Cell and Crime Branch have time and again busted gunrunning rackets and arrested manufacturers and suppliers, the question remains if enough is being done to curb the flow of illegal fire-arms. As per figures, a total of 1,047 cases under Arms Act were registered in Delhi till June 15 as compared to 1,074 cases in the same period in the previous year. The data is worrying because it only shows a marginal decline this year despite the countrywide lockdown since March 24 and limited relaxations thereafter, which should have made the influx of illegal weapons more difficult for the criminals. On Saturday, a murder convict who was out on parole was apprehended by the Crime Branch and a Taurus Beretta of Brazilian make recovered from him. The source of the weapon is being investigated but the fact that how easily a criminal out on parole could lay hands on such a sophisticated weapon is alarming for the law enforcement agencies. In the recent riots in northeast Delhi, police had registered several cases under the Arms Act. Later, in a suspected gang war between two rival groups in Jafrabad area in May, two men were brutally shot dead. In another case in the same month, in one of the deadliest shootouts which was caught on camera, members of a gang gunned down two of their rivals in broad daylight. One of the shooters was subsequently gunned down by police. With Bihar's Munger under constant vigil of security agencies for its infamous illegal gun manufacturing factories, there is evidence that crafty workers are shifting base to avoid detection. What is worrying the security agencies is the fact that they are moving closer to the capital. In 2018, the busting of an illegal weapons factory at Uttar Pradesh's Meerut by Special Cell supports the theory. Many of the arrested workers were from Munger and had moved to the NCR in search of easy money and lower risk. In January 2020, another illegal weapon-making factory was busted in Meerut and 60 pistols seized. In June this year, Delhi Police's Special Cell and Aligarh police busted an illegal arms factory running from Baba colony in Aligarh, and arrested six people. After this operation Delhi Police spokesman M.S. Randhawa had said: "Setting an excellent example of interstate police cooperation, the coordinated and timely efforts of Special Cell of the Delhi Police and Aligarh police led to the unearthing of a factory used for manufacturing illegal firearms, which was a source of incessant supply of illegal arms to the criminals of Delhi and other states." The price of a sophisticated pistol varies from Rs 4,500 to RS 15,000 depending upon the quality of the product. To curtail the weapon flow, there is a need to strengthen information networks, break the supply chain and act strictly against the source of the gun running rackets. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Iran is determined to develop its oil industry in spite of US sanctions imposed on the country, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in a televised speech on Saturday. We will not surrender under any circumstances ... We have to increase our capacity so that when necessary with full strength we can enter the market and revive our market share, said Zanganeh. Hit by reimposed US sanctions since Washington exited Irans 2015 nuclear deal in 2018, Irans oil exports are estimated at 100,000 to 200,000 barrels per day, down from more than 2.5 million bpd that Iran shipped in April 2018. The Islamic Republics crude production has halved to around 2 million bpd. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-10 17:30:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland official on Friday urged businessmen and enterprises from Taiwan to grasp development opportunities on the mainland for even better growth. The mainland's economy is achieving steady progress with a promising and positive outlook in the long run, noted Liu Jieyi, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. Liu made the remarks when he visited Taiwan-funded enterprises in Beijing, including MediaTek and Juntai Department Store, to learn about their business and held talks with Taiwan businessmen. People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should join hands to safeguard the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, he said. Liu noted that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the mainland has attached great importance to the safety and health of Taiwan compatriots and has vigorously helped Taiwan businessmen and enterprises overcome the impact of the epidemic and resume work and production. Enditem Russia continues the war against Ukraine in Crimea by actively trying to legitimize the occupation of the peninsula on international platforms. "Ukraine has every reason to believe that today there is solidarity with its integrity. There is a resolution that was voted on within the UN. More than 100 countries joined the resolution, voted for it and clearly stated: We do not recognize the occupation of Crimea, we recognize the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and Crimea is Ukraine. It is an important nuance that we cannot ignore," First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar said in an interview with 50% Ukrainian media outlet when asked to assess the awareness of the international community about Crimea. Russia's war against Ukraine is not just a hybrid, but a multidimensional one, Dzheppar noted. "It did not end with the occupation, it is still ongoing. Russians continue to actively legitimize this occupation. They use the international platform to promote their messages. And the key message is defaming Ukraine, presenting Ukraine as an under-state, a state that is incapable of real reforms, an undemocratic country. Our task on various international platforms is to defend ourselves, using various means: from cultural diplomacy to the language of demarche and statements of disagreement," the first deputy minister stressed. Russia's aggression against Ukraine began on February 20, 2014 with a military operation of the Russian armed forces to seize a part of the territory of Ukraine - the Crimean peninsula. Subsequently, Russian regular troops and Russian-led militants occupied parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions. ol 11.07.2020 LISTEN The leadership and entire membership of Educational Workers Connect, wish to congratulate Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang on her nomination by HE Former President Mamaha as his running mate in the upcoming general elections come December, 7th. The choice of the astute Professor comes to us as no surprise since she is more than qualified for such an esteemed position of the land. Education is one of the most critical areas of empowerment for women, as both the Cairo and Beijing conferences affirmed. Among children not attending school there are twice as many girls as boys, and among illiterate adults there are twice as many women as men. Offering girls basic education is one sure way of giving them much greater power of enabling them to make genuine choices later in life. Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, as a woman with many facets buttresses once again the importance of girl child education. Her nomination, Educational Workers Connect, considers as an endorsement of the contributions of teachers to national development due to the fact that; Teachers are at the frontline of education and play a major part in shaping values, knowledge and skills of students. They are the pillars of nation-building process because they help to influence the next generation to become moral, responsible, and productive members of our community. They are the country's gatekeepers, opening doors to opportunities and possibilities that are beyond the foreseeable horizon. They trigger visions, develop building blocks, and catalyze actions to build the world to come. Having known her as a caring, hardworking mother and academician, we do not doubt her ability to live up to her new responsibilities. She demonstrated a lot with her forward looking and progressive policies she implemented as the education minister. It is our fervent prayer and hope that she would work assiduously and live up to all expectations. We wish to assure her of our unflinching support as far as issues concerning education are concerned. We also urge her to be fair, firm and live up above reproach and discharge your duties dispassionately. It is our hope, she would do a lot in order to improve the education sector and also initiate a lot of empowerment programs for women. May the good Lord grant her strength, wisdom and courage to succeed in her new capacity. She should never forget the good Lord who has brought her this far! Amazon is calling an email that went out to employees Friday telling them to delete the popular video app TikTok from their phones a mistake. Amazon had told employees to delete the popular video app TikTok from phones on which they use Amazon email, citing security risks from the China-owned app. That would have escalated the stakes for TikTok, which has been subject to national-security and geopolitical concerns. Amazon is the second-largest U.S. private employer after Walmart, with more than 840,000 employees worldwide. TikTok had said it did not understand Amazons concerns. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below. Amazon has told employees to delete the popular video app TikTok from phones on which they use Amazon email, citing security risks from the China-owned app. The TikTok app is no longer permitted on mobile devices that access Amazon email, the notice read, which was sent Friday around midday Eastern time, according to an employee who is not authorized to speak publicly. To retain mobile access to Amazon email, employees must delete the TikTok app by the end of the day. Amazon workers are still allowed to use TikTok via a browser on a company-issued laptop. Amazon is the second-largest U.S. private employer after Walmart, with more than 840,000 employees worldwide. Amazon did not reply to requests for comment. In an emailed statement, TikTok said that Amazon did not notify it before sending the email. We still do not understand their concerns, it continued, adding that the company would welcome a dialogue to address Amazons issues. Chinese internet giant ByteDance owns TikTok, which is designed for users outside of China, as well as a Chinese version called Douyin. Like YouTube, TikTok relies on its users for the videos that populate its app. It has a reputation for fun, goofy videos and is popular with young people, including millions of American users. But it has racked up concerns ranging from censorship of videos, including those critical of the Chinese government, the threat of sharing user data with Chinese officials to violating kids privacy. TikTok has been trying to appease critics in the U.S. and distance itself from its Chinese roots, but finds itself caught in an increasingly sticky geopolitical web. It recently named a new CEO, former Disney executive Kevin Mayer, which experts said could help it navigate U.S. regulators. And it is stopping operations in Hong Kong because of a new Chinese national security law that led Facebook, Google and Twitter to also stop providing user data to Hong Kong authorities. But a top Trump administration official said this week that the government remains concerned about the national-security threat to the apps millions of U.S. users. When Fox News TV host Laura Ingraham suggested that the U.S. ban Chinese social media apps, especially TikTok, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Were certainly looking at it. Pompeo said the Trump administration has worked on this very issue for a long time, including its stance against Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE. The government has tried to convince allies to root Huawei out of telecom networks, saying the company is a national-security threat, with mixed success; Trump has also said he was willing to use Huawei as a bargaining chip in trade talks. Huawei has denied that it enables spying for the Chinese government. With respect to Chinese apps on peoples cellphones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too, Pompeo said, and added that if users downloaded the app their private information would be in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. A U.S. national-security agency has been reviewing ByteDances purchase of TikToks precursor, Musical.ly, while U.S. military branches banned the app from government-issued phones. Meanwhile, privacy groups say TikTok has been violating childrens privacy, even after the Federal Trade Commission fined the company in 2019 for collecting personal information from children without their parents consent. Amazon is likely concerned about a Chinese-owned apps access to employee data, said Susan Ariel Aaronson, a professor at George Washington University and a data governance and national-security expert. China, according to the U.S. government, regularly steals U.S. intellectual property. Part of Amazons motivation with the ban may also be political, Aaronson said, since Amazon doesnt want to alienate the Trump administration. Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, are frequent targets of President Donald Trump. Bezos personally owns the Washington Post, which Trump has referred to as fake news whenever it publishes unfavourable stories about him. Last year, Amazon sued the U.S. government, saying that Trumps personal vendetta against Amazon, Bezos and the Post, led it to lose a $10 billion (U.S.) cloud computing contract with the Pentagon to rival Microsoft. Meanwhile, federal regulators as well as Congress are pursuing antitrust investigations at Amazon as well as other tech giants. TikTok has content-moderation policies, like any social network, but says its moderation team for the U.S. is led out of California and it doesnt censor videos based on topics sensitive to China and would not, even if the Chinese government asked it to. As for sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government, the company says it stores U.S. user data in the U.S. and Singapore, not China; that its data centres are outside of China; and it would not give the government access to U.S. user data even if asked. Concerns about China are not limited to the U.S. India this month banned dozens of Chinese apps, including TikTok, because of tensions between the countries. India cited privacy concerns that threatened Indias sovereignty and security for the ban. India is one of TikToks largest markets and had previously briefly banned the app in 2019 because of worries about children and sexual content. Amazons move on TikTok may foretell actions by other companies. If we are concerned about TikTok, we should be concerned about thousands of other apps that collect, sell, and give access to our location data, contacts, and photos on our phones, said Kirsten Martin, a professor of technology ethics at the University of Notre Dame, in an email. I would also expect other companies to take a closer look as to what apps are allowed on their employees phones. Joseph Pisani contributed to this report. Read more about: We are thrilled to see the new office finally open and continuing to enhance the quality of life for our customers, partners, employees and community, said Nelson Santos, president and founder of Scientel Solutions. The building will allow us to expand our resources within the engineering, technical and administrative teams as we seek to fill several new roles in these areas. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the sentence of his longtime political confidant Roger Stone, intervening in extraordinary fashion in a criminal case that was central to the Russia investigation and that concerned the president's own conduct. The move came just days before Stone was to begin serving a 40-month prison sentence for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the House investigation into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. The action, which Trump had foreshadowed in recent days, underscores the presidents lingering rage over special counsel Robert Muellers investigation and is part of a continuing effort by the president and his administration to rewrite the narrative of a probe that has shadowed the White House from the outset. Democrats, already alarmed by the Justice Departments earlier dismissal of the case against Trumps first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, denounced the president as further undermining the rule of law. Stone, 67, had been set to report to prison on Tuesday after a federal appeals court rejected his bid to postpone his surrender date. But he told The Associated Press that Trump called him Friday evening to tell him he was off the hook. The president told me that he had decided, in an act of clemency, to issue a full commutation of my sentence, and he urged me to vigorously pursue my appeal and my vindication, Stone said by phone from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was celebrating with friends. He said he had to change rooms because there were too many people opening bottles of Champagne here. Although a commutation does not nullify Stones felony convictions, it protects him from serving prison time as a result. The move marks another extraordinary intervention by Trump in the nation's justice system and underscores anew his willingness to flout the norms and standards that have governed presidential conduct for decades. As Trump stares down a coronavirus pandemic that has worsened his chances for reelection, he has been more willing than ever to test the limits of his power. Democrats denounced Trumps action. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff called it offensive to the rule of law and principles of justice. Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez asked, Is there any power Trump wont abuse? White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, in a statement, called Stone a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media, and declared, Roger Stone is now a free man! Stone had been open about his desire for a pardon or commutation, appealing for the presidents help with a monthslong television and social media campaign and seeking to postpone his surrender date by months after getting a brief extension from the judge, in part by citing the coronavirus. Trump, who had made clear in recent days that he was inching closer to acting, had repeatedly publicly inserted himself into Stones case, including just before Stones sentencing. That earned a public rebuke from his own attorney general, William Barr, who said the presidents comments were making it impossible for him to do his job. Barr was so incensed that he told people he was considering resigning over the matter. With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else, Schiff said. Donald Trump, Bill Barr, and all those who enable them pose the gravest of threats to the rule of law. Stone, a larger-than-life political character who embraced his reputation as a dirty trickster, was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to have been convicted of charges brought during Muellers investigation. A longtime Trump friend and informal adviser, Stone boasted during the campaign that he was in contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through a trusted intermediary and hinted at inside knowledge of WikiLeaks plans to release more than 19,000 emails hacked from the servers of the Democratic National Committee. But Stone denied any wrongdoing and consistently criticized the case against him as politically motivated. He did not take the stand during his trial, did not speak at his sentencing. His lawyers did not call any witnesses in his defense. Prosecutors had originally recommended Stone serve seven to nine years in prison. But in a highly unusual move, Barr reversed that decision after a Trump tweet and recommended a more lenient punishment, prompting a mini-revolt inside the Justice Department, with the entire prosecution team resigning from the case. Department officials have vehemently denied Barr was responding to Trumps criticism and have insisted there was no contact with the White House over the decision. Barr has also pointed out that the judge, in imposing a 40-month sentence, had agreed with him that the original sentencing recommendation was excessive. Barr has said the prosecution was justified, and the Justice Department did not support Stones more recent effort to put off his surrender date. Though the Justice Department raised concerns about the handling of Flynns case, including what it said were irregularities about his FBI interview, prosecutors did not point to any similar issues or problems with the Stone prosecution. Even so, the commutation will almost certainly contribute to a portrait of a president determined to erase the impact of the Russia investigation and to intervene on behalf of allies. The commutation was the latest example of Trump using his unlimited clemency power to pardon powerful men he believes have been mistreated by the justice system. Trump went on a clemency spree in February, commuting the 14-year prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, and pardoning former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik, financier Michael Milken and several others. Trump has also offered clemency to other political allies, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was awaiting sentencing at the time, conservative commentator Dinesh DSouza, who had been convicted on campaign finance violations, and Conrad Black, a newspaper publisher convicted of fraud who had written a flattering book about the president. Trump, however, has spent much more time trumpeting his decision to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving life in prison for nonviolent drug offenses and who came to Trumps attention after reality star Kim Kardashian West took up her cause. Her story was featured in a Trump campaign Super Bowl ad. Stone told the AP he expressed his gratitude to Trump in the phone call. You know, he has a great sense of fairness, Stone said. Weve been friends for many, many years, and he understands that I was targeted strictly for political reasons. The co-chairs of the joint Ukrainian-Hungarian commission on national minorities will meet in Budapest between July 13-14, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar has told Ukrinform. "The head of the Ukrainian part of the Ukrainian-Hungarian commission on national minorities, Deputy Minister of Culture Svitlana Fomenko, will meet with her Hungarian counterpart in Budapest on July 13-14," Bodnar said. He added that the participants in the meeting would discuss the key principles of the commission's work, the update of its composition and areas in which the commission will focus in its future work. The full commission may meet in August or September, Bodnar said. He said preparations were also underway for a meeting of the working group on education, which is to take place in the coming weeks in Budapest as well. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine will delegate representatives for further negotiations with the Hungarian side on this issue. When asked whether the planned meetings will be a sufficient step in preparing for a possible future visit by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Ukraine, the diplomat said: "In our understanding, yes, they will." The fourth meeting of the joint Ukrainian-Hungarian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation was held in Kyiv on June 25. The meeting was co-chaired by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto. op Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 18:26:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RAMALLAH, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A senior Palestinian official said on Saturday that the international recognition of an independent Palestinian state will preserve the vision of the two-state solution. Saeb Erekat, Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee, called for forming an international coalition against the Israeli plan of annexing parts of the West Bank. Such coalition can send "frank and direct" warnings to Israel that it may face punitive measures if it implements its annexation plan, Erekat told "Voice of Palestine". He clarified that warning Israel of punitive measures may affect Israel's position and its political and commercial relations with the world. The Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly announced that it intends to annex large parts of the West Bank and impose sovereignty on several settlements in the territory. "The annexation plan is a war crime. It will destroy the Palestinian Authority and will undermine the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state," said Erekat. The veteran peace negotiator added that the world has to unify its efforts to prevent implementation of the Israeli plan. Enditem WILLIAMSPORT The state Department of Corrections has agreed to pay the estate of a Lancaster County inmate who was killed in prison $562,500 to settle a federal wrongful death lawsuit. The settlement was reached without the Corrections Department admitting any liability or wrongdoing, according to the terms obtained Friday by Pennlive through a Right to Know request. The $562,000 to be paid to the estate of Derric M. Harsh Jr. includes damages and legal costs associated with the suit filed in U.S. Middle District Court. Harsh was strangled to death on Feb. 27, 2019, at the Benner state prison by his cellmate Eric Mueller, who is serving two consecutive life terms for murder from Philadelphia. The death was ruled a homicide with the cause being manual strangulation. Mueller has never been charged, a decision made after consulting with the attorney for the Harsh family, Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said. There is no statute of limitations for homicide should the family in the future decide they want Mueller prosecuted, he pointed out. The family appreciated the way Cantorna worked with them, said Paul M. Messing, an attorney who represented the estate. Commenting on the settlement of the civil suit, Messing said the family is very pleased the matter has been put to rest. The suit was not about the money but about making sure another family was not put through this type of anguish, he said. Messing applauded the Corrections Department for reviewing its policies and procedures for dealing with violent individuals who threaten to kill. As part of the settlement, it has provided Messing with certain training materials he is reviewing along with policies and procedures. It has agreed to review in good faith any comments Messing submits following his review. Harsh, 23, of Millersville, was serving an 8- to 16-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to charges of rape, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor stemming from incidents over a six-month period in 2016. The basis of the court complaint was that the staff showed deliberate indifference by placing Harsh in a cell with Mueller, who had documented mental issues. The staff was accused of telling Mueller, who reportedly was upset at losing his single-cell status, he would have to kill someone to get it back. Harsh died the day he was assigned as Muellers cellmate, the suit states. A number of employees were accused of failing to protect Harsh and doing nothing to intervene in the attack that resulted in his death. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Tehran, July 11 : Iran's Foreign Ministry has warned that there will be consequences if it is proven that foreign elements were involved in the recent "blast" at the Natanz nuclear facility. "Security bodies are investigating all the details of the incident (in Natanz), and it is still too early to talk about and make any judgment regarding the main cause and reason for the blast," Xinhua news agency quoted Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying on Friday. "If they conclude that foreign elements have been involved ... there will be consequences," said Mousavi. He pointed to some media reports attributing the "explosion" to Israel, saying that such reports are aimed at "portraying Israel as powerful". On July 2, Iran announced that the fire at the Natanz nuclear facility caused no damage to the establishment, but it affected one of the structures for storing stock items. The next day, Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said that the country's experts had determined the main cause of "incident" and would announce it at an "appropriate time". Natanz, located some 250 km south of Tehran, includes underground facilities buried under some 25 feet of concrete, which offers protection from airstrikes. Natanz, a Fuel Enrichment Plant covering 100,000 square meters, is located in Isfahan province. A top army general in Jammu and Kashmir said Saturday that terror launch pads across the LoC are full and there could be close to 300 terrorists waiting to infiltrate in the Naugam sector of Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir. Inputs indicate that their launch pads are fully occupied. If we have to guess, it could be anything between 250-300 terrorists presently occupying the launch pads, Major General Virendra Vats GOC 19 Infantry Division, Baramulla, said according to ANI. General Vats comment came shortly after army troopers killed two terrorists who tried to infiltrate the Line of Control (LoC) in Naugam sector. The general said it launched its operation after detecting suspicious movement along the LoC. Today, our troops along the LoC Naugam sector detected suspicious movement originating from Pakistani post in the area. Apt response was taken to eliminate two terrorists who were trying to infiltrate by cutting an anti-infiltration fence, General Vats said. He said the army seized two AK-47 rifles, a pistol and ammunition after the gunfight. On June 30, Jammu and Kashmirs Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh had said that Jammu and Kashmirs anti-infiltration grid is intact despite active terror launch pads across the LoC and Pakistan trying to infiltrate terrorists. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. he is ttash and i hope abusers like him drop d*** Reply Thread Link I don't see how people can believe Johnny Depp over Amber Heard and at the same time saying Amber Heard deserved it somehow because she is abusive herself. Just because someone was abusive doesn't mean they deserve to be abused, especially in the way Johnny Depp abused Amber Heard. I would never say the things he said about her... About ANY of my exes, even the one who beat me and put me in the Hospital multiple times. After reading, evidence points to Johnny Depp being a special type of abuser... the type that would try to 'end' a person no matter what. Heard needs to tighten her restraining order against this man and hire a real security firm. edit: sorry i thought i was making a comment to the post. didnt mean to hijack your comment Edited at 2020-07-11 03:39 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link this. i hate that people are conflating the two and saying she's equally as abusive as he is when he said he literally said he would "end" herand it's working. i'm gonna say what i said in the last thread about this: there is a clear power dynamic at play here. i can't say i know her or her situation, but i've experienced+witnessed firsthand what a powerful abuser can do to their partners and how all the gaslighting, manipulation, threats, and violence can really warp a person's mentality. it's wrong to compare the two when depp has yet to experience any kind of consequence or accountability for the shit he's done to heard and who knows how many others. Reply Parent Thread Link honestly hes still abusing her by dragging her into this tabloid mess and trying to get her kicked out of aquaman Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yes, I think their relationship was extremely toxic but it doesn't excuse that he did things that created that toxic environment and that she continues to be victimized by him as he tries to shame her and embarrass her in the media. Reply Parent Thread Link He is quite the charmer. Im forever judging myself for being a former huge fan of his. Reply Thread Link Same, I really hate how much $$$ I spent on his movies. Ugh. Reply Parent Thread Link Girl, same. Every square inch of my bedroom walls in high school were covered in pictures of him and now I'm in full on "I don't know her" territory. Reply Parent Thread Link Same. I was such a Depp fan circa Sleepy Hollow/Blow/From Hell/Pirates (the first one). :( Reply Parent Thread Link No, don't judge yourself. None of us knew back then. Reply Parent Thread Link they r all charming at first Reply Parent Thread Link This truth Reply Parent Thread Link Don't feel bad I think most of us have also been there at one point with being a fan of his. Luckily most of us wised up and realized he's shit now. Reply Parent Thread Link Just when you think it cant get worse, it does. How they lasted together as long as they did without one of them dying is a true miracle. Reply Thread Link Trash Reply Thread Link WHAT A CHARMER. Men were a fucking MISTAKE. I'm shocked he hasn't called Sean Penn as a character witness. Edited at 2020-07-11 02:57 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link can he overd*se already Reply Thread Link Theres also a recording - from after they got divorced - where he is asking her to cut him with a blade and she wont do it so he tries to do it himself and she pleads for him to stop. This man is psychotic. Reply Thread Link wtf Reply Parent Thread Link I'm not even surprised, just angry. Reply Parent Thread Link What about how Paul Bettany asked him for coke, xanax and adderall? Nobody seems to be mentioning this. Reply Thread Link LIKE HE IS JUST LEGIT TRASH I FEEL I NEED TO MAKE THIS CLEAR. TRASH TRASH TRASH Reply Parent Thread Link Oh shit. I just tried looking up Pauls connection to this and I found an article with text messages but it didnt mention anything about him asking for drugs....I know what Ill be looking up tonight instead of sleeping! Reply Parent Thread Link Depp also claimed he 'dabbled in drugs' with the Avengers' Paul Bettany - who played 'Vision' in the recent superhero franchise. Ms Wass asked Depp: 'You would supply Paul Bettany with whatever medication of controlled drugs he asked for, is that right?' Depp replied: 'If he was feeling anxious or he was feeling unpleasant, I would give him what he asked for.' Ms Wass asked: 'You would give him cocaine?' He replied: 'Yes, ma'am.' https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8501429/Johnny-Depp-vs-Amber-Heard-round-two-Hollywood-legend-arrives-stand-second-day.html Reply Parent Thread Expand Link https://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz/disturbing-texts-drugs-court-inside-22330099 Edited at 2020-07-11 03:29 am (UTC) It's a tabloid but they put together a timeline on Johnny and Paul's friendship Reply Parent Thread Link And made 'jokes' together about killing her and burning her corpse Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Ugh, and Jennifer Connelly is STILL married to him, after 17 years. Makes me worried about how he might be treating her. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link He has to be buying bots right? You can't say anything negative about him on twitter without dozens of random accounts attacking you Reply Thread Link Yep. There are also viral tweets from accounts with low followers/following. I know that shit Reply Parent Thread Link Nah. MRA and Deppstans are out in full force Reply Parent Thread Link Sadly no. Maybe at one point but like the other user said, MRAs and Depp fans who never believed he was an abuser cherry-picked evidence and convinced the majority that he's the only victim in this and that everyone should apologize to him. Reply Parent Thread Link no, its like with michael jackson.theres real people who support these men. no matter how violent a man is, he will always have supporters. Reply Parent Thread Link Unfortunately he still has a massive fanbase. I'm in a few Disney groups on Facebook and also a HP one and if you say anything bad about him they will tear you apart. Reply Parent Thread Link No anger problems, he just causes $10,000 in damages for shits and giggles. Reply Thread Link Remember at the end of War of the Roses and Kathleen Turner and Danny Devito are hanging from the chandelier and they both die? Reply Thread Link I think you mean Michael Douglas? or is it Danny Devito since I haven't seen that movie in over decade? Reply Parent Thread Link Damn But still every time I see a headline Im like, should I watch this movie? Why are they doing this to themselves? Edited at 2020-07-11 03:09 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link danny devito plays the lawyer! its been a minute since i saw this movie but i can remember the chandelier scene so well Reply Parent Thread Link Fuck this disgusting piece of shit. I know exactly why he still has fans, but it really boggles my mind that he still has so many that are foaming at the mouth to defend every disgusting action of his and paint his as this innocent victim. Reply Thread Link I just clicked on a video comparing their depositions and the comments are FLOODED with people saying shes lying. I havent really followed this case but it just seems like a mess all around. She cut his finger off and he threw a phone at her? Reply Thread Link It's pretty obvious he cut his finger himself when he was high af Reply Parent Thread Link Hes got a horrible temper judging by the excerpts in this post, what a pos Reply Parent Thread Link There have been consistent rumours that he's bought bots, to defend him and attack her. He also does seem to have a batshit crazy fanbase who will defend him to the end. Then there's also MRA-types, who can only see men as victims of divorce.... Reply Parent Thread Link i don't think she's lying. they have a message johnny himself sent to his doctor admitting he cut off his finger. Reply Parent Thread Link Stupid. Inexcusable. Trash Reply Thread Link One week ago, a small number of incarcerated individuals at Auburn and Cayuga correctional facilities had been tested for COVID-19. That changed this week. The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which releases a daily COVID-19 report, revealed on Friday there are 51 pending tests in Auburn Correctional Facility and 79 in Cayuga Correctional Facility. The sudden rise in testing isn't due to COVID-19 being present in either facility. Both prisons haven't reported a case among the incarcerated population, according to DOCCS. In response to an inquiry from The Citizen, DOCCS explained that it expanded its testing pool to include incarcerated individuals age 55 and older. The department was already testing inmates who have symptoms of COVID-19. Individuals who are either asymptomatic or symptomatic and are quarantined due to contact with a positive case are also eligible for testing. DOCCS is also testing inmates in its regional medical units and at its senior living dorm at Ulster Correctional Facility. At Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison for women, pregnant inmates or inmates who recently gave birth are tested for COVID-19. "The department continues to comply with (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance and in consultation with (the state Department of Health), continues to evaluate all options for additional testing in response to this public health crisis." There have been 1,925 confirmed cases within DOCCS, including 1,300 employees, 545 incarcerated individuals and 80 parolees. The department hasn't released facility-level data for cases involving employees, but it has provided that information for the incarcerated population. Fishkill Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Dutchess County, has the most confirmed cases (86) of any prison in the state. Green Haven Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Dutchess County, has 56 cases. DOCCS' daily reports indicate that testing is increasing at other state prisons. Last week, Clinton Correctional Facility had one confirmed COVID-19 case and 26 negative tests. On Friday, the department's report revealed that 74 incarcerated individuals tested negative for COVID-19 and another 112 tests are pending. In its email to The Citizen, DOCCS officials said that doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurses are following federal and state guidelines. When there's a confirmed case in a prison, DOCCS and the state Department of Health determine the individual's contacts to limit the spread of COVID-19. When an incarcerated individual is tested for COVID-19, the specimen is collected and sent to a lab. The individual is isolated as they await the test result. If the test is positive, they remain in isolation for at least 14 days until their symptoms disappear and the individual goes 72 hours fever-free without medication. Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Goo SeRa was on the edge of losing the election, lucky enough candidate number 2 gave up and supported her campaign. Only two candidates are vying for the position. Though she planned to resign due to malicious videos about her job and family, Gong Myung helped her fight and believed in herself. Her mother Sam Sook joined to campaign for SeRa. Young Tae secretly distributes SeRa's cards to support her daughter despite Chairman Cho's connection. From the past surveys, SeRa only reach 9% of the voting interest. She felt frustrated that she doesn't have the winning level.On the day of the election, SeRa did not join the counting committee. She decided to distribute personal letters she made thinking she already lose the election. Woo Young and Han Bi stayed at the counting committee, and they were surprised that SeRa got higher votes and in even with her opponent. As the day ends, the committee by the resolution given, SeRa won the election. SeRa was shocked and surprised by the election results. But she was eager to report to the District office for her first day as Representative of Mawon-gu.At the same, Gong Myung was transferred to the Council Secretariat office, where SeRa and the rest of the district representative hold sessions. On her first day at the district, 12 elder representatives disregard her presence. They scheduled a welcome party for her, but no one arrived and left SeRa paid the bill. She felt frustrated, but Gong Myung stayed with her for the night.Before they head home, they visited the funeral of one of the constituents who died with a bribery case. It was the position SeRa acquired through the by-election of the district. During the session, the assembly is divided into two parties. They need to agree to pass on the law of issuing municipal bonds for labor cost, which amongst to 30 million won dollars. The Together Progressive party is against issuing the said bonds since the district does not have any funds to aid the finances. While Aeguk Conservative party is in favor to issue the bond as Chairman Choe supports the planning and budgeting department led by Ms. Won. SeRa stands as the only independent party, and her vote is the deciding point if the bond will push through. Each party tried to appease with her though at first, they never value her presence. SeRa only gives concern about her salary, and as explained by Gong Myung, the district is on the level of bankruptcy. SeRa received various gifts from each party, and they wish to persuade her to join in their cause. But Sera thought of giving her elder constituents more anxiety and did not side with anyone yet.The session is now open to vote for the budget to be approved. The results showed that one vote is void, leading the assembly to decline the budget to push through. Chairwoman Won of the planning and budgeting department is dismayed with the result. Chairman Choe encouraged everyone to come up with projects to support the district to get more funds and pay labor costs and other projects. The Bombay high court (HC) last week rejected the bail plea of a woman accused of passively supporting her husband who raped two of their daughters and tried to sexually assault the third. The womans bail application was based on claims that the accusations against her were false. However, a single bench of justice Vibha Kankanwadi took note that the entire story narrated by the daughters in the first information report (FIR) was consistent and shocking, and rejected the womans plea. On April 2, the three sisters, who were badly beaten and locked in a room by their parents, were rescued by Kaij police in Beed district. The husband, a school headmaster, and his wife were arrested after the eldest daughter filed a complaint with the police. According to her complaint, on March 31, the man tried to molest his 20-year-old eldest daughter, but she and her two sisters caused a commotion. The parents then beat them up and locked them inside a room in the house. The sisters, however, managed to communicate their condition to a friend who then informed the police. The eldest daughter narrated her ordeal to the police, and in her complaint stated that she was raped by her father in 2012. She told the police that she was beaten by her father after she informed her mother about the incident. The complainant further alleged that while her father kept molesting her intermittently, he also sexually assaulted her younger sister, who is now 18-years-old, since the time she was studying in Class 5. The three sisters were beaten after the matter was reported to their mother, and they were warned not to disclose the acts to anyone. The 20-year-old further alleged that in 2018, her father tried to rape their youngest sister, who is now 15-year-old. In this instance too, their mother remained silent even after the incident was brought to her notice. Acting on the complaint, police arrested the headmaster for rape, and his wife for abetment, for passively supporting her husband. The woman had moved the high court seeking bail, claiming the complaint was false and that her 20-year-old daughter had made wild allegations because she was reprimanded for moving around in bad company. It is highly impossible that the mother would keep quiet when her husband was molesting her daughter and would allow such activity to be continued for years together, her lawyer had argued. The judge rejected the womans bail plea, primarily noting that the entire story that had been narrated in the FIR appeared to be consistent with the statements of the sisters. Justice Kankanwadi said the entire story was shocking, and the defense put forth by the applicant mother appeared baseless. The judge felt that no daughter would go to the extent of making such serious allegations against her parents simply because they were opposed to her relationship with a particular boy having bad antecedents. The judge said that even if the complainant went to that extent, the other two sisters would not have supported her against their parents if the allegations were false. COHOES Nineteen-year-old Joe Ritchie was raised in the Saratoga Sites public housing complex, which means he grew up next to the Norlite hazardous waste incinerator. In the home he still shares with his mother, grandmother and younger brother, Ritchie lived with the soot and the sticky substances the incinerator spewed onto the complex. He lived with the noise and the smells from a plant that is just over the railroad tracks from where families live and children play. Ritchie didn't know it at the time, but in 2018 and 2019, he also lived with what might have been put into the air as Norlite quietly burned more than two million pounds of a toxic firefighting foam containing the "the forever chemicals" known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl or PFAS. Around the county, there are large stockpiles of the firefighting foam, and nobody really knows how to safely get rid of the stuff and its PFAS, which are a potential cause of several types of cancer and other health issues. The federal Environmental Protection Agency concedes it doesn't know if the foam is safe to burn. It was nevertheless burned at Norlite, which means Ritchie, his family and the 175 other residents of Saratoga Sites were treated like guinea pigs. Since the incineration was happening ahead of the science, residents were unwitting participants in an experiment. Poor people are too often treated that way. As Ritchie said, his neighbors don't have the time or money needed to fight against Norlite. Nor can they afford to move elsewhere. "We have to breathe the air we're given," he said. But they aren't the only people who should be concerned about Norlite, which burns hazardous waste in kilns that heat and break up shale rock. The incinerator on Route 32, just north of the Maplewood section of Colonie, sits amid a densely populated area that includes Watervliet, Green Island and, across the river, Troy. A stream that passes through the 250-acre Norlite site eventually finds its way to the Hudson, and in April, a Bennington College survey found PFAS in water and soil samples downwind from the site. What Norlite burns, in other words, is a region-wide worry. When Bill Keeler, the city's new mayor, learned his city was where toxic foam from around the country had been incinerated, he and other Cohoes officials rushed to put in place a one-year moratorium on burning the material in the city. On Friday, when we met at Saratoga Sites and looked up at the incinerator's smokestacks, the mayor told me he sees Cohoes as a center of the national, and perhaps international, question of what to do with forever chemicals like PFAS. It's an awfully big question for a little city to confront. The state could help. Assemblyman John McDonald, a former mayor of Cohoes, and Neil Breslin, the state Senator from Bethlehem, sponsored a law that would ban the incineration of the firefighting foam in Cohoes. The ban passed in the Legislature, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo has yet to say if he will sign it. It's hard to believe he wouldn't. How could it be OK to burn a toxic foam adjacent to homes, without evidence that doing so is safe? And Cuomo, a former federal Housing and Urban Development secretary, should know better than most the injustices faced by residents of public housing. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. But among environmentalists and others, there are worries the governor may side with those who would like Norlite to be a test site for the incineration of aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF. If the plant is able to prove it can burn the material without harm, Norlite could be the (quite lucrative) solution to a worldwide problem. "I get that it needs to be tested someplace, but pick an unpopulated area where it's not going to impact human health," said McDonald, adding that the environmental issues Cohoes is confronting are echoed in other poorer cities including Rensselaer, where residents have been fighting the Dunn Landfill, operating near a school, and a proposed waste-to-fuel plant. "You get tired of these urban industrial areas being (expletive) on, for lack of a better word," McDonald said. Ritchie is a student at Syracuse University studying government and public policy. Partly due to what he experienced growing up next to Norlite, he hopes to someday work on environmental issues. He wants to push for a fairer, cleaner world. Ritchie is hopeful Cuomo will sign the ban; he'll be outraged if the governor doesn't. But even if the bill becomes law, Ritchie added, the bigger problem will remain. Norlite will continue to burn other hazardous materials. And it will continue to do so in a crowded urban area, adjacent to housing where families suffer the consequences. In Ritchie's view, and mine, the incinerator will remain unacceptable. "The end goal is to get that thing shut down." he said. cchurchill@timesunion.com 518-454-5442 @chris_churchill By Kazeem Ugbodaga Three dead bodies have been recovered and nine others rescued in a collapsed three-storey building at Freeman Street on Lagos Island, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Saturday. It was gathered that the building suffered total collapse leaving its occupants trapped as they were fast asleep at about 4.00 am. Director General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu disclosed that three dead bodies had been retrieved from the buildings and nine others rescued. Oke-Osanyintolu said The Agency responded to emergency calls on the incident. Upon arrival at the incident scene at 04:05hrs this morning, a 3-storey building was discovered to have totally collapsed on people asleep inside. Nine victims have been extricated from the rubble alive while three bodies were recovered dead. Their remains were transported to the mortuary by State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit, SEHMU while pre-hospital care has been administered to the nine victims by LASEMA and the Lagos State Ambulance Services, LASAMBUS. LASEMA, Lagos State Building Control Agency, LABSCA , Ministry Of Physical planning ,Nigeria Police, LNSC, LASG FIRE and are also at the incident scene carrying out a multi agency . Search and rescue operation on going, he said. Related You know we live in a strange world when people like me are forced to draw comfort from the statements of Noam Chomsky and Bernie Sanders supporter Zephyr Teachout. The left-wing radicals are among 150 esteemed artists, authors and public intellectuals who this week signed a letter that condemns cancel culture for stifling freedom of expression in journalism, higher education, philanthropy and the arts. Writing in Harpers magazine, the ideologically diverse group says: The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted. They go on to bemoan an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty. The letter follows former president Barack Obamas denunciations of woke culture and purity tests. Of course, Obama and the Harpers letter writers are right: it is abominable that, effectively, a bunch of blinkered, self-righteous activists are dictating to the rest of us how we should feel about certain issues. Blacklisting people because of what they sincerely feel and believe, and terrifying people into confessing their unorthodox thoughts in the hope they might achieve some sort of redemption, is not how liberal democracies are supposed to work. Former US president Barack Obama criticised "woke" culture. Credit:AP Just look at the relentless campaign of ideological conformity that has swept the Western world. And, no, I am not referring to those mobs toppling statues of historical figures. A report by the UN expresses concern about allegations of torture and forced disappearances by security forces. A new report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights accuses Venezuelas government of arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances and torture. Now there are fears the abuses have got worse, under the cover of the coronavirus state of emergency. Al Jazeeras Lucia Newman reports from Santiago, Chile. Hagia Sophia: The Turkish museum has been turned back into a mosque, sparking dismay among Christians. Photo: Murad Sezer/Reuters Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has formally reconverted Istanbul's sixth-century Hagia Sophia into a mosque. He declared it open to Muslim worship yesterday, hours after a high court annulled a 1934 decision that turned it into a museum. The decision to reconvert Hagia Sophia - a former cathedral that was turned into a mosque after Istanbul's conquest by the Ottoman Empire and had served as a museum for 86 years - sparked dismay among Orthodox Christians. But there was jubilation outside Hagia Sophia, where dozens of people who awaited the court's ruling outside chanted "Allah is great!" when the news came out. Turkey's high administrative court threw its weight behind a petition brought by a religious group and annulled the 1934 cabinet decision that turned the site into a museum. Within hours, Mr Erdogan signed a decree handing over Hagia Sophia to Turkey's Religious Affairs Presidency. The president has demanded the hugely symbolic world heritage site should be turned back into a mosque despite widespread international criticism, including from the US and Orthodox Christian leaders. The move could also deepen tensions with neighbouring Greece. Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides posted on his official Twitter account that Cyprus "strongly condemns Turkey's actions on Hagia Sophia in its effort to distract domestic opinion and calls on Turkey to respect its international obligations". Nationalist and conservative groups have long been yearning to hold prayers at Hagia Sophia, which they regard as part of the Muslim Ottoman legacy. Others believe the Unesco World Heritage site should remain a museum, as a symbol of Christian and Muslim solidarity. The group that brought the case to court had contested the legality of the 1934 decision by the modern Turkish republic's secular government ministers and argued the building is the personal property of Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II, who conquered Istanbul in 1453. The court ruled Hagia Sophia is the property of a foundation managing the Sultan's assets and opened it up to the public as a mosque. The Istanbul-based ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew I, warned in late June that the building's conversion into a mosque "will turn millions of Christians across the world against Islam". Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, called for "prudence" and the preservation of the "current neutral status" for the Hagia Sophia, which he said was one of Christianity's "devoutly venerated symbols". US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said last month that the landmark should remain a museum to serve as a bridge between faiths and cultures. His comments sparked a rebuke from Turkey's Foreign Ministry, which said Hagia Sophia was a domestic issue of Turkish national sovereignty. Mr Erdogan, a devout Muslim, has frequently used the Hagia Sophia issue, which sits at the heart of Turkey's religious-secular divide, to drum up support for his Islamic-rooted party. Some Islamic prayers have been held in the museum in recent years and in a major symbolic move, Mr Erdogan recited the opening verse of the Quran in the Hagia Sophia in 2018. If you want to know who really controls Orica Limited (ASX:ORI), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership. With a market capitalization of AU$6.7b, Orica is rather large. We'd expect to see institutional investors on the register. Companies of this size are usually well known to retail investors, too. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Orica. Check out our latest analysis for Orica ASX:ORI Ownership Breakdown July 11th 2020 What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Orica? Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. Orica already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Orica, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. ASX:ORI Earnings and Revenue Growth July 11th 2020 Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Orica. The company's largest shareholder is Harris Associates L.P., with ownership of 8.4%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.1% and 6.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Story continues Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 23 shareholders, meaning that no one shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership. Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future. Insider Ownership Of Orica While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves. Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group. Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Orica Limited. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around AU$8.9m worth of shares (at current prices). It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling. General Public Ownership The general public holds a 45% stake in ORI. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. Next Steps: I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Orica , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. 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. Flash Japan is hoping to enter talks next week with a number of countries and regions including China and South Korea about the possibility of easing travel restrictions issued due to the coronavirus pandemic, government sources said in Tokyo on Friday. According to the sources, the talks involving around 10 countries will most likely seek to at first accommodate the travel of business people from countries who have effectively combated coronavirus outbreaks. Along with China and South Korea, countries that may also be approached by the government here to discuss the easing of restrictions include Brunei, Myanmar and Laos, the sources said. The Japanese government has already held similar talks with Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. Flights to Vietnam partially resumed on June 25 with a chartered plane carrying 150 people leaving Narita Airport near Tokyo. The flight, the first of three, was arranged by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam and operated by Vietnam Airlines. Japan currently has an entry ban in place for 129 countries and regions, with foreign travelers who have been to any of the areas within 14 days being denied entry to the country. 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, the sources said. Upon landing in Japan, they may be required to take another PCR test, they added. Those qualifying for entry will be also be required to submit to officials details of their place of residence during their visit here 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 smartphone so in the case they are or do become infected, contact-tracing can be carried out. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a press briefing Friday that Japan is looking to hold talks with countries and regions that have succeeded in tackling the spread of the virus and have seen numbers of infections decline. Motegi said that along with this, countries with a high demand for business trips will also be prioritized. "It won't take too long for us to begin looking at the second group of countries," Motegi said. An agreement between the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and an organization controlled by Irans Supreme Leader was signed today to develop and expand an exisiting oil field. Shana news agency connected with NIOC reported the deal, without mentioning that the contractor, Persia Oil and Gas Industry Development Company, belongs to Imams Executive Headquarters, an organization operating under the control of the Supreme Leader. Organizations and companies operating under the aegis of the Supreme Leader, the Revolutionary Guard and other regime-connected centers in Iran are not accountable to the parliament or any other institution. The more than $500 million contract aims at the further development and expansion the North Yaran oil field to increase production by around 39.5 million barrels in ten years. The area is 130 kilometers southwest of Ahvaz, the capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan Province where most of Irans oil fields are located. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Irans relations with Western countries have been tense and it has lagged behind in modernizing its oil production industry. Moreover, its inward-looking economic system is also not hospitable to foreign investors. U.S. and international sanctions have also prevented much needed technology infusion. In recent years, military and state-controlled front companies have aspired to play a role in the oil industry, but Iran needs tens of billions of dollars in investments and an efficient economic system to be able to modernize the industry. The contract is not a new deal, but todays signing ceremony signified the re-formulation of the agreement to correspond with new NIOC contracting format. HANOI, VIETNAM - Media OutReach - July 11, 2020 - On July 10, 2020, VinGroup fulfilled its obligations to deliver ventilators to Singapore, Russia and Ukraine. This included invasive ventilators called Vsmart VFS-510 that VinGroup produced for non-profit purpose to aid COVID-19 treatment in many countries. Thanks to the countries' embassies to Vietnam, Vingroup initially gave 500 VFS-510 ventilators to Russia and 300 VFS-510 devices to Ukraine. Now a further 1,600 Vsmart VFS-410 ventilators as specified in the memorandum of agreement will be delivered for the second phase by August 30, 2020. VinGroup also gave 200 VFS-510 ventilators to the Embassy of Singapore in Vietnam to help Singapore overcome the challenging current situation. Speaking at the handover ceremony of the first batch of ventilators, Konstantin Vnukov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation in Vietnam, not only acknowledged the outstanding success of VinGroup in construction, telecommunications, automobile industries, as well as other sectors in the economy, but also appreciated the company's engagement in addressing the social issues and medical difficulties. He said: "We have all seen the mutual support in the hardest of periods. The ceremony of awarding ventilators to the Russian Federation today continued to affirm our fruitful friendship." Once the handover has been completed, the countries' embassies plan to transfer ventilators to the localities, for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Vingroup experts began researching the technology needed to produce the machines and mass production of the ventilators began three months after the research and manufacturing of the ventilators was announced to fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Vsmart VFS-510 ventilator's circulation was licensed by the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, meeting demands of treating severely infected patients, specially equipped for medical facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. It not only proved VinGroup's efforts and dedication, but also highlighted the company's potentials and growth capabilities of technology in future. Story continues VinGroup gave the newly manufactured ventilators to Russia, Ukraine and Singapore, which all have close relations with VinGroup and Vietnam showing Vietnamese enterprise's corporate social responsibilities in the region and all over the world. Reference information: Vsmart VFS-510 is a special upgrade of the PB560 ventilator developed by Medtronic, widely used in Vietnam. VinGroup itself produced or localised 70 percent of the components, including core and complex parts such as blower fan, circuitry (control PCBA, power circuit, etc.), in addition to making keyboards, display screens, cases, batteries, and even more. In light of the stand-alone quality measurement by the state authorities and the clinical evaluation by the top-tier hospitals, VinGroup's engineers calibrated specifications for the cutting -edge line to guarantee that Vsmart VFS-510 can optimise the international standards. KHABAROVSK, Russia -- Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Russias Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk to protest against the arrest of their regional governor on murder charges, chanting slogans against President Vladimir Putin. Supporters of Sergei Furgal on July 11 gathered on the central Lenin Square for a spontaneous demonstration before marching toward Komsomolskaya Square, carrying posters with slogans such as "I Am Sergei Furgal" and "Free Furgal." Participants shouted, "Shame on Moscow!", "Putin's a thief!", and "Down with the tsar! -- references to President Vladimir Putin. We need to defend our choice, the choice of the people, and we are not afraid of the consequences," a protester told RFE/RL, calling Furgal's arrest politically motivated. A member of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Furgal was elected in 2018 in a major upset of the ruling United Russia party. Estimates by local media and opposition put the number of demonstrators at between 5,000 and 35,000, with the news website DVHab.ru describing the rally as a historic event for the city of about 600,000 inhabitants. Smaller rallies were also held in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Elban, Solnechny, and other cities in the region. The Khabarovsk government announced later in the day that it would extend coronavirus restrictions, which include the banning of mass gatherings, throughout the region until at least July 26. The demonstrations come a day after a Moscow court ordered the 50-year-old Furgal held in pretrial detention for two months. Furgal has pleaded not guilty to ordering the murders and attempted murders of several businessmen in 2004 and 2005. Protesters questioned why prosecutors decided to arrest Furgal now, 15 years after the alleged crimes, and demanded his trial be held in Khabarovsk and in a transparent manner. He was detained by the Investigative Committee on July 9, sparking outrage from his party. LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky told the State Duma on July 9 that the LDPR faction in parliament was ready to resign in protest against the arrest. "Let the whole world learn what a mess this country is," Zhirinovsky told the parliaments lower chamber earlier this week. Also on July 10, two lawmakers in the Khabarovsk region, also members of LDPR, were arrested on fraud charges and will be held in custody until September, a district court representative was quoted as saying. The two lawmakers, Sergei Kuznetsov and Dmitry Kozlov, deputy chairman of the regional parliament, used to run the Amurstal steel plant. An 84-year-old woman, Madam Comfort Otuah, has been found dead in her room at Akwakwaa in the Agona East District of the Central region. The body of Madam Otuah was found in a pool of blood by one Madam Comfort Aba. Police Superintendent, Mr Seth P. Yirenkyi, Agona Swedru District Police Commander, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the Police were investigating a case of suspected murder. According to Superintendent Yirenkyi a 40-year-old man, who the police suspect, had a hand in Madam Otuahs death is on the run. He said the Police would continue with investigations to unravel the cause of the womans death. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video U.S. Military Leaders Vow Response If Proof Of Russian Bounties Paid To Taliban Uncovered By RFE/RL July 10, 2020 Top Pentagon officials have said that the United States will respond if the U.S. military is able to corroborate reports that Russia paid militants linked to the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the information thus far had not been corroborated by defense intelligence agencies, but vowed that the Pentagon will find out if it's true. "And if it is true, we will take action," he said, without specifying what action might be taken. Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper were questioned during a congressional hearing on media reports claiming Russia had offered Taliban militants bounties for killing Americans in Afghanistan. Esper said his military commanders heard initial reports on the bounty issue in January and he first saw an intelligence paper about it in February. While the threats were taken seriously, he said they had not yet been found credible. The New York Times first reported on the intelligence last month and said President Donald Trump was briefed on the intelligence but did nothing in response. The White House has said Trump was not briefed on the intelligence because it was unverified. Possible Measures As the reports of the alleged bounties were becoming public at the end of June, Trump approved plans to withdraw nearly 10,000 U.S. military personnel from Germany, a move that General John Nicholson, the former commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, said sent the wrong signal to Russia. "These troop withdrawals play into Russia's desire to undermine and weaken NATO. If carried out despite these bounties, this will be viewed as a sign of American weakness in the face of Russian threats," Nicholson told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on July 9 dedicated to possible responses to Moscow's alleged actions. Ian Brzezinski, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO during the administration of George W. Bush, recommended the United States transition a temporary armored brigade in Poland into a permanent presence as a response. A permanent contingent of special forces could also be deployed in the Baltics, he said. The Kremlin has strongly opposed permanent troop deployment to Poland and the Baltics, which border Russian territory. Brzezinski told the hearing that the allegations of bounty payments fit into the pattern of Russia's "steady escalation" of interference and aggression on the world stage and that the incremental U.S. response to date had not only "failed to convince [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to reverse course," but may have even emboldened him. "If we are more forceful, if we are more firm, we do have very good prospects of actually restraining Putin's actions and ambitions," he said. The experts also said the United States could impose more sanctions on Russia, including on the GRU, the military intelligence agency that supposedly organized the bounty payments. Russian Support Washington has known for years that Russia has been supporting the Afghan insurgents, including through arms shipments, Milley said during the hearing in the House Armed Services Committee. But the Pentagon did not have "concrete corroborating evidence" or intelligence to show it had been "directing" the Taliban and, he said, "that's a big difference." The United States is still looking into the matter, he said, and, if it's confirmed that the Russians have paid the Taliban bounties, it would be a "big deal." On July 7, the head of U.S. Central Command said in an interview he was "not convinced" that any Russian bounties paid to Taliban militants resulted in the deaths of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Marine General Frank McKenzie said he was familiar with the information and he found it "very worrisome," but added that he didn't find a "causative link" to the deaths of any U.S. soldiers. Russia and the Taliban have denied the claims. The United States has been gradually withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, a key demand of the Taliban and a term of a deal signed between the United States and the Taliban in February. With reporting by AFP, AP and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-bounties- taliban-afghanistan/30717551.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has revealed that she feels there has been 'progress' for women in politics in the years since she was PM. Speaking to this week's Stellar Magazine, the 58-year-old said: 'I think there was framing done around a woman and power that was also driven by gender assumptions and the stereotypes in the back of our brain. 'That we expect men to seek power, but we don't expect women to do it. So I think there was a whole lot about the reaction to me that was incredibly gendered.' Changes: In an interview with Stellar magazine this week, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard (pictured) has revealed that she feels there has been 'progress' for women in politics in the years since she was PM The respected politician added that things are changing for the better. 'But I think we are having a completely different conversation about gender and politics now than we were having then. And for me that's progress, that's a good thing,' Gillard added. In 2012, the-then Australian Prime Minister was praised for her strong stance on sexism and misogyny in government. The 58-year-old said: 'I think there was framing done around a woman and power that was also driven by gender assumptions and the stereotypes in the back of our brain... So I think there was a whole lot about the reaction to me that was incredibly gendered'. Pictured in 2019 Change: 'I think we are having a completely different conversation about gender and politics now than we were having then. And for me that's progress, that's a good thing,' she added Gillard spent 15 minutes attacking leader of the opposition Tony Abbott before the Australian House of Representatives during a debate over a motion to sack the Speaker of the House, Peter Slipper after a series of text messages he sent to his male assistant referring to women in a derogatory way were made public. Gillard was sworn in as Australia's 27th Prime Minister in 2010 after beating sitting Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in a party room vote. Ms Gillard then won the 2010 election after the first hung parliament since 1940 meant they had to form a minority government. Outspoken: In 2012, the-then Australian Prime Minister was praised for her strong stance on sexism and misogyny in government. Pictured in 2012 Strong words: Gillard spent 15 minutes attacking leader of the opposition Tony Abbott before the Australian House of Representatives during a debate over a motion to sack the Speaker of the House, Peter Slipper She survived two more leadership votes in 2012 and 2013 before failing to win a third in late 2013. Kevin Rudd was reinstated as leader of the party before Ms Gillard tendered her resignation. Since leaving politics Ms Gillard has been involved in a host of projects including most recently being named the inaugural chair of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership in London. WeatherWatch reports that there is another chance for rain in the coming week for a number of North Island and western regions. This despite an uptick in high pressure, says a WeatherWatch spokesperson. The high pressure belt looks set to track southwards and allow a large but fairly weak Tasman Sea low to drift into the upper North Island. The eastern and southern South Island look to remain the driest parts of NZ in the coming week. If this low does move in later next week, as the models have been suggesting for days now, then this is more good news for Auckland's water storage issues. WeatherWatch says that last month, they were the only forecaster to paint a more optimistic picture about rain for dry northern regions of the country. We were the first forecaster in 2019 to alert the nation to the developing drought too. Despite the forecast rain, Auckland, along with several other regions in NZ, are still in a significant rainfall deficit from the past 18 months. For farmers and growers the forecast equals more positive news. In fact the weather over the past month has been a net positive for the economy and WeatherWatch.co.nz expects a generally positive run of weather for much of July in economic terms. Todays weather forecast from WeatherWatch: A westerly quarter airflow lies over New Zealand today, spinning out of a large anticyclone centred just to the northwest of the North Island in the Tasman Sea. Northland, Auckland, Waikato & Bay Of Plenty Partly cloudy with the odd shower at times, mainly in the west. Skies may be clear first thing in the morning out east before some cloud moves in. West to southwesterly breezes. Highs: 13-15 Western North Island (including Central North Island) Mostly cloudy with the odd spit or shower, west to northwesterly winds. Highs: 10-14 Eastern North Island Sunny weather after a cold start, light winds tend northwest in the afternoon. Highs: 14-16 Wellington Mostly sunny, a few clouds possible. Northwesterly winds. High: 12-13 Marlborough & Nelson Sunny weather. Light winds for Marlborough, southwesterlies for Nelson. Highs: 13-14 Canterbury Sunny weather, light winds. Highs: 10-13 West Coast Mostly cloudy with the odd shower, some rain moves into South Westland in the evening then further north overnight. Northwesterly winds. Highs: 10-12 Southland & Otago Cloudy areas for Southland, Otago has sunny areas and some high cloud. Northwesterly winds. Highs: 11-12 Donald Trump has ruled out a second phase trade deal with China. He said that due to Beijing's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between the 2 nations has been severely damaged. Donald Trump, US President, for now, has ruled out a second phase trade deal with China. He said that due to Beijings handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between the 2 nations has been severely damaged. In May, Trump said that he was very torn about whether to scrap the first phase of the pact with Beijing. Trump administration had signed a mega part one deal with China last year after intense discussions between the 2 nations. During phase one of the deal, there was a prolonged trade war with China that hung over much of Trumps first term in office. The first measures towards the agreement were taken by tackling problems as well as intellectual property protection and forced technology transfers, while also saying that China will buy at least US$200 billion worth of U.S. goods over two years. Also read: HRD minister defends UGCs decision to conduct final-year university exams Also read: Ashok Gehlot lashes out at BJP for playing politics, offering MLAs 15 crores Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the relations between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated. Trump said China could have stopped the plague but they didnt stop it. They stopped it from going into the remaining parts of China from Wuhan. In addition to this, the two nations have also argued over China forcing a whole new security rule in Hong Kong, limitations on American journalists, therapy of Uyghurs Muslims, and security measures in Tibet. The coronavirus first appeared in Chinas Wuhan province. The virus has taken a withering toll on Americas health and economy. It has claimed over 1,30,000 lives within the US with 3.1 million confirmed cases. In China, the virus toll stands at 4,641 with almost 85,000 confirmed cases. Also read: One of the greatest actors of India: Bollywood pays tribute to late actor Jagdeep For all the latest World News, download NewsX App A UNFPA report, State of World Population 2020, said that more than four million girls are likely to be subjected to female genital mutilation and 12 million may be forced into marriage this year. Rapid population growth has become a huge concern globally over the last three decades. According to the United Nations, the world population reached one billion in hundreds of thousands of years, but in just another 200 years or so, it grew seven-fold. The global population touched the seven billion mark in 2011 and currently, it stands at 7.7 billion. If this trend continues unabated, the numbers are expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100. With rising population, issues like gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights become increasingly important. Likewise the stress humans cause on the environment, not only due to unsustainable growth and development practices, but also simply by existing: From climate change to deforestation to the declining groundwater table in many areas and the potable water supply, these are all problems related to the overpopulation of humans. And in order to raise awareness against these issues, World Population Day is observed on 11 July. The world marked this day for the first time in 1989 and this year, it is commemorating 31st Population Day, reported India Today. History The global population on 11 July 1987 stood at five billion. So, the UN commemorated that day as the "Five Billion Day". Two years later, the then Governing Council of the United Nations Development Program decided to observe World Population Day to draw attention towards population issues. World Population Day 2020 theme Every year, themes are chosen to highlight different issues on World Population Day. This year, theme for the day is How to safeguard the health and rights of women and girls now. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has urged people to pay attention to the needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls amid the global pandemic. It says that the world needs to focus on efforts needed to secure their health and human rights. The UNFPA has also highlighted the increasing cases of violence on women. Rising household tensions, exacerbated by economic pressures and movement restrictions, are sparking violence around the world. Women sheltering at home with their abusers often have nowhere to turn, it said. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, through a blog, has urged people to "safeguard sexual and reproductive health care, protect the health and rights of women and girls, and end gender-based violence." Citing a report by UNFPA, State of World Population 2020, he informed that more than four million girls will be subjected to female genital mutilation and 12 million forced to marry this year. He added that the coronavirus pandemic is expected to make matters worse. Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Sadananda Gowda said that on this day people should focus on the urgency and importance of population issues. India holds 2nd biggest share of the population in the world. This means we have to be more careful towards resources, environment and sustainable development, he asserted. World Population Day seeks to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues. India holds 2nd biggest share of the population in the world. This means we have to be more careful towards resources, environment and sustainable development.#WorldPopulationDay pic.twitter.com/wGUO6n1nJo Sadananda Gowda (@DVSadanandGowda) July 11, 2020 Dr Natalie Kanem, Executive Director, UNFPA tweeted that in times of crisis, protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights is imperative. In times of crisis, protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights is imperative. This #WorldPopulationDay, see why we must safeguard the health and rights of women and girls, especially during the #COVID19 pandemic: https://t.co/anzRJqfVEB#WPD2020 pic.twitter.com/Jx7bBOxoDk Dr. Natalia Kanem (@Atayeshe) July 10, 2020 Member of Parliament and former minister of civil aviation Praful Patel wrote, Let's empower people, develop nations, control population and celebrate this #WorldPopulationDay! Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during an news conference with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank February 10, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC1BF596EF10 July 4 marked the third anniversary of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Israel visit the first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Jewish state. This was but to be expected. Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Modi himself had assiduously cultivated ties with Israel. To be fair, they were not the only ones. Both the Congress and Left parties had also cultivated ties with Israel. Modis visit was, therefore, no surprise. What was surprising was the time it took for him to actually make that trip in the third year of his prime ministership. What is less known or discussed is how adroitly India under Modi has balanced ties with the Palestinians simultaneously, even actually increasing support, proving false the dire predictions that proximity with Israel would come at the cost of Indias decades long support and ties with the Palestinians. Modi first met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2015 on the side lines of the UNGA in New York. Bilateral ties have since rapidly moved ahead. Take for instance the June 24 virtual Ministerial Pledging Conference for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Participating in it Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said As a steadfast supporter of the Palestinian cause, India deeply appreciates the generous support and untiring work of host countries, donors and UNRWA to ensure millions of our Palestinian brothers and sisters displaced from their homeland a life of dignity. This is significant as Israel has been wanting to dismantle the UNRWA and in support of this, in 2018, the US the agencys largest donor cut off funding for it. India is one of the countries that stepped in to try and fill in the shortfall, by increasing its contribution to the agency from $1.25 million to $5 million. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show Under Modi 1.0 and Modi 2.0, there have been many firsts in the India-Palestine bilateral. Delinking its ties with the Palestine from the larger Israel-Palestine conflict, India has since been pursuing its ties with both Israel and Palestine on parallel tracks. In February 2018, Modi became the first Prime Minister to visit Ramallah; in 2015, Pranab Mukherjee became the first President to do so, on his three-nation trip which also included Jordan and Israel. The first ever Foreign Office Consultations between India and Palestine were held in Ramallah in May 2015, while the first ever Joint Commission Meeting between India and Palestine was held in Ramallah in November 2016. Scholarships, financial, academic, and humanitarian aid for Palestinians simultaneously increased under Modi. More recently India has sent medical and humanitarian supplies to Palestine for battling COVID-19. In 2015 India pledged $5 million in aid for Gazas reconstruction after the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, and the same year supported the installation of the Palestinian flag at UN's premises. In fact Modi hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Delhi before travelling to Israel in 2017. India has also continued voting for resolutions in favour of Palestine save once in June 2019 when it voted in support of Israel at the UNs Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to deny observer status to Palestinian human rights organisation Shahed, because the group was reported to be a front for organisation for Hamas. On all others the Modi government continues to vote for Palestine, including the December 2017 landmark resolution regarding the status of Jerusalem in the backdrop of the United States decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and shift its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It also continued to sponsor the resolution Right of the Palestinian People to Self-Determination. India continues to call for the two-state solution, even as New Delhi maintains a strategic silence on the annexation plan for parts of the West Bank floated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. No doubt it is pragmatism and political expediency that drives Indias support for Palestine, but it is worth noting that in March a delegation on the UN Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) visited India for two days to explore ways that India can help mediate the long intractable conflict, given its good relations with both sides. India-Israel ties are now so normal that they do not make the headlines anymore. However, Indias outreach to the Palestinians is worth noting, especially when sections of the media mentions Palestinians and India in the same breadth only in the context of Kashmir, where Indias policies in Kashmir are falsely equated with Israels policies vis-a-vis Palestine. Hi syunus26,There are a number of different reasons why you might not be able to set an amount right now. To start, Test Facilities are generally small - and can only accommodate a certain number of Test Takers each day. While it's unlikely, it is possible that the available GMAT appointments for November have all already been filled. It's also possible that the Facilities that you mentioned administer additional Exams besides the GMAT, so you might be attempting to schedule an appointment against a much larger pool of people who are also attempting to do so; this would obviously limit the number of available 'spots' at any given time. Considering the impact that the Covid-19 virus has had around the world, it's also possible that the Facility has not set a date to reopen yet (so the administrators aren't allowing anyone to schedule appointments right now). It might be worthwhile to contact those Facilities directly and see if they can provide any additional information that would help you with your plans.Beyond that advice, have you started studying for the GMAT yet? What is your Score Goal and how have you been scoring on your practice CATs/mocks?GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,Rich_________________ PEOPLE talk about... [1] 'SUPERMAN' SONNY OSMENA, not wearing a cape and was even half-naked as he was wheeled (or carried?) out from the hospital, after having survived a Covid-19 infection. The explanation: he still had bed sores, which made wearing any clothing painful. The comparison to Superman was made by the former senator-congressman-mayor himself in Facebook posts. John O. turned 84 last January 17. He said God must have a purpose for his longer lease on life. People wonder if that would be anything other than go into politics again. [2] 'RESPECT THE DECISION." Some public officials are urging the people to "respect" the decision of the panel. Most people have no choice, with all the suffering they're now going through. A few may decide to go to court, which looks futile and hopeless. What the officials most probably mean is that people stop bitching about it, especially in public forums. TWG's recommendations The historic vote the House committee on franchises conducted Friday, July 10 -- which killed the bills seeking to grant or renew ABS-CBN's franchise -- was a vote on the report of a technical working group. And the TW group was headed by Rep. Pablo John F. Garcia of Cebu's third district, with Reps. Xavier Jesus D. Romualo of Camiguin's lone district and Stella Luz Quimbo of Marikina's second district. PJ Garcia's group recommended (1) the denial of the franchise application of ABS-CBN and (2) the adoption of a committee resolution entitled " Resolution denying the franchise application of ABS-CBN Corporation to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain radio and television broadcasting stations in the Philippines." Both recommendations were overwhelmingly approved by the House committee on legislative franchises. It was enormous work for the TW group, having to collate and sum up the testimonies and arguments on both sides and present the facts and the law that support its recommendation. And done in record time, as it had to be ready just as soon as the hearings were concluded. Story continues 'Like a guillotine' A TV broadcaster compared morbidly the TWG role thus, "The technical group set up the guillotine and the members of the committee on franchises voted whether it should have the blade should fall on ABS-CBN's neck." Inaccurate and sloppy metaphor since a guillotine is manufactured and has ready-to-assemble parts while the TWG has to base its recommendation on facts and arguments presented at the hearings, like a panel of judges crafting a decision. Besides, the network was already terminated, shut down. It was just applying for a new lease on life. Two haven't explained vote Of the 70 members of the House committee on legislative franchises who voted against ABS-CBN, three were from Cebu, namely: [1] Eduardo R. Gullas of the second district (#18 in list), [2] Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza, TUCP party-list representative (#27), and [3] PJ Garcia (#50) of the third district. Garcia talked to media why he voted for the denial of the network's franchise. He didn't need to since the work of the Technical Working Croup on which the House vote was made speaks for itself. But shouldn't Mendoza explain his vote against ABS-CBN ? The sectoral representative, asked why he didn't want the franchise granted, said his vote spoke for itself. *** Tell us about it. [paseares1@gmail.com] The UN Security Council is due to vote again Saturday on an extension of cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria after Russia and China vetoed a previous measure to the chagrin of Western member states. Authorization for the transport of aid to war-torn Syria, a system in place since 2014, expired Friday following the two countries' veto earlier in the day and the subsequent rejection of a counterproposal by Moscow. Saturday's vote will be on a new draft text submitted overnight by Germany and Belgium, which would provide for a single aid access point into Syria. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called in a tweet Saturday "on all delegations to no longer obstruct a compromise." European countries and the US had wanted to maintain two crossing points on the Turkish border -- at Bab al-Salam, which leads to the Aleppo region, and Bab al-Hawa, which serves the Idlib region. The latest draft measure calls only for the Bab al-Hawa crossing to be maintained "for a period of twelve months," according to a text obtained by AFP. The Council would also ask the UN secretary-general for a report "at least every 60 days." UN authorization allows the international body to distribute aid to displaced Syrians without needing permission from Damascus. But Russia and China argue that the authorization violates Syria's sovereignty, and that aid can increasingly be channeled through Syrian authorities. Russia, Syria's closest ally, has for weeks argued that Bab al-Salam should be removed as an access point, particularly as it leads to the Aleppo region. Bab al-Hawa, on the other hand, allows for aid to be funneled to nearly four million people in the insurgent Idlib region, which the Syrian regime does not control. - Multiple vetoes - Western member states reject Russia's arguments that authorization for cross-border aid violates Syrian sovereignty. Those countries maintain that there is no credible alternative to the cross-border system and argue that Syrian bureaucracy and politics are preventing an effective flow of aid in areas not controlled by the Syrian regime. The US has gone so far as to describe having two entry points as "a red line." The 15 members of the Security Council have until midday Saturday to submit amendments to the latest text before the vote. Russia has asked for two things -- a mention of the impact of unilateral sanctions on Syria (an implicit jab at the United States and Europe), and a statement acknowledging improvements in aid delivery carried out under the Syrian regime. However, those amendments have little chance of being adopted. China, for its part, has called for an amendment highlighting the work of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, "in particular his appeal for an immediate global ceasefire." In January, Moscow succeeded in having the crossing points reduced from four to two and in limiting the authorization to six months instead of a year. This week Russia and China exercised their veto rights as permanent members twice -- on Tuesday and Friday -- even as NGOs and Western countries accused them of politicizing a humanitarian issue. To be adopted, Saturday's draft text must get at least nine of the 15 votes, with none of the five permanent members voting against the measure. Friday's vetoes by Moscow and Beijing marked the 16th for Russia and 10th for China on texts linked to Syria since the war began in 2011. Search Keywords: Short link: As to Kinnock, Kellyanne, I know a little something about that. That was my front-page Times story back in 1987. Biden, as he did on other occasions, got swept away with puffing himself up and sprinted over the factual line. He overidentified with aspects of Kinnocks life in Wales fusing their backgrounds and borrowed some Celtic lyricism. I wrote another story at the same time about Biden lifting chunks of Robert Kennedy speeches. But that was the fault of his speechwriter Pat Caddell, who sprinkled in R.F.K. passages without Biden knowing. Biden dropped out of the race. I ran into him on a back stairway in the Senate when he was getting ready for his news conference. We looked at each other but did not speak. I figured hed never speak to me again. I was wrong. One of his top aides yelled at me and told me I wouldnt be allowed into Robert Borks Supreme Court confirmation hearings, which Biden was chairing. But Biden himself was friendly and fair to me afterward, even when I wrote pieces that were highly critical of the way he conducted the Anita Hill hearings and ripped on him for his hair plugs. He was so un-vengeful that I began to doubt he was really Irish. (His middle name is Robinette, after all.) Biden has a talent for messes and has made some bad judgment calls including voting to authorize the Iraq war. Another side to Lundy Manor outbreak Re: Lundy Manor COVID-19 outbreak declared over, June 2 I have read many of the articles criticizing Lundy Manors handling of the COVID crisis. Both my parents reside at Lundy Manor and I would like to offer another perspective. Before I do this, let me first acknowledge the loss suffered by the families of Lundy Manor. It is tragic and unbearable. None of what follows is intended to minimize that loss. What is lost in the criticism of how owners of long-term care facilities navigated their operations through a pandemic is an acknowledgement of the men and women who showed up every day and tried their best to care for the residents in an unprecedented environment. What we witnessed were dedicated professionals who worked tirelessly and put their own health, and the health of their families, at risk. They continued to do this despite public criticism. Many of these men and women fell ill with the virus and when they recovered, ran back into the burning building to rejoin their colleagues. Not only did they show up, but they did so with humanity and compassion that repeatedly moved us. Whether it was helping my father who suffers from Alzheimers figure out how to FaceTime his grandchildren or care for my mother in the final days of her life so she could die with dignity, what was apparent to us, is the staff cares and the loss and suffering of the residents affects them. They are part of the front-line workers who showed up day after day, not for a pay cheque, but because their hearts are big and when youre a decent person this is what you do. David NowakToronto Region must curb its spending Re: Regional council told by Niagaras business leaders to tighten its belt in wake of pandemic, June 26 According to the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario employers and employees in the Niagara Region are among the hardest hit in Ontario. It's a confirmation of Spencer Fox's presentation to regional council and for the absolute need for council to get serious about dealing with its budget. The unwillingness of regional politicians and bureaucrats to downsize to create badly needed tax relief for Niagara taxpayers is a problem. While many in the private sector are fighting for survival, the Region hasn't been been doing anything to mitigate the incredible financial pressuresith. Frustration among Niagara residents about the Region's growing bureaucracy and wasteful spending is falling on deaf ears. The call to reduce regional government has been out there for quite some time. The police budget should be the first to see cuts. For Coun. Robert Foster to dismiss Mr Fox's message reflects the ignorance that many councillors seem have towards the private sector. The Region and the municipalities need to curb their spending. Nice words and good intentions are not good enough. Rob JanssenLincoln Offer of business expertise appreciated Spencer Fox is president of E.S. Fox Ltd., a company that has been in business in the Niagara region for over 60 years. He has gathered a number of business leaders to offer help to our politicians in the wake of the pandemic. Consider using us as your business consultants, he said in an open letter to council. Fox expressed concern tax revenues are going to be reduced as many businesses will be gone or unable to recover to their former size. . What a novel idea and we the tax-paying public will not have another bill for expensive advisory commissions. Thank you, Mr. Fox and friends, for your invaluable expertise. Our leaders are going to need all the help they can get. Paul D. Scott Welland Letters Welcome We welcome letters from our readers. Please limit submissions to no more than 300 words and send them to letters@niagaradailies.com or mail to 55 King St., Suite 600, St. Catharines, Ont., L2H 3HR. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Please include your name, address and phone number for verification purposes. File image With the coronavirus pandemic gripping every part of the world, there are people who are actively trying to keep and promote sanitisation. A rickshaw, in particular, caught the eye of business tycoon, Anand Mahindra. One silver lining of Covid 19 is that its dramatically accelerating the creation of a Swachh Bharat...!! pic.twitter.com/mwwmpCr5da anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 10, 2020 In a post on Twitter, Anand Mahindra uploaded a video accompanied by the caption, One silver lining of Covid 19 is that its dramatically accelerating the creation of a Swachh Bharat...!! The video, just over a minute long, is that of an auto rickshaw that is green with sanitisation facilities inside. The auto is complete with a hand washing unit, soap dispenser along with potted plants and two waste bins labelled, dry waste and wet waste. The auto is also equipped with drinking water, cooler fan, a phone charging station, Bluetooth speaker to play your own music as well as on-board Wi-Fi. A board on the inside reads, Mumbais first home system auto rickshaw providing excellent service. The rickshaw also has special discounted rates for senior citizens while married couples can ride for free. The outside of the auto has info on the COVID-19 helpline number while the back pays homage to all the essential workers risking their lives to fight the pandemic. 'Gordon, in a marriage you don't admit strangers to the bedroom." That was the doubly ironic response of French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn to his UK counterpart Gordon Brown in 1999 when he rebuffed British efforts to join the deliberations of the Eurogroup. Irony No 1 was that the UK consistently refused to join the EU single currency - but for many years demanded access to the group of finance ministers charged with co-ordinating it. Irony No 2 was the French minister's unfortunate choice of words given subsequent events in his own life leading to a series of sex scandals that ended a very promising career. Tales of the Eurogroup - which Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe heads from Monday - are rarely so racy. But the ironies surrounding this group remain extraordinarily abundant. From Monday, Donohoe must reconcile member states at war about whether access to a 750bn coronavirus economic recovery fund should have strings attached. There will soon be disputes over when and how to reimpose tough EU budget rules, temporarily suspended due to coronavirus devastation. There will be more general pressures to revise that rulebook framed in the mid to late-1990s as the EU now faces its biggest ever recession. Despite Ireland's strong opposition to an EU role in framing tax laws, Donohoe must also play honest broker on a potential EU digital tax on big tech companies such as Facebook and Google, a levy he has opposed in the past. And apart from all that he needs to raise the profile of this Eurogroup, which has sunk in recent years. Given that he is to do that on an unpaid and part-time basis, while steering the Irish economy all the while, it must be tempting for him to ask: "Do ye want anything else with that now, lads?" But, keeping those ironies coming, Donohoe and the Irish Government generally lobbied hard to get this prestigious post, which comes with a great deal of influence and access to information. It comes at a pivotal time for the EU and can, in a roundabout way, benefit Ireland. In Brussels, it was quickly noted that "little Ireland" was yet again punching above its weight in the jobs stakes. Philip Lane, late of the Central Bank in Dublin, is now chief economist at the European Central Bank while Phil Hogan continues as EU trade commissioner. Donohoe's new job as president of the Eurogroup is to head the 19 finance ministers whose countries use the euro. The group exercises political control over the single currency and related aspects of the EU's monetary and economic policy. The Irish minister's term is for two-and-a-half years with a potential to extend to a second term. The history of the group invokes another series of ironies - not least from an Irish standpoint. It came about informally in mid-1998 just before the euro was launched on international money markets in January 1999. It grew in status from 2004 onwards under the leadership of its first president, Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg premier and finance minister who went on to become EU Commission president. It was given legal status in the EU's Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. There was considerable opposition to its establishment and growth in status and power, notably from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She rightly feared it would dilute the power of the bigger EU finance ministers' council, which groups all 27 member states and is called 'Ecofin' in the jargon. Against that, when Nicolas Sarkozy became French president in 2007 he became a big fan of the Eurogroup, and a parallel structure of EU leaders from eurozone countries meeting regularly. Sarkozy believed the Eurogroup could put in some of the missing economic co-ordination policies to underpin the single currency. Merkel dialled down her opposition. Ireland is among the member states that like only some of this - and Donohoe will take that ambiguity with him into the chairperson's seat. The effort put in by Donohoe's two rivals for the position, settled by secret ballot of the 19 eurozone ministers on Thursday, tells us it is worth having. Yesterday the favourite for the job, Spain's finance minister Nadia Calvino, told Spanish radio she had been "betrayed" by at least one member state that did not deliver as promised. Mr Donohoe has been suitably emollient after his win, pledging to be an honest broker seeking compromise between the frugal states in the north - and those in the south seeking more social investment. He obviously came across as more convincing with this message than his other rival, Pierre Gramegna of Luxembourg, who on his second attempt, made much the same pitch as Mr Donohoe. This was the genial Dublin Central Fine Gael TD's second big appointment in just 12 days. (Natural News) The American Marxist Lefts war on our culture has taken a decidedly bigoted turn, as majority whites have now become open targets for blatant racism, all under the color of pursuing equality. Though the United States is a vast and diverse land that has long since shed real institutional racism via constitutional amendments, civil rights movements and laws, the Marxist Left is continuing to push the lie that nothing has changed since the days of slavery. As such, they are using that false narrative as a cudgel to bludgeon society into granting persons of color extra rights that include acts of political and societal retribution against whites, none of whom owned slaves or believe in the institution. And of course, most of this is happening in deep blue citieslike Seattle. Breitbart News reports: The City of Seattle invited white municipal employees to take part in diversity education seminars last month that stressed their complicity in the system of white supremacy and sought to re-educate them to interrupt racism. Last month, the City of Seattles Office of Civil Rights sent an email inviting white City employees to attend a training session on Interrupting Internalized Racial Superiority and Whiteness, a program designed to help white workers examine their complicity in the system of white supremacy and interrupt racism in ways that are accountable to Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Hoping to learn more, I submitted a public records request for all documentation related to the training. The results are disturbing, added Christopher Rufo at City Journal. He noted that after diversity trainers laid out that basic framework for the course, they then push white employees to practice self-talk that affirms [their] complicity in racism, while at the same time working at undoing [their] own whiteness. To do that, they must let go of their white normative behavior while also disabusing themselves of their comfort, physical safety, social status, and relationships with some other white people. Did you catch all that? The blatantly racist haters who devised this course want whites to give up their property, make themselves vulnerable for certain physical harm, get rid of their white friends, and voluntarily relegate themselves to second- and third-class citizens. In a country where everyone is supposedly equal. The American Marxists, who, you will note, flocked to the Democrat Party, not the GOP, have no interest in equality, or tolerance, or dialogue. Their vision is to destroy the existing constitutional construct of all persons are created equal and replace it with a caste system where any American who has white skin is demeaned, denied opportunity, and castigated as automatically condoning bigotry just because they were born white. (Related: U.S. Army investigating email message claiming Make America Great Again and Columbus Day celebrations are signs of white supremacy.) In other words, todays American Marxists want to do to whites what they claim all whites did to persons of color since the founding of the country, which is a blatant lie. As such, Breitbart notes, the City of Seattle isnt the only entity driving this Left-wing cultural revolution. The Public Broadcasting System (PBS), a taxpayer-supported entity, has created Tooles for Anti-Racist Teaching that it provides to educators to help them instruct children about systemic racism, their role in it, and how to fight it, the site reports. The assumption is automatic, if youre still not getting this: Youre white, therefore you are racist and guilty of promoting systemic racism when, in fact, the vast majority of whites would never support such systems, let alone create and participate in them. These kinds of programs are patently unconstitutional and illegal under existing statutes that prohibit what is very obvious discrimination. The people pushing this nonsense need to be held legally accountable. Sources include: Breitbart.com CityJournal.com NaturalNews.com TipRanks Lets talk about quality stocks. Of course, this is the direction that every investor wants to go; but the question is, how to recognize them? Do we go all-in on the big-value, big-name giants? Or do we dig a little deeper, and find the high-end nuggets that are hiding in the sandheap? Weighing in from investment bank Morgan Stanley, chief investment officer Lisa Shalett recommends the latter. She recommends investors to look for beaten-down stocks, equities that have lost value recently but t A white woman who was charged after she was filmed pulling a gun on an unarmed black woman and her daughters broke down in tears during a televised interview in which she describes how she feared for her life after the family blocked her from getting into her car and then started banging on it when she was inside. Jillian Wuestenberg, 32, and her husband, Eric Wuestenberg, 42, have been charged with felonious assault stemming from the July 1 confrontation in Michigan, but they say they are the victims of 'ethnic intimidation' at the hands of Takelia Hill and her family. Cellphone video captured the confrontation outside of a Chipotle restaurant in Orion Township, about 40 miles northwest of Detroit. Jillian Wuestenberg can be seen outside her vehicle shouting, 'Get the (expletive) away! Get away!' while pointing a handgun. She eventually gets back into her vehicle, which her husband drives away. Jillian Wuestenberg (above) broke down in tears saying she feared for her life moments before she pulled a gun on a black woman and her family outside a Chipotle restaurant in Orion Township, Michigan, on July 1 Video from a parking lot outside a Chipotle in Orion Township, Michigan, shows relatives of Takelia Hill, a black woman, standing behind Wuestenberg's van moments before she gets out and pulls a gun. Jillian Wuestenberg claimed that the family blocked the vehicle and banged on it while she and her husband were inside Jillian Wuestenberg (left) and her husband, Eric Wuestenberg, (right) were arrested after a handgun was pulled on a black woman and her daughters during a videotaped confrontation in a restaurant parking lot in Orion Township, Michigan, authorities said last week Hill, who is black, has said the confrontation started when Jillian Wuestenberg bumped into Hill's teenage daughter as they were entering the restaurant. Jillian Wuestenberg told Detroit television station WXYZ on Thursday that she was fearful when the Hill family members blocked her from getting into her vehicle and then banged on the back of it. 'Within moments, a second or two, I had multiple people within two feet of me and I just remember thinking I'm not going home tonight,' Wuestenberg said. She was asked what she meant to do when the video shows her loading a round into the chamber of her handgun and pointing it at the Hill family. 'That meant I'm about to die and I don't want to die,' Wuestenberg said. Christopher Quinn, an attorney for Takelia Hill, declined to allow her to be interviewed Friday by The Associated Press because the court proceedings are pending. Quinn said the cellphone video taken by Hill does not show that the Wuestenbergs' lives were threatened by Hill and her daughters, who were unarmed. A shocking video, taken by the victim, shows a white woman pointing a pistol at Takelia Hill (pictured) and her daughter 'There was no threat of using a weapon or physical force against (the Wuestenbergs),' Quinn said. 'They were in a position to leave the situation. They knew they had their firearms. They came out like Bonnie and Clyde and showed Ms. Hill and her daughters who were in charge.' Dean Greenblatt, an attorney for the Wuestenbergs, said Friday that he believes Takelia Hill violated Michigan's ethnic intimidation statute, which prohibits intimidation, harassment and violence based on a person's race, gender and national origin. Hill is heard in the video yelling profanities and threatening Jillian Wuestenberg, which included saying, 'I will beat your white (expletive), too,' Greenblatt said. The Wuestenbergs also feared that their vehicle's windows were going to be broken. The video also shows that Hill 'rushed up on Jillian Wuestenberg,' he said. 'That would give reasonable cause to believe they would get their white (expletive) beat.' The white couple is from Independence Township and both have concealed pistol licenses. Deputies seized two handguns from the couple after they were detained on the night of July 1 following the encounter. The three-minute video posted online shows part of the interaction. Takelia Hill said that it happened after the white woman bumped into Hill's teenage daughter Makayla as they were entering the fast food restaurant. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard speaks at a news conference last Thursday to confirm one felonious assault charge each has been filed against Eric and Jillian Wuestenberg Speaking to The Detroit News, Makayla said: 'Before I could walk into Chipotle, this woman was coming out and I had moved out the way so she can walk out. 'She bumped me and I said, "Excuse you." And then she started cussing me out and saying things like I was invading her personal space.' The teenager called her mother over. 'I walked up on the woman yelling at my daughter,' Hill said. 'She couldn't see me because her back was to me, but she was in my daughter's face.' The later part of the altercation, which had moved to the restaurant parking lot, was then caught on camera. Hill and her daughter can be seen arguing with Jillian Wuestenberg about how she had allegedly bumped into the daughter. 'She did something wrong, she needs to apologize,' Hill can be heard saying. In the clip, Jillian Wuestenberg is heard saying: 'Get away!'. She then walked back to the car and the pair drove away from the scene (right) 'You're blocking me from getting in my car,' Wuestenberg replies. Husband Eric Wuestenberg then proceeds to get out and open the door for the woman to get in as Hill and her daughter accuse her of being 'ignorant' and a 'dumb a** b****'. The two women then implore the husband to 'do something', to which he replies: 'Who the f*** do you guys think you are? You called her names, she did nothing to you.' As Eric Wuestenberg goes to get back in the car, the daughter can be heard telling him: 'You're very racist and ignorant.' As the altercation continues, the woman says from the passenger seat of the car: 'You can't just walk around calling white people racist. This is not that type of world. White people aren't racist, no one is racist.' As Hill continues to ask the woman why she bumped her daughter, she responds: 'I care about you and I'm sorry if you've had an incident where someone has made you feel like that.' The car window is wound up and the pair go to drive away. Hill is then seen behind the car and appears to punch the vehicle's back window. It is unclear from the video how Hill came to be behind the car. According to Hill, she thought the driver of the car was attempting to hit them so she knocked on the back window of his SUV to stop him. The pair then emerge from the vehicle and the woman points a gun at her. In the clip, she is heard saying: 'Get away!' Hill then replies: 'She got the gun on me, she was about to hit me with the car. Call them, get the license plate. Get the license plate now! Cause you were about to hit me with the car?' Wuestenberg says: 'Don't you f***ing jump behind my car!', shouting repeatedly: 'Get the f*** back!' pointing the gun straight at the victim. She screams at people to get away from her and her vehicle. A woman shouts, 'She's got a gun on me!' and urges someone in the parking lot to call the police. Wuestenberg then lowers the gun, climbs into the passenger seat and the vehicle drives off. Hill said her other two daughters were in the car at the time of the altercation, which has left the family traumatized. Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said that her office viewed the available video and looked at the facts before filing charges. 'It is an unfortunate set of circumstances that tempers run high over, basically, not much of an incident,' she said of the initial alleged spark that caused the confrontation. The shocking video, taken by the victim, shows Jillian Wuestenberg holding a pistol at a family with her hand placed on the trigger at a car park in Orion Township, Michigan Bouchard said people are 'picking sides' and that threatening calls were made to the sheriff's office dispatch center after the videos were posted online. 'We dont see sides. We see facts,' he said. 'There's a lot of tension in our society, a lot of tension among folks and people with each other. 'I would just say this, we are asking and expect our police - and rightfully so - to deescalate every situation they possibly can, and we should be doing that. But I would say that needs to happen with us individually in our own lives and situations, that we interact with each other and deescalate those moments.' DANBURY With headlines lauding Connecticuts low coronavirus rates, it may seem like an odd time to ramp up testing. But health experts say this is the ideal time to expand, particularly to rectify disparities in traditionally underserved communities where Black and Hispanic people were hardest hit by the virus. In public health, the most effective time for testing and contact tracing is when the (infection) numbers are low, said Kara Prunty, Danburys acting health director. Although the state of Connecticut has recently reported the lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in the country, it is important that our residents continue to practice social distancing, use facial coverings, participate in contact tracing, adhere to self-quarantine recommendations, and get tested if there has been an exposure. More Information For a comprehensive list of COVID testing sites across the state and a helpful fact sheet about testing, visit https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/Covid-19-Knowledge-Base/COVID-19-Testing For a list of sites in Danbury to get tested for COVID visit https://3ezdec3429u12dn5003td6zh-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/07082020-Press-Release-COVID-19-Testing-Sites.pdf See More Collapse Two federally funded health centers in Danbury are leading the local push to expand testing among the citys poor and immigrant communities with pop-up testing sites at storefront churches, mobile testing teams in city neighborhoods, and expanded hours for free tests at their two downtown Danbury locations. The plan is to identify the silent carriers those who have no symptoms and identify people in contact with those carriers, so they can be tested. In this way, along with other testing strategies, Danbury and cities across the state hope to prevent a surge of new infections that are ravaging states in the South and West. Its a great effort, said Mayor Mark Boughton, referring to the citys partnership with the Community Health Center and the similarly named, but separate, Greater Danbury Community Health Center. The Community Health Center in Danbury, which has five other locations including Stamford and Norwalk, has two mobile testing teams dedicated to western Connecticut, and has already conducted testing at two Danbury churches since it launched the initiative last week. Before, it was really hard to get a test unless you were in a high-risk group or you were symptomatic, said Amy Taylor, vice president for the Community Health Centers Western Region. But now as part of our agreement with the state to make sure our most vulnerable populations have access to testing, testing is open to everybody. The Greater Danbury Community Health Center, meanwhile, is working with City Hall and local churches to establish testing sites where people feel most comfortable. Aside from the houses of worship, we are open to working with other nonprofits, such as food pantries, to set up pop-up testing sites, said Katie Curran, chief operating officer and general counsel for the GDCHCs parent organization, Connecticut Institute for Communities. As a federally qualified health center, we are in a good position to do this, because we already treat a large number of Medicaid patients, and they feel comfortable with us. The expanded COVID-19 testing follows the decommissioning of the drive-through coronavirus testing sites at Danbury and Norwalk hospitals at the beginning of the month. The hospitals parent company, Nuvance Health, said the move was in response to a steady drop in coronavirus cases here and in nearby New York that led the company to move testing to its primary care locations. The testing expansion in Danbury is similar to initiatives in other Connecticut cities such as Bridgeport, where testing is being coordinated through houses of worship. Under one pilot program, for example, the nonprofit 4-CT gives churches $500 grants to support testing, provided through local health organizations. Of 21 churches in the pilot, six are in Bridgeport. Latest focus The focus on expanding testing to communities of color is the latest priority of Gov. Ned Lamont, as Hartford lawmakers look to the third phase of reopening the state. Early in the coronavirus crisis, the states focus was on testing health care workers, who were taking the brunt of the cases in hospitals. As the crisis spread to nursing homes, the focus shifted to testing staff and vulnerable and older residents. At the same time, state statistics pointed out Black and Hispanic people were catching the virus and dying from it at higher rates than white people. Specifically, Black and Hispanic people are three times more likely to get COVID-19 and twice as likely to die from the virus. Then on May 25, a new national crisis eclipsed the coronavirus public health emergency when a handcuffed Black man was killed on a Minneapolis street while a white police officer who had him in custody kept a knee pressed on the victims neck. Weeks of civil disobedience and protests forced the nation into a conversation about ending systematic racism and police brutality. At the same time, Lamont said underserved urban communities would be Connecticuts next focus for widespread testing. Thats when Danburys largest health centers sprang into action. We worked with the state on setting the testing payment rate, and we found ways that we can do hundreds of tests in a couple of hours, Curran said. Part of the outreach in Danbury and other cities is teaching that people should be tested regularly, even if they dont have symptoms. Another challenge is getting people to divulge contact information, so if they test positive, contact tracers can identify those who came in contact with the person to contain the spread of new infections. It is difficult work, but we do (contact tracing) all the time for things that are not COVID-related, said Prunty, adding said 5,000 Danbury resdidents have been tested since May 20. We do have staff that are trained to do it. rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342 Mumbai, July 11 : Actor Arjun Kapoor, who has stepped out to shoot after almost four months, says everyone will have to adjust to the new normal. Arjun said: "I think every one of us will have to adjust to the new normal and slowly start resetting our lives. Things have changed forever but we will all have to work, we will all have to support our families.A "So, everyone concerned will make their environment as safe as possible so that all are protected and we resume some sort of normalcy on our work front. I shot for the first time after 4 months." The "Panipat" actor said that adequate safety measures on the sets of his commercial shoot put him at complete ease. "I have to admit that I was a bit jittery at the start but seeing all the safety measures in place, I became absolutely fine in no time. Naturally, the initial days of us stepping out to work again will be a little difficult for all of us psychologically. But today, I'm more confident of shooting and being around people on the sets because I have seen the extensive preparations that people are taking to ensure we have the highest safety measures on the sets," he said. Arjun has a number of shoots lined up in the days to come. "It felt very good to resume work and I'm looking forward to my next shooting days," he added. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Kate and Jerry McCann are 'on tenterhooks' as Portuguese divers search a well six miles from the Praia da Luz resort where Madeleine vanished 13 years ago. Detectives from the investigative Policia Judiciaria coordinated a search of the underground reservoir on Thursday morning. A 15-strong team of rescue firefighters, including expert divers, spent 12 hours erecting a lower mechanism for the well, before they could plunge into the murky water to search for any trace of missing Madeleine. They were acting on a tip-off that prime suspect Christian Brueckner's van was often in the area. The well, on the outskirts of the village of Budens, in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, is just six and a half miles from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine was last seen 13 years ago. Overgrown by bushes and weeds, the pool is on an abandoned farm. Sources yesterday said the hunt may be extended to other nearby wells. Madeleine's parents Kate and Jerry 'are on tenterhooks', their former spokesperson told the Sun this evening, adding the couple refuses to believe their child is dead until her remains are found. British police, who are not involved in the search, are keeping the couple up to date on any developments. File photo dated 30 April 2017, shows the parents of missing Madeleine McCann, Kate and Gerry McCann. The couple 'are on tenterhooks' after police began searching a third well for the remains of their daughter in Portugal today This is the third well in the Algarve that Portuguese police have been searching for the body of Madeleine McCann Portuguese police have launched searches for Madeleine McCann's body on the Algarve. The searches are said to have been conducted in wells in Vila do Bispo, a 20 minute drive west of Praia da Luz where the British youngster vanished in May 2007 Portuguese police have launched searches for Madeleine McCann's body on the Algarve. The searches are said to have been conducted in wells in Vila do Bispo, a 20 minute drive west of Praia da Luz where the British youngster vanished in May 2007 It is close to a road just a short drive from the Ocean Club resort where the youngster was staying with her family Overgrown by bushes and weeds, the pool is on an abandoned farm The family's ex publicist Clarence Mitchell said: 'Kate and Gerry want answers more than anyone but while the Metropolitan Police are still treating Madeleine's abduction as a missing people's rather than a murder inquiry it gives them a glimmer of hope that she could still be alive. 'They continue to hope until there is incontrovertible evidence which proves she is dead. They are being kept informed every step of the way.' The well, the third in the Portuguese police's search since Thursday, is close to a road just a short drive from the Ocean Club resort where the youngster was staying with her family. Prime suspect Christian Brueckner is understood to have known the area well. Portuguese broadcaster RTP claimed detectives have 'fundamental evidence' to be able to prove the 43-year-old German is responsible for Madeleine's disappearance. News of the latest hunt comes after detectives undertook searches in wells in Vila do Bispo, a 20 minute drive west of Praia da Luz where the British youngster vanished. Portuguese police have launched searches for Madeleine McCann's body on the Algarve. The searches are said to have been conducted in wells in Vila do Bispo, a 20 minute drive west of Praia da Luz where the British youngster vanished in May 2007 The German suspect had lived in a warehouse outside Praia da Luz for several years but moved into a campervan just before Madeleine vanished Portuguese broadcaster RTP claimed detectives have 'fundamental evidence' to be able to prove 43-year-old Breuckner is responsible for Madeleine's disappearance Investigators reportedly brought in a team of specialist rescue firefighters who included expert divers to examine the water wells in Vila do Bispo on the Algarve. The broadcaster has also linked the German 43-year-old to another missing persons' case in the Algarve resort of Silves. RTP reporter Sandra Felgueiras last week revealed Breuckner had been arrested on suspicion of exposing himself to children in a playground a short drive from Praia da Luz in 2017 when he was on the run from German authorities. She also quizzed a couple the convicted paedophile used to live with in Portugal who claimed a Scotland Yard neighbour had been helping Algarve investigators probe Madeleine's disappearance. There was no immediate official response from Portuguese police to the RTP well search claims. The searches are said to have involved officers from Portugal's GNR force, which tends to cover rural areas, as well as PJ investigators and the fire rescue team. However, Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha said no evidence Madeleine's body had been abandoned in the wells had been found. Portuguese police have discovered 'fundamental evidence' to be able to prove suspect Christian Brueckner (right) is responsible for Madeline McCann's (left) disappearance After the recent appeal which led to Brueckner being identified as a suspect, Portuguese police were said to be on standby to search wells and other areas German prosecutors pinpointed as possible burial sites once they had extra information. The convicted child sex offender, who was born in Wurzburg under a different name believed to be Fischer, is currently behind bars in Germany and serving 21 months for dealing drugs in the German resort of Sylt. 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. The serial sex offender is also facing a separate sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. During the attack, Brueckner reportedly bound, gagged, blindfolded and whipped his victim with a metal cane before raping her for 15 minutes. In late 2008, the sex offender was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant while living on the streets of Milan for the rape of the American pensioner and taken back to Germany where he was charged. In December 2019, a court in Braunschweig, near Hanover in north-central Germany, where he had lived before fleeing to Italy, convicted him of the rape after DNA from his hair was found in the woman's holiday home. The house where German paedophile Christian Brueckner lived in Praia da Luz shortly before Madeleine McCann went missing The house where German paedophile Christian Brueckner lived in Praia da Luz shortly before Madeleine McCann went missing Madeleine McCann vanished from this holiday apartment in the popular Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz - Apartment 5a - while her parents were with friends nearby and regularly checking on their three sleeping children The suspect, who is in prison in Germany, has been linked to an early 1980s camper van - with a white upper body and yellow skirting, registered in Portugal - which is seen here on the Algarve in 2007 What do we know about Maddie murder suspect Christian Brueckner and his criminal past? 1976: Christian Brueckner is born in Wurzburg under a different name, believed to be Fischer. He was adopted by the Brueckner family and took their surname. 1992: Christian Brueckner is arrested on suspicion of burglary in his hometown of Wurzburg, Bavaria. 1994: He is given a two-year youth jail sentence for 'abusing a child' and 'performing sex acts in front of a child'. 1995: Brueckner arrives in Portugal as an 18-year-old backpacker and begins working in catering in the seaside resorts of Lagos and Praia da Luz. But friends say he became involved with a criminal syndicate trafficking drugs into the Algarve. September 2005: He dons a mask and breaks into an apartment where he rapes a 72-year-old American tourist. The victim was bound, gagged, blindfolded and whipped with a metal cane before being raped for 15 minutes. She said afterwards that he had clearly enjoyed 'torturing' her before the rape. April 2007: He moves out of a farmhouse and into a campervan now linked to the crime. The farmhouse is cleaned and a bag of wigs and 'exotic clothes' is found. May 3, 2007: Madeleine McCann is snatched at around 10pm from her bed as her parents eat tapas with friends yards away. Brueckner's mobile phone places him in the area that night. He returns to his native Germany shortly after that. October 2011: He is sentenced to 21 months for 'dealing narcotics' in Niebull, in northern Germany. 2014: He moves to Braunschweig where he starts running a town-centre kiosk. He then goes back to Portugal with a girlfriend. 2016: He is back in Germany. He is given 15 months in prison for 'sexual abuse of a child in the act of creating and possessing child pornographic material'. May 3, 2017: Brueckner is said to be in a bar with a friend when a ten-year anniversary appeal following Madeleine's disappearance is shown on German television. He is said to have told him in a bar that he 'knew all about' what happened to her. He then showed his friend a video of him raping a woman. MailOnline understands the friend went to police shortly afterwards. June 2017: He heads back to Portugal and extradited again to Germany. The reason was a sentencing of the Braunschweig district court to 15 months' imprisonment for the sexual abuse of a child. August 2018: After his release from prison he lives on the streets. But he was jailed again for drug offences. September 2018: Brueckner is arrested in Milan, Italy and extradited to Germany and put on trial for raping the American tourist in 2007 after a DNA match to hair found at the crime scene. July 2019: He is jailed for 21 months for drug dealing in the northern German resort of Sylt. August 2019: Brueckner is charged with the rape of the American tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005. December 2019: He is convicted of rape of extortion of the tourist based on DNA evidence. He is given a seven year sentence, but this has not been imposed pending an appeal. June 3, 2020: Scotland Yard and the German police reveal that that they have identified a suspect in the Maddie McCann case June 4, 2020: Prosecutors in Braunschweig, where he lives, say they believe Madeleine McCann has been murdered, says spokesman Hans Christian Wolters. He is named in the German press as the prime suspect. Advertisement However he is appealing the rape verdict on the grounds that his extradition from Italy was illegal, with Germany's Federal High Court due to rule on the case. Brueckner was an 18-year-old backpacker when he moved from Germany to Praia da Luz in Portugal in 1995 after serving part of a two-year sentence for molesting a six-year-old girl in Wurzburg. He began working in catering in seaside resorts before reportedly becoming involved in trafficking drugs into the Algarve, according to his friends. Earlier this year, Brueckner was identified as the prime suspect into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann- who was three-years-old at the time she went missing. German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters claimed authorities had 'concrete evidence' that the three-year-old was killed, and insisted that 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.' Prosecutors in Germany also labelled Brueckner a 'multiple sexual predator' and claimed that he had been convicted of a child sex offence in his native Germany when he was just 17. Despite the new information, the drifter, who reportedly has as many as 17 criminal convictions, was apparently overlooked by Portuguese police. 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. In June, it emerged Brueckner became a suspect for Scotland Yard in 2017 when he was said to have told a friend at a bar he 'knew all about' what had happened to Madeleine. According to Sky News, Brueckner was prompted to make the comment when her face appeared on a TV screen in a German pub during a UK appeal for information on the tenth anniversary of her disappearance. The convicted child sex offender reportedly went on to show his friend a video of him raping a woman. It is understood that Brueckner lived in a remote farmhouse in Portugal from 1999 to 2006. The remote property is surrounded by disused water wells and sits on a hillside which leads on to a footpath to the beach where the little girl played. The farmhouse is also a 25-minute walk to the Ocean Club complex where Madeleine was on holiday with her parents and her twin siblings Sean and Amelie. In 2014, detectives investigating the disappearance of the little girl sealed off an area of scrubland close to the farmhouse and used a ground-penetrating radar to examine whether there had been a disturbance in the soil. Earlier this month, detective revealed a new mobile phone lead into the Madeleine McCann case after a viewer on Germany's Crimewatch recognised the phone number that suspect Bruckner is said to have phoned on the night the young girl vanished. Details of a call involving a mobile number allegedly used by Brueckner were revealed on the German show Aktenzeichen XY Ungelost. Police previously said a phone linked to Brueckner had received a 30-minute call between 7.32pm and 8.02pm on the night Madeleine disappeared from the Ocean Club apartment complex. Last month the Metropolitan Police launched a fresh appeal into the disappearance of Madeleine and appealed for information about Brueckner and his movements. DCI Mark Cranwell, from Operation Grange, said: 'Following our appeal for information yesterday, I want to thank those members of the public who have contacted us. 'As of 4pm today, Thursday June 4, 2020, we have received over 270 calls and emails into the incident room. 'We are pleased with the information coming in, and it will be assessed and prioritised. 'We continue to urge anyone with information to come forward and speak with us.' Following their daughter's disappearance in May of 2007, parents Kate and Gerry McCann, who had been dining in a nearby tapas restaurant as their children slept at their apartment, were questioned by the Portuguese authorities. However they were soon found to be innocent and have since continued their long battle in trying to find their missing daughter. German authorities are now trying to track down Brueckner's ex-girlfriend Nakscije Miftari, who may hold key information about Madeleine's disappearance. With its assertion of claim to Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Bhutan, China has laid bare its expansionist ambitions yet again. Hitherto, Beijing claimed territory in western and north-central Bhutan. It has now added a third chunk of territory to its border disputes with Bhutan. The Bhutanese government had sought a grant from the US-based Global Environment Facility for upgrading infrastructure in the wildlife sanctuary. China opposed its application, claiming it is disputed territory. Seeking to bolster its claim, Chinese officials said that the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary area is among the disputed territories that Chinese and Bhutanese officials have been discussing in negotiations to resolve their boundary disputes. Bhutan has shot down Chinas claim. It has asserted that it exercises sovereignty over the Sakteng area and that this has never figured in talks between the two countries. Thimphus assertion underscores Chinas expanding territorial ambitions in the Himalayas as well as its disingenuousness. Bhutan must stand firm; else, China will sense weakness and demand more from it. Chinas new claims in Bhutan are of concern to India for several reasons. For one, Bhutan is a friend and any undermining of its territorial sovereignty has to be taken seriously by Delhi. Importantly, the Sakteng sanctuary adjoins Arunachal Pradesh, where China claims some 90,000 sq km of Indian territory. Tawang is close to the sanctuary. It is likely that Chinas claim over the Sakteng sanctuary area is aimed at strengthening its access to Tawang in order to capture control over it in future. Since May, China has stealthily intruded and taken control of Indian territory. While its focus in recent months has been on the western sector, there have been intrusions in Sikkim and a build-up of Chinese forces near Arunachal, too. While engaging India in de-escalation talks relating to the western sector, China could be preparing for intrusions into Bhutan, Sikkim or Arunachal Pradesh. The Narendra Modi governments failure to respond early and robustly to Chinas build-up of forces in Ladakh left India deeply vulnerable to a Chinese landgrab in the western sector. It must anticipate and act to defend the LACs eastern sector. India has been improving its border infrastructure and military capability in the eastern sector. However, plans to construct a road linking Lum La near Tawang with eastern Bhutan are yet to get Thimphus nod. The proposed road will speed up mobilisation of Indian troops to the border in the event of a Chinese assault on India but also should the PLA target eastern Bhutan. Delhi must work closely with Thimphu to keep the Chinese away. The first look poster of Prabhas20, now titled as Radhe Shyam has impressed the netizens. The poster featuring Prabhas and Pooja Hegde looked as refreshing as ever, as the duo struck a romantic dance pose. But what gained the attention of the netizens is an edited version of the first look that surfaced on the internet soon after the release. Apparently, the Nagaon police from Assam have improvised the first look to give it a twist, that goes absolutely with the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the picture that has gone viral, the actors can be seen striking the same pose as in the original, but wearing a blue mask. The tweet that came along with the edited poster read that the police is sending this message through a photoshopped poster after the attempt to call Prabhas failed. The tweet read, "Ask your loved ones to put Mask whenever they are out. We tried calling Prabhas but failed. Now sending the message through photoshop." In the picture, the Nagaon police have also used an image from the pooja ceremony of the film wherein Prabhas and Pooja Hegde can be seen maintaining distance while wearing an 'edited' mask. The picture encouraging the COVID-19 norms has been receiving huge appreciation from every nook and corner of the nation, which indeed has helped the movie to gain the attention it needed amid the lockdown. Talking about the movie, Radhe Shyam helmed by Radha Krishna Kumar is bankrolled by Gopikrishna Movies and UV Creations. The highly-anticipated movie features Bhagyashree, Murli Sharma, Priyadarshi Pullikonda, Sachin Khedekar, Kunaal Roy Kapur and Sasha Chettri in pivotal roles. The pan-India project touted to be a romantic thriller is slated to release in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi. Radhe Shyam Director Radha Krishna Kumar's Account Blocked By Instagram! Radhe Shyam First Look Poster Out! Prabhas And Pooja Hegde Are Head Over Heels In Love! Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Estonia, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Estonia and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Estonia (issuer rating A1) is supported by the country's "baa1" economic strength, reflecting a very open and small economy that is gradually expanding into more high value-added services sectors. However, the economy's small size and openness also make it vulnerable to external shocks. Estonia's "aa3" score for institutions and governance strength reflects the country's historically strong fiscal discipline and a track record of prudent and forward-looking economic policies while its "aaa" score for fiscal strength reflects the government's very low debt burden. Estonia's "baa" score for susceptibility to event risk reflects geopolitical risks related to the country's tense relations with Russia. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. 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Eyes are turning to the skies above the Red Bull Ring, with qualifying likely to be affected by heavy rain. Max Verstappen is happier with his Red Bull than he was a week ago, but his boss Dr Helmut Marko told Osterreich the weather forecast "can mess everything up". "It is supposed to rain buckets on Saturday," he said. "I'm curious to see if we can do qualifying at all." Indeed, F1 race director Michael Masi agreed that the weather forecast is "very bad". "We could have to move qualifying to Sunday morning," he is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport. Mercedes' Toto Wolff said: "There should be torrential rain all day tomorrow, so I don't rule out that the second practice session will be regarded as qualifying." In that session on Friday, Dutchman Verstappen was fastest ahead of last weekend's winner Valtteri Bottas. World champion Lewis Hamilton is struggling. "We're a little in the dark," Wolff told RTL. "The balance was not good on either car, but it was a catastrophe for Lewis. "We are certainly the team that has lost the most compared to Verstappen." A stand-out performer is Racing Point, whose Sergio Perez was never outside the top three on Friday. "If we stop making strategic mistakes, we can be the third best team," said team boss Otmar Szafnauer. "We can keep up with Albon and we are faster than McLaren, Ferrari and Renault." Ferrari, meanwhile, still do not look fast in Austria despite running a new front wing and floor. A more upbeat Sebastian Vettel said it felt like "a different car compared to last week". Finally, Daniel Ricciardo admits he is "bruised" but otherwise fine after a heavy practice crash, while Lando Norris only got through the session thanks to painkillers for back and chest pain. "Outside the cockpit I feel nothing, but as soon as my body is under strain I'm struggling," said last week's podium-getter. (GMM) San Quentin and other California prisons are home to some of the nations worst coronavirus outbreaks as well as those for which the state is most to blame. Gov. Gavin Newsoms announcement Friday that the state would release up to 8,000 more prisoners by next month is therefore welcome but probably not equal to the scope of the problem. While its not clear how many would be released from San Quentin, the site of over 1,500 infections and seven deaths, Assemblyman Marc Levine of San Rafael told The Chronicle he was informed that about 100 would come from the Marin County prison. Thats not many given that several health experts have urged the state to reduce the facilitys population of 3,500, which is above capacity, by half. The surging coronavirus problem at San Quentin and other prisons threatens to impose more extrajudicial death sentences. It also endangers prison staffs and the broader community while burdening hospitals. San Quentins medical facilities are so overwhelmed that its prisoners are in hospitals in Marin and three other counties. That is why state officials from Newsom down need to act quickly to solve a problem of their own creation. The fatal disaster at San Quentin began with a bungled transfer of infected inmates to the previously virus-free facility, which led to the ouster of the systems statewide medical director. Beyond more early releases, especially of older and medically vulnerable inmates, the state will need to provide more emergency care on prison grounds and find safer quarters for those who cant be let go. Prison staff need protection, too. State officials have reduced the prison population by more than 10,000 since January, to under 113,000, but Newsom has favored a slower pace than some medical experts, judges and advocates have called for, focusing on inmates close to the end of their sentences. Implicit in the states thinking is the public risk that releases pose, especially from a maximum-security prison such as San Quentin. Newsom has also expressed concern that released prisoners may have nowhere to go, though the anxious families of those incarcerated beg to differ. The federal courts, which have overseen state prison conditions for a decade, are urging Sacramento to act more quickly, chiefly through enough releases to ease crowding. Newsom this week toured the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, which handles many of the prison systems sickest and frailest inmates. He was accompanied by U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar, who has pressed state authorities to do more to stem the crowding that leads to more infections. At best, the prisons are taking emergency steps: shipping sick inmates to local hospitals and setting up treatment tents on San Quentins grounds. That leaves the remaining inmates penned in their cells, another added punishment imposed by a badly run prison system. 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. The ability to predict and plan for every storm event and microburst that suddenly forms during the monsoon season and causes flooding is nearly impossible, Traphagen said. The San Pedro is still a wild, free-flowing river, and by building now, as the monsoon creeps north from Sonora, Kiewit is simply rolling the dice and tempting the monsoon gods not to let out a mighty roar, Traphagen said. The contract for the San Pedro River project was awarded in May 2019 to Southwest Valley Constructors, a New Mexico-based affiliate of construction giant Kiewit. The river project was part of $1.3 billion worth of contracts to build 20 miles of border wall in Cochise County and 43 miles southwest of Tucson. Field did not say how much the specific stretch of wall across the river would cost. Instead, he referred to the $408 million cost of the contract to build the 20 miles of wall in Cochise County, including the San Pedro River. Roughly a half-mile of new wall was built recently to the east of the San Pedro River. To the west of the river, steel crossbeams known as Normandy barriers run for hundreds of feet before the barrier transitions to an 18-foot steel bollard wall built a decade ago. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Hardship can hit at any time and from anywhere. Its not a matter of if, but when. They can pack a punch that disorients and discourages. And if discouragement sets in, it can be dangerous. As Howard Hendricks said, Discouragement is the anesthetic the devil uses on a person just before he reaches in and carves out his heart. If we lose heart we lose hope and it gets dark quick! Hope is fuel for the future. The fuel for change. The fuel to fight the good fight of faith! James Chapter 1 addresses how to have hope amidst adversity. It is one of the most important lessons in life to learn and to re-learn. Has hardship hit you? Hear this! First, God will never fail you in hardship. James writes, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:2-3) The word count speaks of using mental muscle to think differently about trials. We are to see them as a testing of our faith. What exactly does this mean? My grandfather was a Navy test pilot and a leader of a squadron at North Island in San Diego. A few days before Pearl Harbor he was testing a plane when shortly after take-off the engine failed and tragically my grandfather lost his life. It was the plane that failed the test, not my grandfather. The point? We should see adversity as a testing of our faith and therefore an opportunity to experience Gods faithfulness that never fails. His promises never fail us. His love never fails us. His strength never fails us. God never fails! Its one of the reasons James says to count it all joy! What does the faithfulness of God look like? We know Jesus is true. (John 14:6) We know that the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. (Heb. 13:5) We know that He indwells us and works through us. (Rom. 8:11) We know that He will provide for our needs. (Phil. 4:13) We know that the power of Christ rests upon us in our weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9-10) We know that when we dont know how to pray the Spirit intercedes for us. (Rom. 8:26) We know all things work together for the good in transforming our lives more like Jesus. (Rom. 8:28-29) We know that nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:39) We know that God ...has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. (2 Tim. 1:7) The testing of our faith moves us from knowing the truth about the Lord to afresh experiencing the truth of who He is. Be encouraged, there is hope! Second, the Lords aim is to work a heroic perseverance and staying power in your life. James says the testing of your faith produces patience. The word patience carries the idea of enduring under pressure. Our natural inclination amidst adversity is to escape to some zero gravity black hole of distraction, self-medication or reactive anger which inevitably results in atrophy of growth and godly character. The Lord wants us to trust and obey Him amidst the hardship and not bail-out or escape because growth is developed when we persevere and trust God in the struggle. The growth can mean not to look back but look forward and press on as the Lord has called us to! It can mean being more available to God and saying, Here I am Lord, use me! It can mean having greater dependence on God declaring in worship and prayer, Lord nothing is too hard for you! It can mean being committed to listen and learn and understand amidst relational conflict! It can mean to forgive and to love unconditionally. James says, But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:4) Think of the apostle Paul who went through a process of learning a God-sufficiency in whatever circumstances he was in. (Phil. 4:13) When Pauls life was threatened he responded, to live is Christ to die is gain! (Phil. 1:21) When he suffered from a debilitating thorn in His flesh he held onto Jesus promise, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9) When Paul was arrested and imprisoned he didnt give up on making Jesus known but wrote the inspired Word of God that impacted not only his generation but thousands of years of World history. (2 Pet. 3:16) Paul wrote, I have learned in whatever state I am, to be contentI can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:11-13) The Lord doesnt want us to be a puppet of our circumstances and feelings but rather to persevere and watch His faithfulness and power on display in our life! Third, the Heavenly Father promises to answer the prayer Lord give me wisdom. Wisdom is different than knowledge. Knowledge is the accumulation of facts. Wisdom is the right application of knowledge. Knowledge says that animal with a white stripe down its back is a skunk. Wisdom says, Im outta here! Pr. 16:16 says How much better to get wisdom than gold. Amidst adversity we need wisdom. We need the right application for life! And the Lord promises to give it to us, liberally and without reproach... (James 1:5; 17-18) It is a guarantee that the Lord will answer the prayer Lord give me wisdom. So give the Lord a blank page to speak into your life. He wants to get really specific with you. The promise is not necessarily to change the circumstances, but to change the way you think, to change you, to refine you in the hard places. Yet changing the way you think, more often than not, is the beginning of changing the circumstances. A few years ago the Jerusalem Post ran an article on a man named Avi Yaron who was involved in a motorcycle accident. After being taken to the hospital to care for his injuries they discovered that unrelated to the accident, he had an inoperable brain tumor. The doctors told Avi that they were years away from the technology they needed to bring his healing through surgery. So, how did Avi respond? Well, his adversity led him to think differently, which then led him to spearheading his own company that developed the technology that saves thousands of lives globally. God can use your adversity to inspire you to think differently which can then lead to potential change in your circumstances. The Lord will give you wisdom. There is hope! Fourth, when hardship strikes it is important to choose what is permanent over what is perishable. Adversity has a way of revealing what is of permanent value. It has a way of saying that nothing lasts forever except the throne of God, the will of God, the Word of God, the love of God, the man and woman of God, what we do for God and the Kingdom of God! In context James encouraged those who were suffering in poverty to focus on their spiritual wealth in Christ. And to those who were materially wealthy to change the way they think, humble themselves and pass the test of having right perspective to what is truly permanent because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. (James 1:9-11) If hardship has hit you, know that the Lord promises the crown of life (the crown of the overcomer!) to those who are patient under the pressure and persevere while trusting in the promises of God. James says, Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12) It is important when thinking of the crown of the overcomer to think of Jesus. At the Cross, a crown of thorns was placed on His head. Thorns are symbolic of sin. That Passover, Jesus gave His life for the sins of the world. After He cried on the Cross, It is finished, He yielded up His Spirit and the veil in the Temple that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom! (Matt. 27:50-54) It was a demonstration that now everyone has direct access to the Heavenly Father through Christ and as Paul wrote that Gods peace plan for man is in the Jewish Messiah. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation so as to create in Himself one new man from the two through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:14) Jesus first came to bear the Cross, but when He returns, He will come back as the crowned KING OF KING and LORD OF LORDS in a love rescue amidst the darkest hour in human history bringing justice and shalom to the world. (Rev. 19:11-16) Jesus is the King of reclamation! Jesus is the King of renewal! He is the King of Resurrection! There is always hope in Christ no matter how difficult the hardship. Never give up! U.S. Special Representative on Iran Brian Hook says that Washingtons sanctions have cut Irans oil exports from 2.5 million barrels a day in May 2018 to 70,000 barrels in 2020. Hook who was speaking at a video-seminar on Iran and Venezuela organized by the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C. said, This is the price the regime pays for acting like an outlaw regime. The Islamic Republic and Venezuela he said, are rich countries that are governed by thieves. The other speaker at the event was Elliot Abrams, the State Departments Special Representative for Venezuela, who also pointed out that corruption was a part of Venezuelas 95 percent decline in oil exports, compounded by U.S. sanctions. Hook, who has just returned from a trip to the Middle East drew a parallel between Iran and some of the other regional countries, reiterating that when one visits Arab Gulf states and Israel it becomes clear that the Iranian people have been robbed of decades of progress. Hook also maintained that the Iranian model of governance is being rejected both inside the country and in places where the Islamic Republic exercises influence, such as Lebanon and Iraq. He pointed out widespread protests in all three countries as a clear sign that people are rejecting the model presented by the Iranian regime. He added that the difference is the Gulf Arab states and Israel are investing in their own people while Iran is squandering its resources on terrorism and anti-Semitism. Tehran rejects accusations of terrorism and argues that its allies in the region are defending themselves as an axis of resistance against Israel and the United States. But at the same time many top Iranian officials have called for Israels annihilation and regard the Islamic Republic as the leader of the Muslim world. Hook also reiterated that the Trump administrations maximum pressure policy toward the Islamic Republic has forced it to cut back on weapons and money it provides to its proxies in the region. FCA Recalls 925,239 Nitro, Town and Country, Dodge Grand Caravan To Replace Driver-side Air Bag Covers July 10, 2020 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US is voluntarily recalling an estimated 925,239 older-model vehicles in the U.S. to replace the air bag covers on their steering wheels. An FCA investigation discovered these vehicles are equipped with certain clips, no longer in use, that may over time loosen and disengage. Should these things happen, and there is a driver-side air bag deployment, the clips and/or plastic emblems they are meant to secure, may act as projectiles. FCA is aware of 14 potentially related injuries, none of which involved occupants of front-passenger or rear seats. The recall is limited to model-year 2007-2011 Dodge Nitro SUVs, and model-year 2008-2010 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans. FCA will begin mailing recall notices to registered vehicle owners next month. The Company urges customers to follow the instructions therein. In the interim, FCA strongly advises against tampering with the emblems, which are located in the center of the vehicles steering wheels. The air bags associated with this campaign were not supplied by Takata. Customers with additional questions or concerns may call (800) 853-1403. Additional vehicles will be subject to recall in Canada (est. 188,249), Mexico (est. 24,139) and certain markets outside North America (est. 66,120). Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) There may be another way for ABS-CBN to appeal its franchise bid, but it will require the majority vote of the public, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno and another lawyer said. Diokno raised on Saturday that another option for the media giant is a "People's initiative" which means the public can craft and pass the law. However, the petition will need the signatures of 10 percent of the voting population or 6.1 million people, based on the 2019 midterm elections count of registered voters. It will also require each district to be represented by at least three percent of voters. After the Commission on Elections verifies the signatures, it will call for a referendum where people can vote to approve or reject the measure. It will be passed if it gains majority of the votes. This idea was first raised by Atty. Enrique Dela Cruz in a now viral Facebook post, after the House of Representatives voted to deny ABS-CBN's franchise renewal. But, another lawyer disagreed. Atty. Trixie Angeles said the people's initiative may not be applicable to legislative franchises since the law for it is private or will only be applied to an individual or corporation. This is not included in the initiative's legal definition, she added. Diokno contested this. "As far as I know, the law on people's initiative does not make that distinction," he later told CNN Philippines in a text message. "If Congress can pass that kind of law, why can't the people do it [through] people's initiative?" Logistics The Commission on Elections, however, has its own concerns over the logistical requirements of a possible initiative. Commissioner Luie Guia said it would be "very challenging" considering that employees are either working from home due to the pandemic or already preparing for the 2022 national elections. He also said verifying signatures will be a hard task. "The verification process can sometimes be contentious as the judgment of the verifiers may not be readily accepted," Guia said in a message. "It would have been an exciting occasion to make good use of initiative as an instrument of direct democracy," he admitted. This comes as the Social Weather Stations released results of a national mobile survey, that showed 3 out of 4 Filipinos or 75 percent said Congress should renew ABS-CBN's franchise, while another 56 percent said the non-renewal of the franchise was a "major blow to press freedom." The survey was conducted on July 3 to 6 with 1,555 adult Filipinos 306 in Metro Manila, 451 in Balance Luzon, 388 in the Visayas and 410 in Mindanao. It has sampling error margins of 2% for national percentages, 6% for Metro Manila, and 5 for Balance Luzon, 5% Visayas, and 5% in Mindanao. CNN Philippines Correspondent Rex Remitio and Senior Digital Producer Eimor Santos contributed to this report. Aurora Cannabis (ACB Research Report) continues to confirm a strong transformation to a cannabis company focused on profitable growth while Canopy Growth (CGC Research Report) is still chasing large market opportunities with wild spending. The company is now on track to spend about 25% of the SG&A as the largest Canadian cannabis stock while approaching the same revenue levels. The Edmonton-based company is a far better value on weakness despite having no major investor and struggling over the last year with a weak balance sheet. The company still has work to get done to reach EBITDA profits, but Aurora Cannabis is the far better stock with the transformation on track. Operational Excellence The best part of the story is that Aurora Cannabis set a transformational target in February and the company is already hitting this goal. With the targets in sight on transforming SG&A costs, the company is now moving forward with consolidating production facilities to the low-cost areas with considerable capacity and eliminating the high-cost facilities no longer needed for the global opportunity that never materialized. Aurora Cannabis forecasts reaching an SG&A target of C$42 million in FQ1, thereby cutting operational expenses by an astonishing 50% in just a few months. Staff levels were cut by 25% to achieve these goals with some apparent high cost consultants let go as well. The company can now achieve EBITDA profits on substantially lower revenues. The good news is that consolidating production facilities will help improve gross margins with Pablo Zuanic of Cantor Fitzgerald forecasting an 8-point boost to gross margins. In prior quarters, Aurora Cannabis was stuck on mid-40s gross margins while clearly over producing inventory similar to the rest of the Canadian cannabis industry. The consolidation of five small facilities will help reduce costs that were averaging C$1.15 per gram while other industry players were down below C$1.00. Story continues Once the cannabis company reaches C$100 million in quarterly revenues, the new 50% gross margins will generate up to C$8 million in operating income. This metric assumes a stable C$42 million SG&A quarterly run rate as revenues rise. Focused Opportunity Canopy Growth highlighted how the once promising global opportunity is limited to the U.S., Canada and Germany. These three countries are set to account of C$63 billion or up to 90% of the global total addressable market by 2023. Aurora Cannabis is a strong player in both the Canadian cannabis market and Germany medical that make up the majority of the revenue TAM outside of U.S. Similar to Canopy Growth, both companies have recently entered the U.S. CBD market while being currently blocked from the massive C$42 billion TAM in the U.S. recreational and medical cannabis markets. The key here is that both companies have the same market opportunities and areas of focus, but one still plans to spend wildly on SG&A due to a C$2.0 billion cash balance while the other has become a strong operator due to the requirement to focus. Aurora Cannabis is on the path to positive EBITDA while Canopy Growth has no apparent EBITDA profit goals. Takeaway The key investor takeaway is that the valuation equation for Aurora Cannabis remains far more compelling here as the market has pushed the stock back down to a market valuation of $1.4 billion. Canopy Growth is far too expensive at $5.7 billion with no meaningful improvement in financials while Aurora Cannabis is on schedule for solid EBITDA profits in FY21 starting in July. To find good ideas for cannabis stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclosure: No position. More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: IKEA to open first store in Ukraine by late 2020 17:20, 11.07.20 5312 On May 14, 2020, IKEA launched online sales of its products in Ukraine. A cancer patient was violently assaulted outside a hospital after allegedly refusing to give a stranger a cigarette. The 35-year-old man was allegedly thrown to the ground, kicked in the stomach, and had his IV tubes pulled out in the unprovoked attack at about 10.15am on Friday. The patient had stepped outside St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs for a break in between his cancer treatment. The patient had stepped outside St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (pictured) for a break in between his cancer treatment The screams of an innocent nurse weren't enough to stop the alleged attacker, who eventually fled after a group of doctors and nurses rushed to patient's aid. Police arrested a man nearby at Green Park after a brief struggle and we was refused bail to appear before Parramatta Local court later today. The cancer patient suffered internal injuries and is undergoing treatment at St Vincent's Hospital. Ibrahim Magu According to Vanguard, some lawyers in Lagos on Friday commended the suspension of the Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, by President Muhammadu Buhari over alleged corruption. In interviews with the Newsmen in Lagos, the lawyers said the suspension reinforced the principle that nobody could be above the law. They said that Magus suspension would enable free and fair investigations into the allegations levelled against him. Recall that Magu is currently being investigated by a presidential panel over allegations of corruption. Mr Chibuikem Opara, a lawyer at the Justification Law Firm, Ikeja, said the president took a good step in suspending the EFCC acting chairman to show his commitment to the fight against corruption. One good thing about Magus suspension is that it reinforces the principle that nobody is above the law. The revelation herein is that this has shown the level of corruption in the country. A situation where the chairman of an anti-corruption agency is enmeshed in corruption allegations does not speak well of the country, Opara said. He advised that the action should not stop at the level of suspension. If he is found culpable, he should be charged to court, he said. Mr Ogedi Ogu, a lawyer at the Source Chambers, Yaba, Lagos, told NAN that Magus suspension was expected, considering the weight of allegations against him. It is interesting that his investigation is being carried out by the same government that appointed him to show non-tolerance to corruption by the government. It also shows that nobody is above the law. If there is an allegation against the holder of an office, it is expected that an investigation should be launched. It is an unfortunate situation to have the head of an anti-corruption agency enmeshed in corruption allegations, Ogu said. He urged the Federal Government to ensure conclusion of the investigation. Ogu also urged that the era of EFCC media trial should end by ensuring Magus prosecution, if indicted. According to him, this is another test to show our commitment as a nation interested in the war against corruption. There is no other apt opportunity than now, Ogu said. Another Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Emmanuel Ofoegbu, said, Magus suspension is proper so that the allegations against him could be fairly and freely investigated. The president has proven that he is totally committed to fighting corruption no matter who is involved. Theres no estimated date for the completion of Plainviews Braums Ice Cream & Burger Restaurant but it typically takes about nine months to establish a new location. Amanda Beuchaw, public relations director for Braums, said the design of the location will look similar to the models in Lubbock (not the one in Wolfforth, she noted). The average size of new facilities is around 6,000 square feet. The location in Plainview should have a double drive-through lane and windows with a seating capacity of 80 people. Since the Plainview store will be located right off the interstate, Beuchaw added, the location will also include big truck parking. Itll have a fresh market and a restaurant side, she told The Herald Friday afternoon. Braums had been looking to expand to the southern part of the Texas Panhandle for years, particularly to penetrate the Lubbock market, she said. A Herald archive story about a Chamber of Commerce meeting in February 2015 notes that Braums has been interested in the community for quite some time but there were logistics challenges. The company opening multiple stores in Lubbock and Wolfforth combined with the availability of the property at 3605 Olton Road presented good timing to expand to Plainview now. The way that our trucks run, it made sense to have a store in proximity to make that delivery, Beuchaw said. The company began the process of clearing the lot last week with the anticipation of beginning to pour foundation as soon as its clear, she noted. While the process to establish a new location typically takes about nine months, the timing is dependent on permitting and city ordinances. She also noted the unpredictability of potential circumstances created by COVID-19. So that time frame is not firm. A Victorian woman has been slapped with a $1,652 fine for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules by travelling 13km to feed her pet horse. Karen Evans, of Ferntree Gully, was issued an infringement notice for delivering food to her 16-year-old horse Lily after stage three restrictions were reimposed in parts of the state. Stay-at-home orders were placed on residents in Metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire from 11.59pm Wednesday in a bid to stem the second wave of COVID-19 surging through the city. The reimposed measure means residents are only permitted to leave home for work, exercise, medical care or to buy essential supplies. Ms Evans said she pulled over returning home, but the officer told her she had an insufficient excuse to leave the house. 'I said I've got no-one else to feed my horse for me,' Ms Evans told 7NEWS. 'So, he's just like well you do understand I have to fine you. 'I said this is ridiculous you can't fine me for caregiving just because she's not a human being.' Ms Evans said she was angered by the incident believes that power was getting the heads of some members of the police force. It is not the first time Victoria police have issued questionable coronavirus-related fines. During the first lockdown, officers withdrew fines for a 16-year old learner driver in the car with her mother and a man washing his car. The following month, In May, Victorian police officers were told to use 'increased discretion' and get permission first from supervisors after the state raked in almost $5million from residents deemed to be 'breaking the rules'. The World Health Organisation is acknowledging the possibility that COVID-19 might be spread in the air under certain conditions after more than 200 scientists urged the agency to do so. In an open letter published this week in a journal, two scientists from Australia and the US wrote that studies have shown "beyond any reasonable doubt that viruses are released during exhalation, talking and coughing in microdroplets small enough to remain aloft in the air". Members of the Australian Defence Force test people at Melbourne Showgrounds. Source: Getty The researchers, along with more than 200 others, appealed for authorities including the WHO to adopt more stringent protective measures. WHO has long dismissed the possibility that the coronavirus is spread in the air except for certain risky medical procedures, such as when patients are first put on breathing machines. In a change to its previous thinking, WHO noted on Thursday that studies evaluating COVID-19 outbreaks in restaurants, choir practices and fitness classes suggested the virus might have been spread in the air. Airborne spread "particularly in specific indoor locations, such as crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces over a prolonged period of time with infected persons cannot be ruled out," the organisation said. Still, officials also pointed out that other modes of transmission like contaminated surfaces or close contacts between people in such indoor environments might also have explained the disease's spread. WHO's stance also recognised the importance of people spreading COVID-19 without symptoms, a phenomenon the organisation has long downplayed. WHO has repeatedly said such transmission is "rare" despite a growing consensus among scientists globally that asymptomatic spread likely accounts for a significant amount of transmission. The agency said that most spread is via droplets from infected people who cough or sneeze, but added that people without symptoms are also capable of transmitting the disease. Story continues "The extent of truly asymptomatic infection in the community remains unknown," WHO said. People urged to wear masks around the world It comes as health authorities, officials and businesses urged the use of face coverings around the world. Spain's Balearic Islands will make wearing face masks in public compulsory at all times from Monday, joining Catalonia in going further than a central government directive that mandates their use only when in close proximity to others. Catalonia's order began on Thursday just as tourists were starting to return after coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions lifted. Catalonia will fine whoever does not wear a sanitary mask in public space. Source: Getty In Belgium, the government's health advisers have recommended wearing masks in shops to keep the spread of the coronavirus at its current low level. The health ministry's scientific advisory body said face masks play a crucial role in limiting the diffusion of droplets of respiratory secretions potentially carrying the deadly virus. Among the measures adopted to fight the virus, the Belgian government has made the use of masks compulsory on public transportation but customers still have the option to run errands without any protection. Starbucks will make masks mandatory in its US stores. Source: Getty The health superior council said it recommends masks in shops because physical distancing is difficult in stores. Coffee chain Starbucks said on Thursday it will require customers to wear masks at all of its cafes in the United States. The company said that customers who are not covering their faces will still be able to order at drive-throughs or delivery. Starbucks said the move, which comes into effect on July 15, was part of an "effort in prioritising the health and wellbeing of partners (employees) and customers". 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. The zoo which once belonged to Tiger King Joe Exotic is being searched for possible human remains. Police began searching Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, in the US state of Oklahoma, on Friday after two cadaver dogs found what could possibly be human remains, KOCO 5 reports. The dogs were brought in for TV series Ghost Adventures, which investigates the paranormal, according to the zoos caretaker Jeff Lowe. The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park. Source: Getty Images The dogs picked up on a scent in the alligator pit, TMZ reported. Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, and its former owner Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, were the subject of Netflix series Tiger King. Joe Exotic is currently serving 22 years in prison for his role in a murder-for-hire plot and violating federal wildlife laws. He tried to arrange the killing of Carole Baskin, a Florida animal sanctuary founder who criticised his treatment of animals. Baskin was never harmed. Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, is currently serving 22 years' jail. Source: AAP 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. The Khilafat Movement (1919-1924) may be said to have begun on October 27, 1919, when the day was observed as Khilafat Day all over India. Within a year, Lokmanya Tilak, the tallest Congress leader passed away and Gandhi came to occupy the centre-stage of Indian politics. In the words of Dr. Ambedkar, the Khilafat Movement was taken up by Mr. Gandhi with a tenacity and faith which must have surprised many Mahomedans themselves (Pakistan or the Partition of India, B.R. Ambedkar, Thacker and Company Limited, 1945, p. 136). Not only did Gandhi support the Khilafat Movement, he also dragged the Congress behind him. The attitude and behaviour of Muslim and Hindu leaders during the Khilafat Movement did not come upon suddenly. It was a continuation of a pattern that started after 1857. The Muslim gameplan from 1857 to 1919 that was executed with British help and aided by the gullibility of Hindu leaders. It needs to be understood if one has to make sense of the Khilafat Movement. British policy and operative strategy From serious academic discourse to school textbooks to popular cinema, the British policy with regards to Hindu-Muslim relations is described ad nauseum as being that of divide and rule. This narrative has become so deeply entrenched in the Hindu psyche that it is taken as established, self- evident raison detre for Hindu-Muslim antagonism. It is time to examine the merits of this argument. For a start, the maxim divide and rule is not a British invention. It is a translation of the Latin words divide et impera (lit. divide and conquer) used by the old Romans. The evidence that this was official British policy largely rests on the following statements (India in Bondage: Her Right to Freedom, Jabez T. Sunderland; R. Chatterjee, 1928, p. 268): 1. A British officer signing himself Carnaticus wrote in the Asiatic Review of May 1821, Divide et Impera should be the motto of our Indian administration, whether political, civil or military. 2. About the time of the 1857 Uprising, Lt. Col. John Coke, Commandant at Moradabad wrote, Our endeavour should be to uphold in full force the (for us fortunate) separation which exists between the different religions and races, not to endeavour to amalgamate them. Divide et impera should be the principle of Indian government. 3. Lord Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay, in a minute dated 14 May 1850 wrote, Divide et impera was the old Roman motto and it should be ours. 4. Eminent British Indian civilian and writer Sir John Strachey said, The existence side by side of hostile creeds among the Indian people, is one of the strong points in our political position in India. 5. Gandhi informs us that A.O. Hume once confessed to him that the British Government was sustained by the policy of Divide and Rule. There is nothing surprising if the British sustained their rule by taking advantage of the internal differences of their subjects. However, merely framing a policy is worthless if it is not accompanied by strategy. The so-called British policy of divide and rule was merely a place-holder for operative strategies. Merely mentioning the British policy without discussing the strategies adopted for its success is a sign of intellectual laziness. Hindu-Muslim antagonism was not a creation of the British, it existed before they arrived. Of the four afore-mentioned statements, two clearly state that differences already existed. The fact that the slogan of Hindu-Muslim unity had to be coined in the freedom struggle implies that Hindus and Muslims were two separate entities whose unity was thought to be desirable. Why were slogans of say, Hindu-Christian, Hindu-Parsi or Hindu-Jew unity not raised by the stalwarts of the freedom struggle? If British culpability was the primary reason for Hindu-Muslim antagonism, we should have witnessed Hindu-Muslim bonhomie after their departure. Also, what explains the antagonism between Muslims and their non-Muslim, non-Hindu neighbours in countries such as Thailand which were never ruled by the British? On British culpability, we shall consider the views of two leaders. One was VD Savarkar (1883-1966), the other was Dr BR Ambedkar (1891-1956). In his 1939 Presidential speech to the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, Savarkar indicted the third-party culpability theory thus, ...this theory of 'third party' constituted a Congress superstition... They always used to fancy that the Moslems, if left to themselves would never have indulged in any anti-national, ulterior, anti-Hindu designs... Thousands of Congressite Hindus are observed to have been duped in to this silliest of political superstitions. As if Muhammad Qasim, Ghaznavis, Ghoris, Allauddins, Aurangzebs were all instigated by the British, by this third party, to invade and lay waste Hindu India with a mad fanatical fury. As if the history of the last ten centuries of perpetual war between the Hindus and Moslems was an interpolation and a myth. As if the Alis or Mr. Jinnah or Sir Sikandar were mere school children to be spoiled with the offer of sugar pills by the British vagabonds in the class and persuaded to throw stones at the house of their neighbours. They say, before the British came, Hindu-Moslem riots were a thing unheard of. Yes, but because, instead of riots, Hindu-Moslem wars were the order of the day (Hindu Rashtra Darshan, V.D. Savarkar, Maharashtra Prantik Hindusabha, pp.57, 58). Ambedkar on roots of Hindu-Muslim antagonism In an extraordinarily insightful analysis of Hindu-Muslim antagonism, Ambedkar says, The Hindus say that the British policy of divide and rule is the real cause of this failure (of Hindu-Muslim unity)... Time has come to discard this facile explanation so dear to the Hindus...it overlooks the fact that the policy of divide and rule, allowing that the British do resort to it, cannot succeed unless there are elements which make division possible, and further, if the policy succeeds for such a long time, it means that the elements which divide are more or less permanent and irreconcilable and are not transitory or superficial... what stands between the Hindus and Muslims is not a mere matter of difference, and that this antagonism is not to be attributed to material causes. It is spiritual in its character. It is formed by causes which take their origin in historical, religious, cultural and social antipathy; of which political antipathy is only a reflection... it is unnatural to expect this antipathy between Hindus and Moslems to give place to unity (Pakistan or the Partition of India, ibid, pp.322-323). Clearly, it is time to shift focus from policy to strategy. Muslim participation in freedom struggle The Indian National Congress was formed on December 28, 1885, with British support, including that of Viceroy Lord Dufferin. Among its founders was British ex-civil servant Alan Octavian Hume. After 1890 British official support was withdrawn. Up to about 1905, Congress certainly took a loyal stand... Parallel with the Congress, was the revolutionary movement ... A notable feature of this movement was the near total absence of Muslims in it. The attendance of the Muslims in the Congress had dropped considerably after 1900 (The Khilafat Movement in India 1919-1924, A.C. Niemeijer, Martinus Nijhoff, 1972, p. 24-27). The Muslims kept aloof from the Congress. Reporting on the first Congress session, The Times of India dated 5 February 1886 says, Only one great race was conspicuous by its absence; the Mahomedans of India were not there. They remained steadfast in their habitual separation. The propaganda of total boycott by the Muslims profoundly disturbed the Congress leaders (Source Material for A History of the Freedom Movement in India, Vol.2, 1885-1920, Bombay State, 1958, pp. 17, 22-23). When some Muslim delegates went to attend the second session in Calcutta (1886), they were told by other Muslims that the Hindus are ahead of us. We are lagging behind them. We still want the patronage of the Government and shall gain nothing by joining them (Source Material, ibid, p. 34). The acceptance of Congress presidentship (Madras, 1888) by Muslim lawyer Badruddin Tayyabji was welcomed from the roof-tops. Tayyabji revealed his true colours in a letter written to Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan on 18 February 1888, ...Your objection to the Congress is that it regards India as one Nation. Now I am not aware of any one regarding the whole of India as one Nation...if you need my inaugural address, you will find it distinctly stated that there are numerous communities or nations in India with peculiar problems of their own...Take for example the example of the Legislative Councils. If the Mussalmans as a body do not like that the members should be elected they could easily change the proposition so as to suit their own interests. My policy, therefore, would be to act from within than from without (Source Material, ibid, pp. 72-73, emphasis not mine). Hume-Tayyabji legacy Apparently anxious to overcome Muslim aloofness, the Congress or to be more specific, Hume (and other British proxies) and Tayyabji (self-confessedly working from within) laid down the following formulations which ruled the Hindu psyche not only during the days of the Khilafat Movement but continue to do so to this day. It may be noted that Viceroy Lord Dufferin was instructing both the anti-Congressite Sir Sayyid Ahmed and Congressite Hume simultaneously at this point in time (Source Material, Vol. 2, p. 88). 1. Muslim participation is mandatory for a movement to be called national: In a letter dated October 17, 1888, to Hume, Tayyabji wrote, ... an overwhelming majority of Mahomedans is against the movement. If then, the Mussalman Community as a whole is against the Congress - rightly or wrongly does not matter - it follows that the movement ipso facto ceases to be a general or National Congress. If this is so it is deprived of a great deal of its power to do good (Source Material, Vol. 2, p. 81). 2. Placate Muslims to win their support: In a letter dated January 22, 1888, to Tayyabji, Hume wrote, if we are to succeed we must have a Mohamedan president and , that President must be yourself. It is believed that with you as the President, Syed Ahmeds tirades will have no effect with the North of India Mahomedans (Source Material, Vol. 2, p. 69). 3. Grant of Muslim veto in public affairs: In a letter to Editor, Pioneer, Tayyabji described how he prevailed upon the Congress to embody the following rule in the Congress constitution, In the case of the Mahomedan delegates unanimously or nearly unanimously objecting to the introduction of any subject or the passing of any resolution, such subject or resolution should be thereupon dropped (Source Material, Vol. 2, p. 82). 4. Normalization and approval of pan-Islamist feeling: In a letter dated August 30, 1888, to Tayyabji, a British individual whose signature is illegible wrote, If it (Congress) is National Institution, interest of all should be looked to and the Hindus ought to take an interest in their Mahomedan brethern. Only the Mahomedans who number over 50 million ought not to be indifferent to the fate of their co-religionists in other parts of the world. Let the National Congress at its next meeting say that it views with regret that Mahomedan brothers in India have cause to feel sorrow and shame on account of the way their co-religionists are treated in other parts of the world (Source Material, Vol. 2, p. 74). Disproportionate Representation The Muslim-British nexus to put down the forces of Indian nationalism was no secret. The Muslims started demanding separate electorates and political representation disproportionate to their numbers. The British were too keen to play along. In their desperation to win over the Muslims in a national front against the British, the Hindu leaders of the Congress acceded to this Muslim-British game and in fact gave more than what the Muslims demanded. Referring to the address of the President of the 1907 Karachi session of the All India Muslim League (founded 30 December 1906), James Ramsay MacDonald (Labour Party co-founder and three- time Prime Minister of Britain) wrote, The Moslem movement is inspired solely by considerations affecting itself...The Mohammedans take their stand upon the right of Mohammedanism to share in the Government of India...Numerical proportions do not satisfy them... They rank themselves as special allies with us in the Empire, and to their position in India they wish added influence in consideration of their importance as part of Pan-Islamism and their distinction as late rulers of the country... they have insisted upon an equality of representation (irrespective of population)... influences have been at work, that the Mohammedan leaders were inspired by certain Anglo-Indian officials, and that these officials pulled wires at Simla and in London and of malice aforethought sowed discord between the Hindu and the Mohammedan communities by showing the Mohammedans special favour... The Mohammedans received representation far in excess of their numbers, and they were granted a franchise far more liberal than that given to the Hindus (The Awakening of India, J. Ramsay MacDonald, Hodder and Stoughton, 1910, pp.280-284). Divide and rule may have been policy, communal electorates and political representation to Muslims disproportionate to their numbers was the strategy (Sunderland, ibid, pp.270, 271). Calibrated Muslim demands For a critique of the never-ending catalogue of Muslim demands, the chapter on Communal Aggression written by Ambedkar in his Pakistan or the Partition of India (pp. 239-261) deserves to be read in its original. As per the Indian Councils Act (1892), the principle of separate representation for Muslims was for the first time introduced in the political constitution of India. As far back as 1888, Viceroy Lord Dufferin suggested that in India, representation in the Legislative Councils will have to be, not in the way representation is secured in England, but representation by interests (p.240). Though the suggestion of separate representation came from the British, the Muslims did not fail to appreciate the social value of separate political rights. In 1909 the Musalmans came to know that the next step in the reform of the Legislative Councils was contemplated. In a command performance, a Muslim delegation placed a set of demands before Viceroy Lord Minto. These were promptly accepted and the Muhammadans were given (1) the right to elect their representatives, (2) the right to elect their representatives by separate electorates, (3) the right to vote in the general electorates as well and (4) the right to weightage in representation (pp.242, 243). In October 1916, 19 members of the Imperial Legislative Council presented the Viceroy (Lord Chelmsford) a memorandum demanding (1) The extension of the principle of separate representation to the Punjab and the Central Provinces. (2) Fixing the numerical strength of the Muslim representatives in the Provincial and Imperial Legislative Councils. (3) Safeguards against legislation affecting Muslims, their religion and religious usages. The negotiations following upon these demands resulted in agreement between the Hindus and the Muslims which is known as the Lucknow Pact (p.243). The architect of the Lucknow Pact was none other than Lokmanya Tilak. The pact gave Muslims separate representation far in excess of their percentage in the population. The ratio was 340 percent in Central Provinces, 231 percent in Madras, 214 percent in United Provinces, 163 percent in Bombay and 268 percent in Bihar and Orissa (p.246). Ambedkar further observes, ... (What is) noticeable among the Muslims is the spirit of exploiting the weaknesses of the Hindus. If the Hindus object to anything, the Muslim policy seems to be to insist upon it and give it up only when the Hindus show themselves ready to offer a price for it by giving the Muslims some other concessions (p.259). Policy Turns into Doctrine From 1885 to 1919, the Hindu leaders of the Congress continued with their policy of trying to buy the loyalty of the Muslims with progressively better offers. Egged on by the British, the Muslims drove a hard bargain, solely keeping Muslim interests in mind. Before 1919, Hindu-Muslim unity was a well-intentioned if naive Congress policy to win freedom. After 1919, the policy became doctrine. No wonder, the emboldened Muslim leaders exploited the struggle for their pan-Islamist designs. Thousands of Israelis have demonstrated in Tel Aviv against what is widely seen as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus failure to address economic woes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. With economic stress deepening in recent weeks, many Israelis think the government has not done enough to compensate hundreds of thousands of workers who lost their jobs as a result of restrictions and shutdowns. Unemployment has surged to more than 20%, and Mr Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet. The protest was organised by the unemployed, the self-employed, entrepreneurs and business owners who gathered in central Tel Avivs Rabin Square. There is widespread unrest over the governments failure to address economic woes brought about by the coronavirus crisis (AP) Participants wore masks, but did not appear to be following social distancing rules. One protester, Daniel Tieder, said: We are not working, already, nearly five months, and unfortunately most of us have not received any compensation from the Israeli government and this is really a tragedy. In every country all over the world people have received compensation and support from their government. Unfortunately, here in Israel, nothing yet. On Thursday, Mr Netanyahu announced an economic safety net promising quick relief to the self-employed and stipends over the coming year for struggling workers and business owners. The government is expected to approve the plan on Sunday. Israelis have turned on Benjamin Netanyahu (AP) However, the large turnout at Rabin Square was a sign of widespread discontent with the governments policies. Despite successfully keeping the outbreak under control in the spring, Israels new government, which took office in May, has been accused by some of reopening the economy too quickly. That has caused a new spike in infections which is expected to put more people out of work as a result of renewed closures. Authorities now report record levels of more than 1,000 new cases a day, higher than any peak in the spring. A protesters holds an Israeli flag during a demonstration against Israels government (AP) The death toll is nearing 340. After three inconclusive elections in under a year, Mr Netanyahu and his main rival, retired military chief Benny Gantz, agreed in May to form an emergency government with a mandate to tackle the coronavirus crisis. Story continues In a statement, Mr Gantz, who serves as defence minister and alternate prime minister, acknowledged the pandemic has brought the largest health, economic and social crisis in Israels history. We understand the public outcry and we will do everything we can to be responsive to it, he said. In the face of an angry electorate, Mr Netanyahus support has tumbled. A recent Midgam Research & Consulting poll on Channel 12 TV found just 46% of respondents approved of Mr Netanyahus job performance, down from 74% in May. One person was shot and killed Friday evening in Southeast Portland, police said. Portland police said they responded to the 13600 block of Southeast Powell Boulevard about 9 p.m. on a report of a person being shot. Officers temporarily closed Southeast 136th Avenue between Division Street and Powell Boulevard. Police late Saturday identified the victim as 19-year-old Julian Heredia. The Oregon State Medical Examiners Office determined he died from a gunshot wound. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Prosecutors have claimed Ghislaine Maxwell went into hiding months before her arrest and have labeled her an extreme risk of flight. New York: British socialite and longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell was made a scapegoat for the disgraced financier since he killed himself last summer while he was facing sex abuse charges, her lawyers said in court papers filed Friday seeking her release from jail while she awaits trial. After Epstein was found dead in his jail cell, the media focus quickly shifted to our client, wrongly trying to substitute her for Epstein, even though shed had no contact with Epstein for more than a decade, had never been charged with a crime or been found liable in any civil litigation and has always denied any allegations of claimed misconduct, the lawyers wrote in a preview of their defense. Ghislaine Maxwell, they added. Is not Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell, 58, was arrested last week at a New Hampshire estate before being moved to New York City to face federal charges accusing her of helping Epstein sexually exploit young women and girls. She has been detained at a lockup in Brooklyn without bail. Prosecutors have claimed Maxwell went into hiding months before her arrest and have labeled her an extreme risk of flight, noting that she has French, British and US passports. Her lawyers are seeking her release on $5 million bond under strict conditions including home confinement in the New York City area and electronic monitoring. She would also surrender her travel documents The US Attorneys office in Manhattan declined comment on Friday. A judge has set a hearing for Tuesday to hear bail arguments and to arraign Maxwell on multiple charges, including that she conspired to entice girls as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts with Epstein from 1994 through 1997 at his homes in New York City, Florida, and New Mexico and at Maxwells residence in London. In the court papers, lawyers cited reports of coronavirus infections spreading through federal jails as one of the reasons to free Maxwell, arguing that if she continues to be detained, her health will be at serious risk and she will not be able to receive a fair trial. The case for bail is also strengthened by the fact that the governments case is based primarily on the testimony of three individuals about events that allegedly occurred roughly 25 years ago, the defense papers say. It is inherently more difficult to prosecute cases relating to decades-old conduct." The justice department already has taken a series of steps to maintain Maxwells safety while shes locked up at the Brooklyn jail, including ensuring that she has a roommate in her cell, that she is monitored and that someone is always with her while shes behind bars, an official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press earlier this week. After Maxwells arrest, federal officials were so worried she might take her own life that they took away her clothes and bedsheets and made her wear paper attire while in custody, according to the official, who could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail last August while he awaited trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) has noted that under the current COVID-19 conditions, the normal space for large public party rallies and campaign gatherings can no longer be justified. Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, IDEG Executive Director said the virtual media have now become a safer, powerful and more important medium for political party campaigns for Ghanas 2020 national elections. He said COVID-19 has knocked out large size public campaign rallies amidst COVID-19 political parties and election candidates will now have to rely extensively on the media, both traditional and new media to carry their messages across to the voting public. Dr Akwetey told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that IDEG has therefore created a public political education platform the webinar which is on the theme: Using the Virtual Public Space for the 2020 Elections Campaign to discuss the usage of the virtual space for campaign. He explained that the main objective of the virtual forum is to promote responsible virtual election campaigning and contribute to achieving peaceful elections with credible outcomes in the face of the restrictions brought about by COVID-19. He noted that in view of the shift in campaign focus due to COVID-19, virtual mediums such as radio, TV, webinars, and social media, although very powerful and important for the upcoming elections have some inhibitions which if not addressed could pose a threat to the countrys peace and stability. He said IDEG therefore created a platform through webinars to conduct series of engagement as more evidence has emerged on the growth and use of disruptive social forces and technology to promote impunity and undermine the integrity of parliamentary and presidential elections in the country. He said the influx of commercial radio and television stations in the country coupled with the emergence of social media had contributed to the rise of misinformation, hate speech and negative propaganda. Dr Akwetey noted that recent communication research had revealed that about 70 per cent of Ghanaians encountered misinformation, however, 75 per cent of Ghanaians considered misinformation to be frequent. Most of the negative information is usually targeted at politics and election related activities. Currently, there are over 350 commercial radio stations and more than 30 television stations operating in Ghana separate from international media houses that broadcast through satellite and digital subscriptions. The danger is that a third of these media houses are owned by individuals with well-known party affiliation, therefore if unregulated, hate speech, fake news and propaganda are likely to dominate electoral campaigning on airwaves far more than in previous elections, he noted. He recounted that in December 2016, during the tabulation and reporting of the certified results of the presidential and parliamentary elections, the Electoral Commission complained of a cyber-attack on its database. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Newly-appointed Minister of State Frank Feighan has said drug and alcohol misuse in society is something he hopes to address as part of his new role as Minister for State with responsibility for Public Health, Well Being, and National Drugs Strategy. Speaking to The Sligo Champion yesterday [Monday] Deputy Feighan said he was delighted when he was given the news last Wednesday evening. "I'm delighted but also very aware of the responsibilities in the Departement of Health and look forward to the challenges over the next number of years." After much controversy over ministerial omissions in the west the week previous by Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, it was thought the North West would have to get the nod for a junior minister. Asked about the rocky start to the Government's first two weeks, Deputy Feighan described them as 'teething issues'. "It's a new Government with three separate parties with three different ethos and views, for anyone to expect that to go smoothly, it will always have a few teething problems. I think we can address them pretty quickly." Speaking about omissions for cabinet positions, the deputy said it was a matter for the Taoiseach. "Dara Calleary is a good friend of mine and I'm delighted he's at cabinet [Chief Whip FF], maybe he should have been given a role but that's a matter for the Taoiseach." In relation to lack of representation on the west coast of senior ministers, Deputy Feighan said Enda Kenny was Taoiseach between 2011 and 2017, along with many ministers from the region. "You had people then saying we were over represented. There's a the balance that has to be reached, I'm absolutely delighted that the north west has a voice at ministerial level and I intend to be a strong and affective voice." In terms of his new role, Deputy Feighan said he will be looking to lead policy on illicit drugs and the funding of services for alcohol and drug misuse. Deputy Feighan said there will be greater need for funding for these services and those addressing mental health issues especially following months of lockdown. "We need to empower people to live healthy lives. A lot has been done over the smoking ban, physical activity, healthy eating, "I would like to bring my own stamp on it and look at healthy cities and counties and a national healthy workplace framework." Addressing his ability to still deliver for the North West while now being a junior minister serving the population nationwide in his new role, Deputy Feighan said it is something he is very aware of. "I'm conscious I've been elected by Sligo Leitrim, North Rosommon, South Donegal and I've been a strong voice for the people of those areas and I've always used my position even in opposition to articulate the need for projects for the betterment of my constituents. I'll give a voice locally, but I'm also a politician, its a national role as well." Luxco appoints new UK distributor to drive UK growth American distiller, supplier, and bottler of alcoholic beverages Luxco has appointed Lightbox Brands to grow UK sales, as it continues to respond to increasing global demand for bourbon and rye whiskeys. Luxco, which owns Lux Row Distillers and Limestone Branch Distillery in Kentucky, is prioritising the UK market as part of its European expansion strategy; the company saw European sales rise by 22% in value last year. Lightbox Brands will become the official UK distributor for the Lux Row Distillers whiskey brand Ezra Brooks, as well as Limestone Branch Distillery brands Yellowstone Bourbon, Yellowstone Select, and Minor Case Rye Whiskey. This will see the Ezra Brooks portfolio made more widely available in the UK, which includes a Straight Kentucky Bourbon, Rye Whiskey, and the 7-year-old bourbon Old Ezra. Greg Mefford, International Sales Director at Luxco, commented: Despite the general industry disruption caused by COVID-19, we wanted to push on with our plans to grow the UK market and Lightbox Brands are a natural choice to do this. They understand and value the provenance of our liquids, and the opportunity to leverage brand heritage to cut through in a very crowded market. Were confident theyll grow our footprint throughout the UK by matching up the great flavours and stories behind our brands to appeal to a market thats increasingly looking to discover new spirits. Patrick OReilly, Founder and Managing Director of Lightbox Brands, added: Luxcos whiskeys are steeped in history. Ezra Brooks is based on recipes from the 1950s, while the Limestone Branch Distillery whiskeys are distilled by Steve Beam of the famous Beam lineage and using pre-prohibition recipes and distilling notes. History and authentic backstories appeal to consumers, and its a trend which has gathered momentum because of the new spare time people have found themselves with during lockdown. Consumers are taking the time to find out more about whiskeys, which is influencing their purchasing and will continue to do so when they are able to return to bars in the future. Lightbox Brands will also be responsible for distribution of Luxcos 100% agave tequila brand Exotico, which it produces at its DGL Destiladores distillery in the highlands of Jalisco in Mexico. Cellar Trends will continue to distribute Luxcos Rebel Yell brand in the UK. 10 July 2020 - Flash The Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Libya, Stephanie Williams, on Friday met with the Speaker of Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives (parliament), Aguila Saleh, in Geneva and discussed the need to intensify efforts to find an inclusive political solution to the Libyan crisis. "Acting SRSG Stephanie Williams met today in Geneva with HoR Speaker Aguila Saleh, to discuss, among others, the revival of political dialogue, Speaker Saleh's initiative, and the need to intensify efforts to find an inclusive political solution to the Libyan crisis," said a statement issued by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). "Acting SRSG Williams welcomed Speaker Saleh's support to an immediate and lasting ceasefire, especially in the city of Sirte," the statement added, revealing that the officials also welcomed the National Oil Corporation's announcement of lifting the force majeure on oil exports after nearly 6 months of suspension. Williams and Saleh stressed the necessity to avoid any obstacles in oil flow "as it belongs to all Libyans; and urged that revenues expenditures be managed in a transparent and professional manner," the statement said. The two officials called on foreign actors to stop their negative interference in Libya, facilitate and support the political process in order to prevent a new humanitarian and economic catastrophe in Sirte and the Oil Crescent. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. A black woman in Florida was called a 'good little slave' by another woman for putting on her mask before she got onto a public bus. Megan Charleton, 30, was waiting for a bus in Pasco County on Thursday when the unidentified woman criticized her for putting on the mask The 'Karen', who was accompanied by three children, told Charleton she is Mexican and so could refer to her as a slave. Charleton shared a video of the incident to social media in which the woman can be heard telling her she is 'like all the rest of the slaves out there'. An unidentified woman told Megan Charleton, 30, she could refer to her as a slave because she is also Mexican and a woman of color as she waited for the bus in Florida on Thursday In an Instagram post, Charleton said the other woman was first sitting on the ground behind the bus stop with her three kids and approached her to ask what time the bus comes. When Charleton told her once an hour, the other woman said she was wrong and called dispatch to ask. 'She gets off the phone right as my mom calls me. As Im on the phone and the bus is pulling up, Karen comes up to me an say in a nasty ass tone I called they said its every 30 minutes so I said okay, Ive lived here 20 years its always been once an hour but okay I then hang up the phone with my mom,' she writes. 'As the bus pulls to a stop I go to put on my mask because Pasco County has a mask mandate and this woman proceeds to tell me thats right be a good little slave".' The remark is not caught on video but Charleton said she immediately started recording after she said it. A video of what happened after the alleged comments shows the other woman standing with a packed stroller and her kids beside her. 'You just told me be a good little slave,' Charleton tells her. The woman hit back: 'Your wearing your mask live all the rest of the slaves out there.' 'You're telling me a woman of color be a good little slave?' Charleton asks. Megan Charleton, 30, was waiting for a bus in Pasco County on Thursday when she says that a woman criticized her for wearing a mask by referring to her as a 'slave' Charleton said that the woman called her a 'good little slave' before she started filming The woman then starts to argue that she can say it as she is also a woman of color. 'And I'm a woman of color too. I'm a Mexican woman of color too,' she says. 'I don't believe in skin tone because we're all humans and there's no such thing as a different race.' 'It doesn't matter you don't say that. That should be offensive to you what's wrong with you,' Charleton answers, adding that she is not setting a 'good example for your children'. She posted the video to Instagram and explained the background to the altercation Charleton said she put on a mask because there is a mandate to do so in Pasco County The video then shows the bus pulling up and Charleton entering and sitting down through the middle door. The other woman walks toward the front door but it is not known if she boarded or if she was allowed to without a mask. 'Regardless of the connotation in which she meant the word slave you do not ever call a black or brown person a slave. Ever,' Charleton added in her post' 'She couldve chosen any other word. But deliberately chose slave'. Pasco County introduced a mask mandate in late June meaning residents must use 'face coverings while indoors at a public business or county government facility'. Coronavirus infections in Florida were up by 1,393 per cent on average in the last seven days. Health officials reported 11,433 new cases and 93 deaths, according to data on the Florida Department of Health website. Friday's data marked the second time the state's single-day tally topped 11,000. A San Francisco jury has found Russian national Yevgeniy Nikulin guilty of one of the biggest data breaches in US history. Nikulin has been convicted of hacking LinkedIn and Dropbox back in 2012, which resulted in the theft of 117 million usernames and passwords that he tried to sell to other people on Russianlanguage forums. He was also found guilty of trafficking Formspring data. The massive breach served as a catalyst for Dropbox to roll out two-factor authentication and an automated feature that checks on suspicious activity. Nikulin was arrested in the Czech Republic and charged with nine felony counts back in 2016. He has since been incarcerated in various jails. Both the US and Russia submitted extradition requests for him, but the Czech Republic ultimately decided to extradite him to the US in 2018. According to Cyberscoop, Judge William Alsup questioned the evidence the prosecution provided and expressed doubts that the government could prove its case. Regardless of Alsups doubts, Nikulin is now scheduled to be sentenced on September 29th. Hes facing up to 10 years on prison for each count of selling stolen logins and installing malware, as well as five years for each count of hacking and conspiracy. US Attorney David Anderson said in a statement: Wildfires raging in Siberia in record summer temperatures have decreased considerably over the past week, Russia's forest service said Saturday, as it battles blazes by cloud seeding and explosives. Freakishly warm weather across large swathes of Siberia since January, combined with low soil moisture, have contributed to a resurgence of wildfires that devastated the region last summer, the European Union's climate monitoring network said this week. Both the number and intensity of fires in Siberia and parts of Alaska have increased since mid-June, resulting in the highest carbon emissions for the month -- 59 million tonnes of CO2 -- since records began in 2003, it said. Russia's Aerial Forest Protection Service said it was trying to suppress 136 fires over 43,000 hectares (430 square kilometres) as of Saturday. Firefighters are using explosives to contain the fires and using cloud seeding with silver iodide to encourage rain, it said. However most of the fires have been deemed too remote and expensive to handle, with over 333,000 hectares currently ablaze in areas where all firefighting efforts have stopped, it said. This is considerably smaller than a week ago, when the service reported fires over a total of two million hectares. From mid-June, regions in Russia's far north, including beyond the Arctic circle, have registered unprecedented heat records. Russia's weather service expert Roman Vilfand had said anti-cyclones -- which create abnormally clear skies with no clouds or rain -- had increased in the northern hemisphere. In the Arctic, where the sun doesn't set in the summer, this means that sunlight is heating the Earth's surface around the clock, increasing risk of fires, he said. Fresh satellite images showed Saturday that the largest fires are still in Russia's vast Yakutia region, which is sparsely populated and borders the Arctic Ocean. The region announced a state of emergency on July 2 due to the wildfires, which the governor of Yakutia said were caused by "dry thunderstorms." Greenpeace Russia's forest programme, which analyses satellite data, said Saturday that a total of 9.26 million hectares -- greater than the size of Portugal -- have been impacted by wildfires since the beginning of 2020. The organisation blames Russia's wildfire crisis on lack of funding of the forest service which now cannot ensure adequate fire prevention. Search Keywords: Short link: By Trend Turkmenistan may participate in the implementation of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) projects related to digital technologies, Trend reports with reference to the Zolotoy Vek (Golden age) newspaper. The representatives of UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education invited the Turkmen side to participate in the implementation of a number of projects related to digital technologies during a a videoconference During the meeting, the parties expressed interest in increasing cooperation. In particular, priority areas of bilateral partnership were discussed. The sides attach special importance to increasing cooperation in such areas as education, science, innovative technologies, protection and restoration of historical and architectural monuments. In particular, big attention is paid to the implementation of promising scientific and educational projects. Earlier, Turkmenistan and the UNESCO have discussed the implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) program in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan and UNESCO signed a Framework agreement on the establishment of the Turkmenistan-UNESCO rust Fund on July 16, 2015. Under this agreement, peace and intercultural dialogue, education, cultural heritage, rapprochement of cultures are the major areas of cooperation. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Frank Caruso laid flowers at the reception desk where Maria De Simone used to smile and greet customers, and placed a picture of the 42-year-old there. De Simone, a Vaughan mother-of-two and sister of Canadian dance musician Joee (Joseph De Simone), died at about 1:20 p.m. Thursday in a parking lot at 9131 Keele St., south of Rutherford Road, near the plaza where she worked. She was struck by the driver of an Audi Q5 SUV that continued through the parking lot, drove through a fence and off an elevated parking lot. The driver, an 80-year-old Brampton man, was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His passenger, a 70-year-old woman from Pickering, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. York Region police Sgt. Andy Pattenden said police are investigating whether the driver had a medical emergency or pushed the wrong pedal, among other possibilities. Caruso, the owner of the hospitality furniture producer Quality & Company, on Jacob Keffer Parkway in Concord, said he couldnt sleep all night wondering how something so awful could happen to such a beautiful human being as De Simone. She was an incredible person, Caruso said. She had a great spirit. What a horrible loss. She was always in a positive mood. She smiled all the time; everyone saw it and would comment on it. She was just an incredible soul. I really cant stress that enough. De Simone often took her lunches outdoors so Caruso said he didnt notice anything until he realized shed been gone for multiple hours. She wasnt answering her phone, he said, adding it eventually dawned on him that she was the victim. Were all devastated. The mood here is terrible. Now he said hes focused on figuring out what to do in her honour, along with the rest of the companys staff. I havent slept all night, thinking how the whole thing played out, he added. She just went for lunch and then this. I dont know how something so brutal can happen to someone like that. De Simones brother Joseph said she was loved by many. The outpouring from everyone is beautiful and overwhelming right now, he said in a text message. People were also paying tribute to De Simone, a lifelong Vaughan resident, on social media. A Twitter user named Isabella (@ms_commisso), echoed Carusos statements regarding just what kind of person De Simone was. You made my evening walks more enjoyable, she wrote. You had the ability to light up any room. You welcomed us to the neighborhood with open arms & an open heart! YOU Maria De Simone were one in a million, thank you for choosing me to be your friend. De Simones son, Joey Mazzuco, who struggled through cancer with his mother by his side as a young boy, told gathered media she never stopped working for him and his brother throughout their lives. It doesnt seem real right now, he told reporters. She was a beautiful woman . . . Such a loving, giving, generous person. Police are seeking dashcam video from anyone who might have been in the area at the time of the crash. Anyone with information who has not yet spoken to police is asked to contact the major collision investigations unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7704, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS, or online at 1800222tips.com. Orangemen across Northern Ireland have told how they are preparing to celebrate a Twelfth like no other. The festivities will have a very different feel this year after the cancellation of the annual parades due to Covid-19. From drive-in church services to small wreath laying ceremonies, people have been busy making alternative plans. The decision to cancel parades was announced in April by the Orange Order's Grand Secretary, Mervyn Gibson. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Preparations continue for Eleventh Night bonfires Close The sash my father wore - the theme of the Twelfth bonfire at Edgarstown in Portadown, Co Armagh with David Hall and his children Sophie and Charlie trying it on for size. PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2020: The traditional site of the Twelfth bonfire in Portadown's Corcrain estate is marked with huge NHS letters rather than a bonfire this year in tribute to the health service's efforts during the Coronavirus pandemic. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 10/7/2020: Twelfth of July bonfire builders at work on the towering structure in Antrim's Ballycraigy estate. Built from thousands of wooden pallets, it will be set alight on the Saturday night. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 10/7/2020: Twelfth of July bonfire builders at work on the towering structure in Antrim's Ballycraigy estate. Built from thousands of wooden pallets, it will be set alight on the Saturday night. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 10/7/2020: Twelfth of July bonfire builders at work on the towering structure which dwarves the houses in Antrim's Ballycraigy estate. Built from thousands of wooden pallets, it will be set alight on the Saturday night. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2020: The sash my father wore! Kyle Branyan, Worshipful Master of LOL 31, Kilmoriarty Bible and Crown Defenders, has his picture taken in front of the giant sash that adorns the Twelfth bonfire at Edgarstown in Portadown, Co Armagh PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2020: The sash my father wore! Norman and Lyn McCrea have their picture taken in front of the giant sash that adorns the Twelfth bonfire at Edgarstown in Portadown, Co Armagh PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2020 - General view of the bonfire in the Lower Newtownards Road, in East Belfast. Bonfires are lit in loyalist communities across Northern Ireland every July 11 to usher in the main date in the Protestant loyal order parading season - the Twelfth of July. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Ey Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2020 - General view of the bonfire in the Lower Newtownards Road, in East Belfast. Bonfires are lit in loyalist communities across Northern Ireland every July 11 to usher in the main date in the Protestant loyal order parading season - the Twelfth of July. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Ey Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2020 - General view of the bonfire in the Ballycraigy Estate, Antrim. Bonfires are lit in loyalist communities across Northern Ireland every July 11 to usher in the main date in the Protestant loyal order parading season - the Twelfth of July. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Ey Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2020 - General view of the bonfire in the Lower Newtownards Road, in East Belfast. Bonfires are lit in loyalist communities across Northern Ireland every July 11 to usher in the main date in the Protestant loyal order parading season - the Twelfth of July. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Ey Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2020 - General view of the bonfire in the Lower Newtownards Road, in East Belfast. Bonfires are lit in loyalist communities across Northern Ireland every July 11 to usher in the main date in the Protestant loyal order parading season - the Twelfth of July. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Ey / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The sash my father wore - the theme of the Twelfth bonfire at Edgarstown in Portadown, Co Armagh with David Hall and his children Sophie and Charlie trying it on for size. The last time the Twelfth was cancelled was in 1944 during the Second World War. It was also called off during the First World War and the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918. With July 12 falling on a Sunday this year, the official Twelfth demonstrations would have taken place on Monday. Around Northern Ireland, plans have hastily been adapted to ensure the big day is still marked. In Co Londonderry, the Twelfth celebrations in Limavady should have been a particularly momentous year for William Hamilton, who is believed to be the Orange Order's oldest member. Mr Hamilton celebrated his 100th birthday in January and was eagerly anticipating the parade around Limavady as a centenarian. He has been a dedicated member of his local Ballynarrig Lodge for the past 83 years since he joined his father, also William, where he was treasurer for an impressive 74 years, again following in his father's footsteps. Limavady District Secretary Jonathan Holmes said that while it is disappointing the hundreds of Orange Order members and accompanying bands will not parade this year, people's health was paramount. "William Hamilton, who celebrated his 100th birthday this year and who is a member of my own lodge, was due to take part in our parade this year so for this reason alone, we are very disappointed that the parade isn't going ahead, let alone our general overall disappointment," he said. Billed as the Twelfth that never was, 200 commemorative badges marking the 330th Boyne celebrations in Limavady produced before this year's event was cancelled have been sold as "collectors items". Elsewhere in Co Armagh, the County Grand Lodge has donated over 61,000 to local health services. Lodges across the county began working within their communities to raise money to buy personal protection equipment (PPE) and make donations to health bodies. Craigavon Area Hospital received a cheque for 10,000, the Southern Area Hospice in Newry accepted 5,000, while 8,000 worth of PPE was also acquired. Roger Gardiner, County Secretary for Armagh, said the donations proved that the Orange Institution is more than just a parading body and was willing to help everyone in the community. "We gave 10,000 to Craigavon Area Hospital and they were totally amazed because it was the biggest donation that they had received in respect of this whole crisis," he explained. "It shows we are more than just a parading organisation, we are community-based and it's not just about the Twelfth of July. It's about helping and supporting all communities, not just one." Armagh District LOL No 5 were due to host Monday's sole demonstration in the county before Covid-19 struck, and 5,000 Orangemen were set to parade. Meanwhile, Carrickfergus District Lodge will be holding a short service at the King William statue outside the town's castle on Monday morning in Co Antrim. With 25 districts and around 7,000 Orangemen normally taking part in the Twelfth parades, the County Antrim Grand Orange Lodge is the biggest in Northern Ireland. Five parades were planned to be held in the county. Billy Thompson, County Secretary for Antrim, said they will be holding drive-in church services to mark the Twelfth. "Some of the lodges are holding smaller services, such as Glenavy, who are holding one on Monday as well," Billy explained. "The district will be able to get together for a short time and have a service. A lot of the lodges are doing small ceremonies at the local war memorials and most of them will be on Monday morning." District lodges in Co Fermanagh have been encouraged to post the best pictures of families celebrating at home this Monday. Fermanagh's parade was supposed to be held by Enniskillen District LOL No 5 in the town but the County Grand Lodge has a range of other events in store. Stuart Brooker, the Assistant Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland and past County Grand Master of Fermanagh, explained that they will be taking the lead from the Grand Lodge's Twelfth at Home initiative by encouraging people to tune into Radio Boyne, hosting family barbecues and displaying banners in scenic spots. "The county is actually running, which will feed into our awards night, our best Twelfth photograph," added Stuart. "We're encouraging districts to be very different this year and send in photographs of what folk have been doing at home. We'll see what comes of that and it'll be an interesting project. "We're also working alongside the Grand Lodge, who have been encouraging lodges within strict guidelines, to maybe have their banner out with a small number of brethren at an iconic location." Yesterday Health Minister Robin Swann urged the public to abide by the public health advice. "This year marks the 330th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne and under any normal circumstances it should have been a time for celebration and social gatherings," he said. "However, this year is different, and as the virus still lingers it still presents a threat to all in society, but especially the most vulnerable. So I would urge everyone - bands, lodges and supporters - to support the Twelfth at home." Members of the public who refuse to wear a face mask on public transport from Monday face fines of 2,500 or six months in prison when the measure becomes mandatory. Gardai can also be called, but confusion surrounds who will police the measure. Would-be passengers who are not wearing a mask may not be allowed on board public transport, Taoiseach Micheal Martin warned yesterday. However, the union for bus and rail drivers said its members will not be enforcing the rule. The National Bus and Railworkers Union said potential confrontations and conflict between staff and passengers could risk compromising the safe operation of services. Exceptional Mr Martin said there would be provision for gardai to be called in exceptional circumstances, but he envisaged good compliance from the public. "The wearing of masks on public transport will be compulsory from Monday," he said. He was speaking as 25 more people were diagnosed with Covid-19, one of the highest daily tolls since mid-June. It confirms the upward trend in new cases, which is partly due to a rise in travel-related infections and the spread of disease among young people who are socialising and not physically-distancing. Another death from the virus was also announced yesterday, bringing the total number so far to 1,744. Gardai are expected to crack down on street revelry and breaches of safety measures in pubs this weekend in a bid to avoid last week's scenes of abuse of physical-distancing in Dublin city centre. Mr Martin warned young people that "no one is invincible" from Covid-19 as he urged them to behave responsibly. Crowded indoor gatherings and house parties are "a problem", he said, adding: "The gardai will be out this weekend to prevent a recurrence of what happened last weekend." His appeal was echoed by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn. Dr Glynn said: "This weekend, we all have an opportunity to exercise, socialise and enjoy life in a safe and responsible way." Meanwhile, the HSE has warned the public about a telephone and text scam from criminals abusing the new Covid-19 tracing app, which has been downloaded by 1.1 million people. The fraudsters are claiming to be HSE contact tracing and testing staff. The calls and text messages claim the person has been identified as a close contact of someone who has Covid-19. They ask for money for a testing kit to be sent to them and for bank details. Ignored A statement from the HSE said: "The HSE does not charge the public for Covid-19-related services, including testing, and such texts and calls should be ignored. "Any close contacts of a confirmed positive case of Covid- 19 will be contacted by the contact-tracing team or public health staff and referred for a test. "The HSE does not charge or ask for payment for testing. "If the Covid-19 Tracker App has identified you as a close contact, you will see a red box with the advice on what you should do next on all pages of the app. You will never be asked to pay for testing "If you are concerned or suspicious, please ring HSE Live on 1850 24 1850 and contact your local gardai." Jane Lynch was seen for the first time since news that her Glee co-star Naya Rivera's four-year-old son was found alone in Lake Piru, Ventura County, California where she is now missing and presumed dead on Wednesday. The 59-year-old actress was seen on a solo shopping trip in Beverly Hills on Friday. She was asked about her former castmate as she said: 'Oh it's very heartbreaking. It's very, very, very hard. 'It's very heartbreaking': Jane Lynch was seen for the first time since news that her Glee co-star Naya Rivera's disappearance as she was out shopping in Beverly Hills on Friday Tragic: Rivera's four-year-old son was found alone in Lake Piru, Ventura County, California where she is now missing and presumed dead on Wednesday, she is seen in a Glee promo in 2009 'Sending the best to her family and that sweet little boy and yeah it's pretty awful.' Fellow castmate Heather Morris was also seen out for the first time since the tough news. The 33-year-old actress was seen on an errand run in Los Angeles. Downtrodden: Fellow castmate Heather Morris was also seen out for the first time since the tough news on an errand run Support: She has remained hopeful about Rivera as she took to Instagram on Friday to post a video of the sky with the caption: 'BringNayaHome' She has remained hopeful about Rivera as she took to Instagram on Friday to post a video of the sky with the caption: 'BringNayaHome' They all starred on the Fox series from 2009 to 2015. Meanwhile her ex Ryan Dorsey was seen arriving at his former mother-in-law's home on Friday as crews continued recovery efforts for his ex-wife. The 36-year-old Justified actor looked downcast as he arrived and carried in supplies for the family. Former flame: Meanwhile her ex Ryan Dorsey was seen arriving at his former mother-in-law's home on Friday as crews continued recovery efforts for his ex-wife Support: The 36-year-old Justified actor looked downcast as he arrived and carried in supplies for the family His arrival came after People reported that three months before Naya's disappearance on March 26, she and Ryan filed a new agreement to 'share joint physical custody of their son Josey, which would include holidays and his summer vacation. The former married couple decided on 'an equal timeshare to be mutually agreed upon by the Parties consistent with the schedules of each Party and the minor child,' according to the documents. 'The Parties shall also equally divide all holidays, vacation time, pupil-free days, and summer vacation. The Parties shall meet and confer to determine the holiday schedule. The Court reserves jurisdiction in the event of a dispute,' the agreement continued. Interesting: His arrival came after People reported that three months before Naya's disappearance on March 26, she and Ryan filed a new agreement to 'share joint physical custody of their son Josey, which would include holidays and his summer vacation 'The Parties shall share joint physical custody of the minor child with [Rivera] having primary physical custody of the minor child. [Dorsey] shall be afforded frequent and meaningful custodial contact with the minor child according to' a schedule created by the two parents. Both Ryan and Naya were also to each get two separate weeks alone with Josey throughout the summer. Meanwhile law enforcement sources ruled out suicide as a factor and believe the disappearance on the lake was accidental. Mystery: Meanwhile law enforcement sources ruled out suicide as a factor and believe the disappearance on the lake was accidental, the boat she rented on Wednesday is pictured Sgt. Kevin Donoghue told People on Friday: 'We interviewed her son and there was nothing that we learned from her son that would have suggested that this was suicide. Everything that weve learned so far leads to this being some sort of water recreational accident.' 'To say definitively what actually happened, we really cant say. We just dont know, its a mystery,' Donoghue added. 'Were still investigating, were still searching. Were trying to uncover clues as we go. But so far, we really dont have a lot of information to make any guesses as to what could have happened.' He also said that its unclear if Josey climbed back into the boat himself or if Naya helped him back in. He said, 'I know she was in the water. I dont know if she helped him back on the boat. That I dont know.' The conditions in Lake Piru are making it difficult for the rescue crew to find Naya, but they used a scanning sonar on Friday to 'paint pictures of the lake bed floor.' Naya and her son Josey: The pair were on Lake Piru in California Wednesday afternoon when Rivera vanished and is feared to have drowned. She shared the right-hand image just a day before her disappearance, with the caption: 'Just the two of us' Police said on Thursday that the search and rescue mission for Rivera is now being considered a recovery operation, a day after she vanished from the California lake where she'd been boating with her son. Rivera vanished on Wednesday while on Lake Piru with her son Josey, who told police that she'd 'jumped' into the water to go swimming and never came back. He was found asleep on their drifting boat. This comes after search and rescue teams searched the lake on Thursday and local sheriffs gave grim details about the lake which Rivera was familiar with and had been visiting for years. Ventura County Deputy Sheriff Chris Dyer said on Thursday that Lake Piru was a sanctuary for Naya, she was familiar with the lake and has been going there for years. Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey: The couple had an on-off relationship including a four-year marriage from 2014 and 2018 which led to the birth of a son, Josey Hollis Dorsey Rivera welcomed her son, Josey Hollis, with then-husband Ryan Dorsey in 2015. She called her young son 'my greatest success, and I will never do any better than him' in her 2016 memoir 'Sorry Not Sorry.' Rivera and Hollis divorced in 2018, after Rivera had earlier applied to end the marriage in 2016 but the couple had initially reconciled. On Thanksgiving weekend 2017, Rivera was arrested in West Virginia on suspicion of domestic battery against Dorsey. The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office said Dorsey later asked that Rivera not be prosecuted. Dorsey, also an actor, has appeared on shows including Ray Donovan and Justified. Former Glee co-star Matthew Morrison defended Rivera at the time of her arrest, saying she was a 'great mom'. Divers search Lake Piru for any sign of Naya Rivera on Thursday morning. The Glee actress vanished after going for a swim from a pontoon boat she had rented with her son Initially, police had hoped to find the actress alive and were searching the expansive shoreline as well as in the water. Now though, they say the mission is a recovery operation. 'There's no evidence of foul play at this point. This may well be a case of drowning,' sheriff's Capt. Eric Buschow said. He said it was an employee who works at the boat shack who found the boat and the child in the north part of the lake. My indication is that the child was found sleeping on the boat, he said at a press conference near the lake Thursday. Ive been told Naya Rivera has been coming here for years and she is familiar with the lake. This might be a little sanctuary for her, especially on a Wednesday - no ones here on a Wednesday so its a good day to come. She rented the boat. Rivera was arrested on a domestic battery charge (pictured left) on Thanksgiving weekend in 2017 after being accused of striking Dorsey (pictured together right), who eventually asked for the prosecution not to go ahead Deputy Sheriff Dyer added: Were not presuming her dead and right now its still a search and rescue operation, were searching not only the water but the shoreline. We hope for the best and prepare for the worst. The senior officer said at this point all signs point to this being a horrible accident. There was no collision or signs of struggle, he said. We are using our helicopters, we are using our dive teams, we are using sonar equipment and our unmanned aerial drone team. Its extremely difficult to search this lake, it goes from depths of 40ft to 5ft. 'My sweet Naya': Tahj Mowry, whom Naya revealed in her memoir was her first kiss, shared an Instagram tribute to her this Friday Visibility in the daytime is 8 to 10 inches. At nighttime its zero. Everywhere you see a buoy on the lake is a low part. Theres full-grown trees and debris under the lake. Its been a couple years since someone drowned here in Lake Piru, that an accidents happened in the lake, but it has happened before,' he said. Tahj Mowry, whom Naya revealed in her memoir was her first kiss, shared an Instagram tribute to her this Friday. 'My sweet Naya - to say that I am devastated would be an understatement. This is a nightmare. Everyday gets harder. However, I am holding onto hope that you will be found,' he began. 'We grew up together. We became adults together. We experienced so many firsts together. You were my first experience with everything; love, intimacy, heartbreak. We broke each others hearts and then mended them back together...more than once. I will never not think of you,' he continued. 'No woman has ever measured up what you gave me or how you made me feel. Ive never liked to admit it but I have never stopped loving you. A part of me always wished for the day where God would bring us back together to be what we dreamt we could have been.' Offering warm words to Rivera's family he added: 'I still have faith. I still have hope. Lets please all pray that she is found and brought home safely. ' Mowry concluded: 'Naya, I miss you deeply. I wish I got the chance to tell you that once more but Im believing I will get that chance. I know deep down youve always known how I felt. I look forward to the day where I can see your beautiful face once more and tell you everything Ive wanted to say that I didnt get the chance to say. I love you forever. I always have and I always will. Cyberattacks are constantly getting more sophisticated. Barely a day goes by without news of an elite hacking team creating a more stealth exploit--malware, elaborate spear-phishing attacks, trojans, and a killer array of ransomware that can take factories and other organizations offline, or even hobble entire cities. With so many vectors of attack, it's easy to overlook the more basic tricks hackers use. The most common one is called typosquatting. What is typosquatting? First, do not visit the following examples unless you want to get hacked. Typosquatting is when third parties buy variants of domain names based on simple and common spelling errors, e.g. "gooogle.com," or "gooogl.com" instead of Google.com. Most of these typo-domains are either purchased for resale, redirect to a real offer in a shady way, or take you to a minefield of advertising, but there are enough sites with more pernicious goals to merit attention. A recent study by cybersecurity company Sophos Labs found that roughly 2.7 percent of 15,000 domain names probed directed users to websites associated with some form of cybercrime, including hacking, phishing, online fraud, or spamming. If 2.7 percent seems like a small number, consider that there are currently at least 360 million registered domain names. Examples of typosquatting are easy to come by. In 2018, security researchers discovered a perfect copy of Reddit.com, one of the five most-visited sites online, under the domain name Reddit.co (.co is the domain name suffix for Colombia). In this instance, the hackers had even acquired an SSL certificate for the domain, meaning that the majority of web browsers displayed a green lock symbol indicating the spoofed site was legit and secure. A similar campaign in 2016 was used to spread malware to anyone who had the bad luck of typing Netflix.om and Citibank.om (.om is the domain suffix for Oman). Cybersecurity researcher Brian Krebs reported a network of over a thousand domains using the country suffix for Cameroon, .cm, for major brands, such as Hulu and Netflix, that generated nearly 12 million visits over a three-month period. The opportunities for scams are numerous when a single missing letter can take a would-be victim to a completely separate site. When you consider how easy it is to buy a domain name, the threat begins to seem a little more real and a lot more present. A spoofed website for a major service, as in the case of Reddit.com, can provide hackers with a fresh and current set of login credentials in a cyber space where 50 percent of respondents in a recent study admitted they use the same passwords for personal and work accounts, and that 65 percent of respondents use the same credentials for most or all their accounts. A compromised login and password combination provides an easy point of entry into business networks and emails if two-factor authentication is not in place, creating the potential for larger scale spear-phishing or ransomware attacks, and, of course, financial account attacks of every stripe. The risk posed by this sort of hack on a business's reputation is also worth noting. When it comes to "brandjacking," typosquatters aren't trying to hack anyone; instead, the goal is damage--most often with a redirect to offensive content. Whitehouse.org is the most famous example, which has been parodying the official Whitehouse.gov website since the early 2000s. Lego has reportedly spent a fortune trying either reclaim or take down domain names that damage its brands. It shouldn't be necessary to say that needless embarrassment can be an impediment to success. What can be done? Businesses should consider a proactive approach. The best foil to typosquatting is the acquisition of as many similar or related domain names as possible. While it's extremely unlikely that a business can acquire every possible variation, and it would be inefficient for all but the largest companies to even try, buying the most obvious domain squats is a minor investment for the mitigation of a major risk. As in virtually every cyber risk, one path to risk mitigation here is education and training. Typosquatting relies on an attention deficit. Train employees to pay attention, to be on the lookout for indications of a spoofed site, and to double-check links with an eye to making absolutely certain that domain names are properly spelled. Trump sought to frame his action as an example of being more aggressive than his predecessor in countering the Kremlin. President Barack Obama, he said, knew before the [2016] election that Russia was playing around. Or he was told. Whether or not it was so or not, who knows? And he said nothing. WATERLOO A 27-year-old man was charged with sexual assault, forcible confinement and obstruction after police responded to a call in Waterloo on Thursday. Waterloo Regional Police responded to a report of a sexual assault in the area of Phillip Street and Columbia Street West at about 5:20 p.m. A woman was walking home when she was approached by a man who started talking with her. Once at her home, the man sexually assaulted the woman and then left her home. Police found the man in the area and he tried to flee. Officers caught and arrested the man, who now faces the three charges. The Swedish city of Helsingborg on Thursday launched a "treasure hunt" smartphone app to prevent congestion at tourist beaches by touting lesser known spots. Helsingborg, strategically situated at the narrowest part of the Oresund strait and opposite the Danish town of Elsinore, is a historic city with a fortress and stunning beaches. Named "Badplatsjakten" (The hunt for swimming spots), the app encourages sun worshippers to discover different bathing spots around the city and avoid crowding in the best-known spots. "We have 23 beaches in Helsingborg, but only three or four of them are popular and attract a lot of people," Kristina Magnusson, director of urban planning in Helsingborg, told AFP. "In this time of coronavirus, we are afraid the it might spread and we want to get people out to the other 20 beaches," she added. On each beach a four digit code is hidden that users can enter into the app. After gathering the codes from 10 beaches, participants win a beach bag, and after 20 they are entered into a lottery where they can win a gift card worth 250 Swedish kronor ($27 or 24 euros). "It's like a treasure hunt," Magnusson said. "Everyone can play. I hope families will of course, but also elderly people." The competition will run until August 31. Mumbai, July 11 : Actor Namit Das has impressed many with his recent shows "Aarya" and "Mafia". He says 2020 has been very kind to him. Namit's latest series "Mafia" is about six college buddies who reunite for a bachelorette party that turns into a game of whodunnit as the past returns to haunt them. In the psychological thriller, the actor plays Nitin Kumar, a Dalit from Bihar, who enters the police force to fight against the injustice meted out to his community. "This year has been very kind to me and the viewers have been so affectionate that I can only be grateful for everything. Essaying Nitin was a fun challenge and it really helped me vicariously experience the societal difference between the haves and the have-nots," he said. "It was also an intense experience for me because Nitin navigates the unfair world and is dealing with his inner demons. When that is planted into a story, in which skeletons of the past come tumbling out, it is a thrill for the actors too! I hope 'Mafia' continues to keep viewers on the edge of their seats," he added. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The suspect was an associate of slain gangsters Richie Carberry and Sean Dunne Pressure is continuing to grow on one of Ireland's biggest drug dealers after gardai seized 50,000 in cash in a raid on his Co Meath home. Officers from the Garda DMR North drugs unit carried out a "targeted search" of the crimelord's home earlier this month and seized the money, which was on the kitchen table, sources said. Detectives this weekend are continuing their investigation into the dealer's trafficking network in north Dublin. Murdered "He clearly wasn't expecting visitors as the money was in plain sight and the gardai didn't have to do much looking around before they got it," a source said. "This individual is a drugs trafficker on a massive scale, but even he will suffer because of the loss of this cash, which gardai suspect is ill-gotten gains. It was a good capture." Detectives from the drugs unit are expected to mount "ongoing operations" against the target, who is a close associate of murdered criminal Sean Dunne. The gangster, aged in his 40s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has barely any previous record, despite having been one of the main targets of the international police investigation codenamed Operation Majesty in September 2013. Gardai released details at that time that 2.5m in cash and 2.5m worth of cannabis herb, along with firearms, ammunition, grenades and luxury cars, were seized in Ireland and across Europe. The gang set up a massive criminal operation importing cannabis from the Netherlands via the postal system. Operation Majesty was revealed after gardai targeted the gang boss in separate raids that led to the seizure of 4.4m worth of drugs and thousands of euro worth of contraband cigarettes. Dunne was an armed robber and drug dealer who disappeared in Spain in 2004. He is presumed to have been murdered. At the time of his disappearance, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) was seeking around 4m from him after assessing him for unpaid taxes on his income since the mid-1990s. CAB identified 13 properties owned by him, as well as land in Co Meath. Surveillance The suspect from whom the 50,000 cash was seized was an associate of Richie Carberry, who was shot dead outside his home in Bettystown, Co Meath, last November. Only weeks earlier, the pair were suspected of being part of an alliance of north city organised crime gangs who were left millions of euro out of pocket after a garda bust that was part of a major international surveillance operation. Cannabis herb with an estimated street value of 3.2m was seized. It had been hidden in a legitimate load of fresh vegetables in Co Louth. Celebrity hairdresser Joh Bailey is selling his stunning mansion in the Southern Highlands. The renowned stylist, 57, listed his elegant country property, located just 15 minutes away from the picturesque town of Bowral, for $3.2million, The Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday. Joh and his long-term partner, champion horseman Michael Christie, were supposed to tie the knot at the abode back in March but cancelled at the last minute because of the coronavirus pandemic. Selling up: Celebrity hairdresser Joh Bailey (pictured) has listed his stunning Southern Highlands mansion on the market for $3.2million The property sits on an expansive 30 acres, with stunning views out onto the rural landscape, which also includes trees and a lake. The home has three spacious bedrooms, and a master bedroom with walk-in-wardrobes and an ensuite bathroom. The property also has a bright living room with a fireplace, giving it a cosy feel. Picture perfect: The property sits on an expansive 30 acres, with stunning views out onto the rural landscape, which also includes trees and a lake Guest rooms: The home has three spacious bedrooms (one of the rooms pictured), and a master bedroom with walk-in-wardrobes and an ensuite bathroom The kitchen has a very minimal design with white cabinets and bench tops, as well as sleek silver appliances. It also opens out to an open dining and family room - perfect for entertaining guests. The property is ideal for those looking to find a country home with space for horses as it comes with stables, a horse float port and six paddocks. It also comes with a workshop, garage, and studio apartment. The country life: The property also has a bright living room with a fireplace, giving it a cosy feel (pictured) Spacious: The kitchen also opens out to an open dining and family room (pictured) - perfect for entertaining guests The couple reportedly have no plans on leaving the upscale country town, as Joh owns a salon in Bowral. Their agent Di Dixon told the publication: 'They don't know what they want yet, but they do know it will be something that's interesting, something they can fix up again. 'But there's not a lot of acreage like this one in the area - that perfect size that's not too big,' she added. On hold: In March, Joh and partner Michael Christie were forced to postpone their wedding at their home, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the social gathering restrictions at the time Postponed: Joh told The Sydney Morning Herald's Private Sydney that cancelling his nuptials at the property was the 'only thing' they could do, and added 'no one could predict how this was going to go and the last thing we needed was the anxiety' In March, Joh and partner Michael Christie were forced to postpone their wedding at their home, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the social gathering restrictions at the time. They had over 200 people ready to attend their nuptials. But Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison banned all non-essential gatherings of 100 people at the time, to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Joh told The Sydney Morning Herald's Private Sydney that cancelling his nuptials at the property was the 'only thing' they could do. 'It was the only thing we could do, no one could predict how this was going to go and the last thing we needed was the anxiety,' Joh said. The guest list included the likes of broadcaster Alan Jones, TV legend Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Real Housewives of Sydney star Nicole Gazal O'Neil. According to Private Sydney, the wedding was scheduled to be held at Joh's estate in the NSW Southern Highlands. 'It's my big fat gay wedding,' Joh told the publication. Over the past 35 years, Joh's clientele has included Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Minogue, Eva Longoria, Elle Macpherson and most notably the late Princess Diana. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Bad luck? Bad timing? Bad idea? Poor performance? Its always something, when things go wrong, but its seldom just one thing. Rather, most mistakes are the result of a confluence of flawed factors that turns a series of unfortunate events or choices into a big, embarrassing, regrettable bungle. The current city council and the administration that supports it have of late found themselves in a seemingly ceaseless series of missteps and messes that have likely prompted many Winnipeggers to shake their heads, rub their eyes and wonder aloud, "WHAT in the HECK is going ON down THERE?" This week, a humbling setback arrived in the form of a court ruling ordering the City of Winnipeg to pay back all monies accumulated by the controversial impact fee it imposed in May 2017 on developers and homebuilders in some new neighbourhoods. The decision, delivered by Justice James Edmond, rejected the manner in which the fee was imposed and the citys assertion that the revenue it generated would ensure new development pays for the cost of civic infrastructure and services required in the aforementioned new neighbourhoods. "I find that the impact fee imposed ... is an invalild indirect tax, and therefore an unenforceable tax beyond the legislative authority granted to the city to collect," Justice Edmond wrote. In excess of $32 million had been collected as of March 31; chief corporate services officer Michael Jack said Thursday the city is reviewing the decision to determine whether to file an appeal, and that any discussion of the process for refunding the fees will have to wait until all legal options have been concluded. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Despite Mayor Brian Bowman attempting to cast the decision in a positive light because it does confirm the citys ability to charge some form of growth or impact fee within its charter, the prospect of having to repay $32-plus million (plus interest) is a stinging rebuke. Fortunately, the city has held the funds in reserve while awaiting the outcome of the court challenge. And its far from the first such dressing-down for civic officials in recent history. In March, a provincial arbitrator ruled the city acted improperly when it moved unilaterally to alter the Winnipeg police pension plan. The price tag for the administrative overreach was more than $600,000 in penalties. Last year, a Court of Queens Bench justice found the city in contempt for its handling of the long-controversial Parker Lands development. And in 2017, the city ran afoul of Charleswood residents over the appearance of a "rogue" option for the Sterling Lyon Parkway extension, which would have required expropriation of numerous properties. On their own, each might reasonably be consigned to the "understandable error" category; when considered together, however, and added to a growing list of other assorted gaffes and miscues (missed lawsuit deadline, building-inspector videos, downtown parking confusion, turned-off fountains in retention ponds), it begins to suggest a pattern of behaviour that reflects rather poorly on city council and administration. "I think we have got a problem that we have to face with the advice that were getting," finance committee chair Scott Gillingham said this week. "This (impact-fee decision) is the second or third major case in a row that the city has not won." Theres an oft-repeated bit of folk wisdom, attributed to a 19th-century French philosopher, that suggests people get the government they deserve. Winnipeg voters would surely disagree regardless of how they cast their ballots in recent civic elections, they deserve much better than this from city hall. Filming "Star Wars" didn't exactly go according to plan for George Lucas, as newly uncovered National Park Service documents reveal. The director had been planning to film most of "A New Hope" in studios in the United Kingdom and in North Africa (the latter of which he had selected because he liked the architecture), but ran into a snag. His earthly Tatooine set the deserts of Tunisia wouldn't allow him to use an elephant for his bantha. In fact, only the United States would. Another returning traveller in New Zealand has busted out of the country's mandatory 14-day quarantine period, marking it the fourth time a breach has occurred in just the past week. A person in their 60s was the latest to break out of their guarded hotel confinement after smashing a window in the middle of the night. The individual then fled the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre in Mt Wellington and knocked on three local residents' doors. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) speaks to the media during a press conference on July 10 'The first property did not answer,' head of New Zealand's managed isolation and quarantine program Air Commodore Darryn Webb said. 'The second property called 111 (New Zealand emergency services phone number). At the third property the individual apparently spoke to a couple.' Police arrived on the scene shortly after midnight and immediately sent the wandering return traveller back into isolation. Mr Webb said the individual had previously tested negative to COVID-19 days earlier and that there was 'very low' risk to the public. An individual in their 60's fled the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre in Mt Wellington in Auckland (pictured) and knocked on three local residents' doors The individual is now being offered health and welfare support. The bizarre episode followed an equally strange incident on Thursday when a man in his 50s allegedly absconded from the Distinction Hotel in Hamilton to stock up on alcohol. 'He walked in and bought a four-pack of Leffe Blonde and a pinot noir,' a staff member at the Te Rapa Brews bottle shop told the NZ Herald. 'I asked him how he was and he just said fine.' Martin James McVicar (pictured), 52, appeared in Hamilton District Court on Friday accused of breaking out of his quarantine hotel to visit a nearby liquor store on Thursday evening McVicar allegedly left the Distinction Hotel (pictured) in Hamilton, on New Zealand's North Island, through a fire escape and cut through fence ties on a 1.8-metre fence McVicar allegedly visited the Brews Te Rapa (pictured) bottle shop and purchased a four pack of beer and a bottle of wine before returning to the hotel between 6.30pm and 7pm Although the man tested negative for coronavirus, there was another instance were an infected arrival was outside his managed isolation facility for about 70 minutes. On Tuesday, a 32-year-old who arrived from India snuck out of the Stamford Plaza in Auckland to go to a busy shopping centre. A guard wearing a full face mask is pictured at the Stamford Plaza after incidents where guests who were in mandatory quarantine were able to escaped managed isolation The man had escaped through a hole in a fence while having a cigarette in a smoking area. 'The only thing we are asking them in return is to follow the rules. This person did not follow the rules,' New Zealand Health Minister Chris Hipkins said. 'It is completely unacceptable that we have now had two people let everybody else down by breaking the rules, leaving facilities and putting New Zealanders at risk. 'These are acts of selfishness that we intend to use the full weight of the law to stop.' Last Saturday, a similar incident occurred when a 43-year-old woman jumped two fences at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland. She was found a few blocks away after an hour and 40 minutes. Commodore Webb said charges will be brought against any individual who breaches quarantine laws. The maximum penalty for breaking New Zealand's COVID-19 managed isolation regulations is a six-month jail sentence or a $4,000 fine. Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked firing that continued overnight along the International Border (IB) in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday. Firing on the border outpost in Kotha area started around 10.30 pm on Friday, drawing effective retaliation by the Border Security Force guarding the IB, they said. The officials said the exchange of fire between the two sides continued till 4.15 am but there was no report of any casualty or damage on the Indian side. However, it caused panic among the border residents who were forced to spend the night in underground bunkers, the officials said. Two activists have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after the waters of Trafalgar Square's fountains were dyed blood red. Animal Rebellion are claiming the coronavirus crisis was caused by eating meat and the activists called for an end to 'climate-destructive and exploitative industries' which they claim caused the pandemic. Demonstrators held placards reading 'the government has blood on their hands' as they waded knee-high into the red waters today. Photographs show a female activist standing knee high in the red water wearing a face mask and holding a pink placard. She was then approached by Metropolitan Police officers who talked her out of the fountains before escorting her away. The waters of Trafalgar Square's fountains have been dyed red by activists who are claiming the coronavirus crisis could have been prevented by going vegan Demonstrators held placards reading 'the government has blood on their hands' as they waded knee-high into the red waters today London Metropolitan Police have said two activists were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage The Met said: 'Two people have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage following an incident at the fountains in Trafalgar Square earlier today' Animal rights and environmental activists hold signs as they stand inside a fountain whose water was turned red after protesters poured coloured dye into the clear water Ducks swim in the fountain turned red in Trafalgar Square, London, today by animal rights activists Photographs show a female activist standing knee high in the red water wearing a face mask and holding a pink placard Animal rights activists in costume holding signs saying 'global boiling' and 'don't bait me' sit at Trafalgar Square An Animal Rebellion protester stands in the fountains at Trafalgar Square in London this afternoon Protesters holding signs gather around Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square today to protest against animal farming Animal Rebellion claimed responsibility for dying the waters of Trafalgar Square's fountains London Metropolitan Police said: 'Two people have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage following an incident at the fountains in Trafalgar Square earlier today. 'They remain in custody. ' Animal Rebellion tweeted: 'Animal Rebellion have now dyed the Trafalgar Square fountains red, symbolising the blood that is on the hands of the UK Government. 'We are here today to demand that the government prevent future pandemics by ending animal farming and transitioning to a plant-based food system. 'This crisis could have been prevented. The science tells us that 3 out of every 4 new infectious diseases originate from animals. 'The UK Government must protect the people, not support climate-destructive and exploitative industries'. She was then approached by Metropolitan Police officers who talked her out of the fountains before escorting her away Animal Rebellion dyed the waters red as they called for an end to 'climate-destructive and exploitative industries' which they claim caused the pandemic An animal rights and environmental activist holds a sign inside a fountain whose water was turned red after protesters poured coloured dye into the clear water People relax around the fountain by Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, this afternoon Police officers speak with animal rights and environmental activists dressed in costumed today Stephanie Zupan, a representative of Animal Rebellion said: 'The Government must now begin a transition towards a plant-based food system, or risk future zoonotic pandemics of catastrophic proportions.' Animal Rebellion said the action was coordinated with protests in 20 cities, including Bristol, Brighton and New York. Kieran Blyth, another representative for the group, said: 'These unsatisfactory and dangerous measures will only increase the risk of future pandemics. 'The Government are playing with the potential of tens of thousands more deaths.' tech2 News Staff The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set up an independent panel that will look into the 'world's response to the COVID-19 pandemic'. This announcement was made by WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday, 9 July 2020. Former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, who was the first female administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and former President of Liberia, will co-chair the panel along with Nobel Peace Prize recipient Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Sirleaf was also the first female President of an African country. The two co-chairs will elect the other panel members, as well as an independent secretariat to provide support. The formation of this panel was announced by the World Health Assembly during its most recent meeting in May. WHO member states agreed to a resolution tabled by the European Union, which called for "an independent and comprehensive evaluation of the lessons learned from the international health response to COVID-19." The member nations urged that an investigation be carried out to probe "the actions of WHO and their timelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic." The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPR) will present their 'interim report' in November to the Assembly after a Special Session of the Executive Board in September to discuss the panel's progress. The panel will present its 'substantive report' in May 2021, at the next World Health Assembly. "This is a time for self-reflection, to look at the world we live in and to find ways to strengthen our collaboration as we work together to save lives and bring this pandemic under control," said Dr Ghebreyesus in a statement. "The magnitude of this pandemic, which has touched virtually everyone in the world, clearly deserves a commensurate evaluation." WHO vs Trump This investigative panel comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has accused the foremost global health agency of being partial towards China. In May, Trump had threatened to withdraw from the WHO and stop the USA's $450 million funding. He accused the WHO of withholding information about the virus and of being "too close" to China. Trump called them China's "puppet" in spite of the US being their biggest contributor. Dr Ghebreyesus has, on his part, dismissed these accusations and said his agency kept the world informed. On Tuesday, 7 July 2020, a WHO official confirmed that they had received a formal letter from the US giving WHO the required a one-year notice of withdrawal. The official said, "We have received reports that the US has submitted formal notification to the UN secretary-general that it is withdrawing from WHO effective 6 July 2021. The President has been clear that the WHO needs to get its act together. That starts with demonstrating significant progress and the ability to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks with transparency and accountability, a senior U.S. official in Washington told Reuters on Thursday. This seems to a practiced move on the part of President Trump, who has also pulled US participation from the Paris Agreement at a time when climate change impacts are being seen in real-time. The confirmation of withdrawal came at a time when the number of coronavirus cases in the US approached the big three million mark with 130,000 deaths. Speaking of the newly formed panel, Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown Law in Washington, DC, told Reuters that it should not be "an inside job" driven by states close to the WHO, nor should it pander to what he refers to "Trumps conspiracy theories". "What is really vital is we have truly independent experts from a variety of disciplines that will honestly and frankly review the situation with COVID," Gostin said. "Are they going to review Chinas action, are they going to review WHOs initial response to China, look at things like ... WHOs power to independently verify states reports?." added. Lack of Unity The Director-General made no comment on this new update at the press briefing that followed, nor did he directly confirm that this panel is a consequence of Trump's remarks. "The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself. Rather, it is the lack of leadership and solidarity at the global and national levels," he said. "We cannot defeat this pandemic as a divided world. The COVID-19 pandemic is a test of global solidarity and global leadership. The virus thrives on division but is thwarted when we unite," Ghebreyesus said. We are in the midst of the battle of our lives, and we have to do better. Not just now, but for the future. Because these threats will never stop, and in all likelihood they will get worse. Together! #COVID19 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) July 9, 2020 That said, he did speak to the handful of countries that have done a commendable job of getting the outbreak under control, and encouraged other countries to learn from them. "The virus has upended health systems in some of the worlds wealthiest nations, while some countries that have mounted a successful response have been of modest means," Ghebreyesus said. Following the approach of 'trace, test, isolate' works to stop the spread of the virus and countries that currently have low cases have proved that this method works. However, six months in and the virus has not yet been brought under control. It is, in fact, getting worse with 12,408,106 cases and 557,790 deaths worldwide, Ghebreyesus said the "pandemic is still accelerating." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Alya Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 15:49 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066596aa3 1 National COVID-19,coronavirus,WHO,airborne,airborne-transmission,mask,face-masks,face-mask,covid-19-task-force Free The national COVID-19 task force has encouraged the public to keep wearing masks to prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus, following a recent report by the World Health Organization that acknowledges the virus may be transmitted through the air. According to I Gusti Ngurah Mahardika, a Udayana University virologist who is also part of the task forces expert staff, airborne transmission was possible in crowded indoor spaces such as malls, offices, restaurants and public transportation that had air conditioning (AC) instead of natural ventilation. Another expert staffer, Budiman Bela, said transmission potential was higher in rooms and indoor spaces where the air was cold because the virus tended to be more stable at low temperatures. The two experts emphasized that chances for transmission could be minimized if people wore masks. Read also: WHO acknowledges 'evidence emerging' of airborne spread of COVID-19 Contagion is likely to occur in closed buildings with ACs, but if the people inside wear masks and maintain physical distancing, then the potential of transmission is much lower. Wearing masks remains a top preventive measure, Budiman, who is also a microbiologist at the University of Indonesia (UI), said during a press briefing on Friday. The mask stops any particles from the individuals mouth and nose from traveling into the air. On Thursday, the WHO released new guidelines encouraging people to avoid crowds and ensure good ventilation, explaining that some outbreak reports related to crowded indoor spaces have suggested the possibility of aerosol transmission. This is in addition to contact with contaminated surfaces or with infected people who spread the virus through droplets released when they cough, sneeze, speak or sing. Therefore, Mahardika urged public service providers to ensure the use of natural ventilation such as opening doors and windows. On the other hand, he said, using exhaust fans was an alternative to help lower transmission potential in indoor spaces. We can reduce the viral load in the air by propelling the air through an exhaust vent. Mahardika reiterated that wearing masks should not be based on fear of contracting the virus but rather the awareness that anyone including ourselves could be a carrier and might infect others. Wear a mask if you care about the people around you. Have you seen all the protesters? Similar to George Floyd unjustly having the knee of a white police officer on his black neck until he died begging to be treated as a fellow human by simply being allowed to breath, Pennsylvania has been unjustly keeping a figurative knee on the necks of thousands of lifers convicted of second-degree murder until they die in prison, without the simple humanity of a legal sentence with parole eligibility -- despite numerous pleas for help. Its all so sad. Like racism, Pennsylvania has perpetuated this systemic injustice for decades by disingenuously insisting life imprisonment is a minimum sentence. To be clear, our courts were asked to answer one simple question, namely, when a sentencing fails to state the required minimum sentence -- not exceeding one-half of the maximum sentence imposed, does a flat life sentence for second-degree murder constitute a minimum sentence or a maximum sentence with an implied minimum of one day? Incredibly, our appellate courts all kissed reality good-bye by ruling life imprisonment is a minimum sentence without parole eligibility. This ruling was exposed as a bare-faced lie by our U.S. Supreme Courts 2012 Miller decision and our General Assemblys enactment of 18 Pa.c.s. 1102.1, denoting life imprisonment as a maximum sentence in harmony with our other statutory laws and the state constitution. However, just like the police in Minnesota didnt do the right thing by justly responding to Mr. Floyds pleas for help, Pennsylvania has also kept its knee on the necks of lifers convicted of second degree murder by refusing to review any of them for parole despite their repeated pleas for justice. Rather than apologizing for their lies and correcting this tyrannical oppression and systemic injustice, our cruel courts have compounded it by incredibly departing from reality again and spinning such a tangled web of deceit Satan the devil is in awe. This isnt a miscarriage of justice. Its an abortion. Does Gov. Wolf have the courage and moral fortitude necessary to redress this oppressive and systemic injustice in accordance with his sworn duty to uphold our statutory laws and Constitutions simply by ordering our Parole Board to start reviewing these lifers for parole? Well soon see. Bert Hudson is a prisoner in a Pennsylvania corrections facility. The Federal Government has identified the expected sources of revenue to fund the N11.86 trillion budget proposed for the 2021 fiscal year, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said. The minister who spoke during the presentation of the draft 20212023 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy paper (FSP), also spoke on the performance of the 2020 Budget between January and May. In a presentation on Friday in Abuja during a virtual consultative session with civil society organisations, organised private sector and the general public, the Minister said part of the funding for the budget would come from the export of 1.86 million barrels per day oil output at about $40 per barrel. The minister said out of a net accrual to the Federation Account of N6.67 trillion (after 0.5% transfer to Police Trust Fund), total oil revenue, after all costs, deductions and derivations would come to about N4.09 trillion. The Federal Government said it expects to realise about N5.46billion as net solid minerals revenue after payment of derivation; N1.41trillion as net corporate tax; N1.05trillion as Nigeria Customs revenue, and N124.8billion as revenues from special levies. Also, unspecified revenues would be expected from the dividend payment by the Nigeria LNG on the federal government equity holding in the multi-billion dollar investment. Besides, the federal government expects to earn about N3.52trillion as its share of the monthly allocation from the Federation Account (52.68%), in addition to about N244.5billion from its share of the value-added tax (VAT) Pool Account for the year. To keep the total fiscal deficit of about N5.15trillion within the proposed 3% ceiling over the medium term, the Minister said the government was committed to finding new revenue sources, while taking steps to ensure a reduction in the cost of governance. In furtherance of our (governments) objective of greater comprehensiveness and transparency in the budget process, the FGN 2021 Budget will reflect the revenues and expenditures of all significant government-owned enterprises (GOEs) (excluding the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation), not just as in the 2020 budget, the Minister said. Revenue performance in 2020 Budget On the revenue performance in the revised 2020 Budget, Mrs Ahmed said on a pro-rata basis out of about N5.4trillion recorded as retained revenues in the approve appropriation, which was revised to N2.6trillion for the period between January and May, only N1.48trillion was actually realised. The realised revenue, the Minister noted, was below the revised target by about N1.14 trillion, or 44%. In terms of oil revenue, about N1.014 was approved in the 2020 Appropriation, which was revised to about N422.4billion, as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global market, which resulted in the crash of crude oil prices at the international oil market. READ ALSO: The benchmark crude oil price in the 2020 Budget was about $57 per barrel. But, following the sharp decline in the world market crude oil prices, Bonny Light crude oil price dropped from a peak of $72.2 per barrel on January 7, 2020 to below $20 per barrel in April, 2020. The government was compelled to revise the crude oil price benchmark in the budget, initially to $30 per barrel; later to $25 per barrel, and finally to $28 per barrel. Despite the revision, actual earnings as oil revenues between January and May increased by N278.2billion, or 66%, to N701.6billion. Although about N80.38billion was expected to be earned as the federal governments share of dividend from the Nigeria LNG, the amount was revised to N33.49 billion. But, the revenue is yet to be realized. About N1.9billion expected as minerals and mining revenue during the year was revised to about N790million. But the actual revenue realized from the sector was about N50million, an increase of about N60million, or 7%. Total non-oil revenue, including company income tax (CIT), value-added tax (VAT), Nigeria Customs revenue and Federation Accounts levies, which was expected to be N1.6trillion, was revised to about N677.06billion. However, the actual revenue realized fell below the target by about 35%, or N237.7billion, to only N439.32billion. About N932.4billion that was expected to come from Federal independent revenue sources was revised to about N388.68billion for the period between January and May. But. Only 79% of the target (about N80.22billion) was realized, leaving a variance of about N308.47billion. From about N645billion approve as proposed Federal Government drawdowns from special accounts and levies, the figure was reduced to N26.75billion, out of which N189.3billion, or 30%, was actually realized, a difference of about N79.45billion. Revenues from signature bonuses, oil license renewals and earlier operational permits renewals were put at about N350.5billion during the year. But, it was reviewed down to N146.05billion, out of which only N60.99billion, or 52%, was realized, a gap of about N76.06billion. Other revenue sources, which were revised, but are yet to be realized included domestic recoveries, assets and fines, from N237.01billion to N9.76billion; Stamp duty, from N200billion to N83.33billion; grants and donor funding, from N42.7billion to N17.79billion; grants and donations for COVID-19 crisis intervention fund, from N186.37billion to N77.65bilion, and grants and donor funding, from N50billion to N20.83billion. Advertisements The Minister said the disruptions in global trade and logistics which negatively impacted Custom duty collections in 2020, resulted in the adjustments to projected Customs duty, Stamp Duty, VAT and CIT revenues. The Texas woman who admitted to helping dismember and dispose of the body of a murdered soldier posted a series of revealing selfies on Instagram afterwards, accompanying them with suggestive captions. Cecily Aguilar, 22, of Killeen, Texas, faces one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence, connected with the April 22 disappearance of US Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen, 20. Guillen disappeared after she told her family that she had been sexually harassed while at Fort Hood, Texas. Her burned remains were found in Belton, Texas, on June 30 and officially identified on July 6. Cecily Aguilar, 22, told authorities that she helped dismember and dispose of soldier Vanessa Guillen's body. Two days after Guillen's April 22 disappearance, Aguilar posted a series of selfies on Instagram, including this photo One of Aguilar's April 24 selfies was accompanied by this caption, which referenced dragons Guillen disappeared on April 22 after she told her family that she was being sexually harassed while at Fort Hood in Texas. Her remains were found on June 30 Aguilar was arrested on July 1, the same day that Army specialist Aaron Robinson, 20, killed himself as investigators closed in on him. According to reports, Robinson was either Aguilar's estranged husband or boyfriend. Aguilar told investigators that Robinson claimed to have used a hammer to beat to death Guillen in a Fort Hood arms room, then stuffed her body into a box to carry off post. She said that Robinson picked her up from work, showed Guillen's body to her, and together they tried to dispose of the body using multiple methods over the course of several days, USA Today reported. Two days after Guillen's disappearance, Aguilar took to Instagram to post a series of revealing 'work' selfies, in which she wears cutoff denim shorts and a low-cut tank top. Aguilar (in mug shots) was arrested on July 1, the day after telling authorities that she had helped dispose of Guillen's body at Army specialist Aaron Robinson's request Aguilar posted numerous selfies from work in the wake of Guillen's disappearance and the search for her whereabouts, including this one from May 1, mentioning demons Aguilar also posted this selfie on May 1, which mentioned darkness and demons In the weeks leading up to the discovery of Guillen's body, Aguilar posted selfies with captions mentioning God and integrity. Her last posts were made on May 25 Two of the final captions Aguilar wrote to accompany a series of selfies posted on Instagram The selfies were accompanied by various suggestive quotes, often referring to dragons, secrets and darkness. 'She was born in fire/Fierce to melt the iron/You fell in love with a women/Who knows how to tame the dragon/Shes the targaryen of her own soul,' read one of the April 24 post captions. 'The most dangerous women if all, is the one who refuses to rely on you to save her because she was never a Damsel in Distress' and 'No one can make yoibfeel [stet] inferior with out your consent reads another caption from that day,' read two other captions from that day. On May 1, two days after Guillen's disappearance was mentioned in a press conference held by Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy, Aguilar returned with more selfies apparently taken at the gas station where she worked. 'I loved her, the dark side of her. Any girl can play innocent but her demons are what drove me wild. Her secrets, her pain she mask with laughter, the darkness that she trys so hard to hide, thats what made me fall for her,' the photo caption read. Another caption for a photo posted that day stated: 'I will not have you without the darkness that hides within you/I will not let you have me without the madness that makes me if our demons cannot dance neither can we.' As the search for Guillen intensified, Aguilar returned on May 22 with more selfies. 'Fall in love with who you are becoming an [stet] the world can adjust,' she wrote in one caption, adding in another that 'You cant break something that God is protecting.' Her final Instagram post, on May 25, was a selfie that stated, 'People who fight fire with fire end up with the ashes of Their own integrity.' Army specialist Aaron Robinson (pictured) killed himself while police were trying to take him into custody on July 1. He was their main suspect in Guillen's death at the time of his suicide The Army said Guillen (pictured) and Robinson were posted at Fort Hood, but they were in different commands and worked in different buildings A former friend of Aguilar's told The Sun that Aguilar had 'a very bad childhood' and that 'She was easily manipulated, especially by men. She tried to seem like she was the leader, but when it came to men she tried to do whatever she could to please them.' The friend added that 'I think she just wanted to be loved, but she could have found that without all this, she's now ruined her life and the lives of so many others.' Aguilar was arrested after telling investigators that Robinson had asked her to help him dispose of Guillen's body, including mutilating and attempting to burn it, authorities said in an affidavit, KHOU reported. When the body didn't completely burn, Aguilar allegedly said that they buried the remains in three different holes. Two days after she posted her first set of revealing selfies on Instagram, Aguilar and Robinson allegedly returned to the burial scene in an effort to more completely dispose of Guillen's body. During her June 30 police interview, Aguilar said that Robinson had picked her up at her gas station job on either April 22 or early April 23. He then allegedly took her to a site near the Leon River, where he had already placed the box containing Guillen's body. Authorities said asked Aguilar to call Robinson. During the call, which authorities were listening in on, Robinson did not deny what they had supposedly done to Guillen and also was heard saying, 'Baby, they found the pieces. They found pieces.' Before she died, Guillen's relatives said that she had told them she was being sexually harassed and was too afraid to come forward about it. An Army official told ABC News that during the Army's Criminal Investigation Command's investigation into her disappearance, they found information suggesting that she may have experienced harassment at the base. The harassment, however, did not appear to be sexual, although investigators said that found that some of the comments made about Guillen were sexual in nature. Army investigators also found that neither the harassment nor the comments stemmed from Robinson. The Army said that Guillen and Robinson were not in the same command and did not work in the same building. Army investigators also said that they didn't find any evidence of a relationship between Guillen and Robinson, other than a professional one, after checking phone records and text messages. Robinson fatally shot himself on July 1 while police were trying to take him into custody. Aguilar could face 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine if convicted of her charge. German Chancellor Angela Merkel with face mask is pictured before the meeting of the federal council on July 03, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. History rarely provides major countries and their leaders the enormity of the second chance that Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel now enjoy as they begin their six-month European Union presidency. For Germany, the drama is one of epic dimensions. Can the country that has been at the source of so much European devastation through two world wars, resulting in lost territory and Cold War division, steady the EU through this historic test of a public health crisis, economic recession and rising U.S.-Chinese tensions? For Angela Merkel, who held the rotating EU presidency once before in 2007, it's a last shot at historic legacy. Can Germany's first and only woman chancellor, who has recharged her waning standing during the coronavirus, demonstrate the leadership required to unify and shape Europe that her critics say eluded her during almost 15 years in power. These aren't academic questions. "How Europe fares in this crisis compared to other regions of the world will determine both the future of European prosperity and Europe's role in the world," Chancellor Merkel told the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, as she assumed the EU presidency. In her first trip outside Germany since the coronavirus lockdown this week, she made clear the stakes stretched far beyond Covid-19. "Nobody makes it through this crisis alone," she said. "We are all vulnerable." Those who know Merkel best say that what drives the uncharacteristic urgency and decisiveness of Merkel's messages is a fear that the EU could become irrelevant or even unravel from the force of Covid-19 and its economic, social and political aftereffects. She understands the challenges for the EU are of a more existential nature than those facing China, the United States or any other single country, coming even as the United Kingdom exits the Union. China and the U.S. will emerge from the ravages of 2020 with their borders and political systems intact, yet the 27 EU members confront more fundamental questions as their citizens weigh the value EU membership has brought them in the crisis. "We can't allow ourselves to be naive," Merkel told the European Parliament this week. "In many of the member states the opponents to Europe are waiting only to misuse this crisis for their own purposes." Chancellor Merkel's efforts will come to a head next Saturday, July 17, at a special EU leaders' summit to discuss the coronavirus recovery plan and a long-term EU budget. Never has Germany supported, as Chancellor Merkel is doing now, the pooling of national debt to help harder hit parts of Europe. It will be a test of her leadership, beside French leader Emmanuel Macron and other EU leaders, whether she can convert a group of skeptics known as "the frugal four" Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden -- who have resisted the scale and makeup of the $850 billion recovery plan. Yet even as that story unfolds, Germany at the same time is at the center of an unfolding global drama. At its heart is the danger of a strategic, transatlantic decoupling highlighted in this space two weeks ago that would alter 75 years of history. Will Germany continue to define itself first-and-foremost as a strategic partner and ally of the United States? Or will it tilt more toward an alignment with China and Russia due to growing economic lures, in the first case, and geographic proximity and energy interests, in the latter? Or will it, and thus Europe, instead free float among powers in the pursuit of "strategic autonomy," a situation unlikely to result in a more peaceful and integrated Europe? European attitudes toward the United States have shifted dramatically downward during the Covid-19 crisis. A new poll commissioned by the European Council on Foreign Relations showed that in Denmark, Portugal, France, Germany and Spain that around two-thirds of people surveyed said their view of the U.S. had grown worse. In Germany, the mood soured further after President Trump's announcement on June 15, without prior consultation with Berlin, that the U.S. plans to withdraw 9,500 of its 34,500 troops from Germany, even as the U.S. weighs $3.1 billion in new trade sanctions on Europe. Chancellor Merkel's friends privately share that she believes it is President Trump's spite, more than anything else, that lay behind the timing and nature of his troop withdrawal announcement, following her decision not to physically attend a G-7 meeting that the president had hoped to schedule in Washington this month. Some German officials have cast doubt on whether even the possible election of former Vice President Joe Biden in November would alter this trajectory. "Everyone who thinks everything in the trans-Atlantic partnership will be as it once was with a Democratic president underestimates the structural changes," German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass told the German press agency DPA this week. Chancellor Merkel has made relations with Beijing a cornerstone of her EU presidency, and her country's manufacturing base has come increasingly to depend on the Chinese market. German exports to China have risen more than fivefold since Merkel took over as chancellor in 2005 to more than $125 billion, making it the country's number one market. The United States stood at number three at some $78 billion. A full third of China's trade with the EU is transacted with Germany. Most Europeans blame President Trump's punitive trade policy and the tone of his tweets for the current threat of transatlantic decoupling. They see his distaste for the EU as evidence that Washington would prefer European disunity. For some, it seems as though Merkel has no other choice than embracing China. Yet for Germany and Merkel, the promise of this second chance at leadership can only be fulfilled if she at the same time works to limit the erosion in transatlantic relations and ultimately restore European relations with the United States. Germany is unified today because Merkel's predecessor Helmut Kohl understood that his European and transatlantic aspirations reinforced each other. Difficult as it may seem at the moment for Chancellor Merkel to navigate both, it is the only course that can ensure her legacy and Germany's hopes for European resilience and unity. Frederick Kempe is a best-selling author, prize-winning journalist and president & CEO of the Atlantic Council, one of the United States' most influential think tanks on global affairs. He worked at The Wall Street Journal for more than 25 years as a foreign correspondent, assistant managing editor and as the longest-serving editor of the paper's European edition. His latest book "Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth" was a New York Times best-seller and has been published in more than a dozen languages. Follow him on Twitter @FredKempe and subscribe here to Inflection Points, his look each Saturday at the past week's top stories and trends. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. Killing of 8,000 Muslims in 1995 by Serb troops was the only genocide on European soil since the second world war. Bosnian Muslims are marking 25 years since the Srebrenica genocide, the worst atrocity on European soil since the end of the second world war, with the memorial ceremony sharply reduced due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event marks July 11, 1995, the day when Bosnian Serb forces marched into Srebrenica, a Muslim enclave on Serb territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina that had been under the UN protection. After capturing the ill-fated town, Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in a few days. So far, the remains of nearly 6,900 victims have been found and identified from more than 80 mass graves. Bosnia had been embroiled in an ethnic war pitting the Serbs against Muslim Bosniaks and Croats between 1992 and 1995 that killed some 100,000 people. Pandemic impacts anniversary Organisers on Saturday said the number of people attending the anniversary normally in the tens of thousands was lower than usual because of lockdown measures aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19. A daylong commemoration is under way at Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia. At 11:00 GMT, the remains of nine victims identified over the past year will be laid to rest at the memorial cemetery in Potocari, a village just outside Srebrenica that served as the base for the UN protection force during the conflict. Since this was a quarter-century anniversary, it was initially planned that this should be a big memorial service honouring the victims but everything had to be scaled down because of the pandemic, said Al Jazeeras Tarik Durmisevic, reporting from the burial site in Srebrenica. The most important effect, however, is the number of victims who were supposed to be buried here. Some families couldnt be here as they dont live in Bosnia any more so they withdrew their consent for the burial. As a result, only nine victims of the genocide will find their eternal peace today. The Srebrenica massacre is the only episode of the Bosnian conflict to be described as genocide by the international community. The European Union leaders called the anniversary a painful reminder that Europe failed in its promise to avoid such tragedy on the continent. We must confront the past with honesty and look to the future with determination to support the next generations, said a statement by the EU. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Saturday said Srebrenica stood for the atrocities and crimes against humanity in the countries of the former Yugoslavia that were committed in the 1990s. The killings had taken place at the end of the 20th century in the middle of Europe, almost under the eyes of the global public, Maas said. We must oppose nationalist tendencies wherever we encounter them. Will justice happen? Bosnian Serb wartime military chief general Ratko Mladic, still revered as a hero by many Serbs, was sentenced to life in prison by a UN court in 2017 over war crimes, including the Srebrenica genocide. He is awaiting the decision on his appeal. Radovan Karadzic, another Bosnian Serb wartime political leader, was also sentenced to life in prison by a court at The Hague. Justice was already held up by Mladics long-running main trial. Now the pandemic has forced the war crimes tribunal to postpone the start of the appeal and delay the verdict until next year. While for Bosnian Muslims recognising the scale of the atrocity is a necessity for lasting peace, for most Serbs leaders and laypeople in both Bosnia and Serbia the use of the word genocide remains unacceptable. In the run-up to the anniversary, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic described Srebrenica as something that we should not and cannot be proud of, but he has never publicly uttered the word, genocide. Several thousand Serbs and Bosnians live side by side in impoverished Srebrenica, a small town in eastern Bosnia with just a few shops in its centre. We will tirelessly insist on the truth, on justice and on the need to try all those who have committed this crime, Sefik Dzaferovic, the Muslim member of Bosnias joint presidency, said on Friday. We will fight against those who deny the genocide and glorify its perpetrators. Jammu and Kashmir administration is in the final stages of designing an ambitious industrial promotion policy to attract private investment, Lt Governor G C Murmu said on Saturday, as he invited investors from across the globe and assured full support for their interest in the Union Territory. He also said that the proposed global investment summit in Jammu and Kashmir would be held soon and would be announced once the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control. "We are in the final stages of designing an ambitious industrial promotion policy 2020. It will have elements like tax exemption and very attractive land policy this will be in addition to Delivering his address at the India Global Week 2020 - a virtual conference being organised in the UK, he said, "We have identified 14 sectors for privatizing our efforts for investment"the incentives to be provided by Government of India through a special J&K Industrial development scheme which is already in play and is currently being revamped," Murmu said. Delivering his address at the India Global Week 2020 - a virtual conference being organised in the UK, he said, "We have identified 14 sectors for privatizing our efforts for investment". Identifying the sectors including Information Technology, tourism and hospitality, horticulture and post harvest management, agro and food processing, agriculture and milk poultry, processing of handloom, silk and handicraft, healthcare and pharma, medicinal plant, education and skill development, infrastructure and real estate and hydro and renewable energy, the Lt Governor said his government is developing a state-of-the-art infrastructure for industries in the UT. "We are currently developing two ITs and two ICDs and have identified industrial land," he said, adding that 6,000 acres of government land, without disturbing agricultural land, across 20 districts will be used to develop state-of-the-art industrial estates. He said that his administration has put significant efforts in ease of doing business by setting up the single window mechanism to streamline approval for investment. "J&K is currently ranked number one among the UTs on implementation of reforms. Urban infrastructure, mobility, and communication networks are being upgraded to provide a conducive environment," he said. He said Jammu and Kashmir is a global tourist destination and is famous for recreational tourism, which is the second largest after the agriculture sector in the region and around 30 per cent population is directly or indirectly linked to this sector. Besides having leisure tourism, Jammu and Kashmir has the great potential for adventure, heritage and pilgrimage tourism as well. "To increase the footprints, the government has drawn up a comprehensive policy for their development," Murmu said. He said the start-up policy has already been rolled out in the Union Territory for creation of 500 new start-ups besides establishing incubators, innovation and incubation labs. The health sector has been transformed with the opening of seven new medical colleges and the doubling of medical seats in one year. "The government is also planning to organise its global investment summit soon. It will be announced once the COVID-19 is under control," he said. Extending an open invitation to the investors, Lt Governor said, "I would like to invite you all to participate and visit the region. "Collaborate with us and help us further refine and further expand our ideas. We will be posting individual officers (for your assistance) and on behalf of the government, I assure you fullest support for your interest in J&K." He said it would be the endeavour of the government to create an ecosystem that will not only propel growth and create employment but will also lead to sustainable development in today's world. "The business communities of India and the UK have played a very important role in the development of strategic relationships to synergize various sectors. I urge all of you to engage with J&K on the same synergy for the development of sectors which had remained in economic backwater," he said. In an apparent reference to the revocation of the special status to J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution in August last year, Murmu said, "we have removed all regulatory and institutional barriers between JK and rest of India and ushering in one nation one framework in the true sense." He said the legal architecture of the regulatory regime prevailing in the rest of the country has been made applicable to J&K. "This has been done to remove economic barriers, increase investment and facilitate equality in the region," he said. Referring to the local bodies elections in 2018, he said a strong grass-root democracy has been set up with the gallant participation of the people at the lowest level of the government in village council and urban local bodies. "We are reviving the rural economy by pumping in public investment the last one year saw tremendous achievement in terms of good governance, deliverance, development of infrastructure. Many of the projects which were pending for years together have been either completed or on the verge of completion," he said. He said that more than 800 languishing projects of public importance were completed last year. In addition to the Prime Minister's vision of inclusive growth, sustainable development and to propel J&K as a growth engine, the J&K government has taken initiatives to transform the region into another investment destination for sustainable development he said. He added that the UT government is focused on ensuring a favourable working climate for the industry and has come up with various sector specific policies.Also Read: NCLT approves Deccan Value Investors' Rs 2,700 crore bid for Amtek Auto Also Read: Punjab National Bank Housing Finance seeks shareholders' approval to raise up to Rs 45,000 cr Black Widow might be revealing the next major villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film, due out in November, is set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War and is Scarlett Johanssons first solo outing as the eponymous hero. While the movie is set to kick off Phase 4 of the MCU, inside sources claim that it will also reveal Marvels next big bad now that Thanos (Josh Brolin) is out of the picture. Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson | Amy Sussman/Getty Images Black Widow Everything We Know Marvel originally scheduled Black Widow to premiere in theaters in May, but the release was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The studio pushed back the premiere to November, which is the new start date for Phase 4 of the MCU. As far as the plot is concerned, Black Widow will follow Johanssons character as she returns to Russia to take down the leader of the spy program that created her. The main villain in the movie is Taskmaster, though we still dont know who is behind the characters mask. RELATED: Marvel Fan Uncovers Black Widows Alternate Death Scene in Avengers: Endgame The film will also introduce a few new characters to the MCU. This includes Florence Pughs Yelena Belova and David Harbours Red Guardian. There have also been reports that Robert Downey Jr. will enjoy a brief cameo as Tony Stark. Because Black Widow is a prequel, fans expected it to be more of a farewell to Johanssons character, who perished in Avengers: Endgame. But since the film is the first one of Phase 4, there is a good chance that Marvel will tease whats ahead for the MCU and this will reportedly include the studios next main villain. This will be Marvels next big bad Marvel has not said anything about which villain will fill Thanoss shoes following the events in Endgame. An inside source, however, told We Got This Covered that Marvel will tease the arrival of Doctor Doom in a Black Widow post-credits scene. The source claims that the scene will feature a person from Dooms fictional country of Latveria who will mention something about the masked supervillain. The insider did not reveal any more details about the scene, other than that Doom will be teased in some manner. Doom, of course, is one of the most iconic villains in Marvels lineup and has deep ties to the Fantastic Four. With Marvel now having the rights to produce a Fantastic Four film, it makes sense that the studio will introduce Doom in the upcoming project. If the insider is correct, then Doom will go on to play a major role in the MCU in Phase 4 and beyond. It is even possible that he takes on a part similar to Thanos and becomes the next big nemesis of the Avengers. That said, this is not the first time Dooms name has popped up in a project in the MCU. What about those Black Panther 2 rumors? Last fall, reports surfaced that Doctor Doom was going to be the main antagonist in Ryan Cooglers Black Panther 2. At the time, sources claimed that the movie will see Doom conquering Africa and eventually battling it out with Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). Coogler was still writing the story for the sequel last fall and has kept a tight lid on plot details over the past few months. While we cannot confirm that Doom will be the villain in Black Panther 2, he does has a history with TChalla in the comics. In the storyline Doomwar, Doom invaded Wakanda in a bid to obtain some Vibranium. TChalla gathered his forces to defend Wakanda against Doom in a story that could easily be adapted to the big screens. RELATED: Black Widow Post Credits Scene Will Tease Whats Ahead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe With a Major Twist There have also been reports that Noah Hawley (Legion and Fargo) had written a script for a stand-alone Doctor Doom film. Hawley has confirmed that he has an idea for a movie about the villain but Marvel has yet to give him the green light for the project. Whatever happens with Doctor Doom, its only a matter of time before he makes his way into the MCU. Black Widow is set to premiere in theaters on November 6. A Grenfell survivor stuck in unsuitable temporary accommodation with his young son three years after the fire has said he is living through a nightmare. Joseph John, 29, has post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety after being forced to lift his disabled partner and child through the window of their second-floor Grenfell Tower flat on the night of the disaster, before climbing to safety himself. But he has been shunted through a series of hotel rooms and temporary flats ever since the blaze - meaning hes found it hard to get on with his life, he said. He told the Standard: I feel let down, I feel like I dont have a voice, Im not anyone life is terrible right now. Joseph John with his young son (Joseph John) / JosephJohn Mr John, who has since split from his partner, lives in a small flat up a long flight of stairs on a busy road above a supermarket with his baby son, Jeremiah. He said that the flat was unfurnished and unsuitable for living in when he got there. No blinds, no furniture, anything. I had to wait a couple of weeks before I could get anything, he added. When everything was set up, I still didnt like this flat because it has only one entrance and only stairs. I need more than one entrance after Grenfell, otherwise I feel like Im trapped. Im dealing with sirens all the time as well in lockdown. The noise really bothers me, in fact it drives me crazy most of the time. Mr John came from his native Trinidad to the UK in 2016, moving into Grenfell just a few months before the fire. The majority of victims are now in permanent accommodation. Mr John said being among the few still in temporary housing makes him feel left out. Grenfell Tower in Kensington / REUTERS He added: Number one I wasnt born in this country, number two Im a black man in this country. I feel like Im not entitled to the things other people are. We all survived Grenfell. Ive been facing these problems since day one. Mr Johns comments come after Leslie Thomas QC, representing survivors and victims families, told the Grenfell inquiry this week that the fire, which killed 72 people, was inextricably linked to race. Mr Thomas added: The Grenfell fire did not happen in a vacuum. A majority of the Grenfell residents who died were people of colour. Grenfell is inextricably linked with race. It is the elephant in the room. This disaster happened in a pocket of one of the smallest yet richest boroughs in London. "Yet the community affected was predominantly working-class. That is the stark reality that cannot be ignored." A memorial for Grenfell / REUTERS Jodie Green, a solicitor for Mr John and other Grenfell survivors, said that race continues to play an important part in housing in the UK. Ms Green, who works for law firm Russell-Cooke, told the Standard: We know that BAME communities are disproportionately represented in social housing. Much of the social housing in the UK is in a poor condition and has been ill-maintained over the years. Often the areas in which social housing is located suffer from a variety of poverty-related issues, including anti-social behaviour and substance abuse. These issues with social housing therefore disproportionately affect BAME communities. It is important that a spotlight is shone onto these issues and that the conditions of all of those living in social housing are improved." The tower in the aftermath of the fire / REUTERS Mr John has also struggled to get Jeremiah onto the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea support fund for families of survivors, as he was born in August 2019, more than two years after the fire. He said: Its been a nightmare to get him supported, because they dont consider him to be a part of Grenfell, because he isnt a survivor, although he is living with me. Ive been jumping through hoops trying to get him support. Everything I try to get him support for I always have to jump through hoops. To me I find this disgusting." Ms Green added: The majority of residents in Grenfell Tower were from BAME communities. Some of the survivors, including Joseph John, remain in unsuitable temporary accommodation more than three years after the fire and are not being adequately financially supported. Many of the survivors of the fire feel marginalised and let down by both local and central Government, and have instead had to rely on the goodwill of the local community and charities for support. " The fire in June 2017 killed 72 people / Getty Images But Mr John has some hope. He said he found the words of Mr Thomas at the inquiry inspiring. He has also been heartened by recent anti-racist protests in the UK and around the world. He said: I definitely think the Black Lives Matter protests are going to make a difference here. Its about time, really. A spokesman for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said that immigration status has no bearing on the councils Grenfell rehousing policy. The spokesman added: Former residents of Grenfell Tower and Walk have the highest priority on our Housing Register and we have worked with them at their own pace to find properties they can call home. We have successfully supported 194 households into a home of their own and our dedicated officers will continue to work closely with the small number yet to accept a permanent home. New Delhi: Eight SIMI activists who broke out from the Bhopal Central Jail on Monday were killed in a police encounter in Eintkhedi village on Bhopal outskirts. The police reports started coming in soon after the encounter flashing their names and how the eight SIMI activists managed to flee the prison by slitting the throat of security guard. While the other political parties are questioning the Bhopal encounter. From Digvijay Singh to AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, politicians have been raising doubts over the purported encounter killings of the SIMI activists. ALSO READ: (Live updates on Bhopal encounter: 8 SIMI terrorists killed in cross-firing, 7 weapons recovered, says IG Yogesh Choudhary) Reactions: Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM) AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi alleged discrepancies in the official version on the escape of SIMI activists from Bhopal jail. Questioning the activists killing in the subsequent encounter with police, AIMIM chief demanded an enquiry by the Supreme Court to bring out all facts. Doubted the statement put forward by Madhya Pradesh Home Minister and police officials, Owaisi asked, if the undertrials were armed with spoons, the Madhya Pradesh ATS could have easily overpowered them, as they have all sophisticated weapons. But people who have run away from prison after assassinating a guard and they only have spoons. So to any normal person, this theory is unbelievable, Owaisi added. Digvijay Singh (Congress) Former MP CM Digvijay Singh also raised questions over the SIMI terrorist attack episode which shook the nation on Monday. Singh accused government of hiding the whole truth. Did terrorist flee or were they released under a government scheme? This should be investigated..., Congress leader tweeted. ALSO READ: (Four SIMI activists killed in encounter over Bhopal jail break learned bomb-making in Bijnor of UP) Brinda Karat (CPI (M) Communist Party of India (Marxist) polit bureau member Brinda Karat called the encounter as entirely dubious and manufactured. (READ FULL STORY HERE) D. Raja (CPI) Smelling conspiracy into the encounter, Raja also asked for judicial probe into the matter and urged the Centre to ask for a detailed report from the Madhya Pradesh Government. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan lauded the locals and state police for their collective efforts to bring down the activists. Chouhan also asserted that all those responsible for the escaping of the prisoners would not be spared. He has also requested the central government for National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the matter. ALSO READ: (Watch: All 8 SIMI terrorists who fled Bhopal central jail killed in police encounter) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. For most homeowners, refurbishment projects are deeply stressful. Whether it is a new kitchen, loft conversion or revamp of the spare bedroom, everything costs more and takes longer than predicted and tempers run high. Large construction and infrastructure projects are little different. Budgets and time limits are fixed at the outset, but plans go awry, delays happen and expenses pile up. The cost of these overruns can amount to hundreds of millions of pounds, so the stakes are high. Driver Group specialises in resolving such disputes. The company operates globally, providing teams of experts that help to determine what went wrong, who was at fault and how to move forward. On track: As infrastructure is boosted, Driver expects more work resolving building disputes Driver's shares are at 63p and should gain ground in the next two to three years. Chief executive Mark Wheeler took the helm less than six weeks ago, but he has been at the company for more than a decade. Driver is in sound hands under his stewardship. An engineer and surveyor with 25 years of experience, Wheeler has a well thought out plan to expand the business and increase its profits. He is likely to move into areas of the world where Driver does not have a strong presence, such as the US and Latin America. And he is focused on specialised work, where the group can earn decent returns. In the past, the company expanded into less profitable, more commoditised fields, such as project management. A couple of poor years followed, a turnaround specialist was brought in and Driver is now back on track. With extensive operations in Asia, Driver was keenly aware of the danger posed by Covid-19 and moved swiftly to ensure staff could work from home and business could continue. As a result, the pandemic has had a limited impact to date and, over the longer term, may even contribute to Driver's growth. Enquiries are already flooding in from companies whose projects have been stalled or delayed by lockdowns. Others are seeking advice about how to complete work when social distancing measures are in place, which may cause delays and cost overruns. Driver offers some guidance online, but it has also run a series of webinars to help customers navigate the current environment. These have proved hugely popular, with 600 to 700 people registering to attend each one. At least some of these should translate into new business in the coming months. Driver should also benefit from Government plans to kickstart economic growth through big, and sometimes complex, infrastructure projects. As these move into gear, problems will inevitably emerge and external specialists will be appointed to help solve them. In charge: Chief executive Mark Wheeler took the helm less than six weeks ago Driver's work is hugely varied. A vanity skyscraper in the Gulf is more than a year late and 100million over budget. A road extension programme in Spain has ground to a halt. A British property firm has found most of its flats and offices are covered in cladding, which will cost millions of pounds to remove. An offshore oil rig in Australia is months behind schedule. Some of these cases end up in court, where Driver's specialists act as expert witnesses. Often, however, companies are keen to avoid litigation, employing Driver to try to settle issues before the lawyers are called. The group also helps firms to draft contracts before projects get under way a kind of commercial prenuptial agreement that helps to avoid confrontation later on. Founded 42 years ago, Driver has built a reputation as a firm whose people are smart, forensic in their approach and offer high-quality service. Many have been with the group for years and there is an in-house training programme to develop junior employees' skills. Back in April, Driver cancelled its interim dividend, but there are hopes that payments will be reinstated soon. The business has been trading profitably, there is cash in the bank and the outlook is benign. Midas verdict: Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants this country to build, build, build its way to recovery, and he is not alone in this. But when ambitions run high and money is tight, disputes are likely. As a building resolution specialist, Driver is ideally positioned to smooth the way. At 63p, the shares are a buy. Traded on: AIM Ticker: DRV Contact: driver-group.com or 020 7377 0005 Rahul Gandhi attacked the BJP government on India China border issues. He claimed that PM Narendra Modi is lying and deceiving the country. In a meeting of Congress MPs on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi attacked the BJP government on India China border issues. He claimed that PM Narendra Modi is lying and deceiving the country. Mr. Gandhi said his party would not approve anything that weakens national security or borders. He said that the PM Narendra Modi continues to lie about China by saying that it is not a political matter. Congress will stand strong and wont be a part of anything that incapacitate India, Rahul Gandhi said. He also stated that when states and union territories are fighting with this virus and want the help of the government to restrain the spread of the coronavirus, the government hasnt come up for help. Also read: No room for complacency: PM Modi chairs review meeting on Covid-19 preparedness Also read: Security forces eliminate two terrorists in J&Ks Nougam Last month, in a violent face-off with China in Eastern Ladakh, 20 Indian soldiers were martyred. Since then, Congress leader has been very actively pressing the government for answers. He previously alleged that the PM has given up the Indian territory to Chinese aggression. Referring to a border conflict with Nepal, he said that things are in such chaos that even our friends are turning against us. Mr. Gandhi also criticized the government for foreign policy decisions. He also mentioned the controversial fund ( PM CARES Fund), which was set up to handle the Covid-19 pandemic but remains outside the auditing purview of the CAG. The current fight between Congress and BJP over funding from China raked up when Rahul Gandhi said that Chinese military companies had contributed to the fund. Also Read: Vigilance increases at Delhi-Noida border amid rising Covid-19 cases For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Victoria will launch a 'truth-telling process' to examine issues faced by Aboriginal Australians after Black Lives Matter protests demanded change. The commission will seek to tell the 'complete story' of past and present indigenous issues. It is being described as an important step for uncovering human rights violations and ongoing injustices toward indigenous people. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Gabrielle Williams said on Saturday the process was the first of its kind in Australia. Victoria will launch a 'truth-telling process' with Aboriginal Australians to deal with inustic(pictured, Aboriginal protesters in Sydney on July 5) 'There is nothing more powerful than the truth. Because with honesty comes healing,' Ms Williams said. 'It's going to take courage from all sides to uncover the truths of our past and understand ongoing impacts establishing this process brings us one step closer to genuine reconciliation.' Ms Williams said the process would increase trust between indigenous people and state officials. 'We owe it to Aboriginal Victorians to be frank and honest about the injustices they have faced and continue to face,' she said. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Gabrielle Williams (pictured) said Australians 'owed it to Aboriginal Victorians' due to the injustices they have faced and continue to face First Peoples' Assembly Co-chair Marcus Stewart told The Guardian the process was an achievement that was only possible due to decades of activism. 'I think Victoria has been really good at telling one side of history, and now we have the opportunity to speak our truth,' he said. 'It's one of the most significant milestones that I'll probably see in my lifetime.' It follows weeks of protests in Australia where people took to the streets in solidarity of the death of George Floyd, who died after an American policeman knelt on his neck. Protesters are seen in Melbourne (pictured on June 6) as Australians rallied in support of racial equality Protests in Australia have also sought to raise awareness of similar issues that Indigenous Australians face. Marchers held up signs in states and territories around Australia referring to racially disproportional death in custody rates. Similar measures have been introduced in New Zealand, Canada and South Africa to help right past wrongs inflicted upon native peoples. New Zealand has set up several discussion bodies with Moari people in the past as well as the Race Relations Conciliator, which have all been welcomed on some level but faced criticism for lacking the power to make real change. Taking a gap year amid the coronavirus will be a different experience than the international travel plan many recent high school graduates have favored. As politicians and universities fight over the reopening of college and university campuses, recent high school graduates are debating if they should take a gap year, deferring enrollment for at least a year. Popular among Europeans, gap years have been increasing in popularity among young Americans since Malia Obama decided to take a year off before attending Harvard University. There is evidence to support that taking a gap year can improve academic success. A year filled with travel or volunteer experiences can provide clarity into fields of study or future career pursuits. Accredited gap year programs can provide valuable work experience and an opportunity to earn money. But options may be limited due to the pandemic. Amid the public health crisis, it is becoming increasingly obvious that a typical gap year might not be feasible. Many students may opt to take a gap for financial reasons. Harvard recently announced that tuition for an online education experience starting Fall 2020 will costs upwards of $54,000. With students expected to pay nearly full tuition for remote learning, some are debating the value of higher education. More from Invest in You: What do you do when your internship is canceled? College students need to get creative and adapt These 7 freelance jobs pay more than $18 an hour, and you can do them remotely If you miss travel, road trips could be your key to safer summer getaways The uncertainty caused by Covid-19 has caused colleges, scholarship providers, banks, and other lenders to temporarily change their policies. If you've already committed to a school, deferment is not as simple as not showing up. There's a process and each process is different at each school, according to Casey Nealon of Citizens Bank. Some schools may encourage a gap year, while others may have different guidelines. Contact your school's admission office and ask about their deferment policy. Also, check with your school's bursar office about financial aid and scholarship policies. If you decide to take a gap year it probably will not resemble the Instagram friendly experience of the past. Instead, you'll likely be forced to stay local. The Gap Year Association recommends the following steps to ensure a meaningful gap-year experience: Fairfax, VA, July 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The next-generation Internet proposed by Huawei and supported by the Chinese government would provide a platform for revolutionary capabilities while implementing repressive measures that would eliminate todays open communication, Internet experts agree. At worst, it would place control of Internet content in the hands of a few masters. According to Vint Cerf and several other experienced Internet professionals, even if it does not subsume the entire Internet, China could cripple the interoperability that has characterized the networks value as an economic growth engine by creating separate and unequal Internets. For a multipart series of articles posted on SIGNAL Medias website, Editor-in-Chief Robert K. Ackerman spoke with Cerf, Laura DeNardis, Ted Hardie and Melissa Hathaway among others, all specialists in the area of international telecommunication and the impact China could have on the future of telecommunications. The upshot is China is pushing its new Internet architecture both through market penetration by its own industries and by influence among international standards bodies, they concur. Ultimately, the only way to prevent this methodical takeover would be for governments to provide financial and logistical support to their own companies while those companies improve efficiencies to compete with Chinas telecommunications firms globally. Cerf, an Internet pioneer who is vice president and chief Internet evangelist at Google, notes that Chinas own implementation of the InternetThe Great Chinese Firewallindicates a high degree of sophistication in the ability to filter content. Cerf also notes that Chinas products are favorably priced and have carved out a significant market share, especially in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world. Chinas M.O. is to loan money to countries for purchase of products and services, he says. Chinas high-technology communications and networking industries are proposing a host of future capabilities to come if vendors cast their lot with companies such as Huawei and ZTE. But these new technologies, once ensconced, would lead their users down a path closed to others and open to Chinese government control, say the experts. Cerf observes that China probably is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy. It is working to maximize its presence in the markets and place as much of its own equipment in the global networking realm as possible, which is the goal of every manufacturer. Simultaneously, the republic is striving to be more influential in the standards community. These efforts might be more coincidental than coordinated, he admits. According to DeNardis, China is becoming a power player around the Internet in a variety of ways. The interim dean of the School of Communications at American University and author of several books about the Internet, including The Global War for Internet Governance, DeNardis says this power comes from the rise of Chinese companies. In addition, Chinas outsourcing of production and manufacturing by other countries companies into China and its involvement and expertise in standards-setting bodies also play a role. She also contends the term Internet governance is an oxymoron. A lot of it involves the private sector, which controls much of the infrastructure. Keeping in mind that this is an ecosystem, she describes it as a private-sector-led multistakeholder model where no single player is in charge of all Internet governance responsibilities. In contrast, Chinas approach to Internet governance is more of cyber sovereignty. The state has a much more powerful role in control of the network, she offers. Not only do they control the network, but also they co-opt the network in order to propel their political aimssuch as censoring, surveillance and enacting control over citizens. To learn more about Chinas influence in the telecommunications marketplace, read the SIGNAL Media series online. ### SIGNAL is the official media for AFCEA International, an organization established in 1946, as a non-profit membership association serving the military, government, industry and academia. Join online. For additional information about the series, contact: Robert K. Ackerman Editor-in-Chief, SIGNAL Media Senior Vice President ackerman@afcea.org For additional information about SIGNAL Media and AFCEA International, contact: Maryann Lawlor AFCEA International mlawlor@afcea.org (703) 631-6179 Attachment Boasting a wide array of breathtaking natural elements, eclectic urban areas, and quaint villages, and larger than life cultural experiences, the region of Latin America is a true melting pot of travel opportunities. Before you take off on your Latin American adventure, it is important that you prepare for the journey that lies ahead so that you make the most out of this trip. Here are five of the best ways to explore Latin America. Timing is Everything: The entirety of Latin America is large and varied, making it important to time your trip right if you are expecting a certain type of weather conditions. For example, Chile and Argentina are best experienced during their summer months. If visiting the Amazon rainforest is top on your list of things to do in Latin America, you should choose the shoulder seasons of October and November when there are fewer crowds and not as much rain to dampen the experience. If you want to immerse yourself in the festival season, you would be best served planning your visit between December and March. Look Into a Flying Membership: With an area so large, it is vital that you plan your transportation options carefully. While bus travel is the most affordable transportation option, it is not feasible if you are looking to cover a large area on your trip. Instead, you may want to consider a jet card membership in order to save money on your air travel. A jet card membership provides access to private flights to hundreds of airports and airfields across Latin America. This allows you to see more countries in a shorter amount of time. Understand the Logistics: With an area as diverse and big as Latin America, it is important to understand all of the logistics. Unlike a place such as the European Union, Latin America does not feature a streamlined approach for tourists. For example, every country has a different currency, making it important that your wallet is prepared for every separate region on your itinerary list. In addition, every country in the region also determines its own visa requirements for international travelers. While some countries offer virtually open borders, other areas are more strict with their entrance requirements. Learn a Little Spanish: One thing that is consistent throughout Latin America is that Spanish is unequivocally the dominant language spoken. Because of this, picking up a few key phrases can go a long way in helping you to navigate through this region of the world. If Brazil is on your itinerary, you would be wise to learn a little Portuguese. Simply making an effort to learn the language will make it more likely that locals want to engage with you on your travels, enhancing your overall travel experience. Fall Into Festivals: Latin America is known for its dizzying festival scene, making this part of the culture a significant draw for visitors looking to experience the true vibe of this region. If this element is important to you, be sure to check the schedule and plan your trip well in advance so that you can take advantage. In addition to Brazil's massive Carnival celebration, there is a multitude of smaller and more regional festivals that may be worth a spot on your Latin America bucket list. File image The Rajasthan police has issued notices to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot to record their statement in connection with the alleged attempts to topple their Congress government, sources said on Saturday. The police's special operations group (SOG) also sent a notice to Government Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi to record his statement, they said. The move came after the SOG on Friday registered an FIR against two people for their alleged involvement in horse trading of Congress MLAs for toppling the Ashok Gehlot government. "Notices have been issued to chief minister, deputy chief minister and government chief whip for recording their statement in connection with the matter," an official source told PTI. The sources said nearly a dozen MLAs and others may also be issued notices soon. The SOG registered the FIR on the basis of facts that surfaced during interception of two mobile numbers which indicated that efforts were being made to poach ruling party MLAs, a senior police official had said. The chief minister had alleged that attempts were being made to destablise the state government ahead of Rajya Sabha elections for two seats in the state last month and the government chief whip had filed complaints with the SOG and ACB demanding inquiry an inquiry into the case. The deputy chief minister, who is also the PCC chief, had said that no such fact had come to his notice and no MLA has complained to him in this regard. By Trend Iran's customs spokesman announced resumption of trade relations with all neighboring countries except for Turkmenistan and Iraq. "The common land borders with Turkmenistan, including Sarakhs, Bajgiran, Lotfabad and Incheh Borun are closed, but the rail connection between two countries through Sarakhs and Incheh Borun terminals is operated, Roulollah Latifi said, Trend reports citing IRNA. Noting that seven border markets at Kurdistan Region are open, Latifi added: "Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, there was no closure in these borders, but the amount of trade had decreased. "We will also resume trade at the Soumar border with Iraq in the next few days, he said. "The permit to reopen the border has been issued in recent days, but practical steps have been delayed to implement health protocols. Referring to the other common land border with Iraq, the official noted that within the first four hours of reopening of the Shalamcheh border, 250 trucks were transited via the border. He expressed hope that Iraq will facilitate the reopening of the Khosravi and Chazabeh borders in the near future. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz U.S. President Donald Trump said cooperation between Washington and Hanoi would help foster trust and understanding, and pledged to bolster bilateral relations. The U.S.-Vietnam comprehensive partnership has been proved by increasing commercial relations, the connection between people of both countries, as well as strategic in resolving humanitarian issues and war legacies, Trump wrote in a letter addressed to Vietnam Party Chief and President Nguyen Phu Trong on Saturday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the U.S. and Vietnam normalizing relations, according to a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In response, Trong said that U.S.-Vietnam relations throughout the last 25 years have "surpassed differences and geography" to develop positively and stably, turning the U.S. into Vietnams top partner in several fields. Vietnam and the U.S. have effectively cooperated to resolve issues, especially in commercial and financial fields, he wrote in a letter addressed to Trump for the occasion. "Vietnam believes that with a mentality to let go of the past, overcome differences and utilize similarities towards the future, the Vietnam-U.S. comprehensive partnership would deepen and become more effective and stable, serving the interests of both countries people and contribute to security, peace and prosperity in the region and the world," Trong wrote. In a statement from the U.S. Press Secretary issued on Friday to commemorate 25 years of diplomatic relations with Vietnam, the U.S. congratulated Vietnam on its ASEAN chairmanship and announced that the U.S. and Vietnam had reached an agreement that would bring Peace Corps volunteers to Vietnam for the first time. The United States also reaffirmed it will stand alongside Vietnam in support of the peaceful resolution of disputes, the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded commerce. "We celebrate the close ties forged over the last quarter century and look forward to marking the next 25 years of partnership, friendship, and a brighter future for our peoples," it said. On July 11, 1995, former U.S. President Bill Clinton announced the normalization of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam, following the Vietnam War that ended in 1975. Vietnam and the U.S. are now comprehensive partners, with bilateral trade increasing from $450 million in 1994 to $77 billion in 2019. For several years, the U.S. has been Vietnams biggest export market, while Vietnam has been one of the U.S.s quickest growing export markets. A nurse takes the temperature of an arriving rail passenger from Melbourne at Central Station on July 3, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images) Sydney Pub COVID-19 Cluster Now Five A makeshift COVID-19 testing clinic set up outside a Sydney pub is working to determine the extent of an emerging cluster, with five cases now confirmed. NSW Health said on July 11 a man who visited The Crossroads Hotel in Casula on the evening of July 3 had passed on the virus to three people in his Blue Mountains household. Those close contacts, who are self-isolating, will be included in Sundays NSW case numbers. The mans visit to the pub is the only known link between him and a southwestern Sydney woman who tested positive earlier this week. Anyone who attended the hotel last Friday is being asked to self-isolate and get tested immediately if they develop even the mildest symptoms. The pub is closed for deep-cleaning while a huge queue of people lined up outside the clinic set up in the car park. Major hospitals in the area in Liverpool, Campbelltown and Fairfield have also extended the opening hours of their testing clinics. We are at a critical point in the fight to contain the virus, NSW Health director of health protection Jeremy McAnulty said on Saturday. Its essential that the community works together to limit the spread of the virus, by always maintaining good hand hygiene, adhering to physical distancing rules whenever possible and getting tested whenever symptoms develop, however mild. And if youve been in Victoria in the last couple of weeks, dont mix with other people until two weeks have passed. The male pub patron and a man in his 20s from Melbourne, who had towed his caravan up from Victoria on July 7, were among seven new cases recorded in NSW to 8pm on Friday. The other five were returned travellers in hotel quarantine. McAnulty said the Victorian travellers three close contacts his partner, who has tested negative, and two friends are in isolation. Australian Medical Association NSW vice-president Andrew Zuschmann backed the calls for caution. Because of whats happened there (in Victoria) and because of the porous nature of the border prior to it being closed, people in NSW are going to need to be very careful over the next few weeks, Zuschmann said. Its likely we wont know for sure whether community spread is going to be a problem here for a while. You need to act like youre already infected and treat people not from your own household as though they are infected. Luke Costin and Rebecca Le May in Sydney Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) New York, United States Sat, July 11, 2020 16:15 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066598a2d 2 Art & Culture united-states,Britain,China,Christies,France,HongKong,auction,online-auction,arts,art-and-culture,coronavirus,pandemic Free Roy Lichtenstein's "Nude with Joyous Painting" was the big seller as a Christie's hybrid sale fetched an impressive $421 million Friday, signaling the art market is holding firm during the coronavirus pandemic. The event, entitled "ONE", started with an auctioneer in Hong Kong selling a series of works, before another took over in Paris, followed by London and then New York. Christie's opted for the unique, one-day format after it was forced to rework its spring sales, a traditional highlight of auction season, because of the COVID-19 crisis. Lichtenstein's 1994 painting sold for the highest price at $46.2 million, well above its pre-sale estimate of around $30 million, Several records were broken, most notably for the American abstract painter Brice Marden, whose "Complements" went for $30.9 million. Read also: 'Dream Big' from home: Christie's exhibits monumental sculpture online No painting crossed the $50 million mark, but 94 percent of the works found buyers -- a high rate even in non-pandemic times. "It showed that the market is ready for new formats of selling and for new formats of collecting art," said Alex Rotter, head of contemporary art at Christie's. More than 20,000 art aficionados followed the four hours of sales online. Including fees and commission, the total value of items sold was $421 million. Collectors could bid online and by phone. In Hong Kong, Paris and London, some collectors were able to attend the sale in person but the New York leg was closed to the public because of social distancing restrictions. A French bus driver has died after being beaten by passengers as he asked them to wear masks, AFP noted referring to the family of the driver. Philippe Monguillot, 59, was beaten in the city of Bayonne last weekend. According to the AFP, he was left brain dead. Three other people have been charged amid the attack. The incident caused outrage in society and a sharp negative reaction of the authorities. French PM Jean Castex led tributes to Monguillot. "The Republic recognises him as an exemplary citizen and will not forget him. The law will punish the perpetrators of this despicable crime," Castex tweeted. Journalists, Free Speech Activists 'at Risk of Dying' in Chinese Jails 2020-07-10 -- At least 10 free-speech activists are at risk of dying behind bars in China, a Paris-based press freedom group said on Friday, as the authorities continued their crackdown on online speech across the country. Three years after the death of Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published a list of ten defenders of press freedom whose lives it said were "in grave danger" if they remained behind bars. Liu died on July 13, 2017 of an aggravated cancer after being denied treatment during detention. RSF said at least 114 journalists and press freedom defenders are currently locked away in Chinese jails, some under a life sentence. It said at least 10 are serving lengthy prison terms and are in danger of losing their lives owing to ill-health, including ethnic minority Uyghurs Ilham Tohti, 50, and Gulmira Imin, 42, who both edited websites targeted by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Former Boxun, RFA, and Voice of American (VOA) journalist Zhang Haitao, 49, is serving a 19-year jail term for subversion after making comments critical of the Chinese government in overseas media, RSF said. Zhang had been "beaten and forced to wear heavy irons on [his] feet for six months, and denied sustenance," it said. Meanwhile, democracy activist and website editor Qin Yongmin, 66, "has grown weak after a total of 20 years spent in detention and labor camps in previous decades," RSF said. "His health has significantly deteriorated." Stepped-up warnings Censors at the social media platform Weibo were meanwhile stepping up warnings to platform users that they could be pursued for comments deemed to be "attacks on government departments or state media agencies." A user who gave only her surname Zhu said she knows of several people who have been summoned by police after making comments online. "Anyone criticizing the government is a dissident in mainland China, and they are targeted for suppression," Zhu said. "You can't say anything about the government, because they are so fantastic and wonderful." A court in the northern port city of Tianjin recently sentenced NetEase service user Jin Shoukui for "insulting others, harming the image of the country and seriously jeopardizing the national interest online." Jin was jailed for nine months by the Nankai District People's Court, after it found him guilty of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently used to target peaceful critics of Beijing. RSF also cited concerns for the health of octogenarian publisher Yiu Man-tin, who is asthmatic and has suffered five heart attacks in prison, though repeated requests for medical parole have been denied. It said Swedish national and former Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai, 56, has symptoms of a serious neurological disease, but has been denied access to a doctor requested by the Swedish embassy. And free speech activist Wu Gan, 47, has lost 15 kilograms since being tortured and mistreated in detention, and suffers from cardiovascular problems as a result of electrocution, it said. Political cartoonist Jiang Yefei, 53, who was repatriated to China by Thailand despite being a U.N.-approved political refugee, has reportedly been tortured while serving his sentence in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing, with reports of vision loss in one eye, RSF said. Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Copyright 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content July not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Wayfair: No Truth to Child Sex Trafficking Claims Wayfair said claims the company was involved in child sex trafficking are false. There is, of course, no truth to these claims. The products in question are industrial grade cabinets that are accurately priced, the company said in a statement to news outlets. Recognizing that the photos and descriptions provided by the supplier did not adequately explain the high price point, we have temporarily removed the products from the site to rename them and to provide a more in-depth description and photos that accurately depict the product to clarify the price point. Cabinets, pillows, and other items priced in the thousands on Wayfairs website sparked peoples interest, and social media sleuths sought to dig further. Many of the products that appeared overpriced included names like Samiyah and Yaritza. Some of the names were the same as children who went missing in recent years. One theory was that children were for sale through the listings. My spidey senses are tingling. Whats with these storage cabinets? Extremely high prices, all listed with girls names & identical units selling for different amounts. https://t.co/L9OLIpt9tx pic.twitter.com/00WiYfwjI3 Amazing Polly is FREE and will act like it (@99freemind) June 15, 2020 One cabinet was listed as $12,899.99 while another was going for $13,799.99 before they were removed from the website. People also pointed out other supposed oddities, such as a picture of a bookshelf including the book Bloody Harvest, a tome about organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. Falun Gong is a spiritual practice from China based on the principles of truth, compassion, and endurance; it was banned by the Chinese Communist Party in the 90s. One Twitter user who posted videos about what was happening included a disclaimer saying he wasnt claiming to know human trafficking was going on, he just wanted to show people why Wayfair was trending. Another user said that even if the situation wasnt sex trafficking, she believes there was some kind of money laundering or another illicit activity being performed. The theories appeared to originate on Reddit, another social media website. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-10 23:18:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close French President Emmanuel Macron is seen before a cabinet meeting on the COVID-19 in Paris, France, on Feb. 29, 2020. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua) In a telephone conversation, Macron reminded Netanyahu "of France's commitment to peace in the Middle East and asked him to refrain from taking any measure to annex Palestinian territories." PARIS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to drop any plan to annex parts of the West Bank and elsewhere, the French presidency said Friday in a statement. In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Macron reminded Netanyahu "of France's commitment to peace in the Middle East and asked him to refrain from taking any measure to annex Palestinian territories," the Elysee said in the statement. Macron said that "such move would be against international law and would jeopardize the possibility of a two-state solution and the establishment of a fair and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians." Netanyahu had previously set July 1 as the starting date for his plan to annex the Jordan Valley and some other settlements in the West Bank. On July 1, Netanyahu did not make any statement about delaying or calling off the plan. His office only said the prime minister will continue to hold discussions with the U.S. teams "in the coming days." On July 6, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told Kan Bet Radio that the annexation of the occupied West Bank is currently not on the government's agenda. Dickinson Law recently kicked off the Council on Legal Education Opportunitys six week pre-law institute. Since 1968, CLEO has hosted this program in an effort to familiarize and prepare students of color for success in law school. CLEOs mission is to inspire, motivate, and prepare students from underrepresented communities of color to succeed in law school and beyond. Although programs like CLEO serve as a vital resource for pre-law students of color, the legal industry continues to lack diversity. In 2019, the ABA reported that African-Americans accounted for less than 5 percent of lawyers in the United States. Now, more than ever, we should be encouraging students of color to become lawyers to help marginalized communities of color fight against racial discrimination, police brutality, and racial disparities in our criminal justice system. Mentors and leaders outside of CLEO need to understand the importance of creating a culture of positive mentorship for students of color. This means inspiring confidence in these students that they are capable of success in law school and beyond. As a recent law school graduate myself, I encourage attorneys of color and allies taking on mentorship roles to do the following things to inspire and uplift the next generations of lawyers. First, we should build-upnot break-downpre-law students of color to instill confidence in their abilities to succeed in law school. Although its okay to emphasize the importance of doing their best, we should refrain from telling students of color that they must work harder than white students to overcome the assumption that they are less than competent or deserving of their seat in law school. I have had people tell me that I need to work ten times harder because of affirmative action. Although well intentioned, this mindset can be damaging for a first year student of color. Law school, especially the first year, is frequently one of the most stressful experiences a law student will have in his or her life. Adding the stigma that they are perceived as less than creates an additional layer of stress that can ultimately cause a law student to have doubt about their abilities to succeed. This type of uncertainty can be damaging to a law students overall self-esteem; it could potentially discourage the student from undertaking new challenges such as signing up for law review or applying to federal clerkships. We can do better for students of color. Remind them that they deserve this opportunity, that they are worthy, and that the assumptions do not matter. Second, we should encourage students of color to be their authentic selves. Unfortunately, I have had numerous mentors implore me to cut my hair if I wanted to fit in or survive in the legal market. A white mentor once referred to my hair as kinky, while another black mentor admonished that my hair had to go because it made me look like a criminal defendant. To the contrary, wearing my hair naturally did not prevent me from excelling in law school, obtaining a federal judicial clerkship, or fitting in with my professional network. We need to afford pre-law students of color the expressive freedom to unapologetically be who they are. Third, we should encourage each other to invite students of color to settings that provide opportunities to build professional relationships. We emphasize the importance of hard work and perfection, but these attributes can only get students so far. Ive attended networking events by myself where I felt so disconnected that it was difficult to navigate the space on my own. These spaces under these circumstances can feel intimidating and isolating. Having a mentor who invites you to networking events makes these endeavors less imposing. Access to these settings can aid law students of color in their efforts to become more ingrained in the legal community. The students at this summer program have so much potential, but they need allies to build them up and establish a pipeline of access to the legal community. As W.E.B. Du Bois eloquently reminds us: [W]hile it is a great truth to say that the Negro must strive and strive mightily to help himself, it is equally true that unless his striving be not simply seconded, but rather aroused and encouraged, by the initiative of the richer and wiser environing group, he cannot hope for great success. As we continue to strive for greater diversity in the legal field, lets encourage students of color to be their authentic selves as they navigate their journeys throughout law school and beyond. Lets remind them that they are enough and capable of handling any challenges that come their way. Lets help them navigate through the challenges of a competitive and sometimes cut throat legal market. Lets continue striving to build-up, encourage and inspire the next generations of lawyers. Triston Chase OSavio is an Attorney, Adjunct Law Professor at Dickinson Law, Legal Writing Instructor at CLEO, and former Federal Judicial Law Clerk to Judge James M. Munley. His Twitter and Instagram Handle is @osavioesq. US President Donald Trump (L) talks with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the plenary session of the NATO summit at the Grove hotel in Watford, northeast of London on December 4, 2019. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images) The United States has filed paperwork to pull out of the World Health Organization (WHO) after citing it had been overtaken by China since the start of the pandemic. The U.S is no stranger to departing major global organizations, but the ramifications of this particular exit could prove costly for current member nations, including the U.S.s closest ally, Canada. The solution is not pulling out, the solution involves partners including Canada and improving it. We cannot fight pandemics without the U.S., said Yves Tiberghien, professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia and co-chair of the Vision 20 initiative, an organization working on global governance. With an ongoing pandemic of COVID-19, no country has fared worse than the United States of America, but now the $500 million of research funding they used to supply to the WHO will stop as of July 6, 2021. This is not the first time the U.S. under the leadership of President Trump has decided to leave a global deal or organization. In 2017, the U.S. withdrew from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and one year later they departed from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The most well-known example is the U.S. pullout of the Paris Climate Accord, which will take place on November 4, one day after the Presidential Election. In this particular case, Tiberghien thinks the damage to the 194 countries could be quite expansive. It's particularly crippling and a demoralizing move because the U.S. is so critical to global health, so much of the research is done in the U.S., they provide a big chunk of the funding and its happened in the middle of a pandemic, he said. A series of problems According to Tiberghien, the move to leave the WHO is one of the latest that has caused strife in the Canada-U.S. relationship. He points to the change in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and pulling out of the UN-approved JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) on Iran. Story continues Its a big headache for Canada. What we believe in is the WTO, having rules in trade, climate rules, a global health organization, defending democracy and human rights and our biggest partner in this whole endeavour is against all of that, he said. A 2018 poll by Pew Research showed that Canadians had a particularly low opinion of President Trump since he had come into office. The poll indicated only 25 per cent of Canadians rated Trump positively, while 63 per cent felt he was doing less than ever to address problems ongoing globally. Amongst those Canadians surveyed, a whopping 82 per cent felt the U.S. makes global policy decisions without ever considering Canada. The trust in the U.S. president amongst Canadians is amongst the lowest its ever been, its just been disappointing, but on the other hand we cannot run away because were physically attached, he said. The move by the U.S. to leave the WHO is made more significant as Tiberghien says there is a general consensus even amongst the biggest academic skeptics that health and pandemics need a strong and global response. Its part of the absolute minimum level of cooperation or we cannot fight the pandemic. We know that theres a potential of more viruses, he said. The move opens way for Canada to start to improve relations with other countries and while that would be a nice feather in the hat, Tiberghien admits its not the same as having the U.S. by your side. We can go work with Europe, Mexico, Japan but it doesnt gel together...they dont have the firepower that the U.S. does, he said. The WHO is not without fault however, as reporting has shown the organization was slow to report on its early findings within China. Part of that problem was the Chinese government had delayed passing on information to the World Health Organization for almost a week which led to increased transmission of COVID-19. According to Tiberghien the biggest problems with the WHO are the lack of a rapid response team, which would have been effective to contain a virus like COVID-19. He adds the bureaucracy is another huge point of contention as there is a lack of ability to make decisions as there are 194 member countries and a general consensus can be tough to reach. Despite their clear shortcomings, Tiberghien thinks the value of WHO far supersedes the problems and rather than pulling out of the WHO, the U.S. may want to think twice about increasing their funding. The WHO is critical as the only information-sharing organization to fight against pandemics. Its not perfect and it does need reforms, he said. Should Canada pull out of the World Health Organization too? Vote in the poll above and share your thoughts in the comments. South Korea will permit two new downtown duty-free shops operated by conglomerates to open in Seoul and on Jeju Island, the finance ministry said Friday. The government has decided to allow the opening of the two downtown duty-free shops -- one each in the capital city and on the resort island -- on the condition that they are banned from selling well-known local products for the first two years of their operation, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. "The government made the decision to lower the barrier to the duty-free shop business and reflect steady growth of the business before the new coronavirus outbreak (hit the air travel industry)," a ministry official said. The government plans to choose the operators in December or early next year. (Yonhap) As many as 8,000 California inmates could be eligible for early release by the end of August under a plan that aims to increase physical distancing and slow the spread of the coronavirus illness COVID-19 in the state's prison system. The move, announced by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, comes amid rising cases in some state prisons. Nearly 5,850 cases had been confirmed in the department as of Friday evening, with 2,319 considered active cases of people in custody. Other cases are classified as resolved. In the last 14 days, 870 new cases have been recorded, according to the department. There have been 31 deaths. "These actions are taken to provide for the health and safety of the incarcerated population and staff, department Secretary Ralph Diaz said in a statement. "We aim to implement these decompression measures in a way that aligns both public health and public safety. The department estimates that 8,000 inmates could be eligible for early release by the end of August. People serving time for violent crimes or domestic violence, and sex offenders are not eligible. Everyone will be screened for COVID-19 within seven days of release, the department says. There are more than 110,000 inmates in the state prison system. San Quentin has the prison system's most cases 1,336, according to department data. There have been 506 new cases there in the last two weeks. On July 3, two prisoners sentenced to death, Scott Thomas Erskine and Manuel Machado Alvarez, died of what are believed to be complications from COVID-19. A day later, death-row inmate Dewayne Michael Carey, 59, died from what are believed to be COVID-109 complications, and on Tuesday another death-row inmate, David Reed, 60, died, the corrections department said in a statement. Gov. Gavin Newsom has been reported to be facing pressure to release inmates amid the pandemic. On Thursday, the governor said that "the biggest concern" was San Quentin. San Quentin has had seven deaths linked to COVID-19. Story continues Image: One-Third Of Prisoners At San Quentin Prison Have Coronavirus (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) Newsom has called a decision to move inmates from a Chino prison amid the outbreak to San Quentin frustrating. On Thursday, he said, "that decision created the chain of events that we are now addressing and dealing with" but added it was the responsibility of all to address it. Newsom also said that releases must be done in a judicious way and "with a mind on public safety." "This is serious stuff and requires a seriousness of purpose," he said. "When people are just saying, just release thousands and thousands of people, I hope they are being thoughtful and considerate of not only the victims, but the prospects of people reoffending." The American Civil Liberties Union of California Center for Advocacy and Policy welcomed the news Friday and said Newsom "is taking action to lower the population of our prisons and save lives." Under the plan outlined by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Friday, screening will be done for inmates with 180 days or less remaining on their sentences, those with a year or less left on their sentences, and those deemed to be at high risk if they contract COVID-19. People are being screened, but around 4,800 people with less than 180 days left on their sentence could be eligible for early release by the end of this month, according to the department. It will also offer a 12-week "positive programming credit" to eligible inmates, and the department estimates that around 2,100 inmates would likely advance to the point where they can be eligible for release between July and September. We thank @CAgovernor for taking action and listening to the voices of formerly incarcerated advocates across CA. CA must take larger steps to protect the health and safety of those still incarcerated because #WeMatterToo. https://t.co/0SaI5ALNLa Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) (@AntiRecidivism) July 10, 2020 The department also said it is "reviewing potential release protocols" for those who are pregnant or in hospice. People at high risk, like those over 65, are also eligible but they will have to be assessed to be a low risk of violence and no one considered a high risk sex offender would be eligible. The department said it has already reduced its inmate population by around 10,000 since to the coronavirus pandemic. It previously halted intake from jails during the pandemic, leaving 7,000 convicts in local lockups to further reduce prison crowding, The Associated Press reported. While acknowledging structural racism within the arts industry, author Christos Tsiolkas said one of the key reasons he signed the letter was because he was alarmed by the "ugliness of the rhetoric at the moment" and the "annihilation" of an individual's dignity. "I feel sympathy with a lot of the people on Twitter. I dont believe censoring and shaming is the way forward. I think it has been incredibly destructive historically and my fear now is people get caught up in their bubbles and they must be sick of it," Tsiolkas said. "Everyone is throwing stones and no one is taking a moment to think." One of the filmmakers involved in writing the statement, who asked not to be named, described the Sydney Film Festival as a beloved institution and said a video call involving industry leaders was held as the debate about Mukbang unfolded online. There was a shared sentiment, the filmmaker said, that figures who should be allies in the campaign for greater diversity were eating each other in a very public way. The question of whether to include white arts leaders as signatories was a topic of considerable discussion, but the group came to the conclusion that "this is an issue for our whole industry, and white people have to be part of that discussion". There was a lot of talk about trying not to make it inflammatory, to keep it cool-headed, the filmmaker said. We didnt want to inflame things further but of course thats not what happened. On the same day the letter was published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, 153 prominent writers, activists and academics across the political spectrum, including J.K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Martin Amis, released a letter in Harper's Magazine. The Harper's letter was a broader rallying cry for "justice and open debate", arguing that the "exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted". But as with the Sydney Film Festival letter, it took aim at "the swift and severe retribution in response to perceived transgressions of speech and thought" and the "vogue for public shaming and ostracism". Both letters copped swift and severe criticism for being paternalistic, out of touch, overblown, hypocritical and complicit with structures of racism. The signatories, it was pointed out, were well-resourced figures of cultural authority who had easy access to major news outlets and no real risk of being "cancelled". Arab Australian poet Omar Sakr said it never surprised him when people "with a great deal of access can't see the problem, or think things are going swell". "It felt wrong to me that a collection of older, for the most part, established figures in the arts would, under the banner of the SMH and to an audience of millions, publicly try to shut down an argument put forward by one, or a small group of people, on Twitter of all places." Loading While the media "indulged in the fantasy of free speech debate", Sakr said other key voices and issues were denied. These included discussions about the need for greater diversity in media, including at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, which has been criticised for appointing five freelance cultural critics, all of whom were white (two of whom resigned in protest over the lack of cultural diversity among the five critics). Michelle Law was among those who were critical of the appointments. Sakr also said the media attention given to the letters revealed how legacy outlets attempted to control the terms of debate, highlighting how on the flipside Australian media outlets would not publish a statement, signed by more than 700 academics and writers, against Israel's planned annexation of the West Bank. Dr Michael Mohammed Ahmad, founding director of Sweatshop Literacy Movement and author of The Lebs, said the Sydney Film Festival letter was a "distraction which derail our attempts to hold white people and white institutions, including the institution that published the letter, accountable for their role in systemic and structural racism". The swift backlash to the letters was followed by some swift mea culpas. One signatory to the Harper's letter, author Jennifer Finney Boylan, made a complete U-turn, issuing an apology for signing the statement. While those arts leaders who signed the Sydney Film Festival letter said they didn't intend to fan the flames of "cancel culture", they were prepared for criticism. One of the reasons there are so many names on that list is that people were afraid of being attacked individually, said the filmmaker who didn't want to be identified. Its so easy to take down one person and destroy them, their politically correct credentials. People are scared, totally scared. In a story published on the website Reason, another signatory to the Harper's letter, journalist Jesse Singal, criticised the heated response, saying: "there was no sane connection between the text of the letter and such a reaction". The Macquarie Dictionary crowned "cancel culture" its 2019 word of the year describing it as "the attitudes within a community which call for or bring about the withdrawal of support from a public figure" but it is a slippery term that persistently refuses a stable definition. "The label 'cancel culture' turns attention to these discussions and debates but frames them as problematic, and I think that really is not particularly helpful," University of NSW Associate Professor Tanja Dreher, a media and communications academic, said. "It is an overly simplistic term and a little alarmist. There are lots of really interesting discussions and debates taking place, and to simplify them all in that term 'cancel culture' actually hides more than reveals." J.K. Rowling, who has clashed with critics on social media for her posts on gender and sex, signed the Harper's letter. Credit:AP University of Sydney cultural studies expert Dr Benjamin Nickl said contemporary "cancel culture" had developed over several years, although protests, boycotts, public shaming and erasure had a long history. Nickl said the current strain was a media and youth culture phenomenon often related to clicktivism, social media warriors, hashtaggers and keyboard courage. And while debates about the phenomenon have ebbed and flowed, he said he thought it had reached a new point in its evolution. Nickl said the rapid "cancellations" of public figures had offered individuals a "glimpse of power that people can have to overturn the authority", and he said the criticism of the open letters had the potential to "initiate a profound change in the perception of cultural institutionalisation and the canon". "However, cancel culture wont change much if its just performative and replaces Caesars thumbs up or down during the Romans bread-and-games pastime sport. That was to see even the emperor, a massive authority, decide at least in part swayed by the large audience mobs and peoples opinion," Nickl said. Dreher said generational difference also contributed to the nature of contemporary "cancel culture", as the conversations played out in different ways on social media and in legacy media outlets. "In some recent cases what we are seeing is commentators who have some platform and that is derived from a long-term involvement in media and cultural institutions in conversation with a generation of advocates and activists and practitioners who have really developed in the social media environment and are very adept at using the affordances of social media for discussion, debate and activism, and so in a sense we've got different models of how to have these discussions and debates and sometimes they are rubbing up against each other," Dreher said. But to attempt to unpack "cancel culture" is in many ways an unwitting reinforcement of the phrase. Dreher said the concept has become a stuck point and pushing the discussion beyond the frame is necessary. "We really need to think that if we set aside the cancel culture debate what other conversations could we have? What would we be talking about?" US arms sales to Taiwan more 'symbolic' than of military value: expert Global Times By Liu Xuanzun, Guo Yuandan and Du Qiongfang Source: Global Times Published: 2020/7/10 21:26:39 Last Updated: 2020/7/10 22:34:49 Patriot missiles sites to become 'first targets' in potential war: expert After stirring up tensions in the Taiwan Straits by frequently sending military aircraft and warships near the island, and meeting countermeasures by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the US on Thursday announced the approval of yet another arms deal to Taiwan involving the recertification of air defense missiles for $620 million. The move shows the US is advancing its plans to contain the Chinese mainland regardless of the issues it has with handling the coronavirus at home, and it will lead to more chaos and complexity to the region instead of peace and stability, Chinese mainland experts said on Friday. The arms sales will not change the power balance across the Taiwan Straits, in which the PLA holds an overwhelming advantage, but will only give Taiwan secessionists false courage, the experts said, noting the missiles will be among the first targets to be eradicated if a military operation is needed. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) of the US announced Thursday that the US State Department approved a request by Taiwan for the recertification of its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) air defense missiles, at an estimated cost of $620 million. The recertification package the US is offering Taiwan includes replacing PAC-3 components that are near expiration, testing and repairing the capability and spare parts for ground support equipment, and other logistics support, US media Defense News reported on Friday. This marks the second time that the US has approved arms sales to Taiwan this year. The US had previously approved the sale of 18 MK-48 Mod 6 advanced technology heavyweight torpedoes to Taiwan on May 20. Already in service, the PAC-3 air defense missiles are an important weapon in Taiwan's high-altitude defense systems, which are deployed in Taiwan's major cities and surround Taiwan's important military facilities. The PAC-3 is the most advanced model, with a maximum interception range of 70 kilometers, and maximum interception altitude of over 24 kilometers. The search range of its radar is 100 kilometers, and can track 100 targets at the same time. According to US military contractor Lockheed Martin, the PAC-3 is capable of intercepting tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft. Yang Chengjun, a Chinese mainland expert on missile technology and nuclear strategy, told the Global Times that the arms sale is symbolic, and only gives Taiwan secessionists false courage, rather than boosts its military capabilities. Compared to the PAC-2 air defense missiles, the preparation time required for the PAC-3 is shorter. It can finish its launch preparations in 60 minutes, and its interception chances are also improved. The interception probability has reached as high as 80 percent in some missile tests, but this data was taken under strict conditions, when the launch time, location, and flight trajectory of the targeted projectile have already been predicted, Yang said. Yang pointed out that if the Chinese mainland decides to use force to reunify with Taiwan, the PAC-3 will not be useful since the specific time and location of our missile launches are unpredictable. The mainland will deploy a combination of military means, such as air and water raids. "At the moment, the Chinese PLA's conventional missiles can be used for mobile operations, and their launch preparation time is very short, meaning the PAC-3 could not react in time. Considering their success rate of launch and limitations to interception, there is a much more symbolic meaning to the arms sales, rather than actual military value," Yang said. Yang added that if the Chinese mainland decides to reunify with Taiwan by force, it will be a comprehensive application of multiple means, rather than just missiles. The armed forces, including the navy, army and air force, will all attack. That means Taiwan may need to buy at least 30,000 PAC-3 missiles. Nevertheless, the PAC-3 systems will possess a certain level of threat to PLA aircraft and could intercept some missiles, so they will likely be some of the first targets to be destroyed in a potential military operation, analysts said. Beijing-based military expert Wei Dongxu told the Global Times on Friday that by selling overpriced arms to Taiwan, the US has three evil intentions: create trouble between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan island (to contain China), use Taiwan's military as a shield to block PLA missiles for US fleets, and earn dirty money for US arms firms. Rising tensions The US arms sales announcement came after the US frequently sent military aircraft and vessels to and near Taiwan since June. In an apparent response, the PLA also frequently conducted warplane sorties near Taiwan. Multiple types of PLA warplanes, and Su-30 and J-10 fighter jets, Y-8 special mission aircraft, and H-6K bombers were involved. For these, the Taiwan Straits was listed as a region with a deteriorating situation by the International Crisis Group. This has led to discussions by observers on whether a reunification-by-force operation by the PLA is on the horizon. After the national security legislation for Hong Kong, the US realized it had lost the Hong Kong card to contain China, so it has shifted its focus and allocated more resources to the Taiwan card, analysts said. Fears of a regional military conflict in the Taiwan Straits looms large because of provocative and aggressive actions by the US and Taiwan secessionists, and while the Chinese mainland is willing to find peaceful solutions to the Taiwan question, it has never waived the choice of unifying with Taiwan by force and has been treating it as a main strategic mission objective of the PLA, analysts said, noting the responsibility lies in the US and Taiwan secessionists to stop provocations and de-escalate the situation. Wei said that secessionist forces in Taiwan island rely on the US to achieve their goal of secession, and the US might also further show off its military presence by sending reconnaissance aircraft, anti-submarine aircraft and warships, or even aircraft carriers to locations near Taiwan. But the PLA has the capability and confidence to safeguard peace and stability in the region and stop any foreign military intervention, Wei said. Also on Thursday, the DSCA approved a planned purchase by Japan for 105 F-35 joint strike fighters worth $23 billion. Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Friday that US arms sales to Taiwan and Japan happen regularly. "The special thing about this year is that US perception of China's threat is more urgent than ever. The fact that the US arms sales arrangement happened as scheduled amid the pandemic shows that it is speeding up its plans to contain China." Li believes the political intentions of the US are apparent: it plans to strengthen its regional alliance's confidence in its ability to ensure security. Thus, the US, Japan and Taiwan have gradually formed a military companionship with which the US expects to strangle the Chinese mainland's development. Li said he believes US military plans in the region will have a limited impact on the military balance in East Asia. The arms sale exposes why the US plays up the PLA's military drills in the South China Sea and East China Sea: it hopes to make Japan and Taiwan more dependent on it by hyping the threat of the Chinese mainland. "In the future, the US may further expand its arms sales to Japan and Taiwan to achieve what the US believes is sufficient to constrain the Chinese mainland's military development," Li said. Li considers it meaningless whether the US sells arms to Japan or Taiwan; it cannot change the Chinese mainland's dominant position in the region. In other words, its underhanded dealings with Japan and Taiwan will only end up with the region becoming more complicated and chaotic. It will not help the US realize its goal of containing China, Li said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A British-Nigerian, Fidelia Onoghaife, has been sacked by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs allegedly for her whistle-blowing role at the Dutch Embassy in Nigeria. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the woman, who worked as senior policy advisor of economic and political affairs at the embassy post in Abuja, appeared in court at The Hague last Wednesday. This newspaper gathered that she argued in court that her dismissal is connected to her whistle-blowing report about alleged misconduct of a former Dutch ambassador to Nigeria, Robert Petri. NRC, a Dutch publication, reports that she was fired while the ambassador continued to work in the ministry and she thinks that is unfair and that is why she demands compensation. The newspaper reports that Ms Onoghaire was alleged to have spoiled the atmosphere for years with her screams and intimidating behavior, so she had to leave. I dont even know what Im accused of, Ms Onoghaire was quoted to have said. She alleged that her resignation is a repercussion for her 2018 whistleblower report on the ambassador. She had complained to the ministry that Mr Petri was not so keen on the rules and leaked secret information to Shell, which is involved in a major corruption scandal in Nigeria. Mr Petri was also alleged to have flown on the private jet of the oil company. Background In June, the Dutch newspaper, NRC, reported that at the end of 2017, the Dutch ambassador to Nigeria leaked the confidential information to Shell. An investigation into Mr Petris tenure as ambassador to Nigeria was prompted by a complaint of integrity received by the country, the report revealed. The leakage of the confidential information fueled tensions at the embassy. After two internal investigations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled Mr Petri back to the Netherlands in early 2019. The investigations revealed, among other things, a sick working atmosphere at the embassy. Several partner organisations complained to the ministry that Mr Petri was too much on Shells hand. Mr Petri was found to have shared confidential information about an impending visit by the tax investigative service FIOD to Nigeria at the end of 2017 with the local Shell director. He allegedly did this during a visit with his wife to the mans residence. Later in June, PREMIUM TIMES reported how a Dutch diplomat lost his position after comments about alleged unethical conduct and corruption indulged in by the countrys businesses operating in Nigeria. Hans Smaling, who was Dutch economic envoy to West Africa between 2015 and 2018, was summarily sacked after he complained about how the government and companies from the European country are involved corruption, he told NRC. More controversies Meanwhile, in her submission, Ms Onoghaire claimed that because of her whistleblower report, she was asked to leave. She was getting too much trouble and the ministry wanted to get rid of her, she said. NRC reports that the lawsuit shows that it was Ms Onoghaife who told the ministry about Mr Petris alleged misconducts, and that cost her head, she suspects. After she filed her complaint about the ambassador, an investigation into the alleged integrity violations followed and Mr Petri was not allowed to come back afterwards. Details show, however, that shortly after the period, another investigation suddenly came which nailed Ms Onoghaife with claims that she had been behaving impossible for years. On Wednesday, the ministrys lawyer maintained that there was no connection between Ms Onoghaires ordeal and her whistle-blowing report. Yes, it is true that the ambassador had to leave after the internal stasi visited the embassy post in the capital, he reportedly told the judge, adding that since then, Mr Petri has been winged at the Ministry. He added that the ministry even encourages whistle-blowing. But it doesnt mean that if you make a report, you dont have to be penalised for other misconduct, the lawyer was quoted to have said. But lawyer to Ms Onoghaire, Christiaan Oberman, questioned the argument, noting that if she behaved as aggressive and intimidating as the ministry claims, she would not have recently received a seven-year contract extension and rave reviews for years. Advertisements It is a case of pleasures and burdens. She also had value for the embassy, the ministry lawyer claimed in a reply. The judge requested to know whether Ms. Onoghaire had been warned enough before she was fired, the mode of warning, and the official who warned her, if any. Commenting on her ordeals, Ms Onoghaire said: I was happy to represent the interests of the embassy. At the insistence of the Ministry, I made a declaration of integrity, with the promise that I would be protected. I did the right thing. The ambassador who does treacherous things has a job, and Im fired. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the verdict has been slated for September 9. In addition to the porn, the police said the youths also exchanged gore videos from the dark web. (Photo | Pixabay - Gerd Altmann) Rome: Italian authorities said Saturday they have identified a group of 20 teenagers who shared child porn and dark web videos of suicides and mutilations on their cellphones. Police said they were tipped off to the images by the mother of a 15-year-old boy in the Tuscan city of Lucca who found them on her sons phone. Police say they discovered an exorbitant number of videos being exchanged via WhatsApp, Telegram and other instant messaging apps. In addition to the porn, the postal police said in a statement that the youths also exchanged gore videos from the dark web. In Italy, the postal police investigate crimes committed via mail and web. In all, 20 minors aged 13-17 who shared the images were identified, and police said investigations continue to find other people involved. The youths remain free pending charges of possessing and sharing child porn, as well as aggravated instigation to commit crimes. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Women's rights activists have protested across France and abroad against President Emmanuel Macron's appointment of a new interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, who is accused of rape. The protests also targeted the new justice minister Eric Dupond-Moretti, who has minimised the #MeToo movement. The actions started Friday morning in Dijon, where new Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Prime Minister Jean Castex were meeting with police. A dozen feminists held out banners and signs condemning Darmanin and rape culture. Later Friday, in front of Paris City Hall, women staged a flash mob and performed the song and dance A Rapist in Your Path " started by feminists in Chile, which has become an international rallying cry against sexual violence and victim shaming. The young, diverse crowd most in masks demanded Darmanin's resignation and exuded anger at Macron, who had promised to make fighting sexual violence a grand cause of his term. 'Impunity is over' Signs read Darmanin named, Victims disdained or Victims, We See You. One of the speakers, who identified herself only as Margaux, said: Without questioning the fundamental right to the presumption of innocence, the nomination of a man accused of rape reminds us how sexual and sexist violence is normalised and minimised, including at the highest levels of the state. The message sent is very clear: Aggressors, don't be afraid, she told the crowd of several thousand people. "The culture of rape is on the move," chanted many, playing on the name of Macron's ruling Republic on the Move party. Feminist group Nous Toutes and others announced other actions Friday in other French cities as well as at French embassies or consulates in London, Sydney, Montreal, Berlin, Brussels, Barcelona and Tel Aviv. The French government said it remains committed to gender equality and defended the new ministers, stressing the presumption of innocence. Story continues Darmanin firmly denies the rape accusation, and an investigation is underway. Ridiculing #MeToo New Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti is a lawyer who has defended a government member accused of rape and sexual assault, and has ridiculed women speaking out as a result of the #MeToo movement. Activists also expressed concern about LGBTQ rights with Darmanin in charge of French police, because he opposed gay marriage before France legalised it in 2013. We have the impression we're being treated like idiots, said Paris protester Alix Joly, a 25-year-old graduate student. When she heard about the latest government nominations, she said, I laughed, but bitterly. The protest came amid a growing investigation into accusations by at least 26 women that a Paris street artist well known in the historic Montmartre neighbourhood raped or sexually assaulted them. The artist-photographer says he never raped anyone. Lawyers for the accusers say he systematically preyed upon teen girls or young women, plied them with alcohol or drugs and took compromising photos so they would be too ashamed to report what happened. (AP) The City of Boston is looking at a variety of options for returning students to school in September and expects to announce a plan in the next week to 10 days, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said Friday. Right now, were in the midst of working on different models of what schools could look like coming back in September. A lot of people have a lot of concerns, he said during a Friday press conference. Theres a portion of people that dont think we should open in September, theres a bigger part of the community, I think, that thinks we should open some type of school in September, and theres some people that quite arent sure how to format a plan yet. Guidance from state education officials instructed districts to prepare for in-person education, a hybrid model and a fully-remote learning model for the new school year this fall. Walsh said that Boston is conducting a survey of teachers and parents to incorporate their feedback into the citys plan. Walsh noted that if students return to the classroom on Sept. 10 as scheduled, it will have been six months that they were outside of a physical school building. And if something doesnt happen where we get our kids back into a classroom, thats going to have effects, potentially long-term effects, on their education, he said. But again, Ill talk more about that as we move forward. Walsh also said theres no question about it that opening school this year is going to cost more and added that he has no intention of laying anyone off from the school system as other cities and towns have done. But in saying that, you know, having support from the federal government will be helpful, Walsh added. Issuing statement on the 'unknown virus' found in Kazakhstan, WHO has said that it might be the novel Coronavirus, citing that there was a big surge of COVID cases in the country recently. WHO official Michael Ryan issued the statement after the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan warned about the unknown virus. Ryan added that the WHO is working with authorities in Kazakhstan to investigate the potential of the virus and to identify it. This comes after Kazakhstan's Ministry of Healthcare on July 10 dismissed a report of the Chinese Embassy about an 'unknown pneumonia'. "The Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan emphasizes that the reports of the Chinese media are not consistent with reality. It is important to note that WHO introduced pneumonia codes into the International Classification of Diseases - ICD 10, in cases when COVID-19 is diagnosed clinically or epidemiologically, for example with the 'ground-glass' opacities in the affected lungs, but is not laboratory-confirmed. In this regard, Kazakhstan, like other countries of the world, keeps records and monitoring of this kind of pneumonia, in order to make timely managerial decisions aimed at stabilizing the incidence and prevalence of COVID-19," the release by Ministry of Healthcare added. China warns about unknown pneumonia in Kazakhstan The Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan posted a notice on July 9 warning its citizens in the country about a new 'unknown pneumonia', possibly more lethal than COVID-19. Chinese Embassy in its notice claimed that the death rate of the new disease was much higher than that of Coronavirus. The embassy said that Kazakhstan's health ministry is yet to identify the virus that has reportedly claimed more than 1,700 lives in the central Asian country. The Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan cited local media reports in its notice and claimed that the unknown pneumonia cases are being reported in the provinces of Atyrau and Aktobe and the city of Shymkent. READ | China warns citizens in Kazakhstan of 'unknown pneumonia' more lethal than COVID-19 This comes as China is facing the heat from the world community for concealing information about Coronavirus that has till now claimed 562,889 lives worldwide and has infected 12,631,067 people. The WHO has also faced the ire of Donald Trump administration for not investigating China's initial statements on Coronavirus and its potential. READ | 'Fake news': Kazakhstan shuns China's warning about 'unknown pneumonia' worse than COVID Authors, shut out of holding in-person events at bookstores, are getting more creative and collaborative when it comes to promoting their books. For the publication of Melanie Conroy-Goldmans debut novel, The Likely World (Red Hen), this means inviting as many people as she can to join her for what could be the worlds first drive-in book launch. The event will take place August 4 at the Fingerlakes Drive-in in Auburn, N.Y., where Conroy-Goldman will have a conversation with author Bob Proehl and attendees will be treated to swag bags, free popcorn, and a screening of the 1989 movie Say Anything. Ive spent 48 years writing The Likely World, Conroy-Goldman said, and Covid-19 devastated my launch plans. There are 10 virtual stops on my tour, for which Im grateful, but I wanted to celebrate the books birthday with the many people who helped me bring it into the world, and it wouldnt be the same without safe in-person interactions. This is an incredible opportunity to do that. Fiction is always about alternate realities, the might-have-beens and the it-could-possibly-bes. Here we are, in a summer we never foresaw. Shall we make a little joy in it? The hope is to offer books for sale on site, and Conroy-Goldman is considering various options for signing books, such as having attendees indicate from their cars whether they want signed copies. The free event is being promoted with #ParkAndRead on social media. For veteran thriller writer Daniel Silva, promoting his new book, The Order (HarperCollins), involves casting as wide a virtual net as possible. He is partnering with 18 independent bookstores to livestream his launch on July 14. It will feature the author giving a virtual tour of his writing space and then sitting for a remote interview with CNNs Jamie Gangel and answering questions from the audience. To attend the Silva event, readers must buy the book from one of the participating booksellers. They will then be sent a login for the event, which will be hosted on Crowdcast. Participating stores include Bank Square Books in Mystic, Conn.; Brookline Booksmith in Boston; Left Bank Books in St. Louis; Murder by the Book in Houston; Parnassus Bookstore in Nashville; Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Vromans Bookstore in Pasadena, Calif. Silvas launch is just one of more than 40 virtual events that Poisoned Pen is hosting in July, including programs with bestsellers like Brad Thor and international authors such as Camilla Lackberg. Owner Barbara Peters said that, though the store has livestreamed its big events for several years, there was a bit of a learning curve involved in becoming, essentially, a broadcaster. Every day we are learning new things and embracing new opportunities, she added. Peters frequently does several events in a day and has a multicamera setup in the store. The videos are then posted to social media channels, including IGTV and Facebook, with several having garnered more than 50,000 views. One event, featuring Diana Gabaldon and Theresa Carle-Sanders, for the latters The Outlander Kitchen: To the New World and Back Again (Delacorte), racked up 140,000 views and downloads across all platforms, and the store sold 1,000 copies of the book, according to Peters. She has also added some events for authors who dont often put in appearances at stores best known for selling mystery novels. For instance, Poisoned Pen will stream an event for Jonathan Slaghts Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the Worlds Largest Owl (FSG) on August 18. Its crucial to step outside our comfort and experience zone, Peters said. And I hope we can keep some of the new tools and opportunities when more traditional events return. The daily death toll from America's coronavirus crisis rose sharply this week amid a dramatic surge in confirmed infections across the South and West that has inundated hospitals with ill patients and forced several states to pause or reverse plans to reopen businesses. Texas, Arizona and South Carolina have all seen their death tolls rise by more than 100 percent in the past four weeks, according to an analysis of state and county health data by The Washington Post. Four more states - Mississippi, Tennessee, California and Louisiana - have seen at least a 10 percent jump in that time span. "They're starting to tick up," said Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. "Deaths are a lagging indicator, so we always expected that if they were going to go up, it would take some time." After mid-April, the daily death toll declined as shutdown orders took effect across the country and the virus curve began to flatten. The low point came July 5, with 217 recorded coronavirus deaths, the lowest toll since March 24, when the pandemic was in its initial upswing. Since then, amid record-breaking case numbers in several states, the death count has begun to rise, surpassing 800 deaths each of the past four days. Although still below the highs in April and May, when more than 2,000 people per day were regularly dying from the virus, experts warn that the trend could continue to get worse. "This is just the early wave of a lot of suffering and death. The longer we wait to act aggressively, the harder it's going to be for us to get out of the tailspin," said Ashish Jha, who directs the Harvard Global Health Institute. The spike in deaths this week remains a small sample. Nuzzo said she and other public health experts prefer to make judgments on trends that are consistent over one or two weeks, not just a few days. "I would give it two weeks to know for sure," she said, but added, "I'm expecting to see that this trend will hold." Nicholas Reich, a University of Massachusetts biostatistician who aggregates more than 30 epidemiological models to create a forecast of the coming weeks of the pandemic, on Wednesday predicted that by Aug. 1, the country would see its covid-19 death toll rise to 147,466, an increase of about 16,000 over 2 1/2 weeks. "The model's best guess is that we will see a slow and steady increase in new #COVID19 deaths in the US over the next four weeks, between 3,800 and 5,000 per week. This captures declines in some states, and increases in others," Reich wrote on Twitter. In an email to The Post, he said these models can be useful for things like planning hospital staffing and communicating to the public about the trajectory of the pandemic. But he cautioned that the models are not crystal balls. The increase in testing rates, along with the fact that more young people are being tested, makes it challenging for modelers to create forecasts based on what happened earlier in the pandemic, when the testing rates were lower and the confirmed cases more often involved older people at greater risk of death, Reich said. The surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks has been driven by states that were first to loosen shutdown restrictions and begin reopening their economies. With the flood of new cases, more than a dozen states have now paused reopenings, and others have reimposed bans or limits on bars and indoor gatherings. Nevada plans to shut down bars in counties where virus cases are increasing, including Clark County, home to Las Vegas. Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, said Thursday evening that the order, which goes into effect Saturday, will not apply to counties with only a small number of cases. For now, indoor dining is still allowed. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, issued an executive order Friday instructing businesses to refuse service to customers who aren't wearing masks or risk a suspension of their licenses. Many of the problems that defined the country's first encounters with the coronavirus in the spring have reared up again in different areas as the virus has pushed into new territory. As patients pour into emergency rooms, hospitals have reported shortages in personal protective equipment for doctors and nurses and rushed to add more intensive care beds. There have also been fresh complaints about a lack of testing and slow results. Even President Donald Trump's favorite possible remedy - the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, which he has taken as a prophylactic and called a "game changer" - is being resurrected, although the Food and Drug Administration revoked its approval last month after safety warnings about potential cardiac problems. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has been leading a Trump administration effort to demand that the FDA renew its emergency authorization for the controversial drug. "It feels like Groundhog Day. They're repeating same thing. And that's because there's only so many denial tactics you can employ," said Jha, of the Harvard Global Health Institute. "The federal government is just AWOL." The public has grown increasingly critical of the government's pandemic response. Two-thirds of Americans now disapprove of Trump's handling of the coronavirus, his worst numbers to date, according to an ABC News-Ipsos poll released Friday. The poll found that 67 percent disapprove of Trump's handling of the pandemic, while 33 percent approve. Trump's disapproval number has risen nine points since mid-June. Federal health officials Friday made public the coronavirus testing plans prepared by each state, several major cities and U.S. territories. The Trump administration has chosen to rely on these individual plans, spurning a congressional requirement to adopt a uniform nationwide testing strategy. The plans are designed to meet one of the few standards the administration has set: for states to test at least 2 percent of their populations. Few of the plans mention how many days it should take for people to get test results - a particular concern now that testing times are lengthening again. One exception is the New York City report, which says that any private labs on city contracts must deliver results within two days. A few plans, including Houston's, promise to test people with or without symptoms of covid-19. Public health officials have said that spikes in cases are being fueled in large part by younger adults who are less likely to become seriously ill when infected. But most states' plans focus on testing their most vulnerable residents - older adults, nursing home residents and health-care workers, among others. Several state plans emphasize that they need federal help to secure enough testing supplies. "If the federal government reduces, or ceases to send, test kits to . . . Georgia, this could result in an [insurmountable] challenge and the state will not meet the 2% testing goal without additional private lab resources," that state's plan said. Louisiana's said, "The greatest threat to our test plan success is the inability to obtain the needed supplies and reagents to successfully execute the state testing plan." At least two states' plans name specific local industries whose workers are particularly vulnerable to infection, with Nebraska mentioning its meatpacking plants and Delaware noting that it is home to a robust poultry industry. Federal health officials also announced Friday that they will devote an additional $4 billion in relief funds to two sets of hospitals and other providers of care that are financially struggling because of the pandemic. The money is part of $175 billion in health-care relief that Congress included in laws in March and April - about $115 billion of which has been committed so far, officials said. According to the officials, approximately $3 billion will be available to an estimated 215 hospitals, doctors or other providers that treat many poor patients and run on thin or negative profit margins. They did not qualify for $10 billion devoted last month to safety-net hospitals. The other $1 billion is for rural hospitals, or suburban facilities that treat many rural patients. - - - The Washington Post's Jaqueline Dupree, Chelsea Janes, Rachel Weiner, John Wagner and Antonia Farzan contributed to this report. An expert from Serbia has become Vietnam's 370th patient of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while the country is set to send home a British pilot who was its most seriously ill patient of the disease on Saturday. The new patient, who came to work for industrial steel manufacturer Hoa Phat Corporation, arrived in the country on Thursday at Da Nang International Airport in the namesake central Vietnamese city on a flight from Oman. According to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the 29-year-old man was quarantined upon his entry, leaving no risk of spreading the disease to the community. His samples were taken on the same day and the result came back positive on Friday. He is being treated at a quarantine facility at Dung Quat Industrial Zone in the south-central province of Quang Ngai. The new imported case raised Vietnam's infection tally of COVID-19 to 370 cases, including 230 imported patients who were quarantined immediately after arriving. Up to 350 patients have recovered from the disease in Vietnam, with no deaths. Except for the new Serbian patient, all COVID-19 cases involving foreign nationals in Vietnam have been successfully treated and cleared of the virus. The country has gone 87 days with no new infection in the community. The treatment sub-committee under the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said on Saturday that Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City will discharge a British pilot, who was once Vietnams most critical COVID-19 patient, on the same day. The 43-year-old man from Scotland will be returned home on a Vietnam Airlines flight late Saturday, escorted by medical workers, after 115 days of treatment in the country. Representatives from the Ministry of Health, the UK Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, the municipal People's Committee and health department, his flight crew and the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases, where he was first admitted to, are expected to see him off. On the afternoon of the same day, Cho Ray Hospital will carry out the procedures for handing over to the patient in time for his flight to depart from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi at 7:00 pm. He will then depart from Noi Bai International Airport in the Vietnamese capital city to the UK at 11:00 pm on the same night. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 22:43:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JUBA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations humanitarian agency said that inter-tribal skirmishes, flooding and COVID-19 have undermined efforts to provide emergency aid to civilians in South Sudan. Alain Noudehou, UN humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, said that tribal violence and forced displacement have a complicated provision of critical support to vulnerable civilians. "Recurring fighting between different ethnic groups in Bor and Pibor areas of Jonglei State displaced more than 60,000 people and disrupted humanitarian services," said Noudehou in a statement issued in Juba on Friday evening. He said that clashes between Sudanese traders and armed groups in Western Equatoria, particularly in Tambura town have displaced more than 5,400 people. "Fighting between armed groups and attacks on civilians in Morobo County, Central Equatoria, resulted in a number of casualties and displaced nearly 1,400 people," said Noudehou. South Sudan so far has recorded 2,139 COVID-19 cases with 1,125 recoveries and 41 deaths as of Friday. Enditem When I started at SBS, the place seemed like a miracle. A truly unique TV network that heralded diversity and inclusion, the multicultural public broadcaster brought so many smart, passionate people together for a common cause to shine a light on under-represented people and cultures on TV and online and give a voice to the traditionally voiceless. It was inspiring. But then things took a turn. In 2017, a colleague and I were at our desks in the TV and online department, having a conversation about an interview I had done with Gurinder Chadha, the director of Bend It Like Beckham. Two other colleagues joined the conversation. I pointed out that she and I shared some heritage we were both Punjabi (our families came from that Indian state; Im also half Puerto Rican). Nick Bhasin could not believe what he was hearing from a colleague at multicultural broadcaster SBS. No youre not, youre American, said one colleague, kindly erasing and explaining my cultural heritage to me. He then proceeded to tell a story about encountering the director in some unfavourable capacity. She had that Indian thing where she was very rude, he said. I didnt quite believe what I was hearing so I offered him the chance to walk it back, suggesting that if she was rude, maybe it wasnt necessarily because she was Indian. Did he actually mean to say that, like all people, some Indians were rude? Nope. Hed spent time in India and he was sure Indian people were rude. Michigan reports more than 600 confirmed coronavirus cases Friday, July 10 Michigan reported 612 more confirmed cases of coronavirus on Friday, July 10, the largest daily increase since May 20. The state also reported 15 new COVID-19 deaths, though all 15 of them occurred outside the last 24 hours and were late additions discovered through regular vital records reviews. In total, Michigan has reported 68,295 confirmed cases and 6,039 deaths linked to COVID-19 over the course of four months. Health officials recommend looking at seven-day moving averages to evaluate data trends during the pandemic. The state is averaging 451 new cases and 10 new deaths per day. As of Thursday, July 9, the states hospital systems were treating 363 coronavirus patients, including 92 on ventilators. About 74 percent of in-patient hospital beds were reported occupied in total. While deaths and hospitalization trends continue to decline, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the states chief medical executive, noted that those indicators are often lagging several weeks behind trends in case numbers. Whitmer orders mask use in Michigan, violators could be fined up to $500 All Michiganders will be required to wear masks in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces or could face a misdemeanor charge that comes with up to a $500 fine under an executive order issued by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday. The heroes on the front lines of this crisis have gone hours without taking their masks off every day doctors, nurses, child care workers, grocery store workers. We owe it to them to wear our masks when were on a trip to the grocery store or pharmacy, Whitmer said in a press release announcing the change. Masks can reduce the chance of spreading COVID-19 by about 70 percent. By wearing masks, we can save lives and protect our family, friends, and neighbors from the spread of COVID-19. And by wearing masks now, we can put our state in a stronger position so our kids can return to school safely in the fall. For the sake of your loved ones, lets all mask up, Michigan. Also worrisome is data from a recent poll of 1,000 Michigan residents that found only 52 percent of adults still feel committed to following health and safety guidelines. The other 48 percent said they were conflicted, confused or casual. The combination of rising case counts and declining vigilance by many is placing our state at a tipping point in our battle with this disease, said Wright Lassiter III, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System. We cannot become complacent. Weve come too far to yield hard fought gains now. Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. Michigan to require all medical professionals to undergo implicit bias training Michigan medical professionals will need to undergo implicit bias training in order to be licensed by the state, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state leaders announced Thursday. The state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs is in charge of licensing medical professionals. Under a new executive directive from Whitmer department will create new rules that make implicit bias training mandatory for people to qualify for licensure, renewal or registration. The new requirement is based on a recommendation from the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, led by Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that this inequity is particularly and dangerously true, said Gilchrist, who has lost 23 people in his life due to the virus. Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said 40% of the coronavirus deaths in Michigan have been Black people, which comprise 14% of the population. The training against implicit bias is a simple, but impactful way Michigan leaders can ensure clinicians are away of the biases they may have and have the tools to address them, Khaldun said. Overly aggressive Michigan mask mandate leaves retailers concerned about enforcement The Michigan requirement to wear masks in public spaces holds new weight, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has ordered businesses to prohibit unmasked customers from coming inside. The order also requires people wear masks in enclosed public spaces, and in crowded outdoor spaces, with penalties of up to a $500 misdemeanor for those that dont comply. Businesses could also face repercussions, such as having their license suspended, if they dont comply - leaving many with mixed feelings about the order. The order takes effect immediately for individuals and on Monday, July 13 for businesses. Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. Seeing beefed up prices at Michigan grocery stores and restaurants? Heres why When future economics textbook writers look to explain concepts like supply and demand and supply chains, theyll have an easy example to illustrate their importance. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Prices across the food industry are beefed up and the fallout from the pandemic is to blame. From farm to table, every step on the supply chain is affected. And more often than not, those costs are passed along to the consumer. Its a bit counterintuitive at first some suppliers are leaving food to rot in the fields and euthanizing their animals, all while consumers are finding empty shelves and inflated prices at grocery stores and restaurants. The nature of the pandemic has jumbled up the precise formulas restaurants and grocery stores have calibrated with their food suppliers. And the suppliers have had their own issues having a consistent output. Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. Donald Trump Jr. expects Gov. Whitmer to block campaign rallies under guise of COVID pandemic Donald Trump Jr. told reporters Friday that he expects Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to block presidential campaign events under the guise of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whitmer told the Associated Press last month she would think very seriously about trying to block the president from hosting a campaign rally in Michigan, where her executive orders require masks in all public spaces and limit the size of gatherings and events. The governors office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. We know that congregating without masks, especially at an indoor facility, is the worst thing to do in the midst of a global pandemic, Whitmer reportedly said. I just know we have limitations on the number of people that can gather and that were taking this seriously. The presidents son, who is in self-imposed quarantine after his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle tested positive for COVID-19, said he thinks the cancellation of political events would happen for partisan reasons. He said there are ways to hold campaign events safely, by requiring masks and keeping people six feet apart from one another. Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. For more statewide data, visit MLives coronavirus data page, here. PREVENTION TIPS In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus. Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. More coronavirus coverage on MLive: U.P. hospitals bring back zero-visitor policy Washtenaw County health officials worried about complexities of coronavirus contact tracing Flint bar closes after employee exposed to person who tested positive for COVID-19 An overnight fire burned most of San Gabriel Mission's roof and interior. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) For the faithful, it was a grim Saturday as they arrived at San Gabriel Mission to survey the damage from a huge fire that destroyed the historic landmark's roof and much of the church interior. My heart is full of sadness, said San Gabriel resident Anita Chavez, 70, who calls herself a lifetime parishioner. This church has been at the center of my family, my world and my faith. Chavez's daughter called to tell her about the fire, and she arrived at the churchs parking lot to confirm what she feared. Though she stood about 100 feet away, Chavez became emotional when she saw the damage and smelled the embers. Chavez held funerals for her son Martin Jr., husband Martin Sr. and parents Virginia Quintanar and Jose Quintanar in 2011, 1992, 1999 and 1984, respectively, all at the mission. Chavez was far from alone as parishioners, Catholic Church leaders and others came to survey the damage to the building, which is 249 years old. Authorities received a call at 4:24 a.m. reporting that the missions fire alarm had gone off. When an engine arrived to investigate, firefighters saw flames and smoke coming from the corner of the mission. The cause was under investigation. Bishop David G. O'Connell leaves the San Gabriel Mission after surveying the damage caused by a fire early Saturday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) The Quintanars are buried in the nearby public San Gabriel Cemetery, adjacent to the mission chapel, along with Chavezs grandparents. Chavez worked as a special education assistant with the San Gabriel Unified School District and was proud to be part of a fundraising drive to help refurbish many of the now battered and destroyed pews. A massive fire ripped through the 249-year-old San Gabriel Mission early Saturday. (Andrew Campa / Los Angeles Times) A part of the mission is gone and it will, God-willing, be replaced and new, but it will also never be the same, she said. Founded by Franciscan Father Junipero Serra in 1771, the San Gabriel Mission has long been seen as an essential link to Californias past, as well as to the brutality and racism on which the state was founded. The mission system destroyed the lives of Native Californians and in recent decades has deeply tarnished the image of Serra, the architect of the system who has long been considered one of Californias founding fathers. Serra was made a saint by the Catholic Church in 2015, fueling outrage from Native American activists and others. Story continues Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez toured the damage around 10:25 a.m., while San Gabriel Valley regional auxiliary bishop David G. OConnell met and spoke with distressed parishioners and visitors. Were all brokenhearted by this, and this adds another trauma onto the present trauma of the coronavirus and everything else thats happening, OConnell said. People love the mission, and many of these families have connections going back generations. OConnell mentioned that on Friday mission staff had just finished redoing all the pews and had finished redoing the walls, getting them up to their original quality. He was thankful that because of the refurbishment, some of the missions statues and artwork had been removed. A baptismal font consisting of a hammered copper basin and silver pieces donated by Spanish King Charles III in the late 18th century also survived, according to San Gabriel Mission spokeswoman Terri Huerta. The altar and wooden statues inside the mission also came through unscathed. OConnell said that despite Saturdays fire, normal Sunday Mass will continue at the missions chapel, with social distancing and COVID-19 limits holding attendance to 100 people. One of the more visible groups to arrive was a branch of the Knights on Bikes, a motorcycle group affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, a self-described fraternity of Catholic men of faith and charitable action. Paul Padilla, 50, came from Fontana with four other black-vested, blue-jeaned masked members. They assessed the situation, took photos, spoke with relatives, then pulled out rosaries and prayed. We saw the reports on TV and had to stop by, Padilla said. I grew up closer to the San Fernando Mission, but I had to come out and stand with the mission today and support my Catholic faith. This place is a part of our history. Fellow member David Sanchez, 59, grew up in East Los Angeles and remembered field trips to the mission as a young student, while Enrique Bonilla, 39, a Pasadena resident, said he had attended many mission services. Its sad this happened, Sanchez said. This was a place of peace for so many people. Times staff writers Alexandra Wigglesworth and Sonali Kohli contributed to this story. Credit: Getty. Ofgem has released proposals asking firms to invest at least 25bn ($21bn) over five years to improve energy supplies to homes. Under the watchdog's plans household energy bills could fall by an average of 20 as gas and electricity networks are overhauled. A 3bn portion of the funding would be earmarked to make the UKs energy infrastructure more environmentally friendly. A further 1bn would be invested in energy. Ofgem is ordering suppliers not to pass the cost onto customers saying they must halve the returns they make on their investments in the energy network. The proposals could save consumers more than 3.3bn and create a greener, fairer energy system for consumers". Jonathan Brearley, Ofgems chief executive, said: Now more than ever, we need to make sure that every pound on consumers bills goes further. Less of your money will go towards company shareholders, and more into improving the network to power the economy and to fight climate change. Energy experts have praised the plans but energy companies have hit back calling the proposals "half-baked." Keith Anderson, chief executive at Scottish Power said: Instead of investing more in creating green jobs and skilled apprenticeships in every community, at a time when the UK needs them most, this is a short-sighted return to austerity politics. "Nobody benefits from this half-baked plan. Its bad for jobs, bad for apprenticeships, bad for training and bad for the UK supply chain. And Rob McDonald, managing director of transmission at SSE, suggested energy companies may take action against the proposals. He said: At present the draft settlement does not strike the right balance for all stakeholders, and without significant changes during the consultation period, there is a real risk that the critical investment in Britains electricity networks will be unnecessarily slowed down by an appeal process via the Competition Markets Authority, which is not in any stakeholders interests. READ MORE: Tesla stock boosts Musk's net worth up billionaire rankings Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 03:45:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A woman walks his dog at the Trocadero Palace near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, July 10, 2020. With 25 new deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, coronavirus-related fatalities in France rose to 30,004, while the number of patients hospitalized or admitted to intensive care units continued to fall, official data showed on Friday. (Xinhua/Gao Jing) PARIS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- With 25 new deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, coronavirus-related fatalities in France rose to 30,004, while the number of patients hospitalized or admitted to intensive care units continued to fall, official data showed on Friday. Currently, 7,062 people are hospitalized with coronavirus infection, 115 fewer than the number on Thursday. The number of patients in intensive care went down by 12 to 496, continuing a long-running decline, the Health Ministry said. A total of 170,752 people have caught the coronavirus to date, including 658 new infections confirmed in the last 24 hours. The number of patients who have recovered stood at 78,388, a single-day increase of 218. In its weekly report published on Thursday, the country's Health Public Agency warned that the virus "tends to increase in France mainland." It noted that the number of positive cases rose and the virus' reproduction rate, known as the "R0" rate, was above 1 compared with 0.6 in recent weeks. "The increase remains moderate to date," the agency said, stressing that the utmost vigilance was necessary to avoid any resurgence of the epidemic, notably via strict respect of barrier gestures and social distancing during summer holidays, which "likely encourages risky behaviour." Enditem Coronavirus Updates: In a tweet, Abhishek Bachchan said that both have mild symptoms and requested everybody to stay calm and not panic Auto refresh feeds This "total" lockdown, as part of which most shops were closed and essential items ordered to be home delivered, was enforced on 2 July for a period of ten days. It has been extended for seven more days. A lockdown with very few exemptions that is in force in Thane city of Maharashtra till 12 July has now been extended to 19 July. The order was issued by Thane Municipal Corporation Additional Commissioner Ganesh Deshmukh. He said that, by extinguishing clusters of infection, the world could "potentially avoid the worst of having second peaks and having to move backwards in terms of lockdown". Dr Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organization's emergencies programme, said on Friday it was unlikely that the new coronavirus would be eliminated. "In the current situation it is unlikely we can eradicate this virus," he told an online briefing from Geneva. The decision comes after complaints of irregularity in distribution of remdesivir and tocilizumab and trade in black market. State home minister Anil Deshmukh and food and drug administration (FDA) minister Dr Rajendra Shingne held a meeting on Friday to regulate the distribution of the drugs. The state has also set up a toll free number (1800222365) where people can report anyone hoarding the drugs or selling them at high prices. The Maharashtra government on Friday made it mandatory for all medical shops to keep a record of Aadhaar card numbers, prescriptions and contact numbers of all those buying remdesivir and tocilizumab, which are being used to treat moderate and severe cases of COVID-19. The government said that 18 states/Union Territories (UT) have a recovery rate more than the national average, while 30 States/UTs have a fatality rate lower than the national average. The Union Health Ministry on Friday informed that the COVID-19 recovery rate has climbed up to 62.42 percent while, fatality rate declined further to 2.72 percent. India registered 793,802 total COVID-19 infections with 21,604 deaths as on Friday. "There are 276,882 active cases and all are under medical supervision with 495,515 recovered cases of coronavirus patients till date," said the health ministry. Considering the unmet medical needs to treat COVID-19, Drugs Controller General of India, Dr VG Somani, approved monoclonal antibody injection Itolizumab, an already approved drug of Biocon, for restricted emergency use for the treatment of 'cytokine' release syndrome in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome patients due to COVID-19, they said. India's drug regulator has approved Itolizumab, a drug used to cure skin ailment psoriasis for "restricted emergency use" to treat COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress, officials told PTI on Friday. "And some of these examples are Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi - a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai - a strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus," said the WHO chief. "There are many examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control," said Tedros during a virtual press conference in Geneva. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the examples of Italy, Spain, South Korea and Dharavi, largest slum in Maharashtra, showed that however bad a outbreak was, the virus could still be reined in through aggressive action. The World Health Organization said Friday that it is still possible to bring coronavirus outbreaks under control, even though case numbers have more than doubled in the past six weeks. Of the total, there are 743 active cases while, 304 patients have recovered since. Eleven new COVID-19 infections were reported in Kohima, taking the total number of cases in Nagaland to 743 as on Saturday, S Pangnyu Phom, Minister for Health & Family Welfare. The COVID-19 toll climbed to 22,123 after 519 more patients succumbed to the infectious disease in the past 24 hours. With 27,114 more people testing positive for the novel coronavirus, India's COVID's overall count exceeded 8 lakh on Saturday. With this, India registers over 27,000 cases for the first time in a single day. So far, at least 5,15,386 patients have been cured of the viral infection, taking the COVID-19 recovery rate to 62.78 percent. The total confirmed cases in India stand at 8,20,916 including 2,83,407 active cases, according to the latest data released by the Union Health Minsitry on Saturday. At least 1,13,07,002 COVID-19 samples have been tested so far, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), adding that of the total over 2.82 samples were tested on Friday alone. The RBI chief was speaking at the 7th SBI Banking & Economics Conclave. Commenting on the impact of world's biggest lockdown on the Indian economy, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on Saturday said, "COVID-19 pandemic perhaps represents so far the biggest test of robustness and resilience of our economic and financial system." "It dented the existing world order, global value chains, labour and capital movements across globe," Das said at the 7th SBI Banking & Economics Conclave. Remarking on the strict stay-at-home measures that contributed to the 'negative consequences' on the job sector, the RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on Saturday said, "COVID-19 is the worst health and economic crisis in last 100 years with unprecedented negative consequences for output, jobs and well being." As many as 472 police personnel in Assam have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, reported News18 on Saturday. Over 900 officials are currently under home quarantine while, one succumbed to the viral infection. "The restrictions were reimposed as a precautionary measure after some locals were tested positive for COVID-19. While in most cases the source of the infection is known, there are some cases where the source is unknown," Additional Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, Sher Singh told PTI. The entire Rajouri city and adjoining areas were sealed and people were asked to stay indoors as part of the efforts to slow the spread of the infection, they said. Strict lockdown restrictions were reimposed on Saturday in parts of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district following a spike in coronavirus cases, officials said. "There is no room for any complacency in this regard," said Modi. Reiterating the need to maintain personal hygiene and social distancing in public spaces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the COVID-19 review meet on Saturday said there must be a widespread awareness about the infection. The Congress has been critical of the BJP-led government over various issues, especially its handling of the pandemic as COVID-19 cases have risen exponentially after the easing of the lockdown, and the situation at the border with China in eastern Ladakh where 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent standoff with Chinese troops on 15 June. Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with the party's Lok Sabha MPs through video conferencing on Saturday and is learnt to have discussed with them the COVID-19 situation in the country. Infections have also been detected in other major cities such as Gwangju and Daejeon. At least 15 new cases were linked to international arrivals. South Korea reported 35 new cases of coronavirus, bringing its overall count to 13,373, with 288 deaths. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday that 13 of the new cases came from Seoul. With 76 new coronavirus cases, Meghalaya on Saturday reported the highest single-day spike taking the overall count to 312, PTI quoted officials as saying. Sawant said the process of unlocking has started and priority should be given to resume economic activities. Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant has ruled out the possibility of imposing further lockdowns in the coastal state, which is grappling with the rise in COVID-19 cases. He further directed that similar approach should be adopted with other state governments in containing the outbreak in entire NCR area, ANI reported. During the COVID-19 review meeting on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated the concerted efforts of the Centre, state and local authorities in containing the pandemic situation in Delhi. The new cases were reported from various areas in the city and villages. The case count in the district stood at 700 as on 6 July 6. With 25 fresh COVID-19 cases being reported on Saturday, the overall count in Amravati district of Maharashtra increase to 820, a health official said. "Proactive screening helped in early detection, timely treatment and recovery," he said. Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Commissioner of the G North ward of BMC said the civic body had to change its traditional approach of waiting for patients, contact tracing, isolation and home quarantine to begin proactive screening instead. The total number of recoveries in India crossed the five lakh mark on Saturday, said the health ministry in a statement. As many as 5,15,385 COVID-19 patients have so far been cured and the recovery rate has climbed to 62.78 percent, it said, adding that recovered cases outnumber active COVID-19 cases by 2,31,978. The Nagaland government has decided to extend the ongoing lockdown in the state till 31 July, and charge fees for COVID-19 tests and stay at quarantine centres at a later stage. The ongoing lockdown in the state, which was supposed to be lifted on 16 July, was extended for another 15 days at a meeting of the High Powered Committee (HPC) on COVID-19 on Friday. Planning and Coordination Minister Neiba Kronu told news agency PTI that the present arrangement of free testing and staying in quarantine facilities without any charge will continue till the extended period of the lockdown. The rates will be fixed later but they will be minimal, the minister said. Complete lockdown will be imposed in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts from 8 pm on 14 July to 5 am on 22 July in view of rising COVID-19 cases. Essential services will be exempted, reports ANI quoting the Karnataka Chief Minister's Office (CMO). Detailed guidelines will be released on Monday, said the chief minister. Activist Akhil Gogoi, arrested by the National Investigation Agency for his role in anti-CAA protests, tests COVID-19 positive in Guwahati jail, reports PTI quoting officials. The news agency also said that 55 inmates of Guwahati Central Jail were found to be COVID-19 positive and an order has been issued to test all prisoners Actor Amitabh Bachchan said that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection and has been shifted to the hospital. According to news agency ANI, the actor has been admitted in Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital. The 77-year-old actor urged those who has come into contact with him to get tested. Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar are listed in 'A category' along with Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Bareilly, Lucknow, Agra, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Varanasi where these charges would apply, stated the order signed by Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad. Private super speciality hospitals across Noida and Greater Noida can charge no more than Rs 10,000 per day for isolation beds, Rs 15,000 for ICU and Rs 18,000 for ICU with ventilator care for COVID-19 treatment, an official order said on Saturday.These charges are for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers-accredited private facilities and include the cost of personal protective equipment (PPEs), the order issued by the Uttar Pradesh government stated. For private hospitals that are not NABH-accredited, the charges have been capped at Rs 8,000 for isolation beds, Rs 13,000 for intensive care units (ICU) and Rs 15,000 for ICU with ventilator (invasive or non-invasive). State BJP president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the claim of the West Bengal government that there are sufficient beds for patients infected with coronavirus is untrue. "The government is repeatedly saying that there are enough beds in COVID-19 hospitals. But in practice, we are seeing that the patients are being harassed and turned away," Ghosh said. check the growing trend of hospitals refusing admission to COVID-19 patients. There have been allegations that several private hospitals are refuting to treat COVID-19 patients. The BJP's West Bengal unit on Saturday attacked the state's Trinamool Congress government claiming that the administration is not doing anything to T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested ! Actor Amitabh Bachchan said that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection and has been shifted to the hospital. According to news agency ANI, the actor has been admitted in Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital. The 77-year-old actor urged those who has come into contact with him to get tested. have been discharged so far, while 12,135 were under treatment. positive cases in the state to 33,402 and deaths to 348. Out of the 1,178 fresh cases, 736 were reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), followed by Ranga Reddy and Medchal districts with 125 and 101 cases respectively. A state government bulletin said 20,919 people COVID-19 cases continued to surge in Telangana on Saturday, with as many as 1,178 new cases and nine fatalities being reported, taking the total number of The coronavirus case count in Mumbai rose to 91,457 on Saturday with 1,308 new patients found, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). 39 patients died, taking the toll due to the pandemic in the financial capital of the country to 5,241. However, the figures for Mumbai were different in the Maharashtra government's statement, which put the toll in the city at 5,244 and increase in cases at 1,284 with over all count of 91,745 cases. Sources told PTI that Gaikwad was not keen on imposing lockdown and was in favour of opening up during a meeting chaired by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Friday. His transfer comes at a time when Pune city is set to undergo a 10-day lockdown with minimum exemptions from 13 July. The Maharashtra government on Saturday transferred Pune Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad and replaced him with Vikram Kumar who is currently CEO of Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority. Pune is among the worst-hit cities in the state and, as on Friday evening, had 25,893 cases, with the rise particularly sharp and worrying over the past few days. Extremely saddened to hear the news of Shri #AmitabhBachchan Ji testing COVID Positive. Praying for his strength & speedy recovery. @SrBachchan please get well soon! Dear Amitabh ji, I join the whole Nation in wishing you a quick recovery! After all, you are the idol of millions in this country, an iconic superstar! We will all take good care of you. Best wishes for a speedy recovery! @SrBachchan @juniorbachchan #AmitabhBachchan #COVID https://t.co/NHeY7e2mjC pic.twitter.com/CsVKlvCJeG Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you. Abhishek Bachchan said that he has also tested positive for the coronavirus infection and said that he and his father have mild symptoms. "The BMC has been in touch and we are complying with them," he added. Sad to hear both Amitabh Bachchan Sir and his son got COVID19 positive. Get well soon @SrBachchan @juniorbachchan . Whole family now undergo tests. Praying for the entire family . #AmitabhBachchan #AbhishekBachchan #StaySafeAtHome #UseFaceMask pic.twitter.com/4YlxpVxOHn Coronavirus Updates: "Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital," said Abhishek Bachchan. Actor Amitabh Bachchan said that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection and has been shifted to the hospital. According to news agency ANI, the actor has been admitted to Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital. The Karnataka government has decided to implement complete lockdown in Bengaluru Urban and Rural Districts for seven days starting 8 pm on 14 July, said chief minister BS Yediyurappa. Kerala's total case count climbed to 7,438 while the toll due to COVID-19 reached 29 with two more deaths reported on Saturday. The Nagaland government has decided to extend the ongoing lockdown in the state till 31 July. The COVID-19 case count in Tamil Nadu climbed to 1,34,226 and toll reached 1,898 as the state reported 3,965 new cases and 69 deaths. Meanwhile, the Meghalaya government announced a total lockdown in Shillong on Monday and Tuesday. The health ministry said that a total of 5,15,385 COVID-19 patients have so far been cured and discharged, of which 19,870 were discharged in the last 24 hours. With this, the recovery rate has risen to 62.78 percent and the number of recoveries exceeds active cases by 2,31,978. The civic body had to change its traditional approach of waiting for patients, contact tracing, isolation and home quarantine to begin proactive screening instead in Dharavi. "Proactive screening helped in early detection, timely treatment and recovery," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reviewed the COVID-19 situation across the country. He stressed on the need for widespread awareness about the viral infection. The Delhi government has asked all the universities to evaluate students according to their previous academic record or come up with a progressive plan to grade students. In a series of tweets, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh also said fines to the tune of over Rs 11 crore were collected from offenders during this period. The central bank governor, while speaking at the 7th SBI Banking & Economics Conclave, said that COVID-19 has dented the existing world order, global value chains, labour and capital movements across the globe. After 27,114 more people tested COVID-19 positive for the first time in a day, India's overall count crossed 8 lakh on Saturday. India's drug regulator has approved Itolizumab, a drug used to cure skin ailment psoriasis for "restricted emergency use" to treat COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress. The World Health Organization said Friday that it is still possible to bring coronavirus outbreaks under control, even though case numbers have more than doubled in the past six weeks. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the examples of Italy, Spain, South Korea and Dharavi, largest slum in Maharashtra, showed that however bad a outbreak was, the virus could still be reined in through aggressive action. Dr Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's emergencies programme, said that by extinguishing clusters of infection, the world could "potentially avoid the worst of having second peaks and having to move backwards in terms of lockdown". India, the third worst-hit country by the novel coronavirus, on Friday registered its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases with 26,506 new infections being reported in 24 hours. Additionally, the Union health ministry said that 475 deaths were also reported, taking the toll to 21,604. The total number of cases rose to 7,93,802 on Friday, including 2,76,685 active cases, and 4,95,513 cured/discharged/migrated patients. The ministry also said that the recovery rate stands at about 63 percent. Meanwhile, the ICMR said that with 2,83,659 samples being tested for coronavirus on Thursday, the total number of samples tested up to 9 July is 1,10,24,491. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday said the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in India currently stands at about 63 percent and asserted that India has not reached the community transmission stage, despite being a large country. "Recovery rate among COVID-19 patients stands at about 63 percent. The mortality rate is just 2.72 percent. We are not concerned about the number of cases. We are ramping up testing so that maximum cases can be detected and treated," he was quoted as saying by ANI. In the meantime, the BSF on Friday said that 73 new coronavirus cases and 14 recovered/cured patients in the force were reported in the last 24 hours. The total number of positive cases in BSF stands at 1,659, including 927 recovered cases. No COVID-19 vaccine till next year, officials tell MPs A vaccine for COVID-19 is expected only by early next year, a parliamentary panel was informed on Friday. Presentations were given by the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the principal scientific adviser to the government before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Climate on the Centre's COVID-19 preparedness. The panel is chaired by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who, along with six other members, attended the meeting. Sources said it was conveyed to the panel that a vaccine for COVID-19 could be available only by early next year. This was the first meeting of the panel since the nationwide lockdown was imposed on 25 March. Lockdown to be imposed in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad areas In a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19, a 10-day lockdown will be imposed in Pune, neighbouring Pimpri-Chinchwad and a few other parts of the district in Maharashtra starting 13 July. The lockdown will come into force from midnight of 13 July and end on 23 July. The district reported a record spike of 1,803 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday that pushed the tally to 34,399, while the toll rose to 978. The decision to enforce the lockdown was taken in a meeting chaired by Maharashtra deputy chief minister and district guardian minister Ajit Pawar. Lockdown extended in Thiruvananthapuram, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli municipal regions Various lockdown guidelines were extended by respective authorities in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram and in Maharashtra's Kalyan-Dombivli, and Thane municipal areas as coronavirus cases continued to rise. This is in addition to the lockdown restrictions enforced in areas of West Bengal and Bihar. Kerala's COVID-19 tally inched towards 7,000, with 416 people testing positive on Friday in the highest single-day spike of the infection so far, as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan warned that the situation was "becoming alarming". He also said the triple lockdown imposed in Thiruvananthapuram corporation limits has been extended by another week. The state government had on Sunday decided to enforce the lockdown in the capital city following a spike in coronavirus cases. In addition to the complete lockdown announced in Maharashtra's Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) announced the extension of the lockdown in the area till 19 July. The Thane municipal corporation also announced a similar extension. Conduct rapid antigen tests in every households, Adityanath tells UP officials Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has asked officials to carry out rapid antigen tests in every household during the three-day special cleanliness campaign initiated from Friday. "A special cleanliness campaign has been initiated from 10-13 July to create awareness about COVID-19, vector-borne diseases and other ailments. Under the campaign, door-to-door surveillance should be done and rapid antigen tests should be conducted in every household," Adityanath was quoted in a statement released by the government. He said the number of lab technicians should be increased and 15,000 rapid antigen tests should be conducted per day. During the meeting with officials, Adityanath said that a massive sanitisation should be undertaken to check the spread of coronavirus. He added that all ministers should monitor the campaign in their respective districts. State-wise COVID-19 cases and deaths today With as many as 2,38,461 COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state, followed by Tamil Nadu (1,30,261) and Delhi (1,09,140). Maharashtra reported a record 7,862 new cases on Friday, while Tamil Nadu recorded 3,680 new infections. Meanwhile, Delhi reported 2,089 new cases. As many as 1,608 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in Andhra Pradesh, taking the coronavirus tally to 25,422. Himachal Pradesh detects two new COVID-19 positive cases, taking the total number of cases to 1,143 including 268 active, 851 recoveries and nine deaths. Jharkhand reported 170 more COVID-19 cases taking the state's tally of coronavirus cases to 3,362. The total number of active cases in the state stands at 1,129, while 2,210 patients have recovered so far. Meanwhile, 115 more COVID-19 cases have been reported from Rajasthan on Friday. With this, the total number of cases in Rajasthan stands at 22,678, including 5,043 active cases and 17,140 recoveries. Prisons across Maharashtra reported a total of 763 COVID-19 cases till date. The figure includes 596 inmates and 167 jail staff, informed the Maharashtra Prison Department on Friday. The highest number of cases was reported from Nagpur Central Prison with 219 inmates and 57 jail staff testing positive for the novel coronavirus. As many as 222 new COVID-19 positive cases and three deaths reported in the state police force in the last 48 hours. The total number of positive cases in the force now stands at 5,935 including 74 deaths and 4,715 recovered, said Maharashtra Police. As many as 352 new COVID-19 positive cases reported in Bihar today taking the total tally in the state to 14,330 including 9792 recovered cases, the Bihar government said. Odisha's COVID-19 case tally rises to 11,956 with 755 new positive cases reported in the last 24 hours. The number of recovered patients in the state is 7,407, toll 56, said state health department. Nine new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Ladakh; two patients cured and discharged. COVID-19 active cases in the Union Territory has gone up to 1,064 (350 in Leh district and 714 in Kargil district), said the Department of Information and Public relations Leh, Ladakh. Cases 'more than doubled' in six weeks,s ays WHO "Today the world recorded 12 million cases. In the last six weeks cases have more than doubled," said Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday. Ghebreyesus was also quoted by News18 as saying, "In Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, South Korea and even in Dharavi, a densely packed area in Mumbai, a strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus." With inputs from agencies It was supposed to be a seventh wedding anniversary on June 29 for Khadijah Ahmad and Abubakar Idris. The conjugal union had produced two daughters before tragedy struck. On August 2, last year, Mr Idris, who is better known as Dadiyata, was abducted by unidentified assailants who seized him from his residence in Barnawa neighbourhood of Kaduna State. He was returning home at about 1 a.m. that day when some armed men breached his homes security and whisked him away in his BMW car, the state police said at the time. Its almost a year since that happened, neither he nor his car have been found. I dont even know how to start, Mrs Idris said in a hushed tone when asked how she has been coping. All I do is to keep praying for him. As she spoke, her two daughters, Hanifa, 7, and Fatima, 2, stomped around the room, the younger one intermittently smacking her lips as she fiddled with her mums dress. There are days Hanifa asks Mrs Idris of her dads whereabouts. When an unconvincing response comes, the seven-year-old would insist that mum calls dad. On both occasions, the elusive answers Mrs Idris give are that Hanifas dad travelled and his phone was switched off. The elder daughter, too, is optimistic like her mum. She often tells her sister that their dad, whom she calls Abah, would join them soon. She (Hanifa) is even telling her sister that did you see Abah? Im just looking at them, Mrs Idris said, smiling for the first time during this interview, her smile mirroring both hope and anxiety. A-year-old wait Mr Idris, who should be 35 this year, known for his critical stance against the ruling class, especially the ruling APC, has an appreciable following on the microblogging site Twitter, his virtual activism space. In his bio on the site, he professes himself as a believer in the Kwankwasiyya ideology, a movement by Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, and an opposition faction in Kano politics. He would often tweet condemning the non-payment of salaries in Kogi State, trolling President Muhammadu Buhari for his certificate forgery allegations, and poking jibes at the Kano State governor, Umar Ganduje, who was filmed stuffing bribes into his babanriga, a local outfit worn in the northern part of the country. Sometimes, his criticisms take the face of sarcasm, but at other times they are downrightly scathing. I laugh tire when I saw it wllhi @dadiyata ka matsawa Baba Liti fa https://t.co/3N3nYB29TR Mr.Ahmad Ilu (@IluAhmad_) August 1, 2019 https://twitter.com/IbrahimJallah/status/1156993363868094465 Notorious for arresting critics and often times keeping them incommunicado without trial, agents of the State Security Service (SSS) were, at first, fingered for Mr Idris bizarre disappearance. For what she considered an illegal detention, Mrs Idris sued the SSS Kaduna command, the commissioner of police and the state government, seeking the unconditional release of her husband and payment of the sum of N50 million in damages. But, both the SSS and police denied arresting Mr Idris. Their denial deepened worries on what might have been Mr Idris fate, especially because his captors have also not demanded a ransom, about a year after. Regardless, some Nigerians still believe Mr Idris disappearance has to do with his critical anti-government political views. His disappearance is at odds with the United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, a part of which reads: No circumstances whatsoever, whether a threat of war, a state of war, internal political instability. . . may be invoked to justify enforced disappearances. Enforced Disappearance is also described as a crime against humanity by both the treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Like his family, a student of the Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State, where Mr Idris taught History of English Language before his disappearance, Fadilat Dada, yearns his return. He was a very serious, jovial and disciplined man, Ms Dada said, recalling how he encouraged her after she made a perfect presentation in one of his classes last year. Advertisements Authorities not aware While the hope for Mr Idris return heightens, little has been heard from the nations security authorities about his whereabouts. Repeated calls to the Kaduna State police spokesperson, Mohammed Jalige, were unanswered. When he returned the call and was asked about the update on the search for Mr Idris, he said he couldnt speak where he was and promised to call back. He did not. Subsequent calls to his line over two days were not answered. The states police commissioner, Muri Musa, also said he has no information about Mr Idris disappearance because he was five months on the job. He asked this reporter to send Mr Idris details and promised to give an update tomorrow. The Kaduna governors chief press secretary, Ibraheem Musa, also said it is still a police matter, and he is not competent to comment as he has no information about the abduction. Also, the spokesperson of the SSS, Peter Afunaya, declined requests for comments. Mrs Idris told this reporter that nothing has been heard from both state and federal security operatives either. I have not heard anything from them (in a long time), she said when asked if state security agents give her their assurances. The only people that give her assurances and hopes are families and friends, she said, and some Nigerians who have been asking: Where is Dadiyata? Four years ago, Michael Flynn, an intelligence officer with a three-decade military career, became a MAGA star introducing Donald Trump at raucous campaign rallies. Now, after a prolonged battle against what Trumps biggest supporters see as a rigged judicial system staffed by Obama-era bureaucrats, Flynns status as a deep state-fighting warrior has only grown. And with Flynn on the verge of potentially having criminal charges dismissed altogether, Trump allies are pushing the campaign to give Flynn the ultimate comeback: hitting the campaign trail for the president, according to nine people inside or close to the Trump campaign. Great surrogate lots of people would come to see him, said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump ally. Hes the perfect example of deep state victimization. Pretty powerful. Three people affiliated with the campaign said they would welcome Flynn back perhaps reprising his role as an opening act at Trump rallies or a TV surrogate between now and Election Day, although a Trump campaign official said the campaign has not approached Flynn about taking a formal position. The move would bring Flynn back to where it all started in 2016, but this time emboldened by his journey from little-known campaign surrogate, to White House national security adviser, to indicted Russia probe target, to, potentially, the man who defeated Robert Muellers prosecutors. Trump, struggling in the polls against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and concerned his reelection prospects could be slipping away, has already brought back a handful of loyalists from his successful campaign in 2016. But Flynn has become a right-wing cause celebre like no other. Interesting suggestion, said Tim Murtaugh, Trump campaign communications director. Gen. Flynn is a great American. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the BOK Center, Saturday, June 20, 2020, in Tulsa, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Flynns legal saga could reach its end point in the coming weeks after a federal appeals court panel in June ordered Judge Emmet Sullivan to dismiss Flynns case. But Sullivan is taking the usual step of asking the full bench of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the panels decision first. Story continues Flynn initially pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his December 2016 conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. He later tried to withdraw his guilty plea, before the Justice Department moved to abandon its prosecution altogether at Attorney General William Barrs urging. Trump accuses the FBI of targeting Flynn as he seeks to discredit the broad inquiry into whether his aides colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. The president has even mused about pardoning Flynn, saying he was targeted in order to try and take down a president. As far as Gen. Flynn, hes a great hero, hes a great gentleman, Trump told Sean Hannity on Fox News on Thursday night. What theyre doing to that man, they destroyed that man, but hell come back. Hes going to come back. On Saturday, the president tweeted: "New documents just released reveal General Flynn was telling the truth, and the FBI knew it!" It was immediately unclear what Trump was referring to. An administration official said he wasnt aware of any talk about bringing Flynn back to the White House. A person close to the White House joked that Trump always seems to bring back the same core group of loyalists, even those who had once fallen out of favor. Some Trump allies warn that hiring Flynn, or even just adding him as a speaker at rallies, would create a needless controversy at a time when Trump is struggling to make up lost ground in national and battleground states. I dont know that his abilities as a surrogate outweigh the controversy he would attract, said one ally. And while Flynn would almost immediately add a jolt to the campaign, energizing Trumps conservative base, he could offend the college-educated suburban voters the president needs to win the election. Over the weekend, Flynn tweeted a video in which he used phrases linked to to the QAnon conspiracy movement, whose followers believe the U.S. government is run by pedophiliac elites and Trump is orchestrating a secret plot to take them down. Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn leaves federal courthouse in Washington, Tuesday, July 10, 2018, following a status hearing. If youre a fan of Flynn, then youre already part of the Trumpian base that believes the deep state is out to railroad Trump and his associates, said Republican strategist Rob Stutzman. Involving Flynn would just be one more tactic that seems solely focused on energizing Trumps base instead of expanding it. A former White House official questioned why Flynn would want to return to Trumps orbit after all hes been through. If you dodged a bullet, why come back in the firing line? the former official asked. Flynns lawyer, Sidney Powell, did not respond to a request for comment. Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, served as a senior adviser to the presidents 2016 campaign focused on foreign policy and national security. As one of Trumps few military surrogates at the time, he defended the New York businessmans vow to improve U.S.-Russia relations and led calls for the jailing of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. During a fiery speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention, Flynn led the crowded arena in a Lock her up! chant a staple of Trumps marquee rallies. His spirited defenses of Trump and sharp criticism of the Obama administration earned him the campaign job that led to his appointment as national security adviser. But just 22 days into his job, Trump fired Flynn for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversation with the Russian ambassador. Flynn also eventually pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about those same conversations. Pence apparently holds no grudge. I think Gen. Michael Flynn is an American patriot; he served this country with great distinction, Pence said in May in an interview with Axios on HBO. And for my part, Id be happy to see Michael Flynn again. Two of the Trump campaign officials said Flynns fall from grace he was one of the first senior Trump aides charged in connection to the Russia probe did not give them pause about inviting him to assist the campaign in some capacity. One of the officials said he would be an ideal addition to the campaigns payroll if Biden taps Flynns predecessor, Susan Rice, to be his running mate. Rice, President Barack Obama's final national security adviser, is one a number of women Biden is considering for vice president. Trump and Republican lawmakers accuse Rice without evidence of committing a crime by leaking the identities of senior Trump associates picked up as part of U.S. intelligence-led surveillance of foreign officials. Flynn would be our No. 1 draft pick to open President Trumps rallies if Joe Biden actually picks Susan Rice, the campaign official said, adding that Flynn could discuss his own experience with the deep state that Biden and Rice would do everything to protect. Kyle Cheney contributed to this report. PORTLAND, Ore. Protesters who have clashed with authorities in the Pacific Northwest are not just confronting local police. Some are also facing off against federal officers whose presence reflects President Donald Trumps decision to make cracking down on violent mayhem a federal priority. The Department of Homeland Security has deployed officers in tactical gear from around the country, and from more than a half-dozen federal law enforcement agencies and departments, to Portland, Oregon, as part of a surge aimed at what a senior official said were people taking advantage of demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd to engage in violence and vandalism. "Once we surged federal law enforcement officers to Portland, the agitators quickly got the message," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation. The deployment represents somewhat of a departure for DHS, which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and is primarily focused on threats from abroad and border security. During the Trump presidency, its focus has been largely on carrying out the president's tough immigration agenda. Now it is in the role of supporting Trump's law-and-order campaign, raising questions about whether it is overstepping the duties of local law enforcement. Portland Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said his department did not request the assistance and did not coordinate efforts with the federal government during often chaotic clashes that have ranged across several downtown blocks after midnight for weeks. "I don't have authority to order federal officers to do things," Davis said. "It does complicate things for us." The DHS officers' presence comes at an incredibly tense moment for Portland. After Floyd's death, the city for days saw marches and rallies that attracted more than 10,000 generally peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters to the downtown area. The police took a "mostly hands-off approach" to those events because they were orderly, Davis said. Trump, speaking at a military base near Miami on Friday, said Portland officials failed to adequately respond to the protests. "It was out of control," he said to acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf. "The locals couldn't handle it and you people are handling it very nicely." Civil liberties advocates and activists have accused federal authorities of overstepping their jurisdiction and excessive use of crowd-control measures, including using tear gas and patrolling beyond the boundaries of federal property. Portland police are prohibited from using tear gas under a recent temporary court order unless they declare a riot. "DHS should go back to investigating the rise of white supremacist activity and actors who are seeking to cause violence against these peaceful protests, that is under the purview of the agency's mission," said Andrea Flores, the deputy director of immigration policy at the American Civil Liberties Union, who was a DHS official during the Obama administration. Trump issued an executive order on June 26 to protect monuments after protesters tried to remove or destroy statues of people considered racist, including a failed attempt to pull down one of Andrew Jackson near the White House. The president has denounced the Black Lives Matter movement and protests calling for the removal of statues honoring racist figures, associating peaceful protests with the sporadic outbursts of vandalism and looting at some demonstrations. He referred to "the violent mayhem we have seen in the streets of cities that are run by liberal Democrats," as well as the "merciless campaign to wipe out our history," in his July 3 Mount Rushmore speech. Following the executive order, DHS created the Protecting American Communities Task Force and sent officers from Customs and Border Protection and other agencies to Washington, D.C., Seattle and Portland. Others were ready to deploy elsewhere if needed. Improving coordination among law enforcement agencies is part of DHS's mission. It also oversees the Federal Protective Service, which guards federal government buildings around the nation. But the FPS doesn't have the resources to respond to the sustained attacks that have taken place in Portland and elsewhere on the margins of protests over the May 25 killing of Floyd in Minneapolis. FPS Officer David Underwood was shot and killed outside a federal building in Oakland during a May protest. Authorities charged an Air Force staff sergeant affiliated with the far-right, anti-government "boogaloo" movement with his murder. As local governments in Washington, D.C., and Portland have stepped back to allow space for peaceful demonstrations, the Trump administration has stepped up its effort against what the senior official called "opportunistic criminals." Attorney General William Barr says there have been more than 150 arrests on federal charges, including destruction of property and assault, around the country, with about 500 investigations pending related to recent protests. There were about a dozen in Portland in recent days. Portland police officials say the cycle of nightly attacks, which have shut down much of the downtown, has been unprecedented. Early Thursday, a man in a SUV fired several times into the air as he drove away from protesters who had surrounded his car. "We've never seen this intensity of violence and focused criminal activity over this long period of time," Davis said. Among the federal forces deployed in Portland are members of an elite Border Patrol tactical team, a special operations unit that is based on the U.S.-Mexico border and has been deployed overseas, including to Iraq and Afghanistan. BORTAC members, identifiable by patches on their camouflage sleeves, are mixed in with Federal Protective Service officers outside the courthouse. Others in the unit, which includes snipers, have been stationed in "overlook" positions on the courthouse's ninth floor, where a protester in a black hoodie shined a green laser into the eyes of one of the officers on Monday, according to court documents. The night before, a BORTAC agent tackled and arrested a demonstrator suspected of pointing a laser at him and others from a park across the street from the courthouse. A former DHS official said BORTAC agents were viewed as "highly trained, valuable, scarce resources" and would typically be used for domestic law enforcement in extraordinary circumstances. "These units don't normally sit around idle," said the official, who spoke on condition anonymity because he no longer works at the agency, after serving under Trump and President Barack Obama, and is not authorized to discuss operations. "What did they get pulled off of in order to watch over statues?" ___ Ben Fox and Gillian Flaccus FLACCUS Associated Press Fox reported from Washington. New Delhi, July 11 : The Confederation of All India Traders on Saturday urged the Centre not to allow Chinese firm's participation in the global tender for semi-high speed indigenous train project of Indian Railway. The development comes as a part of its "boycott Chinese" products and services campaign in the light of growing border tensions between the two Asian giants. Consequently, CAIT in a communication sent to Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal urged him not to allow Chinese state owned firm CRRC Corporation to participate in global tender for semi-high speed indigenous -- Train 18 -- project. "The total worth of the project is more than Rs 1,500 crore for 44 Vande Bharat Express Trains," CAIT said in a statement. "Since this project of Indian Railways is a part of 'Make in India' call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, therefore considering this fact and the current critical period, it will be most appropriate not to consider the said Chinese company for the rail project and rather emphasis should be laid more on Indian companies who have been shortlisted for this project-said both trade leaders." -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Six National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) rebels were killed in a gunfight with security forces in a jungle in Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh early Saturday morning, military and police officials said. IMAGE: Four AK assault rifles, two MQ-81 rifles, nine magazines, three explosives, one hand grenade, two IEDs were recovered from the site of the encounter. Photograph: ANI One soldier of Assam Rifles was injured in the operation and his condition is stated to be stable, they said. The encounter took place in the jungle between Nginu and Ngissa villages of Longding, officials in Arunachal Pradesh said. Earlier, military sources in Delhi said the gunfight took place in general area Khonsa, a popular hill station in Tirap district. Longding was originally part of Tirap but it was carved out as a separate district a few years ago. The encounter began around 4:30 am and lasted for nearly two hours, the officials said, adding six weapons along with 'war like stores' were recovered from the area. The anti-militancy operation was conducted by a joint team of Assam Rifles and Longding police after receiving specific intelligence inputs about presence of the militants in the area, Arunachal Pradesh Police spokesman Navdeep S Brar said. "Around 4.30 am, the first contact of the militants was made by a team of 6 Assam Rifles in jungles between Nginu and Ngissa. Six insurgents were killed in the gunfight," Brar said. The or NSCN-IM is a proscribed militant outfit fighting for a separate homeland for Naga people for last several decades. It has been holding talks with the Centre for resolution of the vexed six-decade Naga issue. The state police spokesman said the militants fired 400 rounds on the security forces. He said four AK assault rifles, two MQ-81 rifles, nine magazines, three explosives, one hand grenade, two IEDs (improvised explosive device) were recovered from the site of the encounter. Brar said the security forces received inputs about the presence of the six-member team of NSCN-IM rebels led by self-styled 'captain' Somnyam Tangkhul. He claimed the group was planning to abduct the president and secretary of the Longding market. Brar said the militants killed in the gunfight were in the age group of 25 to 40 years. Military sources in Arunachal Pradesh claimed the team was sent by Rockwang alias Absolom Thankgul, a leader of the rebel group who was involved in the assassination of MLA Tirong Aboh on May 21 last year near Khonsa. A case has been registered at Longding police station under Arms and Explosive Act, the Arunchal Pradesh Police spokesman added. A 61-year-old nanny was arrested this week and charged with abusing an infant left in her care in Hackensack, authorities said. Abena Yeboah, of the Bronx, New York was charged with one count of Title 9 child abuse, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office and Hackensack Police announced Saturday in a joint release. The police were alerted Wednesday that Yeboah was hired to watch the child and that the familys nanny camera recorded her abusing the infant by hitting, kicking and yanking the child by the arm, the office said. An investigation was launched by the Hackensack Police and Bergen County Prosecutors Office Special Victims Unit and Yeboah was arrested by the New York City Police Department, authorities said. She remained in their custody Saturday and was awaiting an extradition hearing, according to the statement. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. London, July 11 : After two consecutive losses in 2006 and 2007 to Roger Federer in the final of the Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal finally managed to beat his arch rival in 2008 in a match that is regarded as one of the greatest of all time in the history of the sport. "Wimbledon for everybody is special. When I was a kid most of the time I saw Sampras winning. For me, it was a personal goal," Nadal told the BBC. "Well, I think 2006 I went to that final without believing in victory. 2007 was a completely different story. I felt ready to compete and I was there. I lost the 5th and I had my chances. In 2008 I was playing great. I came into the final with the feeling that I was not the favorite but I was ready to win. And I never stopped believing in victory. I had some tough moments, especially in the fourth set." In a match that lasted four hours and 48 minutes, Nadal beat Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5-7), 6-7(8-10), 9-7. "Of course, I was very nervous. I think everybody was nervous. The only thing that stays on my mind is I feel myself falling down and just screaming," he said The Spaniard would then go on to win the Wimbledon once again in 2010 and since then, his best finish at the grass court Grand Slam has been runner up in 2011. In the last two editions, he finished in the semi-finals, losing to Novak Djokovic in 2018 and Federer in 2019. A calm night of protests took a turn late Friday night, when federal officers grabbed a protester who appeared to be tagging the federal courthouse with RIP Dominique Dunn. The officers pulled the person inside the building and closed the doors. On Saturday, police said another person had been taken into custody earlier, around 9 p.m., after hitting a federal law enforcement officer in the head and shoulder with a hammer. Police say federal officers responded from inside the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building on Friday evening to someone using a hammer to create a hole in the door. Authorities didnt release details about any injuries to the officer. Police on Twitter posted a photo of what appeared to be a 16-inch sledgehammer. Police also say they took into custody several people accused of pointing lasers into the eyes of federal officers. After the second arrest, of the person vandalizing the federal building, the gathering of about 200 erupted in more collective chants and moved into the streets, blocking the intersection of Southwest Third Avenue and Main Street. Until then, the gathering had been one of the quieter demonstrations in recent weeks. PPB is aware of another arrest made by Federal Officers at SW 3/Madison at approximately 11:00 p.m. related to vandalizing the Federal Courthouse Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) July 11, 2020 Protesters then set several fires, one on an effigy of a police officer wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and another in a dumpster moved into the intersection. Still, the gathering did not reach the level of tension seen at other protests in recent weeks and as of 11:45 p.m., Portland police were not on the scene. Earlier Friday, the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front had called for protesters to gather at the Justice Center to recognize the death of Black Portlander the night before. Several social media posts alleged that race was a factor in the shooting death of a man at a Southwest Portland strip club. On Friday, Portland police said they had interviewed multiple witnesses and found no evidence supporting that assertion. Portland police have not confirmed the identity of the man who was shot, but on Facebook and Twitter, several family members of Portland man Dominique Dunn said he was the victim, and that a white man shot him after yelling a racist slur at him. Last night #Dominique Dunn was murdered in a racist hate crime in Portland, tonight we fight for him too, tweeted the PNW Youth Liberation Front. See you on the streets. Federal officers pull a protester into the Federal Courthouse on Friday night. Soon after, Portland police tweeted that federal officers arrested a protester around 11 p.m. "related to vandalizing the Federal Courthouse." But the crowds were slow to form on Friday night. A small group of people started gathering near the Justice Center around 9 p.m., milling around and yelling Black Lives Matter. Yet while people have manned megaphones and rallied the crowds on other recent nights, no one appeared to take the lead on what many protest watchers called the quietest night they have seen. By 11:45 p.m., two fires continued to burn while the crowd of a couple hundred people chanted. By midnight, the crowd was beginning to break up. The federal officers actions come on same day President Donald Trump, speaking at a military base near Miami on Friday, said Portland officials have failed to adequately respond to the protests. It was out of control, he said to acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf. The locals couldnt handle it and you people are handling it very nicely. DHS officers presence comes at an incredibly tense moment for Portland. After George Floyds death, the city for days saw marches and rallies that attracted more than 10,000 generally peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters to the downtown area. The police took a mostly hands-off approach to those events because they were orderly, Portland Deputy Chief Chris Davis said in a press conference on Wednesday. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A law firm which represented the owners of the former GM lands in St. Catharines, has been denied a lien against the property after alleging its client Bayshore owes it $1.5 million in legal fees. Howard Manis and his firm Macdonald Sager Manis requested through the courts that it be granted a charging order or solicitors lien, which would allow it to collect alleged unpaid fees, disbursements and HST through assets owned by Bayshore. But in a written judgement this week, Superior Court Judge Thomas McEwen dismissed the motion, writing that the evidentiary record of MSM was deeply flawed and there was no formal account submitted of the money owed. Manis, who represented Bayshore Groups in many civil cases, said he has not made a decision yet on whether he will try to recoup his costs through a lawsuit. After 15 years of working with them, Im very disappointed in how it ended, Manis said Friday. They werent only clients, they were friends. I took good care of them. Manis had been representing Bayshore and its principals Chiara and Robert Megna in front of McEwen in a $15 million lawsuit launched in May 2017 by Attar Metals. The Mississagua-based company is alleging that Bayshore didnt honour a contract related to the former GM property at 282-285 Ontario St. Bayshore has denied the allegations. A trial is scheduled to start on Sept. 28 in Torontos Superior Court. Bayshore has new lawyers for the case, Bergman and Associates, based in Montreal. The Standard reached out to the firm on Friday but did not receive an immediate response. Bayshore also had an outstanding $354,000 legal bill with the new lawyers, but that was addressed by McEwen in a May 28 decision. The company had asked the judge to set aside a November 2018 court order which prevents them from selling off any personal or business assets, so they could pay legal and living expenses. The judge did not grant the request to set aside that order on May 28, but he did permit them to access funds by allowing a further mortgage advance on their residential property. McEwen wrote that the defendants have historically failed or refused to produce relevant documents to the case, including yearly financial records for their main corporation and its tax returns. It also bears noting that it is difficult to understand how the defendants, all of a sudden, found themselves in dire straits due to their failure to operate any business where they have continued to pay salaries to their daughter and her boyfriend and purchased two vehicles for the business right up until the urgent need arose, he wrote, adding the Megnas also undertook expensive residential renovations which they claim they can no longer complete. McEwen wrote the mortgage increase should be limited to paying an outstanding $354,000 legal bill to the new lawyers and a lump sum of $125,000 for living and business expenses. I am of the view, speaking generally, that this should allow the Megnas some reasonable breathing room for the next four to six months, he wrote, adding that accounting will have to be kept in the event he wants to see it. The judge said he was not prepared to grant an order to increase the mortgage on the former GM property. Given the current situation, I cannot see how any of the defendants could become re-involved in the project and earn fees as they contemplate. The judge has heard the most recent motions in the case by videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. In his decision Monday about MSMs attempt to recoup $1.5 million in legal fees, McEwen wrote that the evidentiary record of the MSM firm was deeply flawed and primarily consisted of the affidavit evidence of an articling student who had absolutely no first-hand knowledge of the issues in question. The judge was also not satisfied that the order requested under the Solicitors Act would provide Manis and his firm with the relief sought or that he should grant a solicitors lien. The act states that a lawyer can seek a charge on property recovered or preserved through the effort of the lawyer. But McEwen wrote that the work done on behalf of Bayshore by Manis cannot be said to have recovered or preserved property and that the GM property has remained static as far as ownership. McEwen also said MSM hasnt given any formal accounting to Bayshore to form the basis of relief sought and the amount of fees owing is in dispute. With an incomplete record and no cross examinations, it is not possible to reasonably estimate the amount owing, the judge said. However, McEwen added, nothing in this endorsement affects MSMs ability to pursue its claim for legal fees via another method. (Natural News) An anti-Israel student protest in the Canadian regional center of Mississauga which featured antisemitic chants is the subject of a hate-crimes complaint filed by a local Jewish organization. (Article by Simon Kent republished from Breitbart.com) Global News reports video from the rally appears to show a protester chanting an antisemitic slogan in Arabic, Palestine is our country and the Jews are our dogs, as others repeated the insult along with other chants. Canadians chanting the Jews are our dogs in anti-#Israel protest. No, not Iranians, or Palestinians, or any other nationalityCanadians. Antisemitism, 2020 pic.twitter.com/d2YZKqK7VE Emily Schrader (@emilykschrader) July 8, 2020 Sauga for Palestine, the group that organized the rally at Celebration Square, describes itself on Facebook as a group of students passionate about Palestine who want to make a statement against Israel and its illegal practices. The mayor voiced her concern at the display in the immediate aftermath of the event and said the matter had been referred to local police: https://twitter.com/BonnieCrombie/status/1280967170445529093 The display of antisemitism in Canadas public squares is totally unacceptable. Opposition to Israeli policy can never be used as an excuse to demean Jews as dogs or to threaten violence against them, was the response from Michael Mostyn, chief executive officer of Bnai Brith Canada. We have reached out to the high school attended by one of the rallys organizers, and hope to visit at an appropriate time in order to educate students about the dark places to which rhetoric of this sort can lead. According to an April 29 report by Peel Regional Police, Jews were the most targeted religious group for hate crimes in the region in both 2018 and 2019, despite constituting just 0.22 percent of the total population as of 2013. Read more at: Breitbart.com US convoy forced to move back by Syrian army in Hasakah Iran Press TV Friday, 10 July 2020 3:01 PM A US military convoy has been forced to retreat from an area in Syria's northeastern province of Hasakah when it was blocked at a checkpoint of the Syrian Arab Army. "The checkpoint personnel intercepted three armored vehicles of the American occupation in the village of Mansaf Tahtani in the countryside of Tell Tamr (in Hasakah) and forced them to return to their illegal bases," Syria's official news agency SANA reported on Friday. The convoy was reportedly attempting to bypass the checkpoint. No clashes were reported in the event. Hasakah has hosted several scenes of US military convoys being forced to change route or retreat. People in Hasakah blocked roads in a show of seething resentment over the presence of American troops in their region. Late last month, another military convoy was forced to make a u-turn after a group of people blocked its road, preventing it from driving through their community. Residents of Khirbet Bunyan village, which lies in the Malikiyah district of the province, did not allow it to move and pelted it with stones. 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 the Daesh Takfiri terrorists. 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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address "I said to a [police officer at the exit], 'People are going to come out of this with so much PTSD from whats happened to us. Whos going to provide us counselling then? "That was just on the first day." People inside and outside the towers described the situation on Saturday getting chaotic, dangerously so, over the following days. Food, information, medicines and medical treatment became lodged between bureaucracy and necessary precautions against secondary infections like those of the bungled hotel quarantine program. The lockdown scene at the towers in North Melbourne. Credit:Jason South The absence of food in the first days caused some to risk infection by leaving their rooms in hope, desperation or frustration, one said, while others have variously condemned communications with residents as non-existent, poor or legalistic jargon. On Sunday last week, Sheya and her family made their way down the stairs for mandated coronavirus tests and found "50-70" people crowded in dangerously close conditions in the foyer. Many were not wearing personal protective equipment and she was not surprised. "There were people down there who werent even sure why, because the announcement [over the PA system] was only in English," she said. Julian Acheampong, a business analyst who lives with his mother in North Melbourne's Canning Street tower, said announcements in his building were in a "few" languages, but all written material had been provided in English. Damian Stock, chief executive of Inner Melbourne Community Legal, said one elderly client was not allowed to leave her tower despite an existing appointment to have a serious wound dressed in hospital. He said the woman called the Health Department's 1800 hotline and was directed to speak to police. "Police downstairs wouldn't go through the process of understanding the reasons she was seeking to leave, [they] wouldn't look at the medical letter, or our letters," Stock said. The woman spent an uncertain night alone in her unit before appropriate supplies arrived the following day, he said. Other examples included a client who missed insulin injections, delays in getting prescriptions filled and a mother refused treatment for her migraine and her baby's fever. Healthcare workers entering North Melbourne public housing towers. Credit:Darrian Traynor/Getty Images "We'd all agree the orders themselves are lawful and are permitted by the very broad powers of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act," he said, but exemptions on the basis of medical treatment had been "poorly communicated and most residents aren't aware of them". "That's been the major concern for us, the procedural fairness element," he said. Across the road from 33 Alfred Street, the Australian Muslim Social Services Agency transformed what is normally a mosque into a food and supplies warehouse for copious donations from Melburnians and businesses. Spokesman Nor Shanino, 34, said the most significant impediment to people getting food had been the layers of bureaucracy between health agencies, law enforcement and two Melbourne councils. "The first one or two days there was nothing to send up from official channels, so everything had to come from here,' he said. "The problem is, theres nobody to take it upstairs." Shanino, 34, pointed out shopping bags being loaded into a car's boot by volunteers. "These are the special orders. Theyre all labelled. The volunteer comes out and theyll drop them off. We dont know what happens after that," he said. "Part of our job is to figure out two hours later, three hours later, five hours later, the next morning whether the supplies have been taken up. If they haven't, we then have to explain that [to the resident]. He said many residents had given up on official deliveries and the 1800 number, which has been plagued with problems, and were instead calling AMSSA or community leaders directly for supplies and help. Flemington apartment blocks in lockdown on Wednesday. Credit:Simon Schluter On one occasion, a man slipped past police and into AMSSA to plead for essential supplies. Police stopped the chase and let the man fill up when they realised the man was desperate, Shanino said. "People are literally starving," he said. "These are people with money in their bank accounts, in Melbourne, in 2020." While the situation had improved by Friday, when all but one tower went back to stage three restrictions, the gaps in food and supply still appeared largely filled by charities. "The volunteers are mostly in their 20s, a lot of them uni students, who have had to step in and do the jobs of well-paid officials," Shanino said. Acheampong, from Canning Street, waited almost two days for the first delivery of food, which he said came from a charity group. "There were bangs on a couple doors on my floor and they let people know there were groceries for us, but the police wouldnt let the charity group into the building," he said. "I went around letting people know to go down and grab it. We didnt get anything [from the government] in my building until Monday night." He was walking with his girlfriend in Flemington when the news broke on Saturday evening, giving him time to stock up on supplies before returning to serve his five days. But concerned one evening about his neighbours with limited English, Acheampong opened his door with the plan to ask about the next food drop and when they would be tested for COVID-19. "It was bit hostile. There were six police officers standing there with their hot coffees, like 'where do you think you're going'. The officer gave me DHHS number and told me to call them. The police presence, you can definitely feel it." The problems, which have been acknowledged by the government, have not been uniform across towers and units: many residents were receiving adequate or culturally-appropriate food by Thursday. Others had neutral opinions of the 1800 hotline and positive experiences with police. Andrews on Saturday thanked residents, volunteers and staff for the "massive" response, which has included two field emergency management units at the North Melbourne and Flemington staffed with health and mental health specialists. The Royal Melbourne Hospital also partnered with St John Ambulance to establish a 30-bed urgent care clinic at the Melbourne Showgrounds. The government said it worked with a "wide range" of partners to deliver food and services, while communications included online, phone, face-to-face and the engagement of community leaders. Almost 13000 food packages were delivered during the initial five-day lockdown. "They are being supported, each and every one of those families, in terms of groceries, perishable food, mental health support [and] health care, of course," Andrews said. "There's a very big team of people doing that work and I'm grateful to them and I'm grateful to those residents." Nine public housing towers went into hard lockdown last Saturday. All but one are now on stage three restrictions. Credit:Paul Jeffers Outside the Pampas Street tower in North Melbourne, there appeared plentiful food supplies and efficient order, with staff in Work for Victoria vests lined up at least 30 metres with trolleys of supplies bound for residents. The Sunday Age was soon told by authorities it was not allowed to observe the process and was instead directed to a "media area" several hundred metres away, which did not exist. Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari, whose organisation raised $283,000 to help alongside AMSSA, said many issues of the first few days of lockdown were getting better. "[Emergency Management Commissioner] Andrew Crisp has been very good and ministers have been very quick to respond," he said. "That middle management has been harder, the ones who are process focused and not outcomes focused. "Ive been on a few phone hook-ups and there are people genuinely scared [in the towers] about getting COVID-19 and dying. But weve got to get that balance right with making sure people get what they need. Things could have been done better, but were also in the middle of a pandemic." Mr Hilakari said the "next conversation" was about increasing Victoria's public housing stock to ease the crowded conditions rife for the spread of infections like COVID-19. KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Activist groups, Black leaders, and protesters gathered on the steps of Kansas City, Missouri, police headquarters, denouncing Operation LeGend as nothing more than a police militarization tool. The Department of Justice announced it is sending 100 federal agents to Kansas City with the goal of helping the police department solve more violent crimes. The Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, has ordered the withdrawal of mobile police personnel attached to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), PREMIUM TIMES has learnt, effectively taking over security at the EFCC. Mobile police officers usually serve as security officials at EFCC buildings and facilities and also as security cover for EFCC operatives when they go for arrests of suspects. According to a top official at the police headquarters, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to journalists, all mobile police officers otherwise known as MOPOL attached to the EFCC were ordered to be withdrawn with immediate effect. PREMIUM TIMES learnt that that order, issued on Friday, has been complied with. The source said new mobile police officers have been deployed to the commission. All mobile police personnel attached to the EFCC have been withdrawn with new police personnel deployed to the commission on the orders from the AIG in charge of Mobile Police in Abuja, the source told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday, saying a signal to that effect was sent by the AIG MOPOL to all heads of mobile police units across the country. PREMIUM TIMES also learnt from multiple police and EFCC sources that as from Monday only staff of the EFCC would be allowed into the EFCC buildings based on Mr Adamus directive. That means visitors, including journalists, complainants and suspects, would not be allowed into the commissions headquarters in Abuja, as well as other EFCC offices, unless otherwise approved by Mr Adamu. Efforts to reach the spokesperson to the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, for comments were unsuccessful as his known phone number was switched off. Also, Frank Mba, the police spokesperson, did not respond to calls and a message sent to his line by this reporter. Meanwhile, two separate EFCC officials who did not want their names in print complained to PREMIUM TIMES about the development. This development would only make the IG of police determine who comes in and out of the EFCC, one of the officials lamented. Are they turning the EFCC to a unit of the police. PREMIUM TIMES learnt that before now, police officers are deployed to the EFCC based on the request of the commissions chairman. While at the commission, the officers obey the directives of the EFCC chairman or anyone he delegates. READ ALSO: But what the IG is doing now is different, one senior EFCC official said. He is taking advantage of the Magu situation to control the EFCC. Magus Travails President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday approved the suspension of Ibrahim Magu, the embattled EFCC boss. He is being probed by a presidential panel headed by a retired appeal court judge, Ayo Salami, over allegations of corruption and insurbodination. The allegations were levelled against him by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. He specifically accused Mr Magu of insubordination and re-looting of recovered funds. Abubakar Malami [Source The Guardian, Nigeria] Mr Magu is still being detained while the panel investigating allegations against him sits. PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how the police security officials around Mr Magu and his family were withdrawn Friday night. The police are yet to give any reason for that action. Leaders of a minority Muslim group accused 'fanatics' of digging up a baby girl's body from her grave and dumping it by a roadside. The three-day-old girl was an Ahmadi Muslim and had only been buried for a few hours in a cemetery in Ghatura in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria in Bangladesh before being dug up. Many mainstream Muslims consider Ahmadi Muslims to be 'infidels' because they believe their founder was a prophet. Local Ahmadi leader, S.M. Selim, said fanatical mainstream Muslims had dug her up 'Her crime is she was born to an Ahmadi Muslim family,' said Selim. A photograph of her body laid on a straw mat on a road was widely shared on social media. A photograph of her body laid on a straw mat on a road was widely shared on social media. 'Her crime is she was born to an Ahmadi Muslim family,' said Selim The three-day-old girl was Ahmadi Muslim and had only been buried for a few hours in a cemetery in Ghatura in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria in Bangladesh before being dug up Police in the district said no complaint had been made however and one officer said the incident had been resolved 'peacefully'. A local councillor, Azad Hazari, said he had intervened with police and the child was finally buried another graveyard some 10 miles (16 kilometres) away. A local cleric Munir Hossain denied the body had been exhumed but said local Muslims prevented the parents from burying the baby at the cemetery. 'It is against the Sharia to let an infidel be buried in a Muslim graveyard,' he told AFP. 'The pious Muslims of the village would never let it happen.' The child's father told the Dhaka Tribune he saw some 'anti-Ahmadiyya men' gather after the burial and exhume the body. Ahmadis have faced attacks and had religious rights taken away in some Muslim majority countries, including Pakistan. The 100,000 Ahmadis in Bangladesh have come under regular attack. In recent months, hardline Muslims have threatened to hold protests demanding that the sect be declared 'non-Muslims' by the authorities. The Persecution of Ahmadis organisation has written reports on the issues Ahmadis face when they try to bury loved one in Muslim graveyards. They wrote on their website: 'Usually, authorities, even though unwilling, give in to pressure from the [religious leader] and join him in compelling Ahmadis to undertake the greatly painful and tormenting exercise of disinterment. 'Often the issue may be raised prior to the burial, and it becomes doubly distressing for the near and dear ones to find a new burial ground for the dead whose departure has already afflicted them.' In 1999, a bomb at an Ahmadi mosque in the southern city of Khulna, killed at least eight worshippers. A 2015 suicide blast at an Ahmadi mosque in the northwestern town of Bagmara injured three people. A further 148 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, taking the countrys official death toll to 44,798. The government figures do not include all UK deaths involving Covid-19, which are thought to have passed 55,000. Some 820 people tested positive for the virus in the 24 hours from 9am Friday to 9am on Saturday, according to the data. It comes as outdoor swimming pools were allowed to reopen and open-air performances were allowed to take place again. And British tourists have started heading off on holiday after the lifting of quarantine restrictions. Residents of England, Wales and Northern Ireland will no longer have to self-isolate on their return from approved countries including France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. The one-day death figure of 148 is more than twice that of the same time last Saturday, when 67 deaths were recorded. Four days ago, there were 155 deaths, followed in subsequent days by 126, 85 and 48. Since the start of the outbreak, 288,953 people in the UK have tested positive for coronavirus. But the Department for Health and Social Care said the true figure of infections was higher because some people have no symptoms or only mild symptoms and are not tested. Although the tally of infections is still rising, fewer new cases are being reported each day than when the spread was at its height during April and May. But government officials are nevertheless preparing for a second wave, planning a weight-loss campaign across the UK in the hope of reducing death rates. Studies have shown that Covid-19 disproportionately affects overweight people. In Scotland, the number of daily cases has fallen back to single figures after a rise on Friday led first minister Nicola Sturgeon to warn against complacency. The Scottish government said 18,340 people had tested positive for the virus north of the border, an increase of seven in 24 hours. No Covid-19 deaths were reported in that period, so fatalities remain at 2,490. Demand from the continent was also expected to recover, with Peru, Colombia and Ecuador slowly returning to the market following a long quarantine period intended to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in those countries.Brazilian customers, meanwhile, remained on the market sidelines due to an unfavorable currency exchange rate. But a recently announced 10% domestic price increase could generate renewed interest in imports, participants said.No deals had been reported for September shipments at the time of publication, however. Fastmarkets price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, import, cfr main ports... Angelina Jolie made a rare, extensive comment about her 15-year-old daughter Zahara while discussing the Black Lives Matter movement. The actress and humanitarian, who is also a contributing editor for Time magazine, sat down for a virtual conversation with Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate this week for a conversation about activism and the climate crisis. The discussion turned to the Black Lives Matter movement, which now may be the largest movement in U.S. history, and Jolie shared how Zahara influenced her life after she adopted her from Ethopia in 2006. "One of the things thats also been interesting is the education," Jolie said. "I dont know about the schools in Uganda, but I know in the United States theres a very big question particularly about themy daughter is from Ethiopia, one of my children. And I have learned so much from her. She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman and her connection to her country, her continent, is veryits her own and its something I only stand back in awe of. But what I see in, for example, American history books and how limited they are, they dont they really start teaching people who are Black about their lives through the Civil Rights movement, which is such a horrible place to begin." "I think what people really need to first understand is that Africa is not just a country," Nakate responded. "Its actually a continent with 54 countries. I remember the history that we learnt about [in school], and it talked so much of slavery and all that. I think that that is a narrative that needs to change." RELATED: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Are Peacefully Co-Parenting After "a Lot of Family Therapy" In an interview with Harper's Bazaar UK last month, Jolie discussed racism in America, telling the magazine, "There are more than 70 million people who have had to flee their homes worldwide because of war and persecution and there is racism and discrimination in America. A system that protects me but might not protect my daughter or any other man, woman or child in our country based on skin color is intolerable." (Photo : Pixabay) Zuckerberg has faced massive criticism over Facebooks political ad policies, and just recently they are considering Political- Ad Blackout for the coming days of US election. According to Bloomberg, Facebook is taking into account of banning the political ads on their platform on the coming days of the US election this November. Though the Political-Ad Blackout is not yet official, this could help ward off criticism Facebook received backlash and criticism ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Facebook boycott Recently, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been accused of not doing enough to battle misinformation and conspiracies, including the lies from politicians who are exempted from fact-checking on the platform. Last 2016 US presidential election, Russian trolls also used the platform to disseminate discord among Americans. This move would be a significant change for Facebook, which has been criticized to a policy of not fact-checking ads from U.S. politicians or even their campaigns. This mishap has prompted criticism from lawmakers and advocates, who say the policy means ads on the platform can be used to spread confusions, lies, and misinformation. The Civil Rights groups have long argued that the company doesn't do enough to remove efforts to limit voter participation. And the recent audit concluded Facebook that they failed to enforce its own voter-suppression policies for the posts from U.S. President Donald Trump. However, Zuckerberg has defended Facebook's position, stating that private companies shouldn't be the one deciding and commentaries about political ads. On the other hand, Twitter banned political ads last year. Earlier this month, the social media network declared that they would launch a new voter information centre as part of their political effort to get 4 million users to register in the 2020 US elections. It was reportedly mentioned that Facebook would let some people turn off all political advertising if the users don't want to see it. The Tech Giant is also facing an ad boycott organized by civil rights groups protesting that the company isn't doing enough to combat hate speech on its platform. The company still hasn't responded to a request for comment. Also Read: Civil Rights Want Facebook to Change Management Structure and Business Model: Will Zuckerberg Give in to Pressures? Civil Rights Urged Facebook to Change Last Tuesday, the Civil Rights leaders raised to Facebook to change its management structure and business model. For Facebook's decisions around defining hate speech were molded by the company's financial and political goals. Regarding the issue, the Civil rights audit pressured to boycott advertisements from Facebook for tolerating hate speech, harassment, and misinformation circulating on their platform According to the Civil Rights Group, Facebook is a "seesaw of progress and setbacks," as the platform experiences challenges during this time. Since last 2018, the platform has been having a regular meeting with the Civil Rights leaders to adopt and manage white discriminatory ad targeting and supremacist content. They pointed out that Facebook lacks on its diversity goals, specifically in leadership positions. And the platform failed to consult the civil rights community on crucial decisions such as not removing the posts made by President Trump about falsehoods about mail-in ballots or shooting looters. Based on the report of those decisions, "exposed a major hole in Facebook's understanding and application of civil rights." They also added that "leave our election exposed to interference by the president and others who seek to use disinformation to sow confusion and suppress voting." Also Read:European Union Seeks to Restrict Tech Giants From Grinding Smaller Competitors WIth Updated Tax and Content Rules 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. New Delhi, July 11 : A Delhi court has dismissed the interim bail plea of a man accused of murdering two young boys after sodomising them. Additional Sessions Judge Priya Mahendra rejected the application after noting that the allegations against the accused are extremely grave. "Accused is not entitled to concession of interim bail," the court noted. Vikas alias Veeru had sought bail on the grounds of ill-health of his uncle. Investigating Officer Vikas Sangwan, however, told the court that the medical documents showed no record of serious issues, adding that the uncle has a son who can take care of him. Vikas, along with four others, was arrested on December 25, 2014 in connection with the double murder case of two minors, aged 12 years and 10 years, in a forest near Sangam Vihar in Delhi. According to Delhi Police, the deceased were sodomised by the accused persons before being killed. Later, the sweater of one of the deceased and blood-stained clothes and shoes of accused persons were recovered from their possession. LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe various aspects of the slain history-sheeter Vikas Dubey, cases registered against him and his alleged links. According to reports, the SIT has been constituted under the chairmanship of UP Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy to investigate the Kanpur incident, in which eight policemen were killed in an ambush on the night of July 3. ADG Hariram Sharma and DIG J Ravindra Gaur have been named as the other members of the SIT. The newly constituted SIT will submit its report by July 31, 2020. "On the day of the incident, was there any laxity in collecting information regarding the accused's firepower. What was the level of the laxity, the police station had enough information? The SIT will probe this fact and will point whose fault it is," the UP government order said. The SIT has been mandated to investigate what action was taken in all the police cases against Vikas Dubey, the factors behind the Kanpur incident. The SIT will also try to find out why Vikas Dubeys bail was not revoked and the suspected role of police in his case. It will also find out how many complaints were registered against Vikas Dubey at Chaubepur Police Station and what action was taken by the police station and senior officials. However, the SIT will not investigate the encounter of Vikash Dubey by the STF in Kanpur. The SIT will also probe what action was taken against Vikas Dubey under Gunda Act, NSA, Gagsster Act and whether there was any sort of negligence on part of the police. "What action was taken to cancel the bail of such a prolific criminal? What action had been taken against him under the Gunda Act, NSA and Gangster Act, and if there was laxity, what was it level?" the government said. The Call Detail Records of past one-year of Vikas Dubey and his associates will also be examined by the SIT, which will also recommend disciplinary action against the guilty police officials. The SIT will also look into the details of the weapons possessed by Vikas Dubey and who supplied them. The notorious criminal and his close associates had arms licenses registered in their names. The SIT will probe under what circumstances, these licenses were issued to them. SIT will probe into the huge illegal property, trade and economic activities of the slain don and his alleged nexus with policemen and those who gave patronage to him. The Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police on Friday explained the sequence of events and the circumstances under which notorious gangster Vikas Dubey was killed shortly after he arrived in Kanpur in a police vehicle from Ujjain on a transit remand. The UP STF had claimed on Friday that Vikas Dubey was killed in self-defence. The STG further said that a herd of cows and buffaloes suddenly appeared before the police vehicle that was transporting gangster Vikas Dubey to Kanpur and this caused an accident, following which the vehicle overturned and several policemen were injured. It said that taking advantage of the situation, Dubey tried to escape from the spot and snatched a police personnels pistol and fired at the police party. However, he was shot dead in self-defence. Inspector Ramakant Pachauri, Sub Inspectors Pankaj Singh, and Anup Singh, constables Satyavir and Pradeep Kumar received serious injuries in this accident. The STF further said that they immediately took Vikas Dubey to the hospital for "first aid" but the doctors declared him dead after an examination. Inspector Shivendra Singh and constable Vimal Yadav were injured in the firing by Dubey and they were also rushed to the hospital. The STF officials refused to respond to questions like if Dubey was shot dead in wet mud, why were there no marks of mud on his clothes. Dubey, the main accused in the Kanpur encounter case, was arrested by the police in Ujjain on Thursday morning. He was on the run for the last several days and had come to Ujjain to offer prayers at Temple, where he was identified by a security guard at the shrine. The gangster was the main accused in the encounter that took place in Bikru village in Chaubeypur area of Kanpur last week, in which a group of assailants allegedly opened fire on a police team, which had gone to arrest Dubey. Eight police personnel were killed in the encounter. Dubey managed to escape, and the Uttar Pradesh Police then launched a hunt and raised the bounty on him to Rs 5 lakh. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 19:10:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BANGKOK, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Thailand on Saturday saw 14 new COVID-19 cases, the biggest single day spike in many weeks, and all were Thais who returned from overseas and currently in state quarantine. According to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), 12 of the new infections are among Thais returning from Sudan, the other is from the United States and another from Bahrain. Total new cases in Thailand now stood at 3,216, and total deaths stood at 58. Meanwhile, the Thai Deputy Government Spokesperson Traisulee Traisoranakul said on Saturday Thailand is approaching a 50 day free of COVID-19 local infections. "However according to the Ministry of Public Health's latest survey report, Thais in general are beginning to lower their guards against possible infections," said Traisulee. "There are several second wave spikes in many countries, therefore Thailand needs to maintain its stance in banning inbound flights for general tourists," she said. "We cannot rule out that Thailand will experience a second wave of infections if the Thai people lower their guards, and not wearing a face mask or adhering to social distancing," Traisulee said. The deputy spokeswoman also said the porous border areas along Thailand and neighboring countries are of concern as well. "Illegal migrants can cross into Thailand through border areas that is made up of jungles and the Mekong River," said Traisulee, "it will be difficult for border patrol security officers to intercept illegal migrants, therefore the Immigration Bureau has introduced the deployment of drones to capture suspicious people crossing into Thailand." Enditem Photo credit: Ben King - Netflix From Digital Spy Stateless tells the extraordinary story of a mentally ill Australian resident who is mistakenly locked up in a detention centre. Immigration officials failed to consider her psychiatric issues or conduct a proper investigation into her case. What makes it so astonishing is that it's actually based on real events. Cornelia Rau was born in Germany but her family came to Australia when she was just 18 months old. She was vivacious and bubbly, though there were times when she became anxious and restless. Her life changed when she took a break from her job as an airline hostess and became involved in a cult called Kenja Communication. Her sister, Chris Rau, talked to the press about the impact they had. "It was while she was with them that she started getting sick. We couldn't figure out how she got so ill." Cult leader Ken Dyers listened to members' secrets and made them feel like he could see into their souls. But he could also break them down. Dyers told Rau that she hadn't lived up to expectations and lacked any artistic talent. This completely shattered her psyche. She became someone who couldn't function in society. Years later, she still talked about the cult and how Dyers sexually assaulted her. It was a claim many former members made. The show effectively highlights how Sofie Werner, the character based on Rau, completely unravelled and tried to disappear so she could escape from the cult. But it omits and changes many details about her story. Photo credit: Ben King - Netflix Rau's mental health issues meant that she kept travelling to different places without telling anyone and took terrible risks. In the six years before she was detained, she constantly disappeared, though she usually ended up contacting her family. Her behaviour was erratic: she jumped off a moving train in Italy and bit officers who stopped her getting on a flight to Indonesia. In Stateless, the timeline is condensed. She becomes ill, tries to disappear and then almost immediately gets locked up in a detention centre. Story continues Rau was in and out of psychiatric facilities for years. She kept getting worse because she hated taking her medication. This isn't focused on in the series at all. The catalyst for her disappearance from a psychiatric hospital, just before she was detained, was a community treatment order. It stated that once she was released, she had to take medication as an outpatient. So she discharged herself and went hitchhiking. She feared medication almost as much as she feared the cult. Whilst hitchhiking she looked lost and disoriented so locals called the police. Rau told them that she was a German citizen and gave several different names. In an interview with 60 Minutes, she admitted that she lied because she was frightened of getting captured by the cult. Immigration officers were even more ineffective than those depicted on the show. Shortly after she was first detained, the honorary German consul stated that Rau spoke German fluently but had a childlike vocabulary. After further investigation, the German authorities told immigration that she was most likely an Australian resident who had left Germany as a child. None of this is in Stateless. Mick Palmer, the former Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, led the inquiry into how Immigration had made so many mistakes. He was bewildered that Immigration officials never considered the possibility that she was Australian. "[They were] fixed on process and apparently oblivious to the outcomes achieved." Australia's Department of Immigrant kept poor records, didn't investigate properly and mismanaged the case. Rau was in prison for six months before she was taken to the detention centre, even though prison was meant to be a last resort. Photo credit: Ben King - Netflix Immigration officials also failed to treat her psychological issues. Their failure was once again much worse than in Stateless. In the show, she's seen by one psychologist who indicates that she should be transferred to a psychiatric hospital. Rau was actually seen by several psychiatrists. The first doctors who saw her said that she behaved oddly but wasn't mentally ill. Later, several psychiatrists suggested that she should be assessed at a psychiatric hospital but their concerns were largely ignored. Rau's mental health deteriorated further. She stared blankly into space, screamed at the guards and cried all the time. The series depicts her mental breakdown. What it doesn't show is that she was kept in solitary confinement in prison for long periods of time. In fact, it doesn't mention her time in prison at all. She also spent a lot of time in solitary confinement in the detention centre. This was for a much longer period of time than in the show's chronology. The guards thought she had behaviour problems and was playing up, especially as the detention centre's psychologist stated that she had a severe personality disorder. The Sydney Morning Herald quoted the psychologist's diagnosis: "[She] push[es] the boundaries in order to draw others toward her on a constant basis." This meant she was disciplined and not treated. Soon after the psychologist's verdict, she was placed in Red One, a compound for badly behaved detainees. This happened shortly after she arrived. In the show, she's only placed in Red One, much later. Rau was the only woman in the compound. There were security cameras everywhere even in the bathroom. She hated being alone but was locked in her room for several hours every day. In 2005, after ten months of being locked up, she was finally released. The show presents a fictitious account of what happened. In the series, a former colleague at the airline vaguely recognises Sofie Werner, the character based on Rau, when she's taken on a flight back to detention following an implausible escape. He informs her sister who talks to immigration. This leads to Werner's release. It's only then that a government official tells a journalist about Werner's situation. In reality, several detainees raised their concerns about Rau to asylum advocates. The story was picked up by two Australian newspapers: The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. The Raus were on holiday. But a friend saw the article in the Herald and thought the mystery woman could be Cornelia Rau. Her mother sent a picture to the police who contacted immigration officials at the centre. Cornelia was then quickly transferred to a psych ward. Rau was given $2.6 million in compensation. In the immediate aftermath of her release, she kept insisting she was a German hitchhiker. Over time, her mental health slowly improved but she's had a number of relapses. Her lawyer Claire O'Connor kept in contact with her and gave ABC an update on Rau's state of mind. "She goes to classes, she takes part in the physical things she likes to do, swimming and sport. She's certainly in a better place than when she got out of detention." Rau doesn't remember her time in detention at all. But in an article for The Sydney Morning Herald, her sister talked about how the experience had "caused irreversible neurological damage" for Cornelia. Her case caused a huge outcry and drew attention to the plight of detainees. The Palmer Inquiry was launched to investigate. It found a lot of failings in the way the Immigration Department worked. Some reforms were made but they weren't far reaching and have mostly been reversed. The system is pretty much the same as it was when Rau was detained, 15 years ago. Stateless puts the Immigration Department in the spotlight again. Producer Cate Blanchett hopes that it "will prompt people to rethink how... we all are responding to the current displacement crisis". Stateless is available to stream on Netflix. Digital Spy now has a newsletter sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox. Looking for more TV recommendations and discussion? Head over to our Facebook Group to see new picks every day, and chat with other readers about what they're watching right now. You Might Also Like Louis Aguirre is one of the lucky ones. The Local 10 anchor is among nine employees at WPLG to test positive for COVID-19 in recent days, but has yet to experience symptoms. Aguirre, 53, took to social media Thursday to thank his fans and followers and assure them that he was OK. He also attempted to answer the many questions they had regarding his illness. Louis Aguirre, Local 10 anchor The Miami native and former anchor for The Insider and Deco Drive, said that he first was tested at Walgreens in Sunrise offering free, appointment-only testing with results in three hours. After that test came back positive, Aguirre said he retested Wednesday at Finlay Clinical Lab, 330 SW 27th Ave., to make sure he didnt get a false positive. This laboratory has a 36-hour result turnaround, with no wait or appointment necessary. Cost: $100. Aguirre ended his video with an important message regarding contact tracing, a way public health professionals help control the spread of the novel coronavirus. Florida counties get $138 million federal boost for public health workers These experts work with COVID patients to develop a list of everyone they have been in contact with during a certain period of time. Those individuals are notified about their exposure and then are able to take precautionary steps to protect those around them, such as quarantining. Florida adds 11,433 coronavirus cases, just short of a daily record high Our state government has dropped the ball on this, but we can and must be proactive, Aguirre posted. If you tested positive or think you might have been exposed, please reach out to a contact tracer. Aguirre gave the link to sign up to be traced at volunteer.larkinhospital.com This is all our virus. The only way to attack it and get to the other side is if we, as a community, fight this together and take the steps to protect each other and keep each other safe. It is an act of love. On Monday night, Local 10 evening anchor Nicole Perez told her Twitter followers that she had tested positive for COVID-19, along with her husband, reporter Roy Ramos. Story continues Since then, more people tested positive, bringing the total to nine people in the newsroom, some behind the scenes. Roy did a little better today after sleeping through the night, struggling w/ shortness of breath-we are monitoring with the oximeter. It was a little more rough for me: pounding headache & nausea continued throughout the day with a few dizzy spells & some stomach aches. pic.twitter.com/JxrasBlpUn Nicole Perez (@NicolePerezWPLG) July 9, 2020 Perez and Ramos, both fitness buffs, are at home, recuperating. Unlike Aguirre, they have more severe symptoms. On Thursday, Perez said she was experiencing a pounding headache as well as nausea, a few dizzy spells and some stomach aches. Ramos, after dealing with severe coughing and shortness of breath, was diagnosed with pneumonia. He continues to monitor his health with the help of an oximeter, to monitor oxygen levels, Perez said. KAMPALA The East African Community (EAC) has handed over two mobile laboratories to Uganda in an effort to increase diagnostic capacities for COVID-19. The laboratories are part of a German East African development cooperation project to establish a network of mobile labs for diagnoses of epidemic diseases across the six EAC Member States. The outgoing German Ambassador to Uganda, H.E. Dr. Albrecht Conze, stated: Germany remains firmly committed to stand alongside the people of Uganda in these challenging times. I am very happy that through our joint cooperation and the arrival of the labs, Ugandas capacities to respond to this terrible virus have been enhanced. Germany has funded the labs in the framework of a regional project for East Africa. It shows that international cooperation at times of emergency is more important than ever. The two laboratories, which were ceremoniously commissioned at the Ministry of Health in Kampala, have been deployed to Adjumani and Malaba. Officials said they will strengthen Ugandas testing capacities at the countrys borders. The regional development cooperation project worth 25 million EUR (approximately 28,3 million USD) funded by the German Government was launched in 2017, at the time in an effort to curb the spread of epidemic diseases such as Ebola. In cooperation with the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) in Hamburg, training of laboratory staff to operate the labs as well as training in SARS-CoV-2 testing was carried out. The two mobile labs for Uganda have now been placed under the purview of the Ugandan Central Public Health Laboratories / Uganda National Health Laboratory Services (CPHL/UNHLS). In view of the spread of COVID, the German Government has recently provided additional funds (500.000 EUR, approximately 566.000 USD) for the procurement of PCR machines that are required at the laboratories to detect the virus. Additionally, Germany has provided test kits to the Ugandan public health laboratories. Related By Karen Freifeld (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, U.S. By Karen Freifeld (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, has been sent back to a prison in upstate New York after questioning a gag order as a condition of serving his criminal sentence under home confinement, Cohen's lawyer said. Cohen, 53, had attended a meeting with probation officers in Manhattan on Thursday when he was presented with a list of conditions for home confinement, including that he not engage with news media outlets, according to his lawyer, Jeffrey Levine. After questioning it, Cohen was shackled, sent to a Manhattan jail and then transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, about 70 miles (110 km) northwest of New York City, where Levine said he is now being held under quarantine and in solitary confinement. Cohen had been released from Otisville in May due to concerns over possible exposure to the novel coronavirus. He had completed about a year of a three-year sentence for his role in hush money payments to two women, as well as for financial crimes and lying to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen had originally been eligible for release in November 2021. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Daniel Wallis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Man, dog pronounced dead after early morning explosion, structure fire near Harbor Springs A man and a dog have both died as the result of an explosion and structure fire early Tuesday morning in West Traverse Township near Harbor Springs. Daniel Lewis Lee, an avowed white supremacist, was scheduled to be put to death on Monday for the 1996 murder of a family of three, including an eight-year-old girl The Justice Department plans to appeal a judges ruling that halted the first federal execution in nearly two decades after family members of the victims raised concerns they would be at high risk of coronavirus if they had to travel to attend it. The Justice Department filed its notice to appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday. A federal judge in Indiana on Friday halted the first federal execution planned in 17 years because the victims' family wanted to attend but was worried about contracting coronavirus. Daniel Lee, a 47-year-old white supremacist who was sentenced to death after he was convicted of killing a family of three, had been scheduled to die by lethal injection on Monday. Lee, of Yukon, Oklahoma, was convicted in Arkansas of the 1996 killings of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife, Nancy, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell. Prosecutors also filed court papers asking the judge who implemented the injunction to stay that order pending appeal. US Chief District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson ruled that the execution would be put on hold because the family of the victims wanted to attend but were afraid of traveling during the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 130,000 people and is ravaging prisons nationwide. Attorney General William Barr has said part of the reason to resume executions was to carry out the sentences imposed by the court and to deliver a sense of justice to the victim's families, but relatives of those killed by Lee did not want that. Lee, who was scheduled to be executed on Monday, was condemned to death by a federal jury in 1999 for the murders of Bill Mueller, his wife Nancy (right), and Nancy's daughter, Sarah Powell (left) The mother of Nancy Mueller, Earlene Peterson, is opposed to Lee's execution They have pleaded for years that Lee instead should receive the same life sentence as the ringleader in the deadly scheme. The relatives, including Earlene Branch Peterson, who lost her daughter and granddaughter in the killing, had urged the Trump administration for months not to move forward with the death sentence and had argued their grief is compounded by the push to execute Lee in the middle of a pandemic. 'The harm to Ms. Peterson, for example, is being forced to choose whether being present for the execution of a man responsible for the death of her daughter and granddaughter is worth defying her doctor's orders and risking her own life,' the judge wrote. The injunction delays the execution until there is no longer such an emergency. The court order applies only to Lee's execution and does not halt two other executions that are scheduled for later next week and a third set to take place in August. The resumption of federal executions comes as the federal prison has struggled to combat the coronavirus pandemic behind bars, including at least one death at USP Terre Haute, where they will take place. One inmate there has died from COVID-19. The inmates who will be executed are Lee; Wesley Ira Purkey, of Kansas, who raped and murdered a 16-year-old girl and killed an 80-year-old woman; Dustin Lee Honken, who killed five people in Iowa, including two children; and Keith Dwayne Nelson, who kidnapped a 10-year-old girl who was rollerblading in front of her Kansas home and raped her in a forest behind a church before strangling the young girl to death with a wire. Three of the executions for Lee, Purkey and Honken are scheduled days apart beginning July 13. A federal judge denied Lee's request for a new trial but noted that evidence presented by his attorneys 'is reasonably likely' to have led to a different sentence. Lee is seen above in this October 1997 file photo Inmates (left to right) Wesley Ira Purkey, 68; Dustin Lee Honken, 52; and Keith Dwayne Nelson, 45, are scheduled for execution by order of US Attorney General William Barr. Two of the executions for Purkey and Honken are scheduled days apart beginning on July 13. Nelson's execution has been scheduled for late August Nelsons execution is scheduled for August 28. The Justice Department said additional executions will be set at a later date. The decision to proceed with the executions had been criticized as a dangerous and political move. Critics argue the government is instead creating an unnecessary and manufactured urgency around a topic that isn't high on the list of American concerns right now. Chevie Kehoe, whom prosecutors described as the ringleader, recruited Lee in 1995 for his white supremacist organization. Two years later, they were arrested for the killings of the Muellers and Sarah in Tilly, Arkansas, about 75 miles northwest of Little Rock. At their 1999 trial, prosecutors said Kehoe, of Colville, Washington, and Lee stole guns and $50,000 in cash from the Muellers as part of their plan to establish a whites-only nation. Lee's attorneys also cite evidence from his trial that Kehoe actually killed Sarah. The executions appeared set to happen following a Supreme Court decision refusing to block them and a lower court affirming the ruling. The executions of four death row inmates will take place at the Federal Correctional Complex Terre Haute in Terre Haute, Indiana It's not clear what will happen with the other scheduled executions, which are scheduled next week for Wednesday and Friday. Wesley Ira Purkey, of Kansas, who raped and murdered a 16-year-old girl and killed an 80-year-old woman, is scheduled to die on Wednesday. Dustin Lee Honken, who killed five people in Iowa, including two children, is scheduled to be executed Friday. Keith Dwayne Nelson, scheduled to be executed in August, was convicted of kidnapping a 10-year-old girl while she was rollerblading in front of her Kansas home, raping her in a forest behind a church and then strangling her. New Delhi, July 11 : Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi, here on Saturday, chaired a virtual meeting of party's Lok Sabha members to discuss the strategy for the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, including India-China face-off, lockdown's fallout and economic situation. The meeting was attended by all 52 Congress MPs, including former party chief Rahul Gandhi. The meeting also comes in the wake of government tightening noose around foundations related to the party. The government has set up an inter-ministerial panel to probe into various alleged violations by the Gandhi family's Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust and Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. The leader said Rahul Gandhi, MP from Kerala's Wayanad, also spoke on issues, like the government's handling of the Covid-19 and the border standoff with China. "We apprised Sonia Gandhi about problems in holding committee meetings as well as the decision on MPLADS fund," the MP said and added it was up to the government to convene the session. But most members felt there should not be any more delay. According to a party MP, about half a dozen of Lok Sabha members stressed the need for Rahul Gandhi to return to the top party post. Several MPs reiterated their demand to bring back Rahul Gandhi to lead the party, said another MP. Sonia Gandhi also asked MPs about the relevant issues to be raised in the House. The party plans to raise the Narendra Modi government's "mishandling" of Covid-19 crisis as the main issue. The other issues to be raised are India-China stand-off, rising petrol and diesel prices, and impact of lockdown on industries. They also talked about the urgent need for convening Parliament session with social distancing protocol, the MP said. The online conference, which also saw the participation of foreign ministers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand, also discussed measures to bolster trade and investment cooperation to speed up economic recovery in each country following the pandemic. In his speech, Deputy PM Minh emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach that both responds to the pandemic and recovers the economy. While sharing Vietnams experience in containing the disease, he affirmed the timeliness and effectiveness of the comprehensive policies adopted by the Vietnamese Government. Vietnam is continuing to apply measures to control and prevent the spread of COVID-19 while at the same time gradually reopening its economy, he said. Mekong-Japan cooperation could effectively support the economic recovery process of member countries by giving priority to fields that help restore regional supply chains, stimulate consumption, and strengthen the capacity of health systems, he stressed. Deputy PM Minh proposed specific groups of solutions, including strengthening the complementariness and enhancing the general strength of economies, in particular promoting enterprises investment in infrastructure projects; supporting the industrialisation process in Mekong countries; facilitating trade and investment cooperation; and creating favourable conditions for high-quality goods from Mekong countries to enter Japan. He also highlighted the significance of increasing human resources for healthcare facilities, improving Mekong countries capacity to monitor diseases, produce vaccines, and build laboratories; and urgently implementing the Mekong-Japan Initiative for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) towards 2030, especially in the context of the Mekong River basin being seriously affected by severe drought and saline intrusion. The Deputy PM also expressed his sympathy with the Japanese people over the losses of life and property from to the recent floods and thanked Japan for its valuable assistance to Vietnam in the fight against COVID-19. Participants reaffirmed the need to strengthen joint efforts in preventing the disease and promote economic recovery in the context of complicated movements in the global economic situation. Regarding health cooperation and disease prevention, the delegates agreed to promote transparent and timely information sharing among countries on policies and measures to respond to COVID-19; expand cooperation in epidemiological research and attract resources for anti-viral vaccine development and production; and cooperate to improve national health systems in each country. They agreed to strengthen cooperation in ensuring the operation of regional supply chains, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to adapt to new circumstances, maintaining trade and investment flows, and enhancing scientific and technological applications in agricultural production; and developing high quality infrastructure. The ministers highly valued the cooperation between Japan and the Mekong region in the fight against COVID-19, and applauded initiatives proposed by the Japanese side at the meeting. Accordingly, the Government of Japan will provide US$56 million worth of medical equipment and technical training for health workers in Mekong countries and provide at least US$50 million to regional countries to improve their capacity to cope with the pandemic; provide a loan to support the emergency response to the COVID-19 crisis; and deploy the KUSANONE Mekong initiative for the SDGs with total non-refundable aid of JPY1 billion (US$9.3 million) to help Mekong countries implement projects on improving public health, education, agricultural productivity, and building clean water systems and improving the living environment. FILE PHOTO: Logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in Zurich NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group AG agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of defrauding shareholders about its risk appetite and management before taking $1 billion of writedowns on souring debt, court filings on Friday show. The preliminary settlement of the proposed class action by holders of the Swiss bank's American depositary receipts from March 2015 to February 2016 requires approval by U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan federal court. Investors led by four pension and retirement plans in New York, Illinois and Alabama claimed they lost money after the bank misled them by touting its "comprehensive" risk controls and "binding" limits on its exposure to risky and illiquid debt. Credit Suisse took two writedowns in early 2016 on $4.3 billion of collateralized loan obligations and distressed debt, contributing to its first full-year loss since the 2008 global financial crisis. The bank denied wrongdoing and had argued it had no intent to defraud. Credit Suisse said it was pleased to reach a settlement resolving all claims, including claims against former chief executives Brady Dougan and Tidjane Thiam. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang and David Gregorio) Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 19:48:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close File photo taken on March 9, 2012 shows trainees warm up in a Kungfu class at Stanford University in California, the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Yilin) In academic circles, the decision received swift condemnation. DENVER, the United States, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Voices against the Trump administration's recent visa restriction for foreign students continued loudly, as hundreds of thousands of Americans had signed petitions by Friday night, condemning the move. "This is the real American silent majority," Washington policy analyst Dave Richardson told Xinhua. "They are educated, informed, and good citizens -- and they have had enough of (President Donald) Trump's xenophobic tactics targeting foreigners." People attend the Cal Day event at the University of California, Berkeley Campus in Berkeley, California, the United States, on April 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) VOLATILE ACADEMIC WEEK On Tuesday, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that students currently in the United States on F-1 and M-1 visas "must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status," if their school's classes are entirely online in the fall semester. Anyone found violating the rules, ICE said, would risk "immigration consequences, including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings." White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the lawsuit on Wednesday by saying, "the policy speaks for itself." "You don't get a visa for taking online classes from, let's say, the University of Phoenix, so why would you if you were just taking online classes generally?" she said at a press conference. In academic circles, the decision received swift condemnation. "The order came down without notice -- its cruelty surpassed only by its recklessness," Harvard University President Lawrence S. Bacow wrote in an email to affiliates on Wednesday. Less than a day after the Trump administration decision, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) filed a lawsuit in the District Court in Boston against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE. The lawsuit was quickly supported by all of America's elite top academic institutions. The University of Southern California (USC), where a total of 12,265 international students were enrolled during the 2019-20 academic year with around 7,000 from China, announced on Wednesday it had joined an amicus brief strongly supporting the lawsuit filed by Harvard and MIT. The University of California (UC) also announced plans to file suit against ICE. The UC's 2019 fall enrollment data showed that 27,205 of the university's 226,125 undergraduate students are non-resident international, while 13,995 of the university's 58,941 graduate students are non-resident international. "There's absolutely no reason for this underlying rule. What is the issue? They are paying tuition, they are enrolled in the school program, they're doing the exact same thing their counterpart students are doing," said immigration lawyer Greg Siskind on Twitter, noting that the rule was essentially a new travel ban for F-1 students. Two Chinese students walk on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, the United States, June 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ying) THE GROUNDSWELL On Wednesday, sociologist Heba Gowayed, a Princeton Ph.D. whose research includes the underrepresentation of Arabs and Muslims in academic work, posted an open letter to President Donald Trump condemning the new maneuver. The letter began with "Dear President Trump, your administration just issued a policy that forces foreign students studying in America into a gut-wrenching dilemma." "The Trump administration's new policy is counterproductive, particularly when it comes to promoting safety amid the coronavirus outbreak and helping the U.S. economy recover from the pandemic," Gowayed's letter read. In one day, Gowayed's letter accumulated 15,000 signatures. It also triggered an avalanche of similar open letters to the 45th president, who ironically has encouraged such citizen statements. By Friday night, an Open Letter Against the Student Ban posted on Google had topped 30,000 signatures from faculty at institutions across the country. Another petition, addressed to the White House, had received 175,584 signatures by Wednesday morning, Time reported. Over the past 48 hours, hundreds of thousands of more Americans have signed a number of petitions denouncing Trump targeting international students. "This Trump attack on academia is just another diversionary tactic to distract people from the fact that his presidency is going down the drain -- so he goes after the academic world -- the smartest and wisest people in the land," Washington policy analyst Richardson said. "Desperation politics." Students congregate at the University of California's Los Angeles campus in Los Angeles, the United States on June 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Yang Lei) THE NUMBERS Financially, the Commerce Department puts international student contributions to the U.S. economy at 45 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. A 2019 report shows that 62 percent of all international students receive the majority of their funds from sources outside of the United States. International students effectively subsidize higher education, making substantial contributions to the costs of public universities and their domestic students. Concerning brainpower, international students make up the majority of graduate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) enrollment, a crucial field in which the United States aims to become a "global leader." "In STEM fields, foreign students account for an astonishing 54 percent of master's degrees and 44 percent of doctorate degrees issued by American universities. Many of these degree recipients choose to stay in the U.S. after they graduate, working for American companies and helping protect American economic dominance," Gowayed's letter said. His letter also hammered the Trump administration's immigration policies. "The United States is a country that was built on immigration. Your administration is turning its back on centuries of tradition," the letter said. "Each person who comes to America, whether they immigrate or just stay a while, contribute in their own unique way. They bring their food, their culture, their ideas, they start businesses, they pay taxes, and they pursue the common American dream that we all share," it added. A YOUNG Limerick graduate from Trinity College, frustrated that his internship with local firms were cancelled because of the pandemic has been shocked by the huge demand for a non for profit enterprise he set up to help remedy the situation. Paddy Ryder from Crecora along Rob Muldowney, Dublin set up Covid Interns to help graduates with skills to help businesses get through the current crisis. Covid Interns offers a range of volunteer university students and graduates who possess the relevant skills to help businesses perform. Small businesses can select a volunteer intern to grow their social media presence, digitalisation of operations, and much more. Our volunteers want to make lasting differences in their communities by helping local businesses navigate Covid-19, and gain valuable work experience along the way, explained Paddy a former student at Glenstal Abbey and Limerick Tutorial College. He is a recent graduate from Global Business studies at Trinity and is preparing to study a masters in Finance & Accounting at the Imperial College, London from September. I was seeking a summer internship this summer when scheduled interviews were cancelled as many firms decided to wait until they had more oversight before making hiring decisions. Having spoken to other classmates I released I wasn't alone in this regard and there was an opportunity to do something," he said, "I spoke with a classmate Rob Muldowney and we decided it was worth pursuing. We did a bit of planning but put our plans to launch on hold until we completed our finals. Following exams we built the website and have been pretty flat out ever since, explained Paddy, son of well known medical practitioner Ronan Ryder and his mum Jane and she is a nurse who works her husband at the Old Windmill Medical Centre Lower Gerald Griffin Street, Limerick. Paddy says he was really shocked by the demand, as initially they had modest expectations of placing a few students with businesses around the country. Since we launched we have been blown away by the demand from both sides. We have students signed up from every Irish university and the majority of the ITs and 15 UK universities including some top schools like Imperial, UCL, Cambridge, Warwick and LSE. We have a steady stream of referrals coming in now also from businesses which are really pleasing. We now have over 250 businesses students signed up and recently brought a new member on board, Andrew, to help out, he said. If you are a graduate or student with relevant experience seeking to help businesses and apply practical skills, contact the website or via covidinterns@gmail.com. If you have had your business affected by Covid and are looking for an additional pair of hands, please reach out via their website or e-mail with a description of the role needed! With over 200 students and business sign-ups already, Covid Interns has identified a real demand dually held by both students and businesses. Advanced herbicides and treatments for infection may result from the unravelling of a 50-year-old mystery by University of Queensland researchers. The research team, led by UQ's Professor Luke Guddat, revealed the complete three-dimensional structure of an enzyme, providing the first step in the biosynthesis of three essential amino acids - leucine, valine and isoleucine. This is a major scientific advance, which has been pursued globally by chemists for half a century. This information provides new insights into an important enzyme - acetohydroxyacid synthase - a target for more than 50 commercial herbicides. It's also a potential target for new drugs to treat infections such as tuberculosis and invasive Candida infections." Luke Guddat, Professor, University of Queensland Using advanced techniques such as cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography, the team deciphered the structure of the plant and fungal versions of the enzyme. "We identified how this highly complex structure is assembled, which is the highly unusual shape of a Maltese Cross," Professor Guddat said. "Coincidently, the Maltese Cross also features as a part of UQ's logo." Professor Guddat said the discovery could have big implications for global agriculture. "Sulfometuron is a herbicide that targets this enzyme, and was widely used in the 1990s for wheat crop protection throughout Australia," he said. "But today it is completely ineffective due to the development of resistance. "With this new insight, we will be able to make changes to existing herbicides, restoring options for future herbicide application." Professor Guddat said the enzyme was only found in plants and microbes, not in humans. "For this reason, the herbicides and drugs that it targets are likely to be safe and non-toxic to all mammals," he said. "And another surprising finding of the research was the role that the molecule known as ATP plays in the regulation of the enzyme. "Normally ATP plays a role in providing energy to all living cells," Professor Guddat said. "However, here it is acting like a piece of glue to hold the structure together." "They're fascinating findings for us, and we're excited for new opportunities for targeted design of next-gen herbicides and antimicrobial agents." The majority of the study was undertaken by Dr Thierry Lonhienne and UQ PhD candidate, Yu Shang Low, who worked closely with the ShanghaiTech University, China to obtain the cryo-EM images for the plant enzyme. Bloomberg photo by Daniel Rodgrigues. Isabel dos Santos, who is accused of causing billions of dollars in losses to the Angolan government during her father's 38-year rule, said she is available to cooperate with authorities to clear her name and find out the truth. "What I want to resolve as quickly as possible are the attacks on my reputation and my good name," Dos Santos said in an emailed statement on Monday. "I'm available, as I always have been, to cooperate with justice and to provide all the necessary clarifications so that the truth prevails." Music artist Kanye West has divulged that he was diagnosed with COVID-19 in February. This disclosed news came days following his declaration of a bid for the United States presidency. The producer took to Twitter regarding his 4th of July declaration as pundits attempted to surmised whether to take his bid for US presidency seriously or not, reported Forbes. The sneaker mogul revealed that he is running for presidency in 2020 under the Birthday Party, a new banner. It was not clarified if West tested for the novel coronavirus or antibodies. He said that he is praying for a cure, according to ABC 7. The aspiring politician has been widely denounced due to his steadfast support of US President Donald Trump earlier, but now, he revealed that he lost belief in the commander-in-chief. He was discussing his purported goal for presidency to Forbes when he revealed that he was diagnosed with the coronavirus in February, reported Billboard. West described the symptoms that he experienced shivering, shaking in bed, taking hot showers, and watching videos telling him measures to get over the illness. He asserted that he is very serious regarding his running. Other than the bid for presidency, his Forbes interview chronicled his previous support of President Trump, politics, and his beliefs. The 43-year-old recalled that a person informed him that Drake tested positive for the coronavirus and his reaction was, "Drake can't be sicker than me!" He also had an anti-vaccine perspective. When people say that a vaccine is the solution to the pandemic, he is seriously dubious. Also Read: Kanye West Running for President? Rapper Declares Interest for US Top Position in Twitter The US Presidential Elections 2020 is slated to transpire in November this year. He asserted that his tweet was not for the sake of publicity. The "Stronger" star assured that the illness had no involvement with his decision to run this 2020. He stated that God provided him the clarity and the timing was right. People were labeling him as crazy. He also went on to spin his unbacked conspiracy theory regarding alleged tracking instruments concealed in vaccines. He said they are the mark of the devil, putting chips inside of people to control their ways and to "make it where we can't cross the gates of heaven." West wrote on Twitter for his presidential bid, "We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States." West will have guidance from Elon Musk along with an obscure vice presidential candidate already handpicked by him. On losing his confidence towards Trump, he said, "It looks like one big mess to me. I don't like that I caught wind that he hid in the bunker." The wordsmith was alluding to the news in June that Trump was briefly placed in an underground bunker amid protests at the White House over police violence and racial inequality. Related Article: Kim Kardashian Plans Moving to New House Away from Kanye West to Avoid Divorce @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Kerala on Saturday reported 488 new coronavirus cases as there is a sharp increase in locally-transmitted cases which raised alarm bells for the state. Among the fresh Covid-19 cases, 234 are locally-infected and the Indian Medical Association Kerala chapter has said community transmission has taken place in the state and there is no point in hiding it. With 488 fresh Covid-19 cases, the states total went up to 7,438 out of this 2,680 patients are under treatment and 3,965 people have recovered, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The state has reported two deaths taking the death toll to 31. With the increase in locally-infected cases containment zones also increased to 168. But the CM said community transmission is yet to take place in the state. Pinarayi Vijayan said in view of the rising cases the government will restrict protest rallies to avoid further spread of the disease. The state has been witnessing a series of protests seeking the resignation of the Chief Minister in connection with the gold smuggling case. The Customs Department had seized 30 kgs of gold from an air cargo consignment from the United Arab Emirates to the countrys consulate in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. Swapna Suresh, who was working as an IT consultant under the state IT Ministry, had gone underground after the seizure. Later, the CM had transferred his principal secretary M Sivasankar who was reported to be close to Suresh. The Union Home Ministry had later handed over the probe to the National Investigation Agency and the CM had welcomed it. But the opposition is on the warpath saying he was aware of the shady dealings that took place right under his nose. Everyone has the right to protest. But the situation is different now as we are going through a serious pandemic crisis. There is no distancing and masks in some of these protests. They are endangering lives of policemen also, said the CM adding the protests were politically-motivated. The government has also decided to ban fishing in view of the hike in Covid-19 cases in coastal hamlets. In state capital, Thiruvananthapuram triple lockdown will remain in containment zones only but in other areas it will be a normal lockdown, he said. The project, coordinated in collaboration between BUGSS, the National Aquarium and the University System of Marylands Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, collects samples of organisms that accumulate on plastic disks in the harbor and then sequences the DNA. Johnston analyzes the sequence data to identify which species the DNA comes from and therefore which species live in the harbor while researchers at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology provide overall direction and oversee the workflow and process. Victoria Justice has had a few relationships over the years, but she hasn't been very public about her romantic life over the years. And the former Nickelodeon star might have a new prospective man in her life, who appears to be very into public displays. She responded Friday to an anonymous marriage proposal, which came in the form of a very grand gesture, dragged behind an airplane above the beach in Santa Monica. Wedding bells: Victoria Justice responded Friday to an anonymous marriage proposal, which came in the form of a very grand gesture, dragged behind an airplane above the beach in Santa Monica Mystery man: The 27-year-old's mysterious suitor wrote to his crush: 'I love you Victoria Justice. Will you marry me?' The 27-year-old's mysterious suitor wrote to his crush: 'I love you Victoria Justice. Will you marry me?' She soon took to Instagram with her response: 'So... apparently this has been flying over Santa Monica today! I got an e mail this morning saying TMZ was ready to break a story about me getting engaged, which is news to me??? 'Lol. In any case, until this secret admirer reveals themself, I guess my answer is... maybe? ***and if theres another Victoria Justice out there who just got proposed to, congrats girl! How romantic. ALSO, is this not a great plot for a Rom-com?!' Victoria has reportedly dated such actors as Cole Sprouse, 27, Josh Hutcherson, 27, Ryan Rottman, 36, and Pierson Fode, 28, over the years. Not a no: She soon took to Instagram with her response: 'Lol. In any case, until this secret admirer reveals themself, I guess my answer is... maybe?' Ex-boyfriend: She was last romantically linked to Reeve Carney, 37, from 2016 to 2019, after they appeared together in Fox's star-studded adaptation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (pictured in September, 2018) She was last romantically linked to Reeve Carney, 37, from 2016 to 2019, after they appeared together in Fox's star-studded adaptation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. A source told E! News when they began dating: 'They've been together for a couple months now and aren't going out of their way to hide it but just don't go out together in public a ton.' Although she doesn't appear to be in a relationship at the moment, she still has a very important man in her life. The Victorious star wished her stepfather Mark Reed a happy birthday Thursday, taking to her Instagram Story with a sweet tribute. Victoria wrote: 'Marky, I love you so much and I don't know what I'd do without you. You are truly one of the most giving, living and kindest souls I know. Thank you for being you & for all that you do. You should be celebrated every day!! Xoxoxo.' The world has watched with consternation the latest protests unfolding in the US in the past few weeks following the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, by Minneapolis policemen during an arrest. His death amplified the #BlackLivesMatter campaign into a nationwide rebellion that some now call Americas second civil rights movement. But black Americans say that despite legal affirmative action, they have been denied justice promised to them six decades ago. For them, this outpouring is the culmination of years of frustration and discrimination as a minority community struggling to rise above the poverty, lack of resources, and racism that is their legacy after centuries of slavery at the hands of the whites. Aja Barber, an American social-media influencer and activist born in Reston, Virginia, who now lives in London, UK, has used her voice to raise these issues and others, from womens rights to ethical fashion. Having studied communication and journalism, she worked in television production before becoming a full-time blogger focusing on race and intersectional feminism. Coming from a country that has championed democracy and the idea of The American Dream for centuries, Aja believes the concept doesnt apply to black and Native Americans. No, they have never got their share of the American Dream. But I also invite most people to ask what sort of dream can be built upon slavery of one group of people and genocide of another? Both groups still suffer today from this sort of routine trauma. Can there be a dream there? And who is the dream for? she asks pertinently. The rising tide of social-media awareness in the past few years has brought to the fore the day-to-day struggles of black Americans as they go about making a living, raising families and pursuing personal happiness. There have been alarming reports of killings of unarmed black people like 17-year-old Trayvon Martin who was killed by a suspicious white neighbour while out on a walk; 25-year-old athlete Ahmaud Arbery who was shot dead by two white men for running down the street; and Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old medical technician, who was shot by policemen as she lay asleep in her bed at night in a case of mistaken identity. One black father wrote on social media about being afraid to walk outside alone without his dog or daughter for fear of being shot or arrested. Things have always been this bad for black Americans. Anyone who says otherwise is only fooling themselves. We just have camera phones and social media now, says Aja, who says she completely identifies with the black fathers experience. Where I was once very confident and drove at any hour of the day for any reason, when Im home in the US, I often avoid driving at night if I can. I have been accosted before by a neighbour in the neighbourhood my parents have lived in for 37 years. Its not okay, she stresses. Ironically, most of what the world follows as American pop culture today has roots in black heritage and talent. From music to sport to literature to building infrastructure, the contribution of black Americans is substantial and undeniable. Then why is there still racial profiling today despite all their achievements against odds? Because of systemic racism, says Aja. Its in every American institution and folded in the fibre of our country. And until were ready to address it as a nation, these issues will continue to prevail. She adds, I also believe that even if we had no contributions, we still wouldnt deserve the poor treatment weve received throughout the years. No one deserves that. Though only 12 percent of Americans identify as black, there is a disproportionately large number of blacks in American jails, a topic on which Aja recommends the documentary Thirteenth by Ava DuVernay to anyone who has an interest in fighting systemic oppression. Like oppressed peoples anywhere in the world, women bear the brunt. Black women in the US are at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder in terms of education, income and opportunities. Inspired by black women visionaries like Audre Lorde, Josephine Baker, Janet Mock, Marsha P Johnson, Angela Davis and Kimberle Crenshaw, Aja believes that first and second wave feminism in the US has definitely focused more on the liberation of white, able-bodied, cis-gender, upper-middle class to rich feminists above all. She avers: My feminism is intersectional because without intersectional voices, everyone who doesnt fit into that description gets left behind. Rise together or fall together. I choose the former. Ajas photo: Stephen Cunningsworth. A rise in Covid-19 cases has shaken us out of our comfort zone and revealed a series of potential weaknesses in our defences against the spread of the virus. The downward trend in infections until recently sparked hopes it was nearly defeated. Read More The increase in new cases may not be large - but we are again reminded that as long as the pandemic lasts we will be living on a knife edge. Q: The 23 cases reported on Thursday sparked concern - why is there such worry? A: They must be seen in the context of the previous two weeks where there was a turnaround after a drop in infections. One of the drivers behind the increase has been travel-related infections where somebody who arrives here as a tourist or a returning holidaymaker tested positive after picking up the virus abroad. Around 15-20pc of new cases of the virus in the last fortnight were linked to foreign travel. A number of clusters of infection have arisen as a result. Q: If everyone who arrived here self-quarantined for two weeks, they would surely not pass it on to others? A: Clearly many are not restricting their movements after coming here. On Thursday, 15 of the 23 cases were linked to travel. The impression was given that public health doctors were on quite a complex journey around various parts of the country to trace contacts of at least one of the infected people who came here from abroad. The self quarantine is not mandatory so there is the potential for a repeat of this over the summer. Q: Is the danger that a small cluster can mushroom into a much bigger outbreak? A: In the case of a tourist who is infected they could be in Dublin one day, Galway the next and then on a tour of Kerry. This poses a risk of spread that might be difficult to trap. People can be infected and not have symptoms, unwittingly passing it on. Q: How good are public health systems at tracking and tracing? A: There is plenty of capacity to test people but the puzzle is in chasing down contacts, those in close proximity for a period of time with the infected person. There was criticism of the tracing in previous months and this summer will provide a new challenge. The downloading of the Covid tracing app by around 1.1 million people will help. Users will get an alert if they are a close contact. Q: Once a close contact is found how often are they tested? A: There are two tests - one at the beginning and another on day seven. But there is another weakness here which could undermine the trail to bring a cluster under control. Around 40-50pc are not taking up the offer of a test on day seven so could be walking around with no symptoms and spreading infection. Q: Is it correct that people from Northern Ireland can now travel to a large number of destinations in Europe and pass through Dublin Airport? A: Yes, they will not have to self quarantine but can go to Spain, France and Italy. The fact they may return via Dublin could add another infection risk. Q: Has the reopening of so many shops, pubs and businesses widened the chances of spread? A: When safety measures in place in shops and pubs are followed the risk of infection is minimised. But if the rules are flouted and people mix as they did in pre-Covid-19 times there is more scope for the virus being passed on. Q: Why are there not mandatory rules to quarantine after arrival from abroad? And should close contacts be compelled to be tested? A: Neither of these are mandatory and unlikely to be unless there is another dangerous surge. Q: Young people seem to comprise a high proportion of those who are infected now. Is that linked to behaviour? A: The under-25s feature prominently in new infections. Q: Did last weekend's street gatherings have much impact? A: It's too early to say what the impact of the revelries outside pubs seen last weekend will have on infection rates. They are also socialising indoors and house parties have become more common. As long as they ignore the rules they will be a risk not just to themselves but more seriously to people who have weakened immune systems. Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly tried to get this message through yesterday but if younger age groups don't heed it this behaviour will prove another shortcoming over the summer. Q: What about the R number which is now at or above one? A: When cases are low, as they are now, it is difficult to measure it. If it rises higher than one, it means people infected with the virus are spreading it to others at a rate faster than one to one, which could see the disease spiral out of control. We are told there is no cause for alarm but there is need for caution. Shopping bags full of food spilled out of car boots last weekend in Wales as holidaymakers unpacked provisions at their second homes ready for the sea and sun. The countrys five-mile travel limit was lifted on Monday but a few jumped the gun by two days, arriving on Saturday. In the small town of Newport, Pembrokeshire, worried grumbles accompanied the arrival of the Range Rovers, Mercedes and Audis: a sure sign that the second homeowners were trickling back. The Confederation of All India Traders on Saturday urged the Centre not to allow Chinese firm's participation in the global tender for semi-high speed indigenous train project of Indian Railway. The development comes as a part of its "boycott Chinese" products and services campaign in the light of growing border tensions between the two Asian giants. Consequently, CAIT in a communication sent to Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal urged him not to allow Chinese state owned firm CRRC Corporation to participate in global tender for semi-high speed indigenous -- Train 18 -- project. "The total worth of the project is more than Rs 1,500 crore for 44 Vande Bharat Express Trains," CAIT said in a statement. "Since this project of Indian Railways is a part of 'Make in India' call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, therefore considering this fact and the current critical period, it will be most appropriate not to consider the said Chinese company for the rail project and rather emphasis should be laid more on Indian companies who have been shortlisted for this project-said both trade leaders." New Delhi: Muzzafar Wani, father of Hizbul commander Burhan whose killing sparked unrest in Kashmir, Tuesday expressed "deep pain" over the burning down of schools in the Valley and made a fervent appeal to those behind it to refrain from targeting educational institutions. Muzzafar Wani, a retired government teacher, told PTI over phone from his residence in Tral of South Kashmir that "as a teacher, whenever a school is burnt down, my heart is set on fire.""This is not right. Whosoever is responsible for this is doing no good to the society. A society without any education is lifeless. They do not have any identity," Wani said and made it clear that he was making this statement as a teacher and not as any leader."My appeal to all people as well as 'agencies' is that whoever is doing this is not doing the correct thing. For God's sake, please refrain from such acts because education is the only thing which will help us in becoming good humans," he aid. ALSO READ: (Centre asks J&K government to make attempts to reopen schools in valley) Over 25 educational institutions have been burnt by iscreants in the Kashmir Valley since July 9, a day after urhan was killed in an encounter in South Kashmir."This is not right. Whosoever is responsible for this, t's not right. It will be lifeless without any education and, herefore, whosoever is indulging in such acts is doing no ood to the society," he said.Asked about forced closure of educational institutions n the Valley following the prolonged unrest, Wani said, "I am ained that the children are being deprived of education."People are coming out themselves, I am not responsible or it. When Burhan Wani was killed, I had appealed that there hould be a day's strike but there is no control on the ituation as of now".However, he also held the state and Central government esponsible for the situation saying that they are not coming ut with any initiative to bring an end to the unrest."This the govermemt should have thought. ALSO READ: (After burning of 26 schools, J&K High Court asks govt to unmask enemies of education) There is no nitiative from the government. Police excesses are increasing very day. There should be some initiative from the state as ell as Central governments."People will cooperate only when there is some kind of eriousness (from the government side). This unrest is not iked by many," he said.The issue of burning down of educational institutions ame under legal scrutiny yesterday when Jammu and Kashmir igh Court took a suo motu cognisance of news report about urning down of schools in the Valley. The High Court directed police and civil administration o ensure the protection of the institutions besides unmasking he "mysterious enemies of education" and deal with them with n "iron hand".The court listed the case for next hearing on November 7 nd directed the three officials to remain present. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. What do you do with 3,400 animals, birds and reptiles in a wildfire? At the San Diego Zoo Safari Park north of Escondido, you leave them right where they are. Officials with the world-famous animal reserve that covers 1,800 acres in the San Pasqual Valley say they have developed detailed plans to protect the parks denizens. And those plans do not include evacuating the animals to another site. Instead, animals are sheltered in place or put in cages and moved to safer environs on the property. Advertisement The emergency response has been rehearsed many times over the years, often in conjunction with area fire agencies, zoo officials say. Most recently, on July 27, when a brush fire raced up a steep hill in the San Pasqual Valley, park workers were ready. Although the fire was several miles to the east and unlikely to threaten the park, the fire plans were set in motion in case things changed. We have developed extensive plans based on available information as well as our own direct experiences, said Michael Mace, the San Diego Zoo Globals director of animal collection and strategy. Every fire has been unique with its own characteristics. We continue to build on those plans based on those experiences. Three times over the 45 years of the parks existence, fires have burned onto the parks property: in 1993, 2003 and 2007. The most serious was the 2007 Witch Creek fire, which burned about 800 acres of the parks property, most of it outside of the fence and animal enclosures, but including part of the Condor Ridge exhibit. Above all else, Mace said, human life comes first. Saving the roughly 3,400 animals, birds and reptiles in the parks collection is secondary to that, but hardly ignored. The park works closely with first responders and fire officials and takes its cues from them. If they are warned of a fire threat, the park is evacuated of all guests with law enforcement directing which way they should leave and how quickly visitors should exit. As for the critters, various things are done to protect them. The large African Plain enclosure where trams filled with guests get up-close views of giraffes, zebras and antelopes is left undisturbed. Those facilities have never been affected, Mace said. A lot of our animals reside in those and they have been unharmed in every incident. Fire could even come down to that fenceline, but there is no fuel, said San Diego Zoo Global public relations manager Christina Simmons. They are big enough enclosures that what weve seen is the animals just go to the other side. We have various plans on which animals were going to move and which were not going to move based on a number of factors: how far the fire is from the property, the wind direction, the facilities vulnerability., said Mace. Other animals, however, are protected differently. For the gorillas, for instance, a harbor in place strategy is employed. They are brought into areas where they are comfortable, in this case their bedrooms, and then we have systems that seal the exterior of the building, Mace said. Then an air purification system kicks in to keep smoke out. They are safe in very familiar surroundings, he said. The zoo also has various strategies that could include placing some animals like cheetahs and sloths into travel cages and then taking them to a safe building within the park. Park officials dont want to say exactly where the animals would be kept out of fear that someone, during a fire emergency, might want to steal or harm them. Simmons said just last year a poacher killed a white rhinoceros for its horn at a zoo outside Paris. In 2007, part of the Condor Ridge exhibit burned in the northern part of the park during the Witch Creek fire, which had started the day before near Santa Ysabel. We had evacuated the condors about 12 hours before it burned that night, Mace said. It was a great example of being able to anticipate a situation and work proactively before an incident occurred. The condors were safe but one bird and a donkey died, not directly from exposure to smoke or fire. We ended up with more animals after the fire then when it began because animals were still giving birth or hatching, Mace said. Just this past spring, Safari Park hosted a large fire preparedness summit that brought together zoo and aquarium officials from all over the state to share experiences and strategies. Fire officials from Cal Fire, San Diego fire, Escondido fire and police and the California Highway Patrol attended and gave presentations. Were so grateful for the first responders because they are running toward crisis while were managing crisis elsewhere, Mace said. The big takeaways from the summit included the need for each zoo to establish good relations with fire authorities and the need to take officials on tours of the properties so they are familiar with what they could be dealing with in the future. They determined that an evacuation plan is crucial: knowing how to get on and off the grounds and what the routes will be. Its also important to have equipment that will allow for continual communication with staff and first responder agencies. Preserve human life, stabilize the situation, protect the animals, property and environment are some of those key messages, Mace said. Officials said there has never been a time when the park considered releasing animals into the wild. Im not saying it hasnt been discussed, Mace said, but weve been fortunate to manage situations where we have been able to care for everything during these situations. jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones The mystery of Dyatlov Pass has been solved after 61 years, as Russian prosecutors rule the skiers died of hypothermia after stripping off their clothes and fleeing in terror. Led by 23-year-old Ifor Dyatlov, the experienced skiers failed to finish their 220mile-ski trek, sparking a huge manhunt. Investigators later discovered their frozen bodies - many with missing body parts, others naked, and some with inexplicable injuries. Decades-long rumours of natural disasters, yetis, and the supernatural have all been speculated as causing the deaths. But now a new probe by the Russian prosecutor-general's office has concluded the group was killed by hypothermia - and that they had 'no chance' of survival. A new probe by the Russian prosecutor-general's office has concluded the group was killed by hypothermia Led by 23-year-old Ifor Dyatlov, the skiers failed to finish their mission, sparking a huge manhunt What is known of that fateful night is that Ural Polytechnic students - seven men and two women, had made camp for the night at the foot of Kholat Syakhl, the Dead Mountain. Now investigators say the nine fled in terror - and ran through the snow a mile or so down the mountain - from their tents in the deep nighttime cold, not having time to dress. Their tent had been mysteriously slashed from the inside, their camp was deserted and they had left their clothes and belongings behind. The empty tent baffled investigators, as it still contained items of clothing and pairs of shoes - implying that some of the students had ventured out into the wilderness barefoot and without coats. Days after investigators found the tent the first two bodies were discovered. Yuri Doroshenko and Yuri Krivonischenko were found lying in the snow on flat land near a river, a mile from the tent, next to the remains of a long burnt-out fire. Lyudmila Dubinina, 21, was also found without her eyes and mouth after the notorious Dyatlov Pass incident Around 350 yards away lay the corpse of Dyatlov, the engineering student who had put the expedition together and was its leader. His name would later be given to the area where the tragedy took place, as well as the incident itself. Nearby, a search dog sniffed out the remains of Zina Kolmogorova, 22, under four inches of snow, and then that of Rustem Slobodin. The bodies were in a line 200 yards apart, as if they had been trying to crawl behind each other back up to the shelter of the tent, but never made it. The final bodies were not found until the snow melted two months later in a ravine, with fractured skulls and chest injuries. The tongue and eyes of Lyudmila Dubinina, 21, and Semen Zolotarev, 38, were missing. They were discovered under 15ft of snow in a den they had desperately hollowed out for themselves before succumbing to the cold. A leading Russian doctor claimed Semen's injuries were likely the result of a 'big creature' Striking camp: The skiers setting up camp on February 2, 1959 in a snap taken from a roll of film found by investigators, which is the last known photo of them alive In 2019, Russian authorities made the surprise announcement that they planned to reopen the case in a bid to solve the case once and for all. Now senior state prosecutor Andrei Kuryakov has revealed the group's tent had been in danger from an avalanche and that the party rushed from their camp to shield behind a ridge. 'This was a natural avalanche limiter. They did everything right' But he claimed that when the group turned around, they had lost sight of their tent. 'Visibility was 16 metres. They lit a fire and then searched for their tent - but it had vanished in the whiteout after the avalanche. The tongue and eyes of Semen Zolotarev, 38, were missing, when investigators discovered his body He revealed the group 'froze to death in temperatures of between minus 40C and minus 45C'. 'It was an heroic fight. There was no panic, but they had no chance in these circumstances.' An experiment was conducted in an attempt to recreate the circumstances faced by the Soviet skiers. Part of the reason for conspiracy theories over the incident was the fact that the Soviet authorities hushed up their deaths. The mysterious case has been the subject of books, documentaries, movies, and computer games. They were believed to have fled from an 'unknown compelling force', according to a Soviet investigation at the time. How this ISIS operative from Mangaluru lured her victims and converted them to Islam Murder of TN cop was part of plan to wage violent jihad by ISIS India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 11: The murder of SSI Wilson was committed with the intention of creating terror in the minds of people and was part of a larger plan to wage violent Jihad. On Friday, the National Investigation Agency filed a chargesheet in connection with this case. The NIA filed charges against Abdul Shameem and five others. The case was originally registered at Kaliyakkavilai Police station, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. Wilson, Special Sub-Inspector of Kaliyakkavilai Police station was shot and stabbed to death on January 1 by Shameem and Thowfek, while the officer was performing duty at Kaliyakkavilai Market Road check post. ISIS linked operatives charged by NIA for murder of TN cop, Wilson After the arrest of the assailants on January 15 2020, it was revealed that they had committed the murder of the police officer with the intention to create terror in the minds of people, including Police, as part of waging violent jihad. The case was re-registered by NIA on 1st February, 2020 and investigation was taken over from Tamil Nadu Police. During NIA investigation, the roles of other accused in the larger conspiracy was revealed. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News It was revealed that Khaja Mohideen was a member of the proscribed terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)/Daish. Since May, 2019, he had radicalised Abdul Shameem and Thowfeek on the perverted jihadi (violent extremist) ideology and recruited them into his terrorist gang to carry out violent attacks against establishment especially Police, in Tamil Nadu, to bring Islamic Rule or Shariah. In October, 2019, Khaja Mohideen had also instructed Mahboob Pasha and Ejas Pasha of Bengaluru and Jaffer Ali of Cuddalore to procure illegal fire arms and prohibited ammunition for carrying out attacks. After mid-December, 2019, on instructions of Khaja Mohideen, the assailants Abdul Shameem and Thowfeek were sheltered in Karnataka and Maharashtra by Mahboob Pasha and they were subsequently provided illegal fire arms and prohibited ammunition. In early January, 2020, when Tamil Nadu police arrested the associates of Mahboob Pasha at Bengaluru and started pursuing Khaja Mohideen, Mahboob Pasha, Jaffer Ali and others, Khaja Mohideen instructed Abdul Shameem and Thowfeek to attack Tamil Nadu Police at check posts along inter-state border in Kanyakumari district. 8. Consequently, the assailants had travelled to Kaliyakkavilai on 8th January, 2020 and knowingly attacked Special Sub-Inspector Wilson After committing the terrorist act, they escaped towards Kerala and concealed the knife and illegal fire-arm used in the attack near Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Bus Stand in Thriuvananthapuram and Ernakulam, respectively. The assailants further proceeded to Kozhikode, changed their appearance and then travelled to Maharashtra to live in disguise before returning to Udupi in Karnataka, where they were arrested. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 11, 2020, 9:13 [IST] Amid indications that the Left parties are keen to join the Grand Alliance for the forthcoming Bihar Assembly polls, the Communist Party of India (CPI) has begun preparations to launch former JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar for campaigning from August. The party is also keen on using the 33-year-old leaders star power to bargain for a bigger share of seats to contest the Bihar assembly election. State secretary of CPI, Satyanarain Singh, confirmed that Kanhaiya Kumar, who is out on bail after being arrested on sedition charges in February 2016, will campaign for the party in the forthcoming polls. Singh said the Grand Alliance must recognize the youth leaders popularity among the youth. In early February, Kumar had undertaken a statewide tour of Bihar called the Jan-Man-Gan yatra to oppose the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). Kanhaiya Kumar is a big draw among the youth and has the ability to garner votes. We feel the Grand Alliance would benefit from his popularity during campaigning. He will come to Bihar in August, he said. Kanhaiya had contested the Lok Sabha polls of 2019 from the Begusarai seat and had finished second by polling 2.69 lakh votes against BJPs Giriraj Singh, who won the seat eventually. Hints of the CPI joining the Grand Alliance initially came after the recent meeting of Congresss Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil and Singh in Patna. Sources said the CPI was set to put forth a demand for 40 assembly seats from the Grand Alliance. In the 2015 Assembly elections, the party had contested on 81 seats and garnered only 1.4% votes. The CPI has no MLAs in the state but has two MLCs. We are keen on joining the Grand Alliance to defeat the NDA. But we want a respectable number of seats, Singh said. Asked whether the Grand Alliance would consider giving 40 seats to the CPI, the partys state secretary said the RJD-Congress combine had already paid a big price by not aligning with it in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Kanhaiya had come second in the Begusarai parliamentary seat whereas the RJD candidate came in third. In 1990s, we had a strong presence of 26 MLAs in the RJD-led government, Singh said. The CPI-ML (liberation) and CPM too are said to be in negotiations with the Grand Alliance leaders. We will hold talks with the Grand Alliance leaders on seat sharing after July 20. The process has got delayed due to the lockdown in Patna, said CPI-MLs state secretary Kunal. A delegation of the party had met RJD state president Jagdanand Singh 10 days back for formal talks on the alliance but nothing concrete has come up so far. Evidently, the demand for a bigger share of seats from Left parties is going to throw up a new challenge for the RJD in stitching a broader alliance amid the growing rift in the Grand Alliance over demand for a co-ordination committee and resistance against Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as the chief ministerial face. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Progressivism claims to represent the interests of ordinary people through mandated government programs and regulations. But facts tell a different story. Where progressives govern they rarely represent the interests of ordinary people, and its not progress. USA Today in 2019 listed Americas 25 most dangerous cities. Twenty-three have progressive mayors. Many are the cities having violent riots and destruction. Many have frequent murders and shootings even of children, like Chicago, Birmingham and Atlanta. Mayor Bottoms of Atlanta said you cant blame a police officer for the murder of a child recently. Instead she blamed President Trump. But Trump has only been in office for a few years and this climate of violence in our cities has been happening for decades.In Chicago, 40,000 murders occurred over the last 63 years (Chicago Tribune, Jan. 23, 2020). Over the June 20 weekend, 104 were shot, 14 fatally. Their progressive mayor had no words to describe what happened, but she had no trouble maligning anyone reopening salons or businesses. Since deaths at the hands of police several years back, violent crime has increased in the top two on the list, Baltimore and St Louis. Those cities also are seeing a decline in population.This destruction comes with an enormous price. What is happening in these cities is actually the suspension of civilization. The grim reality of mob rule is replacing order as anarchists believe their violence is better than the police brutality they protest. And in terms of dollars, the progressive governor of Minnesota wants a $500 million federal bailout from all of us. What will others want?The grim path of progressivism is marked by incompetence, graffiti on abandoned store fronts, filth, skyrocketing drug addiction, homeless tents, riots and looting, shootings and murders, burned buildings, manic lunatics screaming profanities and throwing explosives at police, high taxes, threats, toppled monuments and intimidation of ordinary citizens these progressives say they champion. And they want us to pretend all of this is normal. Unbelievably weve seen some making excuses for it.Joe Biden says if elected president, he wont just rebuild the nation, well transform it. Democrats rejected Bolshevik Bernie in the primaries. So is the we in the tweet the Marxist squad and others who will be pulling old Joes strings? Will this transformation they threaten take America further down that grim path of progressivism? Ralph Miller From Pizza Pizzas privacy breach to the loneliness of COVID-19, weve selected some of the best long reads of the week from thestar.com. Want to dive into more long features? Sign up for the Weekend Long Reads newsletter to get them delivered straight to your inbox every Saturday morning. 1. Pizza Pizza voluntarily gave customers personal information to Toronto police without a warrant Amid a major criminal investigation that announced dozens of arrests last year, the popular pizza chain voluntarily searched its internal data and handed over customers personal information to Toronto police investigators, the Star has learned. Officers used the technique in Project Kraken, an investigation into guns, gangs and drugs that resulted in more than 70 arrests last June. 2. Kevin Donovan: My 92-year-old mother survived COVID-19 but her weakened condition and loneliness ended her life Your mom has tested positive for COVID-19. So did the lady in the next room, the lady on the other side of Moms room, and others, including staff, over the next weeks. I had been writing stories on the pandemic, talking to doctors, reading scientific papers. I feared the worst. If you take your mind back to the start of April, stories of extreme respiratory distress, ventilator rationing, and tough decisions (who can be saved and who cannot) were in the news. 3. Why didnt they call the SIU? The verdicts in, now the investigation into how Toronto police handled Dafonte Millers assault can finally begin Much of the criticism centred on why neither Toronto police, nor the Durham Regional Police Service officers who responded to the scene, notified the SIU about the incident. The watchdog is supposed to be called in whenever someone is seriously injured in an interaction with police. Although Const. Michael Theriault was not working at the time, the SIU does investigate off-duty incidents under certain circumstances, and the general expectation is the SIU will be notified in cases where it may have cause to investigate. The SIU was only notified months after the assault by Dafonte Millers lawyer, Julian Falconer. It was only after this that the SIU investigated and charges were laid against Michael and Christian Theriault. 4. Im not coming back, father with COVID-19 tells daughter during Lundy Manor outbreak When the paramedics came, Edward Schanck knew it was the end. He knew it was the last time he would see his home, his wife and his daughter. The virus had won. His lungs were being crushed under the weight of pneumonia. The fatigue was debilitating. The novel coronavirus had stolen his energy and it was about to take his life. He said to me Im not coming back, said Michele Schanck White of her last conversation with her father on the day he was taken to hospital. I said Dad, dont say that, but he said he was tired of fighting. 5. COVID-19 lockdown kept her from her fiance for months. Now, shes been diagnosed with cancer Its heartbreaking to have months of treatment without your fiance, who shouldve been my husband by now if it wasnt because of the pandemic, said Sarah Campbell. Although Britain has kept its border open to non-essential visitors from Canada, the 25-year-old Stratford woman cannot travel due to her medical conditions and treatment. Their only hope hinges on Canada Border Services Agency making an exemption to fiance Jacob Taylors visit. 6. David Olive: Canada was unprepared when it came to protective equipment and data will we be ready for a COVID-19 vaccine? The enormity and complexity of obtaining and administering billions of vaccine doses worldwide requires that we start planning now for the task. It is sobering to consider what we dont know about getting COVID-19 vaccines to all who need them. To start, who gets the vaccines first? Should they go first to front-line health workers and other at-risk workers? To the elderly, Black people, low-income individuals and other groups most vulnerable to the worst COVID-19 outcomes? Or to children, whose suspected role as so-called superspreaders of the virus is still not fully understood? 7. Dionne Brand: On narrative, reckoning and the calculus of living and dying Those in power keep invoking the normal as in when we get back to normal. Ive developed an aversion to that word normal. Of course, I understand the more benign meanings of normal; having dinner with friends, going to the movies, going back to work (not so benign). However, I have never used it with any confidence in the first place; now, I find it noxious. The repetition of when things return to normal as if that normal, was not in contention. Was the violence against women normal? Was the anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism normal? Was white supremacy normal? Was the homelessness growing on the streets normal? Were homophobia and transphobia normal? Were pervasive surveillance and policing of Black and Indigenous and people of colour normal? Yes, I suppose all of that was normal. But, I and many other people hate that normal. 8. As calls to defund police grow louder, GTA activists confront a frustrating challenge: Regional government The call to defund police was heard loudly at the Mississauga rally over the fatal shooting of Jamal Derek Jr. Francique. It came again at the Malton protests over the killing of Ejaz Choudry. And it reached another peak in Oshawa after the verdict in the beating of Dafonte Miller. For years, the GTAs regional police forces have been largely unchallenged by activism, but a series of high-profile cases of police violence have created a new hot spot for the North America-wide movement for radical police reform police in Peel and Durham Regions are now facing the same urgent calls for defunding and radical change seen in Toronto and elsewhere. 9. Does public mask-shaming work? A lesson from condoms Scrolling through Instagram recently, Jill McDevitt saw post after post raging against people not wearing masks. The sexologist found herself shaking her head. Public shaming didnt make people practise safer sex, either, she said. Weve already tried this with condoms, and its going to fail, she said. They might deserve to be shamed, I dont know. But if were talking strategy, (shame) doesnt work. While condoms have become a pillar of public sexual health over the course of years, public health officials are struggling to sell the public on masks. 10. She threw us under the bus: Internal email shows RCMP commissioner faces backlash over racism comments The head of the RCMP is facing backlash from some rank-and-file members over her recent statements acknowledging the existence of systemic racism within the force. In an internal email leaked to the Star, some members say they feel betrayed by Commissioner Brenda Luckis comments and worry that her statements have opened us up to more danger, hate and criticism. 11. Their lives have been defined by trauma. Why kick kids out of foster care and group homes when they turn 18? Like most kids who end up in the care of childrens aid societies, Cheyanne Ratnams early life was filled with trauma. Toronto childrens aid stepped in and moved her to a group home. It was the first real stability I had, recalls Ratnam, 32. I was shocked when they told me, at age 17, that I had to move out at 18. I had already suffered so much loss. I couldnt believe it was happening again. I was completely unprepared. 12. Toronto has had a housing crisis for years. COVID-19 has shown how badly we need an alternative model of shelter in the GTA If people were seeking new models of housing before the pandemic, the last three months have proved how badly the region needs more bricks and mortar and more options for everything from how we habitate to how we finance our homes. If weve learned anything out of this crisis its that a safe place is a key thing for health and ability to withstand these kinds of events, said Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) chair Derek Ballantyne. 13. What the new Hong Kong security law means for Canadians everywhere Alvin Cheung spent July 1 scrambling to figure out how to safeguard his rights as a Canadian. Did not plan on spending Canada Day drafting an affidavit declaring that I am a Canadian citizen and would never renounce Canadian citizenship of my own free will, but here we are, the legal expert wrote wryly on Facebook. The focus of concern for the Hong Kong-born Cheung, who became a citizen of Canada as a child in 1992, is the new security law the Chinese government has imposed on Hong Kong. The debate over clemency for Mr. Stone has raged within the White House for months. Among those who advocated on behalf of it from outside the building were Tucker Carlson, the influential Fox News anchor, and Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, according to people familiar with the discussions. Within the White House, Mr. Stone had few allies. Many Trump aides who knew him from the campaign did not like him, were envious of his long relationship with Mr. Trump or thought clemency would be bad politics. Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, expressed concern about potential political consequences, according to two people familiar with the discussions, although he has left people with different impressions about where he stands. The same is true of Jared Kushner, Mr. Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, who has been involved in most of the clemency discussions throughout the past three years. Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel, was concerned about intervening on Mr. Stones behalf, according to the people close to the discussions. One of the few within the White House who backed clemency was Larry Kudlow, the presidents top economic adviser and an old friend of Mr. Stones. Mr. Kudlow spends more time with Mr. Trump than many other advisers. Mr. Stone is incredibly honored that President Trump used his awesome and unique power under the Constitution of the United States for this act of mercy, Grant Smith, Mr. Stones lawyer, said after the announcement. Mr. and Mrs. Stone appreciate all the consideration the president gave to this matter. Mr. Stone has been one of the most flamboyant rogues in American politics for decades, maintaining a wardrobe of more than 100 suits, bleaching his hair, posing for photographs half-naked and cheerfully engaging in dirty tricks that others would disavow. He made political contributions to a Republican challenger to President Richard M. Nixon in 1972 under the name of the Young Socialist Alliance and hired an operative to try to infiltrate the campaign of George McGovern, the Democratic candidate. He was accused of leaving a threatening, profanity-laced voice mail message for the father of Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York, resulting in Mr. Stones resignation. But he later got his revenge on Mr. Spitzer by claiming credit for spreading the rumor that the governor wore black dress socks during sexual escapades with prostitutes. Lucius Jefferson Barker was born on June 11, 1928, in Franklinton, La., about 60 miles north of New Orleans. His father, Twiley Barker Sr., was a teacher and principal at a Black high school in Franklinton. His mother, Marie (Hudson) Barker, taught elementary school there. There was a Black and white side of town; white schools, Black schools everything was separate, Heidi Barker said in an interview. At the historically Black Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Professor Barker, inspired by a young professor, switched his major from pre-med (his family had hoped he would be a physician like the uncle he was named for) to politics. After graduating, he earned masters and doctoral degrees in political science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where his brother Twiley Jr. had preceded him. During one summer while he was in graduate school, Professor Barker went to register to vote in Franklinton and was forced by the registrar to answer questions about the Constitution, including one about the 14th Amendment. Such questions were typical of the obstacles placed in front of Black people in the South to prevent them from registering. But they were easy for him to answer. According to an account of his career he gave in 1992 to PS: Political Science & Politics, a publication of the American Political Science Association, Professor Barker was confident enough to poke intellectual fun at the white registrar. When he was asked to explain the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, he said he could not. The registrar was apparently gleeful that he might be able to deny Professor Barker the right to vote. You dont know! the registrar said. The top writer for Fox News host Tucker Carlson has resigned following reports that he posted racist, sexist comments on an online forum. CNN reported Friday that the writer, Blake Neff, has been using a pseudonym for years to post on AutoAdmit, an unmoderated online platform. The investigation alleged that Neff responded to a thread started by another user in 2018 with the subject line, "Would u let a JET BLACK congo n****er do lasik eye surgery on u for 50% off?" Neff responded to the post, "I wouldn't get LASIK from an Asian for free, so no," according to CNN. Neff resigned Friday prior to CNN publishing the story, Fox News confirmed. According to CNN, Neff also made a series of racist posts in June, including: "Black doods staying inside playing Call of Duty is probably one of the biggest factors keeping crime down" and "Honestly given how tired black people always claim to be, maybe the real crisis is their lack of sleep." In one post, Neff said that the only people who care about changing the name of the NFL's Washington Redskins are "white libs and their university-'educated' pets." Fox News host Tucker Carlson The report also alleged that Neff has maintained a "lengthy thread in which he has derided a woman and posted information about her dating life that has invited other users to mock her and invade her privacy." Neff joined Tucker Carlson Tonight shortly after it launched on Fox in November 2016, according to a feature story in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine published this month. "Anything hes reading off the teleprompter, the first draft was written by me," Neff said in the feature story. Neff previously worked at The Hill and The Daily Caller, an online news site co-owned by Carlson. Carlson also credited Neff in the acknowledgments of his 2018 book, "Ship of Fools." Fox News leadership condemned Neff's actions in an email to employees Saturday. The company only learned about Neff's "horrendous and deeply offensive" posts on Friday, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace said in the email. Story continues "We want to make abundantly clear that Fox News Media strongly condemns this horrific racist, misogynistic and homophobic behavior. Neffs abhorrent conduct on this forum was never divulged to the show or the network until Friday, at which point we swiftly accepted his resignation," the email said. Carlson was expected to address Neff's posts on his show on Monday night, the email said. Carlson came under fire this week after he suggested that Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and other Democratic leaders "hate America." "You're not supposed to criticize Tammy Duckworth in any way because she served in the military," Carlson said in the opening monologue of his Monday show. "Most people just ignore her. But when Duckworth does speak in public, you're reminded of what a deeply silly and unimpressive person she is." Duckworth, who lost both legs in a 2004 helicopter crash during the Iraq War, responded to Carlson by asking if he wanted to "walk a mile in my legs." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tucker Carlson writer Blake Neff resigns amid allegations of racism KITCHENER An equity unit at the University of Waterloo is facing criticism from a coalition of students who say the leadership is not representative of the student body and stands in the way of anti-racism work. Led by Black and Indigenous students, the coalition argues the universitys executive leadership and Diana Parry, Associate Vice-President of the Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion (HREI) unit, in particular have failed to uplift, represent, work for, and collaborate with BIPOC folks at UW and engage with any semblance of anti-racism and equity work. The coalition campaign, Equity4who, calls for Parry to step down from her role in the equity unit as one of their calls to action. The open letter shared to Twitter is signed by a number of student groups and alumni, including The Indigenous Student Association at the University of Waterloo (ISA), Racial Advocacy for Inclusion, Solidarity, and Equity (RAISE), and the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA). The coalition claims Parry has a history of dismissing and silencing Black and Indigenous voices in meetings, saying she often invokes gender equity as a defence against ... specific calls for concentrated and fully funded anti-racism work. The groups letter details the concerns and calls for the restructuring of equity and anti-racism work at the university toward greater representation and support for Black and Indigenous students, staff, and faculty. Parry did not respond to request for comment. Rebecca Elming, Manager of Media Relations for the University of Waterloo, said the university was aware of the campaign. We are committed to addressing racism and anti-Black racism on our campuses, she said in a statement. Campus leaders have already engaged with a number of BIPOC individuals and will continue to consult in a respectful way that reflects our integrity and the values of our community. We have responded to the coalition spokesperson to confirm university leaders will meet with this group. The undergraduate association responded to the universitys statement on social media, clarifying that Equity4who has no single spokesperson. Ayesha Masud, Coordinator of RAISE, supports Equity4whos calls to action, and sees these changes as necessary for her work supporting students. Masud said that although RAISE has been inundated with requests from racialized students who were impacted by the murder of George Floyd and the global Black Lives Matter movement, she cannot get the support she needs from the university. Masud pointed to a pattern she sees across systems: equity initiatives tend to be top-down and white dominated. If youre not doing equity with Indigenous and Black people, youre not doing equity work. Equity4whos criticisms come on the heels of similar concerns raised by Black and racialized students at Wilfrid Laurier University. On June 7, the authors and lead researchers of the Being Raced report, a 2017 study highlighting racialized students experiences of racism, published a letter admonishing Lauriers Executive Leadership Team and Chief Human Resources and Equity Officer for using their research inefficiently and failing to cite them, reinforcing anti-Blackness and systemic racism at Wilfrid Laurier University. Ethan Candler, UW alumni and the Anti-racism Taskforce Coordinator at Renison University College, is in full support of the campaign. Candler saw similar threads to those in Being Raced, especially in the ways the executive leadership exploited Black and racialized students. The students frustrations resonated with Candler. There have been people who have been incredibly obstructive to my anti-racism work at Waterloo, he said. Diana Parry has been the biggest barrier to anti-racist work, Indigenization, and equity initiatives for Black and Indigenous students and faculty, Candler said. One barrier, according to Candler, was that Parry constantly veered away from a race and class analysis in her work, despite requests from student groups to include them. Sydney Hannusch and Katie Turriff, executives of the Indigenous Student Association, said that the equity units performative allyship and lack of accountability has created barriers for marginalized students to access meaningful support systems. I had very close friends who confided in me about their racist experiences, Hannusch said. Theres a cycle where nothing is truly addressed. Turriff is honest when asked about next steps. Im hoping that were listened to. But Im also being realistic. Will they fire Diana Parry? I dont know. Ultimately, Turriff is glad that these issues are out there in a public and organized way. Its gaining traction. A Japanese government campaign to spur domestic tourism has drawn both enthusiasm and ire, with some social media users telling urbanites to stay away from rural areas after Covid-19 cases hit a record high in Tokyo. The government aims to subsidize as much as half of eligible domestic travel costs through discounts and coupons during its "Go To Travel" campaign starting July 22 ahead of a four-day weekend. Tourism Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba announced Friday that the campaign would be moved forward from August, adding that the government is aware that "despite the impact of the coronavirus crisis, people have passionate expectations for travel." Despite the government's push, "please don't come here" was a common theme in tweets from those outside the capital. Others questioned whether official assurances that the health system still has room to handle new cases would still apply if infections spread outside major cities. The spread of the pandemic differs across Japan's 47 prefectures. Tokyo confirmed 243 new virus cases on Friday, a fresh daily record, before ebbing to 206 new cases on Saturday. Meanwhile, the southern island prefecture of Okinawa had no new cases for 69 days until two were found on Wednesday. Iwate, located on the coast northeast of Tokyo and offering the prospect of cooler summer weather than the capital, has had no confirmed cases at all. "I know it's painful if we don't get the economy moving, but my prefecture's been at zero this whole time," tweeted a user on Friday. "Rethink the Go To campaign." The campaign is the tourism component of a broader initiative to aid local economies sapped by the pandemic's effects. Japan had targeted 40 million visitor arrivals in 2020, before border controls prompted by the virus saw the country's international tourism boom of the past several years abruptly vanish. Just 1,700 foreign visitors arrived in May, down 99.9% year-on-year for the second month running. Train operator JR East will offer half-price tickets on a range of high-speed services linking Tokyo with destinations as far-flung as the northernmost island of Hokkaido from Aug. 20. While kicking off cheaper travel during a holiday period sounds like an effective economic tonic, "it shouldn't be applied to trips to and from areas where community spread is feared at the moment," Izuru Makihara, a professor of Japanese politics and public administration at the University of Tokyo, said by email. "It would be best to flexibly adjust the applicable areas and dates in response to local infection conditions." Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious diseases at Kobe University, tweeted Friday that Tokyo has fully entered the second wave of the pandemic. Responding to the Go To Travel launch date, he suggested the same "peer pressure" that has driven Japanese residents to voluntarily take measures against the virus is now being used to justify safety in numbers. The government is keeping plans to reopen the economy despite the recent spike in infections. Officials have stressed the situation has changed since April, when rising cases triggered a nationwide state of emergency that lasted into May. They attributed the latest surge to increased testing, particularly connected with nightclubs, and said most infection routes can be traced. Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of Japan's coronavirus response, said at a news conference on Saturday that Japan must balance economic and social activity as it deals with the pandemic. "The most important thing is for each and every individual and business to take thorough steps to prevent the spread of infection," he said. DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am 45 and relatively healthy. But about a year ago, I hurt my lower back while working in the yard. I felt a sharp pain and could barely walk. It took about a month to heal. Then about a month ago, I hurt my back again this time while lifting my young son. The pain does not seem to be getting better. Is there anything I can do to speed the healing process? How can I prevent this from recurring? ANSWER: Lower back pain episodes are common among adults, with about 80% of adults experiencing lower back pain at some point during their lives. Lower back pain is one of the top five reasons that individuals seek medical care. In many cases, lower back pain resolves on its own. Most people have significant improvement in their pain within 14 days, and symptoms usually resolve in 4 to 6 weeks. Unfortunately, its not uncommon for lower back pain to recur. The biggest predictor of developing lower back pain is having a history of prior lower back pain episodes. As many as 50% of acute lower back pain sufferers will experience another episode of back pain within a year. However, only a very small percentage of those people go on to develop chronic lower back pain. To ease your present lower back pain flare, there are a number of self-care steps you can take. First, maintain your usual activities as much as possible, but do be cautious with movements that sharply increase the pain. Second, consider taking a nonprescription pain reliever. Anti-inflammatory medication, such as naproxen and ibuprofen, may be of benefit for short-term use. There are also some topical medications that people find effective at times, including counterirritants for heat/cold, lidocaine from numbing and anti-inflammatories for more local use. Many people take other nutritional supplements to help their pain, but no one supplement has been determined to be effective for everyone with lower back pain. However, most do not have a lot of side effects or risk. If over-the-counter medications are not enough, talk to your health care provider about a muscle relaxant to reduce symptoms. The use of the medications is not to eliminate your pain but rather to reduce it to allow you to resume more movements and activities. Be aware that prescription medications may have more side effects, such as nausea, sedation and/or constipation. Physical therapy during the acute episode can be an important part of treatment for lower back pain. It should involve teaching you to use heat and/or cold therapies, proper stretching exercises and the safest strengthening exercises especially the abdominal core muscles. Practicing good posture and proper body mechanics also can help reduce pain. The benefit to starting a physical therapy program is to find out which approaches are best for you with your current symptoms and learn the proper technique for the exercises. The goal is to acquire a regimen of stretching and strengthening to be able to do at home for long-term benefit. Additional passive interventions that may provide some short-term benefit for pain reduction in people with lower back pain include massage, acupuncture, low-level laser treatment and spinal mobilization. These soft tissue and/or joint mobilizations often are called manipulation, and may be done by therapists, chiropractors or osteopaths. Other, more active interventions to consider are yoga, Pilates or an aquatic exercise program. Talk with your health care provider about the benefits and risks of these approaches, and if they may be right for your situation. Once the pain goes away, take measures to reduce your risk of future lower back pain episodes. Use good posture and follow your health care providers instructions on how to bend, lift and move to ensure proper back biomechanics. When lifting heavier objects, it often is best to lift from the knees while you contract your abdominal muscles and keep your spine straight. You should not bend and twist your trunk at the same time, and, as you do lift, hold the object as close to your body as you can. You also may incorporate back-friendly practices into your daily life, such as using a chair that has good back support at work and at home, or using a desk that changes levels to move from sitting to standing intermittently. When you lift heavy objects, lift from the knees while you contract your abdominal muscles, keep your spine straight, and dont twist your trunk. As you lift, hold the object close to your body. Regular exercise can strengthen your muscles, which makes it less likely youll have future lower back pain episodes. There are no studies, though, that indicate one exercise is better than another for prevention of future pain. General core exercises or aerobic exercises can be valuable. Proper warm-up and cool-down techniques may include more back-specific stretching maneuvers. Aerobic and resistance exercises also can help you reach and maintain a healthy weight. This may help to protect you from future lower back and other problems that can be associated with obesity. Finally, if you smoke, stop. Smoking accelerates spinal degeneration, and that contributes to the development of back pain. If you would like guidance or support as you work to quit smoking, talk to your health care provider. Various treatment options are available that can help. James Atchison, D.O., Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida (Mayo Clinic Q & A is an educational resource and doesnt replace regular medical care. E-mail a question to MayoClinicQ&A@mayo.edu. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.org.) You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Five people have died during a siege at a church in South Africa on Saturday, allegedly caused by an argument over its leadership. The incident started in the early hours of Saturday morning at the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, west of Johannesburg, according to a tweet from the South African Police Service (SAPS). In a statement, Brigadier Vish Naidoo, a national police spokesperson, said that four of the deceased had been "shot and burnt to death in a car", while a security guard in another vehicle was the fifth casualty. The police added that men, women and children were taken hostage inside the church during the attack before being freed. Security forces arrested around 40 suspects, including members of the police and the defence forces, and seized dozens of guns in their response to the shooting and hostage situation. Recommended Man charged with murder of pregnant woman that shocked South Africa It is thought that a feud between different factions at the church could be a potential motive for the siege. Local media reported that a shoot-out took place at the church in 2018, two years after the death of its leader, Glayton Modise. Speaking in the aftermath of the attack on Saturday, national police commissioner Khehla John Sitole said that the South African security forces had "averted what could have been a more severe bloodbath". Additional reporting from agencies India-China on complete disengagement of troops from eastern Ladakh India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 11: Both India and China agreed that it was necessary for both sides to implement the understandings reached between the senior commanders of the Indian Army and Chinese PLA for disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The agreement came following a meeting of senior diplomats of India and China via video-conference. Both sides reviewed the progress made in withdrawal of soldiers by the two sides from the face off scenes along the LAC. This was the 16th meeting of the working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), which was constituted in 2013. The Indian side was led by Naveen Srivastava, who heads the East Asia division at the MEA. The delegation of the Chinese government was led by Hong Liang, the Director General of Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pull back by Chinese at Pangong Tso sets stage for military commander level talks The MEA said in a statement that both sides would ensure complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC and de-escalation from India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements and protocols. Srivastava and Hong also agreed that for the overall development of bilateral relations it was essential to maintain enduring peace and tranquillity in the border areas. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News Both sides noted that senior military commanders of India and China would hold another round of talks to follow up on the three rounds of talks they had held on June 6, 22 and 30. Srivastava and Hong also agreed to maintain the ongoing communication both at the diplomatic and military level to ensure early resolution of the situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged people to share inspiring anecdotes of collective efforts which have brought about changes in others lives for his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat scheduled on July 26. I am sure you would be aware of inspiring anecdotes of how collective efforts have brought about positive changes. You would surely know of initiatives that have transformed many lives. Please share them for this months #MannKiBaat, which will take place on the 26th! PM Modi tweeted. Modi also tweeted the number for people to record their messages and said they can also post their suggestions on the NaMo app and MyGov website. There are multiple ways to give inputs for #MannKiBaat. Record a message by dialling 1800-11-7800. Share your inputs on the specially created Open Forum on the NaMo App. Pen your views on MyGov. https://t.co/9N6nGRFjE3 pic.twitter.com/Hdysehn1CN Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 11, 2020 During his last Mann Ki Baat episode on June 28, the Prime Minister had talked about about the border standoff with China and also praised the Indian Army soldiers who were killed in the Galway Valley clash with Chinese troops on June 15. India gave a befitting response to those who eyed Indian territory in Ladakh, PM Modi had said referring to the violent stand-off between India and China along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh without naming China. Indian and Chinese troops had clashed in Galwan Valley on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army soldiers, including the commanding officer of 16 Bihar Regiment, were killed. It was the first Mann Ki Baat episode after the face-off in Ladakh. NDA ally Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswans backing to RJDs call for deferring Bihar elections slated later this year has not gone down well with Bihar BJP leader Sanjay Paswan, who on Saturday suggested that LJP leader and union minister Ram Vilas Paswan could be using the deferment call to remain in power, reported ANI. Sanjay Paswan, who is not known to mince words, added that the task of scheduling elections should be left to the election commission. People who are making such remarks, whether theyre our ally or in opposition, dont believe in democracy. Election Commission is competent enough to take a decision, he was quoted as saying in reference to Chirag Paswans advocacy of deferment of polls due to the coronavirus pandemic. 709 fresh Covid-19 cases take Bihars infection tally past 15,000-mark On Friday, LJP president Chirag Paswan had said he was not in favour of impending elections in Bihar as it could pose a serious risk to a large population and also put additional burden on the exchequer. He said that the election commission should take a decision while keeping these facts in mind. He, however, added that his party was readying for the polls. His comments followed a meeting of the partys parliamentary board held in Delhi on Thursday. However, due to the pandemic, the common man as well as the Central and state governments are financially strained. Under these circumstances, elections will put additional burden. All the parliamentary board members also expressed concerns over it, he had tweeted. LJPs deferment suggestion had come close on the heels of a similar demand made by the leading opposition party, RJD. Leader of opposition in the state assembly Tejashwi Yadav had last week accused the Nitish Kumar led NDA government of caring little about the plight of people during the pandemic and focusing more on preparations for assembly elections. He had demanded that the elections be postponed. Also Read: Time to fight Covid-19, not polls: Prashant Kishor to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar BJP had yesterday reacted to Chirag Paswan and said that the election commission was capable of holding free and fair elections while ensuring all necessary precautions are observed on ground to prevent further spread of the contagion. Sanjay Paswan, however, went ahead and attacked LJP leader and a Dalit icon Ram Vilas Paswan. It seems it is part of the strategy and tactics of Ram Vilas ji to remain in power. Our senior leaders have said all is well in NDA so we also believe that all is well. BJP and JDU have been in government even without LJP, Sanjay Paswan was quoted as saying by ANI. The JDU led NDA government in the state has recently been criticized by Chirag Paswan over its handling of the pandemic and the migrants issue in recent months. Party spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad had yesterday said that the Election Commission has taken a decision (to possibly hold the polls on time) after consultations with all political parties. He added that timely elections would be in interests of good governance and will help Bihar get its due respect on the national stage. Dermot O'Leary has spoken about parenthood for the first time. The presenter, 47, revealed that he and wife Dee Koppang, 41, were 'having a great time' after welcoming son Kasper in June. Dermot opened up about his new-found fatherhood during an interview with James Bay on Radio 2 on Saturday. Joyous: Dermot O'Leary spoke about parenthood for the first time during an interview with James Bay on Radio 2 on Saturday The Hold Back The River hitmaker congratulated Dermot on the new arrival before asking how the family was getting on. Dermot sweetly responded and said: 'Oh he is brilliant, we are having a great time. That sort of lovely foggy period of sleepless love. Just wake up and go "hey, this guy". 'Every now and again you hear noises and think "what is that noise?" and then you're like "oh that is my son". '"Is that a cat? No, that's our child."' 'We are having a great time': Dermot, 47, and wife Dee Koppang, 41, welcomed son Kasper in June and are still relishing in their new-found parenthood The light-hearted exchange comes after Dermot announced the newborn's name live on his BBC radio show last Saturday before dedicating a song by Elbow to his son. Speaking to his listeners, he revealed this was the track that he was born to and explained the reasons behind his son's name. 'My lovely son came into the world ten days ago accompanied by Guy Garvey's Elbow. So forgive this moment of brief self-indulgence while we play the song that accompanied that. Loving: The light-hearted exchange comes after Dermot announced the newborn's name live on his BBC radio show last Saturday before dedicating a song by Elbow to his son 'This is for you Kasper with a K - my wife is very insistent on that. Kasper Koppang O'Leary welcome to the world!' He also joked that the sleepless nights will have him taking power naps between playing songs, and made a nod to this with The Beatles song I'm Only Sleeping. Under an Instagram post of himself looking a little tired on his return to the studio, one follower commented: 'Asleep standing up?' The star recently took to Instagram to announce the news as he gushed he was 'enjoying the cuddles in a newborn bubble'. Baby news! The star recently took to Instagram to announce the news as he gushed he was 'enjoying the cuddles in a newborn bubble' Posting a sweet photo of the personalised baby grow, Dermot revealed he and Dee welcomed a son together, after first announcing that they were expecting in February. In his post, Dermot penned: 'Welcome to the world baby Koppang O'Leary... We're delighted to announce that we've had a baby! 'A little boy born on Tuesday 23rd June 2020 (Sankthansaften / Midsummer for you Norwegians) at 8.19am, weighing in at 6lb 13oz. 'Enjoying the cuddles in the newborn bubble... cats yet to be 100% convinced. Lots of love, Dermot & Dee x.' Queen: Just a day before their son was born, Dermot revealed that he and Dee were celebrating their impending arrival with a 'summer solstice' theme baby shower Just a day before their son was born, Dermot revealed that he and Dee were celebrating their impending arrival with a 'summer solstice' theme baby shower. Taking to Instagram earlier in the year, they shared a fun picture of a message board decorated with a floral wreath which said 'Koppang O'Leary productions' would be welcoming a 'new arrival coming soon'. In the post Dermot penned: 'We're pleased to announce that we're expecting a little Koppang O'Leary...' Sweet: Taking to Instagram earlier in the year, they shared a fun picture of a message board decorated with a floral wreath which said 'Koppang O'Leary productions' would be welcoming a 'new arrival coming soon' Dee debuted her baby bump for the first time at the British Academy Film Awards 2020 Nominees' Party in February. Since then, the private couple have shared rare glimpses of Dee's pregnancy during lockdown. But the presenter's news sparked a slew of congratulatory posts from stars including Holly Willoughby, Tamzin Outhwaite and Ruth Langsford. Dermot and Dee met in 2002 when they worked for the same TV production company, and got engaged in New York in December 2011. Dermot tied the knot with Dee in 2012 after ten years together at St Mary's Church in Chiddingstone, Kent. It proved to be a star-studded occasion with guests including Holly Willoughby, James Corden and Bear Grylls. In 2015 Dermot hinted that he was ready to start a family with wife Dee, telling Fabulous Magazine: 'I definitely want kids, but I've got a very busy wife with a very busy life. Big news: Dee debuted her baby bump for the first time at the British Academy Film Awards 2020 Nominees' Party in February (pictured) 'It's not fair for me to say, ''I want kids now''. I do want kids with my wife, but I want them when we both think it's the right thing to happen.' Late last year ahead of his seventh wedding anniversary, Dermot also spoke about the secret to his happy relationship, telling Fabulous: 'It's a work in progress, isn't it? 'The key for me is giving each other space, not giving each other a hard time and actually having fun together. And we do.' Several state governments have resorted to localised lockdowns to combat Covid-19 as fresh infections recorded the highest ever increase prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi directing real-time national monitoring of the pandemic. Karnataka decided to impose a one-week lockdown in Bengaluru and adjoining areas from July 14, Maharashtra has announced restrictions in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and suburban parts of Mumbai from July 13, while Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh also ordered clampdown in their respective state capitals and adjoining regions. Uttar Pradesh had ordered a lockdown from 10:00 p.m. on Friday to 5:00 a.m. on Monday, July 13 as the state reported a high number of Covid-19 cases. Bihar too has ordered restrictions in Patna and six other districts. Follow live updates on the coronavirus here India on Saturday witnessed its sharpest increase in Covid-19 cases as it reported 27114 new infections on Saturday morning taking the total confirmed cases to 8,20,916, the health ministry said. According to the DH Covid-19 Tracker, Indias Covid-19 count had increased to 8,32,268 at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Prime Minister reviewed the Covid-19 situation across the country at a meeting that was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and senior government functionaries. The Prime Minister directed that we must reiterate the need to observe personal hygiene and social discipline in public places. The awareness about Covid should be disseminated widely and a continuous emphasis on preventing spread of the infection should be laid, a statement from the PMO said. There is no room for any complacency in this regard, the Prime Minister said. Modi lauded the efforts of the Centre, state and local authorities in containing the spread of the disease in Delhi and directed that similar approach be adopted in the entire national capital region. Prime Minister also directed that real time national level monitoring and guidance should be provided to all affected States and places with high test positivity rate, the PMO statement said. Meanwhile, the Drug Controller General of India granted approval to Itolizumab, a drug used to cure skin ailment psoriasis for restricted emergency use to treat Covid-19 patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress. As per the DCGI, the re-purposed drug can be used only in a hospital set-up, and requires informed consent of patients and a risk management plan. The average cost of treatment with this indigenous drug Itolizumab is also lesser than comparable drugs which are part of the Investigational Therapies indicated in the Clinical Management Protocol for Covid-19 by the Health Ministry, an official statement said. Hagia Sophia was a temple that was easing tensions between Christians and Muslims, the Armenian MP of the Turkish parliament Garo Paylan tweeted. His remarks came after Turkey has decided to convert the museum into a mosque. According to Paylan, this step made life even more difficult for Muslims living in Europe and Christians living in Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree Friday on converting Hagia Sophia into a mosque, Reuters reported. Erdogan shared on Twitter a copy of the decree he had signed according to which the decision had been taken to hand control of 'the Ayasofya Mosque, as it is known in Turkish, to the countrys religious directorate and reopen it for worship.' A Turkish top administrative court ruled Friday in favor of a proposal to turn the Hagia Sophia museum back into a mosque. According to Anadolu Agency, thus, the court annulled a 1934 presidential decree converting Hagia Sophia into a museum. The Hagia Sophia was the Roman Empire's first Christian cathedral: it was converted from a Greek Orthodox cathedral to a mosque in 1453 and then became a museum in 1935. UNESCO has earlier warned Turkey against turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque, calling for dialogue. The Hagia Sophia is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. I suppose we shouldnt be surprised that the bureaucratic heads of our health care systems have become household names and even heroes during the pandemic Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitobas chief public health officer, probably has better name recognition these days than many in Premier Brian Pallisters cabinet. In Vancouver, the larger than life faces of British Columbias top doctor, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and Dr. Theresa Tam, Canadas chief public health officer, are celebrated on a mural. And south of the border, the world has frequently been hanging on every word from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the 79-year-old who is the top adviser to the White Houses coronavirus task force. Alas, for the past two months, Donald Trump has left the good doctor hanging. As Hannah Kuchler reveals in her interview with Fauci published by the Financial Times today, theres now more than social distance at play between the straight-talking scientist and Trump. "Fauci last saw Trump in person at the White House on June 2 and says he has not briefed the president for at least two months," writes Kuchler. "He tells me this in a matter-of-fact tone, but I suspect that his indifference is feigned. While Trump holds potential superspreader events, Fauci meets with the task force run by the vice-president. He says he is 'sure' that his messages are passed along but Trump is evidently not listening. On July 4, the president declared that 99 per cent of Covid-19 cases were 'harmless.'" The supposed one per cent of COVID-19 cases that by extension are harmless have now led to nearly 134,000 deaths in the country Trump leads. In that interview, the leading public health official now serving his sixth president says he understands why Fauci-mania has taken off during what he describes as a perfect storm. "I believe, in fact Im certain, that the country, in a very stressful time, needed a symbol of someone who tells the truth, which I do." Im betting these would be far less stressful times for all if Trump had been willing to spend as much time with Fauci as he has been with Foxs Sean Hannity over the past two months. Paul Samyn, Winnipeg Free Press editor THE LATEST NUMBERS Note: Manitoba and Canada figures may not match due to differences in data sources. THE LATEST IN MANITOBA Manitoba continues its streak of COVID-19 free days. No cases of the virus have been identified in July. The number of cases in Manitoba remains at 325. There are four active cases, but none that require hospitalization. A total of 314 individuals have recovered from COVID-19. Seven people have died. A further 928 laboratory tests were performed on Thursday, bringing the total number of tests since early February to 69,036. THE LATEST ELSEWHERE Starbucks will be requiring customers to wear facial coverings while visiting all company-owned cafe locations in the U.S., beginning Wednesday. The company said in a blog post that at select locations where a local government mandate is not in place, customers not wearing a facial covering will have various options to order their items, including drive-thru and curbside pickup. An online poll by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies released this week found 86 per cent of respondents in Canada are opposed to letting U.S. tourists north of the border. An Abacus Data poll out Friday found much the same thing. And when Rep. Brian Higgins, a New York Democrat, updated his bipartisan call for a plan to reopen the border, the ensuing Twitter barrage of sarcasm, satire and outright anger belied Canada's reputation as a bastion of civility, replete with memes of building walls, slamming doors and Bugs Bunny taking a handsaw to the 49th parallel. "I don't blame them for wanting us out of there," the congressman said Friday. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Unions representing Ontario's health-care workers are consulting with their memberships about taking political action in response to the province potentially extending its emergency act. The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/Canadian Union of Public Employees says that under the emergency orders their collective bargaining agreement with the province is suspended. Michael Hurley, president of the unions, says that while that was acceptable in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's now a detriment to health-care workers. He says that nurses and other care workers can have their shifts changed, be moved from site to site, or have vacation requests denied under the act. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak says the state will re-implement restrictions on bars and restaurants in certain counties to prevent further spread of the coronavirus after a spike in confirmed cases. Sisolaks newest order began Friday at midnight. It requires bars that do not serve food to close their doors. Restaurants will stop serving parties of six or more. The directive includes Washoe and Clark County, home to Reno and Las Vegas. The directive is the second time Nevada has tightened restrictions since the state began reopening. The number of confirmed cases rose, prompting the governor to announce a statewide mask mandate on June 24. A medical association that the White House has cited in its press to reopen schools is pushing back against President Donald Trump's repeated threats to cut federal funding if schools don't open this fall. In a joint statement with national education unions and a superintendents group, the American Academy of Pediatrics on Friday said decisions should be made by health experts and local leaders. The groups argued that schools will need more money to reopen safely during the coronavirus pandemic and that cuts could ultimately harm students. "Public health agencies must make recommendations based on evidence, not politics," the groups wrote in the statement. ODDITY "No shirts, no shoes, no mask no service." Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, mandating businesses open to the public deny service or entry to customers who refuse to wear one. QUOTE, UNQUOTE LOCAL NEWS NATIONAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL NEWS COVID-19 BASICS Watergrasshill chef Diarmuid O Mathuna has several pots on the boil after returning from a global foodie trip. Currently appearing on TG4's Campa Cula4, Diarmuid has been preparing a range of simple recipes for children to try at home and bringing in guests who've showcased other recipes. Diarmuid is also involved in the NeighbourFood movement. This concept devised two years ago by Cork City food entrepeneur, Jack Crotty, really took off when farmers markets had to be cancelled during the COVID-19 lock-down. "If you want to shop at a farmer's market, you register at www.neighbourfood.com and you get to select from the list of products from local food producers - you place your order and then you collect the food at your local collection point at a given time and day." At present there are a number of such markets in County Cork - Doneraile, Watergrasshill, Macroom, Toons Bridge, Ballymaloe and a number of others in Cork and around the country. "Through NeighbourFood, waste is cut down because the producer knows exactly what's needed days in advance," said Diarmuid. His sister, Maire, is hosting a NeighbourFood market in Watergrasshill where Diarmuid's family run the popular and highly rated O'Mahony's Bar/Restaurant and he will be hosting a similar market in Connemara where he's opening a cafe in a cultural centre next door to the headquarters of TG4. But before we get to Connemara, he spends some time talking about his around the world trip in 2018. Before setting off he was running a pop-up restaurant in Cork City but he and his girlfriend Roisin left all that behind them to head for South and Central America on a 10-month adventure. On his blog, https://www.mofoodblog.com, Diarmuid details all their adventures trying out ancient and exotic foods all over South and Central America. In Guatemala and El Salvador, they were walking up the slopes of the Santa Ana Volcano when they met a woman. "When the slightly curt elderly lady brought me this cup of what looked like curdled hot chocolate (despite my asking for coffee) there was something special about it" "There wasn't any milk in it and it didn't taste like it had a whole pile of sugar either. "The natural oils from the cocoa beans created a sort of rolling storm which swirled across the surface of the liquid in my mug- it tasted pretty special." Contrast that with another voa.lcanic experience when they reached the top and were persuaded to toast marshmallows from the heat of the lava! "I'm not quite sure you could count this last one amongst the truly local, indigenous food experiences in the region but it sure was fun. "After a short walk up an active volcano near Antigua we were handed stick and marshmallows and actually toasted them on the heat of the hot lava." The ten month trip also took them to the USA, New Zealand and Japan. "I'm glad that we went on that trip - it might not be possible for some time now - and I'm glad to be at home facing new challenges!" He's working hard at present to get his new cafe in Tig Johnny Sheain near TG4 ready to open. By Express News Service GUWAHATI: Jailed Assamese activist Akhil Gogoi, Lok Sabha MP Maulana Badruddin Ajmal and his younger brother Sirajuddin Ajmal, who is a former MP, tested positive for coronavirus. "An antigen test conducted today (Saturday) revealed he (Gogoi) is infected with COVID-19," IG (Prisons) Dasarath Das told The New Indian Express. The results of the activist's two previous tests were negative. Das said Gogoi would be taken to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital for treatment. Gogoi, who is an RTI activist and leader of peasants' body Krishak Mukti Sangram Samitee, has been lodged at the Central Jail in Guwahati for the past six months following his arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for alleged nexus with Maoists. On May 29, the NIA had filed the charge-sheet against him and his three associates for alleged sedition and terror activities vis-a-vis their role in the violent protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act that rocked the state in December last year. His associates, Dharjya Konwar and Bitu Sonowal, had also tested positive at the Guwahati jail recently. So far, 55 inmates of the jail, including former insurgent leader Ranjan Daimary, tested positive. Meanwhile, Dhubri MP and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) Badruddin Ajmal was being treated at his Mumbai residence and his Sirajuddin was admitted to a hospital in the city after the siblings tested positive for the virus. "The sugar level in my blood has been fluctuating since last week and I am at bed rest under doctors supervision at my home. I am diabetic and have confined myself to my home, avoiding travels and meetings since the pandemic broke out," Badruddin had tweeted on Friday. It gives me immense pain that I have not been able to visit my people while they are reeling under flood as well as fighting Covid-19. May Allah bless with Shifa. 2/2 Maulana Badruddin Ajmal (@BadruddinAjmal) July 9, 2020 Assam BJP MLAs Bolin Chetia and Krishnendu Paul also tested positive for the virus. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rob Goodfellow (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 11:15 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406658f136 3 Opinion Papuan-Lives-Matter,black-lives-matter,racism-in-indonesia,Melanesia,Papua,equality Free On Aug. 17 this year it will be a mere 75 years since the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence from the Dutch. In contrast, it has been 239 years since the Declaration of American Independence from British colonial rule. For Americas black population, the lofty constitutional proclamation that, All Men are Created Equal is still profoundly contested as the nation-wide Black Lives Matter protests have revealed. Inspired by the killing of George Floyd, a broad global movement has now emerged with the key demand of ensuring the social, economic, and political power necessary for people of color to thrive. My question is, can these milestones be addressed in Indonesia with respect to the people of Papua? An old expression says that, an illustration is more convincing than a demonstration. Three Indonesian Papuansa career diplomat, a police commander and a director at the Indonesian National Development and Planning Board (Bappenas) share their insights into the structural changes that have provided each of them with an opportunity to thrive. Fientje Maritje Suebu has served with the Indonesian Foreign Ministry for over 30 years. She is currently deputy chief of mission in New Dehli. Fientje is an ethnic Papuan born in Jayapura, who went to high school in Papua New Guinea, and graduated from Cendrawasih University. Like all diplomats, she is a citizen of her country but also of the world, having held previous postings in Harare, Brussels and Ottawa. However, her greatest contribution as a diplomat has been her involvement in negotiations to secure the Indonesia-India comprehensive strategic partnership. So, what is the secret to Fientjes success as a Papuan living in multi-ethnic Indonesia? Fientje says, As a senior diplomat, to be eligible for advancement, I must compete with other fellow senior diplomats from all over Indonesia. In my office there are Acehnese, Balinese, Bataks, Padangese, Javanese and other Melanesians from all over East Nusa Tenggara. I believe that I have reached my position on meritbecause of my experience, my good work ethic and my ability. I hope that my example will give inspiration to the younger generation of Papuans. I have succeeded, and so can they. There are around 14 million Indonesians of Melanesian ethnicity living across the 6,000 inhabited islands of the Indonesian archipelago. Out of a total national population of 273.5 million, there are four million Melanesians living in Papua Province alone, but some 10 million others living from North Maluku to West Timor and from the island of Sumba to the island of Flores. Many, such as Fientje, have directly benefited from major political reforms, especially Law No. 21/2001. This legislation has not only secured special autonomy for Papua, but also effectively quarantined senior positions in Papua for meritorious ethnic Papuans. However, just as importantly, this initiative secured equal prospects for Melanesians living outside of their home provinces. Illustrating the experience of Fientje appears to show that Papuans are not disadvantagedat least in the Indonesian diplomatic corp. Rather, if Fientje is any indication, they are thriving in what is one of the most culturally diverse nations on earth. So, what about the national police force? Listra Kogoya is a commander in the National Police Mobile Brigades Intelligence unit. She is stationed in Depok, West Java. Listra was born and raised in Wamena, Papua. These days her area of special expertise is as a social media analyst. She profiles the perpetrators of online hoaxes and scams. Her senior rank gives her real influence within the Indonesian police establishment. This year she was chosen as a keynote speaker at the National Police Academy on the topic of domestic cybercrime detection and prevention. Because Listra serves outside Papua, her local community is predominantly made up of ethnic Javanese and Sundanese. She says, As a Papuan Indonesian police officer, I maintain a good attitude with everyone and have learnt to speak the local languages fluently. I think for this reason people in my community of Pasir Gunung Selatan accept me as a sister. The same goes for the Indonesian police family. I work with the greatest imaginable human diversity of police officers, so I know very well first-hand how powerful unity in diversity is. And one day, if God wants me to go home, I will be a good role model in Wamena for my Papuan brothers and sisters as well. Like Fientje, Velix Wanggai is an ethnic Papuan born in Jayapura. He currently holds the position of director of underdeveloped regions and rural development at the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas). His new responsibility is to formulate and implement national policy for both Papua and West Papua. His specific brief at Bappenas and the Ministry involves preparing a new national policy framework to empower Papuans in all aspects of social and political life. In this role, Velix stresses that Papuan (and West Papuan) special autonomy is being reimagined at Bappenas to eliminate what he refers to as the vertical conflict that exists between Jakarta and Jayapura. One significant reform is culturally based. The new Papuan Consultative Assembly (MRP) will create a powerful political opportunity for Papuan tribal groups, womens groups, and religious organizations at a national level. Another is to significantly increase Papuas share of national revenue with an emphasis on infrastructure development, especially in health and education. And finally, consistent with one of the most important demands of the Black Lives Matter movement, all Papuan leaders in Papua and West Papua from the level of governor to the regents and mayors, will be ethnic Papuans directly chosen by the Papuan peopleessentially democratic decentralization. Velix describes his work at Bappenas this way, Greater special authority for Papuans in Papua in fiscal policy and in the creation of human capital frameworks, involving both affirmative policy and strategic development policy. This especially incorporates transparent human rights affairs with policy actions and choices determined by Papuans like me, for Papuans, in a pluralistic, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Indonesia. Clearly, human diversity emphatically charts the success of both Indonesian society and individual Indonesianssuch as Ibu Fientje, Ibu Listra and Bapak Velix. And while slogans and symbolic gestures are inspiring, and the Black Lives Matter movement is important, it is the implementation of practical policy that changes lives. The examples of a black Indonesian diplomat, a black high-ranking Indonesian policewoman and a black senior Indonesian bureaucrat tell a story that equality of opportunity really does matter and that real milestones are achievable. *** The writer is a senior consultant with the Australian-based consulting firm Cultural Consulting and the first non-Muslim to teach in the International Program of the Islamic University of Indonesia, Yogyakarta. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Oklahoma City criminal attorney David Slane has been working on an appeal of one of his sexual assault cases for years - arguing that his client, a Native American, can't be legally prosecuted by the state of Oklahoma because the crime occurred on what has historically been Indian land. On Thursday, his argument got a boost after a landmark decision by the Supreme Court, which ruled in 5-4 vote that much of eastern Oklahoma remains part of an Indian reservation. The state has no criminal jurisdiction over the land - home to nearly 775,000 people and portions of its second-largest city, Tulsa - because Congress never formally dissolved the reservation's boundaries when Oklahoma became a state in 1907. The Supreme Court's historic ruling reverberated through the state Friday - with government officials, legal experts and activists saying that the case will have complicated legal ramifications in tribal disputes for decades to come. Experts said that Native Americans arrested for major crimes on Indian land belonging to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation must now be prosecuted federally, and dozens of convicted criminals may seek to overturn their convictions. "It's going to have a far-reaching effect," Slane said. "You're going to have other Indians making the same argument in federal court - throughout Oklahoma and throughout the nation." Critics, attorneys like Slane and other legal experts argue that the ruling could also ultimately impact civil matters in the state, such as taxation, zoning or custody battles. "People may still be in a bit of a shock trying to wrap their minds around the implications of this," said Lindsay Robertson of the University of Oklahoma's Center for the Study of American Indian Law and Policy. "People are thinking of who has the power to tax, who is the zoning authority now, and if I'm going to sue somebody, do I file in tribal court or state court?" Native American leaders sought to calm such fears. They pointed to a statement released just after the ruling from the state's attorney general, Mike Hunter, and the five impacted tribes - Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole - announcing that the two sides have made "substantial progress toward an agreement" to submit to Congress and the Justice Department in the coming months that would put in place a "framework of shared jurisdiction" going forward. "This is a monumental decision, but it's important to relay to citizens of the broader public that doesn't mean the sky is falling," said Chuck Hoskin Jr., the chief of the Cherokee Nation, the largest tribe in the United States. "There's no immediate impact beyond criminal jurisdiction. It does raise questions, but they are not insurmountable. There shouldn't be any instability or uncertainty in our court or regulatory system. These are things that can be worked out." The state also appeared to be looking to Congress to act in the wake of the ruling, which had held that Congress, not the courts, has the authority to modify treaty agreements and change reservation boundaries. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said Thursday that state officials were still trying to determine whether it only affects the prosecution of crimes or went beyond that scope. "All those questions nobody really knows at this point," Stitt said. "This is a federal issue. This is something Congress needs to address, to put some parameters to see exactly how we're supposed to deal with this." The ruling hinged on the case of an Oklahoma man, Jimcy McGirt, a Native American convicted and sentenced to life in prison after raping a 4-year-old child in 1996. McGirt's attorneys had argued that the state did not have the authority to prosecute him because the crime occurred on the Creek reservation, established during a treaty with the state after the Native Americans were forcibly moved to "Indian Country" in 1833. "Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law," Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump-appointed conservative, wrote in the majority opinion, which evoked broken promises the American government made to Native Americans as far back as the Trail of Tears. "Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word." Native Americans and their allies have celebrated the ruling with the hashtag #NativeLivesMatter and said that they hoped future court decisions would be shaped by the country's current period of self-reflection on race and the moves to right historic wrongs. "The country has more of an appetite to have a conversation on institutional and systemic racism, and when state and local governments infringe on tribal sovereignty, that's racism," said Aila Hoss, a University of Tulsa law professor and an expert on Indian law. Hoss said that primary impact of the court's decision would be on Indian defendants convicted by major crimes by the state, raising the question of whether the case should be retried in federal court. While the state had argued that could mean hundreds of cases being overturned, a review by the Atlantic came to a different conclusion. An analysis of about 300 of the 1887 Native Americans in prison in Oklahoma at the end of last year for offenses on tribal territory showed that only an estimated 10 percent would qualify for a new trial. Concerns over the ruling's reach beyond criminal prosecution were largely exaggerated, Hoss argued, because tribes have very limited civil jurisdiction over nonmembers. Yet in the dissenting opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. warned that, "Across this vast area, the State's ability to prosecute serious crimes will be hobbled and decades of past convictions could well be thrown out. On top of that, the Court has profoundly destabilized the governance of eastern Oklahoma. "The decision today creates significant uncertainty for the State's continuing authority over any area that touches Indian affairs, ranging from zoning and taxation to family and environmental law." Dewey Bartlett, a former Tulsa mayor who runs his family oil business, said he feared that many Oklahoma business owners in oil and gas or ranching feared the victory could embolden tribes to take future legal steps to limit water or mineral rights or to avoid state regulators. "I don't think people in Tulsa woke up today thinking they live on an Indian reservation, but eventually, they could become concerned that position could be made," Bartlett said. "It's very worrisome." Apple has been trying to move its production capacity outside China for some time now. Potentially working on those lines, Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics major is reportedly planning to invest up to $1 billion (~Rs 7515 crore) in India. Foxconn is the contract manufacturer that puts together Apple's iPhone models. Apple is reportedly being active on its plan to move iPhone production away from China to avoid disruptions from the ongoing trade war of the country with the US. A Reuters report quotes sources saying Theres a strong request from Apple to its clients to move part of the iPhone production out of China. None of the parties have confirmed the development yet. Indian Investment (Representative Image: Reuters) Sources cited by Reuters say that the Taiwanese giant will be investing $1 billion in its Sriperumbur plant, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The facility produces Apples iPhone XR and with the investment, will start producing other iPhone variants in the country too. The investment has been hinted at before, with Foxconn Chief Liu Young-Way confirming future investments in India last month, without giving details. The new sources now reveal that the investment will be made along a three-year period, as Foxconn will add around 6,000 jobs at the plant. Wistron Corp, a producer of Apple iPhones other than Foxconn has also announced an expansion of its base in India. The Taiwanese giant is set to open a new plant to make more Apple devices as reported earlier. Benefits The Apple Inc.logo (Image: Reuters) Increasing its production capacity in India will help Apple reduce the prices of its iPhones in the country, currently the worlds second largest smartphones market. Other than the slash on the import taxes, the company also stands to gain from the affordable labour in the country. In addition, the Indian government is offering incentives to Apple to expand their bases in India. A total of five global smartphone makers have been offered incentives through a $6.65 billion plan to establish or expand production in the country. Meant to create jobs in the country, the plan has appealed to the smartphone giants. Samsung has already confirmed that it will expand smartphone production in its worlds largest mobile factory in Noida for export. Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Hungary, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Hungary and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Hungary (issuer rating Baa3) is supported by the country's "baa2" economic strength, which balances robust growth and strong export potential against longer-term challenges regarding competitiveness and reduction of funds from the EU. Hungary's "baa2" institutions and governance strength, reflecting an overall supportive institutional framework with some features that could erode policy credibility. The "baa2" fiscal strength, takes into account the elevated government debt burden from years of fiscal deficits, and moderate debt affordability. Hungary's "baa" susceptibility to event risk score is driven by domestic political and geopolitical risk, banking sector risk and external vulnerability risk. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit. This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. 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With limited laws and policies governing them, informal workers are often left at the mercy of their employers. India employs 90 percent of its workforce within the informal labour sector. According to International Labour Organisation estimates, four million workers are employed as domestic workers (of which three million are women). According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, more than 10 million people are registered as street vendors. As per the 2011-2012 survey of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), there are 37.4 million home-based workers in India. With limited laws and policies governing them, they are often left at the mercy of their employers, who have become their proxy social security providers during the pandemic. Over the span of the last three months, the mode of gainful employment has undergone significant changes, especially within the informal sector. Domestic work, street vending, construction work are trades where physical presence at the workplace is paramount, in the absence of which wages cannot be earned. The luxury of working from home and maintaining physical distancing are not the perks of informal work. Only specific forms of work such as garment manufacturing, stitching, embroidery, beedi rollers allow informal workers to work from home. But often such informal workers are housed in informal settlements with poor basic infrastructure services, and live in poor health and hygienic conditions which adds on to their existing socio-economic problems. So, how imperative is accessibility to work to make a living in the informal sector? That was the focus of my research with women beneficiaries of Self Employed Women Association (SEWA) Bharat a federation of women-led institutions providing economic and social support to women in the informal sector across three lines of work: home-based workers, domestic workers and street vendors spread across Delhi. As I started off with my research, I met a wary tone at the other end of every voice call that I made, and this tonal quality, I found, was a common attribute in each one of them. One could sense their anxieties in that voice, the fear in their deep breaths and their helplessness in the sheepish mundane tones. None seemed to be able to clearly articulate how things could be made better anytime soon. Home-based workers Ruaab, an apparel producing company of SEWA, employs women engaged in home-based work in Delhi. During the lockdown, all of them were unemployed until their labour was channeled into mask making, which has now become their alternative source of income. These women reported a significant reduction in income since the pandemic. Earlier, they earned about 8,000 to 10,000 rupees a month. Now, it has gone down to an average of 2,000 rupees. These women are now the only breadwinners in their households, as their spouses are also associated with some other informal line of work. With savings constantly being depleted and no additional income or security of work, they fear that the fall in retail demand will lead to zero or very low earnings for them for some time. Even though access to a place of work is available, particularly in this form of informal work, they are still hugely governed by the demand in the economy which is beyond their control. Street vendors While home-based workers have switched to alternative livelihoods, limited capacities, resources and skill sets prevent others from doing so. As a result, this switch is difficult for domestic workers and street vendors, primarily because their scope of work lies beyond the spatiality of their homes. For a street vendor and domestic worker, access and physical proximity to the place of work matters. These are either streets or the homes of other people. In the lockdown, streets ceased to exist as places of work and domestic work was barred. Street vendors are worst affected, because the nature of their work is quite dynamic with respect to spatiality, mobility and the type of commodities they trade in. With the economy crashing, demand for non-essential goods also ceased. A street vendor in Delhi wondered aloud: Why would anyone buy cosmetics and accessories now? Everyone touches my items before they buy Im scared to touch them later, what if I fall ill? There are binaries within street vending too. To some extent, vegetable, fruit and other food vendors seem to have been able to get back to their trade. But non-food vendors are now left with a pile of dead inventory, for which the market has either ceased to exist or has declined significantly. This has stirred a sense of anxiety and the fear of starvation. The fear of lost livelihoods outweighed the fear of contracting the virus among many vendors, who have returned to the streets. Street vendors and domestic workers are now caught in the dilemma of whether they should try to minimise the risk of contracting the virus, or if they should try to revive their channels of income. A book vendor in Daryaganj said, Who would buy books now? Students are nowhere [sic] schools and colleges are shut. who would buy? Domestic Workers Conversations with domestic workers revealed that these women worked for an average of three homes per day, earning about 6,000 to 8,000 rupees per month in pre-COVID times. During the lockdown, any income earned was due to the generosity displayed by employers, if at all. Now, with the relaxation of the lockdown, domestic workers have begun to access these homes again, their workplaces, but many have to incur increased expenditure on mobility or increased commute time or both. Access to homes is judged by the accessibility and feasibility of commuting. With limited public transportation available, along with the fear of availing any public mode of transportation, they often choose to cover these distances by foot. I used to work for three households before among them one of the owners has paid me through these three months. god bless them if not for that, I do not know what I would have done, said a domestic worker in Delhi. What has helped informal workers to survive since the lockdown are past savings and loans from their families and other social networks. Also, pre-existing socio-economic leverages of these informal workers has played a vital role in helping them cope. But these narratives essentially expose the lack of access to work in the times of COVID-19; with limited laws or policies governing them these workers are dependent on acts of kindness, failing which they are pushed into debt traps. Laws and policies on informal work The state governments of Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu have constituted Welfare Boards for domestic workers who can avail welfare benefits by registering. Still, a large majority of domestic workers remain outside the purview of labour laws. For street vendors, the Street Vending Act, 2014, safeguards their rights. The Act has various provisions which attempt to protect and govern them, one of which is the setting up of a local body called the Town Vending Committee, entitling them with powers to govern street vendors. The implementation of the Act across various indexes is questionable. With respect to home-based workers, there is no legislation in the country for them. There remains a 2017 draft policy which suggests that the government should recognise home-based workers as formal workers, as the first step to protect their rights. It also talked about associating the home-based workers with trade unions, federations and associations in order to have clarity on their numbers and structured disbursement of the welfare. However, the policy still remains a draft! For the approaching new normal, we ought to rethink livelihoods in various lines of informal work and adopt strategies and implement policies in order to accommodate the informal workforce, and facilitate their access to places of work as their earnings are hugely dependent on their physical presence. The author acknowledges the inputs of Sukrit Nagpal and Sonal Sharma, who work with SEWA, Bharat in the Land Rights Programme. Mumbai, July 11 : The Varun Dhawan-Alia Bhatt starrer "Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania" released six years ago on this day, and actor Sahil Vaid has shared a funny recall of how he bagged the role of Poplu. One would expect Sahil, a newbie at that point, to adopt a meticulous approach at the audition. However, when he got an opportunity to be a part of the Shashank Khaitan directorial 's "Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania", he did something unexpected. When the casting directors of the film asked for his photos, he sent them passport size photos. He went on to bag the role of Poplu, the hero's buddy, in the film! "'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' will forever hold a special place in my heart. More so because of the way I got the role in the movie. I often look back on my memories and laugh about how lucky I was to have landed a role even after that funny incident," said Sahil. "Who in their right mind would ever send passport sized photographs to casting directors? I believe even the top bosses of Dharma Productions including Karan Johar were surprised when they got to know! The movie completes six years today and this is simply one of the many memories I have with its fantastic team," he added. The actor will next be seen in "Dil Bechara", the late Sushant Singh Rajput's last film that is scheduled for release on a digital platform. He also has roles in "Coolie No.1" and "Shershaah". Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery Prince Andrew's ex-girlfriend Lady Victoria Hervey today claimed Ghislaine Maxwell used her as 'bait' to entertain Jeffrey Epstein's friends, saying the paedophile 'kind of sat back and sort of waited for her to sort of go fishing'. The 44-year-old socialite and former 'It Girl', who is the daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol and the Duke of York's former love interest, first met the pair 20 years ago and said she was 'really young and naive' at the time. ITV released a clip to MailOnline ahead of tonight's 'Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and the Paedophile' documentary which also featured Lady Victoria describing Maxwell and Epstein as like 'Batman and Robin' and a 'double act'. She said: 'Jeffrey was really the frontman and Ghislaine was the accomplice. It was kind of like a Batman and Robin, and they were a double act. I don't think Jeffrey could have done any of it without Ghislaine.' Presenter Ranvir Singh said: 'And Ghislaine was crucial to getting those girls, was she, do you think to those dinners?' Lady Victoria replied: 'I think he just kind of sat back and sort of waited for her to sort of go fishing and go find however many girls were needed, you know, to entertain his friends. I think I was pretty much used as bait. You know, looking back at, you know I was really young and naive, and she's entertaining these, you know, big businessmen. So I didn't realise it of course at the time, but looking back...' Also pictured: Lady Victoria with Prince Andrew in London in 2002, and with Ghislaine Maxwell in Hollywood in 2004. Police have arrested two men and a woman in connection with a series of alleged brazen frauds against pensioners. Detectives from the PSNI's Economic Crime Unit arrested the trio as part of an investigation into reports of scams across North Down, Belfast and Newtownabbey. Police said that on Monday afternoon, officers received a report that a woman in her 70s from the Bangor area had been contacted 20 minutes earlier by a caller telling her she had been a victim of a scam. The woman was persuaded to withdraw cash from her bank and then leave it in her car for the male to check. A male then arrived at her property and took the money from her vehicle. On Friday, a woman in her nineties, received a call from a male claiming to be from 'a fraud team'. The elderly woman was persuaded to leave her card outside her house in Newtownabbey so the male could take a picture of it. The card was subsequently taken, but thanks to a neighbour who became aware of what had happened, the woman's bank was contacted. Another woman in her 80s from the Four Winds area was targeted by a male yesterday claiming to be from a telecoms provider who claimed money had been taken from her account. A short time later a man arrived at her property, pushed past her causing to her fall and grabbed her card and bank details. Police said yesterday that detectives have since arrested a woman, aged 52, on suspicion of fraud by false representation. Two men, aged 46 and 55, have each been arrested on suspicion of three counts of fraud by false representation and burglary. All three remain in custody at this time. Detective Inspector Joanne Harris said: "I want to take this opportunity to encourage people to take extra precautions to protect themselves and I also want to appeal to family members to do all they can to let their loved ones know, especially those who are vulnerable, to never give out financial details without official verification from their bank." Anyone concerned they have been a victim of a scam can report the matter to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by phoning 0300 123 2040. A Chinese paramilitary police officer gestures and speaks over his two-way radio whlie standing at the entrance gate of the Australian embassy in Beijing on July 9, 2020. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images) US Warns Americans in China of Heightened Risk of Arbitrary Detention, Exit Bans Americans in China are being warned by the U.S. State Department to exercise increased caution, due to an elevated risk of arbitrary law enforcement, including detention and bans on exiting the country. The security alert, issued on July 11 by the U.S. Embassy in China, said U.S. citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime. It added that Americans may be subject to prolonged interrogations and extended detention for reasons related to state security.' Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] government, the alert said. It didnt provide specific examples. The department didnt say what prompted the notice. The move comes amid deteriorating relations between Washington and Beijing as the Trump administration steps up its actions against the communist regime over a range of issues, from its coverup of the CCP virus outbreak to its tightening control over Hong Kong. Australia issued a similar warning this week for travelers to China. Earlier this week, the United States announced sanctions on several Chinese officials, including a high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party involved in rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the region of Xinjiang. An estimated more than 1 million Uyghur Muslims and other Muslim minorities are detained in Xinjiang, as part of the regimes purported clampdown on what it calls extremism. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said this week the administration is considering banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTok. U.S. lawmakers have raised national security concerns over TikToks handling of user data, citing Chinese laws that require domestic companies to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Last month, the regime formally charged two Canadians with spying, more than 18 months after the men were initially detained. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in December 2018, in a move widely viewed as retaliation for Canadas arrest of top Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on an extradition request from the United States. Federal prosecutors accuse Meng of lying to banks, causing them to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran. The Canadian government has repeatedly described the detention of Kovrig and Spavor as arbitrary. The pair have been reportedly interrogated by Chinese officials for up to eight hours a day, held in poor conditions, and denied outside contact. The men also havent been allowed to see their lawyers, and neither has been seen by Canadian consular officials, in person or virtually, since January. Reuters contributed to this report. Republicans fumed Wednesday after Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, citing the pandemic, canceled the Texas GOP convention. In June, party officials pointed out, the mayor had marched with a 60,000-person Black Lives Matter protest. So how could he argue that a July gathering of 6,000 political delegates was too dangerous to allow? Medical authorities side strongly with Turner: The GOP convention would have been dangerous. Heres why. Timing matters. Were in the middle of a flaming COVID-19 epidemic, said Peter Hotez, a coronavirus vaccine researcher at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Childrens Hospital, and also one of the pandemics most-quoted scientists. Right now its impossible to ensure the safety of people in any kind of large gathering. If it were a Democratic convention, Id say the same thing. He points out that the Black Lives Matter marches came in early June, at the nadir of the COVID outbreak in Texas. Indoors is more dangerous than outdoors. As cavernous and well-air-conditioned as the George R. Brown Convention Center is, its still an enclosed space. Outdoors theres more room to dissipate the virus, to spread out the droplets or aerosols, explained Diana Fite, president of the Texas Medical Association. The convention would have lasted for days. When deciding what activities are safe, one of the risk factors that we urge people to consider is the length of time that they might be exposed, said Fite. Your body might be able to fight off the few virus particles you inhale in an encounter lasting seconds. But over a matter of days, inhaling a few virus particles per second adds up fast. A significant number of GOP delegates are likely over 65. To qualify as a delegate to the state convention, a person must first vote in the GOP primary. In 2018, the average Republican primary voter was 60.1 years old, according to political consultant Derek Ryan. Not only are people over 65 at a high risk of contracting the virus, theyre at a high risk of ending up in the ICU, said Hotez. And according to the CDC, people over 65 account for 8 out of 10 COVID-19 deaths reported in the U.S. It would be hard to keep your distance. Inside the George R. Brown, sufficient physical distancing might not be possible, said UTHealth epidemiologist Cathy Troisi. Texas GOP officials have stated that they revised floor plans to accommodate social distancing. But even if the spacing is sufficient, human beings are gregarious creatures, and delegates tend to be extroverts. Caught off-guard by the sight of an old friend, it would be easy to slip into a hug or a handshake. Some convention-goers might not have worn masks. Face masks have emerged as a way to significantly reduce transmission of the virus, and early this month, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, ordered all Texans living in counties with more than 20 coronavirus cases (which is to say, the vast majority) to wear face masks while inside buildings open to the public. That would include the George R. Brown Convention Center. The CDC particularly recommends cloth face coverings in settings where individuals might raise their voice as in, a convention where delegates cheer for a candidate. Even so, some Texas Republicans have taken strong stands against mask requirements. (In the words of one Houston protesters sign: Dont mask my freedom!) We assume most people at the convention would not wear masks because of their political philosophy, said Troisi. Thats in contrast to Houstons largest Black Lives Matter march, where Troisi estimates 90 percent of protesters wore masks. Conventiongoers could have taken the virus home. Hotez notes that some Republican strongholds, such as rural West Texas, have so far been relatively virus-free. But the Houston convention had potential to be a superspreader event, seeding outbreaks all across Texas. lisa.gray@chron.com, @LisaGray_HouTX In recent years, suspicions about Juan's opaque fortune and his links with the Gulf monarchies have tarnished the legacy of the sovereign Madrid: Six years after his abdication from the Spanish throne, the reputation of the former king Juan Carlos I appears to lie in tatters. Already under investigation in Switzerland and in Spain for suspicions of corruption, the ex-king is a constant presence in the Spanish newspapers who continue to publish details of the murky management of funds allegedly paid by Saudi Arabia to the former head of state. The Spanish government itself has described the information as "worrying". The probe in Switzerland, as in Spain, is focusing on the $100 million that the former king, now 82, is alleged to have been paid secretly into a Swiss bank account in 2008. Juan Carlos ascended the throne in 1975 on the death of the fascist dictator Francisco Franco and ruled for 38 years before abdicating in favour of his son Felipe VI in June 2014. The Spanish Supreme Court announced in June it would carry out an investigation to determine the possible responsibility of the former monarch -- but only for acts committed after his abdication. The inquest opened in Spain in September 2018 following the publication of records attributed to the German businesswoman Corinna Larsen, allegedly the former mistress of Juan Carlos, in which she claimed that the sovereign had received a commission during the award to Spanish companies of a mega-railway contract in Saudi Arabia. Sanchez troubled Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke out on the subject for the first time this week. "It is obvious that we, the entire Spanish population, are receiving disturbing information which is troubling for us all, including me," he said. Sanchez spoke out after the Spanish press published various elements of the investigation carried out in Switzerland. According to the online outlet El Espanol, a Swiss lawyer, Dante Canonica, told the Geneva public prosecutor's office that he had been instructed to "create a structure" to hide the funds paid to Juan Carlos I. Larsen told Swiss examiners that the former head of state had transferred her nearly 65 million euros in the Bahamas, "not to get rid of the money" but "out of gratitude and out of love", according to the Spanish daily El Pais. "The personal image of Juan Carlos is very damaged" by these revelations, said journalist Abel Hernandez. His image is worse than when the scandals erupted before his abdication, he told AFP, in reference to the king's fall in Botswana in 2012. The Spanish -- then in the midst of a severe economic crisis -- discovered the king had broken his hip during a luxury African safari, paid by a Saudi entrepreneur, which he had been enjoying with Larsen. To this was added a corruption scandal which saw his son-in-law Inaki Urdangarin jailed for over five years. Avoiding royal 'contagion' In recent years, suspicions about his opaque fortune and his links with the Gulf monarchies have tarnished the legacy of a sovereign who was a popular figure for many decades as he played a key role in the democratic transition from the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975). The creeping shadow of suspicion has also fallen on his son and successor King Felipe after it emerged that he had been designated as the beneficiary of the Panamanian foundation managing the account in Switzerland which received the Saudi money. Felipe announced in March that he was renouncing his father's inheritance and removing his annual allowance of around 200,000 euros. It was "a firewall to prevent the contagion of the institution" of the monarchy, says Abel Hernandez. It was a move that was welcomed by the government. "The royal palace clearly distances itself from these reprehensible practices," said Sanchez on Wednesday in an interview with the online media eldiario.es. Last month, the ruling Socialists prevented a move by its openly republican coalition partners Podemos, to set up a parliamentary committee to examine Juan Carlos. But the problem shows no signs of going away. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 17:32:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MANILA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- An improvised explosive device that went off on a road in Maguindanao Province in southern Philippines have killed a police officer and a civilian, the Philippine National Police chief said on Saturday. General Archie Gamboa said four other police officers have also been wounded in the convoy attack that took place Thursday some 300 meters away from the provincial police headquarters in Shariff Aguak town. "(I) condemn the new attack on police security forces," Gamboa said in a statement. A police car was riddled with holes in the wake of the blast. Local police blamed the attack on Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) militants that have carried out similar attacks in the past. No group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack. Gamboa said one of the four injured police officers was moved to a bigger regional hospital due to "excessive bleeding". The three others are now recuperating in a provincial hospital, he added. Gamboa reminded "all police units on the ground to be alert and vigilant as criminal and terrorist elements continue to plot and operate against police security forces in this time of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic." The BIFF, composed of around 200 to 300 men, are blamed for bombings and other atrocities in Central Mindanao region in southern Philippines. Enditem As part of efforts to familiarise himself with the situation on the grounds regarding the ongoing new voter registration, former President John Mahama has visited registration centres in some parts of the Volta region. President Mahama visited areas like Ho Central, Akatsi North, Ketu North, Ketu South, Akatsi South and South Tongu Constituencies, a statement issued by the spokesperson of the campaign team of the NDC, Mr James Agyenim-Boateng said. Mr Mahama was briefed by the regional executives of the NDC who have been monitoring the process. Mr Mahama also interacted with some of the personnel of the EC in charge of the various processes as well as the party agents monitoring the process. Meanwhile, Mr Mahamas running mate, Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has expressed appreciation for the support that greeted the announcement of her new role. The former Minister of Education, who also served as the first female Vice-Chancellor of a public university in Ghana, was, on Monday announced by the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress ahead of this years presidential election. That announcement has been greeted with enthusiasm and support from people from all walks of life, including academia, civil society as well as professional and women groups. Social media has also been awash with support for Prof Opoku-Agyemang. Addressing a retreat of the NDC Campaign Team on Friday in Accra, Prof Opoku-Agyemang said she was grateful for the support accorded her and promised to justify the confidence reposed in her. Prof Opoku-Agyemang who said people, especially women, are looking up to the NDC for answers to issues that affect them, called on the NDC to close its ranks and work hard for victory in the upcoming elections. Acceptance statement from Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang It is with deep honour and a high sense of gratitude that I convey my acceptance of the nomination by H.E. John Dramani Mahama, Flagbearer and Leader of the great National Democratic Congress (NDC) to be his running mate for the December 7, 2020 election. I am humbled by the overwhelming endorsement my nomination has received from the Founder of the NDC, H.E. Jerry John Rawlings, the Council of Elders, the National Executive Committee and the rank and file of our party, as well as the general public. This historic nomination is not a personal achievement but victory for inclusive and participatory democracy, which enhances the credentials of our country and recognizes the towering role women have played over the ages to achieve the progress we have made. I wish to salute all those who have come before me and pledge to draw deeply from their inspiration. I have worked with HE John Dramani Mahama closely and I know he is a man of vision, a leader you can trust, a public servant of integrity and a courageous leader who makes the right decisions in the national interest at all times. I pledge to diligently apply myself and dedicate all the energy and intellect I can muster to ensure a resounding victory for the NDC and for our country, Ghana. So help me God. SIGNED Professor Naana Jane OPOKU-AGYEMANG Accra- Ghana July 06, 2020. ---ClassfmOnline BRUSSELS - Many countries around the world are pushing ahead with plans for full-time, full-capacity, in-person classes, after having largely avoided coronavirus outbreaks linked to schools during more tentative reopenings in the spring. From Belgium to Japan, schools are abandoning certain social distancing measures, such as alternate-day schedules or extra space between desks. They have decided that part-time or voluntary school attendance, supplemented by distance learning, is not enough - that full classrooms are preferable to leaving kids at home. Those experiences and conclusions may offer hopeful guidance to societies still weighing how to get students and teachers back into primary and secondary classrooms. Still, public health officials and researchers caution that most school reopenings are in their early stages. Much remains unknown about the interaction between children, schools and the virus. And parents and teachers, especially in Europe, have been vocal about their concerns. It is premature to say, as President Donald Trump put it, that "In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS." While documented cases of younger students transmitting the virus to their classmates or to adults so far appear rare, there is enduring worry about the susceptibility of teens, college-age students and their teachers. And, especially in communities where the virus is still circulating widely, elaborate and expensive measures may be necessary to avoid shutting down entire schools each time a student tests positive. Arnaud Fontanet, head of the Epidemiology of Emerging Diseases unit at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, said he "gladly" sent his four teenagers back when French schools reopened on a voluntary basis in mid-May. But he emphasized that was only because "the virus is not too much circulating in France." "High schoolers are still contagious and primary school students are less contagious but not zero-risk," he said. - - - Public health officials and researchers say they have not detected much coronavirus transmission among students or significant spikes in community spread as a result of schools being in session - at least for students under 12. Virologists warn there may be additional spread that hasn't been recognized, since testing asymptomatic people, particularly children, remains uncommon. But in many cases, young children who test positive have gotten it from someone in their family and do not appear to have infected others in school. Dig into reports of two or three elementary students with the virus, and often it turns out they're siblings. There are exceptions. At the Ecole Louis-de-France, an elementary school in Trois Rivieres, Canada, almost an entire class of 12 students tested positive in late May. And at the Cheondong Elementary School in Daejeon, South Korea, two brothers were found to have the virus on June 29, and two students who had contact with one of the brothers tested positive the next day. Such cases, though, have been rare. Before the suspected transmission in Daejeon, South Korea's education minister had emphasized that not a single student in the country had contracted the virus at school. In Finland, when public health researchers combed through test results of children under 16, they found no evidence of school spread and no change in the rate of infection for that age cohort after schools closed in March or reopened in May. In fact, Finland's infection rate among children was similar to Sweden's, even though Sweden never closed its schools, according to a report published Tuesday by researchers from the two countries. In Sweden, researchers also found that staff members at day cares and primary schools were no more likely than people working in other professions to contract the virus. "It really starts to add up to the fact that the risk of transmission, the number of outbreaks in which the index is a child, is very low, and this seems to be the picture everywhere else," said Otto Helve, who worked on the report as a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. He said he sent his own children back to school. Why young children may be less susceptible to the coronavirus or less prone to exhibit symptoms of covid-19, the disease it causes, remains a topic of hot debate among scientists. Theories range from the possibility that children have fewer of the receptors that the virus uses as a gateway into the respiratory system to their having higher overall immunity because of a greater exposure to other types of coronavirus. But the overall observation has led some to question whether school closures were warranted in the first place. "The scientific evidence for the effects of closing schools is weak and disputed," said Camilla Stoltenberg, director general of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, which has advised Norway's pandemic response. She said that although she supported her country's March lockdown, it was less clear that Norway needed to close schools. "We should all have second thoughts about whether it was really necessary," she said. "We see now that, after having opened schools, we haven't had any outbreaks." - - - The calculations may be different, however, for students in their teens and older, as they are thought to be somewhat more prone to the virus and more capable of spreading it. Fontanet, with the Pasteur Institute, was the lead author on twin studies that found the virus spread in the high school of one French town but not in its six primary schools before the country's March lockdowns. In Israel, where the virus has been surging again, schools at every level have been affected. By early June, more than 100 schools had been shut and more than 13,000 students and teachers had been sent home to quarantine. The most notable outbreak was tied to a middle and high school: The Gymnasia Rehavia in Jerusalem saw 153 students and 25 staff test positive. Israeli health authorities said they were unsure how many of those cases were the result of the virus being passed around within school buildings. "We just don't have a good answer for that," said Hagai Levine, the chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians. Many students tend to spend time together in and out of school, Levine said, making it hard to pinpoint the actual site of transmission. "There does some to be evidence that there is less transmission in children under 10." Plans are uncertain for what classes will look like in Israel on Sept. 1, when the next school year begins. - - - In many nations preparing to reopen school buildings for the first time in the fall, social distancing concerns are dominating the debate. The Italian government, which closed schools when the pandemic first exploded and made no attempt to restart in the spring, has pledged to restart classes in mid-September and has committed to "less-overpacked classrooms." "We don't want chicken coops," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a national address. The U.S. Centers for Disease control recommends that desks should be spaced six-feet apart. But many countries that resumed in-person classes in May and June have already abandoned some social distancing measures, at least in primary schools. In Japan, where schools reopened shortly after the country's state of emergency was lifted in May, children initially attended on alternate days in some schools to allow for more space in classrooms. But classes are largely back to normal now, albeit with students and teachers wearing masks, washing hands regularly and taking daily temperature checks. When France shifted from voluntary to mandatory attendance for primary and middle school students for the last two weeks of June, a social distancing requirement of four square meters between students was reduced to one meter laterally. "This allows us to accommodate all students," Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said at the time of the announcement. Similarly, before the biggest wave of school reopenings in Belgium in early June, policymakers declared that strict physical distancing rules would not be enforced, allowing more students in each classroom at once. Belgian schools are now closed again for the summer, but leaders are planning an ambitious reopening plan for Sept. 1. For kids under 12, classes will remain in session, full-time and full-capacity, no matter how bad the second wave of infections gets in the country. If current infection rates stay steady in Belgium, students age 12 and older will attend school four days a week, with an additional half-day of virtual schooling. Officials would dial back the in-person schooling for the older children if there is a second wave. To some extent, these shifts reflect growing confidence that bringing children together may not lead to a spike in infections. There is also rising concern about the downsides of keeping students home. Belgium's reopening was accelerated by an open letter from hundreds of pediatricians arguing that the educational cost of keeping schools closed was worse than the health risk of reopening them. In Germany, some public health experts have welcomed plans to drop a 1.5-meter minimum distance rule and resume full-capacity classes after summer vacation. Policymakers fear that digital learning has put poorer students at a greater disadvantage and that there would be a rising mental health toll on students if school restrictions dragged on. But the shift away from social distancing is also about practical concerns. "Basically, the difficulty is enforcing social distancing among students," said Fontanet of the Pasteur Institute. He said distancing is hard for high school students, but especially for younger kids. "People have more or less given up on that entirely at this stage," he said. Although schools in Israel initially resumed with strict rules about temperature checks, carefully spaced-out desks and masks, critics complained that the precautions quickly lapsed. "Within two or three days, that all fell away," said Dan Ben-David, president of the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research. Italy's education minister, Lucia Azzolina, said that to keep classroom sizes at acceptable levels, districts would have to reopen shuttered school buildings and transfer some students elsewhere. She also floated the idea of holding classes in theaters, cinemas and museums - "even parks," she said. But countries that have resumed classes already have found that it's easier and cheaper to welcome all students back to their classrooms than it is to devise complicated schedules with multiple shifts or to find new space. - - - In Israel, hypervigilant public health officials mandated that an entire school close any time a single coronavirus case was detected among students or staff. By contrast, in Germany, when a student tested positive, that class was put into a mandatory two-week quarantine, but the rest of the school continued on. Clearly, the German model is less disruptive. Some health experts have thus come to advocate that more important than social distancing within a classroom are efforts to create bubbles within schools, to limit potential contamination and the need to shut everything down. England started sending some grades back on a voluntary basis in June. But when schools fully reopen in September for mandatory, full-time, in-person classes, elementary school students will be in "class bubbles" of up to 30 and high school students in "year bubbles" of up to 240. Quebec, the Canadian province hit hardest by the coronavirus, experimented with various means of social distancing when it reopened elementary schools outside Montreal in May. Classes were limited to 15 students. Libraries remained closed. Recess times were staggered. Some schools painted green dots on schoolyard grounds to mark sufficient separation. Bubbles will be introduced when elementary and high schools reopen for compulsory in-class instruction in the fall. Within classrooms, students will form groups of up to six students who won't have to maintain social distancing. Bubbles must keep a one-meter distance from each other and two meters from teachers. Helve, the Finnish infectious-disease specialist, noted that bubbles may be especially valuable in societies with high infection rates, such as the United States, where it may be inevitable that a student or teacher shows up with the virus at some point. "How do you minimize the impact on the school?" he said. "The more cases you have in a society, the more likely it is that you will have an outbreak at a school, or that you will have a teacher or a parent or a child who brings the virus to the school." In part because there haven't been many outbreaks associated with schools, some students, parents and teachers who initially resisted classroom reopenings have come around. One survey of French-speaking parents in Belgium found that 96 percent of respondents planned to send their children back to school in the fall. Technically, they won't have a choice. Education is compulsory in Belgium for children age 6 and above, and although the requirement was suspended this spring, it will be back in force in September. That's in line with moves by many countries away from voluntary in-person attendance, which saw limited uptake. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was forced to delay plans for a full reopening of elementary schools in England after strong resistance from teaching unions and some parents, intends to forge ahead in the fall. "We want them all back in September," said Johnson. "We've got to start thinking of a world in which we are less apprehensive about this disease." In France, when schools reopened in May on a voluntary basis, statistics from the Education Ministry showed that only about 1.8 million out of 6.7 million nursery and primary schoolers went back, along with 600,000 out of 3.3 million middle schoolers. France had hoped reopening would address the inequalities evident under distance learning. But the government found that students from wealthier families were more likely to be among those who returned to their classrooms, while many poorer families continued to keep their children home. The education minister suggested the gap had to do with a lack of trust. French officials ultimately made school attendance mandatory for the final two weeks of classes in June, before the summer holidays began. Families and teachers questioned the need for such a scramble for so little class time. Some accused the government of being more concerned about freeing parents to return to work than about the needs of students and teachers. That's in contrast to the United States, where a growing chorus of families complain that state and local governments are downplaying the need for kids to be in school before parents can return to their workplaces. The French government defended its decision. "Two weeks count; two weeks are not nothing, whether it's out of an educational aspect or a psychological aspect," Blanquer, the education minister, said. "School should never be considered as a day-care center of sorts." - - - The Washignton Post's James McAuley in Paris, Karla Adam in London, Rick Noack in Berlin, Steve Hendrix in Jerusalem, Min Joo Kim in Seoul, Simon Denyer in Tokyo, Amanda Coletta in Toronto, Quentin Aries in Brussels and Chico Harlan in Rome contributed to this report. Critical blood donations needed -- help save a life at Swope Park Community Blood Drive KMBC and KCWE Community are partnering with Starlight and our Swope Park neighbors to host a community blood drive to answer the urgent need for blood donations during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The blood drive will be held in the Applause Club at Starlight Theatre, 4600 Starlight Road, Kansas City, Mo. The pandemic has pushed donations far below normal levels here's an important community call to action for those who are healthy and have time to donate . . . Read more: Sometimes events intersect in ways you don't expect. Take, for instance, the current reckoning with the full and often messy record of our lionized leaders of long ago, and this week's Supreme Court decision that Donald Trump can't conceal his financial records from a Manhattan prosecutor. Disparate developments, surely. But what they both signify, I'd say, is the truth of the axiom that William Shakespeare articulated in "The Merchant of Venice" more than 400 years ago, that "at the length, truth will out." If you work in journalism, you have to believe that truth can't forever remain submerged beneath murky waters of deception or misunderstanding. Finding and reporting what's true is our daily task, after all, and it would be too discouraging to keep at it if we didn't believe in the strength of truth's long game. We might even presumptuously give a turn to the hopeful notion of Martin Luther King Jr., "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," and offer this: The storyline of time is long, but it bends toward truth. So our society is coming face-to-face, uncomfortably but appropriately, with such truths as the racial inequities embraced by our republic's founders. It reminds us that even when a truth is known nobody has ever disputed that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were slaveholders we often prefer to avert our gaze to something less challenging than reality. For centuries, as we have honored their heroic work to establish the world's greatest democracy, we have avoided the hypocrisy of their racism. Both elements of the men matter. Both are true. In the arguments over whether monuments to such figures should be removed, there's a distinction at risk of being lost. It's not that "the history and culture of our great country (are) being ripped apart with the removal of our great statues and monuments," as @realDonaldTrump tweeted. The president seemingly confuses icons with reality, which is unsurprising in a person who routinely displays slim regard for facts. Statues aren't history; they just represent a certain view of history. And while we can argue over which statues should go and which should stay ditch the traitors of Dixie and contextualize the founders of America, I'd say we are better off in any case honoring the complexity of historical figures rather than venerating cartoonish versions of them. We just need to grow more comfortable with the truth. Of course, it's the one-dimensional, crowd-pleasing projections of themselves that politicians proffer to the public. Washington and Jefferson, key players in our nation's founding political drama, weren't above self-promotion. So it's no wonder we remember and adore the heroic elements of their stories and tend to lay aside the distasteful. Which brings us to Donald Trump, the greatest self-promoter of our time, who was scolded by a 7-2 Supreme Court majority this week for claiming that because of his current job he is exempt from being investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney for alleged financial improprieties linked to hush money he paid to two women he had affairs with. Eventually we will see information on his finances that Trump has for years promised to reveal, but which he has over and over concocted excuses to conceal. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. It is a less consequential lie than many of the 19,000-plus he has offered since taking office (according to The Washington Post's Fact Checker tally), unless he is concealing criminal fraud or a violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause, which could make him again vulnerable to impeachment if he is re-elected. But truth surfacing due to a ruling of a conservative court, including the two justices he nominated, is in itself cause for hope. That's so often the way: truth emerging only when it's forced. We might, in this coronavirus era, wish that facts could spread as easily as a viral contagion, perhaps to be adopted by anybody they contact. Sadly, illness is more effective than truth, which we often have built a sturdy resistance to adopting. It's not just in politics. The great German scientist Max Planck, originator of the quantum theory on which modern physics is based, once complained that even in science, reality is hard to establish. "A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light," he wrote, "but rather because its opponents eventually die." Our recent receptivity to the truth of historic figures' behavior and to society's abiding racism suggests we may venture to be more optimistic than Planck. Icons fall, prevaricating presidents tumble, and we see that Shakespeare had it right: Eventually, truth will out. A group of prominent business leaders urged President Trump on Saturday to leave in place a program affecting roughly 800,000 young immigrants who are shielded from deportation, saying it would disrupt the economy and impact the battle against the coronavirus. The letter, from members of the Coalition for the American Dream, an alliance of business and industry leaders, comes after the Supreme Court ruled last month that the Trump administration improperly wound down the Obama-era program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a finding that was made on procedural grounds. The signers of the letter included executives with Amazon, General Motors, Hilton Worldwide, Target, Apple, Google and Facebook, as well as groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and almost every sector of the manufacturing industry. As large American employers and employer organizations, we strongly urge you to leave the DACA program in place, members of the group wrote about the program, which applies to people who were brought to the United States as children. DACA recipients have been critical members of our work force, industries, and communities for years now, and they have abided by the laws and regulations of our country in order to maintain their DACA status. The letter went on to say that their work and commitment to our companies, their families and communities are critical to our nations strength, especially since there are tens of thousands of DACA recipients working as front line doctors and nurses and in other critical industries fighting Covid-19. AFP via Getty Images A new poll suggests Democrats from across the party are unifying behind Joe Biden, the partys presumptive candidate heading into the 2020 election. The poll, released by The New York Times and Siena College, surveyed 3,870 registered voters in six battleground states between 8 June to 18 June. All of the voters surveyed voted in the Democratic primary in their state. Of voters who supported Elizabeth Warren in the primary, 96 per cent said they planned to support Mr Biden in the general election. The remainder said they would support another candidate, and none of them indicated they would vote for Donald Trump. Ninety-two per cent of voters who supported Pete Buttigieg said they would support Mr Biden. Three people said they would support Mr Trump, and three said they would support another candidate. Eighty-seven per cent of those who supported Bernie Sanders Mr Bidens top rival during the primaries and the figurehead for the progressive left wing of the Democratic party said they were supporting Mr Biden in the general. Four said they would vote for Mr Trump, and eight said they planned to vote for another candidate. Those numbers have not changed much since a similar poll was conducted in the battleground states Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina last October. At that point, supporters of the progressive candidates said by a 89-4 count that they would support Mr Biden over Mr Trump. Today, that spread is 89-3. Only 81 per cent of Mike Bloomberg supporters and 82 per cent of Amy Klobuchar backers said they would vote for Mr Biden in November. The rallying around Mr Biden is not necessarily indicative of overall Democratic enthusiasm for the candidate, however. Only 21 per cent of Mr Sanders supporters and 40 per cent of Ms Warrens said they were excited for Mr Bidens candidacy. Most said their votes for Mr Biden were votes against Mr Trump. Mr Sanders endorsed Mr Biden in April and asked his supporters to rally behind the presumptive candidate. Read more Biden proposes $700bn plan to revive US economy New Delhi, July 11: Tech giant Google has banned 11 applications from its Play Store for injecting malware into users phones, reports said. The decision to delist the apps comes after the Joker malware was found in the 11 apps on Google Play Store. Reports informed that Android users who may have any of these apps installed should get them removed at the earliest to prevent future threats. According to reports, a new variant of popular malware Joker was discovered by researchers at cybersecurity firm Check Point. Check Point, which deals with security solutions, informed that the Joker Malware was found in all these 11 apps following which they were taken down by Google from the Play Store. Google Meet Crosses 10 Crore Downloads Globally on Google Play Store: Report. The list of apps detected include - imagecompress.android contact.withme.texts hmvoice.friendsms relax.relaxation.androidsms cheery.message.sendsms (two different instances) peason.lovinglovemessage file.recovefiles LPlocker.lockapps remindme.alram training.memorygame The malware Joker is one of the most frequently encountered malware for Android. This is not the first time that Joker malware has made its way to apps on Google Play Store, it has entered the Play Store even in the past. Reports also suggest users to check their mobile and credit-card bills to detect any unknown subscriptions. Earlier, Google had released a report saying that it had detected and removed 1,700 malicious 'Bread' apps from the Google Play Store. These Bread apps are ones with the Joker malware. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 11, 2020 09:39 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Featured in Morgans' 'Under The Microscope' Podcast series Sydney, July 11, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Regeneus Ltd ( ASX:RGS ), a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company, was recently featured in the 'Under the Microscope' podcast series from Morgans.Regeneus CEO Leo Lee spoke with Ian Wilkie, an Analyst at Morgans, about the company's platform technologies Progenza and Sygenus, why there is an unmet need in pain and inflammation treatment and how the company's novel stem cell technology address this market.In the interview, Leo also highlighted the company's upcoming milestones and why he believes stem cell technologies have the potential to be the next plaform to address major diseases and chronic illnesses.To listen to the full interview, please visit:About Regeneus Ltd Regeneus Ltd (ASX:RGS) is a Sydney-based clinical-stage regenerative medicine company using stem cell technologies to develop a portfolio of novel cell-based therapies. The regenerative therapies seek to address unmet medical needs in human health markets, focusing on neuropathic pain, including osteoarthritis and various skin conditions, with its platform technologies Progenza(TM) and Sygenus. Visit www.regeneus.com.au for more information. Some of the arguments that were advanced in this election by the leaders of the PAP why it was imperative that they had the strongest possible mandate, or a clean sweep of seats were obviously self serving and weak arguments, said Garry Rodan, an emeritus professor at Australias Murdoch University who has long studied Singapore. It probably ended up being counterproductive, and might have even swung some people that were sitting on the fence to support an opposition candidate. Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Latvia, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Latvia and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Latvia (issuer rating A3) is supported by the country's "baa2" score for economic strength, reflecting its relatively high wealth levels, flexible economy and an export base that is diversified for the country's small size. Latvia's "a2" score for institutions and governance strength reflects the country's demonstrated capacity to effectively tackle major policy challenges. Its "aa3" score for fiscal strength reflects a low government debt burden that is broadly in line with single A-rated peers, although contingent liability risks from state owned enterprises remain material. Latvia's "baa" score for susceptibility to event risk, reflects geopolitical risks related to the country's tense relationship with Russia. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. 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In March, when New York and other states shuttered schools as the coronavirus crisis worsened, some internet service providers offered free broadband internet service to help families navigate the transition to remote learning. Spectrum and Optimum, for example, each offered a few months of free broadband service to new customers with K-12 or college students. But now, as those offers have started to expire, one problem remains: While plans for reopening schools across New York in the fall have yet to be finalized, its likely that some students will continue remote learning, at least for part of the time. For students and families who lack internet access both in New York City and in rural parts of the state, the digital divide a long-standing problem of unequal internet access, which has been exacerbated and exposed by the pandemic isnt going to go away on its own. Kevin Casey, executive director of the School Administrators Association of New York State, predicted that schooling in the fall will be some sort of combination of in-person and distance learning. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced such a combination earlier this week, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo later clarified that the final decision would be made by the state in early August. Therell be some sort of hybrid, because I dont see how in the world you can stick with the distancing requirements we hear about every day and have all your students, Casey said. And you are still going to have a population where the remote learning aspect presents challenges. A lack of internet access is a pervasive problem not just in rural parts of upstate New York, but in New York City too. In January, de Blasio released an Internet Master Plan, a $2.1 billion roadmap for achieving universal broadband access in the city. Roughly 1.5 million New Yorkers, or about 18% of city residents, dont have a home or mobile broadband connection, according to census data. A previous report by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer showed that disparities in internet access are most apparent in communities of color. This week, de Blasio announced that the Internet Master Plan would be accelerated, investing $157 million to expand broadband internet access to 600,000 New Yorkers including 200,000 New York City Housing Authority residents over the next year and a half. The announcement was made jointly with the citys Racial Inclusion and Equity Task Force, as the plan will prioritize the deployment of free or low-cost broadband $15 per month or less for public housing residents. Its an enormously positive policy for New Yorkers, and it really couldnt come at a better time, said Emil Skandul, the founder of the digital innovation firm Capitol Foundry, who has previously advocated for universal internet access. This is the first pandemic of the Information Age. And not everyone had information at their fingertips. The Internet Master Plan is really seeking to solve that problem, Skandul said. The first phase of the plan began earlier this spring, with a request for proposals that would be quick to implement, including new pricing plans, products and innovative Wi-Fi solutions mobile hotspots, for example. But the Internet Master Plan, as detailed in January, will also involve expanding the existing fiber optic infrastructure to areas without it. That work will likely take much longer. For the timeline that they have for developing the infrastructure, two months is really not a lot of time, Skandul said, predicting that the problem of internet access will still exist when students go back to school in September. A de Blasio spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how soon students without internet access could start to see benefits from the initiative. Despite efforts to quickly equip New York students with internet-connected devices in the early weeks of remote learning this past spring New York City purchased over 300,000 iPads for students and will order another 40,000 getting students connected remains an obstacle. Chalkbeat New York reported that a week into summer school, 36% of students had yet to log on to the city Department of Educations virtual platform. In other parts of the state, schools have deployed mobile hotspots on school buses to help reach students. Short-term solutions like that could continue this fall, assuming that remote learning continues in some capacity. Casey said he thought that, given the difficult circumstances, remote learning went as well as could be expected in the spring, but he acknowledged some students were left behind because of existing inequalities. With the start of school just a few months away, short-term solutions like mobile hotspots and free or low-cost internet options offered by providers may help some, but wont close every gap. Can you ameliorate by September? Yes, I do think so. I think theyve been working toward that, Casey said, noting that both Cuomos Reimagine Education Advisory Council and the state Education Departments Reopening Schools Task Force are well-aware of the internet access issue. Can you make it 100%? No, realistically. And not every school district can afford to purchase the devices and equipment to continue remote learning, though Casey said many were doing what they can. Districts all across the state are making efforts to distribute devices, and even districts in high-poverty areas are setting aside money for that purpose, he said. But therell be some disparities. Life is just easier when you have a lot of resources. As for whether internet service providers would continue to offer free service, Casey said a bit of pressure might help. Theres also the bully pulpit whether the governors office in particular can lean on some of these service providers to continue offering free access, he said. So far, those companies have not agreed to extending their offers of free access despite prodding by some local elected officials, like Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer but cited lower-cost programs. Our goal is to work with our customers to find a plan that matches their needs and budget, including for qualified households, our affordable low-income broadband service, Spectrum Internet Assist, John Bonomo, a spokesman for Charter Communications, wrote over email, citing Spectrums $15 per month plan. Meanwhile, Altice USA, which operates Optimum, said its in talks with school districts about other options to keep students connected, including its own $15 per month offer for qualifying families. We have ongoing dialogues with the NYC Department of Education along with many school districts throughout the region and are actively working with them on a variety of options to continue to assist those students and families in our footprint, a spokesperson wrote over email. While few would argue with the idea that New York is in great need of expanded internet access perhaps now more than ever universal broadband still lies a ways in the future. Still, some think that shouldnt keep New York from aiming for that goal. I believe that the internet should be a right, and everyone should be afforded free or low-cost internet. In this case, its low-cost, but I do think that free internet is the goal here, Skandul said. It shouldnt cross anyones mind whether or not they need to spend $15 a month on the internet, or decide to save that $15 and walk 20 minutes to the library, take a bus to a library or go to a coffee shop in order to have internet access. "Americans harnessed electricity, split the atom and gave the world the telephone and the internet...." You don't have to believe everything you hear, but what to do if such 'facts' come right down from the White House. Twitter has been busy lately calling out the White House for tweeting lines from President Donald Trump's speech from Independence Day Mount Rushmore on July 3 which had a series of claims being accredited to America, but falsely. The White House took to Twitter to write, "Americans harnessed electricity, split the atom, and gave the world the telephone and the internet. We settled the Wild West, won two World Wars, landed American Astronauts on the Moonand one day soon, we will plant our flag on Mars! President @realDonaldTrump" "Americans harnessed electricity, split the atom, and gave the world the telephone and the internet. We settled the Wild West, won two World Wars, landed American Astronauts on the Moonand one day soon, we will plant our flag on Mars!" President @realDonaldTrump The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 6, 2020 However, netizens were quick enough to point out the host of incorrect facts and has been trolling White House for promoting such "fake news". Telephone. Alexander Graham Bell, ScottishAtom first split in Manchester, England by Sir Ernest Rutherford Internet, ok but thats just the means of communication. World Wide Web invented by Sir Tim Berners-LeeElectric motor patented by William Sturgeon from Lancashire Tim@Home* #BLM (@Tim_McNulty) July 7, 2020 Rutherford (Kiwi) split the atom, Bell (Scot) invented the telephone, Berners-Lee (Brit) invented the WWW, settling the Wild West=murdering the Native Americans, the 2 WWs not all yr own work. Otherwise youre good to go. https://t.co/p6i4IwUdma Stephen Mangan (@StephenMangan) July 7, 2020 Dear @WhiteHouse, are you trolling him too now? https://t.co/wgsareabT0 Ken Barlow (@I_am_KenBarlow) July 10, 2020 Wow. So many mistakes in one tweet. Are there no history books in the white house library ? Rob McCluskey (@rob_mccluskey) July 6, 2020 Electricity. Hard to pinpoint one nation.Splitting atom. Ernest Rutherford. New Zealander working in UK.Phone. Alexander Graham Bell. Scottish.Internet. USA. Although WWW was a Brit scientist.WW2. Allies including USA. Russia did A LOT.Wild West. You can have that one Don. https://t.co/TT0QbTzWKT Rob Manuel - Follow @fesshole now! (@robmanuel) July 7, 2020 Woah, woah, some beg to differ!Find out more about how the atom was split: https://t.co/9NKeyIMsFh https://t.co/vhdcVwzcIs The University of Manchester (@OfficialUoM) July 7, 2020 LOOOOOOOOOLAtom - Rutherford, a New Zealander. Internet - Tim Berners-Lee, an Englishman. Telephone - Alexander Graham Bell, a Scotsman.The White House is always spot on https://t.co/Cs52C4Qm3Y Daniele Palumbo (@Danict89) July 7, 2020 On Thursday, Trump tweeted about increasing number of coronavirus cases in the US and said that the only reason the country had more cases than anywhere else in the world is because they were testing more. He said that millions of Americans had been tested and that if they reduced testing by half, the number of cases would go down. For emphasis, Trump used a common English phrase - "For the hundredth time." But there was an error - he wrote "1/100th", which means one by hundred whereas he probably meant to write "one-hundredth time". While available hospital beds are becoming fewer and fewer, healthcare workers across the state are growing weary from the stress of COVID-19. The impact of a feared spike from the Independence Day weekend is still days away and schools will reopen in a month. Its a daunting scenario with one last chance to reverse the trend before it becomes a dire scenario, according to Dr. Don Williamson, president of the Alabama Hospital Association. I think weve got a very narrow window if were going to get a handle on it, he said in an interview with AL.com on Thursday. The numbers are not encouraging. The state has seen a sharp increase in hospitalizations over the past two weeks. Since June 28, the number of coronavirus inpatients reported by ADPH has increased by 82 percent. Williamson said Thursday that there are still about 1,600 available beds statewide. But thats just 20 percent of the states capacity, Williamson said. Alabama in July is already on pace to shatter the state mark for most new coronavirus cases in a month. The last two days, weve had the single largest days of new admissions to the hospital weve seen, Williamson said. If you look at the ICU beds, the last three days have given us the lowest number of available ICU beds in the state since this began. And COVID-19 patients do not have a monopoly on those beds. Theres still people having strokes, heart attacks, babies and automobile accidents, Williamson said. You cant use all your hospital beds for COVID. You have to be able to continue to take care of other things that people present with. Related: 1,304 new coronavirus cases in Alabama since yesterday; Deaths jump by 35 Related: AL.coms coronavirus coverage East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika is an example. The hospital said Thursday that 259 of its 314 beds and 27 of its 30 critical care beds were occupied. I believe were at another pivotal point, EAMC President and CEO Laura Grill said in the update. The Huntsville Hospital Healthcare System is another example. With campuses throughout north Alabama, the system this week halted all elective procedures that require an overnight stay in the hospital. The hospital at this time of year is already full, said Tracy Doughty, chief operations officer for Huntsville Hospital. Adding (COVID-19) patients on top of that causes a little stress in some areas. Its the scenario thats been looming throughout the pandemic hospitals unable to care for all who are sick. While Alabama hasnt reached that threshold, the trend line is heading up. Alabama reached a new high for coronavirus hospitalizations on Friday, with the Alabama Department of Public Health reporting a record 1,183 current inpatients being treated for the virus in the states hospitals. That also pushed the rolling 7-day average for current daily hospitalizations past 1,000 for the first time, up to 1,039. Hospitals plan for surges and have strategies to create more bed space when demanded. Hospitals are managing, said Dr. Karen Landers, district medical officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health, on Friday. But they are managing at a capacity that is requiring them to exercise their surge plans and their additional resources that they have not had to do prior to this time. So hospitals are managing. Hospitals are managing but they are strained. That is why we must carry out the activities to back this off. As for specific locations, Williamson said for now he is concerned about hospitals in the Birmingham area as well as the Huntsville area two areas that have seen significant jumps in cases in recent days. The situation has improved in Montgomery. There Mayor Steven Reed implemented a mandatory face covering ordinance on June 18. Since then, more cities, such as Huntsville and Mobile, have also come under mask ordinances. And Williamson said he would favor a statewide mask mandate. We can demonstrate the mask order in Montgomery has helped, he said. In mid-June, they had 180 people in the hospital. Today, there are 123 in the hospital. What they did in the interval is they implemented a mask ordinance. I think that contributed dramatically. The toll on healthcare workers cant be overlooked. David Spillers, CEO of Huntsville Hospital, has maintained throughout the pandemic that the number of beds isnt the worry. Instead, its making sure there are healthcare workers available to care for the patients in those beds. Williamson said that nurses are at higher risk for COVID-19 by nature of their jobs, and illness can result in a loss of manpower at a time when patient demand is increasing. The rate-limiting factor is going to be healthcare workers, he said. Healthcare workers have also been dealing with the stress and anxiety of being on the front lines of the pandemic and caring for an unusually high number of ICU patients that may ultimately end with a loss of life. You combine the fact youve got fewer healthcare workers because of COVID and youve got healthcare workers that are stressed and exhausted and we started where almost every hospital had a shortage of healthcare workers, Williamson said. Landers has said she was planning to retire from practicing medicine when the pandemic hit. Those plans have been put on hold. Health care workers, theyre just like us, she said on Friday. Theyre people, too. We have families, we have friends, we have loved ones and people need a little bit of a break to be able to regroup before the other illnesses that tend to come along in the fall, like influenza. We need to be able to get this strain off our healthcare system. AL.com reporter Lee Roop contributed to this report. I would maybe think about that, Mr. Trump told Axios. Maduro would like to meet. And Im never opposed to meetings you know, rarely opposed to meetings. The White House moved quickly to clean up those off-message comments, and Mr. Trump himself insisted on Twitter that he would only meet with Maduro to discuss one thing: a peaceful exit from power. In scripted messages like Fridays, Mr. Trump has expressed nothing but solid support for Mr. Guaido. In February, Mr. Trump welcomed him to the White House and hosted him as a special guest at his State of the Union address, where Mr. Trump vowed that Mr. Maduros grip on tyranny will be smashed and broken. That is the version of Mr. Trumps views much preferred by both the White House and his campaign aides, who hope to rally Floridas Hispanic voters with a tough anti-Maduro message, especially the roughly 700,000 Cuban-Americans in the Miami area who mostly oppose Cubas government and its close ally Mr. Maduro, who supplies oil to Havana. A much smaller number of the thousands of Venezuelans in Florida, 50,000 by some estimates, are eligible to vote. Mr. Bolton also recounts that Mr. Trump repeatedly expressed interest in invading Venezuela, an idea he has hinted at publicly, though not recently. Mr. Bolton writes that, in August 2018, the White House chief of staff at the time, John F. Kelly, told him that Mr. Trump says it would be cool to invade Venezuela. Expanding his message to include new condemnations of Cuba, which the president denounces for its communist government and for its support of Mr. Maduro, Mr. Trump sought on Friday to depict Mr. Biden as sympathetic to their socialist policies and as a vehicle for the American left to carry them out in the United States. Joe Biden and the radical left are trying to impose the same system socialism-plus in America, Mr. Trump said. Biden is a puppet of Bernie Sanders, A.O.C. and the radical left, he added, using an acronym for the liberal Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has released a report on a fact-finding inquiry, enumerating attacks made against rights defenders during the Duterte administration. The Commission finds that there is a systematic attack against HRDs across all sectors of civil society, the 104-page report stated. CHR said that these attacks characterized by a pattern of abhorrent acts, practices, and omissions put the life of human rights defenders in danger. The report also noted that the prevailing climate of impunity in the country against human rights activists is because of the pronouncements made by President Rodrigo Duterte, creating a dangerous fiction that it is legitimate to hunt down and commit atrocities against HRDs. The prevailing climate of impunity in the context of violence against HRDs is largely attributable to the pronouncements of the president, the report read. Some of the alleged abuses and violations the inquiry revealed were the distortion of the concept of human rights, public vilification, red-tagging, and profiling and surveillance. These acts largely remain unabated and HRDs are oftentimes left without any remedy to protect themselves, the commission said. The fact-finding inquiry was launch by the CHR in September 2019, as letters were received from individuals and organizations containing allegations of human rights violations attributed to state officials, the commission noted. The report pointed out that the inquiry was designed to determine the veracity of the contentions against State organs regarding the alleged violations. In a progressive move for the gender minorities, West Bengal and Telangana authorities have earmarked separate hospital wards for transgenders who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. In West Bengal, government-run MR Bangur Hospital a COVID-19-designated facility located in south Kolkata, has earmarked beds for COVID-19 patients belonging to the transgender community. The hospital, on Monday, admitted it's first coronavirus patient - a transgender woman. She worked at a diagnostic laboratory and possibly picked up the infection while collecting blood samples. AFP The patient told The Times of India, "I dont have much symptoms and I could have stayed in home quarantine. But as I live alone, I was a bit concerned about who would run errands for me. That is why I got hospitalised. Recently, a division bench of Telangana High Court, expressing concern over the state of transgender community, directed the State government to ensure that people of the community are provided proper medical aid in hospitals if they get infected by coronavirus. They were asked to allot special wards for the community. Vayjanti Vasanta Mogli, a founding member of Telangana Hijra, Intersex and Transgender Samiti, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), seeking separate wards for the persons of the community from the Telangana High Court. The HC had thus issued directions for creation of separate wards in Government hospitals for Transgender people, and providing free healthcare and medicines. According to the order, trnasgender persons who cannot access medicines for hormone therapy due to the lockdown shall also be provided for medicines sponsored by the state. Eddie Boxshall and Denise Van Outen opened up about their relationship on White Wine Question Time (Getty) Denise Van Outen and partner Eddie Boxshall, who are currently appearing on Celebrity Googlebox together, have been dating for six years after being set up on a blind date. Speaking on White Wine Question Time, the former Big Breakfast host told podcast host and close pal Kate Thornton that she and Eddie were set up together by a close friend. I was well up for going on a blind date, because I'm not one of those people that would ever do the apps or anything and all that, said Van Outen. It's just not me. I'm a bit old school like that. And I trusted my friend and thought, right, why not? When Denise asked to see a photograph of her potential date though, the date nearly didnt happen! I thought you looked a bit like Bruce Forsyth! she told Eddie on the podcast. LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 14: Eddie Boxshall (L) and Denise Van Outen attend a party hosted by Jonathan Shalit to celebrate his OBE at Avenue on October 14, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Getty Images) She continued: I see myself as still looking like 21 you know, when you think you still look all right and you don't see anything I thought I look good for my age. Then they sent me a picture of you with grey hair and I thought He looks like an old man! Read more: Denise van Outen speaks to ex-husband Lee Mead everyday Meanwhile, Boxshall assumed his friend Adam was joking when he sent him a photo of Denise. This continued when Eddie went for their date at London members club Soho House and the receptionist told him who he would be meeting. I said, 'Oh, has Adam put you up to this? he recalled, laughing. Thankfully, the date went well and the couple have experienced many fabulous times since that initial meeting. Asked by Thornton to recall their best ever date, the pair agreed it had to be the time they stayed on their own private island. We were very lucky to go to the Maldives on a really nice little trip, remembered Van Outen. My friend had organised, as a surprise, for us to go and have dinner on a private island. Read more: Denise Van Outen making scrubs from home to help NHS staff Story continues The pair got to spend the night on their deserted island, and after having a feast cooked for them, they were left alone for the night. I completely stripped off naked because I thought, I just want to run around the island and feel free, Van Outen told Thornton, laughing that Eddie wouldnt join in with her and insisted on keeping his pants on. He was convinced we were being watched, laughed Van Outen. While the pair have enjoyed many glamorous moments together, lockdown has seen them grapple with some of the more normal issues most couples have been dealing with such as home hairdressing and keeping the house tidy, but Van Outen has one particular pet hate. We've got in our bathroom, a towel rail, which is heated, explained Van Outen. If you're having a shower or anything, it's common sense isn't it? You just put your wet towel on it. Eddie doesn't. He will find a door, any door, and not even hang it on the back of the door where there are hooks He hangs it over the door. That really irritates me and also beard trim - I find it everywhere! Read more: Denise Van Outen started drinking again in lockdown after year of sobriety While Boxshall said he hates it when Van Outen talks over him or doesnt listen to him, the pair agreed that getting annoyed with each other was just part of normal life together. I do think its quite normal, isnt? said Van Outen, who said that her friends also quarrel about the same thing with their other halves. The couple finally moved in together last year and Boxshall is definitely glad he went on that first date. I've landed on my feet, he said. She's beautiful and she's funny! Hear Denise Van Outen and Eddie Boxshall talk about the real stories behind their Instagram photos on the latest episode of White Wine Question Time. Listen now on iTunes and Spotify. Canadian experts say an acknowledgment by the World Health Organization this week that airborne transmission of the coronavirus could be possible in poorly ventilated areas does not mean its a predominant route of transmission. I think the concern is that this form of the virus could theoretically be more prevalent than we initially anticipated, but thats a theory only, said Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, infectious diseases expert at University Health Network. When you look at real-world experience and real-world evidence, its not (matched) by what weve seen. Up until now, the WHO has been steadfast in its assertion that the virus was predominantly spread when people were close enough that air droplets from one person coughing or sneezing could reach another persons eyes, nose or mouth. Or when a person touched a surface contaminated with the virus. The organization has said airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can only occur during medical procedures that generate aerosols, such as intubation. But in a scientific briefing released Thursday, the WHO said for the first time that under some circumstances airborne transmission may occur outside of medical environments, such as in crowded and poorly ventilated settings. The acknowledgment by the WHO came after an open letter from Donald Milton, a professor of internal medicine and environmental health at the University of Maryland, and Lidia Morawska, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Queensland University of Technology in Australia. The letter, signed by more than 200 others, appealed to the medical community at large, as well as national and international bodies, to recognize the potential transmission route of the virus through inhalation of microscopic respiratory droplets, and to recommend precautions. Its authors pointed to studies that have demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that viruses are released during exhalation, talking, and coughing in microdroplets small enough to remain aloft in air and pose a risk of exposure at distances beyond one to two metres from an infected individual. But Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.s provincial health officer, called the letter controversial in a news conference this week, according to media reports, and said that SARS-CoV-2 spreads mainly through larger droplets transmitted when close contact with others occurs. Henry said the virus was different from airborne viruses such as measles and smallpox, which can be spread through microdroplets that can be suspended in air for several hours and pass through ventilation systems. Sharkawy said his concern is that the letter is arousing more alarm than is helpful. Theres absolutely no evidence that anybody working outside of a medical setting or high-risk setting of some kind requires the use of N95 masks for their own safety, he said. Although the WHO acknowledged that airborne transmission may have contributed to some outbreaks of COVID-19, it also said other factors such as droplets or contaminated surfaces may have been at fault. To date, transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) by this type of aerosol route has not been demonstrated, according to the briefing, and that much more research is needed given the possible implications of such route of transmission. This interview with Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, infectious diseases expert at University Health Network, has been condensed. How are viruses that can be airborne typically transmitted? Talking? Coughing? Thats an excellent way to contrast what were seeing with COVID-19 compared to say measles, or shingles or tuberculosis. Those are aerosolizing pathogens, which means that simply talking, simply actually breathing in the same airspace as somebody else, lets say in an enclosed room you could potentially be at risk. Those particles will be suspended in the air because theyre smaller, and they will remain suspended sometimes for hours. And because theyre suspended over time and can travel over greater distances, all you have to do is walk into a room two hours potentially after an infected person was in the room and you may be at risk. We have absolutely no evidence that COVID-19 poses the same threat to people. What is the difference between microdroplets and droplets? Microdroplets are basically somewhere between aerosols and droplets. Then theres micro-aerosols as well. Microdroplets are small droplets, aerosols are much smaller than the micro-droplets and the micro-aerosols are even smaller than that. The truth is microdroplets are probably still not that much more contagious or transmissible than droplets are. Sharkawy said because microdroplets are smaller than droplets, they are capable of travelling further, but not by much. And they are not suspended in the air for any length of time. What do we know about airborne transmission of COVID-19 and microdroplets? We dont think that microdroplets are a major form of transmission of this virus. As simple as that I would highlight the fact that outside of high-risk medical, dental and other health-care related settings, the risk of aerosolizing from this virus is exceedingly low. Its just not reflected in real-world evidence. Sharkawy said if youre near a person breathing heavily during a workout, or coughing, that person may release a small amount of aerosolized particulate infectious matter, but the majority of whats being released from an infected source is still the heavier droplet variety. For aerosols, will a cloth mask help? No. If were going to consider what theoretically will work against aerosols or not, then thats why N95 masks are made. N95 masks are made to filter small particulate matter and to prevent them from being ingested or breathed in. But Sharkawy said people should be more concerned with social distancing when they are in a store or on public transit, as well as other measures such as mask wearing. They are not going to encounter a situation where somebody is so heavily infected with COVID-19 that theyre going to be expelling a high degree of aerosolizing matter into the air around you. The situations where we are concerned with that is in a hospital where someone is being put on a ventilator, for example, or deep suctioning is being pursued on them or some other high-risk medical procedure. Occasionally some dental procedure or ophthalmologic procedures can predispose somebody to that same level of risk, but those are the situations where you do need an N95 mask. What is your thought or reaction to this open letter to the WHO? I think its reasonable to remain cautious, said Sharkawy, but that means you should be doing things that are readily accessible to manage your own safety and those around you. Does there have to be a certain concentration of the virus in an aerosol or microdroplet for it to be contagious? Absolutely. We do believe that the aerosols that are being released actually contain less viral RNA, they actually have a lower viral load in them compared to the heavier droplets, which is deemed to be the more conventional route for transmission. Are we concerned about aerosols or microdroplets outdoors? Theres very little evidence that theres really any measurable amount of outdoor transmission. Is it reasonable to wear a mask if youre in a crowded setting (indoors or outdoors)? Absolutely. Is it a must if you go outside? Absolutely not. I think that theres no evidence for that. If you want to enjoy the fresh air in a park or anywhere else with your family and youre engaging in a safe practice otherwise with respect to distancing, theres absolutely no need for a mask. Would you want to open a window if you have people over? No question. Everybody has a different level of comfort. I dont have anybody inside my house, whether theyre part of a circle or a bubble or whatnot. Im still comfortable meeting with my close friends only outdoors, where they are still social distancing. If other people feel more comfortable in an indoor setting, absolutely I think its a good idea, number one, to be in as spacious a setting as possible. If you have the ability to have windows opened, thats great. If thats not an option, having the air conditioning set to a very high level will help but its not quite as effective. I want to join with you once more in mourning the victims of those terrible events, and to stand with the families in their fight for justice, Johnson said in his video message. There are those who would prefer to forget or deny the enormity of what took place (in Srebrenica in 1995). We must not allow that to happen. The Trump administration is set to finalize regulations this week that ban the United States government from working with contractors who use technology from five Chinese companies: Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera Communications, according to a Reuters report. The ban was first introduced as a provision in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that prevents government agencies from signing contracts with companies that use equipment, services and systems from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua, or any of their subsidiaries and affiliates, citing national security concerns. Contractors were given until August 13, 2020 to comply, but immediately began voicing concerns over the ambiguity of the law. More recently, the National Defense Industrial Association, a trade group, asked the government to extend the deadline because it said many contractors are currently dealing with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Defense News. Another challenge for federal contractors is that the companies on the blacklist are global market leaders in their respective categories, making it harder to find alternatives. For example, Huawei and ZTE are two of the largest telecom equipment providers in the world; Dahua and Hikvision are two of the biggest providers of surveillance equipment and cameras; and Hytera is a market leader for two-way radios. The ban is one of many entanglements Huawei has had with the U.S. government since it was first identified as a national security threat, along with ZTE, in a 2012 Congressional report. In May 2019, Huawei filed a legal motion against the provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, with the companys chief legal officer stating that "politicians in the U.S. are using the strength of an entire nation to come after a private company." The United States, however, is not the only country with national security concerns about Huawei. On Thursday, for example, Reuters reported that Telecom Italia (TIM) decided to exclude Huawei from its tender for 5G equipment in Italy and Brazil, as the Italian government deliberates whether to bar Huawei's tech from the country's 5G network. Huawei told Reuters that "the security and development of digital Italy should be based on an approach grounded in facts and not baseless allegations." The United Kingdom is also reportedly considering a similar ban on Huawei in its 5G network. This photo provided by the Monroe County Correctional Center in Bloomington, Ind., shows Christi Bennett on July 9, 2020. (Monroe County Correctional Center via AP) Woman Charged in Hit-and-Run at Indiana Protest INDIANAPOLISAn Indiana woman was charged Thursday in a hit-and-run crash that sent one woman to the hospital and caused minor injuries to a man during a southern Indiana protest over an alleged assault of a black man by a group of white men. Prosecutors charged Christi Bennett, 66, with two counts of criminal recklessness, both felonies, and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, one a felony and the other a misdemeanor, court records show. She was charged after being booked into the Monroe County Jail and released on a $500 cash bond, Monroe County Sheriffs Deputy Barry Grooms said. Bennetts first court appearance is scheduled for July 17. She could not immediately be reached for comment. The confrontation happened near the Monroe County Courthouse in Bloomington, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis, on Monday evening. Twenty-nine-year-old Chasity Mottinger was injured when Bennetts red Toyota Corolla accelerated into her, launching her onto the hood, according to the probable cause affidavit. A 35-year-old man, Geoff Stewart, then grabbed the drivers side of the car and held on as the vehicle accelerated. Both were eventually flung to the ground and the car drove off. Bennett never stopped, charging documents indicate. Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the attack. Mottinger was knocked unconscious and cut her head. She was hospitalized, police said, although no updates have been made about her condition. Stewart had scrapes to his arms. Stewart told The Associated Press he tried to speak with Bennett and navigate her car through traffic after the protest ended. Seconds after he approached her car, Bennett revved it forward, he said. Im really disappointed that she was released on such a small bond with her history of violence, Stewart said. This just adds to the concerns the community has had latelybut actually for a very long timeregarding violent white individuals not receiving proper attention from law enforcement, like the men last weekend. Bennett, who is white, has previously been convicted of other felonies, including stalking, according to court records. Bloomington Police Department investigators determined Wednesday that Bennett, the woman the car was registered to, was staying at a motel in Scottsburg, Capt. Ryan Pedigo said in a news release. Investigators found her exiting a motel room and took her to Bloomington to be interviewed, he said. She and her lawyer declined to provide a statement to investigators, according to Pedigo. Police say her drivers license shows her as living in Greensburg, but that she has been living at the motel for at least a year. The protesters had gathered Monday to demand arrests in an alleged assault on Vauhxx Booker, a civil rights activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission, by a group of white men at Monroe Lake near Bloomington over the Fourth of July weekend. Booker said the men pinned him against a tree, shouted racial slurs and one of them threatened to get a noose. The FBI has said its investigating the reported assault. Monroe County First Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Kehr said Thursday afternoon that the prosecutors office is still reviewing the Booker case. No charges have been filed yet, he added, with none expected Thursday. By Casey Smith The Epoch Times staff contributed to this report. Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday arrested two more people from Madhya Pradeshs Gwalior in connection with the killings of eight policemen in Kanpur by gangster Vikas Dubey and his men on July 3, said officials. Vikas Dubey was shot dead on Friday morning after what the police have said was an escape attempt after a road accident near Kanpur city. They said the two Gwalior residents were arrested for harbouring two members of Vikas Dubeys gang for more than four days before they moved to another hideout. JN Singh, additional director general (ADG) of police of Kanpur Zone, said the two men have been identified as Om Prakash Pandey and Anil Pandey. Singh said they allowed Shashi Kant Pandey alias Sonu and Shivam Dubey, accused in Kanpur cops killing case, to stay at their homes despite being well aware that the UP police are in their search. He said the two carry a reward of Rs 50,000 each for their head and are among the list of 21 active members of Vikas Dubeys gang released earlier. The senior official said the two Gwalior residents have been booked under section 216 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for harbouring the accused in the case. Vikas Dubey and five of his gang members, including Atul Dubey, Amar Dubey, Prem Prakash Pandey, Praveen Pandey and Prabhat Mishra, have been killed between July 3 and 10 and three have been arrested while 12 others are still at large. Of those still on the run, Gopal Saini and Heeru Dubey carry a reward of Rs 1 lakh each, and the remaining 10 carry a reward of Rs 50,000 each. Besides, seven people, including former Chaubeypur station officer Vinay Tewari and sub-inspector KK Sharma, have been arrested for criminal conspiracy and harbouring Vikas Dubeys gang members as well as helping them escape after the ambush. Vikas Dubey and his men had opened indiscriminate firing on the police team when they raided his house in Kanpurs Bikru village. Devendra Mishra, the circle officer of Bilhaur, three sub-inspectors and four constables were killed while six others were injured. What happened Shares of top automakers Toyota (NYSE:TM), Ford (NYSE:F), and General Motors (NYSE:GM) all tumbled during the first six months of 2020, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Toyota, the largest carmaker in the world by number of vehicles sold, made it to June 30 relatively unscathed, with shares down just 10.6%. Meanwhile, GM and Ford were walloped by the stock market, with shares down 30.9% and 34.6%, respectively, over the same time frame. All three automakers underperformed the S&P 500's 4% decline during that period. So what The first half of 2020 was practically tailor-made to hurt auto manufacturers, particularly those with a big presence in the U.S. Even before the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic, the auto industry looked to be in trouble. Shutdowns in China, the first country to experience a COVID-19 epidemic, essentially shuttered an already-slowing Chinese auto market as well as auto manufacturing operations in the country. Considering that China has the largest auto market in the world, its 80% drop in February sales was concerning for investors in automotive companies. It was a canary in the coal mine for the global auto industry. In mid-March, things really began to fall apart for the automakers. First, the coronavirus spread to Europe, causing all three companies to shut down their European manufacturing operations. Only a few days later, with COVID-19 escalating in the U.S., they also closed their North American plants under pressure from unions. Besides causing operational headaches, the shuttering of factories triggered a series of financial issues. Automakers record sales of vehicles when they're delivered to customers, meaning that the factory shutdowns abruptly robbed the companies of revenue. With no revenue coming in, Ford and GM had to take immediate and drastic steps to free up cash to pay parts suppliers and employees. Right away, Ford suspended its dividend and drew heavily on its credit lines, resulting in a nearly immediate downgrading of its credit rating to junk status. GM joined Ford in implementing pay cuts and issuing bonds but managed to hold out until late April before suspending its own dividend. Toyota, on the other hand, has neither cut nor suspended its dividend, which may have factored into its relative outperformance. And, of course, it goes without saying that all three automakers' North American sales plummeted. With the unemployment rate rising and the U.S. tipping into recession, many consumers put off making big-ticket purchases like cars and SUVs. Meanwhile, stay-at-home orders not only prevented people from heading to the dealerships to begin the process of buying a car but also reduced demand for cars as people no longer had to commute. Now what Things may be starting to return to normal for the automakers. Chinese auto sales for all three automakers have rebounded as the Middle Kingdom has gotten a handle on the coronavirus. U.S. auto plants began to reopen in May, with global production ramping back up in many regions. However, the recovery isn't a done deal just yet. Coronavirus cases are continuing to rise in most U.S. states, and some have even had to scale back or reverse their reopening plans to try to prevent the spread of the illness. U.S. unemployment is still above 10%, and while global demand for vehicles has improved from March and April, it's still down year over year and isn't expected to fully recover until at least 2021. All three companies are trading below book value at this point, so there's an argument to be made that now's the time to buy. And indeed, if a swift economic recovery occurs, the automakers should benefit. But that's a big "if." A slower recovery would likely bring continued underperformance and perhaps even further cash crunches. With their dividends suspended, GM and Ford may not be worth the wait. Risk-averse investors will probably want to look elsewhere. New Delhi, July 11 : Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested a convicted criminal who was out on parole for keeping illegal weapons. He was nabbed with a semi automatic pistol -- 9mm Brazilian make Taurus Beretta with 10 live rounds. Police said that he has been an associate of Dawood Ibrahim. Police said Anwar Thakur is a resident of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. "The accused is a life convict in a murder case of Sadar Bazar in Delhi in which he had shot dead a police informer inside the police station in 1992," said Rakesh Pawaria, DCP Crime. Anwar had come out on parole on March 17, 2020. He had cases under the Arms Act registered against him in Lodhi Colony and Pandav Nagar in Delhi. Police are now trying to ascertain how he got possession of an illegal weapon. His younger brother Ashraf Awas was also a dreaded criminal and was killed in an encounter with Mumbai Police in 2002. "It is also known that Anwar Thakur and his brother Ashraf Thakur were associated with Dawood Ibrahim and were also close associates of Fajlu Rehman, who was closely associated with gangster Babloo Srivastava. The accused Anwar Thakur is an associate of Chhenu Pehalwan - the patron of the notorious Chhenu gang active in the Trans-Yamuna area, who is languishing in Tihar Jail. Anwar Thakur would roam in the area in an effort to revive the Chhenu gang which was becoming weak and losing its clout due to the judicial custody of Chhenu Pehalwan," the officer said. WHO to set up probe into virus origin An advance team from the World Health Organization has left for China to organize an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus which sparked the global pandemic. TEHRAN, Iran, July. 11 Trend: Iran's customs spokesman announced resumption of trade relations with all neighboring countries except for Turkmenistan and Iraq. "The common land borders with Turkmenistan, including Sarakhs, Bajgiran, Lotfabad and Incheh Borun are closed, but the rail connection between two countries through Sarakhs and Incheh Borun terminals is operated, Roulollah Latifi said, Trend reports citing IRNA. Noting that seven border markets at Kurdistan Region are open, Latifi added: "Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, there was no closure in these borders, but the amount of trade had decreased. "We will also resume trade at the Soumar border with Iraq in the next few days, he said. "The permit to reopen the border has been issued in recent days, but practical steps have been delayed to implement health protocols. Referring to the other common land border with Iraq, the official noted that within the first four hours of reopening of the Shalamcheh border, 250 trucks were transited via the border. He expressed hope that Iraq will facilitate the reopening of the Khosravi and Chazabeh borders in the near future. Foxconn plans to invest up to $1 billion to expand a factory in southern India where the Taiwanese contract manufacturer assembles Apple iPhones, two sources said. The move, the scale of which has not previously been reported, is part of a quiet and gradual production shift by Apple away from China as it navigates disruptions from a trade war between Beijing and Washington and the coronavirus crisis. "There's a strong request from Apple to its clients to move part of the iPhone production out of China," one of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Foxconn said it does not comment on matters related to customers, while Apple did not respond to a request for comment. Foxconn's planned investment in the Sriperumbur plant, where Apple's iPhone XR is made some 50 km west of Chennai, will take place over the course of three years, the second source said. Some of Apple's other iPhones models, made by Foxconn in China, will be made at the plant, said both sources, who declined to be identified as the talks are private and details have yet to be finalised. Taipei-headquartered Foxconn will add some 6,000 jobs at the Sriperumbur plant in Tamil Nadu state under the plan, one of the sources said. It also operates a separate plant in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where it makes smartphones for China's Xiaomi Corp, among others. Foxconn Chairman Liu Young-way last month said it would ramp up its investment in India, without giving details. STATUS SYMBOL Apple accounts for about 1% of smartphone sales in India, the world's second-biggest smartphone market, where its pricey iPhones are often seen as a status symbol. Building more phones in India will also help Apple save on import taxes that further push up its prices. Apple assembles a few models through Taiwan's Wistron Corp in the southern tech hub of Bengaluru. Wistron is also set to open a new plant, where it plans to make more Apple devices, Reuters previously reported. "With India's labour cheaper compared with China, and the gradual expansion of its supplier base here, Apple will be able to use the country as an export hub," Neil Shah of Hong Kong-based tech researcher Counterpoint said. India is also working to boost electronics manufacturing by firms such as Foxconn and last month launched a $6.65 billion plan, offering five global smartphone makers incentives to establish or expand domestic production. Having Apple widen its local presence is likely to be a boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship "Make In India" drive, aimed at creating new jobs. South Korea's Samsung has already said it will make smartphones for export from its plant outside New Delhi. Also read: Ola's Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Senior Vice President quit Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Needing a change in employment as a young man, I crammed my carpenter tools and all the rest of my worldly belongings in my van and headed for Jacksonville Florida. Quickly landing a new job through a previous acquaintance I began working ninety hours a week as a carpenter. Construction was expanding rapidly and I soon learned that electricians were making almost forty percent more an hour than carpenters. God sovereignly opened a door for me to work for Allstate Electric Company, one of the largest electrical shops in the state. One of my first assignments working near Jacksonville Beach was as the electrical helper for a spirited young journeyman by the name of Tyson Wheeler. I had been powerfully saved and filled with the Holy Spirit only a couple of years earlier. I knew through the power of prayer that Gods call to evangelize was very strong on my life. My passion was to share Jesus Christ with every needy heart I could find, so it was inevitable that Tyson, although a reluctant listener, became one of my first audiences. Tyson had a few hobbies in his life that caused a bit of a distraction in his normal workday. An avid surfer and fisherman, if he learned that the surf was up or the shrimp were running he would disappear for an hour or two letting his crew know that he had something important that he had to do. In addition, he liked to pull his van off around the corner from the jobsite and smoke weed as he enjoyed his latest Playboy Magazine from a stack he kept hidden under his front seat. For some reason, Tyson started right out using me as his scapegoat. I found out later that when the bosses back in Jacksonville queried him as to why our crew were lagging behind on completing our condos, he was telling the boss, Its that Yankee Harkness that you sent down here. He is so slow, its hard to get anything done with him here. Meanwhile, Tysons wife and little girl back home were praying that God would soften his heart to the Gospel, and so God began to do something unique in Tysons life. During breaks I would share my testimony with Tyson and tell him of Gods undeserved love for him. Tysons daughter had caught him one day smoking a joint and looking at one of those magazines in his van while sitting at home in his driveway. She told him, Daddy, Jesus does not like it when you do those things. God used that incident to touch his heart and eventually Tyson gave his life to Jesus and started attending my home church with his wife and daughter. Through one of the deacons of our church, a different job soon opened up for me working at the general office building of Seaboard Systems Railroad. As a maintenance electrician, I enjoyed a climate controlled work environment in a department with eight other Christian men who prayed every morning before starting work. I received paid vacation and full benefits and it was a dream job. I was told it would be a temporary position but could soon be permanent. The railroad wanted to hire one more temporary electrician and then decide between the two who would be brought on full time. As soon as Tyson got wind that I had gotten a job with the railroad, he immediately approached me saying, Nolan hey, if anything else opens up down there let me know ok? I immediately thought, Yeah right after what he did to me down at the beach job, and only one of us will be kept on permanently, no way Lord! However, I prayed, Lord, if this is You and You want me to tell Tyson about that job, have him ask me again at church this Sunday. As soon as church dismissed, I made a dash for the door to avoid Tyson. However, as I was doing so, I heard a NOLAN yelled clear across the church. Wait a minute, I need to see you! Sure enough, the fleece was met, and you guessed it, Tyson was hired as the second non-permanent electrician. In the ensuing months, Tyson began to grow wonderfully in his faith. God knew that he wanted to use me and the other Christian guys to help big brother him a bit. He hit some potholes and stumbled some, but began to love Jesus more and more and never once became a problem which ever put my job in jeopardy. Eventually my calling to be an evangelist led me to move back to my home area in rural Pennsylvania. Although I felt my heaven-sent assignment with Tyson was complete, we did continue to stay in touch. It soon developed that he was about to face his own calling; he was diagnosed with fifth level melanoma cancer and it spread rapidly. In my last phone call to him, he said to me, Nolan, I saw my two best friends this morning! I know they are giving me morphine but I am not taking it all and I am not imagining this. I turned on the TV and Nolan there you were, in a rerun of that time you shared your testimony on the local television station. A short time later Jesus appeared at the foot of my bed and told me not to worry about my wife and little girl. He told me that He was taking me home, and they would be alright. I said Tyson, pray for me when you get there! His last words to me were, Im gonna tell them I know you! Tyson soon thereafter caught his perfect wave and went home to be with Jesus. We never truly know whose lives we will have a chance to touch. Ask yourself as you pray if there is a Tyson in your life? Hummingbirds Learn to Count to Find Their Favorite Flowers Smithsonian Country diary: mighty oaks have sprung from the work of the lively jay Guardian Famished NYC Rats Are Harassing Outdoor Diners Forbes From payments to armaments: the double life of Wirecards Jan Marsalek FT (Richard Smith). Quite a lead: It was early 2018 when Jan Marsalek, the young chief operating officer of German fintech champion Wirecard, held a meeting in his palatial home in Munich to talk about a new special project he was interested in: recruiting 15,000 Libyan militiamen. Second paragraph: Mr Marsalek has now vanished Richard Smith comments: Wirecard just keeps on giving. Sovereign Creditors Must Not Rewrite the Rules During the Pandemic Project Syndicate Most hedge funds to be allowed to keep equity holdings secret FT #COVID19 Pandemic Threatens to Kill More From Hunger Than Infection Bloomberg China? Indonesia seizes two Chinese boats after body of man found aboard South China Morning Post Singapore election latest: How the night unfolded Nikkei Asian Review. Empty offices growing in Tokyo as virus gives tenants pause Japan Times India Why India and Russia Are Going to Stay Friends Foreign Policy UK/EU The New Pirates of Ancient Albion VenezuelAnalysis RussiaGate New Cold War The Washington Post and Its Cold War Drums Counterpunch Trump Transition 2020 Democrats in Disarray Oh, Neera: if the GOP were smart this would be 2020's "basket of deplorables" comment. DNC saying its actually a good thing Those People are being ravaged by a deadly disease right now https://t.co/nvYzMaZJnJ Ape/Machine Interface (@chimponsey) July 10, 2020 California, which is tracking Texas and Florida quite nicely, is apparently not a blue state and did not have the thinking. Why Wont Democrats Just Come Out for Legalizing Marijuana? The Nation Failed State Watch Black Injustice Tipping Point Class Warfare Joe Costello on democratic politics and the Civil Rights Movement Immigrants as a Weapon If its Not Cancel Culture, What Kind of Culture is it? (excerpt) Matt Taibbi (GF). The woke version of erotica is writing an article for the Guardian about how ejaculating skyscrapers are symbols of cisnormative dominance. They make the Junior Anti-Sex League seem like Led Zeppelin. Antidote du jour (via): Bonus antidote: Your Sunday joy. Cats reacting to Durian fruit. pic.twitter.com/PLBPjAswZE Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) July 5, 2020 So how would cats react to pro-biotic durian beer? See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. Piece by piece, jewelry crafted from stones and earth-toned metals by the hands of war veteran Steven Scissortail Morales led him back to the Lakota Sioux, Kaqchikel and Cherokee tribes. The turtles, buffaloes and hummingbirds molded into earrings, necklaces and bracelets evoke the tales and lands of his Indigenous upbringing. Even Bigfoot makes an appearance from a story told by tribal elders. Morales has been recognized for his artistry, being named last years Red Earth Emerging Artist. In February, he won first in the National Veterans Creative Arts Competition. But jewelry is more than ornamentation or an ode to his Native American roots. The work brought him peace and a new chapter in life. My jewelry found a source to re-instill values in me that I lost, Morales said. In 2006, Morales was serving in the Army Special Forces as a staff sergeant when he was injured by an improvised explosive device in Iraq. The blast killed several men and left him disabled, with shrapnel scarring his backside from his shoulders to his legs. By that time, he had spent 14 years in military service. I started losing my own self-worth and didnt have anything to do, he said. I was becoming more of a has-been. I was at the height of my career, and it was cut short. Adding to the physical pain of recovery was the mental pain of post traumatic stress disorder. Im still recovering and still have my days, Morales said. I have issues with fireworks like on New Years Day or Fourth of July. My family and I get in an RV and just go. Sometimes, in the beginning, a sound would trigger him in the middle of the night, and hed start walking. About 30 miles later, he would snap out of it and call his wife. Im not like that anymore, Morales said. But the marriage didnt survive. After leaving the military, he joined his father in Monticello, Arkansas, where they ran the Scissortail Trading Post, which sold work from Native American artists. His mother and father were artists in different genres, and all designed traditional Indigenous baskets. My family was known as basket weavers for the Cherokee, he said. My whole family were go-getters who didnt believe in sitting down or let someone else work for you. After the Army, I ran to my heritage. I was always raised up ceremonial between Mom, who was Cherokee, and my dad, who was Sioux (and Kaqchikel). When I got out of the service, I didnt want people to know what I did in my service. I didnt want the attention or be stereotyped. Thats when I grew my hair out. It was a natural embrace of ceremonial tradition. In 2013, his parents died within six months of each other. Then, he got divorced. It went downhill, he said. The business didnt feel the same without my dad. He opened a gym, became licensed in the self-defense style of Israeli Krav Maga and remained active in various causes, particularly in Native American and domestic violence nonprofits. In 2016, he was serving as the chairman of the Arkansas Indian Center, a group that administers grants to federally recognized tribes, when he met Starr Robideau at a national conference for the American Indian workforce development. The two married and decided to move from rural Arkansas to just outside Los Angeles for her job as the director of operations for the Southern California Indian Center. She is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma and Sioux tribe. It was a rocky transition. Going from Indian country to a big city like that, I was lost. I was used to two lanes and dirt roads and then there were eight lanes of traffic. It was too much, Morales said. I wasnt able to work in the civilian world because of my PTSD issues. It was hard working around people. I was depressed, and my wife said I needed to get out and suggested the American Legion or VFW. Morales found a recreational art therapy for veterans program and was, by chance, put into stone working. Something clicked. I get asked if I was taught by an old Indian jeweler or silversmith. No, I was taught by an old white man named Andy Anderson, Morales said. But that man was taught by an old Navajo silversmith. So I was indirectly taught by an old Indian man. One thing that Andy said that stuck with me was, Young man, all of us are like this rust stone here before we polish. We all have a lot of work we have to put into ourselves in order to become beautiful on the outside so people will receive us the way we want them too. With each piece of stone Morales perfects, with each bit of metal he forms, he sees that reflected on himself. Im ceremonial because Im Sioux and Cherokee. I take it to heart, Morales said. When he said that, it opened my eyes. Its not so much about the years weve lived, its the roads we travel. The first piece of jewelry was given to his mother-in-law. It made her smile. When you are a soldier, you are not used to putting smiles on other people, Morales said. With this, whether big or small or I make $5 or $100, its medicine for me to see them smile. It is the best healing to see something I made bring enjoyment for someone. The couple moved to El Reno in 2018 after his wifes retirement, and she is now the director of personnel for the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. He works on jewelry pieces at a home workshop. This return brought him back into service; this time as a commander of the Cherokee Nation Color Guard. Before his dad died, the Cherokee Nation honored his military service with its Medal of Patriotism and added his name to a brick on a wall dedicated to veterans. His father nominated him for the recognition. That just overflowed my heart with an essence of pride, Morales said. When I saw the tribal government support me the way they did, I knew I served my country as a soldier. The only thing I could do to give my upmost thanks is to serve them too. Indigenous jewelry isnt just the bold silver and turquoise so popularly identified as Native American. Those are inspired by the Zuni and Navajo tribes and not always made by tribal members. Each tribe has unique traditions, and each Indigenous artist translates that differently. For Morales, his creations are understated, depicting culturally significant features such as the Cherokee syllabary, stomp dances and animals. None of the images of living things have faces or details. Sioux children would play with dolls without faces because its on that child to designate or give the doll a spirit, Morales said. In that tradition, on my pieces, I dont put on faces or extra details. People are able to tell what it is and put their own spirit on those pieces. Gold will never be part of his work, a nod to the broken treaty that led to the Battle of Little Big Horn and the decimation of the Sioux tribes. The Laramie Treaty of 1868 ceded the Black Hills of South Dakota to the Sioux bands, who considered the land sacred. When Gen. George Custer and his troops found gold there in 1874 by violating terms of the treaty, it led to a years-long war and gold rush. Eventually, the tribes lost and were forced to live on reservations for generations. Being Sioux, the territory of my people was encroached upon. Im not interested in gold because too many of my ancestors died for gold. Artist blends modern, historic For a different approach in jewelry art, Choctaw tribal member Kristin Gentry makes pieces that are bold in color with geometric shapes. The result is a meld of modern and historic. The diamond patterns represent dances that I try to have in artwork, Gentry said. There are a lot of symbols for life and a snake dance design. If someone knew about those traditions, they would see it as Choctaw. Otherwise, they probably wouldnt. Gentry is a multimedia artist who has made clothing, paintings, photographs and Choctaw language coloring books. She said many Choctaw artists will use shell, copper, bone and wood combinations. I love bright colors. I like to use what is there naturally but maybe not 100% realistic, she said. Its abstract and stylized but not abstract in the geometric sense. The jewelry designs are hand-painted on wood with influences from nature, such as butterflies, bees or squirrels. Gentry grew up in Tulsa sweeping up after her grandfather James Oran Hoover, who was in the Eastern Oklahoma Woodcarvers Association. I love working with the natural substance of wood, she said. Often, I use the traditional wood cedar. Its so much part of the native culture and reminds me of growing up around arts and crafts festivals. Its just natural. Most of her recent work has been with jewelry, which is more affordable for the consumer. For $25 or $50, people can have original artwork they can wear and enjoy, Gentry said. Its more accessible. Artists of Indigenous jewelry often showcase at the festivals sponsored by tribes around the state. Some of those include the Cherokee art market in the fall, a Choctaw event on Labor Day and two each year hosted by the Chickasaw Nation. Laws protect art from being misrepresented as Native American made by non-Indigenous people. But that doesnt stop imposters. Its illegal and wrong to do that, Gentry said. We want to share in our culture and the best way to do that is to support native artists and our work. Ginnie Graham 918-581-8376 ginnie.graham@tulsaworld.com Twitter: @GinnieGraham Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LANSING (AP) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday toughened a requirement to wear masks during the coronavirus pandemic, mandating that Michigan businesses open to the public deny service or entry to customers who refuse to wear one. The governor also expanded where people must have a face covering beyond indoor public spaces. Starting immediately, they have to wear one outdoors if they cannot consistently keep 6 feet (1.8 meters) from non-household members, and while using public transportation, a taxi or a ride-sharing vehicle with some exceptions. Violators will now be subject to a misdemeanor fine. No shirts, no shoes, no mask no service, Whitmer wrote in an order. Businesses must comply beginning Monday or risk losing their license. Five other states have imposed similar requirements on businesses, she said. Face coverings reduce the chance of spreading COVID-19, Whitmer said. She pointed to stalled progress in suppressing the virus cases have risen again in Michigan and contended that spotty compliance with her monthslong mask requirement is a big part of the reason. The heroes on the front lines of this crisis have gone hours without taking their masks off every day doctors, nurses, child care workers, grocery store workers. We owe it to them to wear our masks when were on a trip to the grocery store or pharmacy, the Democratic governor said in a statement. Michigan sees another jump of 600-plus coronavirus cases as governor toughens mask rules There are exceptions for children under age 5 and, as before, people who cannot medically tolerate a mask. Those eating or drinking while seated at a restaurant remain exempt. So too are people exercising, officiating a religious service, communicating with the hearing-impaired, giving a speech, and police, firefighters and paramedics engaged in public safety work. The temporary removal of a face covering is allowed when necessary to receive a service or for identification purposes. Child care centers and overnight camps are not considered public spaces under the order. Michigan Retailers Association President and CEO Bill Hallan said the industry appreciates Whitmers efforts to increase mask wearing inside stores but expressed frustration that she did not leave the policing to law enforcement officers. This puts retail employees in potentially dangerous situations when theyre forced to confront unmasked customers. He also said it is impossible for stores to determine the validity of ambiguous exemptions, such as when people say they cannot medically tolerate a face covering, and even retailers acting in good faith could face severe licensing sanctions based on the actions of noncompliant customers. When shopping, please wear a mask and understand that retailers are not to blame for the states mask requirement, Hallan said. Whitmer, who has acknowledged the difficulty of actually enforcing the mask requirement and businesses reluctance to turn away or confront customers, said Thursday that businesses were asking for tougher rules they could point to and say this is the law of the land. Some local law enforcement agencies have refused to enforce other restrictions the governor ordered to curb the virus. The provision to require masks in crowded outdoor places came after people attended several large lake parties without socially distancing in recent weeks. Michigan, where 6,271 have died from coronavirus-related complications, has the nations 10th-lowest rate of COVID-19 infections over the past two weeks. But it has had an uptick of late, with an average of 483 new cases over the last seven days, which is 171 more than the rolling average on June 25. The seven-day average of positive tests is 2.45%, up from 1.94% two weeks ago. As more people are tested, an increase in the raw number of positive tests is to be expected. But if the virus is being brought under control, then the percentage of positive results relative to the total number of tests should be coming down. BAMAKO, Mali - Police fired tear gas Saturday in Malis capital as scattered groups came out for a second straight day of anti-government protests, defying the presidents latest call for dialogue. The turnout was far smaller than the thousands who surged through the streets Friday, briefly occupying the state television station and setting fires. At least three people had been killed and more than 70 wounded in the two days of demonstrations, according to a report from the Gabriel Toure Hospital in Bamako to government officials that was seen by The Associated Press. There were also reports of arrests of opposition leaders. Fridays developments marked a major escalation in the growing movement against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who still has two years left in office in this West African country long destabilized by Islamic extremists. His overnight address to the nation took a conciliatory gesture days after he had tried to appease the protesters by promising to revamp the constitutional court whose legislative election results in April have been disputed by several dozen candidates. I would like once again to reassure our people of my willingness to continue the dialogue and reiterate my readiness to take all measures in my power to calm the situation, he said. The anti-government movement still wants the National Assembly dissolved. Its name, the June 5 Movement, or M5, reflects the day demonstrators first took to the streets en masse. While the group has officially backed down from its calls that Keita leave office, some protesters still want him gone. At this point, all possible scenarios are possible. We are in a cycle of ingovernability, Baba Dakono, a researcher and political analyst, told AP. It is difficult now to say whether President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita can still benefit from the support of the army, because the behaviour of the officers in contact with the troops cant be predicted. Dialogue between the parties is necessary to break the deadlock, he said. Keita came to power after a French-led military operation to oust Islamic extremists from power in northern Malis towns in 2013, winning the first democratic elections organized after a military coup the year before. Despite the presence of U.N. peacekeepers, and French and regional forces backing Malian troops, extremist groups continue to mount attacks. Last year was particularly deadly as hundreds of soldiers were killed in the north, forcing the military at one point to close down some of its most remote and vulnerable outposts. It prompted criticism of how the government was handling the crisis. The last democratically elected leader before Keita, President Amadou Toumani Toure, was overthrown in the 2012 coup after a decade in power. The political chaos that ensued has been blamed for creating a power vacuum that allowed the Islamic insurgency to take hold in the north. Following international pressure, that coup leader later handed over power to a civilian transitional government that organized elections. On his rudimentary-looking website created in the 2000s, nestled among flaming GIFs and links to online gaming sites and Bruce Lee shrines, Corey Hurren listed other sites of interest in a fiery-red, all-caps font. The websites peddled conspiracies related to extraterrestrial life, debunked 9/11 claims and discussions of mind control. The sites included whatreallyhappened.com and theforbiddenknowledge.com, but also one of the most well-known far-right conspiracy sites, InfoWars.com. Minutes before Hurren is alleged to have crashed his Dodge pickup through Rideau Halls pedestrian gates in the early hours of July 2, a COVID-19 conspiracy meme was posted on his social media accounts. At the time, it seemed the Canadian Forces reservists turn toward conspiracy theories was relatively recent potentially accelerated by the endless online hours of the COVID-19 lockdown. But the 46-year-old Manitobans old personal website reviewed by the Star suggests Hurren who was arrested near Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus residence on the Rideau Hall grounds, accused of carrying multiple firearms was drawn to conspiracy-peddling websites and alternative news outlets going back almost two decades. As Hurren now faces 22 charges and a potential national security investigation, a more full but still incomplete portrait is emerging. He is a former artillery soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces turned committed Ranger the reservist unit that helps patrol Canadas vast northern and remote regions. To his friends and acquaintances in Swan Valley, Man., he is a likeable, down to earth family man who spent years behind the counter at the local co-op store and was active in community events. In his younger years, though, he frequently changed jobs he took courses in policing and web design, and worked as a bouncer, a taxidermist and delivery driver and struggled with finances. And he is someone who appears to have been sucked into some of the darker corners of the internet. Around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 2, a black Dodge Ram crashed through the pedestrian gate at Rideau Hall, the viceregal grounds home to both Canadas head of state and head of government. An armed man emerged from the truck and proceeded on foot towards a greenhouse on the property. Just before 7 a.m., RCMP officers intercepted and started talking to the man. After almost two hours of de-escalation, according to the Mounties, the suspect was arrested without incident. Hurren was charged the following day with 22 offences, mostly firearm-related and none of which have been proven in court. But one of the many unanswered questions about that morning is what threats Hurren is supposed to have made. After initially reporting that the suspect was non-threatening and just wanted to speak to Trudeau, Global News released a report detailing a two-page note Hurren is alleged to have had with him. The Star has not been able to independently verify the content of the note. According to Global, Hurren said he feared Canada was turning into a communist dictatorship under Trudeau, and that the suspension of Parliament during the COVID-19 pandemic was preventing government accountability. The note also reportedly expressed fears Hurren, a father of two who runs a popular sausage making company called Grindhouse Fine Foods, wouldnt be able to get back on his feet after the pandemic ends. I still dont necessarily see this as an ideologically-motivated attack. Just because you believe in conspiracy theories doesnt mean thats why he ended up doing what he did, said Jessica Davis, a security consultant and former CSIS analyst, in an interview with the Star. His motivation really does seem quite mixed. And thats pretty common these days. Gone are the days, and I dont even know if they really existed, where we had individuals who were motivated to conduct violence just for a single reason, just because personal motivations or just because of political motivations. I think now were seeing that bleed over between the two. Reached Friday evening, Hurrens lawyer, Michael Davies, said I have no comment. Thank you. The Star attempted to reach out to Hurrens family. A woman who identified herself as Hurrens younger sister said they werent prepared to comment as emotions were still too raw. Talk to people across the picturesque Swan River Valley region of western Manitoba and the reaction to last weeks gate-crashing incident in Ottawa is almost universally one of shock. To locals, Hurren was the friendly guy who spent years behind the meat counter at the co-op store in Swan River, the guy who became something of a minor celebrity for his spicy sausage recipe, and the guy who gave back to the community. He is said to have devoted a lot of time to the Bowsman Lions Club helping out at pancake breakfast fundraisers and updating the clubs Facebook page with fresh content and the local red-uniformed Canadian Ranger patrol group. I know his mother very well. His wife and kids are nice people. Im actually in shock, said Mel Edmunds, a Bowsman resident. Its mind-boggling. Totally out of character. Stuart Walmsley, a councillor with the Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman, recalled that Hurren had approached the municipality on a couple of occasions to raise concerns about road repairs. He was always very respectful, courteous and grateful, Walmsley said. I never ever felt he would be a threat to anyone . . .What was the tipping point? I have no idea. In the same way that social media offers clues about his state of mind leading up to the attack, older posts provide a glimpse of the beliefs hes held. In 2015, his wife posted an article he had written describing why he was proud to be called an Old Stock Canadian. Raised in Birch River, Hurren described helping his father farm the land and raising bison. Our family history records also show many generations of proud men in uniform and their Canadian military service records, he writes. We are the people who built this country, defended this country, and made it one of the most desirable places on the planet to live. That is also why people still want to come here and start a better life. If some of you still think it is an insult to be called an Old Stock Canadian then I think you are wrong. It is a title and a heritage that you should be proud of. In late 2002, Hurren filed for bankruptcy, federal records show, declaring $63,281 in liabilities, and $2,300 in assets (mostly household furniture and a 1978 Yamaha motorcycle that he described as not running). Hurren spent 11 years working at the Swan Valley Co-op until he resigned in September 2019, said general manager Colin Peters. It is not clear why he resigned. But during this time, he perfected his own spicy garlic-jalapeno sausage recipe that he would bring to market under the brand GrindHouse Fine Foods. A January 2018 profile in the local Swan Valley Star and Times newspaper said his Ring of Fire sausage was flying off the shelves. But the global pandemic arrested Hurrens success, forcing him to put his business on hiatus. As some of you may already know, things have been on hold with my GrindHouse meat products due to the logistics of the COVID-19 situation, Hurren wrote in a recent Facebook post last May. While the pandemic had stalled his meat business, it did not stop his involvement with the Canadian Ranger patrol group, which he joined in May 2019. The Department of National Defence confirmed Hurren was employed in Operation Laser, the Canadian Armed Forces response to COVID-19, and was considered to be on duty the morning of July 2. Hurren was drawing an equivalent salary of a Canadian Armed Forces member, a military source confirmed, complicating the financial concerns he reportedly detailed in his note. According to Hurrens social media accounts, the Ranger patrol helped with crowd control as recently as last month during a high school graduation parade. But Hurrens social media posts also showed that he was becoming increasingly worried and paranoid about the impact of COVID-19. In April, a link to the book How to survive a pandemic: Life lessons for Coping with Covid 19 appeared on his Instagram page. Last month, a meme depicting an emergency broadcast alert that permitted citizens to commit any and all crime, including murder for 12 continuous hours appeared on Hurrens feeds. So how long until this gets broadcast and the sirens start? the post reads. Just minutes before the truck crashed through Rideau Hall gates, one of Hurrens accounts reposted a COVID-19 conspiracy theory, Event 201. Event 201 was a tabletop exercise run by Johns Hopkins University in 2019, envisioning how the world would react to a global pandemic. But conspiracy theorists have seized on it, as well as its connection to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to suggest without basis that COVID-19 was planned. According to Bill Gade, a councillor with the Minitonas-Bowsman municipality who started a GoFundMe page for Hurrens wife and children that has raised over $10,000, some local residents have been reflecting on whether there was anything they couldve done to intervene. If you came here and lined up everyone in town, no one would be sad to see Corey today. No one is mad. Theyre hurt. Theres not that anger here. Theres a feeling we failed to help our friend when we shouldve. 2020-07-11 11:32:00 The World Health Organization on Friday issued a statement saying the spread of the coronavirus can still be brought under control despite the number of cases around the world doubling in the past six weeks. Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cited countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, New Zealand, Italy, Spain and South Korea while also hailing India's biggest slum, Dharavi in Mumbai, where the virus has been controlled through determined and relentless action. Tedros addressing a virtual press conference in Geneva said, "In the last six weeks, cases have more than doubled,". He added, however, saying, "There are many examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control," said Tedros. "And some of these examples are Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, New Zealand, Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi -- a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai -- a strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus." "In & & even in Dharavi, a densely packed area in Mumbai, a strong focus on community engagement & the basics of testing, tracing, isolating & treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission & suppressing the virus"-@DrTedros World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 10, 2020 International press agency AFP on Friday stated that the novel coronavirus has killed at least 555,000 people worldwide since its outbreak emerged in China last December. There have been nearly 12.3 million cases recorded in 196 countries and territories around the world. Tedros also stated, "Across all walks of life, we are all being tested to the limit. From countries where there is exponential growth, to places that are loosening restrictions and now starting to see cases rise. Only aggressive action combined with national unity and global solidarity can turn this pandemic around." Maharashtra on Friday reported its highest single-day spike of 7,862 new cases taking the overall tally to 2,38,461. The state health department said that 226 more patients died due to the infection with the death toll reaching 9,893. The number of recoveries in the state yesterday was 5,366 with the overall number of discharged patients currently standing at 1,32,625. So far,12,53,978 people have been tested in the state, which currently has 95,943 active cases. FREDERICTONTwo men have been charged in connection with a murder in Fredericton this spring. Police were called early on May 2 to the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital, where 29-year old Justin Leigh Finnemore died after being admitted with a gunshot wound. Timothy Robert Dunphy, 47, of Fredericton and Kevin Mark Sexton, 36, of Oromocto, N.B., appeared in court Friday. Fredericton police say both men face charges of second-degree murder. They say additional arrests are possible, and the investigation is ongoing. SAN GABRIEL, Calif. - A fire early Saturday destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of a Catholic church in California that was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration. Fire alarms at the San Gabriel Mission rang around 4 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke rising from the wooden rooftop in one corner of the historic structure, San Gabriel Fire Capt. Paul Negrete said. Firefighters entered the church and tried to beat back the flames, but they had to retreat when roofing and other structural materials began to fall, Negrete said. We were trying to fight it from the inside. We werent able to because it became unsafe, he said. After evacuating the church, the crew was joined by up to 50 firefighters who tried to douse water on the 50-foot-high structure from ladder trucks, he said. The roof is completely gone, the captain said. The fire traversed the wood rapidly. The interior is pretty much destroyed up into the altar area. The cause of the fire was under investigation, Negrete said. He said the recent toppling of monuments to Junipero Serra, the founder of the California mission system who has long been a symbol of oppression among Indigenous activists, will be a factor in the investigation. This will be another box that theyre going to check off, Negrete said. Robert Barron, the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, tweeted that he was deeply troubled by the fire as he awaits further information about its cause. The church was the fourth of a string of missions established across California by Serra during the era of Spanish colonization. The Franciscan priest has long been praised by the church for bringing Roman Catholicism to what is now the western United States, but critics highlight a darker side to his legacy. In converting Native Americans to Catholicism, they said he forced them to abandon their culture or face brutal punishment. Depictions of Serra have been protested and vandalized over the years, and Pope Francis decision in 2015 to elevate him to sainthood reopened old wounds. More recently, protests focusing on the rights and historical struggle of Black and Indigenous people led activists to topple statues of Serra in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles. In response, the San Gabriel Mission recently moved a bronze statue of Serra from the church entrance to its garden, away from public view, Terri Huerta, a spokeswoman for San Gabriel Mission, told the Los Angeles Times. Police increased patrol and officials stepped security around the missions grounds about two weeks ago, she said. The interior wall of the church was redone a week ago. Crews had just finished installing the pews as part of a larger renovation of the property to mark the anniversary of the founding of the mission in 1771, Huerta said. The firefighters aggressive stance and a little bit of a miracle kept the flames from reaching the altar, she said. The church had been preparing to reopen next weekend following a four-month closure to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Selena Quezada, 26, was in tears when she drove to the mission after she heard about the fire. She said she grew up in the parish and attended the elementary school on the churchs grounds. I was baptized here, I had my first communion here ... I was getting ready to get married here next year so this hurts, Quezada said. Its just really sad to see such a historic place burned down because this place means a lot to us. The church, built of stone, brick and mortar, originally had a vaulted ceiling that was damaged by two earthquakes in the early 1800s, Huerta said. Franciscan fathers replaced the ceiling with a wood-paneled ceiling, and the roof was last repaired following damage caused by the 1994 Northridge earthquake, she said. ___ This version corrects the spelling of the church members name to Selena Quezada, not Casada. ___ Nguyen reported from San Francisco. Ex-UN special rapporteur lauds Putrajaya for raising poverty line Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Philip Alston has praised Putrajaya for following through with a commitment to raise the poverty line in order to give a more accurate picture of the state of poverty in the country. He said this in reference to the government's announcement yesterday that the absolute poverty line has been revised from RM980 to RM2,208. "Malaysia's government has taken a courageous step towards bringing its poverty line closer to reality. "The line announced today is more than double the previous one and results in an official poverty rate 14 times higher than previously acknowledged," he said in a statement. According to the old poverty line of RM980, which was set in 2005, the absolute poverty line was at 0.4 percent in 2016 and would have been 0.2 percent in 2019. However, the update means absolute poverty was at 7.6 percent in 2016 and 5.6 percent in 2019. Adjusting the line is a vital first step. The challenge now is to systematically address poverty by instituting a comprehensive social protection scheme and to provide greater data transparency, in line with almost all democratic countries. "The government also needs to take seriously the plight of millions of non-citizens who are disproportionately affected by poverty and excluded from official figures, indigenous people who face severe discrimination and rights violations, and women who have exceptionally low rates of workforce participation," Alston said. Still not realistic enough However, Alston said the absolute poverty rate of 5.6 percent under the updated poverty line is still too low and therefore hopes the poverty line will be increased further in future. "Because the new poverty rate of 5.6 percent is just one-third of that estimated by almost all independent analyses, I hope that the government will include an even more realistic benchmark in the 12th Malaysia Plan," he said. Story continues Alston had previously expressed concern that the Perikatan Nasional government was backtracking on a commitment made by the previous Pakatan Harapan government to increase the poverty line. A more up-to-date poverty line is essential to get an accurate picture of poverty in the country so policymakers can respond accordingly. As the UN special rapporteur, Alston had last year conducted research on the state of poverty in Malaysia and concluded that the poverty line was unrealistic. International Trade and Industries Minister Azmin Ali (photo), then economic affairs minister, defended the 0.4 percent figure and reportedly described Aston's statements as unacceptable and irresponsible. However, the then prime minister's economic adviser Muhammed Abdul Khalid said the government should accept the reality that the country's poverty yardstick was outdated. 3 1 of 3 Hearst Connecticut Media / Tara O'Neill Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed Photo / Easton Police Department Show More Show Less 3 of 3 EASTON Investigators seized 12 guns at the town home of a man they charged Friday in connection with a sexual assault case, according to police. Robert McGuire, 40, was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of illegal sexual contact and risk of injury to a minor. A 58-year-old Sandwich woman was killed Friday night when she was struck by a car on Route 25 near the Wareham Exit 2, The Massachusetts State Police said. According to investigators, police received a report of a pedestrian accident on the highway at about 9 p.m. Responding troopers found a seriously injured woman in the eastbound lanes of the highway. The victim was transported to Tobey Hospital in Wareham where she was pronounced dead. Preliminary information indicates the dead woman was in the travel lane of the highway when she was struck by a 2013 Prius operated by a 36-year-old Pocassett woman. The operator remained at the scene. Investigators are now trying to find out why the woman was in the roadway in the first place. The incident is under investigation by the State Police Bourne, State Police detectives attached to the Plymouth District Attorneys Office, the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and Crimes Scene Services. Iran's FM spokesman defends draft strategic document with China IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, July 10, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi defended a draft roadmap document with China, saying despite all the speculations made about it in social networks, the document is a source of pride. Speaking to reporters on the central Iranian city of Isfahan Thursday night, Mousavi said that Iran proposed this 25-year document to show that its relations with China is comprehensive and strategic and not a temporary one. To show that Tehran's relations with China are all-conclusive, comprehensive, long-term and strategic rather than short-term and tactical, Iran proposed a 25-year period to be set for implementation of the document, he said. This document has been finalized on the Iranian side and is undergoing the legal process in China, the spokesman said, adding that once signed, it will be also reviewed in the Iranian Parliament. Mousavi said all these fabricated news about the document is in fact a propaganda ploy by the opponents of Iran-China ties and that is why the words of those who always favor tension in Iran's ties with the world should not be taken into consideration in this regard. China, as a great world power in East Asia, and Iran, as a regional power in West Asia, have a lot in common which need to be reflected within the framework of a document, the spokesman said. The details of the document will be released after finalization, he added. 9341**1424 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Guests pose for selfies at the infinity pool of the newly-inaugurated Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam on July 2, 2020. Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images From its sparkly rooftop infinity pool down to its food, the 25-story Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake luxury hotel is fully made up of gold. The hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam opened its doors to visitors this week after 11 years of construction that cost around $200 million. Room prices start at $250 per night as the hotel's owners are hoping to bring in "ordinary people to the super-rich." Guests who have already stayed at the hotel have said the experience has made them feel like royalty. Scroll down to see what the golden hotel looks like. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. From the shower heads to the rooftop infinity pool, everything at the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake hotel in Vietnam is gold. The five-star luxury hotel in Vietnam's capital which calls itself the world's first fully gold-plated hotel opened its golden gates to visitors this week, after 11 years of construction that cost around $200 million. And it's an eyeful: everything from the lobby ceiling to the toilet seat is golden. But while the shiny hotel might look like it can only be afforded by the world's wealthiest, its owners say that with rooms starting at $250 a night, they hope to attract ordinary people, as well as the super-rich. Scroll down to see photos of what the golden luxury hotel looks like. From its sparkling rooftop infinity pool down to its toilet seats, the 25-story Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake hotel is, quite literally, dripping in gold. A front view of the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake luxury hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 2, 2020. Kham/Reuters The 400-room property, developed by Hoa Bing Group, will operate under the American Wyndham Hotels brand. The five-star hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam opened its golden gates to visitors this week after 11 years of construction, costing $200 million. Staff members open the doors of the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 2, 2020. Kham/Reuters Source: Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake Most features inside the five-star hotel have been given the golden treatment, whether it's the shiny gold-plated ceiling in the majestic lobby... Story continues Staff wait to welcome guests in the lobby of the newly-inaugurated Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 2, 2020. Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images ...or the golden elevators bringing guests up to their rooms. A staff member stands near the lifts in the lobby of the newly-inaugurated Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 2, 2020. Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images Even the rooftop infinity pool, with sprawling views over the city, was not spared. A boy jumps into the water at the gold-plated infinity pool of the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake luxury hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 2, 2020. Kham/Reuters Almost 54,000 square feet of gilded ceramic was used on the hotel's exterior walls to make it shine from the outside. Guests pose for selfies at the infinity pool of the newly-inaugurated Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam on July 2, 2020. Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images Source: Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake But that's not all. All the interior have been gilded, with some rooms containing gold-plated appliances, a regal golden bathtub... A gold-plated bathtub is seen in the newly-inaugurated Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake luxury hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 2, 2020. Kham/Reuters ...and even golden toilets. Gold-plated toilets are seen at the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 2, 2020. Kham/Reuters The hotel took its commitment to gold one step further, stating on its website that every meal is served with a "mysterious golden substance." Food served at the Dolce Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. Dolce Hotel According to the hotel's website, even the coffee cups are made up of 24-karat gold. Source: Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake Room prices start at $250 per night as the hotel is hoping to attract people of all backgrounds. According to the chairman of the Hoa Binh group, which owns the hotel, the Dolce wants "ordinary people to the super-rich...to check-in." A placard hangs on a room's doorknob at the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam on July 2, 2020. Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images Source: Daily Mail Guests who have already had a chance to stay at the hotel have compared the experience to being treated like royalty. A woman poses for a photo at the gold plated infinity pool of the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake luxury hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 2, 2020. Kham/Reuters "When I arrive hereI felt like a king, you know, the Pharaothe king of Egypt," Phillip Park, a guest from South Korea said, according to Conde Nast Traveller. "I really enjoyed the luxury atmosphere. It has changed my mind about what luxury can be. Other luxury hotels usually use marbles as tiles, but here everything is gold-plated down to the washing basin," one guest said. A gold-plated bathroom sink is seen in the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake luxury hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 2, 2020. Kham/Reuters Source: Daily Mail According to the hotel, some of the rooms are affordable because all of the gold was sourced locally, which helped keep construction costs down. An employee in traditional dress is seen in the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake luxury hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 2, 2020. Kham/Reuters "Our group has a factory that can do gold-plated stuff, so the cost for our equipment and furniture here is quite cheap,", Duong said, according to the Daily Mail. While the hotel hasn't had that many visitors yet due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, its owners are hopeful that they will make more money in the next year. A guest poses for photographs at the infinity pool at the Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake hotel, in Vietnam on July 2, 2020. Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images Source: Daily Mail Read the original article on Insider Another alderman who voted for the bill, Joe Vaccaro, D-23rd Ward, said he worried that workhouse inmates who can use a full gym and take part in various other activities there would encounter a more restrictive situation if moved to the higher-security jail downtown. When this is all said and done were going to be getting more phone calls and complaints than youve ever seen about how unjust this is, Vaccaro said. We did this because it was the political thing to do, possibly not the right thing. The bill also instructs Glass to determine the cost of contracting with other Missouri jails to house detainees now at the workhouse. The board, meanwhile, voted 16-11 for a nonbinding resolution urging Krewson to reconsider an Ohio companys proposal to use aircraft cameras to track movements of suspects and vehicles moments after a crime is committed. The Krewson administration last fall took a look at the idea after it was proposed to an aldermanic committee but did not pursue a contract. Yesterday the makers of Prabhas next unveiled the first look and even the title of his film Radhe Shyam which was earlier called Prabhas 20. Team of Radhe Shyam starring Prabhas and Pooja Hegde shared a beautiful first look where we see the lead actors embraced in an intimate position amidst the chaos. However, looks like in times of Coronavirus, this poster is not what our frontliners approve of. The Assam Police gave a twist to the poster of Radhe Shyam on their social media account. The Nagaon Polices official twitter account shared the poster but photoshopped it. We see Pooja and Prabhas wearing a mask and the officials have an important message too to share, Ask your loved ones to put Mask whenever they are out. We tried calling Prabhas but failed. Now sending the message through photoshop. @TSeries @UV_Creations @ hegdepooja @director_radhaa @ assampolice #RadheShyam #Prabhas20. Now thats some unique way to spread awareness. In the past, several official police sectors have taken to Bollywood posters to spread awareness about social distancing. Right from Chennai Express poster to Hrithik Roshans dialogue from Dhoom 2, the frontliners have some unique ways to enlighten the netizens. The frontliners are doing a brilliant job and now even on social media they are doing a commendable job. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fulya Ozerkan (Agence France-Presse) Istanbul, Turkey Sat, July 11, 2020 12:08 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066590cf2 2 Art & Culture Turkey,religion,history,heritage,Hagia-Sophia,greece,mosque Free Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Friday that the Hagia Sophia, one of the architectural wonders of the world, would be reopened for Muslim worship as a mosque, sparking fury in the Christian community and neighboring Greece. His declaration came after a top Turkish court revoked the sixth-century Byzantine monument's status as a museum, clearing the way for it to be turned back into a mosque. In an address to the nation, Erdogan said the first Muslim prayers at the Hagia Sophia would be performed on July 24. "God willing, we will perform Friday prayers all together on July 24 and reopen Hagia Sophia to worshipping," he said, assuring that it would open its door to all, including non-Muslims. "Like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be wide open to locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims." The UNESCO World Heritage site in historic Istanbul, a magnet for tourists worldwide, was first constructed as a cathedral in the Christian Byzantine Empire but was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Last year, 3.8 million tourists visited the monument. The Council of State, Turkey's highest administrative court, unanimously cancelled a 1934 cabinet decision to turn it into a museum and said Hagia Sophia was registered as a mosque in its property deeds. The landmark ruling could inflame tensions not just with the West and Turkey's historic foe Greece but also Russia, with which Erdogan has forged an increasingly close partnership in recent years. Read also: Turkey's Erdogan rejects criticism over Hagia Sophia landmark 'Millions of Christians not heard' Greece swiftly condemned the move by Muslim-majority Turkey as a provocation while the United States also expressed disappointment. "Greece condemns most firmly" the decision, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, saying it "does not only impact relations between Greece and Turkey but also the latter's relations with the European Union, UNESCO and the global community as a whole." For Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, "the nationalism displayed by Erdogan... takes his country back six centuries." The Russian Orthodox Church was equally scathing. "The concerns of millions of Christians were not heard," Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida told Interfax news agency. The decision "shows that all pleas regarding the need to handle the situation extremely delicately were ignored," he said. UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay said she "deeply regrets" the decision made without prior dialogue with the UN's cultural agency. US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus stated that "we are disappointed by the decision by the government of Turkey to change the status of the Hagia Sophia." The move was also condemned by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom as an "unequivocal politicization" of the monument. Erdogan urged everyone to respect Turkey's decision and said the issue of what purposes Hagia Sophia would serve "concerns Turkey's sovereign rights". Hagia Sophia, which stands opposite the impressive Sultanahmet Mosque -- often called the Blue Mosque -- has been a museum since 1935 and open to believers of all faiths. Transforming it from a mosque was a key reform under the new republic born out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. Shortly after the court decision, Erdogan signed a presidential decree handing over the administration of "Hagia Sophia Mosque" to Turkey's religious affairs directorate known as Diyanet. Erdogan has in recent years placed great emphasis on the battles which resulted in the defeat of Byzantium by the Ottomans, with lavish celebrations held every year to mark the conquest. Muslim clerics have occasionally recited prayers in the museum on key anniversaries or religious holidays. In 2018, Erdogan himself recited a verse from the Koran at Hagia Sophia. "The decision is intended to score points with Erdogan's pious and nationalist constituents," said Anthony Skinner of the risk assessment firm Verisk Maplecroft. "Hagia Sophia is arguably the most conspicuous symbol of Turkey's Ottoman past - one which Erdogan is leveraging to strengthen his base while snubbing domestic and foreign rivals," he told AFP. Read also: Changes to Istanbul's Hagia Sophia could trigger heritage review: UNESCO 'Chains broken' A few hundred Turks carrying Turkish flags gathered outside Hagia Sophia shouting "Chains broken, Hagia Sophia reopened". Police heightened security measures around the building, according to AFP journalists. Hundreds of worshippers performed evening prayers outside the building after the alteration to its status. "It's been a dream since we were kids," said Erdal Gencler, an Istanbul resident. "(Hagia Sophia) finds its true purpose again. We are very excited, proud, and hopeful that there will be beautiful services here," he added. Fatma, a woman with tears in her eyes, said: "Of course I am crying. (Hagia Sophia) belongs to us." The Council of State had on July 2 debated the case brought by a Turkish group -- the Association for the Protection of Historic Monuments and the Environment, which demanded Hagia Sophia be reopened for Muslim prayers. Since 2005, there have been several attempts to change the building's status. In 2018, the Constitutional Court rejected one application. BEIRUT - At least two doctors in Syrias opposition-held northwest have been infected with the coronavirus, a monitoring group reported Saturday, the latest confirmed cases in the overcrowded rebel enclave. The new infections raise the number of confirmed cases to three in the area, where health care facilities have been devastated by years of civil war, and where testing has been limited due to scarce resources. Observers fear the virus could spread easily in Idlib province, a concern compounded as Russia, an ally of the Syrian government, moved at the U.N. Security Council to reduce cross-border aid from Turkey. Aid groups and U,N. agencies say such a reduction would hamper aid delivery of live-saving assistance amid a global pandemic. Doctors following up on the cases say testing and contact tracing is underway to attempt to isolate and prevent the spread of the virus. The two new cases have been in contact with the areas first confirmed case a doctor who had moved between different hospitals and towns. The anticipation is a catastrophic outcome if there is no proper containment of the initial cases or proper isolation, said Naser alMuhawish, of the Early Warning and Alert Response Network that carries out testing and monitoring of the virus. Dont forget we are in a conflict zone. So doctors are already scarce and need to move between more than one place. The first case was reported Thursday and the hospital where the doctor works has since suspended its operations and quarantined patients and support staff to carry out testing. Meanwhile, hospitals in northwest Syria announced Friday they would be suspending non-emergency procedures and outpatient services for at least one week. Schools were to shut down until further notice. Before the confirmed cases, there had been only about 2,000 people tested for the virus. Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council remained deadlocked over renewing the mandate for cross-border aid delivery. Russia is seeking to shut down at least one border crossing between the rebel-held enclave and Turkey, arguing that aid should be delivered from within Syria across conflict lines. But the U.N. and humanitarian groups say aid for nearly 3 million needy people in the northwest cant be brought in that way. A divided Security Council failed for a second time Friday to agree on extending humanitarian aid deliveries to the area from Turkey as the current U.N. mandate to do so ended. Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution backed by the 13 other council members that would have maintained two crossing points from Turkey for six months. A Russian-drafted resolution that would have authorized just one border crossing in the area for a year failed to receive the minimum nine yes votes in the 15-member council. A new vote was expected Saturday. Germany and Belgium, who insist two crossings are critical, especially with the first COVID-19 cases being reported in Syrias northwest, circulated a new text that would extend the mandate through the Bab al-Hawa crossing into Idlib for a year. The mandate for the Bab al-Salam crossing which Russia wants to eliminate would be for three months to wind down its activities. Kevin Kennedy, the U.N.s regional humanitarian co-ordinator for the Syrian conflict, told The Associated Press that leaving only one crossing open would make aid delivery more time-consuming, more costly and more dangerous in a territory controlled by different armed groups. He said more access, not less, is needed and urged leaving the aid pipeline out of political considerations. We have taken a lot of measures, provided lots of equipment, but in an area with overcrowding, with 2.7 million displaced people, social distancing is hard, he said late Friday. The health infrastructure is weak, many (hospitals) have been bombed or destroyed, health officials have left the country or been killed in the fighting. So the situation is ripe for more problems should Covid-19 spread. Advertisement Meghan Markle and Prince Harry appeared to put their ongoing privacy court case and feud with ex-best friend Jessica Mulroney behind them as they stepped out for an appointment in Beverly Hills Friday. Pictures obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com show the former Royals protecting themselves from both the sun and coronavirus as they donned face masks and hats while collecting their car from a valet in their new neighborhood Friday afternoon. The couple were spotted exiting a building and getting into a gas-guzzling Cadillac SUV that has been dubbed in online reviews 'as far from environmentally-friendly as you can get', marking an unusual choice for the staunchly eco-conscious duo. Meghan, 38, who led the way to their waiting car, dressed for the scorching California weather, with temperatures reaching 84 Fahrenheit and humidity topping 67 percent yesterday. She wore a loose $76 Magic Linen asymmetric cream dress with matching cream and black Sam Edelman ballet flats. She accessorized her outfit with a large @65 Janessa Leone 'Sammy' straw hat, dark sunglasses and a dark cross-body bag. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry appeared to put their ongoing privacy court case and feud with ex-best friend Jessica Mulroney behind them as they stepped out for an appointment in Beverly Hills Friday Pictures obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com show the former Royals donning face masks and hats as they left an appointment in their new neighborhood Friday afternoon Harry walked a few steps behind his wife out of the building in what marked a rare outing for the couple since their move to LA An expensive-looking gold watch, which she hasn't been spotted in before, decorated her wrist. Harry, 35, opted for a more casual look of dark blue jeans, a grey polo shirt, navy trainers and a cap. The couple exited the building flanked by their security team, who also wore face masks, before one of them opened the car door for Meghan. Harry walked behind his wife and made his way to the other side of the black SUV before getting in. The couple, who appeared to have left one-year-old son Archie at home, seem to be taking no chances with coronavirus, as cases and deaths from the virus soar across California. Face masks are now mandatory for all Californian residents in public places and Meghan and Harry were clearly sticking to the rules. Meghan, who led the way to their waiting car, dressed for the scorching California weather, with temperatures reaching 84 Fahrenheit and humidity topping 67 percent yesterday Meghan wore a loose cream linen dress with matching cream and black ballet flats, and accessorised her outfit with a large straw hat and dark sunglasses She wore a dark cross-body bag hung across her petite frame while she clutched a clear purse in her hands However, their choice of car during the outing may raise some questions, as the luxury Cadillac Escalade normally comes with a gas-guzzling six-liter engine. Online reviews describe the five-door motor as being 'as far from environmentally friendly as you can get'. This suggests yet another sustainability gaffe for the couple, who have previously been slammed for preaching about saving the planet, and then flying around the world by private jet. Harry last year infamously said we are the one species on this planet that seems to think that this place belongs to us, and only us, before they took four trips in 11 days on private jets that summer. Harry, meanwhile, opted for a more casual look of dark blue jeans, a grey polo shirt, navy trainers and a cap A member of their security team opened the car door for Meghan while Harry made his way to the other side of the black SUV before getting into the gas-guzzling Cadillac SUV that, being dubbed 'as far from environmentally-friendly as you can get', marked an unusual choice for the staunchly eco-conscious duo The couple have been holing up in Tyler Perry's LA mansion since they fled to the US from Canada before the borders to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic The rare outing comes amid a turbulent few weeks for the Sussexes who have been laying low and have only been spotted out a handful of times since their move to LA. Meghan's privacy and copyright case against the Mail on Sunday rumbled on this week and, on Thursday, Meghan issued an application for a High Court injunction to stop anyone from naming her five female friends who briefed People magazine about her and a letter she sent to her estranged father Thomas. The five women were named as the sources of a People Magazine article in 2019 in legal papers submitted by Meghan to the court last week, although their identities were not made public. The article lies at the heart of the case because it was the first time the existence of a letter the Duchess had written to her father Thomas was revealed. The Mail On Sunday claims that revelation and the misleading impression it gave of the letter gave Thomas the right to publish more of the handwritten note in the Mail on Sunday to defend himself after their relationship became hopelessly estranged in the wake of Meghans marriage to Harry in May 2018. But Meghan insists that she had no idea any of her friends had spoken to People magazine until after the fact. All five of the women now face the prospect of being hauled to the High Court in London next year to testify in the explosive privacy trial. They will be asked to confirm on oath that the Duchess had no prior knowledge that they were going to speak to People. The legal battle comes at the same time Meghan has reportedly cut ties with best friend Jessica Mulroney, after Mulroney became embroiled in a social media row with Black influencer Sasha Exeter last month. Exeter claimed Mulroney had sent her a string of abusive messages and threatened to ruin her career after taking offense over one of Exeter's posts in which she called on people with large social media followings to speak out about Black Lives Matter. The blogger also said Mulroney was guilty of using her white privilege and wealth to try and intimidate her. The spat led to the cancellation of Mulroney's wedding themed reality TV show I Do Redo, as well as the loss of her Good Morning America fashion slot. Meghan hasn't spoken to Mulroney since the row was made public and is also said to have failed to get in touch with her goddaughter Ivy on her birthday last month. Sources told DailyMail.com this week that Mulroney has been desperately reaching out to Meghan in a bid to patch up their friendship, but to no avail. An insider said: 'Jessica has been calling Meghan non-stop and also calling up mutual friends to try and patch up their friendship. 'She's devastated Meghan has turned her back on her at a time when she needs her most. But their friends have told her not to expect to hear back from Meghan because when she cuts someone off, she's done for good just like with her family.' Meghan and Harry have been holing up in Tyler Perry's LA mansion since they fled to the US from Canada before the borders to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Newsflare The UK government suffered a defeat as it attempted to pass a policing bill that would have restricted protests outside parliament. Home Secretary Priti Patel's policing bill would crack down on protests in central London outside the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street and Whitehall. The bill deems any demonstration that makes "the passage of a vehicle more difficult" illegal, severely restricting the size of protests in these areas. Protesters would have been at risk of lengthy prison sentences by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill as actions such as making loud noise could be deemed as "serious annoyance." However, an amendment protecting ways to organise protests around parliament was passed in the House of Lords on Monday (January 17). Footage from January 17 shows protesters supporting the Kill the Bill movement gathering in Parliament Square, central London. The Kill the Bill movement has been strongly opposed to the policing bill and have organised a long series of protests across the UK. Masks may become the newest accessory to wear when people are down at the beach this summer to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. On Wednesday, Governor Phil Murphy issued an executive order requiring people to wear face masks outdoors if social distancing is not possible. It does allow people who are walking about in public areas such as the beach and boardwalk, to walk sans mask as long as they are 6 feet away from others We checked out the scene Thursday in Ocean City, on the boardwalk in the town that bills itself as Americas Greatest Family Resort. It was not too crowded, allowing for more distance to be had between the pods of people as they walked up and down the boardwalk. In the background, ringing from speakers along the boardwalk, were messages reminding people to practice social distancing and wear a mask if not able to do distance. Ocean City police officers were masked while patrolling the beachfront on their bikes. A group of young men wear masks while walking on the Ocean City Boardwalk, Thursday, July 9, 2020. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Near the 6th Street entrance to the boardwalk, Kyrie Witts, Christopher LaRoche, Tymere Emmets, and Shariff Witts wore masks as they walked down the boardwalk after enjoying some time on the beach. The four said it was essential to follow the new rule and protect themselves and others from contracting the coronavirus. I understand why we have to wear a mask to protect against the coronavirus, Kyrie said. I would rather take it off, but I am going to wear it. I think it should be part of our everyday lives and part of our lifestyle so we can protect ourselves, and so the number of cases can stop going up, stated LaRoche. It is a change in society, but it is definitely beneficial for our country, added Shariff. Masked Sharon Fluellen, of Woodbury, left, and Sharee Wicks, of Chester, Pa. on the Ocean City Boardwalk, Thursday, July 9, 2020. They are nurses.Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Sharon Fluellen of Woodbury and Sharee Wicks of Chester, Pennsylvania, were also walking along the boardwalk. Fluellen and Wicks, who are both nurses, were wearing masks and highlighting the importance of wearing protective gear so that people could have a fun summer and be corona-free. We are nurses, so we see it firsthand, said Fluellen. We think it is important to at least have a covering on while you are on the boardwalk. It at least protects you from spreading as well as getting it, Wicks added. Regardless of what they say, this thing is airborne. That is, in my very strong opinion, it is airborne. Josh Myers and Hailey Lopez, of Colorado, eat Polish Water Ice on the Ocean City Boardwalk, Thursday, July 9, 2020. They normally wear a mask but took them off to eat. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com While on a bench in the vicinity of the Ocean City Music Pier, Colorado residents Josh Myers and Hailey Lopez were in the Ocean City area visiting relatives. While enjoying some cotton candy Polish Water Ice, they had their masks nearby. There are more people wearing masks out here than I thought would, Myers said. Everybody should be wearing one. A group of young men socialize on the Ocean City Boardwalk, Thursday, July 9, 2020. They wear masks when they can't social distance from other people or go into a store. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com People walk on the Ocean City Boardwalk on Thursday, July 9, 2020. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here. Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Tim Hawk may be reached at thawk@njadvancemedia.com. CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Non-profit tenants at the Coventry PEACE campus are again facing the prospect of month-to-month leases -- or worse -- due to the expiration of their two-year occupancy agreement with the Heights Libraries and no plan yet in place to move forward. Tenants say they were "blindsided" by the ultimatum their landlord issued Thursday (July 9) after taking over the former elementary building and the rest of the 6-acre campus from the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District for $1 in March 2018. The two-year leases expired June 30. Aside from not having a formal followup agreement in place, the main issue appears to be the lack of funds in a reserve account set up to cover building repairs, maintenance and upkeep costs incurred by the library, so far totaling about $100,000. To date, there has only been about $14,000 paid into the reserve account. As a result, Heights Libraries now wants a letter of intent from the governing board, Coventry PEACE Inc., for a new one-year lease, as well as a $25,000 payment into reserves. Particularly ominous for Coventry PEACE executive board president Deanna Bremer Fisher is the last line of the press release from Heights Library Director Nancy Levin. In the end, if the tenants dont succeed, we may demolish the school building and enlarge the park, Levin concluded. Asked for further clarification, Heights Libraries communications manager Sheryl Banks said the board of trustees is "not sure at this point if demolition would be certain, but it is on the table." The library's announcement "caught us by surprise, and it's disappointing to be blindsided like this," Fisher said Friday (July 10) after the Coventry PEACE executive board issued its own press release. Weve been negotiating in good faith while trying to survive a pandemic that has effectively shut us down for the foreseeable future, the tenants release stated. Levin and the Heights library board have had budget issues of their own to deal with in the wake of the coronavirus health crisis, including $2 million in cuts to offset likely reductions in state funding. "Due to the unusual circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the library allowed the tenants to hold over following the expiration of their term, and granted them one month to review and sign the letter of intent," Heights Library officials said. There is also an option to extend the term if the nonprofits can demonstrate financial solvency and a fundraising plan. If the letter of intent is not signed by August 1, the tenants -- Artful Studios, Ensemble Theatre, Lake Erie Ink, Reaching Heights, Future Heights, and the Cleveland Heights Teachers Union, as well as two small spaces rented out to children's therapist Sherri Skedel and Robin Van Lear, an artist and founder of Parade the Circle -- would have until the end of September to vacate. Lack of reserve Fisher, the executive director of Future Heights, said that the tenants individual leases each have a provision calling for $10,000 to be kept in the reserve account at all times. Levin added that, under the old lease terms, when the balance of the reserve account dipped below $10,000, tenants were expected to contribute at least 50-cents per square foot over the standard $3 per square foot rent formula, which netted about $94,000 in the first year of the lease. "We reported quarterly on the costs as they accrued, and they have contributed $700 above that (minimum)," Levin said. "No donations from their supporters, no capital fundraising. They have applied for a number of grants, but no results that went to reserve." For the library, the big-ticket item so far for Coventry has been the HVAC system at about $30,000 and still needing attention. There's also been about $2,000 in roof work, then gutter repair and cleaning, plumbing, elevator maintenance and fixes, lighting, cleaning and building management as well as replacement of a number of doors. "It's highly unusual to have the tenants pay for ongoing repairs to a building they don't own," Fisher said. In their joint response, Fisher along with Coventry PEACE board treasurer Ian Hinz (Ensemble Theatre) and secretary Brady Dindia (Artful) said that while they have been frustrated at times by the negotiations, they believed they still had a shared goal and a viable partnership. "But the (library board's) statement, which badly mischaracterizes the situation and ends with the possibility of just tearing down the building, is very disappointing," the tenants' statement added. Mission statements Faced with the possibility of the Coventry property being marketed for private development back in 2017, the library board said its motivation to take on ownership of the rest of the campus was three-fold: -- To retain much-needed free parking space for the librarys Coventry branch customers -- To allow the non-profit tenants in the former Coventry School building to remain in Cleveland Heights -- To keep the park and playground open to the public, which Levin points out is stipulated by the propertys original deed from 1917, when Grant Deming donated the land to the community. From there, the library's objective was to move the nonprofits toward self-sufficiency. We have done what we were asked to do and are concerned that the tenants have not progressed further by this time, Levin said in the press release. The park and parking lot has always been a focus of our desire to acquire the property, Earlier plans have called for the Heights Libraries to retain ownership of the Coventry PEACE campus through a ground lease, Fisher said. As for the proposed one-year lease, Levin is looking for for one entity, not individual tenants, as well as an additional $2,000 monthly payment into the reserve account. Tenants would also be collectively responsible for paying all utility costs. repairs and liability and property insurance costs. If this is done, then they will have an option to convert the lease to 25 years if certain conditions are met, Levin said. "We will continue to do our part to keep the lines of communication open and remain hopeful we can sit down to find a reasonable solution," the Coventry PEACE executive board added in its statement. Fisher said later that another "big unknown" remains the status of Ensemble Theatre, which she said has continued to pay rent without any earned revenues in recent months. "The building has been closed since March, with no public programming," Fisher said. "We've been good stewards of the property. We've been paying rent and trying to get to the point for a long-term ground lease. Then COVID-19 hit and since then, weve been trying to keep all our groups afloat, Fisher said. Read more from the Sun Press. Last rites of Gangster Vikas Dubey, who was on Friday killed in a police encounter, were held amid tight security in Kanpur in the evening. His wife said her husband was "wrong" and deserved "this fate". Superintendent of Police, Rural, Brijesh Srivastava told that Dubey's brother- in- law Dinesh Tiwari performed the last rites at the electric crematorium in the presence of his wife and son. On Friday morning, Dubey was shot dead in a police encounter, who claimed he was trying to flee when the car he was carrying overturned on the highway. Dubey was allegedly the mastermind behind the killing of eight policemen on July 2 when they were going to arrest him at his Bikru village. BCCL His wife, Richa, said, "Yes, yes, yes. Vikas did wrong and he deserved this fate." Vikas' father had distanced himself from his funeral and justified police action. Earlier in the day, the mother of Vikas Dubey had refused to visit Kanpur from Lucknow to receive the body after post-mortem. She has also not talked to the media after the encounter at Bhaunti in Bara police circle, around 30 km from Kanpur. No one had come forward to claim his body, even hours after he was killed. Samaj Kalyan Seva Samiti leader Dhani Ram Panther had come forward for the cremation of the gangster. He said that his NGO would cremate the body in case after due permission from the authorities no family member of Dubey came forward to claim it. His organisation has so far cremated 8,500 unclaimed bodies. (Newser) Tucker Carlson's top writer has quit after posting bigoted comments on an online forum known for its offensive content, CNN Business reports. The writer, Blake Neff, was using a pseudonym on AutoAdmita mostly unmoderated board where sexism and racism run rampantto pepper in his share of intolerant remarks. Among his posts (WARNING: offensive content) are "Black doods staying inside playing Call of Duty is probably one of the biggest factors keeping crime down" and "Honestly given how tired black people always claim to be, maybe the real crisis is their lack of sleep." In a thread titled, "Would u let a JET BLACK congo n****er do lasik eye surgery on u for 50% off?" Neff posted, "I wouldn't get LASIK from an Asian for free, so no." story continues below An anonymous tipster gave Neff away, but CNN Business confirmed his identity by various meansincluding biographical details Neff revealed on the message board, like being a Dartmouth alumnus and having a journalism gig in Washington, DC. Travel photos he posted under his pseudonym, CharlesXII, show his reflection in the glass enclosures of artifacts in Egypt. A former Daily Caller writer, Neff began working for Carlson in 2016 and told the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine that "anything [Carlson is] reading off the teleprompter, the first draft was written by me." Carlson has also been accused of making inflammatory and racist comments on Fox News, and sometimes finds support on President Trump's Twitter feed. As for Neff, he isn't talking to the media but you can see him here. (Read more Fox News stories.) Two persons, a male child and an adult, have died in a building collapse Island on Saturday, while eight people were rescued, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said. The building which collapsed around 3 a.m. left occupants injured while two bodies were recovered. Ibrahim Farinloye, the acting coordinator of NEMA, said the collapsed structure was a three storey building located at No. 20 Freeman street, Lagos Island. Mr Farinloye said the collapsed building housed about 10 people, part of which was a family that newly moved into the apartment. The affected families just newly moved into the building as the previous occupants had moved out with the excuses that renovation would be carried out. But it was alleged that the developer brought in these affected population while renovation works are still ongoing, he said. Eight persons were rescued while a child and an adult died in the collapsed building. The situation report indicates that one child died amongst the first six persons rescued earlier in the morning. Officials of NEMA at the site of the collapsed building Officials of NEMA at the site of the collapsed building Total now is eight rescued alive and two recovered dead. Operations have ended but clearance and removal of rubble continues, the NEMA coordinator said. Site of the collapsed building A victim of the building collapse Opotiki District Council has had a record-breaking period for building consents, with five large-value building works with a combined value of $19.5million, all granted consent in the last quarter. The building consents cover five major building works expected to begin shortly Te Tahuhu o Te Rangi, the new Opotiki pound, new school and related buildings in Te Kaha, Stage 2 of Whakatoheas mussel processing factory and a new local dentist on Church Street. Two of these building projects are directly run by Opotiki District Council the pound and the new research centre, library and community hub, Te Tahuhu o Te Rangi. The new pound, to be built in the same location as the existing facilities, will meet the Ministry of Primary Industry guidelines and add capacity and security that the current facility doesnt have. Councils planning and regulatory group manager Gerard McCormack says the tender for the new facilities had been combined with Te Tahuhu o Te Rangi. Subject to the tender process, building work is expected to be completed within the next 12 months. The new facilities will be under cover which will be better for animals as well as staff. The new build will also have a separate area for puppies which we have real difficulties housing in the current building as there is very little indoor space that is warm enough to keep them. Itll also have better storage and staff facilities and more areas under cover so it will also be easier for people looking to visit to find a dog to rehome. Interior of Te Tahuhu o Te Rangi. Supplied image. In addition, phase one works on the mussel processing factory are already nearing completion with most underground works and foundations laid. The building consent approved earlier this month, is for the final stage of works to build the large processing building on the site. The new school facility in Te Kaha has five associated standalone buildings for staff housing. The school housing project recently received a building consent and work is already underway using local suppliers. Another school project, a new roof for the gym at Opotiki High, has also had their building consent approved. And finally, a building consent was approved in March and issued in May for a new dental practice in Church Street. We have also had a lot of requests for advice and pre-application meetings in recent weeks, so we expect a lot of new and exciting projects in the coming financial year, says Gerard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, on July 11 for returning to power with a clear mandate. Singapores ruling Peoples Action Party (PAP) secured another term by winning 83 of the 93 parliamentary seats with voters casting their ballots amid COVID-19 pandemic. PM Modi not only congratulated Lee for success in the elections but also wished a prosperous future for citizens of Singapore. PAP has been in power since the country achieved independence in 1965 and it was widely foreseen to win on July 10 resulting in Lees last term at national leader before retirement. Congratulations to Prime Minister @leehsienloong for success in the General Elections! Best wishes to the people of Singapore for a peaceful and prosperous future. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 11, 2020 Read - Delhi: CM Arvind Kejriwal Urges PM Modi To Cancel Final Year Exams In Central Universities Read - PM Modi Reviews COVID-19 Situation In Country, Issues Directions To States Lee Hsien Loong on his victory After PAPs triumph in this years general elections, Lee Hsien Loong said that overall he is satisfied with the outcome and noted that the results showed broad support for the ruling party. Lee also expressed his gratitude for the activists as well as PAP candidates for their dedication and hard work. Marking the beginning of work by the new government, the Singapore PM said on July 11 that he will use the mandate responsibly to handle the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak and improve the economy. Moreover, Lee also said in a statement shared on Facebook that the recent elections showcased the pain and uncertainty that citizens of the country feel amid the global health crisis and noted that General Election 2020 was not a feel-good election. Instead, according to Singapore PM, the people are currently facing real problems in their life with more struggles to mount on in the upcoming weeks. He also congratulated the opposition Workers Party for strong performance. Singapore PM said, Finally, thank you to all voters for your patience and understanding. My team will continue to serve Singaporeans, whichever party you voted for. The work of the new government begins today. My government will work with all Singaporeans to overcome our challenges and emerge stronger, he added. Read - Rahul Gandhi Attacks PM Modi Over Assertion That Solar Project In MP's Rewa Is Asia's Largest Read - 'To Create Panic?': Gambhir Questions AAP's '5.5 Lakh COVID Cases By July End' Prediction The Week In Russia: A Rough Start To A New Era By Steve Gutterman July 10, 2020 Raids, arrests, and a terror-related verdict against a journalist examining the root causes of a violent act. Russia's first week under an amended constitution that opens the path for Vladimir Putin to remain president until 2036 was packed with developments that deepened concerns among opponents, rights activists, and critics about the country's direction in a potentially harrowing new era. Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward. Warning Signs In September 2007, late in what would have been President Vladimir Putin's final term had he not resolved to remain in power far longer, Mikhail Gorbachev warned against the rehabilitation of Josef Stalin, saying that the Soviet dictator's lethal heyday was being portrayed as a "golden era" with dangerous, potentially disastrous consequences for Russia's future. It was one of many warnings since the Soviet collapse, from Gorbachev and others, that Russia must reckon with the darker episodes of its past and examine the roots of its problems in the present -- not leave them buried or twist them for short-term political purposes -- if it is to have a brighter future. "It is impossible to live in the present or build long-term plans for the future if the disease of forgetfulness afflicts the country and society, or at least certain sections of it," Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, told a forum at which another participant, Irina Shcherbakova of the rights group Memorial, said the Russian people were under "a massive attack aimed at revising our memory." Still president today, Putin certainly seems to be building long-term plans for the future: An amended constitution that could keep him in the Kremlin until 2036 took effect on July 4 a date that was not likely to have been coincidental, given the Russian state's recent penchant for tweaking, trolling, and thumbing its nose at America -- following a nationwide vote marred by widespread allegations of fraud. The words of warning came to mind in light of the verdict handed down to journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva on July 6, two days after the changed constitution came into force: Guilty, the judge ruled, of "justifying terrorism," a charge stemming from a 2018 commentary about a bombing at the offices of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the northern city of Arkhangelsk. The suspected attacker, a 17-year-old boy who died when his homemade bomb exploded, had posted remarks on social media in which he accused the FSB of falsifying criminal cases. Prokopyeva linked the teen's statements to the political climate under Putin, suggesting that activism was severely restricted by the authorities, leading people to despair. Question Less? Prokopyeva's conviction was denounced by supporters and media freedom advocates as an attack on the freedom of speech and an effort, in the vein of forgetting, hiding, or whitewashing crimes of the country's past, to punish someone who is serving society -- not doing it a disservice, let alone posing a threat -- by examining the possible root causes of a violent act. "Why should we not think about it and try to understand why it happened?" Ivan Golunov, a journalist who was arrested in June 2019 on a drug charge that police later acknowledged was falsified. "Attempting to understand the reasons that pushed a 17-year-old boy to build a bomb and go to the local FSB building is a socially important part of a journalist's work." Prokopyeva, a freelance contributor to RFE/RL's Russian Service, was not sentenced to prison -- though prosecutors had asked court to put her behind bars for six years. But she was fined 500,000 rubles ($7,000) -- a ruling that opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov likened to the state demanding a "ransom" for the unspoken understanding of innocence while formally finding her guilty. Search And Destroy? In thanking Russians after the weeklong ballot on the constitutional amendments, Putin made two days after the voting was over by far the closest thing to a direct pitch for the option of seeking two more six-year terms after 2024. Speaking almost 30 years after the Soviet collapse and more than 20 years since he came to power, Putin said that modern Russia is "still in the formative stage," and added: "We need internal stability and time to strengthen the country and all of its institutions." For Russians targeted in a series of searches, raids, and arrests focusing on opponents of the constitutional amendments, there was little stability on offer in the first week after their adoption -- and plenty of confirmation for analysts who had predicted the changes would strengthen the security services, law enforcement, and assorted hard-liners while leaving ordinary citizens increasingly vulnerable to the whims of the state and its agents. Prokopyeva's verdict, on July 6, came amid a head-spinning series of actions by law enforcement agencies and the courts -- what one journalist described as a "a flurry of arrests, detentions, [and] trials." For Tatyana Usmanova, a coordinator with Open Russia, an opposition group that helped organize a "Nyet" campaign urging Russians to vote "No" on the constitutional ballot, the flurry came in the form of a home search in which officers confiscated two computers, a telephone, a bank card, and "every single piece of paper with anything at all written on it." For Olga Gorelik, another coordinator with Open Russia, which was founded by Putin foe and former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, it meant "12 hours of searches" at home and office followed by questioning at the Investigative Committee. Gorelik's husband, opposition Moscow district lawmaker Konstantin Yankauskas, decried the actions of the authorities with a term that could be translated as "fantastic bastardliness." Yankauskas and others said that the formal pretext for the searches was an investigation linked to Yukos, Khodorkovsky's former oil company, which was taken apart after the tycoon's arrest in 2003 and later sold at auction. It ended up in the hands of Rosneft, the state oil giant headed by Igor Sechin, the close Putin ally whom Khodorkovsky -- who was imprisoned for 10 years on financial crimes charges he said were a politically motivated fabrication -- contends was behind the law enforcement actions that broke up Yukos and led to his two trials. Gorelik was in sixth grade in 2003, Yankauskas said, and Open Russia members said they believe the real motive for the raids was a planned protest against the vote results in central Moscow on July 15. In between the Prokopyeva verdict and the raids, meanwhile, came the arrest of another journalist, longtime former defense reporter Ivan Safronov, on a treason charge stemming from allegations that he provided a NATO country with classified information. Trial And Error Safronov's arrest and moves targeting the "Nyet" campaign deepened fears that a crackdown by emboldened security services the so-called "siloviki" -- is under way following the constitutional vote allowing Putin, a former Soviet KGB officer and Russian FSB chief, to seek two more terms. "What, among the 206 amendments that 78 percent of the people joyfully supported, was the one that lets the siloviki do whatever the [expletive deleted] they want?" journalist Tatyana Felgengauer tweeted sarcastically. Another indication of the strength of the "siloviki" and the vulnerability of Russians who question Kremlin narratives about the past, present, and future may come with the verdict in the trial of Yury Dmitriyev, the head of Memorial in Karelia who has worked to expose crimes committed by the Soviets in the northwestern region. After years of legal proceedings, a verdict is expected later this month in Dmitriyev's trial on a charge of violent sexual abuse of a child. The 64-year-old historian and his supporters and colleagues contend he is innocent and say the case is an attempt to thwart his research into extrajudicial executions in Karelia under Stalin. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/week-in- russia-rough-start-new-era-safronov- prokoyeva/30719766.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Being in debt is stressful, can get embarrassing and poses a huge threat to an individuals financial freedom. Crucial debt can even a... Being in debt is stressful, can get embarrassing and poses a huge threat to an individuals financial freedom. Crucial debt can even affect a persons goal as it must be factored in their every plan. If youve ever had to pay off a debt, even a little, you may relate to the descriptions in the preceding paragraphs. If youd like to enjoy a debt-free life then doing away with the habits listed in this article will help you achieve that. Impulse Spending Do you go shopping for a specific item but then end up overbuying items out of your initial list? Yes, that happens to a lot of us. But this does not break the bank. However, it is the habit of spending impulsively which can ruin a persons finances. Sometimes, impulse spending can be the rush of excitement you may feel to buy an item or splurge. Oftentimes, we tend to regret having spent on impulse. Living Without A Budget Yeah, budgets arent just fancy lists to outline your expenses, theyre also important in maintaining financial standards. By living within a budget, youll be sure to avoid sudden expenses which could overtime, welcome debt. Having No Savings Savings is a lifestyle habit which encourages a debt-free life. which encourages a debt-free life. Whether its an emergency fund, short-term, long-term, or a retirement fund, keeping money aside for future purpose is a way to secure future plans. Identify the kind of savings which works for you and consult with a financial institution or expert to put you through the required procedure. Living Above Your Means Unlike the picture you may have in mind of a person living large, living above ones means is when a person has more than enough income for the basics but the person indulges in eating out, vacations, and overspending on clothes and cars at the expense of future needs such as having adequate retirement savings. So cut down unnecessary expenses which your income cannot afford and instead try living below your income. Eating Out All The Time One of the ways people land into debt is by eating out all the time. While this may seem unlikely, it really is true. The pricing of food might not seem to take up so much but multiply the money spent on eating out in bulk, and youd be blown away by how much of your money goes into that. New Covid-19 infections in the LHospitalet de Llobregat district of Barcelona have more than tripled in the last week from 30 to over 100 and some of the new cases are in a Nursing Home, according to Barcelona Mayor, Nuria Marin who said she is very concerned about the increase. The outbreak affects the northern part of the city, with cases confirmed in the La Torrassa, Collblanc, La Florida and Pubilla Casas neighbourhoods. The number of cases in La Torrassa has soared from 4 to 37 in a week, said Mayor Marin, who confirmed that health protocols have been activated at the Nursing Home. "Those infected in this neighbourhood are part of family nuclei and, in principle, everyone is controlled, she stressed. The outbreak is not like in the Segria region, but it is bad news. She has also proposed creating a Monitoring Committee in conjunction with the Ministry of Health. L'Hospitalet is Catalonias second city, with around 265,000 inhabitants and at 21,053 people per square kilometre, has one of the highest densities in Spain. It also borders Barcelona and three other Municipalities in the heart of the metropolitan area. "You have to be proactive," insists Mayor Marin. We are surrounded by Municipalities, so it is necessary to take measures to contain it in L'Hospitalet, but the reality is that public transport, work and leisure activity makes that difficult. Local Police, Civil Protection Police, and volunteers have been deployed throughout the city to report on the situation and to find out where and how those who are infected are living. Mayor Marin said it is important to know the addresses of those infected and whether they meet isolation conditions and pointed out that the city's Primary Care Centres are open. She also appealed to people to follow the health and safety protocols designed to curb the virus, by respecting social distancing and wearing a face mask. After such a strict lockdown in Spain theres now a risk that outbreaks like this could undo all the progress weve made, said Mayor Marin. The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) is set to be transformed into a virtual showcase for January 2021. Louth students are now being invited to register for the event, Europe's longest running science exhibition will go ahead from Wednesday 6th to Friday 9th January 2021. But, in what is set to be an exciting new departure, students will now be exhibiting virtually, with judging taking place across digital platforms. Members of the public, both in Ireland and across the globe, will be able to visit the Exhibition online and enjoy a full calendar of events including special acts, the Primary Science Fair, business events and the exhibits themselves. As always, there will be over 200 prizes to be won, including the coveted title of BT Young Scientist & Technologist(s) of the Year, which comes with a 7,500 prize fund, plus a chance to represent Ireland at the EU Contest for Young Scientists in Salamanca, Spain in September 2021. The online entry process remains the same as previous years, with the added bonus that it will be free to all as project entry fees have been waived. Entries can now be submitted online at www.btyoungscientist.com and students are encouraged to get thinking about their projects ahead of the closing date of 22nd September to qualify for the final 550 places at the Exhibition in January. To enter, an individual or group must submit a one-page proposal outlining their project idea. Entries can be made in any one of four categories: technology; social and behavioural science; biological and ecological science and chemical, physical and mathematical science. More details about the format of the virtual exhibition will be revealed over the coming weeks. Students and teachers are encouraged to keep an eye on the BTYSTE website and social media channels for exciting updates. CAIRO Bertha Seavers quietly inspired countless Cairo children to develop a love of reading and learning during her decades-long career as a librarian. At 100 years old, she continues to exude a spirit of love and kindness as a living testimony to the faith she so devoutly practices. You know, you find some people who are always going to say something negative about somebody. Ive never, never heard her say anything bad about anybody. She always finds something good, said Charlotte Mallory, a neighbor and longtime friend who considers Seavers a second mother. Cairo residents spent the past week honoring Seavers. They posted pictures and memories to Facebook, held a special virtual Bible study night in her honor titled 99 and a wont do, and on Friday Seavers 100th birthday showered her with appreciation in a drive-by parade while she soaked it in from the safety of her front porch with a few close family members by her side. Seavers said its hard to fathom where the time has gone. I feel surprised to say Im 100 years old, she said. I cant believe it. So thats what Im feeling. Seavers started working for the Cairo Public Library in the 1940s, when Black children were not welcome inside its stately building on Washington Avenue. She was assigned to a branch office at Pyramid Courts, a brand new public housing complex for Black families built in the early part of the decade. They didnt have a library at all for the Black kids at that moment, so the library was started out at Pyramid Courts, Seavers recalled in an interview with The Southern on Wednesday. And they were very nice. The kids came in to get the different books they wanted to read, and get ideas and things they chose to come and talk about. We helped them to do whatever they needed as best as we could right then. After nearly 20 years of working at the branch office, Seavers was asked to move to the librarys main office, the A.B. Safford Memorial Building. Cairos library is not some ordinary benevolent building. It is one of the regions architectural crown jewels, gifted to the city in 1884 by Anna Eliza Safford who had it built in memory of her husband, who had passed away seven years prior. The Saffords were among the wealthiest families to ever live in Cairo, and the broken-hearted widow spared no expense. Resting in niches that flank the entryway are two statues on one side Clio, the Greek muse of history, and the other Concordia, a Roman goddess of peace. The building, which houses more than 50,000 volumes, features stained glass windows, a wide, ornate staircase connecting floors and a rare Tiffanys grandfather clock. But for many years, the library and all its assets was an exclusionary club, available only to the towns White people. When Seavers transitioned there in 1969, she became its first Black employee. Seavers said she enjoyed her job at the branch office and main office. She especially enjoyed the children. And though the era was one in which many Black people in Cairo faced discrimination and violence in numous facets of life, Seavers said her supervisor was kind and welcoming when she made the move. Mrs. Walker, she was wonderful, Seavers recalled. Just really nice and ready for me to start right then. Asked what she liked most about her job, Seavers said, I enjoyed it all. Seavers retired from her job in 1985 after 35 years of faithful service to the Cairo Public Library system. I dont think my mother missed a day maybe one when she had tonsillitis, said her daughter, Karla Patton. Seavers and her husband, Norman Seavers Sr., had three children: twin girls Karla and Karen, and one boy, Norman Jr. The couple had been married for 65 years when her husband passed away in 2007. Her beloved daughter Karen Adkinson passed away in 2001. One does not become a centenarian without suffering some of lifes greatest losses. But it also is a rare achievement, especially considering that Seavers still lives at home and faithfully attends First Missionary Baptist Church. Though more people are living longer, in the U.S. there are still only about 90,000 people over the age of 100, according to a PBS report on population changes, citing U.S. Census Bureau demographers. Thats about 0.03% of the total U.S. population. Seavers long and fruitful life has offered Cairo a great gift, said Pastor Jimmy Ellis, leading Wednesdays First Missionary Baptist Church Bible study class via Zoom. Ellis noted that there is an African proverb that teaches that seniors are actually Encyclopedias, and said he was humbled to get to sit down with Seavers the day prior in her home to ask her about her life. Seavers has been a member of the church for about 90 years, and rarely misses a service. She was baptized in 1934 and has since held numerous positions within the church, including most lately that of Mother. I was just so captivated by her commitment to God and to the church, Ellis said. Mother Seavers is so rare this is the Gods honest truth she is the only person that Ive ever met that nobody has anything bad to say about. Ive never met anybody like that. Ellis structured Wednesdays lessons around Seavers advice for a good, long life, rooted in biblical teachings. Her advice for young people, as relayed by Ellis: honor your parents, study the word of God, learn how to follow direction, especially the direction of God, and respect one another. Through Ellis, she also offered these keys to her longevity: find a church home, take relationships with God and each other seriously and learn to pray and truly give it to the Lord. Ellis said that one of the things about Seavers that has impressed him so much is her ability to keep harmony in her life. Not only was she a trailblazer as Cairos first Black librarian, she is a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, a wife and so many other things she seems to balance flawlessly. Through Ellis, Seavers offered this advice for achieving balance: Teach principles and precepts to your children, make sure your family is always surrounded in love, be generous and have integrity. During the virtual church service, participants were given time to deliver a message to Seavers. Gloria Wiggins wished her a happy birthday and thanked her for her service as a librarian. You were so patient with me when I was a little bitty kid running up in that library with you, Wiggins said. And as a grown-up, youre still that same patient person. Tyrone Coleman, a former mayor of Cairo and president of the Alexander/Pulaski counties branch of the NAACP, said Seavers has blessed Cairo and everyone lucky enough to be in her life. Shes just always been a beautiful person with a beautiful spirit. She always has a smile on her face. Shes been an inspiration, he said, adding, I call her the queen. She also received birthday wishes on Friday from state Sen. Dale Fowler and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth. "Individuals such as yourself provide an invaluable opportunity for others to learn of the history and richness of our nation," Duckworth told her in a letter. Mallory, her friend and neighbor, said that she knows few people who are as giving as Seavers, or as worthy of a town celebration. She loves everybody, she said. She will give you the shirt off her back. Everyone is welcome in her home. Mallory said theres no question that when Seavers time comes, she will see her reward. If anybodys going to Heaven, she said, I truly believe shes going. Southern Illinois had the best seats in the house on eclipse day 2017 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Enniscorthy Community Services Council accepting PPE equipment for the Meals on Wheels service from Irish Rural Link: (From left) Mary Carroll, Meals on Wheels co-ordinator; Anita Murphy from the information centre; Pat OShea, chairman of Enniscorthy Community Services Council; and Billy Murphy from Irish Rural Link The local Meals on Wheels service has received a vital supply of PPE which will enable them to continue to assist some of the most vulnerable members of the community. Provided by Irish Rural Link the PPE has been delivered for Meals on Wheels services in Enniscorthy, Gorey, Wexford, New Ross and Clonroche. In Enniscorthy 60 meals are delivered six days a week, 52 weeks of the year and Pat O'Shea, Chairman of Enniscorthy Community Services Council (ECSC) paid tribute to those who had kept the service going during the height of the pandemic. 'The service receives great support from their many volunteer drivers, without whom the service could not continue, particularly over the past months during the Covid 19 pandemic. A sincere thanks to all our volunteers,' he said. Given the scarcity of hand sanitiser and PPE and some suppliers increasing the price of these at the time, Meals on Wheels groups were concerned about the health and safety of their staff, volunteers and clients and to continue to deliver the service. In response to this, Irish Rural Link were approached by a Cork consultancy firm 3SIXTY, who offered to help source hand sanitiser and PPE equipment. They liaised with Irish Distillers whose members had begun to produce hand sanitiser and were able to provide a sufficient amount for organisations to help them at this time. In the second drive to help Meals on Wheels groups, they reached out to medical device companies who make PPE and IBEC also came on board to encourage their members to donate PPE to Meals on Wheels groups. Speaking about the donations, Managing Partner at 3SIXTY Brian Cremin said, 'It's so inspiring to see businesses making a small investment that makes a huge difference to Meals on Wheels.' As a result of these PPE donations, Enniscorthy Meals on Wheels can continue to provide their services in a safe way. The donations also helped eased some of their costs, which had increased due to greater demand for their service. To volunteer as a Meals on Wheels driver contact Mary at 053 9233746. Enniscorthy Community Services Council information office is open for telephone enquiries at 053 9233746 from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed for lunch 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.) Information is provided on a wide range of services including Social Welfare, Health, Tax and Housing. The airline industry has been hit hard by COVID-19. Border closures and shelter in place measures brought the industry to a standstill during the virus initial wave, as air traffic was grounded across the globe. Whether the pandemic has peaked or not, United Airlines (UAL) upcoming flight schedule acknowledges normality is still a way off. Air travel volume remains weak and currently Uniteds cash burn rate amounts to roughly $40 million a week. As a result, United has issued warnings that almost half of its workforce might be furloughed in the fall. Further keeping air travel rates down are recent measures by New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut which require any travelers from states with COVID-19 test rates above 10% to self-quarantine for two weeks. The measures have resulted in a slew of discount offers from United. However, recent United data shows the promise of low prices is not enough to entice the public while the risk of quarantine still looms. As a result, Uniteds August schedule is expected to drop by 65% compared to last years capacity. This is lower than the expected 60% drop United were anticipating only a week ago. Still, the latest figures are an improvement on June and Julys numbers, which were down year-over-year by 88% and 75%, respectively. United have said the rest of 2020s schedule will probably resemble that of Augusts. What this means to Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Linenberg, is that more uncertainty lies ahead. The 5-star analyst said, The bottom line is that, although we believe the industry is exhibiting signs of a nascent recovery, investors should be prepared for an unpredictable (and at times erratic) rate of improvement until either the federal government coordinates interstate quarantines and/or an effective therapeutic/vaccine becomes widely available. Nevertheless, Linenberg keeps a Buy rating on UAL, along with a $54 price target. The implication for investors? Potential upside of a hefty 65%. (To watch Linenbergs track record, click here) Story continues Overall, Wall Street almost evenly split between the bulls and those choosing to play it safe. Based on 13 analysts tracked in the last 3 months, 6 rate UAL a Buy, 6 say Hold, while only 1 recommends Sell. Notably, the 12-month average price target stands at $42.82, marking a nearly 31% in return potential for the stock. In other words, even the analysts that are hedging their bets have some healthy optimism reflected in expectations.(See UAL stock-price forecast on TipRanks) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. via REUTERS Ghislaine Maxwell has applied for release from jail on the grounds she might be infected with coronavirus while awaiting trial for allegedly grooming young girls for convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The 58-year-old British socialite is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, ahead of her appearance in court next week on charges of trafficking and sexual exploitation and abuse of minors. However, in a request filed to the US District Court in Manhattan, her lawyers argue that she is at significant risk of Covid-19. At least 55 inmates and staff at the facility have tested positive since the start of the pandemic. Her lawyers are proposing a $5m (4m) bond, the surrender of her passports, stringent travel restrictions, and home detention with electronic monitoring. They also argue she is not a flight risk because she remained in the US after Epsteins arrest and suicide in prison. She did not flee, but rather left the public eye, for the entirely understandable purpose of protecting herself and those close to her from the crush of media and online attention and its very real harms, the filing stated. Ms Maxwell also vigorously denies the charges and intends to fight them at trial, it adds. Her lawyers also raised several legal challenges to the indictment, including the 2007 non-prosecution agreement made by US government which covers Epsteins potential co-conspirators. Prosecutors are seeking her continued detention, arguing that she is at extreme risk of flight and has absolutely no reason to stay. They add that Ms Maxwell is potentially facing a long prison term and can make use of multiple passports and citizenships. Ms Maxwell, the wealthy daughter of the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, is due to be arraigned in court on 14 July. She faces six criminal charges, including four related to transporting minors for illegal sexual acts, and two for perjury in depositions about her role in Epsteins crimes. Story continues Epstein was arrested in July last year for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York but died in his cell at a Manhattan jail a little over a month later. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. Additional reporting by agencies Read more Ghislaine Maxwell given paper clothes over suicide fears Two Ocean City, Md., bars are temporarily shutting their doors after staff members tested positive for the coronavirus. According to Delmarva Now, the Purple Moose, which is located on the beach towns boardwalk, and also Fish Tales, a popular bar near 22nd Street, had two and three employees, respectively, test positive for COVID-19. Thank you for understanding that the health of our staff is most important during this time, a Fish Tales Facebook post said. The bar had made national news for reopening with bumper tables to help customers social distance. We believe that we have set a positive example in our community following this pandemic thus far. Fish Tales will come back stronger and better than ever! The Purple Moose also released a statement to Delmarva Now: (We) will only open after a thorough inspection of the premise and employees, the release stated. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause our customers. Our main concern is for everyones well-being. OCMD has been mostly open for weeks now after the town shut down along with the rest of the state and country because of the coronavirus pandemic. Maryland does have mask-wearing requirements, but as some restaurants have learned in Pa., thats now always enough to guarantee no employees will test positive. In retaliation for a public health directive to wear face coverings to reduce the number of Coloradans dying and ill from COVID-19, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners has ordered the countys attorney to withdraw the jurisdiction from the regional health department. The reaction to the letter which was really an affirmation of liberalism, free speech and tolerance was swift. Much of it reiterated, without irony, the points about censoriousness its authors were trying to make. Some people made the valid point that one persons cancel culture is another persons critique; that the vigorous criticism, including ridicule, of a persons ideas or art, does not amount to a crushing of free speech. That freedom of speech is truly threatened when states silence dissent with force, not when peoples feelings get hurt on the internet. Look at Hong Kong right now, not Sydney or New York or the boundless plains of Twitter, if you want to see what real threats to free speech look like. Which brings us back to Rushdie. He has experienced state censorship and death threats. He risked his life for his artistic freedom. Loading Yet he still thinks the social media-enabled phenomenon of public shamings and cancellations is pernicious and suffocating to artists like himself. And that its consequences will result in risk aversion among artists, which equals the death of any real creative questing. Journalists, writers and artists may not fear for their lives, but they might fear for their livelihoods and reputations. They may fear their work will be labelled problematic before its artistic worth is even considered. Rushdies support for the letter suggests that while there are obvious differences between a state-sponsored fatwa which inspires terrorist murders, and, to take one recent example, the vicious internet trolling of a food writer who tweeted something snobby about a popular celebrity it is possible to condemn both things. To admit, even, some relationship between the two. What happens on the internet is not what happens in society, and the pace of social change as expressed by Twitter and other platforms has not been matched by real change in the institutions which most affect peoples lives. Does it matter, really, if an artist takes a reputational hit for producing an incorrect work, when our societys most powerful institutions parliament, the judiciary, and the boardroom are still so unrepresentative, and so resistant to change? It does matter, just as it is a mistake to set those two causes up in competition with each other. Actually, they are in deep and intense conversation with each other. The Harpers letter represents the moment the forces for moderate liberalism realise they have been outflanked. To their left, at the extreme, is a set of principles and orthodoxies that they could try to play along with, and may have some sympathy for, but which, they fear, they will eventually fall foul of themselves. To the right is the kind of entrenched structural power and inequality they oppose in principle. The result is the increasing alienation of a large chunk of the middle. They may not fear death, like Rushdie did. But they will fear ostracisation by their professional peers, public shame, social media intimidation, and real-world consequences like the loss of reputation, the inability to land an employment contract, or disinvitation from cultural festivals. Ever since Meghan Markle was introduced as Prince Harry's fiance in 2017, the media have been all eyes on her and scrutinizing her from head to toe. The former actress is an instant news maker not only because of her background, but also because of her fashion sense and ability to break the rules from the strict and conservative British monarchy. During the two years that she was a member of the royal family, the Duchess of Sussex has broken tons of royal protocols, both official and unofficial. It surely raised some eyebrows, but it made her the royal icon of this generation. Now that Meghan is officially out of the royal family, let us take a look back at some of the royal protocol she broke like a real badass rebel. What Pantyhose? The minute she and Prince Harry announced their engagement, Meghan Markle immediately broke a royal rule of not wearing a pantyhose during the official photo session. Not that she has ugly legs, but wearing a pantyhose has become a tradition for female members of the Firm, especially during official engagements. While this simple rule earned disapproval from royal fans, Meghan did it again in 2018 when she attended a Hamilton performance with Prince Harry and rocked her bare legs. Autograph Signing Before signing up as Duchess of Sussex, Meghan was a fast-rising actress known for her portrayal as Rachel Zane in the hit legal drama series "Suits." As a celebrity, she is used to interacting with fans, taking selfies and giving them autographs. Royals are prohibited from signing autographs, as their handwriting will be available in public and might be used for other purposes. But during a visit to Wales, the Duchess gave in to the request of a 10-year-old fan who asked for her signature. Massive PDA With Prince Harry Harry and Meghan's love for each other is always beaming through the way they look at each other, hold hands, and even touch each other intimately even in the middle of an official royal engagement. While it is common for couples to have a little public display of affection, royal fans were not used to this kind of a norm. The Sussexes never seem to let go of each other's hands from their engagement interview and every royal duty. One of the most talked-about PDAs they had was when Harry placed his hand on Meghan's upper thigh during an event at Bondi Beach in Australia. (Stop it, Harry! We're jealous!) Secret Birth Plan The Sussexes said that the media scrutiny forced them to step down from their positions as senior royals. But according to experts, the British press started to turn sour on Meghan when she chose to hide her birth plan from the public and released an official statement saying she wanted to keep the baby's arrival in private. She also refused to continue the tradition of royal women having photoshoot outside the Lindo Wing after giving birth. Instead, they posed with baby Archie at St. George's Hall a few days after his birth. Private Christening Royal christening is often a public event for the royal family, allowing the press and photographers on the church grounds before and after the ceremony. But Meghan once again broke this protocol and did not let others take a glimpse of Archie's baptismal. Instead, they just shared two photos from the event. READ MORE: Prince Harry Getting U.S. Citizenship? The TRUTH! Royal Mail sorting office in Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom. Photo: Getty Royal Mail has been fined 1.5m ($1.9m) for failing to deliver first class post on time. The communications regulator also penalised the company 100,000 for overcharging customers after it raised the price of second class stamps too early. Royal Mail missed its target to deliver at least 93% of first class post across the UK within one working day of it being collected. Ofcom said in financial year 2018-2019, only 91.5% of first class post reached its destination on time. The postal service also increased its price for second class post by 1p to 61p a week ahead of the official cap being lifted. This led to overcharging of 60,000, the watchdog found. Royal Mail admitted the mistake and donated the additional money to charity Action for Children. The watchdog said it handed the hefty fine for the delayed post as the group did not provide a satisfactory explanation and it did not take sufficient steps to get back on track during the year. "Royal Mail let its customers down, and these fines should serve as a reminder that we'll take action when companies fall short," said Gaucho Rasmussen, Ofcom's director of investigations and enforcement. Royal Mail said it was disappointed with its first class service in 2018-19 and accepted the decision by Ofcom. In a statement, it added: We worked hard to restore our service quality in 2019-20 and, were it not for the pandemic and its impact on our business in the latter half of March, we were on course to deliver the requisite first-class regulated quality of service target of 93%. Despite our best endeavours, some areas of the UK experienced a reduction in service levels during March. Royal Mail announced last month that it would be cutting 2,000 management jobs to deal with the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The cuts will save the company around 130m. READ MORE: One in 10 of Wagamama group sites to remain closed That Saroj Khan impacted lives beyond those of stars is evident through the respect she got from contestants on dance reality shows In the past decade, Saroj Khans work as choreographer of Hindi film songs reduced. Her footprint as a judge and mentor on dance contests and dance reality shows had grown. In fact, the 71 year old masterji led the origin of dance tutorials in India before the advent of multiple channels on YouTube. Khans Nachle Ve (on NDTV Imagine), a no-fuss show where she broke down her most popular Bollywood dance numbers in the company of able students remains a go-to destination online for training on hit songs. Khan rose up the ranks to become the most recognised choreographer in Hindi cinema, frequently collaborating with superstars Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit. She imbibed dance moves with expressions, facial and eye movements drawn from classical forms like Kathak and Bharat Natyam, and combined these with popular moves from folk-dance forms. Over time, with the advent of hip hop, street, and rock n roll taking over Hindi film songs, Khans style lost out to more physical forms of choreography. (Also read Saroj Khan passes away: A masterful choreographer, who spruced up traditional dance forms with 'a dazzle of Bollywood') But for the movie buffs spread across India and the world, her iconic choreography always held appeal. Which is why, her turn as judge and mentor on dance contests on TV and reality shows was hugely popular and consistent. In Nach Baliye, she would be critical about losing fluidity and emotion while perfecting physical movements, even if it meant disappointing the contestants with her remarks. But she would also reward good performances with rich praise and her signature nazar shagun of offering Rs 101 to contestants. Rajeshwari Sachdev and Varun Badola were amongst the lucky few to get this shagun from Khan after a particularly hard day of dancing . Khan worked as judge and made guest appearances on dance programmes across networks. Her exacting nature never changed. Whether a kids troupe, a budding Hindi film actor or a TV star, she would not dilute her observations about the intricacies and emotions embedded in dance. In fact, this bit also made her unpopular with fellow celebrity judges and some contestants. On a lesser known regional dance program, Dance Sangram (on Mahua), she exchanged harsh words with Shweta Tiwari, a judge and mentor over her criticism of a contestants ability to express. Khan held her ground that experience is the best teacher, and that a song comes alive on screen riding on emotions and expressions, rather than just technique. While she could be tough, her focus on getting dance moves right inspired many to aim high in the field of Bollywood dancing. Nachle Ve has trained many young TV stars, including established names like Anita Hassanandani. It also reached out to clusters of fans and students across metro cities in India, groups that would watch Khan explain each dance move step by step, and in an easy to do manner. That she impacted lives beyond those of stars is evident through the respect she got from contestants on dance reality shows. Khan is remembered for her work on Nach Baliye and Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, trendsetting dance reality shows for India. But in her later appearances on numerous programs, one witnesses just how much fans and dance enthusiasts learnt from her. In an episode of High Fever Dance Ka Naya Tewar (on Zee TV), Ashish Patil and Rutuja Junnarkar presented her with ceremonial respect reserved for gurus. Both had met her for the first time while performing before her. They washed her feet and worshipped her like a guru on live TV. Both have emerged as choreographers slowly finding their feet in Indian showbiz today. Like established names Ahmed Khan, Farah Khan, Bosco Martis state, Saroj Khan influenced many to aim for fame and success in a challenging and competitive space. While demystifying the cheeky 'Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai' on Nachle Ve to her students, Khan spoke about the teasing element of this song without hesitation. She insists that one must feel confident and sensual to bring alive such songs. This aspect of celebrating one's sexiness has gradually faded away in Bollywood songs, where thrusting and strutting moves dominate today. Khan brought the thumka in vogue but embellished it with a touch of boldness and beauty. Perhaps that is why she had taken on the mantle of teaching young actors like Sara Ali Khan, Ananya Pandey, and Alizeh Agnihotri the finer points of dance. Dance reality shows will continue to flourish on TV as they bring exposure to new talent. But the maturity and command of Khan will be hard to replace. (Also read: How Saroj Khan, Madhuri Dixit depicted 'longing' through their storied song-and-dance collaboration) Author Ann M. Martin had no master plan when she decided to make one of the core members of "The Baby-Sitters Club" a Japanese American girl named Claudia. Claudia Kishi happened to be everything the "model minority" stereotype wasn't. She got bad grades. She thrived in art and fashion. She wasn't struggling to belong. For those reasons and more, Asian-American girls in the 1980s and 1990s idolized Claudia and felt seen in teen fiction. Some of those now grown fans concede the books fall short dealing with race, but a new Netflix adaptation is bringing Claudia (and her pals) into the modern age. In addition to the series that's available now, the streaming service is releasing "The Claudia Kishi Club" documentary. It's filmmaker Sue Ding's love letter to Claudia-philes. "I want the vibe of the film to be you're at a 'Baby-Sitters Club' sleepover with your closest friends and you're reminiscing," Ding said. In the short documentary, a handful of Asian-American writers and illustrators effuse about how influential the character was for that time. "For some, their parents were actively not supportive of them pursuing more artistic career choices," Ding said. "Even for those whose families were supportive, they didn't necessarily see people like themselves working in media as directors or painters." Among those she interviewed was Naia Cucukov, one of "The Baby-Sitters Club" series producers. She remembers Claudia's "aura of cool" jumping off the page. "As an Asian-American kid growing up having only seen depictions of nerds, geishas, the villain, having that extra layer of someone who could be aspirational was incredible," Cucukov said. Another documentary participant, Sarah Kuhn, whose fourth novel in her "Heroine Complex" sci-fi series came out Tuesday, called Claudia "this connective tissue between a lot of Asian girls." "Just when you mention her name on Twitter, it summons an entire generation," Kuhn said. "It speaks to her lasting contribution." With 180 million copies in print worldwide, "The Baby-Sitters Club" books were a juggernaut during their 1986-2000 run. They follow Claudia, Kristy, Mary Anne, Stacey and Dawn and their babysitting adventures in the fictional suburb of Stoneybrook, Connecticut. The books are often credited with showcasing teenage girls as entrepreneurs. Martin, who wasn't available for interviews, was not trying to make a statement about Claudia's ethnicity, said David Levithan, an editorial director and publisher at Scholastic who's worked with Martin since 1992. She based the character on a Japanese American friend from elementary school. In present day, Levithan thinks authors writing a protagonist of a different ethnicity would have "to be doing it for a reason, to have a connection to it and make sure they got it right." Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. It may seem odd that a white female author created an Asian-American icon, but the 1980s weren't exactly conducive to Asian-American writers. Sarah Park Dahlen, an associate professor of library and information science at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minn., and a "BSC" fan, said Claudia is only one of two Asian-American characters she can cite from her own childhood reading. A combination of little encouragement from Asian-American parents and the publishing industry contributed to that, Dahlen believes. After decades of pushing for more diverse voices in children's books, school libraries started receiving federal funding in the 1960s and 1970s to help expand reading choices. But then came a conservative backlash against multiculturalism, which led to skittish publishers and dried-up funds, Dahlen said. "It was a combination of those things that caused this desert of diverse books in the 1980s and a little bit through the 1990s as well," she said. Marie Myung-Ok Lee, founder of the Asian American Writers' Workshop, recalls the difficulties of getting her first young adult novel, "Finding My Voice," sold in the early '90s even with the support of popular author Judy Blume. One publisher rejected the book, about a Korean American teen in an all-white town, because "'We had a book about Cambodia last year,'" Lee said. A company controlled by Ukrainian billionaire Ihor Kolomoyskiy is bidding to manage the assets of a local media company, potentially giving the tycoon greater influence over the nations news content. A subsidiary of Kolomoyskiys 1+1 Media Group is one of six companies vying for UMH Holding, once the leading media company in Ukraine, the Kyiv Post reported. A state agency charged with recovering and managing assets stolen during the tenure of President Viktor Yanukovych is handling the bidding process. Yanukovych was overthrown in 2014 following street protests over his corrupt rule. Fugitive oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko bought UHM in 2013 for $400 million, but a Ukrainian court seized the asset in 2017 on the grounds that the money had been acquired illegally. UMH Holding, though no longer wielding the same influence as in previous years, still owns 72 legal entities, including newspapers, radio stations, magazines and websites. It also possesses the intellectual property rights on 283 trademarks as well as printing equipment. Kolomoyskiys media assets are credited with helping comic-turned-politician Volodymyr Zelenskiy defeat incumbent Petro Poroshenko in a landslide in the April 2019 presidential election. His media empire already includes seven television channels, a group of Internet sites, and a production department, among other assets. Kolomoyskiy returned to Ukraine from self-imposed exile shortly after Zelenskiys victory and is now considered one of the most influential oligarchs in the country. Western nations are wary of his influence and have pushed Zelenskiy to pass laws that would prevent Kolomoyskiy from regaining his bank, which was nationalized by the state in 2016 amid a $5.5 billion hole in its accounts. Ukraines wealthiest oligarch, Rinat Akhmetov, has criticized the bidding process for UMH Holding, calling it a covert transfer of broadcasting licenses that violates local broadcasting laws. Akhmetov also owns media assets. With reporting by the Kyiv Post More than 6 months now when China reported its first case in the city of Wuhan. While this still remains a question if the country tried manipulating data or delayed reporting to the World Health Organisation, it becomes brutally clear that the world needs further research into many aspects of viruses. Business Standard's Sai Manish explains how the world has evolved in the last 6 months, ever since the first case came to light. As China increases its military might and trust in US alliances erode, Australia and Japan are going on the offensive. Within days of each other, two key United States allies Australia and Japan announced their intentions to boost defence spending and adopt a more aggressive military posture. Rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific region account for what is being called a game-changer in the way the two countries think about protecting themselves from Chinas rapid military expansion. Australias announcement in late June that it would boost defence spending over the next decade by 40 percent caught most observers by surprise. Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated clearly that the world post-COVID-19 will be poorer, more dangerous and more disorderly and that the country needed to be prepared for any eventuality. Australia changes direction Australia is a key partner in the region for the US and cooperation between the two countries remains central to Australias new strategic thinking. Intelligence sharing, basing of US troops in-country and the purchase of major arms from the US are still key joint concepts. Strategic aims in the region for both countries largely overlap, especially when it comes to deterring an ever-expanding Chinese regional influence. An increasingly erratic foreign policy under the Trump administration has made its allies nervous about the USs long-term commitments in the region. Chinas increased assertiveness in the South China Sea, near Taiwan and on the border with India has many analysts concerned China is lowering the threshold for military action, making war more likely. With this in mind, Australia has been steadily modernising its military, ordering advanced, super-quiet French submarines, received its first batch of American stealth jets and boosted its advanced naval vessels. The countrys geography dictates the bulk of the new defence funds will go to the navy, where most of the new personnel are earmarked. Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks during the launch of the 2020 Defence Strategic Update, in the wake of cyberattacks targeting Australia, at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, Australia on July 1, 2020 [Lukas Coch/AAP via Reuters] In February, the US agreed to the sale of advanced, stealthy long-range anti-ship missiles, able to strike high-value targets and sink them at a range of 370km, triple the range of Australias current Harpoon missile. They can be launched from either aircraft or ship, sneaking up on an enemy ship, destroying it before they realise they are being attacked. This standoff attack capability will give the Royal Australian Navy a significant offensive capability. Hypersonic missile technology is also being researched, with weapons able to attack their targets with very little warning time due to the extreme speeds at which the missiles travel. Able to fly in an erratic path, they are designed to confuse the enemys defences by seeming unpredictable until the target is hit. Finally, the navys early warning capabilities will be boosted by a new underwater detection net that will span the northern sea-lane approaches to the continent, giving the Australian Defence Force ample warning of any approaching surface vessels or submarines. The increased ability for early monitoring and detection of any enemy approach, the new potent long-range strike weapons and the hypersonic weapons in development gives Australia the option to take a far more offensive approach to defence, potentially allowing the country to strike first. Australian naval officers walk past the HMAS Canberra, one of four Royal Australian Navy ships visiting Sri Lanka as part of defence cooperation between the two countries, in Colombo, Sri Lanka on March 29, 2019 [File: Eranga Jayawardena/AP] Japans game-changer It is not the only country that wants this flexibility. Japan has always relied on its ally the US to protect it from potential aggressors while maintaining its post-World War II pacifist constitution. This trust has slowly been eroded and Japan, while still benefitting from substantial American support, now looks to develop its own first-strike capability, a game-changer for the countrys military posture. In an increasingly volatile region, Japans military budget is set to rise for the eighth straight year to $48bn as it steadily seeks to rearm itself, revamping its air force, buying in US stealthy F35s and early-warning aircraft. Concerned not just by Chinas rise but by a North Korea that has threatened to start testing its long-range missiles again, Japan now wants to give itself the option to hit targets hundreds of kilometres away should it need to. This switch from defensive to offensive was highlighted when a major defensive system, Aegis Ashore, was cancelled in June. A land-based missile interceptor system, it was initially bought to protect Japanese cities and the 50,000 US troops stationed in the country from ballistic missile attack. At $4.1bn, it was expensive and not 100 percent guaranteed to work. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to look for alternatives, ones that would firmly place operational control in Japanese hands and the focus of conflict away from Japanese shores. If a missile was going to be blown up, let it be over foreign soil. A Japan Air Self-Defense Forces F-35A stealth fighter jet is seen at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Komaki Minami factory in Toyoyama, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in June 2017 [File: Kyodo via Reuters] Japan is already augmenting an increasingly muscular self-defence force. Its helicopter carrier the Izumo is being modified for use by stealthy F-35B jets, turning it into a default aircraft carrier. Japan is boosting its satellite coverage and cyber-warfare capabilities, in the full knowledge that outer space and cyberspace will be the new battlegrounds for any future conflict. Significant investment has also been made in its domestic stealth fighter programme, the F-X, although it is still in its experimental stage. The US attempts to tip the strategic balance Since the US left the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, it seeks to base medium-range missiles within striking range of China and North Korea. Among the USs Pacific Rim allies the reception for the request to house the missiles has been tepid. While they worry about Chinas military expansion, they also worry about provoking this new leviathan in their midst. Both Australia and the Philippines have publicly refused to house the missiles. Japan, due to its proximity and strategic partnership, is a natural choice in which to place them yet even here there has been opposition with Denny Tamaki, the governor of Okinawa, home to the bulk of US troops in the country, firmly opposed to the idea. The US is keen however to push this idea forward, as hundreds of accurate, non-nuclear missiles based close by its adversaries would tip the strategic balance further back in its favour. Ship JS SUZUTSUKI DD-117, an Asagiri-class destroyer in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) arrives at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia in September 2018 [File: Andrew Lotulung/NurPhoto via Getty Images] Chinas rapid buildup of bases, naval forces and long-range air force in the South China Sea and beyond has unnerved its neighbours, who now seek closer defence ties with each other. Australia and India signed a naval and logistical cooperation defence pact in June. Japan seeks to strengthen ties with India, Australia and other ASEAN states and is pushing plans for further cooperation in an effort to form an alliance that is able, with the US help, to counter any potential aggression from China. In the middle of an increasingly dangerous continent, that is poorer and more disorderly these alliances will become all the more important. With the potential for American support to diminish, an ally that can strike back hard at its opponents is all the more useful. Some critics have voiced concern that such an offensive military stance would encourage China to boost its own offensive capabilities, in turn trying to counter what China sees as its aggressive neighbours. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal A physician at the New Mexico Heart Institute in Albuquerque was hospitalized in intensive care Friday after testing positive for COVID-19, while three other Heart Institute employees have subsequently tested positive for the virus, the state Department of Health confirmed. More than 100 patients who might have been at risk of exposure to the highly contagious virus have been contacted by Lovelace Health System, which acquired the Heart Institute in 2018. The physician, who was not identified, is in his 50s. We began our investigation last Sunday after the test results was reported to us by Lovelace medical officials, DOH spokesman David Morgan told the Journal in an email. Morgan said Lovelace has expanded testing to include staff at the Heart Institute, at 502 Elm NE. Lovelace is cooperating with our investigation and has already proactively reached out to just over 100 patients who may have been at risk of exposure and provided guidance with regards to the need for quarantine and testing, Morgan said in an email response to Journal questions. It was unclear on Friday whether any patients of the physician have tested positive, but Morgan said the DOH investigation is ongoing. A Lovelace spokeswoman cited privacy laws in declining to provide details about the outbreak or where the physician might have contracted the virus. A health care worker in our hospital has tested positive for COVID-19, said spokeswoman Whitney Marquez in an email. While we must maintain confidentiality, we can share that the organization rapidly responded to the confirmed positive case and this individual was immediately placed in quarantine. We will continue our vigilance in screening our patients and staff for symptoms and providing personal protective equipment to our staff to reduce exposure. She added, Patient safety is our priority. If patients have any concerns or believe they may have been exposed to COVID-19, we encourage them to call the NM Department of Health at 1-855-600-3453 for further instructions. In recent months, the DOH and state Environment Department have deployed rapid response teams to hundreds of employers and businesses around the state after learning one or more employees have tested positive for the virus. The aim is to prevent spread of the virus by ensuring that other employees who may have come into contact with the person who tested positive for the virus are tested and quarantined, if needed. Employers are also advised about disinfection of the workplace and future safety plans. Such teams have been dispatched to law enforcement agencies, restaurants, retail stores and health care facilities, such as San Juan Regional Medical Center and Presbyterian Hospital. Employees at health care facilities around the state comprised about 15% of the rapid responses as of July 1. At the governors COVID-19 update Thursday, DOH Secretary Kathy Kunkel announced that the number of rapid responses since May 11 has soared to 491. Thats up from the 238 reported about a week earlier. That is a reflection of the jump in positive tests overall. Positive coronavirus tests have increased some 79% over the past 16 days, said Dr. David Scrase, the governors top medical adviser in the states COVID-19 response, on Thursday. On Friday, 301 people tested positive, pushing the states five-day average of infections to its highest point this year. Scrase said Thursday the increase is not the result of more testing about 6.5% of the test results announced Wednesday were positive compared to the overall rate of 3.6% since testing began in March. Prior to the spike in new cases, the state would conduct about six or seven rapid responses a day. What is significant is that overnight, we had 44 new rapid responses, Kunkel said on July 1. The state Environment Department lists on its website, at www.env.nm.gov, the employers that have been the focus of a state rapid response team. As of Friday, neither Lovelace nor the Heart Institute was listed. After nearly three-and-a-half months, interstate bus services are set to resume in Delhi this week, senior government officials said Saturday. The resumption of these services would mean that all three interstate bus terminals (ISBTs) in DelhiAnand Vihar, Kashmere Gate, and Sarai Kale Khanwould reopen. Once operational, fewer passengers than usual may board buses; no passenger will be allowed to stand. At the ISBTs, provisions are being made for the disinfection of buses after each trip, as well as the screening of passengers. The departures and arrivals of buses will also be staggered to avoid crowding, government officials said. In Delhi, interstate bus services were suspended on March 21. But before the onset of the pandemic, the three ISBTs would witness a combined footfall of over 250,000 every day. At least 3,467 buses from states such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Chandigarh would ply through these ISBTs every day. On Saturday, senior transport department officials said the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) gave the go-ahead to resume interstate buses to and from the national capital. The transport department had sought a clarification from DDMA on whether buses from other states could arrive at ISBTs. DDMA has now clarified that there is no restriction by the Centre or the Delhi government on the movement of interstate buses and that such services can be resumed, said a transport official. Under the unlock 2.0 guidelines issued by the Central government on June 30, passengers can travel across state borders without travel passes. Under the Unlock 1.0 rules, interstate travel was allowed (since June 8), but it was subject to both states agreeing to the decision and passengers carrying travel passes. None of these requirements applies any longer. In Delhi, however, no interstate bus service has resumed until now. The transport officials said the services are likely to resume from Monday or Tuesday, but they expressed concerns about neighbouring states. So far, Rajasthan has shown an interest in resuming interstate services with 70 buses initially. More states have to come forward for us to operate the ISBTs fully. Some states are apprehensive about resuming services as of now because of the high number of Covid-19 cases in the national Capital. Delhi doesnt own or operate any interstate bus service, the transport official said. Dheeraj Sahu, Uttar Pradeshs transport commissioner and managing director of UPSRTC, said the state is not plying any buses outside UP as a precautionary measure. Before the pandemic struck, UP used to operate over 1,500 buses to and from Delhis ISBTs every daythe highest among all the other states. The UP government will decide when our interstate bus service will resume. Till then our interstate bus service shall remain suspended, Sahu said. Punjab state transport commissioner Dr Amarpal Singh said the state has resumed its interstate transport services. But in Delhis case, we are still awaiting clarity. As far as we know, the Delhi governments interstate bus services are shut. We will consider restarting our bus services to and from Delhi once we hear from them, he said. Singh added that whenever these services resume, passengers arriving in Punjab from Delhi will have to isolate themselves at home for 14 days if found asymptomatic while being screened upon arrival. Symptomatic passengers will be put in institutional quarantine. For scores of office-goers, small-scale traders and the public in generalfor whom travelling to Delhi over distances between 50 and 100 kilometres was a daily affair before the pandemicthe daily commute has turned into a nightmare. Jagjit Tiwari (44) who is employed as a member of supporting staff in a private bank in Laxmi Nagar, said he now cycles over 40km daily (both ways) between his workplace and home in Morta area of UP. My salary is 14,000 per month, a majority of which goes towards the rent. Earlier, I would travel in UPSRTC buses, which would drop me at Anand Vihar. From there, I used to board a DTC bus. That is not an option now, and the only other available option is my cycle. I cannot afford cabs, he said. Some days I feel so tired, I am forced to take leave. I hope the bus services resume soon. With people losing their jobs, I cant even risk taking many leaves, Tiwari said. Jyotika Rathee (36), a data entry operator at a government agency in Kashmere Gate, was asked to start reporting to the office from July 1 after the Centre rolled out the Unlock 2.0 guidelines. A week since, Rathee, who lives in Sonepat in Haryana, still cannot come to work because interstate buses plying to and from Delhi remain suspended. Government reports show the transport department is losing over 5 crore per month because the three ISBTs are shut. The main source of revenue used to be the stand fee charged against each bus entering the terminals. Officials at Anand Vihar ISBT said that even though the terminals are shut, they are preparing for the time when services resume. Thermal screening will be mandatory. But, it is yet to be decided whether the respective state transport authority staff will screen passengers or if ISBT staff will have to do it, an official said. A standard operating procedure will have to be shared with all stakeholders. Clarity is also needed on how social distancing inside buses will be followed, the official added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and assistant to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, filed a motion in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday evening requesting that she be released on $5 million bail. In the motion, Attorney Mark S. Cohen argues that Maxwell is not a flight risk and that both her health and ability to fairly defend herself is at risk because of the spread of COVID-19 in federal prisons and the restrictions placed on client-lawyer contact during the pandemic. Maxwell, who was arrested on July 2 and charged with six criminal offenses including enticing teenage girls as young as 14 to have sex with Epstein as well as perjury, is scheduled for her first appearance in court on Tuesday, July 13. In the arraignment, which will be conducted via remote video, a decision will likely be made about whether Maxwell will remain in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn or be released pending a trial. In the filing, Cohen states that Maxwell distanced herself from Epstein and had no contact with him during the decade before he was found dead in his jail cell in New York City on August 10, 2019, where he was awaiting trial on multiple counts of sex trafficking. Maxwells motion, which calls on Judge Alison Nathan of the Southern District Court of New York to release her on bail, argues that she was never in hiding or trying to avoid law enforcement following Epsteins death almost a year ago. Cohen says she instead took measures to conceal her identitypurchasing a secluded $1 million home in New Hampshire and registering her phone number and email address under the name G Maxto protect herself from unrelenting and intrusive media coverage. The motion says that Maxwell had seen reporters hiding in her bushes and was forced to hire personal security guards after she received death threats as evidence that she faced an onslaught of press articles, television specials and social media posts painting her in the most damning light possible and prejudging her guilt. Arguing that Maxwell is no flight risk, Cohen argues, Far from hiding from law enforcement her lawyers reached out to prosecutors after Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019 and maintained regular contact with them right up to the point of her arrest. Along with the bail request, Maxwell is also proposing that she be released into home confinement in New York with electronic GPS monitoring and limited contact with close friends, family and legal team. The bail request also includes the proposal that the bond be secured by six co-signers, including two of Maxwells sisters, and with collateral in the United Kingdom worth more than $3.75 million. In their first response since the July 2 indictment, her lawyers state that Maxwell, has always vehemently denied that she was involved in illegal or improper conduct related to Epstein. The brief says, Ghislaine Maxwell is not Jeffrey Epstein, and that she has been unfairly blamed for his sex crimes. Prosecutors have argued that Maxwell should remain in custody because she has citizenship in the US, Britain and France and possesses a passport from each country. They also say that while Maxwell may not have had direct contact with Epstein since 2008, there is evidence that she moved funds around in bank accounts associated with him as recently as 2013. In the case against Maxwell, prosecutors presented extensive evidenceincluding detailed descriptions from three anonymous teenage victims of Epsteins abusethat she recruited and groomed the girls for sex with him, participated in the abuse herself and also facilitated their trafficking across state lines to other men among their elite friends and associates. One such individual is Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who was identified by Virginia Roberts Giuffre as an abuser and a participant in a sex scheme coordinated by Maxwell. Roberts Giuffre testified that when she was 17 and staying at Maxwells London residence, she was directed to have sex with Prince Andrew. She also said that the abuse with Prince Andrew took place on at least two other occasions. Throughout the eleven months since Epsteins August 2019 death, Prince Andrew has refused to cooperate with prosecutors investigating the elaborate sex trafficking and abuse operation. Last March, Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney in Manhattan, announced at a press conference that the Duke of York had completely shut the door on helping with the inquiry. Earlier Berman had said that the prince was offering zero cooperation in the case. According to a report in the Sun on June 24, one of the attorneys for Epsteins victims, Spencer Kuvin noted that Bermans removal shortly thereafter was highly suspect and speculated that Attorney General William Barr or President Donald Trump had forced him out for his persistent attempts to investigate Prince Andrew. As Kuvin told the Sun, Because we know that the investigation and requests for repeated interviews with Prince Andrew ramped up in just the past month. And now, all of a sudden, the one man thats been pushing for those requests has been fired for no reason. We know that US Attorney Berman was heavily investigating and pushing the investigation into the Epstein cases which included repeated requests to interview Prince Andrew. We know that Prince Andrew lied when he said that he had been cooperative because US Attorney Berman came out and said that he was lying and that he had not contacted them and did not want to be part of that interview. We also know that President Trump has a very close relationship with the British Prime Minister and there have been requests that have been made in the past by our president to back off international prosecutions. So, it does not defy logic. There have been so many lies told by so many people in US and international elite circles about their relationship to Epstein and Maxwell, and what they knew or how they participated in the criminal sex ring, that the untruths are now piling up and clashing upon each other every day. The fact that Epsteins activities were permitted to take place unimpeded for twenty-five yearsincluding a special non-prosecution agreement with federal authorities in 2008 in which he plead guilty to minimal Florida state charges in exchange for a 13-month prison term that permitted him to come and go as he pleased from his special jail cell in the Palm Beach County Stockade six days a weekshows that he was being protected at the highest levels of the US government. Whatever the outcome of Maxwells arraignment on Tuesday, more revelations about the activities and relationships of Epstein and his confidante should be anticipated both before and after. Chandigarh: The Jannayak Janata Party on Friday (July 11) dissolved all its units including national and state executives, paving the way for a revamp of the one-and-a-half-year-old party's organizational structure. The decision to dissolve the units was taken on the suggestion of JJP founder and former MP Ajay Singh Chautala, a party statement said here. It said that after the 2019 assembly election, the JJP was thinking of revamping its organisational structure. During the party's first foundation day on December 9, 2019, in Sirsa and at another meeting of national executive on March 17 this year held in Chandigarh, the final decision was left on Chautala, it said. In March, no discussion could be held on the issue due to the coronavirus lockdown, but now a roadmap has been prepared to revamp the party, the statement said. The JJP, which won 10 seats in the Haryana Assembly polls, extended support to the BJP after the saffron party could manage to win only 40 of the 90 seats. They formed a coalition government in the state. Senior JJP leader Dushyant Chautala was made the Deputy Chief Minister in the new government. The JJP was formed on December 9, 2018 after a split in the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) due to infighting in the Chautala family. The JJP is based on the ideology of former Prime Minister Devi Lal, who was the founder of INLD. JJP state president Nishan Singh said that apart from Haryana, the party's units in Delhi have also been dissolved and a new body would be announced soon. He said that till the time the new body is formed, the office bearers on the various posts would continue to function. Singh said that one and a half-year ago, the party had set up various executives and units amidst Jind bye-election (Jan 2019), Lok Sabha elections (April-May 2019) and then assembly elections (Oct 2019). He said that the JJP ran a membership drive in the state from December 20, 2019 to January 20, 2020 and enrolled lakhs of party members. Nishan Singh thanked all the party workers for strengthening the party and exhorted them to continue their efforts in this direction in future as well. Tobe Hooper, a 29-year-old Texan and film-school dropout, had wanted to make a work of art - a cinematic masterpiece in the mold of his Italian idols, directors Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni. Walking through a bustling Montgomery Ward department store days before Christmas in 1972, he found inspiration for a grislier kind of movie in a display of gleaming chain saws. "I thought, 'I know a way I could get through this crowd really quickly,' " he told Texas Monthly in 2004. "I went home, sat down, all the channels just tuned in, the zeitgeist blew through, and the whole damn story came to me in what seemed like about 30 seconds." The resulting film - "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974) - was a low-budget, blood-soaked horrorfest made with college students, teachers, a menagerie of dead animals and two human skeletons, one of them real. Most critics were disgusted, with one Harper's magazine reviewer calling it "a vile little piece of sick crap." But its reputation has improved ever since, winning praise as one of the greatest horror films of all time, credited with popularizing the slasher genre in the 1970s. Hooper, who went on to direct the Steven Spielberg-produced"Poltergeist" in 1982, died Aug. 26 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 74. The Los Angeles County medical examiner's office confirmed his death but did not provide a cause. Hooper (his first name is pronounced Toby) directed nearly 20 films, numerous TV episodes and the zombie-populated music video for the Billy Idol song "Dancing With Myself." But he remains best known for "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," which he produced, directed and co-wrote. He described it as an updated version of the Hansel and Gretel story and likened its villain, a 300-pound butcher known as Leatherface, to the 1950s cartoon duck Baby Huey. (Both characters were stuck in childhood, he said.) But while Hooper's story retained the cannibalistic element of the Brothers Grimm fable, it was far more sinister, replacing a pair of sweet-toothed children with a group of five young hippies, and swapping the witch's oven for a butcher's hook and a sharp-toothed power tool. Hooper and his co-writer, Kim Henkel, based their story in part on Ed Gein, a Wisconsin serial killer who made masks out of his victims' faces. But they filled in their own gruesome details for a plot that pit Leatherface, played by Gunnar Hansen, against a blonde-haired heroine played by Marilyn Burns. The movie was "as violent and gruesome and blood-soaked as the title promises," Roger Ebert wrote in a two-star review. "It's also without any apparent purpose, unless the creation of disgust and fright is a purpose. And yet in its own way, the movie is some kind of weird, off-the-wall achievement." Despite being banned in England and other countries, it went on to gross more than $30 million and became a mainstay at drive-in theaters and a favorite of horror directors such as John Carpenter. The movie, Carpenter once said, "pacified my soul." William Tobe Hooper was born in Austin, on Jan. 25, 1943. His mother reportedly went into labor while at a movie theater, and his father was a film buff who owned a hotel. His parents divorced when he was young, and his father died when he was a teenager. Hooper began shooting movies at 3, using his father's 8-millimeter camera, and studied film at the University of Texas before dropping out after two years. For his first major work, he shot and directed a public-television documentary of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary. He followed that with a more drug-infused film about the 1960s counterculture, "Eggshells," before turning to horror. "I thought, 'The only way to get the kind of attention I wanted was through genre film, horror genre film,' " he told the Montreal Gazette in 2014. "I didn't need stars. All I needed for it to work was to scare people." Hooper directed "Salem's Lot," a 1979 CBS miniseries based on a vampire novel by Stephen King, before making "Poltergeist," a hit about a family that moves into a haunted house where demons emerge from a TV set. The movie was nominated for three Academy Awards, but credit for its success was given by many critics not to Hooper, but to Spielberg, who co-wrote the movie and was credited with developing its story and picking its cast. Hooper directed a 1986 sequel to "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," with Dennis Hopper as a retired, revenge-seeking Texas Ranger, although the film proved less successful than its predecessor. A half-dozen sequels followed from different directors, while Hooper worked on horror films that included "Invaders From Mars" (1986), a remake of William Cameron Menzies's science-fiction classic, and "The Mangler" (1995), which adapted a King story about a murderous ironing machine. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available. Hooper insisted that "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" was not nearly as bloody as many critics said it was, pointing out that many of his quick cuts were designed to hide the movie's most violent moments. He told Texas Monthly that he frequently consulted the Motion Picture Association of America, Hollywood's rating agency, in an effort to ensure a PG rating. " 'I have this scene where a girl gets hung on a meat hook.' Long silence. 'What could I do?' Long silence. 'I guess it would help me if there was no penetration shot.' 'That would be correct.' 'And no blood?' 'That would help.' " Hooper decided to keep the blood, and his movie was rated R. The striking healthcare workers in Ekiti State have rejected the governments offer to pay N5,000 monthly hazard allowance while working out modalities to address their other demands. The leadership of the medical doctors group- Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (AGGMDP) and that of the states chapter of the Joint Associations and Unions of Ekiti State Healthcare Workers confirmed this development to PREMIUM TIMES on the phone. The doctors accused the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration of lacking the goodwill to earn their trust. The chairman of AGGMDP, Sunday Adeniyi, had on July 6, reported the outcome of a meeting with government representatives on the matter to his colleagues. According to Mr Adeniyi, a meeting with the doctors on the same day had been attended by the states secretary to the government, head of service, commissioner for health, permanent secretaries in charge of ministries of establishments, finance and health, among other critical stakeholders. The doctors were represented by the chairman of the states chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Tunji Omotayo; the chairman of the associations remuneration committee, identified simply as Dr Rosiji, and Mr Adeniyi, among others. Mr Adeniyi told our reporter that his members have concluded that the strike would not be called off until other critical issues, and particularly the skipping matter is addressed. He said the governments team, which was led by the SSG, had offered to pay the statutory N5,000 monthly hazard allowance. While seeking the members response, Mr Adeniyi had reportedly said that; The government team, ably led by the SSG appealed to all doctors, after he appreciated our roles in the state. Their offer still remains the paltry N5,000 hazard allowance for all. Although, they all agreed that our requests are germane but that the state doesnt have money. We are told to come and sign an MoU tomorrow agreeing to the N5,000 to call off our strike. PREMIUM TIMES learnt that almost all the doctors opposed the proposal. MoU Meanwhile, Mr Adeniyi on July 8 hinted of an MoU by the government and the request for the doctors signature. He added that the government promised that all other requests would receive necessary attention as soon as the financial status of the state gets better. But according to him, his members objected to the proposal, claiming payment of statutory allowance shouldnt attract the signing of an MoU. He said; They appreciated the governor for the effort because for more than 10 years, doctors employed by the Ekiti State Government through the Health Management Board have not been receiving the allowance. You can imagine doctors working without hazard allowance. But the crux of the matter as we have continued to reiterate is the skipping which simply refers to the domestication of the entry level grade policy for medical doctors as contained in a federal government of 2014. Our colleagues at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), which is owned by the same government, have been benefiting from this. Also at the Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Osi, it is the same. So what is our offence? Other healthcare workers react Meanwhile, the chairman of the Joint Associations and Unions of Ekiti State Healthcare Workers, Femi Ajolokan, has said his union also rejected the governments offer, adding that until other basic requests are met, the strike would continue. Speaking on the phone with our reporter, Mr Ajoloko, whose union comprises the state chapters of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) and the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals which comprises pharmacists, among others, said the offer of hazard alone by government is not enough to convince his members to return to work. We just left the meeting now and we have expressed our position clearly to the government. Though the government has reiterated its commitment to payment of hazard allowance, it is not enough to get us back to work and that was why we are yet to sign the agreement, Mr Ajoloko said. State reacts But the states commissioner for health, Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, said the government remains committed to healthcare workers welfare in the state. Advertisements She added that meetings had been held to address the issue and appealed to the striking workers to consider the offer placed before them in the interest of the masses. Mrs Yaya-Kolade said the state has insured about 500 healthcare workers to the tune of N2.5 billion, adding the offer of statutory N5,000 hazard allowance is another commitment of the government to lifting the health sector. I can assure you that this administration is committed to the welfare of the states workers and the insurance cover for about 500 of the healthcare workers to the tune of N2.5 billion is a huge one, the commissioner said on the phone. Not true However, some healthcare workers have denied the commissioners claim, saying no one has been insured by the state. READ ALSO: That is a lie my brother. You can quote me that I said Ekiti State has not insured a single healthcare worker, Mr Ajoloko said. Similarly, one of the doctors at a general hospital in Ekiti, who did not want to be named, described the commissioners claim as mere propaganda. Maybe the commissioner is talking of another Ekiti State. Not even anyone on the frontline has been insured, he said. The only insurance cover we have as doctors was facilitated for us by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), and we pay by ourselves. That is the kind of lies they keep telling around. Malaysian MPs attend the Kings address during a half-day session of Parliament in Kuala Lumpur, May 18, 2020. Malaysia next week begins its first regular parliamentary session since Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin took the reins more than four months ago, amid signs that a no-confidence vote or even a snap election may decide how long he will stay in power. The opposition seems determined to unseat Muhyiddins unelected government but is divided over who should be its candidate to replace him as PM, if early polls are called for later this year. At the same time, signs have emerged that partners in the ruling bloc are not entirely behind the 73-year-old leader either. According to political analysts and multiple sources on both sides, a motion may be put forward early in the new session to change the House speaker a move favored by Muhyiddin that could pave the way for him to call snap elections. Its a realistic and ultimately effective step, Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, told BenarNews, referring to the prospect of early polls. Muhyiddin leads the Bersatu party but the anchor party in his coalition is the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which dominated Malaysian government for 61 years before being swept out of power in the 2018 general election. According to a report by the Nikkei Asian Review last month, sources close to the prime minister said he was eyeing snap polls with the intention to straighten the messy political scene by seeking a fresh five-year mandate from the people. UMNO holds 39 seats in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) ruling bloc, which, according to the latest information posted on parliaments website, controls 114 seats in the 222-seat chamber. UMNO has separately formed an alliance with the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), another member of the ruling bloc. The two-party alliance is known as Muafakat Nasional. The Malay heartland desires UMNO or PAS, which now join forces, not this amorphous Muhyiddin faction of Bersatu, Oh said. Motions to remove speaker The parliamentary session, which opens Monday and is set to run 25 days until Aug. 27, will be the legislatures first regular session since Muhyiddin took power, after a half-day sitting was held without debates or motions nearly two months ago. Parliaments order of business for the session will include motions to change the house speaker, as well as an already approved motion, introduced earlier this year by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad now a leader of the opposition to challenge Muhyiddin through a confidence vote. But Mahathirs motion may not materialize if Muhyiddin succeeds in first removing House Speaker Mohd Ariff Md Yusof, who in early May had approved the motion by the former PM. Mahathir, who turned 95 on Friday, led the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government until its collapse in late February. Mahathir has since effectively split from Pakatan, which is now led by veteran politician Anwar Ibrahim of the Peoples Justice Party (PKR), and is Pakatans choice for prime minister. On Thursday, Anwar indicated that Pakatan would try to block a motion to change the house speaker. PH will defend the speaker. Ariff, who is a former judge, has done a good job. The changing of the speaker in a mid-session has never happened before, Anwar said. Meanwhile, alliances within Perikatan Nasional itself are shaky, and the opposition is divided between a faction led by Anwar and Pakatan, and another headed by Mahathir, according to sources from various parties on both sides. Although they remain in Pakatan, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the faith-based Amanah party have said they support Mahathir to return as prime minister, but he has said that he would prefer to nominate Shafie Apdal of the Sabah-based Warisan party for the PMs job. By-election Last week, UMNO demonstrated yet again that it remains a force to contend with in Malaysian politics when it won the first by-election held since the new government came to power. Former Prime Minister Najib Razak helped rally UMNO to victory in the Chini by-election in the Pahang state assembly, after a judge allowed one of Najibs corruption trials tied to the 1MDB financial scandal to be delayed so that he could help a candidate campaign. Chini is located within Najibs Pekan constituency in Pahang. The landslide victory in Chini was proof of how the Malay heartlands the main battleground for UMNO, PAS and Bersatu still prefer the traditional Malay-based parties that formed the Muafakat Nasional alliance last year, the 66-year-old ex-leader said. Muafakat Nasional (MN) has the compatibility of the voters in the Malay heartland. That is the truth that could not be cast aside, Najib said. PN is still new. The voters are still questioning whether it is a good fit, Najib told a special interview posted live on The Malaysia Gazette Facebook on Thursday (June 9). In Ohs opinion, UMNO-PAS would benefit the most from a snap general election, as they have consolidated their voter support, which together amounted to 75 percent in the 2018 polls. The Muhyiddin faction of Bersatu is bound to be marginalized as it is disliked by MN and distrusted by the PH side, the analyst said. The only saving grace for Bersatu would be the looming internal power struggle in UMNO, which may see some factions losing out and having to find another convenient vehicle to park themselves, or at least to ally with, for political leverage, he added. Hadi Azmi and Nisha David contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur. New Ross Drama Workshop actors are back rehearsing together having been allowed - via Government guidelines - to meet safely in an outdoor space. The members of the New Ross Drama Workshop were mid-way through rehearsals for 'One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest', directed by Margaret Rossiter, when the Covid 'lockdown' was announced in March and rehearsals were instantly suspended. During the 'lockdown' members kept busy by attending the weekly Zoom quiz nights organised and invigilated by group chairperson, Edward Hayden. Hayden felt that it was important to offer a facility for the group to meet up if they desired and indeed many a happy Friday night was enjoyed during the lockdown attending these quizzes. Last week the members, as a nod to the new Government formation, read letters from John B. Keane's 'Letters of a Successful TD' and it was greatly enjoyed by all members and indeed the passers-by on the evening. It is the intention of the group to continue these readings, while group members look forward to contesting the All Ireland Drama competition in 2021. Hayden said: 'It was wonderful to meet up with some of our members this week. All of the members are in the group for various reasons but it offers respite, solace, opportunity and camaraderie to so many and it was wonderful to get a sense of this again at our readings.' Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Sweden, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Sweden and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The Aaa government bond rating of Sweden reflects its "aa3" Economic Strength, reflecting a strong and diversified economy exhibiting trend GDP growth of above 2% and a low level of inequality ; "aaa" Institutions and governance Strength, the highest possible level, thanks to its firm policy credibility, with a well-established and effective budget policy framework; "aa2" Fiscal Strength, reflecting the government's strong balance sheet following years of fiscal surpluses ; and its "a" Susceptibility to Event Risk, reflecting the banking sector risk although the Swedish bank's high asset quality, solid capital adequacy and profitability ratios limit the probability of an event risk. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit. This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. 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Apart from the large number of returnees in Kashmir, population, lifestyle diseases and weather conditions are responsible for the spike in Covid-19 cases and deaths in Kashmir valley, which has comparatively fared worse than the Jammu region. Both regions have 10 districts each. As per the 2011 census, Kashmir has a population of 69.1 lakh and Jammu a population of 53.50 lakh. Till Thursday, Kashmir had recorded 140 deaths and Jammu 14 deaths. Similarly, the Valley had recorded 7,504 positive cases and Jammu 1,997 cases. With a testing rate of 25,000 per million and a doubling rate of 22 days, the Union territory, which has six Covid-testing laboratories, has done remarkably well in tackling the Covid-19 infection. Kashmir director health services Dr Samir Mattoo said, Essentially, the people returning to Kashmir are far more and our testing rate is also very high. These are the basic reasons responsible for the increase in Covid-19 cases in Kashmir. He, however, also said that weather conditions in Kashmir were also different from Jammu. In Kashmir, respiratory diseases are also more and of course smoking can also contribute to it, he added. Another senior doctor in Jammu said, Different factors are responsible for fewer Covid-19 infections and deaths in Jammu as compared to Kashmir. The population of Kashmir is more than Jammu and its climatic conditions are different from Jammu. Lifestyle disorders are also higher in Kashmir. According to a study, their cholesterol levels are high and more people in Kashmir smoke as compared to their counterparts in Jammu, he said. DOCTORS OBSERVE INCREASED PREVALENCE OF PULMONARY DISEASE The doctor referred to a 2018 report published in Lancet, an international medical research journal, which brought the growing prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in J&K to the fore. The report had put J&K among the four top states and UTs in India with alarming prevalence of respiratory diseases. THE SMOKING CAPITAL In J&K, over 4,750 people per lakh suffer from COPD. Besides air pollution, the report had put the onus on a staggering rate of smoking among the people. In 2015, the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) had said in its report that J&K was fast emerging as the smoking capital of north India. At the time, J&Ks cigarette consumption was 12%, almost double the nationwide prevalence of 5.7%. It had recorded tobacco sales worth Rs 5,530 crore over seven years up to 2017-18. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Rekha's Bungalow Sealed By BMC After Her Security Guard Tests Positive For COVID-19: Reports People in Turkey and around the globe have expressed mixed opinions on social media following the Turkish governments controversial decision to turn Istanbuls iconic Hagia Sophia back to a mosque. President Recep Tayyip Erdogans declaration on Friday came after a Turkish high court stripped the sixth-century Byzantine sites museum status, paving the way for it to be converted into a mosque. The court cancelled 1934s council of ministers decision to turn the establishment into a museum and said Hagia Sophia was registered as a mosque in its property deeds. Hagia Sophia was built as a cathedral in the Christian Byzantine Empire and was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople in 1453 and changed the citys name to Istanbul. The building, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the historical part of the metropolis, has been an attraction for tourists worldwide, and visited by millions of people every year. Erdogan has many a time openly expressed his support to turn Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. The decision, however, has once again revealed the polarisation between secular and religious Turks in the country. Some social media users celebrated the decision as a victory for Muslims. Congratulations to the Muslim world. Hagia Sofia is no longer a Museum. It has been turned back into a Mosque. 1st AZAAN after 8 decades took place today. #AyasofyaCamii#Turkey Does It Again. Alhamdolillah pic.twitter.com/mIYrzJA5hh Mir Mohammad Alikhan (@MirMAKOfficial) July 10, 2020 Congratulations to the Muslim world. Hagia Sofia is no longer a Museum. It has been turned back into a Mosque. 1st AZAAN after 8 decades took place today. #Turkey Does It Again. Alhamdolillah, a social media user from Pakistan, Mir Mohammad Alikhan, tweeted. Engin Altan Duzyatan, a Turkish Twitter user, said The chains around the Ayasofya have been broken. Turkey will no longer be the same. The time has come for it rightfully command its sovereignty. The spirit of the Ottomans have been revived in the hearts of the Turks. Allahu Ekber! What a time to be alive in! Hagia Sofia belongs to humanity However, many other social media users disagreed with the decision, saying the World Heritage Site should have stayed neutral. Razan Ibraheem, whose account says she is based in Ireland, said the extraordinary history of Hagia Sofia should have been kept for everyone from all religions and backgrounds. It should have been kept as a museum and a world heritage site. Hagia Sofia is timeless and not limited to religion. It belongs to history and humanity, she posted. According to Ankesh Ojha from India, the reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a declaration that Turkey is no longer secular. To preserve the extraordinary history of Hagia Sofia, it should have been kept for everyone from all religions and backgrounds. It should have been kept as a museum and a world heritage site. Hagia Sofia is timeless & not limited to religion. It belongs to history and humanity. pic.twitter.com/FuPSjoeyN2 Razan (@RazanIbra_) July 10, 2020 Some others compared the development with other local and international issues to make their arguments. Joseph Lumbard, based in Doha, Qatar, said people making a big discussion out of Hagia Sophias status needed to check their priorities, making a reference to Uighur Muslims in China. If you are more worried about the fate of the #hagiasofia than of the 3 million Uiyghur Muslims who have been imprisoned and whose mosques are in the process of being destroyed by the Chinese government, you may need to check you priorities, he wrote in a tweet, referring to the suppressed Muslim minority in China. Haseeb Ahmed Barlas, who is based in Islamabad, Pakistan according to his social media account, referred in his tweet to an Indian mosque demolished in the 1990s, which had been a source of conflict between the Hindu and Muslim communities for a long time. Many Muslim Liberals are criticising Erdogan because of this [conversion of Hagia Sophia]. Where were those liberals, when Hindus were demolishing Babri Masjid? he tweeted. NEW DELHI - One by one, the infants and children slipped away Thursday night, their parents watching helplessly as oxygen supplies at the government hospital ran dangerously low. At least 30 children died Thursday and into Friday at a hospital in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh after its supply of liquid oxygen was disrupted over an unpaid bill, officials said. A home ministry spokesman told the Press Trust of India, citing police reports, that 21 of the deaths were directly linked a shortage of oxygen. Witnesses described a chaotic scene between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. as medical practitioners and relatives - the tanks running dry - handed out manual resuscitator bags to families in a desperate attempt to save the young patients. "We saw children dying around us," said the father of one victim, who gave his name only as Vijay. "Obviously, it's the hospital's fault. So many children have died because of them. My son was fine until nighttime, then something wrong happened." Two more children died Saturday at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur, an impoverished area in the eastern part of the state, as authorities scrambled to firm up supplementary supplies and investigate the tragedy. The government suspended the medical college principal Saturday. The state's health minister and hospital officials have denied charges that the deaths were caused by the oxygen bill dispute. An estimated 60 children have died at the hospital since Aug. 7 from a variety of causes, officials said. In a news conference Saturday, the state's chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, called the tragedy despicable and said the state had set up a committee to investigate the role of the oxygen vendor. "The guilty will not be spared," Adityanath said. Parents of the victims described feelings of anger and bewilderment over the incident, saying they were struggling with guilt over not being able to save their children. "The idea is devastating - that she had to suffer while trying to breathe," said Manger Rajbhar, the father of a 5-day-old girl who died in the chaos. The deaths provoked widespread outrage and condemnation across the political spectrum and on social media, where a political cartoon spread that showed the babies as little angels hovering in the sky as an Indian government official tries to reach them. "30 kids died in hospital without oxygen. This is not a tragedy. It's a massacre," Indian Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, a child advocate, said in a tweet. "Is this what 70 years of freedom means for our children?" (The country is set to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its independence from Britain on Tuesday.) The hospital owed $89,750 to a Lucknow-based medical supply company called Pushpa Sales Private Limited, documents obtained by The Washington Post show, and the firm had written letters to the hospital and district magistrate for the past six months demanding payment. The company asserted that the hospital was violating the terms of its contract by running a balance of more than $15,625. The agreement expired July 31, and Pushpa discontinued the oxygen supply Aug. 4. On Thursday, employees who handled the storage plant that pipes the oxygen wrote to the hospital's chief medical officer to warn him that supplies were low and would last only until Thursday evening, according to a letter obtained by the news channel NDTV. The oxygen supply then dipped to a critical level, the channel said. State officials claimed they had obtained sufficient backup supplies from nearby nursing homes. The hospital is in Adityanath's parliamentary constituency. The controversial monk, who was tapped by the governing Bharatiya Janata Party to head Uttar Pradesh earlier this year, is the longtime head of a large temple there. Adityanath had visited the hospital this week to inaugurate a new critical-care unit. Many of the young patients were suffering from encephalitis, a potentially deadly illness that causes acute swelling of the brain. The disease is often spread by mosquitoes, and infections rise during the monsoon season. Zahid Ali, the father of a 5-year-old girl suffering from encephalitis, said he and other family members were still in shock after the death of his daughter Khushi on Friday night. Ali said Khushi, who was running a high fever, had been admitted to the hospital's encephalitis ward Thursday. She was responding to treatment while on oxygen, he said, but her condition deteriorated as the cylinders ran dry that night. Hospital staff gave the parents a manual resuscitator and asked them to pump it themselves, he said, and he watched in horror as his daughter first became breathless, then turned "stiff and cold." "At that time, I understood that my daughter was gone, but doctors kept on telling me that she is still alive," he said. She was pronounced dead several hours later. - - - Arjumand Bano in Gorakhpur and Farheen Fatima in New Delhi contributed to this report. In several memoirs he wrote, Paik said a court martial had sentenced Park to death after he was exposed as a member of the South Korean Workers Party. Paik wrote that he arranged for Park to be eventually released because he was compliant after his arrest and provided investigators with detailed lists of Workers Party members in the army. Advertisement Finally, the news travel lovers have been waiting to hear for weeks: summer holidays abroad are on. When the announcement came last week that quarantine-free travel is permitted in 59 countries, tour operators experienced a welcome surge in bookings with plenty of bargains, as well. Tui, Britains largest travel company, was offering discounts of 70 per cent to some of our favourite Mediterranean destinations. And todays Mail reveals that you can bag a week-long break for less than 100, including flights. But whats it like to go on holiday during the tail-end of a pandemic? Is it all facemasks, plastic gloves and stringent social distancing? Is it really worth it? Come with us to find out on a whistle-stop tour of Europes most popular hotspots. FREE BUCKS FIZZ IN SPAIN Summer sun: Holidaymakers are returning to the beaches and bars of the Mediterranean Elizabeth Bennett, above, in Lloret de Mar After a strict lockdown, in Spain hotels, restaurants, bars and beaches are reopening and tourists are very much welcome. ON ARRIVAL: Everyone must complete a FCS form (a health declaration questionnaire) 48 hours before travel for a confirmation QR code to flash at arrivals. At airports, some passengers have temperature checks done. RESTAURANTS, BARS AND BEACHES: Forget a mask at your peril! Its a faux pas and a legal offence to be without one in public spaces where 1.5m distancing is impossible. This includes shops, streets and transport, with fines of 89. Restaurants and bars can be enjoyed mask-less. At Restaurante Miramar in Lloret de Mar, Costa Brava Im given hand sanitiser and have to scan a QR code for the menu. In the Costa Blanca, Benidorms party strip is locked-up. I booked the first flight out here. I wanted to get away in case theres another lockdown, says an English tourist at Aromas British Cafe. At Connollys Irish Bar in nearby Calpe, Tvestana, the owner, says: Bars are dropping prices. Soon youll be able to buy a glass of wine for 1. One cafe advertises free bucks fizz with breakfast. Watch out though: Costa Brava beaches can be overcrowded, with police clearing gatherings. Its Barcelona day trippers, says a bar owner. In Benidorm, the beach has social distanced plots (16sqm for up to 5 adults). GETTING AROUND: Some internal flights available; trains and buses running normally. GOOD TO KNOW: Masks are mandatory in Catalonia, regardless of distancing. COSTS: A cappuccino is 2.25; bottle of lager 1.80; glass of wine 2.20; litre bottle of water 2.50; three-course meal for two with wine 31. WHAT WE SAY: There are great deals and few crowds. Keep an eye on local outbreaks/lockdowns, currently in Segria, Catalonia and La Marina, Galicia. Elizabeth Bennett TUCK INTO TURKEY! Tom Chesshyre relaxes with a beer in Turkey Tourism is 12 per cent of GDP, so Turkey is keen to open up. Hotels, restaurants and bars have been back since mid-June, as have flights. Fewer than 5,500 pandemic deaths (population 81 million). ON ARRIVAL: After catching Turkish Airlines to Dalaman (free on-board Hijyen Sets with masks/sanitisers), social distancing announcements echo across the empty arrivals hall. The only temperature check is at Heathrow, using a thermometer gun. BARS, RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS: My temperature is also taken on arrival at D-Resort Gocek hotel in Gocek, the yachties hotspot popular with Madonna and Beyonce (Rafael Nadal is said to be in town on my visit). Masks are encouraged in public areas, except when eating. Its the same at the marina-side D'Breeze restaurant, which has sanitised laminated menus and QR code menus, and tables 1m-plus apart. Masks are required in shops yet on the way to Breeze, a jandarma (policeman) points at mine when it is round my chin while walking outside, telling me to use it properly. In Kalkan, 70 miles south, some hotels remain closed and harbourside bars are quiet. Hasan Aktas, owner of Baharat restaurant, says Please, please come! when asked if tourists are welcome. Meanwhile, Paula Keskin, of Kalkan Direct villas, says: We are 30 per cent full this year, last year was 95 per cent. There is plenty of availability. GOOD TO KNOW: Gulet boats are operating at half capacity for social distancing. Inshallah, all will be well, says Ali, captain of the Vira in Gocek. GETTING AROUND: Restrictions have been lifted easy to move about. COSTS: Sterling is up from 6.5 lira to 1 last summer to 8.5 now. A pint of beer is 2.50; bottle of wine 4.15; 1.5-litre bottle of water 12p; three-course meal for two with wine from 25. WHAT WE SAY: A brilliant choice: friendly welcome and cheap prices. Tom Chesshyre CROATIAS WELCOME 'Theres not a face mask, anti-bac dispenser or Covid poster in sight at Split Airport,' writes Harriet Sime. Pictured is Splits waterfront The country woke up from its two-month slumber on May 11, when hotels slowly begun opening their doors. British holidaymakers are able to travel quarantine-free and are very welcome. Tourists need to fill out a form stating purpose of travel and where they are staying. ON ARRIVAL: Forget temperature scanners or questioning policemen. Theres not a face mask, anti-bac dispenser or Covid poster in sight at Split Airport. I am whisked through border control with a smile. BARS, RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS: Its easy to forget were in the throes of a global pandemic. In Split, perma-tanned blondes stumble off yachts and sunburnt backpackers in tiny shorts and with strong Eastern European accents congregate in seafront bars. At Bokeria restaurant its all disposable paper menus no QR codes or glass dividers. Tables are only spaced half a metre apart and the waiters are PPE-free. I feel a pang of embarrassment as I apply anti-bac gel. We love it here, weve pretty much forgotten about coronavirus and its never been so cheap, says an Austrian tourist sitting nearby. Hotels are offering record discounts and restaurants everywhere advertise 10 per cent off! At the five-star Vestibul Palace, my room would usually go for 450 a night. I pay just over 100. Theres never been a better time to come, says Bruno, the hotels supervisor. GOOD TO KNOW: Hotels have stringent policies. Rather than a welcome drink, I have a thermometer gun check in reception; luckily Im a safe 36.1c. Masks and latex gloves are provided in my room. GETTING AROUND: Almost all restrictions lifted. Masks are only mandatory on public transport, yet on my 400-seater catamaran to Hvar Island, there are 11 passengers and Im the only person in one. COSTS: A cappuccino is 2.75; bottle of lager 1.20; glass of white wine 4; one litre bottle of water 90p; three-course dinner for two with bottle of wine 82. WHAT WE SAY: Good value but a risky, laissez-faire approach. Harriet Sime PORTUGAL IS OPEN Expect to be greeted by face masks, social distancing reminders and anti-bacterial gel at every turn in Portugal (stock image) On July 1, Portugal downgraded to a state of alert, the lowest of a three-tier emergency plan, despite a few clusters of Covid-19 outbreaks on the outskirts of Lisbon. The country desperately wants tourists back on the golden beaches of the Algarve. ON ARRIVAL: You need to complete a Passenger Locator Card and hand it in at the airport to comply with regulations, stating journey details and contact information. However, visitors who cross the border from Spain are not required to do so. Expect to be greeted by face masks, social distancing reminders and anti-bacterial gel at every turn. BARS, RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS: Bars must shut at 11pm. Tables at restaurants must be 1.5 metres apart; you must wear a mask on entry to be removed when food is served. Waiters wear masks and menus are either disposable or on QR codes. Hotels across the Algarve are offering incentives to woo customers. Bela Vista Hotel by Praia da Rocha beach has four nights for the price of three. Meanwhile, Vila Vita Parc is rewarding bookings with free spa treatments or meals. Joanne Ellis, from Bradford, holidaying with her daughters says: I have seen fewer people on the beaches here than I do at Waitrose on a Saturday morning. I feel so secure. GOOD TO KNOW: Portugal has done everything in its power to suppress the spread of Covid-19 with firm but sensible measures. GETTING AROUND: Masks are mandatory on public transport and in taxis. COSTS: Cappuccino 1.34; local lager 2.24; 51p for 1.5 litres of water; bottle of white wine 4.47; three-course dinner with wine for two 62. WHAT WE SAY: The stringent measures and adherence to rules engender confidence to relax and enjoy being here. Mary Lussiana SAFETY FIRST IN CYPRUS Cyprus has only had 1,005 coronavirus cases and 19 deaths. It is one of the safest destinations We can fly to the island from August 1, but if you want to go further than immigration control, youll need a negative PCR swab test result taken within 72 hours of flying and a Flight Pass (cyprusflightpass.gov.cy). ON ARRIVAL: Temperatures are in the mid-30s, but expect a cool reception at the airport, where you are likely to be greeted with a thermometer gun. BARS AND RESTAURANTS: Its a tale of two cities in post-corona Cyprus. In Limassol, beach bars and restaurants continue to prosper with temperature checks at the door and a fine mist of anti-bacterial spray. But dont expect discounts. One Columbia Beach regular revealed the minimum spend on a table had doubled. The marina also remains popular, with the citys well-heeled Cypriots and Russians proving no slaves to social distancing. In Paphos, the vibe is different. Its a cemetery, a lifeguard informs me. The harbour area usually buzzing with artists, hair braiders and Britons in various shades of lobster is almost deserted. Some restaurants havent even bothered to open. The manager of the Arapis Coral Bay Beach restaurant says takings are down 80 per cent. Discounts? No, he mumbles beneath the obligatory face mask. GOOD TO KNOW: Cyprus has only had 1,005 coronavirus cases and 19 deaths. It is one of the safest destinations. Some five-star hotels are offering 20 per cent off rooms. GETTING AROUND: The government has also bought a fleet of self-disinfecting buses from China. COSTS: Cappuccino: 3.15; bottle of local lager 1.98; glass of white wine 3.60; litre bottle of water: 81p; three-course dinner for two with wine 36. WHAT WE SAY: Cyprus is a low-risk destination crying out for tourists. Andrea Busfield FRANCE FOR ALL The beaches in Nice are fairly quiet (especially at the western end) and nowhere near full in Cannes, which is busier No need to quarantine on arrival at or return from our second favourite destination (after Spain). You may have to complete a paper form with your contact details at the departure gate at Heathrow, as I am asked to, but nobody collects mine. ON ARRIVAL: My BA flight to Nice from Heathrow has a well-run, staggered disembarkation process. The airport is all but deserted with no hand sanitiser dispensers. Mask-less immigration officers display a reassuringly traditional Gallic eye-rolling disdain. I clear security and catch a tram to Nice in less than ten minutes. BARS, RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS: At my hotel, the Radisson Blu on Promenade des Anglais, changes include a requirement to book a time slot for the rooftop pool, glass dividing screens in reception, free masks and the removal of mini-bars in rooms. I feel completely safe here, says Debbie, a Brit visiting Nice from her home in Lille. The QR codes instead of menus are a great idea and the spacing works. In the nearby neighbourhood of Vieux Nice, some bars are still shuttered, but there are enough watering holes and restaurants open to make for a business as usual summer vibe. Bar staff and waiters wear masks, but the vast majority of locals do not. GETTING AROUND: I catch the train from Nice to Cannes and everyone is wearing masks. Guards at Cannes station are refusing entry to those who dont have them. Its a different story on the platforms though, with masks off and passengers smoking cigarettes. It feels like Covid is all over, says Pierre, a fellow passenger. As long as you dont get too close to people then I think all is good. GOOD TO KNOW: The beaches in Nice are fairly quiet (especially at the western end) and nowhere near full in Cannes, which is busier. COSTS: Cappuccino 2.70; bottle of lager 5; glass of white wine 6.30; litre bottle of water 3.60; three-course dinner for two with wine 85. WHAT WE THINK: Lack of masks worn among locals is a concern but theres no doubt the holiday vibe has returned to the Cote dAzur. Rob Crossan BELLA ITALIA 'Its party time on the Italian beaches,' writes Mark Jones. 'If you want a quieter experience with classical sights, head inland' Italys lockdown was deeper and started earlier than the rest of Europe. Restrictions were lifted at the beginning of June, but youll still need to wear a mask in shops, bars, restaurants and other public places. But Italians have found ways to make even paper face coverings into a fashion accessory. ON ARRIVAL: Immigration at Pisa was efficient. Car hire was a pain no staff at Avis/Budget, just a phone number taped to the office window. BARS, RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS: I visited Rimini on the Adriatic coast and Pisa on the west coast. The hotels and lidos along Riminis Miami-esque beachfront were all full with Italians desperate to rebronze themselves. At the four-star Continental hotel there were long queues for the non-self-service buffet. No English people, even in Italys oldest pub, The Rose and Crown. I eventually tracked down one: Andy Ormerod, owner of the swish Turquoise beach bar near the Marina. After 40 years in Rimini, his accent has morphed into a kind of Latin Mancunian. Seems busy, I said. If youre here at the weekend its like New Years Eve, Andy replied. Things were lively around the Parco Federico Fellini at 10pm as families tucked into their favourite piadina flatbread at Casina del Bosco. Sure, there was social distancing but Rimini is rocking at night. But in Pisa these are (forgive me) lean times. My characterful Hotel Bologna was quiet. So, incredibly, was the area around the Leaning Tower. I counted 27 tourists. Perhaps a third of the restaurants are shuttered. I toasted Italys recovery with a full-bodied Negroni (5) in a hip alleyway pizzeria called LAroncio. Recovery is more full-bodied in some places than others GOOD TO KNOW: Rimini claims to have Italys cleanest seawater thanks to a new sewerage system. GETTING AROUND: Many of Italys holiday airports dont come on-stream for UK airlines until August. If you fly-drive, check that your car rental place is operating normally. COSTS: Rimini is no cheaper than usual but its not expensive either. Double scoop of gelato 2.50; gin and tonic at Turquoise 6; lunch at Casina del Bosco 12; bottle of local Strati white wine at Club Nautica 20; glasses of beer and wine can be found for 2 in Pisa. Hotel prices have dropped more there, where my very acceptable four-star offers rooms from only 78. WHAT WE SAY: Its party time on the Italian beaches. If you want a quieter experience with classical sights, head inland. Mark Jones GREECE BRIGHTENING Getaway: Careful preparation is needed for visiting places such as Corfu (pictured) 'Greece is more beautiful than ever and thanks to local efforts, its probably the safest holiday destination in Europe,' says Thomas W. Hodgkinson (stock image) No wonder the Greeks have been reluctant to let us in. Theyve had a hundred times fewer cases of Covid-19 than we have and theyre keen to keep it that way. The result is that, when direct flights start up again on Wednesday, youll find as many safety measures being observed by the locals as you could wish for. Its the same in Santorini, Crete and Corfu, all of which I visited this week. ON ARRIVAL: You need to fill out a short online Passenger Locator Form (PLF) two days before travelling. My first port of call was Santorini. At the airport, Im given a quick mouth swab by a nurse wearing surgical gloves. Then Im on my way. BARS, RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS: As I grab a bitter Greek coffee on a semi-deserted beach in Crete, the cafe owner tells me of the safety-measure course every tourism employee has to take thats one Greek in five. At the Mega Hotel in Corfu, the manager Chris takes the temperature of every guest on arrival. When you pop out, you leave your room key in a UV light steriliser box. The trouble isnt employees, he says, its the guests. The Germans have been particularly unruly, refusing to lay their towels out on the poolside recliners before lying on them. They do everything stupid you can imagine, Chris says. GOOD TO KNOW: With fewer boats in the sea and planes in the air, the water is teeming with fish and the bird population of Corfu has doubled. Thats according to Yorgos, a twinkly-eyed waiter in Corfu Town. Then again, he also tells me that the pandemic is an international conspiracy. GETTING AROUND: If youre visiting more than one island, youre not required to renew your PLF code or show it again. On domestic flights, everyone scrupulously keeps their masks in place. PRICES: Cappuccino 1.80, bottle of local lager 1.40; can of Coke 50p, glass of white wine 2.70; litre bottle of still water 50p; three-course dinner for two with one bottle of local wine 55; hire of a sunlounger per hour 2.70, supermarket sun cream 6.50. WHAT WE SAY: Greece is more beautiful than ever and thanks to local efforts, its probably the safest holiday destination in Europe. Thomas W. Hodgkinson MAKE IT MALTA! Almost back to normal: The Maltese government managed Covid-19 extremely well by closing its borders rapidly. Pictured is Marsaxlokk harbour The international airport reopened on July 1 and UK tourists can go from July 15. ON ARRIVAL: Temperature checks are operated by special cameras. When collecting your luggage, coronavirus signs are everywhere, and the new meet-and-greet point is outside the arrivals hall. BARS, RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS: When checking into the Duke Boutique Hotel in Victoria, Gozo with my mandatory mask on, the receptionist takes my temperature and, after sanitising my hands, I receive my room key. Around the kiosk on nearby Hondoq beach, I expected some unease but you wouldnt guess for a moment that the world is in the throes of a pandemic. GOOD TO KNOW: The Maltese government managed Covid-19 extremely well by closing its borders rapidly. Life is more or less back to normal. GETTING AROUND: You can get around by taxi and most drivers are wearing a mask and they have sanitiser for the passengers disposal. COSTS: Cappuccino 1.80; bottle of water 1.62; glass of wine 2.25; meal for two wine 65. WHAT WE SAY: It feels very safe on Malta and Gozo. Locals expect visitors to respect social distancing rules. Sonja Mohlich Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked firing that continued overnight along the International Border (IB) in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday. Firing on the border outpost in Kotha area started around 10.30 pm on Friday, drawing effective retaliation by the Border Security Force guarding the IB, they said. The officials said the exchange of fire between the two sides continued till 4.15 am but there was no report of any casualty or damage on the Indian side. However, it caused panic among the border residents who were forced to spend the night in underground bunkers, the officials said. The question remains now as to whether Modi would pay back China in the same coin , after his bitter recent experience or he would go back to the appeasement policy for the sake of maintaining peaceful relations with this aggressive China, that has no ethical values in its approach to the issues while dealing with other countries. by N.S.Venkataraman India has been at the receiving end in its relationship with China during the last seven decades. Looking back at Indo China relationship, it would become clear that China all the time viewed India as a weak country , that would pocket insults and buckle under aggressive postures, due to fear of antagonizing China or confronting it in any manner. In 1950s, the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru went out of the way to placate China and he did his level best to keep China in good humour. Inspite of being a historian himself, Nehru could not anticipate the aggressive behavior of China. He thought that China would be all weather friend of India, which shows Nehrus lack of understanding of the mindset of Chinese communist party leaders. When Nehru approved Chinas aggression in Tibet and Chinas massacre of thousands of protesting Tibetans , Nehru created an impression that he was a person ,who could compromise with principles of fairness and harmony in dealing between the countries for the sake of expediency. He strengthened Chinas hands by approving Chinas occupation of Tibet. In the year 1962, when China launched a war against India , Nehru realized his folly and said that China has stabbed India in the back. An unprepared Indian defence crumbled against Chinas aggression and till today, China occupies thousands of acres of Indian territory in Ladakh region that it gained due to the one sided war. Even after several years of passing away of Jawaharlal Nehru, it was clear that India has not learnt any lesson, as the Prime Minister Vajpayee , who belonged to BJP, signed an agreement with China , reiterating Indias approval of Chinas occupation of Tibet. Vajpayee signed a treaty with China accepting dividing Tibet into four parts and merging three with neighbouring Chinese states. It appears that even the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not learnt the lesson with regard to dealing with China, until the latest violent face off between Indian and Chinese troops on June , 15, 2020 in Galwan Valley,when 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives. In spite of several provocations of China like claiming Indian state Arunachal Pradesh as its own and so many other anti India postures and China occupying large Indian territory, it appears Modi has been hoping against hope that he can win Chinas friendship. Modi visited China several times and received the Chinese President Xi Jinping in India two times and extended very warm and fabulous welcome to him. Modi probably thought that he could please Xi Jinping with such gestures and can get constructive cooperation from China. One is not sure whether Modi discussed the about occupation of Indian territory by China. Obviously, Modi committed the same mistake that Jawaharlal Nehru and Vajpayee did earlier. Certainly, in the coming days, China would play hot and cold with India , as it appears to believe that Prime Minister Modi would not confront China beyond a level. Perhaps, Xi Jinping thinks that Modi can be made to extend his arm of friendship at any time to China as per the convenience of China ,by making some cosmetic gestures Like Jawaharlal Nehru and Vajpayee, Modi commands enormous popularity in India and miscalculation of Modi about China has not been severely criticized in India, just as India condoned the mistake of Jawaharlal Nehru and Vajpayee. The question remains now as to whether Modi would pay back China in the same coin , after his bitter recent experience or he would go back to the appeasement policy for the sake of maintaining peaceful relations with this aggressive China, that has no ethical values in its approach to the issues while dealing with other countries. Confronting China is a necessary need for India, so long as the present Chinese government continues to remain in power as a ruthless and self centred entity. At present, Modi appears to be maintaining care and caution in dealing with China and seems to be unwilling to speak openly about several condemnable acts of China such as occupation of Tibet , human rights violation in Hong Kong and threat of China to use force against Taiwan , as well as Chinas claims on South China Sea , Senkaku Island etc. It is conspicuous that Modi has not expressed his view on these matters, which gives an impression that he would not like to rub China on the wrong side even at the present time and would like to buy peace with China, if it would be possible. The fear of every Indian now is whether Prime Minister Modi would resort to soft policy with regard to China in the coming period , for the sake of maintaining peace and avoiding war , so that India can spend its resources in achieving much needed rapid economic development. Such soft policy in dealing with China would mean that China would have the last laugh. DGCA, the nodal agency for Civil Aviation in India recently issued a notification extending the ban on scheduled commercial international flights till July 31. While the ban was earlier supposed to be till July 15 as per the MHA guidelines for Unlock 2.0, it was extended within a few days of the notification. On the other hand, the Vande Bharat Mission, which is the largest of its kind repatriation mission undertaken by any country, is in its fourth stage now and will end on July 31 as well. This indicates there are two possibilities that can take a shape in August - either the VBM will be extended for the fifth phase or government will open the skies for schedule international flights, but with capacity constraint, following the domestic flights model. Back on May 25, when government restarted the scheduled domestic flights, they reduced the flight capacity to one-third of the original schedule of air carriers. The same model can be applied in the international flights too. Not only this, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had on June 20 said the government will start thinking on the resumption of scheduled international passenger flights in mid-July when it expects the domestic air traffic to reach 50-55 per cent of the levels before the coronavirus. While mid-July is out of equation, a recent order issued by the ministry stated that, "One Third (1/3) capacity may be read as 45 per cent capacity." This means domestic flights are already using 45 percent of their capacity and leading experts and airline management is assuming that by July end, the capacity can be increased to 60 percent. This has reignited the theory that DGCA and MoCA might announce commencement of scheduled international flights as early as August first week. Currently the international flights are banned from operating in India as government announced lockdown starting March 23, 2020. Also, India is in talks with the US and Canada and the countries in European and Gulf regions on establishing individual bilateral bubbles which will allow airlines of each country in the pact to operate international flights, said Arvind Singh, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI). The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) had on June 23 said India is considering establishing "individual bilateral bubbles" with the US, the UK, Germany and France. Singh said, "This morning, I took a brief from the key point person (from the MOCA) who is negotiating with the countries, and he said that we are in constant touch. We are working on a consensus to restart the international flights. This is going to be through air bubbles." "Talks are mainly going on between India and the US, India and Canada, India and Europe and India and the Gulf countries to start flights in these bubbles," he said at a webinar called "Reposing the faith in flying" organised by the GMR group. This also means that rather than opening the air services to all countries, government will start the international flights in a calibrated manner and only with countries they have bilateral agreement. Govt might infact carry on the Vande Bharat Mission with non-partner countries to repatriate international passengers. With Inputs fro PTI New Delhi: Pakistan may pull out four of its officials posted in the High Commission in New Delhi, days after Indian authorities declared one diplomat persona non grata. This is under consideration. A final decision would be taken shortly, a source at the Foreign Office told Pakistani paper Dawn on Monday. The names of the four officials Commercial Counsellor Syed Furrukh Habib and First Secretaries Khadim Hussain, Mudassir Cheema and Shahid Iqbal were made public after Indian officials released to media a recorded statement of a High Commission staffer Mehmood Akhtar, who was expelled from India after being declared persona non grata. Also read | Spy racket: Delhi Crime Branch interrogates Mehmood Akhtar Pakistan and India have in the past expelled each others diplomats and officials due to their tense relationship, but it is one of those rare occasions where one of the countries took the extreme step of revealing the identities of officers, reports said. Pakistani officials believe that India did this on purpose to heighten the tensions. We consider it as a serious breach of diplomatic norms.The Indian move has complicated the already tense situation and threatened the lives of our diplomatic staff, a Pakistani official said, adding it was a deliberate and provocative action. Also read | Watch video: Pak espionage racket I was not aware of Farhat's activities, says Samajwadi Party MP Munawwar Saleem For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Gardai were forced to close off access to the Glendalough area for a period today due to traffic volumes - and as a result visitors to a nearby area parked illegally and restricted access to emergency vehicles. All vehicles were issued with parking fines and gardai warned that a tow truck would be on standby tomorrow to remove vehicles parked in a similar manner. Good sunshine in many parts today brought out day trippers to the scenic Wicklow mountains who were glad of a respite from the rain of last week. But Wicklow Gardai said: "Because of traffic volumes today, Gardai had to restrict access to Glendalough this afternoon for two hours with traffic being denied access at the Wicklow Gap junction and Laragh. "As a result people decided this type of parking was a good idea in Sally Gap and Luggala. "All offending cars ticketed and a tow wagon now on standby for tomorrow. "This kind of parking endangers everyone by restricting the emergency services." In a similar incident in Kildare in early June, Kildare Gardai issued parking fines to cars illegally parked at Donadea Forest. Gardai attended the area and Fixed Charge Notices were attached to offending vehicles. Gardai said: "Please show respect for all other road users. Parking like this endangers other traffic and is illegal." In another incident, gardai issued fines to 45 vehicles parked illegally on a road to a scenic amenity of the Hellfire Club area in Dublin. The Roads Policing Unit in Terenure were patrolling Killakee Road, Rathfarnham when they came across the cars. Gardai said: "Cars were parked illegally and blocking a very busy road and were reducing traffic to one lane. "They were preventing access for the fire brigade and ambulance services. "45 Fixed Charge Notices in total issued for dangerous parking." Gardai and traffic wardens have the power to advise motorists of parking regulations and issue tickets for illegal parking and non-payment of parking fees. They may also give evidence in court in relation to the non-payment of fines. MOUNT STERLING Sixteen Brown County High School 2020 graduates will begin their first semester of college this fall with the help of scholarships from the Tracy Family Foundation. The Tracy Family Foundation college scholarship program is announced to high school seniors every year and starts with an online application process in February. Scholarship recipients are selected based on attendance, grade point average, discipline, volunteer service, demonstration of financial need, academic preparation and college plans, and personal development and statement of goals. Ethiopia said it will review alternatives proposed by Egypt, with a tripartite ministerial meeting set to be held on 12 July to discuss the proposals The ongoing round of tripartite talks on the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) continued for the ninth consecutive day on Saturday under the auspices of the African Union (AU) in an attempt to reach an agreement on filling and operating the 6,000-megawatt dam, Egypt's irrigation ministry said in a statement. In response to a call by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is the current AU chairperson, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have been engaged in online talks attended by observers representing the EU, the US, the AU Commission, South Africa, and the AU's legal and technical experts. Saturday's session witnessed bilateral meetings between each country separately, which were attended by observers and experts, the statement said. During the session, the Egyptian delegation clarified the alternative formulations presented by Egypt in the technical committee meeting that was held a day earlier. On Friday, the irrigation ministry's statement noted that Egypt has proposed several draft agreements for the convergence of views on procedures to deal with extended drought and rules of annual operation and refilling. Ethiopia said it will review alternatives proposed by Egypt, with a tripartite ministerial meeting set to be held on 12 July to discuss the proposals, according to the Egyptian statement. The Egyptian ministry added that the observers submitted during Saturday's session some notes and inquiries, to which the Egyptian technical and legal committees responded and issued clarification. The previous round of negotiations, which was brokered by Khartoum and held from 9 to 17 June, failed to produce an accord due to Ethiopia's refusal to enter into a legally binding agreement. Last Tuesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that his country will start filling the reservoir of the Blue Nile hydropower dam to tap into the current heavy rain season, despite Egypt and Sudan saying earlier that the three countries had agreed to delay the filling until a trilateral agreement on the disputed project is reached. In response, the spokesman of the Egyptian irrigation ministry Mohamed El-Sebaie said the recent remarks by Ahmed contradict the pledge made by the three countries late last month not to take any unilateral action over the project until an agreement is reached during the AU-sponsored talks. Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 95 percent of its fresh water, fears the dam will significantly reduce the rivers flow, especially during the filling stages through periods of drought and dry years. Ethiopia, on the other hand, says its massive $4.8 billion megaproject is key to its development efforts. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 13:29:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Despite Washington's expressions of optimism over re-starting stalled talks with Pyongyang, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has shown a lack of interest. But it remains unclear whether negotiations will pick up down the road. In a statement published Friday by the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo Jong, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and the younger sister of the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un, said another summit with U.S. President Donald Trump was "useless" as it would only benefit Trump politically and "we have nothing to gain." "It is still my personal opinion, however, I doubt that things like the DPRK-U.S. summit would happen this year," she said. However, she added that it "does not necessarily mean the denuclearization is not possible. But what we mean is that it is not possible at this point of time." That followed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's statement on Thursday that the United States is "very hopeful" about resuming talks with the DPRK. "Realistically, there's really no point to having a high-level meeting until there is a lot more progress on the working level or a significant change in concessions that the Trump administration is willing to put on the table," Jenna Gibson, a Korea expert at the University of Chicago, told Xinhua. "The Kims likely know this, and may be reluctant to engage in the summit process all over again until they are guaranteed to get concrete benefits out of it," Gibson said. At the same time, Pyongyang is not known for making negotiations easy. It's entirely possible they are playing hard to get as a tactic to feel out how serious the Trump administration is about meeting again, and see what Trump is willing to put on the table if he is indeed serious about getting another summit this year, Gibson said. "Especially with the election coming up in November, the DPRK is not the party on a timeline, and they have no reason to rush into another meeting," Gibson said. Trump and the DPRK's top leader have engaged in person three times since 2018. But talks have stalled since their second summit, which took place in February 2019. Some experts believed the DPRK is waiting until the U.S. elections have concluded, as U.S. policy toward Pyongyang could change if contender Joe Biden is elected president in November. The DPRK "likely realizes that any agreement it reached with the Trump administration might not survive a Biden administration," Troy Stangarone, senior director of congressional affairs and trade at the Washington-based non-profit Korea Economic Institute, told Xinhua. Meeting with Trump prior to the U.S. elections is not to the DPRK's advantage. For a summit to be successful, the two sides would need to avoid the failure of Hanoi and Trump would need to leave with clear DPRK concessions to make the summit domestically beneficial in the United States. "Something Pyongyang would be reluctant to do," Stangarone said. Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua that Pyongyang is "trying to get out of the current rut by provoking attention without being too belligerent towards Trump. They feel he has forgotten them, which is probably true." The Trump administration in recent months has been in overdrive, in a battle to defeat the COVID-19, to revive the economy after the nationwide lockdown, and to restore law and order after rioters and protesters have run wild. Still, Stangarone said while a summit may be unlikely, it is not unreasonable to expect a resumption of working level talks. "Both sides would benefit from resuming dialogue. It would provide a means for discussing technical issues that could help advance the talks more quickly once the U.S. elections have settled who will lead the next U.S. administration," Stangarone said. Enditem Deep in Siberia, two settlements vie for the unenviable title of Russias Pole of Cold: Oymyakon, population 500, and Verkhoyansk -- home to 1,200 hardy souls. Since the 1890s, both have hit a temperature record unparalleled in history -- minus 67.7 degrees Celsius -- earning them fame and a steady trickle of thrill-seeking tourists. But this year, on June 20, Verkhoyansk made headlines with a radically different milestone. That afternoon, temperatures reached 38 Celsius, probably the hottest seen above the Arctic Circle since records began. You go out and within minutes youre covered in sweat, Anna Sleptsova, a librarian who has lived in Verkhoyansk her whole life, said in a phone interview. The summers are getting hotter every year. Russias meteorological service confirmed the Verkhoyansk weather record on June 30. But for Sleptsova and other residents, this summer is nothing extraordinary in light of recent years, when July heat has regularly topped 30 degrees. Russias vast Sakha region, where the town lies, is accustomed to extreme temperatures; they vary there more than anywhere else on the planet. In Verkhoyansk, the sun shines round the clock for weeks in the summer, and vanishes for months in winter. But for scientists analyzing the trend in Siberia, extraordinary is exactly what this year has been. The Copernicus Climate Change Service, which operates several satellites, said in a statement on July 7 that the Arctic has been warming substantially faster than the rest of the world," noting that parts of northeastern Siberia had broken the record for the two warmest Junes 2018 and 2019 by at least a degree this year. But June was not the only month to obliterate temperature records. The first five months of 2020 were 5.3 degrees above normal in Russia, according to Berkeley Earth, which calls it "the largest January-to-May temperature anomaly ever observed in any country's national average." What is unusual in this case is that from December to May, long warmer-than-average anomalies have persisted, Freja Vamborg, senior scientist at the Copernicus Climate Change Service, told RFE/RL in e-mailed comments. She cautioned against viewing Siberia as representative of a global trend, however. It is undoubtedly an alarming sign, but western Siberia is a region that has high variability in temperature, Vamborg said. This means that, to some extent, large temperature anomalies are not unexpected. The rapid pace of warming has stunned climate scientists, despite years of gradually rising temperatures. But while some reassess their already dire predictions for coming years, Siberians are flocking to rivers and lakes and making the most of the short summer -- and marveling at the scenes that climate change seems to create. When the summer arrived in late May, everything became green. Then, on May 29, the snow fell, said Sleptsova. Imagine! Thats the kind of weather we have now. In the meantime, some of the apocalyptic warnings appear to be coming true. Fire, Flood, Drought Raging wildfires are consuming swaths of forest in Sakha, which reported 183 active blazes across the region on July 5 and has deployed aviation to prevent them from engulfing villages and towns. Vasily Yablokov, the head of the climate program at Greenpeace Russia, says the federal government is not doing enough to help prevent such catastrophes. Weve warned that more money is needed for the battle against wildfires, he told RFE/RL. But the fires are only the most visible problem. We also have more floods, droughts, and other obvious consequences of the changing climate. Indeed, warming temperatures have also been blamed for a slew of environmental accidents this year, including a massive fuel spill near Norilsk, a city above the Arctic Circle, in late May. According to officials, thawing permafrost caused pillars supporting a storage tank to collapse, releasing 20,000 tons of diesel into waterways and turning nearby rivers crimson. Authorities charged Norilsk Mayor Rinat Akhmetchin with bungling the response to the spill, and arrested at least four managers at the facility on suspicion of violating environmental-protection rules. Multiple criminal investigations were launched. Norilsk Nickel, the mining giant that operates the facility, has promised to pay for the costs of the cleanup, estimated at 10 billion rubles ($145 million). In an interview with state TV on June 4, Sergei Dyachenko, a top company executive, chalked the accident down to a loss of integrity due to thawing of the undersurface." Greenpeace cited what it said was negligence by Norilsk Nickel and compared the accident, in scope, to the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska. Yablokov contends that inadequate precautions were primarily responsible for the spill. Permafrost [thawing] cannot be the main cause of such an accident, he said. The Norilsk spill was the largest and potentially most devastating of various recent incidents attributed to thawing permafrost, which across the region has caused the collapse of numerous buildings built on special stilts meant to withstand pressure. Russia loses vast sums of money each year from infrastructure damage from permafrost thaw -- a cost likely to reach $100 billion by 2050, according to an international study released last year. If warming continues at its current pace, such accidents will repeat themselves in more and more catastrophic forms, said Aleksandr Fyodorov, deputy director of the Melnikov Permafrost Institute in Yakutsk, Sakhas capital. The worlds permafrost covers an area twice the size of the United States, and its carbon emissions are accelerating as the climate warms. Its the kind of vicious feedback loop that characterizes many of the climate changes in the Arctic. 'Nature Is Far Stronger' As the active permafrost layer stops freezing in winter, the added warmth awakens microbes in the soil, which chomp on the thawing organic material, emitting carbon dioxide or methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent. The warmth spreads deeper into the permafrost, accelerating the thawing process. If the world fails to curb emissions, scientists say, permafrost could within decades become a greenhouse gas source on parallel with China. The thaw also reawakens diseases the world has long deemed extinct. An anthrax outbreak on Russias Yamal Peninsula in 2016, which was caused by unusually warm weather, unleashed virus spores trapped in a frozen reindeer carcass for 75 years. A 12-year-old boy died, 115 people were hospitalized, and authorities hastened the introduction of a vaccination program affecting more than 700,000 reindeer each year. Man cannot reverse this process. Nature is far stronger, said Fyodorov. But if we combine efforts, we can soften the blow with our own actions. Attempts by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is also the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, to get it to study suo motu the governments response to Covid-19 were not supported by the other members, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The committee met on Friday. It is understood that a scrutiny of the governments response to the pandemic would have also involved going into the details of Prime Ministers National Relief Fund (PMNRF) and the PM CARES Fund, which was set up essentially to deal with the damage inflicted by the pandemic. Some of the members were of the view that because the government doesnt fund these relief funds, PAC cannot and should not examine them, the person cited in the first instance added. News agency PTI reported on Friday that members of the PAC, in which BJP enjoys majority, thwarted Chowdhurys attempt to have the PM Cares Fund examined, claiming that because it wasnt funded by government, the committee could not do this. It is not that the PAC has never taken up issues suo motu. It has happened in a few instances. But generally it is done when there is consensus. In this case the proposal hardly got any support, said the person cited above. The chairman wanted a few subjects to a be taken up suo motu by the committee. But there was no unanimity or consensus. In fact, there was hardly any support for the proposal. In the meeting on Friday, the PAC decided to examine various subjects with special focus being given to the CAG report number 5 of 2017, a performance audit of the Sino-India Border Roads, and CAG report number 13 of 2019, which is on the provisioning and procurement of high altitude-clothing, equipment, ration and housing for soldiers. Fridays meeting of the 22-member PAC was attended by 17 out of 20 members. Two seats on the committee are vacant. Rahul Bhat Lashes Out At Netizens For Trolling Alia Bhatt The actor told the tabloid, "I'm irritated. Do these trolls spewing venom on social media know exact meaning of nepotism? Alia (Bhatt) is a brilliant actor. Look at her performances in Udta Punjab and Raazi. She deserves to be here. When a lawyer's son can becomes a lawyer he has an advantage. But at the end of day the son will have to walk the path alone. Talent and nepotism are two different things." He further added that it's nepotism when the play ground isn't equal for all, but it isn't about the guidance one receives if their parents are in the same profession. Rahul Says People Who Are Shouting Nepotism And Hurling Abuses Are Responsible For It He said, "Those who're shouting nepotism and hurling abuses, do they understand that they're also responsible for it. If you want good actors and interesting films to flourish, you also need to go and watch them. On the contrary, you watch films of big stars, follow them everywhere including social media. Ghatiye filmon ko hit tum hit karte ho aur phir nepotism chillate ho?" Rahul Urges People To End The Conspiracy Theories Around Sushant Singh Rajput's Death "People are accusing Mahesh Bhatt of foul play, I mean where are these things coming from?," he told Hindustan Times. Rahul Hits Back At Trolls Saying That He Will Get To Work In Mahesh Bhatt's Films For Defending His Daughter The actor said, "I don't want work with him. I'm a victim of nepotism, too. I didn't have work in between. A very big star promised me something, but that never happened and I was cheated on. I had sent this star a legal notice too. If Karan Johar doesn't want to work with me, should I kill him or die by suicide? No, because such things happen." He further said, "One good thing is that this debate has clarified that Alia and I aren't siblings." On Wednesday, July 1, Two Mile House buried one of its best known and respected characters. Martin Kennelly of Mylerstown Stud said goodbye in his 90th year. Born and reared near Listowel in County Kerry, Martin, like many of his countrymen left for England, as a young man, armed with little but his energy, determination, and a passion for hard work and advancement. It was there he met and married his Roscommon-born wife Sabina, who sadly passed away three years ago. From small beginnings he built up a thriving business of building roads and bridges and was involved in the coal industry. He returned to Ireland in 1980 and bought a substantial property in Mylerstown, Two Mile House, a place once owned by Archibald Hamilton Rowan one of the leaders of the 1798 rebellion. Martin was a well-known personality in the area; a good neighbour, and a great community man. He gave the parish the site for a parochial house in the 1980s and contributed generously to any project in the area. He owned and bred a lot of good horses and had the distinction of winning the Hennessy Gold Cup and the Cheltenham Gold Cup with one of his best horses Bregawn, in 1982 and 1983. In 2017, he left hospital just two days after a hip replacement to see his horse Shinavee being led into the winners enclosure in Punchestown, having won the Bishops Court Cup for the third time. Over the last couple of years his health deteriorated but he never lost his zest for life. Up to a few months ago he would turn up in the local pub every Thursday for a couple of pints and regale us with stories of his adventures in Kerry, England and Kildare. We will miss his red jeep, the first vehicle outside the church every Sunday morning, and the chatter with his grandchildren before mass in the back seat of the main aisle. Our sincere sympathies are with his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and all his family. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam. A neighbour Endangered with extinction: Christians remain at risk of 'eradication' in post-ISIS Iraq Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Christians in Iraqi territory once held by the Islamic State still face the possibility of extinction as the Christian population there continues to dwindle following the military defeat of the jihadi death cult and the rise of Iran-backed militias in the area. Aid to the Church in Need, an international humanitarian aid organization that has spent over $53 million to help Christians in Iraq in the last five years, published a lengthy report this week based on a series of surveys of Christians still living in the Nineveh Plains of Iraq. Through the surveys, the organization identified the major challenges facing Iraqi Christians who returned to their hometowns in northern Iraq following the Islamic States invasion of the Nineveh Plains and the city of Mosul in 2014. Sectarian and political tensions continue to be major factors driving the emigration of Christians from the region. The report estimates that unless urgent steps are taken by the international community, the Christian community in the region could drop to just 23,000, which would suggest that about 20% of the Christian population that lived in the region before the Islamic State invaded in 2014 would remain. According to Aid to Church in Need, the Christian community in the region would fall to the definition of "endangered with extinction. The findings make clear that restoring the stability of the Christian community in this post-conflict region is only possible with a concerted effort focusing on security, education, long-term economic opportunities, and reconstruction, the report states. Edward Clancy, the director of outreach for Aid to the Church in Need USA, said the international community must take immediate and decisive action to solve the issues threatening the continuing Christian presence in Iraq. It is more important than ever that world leaders work together to prevent Christian numbers falling further in Iraq, he said. Although the Islamic State was pushed from its territory three years ago, the survey shows that concerns about the terrorist group or like-minded groups are still prevalent for Iraqi Christians. About 87% of Christians surveyed for the study said they feel unsafe or absolutely unsafe. Meanwhile, 67% believe that it's likely or very likely that the Islamic State or a similar group will return to the area. When the Islamic State had control of the area, hundreds of thousands of religious minorities were killed, enslaved and forced from their homes in the Nineveh Plains. But since the defeat of the Islamic State in the region, Christians have continued to flee or have not returned due to failing governmental infrastructure and the rise of two Iranian-backed militias operating on the Nineveh Plains. Concerns have also been raised that once predominantly Christian towns are being repopulated with Muslims. According to the report, 69% of Christians who said they plan to emigrate from Iraq cited political and security reasons as the primary cause. It also found that all Christians surveyed who live in the area mentioned a lack of security. Aid to the Church in Need highlighted the presence of the Shabak Militia and the Babylon Brigade as a cause for concern. The Babylon Brigade is a militia that is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces whose members are predominantly Shia Muslim. However, its leader purports to be a Chaldean Catholic. Meanwhile, the Shabak militia also has mostly Shia Muslim members from the Shabak minority community, which was also displaced by the Islamic State. Last year, the militias leader was sanctioned by the U.S. government for extracting money from the local population through extortion, illegal arrests, and kidnappings. The leader of the Babylon Brigade has also been sanctioned. In some areas, militias have been accused of strategically positioning Shia Muslim shrines in prominent positions, sometimes in front of Christian monuments, as a form of intimidation, the report reads. The report raises serious concerns that both militias are operating with impunity. In particular, militias in the Nineveh Plains refused to comply with the Prime Ministers instructions in July 2019 to disband and integrate into the Iraqi Army, the organization warns. In part, this refusal to cooperate relates to entrenched economic and political interests. In part, it relates to a genuine fear of ISIS, and the feeling that such militias are needed to protect against the return of ISIS-like groups. The Shabak Militia is broadly supported by the Shabak population. According to the report, Bartella, a town in Iraq that was once home to 40,000 Christians before the Islamic State, is now populated by majority Shabak. Earlier reports have indicated that Iran funded the building of an elementary school, library and mosque in the once Christian town. About 39% of those surveyed who live under an Iran-backed militia say they have been negatively impacted by a militia since the Islamic State was defeated. Both militias have been the subject of numerous complaints. Aid to the Church in Needs admits that it is hard to verify all of the claims made against the militias but some rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, have gathered evidence relating to alleged abuses. The militias are accused of looting Sunni and Christian homes, illegally occupying and selling farmland, supporting and tolerating people who illegally occupy Christian homes, extortion, supporting or tolerating boycotts of Christian businesses, threatening clergy, trying to control checkpoints into Christian areas and even blocking the roads that lead to churches. The survey found that other common reasons for a desire for Christians to emigrate are unemployment, corruption and religious discrimination. "The report is not pessimistic, but it is a clear warning because without concerted and immediate political action, the presence of Christians in the region of the Nineveh Plains and its surroundings will be eliminated," Father Andrzej Halemba, who oversees Aid to the Church in Needs projects in the Middle East, said in a statement. According to Halemba, about 36.2 percent of displaced Christians have returned to their homes in northern Iraq following the defeat of the Islamic State. "The outlook is inevitably bleak because Christians feel that they have reached a turning point in terms of the viability of their presence in the region," Halemba explained. "There are containment strategies, plans and initiatives that are not only feasible but sustainable if given regional, national and international cooperation. As many and varied as these strategies may be, what they all have in common is urgency. Aid to the Church in Need has helped restore 2,860 damaged or destroyed Christian homes across six communities in the Nineveh Plains in recent years. But now, the organization is shifting its reconstruction efforts to focus more on Church-run buildings that need to be rebuilt or repaired. According to the organization, at least 34 church-run buildings were destroyed while 132 suffered fire damage and 197 were partially damaged. Halemba is calling for "the presence of a permanent representation of Christians in national and local government to ensure the defense of their fundamental human rights, especially the right to equal citizenship. Job markets vary in states across the U.S. and depending on where you live, certain jobs may be disappearing faster than others, according to a recent study. On Friday, SmartAsset published a report on what occupations are disappearing fastest in each state and Washington, D.C. For its findings, the financial technology company used employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupation Employment Statistics, comparing data from 2015 to 2019, the report said. TEXAS OVERPAID $32M IN UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. NOW IT WANTS THE MONEY BACK Aside from its overall list by state, SmartAsset found which industries had the fastest-shrinking jobs in each state. According to the report, the office and administrative support industry has seen the largest decline in 11 states and Washington, D.C. Some of the jobs in that industry include telephone operators, word processors and typists, proofreaders and copy markers, and statistical assistants, the report said. MOST UBER, LYFT DRIVERS IN SEATTLE NOT POORLY PAID: STUDY In fact, the biggest drop in the administrative support industry was in Utah, according to SmartAsset. There was a 95 percent decrease in telephone operators in Utah in 2019 compared to 2015. Meanwhile, jobs in the production industry -- such as gas plant operators, dental laboratory technicians and painting, coating and decorating workers -- were the fastest-shrinking jobs in eight states, according to SmartAsset. Among jobs in the production industry, gas plant operators in Maryland saw the steepest decline, down 80 percent from 2015 to 2019, SmartAsset found. GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE To see the full list, here are the fastest-shrinking jobs in each state -- and Washington, D.C. -- according to SmartAsset. Alabama Textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators and tenders: down 75 percent Alaska Oil and gas laborers: down 71 percent Arizona Dental laboratory technicians: down 61 percent Arkansas Middle school career/technical education teachers: down 67 percent Story continues California Music directors and composers: down 67 percent Colorado Telemarketers: down 71 percent Connecticut Demonstrators and product promoters: down 75 percent Delaware Physical therapist aides: down 59 percent Washington, D.C. Clerical library assistants: down 83 percent Florida Motorboat operators: down 76 percent Georgia Statistical assistants: down 89 percent Hawaii Directors and religious activities and education: down 65 percent Idaho Weighers, measurers, checkers and samplers for recordkeeping: down 74 percent Illinois Telephone operators: down 82 percent Indiana Music directors and composers: down 82 percent Iowa Hand packers and packagers: down 67 percent Kansas Music directors and composers: down 82 percent Kentucky Proofreaders and copy markers: down 75 percent Louisiana Operations research analysts: down 82 percent Maine Rehabilitation counselors: down 67 percent Maryland Gas plant operators: down 80 percent Massachusetts Middle school career/technical education teachers: down 64 percent CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS Michigan Telephone operators: down 73 percent Minnesota Set and exhibit designers: down 70 percent Mississippi Word processors and typists: down 71 percent Missouri Telemarketers: down 67 percent Montana Secondary school career/technical education teachers: down 68 percent Nebraska Nuclear engineers: down 86 percent Nevada Production work helpers: down 58 percent New Hampshire Postsecondary atmospheric, earth, marine and space sciences teachers: down 62 percent New Jersey Conveyor operators and tenders: down 86 percent New Mexico Private detectives and investigators: down 79 percent New York Metal and plastic drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators and tenders: down 71 percent North Carolina Word processors and typists: down 76 percent North Dakota Procurement clerks: down 80 percent Ohio Machine feeders and offbearers: down 68 percent Oklahoma Production worker helpers: down 62 percent Oregon Boilermakers: down 91 percent Pennsylvania Painting, coating and decorating workers: down 74 percent Rhode Island Legislators: down 65 percent South Carolina Office machine operators (except computer): down 94 percent South Dakota Telemarketers: down 73 percent Tennessee Legislators: down 74 percent Texas Metal and plastic forging machine setters, operators and tenders: down 62 percent Utah Telephone operators: down 95 percent Vermont Dispensing opticians: down 57 percent Virginia Music directors and composers: down 56 percent Washington Ambulance drivers and attendants (except emergency medical technicians): down 95 percent West Virginia Eligibility interviewers for government programs: down 84 percent Wisconsin Music directors and composers: down 83 percent Wyoming Oil and gas rig operators: down 76 percent Related Articles The blockbuster sequel in the long-running franchise Jurassic World franchise was initially halted in March, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Despite reports of roadblocks after returning to set earlier this week, Universal Pictures denied that production was suspended 'due to positive COVID-19 tests' among the crew, according to Variety on Friday. 'Any reports indicating that Jurassic World: Dominion has halted production are categorically untrue,' a Universal spokesperson told the outlet. Pushing through: Despite reports of roadblocks after returning to production earlier this week, Universal Pictures denied that production has suspended 'due to positive COVID-19 tests' among the crew The representative added: 'The production is in its fifth day of shooting today, and we're thrilled to be back in front of the camera on this incredible project.' It is understood none of the cast - which includes Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum and Chris Pratt - have tested positive, but that more than one crew member has. The sequel is currently filming at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Staying safe: Its understood none of the cast - which includes Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum and Chris Pratt - have tested positive, but that more than one crew member has (Pratt seen in LA last month) The news comes just days after writer/director Colin Trevorrow told Empire how much of a 'challenge' this film was shaping up to be, but that the shutdown also proved to be productive. Having already shot some scenes in Canada in March, the director, 43, said: 'For many of us, Dominion was already the biggest creative challenge of our lives, before the lockdown. He added: 'The shooting schedule really worked to our advantage the first four weeks we put to film were mostly sequences with dinosaurs in them.' 'Any reports indicating that Jurassic World: Dominion has halted production are categorically untrue,' a Universal spokesperson told the outlet Back to business: Universal confirmed last month that production would re-start on July 6, with the set re-opening on Wednesday this week (Pratt seen in 2015) 'So that allowed us to get a head start on VFX and workshop some of the newer elements without the pressure of a looming deadline,' Trevorrow explained. He went on to assure the publication: 'I'm confident our [safety] guidelines will keep us safe. The hard part will be constructing a creative environment within all the precautions. Once the cameras roll, we have to forget our world and live in the world of the movie. That may take some practice.' Universal confirmed last month that production would re-start on July 6, with the set re-opening on Wednesday this week Bright side: Having already shot some scenes in Canada in March, the director, 43, said: 'For many of us, Dominion was already the biggest creative challenge of our lives, before the lockdown' Speaking to Deadline, an exec from Universal said: 'The plan is for us to be shooting early-mid July.' 'Anyone with symptoms will be isolated immediately before being sent home,' the source went on. 'We want to make sure that we are going above and beyond the national protocols to create a safe environment. 'Cost isn't our main concern now: it's safety.' Speaking to Deadline, an exec from Universal said: 'The plan is for us to be shooting early-mid July... implementing rigorous safety protocols on-site' The executive added: 'We will take direction from our medical team, but we're confident that with the staggered scheduling and zones of talent and crew, along with a system of contact tracing, we can move forward with limited delay in production.' This will please fans of the franchise who are expecting Jurassic World: Dominion to hit cinemas on 11 June 2021. Production has been delayed by around three months, with speculation rife that the sequel could face a late-summer release rather than an early-summer one. Life finds a way: Sam Neill - who will reprise his Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III role of Dr Alan Grant - said last month that the sets were built 'ready and waiting' for things to resume Those in the cast flown out to the UK have also been required to undergo a two-week quarantine once arriving, before being allowed on set, as per the UK's travel rules. Neill - who will reprise his Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III role of Dr Alan Grant - said last month that the sets were built 'ready and waiting' for things to resume. 'I should be going into Pinewood at 6AM,' he told The Guardian in May. 'All the sets are there, waiting. I can't wait to get back to it.' 11.07.2020 LISTEN As part of efforts to bring environmental sanity and to tackle waste management, as well as its sanitary-related offences, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), has announced the establishment of two sanitation courts. The courts, when established, will deal ruthlessly with sanitation offenders with the aim of shaping attitudinal change of Ghanaians. According to The Kumasi Metro Chief Executive (MCE), Osei Asibey-Antwi said plans have advanced as the Assembly has awarded the projects on contract. We have secured the necessary land resources for the successful take-off of the projects, he hinted in an interview with the media in Kumasi. Mr. Assibey-Antwi said waste management remained the greatest headache of the Assembly. It is our determination to reduce to the barest minimum the rate at which the citizenry flouted environmental-sanitation bye-laws, he noted. The MCE advised the five sub-metropolitan areas under the KMA to enforce to the letter environmental-sanitation bye-laws to prevent the outbreak of communicable diseases. ---Daily Guide Buying a home will never be the same after the coronavirus pandemic, but even during the world-changing health and economic crisis, people continue to sell real estate, tour dwellings wearing masks and gloves, sign deeds and move in. During this turbulent time, buyers who havent lost their source of income and have acceptable debt-to-income ratios are cashing in on mortgage rates in the historically low 3% range. Sellers at almost all levels continue to profit from the low number of residential properties for sale in Oregon, the state with the largest housing shortage in the nation. In Portland metro, inventory of homes for sale decreased to 1.5 months in June. Inventory is calculated by dividing the active residential listings at the end of the month by the number of closed sales and homes proposed and under construction. Looks like the hot market in Pandemic 2020 is here. Inventory hasnt been this low since May 2017, says Dustin Miller of Windermere Realty Trust in Lake Oswego. According to Millers calculations, since the start of 2020, the average sale price has gained a total appreciation of 4.58% or 7.03% on the median sale price. The local listing service RMLS reports different figures: Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 2.6% from $456,700 to $468,500. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 3.9% from $407,000 to $423,000. We havent seen a spike in the monthly median sales price over 1.5% since May of 2019, says Miller. The over 2% jump for both [median and average price] will help us pad a typical slow time at the end of the year if it happens Homes on the market in June that received an accepted offer, called pending sales, were 18.5% higher than in June 2019 and 17.4% higher than in May 2020. This is staggering compared to the perceived sitting at home, waiting this out environment we might have predicted, Miller says. This could mean an even lower inventory coming for the July numbers. Heres a look at the state of residential real estate across Oregon and Southwest Washington, according to the latest figures released by the local listing service RMLS. Metro Portland New listings (3,658) decreased 14.6% from the 4,281 listed in June 2019 and increased 7.0% from the 3,419 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (3,654) increased 18.5% from the 3,083 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 17.4% from the 3,112 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (2,709) decreased 1.7% from the 2,756 closings in June 2019 and increased 38.0% from the 1,963 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 1.5 months in June. Total market time increased to 42 days. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (19,112) decreased 15.4%, pending sales (15,398) decreased 3.5% and closed sales (12,955) decreased 6.4%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 2.6% from $456,700 to $468,500. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 3.9% from $407,000 to $423,000. See active listings Southwest Washington New listings (979) decreased 11.2% from the 1,102 listed in June 2019 and increased 0.8% from the 971 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (1,036) increased 17.6% from the 881 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 16.1% from the 892 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (724) decreased 9.0% from the 796 closings in June 2019 and increased 25.5% from the 577 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 1.6 months in June. Total market time decreased to 46 days. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (5,218) decreased 15.8%, pending sales (4,448) decreased 4.2% and closed sales (3,624) decreased 9.7%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 5.5% from $400,900 to $422,900. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 6.8% from $365,000 to $389,900. See active listings Baker County New listings (39) increased 2.6% from the 38 listed in June 2019 and increased 85.7% from the 21 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (44) increased 37.5% from the 32 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 158.8% from the 17 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (17) decreased 15% from the 20 closings in June 2019 and matched the 17 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 4.2 months in June. Total market time increased to 77 days. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 7.6% from $176,900 to $190,300. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 23.6% from $138,000 to $170,600. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (180) have decreased 17.2%, pending sales (125) increased 2.4%, and closed sales (105) have decreased 12.4%. See active listings Columbia Basin New listings (80) decreased 38.9% from the 131 listed in June 2019 and matched the 80 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (107) increased 18.9% from the 90 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 48.6% from the 72 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (83) increased 33.9% from the 62 closings in June 2019 and increased 50.9% from the 55 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 1.8 months in June. Total market time decreased to 51 days. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 14.6% from $196,100 to $224,700. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 12.6% from $193,600 to $218,000. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (523) decreased 9.4%, pending sales (477) increased 7.9% and closed sales (403) increased 5.2%. See active listings Coos County New listings (118) decreased 22.4% from the 152 listed in June 2019 and increased 40.5% from the 84 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (133) increased 24.3% from the 107 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 17.7% from the 113 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (84) decreased 14.3% from the 98 closings in June 2019 and increased 10.5% from the 76 closings in May 2020. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (633) decreased 20.6%, pending sales (556) decreased 1.2% and closed sales (500) decreased 0.2%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 5.3% from $230,200 to $242,300. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 7.7% from $209,000 to $225,000. See active listings Curry County New listings (70) decreased 20.5% from the 88 listed in June 2019 and increased 20.7% from the 58 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (67) decreased 9.5% from the 74 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 86.1% from the 36 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (39) decreased 25% from the 52 closings in June2 019 and increased 95% from the 20 closings in May 2020. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (311) decreased 32.4%, pending sales (244) decreased 19.2% and closed sales (214) decreased 14.7%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 12.6% from $315,300 to $355,100. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 11.2% from $280,000 to $311,300. See active listings Douglas County New listings (193) decreased 4.9% from the 203 listed in June 2019 and increased 10.9% from the 174 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (208) increased 8.3% from the 192 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 8.3% from the 192 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (180) increased 25.9% from the 143 closings in June 2019 and increased 40.6% from the 128 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 2.0 months in June. Total market time increased to 82 days. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (1,065) decreased 10.1%, pending sales (930) increased 1.2% and closed sales (790) increased 4.4%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 4.1% from $234,500 to $244,100. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 6.5% from $215,000 to $229,000. See active listings Grant County New listings (10) matched the 10 listed in June 2019 and decreased 16.7% from the 12 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (14) increased 55.6% from the 9 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 7.7% from the 13 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (9) decreased 18.2% from the 11 closings in June 2019 and increased 125.0% from the 4 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 4.3 months in June. Total market time increased to 544 days. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (56) decreased 5.1%, pending sales (48) decreased 5.9% and closed sales (32) decreased 22%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 81.2% from $153,500 to $278,100. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 29.7% from $143,000 to $185,500. See active listings Josephine County New listings (7) increased 16.7% from the 6 listed in June 2019 and decreased 53.3% from the 15 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (10) matched the 10 offers accepted in June 2019 and decreased 37.5% from the 16 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (7) increased 16.7% from the 6 closings in June 2019 and matched the 7 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 3.3 months in June. Total market time increased to 61 days. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (68) increased 15.3%, pending sales (46) increased 21.1% and closed sales (30) decreased 21.1%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 42.4% from $270,300 to $384,900. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 29.6% from $261,500 to $339,000. See active listings Lane County New listings (512) decreased 17.8% from the 623 listed in June 2019 and increased 5.6% from the 485 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (554) increased 2.6% from the 540 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 19.1% from the 465 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (399) decreased 15.3% from the 471 closings in June 2019 and increased 28.3% from the 311 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 1.3 months in June. Total market time decreased to 37 days. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (2,820) decreased 8.4%, pending sales (2,380) decreased 7.0%, and closed sales (1,949) decreased 13.4%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 8.7% from $316,200 to $343,700. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 10.7% from $289,000 to $320,000. See active listings Mid-Columbia New listings (130) decreased 21.2% from the 165 listed in June 2019 and increased 0.8% from the 129 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (162) increased 55.8% from the 104 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 33.9% from the 121 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (100) increased 6.4% from the 94 closings in June 2019 and increased 92.3% from the 52 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 2.5 months in June. Total market time decreased to 92 days. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (633) decreased 12.2%, pending sales (543) increased 11.5% and closed sales (419) increased 3.2%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 6.7% from $337,800 to $360,300. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 6.5% from $310,000 to $330,000. See active listings North Coastal Counties New listings (195) decreased 32.3% from the 288 listed in June 2019 and increased 12.1% from the 174 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (222) increased 33.7% from the 166 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 21.3% from the 183 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (167) decreased 5.1% from the 176 closings in June 2019 and increased 46.5% from the 114 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 3.0 months in June. Total market time decreased to 82 days. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (1,070) decreased 23.2%, pending sales (884) decreased 2.4% and closed sales (736) decreased 7%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 6.6% from $355,100 to $378,600. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 3.4% from $321,900 to $333,000. See active listings Polk and Marion Counties New listings (351) decreased 2.5% from the 360 listed in June 2019 and increased 23.6% from the 284 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (369) increased 35.2% from the 273 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 18.6% from the 311 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (233) increased 4.5% from the 223 closings in June 2019 and increased 34.7% from the 173 closings in May 2020. Inventory decreased to 1.6 months in June. Total market time decreased to 40 days. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (1,749) decreased 11.1%, pending sales (1,549) increased 7.1% and closed sales (1,242) increased 3.8%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 3.8% from $337,300 to $350,100. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 5.8% from $310,000 to $328,100. See active listings Union County New listings (36) matched the 36 listed in June 2019 and increased 24.1% from the 29 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (40) increased 5.3% from the 38 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 8.1% from the 37 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (31) decreased 3.1% from the 32 closings in June 2019 and increased 47.6% from the 21 closings in May 2020. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (169) decreased 22.1%, pending sales (164) held steady and closed sales (131) increased 7.4%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has decreased 3.2% from $227,700 to $220,300. In the same comparison, the median sale price has decreased 3.3% from $196,400 to $190,000. See active listings Wallowa County New listings (19) matched the 19 listed in June 2019 and increased 11.8% from the 17 listed in May 2020. Pending sales (13) increased 30.0% from the 10 offers accepted in June 2019 and increased 44.4% from the 9 offers accepted in May 2020. Closed sales (8) decreased 33.3% from the 12 closings in June 2019 and matched the 8 closings in May 2020. Inventory held steady at 8.4 months in June. Total market time increased to 339 days. Comparing the first six months of 2020 to the same period in 2019, new listings (76) decreased 6.2%, pending sales (44) decreased 15.4% and closed sales (35) decreased 20.5%. Comparing 2020 to 2019 through June, the average sale price has increased 23.9% from $286,300 to $354,800. In the same comparison, the median sale price has increased 21.3% from $230,000 to $279,000. See active listings --Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072 jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories Want to search Oregon real estate listings and use local resources? Click here. This weeks wanted The following are being sought on arrest warrants, according to various sheriffs departments. The addresses listed are the last known addresses provided by the warrants and may be outdated. Austin E. Summers, 21, of 982 Summer Hill Road, Winchester, is being sought on a warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court on charges of speeding, driving while license is suspended and operating an uninsured motor vehicle. He is a white male standing 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 165 pounds. He has blond hair and brown eyes. Dakota J. Powell, 38, of 2121 Martin Luther King Drive, Springfield, is being sought on a warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. He is a Black male standing 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing 125 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. . Submit tips anonymously at tipsubmit.com, by calling 217-243-7300 or by text messaging CRIMES (274637) with payout as the first word of the tip. Morgan County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Justin M. Ramsey, 29, of Petersburg was booked into the Morgan County jail at 11:09 p.m. Thursday on charges of assault, reckless driving and having an expired registration. Calhoun County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Matthew S. Heckenberg, 30, of Brussels was booked into Greene County Jail at 7:50 p.m. July 4 on a domestic battery charge. Greene County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Kenneth Roger, 60, of Hillview was booked into Greene County Jail at 11:49 p.m. Sunday on a charge of driving under the influence. Carrollton Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Chelsea M. Daniels, 21, of Dow was booked into Greene County Jail at 2 a.m. Thursday on a chargae of driving under the influence. Joseph M. Angle, 35, of Carrollton was booked into Greene County Jail at 12:02 p.m. Wednesday on a Calhoun County warrant to revoke probation. Roodhouse Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Terry P. Gibson, 29, of Roodhouse was booked into Greene County Jail at 1:21 a.m. Tuesday on charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass to a residence. Austin M. Volk, 26, of Meredosia was booked into Greene County Jail at 8:27 a.m. Sunday on a charge of criminal trespass to a residence. White Hall Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Kelsey N. Guthrie, 27, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 10:25 p.m. Thursday on two charges of phone harassment. John M. Martin, 26, of Pittsfield was booked into Greene County Jail at 3:22 p.m. June 30 on a violation of an order of protection. Scott County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Benjamin W. Borrowman, 44, of Decatur was booked into Greene County Jail at 6:08 a.m. July 1 on a charge of driving under the influence. Richard E. Neff, 41, of Roodhouse was booked into Greene County Jail at 4:09 p.m. June 30 on a domestic battery charge. Compiled by David C.L. Bauer The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra Police arrested two men including an absconding aide of slain gangster Vikas Dubey in neighbouring Thane on Saturday, an official said. IMAGE: Arvind alias Guddan Ramvilas Trivedi, right, with Vikas Dubey. Photograph: ANI Arvind alias Guddan Ramvilas Trivedi, 46, an aide of Dubey, was allegedly involved in the killing of eight policemen during a raid on the slain gangster's house in Kanpur district. Trivedi and his driver Sushilkunar alias Sonu Tiwari, 30, were arrested from Kolshet area of Thane city, said Vikram Deshmane, Superintendent of Police, ATS. Trivedi, along with Dubey and others, had fled after the ambush at Bikru village in which eight policemen including a deputy superintendent of police were killed on July 3, he said. Officials of the Juhu unit of the ATS here got information that Trivedi had landed in Mumbai seeking a hide- out, SP Deshmane said. A team led by inspector Daya Nayak, a former 'encounter specialist' of Mumbai police, nabbed the duo from Kolshet, he said. During preliminary questioning Trivedi admitted that he and Dubey were involved in the murder of Uttar Pradesh politician Santosh Mishra in 2001 and many other crimes, the SP said. The ATS has informed Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) about the arrest, he said. Dubey, the mastermind of the Kanpur ambush, was killed in an encounter on Friday after he tried to flee following a road accident at Barra area in Kanpur a day after his arrest. The wife of gangster Vikas Dubey, who was killed in a police encounter Friday, said her husband was "wrong" and deserved "this fate", as his last rites were conducted here amid tight security. Richa, who came at the Bhairoghat to attend the cremation, also expressed her anger at mediapersons, at times allegedly shouting at them. Superintendent of Police, Rural, Brijesh Srivastava told reporters that Dubey's brother- in- law Dinesh Tiwari performed the last rites at the electric crematorium in the presence of his wife and son. Dubey was shot dead Friday morning by police, who claim he was trying to flee after the car carrying him from Ujjain overturned on an isolated stretch of the highway on the outskirts of the city. Dubey had allegedly masterminded the killing of eight policemen on July 2 when they were going to arrest him at his Bikru village. When asked about these incidents and if she thought her husband deserved such an end, an agitated Richa said, "Yes, yes, yes. Vikas did wrong and he deserved this fate." She also allegedly shouted at mediapersons and asked them to leave the place. She also allegedly misbehaved with them and used foul language, even holding them responsible for the encounter killing of her husband. After the last rites, policewomen took Richa and her son in their vehicle and left for an undisclosed location. No police official was ready to speak whether they were let off. Vikas' father Ram Kumar Dubey had distanced himself and had justified police action. "Whatever police did was right," he had said earlier in the day. When asked if he would attend the cremation, he had said, "I will not attend the last rites." Dinesh Tiwari, who performed the last rites, was earlier detained for questioning by the police immediately after the killing of eight policemen, including Deputy SP Devendra Kumar Mishra. The cremation was performed amidst heavy police presence. Heavy police force headed by SP city East, Raj Kumar Agarwal, was deployed around Bhairoghat. Principal of Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi Medical College Dr RB Kamal had told mediapersons that Dubey was brought dead to the hospital."Dubey sustained four bullet injuries, three in the upper part (chest) and one in the hand," Kamal had said. Dubey's other relatives and neighbours shunned the gangster in his death and did not turn up for cremation, despite police request. President Trump commuted the 40-month prison sentence of his longtime associate and confidante Roger Stone on Friday. Why it matters: Stone, the seventh person to be convicted and sentenced for crimes unearthed by former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, will spend no time behind bars for obstructing justice, tampering with witnesses and making false statements to Congress. What to watch: Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) in a statement alongside Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) called for an immediate briefing from the White House Counsel on the circumstances surrounding Stones commutation. The facts are clear: Roger Stone lied to investigators. He threatened to harm a witness to his crimes. A jury of our fellow Americans found him guilty of obstruction of justice," Nadler and Maloney wrote. What they're saying: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) called the commutation "an act of staggering corruption" in a statement Sunday. "Congress will take action to prevent this type of brazen wrongdoing" by pursuing legislation that would prevent a president from pardoning or commuting "the sentence of an individual who is engaged in a cover-up campaign to shield that President from criminal prosecution." Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) tweeted: "Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president." Former Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement that Trump "once again abused his power, releasing the commutation on a Friday night, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world." Joe Biden said in a statement that Trump "once again abused his power, releasing the commutation on a Friday night, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world." Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Trump commuting Stone's sentence "is among the most offensive to the rule of law and principles of justice." (D-Calif.) said Trump commuting Stone's sentence "is among the most offensive to the rule of law and principles of justice." Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) wrote on Twitter: "Trump commutes the prison sentence of Roger Stone while the officers that killed Breonna Taylor are still free. The two systems of justice in this country must end." (D-Calif.) wrote on Twitter: "Trump commutes the prison sentence of Roger Stone while the officers that killed Breonna Taylor are still free. The two systems of justice in this country must end." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said via tweet: "Donald Trump has abandoned the rule of law and made a mockery of our democracy. He truly is the most corrupt president in history." (D-Mass.) said via tweet: "Donald Trump has abandoned the rule of law and made a mockery of our democracy. He truly is the most corrupt president in history." Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said on Twitter he supports the commutation, adding "Roger Stones prosecution by overzealous Special Counsel prosecutors was an outgrowth of the Obama-Biden misconduct." Trump tweeted Saturday morning, "Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt tha never should have taken place. It is the other side that are criminals, including the fact that Biden and Obama illegally spied on my campaign - AND GOT CAUGHT!" TikTok app. Photo: Getty Amazon (AMZN) has walked back on an instruction to employees to remove the TikTok app from their phones, saying the email was sent in error. An internal email sent earlier on Friday (10 July) was quickly rescinded, after it advised employees to delete the app over privacy concerns. The email read: Due to security risks, the TikTok app is no longer permitted on mobile devices that access Amazon email. If you have TikTok on your device, you must remove it by July 10 to retain mobile access to Amazon email. At this time, using TikTok from your Amazon laptop browser is allowed. The app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has come under scrutiny amid fears user data could be shared with China. Its popularity has exploded globally in recent months, as downloads reached more than two billion, and it became the most downloaded app in the first quarter of 2020. Alongside its popularity, scepticism has grown about how secure it is. On Monday, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration was considering banning TikTok. READ MORE: Tesla stock boosts Musk's net worth up billionaire rankings Amazon regularly tells its employees to comply with software updates by a certain date or risk losing access to work email. But giving them less than one day to comply is highly unusual, and suggests that Amazon security has serious concerns about TikTok, according to a report by Yahoo Finance. Just five hours after the initial ruling, an Amazon spokesperson emailed out this statement: This mornings email to some of our employees was sent in error. There is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok. ByteDance has previously taken pains to distance TikTok from its Chinese ownership, pointing out that its CEO is American. Rumours continue to circulate that the company will move its headquarters out of China in an effort to further distance itself. The app was recently banned in India alongside other Chinese apps amid cybersecurity concerns. TikTok didnt immediately respond to requests for comment, but said in a statement that security was of the utmost importance to the company. The search engine giant has announced to host the 2020 edition of Google for India event next week. The upcoming programme though being conducted online is touted to be big and expect major announcements as the company has revealed that the Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google & Alphabet will attending it. Google for India event is slated to kick off on July 13 at 2:00 pm on Google India's official YouTube channel. Besides Pichai, several Google's top executives will also be participating in the event including Sanjay Gupta (country head & vice president, Google India, Caesar Sengupta (vice president, payments and next billion users), Google and Sapna Chadha (senior country marketing director) Google India and Southeast Asia. Also, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Law and Justice, Electronics and Information Technology and Communications will also be attending the Google for India event. "At the 6th edition of #GoogleForIndia, our product & business leaders will share their vision on building a helpful Internet for a billion Indians," Google India said. In 2019, Google for India event witnessed big announcements including the opening of the Artificial Intelligence research hub in Bengaluru, India's silicon city, with a focus on the advancement of computer science research studies. Also, Google revealed that the free public Wi-Fi service, which was previously limited to Railway stations, will be extended to rural areas deprived of internet connectivity. Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet. Credit: Google India/Twitter Furthermore, Google Assistant got more India-specific features including real-time conversation in nine local languages. Also Discover section of Google app, going forward support seven languages--Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada and Malayalam. Google Lens also got improved to support Tamil, Marathi and Telugu for live translation of menus, road signs and more. Additionally, Google Bolo, a language learning app, which was started with Hindi will now support more local dialects-Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Also, Google partnered with Chotta Bheem and Katha Kids to offer more than 500 children-oriented stories in the Bolo app. Google Pay also got a new Spot feature. It was space created for enterprise owners to display their catalogue of products to help customers find their requirements and make the purchase without leaving the Google Pay. Also, the company formally announced a dedicated Google Pay Business app for business owners. In 2020, with company CEO Sundar Pichai and union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad participating in the Google for India event, we can expect some big announcements related to Google Pay, Assistant, expansion of Public Wi-Fi service, and more. Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cyber security, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech. By Taiwo Okanlawon Legendary Nollywood actor Olu Jacobs turns 78 today, Saturday the 11th of July 2020. The Ogun state born actor is married to iconic actress, Joke Silva. Joke Silva celebrated him on her Instagram page where she shared some photos-video of the celebrant and captioned it: Hey birthday boy?to God the Father be all the Glory?????????@_olujacobs, she wrote. Joke Silva said her husband is alive, adding that the family found the development so depressing that members had to speak out. Born Oludotun Jacobs in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, on July 11, 1942, Olu Jacobs, as popularly called in the movie circles, has starred in numerous movies home and abroad. He trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England, and has starred in various British television shows and series in the 1970s; The Goodies, Till Death Us Do Part, Barlow at Large, The Venturers, Angels, 1990, The Tomorrow People, The Professional. In the 1980s he was part of many international films some of which include John Irvins war film The Dogs of War, Roman Polanskis adventure-comedy Pirates, and the family-adventure film Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. Coming down to his country, the actor has starred in 120 Nollywood movies and won the African Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2007. Related Raymond Newal. July 20, 2020. Start-ups mark this date on the calendar. That Monday, doors will open for applications to Techstars Bangalores prized fund investment for 10 handpicked start-ups. Each winning start-up will have $120,000 in its coffers and a 3-month structured mentorship-based programme. There is no application fee, but the queue is long and crowded. Last year, more than 750 start-ups from 33 countries applied for Techstars Bangalores 10 coveted front row seats. Founded in 2006 in Boulder (Colorado, USA), the parent Techstars has so far invested in 2,200 companies including 50 Indian companies. Techstars Bangalore stepped into India in 2018 and has to date invested in 18 Indian companies. Here, Raymond Newal, Managing Director, Techstars Bangalore, talks of the companys objectives and accelerated mentorship programme, the big dos and donts of an investment pitch, and his personal to-dos for a better start-up scenario. Edited excerpts. What is the basic objective of TS and how is it different from other angel investing funds? Techstars is a mentor-based accelerator which invests $120,000 each in pre-seed and seed-stage startups. In addition to the investment, the handpicked companies attend a three-month structured mentorship-based programme that is designed to help them in many ways, including but not limited to finding product-market fit, scaling growth, entering partnerships, and articulating their value proposition. Techstars-backed founders join a network of more than 5,000 alumni across the globe, providing them with access to one of the most highly engaged professional networks in the world. Whats the selection process for the $120,000 investment - from application to the final yes? The first step is the application process that remains open for almost 3 months. As we are always going through applications, we often call and set up office hours with start-ups that seem interesting. Through a series of interviews, research and a process of getting to know the founders in a short period of time, we narrow our applicants down to the top 100, then 40, and finally, 20, Once weve narrowed down to 20 companies, we invite the teams to pitch in person or via video conference to a small panel of investors, entrepreneurs, and subject-matter experts. As the managing director, I chair the panel and invite open deliberation amongst members to understand the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of each business. Based on the information gathered through this process, I then make a decision on the 10 teams we will invest in. What are the big dos and donts of entrepreneurial pitches? Dos: 1. Understand your market, be able to articulate a compelling vision, and describe why you are the right person to make it happen. 2. A demo if you can - a demo is worth a thousand pictures. 3. Invite key members of your team who can add to the perspective of why you are the right team. 4. Have a stable and fast data connection and be free from noise before you start a video call. Don'ts: 1. Have typos on your presentation. Typos are a reflection of how much (or how little) you care. 2. Force your audience to view an explainer video. 3. Invite every employee in the company to your pitch, especially if they have nothing to add. Whats TS mentorship programme? Our programme relies upon the tireless contributions of our mentors. In our latest class, we had more than 80 people volunteer, including entrepreneurs, corporate executives, investors, and subject-matter experts. The mentors get to meet each of the start-ups during 800 sessions we hold over 8-10 days at the start of the programme. Called Mentor Madness, its like speed dating, except the start-ups get to research the mentors, and the mentors research the start-ups before they meet. Each meeting is 20 minutes and allows both sides to determine if theyd like to work with each other. One of the goals for each of the 10 startups is to find 2 or 3 of the mentors who would be willing to serve as a lead mentor who typically works closely with start-ups over weekly meetings to help them with whatever they are focused on. Name five Indian start-ups that stand out in TS investment list. Lightwing (www.lightwing.io): A managed service that optimises cloud resources to reduce cloud costs for large enterprises. Rose Bazaar (www.rosebazaar.in): Bringing efficiency to the unorganised ceremonial flower supply chain through innovations in packaging and distribution. Picxy (www.picxy.com): Solving the relatability problem in Indian digital content through highly contextual stock photos. Lancify (www.lancify.net): Connects students with employers for freelance projects. ChintaMoney (https://chinta.money/): A financial wellness app that helps consumers make smart daily purchase decisions. Reduce or eliminate requirements for compliance and reporting for start-ups with less than 30 employees. Its hard for startups to focus on survival at such an early stage. The government must understand that bogging them down with compliance will either mean the founders are spending precious time navigating compliance requirements (and not growing their business), or growing their business in violation. Encourage cross-border business and transactions (including investment, M&A, company flipping, etc) for tech start-ups. The more open and flexible our policies are, the greater the liquidity start-ups will generate as an asset class. This becomes a self-perpetuating cycle which leads to more start-ups getting built, more capital being invested, and more returns being realised. Quicker adaptation to changing realities of business in the digital world. For example, post-COVID, several startups will operate without physical offices in the world. Therefore, why require a registered physical office in this new reality? Good to know July 20, 2020: Applications open. Apply online on www.techstars.com Applications open for 90 days. Apply early in the cycle to gain an advantage. No application fee. Preeti Verma Lal is a Goa-based freelance writer/photographer. Top newsroom officials called Neffs posts horrendous and deeply offensive in a memo to staff Saturday, a day after they were exposed in a CNN report. FOX News Media strongly condemns this horrific racist, misogynistic and homophobic behavior, said the memo from Suzanne Scott and Jay Wallace, the chief executive and president of Fox News, respectively. Make no mistake, actions such as his cannot and will not be tolerated at any time in any part of our work force. Fewer than a fifth of people bombarded by fraudulent emails and text messages from their bank, mobile phone provider or another company would always recognise them as scams, research suggests. High street bank TSB showed 2,000 people 20 emails and texts, half of which were fraudulent, and found only 18 per cent correctly spotted all 10 scams. A slightly higher 25 per cent of those surveyed correctly identified all the messages purporting to be from their bank, but an even higher 37 per cent would respond to one of those messages, either by following a link or calling a phone number in the message. Examples of two of the 10 fraudulent text messages TSB showed to a group of 2,000 people. Just 18% were able to correctly identify all of the fake messages These phishing links, delivered by email or in so-called number spoofing smishing scams where fraudsters copy a bank or other legitimate company's phone number to appear alongside real messages, are designed to capture people's details. Stolen personal information can be used for the purpose of identity fraud, while fake webpages can be used to harvest people's payment and bank details which can directly leave their money in harm's way. More than a third of those surveyed correctly identified scam messages from mobile companies or the likes of Amazon or Apple, but younger people were less likely to spot the scams. Just 9 per cent of 18-34-year-olds identified all 10 fraudulent messages. The results are concerning given that the coronavirus pandemic has led to people in the UK being deluged with fake messages from fraudsters. Are young people more vulnerable to phishing messages? Age group % which correctly spotted all 10 fraudulent messages % who would respond to at least one message from their 'bank' 18-34 9% 41% 35-54 17% 39% 55+ 26% 32% Source: TSB This is Money and our sister titles have reported on how everything from the NHS contact tracing system to Tesco have been spoofed by scammers over the last few months in the hopes of tricking people into handing over their details. There had been more than 12,000 reports of coronavirus-related phishing emails made to the UK's fraud reporting service Action Fraud as of 12 June, a figure which will have increased over the last month. Emails and texts pretending to be from the taxman have long been a blight on the lives of Britons, but the coronavirus has seen a surge in phishing texts offering recipients emergency tax refunds due to the coronavirus This message pretends to be from Apple. Following the link would likely lead to you giving away your Apple username and password And with coronavirus-related fraud making up less than 2 per cent of all scams reported to Action Fraud, there have almost certainly been thousands more phishing attempts over the same period. TSB's head of fraud, Ashley Hart, said: 'Fraudsters are becoming increasingly clever in using technology such as text messages to impersonate banks and other companies, all to trick people out of their hard-earned money. 'Our findings show how convincing these messages can appear, and highlight a worrying proportion of people who could be caught out. 'The emotional and financial impact of fraud can be devastating which is why we reimburse all our customers should they ever fall victim and invest in partnerships with police forces to hunt down the criminals behind these attacks.' Will a stamp duty holiday and Rishi's rescue be enough? The showstopper was a big stamp duty cut, the important element was about keeping jobs afloat, and the rabbit out of the hat was a great British meal deal. But the question is, was Rishi Sunak splashing the cash in the summer statement enough to get the nations confidence back in the coronavirus crisis, or will real recovery require more down the line? On this weeks podcast, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce, and Georgie Frost run the rule over the Chancellors plan and ask the awkward question of how are we going to pay for all this and does that even matter right now? Press play above or listen (and please subscribe if you like the podcast) at Apple Podcasts, Acast, Spotify and Audioboom or visit our This is Money Podcast page. Phishing links take victims to fake webpages designed to harvest their personal and payment details. These are often used either to steal money outright or commit identity fraud with stolen details How to spot a smish Smishing scams can sometimes be hard to spot, especially if fraudsters spoof real phone numbers so that fake text messages appear alongside legitimate ones. For phishing emails, always check the address. While the display name may claim to be from the likes of 'Amazon customer service UK' or 'PayPal UK', the chances are the email address will either have typos in it or be completely different to the company it is claiming to be from. One recent phishing email claiming to be from 'Service@PayPal.com' was actually from the address 'e4kzaeke5f3um1z-bu6gkabotciz07ku@btrg522l-78300618. tech'. Some of the warning signs to be aware of that can help you spot a fake text message or email But although at first glance they can be hard to spot, there are some tell-tale signs that can make it easier for you to notice when a message isn't real. Links in text messages. Banks don't use them, so never click on a link in a message claiming to be from your bank. When it comes to messages from other senders, be very careful, and double-check the message is legitimate by finding the company's official webpage and logging in that way, or contact its customer services. Typos. Phishing texts and emails are often riddled with typos, so be on the lookout for those. Many either miss words out or mis-spell them, or use the wrong punctuation. In one example shown to those surveyed by TSB which you can see above, the '' sign was missing and there was a ',' used instead of '.' in a pricetag. Phone numbers. Be very careful never to ring a number given to you in a suspicious email. Double-check it's correct by looking on a bank or other company's official website. Urgency . Fraudsters always try to rush you, so fraudulent messages usually tell you that you need to take urgent action either to stop a loss or to claim money. Genuine companies don't rush you. Slow down, and don't rush into making a mistake. If you've received a phishing email or text message, you can report it. Most banks have forwarding services where you can flag suspicious-looking messages, and HMRC launched a similar service a few months ago after people were targeted with messages about fake tax refunds. While the state government has been establishing COVID care centres at marriage halls, auditoriums, many Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) too have come forward to facilitate home isolation and management of positive patients in their apartment premises. Though it is stated that the RWA should have a tie up with the medical team for the clinical support to the patients. In this regard, on Friday, BBMP, with the help of Bangalore Apartments Federation, enabled 225 apartments campuses in Bommanahalli to create COVID Care Centres, thereby allowing immediate relief for 42,383 families. The preparations to open country's largest COVID Care Centre at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) is underway. The BBMP claims it to be a 10,000-bed facility where asymptomatic patients or those with mild symptoms will be admitted. The BBMP Mayor, M Goutham Kumar, apprised that 300 doctors and 600 nurses along with a supporting staff of 300 people will be deployed. "Waste from the centre will be treated as biomedical waste and disposed systematically. Laundry facility to wash blankets and bed-sheets will also be provided," he said. Meanwhile, one of the major challenges in running a COVID-19 designated hospital is managing the medical waste that has shot up the cost of waste management exponentially. Ours has increased exponentially. We have a third party person which is allotted to the state pollution control board and he manages the medical waste. Initially, for the first three days, there were no issues and the waste was regularly collected. Without informing me, the waste collection was stopped suddenly. For half a day, the waste was lying near the hospital in an area where we used to have an old incinerator. ACE Suhas is a COVID-19 designated hospital so I am told that there will be a different invoicing bracket and the hospital has to sign a new agreement, Dr Jagadish Hiremath, CEO of ACE Suhas hospital. However, the ACE Suhas hospital has started counselling sessions for the staffers in which motivational speakers pay a visit to the hospital. We have formed a committee, Cross Infection Prevention Committee, which is headed by our gynecologist. Everyday she calls the staff and holds a counselling session. We take their feedback and if there is any negative feedback we try to address them immediately. Motivational speakers are called to chat with our staff. We are trying to keep the morale up, the doctor added. The tall claims made by the BBMP that powrakarmikas have been provided with safety kits crumbled last month, when 23 workers tested positive for the virus in a case of random testing. With the rise in medical waste after the pandemic, the powrakarmikas have been vulnerable as they are exposed to hazardous waste. In a placard protest the safaikaramcharis had demanded complete safety equipments, including full body PPE for all powrakarmikas and regular medical checkups. A demand for Rs 50 lakh health insurance for all powrakarmikas under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana has also been put forth to the government. In a parallel development, the Bengaluru City police and the civic agency, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagare Palike (BBMP), have collected Rs 1 crore as fine collection in the last one month for 46,959 mask and social distancing violations. Naya Riveras four-year-old son, Josey Hollis, has told police that he saw his mother disappear beneath the water at a lake in California. The Glee star is feared to have drowned after going missing during a boat trip to Lake Piru on Wednesday 8 July. Josey was found asleep on the boat while wearing a life jacket. An adult-sized life jacket was also found on board. Lake Piru is a popular spot for swimmers based around 56 miles from central Los Angeles. CCTV from the dock on the lake shows Riveras rented boat departing from the shore at about 1pm on 8 July. It was found drifting in the northern area of the lake at around 4pm. Ventura County Sheriffs Office sergeant Kevin Donoghue said there is no evidence to suggest the 33-year-old left the lake. Our first day was a rescue effort, it was a life-saving effort, he said. We searched with people on the ground, on the shoreline. We were looking not just for her physically, we were looking for any clues, any evidence that suggested she made it to shore. We didnt find any clues, any evidence that suggested she made it to shore. The most conclusive piece of evidence were really holding on to right now is the statements from her son, the only witness. Sgt Donaghue said he was confident that Rivera is in the water and that at some point in time we will recover her from the lake. Rivera is best known for playing cheerleader Santana Lopez in Glee, the popular musical comedy series that aired on the Fox network between 2009 to 2015. Don't tell anyone but Cork has an extra ministry in the new Government that we're not talking about following the furore over the plum roles netted by three TDs from Cork South Central. Joe O'Brien of the Green Party, a TD from Dublin Fingal but who hails originally from Grenagh in mid Cork, was among those nominated for a Junior Minister's role in the Government last week. The Grenagh man has been appointed as the Minister with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, a crucial role at present due to the crisis in funding many charities and community associations are facing due to the curtailment of fundraising activities because of COVID-19. "My immediate priority is to get a handle on what the community response has been during COVID-19 and I note how it's stepped up to the plate in this time." The newly minted Junior Minister had been working more or less since he left Cork, where he had studied in UCC, in the Community and Voluntary sector. During his time in Cork he worked in what's now known as the Cork Training Support Centre and, also, he spent a few years working in the Probation Hostel on Patrick's Hill. He moved to Dublin where he undertook a Masters in Trinity College, met his wife and eventually moved to Skerries in north Dublin where he joined the Green Party in 2007. "I felt this was 'home' and I wanted to get involved and make a contribution." In 2012 he was first nominated to run for the party in Council elections and he was narrowly defeated in the 2014 elections. His major breakthrough was in the November by-elections when he came out on top in a hard fought race to fill the vacancy left by Clare Daly's election to the European Parliament. In his new role, he plans to be in Cork a lot more often than he had been previously. His brother Frank is still in Grenagh and his mother is in a care home in Cork city. He had previously been the Green Party's Spokesman for Transport, a role which did not endear him to the supporters of the Cork-Limerick M20 corridor via Mallow and Charleville. Some Green TDs had expressed doubt that this would go ahead despite being announced in the weeks after the General Election as they felt it would be very expensive and also the wrong signal to send at a time when the Government policy is to reduce carbon emissions by an average of seven per cent per year between now and 2030. In recent weeks the pressure around the N20 and the Green stance on building major roads appears to have abated as a number of Green spokespersons have said that the road is likely to be built along the current corridor, via Mallow and Charleville but the Greens have also laid emphasis on their need to see a rebalancing of transport infrastructure with more being invested in public transport than road infrastructure. Indeed one of the travellers on that road may be Minister for State Joe O'Brien. The COVID-19 outbreak at Scotlynn Group in Vittoria has ended, though one of the farms Mexican migrant workers remains in hospital in serious condition. The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit declared the outbreak over on Friday. The workers affected by COVID-19 have completed the required self-isolation period. As such, like all other residents, they can return to work, said health unit spokesperson Matt Terry. Scotlynns 216 migrant workers had been in self-isolation at the farm and at Brantford hotels. The heath unit said 199 workers tested positive for COVID-19, as well as 18 community members connected to the farm. One of the migrant workers, 55-year-old Juan Lopez Chaparro, died in a London hospital on June 20. An online fundraiser organized by Rev. Peter Ciallella, pastor of Blessed Sacrament church in Burford, has raised over $19,000 for Chaparros wife and four children in Mexico. As of earlier this week, the family was still waiting for the return of their loved ones body from Canada. Terry said one Scotlynn worker is still in the intensive care unit being treated for COVID-19. Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Haldimand-Norfolks chief medical officer of health, thanked the Brant County Health Unit, the Grand River Community Health Centre, Norfolk General Hospital and local paramedics for their help in responding to the outbreak. I also want to extend a special thank you to the Delhi Community Health Centre and the Delhi Family Health Team for going over and above their mandate and helping us to bring this outbreak to an end, said Nesathurai, who worked alongside doctors from the Delhi clinic to assess and treat the workers. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has acknowledged in an interview with a Washington Post columnist that he ordered a clandestine military cyberstrike against Russian trolls in 2018 to disrupt their Internet access during the midterm elections. Asked by columnist Marc Thiessen whether he had authorized the operation, Trump said "Correct," according to a piece posted Friday. Until now, neither the White House nor the Pentagon had publicly confirmed the operation, which had been classified. Trump sought to frame his action as an example of being more aggressive than his predecessor in countering the Kremlin. President Barack Obama, he said, "knew before the [2016] election that Russia was playing around. Or he was told. Whether or not it was so or not, who knows? And he said nothing." In fact, the Obama administration publicly called out Moscow in October 2016 for its hacking of Democratic computers, and Obama directly raised the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In December of that year, Obama imposed sanctions on Russia over its interference in the presidential election. Still, the admission is a rare instance of Trump acknowledging that Russia had malign intent with respect to American democracy. He even seemed to brag about his role in deterring such efforts. "Look, we stopped it," the president told Thiessen. The admission comes as U.S. intelligence officials have warned that Russia will seek to disrupt this year's presidential election. For the most part, Trump has avoided acknowledging such warnings and that Russia has sought to sow discord in the United States, even siding with Putin in his denials that Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential elections - despite his intelligence agencies' conclusion to the contrary. The Washington Post last year reported on the U.S. Cyber Command operation against the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg, a company underwritten by an oligarch close to Putin. IRA trolls were active during the 2016 campaign, posing as Americans to post material online in an effort to stoke conflict by exploiting racial and other societal tensions. The operation was part of the first offensive cyber-campaign against Russia designed to thwart attempts to interfere with a U.S. election, officials told The Post. It marked the first use by Cybercom of new authorities granted by Trump and Congress in 2018 to bolster offensive capabilities. The attack began on Election Day and lasted several days, preventing the Russians from mounting a disinformation campaign that cast doubt on the election results, officials said. The Russian Embassy did not respond to a request for comment. Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Denmark, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Denmark and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Denmark (issuer rating Aaa) is supported by the country's "a1" economic strength, reflecting its highly competitive and diversified economy with high wealth levels, which underpin strong economic resiliency. The "aaa" institutions and governance strength reflects the high quality of legislative and executive institutions, a strong civil society and high-quality judiciary, as well as strong fiscal and macroeconomic policy effectiveness. The "aa1" score for fiscal strength takes into account a low debt burden and strong debt affordability, in addition to the central government's liquidity buffer, the fact that a portion of government debt comprises on-lending to overall financially healthy state-owned enterprises and infrastructure projects and the long-term sustainability of Denmark's government finances as a result of past pension reforms. The score for susceptibility to event risk is "a", driven by banking sector risk as the large financial sector and interconnectedness within poses the main source of potential contingent liabilities for the government. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. 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Steffen Dyck VP - Senior Credit Officer Sovereign Risk Group Moody's Deutschland GmbH An der Welle 5 Frankfurt am Main 60322 Germany JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Yves Lemay MD - Sovereign Risk Sovereign Risk Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Deutschland GmbH An der Welle 5 Frankfurt am Main 60322 Germany JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 2020 Moody's Corporation, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Moody's Analytics, Inc. and/or their licensors and affiliates (collectively, "MOODY'S"). All rights reserved. CREDIT RATINGS ISSUED BY MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE, INC. AND/OR ITS CREDIT RATINGS AFFILIATES ARE MOODY'S CURRENT OPINIONS OF THE RELATIVE FUTURE CREDIT RISK OF ENTITIES, CREDIT COMMITMENTS, OR DEBT OR DEBT-LIKE SECURITIES, AND MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY MOODY'S (COLLECTIVELY, "PUBLICATIONS") MAY INCLUDE SUCH CURRENT OPINIONS. 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By Scott Murdoch and Byron Kaye HONG KONG/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Arnott's, maker of Tim Tam biscuits and other snacks, is shedding about 50 staff, a representative told Reuters, the first such cuts since U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co Inc bought one of Australia's best-known brands last year. Arnott's, which also makes Monte Carlo, Mint Slice and SAO biscuits, had made management changes which meant "a small number of employees will be departing our business", a spokeswoman said, without disclosing which positions were being cut. The cuts would give Arnott's the "right organisational structure to ensure its success as a stand-alone company", the spokeswoman said in an email. The cuts would involve about 2% of the workforce, she added, equating to roughly 48 of the company's 2,400 employees. The move comes a year after KKR bought Arnott's from Campbell Soup Co as part of a $2.2 billion deal that also included the U.S. snack giant's international and "fresh" units. [https://reut.rs/2BNIRGo] Buyout specialists such as KKR routinely cut costs of portfolio companies to improve profitability and prepare for resale in periods of typically four years. KKR declined to comment on Arnott's job cuts. Arnott's has factories in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane and has been foreign-owned since the 1990s. The spokeswoman said the 155-year-old company "must re-adjust and build its capabilities in order to remain competitive against overseas exports and continue to grow". (Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Hong Kong and Byron Kaye in Sydney; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has never been one for introspection or restraint in his declarations, but his recent statements display an outsized confidence, even by his standards. In the next three years, Erdogan said, Turkey will be an unstoppable power in the region. Despite an exodus of foreign investment, as Mustafa Sonmez reports, the Turkish president sees opportunity in crisis: in COVID-19, Syria, Iraq and even in Libya and North Africa, where so far he seems to have gained an edge, for now, on rivals such as France, Egypt and the UAE. COVID-19 reshaping Turkey as global power For Erdogan, Turkey will not be set back by COVID-19, but will instead be one of the outstanding countries in the world that will be reshaped after the pandemic. Turkey, like the UAE and Qatar, has its own COVID-19 foreign aid program, sending medical supplies and assistance to Iraq and sub-Saharan African countries, as we reported here. While cases worldwide have been known to fluctuate and spike, and while Turkey is second only to Iran in the region with 210,965 documented coronavirus cases (Iran has 252,720; both countries have an estimated population of just over 80 million, topped only by Egypts nearly 100 million in the Middle East), the fatality rate in Turkey is a relatively low 2.5% (5,323 have died), compared with a death rate of 4.9% in Iran (12,447 deaths), 4.6% in Egypt (3702 deaths out of 80,235 cases), 4.46% worldwide and 4.1% in the United States. Syria: Turkey throws weight with Astana Trio (for now) Last week the so-called "Astana Trio" the presidents of Turkey, Russia, and Iran met again to discuss the future of Syria. Erdogan said the grouping will be decisive for Syrias future. No matter that the three differ on the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Russia and Iran back him, while Erdogan has in the past call for Assads ouster and that Turkish and Syrian forces exchanged fire and casualties in Idlib in February. But Turkey may be inching toward, or at least entertaining, for now, a live and let live approach with the Syrian government, at least to give Russian President Vladimir Putins diplomacy a chance. The final Astana communique was a restatement of the groups commitment to eliminating terrorists (which Turkey takes to mean armed Kurdish groups as well as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda linked forces), and jabs at US policies of violating Syrian "sovereignty" by backing "separatist agendas" and the "illegal seizure and transfer of oil revenues. This was a disappointment to those in the Trump administration who in May had spoken hopefully that Turkey could be a "counterweight" to Russia and Iran in Syria. That perspective was based on the false hope that Erdogan was willing to chuck his Russian and Iranian partners because of the Russian-backed Syrian assault on Turkish outposts in Idlib in February, which killed 33 Turkish soldiers. Turkey retaliated with fury, taking out many more Syrian and Iranian-backed forces, before Erdogan and Putin ironed out a new cease-fire in March, which has mostly held. The bottom line for Erdogan in Syria is twofold, as he deals with a two-front campaign in Idlib, in the northwest, and in combating US-backed Kurdish groups in the areas it occupies in the northeast. Idlib is not the hill Erdogan wants Turkey to die on. To the contrary, he wants out, a face-saving exit. It is a mess and a quagmire, as the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group faces its Alamo there. As part of its agreements with Russia, Turkey has been trying, for several years, to enlist moderate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham members to join other opposition groups in order to stave or hold off a final Syrian assault. This has been a miserable and thankless task, but it may be making progress, as Fehim Tastekin explains. Putin may be content, for now, that the Russian-backed Syrian offensive has secured the vital M4 highway linking the country's east and west, allowing a pause to give Turkey more time to engage Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. With regard to Turkeys "security corridor" in northeast Syria, to mitigate what Erdogan describes as the terrorist threat from the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units which make up the core of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and which he links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) Erdogan perceives he has gotten what he needs, if not all he wants. The armed Kurdish groups are on defense following the Turkish invasion and occupation in October 2019. The Turkish occupation is costly and perhaps not sustainable in the long run, as are the 3.6 million refugees presently in Turkey, but it gives him leverage. The United States is also trying to broker Kurdish unity talks between rival Syrian Kurdish groups, with the help of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, as Amberin Zaman explains. Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, met with SDF Commander Mazlum Kobane in northeast Syria, Jared Szuba reports. Erdogan seems to have found his footing, for now, in Syria, but its a minefield. He seems more confident in his ability to play his strong personal ties with both Putin and US President Donald Trump to Turkeys advantage. But the status quo is mostly an illusion in this region. Zaman foresees much horse trading ahead. Allowing Turkey to grab more land in the Kurdish-controlled northeast, notably the mainly Arab town of Qahtaniyah, could be a quid pro quo for letting government forces advance further and win full control of the M4 and M5 highways, she writes. But Ankara is unlikely to agree to the kind of regime offensive that would send millions more Syrian refugees to seek shelter in Turkey. Increased assault on the PKK in Iraq Another sign of Erdogans confidence and ambition is his renewed assault on PKK bases in Iraqi Kurdistan over the past four weeks. This is in one sense nothing new; such attacks have occurred episodically for more than three decades. The Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional governments have of course protested the Turkish attacks. The remoteness of the PKK bases in the Qandil mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan tends to mitigate the political fallout of the attacks among Iraqis, although the PKK has a following among Kurds, and this puts the KRG leadership in a bind. What may be different this time, as Fehim Tastekin points out, is that the Turkish operations include attacks not only the areas of Qandil, Zap, Avasin-Basyan, Gara and Hakurk, where PKK camps are located, but also the Yazidi-populated Sinjar and the Makhmour camp near Kirkuk, which is home to Kurdish refugees from Turkey. Tastekin writes that up to 100 villages have been evacuated. Iraq, of course, is dealing with more pressing domestic and national security matters these days such as COVID-19, the role of Iran-backed militias, an economic crisis, and political protests. But Baghdad has staked a claim on Iraqi sovereignty, so its protests to Turkey have been tougher than in the past, and backed more forcefully by the Arab League. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, in particular, are seeking to thwart Turkish regional ambitions (more on that below). Turkey has made clear it is not looking for a fight with Iraq, only with the PKK, and is providing Iraq with COVID-19 assistance. Something new: Turkeys North Africa ambitions Erdogan also has a spring in his step over his so far successful intervention in Libya, which changed the course of the war to the advantage of the Libyan Government of National Accord and more broadly in North Africa, as Metin Gurcan explains. Lets start with Libya. Turkeys military intervention, including sending jihadi types from Syria to back the Government of National Accord, swayed the civil war in favor of the government and against the armed insurgency by Gen. Khalifa Hifter. Erdogan has the UN on his side in backing the government, which has an Islamist bent. Hifter has the support of France, Egypt, the UAE and Russia, although Erdogan and Putin have seemed to work out their differences, as Kirill Semenov wrote last month. In the meantime, Erdogan has tweaked French President Emmanuel Macron in Libya and North Africa over Frances colonial past, as Tastekin reports here, while putting down a marker that it will challenge Egypt and UAE influence in the Maghreb, including Tunisia, as Mohamed Ali Ltifi reports. A way forward for US-Turkey ties? Erdogans confidence and ambition are tough to shake, but Turkey still has no easy out in Syria, an uncertain front and future in Libya and North Africa and a brittle relationship with Washington that rests mostly on the chemistry between Trump and Erdogan. Erdogans decision today to move ahead with the re-conversion of the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque will be another irritant in US-Turkey relations, as Amberin Zaman reports. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week urged Turkey not to do so, saying such a move would diminish the legacy of the building. In the midst of the seemingly irresolvable tensions in US-Turkey ties, Dalia Dassa Kaye and Nilsu Goren suggest the US draw Turkey into a regional security dialogue focused on preventing the proliferation and use of weapons of mass destruction in the region. According to the Minister of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic, Vadim Volchenko, in July-August this year, flights to Crimea are more affordable than in the same period last year. "According to our data, the cost of air tickets to Crimea in July-August of this year on average decreased by 15-25%, depending on the direction, compared to the same period last year," he said, RIA Novosti reported. More than 35% of tourists arrive in Crimea by air. Volchenko added that in the first 10 days of July, Crimea received 400 thousand tourists. Ivan Safronov was seized outside his home on Tuesday morning - TASS Russia's intelligence services have 'stepped up' their war on free media, carrying out a series of operations designed to intimidate journalists in the wake of Vladimir Putin's controversial referendum victory last week. In an unprecedented case for post-Soviet Russia, prominent defence reporter Ivan Safronov was seized outside his home on Tuesday morning by secret service agents and arrested on suspicion of treason. Citing the secret nature of the case, the investigators have not published any evidence to back up their claims but the reporter faces 20 years in prison. Last weeks overwhelming approval of constitutional amendments allowing Vladimir Putin to stay in office at least until 2036 was hailed by the Kremlin as a triumph. But results at the polling stations that were monitored by independent observers indicated something resembling a split vote. That was an apparent cue for Russias FSB secret service to take action. Whenever the Kremlin gets existential jitters, thats actually the moment when the FSB tends to step in and say: Dont worry guys, hold my beer, weve got this, Mark Galeotti, an honorary professor at UCL SSEES and an expert on secret services, told the Telegraph. In the space of just a few days, a journalist in Russias north-west on Monday was found guilty of justifying terrorism in her column and fined 5,000, escaping a prison sentence. On Wednesday, police raided homes of at least five opposition activists and one independent newsroom. The FSB has not produced any specific evidence to back up their accusations that Mr Safronov has been spying for the Czech intelligence, but his defence attorney says that the reporter has been under surveillance for many months. Its impossible to say right now whether he was a random victim but the way it was done - publicly, with support of (Kremlin spokesman Dmitry) Peskov - it was designed to send a message to all journalists, Andrei Soldatov, an investigative journalist and co-author of The Compatriots: The Brutal and Chaotic History of Russian Exiles, Emigres and Agents Abroad, told the Telegraph. Story continues Going after a random target would serve the FSB's purpose of spreading fear better, according to Mr Galeotti: On the one hand, its about reassuring people at the top but on the other hand, it also provides a shock for the people below. Police officers detain a supporter of Ivan Safronov - AFP Mr Safronovs new employer, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin, insists that he has no doubts in his professionalism and honesty. The journalists prosecution has unnerved even Kremlin-friendly circles. Sergei Markov, a Kremlin political strategist and former lawmaker, wondered in his blog earlier this week: Can it be that all that secrecy is masking an actual lack of proof in order to save somebodys face? Mr Safronovs arrest came a day after a court passed a guilty verdict for journalist Svetlana Prokopieva who was found guilty of justifying terrorism over a radio column in which she blamed law enforcement for alienating young people who get despondent looking at lawlessness around them. Later this week, police carried out raids on homes of several opposition activists and a newsroom sponsored by exiled tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. All of them have been calling for a big opposition protest next week against Mr Putins rule for life. Mr Khodorkovsky, who lives in London after serving ten years in a Russian prison on two sets of mutually contradicting charges, says the new wave of repressions against journalists is the Kremlin's knee-jerk reaction to media coverage that sheds the light on dwindling support for Mr Putin and his constitutional changes. The only thing where a genuine competition is possible right now is for peoples perception of how legitimate those amendments are, he told the Dozhd TV channel. And that depends on people who are conveying information to the public. Over past 24 hours, one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and another three received wounds when Russia-led armed groups 17 times violated ceasefire in Donbas, a press center of the Joint Forces Operation's (JFO) headquarters reported. "On July 10, the armed groups of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire 17 times, using 120mm and 82mm mortars prohibited by the Minsk agreements, as well as grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns, anti-tank missile systems and small arms...Over the past day as a result of enemy shelling, one Ukrainian defender unfortunately was killed and three others were injured," reads the report on the official page of the JFO HQ on Facebook on Saturday morning. Such population areas as Prychepylivka, Orikhove, Khutir Vilny, Novotoshkivske, Novoluhanske, Katerynivka, Vodiane, Avdiyivka and Nevelske Lebedynske came under an attack. According to the Ukrainian reconnaissance, over past 24 hours our defenders destroyed three and injured at least three Russian mercenaries. "From the beginning of this day, the armed groups of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire once. In the area of responsibility of the Skhid (East) task force in Vodiane, the occupants used mortars of 120mm and 82mm caliber forbidden by the Minsk agreements. According to the available information, there are no losses among our defenders for the current day," said the JFO. In Hungary they have very severe penalties when the strict lockdown restrictions in the country are violated. Formula 1 drivers and team staff have been warned that they risk a fine of 15,000 or may even end up in prison. Strict rules in Hungary As part of its efforts to counter the spread of the coronavirus, the Hungarian government has confirmed that F1 personnel should work under an effective lockdown. In particular, people from the United Kingdom and non-EU countries are being closely monitored. Motorsport.com has seen a note sent to the teams on Saturday morning. It contains the following information about people from the UK and outside the EU: "These people will not leave their accommodation for any reason, only to travel to and from the track and the planned trip to and from Hungary." Race three of the season The Hungarian Grand Prix is already planned next weekend and will be the first race of the season outside Austria. After the race in Hungary the F1 will have a weekend off after which two races will be held at Silverstone. Read more FP3 of the Styrian Grand Prix cancelled due to heavy rain Netflix is currently streaming the mini-series documentary Lenox Hill, which focuses on four doctors at the hospital of the same name in New Yorks Manhattan. The nine-part series has received overwhelmingly positive reviews and attracted a fair amount of public interest, no doubt driven by its concentration on health care workers who have been fighting on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic for almost half a year now. At the center of the series are two neurosurgeons, Dr. David Langer and Dr. John Boockvar, who primarily treat patients with brain tumors; an emergency room (ER) physician, Dr. Mirtha Macri; and Amanda Little-Richardson, a physician completing the final year of her obstetrics and gynecology residency. The series shows the doctors interaction with patientsmany of them critically ill with cancerand their personal lives. Amanda Little-Richardson in Lenox Hill Directors Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz filmed the series at Lenox Hill, founded in 1857, over a period of 18 months, concluding in 2019, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Netflix recently added a bonus episode of 30 minutes, which follows three of the doctors through their battle against COVID-19. The series gets off to an intriguing start: in the first episode, viewers get an inside look at some of the discussions about brain tumor treatment, as well as insight into the dilemmas facing doctors who have to balance their medical work with administrative duties and the pressure facing Lenox Hill to compete with other hospitalsespecially NewYork-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai. In one scene, Dr. Langer has to beg the hospitals administrator for more rooms for his staff and for operations, arguing they have delivered higher caseloads and a rapidly growing department. Langer complains that competitiveness and doctors big egos harm collaboration in the medical field and stresses that his team wants to act differently. Some rivalries and egos may well be damaging, but what are the conditions in the health care system and society as a whole that generate these pressures and attitudes among medical professionals? The series does not ask itself the question. This general issue, the drive to compete on the health care market and its consequences, is effectively dropped for most of the remaining episodes of Lenox Hill. Indeed, the phrase private profit is never mentioned, as if it had absolutely nothing to do with the US health care system. Instead, the focus in six out of the eight initial episodes is squarely on the interactions between doctors and patients. Some of this is quite interesting. The work of Langer and Boockvar in particular speaks to the enormous advances in medicine and especially oncology over the past decade. Brain tumors that would have once led to the death of patients within just 18 months or less can now be treated, prolonging the lives of patients for years. John Boockvar in Lenox Hill The sequences in Lenox Hill featuring the ER doctor, Mirtha Macri, who treats homeless people struggling with drug addiction and mental health issues, and other impoverished layers, provide a glimpse of the social reality facing millions of workers in New York and other parts of the USbut no more than a glimpse. Macri is also the only one who raises, in the last episode, the devastating impact that lack of insurance often has on many of her patients. She speaks well and with great empathy about the needs of her patients. Yet at no point does the series go beyond individual encounters or statements on these issues. While we see close-up after close-up of brain surgery, the overwhelming social reality of health care for profit is left out. As a result, much of Lenox Hill descends into a somewhat more polished version of reality television. To the extent that political issues are raised at all, they are treated in a thoroughly conventional manner and never transgress limits deemed acceptable by the Democratic Party wing of the establishment. There is discussion of racial disparities in health outcomes, especially the high rate of African-American women dying in childbirth, yet the terms capitalism and medical debt are not mentioned once. It may be an accident that two out of the handful of patients treated for brain tumors in the series are cops, and there is praise for the New York Police Department by the ER doctor at one point. But in their combined impact, all of these sequences, carefully selected and edited together, send a clear message: do not question the status quo. Mirtha Macri in Lenox Hill Reality makes a mockery of this message. The world has witnessed with shock and horror how the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed New York City hospitals, which count among the best in the world. In the richest capitalist country on the planet, at least 697 health care workers have died because they were not given adequate personal protective equipment. The bonus episode of Lenox Hill, devoted to the pandemic, again provides nothing but a glimpse of this reality. We see our ER doctor, Macri, who works on the frontlines of the pandemic even though she is pregnant, struggling with the mental impact of the crisis on herself and her staff. The neurosurgeons also become involved in the fight against the virus. While Lenox Hill was far less severely affected than public hospitals like Bellevue or Elmhurst, as happened in other New York hospitals, several workers died of COVID. But the series does not provide any figures. Nor does it even hint at the shortage of critical medical equipment. It ends by showing Lenox Hill staff and anti-police violence protesters applauding each other. All this raises the question as to what motivated the making of Lenox Hill. To be sure, it gives some inkling of the work and heroism of health care workers. But it does so by completely divorcing their work from the broader social reality in which it takes place. The result is a series that at times becomes so artificial that it borders on advertisementnot so much for the workers, but for the hospital. One therefore needs to ask: was Northwell Health, which owns Lenox Hill and spends millions on its brand, involved in financing and producing this series? Lenox Hill, a major hospital that ran into financial difficulties, was taken over by Northwell Health in 2010. The ER that Dr. Mirtha Macri works in used to be part of St. Vincents Hospital, one of 16 hospitals that have shut down in New York state over the past two decades. With 70,000 employees, Northwell Health is a multibillion-dollar company and New Yorks biggest private employer. It runs 23 hospitals and 700 outpatient facilities. Northwell has its own research center, the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, medical school and a whole network of hospices, urgent care, dialysis and rehabilitation centers. The company enjoys enormous political influence and has donated to New York Governor Andrew Cuomos campaigns. CEO Michael Dowling is a multimillionaire and was on the board of Cuomos COVID-19 task force, whose criminal delays directly contributed to the rapid spread of the virus in New York and its high death toll. Dowling is also a member of Cuomos billionaire panel, which includes figures such as Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt, tasked with reimagining New York. Northwell Health, which owns at least two nursing homes where many COVID-19 deaths occurred, was also part of the hospital association that successfully lobbied Cuomo to shield nursing home executives from prosecution. Meanwhile, an investigation by Gothamist found that Northwell Health was suing more patients for unpaid medical bills than any other hospital chain in New York. Out of 31,000 patients sued by New York hospitals between 2014 and 2019, Northwell Health accounted for between a third and a half. At Lenox Hill, a man from Queens was sued to pay a bill for $1,000 in $50 installments. He had been at the hospital after his partner had been raped and was told to get an HIV test even though he had no insurance. He told the Gothamist: I could have gone to my doctor and had it done for $200 to $300. I should not be responsible for this. I cannot afford this. A truthful depiction of the state of hospitals in New York City and the US as a whole is impossible without an honest reckoning with the thorough domination of the health care system by private profit with now-deadly consequences amid the pandemicboth for the staff and for the patients. The makers of Lenox Hill were, unfortunately, unwilling to take this on. Iran warns of consequences if foreign role in Natanz blast proven Iran Press TV Friday, 10 July 2020 10:28 AM Iran says it is still early to talk about the main cause of the recent explosion at Natanz nuclear facility, but there will be consequences if it is proven that foreign elements have been involved. "It is still too early to talk about and make any judgment regarding the main cause and reason for the blast [in Natanz], and relevant security bodies are investigating all the details of the incident," Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Friday. "If they conclude that foreign elements have been involved, they will announce it, and there will be consequences," he told reporters during a visit to central Isfahan province. On July 2, Iran said an incident affected a shed under construction at the Natanz complex, but it caused no casualties and failed to stop enrichment work at the facility. Last Friday, Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said the "main cause" of the explosion in Natanz nuclear facility has been determined and will be announced at an appropriate time. SNSC Spokesman Keyvan Khosravi said that experts from different sectors started investigating "different hypotheses" about the incident at the Natanz site in central Iran immediately after its occurrence, and have determined its main cause. "Due to some security considerations, the cause and manner of this incident will be announced at a proper time," he added. In his Friday comments, Mousavi pointed to the media reports that attribute the explosion to Israel, and said such reports are aimed at portraying the "hollow" regime of Israel as powerful. Israelis show up and claim responsibility for any incident happening anywhere in the world, he said, downplaying the claims that Tel Aviv is involved in the Natanz explosion. Following the incident, some Israeli officials were asked about the possibility of the regime's involvement in the Natanz explosion, but they have neither confirmed nor denied involvement. The regime often practices a policy of deliberate ambiguity when it is involved in acts of sabotage in sovereign lands. Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said, "Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear capabilities." To that end, he added, "we take actions that are better left unsaid." "Not every event that happens in Iran is necessarily related to us," Israeli minister of military affairs Benny Gantz said, without denying involvement in the Natanz incident. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The government's new 'eat out to help out' discount could play a 'significant role' in stimulating demand for British produce, the NFU says. Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled the scheme as part of a suite of measures to kickstart the British economy amid the Covid-19 crisis. Restaurant customers will get a 50% discount off their bill during August under plans to boost the struggling hospitality sector. The deal means diners will be able to get up to 10 off per head if they eat out from Monday to Wednesday next month. Pubs and restaurants reopened on 4 July following three months of closure due to government safety regulations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The ceasing of trade to the sector produced a destabilising effect on the market prices for British lamb and beef. NFU president Minette Batters said Mr Sunak's measures could now help increase the flow of British food back into hospitality following the lockdown. The hospitality sector reopening is significant for British farmers and it will play a central role in farmings recovery," she said. "We hope the announcement to stimulate the hospitality and tourism sectors by cutting VAT will see increasing demand which will help British food flow back into our pubs, cafes and restaurants. "This will start to ease the pressure many farm businesses are facing," Mrs Batters said, adding that the 'eat out to help out' discount could play a 'significant role' to stimulate demand for British food. She added: There is an opportunity now for food service to demonstrate their commitment to British farmers and provide the public with even more opportunities to purchase quality British food and drink." The Treasury said the 'eat out to help out' discount can be used unlimited times over a total period of 13 days next month. It applies to participating restaurants, cafes and pubs. Companies will be able to register their interest on the government's website from Monday 13 July. Advertisement Thousands of protesters are marching through Brighton in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Demonstrators wearing black and holding up signs calling out systemic racism gathered by the city's famous Palace Pier at midday on Saturday before moving off through the streets. It comes as the force watchdog the IOPC launched a probe into Sussex Police after three of its officers were filmed pinning down a man - believed to be of BAME descent - shouting 'I can't breathe'. The words were the same ones uttered by black man George Floyd in the US, whose died after police offer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death sparked protests around the world and reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Many protesters on Saturday were wearing face masks and had placards with slogans including 'Decolonise everything' and 'Defund the police'. They set off along the seafront shouting 'Black lives matter every day' and 'UK is not innocent'. As protesters passed the Brighton war memorial they were being serenaded by a string quartet. The musical tribute is in stark contrast to the protest last month which saw a small group occupy the stone monument amid a heavy police presence. Hundreds of protesters also marched in London and 'took a knee' on Vauxhall Bridge before going to Parliament Square. Thousands of protesters are marching through Brighton in support of the Black Lives Matter movement Demonstrators wearing black and holding up signs calling out systemic racism gathered by the city's famous Palace Pier at midday on Saturday before moving off through the streets Many are wearing face masks and have placards with slogans including 'Decolonise everything' and 'Defund the police' Gathering in their thousands at The Level, the protesters shouted out in unison: 'It is our duty to do this every day! It is our duty to fight for racial justice! It is our duty to win! We are stronger together! We are here with love, peace and solidarity! We have nothing to lose - too many have already lost too much!' The latest protest comes two days after outcry over a video showing a man shouting 'I can't breathe' while being restrained on the ground by three police officers in the city. Sussex Police said the man, who is believed to be from the BAME community, was arrested and became aggressive towards officers before being placed on the ground. The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Footage showed him yelling: 'I can't breathe. That is my Adam's apple and you are crushing it' - but the officer closest to his head repeatedly told him that his arm was on his collarbone. One protester speaking to the crowds through a megaphone on Saturday addressed the video. She shouted: 'Sussex Police has recently been filmed using excessive force on a young black man.' It comes as the force watchdog the IOPC launched a probe into Sussex Police after three of its officers were filmed pinning down a man - believed to be of BAME descent - shouting 'I can't breathe', in echoes of the US murder of George Floyd whose death sparked the movement. Dozens of protesters held banners aloft as they marched through the streets. One read: 'No one is free when others are oppressed' They set off along the seafront shouting 'Black lives matter every day' and 'UK is not innocent'. As protesters passed the Brighton war memorial they were being serenaded by a string quartet The protesters marched through Brighton city centre in opposition to racial discrimination Protesters from a Black Lives Matter rally walk past Vauxhall on their way to Parliament Square, London, today Hundreds of protesters take a knee a Vauxhall Bridge in London today on their way to Parliament Square In a statement about the man's arrest, Sussex Police said: 'Police officers searching for a vulnerable missing teenager attended an address in Montpelier Road in Brighton at 10.15am on Tuesday 7 July. 'A resident of the address, a 28-year-old man, refused police entry and was arrested. 'Police subsequently found the missing 17-year-old young woman hiding at the property and returned them safely home. 'Once under arrest, the man became aggressive towards officers and was handcuffed and placed on the ground before being transported to custody. 'We train our officers to protect themselves and others using reasonable force and are reviewing this footage, together with body-worn video captured by the officers of the entire interaction, to identify if any further investigation or learning is required.' The film was subsequently shared widely on social media. One witness told the Brighton Argus: 'I was utterly shocked. I'd never seen anything like this before. Unfortunately I didn't film the initial arrest. 'I couldn't believe how long they held him down to the ground for, I didn't understand why they didn't handcuff him straight away. 'He didn't appear to be resisting and was clearly distressed and in pain, he didn't seem to be on drugs or drunk. 'Regardless of the suspected crime, this use of force was unlike anything I had seen before. It made me feel unbelievably shocked'. Last month, more than 10,000 protesters marched through the East Sussex city in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement worldwide. Some placards read, 'The UK is not innocent', while others claimed, 'White silence is violence'. The crowd of protesters, which was flanked by police, filled the city streets They set off along the seafront shouting 'Black lives matter every day' and 'UK is not innocent'. As protesters pass the Brighton war memorial they are being serenaded by a string quartet Gathering in their thousands at The Level, the protesters shouted out in unison: 'It is our duty to do this every day! It is our duty to fight for racial justice! It is our duty to win! We are stronger together! We are here with love, peace and solidarity! We have nothing to lose - too many have already lost too much!' There have been calls for the popular seafront resort to become an officially anti-racist city. Carmen Appich, chair of the council's tourism, equality, communities and culture committee, said: 'In the wake of the sickening killing of George Floyd the global calls for change and the impact of Covid-19 on black and ethnic minority people, we made a public pledge to become an anti-racist council. 'We acknowledge that it is not enough to be non-racist and we must actively use our privilege, position as community leaders and platforms to challenge structural racism and injustice within the council and in the city.' Last month an investigation was launched after a 35-year-old man died in police custody in Devon. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is looking into the death of Simeon Francis, who was found unresponsive in his cell. The probe was launched as video footage emerged of him telling officers: 'I can't breathe' in a previous arrest ten months earlier. The latest protests also come amid renewed scrutiny over the use of stop and search tactics by British police. One man wore a multi-coloured costume and had painted his face. He marched alongside some who held banners which read, 'No to racism. No to Boris Johnson' The protesters marched up from the sea front and into the city centre as police walked alongside them A video showed them making their way through Brighton. At one point, they were serenaded by a string quartet The police watchdog is to launch an inquiry into racial discrimination in the use of stop and search by forces across England and Wales. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will look into how stop and search powers are used by police to examine whether there are any patterns of prejudice against ethnic minorities. The watchdog will use its powers to look into allegations of racism within stop and search, claiming it can 'drive real change in policing practice', The Guardian reported. Cressida Dick, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, apologised earlier this week to athlete Bianca Williams, who had been stopped by police with her partner. The sprinter and Portuguese runner Ricardo dos Santos accused the Met of racial profiling after their car was pulled over and searched on their way home from training. They were both handcuffed by police and they claimed that since they switched from a Japanese to German car brand they had received more police attention. Data already shows that people from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to be on the receiving end of police powers, with black people nine times more likely to be stopped and searched and are almost eight times as likely to be tasered. The protest started off at the famous pier. Hundreds of people massed in front of the pier before moving on As the marchers walked past The Level, a few hundred metres from the sea front, a group of violinists played the well-known piece Pachelbel's Canon The musicians continued playing as the marchers walked past in their droves In the face of allegations of racism police forces have maintained that bias is not why powers are used more often against BAME (black and minority ethnic) people. As well as looking at stop and search the IOPC will look into whether BAME people are failed by police when they are victims of crime. The murder of Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, will be investigated after two officers were arrested after it was alleged that they took selfies with their bodies in the background. Figures from the Met Police show that less than one per cent of the more than 250 annual complaints about racism are upheld. Deputy assistant commissioner Amanda Pearson said young black men were more likely to be victims of crime and commit it. Searches are concentrated in areas where crime is the highest, she told The Guardian: 'Stop and search is a tool we can use in order to prevent violent crime. 'When we look at the victims and perpetrators of violent crime they are over-represented by predominantly young black males.' She added: 'There [are] areas that we are going into, they are disproportionately more diverse than the other areas in terms of where policing takes place. 'Therefore stop and search will have a disproportionate effect on the people who are living in those areas.' Michael Lockwood the Director General of the IPOC said: 'Evidence of disproportionality in the use of police powers has long been a concern which impacts on confidence in policing, particularly in the BAME communities. 'But even with the numbers and the statistics, particularly from stop and search data, we still need to better understand the causes and what can and should be done to address this. 'In the coming months we will be launching race discrimination as a thematic area of focus to establish the trends and patterns which might help drive real change in policing practice.' He added: 'Initially we will focus on investigating more cases where there is an indication that disproportionality impacts the BAME community, including stop and search and use of force. 'We will also be investigating more cases where victims from BAME communities have felt unfairly treated by the police. 'For example whether the police are treating allegations of hate crime from BAME complainants seriously and where it is alleged the police have not recognised or treated BAME victims of crime as victims.' 'Our police forces can only police effectively with the trust and confidence of the community they serve. Having independent oversight and an evidence base which helps the police to learn and improve where necessary will help build that community confidence.' A smaller group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators also gathered at the U.S. embassy in London Earlier, we reported that actor Ponnambalam was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai. The actor has been battling kidney-related problems for a couple of months now. He is currently getting treated in the hospital but is running short of money. After actor Kamal Haasan got to know about Ponnambalam's condition, he agreed to bear the education expenses of his children. And now, Superstar Rajinikanth has come forward to help Ponnambalam financially. He reportedly enquired about his health and agreed to lend financial help to take care of his medical treatment. Confirming the same to India Today, Rajinikanth's publicist Riaz Ahmed said, "Rajini sir spoke to Ponnambalam personally and has agreed to help him. He won't disclose the amount he has given the family. He also wished for a speedy recovery." A few days ago, Poonambalam released a video through his PR from the hospital. In the video, the actor can be seen breathing with the help of an oxygen mask. However, it is unclear whether he will be undergoing kidney surgery or not. The 56-year-old Ponnambalam started his career as a stuntman in Tamil films. He later did minor roles in films. Ponnambalam shot to fame with his role as a villain in KS Ravikumar's Nattamai (1994) starring Sarathkumar in the lead role. He was also featured in Rajinikanth's Muthu (1995) and Kamal Haasan's Indian (1996). Also Read : Kamal Haasan Extends Financial Help To Actor Ponnambalam, Who Is Currently Hospitalised! Ponnambalam entered the world of politics in 2011 and has been a part of two political parties till now. He was also seen in Bigg Boss Tamil 2 as a contestant. In the show, he caught audiences' attention, but for the wrong reasons and was evicted from the show for the same. Also Read : Bigg Boss Tamil Season 2 Weekend Recap: Ponnambalam Gets Evicted! We hope Ponnambalam gets well soon! Actor-politician Kamal Haasan has always been sharing his thoughts with Tamil Nadu and Indian government about the situations in the country. Recently, the veteran actor again asked the TN government to take precautionary measures before COVID-19 spreads rapidly in the rural parts of the state. Well, India has reported more than 8 lakh COVID-19 positive cases and more than 5 lakh recoveries. Notably, Tamil Nadu is the second-worst affected state in India after Maharashtra. The state has reported more than 1 lakh cases and death rate is increasing. Hence, the president of Makkal Needhi Maiam has given an important message to the Tamil Nadu government. Kamal Haasan tweeted (translated), "The spread of the disease is worrying people in villages where primary health care facilities, which do not have adequate facilities, are forced to travel to cities for modern medical facilities. The government must act to prevent this from happening. The idea of controlling when we arrive is dangerous." Well, the concern from Unnaipol Oruvan actor is indeed an important thing to be noticed by the Tamil Nadu government. In April, Kamal Haasan had also expressed his concern over the migrant crisis in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. From metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai, millions of people tried to migrate to their respective villages due to the fear of Coronavirus and the lockdown. Also Read : Kamal Haasan Is Concerned About The Migrant Crisis; Urges Govt To Address The Issue ASAP Kamal Haasan had tweeted, "All the balcony people take a long and hard look at the ground. First it was Delhi, now Mumbai. The migrant crisis is a time bomb that must be defused before it becomes a crisis bigger than Corona. Balcony government must keep their eyes on what's happening on the ground too." Also Read : Kamal Haasan Extends Financial Help To Actor Ponnambalam, Who Is Currently Hospitalised! Let's see what Tamil Nadu government would do after Kamal Haasan's message. On a related note, the actor will next be seen in his 1996 film Indian's sequel, Indian 2 directed by Shankar. The film also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh and Siddharth. DETROIT -- A tense scene developed between protesters and police Friday near the scene of a shooting Detroits west side, where 20-year-old Hakeem Littleton was killed by Detroit police earlier in the day. Video footage released within hours of the shooting appeared to show Littleton firing a gun at an officer before being shot, but by then, protesters had already converged on the scene. Chief Craig gives an update regarding the officer involved shooting that occurred on the citys west side. Video of incident was also provided with an explanation. Posted by Detroit Police Department on Friday, July 10, 2020 Police at one point used teargas on the crowd in an unnerving moment that resembled the early days of police brutality protests that have persisted, mostly peacefully, for weeks in Detroit. Michigan police brutality protests have cooled, but Detroits recent flare-up points to fragile calm They told us not to move past a line and we were not moving forward. We were standing our ground and they came at us when we were using nothing but our words, said Brendan Scorpio, a protest organizers with the group Detroit Will Breathe. Scorpio said protest organizers were being targeted and detained by police, and after water bottles were thrown at officers in riot gear, teargas was fired upon the crowd of 105-200 protesters. They killed a man today, Scorpio said, " I dont give a f**what happened, they shouldnt have killed a man today... We are fighting for a system where the police shouldnt have been there to begin with, the police shouldnt be putting people in positions where they feel like they have to protect their lives because they see a badge. Police Chief James Craig was quick to release the bodycam footage after the shooting. He said the shooting took place as officers were making an arrest around 12:30 p.m. in connection with a July 5 homicide. The person being arrested did not resist. Police had no plans to arrest Littleton, Craig said. Littleton, a bystander during the arrest, appears in the video reaching into his pocket, pulling out a gun, firing at an officer at close range and missing before being shot and killed by police. No police were injured. Four shots were fired by three different officers and four were fired by Littleton, Craig said. Rumors that the Littleton was unarmed quickly began circulating among Detroit neighbors and activists, leading to calls for protesters to assemble at the scene and prompting Craig to show the video footage in a press conference. After the teargas, a group of protesters marched to the local police precinct station, and had a brief standoff there with police in riot gear and armored vehicles equipped with long-range acoustic device. The crowd marched back to the shooting scene and then dispersed about 9:30 p.m. The man arrested by police on an outstanding warrant is a suspect in a July 5 shooting on at a block party that left three people dead and five wounded, according to the Associated Press. Anti-police brutality protesters have been marching in Detroit nearly every day since the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. Ex-Interior Minister and former Prime Minister of Georgia Vano Merabishvili said that he would not return to the government even if the authorities change. Merabishvili noted that "he has already headed all possible posts. "I cant be a minister. The former prime minister cant be a minister, but I dont even think about the position of prime minister. New people will come," he said in an interview with Dmitry Gordon. Terry Prather, 59, of Dalton, Georgia, died on Friday evening, July 10, 2020, at the local hospital. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.pondersfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are by Ponders Melrose Chapel 138 Melrose Drive Dalton, Ga. 30721, 706 226-4002, www.selectedindependentfuneralhomes.org and www.ogr.org. Our past and our present live together. It may seem theres a huge chasm between them, but the space is much less than we think. As we begin to come together again with family and friends with our community we talk about the life we lived before the pandemic and look to the life we might live after. Between Before and After lies what is possible. Its a space to think, to reflect, to dream, to innovate. It is the space, perhaps, where there is a stillness, like that needed for prayer. These are lessons captured by Inuit artist Elisapee Ishulutaq and her painting Tusiarvik (A Place for Prayer) in which an understanding of what went before leads to innovation and creation. As an artist who participated in the founding of the print studio in Pangnirtung (in Nunavut), Ishulutaq is recognized as a pioneer of artmaking in her community and thus given the respect due an elder, Christine Lalonde wrote of Ishulutaq, who died in 2018, in the catalogue Builders. Despite being the elder in the group, Ishulutaq emerged as the most capable and ready to experiment New directions are not only taken up by emerging artists, they are pursued actively by elder artists whose technical experience allows them to adapt processes to new media with confidence and perhaps innovate further than their younger contemporaries, wrote Lalonde, associate curator of Indigenous art at the National Gallery of Canada. In Vision, Space, Desire: Global Perspectives and Cultural Hybridity, Indigenous artist and curator Jolene Rickard, quoted by Lalonde, notes that Indigenous artists have densely packed cultural survival kits that transfer knowledge from one generation to the next, despite unremitting attempts at genocide, culturacide, and other forms of political and philosophical erasure. Native communities or nations have something the world needs to know about: the insight of continuity. Instead of forgetting the past, we must learn from it. Let us share our stories, our experiences; let the time weve spent become part of our collective knowledge. Then we can weave the past and present in a future that has learned its lessons. (Natural News) Flora Westbrooks salon, Floras Hair Designs, had been serving her neighborhood in Minneapolis for about four decades now. That four-decade run, however, ended when the salon was burned down during the riots sparked over the death of George Floyd. Now, more than a month and a half since she lost her salon, Westbrook is saying that the leaders and politicians have abandoned her and other business owners like her. Im just left alone. I dont have any help, Westbrook said in an interview on Fox & Friends. It hurts to know that I have no business. I have nothing. I dont even have a styling chair anymore, you know. I dont have a salon anymore. It hurts. Official data shows that nearly 1,500 businesses in the Twin Cities were destroyed during the riots, with the total cost of the damages estimated to be at $500 million. This makes it the second most expensive riot in the United States, behind the 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. (Related: Many black-owned businesses in Minneapolis were completely destroyed during George Floyd riots do black lives really matter to leftists?) In a bid to kickstart the recovery of the hard-hit businesses in the Twin Cities, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has now asked for financial support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This is in addition to asking President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster in the state of Minnesota. We need to come together to ensure Minnesotans who were victims of this destruction have access to critical infrastructure they need so they can go to the grocery store, pick up their medication, and live their lives. Together, we will rebuild, Walz said in a statement. If Walzs request is approved, FEMAs Public Assistance Grant Program will provide the state with grant assistance for removing debris, implementing life-saving emergency protective measures and restoring public infrastructure. Meanwhile, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar has stated that she is now pushing for legislation that could help get the north side of town back up and running. Were working on getting emergency relief funds to help rebuild for people like her and her son, Omar said in an interview with TV station KARE 11. In addition, Omar stated that she is working on getting anti-gentrification and displacement funds for those in the state. According to Omar, these will help make sure that businesses within the community are protected. According to Westbrook, however, she and several other business owners have yet to receive any help from officials and lawmakers. She aid that while she and several other small business owners already met with a host of elected officials including Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith shortly after her business was destroyed, they have yet to hear from them again. Im wondering do they care? I have not heard anything so I just feel like Im just left out, you know, just out in left field here, she said. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has stated that he understood the frustration that many business owners, such as Westbrook, in the city are feeling. In a press conference on July 6, Frey announced the creation of the Minneapolis Forward: Community Coalition to help accelerate repair and recovery efforts. He said that the coalition would rely on leadership from Twin Cities businesses, foundations and community organizations. The financial impacts of the unrest on top of COVID-19 are immense, and we must do everything possible to help, he said. Thats why we have launched the Community Now Coalition to identify strategies and resources for helping impacted business and communities get back on their feet. Westbrooks, in a separate interview, said she partly blames government officials for the loss of her business. The Minneapolis Police Department, Westbrooks said, abandoned the neighborhood, while the National Guard, whose deployment she supported, arrived too late. We need you. We need you just like you need our votes, Westbrooks said. Sources include: FoxNews.com TheCenterSquare.com StarTribune.com TwinCities.com NPR.org KARE11.com 1 KARE11.com 2 WSJ.com WASHINGTON Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle reacted Friday night to news President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime confidant Roger Stone. Democrats accused Trump of abusing his power while some Republicans applauded the move. Stone is a Republican operative convicted of lying to Congress to protect the president's campaign from an investigation into Russian election interference. More: Trump grants clemency to ally Roger Stone after railing against 'unfair' conviction, sentencing He was convicted of lying to investigators about efforts by Trump campaign aides to learn about WikiLeaks' plans to release emails that Russian operatives stole from Hillary Clinton's campaign. Former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation found Russia undertook a "sweeping" campaign to help Trump, but found no evidence he coordinated with the effort. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., tweeted that "Stone lied and intimidated witnesses to hide Trumps exploitation of the Russian hack of his opponents campaign." "With Trump there are now two systems of justice in America: One for Trump's criminal friends and one for everyone else," the lead House impeachment manager continued. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, called the commutation an "unprecedented, historic corruption," on Saturday. "An American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president," he wrote in a tweet. The White House announced Trump's decision late Friday, days before Stone was set to report to prison for a 40-month sentence handed down in February, a stunning downfall for a consultant who has advised campaigns for decades. More: Citing COVID threat, judge blocks first federal execution in 17 years; sides with victims' family The campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said in a statement that Trump "has once again abused his power, releasing this commutation on a Friday night, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the norms and values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world." Story continues "He will not be shamed. He will only be stopped when Americans make their voice heard at the ballot box this fall. Enough," the statement concluded. Appearing on CNN Friday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said that for Trump to be able to commute or issue a pardon for Stone "based on the crime assisting the president, is ridiculous." Pelosi was asked about U.S. Attorney General William Barr saying Wednesday the sentencing of Stone was fair. More: Trump asks Treasury Department to review universities' tax exemption over 'Radical Left Indoctrination' "There ought to be a law," she continued. "Im recommending that we pass a law that presidents cannot issue a pardon if the crime that the person is in jail for is one that is caused by protecting the President, which this was. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Trump commuting Roger Stones sentence: Im recommending that we pass a law that presidents cannot issue a pardon if the crime that the person is in jail for is one that is caused by protecting the President, which this was https://t.co/ZzhLshSw7I pic.twitter.com/WCwCM5Xvq2 CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 11, 2020 Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, posted: "The United States was founded on the rule of law. It seems our president has nothing but contempt for it." House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., released a joint statement, writing, "Trump abused the powers of his office in an apparent effort to reward Roger Stone for his refusal to cooperate with investigators examining the Presidents own conduct. No other president has exercised the clemency power for such a patently personal and self-serving purpose." Donald Trump has abandoned the rule of law and made a mockery of our democracy. He truly is the most corrupt president in history. https://t.co/GA7apdmd3Y Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) July 11, 2020 Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., tweeted Trump "abandoned the rule of law and made a mockery of our democracy." More: Army to conduct review of Ft. Hood command after Vanessa Guillen murder, handling of her disappearance Before the clemency was officially announced, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tweeted, "In my view it would be justified if President decided to commute Roger Stone's prison sentence. Mr. Stone is in his 70s and this was a non-violent, first-time offense," incorrectly stating Stone's age, who is 67-years-old. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted he supported Trump's decision. Jordan, a staunch Trump supporter on Capitol Hill, posted, "Like every president, President Trump has the constitutional right to commute sentences where he believes it serves the interests of fairness and justice." "Each week, Americans learn more about how the Obama-Biden Administration weaponized the intelligence community and Justice Department to target the Trump campaign," he said. I support President Trumps decision to commute Roger Stones sentence. Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) July 11, 2020 Contributing: John Fritze, Kevin Johnson and Kristine Phillips This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Roger Stone: Lawmakers react to Trump granting clemency to confidant A former acting managing director of the interim management committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Joy Nunieh, has accused the Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio, of fraud. Ms Nunieh said during her brief tenure at the commission, Mr Akpabio repeatedly pressured her to take an oath of secrecy that was meant to keep her from exposing fraud at the commission. For instance, he told me to raise a memo to fraudulently award emergency contracts for flood victims in the Niger Delta, she said. Mr Akpabios ministry supervises the NDDC. Mrs Nunieh did not provide any evidence to support her claims against the minister. The former acting MD, who made her claim in an interview with journalists shortly after appearing before the Senate ad-hoc committee investigating NDDC on Friday, said she would have been jailed if she had succumbed to Mr Akpabios oath of secrecy. The video of the interview published by Channels TV has been in circulation online. She said Mr Akpabio pressured her three times to place her under oath to the extent that they took the matter to the presidential villa, when she vehemently refused. He told me to take an oath. Though he denied that, he told me three times. We had a reconciliation at the Villa in the office of Sarki Abba, the S.A. to the President on Domestics, she said. Ms Nunieh said she feared that she would be jailed for five years if, under Mr Akpabios oath, she committed infraction on the Public Procurement Act and was not able to speak out, while he would be going about as a free man. The former official said it was after her refusal to take the oath that Mr Akpabio started plotting her removal. He said he was going to remove me and then he started the campaign of calumny against me, she said. Mr Akpabios spokesperson, Anietie Ekong, did not return calls and a text message seeking the ministers response to the allegations on Saturday. Speaking Saturday night on Arise TV, Mr Akpabio described Ms Nunieh as a disgruntled former MD who does not know that offices come and go. Im not supposed to join issues with her as a minister of the federal republic, he said. He said the reason for the controversies was because a forensic audit was ordered and those who have questions to answer are behind the attacks. Bad blood Ms Nunieh assumed office as the acting MD of NDDC after the removal of Akwagaga Enyia in October 2019, but she was sacked four months later as the crisis rocking the commission over abuse of funds kept mounting. President Muhammadu Buhari named Kemebradikumo Pondei, a professor of medicine, as her replacement in February. Mr Pondei on Thursday brazenly admitted that he spent N1.5 billion to take care of the commissions staff as COVID-19 palliatives. PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported how Mr Akpabio played a major role in the removal of Ms Nunieh. Mr Akpabios relationship with the sacked NDDC chief was fraught with mutual suspicion and powerplay, according to people familiar with the matter. The expected cooperation was not there (between the ministry and the NDDC), a source close to Mr Akpabio told this newspaper. During Fridays interview, the sacked official said Mr Akpabio never signs any documents but prefers to use his subordinates as proxies in committing fraud. I refuse to go with him to the FEC (Federal Executive Council) meeting to deceive the president and the reason is because the law says if I contravene a section of the procurement Act, its five years imprisonment without an option of fine, Mrs Nunieh said. NDDC Contract Scandal Ms Nunieh also explained her position on the controversial contracts in the NDDC, denying that she never made any payment without Mr Akpabios knowledge. Advertisements Joy Nunieh [PHOTO CREDIT: Businessday.ng] One of the issues raised against me was that I awarded contracts without them knowing about it. Im sure that is what they told you people yesterday. Nobody makes payments in NDDC without Godswill Akpabios consent. When we first came to NDDC on the day of the inauguration, we were going to the camp, he told me Madam MD, if you dont do what I said, the same pen I used in signing your letter; that is the same pen I will use in removing you. He said the first thing I should do, when I get to Port Harcourt, is to change dollars in (the) NDDC account into Naira. I told him I am scared to do that. He claimed that I have a poverty mentality, that I was afraid of money. All of you knew he accused me of that, saying I am afraid to spend money. After two days, he came to Port Harcourt and told (me) that what I should do is to change dollars and I said I cannot just do that. He said I (should) remove Mr Kaltungo from legal and send him on compulsory retirement and he said we cannot have a northerner as head of the legal unit. NDDC Crisis Officials and ex-officials of the NDDC have been trading accusations and counter-accusations of fraud and abuse of office since President Buhari ordered the audit of the interventionist agencys accounts last year. The Senate had on May 5, set up a seven-member committee to investigate the financial recklessness of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the commission. The lawmakers said within the last three months, the commission has spent over N40 billion of the commissions fund without recourse to established processes of funds disbursement. The NDDC management had said that the Senate investigation was instigated by people who want to scuttle the planned forensic audit of the commission. The NDDC, backed by its supervising minister, Mr Akpabio, accused the Senate of corruption and undue interference in the running of the commission. The NDDC, on June 6, released a shocking statement which appears to implicate the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta and the NDDC, Peter Nwaoboshi, in N3.6 billion contract fraud in the commission. Mr Nwaoboshi denied the allegations, saying he did not have any relationship with the companies mentioned by the NDDC. Editors Note: This post has been updated to reflect Mr Akpabios comment. Aerial photo shows villagers demonstrating a funeral ritual for deceased carp in Puyuan Village, Puyuan Township, Zhouning County, southeast China's Fujian Province, July 4, 2020. At the first glance, Puyuan Village appears no difference from other historical villages in China. But it's the carp fish in a local creek, known as the Carp Brook, that make the village special. Puyuan village covers an area of 9.2 square kilometers and has a population of about 6,200. Originated from the Ziyun Mountain, several streams converge into the 3,000-meter-long Carp Brook, with 800 meters of it flowing through the village. For over eight centuries, Puyuan residents have lived in harmony with the carp ever since their ancestors settled down in the village. Rules were made to protect the carp as well as to keep the brook water clean. Some villagers still prepare funeral rituals and burial places for deceased carp. Although this carp-loving tradition began to reel in tourists as early as the 1980s, it was not until 2016 that Zhouning County authorities officially made carp tourism a key element in local plans to promote tourism-based development. So far, the county government has invested 150 million yuan (about 21.46 million U.S. dollars) to improve the ecology and tourism amenities within Puyuan's Carp Brook scenic area. While carp viewing remains the main tourist attraction in Puyuan, activities which derive from the village's carp culture are also available for visitors. Many villagers have become business owners and profited from the tourism industry. In 2019, more than 600,000 tourists have visited the Carp Brook scenic area, bringing in 304 million yuan (about 43.47 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) Playa del Carmen police arrest male for business extortion Playa del Carmen, Q.R. The Office of the Attorney General of the State of Quintana Roo reports that after an investigation into detonations of firearms, one male subject was arrested. Investigative police captured Alfonso M for his involvement in the crime of extortion to the detriment of at least one merchant. At the time of his capture, police found him in possession of a firearm and a a threatening message written on cardboard. During his arrest, they seized the message, firearm and a motorcycle. Police say Alfonso M is related to the events that occurred on 125th Avenue with 20th Street in the Ejidal neighborhood of Playa del Carmen where detonations of firearms were reported. Police add that Alfonso M is also being investigated for possible relation to a criminal cell. The progress of the investigations into this organization have led to the arrest of three more people, who have already been linked to the crime of extortion. Mr Samuel Ofosu, the Atiwa East District Agriculture Director has called on the government and potential investors to partner the assembly to acquire modern rice milling facilities for rice farmers in the district. This he said would help the farmers to expand their farms to increase production, increase their income to improve on their standard of living. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Anyinam in the Eastern Region, Mr Ofosu said the district lacked modern milling facilities to process harvested rice and this continued to be a major burden on the farmers. He said rice is a major crop that was produced in Atiwa East District and the government planting for food and jobs (PFJ) programme and the introduction of the AGRA rice variety had helped rice farmers in the district to increase rice production. Mr Ofosu said the AGRA rice had a potential of producing 2.7 tons of rice per acre and currently, farmers had planted about 1000 acres of rice and expecting a 27,000 tons of rice at the end of the harvest. He said despite the challenges, the district recorded successes in the control of fall armyworm infestation by educating farmers on the fall army worm situation and they were assisted with chemicals to control them. Mr Ofosu said the district successfully introduced three new disease resistant varieties of taro to about 100 farmers in the district to protect their farms. He therefore expressed satisfaction at the rate of which the district agriculture department had improved in livestock farming and animal health through frequent trainings and education of farmers. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video He's been in quarantine with his wife Keely Shaye Smith at their family cottage on the island of Kauai. And Pierce Brosnan was in full relaxation mode as he enjoyed a sun-soaked day at the beach near his home in Hawaii on Friday. The James Bond icon, 67, showcased his youthful physique as he went shirtless during a stroll along the sandy shores of the holiday hot spot. Chilling out: Pierce Brosnan was in full relaxation mode as he enjoyed a day at the beach near his home in Hawaii on Friday Pierce was proving he still has his Hollywood good looks as he displayed his tanned and toned body for all to see in the idyllic setting. The TV and film star looked every inch the silver fox as he showed off his grey locks while proudly standing topless on the beach. Following a dip in the sea, the thespian, who was seen next to a snorkel, dried himself with a large grey towel. He had been going for a quick swim with his wife Keely, 56, when he was spotted. Silver fox: The James Bond icon, 67, showcased his youthful physique as he went shirtless during a stroll along the sandy shores of the holiday hotspot Last month, Pierce revealed two of his lifelong friends have died after battling coronavirus. The media personality branded the virus 'a war' and an 'awful threat to life looming' during a cover feature with the latest issue of Parade magazine. He said: 'I lost two friends to COVID-19. They were friends of 45 years, and I am godfather to his son. 'No matter where you are and how beautiful it may be, you still have this awful threat to life looming. Family: The screen star has been in quarantine with his wife Keely Shaye Smith at their family cottage on the island of Kauai (pictured in January 2020) 'You have to keep pushing the rock uphill, and you have to keep involved in life. We are at war. People are dying. The actor added that he hopes a silver lining of the pandemic may be that people are kinder and more aware of the 'fragility of our planet.' The screen star and his long-term partner Keely, who married in 2001 at Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo, Ireland, are parents to sons Dylan, 23, and Paris, 19. Salvador Ramirez, a meatpacking worker at JBS in Worthington, Minnesota, died alone in a house not much bigger than a studio apartment a mile from the plant. His death certificate said he was 53, but he was 66, said his wife, Maria. The two had been married for 25 years and raised two sons in Chicago. They lived separately after he started working in Worthington. Ramirez had diabetes. When his wife first saw reports of a COVID-19 outbreak at the plant, she called him. I was pleading with him to be careful, she said. He told me they kept making him work. He told me he felt sick, but he told me they were all working. Less than three months after the nations meatpacking plants became hotbeds for the coronavirus, meat production is nearly back to normal. But workers and their families are still paying the price. More than 30,000 meatpacking workers have fallen ill from COVID-19 nationally, according to data compiled by the Food and Environment Reporting Network, with outbreaks at every major plant in Minnesota and Iowa. At least 100 have died. Ethnographic singularities abound in the Konkan. Famously open to the world throughout history, this narrow (never more than 50 kilometers wide) coastline on the Arabian Sea has peacefully absorbed waves of settlers over millennia. This is where Zoroastrian refugees from Iran - who became the Parsis - initially established themselves, in Sanjan (now Gujarat) in the 7th century. Earlier, possibly as far back as the Seleucid expansion into Palestine 2200 years ago, came the Bene Israelis, the oldest Jewish diaspora of India. There are Africa-derived Siddhi clusters, and the wildly dispersed Kokani Muslims part-descended from Arab migrants (over 40,000 now live in Cape Town alone). Another recent incursion seems to have created the Chitpavan brahmins whose presence was first recorded at the cusp of the 18th century. As traditionally understood, the Konkan spills up from the shoreline into the Western Ghats, and through the lush hills beyond until they yield to the Deccan plains. But political vicissitudes and the exigencies of colonialism imposed partitions, and it is revealing Konkani is the only language in the world in daily use in five scripts: Latin, Perso-Arabic, Devanagiri, Malayalam and Kannada. But even if bewildering heterogeneity characterizes Konkani communal and ethnic sub-divisions, powerful culinary undercurrents connect across all caste, class and sectarian divides. Everyone relishes seafood, accompanied by locally grown rice and coconuts. Their collective palate also displays the universal preference for tangy sourness, attained variously from kokum (garcinia indica is indigenous), green mangoes, tamarind, tirphal (the local cousin of Sichuan peppercorn), hog plums, bilimbi or vinegar. Dried kokum (Shutterstock) Perhaps understandably, given the sheer enormity of this cultural landscape, no serious compendious attempt has documented its confluential cuisines. Instead, there are piecemeal cookbooks rooted in individual community perspectives, often featuring identical ingredients reassembled kaleidoscopically to reflect pressing specificities and proclivities. Each provides only a tantalizing keyhole glimpse of the whole. Jyotsna Shahanes The Classic Konkan Cookbook - is an exceptionally well-conceived addition to this bookshelf, with its conceptual spine provided by Narayani Nayaks 1952 classic Cookery Craft (previously augmented and republished as 500 Easy Recipes in 1962). However, it also illustrates the drawback of writing and rewriting food books from what ethnologists call circumscribed culture provinces. Blind spots become institutionalized. 699; Harper Collins Thus, Shahane tells us Nayaks book, highly creditably, is notable because the recipes are not particular to any caste or region; they span the cuisine of the entire Konkani-speaking community even while making the glaring error that it predates all other Konkani cookbooks by a good 15 years. In fact, for just one example, several volumes of the bilingual English/Konkani The Goan Cooks Guide Vo Goan Cuzneracho Sangat were published by Pedro Damiao Dias in Bombay from 1894 onwards. Leaving aside that quibble, The Classic Konkan Cookbook does range delightfully through regional specialities, from the intensely flavourful Mangalorean kori gassi chicken curry to six varieties of dosas (Jackfruit seed! Cucumber! Banana!), and features an excellent compilation of cooking terms (eg: Kootu is a thick curry with dal and vegetables as the main ingredients and with a little coconut masala added). I especially liked the five language glossary: Prawns/jhinga are sigadi in Kannada, sungat in Konkani, and kolambi in Marathi. Goan seafood curry served with kokum juice and small prawns (Shutterstock) Shahanes roots are not in the Konkan (Nayaks were, from Udupi in Karnataka) but her meticulous approach is one of the hallmarks of the region. The late celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz - who died in March from Covid-19 - once told me with great pride, the West now talks about sustainability, but we always practised it. As Shahane writes, nothing was wasted. Every part of vegetable or fruit was used. Stalks, leaves and peels were used to great effect in curries, chutneys and pickles. In a country where many do not have enough to eat, this resonated with me. Another praiseworthy dimension to The Classic Konkan Cookbook is its inclusion of suitably representative non-vegetarian recipes, including three for beef, although Nayak deployed the euphemism meat, and Shahane has retained it. In fact, Konkanis relish everything from wild boar to fruit bat (yes, its not just Wuhan) alongside every possible fish, crustacean and bivalve. Next to possibly only Nagaland, theres no region in India less vegetarian. Unfortunately, while all that glorious omnivorousness persists unabated, modern-day brahminical revivalism forces its acknowledgement into the shadows. This is an India-wide problem, but particularly stark in the Konkan coasts long stretches in Maharashtra, where the most basic food habits are being effectively effaced. 599; Hachette Thus, the one drawback to Saee Koranne-Khandekars impressively encyclopedic, and otherwise absolutely brilliant Pangat, A Feast: Food and Lore from Marathi Kitchens is its conspicuously perfunctory inclusion of meat and fish. There are only a bare handful of mutton and chicken recipes, and the seafood section comprises precisely eleven (by contrast, my battered, beloved 20-year-old Traditional Taste of Goa by Kumudini Usgaokar and Shama Sardesai includes well over a hundred, with another dozen for different kinds of vegetables with prawns added to them). Koranne-Khandekars book was launched at the 2019 Goa Arts + Literature Festival, where I am the co-curator along with the eminent Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo. She was an outstanding delegate, with an exhaustive mastery of the foods of Maharashtra as well as their cultural, social and political context. That remarkable wealth of expertise is showcased marvellously in her book, with meticulously researched sections on regions, communities, equipment, techniques, staples, and diverting essays on recipes and rhymes and taste crafts. Of course, its Konkan districts are only part of Indias third largest state. Maharashtra is the same size as Italy, with twice the population, and far greater culinary complexity. Koranne-Khandekar writes, In an effort to show myself and, eventually, anyone willing to listen, that there are unplumbed depths to Marathi food, I set out to read about (and eat!) as much as I could of the fare that Maharashtra has to offer. Eventually, she moved online, to rediscover the various sub-cuisines of the state and understand them in the context of topography and produce, historical background and migratory patterns, and literature. Manglorean kori gassi (chicken curry) with neer dosa (Shutterstock) That 2015 move was in the thick of an unprecedented trend of - mainly women passionate home chefs, scholars and professionals flocking to the Internet to discuss, debate, and celebrate food. In this exponential expansion of the culinary media universe (Shahane is another pioneer blogger), our knowledge of the spectacular diversity of the subcontinent exploded in all directions. All this is in Pangat, as Koranne-Khandekar ranges very widely from Khandesh to Marathwada and Vidarbha, and back to the coast, about which she accurately writes, the variety of cuisines available through the length of the Konkan is mind-boggling. Read more: Review: Business of Taste by Centre for Science and Environment Coincidentally, exactly when I began to read Koranne-Khandekars book, I received the distinguished historian Fatima da Silva Graciass quirky and absorbing Cozinha de Goa: A Glossary on Food . The two readings flowed productively into each other, different approaches to similar storehouses of personal experience and research. 500; Broadway While her book contains too many typos to be entirely forgivable, Dr Gracias has compiled an invaluable repository of fascinating facts across contexts, and also admirably states up front it does not claim to be all comprehensive, it would be difficult to do so given our composite culture. Vivek Menezes is a photographer, writer and co-founder of the Goa Arts and Literature Festival FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) The head of the World Council of Churches has written to Turkey's president expressing his grief and dismay over Turkey's decision to change the status of Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque. As a World Heritage museum, Hagia Sophia has been a place of openness, encounter and inspiration for people from all nations, interim secretary general Ioan Sauca said in the letter released Saturday by the Geneva-based group. The colossal Hagia Sophia was built 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral and was converted into a mosque after the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, now Istanbul, in 1453. The secular Turkish government decided in 1934 to make it a museum, and millions of tourists now visit the landmark annually. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally converted the building back into a mosque Friday and declared it open for Muslim worship hours after a high court annulled the 1934 government decision. Sauca said the museum status had been a powerful expression of Turkey's commitment to inclusion and secularism. He urged Erdogan to reconsider the decision in the interests of promoting mutual understanding, respect, dialogue and cooperation, and avoiding cultivating old animosities and divisions. The WCC says its membership comprises 350 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches with some 500 million believers. Erdogan, a devout Muslim, has frequently used the debate over Hagia Sophia to drum up support for his Islamic-rooted party. The decision has provoked deep dismay among Orthodox Christians and strong criticism from neighbor and rival Greece. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also said France deplores Turkeys decision on Hagia Sophia. These decisions cast doubt on one of the most symbolic acts of modern and secular Turkey, the minister said in a statement. The integrity of this religious, architectural and historic jewel, a symbol of religious freedom, tolerance and diversity, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, must be preserved," he said. "Hagia Sophia must continue to represent the plurality and diversity of religious heritage, dialogue and tolerance. The U.S. State Department has said it was disappointed by the decision and looks forward to seeing how Turkey plans to keep the landmark open to all. Mayor Savita Devi has named a road after Sushant Singh Rajput in his hometown Purnea In Bihar. Since the actor's sudden demise, fans across the nation have been heartbroken and are paying tribute to the talented actor in their own way. The new name board was recently inaugurated and fans also shared clips of the same online. According to reports, Mayor Savita Devi said that Sushant was a great artist. She added that renaming the road is a way of paying tribute to him. The road reportedly goes from Madhubani to Mata Chowk and will now be called Sushant Singh Rajput Road. This is the second road to have been named after the late actor. Earlier, a popular car company's roundabout was also rechristened to Sushant Singh Rajput Chowk. Fans Shared Pictures Of The Inauguration Sushant's family had revealed in a statement that they will be turning his childhood home into a memorial, and a foundation will be set up as a tribute to him where young talents will be supported. Sushant's Childhood Home Will Also Be Turned Into A Memorial Mayor Savita Devi reportedly wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a CBI enquiry in Sushant Singh Rajput's case. Earlier in June, actor Shekhar Suman had also met with Bihar CM for the same. The late actor's fans have also rallied for the cause through social media, asking the Government and the officials for a higher investigation in his suicide case. Sushant's Dil Bechara Will Release On July 24 Sushant died by suicide on June 14 and the police reported there was no foul play. No suicide note was found in his house, but the evidence proved that the actor was battling depression for the past six months. His funeral took place the next day on June 15, which was attended by his family, friends and a few of his co-stars. Sushant Singh Rajput Doing All That He Loved In Video Made By His Sister, Will Leave You Teary-Eyed Farah Khan Wishes She Had Fed Sushant Singh Rajput A Little More, Hugged Him A Lot More Worried about your mental well-being or of someone you know? Help is just a call away. Reach out to the nearest mental health specialist at COOJ Mental Health Foundation (COOJ)- 0832-2252525, Parivarthan- +91 7676 602 602, Connecting Trust- +91 992 200 1122/+91-992 200 4305 or Sahai- 080-25497777/ SAHAIHELPLINE@GMAIL.COM The suspended boss of the anti-graft agency, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has asked the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, to release him from detention even as his probe continues. Mr Magu has been in detention since his arrest on Monday over alleged corruption and insubordination. In a letter sent to the IGP by his lawyer, Oluwatosin Ojaomo, on Friday, he requested to be released on bail on self-recognisance. President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday approved Mr Magus suspension. He is being probed by a presidential panel headed by a retired appeal court judge, Ayo Salami, over allegations of corruption and insurbodination. The allegations were levelled against him by AGF Abubakar Malami. He specifically accused Mr Magu of insubordination and re-looting of recovered funds. Mr Magu is still being detained while the panel investigating allegations against him sits. Abubakar Malami [Source Abubakar Malami on facebook] Release me- Magu However, in the letter dated July 10, copied President Buhari and the chairman of the panel, Mr Ojaoma said Mr Magu is entitled to bail as all allegations levelled against him were bailable. He requested his client be formally charged if found culpable. READ ALSO: The lawyer also informed the IGP that Mr Magu had denied all the allegations being levelled against him by the panel including those by Mr Malami Mr Ojaoma also pledged to provide a credible surety who will ensure Mr Magu is available any time he is needed during the investigation. Finally, if our application for bail on self-recognisance is not acceptable, we are ready to provide a credible surety that will ensure the availability of our client anytime he is needed for the purpose of this investigation, the letter partly reads. Video streaming giant Netflix has signed a flexible deal with real estate company WeWork that offers shared workspaces. The streaming giant has secured an entire floor at the Nesco Coworking Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai. The floor is around 8,860 square feet in area and has capacity for 320 seats, according to The Economic Times. The deal was signed on June 30, according to people aware of the deal, reports the daily. The workspace will be used to execute visual effects work. Netflix will be working alongside VFX company Anibrain. Visual effect work has been in high demand in the country for the past few years. Anibrain has its offices in Pune with over 700 people on its staff. It has worked with Netflix in the past on series such as The Aeronauts and The Witcher. "India is a very important centre of production globally. Most content creation happens out of countries like the United States, Japan and India," said a second person aware of the deal. Speaking about the Netflix-WeWork deal, the person said that the deal tenure is for two plus one year with a lock-in period of 18 months. WeWork is a real estate company that specialises in providing office space to companies and start-ups. The WeWork Nesco IT Park in Mumbai has eight floors and seating capacity of 3,400. It is spread across 228,000 square feet. This the third major deal that WeWork has signed this year. Earlier this year, WeWork had signed a large deal with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and another deal with China's ByteDance. Both Netflix and WeWork have not made any official comments on their deal. Netflix has been aggressively expanding in India for the past years. It has over 50 series and movies already in production for the Indian audience. Recently, it leased 1,37,000 sq ft in Godrej Bandra-Kurla Complex to expand its presence in the country. Also Read: Tesla CEO Elon Musk's net worth surpasses Warren Buffett's Also Read: Coronavirus impact: Zomato reinstates salaries; aims to make complete recovery in 3-6 months Englewood, Colorado City Manager J. Shawn Lewis last week issued an emergency order, approved by the city council, making it mandatory for all residents to wear facial coverings in public. Englewood, CO has a population of 35,168. According to an article in the NY Post, first offenders are issued a $15 fine, and second and subsequent offenders will have to pay $25 per violation. However, according to the article, the order states that the maximum penalty is a fine of up to $2,650, 360 days behind bars or both. Any person charged with an offense under this Emergency Order may choose to enter a plea of not guilty and be entitled to a trial as authorized by the law, the order states. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) said that an employee at its Bidadi-based manufacturing plant located in Karnataka has tested positive for novel coronavirus. With this, the total number of coronavirus cases at the facility has now reached 14. The employee concerned had last attended work on July 3, according to an official TKM statement accessed by PTI. The company has placed those employees under quarantine who are suspected to have had any contact with the infected employee via contact tracing. The auto giant also said that the company will provide "all possible support to the infected employee during the period of treatment." In this case, the plant was deep cleaned and thoroughly disinfected immediately after this matter came into the knowledge of the concerned authorities. Operations at the plant will now continue after the safety of the workplace and all measures to contain further COVID-19 spread are followed. Before this, all work at the Bidadi plant was suspended for a day after an employee succumbed to coronavirus. According to a PTI report, out of the 13 previously infected employees, 5 had recovered and were in mandatory home quarantine of 14 days after discharge from hospital. Earlier, employees at leading automobile manufacturers such as Bajaj Auto, Hyundai Motor India Limited, Maruti Suzuki India Limited had reported coronavirus cases after which the companies had to completely shut their operations for a temporary period of time to carry out sanitisation and deep cleaning procedures. Also read: Auto component sector FY21 revenue may fall 14-18% due to coronavirus crisis: ICRA Tyneham, on Dorsets Isle of Purbeck, knows a secret or two about being locked down. In 1943, residents were asked to abandon their homes for the duration of the emergency when the village within Lulworth firing range was requisitioned to prepare for the Normandy landings. The good folk never returned. More than 75 years later, Tyneham remains a ghostly place. Its still in the middle of a live army firing range, but is open to the public on days when the guns fall silent. On one such day I arrive on foot, deviating into the range off the Dorset coastal footpath, with its ragged landscape, featuring the chalk stacks of Old Harry Rocks. From a distance it looks like a postcard English village. There is a church, an Elizabethan manor and a tiny school. As I get closer, I notice there are no power cables or roofs on the buildings. Majestic: Old Harry Rocks at Dorsets Handfast Point I explore the rows of cottages and farmhouses. Some have been spruced up and the undergrowth cut back. The effect is uncanny rather than ruin, there is a sense of wholeness, with walls and empty windows still intact. I am put in mind, with a shudder, of a plague aftermath. Purbeck is a peninsula, not a real isle. My exploration had begun at the almost perfectly circular Lulworth Cove, with its bizarre rock formations. From here, the coast path takes me up and over gusty Gad Cliff and on an exhilarating trail that winds and roller-coasters its way around the peninsula. However, I soon head inland, into a broad green valley that slices through the Lulworth Ranges. Military occupation has produced some fascinating side-effects. I climb the ridge of Rings Hill and sit and eat sandwiches, looking out to the Tyneham valley. Here, I can make out the surviving medieval field patterns and hedgerows, protected from the ravages of post-war deep ploughing. Some species of plants and wildlife, decimated elsewhere by pesticides and habitat destruction, also come to thrive in these battlefield conditions. Swallowtail and comma butterflies are abundant, as are wildflowers. I spot several hares, and Im almost certain that I glimpse a weasel darting into some undergrowth. Outside the firing range, there are inhabited villages scattered over Purbeck. Some, such as Kimmeridge and Worth Matravers, have been trading on their history and beauty for decades, with twee boutiques and tea shops. Exploring by car the following day, I find that Kimmeridge is the very model of an English thatched village, set in a gorgeous location above a bay. The ruins of Corfe Castle are Purbeck's most famous landmark. It was destroyed by Cromwell in 1646 TRAVEL FACTS The Priory Hotel in Wareham is open and has B&B doubles from 220 (theprioryhotel.co.uk). For more information, including Lulworth Ranges access times, visit dorsetcoast.com. Advertisement From the circular Clavell observatory tower, the Kimmeridge Ledges cliffs of grey limestone streaked with white and blue overlook a string of bays. These are lined with the geometric shapes of cracked and splintered rock, scattered like childrens building blocks at the foot of the sheer rock wall. To the far west is Portland, an island tethered to Weymouth by a narrow neck of land. Out of the hazy south-east looms the Isle of Wight, like a jigsaw-puzzle piece that could easily be slotted back into the Hampshire coastline. Worth Matravers has the famous Square & Compass pub, which dates back to the heyday of Purbecks marble quarrying the peninsula provided the limestone used in Westminster Abbey and several English cathedrals. Footpaths connect tiny collections of cottages such as Steeple, in the valley of Corfe, with East Creech on the other side of Ridgeway Hill. Eastwards, on top of the ridge, lies Corfe Castle, Purbecks most famous landmark. All roads on Purbeck seem to lead to Corfe. The jagged castle ruins flit in and out of view along the ridge. Built by Normans in the 11th century to guard the Purbeck Hills, it was at the crossroads of various battles, culminating in its destruction by Cromwell in 1646. From Rings Hill my eyes are drawn to the tiny abandoned hamlet set in a copse, reached by a road through the firing range. Barriers are raised to allow in visitors eager to find a slice of preserved wartime Britain. Southern Illinois University Carbondale has a chancellor. And, the SIU System has a president. And, did you notice that the word interim did not precede either of those titles. SIU System President Dan Mahony started his job in March. SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lanes first day on campus was this past Monday. For years, SIU Carbondale has been plagued with a revolving door in the top spot. Since the controversial Rita Cheng departed for a new job in 2014, SIUC has had four different chancellors in six years, three of whom served in an interim role. Interim Chancellor Paul Sarvela and Chancellor Carlo Montemagno both died suddenly while in the job. The Carbondale campus just kept getting dealt one bad hand after another. And thats not to mention former President Randy Dunns schemes on state funding, legislation to split the Edwardsville and Carbondale campuses and improper hiring all of which got him ousted in 2018. We hope 2020 marks a new chapter for Southern Illinois University. This new chapter is just beginning, and its story will be marked by how Lane and Mahony confront the challenges they face. The fall semester is set to begin amid a once-in-a-century pandemic. The issue of the Carbondale/Edwardsville funding reallocation is not going anywhere, and must be confronted soon. The community is eager for a positive enrollment trend in Carbondale. The pandemics economic effects will surely hit Illinois budget, and therefore the states higher education budget. A national reckoning on race in the wake of George Floyds death in police custody is rekindling conversations locally about systemic racism in higher education, at SIU, and in Carbondale. Stable leadership is the first step toward progress on these issues. We are grateful for the service of the interim chancellors and presidents, but there is an asterisk that comes with that title modification. At the very least, those asterisks have been removed for now, and the real work can begin (again). We dont know what the future will hold, but we are starting to exhale a sigh of relief as these two men begin their tenures here in Southern Illinois. Lane said in an interview Monday with The Southerns Molly Parker that he wouldnt call these issues challenges so much as opportunities. Ive always been attracted to those places that really needed some help in that they were not 100% fixed or right, he said. This is just another, what I consider to be, opportunity not so much a challenge but an opportunity to lead in the face of the pandemic, and to do it together with the constituents on the campus. And we will we will do it together and well be successful. We appreciate the optimism. SIUCs outlook has been the subject of much doom and gloom here for several years and often, rightly so. The entire community depends on SIUs success. Even those of us who never attended SIU feel like we are Salukis. We are looking forward to a fresh perspective from a new man in town, and were pleased hes starting from a point of positivity. Lane also told The Southern on Monday that he plans to spend his first few months on the job listening to the community on campus and beyond. That really lays the groundwork for our shared visioning process and then our strategic plan that we will line out for the next 10 years, he said. We are excited to be a part of the process as a voice of our community. We are eager for tangible goals. We look forward to getting our eyes on that strategic plan when its fully formed and measuring progress as goals become reality. All eyes are on SIUC right now including ours. We will help to keep university leaders accountable. We are hoping for the best. Our fingers are crossed that our front-page headlines can reflect a comeback for our regions biggest employer. We all want and need SIU to succeed. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Health experts have backed moves to make face masks compulsory in shops and pubs in Britain after Boris Johnson said a 'stricter' approach is needed in England - but critics have demanded 'clear' guidance after weeks of changing advice. The government is considering following Scotland's lead by making them mandatory in shops, as experts say indoor environments are 'much more dangerous' for airborne transmission. The Prime Minister is facing mountain calls from Labour and leading scientists to provide the public with clarity on where face masks should be worn. Labour's Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth tweeted that 'strong and clear guidance' was needed, after Mr Johnson was spotted wearing a face mask when visiting businesses in his Uxbridge constituency on Friday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wearing a face mask during the while campaigning in his Uxbridge constituency on Friday Shoppers in Buchanan Street in Glasgow wear face masks The Prime Minister visited a range of businesses in his constituency following the easing of lockdown How the government's line on face coverings has changed over the months March 12: Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries: 'For the average member of the public walking down a street, it is not a good idea in fact, you can actually trap the virus in the mask and start breathing it in.' April 16: Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: 'The evidence is weak, but the evidence of a small effect is there under certain circumstances.' April 21: Revealed in meeting minutes a month later, Sage advised: 'On balance, there is enough evidence to support recommendation of community use of cloth face masks, for short periods in enclosed spaces, where social distancing is not possible.' April 23: Dr Jenny Harries said there could be 'a very, very small potential beneficial effect in some enclosed environments'. April 24: Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'On masks, as more information comes through, the science is constantly evolving and we always bear in mind that science and then take the decision. As of today, the government position is unchanged.' April 30: Boris Johnson said: 'I do think that face coverings will be useful, both for epidemiological reasons, but also for giving people confidence that they can go back to work.' May 20: Researchers in Hong Kong found face masks reduced infection by up to 75 per cent. June 4: Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that face coverings will be mandatory on public transport from June 15. He said: 'With more people using transport the evidence suggests wearing face coverings offers some - albeit limited - protection against the spread for the virus.' June 5: Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed plans to make face coverings compulsory in hospitals for all staff, visitors and outpatients from June 15, but a furious NHS boss said the decision was made 'without any notice or consultation'. Meanwhile, Grant Shapps said masks would not be required in other settings such as shops because people spend little time in close proximity. June 12: German study suggests making face masks compulsory could slow the spread of Covid-19 by as much as 40 per cent. July 10: A government source said it was a 'fair assumption' that masks would become mandatory in shops and other indoor settings within a few weeks. Advertisement Although Nicola Sturgeon made face coverings compulsory in shops since Friday, there are currently no such rules in the UK. This morning Trish Greenhalgh, professor of primary care at Oxford University, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: 'There is a huge body of evidence supporting the use of face coverings in crowded places by the lay public to prevent transmission of the covid-19 virus.' She said that: 'When I go into a shop I am certainly wearing a face covering, without any doubt. 'The reason for that is that indoor environments are much much more dangerous in terms of what we call airborne transmission. 'If someone coughs or speaks loudly and the virus then gets into the air and it stays in that shop, in that enclosed space, so indoor environments are much more dangerous.' When asked if evidence shows masks protect wearers, as well as those nearby, Professor Greenhalgh said that was an 'incorrect' piece of information released in government guidance. 'Wearing the face covering does protect the wearer a little bit but it doesn't protect you very much. 'If I'm wearing a face covering it might protect you 80% but it might protect me 20 or 30% so there is a little bit of protection for the person wearing the covering. 'But it's not nearly as much as it protects other people from the droplets coming out of the person's mouth.' Greenhalgh added that research on wearing masks in office spaces needs to be 'urgently accelerated' but that it depended on the 'ventilation'. In the early days of the outbreak the UK government argued that scientific evidence that the masks reduced transmission of the airborne virus was 'weak'. But rules requiring people to wear face masks on public transport in England came into effect on 15 June. On Friday Mr Johnson said 'the balance of scientific opinion seems to have shifted more in favour of them than it was, and we're very keen to follow that'. 'I do think we need to be stricter in insisting people wear face coverings in confined spaces where they are meeting people they don't normally meet. 'We are looking at ways of making sure that people really do have face coverings in shops, for instance, where there is a risk of transmission', he said during a Facebook Q&A. The UK government currently recommends measures such as a face covering should be taken if people cannot keep two metres away from each other indoors. A recent poll for MailOnline has found 61 per cent of the public want to follow the example north of the border on the issue. Mr Ashworth said it was 'welcome' news that ministers were looking at face mask evidence. He said Labour was urging ministers to 'conclude this review rapidly to provide the strong and clear guidance neede'. Shadow exchequer secretary Wes Streeting said it was 'not helpful' for the prime minister to do a photo shoot wearing a face mask until there was more clarity over when they should be worn, the BBC reported. A poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for MailOnline found 61 per cent of the public in England would like to see coverings enforced in shops and supermarkets - with just 26 per cent opposed. The support is reflected across the wider UK Nicola Sturgeon (left) has trolled Boris Johnson (right) by retweeting an article asking why Westminster politicians were not wearing face coverings in public 'At the moment people are hearing different messages from different quarters,' the Labour MP told BBC Radio 4's Any Questions. Former cabinet minister and Tory MP Andrea Leadsom also told the programme she did not want masks to be mandatory but 'people should be considerate of others' and start to think about carrying one wherever they go. In a round of interviews, culture minister Caroline Dinenage said she wears a mask 'all the time'. She was asked to answer why more senior figures had not been pictured wearing face coverings but said they would have to answer themselves. Asked whether the government had considered introducing a similar rule to Scotland in England, Ms Dinenage told the BBC: 'Yes of course, and they are mandatory on public transport.' A conservation group has captured the first images of rare Cross River gorillas with their babies. Scientists once feared that this rare kind of gorilla had disappeared from existence. But, the images show it is reproducing as efforts to protect the animal continue. The Wildlife Conservation Society, or WCS, had placed cameras in an area of Nigerias Mbe mountains, where the Cross River gorillas live. The organization recently released the images, which were taken in May. The camera captured images of Cross River gorilla adults and babies. A statement on the groups website describes Cross River gorillas as the most threatened ape in Africa. These gorillas live in a small mountainous area at the beginning of the River Cross, along the border between Nigeria and Cameroon. Only around 300 Cross River gorillas were known to be alive in the area, noted WCS. Although illegal hunting is common in the area, the Cross River gorilla is rarely a target of such activity, says WCS. But hunters often use animal traps that represent a threat to the gorillas survival. John Oates is a former professor at the City University of New York and a primatologist. He helped establish conservation efforts for the gorillas more than 20 years ago. It was great to see ... evidence that these gorillas in these mountains are reproducing successfully because there have been so few images in the past, he told The Associated Press. We know very little about what is going on with reproduction with this subspecies, so to see many young animals is a positive sign. Im John Russell. Carley Petesch reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story conservation n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources ape n. a type of animal (such as a chimpanzee or gorilla) that is closely related to monkeys and humans and that is covered in hair and has no tail or a very short tail primatologist n. a scientist who studies primates subspecies n. a group of related plants or animals that is smaller than a species: a division of a species positive adj. thinking that a good result will happen: hopeful We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. A Delhi court Saturday granted bail to 75 foreign nationals from Thailand and Nepal, who were charge-sheeted for attending a Tablighi Jamaat congregation here allegedly in violation of visa norms, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines issued in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur granted the relief to the foreigners on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. Till date, 445 foreign nationals from 33 different countries, who were charge-sheeted in the case have been granted bail by the court. The police had in June filed 59 charge sheets, including supplementaries, against 956 foreigners belonging to 36 different countries in the case. The accused who were granted bail Saturday will file their plea bargaining applications on Monday, said advocates Ashima Mandla, Mandakini Singh and Fahim Khan, appearing for them. Under plea bargaining, the accused plead guilty to the offence, praying for a lesser punishment. The Criminal Procedure Code allows for plea bargaining in cases where the maximum punishment is a seven-year imprisonment; offences don't affect the socio-economic conditions of the society and the offence is not committed against a woman or a child below 14 years of age. During the hearing, all the foreigners were produced before the court through video conferencing. The court had granted bail to 122 Malaysians on Tuesday and 91 other foreigners from 21 countries on Wednesday, 76 foreign nationals from eight countries on Thursday and 82 Bangaldeshi nationals on Friday. The investigating officer had earlier told the court that the investigation was completed against the 956 foreigners in the case and each has been allegedly found to have independently committed the offence for which he/she has been charge-sheeted. Further investigations are pending, the IO said. These foreigners had attended the event in March, following which in April COVID-19 cases across the country spiked after hundreds of Tablighi Jamaat members, who had attended the religious congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz, tested positive. According to the chargesheets, all the foreigners have been booked for violation of visa rules, guidelines issued in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act and prohibitory orders under section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure. They have also been booked for offences under sections 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 271 (Disobedience to quarantine rule) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Foreigners Act. The punishment for these offences ranges from six months to eight years' imprisonment. The Centre has cancelled their visas and blacklisted them. The foreigners have not been arrested yet and are residing at various places approved by the Delhi High Court. At least 9,000 people including the foreign nationals participated in the religious congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz. Later, many of the attendees travelled to various parts of the country. An FIR was registered against Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi and six others on March 31 on a complaint of the Station House Officer of Nizamuddin under sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act (2005), Foreigners Act and other relevant sections of Indian Penal Code. Kandhalvi was later booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after some of the attendees of the religious congregation died due to COVID-19, police said. Grief over the loss of a loved one never leaves a family as Sarah Stewart Taylors razor-sharp launch of a new series adroitly shows. The Mountains Wild uses the evocative background of Ireland to further explore its characters who share the Emerald Isles remoteness, mystique and complicated past. Erin Flahertys disappearance 23 years ago in Dublin, where she had moved for college and work, has left her family in tatters. Her broken father hopes each day to find out what happened, as does her cousin Maggie Darcy, now a homicide detective in Long Island, New York. When Erin first vanished, Maggie went to Ireland and spent weeks talking to Erins friends, scouring the countryside and giving insight to the police about her sometimes wild, often unpredictable cousin. At the time, police thought Erin might have been linked to the disappearance of other young women. Now, decades later, Erins scarf has been unearthed in the Wicklow woods while police were looking for a missing schoolteacher. Taking an extended vacation and leaving her teenage daughter with her ex-husband, Maggie returns to Ireland. The Dublin police hope Maggies insight will help them find the missing teacher as well as resolve Erins case. A woman shields herself from rain and wind with an umbrella as she walks along the Hudson River in front of the skyline of New York City, as Tropical Storm Fay was expected to sweep across the heavily populated northeastern United States as seen from Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S., July 10, 2020. Fay weakened to a tropical depression over southeastern New York state early on Saturday and was expected to become a post-tropical low pressure system later in the morning before dissipating on Sunday, the U.S National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The storm prompted the White House to postpone a campaign rally that President Donald Trump had planned to hold in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Saturday night. The event will take place in "a week or two," the White House said on Friday. It made landfall on Friday near Atlantic City, New Jersey, with heavy rainfall and gusty winds, according to an earlier bulletin issued by the NHC. Fay was located about 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City, with maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour (56 kph), the forecaster said in its 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) advisory. The center of the storm would move across portions of eastern New York on Saturday morning and then across western New England into southeastern Canada later in the day and night, the NHC said. "Fay is expected to produce 1 to 3 inches (2.5 - 7.6 cm) of rain with isolated maxima of 4 inches (10 cm) along and near its track from eastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey across southeast New York, and portions of New England," the forecaster said. Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, the two accused persons who were absconding in Kerala's controversial gold smuggling case, were taken into custody by National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Bengaluru on Saturday, news agency ANI reported. Suresh was taken into custody along with her family members, and will be produced in NIA office in Kochi on Monday. Fareed Faisal, suspected to be linked to jewellery business and another accused in the case, is still absconding. The NIA on Friday took over the case and filed a First Information Report (FIR) on the case, the first in the country where a consignment of gold was seized while moving through a diplomatic route. Four people, including Suresh, the controversial woman who was allegedly interacting with top government officials and was posted as a subsidiary of the IT Department recently, are booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA in the FIR. The case pertains to the seizure of 30 kg of gold worth 14.82 crore at Trivandrum International Airport on 5 July by the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Cochin. The gold was found concealed in imported piping in diplomatic baggage from United Arab Emirates, which is exempted from inspection as per the international guidelines. As per the FIR, Suresh, a former secretary to the Consul General of United Arab Emirates Consulate in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, is the second accused in the case. The first accused is Sarith P.S., a former Public Relations Officer at the Consulate, who is said to be close to Suresh. Another person, Fazil Fareed from Ernakulum district, and Sarith's brother Sandeep Nair and are the third and fourth accused persons. "Initial investigation by Customs Department has revealed that Sarith P.S. had received multiple such consignments earlier as well. As the case pertains to smuggling of large quantity of gold into India from offshore locations threatening the economic stability and national security of the country, it amounts to a terrorist act as stated in section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967," said the FIR. "Further, as the case has national and international linkages and as the initial enquiries have revealed that the proceeds of smuggled gold could be used for financing of terrorism in India, NIA has taken up the investigation of the case," it added. Kerala has been boiling with opposition protests over the case. Opposition leaders alleged that the smuggling case is linked to the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayans office, and demanded resignation of Vijayan. The government had on Tuesday displaced M. Sivasankar, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and the IT department, after he was accused to be close to Suresh. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Taj Mowry has taken to social media to profess his ongoing love for ex-girlfriend, Naya Rivera - following her disappearance in what's been deemed a 'recreational accident.' The younger brother of Sister Sister twins, Tia and Tamera Mowry, took to Instagram on Friday evening to say his devastation got harder and harder each day but he was still holding onto hope that she would be found. The 34-year-old confessed that Naya was his first love, in all respects, and he always hoped that one day they'd get back together. Devastated: Taj Mowry has taken to social media to profess his ongoing love for ex-girlfriend, Naya Rivera - following her disappearance in what's been deemed a 'recreational accident' 'My sweet Naya - to say that I am devastated would be an understatement. This is a nightmare. Everyday gets harder. However, I am holding onto hope that you will be found,' he began the lengthy post. 'We grew up together. We became adults together. We experienced so many firsts together. You were my first experience with everything; love, intimacy, heartbreak. We broke each others hearts and then mended them back together...more than once.' Tahj went on to say that no other woman in his life has ever measured up to Naya. First love: Naya and Tahj starred in Smart Guy together and dated when they were teens between 2000 to 2004 'I will never not think of you. No woman has ever measured up what you gave me or how you made me feel. Ive never liked to admit it but I have never stopped loving you,' he opened up. 'A part of me always wished for the day where God would bring us back together to be what we dreamt we could have been.' He continued: 'I pray deeply for the Rivera family and that God blankets them with strength, peace, and love right now.' 'Mychal and Nickayla - you will always be like younger siblings to me and I love you dearly. I watched you two grow up into beautiful adults. George and Yolanda - whatever you need I am here for you. We are forever family and I love you.' Prayers: Tahj Mowry took to Instagram on Friday evening to say his devastation got harder and harder each day but he was still holding onto hope that she would be found Tahj added: 'I ask everyone reading this to please lift up, along with the entire Rivera family, Ryan and Josey in prayer and to respect what they are going through during this time. I pray that God showers the entire family with strength and peace that only He can give.' 'I still have faith. I still have hope. Lets please all pray that she is found and brought home safely. ' Tahj concluded by sending a special message to his one true love. 'Naya, I miss you deeply. I wish I got the chance to tell you that once more but Im believing I will get that chance. I know deep down youve always known how I felt.' 'I look forward to the day where I can see your beautiful face once more and tell you everything Ive wanted to say that I didnt get the chance to say. I love you forever. I always have and I always will. .' Naya had previously confirmed in her memoir, Sorry Not Sorry, that Tahj was her first boyfriend. The pair dated for four years between 2000 to 2004 when they were teenagers. Mystery: Meanwhile law enforcement sources ruled out suicide as a factor and believe the disappearance on the lake was accidental, the boat she rented on Wednesday is pictured Tahj's sweet message comes after the Glee star's son, Josey, four, was found alone on a boat on Wednesday evening. Naya was nowhere to be found and is now presumed dead. Law enforcement sources have ruled out suicide as a factor and believe the disappearance on the lake was accidental. Sgt. Kevin Donoghue told People on Friday: 'We interviewed her son and there was nothing that we learned from her son that would have suggested that this was suicide. Everything that weve learned so far leads to this being some sort of water recreational accident.' 'To say definitively what actually happened, we really cant say. We just dont know, its a mystery,' Donoghue added. 'Were still investigating, were still searching. Were trying to uncover clues as we go. But so far, we really dont have a lot of information to make any guesses as to what could have happened. Naya and her son Josey: The pair were on Lake Piru in California Wednesday afternoon when Rivera vanished and is feared to have drowned. She shared the right-hand image just a day before her disappearance, with the caption: 'Just the two of us' He also said that its unclear if Josey climbed back into the boat himself or if Naya helped him back in. He said, 'I know she was in the water. I dont know if she helped him back on the boat. That I dont know.' The conditions in Lake Piru are making it difficult for the rescue crew to find Naya, but they used a scanning sonar on Friday to 'paint pictures of the lake bed floor.' Police said on Thursday that the search and rescue mission for Rivera is now being considered a recovery operation, a day after she vanished from the California lake where she'd been boating with her son. Rivera vanished on Wednesday while on Lake Piru with her son Josey, who told police that she'd 'jumped' into the water to go swimming and never came back. He was found asleep on their drifting boat. This comes after search and rescue teams searched the lake on Thursday and local sheriffs gave grim details about the lake which Rivera was familiar with and had been visiting for years. Ventura County Deputy Sheriff Chris Dyer said on Thursday that Lake Piru was a sanctuary for Naya, she was familiar with the lake and has been going there for years. Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey: The couple had an on-off relationship including a four-year marriage from 2014 and 2018 which led to the birth of a son, Josey Hollis Dorsey Rivera welcomed her son, Josey Hollis, with then-husband Ryan Dorsey in 2015. She called her young son 'my greatest success, and I will never do any better than him' in her 2016 memoir 'Sorry Not Sorry.' Rivera and Hollis divorced in 2018, after Rivera had earlier applied to end the marriage in 2016 but the couple had initially reconciled. On Thanksgiving weekend 2017, Rivera was arrested in West Virginia on suspicion of domestic battery against Dorsey. The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office said Dorsey later asked that Rivera not be prosecuted. Dorsey, also an actor, has appeared on shows including Ray Donovan and Justified. Former Glee co-star Matthew Morrison defended Rivera at the time of her arrest, saying she was a 'great mom'. Divers search Lake Piru for any sign of Naya Rivera on Thursday morning. The Glee actress vanished after going for a swim from a pontoon boat she had rented with her son Initially, police had hoped to find the actress alive and were searching the expansive shoreline as well as in the water. Now though, they say the mission is a recovery operation. 'There's no evidence of foul play at this point. This may well be a case of drowning,' sheriff's Capt. Eric Buschow said. He said it was an employee who works at the boat shack who found the boat and the child in the north part of the lake. My indication is that the child was found sleeping on the boat, he said at a press conference near the lake Thursday. Ive been told Naya Rivera has been coming here for years and she is familiar with the lake. This might be a little sanctuary for her, especially on a Wednesday - no ones here on a Wednesday so its a good day to come. She rented the boat. Rivera was arrested on a domestic battery charge (pictured left) on Thanksgiving weekend in 2017 after being accused of striking Dorsey (pictured together right), who eventually asked for the prosecution not to go ahead Deputy Sheriff Dyer added: Were not presuming her dead and right now its still a search and rescue operation, were searching not only the water but the shoreline. We hope for the best and prepare for the worst. The senior officer said at this point all signs point to this being a horrible accident. There was no collision or signs of struggle, he said. We are using our helicopters, we are using our dive teams, we are using sonar equipment and our unmanned aerial drone team. Its extremely difficult to search this lake, it goes from depths of 40ft to 5ft. Visibility in the daytime is 8 to 10 inches. At nighttime its zero. Everywhere you see a buoy on the lake is a low part. Theres full-grown trees and debris under the lake. Its been a couple years since someone drowned here in Lake Piru, that an accidents happened in the lake, but it has happened before,' he said. Bala Chauhan By Express News Service BENGALURU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday evening detained Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, the key suspects in the Kerala gold smuggling case, from a hotel in Koramangala in Bengaluru, top sources told The New Indian Express. Swapnas minor daughter and another minor, who had accompanied the suspects, were also reportedly present at the time of the duo's detention. "Swapna and Sandeep are being questioned by the NIA in Bengaluru and they will be arrested in due course. After arrest, they will be taken to Kerala and produced before the special court there," said an officer. According to highly placed sources, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair had reportedly travelled to Bengaluru in a private car along with her husband Jagmohan, their minor daughter and another minor child. A former woman employee of the UAE consulate, Swapna is a key suspect in the gold smuggling bid through diplomatic baggage and was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. "She has reportedly honey-trapped many big wigs in Kerala from bureaucrats to politicians," said the source. The counsel for NIA and the Centre had told the Kerala High Court that Swapna had criminal antecedents and was 'involved' in arranging diplomatic papers for smuggling of over 30 kg of gold which was seized by the Customs early this week in Thiruvananthpuram. ALBANY Tears streamed down the faces of the two mothers as they embraced in a hallway outside a second-floor courtroom at the Albany County Judicial Center earlier this month. Both women had sons who had been shot in broad daylight, nearly a year apart and allegedly by the same 17-year-old boy from Albany. The first victim, a 3-year-old toddler, was struck in the arm by a stray bullet in July 2019 as he took a nap in a South End day care center. He needed surgery to repair the broken arm; the bullet had come within inches of his heart. The other victim, 21-year-old Nyjawaun Thomas of Troy, was gunned down late last month, just steps from an Albany police station. Thomas was killed after he climbed from the wreckage of a rented U-Haul truck following a brief car chase that ended with the 17-year-old brazenly firing from his driver's-side window as he drove past Thomas. He circled back and fired again, but law enforcement officials said Thomas was already dead. The mothers of the victims were in the courtroom on July 1 as the 17-year-old and an adult co-defendant, 19-year-old Bahkee Green, were sentenced to prison terms of 15 and 10 years, respectively, for the shooting that injured the 3-year-old. The two teens pleaded guilty to weapons charges, admitting they had driven with two others to the South End last summer and fired a hail of bullets at a group of young men they viewed as their enemies. The 17-year-old had been arrested for the day care shooting a year ago and was initially charged with attempted murder, reckless endangerment, assault and tampering with evidence. But his arrest kept him in custody at a juvenile facility only briefly, in part due to New York's bail-reform statutes and a "Raise the Age" law that went into effect over the past two years creating a new "adolescent offender" category that ensures 16- and 17-year-olds are not automatically prosecuted in adult courts or placed in adult jails, even for crimes of violence. The statute was intended to ensure young offenders are not unfairly punished, and to provide them with services needed to rehabilitate and reintegrate them into their communities rather than throwing them in prison. Pressing for those reforms, advocates noted that New York was one of the last states to automatically treat offenders as young as 16 as adults in criminal prosecutions. The state passed the legislation with reimbursable funding intended to help expand local programs to aid the troubled youths. But a fallout of the statute has been a veritable revolving door in the youth justice system that has been evident in the city of Albany, which has been rocked by gun violence this year. Some of that violence has involved cases in which juvenile offenders were placed under the supervision of probation officials rather than incarcerated with many being re-arrested, often on gun charges, only to be released again. Although a large number of Albany's shootings this year which are up nearly 400 percent from 2019 have involved victims and suspects age 18 or older, there have also been dozens of violent crimes attributed to youthful offenders in the past two years. Interviews with law enforcement officials and crime victims, and a months-long review of criminal cases handled in Family Court and the Youth Part of Criminal Court in Albany County, reveal numerous instances in which offenders whose release on supervision was fostered under the new statutes were subsequently arrested for committing new crimes, including murder. Over roughly the past two years, Albany County has handled more than 100 youth and adolescent criminal cases: 31 involving weapons possession charges; 45 robberies; 16 assaults; and seven charges of murder or attempted murder. In addition, at least a dozen teenage boys and young men involved in Albany shootings and gun cases over the past two years were not incarcerated after their arrests due to the Raise the Age statutes and the more recent bail reform changes, according to police and court records, as well as interviews with law enforcement officials. Many of the youthful offenders, law enforcement officials said, also have been keenly aware of the relative leniency of the new statutes, and are exploiting them by failing to charge or simply cutting off GPS ankle-monitoring bracelets so that probation officers can't monitor their whereabouts. Even when they are hauled in front of a judge, they often are put back on house arrest, where parents often struggle to control them. Daylight shootings The "critical provisions" of Raise the Age, which was cast in law in the April 2017 state budget by the Legislature and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, took effect in two stages: for 16-year-olds on Oct. 1, 2018, and for 17-year-olds last October. The statute also mandated that those who commit "non-violent crimes" would receive intervention and evidence-based treatment. Last summer, after the 17-year-old boy was arrested for the shooting that injured the toddler, the Times Union began tracking his case, and also those of numerous other youthful offenders implicated in crimes in Albany County ranging from gun trafficking to robbery, rape and murder. The cases all are being handled either in the Youth Part of Criminal Court or in Family Court. Under the new rules, a judge is required by statute to use the least restrictive means of assuring the defendant's return to court; judges cannot consider "dangerousness to the community" in determining whether to set bail. Most of the defendants have lived in Albany their whole lives, have no documented criminal history and therefore dont pose a flight risk under the rules. As a result, most end up under the supervision of probation officers with a GPS monitoring bracelet locked on their ankle. Although there has been no formal studies on the statutes' impact on criminal statistics, part of Albany's explosion in shootings this year has been at the hands of teenagers released under the supervision of probation officers rather than jailed as adults. Cathleen F. Crowley A Family Court judge, after hearing prosecutors' evidence against the 17-year-old boy last summer, determined there was strong evidence that the teenager was one of the two shooters in the car that drove into the South End that afternoon. The boy's case therefore remained in the Youth Part of Criminal Court, and he was initially held on $50,000 bond. But after 45 days, prosecutors declined to indict the teen, in part due to what they saw as the likely need to disclose the identity of a witness if they had moved forward. Instead, Albany detectives continued the shooting investigation, using wiretaps to build a wider case that snared the second gunman involved in the toddler's shooting and implicating several others in other shootings, and also on gun possession and gun-trafficking charges. The 17-year-old was finally indicted for the toddler's shooting in December and also for a second shooting that had occurred 16 days earlier, on July 2, 2019, where he and several other teenagers fired guns wildly in a public housing complex in the city's South End. One of the weapons in that earlier shooting, a 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun, was also used in the shooting that injured the toddler, according to court records. In addition, the boy and some of his friends who were implicated in the pair of shootings were charged with tampering with evidence for returning to the car they had driven into the South End on the afternoon of the day care shooting, then removing weapons from the vehicle and wiping it down. The evidence implicating the 17-year-old in the two daytime shootings in crowded neighborhoods included eyewitness accounts, Facebook posts, text messages, surveillance footage and even cell phone videos showing him holding the 9mm handgun. Assistant District Attorney Michael Shanley, when he argued seven months ago for the teenager's bail to be set at $100,000, noted that the teen had been caught tampering with his ankle-monitoring bracelet, stopped attending school and broken his curfew. "I don't think incarceration pending this matter is necessary to secure his appearance here, nor will it secure the safety of the community, as the electronic monitor certainly deters any potential criminal conduct," the teenager's court-appointed attorney, Eric Schillinger, argued at the Dec. 19 arraignment. Judge William A. Carter, who handles Youth Part criminal cases in Albany County, agreed and allowed the teenager to remain free under the supervision of probation officers. "If you mess up once, you will stay in jail until your trial," the judge told him. "Do you understand that?" Both Carter and Richard Rivera, the Family Court judge who issued the decision to keep the 17-year-old's case in youth criminal court and handles many of the cases involving juvenile offenders declined comment for this story. Unsecured Another boy, a 16-year-old boy who was with Green and the 17-year-old boy when the toddler was shot, has been in and out of secure detention after being charged with tampering with evidence. The 16-year-old was later shot but remained uncooperative, and was charged with falsely reporting an incident. He was arrested again, for possession of a handgun, and in the wiretap investigation had been caught on his way to sell a gun. In addition, he was involved in a shooting incident at his mothers house. The 16-year-old's case is pending in Youth Part of Criminal Court, and he is currently released under the supervision of probation. Bahkee Green, who initially faced a seven-year prison term in connection with the toddler's shooting, was released on a $50,000 "unsecured" bond following his indictment a new provision of the bail reform statutes that prosecutors contend allows defendants in violent incidents to go free after signing what is the equivalent of a promissory note. But after pleading guilty and prior to being sentenced, Green was re-arrested for weapons possession in connection with another shooting. His 17-year-old co-defendant also pleaded guilty earlier this year in front of Judge Thomas A. Breslin to weapons possession in connection with the shooting of the toddler, but he remained on house arrest. He was supposed to be sentenced in April to 10 years in prison a term that would have begun in a juvenile detention facility but the proceeding was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under the supervision of probation officers, he continued to violate his house arrest conditions. He became an Uber driver, which was prohibited and had not been approved. He failed to properly charge his GPS monitoring bracelet at least six times in April and May, prompting his probation officer to order him to report to the office in early May to get a new bracelet. But the boy didn't show up and also left home after arguing with his mother, according to court records. He stayed out until 3 a.m. one night, and on May 11 was located in Schenectady in the middle of the night. On May 17, he appeared in a video posted on YouTube that showed him smoking marijuana and showing off large bundles of cash; a man in a medical mask sat next to him brandishing a handgun. On May 21, Albany County prosecutors filed a motion seeking to revoke the 17-year-old's release conditions. The boy failed to show up in court for the hearing, and a judge issued a warrant for his arrest. But he remained at large after cutting off his new ankle bracelet. Seventeen days later, he allegedly shot two men along Central Avenue, striking one of them six times in the torso and the other victim once in the foot. Both men survived, but the 17-year-old boy was still on the run. On June 24, he allegedly drove to the South End looking for a man he believed had fired shots at him earlier that month. He ended up killing Nyjawaun Thomas, possibly in a case of mistaken identity, according to police and prosecutors. 'Fed up' The victim's mother, Shinequa Thomas, noted that her son had been sentenced to prison for robbery in 2015 when he was just 16 years old. She cannot understand how the 17-year-old charged with killing him wasn't jailed after being indicted for shooting the toddler. "All this stuff this boy did, he shouldnt have been on the street, period," Thomas said. "If they had done their job properly, my son would still be alive today. ... Im so so fed up with the way that this is going on. ... It doesn't make sense how he was still walking the street after all this." The 17-year-old was arrested in Schenectady two days after Thomas was killed. On July 1, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for shooting the toddler an increase of five years due to his additional arrests and is currently negotiating a plea to resolve the June 9 shooting and the June 24 homicide, according to statements prosecutors made in court. "Theres nothing that fell through the cracks, but there is a chasm that was created by Raise the Age and the (new) bail laws," Albany County District Attorney David Soares said. "The (state) district attorneys association continued to provide warnings as to what would occur. We warned about the fact that young people are carrying weapons and shooting each other, that the process in Family Court was not adequate and at the time we were told we were fear-mongering." Soares said for 16 years his office had a program Operation Speeding Bullet in which they would seek to have people arrested for shootings or weapons possession incarcerated and only pursue plea agreements that included prison terms. But that program fell apart when bail reform measures went into effect earlier this year that struck illegal gun possession off the the list of alleged offenses that allow judges to set bail. Although there have been no formal studies of the spiking crime rates across New York this year the state's overall crime rate is up 10 percent statistics show the increase in gun violence in Albany is being mirrored in other cities that have seen explosions in the number of shootings and homicides. Increase in crime from 2019 to 2020 Homicide Burglary Shootings Number of shooting victims 2019/2020 NYC 27% 45% 63% 439/717 Albany 800% 2% 379% 14/67 Buffalo 88% n/a 54% 78/120 Rochester 40% 16% 46% 89/130 Syracuse 27% 31% n/a n/a Source: New York Assembly. Note: The number of victims differs from the District Attorney figures because these numbers were collected more recently. "Because of reform, the new rule becomes: If you have a gun, we have to actually wait for you to kill someone," Soares said. "Judges can't consider dangerousness. Judges can't use their discretion. What you have in Albany and you have it in Syracuse and you have it in Buffalo and you have it in Rochester this is not a coincidence." When there are cycles of shootings, Soares said, police and prosecutors had previously used other tactics to lock up shooting suspects or individuals likely to engage in a retaliatory gun violence, including arresting them for drug charges or other criminal activity. If they were in jail for a few months, he said, the violence would sometimes calm down. Alice Green, executive director of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany, chairs a Zero Youth Detention committee created by Albany County last year and modeled after a successful juvenile intervention program in Seattle, Wash. that is examining how the programs and resources available to the area's youth are functioning. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "Certainly Raise the Age cannot be blamed for whatever cases have happened in this period of time, but we havent looked at bail reform in terms of understanding the cases and what the impact is. We havent really looked at Raise the Age as well," Green said. "What we have been in a habit of doing is blaming certain crimes in certain times on these reforms over this short period of time." Prior studies have shown that locking up teenage offenders in prisons and juvenile detention facilities does not solve the problem, Green added, noting that racial disparity is at the heart of the reforms, as black juveniles tend to be locked up more than white, middle-class youth. "This is a community issue," she said. "When I hear prosecutors say, Oh, we knew this was going to happen, theyre basing it on a few cases." The motivation for the shootings in Albany and other cities is also no longer tied to drug battles or turf wars, as had been the case in much of the 1980s and '90s. Now, law enforcement officials said, many of the shootings are simply the result of feuds prompted by social media posts or homemade videos. "It used to be you might not see your 'enemy' for a month or two on the street. Now, they are in each others' faces constantly due to social media and text messages," a law enforcement official said. Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn said that it is too early to gauge whether the increase in violence Buffalo has had an increase in shootings of more than 50 percent this year can be attributed to bail-reform statutes. He also said that Raise the Age statutes have not contributed, as far as he can tell, to the increase in gun violence in that region. But there is a measurable increase in the severity of the crimes being committed by youthful offenders, he added. "Theyre going to Family Court on stolen car cases and on robbery cases, and they're graduating now to grand larceny and to gun possession cases," Flynn said. "Im not seeing, here, the graduation to shootings and homicides yet, but I am seeing a graduation to higher crimes." Syracuse also has seen a spike in crime, with shootings up 55 percent from a year ago and incidents in which people are injured by gunfire up 100 percent. Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick noted that a little more than two years ago, New York was "the safest large state in America, and at the same time had reduced its state prison population by a remarkable 30 percent. Thats an outstanding accomplishment." "Our crime rates in Syracuse are through the roof as they are in New York City," Fitzpatrick said. "We wait until the people cant enjoy a neighborhood, until kids get shot on their way to school, where a kid is more likely to be in a gang than he is to be able to read his diploma. And then we try to legislate our way out of it with ridiculous laws. ... I wish the geniuses in Albany would spend a day at a shelter, at a drug rehab center, at a funeral, at a community meeting listening to people of color begging me to get back their streets." 'Run ragged' The 17-year-old's mother spoke to the Times Union on July 1 when her son appeared in Family Court on the murder charge, about two hours after he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for shooting the toddler. She said that she had sought help for her son, including pursuing a Persons in Need of Supervision petition, which places a habitually disobedient juvenile under the supervision of probation officials with treatment programs to help them correct their behavior. But she said the programs and services offered through Family Court and probation had provided little, if any, benefit. She said the boy was always different from his six siblings, and that she struggled to control him. "If he had gotten the therapy and services that he needed, like a lot of these young people ...." Her voice trailed off. "They just let them run out here and run ragged." She said that she did not allow her son's friends to come into her home; the first time she met with officials associated with the Family Court case, they cautioned her that she could face a Child Protective Services investigation if she refused to allow him into her residence when he came home after hours, against her wishes. She said they spoke to her son about attending night school and he went to a therapy program, "but they're not doing nothing in the program. They give them crackers and juice, and that's it." Albany County officials said funding from the state has increased the past two years, including nearly $1.5 million for probation services and staffing. The state also reimburses the county an additional $454,000 through the county's Department for Children, Youth and Families for supervision and treatment services for juveniles. "Funding from the state has only increased over the last two years, and the county has not cut any funding from our own programs during that time," said Cameron Sagan, a spokesman for the county executive's office. Those programs include Project Growth, which focuses on juveniles who owe restitution for crimes. Sagan said there are also additional programs that help with employment training and job-retention skills, as well as courses to help youths obtain their driver's licenses so they get can to jobs easier. But the programs and intervention efforts do not appear to be turning back crime, at least not over the past two years in New York. In 2017, Cuomo hailed the legislation as a "legacy accomplishment." His office referred comment for this story to the Division of Criminal Justice Services, which issued a statement Saturday noting New York has allocated $300 million to implement the Raise the Age law, including state and local funding for comprehensive diversion, probation, detention and programming services for youth. "While New York provides support to assist localities with Raise the Age implementation, it's local judges who set conditions of probation and county probation departments that are responsible for ensuring those on probation are complying with those conditions," said Janine Kava, a spokeswoman for DCJS. Alice Green, who has been involved in Albany's criminal justice initiatives for decades, said the work of the Zero Youth Detention committee has been hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic; its members have been unable to meet for months. But she cautioned against blaming bail reform or the Raise the Age statute for the state's spike in violence, especially as that relates to youthful offenders. "Once you take one of these kids and give them long (prison) terms, the research shows that they come back in worse condition then they went in, and its a real threat to public safety," she said. "I dont see how going backwards helps with this problem. This problem of youth violence is certainly much more of a problem in terms of understanding whats happening with these kids, whats happening in our communities, and why are there more guns." Thousands of Israelis have demonstrated in Tel Aviv against what is widely seen as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus failure to address economic woes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. With economic stress deepening in recent weeks, many Israelis think the government has not done enough to compensate hundreds of thousands of workers who lost their jobs as a result of restrictions and shutdowns. Unemployment has surged to more than 20%, and Mr Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet. The protest was organised by the unemployed, the self-employed, entrepreneurs and business owners who gathered in central Tel Avivs Rabin Square. Expand Close There is widespread unrest over the governments failure to address economic woes brought about by the coronavirus crisis (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp There is widespread unrest over the governments failure to address economic woes brought about by the coronavirus crisis (AP) Participants wore masks, but did not appear to be following social distancing rules. One protester, Daniel Tieder, said: We are not working, already, nearly five months, and unfortunately most of us have not received any compensation from the Israeli government and this is really a tragedy. In every country all over the world people have received compensation and support from their government. Unfortunately, here in Israel, nothing yet. On Thursday, Mr Netanyahu announced an economic safety net promising quick relief to the self-employed and stipends over the coming year for struggling workers and business owners. The government is expected to approve the plan on Sunday. Expand Close Israelis have turned on Benjamin Netanyahu (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Israelis have turned on Benjamin Netanyahu (AP) However, the large turnout at Rabin Square was a sign of widespread discontent with the governments policies. Despite successfully keeping the outbreak under control in the spring, Israels new government, which took office in May, has been accused by some of reopening the economy too quickly. That has caused a new spike in infections which is expected to put more people out of work as a result of renewed closures. Authorities now report record levels of more than 1,000 new cases a day, higher than any peak in the spring. Expand Close A protesters holds an Israeli flag during a demonstration against Israels government (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A protesters holds an Israeli flag during a demonstration against Israels government (AP) The death toll is nearing 340. After three inconclusive elections in under a year, Mr Netanyahu and his main rival, retired military chief Benny Gantz, agreed in May to form an emergency government with a mandate to tackle the coronavirus crisis. In a statement, Mr Gantz, who serves as defence minister and alternate prime minister, acknowledged the pandemic has brought the largest health, economic and social crisis in Israels history. We understand the public outcry and we will do everything we can to be responsive to it, he said. In the face of an angry electorate, Mr Netanyahus support has tumbled. A recent Midgam Research & Consulting poll on Channel 12 TV found just 46% of respondents approved of Mr Netanyahus job performance, down from 74% in May. MANILA, Philippines Barangay Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City currently has the highest number of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the city and more than 300 of these were reported in a construction site in Bonifacio Global City (BGC). As of July 9, Barangay Fort Bonifacio, where BGC is located, has 413 confirmed coronavirus infections. Of this number, 327 were construction workers which immediately put the site on lockdown. Information from the barangay showed that 36 of them have already recovered while two died. The patients have been put under isolation in a government quarantine facility. According to Arnel Sansan, who works as site engineer of the MRB 2 Construction Company, 25 other workers on site underwent rapid testing. The site has a total of 691 workers. To ensure na yung mga tao namin dito is COVID-free, wala po silang sintomas ng COVID-19, he said. Health protocols have been in place but Sansan admitted that some workers are not strictly following rules on face mask wearing. Nahihirapan daw silang huminga tapos minsan nakakalimutan nilang isuot ang mask, he said. The workers have been hired to erect a multi-purpose building in Barangay Fort Bonifacio. But Roel Balaba, the construction projects foreman, fears the project might be stopped if the remaining workers test yield positive results. Medyo nakaka-kaba din, kasi siyempre papaano kung may nag-positive? Maaari siguro matigil ang trabaho, kawawa namin kami, he said. Taguig City Mayor Lino Cayetano earlier said he has ordered for the temporary closure and quarantine of the construction site and begun contact tracing, testing, and treatment. Other offices, facilities, and restaurants in the city that have reported COVID-19 cases or have not complied with health standards were also temporarily shuttered. RRD (with details from Correspondent Dante Amento The post Over 300 workers at BGC construction site test positive for COVID-19 appeared first on UNTV News. There are an estimated 45 million contact lens wearers in the United States of America. Contact lenses are the most effective way to correct eyesight problems - no wonder they are so popular. As the usage of contact lenses continues to grow in the States, poor contact lens practices may lead to several accidents. If you are wondering about buying contact lenses without a prescription, here is everything you might need to know to make the best decision. What are the rules for selling and purchasing contact lenses? The Federal Trade Commission has set specific laws for contact lens prescribers and users. Your prescriber must give you a copy of your prescription just after the contact lens fitting process. Also, they must correct any inaccuracies in the prescription while verifying it for you. Some rules for contact lens sellers require them to abstain from selling contact lenses without a prescription in the USA. If verification is required, the seller can contact the prescribing doctor in order to verify the prescription. Where can I buy contact lenses without a prescription? "I don't have a valid prescription for contact lenses, but I want to buy them." Well! You don't need a prescription to get a fantastic, quality pair of contact lenses. Although the Contact Lens Act abstains the retailers from selling contact lenses without permission, it is still possible to do that, and that too, legally. There are several websites and brands operating outside the US - like Vision Direct, which consider the convenience of their customers their top priority. Not only do they have all the contact lenses your eye doctor prescribes, they are also available with fast delivery and up to 45% cheaper. Since these brands are not based in the United States, they are not entirely bound to the rules and regulations set by the Federal Trade Commission. Purchasing your contact lenses in the absence or presence of a valid prescription is possible and legal under European law. What does a legal prescription specify? A proper prescription, including all the details regarding the condition of your eyes, is helpful for your contact lens retailer to provide you with the perfect pair of contact lenses suitable for your eyes. These are some details that a contact lens prescription must include: Patient's name Examination date Issue date of the prescription The expiry date of the prescription Name, address, fax number and phone number of prescriber Power Material to be used Base curve of the contact lenses The diameter of the prescribed contact lens What does the law state? The Federal Trade Commission of the United States issued the Fairness to contact lens consumers act in 2004 and released the amended act in 2020. The act commands the contact lens retailer to refrain from helping people with a set of contact lenses in the absence of a valid prescription. A valid prescription is the one that is verified by a licensed ophthalmologist and Optometrist. The rule also sets a duration for the expiration of prescriptions. The state instructs to put a period of one year for expiration unless there are some medical reasons for setting a shorter expiration date. R rate for England is between 0.8 and 1, up from between 0.8 and 0.9 last week inisters are aiming to manage any resurgence of virus through local lockdowns They warned this, along with annual NHS pressure, could lead to 'difficult winter' Ministers have been told to prepare for a surge in coronavirus cases this winter that could trigger a second national lockdown. The Governments scientific advisers now have strong evidence that the virus flourishes at an optimal temperature of around 4C (39F). They say this, combined with annual pressures on the NHS caused by seasonal flu, means the UK is heading for a difficult winter. Last night, one senior official said: We can get away with a lot at the moment because it is summer. Ministers have been told to prepare for a surge in coronavirus cases this winter that could trigger a second national lockdown (file photo of a ward at Royal Liverpool University Hospital) It is really important that people get ready for the challenges that winter will undoubtedly bring. Ministers are aiming to manage any resurgence of the virus through local lockdowns, such as the one imposed in Leicester last week. But a senior official said: If the overall numbers increase, then I would expect to have to reimpose some national measures. The official added that the Governments much-maligned test and trace strategy must be working absolutely faultlessly by the autumn. Another lockdown would have devastating economic consequences. It could also hamper Boris Johnsons plans for all children to return to school although experts on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have stressed reopening schools should be a priority. Officials said that it is significant that the city of Melbourne in Australia, where it is currently winter, had to impose a second lockdown on its five million residents this week. Ministers are aiming to manage any resurgence of the virus through local lockdowns, such as the one imposed in Leicester, pictured above, last week The virus survives longer at colder temperatures and people are more likely to gather indoors during winter, which increases the risk of transmission. Yesterday, Sage published figures showing the coronavirus outbreak is still shrinking in the UK, but only very slowly. The reproduction rate the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects is between 0.7 and 0.9 as a whole for the UK, meaning it hasnt changed in almost two months. However, the R rate for England is between 0.8 and 1, up from between 0.8 and 0.9 last week. Office for National Statistics data shows about 14,000 people in England currently have the virus. But scientists say they would like to push the number of new infections much lower before the winter to increase the UKs ability to cope with a second wave. Professor James Naismith, from the University of Oxford, said: These numbers also tell us that we are unlikely to eliminate the virus from the UK before the winter. In any event, the virus has become global. Without a vaccine, we have to plan for its presence. Latest coronavirus video news, views and expert advice at mailplus.co.uk/coronavirus A medical shop owner in Mumbai was arrested after he was found selling anti-viral drug Remdesivir at almost four times the market price. His associate has also been arrested. According to a report by India Today, Sonu Darshi (25) and his aide Rodriques Raul (31) were arrested after a police decoy contacted them posing as a customer. "They quoted Rs 20,000 for a drug costing Rs 5,400 per vial. The accused were caught red-handed while selling the medicine and police recovered four vials of the medicine," said the report. The two have been booked for cheating under the Indian Penal Code Section 420 , besides the Essential Commodities Act and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. We are probing the role of at least two staffers of the medical store at the hospital," police told Mumbai Mirror. Reuters Meanwhile, long queues were seen in various suburbs of Mumbai as availability of life-saving drugs like Remdesivir, Tocilizumab remained a major concern in the city. Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru are witnessing an acute shortage of Remdesivir and Tocilizumab, drugs which have shown encouraging results in COVID-19 patients. The shortage, which has also led to black-marketing of the drugs prompted Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and state cabinet minister Jitendra Awhad to urge the Centre to make the life-saving drugs available in the market, said a Times Now report. Gilead Sciences Inc said on Friday an analysis showed its antiviral Remdesivir helped reduce the risk of death in severely ill COVID-19 patients, but cautioned that rigorous clinical trials were needed to confirm the benefit. Remdesivir has been at the forefront of the global battle against COVID-19 after the intravenously administered medicine helped shorten hospital recovery times, according to data in April from a separate US government trial. That study showed a trend toward better survival for remdesivir but the difference was not statistically significant. Dozens of white nationalist Twitter accounts that spread a conspiracy theory which inspired the Christchurch shooter and other terrorists have been suspended. Key figures in Generation Identity saw their profiles shut down alongside national and regional factions in Germany, Austria, Italy, France and Denmark. The pan-European group calls for a remigration of Muslims from Europe and spreads a conspiracy theory claiming that white people are being eradicated. The theorys name the great replacement was the title of a manifesto posted by Brenton Tarrant before the Christchurch shooting, which itself inspired several other terror attacks. Tarrant donated money to the Austrian branch of Generation Identity and exchanged friendly emails with its leader Martin Sellner, who has been banned from entering Britain and the US on security grounds. He and other leading figures in the network had been allowed to remain on Twitter, despite widespread calls for action following the March 2019 Christchurch shootings, until Friday. NBC said more than 50 white nationalist accounts had been removed but Twitter would not publicly confirm the figure. The accounts in question were suspended for violating our policies in relation to violent extremism, a spokesperson said. It came after the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism released a critical report saying Twitter and YouTube had allowed Generation Identity to run rampant. The report said its core ideology had inspired six fatal attacks since October 2018, in Christchurch, two US synagogues, El Paso, Halle and Hanau in Germany. It would be inconceivable for social media platforms to allow Isis propaganda to spread and grow unchecked, but that is exactly what is happening with Identitarianism, it added. New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Show all 11 1 /11 New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Zakaria Bhuiyan People gather hoping to find out information about Zakaria Bhuiyan who is still missing after the mosques shootings in Christchurch. David Moir/AFP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Mucad Ibrahim Three-year-old Mucad Ibrahim, the youngest known victim of the mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. Abdi Ibrahim via AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Nadeem Rasheed Nadeem Rasheed, brother of Pakistani Naeem Rashid who died alongside his son Talha Naeem, 21, who were killed in shooting at a Mosque in Christchurch, at their home town in Abbottabad, EPA New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Omar Nabi Omar Nabi speaks to the media about losing his father Haji Daoud Nabi, 71, in the mosque attack REUTERS New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Ash Mohammed Ash Mohammed, right, talks to a police officer about his father and two brothers who are missing near the Masjid Al Noor mosque AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Akhtar Khokhur Akhtar Khokhur, 58, shows a picture of her missing husband Mehaboobbhai Khokhar, 65. AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Wasseim Alsati A note is seen on a window of a door at the family home of Wasseim Alsati in Christchurch on 17 March 2019. AFP/Getty Images New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Haroon Mahmood Relatives offer condolences to nephew (centre) of Haroon Mahmood, a Pakistani citizen who was killed in Christchurch mosque shootings. AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Farid Ahmed Farid Ahmed (pictured) survived the Al Noor mosque shootings but his wife Husne was killed. AFP/Getty Images New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Syed Areeb Ahmed A relative shows a picture of Syed Areeb Ahmed, a Pakistani citizen who was killed the Christchurch mosque shooting. AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Naeem Rashid A relative looks at a picture on a mobile phone of Pakistani nationals Naeem Rashid and his son Talha Naeem (right) who died in the Christchurch shootings. AFP/Getty Images Researchers found 67 Twitter accounts for Generation Identity chapters in 14 countries, with nearly 140,000 followers. Sellner has already gathered more than 50,000 followers on the Telegram encrypted messaging app, where he told followers that he had expected Twitter to remove his account last year. Julia Ebner, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), told The Independent that the delay had given him and other leaders time to prepare for a shift off mainstream platforms. Thats the massive issue with a time-lag in taking down accounts, she added. Recommended How Christchurch shooter inspired copycat terrorists around the world I think thats a really big mistake and hopefully thats something the tech platforms will learn for the future so they have better coordination on these things. Matthew McGregor, campaigns director at Hope Not Hate, said: Any action against those disseminating hate and division on popular social media platforms is always welcome, though it has in truth taken far too long for Twitter and others to wake up to the problem - we fear the damage is now already done. Tech companies are still way behind the curve when it comes to taking racists offline, despite these bans Twitter still seems content to let former KKK leader David Duke use their platform to spread antisemitic conspiracies and hate. Ms Ebner said that several groups and think-tanks had previously warned Twitter that Generation Identitys propaganda was inspiring attacks around the world, but that it was good to see theyve given into the pressure. In the past few months Generation Identity outlets in different countries have been spreading really disinformation and conspiracy theories around coronavirus, she added. They include attempts to link migration to coronavirus, including allegations that the first case in Italy was a migrant, and that asylum seekers in France are committing robberies during the pandemic. The UK branch of Generation Identity was formally dissolved in January, after infighting caused the group to split from the European leadership and rebrand itself as the Identitarian Movement. A Generation Identity training camp in summer 2016 (YouTube) Ms Ebner said that although there were indications that the groups offline structures had been weakened, their online networks had not. Its becoming more of a loose network than the top-organised group with a standardised strategy, she explained. Its more fragmented right now but that doesnt mean we should underestimate the danger from their overarching ideology. Last year, the head of UK counterterror policing named far-right extremism as the fastest growing terror threat, despite Islamist-inspired plots and attacks remaining more frequent. But when asked by The Independent how Generation Identity was being combatted in September, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he had no plan because the group did not cross the threshold for current terror laws. Last month, a review was launched over concerns there were gaps in the law which allow extremists including Generation Identity to operate with impunity. The former head of counterterrorism, Sir Mark Rowley, is leading the inquiry which will examine whether existing legislation adequately addresses hateful extremism. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 09:49 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406658c5ab 4 National East-Java,Bank-Jatim,embezzlement,2019-legislative-election,election-campaign,imprisonment,corruption Free A panel of judges of the Pamekasan District Court in East Java has sentenced Ani Fatini, a former employee of East Java administration-owned lender Bank Jatim, to four-and-a-half years in prison for embezzling customers money to fund her husband's campaign in the 2019 legislative election. During a hearing on Tuesday, the court found Ani guilty of embezzling Rp 7.7 billion (US$533,333) of the bank's customers' money. "She used the embezzled money to buy bags, veils, a house on Jl. Jokotole and a car. She also used the money to go on a vacation abroad and to fund her husband's legislative election campaign," presiding judge Lingga Setiawan said on Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com. During the trial, the bench also found that Ani did not use all the money she embezzled. Instead, she managed to return Rp 2.9 billion in installments directly to the customers. Read also: Indonesia's elections too expensive The sentence was slightly lighter than the five years' imprisonment sought by prosecutors. The embezzlement case came to light in August last year after several village heads in Galis district, Bangkalan regency in the province found that their money had been disappearing from the villages' bank accounts. They reported the disappearance of money, amounting to between Rp 30 million to Rp 50 million, from the accounts. They reported the incident to the head of Bank Jatim's Pamekasan office, who then reported the case to the Pamekasan Police. The police's investigation later revealed that Ani, who had worked at the bank for 10 years, had transferred the money to her own account between February to July 2019. The police also found that Ani had made fake bank account activity reports for the customers and forged their signatures. (nal) Blaise claimed the police arrested him over his unusual physical features A Nigerian man, Matthew Blaise has accused police officers of arresting him for having a big nyash. The effeminate man shared his sad ordeal on Facebook. always Easy for you disgusting Cishet people to say. Fuck you again. Again and again and again. May you never go through violence the way I do. This people dont know me online. They arrested me for having a big yansh which makes me look gay he said while replying a comment. According to him, he was humiliated by the police who debased him with different vile names. See his post below: YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenia presented the 2nd Voluntary National Review Report on UN Sustainable Development Goals during the online High-Level Political Forum held under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council on July 10, the Armenian foreign ministry told Armenpress. This year the Forum was being held under the title Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development. Armenias Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mher Margaryan was chairing the part of the Forum relating to the presentation of the voluntary reports as Vice Chairman of the UN Economic and Social Council. Armenias report was firstly presented via a video, showing the actions taken in the country since 2018 for the implementation of the SDGS, the achievements recorded, as well as the innovative solutions aimed at overcoming the existing challenges. It also touched upon the situation caused by the novel coronavirus in the country and the governments measures aimed at eliminating its consequences. Then, the presentation was followed by a Q&A session. Armenian deputy foreign minister Artak Apitonyan answered to the questions of the online Forum participants. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Operations Officer, Kiev, Ukraine Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Country: Ukraine City: Kyiv, Ukraine Office: FAO Kyiv, Ukraine Closing date: Monday, 27 July 2020 2001504 Operations Officer Job Posting: 06/Jul/2020 Closure Date: 27/Jul/2020, 9:59:00 PM Organizational Unit : Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, REU Job Type: Staff position Type of Requisition : Professional Project Grade Level : P-3 Primary Location: Ukraine-Kiev Duration : Fixed-term: one year with possibility of extension Post Number : 2007988 CCOG Code : 1A11 IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device The length of appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to the extension of appointments FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender and nationality People with disabilities are protected from any type of discrimination during any stage of employment, including the recruitment phase All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization Organizational Setting The Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU) is responsible for leading FAOs response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of FAOs priority activities in the region. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the Region and, in collaboration with departments and divisions at Headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAOs strategic response to regional priorities. REU also advises on the incorporation of regional priorities into the Organizations Programme of Work and Budget and implements approved programmes and projects in the region, monitors the level of programme implementation and draws attention to problems and deficiencies. REU develops and maintains relations with region-wide institutions including the Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs). The Regional Office supports regional policy dialogue on food security, agriculture and rural development issues, facilitates the emergence of regional partnerships, and supports capacity development and resource mobilization for food security, agriculture and rural development in the region. Reporting Lines The Operations Officer reports to the Programme Coordinator and works in close collaboration with the Regional Programme Leader for Europe and Central Asia and the international and national FAO technical staff in Ukraine, with staff in charge of administration and finance, with relevant stakeholders, and will liaise with relevant technical and programme staff at FAO Regional Office and headquarters. Technical Focus Lead and coordinate the operational support function of the field programme including emergency, rehabilitation and development projects, in national, regional and global projects. Key Results The provision of operation support services. Key Functions Acts as a focal point for all project operational matters, organizes and handles the day-to-day operational activities of the field programme (including emergency, rehabilitation and development projects, in national, regional and global projects) and takes action in consultation with supervisors on any issues which arise during the execution period; Prepares project task force meetings and provides secretariat support; Ensures the timely provision of project inputs (personnel, technical support services, subcontracts, training, equipment and supplies) directly by the Organization or, when appropriate, through contractors and in liaison with other support units; Participates in the preparation of project work plans, monitors progress and identifies corrective measures to overcome operational constraints; Reviews and monitors the project budget, prepares requests and revisions as required, maintains and monitors budget expenditures and resources, reviews project transaction listings with a view to identify errors in accounting against budget lines; Prepares and submits the Project Implementation Reports and any other reports required by the Organization; Ensures the completeness and quality of data and documentation in the FAO corporate systems (e.g. GRMS, FPMIS), for all assigned operational field projects and activities; Prepares analytical reports on project performances as required; Coordinates action concerning the completion of field projects and arranges for timely and adequate reporting, including identification of project follow-up requirements; Contributes to the formulation of project proposals according to FAOs procedures and prepares project documents for technical clearance and final approval under different funding arrangements; Performs other duties as required. Specific Functions Participates in the development, implementation and evaluation of assigned programmes/projects, etc.; monitors and analyses programme/project development and implementation; Reviews relevant documents and reports; identifies problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and tracks follow-up actions; Assists in policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of impact evaluation or equivalent studies; Prepares various written outputs, e.g. drafts background papers, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications; Undertakes outreach activities; conducts training workshops, seminars, etc.; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities; Coordinates activities related to budget and funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements, etc.) and prepares related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget, etc.). CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING Minimum Requirements Advanced university degree in public or business administration, finance, accounting, economics, social sciences or another field related to the FAO mandate; Five years of relevant experience in project management/operations and support; Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish). Competencies Results Focus Teamwork Communication Building Effective Relationships Tags capacity development central asia continuous improvement development projects economic integration financial statements food security impact evaluation knowledge sharing operational activities programme implementation project implementation project management resource mobilization rural development social sciences standards of conduct support services transparency Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement Technical/Functional Skills Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable; Extent and relevance of experience in programme/project formulation, analysis, planning and implementation; Understanding of FAO policies and programmes is considered a strong asset; Extent and relevance of experience in supporting, advising and guiding the implementation of complex multistakeholder projects; Extent of experience in formulation, implementation and monitoring of projects; Ability to develop plans for the implementation and coordination of project operations in developing countries, in partnership with United Nations (UN) agencies and other concerned stakeholders and/or partners; Familiarity with UN administrative, operational and financial procedures is an asset; Working knowledge of Russian is considered a strong asset. Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency. GENERAL INFORMATION FAO reserves the right not to make an appointment, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description. CONDITIONS OF SERVICE A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, click on the following link: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries allowances/salary.htm Other benefits, subject to eligibility, include: Dependency allowances Rental subsidy Education grant for children Home leave travel 30 working days of annual leave per year Pension fund entitlements under the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund International health insurance; optional life insurance Disability protection FAO encourages a positive workplace culture to increase inclusivity and diversity within its workforce. FAO applies measures in which all staff members contribute equally and in full to the work and development of the Organization. This includes: elements of family-friendly policies flexible working arrangements standards of conduct HOW TO APPLY To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications and language skills; Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile; Once your profile is completed, please apply and submit your application; Your application will be screened based on the information provided on your online profile; Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list; Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications; Incomplete applications will not be considered; Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered; We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org The Egyptian Court of Cassation turned down on Saturday an appeal by Muslim Brotherhood member Mahmoud Makawi Afifi, upholding a 20-year prison sentence by a criminal court over Afifis involvement in violence that took place in the Ittihadeya incidents of 2012. The case involved violence against protesters who were holding a sit-in in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, during which journalist El-Husseini Abu-Deif was killed. The Court of Cassation also upheld the verdict against the late deposed President Mohamed Morsi and Brotherhood leaders including Mohamed El-Beltagy, Issam El-Erian, and six others in the same case. The Brotherhood leaders were sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison. The cassation courts ruling is final and cannot be appealed. Affi was convicted by a criminal court in April 2014. He was sentenced in absentia to 20 years imprisonment, and was later arrested and convicted again in a retrial. The criminal court convicted the defendants in the case of inciting violence and ordering the illegal detention and torture of protesters, as well as breaking up their peaceful sit-in in front of the presidential palace in 2012. On 5 December 2012, under Morsi's regime, opposition forces rallied in front of the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace to peacefully protest a November 2012 presidential decree giving Morsi immunity from judicial oversight. The following morning, hundreds of Morsi supporters stormed a small overnight sit-in. This prompted thousands of Morsi's opponents to demonstrate again at the palace, resulting in clashes with his followers. At least 10 people were killed, including Abu-Deif, a 33-year-old journalist at the weekly El-Fagr newspaper, who was covering the protest. Search Keywords: Short link: Hotels are in talks with banks on a three-pronged approach on paying principal and interest after the moratorium of six months the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given is over by September. For one, hotels with standard loans are in discussion with banks on increasing their terms by another 12 months. On average the terms of loans for the industry are six-seven years. This will require the RBIs endorsement. The second approach is to allow hotels with a good track record to spread the payment of the outstanding principal and interest due for the six-month moratorium ... US GP official Bobby Epstein has admitted the Austin race is likely to be called off for 2020. As F1 adds Russia and Mugello to its now 10-race 'corona calendar', other rounds at Hockenheim, Imola, Portimao, Hanoi, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi are tipped to soon follow. But due to the ongoing pandemic, North and South American events in the US, Brazil and Mexico look unlikely. Austin's Circuit of the Americas this week tweeted - and then deleted - that its MotoGP race for 2020 is definitely off. And circuit chairman Epstein told the Austin American Statesman: "The Formula 1 US GP faces a similar situation, although they have scheduled stops in Brazil and Mexico. "Those stops make a North American race more feasible, but the event is likewise in serious jeopardy," he added. Other circuit officials said the venue in Austin, which has laid off half of its staff, does not have insurance that would cover a cancellation in the event of a pandemic. A spokesman said that from a financial perspective, 2020 "has been a complete loss". (GMM) A new lawsuit challenges the city of Richmonds authority to remove its Confederate statues and requests that those already taken down be put back up. The lawsuit, filed in Richmond Circuit Court on Friday by two Monument Avenue residents, says Mayor Levar Stoney unlawfully ordered the iconography taken down last week on the first day of a new law that gave the city control of the statues future. Stoney rejected advice from the city attorney and skirted a state-established 60-day process for removal, citing public safety. That justification, according to the complaint, was pretextual and arbitrary. Mayor Stoney had available means to safeguard public safety within the Monument Avenue Historic District and in the locations in which the other monuments were located without removing the monuments at issue, the lawsuit reads. Removal of the statues would not and did not enhance or protect public safety. Stoney spokesman Jim Nolan said: The city does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation. The lawsuit also names each member of the City Council. Council President Cynthia Newbille did not return an email requesting comment after normal business hours Friday. Three hundred and fifty-six (356) soldiers are formally exiting the Nigerian Army citing loss of interest, PREMIUM TIMES can report, in a development insiders say is indicative of broken morale in the army. The army is currently engaged in various combat operations as insecurity worsens across the country. Many of the soldiers are among the troops engaged in the decade-long war against Boko Haram in the Northeast, while others are from various other formations across the country. But apart from the 356 who are leaving for losing interest in the army, 24 others are exiting because they want to take traditional title, making a total of 380 soldiers, including two Master Warrant Officers and 28 Warrant Officers, voluntarily discharging from the army, according to sources with direct knowledge of the development. Already, the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, has, this July, approved the voluntary discharge of all the 380 soldiers who are to proceed on terminal leave on December 20 and disengage on January 3 next year in accordance with Nigerian Army Administrative Policy and Procedure 27 Paragraphs 3 and 4, our sources confirmed. That the reason given by most of them is loss of interest is an indication of low morale in the army due to poor leadership, one army insider said, claiming the army had been broken, demoralised and polarised more than ever before under Buratai. It is an indication of the rot in the system, said another officer who knew about the mass disengagement. More than those enduring the long official process to exit the army, many soldiers have deserted the army especially from among the troops combating Boko Haram in the Northeast, sources in the frontline said. At various times, commanders and soldiers have appeared in videos complaining about logistical support and equipment available to them to combat the terrorists in a war that has in ten years precipitated a humongous humanitarian disaster in the Lake Chad region, displacing millions of people and killing thousands. In one case, a former commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Olusegun Adeniyi, appeared in a rare video admitting soldiers were outgunned by the terrorists. In that video, March this year, Mr Adeniyi could be seen among disorganised troops decrying losses of men and equipment in a particular encounter with Boko Haram, who were facing us from every flank with not less than15 gun trucks. Mr Adeniyi was swiftly removed from his position after the video emerged, with the current commander, Faruq Yahaya, taking over. On Tuesday, troops of 25 Brigade on patrol were ambushed by terrorists on Damboa-Maiduguri Road. In the ensuing fight, 37 soldiers were killed in action and about 60 unaccounted for, according to security sources briefed following the losses, which also included nine gun trucks. Tempers were rising amongst the troops of 25 Task Force Brigade, a source in the frontline said after the attack on Tuesday, before the efforts to calm the situation. However, the military officially told the public only two soldiers died, while 17 terrorists were killed. That official press release is a total lie to preempt the press, one army source said. The source said the misrepresentation to avoid having to answer questions about the use of heavy funds and also to prevent renewed calls for the removal of the service chiefs. Apart from the Northeastern anti-terrorism operations, the army, alongside the airforce, is combatting the spiralling armed violence from rural banditry and farmer-herdsmen conflict in the Northwest and Northcentral. In these areas, the exacerbating insecurity appears to have gone beyond the constabulary capacities of the police. Even in the Southeast, the army has been involved in federal efforts to stop the secessionist threats; and in the Niger Delta, it helps in protecting oil and gas infrastructure. Meanwhile, apart from the 380 soldiers voluntary exiting the army, mostly for losing interest, six others are being discharged based on the recommendation of the armed forces medical board. READ ALSO: Thus, a total of 386 soldiers are disengaging and 356 among them have opted out over loss of interest amid morale crisis in the service. Units and formations have been directed to recover all military items from the affected soldiers, who are to report to the army headquarters for documentation by October 20 and complete forms to make withdrawals from various contributory schemes. Many more have deserted without any official process, according to our sources. They just abandoned their guns and uniforms and ran away, one source said. Advertisements The spokesperson for the army, Musa Sagir, denied claim of low morale in the army. The Nigerian Army is in very high morale, he said. He added that the army is very well prosecuting all the operations it is involved in whether the insurgency in the Northeast and banditry in the Northwest. He said there was no mass disengagement happening in the army. But PREMIUM TIMES reviewed documents and spoke with sources, contradicting Mr Sagirs position. Rev David Bruce will attend the National Day of Commemoration in Dublin on Saturday, the first official state ceremonial he will attend as Moderator. Dr Bruce (62) will participate in the National Day of Commemoration, which remembers Irishmen and Irishwomen who lost their lives in past wars or on service with the Irish Defence Forces with the United Nations. The event takes place on the Sunday nearest to July 11, which is the anniversary of the signing of the 1921 truce that ended the Irish War of Independence. Dr Bruce was installed as the 175th Presbyterian Moderator last month. It will not be the first time that Dr Bruce will have participated in the national act of remembrance. He previously attended as Minister of the Dublin congregations of Clontarf, Ormond Quay and Scots Presbyterian Churches in 1990, reading the Lord's Prayer in Irish. Dr Bruce said: "While leaders have changed in those 30 years, and Ireland has also changed in many respects since then, the purpose of the National Day of Commemoration remains unchanged. "It is a privilege to represent the Presbyterian Church in Ireland at this significant act of remembrance once again." Dr Bruce will join the new Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, and Irish President Michael D Higgins, who will lead a scaled back commemoration due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following the laying of a wreath by Mr Higgins, a minute's silence will be observed. Remembering the Irishmen and Irishwomen who lost their lives in past wars, including both World Wars and on service with the United Nations, Dr Bruce said that this year is especially poignant. It marks not only the 75th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War, but the 60th anniversary of the first peacekeeping mission in which an armed Irish contingent took part. "Ireland has played a key peacekeeping role with the United Nations since 1958," he added. "The deployment of Irish Defence Forces personnel to the UN's mission, in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo two years later, was not without cost. "As we remember lives lost in the service of peace, it is also important to note that for the fourth time Ireland has secured a non-permanent seat on the UN's Security Council for the forthcoming year. "This will enable Ireland to continue to play a key role, albeit a different role, in peace-building and peacekeeping." Silver demand by investors was up 10 percent, said the Silver Institute yesterday. The institute said there was "...remarkably strong growth in silver-backed exchange-traded products (ETPs), which have posted successive all-time highs this year, together with solid silver coin and bar investment." The price for the metal has gotten better. The institute noted that the silver price averaged US$16.65 through to the end of June. "Having fallen sharply in mid-March, the silver price has since recovered strongly, rising by 56 percent to reach US$17.84 at end-June; it has since broken through the US$18 barrier," wrote the institute. The Silver Insitute described the inflows into silver ETPs as being "impressive" this year. "As of June 30, global holdings reached a fresh all-time high of 925 million ounces (Moz), which is roughly 14 months of mine supply. The ETP growth in the first half 2020 of 196 Moz comfortably surpassed the highest annual inflow of 149 Moz set in 2009. North American listed funds accounted for some 90% of the ETP inflows since March," writes the institute. Retail bullion coin sales are estimated by the report's authors to be up 60 percent year-on-year. "Silver bar and coin sales surged in response to a deteriorating economic outlook linked to the global COVID-19 pandemic, leading to some supply-chain disruptions. This saw dealer stocks for several silver investment products quickly depleted, resulting in extended delivery lead times and higher premiums." Silver could also gain from supply disruptions caused by COVID-19. "Global silver mine supply is expected to continue its decline, given the temporary production stoppages of mining operations in several significant silver mining countries due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Even with most of the mining operations now back online, global silver mine production is forecast to dip by 7 percent in 2020." Gangster Vikas Dubey killed by police in an encounter faced a total of 61 criminal cases, including eight of murder involving the killing of at least 15 people. The last murder case registered in the Chaubeypur police station of the district following the ambush of a police team by his henchmen alone accounts for the killing of eight policemen, besides the seven other cases of murder registered against him between 1992 and 2017, reveals a police history sheet on Dubey's offences. In his three-decade criminal career starting in 1990, Dubey faced nine cases of attempts to murder besides two under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, seven under the Gangsters Act, six under the Goonda Act, three under the Arms Act, besides a slew of cases for various other penal offences. Nearly 80 per cent of the 61 first information reports registered against him were lodged during the first half of his criminal career which came to a gory end on Friday. The first case against the alleged mafioso, a native of Bikru village under Chaubeypur police station in Kanpur, was registered against him in 1990 for causing 'grievous hurt' and 'provoking breach of peace' by intentional insult, reveal the official document. Dubey was around 30 years old when he was booked under the stringent National Security Act in 2001. The FIR was lodged at the Shivli police station in Kanpur. According to the document on Dubey's criminal antecedents, 48 of the 61 FIRs were registered between 1990 and 2005 at various police stations in the Kanpur metropolis district itself. Between 2006 and 2020, a total of 12 FIRs (20 per cent) were registered against him with the last three of them registered at the Chaubeypur police station itself. The last one was lodged there after the last week's ambush of a police team by his henchmen, in which eight police officials, including a deputy superintendent of police, were killed. The second half of Dubey's crime career saw seven-year lull from 2008 to 2014 when no FIR was lodged against him until 2017, when he was asked by an executive magistrate to execute a bond under section 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code to vouch for his good behaviour. The first murder case against Dubey was lodged in 1992 and overall eight FIRs were lodged against him under Indian Penal Code section 302 till date, the second last of which came in 2017. Dubey also had nine cases of attempted murder on his name. Seven times between 1993 and 2018, he was booked under the Gangsters Act, while he faced charges under the Goonda Act six times between 1997 and 2017. Dubey was also charged under the Arms Act thrice respectively in 1993, 2002 and 2017. He was also booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in 1998 and 2006, when a case was lodged against him in Saharanpur. This was for the first time that he was booked outside Kanpur. The second time he was booked in Lucknow under the Arms Act. The mastermind of the Kanpur ambush was shot dead early on Friday in an encounter with the police along a highway on the outskirts of the city after he tried to flee from their ustody, a day after he was arrested at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. Bethesda (United States) (AFP) - US President Donald Trump wore a face mask in public for the first time Saturday, finally yielding to intense pressure to set a public health example as the coronavirus rampages across America. Trump had on a black mask as he walked through the corridors of Walter Reed military hospital outside Washington to meet with wounded veterans. Trump walked past reporters and did not stop to speak to them about what had become a hotly anticipated moment -- his possible change of heart on a practice recommended by the government's own medical experts, even as he resisted. "I think it's a great thing to wear a mask. I've never been against masks but I do believe they have a time and a place," Trump said as he left the White House. News reports this week said aides practically begged the president to relent and wear a mask in public -- and let himself be photographed wearing it -- as coronavirus cases soar in some states and as Trump trails Democrat Joe Biden badly in polls ahead of the November election. Trump has steadfastly defended his administration's handling of the pandemic even though the US is the hardest-hit country in the world. The country has recently seen several days of more than 60,000 new cases, nearly 135,000 people have died and states have been left to figure out on their own how to reopen without a clear and coherent strategy from the White House. The opening scenes of new drama series The Plot Against America start gently enough. Its June 1940 in Newark, New Jersey, and on the sunny streets children are marking out play areas in chalk while pinafore-wearing mums chat on doorsteps before going into their neat suburban homes to prepare dinner. Thousands of miles away in Europe the Second World War may be well underway, but you can barely feel its ominous presence here. Yet these scenes of community harmony will not last long. Based on the 2004 Philip Roth novel of the same name, this compelling six-episode drama starring Winona Ryder poses the age-old question What if?, imagining a world in which the real-life aviation hero Charles Lindbergh defeats Franklin D Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential elections. Six-part series The Plot Against America, imagines the world with Charles Lindbergh as US president. Pictured: Lindbergh (left) with Bengelsdorf A xenophobic populist elected on a ticket of anti-US involvement in the war, President Lindbergh turns the nation towards fascism and anti-Semitism, something the viewer sees through the eyes of the working-class Levin family Herman, an insurance agent and an opinionated socialist, his wife Bess, brother Monty and sons Philip and Sandy. They experience open bigotry on the street corners first, then official singling-out from the powers-that-be in Washington. This central premise may seem unlikely but the drama, which also features John Turturro as Lionel Bengelsdorf, a rabbi who becomes a key figure in Lindberghs administration, is rooted in some historical reality. In 1927, aged just 25, Lindbergh had achieved global fame by making the first solo transatlantic flight, yet his renown was horribly compounded five years later when his infant son, Charles Jr, was kidnapped and murdered in what the American media called the crime of the century. Overwhelmed by the publicity, the Lindberghs went into exile in Europe, from where they returned home in 1939, Lindbergh apparently heavily influenced by the politics hed witnessed there. By then, this all-American hero had already attracted intense criticism for accepting a medal from Nazi military and political leader Hermann Goering, and he proved a vocal supporter of non-American intervention in the war. Winona Ryder who plays Herman Levins unmarried, independent-minded sister-in-law Evelyn Finkel (pictured), revealed she was attracted to the project because of it's modern parallels It is against this backdrop that Roth, who died in 2018, formulated his story, seamlessly combining truth and fiction, although he was always clear he wanted to make his book as true to life as possible. To alter the historical reality by making Lindbergh Americas 33rd president while keeping everything else as close to factual truth as I could that was the job as I saw it, he wrote in 2004. Nor, Roth insisted, did he intend the novel to be a political allegory, although 16 years on, viewers may see his account of a celebrity-turned-politician winning the presidency on a platform of popular fearmongering eerily prophetic. That is the view of the shows co-creator David Simon the man responsible for the cult series The Wire who calls it a story of an American dystopia. Co-creator David Simon, explained the series follows a politician who seizes upon the opportunity to activate fears of a significant number of Americans. Pictured: A scene from The Plot Against America It seems startlingly prescient in that it anticipates a politician who seizes upon a simple message and is able to activate the worst fears and impulses of a significant number of Americans, he says. Its a view echoed by Winona Ryder, who plays Herman Levins unmarried, independent-minded sister-in-law Evelyn Finkel. A Roth fan, she says the modern-day parallels of this drama were one of the reasons she was so attracted to the project and why viewers will be drawn in. The fear of the other , whats happening at the [US-Mexico] border, all of that is so outrageous and I think the last few years have been a mind-boggling nightmare in so many ways, she says. Obviously a lot of this has been weighing on all of our minds. The Plot Against America starts on Tuesday at 9pm on Sky Atlantic. Plus all episodes are available from Tuesday on Now TV and Sky On Demand. The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) is to set up two sanitation courts to deal with waste management and sanitary-related offences. Mr. Osei Asibey-Antwi, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), said the processes for setting up the courts were in progress as the Assembly had awarded the projects on contract. We have secured the necessary land resources for the successful take-off of the projects, he hinted in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Kumasi. The courts when completed, he said, would ensure the speedy adjudication of sanitary-related offences to help induce an attitudinal change amongst the people in terms of how they respond to waste management issues. Mr. Assibey-Antwi said waste management remained the greatest headache of the Assembly. It is our determination to reduce to the barest minimum the rate at which the citizenry flouted environmental-sanitation bye-laws, he noted. The MCE advised the five sub-metropolitan areas under the KMA to enforce to the letter environmental-sanitation bye-laws to prevent the outbreak of communicable diseases. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Heres a look at the top criminal-justice headlines from around Staten Island this past week: NYPD: MAN, 45, KILLED AFTER STAPLETON SHOOTING A 45-year-old man was killed in Stapleton Sunday night, police said. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk) A 45-year-old man was killed in Stapleton Sunday night, police said. The man, identified as Moleik Beverly, was found with a gunshot wound to the head after police arrived to 197 Gordon St. at approximately 8:47 p.m., the NYPD said in a written statement. Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Click here for more details 17 S.I. RESTAURANTS, GROCERY SHOPS BURGLARIZED The NYPD is asking for the publics help to identify a man sought for questioning in connection with 17 reported burglaries of restaurants and grocery stores on Staten Island. The heists, which occurred between May 14 and June 22, have been identified by police as a burglary pattern in the 120th, 121st and 122nd precincts, according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. The man gained entry into the businesses mainly by breaking through secured front gates, and once inside, he removed cash, electronics and cigarettes, with about $6,000 in total property taken from all the establishments, police said. Click here for the story TWO-ALARM FIRE MONDAY For the second time in less than a year, members of the FDNY were injured responding to a house fire on Grove Street in Stapleton. ( Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel ) For the second time in less than a year, members of the FDNY were injured responding to a house fire on Grove Street in Stapleton. An ongoing investigation by fire marshals has determined both fires were intentional, according to an FDNY spokesman. Smoke was reported just before 1 p.m. Monday at 24 Grove St., where more than 100 FDNY members battled flames amid afternoon temperatures exceeding 90 degrees. A total of 25 units responded to the two-alarm blaze. Click here for more details NYPD PROBING REPORT OF HIT-RUN The NYPD is investigating the circumstances surrounding a crash in Annadale last month that left a 30-year-old pedestrian hurt.Courtesy Tracy Tozzi The NYPD is investigating the circumstances surrounding a crash in Annadale last month that left a 30-year-old pedestrian hurt, after the victims mother alleges the driver left the scene. The alleged incident occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m. on May 27, when Michael Slow was crossing the street near his residence, according to police and the mans mother. A car made a right turn from Hylan Boulevard onto Barclay Street and allegedly hit Slow, dragging him several feet along the rough asphalt, said Tracy Tozzi, the victims mother. Click here ATTEMPTED ROBBERY The NYPD provided a photo of the man sought for questioning in connection with an attempted robbery in New Springville. (Photo provided by NYPD) Police are seeking the publics assistance in identifying a man sought for questioning in connection to an attempted robbery in New Springville that took place last month. A 19-year-old woman was walking home from the bus in the vicinity of Bangor Street and Bridgetown Street on June 14 at approximately 12:50 a.m., when an unknown male pushed her from behind and attempted to take her purse, according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. The unknown man was not able to remove the purse, the NYPD statement said, and he fled the scene in an unknown direction. Click here for the story POLICE SEEK TIPS RELATED TO BURGLARIES Police are asking for tips via social media to locate people sought for questioning in connection with two separate burglaries where a home and a business were looted on Staten Island. In one of the burglaries, police said someone used a key to gain access to a home and swipe an Apple watch. The resident of the home said she had her key with her when the burglary occurred but that she hadnt changed the locks after she moved in, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. Click here for more details COPS SEEK TIPS IN ALLEGED ROBBERY The NYPD is asking for the publics help to identify a man sought for questioning in connection with an incident in which a teen allegedly was robbed in New Springville. (Courtesy of NYPD) The NYPD is asking for the publics help to identify a man sought for questioning in connection with an incident in which a teen allegedly was robbed when he bought a Gucci belt in New Springville. A 15-year-old male victim met with an unknown individual who sold the belt to the teen in front of 140 Marsh Ave. on June 15 at about 4:30 p.m., according to police. The individual then snatched the belt and the teens backpack that contained $200 in cash, according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. Click here for the story For the third day, Yerevan firefighters are extinguishing fire at the largest dump in the outskirts of Nubarashen, the press service of Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported today. "Fire brigades of the rescue service department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Yerevan, the task force for rescue operations with four water carriers and six units of special equipment are working on the cite, RIA Novosti news agency informs. Garbage burns on an area of four hectares at the dump. Firefighters have already used about 314 tons of water, the press service reports. On Saturday, an unknown robbed one of the St. Petersburg banks, taking four million rubles. The robbery happened on Veterans Avenue around 16.40. The press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region reported that a man in a medical mask ran into a bank branch and shot from an object that looked like a gun. By threatening an employee of the bank with this item, he stole about four million rubles, the press service informs, RIA Novosti reports. London, July 11 : English Premier League club Manchester City will learn on Monday the decision of Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over their appeal against the two-year UEFA ban, announced CAS late on Friday. In February, UEFA confirmed that Manchester City has been banned from European competitions for the next two seasons and fined 30 million euros (32.5 million US dollars) after being found guilty of "serious breaches" of UEFA's financial fair play rules, reports Xinhua news agency. The club denied any wrongdoing and appealed to CAS. According to reports of British media, their appeal began in June and has been heard by three CAS lawyers. City has been unthroned by Liverpool in the Premier League this season as the Reds clinched their first top-flight title in 30 years with seven games remaining. But the powerhouses look unthreatened in the second place as they are holding a nine-point lead to third-placed Chelsea with four games to play. City will host Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 round second leg in early August. They won the first leg 2-1 in Madrid. Meanwhile, the historic UEFA Champions League quarter-final and semi-final draw took place on Friday. It was historic in the sense because it took place even before all the matches in Round of 16 got over. The Champions League had to be stopped in March due to the coronavirus pandemic with few second-leg matches left to be played. The governing body had earlier announced dates of the second-leg matches which will be played behind closed doors in Turin, Manchester, Munich and Barcelona on August 7 and 8 respectively. Fingal County Council welcomes the news that two former councillors of Fingal County Council were appointed as Ministers of State to the new government as announced yesterday. The appointments were confirmed last week when Joe O'Brien, Dublin Fingal TD, and Jack Chambers, Dublin West TD, were given their portfolios. Joe O'Brien was appointed as a Minister of State to the Department of Rural and Community Development with responsibility for Community Development and Charities. Mr. O'Brien served on Fingal County Council after his election 2019 until his election to the Dail later that year in a by-election. Jack Chambers, who served as a councillor on Fingal County Council from 2014 until 2016 when he was elected to the Dail, was appointed as Minister of State to the Department of Finance with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance. Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. David Healy said about the appointments: 'It is great to see a further two former Fingal councillors appointed as Ministers of State this week. As we face the combined challenges of protecting ourselves from the pandemic and achieving a just transition from recession to a sustainable economy, I wish them all the best in their new roles.''AnnMarie Farrelly, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, said: "I wish the two Ministers of State from Fingal all the best on the appointments to their Departments, I look forward to working with them and their Departments in the coming years. It is important that we work together at all levels of government to rebuild Fingal and Ireland after the Covid-19 pandemic.' This announcement follows the appointments made by An Taoiseach Micheal Martin of his cabinet and to the Seanad on Saturday which saw former Taoiseach and Dublin West TD Leo Varadkar named as Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, fellow Dublin West TD Roderic O'Gorman was appointed as Minister for Children, Disabilities, Equality and Integration, and Dublin Fingal TD Darragh O'Brien appointed as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Former councillor Emer Currie and former senator Lorraine Clifford Lee were also appointed to the Seanad. The moment John Pomfrey understood the true extent of his wifes deceit came when a policeman showed him her driving licence. So what? he said. Doesnt everyone have one? The officers reply stunned him: No not if theyre blind they dont. After 15 years of marriage, Christina Pomfreys supposed lack of eyesight came as a complete surprise to her husband. And that was just the start of it. What would emerge is an extraordinary story of how, over the course of two decades, the 65-year-old grandmother cheated the taxpayer out of more than 1 million. Grandmother Christina Pomfrey, 65, cheated the taxpayer out of more than 1 million over the course of two decades Using two identities, and pretending to be both blind and suffering from multiple sclerosis, she had accessed pretty much every benefit under the sun everything from income support, to housing benefit, to disability living allowance. It meant, at one stage, Pomfrey was raking in a staggering 13,000 a month giving her earnings five time those of the average British worker. She wasnt entitled to a penny of it. Not that it stopped her enjoying the fruits of her ill-gotten gains. Pretending to her third husband she owned a string of newsagents, she blew the cash on clothes, cosmetic treatments and luxury Caribbean holidays. Her deceit was only discovered in 2017 when she was finally put under surveillance by investigators from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). They secretly filmed her driving, reading a newspaper and collecting her grandchildren from school. Pomfrey admitted to what she did only to launch another bogus claim while out on bail. In court last month, she pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud, false accounting and making or supplying articles for use in frauds. This was money to which you were not entitled, Judge Sophie McKone said as she sentenced Pomfrey to three years and eight months in prison. You stole 1 million from your fellow citizens. Money which would have gone to people who justly deserved it. Money that could have gone to schools and hospitals. Pomfrey is far from alone. Figures this week show payments to benefits cheats and benefits paid in fraud and error soared by more than 20 per cent to a record 4.5 billion last year. Or, put another way, enough to pay for 750,000 hip operations or build two big city hospitals. Worst hit of all is Universal Credit, the new all-encompassing benefits payment introduced by the Tories. According to spending watchdog the National Audit Office, one pound in every ten claimed under it should not have been paid. Christina Pomfrey's benefit fraud, including pretending to be both blind and suffering from multiple sclerosis, came as a surprise to her husband John, 60 (pictured on holiday in Mexico in 2006) More worrying still is the acknowledgement that things are going to get even worse this year. Benefit officials have warned that, during the first weeks of the Covid crisis, as much as 1.5 billion may have been lost in fraudulent claims for Universal Credit as checks were relaxed to allow for swift payments. Even before Covid, fraud and error was at an all-time high, Meg Hillier, the Labour MP who heads the Commons public accounts committee, warned the DWP. It [the department] needs to do more to protect the taxpayer, including rapid identification and investigation of suspicious claims. Of course, it goes without saying that, for those in genuine need, the actions of the authorities to mitigate the impact of the lockdown could not have been more welcome. Between March 1 and June 23, there were 3.4 million new Universal Credit claims. To deal with the huge demand, staff from across the DWP, including its fraud team, were moved to assist with the new claims. At one stage, Pomfrey was raking in a staggering 13,000 a month giving her earnings five time those of the average British worker. She wasnt entitled to a penny of it To expedite claims, identity checks were dealt with online, rather than face-to-face, and some information was taken on trust, such as rent costs and self-employment status. At the same time, hundreds of millions of pounds were paid out as advance payments, sometimes on the day of the application. The opportunity for fraud has massively increased with both individuals and organised crime gangs exploiting the Governments urgent relief packages. Naturally, the DWP insists it is doing all it can to relentlessly pursue those abusing the system. Our detection systems make use of increasingly sophisticated techniques to identify discrepancies and thwart those seeking to rip-off taxpayers, it says. But, as stories of fraudsters going through the courts in recent months reveal, those systems dont necessarily work even at the best of times. Take the case of Christina Pomfrey. She had her hand firmly in the public purse for years and years from 2002 until January 2020. During that time she claimed a total of 1,010,090.66 in incapacity benefit, income support, disability living allowance, employment and support allowance, social fund payments, housing benefit, council tax benefit, direct payments, independent living fund payments and Universal Credit. Firstly, using her second husbands surname, Brown, she claimed benefits from a council house in Runcorn. Then, as Pomfrey, more handouts were claimed from her and her third husbands Oldham bungalow. She claimed to be single and with no other means of financial support. She said she needed help to get out of bed, wash, dress, all domestic chores, shop, banking, going out and with every aspect of day-to-day life and need help to toilet, cook and prepare food and drinks. Pomfrey shamelessly used the details of family friends and relatives to claim they were providing care. All were unaware of this, and police discovered forged letters supposedly from them to the authorities at the Oldham house. What is Universal Credit? Universal Credit (UC) replaces six existing benefits Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit with a single payment. When was it introduced? It has been rolled out gradually across the country after starting in pilot areas in 2013. New benefit claimants have been put onto the system, but from July 2019, around 2million people receiving the old benefits will be moved onto UC, which is due for completion in 2023. Are there waits for payments? UC is paid in arrears, and the first payment is not made until at least five weeks after a claim is lodged. Claimants can apply for advance payments to avoid hardship while they wait. Why was it introduced? Former Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey said that when UC is fully rolled out, it will deliver 8 billion of benefits to the UK economy per year. Advertisement Incredibly, throughout this period her latest husband, whom she married in 2005, was completely unaware of her deceit. People think I must have known what she was up to and where all the money went, but the answer to both is I dont have a clue, said 60-year-old Mr Pomfrey, speaking exclusively to the Mail. She has destroyed my life and I cannot forgive her. She is the craftiest woman I have ever known. From the moment the couple met at a Seventies disco at a Butlins holiday in Skegness, Pomfrey made out she was rich telling her husband-to-be she was a millionaire with seven newsagents dotted around Liverpool. In reality, she worked in a newsagents until she was sacked for stealing from the till but kept up the pretence until December 2017. Once I went over and met her at the shop just as she was locking up, said Mr Pomfrey. She pulled the shutters down and said: There, thats the last one locked up for the night. I never had a reason not to believe her. She looked the part, always well-dressed with immaculate hair. She was bright and bubbly and everyone liked her because she passed herself off as kind and generous she never asked me for a penny, right up until the end. And he added: I fell for her because I was at a low ebb after my previous wife of 21 years left me for someone else. Tina told me she would look after me and that I should not worry about anything. She even bought me an MG car just months after we met and, at the start, she paid for some of the holidays we went on in places like the Caribbean. We went to the Dominican Republic four times, Madeira a few times or even just places like Benidorm. I insisted I wanted to pay half after the first couple of times. I now think she picked on me because I was another name, in another county, that she could use for her cons. I feel a fool. Quite how she fooled the DWP to believe all her medical and care needs is another question altogether. Mr Pomfreys work as a water softener engineer meant he travelled across the country. Sometimes she would call me and tell me not to come back because some important people from the council were visiting, he said. It was only after I discovered she was keeping me out the way because a benefits assessor was visiting. She even [parked] around the corner so they would not see the car. Every Wednesday, Pomfrey would also insist on travelling to Runcorn alone. She told me it was to look after her shops, but now I think someone was visiting her from social services and she had to be there to keep up the pretence, he said. Neighbours there told the Mail they were astonished she had been able to get away with her scams for so long. What finally tipped the DWP off is unclear but, in 2017, Pomfrey was placed under surveillance We knew she was cheating the system but none of us knew by how much, one said this week. A lot of people were angry with her when she got a huge extension on the back of her house because she was supposedly disabled. The kitchen was extended and there was a downstairs bedroom and wet room to cater for her needs. I saw a wheelchair outside the house and I said, whats that for? And she said, because I need it. I said, well, you never use it! You could not believe the cheek of her. She was always driving around in big cars and never seemed short of a penny. What finally tipped the DWP off is unclear but, in 2017, Pomfrey was placed under surveillance. She was filmed carrying out everyday activities unhindered by illness. That December, Pomfrey was duly arrested and the Oldham and Runcorn addresses searched. The 65-year-old has been jailed for three years and eight months after falsely claiming over 1million in benefits Among the letters found was one sent by a hospital to her husband about a long-standing eye injury, which she had manipulated on a computer. Mr Pomfrey was also arrested, on suspicion of money laundering and fraud. They told me I was looking at ten to 15 years, he said. They also asked me about my wife being blind. I said: Blind? She was driving me around the other day. As for his wife, she told investigators: Its a relief to be caught. Ive had enough. There has been no involvement with anyone else. My husband knew nothing about it. I have had all the money. No charges were brought against Mr Pomfrey. But investigators did find that, over six years, 90,000 of benefits claimed by his wife were paid into a bank account belonging to her daughter from her previous marriage, Aimee Brown. Over that time, Brown, 34, kept almost 71,000. She was charged with money laundering, receiving an 18-month suspended jail sentence. The court heard she was hoodwinked by her mother. As for Mr Pomfrey, he says he has discovered he too was defrauded by his wife who took out loans in his name and against his house. The strain of the case has led to him losing his job and he says he is now fighting to stop his home being repossessed after he was left with debts of 180,000. I cannot believe what an idiot I have been, he said. Here I am, a man who has never had a credit card in his life, facing destitution. Pomfrey (left) was sentenced alongside her daughter Aimee Brown (centre), who was handed a suspended jail sentence for laundering 80,000 of her mother's ill-gotten gains. The pair are pictured outside Minshull Street Couty, Manchester, in June When I think back over what she has done, it makes me sick. I have come to realise she basically had a full-time job conning me and everyone around her and I fell for it. When asked to comment, Will Quince, Minister for Welfare Delivery, says: When we identify suspicious activity we take swift action to investigate and will relentlessly pursue perpetrators using the full range of our powers, including prosecution, to bring them to justice. He adds that Pomfreys sentence sends a clear message to anyone attempting to cheat the system. Maybe, it wont recoup any of the missing 1 million. A DWP investigation found she had no assets. So when Pomfrey emerges from prison she wont be forced to pay back a single penny to the taxpayer. The Philadelphia Eagles and their fans have been hearing Adolf Hitlers name often this week. Eagles owner Jeffrey Luries new film production company announced completion of its first project, a documentary about Adolf Hitler. Luries company, Play/Action Pictures, said in a written releases the film provides a provocative interrogation of our cultures fascination with Hitler and Nazism set against the backdrop of the current rise of white supremacy, the normalization of antisemitism, and the weaponization of history itself. The film took three years to complete and was filmed in nine countries. The film is based on the bestselling book from 1978 and traces Hitlers movements, his rise to power and the scenes of his crimes. The announcement of the documentary comes just days after the Eagles said they were appalled by Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson sharing media posts citing anti-Semitic quotes he thought were from Hitler. Jackson has apologized and has pledged to work with the Jewish community moving forward. -- Geoffrey C. Arnold | @geoffreyCarnold The only man convicted in connection with the Northern Bank robbery is now suing the bank for taking possession of millions of pounds found by gardai at his home. Retired businessman Ted Cunningham (72) has issued High Court proceedings in Dublin seeking damages for "conversion" of the cash, which he says was seized by gardai under legislation found to have been unconstitutional. Conversion is the wrongful assertion of control over someone else's goods. Some 26.5m was stolen in the raid on Northern Bank's headquarters in Belfast in December 2004, which then PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde blamed on the Provisional IRA. Mr Cunningham, of Farran, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to two money laundering offences at a retrial in 2014 and received a five-year suspended sentence. But in proceedings against Danske Bank, as Northern Bank is now known, he says he pleaded guilty based on his concerns for his health and that he may likely get a non-custodial sentence. Although his pleas related to sums totalling 275,400, Cork Circuit Criminal Court ordered the confiscation of 2,985,680 and 45,154, which gardai say Mr Cunningham came into possession of after the robbery. In proceedings initiated in Dublin on Thursday, Mr Cunningham maintains that apart from the substance of the offences for which he was convicted, there was no determination by the circuit court that the monies seized were linked to the Northern Bank robbery. Mr Cunningham alleges his constitutional property rights were breached by the handing over of the cash to the bank. He claims the seizure and transfer of the monies by An Garda Siochana to Danske Bank was unlawful. The claims are expected to be contested by the bank. Mr Cunningham is being represented in the case by Belfast solicitors KRW Law. The one time financier was arrested at his home in February 2005, two months after the raid, and large sums of cash were seized by gardai. Mr Cunningham initially went on trial in 2009 on 10 money laundering charges. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty but was released by the Court of Appeal in 2012 and a retrial was ordered. His release came after the Supreme Court found a section of the Offences Against the State Act 1939, under which the warrant used to search his home was issued, was unconstitutional. He faced nine charges at his retrial in 2014, but the case ended when he pleaded guilty to two of these. In 2018 he issued High Court proceedings seeking "a proper accounting" of the money seized at his home. The court refused to grant the reliefs sought. In his latest action, Mr Cunningham says Cork Circuit Criminal Court ordered the confiscation of sums far in excess of the 275,400 in the charges he was convicted on and that it remains unclear how the court arrived at those figures. Mr Cunningham also alleges Danske Bank made no application to Cork Circuit Criminal Court for the monies and must have known these were transferred without lawful authority or was reckless in receiving the cash. Any member of the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress found instituting legal action against the party will face sanctions ranging from suspension to expulsion, the APC state chairman, Tunde Balogun, has said. In a statement issued Friday, Mr Balogun said party members should exhaust all internal conflict resolution processes as stipulated by the APC constitution. We are trying to restore order and decorum to the party and thus no member should seek to sow confusion, Mr Balogun said. Any party member involved in the institution of any such case should withdraw the case from court forthwith. Failure to do so, will subject that party member to sanctions enumerated in the constitution, which may include suspension or expulsion. No party can flourish when members engage in instituting frivolous court cases for the sole purpose of causing disunity and turmoil. This is an act of gross indiscipline which cannot be sustained and which we will not allow. The partys threat came as a party member, Lateef Arigbaruwo, dragged the APC national leadership before a federal high court in Lagos seeking the sack of the recently appointed Mai Mala Buni caretaker committee. Mr Balogun said he believes the plaintiff is not a member of the APC because it is highly doubtful that a bonafide member of the APC in Lagos in good standing would initiate such an action. He added that the matter will be investigated. PREMIUM TIMES was unable to reach Mr Arigbaruwo. His listed phone number was switched off. Here, I want to reiterate the stance of the APC in Lagos. No party member should file a court action regarding the recent National Executive Committee meeting of the party in Abuja particularly if that person has not even sought to initiate internal conflict resolution processes to resolve any dispute they may have with the NEC decisions. Filing any such legal action is clearly against the spirit and letter of the party constitution, which prohibits legal action before a member exhausts all internal resolution mechanisms. Our resolve against institution of any court case by any member is in consonance with the constitution of the party. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 13:00:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close 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) The U.S. had launched and completed a Section 301 probe into France's digital services tax regime. Under an outdated U.S. trade law adopted in 1974, the Section 301 allows the president to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions on foreign countries. WASHINGTON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The United States plans to impose 25-percent additional tariffs on about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of French products in response to the country's digital services tax that impacts major U.S. technology companies, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced Friday. "In determining the level of trade covered by the additional duties, the U.S. Trade Representative considered the value of digital transactions covered by France's DST (digital services tax) and the amount of taxes assessed by France on U.S. companies," the USTR's Office said in a notice. "Additional duties of 25 percent on the products of France covered by the trade action should result in the collection of tariffs on goods of France at comparable, though somewhat lower amounts," the notice said. Exhibits of wines brewed by France-based Chateau Clinet are seen at the Prowein in Dusseldorf, Germany, on March 17, 2019. (Xinhua/Lu Yang) The USTR has also determined to suspend the additional tariffs on French products for up to 180 days, a period ending on Jan. 6, 2021, to "allow additional time for bilateral and multilateral discussions that could lead to a satisfactory resolution of this matter." The United States had launched and completed a Section 301 probe into France's digital services tax regime but agreed to delay the imposition of tariffs on the country, as the two sides were negotiating a multilateral deal on international taxation at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Apple CEO Tim Cook hosts Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California, the United States, June 3, 2019. (Xinhua) But in a letter to four European finance ministers in June, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the United States will not continue with the negotiations on digital taxation at the OECD as discussions had reached an "impasse." In response, French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that "this letter is a provocation towards all the partners at the OECD when we were centimeters away from an agreement." France will apply taxes on digital giants this year "whatever happens," he said. The United States has also launched Section 301 investigations into digital services taxes considered by 10 U.S. trading partners, including the European Union (EU), Brazil and India. People purchase pastries and baked products during the French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF)'s Bastille Day Celebration in New York, the United States, July 14, 2019. (Xinhua/Michael Nagle) The so-called Section 301, under an outdated U.S. trade law adopted in 1974, allows the U.S. president to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions on foreign countries. The global trading community has become increasingly concerned that the U.S. government's frequent use of Section 301 would go against the World Trade Organization rules, undermine the multilateral trading system and disrupt the global supply chain. WASHINGTON -- The former head of the CIA said the United States may need to respond with bold action against Russia, including imposing harder-hitting sanctions, should a report prove true that Moscow offered Taliban-linked militants money to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. Leon Panetta, who served as CIA director and secretary of defense during the administration of President Barack Obama, told a congressional hearing on July 10 that such an action by Russia would cross a line and require a response that could include diplomatic isolation, sanctions, and, if necessary, military force. Panetta said Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to carry out aggressive actions around the world because the United States has failed to take a tough stance against him and his nation in the past. I think we may have to do something bold in order to get Putins attention. I think, right now, Putin does not really believe that the United States is going to respond in a way that is going to really undermine Russia and undermine him, he told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The hearing was at least the third this week in the Democratic-controlled House on the topic of whether Russia paid Taliban militants to target U.S. soldiers and how the United States should respond. The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on July 9 with four military and foreign policy experts on how to respond to Russia, while the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the same day with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley. The issue has become a hot, partisan topic since The New York Times first reported at the end of June that President Donald Trump was briefed on the bounty but did nothing in response. The White House has said Trump, a Republican who is seeking reelection in November, was not briefed on the intelligence because it was unverified. Should the intelligence report prove accurate, Panetta said the Trump administration should consider imposing the type of hard-hitting sanctions on Russia that it imposed on Iran. Those punishing sanctions have cut into Irans economy, including its oil industry, as it seeks to stop its suspected nuclear-weapons program. Irans oil production has tumbled, starving the government of cash. Russia is among the worlds top three oil producers and sanctions on its energy industry could potentially impact global supply and prices. If we did [that to Russia], it would send a clear signal to Putin that we are serious about making sure they stop the aggression that they have been involved in, he told the hearing. Panetta pointed out that Russia has forcibly annexed Crimea, carried out suspected assassinations in Europe, and interfered in U.S. elections, among other aggressive actions. Panetta said the United States needs to strengthen NATO and build new alliances, including in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America to promote stability and counter the influence of Russia and China. Moscow and Beijing cant form alliances. They fear alliances. So our ability to develop and maintain alliances is one of our best weapons against those adversaries, he said. Panetta criticized Trumps plans to withdraw nearly 10,000 U.S. military personnel from Germany, saying it would send a message of weakness to Russia. This is the wrong time to be moving forces out of Europe, he told the hearing. Panetta, who served in the House of Representatives from 1977 until 1993, said he is concerned about the growing divide between Republicans and Democrats in Congress on such issues, saying it plays into Putins hands. We have got to restore a sense of bipartisanship when it comes to our national security interests. Right now, Putin looks at the United States and looks at the polarization and the partisanship and the divide that has taken place in our country and has seen that as weakness, he said. Panetta's son, Jimmy Panetta, is a Democratic member of the House, representing California. New Delhi, July 11 : A resolute, unruffled leadership and India's multi-pronged, hard stance, from the borders to financial markets, has forced China to tone down its aggression it had initiated since early May 2020. While India's military had been mobilised in equal measure to counter China's belligerence along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Leh visit last Friday was the clearest message to the Chinese. His emphatic assertion that India is ready to fight a bloody battle if it is required to defeat the expansionist Xi Jinping's China could not have been more candid. It showed the world India's resolve to fight and overcome any challenge to its strategic interests. It is the second time during his tenure as Prime Minister that the Chinese have been pushed back - first in Doklam in 2017 and now Ladakh. Aided by his colleagues, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, the Prime Minister appears to be evolving a China policy that aims to tackle Beijing's expansionist and predatory policies in almost every sector. From banning Chinese origin apps to preventing a free run for Chinese investors in India's tech and power sector, India appears determined not to let China use its free market. By adopting an all-of-government approach to counter China's policies, Prime Minister Modi is taking the complicated task head on in military, diplomatic and economic sectors. The withdrawal of the Chinese PLA soldiers from the Galwan Valley and other locations in eastern Ladakh is just the start of what is perceived to be a long-drawn, complicated process. India will ensure that it must end at complete disengagement and de-escalation across the Line of Actual Control. The breakthrough was achieved after several rounds of military and diplomatic parleys India and China had, particularly after the Galwan valley incident which saw bloody clashes between two sides on June 15. NSA Ajit Doval's talk with Wang Yi, the Special Representative for boundary talks and China's Foreign Minister on Sunday, came on the back of intense negotiations between military commanders on the ground. The two-hour long discussion between Wang and Doval appears to have convinced Beijing to cut its losses and agree to disengagement and de-escalation on the border. While the two press statements issued in New Delhi had points of divergence, both sides have agreed to continue negotiations and strategic level communication. The NSA is monitoring the situation after an agreement that both sides should complete the Ladakh disengagement fast. Both sides were engaged in intense discussions with India asserting that the disengagement process should be based on the consensus of June 6. The two special representatives agreed that both sides should take guidance from the consensus of the leaders that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas was essential for further development of bilateral relations and that two sides should not allow differences to become disputes. Therefore, they agreed that it was necessary to ensure complete disengagement of troops and de-escalation at the earliest for full restoration of peace and tranquility at the borders. The fact is India has made headway with China by standing firm. China realised that the level of intent and the intensity of purpose of India's determination to hit them back is at an all-time high. They have noticed what has been happening over the last month and how India is countering and matching every move of Chinese aggression. Chinese miscalculated that India would be "soft" going by past precedents after decades of cautious engagement with Beijing. That's why, it seems, for now, they are not taking any chances and stepping back. All it clearly shows is that India will not relent on Chinese pressure along the LAC and will be ready for any eventuality - be it a bloody skirmish or war. India not once agreed to negotiate on China's terms but instead it put all its diplomatic, economic and military might to fight back. India's rapid military build up by "mirroring" the PLA deployments, with the induction of over 30,000 troops and heavy weaponry all along the LAC in eastern Ladakh certainly surprised the Chinese. Similarly, Sukhoi-30 MKI and MiG-29 fighters, Apache attack and Chinook heavy-lift helicopters are continuing with their round-the-clock operations after being inducted into the forward airbase. India's military response, combined with intense diplomatic efforts, paid rich dividends and world leaders called out against China's antics and designs. India very effectively got the international community to understand New Delhi's perspective which resulted in both sympathy and support. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar spoke to counterparts from the US, UK, France, Germany, Indonesia, Australia, Canada and Japan among others delivering India's view point on the standoff. There was an intense curiosity among them about the India-China clash, the causes and how India planned to deal with it. The international community was very receptive of what India had to say particularly in the light of Covid-19 and Chinese actions thereafter. India's strategy to degrade China globally worked and it made Chinese Communist Party leaders succumb to international pressure. India's hardened stance would make China bleed economically. Following the ban on 59 Chinese apps, the government has also announced that Chinese companies would not be allowed to take part in road projects. The Indian Railways cancelled a significant tender to a Chinese company. BSNL and MTNL have also been asked to stop importing Chinese equipment. Following the Prime Minister's call for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', traders associations have been calling to boycott Chinese products. The Indian government is now considering trade and procurement curbs targeting China in many sectors and weighing a decision to keep out Chinese companies like Huawei from the 5G trial. The moves could potentially cost Chinese companies billions of dollars. The combined estimated loss for these apps and Chinese companies is around $50 billion. This number will only go upwards. The message from India is that it cannot continue trade and investment relations as normal, if China does not relent and pull back its troops along the LAC. Lt. Gen Cherish Mathson, PVSM, SM, VSM, (retd) is a former army commander, South Western Command (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) Still, public health officials and researchers caution that most school reopenings are in their early stages. Much remains unknown about the interaction between children, schools and the virus. Schools have only reopened in countries where the virus is under better control than in many parts of the United States. And parents and teachers, especially in Europe, have been vocal about their concerns. It is premature to say, as President Trump put it this past week, that In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. Democrats often urge Americans to vote as if their lives depended on it. This year, circumstances are helping to reinforce that message. I think were seeing the ramifications of having failed Republican leadership, and no one is seeing it more than those of us here in Texas, said Billy Begala, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party. Begala made his remarks Friday morning, the last day of early voting in advance of Tuesdays primary runoff elections. It didnt have to be this bad, he said of the resurgence of COVID-19 in Texas. It really didnt. Texas at one point seemed to be having relatively good luck with the new coronavirus, and was one of the first states to begin re-opening. Health officials were talking in April about the Houstons areas curve starting to flatten in terms of new infections. But conditions across the state have deteriorated markedly since then. As of Friday, the state was reporting some 250,000 cases, and more than 3,000 deaths. Republican leaders such as Gov. Greg Abbott, while pumping the brakes on phased re-opening, have been scrambling to put these figures in a more favorable context, as well as to contain growing public concerns about President Donald Trumps management of the crisis. Theyve noted, for example, that Texass death rate per million is lower than that of New York or California, both of which are led by Democrats. The early-voting period, which began June 29, has provided some evidence that people arent taking comfort in this message. The coronavirus has complicated elections administration. Democratic officials have been urging Texans to vote by mail, if theyre eligible. And Texans whove gone to the polls in person have noticed unusual precautions, in most of the states major counties. In Harris County, for example, voters have been provided with rubber finger cots and disinfectant wipes as well as the traditional I voted stickers. Still, turnout which is typically abysmal for runoff elections in Texas has been higher than expected through the early voting period. As of Thursday, some 900,000 voters had cast ballots across the state, a majority of them in the Democratic primary runoff. The key takeaway is that if were able to make voters feel safe, and of course be safe, then its a very positive experience for them, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins said Friday. The turnout through the early-voting period, he continued, raises the prospect that Harris County will see higher turnout in November than the 60 to 62 percent thats typical in presidential election years. If I were a betting man Id put money on 65 for sure, and I might take some odds on 70, Hollins said. Voter registration, similarly, has continued apace, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic. Since March, nearly 149,000 voters have been added to the rolls in Texas, bringing the statewide electorate to a record 16.4 million people. All of that augurs well for Democrats, who have hopes of retaking the Texas House of Representatives in November, and maybe, just maybe, capturing the states 38 electoral votes. Democratic voters have more decisions to make, at the moment. Longtime state Sen. Royce West of Dallas and Air Force veteran MJ Hegar are vying for a chance to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican. There are also a number of high-profile runoffs in congressional districts. For example, attorney Mike Siegel, who surprised observers by nearly unseating U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul in 2018, is facing off against physician Pritesh Gandhi in Texass 10th Congressional District, which sprawls from Austin to northwest Houston; The biggest battle on the Republican side or, at least, the most expensive one is in Texass 22nd Congressional District, southwest of Houston, where Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls and GOP donor Kathaleen Wall are in a runoff for the Republican nomination to replace U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, who is retiring at the end of this term. Wall, who earned 19 percent of the vote in the 17-way primary in March, has poured more than $8 million of her own money on the campaign, much of it going to television ads touting her enthusiasm for Trump and attempting to cast Nehls, who got 40 percent of the vote in the primary, as ideologically suspect. Still, Republicans should be nervous about surging July turnout given that Democrats dont have a marquee name on the ballot like former congressman Beto ORourke, who excited Democrats nationwide in his near-miss U.S. Senate bid in 2018. I dont know that here in Texas we have one specific candidate or officeholder who is the standard-bearer for the party, Begala acknowledged. Perhaps voters are simply fed up with the incumbents, who happen to be Republicans, for the most part. I think its that when voters look around right now, when Texans look around right now, they see a pandemic, they see horrific racial injustice, they see record unemployment, said Amanda Sherman, the communications director for Hegar. Voting is a way for them to do something about it This is personal, for voters, she added. Theres nothing more kitchen-table right now than a pandemic that has them quarantined. erica.grieder@chron.com Turkey's parliament passed a controversial bill changing the system of bar associations, the official Anadolu news agency reported Saturday, as critics say it will hamper lawyers' independence. The law -- backed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its nationalist ally MHP party -- will allow legal professionals to set up their own associations and enforces a minimum membership of 2,000 for any association. While the AKP has said the changes will bring competition to the legal field, lawyers fear the legislation could drastically weaken the power of oversight enjoyed by the associations -- some of which are critical of the government. The main opposition party has said it will appeal to Turkey's top Constitutional Court. Last month, lawyers marched to the capital Ankara in protest -- but were initially blocked by the police from entering the city. The government's plan to allow multiple bar associations appears calculated to divide the legal profession along political lines and diminish the largest associations' role as a watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Commission of Jurists said in a statement on Wednesday. "Turkey's prominent bar associations play a key role in defending fair trial rights and scrutinizing human rights at a time when flagrant violation of rights is the norm in Turkey," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW. Search Keywords: Short link: Russian firefighters have been seeding clouds to bring down rain over wildfires raging in Siberia, the authorities said. CUSTOMERS and staff at a fast-food restaurant in the city centre were forced to retreat behind the counter after a violent brawl broke out inside the premises, a court has heard. Two young men and a woman have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges relating to the incident which happened at McDonalds, Cruises on June 20, 2016. A bus driver sustained serious injuries when he was assaulted during the brawl while his daughter was struck several times with a mop handle. During a sentencing hearing, Garda Aled Harkin told Limerick Circuit Court a dispute over a 20 debt sparked the brawl and ensuing violence. The defendants Sarah O'Donnell, 31, of Lenihan Avenue, Prospect; James Kelly, 33, of no fixed abode and Desmond Hughes, 27, who has an address at McGarry House, Alphonsus Street. During the altercation, which was captured on CCTV, a young woman was knocked to the ground and chased up the stairs to an overflow seating area. The woman later told gardai she had been approached about the 20 debt and was not allowed back to the restaurant unless she paid. Garda Harkin told John OSullivan BL, prosecuting, that having been phoned by his daughter the womans father travelled to McDonalds and tried to sort out the issue. However when he intervened he was attacked by James Kelly who struck him in the nose and mouth. He was struck again after he was knocked to the ground and the assault continued outside the main door of the restaurant. Judge Tom ODonnell was told Mr Hughes also struck the bus driver. Ms ODonnell, he added, can be seen on CCTV chasing his daughter while violently swinging a mop handle. Mr OSullivan said Ms ODonnell can also been seen on the footage pulling her hair and kicking her in the head. A medical report which was prepared for the court stated the 66-year-old bus driver sustained a fracture to his cheek bone, bruising and a laceration over his right eye. He also sustained soft tissue damage to his right knee. In a victim impact statement, he said he thought he was going to die and that he now avoids going into the city centre as much as possible as he no longer feels safe. While his daughter also sustained injuries, they were not serious and she did not require treatment in hospital. Garda Harkin said the three defendants were identified from the CCTV footage and that all three made some admissions when questioned by gardai. Barrister Yvonne Quinn said her client Desmond Hughes has suffered from addiction problems for some time and she submitted that he is a vulnerable individual who is easily led. He accepts he should not have involved himself, she said. Andrew Sexton SC, representing James Kelly, submitted what happened was not a planned incident and had occurred spontaneously. There was no great plan, it just escalated out of control, he said asking the court to note that his client had returned a mobile phone which was taken from the bus driver during the incident. Barrister Brian McInerney said it was difficult to argue that his client should not be jailed given her previous criminal record. However, he asked the court to note that Ms ODonnell has addressed her addiction issues and has not committed any offence since May 2017. She has made major strides, he said submitting it would not be in the interests of justice to sent her to prison. Judge ODonnell has indicated he will impose sentence later this month. Adjourning the case he said there was a lot to consider. Adhyayan Summan and Kangana Ranaut's relationship has been one of the most controversial ones in Bollywood in the recent past. When the Hrithik Roshan-Kangana Ranaut controversy erupted, Adhyayan had given long interviews talking about how he was mentally harassed by the actress when they were dating. But the actor is now come out in support of the actress who has been vocal about nepotism in the film industry. He said Kangana has made her mark in the industry through hard work, and she respects her for that. "People say that I keep talking ill about my ex. But I have always made it clear that I respect Kangana a lot. She has been through a lot and worked hard to earn the respect and fame that she enjoys today. She is the perfect example who fought the bigger people in the industry and made a huge name for herself. So hats off to her," he told Bollywood Bubble. In his earlier interviews, Adhyayan had called Kangana violent and abusive and also accused her of practising black magic. Despite the strong accusations they have made at each other in the past, the Raaz: The Mystery Continues actor has now come out in support of his former co-star amid the nepotism debate. Read: My 14 Films Got Shelved, Box-office Collections Projected Wrongly Due to Groupism: Adhyayan Suman In the midst of the #MeToo movement, Adhyayan had also said he was not taken seriously when he spoke of how Kangana had treated him when they were dating. Read: Black Magic, Physical Abuse, Messages to Hrithik Roshan: Adhyayan Suman Reveals Shocking Details About Kangana Ranaut Kansas City Hoops Program Practices Social Distancing Mayor's Night programming for youth returns at 'crucial time' in Kansas City Amid record-breaking violence plaguing Kansas City, Missouri, this summer, a city-wide tradition that goes back more than 20 years returned Friday with the first Mayor's Nights event of 2020. The program aims to create a safe place for kids to interact and express themselves. Local COVID Comeback Lee's Summit man celebrates leaving hospital after months-long COVID-19 battle OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - After being in the hospital since April 6, Everidge Cade's sendoff at St. Luke's Rehabilitation Center in Overland Park was more than just a fond farewell. It was a celebration for the staff, the patient, and his family. Cade, 73, initially went to the hospital due to shortness of breath. LOCAL PUPPIES RESCUED!!! Several puppies rescued after being dumped in landfill Some puppies are looking for a temporary home after being dumped in a landfill. These poor babies were found and taken to unleashed pet rescue and adoption. The kansas highway patrol is investigating who left them in the hot sun. Hottie Rocks Out Bryana Holly rocks a raunchy look as she smoulders topless by some boulders STONY-faced Bryana Holly really rocks this over-the-shoulder boulder smoulder. The 26-year-old model was recently pictured smiling with her actor boyfriend Nicholas Hoult, 30. The American beauty was spotted heading out for a walk with the Brit actor and their baby son, 23 months, in Los Angeles, last Thursday. Team Trump Walks Roger Stone to Trump after commutation: 'Thank you, Mr. President' Roger Stone says Donald Trump saved his life by commuting his prison sentence Friday night. "The President has saved my life," Stone said, "And he's given me the opportunity to fight for vindication." While he expressed his gratitude for Trump's decision, Stone says it didn't come as a shock. American Corona Crisis Cont'd Expert warns the US is approaching 'one of the most unstable times in the history of our country' With rising Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations sending many states backward in their reopening plans, one health expert warns that if the US continues on its current path it will reach "one of the most unstable times in the history of our country." The Great Bean Debate Hispanic brand faces boycott for CEO's Trump praise A popular Hispanic-owned food company is facing calls for a boycott, after its chief executive praised US President Donald Trump. While at the White House, Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue said Mr Trump's leadership was a blessing. Goya Foods - sold in the US and many Latin countries - is the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the US. Tucker's Coworker Exposed Tucker Carlson's top writer resigns after secretly posting racist and sexist remarks in online forum Editor's note: This article quotes racist, homophobic and sexist language, much of which has not been censored. Sinking Feeling In Kansas Is there a mysterious monster lurking in a Kansas sinkhole? Sixty-seven years ago, an eighteen-year-old Mennonite farm boy from a tiny Kansas town had a lake monster in his sights. Albert "Bert" Neufeld fired two shots from his hunting rifle in a vain attempt to bag Sinkhole Sam, the greatest monster legend Kansas has ever known. Show-Me Masked Future Missouri cities requiring masks as reported virus cases rise O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) - The rapidly rising number of confirmed new coronavirus cases has prompted facial- covering requirements in several areas of Missouri, including the state's largest city. The state health department on Friday reported 662 new cases of the COVID-19 virus. A day earlier, the 795 reported cases broke the one-day record of 773 set on Tuesday. Artsy Kansas Interlude Painter brings art projects to small Kansas towns amid pandemic LEAVENWORTH, KS -- As the sunrise color palette trickles in over a 100-year-old building, Leigh Coffman sets up her scaffolding. The muralist starts work every morning as early as she can stand, getting an early start on the Leavenworth Main Street Association's office in the city's historic downtown. Katie Calls Today's Weather Hot Saturday ahead; strong storms possible in afternoon Hide Transcript Show Transcript THAT ARE PASSING BETWEEN EMPORIA AND WICHITA AND HEADING TO OKLAHOMA. FOR NOW, WE WILL HAVE ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS LATER THIS AFTERNOON. YOU CAN SEE HOW THE COOLNESS OF THE THUNDERSTORMS CHANGES THE COLOR ON OUR TEMPERATURE PROFILE. WE EXPECT IT TO GET UP TO 90 DEGREES BEFORE THE THUNDERSTORM ROLLS IN. Inspired by thewe take peek at pop culture, community news and info from across the nation and around the world . . .is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . . By Andy Mukherjee India quite literally needs to put a roof over its China dream. It took a pandemic and a lockdown to highlight the precarious existence of the countrys blue-collar workers. Left without jobs and shelter, an estimated 30 million roughly a fifth of the urban labour force have gone back to their villages, with many completing long, hazardous journeys on foot when trains and buses shut down. No wonder, then, that Prime Minister Narendra Modis government cleared a plan this week to build inexpensive rental dwellings in cities for 350,000 workers. Giving rural migrants an incentive to return is crucial to restoring economic activity to pre-Covid-19 levels. But theres an opportunity here to do much more. For India to industrialize, rethinking the housing situation will be as important as freeing the urban poor from large medical bills and helping them build retirement savings. If the country of 1.3 billion people wants to be a factory to the world the next China it must start by giving workers low-cost living quarters. India is sitting on an inventory of more than 1.3 million unsold homes. Mumbai-based property researcher Liases Foras estimates that roughly half of these units could face delays and other execution risks; prices on nearly nine out of 10 apartments may have to be cut by 5% to 15% to hook wary buyers. Thats billions of dollars in lost revenue. It may not be possible to repurpose this stock as worker accommodation. Nevertheless, as losses on pricey condominiums crystallize for struggling developers and stretched financiers, they can be made more bearable by tax breaks, cheap government land and other fiscal support for affordable rental housing a new revenue stream. Assured of a decent rental yield, investors will be encouraged to finance this new asset class. Institutional capital will return to depressed real estate. Construction will absorb surplus manpower and create badly needed wage income. Cheap urban rents will bring India the full benefit of labour mobility, which isnt constrained by Chinese-style hukou, or city registration requirements. Yet the rapid urbanization that turned East Asia into an exporting powerhouse and created a foundation for mass consumption has eluded the country. Young men migrate to cities for economic reasons, and return to their villages in old age. Apart from cultural factors, availability and cost of housing is the main reason why women and children stay behind, making urbanization in India both slow and rather masculine, as economist Chinmay Tumbe, who has studied migration trends since the 1870s, has put it. While the gender ratio of large cities is no longer as skewed as it was in the early 20th century 500 to 600 women for 1,000 men its still a lopsided 868 in Delhi. For Surat, a major diamond-cutting and textile centre on Indias western coast, the ratio is even more unbalanced at 756. Surat is still an exception in that it has a lot of manufacturing. A peculiar facet of rural-urban migration in India, according to Tumbe, is that most of the workers end up in service-industry jobs. Creaky infrastructure, infuriating red tape, occasionally overvalued currency and lack of meaningful free-trade arrangements have held back the share of manufacturing in the economy to 16% a modest rise from 5% in 1901. Back then, British colonialists had kept India under-industrialized so they could sell their wares in a market that produced little of its own. Now, its a small urban elite whose own ancestors left villages a long time ago thats keeping new migrants employed as chauffeurs, housemaids, condominium security and ATM guards. The economy is geared to satisfy the top 150 million earners, as Rathin Roy, until recently the director at the New Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, has argued. This depresses the wages that would be generated by becoming good at making what the next 300 million want. In the absence of broad-based income growth, consumers boosted spending by borrowing. When they eventually started to deleverage last year, India faced an acute demand funk, even for 7-cent munchies. Since then, Covid-19 hasnt been the only wake-up call. Rapidly deteriorating U.S.-China relations portend sweeping changes in global supply chains, but even in its own neighbourhood, India isnt competitive in manufacturing. A once-in-a-generation opportunity could slip out of its grasp. At a furniture store in Ho Chi Minh City some years ago, I saw colourful satin-upholstered sofas whose sides were drab black polyester. This, I was told, was because the sides would take dirt from motorbike tires and must be easy to clean: A Vietnamese family would park the two-wheeler, its most precious possession, next to the living-room furniture to keep it safe at night. Societies that value and make things that workers themselves use lift living standards and labour productivity. No wonder Vietnam, now a hub for Samsung Electronics Co., is winning investments from Inventec Corp., Apple Inc.s main assembly partner for AirPods, as well as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., better known as Foxconn. India must also make more shoes, clothes and toys. To create a permanent urban workforce that will both produce and consume those wage goods, it should also build millions of new homes. Photo: The Canadian Press Rick Thompson, who had all of his limbs amputated after contracting bacterial meningitis and septic shock in 2015, poses for a photograph in Coquitlam, B.C., on Monday, March 9, 2020. Thompson moved to London, Ont., from British Columbia in April to prepare for double-hand transplant surgery, which involves medical and psychological tests, as well as finding a donor. When Rick Thompson's doctor told him a surgical team was going ahead with his double-hand transplant in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, his first reaction was surprise. "We're targeting August, maybe early September," he said in a recent interview. "I was even shocked when (the doctor) told me. I met him last week and I asked him for a ballpark time frame. And he said August, and I said 'Oh, OK.' I wasn't quite ready for that." Thompson moved to Ontario from British Columbia in April to prepare for the surgery in London. It involves medical and psychological tests, as well as finding a donor. If things go as planned, Thompson will be Canada's first double-hand transplant patient. Thompson had all of his limbs amputated after contracting bacterial meningitis and septic shock in 2015. He left work early one day in May, after feeling like he was coming down with the flu, and decided to sleep it off. A few hours later, he woke up to get a drink of water. "But when I stood up my feet were like on fire. I could barely walk. I made it downstairs to where my wife Rita was watching TV. And that's pretty well the last thing I remember. I just collapsed on the floor." He woke up six weeks later in intensive care, confronted with the choice of dying in palliative care or amputation. "If I wanted to survive, I would need all four limbs amputated," he said. "In the end, the will to live is stronger than anything else." After 8 1/2 hours of surgery, doctors had amputated his limbs. "That was a difficult time, obviously, because you know, you wake up as a different person. You look down and all you see is bandages ... where your hands used to be or where your legs and feet used to be," he said. "The first thing that came to my mind was, what did I just do?" After learning about hand transplants two years ago, Thompson met with a team of doctors in Ontario to assess whether he would make a suitable candidate. "It's life changing," he said. "Being able to shake someone's hand, being able to pick up a cup of coffee with one hand, write your name with a pen, open a door, you know, just the things that we take for granted every day." Dr. Steven McCabe, who performed Canada's first hand transplant, may participate in the surgery. He is a hand surgeon at Toronto Western Hospital and an associate professor at the University of Toronto. The surgery can take 10 to 12 hours with four teams of surgeons. Each team consists of six to 10 people. While operating on both hands makes the surgery logistically harder because it involves more people, McCabe said it is "logical" to do the two transplants at the same time. "When you transplant, you're introducing this different tissue," he explained. "And the theory behind that is that you don't want to introduce two different donor tissues." A person who undergoes a transplant has to take immunosuppressants, so the body doesn't reject the new organ or limb, and it's easier when surgery is done all at once, he said. "So if you transplanted one limb, and then three months or a year later, the other one, you'd have to go through that again. The idea is to get that all over with one donor." But there's also another reason. "Having one hand when you have none is a huge benefit," McCabe said. "But if you're going to have that type of surgery, and it seems logical to transplant both hands, part of the sense of wholeness is restored. It seems to be very important for patients." There are risks associated with the surgery, including infections and the possibility of blood loss. But McCabe said the benefits outweigh the risks, and limb transplants have low rejection rates. After the surgery, transplant patients face a long recovery, he added. "If you transplant the limb near the elbow, it will take a few months for the muscles to start to work again, and maybe up to a year or more for the nerves to get down to the fingers to have some feeling," McCabe said. "So, I think we would say, you can't judge whether it's really helped or not for at least a couple years." Thompson said unlike most organ transplants, a hand transplant is visible. "It's physically there. So getting over the mental challenge is going to be the hardest one, because you know they belonged to someone else at one point and now they're on your body," Thompson said. "You have to look at it as a gift ... (the donor) family has decided to give you this gift. And it's a gift I'm not going to waste." CARTOONS FOR CHANGE invites cartoonists and illustrators from all continents to protest 365 days against child labor. The International Labor Organization (ILO) based in Geneva, Switzerland, is holding its virtual summit this week with the participation of heads of state and government, ministers, representatives of employers and workers. At CARTOONS FOR CHANGE we decided to invite cartoonists and illustrators from all continents to protest for 365 days, starting now during the virtual summit of the ILO, to demand that governments and multinationals stop child labor. It is unacceptable, cruel and illegal that 30 years after the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child there are still almost 300 million working children. On the occasion of the World Day Against Child Labor, which was commemorated on June 12th, the CARTOONS FOR CHANGE initiative, which I lead, invited cartoonists, illustrators and creatives, from all continents, to contribute their talent and creativity, sharpen their pencils and crayons, in defense of hundreds of millions of girls and boys victims of labor exploitation. Thanks to this first open call, CARTOONS FOR CHANGE received expressions of interest from more than a hundred professional cartoonists from all continents. Because governments, international organizations, and especially multinational companies have done little, if anything, to eradicate child labor and protect the worlds poorest children, we in CARTOONS FOR CHANGE call cartoonists, illustrators, and others graphic artists to carry out a global protest that will not last just 24 hours but # 365DaysAgainstChildLabor. The quality of the CARTOONS FOR CHANGE we have received is exceptional, the immense enthusiasm of cartoonists to join the cause is something I did not expect. This gives us the assurance that our global campaign will have a significant impact, despite the fact that those who profit from large-scale child labor, to reduce their cost of labor, are people and companies with criminal behavior. Exploiting a minor is a crime, exploiting tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of girls and boys, like too many multinationals do, is a crime against humanity, this according to international law. The European Union claims to respect human rights and childrens rights, but Europe is today the largest financial beneficiary of misery and child labor in the rural communities that produce coffee, cocoa and many other agricultural products. Switzerland claims to be an exemplary democracy, but the Swiss Confederation has more children in its coffee, tea and cocoa supply chain than children studying in all Swiss schools. Most development aid programs from the United States, Canada, the European Union, Norway, Switezrland, the United Kingdom, Japan, etc. which claim to help eradicate child labor and reduce misery not only do not reduce them but also serve to hide the cruelty of neo-colonial business models that are the true cause of misery, and therefore of child labor. According to data from the International Labor Organization (ILO), more than 152 million children in child labor situations. In my opinion, ILO child labor figures underestimate the total number of exploited children. In Asia the ILO underestimates them by more than one hundred million children, in Africa more than 30 million children. This means that the total number of children working worldwide today may be very close to 300 million. It is absolutely unacceptable, cruel and illegal that 70 years after signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 30 years after adopting the Convention on the Rights of the Child, even the coffee, tea and chocolate they consume in the United Nations institutions has child labor. This is true in the ILO and also in UNICEF that claims to protect children around the world, and in all the centers of power and influence of the developed world, where they claim to support and promote the Sustainable Development Goals. It is urgent to stop the exploitation of hundreds of millions of girls and boys. There are too many industries, such as chocolate, coffee, mining and many others in which child labor continues to increase, because it is highly profitable for multinationals. According to figures from the ILO, worldwide, child labor is concentrated primarily in agriculture (71%), which also includes fishing, forestry, livestock and aquaculture, and comprises both subsistence and commercial agriculture; 17% of children in child labor situation work in the service sector; and 12% in the industrial sector, particularly mining. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires A quarter of a century ago, more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred at Srebrenica by Bosnian Serb troops in one of the darkest chapters of the disintegration of Yugoslavia. The worst massacre in Europe since World War II has since been classed as genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal. The genocidal madness of Srebrenica marked a turning point in the war in Bosnia, the most ethnically mixed of Yugoslavia's six republics. Muslims, Serbs and Croats fought each other savagely there between 1992 and 1995, leaving nearly 100,000 people dead and 2.2 million displaced. Srebrenica was besieged by Bosnian Serb forces from the start of the conflict. The eastern mainly-Muslim town was declared a "safe area" by the United Nations in April 1993. UN peacekeepers were deployed. On the morning of 11 July 1995, the Bosnian Serb army of Ratko Mladic finally overran Srebrenica. Tens of thousands of refugees fled to the Dutch UN peacekeeping force's compound at Potocari on the hilly town's northern outskirts. The peacekeepers and about 5,000 refugees, mostly women and children, retreated into the UN base, while thousands of others gathered outside. The refugees inside the base were eventually expelled into the hands of waiting Bosnian Serb troops, who started forcibly bussing people out, separating the men and boys from the women. Days of systematic butchery In the following days more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were systematically butchered by the Bosnian Serb forces under Mladic's command and their bodies dumped in mass graves. Hundreds of men who fled into the surrounding forests were rounded up and shot. Most of the mass graves were later dug up with bulldozers and the bodies removed in an effort to conceal the scale of the crime. Witness accounts started emerging almost immediately, with those who escaped telling harrowing tales of murder, torture and rape by the Bosnian Serb forces. Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic and Mladic were rapidly indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. To date, 6,880 victims of the massacre have been identified and buried 6,643 in Potocari's memorial centre, and 237 in other cemeteries in the region surrounding Srebrenica. International blame game The international community has regularly been accused of having abandoned the Srebrenica victims. In a 2000 report, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan blamed the whole of the international community for its failure to protect Srebrenica. The role of Dutch peacekeepers, who have been criticised for failing to protect the refugees, remains a sensitive subject in the Netherlands, where former soldiers say they have been scarred for life. In 2002, the Dutch government resigned after the publication of a report which said it had to take some responsibility for the massacre. Several cases have gone to court, including one successfully brought against the Hague government by the "Mothers of Srebrenica" concerning some 350 Bosnian men expelled from the Dutch base. Families still waiting for answers More than 1,000 victims remain unaccounted for. Fatima Mujic lost her husband and three of her sons in the massacre. But her eldest son, Refik, has never been found. "I still think he's alive somewhere. I know about the others, but when I pray for him my hands start shaking, I don't know what to do," the 75-year-old widow told AFP. Mujic, who now lives in a village near Sarajevo, says she "lives for the call" that the remains of Refik have been unearthed. But a decade has passed since the last of 84 mass graves was discovered. "Since July 2019, the remains of only 13 victims have been found," according to Emza Fazlic, spokesperson for the Missing Persons Institute. A lack of new information and witnesses has hampered the search, she said. No hatred, no malice, no reconciliation Ramiza Gurdic, who is now 67, also wonders about the men who killed her sons and her husband: "Did they have children?" Her boys were 17 and 20 when they died. A quarter of a century later, she does not wish harm on the men who killed her children. "God will give them what they deserve," she says. "No hatred, no malice, but no reconciliation either." New Delhi, July 11 : Family planning is central to gender equality and womens empowerment, and it is a key factor in reducing poverty. Millions of girls and women in India can transform their lives if needs for family planning - to delay, space and limit the number of children that women have - are met. Beyond health, there are many far-reaching, transformational and inter-generational effects of women being able to use contraception and take control of their fertility. At the household level, families are able to invest more of their scarce resources in the health and education of their children. Girls from smaller families are more likely to complete their education and women with fewer children are more able to seek employment, increasing household income and assets, points out Madhu Joshi, Sr. Advisor, Gender Equity and Governance, Centre for Catalyzing Change. Some progress has been made towards improving gender equity so that women have greater involvement in decision-making processes and positions in government. Increasing educational opportunities for girls protects them from premature marriage and childbearing and helps address gender inequalities in economic participation. Family planning empowers women to take charge of their lives whilst also enhancing their contributions to family wellbeing and overall national development, Joshi says. Efforts are underway to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on family planning access and service delivery. Measures have been taken to reach out with non-invasive methods to communities in conjunction with tracking and tracing of people who are at risk of COVID-19. She points out: "The estimates done by FRHS in the month of April 2020 presented three case scenarios based on timings of complete restoration of FP services. In the best case scenario with FP services restoration in the month of May 2020 in full capacity across the nation, it was estimated that as a result of the pandemic, 24.55 million couples would not be able to access contraceptives in 2020. Method wise the loss is estimated at 530,737 sterilizations, 709,088 Inter Uterine Contraceptive Devices (IUCDs), 509,360 doses Injectable contraceptives (IC), 20 million cycles of OCPs, 827,332 ECPs and 342.11 million condoms. "This is likely to result in an additional 1.94 million unintended pregnancies, 555,833 live births, 1.18 million abortions (including 681,883 unsafe abortions) and 1,425 maternal deaths. What is important is that we do not allow the pandemic to reverse the hard earned gains of past decade for increased family planning uptake." Adding: "It becomes imperative for all stakeholders to examine the opportunity loss as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and put Family Planning back on track as we deal with the pandemic through strategic engagement; amongst the top priorities is to reach out to most vulnerable populations who may not be able to articulate latent need for contraception - mostly women dealing with loss of livelihoods, facing violence and discrimination; young couples who would not be able to access because of barriers of information and social pressure." We need to undertake concerted efforts to ensure that opportunity loss is reversed and couples who desire contraception can access it free from discrimination and with quality, and are to be able to reverse losses and ensure that decadal gains are not reversed. That multi-pronged efforts are being undertaken by government at all levels to bring FP service delivery on track. On World Population Day, Joshi recommends that "we reinforce, the need to keep listening to voices and support women and men in Choices they make for family planning". Community based distribution of non-invasive contraception be promoted through channels beyond frontline functionaries of the health system. Modifying delivery mechanisms along the lifecycle continuum of care for women and girls and including self-care across the spectrum of services offered, can increase access to care during calm times and crises. Bringing focus on spacing contraception which is non-invasive (condoms, daily and weekly pill) and minimally invasive (injectable) not just to promote choice also to reduce pressure on a burdened health system dealing with rising COVID-19 numbers. Amplify voices of key constituents on promoting Choice and Voice narrative for Family Planning. (Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in) Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- Syndicated from IANS Covid-19 patients are being treated with oxygen at the Tshwane District Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday July 10, 2020. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize this week said South Africa could run out of available hospital beds within the month. "The storm that we have consistently warned South Africans about is now arriving," he told lawmakers. The African continent overall has over 523,000 confirmed virus cases after passing the half-million milestone on Wednesday. But shortages in testing materials mean the true number is unknown.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay) South Africa's confirmed coronavirus cases have doubled in just two weeks to a quarter-million, and India on Saturday saw its biggest daily spike as its infections passed 800,000. The surging cases are raising sharp concerns about unequal treatment in the pandemic, as the wealthy hoard medical equipment and use private hospitals and the poor crowd into overwhelmed public facilities. Globally more than 12.5 million people have been infected by the virus and over 560,000 have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Experts say the pandemic's true toll is much higher due to testing shortages, poor data collection in some nations and other issues. Some of the worst-affected countries are among the world's most unequal. South Africa leads them all on that measure, with the pandemic exposing the gap in care. In Johannesburg, the epicenter of South Africa's outbreak, badly needed oxygen concentrators that help COVID-19 patients who are struggling to breathe are hard to find as private businesses and individuals are buying them up, a public health specialist volunteering at a field hospital, Lynne Wilkinson, told The Associated Press. Meanwhile, South Africa's public hospitals are short on medical oxygenand they are now seeing a higher proportion of deaths than private ones, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases says. South Africa now has more than 250,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, including more than 3,800 deaths. To complicate matters, the country's troubled power utility has announced new electricity cuts in the dead of winter as a cold front brings freezing weather. Many of the country's urban poor live in shacks of scrap metal and wood. Covid-19 patients are being treated at the Tshwane District Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday July 10, 2020. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize this week said South Africa could run out of available hospital beds within the month. "The storm that we have consistently warned South Africans about is now arriving," he told lawmakers. The African continent overall has over 523,000 confirmed virus cases after passing the half-million milestone on Wednesday. But shortages in testing materials mean the true number is unknown.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay) And in Kenya, some have been outraged by a local newspaper report that says several governors have installed intensive care unit equipment in their homes. The country lost its first doctor to COVID-19 this week. "The welfare, occupational safety & health of frontline workers is a non-negotiable minimum!!" the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union tweeted after her death. On Saturday, the union and other medical groups urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to implement a promised compensation package to ease the "anxiety and fear that has now gripped health care workers." More than 8,000 health workers across Africa have been infected, half of them in South Africa. The continent of 1.3 billion has the world's lowest levels of health staffing and more than 560,000 cases, and the pandemic is reaching "full speed," the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Many parts of the world are facing fresh waves of infections as they try to reopen their economies. A health worker takes a nasal swab of a person for COVID-19 test as a policewoman stands guard at a local dispensary in New Delhi, India, Saturday, July 11, 2020. India has overtaken Russia to become the third worst-affected nation by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) In India, which reported a new daily high of 27,114 cases on Saturday, nearly a dozen states have imposed a partial lockdown in high-risk areas. Cases jumped from 600,000 to more than 800,000 in nine days. People are packing India's public hospitals as many are unable to afford private ones that generally uphold higher standards of care. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged top officials to improve infection testing and tracking, especially in states with high positivity rates. Officials on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa said dozens of U.S. Marines have been infected at two bases there in what is feared to be a massive outbreak. The officials said the U.S. military asked that the exact figure not be released. "We now have strong doubts that the U.S. military has taken adequate disease prevention measures," Gov. Denny Tamaki told reporters. Pupils of the senior class of the high school Bergschule in Apolda, Germany, wait in a drive-in cinema for the presentation of their school-leaving certificates and honours on Saturday, July 11, 2020. Due to the Corona pandemic, the certificates are handed over outdoors and the families remain in the car. (Martin Schutt/dpa via AP) In Australia, the beleaguered state of Victoria reported 216 new cases in the past 24 hours, down from the record 288 the previous day. It hopes a new six-week lockdown in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city with a population of 5 million, will curb the spread. "We cannot pretend that doing anything other than following the rules will get us to the other side of this," said Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews. In Latin America, where inequality is sharp and Brazil and Peru are among the world's top five most badly hit countries, the COVID-19 pandemic is sweeping through the continent's leadership, with two more presidents and powerful officials testing positive in the past week. Yet developing countries are not the only ones overwhelmed. Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have hit 3 million, with over 130,000 deathsthe worst outbreak by far in the world. The surge has led to equipment shortages as well as long lines at testing sites. A British pilot who was Vietnam's most critical COVID-19 patient is carried on a stretcher in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, Saturday, July 11, 2020. The 42-year-old man was discharged from a hospital on Saturday, less than a week after doctors said he was virus-free and healthy enough to return home to Scotland. (AP Photo/Hieu Dinh) A boy wearing a face mask to protect against the coronavirus plays inside an inflatable tube at a public park in Beijing, Saturday, July 11, 2020. New coronavirus cases have dropped sharply in China, and authorities are turning their attention to concerns that the virus could spread through imported food. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Texas is among the U.S. states setting records for infections, virus hospitalizations and deaths almost daily after embarking on one of America's fastest reopenings. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday extended a statewide disaster as the state surpassed 10,000 hospitalized patients for the first time. "Things will get worse," Abbott told Lubbock television station KLBK. "The worst is yet to come as we work our way through that massive increase in people testing positive." Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Flight The last batch of Indians stranded in South Africa due to the global travel restrictions will be repatriated on Sunday. This will be the second repatriation flight arranged by the India Club. Advertisement AirlinesThe flight has not been filled to capacity, indicating that only a small number of Indians is left in the country for repatriation. Over 50 of the 183 passengers are IT employees from Bengaluru who have been stuck in South Africa after their contracts with various local companies expired prematurely with businesses scaling down operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Coronavirus Advertisement Also, 14 South Africans, who were on home-leave, will be returning to their jobs in Indian mines. The Indian government has arranged three Vande Bharat mission flights from South Africa, repatriating thousands. CHATSWORTH, Calif.The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) released the following advisory Friday afternoon on the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the most concentrated areas of adult video production within the U.S., namely Los Angeles, Las Vegas and South Florida. The organization reiterated its stance put forth last week that while it does not advise shooting content with anybody living outside one's household, it is not calling for a production hold in any area. The FSC's full advisory, titled "What is the COVID-19 Infection Risk in Your Area?" follows: Rising COVID-19 rates in production hubs including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and South Florida have resulted in a roll-back of reopening plans in those areas. As we stated last week, we can not offer any guarantees that adult film production can operate safely. However, as long as film production is still permitted in those areas, and there is no specific risk to adult performers, we will not be calling for any national or regional production holds. LAS VEGAS Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has again closed certain types of business due to the elevated risk of infection. However, Gov. Sisolaks orders did not include shutting down film production. FSC is following the guidance of local public health authorities in Nevada, and more specifically Clark County. If mainstream film production is permitted by the regulating agencies in Nevada, so is adult film. FSC has NOT called for a production hold in Nevada. FLORIDA Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has paused their reopening and closed certain types of business due to the elevated risk of infection. However, Gov. DeSantiss orders did not include shutting down film production, and local agencies in South Florida continue to issue film permits. FSC is following the guidance of local public health authorities in Florida, and more specifically Miami-Dade County and Broward County. If mainstream film production is permitted by the regulating agencies in Florida, so is adult film. FSC has NOT called for a production hold in Florida. LOS ANGELES California Governor Gavin Newsom has paused reopening and closed certain types of business due to the elevated risk of infection. However, Gov. Newsoms orders did not include shutting down film production, and local agencies in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas continue to issue film permits. FSC is following the guidance of local public health authorities in California, and more specifically Los Angeles County, Ventura County, and Orange County. If mainstream film production is permitted by the regulating agencies in California, so is adult film. FSC has NOT called for a production hold in California. Does this mean its safe to shoot? No. FSC advises against shooting adult film content with anyone who does not live in your household. While there is no threat specific to adult film production, the infection risk posed by the proliferation of COVID-19 means that it is still not safe to shoot in most areas of the US. FSC has contracted CareOnSite Medical Services to contribute medical expertise to the continued development of our production guidelines. Medical Director, Chris Tang, MD, MS has helped us make use of available resources to further help you to evaluate your risk of infection and guide your decisions about whether or not to create content with people outside your household. The COVID Risk Levels Dashboard map, created by the Harvard Global Health Institute, compiles data from multiple sources, including the World Health Organization, in order to create a continually updated risk assessment tool that shows you the level of risk by county or by state. Source: Harvard Global Health Institute (as of July 8, 2020) While we dont believe it is safe to shoot anywhere in the United States, some areas are more dangerous than others. Shooting in yellow or green counties carries a lower risk, which might be further mitigated by following the recommendations in the FSC Health and Safety Guidelines for Adult Film Production. Dr. Tang cautions against shooting in any county or state that is red or orange on this map, even with risk mitigation strategies. Why are you not calling for a production hold? FSC PASS has traditionally called production holds when there was a threat specific to the performer pool, such as an active infection. We are not a public health agency, and thus are reliant on the guidance of public health officials as to whether or not production is safe. If they determine that, in a given locality, it is unsafe to shoot, we will follow their lead and call for a production hold in that region. Is mainstream film really the same risk as adult film? COVID-19 is not an STI, and while the science is still evolving, there appears to be little difference in risk between an adult film set and a mainstream film production that involves kissing or close or prolonged physical contact. If anything, the guidelines issued by FSC are significantly more cautious than those issued by the major mainstream production companies. What does this mean for me? We do not believe it is safe to shoot content with people who do not live in your household. However, we can not know the specifics of your situation, or the content that you intend to produce. We will continue to provide you with tools like the COVID Risk Levels Dashboard map and the FSC Health and Safety Guidelines for Adult Film Production so that you can make an informed decision about any risks related to the production of adult content. We will post periodic updates about changes to the risk levels displayed on this map, and any changes to the orders of regulating agencies that affect film production in the US. KCPD officer shot last week remains in critical condition KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City, Missouri, police officer who was shot in the head July 2 by a Grandview man near East 31st Street and Van Brunt Boulevard remains in critical condition at an area hospital. Important followup and a reminder that local police are more than just civic resources or representations of authority butwho risk their lives every day as they respond FIRST to emergencies. Read more: Russia, Some OPCW Member States Criticize Report on Chemical Attacks in Syria Sputnik News 17:54 GMT 10.07.2020(updated 17:56 GMT 10.07.2020) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia and some members of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) believe that the conclusions made by an OPCW investigative team regarding chemical attacks in Syria could result in a further split of the international organisation. "The investigative team's conclusions are doubtful, as the Technical Secretariat has, unfortunately, previously ignored demands by a whole range of countries to puzzle out the high-profile case related to supposed manipulations with the Fact-Finding Mission in Syria's report on the chemical incident in Douma in April 2018, which other countries used for unprovoked aggression against the sovereign Syrian Arab Republic. We believe this poses a threat of a further split in the OPCW and trigger unnecessary politicization," the joint statement, published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website, read. The statement was issued on behalf of Belarus, Burundi, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Iran, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, China, the Comoros Islands, Cuba, Laos, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the Central African Republic. On April 8, the investigative team concluded that the Syrian government used sarin and chlorine in aerial attacks on the town of Ltamenah in Hama province in March 2017, in which dozens of people were killed. Damascus has accused the OPCW of twisting facts in order to groundlessly accuse the Syrian government. On Thursday, the OPCW executive council ruled that Syria should declare to the watchdog its illegal toxins until October. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The man who stated that he smuggled two tons of marijuana because masked men threatened to shoot up his house with his wife and kids inside has pleaded guilty in a Laredo federal court, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. On Tuesday, Ruben Maldonado-Espino, a 30-year-old resident of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import and importing the marijuana. A young version of a now familiar face for British Columbians is fronting a fundraising campaign for Vancouver's Science World, which is financially reeling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A school photo of Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, whose leadership in B.C. has inspired murals, pins and even a pair of shoes, is featured as part of a campaign titled The World Needs More Nerds. "We believe that now, more than ever, the world needs people who care about science. People who spot a problem and wonder, 'How can I fix it?' Problem solvers. Wonder seekers. World changers. Nerds," reads promotional copy for the campaign. Teresa Virani from Science World said the centre shuttered its doors on March 14, and immediately lost around 85 per cent of revenue which comes from admissions. Part-time staff were temporarily laid off in early April, full-time staff have taken a 20 per cent pay cut, and CEO Janet Wood has taken a 40 per cent pay cut. Ben Nelms/CBC "This has been a devastating blow to our organization and it will be hard for us to recover from. Even when we do re-open, it will be to a drastically reduced capacity," she wrote. "With two per cent of our funding coming from government, and an anticipated loss of nearly $13 million this fiscal year, there is a long road ahead for us." 'Present and keen and full of energy' Wood said the goal of the campaign is to highlight the importance of science and scientific leadership, and to raise funds for the science centre. The photo of seven-year-old Henry, whom many British Columbians have rallied around throughout the pandemic, has already captured much attention in the early days of the campaign. "It's just a wonderful picture of her. She's just a very a young girl and she's got glasses, you'd actually recognize her when you know it's Dr. Henry. She looks very present and keen and full of energy as she does now. She has a lot of presence in the photo, even at a young age," said Wood. Story continues The pandemic has been hard on organizations like Science World, which are dependent on admission fees for the vast majority of revenue. Wood said the centre usually sees a huge spike in attendance over spring break and in July, two key time periods where it has been shuttered to the public. When the centre does re-open in August, 1,400 people will be allowed to visit per day, compared to the usual average number of visitors, which is around 2,500. Though the space is large, Wood said she anticipates that fewer people will visit as the public remains cautious about physical distancing. Woods said so far Science World, which normally has an annual budget of $18 million, has largely been running on funds from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Program and on savings, but that its survival is dependent on re-opening, and in part on the success of the campaign putting "nerds" front and centre. "A great definition of a nerd is someone who has a real passion about something and they do it no matter what they have a high belief in it and we know that nerds have been very important for us throughout history," she said. Angelina Jolie gushed this week that her 15-year-old daughter Zahara is 'an extraordinary African woman.' The 45-year-old film star adopted Zahara as an infant from an orphanage in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in 2005. Now Angelina has showered praise on her eldest daughter during a TIME 100 video chat with Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate. Side by side: Angelina Jolie gushed this week that her daughter Zahara, 15, is 'an extraordinary African woman'; pictured last October at the Tokyo premiere of Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil 'My daughter is from Ethiopia, one of my children, and I have learned so much from her,' shared Angelina during the discussion. 'She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman and her connection to her country, her continent, her - is very, its her own, and it's something I only stand back in awe of,' continued the Maleficent actress. Angelina and her ex-husband Brad Pitt share Zahara as well as five other children - Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 11. Over the past two weeks Brad has been glimpsed twice at Angelina's mansion in Los Feliz possibly signaling that their equation with each other was improving. Confab: Now Angelina has showered praise on her eldest daughter during a TIME 100 video chat with Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate A source told People this week that the couple are 'in a better place' in terms of co-parenting the children after their custody battle. 'Its taken them a long time, with a lot of family therapy, to get to this point. The younger kids go back and forth between their houses, and Brad loves spending as much time with them as possible. He seems much happier,' said the insider. Although they got together in 2005 they waited until 2014 to get married, only for Angelina to file for divorce in September 2016. Warm words: Angelina said Zahara's 'connection to her country, her continent, her - is very, its her own, and it's something I only stand back in awe of' Since then they have battled legally over custody and finances, with Angelina reportedly demanding more money than Brad wanted to give. Living arrangements also became a sticking point as Brad was allegedly preventing Angelina from moving out of the country with their children. 'I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18,' she told Harper's Bazaar late last year for their December/January issue. 'Right now Im having to base where their father chooses to live.' Together: The 45-year-old adopted Zahara as an infant from an orphanage in Addis Ababa in 2005; they are pictured last October at the London premiere of Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil Brad has confessed to having been an alcoholic before Angelina left him but he has since gotten sober, and last year a judge granted him more time with the children. The Maleficent star gave birth to Vivienne and Knox in Nice, less than 200km from her and Brad's Chateau Miraval in the South Of France. Angelina and Brad went to Namibia for Shiloh's birth and had the government enforce a no-fly zone over the area they were in. An official at Namibia's Washington embassy dished at that time: 'The government has decided that it will issue visas to journalists to go to Namibia and cover Angelina and Brad if they have consent from the parties.' The legislature is out and not scheduled to meet before July 22. Rather than votes, this Roll Call Report describes some recent election-related bills of interest. Note: The next Weekly Roll Call Report will appear on July 24. Senate Bill 759: Count prisoners address as where they lived before imprisonment Introduced by Sen. Sylvia Santana (D), to require the Department of Corrections to report the address of prisoners as the one where they lived before going to prison. This would affect political redistricting population counts. Referred to committee, no further action at this time. Senate Bill 909: End going to the polls, do elections by mail Introduced by Sen. Jeff Irwin (D), to end the institution of going to polls and voting on election day, and replace it with mail-in elections at all levels. Referred to committee, no further action at this time. House Bill 5451: Make election days a holiday Introduced by Rep. Vanessa Guerra (D), to make the regular May, August and November election dates official state holidays. This would likely result in most state and local government employees getting the day off. Referred to committee, no further action at this time. House Bill 5545: Remove party labels in county elections Introduced by Rep. Ryan Berman (R), to make elections for county commissioner and most other county offices "non-partisan," meaning voters would only see the names of candidates on their ballots, with no indication of the political leanings of candidates like those currently provided by party identifications. Referred to committee, no further action at this time. House Bill 5789: Allow different driver license/state ID and voter registration addresses Introduced by Rep. Rebekah Warren (D) to allow a person to have a different address on their driver license or state identification card than the one at which they are registered to vote. Among other things this would let resident college students to vote where their school is located, not at their actual home address. It would affect political redistricting population counts. Referred to committee, no further action at this time. 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. Please visit www.MichiganVotes.org. The principal of a rural south west Wexford school has said reopening this August under current recommended guidelines will be very challenging and has been extremely stressful. Kate O'Keeffe, who is principal of Shanbogh NS near New Ross, said: 'We have a small school. The numbers are great but any school is going to have problems because of social distancing.' With small classrooms, it will be very difficult keeping children apart. 'The older ones' desks mean they will be one metre apart. They can sit at either end of it but we are hoping to bring all of the pupils back full-time on August 31.' The 31-pupil school has two classes: junior infants up to second class and third class up to sixth class. One learning support teacher attends the scool, but also assists at St Canice's NS so that dynamic needs to be ironed out, Ms O'Keeffe said. 'We are looking at staggering break times and entry times into the school. The essence of a small school is that they all play together; it's like a family. Sixth class pupils buddy up with junior infants and the small ones.' By having an earlier break than the senior pupils, 'the small ones' will lose out on that interaction. Following weeks of mixed messages from government about how primary (and secondary) schools can reopen, as well as union reaction, Ms O'Keeffe said: 'There seems to be a thinking that most schools must open in September. How they are going to open is hard because some kids have underlying conditions, like asthma. The health and wellbeing of staff is my priority. You want to be ticking all of the boxes but the communication has not been clear.' Describing the past few months as very frustrating, Ms O'Keeffe said: 'It keeps changing. Some principals are saying just to park it for July and we will look at it again in August. You could be in there every day of the week looking at what to change, even with the small ones' toys.' Pupils have to wash their hands five times a day under current regulations, an exercise that will take 45 minutes out of the school day, Ms O'Keefee said. Opening on August 31 means Shanbogh NS will have everything in place for pupils, including hand sanistisation areas. 'September will be a very strange month. The kids will be so delighted to be back and I just hate the thought of telling them to not get close. To me, you don't want the school to be a scary place.' She said there is no point dwelling on the current information too much, as it may change. 'Questions remain: do we have enough classrooms? The information is there for everyone on the outside world but for schools and teachers there are different rules.' Istanbul, July 11 : The world-famous Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul - originally founded as a cathedral - has been turned back into a mosque. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the decision after a court annulled the site's museum status, the BBC reported on Friday. Built 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453. In 1934 it became a museum and is now a Unesco World Heritage site. Islamists in Turkey long called for it to be converted to a mosque but secular opposition members opposed the move. The proposal prompted criticism from religious and political leaders worldwide. Defending the decision, Erdogan stressed that the country had exercised its sovereign right in converting it back to a mosque. He told a press conference the first Muslim prayers would be held inside the building on 24 July. "Like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be wide open to locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims," he added. Shortly after the announcement, the first call to prayer was recited at Hagia Sophia and was broadcast on all of Turkey's main news channels. The cultural site's social media channels have now been taken down. Unesco has said it "deeply regrets" the decision to turn the museum into a mosque and called on the Turkish authorities to "open a dialogue without delay." The organisation had urged Turkey not to change its status without discussion. The head of the Eastern Orthodox Church has condemned the move, as has Greece - home to many millions of Orthodox followers. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said it was an "open provocation to the civilised world". "The nationalism displayed by President Erdogan... takes his country back six centuries," she said in a statement. The court ruling "absolutely confirms that there is no independent justice" in Turkey, she added. But the Council of State, Turkey's top administrative court, said in its ruling on Friday: "It was concluded that the settlement deed allocated it as a mosque and its use outside this character is not possible legally." "The cabinet decision in 1934 that ended its use as a mosque and defined it as a museum did not comply with laws," it said. The Church in Russia, home to the world's largest Orthodox Christian community, immediately expressed regret that the Turkish court had not taken its concerns into account when ruling on Hagia Sophia. It said the decision could lead to even greater divisions. While the move is popular with conservative religious supporters of President Erdogan, Turkey's most famous author, Orhan Pamuk said the decision would take away the "pride" some Turks had in being a secular Muslim nation. "There are millions of secular Turks like me who are crying against this but their voices are not heard," he told the BBC. Defiant Ghislaine Maxwell has rounded on her accusers, insisting that her portrayal as a cartoon caricature of a villain is utterly false. Friends say that the 58-year-old socialite, who is scheduled to appear before a judge in New York on Tuesday to be formally charged with procuring girls as young as 14 for Jeffrey Epstein the serial paedophile and her former boyfriend is no Cruella de Vil. Referring to the glamorous but evil character from the Disney film One Hundred And One Dalmatians, one friend told The Mail on Sunday: This cartoon caricature of a villain she is being painted as is utterly untrue and false. 'This is a real human being with real feelings. Ghislaine Maxwell, 58, has rounded on her accusers, insisting that her portrayal as a cartoon caricature of a villain is utterly false Breaking a year-long silence since Epsteins death, sources close to Maxwell have gone on the offensive to put her side of the story. After a year during which she was neither seen nor heard, her allies now reveal how she intends to salvage her liberty and reputation against claims that she supplied depraved Epstein with young girls. Maxwells allies have told The Mail on Sunday that she: Is not the person who introduced billionaire Epstein to Prince Andrew; Fears dying of Covid-19 while in prison; Insists she and Epstein had not met in person for 15 years; Weeps over friends who have lost jobs because of their association with her; Has not had a haircut in a year and is being moved from cell-to-cell for her own safety. Maxwell is scheduled to appear before a judge in New York on Tuesday to be formally charged with procuring girls as young as 14 for Jeffrey Epstein the serial paedophile and her former boyfriend The daughter of the late newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell will make global headlines on Tuesday when she appears in court via remote link from her New York jail cell. She will be formally charged with sex offences between 1994 and 1997 and will plead not guilty to them all. Her lawyers will argue for her release from the high-security Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on 4 million bail, arguing that her life is in danger from coronavirus and multiple and credible death threats. Maxwell, who is a long-time friend of Prince Andrew and who saw him most recently in 2019, was arrested at her 800,000 New Hampshire hideaway on July 2. Prosecutor Audrey Strauss condemned her as playing a critical role in finding and grooming victims, while scores of Epsteins victims claim that she acted as his madam, often driving from his 20 million mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, to nearby trailer parks to procure vulnerable young girls for the paedophile. But last night a source close to Maxwell hit back, saying: Ghislaine is no Cruella de Vil. She is being portrayed as this evil character and a cartoon-like villain but she is nothing like that. She is a real person and is determined to prove her innocence despite the fact that she has been characterised as some sort of monster. Maxwell insists that her romance with Epstein ended in 2001 and that she did not see him in person after 2005 when she was photographed with him at a party. At the time, she was dating billionaire Gateway computer founder Ted Waitt. A source close to Maxwell hit back, saying: Ghislaine is no Cruella de Vil'. Pictured: The character played by Glenn Close in the 1996 film 101 Dalmatians The reality is that Ghislaines relationship with Epstein ended in 2001, says the friend. Starting in late 2002, early 2003, she was dating Ted and she loved him deeply. Epstein kept trying to woo her back but she wasnt interested. However, the friend adds, Maxwell continued to work for the twisted tycoon. She hired Epsteins pool guys, the IT guys. She managed his household. They werent that close. It was a professional relationship. When Epstein negotiated an infamous plea deal, pleading guilty to two child sex prostitution charges in 2008 and serving just 13 months in prison most on day release Maxwell did not visit him in jail, friends insist. Maxwell claims she is not the person who introduced billionaire Epstein to Prince Andrew (pictured above with Lady Lynn de Rothschild in Sydney) Bail documents filed by Maxwells lawyers last week reveal that she believes she is covered by a clause in that plea deal that protects any potential co-conspirators from prosecution. The friend says: Ghislaine never visited him in jail. People say the reason she did all these terrible things was for money, that she was a poor as a church mouse, but thats not true. She was with Ted until 2011 and hes worth three times what Epstein was worth. Maxwell also denies that she introduced her close friend Prince Andrew to Epstein, something her friends say has been written in stone but is plain wrong. In fact, friends claim the introduction was made by glamorous socialite Lynn Forester de Rothschild in 1999 at a birthday party she threw for her British billionaire husband, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, in the Hamptons, the exclusive beach resort outside New York. Ghislaine wasnt at that party. Lynn introduced Andrew to Epstein, says the friend. It was all about the money with Andrew and Epstein. Just wait and see. There is a lot more to come out. In a 26-page court document filed in New York on Friday, Maxwells lawyers say her life is at risk in jail. It says: The open season declared on Ms Maxwell after Epsteins death has come with an even darker cost she has been the target of alarming physical threats, even death threats. Noting a recent outbreak of Covid-19 at the prison which has struck down more than 50 prisoners and staff, the document adds: Ms Maxwell is at significant risk of contracting Covid-19 if she is detained and she will not be able to meaningfully participate in her defence. Calls to Maxwell from lawyers and friends have taken hours to reach her, it continues. Friends say that Ms Maxwell adopted a cat and puppy during the year after Epsteins suicide when she disappeared from public view. She wasnt on the run. Her team were in constant touch with her and in constant touch with authorities, the friend insists. She was keeping a low-profile because every friend who is associated with her has been hurt. People have lost jobs, their kids have been bullied. Thats what hurts her the most. She doesnt cry for herself but when her innocent friends are condemned merely by association with her, that breaks her heart. Her family, her sisters and brothers are 100 per cent loyal. She is speaking only to family and her legal team. She became a recluse because it was too painful to watch those she loved suffer. Socialite Maxwell, above in 2013, the daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, is the former girlfriend and long-time close associate of Epstein She is a kind person who loves animals. Shes adopted a cat and a mutt during the last year. She is a loving, kind person who has done none of the things she has been charged with. The words will enrage Maxwells many accusers and some will view the intervention of her friends as a cynical move. One of Epsteins alleged victims, Virginia Roberts, has accused Maxwell of being worse than Jeffrey and claims she used her English accent and charm to ensnare vulnerable girls. But sources close to Maxwell are critical of investigators. Ghislaines legal team called the day after Epstein was arrested offering to co-operate fully, claims one. Their calls were repeatedly ignored. She has never sought to flee. She wants her day in court. Her reputation is destroyed but she is determined to prove her innocence. In the bail documents, lawyers for Maxwell insist that had the government alerted her counsel that she was about to be arrested, we would have arranged for Ms Maxwells prompt, voluntary surrender. Instead, the government arrested Ms Maxwell without warning... thus ensuring that she would be in federal custody on the one-year anniversary of Epsteins arrest. Shes moved from cell to cell to stop someone trying to kill her Ghislaine Maxwell is being constantly moved from cell to cell because prison authorities fear that someone will try to kill her. The 58-year-old spent the first 24 hours after arriving at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, last Monday in paper clothing to prevent her harming herself. But insiders say the concern is now that someone will try to murder her. Jeffrey Epstein died behind bars and they [the authorities] are terrified someone will try to kill Ghislaine, said a source. She was initially given paper clothes to wear because she was a suicide risk but is now wearing a prison regulation khaki shirt and trousers. The source also revealed that her hair is longer and that she is far from the perfectly groomed socialite seen in photographs. She has not had a hair cut in a year and there have been no manicures or pedicures, the source added. She was in deep shock at first, but she is getting better each day. She is not a whiner or complainer. She is also someone who isnt posh or prissy. She is being moved from cell to cell and sometimes has a cellmate, sometimes not. They [the authorities] are terrified someone will try to kill her so they keep moving her around. Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured with Jeffrey Epstein in 2005) is being constantly moved from cell to cell because prison authorities fear that someone will try to kill her Conditions are terrible at the jail and theres an outbreak of Covid which could kill her. Its impossible for her to talk to her lawyers or family in a timely way. How can she prepare a defence when the lawyers cant even get hold of her? The Mail on Sunday has obtained a copy of the 51-page prison orientation handbook handed to all inmates, including Maxwell, when they are officially booked in. The prison day starts at 6am with inmates ordered that beds must be made by 7.30am. They are restricted to one pair of trainers per year along with one radio or MP3 player. Today her breakfast choices will be grits, wholewheat toast and fruit . Meanwhile, phone calls are limited to 15 minutes with a maximum of 300 minutes per month. Like other prisoners, Maxwell could be searched by guards at any time if there is suspicion of contraband or weapons. She is also banned from having any nude or sexually suggestive photos. Terrified and injured, her cat went missing for days after FBI raid A massive cat-hunt was launched after Ghislaine Maxwells terrified pet ran off injured when 60 armed FBI agents and police used a battering ram to smash down her door. Maxwell was with her rescue cat at her 800,000 New Hampshire property at 8.20am on July 2 when the door was bashed down. A source familiar with the FBI operation said: All hell broke loose. The door was smashed in along with half the front wall. The cat was injured and terrified out of its wits and took off into the woods. As Maxwell was hauled off in handcuffs to Merrimack County jail, her pet was forced to fend for itself in the 156-acre woods around her home the area is filled with bears and porcupines. The property where Maxwell was arrested by the FBI seen in an aerial photograph in Bradford, New Hampshire In the middle of everything else, a major mission was launched to save this poor animal which had been hurt and was out there trying to avoid being eaten by a bear, said a source. There were security people and highly paid lawyers out there looking in the woods. No-one wanted any harm to come to this poor creature. The search went on for four days before the cat was finally discovered. The animal has been treated and is doing well. The irony is, the front door was unlocked so there was no reason to smash it down with a battering ram and cause so much chaos and damage. It was overkill and the poor cat was an innocent victim. Maxwell was with her rescue cat at her 800,000 New Hampshire property at 8.20am on July 2 when the door was bashed down Maxwell, who had not been seen in public since Epstein killed himself in a New York jail after being charged with multiple child sex offenses, bought the stunning home in Bradford, New Hampshire, in an all-cash deal last December. It is in the name of Granite LLC and, unlike her London property, has not been put up as part of her bail surety. On Friday Maxwells lawyers said six friends and family members have offered to put up $5 million for her to get bail, which includes her mews home in Londons Belgravia, worth more than 3 million. The mews home is where the infamous picture of Prince Andrew with Virginia Roberts was taken in 2001, on the night she says she was first forced to have sex with the Prince. Maxwell was arrested at the luxurious mountain top home - dubbed Tuckedaway - outside tiny Bradford, New Hampshire Andrew vehemently denies all claims and said in his Newsnight interview he did not recall ever meeting Ms Roberts and was at a Pizza Express in Woking on the night in question. Maxwell has offered to rent a home in New York if granted bail at Tuesdays hearing and to pay for private security. Her lawyers argue she never tried to flee during the past 12 months and never left the country despite having UK, US and French passports. She will wear an ankle tag and be monitored round the clock if she is allowed out of jail. Sumi Sukanya Dutta By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The largest cohort study of COVID-19 patients in India so far, carried out in Kota, suggests that most of them are being unnecessarily hospitalized, leading to hospitals in many cities being overwhelmed and running out of beds. The study, which documented details related to 406 patients in the Government Medical College, Kota and hospitals associated with it, has revealed that a majority of the patients -- 244 -- who were hospitalized had no symptoms at all and less than 5 per cent had severe respiratory issues requiring ICU or mechanical ventilation. Experts, including those guiding the Union Health Ministry's response to the pandemic, have been saying that these unnecessary hospitalizations are leaving COVID-19 patients who are really in need of medical care in the lurch. The study titled COVID19- Clinical Profile, Radiological Presentation, Prognostic Predictors, Complications and Outcome: A Perspective from the Indian Subcontinent published in the Journal of the Association of Physicians of India said the disease was milder as compared to other regional reports especially from foreign countries. It also said that of 406 patients enrolled for the study, only 4.4% required ICU or ventilators, eight of whom died. The rest with symptoms were treated with standard therapies or oxygen in some cases and most of them recovered within six days on an average. The study which documented case details from April 5 to June 2 also underscored that shortness of breath and chest pain was not common but was usually associated with ICU admission or requirement for oxygen inhalation. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on April 28, had recommended that confirmed COVID-19 cases with mild or no symptoms can opt for home isolation under certain conditions but the study indicates what experts have been saying for long -- that in most states unnecessary hospitalisations have been happening. ALSO READ | Baby born to COVID-19 negative mother at Delhi's RML hospital tests positive This paper confirms my suspicion that Indian hospitals are busy admitting large numbers of asymptomatic patients, said epidemiologist Dr Jammi N Rao who has worked with the Indian Council of Medical Research in Hyderabad and the NHS in the UK. During the peak in Delhi and Mumbai and now in cities like Bengaluru, there have been numerous reports of seriously ill patients struggling to secure hospital beds. Rao's views were echoed by a senior member of the operations research group of the National COVID 19 Task Force. We have been worried about it and the main concern is that the situation could be worse off in private hospitals which would be deliberating taking on mild cases for commercial reasons. Hospitals may also be taking advantage of panicked patients, said the member who did not want to be quoted. Therefore there is a need to rigorously enforce home isolation of full households to ease pressure on hospital bed capacity. Meanwhile, the study from Kota, which had seen a major outbreak in April and May, also said that only 210 patients had a history of contact with positive patients while only 16 had a history of travel to disease hotspots and/or attending mass gatherings -- indicating that the majority picked it up from the community. Nearly 65 per cent of the patients were brought to the hospitals by the rapid response teams deployed for contact tracing and 79 patients had associated comorbidity, most commonly hypertension closely followed by diabetes mellitus-2. Those symptomatic at the time of presentation mostly had fever, dry cough and body ache but some patients also had complaints suggestive of rhinitis, headache, nausea, vomiting and occasionally diarrhoea. Researchers also said that every COVID-19 positive patient was treated with anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and antibiotic azithromycin, barring those who had any contraindications or side effects. This might be in contravention of the earlier clinical management protocol by the Centre which had suggested the combination for only severe cases but later dropped the antibiotic and now suggests HCQ for mild cases. ALSO SEE: TOWN OF PARIS Invenergy, the company proposing a 2,500-acre solar farm in the Town of Paris, is facing project delays elsewhere in the state due to pending tariffs on imported solar panels. Madison Gas and Electric and We Energies have pushed back the date the states first large-scale solar farm will be put in operation to December 2022. Construction of the solar farm in Paris was initially slated to begin this year, and the project was scheduled to be operational by 2022. However, that timeline is unlikely given the application is still before the Public Service Commission, and existing projects are behind schedule. The delay of Badger Hollow II a $195-million, 150-megawatt project is needed to allow Invenergy to acquire hundreds of thousands of solar panels that could be subject to a 20% import tariff. MGE spokesman Steve Schultz said the one-year extension gives Invenergy flexibility to manage the construction within their portfolio of projects. Schultz said the project should remain on budget even if the tariff is extended beyond the January 2022 expiration. We believe extending the project completion date by one year will allow Badger Hollow Solar Farm to manage the acquisition of the needed panels without an increase to the project acquisition cost, Schultz said. The utilities say the delay will result in unspecified cost increases due to financing and electricity they will have to purchase to replace the anticipated solar output. Trump administration tariff However, those costs are expected to be less than the potential increase associated with paying the 20% tariff, which could take effect later this summer and run through next year. The Trump administration is seeking to withdraw a tariff exemption for bifacial panels, primarily imported from Southeast Asia. After the White House first imposed solar panel tariffs in January 2018, an exemption was granted for bifacial panels. The U.S. Trade representative attempted to revoke the exemption in October, but the U.S. Court of International Trade agreed with Invenergy, which argued the government hadnt provided enough time for public comment, and left the exemption in place. The White House restarted the process in January and in April filed a second withdrawal notice, which is now under consideration by the court. The administration argues the exemption will result in substantial increases in imports that would discourage domestic manufacturing. The solar energy industry group, which contends the exemption has saved the industry a couple of hundred million dollars over the past year, has challenged the second withdrawal attempt. John Smirnow, general counsel and vice president of market strategy for the trade group, said American manufacturers are able to supply less than 10% of the anticipated demand this year, and none are making bifacial panels on a significant scale. Theres no U.S. production of bifacial modules for the utility segment, Smirnow said. To really get there ... you have to have a long-term vision. Smirnow said he doesnt expect a ruling from the court until at least August. Solar farm to take up 1,400 acres The $220 million solar energy farm proposed in the Town of Paris is to be located about 1.5 miles west of I-94, bordering Highway KR on the north, Highway 45 on the west and partly adjacent to Highway 142 (Burlington Road) on the south. Invenergy has secured contracts for more than 2,500 acres of land. However, the solar arrays would only be located on about 1,400 acres. The project is an opportunity to boost the local economy and create jobs while generating clean, American-made energy to help meet Wisconsins growing demand for sustainable energy, a statement from Invenergy reads. According to the application before the PSC, up to 750,000 solar panels would be installed in arrays mounted between 7 and 15 feet off the ground. The arrays would tilt to track the suns daylight path. The site could have the capability of producing 200 megawatts if approved by the PSC enough to power 55,000 Wisconsin homes every year. The emissions reduction equivalent from this project is the same as removing 45,000 cars off the road, according to data provided by Invenergy. Paris Solar will contribute more than $3 million to the local economy annually through landowner payments, tax revenues, local spending, and salaries, according to an Invenergy document. Three hundred jobs will be supported during construction, and Paris Solar will employ up to 4 full-time operations and maintenance staff once operational. Town Chairman John Holloway said the town and county are working on a memorandum of understanding with Invenergy to be incorporated in the PSC order. The goal is to have it in a final draft form yet this month, Holloway said, adding it will go to the Town Board for review. It will address concerns about road and environmental impacts, farm drainage systems and decommissioning standards. Badger Hollow was approved by the PSC in April 2019. The PSC has since approved two more a 149-megawatt project in Jefferson County and a 100-megawatt project near Point Beach and is considering applications for another five. Madison-based Alliant Energy submitted an application in May to purchase six solar farms under development with a combined capacity of 675 megawatts for roughly $900 million. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 13:06:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SAN JOSE, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Costa Rica has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but luckily it has received quite some help from China as well as the local Chinese community. Zhongshan city in China's southern province of Guangdong, which has over 30,000 expatriates in Costa Rica, sent three shipments of donations to the Central American country from April to June. The supplies included two thermal cameras donated to the General Directorate of Civil Aviation of Costa Rica to measure passenger temperatures at airports. Isabel Yung, representative of the Costa Rican Association of Friendship with China, called the donations another example of the friendship between the two countries, saying the thermal cameras could help the country's tourism sector, which has been greatly affected by the pandemic. The Chinese Colony Association in Costa Rica has donated 100,000 masks, of which 20,000 were N95 masks, as well as 1,000 sets of disposable clothing for medical use, and 100 infrared thermometers to the Mexico Hospital, one of the medical centers designated to treat COVID-19 patients in the country. The association has also donated hundreds of food packages containing basics like toilet paper, rice, beans, coffee, sugar and oil, which were delivered to the National Emergency Commission (CNE) and the municipality of San Jose. The efforts of the Chinese community in Costa Rica were hailed by Chinese Ambassador Tang Heng. "During a pandemic, diseases do not respect borders or nationalities, so today more than ever, we must unite to move forward. We are brother nations and as a community, we want to help, and together we will be part of the solution," the ambassador said. Sun Yi, political counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Costa Rica, praised the work Costa Rica has done in the fight against COVID-19, saying that "Costa Rica is a model not only in Central America, but throughout Latin America." "Although at the moment we are suffering another attack of this epidemic, with international cooperation from all countries, we can overcome this epidemic," Sun said. Costa Rica reported on Friday that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country has reached 6,845, with 26 deaths. Enditem Two key accused in the sensational case in Kerala, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, were taken into custody by the from Bengaluru on Saturday, official sources said here. Highly placed sources in the multiple investigation agencies involved in the case confirmed to PTI here about the Investigation Agency (NIA) taking the duo into custody. Swapna, a former employee of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, is among the four accused booked by the in the smuggling of 30 kg of gold through diplomatic baggage which arrived at the Thiruvanathapuram International airport on July 5. The gold valued at around Rs 15 crore was seized by the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Kochi. Swapna, Sarith and Sandeep Nair of Thiruvananthapuram and Fazil Fareed of Ernakulam have been listed in the smuggling case as accused. Both Swapna and Sandeep had been on the run since their names cropped up in connection with the case a few days ago. Sarith has already been arrested by the Customs (Preventive) Department. The Central agencies including the and the Customs had opposed Swapna's anticipatory bail plea in the high court. The two accused were taken into custody a day after the NIA began the investigation into the case after a Union Home Ministry order in this connection. The NIA had on Friday registered the FIR under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and said it has taken up the probe as the case has international linkages and as the initial inquiries have revealed the proceeds of the smuggled gold could be used for financing terrorism in India. Also, as the case pertains to smuggling of a large quantity of gold into India from offshore locations, threatening the economic stability and security of the country, it amounts to a terrorist act as stated in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The development came two days after Chief Minister wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his "intervention for an effective investigation" and after the Union Home Ministry allowed the agency to probe it, saying the incident "may have serious implications for security". The news about the two accused being taken into custody came a few minutes after police chief Loknath Behera constituted a special team to assist NIA and Customs to nab the absconding accused. Pakistan's regional machinations no longer serve a strategic purpose for the United States as it used to be in the past for former American administration. Instead, the Trump dispensation now appears to be gearing up for a bigger and multifaceted battle with the 'Dragon' further east, said a European think tank. According to European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), the fact that Pakistan, China's sworn best friend and stooge combined, no longer holds the same charm for the US it once did was made evident in the US State Department report which highlighted the fact that Islamabad had been designated as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and that it had been re-designated as a CPC in 2019. The State Department report also drew attention to the disturbing reality that Pakistani "madrassas reportedly continued to teach 'extremist' doctrine", and that "many madrassas failed to register with the government or provide documentation of their sources of funding or to limit their acceptance of foreign students to those with valid visas, a background check and the consent of their governments, as required by law". Unsurprisingly, despite acknowledging Pakistan's role in facilitating the US-Taliban talks, the report did not fail to point out the devious role that Pakistan continued to play in Afghanistan. In addition to Pakistan's support to Afghanistan focused terrorist groups alluded to above, the report asserted that "Afghanistan continued to face significant challenges in protecting its borders, particularly those with Pakistan and Iran". Unfortunately, the Pakistani government, in its "apparent haste to criticise the State Department's report, ended up neglecting to look closely enough at its own conduct and motivations", as also the underlying message that the report contained, the think tank said. Pakistan's claim of having contributed to the decimation of the Al-Qaeda is ridiculous, given the fact that Prime Minister Imran Khan chose to describe the terror group's slain leader Osama bin Laden as a "shaheed" or a martyr in the National Assembly, the lower house of the country's Parliament. "How any responsible nation can venture that it had helped destroy an organisation whose top leader it itself had sheltered for years is unfathomable. After acts such as harbouring the most wanted terrorist in the world, and its Prime Minister describing this terrorist as a martyr, for Pakistan to turn around and claim that it 'was fully aware of its responsibilities as a sovereign state' comes across as well nigh absurd, the think tank questioned Pakistan's tall counter-terrorism claims are belied by the fact that the leadership of the Taliban, a United Nations (UN) designated terrorist organisation, has been sheltering in Pakistan for two decades, the think tank highlighted. Having come into the limelight when it grabbed power in Kabul with the active support of Pakistan, which had created it, the Taliban has been and continues to remain, Pakistan's "most preferred choice to run the government in Kabul". "Having pandered to and nurtured this strategic asset for long, President Donald Trump's eagerness to get out of Afghanistan has finally presented Pakistan with the opening that it's needed to harvest the fruits of this investment," EFSAS said. Pakistan's role in the Afghan peace process was not selflessly aimed at bailing out an old ally. Instead, it purely aimed at serving the country's regional interest. "It is with similar interests in mind that Pakistan has, and continues to nurture other terrorist organisations, including those targeting India that find mention in the US report," it further stated. "What Pakistan has been practising rather openly for quite some time now is not counter-terrorism, barring the exception of groups that target Pakistan, but rather sponsorship of terrorism at the level of the state in pursuit of regional political objectives," the think tank said. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics BERLIN (Reuters) - A member of staff at the German government press office suspected of working for Egyptian intelligence did not have access to sensitive information, a German government spokeswoman said on Friday. The case was mentioned in the BfV domestic intelligence agency's 385-page annual report, published on Thursday. The report said unspecified measures had been taken against the member of staff in December, on orders from federal prosecutors. The employee had access to general information relating to a programme that allows each legislator to bring 50 people from their constituency for a parliamentary visit each year, the government spokeswoman told a daily news conference. She said the person in question did not have access to sensitive information "Direct access to data from the parliamentary visit programme or other government press office databases, in particular media accreditation and the media service, was not possible," she said. The press office is headed by Steffen Seibert, Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief spokesman, and is located about a kilometre (half a mile) from the Chancellery. The Egyptian embassy in Berlin was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Alexander Ratz and Andreas Rinke; Writing by Joseph Nasr and Thomas Escritt; Editing by Kevin Liffey and David Clarke) Voting started in Hong Kong on Saturday for the primaries of pro-democracy opposition parties, after police raided a polling body working with the movement the night before. Almost 60,000 people voted in the first three hours, according to organizers of the unofficial primary. They are hoping to get at least 170,000 to take part in the vote on Saturday and Sunday and select candidates from each district to run in Septembers Legislative Council election. Police searched the offices of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute on Friday evening and seized its computers, said Au Nok-hin, an organizer of the primary. They had a warrant and didnt make any arrests, Au said. The institute is a widely cited pollster helping the pro-democracy movement with the primary, which a top government official has said may violate Beijings new national security law for the city. Voting for the primaries was delayed until noon as a result of the raid, the organizers said. Police were seen visiting some of the 250 polling stations. A police spokeswoman said officers from the cyber security crime bureau conducted Fridays search after receiving complaints from members of the public about leaked information, including that of police officers. The opposition hopes to ride a decisive victory in last Novembers district council elections to secure a majority in the legislature that would give it the power to block Chief Executive Carrie Lams agenda -- and even theoretically force her to resign by rejecting her budget proposals. However, the new security law has compounded risks that the Beijing-backed government will disqualify pro-democracy candidates to keep them from winning enough seats. The primary election is our first time to let Beijing know Hong Kongers never bow down to China, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was cited by RTHK as saying ahead of the opening of the polls. We urge the world to put Hong Kong under the global spotlight. Secretary for Mainland and Constitutional Affairs Erick Tsang on Thursday suggested that participation in the primary could run afoul of the law. If convicted by the courts, violators would be barred from seeking or holding public office for an unspecified period. Another top Hong Kong official last month advocated for the invalidation of candidates who expressed opposition toward the legislation, which is raising questions about the citys autonomy from China. Tsang said that planning and participating in primaries could violate the laws articles of secession, subversion and collusion, as well as its Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance. Though democrats refuted the governments remarks and continued canvassing support for the primary, they also worry that authorities suggestions of illegality -- and a warning that district council offices shouldnt be used as primary polling stations -- would dampen voter turnout over the weekend. Hong Kong Democrats Fear Disqualifications Ahead of Election Surely thats our worry, whether the new national security law will deter people from coming out to participate in a legally organized and lawful activity, legal scholar and organizer Benny Tai said at a briefing earlier this week. He argued that the primary was not an act of secession or collusion because it didnt have an agenda to split the country and wasnt sourcing funds externally. Opposition Braces Hong Kong, which is seeing a spike in locally transmitted coronavirus cases, has also reimposed social-distancing restrictions that go into effect Saturday and could dissuade some residents from coming out to vote. Pan-democrat organizers held media briefings in the past week to bolster public support and appeal for funds to cover expenses, but as of Friday had achieved only half their monthlong crowd-funding goal of HK$3.5 million ($450,000). Candidates -- including Wong -- have set up street booths in their respective districts in a last-ditch effort to secure votes ahead of the primary. If the total voting turnout is lower than the goal of 170,000, the camp would have to regroup and discuss who to put on the ballot, Tai said. Democrats had braced themselves for further disqualifications even before the law was handed down on the last day of June, as Lams government and its supporters criticized activists by name for a range of actions and political views that could put potential candidates in jeopardy. The government has blocked nine candidates from running over their support for Hong Kong independence and self-determination since 2016, when it first took the then-unprecedented step of banning politicians from running for Legco due to their political views. Authorities want to use the rule of fear to suppress any different views and exactly how we can counteract the rule of fear is by doing the things we believe to be right, Tai said. The more people coming out to vote, it will give more legitimacy to the whole process. A teenage boy has died after being attacked by a shark while surfing in a "shark hotspot" in Australia. The boy, 17, was found with severe leg injuries after being bitten while surfing in Wooli Bay in New South Wales, about four hours' drive from Brisbane. He died at the scene despite paramedics' efforts to revive him. Local lifeguards described the boy's death as "a very tragic accident." File image of a shark / Pixabay A Surf Life Saving NSW spokewoman told ABC: "We've had numerous incidents, and some fatal, on the mid-north coast and north coast over the years, it is a bit of a shark hotspot." Beach and emergency service workers will now try to find the shark, she said. The spokeswoman added: "We will hope to get a jet ski to get on the water with one of our volunteers tomorrow. "But we are conscious it's in a really remote spot; it's 15 kilometres from the main highway to get to Wooli and this part of the coast is in a national park camping ground." Police said local beaches were closed in the aftermath of the attack. An investigation into the boy's death is ongoing. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Cloudy. Snow showers developing late. Low 1F. SE winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Cloudy. Snow showers developing late. Low 1F. SE winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Higher wind gusts possible. Vietnam, US exchange congratulatory messages on 25 years of diplomacy Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Donald Trump have exchanged letters of congratulations marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the US. Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc and White House National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Allison Hooker exchange the leaders letters of congratulation in Washington DC In his letter, Party leader and President Trong expressed his belief that in the spirit of putting aside the past, overcoming differences, promoting similarities and moving forward to the future, the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the US will be further developed in an effective and sustainable manner, in the interest of the two peoples and contributing to peace, security and prosperity in the region and the world. Meanwhile, in his letter, President Trump affirmed that the United States maintains its commitment to further strengthening relations between the two countries on the basis of a shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, as well as respecting each others legal system and sovereignty. Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc and White House National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Allison Hooker exchanged the leaders letters of congratulation at a reception marking 25 years of Vietnam-US diplomacy held at the Department of State headquarters in Washington on July 10. At the reception, Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell noted the US attaches importance to promoting the comprehensive partnership with Vietnam and will continue to coordinate with Vietnam to contribute to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and the rule of law in the Indo - Pacific region. The US diplomat believed that the marked results of bilateral cooperation in the past 25 years will lay a firm foundation for the stronger development of reliable partnership between the two countries in the near future. On this occasion, the Assistant Secretary of State hailed Vietnams initial success in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, and its efforts to reboot the economy post COVID-19. For his part, ambassador Ngoc stressed that the strong and stable partnership between Vietnam and the United States not only contributes to socio-economic development in Vietnam, but also plays an important role in maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and the rule of law in Southeast Asia in particular and Indo - Asia - Pacific in general. He said the two countries still have a great deal of potential for elevating their relationship to a new height, creating a solid foundation to build a brighter future for generations over the next 25 years. Both ambassador Ngoc and Assistance Secretary Stilwell witnessed the signing of a document to implement a Peace Program, which was also signed by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc in Hanoi the same day. Penning the document, Peace Program Director Jody Olsen said the Peace Program is honored to carry out English teaching in Vietnam, first in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, contributing to building a comprehensive partnership and friendship between the United States and Vietnam. *** On this occasion, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc conveyed a message of congratulation to US President Donald Trump. National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan cabled a message of congratulation to US Senate President Michael Pence and US House of Representative President Nancy Pelosi. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also extended a congratulatory message to US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. Norway lifts many European travel curbs, including parts of Sweden OSLONorway will lift travel restrictions to and from more than 20 European countries from July 15, including France, Germany, and Britain, as well as three of the 21 provinces of neighboring Sweden, the government said on Friday. Norway, which is not a member of the European Union but belongs to the passport-free Schengen Area travel zone, currently has some of Europes strictest limitations on travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Citizens and foreign residents of Denmark, Iceland, and Finland have been allowed to enter Norway since June 15, the first countries to be approved following Norways decision in mid-March to shut its borders to contain the coronavirus spread. Spain, Greece and, the Netherlands were among those added to the list of approved nations on Friday, which will be reviewed at least every 14 days based on data such as infection rates and hospital admissions in each country. Bulgaria, Croatia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, and Hungary will remain on the list of restricted EU countries, as will 18 Swedish regions. Travel outside of Europe is also on hold, as well as for non-EU nations such as Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Visitors from nations which have not received a green light are generally denied entry, while any Norwegians returning home from such countries face a 10-day quarantine. Norway, with a population of 5.4 million, had confirmed a total of 8,954 COVID-19 cases, with 252 deaths, as of Thursday. By Victoria Klesty Radio Farda has obtained a confidential letter that shows Irans IRGC, which holds 49 percent of Khuzestan Steel Mill Company, is attempting to "illegally acquire" the remaining shares belonging to workers. Meanwhile, reports say that the Revolutionary Guard financial holding involved in the case may be transferring its assets to Supreme Leader Khamenei's office. The steel company is one of the top three steel producers in Iran. The other 51 percent of its shares have been handed over to the public as "Justice Shares," however, it is the IRGC that controls the company's management and operations as the major shareholder. The steel mill in Khuzestan Province is the biggest producer of steel bars and the second biggest producer of un-milled steel in Iran. In the June 27 letter Mohammad Qaemi, the liquidation director of Yas Holding Company warned Sadeq Zolqadrnia, the IRGC's deputy commander for economic affairs and reconstruction that "Any illegal intervention by the IRGC or Yas will entail religious and legal consequences." The main activity of IRGC's Yas holding, operating under the force's Cooperative Foundation is dealership and subcontracting in the housing sector. The holding has been implicated in numerous financial corruption cases during the past three years. One of the most important one of these cases is the one regarding a 100 billion rial (around $3.2 billion at the time) transaction with the Municipality of Tehran which led to the imprisonment of former deputy mayor Isa Sharifi who worked as a deputy to then Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf who is now the speaker of Iran's parliament. The Yas Holding was officially dissolved in February 2018. However, based on the document now at the disposal of Radio Farda, the IRGC is still holding its shares in the Steel company and is trying to increase its holding. In the letter, Qaemei explains that Yas has currently no control over its assets but IRGC officials will be responsible for the consequences of the Steel Company's economic failure. The statement shows that part of the assets of Yas that must have been at the disposal of its liquidation director has not been put at his disposal. This means that regardless of the apparent dissolution of the holding, IRGC is still continuing to use its assets. Meanwhile, the letter charges that during the past year, measures taken by Ali Mohammadi, the managing director of the steel company has been "illegal" and has led to "wasting the rights and assets of smaller shareholders." The letter further states that 51 percent of shares of the company belongs to workers and that the IRGC is considering "illegal action" against them disguised as charitable activity aimed at uprooting poverty." Mohammadi is a trusted IRGC official and has been named by the force's commanders as an "exemplary jihadi manager. The letter states that the board of directors of the steel company has tried to dismiss him several times, but every time the IRGC and its commander in chief objected to the board's decision. Seven days after the letter at Radio Farda's disposal was signed, the IRGC changed the board of directors of the steel company and replaced its board chairman with Esmail Ashouri, an IRGC employee. Yas Holding is known for its involvement in major financial corruption cases including a 130 trillion rial case revealed by former government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh. In another case, Yas forced the state television IRIB to give it the exclusive rights to control television advertising. However, Yas had to withdraw from that contract after other corrupt dealings were revealed. The three leading figures in the management of Yas are Jamal Aberumand, a former IRGC Deputy Commander, Massoud Mehrdadi, a deputy to the IRGC Cooperative Foundation and Mahmoud Seif who is known for his role in smuggling weapons and forging bank notes on behalf of the IRGC. Insiders believe former IRGC Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari may have been removed from his post after corruption cases in Yas Holding were revealed. Unlike other former IRGC Commanders, Khamenei did not appoint him as his military adviser. There are various reports about the arrest of Seif and Mehrdadi on charges of financial corruption, but the Iranian Judiciary has not confirmed these reports. Since 2018 there have been reports about reshuffling of managers and transferring them between Yas Holding and the ultra-rich Executive Headquarters that operates under Khamenei's office. However, no details are available about those transfers. However, the general assumption is that as a result of these developments parts of the assets of Yas will be transferred to the Executive Headquarters and Khamenei's office. This will give further opportunities to the institutions operating under the Supreme Leader of to go ahead with its non-transparent economic activities and further expand its financial empire. Confrontation, Violence Second Resolution Targets Tear Gas (TNS) In the wake of clashes between Madison, Wisc., police and protesters following the death of George Floyd, City Council members are proposing police be banned from using tear gas, mace and devices that fire less-lethal projectiles such as bean bags or sponge-tipped rounds to control unruly crowds.Interim Police Chief Vic Wahl said the department opposes sudden moves to prohibit non-lethal measures but welcomes study of the police response to protests and alternative ways to deescalate situations and control a large-scale, violent crowd.Recent moves to remove police school resource officers from Madison schools and the new council proposals, particularly those that could be enacted with no time for thorough study, show that right now, theres no room for reasonable, fact-based discussion on topics that have to do with police, Wahl said, adding that quick decisions to hamstring police could complicate the ongoing search for a permanent police chief.Ald. Max Prestigiacomo, who represents the campus-area 8th District, plans to introduce an ordinance Tuesday that would prohibit use of the forceful crowd-control measures in Madison. The limitations would also apply to any officers employed by another law enforcement agency responding to a request for help from Madison.Prestigiacomo is also proposing an ordinance that would prohibit the Police Department from obtaining equipment and supplies through a federal program that allows law enforcement agencies to acquire military gear, which can range from armored vehicles and night-vision equipment to flashlights, respirator masks and first-aid kits.Separately, Alds. Patrick Heck, 2nd District; Shiva Bidar, 5th District; and Keith Furman, 19th District, are offering a resolution requesting a study of alternatives to tear gas and prohibiting the use of tear gas, starting Nov. 17.The proposals will be considered by city committees and decided by the council at a later date.Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway declined to comment on the proposals but said shes asked the City Attorneys Office and Public Safety Review Committee to review the departments use-of-force policies.There is a legitimate conversation to be had about what methods are appropriate under what circumstances, but it has to be done in a thoughtful and comprehensive way, the mayor said. Chief Wahl has also requested that the Quattrone Center, at the University of Pennsylvania law school, do an independent review of MPDs response to the events of late May. That review will be an excellent resource to inform any public policy response.Prestigiacomo and Furman could not be reached Thursday.In the early evening of May 30, five days after Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis, Madison erupted in protests just like other cities across the country. Madison police and other officers began using tear gas and pepper spray to disperse protesters on State Street after some in the crowd looted Goodmans Jewelers and were throwing rocks, water bottles and soda bottles at police officers in riot gear.The following night, hundreds of protesters clashed with police Downtown after a city-imposed curfew failed to prevent a repeat of the chaos that followed peaceful demonstrations the day before.On June 1, another protest was peaceful with no visible police presence until about 1 a.m. when a group of about 400 to 500 protesters camped at the intersection of State Street and Capitol Square. A group peeled off and began looting State Street stores, prompting police to form a line and march down the street, throwing tear gas at the looters and using pepper spray on a few of them.Wahl has told the council that 19 officers were injured in the early days of the protests, none seriously.Wahl called Prestigiacomos proposed ordinance impractical and unrealistic.It doesnt reflect any understanding of the tools we need to do our job to deal with a large-scale, violent crowd, he said. What would you have us do? There isnt anything other than leaving. Wed be very concerned.As less lethal options, the department has tasers, shotguns that fire bean bags and launchers that fire sponge-tipped rounds at 40 mph.Prestigiacomos other proposal would prohibit the Madison Police Department from obtaining any property from the federal Defense Logistics Agency under the National Defense Authorization Acts 1033 Program.The proposal, Wahl said, is shortsighted and doesnt seem to understand the equipment they receive and how the city saves hundreds of thousands of dollars on items absolutely critical to do our job.The program, he said, has allowed the department to acquire a supply of N95 face masks in recent years that have been invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic, mundane things like flashlights, and some big-ticket items such as robotics that allow police to minimize the risk of direct encounters. Many think of big armored vehicles, but the department has long done away with the military vehicle it acquired under the program and replaced it with a civilian model, he said.The resolution by Heck, Bidar and Furman says the council is committed to support deescalation alternatives to the use of tear gas and calls for prohibiting the use or purchase of tear gas by Madison police or any other city department beginning Nov. 17.The proposal asks the Police Department to submit a study by Oct. 20 that includes a history of its tear gas usage from 1990 and explores alternatives.The resolution focuses on the weapon used by police that has caused the greatest concern and gives the department time to study options, Heck said.We are reacting to the events of May and June when tear gas was used, Heck said. Were also concerned about how those events unfolded and are not necessarily convinced the use of tear gas was appropriate. We want to understand the choices that were made, the options available and what options available they had considered.Bidar added, We heard very strongly from many people, including people in the medical field, that the use of tear gas has very negative impacts.The resolution asks for a study and delays a ban until the fall because we want to give the Police Department the opportunity to consider options, Heck said. We want to explore all de-escalation techniques fully and no longer rely on tear gas.Wahl said he supports doing a study and the topics are perfect for discussion but he was concerned that the resolution already has a date to ban the use of tear gas before the study has started.The council has already moved to block the police from acquiring certain weapons, voting on June 16 to deny the departments request for $50,000 to purchase less-lethal weapons including projectile launchers that were used on crowds after local protests turned violent.Prestigiacomo, who proposed the amendment to prevent funding the launchers, said then that less lethal does not always mean non-lethal, and that the department violated its own policies by using the sponge projectiles as a crowd-control measure. To mark Manitobas 150th anniversary in 2020, the Free Press will feature a weekly article from the archives of the Manitoba Historical Society. This article was published originally in the Manitoba Pageant in the Autumn of 1975 by the Manitoba Historical Society. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 11/7/2020 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. To mark Manitobas 150th anniversary in 2020, the Free Press will feature a weekly article from the archives of the Manitoba Historical Society. This article was published originally in the Manitoba Pageant in the Autumn of 1975 by the Manitoba Historical Society. MANITOBA ARCHIVES Dr. Charlotte Ross, Manitobas first female physician, served the Whitemouth area from 1881 to 1910. The dog team was abruptly halted before the log cabin over which the smoke hung low in the frosty night. The driver hurried to the door and upon admittance asked for the doctor. The woman standing by the stove, covering pans of dough, began removing her apron. A young girl hurried to an adjacent room and returned with a large satchel, while another brought her mothers heavy wraps. After giving a few quiet instructions to the girls as she dressed, with the young man carrying the bag, their mother went quickly into the night. Dr. Ross was on her way to assist another young pioneer mother in her travail. Such occurrences were commonplace in the life of Dr. Charlotte Ross, Manitobas first woman doctor who lived and practised in Whitemouth from 1881 to 1910. Set on the edge of the Shield country, through which a ribbon of steel was being threaded, Whitemouth, 67 miles east of Winnipeg, was only a construction headquarters when Dr. Ross first joined her husband there. The tiny population consisted of loggers and railway workers and it was some time before she saw another woman. Charlotte Whitehead Ross was the remarkable daughter of a remarkable father. Joseph Whitehead had begun his career as a young lad in England as helper on a horse-drawn tram. He came to the attention of George Stephenson, the inventor, who recognized the abilities latent in the boy and interested himself in his education. Joseph stoked Stephensons famed "Rocket," the first locomotive, on its maiden trip in 1829. He worked at railroading in England and Scotland and came to Canada in 1849. As a railroad contractor, he laid out lines in Ontario, including part of the Grand Trunk Railway and then went west to take part in the greatest railroading exploit of them all the building of the Canadian Pacific. He engineered lines south and east of Winnipeg and brought the first locomotives to Manitoba. The most famous of these was called the Countess of Dufferin. Charlotte, born in England in 1842, inherited her fathers initiative and, enterprise. She was educated in Montreal and married David Ross, a handsome young Scot who was associated with her father in railway construction. Her decision to study medicine was determined by the prospect of spending years in communities where no medical facilities would be available for her family, and by a realization of the value of qualified medical assistance to the construction workers with whom her husband was concerned. In an era when higher education for women was the exception and a woman doctor an oddity, such a step required courage. At that time, no medical school in Canada would admit a woman student. She entered the Womens Medical College in Philadelphia in 1865. She had two children at home in Montreal. Eventually, they joined her in Philadelphia. Another child was born to her not long after she received her medical degree. She returned with her family to Montreal and was the first woman to practise medicine there, specializing in diseases of women and children, where she built a successful practice. During the latter part of the 1870s, her husband and her father became engaged in building CPR lines in Manitoba. When the line from Winnipeg to Kenora was under construction, Dr. Ross and the children made the long journey to Winnipeg via St. Paul, Minn., and arrived unexpectedly at Whitemouth riding on a flatcar. There, far from the amenities of urban life, Dr. Ross applied herself to making a home in the wilderness. Her husband had established the Ross Lumber Company at Whitemouth. Logging and construction work resulted in the usual quota of accidents and when it became known that Mrs. Ross was a physician, her services were called upon. Not, however, until the initial suspicion of a woman doctor proved groundless. One early episode helped to disarm the reluctant. She was called upon to treat a man who had suffered a nasty neck wound in a fight. The apprehensive patient and his nervous companion had sought the doctors help only as a dubious alternative to bleeding to death. The companion was pressed into service holding a lamp to best advantage. When the doctor began suturing the leathery skin, the sight was too much for a strong man. Dr. Ross retrieved the lamp from his failing hands and finished the job unassisted. Her calm competence was reassuring and thereafter she was frequently called upon for medical aid by the workers, many of whom became her staunch friends and protectors. (Indigenous people) from Fort Alexander, 60 miles away, sometimes made a difficult journey up the Winnipeg River to seek the white doctors medicine. During the 1880s, immigrants began arriving from Europe to establish homesteads and with them came women and children. The calls upon Dr. Ross grew proportionately. She had not intended originally to set up practice, but the calls for help could not be refused. In order to obtain the right to practise in Manitoba, in territory still disputed by Manitoba and Ontario, it was necessary for a bill to be passed in the legislature granting her the right to practise her profession in Manitoba. She had need of all her skill and resourcefulness in her pioneer practice. Of necessity, her medical supplies would consist of essentials, most of which are still familiar: Epsom salts and castor oil, zinc and borax lotions for skin conditions, flaxseed for poultices (irresistible to mice), iron which was prescribed not only for anemia but as a supportive measure in many diseases; tannic acid for both internal and external use and sodium salicylate for rheumatic conditions. There would be morphine for pain, chloroform and ether for light anaesthesia. The reduction of fractures, always a serious problem before the advent of X-ray, would test her ingenuity. Certainly, she would have the best obstetrical kit possible, as well as all the essentials for minor surgery. Dr. Ross always insisted upon the strictest attention to cleanliness, although practising in an era before the full value of asepsis was recognized. For sterilization she would rely on carbolic acid, iodine and boiling water. Many times, during lamplit watches in some cabin, she would scrub and scour. Her concern with antiseptic measures was not confined to the medical field. Convinced that money could transmit disease, she insisted coins coming into the household be sterilized by scrubbing and paper currency be pressed with a hot iron. Close to a century later, Dr. Rosss suspicion of money as a "carrier" received confirmation. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. To reach a patient, Dr. Ross travelled by canoe, handcar, dog team, horse and buggy, ox team or on foot. The sight of the dauntless little figure of the doctor on her rounds brought comfort and certitude from fear to her pioneer patients. During these years, she bore 10 children, three of whom died in childhood. She taught her daughters the household arts and in time the eldest took over much of the running of the house. The log cabin was replaced by a spacious frame home. A devout woman, she taught Sunday school each week in the church for which her husband had donated the land and material. One poignant experience is known which is revealing of her strength and her compassion. Her young son became ill with pneumonia. She fought for his life with all the skill at her command and lost. When it became obvious that there was nothing more she could do for him, she left the boy in his fathers care and answered a call from a patient in labour. While (she) was helping a new life into the world, her son departed it. After years of practise in Whitemouth and the surrounding community, Dr. Ross retired to Winnipeg where she died in February 1916. It was a great joy to her when a granddaughter, Edith Ross, graduated in medicine from the University of Manitoba in 1913, winner of the ODonnell Gold Medal in obstetrics. In later years, Dr. Edith Ross presented the Dr. Charlotte W. Ross Gold Medal in obstetrics to be awarded annually in memory of her grandmother. This award was continued for many years by the University of Manitoba Medical Faculty Womens Club but now is being awarded by Dr. Rosss descendants. The name of Dr. Charlotte Ross has been honoured by her profession as one representing the highest tradition of the general practitioner. Over a century ago, this exceptional woman was beginning a career which would lead to a way of life in which her entire being would be fully engaged: wife and mother, physician and friend, pioneer and humanitarian. She gave unstintingly of her skills and abilities, her warmth and generosity and in doing so became a beloved legend in her own lifetime. For more information or to become a member of the Manitoba Historical Society call 204-947-0559 or email: info@mhs.mb.ca. The MHS is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as manitoba-history. You can see hundreds of other stories on our website at www.mhs.mb.ca. US President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the prison sentence of his longtime ally Roger Stone, shielding the veteran Republican operative from 40 months behind bars. "Roger Stone is now a free man!" the White House said in a statement, days before he was to report to a federal prison to start serving his term. Trump's act is certain to renew charges that the president intervenes in the US justice system to help friends and allies and punish critics and perceived enemies. Stone, one of Trump's oldest confidants, was convicted last November of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to help him win the 2016 election. The fiery White House statement reiterated Trump's charge that Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated an alleged crime that was never committed. It argued that Stone should therefore never have been charged in the first place. "The simple fact is that if the Special Counsel had not been pursuing an absolutely baseless investigation, Mr Stone would not be facing time in prison," it said. The Trump administration had already intervened once to help Stone. After prosecutors recommended a prison term of seven to nine years, Attorney General Bill Barr, who has been accused of acting like Trump's personal lawyer, stepped in and called that excessive. All four prosecutors handling the case quit it and a newly appointed prosecutor recommended a prison term of three to four years for Stone. Stone was the sixth aide of Trump -- who was impeached last year for abusing his power -- to be convicted of charges arising from Mueller's probe into Russian election interference. Critics responded quickly after Trump commuted Stone's sentence. Senator Kamala Harris of California noted that Stone, who is white, is now walking free while police officers in Kentucky accused of killing a black health worker in her home have not been arrested or charged. "The two systems of justice in this country must end," Harris tweeted. We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in oOh!media Limited (ASX:OML). Do Insider Transactions Matter? It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information. We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year. View our latest analysis for oOh!media The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At oOh!media The CEO, MD & Executive Director Brendon Cook made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$607k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.53 each. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of AU$0.88. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices. While oOh!media insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! ASX:OML Insider Trading Volume July 10th 2020 There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). oOh!media Insiders Bought Stock Recently Story continues Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at oOh!media. Overall, six insiders shelled out AU$754k for shares in the company -- and none sold. This makes one think the business has some good points. Insider Ownership For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Based on our data, oOh!media insiders have about 0.6% of the stock, worth approximately AU$3.2m. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership. So What Does This Data Suggest About oOh!media Insiders? The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that oOh!media insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. When we did our research, we found 6 warning signs for oOh!media (2 are a bit unpleasant!) that we believe deserve your full attention. 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. Some 76 foreign journalists working for the Voice of America in Washington are facing the possibility that their visas, many of which expire this month, may not be renewed. A spokesperson for the U.S. Agency for Global Media said Thursday that the agency is conducting a case-by-case assessment of J-1 renewal applications. The agency has 62 contractors and 14 full time employees who are in the United States on J-1 visas. An unknown number of journalists at other USAGM entities are also affected. So far none of the journalists seeking J-1 extensions appears to have been rejected outright. But at least one journalists deadline for an extension has passed, giving her until the end of the month to leave the U.S. Other VOA journalists have a few weeks left before they could be forced to return to their home countries, where some fear retribution because of VOAs reporting. The USAGM spokesperson said the visa review is aimed at improving agency management, protecting U.S. national security and ensuring that hiring authorities are not misused. J-1 visas are a category of non-immigrant entry permits for individuals with unique skills who are approved to participate in work-and study-based exchange visitor programs. They are typically issued for a period of several years and are subject to renewal or extension. But the J-1 is also among several visas that were temporarily banned by the Trump Administration in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, and because the administration believes such visa holders take jobs away from U.S. citizens. Because of its mandate to provide high-quality professional journalism in more than 40 languages, VOA often struggles to find enough American citizens with the needed journalism and language skills to keep its programs on the air. In those cases it has long relied on individuals recruited from the target countries or new immigrants still working their way through the lengthy process of becoming American citizens. VOA and other government agencies routinely scrutinize J-1 visa renewals, which are filed by the employer and submitted to the State Department. In the past, some foreign journalists at VOA have been forced to leave their jobs because their visa was not renewed. Its unclear how the USAGM process this year differs from past practice. To improve agency management and protect U.S. national security, it is imperative to determine that hiring authorities and personnel practices are not misused. As such, USAGM is undertaking a comprehensive, case-by-case assessment of personal services contractors (PSCs) who are J-1 visa holders, the USAGM spokespersons statement said. At the time of publication, USAGM had not responded to VOAs inquiry about whether full time staff who hold J-1 visas are also subjected to this years review. USAGM CEO Michael Pack was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the agency more than two years ago. But with solid Democratic opposition to his appointment, his confirmation was held up until June. Since his confirmation, the heads of the five media networks USAGM oversees have quit or been fired. Pack told the Washington Times in an interview this month that he is working to correct past mismanagement. My plan here, and I think everybody in the White House and everybody else knows this, is to hold these agencies accountable to fulfilling their mission, and in [Voice of Americas] case, its charter, and thats what I plan to do, he told the newspaper. Dear Madonna Students and Visitors, I hope this message finds you and those you love safe and healthy. Im writing to provide information about Fall Semester course modifications, and visits to campus over the next month, until the full campus reopening plan is released in early August. During this time, faculty and staff will continue to make accommodations to interact virtually with students and potential visitors. Beginning today and for the immediate future, students and visitors have limited access to campus. Which means that before coming to campus, students and visitors will need to make an appointment with the person or department they need to visit, complete the self-screening survey, and while on campus wear a mask and maintain 6-ft. social distancing. See the details below. Course modifications In order to provide the best academic experience and keep everyone safe, we are modifying some courses to hybrid and online delivery. Students may notice these changes on their schedule or when they look at books on the Tree of Life bookstores site, because changes are being made one course at a time, over the next couple weeks. The course number will end in ZB if it is hybrid or WB if it is online. Rest assured that we will be open for on-campus classes this fall, but there will be a few more hybrid and online courses. Current details for limited access to campus Make an Appointment Students and visitors are asked to come to campus by appointment only, to meet with a particular department or person. Complete the Self-Screening Survey Students and visitors must complete the appropriate online Self-Screening Survey and take their temperature at home before coming to campus for their appointment. The links to the Student, and Visitor Self-Screening Surveys are available on this web page, as well as on the HOME page of MYPortal, in the Coronavirus/COVID-19 Updates section. The results of the self-screening survey will be sent to the student or visitor via email and to Madonnas campus health officer for confidential review and follow-up. If the student or visitor does not pass the Self-Screening Survey or is unable to come to campus, they should notify the University faculty/staff member or department, with whom they had the appointment, that they will not be coming to campus. Wear a Mask and Practice Social Distancing Students and visitors should maintain a minimum of 6 feet from other individuals at all times. A mask covering the nose and mouth must be worn by all students and visitors indoors while on campus, and also outdoors when interacting with others. Faculty and staff will try to meet with students and visitors outdoors on-campus when possible. Use these Building Entrances The faculty/staff member with whom you have an appointment will meet you at one of the following designated entrances, as agreed upon when you make your appointment: Administration Building: West Entrance just past the construction trailer, or the North Entrance across from the Franciscan Center. DiPonio Building: Northwest Entrance across from the Maertens Building. Franciscan Center: South Entrance across from the Administration Building Maertens Building: East Entrance across from the DiPonio Building. This website will continue to be the source for information and updates. We also will provide updates via email and through our social media channels. Thank you for your help in keeping our Madonna community safe. I look forward to seeing our students on campus really soon. For Madonna, Michael A. Grandillo, Ph.D. President Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan CM, lashes out at the BJP government. He claims that BJP was offering favors or 15 crores to MLAs to change allegiances. Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan CM, on Saturday afternoon, lashes out at the BJP government, blaming it for playing politics and destabilizing his government by buying over MLAs. He claims that the main opposition state, BJP, was offering favors or 15 crores to MLAs to change allegiances. Mr. Gehlot said that the BJP has continued to cause problems while his government kept working for the people during this time of crisis. He also added that the BJP is now crossing all limits. They are making increasing efforts to overthrow his government in Rajasthan. June, last year, in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh Congress-led government, was replaced by BJP in between the claims of MLA poaching. Mr. Gehlot said that BJPs true face has been revealed ever since their victory in 2014. What they used to do secretly, are now doing openly. He referred to what happened in Goa, Madhya Pradesh, and the north-eastern states. Also read: RBI declares cuts on repo rate to alleviate liquidity stress Also read: Kanpur Encounter: MP Police nabs 2 for hiding wanted criminals Mr. Gehlot also said that to win last months Rajya Sabha election, BJP bought seven MLAs in Gujarat. He added that when BJP tried to do the same thing in Rajasthan, we stopped them and gave them a lesson they will always remember. Mr. Gehlot declared that the people of India are seeing everything and will teach BJP a lesson. BJPs conceit will be broken in the next election. In the 200-strong Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress holds 107 seats. It also has support from 12 independent candidates and five MLAs from other parties the Rashtriya Lok Dal, the CPI (M), and the Bharatiya Tribal Party. Also read Singapore General Elections 2020: Peoples Action Party retains power For all the latest National News, download NewsX App This past week, the World Health Organization (WHO) has updated guidelines on modes of transmission of the virus causing COVID-19 by including the possibility in certain circumstances of airborne transmission. This means the coronavirus could be spread through tiny droplets called aerosols that linger in the air for long periods of time. The update came on July 9, after an open letter signed by more than 200 scientists pressed the agency to acknowledge the potential role that aerosols play in airborne transmission among people in crowded, indoor settings for prolonged periods of time. The latest update is important because, after months of debate, the WHO has finally reconsidered its stance on airborne transmission. This will help countries frame appropriate infection control policies, as they try to ease lockdowns. Airborne transmission allows a virus to enter the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Tuberculosis, chickenpox and measles are other diseases that are known to spread through airborne transmission. "Outside of medical facilities, some outbreak reports related to indoor crowded spaces have suggested the possibility of aerosol transmission, combined with droplet transmission, for example, during choir practice, in restaurants or in fitness classes," the WHO said in its latest guidance. 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 "In these events, short-range aerosol transmission, particularly in specific indoor locations, such as crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces over a prolonged period of time with infected persons cannot be ruled out. However, the detailed investigations of these clusters suggest that droplet and fomite transmission could also explain human-to-human transmission within these clusters. Further, the close contact environments of these clusters may have facilitated transmission from a small number of cases to many other people (e.g., super-spreading event), especially if hand hygiene was not performed and masks were not used when physical distancing was not maintained." the statement added. The WHO said, together with the scientific community, it has been actively discussing and evaluating whether SARS-CoV-2 spreads through the air in the absence of aerosol-generating procedures. Tighten infection control protocols To be sure, there are still differences among experts on the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus, and definitely, there is a need for more studies and data. However, the latest guidance reinforces the need for the people to compulsorily wear masks, maintain personal hygiene and follow social distancing. As airborne transmission is added to modes of virus spread, it is important for governments to take this into account while implementing infection control measures and prevention campaigns. India and many other countries have started to ease lockdowns. Globally, there have been 1.25 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and nearly 4.6 lakh deaths since the outbreak began late last year, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. India reported 7.2 lakh cases and 22,123 deaths so far. Why WHO took so long to acknowledge airborne transmission Some experts argue that the WHO should have considered adding airborne transmission to its advisory much earlier. They point out parallels between this and the agency dragging feet on advising countries on use of masks, despite evidence that it is one of the most effective tools to cut transmission. For several weeks following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation advised that masks should be worn by people who are sick or caregivers of patients with COVID-19. The WHO defended the stance saying that there was not enough evidence to say that healthy people should wear masks. But it did change its stance on June 5, by advising people to wear face masks when social distancing is not possible, if they are above 60 years of age with comorbidities, or if living in places of community transmission. The global health agency says that it takes its decision based on evolving evidence, but critics say the agency throughout the pandemic has been slow in its response. They point out the agency's delay in issuing advice against travelling to affected areas. However, analysts note that the WHO as a multilateral organisation lacks enforcement authority over its member countries and relies on information provided by these nations. MUJI U.S.A., a division of the Japanese retailer, announced Friday it had filed for bankruptcy organization. It blamed falling sales due to store closures during the coronavirus pandemic. The chain has one Portland location, an 11,000-square-foot store downtown in the old Meier & Frank Building. The company said it would remain fully operational during the bankruptcy restructuring. Its 19 stores across the country are in various stages of reopening. Bloomberg reported that the U.S. division had been operating at a loss for the past three fiscal years. Last year, Bloomberg said, it had a loss of around $10 million, according to its bankruptcy statement. MUJI is a Japanese lifestyle brand known for its minimalism and a wide selection of products ranging from stationery to gel pens to a complete cleaning system to luggage to rice cookers to sweaters to snacks, as The Oregonian/OregonLive noted when the downtown store opened in November 2018. The store remains open daily. The retail division filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization Thursday in Delaware. MUJI has felt the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on in-store retail, and as a result will take this opportunity to refocus our efforts in the United States on key regional markets and e-commerce, said CEO Satoshi Okazaki. The filing comes on the heels of two other retail bankruptcies: Brooks Brothers and Sur La Table. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer As doctoral researchers in STEM, we work with international students and researchers every day. They are our valued colleagues, respected mentors and trusted friends. Recent immigration proposals aiming to restrict the entry of international STEM trainees threaten the ability of U.S. research institutions to recruit and retain this critical pool of STEM talent. Two such bills, the Secure Campus Act (S.3920) and the Holding China Accountable Act (H.R.7181), would ban most Chinese nationals from conducting STEM research in the United States. These proposals, part of a broader effort to capitalize politically on the growing anti-Chinese sentiment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, will do irreparable damage to the American research enterprise and to the American economy. For decades, international graduate students and scholars have been a crucial part of the workforce at American research institutions. Each research lab is usually led by a professor who crafts the overall research direction of the lab and manages a team of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars working on specific projects. A significant fraction of these students are international, many of them from China. For instance, at Rice University, nearly one in four graduate students is a Chinese national. Graduate student researchers learn advanced skills, create new knowledge and contribute toward the scientific excellence and innovation that characterize American research institutions. The skills learned by these students predominantly benefit the United States. Ninety percent of Chinese STEM doctorate students remain in the country 10 years after graduation, contributing to the American economy with roles in both academia and private businesses. Over the course of their lives, immigrants with postgraduate degrees contribute between $427,000 and $654,000 to federal, state and local governments. Madrid: Six years after his abdication from the Spanish throne, the reputation of the former king Juan Carlos I appears to lie in tatters. Already under investigation in Switzerland and in Spain for suspicions of corruption, the ex-king is a constant presence in the Spanish newspapers who continue to publish details of the murky management of funds allegedly paid by Saudi Arabia to the former head of state. The Spanish government itself has described the information as "worrying". The probe in Switzerland, as in Spain, is focusing on the $100 million that the former king, now 82, is alleged to have been paid secretly into a Swiss bank account in 2008. Juan Carlos ascended the throne in 1975 on the death of the fascist dictator Francisco Franco and ruled for 38 years before abdicating in favour of his son Felipe VI in June 2014. The Spanish Supreme Court announced in June it would carry out an investigation to determine the possible responsibility of the former monarch -- but only for acts committed after his abdication. The inquest opened in Spain in September 2018 following the publication of records attributed to the German businesswoman Corinna Larsen, allegedly the former mistress of Juan Carlos, in which she claimed that the sovereign had received a commission during the award to Spanish companies of a mega-railway contract in Saudi Arabia. Sanchez troubled Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke out on the subject for the first time this week. "It is obvious that we, the entire Spanish population, are receiving disturbing information which is troubling for us all, including me," he said. Sanchez spoke out after the Spanish press published various elements of the investigation carried out in Switzerland. According to the online outlet El Espanol, a Swiss lawyer, Dante Canonica, told the Geneva public prosecutor's office that he had been instructed to "create a structure" to hide the funds paid to Juan Carlos I. Larsen told Swiss examiners that the former head of state had transferred her nearly 65 million euros in the Bahamas, "not to get rid of the money" but "out of gratitude and out of love", according to the Spanish daily El Pais. "The personal image of Juan Carlos is very damaged" by these revelations, said journalist Abel Hernandez. His image is worse than when the scandals erupted before his abdication, he told AFP, in reference to the king's fall in Botswana in 2012. The Spanish -- then in the midst of a severe economic crisis -- discovered the king had broken his hip during a luxury African safari, paid by a Saudi entrepreneur, which he had been enjoying with Larsen. To this was added a corruption scandal which saw his son-in-law Inaki Urdangarin jailed for over five years. Avoiding royal 'contagion' In recent years, suspicions about his opaque fortune and his links with the Gulf monarchies have tarnished the legacy of a sovereign who was a popular figure for many decades as he played a key role in the democratic transition from the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975). The creeping shadow of suspicion has also fallen on his son and successor King Felipe after it emerged that he had been designated as the beneficiary of the Panamanian foundation managing the account in Switzerland which received the Saudi money. Felipe announced in March that he was renouncing his father's inheritance and removing his annual allowance of around 200,000 euros. It was "a firewall to prevent the contagion of the institution" of the monarchy, says Abel Hernandez. It was a move that was welcomed by the government. "The royal palace clearly distances itself from these reprehensible practices," said Sanchez on Wednesday in an interview with the online media eldiario.es. Last month, the ruling Socialists prevented a move by its openly republican coalition partners Podemos, to set up a parliamentary committee to examine Juan Carlos. But the problem shows no signs of going away. Arvind alias Guddan Ramvilas Trivedi (46) was allegedly involved in the killing of eight policemen during a raid last week Mumbai: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra Police arrested two men including an absconding aide of slain gangster Vikas Dubey in neighbouring Thane on Saturday, an official said. Arvind alias Guddan Ramvilas Trivedi (46), an aide of Dubey, was allegedly involved in the killing of eight policemen during a raid on the slain gangster's house in Kanpur district. Trivedi and his driver Sushilkunar alias Sonu Tiwari (30) were arrested from Kolshet area of Thane city, said Vikram Deshmane, Superintendent of Police, ATS. Trivedi, along with Dubey and others, had fled after the ambush at Bikru village in which eight policemen including a deputy superintendent of police were killed on 3 July, he said. Officials of the Juhu unit of the ATS in Mumbai got information that Trivedi had landed in Mumbai seeking a hide- out, SP Deshmane said. A team led by inspector Daya Nayak, a former 'encounter specialist' of Mumbai police, nabbed the duo from Kolshet, he said. During preliminary questioning Trivedi admitted that he and Dubey were involved in the murder of Uttar Pradesh politician Santosh Mishra in 2001 and many other crimes, the SP said. The ATS has informed Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) about the arrest, he said. Dubey, the mastermind of the Kanpur ambush, was killed in an encounter on Friday after he tried to flee following a road accident at Barra area in Kanpur a day after his arrest. President Donald Trump on Friday said he would soon be signing an executive order on immigration that would provide a "road to citizenship" for DACA recipients. In an interview with Spanish language network Noticias Telemundo during his trip to Florida, Trump said his government was "working out the legal complexities right now". "But I'm going to be signing a very major immigration bill as an executive order" over the next few weeks, the president said. Trump accused the Democrats of walking away from negotiations over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) that was created during the Obama administration. Trump said he thought last month's ruling by the Supreme Court, which affirmed the executive branch had the power to do away with DACA, but dealt a blow to the administration by saying it failed to follow proper procedures, had given him authorities he planned to use. "It will give them a road to citizenship," he said of the executive order. Trump also said the US would be taking action on Venezuela, although he didn't describe what that would entail. "Something will happen with Venezuela," he said. "That's all I can tell you; something will be happening with Venezuela." One of the major reasons speculated for the low Covid-19 fatality rate in India, which lies well below 3%, is the country's large percentage of young population. 27% of Indias population is 14 years and below, which is amongst the highest in comparison to major countries of the world. Percentage of Population - 14 & BELOW Another 29% of the population in the age group 15-29 which means more than half (56%) of Indias population is below the age of 30. This 56% of the population (of below 30 years of age) has only contributed to 4% of the total number of Covid-19 deaths in the country. Coupled with a large young population accounting for a miniscule percentage of the total Covid-19 deaths is the low percentage of the vulnerable (above 65 years of age) population in India. This could be a major reason for the low number of Covid-19 deaths in the country. Percentage of Population above 65 Years and MR There seems to be a high correlation between percentage of above-65 population and the mortality rate. Italy, Spain, France, UK, Sweden and Belgium all have a very high percentage of their population in this category with alarmingly high fatality rates. In contrast, India has just 6% of its population above-65 with a relatively low overall mortality rate of just 2.71%. Brazil, which accounts for the second-highest number of cases in the world, also has a low percentage of its population above 65 and a relatively low mortality rate. Of course, there are exceptions like Mexico which have a low percentage of the elderly and yet a high mortality rate. Median Age and Mortality Rate A similar conclusion is drawn when we compare the median age of a country with its mortality rate the lower the median, the lower the deaths and the higher the median, the higher the mortality rate. Indias median age of around 28 is amongst the lowest in comparison to the major nations of the world. Iran and Brazil, with low age medians, also have a comparatively low mortality rate. Mexico and Germany are exceptions or outliers. While the former has a low age median yet a very high mortality rate, Germany, which was hailed for its model for containing Covid-19 deaths, has a relatively low mortality rate of 4.58% in spite of a high median age of 46 years. In terms of age and Covid-19 fatality risk, India is in line with the global trend and pattern the risk is highest in the above-75 category. The risk factor rises with the age-group but remains relatively low till the age of 44. However, from the age of 45, the percentage of deaths exceeds the percentage of the population corresponding to a particular age-group and the risk factor rises alarmingly. 10% of Indias population in the 60-plus bracket constitutes 53% of the total number of Covid-19 deaths in the country. Age-wise Risk Factor of Covid-19 There are several other factors which could also be deemed responsible for the low mortality rate in India the stringent lockdown, BCG vaccine, hot temperature, high percentage of rural population to name a few. But having a large proportion of the young and a very low percentage of the old may have just saved a lot of lives for the country. A fire burning at Gangan station in Sinuiju, North Korea can be seen from Dandong, China, July 9, 2020. A fire at a train station in the North Korean city of Sinuiju destroyed a freight train carrying hundreds of tons of cooking oil from China and a warehouse full of cargo, witnesses who watched the blaze from across the Chinese border told RFA Friday. People in Dandong, China, across the Yalu river border from Sinuiju reported seeing large columns of smoke rising from the city Thursday morning local time. There has been no word on casualties or the cause of the fire. Here in Dandong, we could see the black smoke rising more than 100 meters (100 yards) at about 11 a.m. yesterday, near Gangan Station in Sinuiju across the river, a resident of Dandong told RFAs Korea Service. The station is 1.8 km (1.1 mile) from the Yalu river and visible from Dandong on clear days. People from Dandong who were walking along the Yalu stopped in their tracks, wondering what was going on in Sinuiju, said the source, who requested anonymity to speak freely. A Chinese citizen resident of Sinuiju confirmed that the smoke was caused by a fire at the station, said the source, adding, the fire burned a freight train that had arrived at the station after carrying a full load of cargo from Dandong. According to the source, the black smoke was a result of cooking oil going up in flames. Five of the trains 15 cars were loaded with soybean oil, which is in short supply in North Korea. If you consider that a single freight car can carry 50 tons, then it means 250 tons of soybean oil was totally burned, causing the huge amount of smoke. The other 10 cars that were carrying foods such as flour have all been completely burned too, the source said. The international market price of one ton of soybean oil is estimated to be around U.S. $800. If the sources estimate is accurate, the cooking oil alone was worth $200,000. Another resident of Dandong, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA that an acquaintance in Sinuiju who witnessed the fire said firefighters struggled to deal with the situation. Gangan Station was equipped with a foam fire extinguisher, but people over there say that their initial effort to stop the fire failed because the extinguisher was empty. It did not contain any foam fluid, the source said. They also say that no one could get close to the burning train because of all the smoke, caused by the burning soybean oil, which went up only a few minutes after the fire started, said the source. So the people at the station who trying to extinguish the fire had no choice but to watch for an hour and a half while all the other valuable cargo stored in the stations warehouse was burned down, said the source. According to the second source, trains from Dandong dont normally stop at Gangan Station after passing through customs. Instead of departing immediately for Pyongyang, they have to disinfect trains and quarantine the cargo for a certain amount of time to prevent coronavirus from spreading, said the second source. The cause of the fire, whether there were any casualties, and how much damage was caused by the fire has yet to be determined, the second source said. Sinuiju is North Koreas sixth largest city, with a population of 360,000 people. Reported by Joonho Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. The police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis unleashed a protest movement that is unprecedented in its scale, but its addressing problems and injustices that many have been advocating against, and that experts have been studying, for years. One such researcher is Barry Friedman, a legal scholar and author, and the founder of the Policing Project at the NYU School of Law. In June, New York state Attorney General Letitia James appointed Friedman, alongside Obama Administration Attorney General Loretta Lynch, to investigate the NYPDs actions against protesters. In a two-part interview on Slate podcast The Gist, Friedman joined host Mike Pesca to discuss his research into police use of force, accountability, and reform. During part of the interview with Friedman released Thursday, the two discussed controversy over police departments military equipment, gaps in data about police violence, and the trouble with identifying what makes a good police department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A portion of the discussion is transcribed below. It has been edited and condensed for length and clarity. Mike Pesca: During this debate, you hear people argue that what we need to do is demilitarize the policethat we give them excess military weapons, essentially. And they show up on our streets in things that look like tanksthose BearCat armored vehicles look like tanks. And police officers dress like theyre ready for war. They dress like some version of Iron Man. Im sympathetic to that. I dont think that that would be a bad reform. I just dont think that would go to anything near the core of what were talking about [in terms of solving the problems at hand]. But what does your research show? Advertisement Advertisement Barry Friedman: So actually Im going to push back a bit. Good. We talk sometimes about community policing and about the relationship between police and the community. But its hard to relate to somebody thats decked out like theyre going to war. Youre not going to develop much of a relationship with that person; youre going to want to walk around them. Advertisement I remember once when I was visiting Paris with my kids and we went to the Louvre, and these officers came by with serious weaponry and all I thought was, I want to get my kids the hell out of there. And so I do think that if you want to develop sound relationships between the community and the police, then youve got to stop walking around looking like youre headed to war. So I think that matters. Advertisement A lot of this equipment is coming from the military, but its not all military equipment. They get a lot of file cabinets and computers and stuff like that. And even some things that look like military equipmentlike some of the armored vehicles may actually have a role to play in certain situations, including if youve got a shooter somewhere. But what matters is how the equipment gets deployed. Advertisement Advertisement To me, thats exactly right. Thats a deployment issue as opposed toIll let you say it, but its fine for a department to have one of these tanklike operations, but that doesnt mean they should be used to roll into a housing complex to try to nab some guy before he flushes his drugs down the toilet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yeah. We have gone insane about what they call tactical teams and tactical forces. And one of the chapters in my bookevery chapter in the book starts with something that went horrifically wrong in policing. And one is this story about a mayor in Prince Georges County, Maryland, whose dogs get killed by the police in some raid where they just tear up his house that was totally based on a mistake. And we do this countless times every day quite frankly, because we started with this idea of SWAT teams for the sniper in the tower where theres a real problem, like in Las Vegas, where youve just got to be able to get in there and save peoples lives. And then all of a sudden, every department wants one. And by the time every departments got a tactical team, they are not the Navy SEALs, and they are not getting the Navy SEALs training, but they are getting the weaponry. Advertisement And thats just a mistake. As I say in the book and as I say to people all the time, whatever happened to come out with your hands up, which most people are going to do? They get it that theyre outgunned, and they dont really want to get wiped out. Another situation sometimes might be when you see [military equipment] used in protests. Thats a problem because its just too much weaponry for the job. And so I agree that there are circumstances in which departments may need to have some of this equipment, and I think Im with you on that. Advertisement Advertisement Im a broken record: If nothing else, go look for the state laws that regulate SWAT team use. Do you want me to tell you how many there are? Take a guess. Advertisement If the answer is 48, it wouldnt be a good rhetorical point. Im going to say 10. Yeah. Well, the answer would be either one or zero. Wow. Utah has a law that Maryland once had that required keeping records on when SWAT teams were used, but the police unions went nuts about that, so Marylands doesnt exist anymore. And there you got it. Jeez. Lets talk about statistics. Mapping Police Violence, and some other media outlets say that there are about a thousand deadly police shootings a year. Do you have any way of knowing if thats accurate? The federal government has just failed us all completely. We just dont have the data that we need to regulate policing. Barry Friedman Well, thanks to the Guardian and the Washington Post, I think weve come closer to reality. We have a crisis in data around policing in this country. I have a long law review article that will come out of the Texas Law Review this coming year that just talks about this policings information problem. And the point is, this is an era of big data. We dont think to regulate anythingI mean the most trivial thingswithout data; we are drowning in data. And yet around policing, not so much. And there are a number of reasons why that is the case. I will name three, but its untenable. If public safety is the thing we care about the most, and people will say that they do, then youd think that wed want some information and wed want to regulate based on that information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So one of the reasonswhich is the one everybody goes to right awayis that the cops want secrecy. Now theres some truth to that without any doubt, but in my own experience, thats not the biggest problem. The second is that police departments run with just likeit would appall youlegacy information technology equipment. So they may have fancy surveillance equipment, but when it comes to record keeping and record management, not so good! We worked, for example, with a company Mark43, that is trying hard to change some of that, as are others. But we desperately need the mechanisms for keeping the data. And then the third problem is weve got 18,000 police departments in this country. So even if they all said, Were going to be really good about keeping the data. Theyd all keep different data because thered be no uniformity. And youre not going to get that uniformity unless there are mandates either at the state level or the federal level. And here, the federal government has just failed us all completely. I have some pungent reasons why if you want to hear them, but we just dont have the data that we need to regulate policing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And by the way, its not just police shootings, which is where people focus. At the Policing Project, weve got a transparency checklist, which I think is up on our website. Its all kinds of information that would be useful. Its how often do people get stopped and what kinds of surveillance technologies are used, and how productive are those surveillance technologies? For example, police departments are drunk on license plate readers, and Ive studied them for a long time. And I am still waiting to see the data that tells me that they pay off. We just dont know; were ignorant. Were doing this blind. My question with the killings is first to acknowledge: We dont even know what the real number is, but also, we are in a society that is awash in guns. If you read the editors note on the Washington Post project, they cite a very high number of shootings where the police were actively being shot at at the time and returned fire, something around 30 percent. So there has to be some level ofI dont know what you want to call itnon-negligent police shootings. Do you have any guess what that might be, or if we could get the police shootings down to the regrettable, but non-negligent number, what would the delta be between where we are now and what that number would be? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yeah, thats a terrific question. I want to preface my answer just by saying, people focus on the shootings. And a thousand is way too many, though it is a very large country. What we need to focus on is use of force all told. Thats the right question. Thats what we ought to be looking at. But if you take any segment of that use of force, any different types of use of force, including shootings, the wrong answer is to say, Well, the person was armed. So the shooting was OK. Because that forgets everything we talked about at the beginning here about, even if they were armed, could you have gotten out of the way? Could you have solved the situation in a different way? Advertisement Advertisement A lot of shootings are tragic. Theyre what we call death by cop, which is somebody thats suffering some terrible emotional trauma, and they want to end their life, and one way to do it is to threaten cops and get shot. Well, I was at a very poignant presentation about this at the Police Executive Research Forum, and [hearing about] ways to try to avoid that, because thats not something anybody wants to have happen. And so I know you want, like, a simple answer, like the right answer would be 237. But youve got to look at each case and say, Was there a way out of that situation? And you were right, were a society awash in guns, and it makes a cops job difficult and dangerous. But with training and tactics, there are ways to address those problems, not to speak of trying to do something about the guns. Advertisement Advertisement There are often cases where a police department is put under review or the federal government offers oversight, or there is federal or state pattern or practice investigation. And sometimes they do find, maybe through the use of an expert like yourself, that the police are policing in an unconstitutional way. And those unconstitutional tools are taken away from them. But they arent replaced by better tools, and Ive heard an analysis of Baltimore that essentially argued this has happened there. The police only knew how to do their jobs (and not even that well) by really brutalizing the populace. Theyre told they cant do that, and now what? The economist Roland Fryer has a paper out that looked at pattern and practice investigations and found that when there is an investigation after a viral incident, the police really do pull back. And this is in one sense understandable given human nature and in another sense inexcusable, but he found 893 more homicides in places where there was a viral incident and then an investigation. Advertisement Advertisement What do we do about finding these departments that are doing their jobs the wrong way, but also at least in the interim, giving them enough tools to do it the right way? Advertisement Advertisement First, I think pattern and practice investigations are important. There was also something called collaborative reform that the Trump administration put an end to, which was: A department that wasnt yet in crisis, but thought they had problems, could actually go to DOJ voluntarily and say, Can you give us some help? You know, people need help. And sometimes the departments need help, frankly, from outsiders just to be able to get their municipal government to get them the resources that they need to, for example, pay for the right kind of training. And Ill also remind you, by the way, if the governments gone into investigate the fact that you are not meeting constitutional standardsso, we talked about earlier about how low those constitutional standards are. So the question you want to be asking, and that I take you to be asking is, how do we have good police departments? And thats the right question. Advertisement We could talk forever, but Ill mention two things. One is, the U.K. has got a thing called the College of Policing, and its not perfect. Id be the last to say its perfect, but it is a body somewhat independent from the government that involves the police, that sets national standards, and then expects people to be trained and perform to them. And we have nothing like that in this country at all. And in fact, whenever we get standards, they come out of the DOJ, which itself is conflicted, because its also a law enforcement body. And so, we need somebody like that. The other is that, we at the Policing Project are developing something that I probably shouldnt even talk about on the air because its too nascent, but here I go. My foots in my mouth maybe, but: Call it a health check, which is that were trying to develop a set of metrics so that the department itself, the community, the municipal officials can look at their department and answer the question, is this a good department? And I know you actually talked to Matthew Barge, who works on our team, and it came up one day, because we were sitting around the table and somebody said, How do you know if somethings a good police department? And we think we know that some are good, but were not sure. Think about that here in 2020: that we just dont actually have an answer to that question. Listen to this full conversation between Mike Pesca and Barry Friedman below, and subscribe to the Gist on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Join Slate Plus, and enjoy ad-free episodes of the show. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 16:21:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China has swung into top gear to strengthen its flood-defense network as incessant downpours continue to wreak havoc across vast stretches of the country, with unusually high precipitation causing alarm. For three consecutive days this week, the country's national observatory has issued an orange alert for rainstorms, the second most severe in the country's four-tier alert system. Some 271 rivers across the country had seen floods above warning levels by the end of June, about 40 percent more than during the same period in recent years. On July 2, China launched a level IV emergency response for flood control and upgraded it to level III in less than a week. Experts noted that the work of flood control is at a crucial stage, as the dual challenges of floods and COVID-19 have put China's disaster relief and emergency management systems to the test. "Frequent floods are expected in China's rivers in July and August due to heavy rainfall," said Wang Zhangli, an official with the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), requiring a high level of vigilance. This year's flood season comes as China is striving to resume normal business operations after securing major strategic achievements in combating COVID-19, said Zhang Jiatuan, an official with the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM), calling for multi-pronged measures to overcome the dual challenges. China has pledged all-out efforts in flood-control and disaster-relief work, such as enhancing monitoring and early warnings, increasing material and funding support, as well as advancing the construction of relevant projects. The country has empowered flood-forecasting platforms with new technologies to improve accuracy and ensure the public are alerted as early as possible, said Liu Zhiyu, an official with the MWR. Each time the flood warnings were triggered, the country spared no efforts in pooling resources to address major problems. On Wednesday, China allocated a total of 615 million yuan (about 87.93 million U.S. dollars) for disaster relief in regions hit by floods, according to the MEM. Meanwhile, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters allocated central disaster-relief supplies and dispatched special work teams to provide guidance for local governments. Multiple provincial-level regions have enhanced their emergency response measures in the face of flooding, and made arrangements to ensure people's safety, help the afflicted get back on their feet, and maintain normal social and economic activity in disaster-hit areas. On Tuesday, east China's Zhejiang Province raised its flooding emergency response to the top level along the Qiantang River, and one day later, the Xin'an River Reservoir, the largest flood-control project in eastern China, opened all the nine spillways to release floodwater. It was the first time that the reservoir had opened all the spillways to discharge floodwater since its construction was completed in 1959. In Anhui Province, local authorities raised their emergency response for flood prevention from level III to level II on Tuesday as the waters of multiple rivers exceeded warning levels. The province has set up 88 temporary relocation sites to house 3,200 residents displaced by rain-triggered floods and provided them with disaster-relief supplies. Zhang said that the overall impact of floods this year is less than during the same period over the past five years, with a 50 percent reduction in the number of dead and missing, while the number of collapsed houses and direct economic losses are down by 82 percent and 47 percent, respectively. From focusing on rescue to coordinating efforts in flood prevention and disaster relief, China has updated its concepts of emergency management, said Zhu Xiaoyu, a researcher with Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences under the Ministry of Finance. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 14:38:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Two Afghan police officers and two army soldiers were wounded in Taliban attacks in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan on Saturday, a source said. "Two Afghan National Army soldiers were wounded following an improvised bomb explosion near Ministry of Public Works building in Police District of 16 of Kabul," a source from capital police told Xinhua. One Ministry of Defense vehicle was also severely damaged in the explosion at the morning rush hour, added the source who declined to be named. Before dawn, two police officers were injured after Taliban militants stormed a security checkpoint in Istalif, a district on northern outskirts of Kabul, the source added. The fighting lasted for two hours and the militants were forced back by policemen manning the checkpoint. The Taliban militants intensified attacks, using fight and run tactic as they have regularly attack security forces' positions across the country since February's peace deal between Taliban and the United States. The fresh clashes raise questions about the peace deal, which paved the way for a phased U.S. force withdrawal. According to the agreement, more than 10,000 foreign forces, including over 8,000 Americans, will withdraw from Afghanistan by July next year. Enditem Chinese military further thinned down its presence in the ridgeline of Finger Four and removed some boats from Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh ahead of another round of Lt General-level talks between India and China aimed at finalising modalities for complete disengagement along the Line of Actual Control(LAC), people familiar with the development said on Saturday. The escalation in tension in eastern Ladakh was triggered by a violent clash between the two armies in Pangong Tso on May 5 in which a sizeable number of personnel from both sides were injured. Following the incident, both sides were locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation in three other locations in the region. At the military talks, the two sides are expected to specifically focus on completing withdrawal of troops from Pangong Tso and Depsang besides laying out a detailed roadmap for disengagement of large numbers of troops from the rear bases by the two sides in a time-bound manner. Both sides had significantly ramped up troops and weaponry including tanks and artillery guns in eastern Ladakh. The formal process of disengagement of troops began on Monday morning after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday. The Chinese military has already completed moving back its troops from the face-off sites in Galwan Valley, Gogra and Hot Springs in line with the first phase of the disengagement process from the friction points on the LAC in eastern Ladakh, sources said. The main focus now shifts to Pangong Tso. India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight. The mountain spurs in the area are referred to as Fingers. There has been further withdrawal of Chinese troops in the ridgeline of Finger Four and they have removed some boats from Pangong lake, the sources said. On Friday, India and China held another round of diplomatic talks during which both sides resolved to push ahead with "complete disengagement" of troops in eastern Ladakh in a timely manner for "full restoration" of peace and tranquility. At the meeting, it was decided that senior commanders of the two armies will meet "soon" to discuss further steps to "ensure complete disengagement and de-escalation". After the online diplomatic meeting under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) said the two sides agreed that maintenance of "enduring peace" in the border areas was essential for overall development of bilateral ties. The MEA said the two sides reaffirmed to ensure complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC for "full restoration" of peace and tranquility in the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements and protocols. Both sides have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks in the last few weeks to ease tension in the region. However, there was no visible sign of any end to the standoff till Sunday evening. On June 30, the Indian and Chinese armies held the third round of Lt General-level talks during which both sides agreed on an "expeditious, phased and step wise" de-escalation as a "priority" to end the standoff. The first round of the Lt General talks was held on June 6 during which both sides finalised an agreement to disengage gradually from all the standoff points beginning with Galwan Valley. However, the situation deteriorated following the Galwan Valley clashes as the two sides significantly bolstered their deployments in most areas along the LAC. Twenty Indian army personnel were killed in the clashes on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35. Tensions had escalated in eastern Ladakh around two months back 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. Hong Kong Police Raid Public Opinion Pollster Linked to Pro-Democracy Primaries 2020-07-10 -- Hong Kong police on Friday raided the offices of a polling organization tasked with running primaries that will select pro-democracy candidates in September's Legislative Council (LegCo) elections. The raid, shown in a video livestream by Hong Kong's StandNews, came as a high-ranking official warned that the primaries could breach a draconian security law imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party on June 30. Police were seen entering the offices of the Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) office in Wong Chuk Hang district, the livestream showed. Officers at the scene said they were investigating allegations of "dishonest use of a personal computer," and confiscated computers at the scene with a warrant, StandNews reported. The 2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries are scheduled for July 11-12 and will select candidates from several pro-democracy groups and parties in the hope of winning at least 35 LegCo seats, the minimum number needed to vote down government legislation including the city's annual budget. A spokesman for PORI said the primaries would go ahead as planned, writer and activist Kong Tsung-gan said via his Twitter account, citing HK01.com. Chung Kim-wah, assistant professor of social policy at Hong Kong's Polytechnic University who works with PORI, said the raid could be linked to a recent hacker attack on the institution's computers. "PORI has received complaints that personal information has been leaked," Chung said, adding that the data and software needed to run the primaries wasn't stored on the computers seized in the police raid, and that the election shouldn't be affected. "The police have taken dozens of our computers for their investigation, but this won't affect [the election] because that will take place on a different system," he said. Asked if he thought the timing of the raid was suspicious, Chung replied: "I don't really want to speculate, but I have to say that it's a huge coincidence." He said the data on the seized computers was related to PORI's most recent public opinion poll, and had been anonymized. The primaries were set up as a way to maximize the chances of a majority for pro-democracy candidates, who swept the board in District Council elections in November 2019, in a ringing public endorsement for the city's months-long pro-democracy movement. The election, organized by legal scholar and Occupy Central founder Benny Tai and former lawmaker Au Nok-hin, and coordinated by Power for Democracy, will use a voting system designed by PORI. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang warned that the election might violate the security law, because it was set up with the objective of blocking the passage of government legislation in LegCo. Tsang said the elections could therefore be seen to breach provisions of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, which bans secession, subversion, and collusion with overseas powers. But Tai said a pro-democracy victory wouldn't be "seriously interfering in, disrupting, or undermining the performance of duties and functions" of the government, as proscribed by the law, because chief executive Carrie Lam has the power to dissolve LegCo and call a by-election. Everyone now at risk Before the raid was reported, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said everyone in the pro-democracy camp, which has extensive outreach networks with democratic nations around the world, is now potentially at risk under the law. "Right now, any Hong Kong politician who continues to work on international initiatives ... simply doesn't know if they will remain at liberty, should they return here," Wong told journalists. "Local politicians face an even greater sense of fear, caution, and chilling effect, but ... we are hoping that people will be able to overcome these fears," he said. Veteran rights activist and trade unionist Lee Cheuk-yan said his Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democracy Movement in China would go ahead with activities as normal, although many of his fellow activists are now being followed and their communications monitored. "It's very hard to predict [how it will turn out] because everything is based on political considerations," Lee told RFA. "If they want to kill the chickens to frighten the monkeys, then they can enforce the law very strictly, but then they may face considerable pressure from the international community." "So maybe they won't be in a hurry ... but they move fairly quickly when they do move," he said. "When or if this happens depends on [Beijing's] political concerns and the [ruling Chinese Communist Party's] red lines." "We have no way of knowing what those will be," he said. Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) politics lecturer Nelson Lee said the new law wasn't created by the common law legal system used in Hong Kong since the start of the British colonial era. "Of course there will be a chilling effect and a deterrent, because nobody really knows right now how this law is going to be enforced," Lee said. "But its functions are by no means limited to intimidation and deterrence; Beijing can and definitely will use it when it thinks it necessary," he said. Reported by Man Hoi-tsan and Sing Ho for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Copyright 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content July not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Microscopic image of an HIV-infected T cell. Credit: NIAID The impact and prevalence of heart disease and other critical comorbidities on an aging global population with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have emerged from a suite of articles in The Journal of Infectious Diseases that contains the first swath of important data from the world's largest study of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention in people with HIV. This information from the ongoing National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study known as REPRIEVE (Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV), in which Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is playing a key coordinating role, is giving the field of medicine an advance look at the disproportionate risk of comorbidities like CVD, chronic liver and kidney disease, physical function impairment and frailty, premature reproductive aging, cancer, and obesity in people with HIV from all regions of the world. "With nearly half of all people living with HIV now over 50, the emphasis among health care providers has shifted over the past 20 years from keeping patients alive through antiretroviral therapy to providing the best possible care for secondary co-morbid conditions encountered over greatly increased lifespans," says Steven Grinspoon, MD, chief of the MGH Metabolism Unit professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and co-principal investigator of REPRIEVE. "The release of this initial baseline data from REPRIEVE will help physicians and researchers to better understand the whole person impact of HIV, and ultimately to develop more effective preventions, treatment strategies and guidelines for cardiovascular risk management in this population. In a very real way, co-morbidities are the newest frontier of HIV." Sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), both part of NIH, REPRIEVE enrolled 7,770 participants from 2015 to 2019 across more than 100 clinical research sites in 12 countries and five continents, reflective of the ethnic, racial and gender diversity of the global HIV epidemic. This remarkable global collaboration, which also includes the AIDS Clinical Trials Group and the pharmaceutical industry, is expected to report its findings to the public in 2023. The study was cited last year in a JAMA Viewpoint by Anthony Fauci, MD, director of NIAID, and colleagues as pivotal to uncovering the mechanisms of, and potential treatments for, ischemic heart disease and other serious cardiovascular conditions in individuals with HIV. Massachusetts General Hospital is serving as the clinical coordinating center for REPRIEVE while also coordinating data collection for the trial with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. That role includes overseeing serial assessment of coronary atherosclerosis at 30 sites across the U.S. using the latest noninvasive CT angiography technology. "Imaging the specific patterns of coronary artery disease will help us to better stratify cardiovascular risk in the REPRIEVE population," explains Udo Hoffmann, MD, MPH, professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School and co-principal investigator of REPRIEVE. While a primary goal of REPRIEVE is to reduce major adverse cardiovascular events in people with HIV through a cardiac prevention strategy, the global initiative is also assessing non-CVD comorbidities, many of which are characterized in the first release of data from the set of six articles published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. One article, for example, reports that physical function impairment and pre-frailty are common among middle-aged people with HIV, and that body mass index (BMI) and physical activity are key modifiable risk factors that may prevent further decline in function with aging among this population. Another paper shows that reproductive aging in middle-aged women with HIV is associated with global burden of disease (GBD) region of enrollment, and may predispose these women to increased cardiometabolic risk. The papers also shed light on distinct patterns of antiretroviral use across the globe, unique associations of weight and immune function, and factors contributing to increased kidney dysfunction and increased ectopic fat deposition in the heart among people with HIV. New data on the participation of transgender participants and the cardiovascular risk associated with gender-affirming therapy in this population are also reported. "This initial compilation of data from the landmark REPRIEVE study offers a rich window on the kinds of diseases physicians find themselves treating at a time when the HIV demographic is changing as the result of effective antiretroviral drugs, increasing life expectancies, and the substantial growth of cardiovascular disease and other comorbidities in a still vulnerable population," says Grinspoon. "By shedding light for the first time on the magnitude and complexity of the problem, we believe this information and more to follow will play a critical role in developing cardiac prevention strategies along with improved health care for the 37 million people living with HIV globally." More information: Tomas G Neilan et al, Myocardial Steatosis Among Antiretroviral TherapyTreated People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Participating in the REPRIEVE Trial, The Journal of Infectious Diseases (2020). Journal information: Journal of Infectious Diseases Tomas G Neilan et al, Myocardial Steatosis Among Antiretroviral TherapyTreated People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Participating in the REPRIEVE Trial,(2020). DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa245 3 1 of 3 Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3 NEW HAVEN A 45-year-old woman was shot and wounded Friday night while sitting on her front porch, according to New Haven police. Officers and firefighters responded to a townhouse complex at 1361 Quinnipiac Ave. at roughly 11:18 p.m., finding the woman suffering from a non-life-threatening graze gunshot wound to the head, Capt. Anthony Duff said in a release. Reporter Stephanie Earls is a news reporter and columnist at The Gazette. Before moving to Colorado Springs in 2012, she worked for newspapers in upstate NY, WA, OR and at her hometown weekly in Berkeley Springs, WV, where she got her start in journalism. Greenville Countys public schools are missing nearly 4,000 laptops issued last school year to students. The machines, Chromebooks that individually cost $301, are worth a combined $1.19 million, and the district will soon have to turn the matter over to police, Greenville County Schools spokesman Tim Waller told The Post and Courier. "We will report whatever information is necessary to recover our devices," Waller said."That may include the names of parents/guardians." Waller said the district's IT department has been trying to recover the missing machines since June, when schools first reported that families had not returned them. Initially 4,992 machines were missing, Waller said, but recovery efforts turned up another 800. Families reported that an additional 208 were lost or stolen. With nearly 4,000 machines still unaccounted for, the district will have to submit an insurance claim. The only way the claim will be honored, Waller said, is if the machines have been reported as lost or stolen to local law enforcement. "Since the end of the last school year, there have been multiple, multiple attempts to get these Chromebooks back," Waller said. Parents and guardians of children who failed to give their laptops back at the end of the school year have been contacted five or six times by phone, email and with visits to their homes, he said. In a last-ditch effort to recover the machines, Greenville County Schools issued a district-wide phone message and email blast to parents late Thursday asking that any machines still out there be returned. "We are making repeated attempts to contact families," the message says, "but pretty soon we will have no choice but to notify law enforcement and report the missing devices as stolen so we can begin the replacement process. If your child has a school district issued Chromebook and has not received special permission to keep that device over the summer, please contact your school and return the device as soon as possible. In some cases there may be special circumstances that impact your ability to return the device and we will work with you." Any families with complications can call 864-355-1289 to talk about options, the district message said. It also asked parents to let other families know, in case they have a Chromebook and have missed the district's alerts. The school district's IT department needs time to refurbish machines that will be reissued in the fall. In the 2019-2020 school year, the district maintained 58,429 Chromebooks for students in grades three through 12. That number will jump to 77,754 in the upcoming school year as the district prepares to issue Chromebooks to every student in the district, pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Waller said the district currently has 77,000 Chromebooks on hand, an inventory that includes a pool of loaner devices that students can use while their machines are being repaired. Tue, 01/18 (12pm ET): How to Get off the MBA Waitlist; Your 6 Actions will Impress BSchool AdComs Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen to live in the United States to kick off their private and independent life after stepping down as senior members of the royal family. After spending a holiday break in Canada, the Sussexes flew to Meghan's native city in Los Angeles, California together with their 1-year-old son Archie. They are currently staying in Tyler Perry's multi-million mansion in Beverly Hills, reportedly together with Meghan's mom, Doria Ragland. However, during their move in April, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not receive a warm welcome from U.S. President Donald Trump, who made it clear that the American government will not fund the royals' security arrangement. "It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the U.S. However, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!" Trump said in a Twitter post. While the royals made it clear that their security is privately funded, it looks like a part of Harry and Meghan's U.S. dream will be put on hold due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Prince Harry's Dilemma After their move to LA, Harry is probably holding a regular tourist visa or an A1 diplomatic visa, which is only allowed for diplomats and government officials. However, he will not be allowed to work under the said visa, aside from having a government-related job. A New York immigration lawyer told Page Six that while Queen Elizabeth's grandson was able to work in Canada for the past few months, the rules are different now that he is staying in the United States. But Prince Harry will have lots of options to make his post-royal grand romantic gesture happen. He will have to choose between three options to get a U.S. green card. The first option is to sponsor himself using the "extraordinary ability" category; second is for Meghan to sponsor him, and; third is for a U.S. entity to sponsor his citizenship. After being a green card holder for three years, the British prince would be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. Nonetheless, since he was born with a royal birthright, being a U.S. citizen does not come easy for Prince Harry. If he chooses to be a U.S. citizen like his wife, he will have to drop or totally renounce his title as the sixth heir to the royal throne. So Will Prince Harry Get A U.S. Citizenship? A source close to the 35-year-old Duke set the record straight that Prince Charles' second son has not made any move to become a U.S. citizen. "The duke has not made an application for dual citizenship, and I don't think he will apply for a green card at any point," the insider told the Times. Applying for a U.S. citizenship would mean renouncing his royal title and being subjected to U.S. taxation for his earnings even outside the country. However, it is unclear if Harry is under a 90-day visa waiver program or other special visas. READ MORE: Demanding Royal: Meghan Markle Furious At Queen Elizabeth II For THIS! [Rumor] COPENHAGEN, July 10 (Reuters) - Uber has agreed to pay a 25 million Danish crowns ($3.8 million) fine in Denmark, settling claims of breaching local taxi law out of court, Danish police said on Friday. After launching its service in Denmark in 2014, Uber was criticised by taxi driver unions, companies and politicians who said the company posed unfair competition by not meeting legal standards required for established taxi firms. ($1 = 6.5959 Danish crowns) (Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; editing by Jason Neely) Complaints about noisy neighbours surged in Northern Ireland during the lockdown, figures have revealed. A total of 438 reports were received about parties, loud TV and music in 10 of our 11 council areas. The figures, between April 1 and June 30, represent a hike of 119% on the same period in 2019. Various factors relating to the lockdown may be linked to the spike, according to the Association of Noise Consultants (ANC). "During the lockdown period, with travel restrictions in place, most people were at home when this wouldn't normally be the case," said Dan Sanders from ANC. "Background noise levels were lower due to the absence of road traffic which means that sound transmission between dwellings will have been more noticeable." He added that normal domestic behaviour may also "have altered during this challenging period". Councils received 438 complaints about neighbour noise in Northern Ireland in the three months to June 30 - an increase of 200 compared to the same period last year. In Ards and North Down, complaints jumped from 18 to 53 year-on-year. The figures exclude Belfast City Council, which suspended its night-time noise complaints service in late March due to Covid-19 restrictions, and was therefore unable to provide comparative year-on-year data. Meanwhile, loud noises coming from an electricity substation in Co Antrim have sparked concerns from local residents. NIE Network (NIEN) has said it is investigating the issue and will get it resolved in due course. Economy Minister Diane Dodds was responding to an Assembly question from TUV MLA Jim Allister about "an upsurge in noise emissions at the Kells Main substation". Ms Dodds said NIE Network "recognises there is an issue". "NIEN will do all that it can to progress this as soon as possible but have indicated that it is not something that can be fixed in haste," she said. "Given the strategic importance of the substation it is important to ensure that any solution does not compromise its operation as this could adversely impact upon the reliability of electricity supply both locally and across the wider customer base in Northern Ireland." President Abdel Fattah El Sisi ordered ceaseless efforts to deal with the economic challenges resulting from the coronavirus pandemic especially in the most-affected economic sectors and ensure the availability of strategic commodities, food products and medical equipment and supplies in the local market. This came during Sisi's meeting on Thursday with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli, supply and internal trade Minister Ali Mosseilhi,, planning and economic development Minister Hala el Saeed, finance minister Mohamed Maait, social solidarity Mmnister Niven el Qabbaj, trade minister Nevine Gamea and Deputy Finance Minister for the Public Treasury Ihab Abu Eish. Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said that the meeting tackled the impact of coronavirus on the economic indexes especially the rates of local consumption in addition to the sectors of communications, tourism, health and medical care. The meeting also took up the file of homeless children and ways to support them and encourage their inclusion and integration in the society Search Keywords: Short link: Russia rejects 'unscrupulous speculation' alleging offer of bounties to Taliban Iran Press TV Friday, 10 July 2020 1:34 PM Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has dismissed "unscrupulous speculation" about alleged Russian ties with the Taliban militants in Afghanistan. Russia's top diplomat blamed media reports about the issue on internal political fights in the United States, the Interfax news agency reported Friday. Last month, The New York Times said in a controversial report that a top-secret unit within the Russian military intelligence, the GRU, allegedly offered monetary rewards to Taliban-linked militants who would kill US troopers in Afghanistan last year. Other outlets have since carried reports about the allegation. Late last month, the Pentagon said it could not validate the reports. Moscow has denied the allegation. So has the Taliban group. Meanwhile, the RIA news agency quoted Lavrov as saying that he was not optimistic that the New START nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States would be extended. He acknowledged, however, that the risks of nuclear confrontation had seriously increased. "I agree that nuclear risks have recently increased substantially, that the security situation, international strategic stability are openly deteriorating. The reasons are also obvious to everyone: the US wants to regain global dominance and achieve victory in what they call the rivalry of the great powers," Lavrov said on Friday. Washington and Moscow have been negotiating to extend the New START, which will expire in 2021. Under the treaty, which was signed in 2010, the two sides agreed to halve the number of their strategic nuclear missiles and restrict the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550. The New START can be extended for another five years with mutual agreement. The US President Donald Trump administration had earlier unilaterally withdrawn from another treaty with Russia, the so-called Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday began registering eligible voters in Senior High School (SHS) students across the country but there were setbacks at some of the schools. The two day special exercise was targeted at final year students and those in form-two gold track who were 18 or more but could not join the mainstream exercise because they were in school. However, the EC officials were yet to arrive at some schools in Accra as at the time the Ghanaian Times got there. They included Odorgono SHS, Wesley Grammar and Kaneshie SHS (KATECO). When the news team arrived at KATECO at noon, the school had designated areas for the exercise with furniture arranged in readiness but the EC team were yet to arrive. A staff who asked not to be named was oblivious of reasons for the absence but he indicated that they would continue to wait for them or further communication from stakeholders involved in the exercise. At Wesley Grammar, health personnel who was supposed to be part of the officials was present but the main team were yet to turn up. EC officials were not at Odorgono SHS as of 11:45. The situation at Accra Wesley Girls SHS was, however, different when the Ghanaian Times visited at 11:00. The EC officials were at post and had registered 30 students so far with others awaiting their turn. Social distancing, wearing of masks and other protocol were observed. Some teachers were also waiting to register. In an interview, Charles Tackie, an EC technician and supervisor of data entry clerks, said their target was 150 students per pay, expressing optimism that they could achieve the target due to the smooth progression of the exercise. He said about 50 per cent of the students who had registered so far presented their Ghana card as proof of nationality while the rest relied on friends as guarantors. In all 750 out of 779 students had reported to school but not all of them were eligible, according to Ms Letitia Bray, the headmistress. The special exercise which formed part of the nationwide compilation of a new register was announced at an emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held between the EC and IPAC on Thursday. As part of the extended exercise, mobile registration officers from the EC were deployed to about 700 SHS campuses after the Ghana Education Service (GES) had written to the Commission. The SHS students returned to school on June 22, as part of the partial reopening of school after several weeks of closure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. From Sunyani, Daniel Dzirasah reports that registration of senior high school students announced by the EC took with a few hiccups. At the Sunyani Senior High school where five registration centres were created, it came out that the printing machines could not capture the finger print of registrants. According to the registration officer Victor Gyan the printer could not capture the finger prints of registrants and as such had slow the registration process. He said affected applicants were made to wait until the machine was able to capture their details. He told this reporter that although the exercise began around 8:00am, he could not provide the number of students who had registered and that of those who had been guaranteed. Similar situation pertained in all the five centres in the school. The registration officer of Twene Amanfo Senior High, Mr Jacob Kwame Ofori told the Ghanaian Times that 33 students had registered as at 11:48 am with 20 guarantors guaranteeing for the registrants. At the St James Senior high School, Rev. Father Alex Ansu Ebo, headmaster of the school said the school was a polling centre and that the registration exercise had not started yet. Dzifa Tetteh, reports from Ashaiman that at the Ashaiman Senior High School in the Ashaiman Municipality, there was no registration exercise going on. Rather students were engaged in a clean-up exercise on the compound and its surroundings. The Assistant Head for Administration of the School, Elikplim Setsoafia-Logbavi in an interview with the Ghanaian Times explained that the school received a message from the Electoral Commission on Thursday that the registration of their students had been rescheduled. He said since the school was also a Registration Centre, days would be allocated for students to also register when it was the turn for the area to have its registration exercise later this month. Some of the students who spoke in an interview said they were disappointed that they could not do it at the same time as their colleagues from other institutions because they were excited to register and vote for the first time. However, they were also happy that an assurance had been given that when registration starts in the area they would have the opportunity to do so. From Ho, Kafui Gati reports that contrary to concerns raised over the legal basis for the registration of Senior High School students at campuses not gazetted, the exercise started yesterday in some schools in the Ho Municipality. At Mawuli Senior High School, a total of 1,100 eligible students and staff were expected to go through the two-day exercise. According to the headmaster, Mr Gustav Adomah, all the necessary safety protocols have been put in place. He explained that students were to go through the exercise first before staff members since they could not go outside the school to register after the two-day exercise. When the Ghanaian Times got to E.P Mawuko Girls Senior High School, the situation was not different with students seated two meters apart. The school authorities noted that they were expecting 508 eligible students to register. Some of the students Ghanaian Times interviewed said even though the exercise has been smooth, many of them were not having the Ghana Card and have to wait for their colleagues vouch for them. Mr Samuel Agudza, a registration official stated that the exercise has been smooth with all the students taken through the safety protocols. He assured that all the schools in the Ho Municipality would benefit from the two-day exercise. The registration of students by the Electoral Commission comes after some members of the public raised concerns about the exercise. But in a sharp response, the Electoral Commission said its decision to commence the voter registration exercise in the various Senior High Schools in the country was to avoid disenfranchising eligible voter students. 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. Featured Video 10.07.2020 LISTEN Ghanaian actor, director, satirist, talk show host, and author KSM known in real life as Kwaku Sintim-Misa, has opined that Ghanaians should not be surprised by the venom, hostility and hatred words directed at Prof Naana Opoku Agyemang Opoku Agyemang by some top NPP Men Days ago former president John Dramani Mahama Nominated Prof Naana Opoku Agyemang Opoku Agyemang as his Vice Presidential candidate for election 2020 , after which the entire country has been thrown into a state of Jubilation with many welcoming the news, but some members of the Opposition party NPP think contrarily. In a quick retort by the actor to clarify why some men in NPP are against John Mahamas appointment, he said that they are doing that out of frustration, Desperation and the fact that the three men have mental Dysfunction KSM in a subsequent post captured by AttractiveMustapha.com, He described the professor as the best choice for Ghana and NDC. Minister's green light will fuel more hatred towards transgender community - NGOs Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Zulkifli Mohamads call for religious authorities to take action against the transgender community could fuel hatred against them, warned NGO Seed Foundation. In a statement, the trans-led community-based organisation urged Zulkifli (above) and the authorities to cease harassing the marginalised community and to instead uplift the transgender community without the agenda of rehabilitating them as they are not a problem that needs to be solved. "Seed is extremely disappointed by the minister's statement giving full authority to the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) to arrest transgender people for the purpose of rehabilitation," said Seed. Such statements would drive the transgender community - which already face continued persecution by the state and broader society - further into hiding, added Seed. "There is a complete disregard by him in considering how these arrests will impact their daily life such as education, employment, access to healthcare, or access to justice. "The statement will also no doubt fuel hatred against the transgender community which encourages more violence against them. "Such threats of violence against a marginalised community does not belong in a mature and democratic society," said Seed, adding that transgender people, too, have their constitutional rights to live with dignity and not to be discriminated on their basis of gender. Seed also pointed out there is no reliable evidence to show conversion therapy is effective. "The existence of the transgender community is not a problem to be solved. The job of elected representatives should be to protect and uplift marginalised communities so that all Malaysians may prosper." Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib (below) said the minister's "full licence" sent a terrible signal which may cause an escalation of harmful and discriminating actions, both institutional and vigilantism, against the transgender community. Story continues "He should consider withdrawing his statement," he said in a statement today. He recalled how Zulkifli, the then mufti of the Federal Territories engaged in a dialogue with transgender women in Chow Kit in 2017 with an intention to help them. "As the mufti, Zulkifli hosted a delegation of transgender women at his office for discussions and called for reforms. "His main message then was that people should not condemn, judge, or punish the community, but rather to find a common ground. Now, he is calling for their arrest. What happened?" asked Azrul. Meanwhile, Amnesty International Malaysia interim executive director Preethi Bhardwaj urged the government to end its persecution of transgender and LGBT people at large. We oppose all forms of conversion therapy; it causes great psychological distress and harm to the recipient, even suicidal ideations, and should be outlawed. The authorities should also repeal all repressive laws against LGBTI people and implement policies that protect them from intolerance. Earlier yesterday, Zulkifli announced on Facebook that he was empowering Jawi to arrest transgender persons and educate them so that they return to the right path. This comes amidst the online furore over revealing photographs cosmetics entrepreneur Nur Sajat (below) posted of herself on her personal Instagram account. This led calls for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government to take action on the transgender businessperson. Back in 2018, then religious affairs minister Mujahid Yusof Rawa had called upon the public to stop discriminating against transgender people to prevent members of the community from resorting to sex work. The Houstonian Hotel closed its Trellis Spa in February for an extensive renovation that will be unveiled this fall. To host guests in the meantime, the hotel opened a sister spa, Solaya Spa & Salon, in the Highland Village Shopping Center. Solaya opened in February but had to close a few weeks later because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Now the spa has reopened its doors. Though the new venues impetus was the closure of Trellis, Solaya is not a temporary space. Its an extension of The Houstonian offerings that has its own feel and experience. Byungjin Sean Park, the spa guest-services manager, explains that Solaya is going for a more modern vibe than that of Trellis. The interiors, designed by Nina Magon of Contour Interior Design, feature a blue color scheme and midcentury-modern furniture mixed in with older pieces, including the rustic-chic antique elevator door and Charles Winston chandeliers that used to live in The Plaza Hotel in New York. Floor-to-ceiling windows in the main salon area allow natural light to pour in, and the spas corner spot on the second floor of the shopping center partly shields it from the bustling traffic of Westheimer below. Solaya offers the same services guests could find at Trellis with the exception of the jacuzzi and sauna. A few different massages ($140-$300) and body treatments ($150-$160) are available. The slew of facial options ($80-$260) use the Naura Bisse and Orveda cosmetic lines, as well as HydraFacial machines ($220-$310). Solaya carries Londontown nail polish for its manicures and pedicures ($40-$70) and mainly Kerastase and Stephen Knoll for hair services ($40-$125+). High-profile hairstylist Joel Quinones was brought on from Q The Salon. Trellis was, and will remain, a leisurely resort-style experience where guests often linger for several hours and stay for lunch at The Houstonian. Solaya has the same caliber of services but also gives people the opportunity to pop in for a quicker experience before going about their busy lives, Park says. Many regulars of Trellis have followed their go-to stylists and technicians to Solaya during the closure, but the Highland Village spot has also attracted a new clientele, likely thanks to its more central location in River Oaks. (Trellis and The Houstonian are west of Memorial Park, just outside the 610 Loop.) Trellis will reopen in November after its top-to-bottom renovation. Of course, Solaya is still operating under strict COVID-19 precautions. Employees and guests are required to wear face masks at all times. Temperatures are taken upon entrance. The relaxation room, originally intended for use before and after services, is currently open to guests post-treatment only, with social distancing measures in place, for a quick glass of wine before they leave. The communal areas and treatment rooms are sanitized after each use or at least every hour. 4059 Westheimer; 713-263-6500; solayahouston.com The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Barry Cowen has stressed the need to match the increased environmental ambition in CAP with an appropriate budget to be allocated in order to ensure achievement of this ambition. Speaking during his first engagement with EU Member State counterparts at a video conference of EU Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers, Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski and Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius, Minister Cowen stated, Ireland has always favoured a strong green ambition in the new CAP. The recent Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies have highlighted the direction of travel for European Agriculture . As we move forward, if we are to deliver on the environmental ambition, we must provide the necessary financial support for farmers. The Minister emphasised the need to move quickly to consider the implications of these new strategies on the basis of full impact assessments. He also pointed to the need for further clarity in relation to specific elements of the CAP reform proposals that will underpin the achievement of environmental objectives, including conditionality and eco-schemes. Minister Cowen took the opportunity to emphasise the importance of agreeing an EU budget that would facilitate the achievement of a high level of climate ambition. Putting this also in the context of the agriculture sectors vitally important role in helping to deal with the Covid-19 crisis, he said, the core issue here is the funding provided to support the Common Agricultural Policy. We need to value, support and, most of all, we need to properly fund, the CAP system that enables this to happen. In relation to fisheries, the Commission presented its communication on the state of play and orientation for 2021 fishing opportunities. Minister Cowen noted the significant progress being made towards delivering sustainability in the fisheries which is of huge importance to Ireland. Minister Cowen said there has been considerable progress made in rebuilding fish stocks in recent years under the framework of the Common Fisheries Policy thanks to the efforts made by the fishing sector itself in particular and other stakeholders. However, I made clear that we face serious issues involving our quotas shares and access to UK waters as the negotiations with the UK on a new fisheries agreement continue. I emphasised that Ireland, as an island nation, is committed to protecting the interests of our fishing industry and will continue to work constructively to meet the challenges that will undoubtedly arise over the coming weeks and months. Meanwhile, Minister Cowen chaired his first meeting of the Food Wise 2025 High Level Implementation Committee (HLIC) to discuss the ongoing economic implications of COVID-19 for the sector, Brexit preparations and progress on the new Agri-food Strategy to 2030. The meeting was attended by the CEOs and senior officials from Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland, Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Teagasc, as well as senior officials from relevant Government Departments and agencies. Minister Cowen said, As set out in the Programme for Government, farm families and food businesses are the heartbeat of rural Ireland, and we will work with the sector to improve farm incomes and protect the family farm for future generations. We will look to build on Irelands green reputation for producing high-quality and sustainable produce at the least environmental cost, ensuring the long-term outlook for the agri-food industry remains positive and vibrant. Ghislaine Maxwell 'has tapes of two prominent US politicians having sex with minors' and boasted of 'owning' powerful people, according to a former friend. The ex-jewel robber, who used the pseudonym William Steel, said they 'forced' him to watch the footage as they wanted to convince him of their 'power'. He also claimed to have seen clips of 'celebrities' and 'world figures' having 'threesomes, even orgies' with minors. It follows Maxwell, 58, being arrested last Thursday on charges she helped lure at least three girls - one as young as 14 - to be sexually abused by Epstein, who was accused of victimising dozens of girls and women over many years. Socialite Maxwell, above in 2013, the daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, is the former girlfriend and long-time close associate of Epstein Steel told The Sun: 'They wanted to convince me of their power and who they held in their grip. They boasted about 'owning' powerful people.' He added: 'I saw videos of very powerful people - celebrities, world figures - in those videos having sex, threesomes, even orgies with minors.' The former friend also referred to two 'high-profile' American politicians who were in videos with minors. Maxwell, the daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, is the former girlfriend and long-time close associate of Epstein. She is accused of facilitating his crimes and on some occasions joined him in sexually abusing the girls, according to the indictment against her. Several Epstein victims have described Maxwell as his chief enabler, recruiting and grooming young girls for abuse. She has denied wrongdoing and called claims against her 'absolute rubbish.' Maxwell was arrested by a team of federal agents last week at a $1 million estate she had purchased in New Hampshire. The investigators had been keeping an eye on Maxwell and knew she had been hiding out in various locations in New England. She had switched her email address, ordered packages under someone elses name and registered at least one new phone number under an alias 'G Max,' prosecutors have said. A former friend of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, pictured in 2005, claimed they 'forced' him to watch the footage as they wanted to convince him of their 'power' The property where Maxwell was arrested by the FBI seen in an aerial photograph in Bradford, New Hampshire. She is accused in four counts of acting as Epstein's madam The British socialite will appear in New York's southern district court on July 14 at 1pm and the hearing will take place over video-link due to coronavirus. She will join from the 'hell-hole' jail where she is being held and only the judge, Alison Nathan, will be present along with one prosecutor and one defence attorney. Maxwell - a friend to billionaires, celebrities, presidents and royalty before her arrest - is facing a six-count federal indictment which could see her jailed for 35 years. She is accused in four counts of acting as Epstein's madam, hunting down and 'training' young girls for him to abuse in the late 1990s. Another two counts accuse her of lying about the abuse to a court when she was sued by one of the victims - Virginia Roberts - in 2015. However, observers and experts believe she is not the state's primary target, and will likely be offered a plea deal to turn on others in Epstein's circle. Epstein was initially jailed for 18 months in 2008 after being allowed to plead guilty to a single charge of soliciting sex from a child prostitute, despite at one stage facing a 53-page FBI indictment. Despite being one of the most in demand items of 2020, more coveted than a Gucci handbag - and at times just as overpriced, its still hard to get excited about hand sanitiser. But the Boatyard Distillery in County Fermanagh has done its best to beautify the cleaning product set to become as much of a holiday staple as a bucket and spade. Like many producers of spirits, they switched to creating the product early in the pandemic, taking the noble decision to supply hospitals and care homes in Enniskillen with 10,000 litres free of charge. We had to take on extra staff; students, family friends who were stuck with nothing to do, says founder Joe McGirr, exemplifying the kind of wartime zeal thats welded communities at a time when theyve been forced to physically function apart. At one point, sanitiser became the Boatyards mainstay; theyve bottled 83,000 litres to date. But now, Joe and his team are looking forward to resuming production of their award-winning gin and vodka, supplying supermarket chains like Waitrose, right through to swanky hotels such as Londons Savoy. On July 3, bars, restaurants, hotels and attractions reopened in Northern Ireland, and after more than 100 days of rumbling behind closed doors, the Boatyards gleaming copper stills are once again welcoming public tours. When I arrive at the marina on the banks of Lough Erne, visitor bubbles are huddled around wooden sherry barrels (used as casks to age the Boatyards Old Tom Gin), spread comfortably throughout the room. Of course, tours have been tweaked in line with new regulations: numbers have been reduced from 25 to eight; surfaces are cleaned between sessions; and theres no more touching and sniffing of botanicals. But enthusiasm and dry humour counter any sterility, meaning safety has not been at the expense of fun. Im afraid youll have to contain yourself from hugging me, jests our jovial, teddy bear of a compere, Stanley. And when were allowed to enter the prized gin production parlour, where shiny, bulbous machinery could be a fit for Willy Wonkas Chocolate Factory, he reassures us theres so much alcohol in the atmosphere, any traces of Covid would be obliterated. Spray tonic and you could inhale a cocktail, he boasts. Scents of Italian juniper berries, Amalfi lemons and peppery sweet gale (foraged from the less sexy surrounds of Irish bogs) fill the air, along with a sense of optimism. Although delayed by the pandemic, there are plans to convert a waterside warehouse into a glass-fronted tasting area and cocktail bar, serviced by a water taxi dropping guests at the jetty - once the vessel has been given a social distancing-friendly refit. Inevitably, business has suffered during the last three months hiatus, but Joe agrees the only option to look is ahead. Presented with a view of emerald hills seeping into smooth, cloud-reflecting waters, thats not too hard to do. A similar scene greets me at the Finn Lough resort, a 25-minute drive away. With a collection of standalone suites and lodges spread along the water, and bubble domes occupying their own forest niche, its a natural fit for a remote, secluded retreat. Complying with the new normal has demanded some compromises, admits co-owner Gillian Beare. High touch points, such as cushions and bed throws, have been removed from rooms; crockery is wrapped in tissue paper (a laudable alternative to pernicious plastics); and meals are more regimented - breakfast is ordered from a menu online and delivered to rooms in a wicker hamper. Hospitality and service, however, remains the same. If anything, staff are more attentive than ever - albeit from a distance. A transparent, plastic igloo erected by air pressure, my bubble dome is irresistibly cosy; a mood shaped by a bathtub, four-poster bed and Otis Redding spinning on a portable turntable. Not that it really matters. Simply being in the forest is enough for me. Since the beginning of lockdown in March, a whole season has passed: birds have nested and chicks fledged; blossom has unfurled on branches and cascaded like confetti. Whether living in town or country, weve all become more finely attuned to nature. But only now, swallowed by a tangled canopy of crisp leaves glistening with raindrops, do I realise how much Ive missed trees. Dinner is another novelty. Aside from the immense delight of not having to cook or wash up, it feels special to dine in the company of others, listening to the hushed voices of strangers and the clatter of cutlery. Gillian laments it was necessary to swap fine-dining tasting menus for a stripped back selection of pizzas, burgers and tasting bowls. Nethertheless, every dish is freshly prepared and homemade. We eat at a table set in the library, below the gaze of a grandfather clock, but there are plans to open a new restaurant area and lough-side cabin with a firepit. The greatest post-lockdown treat, however, is delivered by Finn Loughs forest spa. Connected by a woodland trail, five sensory areas include a floatation room, saunas and a hot tub. The two-hour journey (aided by rubber slippers and a warm robe) is limited to two people at a time, making Finn Lough one of the few properties eligible to reopen its spa. A ladder leads from the steaming Finnish sauna into Lough Erne. The first few steps are undeniably difficult and clunky, but grappling slippery stones with bare feet delivers a reassuring sense of connectivity. Digging my toes into soft soil, I watch a flotilla of elegant swans slice through the mist, like ghost ships gliding without any course. Perhaps its simply down to the invigorating cold air, but every nerve in my body is alert, finally stirred from a long, deep sleep. A short drive from Finn Loch, the Marble Arch Caves Geopark is a highlight attraction in Fermanagh. Operating with smaller groups, tours of the limestone caves have reopened, and a new guided interpretation above ground is being offered. Guide Ian shares a 16-year passion for plants as we weave through a lost world of ancient ferns, wet ash woodland and tea-stained waterfalls tumbling over bedding planes carved by the ice age. Similar temperate rainforests can be found in Greenland, he says, and once covered most of Ireland. The environment is spectacular, but Ians knowledge unlocks a magical dimension: I nibble wood sorel sweeter than an apple sherbet; giggle at the phallic appearance of Lords-and-ladies plants; and marvel at high calcite tufa rock, able to petrify every living thing in its path. Ian hopes lockdown will have given people a renewed respect and appreciation for the wild world. Absence does, after all, make the heart grow fonder. For now, one things for certain: from fascinating plants to chef-cooked meals, as doors slowly open and we start to explore, every detail of rediscovery is a joy. Attorney General William Barr listens as United States President Donald J. Trump, unseen, speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. Attorney General William Barr spoke with President Donald Trump about Roger Stone and recommended against granting him clemency, an administration official told NBC News. Other White House officials were also opposed to Trump's decision due to fears of political blowback, including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, according to a person familiar with the matter. Another person familiar with the matter told NBC that advisors told the president that granting Stone clemency "was a big mistake." The official also said that the Department of Justice had nothing to do with the president's decision to commute Stone's sentence on seven felony crimes, which occurred only four days before the 67-year-old Republican operative was set to start his 40 months in federal prison. Barr had previously said that Stone's prosecution was "righteous" and the sentence was fair, and defended his decision to oppose a stricter sentence for Stone. The Justice Department and White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. Stone, a former campaign aide, was convicted of lying to Congress and obstruction and witness tampering after being indicted by a grand jury as part of former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's 2016 presidential election meddling. Mueller himself broke his trademark silence to condemn the president's rationale for granting Stone clemency, and to defend the special counsel's investigation. "The work of the special counsel's office its report, indictments, guilty pleas and convictions should speak for itself," Mueller wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post. "But I feel compelled to respond both to broad claims that our investigation was illegitimate and our motives were improper, and to specific claims that Roger Stone was a victim of our office." He added: "We made every decision in Stone's case, as in all our cases, based solely on the facts and the law and in accordance with the rule of law. The women and men who conducted these investigations and prosecutions acted with the highest integrity. Claims to the contrary are false." Democrats quickly criticized Trump's decision and called it an abuse of the rule of law. "With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else," said Rep. Adam Schiff of California. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah was the first Republican to openly criticize the president's decision, calling it "unprecedented, historic corruption." "An American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president," Romney wrote in a tweet on Saturday. GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said on Saturday that although Trump has the legal constitutional authority to grant clemency for federal crimes, commuting Stone's sentence was a mistake. "While I understand the frustration with the badly flawed Russia-collusion investigation, in my view, commuting Roger Stone's sentence is a mistake," Toomey said in a statement. "Any objections to Mr. Stone's conviction and trial should be resolved through the appeals process." Other Republicans praised Trump's move, arguing that the president has a constitutional right to commute sentences. Ranking House member Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio tweeted that "Like every president, President Trump has the constitutional right to commute sentences where he believes it serves the interest of fairness and justice." The Apprentice winner Joseph Valente has sold the plumbing firm that he set up with Lord Sugar and it owes almost 2million. The Italian entrepreneur impressed the business tycoon with his business plan of franchising his plumbing company. Ultimately the billionaire decided his idea was more worthy of investment than runner-up Vana Koutsomitis' gamified dating app during the series that aired at the end of 2015. The Italian entrepreneur (right) impressed the business tycoon with his business plan of franchising his plumbing company However creditors have hit out at Mr Valente, who they claim must have known his firm ImpraGas was in trouble, as reported by the Daily Mirror. Nathan Oselton, from One Word Graphics, is owed 2,500 by the firm. He said: 'I feel pretty angry and mad about the way the company has behaved. It has always been a bit of a struggle getting paid. 'My accountant has looked at the paperwork from the liquidators and it does not look like he was making money for quite a while.' Speaking to MailOnline Mr Valente said: 'ImpraGas was sold in Jan 2020 to REL Capital we did not go bust. 'We faced a challenging economic climate and decided to sell the brand, assets and intellectual property all staff 70 plus staff and many contractors kept their jobs. Customer warranties were taken on by the new owners and we created a newco that the creditors could continue to trade with which they did. 'VBH Assests is a ltd company that was put into voluntary liquidation and yes it did owe creditors money but to secure the best possible future for the new business it was our only option. 'We build the largest independent boiler installation business in the UK in just a few years winning and beating British Gas to national installer of the year in 2019. What we achieved was incredible and our successs should no be overlooked.' Speaking about Mr Valente when he won The Apprentice, Lord Sugar said: 'Joseph is a great example of what's possible. 'He turned his life around and decided he was going to go to work and here he is today, a well-deserved winner of The Apprentice and I look forward to him being my business partner. The Italian entrepreneur (pictured middle) received 250,000 for winning The Apprentice to set up his plumbing firm 'I hope it [his win] inspires a lot of people to see what is possible in this world.' But it has all gone wrong for the entrepreneur who received 250,000 from the business tycoon to set up ImpraGas. Mr Valente was expelled at the age of 15 and started his career as an apprentice before going on to found his own plumbing business in Peterborough. However two years after the programme finished, Mr Valente and Lord Sugar parted company. ImpraGas was sold this year in January to REL Capital after factors including Brexit and a warmer winter led to a financial difficulties. The company was sold on and a shell limited company, VBH Assets, was placed into voluntary liquidation, owing 34 firms 1.95million, including 400,000 to HMRC. Two years after the programme finished, Mr Valente and Lord Sugar parted company, andin January this year, ImpraGas was sold off Mr Valente, 31, from Peterborough, told the Daily Mirror: 'We had to shut down part of the organisation and it meant that some creditors were not paid. 'Our main priority was that staff kept their jobs and our customers were looked after. 'The intellectual property of the company was sold to another company and the old company was put into liquidation. 'The majority of creditors continue to trade with the new company. 'At every moment we were trading to keep the company alive.' A spokesman for Lord Sugar said: 'Joseph Valente would not take advice from Lord Sugar and his team. 'Lord Sugar parted company with Joseph Valente while the joint company was solvent and he sold his shares to Joseph Valente for 1 on 13th April 2017.' The officials discussed the issue of deepening Ukraine-Belarus cooperation, in particular, cultural ties. Head of Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak has discussed with his Belarusian counterpart Igor Sergienko the upcoming visit of President Volodymyr Zelensky to Belarus. Read alsoZelensky to visit Belarus "Yermak informed Sergienko about the initiative of the Ukrainian side to prepare a number of bilateral documents for the meeting of the presidents of Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus scheduled for this autumn," according to the president's press service. The officials also discussed the issue of deepening Ukraine-Belarus cooperation, in particular, cultural ties. Moreover, the sides agreed on further contacts for a more substantive consideration of the proposals. Kia Grand Carnival cars exported to Thailand (Source: THACO) It is the second batch of passenger cars that THACO has exported to Thailand, the Southeast Asias biggest auto hub, in 2020. Previously, the company delivered 40 of the same cars to Thailand in February. The vehicles were manufactured at the THACO Kia Plant in THACO Chu Lai Industrial Park in the central province of Quang Nam As planned, THACOs importing partner Yontrakit Kia Motor Co., Ltd will continue to place orders in line with the commitments between the two sides, with a total 560 Grand Kia cars to be delivered this year. The Kia Grand Carnival (known as the Kia Sedona in the Vietnamese market) is equipped with modern features, a spacious interior with 11 seats in four rows, and right-hand drive to meet Thai traffic laws. With the ambition of expanding its markets and joining the global value chains, over the past years, THACO has exported buses, trucks, cars, and semi-trailers to Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar, Japan, and the US. So far this year, in addition to the 120 Kia Grand Carnival cars shipped to Thailand, THACO has also exported 80 Kia Cerato cars to Myanmar and 36 semi-trailers and two modular house drawbar trailers to the US. On July 13, the company plans to ship another 33 semi-trailers for its US partner PITTS Enterprises. In 2020, THACO aims to export over 1,400 cars of all kinds to Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, the US and Japan, while expanding its market to Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Armenia. Iran and China have quietly drafted a sweeping economic and security partnership that would clear the way for billions of dollars of Chinese investments in energy and other sectors, undercutting the Trump administrations efforts to isolate the Iranian government because of its nuclear and military ambitions. The partnership, detailed in an 18-page proposed agreement obtained by The New York Times, would vastly expand Chinese presence in banking, telecommunications, ports, railways and dozens of other projects. In exchange, China would receive a regular and, according to an Iranian official and an oil trader, heavily discounted supply of Iranian oil over the next 25 years. The document also describes deepening military cooperation, potentially giving China a foothold in a region that has been a strategic preoccupation of the United States for decades. It calls for joint training and exercises, joint research and weapons development and intelligence sharing all to fight the lopsided battle with terrorism, drug and human trafficking and cross-border crimes. The partnership first proposed by Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, during a visit to Iran in 2016 was approved by President Hassan Rouhanis cabinet in June, Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said last week. WASHINGTON President Trump has said he learned lessons from President Richard M. Nixons fall from grace, but in using the power of his office to keep his friend and adviser Roger J. Stone Jr. out of prison he has now crossed a line that even Mr. Nixon in the depths of Watergate dared not cross. For months, senior advisers warned Mr. Trump that it would be politically self-destructive if not ethically inappropriate to grant clemency to Mr. Stone, who was convicted of lying to protect the president. Even Attorney General William P. Barr, who had already overruled career prosecutors to reduce Mr. Stones sentence, argued against commutation in recent weeks, officials said. But in casting aside their counsel on Friday, Mr. Trump indulged his own sense of grievance over precedent to reward an ally who kept silent. Once again, he challenged convention by intervening in the justice system undermining investigators looking into him and his associates, just days after the Supreme Court ruled that he went too far in claiming absolute immunity in two other inquiries. Democrats condemned the commutation of Mr. Stones 40-month prison term and vowed to investigate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling the move an act of staggering corruption, said she would pursue legislation to prevent the president from using his power to protect those convicted of a cover-up on his own behalf, although that would face serious constitutional hurdles and never be signed into law by Mr. Trump. New Delhi: The Indian government will approach Pakistans foreign ministry over missing soldier Chavans release. Indian Army soldier Chandu Babulal Chavan of 37 Rashtriya Rifles was on Thursday captured by Pakistani army after he inadvertently crossed the Line of Control (LoC). Earlier, Indian DGMO, Ranbir Singh had talked to his Pakistani counterpart for the return of Sepoy Chandu Babulal Chavan but all efforts of Indian army went futile as the Pak authorities are yet to respond. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had so far kept away from Chavans case, allowing the army to handle the situation. Indian government and the Army had claimed that the soldier had no role in the surgical strikes that took hours before his crossing. It added that such crossings by civilians and soldiers were not uncommon. A 37 Rashtriya Rifles sepoy, Chavan was posted in the Mendhar sector in J&K when he was reported missing hours after the surgical strikes. On October 2, defence minister Manohar Parrikar had said that a well established mechanism through the DGMO had been activated to seek Chavans release. He had also said that since the situation was tense, it would take some time to bring him back. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. He was on the street when a light-colored vehicle pulled up and someone opened fire in his direction, hitting him in the back. He was taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said. Nurses who traveled from across the country to work in New York City hospitals saw the horrors of the coronavirus up close. They rushed patients to overcrowded intensive care units, monitored oxygen levels and held the hands of the sickest ones as they slipped away. But now that many of the nurses have returned home to states in the South and the West, theyre facing a new challenge: persuading friends and family to take the virus seriously. A few times Ive lost my temper, said Olumide Peter Kolade, a 31-year-old nurse from California who grew up in Texas and spent more than three months treating patients in New York. When someone tells me that they dont believe the virus is real, its an insult. I take it personally. On the way to his 12-hour shifts in Brooklyn, Kolade would scroll through Instagram and Snapchat and see photos taken the previous night of his friends partying in Texas. A few, adamant that the coronavirus was a hoax or that deaths in New York were overstated, texted him videos promoting the false internet conspiracy theory that links the spread of the virus to the ultrafast wireless technology known as 5G. I dont know, if I wasnt a nurse, I wouldve totally believed the videos, he said. They made it seem like it was true. For nurses, the widespread skepticism about something they have witnessed is jarring. The United States has hit daily case records three times in the first six days of July, as the politicization of public health measures and the spread of misinformation hinder the countrys ability to curb the coronaviruss spread. Tamara Williams, a nurse from Dallas who came to New York, said she had to remove 50-100 friends from her Facebook account because she could not stand seeing their posts with false information about the pandemic. Several times since returning from New York, Williams has run into acquaintances who have told her that they believe the coronavirus is no more than the flu even though coronavirus cases in Texas have surged since mid-June. Its infuriating, she said. Sometimes she pushes back, telling stories about the young patients she treated who had no underlying health conditions. Other times, she tunes people out. Theres no other way, Williams, 40, said. I literally feel like I would lose my mind it would eat me alive if I sat there and got into a verbal, back-and-forth banter. For months in New York City, streets were deserted and ambulance sirens blared at all hours, a constant reminder of the coronavirus threat. But in cities that have not completely shut down, people can more easily ignore the risk. Unless youve seen it with your own eyes, Williams said, it is very easy to believe it is not that bad. On Monday, more than 8,800 new cases were announced across Texas, marking the largest single-day total of the pandemic. Research on coronavirus information campaigns is limited, but studies on the effectiveness of messaging to discourage the use of tobacco and alcohol show that young adults tend to discount the dangers, said Deena Kemp, an assistant professor and health researcher at the University of Texas at Austin. Theres a lack of direct experience, Kemp said. Telling me about something that happened to you in a situation that I cant identify with is different than telling me something about a situation I can identify with. New York is states away, and unless you work in a hospital, thats also removed from your experience. The patchwork of conflicting local and national guidelines on wearing masks has also led to skepticism about them, she added. Virginia Bernal, a 45-year-old nurse who spent months working in New York, could tell from her conversations over the phone with relatives back in Phoenix that they were not taking the surge in cases there seriously. She said she had tried to discourage her mother from attending a graduation party for a friends daughter. But a few days later, when Bernal called, her mother did not answer her phone because she was at the party. Ive done my part, so if you choose to go, thats on you, Bernal said she told her mother. Heather Smith, a nurse from Topsail Island, off the coast of North Carolina, who worked at Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, struggled to hold back tears when describing how she felt when her brother said he did not believe the virus was real. When Smith started typing a rant on Facebook, she said, I realized how angry I was. She said she could not get out of her mind the images of patients who died alone: No one understands how serious and how traumatizing it is. Courtney Sudduth, a nurse from Oklahoma City, said that when she arrived in New York people from back home wanted to know: Was it really as bad as the news media made it sound? Yes, she would tell them, describing the 18-wheel refrigerated truck that was parked outside Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital in Manhattan and used to store bodies. Even that was not enough. Her grandmother in Mississippi still does not wear a mask when she goes grocery shopping, she said. Oh, Ill be fine, Sudduth recalled her grandmother as saying. One of Sudduths brothers, who lives in Mississippi, believed conspiracy theories about the virus and continued to socialize at cookouts until last month, she said, when he came down with the virus. That changed his mind, Sudduth, 30, said. Even as the number of coronavirus cases in Oklahoma has skyrocketed in recent weeks, people around town still stare at her when she wears a mask. A lot of people still have the mentality that this is being blown out of proportion, she said. A hospital in Oklahoma City opened a new unit last week to accommodate the increasing number of virus patients. Sunday was Sudduths first day on the job. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. For the first time, a female soldier has graduated from the Armys elite Special Forces course and will join one of the all-male Green Beret teams, capping a years-long campaign to move women into the militarys front-line combat jobs. The unidentified woman is one of three female soldiers who have been going through the Army Special Forces qualification course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She graduated Thursday and donned her Green Beret, along with about 400 other soldiers. Defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, have confirmed that she is a member of the National Guard. Fort Bragg, N.C. (Chris Seward/AP Photo) Lt. Gen. Fran Beaudette, commander of Army Special Operations Command, presided over the ceremony and was able to say, for the first time, that our Green Beret men and women will forever stand in the hearts of free people everywhere. From here, you will go forward and join the storied formation of the Green Berets where you will do what you are trained to do: challenge assumptions, break down barriers, smash through stereotypes, innovate, and achieve the impossible, he said. The Army does not release the identities of its commandos or disclose to which special forces group they will be assigned. Kurdish Peshmergas and U.S. Special forces are advancing from Kalak towards Khasr and Mosul in Iraq. (Patrick Barth/Getty Images) The more than 6,700 Army Green Berets are highly trained commandos who usually work in 12-person teams. They are often used for specialized combat and counterterrorism operations and to train other nations forces in battle skills. Many work with Afghan forces fighting the Taliban or are training troops in up to 60 countries. The path to becoming a Green Beret consists of several phases, beginning with a grueling assessment and selection phase where commanders believe they can identify soldiers who cannot make the grade or do not belong. The bulk of those who try out fail. Some who get injured or fail are allowed to return and try again. The first COVID-19 case has been confirmed in Syrias war-torn Idlib province. Humanitarian organizations working in northwest Syria have long feared an outbreak could severely hurt the population there that is contending with massive displacement and the ongoing war between government and rebel forces. Conditions in Idlib make it susceptible to a large outbreak, a nongovernmental organization official said. The millions who live in this region are often residing in close quarters, may not have enough clean water for drinking and handwashing, and frequently lack the necessary resources to protect themselves, Mercy Corps Syria director Kieren Barnes said in a statement sent to Al-Monitor today. The first case of the novel coronavirus in Idlib was confirmed by local health authorities, Mercy Corps said, and reported by various local and international outlets. Idlib is largely controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebel group. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham follows an extremist version of Islamism and used to be al-Qaedas affiliate in Syria. Idlib is one of the last rebel strongholds in Syria. Turkish-backed rebels also control parts of the north. Throughout the war, people in rebel-held territories have been transferred to Idlib in evacuation deals between defeated rebels and victorious government forces. This happened with east Aleppo in 2016. The result has been hundreds of thousands of displaced people coming to the province. The governments bid to retake the province continues despite cease-fire efforts. Government and rebel forces clashed today in a rural part of Idlib, the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Civilians there must contend with a health care system heavily damaged by years of war, attacks on civilians from the government, and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham harsh rule. Both the government and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have killed civilians and committed human rights abuses in the area, a recent UN report found. The conditions of war and displacement mean Idlib could experience an outbreak of the highly contagious virus. Hospitals in Idlib suspended non-emergency services after the first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported, The Associated Press reported today. Adding to complications, Russia and China today vetoed for the second time this week a UN Security Council resolution that, by a 13-2 vote, would have allowed aid to continue to flow to northwest Syria via two crossing points with Turkey. Earlier, a Russian-drafted resolution that would have allowed one border crossing for a year received only four "yes" votes in the 15-member council, five short of the minimum of nine needed. The resolution allowing the Turkish crossings expires today, and past crossings from Iraq and Jordan have also closed. The head of the International Rescue Committee said the veto will hurt Idlib in light of its first COVID-19 case. In Idlib, civilians beleaguered by a decade of war live in cramped conditions and are in extremely poor health, putting them at increased risk of the worst effects of this disease, David Miliband said in a statement. Maharashtra posted yet another grim record on Saturday by registering 8,139 fresh Covid cases in the past 24 hours taking the total number of infections in the state to 2,46,600 including 10,116 casualties, 223 of which were reported in the last 24 hours, according to the data released by the state health department. On Friday, the state had posted 7,862 fresh cases- which was the previous record for daily infections. The state also witnessed the recovery of 4,360 patients from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of people cured from the infection to 1,36,985which is more than the number of active cases in the state. Mumbai on the other hand continues to witness a steady increase in the daily number of infections with 1,284 fresh cases reported over the last 24 hours. The metropolis had posted 1,337 coronavirus cases in the previous 24-hour cycle. The total number of Covid positive cases in Mumbai has now reached 91,745 including 5,244 casualties. 39 of these deaths were reported today. For Coronavirus Live Updates While the Covid situation in the state continues to be worrying, its handling of the disease in Asias largest slum of Dharavi, situated in Mumbai, has come in for praise from WHO as well as state chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cited Dharavi as among a few examples from the world that demonstrate how a strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is the key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus. Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the coronavirus situation across the country along with preparedness of states and issued directions for real-time national level monitoring and guidance for all affected states and places with high test positivity rates. Priority is close monitoring and guiding the containment works in regions where the infection rate is high, the prime minister wrote on Twitter. The Maharashtra government has increased restrictions in several high caseload districts including Pune, where a 10-day long lockdown is being clamped beginning Monday. The state government today transferred Pune Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad and replaced him with Vikram Kumar, who is currently the CEO of Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority. The state government is battling the disease on multiple fronts. According to an official report, 774 Covid-19 cases have been reported from states 14 jails. 600 of these cases are among the inmates and the remaining 174 are staff members. Nagpur Central Jail is the worst-affected with 219 cases, followed by Mumbai Central Jail which has 181, while Akola and Solapur prisons have 72 and 62 cases respectively, the prisons department official told PTI. 300 additional beds were added to Covid-19 hospitals and treatment facilities in rural areas of Maharashtras Thane district, an official said, adding that at least 500 more beds will soon be made available, taking the bed capacity to 2,000 in Thane rural. In another related development, the state government issued an order to restrict the height of Ganpati idols installed during the Ganesh festival to only four feet. It also advised that Ganesh idols installed at home cannot be taller than two feet. The official notification also advised Ganesh Mandals to postpone immersion of idols in the view of the raging contagion. In route news, JetBlue will consolidate its Long Beach operations into Los Angeles International this fall; Alaska and American may speed up its global alliance partnership; AA changes terminals at London Heathrow; United adds more service to Israel; Panamas Copa returns to SFO and other U.S. destinations; Air Tahiti Nui is coming back to LAX; Qantas apparently pushes back long-haul service well into next year; and route news from Lufthansa, Alitalia and Etihad. JetBlue will make a major change in California this fall by moving its Long Beach operations to Los Angeles International, linking them up with its transcontinental flights there. When the transition is complete after October 6, the airline will operate 30 flights a day at LAX to 13 destinations, including its existing transcon Mint service to New York JFK, Boston and Ft. Lauderdale, its new Mint route between LAX and Newark beginning July 23 (JetBlue is also starting new San Francisco-Newark Mint service on July 23), and existing non-Mint transcon routes between LAX-Buffalo and LAX-Orlando. (JetBlues Mint routes use aircraft that have a premium front cabin with lie-flat seats and upgraded service.) With Long Beach out of the picture, JetBlue will introduce seven new LAX nonstop routes on October 7, including San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Reno-Tahoe and Austin, along with seasonal service to Bozeman, Mont. JetBlues reservations system shows a LAX-SFO schedule of two daily roundtrips in October, with fares starting at $49 one way. The airlines Long Beach-Portland route will be dropped, but JetBlue will still fly to Portland from New York and Boston and will introduce new Portland-Ft. Lauderdale service starting in October. JetBlue said its LAX flights will continue to use Terminal 5 there; the new LAX routes went on sale this week. The company said its California consolidation turns LAX into a west coast focus city for JetBlue and includes big ambitions there: JetBlue plans to embark on a strategic expansion over the next five years with plans to reach roughly 70 flights per day by 2025. This will include multiple new markets, both domestic and international, some of which have never had nonstop service to and from LAX. In addition to its enlarged LAX presence, JetBlue will continue to serve Ontario and Burbank. Although JetBlues announcement didnt mention it, San Diego Airport said this week that the carrier also plans to launch new daily flights between SAN and Newark on August 6, competing in that market against United and Alaska Airlines. According to JetBlues reservations site, the SAN-EWR flights will not offer Mint service but will feature daytime flights in both directions. We reported last week on American Airlines plans to restructure its international network; on the west coast, that plan includes fewer international flights out of Los Angeles and more out of Seattle, where AA is forging a deeper partnership with Alaska Airlines. The two carriers had said previously that they expected Alaska to become a full partner in Americans Oneworld global alliance by the middle of next year, but now it looks like that might be accelerated. According to media reports, Alaska CEO Brad Tilden told an aviation webinar that his airline now hopes to be a part of the Oneworld family by the end of 2020, or about six months earlier than expected. As part of its expanded partnership with Alaska, American has already announced that it will begin new service from Alaskas Seattle hub to London and Bangalore next year and will move its LAX-Shanghai route to Seattle if it gets governmental approvals. According to Routesonline.com, American has now set March 27 as the launch date for its SEA-London Heathrow flights, which will operate daily with a 777-200ER. Speaking of Heathrow, American this week moved its operations there into Terminal 5, the home base for its joint venture partners British Airways and Iberia. AA had most recently been using Terminal 2, moving there from Terminal 3 in April when LHR consolidated terminal space due to the sudden drop in flight operations caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Don't miss a shred of important travel news! Sign up for our FREE weekly email alerts. In other Alaska Airlines news, the Seattle-Monterey route that the carrier was supposed to launch this summer with a daily Horizon Air flight has now been pushed back to February of next year. And Alaska said that in October, it plans to start deploying 76-seat, three-class Horizon Air E175s on select routes within the state of Alaska, including Anchorage-Fairbanks. As previously announced, United this week resumed non-stop service between San Francisco and Tel Aviv with three 787-9 flights a week. The carrier also said this week that it plans to revive Chicago OHare-Tel Aviv flights in September three times a week; to increase its current Newark-Tel Aviv schedule from seven flights a week to 10 next month; and to resume Washington Dulles-TLV service three days a week in October. Also in September, United said, it expects to bring back Chicago-Hong Kong service with one weekly flight and to resume Los Angeles-Sydney operations with three weekly roundtrips. (United already flies to Hong Kong and Sydney from San Francisco.) JetBlue Panamas Copa Airlines, which has been grounded for the pandemic, is expected to start flying again in August. According to a schedule update on Routesonline.com, Copa has set Sept. 4 for its return to San Francisco International, when it will launch two flights a week to Panama City. On August 7, Copa is due to start two weekly Los Angeles flights and to resume service from Panama City to New York JFK and Miami, followed by Orlando and Washington D.C. on Aug. 21 and Chicago on Sept. 4. (While Copa won't be flying it's newest Boeing 737 MAX jets with lie-flat business class seats on the route, you can take a look inside one of these planes through Chris's eyes in a previous Trip Report from Panama City.) Another airline coming back to the U.S. is Air Tahiti Nui, which is due to resume its Los Angeles-Papeete route on July 14 with three 787-9 flights a week, increasing to five a week on Aug. 1. However, the airlines LAX-Paris sector is still suspended; instead, Air Tahiti Nui will operate a flight from Papeete to Paris via Vancouver. As usual, we must remind readers that just because airline service to a particular foreign destination is once again available, that doesnt necessarily mean you can go there. Many foreign governments have imposed restrictions on American travelers, ranging from mandatory quarantines upon arrival to outright bans, so it is the travelers responsibility to research these restrictions before booking a flight. One airline that apparently wont be coming back to the U.S. any time soon is Qantas. The Australian trade publication Executive Traveller is reporting that the carriers long-haul flights could be unavailable at least through March 2021. While the flights themselves have not been canceled, and all previous bookings remain in place, the move prevents new bookings from being made on any overseas Qantas route except for flights to New Zealand, the publication said. Travelers searching for Qantas flights to the likes of Asia, the USA and London through to March 28, 2021 are being shown only flights operated by selected partner airlines such as Emirates, British Airways and Cathay Pacific. In other international route news, Lufthansa this week resumed service between Newark and its Munich hub with three A350 flights a week. The latest schedule update from Alitalia includes plans to revive Rome-Boston service July 16 with three flights a week, increase its New York JFK-Rome schedule from four flights a week to seven on Aug. 2, and bring back JFK-Milan Malpensa service on Aug. 15 with three weekly flights. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad will boost its Chicago OHare schedule from one flight a week to three on July 16, and to five on Aug. 1; increase JFK service from one weekly flight to three on July 17 and to five on Aug. 3; and restart Washington Dulles service on Aug. 2 with three flights a week. Read all recent TravelSkills posts here Chris McGinnis is SFGATE's senior travel correspondent. You can reach him via email or follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Don't miss a shred of important travel news by signing up for his FREE weekly email updates! SFGATE participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Click here to read the full article. Denis Villeneuve and Roger Deakins became one of the most prolific director/cinematographer pairings of the 2010s, thanks to Prisoners, Sicario, and Blade Runner 2049, all three of which earned Deakins Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography. (He finally won for Blade Runner 2049.) While the two didnt team up for Villeneuves upcoming Dune, as the cinematography honors went to Lion and Rogue One DP Greig Fraser, they remain in touch and inspired by one another. Thats why Deakins brought Villeneuve aboard the latest episode of his Team Deakins podcast, where the two sat down for a sprawling discussion, including their inaugural collaboration on 2013s Prisoners. Villeneuve explained that Hollywood offerings started coming his way after his explosive, black-and-white 2009 film Polytechnique, but that the Canadian director was wary of working for American studios. I didnt have the desire to work in Hollywood because I was afraid of the Hollywood system, I was afraid of all those stories. In Canada we dont have a lot of money but we have a lot of freedom, and for me that was something that was very precious, he said. Here [in Canada], you cannot make a lot of movies. Its a system thats based on government funds. You have to wait your turn. But when you make the movie, you are totally in control. More from IndieWire Villeneuve even said that Martin Scorsese warned him to try to stay intact. But for his first film shot on American shores, Prisoners, Villeneuve said that he didnt feel constricted at all, and even shot two endings with Roger Deakins, which is unusual for a director new to the states making a costly studio movie. The producers, collaborator James Deakins explained on the podcasts, said that whichever ending tested higher would make it into the final film. Story continues Its true. They didnt shape the edit, but there were two endings because they felt my idea, which was closer to the screenplay, was maybe too much depressing and not commercial enough, Villeneuve said. I remember we tested both, and they came to me saying they scored equally and that maybe mine was better so they went with mine. It was a beautiful experience. On the podcast, Villeneuve and Deakins also reminisced about what they believe to be their best scene, which is the final moments of 2015s Sicario. Its interesting that were both talking about a scene thats two people sitting in a kitchen on a set. It cost about 10 grand, said Deakins of the films ending, a scene shared by Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro. Theres an intensity and an equilibrium between the actors, and the way the actors are moving into light that is so strong, Villeneuve said. Its funny when those things work. I love photographing a human face, and when youve got somebody like Emily and Benicio, its quite something, Deakins said. Villeneuve is still in post-production on Dune, which Warner Bros. is set to release nationwide December 18. Best of IndieWire Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Kanpur: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday (July 11, 2020) arrested two more people with criminal backgrounds from Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior in connection with the killing of eight policemen during a raid-encounter in Kanpur's Bikru village last week. According to the police, the two accused, identified as Om Prakash Pandey and Anil Pandey were arrested for harbouring two members of Vikas Dubey's gang members for almost four days before their shifted to another hideout. They have been booked under Section 2016 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for harbouring the accused in the case. The two criminals of Dubey gang were Shashikant Pandey and Shivam Dubey and were 'wanted' in July 3 Kanpur massacre case. According to the police, both Vikas Dubey gang members carried a reward of Rs 50,000 on their head. At least seven people including Chaubepur station in-charge Vinay Tiwari, have been arrested for criminal conspiracy and harbouring Dubey's gang members as well as helping them escape after the Kanpur gunfight which left eight cops including DSP Devendra Mishra, dead. Gangster Vikas Dubey was killed by Uttar Pradesh police on Friday (July 10) morning while Dubey was trying to flee after the car carrying him from Ujjain overturned on the outskirts of Kanpur city. According to police, Dubey snatched police officials' pistol and made a bid to escape. He opened fire at the police who then in self defence shot at the gangster, injuring him. He was taken to a hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. Dubey sustained four bullets, three in chest and one in the hand. (With ANI inputs) Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Belgium, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Belgium and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. Belgium's Aa3 rating reflects Moody's assessment of "a2" Economic Strength, thanks to a diversified and competitive economy benefitting from a high degree of human capital ; "aa2" Institutions and governance Strength, reflecting the high scores obtained by the country in the World Bank indicators and the ability of policymaking to implement some reforms in the areas of pension and labour market against the backdrop of a fragmented political landscape; "baa1" Fiscal Strength considering the elevated debt ratio (above 100% of GDP in 2020) and the trend towards higher deficits in the context of rigid expenditure. The coronavirus outbreak adds pressure to the country's fiscal metrics; "a" Susceptibility to Event Risk, driven by the limited risk that contingent liabilities from the financial sector could crystallize on the government's balance sheet. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit. This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. 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"Given the seriousness of the Corps' ... error, the impossibility of a simple fix, the fact that Dakota Access did assume much of its economic risk knowingly, and the potential harm each day the pipeline operates, the Court is forced to conclude that the flow of oil must cease." -- U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, in his ruling ordering the shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline because he said the Army Corps of Engineers did not do enough environmental study before permitting it. q q q "I was like, 'What the heck is going on? Did this actually work? All this hard work actually paid off." -- Alice Brownotter, a 16-year-old Standing Rock tribal member who is among the youth active in campaigning against the Dakota Access Pipeline, which a judge has ordered shut down while more environmental study is done. q q q Thats a tipping point, which actually could really cripple production in North Dakota. -- Gov. Doug Burgum, on the potential impact of any oil price drop due to a court-ordered shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline. q q q This is the equivalent to taking the BNSF railroad and shutting it down for farmers for the fall. This is the safest, most reliable, economic way to move Bakken oil to the best market for oil in the country. -- North Dakota Petroleum Council President Ron Ness, after a judge ordered the shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline while more environmental study is done. q q q Many of the articles simply report, factually, what has occurred throughout the investigation. -- South Central District Judge David Reich, in ruling that pretrial news coverage in the RJR Maintenance and Management quadruple homicide case does not warrant moving the trial of suspect Chad Isaak out of Morton County. q q q Were talking vehicles destroyed, totaled, were talking siding on houses destroyed. Were talking farm equipment that was out, glass busted out. -- Grant County Emergency Manager Patrick Diehl, detailing damage from a recent storm. q q q No courthouse is built to keep people 6 feet apart. -- South Central District Judge Bruce Romanick, on coronavirus precautions put in place as jury trials resume. q q q This established a precedent for future companies that its not a rule that can just be ignored. Its going to be enforced. -- North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Randy Christmann, after the group fined Xcel Energy $10,000 for failing to meet the deadline for complying with the states new law requiring light-mitigating technology atop wind turbines. q q q "We need to remember that we can't get complacent here -- North Dakota is not immune. But it also does not have to be our fate in North Dakota." -- Gov. Doug Burgum, on other states that reopened their economies but are starting to close them again as they see a resurgence in coronavirus cases. q q q It was kind of sad when they canceled the parade. But its still cool that we get to see some of the old cars. -- Eleven-year-old Peyton Holje, on a smaller Independence Day Cruise that replaced Mandan's traditional Fourth of July parade. q q q I wanted to sing really bad, but by the time I got there and the vibe it just wasnt right. So I had a beer and I cruised the Strip. -- Eric Chambers, on a recent visit to a local bar amid the coronavirus pandemic. q q q "There has been an increase in testing, so it is possible were finding more cases quicker. Its highly likely this is a case of increased public gatherings and higher rates of spread among younger people. People are in contact with each other more than they were in the past." -- State Department of Health spokeswoman Nicole Peske, discussing possible reasons for an uptick in coronavirus cases in Burleigh and Morton counties. q q q I wouldnt say it is extremely widespread but it is occurring. -- State Unemployment Insurance Director Darren Brostrom, on some people not returning to work because they can make more money off unemployment benefits bolstered by federal coronavirus aid. q q q Lets let the private sector hammer out some of these things and where government can assist and intervene well do so, but its probably best if we dont go down this road." -- Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, a member of the state Industrial Commission, as the group decided not to impose any mandatory production cuts on the oil industry in the wake of plummeting crude prices amid the coronavirus pandemic. q q q It's tedious but I love it because it's an honor to do something like that and to make it look good. -- Captains' Landing Township resident and military veteran Freddie Rios, who makes beaded flag pins by hand and donates any money he receives to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. q q q We entered spring with a larger breeding population compared to last year. Hens should be in good physical shape for nesting season, and cover should be plentiful from the residual moisture left from last fall. -- R.J. Gross, upland game management biologist for the state Game and Fish Department, on a favorable spring pheasant count. q q q "There might be other ways to solve it. I'm kind of proud of the fact that we're honest here in North Dakota, and we have a real simple system, and nobody can accuse us of not allowing everybody to vote ... but I think we've got to get a handle on the way we've been doing it." -- Rep. David Monson, R-Osnabrock, on the likelihood of the lack of voter registration in North Dakota being a topic in the Legislature next year. q q q I drove highway speed no problem, got there (to Fargo), charged up, and 30 to 40 minutes later I picked up supper and came home. -- Mandan resident Jason Mosser on the benefits of Tesla Superchargers" coming online in four North Dakota cities, ensuring drivers of the electric vehicles can cross the state without fear of running out of power. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 - Nigerians stranded in Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar and Saudi Arabia are begging to be evacuated - They are begging the federal government to evacuate them as Nigerians from other countries are brought back home - The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission announced that 270 stranded Nigerians have departed Cairo for Abuja PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed! Nigerians stranded in Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar and Saudi Arabia are begging the federal government to evacuate them as compatriots from other countries are brought back home. This is coming as the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission announced that 270 stranded nationals departed Cairo for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Abike Dabiri-Erewa is the chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission. Photo credit: Premium Times Source: UGC The commission said the Nigerians are expected to arrive Abuja around 6:00 pm local time on Friday, July 10. In other news, Nigerian scientists have developed indigenous rapid testing kits for COVID-19 as the country battles with the deadly disease. The disclosure was made by the minister of science and technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, who said the RNA Swift testing kits can accurately detect COVID-19 at a drastically lower cost. Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, July 9, Onu said five million farmers will be tested with the kits in the coming months, adding that 10 million kits will be produced in the first batch. The head of the National Biotechnology Development Agency, Alex Akpa, corroborated the minister's claim that the RNA Swift is accurate. He said the RNA Swift competes favorably with conventional and commercially available kits for the diagnosis of COVID-19. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read the best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that companies in Dubai had started excluding Nigerian applicants from vacancies after Ramon Olorunwa Abass popularly known as Hushpuppi was arrested in the United Arab Emirates. Recall that Hushpuppi and other Nigerians were arrested for fraud in Dubai and extradited to the United States. Legit.ng sighted some jobs advertised online and open to candidates of every nationality except Nigerians. Apart from blacklisting Nigerians from applying for jobs in Dubai, the latter is also denying Nigerians tourist visa. In a letter sighted by Legit.ng, the UAE made it known that Nigerian passport holders are not permitted to obtain a tourism visa to the country in the meantime. Market Survey: Coronavirus cannot kill everyone in Nigeria | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Advertisement Britain has recorded 148 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours - more than double last Saturday - three weeks after shops were allowed to reopen in the first major easing of lockdown. The figure is over twice that of the 67 people who died from the virus last week and more than triple that of yesterday, bringing the total of deaths to 44,798. A further 820 people have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of infections to 288,953. The new data from the Department of Health and Social Care takes into account fatalities in hospitals, care homes and the wider community. It is a different toll to the 38 people who tested positive for coronavirus and died in hospital in England, with just one death earlier recorded in Wales and no new fatalities reported in Scotland in the last 24 hours. The higher figure comes three weeks after shops were allowed to reopen in England - a gap that is significant because it generally takes several weeks before changes in lockdown policy show up in death data. Since then lockdown has been eased even further, with cafes, restaurants and pubs allowed to reopen - though since these measures only came into force a week ago, they are unlikely to be reflected in data yet. Village cricket also made a return today as outdoor pools and lidos reopened, with indoor gyms set to follow suit in a few weeks. The government has been keeping a close eye on both infection and death totals as measures are eased. While today's total might be a one-off, if it is repeated then it could lead to calls for tougher measures to be reimposed. Groups of people enjoy the sunshine today and eat outside in Battersea, Northcote Road, after lockdown regulations were relaxed Groups of people sat outside in Soho, central London, as people started to get back to a 'normal life' after lockdown Drinking on the beach during sunny weather on the seafront in Brighton today as people took advantage of the good weather Northcote Road in Battersea will effectively become pedestrianised at weekends until further notice - with the empty road space being made available for businesses to use so that their customers can maintain social distancing rules The fatalities in England, which previously brought the total number of confirmed deaths in hospital to 29,051, involved patients aged between 40 and 98 and three patients, aged 65 to 86 years, had no known underlying health conditions. Another seven deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result. A total of 2,490 patients have died north of the border after testing positive for the virus, no change on Friday's figure. Figures earlier showed that 18,340 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by seven from 18,333 the day before. A total of six patients are in intensive care with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, a fall of six on the previous day. In Wales, there was one more death, bringing the total to 1,541, and seven new positive cases, equalling 15,946 in all. The figures come as employers and employees tell MailOnline Boris Johnson's clarion call for the nation's workforce to return to offices to save Britain's economy will be treated with caution. The Prime Minister urged businesses operating remotely to 'get back into work' to breathe life back into the cash-starved high street and jump-start the recovery. He and Chancellor Rishi Sunak are said to be aghast at the impact empty offices are having on town centre shops and restaurants and worried that widespread homeworking is wrecking the UK's productivity. Mr Johnson, who wore a mask for the first time in public yesterday, said: 'It's very important that people should be going back to work if they can now.' Players, such as these cricketers in Farnham, Surrey, have been given strict guidelines to follow during the opening weekend of the sport's return. One of the rules include not being allowed to socialise inside clubhouses Village cricket returned in the UK for the first time since lockdown began on Saturday, with matches taking place across the country (pictured: a batsman his a shot at Kew Cricket club in south west London) A couple at Tilford Cricket Club in Farnham, Surrey (pictured) enjoy the return of cricket in the sunshine, as temperatures are set to hit 74F this weekend Diners and drinkers spaced out at tables on Northcote road in Battesea, south London, today A swimmer dives into Parliament Hill Lido, on the first day of its reopening since the easing of lockdown following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease But employers who have spent months adapting to coronavirus lockdown are hesitant and say some of their workers do not want to return while the constantly changing guidance is creating confusion. Companies have been overhauling the way they work to cope from home, while simultaneously saving a fortune on lofty overheads such as rent and bills. Instead of embracing a stampede back into the office, employers grappling with the PM's announcement have told MailOnline they will tread cautiously. The opening of restaurants and pubs, which has been greeted by people in England who today once again enjoyed socially distanced meals and drinks, has started to revive the prospects of high streets. Yet businesses which depend on getting customers through the door on a daily basis, such as the beleaguered Pret a Manger sandwich shop, are in desperate need of workers to return to offices. In other coronavirus developments in Britain today: Health experts swung threw their weight behind the government's move to make face coverings mandatory in shops; Ministers have been braced for another wave of Covid-19 in the winter as Government scientists have 'strong evidence' the virus survives ten times longer in the cold; Drinkers hit the pubs for the first Friday night in months as the nation continues to ease out of lockdown; The R rate may be above one in the South West as SAGE revealed the Midlands is the only region where it is definitely below Government scientists warned yesterday South West England's coronavirus R rate could now have edged above one, as they admitted the Midlands is now the only region where it is definitely below the dreaded number. Number 10's expert advisory panel SAGE revealed the reproduction rate the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects is still between 0.7 and 0.9 as a whole for the UK, meaning it hasn't changed in almost two months. But SAGE admitted the top-end estimate has risen slightly for England and warned it could be as high as 1.1 in the South West, home to Britain's stay-cation hotspots of Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. London's rate was feared to be above one last week but has now dropped to between 0.7 and 1. Keeping the rate below one is considered key because it means the outbreak is shrinking as not everyone who catches it passes it on. But the estimates do not reflect the lockdown being relaxed last weekend, with scientists warning it is too early to judge whether 'Super Saturday' triggered a spike in cases. Separate data released by the advisers also claimed the UK's current growth rate how the number of new cases is changing day-by-day is between minus five and minus two per cent, offering more proof that Britain's Covid-19 crisis is definitely shrinking. Top experts warned the findings mean it is unlikely the UK will eliminate the virus before the winter but confessed that the R rate is no longer a useful number because transmission is so low. In a SAGE file published yesterday, scientists said: 'When there are few cases, R is impossible to estimate with accuracy and will have wide confidence intervals that are likely to include 1. This does not necessarily mean that the epidemic is increasing but could be the result of greater uncertainty.' Department of Health chiefs announced on Friday just 48 more lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths, taking the official number of victims in all settings to 44,650. It means the average daily number of fatalities has now dropped to 74 - the lowest since March 24 and a 28 per cent fall in a week. For comparison, 85 coronavirus deaths were recorded yesterday and 137 were announced last Friday. Other promising data released from a government surveillance testing scheme suggested the outbreak is still shrinking but only slowly. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) claimed just one in every 3,900 people are currently infected. Number 10's scientific advisers today revealed the R rate the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects is still between 0.7 and 0.9 as a whole for the UK. But SAGE admitted it could be one or higher in London, the Midlands, the North East and Yorkshire, the South East and the South West. Outbreaks could even be growing in London and the South West by 2 per cent each day, according to the latest estimate of growth rate Separate data released by the government panel also claimed the UK's current growth rate how the number of new cases is changing day-by-day could be between 0 per cent, meaning it has stagnated, or minus 6 per cent HOW HAS THE R RATE CHANGED IN THE UK? AREA ENGLAND UK --- EAST LONDON MIDLANDS NORTH EAST NORTH WEST SOUTH EAST SOUTH WEST THIS WEEK 0.8-1.0 0.7-0.9 --- 0.7-1.0 0.7-1.0 0.7-0.9 0.7-1.0 0.7-1.0 0.8-1.0 0.7-1.1 LAST WEEK 0.8-0.9 0.7-0.9 --- 0.7-0.9 0.8-1.1 0.8-1.0 0.8-1.0 0.7-0.9 0.7-1.0 0.7-1.0 Advertisement HOW HAS THE GROWTH RATE CHANGED? AREA ENGLAND UK --- EAST LONDON MIDLANDS NORTH EAST NORTH WEST SOUTH EAST SOUTH WEST THIS WEEK -4% to -1% -5% to -2% --- -4% to +1% -5% to +1% -6% to -2% -5% to -1% -5% to -1% -4% to 0% -6% to +1% LAST WEEK -5% to -2% -6% to 0% --- -5% to 0% -4% to +2% -4% to 0% -5% to 0% -4% to 0% -5% to 0% -7% to +2% Advertisement COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS 'GETTING WORSE' AS CASES DOUBLE TO NEARLY 12MILLION IN SIX WEEKS The World Health Organization has warned the coronavirus pandemic has still not reached its peak as lockdown measures are relaxed to make international travel easier. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the UN agency, said the virus is not under control 'in most of the world' and is 'getting worse'. He revealed the total number of cases of coronavirus worldwide has doubled in the last six weeks, with almost 12million confirmed infections since the pandemic first began in China. The pandemic - which has seen 550,000 people die worldwide - is now being driven by outbreaks in the US, Brazil and India. There are now concerns that Africa - which was spared from the first six months of the crisis - is seeing rocketing numbers of cases. Infections there have risen by 24 per cent in a week to more than half a million, with almost half in South Africa. It took four months for the first one million cases to be declared worldwide - the milestone was hit on April 3 after the pandemic began in late December in the city of Wuhan. But since then it has taken only three months for another 11million cases to be confirmed, showing the breakneck speed at which the virus spread worldwide. Advertisement Department of Health figures released yesterday showed almost 250,000 tests were processed on July 8. The number includes antibody tests for frontline NHS and care workers. But officials have refused to say how many people have actually been tested since May 22, instead only revealing how many swabs were carried out. It means the exact number of Britons who have been swabbed for the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes Covid-19 has been a mystery for seven weeks. A further 512 more cases of Covid-19 were announced today. Government statistics show the official size of the UK's outbreak now stands at least 288,133 cases. But the actual size of the outbreak, which began to spiral out of control in March, is estimated to be in the millions, based on antibody testing data. The daily death data does not represent how many Covid-19 patients died within the last 24 hours it is only how many fatalities have been reported and registered with the authorities. The data does not always match updates provided by the home nations. Department of Health officials work off a different time cut-off, meaning daily updates from Scotland as well as Northern Ireland are always out of sync. And the count announced by NHS England every afternoon which only takes into account deaths in hospitals does not match up with the DH figures because they work off a different recording system. For instance, some deaths announced by NHS England bosses will have already been counted by the Department of Health, which records fatalities 'as soon as they are available'. NHS England today recorded 22 lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths in hospitals across the country. No Covid-19 fatalities were recorded in all settings in the rest of the home nations. Northern Ireland has now gone longer than a week without suffering a death. More than 1,000 infected Brits died each day during the darkest days of the crisis in mid-April but the number of victims had been dropping by around 20 to 30 per cent week-on-week since the start of May. The rolling seven-day average daily death toll currently stands at 74 and has stayed under three figures for a week. Official data shows the average number of Covid-19 fatalities recorded each day has dropped 28 per cent in a week. It comes as government scientists today revealed the overall R rate for the UK has not changed but England's has risen slightly from 0.8-0.9 to 0.8-1.0. An R of 1 means the coronavirus spreads one-to-one and the outbreak is neither growing nor shrinking. Higher, and it will get larger as more people get infected; lower, and the outbreak will shrink and eventually fade away. At the start of Britain's outbreak it was thought to be around 4 and tens of thousands of people were infected, meaning the number of cases spiralled out of control. The R has now been between 0.7 and 0.9 since the end of May, according to the Government, but experts say it will start to fluctuate more as the number of cases gets lower. ENGLAND'S COVID-19 OUTBREAK IS STILL SHRINKING AND CASES HAVE HALVED IN A WEEK England's coronavirus outbreak is still shrinking and the number of new cases have more than halved in a week, according to the results of a government surveillance testing scheme. The Office for National Statistics, which tracks the spread of the virus, estimates 1,700 people are getting infected with Covid-19 each day outside of hospitals and care homes down from 3,500 last week. The estimate based on eight new cases out of 25,000 people who are swabbed regularly also claimed there are just 14,000 people who are currently infected. This is the equivalent of 0.03 per cent of the population of the whole country, or one in every 3,900 people. It is down from 0.04 per cent last week and 0.09 per cent a week before. Separate figures, from King's College London, suggest the outbreak in England has stopped shrinking but its estimate is lower than the ONS's at around 1,200 new cases per day. Department of Health chiefs have announced an average of just 546 new positive test results per day for the past week but up to half of infected patients are thought to never show symptoms. A report by Public Health England and the University of Cambridge predicted on Monday that the true number of daily cases is more like 5,300, ranging somewhere between 3,500 and 7,600. Advertisement The fewer cases there are, the greater the chance that one or two 'super-spreading' events will seriously impact the R rate estimate, which are at least three weeks behind. Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's chief scientific adviser, explained last month that the UK is approaching the point where the R will no longer be an accurate measure for this reason. The Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) a subgroup of SAGE use data on the number of Covid-19 deaths and positive tests to work out how quickly outbreaks are growing. Monitoring confirmed cases, hospitalisations and deaths is a more accurate way to identify local hotspots, they say. As the number of people with the virus falls, the data measuring them will be more volatile and affected by small outliers or unusual events. A large margin of error could mean one 'super-spreading' event, when one person infects a lot of others, could send the R rate for one area soaring, mathematicians warn. R rates also fluctuate depending on mobility, and are likely to shoot up when lockdown eases because infected patients will come into contact with more people, on average - especially if they show none of the tell-tale symptoms. But a temporarily high R rate is not necessarily cause for concern if the actual number of infections stays low. For example, if there are 1,000 people infected with the virus and they all infect 0.8 people each on average, or 800 in total, the R will be 0.8. But if 995 of them infect 0.8 people each, on average, but five of them don't realise they are ill and infect 10 people each, there are now a total of 846 extra patients. This means the R rate is 0.846 - a marginal increase. However, if there are only 10 people with the virus in an area, with nine of them at an R of 0.8, and one of them is a super-spreader and infects 10 others, there are 17 patients from those 10 and the R rate has risen to 1.72. SAGE files published today, from SPI-M, saw scientists explain to the Government in June: 'Estimates of R are less reliable and less useful in determining the state of the epidemic as cases decrease. There are three main reasons for this: 'Firstly, when there are few cases, R is impossible to estimate with accuracy and will have wide confidence intervals that are likely to include 1. This does not necessarily mean that the epidemic is increasing but could be the result of greater uncertainty. 'Secondly, as incidence decreases, R will tend towards 1, and has to be evaluated in conjunction with incidence. The policy implications of R = 1 when there are 1,000 new infections per day are very different to when there are 100,000 per day. 'Finally, R is an average measure. When incidence is low, an outbreak in one place could result in estimates of R for the entire region to become higher than 1. Conversely, small, local outbreaks will not be detected. Estimates of R based on small numbers may also not capture change in the area fast enough to inform policy in a useful way.' As the country moves further out of lockdown officials say the growth rate of the outbreak - the speed at which cases are increasing or decreasing - is more important. For the UK as a whole, the current growth rate, which reflects how quickly the number of infections is changing day by day, is minus 5 per cent to minus 2 per cent. Last week advisers warned it may have been at 0 per cent, meaning it had stagnated. If the growth rate is greater than zero, and therefore positive, then the disease will grow, and if the growth rate is less than zero, then the disease will shrink. It is an approximation of the change in the number of infections each day, and the size of the growth rate indicates the speed of change. It takes into account various data sources, including the government-run Covid-19 surveillance testing scheme which is carried out by the ONS and published every Thursday. For example, a growth rate of 5 per cent is faster than a growth rate of 1 per cent, while a disease with a growth rate of minus 4 per cent will be shrinking faster than a disease with growth rate of minus 1 per cent. Neither measure - R or growth rate - is better than the other but provides information that is useful in monitoring the spread of a disease, experts say. Professor James Naismith, of the University of Oxford, said: 'That the number of cases is falling slightly is to be welcomed. This suggests, that so far, relaxation of the lockdown has not precipitated a second wave. 'It has to be emphasised that no one knows what the safe level of relaxation is for the UK and there is a delay between action and consequence. The virus is here and we could easily see a surge in cases if a mistake is made. MEASURING THE R RATE IS NO LONGER USEFUL - ESPECIALLY ON A REGIONAL LEVEL, SAGE WAS TOLD LAST MONTH Measuring the reproduction rate of the virus - the R - will not be useful now that the outbreak has shrunk, according to files released from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) today. SPI-M-O, the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, Operational - which advises the Government on the possible trajectory of the outbreak, said regional R rates are definitely no longer useful on June 12. When giving its estimates of the R value - the reproduction rate of the coronavirus - it cautioned that the figures are not useful when there are small numbers of people testing positive. The R rate is currently between 0.7 and 0.9 for the UK as a whole, meaning that every 10 infected people pass the virus on to between seven and nine others, on average. But SPI-M-O warned: 'Estimates of R are less reliable and less useful in determining the state of the epidemic as cases decrease. There are three main reasons for this: 'Firstly, when there are few cases, R is impossible to estimate with accuracy and will have wide confidence intervals that are likely to include 1. This does not necessarily mean that the epidemic is increasing but could be the result of greater uncertainty. 'Secondly, as incidence decreases, R will tend towards 1, and has to be evaluated in conjunction with incidence. The policy implications of R = 1 when there are 1,000 new infections per day are very different to when there are 100,000 per day. 'Finally, R is an average measure. When incidence is low, an outbreak in one place could result in estimates of R for the entire region to become higher than 1. Conversely, small, local outbreaks will not be detected. Estimates of R based on small numbers may also not capture change in the area fast enough to inform policy in a useful way.' The scientists said they were so unconvinced about the accuracy or usefulness of measuring the reproduction rate that it shouldn't be used for policy decisions such as imposing regional restrictions or lockdowns. They added: 'Estimates of R at regional levels are subject to the same difficulties in interpretation of national estimates, but amplified because of the smaller numbers of cases. 'Publishing large numbers of estimates increases the statistical chance that one of them is artificially high. SPI-M-O does not have confidence that regional R estimates are sufficiently robust to inform regional policy decisions.' Advertisement 'Much more important than an individual decision to relax this or that measure, will be a willingness to admit error and reverse the decision in the light of new data. This how science works, with new and incomplete understanding, honest mistakes end up being made. 'With more data, errors are corrected without blame and shame, everyone moves forward. Things will end very badly for the UK, if the decision to relax or lock down a specific activity becomes a test of consistency or a contest to see who was "right all along". A dose of humility is called for.' He added: 'The government is correct to draw attention to the problem with fixating on the R-value it is not currently a particularly useful number. 'What is now crucial is that the testing regime is sampling sufficiently to detect any local hot spots, that the individual is supported to rapidly isolate, contacts are rapidly traced, rapidly tested and if needs be rapidly isolated. There is considerable room for improvement in this end-to-end process. 'These numbers also tell us that we are unlikely to eliminate the virus from the UK before the winter. In any event the virus has become global, without a vaccine we have to plan for its presence. 'It seems likely that the onset of colder weather will see the virus begin to spread more rapidly. We have a short breathing space to get ourselves organised to cope with the winter.' Professor Oliver Johnson, who specialises in information theory at University of Bristol, said: 'The fact that R is still estimated to be below 1 across the UK implies that the epidemic is continuing to shrink overall. 'This is consistent with the numbers observed through positive tests and deaths, which both continue to decline. There is uncertainty on these estimates because R cannot be directly measured and inferring its value becomes hard when the number of cases is low. 'For this reason it is not possible to rule out the possibility that the epidemic is growing in some regions, though values in the middle of the ranges given are most likely. 'There appear to be no particular trends in these numbers compared with last week, and the overall UK estimate has remained consistent at 0.7-0.9 over the last 7 weeks, suggesting that the weekly rate of decline is roughly constant. 'However it is too early to judge the effect of "Super Saturday" openings based on these numbers, since any infections that took place last weekend are unlikely to have led to positive tests soon enough to influence them.' It comes after the results of a government surveillance testing scheme yesterday revealed England's coronavirus outbreak is still shrinking and the number of new cases each day have more than halved in a week. The Office for National Statistics, which tracks the spread of the virus, estimates 1,700 people are getting infected with Covid-19 each day outside of hospitals and care homes down from 3,500 last week. The estimate based on eight new cases out of 25,000 people who are swabbed regularly also claimed there are just 14,000 people who are currently infected. This is the equivalent of 0.03 per cent of the population of the whole country, or one in every 3,900 people. It is down from 0.04 per cent last week and 0.09 per cent a week before. Separate figures, from King's College London, suggest the outbreak in England has stopped shrinking but its estimate is lower than the ONS's at around 1,200 new cases per day. Department of Health chiefs have announced an average of just 546 new positive test results per day for the past week but up to half of infected patients are thought to never show symptoms. A report by Public Health England and the University of Cambridge predicted on Monday that the true number of daily cases is more like 5,300 but could even be as high as 7,600. Ambassador of Portugal to the UK Manuel Lobo Antunes has expressed his governments disappointment that British tourists will not be arriving soon (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Portugals government will make no attempt to hide its disappointment at being left off a list of countries where travellers can avoid having to quarantine when arriving in England, the countrys ambassador to the UK said. The new rules came into force on Friday with the list including popular destinations such as Spain, Germany, France and Italy, but notably omitting Portugal. Manuel Lobo Antunes wrote in The Daily Telegraph that Portugal was the first European country to receive a Safe Travels Stamp, which the World Travel and Tourism Council gives in recognition of health standards amid the coronavirus pandemic. The economic impact of the UKs decision to keep Portugal under quarantine is immense and there are fears it could be lasting Manuel Lobos Antunes He wrote: In this context, as Portuguese ambassador to the UK, I make no attempt to hide my disappointment, or that of my government, in the fact that Portugal was not included on the list of countries whose travellers are exempt from quarantine on their return to the UK. He added: We feel the scientific arguments supporting the UK Governments decision, which we obviously respect, including data, models and other factors, were lacking in detail. The economic impact of the UKs decision to keep Portugal under quarantine is immense and there are fears it could be lasting if not scrapped at the next review in just over two weeks. Mr Lobo Antunes praised the Government as a loyal interlocutor and said Lisbon was confident of welcoming our British friends back to Portugal very soon. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) It comes after the Government announced that the Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England have updated their coronavirus assessments of Serbia based on the latest data and the country had been removed from the list. It follows nights of violent clashes in Serbian capital Belgrade by thousands of people protesting against coronavirus lockdown measures. The Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive decided to follow the same approach as England, but the Scottish Government has produced a list of just safe 39 countries which does not include Spain or Serbia. While Labour welcomed the UK Governments relaxation of the quarantine for some countries, it has criticised ministers for failing to secure agreements with more destinations to accept UK visitors without restrictions. Shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon said: The fact they have been unable to negotiate air bridges is an indictment of their failure to tackle the crisis at home. Anti-corruption campaigners Global Witness have revealed more details about a move by US prosecutors to seize a three million dollar Miami penthouse belonging to Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso, the son of Republic of Congos President Denis Sassou Nguesso. Denis Christel allegedly embezzled millions of dollars in public funds from the Congos state oil company, the Societe Nationale des Petroles du Congo (SNPC), according to US federal prosecutors. Using a network of shell companies and nominees accounts, the presidents son laundered the money to buy real estate and luxury goods in the US, France and elsewhere. US prosecutors say Denis Christel spent $29m over a period of 10 years buying assets and paying for an extravagant lifestyle. The US Department of Justice told Global Witness that Denis Christel funnelled money from SNPC into accounts in the names of shell companies such as Mercuria, Atlas Logistique and SCI Etoile, using the Congolese subsidiary of BGFI Bank Group, a Gabonese bank. One of the nominee accounts was in the name of a son of a former Gabonese government official, described as Associate A, a long-time acquaintance of Denis-Christel. Associate A created fictitious invoices on behalf of the 45-year-old Congolese politician, including one invoice for $3.5m for kitchen appliances and other expenses, Global Witness said. Cash for contracts Denis Christel opened several US bank accounts, some allegedly using an alias, and lied about his profession and income. As well as siphoning funds from the Congolese state oil company, the presidents son also accepted bribes of more than $1.5m, the complaint says, in exchange for contracts on behalf of SNPC. He also then ensured that companies he had an interest in were given the status of local partner for the oil projects. Besides Associate A, and Denis Christels first wife, Danielle Ognanosso, an unnamed Florida lawyer was also implicated in the alleged corruption and purchase of the Miami property. Story continues Global Witness said it approached both Denis Christel and the government in Brazzaville for comment, but it did not receive a response. SNPC said it would closely examine the accusations before responding further, while BGFI Group did not respond to a request for comment, according to Global Witness. Masterpiece penthouse In the civil forfeiture case filed in Miami, federal prosecutors are suing to seize the Congo condo, penthouse unit #6107 at 900 Biscayne Blvd, reported the Miami Herald on 18 June. Prosecutors say Denis Christel, transferred the deed to the property, purchased in October 2012, to his wife Nathalie Bumba-Pembe, to hide his ownership. Neither Denis Christel nor his wife are named are named as defendants or charged with a crime. The penthouse is currently listed for sale at $2,999,000, described as having 3 bedrooms and in immaculate condition, with over $1.5m spent in renovations, furnishings and electronics. Denis Christels mansion in the sky on the 61st floor, provides sweeping views of the ocean, bay, Miami Beach skyline, cruise ships and sunrise, a real estate advert says. Major international corruption cases of public notoriety involving members of the presidential family or top government ministers remain to date without response from the Congolese justice system, said a number of Congolese civil society groups in a joint statement. The attempt to seize assets in Florida is the latest by authorities around the world to uncover and seize the alleged ill-gotten gains of the Sassou Nguesso family, which has ruled Congo for some 35 years. French authorities in 2015 seized their luxury apartment in Paris. Over the last few months, we have lived through a generation-defining crisis. The impact to our economies, livelihoods and collective well-being cannot be understated as we have seen the effects a global event can have on our local communities. This interconnectedness reinforces the need for us to move forward, together, with a common goal. The pandemic can be a learning moment for us all. While we were unprepared for a global crisis of this scale, there is another crisis we know is happening climate change. As we rebuild from the pandemic, we must do so in a way that takes climate change into consideration and builds on the progress we have made to achieve our global emission-reduction goals. We have an opportunity to set ourselves on track towards a sustainable future for all. But this future cannot be achieved without critically reflecting on how we live, work and play. More than 80 per cent of Canadians live in cities, and around the world cities account for 70 per cent of carbon emissions. Our ability to achieve a low-carbon economy rests on our ability to drastically reduce the impact our cities have on the environment. Rebuilding our post-pandemic world and making our cities smarter and more sustainable is an important first step. The concept of a smart city one that leverages technology to gather data that can be used to improve operations, efficiency and the overall experience for citizens is not a new concept. But it has yet to be realized in a meaningful way across Canada. While individual cities have started to embrace smaller scale projects, collaboration between cities and across the country to create a connected smart city ecosystem will drive even greater impact on emission reductions. To get there, we need to transform two major components of a smart city: the buildings that make up the city, and the infrastructure that supports, connects and powers it all. The digital transformation of buildings leads to increased efficiency and connected technology allows building managers to make intelligent decisions on energy consumption and optimize the buildings assets in real time. Beyond making our buildings more energy efficient, the pandemic has caused a rethink in how we use these buildings. Smart, sustainable practices can, and should, be a part of redefining these spaces. Office buildings are one clear example. While return to office efforts are underway, how we utilize buildings will be different, with remote working becoming a bigger part of the new work environment. Business owners and building managers must evaluate how to best use the space moving forward. Will they transform into multi-purpose spaces as companies look to consolidate real estate? Will there be an increasing need to understand when and how spaces are being used, to keep occupants safe? Smart technologies can provide clarity into many of these unknowns as we plan for post-pandemic building usage. Industry reports cite that a smart building with integrated systems can see 3050 per cent in energy savings. While these results are significant on their own, they become exponentially greater when you have large-scale adoption in buildings across a city. Smart buildings play an important role in a low-carbon future. But our infrastructure must also be modernized and digitized. Our energy grids, for example, must meet our growing demand for power while supporting and incorporating new power generation, including renewables. Doing so will reduce our reliance on centralized energy producers and allow for small-scale power generation and storage technologies to offset the growing demand placed on utilities. Or in the instance of a major outage, provide power to critical infrastructure such as hospitals and airports that cannot afford downtime. Truly smart cities need smart buildings and smart infrastructure to work in harmony and enable efficient and reliable energy consumption. Though many cities and communities may have been hesitant to implement what can feel like major projects, now is the time to explore, test and model these solutions. Among the many lessons that will be learned in the wake of the pandemic, one point is clear: we need leaders in business, industry and government to work together and equip themselves with the resources necessary to mitigate our other global crisis, climate change. Susan Uthayakumar, is president of Schneider Electric Canada, a global leader in energy management and automation and Fortune 500 company. Two people have been arrested after protesters dyed the Trafalgar Square fountains in central London red. The Animal Rebellion group, which says animal farming is risking future pandemics, warned government ministers have blood on their hands. While some activists waded fountains waters, others held placards and staged a socially distanced protest in Trafalgar Square. The Metropolitan Police said two people had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and taken into custody. The protesters said they wanted to raise attention to animal exploitation which they say caused the coronavirus pandemic. We are here today to demand that the government prevent future pandemics by ending animal farming and transitioning to a plant-based food system, the group tweeted. It added the government must protect the people, not support climate-destructive and exploitative industries. Stephanie Zupan, of Animal Rebellion said: The government must begin a transition towards a plant-based food system or risk future zoonotic pandemics of catastrophic proportions. Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale Show all 10 1 /10 Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale Pangolins confiscated from smugglers are put inside a container during a press conference in Medan, North Sumatra AP Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale A puppy being sold for food at a market in Vietnam We Animals Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale A bear under anaesthetic is strapped to a metal fram and taken away to have have its bile drained to be used in medicine AFP/Getty Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale Bears are caged before having their bile drained at a farm in China. Bear bile has been in use in Chinese traditional medicine for centuries. The active ingredient, ursodeoxycholic acid, is often used to treat liver diseases. It is available across the world as a synthetic drug Getty Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale Squirrels for sale at Chatuchak market in Thailand We Animals Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale A dog sits in a cage destined for the dinner table in Xin Yuan wild animal market in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou AFP/Getty Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale Pangolins are believed to be the worlds most trafficked animal. This pair were saved from local traffickers and kept at the Ugandan Wildlife Authority in Kampala AFP/Getty Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale Factory farming of tens of millions of mink, fox racoon dogs, chinchillas and rabbits in other countries "presents an unnecessary and unacceptable risk for both human and animal health,' Humane Society International says Yuri Tutov/AFP via Getty Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale Live birds for sale at Bird Alley in Taiwan We Animals Stop the Wildlife Trade: Live animals for sale A customs officer gives water to seized pangolins before a news conference at the customs department in Bangkok Reuters Scientists believe Covid-19 developed at a market in China where species that dont mix in the wild were kept and slaughtered in close confinement. The group said protests were also held in other cities, including Bristol, Brighton, Amsterdam, Barcelona and New York. Animal Rebellion, which promotes mass civil disobedience in full public view, is also calling on the government to acknowledge that three out of every four new infectious diseases originate from animals, as stated by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The warnings from Covid-19 could not be starker, said Ms Zupan. Another protester, Kieran Blyth, added: The government are playing with the potential of tens of thousands more deaths. Members pointed to the Agriculture Bill going through the House of Lords, which could lead to imports of meat from lower-welfare animals. A government spokesperson said: Every livestock farm in England, regardless of scale, must comply with our comprehensive animal-welfare legislation. We take potential breaches of animal-welfare legislation very seriously, and where welfare regulations are breached, appropriate action is taken. 11.07.2020 LISTEN His best friend was an Ewe. My paternal uncle, like myself, was a Fante but he had come to love this friend of his like his blood brother. To him, he was that friend he never had. He spoke so highly of him. We knew him as Uncle Edem. He had stuck closer to our uncle more than even his brothers; from their secondary school days right through to university. All was well with our uncle and his inseparable friend until the unthinkable happened Uncle Edem bolted with the profit of a business dealing. We knew they shared a lot in common but didnt know they had a business together. It seemed this profit was the biggest the business had ever realized since its inception. Initially, it seemed like a dream. My uncle thought his friend with whom he shared everything was only playing a prank on him. Even though Uncle Edem had packed out of his residence around the same time the incident occurred, he thought his Ewe friend was too honest to actually think of absconding with what wasnt his. Indeed, Uncle Edem did the unthinkable. As the days went by, it was no more a joke. His phone was not reachable. His brothers did not know his whereabouts. They combed his village and never found him. They searched everywhere he could probably go hiding but all was in vain. Uncle Edem was gone with all the money! My uncle was shattered. He fell ill from his brokenheartedness. The trust he had for a friend had been crushed into pieces. He recuperated from his illness after a while but thereafter, his perception about life changed. His views about people began to be defined by the experiences of his past especially the bad ones. That was when he arrived at his damning philosophy all Ewes were demons! Our uncle will sit us down and advise us passionately about how wicked Ewes were. He will use his experience to explain to us how ungrateful they were and how we should never dare to make friends of such. He corroborated his experience with those of others he had heard of how Ewes had mistreated their benefactors and even bewitched them to steal what didnt belong to them. We all thought his pieces of advice were a morsel of joke until he stood vehemently against the marriage of a distant cousin to an Ewe. He swore to never make it happen as long as he was alive. Fortunately or unfortunately, he was still alive and the planned marriage died. The next time, one of his sisters who had been single for God knows how long was about to get married, too. This uncle started waging his war against Ewes again. This time, he had been able to convert others into his religion of hate and they were convinced as well that Ewes were demons. Some had even recounted how some Ewes they knew had used voodoo to kill their own blood. It sounded quite convincing that it was better this aunt of ours remained single than get married to a man who had been condemned even before standing trial. Not too long after, our anti-Ewe uncle embarked on a trip for one of his usual businesses. We had a call that he had been rushed to the hospital. He was one of the few who survived after their bus was involved in a fatal accident. On reaching there, the nurses narrated to us how he would have lost his life if they had brought him in late. He asked us to thank a young man who brought them. He had called on an ambulance and made sure he came to the hospital with them. As though that was not enough, he had helped to donate blood to our uncle who needed it badly because he had lost so much of it after the accident. We were absolutely delighted about the turn of events. We thanked this angel of a young man so profusely. We were sad that our uncle had been involved in such an incident but, on the flip side, we were shocked such human angels still existed. Our uncle regained consciousness a few minutes after 12noon. The doctor came in to tell us. We had arrived at 10am. All this while, we had not bothered to ask our angel his name. We fretted about the state of our uncle while he sat in a somber mood on a slab outside the OPD (outpatients department) with a bag at his back. He walked into the ward with us. When he noticed our uncle was fully awake now, he handed over the bag at his back to us. It was our uncles bag of money for his business trip. We were lost for words. We gaped, What did you say your name was again!? My name is Edem. I am an Ewe, he whispered and left. Our heads gradually tilted towards our uncle as he cringed in pain. It was not pain from his wounds. It was regret for a needless war he had waged against a tribe for what just one of them did to him. And that is how he renamed himself Edem to signify his renewal of heart. Until today, one lesson that has been etched on the depths of our hearts is that it is unfair to mistreat a people because one of them mistreated you. One may have been your demon but another may be your angel. Our perception about life should be defined by the content of peoples character, not their tribe. People do what they do not because of where they come from but because of who they are. If people do right, it is because of their character, not tribe. When they do wrong, blame their character, not tribe. Life must be looked at beyond tribes, races and other labels. When people from a particular tribe do you wrong, remember those from that same tribe who did you right. When you remember the demons from a tribe, dont forget the angels. If one person from a tribe does you wrong, dont blacklist everyone from that tribe. Everybody shouldnt pay for the sins one person committed. Those who hurt you may have the same name as those who will help you. Be measured in how you treat people. Your helper may come from among the same people who hurt you! Kobina Ansah is a Ghanaian playwright and Chief Scribe of Scribe Communications ( www.scribecommltd.com ), an Accra-based writing firm. Connect with him via [email protected] Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday seemed to question the government over its claim that the 750 megawatt (MW) Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power project in Madhya Pradesh as Asias largest. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Friday dedicated the game-changer Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project, which the government has also said will reduce emission equivalent to approximately 15 lakh tonne of carbon dioxide every year, to the nation through video conferencing. The former Congress president tweeted just one word and tagged a post from the Twitter handle of the Prime Ministers Office. Asatyagrahi! Gandhi posted. The word in Hindi means someone who practises the policy of untruth. Before Rahul Gandhi, the chief of the Congress Karnataka unit DK Shivakumar had sought clarification from the Union power minister over the governments claim, saying that a 2,000MW solar plant already exists in Pavagada of Karnatakas Tumakuru district. BJP Central Govt is claiming today that it inaugurated Asias Largest Solar Plant of 750 MW at Rewa, MP. What then is the 2000 MW Solar Plant in Pavagada, Karnataka which was built in just 3 years by @INCKarnataka govt and has been operational since 2018? Shivakumar asked in one of his tweets. The unique thing about the 2000 MW Pavagada Mega Solar Park was that not a single acre of land was acquired from the farmers. All 13,000 acres have been leased from the farmers who are being given yearly rent. Karnataka model of Renewable Energy was accepted as the best in India, he said in another post. The Pavagada solar park was developed by the Karnataka Solar Park Development Corporation Limited (KSPDCL), a joint venture between the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and the Karnataka Renewable Energy (KREDL). Earlier this year, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had tweeted about the worlds largest solar park at Pavagada. India Takes Lead in Clean Energy: Worlds largest solar park at Pavagada in Karnataka is now operational. Generating 2050MW of clean energy, the park is located on land leased from farmers, utilising the drought-hit area & adding to farmers income, Goyal had tweeted on January 19, 2020. Beijing: A photo exhibition on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took place in Chinas capital Beijing to commemorate his 141st birth anniversary. The exhibition of Sardar Patel's historical photographs took place on Monday in the Indian Embassy which showcased the important role he played in India's struggle for freedom and in nation-building in the early years of Independence, a press release issued by the Embassy said. The photos offered a rare glimpse into many key moments such as the Bardoli Satyagraha and the Arzi Hukumat campaign. "The movie "Sardar" portrayed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's indispensable contribution to the making of modern India, particularly during the many crucial moments in the lead up to the achievement of Independence and the integration of the princely states," the release said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Inside Hook Well, this is a new one: Indonesian airline Garuda Indonesia has announced its getting rid of face masks for flight attendants in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic after passengers complained they were unable to see the attendants smiles. Many Garuda customers have complained about the flight attendants wearing masks as [the passengers] cannot see whether or not the [flight attendants] are smiling or frowning, Garuda CEO Irfan Setiaputra said during a webinar last month. Oregon broke its single-day record for the most coronavirus cases recorded Saturday, two days after breaking the previous record. The Oregon Health Authority reported 409 new cases of COVID-19 but no new deaths. The average number of coronavirus cases a day this week was 282, compared with 268 last week. Officials said Saturdays high number of cases is partially due to a transition to a new reporting system, which prevented the processing of positive cases for a few hours Thursday. Those cases are included in Saturdays count. Recent state modeling of infection rates and hospitalizations expects that Oregon will have exponential growth in COVID-19 cases, estimating the state could see anywhere from 1,100 to 7,300 new cases per day by the end of July. Despite that, the COVID-19 survival rate in Oregon hospitals has improved significantly. Since Oregon began reopening, public health officials say theyve seen the spread of COVID-19 when people get together to celebrate with family and friends. They also said theres more spreading among social activities involving groups of younger people. And COVID-19 cases have been rising among Oregonians in their 20s. Where the cases are by county: Baker (2), Benton (6), Clackamas (29), Columbia (1), Coos (2), Deschutes (15), Douglas (2), Hood River (2), Jackson (5), Jefferson (4), Josephine (3), Klamath (4), Lane (13), Lincoln (1), Linn (2), Malheur (16), Marion (61), Morrow (7), Multnomah (99), Polk (2), Sherman (1), Umatilla (50), Union (1), Wallowa (1), Wasco (10), Washington (55), Yamhill (15). Since it began: Oregon has reported 11,851 total coronavirus cases and 232 deaths. -- Celina Tebor ctebor@oregonian.com @CelinaTebor Interestingly, this is not the first time wearing masks during a pandemic has divided American public opinion. According to a recent study, face masks were resisted more than any other measure taken to combat the influenza epidemic of 1918-19. One San Franciscan was so upset by that citys mask ordinance he mailed a bomb to the citys chief public health officer. The bomb, fortunately, was discovered and defused before it could explode. Things havent reached that point in Oklahoma, but the argument has gotten intense. On the one hand are those who believe wearing a face mask or, more to the point, being required to wear one is an invasion of personal liberty. Some maintain it is unconstitutional. On the other are those incensed that their lives are being put at risk over a nebulous concept of individual freedom and what some see as sheer stubbornness. The well-meaning people who are trying to encourage mask use are really doing their cause a disservice when they mock, threaten, insult anyone not wearing a mask, said Brummel. If your goal is to help people see the wisdom in it, youre going to get that immediate shutdown reaction. President Donald Trump got much of what he wanted in the two U.S. Supreme Court justices he appointed. It just wasn't enough in a term that showed how hard it is to tip the court's balance. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh embellished their conservative credentials in their second term together, which ended Thursday with a split decision on subpoenas for Trump's financial records. With a handful of exceptions, the pair pulled the court to the right in ideologically divisive cases, in a move only partly offset by Chief Justice John Roberts's tack to the left. "It would be difficult to dispute the fact that Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh have, so far, voted consistently as judicial conservatives, including in cases regarding religious liberty, abortion rights and constitutional structure," said Rick Garnett, a constitutional law professor at the University of Notre Dame. The subpoena rulings, which advanced a New York grand jury investigation involving Trump but probably left his tax returns shielded from public view through the election, were a fitting finale to a term that left almost everybody with victories to cherish and wounds to nurse. The mixed bag was almost entirely the doing of Roberts. Once a steadfast conservative vote himself, the chief justice joined the court's liberal wing to deliver narrow victories for abortion rights and the DACA deferred-deportation program. Kavanaugh and Gorsuch dissented from both 5-4 rulings. The term's final rulings came as Trump ramps up his re-election campaign by seeking to galvanize his political base with calls to remake the judiciary with more conservative judges, a key issue that fueled his first presidential run. The abortion ruling struck down a Louisiana requirement that clinic doctors get hospital privileges, with Roberts saying the law was identical to a Texas measure the court voided in 2016. In characteristically sweeping language, Gorsuch accused the majority of discarding the normal rules of judicial restraint in order to invalidate an abortion law. "The real question we face concerns our willingness to follow the traditional constraints of the judicial process when a case touching on abortion enters the courtroom," Gorsuch wrote. In the DACA case, both Gorsuch and Kavanaugh would have let Trump rescind the Obama-era program, which protects more than 650,000 immigrants from deportation and lets them seek jobs. The program affects people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The majority said the Trump administration's explanation for scrapping the program was inadequate. The DACA case included what is becoming a Kavanaugh hallmark: a separate opinion explaining exactly what in his view the court had, and had not, decided. He said the ruling would let the Department of Homeland Security "relabel and reiterate" its cancellation of the program, "perhaps with some elaboration." The biggest exception to their conservative outcomes came on LGBT rights, when Gorsuch wrote the court's 6-3 decision interpreting Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. "Gorsuch stuck to his textualism commitments to reach a result that conservatives did not like," said Gillian Metzger, a constitutional law professor at Columbia Law School. "But you're not going to get conservative or liberal justices voting in lockstep in every case." Gorsuch also joined the liberals in a 5-4 ruling that said much of eastern Oklahoma, including Tulsa, remains American Indian territory. He said the federal government had promised the land to the Creek Nation in two treaties in the 1830s. "Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word," Gorsuch wrote. The ruling raises questions about Oklahoma's power to prosecute Native Americans and enforce regulations. Kavanaugh dissented. Unlike Gorsuch, Kavanaugh didn't cast the pivotal vote to join the liberals in any 5-4 majority this term, according to Adam Feldman, creator of empiricalscotus.com, which tracks Supreme Court trends. Like Roberts, Kavanaugh tends to prefer narrow rulings, and he agreed with Roberts more than any other justice, according to Feldman's statistics. But Kavanaugh joined Roberts and the liberals only twice in 6-3 majorities in argued cases, including a clash over the scope of the Clean Water Act. "There was some thought, when Justice Kavanaugh joined the court, that he would provide cover for the chief justice by joining the chief when he did something that disappointed conservatives," said David Strauss, a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago Law School. "But that hasn't really happened." In the marquee cases of the term, the fights over Trump's financial records, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch voted with Roberts and the liberals to reject the president's bid for a sweeping shield from state grand jury investigations. But even there, the two added a pro-presidential spin. Rather than join Roberts' majority opinion, Kavanaugh wrote separately to say state grand juries should have to show a "demonstrated, specific need" for presidential records -- a tough standard the chief justice chose not to apply. Gorsuch joined Kavanaugh's opinion. In argued cases alone, the court issued nine 5-4 opinions with the five Republican-appointed justices -- Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Roberts, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito -- in the majority, Feldman said. That doesn't include a significant number of emergency applications that divided the court along ideological lines. Gorsuch and Kavanaugh were on board for a trio of rulings that bolstered religious rights. Joining the other conservatives, they were part of a 5-4 decision that upheld Trump administration rules giving employers a broad right to refuse to offer birth control through their health plans. The same group boosted school vouchers by saying states must include religious schools in programs that offer taxpayer subsidies for private education. And Kavanaugh and Gorsuch were in the majority in a 7-2 decision that shielded sectarian schools from discrimination suits by teachers whose jobs include teaching religion. They both said Congress violated the Constitution when it tried to insulate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director from being fired by the president. A splintered court eliminated the provision that shielded the director. Each was on board when the court voted 5-4 to back Republicans and impose a deadline for mailing absentee ballots in Wisconsin's presidential primary. Likewise, they were part of a 5-4 majority to block a lower court order that would have made it easier for some people to cast ballots in Alabama. They were in a 5-4 majority that cleared the Trump administration to start enforcing a new test to screen out green-card applicants seen as being at risk of becoming dependent on government benefits. And both suggested they were eager to take up a Second Amendment case, even if some of their colleagues weren't. Gorsuch dissented when the court dropped a clash over New York City handgun-transportation restrictions after the city changed its law. Kavanaugh said the justices should have heard a challenge to a New Jersey law that sharply restricts who can get a permit to carry a handgun. "The Trump administration has succeeded in stacking the federal judiciary with many very conservative judges," Metzger said. "I think that holds overall true for Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, who have been solid conservative votes on many central issues." Were faced with a tension between parents who want us to flip the switch and go back to pre-March 13 to five days a week in a brick-and-mortar school and teachers with very valid concerns about health and safety, said Patricia ONeill, a school board member, who said hundreds of emails had come in on the topic. A Berens River man who fatally assaulted his mother while drunk has been sentenced to more than four years custody, in a case a judge described as another troubling example of the ruin of First Nations people following generations of governmental marginalization. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A Berens River man who fatally assaulted his mother while drunk has been sentenced to more than four years custody, in a case a judge described as another troubling example of the "ruin" of First Nations people following generations of governmental marginalization. Anthony McKay, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for a June 2018 attack that ended in the death of his mother, Shirley McKay, 57, several months later. "Like so many other cases, this case is troubling, not only for its specific facts, but because its a reminder that core issues affecting many in the Indigenous population are not really being addressed sufficiently or urgently enough," Queens Bench Justice Chris Martin said Friday, noting he has two other cases of Indigenous men before him, awaiting sentencing for killing Indigenous women. "The ruin of the First Nations and peoples of Canada (are) not just statistics as seen here, it is real pain," he said. "As a human, Mrs. McKay deserved better. And like anyone born in this bountiful country, her son, her killer, deserved a better start, a better chance in life." Court heard Anthony McKay had been drinking and possibly sniffing solvents when he returned to home at about 2 a.m. Sometime in the hours that followed, he beat his mother unconscious. A cousin who arrived at the home at 8 a.m. found blood "everywhere" and McKay "clearly drunk," Martin said. McKay did not get help for his mother until hours later, when she was taken by police to the local nursing station. She was transported to Winnipeg hospital, where she died in September 2018. McKay, who has been diagnosed with partial fetal alcohol syndrome, had a childhood marked by neglect, violence, and long periods in foster care. In 2013, Child and Family Services agreed to his request he be made a permanent ward, when he reported he didnt feel safe in the care of his mother and siblings. McKay was granted extended care beyond 18, but that ended when he dropped out of high school in Winnipeg and moved back to Berens River First Nation, 270 kilometres north of the city. Martin said McKays personal history was shaped by that of his home community, which, until the 1950s, had been subject to an Indian Act "pass system" that prevented residents from leaving the reserve to fish, hunt, or trap or visit their children off-reserve, such as at a residential school, without permission of the local Indian Agent. "It is well-accepted that the governments role, since the early days of dealing with First Nations peoples, has had the effect of isolating, infantilizing, marginalizing and traumatizing Indigenous societies like the Ojibwa (or Anishinaabe) of Berens River," Martin said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. McKays mother was his sole support, and he has shown "genuine and deep remorse," Martin said. "Without his admission to police, the Crown case would have been especially frail." The Crown recommended McKay be sentenced to seven years in prison; the defence countered at 50 months. While at "the very low end," the defence recommendation was within the range of a fit sentence, when coupled with three years supervised probation geared at rehabilitating McKay, Martin said. "The set of circumstances surrounding a young Indigenous man killing the mother he loves, his only real support, is uniquely unusual," Martin said. "It must be prominently recognized that Mr. McKay is cognitively and psychologically damaged by the circumstances he was born into and his upbringing," the judge said. "To be clear, his being a troubled product of his upbringing does not excuse his grievous behaviour here, but it does help explain what he did by understanding some root causes of why he is who he is." dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been spotted at an NRL match a day after announcing he was taking a break to spend time with his family. Images uploaded to social media showed Mr Morrison waving his scarf during the NRL match between Cronulla Sharks and Penrith Panthers on Saturday night. His attendance comes just a day after he announced he will be taking a holiday to spend more time with his wife Jenny and daughters, Lily and Abbey. 'I will not be joining them for that full-time. I will also not be standing aside from the tasks I have all day,' he said on Friday. Scroll down for video Scott Morrison is spotted with cheering in the crowd at an NRL match just a day after he announced he was taking a holiday with his daughters The Australian Prime Minister announced he was take a break and was spotted at the Round 9 NRL match It comes after Australians questioned the whereabouts of the prime minister as the state of Victoria grapples with a massive surge in coronavirus cases. 'We have technology where I can be with them and continue to take briefings, calls and meetings in dealing with the situation whether it be Victoria or the other situations in the country,' he continued. 'I will be returning to Canberra next week where I am sure you will be able to see me again just because I am not standing in front of a camera, it does not mean I am not behind my desk or doing what I need to do daily. I ask the people's understanding on that.' Social media users vented their frustration as the image of Mr Morrison circulated, with some questioning why Premier Daniel Andrews was slammed for enjoying a birthday dinner with his family. 'Poor Dan copped sh*t for having a birthday meal at home with his family last week. This is disgraceful,' one person wrote. 'No mask, no social distancing, no wife and kids, and his team lost,' another commented. 'He's the PM for God's sake; he's had more holidays with his kids than most people in this country who are wondering how to feed their kids,' another wrote. 'No sign of ''Jen and the kids'' and imagine, just IMAGINE if Daniel Andrews was seen celebrating at the footy (with no mask might I add),' someone else pointed out. Mr Morrison spotted in the box seats with some friends during the NRL game between the Cronulla Sharks and Penrith Panthers Prime Minister Scott Morrison watches on from the stands during the Round 9 NRL match between the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Penrith Panthers on Saturday Many others asked why he wasn't wearing a face mask or keeping a 1.5metre distance from those around him. 'Good model of social distancing - not,' one wrote. 'So much for social distancing,' someone else commented. 'No mask. No leadership,' another commented. 'Not a lot of social distancing happening there by the looks of it,' another read. 'And not social distancing. FFS,' someone else wrote. M&C Saatchi, one of the most iconic advertising agencies in London, is preparing to deliver another blow to investors with a profits slump. The firm, set up by Maurice and Charles Saatchi after a spat with shareholders at their previous company, has been in the spotlight following an accounting scandal last year that prompted four directors to leave. The accounts, which are being redrafted, so far have no scheduled release date. But there is growing speculation that auditor PwC could mark down 2018 profits to almost zero. There is growing speculation that auditor PwC could mark down 2018 profits to almost zero The latest bad news is likely to place beleaguered chief executive David Kershaw, who helped to launch the firm in 1995, under renewed pressure. There is speculation the company may be forced to carry out an equity capital fundraising to prop up its finances and even that Kershaw may step down. In March last year, the company originally said it had generated post-tax profits of 21million from revenues of 255.3million in 2018. But by December, following the departure of the previous finance chief, it announced 'the misapplication of accounting policies' that resulted in an 11.6million charge. The accountancy scandal has triggered an 80 per cent share price crash and a boardroom bust-up in December that led to the departure of senior board directors, including Lord Saatchi, Lord Dobbs, the author of House of Cards, Sir Michael Peat, who is the former private secretary to Prince Charles, and City stockbroker Lorna Tilbian. At the heart of the resignations was a row about responsibility for the hole in the accounts, with Kershaw being left to resolve the matter. The company, whose creative mantra is 'brutal simplicity of thought', has also recently issued a series of profit warnings following weak spending by customers. PwC has been carrying out an independent review of the agency's accounts after KPMG, the firm's auditor since 2012, resigned last September after clashing with the agency over fees. Kershaw founded M&C Saatchi with Jeremy Sinclair, now the chairman, Bill Muirhead, Charles Saatchi and Maurice Saatchi 25 years ago after the brothers were pushed out of Saatchi & Saatchi. M&C Saatchi said: 'As we said in our market updatethe 2019 audit which has been a very thorough process conducted by PwC is nearing completion and we look forward to engaging with our shareholders when the results are published.' Dhaka: At least 15 Hindu temples in Bangladesh have been vandalised over allegations of disrespect shown to Islam on Facebook, triggering panic among the minority community in the Muslim-majority nation. Temples in Brahmanbarhia districts Nasirnagar were vandalised yesterday besides over 100 houses of Hindus in the area have also been looted. After the mayhem for hours, two temples in adjacent Habiganjs Madhabpur also came under attack, police and witnesses said. Six persons were arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack. Paramilitary Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed in Nasirnagar and Madhabpur Upazila headquarters along with the Rapid Action Battalion, police and Armed Police Battalion, bdnews24.com reported. The districts Deputy Commissioner Rezwanur Rahman and Superintendent of Police Mizanur Rahman inspected the area later in the afternoon. But the leaders of the local Hindu community say the panic that has gripped them is not going away. Yesterdays attack was carried out in a style followed by the attackers of Buddhist community in Coxs Bazar in 2012 on a similar allegation of disrespect towards Islam through a Facebook post. Locals said Nasirnagar incident started with a Facebook post by one Rasraj Das from Harinberh village under Haripur Union Parishad. Police detained Rasraj on Friday immediately after the allegation of blasphemy had surfaced against him. He was sent to jail following a court order, SP Mizanur said. Protests against Rasrajs post were called under the banner of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat in Habiganj district headquarters and Nasirnagar. Demonstrations were also announced in Habiganjs Madhabpur. A group of madrasa students demonstrated on the premises of Brahmanbarhia Press Club while hundreds of people blocked Sarail-Nasirnagar-Lakhai road by torching tyres yesterday. SP Mizanur, quoting witnesses, said a group of the demonstrators, armed with local weapons, vandalised the temples at Duttubarhi, Namashudraparha and Ghoshparha, and Jagannath Temple and Goura Temple. They also vandalised and looted the houses of the Hindu families. Several priests were injured in the attack, he said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. While campaigning for re-election ahead of Sundays final-round vote, Polands President Andrzej Duda has used harmful rhetoric and called for policies that deny human rights to LGBT people. But longtime activists see Polish attitudes changing, and are pushing back. During his re-election campaign, Duda has compared what he calls LGBT ideology to Communism. He does not support the right of same-sex couples in Poland to marry or form civil unions, and believes that schools should not teach classes on gay rights. His anti-LGBT rhetoric echoes the comments of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Polands ruling Law and Justice party, who in September 2019 said that the family as we know it is under attack. In the same month, Marek Jedraszewski, the archbishop of Krakow, linked totalitarian regimes and their systems for destroying people with gender ideology and LGBT ideology. Dudas opponent in Sundays vote, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, signed a resolution in February 2019 declaring his city a welcoming place for LGBT people, and attended Warsaws Pride parade later that year. He supports same-sex civil unions and has also promised to prevent Law and Justice, which controls Polands parliament, from further restricting abortion rights. The stakes for LGBT people in Poland in the election are high. As of late June, approximately 100 Polish municipalities had adopted resolutions declaring themselves LGBT-free zones, a movement that began after Trzaskowski committed to support LGBT rights in Warsaw. At Pride marches in Poland in 2019, participants suffered verbal abuse and physical attacks, and two people were sentenced to a year in jail for bringing explosives to an event in Lublin. There has also been plenty of evidence that Poles are rejecting discrimination and violence. After an Equality march in Bialystok last July that suffered violent attacks from anti-LGBT demonstrators, event organisers told FRANCE 24 that they received donations that allowed them to rent office space for the first time. When counter-protesters shouted a homophobic slur at a September parade in Katowice, a middle-aged woman who identified as a straight ally shared a message with FRANCE 24 at the scene: Id like to apologise to the whole of Europe for the fact that scenes like this are happening here. Story continues This past February, after Saint-Jean-de-Braye, a small town in the centre of France, cut its sister-city relationship with Tuchow, a Polish town that adopted an anti-LGBT resolution, AP reported that Tuchows mayor regretted the move and said that numerous locals didnt feel that the towns council spoke for them. Duda prevailed in the 2020 elections first round with 43.5 percent of the vote, with Tzsaskowski finishing second with 30.46 percent, setting the two up for Sundays run-off. A recent poll released by Kantar and cited by Euronews shows the two candidates in almost a dead heat. As Poland votes, Europe is watching. In a June 29 interview with FRANCE 24, Helena Dalli, the European Commissioner for Equality a new EU position said that if Polish towns use EU funds in accordance with anti-LBGT policy, the allocations will have to be revisited. Dalli also said labour discrimination based on sexual or gender identity in so-called LBGT-free zones would be unacceptable. While some Polish LBGT activists told FRANCE24 they arent happy with parts of Trzaskowskis platform for instance, his support for civil unions falls short of marriage equality they support him nonetheless, and their work has brought them into the street and onto the campaign trail. Fighting hate, and fatigue On Thursday, LGBT activist Magdalena Dropek, 37, travelled from her home in Krakow to a rally for Duda in the nearby town of Olkusz. She and fellow protesters shouted Enough! and waved rainbow and EU flags as the presidents supporters held red-and-white Duda 2020 signs. Dropek, who has co-organised Krakows annual Equality March since 2012 and sits on the board of the Equality.org.pl Foundation, said she heard calls of traitor and "pervert at the rally. But she also told FRANCE 24 that she was surprised that so many young, diverse people came to show their disagreement for Dudas actions and words. Speaking the night before the event, Dropek said that LGBT activists in Poland have had to constantly defend themselves since early 2019, when Law and Justice, which holds a parliamentary majority, began casting them as a threat to traditional Polish values. It has made it difficult for activists to focus on developing their organisations, she said. Were burned out, Dropek said, although she planned to attend a protest of a recent beating that occurred outside an LGBT club in Krakow on Friday. She has seen three prominent activist organisations mount online efforts to discourage Polish voters from supporting Duda. One, the Stonewall Project, has exhorted visitors to its Facebook page to vote for Trzaskowski, whereas the Campaign Against Homophobia and Love Does Not Exclude have stated the need for an open, tolerant Poland rather than naming a preferred candidate, she said. One of the victims of the beating in Krakow identifies as straight, Dropek said, which for her reflects a truth she thinks more Poles have come to understand: LGBT phobia and hate crimes affect all of society. She has noticed a shift in the five years since Law and Justice came to power. [At] many protests and rallies, there were also LGBT people, the rainbow flags, she said. At the beginning, it was a problem. There were cities where this rainbow flag was not welcome. But for many people, its obvious now, you cant defend democracy without defending minority rights. This feeling of empathy Marek Szolc, 28, won election to the Warsaw city council in 2018 and is a member of a party in coalition with Trzaskowskis centrist Civic Platform. He told FRANCE 24 that he planned to spend Friday passing out campaign leaflets in his city, which he described as relatively friendly territory for such an activity. But he said that anti-LGBT violence is visible on the streets of Poland even in Warsaw. Szolc said a child who recently put a rainbow flag in her window found vulgar graffiti on the outer wall of her building the next morning. When I saw this, what I immediately associated it with was the graffiti that were drawn in Berlin in (the) 1930s just before the Kristallnacht when Jewish flats were attacked this way, Szolc said. This is the level of violence we (have) right now, this is the level of emotion, he said. The openly gay councilman, who began helping to organise Warsaws Pride parade before entering local politics, said that much of the LGBT campaign-related activism hes seen has been online, but hes also noticed active involvement in help centres, clubs and bars. He also appreciates the work that activist groups have been doing to educate Poles on the danger that LGBT people face in the country. Theyve managed to create this feeling that is extremely important in this context: this feeling of empathy, Szolc said. I think its largely thanks to them that many people realised that using hate language is simply unacceptable. Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we intend to prove it. Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends throughout. Here, they discuss the weeks events with Tom Moran, editorial page editor of The Star-Ledger. Q. Lets start with Amy Kennedys big primary win over Brigid Harrison in South Jersey, in defiance of the George Norcross machine. Can she beat Republican Jeff Van Drew in that pro-Trump 2nd district after this divisive primary? Is the Norcross machine losing its mojo? Mike: I dont think the Sweeney-Norcross machine cares as much about a congressional seat as they do about freeholder boards, town councils and state legislative seats. The South Jersey machine lost to Republicans last year in State Senate and Assembly races, and now to progressives this year. That cant be discounted, but it is far from time to start writing a political obituary. Amy Kennedy is a good candidate and, well, a Kennedy. They have a rich history of winning elections in America. She also had serious financial and political backing. It is a certainly a win for the governor no doubt, but just one chapter in this long story about political power among Democrats in this state. Julie: Even a primary as divisive as this one will not deter Democrats from coalescing around Kennedys candidacy to defeat a Trump apologist. This is a tough district, but with each passing day, Trump makes it easier for Democrats to win it. As for George Norcross, take it from a Democrat who has been on the other side of his machine in every single statewide primary: Even when he loses a primary election, his organization comes back strong. Unless you start seeing defections in the South Jersey legislative block, the reality is that his organization is still able to pass or block any given piece of legislation, which is where the true power lies. And unless Governor Murphy decides to run off the line in South Jersey counties next year, it will be hard for progressives to mount primary challenges to legislative incumbents there. Q. In Trenton, Democrats want to amend the state Constitution to put off redistricting for two years, given the late arrival of 2020 Census data. The map favors Democrats and that would lock in their advantage for two more years. But is there a practical alternative, given that the census process is running far behind schedule? Mike: Vladimir Putin just won a similar constitutional amendment in Russia to extend his power. The practical alternative is a September primary. Julie: In normal times, census walkers would already be going door to door to count hard to reach households. COVID has made that impossible because we still dont know when they can safely begin their work or when the federal government will actually deliver census data to New Jersey. There is absolutely no guarantee that we will get census data in time for a September primary and it will be too late to amend the constitution to create a meaningful fix if we wait to see what happens. New Jerseys constitution currently states that we must hold elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. If we still dont have complete census data in time to have legislative primary and general elections that meet that deadline, what happens? We risk failing to meet that constitutionally mandated deadline or having a drastically condensed general election or creating legislative maps that vastly under-represent hard to count populations, such as students, immigrants, people of color, the homeless, or even anyone who has recently changed addresses. None of those alternatives is acceptable and we cannot base these decisions on the hope that this COVID crisis abates quickly enough to avoid an electoral debacle that also disenfranchises so many of our residents. Mike: We got to the moon 51 years ago with less technology than is in my toaster right now. I am certain we can create fair a map in a month and have an election if we really want to. Julie: Practically speaking, you have early voting through vote by mail beginning 45 days before each primary and general election. It is literalIy impossible to create a map and hold elections in a month. Q. President Trump rejected CDC guidelines on school reopenings as too strict and ordered the agency to draft new ones in open defiance of public health experts. He demanded that schools fully reopen in the fall, even in the red zones, and threatened to cut funds to districts that defy him. How is this going to play out? Mike: Every state, city, county and school district is facing a financial crisis and Congress isnt helping, so what funds are being held back exactly? I want our kids back to school and want it to be done safely. Washington should offer guidance and financial support, but should not dictate that a school district in Newark, NJ follow the exact same course as a rural town in Montana. Julie: You would think by now that President Trumps supporters would not take him seriously when it comes to COVID pronouncements. Just look at the spike in infections in Tulsa County as a result of his insane decision to hold a rally there a few weeks ago. No one and I mean no one is more eager to get her child back to school than I am. But I am also realistic about the fact that we need to listen to scientists, rather than politicians, in making these decisions. Pandemics dont care about Trumps electoral prospects and neither should those whose priority is to keep our communities safe. Q. The president also pressured colleges to reopen by moving to deport foreign students who rely exclusively on digital instruction, a move that has rattled schools like Princeton and Rutgers. Is this a public health measure, or another fighting song for Trumps base? Mike: If looked at as a standalone directive, there are some elements that make sense from a safety perspective, but we must see the larger pattern of the Trump administration doing all it can to thwart both legal and illegal immigration. We should continue to welcome the worlds best and brightest who choose to be educated in the US, even as the pandemic casts an uncertain shadow on higher education in the Fall. Julie: If Trump cared about public health, he would cancel his political rallies, which dont require social distancing or masks. He would stop discounting the deaths of more than 130,000 Americans and listen to the public health experts in his administration. But placating the base and pandering to their nativist tendencies is all hes got left, since the record clearly shows that on his watch, the United States leads the world in the number of COVID cases. This attack on foreign students is just another act in a play that has gone on way too long. Q. New Jersey opened its motor vehicles offices, plunging thousands of innocent souls into the darkest circle of hell. Yes, I exaggerate, but it was bad. Should heads roll, or should we take a deep breath and blame the virus? Mike: The virus deserves the bulk of the blame but it does not absolve the state of the disaster. The state had months to plan for the reopening and failed miserably. After months of paying state workers who could not work, the state started furloughing them now, just as they are now needed back at work. Clearly there could have been better management and communication that would have resulted in more staff and fewer customers who felt the need to come in person to MVC. Julie: The virus is obviously a major factor, but its existence is not a shock to the administration, which could have planned for these scenarios. At some point, someday, someone needs to take accountability for something, whether it is the MVC fiasco, the nursing home debacle, or the sexual assault crisis in our state womens prison. It cant always be said that the system failed, can it? Systems dont have agency over decisions people do. Q. Finally, Gov. Phil Murphy got into a twitter war with Sen. Mike Doherty, who accused the governor of exploiting a health crisis for power by ordering people to wear masks outdoors. Has that ideology, more common in red states, crippled the effort to contain the virus and reopen the economy? Mike: Even some very conservative governors, like Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona, have changed their tunes now encourage people to wear masks. Masks and social distancing work. The new case and hospitalization numbers dont lie. The problem many conservatives have is that the masks are a metaphor for excessive government control. There is great frustration that the governor can, with the stroke of a pen and zero check from the Legislature, shut down private industry, casting over a million people out of work in New Jersey. Conservatives are the only ones voicing that this is an infringement on freedom. We make a mistake when we make the argument simply about masks and somehow make mask-wearing an ideological litmus test. It is a political gift to Democrats. We must be clear is not about the masks, but the feeling that government can control too much in our lives. Personally, I am pro-mask and pro-social distance, but 100% opposed to a return to the monarchical powers of the early 1770s. Enforcing a new mask mandate while cases have dropped is exploiting a public health crisis for power. Gov. Murphy's unilateral & oppressive actions are destroying the economy & will now negatively impact everyday New Jerseyans outside in the summer sun.https://t.co/pMCyXEiKMe Senator Mike Doherty (@mikedohertynj) July 8, 2020 Julie: This is one of the more insane arguments I have heard in a long time. What power, in Senator Dohertys estimation, is Governor Murphy deriving from telling people to wear masks to protect themselves and each other? Is the governor also on a power trip when state police officers enforce laws that prevent drunk driving or ticket drivers who dont wear seat belts? Governor Murphy is making a decision based purely on scientific data, which has clearly shown that masks reduce the spread of the virus. Senator Doherty, like other Trump enablers, has politicized what is clearly empirical data for partisan purposes. I might expect that from Trump, who apparently had to cheat on his SATs to get into college, but Senator Doherty is a West Point graduate. He is smart enough to know better, which makes his comments all the more galling. STOP PLAYING POLITICS WITH PEOPLES LIVES https://t.co/76gOXJMfDM Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) July 8, 2020 Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share. Two infiltrators were killed along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmirs Naugam sector, the Indian Army said on Saturday. The army troops laid an ambush after suspicious movement was detected along the LoC, gunning down the terrorists. Defense spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said that suspicious movement was detected early on Saturday by soldiers in the Naugam sector. The forces launched a swift ambush and killed two terrorists. Two AK rifles and war-like stores were also recovered from the encounter site, said Kalia. A pistol, four grenades and Pakistani currency were also seized at the site, he added. A senior police officer said, We have identified one militant as 23-year-old Idrees Ahmad Bhat of Kupwara. He had gone to Pakistan via Wagah border. The other militant is yet to be identified. Idrees has been associated with Lashkar-e-Toiba. The area where the encounter took place falls under the jurisdiction of strategic 19th Infantry Division, and the forests of Naugam, due to proximity with LoC, are being used as infiltration routes by the militants, especially during summers. The area has recently witnessed ceasefire violations more than three times. 19th Infantry Division GoC Major General Varendra Vats said there are indications that launching pads in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir are active and 250 to 300 militants were waiting to infiltrate into the Indian territory. Some senior officers claimed that several times, under the cover of ceasefire violations, the infiltrators have sneaked into the Valley from across the LoC. So far, eight to ten youths, including Idrees, who crossed over to Pakistan from Wagah border and returned as militants, have been killed in different operations in the Valley, officials said. Local militant Abid, who police claim was involved in the killing of BJP former district president Wasim Bari and his family members in Bandipora, had also gone to Pakistan through Wagah and joined Lashkar. Pseudoscience companies tap directly into our fears and isolation, offering us a sense of control, while claiming their products can end our pain. They exploit our emotions to offer phony alternatives, like the cell quickening company that proclaims on Facebook: Battering and bruising the body just to treat the symptoms [of] breast cancer is not necessarily the best or only option available to you. You have choices! When I looked at my body after my recent surgery, I wished there was another choice. I would have given just about anything to be on a beach in Mexico. But Ive witnessed the false promises of these companies. Ive spoken to someone who flew to that beach clinic, only to return home and discover that her tumor was inoperable. The evidence is clear: Death rates are much higher for people with cancer who choose alternative therapies instead of standard care. Facebook is ubiquitous in many of our lives, and people use the platform to search for health-related support groups and information. So we might assume that Facebook has an ethical stake in keeping its content free of scams and misinformation. But Facebook has an odd history with the term pseudoscience. It was only last April that Facebook removed pseudoscience as a keyword from its categories for targeted advertising, and only after the tech publication The Markup reported that 78 million users were listed in Facebooks ad portal as having an interest in the category. Since the pandemic started, there has been increasing pressure on Facebook to remove coronavirus-related misinformation. Facebook pledged that it would add a warning label to Covid-19-related ads and would remove pseudoscience ads that were reported by its users. The problem, which even Facebook acknowledged, is that pseudoscience content can run for months before being flagged by readers. Facebooks main ad-screening system is automated. While we wait for its artificial intelligence system to catch up with the discernment abilities of human reviewers, a steady flow of pseudoscience advertising has already slipped through on a platform with billions of users. Could it be that Facebook has gotten too big to adequately regulate its content? That maybe theres no hope for the change we need? Some advertisers seem to be suggesting this is the case. They are voting with their feet and leaving the platform altogether. Responding to a call by the advocacy group Stop Hate for Profit, advertisers such as Starbucks, Honda, Diageo and Patagonia have paused their advertising on Facebook as part of a broad boycott over how the platform is handling hate speech and misinformation. This week, Facebook met with representatives from Stop Hate for Profit. In the view of the organizers, the meeting did not go well. Facebook approached our meeting today like it was nothing more than a PR exercise, said one of the organizers, Jessica J. Gonzalez of Free Press, a nonprofit media advocacy group. International students across the United States have found their security, education and employment opportunities threatened after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced new regulations prohibiting them from staying in the U.S. while enrolled in a fully online courseload during the upcoming fall semester. The directive has intensified the uncertainty and fear felt by international students at Grinnell, who make up 20 percent of the student body, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement, released by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) on Monday, July 6, states that F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States. F-1 visa students are enrolled in academic programs and M-1 visa students pursue vocational coursework. The measure also stipulates that F-1 students at schools planning for hybrid models can maintain visa status and remain in the U.S. as long their institutions certify to SEVP that each international student is taking the minimum number of courses online required for degree completion. Students enrolled in online-only academic programs at any point during the fall semester must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status. As the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. surges just over a month before many colleges and universities begin the fall semester, the new ICE guidelines force international students and institutions into an impossible decision: enforce in-person instruction at odds with recommended public health regulations or require international students to leave the country. In an email to the Grinnell community on Wednesday, Acting President Anne Harris reaffirmed the College communitys support for international students and commitment to opposing the directive. She wrote that the restrictions could severely, and sadly, limit the opportunities of international students to enroll in U.S. colleges and universities, and thwart the educational mission of U.S. higher education. A punch to the gut for institutions and international students Recent guidance felt like a punch to the gut for students and institutions across the country, said Karen Edwards, associate dean of the College and director of international student affairs. Since the Monday announcement, the Office of International Student Affairs (OISA) has been working with peer institutions, partners across campus and an immigration attorney hired by the College to implement the best course of action to support Grinnells international student community. ICEs announcement has placed institutions like Grinnell into the near-impossible position of weighing community health with students education, according to Edwards. Grinnells number one priority is health and safety. Balancing that with academic continuity and support for students is super challenging, and this directive has placed enormous pressure on schools to fully open and operate. We dont think that is a good idea, she said. The impact of the new regulations on Grinnells international students is contingent on the Colleges plan for a hybrid model during the fall semester, which will consist of a mixture of in-person and online courses. As a hybrid institution, our students that are inside the country need to come back to campus, and we need to create an infrastructure to meet the requirement that not all of their courses be online. I think we will be able to navigate that for those students, said Edwards. Edwards stressed that the implications of the SEVP announcement vary widely from student to student, with students who are currently outside the U.S. being in the most precarious position. But were working on some good thoughts there too, she said. On Wednesday, the OISA published guidance for international students according to their class year, visa status and whether they are currently inside or outside the United States. In an effort to support students outside the country, Dean of Students Ben Newhouse has reopened the petition process for on-campus residence approval for fourth-year F-1 visa students facing the risk of losing post-graduation employment benefits. Considering the possibility that the College could be forced to switch to a fully online program mid-semester, OISA has asked international students outside the U.S. petitioning to return to recognize that there is still some risk. Per the Broadcast Message, if a school goes entirely online, whether we start that way or whether we move there later, all international students are expected to leave the country, right away. This is simply not possible for many [due to travel bans], said Edwards. Its scary in this moment when all of that is threatened For many international students, the SEVP changes create yet another precarious situation in addition to the numerous travel bans that have limited travel to and from the U.S. during the COVID-19 crisis. International Student Organization (ISO) President Puravi Nath 21 has been processing the news while providing support for the international student community at Grinnell. The travel ban was already pretty bad and that was something we were already stressing about and this suddenly happened, Nath said. Nath, a student from Bangalore, India, has been away from home for more than a year and is unsure when she will be able to return. According to Nath, many international students share her anxieties about travel bans, families, graduation and degree completion. Nath is especially concerned about students who plan on applying for Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization, which allows international students to be employed U.S. for one to three years after graduation. Fourth-year international students outside the U.S. may be at risk of losing that opportunity. Its probably the worst on people outside of the U.S. who are seniors because they might lose their OPT, said Nath. I can feel how freaked out they are. Its just not fair. ISO Secretary Vidush Goswami 21 also expressed concern about the impact of the SEVP measure on students located outside of the U.S. planning to apply for OPT. I can only imagine how stressful it must be for them, said Goswami, who is from New Delhi, India and Rotorua, New Zealand. Theyre just stuck in this limbo. My biggest concern is all the effort and time and money that everyone put into their applications to come to the United States and get a visa, to get accepted to Grinnell. People put in the work over the years at Grinnell. Its scary in this moment when all of that is threatened. Goswami and Nath both said they took comfort in the work that OISA has been doing to advocate for international students. In addition to Edwards, OISA staff includes Assistant Director of International Student Affairs Brenda Strong and International Student Advisor Mollie Ullestad. I know theyre as worried about us as we are. I know theyre going to do so much for us they always do. They care as if they were us, said Nath. You cant just announce a rule that changes everything The ICE directive was swiftly challenged on Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) against the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The lawsuit seeks an emergency order to bar the federal agencies from enforcing the modified SEVP guidelines. Harvard University President Lawrence S. Bacow called the guidelines cruel and reckless. On July 11, Acting President Harris signed an amicus brief filed by the Presidents Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration in support of Harvard and MIT. The brief was signed by180 other college and university presidents to voice their opposition to what Alliance Executive Director Miriam Feldblum described as another unfortunate assault by the administration against immigrants and higher education in a recent press release. Philip Curtis, co-managing partner at business immigration law firm Chin & Curtis LLP, explained that the new directive is being challenged because it violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) of 1946. Basically, the APA says that if the administration wants to make a rule which changes substantive rights and responsibilities, it has to do so for a reason, and it has to do so according to a certain process, said Curtis. If youre going to change the rules that govern how we behave, you have to publish your intent to do that, and you have to give people a period of time to comment about it, you have to deal with those comments. You cant just announce a rule that changes everything. According to the complaint filed, the restrictions fail to consider the public health of college communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic, lack reasoned justification and violate APA requirements for a notice-and-comment period. The effectand perhaps even the goalis to create as much chaos for universities and international students as possible, the plaintiffs wrote of the new restrictions. It doesnt explain why [theyre] doing it, even though the COVID-19 situation seems to be getting worse, said Curtis. The action theyre proposing to do is not related to the problem theyre trying to solve. The action theyre proposing to do is not related to the problem theyre trying to solve Phil Curtis, Chin & Curtis LLP, on the Trump administration. As President Trump has called on U.S. schools to reopen and scorned Harvard Universitys plan to hold fall courses online, some legal experts and university officials suspect the SEVP changes were politically motivated. The president, by announcing this, is trying to force them to do what he wants them to do. He wants things to look normal again, said Curtis. Theres a very anti-immigrant bias and this is part of the program to reduce immigration to the United States irrespective of the personal or economic cost of doing so. Despite the shock and uncertainty following ICEs announcement, Curtis is hopeful that the lawsuit will effectively bar the guidelines from taking effect. Im optimistic that the federal courts will find that the administration has abused its discretion by announcing this rule, he said. In a hearing on Friday morning, Massachusetts federal judge Allison D. Burroughs put off the decision until a second hearing which will take place on Tuesday. Edwards expressed her support for the decisive action against the policy on the part of Harvard and MIT. The legal challenge is also providing a sense of hope among international students in the midst of the weeks shock and chaos. Everyones hope is that [the lawsuit] has some sort of effect, said Goswami. Nath shared similar sentiments. It just makes me feel like so many people believe in us and support us, she said. We are all in this situation together. Many of us at Grinnell, hundreds of us in the country. Maharashtra continues to top the national tally with more than 2 lakh cases, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi each with a lakh alone. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare assures recovery rate is steadily going up despite high surges in the total number of Covid-19 cases. With the highest single-day spike of 27,114 COVID-19 cases and 519 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India reached 8,20,916 on Friday with a recovery rate standing at about 63 per cent. Out of the total number of cases, 2,83,407 are active, 5,15,386 have been cured/discharged/migrated and 22,123 have died so far due to the infection, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. With as many as 2,38,461 COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state, followed by Tamil Nadu (1,30,261) and Delhi (1,09,140). Meanwhile, 1,13,07,002 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till July 10. Out of these 2,82,511 samples were tested yesterday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Also read: Rahul voices student concerns, says unfair to conduct exams amid Covid-19 Also read: Hyderabad International Airport car parking goes fully contact-less Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday said the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in India currently stands at about 63 per cent and asserted that India has not reached the community transmission stage, despite being a large country. Recovery rate among COVID-19 patients stands at about 63 per cent. The mortality rate is just 2.72 per cent. We are not concerned about the number of cases. We are ramping up testing so that maximum cases can be detected and treated, he told ANI. As many as 1,608 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in Andhra Pradesh, taking the coronavirus tally to 25,422, said the state health department on Friday. Himachal Pradesh detects two new COVID-19 positive cases today, taking the total number of positive cases to 1,143 including 268 active, 851 recoveries and 9 deaths, according to the State Health Department. Jharkhand has reported 170 more COVID-19 cases taking the states tally of coronavirus cases to 3,362, informed the state Health Department on Friday. The total number of active cases in the state stands at 1,129, while 2,210 patients have recovered so far. Meanwhile, 115 more COVID-19 cases have been reported from Rajasthan on Friday, the states Health Department said. With this, the total number of cases in Rajasthan stands at 22,678, including 5,043 active cases and 17,140 recoveries. Prisons across Maharashtra reported a total of 763 COVID-19 cases till date. The figure includes 596 inmates and 167 jail staff, informed the Maharashtra Prison Department on Friday. The highest number of cases was reported from Nagpur Central Prison with 219 inmates and 57 jail staff testing positive for the novel coronavirus. As many as 222 new COVID-19 positive cases and three deaths reported in the state Police force in the last 48 hours. The total number of positive cases in the Force now stands at 5,935 including 74 deaths and 4,715 recovered, said Maharashtra Police. Seventy two more COVID-19 cases have been reported from Puducherry, taking the count of COVID-19 cases in the Union Territory to 1,272 cases on Friday. Out of the total cases, 618 are active. As many as 352 new COVID-19 positive cases reported in Bihar today taking the total tally in the state to 14,330 including 9792 recovered cases, said Government of Bihar. Nagaland has reported 36 new COVID-19 cases taking total positive cases to 732. Odishas COVID-19 case tally rises to 11,956 with 755 new positive cases reported in the last 24 hours. The number of recovered patients in the state is 7407, death toll 56, said State Health Department. Nine new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Ladakh; two patients cured and discharged. COVID-19 active cases in the Union Territory has gone up to 1064- 350 in Leh district and 714 in Kargil district, said Department of Information and Public relations Leh, Ladakh. Chandigarh reported 13 new COVID-19 positive cases in the last 24 hours, taking total cases to 536 including 121 active cases and 7 deaths, according to Chandigarh Administration. Goa has so far reported 2151 COVID-19 positive cases, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Also read: Health Ministry issues clarification on indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, assures safety will not be compromised For all the latest National News, download NewsX App A picture of Veronique Monguillot and Philippe Monguillot, a bus driver declared brain dead after being attacked for refusing to let aboard a group of people who were not wearing face masks, is displayed during a white march in Bayonne, southwestern France, on July 8, 2020. (Iroz Gaizka/AFP via Getty Images) French Bus Driver Dies Following Brutal Assault Over Face Masks A bus driver in France has died in the hospital on Friday after being declared brain-dead following a severe beating by several passengers who refused to wear face masks and attacked him instead. Philippe Monguillot, 59, a husband and father of three children, was left brain-dead in the southwestern town of Bayonne on July 5 following an attack what officials called barbaric, prompted by the bus driver asking four passengers to wear a face mask while attempting to check a persons bus ticket. The bus drivers family made the decision to switch off his life support on Friday, news agency Agence France-Presse reported. We decided to let him go. The doctors were in favor and we were as well, the victims 18-year-old daughter, Marie Monguillot, told AFP. French Prime Minister Jean Castex said the incident touches us in the heart and those involved will be punished for this abject crime, he wrote on Twitter shortly after his passing. The death of Philippe Monguillot, cowardly assaulted Sunday in Bayonne for having accomplished his work, touches us in the heart, Castex said. The Republic recognizes in him an exemplary citizen and will not forget him. Veronique Monguillot, wife of bus driver Philippe Monguillot, declared brain dead after being attacked for refusing to let aboard a group of people who were not wearing face masks, holds a picture of her husband during a white march in Bayonne, southwestern France, on July 8, 2020. (Iroz Gaizka/AFP via Getty Images) One man connected to the incident was taken into custody at the scene on July 5 shortly after police arrived, while the four others fled the scene. Police detained the other suspects the following day at an apartment in Bayonne, and some were already known to authorities, according to multiple reports. Prosecutors have charged two of the suspects with attempted murder; the other two men have been charged with non-assistance to a person in danger, and one has also been charged with attempting to hide a suspect, the local prosecutors office said, according to AFP. One of the detained individuals was a minor and has since been released. Barbaric Attack The mayor of Bayonne, Jean-Rene Etchegaray, said the attack was barbaric and officials will work toward improving the safety of bus transportation. The mayor of Anglet, Claude Olive, said, Philippe was a wonderful person who should have been protected. The dispute started after Monguillot tried to check a passengers ticket, a French prosecutor said during a press conference earlier this week, the Daily Mail reported. The passenger had joined three other men who had previously mounted the bus without any face coverings. The men refused to follow the mask requirement and Monguillot told them to get off the bus if they didnt want to wear masks. Face coverings are mandatory on public transport in France, where the death toll from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus has claimed over 30,000 lives. There were insults and then shoving. The bus driver was pushed out of the bus, the prosecutor said. Two of the suspects then allegedly punched and kicked Monguillot. The suspects violently kicked and punched the upper part of his body, including his head, the prosecutor said, according to AFP. Following the brutal attack, some of the men ran away and hid in one of the mens apartment. The two suspects charged with attempted murder are reportedly aged in their early twenties and had previous police records. Massive March Monguillot was honored on Wednesday by about 6,000 people who expressed their grief and took to the streets in a white march, French media reported. Veronique Monguillot (C), wife of bus driver Philippe Monguillot, declared brain dead after being attacked for refusing to let aboard a group of people who were not wearing face masks, holds a picture of her husband during a white march in Bayonne, southwestern France, on July 8, 2020. (Iroz Gaizka/AFP via Getty Images) This white march is additional support because it is an extra force, Veronique Monguillot, the wife of the victim, told RTL France. I whispered to Philippe in his ear last night: I will avenge you with justice. This promise I will keep; I have the strength and were going to fight. In several major French citiesincluding Paris, Strasbourg, and Bordeauxbus drivers stopped all transportation services at 7:30 p.m. and held a minutes silence for their fellow bus driver. You cant just take someones life for a bus ticket, Veronique said. To those people who took my fathers life, my mothers life, our life. I want them to suffer, one of Philippes three daughters told RTL France. I want them to feel how we feel right now. The mayors of Bayonne Jean-rene Etchegaray (L) and Anglet Claude Olive (R) arrives for a meeting with French Junior Transports Minister and bus drivers of the public transport network of Bayonne, southwestern France, waits for the visit of on July 7, 2020. (Iroz Gaizka/AFP via Getty Images) French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin also expressed his condolences to Monguillots friends, family, and colleagues. This heinous and cowardly act must not go unpunished. Ill be traveling to Bayonne tomorrow to make a point of safety in the city with state officials and meet with public transport drivers and unions, he wrote on Twitter Friday. The attack on Monguillot prompted an angry reaction from his fellow bus drivers, with many refusing to work until after his funeral, AFP reported. One of his colleagues described him as a decent and hardworking man who always looked after passengers, the Mail reported. There has been a lot of tension over masks, because they are the law, but bus staff are not police, and we should not have to enforce the law, he added. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 18:21:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close An excavator works on the ruins after a building collapse accident in Lagos, Nigeria, July 11, 2020. At least two people were killed and eight others injured on Saturday after a residential building collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub. (Photo by Emmanuel Osodi/Xinhua) LAGOS, July 11 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and eight others injured on Saturday after a residential building collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub. Ibrahim Farinloye, an official with the national emergency management agency, confirmed the accident, saying the three storey building collapsed at 20 Freeman street, Lagos Island at about 3 a.m. local time (3:00 GMT). He told Xinhua that rescuers have discovered two bodies from the ruins, and rescued eight persons who have been transferred to the hospital. Farinloye said clearance and removal of rubbles continue. Residents living in the area said the building had been under renovation. Police have cordoned off the area amid rescue efforts, said one of the residents only identified himself as Yusuf. Enditem The World Health Organisation announces study into sudden rise of unspecified viral pneumonia cases in Kazakhstan in mid-June, suspects Covid-19, recommends country to surge up testing. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday (local time) that the unknown pneumonia reported in Kazakhstan could be COVID-19, CGTN News reported. Michael Ryan, executive director of the Health Emergencies Program of the WHO, said at a regular briefing that the pneumonia outbreak in the Central Asian nation was certainly on our radar, and the WHO is working with local health authorities amid a rise in reported cases. He also pointed out that theres been a big surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, with over 10,000 confirmed over the last seven days. The WHO is studying the quality of local testing conditions in case some pneumonia cases are in fact undiagnosed cases of COVID-19, Ryan said, adding that the WHO keeps an open mind to other possibilities. Also read: Virology specialist from HK exposes Chinas Covid-19 cover-up Also read: US-EU alliance against China: Mike Pompeo dials German Foreign Minister We are looking at the actual testing and the quality of the testing to make sure that there have not been false negative tests for some of those other pneumonia that are provisionally tested negative, he said. That is likely to be a major cause of this. In many ways, many of these pneumonia cases will also be COVID-19. They just have not been diagnosed correctly, Ryan added. On Thursday, the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan issued a warning to citizens living in the Central Asian country that the pneumonia had killed more than 1,700 people. Kazakhstani Health Department and other agencies are conducting comparative research and have not defined the nature of the pneumonia virus, said the statement cited by CNN. New cases of the unidentified pneumonia have been increasing significantly since mid-June across the country, said the embassy, adding that in some places, authorities are reporting hundreds of new cases a day. In a statement on Friday, the Kazakhstan health ministry acknowledged the presence of viral pneumonias of unspecified etiology, but denied that the outbreak was new or unknown. It added the unspecified pneumonia classification followed World Health Organization guidelines for the registration of pneumonia when the coronavirus infection is diagnosed clinically or epidemiologically but is not confirmed by laboratory testing. The number of pneumonia cases in the capital city Nursultan has more than doubled this June from the same time last year, according to Kazakhstans prominent news agency Kazinform, which cited official data. Also read: Rajnath Singh dials South Korean counterpart to discuss security concerns For all the latest World News, download NewsX App Two challengers Friday blamed the Cowlitz County commissioners for a lack of leadership on the areas homelessness problem, but Commissioner Dennis Weber said the county has not abandoned the effort to set up a hosted campsite. Challengers Kurt Anagnostou and Jack Hansen took issue with the June disbanding of the ad hoc committee formed to identify sites for a homeless encampment. The committee made up of county and city leaders tried unsuccessfully for months to find a backup location to the Longview-sponsored camp on Alabama Street. I see that as deserting the City of Longview, said Hansen, pastor at The Lighthouse Chapel, during a virtual League of Women Voters primary election forum. If we get everybody to the table, well come up with better methods and solutions than leaving the cities to fend for themselves, said Longview attorney Anagnostou, a former Cowlitz PUD commissioner and Longview mayor. The county has the funds available. It needs to take a leadership role and draw all the interested elements to the table. Weber shot back, saying Longview City Manager Kurt Sacha recommended disbanding the ad hoc committee. The commissioners havent dropped the idea of setting up a hosted camp, which would be organized and include oversight, security and health services, Weber said. The plan will also include funding permanent supportive housing to go along with that to get campers into housing with accompanying treatment and help, he said. The challenge is building the coalition on the commission to get the job done, and that hasnt happened yet, he said. The county has ladled out millions of dollars in state, federal and local tax dollars to address homelessness, but homeless counts have remained stubbornly high. The problems roots are deep, with cited reasons including drug addiction, a lack of employment opportunities and mental health problems. Hansen, a Republican, and Anagnostou, an Independent, are challenging Webers bid for a third four-year term as commissioner for the district representing the Longview area. The two top winners of the Aug. 4 primary will face off in the November general election. Weber, a Republican, and Anagnostou largely agreed on the importance of programs like the therapeutic courts such as Drug and Mental Health courts to help keep people out of jail and save money in the long run. Hansen said he doesnt believe the commissioners are as hands-on as they should be in monitoring the social service programs. Theres a lot of wastefulness so the county isnt seeing the results it should, he said. These program guidelines dont have the accountability, progressiveness or sustainability to get off taxpayer (funds), Hansen said. Hansen said theres often a game of kick the can between the cities and county rather than the entities working together. Its okay to disagree but you got to come up with a solution, he said. However, Weber said, At election time candidates often portray the city and county at loggerheads when that isnt the case. Anagnostou said theres been mixed communications from the county about the Headquarters Landfill that make the public nervous. The county needs to protect the landfill as a revenue-generating asset, he said. During his closing statement, Weber responded that hes not in favor of selling or contracting out the landfill, an idea considered but rejected two years ago. He said he listened to the citizens when they said they wanted the county to retain control. Hansen said he didnt know enough about the landfill at the time to comment on its management. All candidates spoke about the importance of bringing jobs to the area. While Weber and Anagnostou voiced support for Northwest Innovation Works proposed Kalama methanol plant, Hansen said hed have to analyze its safety and make sure the family wage jobs would go to local workers. Hansen said hed support apprenticeship programs for high school seniors to invest in the youth and make sure they have local jobs when they graduate. Anagnostou said the county should work on attracting new green industry. The county has been working on increasing jobs in the community, Weber said. He represents the commissioners on the board of Workforce Southwest Washington, which is working on an apprenticeship program. Local agencies offer a variety of job training, he said. There are a lot of ways to stimulate business but large employers hold the key, Weber said. So thank goodness we have the paper mills and health facilities, and our economy is surviving this COVID-19 pandemic because of their fuller employment. Cowlitz County has also been fortunate not to have a huge virus outbreak, he said. But Weber said he supports continuing the COVID-19 Incident Management Team in case history repeats itself. During the Spanish influenza outbreak a century ago, the county loosened restrictions after seeing no major effects for the first few weeks, but then the virus surged and killed multiple people, Weber said. Anagnostou called out the commissioners for passing a resolution in May stating the states COVID-19 mandates are arbitrary and capricious. The pandemic is a health and science problem thats been warped into a political issue, he said. The response has been painful but the pandemic is not over yet, Anagnostou said. The county should continue to promote the benefit of mask wearing and social distancing, he said. Hansen took the opposite stance, saying the countys emergency declaration is crying wolf and that the county could have found a more creative way to get personal protective equipment. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 2 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Of all the memorable speeches delivered by Winston Churchill, none was more influential than his 1946 address at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. Although Churchill was no longer Prime Minister by then, the speech threw out phrases that would echo down the years. Describing a new post-war division of the world between East and West, he invoked the sinews of peace, made the first reference to a special relationship between Britain and America, and issued a dark warning that from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent [of Europe]. Fulton was a turning point, convincing war-weary Western leaders that the Soviet Union could not be trusted, despite its role in defeating Hitler. Appeasing China has not worked. And that is why today, just as Churchill stood up to Stalin in 1946, Boris Johnson should take a stand and urge the West to face down President Xi Jinpings cynical aggression, writes Tobias Ellwood President Truman, who was sitting in the audience, would recalibrate his view of Joseph Stalin and adopt a policy of preventing the spread of Communism around the world. It was in the wake of Fulton that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Nato, was created, ensuring that the West had the military strength to defend its values. How the Cold War might have unfolded had Churchills words gone unheeded, it is hard to imagine. Today, more than 70 years on, the parallels are dangerously clear. A new superpower is on the march and Western democracies are once again failing to understand the threat. We have indulged China as it embarked upon its extraordinary ascent, attempting to deepen our engagement instead of subjecting Beijing to proper scrutiny. For the past 40 years, we have somehow persuaded ourselves that an authoritarian Communist state would evolve into a global citizen embracing liberty and open trade. Today we must face the harsh reality that weve been duped. Any notion that China can be trusted must surely have been dispelled following its initial and disastrous attempts to conceal the Covid-19 pandemic. If it transpires that the virus began its spread as a result of negligence in a Wuhan laboratory, it can only strengthen calls to temper Chinas reach and influence. For despite endless promises of transparency and reform, China has shunned international accountability. It seeks superpower status but repudiates freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Appeasing China has not worked. And that is why today, just as Churchill stood up to Stalin in 1946, Boris Johnson should take a stand and urge the West to face down President Xi Jinpings cynical aggression. If there are parallels between the former Soviet Union and the new China, it is important to recognise the differences, too. For a start, China is infinitely richer than the USSR ever was. It is also more subtle and long-term in its strategy than anything dreamt up by Stalin or Khrushchev. Of all the memorable speeches delivered by Winston Churchill, none was more influential than his 1946 address at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri Xi is well versed in the Art of War by the Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, who concluded that the supreme skill is to subdue the enemy without fighting. And to do this, China has adopted a three-pronged approach of a mighty economy, state-sponsored technology and military strength. Beijing already controls vast areas of global trade and development. A dozen or more states, including Pakistan, Venezuela and Ethiopia, are now locked into large-scale infrastructure projects which they can ill afford. Having signed up to so-called One Belt One Road initiatives, they find themselves economically dependent on the Chinese Communist Party, a process known as debt trap diplomacy. Today, China owns more global debt than any other country and we can expect growing pressure to recognise the Chinese renminbi as an alternative to the US dollar as the key international currency. Chinas gains influence in more advanced states through the purchase of companies, particularly in the property, utility, finance and retail sectors. Household names such as Weetabix, Superdrug, Hoover, Motorola and MG are now run from Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. Chinas colossal state funding of its own tech companies allows them to offer products and services at discount prices, becoming global giants in the process. With artificial intelligence and 5G telecommunications transforming world economies, we can be sure that whoever controls the data also wields the power to monitor, steal or interfere. China already owns about a quarter of the worlds data and will control even more as international companies are encouraged to migrate away from Americas Global Positioning System (GPS) to Chinas BeiDou system of satellite communications. With artificial intelligence and 5G telecommunications transforming world economies, we can be sure that whoever controls the data also wields the power to monitor, steal or interfere. Pictured: A man wearing a mask for protection, stands in the Huawei shop in Shanghai, China, on Monday No wonder the US wants Huawei out of the UK. When it does decide to show its fangs, Beijing will do so without hesitation, as the persecuted Uighurs and residents of Hong Kong and Tibet know all too well. China boasts the biggest land army in the world. Its huge navy dominates ever more of the South China Sea, turning disputed islands into military fortresses which intimidate international shipping. Next, Beijing will claim the skies, too, and Taiwan which it hints it will invade will be completely isolated. Nuclear missiles are already in Xis armoury. Chinas trump card, though, must surely be the power it wields over the international bodies that are supposed to hold it to account. The United Nations Security Council is paralysed thanks to the vetoes of China and Russia. Beijing held the rotating council presidency in April and failed to hold a single public meeting on Covid-19, even as the virus rampaged around the globe. By increasing donations and patiently promoting its officials in the administrative ranks of international organisations, China has acquired new diplomatic strength, challenging global norms and fending off censure. Beijing even wields influence in a supposedly sceptical country such as ours. Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed how The 48 Group of powerful pro-Chinese lobbyists stands accused of grooming Britains elites. We have allowed China to make huge investments in our most vital infrastructure and even tolerate attempts to control free speech among Chinese students in our own universities. The West, including Britain, must accept responsibility for where we are today. China has long recognised our weaknesses and divisions and Covid-19 has now exposed just how frail our world order has become. We must not forget that Britain remains influential across the globe, even if the US, our closest ally, needs reminding of the unwritten duties that accompany its status as a responsible superpower. How Britain conducts itself over the next few weeks will have long-term implications. And thats why, today, I urge the PM to step forward and emulate Churchills Iron Curtain speech. It would show bold leadership, extreme courage, even. It would define his legacy. Yes, there would be consequences and economic repercussions. China would retaliate. But its heavy reliance on global trade means Beijing has an Achilles heel. China needs wealthy Western nations to buy its exports and that gives us the leverage to push back. We have allowed China to make huge investments in our most vital infrastructure and even tolerate attempts to control free speech among Chinese students in our own universities. Pictured: China's President Xi Jinping We must reinvigorate our sense of what the West stands for in a newly divided world. It is time to reunite and lead our allies. For, if power continues to shift unchecked from West to East, a new Cold War is imminent. Our Government must give this urgent mission a higher priority. The vital defence, security and foreign policy review a major stock check of Britains capabilities, alliances, threats and ambitions has been delayed. Yet we race ahead with fresh political upheaval, rearranging the Whitehall personalities and architecture. A global revolution is already under way and it is potentially more dangerous than the one exposed by Churchill in 1946. The way of life we take for granted is under real threat from a new world order. Yet the most powerful strategic thinker in Government, Dominic Cummings, remains a domestic revolutionary with little appetite for the international scene. I hope that his forthcoming tour of the UKs most classified national security sites, and the influence of the new National Security Adviser, David Frost, will help persuade him that Britain can play a much more significant international role than at present. The great Foreign Secretaries Anthony Eden and Ernest Bevin turned Churchills Missouri speech into real action. It is time for their successors in the Foreign Office to step forward. In his Fulton speech, Churchill urged: Do not let us take the course of allowing events to drift along until it is too late. We should learn the lesson. The time to stand up to China is now, and the country to do it is Britain. Click here to search our database for earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900! Please wait while we search through millions of records.This can take up to 20-30 seconds. Contribute: Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it. Flag as inappropriate. Mark as helpful or interesting. Send your own user report! User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision. If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter),Other users would love to hear about it!although you were in the area,! 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Tourism and Civil Aviation Secretary Devesh Kumar said before framing the SOPs for opening of the tourism units, the state has examined the guidelines of other states that have also opened the hotels for the tourists. He said the tourists have to register themselves for procuring an e-pass 48 hours before visiting the state under the tourist category. They have to carry Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test certificate issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) certified laboratory with negative report and this should not be more than 72 hours old. In addition, the tourist must have downloaded Aarogya Setu App on their mobiles. Tourism and Civil Aviation Director Yunus said that at the state entry points the COVID-19 report, a confirmed booking of minimum five days in a registered tourism unit, e-pass and Aarogya Setu app would be checked. --IANS vg/ A Edna Orante helps her son Damian Orante with an oral swab test at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) The coronavirus continues to spread in L.A. County as officials Friday confirmed 51 more deaths related to COVID-19 and 2,667 additional cases. There are 1,995 people hospitalized with the novel coronavirus in the county, with 26% in intensive care and 17% on ventilators. It's a significant increase from the 1,350 to 1,450 daily hospitalizations seen four weeks ago, according to the Department of Public Health. Meanwhile, the seven-day average for the countys daily positivity rate those who test positive for the virus has climbed to 10%. L.A. County has identified more than 127,300 cases of the virus and seen more than 3,700 deaths, with the number of patients with confirmed infections having increased by more than 40% in the last three weeks. Officials have warned of the potential for exceeding hospital capacity if patients with the coronavirus have to start competing with others for a bed. As we continue to see increases in new cases and hospitalizations, it is important to remember that if you think you could be positive and are awaiting testing results, to stay at home and act as if you are positive for COVID-19, said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer in a statement. This means self-isolating for 10 days and 72 hours after symptoms and fever subside. Los Angeles is on the states list of counties being monitored for their rising case counts and increased hospitalizations. If counties remain on the list for three or more consecutive days, the state will require them to close bars and indoor dining in restaurants, along with most other indoor business operations, for at least three weeks. L.A. County reopened restaurants for in-person dining on May 29 and allowed bars to reopen on June 19. Its bars were ordered shut again on June 28, and indoor dining rooms on July 1. During a Friday briefing, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti reminded Angelenos that socializing and gathering with people outside of their households is still not allowed. He warned as he did earlier this week that the city could reimpose a mandatory stay-at-home order should the risk of infection worsen. Story continues Were not back to a safer at home order, but we all need to do our part to minimize the spread of COVID-19, he said. Twenty thousand people were tested at city and county testing sites on Friday, Garcetti said. To meet surging demand, city testing capacity will increase by 25% next week. More than 1 million people have now been tested by the city and county, he said. The coronavirus surged across California with the reopening of the economy last month, with people beginning to socialize again in ways that allowed the virus to spread rapidly across communities. A survey by USC this week found L.A. County residents are increasingly concerned that California is lifting restrictions on public activity due to the pandemic too quickly. While 75% of survey respondents expressed such worry in early May, 79% did so in mid-June. Times staff writer Colleen Shalby, Hannah Fry, and Luke Money contributed to this report. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. The coronavirus can stay aloft for hours in tiny droplets in stagnant air, infecting people as they inhale, mounting scientific evidence suggests. This risk is highest in crowded indoor spaces with poor ventilation, and may help explain superspreading events reported in meatpacking plants, churches and restaurants. Its unclear how often the virus is spread via these tiny droplets, or aerosols, compared with larger droplets that are expelled when a sick person coughs or sneezes, or transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces, said Linsey Marr, an aerosol expert at Virginia Tech. Aerosols are released even when a person without symptoms exhales, talks or sings, according to Marr and more than 200 other experts, who have outlined the evidence in an open letter to the World Health Organization. What is clear, they said, is that people should consider minimizing time indoors with people outside their families. Schools, nursing homes and businesses should consider adding powerful new air filters and ultraviolet lights that can kill airborne viruses. Here are answers to a few questions raised by the latest research. What does it mean for a virus to be airborne? For a virus to be airborne means that it can be carried through the air in a viable form. For most pathogens, this is a yes-no scenario. HIV, too delicate to survive outside the body, is not airborne. Measles is airborne, and dangerously so: It can survive in the air for up to two hours. For the coronavirus, the definition has been more complicated. Experts agree that the virus does not travel long distances or remain viable outdoors. But evidence suggests it can traverse the length of a room and, in one set of experimental conditions, remain viable for perhaps three hours. How are aerosols different from droplets? Aerosols are droplets, droplets are aerosols they do not differ except in size. Scientists sometimes refer to droplets fewer than 5 microns in diameter as aerosols. (By comparison, a red blood cell is about 5 microns in diameter; a human hair is about 50 microns wide.) From the start of the pandemic, the WHO and other public health organizations have focused on the viruss ability to spread through large droplets that are expelled when a symptomatic person coughs or sneezes. These droplets are heavy, relatively speaking, and fall quickly to the floor or onto a surface that others might touch. This is why public health agencies have recommended maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from others, and frequent hand washing. But some experts have said for months that infected people also are releasing aerosols when they cough and sneeze. More important, they expel aerosols even when they breathe, talk or sing, especially with some exertion. Scientists know now that people can spread the virus even in the absence of symptoms without coughing or sneezing and aerosols might explain that phenomenon. Because aerosols are smaller, they contain much less virus than droplets do. But because they are lighter, they can linger in the air for hours, especially in the absence of fresh air. In a crowded indoor space, a single infected person can release enough aerosolized virus over time to infect many people, perhaps seeding a superspreader event. For droplets to be responsible for that kind of spread, a single person would have to be within a few feet of all the other people, or to have contaminated an object that everyone else touched. All that seems unlikely to many experts: I have to do too many mental gymnastics to explain those other routes of transmission compared to aerosol transmission, which is much simpler, Marr said. Can I stop worrying about physical distancing and washing my hands? Physical distancing is still very important. The closer you are to an infected person, the more aerosols and droplets you may be exposed to. Washing your hands often is still a good idea. Whats new is that those two things may not be enough. We should be placing as much emphasis on masks and ventilation as we do with hand washing, Marr said. As far as we can tell, this is equally important, if not more important. Should I begin wearing a hospital-grade mask indoors? And how long is too long to stay indoors? Health care workers may all need to wear N95 masks, which filter out most aerosols. At the moment, they are advised to do so only when engaged in certain medical procedures that are thought to produce aerosols. For the rest of us, cloth face masks will still greatly reduce risk, as long as most people wear them. At home, when youre with your own family or with roommates you know to be careful, masks are still not necessary. But it is a good idea to wear them in other indoor spaces, experts said. As for how long is safe, that is frustratingly tough to answer. A lot depends on whether the room is too crowded to allow for a safe distance from others and whether there is fresh air circulating through the room. What does airborne transmission mean for reopening schools and colleges? This is a matter of intense debate. Many schools are poorly ventilated and are too poorly funded to invest in new filtration systems. There is a huge vulnerability to infection transmission via aerosols in schools, said Don Milton, an aerosol expert at the University of Maryland. Most children younger than 12 seem to have only mild symptoms, if any, so elementary schools may get by. So far, we dont have evidence that elementary schools will be a problem, but the upper grades, I think, would be more likely to be a problem, Milton said. College dorms and classrooms are also cause for concern. Milton said the government should think of long-term solutions for these problems. Having public schools closed clogs up the whole economy, and its a major vulnerability, he said. Until we understand how this is part of our national defense, and fund it appropriately, were going to remain extremely vulnerable to these kinds of biological threats. What are some things I can do to minimize the risks? Do as much as you can outdoors. Despite the many photos of people at beaches, even a somewhat crowded beach, especially on a breezy day, is likely to be safer than a pub or an indoor restaurant with recycled air. But even outdoors, wear a mask if you are likely to be close to others for an extended period. When indoors, one simple thing people can do is to open their windows and doors whenever possible, Marr said. You can also upgrade the filters in your home air-conditioning systems, or adjust the settings to use more outdoor air rather than recirculated air. Public buildings and businesses may want to invest in air purifiers and ultraviolet lights that can kill the virus. Despite their reputation, elevators may not be a big risk, Milton said, compared with public bathrooms or offices with stagnant air where you may spend a long time. If none of those things are possible, try to minimize the time you spend in an indoor space, especially without a mask. The longer you spend inside, the greater the dose of virus you might inhale. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Three Awesome, Unknown Aspects of Oceanside, N. Oregon Coast Video Published 07/08/020 at 7:44 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Oceanside, Oregon) For such a tiny town, the village of Oceanside is crammed full of intriguing details and finds. Its actually quite possible you couldnt find it all in one day. Its also possible you wont see it all, depending on the time of year. Thats one of the many things that makes this diminutive burgh so engaging. Heres three more of them. Summers Bigger Sands. On any given summer along the Oregon coast sand levels rise, creating an array of different looks to your favorite beach and sometimes drastically changing a spot. Often, it makes any beach a lot wider by creating sand bars just at the tideline and on the beach itself. This can give the illusion of an extremely low tide, but its simply the sand bars pushing the tide way out. Oceanside is one of those that is on the fun-o-rama receiving end of this, where summer can extend the sands beyond ol Maxwell Point and you sometimes dont have to use the tunnel to go to the other side. This seems to be a somewhat recent development: many have told Oregon Coast Beach Connection they hadnt seen that before the mid 2010s. The differences are absolutely striking downright stunning. You can see from the two photos above: one with Oceansides Maxwell Point in a normal state, and the second with a huge chunk of empty sand around it. (Also see Oceanside Unusual Tide Condtions, Free Access) Oceanside During Wartime. Oceanside got its start on July 4, 1922, after the Rosenberg brothers who had purchased the land officially named it. The tiny place will soon turn 100 years old. Even in its early days it was quite the resort town, with a good 500 tents set up all over the village to house guests. That beats its current lodging capacity count by a good factor of ten. However, the Great Depression took a large bite out of that, and eventually World War II killed its tourism biz completely. All those tent sites went to soldiers at that time. (See Oceanside History Part 1) Just up the road towards Cape Meares youll spot Radar Road if youre observant. Soldiers were housed here as well, manning a radar station. Keep reading. Short Beachs Delicious Secrets. Take the road running behind Oceanside northward - the road that was once the Three Capes Loop, but now its known as Route or Tour since a landslide closed that loop off. About a mile up that road youll bump into Short Beach (not to be confused with Manzanitas famous Short Sand Beach). Its a bit of a secret spot all by itself, stuffed between Oceansides Maxwell Mountain and Cape Meares and no obvious signage. You park at a gravel spot either next to the entrance or across the street. Take the stairway of a one thousand steps (theyre probably not kidding), and you step onto a stunning, pristine beach with a big blob that looks a lot like Neskowins Proposal Rock. (See Short Beach, Near Oceanside) Perhaps its most amazing sight is one you can barely see: the concrete remnants of the radar station that once kept guard here. That structure is in the middle of some trees, across the road and north about a block or so. Its one of the few true remnants of World War II found along the Oregon coast. Hotels in Oceanside - Where to eat - Oceanside Maps and Virtual Tours More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Sana Shakil By Express News Service NEW DELHI: If at all a probe is ordered in case of Vikas Dubeys encounter, over which many, including former senior police officers, have raised serious doubts, and the police personnel involved in Thursdays encounter of his aides are found guilty and are convicted, it would be a exception and not a norm. Thats because in all such cases, as per National Crime Records Bureaus latest report of 2018, there has not been a single conviction of a police personnel. No policeman was convicted for human rights violations, including custodial deaths, according to data analysed by this newspaper. A total of 70 custodial deaths were reported in 2018, of which most of the people 46 were not on remand. Gujarat reported 14 such deaths, the highest; Tamil Nadu followed with 12 such deaths and Andhra Pradesh with 11. Other states which reported custodial deaths were Maharashtra (7), Rajasthan (5), Madhya Pradesh (4), and 2 each from Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, Punjab and Telangana. Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala also reported one custodial death each. Of the total cases, magisterial inquiry was ordered in only 21 eight in Gujarat, five in Andhra, three in Tamil Nadu, two each in Punjab and Rajasthan and one in Assam. While Section 176 (1A) of CrPC mandates judicial iquiry in every case of custodial death, NCRB data shows it was ordered only in 28 of the 70 cases nine in Tamil Nadu, seven in Maharashtra, five in Gujarat, four in MP and one each in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Of the 46 incidents of people who were not on remand and died in police custody, only in 29 incidents were criminal cases filed. Charge sheets were filed in only five matters in which a total of 13 policemen were charge-sheeted and 23 personnel were arrested, but not a single cop was convicted in any of those cases. Of the total 24 deaths in police/judicial remand, 15 criminal cases were registered but the accused were given a clean chit even before the chargesheets were filed. According to the NCRB, highest number of custodial deaths (32) happened due to illness followed by suicides (17). Seven died while escaping and seven due to injuries sustained earlier. Three deaths were reported due to injuries caused by the police, one prisoner died in a road accident and the cause of death of three prisoners could not be known. There were 89 cases of alleged human rights violations by police and in none of them was anyone convicted. These included four encounters, 3 custodial deaths, 3 cases of police torture, 17 of extortion by police personnel, an illegal detention and 61 other cases. London, July 11 : UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged people living in the country to return to work if they can, signalling a significant shift away from the current government policy, it was reported. Johnson has announced it is time for people to live their lives "more normally", adding that he wanted to see the public heading out into the world with more confidence, reports the Metro newspaper. Addressing an online question and answer session with the public on Friday, he also hinted that people should expect stricter rules on wearing face coverings in confined public spaces soon. "I want people to go back to work as carefully as possible. It's very important that people should be going back to work if they can now. "I think everybody has sort of taken the 'stay at home if you can'... I think we should now say, well, 'go back to work if you can'. "Because I think it's very important that people should try to lead their lives more normally. I want to see more people feeling confident to use the shops, use the restaurants, and get back into work - but only if we all follow the guidance." The government's official coronavirus guidance currently advises people to "stay at home as much as possible" and 'work from home if you can". But Johnson later clarified his statement, saying people should only return if their company is obeying the guidelines and it was safe to do so, the Metro newspaper reported. Regarding face coverings, the Prime Minister said in the online session: "I do think we need to be stricter in insisting people wear face coverings in confined spaces where they are meeting people they don't normally meet. "We are looking at ways of making sure that people really do have face coverings in shops, for instance, where there is a risk of transmission." Face coverings are currently compulsory on public transport and in hospitals in England, while people are legally obliged to wear them inside shops and on public transport in Scotland. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 18:55:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close An injured man receives medical treatment at a local hospital in Kandahar city, southern Afghanistan, July 12, 2020. Taliban militants have killed at least 23 civilians and wounded 45 others in Afghanistan within the past seven days, office of the country's National Security Council said on Saturday. (Photo by Sanaullah Seiam/Xinhua) KABUL, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants have killed at least 23 civilians and wounded 45 others in Afghanistan within the past seven days, office of the country's National Security Council said on Saturday. The casualties were inflicted to civilians from July 4 to July 10 in 16 of the country's 34 provinces, where the civilians were victimized mostly in armed clashes, explosion of improvised bombs and landmines or target killings, the council office said in a statement. "The Taliban militants have resorted to abduction and killing of civilians and used public facilities as war shields in Afghanistan during the period," the statement said. "The use of civilian infrastructure and civilian homes as shield and intentional abduction of civilians make another key component of civilian causalities. Killing innocent and defenseless Afghan civilians is against all religious, human, war and moral principles and the Taliban continues to do so," the statement noted. Afghan civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts as more than 500 people were killed and 760 others wounded due to fighting in the country in the first three months of 2020, according to official figures. Since the signing of a Taliban and United States peace agreement in late February, Afghan leaders, including President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, have frequently demanded the Taliban to reduce violence. The militants, however, have intensified attacks, killing and injuring scores of combatants and civilians. Enditem Soon after news of Bollywood's megastar Amitabh Bachchan, aged 77, testing positive for COVID-19 broke out, it's been confirmed that even his son Abhishek Bachchan has tested positive for the virus. Amitabh is currently admitted at the Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai, whereas the rest of the family is awaiting test results. Amitabh Bachchan Abhishek Health Update: Amitabh Abhishek | FilmiBeat Abhishek, aged 44, took to his Twitter handle to share the news. He wrote, "Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you." Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you. Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) July 11, 2020 In another tweet, he added, "The BMC has been in touch and we are complying with them." The BMC has been in touch and we are complying with them. Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) July 11, 2020 On Saturday evening, reports of Amitabh Bachchan being hospitalized at the Nanavati hospital in Mumbai began to surface. Big B himself took to his Twitter handle to confirm the news of his hospitalization, and also revealed that the reason was that he had tested positive for the Coronavirus. Regarding Big B's health, Hindustan Times quoted a source at the hospital as saying, "He is stable with minor breathlessness. But considering his age and previous illnesses including tuberculosis, his condition might deteriorate." ALSO READ: B-Town Celebs Pray For Amitabh Bachchan And Abhishek Bachchan After They Test Positive For COVID-19 Amitabh also shared that the rest of his family members were getting tested. Although it has now been confirmed that Abhishek has tested positive, the results of the rest of the Bachchan household are not yet known. ALSO READ: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan COVID-19 Test Results At 3 AM, Jaya Bachchan Tests Negative Announcing that he had tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus, Amitabh wrote on Twitter, "T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested !" T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested ! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 11, 2020 l" title="ALSO READ: Amitabh Bachchan Tests COVID-19 Positive: Shifted To The Hospital" />ALSO READ: Amitabh Bachchan Tests COVID-19 Positive: Shifted To The Hospital FORKSVILLE A Sullivan County man who reportedly thought going to prison would be a death sentence due to COLVID-19 has been killed by law enforcement personnel trying to serve a bench warrant. Kevin Michael Norton, 60, was fatally shot about 10:30 a.m. Friday in the garage on his property along Cotts Road near Forksville. State police who are investigating the incident have not disclosed whether a trooper or county deputy sheriff fired the fatal shot. An autopsy is scheduled Monday, Coroner Wendy Hastings said. A bench warrant for Nortons arrest had been issued Tuesday because he failed to report to the Columbia County Prison to begin serving a sentence of 6 to 23 months for theft and defiant trespass. He had pleaded guilty in February in five cases. His attorney, Kyle W. Rude, said Saturday that Norton greeted those trying to serve the warrant with a shotgun. Norton had pain and lung problems from being burned and was self-medicating along with taking what doctors prescribed, the attorney said. He was concerned if he went prison he would contract the coronavirus and would die, according to Rude, who said he had tried to convince his client to report. Norton had been sentenced June 2 to 6 months to 5 years in prison but Rude was successful in getting Wyoming-Sullivan County Judge Russell D. Shurtleff to reduce the maximum to 23 months. Shurtleff refused to grant bail pending an appeal of the conviction, but the state Superior Court initially did. After learning from Shurtleff why he had denied bail the appellate court reversed itself, requiring Norton to begin serving his sentence. Attempts to reach Sullivan County District Attorney Leonard Simpson to learn if he considered the shooting justified were unsuccessful. More: 1 shot in Harrisburg Saturday afternoon Man, woman killed in shooting outside Pa. restaurant; suspect wounded by customer: police Family files $35M suit, claims Harrisburg police took overdosing man to jail, not hospital Advertisement The sudden death of Seoul's mayor, reportedly implicated in a sexual harassment complaint, has prompted an outpouring of public sympathy. It has raised questions about Park Won-soon who built his career as a reform-minded politician and self-described feminist. Park was found dead on a wooded hill in northern Seoul early Friday, about seven hours after his daughter reported to police he had left her a 'will-like' verbal message and then left their home. Authorities launched a massive search for the 64-year-old before rescue dogs found his body. The sudden death of Seoul's mayor, reportedly implicated in a sexual harassment complaint, has prompted an outpouring of public sympathy A mourner crouches on the floor and weeps at a memorial altar for late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at Seoul City Hall Plaza Two mourners in face masks weep as one wipes her eyes in front of a memorial altar for Park Won-soon in Seoul People line up to pay tribute to Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon who was first elected in 2011 and served three terms Police said there was no sign of foul play at the site though they refused to disclose the cause of death. On Friday morning, Seoul officials said they were releasing what they called Park's 'will' found at his residence at the request of his family. The note shown on TV said: 'I feel sorry to everyone. I thank everyone who has been with me in my life.' It continued with a request that his remains be cremated and scattered around his parents' graves. Park was a huge figure in South Korean politics. As a former human rights lawyer, he led two of South Korea's most influential civic groups and was mayor of Seoul, the South Korean capital city with 10 million people, since 2011. He was widely considered a leading liberal candidate for president when his political ally and current President Moon Jae-in's single five-year term ends in 2022. Park was a heavyweight figure in the ruling centre-left Democratic party and won three elections while promoting gender and social equality, making him the longest-serving mayor of the capital. Four people stand in front of Park's memorial at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, to pay their respects Two mourners stand and another kneels in front of the memorial after the sudden death of the mayor of South Korea's capital Citizens form a long queue near a memorial altar set up in front of City Hall to pay their respects to the late Seoul Mayor His death shocked many and his supporters wailed and shouted things like 'we love you' and 'we are sorry' when his body arrived at a Seoul hospital. His name was the most popular search word on main internet portal sites and condolence messages flooded social media. On one TV programme Friday morning, a panelist choked up and couldn't continue talking about Park. Kim Young-hyun, a small business owner, said near Seoul City Hall: 'I really respected him... I hope he can realise all his dreams in heaven.' Anti-Park sentiment also erupted amid media reports that one of his female secretaries had lodged a complaint with police on Wednesday night over alleged sexual harassment over an extended period. Police only confirmed that a complaint against Park had been filed but cited privacy issues in refusing to elaborate, including about whether the complaint was about sexual behaviour. The Associated Press news agency made numerous calls to police, who declined to provide more details about the complaint. Some critics questioned the image of a man who had portrayed himself as 'a feminist mayor' dedicated to gender equality and a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement. Mourners kneel to pay tribute to Park Won-soon in front of a memorial altar for Park Won-soon who was found dead early on Friday People sit down and weep as they mourn for the late mayor who died following reports of his implication in a sexual harassment complaint A mourner wearing a face masks wipes her face with a cloth as she waits in line to mourn at the memorial altar A woman reacts after arguing with a conservative political supporter as people visit a memorial altar for Park Won-soon A mourner buries her face in a cloth as she weeps after paying her respects at the memorial for the late Seoul mayor A mourner crouches on the floor and weeps in Seoul as hundreds mourn for the late mayor who built his career as a reform-minded politician During his days as a human rights lawyer, Park won South Korea's first sexual harassment conviction in 1998. It followed a years long legal battle in which he represented a Seoul National University research assistant who accused a professor of making sexual advances and firing her after she rejected them. He strongly advocated for the cause of 'comfort women' who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels before and during World War Two. As mayor, he appointed a special adviser on gender equality issues and introduced policies aimed at designing safer urban environments for women and providing affordable housing for working single women. Resident near Seoul Lee Ji-hye said: 'I think Park did something wrong. It's also regrettable for anyone in public service to be embroiled in such an allegation regardless of whether it's true or not. 'As a former human rights lawyer, he was accused of doing something bad but we cannot directly ask him about his position because he's gone now. That's very disappointing too.' Professor Yi Han Sang at Korea University criticised the Seoul city government for planning to establish a public mourning area near its building and use official funds for Park's funeral next week. He said the city government must stop acts that could lead to public criticism of the alleged victim and focus on thinking about how to protect her and find the truth about the allegation. A stream of Park's fellow politicians affiliated with the governing Democratic Party and senior presidential officials visited a private mourning site at Seoul National University. Media photos showed sympathy flowers bearing President Moon Jae-in's name placed there. Presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min told reporters at the hospital that Moon called Park's death 'very shocking,' Yonhap news agency reported. A mourner dabs her eyes with her hands as she walks away from the memorial after paying her respects at Seoul City Hall After paying their respects to Park Won-soon, two mourners walk away from the altar in South Korea One mourner holds another's wrist as they walk away from the altar after paying their respects at the memorial altar A mourner puts their bag on the floor and covers their eyes with their hand after paying their respects to the late mayor When Democratic Party chief Lee Hae-chan confronted journalists there, one asked him how the harassment allegations should be handled. Lee scolded the journalist for asking a 'rude' question that he said shouldn't be raised in that place. There are worries that the public mourning for Park could lead to criticism of the alleged victim, whose identity is unknown. Ryu Ho-jeong of the small liberation opposition Justice Party wrote on Facebook that she won't pay respects to Park, saying she doesn't want the alleged victim to 'feel lonely'. Her message drew both strong support and opposition online. Kim Ji-hyeong, an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, confirmed that Park did not show up for work on Thursday because of unspecified reasons. He also cancelled all his schedules, including a meeting with a presidential official at his Seoul City Hall office. Police said 600 police and fire officers using drones were scrambled to join the hunt, searching into the hours of Thursday evening. His body was discovered in the early hours of Friday morning. Fire officer Jeong Jin-hyang said rescuers had used dogs to search dangerous areas on the hills, and helicopters were planned to be deployed if the mayor was not found overnight. Though women's rights have gradually improved in recent years, South Korea largely remains a male-centred society. People stand near a memorial altar for late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on July 11 after he was found dead early on Friday Mourners line up to wait for their turn to pay tribute to Park Won-soon at the memorial altar set up in front of the Seoul City Hall There is a long queue of mourners waiting to pay their respects to the mayor who was considered a leading liberal candidate for President after the current President's term ends in 2022 Two men stand either site of the public memorial for the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in Seoul on July 11 A memorial altar was set up at the Seoul City Hall following the sudden death of the capital's mayor There was a long line of mourners waiting to pay tribute for the late mayor at the memorial altar set up at Seoul City Hall A photo of Mayor Park Won-soon sits amongst white flowers at the memorial at Seoul City Hall in South Korea Mourners line up in front of the memorial altar for Park Won-soon who was found dead on a wooded hill in northern Seoul early Friday Mourners take pictures with their phones after paying their respects at the memorial altar at Seoul City Hall Plaza Mourners stand on the grass near the memorial altar to pay their respects for the former human rights lawyer People stand near the memorial altar to pay tribute for the former human rights lawyer in Seoul, South Korea Park also praised women for their courage after a series of women accused powerful politicians and policymakers of sexual wrongdoings amid the #MeToo movement in 2018. The #MeToo movement that began in 2018 in South Korea successfully targeted many male celebrities, but the women who raised allegations sometimes faced strong online attacks and other backlash from supports of the alleged abusers. The most prominent South Korean man caught in the #MeToo movement was South Chungcheong Province Gov. Ahn Hee-jung, a liberal who is now serving a prison term of three and a half years for raping his former secretary. Earlier this year, Oh Keo-don, the former mayor of Busan, the country's second-largest city, stepped down after a female public servant accused him of sexually assaulting her in his office. Park also established himself as a fierce opponent of former conservative President Park Geun-hye and openly supported the millions of people who flooded the city's streets in late 2016 and 2017, calling for her ouster over a corruption scandal. Park Geun-hye, a daughter of late authoritarian leader Park Chung-hee, was formally removed from office in March 2017 and is currently served a decades-long prison term on bribery and other charges. Five people have been killed in South Africa church attack, AP reported. Over 40 have been arrested after a hostage situation at a church near Johannesburg. According to law enforcement officials on a shooting at the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in Zuurbekom, four people were shot and burned to death in a car and a security guard shot in another car. Six people were injured. Over 30 firearms were discovered. According to the report, the attack by armed people may have been motivated by a feud between church members. The police managed to rescue women, children, and men who had been held hostage. A California doctor has been charged after it was found that vulnerable drug addicts were being paid hundreds of dollars in cash to receive an experimental procedure, after which several died of overdoses. Dr. Randy Rosen is facing 88 felony charges from the Los Angeles Orange County district attorney, who called him "a real life" Frankenstein. Prosecutors have accused him of fraudulently billing insurance companies over $650 million and stealing almost $52 million in what they call an elaborate scheme. A 2018 CBS News investigation found medical industry insiders claiming that doctors made up to $30,000 conducting a simple, 30-minute outpatient procedure implanting a small pellet. The pellet, a naltrexone implant, was inserted near a patient's abdomen and released medication to help curb cravings and blocked the brain's opiate receptors. The result was that heroine users conceivably would not feel its effects. As part of the investigation, CBS News spoke undercover with some marketers and recruiters, who pointed them to Rosen. A woman named Debbie Berry, whose son was one of the victims of Rosen's procedure, also spoke out. She told CBS News in 2018 that her son, Brennen, texted her to tell her he had a drug problem. Desperate to help, Berry got him into treatment in California. One day, he called her to tell her he found something to help. She said he told her, "I'm going to get an implant put in, I'm here with them and they've done a pre-certification that your insurance will pay for it." Berry said Brennen was "adamant" about how much the implant would help. Three months after the procedure, Brennen overdosed after taking heroin mixed with fentanyl. After he died, Berry learned her son was paid $1,000 to get the implant. "I absolutely did not know he was getting paid for it," she told "CBS This Morning: Saturday" co-host Jeff Glor. "You don't give a drug addict cash money." Story continues Rosen declined a 2018 request for comment, and said nothing to a CBS News producer outside of his office. Today, Berry said there is "not a second of a day that goes by" that she does not miss her son, but she said she wants to see justice served. "If they get him convicted, I've already told the DA's office that I will fly to California and I will get on that stand and I will face that man, look him right in the eye and give a victim impact statement," she said. Berry said she hopes to face Rosen in court, and send him a clear message. "I want to face him and tell him what he's taken from me and what I have to live with for the rest of my life," she said. "And what I'm living without for the rest of my life." Rosen plead "not guilty" to all 88 felony counts. CBS News reached out to his attorney for comment multiple times, but he has not responded to the request. Trump visits Florida as state's coronavirus cases climb Saturday Sessions: Ashley McBryde performs Sparrow Saturday Sessions: Ashley McBryde performs One Night Standards What happened Curaleaf Holdings (OTC:CURLF) announced Friday it has finalized the acquisition of BlueKudu, a Colorado-based maker of high-end edible cannabis products. As part of the deal -- the terms and price of which were not disclosed -- Curaleaf will also acquire BlueKudu's 8,400-square-foot processing facility located in the state's most populous city, Denver. So what BlueKudu has been concocting its tasty and heady treats since 2011, which is an eternity by the standards of the young cannabis industry. It doesn't share its financial results; regardless it successfully operates in a long-established market -- Colorado was one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana -- that recently set a new annual sales record of almost $1.75 billion in 2019. The processing facility also gives Illinois-based Curaleaf a bigger footprint in the West, not to mention a locale from which to supply the vibrant local market. The company specifically mentioned it will distribute its Select cannabis brand in the state. The integration of BlueKudu into Curaleaf's operations should be relatively quick and painless. The acquirer said it will fold BlueKudu's results into its own starting in the third quarter. Now what Without knowing the financial particulars of the deal, it's hard to judge whether it was a good buy for Curaleaf. What we can say is that it's a sensible move on a solid, dependable asset located in a fine place for the company to expand its footprint. After playing a cameo role in Vijay Deverakondas Fighter (tentatively titled) under director Puri Jagannadh, actress Rishika Kapoor has now bagged another interesting project in Bollywood. Rishika is paired opposite Govinda in the film titled Bhagwan Ke Liye Mujhe Chod Do. The Delhi-born actress, who had shot for a few days before lockdown, says shes ecstatic about working opposite the Rangeela Raja star. Govinda plays a dual role and I am playing opposite the younger one, she shares, adding that she had bagged the role after auditioning for the breezy entertainer. The actress states that she plays a chirpy girl hailing from UP in the Satyendra Raj directorial. But the most exciting part is that she has to do action sequences. Im thrilled to perform action sequences in my debut film itself. I had trained under stunt choreographer Moses, and the filming will start after normality is restored. I have undergone a three-week workshop to get the nuances of my character perfect, she adds. According to Rishika, she learnt several things from Govinda, including dance moves and dialogue delivery. In conclusion, the actress says shes a big fan of Puri Jagannadh. I like his work; ever since I saw iSmart Shankar, I have been waiting for an opportunity to work with him. Im glad that I got the opportunity," she says. WASHINGTON - As part of its 2018 budget, the Trump administration is proposing to reduce by half the size of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a cushion against global price shocks and supply disruptions. The administration said it expects the drawdown to reduce the federal deficit by $16.6 billion, part of a package of deficit reduction measures over the next 10 years. The proposal will likely run into sharp differences in Congress and among oil experts, most of whom say that the reserve should remain a buffer in the event of an emergency. As of May 12, the reserve had 688.1 million barrels, equal to about 141 days of net imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products. The administration included the words "Reduce Strategic Petroleum Reserve by half" among a long list of budget proposals distributed under embargo to journalists. The sales would start at half a billion dollars in the next fiscal year and climb to $3.9 billion, for a total of $16 billion over the next decade. A policy brief floated by the conservative Heritage Foundation, a group that has exerted a major influence on the Trump budget, suggests selling off the entirety of the SPR over a two to three year period (a more radical proposal than the Trump idea). "The SPR has not served its purpose, as Presidents have used the SPR as a political tool or failed to release reserves in a timely and impactful manner," wrote Heritage fellow Nicolas Loris in 2015. "It is time for Congress to recognize it is not the government's role to respond to high prices. Congress should therefore pull the plug and drain the SPR once and for all." The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the world's largest stockpile of emergency crude oil, and lies near the largest U.S. refiners and pipeline networks in four large salt caverns in Louisiana and Texas. It was established in December 1975 in the wake of the oil embargo imposed on the United States by Arab members of OPEC. That cutoff of oil sales to the United States delivered a shock to the U.S. economy. More recently, strategists have defended the reserve as a bulwark against a possible disruption in supplies from Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, or a closure of the narrow Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Some analysts have argued that the United States no longer needs a big stockpile because of the surge in domestic production resulting from shale oil output over the past decade and the reduction in U.S. imports of crude oil. Economist Philip Verleger has been among the leading advocates of shrinking the reserve. "The reserve was created at a time when the nation was very dependent on imported oil," he wrote in a blog article for S&P Global Platts in 2014. "The dependency is in the past. The Reserve no longer serves the purpose for which it was developed." Other experts argue that the reserve is as needed as ever. "The risk of complete collapse in Venezuela is just one of many reminders that the world remains vulnerable to oil price shocks, and those will be felt by US consumers at the pump just as much today even though we import less oil than we used to because oil is a global commodity," said Jason Bordoff, director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. "The SPR is a 40-year-old national security asset that helps to protect the US, in partnership with other countries, from potential oil supply disruptions and price spikes. It would be foolish to sell it off just because our imports have fallen or to fill short-term budget holes, especially when oil prices are so low." (Bordoff formerly was President Barack Obama's National Security Council adviser on energy and climate.) This isn't the first time the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been tapped for revenue. A budget deal in October 2015 included sales of 58 million barrels - 8 percent of the reserve - from 2018 through 2025 to raise $5.1 billion, which would equal 0.125 percent of that year's budget. In addition, Congress turned to sales of the reserve to meet financing needs of the Highway Trust Fund, which would drain the reserve of another 101 million barrels. The administration's plan to shrink the petroleum reserve would presumably come after these earlier drawdowns, leaving the emergency buffer with roughly 270 million barrels or less than 40 percent of the current level. New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday (July 11, 2020) urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advise HRD Ministry and UGC to reconsider its decision to conduct mandatory exams for terminal classes in view of increasing COVID-19 cases. CM Amarinder also posted the pictures of the letter on Twitter and wrote, "Have written to urge PM Narendra Modi Ji to advise HRD Ministry and UGC to reconsider its decision to conduct mandatory exams for terminal classes in view of increasing COVID-19 cases. Rather UGC should go by its earlier guidelines of April 29 to let States decide on the issue." Have written to urge PM @narendramodi Ji to advise @HRDMinistry & UGC to reconsider its decision to conduct mandatory exams for terminal classes in view of increasing #Covid19 cases. Rather UGC should go by its earlier guidelines of April 29 to let States decide on the issue. pic.twitter.com/g4p81B7Dfp Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) July 11, 2020 "In view of this rising trend of cases, I am not sure whether the situation will be conducive for conducting offline physical examinations by September," CM Amarinder said. He opined, "Conducting physical examination will also involve huge logistical and operational challenges, especially in view of a large number of college/university buildings and hostels having been taken over by the District Administration for COVID-19 management purposes." "On the other hand, conducting online exams for such a large number of students, the majority of whom reside in rural areas without assured access to computers, laptops and internet is also not possible in the State," CM Amarinder added. The Punjab Government on Friday had also announced the cancellation of the pending examinations of various classes of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) that were earlier scheduled after July 15. School Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla said the examinations of Class XII, open school and several other categories, including reappear and golden chance students, have been cancelled in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. #PunjabGovernment cancels pending examinations of class XII, open school divulge School Education Minister, @VijayIndrSingla. #PSEB to declare results on basis of best performing subjects formula stated the Cabinet Minister. Government of Punjab (@PunjabGovtIndia) July 10, 2020 Earlier on Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also urged PM Modi to cancel the final-year examinations of Delhi University and other central universities across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "For the sake of our youths, I urge the PM to personally intervene and cancel final- year exams of DU and other central government universities and save the future," CM Kejriwal said in a letter to PM Modi. For the sake of our youth, I urge Honble PM to personally intervene and cancel final year exams of DU and other central govt universities and save the future. pic.twitter.com/V7iinytR9O Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 11, 2020 Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had announced on Saturday that all forthcoming semester and finals exams of all universities under the Delhi government have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. "All the students in Delhi state universities will be promoted to next semesters and the final year students can awarded their degree basis their past performance," Sisodia said. In light of the major disruptions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, Delhi govt has decided to cancel all Delhi state university exams including final exams https://t.co/g4SFLqaBQK Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) July 11, 2020 The national capital has state universities such as Delhi Technological University, National Law University, Ambedkar University, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, among others. Delhi University is a central varsity. India on Friday (July 11, 2020) recorded the highest single-day spike of 27,114 COVID-19 cases with the total number crossing 8 lakh mark. As per the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data the tally stood at 8,20,916 as per out of which 2,83,407 are active, 5,15,387 have been cured and migrated and 22,123 have died so far due to the infection. Experts from the Chinese laboratory at the centre of global suspicion over the coronavirus pandemic have defected and are in the hands of Western intelligence, the architect of Donald Trumps presidential victory claimed last night. Steve Bannon, who was Trumps White House chief strategist and retains close links to the administration, told The Mail on Sunday that spies were building a case against Beijing on the basis that the global pandemic had been caused by a leak from the Institute of Virology in Wuhan and that the subsequent cover-up had amounted to pre-meditated murder. In an exclusive interview, Mr Bannon also urged Boris Johnson to scrap plans to allow the Chinese communications firm Huawei to play a role in the UKs new 5G network. Staff are pictured above at the Wuhan Institute of Technology. Speaking to this newspaper from a yacht off the East coast of America, Mr Bannon said that defectors were talking to the intelligence agencies in America, Europe and the UK The Prime Minister is due to make an announcement within days over Huaweis future, which is expected to lead to the companys equipment being stripped from the 5G programme within the next decade. Mr Bannon, 66, who worked as a naval officer, investment banker and film producer before becoming chief executive officer of Trumps presidential campaign, describes himself as an ultra-hawk on China, arguing that Western countries should work together to bring down the brutal, authoritarian regime. His incendiary claims about the source of the virus, which has so far claimed more than 560,000 lives worldwide, came as Western governments gather growing evidence to challenge Beijings original claim that the infection first spread from a market His incendiary claims about the source of the virus, which has so far claimed more than 560,000 lives worldwide, came as Western governments gather growing evidence to challenge Beijings original claim that the infection first spread from a market. Even the Chinese governments own Centre for Disease Control and Prevention recently admitted that the virus had been brought in to the market, rather than originating there. Mr Bannon, who has been tipped by the US media for a return to Trumps inner circle to shore up his faltering campaign for re-election, said: I know that certain defectors are working with the FBI here to try to knit together what happened in the Wuhan institute, which he said was horribly run and terribly mismanaged. He claimed: They are not talking to the media yet, but there are people out of the Wuhan lab and other labs that have come to the West and are turning over evidence of the culpability of the Chinese Communist Party. I think people are going to be shocked. Mr Bannon, who sat on the US National Security Council during his time in the White House, says spies are trying to assemble a case that the virus spread as the result of an accident involving experiments to develop vaccines and therapeutic drugs to deal with Sars-style viruses. Speaking to this newspaper from a yacht off the East coast of America, Mr Bannon said that defectors were talking to the intelligence agencies in America, Europe and the UK. He said: I think that they [spy agencies] have electronic intelligence, and that they have done a full inventory of who has provided access to that lab. I think they have very compelling evidence. And there have also been defectors. People around these labs have been leaving China and Hong Kong since mid-February. [US intelligence] along with MI5 and MI6 are trying to build a very thorough legal case, which may take a long time. Its not like James Bond. Mr Bannon even suggested that the French government, which helped to build the institute, had left behind monitoring systems after Beijing shut them out of the project before it opened in 2017. He said: The thing was built with French help, so dont think that there arent some monitoring devices in there. I think what you are going to find out is that these guys were doing experiments which they werent fully authorised [for] or knew what they were doing and that somehow, either through an inadvertent mistake, or on a lab technician, one of these things got out. Its not that hard for these viruses to get out. That is why these labs are so dangerous. You essentially had a biological Chernobyl in Wuhan, but the centre of gravity, the Ground Zero, was round the Wuhan lab, in terms of the casualty rates. And like Chernobyl, you also had the cover-up the state apparatus reports to itself and just protects itself. Mr Bannon, who has close links to Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire, told this newspaper: Regardless of whether it came out of the market or the Wuhan lab, the Chinese Communist partys subsequent decisions hold them guilty of pre-meditated murder. We know this because Taiwan formally informed the WHO on December 31 that there was some sort of epidemic coming out of Hubei province [where Wuhan is]. The CDC in Beijing was informed on January 2 or 3, and they decided to withhold that information and then sign a trade deal [with the US on January 15]. If they had been straightforward and truthful in the last week of December, 95 per cent of the lives lost and the economic carnage would have been contained. That is the tragedy here. They used the time to scoop up all the worlds personal protective equipment. This is a murderous dictatorship. The blood is [also] on the hands of the worlds corporations the investment banks, the hedge funds and the pension funds and it is time to start calling it out before it leads to the destruction of the West. In an exclusive interview, Mr Bannon also urged Boris Johnson to scrap plans to allow the Chinese communications firm Huawei to play a role in the UKs new 5G network We are in the most extraordinary crisis in modern American history, more than Vietnam, the Cold War, even the Second World War. A global pandemic and an economic inferno. I have no faith in the WHO, the leadership should face criminal charges and be shut down. The Chinese government dismisses claims of a laboratory leak as a conspiracy theory and denies any cover-up. The WHO denies any complicity in a cover up. When he was asked whether Mr Johnson should scrap plans to allow Huawei into the UKs 5G system, Mr Bannon said that the company was part of the military wing of the Chinese communist party and the deal should be axed. We could cut off Huawei and return British Telecom to its former glory, he said. The President thinks that it is a huge issue. To me, Huawei should be shut down throughout the world in every country, and their assets liquidated. I say to Boris Johnson shut down Huawei, and keep calm and carry on. 3 1 of 3 Hearst Connecticut Media / Tara O'Neill Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3 NEW HAVEN A shooting in the Hill neighborhood turned fatal when the victim was pronounced dead at the hospital, police officials said Friday night. The investigation began just before 5 p.m. Photo: Twitter Police are still searching for two Quebec girls and their father in a suburb of Quebec City, after an Amber Alert was issued Thursday. The search for Romy Carpentier, 6, Norah Carpentier, 11, and their father, Martin Carpentier, picked up again around 7 a.m. local time in St-Apollinaire, Que. Quebec provincial police say they have reason to believe the three are still alive. The girls and their father are believed to have been involved in a car crash Wednesday night on Highway 20 in the town south of Quebec City. The police search is centred on a rural area of St-Apollinaire, and ATVs, police dogs and a helicopter have been used. Police say they searched over 150 kilometres of wooded areas and roads on Friday. New Delhi: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek Bachchan have been diagnosed with the deadly novel coronavirus. They are currently undergoing treatment for the same at Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital and informed everyone about the illness through social media. Here's what the father-son tweeted: T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested ! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 11, 2020 Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you. Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) July 11, 2020 The BMC has been in touch and we are complying with them. Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) July 11, 2020 Meanwhile, on Sunday afternoon, it was learnt that apart from Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek, Aishwarya and Aaradhya have also tested COVID-19 positive while Jaya and rest in the family and staff have tested negative and are in isolation. Aishwarya and Aaradhya's first test report, which came last night, was negative but the final report found them to be infected with coronavirus. Soon after the news broke online, fans and film fraternity have flooded the internet with 'get well soon' wishes. On the work front, Abhishek Bachchan's debut digital web-show 'Breathe' season 2 released on the OTT platform. In fact, he was seen visiting the dubbing studio in Andheri, Mumbai. Here's wishing them a speedy recovery! Seoul The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said there was no need for another summit with the United States unless Washington offered a decisive change in approach. Kim and US President Donald Trump first met in Singapore two years ago but talks over Pyongyangs nuclear arsenal have been stalled since their Hanoi summit collapsed in early 2019 over what the North would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump said this week he would certainly meet with Kim again if I thought it was going to be helpful, after speculation that he might pursue another summit if it could help his re-election chances in November. But in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo Jong -- who has emerged as one of her brothers closest advisers -- said: There is no need for us to sit across with the US right now. If a summit was held, she said, it is too obvious that it will only be used as boring boasting coming from someones pride. Denuclearisation, she added, was not possible at this point, and could only happen alongside parallel irreversible simultaneous major steps by the other side -- which she emphasised did not refer to sanctions lifting. She did not go into specifics, but Washington stations 28,500 troops in the South to defend it against its neighbour, and has a range of military assets in Japan and the wider Pacific region. Pyongyang insists that it needs its nuclear arsenal to deter against a possible US invasion. Kim Yo Jongs statement was only her personal view, she said, but the lengthy declaration appeared intended to send multiple messages. She said she had watched the July 4 Independence Day celebrations in the US on television and had been given permission by her brother to personally obtain, for sure, the DVD of the celebrations... in the future. Her brother had entrusted me with conveying his wishes to President Trump that he would certainly achieve great successes in his work, she added. Kim Jong Un declared in December an end to moratoriums on nuclear and ballistic missile tests, and Pyongyang has repeatedly said it has no intention to continue talks unless Washington drops what it describes as hostile policies towards the North. An epidemic of "rat-running" in some of Brisbane's blue-chip inner-city suburbs has sparked a long-running resident campaign calling on Brisbane City Council to change its traffic management. Hamilton, Ascot and neighbouring suburbs have been suffering under the impact of the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade for the past two years but residents in the area say rat-running has been an issue for longer as commuters skip major roads to get to the city. Hipwood Road in Hamilton has become the scene of ongoing rat-running, residents say. Credit:Lucy Stone Rat-running is the practice of driving through residential side streets to avoid congested main roads. Safety concerns among residents are now so high some say they won't allow their children to play in their front gardens, for fear of heavy B-doubles and the sheer number of vehicles cutting through 40km/h streets. Like humans, beluga whales form social networks beyond family ties A groundbreaking study using molecular genetic techniques and field studies brings together decades of research into the complex relationships among beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) that spans 10 locations across the Arctic from Alaska to Canada and Russia to Norway. The behavior of these highly gregarious whales, which include sophisticated vocal repertoires, suggest that this marine mammal lives in complex societies. Like killer whales (Orcinus orca) and African elephants (Loxodonta Africana), belugas were thought to form social bonds around females that primarily comprise closely related individuals from the same maternal lineage. However, this hypothesis had not been formally tested. The study, led by Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, is the first to analyze the relationship between group behaviors, group type, group dynamics, and kinship in beluga whales. Findings, just published in Scientific Reports, reveal several unexpected results. Not only do beluga whales regularly interact with close kin, including close maternal kin, they also frequently associate with more distantly related and unrelated individuals. Findings indicate that evolutionary explanations for group living and cooperation in beluga whales must expand beyond strict inclusive fitness arguments to include other evolutionary mechanisms. Belugas likely form multi-scale societies from mother-calf dyads to entire communities. From these perspectives, beluga communities have similarities to human societies where social networks, support structures, cooperation and cultures involve interactions between kin and non-kin. Given their long lifespan (approximately 70 years) and tendency to remain within their natal community, these findings reveal that beluga whales may form long-term affiliations with unrelated as well as related individuals. "This research will improve our understanding of why some species are social, how individuals learn from group members and how animal cultures emerge," said Greg O'Corry-Crowe, Ph.D., lead author and a research professor at FAU's Harbor Branch. "It also has implications for traditional explanations based on matrilineal care for a very rare life-history trait in nature, menopause, which has only been documented in a handful of mammals, including beluga whales and humans." Researchers found that belugas formed a limited number of group types, from mother-calf dyads to adult male groups, and from mixed-age groups to large herds. These same group types were consistently observed across population and habitats. Furthermore, certain behaviors were associated with group type, and group membership was found to often be dynamic. "Unlike killer and pilot whales, and like some human societies, beluga whales don't solely or even primarily interact and associate with close kin. Across a wide variety of habitats and among both migratory and resident populations, they form communities of individuals of all ages and both sexes that regularly number in the hundreds and possibly the thousands," said O'Corry-Crowe. "It may be that their highly developed vocal communication enables them to remain in regular acoustic contact with close relatives even when not associating together." Beluga whale groupings (beyond mother-calf dyads) were not usually organized around close maternal relatives. The smaller social groups, as well as the larger herds, routinely comprised multiple matrilines. Even where group members shared the same mtDNA lineage, microsatellite analysis often revealed that they were not closely related, and many genealogical links among group members involved paternal rather than maternal relatives. These results differ from earlier predictions that belugas have a matrilineal social system of closely associating female relatives. They also differ from the association behavior of the larger toothed whales that informed those predictions. In 'resident' killer whales, for example, both males and females form groups with close maternal kin where they remain for their entire lives. "Beluga whales exhibit a wide range of grouping patterns from small groups of two to 10 individuals to large herds of 2,000 or more, from apparently single sex and age-class pods to mixed-age and sex groupings, and from brief associations to multi-year affiliations," said O'Corry-Crowe. "This variation suggests a fission-fusion society where group composition and size are context-specific, but it may also reflect a more rigid multi-level society comprised of stable social units that regularly coalesce and separate. The role kinship plays in these groupings has been largely unknown." For the study, researchers used field observations, mtDNA profiling, and multi-locus genotyping of beluga whales to address fundamental questions about beluga group structure, and patterns of kinship and behavior, which provide new insights into the evolution and ecology of social structure in this Arctic whale. The study was conducted at 10 locations, in different habitats, across the species' range, spanning from small, resident groups (Yakutat Bay) and populations (Cook Inlet) in subarctic Alaska to larger, migratory populations in the Alaskan (Kasegaluk Lagoon, Kotzebue Sound, Norton Sound), Canadian (Cunningham Inlet, Mackenzie Delta, Husky Lakes) and Russian (Gulf of Anadyr) Arctic to a small, insular population in the Norwegian High Arctic (Svalbard). "This new understanding of why individuals may form social groups, even with non-relatives, will hopefully promote new research on what constitutes species resilience and how species like the beluga whale can respond to emerging threats including climate change," said O'Corry-Crowe. ### Study co-authors are Robert Suydam, Ph.D., North Slope Bourough Department of Wildlife Management; Lori Quakenbush; Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Thomas G. Smith, Ph.D., Eco Marine Corporation; Christian Lydersen, Ph.D., Norweigen Polar Institute; Kit M. Kovacs, Ph.D., Norweigen Polar Institute; Jack Orr, Ph.D., Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Lois Harwood, M.Sc., Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Dennis Litovka, Ph.D., Office of the Governor and Government of the Chukotka Autnomous Region; and Tatiana Ferrer, coordinator of research programs, FAU's Harbor Branch. All activities involving live whales were permitted (USMMPA #782-1719-06, NARA #2013/36156-2, GOS #2013/00050-42 a.512, NOAA782-1438) and approved by the relevant authorities in each country: the United States National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources, the Russian Federation Marine Mammal Permits Office, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada scientific licenses, and the Norwegian Animal Care Board. All activities were performed in accordance with these guidelines and regulations. About Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute: Founded in 1971, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University is a research community of marine scientists, engineers, educators and other professionals focused on Ocean Science for a Better World. The institute drives innovation in ocean engineering, at-sea operations, drug discovery and biotechnology from the oceans, coastal ecology and conservation, marine mammal research and conservation, aquaculture, ocean observing systems and marine education. For more information, visit http://www. fau. edu/ hboi . About Florida Atlantic University: Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit fau.edu. This story has been published on: 2020-07-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. - Lady Maureen passed away in Migori county on the wee hours of Saturday, July 11, after being in and out of hospital for the last two years - She was highly celebrated among Ohangla fanatics and lovers of rejuvenating songs - Maureen shook the airwaves during Raila's presidential campaigns when she released a hit song, Raila Jakom Opposition Leader Raila Odinga has joined thousands of other Kenyans in mourning the sudden demise of celebrated Ohangla musician, Lady Maureen. The legendary songbird passed away on the wee hours of Saturday, July 11, after battling a yet-to-be-known condition for a long time. READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Parklands Baptist Church says it won't reopen Opposition leader Raila Odinga has mourned the demise of legendary Ohangla musician lady Maureen. Photo: Raila Odinga. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Premier League top scorer: Jamie Vardy leads race for EPL golden boot In his condolences message, Raila said Maureen was an immensely talented and dynamic musician who remained at the heart of Kenya's music industry despite the changing times. "My condolences go out to the family, friends and fans of Lady Maureen. Achieng' was immensely talented and very dynamic; always adapting to new trends in a very competitive music industry. May she Rest In Eternal Peace," Raila said of the late. READ ALSO: Maafisa wa trafiki waagizwa kuondoa vizuizi barabarani Maureen became a household name in the country thanks to her soothing songs and blissful performances. She was highly celebrated among Ohangla fanatics and lovers of rejuvenating songs. Maureen shook the airwaves during Raila's presidential campaigns when she released a hit song, Raila Jakom, an ecstatic artwork that lit the former premier's political rallies, particularly in Nyanza region. The late Lady Maureen during one of her live performances. Photo: Lady Maureen. Source: Facebook The past few weeks have been devastating for Ohangla and Benga fanatics considering the death of Maureen has just come a month after the demise of Abenny Jachinga, a celebrated king of Ohangla music. Barely a week after Jachinga's death, another Benga maestro artiste, Omondi Long Lilo, succumbed to cancer. Thousands of Kenyans have troped to social media pages to eulogise the queen of Ohangla. Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Tuko news A father turned his 8-year-old girl into his wife, then a stranger rescued her | Tuko Talks| Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Telanganas Indrakiran Rao fell ill during his CBSE Class XII board examinations and missed writing one paper. He was marked absent for that paper and is now scared that he may fail. His school also does not have clarity about what happens to candidates whose papers were not cancelled due to COVID-19 but missed for other reasons. Under ordinary circumstances, Satpathy would have failed and been asked to write a compartment exam for that particular subject. But, under the new assessment scheme by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), all remaining papers have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak getting worse in India. CBSE had told the Supreme Court on June 26 that it will declare the board examination results by July 15. Even though this new assessment scheme has been presented by the board, there are several unanswered questions among the students. What happens if a student contracted coronavirus and missed multiple papers? What if a student fell sick and missed the examinations? What if a Delhi student was absent during the internal assessment and pre-boards? Moneycontrol wrote to CBSE seeking a clarification. But, the board did not respond to these queries. Under the assessment scheme, students who have appeared for exams in more than three subjects, the average performance in three best performing subjects will be awarded for the remaining subjects where exams could not be conducted. For example, if a student has already given examinations for History, Political Science, Economics and English subjects and Hindi, Geography are pending, marking for the last two subjects will be an average of the highest three marks scored. For those who have appeared for less than three subjects, the average performance in two best performing subjects will be awarded for the remaining subjects where exams could not be conducted. The assessment scheme also said that for students from Delhi who have only appeared for exams in one to two subjects, results will be declared based on the performance in these subjects and internal assessment and practical tests. Moneycontrol has received letters from CBSE students with cases where the candidate has missed the papers. These students want to stay anonymous due to the fear of being reprimanded by their respective schools. Take a Class XII CBSE student from Cuttack in Odisha. This student has given his Physical Education, English and Physics papers. But due to illness he missed his Chemistry and Biology papers. Now his Hindi paper was remaining which has been cancelled. This student wrote to the Prime Ministers Office but received a reply telling him that the assessment scheme is applicable to all students and asked him to check the official notification on CBSE website for more details. Meanwhile, a CBSE official told this student that the assessment scheme wont be applicable to students missing any paper. Now his anxiety has hit the roof and is wondering whether he will be passed or not. Another case is of a Delhi-based student who was able to give only one paper due to the violence that hit her residential area in February 2020. As per CBSEs terms this students results would be based on internal assessments. Now here the glitch is that she had scored poor marks in some of the papers in the internal assessments but scored well in the practical examinations. How will she be assessed? Her school has no answers, yet. For traditional school toppers, there are other worries. Pune-based Neha Pant said that she has been topping her school examinations for the past five years and wanted the winning streak to continue in the CBSE Class XII boards. With average marking being used, she is worried that the overall scores will be impacted since even a percentage lower could impact her chances at getting into a good university. In institutions like Delhi University, even a 0.5 percent lower percentage would mean that students like her would not be able to get in. For instance, the first cut-off in 2019 for Lady Shri Ram College for a BA (Political Science and Psychology) programme was 97 percent for the general category. With just a few days remaining for the results to be declared, it is essential that CBSE clarifies all these issues. Leaving it to the last minute or letting schools decide could make it worse for students. And considering the Coronavirus spread, holding compartment exams would also not be feasible right now. The Chinese general contractor for Hanois first metro said the acceptance review of the project is being accelerated to enable commercial operation by year-end. China Railway Sixth Group Co Ltd, the general contractor of the 13km Cat Linh - Ha Dong metro project, has submitted all requested dossiers for the acceptance review of the project at the request Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (HRMB), Tang Hong, the Chinese director of the project, said Friday. The quality inspection and evaluation of each construction item is well under way, and the HRMB has commented that the acceptance review is being "coordinated well by both parties", he said. The projects review is expected to fully complete within July, after which the general contractor will be paid in accordance to the terms of the contract. The project will pilot run for 20 days, during which the State Acceptance Council will be invited to evaluate it. Once this is done, the Ministry of Transport will take over control of the project, and hand it over to the HRMB, Hong said. Currently, the 31 experts of the Chinese general contractor have completed their compulsory Covid-19 isolation period, and has started their work on the project. Twelve of these personnel work daily with the HRMB on acceptance procedures, while the rest work on checking the operation of construction items at construction sites, he added. "If the work goes according to plan, by the end of 2020, the project will be eligible for putting into operation," Tang Hong said, but added that the 20 day test run has not yet been scheduled, as the general contractor will need to receive the next payment in order to have funds to fly personnel from equipment suppliers to Vietnam. "The HRMB is speeding up the approval and signature of documents, as well as the most important issue the payment process," Hong said. In early June, the Chinese general contractor had asked for $50 million in advance to test run the trains, which was refused by the Ministry of Transport on the grounds that all outstanding costs, which was 78 percent of the contracted amount, had been paid on schedule in accordance with the contract. In addition to acceptance work, the project also needs to be assessed for technical safety by an independent organization, designated to French firm Apave-Certifer-Tricc (ATC). However, ATC has begun their assessment a little behind schedule, and has requested some documents that the Chinese contractor cannot currently produce, so Hong has asked that conduction field experiments on some items that lack records take place before the 20 day pilot period. The Cat Linh-Ha Dong Metro Section runs 13 kilometers from downtown Dong Da District to Yen Nghia in the southwestern Ha Dong District. It is one of eight lines planned in Hanoi. Construction began in October 2011 and was originally scheduled for completion in 2013. But several hurdles, including loan disbursement issues with China that were only resolved in December 2017, stalled it for years. Its cost has doubled to VND18 trillion ($776.77 million), with 77 percent of it coming from official development assistance (ODA) loans from China. Roughly five hours after an internal email went out to employees telling them to delete the popular video app TikTok from their phones, Amazon appeared to backtrack, calling the ban a mistake. This morning's email to some of our employees was sent in error. There is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok," Amazon emailed reporters just before 5 p.m. Eastern time. Spokeswoman Jaci Anderson declined to answer questions about what happened. The initial internal email, which was disseminated widely online, told employees to delete TikTok, a video app increasingly popular with young people but also the focus of intensifying national-security and geopolitical concerns because of its Chinese ownership. The email cited security risks" of the app. An Amazon employee who confirmed receipt of the initial email but was not authorized to speak publicly had not seen a retraction at the time of Amazon's backtrack. Amazon is the second-largest U.S. private employer after Walmart, with with more than 8,40,000 employees worldwide, and moving against TikTok would have escalated pressure on the app. It is banned on employee phones by the U.S. military and the company is subject to a national-security review of its merger history. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this week that the government was certainly looking" at banning the app. Chinese internet giant ByteDance owns TikTok, which is designed for users outside of China; it also makes a Chinese version called Douyin. Like YouTube, TikTok relies on its users for the videos that populate its app. It has a reputation for fun, goofy videos and is popular with young people, including millions of American users. But it has racked up concerns such as censorship of videos, including those critical of the Chinese government; the threat of sharing user data with Chinese officials; and violating kids' privacy. TikTok said earlier in the day that Amazon did not notify it before sending the initial email around midday Eastern. That email read, The TikTok app is no longer permitted on mobile devices that access Amazon email." To retain mobile access to company email, employees had to delete the TikTok app by the end of the day. We still do not understand their concerns," TikTok said at the time, adding that the company would welcome a dialogue to address Amazon's issues. A spokeswoman did not immediately reply to a request for comment Friday evening. TikTok has been trying to appease critics in the U.S. and distance itself from its Chinese roots, but finds itself caught in an increasingly sticky geopolitical web. It recently named a new CEO, former Disney executive Kevin Mayer, which experts said could help it navigate U.S. regulators. And it is stopping operations in Hong Kong because of a new Chinese national security law that led Facebook, Google and Twitter to also stop providing user data to Hong Kong authorities. Pompeo said the government remained concerned about TikTok and referred to the administration's crackdown on Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE. The government has tried to convince allies to root Huawei out of telecom networks, saying the company is a national-security threat, with mixed success; Trump has also said he was willing to use Huawei as a bargaining chip in trade talks. Huawei has denied that it enables spying for the Chinese government. With respect to Chinese apps on people's cell phones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too," Pompeo said, and added that if users downloaded the app their private information would be in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party." A U.S. national-security agency has been reviewing ByteDance's purchase of TikTok's precursor, Musical.ly. Meanwhile, privacy groups say TikTok has been violating children's privacy, even after the Federal Trade Commission fined the company in 2019 for collecting personal information from children without their parents' consent. Amazon may have been concerned about a Chinese-owned app's access to employee data, said Susan Ariel Aaronson, a professor at George Washington University and a data governance and national-security expert. China, according to the U.S. government, regularly steals U.S. intellectual property. Part of Amazon's motivation with the ban, now apparently reversed, may also have been political, Aaronson said, since Amazon doesn't want to alienate the Trump administration." Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, are frequent targets of President Donald Trump. Bezos personally owns The Washington Post, which Trump has referred to as fake news" whenever it publishes unfavourable stories about him. Last year, Amazon sued the U.S. government, saying that Trump's personal vendetta" against Amazon, Bezos and the Post, led it to lose a USD 10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon to rival Microsoft. Meanwhile, federal regulators as well as Congress are pursuing antitrust investigations at Amazon as well as other tech giants. Inputs from PTI Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics MOSCOW Tens of thousands of people protested in Russias Far East on Saturday in a rare display of opposition to President Vladimir V. Putin in the countrys vast hinterland, chanting Putin Resign and demanding the release of a regional governor arrested this past week on suspicion of multiple murders. The protests in Khabarovsk, a city bordering China, and several other towns were the largest in Russias usually somnolent provinces in many years, rivaling or even exceeding in size demonstrations last summer in Moscow, the main center of opposition to the Kremlin. Unlike streets protests in Moscow, which the authorities can easily discredit as the work of a privileged metropolitan elite led astray by Russias enemies in the West, the outburst of anger against Mr. Putin in a hardscrabble region nearly 4,000 miles east of the capital presented an unusual and potentially more troublesome challenge. The demonstrations in towns across Khabarovsk Krai, a sprawling region that stretches from the frontier with China to the Arctic along the Pacific Ocean, followed the arrest on Thursday of the regions popular governor, Sergei I. Furgal. He is one of Russias few provincial leaders not affiliated with political forces entirely controlled by the Kremlin. Donald Joe Haden May 16, 2020 Donald (Don) Joe Haden, age 98, of Newman Lake, Washington died Saturday, May 16, 2020. He was born November 6, 1921 on the family farm near Oberlin, Kansas to Floyd and Gladys (Cathcart) Haden. The family moved to Wheatland, Wyoming for a short time before Floyd went to work for the CB&Q railroad in 1924 taking the family to Guernsey, Wyoming and eventually Bridgeport, Nebraska. Don attended 2nd and 5th grade through high school in Bridgeport, graduating with the class of 1939. In 1942, while a sophomore at Kansas University, having just transferred from Ottawa, University in Kansas to join the reserves and continue school, Don was inducted into the Army at Fort Leavenworth. He was sent to Camp Robinson in Little Rock, Arkansas for basic training. Upon completion of basic he was selected to attend a new army program called "Army Specialized Training Program". He was sent with 500 other soldiers from all parts of the country to DePaul University in Chicago to undergo intensive courses in Civil Engineering. Don was then sent for more training in Fort Barkley in Texas and Fort Jackson, SC before entering the Corps of Engineer Officer Candidate School. Upon completion of OFC he was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the Army. Don was shipped to Germany and assigned to an Engineer regiment which was in support of British forces as they fought their way north along the western border of Germany. His unit was in Bramerhaven when the war ended. Don remained in Germany until 1949, performing many engineer tasks including Post Engineer of Nuremberg during the trials of the German officers. Upon his return to the U.S., Don was on the staff engaged in building of the first Missile bases on White Sands, NM. While on leave visiting his parents in Bridgeport, he received a telegram with orders to report to Ft. Pendleton, CA for shipment to Korea. He arrived in Korea a little more than 30 days after the war began with U.S. and South Korean forces driven back to the SE corner of the country known as the Pusan Perimeter. Don was promoted to Captain and given the command of C Company of the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion while engaged in combat over the next 15 months. C Company installed bridges for advancing South Korean and allied forces as they advanced to the Manchurian Border and removed or destroyed bridges behind retreating allied troops when the Chinese Army entered the war. His Company then reconstructed structures for the final advance north to the 38th parallel in the spring of 1951. Don left Korea with a Bronze Star with a V for Valor. After Korea, Don had several other assignments including three more years in Germany constructing facilities, closing out the Stuttgart office with an Army Commendation award. He was then assigned for three years with the Taiwan Defense Command in Taipei, Taiwan as Plans and Police Officer in a Joint Command of U.S. and National Chinese forces, receiving a Commendation from the staff of Generalissimo Chiang Ki Sheik. After returning to the U.S. Don was promoted to the rank of Lt. Col. before retiring in Dunedin, Florida. He spent 28 years as an Air Traffic Controller mostly in the Tampa Bay Area. In 1985, Don married Jean Deboodt (Berg) also from Bridgeport, NE. They settled near Estes Park, Colorado and were members of Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church for 20 years where Don was a Charter Member of the Knights of Columbus. In 2007 they moved to Newman Lake, WA to be near family. Don was preceded in death by his parents, sister Martha, brothers Dick and Dean. Surviving is his wife of 34 years Jean Haden, his daughters Jayne (Robert) Bennett, Kathey (Mark) Garlock; his grandsons Christopher and Matthew; five stepsons Dennis (Sharon) Deboodt, Gregg (Renne) Deboodt, Tim (Grace) Deboodt, Scott (Debbie) Deboodt, and Mark (Brenda) Deboodt; fifteen step-grandchildren; thirteen step-great grandchildren; sisters-in-law Marlys Haden and Jo Ann Buckridge, brother-in-law Jack Berg; niece Mary Haden; five nephews Richard Haden, Donald G. Haden, Jay Haden, Jim Haden, and Jeremy Haden; numerous great nieces and nephews as well as great, great nieces and nephews, who lovingly called him "Sir". A private graveside service was held due to the Corona Virus restrictions. Don was interred at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery on May 22, 2020 with military escort and honors. Memorial contributions may be made in Don's memory to the Combat Vet Riders, Inc., PO Box 11162, Spokane Valley, WA 99211. The Federal government is the adoption of battery-electric cars are more environmentally friendly and the only right engine for the future. Anyway, you narrowed state funding on vehicles with such drive and increase the subsidy to up to 9000 Euro per vehicle. In the public perception, this assumption is shared in many places, but not among professionals from the industry, the sign is often in doubt. The electric car is probably not locally emission-free, in its overall energy balance, from production to scrapping, however. Again and again the question arises, with which CO2 backpack an electric car compared to a passenger car with a combustion engine starts, in particular, a relatively economical Diesel of the latest Euro 6 exhaust emission standard. Holger Appel editor in the business, responsible for the "technology and Motor". F. A. Z. the doubters, the Institute for world economy in Kiel (IfW), in the Person of the researcher, Ulrich Schmidt pours water on their mill. In a study of the energy demand and the composition of electricity sources in Germany, Schmidt comes to the conclusion that the electric car is worth never, it is even counter-productive impact, in terms of the goal of CO2-avoidance. He is thus against studies of the Fraunhofer Institute for System and innovation research and the Heidelberg Institute for energy and environmental research, have attested to the electric car at the current electricity mix in Germany to a positive climate balance. "These studies neglect the increased power consumption resulting from the Expansion of electric mobility," counters Schmidt. Account is taken of the same, led, electric cars to 73 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than a modern Diesel passenger car. It environmental use of renewable energies to the reduction of the generation of electricity from coal, as a fuel for electric cars. if you wanted to calculate the carbon footprint under the current electricity mix, this meant that the additional electricity demand from a proportional increase of renewable and fossil energies, successes, says Schmidt from the Kiel Institute. Without electric mobility, the increased current is not generated demand, and you can use the Expansion of renewable energies to the reduction of fossil fuels, especially coal. According to the data of the force travel Federal office around 630 billion kilometres were travelled in the year 2018 with the passenger cars. Schmidt calculates: the average consumption of an electric car 15 kWh per 100 km, this would result in a complete transition to electric mobility alone, the passenger car, a power consumption of around 94 TWh, which is equivalent to 18.4 percent of the net production of 515 TWh in Germany. The cautious expected, because according to our test experience, the average consumption would be closer to 20 kWh. In addition, according to Schmidt, the increased energy requirement in the production of electric cars. Updated Date: 11 July 2020, 12:19 Camarena is having a rrrruff time. The six-year-old standard poodle is missing her weekly routine that has been rudely disrupted by the coronavirus and shes not happy. The loveable and cute dog is part of the Texas Therapy Pet Pals of Texas who regularly makes visits to area nursing homes and assisted living centers where shes loved on and fed awesome treats. Pet Pals visit Tomball nursing home: Pet therapy volunteers spread comfort and joy in northwest Houston The governors shutdown of those facilities has left Camarena, her handler Mary Horner, and the residents they visit shut off from each other. Were at a standstill right now, said Horner, who is the Houston Chapter Director and lives in Cypress. Weve had a few drive-by parades to facilities but having no contact has left us sitting outside, she said. Residents will fill the activities room with large windows and watch outside as the pet owners drive the pets slowly around the facility even with signs on the vehicles saying they miss the residents. While the parade is a unique opportunity to connect and bring a smile to residents, its still not the same. We want to get in and see our people, she said. We miss them just as much as they miss us. She and other volunteers have found ways to stay in touch with some of the residents, but its not the same as being there for them, especially now since theyre isolated and desperately lonely for a visit of any kind. Mary has been volunteering for 18 years and the absence has been devastating. We wear organizational T-shirts and I have two dogs in the program. I havent worn the shirt for a few weeks, and I put it on to work in the garage. I wasnt even thinking about it, but my two dogs got giddy and were bouncing around, thinking we were getting ready to go see the residents, she said. The dogs know what that shirt meansa trip. It all begins with a fresh bath. Mary doesnt take both of them and so the one who gets to take the trip gets the bath, blow dry, and all the pretty things for the trip. Theyre very jealous of who gets the bath, she laughed. Then its out the door and into the car for the trip to one of the many nursing home and assisted living centers they service. All the volunteers have similar stories if theyve been with the program for any length of time, she said. They (the dogs) know the routine and theyre ready to go. Camarena has been in the program for a year-and-a-half. Its a wonderful experience. Once you get hooked onto it, youre hooked. We are the family to some residents. When we dont show up, they let us know and get depressed. We dont miss often. Mary and her pets try to visit at least once a week. The coronavirus has also put a hamper on volunteer training. We schedule two per year, she said, but weve had to cancel the Sept. 12 class. Our next one is set for March 6, 2021. According to their website, Pet Pals began in March of 1984 when TPPT founder, Kathryn Lashmit, was inspired after reading about an experimental animal assisted therapy program. She decided to try to make a real difference in the lives of people living in local health care facilities by taking her puppy on a visit. Although hesitant at first, a nursing home administrator agreed to a trial visit. The staff watched with delight as residents smiled and reached out for the little bundle of life that lovingly greeted everyone. At that moment, Therapy Pet Pals of Texas, Inc. was born. TPPT now has about 200 volunteers serving about 90 facilities including assisted living homes, hospitals and rehab centers. Lashmit passed away in 2016 and Nancy Gray is now the executive director for the program. Financially its been hard, but weve been fortunate to receive grants to help us, Gray said. They are still looking for more volunteers to help fill the gap for more facilities who are requesting their services. The dogs dont need a fancy certification of any kind, but they do need to have basic obedience manners when they come to us, she said. Dogs cant jump on residents, bark incessantly, must be on a leash at all times, and be able to follow commands from the owner. The dog has to be at least a year old and able to walk next to the owner. When we go into a nursing home, somehow I think they know what were doing, she said. When they arrive, residents know they are coming and are waiting at the front door or the activities room. Its a commitment each week but it feels so good when we leave knowing weve put a smile on their face, she said. To volunteer in the Northwest/The Woodlands areas, visit their website at www.therapypetpals.org. They welcome donations to continue their mission work and are a 501(c)3 charity. Donations are tax deductible. dtaylor@hcnonline.com US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States (1995-2020), according to the US Embassy in Vietnam. US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo July 11 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, he said in his statement. Over the last quarter century, our two countries have built a partnership and friendship founded on shared interests, mutual respect, and people-to-people ties. Our everyday interactions are highlighted by increasing trade and investment ties, strategic cooperation, and collaboration on humanitarian and legacy of war issues, including the solemn duty of accounting for our wartime missing. In recent years, he said, the two countries have strengthened and expanded the Comprehensive Partnership, based on a shared vision of a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacific region, as well as respect for each others independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political systems. The US commends Vietnam for its outstanding Chairmanship of ASEAN this year, especially in coordinating ASEANs response to the COVID-19 pandemic and issues related to economic recovery, he added. Pompeo stressed the ties between the American and Vietnamese peoples grow deeper every year. Americas vibrant and engaged Vietnamese-American community makes our country strong and prosperous. The US values the cross-cultural role played by the nearly 30,000 Vietnamese students studying in the United States and more than 1,200 Americans studying in Vietnam annually, he said, adding we look forward to Fulbright University Vietnam graduating its first class of undergraduates in 2023. We also look forward to the imminent conclusion of an agreement that will bring Peace Corps volunteers to Vietnam for the first time ever, fostering stronger ties between our peoples, he said. The US is committed to making the next 25 years of bilateral ties a model of international cooperation and partnership, the Secretary affirmed. What would the US Ambassador to VN wish for if he had a magic lamp? If I there was a magic lamp, I would wish that Vietnam has more capacity to carry out educational development activities, said the US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink during an online exchange with VietNamNet readers on July 8. Its stores are dotted around Manhattan, Singapore and Shanghai with blue neon signs that virtually scream France: The words Paris Baguette, separated by an Eiffel Tower logo. Yet the family behind the chain is South Korean -- and it has bet a large chunk of its fortune that the rest of the world will warm to its baked goods, often featuring a subtle twist for Asian palates, such as buns stuffed with red-bean filling and pastries that fuse hot dogs. In the past few years, SPC Group has expanded to 6,000 locations globally, even planting its flag in Paris. So far, it has proved a pricey bet. Chairman Hur Young-in and his family -- worth about $3.6 billion five years ago -- are left with some $770 million, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. SPC Group's net income has slumped 77% since a high in 2016, partly because of the losses from overseas investments it's betting on. Domestically, it has also taken a hit as shares of its SPC Samlip Co., focused more on local consumers, have slid 84% from a high in 2015. This shouldn't be too much of a concern in the short term, says Han Yu-jung, an analyst at Daishin Securities Co. "It makes sense for food and beverage retailers to make losses in the early stage of overseas expansion," Han said from Seoul. "Their brands have higher recognition in the local market but it's a different story elsewhere." A SPC Group spokesman declined to comment on the losses, while Hur declined an interview for this story. Now, even as Covid-19 hammers the food industry, forcing closures and layoffs at other companies, SPC Group remains undaunted. It said last month it will venture into Canada and Hur plans to increase the number of the group's outlets worldwide to 20,000 by 2030. What's now SPC Group started as a small bakery set up by Hur's father in 1945 in a town that's now part of North Korea, according to local media reports. Three years later, the elder Hur moved the business to Seoul in the south, where it flourished. Hur went to Kansas to learn his baking skills from the American Institute of Baking. After returning home, he took over one of the family's brands in 1983, while his older brother led the main unit. In 1986, Hur launched Paris Croissant, a French-style bakery, and Paris Baguette came two years later. His brother's business went bankrupt in 1997 after costly attempts to expand into areas beyond food and bakery, and Hur acquired it in 2002, giving way to SPC Group in 2004. To grow further, Hur had to look farther afield. The global expansion began in 2004, when SPC opened a Paris Baguette in Shanghai. Then came the U.S.: first Los Angeles in 2005, and New York eight years later. There was another motivation, too: To leave room for smaller enterprises, the Korean government recommended in 2013 limiting the number of new bakeries large companies could open, meaning expanding abroad was the suitable way to grow. "It's hard to aggressively expand its franchise business in the domestic market," said Daishin's Han. "Overseas expansion is needed as a growth driver." Now, there are almost 300 Paris Baguette outlets in China and more than 80 in the U.S. selling up to 300 products -- from breads to pastries and cakes. "Paris Baguette introduced Koreans to the European bakery culture," said Young Choi, vice president and head of global support division at SPC Group. "Based on our bakery skills and marketing strategy, we've expanded to other countries, including France, known as the home of bread, and are trying to promote a new food culture." SPC Group has also brought brands to South Korea, including Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin' Donuts, and has expanded into restaurants and wine imports. After launching Shake Shack at home in 2016, it won the right to operate the U.S. burger chain in Singapore, where it aims to have more than 10 outlets by 2024. Hur and his family own Paris Croissant Co., the de facto holding arm of SPC Group. About one-fifth of its revenue comes from Paris Baguette's overseas outlets. The family also controls about 74% of publicly traded SPC Samlip, which operates more domestic franchises and distributes food ingredients. SPC Group reported consolidated net income of 19.2 billion won ($16 million) last year, an almost 10% increase from 2018 but down from a high of 85.2 billion won in 2016. Revenue growth at SPC Samlip has slowed to about 10% from 36% in 2016. The coronavirus outbreak didn't help: The company reported a 16% drop in revenue in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter. "We were affected by the coronavirus when it started to spread," the SPC Group spokesman said. "Some stores in the U.S. and China opened for shorter hours. Now things are gradually being normalized." So far, the group has managed to avoid layoffs and store closures, though the outlets have relied on delivery services to keep up sales during the pandemic. In the U.S., a study showed in May that almost two-thirds of publicly traded restaurants are at risk of bankruptcy, further hurting an industry already upended by broad stay-at-home orders that led to sharp declines in eatery sales. That won't stop Hur's global ambition. "Breads are enjoyed more by people outside South Korea," Hur was quoted by local media as saying in 2016. "The overseas market is bigger and more opportunities will come." By Trend Turkey and the U.K. are "very close" to signing a free trade agreement for the post-Brexit era, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah. An article on the Financial Times Friday quoted Cavusoglu as saying negotiations between the two countries on a trade deal, covering manufactured goods, agriculture and services, were "going very well and we are close to finalizing it." Cavusoglu visited London on Wednesday to hold talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. "If you look at the volume of our bilateral trade, 95% of it is industrial products ... and 5% is agriculture and services," the minister said. The daily underlined that the U.K. is Turkey's second-largest trading partner after Germany, with a trade volume of 18.8 billion pounds ($23.7 billion). More than 2,500 British companies operate in Turkey, including BP, Shell, Vodafone, Unilever, BAE Systems, HSBC, Aviva and Diageo. Ankara and London have been holding talks on the trade deal, which accelerated after the U.K. formally left the European Union on Jan. 31, 2020, after 47 years of membership and more than three years after Britons voted to leave in a referendum. The U.K. has until the end of 2020 a transition period during which it will remain an EU member in all but name to hammer out a new trade deal with the EU. Any Turkey-U.K. free trade deal would only be able to take place following an EU-U.K. free trade deal, as Turkey is a member of the EU customs union. The trade deal between the U.K. and has yet to be finalized, as the latest round of talks went ahead this week in London. $20B bilateral trade target The FT article reported that if the two sides were unable to secure a deal by the year-end, Ankara could face a dilemma over whether to push ahead with the agreement with Britain and risk breaching EU rules. Cavusoglu apparently acknowledged that this would be a "bizarre situation," adding that the U.K. was a "strategic ally." "We have been negotiating two separate agreements, one is the FTA (free trade agreement), one is similar to the Ankara Agreement," said Cavusoglu, referring to a visa scheme pact for Turkish businesspeople predating Britain joining the EU. On Wednesday, Cavusoglu said during the meeting with Raab and Johnson that they spoke on relations in the post-pandemic era, a bilateral post-Brexit free trade agreement, cooperation in tourism, health tourism and the defense industry, as well as other international and regional issues, including Libya, Syria and NATO. He stressed in a briefing with Turkish reporters that Turkey and the U.K. would cooperate in many fields after Brexit, adding that "even if the U.K. departs from the EU, it will continue to be one of the most important parts of the European continent." Cavusoglu said along with the bilateral trade pact, they also took up the future of the Ankara Agreement to prevent Turkish citizens from getting caught in any possible Brexit fallout. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Trump wears mask in public for 1st time on visit to Walter Reed The novel coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 564,000 people worldwide. Over 12.6 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their nations' outbreaks. The United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 3.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 134,764 deaths. Saturday's headlines: More than 10,000 new cases in Florida Trump wears mask in public on visit to Walter Reed Record high hospitalizations in Arizona Army heading to Houston Here is how the news developed on Saturday. All times Eastern. 10:05 p.m.: Several 4th of July partygoers at Michigan sandbar test positive Several people who attended a Fourth of July party at Torch Lake sandbar near Rapid City, Michigan, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Health Department of Northwest Michigan. The popular hangout spot on Houghton Lake in northern Michigan had been flagged by police as problematic in a press release on July 8. Michigan State Police said it saw an increase of 26% in call volume over the previous 10 years at the so-called Torch Fest. Seven people were arrested for drunk and disorderly charges and nine were charged with operating while intoxicated. Photos released by police showed hundreds of people and boats crowded into close quarters. PHOTO: Several people tested positive for COVID-19 after attending Torch Fest at the Torch Lake sandbar near Rapid City, Mich., on July 4, 2020. (Michigan State Police) "If you were at the Torch Lake Sandbar party over 4th of July weekend, you should monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and seek testing if symptoms should develop or if you were at high risk for exposure due to being in close proximity with others or not wearing a cloth facial covering," the health department said in a statement. Story continues PHOTO: Several people tested positive for COVID-19 after attending Torch Fest at the Torch Lake sandbar near Rapid City, Mich., on July 4, 2020. (Michigan State Police) 7:15 p.m.: 9 Maryland athletes, staff test positive, football practices halted The University of Maryland has halted its football program's offseason training after nine athletes or staff tested positive for COVID-19. The school said it had tested 185 students and staff, but did not specify how many of those who tested positive were staff or athletes -- or even if those nine were part of the football program. "Contact tracing is ongoing through the Prince George's County Health Department and all identified individuals will follow a mandated 14-day self-observation period, under the supervision of university health officials," the university said in a statement. "Under guidance from the Prince George's County Health Department, we have temporarily suspended voluntary, individual training for the football program." MORE: Big Ten moving to conference-only model for all sports this fall Maryland, which is part of the Big Ten Conference, said it tested 105 people in June and no one tested positive. The Big Ten announced earlier this week it would be canceling all nonconference games for fall sports, including football. 5:46 p.m.: Trump visits Walter Reed hospital; wears mask for 1st time President Donald Trump wore a mask for the first time in public on a visit to Walter Reed Medical Center on Saturday afternoon. Trump briefly answered questions before departing the White House to visit troops at the medical center and said that he would wear a mask. "I think when you're in a hospital, especially in that particular setting where you're talking to a lot of soldiers and people that in some cases just got off the operating tables, I think it's a great thing to wear a mask," Trump told reporters. "I've never been against masks, but I do believe they have a time and a place." It was more than three months ago that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended people wear masks in public, but the president always said he was regularly tested so it was not necessary he wear one. PHOTO: President Donald Trump wears a mask as he walks down the hallway during his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Saturday, July 11, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP) The mask included the presidential seal. Face coverings are required at Walter Reed Medical Center, per its policy. "President Trump is at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to visit brave combat wounded service members and their families as well as healthcare staff who have been caring for COVID-19 patients during the pandemic," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. Trump did wear a mask at a behind-the-scenes tour of a Ford plant in late May, but not in front of the media, saying he "didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it." Trump has regularly come under criticism for not wearing a mask, including last week from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo: "He is enabling the virus. How did this become a political statement? ... I've been asking him to do it for weeks. Just wear the mask and say to the American people, 'This is real. And it's a problem.'" 5:16 p.m.: Texas sets new record for cases Texas set a new record of COVID-19 daily cases with 10,351 in the last 24 hours, according to the Department of State Health Services. Gov. Greg Abbott told local news outlets Friday he thinks the situation will only get worse and is willing to consider further restrictions if necessary. There have now been 250,462 cases to date. Of those, 119,470 are active, while an estimated 127,800 have recovered. In the Rio Grande Valley, an area especially hard hit, there are only four available ICU beds and 353 available hospitals beds, according to officials. The Rio Grande Valley has a population of about 1.3 million. The total death toll in Texas rose to 3,112, with 99 deaths reported since Friday -- four more than yesterday, but six shy of the daily record set Thursday. More than 2.7 million tests have been administered, with the positivity rate today of 15.81%. PHOTO: In this Friday, July 10, 2020 file photo, lab technicians work with COVID-19 testing sample at the UT Health RGV Clinical Lab on the UTRGV campus in Edinburg, Texas. (Denise Cathey/AP) 4:55 p.m.: Louisiana to mandate masks, close bars after rise in cases Louisiana will require the public to wear a mask when social distancing can't be observed, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced. When outside in close proximity to others, youre going to need to have your mask on. ... We know that face masks work," he said. The mandate comes a day after the state reported 75 new cases, its highest number to date. It will go into effect Monday after midnight. MORE: Faces of some of the more than 130,000 lives lost in US to coronavirus All bars without food permits will also be closed. Edwards said 36 outbreaks, which affected more than 500 people, were due to bars. Edwards added that these steps were not ones he wanted to take. However, he said, "We have no reason to believe that the numbers we reported today are going to get better over the next week." About a month ago there were 542 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. On Friday, there was a total of 1,182 confirmed cases. 4:41 p.m.: Wisconsin sets another case record Wisconsin has set a record for most daily cases for the second day in a row, according to its health department. The state reported 926 cases in the past day to bring the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 35,679. There were also seven more deaths in the state yesterday to bring the total to 821 since the start of the pandemic. 3:15 p.m.: Boston moves to phase 3 reopening Boston joined the rest of Massachusetts in moving to its phase 3 of reopening from COVID-19 lockdown, reported the Boston Globe. In phase 3, gyms, movie theaters, casinos and other activities are allowed to resume, with restrictions. As of Friday, the state's death toll reached 8,081 and the number of confirmed cases was 105,290. 932,796 people have been tested in Massachusetts. The state is offering free, no-symptoms required testing in its hardest-hit communities including Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Lawrence, Lynn, Lowell, Marlborough and New Bedford, the Boston Globe reported. 2:31 p.m.: DeSantis would like to see anything else 'in modern times' tested like Florida In a press conference Saturday, Florida Gov. DeSantis insisted his state is a leader in coronavirus testing. "Florida had more tests yesterday than the country as a whole did in March." He added that he'd like to see anything else "in modern times" tested like Florida is currently testing for coronavirus. Senate President Bill Galvano said Florida is "frankly better than most states in the union." PHOTO: The Kash & Karry Supermarket gift shop located near the Walt Disney World theme park is selling masks and hand sanitizers for customers on July 11, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images) The governor said the state reported 95,000 tests on Friday and that it was getting shipments of remdesivir, the anti-viral drug being used to fight COVID-19. New York Gov. Cuomo announced Friday that he was sending a shipment of the drug to Florida. "There are definitely areas where we think we may be seeing some declining positivity [rates] and some other areas where they're consistently 20%," DeSantis said. "We may be seeing some decline in this part of the Tampa Bay area," he said but said there's more positivity in Pasco County. "We have a much better idea now versus March about what the viruses likes versus doesn't like," DeSantis said. The governor said he's working with the White House to get more Lab Reagents in Florida. "The U.S. is testing more than any country by far and the lab resources are backed up." He said the state signed contracts with companies that could provide tests in 48 hours and said that's just not happening anywhere in the country. embed code: 1:41 p.m.: Arizona reports record high hospitalizations There are 3,485 people currently hospitalized in Arizona due to COVID-19, a record high, according to the state's Department of Health. There were 3,038 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 119,930, the department reported. There were also 69 deaths, pushing that sum to 2,151. PHOTO: A heath care worker has her blood drawn for an antibody test for COVID-19 at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, July 10, 2020. (Cheney Orr/Reuters) 1:19 p.m.: South Carolina sets new record of daily cases South Carolina set a new record of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 2,239, according to the state's Department of Health. The state's previous record was more than 1,800 cases. There are now 54,538 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 940 deaths in South Carolina, according to officials. The total number of individual test results reported to the Department of Health on Friday was 10,083, with 22.2% of those being positive. The department also confirmed the first pediatric death linked to COVID-19. 12:25 p.m.: North Carolina reports more hospitalizations, another daily increase in cases North Carolina set two somber records over the last 24 hours, with the state recording its highest number of hospitalizations and highest daily increase in cases to date. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,093 hospitalizations and 2,462 new cases Saturday. PHOTO: Medical personnel handle test samples at a community coronavirus testing site operated by Cone Health and the county Health Department in Burlington, N.C., July 9, 2020. (Gerry Broome/AP) "Record-high numbers like today are concerning," NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D., said in a statement. "We all have a responsibility to one another to wear a face covering, avoid crowds and wash our hands often to get our trends going back in the right direction." North Carolina has 83,793 confirmed cases from among more than 1.1 million tests. 11:23 a.m.: University reverses course, will be remote this fall West Chester University, one of Pennsylvania's largest state-owned universities, with 18,000 students, has reversed course and said it no longer plans to bring students back in the fall. Christopher Fiorentino, the university's president, said in a statement that learning will continue remotely through the fall semester. "WCU cannot ignore the potential danger of bringing thousands back to campus," Fiorentino said. Some classes will be taught in a hybrid format, meaning both in-person and remote learning for students with clinical placements, student teachers and certain internships, according to Fiorentino. Chester County, where WCU is located, is currently in the Green Phase of reopening, meaning that some of the university's public buildings -- a library, a recreation center, the student union -- will be open but limited to 50% capacity. "The University understands that students' lives have been turned upside down by a relentless pandemic that continues to sweep across the globe," Fiorentino said. "Our support for our WCU community will not waiver." 10:19 a.m.: New York hospitalizations drop below 800 for 1st time in four months New York recorded 799 COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last 24 hours, the lowest number since March 18, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The state also posted the lowest three-day average death toll since March 16, with six over the last 24 hours, Cuomo said in a statement. New York was among the hardest-hit states in the early stages of the pandemic, with New York City especially devastated. Cuomo applauded the good news, saying New Yorkers who practiced social distancing and wore masks "are central to our ability to slow the spread and save lives." However, Cuomo also urged people not to become complacent. "I urge residents to stay 'New York tough' and not give up the ground we've worked so hard to gain together, particularly in the face of rising cases throughout the country and compliance issues here at home," he said. 8:39 a.m.: Clusters of US soldiers test positive for COVID-19 in Japan A "few dozen" U.S. Marines stationed at two different bases in Okinawa, Japan, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to The Associated Press. After months of no confirmed coronavirus cases, the Marine Corps said it had two clusters of soldiers who tested positive for the virus this week, according to a statement from Marine Corps Installations Pacific. The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force on Okinawa prefecture have now re-imposed strict limits on personnel movements and activities after the new coronavirus cases appeared, according to an internal FEMA memo obtained by ABC News. Everyone who tested positive is in self-isolation and local commanders have initiated "soft shelter-in-place" orders for Camp Hansen and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. All orders are in place until further notice. Officials said cleaning the base and contact tracing are ongoing. "As we navigate the current environment we will continue to assess the situation and provide updates as frequently as permissible. We ask everyone to follow the social distancing and health protection measures to help us #KillTheVirus," Marine Corps Installations Pacific wrote on its Facebook page. 5:28 a.m.: Army medical task force heading to Houston as hospitals fill up Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced late Friday night that the United States Army is sending a medical task force to Houston to help with the city's COVID-19 battle. The additional resources, Abbott said, include an Urban Area Medical Task Force from the U.S. Department of Defense that will arrive on Monday and a Disaster Medical Assistance Team from U.S. Health and Human Services that has just been deployed. "Texas is grateful to the federal government as well as the President and Vice President for working swiftly to provide additional resources to the state as we work to mitigate COVID-19 and care for our fellow Texans," Abbott said in a statement Friday. "We will continue to work with our local and federal partners to ensure all resources and needs are met throughout the state." Houston has seen a significant rise in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, which caused many public health officials and hospitals to issue warnings that ICU bed availability is running low. Houston's Texas Medical Center is at 105% capacity. The city reported 670 new diagnosed COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing Houston's total to at least 26,682. The coronavirus death toll for the city increased by nine to 259. Numbers are just as jarring throughout the Lone Star State. Texas' statewide COVID-19 death toll reached a single-day high of 105 Friday. The state had a 15.56% positivity test rate, according to an internal Federal Emergency Management Agency memo obtained by ABC News. Nearly 14% of all new U.S. coronavirus cases in the past seven days have been identified in Texas, the memo said. The rise in cases also led to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to cancel the in-person Republican Party convention in the city, prompting a lawsuit by the state GOP. What to know about coronavirus: How it started and how to protect yourself: Coronavirus explained What to do if you have symptoms: Coronavirus symptoms Tracking the spread in the U.S. and worldwide: Coronavirus map PHOTO: A specimen is secured at a drive-thru coronavirus testing site at South Mountain Community College, July 9, 2020, in Phoenix. (Ross D. Franklin/AP) ABC News' Elizabeth Thomas, Josh Margolin, Scott Withers, Joshua Hoyos, Jason Volack, Chris Donovan and Gina Sunseri contributed to this report. Trump wears mask in public for 1st time on visit to Walter Reed originally appeared on abcnews.go.com THE Covid-19 Community Outreach Programme has come to an end after supporting communities across the county and city for past three months. The programme was a joint initiative by The Wheel, the national association of charities, and Irish Rural Link, the national network representing the interest of rural communities and funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development. The aim of the programme was to ensure no person would be left behind during the pandemic. Over the last three months, the Community Champion for Limerick City, Limerick Civic Trust, helped to join the dots and link thousands of people who were cocooning, into local services so their needs were fully met. They linked volunteers to hundreds of community and voluntary organisations and vice versa and identified gaps in services and reported these back to their local authority forum meeting. They also dealt with a lot of social issues, such as loneliness among those cocooning, delivery of school meals and food parcels to families in need as well as helping people celebrate their birthdays when family were unable to celebrate with them. As Community Champion for Limerick City, Limerick Civic Trust organised a Community Hearts Project, inspired by the Community Champions in Cork. The aim of our Hearts Project was to spread a sense of community spirit across Limerick City and County to those hit hardest during this pandemic our nursing and care homes, and to remind people that while the country is coming out of lockdown, we should not forget about the older generation who may not feel ready to return to normality just yet, said Meadhbh Nolan, Limerick Civic Trust. We would encourage everyone to reach out to their family members, friends and neighbours, whether it be picking up the phone, calling in for a social distanced chat, or even sending a letter keep those contact lines open and stay connected. We at Limerick Civic Trust want to thank the wonderful women of Patrickswell who volunteered their time to make this project happen. They created crocheted hearts in county colours for each resident of nursing homes across the county. We also want to thank our frontline workers and to highlight their continued hard work as they begin to reunite families and friends who were kept apart during lockdown, Ms Nolan continued. Both The Wheel and Irish Rural Link are extremely grateful for the hard work and effort the Champions have done in their local communities throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 23:12:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ROME, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Two bodies have been extracted from a private helicopter that crashed into the Tiber River near Rome, the National Fire Corps said on Twitter on Saturday. The helicopter crashed into the river on Friday afternoon near the Nazzano Tevere-Farfa Natural Reserve which is in Rome province, in the countryside north of the Italian capital. "Divers have recovered the lifeless bodies of two people from the helicopter that crashed yesterday into the Tiber," firefighters tweeted Saturday. According to La Repubblica and Il Messaggero newspapers, the victims are the pilot, a retired Alitalia pilot in his 70s, and the passenger, an elderly woman. They were found inside the helicopter at a depth of six meters underwater, still strapped in their seats. Witnesses told police the helicopter touched high-tension wires from a nearby railway line before sinking into the river, the papers said. The helicopter reportedly belonged to the pilot, who kept it on a helipad on his property in the countryside north of Rome and liked to take friends flying with him, according to the newspapers. On May 25, a two-seater plane from a flight school in northern Rome crashed into the Tiber River, killing a flight student, while the flight instructor survived. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 23:24:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TIRANA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The entire health system in Albania is on alert and facing the largest influx of COVID-19 cases throughout the epidemic, Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu said on Saturday. Manastirliu made this statement while inspecting a summer health center in seaside city of Vlora, in southwest Albania. Speaking to reporters, Manastirliu called for maximum commitment to respect anti-COVID protocols, to identify in time the suspected cases and to stop the chain of transmission in tourist areas, which are expected to have an increased influx of vacationers. So far, Manastirliu said, medical staff in summer health centers have identified several dozen suspected cases which have been later followed by epidemiologists and the National Medical Emergency Center. Medical staff, working in the 28 summer health centers across the country, follow a special protocol, which defines all the steps that a doctor or a nurse must take at the moment when they face with a suspected case with COVID-19, Manastirliu said. "More than 4,000 services, consultations and treatments have been provided in just a few weeks in all summer health centers from Shkodra, north of the country to Saranda, southwest Albania," Manastirliu noted. According to her, all 28 summer health centers are equipped with personal protective equipment when it comes to anti-COVID protocols and ambulances of the National Emergency are in 18 specific points to guarantee quick arrival at the place where the emergency occurs. The minister called for increased vigilance in every structure and appealed to citizens to be careful, to abide by the rules in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. On Saturday, the health authorities reported 93 new coronavirus cases and four COVID-19 related-deaths over the last 24 hours. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Albania reached 3,371, with 1,881 recoveries and 89 fatalities. Enditem Standard procedure for presidents is to let the Justice Department vet possible pardons and commutations. The website of the Justice Departments Office of the Pardon Attorney reads, All requests for executive clemency for federal offenses are directed to the Pardon Attorney for investigation and review. But most of Trumps grants of clemency have gone to people who didnt meet the offices requirements or hadnt even filed a request, the Washington Post reported in February. In the case of Trumps first act of clemency, to Arpaio in August 2017, no such request was made, and regardless, the Justice Departments guidelines say pardon requests shouldnt be made until five years have passed after the completion of a sentence, or from the sentencing date if no confinement is ordered. Another recipient of a Trump pardon, David Safavian, who had served prison time for obstructing justice in the investigation of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, said he hadnt sought a pardon and that it came out of the blue. Advertisement Donald Trump has donned a face mask to visit recuperating military personnel at the Walter Reed military hospital, in a rare nod to the coronavirus pandemic. The president has repeatedly shrugged off suggestions of wearing a mask, saying that it causes people to touch their face too much and so is not helpful. Health experts agree that face masks are useful at stopping the spread of COVID-19. People close to him have told The Associated Press that the president feared a mask would make him look weak and was concerned that it shifted focus to the public health crisis rather than the economic recovery. As he left the White House on Saturday afternoon he told reporters: 'When you're in a hospital, especially, I think it's expected to wear a mask.' Trump told Fox News on Thursday that he would wear a face mask during the trip. Donald Trump on Saturday wore a face mask to visit the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland 'I'm going to Walter Reed to see some of our great soldiers who have been injured,' he told Sean Hannity. 'Badly injured. And also see some of our Covid workers, people who have such a great job. 'And I expect to be wearing a mask when I go into Walter Reed. You're in a hospital so I think it's a very appropriate thing.' A health expert with Johns Hopkins University thinks that Americans will be wearing masks for 'several years'. More than 3.1 million people have now died of COVID in U.S. Eric Toner, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said in an interview with CNET for the series Hacking the Apocalypse that he believes wearing facial coverings will be a part of the 'new normal'. 'I think that mask wearing and some degree of social distancing, we will be living with - hopefully living with happily - for several years,' Toner said Monday. Toner added: 'It's actually pretty straightforward. If we cover our faces, and both you and anyone you're interacting with are wearing a mask, the risk of transmission goes way down.' The Walter Reed website includes guidance that states visitors 'are expected to wear a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth upon entering and while moving about the facility... when not able to maintain 6 feet of social distancing.' Trump flew from the White House on Saturday afternoon, touching down at the medical facility at 5:24pm and leaving Marine One a few minutes later. Marine One left the South Lawn of the White House at 5:14pm, en route to the Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda, Maryland The president was seen arriving at the medical facility at 5:24pm. President Trump was not wearing a mask on arrival All of those present with the president were photographed wearing face masks He spent about 40 minutes with patients and staff in a closed-door session. Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, issued a statement saying: 'President Trump is at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to visit brave combat wounded service members and their families as well as healthcare staff who have been caring for COVID-19 patients during the pandemic.' The president wrapped his visit inside the hospital at about 6:10pm, and Marine Force One flew him back to the White House at 6:25pm. Trump's decision to model a mask in public view and tout it during a Fox News interview Thursday night came after a quiet lobbying campaign by some White House aides and political advisers, aides familiar with the discussions told CNN. Some of his aides were reportedly concerned by the sight of so many maskless Trump supporters at a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last month and worried by the surge of coronavirus cases in the South. Eight campaign staffers who attended the Tulsa rally tested positive for COVID-19, and this week - three weeks after the rally - has been marked by a record surge in infections in Oklahoma. On Saturday, the Oklahoma State Department of Health said that 687 new COVID-19 cases had been confirmed in the last 24 hours. It was the second highest increase only coming after Tuesday's 858 confirmed cases. He boarded Marine One just short of an hour after arriving and, having taken his face mask off, flew back to the White House Swathes of the southern and western United States are seeing the number of COVID-19 cases rocket in a disturbing trend Pictured before leaving the White House on Saturday, the president was not wearing a mask One presidential adviser described the effort as more than a week of 'lots of negotiation' and repeated 'pleading' by aides who urged the president to set an example for his supporters by wearing a mask on the visit. Until this week, Trump had resisted that coaxing, in part because he is tested daily and views it as an unnecessary step and also because he has not wanted to give into media criticism and pressure. 'I didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,' Trump said during a May visit to a Ford plant in Michigan, where he refused to wear a mask in view of the press in defiance of Ford rules. He did don the mask when he thought people were not looking. Trump was caught on camera, away from the press, wearing a mask on May 21 in Michigan He showed off the mask to press during the Michigan trip, but did not want photos wearing it Trump has refused requests to make masks mandatory at his events. 'It's fine to wear a mask if it makes you feel comfortable,' he said. A Trump political adviser told CNN the president is not in favor of forcing people to wear them. 'That is the president. He does not want to say it,' the adviser said. Every person attending the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville this August will be tested daily for the coronavirus as cases spike in Florida. That will result in thousands of daily tests. The arena where Trump will formally accept his party's nomination for a second term seats 15,000 people. Then there are vendors, security staff, and media who work in the surrounding area. Typically a host city sees an influx of 40,000 to 50,000 people during a political convention when delegates, supporters, security, media, protesters and other visitors are factored in. It's unclear how the coronavirus pandemic will affect those numbers. Five senators have already said they are staying away, due to fears about the pandemic. Damages in the sum of N20 million was awarded against 1004 Estates Limited by Justice I. O. Harrison of the Lagos High Court for infringement of Tayo Soetan and others rights to personal liberty in connection with the allegations of criminal conspiracy, obtaining by false pretences, forcible entry, malicious damages and conduct likely to cause breach of the peace against the applicants. Contrary to claims in a Starconnect Medias publication, Mr Bosun Sosanya, Mr Tayo Soetan, Mr Adebayo Ademiluyi, Mr Friday Alika, and Mr Abubakar Audu, the fefendants in the reported charge were not at any time ordered to be remanded in Prison custody or any place whatsoever, pending when they fulfil their bail conditions. The correct position is that Mr Tayo Soetan, and the four other defendants, pleaded not-guilty to the charge at their arraignment on 14th March 2017. The application by Mr Soetans counsel, Promise Asikpo, for the bail of Mr Soetan, was granted by the learned Magistrate. The conditions for the said bail were met by Mr Soetan. He was accordingly released on bail on the said 14th March 2017 and he returned to his residence; likewise the other defendants. Indeed, on 4th October 2017, the charge against Mr Soetan and the four other defendants bordering on forcible entry and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace was struck out and all the defendants were accordingly, discharged by the Court. The learned Magistrates decision was sequel to the adoption of the Legal Advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Lagos State, that the charge against all the defendants be withdrawn from court, on the ground that no offence was revealed, during investigations, to have been committed by any of the defendants. The judgment in the aforementioned Suit No. LD/6690MFHR/2018 was delivered in favour of Mr Tayo Soetan & Ors. (Applicants), against 1004 Estates Limited and Mr Samuel Ukpong (Respondents) on 14th December 2018 by the Presiding Judge, Honourable Justice I. O. Harrison (Mrs). The learned Judge held in the Judgment as follows: The Court finds that the dispute between the parties is purely civil and the incessant report to different Police formations amounts to an infringement of their fundamental right to human dignity and personal liberty and shows an element of malice (i) The Court finds that the acts by officers of the 3rd Respondent, of frequently inviting, arresting, harassing, threatening, questioning and otherwise intimidating the Applicants procured by the 1st and 2nd Respondents in respect of allegations of criminal conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, forcible entry, malicious damage and conduct likely to cause the breach of the peace they made against the Applicants in connection with disputes between the Applicants and the 1st and 2nd Respondents arising from the management of 1004 Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos constitute a violation of the Applicants Fundamental Human Rights to dignity of the human person and personal liberty under Sections 34 and 35 respectively, of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered) and Articles 5 and 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap A9, Volume 1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. (ii) Damages in the sum of Twenty Million Naira (N20,000,000.00) against the 1st and 2nd Respondents jointly and severally for the infringement of the Applicants rights to personal liberty in connection with the frivolous allegations of criminal conspiracy, obtaining by false pretences, forcible entry, malicious damages and conduct likely to cause breach of the peace against the Applicants. (iii) Perpetual injunction restraining the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Respondents by themselves, or through their officers, agents or privies or otherwise from further inviting, arresting, detaining, intimidating or in any manner whatsoever, infringing the fundamental human rights of the Applicants, by reason of the allegations made by the 1st and 2nd Respondents against the Applicants in connection with the dispute between the Applicants and the 1st and 2nd Respondents arising from the management of 1004 Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos. An umbrella group of Muslim organisations in Pakistan has extended its support to the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad and denounced the controversy over the issue, according to a media report on Saturday. The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), whose members include Islamic clerics and legal scholars of different Islamic traditions, also said the Constitution of Pakistan categorically defines the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims living in the country, Dawn newspaper reported. "We denounce the controversy over construction of the temple. This [making it controversial] by extremist clerics is not correct. The PUC will call a meeting and will also present its point of view to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII)," PUC chairman Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi said on Friday. The CII is a constitutional body responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the Pakistan government. Pakistan's religious affairs ministry has written to the CII to seek its opinion on the government's funding for the construction of the temple in the capital city amid opposition from some Muslim groups. Minister of Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri on Wednesday said there was no problem related to the construction of the temple, but the real issue was whether it could be built with the public money. The government has approved Rs 10 crore for the Krishna temple, which will come up in a 20,000 sq ft plot in the capital's H-9 administrative division. Ashrafi said those opposing the construction of the temple have an incorrect interpretation of Sharia (Islamic law). "To have their own place of worship and offer a life as per their faith and tradition are the right given to all non-Muslims in the Constitution and as well as in Sharia," he was quoted as saying by the paper. Ashrafi, who is also the chairman of Muthahida Ulema Board, Punjab, said that the Hindus living in Pakistan were not residents of any conquered land; therefore, the interpretation presented by certain clerics about the rights of non-Muslims in Sharia is not applicable to Hindus and members of other religious minorities living in the country, the paper reported. "Dozens of worship places have been established in the country for religious minorities and recently the government constructed the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims," he said. "Did anybody observed any threat to Islam - No." "We are very clear; no extremist group or individual should be allowed to usurp the rights of minorities in the country," he added. A Pakistani court on Tuesday dismissed three identical petitions challenging the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad. A single bench of the Islamabad High Court delivered the judgement, making it clear that there was no bar on the Institute of Hindu Panchayat from building the temple on the land allotted to it, using its own funds. Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country. Majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows. P eople going out this weekend have been urged to stick to social distancing rules, with pubs and restaurants preparing for the second weekend of trade after being allowed to reopen. London Mayor Sadiq Khan told Londoners that "lives depend" on people keeping their distance from others this weekend, after thousands of people crowded into Old Compton Street in Soho last Saturday, many without face masks. Wearing a mask, Mr Khan said in a video message: "Enjoy supporting your local businesses this weekend, but stay safe lives depend on it. This includes wearing a face covering on public transport, in shops and where you cant keep a social distance. London Mayor Sadiq Khan / PA Westminster city council said hospitality businesses like pubs and restaurants have been told that they can only serve people who are sitting down, in order to keep numbers low. Councillor Matthew Green, who is responsible for business and planning, said: Last weekend we saw a vast reopening of Londons most famous hospitality areas, with a large majority showing a safe and successful example of the new normal for the citys bars, cafes, and restaurants. At the same time, we saw isolated instances of crowding in some of our busier areas. This is something that cannot happen again as we must ensure the safety of the public as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Police in Greater Manchester said the first weekend of pubs reopening went smoothly in the city, with just three premises choosing to close early after safety advice from officers and the local authority. Superintendent Chris Hill said: As we approach another weekend, one that promises slightly sunnier weather, I want to remind the public of the importance of continuing to social distance and respect others the guidelines and restrictions still in place are paramount to preventing a second spike and not undoing the hard work done so far by everyone to minimise the spread of the virus. Super Saturday - in pictures 1 /66 Super Saturday - in pictures A police officer watches on from an elevated position as revellers drink in the street outside the bars in Soho, London AFP via Getty Images Soho REUTERS Borough Market, London PA Soho REUTERS Soho PA Soho AFP via Getty Images Soho PA REUTERS Newcastle REUTERS Soho REUTERS Soho AFP via Getty Images Soho AFP via Getty Images Soho PA Soho PA A street cleaner sweeps a street in Soho PA Soho PA Soho PA Borough Market REUTERS Soho PA Newcastle REUTERS London AP Central London REUTERS London AP Manchester AP Customers give a toast with their drinks at the Shakespeare's Head pub in Holborn, London PA Miya Towse has her hair cut at The Chair salon shortly after midnight and reopening in Canterbury Getty Images Louise Wilson and Jennifer Arnold were married at Runcorn Town Hall Registry Office at one minute past midnight Halton Borough Council/PA Wire Michael Robinson, 61, has the first drink at the reopening The Toll Gate, a Wetherspoons pub in Hornsey, north London PA Clare Streeter wears a face mask as she has her hair cut as the first customer back at the strike of midnight in Canterbury Getty Images A member of the public has her temperature checked at the entrance to Alton Towers Getty Images One of the first drinkers at the reopening of the Rochester Castle pub in Stoke Newington, north London, PA Andrew Slawinaki, 51, reading his paper while having a pint of Guinness at the reopening The Toll Gate PA Robert observes social distancing queuing for a pint at The Mossy Well in Muswell Hill in London Getty Images A customer sanitises their hands at The Mossy Well Getty Images PA Customers drink beer at The Holland Tringham Wetherspoons pub in London REUTERS Customers walking into the Shakespeares Head pub in Holborn, London PA A member of bar staff pulls a pint at the Shakespeares Head pub in Holborn, London PA Customers queue to order a drink at The Holland Tringham REUTERS A worker carries a beer at The Holland Tringham REUTERS Bar staff waits for customers at the Rochester Castle pub in Stoke Newington, north London PA Miya Towse has her hair cut at The Chair salon Getty Images Owner Carole Rickaby cuts customer Sandra Jacobs' hair at Tusk Hair stylists in Camden just after midnight Getty Images A customer has her hair washed at Tusk Hair stylists in Camden Getty Images Customers have their hair washed and cut in Canterbury Getty Images Jonathan Callister has his hair cut shortly after midnight in Canterbury Getty Images The Chair salon owner, Katie Hancock, wears a protective face shield as she washes and cuts the hair of Clare Streeter Getty Images Jennifer and Louise Arnold-Wilson married at Runcorn Town Hall Registry Office at one minute past midnight Halton Borough Council/PA Wire Runcorn Town Hall Registry Office, where Jennifer and Louise were married at one minute past midnight Halton Borough Council/PA Wire Members of the public queue to enter Alton Towers Getty Images Our dedicated policing operation will continue running into this weekend, with our officers engaging with members of the public to explain and encourage the following of the guidelines, with enforcement as a last resort. Sacha Lord, night time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, said this weekend will likely see even more venues reopening, adding: I also expect the industry to be under more pressure this weekend a combination of better forecasted weather and great consumer confidence means we can safely anticipate more customers and therefore more pressures to maintain those safe standards. A woman poses with a street cleaner in Soho last weekend / PA I want to appeal to the sector to keep its standards high. To the public, please stay local and boost nearby businesses, and please continue to respect the safety measures that are in place. Meanwhile, Merseyside Police expressed concern ahead of the weekend, writing on Twitter: Its concerning to see a rise in COVID19 cases in South Liverpool stay safe this weekend and remember to follow public health guidelines. Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Finland, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Finland and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Finland (issuer rating Aa1) is supported by the country's "a3" economic strength score, reflecting high wealth levels, a very well-educated labour force and strong institutional support for innovation, which create a solid foundation for a knowledge-based economy. The "aaa" score for institutions and governance strength is underpinned by key institution's high credibility, transparency and broad consensus on key fiscal policy goals and macroeconomic policies. The "aa3" score for fiscal strength reflects a track record of prudent and forward-looking fiscal policy as well as a relatively moderate debt burden, very high debt affordability and the government's significant holding of financial assets. The score for susceptibility to event risk is "a", driven by domestic political and geopolitical risk and banking sector risk due to a moderate loan-to-deposit ratio and the very large size of the banking system, mitigated by solid capital adequacy and stable profitability of the Finnish banks. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit. 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In its pair of rulings concerning subpoenas for President Trumps financial records, the Supreme Court appeared heedful of this danger and avoided it. In short, the justices did not let this terrible president make bad law. They neither accepted Trumps extreme positions nor set out rules that could prove problematic for successors. As a matter of law, this president lost, as he should have; the presidency survived. The fund's focus is on buying "value-add" & stabilized assets with the aim to rapidly upgrade them into the next asset class through operational efficiencies that maximize monthly cashflow and net returns. Ultimately, the goal is the rebuilding of a community, making it a new haven for economic activity, employment, healthy food, and access to parks and recreation. Building AQuisition Partners United, LLC also acquires partial interests in funds among many asset classes. They have the ability to offer liquidity to investors, and partner alongside fund managers internationally. Although they typically seek mid-sized assets around 100-200 Units, their ongoing focus is on multifamily and commercial assets upwards of 300+ units and retail. The fund also wishes to collaborate with the Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives Program, through which they are able to apply for tax credits, state/federal funding, and tax abatements to assist acquisitions and development. Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives was formed in 2010 to coordinate resources, economic development and neighborhood revitalization efforts in Chicagoland's low-to-moderate income neighborhoods. Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives seeks to revitalize neighborhoods and create jobs by assisting development in high impact projects, providing financial resources to entrepreneurs and sustaining long-term community partnerships. About Building AQuisition Partners United, LLC Building AQuisition Partners United is a Regulation D 506 fund founded by Tosin Oduwole, an urban redeveloper bringing back the economic vibrancy of cities around the country via the massive acquisition and development of low, mid, and high-rise apartment buildings & commercial real estate. BAP United has years of experience in real estate development, commercial real estate negotiation, real estate sales and property management. The organization possesses a drive to redevelop communities that have lost their luster and to bring them into 21st century living, all while proving to be a safe place for ultra-high net worth individuals to safely grow their capital. Tosin Oduwole can be contacted directly at [email protected] or +1-973-832-3036. www.BAPUnited.com. SOURCE Building AQuisition Partners United Related Links https://www.bapunited.com Danish company rsted on July 10 announced that it has acquired a 227MW photovoltaic project in Alabama, US. The acquisition of the under-construction project, 227MW AC Muscle Shoals solar project, is seen as the companys attempt to expand solar footprint. Muscle Shoals, located in Colbert County of Alabama, will use solar panels supplied by First Solar. Expected to come online in the third quarter of next year, the project will be rsteds second solar project in the US, after the company decided in November 2019 to commence construction of the Permian Energy Center solar plus storage project in Texas. After the new acquisition of Muscle Shoals, rsted will have two solar projects totaling 647 MW ac of generation capacity under construction in US. Read: Global Public Debt, Fiscal Deficits To Reach All-time High, IMF Warns Expanding solar portfolio The project is fully contracted under a long-term power purchase agreement with the Tennessee Value Authority (TVA) and First Solar will supply the modules for the project. The acquisition of the project marks the first project in the southeast US. Muscle Shoals Solar project is expected to employ 300 people during the peak of construction activities. More than $1m in tax revenue is expected to be generated during the production. Vishal Kapadia, Senior Vice President & CFO Onshore, said in a statement, the acquisition of Muscle Shoals continues the expansion of our solar portfolio and further diversifies the geographic footprint of our asset base by establishing a foothold in the rapidly growing Southeast solar market. Once complete, Muscle Shoals will deliver high-quality contracted revenues that will provide rsted an attractive incremental source of stable earnings. Read: rsted, TSMC Ink 'worlds Largest' Renewable Corporate Power Purchase Agreement rsted, TSMC ink wind power CPPA Recently, rsted also signed a corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) with worlds largest semiconductor foundry TSMC. Under the new agreement, touted as the worlds largest renewables corporate power purchase agreement, TSMC will offtake the full production from rsteds 920MW Greater Changhua 2b & 4 offshore wind farm. During the 20-year fixed-price contract, the Greater Changhua 2b & 4 offshore wind farm will receive a price for power including T-RECs (Taiwan renewable energy certificate). If Danish energy firm rsteds final investment decision, expected in 2023, remains in favour then Greater Changhua 2b & 4 will be rsteds third offshore wind farm in Taiwan. WIth a capacity of 920MW, the wind farm will be located in the Taiwan Strait off the coast of Changhua County. Read: Global Public Debt, Fiscal Deficits To Reach All-time High, IMF Warns Read: Johnson & Johnson Under Pressure To Stop Global Sale Of Talc-based Baby Powder New Melones July 10 2020 Algal Bloom Sat Map Screen Shot View Photos Sonora, CA Environmental health officials are assessing the distinctly green waters at New Melones, anticipating testing within the next few weeks. As we reported here on Monday here, recent observation of a satellite tool that provides images of potential algal presence indicated a few pixels in the Stanislaus River above New Melones and a single-pixel at Lake Camanche. On Friday, the satellite imagery shows a slight, one-pixel increase at Melones and no change at Camanche. View satellite screen capture shots in by clicking the image box. Tuolumne County Environmental Health Director Rob Kostlivy shares his office is still contacting all of the involved entities such as the Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife, Calaveras Environmental Health, and the boards of Supervisors for both counties to discuss a collaborative plan for the waterway. In the meantime, Environmental Health will be shortly conducting testing. Once we test and results are in, we will let the public know of our findings, Kostlivy shares. Due to the proximity to Calaveras, it is imperative that we work collaboratively with them so that our message is the same. We are anticipating conducting testing sometime in the next three weeks. He adds it depends on changes picked up by the satellite that monitors the algal growth and that there needs to be sufficient marking data aligned identifying sufficient cause ahead of assigning large amounts of resources to a monitoring project. Similar Scenario To Last Summer Keith Bouma-Gregson, the Water Board lead for freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs), states, I have been paying attention to the satellite tool, and it looks as though the conditions may be similar to last summer, with a bloom developing in the Stanislaus River arm of New Melones. He continues, However, the satellite flew over yesterday, and only one pixel was over the detection limit, so it seems as though the bloom is not expanding right now. Melones, currently at 71 percent of its total storage is at 112 percent of its historic capacity for this time of year. This time over the past couple of years, due to larger than normal snowpack, it was a good deal fuller. Bouma-Gregson notes, Warm temperatures can increase HABs. We dont know for sure what is driving growth in New Melones, though. He adds, Last year, the water was very warm at New Melones, so it may have already passed any thresholds and a few extra degrees of extra warmth may not make too much difference. This is all speculative and conceptual, though, without any data. As reported here, last July, sampling turned up evidence of potentially harmful cyanobacterial algae in the river waters above Melones that required the posting of advisory caution signs and triggered a series of water samplings. BOR Region 10 officials indicated staff will be putting up educational signs for visitors to keep an eye out if they do spot anything. The WSWS Autoworker Newsletter will assist autoworkers and other workers in establishing rank-and-file safety committees. Email the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter at autoworkers@wsws.org to learn more. Opposition is mounting among autoworkers in North America to the premature return to work imposed by the corporations with the support of unions. COVID-19 is spreading in factories and warehouses under conditions where basic safety protocols are being ignored in the drive to ramp up production and where workers who resist are being victimized by management with the blatant collusion of the unions. At the Fiat Chrysler Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, workers have decided to launch a rank-and-file safety committee in response to mounting COVID-19 cases at their plant. The courageous stand of the Toledo workers follows the launching of rank-and-file safety committees at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, Michigan and the nearby Sterling Heights Assembly in the northern suburbs. Toledo North Assembly Plant Reports have reached the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter of support for such a rank-and-file initiative at the Ford Louisville Truck plant as well, where workers staged a protest this week over lack of safety enforcement. Despite the upsurge of the deadly virus, the United Auto Workers and management are withholding basic information from workers while collaborating to ramp up production at whatever cost. The Toledo Blade reported yesterday that 31 workers have tested positive at the plant since its reopening in May. This figure is likely a vast underestimate, under conditions where management has refused to acknowledge any infections. Production at the 312-acre complex has continued uninterrupted, without any pause for cleaning. The plant employs some 6,500 workers and produces the Jeep Gladiators and Wranglers. In Ohio, 1,525 COVID-19 cases were recorded Friday, the highest daily total yet, bringing the total to date to 62,856. There were 26 deaths reported, bringing the total statewide to just over 3,000. One Toledo FCA worker wrote to the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, Today I had someone working directly next to me for 10 hours with nothing protecting me besides a thin face mask. This person only quarantined for three days and was told to report back after traveling. What are we to do really? We dont have the company with our best interest or the union. Im asking you to please bring awareness and further investigate the issues and threats made at the Toledo assembly complex. We are all just trying to protect ourselves with no help and no one to turn to for honest answers. Another Jeep worker told the Autoworker Newsletter, An employee was carted out of my area on the line and employees were told not to disclose the situation. One employee quit because of this situation and divulged to us as she was walking out. They didnt shut down, they didnt deep clean, they just stopped the line to find a replacement and kept running... They do not care about our health, safety, nor do they care about safety of our families, the worker remarked about the response of corporate management and UAW officials in the plant. Yet another Jeep worker told the Autoworker Newsletter, They give us a bottle of 70-proof rubbing alcohol with some rags and were supposed to clean the machines with that. The rags are like old t-shirts from out of someones car. Its not safe. Were constantly on top of each other. You cant social distance in the plant. All theyre worried about is making money. Theyre not notifying everybody who is in contact with a positive case. I have a friend who tested positive. How do they know whos in contact with who? They didnt even let her team know. She took it upon herself to contact her team members and tell them. Deplorably unsafe conditions are rampant throughout the auto plants and parts suppliers. A worker at the Ford Louisville Assembly Plant posted on Facebook about developments Thursday, They shut down the entire body 2 to go cover jobs where covid is because most of them signed out. 90 % of body 2 walked off and signed out as well instead of going to the infected area. Now THAT is SOLIDARITY! A veteran worker at the General Motors Wentzville Assembly plant near St. Louis told the WSWS that reported cases had neared 20 on Thursday and have jumped further since then. She said that GM was deeming them outside cases, denying that they were resulting from exposure within the plant. How can they say these arent GM related when we are exposed every day? she asked. Why not take temperatures when we clock out too, since they only do it clocking in? The situation is even worse at auto parts plants. A worker at Flex-N-Gate in Detroit wrote, They give you points [i.e., disciplinary marks for being absent] even when you have a doctors note, when they werent doing this before. I have been here for almost two years and it breaks my heart that so many of us have to put up with these conditions. Another auto parts worker wrote, Im hearing from an employee at Piston Automotive [outside Detroit] that there was an employee puking at work and was sent home. Before the employee left and was sent home he stated that his mother tested positive for COVID-19. Also, another employee went into work stating he was around someone that had it. Im writing to ask if this can be investigated as we have a family at home, with one child having asthma so youll see why Im very concerned. In Mexico, where cases of coronavirus are exploding, workers are seeking to mobilize resistance to the return to work policy of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The country has over 282,000 confirmed cases and more than 33,500 deaths due to the pandemic. Workers at the General Motors Silao Complex in Guanajuato, Mexico, have reported to the Autoworker Newsletter a total of 17 COVID-19 cases and five deaths. Management and the union refuse to recognize any suspected or confirmed cases and have forced workers to sign three confidentiality agreements this year to keep them from speaking to anyone about conditions at the plant. Members of the Generating Movement at the Silao GM plant The Silao plant is running at about 80 percent capacity, even though the state of Guanajuato is on a red light status, meaning that auto plants are technically only allowed to run at 30 percent capacity. Hospitals in the state are overwhelmed by the pandemic. At the plant, the rank-and-file Generating Movement group, which is encouraging workers to report infections and unsafe conditions, told the Autoworker Newsletter that the latest death was that of Gilberto Medrano Ramirez, 57, on Thursday. GM sent him home on July 2, according to a document signed by a doctor at the plants Occupational Health Department, which describes an infection of his airways classified as suspected COVID-19. The state health care agency IMSS, however, sent him away without testing for the virus. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category New York, July 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market Research Report by Depth of Operation, by Technology, by Payload, by Application - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913502/?utm_source=GNW On the basis of Depth of Operation, the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market is studied across 100 M to 1000 M, More than 1000 M, and Up to 100 M. On the basis of Technology, the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market is studied across Collision Avoidance, Communication, Imaging, Navigation, and Propulsion. On the basis of Payload, the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market is studied across Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers, Cameras, Echo Sounders, and Synthetic Aperture Sonars. On the basis of Application, the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market is studied across Archeological and Exploration, Environmental Protection and Monitoring, Military & Defense, Oceanography, Oil & Gas, and Search and Salvage Operation. On the basis of Geography, the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market is studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region is studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region is studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region is studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Company Usability Profiles: The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market including Atlas Elektronik GmbH, Bluefin Robotics, Boston Engineering Corporation, ECA Group, Fugro, Graal, Inc., International Submarine Engineering (ISE) Ltd., Kongsberg Maritime, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Teledyne Gavia EHF.. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on sulfuric acid offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913502/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of conspiring to topple his government by indulging in horse-trading, a charge denied by the opposition party which claimed it was the Congress' 'infighting' at play. Gehlot's frontal attack came as the state police's special operations group (SOG) arrested two persons and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a preliminary enquiry against three Independent MLAs for alleged attempts to bribe Congress MLAs ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls last month and destabilise the state government. Both SOG and ACB are part of the Rajasthan police. "BJP leaders are playing the game at the behest of central leaders. MLAs were offered money... Rs 10 crore in advance and Rs 15 crore after the government is toppled," the chief minister alleged and added that the BJP wants to convert the state's politics into a goat market, 'bakra mandi'. The BJP hit back at Gehlot saying he should utilise agencies like SOG and ACB for crime control 'instead of threatening' MLAs and political parties. Official sources said the SOG is all set to record the statements of Gehlot, his Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and the government's chief whip Mahesh Joshi in the matter. They said that nearly a dozen MLAs and others may also be issued notices soon. The SOG of Rajasthan police registered the case on Friday under Indian Penal Code sections 124-A (sedition) and 120-B (conspiracy) on the basis of 'facts' which came up during interception of two mobile numbers, sources said. The mobile numbers of two persons, who were arrested on Saturday, were taken on surveillance on June 13 in connection with illegal smuggling of arms and (mining) explosive and it was revealed that attempts were being made to bribe MLA during Rajya Sabha polls and topple the state government, the sources claimed. The PE was registered on Saturday by ACB against MLAs Omprakash Hudla, Suresh Tak and Khushveer Singh. It is alleged that the legislators were involved in offering money to some other MLAs on behalf of BJP for toppling the government, ACB sources claimed. Reacting to the development, Hudla said he was not involved in any such activity. "No one, be it a chief minister or the prime minister, is above the law. I have received the notice of SOG. The investigating agency will do its job and we will cooperate in it," Gehlot said. The chief minister said the investigation will reveal everything and truth will prevail. "There is no alternative to the truth," he said, adding while his government is fighting to protect the lives and livelihood of people during the coronavirus pandemic, the BJP was trying to destabilise the government. He expressed confidence that his government will last its full tenure. Gehlot alleged that Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria, Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore and BJP state president Satish Poonia were executing the agenda of their party's central leadership. On Friday night, over 20 Congress MLAs had also issued a joint statement alleging that BJP was trying to topple the Congress government in the state by 'luring' legislators. The BJP, however, rejected the allegations saying whatever is going in the Congress is the result of infighting between the chief minister and his deputy. The party's state president Satish Poonia said, "The BJP has nothing to do with all these allegations. During the Rajya Sabha elections also, they had levelled such allegations which are baseless." The Congress, which came to power in Rajasthan in December 2018, has 107 MLAs in the House of 200. It has the support of 13 independent MLAs and legislators of other parties like the Rashtriya Lok Dal (1 MLA), Communist Party of India-Marxist (2 MLAs) and Bhartiya Tribal Party (2 MLAs). Amid the allegations of horse trading, the Congress and other MLAs were kept in resort till the June 19 Rajya Sabha polls to prevent any poaching attempt. Two Congress candidates had won in the polls after securing votes as per the party's strength. Kataria, who is in Udaipur, challenged the chief minister to prove the allegations. "The chief minister appeared disappointed in the press conference today and the people of the entire state saw that he has touched a low. The chief minister is not able to handle the infighting going on in the Congress and they are falsely accusing the BJP," Kataria told reporters at a video conference. "I challenge the chief minister to prove his allegations against the BJP. If the allegations are proved then I will quit politics and if the charges are not proved then Chief Minister Gehlot should quit politics," he said. Poonia alleged the state government has failed to deliver and could not manage the COVID-19 crisis properly which is why it was trying to divert public attention. Refuting the claim, Government Deputy Chief Whip Mahendra Chaudhary said there is no infighting in the Congress. "The BJP is behind the conspiracy of toppling the state government and they have been exposed," he said. Responding to queries on the party's rivals trying to take advantage of the fighting between his faction and the one led by Pilot, Gehlot said there was peace in the party. "There may be five-seven leaders here who could be the claimant for chief minister's post. They may also have capabilities but when a chief minister is appointed, such talks get over and peace prevails," he said in response. According to the chief minister, attempts were made to poach MLAs ahead of last month's Rajya Sabha elections as well but this time the effort seemed to be bigger and more organised. Soon after it had won the Assembly election, both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot were in the race for the chief minister's post. The party high command later named Gehlot as the CM and Pilot his deputy. The SOG had on Friday detained Ashok Chauhan from Udaipur and Bharat Bhai was picked from Beawar town of Ajmer after their phones had been intercepted. They were placed under arrest on Saturday at Jaipur and were being interrogated. The official said that a complaint filed by government chief whip Mahesh Joshi on alleged horse trading in Rajya Sabha polls was also being probed but no FIR in that was registered so far. The SOG FIR mentions that two persons were allegedly talking about the rift between chief minister and deputy chief minister and toppling the Congress government by poaching MLAs. They also talked about the chances of earning Rs 1,000-2,000 crore by toppling the government, it stated. The FIR mentions information received through sources about conspiracy of forming a new government and also refers to conversation of the two persons regarding the deputy chief minister. Citing the examples of Goa, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, the chief minister alleged the BJP is trying to play similar games in Rajasthan too. "Our focus should have been completely on combating the corona crisis which we have been doing but now we have to struggle to save the government," he said. He said it was unfortunate that horse trading is done in Gujarat, the land of Mahatma Gandhi, and claimed that Rajasthan has no such history. Congress leaders have 'integrity', he asserted. "If any of our MLAs, who won elections on Congress ticket and were given various posts including ministerial portfolios by the party, turns out to be a traitor, the public will not forgive him," he said. Manitoba's labour force recovery is the second strongest among the provinces, but who deserves the credit for it is in dispute. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba's labour force recovery is the second strongest among the provinces, but who deserves the credit for it is in dispute. In June, the employment level in Manitoba was 92.8 per cent of where it was in pre-pandemic February, Statistics Canada's June Labour Force Survey said. New Brunswick, the first province to begin easing COVID-19 restrictions, had the highest employment level, at 97.1 per cent of the pre-COVID level in February. Ontario's employment level was the lowest among the provinces, at 89.7 per cent of where it was in February. The big picture About 5.5 million Canadian workers were affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown from February to April. This included a drop in employment of 3.0 million and a COVID-related increase in absences from work of 2.5 million. click to read more About 5.5 million Canadian workers were affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown from February to April. This included a drop in employment of 3.0 million and a COVID-related increase in absences from work of 2.5 million. By the week of June 14 to 20, the number of workers affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown was 3.1 million, a reduction of 43 per cent from April. The economic hit from COVID-19 has been unprecedented in its speed and depth, but so has the comeback. Employment fell to 15.7 per cent below pre-COVID February levels in just two months. By comparison, the 1981-82 recession resulted in a total employment decline of 5.4 per cent over approximately 17 months. With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in May and June, the initial recovery of employment to within 9.2 per cent of pre-COVID levels has been sharper than in previous downturns, when recovery to pre-downturn employment has taken from two to five years. source: Statistics Canada Close The survey looked at labour market conditions for the week of June 14 to 20. By then, public health restrictions had been substantially eased in most parts of the country. Manitoba was already well into Phase 2 of its recovery, which began June 1. It allowed larger indoor and outdoor gatherings, restaurants and bars to serve indoors at 50 per cent capacity, and more personal services to reopen. "The June job numbers report, we think, is a very positive step in the right direction," Manitoba Finance Minister Scott Fielding said Friday. The province lost about 90,000 jobs because of the pandemic shutdown, he said. Over the last two months, more than 42,000 Manitobans have returned to work. "Manitoba will have the second-lowest unemployment rate and, almost more importantly, the youth unemployment rate will be the lowest in Canada," Fielding said at a press conference. The provincial unemployment rate edged down to 10.1 per cent, the second lowest in the country and below the national rate of 12.3 per cent. Manitoba's youth unemployment rate decreased 3.5 percentage points to 19.3 per cent, the lowest in Canada, he said. Fielding said that's because of provincial job creation programs, including the Summer Student Job Recovery Program in which 1,800 employers apply for $20 million in wage subsidies for more than 4,000 student positions. He credited his government's pandemic spending plan for helping the recovery. The Manitoba Gap Protection Program he said has provided nearly $44.6 million to more than 7,400 businesses that are ineligible for federal support. The Manitoba Back to Work This Summer Program has put up more than $3 million so 220 private-sector employers could hire and rehire 600 employees. The NDP's finance critic said the Tories shouldn't try to take credit for Manitoba's positive labour force numbers. "If anything, the Pallister Conservatives have made things worse," Mark Wasyliw told reporters. The June job numbers, he said, are a natural byproduct of lifting lockdown measures. "We can only imagine the opportunities lost and how much better the numbers would've been if they'd actually done something," said Wasyliw. The province laid off workers, cut wages and had to be "shamed into bringing in some economic programs," he said. Those have been convoluted, hard to apply for, don't cover many people and have had little uptake, he said. Only $45,000 of an $18-million fund for child care has been spent, for example, said Wasyliw. "We've been calling on them for months to provide supports to small businesses and daycare centres. Until you address those fundamentals, you're not going to see big benefits to your economy," said Wasyliw. Fielding said only Quebec is spending more than Manitoba to support people affected by COVID-19. By GDP, Manitobas $2.1 billion in planned COVID-19 responses puts it as the second-highest spender at 2.9 per cent, behind Quebec spending 6.5 per cent ($28.7 billion) of its GDP on pandemic support, Fielding said. "Manitoba must grow it's way out of this crisis, not cut its way out of this crisis," the finance minister said. To do that, the province is investing in preparedness on things like personal protective equipment, and in jobs and growth, he said. "Our No. 1 goal is to keep Manitobans safe. Manitoba is one of the safest places in North America now because of low COVID numbers," he said. So far this month, there have been no new cases of COVID-19 and as of Friday, Manitoba had only four active cases. On Thursday, 928 laboratory tests were performed, raising the provincial total since early February to 69,036 tests. So far, there have been only 325 positive results. "We were one of the last provinces to go into shutdown and one of the first to come out of it and, more importantly than anything, we have some of the lowest (COVID-19) numbers, so people feel safe," he said. Fielding said he won't be happy until all of the nearly 50,000 Manitobans who are off the job because of the pandemic are back at work. "We anticipate them coming back by year's end." 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. When asked why 246,440 Manitobans have registered for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) if only 90,000 couldn't work during the pandemic, the finance minister couldn't offer a rationale. "I'm not going to suggest Manitobans didn't need it," said Fielding. Premier Brian Pallister, meanwhile, has railed against the federal support program. He argues it has stalled Manitoba's recovery by discouraging people from getting back to work, saying it was time "to kick CERB to the curb." So far, more than 1,900 people have applied for the Manitoba Job Restart Program to receive a $2,000 payment if they return to work and stop collecting the CERB or the Canada Emergency Student Benefit, Fielding said. The deadline to apply for the program is July 31. Fielding didn't criticize the federal benefit program. "I think all governments have done a decent job getting programs out quickly," he said. Besides, he said, the federal government has indicated the CERB is being phased out as the economy recovers and more employers get the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy that covers 75 per cent of an employee's wages. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Gov. Whitmer on Friday announced stricter requirements for Michiganders to mask up, including indoors in any public place and outdoors when you cant maintain a six-foot distance. Its part of a recent push shes made asking Michiganders to wear masks. Without a vaccine, without a cure, a mask is the safest way to protect yourself from the spread of COVID-19, to protect your family from the spread of COVID-19, to protect your neighbors and co-workers, and to protect our economy from another potential step backwards, Whitmer said at a press conference Thursday. But new as of Friday, individuals can be penalized for not complying. Starting Monday, businesses too must enforce mask requirements in their establishments. Related: Whitmer orders mask use in Michigan, violators could be fined up to $500 Per the governors order, though, there are still some situations where people dont have to wear masks: 1) If you have a medical condition. The governors order exempts those who cannot medically tolerate a face covering, but doesnt specify what that means or how a person proves it. 2) Kids under five. Kids under five arent subject to the order. However, the order notes that kids over two years old are strongly encouraged to wear a face covering. 3) While eating at a restaurant. Consistent with her prior order, the governor allows for the removal of masks when diners are eating and drinking at a restaurant. 4) If it interferes with exercise. No, gyms arent open yet. But if youre exercising and a mask would impede that, youre not required to wear one. 5) If its a religious service. The order specifically exempts those giving speeches, including officiating religious services, from needing to wear masks. While attendees of such a service arent listed as an exempt group, the governors order specifies they arent subject to any penalties while engaging in religious worship at a house of religious worship. However, the order notes, congregants are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings during religious services. Guidance from the CDC says religious institutions should encourage the use of cloth face coverings among staff and congregants. 6) If you need to take if off for a personal service. The order allows an exemption for those receiving a service for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary to perform the service. 7) Communicating with somebody with a hearing impairment. Masks have proven difficult for those with hearing impairments who rely on lip-reading for communication, and some models with clear windows have targeted this problem. But the order exempts people who are communicating with those who are hearing impaired or disabled where the ability to see the mouth is essential to communication. 8) To be identified. In previous orders and in this one, Whitmer has allowed for the possibility that masks would need to be removed for somebody to be identified. 9) People at child care centers, camps. Child care centers, along with day, residential, travel, or troop camps are not considered public spaces people would need to wear masks at under the order. Read the full order here. PREVENTION TIPS In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus. Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. Related stories: Whitmer orders mask use in Michigan, violators could be fined up to $500 Masks are required in Michigan. But with no enforcement mechanism, compliance is hit or miss. Gov. Whitmer aims to increase mask use, doesnt rule out penalties for those who dont comply Michigan sees largest one-day coronavirus case increase in 7 weeks Are shoppers wearing masks? We went to 37 stores across Michigan to find out. Michigans grocery store face mask requirement extended until July 15 Michigan retailers caught in a no-win situation of enforcing mask use If only there was an easy, cheap way to limit COVID-19. Oh, wait .... The nicest thing to be said about Socially Distant (RTE1) is that at least it wasn't Bridget and Eamon or, indeed, almost any of the attempts at comedy from our national broadcaster down through the decades. Instances of those attempts were gruesomely in evidence during RTE's Comic Relief show a couple of weeks back and were mostly so unfunny that the same show's mildly amusing spoof of Normal People by the stars of that love-lorn drama seemed in comparison a masterpiece of wit, timing and nuance. Such qualities, alas, were nowhere to be found in Socially Distant, a dragged-out half-hour skit about a lockdown family's Zoom calls to each other as they tried to arrange a remote birthday surprise for their auntie Brid. Dermot Whelan played organiser Dave, who risked being run over by delivery cyclists every time he went for a walk, while slacker sister Isabelle spent all day slouched on the sofa, and brother Eric mistook blinding hangovers for symptoms of Covid-19. And there was also northerner Michael, played by Oliver Callan, who kept popping up on the Zoom calls even though no one seemed to know who he was. Scripted, produced and directed by James Cotter, whose previous contributions to RTE comedy have included stints on such laugh-free shows as The Republic of Telly and The Fear, this was similarly mirthless, its running gags having all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. This week's opening two episodes of Staged (BBC1), which also concerned a lockdown Zoom scenario, weren't a comedy riot, either, but at least there was pleasure to be had from watching two terrific actors, David Tennant and Michael Sheen, as they discussed whether or not to remotely rehearse a Pirandello play they'd been scheduled to undertake for a now scuppered West End run. Their banter (Sheen mischievously sardonic, Tennant earnest and intense) had echoes of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon in their TV trip excursions and while this series is nowhere as funny as those shows, it was intriguing to wonder how much of the actors' real selves and real lives were being offered to the viewer, especially since both of their spouses flitted in and out of their phone chats. But if this made for highly agreeable 15-minute visual snacking, the comedy surprise of the week came in the unlikely form of The Kemps: All True (BBC2), a spoof profile of the 1980s pop star brothers, written and directed by Rhys Thomas. "Don't stitch us up to look like a pair of knobs," warned younger brother Martin (now 58) at the outset, but that's exactly what Thomas did, gleefully assisted by the two siblings. Returning to their Islington roots ("their first time back to the family home," the voiceover solemnly intoned, "since the last documentary three years ago"), Martin recalled a childhood of such poverty that "even the living room was outdoors. The only room indoors was the shed". Video of the Day The brothers bickered throughout, Martin getting most of the best lines, with Gary reduced to plaintively declaring that, during their Spandau Ballet heyday: "I wrote all the songs, on my own, with no help." We also heard about their subsequent acting careers (notably as the Krays), their charity-funded retirement home for decrepit pop stars, Gary's vegan food product Wonge (which had the tag line "Smells Like Meat", mainly because it actually contained meat), their musical reinvention as Spandau Kemp, and the financial difficulties that were recently solved when they were paid millions by the dictator of Turkmenistan to sing at his wedding. So, alright, it wasn't quite This is Spinal Tap (itself a bit overrated), but I laughed a lot, not least at the brothers' impressive comedy skills and their willingness to make fun of themselves. There weren't any laughs to be had from the pilot episode of Yellowstone (RTE2), a self-conscious modern western with mythic aspirations, starring Kevin Costner as a patriarchal rancher overseeing his vast Montana demesne. Think Dallas, think Dynasty, think Succession, as various rivalrous offspring vie for their father's affection and esteem. And into the mix are the Native Americans whose land was stolen by Costner and who want it back. It all looked splendid and was expertly played by such seasoned performers as Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley and Danny Huston, but whether it will repay watching over 10 episodes remains to be seen. The Woods (Netflix) is more intriguing, though its basic set-up, which involves the deaths of two teenagers and the disappearance of two others, has echoes of the disappointing RTE/BBC series Dublin Murders, which were based on Tana French crime novels. The creator here is American crime writer Harlan Coben, though it's a Polish series and is set in Poland. I haven't binge-watched it, but the first episode suggested it might bear staying with. Halfway through the first instalment of Being Beethoven (BBC4), I wondered how a documentary about one of the greatest of composers could be quite so boring. This dutiful trudge through his early life, first in Bonn and then in Vienna, conveyed no excitement about his genius. Instead we got ponderously earnest observations from historians, musicologists and psychoanalysts, all of them seemingly intent on deadening our interest. Wild Cuba (RTE1) was an excellent two-parter from wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson, who confessed at the outset to a lifelong fascination with the Caribbean's "most precious natural jewel". Awakening Events, Salvation Army team up for drive-in concerts featuring Casting Crowns, Michael W Smith Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Awakening Events and The Salvation Army have teamed up this summer to support Americans in need by hosting a star-studded nationwide drive-in theater concert tour. Among the list of Christian performers participating in the 50 drive-in theater concert tours is Casting Crowns, Michael W. Smith, TobyMac, Mac Powell and Steven Curtis Chapman. The acts will present $44,000 worth of donations in checks to The Salvation Army while onstage. All of the proceeds will go to assist the international charitable organization in providing basic human needs programs to aid individuals and families facing long-term impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. "The Salvation Army is so grateful for the generosity of Awakening Events, which will help us continue serving vulnerable Americans in need, Dale Bannon, national community relations and development secretary of The Salvation Army, said in a statement shared with The Christian Post on Friday. "The gift from Awakening Events will allow our local communities to provide hope to individuals and families, and we pray that their generosity inspires others to also give, he said. The drive-in theater tour is specifically designed to keep families safe during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Attendees will be able to safely enjoy live music while in their own vehicles or on a blanket close to their cars. All families in attendance will have to abide by the social distancing guidelines. A spokesperson for The Salvation Army told CP that people living in poverty are feeling the effects [of COVID-19] quicker and more significantly than others impacted by the pandemic. Because of these impacts, The Salvation Army is rapidly evolving services to ensure low-income individuals and families have access to desperately needed resources like food and shelter, the spokesperson added. Dan Fife, president and founder of Awakening Events, a Christian booking company, told CP that he wanted to partner with The Salvation Army because of its commitment to meeting human need by providing hope to millions of Americans. "We're honored to support their efforts to provide food, shelter, counseling, financial assistance and spiritual support to individuals and families in need during these difficult times, Fife shared, expressing his excitement to be able to help fans safely come together again and enjoy live music. In the climate of today we need more positivity in the world, and we take great pride in being able to offer some of that positivity safely, added Curtis Pinkerton, director of marketing for Awakening Events. In addition to the drive-in theater concert tour, The Christian organization, which has a presence in every area code in the United States, has implemented drive-thru food pantries to provide meals from a safe social distance. The Salvation Army spokesperson also explained that they've increased food distribution at shelters and "clients are welcome to stay during the day," as they've "enhanced cleaning protocols to ensure clients safety." They've also offered "educational programming and activities for children to continue to enhance their education, provided rent and utility assistance to those struggling to make ends meet, and emotional and spiritual care. A call-in service called Hope Hotline was also implemented to support people in quarantine who are feeling isolated, lonely, and fearful with emotional and spiritual healing by trained professionals. Over 680,000 individuals have received support since March and people can continue to call the Hope Hotline at 1-844-458-HOPE (4673) from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. ET, the rep added. A full list of cities and dates for the drive-in theater concert tour can be found at AwakeningEvents.com. Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Switzerland, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Switzerland and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Switzerland (issuer rating Aaa) is supported by the country's "aa1" economic strength, reflecting Switzerland's wealth, economic diversity, economic resilience and competitiveness; Switzerland's "aa1" institutions and governance strength, reflecting the country's very robust institutions, a sound regulatory framework and track-record of political stability; its "aaa" fiscal strength, which takes into account the government's robust balance sheet, very high debt affordability, strong political consensus on fiscal discipline and adherence to a rule-based fiscal policy framework; and its "a" susceptibility to event risk, reflecting still present, albeit diminishing, contingent liability risks posed by the very large financial sector, and very low external vulnerability owing to large current account surpluses and a net creditor position vis-a-vis the rest of the world. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit. This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. 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FILE PHOTO: The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its office building in Seoul HANOI (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics is planning to shift much of its display production from China to Ho Chi Minh City this year, Vietnamese state media reported on Friday, although the South Korean tech giant said those reports were untrue. The newspaper Tuoi Tre reported the relocation of Samsung's display production from China citing an announcement on the website of Samsung Vietnam, but the parent company in Seoul said the reports were "groundless". Samsung did not elaborate. Several other Vietnamese online media outlets had reported the shift from China but by Friday evening those stories could no longer be viewed. Samsung is the single largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with investments totalling $17 billion (13.7 billion pounds). Samsung has display production operations in Vietnam among its six factories and two research and development centres. The reports come as more companies look to diversify supply chains beyond China, after widespread disruption globally when the novel coronavirus first struck there. Tuoi Tre said the screens would be produced in the Samsung Electronics Complex in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's business hub. (Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; additional reporting by Heekyong Yang in Seoul; editing by Martin Petty and Jason Neely) The Trump administration has seized on Chinas passage of a national security law covering Hong Kong to ramp up its condemnations of Beijing, impose sanctions against Chinese officials and begin to dismantle US legislation granting special status to Hong Kong after its transfer to China in 1997. Washingtons increasingly shrill campaign is part of a US confrontation across the full range of issuesdiplomatic, economic and militarythat are leading to war. Amid the worsening global crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, US imperialism regards China as the chief threat to its world dominance. Chinas National Peoples Congress passed the national security legislation on June 30, making major inroads into basic democratic rights in Hong Kong. The offences of subversion, terrorism, promoting secession from China and collusion with foreign forces, all defined in sweeping terms, are now punishable by up to life in prison. Chinese authorities established a new national security office in Hong Kong on Wednesday, allowing Chinese security agents to openly operate in the city for the first time and investigate anyone suspected breaching the laws. The first most obvious targets will be protest leaders and opposition politicians critical of Beijings intrusion into Hong Kong and opposed to the new security law. Even before the office was opened, a 23-year-old man, Tong Ying-kit, on Monday became the first person to be charged under the legislationwith terrorism and inciting secession. Flying a banner emblazoned with Liberate Hong Kong, he allegedly rode a motorbike into a group of police officers last week, injuring three. The decision to charge him under the law, rather than existing laws, was clearly designed to intimidate other protesters. Tong was remanded without bail. A purge of literature from libraries and schools appears to be underway. Books written by prominent protest leaders and opposition politicians were removed from public libraries last weekend. Hong Kongs cultural services department said the books had been withdrawn while it determined whether they violate the national security law. The education bureau announced a similar review of books used in schools. Britains transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 took place under the one country, two systems formula whereby Hong Kong would largely retain the legal and political systems established under British colonial rule. This principle was enshrined in the Basic Law governing the territory for 50 years. The national security law makes inroads into Hong Kongs legal system by allowing its chief executiveappointed by a handpicked pro-Beijing committeeto appoint judges to hear national security cases and allows serious cases to be heard in Chinese mainland courts. Beijings imposition of these anti-democratic laws reflects deep fears in Chinese ruling circles that waves of mass protest in Hong Kongthe latest against the security law itselfhave the potential to trigger opposition on the Chinese mainland over the lack of democratic and social rights. Those concerns have grown as the pandemic has hit Chinas already slowing economy, raising the spectre of widespread unemployment and social unrest. At the same time, Beijing fears that demands for the independence of Hong Kong will fuel separatist movements in other parts of China, including Tibet, and among the Muslim Uyghurs in the western province of Xinjiang. It is concerned that the US and its allies will exploit such movements to break up China. Protest leaders in Hong Kong have played into the hands of the Chinese regime by appealing for the US and Britain to intervene against Beijing. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared: The United States will not stand idly by while China swallows Hong Kong into its authoritarian maw. The US, he said, will respond to Beijings attacks on freedoms of speech, the press, and assembly, as well as the rule of law, all of which have, until now, allowed the territory to flourish. These remarks are utterly cynical. The lack of democratic rights in Hong Kong derives from the long period of British rule, during which a colonial governor had extensive, autocratic powers. Once again, the US is selectively exploiting human rights to advance its own imperialist interests, as it has done for wars of aggression in the Middle East. Even before Chinas national security law was passed, the Trump administration announced that it intended to overturn Hong Kongs special status with the US, covering trade, investment and legal matters such as extradition. The White House has begun by halting defence exports and restricting Hong Kongs access to high-technology products. The Department of State also announced it will bar Chinese officials allegedly responsible for rights abuses in Hong Kong from entering the US. Late last week, the US Senate passed a bill aimed at blocking US banks from doing business with Chinese officials responsible for the Hong Kong security legislation. The bill was passed unanimously, demonstrating the bipartisan nature of the US anti-China campaign. Leading Democrats, such as Joseph Biden, are criticising Trump for not being tough enough and demanding even more aggressive action. On Thursday, Pompeo also announced sanctions against Chinese officials over the widespread detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang in so-called re-education centres. At the top of the list is Chen Quanguo, who is a member of the Chinese Communist Partys Politburo and party secretary for the Xinjiang region. The sanctions come amid an increasingly hysterical campaign in the US media and political establishment, typified by a Washington Post editorial alleging that China is carrying out genocide against the Uyghurs. Just a day earlier, on Wednesday, the Trump administration imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials involved in policy on Tibet, supposedly in protest at the Beijings refusal to allow American tourists, journalists and diplomats to visit the strategically-sensitive area. The US has for decades established close relations with Tibetan, as well as Uyghur, exile organisations, campaigning for secession from China or greater autonomy. The Trump administrations ramping up of measures against Beijing over Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang is aimed at undermining China by fostering its break-up and also vilifying Beijing as the US prepares to take further steps toward open economic war and military conflict. Former Rajasthan education minister Vasudev Devnani on Friday termed as condemnable the questions raised by the Congress over the move to rationalise school syllabus by dropping certain chapters to reduce course load on students in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The BJP leader said the decision to reduce 30 per cent school syllabus was taken due to the coronavirus crisis and keeping in mind the interest of students. Congress should stop seeing this issue with the prism of politics. It is condemnable that the Congress is raising questions that syllabus related to democracy, non-alignment, Indias international relations were removed, Devnani told reporters at a press conference. He said the CBSE prepares academic calendar and the last 30 per cent of the syllabus which could not be covered due to the coronavirus crisis has been reduced. Questions raised by the Congress and the Left parties are part of shallow politics as CBSE has also clarified its stand on the reasons behind reducing syllabus. Devnani said the Congress and its allies do not believe in federalism and it is a habit of the Congress-ruled state government to disobey Centres rulings. He said the Congress government in Rajasthan should also provide relief to the students by reducing syllabus. But unfortunately the government is not paying attention. The former minister said that state government should pass an order to waive school fees and transportation charges to provide relief to parents. China raised its emergency response level for flood control along the Yangtze River as days of torrential rain triggered flood warnings across the country, and water levels in the middle and lower reaches of the river have been rising. At 2 pm Friday, Changjiang Water Resources Commission under the Ministry of Water Resources raised the emergency response level for flood control along the Yangtze River to the second highest following the incessant downpours. It also upgraded the flood alert in Poyang Lake and nearby rivers from orange to redthe highest in the country's four-tier color-coded weather warning system. Zhongzhouwei dike of Poyang county burst its banks and more than 8,000 people have been evacuated to safer areas, according to the Bureau of Emergency Management of Jiangxi province. On Thursday, the water level at the dike reached 23.39 meters, 3.89 meters above the warning level, and in nearby Guxiandu town the level was 23.43 meters, 0.25 meter higher than the record in 1998, when the country suffered a catastrophic flood. Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province, the largest freshwater lake in China and a major river basin of the Yangtze River, is historically a region of significant floods. As the rainy season continues, southern parts of China have suffered long-lasting, wide-ranging rains. Some areas had only brief relief from sustained rainfall, according to the National Meteorological Center. Affected by the heavy rain, water levels in many stations in middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have been rising rapidly, according to the commission. "The water levels at the Qilishan observation station in Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake's entrance have exceeded the warning levels," said a notice released by the commission on Friday. It estimated that water levels at some stations along the Yangtze River will continue to increase by 0.5 to 1.0 meter in the next few days. As of Thursday afternoon, 140 people were killed or reported missing in China due to the floods, which afflicted more than 30 million people around the country, the Ministry of Emergency Management revealed on Friday. Together with other departments, the ministry has drafted emergency plans for disaster control and improved the alert system at all levels. Detailed plans for transfer of affected people and allocation of related materials have also been made, according to the ministry. As of 2 pm Thursday, more than 1.7 million people in 27 provincial regions had been transferred due to the floods, according to the ministry. Moreover, at least 250,000 houses were destroyed and about 2.6 million hectares of crops were affected. It estimated that the floods this summer have resulted into a total economic loss of more than 61.8 billion yuan ($8.8 billion). U.S. approves possible sale of F-35B fighter to Japan People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 13:22, July 10, 2020 WASHINGTON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on Thursday submitted the notification to the Congress of the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Japan, which includes 42 F-35B jets able to be deployed on amphibious assault ships. F-35B, a stealth vertical take-off and landing fight jet, could help the amphibious assault ship gain a close aggressive capability similar to an aircraft carrier. The U.S. State Department has already approved the sale before DSCA's submission. Besides the batch of F-35B, Japan also requested 63 F-35A jets, along with 110 Pratt and Whitney F135 engines, the DSCA said. "It is vital to U.S. national interest to assist Japan in developing and maintaining a strong and effective self-defense capability," the DSCA said, noting that the proposed sale "will not alter the basic military balance in the region." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tesco Ireland has won an appeal over the refusal of permission for a cafe and outdoor seating area at a 0.525ho site adjacent to the Tesco store at Whitegates, Wicklow town. Tesco's initial planning application submitted to Wicklow County Council sought permission to demolish the existing warehouse units on site, construct a cafe building with associated outdoor seating and landscape area as well as the provision of the additional customer car parking to serve the needs of existing Tesco supermarket and the proposed cafe. The application also called for the demolition of all existing structures, including the boundary wall with the adjoining Tesco. One-hundred-and-eleven new car parking spaces would be integrated with the existing Tesco car park. However, the Planning Section of Wicklow County Council refused permission on four grounds, including the proposed structure creating a 'discordant, inappropriate and visually incongruous feature' which would be out of character with the surrounding development. The Planning Authority also ruled that the proposed cafe would have an unacceptable impact on the vitality and viability of the established core retail centre of Wicklow town. The proposed car parking was also considered in excess of the requirements of both the existing supermarket and the proposed cafe. Tesco Ireland appealed the decision of the Local Authority to An Bord Pleanala in January of this year. An inspectors report and submissions were considered at a board meeting held on June 16 and it was decided to grant permission, generally in accordance with the inspector's recommendations. Having considered the pattern of development in the area, the board ruled that the proposed development would constitute an appropriate form of development at this location and would not have an adverse impact on the vitality and viability of the town centre. The board also found that the development would not seriously injure the visual amenities or character of the area, would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience and would not have significant adverse effects on the environment. Eleven car parking spaces will be omitted from the area directly to the east of the proposed cafe as part of amendments put in place by An Bord Pleanala. The area of the plaza to the east of the cafe shall be extended with hard and soft landscaping. Both these measures should ensure a satisfactory parking layout in the interests of pedestrian and traffic safety, visual amenity, and to comply with the requirements of the County Plan. Family of an infected pubgoer have tested positive to coronavirus after a Sydney hotel was forced to close over fears of a potential COVID-19 outbreak. The Blue Mountains man returned a positive result after he had visited the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, in Sydney's south-west, on July 3. A 30-year-old woman and a man in his 50s had previously tested positive after visiting the venue for a drink on the same day, last Friday. The latest infected man has since passed on the virus to three other household contacts, who are all in isolation. Health officials are now calling on anyone who visited the popular pub on that date to immediately self-isolate and get tested. Testing is urgently underway at a drive-through clinic at the Crossroads Hotel (pictured on Saturday) after several customers caught coronavirus The Crossroads hotel (pictured on Saturday) has been closed with its carpark turned into a coronavirus testing centre, with some queuing for two hours to be swabbed Cleaners in PPE are seen at the Crossroads Hotel on Saturday (pictured) after it was forced to shut thanks to a coronavirus outbreak The Crossroads Hotel is closed for deep-cleaning while a makeshift testing clinic operates in its car park. Major hospitals in the area have also extended opening hours for their coronavirus testing clinics. Anyone who visited the hotel last Friday is now being asked to self-isolate and come forward for testing immediately if they develop even the mildest symptoms. A testing clinic has been set up in the pub's car park, with drivers queuing for up to two hours to get tested on Saturday morning. 'We are at a critical point on the fight to contain the COVID-19,' a NSW Health spokesperson said. 'It is absolutely essential the community works together to limit the spread of the virus, by always maintaining good hand hygiene, adhering to physical distancing rules whenever possible and getting tested whenever symptoms occur, however mild.' Health workers are seen giving out coronavirus tests to drivers at the Crossroads Hotel (pictured on Saturday) The Blue Mountains man returned a positive result after he had visited the Crossroads Hotel (pictured) in Casula, in Sydney's south-west, on July 3 Cars queued for up to two hours as they waited to get tested for coronavirus at the Crossroads Hotel (pictured on Saturday) after a COVID-19 outbreak A health worker is seen preparing to swab someone at the drive-through testing clinic in the pub's car park (pictured on Saturday) with queues snaking up the road New South Wales recorded seven new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, with five confirmed cases from returned travellers in hotel quarantine, one from the pubgoer and another from a Victorian who drove into NSW on July 7. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard explained contact tracing on Friday had linked the man in his 50s, who had visited the Crossroads Hotel, to an earlier coronavirus infection from the Liverpool area. 'It occurred to the tracing staff that this woman who had become positive in the last few days should have their facts revisited,' Mr Hazzard explained. 'What has been found is that particular lady and this 50-year-old gentleman both attended last Friday night, independently, at a hotel.' Mr Hazzard said the positive test results have 'major ramifications' as the two people appear to have come into contact with the virus at the same location. Cars queued up at a pop-up testing clinic at the Crossroads Hotel after two visitors became infected with coronavirus (pictured on Saturday) New South Wales has recorded seven new cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday, with five confirmed cases from returned travellers in hotel quarantine, one from the pub goer and another from a Victorian who drove into NSW on July 7 A third infected person is now also involved. 'The tracing is under way as we speak,' he said. A pop-up testing clinic opened at the venue from 5pm on Friday and anyone who visited the venue since July 3 and has symptoms are encouraged to come forward. On Friday, Mr Hazzard also announced the 'troubling case' of a man in his 20s who travelled to Sydney from Victoria with a caravan in tow. Mr Hazzard said the man travelled 14 hours into the city 'in the last few days' and tested positive in the Sutherland area, southern Sydney. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Friday announced a 30-year-old woman and a man in his 50s were found to have contracted COVID-19 after visiting the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, the city's south-west, on Saturday Drivers are seen queueing (pictured, on the right on Saturday) for testing at the Crossroads Hotel where a pop-up clinic has been put in place 'Quite a long drive, 14 hours straight through, so I am told, and he is now here, I thank him for coming forward,' he said. 'I encourage others in a similar situation that may have come from Victoria or Melbourne particularly to make sure you are on high alert.' Mr Hazzard said he would not yet name the caravan park as NSW Health continues to investigate the case. 'We are looking at what other measures might be necessary for others in and around that caravan park, but obviously first of all there needs to be questioning to understand what his contacts might have been,' Mr Hazzard said. Medical staff are seen at the pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula (pictured on Saturday) after two of the pub's customers caught coronavirus The Crossroads Hotel in Casula, in Sydney's south-west (pictured) is the source of a new outbreak CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement The NSW-Victoria border was shut at 11.59pm on Tuesday for the first time in 101 years, as Victoria battles a second wave of coronavirus infections. Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said health authorities are still investigating where the man - who is believed to be from metropolitan Melbourne - travelled through. 'We are currently interviewing him to ascertain that information,' Dr Chant said. 'At this time, because he was travelling in a car and in a caravan and did the trip quite swiftly, we understand that he has not had any, had minimal or any exposure on his route up here.' The announcement of the two new coronavirus cases - the man in his 50s and the travellers in his 20s - follows the confirmation of a third COVID-19 case in the NSW-Victoria border town of Albury linked to two previous cases in the regional city. NSW Health confirmed the case earlier on Friday after flagging it hadn't made the deadline for confirmed case numbers on Thursday. The case, a man in his 30s, is connected to two family members who tested positive to COVID-19 in Albury earlier in the week. Testing is urgently underway at a drive-through clinic at the Crossroads Hotel (pictured on Saturday) The first victim of Jeffrey Epstein may have been a 17-year-old girl named 'Fantasia' recruited by his 'madam' Ghislaine Maxwell and the billionaire would reportedly 'physically shake' with desire around young girls, book claims. The shocking revelations were shared in the book 'Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein' that was released in March by Florida attorney Bradely Edwards. It came just seven months after the convicted billionaire committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell and four months before Maxwell, 58, was arrested in New Hampshire over sex trafficking charges. In the book, Bradley describes his interviews with a woman he dubbed 'Fantasia', who was nearly 40 at the time, after she reached out to him after amid his probe into Epstein. 'Fantasia explained that Ghislaines role in life was to please Jeffrey, a job which included telling Fantasia what sex outfit to wear to make him happy,' he wrote. 'The school girl outfit was his favorite.' Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein (left) and Ghislaine Maxwell (right) became the subject of sexual misconduct allegations after claims they were involved in underage sex trafficking Fantasia described how in 1994, at age 17, she was recruited by Maxwell to provide Epstein with a massage in Europe. She had been flown to several of Epstein's estates, including his private Caribbean island called Little St. James, and was introduced to influential figures. Having spent time with them sporadically for more than a decade, Fantasia claims she had tremendous insight into the role Maxwell played in Epsteins life. Once, while in London, it is alleged Fantasia and Maxwell encountered a very young-looking girl who Fantasia thought was innocent and should be left alone. According to 'Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein', Epstein's (pictured) first victim may have been a 17-year-old girl called 'Fantasia' that was procured by Ghislaine Maxwell She says she remembered Maxwell disagreeing and telling her that someone had to perform a sex act on Epstein and, if this new girl didnt do it, then Maxwell herself would have to and clearly she did not want to. Fantasia told how Epstein was so overwhelmed by sexual desire when underage girls were around he would physically shake. He couldnt survive without a constant supply of new girls. She even said that she had known Epstein for so long, and had seen enough of his evil side, that she believed he wasnt beyond killing someone, especially if it was necessary to keep his sex addiction alive. In 2017, a lawsuit against Maxwell was on the verge of going to trial and Fantasia was strongly considering testifying. But on the eve of the hearing, she received a mysterious call in the middle of the night. The voice on the other end said: If you care about your daughter, you will stay out of the litigation in New York.' Fantasia soon dropped out of the trial and did not take the stand. The New York Post reports that the description of Fantasia sounds parallel to unnamed 'Minor Victim - 3' in the official indictment of Maxwell that was filed July 2. The indictment alleges Maxwell helped procure underage girls for Epstein between 1994 and 1887 in New York, Florida, London and New Mexico. 'Maxwell groomed and befriended Minor Victim-3 in London between approximately 1994 and 1995,' it reads. Maxwell (pictured) was arrested on July 2 and an indictment claims she 'groomed' victims for Epstein from 1994 to 1997 in several locations Maxwell is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on six charges of sex trafficking (pictured) 'Maxwell introduced Minor Victim-3 to Epstein and arranged for multiple interactions between Minor Victim-3 and Epstein. 'During those interactions, Maxwell encouraged Minor Victim-3 to massage Epstein, knowing that Epstein would engage in sex acts with Minor Victim-3 during those massages.' Edwards would not disclose to The New York Post if Fantasia was, in fact, Minor Victim -3. Epstein, a New York financier whose reputation was marred with allegations of child molestation, was indicted on sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking charges. He was repeatedly accused of the vile act throughout his adult life and pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida in 2008. He was awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Correctional Center jail in New York City when he committed suicide by hanging inside his jail cell in August 2019. Epstein's death rocked the country and was shocking blow for a number of his victims who had come forward. Fifteen of Epstein's victims, including Anouska De Georgiou, were urging District Judge Richard Berman to investigate Epstein's alleged co-conspirators, including Maxwell. 'Although I think its tragic when anybody dies before their time, Im extremely relieved that Jeffrey Epstein will not be in a position to hurt anymore children or anymore women,' De Georgiou told ABC News. Other accusers include Virginia Roberts Giuffre , Jennifer Araoz, Chante Davies and Rachel Benavidez. A group of Epstein's accusers (pictured) appeared on NBC's Dateline to detail their stories Giuffre has lodged sexual misconduct claims at Prince Andrew, who was pictured with her and Maxwell in a photo. He's vehemently denied any wrong doing. Maxwell's statement came two weeks after Epstein was found dead inside his holding cell, but she later fled investigators and disappeared. But FBI agents and police captured her last week inside a secret hideaway home in New Hampshire called 'Tuckedaway.' FBI spy planes over her $1million mansion to ensure the suspected accomplice did not flee again before crashing through the front door and arresting her. An officer told The Mail on Sunday: We drove at speed up the half-mile driveway in a convoy of 15 vehicles. And lets just say, we didnt knock politely on the door. It was smashed down. The filing comes eight days after authorities swooped on her luxury home in New Hampshire, where prosecutors say she was hiding out, and charged her with luring underage girls so Epstein could sexually abuse them Her bail request (pictured) was filed in the US District Court in Manhattan and claims she was not 'hiding' from authorities, is not a flight risk and is at risk of contracting COVID-19 if she continues to be held in the Brooklyn jail Maxwell was transported to New York City where she's being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on six charges of sex trafficking to girls as young as 14-years-old. Maxwell has continued to deny any involvement in the crimes. Her lawyers claimed that she hadn't spoke to Epstein in a decade and is the subject of a smear campaign. They requested that Maxwell be released on a $5million bail as to not catch COVID-19. If given bail,Maxwell will be bared from travel and be confined to a New York home . Visitors would be limited, any travel would need to be approved and she would be expected to only appear in court, as well as her lawyers' office. Ghislaine Maxwell 'has tapes of two prominent US politicians having sex with minors' and boasted of 'owning' powerful people, former friend and jewel thief claims Ghislaine Maxwell 'has tapes of two prominent US politicians having sex with minors' and boasted of 'owning' powerful people, according to a former friend. The ex-jewel robber, who used the pseudonym William Steel, said they 'forced' him to watch the footage as they wanted to convince him of their 'power'. He also claimed to have seen clips of 'celebrities' and 'world figures' having 'threesomes, even orgies' with minors. It follows Maxwell, 58, being arrested last Thursday on charges she helped lure at least three girls - one as young as 14 - to be sexually abused by Epstein, who was accused of victimising dozens of girls and women over many years. Steel told The Sun: 'They wanted to convince me of their power and who they held in their grip. They boasted about 'owning' powerful people.' He added: 'I saw videos of very powerful people - celebrities, world figures - in those videos having sex, threesomes, even orgies with minors.' The former friend also referred to two 'high-profile' American politicians who were in videos with minors. Maxwell, the daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, is the former girlfriend and long-time close associate of Epstein. She is accused of facilitating his crimes and on some occasions joined him in sexually abusing the girls, according to the indictment against her. The property where Maxwell was arrested by the FBI seen in an aerial photograph in Bradford, New Hampshire. She is accused in four counts of acting as Epstein's madam Several Epstein victims have described Maxwell as his chief enabler, recruiting and grooming young girls for abuse. She has denied wrongdoing and called claims against her 'absolute rubbish.' Maxwell was arrested by a team of federal agents last week at a $1 million estate she had purchased in New Hampshire. The investigators had been keeping an eye on Maxwell and knew she had been hiding out in various locations in New England. She had switched her email address, ordered packages under someone elses name and registered at least one new phone number under an alias 'G Max,' prosecutors have said. The British socialite will appear in New York's southern district court on July 14 at 1pm and the hearing will take place over video-link due to coronavirus. She will join from the 'hell-hole' jail where she is being held and only the judge, Alison Nathan, will be present along with one prosecutor and one defence attorney. Maxwell - a friend to billionaires, celebrities, presidents and royalty before her arrest - is facing a six-count federal indictment which could see her jailed for 35 years. She is accused in four counts of acting as Epstein's madam, hunting down and 'training' young girls for him to abuse in the late 1990s. Another two counts accuse her of lying about the abuse to a court when she was sued by one of the victims - Virginia Roberts - in 2015. However, observers and experts believe she is not the state's primary target, and will likely be offered a plea deal to turn on others in Epstein's circle. Epstein was initially jailed for 18 months in 2008 after being allowed to plead guilty to a single charge of soliciting sex from a child prostitute, despite at one stage facing a 53-page FBI indictment. US President Donald Trump has for the time being ruled out a second phase trade deal with China, saying the relationship between the two countries has been severely damaged with Beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. The relationship with China has been severely damaged. I don't think about it now, Trump told reporters on Friday from Air Force One when asked about the trade deal. Earlier in the year, the Trump adminstration had signed a mega phase one deal with China, after intense negotiations between the two countries. Relations between Washington and Beijing have spiralled downward since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. US President Donald Trump has questioned the Asian powerhouse's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries have also sparred over China imposing a new national security law in Hong Kong, restrictions on American journalists, treatment of Uyghurs Muslims and security measures in Tibet. Relationship with China has been severely damaged. They could have stopped the plague, they could have stopped it, (but) they didn't stop it. They stopped it from going into the remaining portions of China from Wuhan province. They could have stopped the plague, they didn't," Trump said. The coronavirus, which first emerged in China's Wuhan city, has claimed over 1,30,000 lives in the US with 3.1 million confirmed cases. The virus toll in China stands at 4,641 with nearly 85,000 confirmed infections. Also read: Donald Trump plans to bring in merit-based immigration system Public Call-In Testimony Creates Problems for California Assembly A faulty call-in system used by the California Assembly to facilitate public comment has caused problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting requests by lawmakers to halt public testimony by phone. The Assembly has expanded the ways it engages with the public during the pandemic, including live streaming committee meetings and encouraging the public to submit written testimony through its web portal. The Capitol building in Sacramento is open to the public for the meetings, but seating is limitedso the Assembly has strongly encouraged the call-in option. The telephonic system hasnt worked properly, however, leading some assembly members to call for its elimination. Other members say its still the best way for the public to engage at this time. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) introduced a plan on July 1 that would no longer allow people to call in to testify, but criticism by lobbyists and lawmakers prompted him to swiftly reverse course. California Gov. Jerry Brown delivers the State of the State address at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 31, 2011. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) John Casey, a spokesperson for Rendon, told The Epoch Times that some phone callers had been disruptive by shouting obscenities and raising their voices, but the bigger problems with the phone system had to do mainly with limitations of the system itself. People calling in to testify were sometimes commenting on the wrong bill, sometimes supporting a bill they wished to oppose and vice-versa, being disconnected, calling in multiple times on the same issue, he said. Ultimately, Rendon decided it is better to err on the side of access, Casey said, because public comment is an integral part of the committee process. Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) told The Epoch Times that hes firmly against any proposal to eliminate public call-in testimony. Lawmakers against call-in testimony say it disrupts the flow of the hearing, according to Kiley. Its basically the typical mentality that any right of the public to participate is viewed as a nuisance, when that should be what were all about, Kiley said. Its the essence of democracy. Casey said there are now more methods of participation than before the pandemic for members of the public. Even if we would have eliminated phone access, people still can participate in person, in writing, and by remote testimony through the use of secure video testimony terminals located throughout the state, he said. Kiley said he is moving forward with a resolution that would guarantee the right of public testimony in the rules of the Assembly so they cant just arbitrarily take away the publics right to access again. I immediately announced a resolution to reverse the decision and assure the public still can testify, and that led the speaker by the end of the day to reverse himself and say that theyre going to still allow it, Kiley said. A July 7 draft of the resolution obtained by The Epoch Times states that the public shall be allowed to provide legislative testimony via telephone or alternative remote access technology at any meeting of a standing committee or subcommittee. The resolution must first go before the rules committee, Kiley said. If it passes, from there it would go to the Assembly floor for approval. We have not been able to introduce it this week because the Capitol is closed, Joshua Hoover, Kileys chief of staff, told The Epoch Times via email. We will be introducing it at the first opportunity we have. The Assembly is currently on hiatus until further notice after five people who work there, including Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (D-Inglewood), tested positive for COVID-19. The Assembly was scheduled to return from summer recess on July 13. Google has reportedly banned 11 apps from its app store for injecting malware into users phones. The applications include include com.imagecompress.android, com.relax.relaxation.androidsms, com.cheery.message.sendsms (two different instances), com.peason.lovinglovemessage, com.contact.withme.texts, com.hmvoice.friendsms, com.file.recovefiles, com.LPlocker.lockapps, com.remindme.alram and com.training.memorygame. Researchers at cybersecurity firm Check Point discovered that these 11 seemingly legitimate apps had been corrupted by a new variant of popular malware Joker that first surfaced late last year. According to them, small changes made in the new variant helped it escape the Play stores security and vetting barriers. Earlier in 2020, Google had to remove over 1,700 apps from its Playstore due to Joker which is also known as Bred. Check Points researchers recently discovered a new variant of the Joker Dropper and Premium Dialer spyware in Google Play. Hiding in seemingly legitimate applications, we found that this updated version of Joker was able to download additional malware to the device, which subscribes the user to premium services without their knowledge or consent, Check Point said in its report. Russia is likely to resume international flights to 13 countries, including Vietnam, in the post COVID-19 period, according to Russian News Agency TASS. Russia to resume post COVID-19 flights to 13 countries, including Vietnam (Photo:TASS) TASS on July 10 quoted the Russian consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, saying Rospotrebnadzor had submitted a list of 13 countries Russian can reopen flights to at the first stage of the resumption of international flights, to the countrys Ministry of Transport and the Federal Air Transport Agency. The list of countries that meet epidemiological safety requirements include the UK, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Finland, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Sri Lanka. Rospotrebnadzor told TASS that it had assessed the epidemiological situation in these countries in accordance with the criteria established by the service earlier. The watchdog proposed considering such criteria as the rate of increase in the incidence of a new coronavirus infection over the past 14 days and the prevalence rate of this infection, as well as a possible additional criterion - the incidence rate of a new coronavirus infection over the past 14 days per 100,000 people. Since late March, Russia has closed its regular and charter international air service, and it has only conducted special flights to repatriate Russians from abroad. Vietnam has gone through 86 days in a row without new locally transmitted infections. It has recently found several imported cases returning from overseas. However, any citizens, Vietnamese and foreigners alike, are placed in quarantine as soon as they land in Vietnam, therefore they cannot pose any threat to the community. VOV Former United States national security advisor John Bolton has said that if the Sino-India border tensions escalate, there is no guarantee that US President Donald Trump will back India against China. China has been behaving in a belligerent fashion all around its periphery, certainly in the East and South China sea, and its relations with Japan, India as well as others have declined, Bolton told WION TV in an interview. On how far Trump was prepared to go to back India against China, he said, "I don't know which way he would go and I don't think he knows either. I think he sees the geostrategic relationship with China, for example, exclusively through the prism of trade." "I don't know what Trump will do after the November elections once the guard rail is removed... He'll be back to the big China trade deal. If things were to develop between India and China in a more critical fashion, I'm not sure where he would come down," the former US envoy to the UN said. Asked if he believes that if things were to escalate between India and China, there is no guarantee that Trump will back India against China, Bolton said, "That is correct". Bolton also said he does not think Trump knows anything about the history of these clashes over the decades between India and China. Trump may have been briefed on it, but history doesn't really stick with him, said Bolton, who was the US NSA from April 2018 to September 2019 under the Trump administration. "I think his gut instinct for the next four months is to take anything off the table that complicates what is already a difficult election campaign for him," Bolton said. "So what he (Trump) would want is quiet along with the border whether it benefits China or India. From his point of view -- No news is good news," he said. The Indian and Chinese armies were locked in the bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last eight weeks. The tension escalated manifold after the Galwan Valley clashes in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. Both sides have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks in the last few weeks to ease tension in the region. Telecom Italia (TIM) excluded China's Huawei Technologies from a tender it launched this month for 5G equipment for the core network it is preparing to build in Italy and Brazil, two sources familiar with the matter said. The list of invited suppliers comprises Cisco , Ericsson , Nokia , Mavenir and Affirmed Networks, a company recently acquired by Microsoft , one of the two sources said. A Telecom Italia source described the omission of Huawei from the current tender as "part of our suppliers' diversification policy". Representatives ... POLICE in Plumtree have raised concern over the ill-treatment of Zimbabweans in Botswana with two people having been killed in the neighbouring country recently. There have been complaints in the past over the ill-treatment of locals who are resident in or when they travel to Botswana, including being subjected to corporal punishment. Acting officer commanding Bulilima and Mangwe districts Superintendent Stephen Mutema told the Senate Thematic Committee on Peace and Security and the Parliamentary Committee on Local Government that a Zimbabwean national was shot dead while the other one was fatally assaulted in Botswana recently. He said authorities are conducting investigations and it was not stated who shot the Zimbabwean. We have witnessed our locals being shot in Botswana. As I speak, we are investigating the death of two of our nationals in Botswana. In the first case, a 23-year-old Zimbabwean, Thabani Ncube from Sanzukwi Village died after being heavily assaulted on suspicion of being a cattle rustler, he said. Supt Mutema said Ncube died at a hospital in the neighbouring country following the assault and was buried there. In the second case, Phineas Nyathi of Tjitji Village in Mangwe District was shot dead last month by yet to be identified people. He was shot in the head and died on the spot, he said. Supt Mutema said Nyathi had crossed with a friend into Botswana to buy tyres for his scotch cart when he was killed. He said they are still waiting to get the full circumstances leading to the shooting incident. We have good relations with our Botswana counterparts and we are working together to try and get to the bottom of the issues. But as police we are very concerned when our compatriots die like that. One must understand that people living on the border line between the two countries are relatives. They visit each other unfortunately using illegal crossing points, said Supt Mutema. He urged Zimbabweans to use official crossing points and to have travel documents when crossing to other countries to avoid challenges. Supt Mutema told the committees that police also have a challenge patrolling the porous border as they do not have enough resources. We police a border line of 336km; the border line is very porous as it allows people to move freely to and from Botswana. We have established six bases from Mpoengs to Madlambudzi made up of the army, police and the support unit in each base. They do patrols along the border but nevertheless we still experience the challenge of smuggling. A number of people have been arrested for smuggling fuel, food and electrical gadgets, he said. Supt Mutema said the shooting of Zimbabwean cattle by authorities in that country is still a challenge and they continue to raise awareness to farmers to pen their cattle. He said among people being deported some are ex-convicts. We received about 45 ex-convicts from Botswana, the majority will have been sentenced for minor cases spending one to six months jail time in that country. Only two spent 10 and 8 years respectively, he said. On the shooting of Zimbabweans in the neighbouring country, Botswana Ambassador to Zimbabwe Retired Lieutenant Colonel Louis Fisher said his country does not tolerate criminal activities. (Newser) The forested mountains in and around North Cascades National Park in north central Washington state have long been considered prime habitat for threatened grizzly bears, so environmental groups are upset the Trump administration scrapped plans to reintroduce the apex predators there, the AP reports. US Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt on Tuesday announced his agency will not conduct the environmental impact statement needed to move forward with the idea. That drew rebukes from conservation groups, who have worked for decades to grow the tiny population of about 10 grizzlies in the vast North Cascades. "Grizzlies have been an integral part of the North Cascades ecosystem for 20,000 years,'' said Rob Smith, an official at the National Parks Conservation Association. story continues below "This purely political decision ignores science, Park Service recommendations and overwhelming public support," he added. He noted that former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke supported grizzly recovery efforts there before leaving the Trump administration. In 2015, under President Obama, the federal government began an environmental impact statement planning process on restoring the bears in the North Cascades. Grizzly bears play a vital environmental role in the park and the broader ecosystem, Smith said. But there have been no verified sightings in the region in several years, raising concerns about their survival. While Bernhardt pointed to local opposition to introducing bears into the North Cascades, Smith said most Washington residents have supported the proposal in the past. (Read more grizzly bear stories.) Donald Trump has granted clemency to Roger Stone, who was found guilty of lying to Congress and intimidating witnesses during an investigation into election interference, according to the White House. The longtime Republican operative was convicted in November on seven counts alleging that he lied to lawmakers about communicating with WikiLeaks, tampered with witnesses and obstructed a House intelligence committee investigation into the president's 2016 campaign. In a lengthy White House statement, the press secretary's office claimed Stone is a "victim of the Russia hoax" and that evidence of collusion was only a "fantasy of partisans unable to accept the result of the 2016 election". His prosecution was the result of "recklessness borne of frustration and malice", the statement said. On Friday, the US Court of Appeals denied Stone's request to delay his sentencing, ruling that Stone is "not legally eligible for further postponement of his reporting date". The president's order also defies his own Justice Department's support for Stone's sentencing, writing that his prison term is "a reasonable exercise of that court's discretion based on the totality of the factual and legal circumstances". He was due to report to prison on 14 July. But the president publicly teased for months that he was considering intervening in his friend's case. On Friday, he said he was "looking at" a pardon for his former adviser. But Stone had argued that he would rather be commuted, which would not expunge his convictions, because he believed he had not committed any crime to have received a pardon for, according to reports. "I think Roger Stone was very unfairly treated, as were many people," the president said. "And, in the meantime [former FBI Director James] Comey and all these guys are walking around, including Joe [Biden] and [Barack] Obama." The president has amplified his unproven "Obamagate" conspiracy alleging that his predecessor spied on his campaign in 2016 while dismissing federal investigations that led to several indictments and prison sentences for his former campaign aides. Prosecutors argued that Stone had threatened a witness and lied under oath to protect the president, and a jury agreed. Mr Trump called Stone's initial nine-year sentencing recommendation from the Department of Justice a "a horrible and very unfair situation". "The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them," he said. "Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!" Mr Trump then spoke to attorney general William Barr, who signalled to the DOJ that it would seek a lower sentence, which he was ultimately granted. New Delhi, July 11 : Six National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) insurgents were neutralised in an encounter with the security forces in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday. Based on the specific intelligence inputs regarding presence of armed insurgents, two columns were launched by the Assam Rifles in Khonsa area, which is nearly 50 kilometres East of Tinsukia. At 4.30 a.m., an operational contact was established with the insurgents. In the ensuing gunbattle, six insurgents were neutralised, and six weapons alongwith war-like stores were recovered. One Assam Rifles soldier was injured in the operation. His condition was said to be stable and was being evacuated to the nearest military hospital. A total of 401 out of the 202,206 registrants in the Central Region have had their registration challenged during the first phase of the ongoing new voter registration exercise in the region. Mr Alex Sakyi Manu, the Deputy Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Cape Coast, said those challenged have been referred to the District Registration Review Committees (DRRC) of the various districts. Of the 202,206 registrants, 138,291 registered with the Ghana Card, 2,250 used passport, and 61,069 through guarantors. Giving the breakdown, Mr Manu said the Mfantseman Municipal recorded the highest of 15,750 registrants followed by the Awutu Senya East district with 14,855. Cape Coast Metropolis had 12,160 with Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA), Gomoa West and East, Effutu, Agona West and Awutu Senya West, recording more than 11,000. The Assin North District, however, recorded the lowest number of 3,859 at the end of the first phase. The Deputy Regional Director described the first phase of the registration process in the region as very successful despite the challenge of non-adherence to the social distancing protocol at some registration centres. I will say this has been one of the most peaceful. We are doing our best to ensure 100 percent compliance with the COVID-19 protocols. We have had no technical challenges and the cooperation from the security and the political parties have been excellent, he said. He called on the public to comply with the COVID-19 preventive protocols established at various registration centres to avoid the spread of the virus. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video OTTAWAConservative MPs said Friday their party doesnt want to bring down the government over the latest ethics scandal ensnaring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Current leader Andrew Scheer is in his final weeks in the job. Party members are now voting for his replacement with the winner to be announced in late August. Meanwhile, the issue is not going away. The ethics commissioner has been called in to see if Trudeau broke conflict-of-interest law in awarding a multimillion-dollar contract to the WE organization, given Trudeaus long-standing family ties to the organization. The commissioner is also being asked to probe Finance Minister Bill Morneaus ties as well one of the ministers daughters works for the organization. The Liberals, and WE, have said there is no direct link between the awarding of the contract to run the $900 million Canada Student Services Grant program and the organizations connections to the Trudeaus. The Conservatives also say that revelations that the Trudeau family members have been paid by WE for speaking engagements in the past elevates the seriousness of the matter. The party says the police should investigate for possible fraud. Trudeau himself was never paid. Both ethics and criminal investigations take time. The investigation by the ethics commissioner into the SNC-Lavalin affair was requested in February 2019 and completed in August of that year. The Senate expenses scandal first broke in 2012 and it took two years for criminal charges related to fraud to surface in that case. Former Conservative senator Mike Duffy was acquitted on all of them in April 2016. So, given that the Opposition Conservatives will have a new boss while the WE story likely continues to percolate, how will Scheers replacement seek to proceed? The Canadian Press asked all four leadership candidates how they would deal with the scandal. Leslyn Lewis The Toronto lawyer said the ethics commissioner has proven himself capable in the past of getting to the bottom of Trudeaus scandals and she trusts him to do that job here as well. The problem is that every time the ethics commissioner proves Trudeau has broken the rules, he just shrugs and moves on, Lewis said in a statement. The only way to hold Justin Trudeau accountable is for voters to vote him out. I look forward to leading the charge and replacing him with an honest and ethical government. Lewis does not have a seat in the House of Commons. If she wins, she would have to appoint someone to be the parliamentary leader until she could get elected. Peter MacKay MacKays wife, Nazanin Afshin Jam, a human-rights activist, has spoken at WE events. His campaign says she has never taken money from the organization. In an interview, MacKay said the WE controversy raises questions about the need to broaden and strengthen the power of the ethics commissioner, so if theres a finding a politician broke conflict of interest law, they could actually be penalized. He also suggested that a stronger ethics screen might be required for whomever is prime minister to ensure there can be no blurring of lines between a prime ministers private life and public role. In the meantime, MacKay, a former justice minister, said he thinks a criminal investigation into the WE contract could be warranted under Section 122 of the Criminal Code, which is breach of trust involving government officials. The purpose of the section is to ensure government officials do not abuse their authority or their office, MacKay said. By being in the cabinet room when the decision was made, knowing their family connection to WE, is a very serious thing, MacKay said. Its essential we keep confidence in public office holders, MacKay said. This undermines that. While it is the kind of issue that could result in a motion of non-confidence in the Liberal government, its not that simple, MacKay said. We cant lose sight of the bigger picture here which is the economic and health crisis that still rages on as a result of COVID-19, he said. This is going to undermine severely the prime ministers legitimacy and ability to govern throughout this period. MacKay also does not have a seat in the House of Commons. What levers of parliamentary power he might want pulled would have to be done by someone else. Erin OToole OToole has suggested the scandal brings with it the threat of a fall election. When his campaign was asked whether he would seek to topple the government over it, a spokesperson did not directly answer the question, repeating only that they think the chances of a fall election are higher. OToole supports his partys call for a criminal investigation. In an email, campaign spokesperson Melanie Paradis said that given OToole already has a seat in the House of Commons, he would be ready take on Trudeau on this issue from day one. As leader, Erin will stand up for Canadians and get to the bottom of this corruption, she said. His campaign did not say how he would do that. OTooles children have also attended WE events and he has spoken at one in his riding. His campaign said his family has never financially benefited from WE. Derek Sloan Sloan is also a sitting MP. His campaign did not return two requests for comment on what he would do to address the issue. CairdeConnected - a new programme of literary, music, performance and family events from Cairde Sligo Arts Festival will be broadcast online from Sligo this week, July 8th to 11th. Festival Director Tara McGowan told The Sligo Champion that there is so much in store for people of all ages. She said: "#CairdeConnected is the re-imagining of our arts festival programme 2020 so that we can continue to connect artists, audiences and communities and you can join in from the safety and comfort of your own home. "We're delighted to present new commissions and world premieres; works in progress, experimental soundscapes; literary conversations and pop up style events and a range of events for families to get tucked into." The online music programme has a focus on sharing new work and new beginnings. A Trad Arts commission features a collaboration with Cathy Jordan (vocals, mandolin, percussion), Claudia Schwab (fiddle, vocals) and Irene Buckley (electronics, vocals). This world premiere event will air on Friday, July 10th at 8pm. Ted Kelly (of Moxie) will share his new solo project which sees his love for 'lo-fi' Hip Hop meld gently with his love of traditional music. This piece features visuals and will be aired on Thursday 9th at 10pm. Multi-instrumentalist Natalia Beylis & Cellist Eimear Reidy invite us into the woods for an arboreal music & research project entitled Whose Woods these are. This is an ongoing project across numerous locations in Ireland, the first of which is happening during #CairdeConnected. Rounding off the week, Donal Dineen will broadcast a special Make Me An Island podcast - a podcast that has become a weekly highlight for many during the lockdown - featuring special guest Steve Wickham on Saturday July 11th. A thought provoking and stimulating literary programme under the banner of Cairde Word, supported by the Spot-lit Literary Development Programme includes a talk on non-fiction with Ian Maleney and Sara Baume facilitated by Una Mannion on Thursday July 9th at 8pm. Alice Lyons is in conversation with Louise Kennedy on the publication of her latest work, Oona which has been described as 'an ingeniously crafted marvel' on Saturday July 11th. Cairde Word also presents Vagabond Voices, curated by Patrick Karl Curley, which brings together a chorus of unique voices featuring Alix Lambert, Emma Dabiri, Franki Elliot, Karl Geary, Demi Anter, Ruth Clinton & Niamh Moriarty, Sasha Terfous, Caragh Maxwell and Olivia Furey. A performance project entitled 'The Bed' in collaboration with the Hawk's Well Theatre and Sligo Arts Service, funded by The Arts Council Invitation to Collaboration Scheme will premiere during Cairde Connected on Saturday, July 11th at 6pm. The piece brings together Theatre Makers Sorcha Fox, Charmaine T Matonsi, Abigail (Ashley) Ramaabya, Amir Abualrob, Wasekere-Sekerani, Nokwanda Siziba, Donal O'Kelly and poet Rafeef Ziadah to explore ideas of homelessness, life, safety, exile, incarceration, the reality of life in Direct Provision and freedom, and features music composed and performed by Dee Armstrong and Lughaidh Armstrong Mayock . A morning workshop series features book making, illustration and creature creation to keep young ones busy at home now that the homeschooling is over. And there will also be family yoga live on Zoom and a kids world music disco with Will Softly. There is a bumper calendar in store. For more see www.cairdefestival.com. He received overnight fame following his leading character in Normal People. And Paul Mescal has taken on his first role since his much-loved part in the BBC drama, as he stars in new Channel 5 psychological thriller, The Deceived. An exclusive first look at the trailer for the series sees Paul take on the role of a confidante to lead character Ophelia, who embarks on an affair with her lecturer. New role: Paul Mescal has taken on his first role since his much-loved part in the BBC drama, as he stars in new Channel 5 psychological thriller, The Deceived The explosive insight into the four-part drama teases an action-packed storyline where Ophelia [Emily Reid] finds herself trapped in a world where she can no longer trust her own mind. The plot sees the love affair interrupted by a shocking and tragic death, with Ophelia confiding in Paul's character McKeough - a local builder. Gangs of London actor Emmett J. Scanlan plays the timelessly attractive English lecturer Dr Michael Callaghan, while Catherine Walker plays his long-suffering wife Roisin. Juicy! An exclusive first look at the trailer for the series sees Paul take on the role of a confidante to lead character Ophelia, who embarks on an affair with her lecturer Smouldering: The explosive insight into the four-part drama teases an action-packed storyline where Ophelia [Emily Reid] finds herself trapped in a world where she can no longer trust her own mind Elswhere in the series, Little Women actress Eleanor Methven plays devoted and sometimes overbearing mother Mary Mulvery. While Ian McElhinney is Michael's father Hugh, who viewers will see fighting the oncoming tide of dementia. The series, which was filmed in Northern Ireland and Cambridge, was created and written by Derry Girls' Lisa McGee and Tobias Beer. Confidante: The plot sees the love affair interrupted by a shocking and tragic death, with Ophelia confiding in Paul's character McKeough - a local builder Steamy: Gangs of London actor Emmett J. Scanlan plays the timelessly attractive English lecturer Dr Michael Callaghan (pictured), while Catherine Walker plays his long-suffering wife Roisin Executive producer Charlie Hampton of New Pictures says: 'I was absolutely delighted to bring Lisa and Toby's fantastic scripts to screen. 'Working with such talented writers is always a pleasure and it was important to find equally talented people for both in front of and behind the camera. 'Along with our wonderful director, Chloe Thomas, we were lucky to assemble a hugely gifted cast who added a whole other layer of intrigue into the already thrilling scripts. Star: Paul received overnight fame following his leading role in Normal People Executive producer Charlie Hampton of New Pictures says: 'I was absolutely delighted to bring Lisa and Toby's fantastic scripts to screen' 'We wanted to make a show that nods to classic thrillers but also make something really modern that speaks to a contemporary audience. 'The Deceived is a psychological relationship thriller that will have the audience questioning everything and will hopefully leave them wanting more.' The Deceived, coming soon to Channel 5. She said: 'Working with such talented writers is always a pleasure and it was important to find equally talented people for both in front of and behind the camera' Premier Doug Ford is railing against U.S. President Donald Trump for threatening tariffs against Canada, warning that could trigger a nasty trade war. Ford, who in the past has professed support for Trump, urged the American leader not to slap levies on Canadian aluminum, which would hurt Ontario. Were the number one customer to 19 states, were the number two to nine others. We were instrumental in employing 9 million Americans, and then they want to start talking about tariffs against us? the premier told reporters Friday in Woodbridge. You got to be kidding, were the number one customer in the world, Canada is. So I highly recommend President Trump, dont do it, he said. Dont put tariffs on our aluminum or were coming out swinging, we may be small, but were your number one customer. Remember that. Dont forget it. In off-the-cuff comments after promoting a new Ontario-made push to get people to buy domestic products, Ford, who once ran his familys label business in Chicago, said were going to make sure we support our own. I was down there for years, made in USA. Well, guess what, its going be made in Ontario, made in B.C., made in Quebec, he said. Folks, lets stick together because economically, were going to war. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau skipped a White House meeting with Trump and Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador to mark the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, pact that took effect July 1. Robert Benzie is the Stars Queens Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie Read more about: Hundreds of pairs of children's shoes have been laid in front of Brisbane's City Hall to demonstrate the impact of climate change on future generations, in a silent protest by Extinction Rebellion. The circular installation set up in King George Square on Saturday morning used shoes temporarily donated by charities. Hundreds of pairs of childrens shoes laid out outside City Hall for an Extinction Rebellion protest Credit:Lucy Stone Organised by a west Brisbane branch of the climate change activist group, the installation was titled For Our Childrens' Sake and was inspired by other protests across the world during the year. Activists Sue Melloy and Bill Cruickshank said it was important to send the message to governments that while current generations were experiencing the impacts of climate change, "it's actually going to be far worse for our children, and our children's children". A fire early on Saturday morning destroyed the roof and badly damaged the interior of San Gabriel Mission, a Catholic church in California that is more than 200 years old and considered to be the birthplace of the Los Angeles region. The mission was founded in 1771 by the Franciscan fathers under the leadership of the Rev. Junipero Serra, a Spanish priest who helped colonize California. Construction of the church started in 1775 and ended in 1805, said Terri Huerta, director of development and communications at the mission. Ms. Huerta said the fire broke out one day after $200,000 in renovations had been completed. The walls had just been painted and the pews, which are more than 110 years old, had been refurbished. For one day, it was beautiful, Ms. Huerta said. The mission, which had been closed because of the pandemic, planned to resume services next week. Its heartbreaking, she said. One soldier is injured but stable. Security forces recovered six assault rifles, 500 bullets and two homemade bombs from the rebels. Guwahati: Indias security forces killed six separatist Naga militants in an exchange of gunfire in a northeastern state bordering Myanmar, police said. The fighting took place early Saturday as Indias paramilitary soldiers and police officers raided a militant hideout in a thick forest in Arunachal Pradesh state, said state police chief RP Upadhayay. One soldier was injured in the fighting, but his condition is stable, he said. The security forces recovered six assault rifles, 500 bullets and two homemade bombs from the rebels. Upadhayay said the insurgents belonged to the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) group, which demands an independent homeland in Indias northeast, where nearly two million Naga tribes people live mainly in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh state. The insurgents use their hideouts in Myanmar through Arunachal Pradesh state. The group is in peace talks with the Indian government since 1997. It signed a preliminary agreement in 2015. It observes a cease-fire in Nagaland state, but attacks government forces elsewhere in the region. Tehran Vows Consequences for Anyone Involved in Natanz Nuclear Facility Blast Sputnik News 12:59 GMT 10.07.2020 TEHRAN (Sputnik) Iran has warned about consequences if Tehran learns information on the involvement of any country in the recent incident that took place on the Natanz advanced centrifuge plant, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Friday. "It is early to comment about the cause of the recent incident in Natanz nuclear site, the relevant authorities are investigating the accident in detail and will announce the cause of the incident even if foreign elements have been involved in the case," Mousavi said, as quoted by Tasnim. These actions will have consequences, the spokesman added. On 2 July, a major explosion hit Iran's Natanz facility for enriching uranium. The official explanation is yet to be named. According to various news outlets, the blast could be an act of sabotage conducted by Israel. However, the spokesman has dismissed these reports, according to the local Tasnim news agency. No casualties or leaks of radioactive materials from the nuclear facility have been reported. Earlier in the day, the Iranian authorities denied reports on another alleged explosion, occurred in the western part of the Tehran province, particularly in the city of Qods, late on Thursday. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. World leaders have joined survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre to remember the victims of the only crime in Europe since the Second World War that has been declared a genocide. Most international speakers urged tolerance and reconciliation in Bosnia, still ethnically divided 25 years since the brutal execution in July 1995 of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys. But the Bosniak Muslim member of the countrys tripartite presidency, Sefik Dzaferovic one of few officials attending in person went further, urging the world to demand Serb leaders finally accept responsibility and open the way for true reconciliation. Expand Close Bosnian pray by the coffins of the victims during a burial in Potocari, near Srebrenica (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bosnian pray by the coffins of the victims during a burial in Potocari, near Srebrenica (AP) I am calling on our friends from around the world to show not just with words but also with actions that they will not accept the denial of genocide and celebration of its perpetrators, he said. The Srebrenica genocide is being denied (by Serb leaders) just as systematically and meticulously as it was executed in 1995 we owe it not just to Srebrenica, but to humanity, to oppose that, he added. On Saturday, the recently identified remains of nine victims were reburied in a memorial cemetery just outside the town in eastern Bosnia. The Srebrenica massacre is the only episode of Bosnias 1992-95 war to be defined as genocide, including by two UN courts. But leaders in neighbouring Serbia still deny the extent of the 1995 massacre and refuse to acknowledge it amounted to a genocide. Expand Close A woman prays in Potocari, near Srebrenica (Kemal Softic/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A woman prays in Potocari, near Srebrenica (Kemal Softic/AP) After murdering thousands of Srebrenicas Muslims, in an attempt to hide the crime, Serbs dumped their bodies in numerous mass graves scattered throughout eastern Bosnia. Body parts are still being found in mass graves and are being identified through DNA analysis. Close to 7,000 of those killed have already been found and identified. Newly identified victims are buried each year on July 11 the anniversary of the day the killing began in 1995 in the memorial cemetery. Dozens of world leaders, including Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Spains Pedro Sanchez, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and the Prince of Wales, addressed the commemoration ceremony via prerecorded video messages. Typically, thousands of visitors attend the commemoration service and funeral, but this year only a relatively small number of survivors were allowed at the cemetery due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bosnian Serb wartime political leader, Radovan Karadzic, and his military commander, Ratko Mladic, were both convicted of and sentenced for genocide in Srebrenica by a special UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. In all, the tribunal and courts in the Balkans have sentenced close to 50 Bosnian Serbs wartime officials to more than 700 years in prison for Srebrenica killings. Bosnian Serbs, however, still celebrate Karadzic and Mladic as heroes. Some are even staging celebrations of the 1995 liberation of Srebrenica on the anniversary of the crime. Expand Close A man prays between grave stones in Potocari, near Srebrenica (Kemal Softic/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A man prays between grave stones in Potocari, near Srebrenica (Kemal Softic/AP) Judge Carmel Agius, president of the UN court that is currently completing war crimes trials stemming from the break-up of Yugoslavia, warned in his video message that the victims of the Srebrenica massacre continue to be tormented by those who attempt to deny their lived experiences, and, thereby, their very existence. Judge Agius voiced hope that the new generations in the Balkans will reject the narratives of their political leaders and champion the truth and justice in honour of the victims we are commemorating today. The Bosnian war pitted the countrys three main ethnic factions Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims against each other after the break-up of Yugoslavia. More than 100,000 people were killed in the conflict. When the war ended in a US-brokered peace deal in 1995, a Serb-run entity was formed within Bosnia, of which Srebrenica became part. Denmark, the Baltic countries, and Norway have all put Luxembourg on their "blacklists" - and it seems that more countries are banning Luxembourg residents from entering. Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Asselborn was a guest on RTL Radio on Friday evening to discuss the recent travel restrictions that several countries put into place. He stressed that the government is fighting accusations from other countries because the numbers, if considered out of context, do not reflect the real situation. Asselborn explained that Luxembourg's recent infection numbers must be viewed in the context of the large-scale testing strategy. In other words, the more tests a country carries out, the more positive cases it will detect. According to the minister, it is wrong to penalise the Grand-Duchy for testing, which is something every country should be doing. Luxembourg is currently carrying out 9,582 tests per 100,000 residents per week. Malta comes in second with 1,300 weekly tests per 100,000 residents while the Grand-Duchy's neighbouring countries only perform between 500 and 600 weekly tests per 100,000 residents. Asselborn stressed the danger of evaluating infection numbers without keeping this is mind as this approach could lead to considerable misconceptions about Luxembourg. The minister added that figures from the hospitals must also be taken into account. Asselborn stressed that the large-scale testing efforts of the government are the right approach to fighting the pandemic. He stated that there are currently no signs that any of Luxembourg's neighbouring countries are planning to close their borders again. He dismissed rumours that Belgium is considering a second border closure as baseless. However, the minister also admitted that the situation could change if other countries continue to ignore the context of the Luxembourgish figures. Another key point which Asselborn thinks Luxembourg's three neighbouring countries should take into account is that the Grand-Duchy is not only testing its residents but also cross-border workers. While they do not live in Luxembourg, they are still part of the total number of confirmed national cases. The minister went on to say that there is currently no risk that Luxembourgers will not be able to reach the destination they wish to travel to. While the country has been put on a number of blacklists in certain countries, these decisions are only valid for 14 days. Asselborn expressed confidence that the restrictions would not apply beyond that date, if everybody acted responsibly. The LSAP politician explained that the crisis unit responsible for bringing people who find themselves stranded abroad home is still in place and can be contacted if needed. Asselborn concluded that Luxembourg's government has set out on the right path and must continue the large-scale testing in order to overcome the crisis. Video (in Luxembourgish): Overview A growing number of countries have recently listed Luxembourg as an "at-risk country" and restricted access for Luxembourgish residents. You can find the list here. Editor's note: Julie Tremaine entered the Magic Kingdom just after 9 a.m. Saturday and stayed until about 6 p.m. for CNN. She's an award-winning food and travel writer, and her work appears in Travel + Leisure and Forbes among others. Read her at Travel-Sip-Repeat.com. (CNN) The wait is over. After closing because of the coronavirus pandemic, Walt Disney World Resort officially reopened two of its four parks Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom a scorching Saturday. (Epcot and Hollywood Studios are set to reopen Wednesday). Over the past week, all eyes have been on Disney World as it prepared for its reopening -- one day shy of four months since it closed. With Florida's recent surge in Covid-19 infections, some have questioned whether the park should have postponed opening day. But on Saturday morning, thousands of fans walked through the gate to be among the first to reenter the Magic Kingdom. The park they walked back into, though, is not the same park they left. Old vs. new Magic Kingdom The old park thrived on quantity, cramming as many people as possible into ride queues and rewarding those who lined up early in the morning with coveted boarding passes to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Disney's Hollywood Studios. That park would let you run up to Mickey and hug him, even with no clear idea of who had just done the same thing or when that suit had last been cleaned. That park didn't have to worry about whether the invisible spray from someone screaming with delight on a roller coaster would unintentionally infect the person in the next seat. This new park is different. The biggest difference: crowd size. Disney doesn't release attendance numbers, but The New York Times estimated that the park would allow less than half of its capacity in the park to start. As of July 10, Disney had reached its maximum reservations for Magic Kingdom park tickets for opening day. Here's what we saw on Saturday: Temperature, bag checks and safety measure For the reopening, each guest has been required to have his or her temperature checked, not at the park gate, but to get on the transportation that brings you to the park. The process is quick and simple. Bag checks have been minimized as much as possible. Previously, every bag was thoroughly searched. Now, guests are asked to remove any large metal objects from their bags, then carry those bags through metal detectors. Health safety measures have been a big deal at amusement parks as they open. The main difference between Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World is that at Universal, hand sanitizing is mandatory. There is an employee at the beginning of every ride queue dispensing sanitizer on each person's hands as they embark. At Disney, there are sanitizing stations at each ride entrance and many other places. But it's a personal choice to use them. Masks, however, are not up for debate. The only place to get a break from one of those is at a Relaxation Station, which are shaded, socially distanced areas to sit and catch your breath before heading back out to another ride. Craig Williams, producer of The DIS Unplugged, attended opening day and found good compliance until mid-afternoon. He tweeted: "Everything for me has been smooth at Magic Kingdom up until the last 10 minutes. Now I'm seeing people leaving the restroom without washing hands and plenty of men thinking that masks don't need to cover their noses too. Maybe people can't have nice things." Performances and cast members Another large difference: performances. Almost all of them have been temporarily suspended, even many of the outdoor shows such as the Dapper Dans, a barbershop quartet that performs up and down Main Street USA. Character meet-and-greets have been stopped, replaced with drop-in appearances from characters that are unannounced and, without a set schedule, won't draw the same crowds. At 12:30 p.m., a socially distanced, scaled-back parade came through the park. Instead of float after float, with dancers and performers in between, three floats came by in short succession. The first: Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Donald. The second: Tinkerbell, sitting on top of an enormous chest of pirate treasure. The third: Clarabelle and Goofy. Each was surrounded by a team of cast members waving and energetically shouting to people as they passed by. Doing it this way ensures crowds won't form, and people won't stand in one spot anticipating the next float to come by. When it does, it's a surprise and from the excitement of the people watching, a very pleasant one. Wait times for rides As the day has progressed in the Magic Kingdom, ride wait times have continued to stay low. "It's a five-minute wait time for Space Mountain on a Saturday in the summer," one park guest told CNN Travel. "I don't know if I'll ever see that again." "Relish that time frame," the Space Mountain greeter said. "You'll never see it again." Even the most in-demand rides, such as the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, are hovering at about 30 minutes. On busy days, that wait time could be up to 120 minutes. When ride lines inevitably get longer, they will extend past the traditional ride queues. In preparation for that, Disney has set up social distancing markers that wrap around the outer fences of rides such as the Mine Train, set up with umbrellas to shade people from the sun. A word from the chairman Josh D'Amaro, the chairman of Disney Park, Experiences and Products, made an Instagram post of an "amazing morning" with cast members before the reopening. Cast members, Disney's term for their employees, told CNN Travel they are genuinely excited to have the park back up and running. Dozens of them lined the sidewalks of Main Street, waving at and greeting guests as they came in. "We're just [as] excited to be here as you are, maybe even more excited," one said as she was welcoming people in. "I cried on the way to work today. I've cried a few times this morning." Of course, she said all this through a mask. Even though there are Mickey, Goofy and Baby Yoda masks available for purchase, those masks are still hard to wear in 89 degree weather and 68% humidity. Until Friday, neck gaiters were allowed at Disney Springs. On the reopening of the parks, though, masks must affix behind the ears, making gaiters obsolete. "We come all the time," said an annual passholder on the Monorail, riding into the park, "but it's almost taking the fun out of it." This story was first published on CNN.com 'Disney World reopens: Take an inside look at the Magic Kingdom today' A person was injured Friday night in a stabbing at the Auburn Mall. Officers responded to the scene inside the Auburn Mall, located on Southbridge Street. Police confirmed one man was transported to a nearby hospital after the stabbing. Auburn Police Chief Andrew J. Sluckis Jr. told MassLive the stabbing victim was attacked in the food court area of the mall during an altercation. The male victim was in critical condition at UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus in Worcester as of Friday night, the chief said. Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said the attack occurred sometime around 6:10 p.m. State police detectives assigned to Earlys office and Auburn police continue to investigate the stabbing. The stabbing victim is 18 years old, according to Sluckis. Sluckis said investigators are still searching for the suspects. Officers taped off a section of the mall near the dining pavilion, according to video footage from NBC Boston. #BREAKING: @AuburnMAPolice investigating a stabbing inside Auburn Mall. PD: One person suffered serious injuries. Witnesses said they heard a fight and then someone screamed, HELP! @NBC10Boston pic.twitter.com/btrpdwXMz4 Eli Rosenberg NBC10 Boston (@EliNBCBoston) July 10, 2020 The Auburn Mall, owned by Simon Properties, reopened on June 10 after being shut down for nearly three months as the coronavirus pandemic hit Massachusetts. .@AuburnMAPolice, State Police Detectives assigned to the DAs Office and State Police Crime Scene Services are investigating a stabbing at the Auburn Mall tonight. Anyone with cell phone or dash cam video that could assist the investigation, please call Auburn PD at 508-832-7777 pic.twitter.com/V4KTZ6mjLA Joseph D. Early Jr. (@worcesterda) July 11, 2020 Authorities asked anyone with information to call Auburn police at 508-832-7777. MassLive managing producer Scott J. Croteau contributed to this report. Bangkok, July 10 (IANS) The Royal Thai Armed Forces celebrated the 60th anniversary of its establishment after the event was postponed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, Pornpipat Benyasri, chief of staff at the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led a commemorative parade at the Royal Thai Armed Forces' Headquarters, which was attended by representatives of the armed forces and the Royal Thai Police and senior military officers, reports Xinhua news agency. A 27-year-old driver is dead and his passenger is in hospital with serious injuries after they were shot while travelling on the Red Hill Valley Parkway on Friday night. The shooting took place just prior to 9:25 p.m. on the southbound Red Hill, between King Street and Greenhill Avenue. Multiple shots were fired from a dark coloured SUV into a blue BMW sedan while the vehicle was still in motion, police said in a media release Saturday morning. Matar Abouchere is identified as the driver of the BMW sedan and the deceased victim. Abouchere was able to pull the vehicle over to the side of the highway before he died, police say. The driver of the SUV fled south and exited the parkway at Greenhill Avenue. Police are seeking at least one suspect. Aboucheres vehicle entered the highway from the Barton Street East westbound lanes. Police have cordoned off the exits between King Street and Greenhill Avenue, closing both north and southbound lanes of the highway for more than 12 hours. One police officer was seen clumping a yellow and blue tarp, which laid just south of the painted enclosure, into a yard waste bag. The bag was placed inside of a forensics van. It is unclear what was under the tarps. Yellow caution tape was strewn across the parkway median. Police are asking anyone who was travelling on Barton Street East, the Red Hill Valley Parkway or in the area of Greenhill Avenue around the time of the incident to contact police with information, dashcam or security camera recordings. Officers are looking for a motive in the slaying, the media release says, and are asking anyone with information about the victim, suspects or vehicles to come forward. If you have any information that you believe could assist Police with this investigation, please contact Det. Michael McNaughton by calling 905-546-4123. To provide information anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit your anonymous tips online at http://www.crimestoppershamilton.com For one Franklin resident, the 4-H projects over the years werent just about raising his animals, but about learning the best ways to help them and about learning responsibility. Luke Bergschneider has been in 4-H for 10 years. This year will be his last as he prepares for his junior year at Western Illinois University. This year, Bergschneider with the help of his family as he was away at school raised two pigs for his project. Though hes also raised rabbits for 4-H in the past, Bergschneider said hes enjoyed raising pigs the most. Pigs are my favorite farm animal, Bergschneider said. People tend to give them a bad rep, but they are smart and fund to be around. They are so curious about everything. From adapting their feed, to how they are feed, genetics and workouts, Bergschneider said it is about finding what works best for each pig each year. This year, we feeding them in a different way to help them gain more weight, he said. He even did the process from the start one year, breeding piglets instead of purchasing pigs at auction. It was different, seeing the entire life cycle, being there start to finish, selecting the genetics, Bergschneider said. I got to learn about the reproductive cycle. We had more control over their genetics. Since he started raising pigs roughly seven years ago, Bergschneider said hes adapted his process each year to improve his pigs and make each one the best they can be. Although he wasnt as hands-on with his pigs this year because of school, Bergschneider said he is always proud of how his pigs turn out, even if they arent the best in show. The biggest thing for me is all the hard work. Its rewarding. At the end of the year, even if you fail, you know you put in a lot of hard work. He said being in 4-H has taught him leadership skills, as well as responsibility, things he hopes to pass down to his six younger siblings. Bergschneider is the oldest of his siblings and will be sharing his experience with raising pigs with his younger brothers and sisters, many of whom are already in 4-H. My dad always said youve never had a family experience until youve tried to load pigs together, he said. Theyll go out the side, under the trailer. Seven-storey apartment building planned for Armour Road and Cunningham Boulevard in Peterborough This proposed seven-storey 76-unit apartment building for Armour Road solves none of our serious housing needs. Market value rents will do nothing to alleviate the homeless problem. However, it does provide the wedge needed by developers to alter the zoning bylaws and density for much of East City. I have no objection to an apartment in that location, but I have a strong objection to seven storeys in an area of single-family homes. It will destroy the sightlines for everyone, increase traffic on Nassau Road Bridge, Armour Road and create parking issues. The maximum height should be four storeys with some shops on the ground floor. There is a total absence of foresight or serious planning in evidence. I lived on Armour Road for 20 years and can attest to the complete absence of grocery and convenience stores, pharmacies, cleaners etc. We needed cars to go to Hunter Street East, Water Street North, Lansdowne Street or Lakefield to shop. This proposed 76-unit apartment will create more traffic problems than housing solutions. I have grave environmental concerns as well, because the property is situated between two creeks into the Otonabee River, enjoyed by beaver, river otters, amphibians, birds and our children. Where will the rain run-off go? Whenever I read that a large developer like Parkview Homes gets approval from city planners for the rezoning for such a patently unsuitable building, it raises the question, who benefits? Not the neighbours, not Armour Road residents, not our Ward councillors. Parkview Homes should be told firmly and clearly that zoning exists to protect Peterboroughs future and this apartment concept is not appropriate for this location at this time. WASHINGTON - Amid a summer of racial unrest and calls for more diversity in leadership, President Donald Trump lags Democratic rival Joe Biden in the percentage of people of colour on their campaign staffs, according to data the campaigns provided to The Associated Press. Twenty-five per cent of the Republican presidents senior staff are nonwhite, compared to 36% of Bidens senior staff. Bidens overall campaign team is 35% nonwhite; Trumps campaign did not provide a comparable number. And neither campaign provided racial breakdowns for their nonwhite staff, nor the total number of staffers who are on their payrolls, including senior staff. Advocates for minority groups say staff diversity is necessary to ensure political candidates hear a full range of voices and viewpoints to help them understand the concerns of various communities and interest groups especially at a time when racial injustice is front and centre in the national conversation. And while Biden has an edge on Trump, there is plenty more to be done in presidential campaigns overall. Jennifer Lawless, commonwealth professor of politics at the University of Virginia, said there are still a lot of milestones that havent been hit by political campaigns, such as a Black man or woman directing and winning a presidential campaign. And she said having diverse staff at lower levels in campaigns can help increase the pool of future managers, finance chairs and others. Its all part of the pipeline, Lawless said. Trumps campaign makeup got a double-take in June when Vice-President Mike Pence tweeted and later deleted a photo from his visit to campaign headquarters. The photo at first drew attention for the lack of social distancing and use of face masks among the staff. But it also was notable for the sea of mostly white faces. Eric Rodriguez, senior vice-president of policy and advocacy at UnidosUS, said the Biden team had more Latinos in senior positions than Trump. You need people from those communities to be able to make those connections, said Rodriguez, whose organization used to be called the National Council of La Raza. The rival campaigns fared better and are about even - on employing women, with females filling more than half of all jobs overall, and more than half of all senior positions. The presidents daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who is white, former White House aide Mercedes Schlapp, who is Cuban American, and Katrina Pierson, who is Black and worked on Trumps 2016 campaign, are among the highest-profile senior female staffers working to help reelect him. Others include former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, now a top campaign fundraiser and the girlfriend of Trumps son, Donald Trump Jr., and Hannah Castillo, the campaigns coalitions director. Guilfoyles late mother was from Puerto Rico. Castillo is Mexican American. Biden senior adviser Symone Sanders, who is Black, is the campaigns highest-ranking person of colour and, at 30, is the youngest member of his inner circle. The candidate also recently brought on several African Americans who worked for President Barack Obama, including Karine Jean-Pierre, formerly an NBC News and MSNBC political analyst. Jamal Brown, a spokesperson for Biden, said the former vice-presidents campaign reflects the diversity, breadth and promise of America. He believes our democracy is strongest when people see themselves reflected in their government, added Brown, who is Black. The killing in May of George Floyd, who was Black, by a white Minneapolis police officer sparked nationwide protests against racial injustice and calls for greater minority representation across the board in society that brought fresh scrutiny to the presidential campaigns. Biden had faced questions earlier in the campaign about the lack of diversity on his staff. Along with adding more people of colour to his campaign, Biden has promised an administration that looks like America if he is elected on Nov. 3. The U.S. population is about 60% white, 19% Latino and 13% Black, according to Census Bureau estimates. Trump has not made a similar pledge about a potential second term. His campaign declined to discuss minority representation on the campaign staff. Four women currently serve in Trumps Cabinet: CIA Director Gina Haspel and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, both of whom are white; Jovita Carranza, a Latina who leads the Small Business Administration; and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who was born in Taiwan. Housing Secretary Ben Carson is the only Black member of the Cabinet. Rodriguez summed up the Biden campaign strategy as focused on winning support from a diverse pool of voters, especially in battleground states where large numbers of Latino and Black voters live. He characterized Trumps strategy as being really all about the base and attempting to replicate his successful 2016 campaign playbook, which used immigration as a wedge issue. The strategy is to run on racial division, Rodriguez said of the president, who has begun to use the racial tensions that surfaced after Floyds killing in his reelection pitch. Still, Trump and his campaign make regular appeals to Black and Latino voters. The president regularly cites employment gains for these groups before the coronavirus pandemic struck, and he continues to showcase legislation he signed to overhaul criminal sentencing procedures and provide permanent funding for historically Black colleges and universities. This week, Trump was surrounded by Latino American leaders as he announced a new advisory commission to help Hispanic Americans with economic and educational opportunities. But the event also highlighted how far Trump has to go in winning support from people of colour. Critics of Trumps record with Hispanics called for a boycott of the Goya food company after its president praised Trump at the event. The president does have strong support among some people of Cuban and Venezuelan descent, though, because of his tough stance against authoritarian leaders in those countries. The Biden campaign said LGBTQ staff and staff of colour hold such positions as senior advisers, deputy campaign managers, national coalitions director, chief financial officer, chief operating officer and national press secretary, among others. Trumps campaign defined its senior staff as senior leaders who meet regularly to make decisions. People with authority, and did not elaborate. In Epic Youth Services own brief filed last week, the company stated: We all agree that the source of the funds paid to EYS is public But the funds do not remain state funds once paid to EYS to perform services. The parties have a contractual agreement by which EYS is compensated for providing educational and extra-curricular resources for Epic Charter School students. Like any other private vendor, EYS is paid to provide goods and services and money paid to EYS for the Learning Fund is intended to be earned at time of payment. Attorneys for the state countered, saying the companys own contract terms with the school do not allow it to earn Learning Fund dollars. And they claim that public employees of Epic Charter Schools perform Learning Fund tasks and that although EYS apparently considers the Learning Fund as earned income, upon information and belief, EYS does not pay income taxes on the Learning Fund. The management companys attorneys stated that the Learning Funds financial arrangement was noted but drew no criticism in many years of annual audits conducted by an outside firm and filed with the State Auditors Office. Jaipur: Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Lalchand Kataria on Friday urged the Central government to declare the menace of locusts a national disaster in the interest of farmers. During a video conference with the Union Agriculture Minister, Kataria also demanded the Centre to release the first instalment of centrally-sponsored schemes at the earliest. Giving information about crop loss in the state due to locusts, Kataria asked the Agriculture Insurance Company to pay the outstanding insurance claim of Rs 380 crore for Kharif-2019 of farmers as soon as possible. The minister claimed that the first instalment of most of the centrally-sponsored schemes for the year 2020-21 has not yet been released and the first installment of all schemes should be released immediately to the state in view of the interest of farmers. Hanuman Beniwal, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) MP from Rajasthan`s Nagaur has also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to declare locust attack a national disaster and provide relief to the farmers. LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 11, 2020 / Compare-autoinsurance.org (https://compare-autoinsurance.org/) is a top auto insurance brokerage website, providing car insurance quotes online from trustworthy agencies all over the United States. This website has recently launched a blog post that explains how to use online car insurance quotes and find better cheaper car insurance. For more info and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/what-are-the-best-methods-to-compare-car-insurance-rates. For many drivers, car insurance represents a financial burden, rather than a beneficial investment. But without it, drivers are exposed to extreme financial consequences. 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CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing Company Person for contact: Gurgu C Phone Number: (818) 359-3898 Email: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.biz Website: https://compare-autoinsurance.org SOURCE: Internet Marketing Company View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/597133/How-To-Find-Affordable-Coverage-With-The-Help-Of-Online-Car-Insurance-Quotes A Passamaquoddy master basketmaker who was the matriarch of four generations of tribal basket-weavers is being remembered by her family, other tribal members and numerous arts organizations for her work to pass on the traditional craft to future generations. Molly Neptune Parker of Indian Township, who was the recipient of a 2012 National Heritage Fellowship, the nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts, passed away on June 12 at the age of 81. Donald Soctomah, Passamaquoddy tribal historian, says, "Molly was a cultural icon for the Passamaquoddy Tribe. She was an award-winning basketmaker, but more than that she knew things about our culture." He remembers when he was working on the wax cylinder project, trying to understand the 1890 recordings of Passamaquoddy songs, language and cultural narratives, that he had her listen to the recordings, and she provided "cultural input that not many today would understand." She was the first woman lieutenant governor at Indian Township, and Soctomah also relates that she was among the tribal members who first went to Washington, D.C., in the 1970s to lobby Congress for the tribe's treaty rights, before the 1980 land claims settlement act. "She knew how to get her point across," he notes. As the grandmother of seven of Soctomah's children, she "did everything for her family. She wanted to make sure they succeeded in life. Whenever anyone needed help, she was always there for other people." Soctomah relates that she taught her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren how to make baskets, along with "hundreds of others" at workshops. Among them were descendants of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who summered on Campobello. She could tell who made a particular basket and the year it was made. In the 1970s, she ran the Passamaquoddy basket co-op, which "put a lot of people to work making different types of baskets," Soctomah says. She also was a businesswoman, running Mihku Lodge in Indian Township for 20 years, with a restaurant "that fed the community." "She will be missed by the whole community. She was like a mother to everybody," Soctomah says. A long procession of vehicles traveled from Indian Township to the funeral Mass at Immaculate Conception Church in Calais on June 18, and Soctomah notes that cars pulled over to let the procession pass both to and from the church. "It was like the whole county was honoring her." The National Endowment for the Arts' (NEA) National Heritage Fellowship award noted that Parker's mother, grandmother and aunts all made baskets and that she then made baskets with the same ash flower design on the top that her mother and grandmother used. Parker was known for her fancy baskets, featuring intricate weaving techniques, such as her signature creation, the acorn shaped basket. The award noted that Parker was "a true tradition bearer," mentoring others, including her grandchild Geo Neptune. "Basketmaking for me is about innovation and creativity within the context of a traditional art form," Parker said in 2012, after being awarded the NEA fellowship. "The functionality, the materials and the shapes have been a legacy for each generation. I honor that legacy and believe I have a responsibility to continue it, basing it always on our traditions and knowledge of literally thousands of years. Basketmaking is an art that I believe I was born to do, much as my ancestors have done for thousands of years." Parker was a master teacher in the Maine Arts Commission's traditional arts apprenticeship program and demonstrated her craft at the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival as well as local festivals and schools. The Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance noted that Parker was the longest serving president of the alliance and stated in a Facebook posting that, as a kind, funny and generous person, she was a role model to many. In acknowledging her passing, the First Peoples Fund, which honored her in 2008 with a community spirit award, noted that Parker was a leader in the resurgence of Wabanaki basketry in Maine. She believed, "When I hold a basket of someone who has gone before, I am holding part of them and it is a link to the future and all the hands that will hold it. Art is both a way of healing by learning the discipline of basketmaking while being a means of expression." Parker was selected to be one of the 13 Women of Vision recipients of the Farnsworth Art Museum's Maine in America Award. Farnsworth Director Christopher Brownawell commented, "Her dedication in preserving the Passamaquoddy traditions and values was equaled only in her passion for passing on her knowledge to future generations. Maine and the nation have lost a true Woman of Vision." The Farnsworth is looking forward to celebrating Parker, along with other Women of Vision, as recipients of the museum's Maine in America Award in the coming year and leading up to an award ceremony in 2021. Maine Governor Janet Mills stated, in part, "Molly Neptune Parker's devotion to preserving the history, culture and artistry of the Passamaquoddy Tribe was shown in every aspect of her life. ... Maine is incredibly fortunate that Molly gifted these traditions to younger generations. That will be Molly's enduring legacy, and I hope it offers some comfort to her loved ones as they mourn her passing. The State of Maine is a better place for her presence in it." Dubai carrier Emirates has announced plans to operate special repatriation flights to five Indian cities starting from tomorrow (July 12) till July 26 to assist stranded expats get home and for residents of UAE currently in India to return to the UAE. According to Emirates, flights will be operated to Bengaluru, Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram during the 15-day period. As per the schedule, the Dubai carrier will fly to Bengaluru, Delhi and Kochi twice daily; Mumbai thrice daily and Thiruvananthapuram once daily. The flights to Bengaluru and Mumbai are subject to state government approval. Only Indian citizens stranded in the UAE will be allowed to fly from Dubai to the five Indian destinations, said the statement from Emirates. These flights will be available for UAE nationals and residents with prior entry approval from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDFRA) for residents of Dubai and ICA approval for residents of other emirates of the UAE, it stated. Flights can be booked on Emirates' website, sales offices and contact centre and through travel agents. Passengers must meet all the entry requirements of the destination to be allowed to board the flihts. All passengers travelling from airports in India to Dubai are also required to carry a negative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) certificate issued by a laboratory authorised by the government of India to be accepted on the flight. Certificates must be issued no more than 96 hours before departure.-TradeArabia News Service Photo for illustration The Philippines is the biggest rice export market of Vietnam with a 39.9% share, equivalent to 1.3 million tons and USD598.6 million, up 23.1% in volume and 42.2% in value year on year. In addition, rice export also witnessed sharp growth in some markets such as Senegal, up 18.3 fold, Indonesia up 2.9 fold and China up 2.3 fold. For varieties, white rice export value made up 38% of total revenue; Jasmine rice and fragrant rice accounted for 38%, sticky rice 19.6%, and Japonica and Japanese rice 4.2%. From now to the end of the year, volume of exported rice is forecast to rise due to demand increase. Rice is among Vietnams agricultural commodities which still maintains growth amidst the complicated situation of the COVID-19 epidemic./. New Delhi: With Delhi recording PM 2.5 levels at nearly 21 times higher than permissible limit on Diwali, the Centre summoned governments of Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh over enforcing ban on stubble burning. The decision comes on a day the Central Pollution Control Board released its report on air quality of Delhi. The permissible limit for PM 2.5 is 60 micrograms per cubic metre. Pitampura in North Delhi recorded the maximum at 1,238 micrograms per cubic metre on Diwali, which is 20.63 times higher than the permissible limits. As per the report, PM 2.5 levels on the day of Diwali (October 30) across each of the 11 pollution monitoring centres were anywhere between a staggering 4 times to 12 times of what they were the week before (October 24). For example, as compared to the previous week, Pitampura recorded 12 times higher PM 2.5 levels, while Parivesh Bhavan Centre in East Delhi recorded 11.4 times higher PM 2.5 levels. At Janakpuri, PM 2.5 levels were 8.7 times higher and at ITO, PM 2.5 levels were 7.6 times higher. Similarly, on the day of Diwali PM 10 levels were 1.5-4 times higher as compared to the previous week. For example, PM 10 levels at ITO on Diwali were 4.3 times higher than what they were a week ago. On this Diwali, as compared to last year, PM 2.5 levels were 2-4.5 times higher and PM 10 levels were 1.5-3 times higher. The Environment Ministry has attributed the spike in pollution levels to four main factors. It has been observed that open burning of solid waste in and around Delhi, vehicular emissions in Delhi, dust by the roadside and around construction sites in Delhi and stubble burning of crop residue in neighbouring states of Delhi are major contributors to pollution in Delhi, according to a release by the Ministry. Accordingly, five states Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP, Rajasthan have been summoned in order to ensure effective enforcement of the ban on stubble burning. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has summoned the concerned secretaries on 4th November to review the situation and to further deliberate on the strategy to minimise occurrences of open burning in agriculture fields, according to the press statement. It has also been decided that CPCB will direct local bodies in and around Delhi to check open burning of solid waste and strictly enforce rules related to prevention of gaseous emission from construction activities. CPCB will also instruct public road owning agencies in Delhi to ensure that roadsides are watered periodically suspension of dust. Delhi Police, too, will be required to streamline movement of traffic at busy intersections so that pollution due to vehicular emissions is minimised. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. An American couple were left trapped in a Skipton B&B for 100 days during lockdown after flying to Yorkshire to buy flat caps. Business owners Christopher and Chrissie Poe, from Boston, Massachusetts, had been visiting the area to meet with their flat cap suppliers. But in a disastrous turn of events they became trapped in Yorkshire, where Mrs Poe is originally from, when the pandemic began and were unable to return home. Mrs Poe said that despite booking several flights in a desperate bid to fly back to Boston, all pending trips were cancelled and their return home scuppered. Business owners Christopher and Chrissie Poe, from Boston, Massachusetts, had been visiting the area to meet with their flat cap suppliers The couple's flat cap business Poe & Co also sells other traditional items like sheepskins and tweed blankets, online and at events The couple had been looking forward to visiting other countries while in Europe, including Amsterdam for Mrs Poe's birthday, but were forced to cancel their travel plans amid lockdown. They spent the next 100 days forced to live in a countryside Skipton B&B, which they found 'challenging to relax' in each day. At one point during their stay Mr Poe's father, who has cancer, became infected with coronavirus. They couple feared they would be forced to find an emergency flight home, they told the Yorkshire Post. But they later received the welcome news that Mr Poe's father was recovering from the virus. In a disastrous turn of events the couple became trapped in Yorkshire, where Mrs Poe is originally from, when the pandemic began and were unable to return home They had flown to Yorkshire to meet with suppliers for their flat cap business Mr and Mrs Poe were finally able to fly off last week and said they were jetting away for a short spell away in the Dominican Republic before heading back to Boston. The couple's flat cap business Poe & Co also sells other traditional items like sheepskins and tweed blankets, online and at events. They said the products have become hugely popular in recent years because of hit shows like Peaky Blinders. Each cap they sell is handmade by three suppliers in Yorkshire and uses British wool. Have YOU had a worse lockdown experience? Send your stories to tips@dailymail.com Vikas Dubey News : , SIT Vikas Dubey News 31 , () . 31 , 13 2020 , ... - - - , , - - , - ? - , , - - , , - A man described as a 'high level criminal' had a gun in the boot of his car after collecting it from a house while drinking all day, a court has heard. Brian Duke (38) of Kevinsfort, Sligo was before Sligo Circuit Court for the possession of a Smith and Wesson gun and cannabis on April 10th 2018. Duke had previously pleaded guilty to the offences. The drug possession charge was taken into consideration. Garda Dimitrius Doherty in his evidence said on the night in question gardai had received an anonymous phone call reporting loud music at an apartment at Cornmill Park, Ballymote. On arrival gardai got a strong smell of cannabis from the apartment and later got a warrant to search the premises. Duke's car was parked in front of the apartment and that was also searched and a deal bag of cannabis worth 25 was found in the glovebox. Garda Denis Fitzgerald searched the boot of the car where he found the gun partially wrapped in a yellow cloth. Duke was arrested and conveyed to Ballymote Garda Station. He was deemed not fit to be interviewed and the following day was interviewed on four occasions. He intially denied all knowledge of the gun and said he recently bought the vehicle which he had previously owned. He said he had looked in the boot but did not see the gun that was in a compartment. During the second interview he admitted the drug possession but continued to deny the possession of the firearm. He later made admissions in relation to the gun. Detailing his movements for the day, Duke told gardai he was at Council offices, was in Strandhill to look at the water, went to Ballymote and back to Strandhill for drinks. He then went to Ballymote and stopped in Ballisodare for a drink. He told gardai he also stopped at a house in Collooney to collect the revolver. He told gardai he had been shown the gun at the house on March 16th, 2018 by a man he had just met. Duke told gardai he did not want the homeowners to think the gun, which, according to Duke, was in the shed of the house, belonged to him. He said he had thought about taking the gun from the property and disposing of it for some time and on the day in question decided to get rid of it. Garda Doherty told the court Duke had been involved in an altercation earlier that day in Cranmore with a woman, Tanya Cox, and he had been hit by a crutch. The garda said he believed the altercation led him to retrieve the firearm. A ballistics report on the firearm showed it was non functioning. The Smith and Wesson revolver had a permanent obstruction in the barrel and it's firing pin was removed. The court was told Duke had 15 previous convictions, including threatening to damage property and attempted robbery. Asked by defence, Mr Desmond Dockery, SC, with Keith O'Grady BL, instructed by Mr Tom MacSharry, solicitor what his opinion of his client was, Garda Doherty said he believed Duke was a 'high level criminal'. Mr Dockery said most of Duke's offences were road traffic charges and some small fines. Judge Francis Comerford said though Duke had a previous conviction for simple drug possession, he was aware that there was a subsequent attempt for the drug to be smuggled into a prison. "That puts Duke on the fringes of serious criminal conduct," said the judge. Mr Dockery said he would submit that his client was on the lower end of criminal activity and said during interviews it was never put to his client if he got the gun in order to return to Cranmore. He said his client had a difficult upbringing and had qualified as an electrician in 2015. Duke was addressing his addiction issues, was in a stable relationship and was the father of one and had no contact with previous associates. Giving evidence, Duke told the court it was fortunate the revolver was non functioning, and the man who had initially showed him the gun was a friend of his partner. He said the gun was hidden in the shed of a friend's house and it played on his mind and he made a bad decision. Duke said he went drinking that day after he was hit by Ms Cox and forgot about the argument, he went to Collooney to the house and collected the gun and knew the gun was in the car when he permitted gardai to search it later that night. A probation report outlined Duke was at a high risk of reoffending, however, it stated this could be avoided if he stays in steady employment. Duke said he attends AA and NA meetings, is drug free, and the last time he drank was when he was involved in an attempted robbery. He received a three month suspended prison sentence for that and had spent three months in prison on remand for that offence. State prosecutor Mr Leo Mulrooney, BL, instructed by State solicitor, Ms Elisa McHugh, questioned Duke in relation to reuniting the gun with its owner as he had intiially told gardai and also why he told the probation service he was going to throw it in a river. Duke said it was a spur of the moment decision to take the gun from the house and was going to seek advice on what to do with it. Mr Mulrooney asked Duke why he would do a 'good deed' and get rid of the gun if he had nothing to do with it, to which Duke said he did not want the owner of the house thinking he had anything to do with the gun. "So it is a complete coincidence you got the gun hours after the altercation," asked Mr Mulrooney. Duke responded, "Once that conversation was over it had no bearing on my day." In mitigation, Mr Dockery said the gardai had looked for an inference that Duke was going to threaten Ms Cox with the gun. However, he said his client never returned to Ms Cox's home and that there was no evidence that he was going to return to Cranmore. Mr Dockery said his client had removed himself from associates, addressed his addictions and a probation report was favourable. He said what Duke did was stupid and impulsive but he did not brandish the gun or barter for it. Judge Francis Comerford said the matter was very serious and Duke was not the 'typical ordinary criminal' and adjourned the matter to July 14th next for sentencing. Duke was remanded in custody to appear on that date. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 23:00:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Opera Kitchen is still closed in Sydney, Australia, May 27, 2020. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei) China is Australia's biggest trading partner and the two countries have a long history of good relations. It is in the interest of people from both sides to continue on good terms. BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- After Australia issued its China travel warning in the wake of the newly adopted law in China on safeguarding national security in Hong Kong, many expatriate Australians have dismissed the so-called increased risks. According to reports by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) published last week, most expats regard the warning as politically motivated, including Geoff Raby, a former Australian ambassador to China, who described it as "provocative." In another case, Sam Wong, chair of the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum Inc., who was born and raised in Hong Kong, said Australian politicians should "know the situation of Hong Kong better," in response to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's recent baseless accusation against the national security legislation on Hong Kong. These are just two of many examples which show the hypocrisy of some Australian politicians who are attempting to smear China with lies and push the China-Australia relationship to the brink of an abyss. Indeed, a long list of similar anti-China claims by certain Australian politicians have proved to be nothing more than brazen slander. Ironically, the self-claimed former "spy" Wang Liqiang, who was described by Liberal Member of Parliament Andrew Hastie as a "friend of democracy," was later confirmed in video footage to be a convicted fraudster. Ridiculously, Morrison said in an April 3 interview that COVID-19 "started in China and went round the world," without providing any proof. Growing recent evidence, including a study by experts from the UK's Oxford University, has shown that the pandemic could have started elsewhere before it was first reported in Asia. Besides, medical experts should be the only ones to make such a judgement after deliberate scientific studies, rather than politicians jumping to baseless conclusions. Maliciously, several Australian politicians, including Foreign Minister Marise Payne, protested against the so-called Chinese "economic coercion" or "boycott" after the AFR carried out an interview with the Chinese ambassador to Australia. However, according to Robin Matthews, national president of the Australia China Friendship Society Ltd (ACFS), it turned out that such words actually never appeared in the interview transcript at all. Australian politicians should understand that it will bring no good to their country and people to deliberately whip up nationalist sentiment. Demonizing China has already caused damage in the country. An anti-China racism survey published by The Sydney Morning Herald last month suggested that Asian Australians have reported almost 400 racist attacks since the beginning of April. Last week, a Chinese delivery rider in South Australia was filmed being punched in the face. In another video circulating on social media, an Australian woman was spewing vitriol at a Chinese couple in a supermarket. Photo taken on Sept. 8, 2019 shows the Chinese and Australian national flags on a celebration event in Sydney, Australia. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei) These are sad scenes for the many Chinese who have visited Australia in recent years, leaving with a friendly impression of the country and its people. China is Australia's biggest trading partner and the two countries have a long history of good relations. It is in the interest of people from both sides to continue on good terms. The ACFS, which was established nearly 70 years ago, has called for an urgent change in the attitude and behavior of Australian politicians before further, devastating, damage is done. "Most of the statements and behaviour of Australian politicians are contrary to Australia's national interest, in that they appear to go out of their way to insult a country with whom we have built a strong friendship over a number of decades," said Matthews in a letter to the Australian government. It is also the voice of the majority in both countries. Australian politicians should immediately stop lying and end their hypocrisy, respond to the call of integrity, and do something constructive to benefit their people and the China-Australia relationship. Pass Reply Thread Link Oh weird. The Weakest Link. That takes me back. We used to mock that line so hard. Lol. No1curr though. I don't like Jane Lynch that much. She was good in Mrs Maisel though. Reply Thread Link Always so frustrating how people would never bank (in time). Reply Thread Link same. I would yell at my screen for them to bank Reply Parent Thread Link I understand not wanting to go for every ten bucks, but come on! Reply Parent Thread Link I liked the old host because she was a mean lady who made people sad Reply Thread Link Truly an inspiration for us all Reply Parent Thread Link Same Reply Parent Thread Link She deserves to be a part of this! I'm gonna pass on Jane Lynch Reply Parent Thread Link i think she turned out to be pretty awful irl Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I loved this show and I think Jane is as good a choice as any but no one will ever be Anne Reply Thread Link Well, hopefully there won't be any questions about billionaires in their wine caves, or things might go sideways. Reply Thread Link I fucking hate Jane Lynch. Theres no clear reason why bc I cant even bother to unearth or waste a google search to try and justify it. Shes just one of those people. Reply Thread Link she stanned pete buttigieg lol. that's enough for me Reply Parent Thread Link I dont like her either. Also not sure why. Aside from Glee, I cant actually name anything Ive seen her in. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I just know Glee and Wreck It Ralph. Reply Parent Thread Link Same, and I think I only watched the first season of Glee!! Reply Parent Thread Link She was Reid's mom on Criminal Minds. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Best In Show?? Reply Parent Thread Link She's a minor character in Tuca & Bertie Reply Parent Thread Link She has gotten on my last nerve during Hollywood game night. I love the show normally but her insistence on including a game where she sings every episode is annoying AF Reply Parent Thread Link I really liked the original TWL! Nobody can say the iconic line better than Anne Robinson lol. Great idea bc yall can go in with heavy hitters but I dunno if this will do bc its pretty mean spirited. I think thats probably the last thing we need right now. Not quite the encouragement to go for. Reply Thread Link I am always here for dumb people getting called out on TV Reply Thread Link i only watched the mexican version and i wish they brought it back tbh. it was nice feeling smarter than the adults on tv not knowing something or not yelling bank in time. idt she will be a good host. it's just gonna be the sue sylvester show Reply Thread Link I don't really like her so idk about this. I wish ABC would bring back The Mole. Reply Thread Link Ommmmg The Mole. Reply Parent Thread Link fuckkk that would be so good as long as it didn't involve any other ABC alum like DWTS or Bachelor people Reply Parent Thread Link yes! and make Anderson Cooper host again lmao Reply Parent Thread Link I can clearly hear a woman say "you are the weakest link, goodbye" in my head but I remember literally nothing else at all about this game. Reply Thread Link Same Reply Parent Thread Link I think people fell through the floor too? Reply Parent Thread Link no, lmao I hope that is one of the "modern twists", tho Reply Parent Thread Expand Link are you thinking of the Doctor Who episode that parodied reality shows by killing them lol? Reply Parent Thread Link You're probably thinking of Who's Still Standing, which was also a gameshow on NBC. (I know this because I was on that show, lost on that show, and fell through a trapdoor accordingly.) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Same Lmao I may have just picked that up from when scary movie 2 spoofed it (or at least had a parrot saying that line) Reply Parent Thread Link Lmao same I had to go google the premise of the game Reply Parent Thread Link i loved this show. the catchphrase would get me everytime lol Reply Thread Link I never saw this show, but I love her on Hollywood Game Night. not sure if she can replace the queen of mean though. Reply Thread Link Although the music industry has pretty much entered a forced hibernation as a result of Covid-19, two Wexford acts have pushed on and have big plans for 2021, after signing a deal with a Kansas City based agency. While travel across the Atlantic is off the cards for now, Wexford's Corner Boy and Maca from New Ross will be hoping to put together a string of dates across North America next year having signed a deal with the Uptown Artist Group. The agency represents clients such as Mundy, Joe Rooney, Byrne and Kelly, Shane Hennessy, RUNA, the Young Dubliners and more. Having maintained their massive audience with a series of online concerts during lockdown, Maca is a trio of sisters - Saoirse (lead vocals, guitar), Naoise (violin, concertina, vocals) and Ciara (bodhran, percussion, whistle, flute, vocals) - who shot to prominence after winning TG4's 'Realta agus Gaolta' show which sought out Ireland's most talented family. They've gone on to play large festivals and shows across the world and have shared a stage with illustrious names like Kila, Sharon Shannon, Johnny Logan, Aslan, Bagatelle and Eddi Reader. Meanwhile, having impressed at the huge Folk Alliance International conference in New Orleans back in January, Wexford folk heroes Corner Boy are hoping to build an even bigger following in the US next year with the help of the Uptown Artist Group. The lads have already showcased their music right across Europe, the US and even as far as Dubai, as well as maintaining a cult following in their native Wexford where they've enjoyed sold-out shows at the likes of the Wexford Spiegeltent Festival. Both acts will now be marketed and promoted in the US by the Uptown Artist Group and will be hoping to put together a string of dates next year. SOFIA -- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has called on the government and the prosecutor-general to step down as thousands of citizens gathered in the capital and near a beach on the Black Sea to protest corruption within the nations elite. Radev made the comments on July 11 after the Prosecutor-General's Office conducted a raid of his staff members two days earlier. The search in the presidential office came after Radev said the National Protection Service (NSO) -- which is responsible for guarding the president, prime minister, and other high officials -- should stop protecting Ahmed Dogan, the honorary chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS). Dogan is one of the most powerful people in Bulgaria. Many people consider his DPS to have control over the nations judiciary, including the prosecutors office. Radevs comments were prompted after it was discovered that NSO members were illegally keeping people away from a public beach that is located near Dogans summer residence. On July 11, several thousand protesters made their way to the beach near Dogans residence, which is located about 400 kilometers from the capital, Sofia. The protesters demanded equal protection for all and access to the beach. Some of the protesters made their way back to the capital in the evening for a third night of rallies against corruption and the ruling government. They chanted resign in front of the government building, the parliament, and Palace of Justice. The protests came amid rising political tension between Radev and the center-right government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov ahead of general elections next year. Radev has often criticized Borisov's government for doing too little to uproot endemic corruption and has blasted prosecutors for cherry-picking their probes and colluding with the government. Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty (John 6:35). God is our Provider, and Jesus is the Bread of Life. John recorded Jesus promise that all who freely accept this bread will no longer hunger. The first of the I am statements of Jesus, which solidify His nature as fully God and fully man is I am the bread of life, which describes the way we find full satisfaction in and through Christ alone. God is the supplier of divine bread, explains the NIV Commentary, and whoever eats of it will live forever. Every word Jesus spoke on earth carried precise weight and meaning. This important note of Scripture defines our need to trust the Living Word to satisfy our physical bodies, heart and soul. The Meaning of "I am the Bread of Life" in John 6:35 John begins his gospel account with, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Manna was the miraculous bread given to the Israelites as they traveled through the desert. Enough was given to them to satisfy their hunger for the day. If they kept any for the next day, it would spoil with worms. Jesus overturned traditional Jewish beliefs by referring to Himself as the bread of life. Jewish leaders also referred to bread, or manna, as spiritual food. In this text, John records Jesus explaining He is the Bread of Life, the very Word of God made flesh. As the people yearned for the heavenly bread and as the rabbis reinterpreted this bread to mean the wisdom or life-sustaining presence of God, the NIV Application Commentary explains, so now Jesus is that precious gift. The day before Jesus said these things, he had fed a crowd of 5,000 people with loaves and fish, explained Jon Bloom for desiring God. Not since the days of manna had a prophet provided miracle bread like that. Jesus was now proclaiming to be Manna Himself, writes Trevin Wax. Not only is God Provider for our physical needs, but His Word made flesh satisfies the needs of our souls. The Greek word used to describe the eating of the bread uses the Greek aorist tense: It is a singular event, a decision to believe and appropriate the gift of eternal life (NIV Application Commentary). The Greek root of the word bread refers specifically to the manna in the desert, but also to food of any kind. Paul wrote about our strength coming from Christ, and Scripture echoes that the purpose of our lives is to honor and bring glory to God in all we do. Why Would Jesus Use the Analogy of Bread for Himself? Jesus spoke in terms, parables, and analogies most could understand. Especially in the light of Passover, He knew the Jewish leaders and Gods people would understand His reference to bread. Their understanding of exactly what He meant, however, was divinely appointed. Through the relation of hunger, a physical need, Jesus explained the recalculation of our every desire -not just for physical food but spiritual - to be satisfied in Him. The Israelites in the desert were required to trust God daily for manna, their literal daily bread. Jesus is imploring believers to put full confidence in Him, trusting He will provide wisdom that leads to true satisfaction. He is the only way to the Father. Jesus earthly life was dedicated to executing the will of His Father. Paul wrote to the Philippians, have the same mindset as Christ, who: being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His advantage (Philippians 2:5-7). Christ took on human skin and was crucified to eliminate the separation between God and His people. The NIV Application Commentary explains, the idea is not about Jesus welcoming people, but about Jesus welcoming people whom the Father has given into his care. Photo credit: Pexels/Mariana Kurnyk Is This Verse Found in Other Gospels or Only John? I am the bread of life (John 6:48). Found only in Johns gospel, this phrase is repeated twice more, part of a bigger text and even larger prophetic fulfillment of the seven I am statements of Jesus. John also recorded Jesus words: I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world (John 6:51). These statements were not easy for listeners of Jesus message to hear. It was not only the Jewish leaders who took offense at some of the things Jesus was claiming, but also His followers. He lost many followers as He spoke on this subject. What Should Christ Followers Take Away from This Verse? Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you (John 6:27). Johns prose reminds Christ followers where our strength and sustenance comes from, both physically and spiritually. In Christ and God-willing, we are able to see and understand notes of Scripture, and life around us, through godly perspective and in tune with divine purpose. The darkness of the world is so severe that God alone must penetrate it in order to free people to see Jesus clearly, writes the NIV Application Commentary. We should take this verse as a reminder to seek Him first, and trust we will be satisfied through obedience to His Word and calling on our lives. Our faith is anchored in grace, requiring no legalistic accolades or accomplishments. But from hearts seeking Christ, grace and love flow. Jesus came into the world to change your desires so that he would be your main desire, explained John Piper. Fully Satisfied When we celebrate the Last Supper through communion, we are reinstating our trust in God, and our need for Him to satisfy our souls. God must move the inner heart of a person before he or she can see the things of God. And this takes place on Gods initiative NIV Application Commentary. Christ came to eliminate the separation we all have from God before we accept Christ as our Savior. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Him. The Living Word, Jesus in this one statement describes our need for Him, and the hope we find in Him to be fully satisfied by our Creator - the One True God. These words recorded by the apostle John lead us forward in obedient hope. He who heals every ailment and provides for every need will be faithful. Jesus, The Bread of Life, fully satisfies our every hunger. Source NIV Application Commentary, Gary M. Burge, 2000. Early in Curtis Sittenfeld's new novel, Rodham, our fictionalised yet real protagonist, Hillary Rodham (yes, that one), outlines her "Rule of Two" for making decisions. "If I was unsure of a course of action but could think of two reasons for it, I'd do it. If I could think of two reasons against it, I wouldn't." When it comes to deciding whether to marry Bill Clinton, she adds up five reasons against. "Yet even so, the margin between staying and leaving was so thin," she remarks, to which Sittenfeld affixes the playful: "Really, it could have gone either way." "What if Hillary had never married Bill", the premise for this novel, is a strange one. Had Sittenfeld employed the Rule of Two, she surely would have scrapped the project entirely. For one, the Hill/Bill thing has been done to death. Then there's the matter of meddling with history, politics and the lives of real people. Sittenfeld has done this before when she wrote about Laura Bush in her 2008 novel American Wife. That had its critics, but it wasn't as overtly political as Rodham, nor did it have a real person's name and face plastered over the cover. As I devoured page after page, I kept asking: "Should I be enjoying this?" The story is told in three parts: 'The Catch', 'The Woman' and 'The Frontrunner'. The first is a tale we know. Hillary's early life, her promise and ambition, the "shame" of her forwardness (a friend's father tells her she's "awfully opinionated for a girl", for which she is grateful, because it prepares her to deal with similar slights later in life). The Hillary we meet, whether close to the real Hillary or not, is likeable if precocious. I felt protective of her. As happened in real life, she meets Bill, falls in love and moves to Arkansas. Then the decision not to marry him. "[T]he problems I have will never go away", Bill warns her - "problems" being a mild word for his sinister sexual conduct. "Us staying together is good for me and bad for you." We meet our next version of Hillary in 1991, when she is working in Northwestern Law School, and follow her ascent to the top as a single woman. This is where story splits from reality and Sittenfeld's skills of hypothesis are called into action. She weaves real-life events with events as they might have happened. It's all very believable. Obama still runs, Bill embarks on a political career and even appears on a 60 Minutes-style chat show to confess to his sexual escapades. As his meek fictional wife shifts shyly by his side, Hillary watches on. "Bill needed an equal who'd act like even if he'd had affairs, so what?" she comments. These uncanny moments make the book. Even Trump makes an appearance, and it's hilariously spot on. That said, I'm never sure how many layers of irony are at play in Sittenfeld's work - how much to let her away with. Are we supposed to lean in unabashedly to the utopian proposal? I hope not. The book is, in a certain sense, a balm for feminists and lefties, but in another sense a slap in the face. Hillary's righteousness is counteracted by her blind spots. She uses the word "prostitute" rather than "sex worker". She judges other women. When a black woman threatens her bid to run for the Senate, she insists "this isn't about race", to which her black colleague retorts: "This isn't about race for you." The tectonic plates of social change shift beneath the book's narrative. There is something fated and sad about the whole endeavour. It's either problematic or genius. Because I like to believe Sittenfeld knows what she's doing, I'll go with the latter. Let's talk about sex. Prepare yourself for "the nudging of Bill's erection" and worse. But cries to nominate this book for the Bad Sex Award might be misplaced. What's more likely - and this is something the very existence of the Bad Sex Award fails to understand - is that bad sex is the point. Awkwardness. The precipice of what you do and don't want to know/see/think about. If you were to sum up Sittenfeld's style, you might use the title of her most recent short story collection. You Think It, I'll Say It. I like a writer who dares. Furthermore, I like a writer who dares without doing so at the expense of the reader. Sittenfeld's books follow a tight but mysterious structure - there is always some gravitational pull keeping the narrative toppling on. Her sentences are punchy, never pretentious. Maybe that's her superpower; her deadly charm. Maybe I liked this book or maybe I simply fell for it, like a bad man, like a Bill. I shouldn't want to take its hand, forgive its digressions. But reader, I do. Chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to get the University Grants Commissions latest guidelines reexamined. The UGC on July 6 had issued a guideline making it mandatory for colleges and universities across the country to complete the final examination by the end of September 2020. I am now receiving hundreds of emails, from the students and the teaching community raising the concern of holding examinations, as per the revised guidelines issued by the UGC, compelling me to take up this matter with your good office, Banerjee wrote in her letter. The UGC had earlier issued a guideline in April saying that its guidelines were advisories in nature. You will kindly appreciate that the students and teaching communities are the assets of our country and the world. We must take proper care of their physical and mental well-being. They should not feel upset, she wrote. The chief minister wrote the letter citing the ongoing crisis and the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country. West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar too has called a meeting with all vice chancellor of state run universities on July 16. He said he would also talk with Banerjee. He tweeted on July 8: Student worries are reflected in inputs to me. After Virtual Conference with VCs on July 15, I will take initiative in engaging @MamataOfficial @itspcofficial for redressal of concerns. If required would also engage #UGC and Union HRD Minister. Am committed to student welfare. Previously the state education ministry had written to the central government urging reconsideration of the decision. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) The Department of Health agrees with the World Health Organization findings that the novel coronavirus can be transmitted through the air in hospitals and other closed settings. Even our experts are saying, it can be airborne in specific settings, Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online media briefing on Saturday. As early as March, the DOH has said the coronavirus may be airborne but only in a confined hospital setting, citing preliminary research that the virus could survive in the air as aerosols or fine particles. Kapag sa hospital kaya nga po naka-complete PPE ang ating mga health workers pagka diyan (That's why our health workers are wearing complete PPE in hospitals) because there are aerosol producing equipment [in these areas], Vergeire said. She added that airborne transmission can also happen in other closed settings, thats why the government is recommending outdoor dining. Kaya nga tayo ay nagkakaroon ng rekomendasyon na sana kung magkakaroon ng pagbubukas ng ibang sektor katulad ng mga restaurants, it should be in open air para po hindi tayo nagkakaroon ng mga ganitong instances, Vergeire said. [Translation: Thats why we had a recommendation that if sectors like restaurants would reopen; it should be in open air so we will not have these instances.] The WHO this week released a new scientific report saying airborne coronavirus transmission can occur during medical procedures that generate aerosols. It also noted that outside of medical facilities, outbreaks have been reported in indoor crowded spaces, suggesting that this may be caused by a combination of aerosol and droplet transmission. It cited transmissions during choir practices, fitness classes, and in restaurants. In the Philippines, the DOH is monitoring transmission in 379 community clusters and 46 health facilities. The total number of COVID-19 cases nationwide has reached 52,914, with 1,360 deaths and 13,230 recoveries. Health authorities are urging the public to wear face masks, practice regular had washing, and practice physical distancing to prevent further spread of the virus. The use of aborted fetuses for the development of vaccines is ethically objectionable. For this reason, alternatives must be made available. This would enable people to keep from violating their consciences by resorting to a vaccine that utilizes aborted fetal tissue. What I find fascinating is that you all work with a retina taken from an aborted fetus. Thus did Rick Nieman, presenter of the television program WNL op Zondag [in the Netherlands], begin his conversation about corona vaccines with Hanneke Schuitemaker, professor of virology and head of vaccine research at Janssen Pharmaceutica, a pharmaceutical company located in Leyden. This statement revealed what normally remains hidden in the test tubes and petri dishes of the laboratory: the fact that a retina from an aborted child provided a unique cell line, PER.C6, each cell of which is a unique factory in which to test a vaccine. Janssen makes use of this cell line, derived from an 18-week-old healthy fetus aborted in 1985. The mother gave permission to use the tissue; whether she knows of the PER.C6 line subsequently developed from it is another question. Of the cells cultured from the retina, one cell continued to divide after treatment with an adenovirus, thus forming a cell line. Janssen used to be the Leyden-based company Crucell, owner of the cell line. Crucell made money multiplying cells and selling them to pharmaceutical companies. Crucell was acquired in 2011 by the US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. Researchers are hard at work worldwide to produce a vaccine to combat COVID-19. Over 160 vaccines are currently in development, of which a few are in the initial test phase. In vaccine development as a whole, there are only a few cases in which cell lines derived from aborted fetal tissue are used. It is important to note that the production of a vaccine does not require repeated resort to aborted tissue, but instead uses a cell line from a single abortion. The cells themselves are not contained in the vaccine; their distant "offspring" are used as a factory to produce the carrier virus. It remains to be seen whether one of the corona vaccines will actually come from Janssen and have been produced using PER.C6 cells. Nevertheless, Janssen wants to be quick about it: even in this test phase, the company is already developing a multi-million-dollar inventory, even before certainty that the corona vaccine will work is attained. "If we fail, we will have to destroy everything." Three Visions In recent years, we citizens have become increasingly aware of how "ethically" our food, our clothing, and even our technology, such as the smartphone, are produced. Finding out is not always easy, but when we become aware of abuses, we become motivated to do something about it. This also applies to aborted fetal tissue. The focal point of the ethical discussion regarding the PER.C6 cell line is whether the ethics of abortion can be disconnected from the ethics of fetal tissue use. In other words, when considering the use of tissue from the dead fetus, can the ethical issue regarding the prior abortion be disregarded? This is being considered worldwide. Let us review three visions on the matter: 1. In the US, the prolife Charlotte Lozier Institute states that the use of these vaccines would be unethical because it exploits innocent human lives that have been cut short. Even if cells have been propagated in a laboratory for years, that connecting line remains. Thus, its use raises problems of conscience for anyone who could receive that vaccine and is aware of its lineage. Even more so because vaccine development is also possible without the help of a fetal cell line. This makes scientists, producers, policymakers and financiers equally responsible, even if they themselves are not affected in their own consciences, because of their responsibility to citizens. 2. John Di Camillo, ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, refers to the Roman Catholic encyclical Dignitas Personae (2008). Speaking about the ethics of the potential vaccines to Live Action News, which provides pro-life news and commentary, he stated: If we are talking about the use of cell lines that were developed through the use of tissue from aborted fetuses, there is an obligation for researchers to avoid the use of such biological material, and to make use of sound materials that arent associated with such immorality. Yet if a vaccine using the fetal cell lines is the only one available, Di Camillo said, One is allowed to make use of it where theres a serious threat to the health or life of the individual, or of the greater population. This does not amount to a strict obligation to use it, but it certainly can be a legitimate choice in conscience if theres that serious reason, and theres no other reasonable alternative. 3. This line of thought is shared by Kyle Christopher McKenna, an associate professor of biology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. McKenna is concerned that the use of fetal tissue to do bring about some good not only leads to insensitivity to the use of this tissue but can also lead to a change of mentality whereby these cells are only seen as a means of culturing cells in the uterus. That this fear is not unfounded appears from recent Mexican research, in which women were made pregnant in order to perform research on their embryos. McKenna calls for continued opposition to the use and normalization of fetal tissue. How are we to deal with this? We of the Nederlandse Patienten Vereniging (NPV: Dutch Patients Association) oppose abortion (unless the life of the mother is in danger), and especially the current, wide practice of abortion. Regardless of whether useful things can be done with aborted fetal tissue, it does not justify the practice. It is a fact that tissue from aborted fetuses is sometimes used for research. The decision to abort was made separately. However, the abortion history cannot be completely separated from the tissue itself; only in the case of a medically necessary abortion is the use ethically undisputed, provided that the parents give their permission. For example, the Medical Center in Amsterdam maintains a fetus biobank in which fetuses are kept for medical research into, for example, birth defects and fetal growth. We must continue to address the use of embryonic and fetal tissue, even as the pressure to culture embryos for research mounts. We stand in opposition to this and encourage alternatives. It has now been shown that adult stem cells are "all-rounders" that can be used in place of embryonic cells. Vaccines are also being developed worldwide without the aid of aborted fetal tissue. Hence, it is certainly possible. Tension Returning to the issue of the use of aborted fetal tissue in the development of a corona vaccine: Here, a trade-off must be made between the "moral evil" of an abortion and the health concerns served by a vaccine. Will a cell line derived from such tissue remain taboo for years to come? This is difficult to maintain. Much knowledge in modern medicine has come from experiments and experimental medicine that we would now ethically reject. And not only is medicine subject to this: the economy is also full of iniquities from which we cannot (entirely) escape. There remains a tension between our inevitable connection to things in society that run against God's commandments and the call to keep uncontaminated from the world. For this reason, we do not reject the use of such a vaccine out of hand, if it can serve the vital interest of many. If we did, we would show ourselves insufficiently aware that we are part of a world in which evil exists, over which we personally cannot have any direct influence, but from which we cannot entirely separate ourselves. But we also continue to name, and oppose, the threat to human dignity from the earliest moment of life. The use of aborted fetuses for vaccine development is ethically objectionable. Because of this, alternatives must be used to this end. While the personal use of such a vaccine may be ethically acceptable in itself, alternatives would also enable people to keep from violating their consciences by resorting to a vaccine that utilizes aborted fetal tissue. Editors note:This article is translated from an original that appeared in the Dutch daily Reformatorisch Dagblad Diederik van Dijk, a Senator in the Dutch Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal [Upper House of the Legislature], and Elise van Hoek-Burgerhart are director and manager of policy input, respectively, at NPV | Zorg voor het leven (Care for Life). The Netherlands said on Friday it would take Russia to the European Court of Human Rights for its role in bringing down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, killing nearly 300 people. The Dutch government's move is designed to support cases brought by the relatives of dozens of victims to the Strasbourg-based court, Foreign Minister Stef Blok said. The Boeing 777 travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was blown out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile fired from rebel-held eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. "Achieving justice for the 298 victims of the downing of flight MH17 is and will remain the government's highest priority," Blok said in a statement. "By taking this step today, bringing a case before the ECHR and thus supporting the applications by the next of kin as much as we can, we are moving closer to this goal." Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at his weekly press conference that Blok had informed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of the move. There was no immediate reaction from Moscow. The lawsuit is a rare example of one state taking another to the European Court of Human Rights, with just 24 such cases since 1953. Ten of those so-called "inter-state" cases involve Russia. Most cases are brought by individuals or groups, such as the one lodged by the relatives of at least 65 Dutch MH17 victims in 2018. Their complaint demanded that Russia take responsibility for the incident. Both the Netherlands and Australia have previously said they hold Russia responsible for shooting down the plane. - 'Relevant information' - The Netherlands would share all "available and relevant information about the downing of flight MH17" with the court, Blok said, adding the complaint would represent "all 298 victims, of 17 different nationalities". The Dutch will also inform the UN Security Council about the move, he said. Friday's announcement adds to legal pressure on Moscow after the Dutch criminal trial in absentia of four suspects opened just outside Schiphol airport from where the ill-fated flight took off. Rutte however denied the timing of the move was designed to pressurise Russia, saying "we simply decided it now was the best moment to get involved and to give the next-of-kin the maximum support." "This is not aimed at Russia and stands entirely separate from the criminal case," Rutte said at his weekly post-cabinet news conference. Prosecutors have charged four people -- Russians Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko -- with murder. They said the men were responsible for bringing a BUK surface-to-air missile into an area in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Moscow rebels, from where it was fired at the passenger jet. Russia has denied involvement and has before proposed alternative theories including that MH17 may have been downed by a Ukrainian fighter plane or a Ukrainian BUK missile. Moscow meanwhile responded to the relatives' claims before the ECHR earlier this year in which it again denied responsibility for the disaster, saying there was no proof of its involvement. A package of controversial constitutional reforms approved by Russian voters earlier this month, which allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend his rule until 2036, also included an amendment that could affect its ties to the European rights court. The amendment says that Russia's constitution takes precedence over any international rulings. If there is a contradiction, they will not be applied. Russia could use this to justify ending its obligation to carry out rulings by international courts such as the ECHR, which is currently the last resort for many Russians. New Delhi: One of the most loved sitcoms on Indian television, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah shoot has been resumed, confirmed its makers. The fans of this show can now heave a sigh of relief as the show will soon have all-new episodes for viewers. Producer and creator of the show, Asit Kumarr Modi said, "As on the 10th of July, 2020 Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has officially resumed its shooting for the show. And very soon we will be amidst you on your TV screens. Please do pray for us, the entire teams well-being as you have for the past so many years and we too pray for your health and happiness. We have mustered a lot of courage and returned to the sets, keeping in mind that we have to follow the social distancing norms, wear protective gear and adhere to all the guidelines as advised by the Government. All we need now is your blessings and very soon we will be back to entertaining you, making you laugh and, bringing happiness and positivity in your lives." Film and TV shoots were halted due to the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak. Now, aid lockdown, restrictions have been eased out a bit but advisory issued on how to maintain social distancing while working and ensure proper sanitisation and hygiene is in place to fight the pandemic. All the characters playing their respective parts in the sitcom have gained immense popularity owing to its high TRP and audience love. Daya and Jethalal Gada's funny banter and a familial bond between various characters living in Gokuldham society are totally unmissable. A man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder after an of 18-year-old was stabbed to death in south London. Donnell Rhule, 18, was found injured in Seeley Drive, Dulwich, on Wednesday. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination gave Mr Rhules cause of death as a wound to the chest, consistent with a knife. A 26-year-old was taken into custody on Friday, the Metropolitan Police said. Detective chief inspector Rob Pack, senior investigating officer, said: I would like to speak with anyone who witnessed the stabbing or who saw anyone leaving the scene. This is a generally quiet area, so I am certain that a number of people will have seen or heard something significant. Although one person has been arrested, we are still very much in the early stages of the investigation. We know a number of suspects and vehicles were involved in this murder and Im appealing for help in identifying and tracing them. If you have any information that can help the investigation, no matter how small you may think it is, please get in touch. It may be that vital piece of evidence that completes the overall picture. You can be assured that you will be dealt with professionally and any concerns you may have will be addressed. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime confidant Roger Stone, a Republican operative convicted of lying to Congress to protect the president's campaign from an investigation into Russian election interference. The White House announced Trump's decision late Friday, days before Stone was set to report to prison for a 40-month sentence handed down in February, a stunning outcome for a well-known consultant who advised political campaigns for decades. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany described Stone as "a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump presidency." But congressional Democrats slammed the move, the latest in series of instances in which the president has wielded his broad clemency powers in highly political criminal cases. The grant, which wiped out Stone's sentence but left his conviction in place, brought the years-long battle over Russia's involvement in the 2016 election back to the forefront in the middle of Trump's bid for reelection. Stone was the last person charged in the nearly two-year probe by special counsel Robert Mueller. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a leading figure in the congressional Russia investigation, said Stone repeatedly lied to the House Intelligence Committee that Schiff chairs. "Stone knew that telling the truth about his interactions with senior campaign officials and Trump himself would expose the presidents eagerness to obtain foreign help," Schiff said. "So he lied." Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that while "the United States was founded on the rule of law" it seemed that Trump "has nothing but contempt for it." The Justice Department declined to comment on Trump's decision Friday. Grant Smith, an attorney for Stone, said his client was "incredibly honored" that Trump used "his awesome and unique power under the Constitution of the United States for this act of mercy." Story continues The Justice Department told a federal appeals court this week that Stone should begin his sentence July 14, despite his plea to delay it over concerns about the coronavirus. Hours later, the president presaged his decision during an interview with the conservative news organization Newsmax. "He was framed. He was treated horribly," Trump said of Stone. "His prayer may be answered." Trump's decision follows a public dispute with Attorney General William Barr in February over the president's public remarks about criminal cases. Trump railed against the Justice Department for recommending Stone serve up to nine years, describing the initial recommendation as a "miscarriage of justice." Justice officials backed away from that tougher sentence. That reaction prompted an outcry from critics of the Trump administration who say the president is making inappropriate forays into criminal cases. Robert Litt, a lawyer for Aaron Zelinsky one of the attorneys who prosecuted Stone but later quit the case in protest after the Justice Department backtracked from the tougher sentence did not comment on the clemency. But Litt said Zelinsky "stands by his testimony" before the House Judiciary Committee and the findings of the Mueller investigation. Zelinsky testified last month that the Justice Department gave Stone "unprecedentedly favorable treatment" because he's a friend of the president. Trump has granted clemency in a series of political cases. In February, he commuted the prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, and granted pardons to former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik, rogue financier Michael Milken and former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. Trump for years has offered vague answers to questions about whether he would use his sweeping clemency powers to help allies and former employees ensnared by the Russian investigations, which he has collectively dismissed as a "hoax." In handing down Stone's sentence this year, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the GOP consultant "took it upon himself to lie, to impede, to obstruct before the investigation was complete, in an endeavor to influence the result." Stone was found guilty in November of lying to Congress and obstructing the Russia investigation. The 67-year-old GOP operative was one of several Trump associates to be convicted in cases stemming from Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. "Not only was Mr. Stone charged by overzealous prosecutors pursing a case that never should have existed, and arrested in an operation that never should have been approved, but there were also serious questions about the jury in the case," the White House said in a statement. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he believes the commutation was justified. "Mr. Stone is in his 70s and this was a non-violent, first-time offense," Graham tweeted. More: Who was pardoned, who got shorter sentences in Trump's clemency spree? The president had previously granted 25 pardons full legal forgiveness for a crime and 10 commutations, which shortens a sentence. Though that clemency has often been aimed at conservative figures such as Joe Arpaio, a former sheriff in Arizona, and commentator Dinesh D'Souza, the decision on Stone represents the first time Trump has circumvented the justice system in a case directly tied to himself. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler and Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, both New York Democrats, asserted in a joint statement that the commutation undermines the rule of law. "By this action, President Trump abused the powers of his office in an apparent effort to reward Roger Stone for his refusal to cooperate with investigators examining the presidents own conduct," the said. "No other president has exercised the clemency power for such a patently personal and self-serving purpose." What has happened to Roger Stone should never happen to anyone in our Country again. @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2020 Stone was convicted of lying to investigators about efforts by Trump campaign aides to learn about WikiLeaks' plans to release emails that Russian operatives stole from Hillary Clinton's campaign. Mueller's investigation found Russia undertook a "sweeping" campaign to help Trump, but found no evidence he coordinated with the effort. Mueller: Trumps aides were eager to take Russian dirt. But it wasnt a conspiracy Because the president dismisses the investigations as politically motivated he has also written off the indictments and convictions of former aides and associates. His decision to grant clemency to Stone comes at a time when polls show he is trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in key battleground states. Biden campaign spokesman Bill Russo said that Trump had "once again abused his power, releasing this commutation on a Friday night, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world." Trump has expressed sympathy for several former aides convicted of crimes, but he had previously refused to reveal his plans about clemency. Roger Stone Trump's other pardons including Arpaio, D'Souza and Scooter Libby, former Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff have often involved highly politicized cases. Trump granted pardons last year to two members of the military, Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance and Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, who were accused of war crimes but who become causes celebres in conservative media outlets. More: Trump pardons servicemembers in high profile war crimes cases In wielding his clemency power, Trump has circumvented the formal process for review. That process includes an FBI background check and recommendations from career prosecutors. Because the president's power to pardon comes directly from the Constitution, he's not required to go through that process. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump grants clemency to Roger Stone for lying in Russia investigation An inquest determining the cause of death of Irish schoolgirl Nora Quoirin will begin at the end of August following a hearing in Malaysia yesterday. Nora (15) was reported missing on August 4 last year after her family arrived at the Dusun resort in Seremban, about 70km south of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur. The teenager was found dead after she went missing in the Malaysian jungle for 10 days while on a family holiday. While police ruled out foul play in her death, an autopsy showed that she had died from internal bleeding, which may have been caused by prolonged hunger and stress. However, lawyer Sankara N Nair, acting for Nora's parents Meabh and Sebastien Quoirin confirmed to the Irish Independent that the Coroner's Court in Malaysia will hold a two-week inquest beginning August 24. It is expected to last until September 4. The court will hear testimonies from 64 of the 102 witnesses who were short-listed for the inquest. However, her family believes there was a criminal element to her disappearance as she was a special needs child and they claimed she would never leave them on her own. The Press Association reported that the family welcomed the development. "We have fought very hard to keep Nora's case alive, after it was initially closed by the police in early 2020, and it has been our wish all along to have an inquest," Nora's parents said in a statement. "This will be crucial in determining the fullest possible picture of what happened to Nora and how her case was dealt with." Malaysian news outlet The Star reported that Mr Nair requested that the proceedings be held in English as Nora's family was unable to travel from the UK to attend. The family said they will appear via video-link to give evidence after the coroner's court in the city of Seremban set the inquest to begin on August 24 He also told the court that he planned to call a forensic expert who had performed the second autopsy on Nora's remains in the UK to assist in the inquest, which will be conducted via Zoom due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the Quoirins told RTE News last night that they are pleased that the inquest is going ahead after they spent almost a year demanding one after Malaysian authorities claimed an inquest was unnecessary since Nora died of natural causes. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhis sustained attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government on their handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and Chinese transgressions in Ladakh came in for praise from the partys Lok Sabha members at a virtual meeting on Saturday, people familiar with the developments said. The leadership issue also resonated at the meeting, chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, with many members demanding that Rahul Gandhi should once again assume the reins of the party, a Member of Parliament (MP) said on condition of anonymity. It was decided that members would take the issues raised by Rahul Gandhi to the people in their respective constituencies over the Centres mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the India-China border standoff, the MP said. Of the 52 Congress MPs in the Lok Sabha, 41 spoke at the meeting in which the issues that came up for discussion included the pandemic, the impact of Covid-19 lockdown and Chinese transgressions. Rahul Gandhi once again highlighted the alleged failures of the government in tackling Covid-19 and its handling of the lockdown. A Lok Sabha MP from Kerala said Rahul Gandhi also said the impact of lockdown on the economy will be huge but the government does not have a plan to bring the economy back on track. On China, he alleged the PM had been lying to the people, this person said. Rahul Gandhi also targeted the PM CARES Fund and asked for the government to be transparent about its funding, people at the meeting said. Sonia Gandhi said the government is not convening Parliament and shying away from important questions on critical matters. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said the statements praising the Gandhis are scripted. The party is divided into two camps, those who support the party and those who support the family. So these scripted statements are being made, he said. On questions being raised by the Congress on the standoff with China and the PM CARES fund, Hussain said the Opposition has no issues to raise, and, therefore, is creating controversies. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON There is not one event, or multiple events, that we can identify as being the repository of this, said Johnson, who is a senior. It just spread from people living in a house, or visiting others in a house to hang out, or even just running into someone at a grocery store. . . . It was truly community spread. If, after months of lockdown, youre in the mood for a culinary treat, a trip to A Coruna in northern Spain ought to be on your menu. Straddling an isthmus at the north-west corner of Spain, Galicias second city makes for a fantastic weekend break. It has a growing reputation as a foodie hub thanks to Los Vinos, its bustling wine district, vibrant food markets, award-winning tapas, a craft brewery and a Michelin-starred restaurant. However, A Coruna isnt just about gastronomy but the great outdoors as well: its unique hammer-head shape means there are beaches just a few minutes walk in any direction from the medieval Old Town as well as a beautiful, historic marina and ten miles of scenic promenade sweeping along the Atlantic coast. Ocean city: A Coruna on its dramatic promontory A Corunas airport is five miles from the city centre, and once youve checked in to your accommodation you should make your first port of call the marina. The bay itself is charming, but the historic buildings that line the main avenue are a stunning showcase of the Galician style, ancient and modern tall, former fishermens cottages now clad in spectacular glass facades. One belongs to billionaire Amancio Ortega, founder of the Zara fashion chain. Take a walk first thing and youll find yourself dodging cyclists and runners, while after lunch locals take their post-prandial amble. Either way, continue along the waters edge to San Anton Castle. Built on a tiny island and connected to the mainland by a short bridge, this 16th Century former fortress is now the citys history and archaeology museum. For those who want to work up an appetite, take a bike or scooter ride, or stroll along the coastal path following the northern shore of A Coruna towards the Tower of Hercules. This 2,000-year-old monument is the oldest active lighthouse in the world. Another climb, to the top of the 180ft-high tower, will reward you with fabulous views and will most likely be done to the sound of bagpipes, a key instrument in Galician traditional music and a favourite with buskers, at least one of whom will be at the bottom of the tower to spur on climbers. To take in views in more comfort, accompanied by first-class food and wine, then A Corunas Michelin-starred restaurant, Arbore de Veira, has superb vistas from its clifftop location. Centre stage: Boats tied up outside the Rosalia de Castro theatre A Corunas gourmet reputation owes a lot to its fresh seafood, and the citys fish market is pescatarian heaven. With stalls selling fresh octopus and barnacles both local delicacies lobsters, mussels, fish of all varieties and a whole load of crawling edible delights, the market is a riot of noise and colour. The city hosts food events throughout the year such as the Bocata Gourmet festival, where chefs compete to make the best sandwiches and extensive sampling of their efforts is most definitely encouraged. Craft-beer fans should head to La Cerveceria in the town centre. Estrella Galicia beer (not to be confused with the more famous Estrella Damn from Barcelona) is a regional icon and was once brewed here. Head up to the restaurant to taste the beers on offer with some excellent traditional Galician food. Explore the cobbled streets of A Corunas Old Town for an intimate, even romantic experience. Its easy to lose yourself in this historic district, which dates from the 13th Century. History buffs might want to choose as a guide British military hero Sir John Moore (aka enthusiastic actor Suso Martinez). He brings the regions history to life with tales about the Napoleonic Wars and local heroine Maria Pita, after whom the impressively large main square is named. Here you can have a restorative pause in romantic-looking cafes that line the square before seeking out the shopping district a few blocks away. The first Zara store opened here in 1974. The Old Town really comes to life at night when local tapas will tempt you into bars around Barrera, Troncoso and Franja streets, known as Los Vinos Souvenirs unique to A Coruna can be found in the brightly coloured, hand-painted ceramics of Sargadelos. Fans can also visit the factory just outside town. Art enthusiasts will find a gem of a museum in Picassos townhouse childhood home, Casa Picasso. The young artist spent five years in A Coruna, moving here with his family aged ten, but art historians say this is where he became an artist, completing more than 200 works and holding his first exhibition at the age of 14. Sadly, there are no paintings at Casa Picasso, but there are drawings and memorabilia from his years in the city. The Old Town really comes to life at night when local tapas will tempt you into bars around Barrera, Troncoso and Franja streets, known as Los Vinos. Each venue has its own speciality, from salt cod to cockles, arancini to smoked sardines, fried octopus to apple caviar. Local wines such as Ribeiro, or a glass of Estrella Galicia, make the perfect accompaniment. Current restrictions permitting, you may come across groups of friends enjoying an impromptu music and dancing session in one of the bars. Even if you dont join in, it will finish off your night in true Spanish style. Gardai are urging all dog owners to ensure they keep their pets under control following a big sheep kill in the Adamstown area - which saw the dog killed on Tuesday following a month-long vigil by local farmers. Eamonn Furlong of Tomgarrow endured six weeks of hell after a German Shepherd started killing sheep on his farm. 'It began in the middle of May. A dog attacked a sheep in my field. He ran the sheep into an adjoining corn field.' Eamonn minded his sheep over the coming weeks but a second attack occurred. 'He attacked them again a fortnight later so, after that, we decided to keep a watch on him.' The dog killed two hoggets and attacked sheep in Tom Doyle's neighbouring farm, killing three. Eamonn and Tom sought support from local farmers to keep a vigil on the sheep. The dog warden and gardai were contacted as the sheep kills were continuing. 'We were in the field every morning and every evening. Eventually, he came back.' The dog was surrounded on Tuesday and shot dead having killed eight of Eamonn's sheep and lambs, while two are still missing. Eamonn said: 'It caused me a lot of upset and stress. The sheep were all affected.' With 250 ewes on his farm, Eamonn said he was very worried for their welfare throughout. He thanked Tom and all his neighbours for their help in bringing the situation to an end. As the dog was not microchipped, gardai and the dog warden Johnny Colfer have not been able to ascertain its owner to date. Tom said 30 sheep were killed on the family farm in the 1980s, adding that the recent attack brought back memories of that traumatic time. Eamonn urged pet owners to be more responsible: 'He caused mayhem on the poor animals over a six-week period - and on us. For God sake just make sure they know where their dog is at all times and don't be letting them loose. Keep the dogs under control.' Gardai are appealing to all dog owners to ensure their dogs are kept under control as nationally gardai have received nearly 50 reports of livestock being attacked since March 2020. Inspector James White said: 'If your dog goes and attacks animals on someone's land, you could be held liable for the damages and face prosecution. The farmer is also within their right to shoot any animal that is worrying their livestock. Whilst you might think your dog is friendly and placid at home, they can cause horrific injuries to other animal. We would ask that everyone ensures their dog is kept under control as nobody wants to see animals being harmed.' There were words in the flyers (about the event) like liberty and diversity and community as well as compassion,' respect,' and empathy, he said. These are all things we strive for, and in my 25 years as a member of this community, Ive witnessed its growth in diversity and inclusion where people live and work. By the time author Brett Davis gets the hero of his latest book beside Wernher von Braun at that famous 1969 Moon landing celebration in Huntsville, Ala., we wonder if Johnny Nicholas will really try to kill the rocket man. The Moon Above is fiction, but it is historical fiction and, if anyone had a reason to hate von Braun at the time of his greatest triumph, its a Black World War II veteran, former Tuskegee Airman and former German P.O.W.. Nicholas has vowed revenge, for one thing, and his experience in the caves where slave labor built V-2 rockets for Hitler is plenty of fuel. Johnny Nicholas is a veteran of too much. Author Davis, a former Alabama journalist, has written sci-fi and fantasy novels for years from his home in Washington, D.C. But hes had Nicholass story in mind since the 1980s when he reported on the trial of German rocket scientist Arthur Rudolph for The Huntsville Times. Rudolph led V-2 development for Germany during the war, then came to America with von Brauns Paperclip team and led Saturn V development for America in Huntsville. The trial was about whether Rudolph could re-enter America after a trip to Canada, and Rudolph lost. He had to leave the United States and return to Germany. As he reported on the trial, Davis came across a reference to the real Johnny Nicholas. Legend had it that Nicholas was in the Dora camp where the V-2s were made. And he was rumored to be a Tuskegee Airman, one of the elite Black pilots who broke the color barrier in the sky. What if he really was a Tuskegee Airman? Davis says he wondered. How did he get there? What happened to him afterward? The Moon Above is the result. Its a coming-of-age story about a talented Black boy whose family flees Jim Crow Alabama for Chicago and some social justice, then returns South to a new world of change and danger. The reader is immersed in Chicagos vibrant Black newspaper world, where Nicholas father worked; in Tuskegee, where only the best could represent Black people in flight; and in the post-war conflict among Blacks themselves over how to win true freedom in America. Would they stay with the emerging Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his non-violent revolution or turn to Malcom X and his young followers ready to fight? At every step of the story, smart and passionate black women are making their own choices and teaching their own lessons. Reading the book, it is tempting to think this much history couldnt have happened to one man. But Black men did everything depicted here and more. And when they came home from the war, some led a movement for civil rights and some joined Germans for the American Moon shot. The reality of those years needs little embellishment. It just needs a good reporter and storyteller, and Davis is both. The author, who is white, said that he learned his book would be published at the same time the white author of American Dirt was drawing protests for writing about Hispanic life on the U.S.-Mexico border. Davis said it certainly occurred to me that he might be criticized for writing a Black mans journey. The differences are I didnt get paid a load of money that could have gone to other people, he said. I did a lot of research, both on the war time and the civil rights stuff and the history of what was going on. He read The Defender, the black Chicago newspaper that employed the fictional Nicholas father, and he traveled to walk where his character would have walked and learned to fly. The rest was just how would I react if that was my background and then all these things happened to me, Davis said. If you only write about what you know, then we have no fiction. Its only biography or autobiography. I would welcome people to tell me what they think, Davis said. Whether good or bad. I learned some things in the writing of it, so hopefully people will learn some things about history when they read it and the human condition. We know von Braun survived that night on Huntsvilles Courthouse Square, and the story of the Black Americans in The Moon Above is as compelling as the rocket mans. The Moon Above is available in print from Amazon and will be out digitally in September. The author has family still living in Alabama and visits regularly. His next book will also be set in the state. Southern writers are always interested in writing about the South, Davis said. Its just taken me a little while to get around to it. (Davis and the author of this review worked together at The Huntsville Times) 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... - Kim Chiu is among the celebrities who have been expressing her frustrations over the denial of the franchise for ABS-CBN - However, one of her online posts about the franchise denial for ABS-CBN has recently trended among netizens on social media - This prompted the actress to delete her post immediately afterwards - The actress has yet to address or speak up about the issue on her social media account PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Kim Chiu has trended among the online community once again after expressing her support for her home network, ABS-CBN on her social media account. It can be recalled that on Friday, July 10, the House Committee on Legislative Franchise has denied the media giant a new franchise in a 70-11 vote from its members. Following this news, KAMI learned that Kapamilya celebrities started using the hashtag '#NOtoABSCBNFranchiseDENIAL' on social media. PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback However, the Love Thy Woman actress trended online after she posted and used a different hashtag on her social media account. In her since-deleted online post, the actress wrote, "#NOToABSCBNFranchiseRenewal." This prompted some netizens to reply to Kim's post to inform her that the hashtag she used was wrong. Source: Twitter @prinsesachinita via Fashion Pulis Source: Twitter While Kim has remained mum about the issue, she has continuously been posting and retweeting various posts about expressing her support for the Kapamilya network. PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Kim Chiu is one of the most well-known actresses in the Philippines. She broke through in showbiz by joining Pinoy Big Brother. The Kapamilya star is in a relationship with actor Xian Lim. Just recently, the actress became emotional upon talking about her struggles in life before she became successful in the showbiz industry. She also posted about a congressman who was caught on video writing notes while the national anthem, 'Lupang Hinirang' was playing. POPULAR: Read more news about Kim Chiu 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 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 11, 2020 / Investing in health is very much similar in protecting human rights. Health, as a fundamental human right, has been the focus of the World Health Organization (WHO) that seeks to go deeper in their top priority: universal health coverage. The right to health for all people means that everyone should have access to the health services they need. An individual seeking care should receive the medical treatment without being burdened by medical expenses. In the advent of the digital era we are currently living in, telemedicine has hit the scene and gained the spotlight in offering medical care. Telemedicine allows healthcare professionals to evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients at a distance using telecommunications technology. The approach has been through a remarkable evolution in the last decade - becoming an increasingly important part of American healthcare infrastructure. LiveMedConnect is an online platform for healthcare that is made simple and affordable. Every individual should have access to the healthcare they need - that is their philosophy. LiveMedConnect has developed innovative technology to make healthcare work for everyone. Their efforts have made it easier than ever to provide telemedicine solutions to patients. By making consultation services more straightforward and more affordable, all patients, regardless of geography, can get the care that they need when they need it most. It took LiveMedConnect three years to develop an online platform for the best interests of those who are seeking medical care. They are backed by big data companies and super affiliate marketers who founded MoneyMutual and talent from Apple and Disney. LiveMedConnect highlights the accessibility of their platform to medical doctors when an individual requires medical care. They have assured that the security an individual receives is affordable without the unnecessary and expensive appointments in the clinics. They also provide the convenience that clients deserve. The care provided is accessible at the exact moment a patient needs them that is accessible anytime, anywhere. Story continues With the current COVID-19 pandemic we are facing, LiveMedConnect highlights the importance of staying home to stay safe. This concept of virtual consult allows one to stay at home and avoid crowded areas that are full of contagious people who are unwell. Their services act as convenient access to healthcare at a fraction of health insurance company costs - an affordable alternative to insurance. Wherever a person is, LiveMedConnect is with them. With on-demand coverage across all 50 states, in instances such as visiting a tourist spot by the neighboring town, a doctor can be available in minutes to assist when a patient needs one. While LiveMedConnect doctors can only provide informational services when their members are traveling internationally, such information can provide peace of mind when navigating unexpected medical events when out of the country. Their online platform in telemedicine allows a person to get a consultation without the wait. With just a click away, a team of experts will be there to answer the query, saving lots of time and money. Though prevention has always been better than cure, no one knows when a person will get sick. LiveMedConnect is composed of U.S. board-certified doctors who can treat most common low acute medical conditions. Their level of expertise guarantees that all patients seeking medical care will receive the right treatment. To know more about the LiveMedConnect, check out their website. They can also be reached by sending an email to ron@revisionvc.com. SOURCE: Authority Titans View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/597134/Telemedicine-as-the-New-Norm-With-LiveMedConnect Michigan saw yet another large jump in cases of COVID-19 on Friday, wrapping up one of the worst weeks in since early May. The state added 612 cases, pushing the total number of confirmed cases to 68,295, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday afternoon. An additional 15 deaths were added to the list, with 6,039 confirmed deaths listed, as well, though these came from a review of vital records. With 7,380 probable cases, Michigan now has 75,063 cases and 6,271 deaths. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday also asked the president to request that the Michigan National Guard help with the testing and distribution of medical equipment and materials through the end of 2020. Members of the National Guard have been vital to our fight against COVID-19, and our fight isnt over yet, Whitmer tweeted mid-afternoon. Throughout the week, and continuing on Friday, Whitmer again reinforced the need for all in Michigan to obey the emergency order to wear face masks in public places. She signed an executive order Friday to require mask use in all indoor public spaces. The order requires any business that is open to the public to refuse entry or service to people who refuse to wear a face covering, with limited exceptions, Whitmer tweeted about the order. Gretchen Whitmer toughens mask mandate; businesses must deny service Though the order is new, the governors call to mask up has been constant, especially this week as cases have moved up. On Wednesday, the state added 610 cases, the most since added 659 May 20. By wearing masks, we can save lives and protect our family, friends, and neighbors from the spread of COVID-19, the governor tweeted Friday. And by wearing masks now, we can put our state in a stronger position so our kids can return to school safely in the fall. Lets #maskupmichigan. The heroes on the front lines of this crisis have gone hours without taking their masks off every day doctors, nurses, child care workers, grocery store workers. We owe it to them to wear our masks when were on a trip to the grocery store or pharmacy. The seven-day average on Friday was 451 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The past seven days have seen 3,160 cases, while the prior seven days had 2,440. For the seven days between June 4 and June 10, Michigan added just 1,376 cases. Michigans increase remains nothing like the explosion of new cases in states such as Florida, Texas, and Arizona. The U.S. had 3.16 million cases by mid-afternoon Friday with nearly 134,000 deaths, Johns Hopkins University reports. Michigan still ranks 12th. Worldwide, there were 12.37 million cases confirmed with nearly 557,000 deaths, Johns Hopkins reported. How top counties are doing Oakland County led Friday with the most new cases, adding 82 confirmed cases to reach 9,405. The county also has had 1,060 deaths, adding five. The county also has 3,163 probable cases with another 42 deaths listed as such. Macomb County saw another 47 cases of confirmed COVID-19 to reach 7,490. Wayne County, excluding Detroit, added 71 cases to reach 10,877. Detroit, still the hardest-hit community, added just 38 cases, moving to 11,878 with 1,452 deaths, up three. Also in southeastern Michigan, Washtenaw County aded 39 cases to reach 1,648. In mid-Michigan, Isabella County added another six cases, moving to 128 cases and eight deaths. While the deaths did not increase, this was the second day of adding six cases, On June 30, Isabella County had 101 cases, and on July 8, it was at 116. On Thursday, county officials there identified a sandbar party on Littlefield Lake over the Fourth of July holiday, after which eight people had tested positive for COVID-19. This is a sobering reminder that this pandemic is far from being over and could overwhelm us again at any time, said Dr. Jennifer Morse, Medical Director for the Central Michigan District Health Department. In the Lansing area, Ingham County added 16 cases, moving to 1,112. And in western Michigan, Kent County added 69 cases, following Thursdays addition of 106 cases, surging to 5,189 cases on Friday. Ottawa County added 34 to reach 1,156, while Kalamazoo County added 22 to get to 1,117 cases. US economy may be stalling out as viral outbreak worsens Virtual academies launching in school districts across Oakland County Eight cases of COVID reported from weekend lake party in Isabella County Gov: Health workers must get bias training; issues mask plea Oxford steps out of the box with traditional commencement Coronavirus cases in Michigan jump by nearly 450 The head of Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA on Friday rejected allegations made on social media that he had misappropriated the agency's funds, calling the claims an attempt at undermining the fight against doping in the country, CNA reports. Yuri Ganus said that allegations made on Thursday on a Telegram channel that he could face prosecution for alleged corruption were a "pack of lies." "This is a complete lie that is not based on fact," Ganus told a news conference. "The goal of those who ordered this article... was exclusively to discredit RUSADA. They do not like the independence of our agency, they do not like our active position." Ganus did not name who he thought might be behind the allegations, which Reuters could not independently verify. Dearborn Heights resident Bill Barber, a Henry Ford College economics professor and author, recently launched his blog on the heels of his first book, Capitalism, Socialism, and the Promise of Democracy, which was released earlier this year. Barbers blog deals with current events around economics and democracy. Recent blog entries discuss hot button topics such as policing, Confederate monuments, and the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Barber, the purpose of his blog includes: Educating about basic economic concepts, principles, and ideas Restoring and strengthening democracy Promoting equality of economic opportunity Decreasing economic inequality Informing about and analyzing current events Promoting discourse on how to move forward My blog will help get the ideas presented in my book out to the public. This is a critical time in the country, and changes are on the horizon. I try to offer a perspective that might be helpful in that process, explained Barber. Who is Bill Barber? An alumnus of Plainwell High School (near Kalamazoo), Barber earned his bachelors degree in business administration from University of Michigan, his masters degree in economics from Western Michigan University, and his doctorate in economics from Wayne State University. Barber has been at HFC since 1981 in teaching and administrative roles. He was the Associate Dean of Business from 2000-05 and Vice President of Career & Technical Education from 2005-10. He returned to faculty in 2011 after accomplishing his goals as a vice president. He also missed being in the classroom where hes been ever since. Hes married to physician Dr. Tricia Barber, his wife of 45 years. Together, they have four children and four grandchildren. Three of his children took classes at HFC. His daughter Sarah also taught pre-education as an adjunct at HFC. Book two coming soon Currently, Barber is putting the finishing touches on his as-yet-untitled book about investing, which is based on the material he teaches in BFN 130: Beginning Investment. Because there wasnt a textbook that covered the topic in the way he thought was best, Barber wrote the material himself. He hopes that his second book will be out in early 2021. Capitalism, Socialism, and the Promise of Democracy is currently available for purchase on Amazon. Plans are underway for Barbers book to be distributed through local bookstores and various e-book platforms. Source: Henry Ford College NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Saturday Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray took the decision to ease the curbs during the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown at the right time and in his cautious style of functioning. Pawar, in an interview to the Shiv Senas mouthpiece Saamana, insisted there is no difference of opinion between him and Uddhav Thackeray over the way the government brought in the relaxations during the lockdown. This is the first time Saamana has interviewed a leader from some other party. In the interview to Saamanas executive editor and Sena MP Sanjay Raut, Pawar said he came to a conclusion that curbs should be gradually lifted to revive the economy after discussions with several people and brought it to the notice of the chief minister. The Maharashtra government under its Mission Begin Again started relaxing lockdown norms from June and there were speculations that Thackeray was earlier unwilling to open up the state but Pawar intervened to get the curbs eased across the state. Raut asked if there were any differences on lifting the lockdown referring to newspaper reports about them and Pawar refuted them. Absolutely not... During this entire situation, I have been in touch with the chief minister and am even today... During this time, I had discussions with labour bodies, business-owners etc. I formed an opinion based on that and brought it to the notice of the CM, Pawar said. This is not called a difference of opinion. Delhi and Karnataka lifted relaxation, it faced issues but economic activities started again. Such steps have to be taken. If the entire states and the countrys economy is disrupted then the ill-effects will be far greater than coronavirus which the future generations will suffer, he said. Pawar said though some might think Thackeray delayed giving relaxations but they came at the right time. The decision that came was true to the nature of the chief minister. Meaning, a decision should be taken but with caution. To take a step by seeing all sides, so that there is no need to go back on it, he said. In the first of the three-part interview published in Saamana, Pawar spoke also about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the changing nature of political activities after the coronavirus pandemic, his relationship with former Sena chief Bal Thackeray among other issues. The Maratha strongman denied that he is either the remote control or the headmaster of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government amid a buzz that Pawar has been directing Thackeray from behind the curtains and running the government. I am neither. If headmaster, hed have been part of the school. In a democracy, governments or administration do not function with remote control. It functions where there is no democracy, he said giving an example of the political scenario in Russia. The veteran leader denied that the alliance between the three partiesthe Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and the Congressto form the government was an accident. Pawar pointed out that in the Lok Sabha elections last year there was no change but before the state assembly polls the people had decided to bring one. He said Senas voters and supporters were uneasy during the BJP-Sena government between 2014 and 2019. He said the Sena paid a heavy price for its association with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP continuously took the stand to sideline Sena, keep it quiet. The Sena supporters were uneasy because of it. They functioned as if it was only a BJP government. Earlier too there was a Sena-BJP government under Manohar Joshi but the atmosphere was not like this then. The BJP sidelined the Sena and functioned as only they are the rulers. This did not go well with the people of Maharashtra, he said. Without naming former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Pawar said, No political leader should take the people for granted saying I will come back again. He added the Sena had a major contribution in the BJPs assembly tally of 105 seats. Had it not been for the Shiv Sena, that number would have been around 40-50. Pawar also claimed that Bal Thackeray did not have the functioning style and ideology similar to the BJP. The functioning style of Balasaheb, whom I have known, was different than the ideology of the BJP. He respected the leaders including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, Pramod Mahajan, he said. Through respect, the idea of forming government came forward. Secondly, the Shiv Sena had struggles with the Congress but it was never permanent, I think. Shiv Sena was never at loggerheads with the Congress, he added. . 11.07.2020 LISTEN The Member of Parliament (MP) and Parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party for the Ahanta West Constituency, who is also a member of the Community Parliament of ECOWAS, Lawyer Ebenezer Kojo Kum, has called on his constituents to adhere strictly to the Covid-19 protocols laid down by the government to fight the novel coronavirus. He noted, adherence to Safety Protocols is one way of fighting the spread of the disease. The member of parliament made the call when he toured some registration centres in the Constituency over the weekend. The MP was worried that despite numerous educational campaigns and recent deaths of prominent people in society, some Ghanaians continues to remain adamant in observing the protocols. According to him, government has demonstrated her commitment in fighting the virus by providing the needed resources since the outbreak of the virus in Ghana, adding, what is left, is for the citizenry to also do their part by following the safety protocols. "The fight against COVID-19 is a collective responsibility of all Ghanaians and not only government, he stressed. He used the opportunity to distribute sanitizers and nose masks to the electorates from one polling centre to the other including some identifiable groups such as barbers and hairdressers. By Raymond Kwofie A medic wearing PPE collects samples from a woman as others wait for COVID-19 rapid antigen testing, in New Delhi. PTI Photo Last week, India overtook Russia to become the third worst-hit nation by the Covid-19 pandemic. Indias tally has crossed 7,67,296 cases; the deaths exceed 20,000. Only two countries the United States and Brazil have more cases than we do. What lessons can we learn as the country tries to walk a tightrope between attempts to revive the economy and dealing with surging caseloads and new hotspots? First, that there is no such thing as an Indian pandemic. We are living through a patchwork pandemic, as in the United States, to borrow a phrase from Ed Yong, a well-known science writer at The Atlantic magazine. Different states in India are experiencing the pandemic in different ways. Second, the patchwork is not static. Yesterdays hotspots can be doing better today, like Delhi. And todays hotspots may be replaced by fresh ones in a few weeks. Currently, the big story is the surge in number of new infections in the southern states. Telangana and Karnataka are in the eye of the storm as the newest hotspots. Third, slippages in implementation can happen anywhere, even in states which seemed to be coping better than others. Therefore, it is vital to remain on alert 24/7. Karnataka, which was doing well during the lockdown, has seen recent surges as it has tried to unlock its economy. Bengaluru, which accounts for more than half of Karnatakas Covid-19 positive cases, has had a spurt of penalties being slapped on residents and commercial establishments for violating social distancing norms. Even Kerala has seen a recent spike in specific pockets, though overall it remains leagues ahead of most Indian states. Early preparation has been the key to its success. The state governments prompt response to Covid-19 has been partly due to its experience and investment in emergency preparedness and outbreak response during the floods in 2018 and the Nipah outbreak in 2019. Kerala leveraged its experience in disaster management to quickly deploy resources and respond at the first alert. Its strategic interventions included active surveillance, setting up of district control rooms for monitoring, capacity-building of frontline health workers, strong community engagement which led to effective risk communication and addressing the psychosocial needs of the vulnerable population. Fourth, while no one can honestly predict the trajectory of the new virus, the more developed, industrialised and urbanised parts of India are more vulnerable because of the greater economic activity and mobility there during the unlock phase. Fifth, since cities, with densely populated pockets, are more vulnerable, it is vital to pay attention to their healthcare system. Dr Preeti Kumar, vice-president of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), flags the importance of well-equipped urban primary healthcare centres which can facilitate early contact tracing, as the virus thrives in areas of high economic activity leading to mobility. Big cities in India, Dr Kumar points out, have excellent hospitals offering secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities. What they typically lack is primary healthcare, which enables community workers to regularly visit homes and engage in health promotion. The key lesson is to strengthen primary healthcare and equip the first responders the community health workers in villages and cities. This is what Kerala has done early identification of cases, contact tracing and isolation of those diagnosed Covid-19 positive. Sixth, the virus does not care about elections. The Centre and state governments must be on the same page to save Indian lives. Contrary to initial fears, the virus has not devastated rural India, even though tens of thousands of workers have left cities for their native villages. Why? Are numbers low because of low levels of testing? Or is it something else? One possible reason could be effective quarantining of returning migrant workers in many states before they headed home, says Dr Kumar. Dharavi, Asias largest slum, is another good case study of a government-led response, with effective community engagement, involvement of NGOs, peoples participation, and volunteers. All contributed to flatten the case load. The interventions were a model of intensive screening test, track, trace, isolate. It is also important to ensure availability of food and supplies to ensure compliance on quarantine, Dr Kumar adds. Another model is that of Bhilwara, Rajasthan, among the worst-affected places in India during the first phase of the Covid-19 outbreak. The Rajasthan governments response included imposing a curfew, house-to-house surveys to check for possible cases and detailed contact tracing of each positive case to create a dossier on everybody he/she met. So how much of this is being scaled up? How well is India responding to Covid-19? A new report by Preeti Kumar and Sakthivel Selvaraj of PHFI and Ipchita Bharali of Duke University, in Americas North Carolina, for the Brookings Institution, a think tank, draws attention to some common weaknesses nationwide. Though things are improving, testing rates remain low in many states, the healthcare system is weak and social protection remains low. The reports policy prescriptions for all states include increasing testing capacity; taking a host of measures to help poor workers, including affordable housing, emergency employment schemes, and access to social entitlements; maintaining essential critical health services and disease programmes to avoid a resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases, infectious diseases, and chronic illnesses; enforcing sensible social distancing, effective quarantine procedures, mandatory mask-wearing and hand hygiene habits, along with improved detection, containment and mitigation; and introducing and ensuring that national data privacy laws are followed while improving Indias health emergency response. During the ongoing economic distress, there are more people looking for work. There will be more mobility. To manage the risk, we have to replicate our own successes. Turkey and the U.K. are "very close" to signing a free trade agreement for the post-Brexit era, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah. An article on the Financial Times Friday quoted Cavusoglu as saying negotiations between the two countries on a trade deal, covering manufactured goods, agriculture and services, were "going very well and we are close to finalizing it." Cavusoglu visited London on Wednesday to hold talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. "If you look at the volume of our bilateral trade, 95% of it is industrial products ... and 5% is agriculture and services," the minister said. The daily underlined that the U.K. is Turkey's second-largest trading partner after Germany, with a trade volume of 18.8 billion pounds ($23.7 billion). More than 2,500 British companies operate in Turkey, including BP, Shell, Vodafone, Unilever, BAE Systems, HSBC, Aviva and Diageo. Ankara and London have been holding talks on the trade deal, which accelerated after the U.K. formally left the European Union on Jan. 31, 2020, after 47 years of membership and more than three years after Britons voted to leave in a referendum. The U.K. has until the end of 2020 a transition period during which it will remain an EU member in all but name to hammer out a new trade deal with the EU. Any Turkey-U.K. free trade deal would only be able to take place following an EU-U.K. free trade deal, as Turkey is a member of the EU customs union. The trade deal between the U.K. and has yet to be finalized, as the latest round of talks went ahead this week in London. $20B bilateral trade target The FT article reported that if the two sides were unable to secure a deal by the year-end, Ankara could face a dilemma over whether to push ahead with the agreement with Britain and risk breaching EU rules. Cavusoglu apparently acknowledged that this would be a "bizarre situation," adding that the U.K. was a "strategic ally." "We agreed already with the U.K. that in the post-Brexit era we will increase our bilateral trade; in volume, we set a $20 billion (bilateral trade) target," Cavusoglu said. The U.K.s Secretary of State of International Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities Liz Truss also recently said progress was made in the ongoing talks on the trade deal. Truss and Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena are said to meet their Turkish counterparts next week for talks. Cavusoglu said Ankara is hoping to negotiate a separate immigration deal that would grant Turks special status when the U.K. implements new migration rules, according to the report. "We have been negotiating two separate agreements, one is the FTA (free trade agreement), one is similar to the Ankara Agreement," said Cavusoglu, referring to a visa scheme pact for Turkish businesspeople predating Britain joining the EU. On Wednesday, Cavusoglu said during the meeting with Raab and Johnson that they spoke on relations in the post-pandemic era, a bilateral post-Brexit free trade agreement, cooperation in tourism, health tourism and the defense industry, as well as other international and regional issues, including Libya, Syria and NATO. He stressed in a briefing with Turkish reporters that Turkey and the U.K. would cooperate in many fields after Brexit, adding that "even if the U.K. departs from the EU, it will continue to be one of the most important parts of the European continent." Cavusoglu said along with the bilateral trade pact, they also took up the future of the Ankara Agreement to prevent Turkish citizens from getting caught in any possible Brexit fallout. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock At Americas birth, when delegates in Virginia were debating whether to ratify the constitution, a politician called George Mason had an objection. Mason, who was influential over the development of the bill of rights, wondered whether the presidential pardon power was too broad. Might not the president encourage people who worked for him to commit crimes, and then pardon them? If he could, there would be essentially no check on a presidents power to break the law. Given that sort of leeway, an unscrupulous president could establish a monarchy, and destroy the republic. Masons objection ought to concern us still today. Late on Friday, Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of his longtime associate Roger Stone, all but guaranteeing that Stone will never face justice for crimes he committed while obstructing an investigation into the Trump campaigns links with WikiLeaks and the Russian intelligence agencies who attempted to tip the 2016 election in Trumps favor. Backlash to the decision has been swift, with Trumps fellow Republican Mitt Romney condemning the presidents unprecedented, historic corruption. It is not quite true to say that there is no precedent for Trumps act. As Mason foresaw, executive clemency has been misused by presidents throughout American history. George HW Bush pardoned six officials who had been involved in the Iran-Contra scandal an act which may have been intended to cover up his own wrongdoing. George W Bush commuted the prison sentence of Lewis Scooter Libby, who obstructed a federal investigation into the illegal outing of a CIA operative who was critical of the Bush administration. This history doesnt make Trumps actions any less troubling. In fact, by revealing how little restraint there is on the use of executive clemency, it ought to make us worry how much further the president whose disregard for political and constitutional norms truly is without precedent might go in the future. Story continues Most presidents issue their most controversial pardons furtively, at the end of their terms in office. But Trump has reveled in his ability to toss aside the principle of the rule of law when it comes to his own allies. In 2017 he pardoned the former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had violated the constitutional rights of countless Arizonans. During the Mueller investigation which exposed evidence that Trump himself may have committed obstruction of justice, a crime for which he could still be charged after leaving office the president issued a full pardon to Libby, seemingly with the sole purpose of sending the message that he would forgive those like Stone who committed obstruction to protect himself. A president who is willing to use executive clemency to forgive violations of constitutional rights and protect himself from the rule of law could become, as Mason foresaw, a monarch. At the Virginia ratifying convention, James Madison replied to Mason that such a president would surely face impeachment. But todays Republican party has made it clear that it will protect Trump from impeachment even in the face of overwhelming evidence of his abuses of power. Instead, by refusing to convict, they licensed Trump to double down. As America moves towards an election which Trump looks on course to lose, he is likely to become even less inhibited. The issuing of pardons and commutations for crimes already committed might pale in comparison with crimes yet to come. Trump could seek, once again, to sway the outcome of the election, promising pardons to his co-conspirators. He could order, as he did outside the White House, security forces to be used to disperse protesters who came into the streets in response, then issue pardons for any crimes tried by court martial or in Washington DCs highest court. The fact that Trump has rarely shown the focus, intelligence or competence necessary to pull off such a conspiracy is little comfort. What he lacks in these qualities he makes up for in brazenness, in loyal subordinates equally willing to subvert the rule of law, and in the possession of a compliant conservative politico-media apparatus that will rationalize any action he takes. He could do incalculable damage to confidence in American democracy and the rule of law before he is finally wrested from the White House. In this sense, Roger Stone is the canary in the coal mine. Trumps ability and willingness to commute his sentence is a reminder that for all its genius, the American founding left behind a structure which can be exploited and abused by an unscrupulous president. As we live through what are hopefully the dying days of the presidency of the most unscrupulous of them all, we have to remain on our guard. Partly because of his fears over the pardon power, George Mason ultimately became one of only three of the framers of the constitution to refuse to sign the final document, believing it created a blueprint for tyranny. Proving him wrong requires constant vigilance, now and in the future. President Trump has bragged many times about his negotiating skills which he outlined in his book, The Art of the Deal, but he might have counseled with Supreme Court Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Roberts showed himself to be a master negotiator in the courts two decisions on whether President Trump had to release financial records to the Manhattan district attorney and to oversight committees in Congress. To describe the courts two decisions as threading the needle doesnt begin to fully appreciate what Roberts accomplished. Here is what appears to have happened: It seems clear that Roberts did not want the court to be cited as the reason for the outcome of the coming election. If it had ruled that Trump had to release the financial records forthwith and Trump lost, many would point the finger at the court. If it ruled he did not have to respond to the subpoenas and he won, again, the court would have been blamed for the elections results. Roberts worried that history might portray his courts decisions as another Comey affair. In 2016, James B. Comey Jr., the former FBI director, released a letter he sent to Congress, ten days before the election, in which he said he was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clintons emails. Many still blame Comey for Clintons loss. So, how did Roberts manage this constitutional quandary? In the first case, involving efforts by Manhattan prosecutors to obtain financial records from Trump, the court ruled the president had absolutely no right to block release of the documents. This was in line with the legal principle that no one is above the law, even a president, as the court held in requiring President Nixon, during the Watergate scandal, to turn over tapes from the Oval office and, years later, demanded President Clinton provide evidence in a sexual harassment suit. Writing for the 7-2 majority, Roberts stated, No citizen, not even the president, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding. Roberts proposed the following deal: For the liberals, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen G. Breyer, and Elena Kagan (who made up four of the seven votes), he proposed that the court uphold the principle articulated in the Nixon and Clinton cases. But to please conservative justices, the court also ruled that the defendant (Trump) can return to the lower courts and challenge the subpoenas. There is little doubt that Trump will do so and such legal actions will not be decided in four months. Indeed, they may take years. (Even if Trump loses in Manhattan, the papers would go to a grand jury where proceedings are secret. The material would never be made public unless the case goes to trial.) In the case involving demands by Congress, for the conservatives, such as Gorsuch and Kavanaugh who joined in the majority opinion, he suggested that the court order further legal review by lower courts, making the courts ruling meaningless in terms of the elections outcome. (The other two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., who dissented in both cases, are conservative ideologues and generally cannot be moved. They did, however, agree that the president did not enjoy absolute immunity.) Again, the work by lower courts will take much more than four months and that is a major reason Trumps lawyers said they were pleased by the rulings. Roberts biggest victory was to avoid an interpretation that the decision was partisan by convincing Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to join in this legal balancing act since both were appointed to the court by Trump. We can only imagine Trumps surprise and anger at these two justices. In reacting to the decisions, Trump tweeted, The Supreme Court sends case back to Lower Court, arguments to continue. This is all a political prosecution. I won the Mueller Witch Hunt, and others, and now I have to keep fighting in a politically corrupt New York. Not fair to this Presidency or Administration! Later, at a meeting, he added: Its a political witch hunt, the likes of which nobodys ever seen before. Its a pure witch hunt, its a hoax, just like the Mueller investigation was a hoax that I won, and this is another hoax. This is purely political. The man doesnt even know when, in practical terms and in relation to the election, he won. His financial documents, which he promised to release in the 2016 campaign, will remain secret not just for the four months before the November election, but possibly for years. If Trump loses in the lower courts, the two cases certainly will be appealed and may very well end up before the Supreme Court again. Roberts may have to broker new deals and he could have another opportunity to use his exceptional negotiating skills. Berl Falbaum is a veteran political journalist and author of 11 books, including Not One Normal Day, Trumpedia: A Tome of Scandal, Lies, Corruption and Much More. ONE of the few companies to see growth in the Covid-19 pandemic is set to expand even further. Irema, based in the Kilmallock Business Park, produces surgical masks and other personal protective equipment. Since the onset of the lockdown, its been able to grow its staff numbers from 45 to almost 200 as demand for these goods has exploded. Read also: Limerick company continue to produce four million face masks each week Now, in a move which local councillor, and Irema employee PJ Carey says will copper-fasten these roles, its been agreed to sell a further patch of land in the business park to the company. At a special meeting of the Cappamore/Kilmallock district in the Limerick Racecourse this week, members unanimously rubber-stamped the sale of 0.56 acres to Irema, which will now seek planning permission to expand. Its anticipated the company will apply for permission to add a third loading bay into the factory. Speaking immediately after the move, Cllr Carey said: We have four times the product going out, and as a result, have four times the amount of material coming in. We are a little bit caught for space. So Id hope this disposal of land will help us, and copper-fastens the jobs. He praised the chief executive of Irema, John Rice, who welcomed Independent TD Richard ODonoghue to the factory this week. Cllr Carey, a non-party member who has worked in Irema for the past five years, said: My boss is from Kerry and I guess he owes Kilmallock nothing. He could easily bring his machines down to Kerry. Im sure the Healy-Raes would welcome him with open arms. But this is a commitment from him as well. Cllr Carey paid tribute to Limerick City and County Council, in particular Sean Coughlan and Tina Knox who worked to get the disposal over the line, as production in Irema continued to ramp up. As a councillor myself I am passionate about Kilmallock. I am very proud standing here today happy in the knowledge that this is the start of real jobs for my area. I would also like to challenge Limerick City and County Council to watch this space. I welcome the new Training Centre for Limerick Fire and Rescue and I will be looking for more enterprise to start in the area, he said. At the start of the pandemic, Irema enhanced its production to deliver more than one million masks a week. It was founded in Kilmallock in 1985. __________________________________ For more Limerick news click here Mumbai, July 11 : A promotional gimmick for the new web series "Undekhi" has drawn a warning from the Mumbai Police. On Friday, when "Undekhi" dropped, many people in the city started getting calls from unknown numbers beginning with 140. A recorded voice could be heard telling them they needed help because they had become eyewitness to a murder. The ploy, however, seems to have backfired for SonyLIV, the channel streaming the show, because many people started taking the call seriously, and took to Twitter to express shock. "Have you lost your mind Sonyliv? Receiving such calls could give anyone a panic attack. Even I received the call and it took me over an hour to get over this. This is not the publicity you should be trying to get. @SonyLIV #irresponsible #Undekhi," tweeted a user on Friday. "What a ridiculous #promotional call trick by #Undekhi #SonyLIV Do U even realise what this can cause to a person if they miss out the last few words in panic. Get a better way to promote your series #webseries #advertisement #ScamAlert #murdercall #unethical #worldpremiereseries," shared another recipient of the call. This led Mumbai Police to tweet a warning on Friday night. "The era of 'any publicity is good publicity' is a passA. Any publicity creating panic amongst citizens and suggesting a threat to their security will be dealt with necessary severity. Hope the fake calls for promotions aren't bothering you any longer, Mumbaikars #SoNotDone," tweeted Mumbai Police. Not expecting this kind of a reaction to their promotion, Sony LIV has issued an apology. "If you have received a call for our show Undekhi and it has disturbed you we would like to sincerely apologise to you. This was a test activity which has gone out accidentally and our intention was not to cause any kind of discomfort or panic. We sincerely regret any inconvenience," tweeted the OTT platform's handle. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Patrick James Tordt was a loyal friend and a loving brother, son, grandson and uncle, his loved ones said. Known as P.J., Tordt was a lifelong resident of Huntsville. At just 20 years old, he was shot to death in a home invasion on Tuesday night. It happened on Levert Street Northeast, where Tordt had lived since he was a baby. Dozens of family members, friends and neighbors gathered on that street Friday night for a candlelight vigil celebrating his life and mourning his death. They cried and hugged, danced and sang. Family, friends and neighbors gathered for a candelight vigil on Levert Street in Huntsville, Ala. to celebrate the life of Patrick James "P.J" Tordt and mourn his death on July 10, 2020. He was loved, said Tordts brother-in-law Jeremy Page as he looked out at the crowd gathered in the neighborhood. He was a friend to everyone. Tordt was a construction worker and video game enthusiast, Page said. I watched him grow up, and then he became a really good friend, said Page, who married Tordts sister Victoria. Tordts sister asked for prayers and support for the family, which is raising money through a GoFundMe account to pay for his burial. Huntsville police are still investigating. No arrests have been announced. Lt. Michael Johnson said police are investigating the case as a home invasion, but the authorities have declined to publicly comment further on the nature of the investigation. A second person was taken to the hospital after being assaulted during the home invasion, police said. Tordt is one of at least eight people killed in homicides in the city in 2020. We need justice, Page said. P.J. did not deserve this. Anyone with information is asked to call Huntsville police at 256-722-7100. They gathered, as they have every few days since February, in a concrete plaza in western Istanbul beneath a large, rippling Turkish flag. Someone passed out snacks and orange soda. They donned vests, chanted slogans and danced to an old socialist song blaring from a portable speaker. People hurried past on the way to shops or the train station, barely glancing in their direction. The group dispersed after three hours, depositing plastic cups in the trash and stashing placards in their cars. The forlorn protest by roughly 20 civil servants fired in a massive and continuing purge of government workers that began after last Julys failed coup in Turkey had been all but invisible. We have been speaking out week after week, said Filiz Dogan, who was sacked after 23 years in the finance ministrys tax office, but they are turning a blind eye to us. Advertisement As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan consolidates his power through a state of emergency, he has ordered the firings of more than 140,000 public-sector employees, a bureaucratic purge on a scale not seen anywhere since Stalins Soviet Union or Mao Tse-tungs Cultural Revolution in China. The targets include a broad range of people whom Erdogans government sees as enemies: union members, leftists, academics, police and army personnel and suspected supporters of the shadowy religious movement that authorities blame for the coup attempt. Nearly 500 alleged coup plotters went on trial beginning this week, some facing the prospect of life in prison. The firings are announced by decree, often in batches of thousands, rippling through a vast public sector workforce of more than 3 million people. Those listed are accused of being connected to terrorist organizations, without any evidence offered. One year after the dismissals began, many former employees who had enjoyed stable, middle-class existences are struggling to make ends meet. Unable to plead their innocence in court, theyve been stripped of their pensions, had their passports confiscated and found that private companies are unwilling to hire them, essentially becoming outcasts in their own country. You have almost 150,000 purged, and if they all have two dependents and a spouse, thats more than half a million people who are now untouchables in the Turkish context, said Soner Cagaptay, a historian and author of The New Sultan: Erdogan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey. They have no pension, no one will hire them, they cant even take their case to court. Its creating a new underclass, in a way. The uncertainty has hardened into desperation for some who have sold their cars or homes, or taken dangerous jobs in fields such as construction, where employers ask fewer questions. Two teachers who launched a hunger strike in March to protest their firings have been jailed. Many others are forgoing healthcare and borrowing money to cover expenses. Filiz Dogan, standing, participates in a protest of fired government workers in Istanbul. (Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times) Our friends help us pay our bills, said Dogan, 48, whose husband, Dursum, was fired as a tax collector on the same day last November. We dont buy new clothes; weve stopped going out to eat or to the movies. We are surviving, but barely. We are prevented from existing, said Onur Peksen, a 33-year-old high school language teacher in Istanbul, who found his name listed among more than 2,500 education ministry employees in a decree posted online late one night in February. Since then, he said, friends of his family and parents of his former students label him a terrorist. He applied for three teaching jobs at private institutions but was rejected each time, without explanation. The message from the government is that we are people to be avoided, Peksen said. Apart from those who know us closely, people generally stay away from us. We are prevented from existing, said Onur Peksen, a fired high school teacher. (Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times) The firings continue. On the July 15 anniversary of the thwarted coup, Turkish authorities sacked another 7,400 civil servants, police, justice ministry officials and others. Human rights groups say most purge victims have little hope of being reinstated because a government commission established to hear appeals under the state of emergency has just seven members and would have to discharge hundreds of decisions daily during its two-year mandate. Amnesty International argued in a recent report that it would be nearly impossible for fired workers to defend themselves against terrorism charges since none have been informed of the evidence against them. And because the European Court of Human Rights has said it wont hear victims appeals until domestic legal avenues are exhausted, the commissions main consequence will likely be to delay individuals from accessing an effective remedy, the report said. It described their plight as civil death. But Erdogan has scoffed at calls for leniency. Why should we care? he said in a speech on the anniversary of the coup attempt. Will we think about them? Let them work in the private sector. Will the state look after them? The state looked after them and they betrayed the state. The primary targets of Erdogans crackdown which has also seen tens of thousands jailed, including journalists, politicians and human rights advocates are followers of Fethullah Gulen, the exiled cleric who allegedly orchestrated the coup attempt. But experts say that Erdogan has used his expanded powers fortified under the state of emergency and a referendum he narrowly won in April to attack groups that he views as hostile to his Justice and Development Party. Those include left-wing labor unions, ethnic Kurds, secularists, a minority Muslim sect known as the Alevis and others who have historically opposed the partys conservative Islamist agenda. Demonizing those groups is popular with Erdogan loyalists who credit him with the economic boom that has lifted much of Turkey out of poverty over the past two decades. Cagaptay said the country is splitting into two halves, with a vast segment of government supporters showing little sympathy for those harmed in the crackdown. More than half a million people...are now untouchables in the Turkish context. Soner Cagaptay, author Haydar Polat, a fired elementary school teacher, sold organic produce for a few months and then bought a liquor store with a friend in eastern Istanbul. He comes in at 2 p.m. and works behind the counter until 4 or 5 a.m. There are many teachers, public officials, journalist friends whose TV stations and newspapers have been closed they come and visit me. It is a great feeling, he said wryly. At least we can talk about [our situation]. Polat, 50, was not surprised when his name was listed on a decree last October. He is a longtime member of the Education and Science Workers Union, which has opposed government policies such as erasing evolution from high school textbooks, and a political activist who worked with the imprisoned Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtas. Now stripped of healthcare and his pension, Polat, an asthmatic whose right arm has been crippled since birth, worries about medical bills. One cant even imagine what they can do to the others if they can dismiss a peaceful person like me, he said. Cemile Kocaman, a statistics officer in the Istanbul municipal government, tried to find a job in Bosnia after she was fired but was stopped at the airport two months ago by authorities who said her passport had been canceled. She has had to postpone plans to marry her boyfriend, who lives in Kuwait. Kocaman, 32, said that even international agencies were unwilling to hire her. She was close to a job with a Japanese charity recently until they learned she had been part of the purge. They said they liked my resume, but then they saw my ID, Kocaman said. Then it was like, Oh, but it seems you have some problem. And they just stopped the whole thing. Its clear they are afraid of the government. Kocaman is not a typical Erdogan critic. A self-described conservative who wears the traditional Islamic headscarf, or hijab, she had long faced discrimination from secular employers. When she was hired at the municipality in 2011, she immediately clashed with her supervisors, whom she suspected were Gulen supporters, filing a lawsuit against them for professional misconduct. When Erdogan and Gulen, former allies, fell out in 2013, Kocaman wrote posts on social media backing the government, arguing that it had been popularly elected. But she believes other posts in which she criticized corruption in Erdogans party, as well as her work for a local human rights organization, made her a target. Cihangir Islam, a surgeon, was fired for criticizing Turkish military operations against ethnic Kurds. (Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times) Cihangir Islam, an orthopedic surgeon and former member of two Islamist political parties, was fired from his university post this year after signing a letter criticizing Turkish military operations in Kurdish areas. This summer he joined a massive antigovernment protest march, walking 250 miles from Ankara, the capital, to Istanbul, and put his medical skills to use by serving as the unofficial doctor to the 68-year-old protest leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Erdogans policies are killing careers, putting black marks in databases, trying to destroy thousands of people, Islam said. They are trying to kill us electronically. shashank.bengali@latimes.com Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia ALSO An airstrike on a Syrian prison killed captives of the Islamic State: I think 100% those people were innocent Get ready to rumble: Taiwans legislative battles feature punching, shoving and tackling Venezuelas attorney general seeks to halt installation of newly elected national assembly A million miles away behind her own front door: A Saudi womans secret apartment Officials on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa said dozens of U.S. Marines have been infected at two bases there in what is feared to be a massive outbreak. The officials said the U.S. military asked that the exact figure not be released. Four new art benches will grace The Woodlands this fall, with the latest slate of winning benches being unveiled by officials with The Woodlands Arts Council in early July. The four new benches are the first additions to the elaborate collection of public art since fall of 2018 when six new benches were installed. With descriptions ranging from full of color and whimsy to allowing for complete sensory immersion, each of the four new benches have a unique tale behind the work and the underwriters. The new group is the fourth installment since the projects inception in 2014. Related: Next phase of art benches project kicks off in The Woodlands Jenny Carattini-Wright, the executive director, said she and others affiliated with the council were very excited to continue the Art Benches project during the COVID-19 novel coroanvirus pandemic. The entire process was shifted online in a series of virtual presentations from more than 80 submissions and selection by this years underwriters. Related: Woodlands Arts Council unveils six new art benches Everything went great. Everything was done online. The discussions with the underwriters went online and everyone was OK with an online presentation. There was discussion back and forth and we notified the artists (chosen), Carattini-Wright explained. There were 84 (submissions). We are happy that we can still manage to do this with the underwriters help..it is our community doing it. This years entries were narrowed down to 12 finalists with the four underwriters choosing one winning benche from sub-groups of three artists. Among the 2020 benches are the first bench ever created by an artist based in The Woodlands done by a trio of sibings and a third bench in two-years from Gaston Carrio, an Argentinian-born architect and artist, who is the only artist in the projects history to create two benches in the same phase in 2018. He has done public sculptures for The Howard Hughes Corporation aside from his art benches. The project, which operates in two-year cycles, last installed art benches in 2018, with six new additions. Among those added two years ao were, Unmasked Symbiosis, also by Carrio; the bench Quercus, by artist Owen Dixon; The Woodlands Wind-O, created by artist STEROTANK; the bench Resolute, by Paul Reimer; Proud Souls, also by Carrio; and Why Sit When You Can Play, created by The Urban Conga art group. Project proves popular The Art Bench Project has 20 art benches. Other benches can be found in various areas along The Woodlands Waterway, The Woodlands Mall, Town Green Park and Waterway Square. Each bench is underwritten by financial sponsors, with past contributions from entities such as The Howard Hughes Corp., Woodforest National Bank and Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center and individuals including township board Chairman Gordy Bunch and his wife Michelle, The Alex and Sharon Sutton Family and local figure Peggy Hausman and her family. The first eight benches were installed in 2014 with Phase 2 of the project seeing six additional benches added in 2016. The third phase was completed in fall of 2018 with six more benches, bringing the overall total to 20 benches. Each bench is designed to last at least 10 years and after being installed, are maintained by staff from The Woodlands Township. According to a press release on the project in January 2020, each individual bench was underwritten by entities or individuals who, submitted answers to questions that pertained to the location of the bench and their feelings about the location. From that information, artists created designs and then submitted the ideas for consideration to be chosen by an underwriter. Among the 2020 sponsors are: Amy Cope-Gibbs and Jon Gibbs; Debbie and Sparky Gullo; Heather, Shin and Seth Dickens; and Doug & Beth Grijalva. We are looking forward to unveiling these spectacular new designs this fall, said Dr. Maria Holmes, president of councils Board of Directors. The Art Bench Project is an initiative that our organization is extremely proud of. We thank all the artists who submitted designs, our generous underwriters, and The Woodlands Township for partnering with us by installing and maintaining the art benches. They are an important addition to The Woodlands impressive collection of public art. New themes Of the four new benches, each has a different tale. The themes are a mixture of inspiration from both the artists and the underwriters. At site one is Mystical Senses by Carrio. It will be installed at the base of the water wall at of The Woodlands Waterway close to the Riva Row Boat House. It was described by officials as, an open invitation to the infinitely magical experience of nature and the circle of life, surrounding one in complete sensory immersion. At site two, is a unique work created by three siblings from The Woodlands, You Are LOVED. It will be placed at the lower end of Town Green Park near the turning basin on The Woodlands Waterway. Created by the siblings Michelle Old, Stacy Moore, Kevin Giuseppetti, the trio, uses words that carry great emotion to create a memorial bench with a playful feature celebrating the life of the underwriters son. The three native Woodlanders also work together at a regional architectural firm, Kirksey Architects. For the site three bench, located at the southside of The Woodlands Waterway across from The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, is The Texas Dawn Water Lily, by Kyle Thornley, of mountain ski resort Revelstoke, BC, Canada. Underwritten by the Dickens family, it reflects their vision. In the press release, officials described it as, inspired by the Dickens familys vision of the native splendor of the ecosystem combined with the urban reality of Waterway Square. Thornley captures this vision through natural symbols of interdependence, the cycles of life, and our stewardship of lands and waters. The final bench, at site four, will be placed on top of the hill behind the Montgomery County South Regional Library. TitledPenstemon, by artist Daniel Hornung of Tucson, Arizona, according to officials, intended to create a destination that allows people to appreciate the subdued surroundings of the site. Hornungs design uses color and whimsy to remind people to slow down and savor the beauty of nature around them. For Carattini-Wright and others associated with the project, the continuation of the process and bringing joy to local residents through public art during the unusual time of the COVID-19 pandemic is fulfilling. She also said the project helps support artists financially, many of whom are struggling due to the shutdowns of festivals caused by the coronavirus. The (installation) will be an exciting reveal, that will probably be the last week of September or the first week of October, she added. jeff.forward@chron.com These are the schools that have canceled classes for Jan. 18 Some school districts across the county are virtual today. Others will make up the snow day. Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested Kerala gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair from in Bengaluru. After formally arresting them, the NIA took Swapna Suresh and her family members in its custody. They will be produced in NIA office in Kochi on Sunday. The Customs Department had on July 5 seized 30 kg gold worth Rs 15 crore concealed in diplomatic consignment at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport. The NIA on Friday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, the three persons allegedly involved in the case. The agency has charged them with offences under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Swapna Suresh was on the run following the gold seizure. She was employed in Space Park and Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITL), which comes under the IT department, a portfolio held by Kerala Chief Minister. She was ousted after being named an accused in the case. Sarith Kumar, an accused in the case who had previously worked as a public relations officer (PRO) in UAE Consulate-General`s office in Thiruvananthapuram, was arrested on July 6. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Wednesday asked the Centre to order a probe in the case of gold smuggling, through diplomatic baggage in Kerala, by all central agencies concerned. The Kerala CM wrote two letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In a letter to PM Modi, he wrote, "I invite your kind attention to the seizure of about 30 Kg of gold by the Customs Officials Trivandrum International Airport on July 5, 2020. The fact that the attempt to smuggle a huge quantity of gold was concealed in diplomatic baggage makes the matter extremely serious." In response to his letter, the Centre on Thursday allowed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate the Kerala gold smuggling case, as the organised smuggling operation may have serious implications for national security. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- By commuting the prison sentence of Roger Stone, President Donald Trump has made his contempt for the rule of law plain for all to see. Clemency for a crony convicted of interfering with an investigation of presidential malfeasance is a flagrant abuse of power. President Richard Nixon wasnt willing to pardon the Watergate criminals who broke into Democratic Party offices in the run-up to the 1972 presidential campaign because he knew how bad it would look; the evidence that Nixon hinted at clemency for his convicted associates was part of the reason he was eventually forced to resign or face certain impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction and removal by the Senate. Stone, Trumps friend and a longtime Republican political operative, was sentenced to more than three years in prison for lying to congressional investigators and witness tampering in matters related to inquiries about Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. The investigation by Robert Mueller, the special counsel who conducted the probe of Russias activities, concluded not only that Stone had behaved improperly, but that Trumps public actions praising him were part of what amounted to obstruction of justice.(1) The decision Friday night to commute Stones sentence comes after other presidential actions taken after the impeachment acquittal by the Senate that include the firing of several inspectors general, retaliation against officials who testified truthfully to Congress, and of course Trumps continuing refusal to submit to normal oversight by Congress. All were abuses of presidential power, exactly what the impeachment and removal power of Congress is designed for. No more investigations are needed to establish that fact. Trump simply has given up on even the pretense of respecting the rule of law and honoring his oath of office. Rather than follow his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, Trump is trampling on that document and all it means. Story continues The only question is what to do about it. And that comes down to Republicans. The oddity of the situation is that the Stone clemency gives them a last chance that they dont deserve. At this late date, with people starting to vote in the 2020 election in only a couple of months, the incentives for the party to stand behind their leader are extremely strong. Harsh criticism of a president from highly visible members of his own party would make the president less popular, and given high levels of partisan polarization, that would hurt House and Senate candidates given that ticket-splitting is rare. So however outlandish Trumps words and deeds, whether hes suggesting that it might be a good idea for people to inject bleach to cure a coronavirus infection, or attacking a popular Black Nascar driver who found a noose being used as a garage pull, or excusing any number of corrupt actions taken on his behalf, its hard for them to criticize the top of their ticket. But if Republicans wanted an escape hatch and they should, given how hes dragging down the party and is apparently unable to do much these days other than feel sorry for himself now they have one. As we saw during the winter, theres no strict protocol for impeachment, meaning that if both parties are on board, it could happen very quickly. Indeed, if Republican and Democratic leaders wanted to cooperate, they could do the whole thing in a week or two. Republicans would of course be stuck with Trump attempting to avenge himself through November, but if they stuck together, and if Republican-aligned media backed them, a twice-impeached and once-removed president with a Twitter account and scant institutional support might turn out to be a mild nuisance at most. Republicans would be left with a relatively unblemished President Mike Pence, who might even manage to win some popularity just by showing normal human empathy for those who have been stricken with the coronavirus and others whose lives have been upended. Will that happen? Of course not. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has already spoken in favor of the presidents action. No doubt other Republicans will follow, and the rest will avoid reporters until the news cycle moves on and nobody asks them about Stone anymore. There are no leaders among Republican senators and within the Republican Party overall both willing and able to solve the collective action problem they have. Opposing Trump and getting rid of him at this point can only work if theyre all in it together; but if only some of them speak out, then they will all suffer. A united Republican Party finally ending this lawless presidency would be the best thing for the nation and for the party. It isnt going to happen, and chances are that the failure will be punished harshly in November. (1) Here's how Quinta Jurecic put it in herreport in Lawfare last week about the release of the unredacted Mueller report: "Trump had direct knowledge of Roger Stones outreach to WikiLeaks, according to multiple witnesses interviewed by Mueller. He encouraged that outreach and asked his campaign chairman to pursue it further, those witnesses said. And Muellers office appears to have strongly suspected, without putting it in so many words, that Trump lied to the special counsel in his written answers to Muellers questions about the Stone affair." 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 Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The Uttar Pradesh police are not sitting idle after the killing of Vikas Dubey. Instead they are looking for the people who gave shelter to the gangster and his aides. On Saturday, the police arrested two people for allegedly giving shelter to Dubey's men. Kanpur Police said in statement that two men -- Om Prakash Pandey and Anil Pandey -- from Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior have been arrested for allegedly giving shelter to Kanpur killings accused Shashikant Pandey and Shivam Dubey. They hid both the accused in their houses. Kanpur's Chaubeypur police station team has arrested both the accused from Gwalior and cases have been registered against them. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the sentence of his longtime political confidant Roger Stone, intervening in extraordinary fashion in a criminal case that was central to the Russia investigation and that concerned the presidents own conduct. The move came just days before Stone was to begin serving a 40-month prison sentence for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the House investigation into whether Trumps campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. The action, which Trump had foreshadowed in recent days, underscores the presidents lingering rage over special counsel Robert Muellers investigation and is part of a continuing effort by the president and his administration to rewrite the narrative of a probe that has shadowed the White House from the outset. Democrats, already alarmed by the Justice Departments earlier dismissal of the case against Trumps first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, denounced the president as further undermining the rule of law. Stone, 67, had been set to report to prison on Tuesday after a federal appeals court rejected his bid to postpone his surrender date. But he told The Associated Press that Trump called him Friday evening to tell him he was off the hook. The president told me that he had decided, in an act of clemency, to issue a full commutation of my sentence, and he urged me to vigorously pursue my appeal and my vindication, Stone said by phone from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was celebrating with friends. He said he had to change rooms because there were too many people opening bottles of Champagne here. Although a commutation does not nullify Stones felony convictions, it protects him from serving prison time as a result. The move marks another extraordinary intervention by Trump in the nations justice system and underscores anew his willingness to flout the norms and standards that have governed presidential conduct for decades. As Trump stares down a coronavirus pandemic that has worsened his chances for reelection, he has been more willing than ever to test the limits of his power. Democrats denounced Trumps action. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff called it offensive to the rule of law and principles of justice. Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez asked, Is there any power Trump wont abuse? White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, in a statement, called Stone a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media, and declared, Roger Stone is now a free man! Stone had been open about his desire for a pardon or commutation, appealing for the presidents help with a monthslong television and social media campaign and seeking to postpone his surrender date by months after getting a brief extension from the judge, in part by citing the coronavirus. Trump, who had made clear in recent days that he was inching closer to acting, had repeatedly publicly inserted himself into Stones case, including just before Stones sentencing. That earned a public rebuke from his own attorney general, William Barr, who said the presidents comments were making it impossible for him to do his job. Barr was so incensed that he told people he was considering resigning over the matter. With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else, Schiff said. Donald Trump, Bill Barr, and all those who enable them pose the gravest of threats to the rule of law. Stone, a larger-than-life political character who embraced his reputation as a dirty trickster, was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to have been convicted of charges brought during Muellers investigation. A longtime Trump friend and informal adviser, Stone boasted during the campaign that he was in contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through a trusted intermediary and hinted at inside knowledge of WikiLeaks plans to release more than 19,000 emails hacked from the servers of the Democratic National Committee. But Stone denied any wrongdoing and consistently criticized the case against him as politically motivated. He did not take the stand during his trial, did not speak at his sentencing. His lawyers did not call any witnesses in his defence. Prosecutors had originally recommended Stone serve seven to nine years in prison. But in a highly unusual move, Barr reversed that decision after a Trump tweet and recommended a more lenient punishment, prompting a mini-revolt inside the Justice Department, with the entire prosecution team resigning from the case. Department officials have vehemently denied Barr was responding to Trumps criticism and have insisted there was no contact with the White House over the decision. Barr has also pointed out that the judge, in imposing a 40-month sentence, had agreed with him that the original sentencing recommendation was excessive. Barr has said the prosecution was justified, and the Justice Department did not support Stones more recent effort to put off his surrender date. Though the Justice Department raised concerns about the handling of Flynns case, including what it said were irregularities about his FBI interview, prosecutors did not point to any similar issues or problems with the Stone prosecution. Even so, the commutation will almost certainly contribute to a portrait of a president determined to erase the impact of the Russia investigation and to intervene on behalf of allies. The commutation was the latest example of Trump using his unlimited clemency power to pardon powerful men he believes have been mistreated by the justice system. Trump went on a clemency spree in February, commuting the 14-year prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, and pardoning former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik, financier Michael Milken and several others. Trump has also offered clemency to other political allies, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was awaiting sentencing at the time, conservative commentator Dinesh DSouza, who had been convicted on campaign finance violations, and Conrad Black, a newspaper publisher convicted of fraud who had written a flattering book about the president. Trump, however, has spent much more time trumpeting his decision to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving life in prison for nonviolent drug offences and who came to Trumps attention after reality star Kim Kardashian West took up her cause. Her story was featured in a Trump campaign Super Bowl ad. Stone told the AP he expressed his gratitude to Trump in the phone call. You know, he has a great sense of fairness, Stone said. Weve been friends for many, many years, and he understands that I was targeted strictly for political reasons. For decades towns have been buffeted by economic headwinds that feel out of the control of local communities. De-industrialisation, austerity and the rise of e-commerce have hollowed out many towns, leaving high streets barren. The pandemic has, if anything, deflated hopes of a better future for town economies further, crushing local businesses and entrenching digitalisation, while once again raising the spectre of a generation scarred by unemployment. For those who have experienced these economic cycles before, the temptation is to look for the next big investment to come, whether from the central state or a corporate giant riding into town or both. The notion that recovery could start with community control, and that this could then be used to adapt to crises in the future so that ruptures are not accompanied by the destructive processes of unemployment and industrial dislocation, would appear like wishful thinking to many. Onati, a town in the centre of the Basque Countrys Gipuzkoa region, is an example of a community wealth building approach which has emerged stronger out of crises before, and is well placed to adapt to the shock of the pandemic. In 2011, El Pais ran a piece titled Onati, capital del empleo. At that time, the town had an unemployment rate of 5.4%, the lowest of any town with a population over 10,000 people in the whole of Spain. This is a function of its economic DNA: a strong manufacturing sector which is predominantly co-operative run, producing well-paid, secure jobs in firms which are crucially adaptable. Adapting to the Crisis Xabier Igartua is President of Onati town councils Finance & Socioeconomic Committee. He works part-time for the municipality, and part-time in a local co-operative factory. Adaptation has defined both parts of his work since the pandemic hit in early March. We had to respond at our factory by reducing our hours and salary adaptions, because our sales suddenly collapsed overnight, he explains. We dont have time to fight among one another; it is our business so we need to make the changes now. But because we are a co-operative we can make these fast adaptations while looking after each other. We work less but we maintain a base level income for everyone and maintain jobs. In the council, his task was perhaps even greater what to do about the local retailers, bars and restaurants in the town which had suddenly been closed by the lockdown? A local digital technology firm, Magnet Coop, developed a digital platform for local businesses shutdown during the crisis. Shoppers could buy a coupon which offered a 20% discount on purchases at local businesses. The value of the discount would then be covered by the town council. Over 200,000 was spent in Onatis shops through the digital platform, with the Town Council paying 40,000 to the local businesses to cover the discount value. The reason why Magnet supports the local businesses is because they live in Onati, they know each other, and they think what could we do to support; they have a feeling of responsibility to the community, Igartua says. They came to us [at the Council] and we said this is a great idea, but what about if we give them an incentive through a discount, and we will cover the difference. One thousand people used the site and there is only around 11,000 in Onati, so you can imagine; this was surprising to everyone, and a big success. Now we try to turn this into a permanent digital platform on the town council website, and we are working with Magnet to build this. At the municipal level in the Basque Country, local government has important economic powers, including over taxes and a sizeable investment budget. Last year, Onati town council, led by left pro-independence party EH Bildu, utilised citizen budgeting methods to ask residents to vote on priority options for 500,000 of public investment. The process was split into phases with citizens involved at each stage, first to define the options for investment through face-to-face sessions which were open to attend, and then, in the final stage, residents voted for their ten priorities: whether to invest in improved street lighting, cleaning the rivers, improving wheelchair access, etc. Always the community goes one step further than the administration, Igartua says, explaining what he calls the councils community model. It is our job to bring the toolbox, but it is the local people who use the tools. I think this is a different way of thinking about local politics that you support the community to change things themselves. Its not all been plain sailing. While the co-operatives protect the jobs of their members, they also employ non-members, many of whom were let go when the crisis hit. Unemployment rose from 6% to 8% in the town in the four months from February to June, still significantly below the rate in Gipuzkoa (11%), the Basque Autonomous Community (13%) and Spain (15%) but nonetheless a rapid increase in a town used to economic stability. Nature Has Warned Us The biggest employer in the town is Ulma and Fagor, two parts of the Mondragon Corporation Group, the worlds largest and most renowned co-operative which as the name suggests is based in nearby Mondragon, one town over from Onati. Mondragon too has adapted rapidly to the crisis, becoming a major mask supplier to the Spanish Government almost overnight, with a contract for 340 million masks per year. They have also started manufacturing automatic respirators for ICU units, protective visors for health service staff and solutions for pathogen-free sanitation of spaces and surfaces. We need to generate a national industry of sanitary protection equipment, Iker Alberdi, general manager of Onnera, a Mondragon co-operative based in Corboba in the south of Spain which is leading its mask production, said in El Pais. Manufacturing for the health service within Spain would ensure that PPE was adjusted to the conditions and regulation of the national market. At the same time, Mondragon Corporation is itself reliant on the international market. The production lines used for mask production at Onnera were built at its Chinese subsidiary in record-quick time, arriving in Spain in late April. Mondragon workers outside of Spain are not co-operative members. This is a pragmatic co-operativism. All parties promise support for jobs at the 12 July election, with the Basque government projecting 68,000 jobs will be lost by the end of the year, raising unemployment to 13.7%. The election has inevitably had a narrow focus on the jobs metric, with the headline commitment of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), the largest in the BAC, to reduce unemployment below 10% in the next parliamentary term. But with 90% of all job creation in the BAC since 2013 being temporary jobs, and little by way of a plan to improve the quality of work, this is not exactly an appetising future. The Basque Country also has to contend with only 14.5% of its energy consumption currently coming from renewable sources; more than half of its population set to be aged 50 or above by 2031; and 50% of all jobs requiring replacement by the end of the decade due to technological transformation, according to Orkestra, the Basque Institute for Competitiveness. This crisis reinforces these challenges, Miren Estensoro, an economist at Orkestra, says. The response to this recovery needs to be thought of in combination with the big socio-economic challenges we have in this country. Indeed, the Basque Country had its own ecological crisis in February before the pandemic, with the collapse of a landfill site in Zaldibar, a town in the Bizkaia region, killing two people. The bodies have still not been found, the collapse caused a toxic air pollution which forced residents to stay indoors one month before the COVID lockdown was announced. The PNV-led government was criticised for its slow response to the crisis, and a manifesto signed by 84 Basque academics and cultural figures said the Basque economic model was exhausted, and called for an energy, ecological and social transition. Nature has warned us to guarantee a liveable Basque territory for future generations, the manifesto concludes. Igartua and his colleagues have not lost focus on this challenge. They are soon to unveil plans to reduce industrial waste in the town through a circular economy model built in partnership with citizens and local firms. We know that we cannot go on the same way with exhausting natural resources, so the best way is to as much as possible be self-sufficient in the community, he says. Onati provides some optimism that another town is possible, one where the community navigates its way through a future which will surely be defined by waves of economic rupture. By Karen Freifeld (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, has been sent back to a federal prison in upstate New York after questioning a gag order as a condition of serving his criminal sentence under home confinement, Cohen's lawyer said By Karen Freifeld (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, has been sent back to a federal prison in upstate New York after questioning a gag order as a condition of serving his criminal sentence under home confinement, Cohen's lawyer said. Cohen, 53, had attended a meeting with probation officers in Manhattan on Thursday when he was presented with a list of conditions for home confinement, including that he not engage with news media outlets, according to his lawyer, Jeffrey Levine. After questioning it, Cohen was shackled, sent to a federal jail in Manhattan and then transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, about 70 miles (110 km) northwest of New York City, where Levine said he is now being held under quarantine and in solitary confinement. Cohen had been released from Otisville in May due to concerns over possible exposure to the novel coronavirus. He had completed about a year of a three-year sentence for his role in hush money payments to two women, as well as for financial crimes and lying to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen had originally been eligible for release in November 2021. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday, but Cohen is listed as an inmate at Otisville on its website. On Thursday, a bureau spokeswoman said Cohen had been approved for furlough and was being processed for home confinement when he declined to agree to the terms required, including preapproval for media interviews. According to a copy of the term sheet obtained by Reuters, Cohen was asked to agree to no engagement of any kind with the media, including social media, film, TV, books and news. "It doesn't say without prior approval," Levine said, adding that Cohen told the probation officers he had already written a book. (On July 2, he had tweeted about the book and anticipated publication in September.) Levine added that Cohen was willing to sign once he learnt the consequences, but was told it was too late. "I continue to be in disbelief and outrage," said Levine, who is exploring possible remedies. "All this could have been resolved amicably." (Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Jonathan Oatis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Coronavirus: Trump moves to pull US out of World Health Organization - News in English 9/7/2020 President Donald Trump has formally moved to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization. The president accused the WHO of being under China's control in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. VOH When the caustic Evelyn Waugh visited the majestic sixth century creation of Emperor Justinian, one subsequently enlarged, enriched and encrusted by various rulers, he felt underwhelmed. Agia will always win the day for one, he wrote of Istanbuls holiest of holies, Hagia Sophia, in 1930. A more recondite snobbism is to say Aya Sofia, but except in a very sophisticated circle, who will probably not need guidance in the matter at all, this is liable to suspicion as a mere mispronunciation. In a somewhat cool reaction, Waugh struggled to reconcile the pop mythology, at that point elevated by celebratory brochure and tourist packages, with the sight of it. We saw Agia Sophia, a majestic shell full of vile Turkish fripperies, whose whole architectural rectitude has been fatally disturbed by the reorientation of the mihrab. Such snobbery could not impeach the historical pedigree of Hagia Sophia. Seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, religious edifice of the Byzantine Empire, it became a mosque once Constantinople was successfully captured by the Ottoman forces of Mehmet II in 1453, officially terminating the vestigial remains of the Eastern Roman Empire. This was a function the structure served till 1934, when the secularist ruler Mustafa Kemal Ataturk ordered its conversion to a museum. Doing so served to secularize and neutralise a site of religious jostling. That said, the 1934 decision could hardly be seen as a mark of pure benevolence. It was a year when Turkification policies were being applied with gusto, best characterised by Settlement Law of 1934 (Law No. 2510). It was an instrument designed to resettle (or not, in some cases) populations within the state into three zones with a focus on concentrating Turkish populations in some areas, while relocating and resettling populations whose assimilation into Turkish culture is desired. That same year, pogroms against Jews in Eastern Thrace also took place to resolve, in the evocatively sinister words of Ibrahim Tali, inspector general of Thrace, the Jewish problem. The Jews, he argued, had not Turkified themselves with sufficient rigour. They were also economically advantaged while disadvantaging Muslims in lending them money at high rates of interest. The museum status of the edifice has had its fierce detractors. The poet Necip Fazil Kisakurek described it in 1965 as a sarcophagus in which Islam is buried. Under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hagia Sophia has been sporadically threatened with a change of status. In 2004, the Turkish Union of Permanent Vakifs of Historical Monuments and Environment issued a plea to the government to change the standing of the building. It was politely ignored. In 2005, the Union petitioned the countrys highest administrative court, the Council of State, to return Hagia Sophia back to its standing as a mosque. Ever persistent, that same body sought relief in the Constitutional Court, an application that was rejected in 2018. In November 2013, deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc expressed the view that the approach of treating former mosques as museums was due for revision. He did so like a mystic, claiming that the structure was speaking to the Turkish state in mournful longing. We look at this forlorn Hagia Sophia and pray to Allah that the days when it smiles on us are near. Despite stirring up a fuss with the secularists and irate voices in Greece at the time, he had reason to be confident, given the abolition of the museum status of the Hagia Sophia in both Iznik and Trabzon. In both cases, the General Directorate of Pious Foundations, overseen by Arinc, were active and eventually successful. The effort to de-museum Hagia Sophia have tended to receive billowing encouragement with undesired remarks in foreign quarters about Turkish policies, past and present. Demagoguery is ever on the permanent hunt for excuses. In 2015, Pope Francis chose April to use a word illegal in Turkish law to describe the treatment by Ottoman forces of Armenians a century prior. The deportations, massacres and rapes constituted, in an address by the Pope at a Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite at St. Peters Basilica in Rome, the first genocide of the 20th century. To conceal or deny evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it. The remarks had their shaking effect in Ankara. Turkeys foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu dismissed the statement, which is far from the legal and historical reality. It was not for religious authorities to incite resentment and hatred with baseless allegations. Domestically, eyes turned to the status of Hagia Sophia. The mufti of Ankara, Mefail Hzl, saw a change as imminent. Frankly, I believe that the popes remarks will only accelerate the process for Hagia Sophia to be reopened for [Muslim] worship. That same month, the first recitation of the Quran for 85 years was made by Ali Tel, imam of the Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque in Ankara. The wheels were in motion and reached a terminus with the conclusion by the Council of State that the settlement deed allocated it as a mosque and its use outside this character is not possible legally. The 1934 decision ending the buildings use as a mosque and defined it as museum did not comply with laws. A delighted Erdogan rushed off the decree to the states religious affairs directorate enabling the reopening of the structure as a mosque. The decree was celebrated by AK members in parliament. As with many sites of religious contestation, conquest comes with grievance and hot tears of indignation. The Russian Orthodox Church, through spokesman Vladimir Legoida, expressed the view that millions of Christians had not been heard. The need for extreme delicacy in this matter were ignored. UNESCOs World Health Committee is planning to review the status of Hagia Sophia, claiming it regrettable that the Turkish decision was not the subject of dialog or notification beforehand. Erdogans concerns lie elsewhere. He has had little truck with ecumenical politics and practises, battering down the secular divides within his country. His agenda is that of an up-ended Attaturk. As Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy remarks, Just as Attaturk un-mosqued Hagia Sophia 86 years ago, and gave it museum status to underline his secularist revolution, Erdogan is remaking it a mosque to underline his religious revolution. The ancient monument of emperors and sultans promises to be a stage of much self-promotion, with the court decision coming in time for prayers to take place on July 15, the date marking the failed coup attempt. To keep matters interesting, the Turkish president is remaining oblique on what will happen to the tourist trade. (Last year, 3.7 million ventured to the edifice.) Spokesman Ibrahim Kaln has told the Turkish news agency Anadolu that, Opening up Hagia Sophia to worship wont keep local or foreign tourists from visiting the site. Capitalism and finance are often near neighbours of holiness and spirituality. Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: [email protected] OVER 11 000 Zimbabweans living in foreign lands have returned home since the Covid-19-induced lockdown, with thousands more still en-route and due to arrive over the next few weeks, official data shows. Stung largely by job losses and untenable living conditions, many were retracing their footsteps back home. Among the expected returnees, are over 1 000 Zimbabweans studying in the United States of America, who could be affected after the Donald Trump administration asked foreign students in the US, whose colleges have shifted to online teaching, to shift to schools that have in-person classes or leave the country. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a statement saying that non-immigrant F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in that country. Zimbabwe is also expecting 300 of its citizens from China, mostly students who have completed their programmes. About 100 of those students were expected to come with an Air Zimbabwe plane that was already in China by last week. From South Africa, thousands await Government-assisted repatriation, with 300 Zimbabweans recently released from South African prisons being part of that delegation. This group is currently detained at South Africas largest immigrant holding facility Lindela Repatriation Centre while Governments of the two countries arrange for their deportation. The Sunday Mail has gathered that among the group were criminals convicted of serious crimes, including rape, armed robbery and murder. They have all been slapped with five-year bans from South Africa. The influx is raising serious concern about the possible importation of Covid-19 cases from hotspots such as the USA and South Africa. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo told The Sunday Mail that Government had requested South African authorities to delay the deportation of the criminals while arrangements were made on activating protocols to receive them safely. He said the decision to deport the prisoners came after some inmates in South African prisons tested positive for Covid-19. We have more than 300 Zimbabweans who were released from various prisons in South Africa, said Dr Moyo. South Africa called us to say we are releasing your people, but, however, some had completed their sentences in the various prisons. We negotiated with them so that they can at least keep them at the detention centre while we work on necessary arrangements and have them deported. He said the Registrar-General was now verifying the nationality of the released criminals before they are allowed into Zimbabwe. Once verification is confirmed, the prisoners will be deported through Beitbridge Border Post. He said Government is considering staggering the deportation to make sure quarantine centres are not overwhelmed. Our quarantine centres in Beitbridge are under a lot of pressure considering that we have huge numbers coming in through that port of entry. We are, therefore, considering having them deported in smaller groups or having them quarantined in their various provinces. The released prisoners, he added, have ceased to be the responsibility of the South African Department of Correctional Service and are now reliant on well-wishers for food. These people are dependent on well-wishers for food, toiletries and other needs, which makes their situation a sensitive one. Well-wishers, most of whom are Zimbabweans, are helping to ensure they have food and other stuff that they need. Official data obtained from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows that 11 074 returnees had trooped back as of Tuesday last week. Hundreds more were expected to arrive from China during the week. South Africa has accounted for most of the returnees, with 5 043 having returned from the neighbouring country, while a further 3 628 came in from Botswana. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Deputy Minister Mr David Musabayana said most of the returnees had been affected by adverse economic conditions in their adopted homes. In terms of total returnees, as at the 7th of July, we had 11 074, of those males are 6 073 and females are 5 001, he said. The country that has given the most in terms of returnees is South Africa, which has given 5 043 returnees, followed by Botswana with 3 628 and Namibia with 357. From Mozambique, we have had 487 returnees and from Zambia we had 248. Outside of Africa, from the United States of America we have had 263 returnees and a further 241 from Miami, while only 174 have returned from the United Kingdom. From China we have had 580 returnees. He said all the returnees had gone through mandatory quarantine at designated centres throughout the country. Most of these people were working for different organisations using work permits and because of the lockdowns most organisations were closed and they were pushed out of work. So, most of them saw it fit to come back home. Some are saying they had their contracts cancelled and could not afford to continue paying rentals and other living expenses, he said. Others have returned just because they felt it was time to come back home. Some were running away from epicentres and felt they would be safer at home. He revealed that Zimbabweans with permanent residence permits from South Africa but were caught up in the lockdown before they could return to their foreign bases had begun requesting facilitation for their safe passage back to their adopted homes. We have some Zimbabweans with permanent residence permits who were trapped here are and are now asking to return back to work, and we have since begun negotiating with South African authorities to allow them to go back. Government, he said, was creating a database of all Zimbabwean citizens who died from Covid-19 in foreign lands in order to ascertain the true impact it has had on the Zimbabwean Diaspora. Four people died of Covid-19 last week, with three deaths recorded on Thursday, the most in a day since the disease was first detected in Zimbabwe. A total of 208 new infections were recorded in the five days to Friday last week, as the number of cases surged to 942, just shy of the grim 1000 cases landmark. As of Friday, 320 recoveries had been recorded after Government adopted new World Health Organisation protocols, which consider a patient as recovered after showing symptoms once 13 days have passed from the first symptom and once 10 days have passed for those who did not show symptoms but still tested positive. This leaves 609 active cases. Cases have risen dramatically since the beginning of June. Four hundred and thirteen (413) new cases were recorded in June, while 351 new cases have been recorded in the first 10 days of this month. Zimbabwe is also witnessing a surge in the number of local transmissions, and Government is now mulling tightening lockdown regulations. Yesterday, two Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals nurses working in the Covid-19 centre returned positive results. In a statement, the hospital said: Two out of the 26 staff members who had just completed one of their shifts in our Covid-19 centre tested positive for SARS-Cov-2. Glycerol Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Source (Biodiesel, Fatty Acids, Fatty Alcohols, Soap), By Type (Crude, Refined) By End Use (Food & Beverage, Pharmaceutical), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027 New York, July 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Glycerol Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Source, By Type By End Use, By Region And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05930634/?utm_source=GNW Glycerol Market Growth & Trends The global glycerol market size is expected to reach USD 3.5 billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 4.0%. Improved standard of living coupled with growing consumer demand for high quality and innovative personal care products is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. Glycerol which is also known as glycerin is colorless, odorless, vicious, and oily liquid having syrupy sweet flavor. The product can be derived naturally from vegetable oils such as soybean, corn, coconut, palm, animal fats such as tallow, and synthetically from propylene. In the recent years, biodiesel has been a major source for product development owing to the growing awareness towards the use of biofuels across the globe. The product is generally obtained as a byproduct during biodiesel production. Augmented production and consumption of biodiesel has positively impacted the market over the years. Commercially, it is sold in crude and purified forms.The crude glycerol contains impurities such as heavy metals salts and alcohols which is further purified using purification techniques for its further use in end use applications such as pharmaceutical, food, and personal care. The purity requirement depends on the purpose for which the product is being used. For instance, the glycerol used in cosmetics and pharmaceutical applications require 90.0% purity as compared to other applications. However, the purification process is slightly expensive which is expected to pose a threat to market growth. In cosmetics, glycerol is the third most used ingredient after water and fragrance in cosmetics formulations.The product primarily functions as a denaturant, humectants, and skin protectant. In addition, it is also used in over-the-counter drugs such as ophthalmic drug products (up to 1%), dermal protectant (up to 45%), and external analgesic. Asia pacific is one of the prominent consumers as well as exporter of glycerol with major exporting countries being Indonesia and Malaysia.Abundant raw material availability and high biodiesel production is further contributing to the glycerol production in the region. Europe is one of the top importers of glycerol with Russia, Germany, Netherlands, and Denmark contributing to the largest imports in the region. However, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic is expected to create a demand supply gap for the market owing to the downfall in biodiesel production, disrupted logistic services, and lack of labour force. The significant fall in biodiesel production is expected to directly affect the global glycerol prices, resulting in higher prices as biodiesel accounts for key raw material used in its production. The regulatory norms associated to glycerol are stringent and are required to be followed at both national and international levels. The product is regulated as a food additive by the European Commission under Regulation (EU) No 231/2012. In addition, it is also regulated as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the U.S. FDA for its use in food packaging materials. Glycerol Market Report Highlights The market for glycerol is likely to generate a demand for 5.5 million tons by 2027 In terms of revenue, Asia Pacific emerged as the fastest growing region in the market across the globe The personal care and cosmetics segment emerged as a prominent end-use segment with a market share of approximately 37.0% by volume in 2019 In Asia Pacific, countries particularly India and China are likely to witness a remarkable market growth in next seven years The industry is fragmented and competitive in nature, with presence of major global players such as BASF SE, Dow , Cargill, Incorporated, Kao Corporation, and Oleon NV Growing demand for natural, innovative, and sustainable products is expected to drive the product consumption in cosmetics and personal care products In its refined form, the product is used as a pharmaceutical excipient to formulate several over the counter drugs. Glycerol used in pharmaceutical formulations needs to be of high quality and purity. In recent years, biodiesel is majorly used as a raw material for extracting glycerol. The product is generally obtained as a byproduct during biodiesel production. Growing consumer preference towards natural and environmentally friendly products has bolstered the growth of the biodiesel market, which in turn, is positively impacting the glycerol production globally. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05930634/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 For Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough, bucking the system isnt a sign of defiance but rather simply an act of standing up for his constituents. As residents become more fatigued by the COVID-19 pandemic, Keough said his focus is to get the county open and operating at 100 percent. While some of his decisions have drawn some negative comments on social media, most residents are showing full support. I recognize the governors position and the lieutenant governors position, but I dont work for them. I work for the people who have elected me, he said of not backing Gov. Greg Abbotts orders including mandatory masks and limits on gatherings. From my perspective, people want to move forward understanding this isnt going away for a while. Stand up for them According to Keough, his actions are part of the First Amendment which states the people have the right to peacefully assemble and to redress the government. We can criticize the government and why would I do that? Because nobody is sticking up for the people, he said. The politicians, where are they? I figure this is what I am supposed to do. I was elected for the people by the people and they need somebody to stand up for them and that is what I am doing. We are so concerned the gov is going to get mad at us. I just decided Im over that. Keough said residents understand the situation and what precautions need to be taken. We know there is a virus out there causing havoc, there is no doubting that but its not going away and open and closing (the state) is not the answer, he said. This is Texas. We dont operate out of fear. We operate with caution and good sound judgment. We must move forward and learn to live with this. We must open our schools in the fall. Cautious about closing While most recently Keough drew national attention for his invitation to the Texas Republican Party to host in-person state convention in Montgomery County after Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner canceled the event for downtown Houston earlier this week, he has maintained a cautious approach on his decisions during the health crisis. In fact, in March Keough was hesitant to issue a stay-at-home order for the month of April as surrounding counties, including Harris County, moved to shutter businesses and cancel hundreds of events to help control the spread of the virus. However, on March 27, Keough followed suit and ordered residents to stay home and set a curfew in place but terminated the 30 order two weeks early. At that time Abbotts stay-at-home order for the state remained in effect through April 30. In May, Keough maintained new orders from Abbott were confusing regarding nonessential businesses. Attorney General Ken Paxtons office released guidance letter late Thursday, making it clear all nonessential businesses are to remain closed despite Keoughs interpretation that those businesses, like hair and nail salons, werent closed but people should avoid them. Open for business In June, Keough took aim at Abbott, calling his action to again shut down businesses, like bars and outdoor tubing businesses, ludicrous. I support the governors decision to temporarily pause the reopening of Texas given the current increase in cases statewide, Keough said in a previous article. 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. 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. Keough has also avoided implementing making masks in public mandatory despite Abbotts current order that requires masks in counties with 20 or more cases noting the order is unenforceable. Keough said he will continue to fight for residents. Montgomery County is open for business, he said. cdominguez@hcnonline.com Police officers in Luxembourg carried out 46 searches from Monday to Thursday in relation to child pornography offences. Police and justice officials revealed these figures at a press conference. 14 searches were carried out in the judicial district of Diekirch, with 32 others carried out around the capital. In total the searches required around 100 officers. The investigator in charge remarked that over a third of those investigated as part of the the operation were minors - a fact he described as disturbing. Pierre Jans The photos published on this site are subject to copyright and may not be copied, modified, or sold without the prior permission of the owner of the site in question. David Lentz, State Attorney for the prosecutor's office, said there were 46 individual files, not thought to be linked at this moment in time. The materials seized varied from a handful of images, to whole hard disks containing indecent images of children. Initial reports suggested the cases are not linked to the recent child pornography affair in Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany. Claude Weis, of the police force's child protection service, said the number of searches were just the first step. The investigator cited one particular example of a chat found by police, in which two adult men discussed what they would do to a 10 year old girl. Weis said this was not one of the worst cases he had seen, and described child abuse as a global scourge. Canadas economy creates almost 1 million jobs in June Unemployment rate continues to drop as record 953,000 people find jobs in June. Canadas economy creates almost 1 million jobs in June Unemployment rate continues to drop as record 953,000 people find jobs in June. Canadas economy creates almost 1 million jobs in June Unemployment rate continues to drop as record 953,000 people find jobs in June. Mohanad Moetaz Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Lifting coronavirus-related lockdown restrictions around the country has sparked the beginning of Canadas economic recovery. Many Canadians and permanent residents returned to work for their previous employers while others started new jobs. Between February and April, a total of 3 million people lost their jobs due to the lockdown, and another 2.5 million were absent from work due to coronavirus-related reasons, according to a Statistics Canada report published on Friday. May saw a slow start of economic recovery as 290,000 people returned to work. Building on this, the month of June helped alleviate low unemployment rates across the country as employment increased by a record 953,000 people. Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs These last two months saw the labour market recover by a staggering 40% as over 1.24 million people gained employment. Canadas overall unemployment rate dropped from 13.7% in May to 12.3% in June. In addition, the report says that labour force participation rate has increased substantially over the last two months up to 63.8% in June. In comparison, it was 65.5% in February, before coronavirus-related restrictions. The labour force participation rate is the percentage of the population, aged 15 or older, who are part of the labour force. This suggests that many people are now more optimistic about the potential of finding a job. The Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) requirement to actively search for work may be another factor. The CESB was introduced to alleviate financial struggles of students who may have been affected by the coronavirus-related restrictions Moreover, the number of people who work less than half of their usual hours also decreased in June to 26.9% down from 34.3%. Employment in Ontario increased by 378,000 (or 5.9%), Quebec by 248,000 (or 6.5%) and British Columbia by 118,000 (or 5.4%). The reopening of Canadas economy bodes well for Canadians and permanent residents. It should also instill confidence in future permanent residents, such as those currently overseas. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has returned to normal in terms of Express Entry draws. The latest draw held was an all-program draw. This means that candidates for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC) were also considered. Since the travel restrictions were put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, IRCC had been holding program-specific draws, alternating between Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws. Canadas latest job statistics is good news for these immigrants since they can expect a stronger job market once they have obtained permanent residence. Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved A writer for the Fox News star Tucker Carlson resigned after he was revealed as the pseudonymous author of several years worth of racist, sexist and obscene posts on an online message board. Blake Neff, who joined Tucker Carlson Tonight in 2017, left Fox News on Friday after the network learned of his activity on an online forum, AutoAdmit, which is popular with law students. The site has previously been the subject of at least one lawsuit for its offensive and misogynist content. In a memo on Saturday, leaders of Fox News described Mr. Neffs writings as horrendous and deeply offensive and said the network condemned his behavior. Neffs abhorrent conduct on this forum was never divulged to the show or the network until Friday, at which point we swiftly accepted his resignation, the networks chief executive, Suzanne Scott, and its president and executive editor, Jay Wallace, wrote in the memo, which was distributed to the Fox News staff. Make no mistake, actions such as his cannot and will not be tolerated at any time in any part of our work force. Shaktidan Singh was a notorious dacoit in the 1980s. Forty cases are registered against him in his home state of Rajasthan Barmer: An accused who is wanted in a 38-year-old dacoity and murder case was arrested on Friday by a team of Gujarat Police, officials said. The accused Shaktidan Singh (66) was arrested by Gujarat Police in Bijawala village falling under Gadra Road police station. He was wanted in a 38-year-old dacoity and murder case, Barmer Superintendent of Police Anand Sharma said. The SP said the accused had committed a dacoity and murder in Iqbalgarh area in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in 1982. In the firing, two people including a policemen were killed. Singh was a notorious dacoit in the 1980s and 40 cases are registered against him in his home state in Rajasthan. The accused had earlier surrendered in 1989 and presently there is no pending case against him in Rajasthan, the officer said. Many of the nations 3.5 million teachers found themselves feeling under siege this week as pressure from the White House, pediatricians and some parents to get back to physical classrooms intensified even as the coronavirus rages across much of the country. On Friday, the teachers union in Los Angeles, the nations second-largest district, demanded full-time remote learning when the academic year begins on Aug. 18, and called President Donald Trumps push to reopen schools part of a dangerous, anti-science agenda that puts the lives of our members, our students and our families at risk. Teachers say crucial questions about how schools will stay clean, keep students physically distanced and prevent further spread of the virus have not been answered. And they feel that their own lives, and those of the family members they come home to, are at stake. I want to serve the students, but its hard to say youre going to sacrifice all of the teachers, paraprofessionals, cafeteria workers and bus drivers, said Hannah Wysong, a teacher at the Esperanza Community School in Tempe, Arizona, where virus cases are increasing. School systems struggling to meet the financial and logistical challenges of reopening safely will need to carefully weigh teachers concerns. A wave of leave requests, early retirements or resignations driven by health fears could imperil efforts to reach students learning both in physical classrooms and online. On social media, teachers across the country promoted the hashtag #14daysnonewcases, with some pledging to refuse to enter classrooms until the coronavirus transmission rate in their counties falls, essentially, to zero. Now, educators are using some of the same organizing tactics they employed in walkouts over issues of pay and funding in recent years to demand that schools remain closed, at least in the short term. Its a stance that could potentially be divisive, with some district surveys suggesting that more than half of parents would like their children to return to classrooms. Big districts like San Diego and smaller ones, like Marietta, Georgia, are forging ahead with plans to open schools five days per week. Many other systems, like those in New York City and Seattle, hope to offer several days per week of in-person school. Adding to the confusion, optional guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May set out ambitious safety precautions for schools. But the president, and many local school system leaders, have suggested they do not need to be strictly followed, alarming teachers. Many doctors, education experts, parents and policy-makers have argued that the social and academic costs of school closures on children need to be weighed alongside the risks of the virus itself. The heated national debate about how and whether to bring students back to classrooms plays upon all the anxieties of the teaching profession. The comparison between teachers and other essential workers currently laboring outside their homes rankles some educators. They note that they are paid much less than doctors the average salary nationwide for teachers is about $60,000 per year but are more highly educated than delivery people, restaurant workers or most staffers in child care centres, many of whom are already back at work. Now, as teachers listen to a national conversation about reopening schools that many believe elevates the needs of the economy and working parents above the concerns of the classroom workforce, many are fearful and angry. They point out that so far Congress has dedicated less than 1% of federal pandemic stimulus funds to public schools stretching to meet the costs of reopening safely. The message to teachers, said Christina Setzer, a preschool educator in Sacramento, is, Yes, you guys are really important and essential and kids and parents need you. But sorry, we dont have the money. Earlier in the shutdown, Trump acknowledged the health risks to teachers over the age of 60 and those with underlying conditions, saying at a White House event in May that they should not be teaching school for a while, and everybody would understand that fully. But this week, as the administration launched a full-throated campaign to pressure schools to reopen in the fall a crucial step for jump-starting the economy it all but ignored the potential risks teachers face. More than one-quarter of public schoolteachers are over the age of 50. Teachers say many of their questions about how schools will operate safely remain unanswered. They point out that some classrooms have windows that do not reliably open to promote air circulation, while school buildings can have aging heating and cooling systems that lack the filtration features that reduce virus transmission. Although many districts are spending millions this summer procuring masks, sanitizers and additional custodial staff, many teachers say they have little faith that limited resources will stretch to fill the need. They also worry about access to tests and contact tracing to confirm COVID-19 diagnoses and clarify who in a school might need to isolate at home in the event of a symptomatic student or staff member. The CDC has advised against regular testing in K-12 schools, but Wednesday, Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the White House coronavirus response co-ordinator, said the Trump administration was exploring whether testing being developed for other vulnerable environments, like nursing homes, could be used in schools. Indeed, educators have had to process a head-spinning set of conflicting health and safety guidelines from Washington, states and medical experts. The CDC has recommended that when schools reopen, students remain 6 feet apart when feasible, while the American Academy of Pediatrics released guidelines suggesting that 3 feet could be enough space if students wore masks. But after major pushback from educator groups, who felt there was too little attention on the health risks for adults who work in schools, the Academy joined with the two national teachers unions Friday to release a statement saying, Schools in areas with high levels of COVID-19 community spread should not be compelled to reopen against the judgment of local experts. In Arizona, Wysong, 30, said she was willing to return to her Tempe classroom; she is not in a high-risk category for complications from COVID-19 and her school caps classes at 15 students. But given the long-term teacher and substitute shortage in Arizona, which has some of the lowest educator salaries in the nation, she said she believed the overall system could not reopen safely with small enough class sizes. Health and education experts who support reopening schools have sometimes questioned the need for strict physical distancing, pointing in recent weeks to emerging research suggesting that children may be not only less likely to contract COVID-19, but also less likely to transmit it to adults. In interviews, many teachers said they were unaware of or skeptical of such studies, arguing that much about the virus remains unknown, and that even if teachers do not catch coronavirus in large numbers from children, it could be spread among adults working in a school building, or during commutes to and from schools via public transit. The education systems in Germany and Denmark have successfully reopened, but generally only after local virus transmission rates were brought under control. American schools currently have a variety of plans for welcoming students back to campuses, ranging from regular, five-day schedules with children using desk partitions to stay distanced, to hybrid approaches that seek to keep students physically distanced by having them attend school in-person only a few days per week, and spend the rest of their time learning online from home. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that the nations largest school system would reopen only part-time for students this fall, but teachers would most likely be back in classrooms five days a week. The teachers union president, Michael Mulgrew, has said he does not believe schools can reopen at all if the city does not receive additional federal funding this summer. With many teachers reluctant to return to work, according to polls, staffing will be a major challenge for districts across the country. New York estimates that about 1 in 5 of its teachers will receive a medical exemption to teach remotely this fall. Matthew Landau, a history teacher at Democracy Prep Charter High School in Harlem, hopes he will be one of them. He survived stage four cancer several years ago and said he does not feel comfortable going back to his classroom. I feel theres no way to keep immunocompromised teachers safe, he said. Kevin Kearns, a high school English teacher at the High School of Fashion Industries in downtown Manhattan, has spent the last few weeks wrestling with his own dilemma. Kearns and his wife became parents in March, and need child care for their infant son. Their only option is to have Kearns mother-in-law, who is in her 70s, stay with them. Kearns is terrified of bringing the virus home. I dont want to go back, I dont think its safe to go back, but I dont know that I necessarily have a choice, he said. Still, Kearns said he feels a duty to the mostly low-income, Black and Latino students he teaches. It puts me in a very difficult moral conundrum, he said, to choose between supporting my community, students, colleagues and my own familys safety. Read more about: President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's Schools," event in the East Room of the White House, in Washington on July 7, 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo) Judge Orders Manhattan DA, Trump Lawyers to Provide Next Steps in Financial Records Case A federal judge has ordered President Donald Trumps lawyers and the Manhattan District Attorneys Office to inform him on whether further proceedings are needed after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the offices subpoena of Trumps tax records. U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero on July 10 (pdf) asked the parties to provide him with potential areas for further argument if further proceedings are needed in the case, in light of the high courts ruling that found that the president isnt categorically immune from state grand jury subpoenas. The case stems from a dispute over a subpoena issued to Mazars USA, Trumps accounting firm, by District Attorney of New York County Cyrus Vance for tax records relating to Trump and his businesses in connection to a grand jury investigation. Vance is investigating hush money allegedly paid to two women during the 2016 presidential campaign: adult film performer Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the two women. Trump has been fighting Vances subpoena since September 2019, arguing that the president enjoys absolute immunity from state criminal process under the Constitution. The district court denied Trumps application for an injunction over the subpoena and dismissed the case in October. The 2nd Circuit also denied the presidents request for relief. Trumps lawyer argued in the Supreme Court that a sitting president has absolute immunity from state criminal subpoenas because compliance with them would impair the performance of his presidential duties. The federal government, which was also involved in the case, argued that a state grand jury subpoena for personal records of a sitting president should meet a higher standard of need. The Supreme Court on July 9 pushed back on both arguments and said no citizen, not even the President, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding. We reaffirm that principle today and hold that the President is neither absolutely immune from state criminal subpoenas seeking his private papers nor entitled to a heightened standard of need, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority in the 72 ruling (pdf). Roberts noted that the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decision only focused on the absolute immunity and heightened need arguments, and thus sent the case back to the lower courts so that the president may raise further arguments as appropriate. The top court indicated that the decision does not leave the president without recourse, saying that Trump can challenge the subpoena as an attempt to influence the performance of his official duties or the executive could argue that compliance with a particular subpoena would impede his constitutional duties. Trumps lawyer Jay Sekulow indicated on July 9 that they will continue the case in the lower courts. We will now proceed to raise additional Constitutional and legal issues in the lower courts, Sekulow said in a statement to media outlets. The White House also released a statement following the ruling, also hinting that the president may raise additional arguments, including constitutional protections, against the subpoenas. Marreros order also indicated that the parties are scheduled for a telephone conference for July 16 to discuss their positions in the case and any further briefing schedule, if needed. The United Nations said Friday it was encouraged that a UN team may be able to visit an oil tanker loaded with 1.1 million barrels of crude oil moored off the coast of Yemen, posing a serious risk to Red Sea marine life, desalination plants and shipping. Houthi rebels, who control the area where the ship is moored, have denied UN inspectors access to the vessel. But UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday local authorities recently signalled they would approve a UN mission to the site". We are following up with them and now to confirm the details, Dujarric added. "We hope logistical arrangements will be quickly completed so this work can begin. Internal documents obtained by The Associated Press last month show seawater has entered the engine compartment of the FSO Safer tanker, which hasnt 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 which prevents the tanks from gathering inflammable gases, has leaked out. According to AP's June 26 report, experts say maintenance is no longer possible because the damage to the ship is irreversible. Dujarric said the UN remains extremely concerned about the tanker. He said water in the engine room could have led to disaster and a temporary fix has been applied, but it is unclear how long this might last". He gave no further details. New York, July 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Automotive Tires Market Research Report by Rim Size, by Aspect Ratio, by Material, by Tube, by Vehicle Type, by Distribution Channel - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913483/?utm_source=GNW On the basis of Rim Size, the Automotive Tires Market is studied across 18-21, >22, and 12-17. On the basis of Aspect Ratio, the Automotive Tires Market is studied across -55, 60-70, and 75-85. On the basis of Material, the Automotive Tires Market is studied across Natural Rubber and Synthetic Rubber. On the basis of Tube, the Automotive Tires Market is studied across Tubed Tire and Tubeless Tire. On the basis of Vehicle Type, the Automotive Tires Market is studied across Heavy Light Commercial Vehicle, Light Commercial Vehicle, and Passenger Vehicle. On the basis of Distribution Channel, the Automotive Tires Market is studied across Aftermarket and OEM. On the basis of Geography, the Automotive Tires Market is studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region is studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region is studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region is studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Company Usability Profiles: The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Automotive Tires Market including Apollo Tyres Ltd, Bridgestone Corporation, CEAT Ltd, China National Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd, Continental AG, Michelin, Pirelli & C.S.p.A., Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and Yokohama Rubber Company, Limited. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Automotive Tires Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on sulfuric acid offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Automotive Tires Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Automotive Tires Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Automotive Tires Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Automotive Tires Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Automotive Tires Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Automotive Tires Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913483/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Donald Trump has called for the extradition of a former MI6 agent who was behind a controversial dossier about his alleged links to Russia. Christopher Steele, now a director of Orbis Business Intelligence, was responsible for the 'dirty dossier' published in 2016 that alleged Russian influence over President Trump. The Steele Dossier contained allegations of collusion between Mr Trump's US presidential campaign and the Kremlin, which have been denied by both parties. On Wednesday, Orbis was ordered to pay compensation to two Russian businessmen that had complained about data protection breaches including inaccuracies in the dossier relating to them. Taking to Twitter, the US President shared a report on London's High Court ruling and claimed that Mr Steele should go on trial over the document. In his retweet, Mr Trump said: 'This man should be extradited, tried, and thrown into jail' An a second retweet, Mr Trump shared another report about the High Court's decision, adding: 'Bring back Steele!!!' Donald Trump has called for the extradition of a former MI6 agent, Christopher Steele, who was responsible for the 'dirty dossier' published in 2016 that alleged Russian influence over President Trump (file photo) Taking to Twitter, the US President retweeted a report on London's High Court ruling that Orbis Business Intelligence, which Steele is a director of, had to pay compensation to two Russian businessmen The Steele Dossier claimed that the Russian Government had embarrassing material that could be used to hold influence over Trump through blackmail. One event mentioned in the document took place during Trump's presidential campaign in the Ritz-Carltons presidential suite in Moscow. Because Barack and Michelle Obama, whom Trump despised, had stayed in the bed, the president allegedly hired 'a number of prostitutes to perform a "golden showers" (urination) show [on the bed] in front of him'. The act, which has been vehemently denied by the president, was allegedly recorded using microphones and cameras by the Russian secret service (FSB) to ensure he bowed to the Kremlin's wishes. In his retweet, Mr Trump said: 'This man should be extradited, tried, and thrown into jail' Russian Oligarchs Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman Mikhail have been awarded 18,000 compensation for data protection breaches after allegations were made in the dossier that they had been involved in delivering large amounts of 'illicit cash' to Mr Putin when he was deputy mayor of St Petersburg. Mr Justice Warby said that more 'energetic checking' should have been carried out into the allegations against the businessmen. The judge also said that the Steele Dossier had been produced under instruction from a Washington DC consultancy. Though ordering the payment of paying compensation to the businessmen, Mr Justice Warby ruled that Orbis Business Intelligence was not responsible for the 'wider publication' of the dossier which was publicly released in 2017 by BuzzFeed. In a statement on their website, referring to the memo mentioned in court as 112, Orbis said: 'The judge found that CIR 112 'records accurately what Mr Steele was told by the source' and held that Orbis BI was not responsible for the wider publication of this report. Nor did the judge accept that Orbis should be held responsible for damages caused by third party republication of CIR 112. 'Orbis BI are grateful for Justice Warby's clear and detailed ruling in this case and will ensure that our company's data handling procedures incorporate his various findings going forward.' Steele's dossier, which was funded by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign, became FBI evidence in the FISA warrant applications against Trump advisor Carter Page. Addressing students at Oxford University in March, Steele said he had been interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into potential collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Russian government for 'two whole days' but was disappointed with Mueller's final report. 'I was surprised that very little of what I had discussed with them appeared in the final report,' said Steele, a former intelligence officer who ran the Russia desk at MI6. He criticized the report for being 'too narrow' and failing to follow up on crucial evidence. 'There were many things about the report that were good but other (aspects) that were not so good,' he said. Default risks for Indian companies are dropping at the fastest rate in over ten years as the government implemented stimulus measures to help companies hurt by the COVID-19 outbreak. The cost to insurance against non-payment by a basket of Indian companies has lowered by a total of 252 basis points in May and June, according to a Bloomberg report. This decline is the largest drop for a two-month period since 2009, according to CMA prices cited by the report. In May, the government announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package intended to provide relief during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also announced some measures during the lockdown, cutting its repo rate by 115 basis points after the COVID-19 outbreak began in India. "India's economic package, though a delayed one, was a recognition of the critical state of the economy because of the pandemic," said Ajay Marwaha, head of investment advisory for Sun Global Investments told Bloomberg. "This has brought relief to global investors and helped boost Indian asset prices, including easing of domestic firms' default swaps," Marwaha added. As restrictions are lifted in a staggered manner, the Indian economy might start expanding by March 2021, DBS Group said in a report, as cited by Bloomberg. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that the Indian economy will contract 4.5 percent in 2021. The City of Sydney is divided over how best to commemorate an 18th century Indigenous woman, with lord mayor Clover Moore warning a statue - backed by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council - may be colonialist and inappropriate. The proposal from councillor Kerryn Phelps is to build a monument to Patyegarang, a Gadigal woman who taught her language to the First Fleet naval officer Lieutenant William Dawes. Artist Djon Mundine has suggested the creation of a large carving of Indigenous figures in the cliff face opposite the Sydney Opera House. Credit:Steven Siewert The council will take the issue to its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory panel following a heated discussion between councillors last week. Cr Moore said the council was committed to commemorating Patyegarang in a way that was "both impactful and culturally appropriate", but: "We are wary that for many, commemoration through statues of individuals is considered a particularly Western or colonial approach." Sydney's major universities have warned state and federal governments must commit to a pilot scheme for international students from September to protect next year's planned intake and the billions of dollars in revenue for the sector and the state. A trial program to establish a safe corridor for overseas students is now on the backburner, NSW government sources told The Sun-Herald, because of the dire coronavirus situation in Victoria, the repatriation of Australian citizens and pressure on the hotel quarantine system. The University of Technology Sydney is among the major unis desperate to lock in a pilot scheme for the spring. Credit:Steven Siewert But university leaders are desperate to establish a pilot scheme for the spring to demonstrate students can be quarantined safely, in order to restart the flow of students properly in 2021. They want the NSW government to take the plan to national cabinet and for the federal government to relax preconditions for the program going ahead. "It is absolutely imperative from the university and whole sector's perspective that it does happen," said University of Technology Sydney deputy vice-chancellor Iain Watt. Edel McGinley, director of Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), appeared before the Special Oireachtas Covid-19 committee.Picture is screenshot from Oireachtas TV. Levels of institutional racism and discrimination in the health service led to a serious data breach when employers were told of coronavirus test results before meat factory workers who were tested, it has been claimed. Edel McGinley, director of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), described the practice as a gross and serious breach of confidentiality. She told the Special Oireachtas Covid-19 committee that comments made by a senior health official about the scandal were deeply worrying. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) In May, it was revealed that workers test results were being shared first with employers before workers themselves. The incidents relate to widespread screening of meat factory workers, with public health officials alerting employers in the first instance in an effort to trigger prompt infection control steps. When the practice was made public, the HSE said it would end. However, Ms McGinley said it remains unclear if new guidelines or training have been issued for staff who are carrying out contact tracing in factories. She added: Deeply worrying are the revelations made by Director of Public Health in the mid-west, Dr Mai Mannix, while speaking at a HSE briefing on June 5. Her comments reveal a level of institutional racism and discrimination that led to this very serious data breach. Dr Mannix had been speaking about the length of time it took to contact people who do not speak English. This undermines trust in the HSE, leaving workers and their families exposed, and without accessible information to isolate if necessary. Edel McGinley In May, it was revealed that workers test results were being shared first with employers before workers themselves. Ms McGinley claimed these comments discriminate against people from a migrant background and are in breach of their public sector duty. This undermines trust in the HSE, leaving workers and their families exposed, and without accessible information to isolate if necessary, she added. Irish meat factories have been hit with clusters of cases, with more than 800 workers infected with the virus so far. Research carried out by MRCI reveal that almost half of workers feel that their employers do not enforce Covid-19 safety measures, while 48% said there are still not sufficient measures in place. The report also found that in workplaces with clusters, just 30% of workers felt their employers took effective action to keep them safe, with 67% claiming their employer had not done enough to prioritise their safety. Ms McGinley called for a taskforce to be set up to look at the terms and conditions for workers. She also raised issues around work permits, describing how difficult it is for workers to assert their rights. Workers report to us that they cannot choose not to come to work if ill, or seek improved conditions for fear of losing their employment permit and immigration status, Ms McGinley added. Sinn Feins Matt Cathy queried whether any staff returned to work before they received their Covid-19 test results. Expand Close Brid McKeown (PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Brid McKeown (PA) Brid McKeown, workplace rights coordinator at MRCI, said some staff only received their results when they approached their employer. We also have anecdotal evidence that some felt their employers were withholding positive results from workers who were not displaying symptoms to keep up production efforts, she told the committee. Labour TD Duncan Smith said the meat processing factories are the largest systemic work exploitation in the State. He added: Were there any incidents where the State provided protective equipment in meat plants? It is my view that, not only have many employers let these workers down, but the State have abandoned the workers in these plants. Ms McKeown said: Of the people we spoke to, 15% didnt have contracts, 9% werent sure if they had contracts and a further 13% said their contracts didnt reflect their terms and conditions. We have heard recent reports that over the last two years, workers are being given new contracts on the factory floor and told to sign them. The contracts are in English and they havent been translated or explained and are intimated when there is resistance to sign contracts. Migrant workers are extremely poorly treated, there is a day-to-day lack of respect and value bestowed and a huge lack of trust from workers. The main nationalities are Polish, Lithuanian, Romanian, Latvian, Moldovan, Slovakian, Brazilian, South African, Botswanan and Filipino. Workers also reported to the MRCI that EU and non-EU migrant workers are over-represented on the factory floors, meaning they are on lower paid jobs. Meanwhile, Ireland is beginning to reimport Covid-19 cases through international travel, a senior health adviser has warned. After the reproductive rate of Covid-19 in Ireland increased to one, Professor Philip Nolan, chairman of the National Public Health Emergency Teams (NPHET) modelling group, said a travel-related introduction of the disease is problematic. The Department of Health announced on Thursday that a further six people diagnosed with Covid-19 in Ireland have died. It brings the total number of deaths linked to the virus to 1,743. A further 23 cases of the virus have also been confirmed, bringing the overall number to 25,565. It emerged that of the 23 new cases, 15 were directly or indirectly related to travel. Prof Nolan told RTE Morning Ireland: NPHET has recommended an escalation of a set measures to ensure that we close down on that. Our current tracking and tracing mechanism is how to track down those cases and isolate them at an early stage. Were also beginning to see people being more sociable, perhaps people being forgetful about the risks of the viral transmission, and were seeing clusters of cases emerging in very small numbers of circumstances. These circumstances are those we advise against gatherings of large numbers of people, particularly indoors, are the ideal opportunity for this fire to spread. RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - President Jair Bolsonaro has appoint Milton Ribeiro, an evangelical pastor and former army lieutenant, as the nation's new education minister, he said on a Facebook post on Friday. (Reporting by Pedro Fonseca; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Sandra Maler) RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - President Jair Bolsonaro has appoint Milton Ribeiro, an evangelical pastor and former army lieutenant, as the nation's new education minister, he said on a Facebook post on Friday. (Reporting by Pedro Fonseca; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Sandra Maler) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Istanbul: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has declared Istanbul's Hagia Sophia a mosque with the first Muslim prayers to begin in two weeks, after a top court ruled the ancient building's conversion to a museum nearly 90 years ago was illegal. Erdogan spoke just hours after the court ruling was published, brushing aside international warnings not to change the status of the nearly 1500-year-old monument that is revered by Christians and Muslims alike. Turkey's top administrative court ruled to annul a 1934 decree that turned the historic Hagia Sophia into a museum. Credit:Getty Images The United States, Russia and church leaders were among those to express concern about changing the status of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, a focal point of both the Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman empires and now one of the most visited monuments in Turkey. Greece's Culture Ministry described the court decision as an "open provocation" to the civilised world, saying it would have repercussions not only on relations between the two countries, but on Turkey's ties with the European Union. A group of 13 people left a Melbourne poker game with much lighter pockets after they were caught by police and each fined $1652 for breaking COVID-19 restrictions. Victoria Police fined eighty-three people for breaching the Chief Health Officer's directions in the 24 hours up to 2.30pm on Saturday. Soldiers and Victoria police on a roadside checkpoint on the Geelong Freeway enforcing lockdown in Melbourne on Friday. Credit:Jason South The card-playing group was found by Victoria Police at a Southbank residence on Friday. Across 24 hours, 1347 spot checks were completed at homes, businesses and public spaces around Victoria. India has declared abortion an 'essential' service, but medical experts and health professionals say one and a half million women will not be able to access safe abortion services during the lockdown. There will be over 8 lakh unwanted childbirths, according to projections. On World Population Day, in a panel discussion, Dr.Kalpana Apte, Anubha Rastogi and VS Chandrashekar talked about 'Coronavirus Pandemic and unintended pregnancies, what's our future?' "We're well past the worst-case scenario of prediction when it comes to access to contraceptives," said VS Chandrashekar, CEO at Foundation for Reproductive Health Services India (FRHS). Dr Kalpana Apte, CEO, FPA India, said that the impact of the pandemic on women have been much larger. "Women got poorer during the lockdown. They didn't have access to get to the 'essential' services in the lockdown." Dr Apte pointed out that only 30% women in India can take decisions about their own health. "Services dropped by 60% during the lockdown. Even in green zones, women don't come to clinics, now that the lockdown is lifted," she said. Anubha Rastogi, Human Rights Lawyer, said, "Access to abortion in India isn't a right. It's legal depending on medical urgency. When the opinion of one doctor is enough for childbirth, why do we need multiple doctors when it comes to abortion? Chandrashekar pointed out that the policies are not in tune with what we want to tell our young population. "Why are condom advertisements only shown at night?" he asked. "Eighty-one per cent of abortions in India are performed using medical abortion drugs. It's time India steps up to take the onus of women's reproductive health," he said. On the question whether the government should implement a one/two-child policy, Dr Kalpana Apte said, "Two children have become the desired average family size in India. If the government keeps pushing for a one-child policy, the woman having the child is going to be the one bearing the brunt." Dr Apte said, "One of the biggest myths that need to be busted is that family size depends on religion or socio-economic conditions. That's not true. It only depends on where you live, irrespective of socio-economic background or religion. It depends on your access to healthcare." "Implementing a policy like that will be a gross violation of human rights in a democracy like India," Chandrashekar added. You can watch the complete discussion here. The Sikkim government on Saturday said that army and paramilitary personnel who test positive for Covid-19 wont be allowed to enter the state. In a first, the Himalayan state also started Rapid Antigen testing at Rangpo along the Sikkim-Bengal border to gear up its surveillance against the disease. The testing centre was inaugurated by chief minister Prem Singh Tamang. The Army and the paramilitary forces will also be tested and if their reports come out positive, they will be returned from the border to their designated quarantine centres in West Bengal, said a press release issued by the state information and public relation department of the Himalayan state. Pempa T Bhutia, director general cum secretary of health department said, With this inauguration, Sikkim becomes the first state in the country to start Antigen Testing for Covid-19 along its borders. The state, which shares international borders with China, Nepal and Bhutan, didnt register a single Covid-19 case till May 22. The first case was reported on May 23 when people started returning after the nation-wide lockdown was relaxed. Till date there no death has been reported. A senior government official said that till Saturday the total number of positive Covid-19 cases in the state was 160 out of which 13 were army personnel and 45 were from the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF). Sashastra Seema Bal and Indo Tibetan Border Police personnel have also been tested positive. The growing number of Covid-19 cases among the army and para-military forces is a major concern for the state. This prompted us to start antigen testing in the border, said the official. A senior health official said that a standard operating system for screening at Rangpo has been developed in consultation with the Army and paramilitary forces. The tests are done on returnees upon their arrival at the screening centre at Rangpo. K Shrinivasulu, principal secretary, health said The army has already relocated its personnel tested positive to Siliguri where they have 300 bedded health facilities. The SSB also has its health faculty in Kolkata. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON France's new prime minister Jean Castex has promised to put 20 extra officers on the ground in Dijon after complaints about a lack of police presence during gang violence there last month. On a visit to the eastern city, Castex praised the courage of security forces and reassured them of the government's support. "I came to Dijon to express the government's full support to security forces in the constant struggle they face in dealing with this type of brawl," Castex said Friday, nearly one month after clashes between rival gangs that left several injured. Unrest broke out in Dijon on 12 June when dozens of Chechen youths from across France descended on the gritty suburb of Gresilles to avenge an attack on a Chechen teenager, blamed on drug traffickers. The Chechens focused their retaliation against the Maghreb community in the low-income district of Gresilles, with one police source quoting a Chechen member as saying they had come to clean things up. Scenes of clashes, including men brandishing what appeared to be assault rifles, shocked the country and prompted questions about whether security forces had done enough to stop the fighting. The government eventually sent in police reinforcements to quell the violence. Prime Minister Jean Castex said he was outraged by the "inadmissible behaviour" in Dijon, usually a placid city, and vowed to "support the action and fight against any form of violence and communitarianism that could threaten the values of the Republic". Rebuilding relations with police The prime minister said that he wished to send a message of assurance, promising to send around twenty extra officers to Dijon from September, adding that "beyond nice words, it is the demonstration of our commitment". Castex was accompanied to Dijon by his new Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin for his second meeting in a week with police officers. On Sunday, two days after his appointment as prime minister, he visited police headquarters in Seine-Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris. Analysts see Castex's overtures to the police as the government's attempt to rebuild relations with security forces that have been soured by the current racism debate. Police officers protested last month against new plans to ban chokeholds after global protests over George Floyd's death in the US. French police have also taken issue with any suggestion of systemic racism in their ranks, accusing the government of not defending it against the claims. In a bid to reassure security officers, the prime minister on Friday told them: "You are at the heart of the republican and democratic pact. If public order breaks down, if secularism is undermined...the Republic will not function. We are here to ensure that it functions better." Rape allegations Castex also renewed support to his Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, currently the target of feminist ire over allegations of rape. The minister "will put all his intelligence, all his determination and I would even say, he will bring affection to all of the women and men who make up the public service that you represent," Castex insisted. Several demonstrations were planned Friday to contest Darmanin's appointment as interior minister, as well as that of Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti, who previously openly criticised the #MeToo movement. A Delhi court Saturday granted bail to 75 foreign nationals from Thailand and Nepal, who were charge-sheeted for attending a Tablighi Jamaat congregation here allegedly in violation of visa norms, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines issued in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur granted the relief to the foreigners on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. Till date, 445 foreign nationals from 33 different countries, who were charge-sheeted in the case have been granted bail by the court. The police had in June filed 59 charge sheets, including supplementaries, against 956 foreigners belonging to 36 different countries in the case. The accused who were granted bail Saturday will file their plea bargaining applications on Monday, said advocates Ashima Mandla, Mandakini Singh and Fahim Khan, appearing for them. Under plea bargaining, the accused plead guilty to the offence, praying for a lesser punishment. The Criminal Procedure Code allows for plea bargaining in cases where the maximum punishment is a seven-year imprisonment; offences dont affect the socio-economic conditions of the society and the offence is not committed against a woman or a child below 14 years of age. During the hearing, all the foreigners were produced before the court through video conferencing. The court had granted bail to 122 Malaysians on Tuesday and 91 other foreigners from 21 countries on Wednesday, 76 foreign nationals from eight countries on Thursday and 82 Bangaldeshi nationals on Friday. The investigating officer had earlier told the court that the investigation was completed against the 956 foreigners in the case and each has been allegedly found to have independently committed the offence for which he /she has been charge-sheeted. Further investigations are pending, the IO said. These foreigners had attended the event in March, following which in April Covid-19 cases across the country spiked after hundreds of Tablighi Jamaat members, who had attended the religious congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz, tested positive. According to the chargesheets, all the foreigners have been booked for violation of visa rules, guidelines issued in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act and prohibitory orders under section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure. They have also been booked for offences under sections 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 271 (Disobedience to quarantine rule) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Foreigners Act. The punishment for these offences ranges from six months to eight years imprisonment. The Centre has cancelled their visas and blacklisted them. The foreigners have not been arrested yet and are residing at various places approved by the Delhi High Court. At least 9,000 people including the foreign nationals participated in the religious congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz. Later, many of the attendees travelled to various parts of the country. An FIR was registered against Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi and six others on March 31 on a complaint of the Station House Officer of Nizamuddin under sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act (2005), Foreigners Act and other relevant sections of Indian Penal Code. Kandhalvi was later booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after some of the attendees of the religious congregation died due to Covid-19, police said. Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen is safe in his job after weathering the storm over his drink-driving ban. However, senior figures in all three coalition parties say he will be gone swiftly if he is embroiled in further scandal. Read More Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin is looking to get beyond his faulty start with three big set pieces. Mr Martin attends his first EU summit next week, followed by the post-Covid-19 economic stimulus package. A North-South ministerial council, the first in more than two years, is also due in the coming weeks. The new coalition is putting together a stimulus package to be launched on Monday week. Among the measures in the package will be: money for small businesses; funding for small and medium businesses to reduce their energy emissions; a fund for towns and villages to expand footpaths; capital works funding for schools; funding for retrofitting houses and refurbishing empty council houses; a reskilling fund to help those who lost their jobs to retrain for other work; the procurement of goods across the whole of government so departments are not competing, particularly for Personal Protective Equipment. Mr Cowen apologised to his Cabinet colleagues this week. But ministers and party officials alike across the coalition say there will be little support for him if he gets into any more trouble. "The credits are all cashed in," a Fianna Fail minister said. "If he f***s up again, he's gone. It's the worst start for a government probably ever," a Fine Gael minister said. "If there is anything else to come back, he'll have to answer for it. The feeling is it was a while ago and he's said his piece now," a Green Party source said. Some ministers are sympathetic towards Mr Cowen now. "There's an unwritten code in politics. Go after the man and his politics, but not his personal life or his finances. He committed an offence and paid the penalty. "The country is gone to f*** if a man can't get past that. He broke the law and was punished. Is that not enough for people?" a minister said. Mr Martin will also have to watch his backbenchers amid complaints already about a lack of Fianna Fail identity in the coalition. "They'll take the view it's only two-and-a-half years and they can act up," a party source said. Government sources said Mr Martin could have done without the distraction of the controversy around Mr Cowen. Mr Martin will attend his first EU summit as Taoiseach next week. The main item on the agenda is the EU's long-term budget, including farm grants under the Common Agricultural Policy. European Council President Charles Michel is trying to bridge gaps between EU countries over their long-term budget and economic stimulus plans before national leaders meet next week to haggle over how to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. EU economies are in difficulty in the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. The 27 European Union heads will meet in person for the first time since the lockdown in March and rows over how to respond to the coronavirus divided the bloc. "The Covid-19 crisis presents Europe with a challenge of historic proportions. We are slowly exiting the acute health crisis - the emphasis is now shifting to mitigating the socio-economic damage," Mr Michel said. EU leaders are trying to overcome major differences over how to revive economic growth between the wealthy, thrifty north and the high-debt south, hit harder by Covid-19. The EU is proposing a smaller joint budget for 2021-27 than previously envisaged. The Netherlands is adopting a hard line on the budget, backed by Finland and Sweden. But the Dutch are viewed as the big obstacle. By Associated Press KABUL: At least six civilians, including women and children, were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in hit a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan, a provincial official said on Saturday. Wahidullah Jamazada, spokesman for the governor of Ghazni province, said eight other civilians were wounded in the afternoon attack in the Jaghatu district. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Jamazada blamed Taliban insurgents who are active in the province. Last Wednesday, in an attack by Taliban insurgents, a roadside bombing in the same province targeted and killed a district police chief and his two bodyguards in the Dayak district. Habibullah, who like many Afghans uses only one name, was inspecting checkpoints early in the morning when the attack happened. Separately, the Defense Ministry said Afghan soldiers repelled Taliban attacks Friday at army checkpoints in the district of Azra in eastern Logar province. The statement said at least eight Taliban fighters were killed and four others wounded. The Taliban and Afghan national forces have been trading blame over a recent surge in attacks across the country - even as efforts press on to try and bring about the start of direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. The Taliban accuses government forces of targeting them in their homes, with their families bearing the brunt of those operations. Kabul, meanwhile, has accuse the Taliban of stepping up attacks against both civilians and the security forces. At a time when the situation in eastern Ladakh is heading towards normalcy after two months of standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies, 144 military veterans have written an open letter to the President, Prime Minister, the Chief of Defence Staff and the three military chiefs requesting urgent attention on several points of concern in the military. Among of the 144 signatories of the open letter are Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, Lt Gen Suresh Samarth and Lt Gen Narendra Aul. Stating that none of the signatories belonged to any political party, the open letter read: "The loss of twenty Jawans, including the CO, Colonel Santosh Babu, on June 15/16 in the Galwan valley is deeply disturbing and raises many questions". The open letter claimed that intelligence failure could have been the biggest reason for the Galwan Valley standoff that killed 20 Indian soldiers. "While we accept that failures can happen in any system, in the current instance either our intelligence system was found wanting, or the intelligence which it obtained did not reach the field units in time," the letter said while urging the government to revamp the intelligence system. The open letter also stated that the Centre and the Indian Army should have issued a formal statement about the Galwan clash to rumours and speculations to rest. "We therefore urge that in the event of such future situations, only formal statements be issued so that the Indian public is not confused and the aggressor nation does not gain political advantage," it read. The military veterans urged the Centre to constitute a fact-finding body to investigate the incursions and encroachments by the PLA in Aksai Chin, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and along the Tibet border, adding that the report should be tabled in the Lok Sabha in a time-bound manner. The open letter urged the Centre to stop the overdependence on the Army for maintaining internal security, clearly hinting at the Army's active role in curbing militancy in Kashmir and the North East. Moreover, it also pointed out that CAPFs, that is the paramilitary, were deployed in border areas that needed to be under the Army's charge. The open letter, thus, demanded a rationalisation of the policy. However, in a more significant statement, the military veterans urged the Union government to focus on finding a political solution for India's external and internal security matters. Indirctly, they meant that India should find a diplomatic solution to the Jammu and Kashmir and the LAC issue and resolve the insurgency in the North East and the jungles of Central India, i.e., Naxalism, by involving all political stakeholders. "Political solutions have not been sought in the past, but now need to be arrived at, because continuous deployment of the military can never be a long-term solution," they said. The open letter stated that India would need a national policy and strategy on dealing with the immediate neighbourhood as well as distant nations. It added that successive governments ignored the formulation of such a policy. "Having an over-arching national policy and strategy will reduce casualties among our troops, which occur due to the heightened risk of being reactive to conflict situations created by China or Pakistan," the letter read. Interestingly, the open letter mentioned the Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report, which reportedly exposed the lacuane in the political-military leadership in the run up to and during the 1962 War with China. The report is still classified and the open letter urged the government to release it into the public domain. "The military-bureaucratic-political system and the public can learn from the mistakes of the past. There can be no sensible reason for this Report remaining secret even after 57 years," the letter read. By Express News Service CHENNAI: CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan has written to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami seeking his intervention in rescuing 44 Tamil fishermen who have been stranded in Iran without job and income. He further urged that the fishermen should be given food and other basic amenities until rescued. Dozens of US Marines at two bases on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa have been infected with the coronavirus in what is feared to be a massive outbreak, Okinawas governor said on Saturday, demanding an adequate explanation from the US military. Governor Denny Tamaki said he could say only that a few dozen cases had been found recently because the US military asked that the exact figure not be released. The outbreaks occurred at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is at the centre of a relocation dispute, and Camp Hansen, Tamaki said. Local media, citing unnamed sources, said about 60 people had been infected. Okinawans are shocked by what we were told (by the US military), Tamaki said. We now have strong doubts that the US military has taken adequate disease prevention measures. Tamaki demanded transparency in the latest development and said he planned to request talks between the US military and Okinawan officials. Okinawa is home to more than half of about 50,000 American troops based in Japan under a bilateral security pact. U.S. reports 69,000 new Covid-19 infections New cases rose by over 69,000 across the US on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, setting a record for the third consecutive day as Walt Disney Co stuck to its plans to reopen its flagship theme park in hard-hit Florida. A total of nine US states - Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Ohio, Utah and Wisconsin - also reached records for single-day infections. In Texas governor Greg Abbott warned he may have to impose new clampdowns if the state cannot stem its record-setting caseloads. California announced on Friday the state will release up to 8,000 inmates early from prisons to slow the spread of Covid-19 inside the facilities. Australia: Gilead drug okayed for use Australia has granted provisional approval to Gilead Sciences remdesivir as the first treatment option for Covid-19 in the country, the national regulatory body said. The approval is for adults and adolescent patients with severe Covid-19 symptoms and have been hospitalised. Remdesivir has become the treatment of choice for many countries against severely ill Covid-19 patients. Thousands of Australians who sheltered in Bali during the coronavirus lockdown will be kicked out in four weeks as their emergency pandemic visas expire. There are an estimated 10,000 Australians who remained in Indonesia during the lockdown, made up of 7,000 expatriates and 3,000 tourists. Indonesia issued an emergency visa for those stranded by coronavirus lockdowns in March when Jakarta declared a State of Emergency across the archipelago nation. About 10,000 Australians are stranded in Indonesia, with thousands on the tourist paradise of Bali staying on an emergency visa. They must leave by August 9 People are seen on a beach in Kuta as the government starts to reopen famous tourism spot for Bali citizens as a stage of ''new normal' plan The free, automatic Emergency Stay Permit enabled tourists to spend an extra three months in Indonesia during the lockdown. These visas have already expired leaving permit holders 30 days to get out before August 9, forcing thousands to return from the tropical paradise that is just now reopening. The exodus could be complicated by Friday's decision by Australia's National Cabinet to cut numbers of returnees to ease the economic burden on states of hotel quarantine. The National Cabinet decided to cut the number of returnees from just over 7,000 a week to just over 4,000 per week, a one-third reduction. More than 200,000 Australians have returned since the pandemic began in March, with about 28,000 arriving in the past month - most to New South Wales. Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged the temporary cap may make a return more difficult for citizens still abroad. Pictured: tourists on Kuta beach, Bali, on Thursday, July 9. Just as Bali is reopening after a three-month virus lockdown, tourists on emergency visas must leave Australia's Consulate-General in Bali recommends calling the emergency centre in Canberra 'There will be continuing access to Australia but the number of available positions on flights will be less, and I don't think that is surprising or unreasonable in the circumstances that we find ourselves in,' he told reporters on Friday. Returnees may also be asked to contribute to the cost of the mandatory 14-day quarantine. The automatic Emergency Stay Visa is only valid for 30 days from July 10, meaning Australians must now work out a visa extension or to book an onward flight. Many Australians in Bali will not be able to extend their visas any further. While some are on long-stay 60-day visas, the most popular visa for Australian tourists on Bali is the free Visa on Arrival (VOA). Bali's regional Immigration division spokesman Eko Budianto said that visa does not allow for any extension. Pictured: tourists at the reopened Bali Zoo on Saturday. Bali is emerging from lockdown but the emergency visas given to tourists for the pandemic are set to expire on August 9 Boys play on Kuta Beach, Bali, on Friday. Kuta is popular with Australian tourists, now stranded 'The Automatic Emergency Stay Visa is valid for 30 days from 10 July 2020. The VOA cannot be extended and they (Australians) have to leave Indonesia,' he told the Courier Mail. Mr Budianto said Indonesia's normal rules are now in force again, including a $100 per day overstay fee that must be paid on departure - in cash. An exceptional extension to the VOA may be offered but only if a tourist can prove no flights were available to return home. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement The Australian Consulate-General in Bali Anthea Griffin has urged Australians who need urgent assistance to call the Consular Emergency Centre in Canberra on +61 2 6261 3305. The Consulate-General's website says her office is only accepting essential appointments due to the coronavirus pandemic and some services may be limited. Any travellers considering going to a third-country are urged to check the Australian Government's Smart Traveller website for the latest travel warnings and advice. Daily Mail Australia has asked the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for a response on whether the capping of returnee numbers will affect the repatriation of thousands of Australians from Indonesia. A petition urging the Government to rethink flight restrictions has been signed by more than 1200 Australians overseas, SBS News reported. While caps are in place restricting citizens from returning, New South Wales and Victoria are both still planning to bring in tens of thousands of foreign fee-paying university students, SBS News reported on Thursday. Both NSW and Victoria are working with the Federal Government on a timetable. The NSW government reportedly plans to bring in up to 30,000 students in batches starting later this month, despite the decision to slash international arrivals. About 120,000 students or 20 percent of Australia's international students have been blocked from entering the country due to the pandemic. Early voting wrapped up Friday with over 154,000 Harris County residents who have cast their ballots so far, according to the July 10 unofficial election totals from the Harris County Clerks Office. Tuesday is election day for the July primary runoffs featuring several races affecting part, or all, of the Cy-Fair area. Q&A: HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress CEO Jim Brown discusses working in health care during COVID-19 Voters who participated in the March 3 primary election can only vote in the runoff election of the political party they chose in March. However, people who didnt vote in the March 3 primary election may vote in either the Democratic or the Republican primary runoffs. The contests and candidates appearing on voter ballots will vary based on where the voter resides and their political party. For each of the runoff races included on their respective ballots, voters will choose which of two candidates they want to see in the general election this November. On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas voter registration surges to 16.4 million, despite the pandemic Visit www.harrisvotes.com/SampleBallots to look up your sample ballot. Here is a partial list of runoff contests Cy-Fair area voters may see on their ballots: Democratic Party Ballot United States Senator Mary MJ Hegar Royce West U.S. House District 10 District includes a portion of the northwest Cy-Fair area. Mike Siegel Pritesh Gandhi Texas Railroad Commissioner Roberto R. Beto Alonzo Chrysta Castaneda Member, State Board of Education, District 6 District includes a portion of the Cy-Fair area. Michelle Palmer Kimberly McLeod State Representative, District 138 District includes a portion of the Cy-Fair area. Akilah Bacy Jenifer Rene Pool Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 7 Tamika Tami Craft Cheri Thomas District Judge, 164th Judicial District Cheryl Elliott Thornton Alexandra Smoots-Thomas District Judge, 339th Judicial District Teiva Bell Candance White Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 3 Precinct includes a portion of the Cy-Fair area Michael Moore Diana Martinez Alexander Harris County Constable, Precinct 5 Precinct includes a portion of the Cy-Fair area Randy Newman Mark Alan Harrison Republican Party Ballot Justice, 1st Court of Appeals District, Place 5 Terry Adams James Lombardino Harris County Sheriff Paul Day Joe Danna Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5, Place 1 Russ Ridgway Mike Wolfe Where to vote Eligible Harris County voters may vote at any polling location within the county on election day, July 14, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. As of Friday, the Election Day Polling Locations List on the Harris Votes website stated that the locations may change and asks voters to verify polling locations on election day. A link to election day polling locations with estimated wait times can be found at www.harrisvotes.com/WaitTimes. Voter safety measures The Harris County Clerks Office announced a plan for safety measures that will be implemented to better protect the health of in-person voters and poll workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement June 30, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins outlined the precautions, which include social distancing, hand sanitizing stations at entrances and offering face masks to voters. Voters will be provided with disinfectant wipes to sanitize the voting machines prior to and after use. Voters will also receive finger covers so they do not have to physically touch the machine. Hollins list also included providing poll works with PPE including masks and face shields, and making the option of curbside voting available to voters with virus symptoms. For more information on the HCCOs S.A.F.E. Elections Plan, visit www.harrisvotes.com/SAFE. mfeuk@hcnonline.com The truck driver behind a horror crash which killed a little girl has been taken into custody and charged over the incident. An eight-year-old girl died and five people were taken to hospital after a cement truck veered into a series of parked cars at a rest stop in Menangle in Sydney's south west on Friday afternoon in the midst of the New South Wales school holidays. The truck driver has been charged with more than nine offences including four counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm. An eight-year-old girl died and five people were taken to hospital after a cement truck veered into a series of parked cars at a rest stop in Menangle in Sydney's south west on Friday afternoon He also stands accused of failing to keep his work diaries up to date by failing to record details and not using accurate time stamps. The driver from Moss Vale is behind bars after being refused bail and will appear before the Parramatta Bail court later today. His licence has been suspended. The horror smash caused carnage at the exit to Sydney after the child's death and the injury of five others. New South wales ambulance paramedics rushed the injured into an ambulance after the fatal collision An aerial view shows the carnage as emergency crews tried to pick up the pieces after the horror crash outside Sydney Several men and women aged from 45 to 55 were left with hip, leg, head and internal injuries. Another had to be treated after suffering severe shock. The victims are undergoing treatment at the Liverpool Hospital. An SUV was pushed off the road after being hit by the B-Double I've been a reporter and editor at Missouri community newspapers for 35 years and joined the Columbia Missourian in 2003. My emphasis at the Missourian is on local government and elections. You can reach me at swaffords@missouri.edu or at 573-884-5366. Follow this search Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Washington, July 12 : Leading Democrats have condemned US President Donald Trump's decision to commute the prison sentence of his former adviser and friend Roger Stone. Presidential contender Joe Biden's spokesman accused Trump of abuse of power and "laying waste" to US values, the BBC reported. The move - sparing Stone from jail but not a pardon - came just after a court denied Stone's request to delay the start date of his 40-month prison term. He was convicted of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering. Stone was the sixth Trump aide found guilty on charges linked to a justice department probe that alleged Russia tried to boost the Trump 2016 campaign. The 67-year-old had been due to report to a federal prison in Jesup, Georgia, next Tuesday. The White House said Stone was the victim of an attempt by opponents to undermine the presidency. The president has been accused by political critics of undermining the justice system by criticising criminal cases against Stone and other former aides. Trump has also publicly complained about the prosecutions of onetime campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Biden's spokesman Bill Russo said Trump could not be shamed and could only be stopped at the ballot box. "President Trump has once again abused his power, releasing this commutation on a Friday night, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world," he said. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff condemned Trump's clemency. "With this commutation," said the top Democratic lawmaker, "Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else." Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said it showed Donald Trump was the most corrupt president in history. But the president's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, welcomed the news, saying Roger Stone's sentence was draconian. Stone himself told reporters that under the terms of the commutation he could now appeal against his sentence, and was confident that he could expose "an enormous amount of corruption" at his trial. The White House said in a statement: "Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency." It said that Department of Justice prosecutors under special counsel Robert Mueller only charged Stone out of frustration after failing to prove the "fantasy" that the Trump campaign had colluded with the Kremlin. The White House also suggested that the FBI had tipped off CNN about their pre-dawn raid on Stone's house, noting that a camera crew for the cable network was on the scene to record the arrest. "Roger Stone has already suffered greatly," the statement said. "He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!" Trump had been hinting about a reprieve for Stone for months, including on Thursday night in an interview with a Fox News host. The president's commutation does not void a criminal conviction as a pardon does. Stone was found guilty of lying to the House Intelligence Committee about his attempts to contact Wikileaks, the website that released damaging emails about Trump's 2016 Democratic election rival Hillary Clinton. US intelligence officials have concluded the messages were stolen by Russian hackers. Stone had acknowledged during the 2016 campaign that he was in contact with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. He also intimated that he knew the website would disclose more than 19,000 emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee servers. Stone's sentence fell short of an initial seven-to-nine-year recommendation from prosecutors. In a remarkable move, US Attorney General William Barr had overruled that sentencing guideline following a Trump tweet, and instead recommended a more lenient punishment. That intervention led to the entire Stone prosecution team resigning from the case. Stone has worked with Republicans since the 1970s and has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back. In the 1990s, Stone worked as a lobbyist for Trump's casino business, and later helped Trump's unsuccessful White House run in 2000. According to the Netflix documentary Get Me Roger Stone, the strategist reportedly encouraged Trump to run for the presidency again. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 19:38:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAMASCUS, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 25 Turkish military vehicles entered northern Syria on Saturday as part of an ongoing operation to send military backup to Turkish points in the area, a war monitor reported. The convoy, which includes logistics and military devices, reached the Turkish observation points in two batches, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A total of 4,560 Turkish military vehicles have entered areas in Idlib Province in northwestern Syrian since March when Turkey and Russia brokered a cease-fire agreement, the Britain-based watchdog noted. Under the deal with Russia, Turkey set up several observation points in Idlib and nearby areas. Meanwhile, the Observatory said Russian warplanes have been flying over the border between Turkey and Syria for days. The Syrian government considers the Turkish army on the Syrian soil forces of occupation. Enditem What Vietnam and the US have done is the result of a long process with persistent efforts by both sides to overcome major obstacles. It is important to mention the contributions of American lawmakers who have tried their best for the development and interests of the two nations. Senator McCain (right) and his Vietnamese rescuer Mai Van On in Hanoi in 1996. VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Khang Nguyen Tuong Van, Secretary-General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) A quarter of a century ago, on the night of July 11, 1995 (US time), the morning of July 12, 1995 (Vietnam time), US President Bill Clinton officially announced the normalisation of US-Vietnam relations. No one could have imagined that the two countries that were once mortal enemies were closing their traumatic past and moving on to a new chapter in their history. In order to take historic steps in Vietnam -US relations, from a former enemy to a friend and a comprehensive partner since 2013, many changes have occurred in the way of thinking and ideology of the heads of parliament and governments on both sides. This event has a special meaning, surpassing the expectations of bystanders and insiders. What Vietnam and the US have done is the result of a long process with persistent efforts by both sides to overcome major obstacles. It is important to mention the contributions of American lawmakers who have tried their best for the development and interests of the two nations. Prominent among them were the late Senator John McCain and the former Senator, US Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the way in breaking the iceberg of suspicion among American politicians. Looking back at the whole process, there is a paradox in Vietnam-US relations, that is, those who fought in the past became the pioneers in healing the relationship. Without the strong support of Senators McCain and Kerry, the normalisation process would have been delayed for many years since opposition in the US Congress was still very strong. As a fighter pilot involved in the war, John McCain was arrested in 1967 after his plane was shot down in Hanoi during a bombing mission. After being returned to the US, McCain began his political career, becoming a Senator and a presidential candidate in 2000 and 2008, who made tireless efforts to resolve the issue of hatred between the two countries. He was loved by many Vietnamese people as a close friend. In the final years of his life, Senator McCain continued to fight brain cancer, while continuing to fight for peace, stability and law and order in Asia-Pacific, especially the actions of China in the militarisation of the East Sea. browser not support iframe. I was fortunate to meet Senator McCain in the early days of the normalising process between the two countries. During his more than 20 visits to Viet Nam, I accompanied Senator McCain for more than 10 trips, including his last visit in June 2017. During this trip, he was very grateful for the decision of the National Assembly and the Government of Vietnam to have arranged for him to visit the destroyer USS John S. McCain, which was named after his father and grandfather. What I deeply feel about Senator Mccain is his outspokenness and great political determination in promoting relations with Vietnam. For me, the senator is a symbol, a monument of Vietnam-US relations, of the spirit of reconciliation, who had overcome the past to come to normalisation and continue to promote relations with a partner who was a former enemy. With his positive contributions, he had a very special position in the history of Vietnam-US relations. US Secretary of State John Kerry (standing, middle) witnesses the signing of a contract between GE Power and Water and Cong Ly Construction-Trade-Tourism Ltd in 2013 to provide 52 wind turbines for phase two of the project. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vu Also a veteran of the US, joining the naval force in the war, Senator - former Secretary of State, John Kerry is often regarded as one of a pair of cards along with Senator McCain in the issue of healing wounds between the two nations although the two senators belonged to opposing parties. Senator Kerry was the Chairman of the Special Committee on Prisoner of War and Missing in Actions Affairs (POW/MIA). At that time, the Viet Nam War was still a very sensitive issue, a painful wound for Americans. But, with dozens of trips to Vietnam and Southeast Asia, and by studying thousands of documents and images, Kerry clarified the rumours of US soldiers imprisoned in secret prisons" in Vietnam. That helped him gain a high reputation in the US Congress. Senator Patrick Leahy, Vice Chairman of the US Senate Appropriations Committee, has devoted 30 years to war recovery efforts between the two countries. Senator Leahy is considered the next generation of McCain and Kerry in cultivating Viet Nam-US relations. Senator Leahy, 79 years old, has a special affection for Vietnam and has made great contributions to budget allocations for Viet Nam not only in dealing with the aftermath of the war but in many fields. In the beginning, it was not easy to help Vietnam, because not all Americans understood the severe consequences of the war in Vietnam and the importance of reconciliation with Vietnam. As trust between the two countries improved, Senator Leahy started projects to help Vietnam, in which the Leahy War Victims Fund provided prosthetics and wheelchairs to help thousands of Vietnamese people. Senator Leahy was also a campaigner for the repatriation of the remains of American soldiers missing in the war. He once said the work helped ease the pain of hundreds of American families, and he could only do so with the help of the Vietnamese Government, even when Vietnam was facing poverty and hunger after the war and the US economic embargo. For Senator Leahy, a milestone of co-operation between the two sides to overcome the pain left by the war is to complete the dioxin treatment project at Da Nang airport and the starting of the project at Bien Hoa Airport, the largest hotspot of dioxin contamination in Vietnam with a cost of US$183 million for the first five years sponsored directly from the US government. I still remember accompanying him and the largest senator delegation in history, including nine American senators from both Democratic and Republican parties, to Dong Nai Province. This elderly man was not afraid of the long travel, busy programme of activities and standing with his bare head under the sun to witness the groundbreaking ceremony of the Dioxin Treatment Project at Bien Hoa Airport. The US corporation General Electric (GE) supplies wind turbines of 1.6MW each for Bac Lieu offshore wind farm. This is the first wind power plant in Viet Nam's Mekong Delta. VNA/VNS Photo Cao Thang Twenty-five years is not a long time in the history of relations between the two countries, but what Vietnam and the US have achieved, with the contributions of the US Congress, US Congressmen and the National Assembly of Vietnam, was really impressive. It significantly contributed to paving the way for the outstanding co-operation of the two countries in all fields at present. Besides bilateral interests, the two countries are closer to each other because they share strategic interests in maintaining peace, security, stability, co-operation and order based on laws in Asia-Pacific, including issues in the East Sea, Mekong, Korean Peninsula and co-ordination in regional and international forums. Most importantly, the relationship between the two countries was established on the basis of the principles of respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions. The strategic trust between the people and the leaders of the two countries has been increasingly improved. I believe that, in the future, the two sides will continue to dismiss differences, respect history and look forward, for a shared future of trust, peace and prosperity. VNS Secretary of State Pompeos statement on 25th anniversary of VN-US diplomatic relations US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has issued a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States (1995-2020), according to the US Embassy in Vietnam. Stephen Cameron, a British citizen who was infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in mid-March, was finally discharged from hospital in HCM City on July 11 after undergoing a battle against the deadly virus in Vietnam for a total of 115 days. The 43-year-old British citizen receives an 'immune passport' on July 11 Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, director of the Ministry of Healths Medical Examination and Treatment Department, and Dr Nguyen Tri Thuc, director of Cho Ray Hospital, handed over a COVID-19 free certificate, known as an immunity passport, to the Vietnam Airlines pilot. As Cameron has tested negative several times in recent days he is not required to undergo a 14-day quarantine period like other recovered patients, stated Dr. Khue. Upon his release from hospital, British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Ian Gibbons and Vietnam Airlines crew 911 were on hand to offer their congratulations to the British citizen. The British Consul General expressed his admiration for the nations success in combating the COVID-19 epidemic, particularly the achievement of not recording a single death. He therefore thanked Vietnamese doctors for their all-out efforts that ultimately saved the British citizens life, adding that Cameron had been lucky to be treated in Vietnam. Cameron was infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus on March 18 after visiting and attending a party alongside friends at Buddha Bar in Ho Chi Minh City. He subsequently admitted to the Hospital of Tropical Diseases in HCM City to be treated for the COVID-19 before being transferred to Cho Ray hospital on May 22 in order to undergo a follow-up treatment for organ failure. In total, his combined stay at both hospitals stands at 115 days. At one stage during his treatment, the patient had fallen into a coma with more than 90% of his lungs severely damaged due to infection complications. He then suffered from a cytokine storm syndrome, an overreaction of the immune system, before becoming heavily reliant on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a life support machine. He spent the majority of his treatment staying in the intensive care unit, with doctors at one stage expecting to conduct a lung transplant as a last resort aimed at saving his life. Despite the grim outlook, the British citizen managed to gradually make a miraculous recovery to the surprise of doctors, with his lung capacity recovering to almost 100%. Other organs such as his kidneys and livers are also functioning normally. At present, the patient is now able to get up and turn around in bed, stand up, communicate well with doctors, feed himself, and breathe unaided. He is now taking part in physical therapy and functional rehabilitation exercises for the purpose of strengthening his muscles. In line with the schedule, Cameron is set to take an evening flight to Hanoi, before boarding Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner at midnight to return home. The Dreamliner is scheduled to stop over in Frankfurt, Germany, before continuing on to London. Three Vietnamese doctors are set to accompany Cameron throughout the trip. According to experts, although Cameron has made a full recovery from the COVID-19, it will take him time to re-integrate back into the community and work again. VOV Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 19:00:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAKAR, July 11 (Xinhua) -- In Senegal, according to the country's National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD), 32 percent of the population does not have "improved toilet facilities". Among this particular part of the population, 15 percent practice open defecation and do not use toilets every day. At Blaise Diagne High School, in the heart of the Senegalese capital, vice principal Ousmane Ba observes the 600 or so students of the establishment coming and going between the classrooms. "Toilet problems have an impact on academic performance, especially for girls," he said. "We realized that the boys were doing better, because the girls had trouble staying all day at school with their menstrual problems," he explained. In this college, where the majority of students are girls, the toilets have not been renovated in the past ten years. "The children are here from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., if they do not have a toilet, this will inevitably affect the (academic) results. Some girls say that when they have an urgent need, they are forced to go home and sometimes do not come back," Junior Diakhate, elementary school teacher and founding president of the association Simple Action Citoyenne (SAC), told Xinhua. "We came here and we saw that in each high school we went to, the toilets were not functional, especially the girls' toilets. So we said to ourselves why not try to do something," Junior told us how he started this initiative. For the past two months, Junior and its volunteer partners have launched an initiative to renovate dilapidated toilets in Senegalese schools for free. At Blaise Diagne college, 12 cabins are already renovated, and 8 are still under construction, which should be completed by mid-July. The teacher mobilized some companies and donors to finance the operation, the cost is approximately 1 million Francs CFA (about 1,730 US dollars), for the purchase of toilets, doors, paint and tiles. "These toilets are priceless, because it affects the outcome of these children. Here, they had a success rate of 32 percent, because the girls were completely behind. When they had a few toilets here, the results returned to normal," Junior said, adding that "these toilets are not enough. There are 600 children here, and 600 children for 12 blocks of toilets, that is not enough." For the past few months, a dozen volunteers have come every day to take part in the operation launched by the association Simple Action Citoyenne and the group La Rue n'est pas une Poubelle, in which Amadou Diallo takes part, a retired soldier who has become a painter. "I am sanding the wall to make up the cracks with plaster, then we sand before putting the last coat," he showed. The citizens' initiative of the two friends has spread through the Senegalese media and more than forty schools are now asking Junior to renovate their toilets. "We are going to take a tour of Senegal with this project", Junior said excitedly. The objective for these associations is to involve the Direction of School Construction (DCS) of Senegalese Ministry of Education in Senegal to show the toilet needs of many schools in the country. "These are very famous schools, many politicians have studied there and the time has come to help these schools", Junior said, before taking up his paint roller to continue his work. Vice principal Ousmane Ba said that "we applaud with both hands and congratulate Junior and these volunteers on behalf of the educational community and on behalf of the parents of students." Mae Tierney (nee Hourican), Loch Gowna, Cavan The death occurred, peacefully, at her residence, in the loving care of her family, on Friday, July 10 of Mae Tierney (nee Hourican), Loch Gowna, Cavan. Predeceased by her husband T.P and her brothers; Andrew and Pat, sadly missed by her adoring family, her children; Kathleen Miller (Newbridge), Breda Coyle (Bruce, Arva) Thomas (Gowna), Ellen (Cavan), John (Canada) and Patrick (Cavan), her sons-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, nephews-in-law, nieces-in-law, extended family, and a large circle of neighbours and close friends. Rest In Peace. Due to HSE and government regulations, Mae's funeral will be private to family only. The funeral cortege will depart from her home to arrive at the Church of The Holy Family, Loch Gowna, on Sunday, July 12 at 11am with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. The Mass will be broadcast live on the Parish of Gowna and Mullinalaghta Facebook page. Family flowers only please, donations, if desired, to Palliative Care, Cavan. Anyone wishing to extend their sympathies to the family may do so using the link on RIP.ie. Margaret Kearney, Granard Street, Edgeworthstown, Longford The death occurred, peacefully in Mullingar General Hospital, on Thursday, July 9 of Margaret Kearney, Granard Street, Edgeworthstown, Longford. Predeceased by her father Thomas and mother Helen, her brothers Sean and Tom. Sadly missed by her son Lloyd, sisters, Barbara, Mary, Therese, Aine and Celine, brothers Patrick, Paul and Gerard, nephews, nieces, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins,relatives and friends. Rest in Peace. Reposing at her home (house private, please). Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St Mary's Church, Edgeworthstown, on Saturday, July 11 at 12 noon. Interment immediately afterwards in Aughafin Cemetery. Her funeral will be for family only, in accordance with the current government and HSE guidelines on public gatherings. Messages for the family can be left on the condolence link on RIP.ie. The family appreciates your sympathy and support at this time. Gerry Pearson, Loch Gowna, Cavan The death occurred, peacefully, at his residence, in the loving care of his adoring family, on Saturday, July 11 of Gerry Pearson, Loch Gowna, Cavan. Predeceased by his brother Albert. Deeply regretted by his wife Philomena, children; Gerald and Laura, grandchild; Gearoid, brother; John, daughter-in-law, Sharon, son-in-law, Raymond, sisters-in-law, brother-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family and a large circle of neighbours and close friends. RIP. Due to HSE and Government regulations Gerry's funeral will be private to family only. His funeral cortege will be leaving his home to arrive at the church of the Holy Family Loch Gowna, on Monday, July 13 for Requiem mass at 12 noon, with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Gerry's funeral will be broadcast live on Parish of Gowna and Mullinalaghta Facebook page. Family flowers only please, donations if desired to Palliative Care Cavan. Anyone wishing to extend their sympathies to the family may do so via the condolence link on RIP.ie. Harry McInerney, Drumcrow, Ballinagh, Cavan The death occurred, peacefully, at his residence in the loving care of his wife Ena, on Friday, July 10 of Harry McInerney, Drumcrow, Ballinagh, Cavan. Sadly missed by his loving daughters Joan, Carol Ann, Barbara, Nuala and their partners, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Also deeply regretted by his brother Andy, Shannowood and sisters Kathleen and Maggie, UK. May He Rest in Peace. Reposing at Finnegan's Funeral Home & Crematorium, Dublin Road, Cavan, 4.30pm - 7pm on Saturday, July 11. Funeral Mass, in accordance with government guidance and HSE advice, on Sunday, July 12 in St Felim's Church, Ballinagh, at 2pm followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery for family and close friends only. Family flowers only - donations to Palliative Care Cavan c/o any family member. You are invited to leave a personal message for Harry's family in the 'condolence' section on RIP. Kathleen Gray (nee Traynor), Ringsend Road and formerly Joy Street, Dublin / Longford The death occurred, peacefully at home, on Thursday, July 9 of Kathleen Gray (nee Traynor), Ringsend Road and formerly Joy Street, Dublin / Longford. Beloved wife of the late Owen and loving mother-in-law of the late Pat. Sadly missed by her loving daughter Elizabeth, grandchildren Katie and Owen, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins Mary Rose and P.J., extended family and friends. Rest in Peace. Removal on Saturday morning, July 11 to St Patricks Church, Ringsend arriving for 10oc Funeral Mass. In accordance with Government guidelines on public gatherings the Funeral can be attended by 50 people only. Those who would have liked to attend the Funeral but due to the current restrictions cannot, you may leave their personal message in the Condolences section on RIP.ie. You may watch the Funeral Mass on the Church web link. https://www.mcnmedia.tv/iframe/169 Irene Hanlon (nee Hamill), St Ciaran's Park, Roscommon Town, Roscommon / Strokestown, Roscommon The death occurred, peacefully, in the devoted care of the staff at Mullingar Regional Hospital, on Wednesday, July 8 of Irene Hanlon (nee Hamill), St Ciaran's Park, Roscommon Town, Roscommon and formerly of Strokestown, Roscommon. Beloved wife of Noel and much loved mother of Nicola, Tomas and Catherine. She will be very sadly missed by her heartbroken family, sisters, brothers, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and friends. May Irene rest in peace. Irene will repose at her home on Friday, July 10 for family and close friends. Removal on Saturday morning, July 11 to the Sacred Heart Church, Roscommon arriving for Mass of the Resurrection at 11am with burial afterwards in St Comans Cemetery. In order to adhere to social distancing guidelines, the Mass will also be family and close friends only. Prior to Mass the funeral cortege will travel from St Ciarans Park to the Church and following Mass it will travel to the Cemetery via Church Street. Irenes Funeral Mass will be broadcast locally on the Roscommon Parish Radio on 105.9 FM and also on Ros FM 94.6 and www.rosfm.ie. For those who wish to offer their sympathies, we suggest using the online condolence link on RIP.ie. The Hanlon family very much appreciate your support at this time. If you wish to have a death notice published on www.longfordleader.ie you can email it to newsroom@longfordleader.ie And if you wish to submit an obituary for publication in the Longford Leader, you can submit it along with a photograph of the deceased to newsroom@longfordleader.ie BAYONNE: A French bus driver who was badly beaten by passengers after asking them to wear face masks in line with coronavirus rules has died, his family said, sparking tributes from political leaders who condemned his "cowardly" attackers. 59-year-old Philippe Monguillot was left brain dead by the attack in the southwestern town of Bayonne last weekend and died in hospital on Friday, his daughter Marie said, after his family decided to switch off his life-support system. "We decided to let him go. The doctors were in favour and we were as well," she told AFP. Two men have been charged with attempted murder over the attack and prosecutor Jerome Bourrier told AFP that he would ask for the charges to be upgraded following Monguillot's death. France's prime minister Jean Castex led tributes to Monguillot. "The Republic recognises him as an exemplary citizen and will not forget him. The law will punish the perpetrators of this despicable crime," he tweeted, describing the attack as "cowardly". Le deces de Philippe Monguillot, lachement agresse dimanche a Bayonne pour avoir accompli son travail, nous touche en plein cur. La Republique reconnait en lui un citoyen exemplaire et ne l'oubliera pas. La Justice punira les auteurs de ce crime abject. Jean Castex (@JeanCASTEX) July 10, 2020 Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who was due to meet some of Bayonne's bus drivers on Saturday and discuss the security situation, labelled it an "abhorrent act". "The coward responsible must not go unpunished," he added. Monguillot's family had organised a silent march in his honour on Wednesday, departing from the bus stop where the assault took place. His colleagues refused to work after the attack but will resume work on Monday under stepped-up security arrangements, the local operator Keolis said. This will include security agents being deployed on the long buses that operate in Bayonne and its surrounding area. Three other people have been charged in connection with the attack, two for failing to assist a person in danger and another for attempting to hide a suspect, the prosecutor's office said. The two charged with attempted murder are aged 22 and 23 and were previously known to police. Just a few weeks ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom was boasting about Californias apparent success in suppressing COVID-19 infections in implicit contrast to other states, such as New York, that were being clobbered by the pandemic. He called it bending the curve of the infection rate and decided to reopen vast sections of the economy that he had shuttered in March. We have to recognize you cant be in a permanent state where people are locked away for months and months and months and months on end to see lives and livelihoods completely destroyed, without considering the health impact of those decisions as well, Newsom rationalized. In recent days, however, Newsom has reversed course, citing alarming increases in infection rates and deaths. The governor closed bars, made wearing protective facemasks mandatory, reinstituted bans on indoor activities in 19 counties with high infection rates, formed multi-agency strike teams to crack down on people who are thumbing their noses at restrictions, and threatened counties with a loss of state funds if they balk. We have conditioned $2.5 billion in our state budget on applying the spirit and the letter of the law as it relates to health directives at the county level, Newsom said. If local officials are unwilling to enforce and are being dismissive, we will condition the distribution of those dollars. With these and other actions, Newsom dropped the pretense that fighting the pandemic was fundamentally in the hands of local officials and made it clear that hes calling the shots. Newsom now owns the pandemic in California every bit as much as President Donald Trump owns it on a national level. Newsoms governorship will be defined by how he manages this crisis especially since hes fond of terming California a nation-state that goes its own way regardless of federal policy. Dan Walters: Its time to enforce law and help at-risk kids California's law to improve the educations of poor and English-learner students is not being enforced by state officials, columnist Dan Walters says. California could not have reopened had Newsom not declared that it was ready to do so because of relatively low infection rates and the reopening clearly sparked the surge. He said it himself last week: We reopened our economy and more people mixed However, he did not take any personal responsibility for the cause-and-effect relationship of those two events and seemed to be blaming Californians because they resumed the human interaction that he implied would be safe to resume. Theres another aspect to the situation thats also on Newsom a fierce outbreak of infection in the states prisons. Veteran journalist Dan Morain, in an article for California Healthline, reported in detail, From Corcoran and Avenal state prisons in the arid Central Valley to historical San Quentin on the San Francisco Bay, California prisons have emerged as raging COVID-19 hot spots, even as the state annually spends more on inmate health care than other big states spend on their entire prison systems. San Quentin had no confirmed COVID-19 infections until, for some reason, it received a transfer of infected inmates. Its outbreak was so severe that the state Senate convened a special hearing during which legislators roasted prison officials all Newsom appointees. Dan Walters: Newsoms confusing COVID-19 decrees California's governor, Gavin Newsom, has been issuing confusing orders on COVID-19 recently, undermining trust, columnist Dan Walters says. That was nothing more than the worst prison health screwup in state history, Assemblyman Marc Levine, whose district includes San Quentin, told the hearing. We did not meet this moment. It was an obvious dig at Newsom, whos fond of the phrase, meet the moment. Despite the infection surge, Newsom remains outwardly hopeful, saying, We bent the curve in the state of California once, we will bend the curve again. However, if it doesnt bend, Newsom fairly or not will bear the onus. Its his pandemic now. Watch now: Protect yourself when shopping during COVID-19 CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A screen shows visitors being filmed by AI (Artificial Inteligence) security cameras with facial recognition technology at the 14th China International Exhibition on Public Safety and Security at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing on Oct. 24, 2018. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images) The Double-Edged Sword of Facial Recognition Technology Commentary On the television crime drama FBI, Special Agent Jubal Valentine brusquely orders an underling to run a photograph through facial recognition to identify a suspect. Boom! After a rocket-speed search, the computer spits out a name and address. Field agents get to work, and in no time, the bad guy is under arrest. Im here to tell you it is not that easy and its not that accurate. Facial recognition programs are notoriously error-prone, often misidentifying an innocent person as potentially guilty. At the same time, these programs have proven to be wildly successful in catching criminals, both minor offenders and more violent ones, like child rapists. Like most controversies these days, there is a wide chasm of opinion. Facial recognition is either a great gizmo in law enforcements tool belt or another means to perpetuate racial inequity in the name of public safety. Here are some facts. A recent federal study of 189 different facial recognition algorithms confirmed previous research showing facial recognition systems come to shockingly wrong identifications when searches involve people of color (especially women of color), the very young and the elderly. Native Americans had the highest rate of misidentification. Asian and African Americans faces were up to 100 times more likely to be incorrectly identified when compared to searches for white male suspects. Pacific Islanders are also often misidentified. Case in point: Last January, Robert Williams, a gainfully employed, married father in Michigan, was shocked when he was handcuffed on his front lawn by Detroit Police. Surveillance video showing a heavyset Black man shoplifting expensive watches had been run through a facial recognition program, and Williams face came up a match. Williams had no police record and repeatedly proclaimed innocence. If the arresting officers had asked, he could have proven he was at work that day. Instead, the humiliated Williams was arraigned on charges of first-degree theft and held for 30 hours. Ultimately, the charges were dropped, but at last report, his record has still not been expunged. One big complaint is that police are not required to reveal that they zeroed in on a suspect via a facial recognition program. As senior public defender Aimee Wyant in Pinellas County, Florida, put it, Once the cops find a suspect, theyre like a dog with a bone: Thats their suspect. So, weve got to figure out where they got that name to start. Its reported that 1 in 4 U.S. law enforcement departments have used facial recognition in the search for suspects, but there are no definitive statistics kept on the percentage of error. We know minorities and women are prone to misidentification, but just how frequently does that happen? The FBI, for example, runs more than 4,000 checks per month using a nationwide hodgepodge of photographs of nearly 120 million Americans. These photos come from states drivers licenses, mug shots, juvenile records and other databases. Cooperating states, in turn, get access to the FBIs system. Since half of all American adults are in the FBI system, chances are high that your photo is in that database. Could you become another Robert Williams? There is little oversight of the nations facial recognition systems, even though more and more organizations are using itfrom surveillance at airports and border crossings to corporate and community security. Its use is more widespread than you can imagine. A couple of years ago, the American Civil Liberties Union ran a test on Amazons Rekognition facial recognition program. Photos of every member of the U.S. Congress were scanned for possible matches with a vast array of mugshots. Astonishingly, 28 members were falsely identified as matching someone in the database. Still, cop shops across the country can list all sorts of closed cases that began with a trip through facial recognition software. Convictions have been secured for child sex abuse, property crimes, credit card fraud, burglaries, robberies and car theft. Suspects have been identified in cold case shootings and incidents of road rage. Good detectives know that a facial recognition photo match is only the beginning. Further investigation of alibis, witness statements and forensic evidence analysis is always required before arrest. Has that always happened in the past? No. Do cops learn from their mistakes? Lets hope so. Diane Dimond is an author and investigative journalist. Her latest book is Thinking Outside the Crime and Justice Box. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Running Mate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has expressed appreciation for the support that greeted the announcement of her new role. The former Minister for Education, who also served as the first female Vice-Chancellor of a public university in Ghana, was on Monday announced by former President John Dramani Mahama as his Running Mate for this years presidential election. That announcement has been greeted with enthusiasm and support from people from all walks of life, including academia, civil society, professional and womens groups. Social media has also been awash with support for the NDC Running Mate. Addressing a retreat of the NDC Campaign Team on Friday in Accra, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang expressed her gratitude for the support and pointed out that she will justify the confidence reposed in her. Prof. Opoku-Agyemang who said people, especially women, are looking up to the NDC for answers to issues that affect them, called on the NDC to close its ranks and work hard for victory in the upcoming elections. Source: Mahama's Facebook 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 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the meeting with the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control (Photo: VNA) He also urged relevant agencies to work to receive foreign experts and skilled workers who wish to enter Vietnam, as well as to send Vietnamese labourers to work abroad. Emphasising the determination to prevent community transmission, the PM specified that strict border management and implementation of quarantine measures must continue as the risk of infections among the community remains. He recognised the efforts and achievements of the health sector and military and public security forces as well as localities and all members of the steering committee in the fight against COVID-19. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has closely worked with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport to conduct 55 flights carrying nearly 14,000 Vietnamese citizens back to Vietnam safe and sound. The PM asked the Foreign Ministry, Vietnamese embassies and representative offices abroad, to work with foreign governments to increase the number of rescue flights and reopen commercial flights. The PM urged a rescue flight to bring home Vietnamese citizens stuck in Equatorial Guinea immediately. He agreed on the establishment of safety areas at some border gates for foreigners to come for negotiating and signing relevant contracts. The Ministry of Education and Training was tasked to work with universities, especially those having linkages with foreign counterparts, to receive students to Vietnam, with priority given to Lao and Cambodian students. So far, Vietnam has gone through 85 days in a row without new COVID-19 infections among the community. Among the total 369 cases so far, 350 have given all-clear, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. A drug for Rs 4,000 being sold for as much as Rs 60,000. That is the story of how rampant black marketing of essential medicines for Covid-19 has become In India. The warning against black marketing of remdesivir has come from the top drugs controller, but it continues right under the nose of authorities. Gilead's remdesivir, sold under the brand name Cipremi by Cipla, Covifor by Hetero and Desremtm by Mylan, costs anywhere between 4,000 and 5,400 rupees in the market provided it is sold fairly. But the trade practices are far from clean. Remdesevir has been granted import licenses by the drugs authority in India, acknowledging that the medicine is yet to be imported. It is in this context that Indian companies were given the permission to manufacture and sell this drug which has been granted emergency use. News18 spoke to the relative of a patient who needed 7 vials of remdesivir. The patient is recuperating in a top Delhi hospital. "There is rampant black marketing, there is a cartel running," the relative of the patient told us on the condition of anonymity. "The system is so exploitative, I went to Yusuf Sarai market and I was told, today the going rate for remdesivir was 37,000 rupees. The day before it was 25,000," said the relative. "I checked with chemists in East, South and West Delhi and got similar responses. It is a cartel." Community forum LocalCircles had written to the health ministry, saying that instances of black marketing were being reported and overpricing of the medicine was rampant in Delhi. Acting on the complaint, the Drugs Controller General of India, VG Somani, in a terse letter had asked state drug regulators to ensure black marketing of remdesivir, a drug granted emergency use, does not happen. The letter was written earlier this week. That there is a serious shortage of the drug is no secret now. It is also being misused, is what leading doctors are saying. A source at Hetero Drugs, that sells, manufactures and supplies remdesivir under the brand name Covifor, said there indeed is a shortage. "However, we will be able to deliver one lakh vials by August end," he said, again not wanting to be identified. "We have been in touch with Cipla and also with Hetero. Every day, I get calls for remdesivir, but there is no supply in the market," said Ashish Grover, general secretary of the Delhi Drug Traders Association. Dr SK Chhabra, head, department of pulmonary, sleep and critical care medicine at Primus Hospital, said the medicine is being misused. "This is not a magic bullet. It is being used for severe patients, those with moderate illness. It should only be used early in the disease," he said. Cipla has just launched remdesivir under the brand name Cipremi. It costs Rs 4,000 a vial. The Drug Controller General of India has granted permission to Mylan to manufacture and market remdesivir for "restricted emergency use" on hospitalised Covid-19 patients. Mylan is to launch its generic remdesivir version in India at Rs 4,800 a vial. Mylan's remdesivir will be launched around July 22-24. The intended capacity is of 2,70,000 vials per month. Cipla too has plans to boost production of the drug which is high on demand now. The government says by the end of this month, India could be producing over 20,000 vials of remdesivir per day. This is an estimate of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation. It is important to understand, however, that remdesivir is a medicine still under the category of investigation therapy, says the government. At a press conference on Thursday, Rajesh Bhushan, special secretary, ministry of health and family welfare, said that companies manufacturing and selling remdesivir have been asked to put in place a 24/7 helpline number. "They must proactively put on their website the details of their distributors and their supply lines so that all confusion and anxiety in the market subside," he said. The health ministry this month reduced the dosage of remdesivir without citing any reasons, but several medical practitioners linked the drug to liver toxicity. The DCGI has also directed state governments to instruct drug inspectors to ensure that there is no black marketing of medicines being used in treatment of Covid-19 patients. Distributors are on the defensive. They say that indigenous companies are selling directly to hospitals. Chemists could have possibly procured it by importing it. "We will cancel the membership of the member who is found to be doing this," said Rajiv Singhal, general secretary, All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists. Netherlands Takes Russia To European Rights Court Over MH17 Downing By RFE/RL July 10, 2020 The Dutch government is taking Russia to the European Court of Human Rights for its alleged role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said July 10 that the move is designed to support individual cases filed by relatives of some of the victims at the Strasbourg-based court. "By taking this course of action the government is offering maximum support to these individual cases," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. MH17 was shot down on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur by a Russian-made Buk surface-to-air missile fired from territory controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in the east of Ukraine. Nearly two-thirds of the 298 victims were Dutch nationals. By launching an inter-state case against Russia, the Dutch government will share "all available and relevant information about the downing of Flight MH17" with the European court to support individual cases filed against Russia, the Foreign Ministry said. The relatives of at least 65 Dutch victims in 2018 filed a complaint at the Strasbourg-based court. "As a government, we have information, evidence, that leads us to the conclusion of the involvement of the Russian Federation," Blok told the AP news agency. "Of course, the relatives themselves do not have all this information so we can help them by starting this procedure." Moscow has denied any involvement in the conflict in parts of eastern Ukraine and has offered several possible theories about how MH17 was blown out of the sky, including that it was shot down by a Ukrainian Air Force jet or by Ukrainian ground forces using a Buk system. Separately, a Dutch court in The Hague is also hearing a case against four suspects in the 2014 downing of the aircraft. Following a six-year international investigation, prosecutors have argued that the aircraft was shot down by a Russian-made Buk antiaircraft system fired by Russia-backed separatist fighters who had acquired it from a Russian military base on the border between the two countries. The four suspects -- Russians Sergei Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov, and Igor Girkin, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko -- are being tried in absentia for involvement in the tragedy. With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/netherlands- takes-russia-to-european-rights-court- over-mh17-downing/30719884.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Cash straight to the bank accounts of millions of Americans. That was a popular topic of discussion the past week, and the good news is, it looks like a second coronavirus stimulus package is on the way. What will it look like though? When might it come? How much will it be, and who will get it? Those were popular topics in the discussion, but there was plenty else to talk about, too, and plenty of folks entered into the mix. The following is a quick look back at all of the top news, notes and quotes on a potential stimulus payment from the past week: WHAT THEYRE SAYING A good sign that the payments will come is that almost all of the top political players have spoken up in support of it. President Donald Trump said, I support actually larger numbers than the Democrats, but its got to be done properly, in an interview with Fox Business Blake Burman. I want the money getting to people to be larger so they can spend it, he added. I want the money to get there quickly and in a non-complicated fashion. But White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox Business that the payments would be less than the $1,200 most Americans received previously and would be targeted toward lower-income individuals. And, earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he believes the country needs one last boost, and that he is pretty sure a bill could be in the works. Also, Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve said on June 30, A full recovery is unlikely until people are confident that it is safe to re-engage in a broad range of activities. HOW MUCH ARE WE TALKING? While Trump has said he wants Americans to receive more than they did on that first check again, most received $1,200 McConnell, like Kudlow, suggested we are talking about a smaller payment. The Democratic-run House passed a $3 trillion dollar relief plan in May that would include a second direct payment to individuals and households of up to $1,200 per family member, capped at $6,000 for a family of five. Republicans are expected to propose another plan, however, that, according to the report, would include as much as $1 trillion in spending. That plan is expected to include measures that would help reopen schools and support job growth and health care. According to a cnet.com report, the answer to how much you could be getting is ... nothing. Thats right. They might just decided that this isnt the route to take and, instead, focus stimulus efforts on tax breaks for businesses as a way to boost US job numbers. Bummer for you bank account if you really need an immediate boost. But that is, likely, not the route lawmakers are going. Other options, according to the report, include a $1,200 maximum single payment to individuals under the Heroes Act. Democratic Senator Kamala harris has proposed a $2,000 monthly payment that would keep coming until three months after the pandemic has ended. Another Democrat, Rep. Ro Khanna, has proposed $2,000 payments for 12 months. Likely, for those who qualify, the payment will be similar or less than the first round. SO, WHO IS GETTING A PAYMENT? The first round of payments hit the bank accounts of about 160-million Americans, according to reports. But, it looks like a lot of Americans who got checks in the first round will have to sit this one out because most of the discussion has focused on lower-income individuals. McConnell said the folks hurt most by the pandemic were hospitality-industry workers making $40,000 or less. And that seems to be the Republicans sweet-spot to keep the bill at $1 trillion. To see how much you could get from a second check, direct deposit, or debit card, you can visit the Omni Calculator or use its embeddable tool below to punch in your information to see what kind of cash could be headed your way. WHEN MIGHT YOU GET PAID? It seems like early-August is the time to watch. Its been signaled in recent days by multiple outlets that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could take up discussion on the House-passed HEROES Act early in the next session, which starts July 20. If the bill is ever passed, it would net millions of eligible Americans a second stimulus payment similar to the one that came out of the CARES Act earlier this year to help those struggling because of the shutdowns tied to the coronavirus pandemic. Cnet reports the Senate will have a period of 15 days between July 20-Aug. 7 where the package could be hammered out and agreed upon. If it doesnt happen then, theres another window Sept. 8-25 when the package could be agreed on. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dana Moukhallati (Agence France-Presse) Dubai, United Arab Emirates Sat, July 11, 2020 17:04 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406659a5d2 2 Science & Tech Science,United-Arab-Emirates,Mars,Arab,space Free The oil-rich United Arab Emirates has built a nuclear power program and sent a man to space, and now plans to join another elite club by sending a probe to Mars. Only the United States, India, the former Soviet Union, and the European Space Agency have successfully sent missions to orbit the Red Planet, while China is preparing to launch its first Mars rover later this month. The UAE -- a collection of sheikhdoms better known for its skyscrapers, palm-shaped islands and mega attractions -- is now pushing to join their ranks in what will be a first for the Arab world. It will mark the 50th anniversary of its unification with "Hope", an unmanned spacecraft expected to reach its target in February after being launched on July 15 from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre. While the mission objective is to provide a comprehensive image of the weather dynamics in Mars' atmosphere and pave the way for scientific breakthroughs, the probe is a foundation for a much bigger goal -- building a human settlement on Mars within the next 100 years. Dubai has hired architects to imagine what a Martian city might look like and recreate it in its desert as "Science City", at a cost of around 500 million dirhams (135 million dollars). And last September, Hazza al-Mansouri became the first Emirati in space, part of a three-member crew that blasted off on a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan, returning home after an eight-day mission in which he became the first Arab to visit the International Space Station. "Our grandparents followed the stars during their voyages in order to build their glories. Today, our children look at them to build their future," said Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in a tweet on Tuesday. Read also: A space odyssey: Britain rockets into unknown with OneWeb Global standing The young Gulf nation -- whose influence extends to Yemen, the Horn of Africa and Libya -- hopes to elevate its status as a key regional player, building on its success in establishing itself as a centre for tourism, banking and services despite an economic downturn in recent years. Despite criticism of its involvement in the conflict in Yemen, which has turned into a quagmire for the Saudi-led military coalition, the UAE has elevated its standing with moves like hosting the first papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula and becoming the first Arab country to green-light a nuclear power plant. And over the last few decades it has become a hub for young Arabs aspiring to build professional careers and raise families in a safe environment, in a region too often blighted by war and political crises. For a country charting a course beyond the oil industry that it was built on, exploration is part of a long-term strategy. "UAE figured out that space is very important for our development and sustainability. It's a bridge to the future," Mohammed al-Ahbabi, director general of the UAE Space Agency, told AFP. Sarah al-Amiri, 33, the mission's deputy project manager and also the UAE Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, said the trip to Mars is "a message of hope for the region, to set an example of what is possible if we take the talent of the youth and use them positively, this is what's possible". "We've worked on investing in our space sector for over 15 years... it's about ensuring that this talent is developed for the rest of the region," she told AFP from Tokyo. In the runup to the Mars mission, the UAE announced it was opening its doors to Arabs across the region to take part in a three-year space program. "They can come in and gain experience and be the vehicles of change for the entire region. We cannot go about saying that this region is volatile and remain passive about it," Amiri said. "People want stability, want opportunities," she added. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), which spearheaded the Mars project on which some 450 people worked, more than half of them Emirati, is abuzz with excitement. "This mission is showcasing that this is something we don't normally dream about... but understanding that these opportunities are there," said Mohsen al-Awadhi, the lead missions systems engineer. OTTAWAThe RCMPs brass and union are pushing back against suggestions that the Rideau Hall break-in would have ended with violence if the suspect wasnt white. In a joint statement released Friday evening, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and Brian Sauve, the head of the Mounties newly formed union, called speculation that the incident last Thursday would have had a different outcome based on the suspects race disheartening. This creates an abstract and negative distraction from an evolving and important national dialogue with all stakeholders seeking solutions to societal issues, Lucki and Sauve wrote in a statement posted to the RCMPs website. In fact, it may only further distance some of Canadas communities from the vast majority of dedicated and caring police officers who respect all people and keep their communities safe. RCMP officers arrested Corey Hurren on the grounds of Rideau Hall after a black Dodge Ram truck plowed through the pedestrian gate on the morning of July 2. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family live at Rideau Cottage, not far from where Hurren was arrested. According to the RCMP, Hurren had four firearms in his possession that day including a restricted handgun and a prohibited rifle. Police have also charged him with uttering threats. Coming at a time when the national police force is facing criticism for systemic racism and is under scrutiny for several violent incidents against Indigenous people, Hurrens race was immediately noted by critics on social media and in Parliament. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh contrasted Hurrens arrest with the case of Ejaz Choudry, a 62-year-old who was shot by police in Mississauga on June 22 after his family called a non-emergency help line. The family was concerned Choudry, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was not taking his medication. That contrast someone showed up to potentially kill the prime minister of Canada, or with weapons at his residence, and that person was arrested without any violence, and you had a person who, in his own home, was killed, Singh told reporters Wednesday. That, to me, is what systemic racism in policing is all about, that difference. Lucki and Sauve did not mention Singhs comments in their statement. While the RCMP is facing increased public scrutiny, Lucki herself is facing anger from the rank and file for her acknowledgment of systemic racism within the national police force. Last month, with controversy swirling around the RCMPs policing of Black and Indigenous Canadians, Lucki told reporters that she struggled with the suggestion that systemic racism exists within the police force. Lucki later reversed that position and acknowledged there is systemic discrimination within the force. Internal emails leaked to the Star suggest some members feel betrayed by Luckis comments, and suggest that the commissioner threw (them) under the bus. With files from Douglas Quan and The Canadian Press. Read more about: Click here to read the full article. Could your weekend playlist use a little more seasoning? Rolling Stone Latin selects some of the best new music releases from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Keep track of the latest in Latin via our playlist on Spotify. Myke Towers, Michael X As the summer of racial reckoning continues around the world, Puerto Rican MC Myke Towers recalls the fighting spirit of African-American revolutionary Malcolm X in Michael X, a rap en espanol tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement. I am part of the problem if I do not take this issue, he spits. The people are tired of police abuse. More from Rolling Stone Karol G, Ay Dios Mio! After she pranced around her house with fiance Anuel AA in Follow, Karol G busts out of quarantine with her new video for Ay Dios Mio! (Oh My God!) The fisheye lens and pastel palette supplement the nostalgic cool of Karols ambient reggaeton. Zoe, Fiebre Grammy-winning Mexican synth-rock group Zoe resist psychic death in their latest single, Fiebre. The song will feature on their upcoming album, Sonidos de Karmatica Resonancia (Sounds of Karmic Resonance). Says frontman Leon Larregui: The song talks about the world we live in, increasingly conditioned for the need of digital devices, the information cloud, and the addiction generated by hyper connectivity and the infinite influx of information. More and more, we are giving away our attention and privacy to the virtual world. Camilo feat. Rauw Alejandro, Tattoo (Remix) In the new video for Tattoo (Remix) Colombian pop eccentric Camilo meets Puerto Rican MC Rauw Alejandro at the beach for some summer shenanigans. Story continues Anitta feat. Arcangel, De La Ghetto, Tocame In the new video for Tocame, Brazilian pop star Anitta throws a wild quarantine balcony party in Brazil, alongside reggaeton duo Arcangel and De La Ghetto. Directed by Giovanni Bianco, the video was filmed in Rio de Janeiro under strict COVID-19 precautions. With a mix of impressive drone cinematography and special effects, the clip shows the Anitta, Arcangel, De La Ghetto and many Brazilians dancing along to the song in their respective balconies and in isolated apartments. See where your favorite artists and songs rank on the Rolling Stone Charts. Sign up for Rolling Stones Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. ANTRIM COUNTY, MI - A Northern Michigan health department has said it was notified that several people who attended last weekends huge Fourth of July weekend party on Torch Lake have tested positive this week for COVID-19, leading health officials to label this years annual Torch Fest as a potential exposure site. The Health Department of Northwest Michigan is urging anyone who attended the multi-day boat and sandbar party to monitor themselves for symptoms of coronavirus. If people develop signs of the virus - mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough or shortness of breath - they are urged to seek testing. People also should be tested if they put themselves at high risk of exposure there by being in close proximity to others, or not wearing a face mask, the health department said. Thousands of people are estimated to have attended the Torch Lake festivities. Drone photos taken by the Michigan State Police show boats clustered around the long lakes famed sandbar area with hordes of people standing hip-to-hip in the water. A Michigan State Police drone photo shows boats gathered at the Torch Lake sandbar in Antrim County over the 2020 Fourth of July weekend.Michigan State Police This situation reminds us of how important it is to take precautions such as avoiding large gatherings whenever possible especially without social distancing and masking, said the departments health officer, Lisa Peacock. Contributing to the large question mark surrounding the Torch Lake exposure is that the people who tested positive could not tell health officials in their home counties exactly who they had been in contact with at the event. This made it impossible for health workers to notify everyone who may have been exposed, which is why the health department made the notification public on Friday. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event and leaves our community at risk when close contacts are not able to be identified and alerted to quarantine, Peacock said. We cant stress enough how that it is imperative that we each do our part to stay safe and stay open. COVID-19 symptoms may show up anywhere from 2-14 days after someone is exposed to it. If you are self-monitoring because you may have been exposed to coronavirus, health officials advise that you should stay away from other people as much as possible, and limit your travel. Anyone with questions about their potential exposure may call the health department at 1-800-432-4121. READ MORE Whitmer orders mask use in Michigan, violators could be fined up to $500 Sherwood Forest knockoff festival deemed coronavirus exposure site Sixty-six people have been infected with the coronavirus and five residents have died at a Marin County skilled nursing facility struck with a coronavirus outbreak. Marin Post Acute, a 170-bed skilled nursing facility in San Rafael, has reported 49 cases among residents and 17 cases among staff, according to the California Department of Public Health. Forty-five of the cases were active on Friday. Five residents with COVID-19 have died, said Dan Kramer, spokesman for the facility. Thirteen staff members are currently off work and isolating at home, he said. All staff and all residents who have not already tested positive are being tested every week, Kramer said.At least one resident has died, although state and local health officials were unable to provide an exact number due to health privacy reasons. Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County health officer, said during a Friday virtual town hall that multiple people infected in the outbreak had been hospitalized. Sixteen residential care and skilled nursing facilities in Marin County currently have positive coronavirus cases, according to health officials. In total, 91 patients and 94 staff members at such facilities have been infected since the pandemic began. Roughly 80% of the countys COVID-19 deaths have been residents in skilled nursing or residential care facilities, Willis said. In some ways, the dynamics are similar to San Quentin (State Prison) in that when you have people who are congregated closer together in an institution, the risk for spread is enhanced and its challenging, Willis said. Most of the countys nursing home outbreaks occurred because a staff member brought the virus into the facility, Willis said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Because staff are bringing these infections in many are asymptomatic ultimately the solution is for all of us to do our part to limit transmission within our lives, he said, encouraging people to wear face masks. A team of county health officials visits the facilities to train staff, ensure proper supplies of personal protective equipment, help with infection control and test staff members each month, Willis said. Nursing homes, where vulnerable at-risk people live in close quarters, have been coronavirus hot spots throughout the pandemic. Statewide, 2,294 residents and 70 health care workers were battling active coronavirus infections on Friday, according to state data. In total, there have been more than 25,000 cases and nearly 2,800 deaths among residents and staff in facilities across California. Anna Bauman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @abauman2 YEREVAN, JULY 10, ARMENPRESS. The Security Council of the Republic of Armenia is holding a regular meeting in Yerevan, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the PMs Office told Armenpress. The meeting shall approve Armenias National Security Strategy, in addition to discussing other security-related issues. In that context, Prime Minister Pashinyan delivered a message, in which he stated: Honorable National Assembly Speaker, Dear Security Council Members, Extremely important issues are on the agenda of todays Security Council meeting, but I would like to single out the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Armenia. I think we have got a pretty good draft strategy in terms of both the original text and the general context. I think we first of all need to look at our national identity while discussing the national security strategy just because national security is supposed to safeguard our ethnic identity by protecting it from physical and substantive threats. On the other hand, we should admit that national identity may change over time. Our nation has existed for several millennia, though being Armenian did not mean the same thing during this time. The meaning of the term has changed over time due to various circumstances, events, and factors. We do not know what our compatriots meant by saying Armenian in the time of King Artashes, but we know for sure that they did not mean what we mean nowadays. At least he had no idea of our existence, while we know for sure that they existed. This alone is a major factor in the development of our national identity. We do not now know whether the Armenians who lived 2000 years ago viewed their actions from the perspective of our present interests, we do not know at all whether there was such a process of thought or not. But now we can do that, knowing the past, thinking not only about the present and the future, but also about the millennial horizon. Perhaps this is the turning point where the national ideology becomes a vital necessity, an institution of practical significance, when based on our past and present experience, we are facing the task of not only formulating what needs to be done today, but also sending such a fundamental message that would liaise between the future generations of Armenians and the Armenian who lived a thousand years ago. This is our vision of developing national identity and consciousness. National identity develops on the basis of our history, those positive and negative impressions we draw from past experiences, as well as on our vision of the future, which is organically connected with the past and the present. Our national identity has evolved over the years so that today we can formulate our goal, which is to ensure the future generations survival and normal development on the planet Earth for several millennia ahead in the territory of the state of Armenia and think of what we should do today. An Armenian that will live in 2000 years will not look the way we do today just as we are not acting the way our ancestors did 2000 years ago. But unlike those who lived 2,000 years ago, we can send a message to the future generations of Armenians that should bridge them with the past, and the main point of that message is what needs to be done in order to strengthen and make that connection viable. On the other hand, that interconnectivity should not be deemed as a bond. It should not pull us back, but push forward, stimulate and inspire for ever new achievements, it should not become an overwhelming presence, but it should encourage every Armenian to feel part of our millennial mission, become part of that mission, expand the scope and enrich the content of that mission through deeper knowledge of our identity. National identity has a core component, which implies connectivity with the roots and a sense of ownership of the heritage and values formed throughout history. This in turn should develop individual faith and trust in ones own strength, as well as peoples collective faith and trust in their own strength. This is why I consider it important to draw such a line in the foreword to the National Security Strategy, which is formulated below. In this context, I would like to quote Vahan Teryans famous lines: Babylon used to be our enemy, but see It disappeared, passed away like an evil fog. So, we come from the Armenian highlands, from Hayk Nahapet, and our name is Armenian. We are the descendants of the Kingdom of Van, Yervanduni dynasty, Artashesian dynasty, Arshakuni dynasty, Bagratuni dynasty, the Kingdom of Cilicia, and the First Republic of Armenia. We acknowledge the unique role played by the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic in the development of education, science, culture and industry in our country. We are the proud citizens of the Third Republic of Armenia, the children of the Armenian people who founded the Third Republic of Armenia and liberated Artsakh. The Republic of Armenia is the guarantor of the security and freedom of the Armenians of Artsakh. The Republic of Armenia is a pan-Armenian state and represents all Armenians from across the globe. The Armenian people boast the ability of defying historical disasters; we have reached the 21st century thanks to the skills and qualities we have developed on the way to building our own statehood. The awareness of these historical facts helped us reinstate our sovereignty immediately after the Medz Yeghern. The Armenian state is the sole guarantor of our nations survival and development. Therefore, our statehood must exist forever since the Armenian people must exist forever. National values The national values of the Armenian people are as follows: - Armenian statehood, citizenship of the Republic of Armenia; - The history and folklore of the Armenian people: our epic, beliefs, legends, and myths; - The Armenian language and alphabet, Armenian literature, including translated literature, knowledge, science; - The pan-Armenian potential, the Armenian Diaspora; - Homeland, family, individual; - The Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Armenian Evangelical Church. Christianity; - The art of Armenian bards and troubadours, our folklore, classical and pop music, Armenian dance art, Armenian fine arts, Armenian stage art, Armenian architecture; - Armenias nature and wildlife with its biodiversity; - Progress, freedom, dignity, hospitality, education, diligence, law-abidingness, respect and tolerance for other peoples, ethnic groups and religions; - Fraternal feelings and relations with the ethnic minorities living in Armenia and Artsakh, developing an organic union with them based on the citizenship of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh; - Armenian cuisine, all the samples of material and intangible heritage that express, depict, describe or symbolize the aforementioned national values; National Goals The national goals of the Armenian people are as follows: - Providing the prerequisites necessary for the eternity of the Armenian statehood: ideological, security-related, public, political, legal, economic, demographic, international, educational, intellectual, cultural and institutional; - International recognition of Artsakhs right to self-determination without any restrictions; - International recognition of the Armenian Genocide, overcoming and eliminating its consequences; - Ensuring security, freedom and well-being for the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, as well as protecting and promoting other fundamental rights; - Equality before the law, equality of men and women, equal access for men and women to opportunities available in public, state and economic life, as well as achieving national unity and cohesion through strict enforcement of civic rights and duties; - Preservation and development of our national and sovereign identity by safeguarding the independence and sovereignty of the Armenian people, including the restoration and development of national identity among those Armenians who have lost, or who seem to be on the verge of giving up their ethnic self-consciousness, including the knowledge of language; - Mobilization of the pan-Armenian potential in a bid to preserve and develop our national values and achieve our national goals; Pan-Armenian Rules of Coexistence Violence must be ruled out in dealing with domestic issues. Any such social group or individuals that view violence as a medium for addressing internal problems must be rejected. The vision of a non-violent society free of violence must become the cornerstone of our national unity. Indeed, this does not apply to the use of legitimate force with a view to preventing and exposing crimes, ensuring the normal life of society, as well as protecting the homeland from external aggression. The expression of peoples free will is the only source to form a government in the Republic of Armenia. Any distortion of peoples free will should be considered as an anti-state and anti-national activity. The sovereignty of Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenian people is the highest value. Such forces as may be willing or trying to involve foreign powers in the settlement of internal issues, acting as representatives of foreign interests in our country must be strongly opposed by the Armenian people and its legitimate representative - the Government of Armenia. Armenia and Artsakh should be free from all forms of corruption, including sponsorship and artificial monopolies, no man-made barriers to free competition should be created and the material damage inflicted on the state and the people through corruption must be repaired. The rule of law, equality before the law through the exercise of civic rights and duties must become the core of intra-national relations. A judicial system exposed to external or internal influences is a threat to national security. The law-courts must be independent. The existence of a privileged class, circle, and individual in the sphere of economy, politics and public life must be ruled out. The negotiations on the settlement of the Artsakh issue should seek to safeguard the results of the liberation war waged to ensure the self-determination and security of the people of Artsakh. Any solution agreed upon by the governments of Armenia and Artsakh cannot be considered acceptable unless it gets popular support and approval in Armenia and Artsakh. We and the World Throughout its history, Armenia has been looked upon as the west of the east and the east of the west, often becoming a scene of a clash of civilizations. We reject the presumption of a clash of civilizations, and in international relations we position ourselves as supporters of the dialogue of civilizations. Our vision of international relations implies international and interethnic dialogue based on mutual respect, and a mutual desire to understand and be understood. Promoting dialogue among civilizations, peoples, States and multilateral relations should be the reflection of our commitment to promoting international peace and stability. Armenia stands ready to become a platform for such dialogue. That is so much as a message. Coming to the text of the National Security Strategy that will be adopted later today, I wish to highlight another important nuance consisting in the fact that the will of the Armenian people is indicated as a source and a guarantee for Armenias statehood, that is, the existence of the Republic of Armenia should be determined by the will of the Armenian people. To objectively formulate what I mean by saying the will of the Armenian people and how it should be expressed in daily life, my understanding is that the popular will is formed at the crossroads of civic rights and duties, when the citizens of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people, as a whole, have the opportunity to simultaneously exercise their rights and duties. The Armenian state is to be underpinned by the synergy of these two concepts. I think it is a key feature, and I do believe that it should be enshrined in the text and concept of the National Security Strategy because, as we have mentioned on many occasions before, the existence of the Armenian statehood, as well as, unfortunately, its absence was often due to favorable or unfavorable geopolitical circumstances. Our primary task is to get the Armenian nation out of that vicious cycle where geopolitical factors can predetermine the fate of our statehood. Our statehood should be dependant on the collective will of the Armenian people. And, in fact, with this National Security Strategy, we are setting a new bar for ourselves. But I want to say that this is not so much a bar, but it would be more correct to call it a bar, because it imposes a proportionate responsibility on each of us, starting with senior officials and ending with ordinary citizens. The survival of the Armenian statehood depends on our will to bear that responsibility and exercise our rights, and I am convinced that as a nation, we are actually prepared to take on this responsibility today. I am glad that as a government, as a security council, we have the required mandate to formulate such willingness and make a daily work of it. Thank you. This was my foreword. The Portland-based law firm Davis Wright Tremaine could receive up to $159 million in legal fees associated with a $1.1 billion class action breach of contract lawsuit held in Linn County Circuit Court last fall. Linn County and other taxing districts charged the state specifically the Oregon Department of Forestry breached decades-old contracts to manage state forests within the counties for the greatest permanent value. The class members argued that for about 20 years the state has allowed other interests such as wildlife and recreation to reduce the annual payments to the taxing districts. Judge Thomas McHill said Friday morning that the firms 15% contingency fee was not out of line, considering the fact Davis Wright Tremaine was the sole law firm representing the class action members and took a big risk over the five years the lawsuit evolved and went to trial. Attorney John DiLorenzo said that although the amount may seem high, it is far less than contingency percentages approved in other lawsuits. Its less than two months interest on what was an eye-popping judgment, DiLorenzo said. Currently, the judgment is incurring 9% per interest, about $262,000 per day or $90 million per year, as the lawsuit awaits appeals by the state. States attorney Christina Beatty-Walters said the state did not oppose the contingency award as long as it did not add to the total judgment and is to be paid by the individual class members' awards. Davis Wright Tremaine will also be paid its actual out-of-pocket expenses of $598,322 on top of the contingency fee, McHill said. DiLorenzo said his office devoted more than 13,000 hours to the case. DiLorenzo said that research indicates that customary contingency fees for complex class action lawsuits range from 20% to 30%. The only time contingency fees are less than 15% are when numerous law firms are involved and diversify the risk, DiLorenzo said. Yes, its a big number, but it was an eye-popping judgment, a record. The largest jury verdict in Oregon history. DiLorenzo said all of the class members were notified of the fee before the lawsuit began and an advisory council composed of attorneys representing each of the class members met regularly. DiLorenzo said he was pleased that none of the class members presented opposition to the fee by the July 1 deadline. In making his decision, Judge McHill said the advisory committee was a good idea. Getting the advisory committee involved early on so the class action members were informed about the possible fee from the outset was a very good arrangement, he said. They had many opportunities to ask questions or object all along the way. Thats unique. Davis Wright Tremaine will not get paid until the lawsuit is settled or appeals are exhausted, DiLorenzo said after the hearing. If the case is settled for less than the $1.1 billion judgment, the law firms fee will be 15% of the new figure, plus actual expenses. We negotiated this fee with Roger Nyquist before this got rolling, DiLorenzo said. All of the class members are government agencies and we assume they will do good things with the money they receive. We are ready for that to begin. DiLorenzo said attorneys for his law firm and the state are currently checking the more than 5,000 pages of trial transcripts for errors. The case was originally filed on March 10, 2016, and went to trial in Linn County Circuit Court in late October 2019. On Nov. 21, the 12-person jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, who had charged that the Oregon Department of Forestry breached a contract formed in 1941 that called for management of some 700,000 acres of state forests in 14 counties to secure the greatest permanent value of those lands to the state. The plaintiffs argued that for decades the term meant managing the forests to provide maximum revenue to the counties in which they operate. But starting in 2001, the state changed the meaning to include other amenities such as water quality, recreation and wildlife habitat enhancement, which resulted in reduced payments to the counties. Judgments for current and future damages until 2069 (second number) by county: Benton, $509,858 and $6,161,270; Clackamas, $25,381,067 and $3,154,360; Clatsop, $176,478,590 and $109,565,036; Columbia, $7,551,189 and $7,355,610; Coos, $32,268,012 and $6,554,882; Douglas, $8,855,710 and $3,565,736; Josephine, $761,707 and $693,168; Lane, $55,025,487 and $17,948,505; Lincoln, $6,075,056 and $14,591,775; Linn, $37,476,762 and $14,518,637; Marion, $9,616,092 and $11,552, 647; Polk, $$4,766,551 and $3,631,354; Tillamook, $246,985,207 and $144,113,203; Washington, $62,259,582 and $48,492,346. Total current damages: $674,020,873. Total future damages: $391,898,527. Total judgment: $1,065,919,400. Opting out of the lawsuit were: Clatsop County, Clatsop Community College, Clatsop County Rural Law Enforcement, Clatsop County Road District #1, Clatsop County 4-H/Extension Service, Sunset Empire Park and Recreation in Clatsop County, Benton County Soil & Water Conservation District, Clackamas County Soil Conservation District, Port of Portland in Washington County, Washington County Rural Fire Protection District #2, Clatsop County Fair, Sunset Empire Transportation in Clatsop County, and the Port of Portland in Clatsop County. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 1 In a major step towards revving up the Indian Mobile App Development innovation ecosystem,in line with the clarion call for Aatmanirbhar initiatives of the Hon Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, NITI Aayogs Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) launched the ATL App Development Module for school children all across the country. The ATL App Development modules have been launched in collaboration with Indian homegrown startup Plezmo with an aim to hone the skills of school students and transforming them from App users to App makers in the times to come under AIMs flagship Atal Tinkering Labs initiative. Expressing his views on the said module, CEO NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant said that Covid-19 pandemic has brought about a big disruption, which is being tackled through the use of technology to aid for everyday lives. Our honorable Prime Minister has been encouraging the citizens to use technology and innovate for an #AatmaNirbhar Bharat. It is crucial for the young Indians to learn skills at a young age and to enable them to become the next generation of technology leaders. And under the Atal Tinkering Lab initiative, AIM, NITI Aayog is proud to launch the ATL App Development module for our Indias young minds our dear children, he said. The ATL App Development module is an online course is completely Free. Through 6 project-based learning modules and online mentoring sessions, young innovators can learn to build mobile Apps in various Indian languages and showcase their talent. Additionally, to build capacities and acumen for App Development within school teachers, periodic Teacher Training sessions will be conducted on the AIM App Development course. Speaking on the virtual launch of the module, Mission Director Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog R Ramanan said we need world class technology solutions and apps from India leveraging the tremendous demographic dividend of our country. The launch of AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge has been inspiring to the young students uniformly at school, university and industry level. AIM, NITI Aayog is now bringing the skills of App Development to the young tinkerers of Atal Tinkering Labs across the country so that they can integrate their Tinkering Lab innovations with mobile apps enhancing the usability and reach of their innovations. This would be one of the largest App learning and development initiatives at a school level in any country. To foster learning and creativity within young minds, as part of the ATL #TinkerfromHome campaign, AIM, NITI Aayog has created a growing state of the art platform for the students and teachers across the country to learn and apply the latest of technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Game Design and Development, 3D Design, Astronomy, Digital Creativity Skills, etc. from the comfort and safety of their homes, he said. He further added that as part of this ongoing effort, AIM, NITI Aayog is proud to launch the ATL App Development module in collaboration with Plezmo, an Indian homegrown startup. I hope all children and teachers make use of this module, #MakeinIndia and become the future technology leaders and innovators of our country. Amol Palshikar, CEO, Plezmo said, After agricultural and industrial revolutions, global economies are being shaped by a Technology revolution. Plezmos mission is to enable everyone to learn 21st Century technology skills like coding, computational thinking, design thinking and problem solving. This initiative will empower our young generation in making India a global technology superpower and contribute to the vision of #AatmaNirbharBharat. Till date, more than 5100 ATLs are established in more than 660 districts across the country by Atal Innovation Mission with more than 2 million students having access to the Tinkering Labs. The vision is to foster creativity and innovation nationwide through its various integrated initiatives including incubators, Startups, community innovation Centers and Atal New India challenges for product and service innovations enabling socio economic growth of the country. Source: PIB Mumbai, July 11 : The Maharashtra government on Saturday issued guidelines restricting the height of Ganesh idols, and containing other stringent regulations, for the 11-day Ganeshotsav festival starting from August 22. While the height of all Ganesh idols in public celebrations across the state shall be restricted to four feet, those in homes will be limited to only two feet this year in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has also recommended people to use marble or metal idols, and if clay or other materials are used, then perform the 'visarjan' (immersion) ceremonies either at homes or in artificial ponds, as per the notification by Principal Secretary, Special, Home, Amitabh Gupta. The guidelines further said that wherever possible, people should postpone the immersion ceremonies to the Maghi Ganeshotsav coming up in February 2021 or the next year's Ganeshotsav, starting from September 9, 2021. All processions have already been banned, either for welcoming the elephant-headed God or for his immersion ceremonies, besides barring immersion at any public place like beaches, rivers, lakes, ponds, etc. The public organisers have been urged to make all arrangements possible to provide online Ganesh darshan, puja, arti, etc. through cable, websites or social media networks. The guidelines stipulate cleanliness, fumigation, sanitisation, no crowds at all venues - public or community or private - with special attention to the health of children and senior citizens. Last month, following an appeal by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, all the top public organisers had voluntarily decided to reduce the height of their gigantic Ganesh idols to around four feet this year, and others had committed to no-frills, subdued, simple celebrations focusing on faith rather than pomp. (IANS report, June 23). Some, including the organisers of the famed Lalbaugcha Raja, decided to forego the celebrations and instead will convert Ganeshotsav into an 'Arogyautsav' (health fest) with special health campaigns, blood and plasma donations and other social activities, the committee members announced. These and other developments are "unprecedented in the 127-year old history of Ganeshotsav in the state, a tradition started in a modest way by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Pune in 1893", according to BrihanMumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti President Naresh Dahibhavkar. However, all the organisers have decided to adhere to the norms, given the extraordinary circumstances created by the pandemic this year, and earnestly hope that the situation will be different in 2021. Maharashtra's biggest public festival - which attracts people cutting across religious lines and tourists from around the world - is celebrated all over, but the celebrations in Mumbai, Pune and the coastal Konkan are among the chief attractions. (Newser) If media pundits could use exclamation points, they surely would. A day after President Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's sentence, words like "outrage" and "unforgivable" are blazing across the media landscape in op-eds, tweets, and TV interviews. To recap, the president commuted the sentence of his longtime confidant, who was facing three years and four months for lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. The commutation differs from a pardon by voiding Stone's prison sentence, not his criminal record, per the BBC. Among the reactions, including Trump's: story continues below Mitt Romney: "Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president." The Washington Post editorial board: "The United States is supposed to be a place in which laws apply equally to all. And while it never hasand never willlive up to that ideal in full, no modern president before Mr. Trump has so clearly renounced it." Jonathan Bernstein, Bloomberg: "Clemency for a crony convicted of interfering with an investigation of presidential malfeasance is a flagrant abuse of power. President Richard Nixon wasn't willing to pardon the Watergate criminals who broke into Democratic Party offices in the run-up to the 1972 presidential campaign because he knew how bad it would look." Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker: "Trump had not, until now, used pardons and commutations to reward defendants who possessed incriminating information against him. The Stone commutation isn't just a gift to an old friendit is a reward to Stone for keeping his mouth shut during the Mueller investigation." Corey Lewandowski: "Look, Roger Stone was clearly targeted by an unfair prosecution," he told Fox News. "Look, I'm not the biggest fan of Roger Stone. ... But, the way he was treated by this government should scare the hell out of every American." President Trump: "Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place. It is the other side that are criminals, including Biden and Obama, who spied on my campaignAND GOT CAUGHT!" (Read more Roger Stone stories.) LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. A few weeks back, our 9-year-old neighbor, Nealy, cornered me in the driveway. Since summer camp was canceled, she said, and because she is technically too young to babysit (though fully capable of doing so), she wanted to offer her services as a mothers helper. She would come over and watch my children ages 20 months and just-turned-3 so that I could get things done around the house. It was a pitch I myself had delivered, almost word for word, some 30 years earlier. I asked whether she was a fan of The Baby-Sitters Club. Her eyes lit up. Of course she was. I told her she was hired. First published in 1986, The Baby-Sitters Club, by Ann M. Martin, is one of the most enduring and best-selling middle-grade series of all time. For a certain kind of girl, it has long made babysitting synonymous with power and independence. At 8, my friends and I discovered the books and set about hanging fliers offering our services, desperate to babysit. I didnt get hired until I was 11, and a mom across the street let me take care of her 6-year-old daughter while she and her husband went to dinner on Saturdays. Wed do crafts and watch movies. Then I would read her a bedtime story and wed both fall asleep in her bed. Her mother would wake me when she returned, walk me to my front door and hand me a stack of bills. It was the first time Id ever been paid for work, and I felt wildly sophisticated. Czech Ambassador: Georgia among the best countries worldwide when it comes to combating Covid 19 - GeorgianJournal Conjoined twin sisters looked at each other for first time after Vatican hospital operation Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Twin sisters from the Central African Republic joined at the skull were successfully separated following a lengthy surgery at Gesu Bambino, the pope's pediatric hospital in Rome. The conjoined 2-year-old girls were born with one of the rarest and most complex forms of cranial and cerebral fusion, said doctors at the Vatican-owned hospital, according to CRUX. The surgery was completed on June 5, requiring 30 specialists and taking 18 hours to complete. The girls, Ervina and Prefina, are expected to recover fully and are reportedly in good condition. They will wear special protective helmets for a few months to prevent damage to their skulls. Ervina and Prefina were born in June 2018 in Mbaiki, a small town in the landlocked country in central Africa. The Central African Republic is slightly smaller than the state of Texas with a population of just under 6 million, according to the CIA World Factbook. In Bangui, the capital city, the family met with the Vatican hospital director who orchestrated their transfer to Rome for the surgery. The team of medical experts found that one sister's heart was working notably harder than the other's to maintain the physiological balance of the organs in both sisters, including the brain. According to the hospital, the twins have "distinct" personalities, one vivacious and playful, the other more serious and quiet. It was an exciting moment: A fantastic, unrepeatable experience, Dr. Carlo Marras, the head of Neurosurgery of the Bambino Gesu and of the chief of the team that separated the twins, said. It was a very ambitious goal and we did everything we could to achieve it, with passion, optimism and joy. By sharing each step, studying every single detail together, he added. The twins were able to look at each other for the first time on their 2nd birthday, which was on June 29. The most complex aspect in the operation was not separating the skull bones of the twins but the shared network of blood vessels with supplied blood from their brains to their hearts, Gesu Bambino said in a statement. The girls underwent two operations last year to construct those independent blood vessel networks and the final surgery, which separated them completely, occurred last month. Ervina and Prefina were born twice. If we had stayed in Africa, I dont know what fate they would have had, Ermine, mother of the twin girls, said. Now that they are separated and doing well, I would like them to be baptized by Pope Francis, who has always taken care of the children of Bangui. My little ones can now grow up, study and become doctors to save other children, she said, overjoyed. The twins had been originally cared for in a Bangui hospital that Gesu Bambino helped establish after Pope Francis visited the impoverished nation in 2015. Additional Criminal Cases Launched Against Former Ukrainian President Poroshenko By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service July 10, 2020 KYIV -- The Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office has launched four additional criminal cases against former President Petro Poroshenko, his lawyer Ihor Holovan said on June 10. According to Holovan, the probes were launched at the request of tycoon Ihor Kolomoyskiy, who accuses Poroshenko of interference with the activities of PrivatBank -- once owned by Kolomoyskiy -- revealing sensitive information regarding PrivatBank's activities, abuse of office, and money laundering. Holovan called all the accusations against Poroshenko "politically motivated." Kolomoyskiy, Poroshenko's long-time foe, lost control over PrivatBank in 2016 when the central bank took it over after it failed stress tests and was deemed to be undercapitalized. Poroshenko was president at that time. Kolomoyskiy lived in self-imposed exile for nearly two years and returned after Volodymyr Zelenskiy's election as president in April 2019. Kolomoyskiy's ties to Zelenskiy, who rose to fame as an actor on a TV channel owned by Kolomoisky, had raised concerns over the president's independence from the oligarch. On July 1, Poroshenko said that, in all, there are 24 probes launched against him, claiming that his successor "is behind all of them." Ukraine's Prosecutor-General Iryna Venedyktova rejected Poroshenko's claims, saying that the probes have nothing to do with politics. On July 8, Venedyktova withdrew its request to place Poroshenko under pretrial arrest in one of the cases against him. The case is related to his alleged illegal appointment of a deputy chief of the country's foreign intelligence service. Venedyktova said that the investigations in that case had been completed. A billionaire confectioner, Poroshenko currently serves as a member of parliament. His party ran on a pro-European, anti-Russian ticket in July parliamentary elections, winning 25 seats. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/additional-criminal- cases-launched-against-former-ukrainian- president-poroshenko/30719898.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address THE ISSUE: The Supreme Court affirms that the president is not above the law, but he will likely obstruct investigations for months if not years. THE STAKES: American voters must wonder what the truth is about a president who covers up so much. The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the president of the United States is not above the law nor beyond the oversight of Congress is a heartening development for a nation that hasn't until now been quite sure if it was descending into some form of autocracy. The idea that Donald Trump as president enjoyed "absolute immunity" from investigation, including grand jury subpoenas and congressional oversight, might seem preposterous to most Americans. But it wasn't to Mr. Trump and his lawyers or an obeisant attorney general who displays loyalty to the president over faithfulness to the rule of law. But the high court's 7-2 decision goes only so far. Mr. Trump and his attorneys will all but certainly use every legal device they can to delay the production of Mr. Trump's taxes and other financial records. The legal battles could stretch well past the November election. So while there's a victory here for the Constitution's checks and balances, the practical effect is that voters could go to polls this year still not knowing what Mr. Trump is fighting so desperately to hide. We may not know, then, how much more evidence there is that Mr. Trump paid hush money to a porn star and a Playboy model who said they had affairs with him payments that likely violated the law. We may not know if those records hold more evidence of Mr. Trump's business involvements with Russia, whose bad behavior he tries mightily to excuse. Nor will voters know for sure if Mr. Trump's business dealings violate the Constitution's emoluments clauses, designed to ensure presidents aren't being paid by foreign states. That doesn't mean, however, that voters will be in the dark. While details remain hidden, the big picture is apparent. Mr. Trump's secrecy about his financial affairs begs the question that only someone deep in Mr. Trump's thrall can't help but ask: What is he trying to hide? Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. And it's not just on taxes. Why does Mr. Trump fight release of redacted information from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, and Mr. Trump's well-documented attempts to obstruct that probe? Why did he launch a vicious campaign of retribution against public servants who dutifully reported and testified of his attempt to extort a political favor from the president of Ukraine in exchange for military aid? Why did he try to suppress an inspector general's report on the political pressure put on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for contradicting an entirely inaccurate tweet by the president about a hurricane? Why does he keep firing inspectors general? Why, too, does he try to block the publication of books critical of him, an exercise in censorship sometimes aided by the Justice Department? And why last week was his one-time personal attorney, Michael Cohen, returned to prison after he refused to agree to not speak to the media or release a book on Mr. Trump? We may not get specific answers to those questions by Election Day, but this much becomes apparent just in the asking: These are the acts of a tyrant, not a faithful American president. In his effort to hide the truth, the truth about Mr. Trump is absolutely exposed. TRACKING THE OUTBREAK An article on Friday about rising coronavirus infections misidentified the state where Chris Sununu is the governor. It is New Hampshire, not Vermont. INTERNATIONAL An article on Friday about the critically endangered status of northern right whales misstated the name of the government agency that focuses on oceans and the atmosphere. It is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, not the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. NATIONAL An article on Thursday about the Puerto Rican economy during the pandemic misidentified the location of the headquarters of the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board. It is now meeting in San Juan, P.R., not New York. SPORTS An article on Friday about the W.N.B.A. and the Black Lives Matter movement misstated Layshia Clarendons team. It is the New York Liberty, not the Connecticut Sun. CYBERSPACELess than a year after the United Kingdom scrapped its poorly thought-out attempt to ban online porn, at least for internet users under age 18, a new U.K.-based search engine is selling itself based on the fact that it never returns porn search results. Meorca.com is a Google-like crawler-based search engine that says it always provides porn-free results, because its search algorithm does not add porn to its database. A crawler-based search engine is one that relies on automated bots to constantly search the World Wide Web looking for new pages. When the bot finds a page not already in the search engines index, it automatically adds that page. Google, the dominant search engine on the market, and the Microsoft-owned Bing are both crawler-based search engines. The other major type of search engine uses metasearch algorithms, largely piggybacking off of results found by the crawler-based engines, and then rearranging the results based on their own algorithms. DuckDuckGo is perhaps the best-known metasearch engine currently available. But Meorca will rely on crawler technology that simply crawls right past pages containing porn, without adding those links to its index. We are on a mission to provide a protected space for Internet users, to build the worlds 1st pornography free search engine, said the sites founder, internet entrepreneur Muftau Akay, in a statement. A search engine that does not index pornography, while providing safe, unique and unbiased search results. Akay added that Meorcas crawler does not carry out an aggressive blanket crawl of the web but rather takes a measured approach indexing general websites deemed safe, family friendly and those submitted to be indexed which meet Meorca Search Engine guidelines for inclusion. Sure enough, when AVN.com carried out a Meorca search for Pornhub, the search returned no relevant results. At the same time, a search for the 1928 D.H. Lawrence novel Lady Chatterlys Loverwhich was once widely banned for its erotic content but has since been acknowledged as a literary classicalso turned up nothing, indicating that Meorcas definition of porn may yet need some work. After banishing porn from its platform in December of 2018, the social media site Tumblr ran into problems with its algorithm, which blocked images of Jesus and Wonder Woman, as well as in one instance, an image of a flower vase. Photo via Meorca.com More than 70,000 people applied to become police officers in the first six months of the governments recruitment drive. An estimated 78,000 applications were submitted between October and May for roles in forces across England and Wales as part of efforts to sign up 20,000 more officers over the next three years, according to Home Office estimates. The majority (more than 70,000) were submitted by April within the first six months of the campaign according to the departments provisional data provided by the National Police Chiefs Council. The news comes as some forces saw a spike in applications at the height of the coronavirus outbreak. West Midlands Police, the second largest force in the country, saw an estimated 75 per cent increase in applications in one week. Before the pandemic, the force said it typically saw an average of around 140 applications a week and this shot up to around 240 applications for the first week of April. Many of the new recruits are already out patrolling the streets, either as part of their training or having completed the course. Two of the trainee officers who spoke to the PA news agency were undeterred by starting out in a new career during the pandemic, both telling of their life-long ambition to join the police. Former plant nursery manager Verity Steele, who joined Staffordshire Police to take on her dream job after becoming a mother, said she was taking sensible precautions at work and thinks the circumstances will help prepare her for what lies ahead. The 40-year-old, who is originally from Essex but now lives near Stoke-on-Trent and has been hooked on joining the police from a young age, said: Its not how I would have necessarily chosen to start my police career but then again who could have predicted a pandemic. I dont know any different. Irfan Shafiq, who left his familys taxi firm to work for West Midlands Police and is now responding to 999 calls in Birmingham, said: Im seeing people on a daily basis while on the job saying thank you. Its good to see everybody appreciate what frontline key workers are doing, especially during this pandemic. The 30-year-old, who was born and raised in Cradley Heath, said taking the job is without a doubt the best thing he has ever done. Priti Patel, the home secretary, said: These new officers are truly inspiring and Im delighted to see that the first of our planned 20,000 recruits are already helping to control the spread of the virus and save lives. Getting more officers on the streets to keep us all safe is an absolute priority for the British people and theres never been a better time to join the police. If you want to make a difference, I would encourage you to apply. Crime and policing minister Kit Malthouse said that it was critical to use the recruitment drive as an opportunity to make radical progress on diversity in policing. Its been a challenge for policing for some time, he told Times Radio Breakfast. Twenty years ago, only just over 2 per cent of police officers were from a Bame background, were now up to just short of 7 per cent, and we want to make a big step forward with these 20,000 into even more progress. Similarly with the balance of gender. Ten years ago at 25 per cent, were now up to 30 per cent of police officers are female. We want to use this to move forward and were seeing good progress. Boris Johnson vowed to swell the police service to more than 140,000 officers by mid-2022 if he was elected prime minister. Police officer numbers in England and Wales have fallen by more than 20,000 since 2009, with a reduction from 144,353 to 122,395 in 2018. Previously, John Apter, national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said half a million applications would be needed to fill almost 55,000 new and existing police officer posts in order to make the governments recruitment drive a success. But in April, the Home Office said the recruitment programme was on track to meet the first years target of 6,000 by March 2021 and officers would be in addition to those hired to fill existing roles. According to the latest official figures, forces hired 3,005 extra officers in the first six months of the recruitment drive taking the overall provisional headcount of officers in England and Wales 131,596. This is a 5 per cent rise on March last year, of which the recruitment drive accounts for approximately half, the Home Office report said. When the first phase of the rollout was announced in October, the department pledged to provide 750m to support the 43 forces to recruit up the first wave of officers by the end of 2020-21. This funding would cover all associated costs, including training and kit. Online assessment centres, among other measures, have been taken in efforts to keep recruitment going during the coronavirus pandemic. PA Wisconsin lost fewer dairy farms in June as higher milk prices kept more farmers in business. But some experts caution that its a sugar high that may not last, and farmers say they're not getting the full benefit. As of July 1, there were 7,079 dairy cow herds in the state, down only 44 from a month earlier and one of the lowest exit rates in several years. For the first six months of 2020, the state lost 213 dairy farms, significant but far fewer than in the first half of 2019. Boosted by government purchases of dairy products and the reopening of restaurants, farm milk prices have been rising. Farmers are doing a lot better. Milk prices today are at the highest level going back to 2014, said Dan Basse, president of AgResource, an agricultural markets research firm based in Chicago. Its a combination of things. I call it a sugar high. Unfortunately, we believe the dairy markets will be oversupplied" toward the end of the year when government food purchases wind down, he said. Rick Roden monitors cattle as they move into a milking station at the dairy farm his father, Bob Roden, and he own south of Newberg in the Town of Trenton. Life transcending stereotype: The real people behind Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's Car buying tips amid COVID-19: 6 key questions answered on new, used cars, trucks, SUVs Prices have vacillated in the pandemic. For example, milk that is used to make cheese was priced at $17 per hundred pounds, about 12 gallons, in January before slumping to $12 in May and then rising to around $22. The sharp drop in May was the result of the COVID-19 virus shutting down schools, universities, restaurants and food service, which caused a big drop in the sales of milk, cheese and butter, Bob Cropp, a University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension professor emeritus, wrote in a recent column. In response, dairy farmers cut production, and some were asked to dump milk. Then, government food assistance programs kicked in, helping to lower dairy product surpluses. Also, restaurants placed large orders to restock supplies as COVID-19 restrictions were eased. Milk prices improved, in some cases nearly doubling. Story continues Now, the question is whether it's sustainable. Hopefully, dairy farmers do not respond to higher milk prices by increasing production again, Cropp said. Belkis Jacquelyn prepares cows for milking at the dairy farm owned by Bob and Rick Roden. COVID-19 is the wild card This fall, dairy processors will likely scale up the manufacturing of cheese, butter and other products for seasonal demand. But if there's a second wave of COVID-19 infections, higher sales over the holidays would be at risk. There is a lot of uncertainty as to milk prices for the remainder of the year," Cropp said. "Prices should remain strong for the next two or three months, at least, but beyond that, there's more uncertainty." "This is not a good time to try and outguess the markets," said Kevin Bernhardt, a dairy economist at University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Minimum milk prices are set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture using complicated formulas based on the wholesale market value of various dairy products such as cheese, butter and whey. Many farmers see themselves as relatively powerless in an agricultural system based on large-scale efficiencies. Faced with few options to control the price for what they produce, they ramp up production and hope markets don't buckle under the strain. More on Wisconsin's dairy crisis: Dairyland in Distress Most dairy farmers don't know what they'll be paid until 30 days after milk has left their farms. And under the pricing system, and what's called a producer price differential, they don't necessarily realize the full benefit of increases shown in the commodities market. "A lot of that does not get directly to the farmer," said Bob Roden, a dairy farmer near West Bend. There are a lot of rumors about what were actually going to be paid for our June milk, Roden said, adding that his cooperative told him to expect around $18 per hundred pounds, close to his break-even price. I will know what I actually got after July 18th, he said. The recent higher prices have helped farmers regain their footing after years of losses or barely covering their costs. Whats happened is farmers have borrowed against their equity in order to keep going," Roden said. "But we have dug some deep holes that we need to get out of, and that doesnt change overnight." COVID exposes cracks in the food system The recent dairy crisis that began in late 2014 underscored changes in agriculture that have been taking place for decades but sped up more than many expected. Farmers are now engaged in a global marketplace that can be upended for months, even years, by trade wars, pandemics and climate change. There's not much confidence in the higher prices now, said Daniel Smith, president and CEO of Cooperative Network, a Wisconsin and Minnesota group that represents cooperatives in dozens of fields including agriculture, health care and utilities. For all of us, COVID-19 is the wild card, Smith said. From cranberries to wheat, other commodities have also experienced price swings. For example, about 40% of U.S. corn goes into making the fuel additive ethanol, and those sales plummeted when Americans began driving less. When the ethanol plants shut down for COVID, a lot of that corn remained in bins. If we come up with a sizable grain crop this fall, there will be some pretty severe storage issues, let alone the impact on the market, Smith said. The farmers are nervous as cats because theyre afraid that were going to stop buying corn. And they're right, Randy Doyle, CEO of ethanol maker Al-Corn Clean Fuel, was quoted as saying in Successful Farming magazine this spring. Rural Wisconsin is fueled by the money that farmers spend at equipment dealerships, feed mills, hardware stores, cafes and scores of other businesses. When dairy farmers stumble, businesses in rural towns lose their balance as well. I believe the full impact of COVID is still hanging out there," Smith said. "Its going to impact our rural villages, cooperatives, businesses, all those things. We may see quite a drop in services and opportunities in rural communities." Government programs have helped ease some of the pain. But we cant keep putting Band-Aids on things. We have to come up with a long-term plan for the health of rural communities that works economically, socially and culturally, Smith said. COVID-19 has exposed cracks in the food production system, said Jim Goodman, president of the National Family Farm Coalition, and a retired dairy farmer from Juneau County. Farmers dumped milk because processing plants were full, yet there were milk shortages in grocery stores. Slaughter plants shut down from the spread of coronavirus, resulting in meat shortages. "The food system that many thought was so good because there was plenty in the stores at fairly affordable prices now seems pretty fragile," Goodman said. "If workers get sick in a processing plant, or if there are transportation problems, the whole system breaks down." A third-generation farmer for more than 40 years, he called it quits in 2018. Goodman loved the animals and the work and had endured hard times, but he couldn't see much of a future for his organic dairy operation that milked 45 cows. He believes the loss of dairy farms, while it's slowed some, will likely continue until most small family-run operations have disappeared. "I think that a farm like mine, once the cows are sold, is never going to come back," Goodman said. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milk prices surge, supporting dairy farms during COVID-19 pandemic India on Thursday said it was concerned over the possibility of the return of a large number of Indian students studying in the USin the context of uncertainty over the continuation of the F-1 student visasand said New Delhi had taken up the matter with Washington during the recent foreign office consultations. New Delhi said the US had noted the Indian concerns. India also said that it had taken up with Kuwait the matter regarding the Gulf nations proposed Expat Quota Bill. According to media reports, the proposed Bill seeks to limit the number of Indians working there and therefore the Kuwaiti move could result in the return of lakhs of Indians working there. On the students visa issue in the US, it may be recalled that as per reports, a raging controversy has broken out in the US on the uncertainty over continuation of the F-1 student visas in case students take online classes. On the issue of the student visas, the MEA said Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had taken up the matter with the US during the foreign office consultations on Tuesday and had reminded the US side about the importance of educational exchanges and people to people contacts. The MEA said the US had noted the Indian concerns. On Kuwaits proposed expat quota bill, New Delhi said it was closely following developments in Kuwaitand that this matter was recently discussed between foreign ministers of both sides. The MEA referred to the contributions of the Indian community in Kuwait and the entire Gulf region and said India had shared its expectation with the Kuwaiti side that their decision would reflect this aspect. In this article: X+Y, Monsters University, Retreat. Choose from family fun, unsung geniuses and indie horrors as TopFilmTip brings you the best films on UK TV for Saturday, 11 July. Some films may require a Sky subscription. Women of all walks and ages find familial sisterhood around southern salon in tear-jerking, wry-witted, barbed comedy Steel Magnolias 11:25am 5 Star After helping women hide from spies a man is left to save the day. Alfred Hitchcock's top man-on-the-run thriller The 39 Steps (1935) 1:15pm BBC Two Madeleine Carroll and Robert Donat on the set of "The 39 Steps", directed by Alfred Hitchcock. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images) Tricky city trader slips in swimming pool, fancies feisty Fanny and becomes smitten with country life in charming romance A Good Year 2:30pm Sony Movies Family of blue birds transition to wild Amazonian environs amid chaos of unsavoury logging, poisonous love and an evil Nigel Rio 2 2:55pm Film4 Sick of sardines, inventor accidentally initiates culinary catastrophe in intelligently hilarious fun Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 4:00pm SyFy Les Incompetent abandoned boy becomes self-sufficient learns empathy then sadistically burns/brakes/bludgeons burglars in classic Christmas film Home Alone 4:55pm Film4 Oddball-eyeball and hirsute laurel-rester must work together to become child-traumatising scream harvesters Monsters University 5:15pm BBC One Forced to fake feeling, raven-haired radical sparks revolt in baboon battling, couture conflagrating adventure The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 6:10pm E4 A scene from the Paramount Movie "The Truman Show" starring Jim Carrey. (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures/Melinda Sue Gordon) Contented man realises his life's a sham in Peter Weir's prophetic Philip K Dick-esque indictment of vicarious reality TV The Truman Show 6:55pm Sony Movies Eccentric clown tricks newly-deads around freakishly bizarre afterlife: soup sing-songing cemetery excavating comedy Beetlejuice 8:00pm Comedy Central Emotional cripple and compulsive fight-o-holic lead team of sexy experts against tattooed genocider in top lens-flaring fun Star Trek 9:00pm Film4 Unsung, troubled genius works through his daddy issues under the tutelage of Robin Williams sage advice in powerful drama Good Will Hunting 9:00pm 5 Star Story continues Actor Jason Lively and actresses Dana Hill and Beverly D'Angelo and actor Chevy Chase on set of the Warner Bros. movie National Lampoon's "European Vacation" in 1985. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Fractious family accidentally win holiday, drink coke in the can, fail roundabouts and repeatedly assault cyclist National Lampoon's European Vacation 10:10pm ITV4 Southern brothers childhood twister trauma heals as they foil cash pilfering criminals amid wet & wild weather hell: hubcap-murdering fun The Hurricane Heist 10:50pm Sky 1 Log-schlepping roid-ogre pummels and perforates baddies before showing sexually ambiguous nemesis how to let off steam Commando 10:50pm Channel 4 Austrian-born American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the set of Commando, directed by Mark L. Lester. (Photo by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images) Tables turn on outlaw gang when they unwittingly kidnap psychopath in jaw-cuffing, man mulching, crossbow killing fun No One Lives 11:00pm Horror Channel Admitted to psych-ward, disillusioned misfit free-loving 1960s teen befriends rebellious charismatic misanthrope Girl, Interrupted 11:20pm Sony Movies When his niece is kidnapped Morgan Freeman uses his dulcet tones to seek serial lady abductor in Alex Cross film fun Kiss the Girls 11:25pm Film 4 Reticent prodigal synaesthesiac learns incalculability of love on maths Olympiad in astonishing affecting character study X+Y 00:05am BBC One Amid island isolation and global pandemic, fraying miscarried marriage endures test of trust under yoke of menacing captor Retreat 2:45am Horror Channel Everything new on streaming in July New on Netflix in July New on Sky Cinema and NOW TV in July New on Disney+ in July New on Amazon Prime Video in July Dharavi slum in Mumbai has emerged as a global role model for containing the spread of novel coronavirus, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday against the backdrop of the WHOs praise. World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said during a virtual press conference in Geneva on Friday that there were many examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control. Click here for full Covid-19 coverage And some of these examples are Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi - a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai, he had said. Thackeray said that Dharavi has shown to the world that coronavirus spread can be contained via self discipline and community efforts. He said 82 per cent of patients in Dharavi have recovered from the infection, bringing down the number of active cases to only 166. Dharavi is an inspiration for the world on how to curb the spread of a pandemic, he said in a statement. The CM lauded united efforts of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), private doctors, NGOs and local residents in breaking the coronavirus chain. This journey wasnt easy. Due to united efforts, Dharavi is on its way to eradicate coronavirus, he said. School Education Minister and Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaikwad tweeted, I am proud of all my Dharavians as today we have set an example for the word as WHO recognized and praised our efforts on the war against the virus. Lets keep up the good work and we will fight In the most strongest way (sic). Rahul Shewale, Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai South Central, also hailed the development. The Dharavi formula should be replicated in the entire state of Maharashtra, he added. The Asias largest slum, which was once declared a Covid-19 hotspot, has managed to flatten the curve of the viral spread. Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Commissioner of the G North ward of the BMC had told PTI that the civic body had to change its traditional approach of waiting for patients, contact tracing, isolation and home quarantine to begin proactive screening instead. Proactive screening helped in early detection, timely treatment and recovery, he said. The number of coronavirus positive patients in Dharavi rose by only 12 to 2,359 on Friday. As per official data, while in April, the doubling rate of cases was 18 days in Dharavi, it gradually improved to 43 days in May. It stood at 108 and 430 days in June and July, respectively. Belgium's government has told its citizens not to travel to Leicester as it has been put into a 'red zone' of risky destinations. Leicester is the only area in the UK that is in the 'red zone' with regions in Portugal and Spain after the east midlands city was put back into a stricter lockdown. Advice from the Belgian foreign affairs department states that 'travel is not allowed' and 'quarantine is mandatory upon your return'. Belgium will require anyone who has been to Leicester to self-isolate for 14 days upon return. Pictured: Brussels Airport reopening for travel on June 15 Leicester is the only city in the UK that is in Belgium;s 'red zone' along with other regions in Portugal and Spain For travellers who have been to Leicester this means they will have to self-isolate for 14 days in Belgium. Brussels Airport will put signs up reminding travellers who have not been able to avoid the city of this requirement. The Belgian government regularly updates its website and the site notes that the regulations are based on 'currently available information'. The government's 'green zone', that lists where people are allowed to travel, includes other areas of the EU, the Schengen zone and the rest of the United Kingdom. Leicester was the first city in England to have tighter restrictions reimposed on June 30, after it had an infection rate of 141 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people. The city's infections rate has continued to fall but the lockdown will continue until at least July 18 when it is due to be re-evaluated. Local government in Leicester and central government have been pointing the finger at each other with the mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, complaining that the central government did not share figures on the area sooner. The Department of Health and Social Care told the BBC it had prioritised giving detailed, broken down data to public health bodies but was now sharing the data with councils. Speaking on Tuesday in the House of Commons Matt Hancock said: 'We took, last week, difficult but vital decisions about Leicester. 'Since then we've been working with Leicester and Leicestershire and I'm pleased to say that, together, we have brought down the seven-day infection rate from 135 to 117 cases per 100,0000 people. 'What we said when we took the measures just over a week ago is that we needed to see 14 days of data, so we propose to make announcements on the next steps on the 18th of July. 'Of course, if further measures are needed in the meantime to tighten up then we will take them immediately, but... the good news is that the data are currently moving in the right direction.' Surging cases of coronavirus infections in the United States has pressurised governors across the country to reimpose stay-at-home orders as the only way to regain control of outbreaks that threaten to overwhelm hospitals and send the death count rocketing, The Washington Post reported. US cities raced to shut down their economies in March and many opened them just as quickly in May. But the latest push for returning back to shutdown by local health experts appeared to receive a boost from Anthony S Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease official, who suggested on Wednesday that struggling states "should seriously look at shutting down". "Stay-at-home is a blunt instrument," said Farshad Fani Marvasti, director of public health at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. "But when you are leading the world in new cases and things do not seem to be getting better, you may have to use that blunt instrument," Marvasti added. Studies have found that orders that closed non-essential businesses and forbid non-essential travel or gatherings prevented millions of coronavirus cases nationwide when they were imposed this spring. Researchers have also found such orders could have saved tens of thousands of lives had they been implemented earlier. Nationwide, more than a dozen states have paused their reopenings this summer as case numbers have climbed. Another half-dozen have rolled back previously announced reopenings. Several have reimposed bans on bars, which have been particularly hospitable spots for the virus to circulate. But other public health specialists insist a pause is not enough, and that the United States would not be able to reopen to the extent that many other countries have until it learns how to do so safely. At the Harvard Global Health Institute, researchers recently put together a national tracker to assess the severity of the outbreak in all 50 states. As of Thursday, 15 of them were in a state of "accelerated spread," meaning that stay-at-home orders should at least be considered, along with aggressive testing and tracing programmes. Another five -- Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Georgia -- were flashing red. In those states, the outbreaks are so advanced that researchers say stay-at-home measures are no longer optional. They should be mandatory. In all five, however, governors have waved off suggestions that people should be again told to stay at home, citing the economic costs of keeping people out of work. "We do not want to become another New York, another Italy. But that is where we are headed. We need to learn our lesson from these places," Marvasti said. (ANI) Also Read: Report: Another Donald Trump term may enable China to expand its influence in Asia-Pacific Alex Kear, 50, admitted child sexual offences at court on Thursday (Picture: Wakefield Council) A council says it is powerless to remove a councillor after he admitted to multiple child sex offences. Alex Kear, 50, pleaded guilty to sexual offences involving a child under the age of 13 at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday. He represents the Airedale and Ferry Fryston ward as an independent on Wakefield Council in West Yorkshire after winning the seat from Labour at the local elections in May last year. But Wakefield Council says it is powerless to remove him from office and may only do so if he is jailed for more than three months. As a result, he remains a serving councillor despite his convictions. Read more: Husband 'had no clue' wife pretended to be blind and disabled to scam 1m in benefits Alex Kear pleaded guilty to the offences at Leeds Crown Court (Picture: Getty) Gillian Marshall, Wakefield Councils chief legal officer, said after the court hearing: Central government has essentially left local councils powerless to take action in these situations. We do not have any authority to remove elected members from their position, regardless of the severity of their alleged crimes unless they receive a significant custodial sentence. Therefore unless Kear chooses to resign, he remains a councillor. This will be reviewed when he is sentenced. As soon as we were made aware of the investigation by West Yorkshire Police we took all the appropriate safeguarding measures within our control and we will continue to do so. Read more: Man jailed after victim he punched dies three years later Kear was granted bail after Fridays hearing and is due to return to court to be sentenced on 20 August. Judge Andrew Stubbs QC told Kear: The fact that I am adjourning your case for reports is no indication of the sentence that you will ultimately receive. All options remain open. Kear, of Castleford, West Yorkshire, admitted to offences of trying to entice a child under the age of 13 into engaging in sexual activity and attempting to incite a child into pornography. Hyderabad, July 11 : Prominent Muslim leaders of Telangana have demanded criminal action against those responsible for the demolition of two mosques in the old secretariat premises. Reacting to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao's statement expressing regret over the incident, the leaders led by AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said expressing regret alone is not enough and those responsible for the demolition should be brought to book. The leaders in a joint statement said a First Information Report (FIR) should be registered against officials, departments and contractors responsible for demolition of the mosques. On the Chief Minister's announcement that the mosque will be rebuilt in the secretariat premises, the leaders made it clear that they should be reconstructed at the same places where they stood earlier. They reiterated that the places of mosques never be changed. The leaders targeted State Waqf Board's silence over the demolition of the mosques and for not taking any legal action after the incident. They recalled that All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) had raised the issue of mosques in the previous session of the State Assembly and had urged the government to ensure their protection. Despite this, both the government and Wakf Board showed their negligence. Meanwhile, Waqf Board Chairman Mohammed Saleem welcomed the Chief Minister's announcement to rebuild the mosque. He said the mosques suffered damage when the debris from the demolished structures fell on them. He also described the chief minister as a secular leader and said he did not believe in hurting religious sentiments. Saleem's statement came under sharp criticism from various Muslim groups, who held the Waqf Board responsible for demolition. Owaisi called for appointing a competent person as the Waqf Board chairman. "We have nothing against the current Chairperson, but the Board must be led by someone who can actually manage the many responsibilities & duties that come with the office of the Chairperson," the MP tweeted. He said the ruling party TRS was free to appoint their own person but due attention should be paid to their ability and skills. "Had a competent person been at the helm this issue wouldn't have arisen. I am sure that it'll not be difficult for the government to find a more capable person to appoint." The MP suggested the names of retired IPS officer A.K. Khan Aor Malik Motasim Khan for the post. He said AIMIM would be submitting a draft amendment empowering Waqf Board with summary eviction powers similar to Hindu Endowment Boards. Owaisi said after seeking appropriate legal opinion, the Chief Minister must consider superseding Telangana Wakf Board in the interest of protecting Waqf properties. The MP said the CM's statement was timely and demanded that he immediately call Muslim community leaders and scholars. "We'll definitely come & reiterate our demand for both masajids at the place where they're. The masajid are registered waqf properties as recorded in government Gazettes of the state." The current oil crisis will severely depress investments in new oil production, setting the stage for oil prices hitting $100 or even $150 a barrel over the next five years, several analysts told The Wall Street Journal. As Oil Price writes, analysts are basically divided into two camps the ones predicting high oil prices because of the pandemic and the resulting severe underinvestment in new oilfields, and the ones saying that life in the new normal will mean that demand may never return to pre-COVID-19 levels. In the bulls camp, Trevor Woods, chief investment officer of Ohio-based hedge fund Northern Trace Capital, told the Journal: We could hit $150 pretty easily by 2025. Woods motivated his prediction with upcoming massive pressure on producers for funding new developments. Christyan Malek, JP Morgans head of oil and gas research for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, also thinks that oil could hit $100 per barrel, due to the dramatic decline in investments. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the oil and gas sector will see the steepest decline in investment this year compared to last year. Investment in oil and gas is set to plunge by $244.1 billion, or by nearly one-third, in 2020 compared to 2019. Could we see oil move to $100 over the next two years? Absolutely, JP Morgans Malek told the Journal, reiterating a similar bullish estimate from last month. Citigroup, however, doesnt believe that crude oil prices will return to three-digit levels ever again. The idea of oil at $100 or higher, has far more fantasy than reality at its heart, Citigroup commodity analysts said in a note earlier this month, adding that over the long term, $45 per barrel of Brent was a far more likely oil price scenario than $60 a barrel. In more pessimistic news, the Citi analysts said, Oil product demand growth will falter significantly, change its contours and never return to pre-covid-19 rates of growth. Xcel Roofing co-owner Jim Harding wants to take his company to 40 states within the next five to seven years. For now, though, the company is in eight states and moving into Columbus. When Harding joined the company in 2016, there was one crew, he said. Monday, Xcels sign will go up on their place at the new Parkway Plaza building, 4471 41st Ave. Friday, they put up the roof on one of the two Habitat for Humanity of Columbus homes. Thats our DNA. If you look at our company, look at our website, the first thing you see is us in the community, Harding said. Were a philanthropic community-based company that happens to do roofing. They work with just about every charitable organization that he has heard of, he said, and some he hasnt. All his employees book hours for community involvement, he said. Xcel Roofing won the Better Business Bureau Integrity Award in 2018. Its important to us. Its how people know us, he said. If other people need help, they know where we can go. Harding and his wife have been involved with the Alzheimers Association for around 15 or 20 years, he said. He also has been involved with United Way and Red Cross blood drives, he added. Weve just always done something, he said. Its just whatever you can help. Its never been just one target. Local Exterior Specialist Tracey Holliday said the companys involvement in the local community drew her to the job, which she started June 1. I grew up in Omaha, so Im kind of a transplant, she said. (I like) the small-town feel and the same thing as Xcel, how everybody likes to help out in the community. Its very close-knit. Anytime somebody needs a hand theres always one there to help. Holliday has lived here for about three years and this is one of the first major projects she's worked on. This is one of the first projects Ive been involved with so Im really happy to have it be one that gives so many good feelings, she said. This Habitat decision was a little last-minute, said Meghan Lewis, vice president of marketing for Xcel Roofing, though the company has worked with Habitat in many markets. Our general manager just scheduled it like any other job that we would do. We really did decide a week ago, last Thursday. I think I got the call on Friday and because it was a habitat he just pushed it through, Lewis said. The materials got delivered this morning and here we are. The group felt the timing was right to move into the Columbus area, especially since they are an essential business and it is storm season. We have through previous storms been out here, doing work just because of the storms, Lewis said. She noted her beliefe of a lack of roofers in the area. Building our communities, really being true to that integrity award is very important to Xcel. Its part of our mission statement to grow our communities, Lewis said. Were excited to have a permanent place out here and really this will be kind of our base for all the way up to Norfolk and on out." Part of how they got to Columbus is through co-owner Matt Preister. Matt Preister, our other owner, he has some family ties out here and then kwElite had an opportunity, they were looking for a roofer to partner with, Lewis said. Columbus is very near and dear to Matt Preister. Its been a great partnership so far. Harding said they moved out to Columbus because they ran into Renee Mueller of kwElite and Holliday knew some people and it just kind of happened. Theyre like children, some are planned, some are not. It just kind of organically grew, he said. It wasnt a target market for us initially, but then we started making some connections and we kind of looked at it and said well this is a good place to establish a small office because theres a lot of really nice small towns around here. If a storm rolls through, Harding said, theres enough of a population base for them to justify having a small office. Carolyn Komatsoulis is a reporter for the Columbus Telegram. Reach her via email at carolyn.komatsoulis@lee.net Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Brazil surpassed 70,000 coronavirus deaths on Friday, the health ministry said, though the number of daily fatalities appears to be stabilizing. The ministry said there had been 45,000 new infections and 1,200 deaths over the last 24 hours, taking the totals to 1.8 million cases and 70,400 deaths. Brazil, a country of 212 million, is the second worst-affected country in the world after the United States. The number of deaths has doubled over the last 35 days with Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states the worst hit, respectively reporting 17,400 and 11,200 deaths. In relative terms, though, Brazil has registered 335 deaths per million inhabitants, which is less than the US with 403 or Spain's 607. However, in some states, such as Rio de Janeiro (653), Ceara (742) and Amazonas (726), the figures are way over the national average. In four of the last five weeks, Brazil averaged more than 1,000 deaths a day. Critics say the government of far right President Jair Bolsonaro has failed to give a unified message on how to combat the virus, with state governors leading the response. Bolsonaro has even gone so far as to flout containment measures such as social distancing and the wearing of face masks, and blasted governors over lockdowns that have hurt the economy. The 65-year-old revealed on Tuesday he had contracted the virus, but said earlier Friday he was feeling "fine." He said he'd taken the anti-malaria medication hydroxychloroquine and that "it worked." This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics A heavily tattooed white supremacist who set fire to a church is in trouble with police after shaving his beard. Ricky White, 28, from Ingleburn in south-west Sydney, is one of the few criminals in New South Wales who are closely monitored under strict anti-terrorism legislation. White, who burned down a Pentecostal church in 2016, is under an order that prevents him from taking any action without notifying his law enforcement minders. This extended supervision order prevents him from altering his appearance in any way without first telling police. Ricky White (pictured), 28, from Ingleburn in south-west Sydney, was arrested on Thursday after allegedly violating his extended supervision order by shaving his beard White was monitored under anti-terrorism legislation after he set fire to the Pentecostal Destiny Church (pictured) in Taree on the NSW mid-north coast in September 2016 NSW Police officers visited White's home for a routine check on Thursday and allegedly discovered the 28-year-old had violated his order, The Daily Telegraph reported. White was allegedly found to have shaved off his bushy red beard and was then arrested as a result. He was charged with breaching an extended supervision order. White was refused bail and set to appear in Campbelltown Local Court on August 4. The 28-year-old was convicted of setting fire to the Destiny Church in Taree on the New South Coast mid-north coast in September 2016. Emergency services were called to the Pentecostal church following reports of a fire inside the building. Pictured: Facebook photos of the 28-year-old show him wearing a swastika ring Investigators looking at how the fire started allegedly found flyers promoting a European separatist religion called Wotansvolk inside the church Fire & Rescue NSW successfully extinguished the blaze, however the building sustained significant smoke and fire damage worth $200,000. Investigators looking at how the fire started allegedly found flyers promoting a European separatist religion called 'Wotansvolk'. White is believed to be a high ranking member of the Wotansvolk in Australia. Photographs of White on Facebook show him wearing a swastika ring and an '88' tattoo, which is a neo-Nazi code for Heil Hitler, as H is the eighth letter in the alphabet. Senior pastor Kevin Matters said that it was 'quite surprising' that someone would attack their church. 'We had a couple of smashed windows a few months ago but we have no idea why they were deliberately broken in then either,' he said. MELBOURNE, Australia - The beleaguered Australian state of Victoria received some good news Saturday with health officials reporting 216 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from the record 288 the previous day. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said a man in his 90s died overnight while 49 remained hospitalized, including 15 in intensive care. He warned of more difficult days ahead, saying, We will see more and more additional cases, thats the nature of this. Victoria has recorded 3,560 confirmed cases, and Australia overall has had more than 9,000 with 107 deaths. Victoria, Australias second-most populous state after neighbouring New South Wales, has been cut off with border closures by other states. All states and territories except New South Wales had eradicated community transmission of the virus, but Victoria-linked infections are spreading. Victoria hopes a second lockdown in Melbourne, Australias second-largest city with a population of 5 million, will curb the spread. It was imposed Wednesday and will last six weeks. As inconvenient and as challenging as it is, we cannot deny the reality of the situation we face, and we cannot pretend that doing anything other than following the rules will get us to the other side of this, Andrews said of the extended lockdown. Meanwhile, Australias Therapeutic Goods Administration has given provisional approval to the drug remdesivir, an experimental medicine that has shown promise in the recovery time of the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Authorities say remdesivir will be available only to patients who are severely ill, require oxygen or high-level support to breathe, and are in hospital care. It is the only drug licensed by both the U.S. and the European Union as a treatment for people with severe illness from the coronavirus. In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region: Indias coronavirus cases have passed 800,000 with the biggest spike of 27,114 cases in the past 24 hours, causing nearly a dozen states to impose a partial lockdown in high-risk areas. The new confirmed cases took the national total to 820,916. The Health Ministry on Saturday also reported another 519 deaths for a total of 22,123. A surge in infections saw the cases jumping from 600,000 to more than 800,000 in nine days. The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at more than 62%. Eight of Indias 28 states, including the worst-hit Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi, account for nearly 90% of all infections. The most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, with nearly 230 million people, imposed a weekend lockdown while several others announced restrictions in districts reporting major spikes. New coronavirus cases have dropped sharply in China, and authorities are turning their attention to concerns that the virus could spread through imported food. Those worries have risen since a June outbreak in Beijing that was linked to the citys largest wholesale market. Testing has been stepped up on incoming food shipments, and on Friday customs officials said they are halting imports from three Ecuadorian shrimp producers after tests showed the virus present in recent shipments. Authorities say the coronavirus was detected on the outer packaging of the shipments July 3. The inner packaging and the shrimp themselves tested negative. Products from the three companies received after March 12 have been ordered to be returned or destroyed. South Korea has reported 35 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its caseload to 13,373 infections and 288 deaths. South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday that 13 of the new cases came from the densely populated Seoul area, which has been at the centre of a virus resurgence since late May. Infections were also reported in other major cities such Daejeon and Gwangju, tied to places including churches, a Buddhist temple, nursing homes and a sauna. Fifteen of the new cases were linked to international arrivals. ___ Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak A MOTORIST who was detected travelling at almost 200m/h on the M7 earlier this year has been banned from driving for two years. Chao Shen, who has an address at Westgate House, Michael Street, Limerick, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Gortmore, Ballywilliam, Nenagh, on February 29. Nenagh District Court heard that when he was stopped at 12.50am, he told gardai he was an accountant who worked mainly in the Netherlands. He was extremely. apologetic. Solicitor, David Peters said his client, who was travelling at 192km/h in a 120km zone, was on his way to visit his sick mother in Limerick. I explained it could carry a custodial sentence, said Mr Peters. Judge Bernadette Owens described Mr Shens driving as beyond reckless. However, she said that what was in Mr Shens favour was that the road had not been busy and he had pleaded. Because Mr Shen had no previous convictions she said she would deal with the matter by way of a fine and disqualification. Judge Owens fined Mr Shen 750 and disqualified him from driving for two years. Bibek Debroy By Economists preach free trade. Rarely do countries practise it. International trade theory is essentially microeconomic theory, extended because of a border in between. In microeconomics, there are two theorems known as fundamental theorems of welfare economics. They state competition and the invisible hand are best, from a welfare point of view. However, that ideal of perfect competition rarely exists. Yes, government intervention has costs. But the ideal of capitalism, where free market prevails, doesnt exist either. In similar fashion, all theories of international trade, no matter how sophisticated, are based on assumptions. Free trade doesnt exist. Free flows of goods and services dont exist. Free cross-border flows of capital and labour dont exist. Factor (capital and labour) prices arent equalised across countries. These are ideal assumptions that serve a modelling purpose. They guide policy and no more. Indeed, trade negotiations have reciprocity built into them. Barring WTO accepting new members, since the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, which took place prior to WTO formation, there has been no liberalisation under the WTO umbrella. Therefore, invoking WTO to argue for free trade is a non-sequitur. Economists will be aghast. But I am not arguing for autarky, absence of trade. I am only urging caution. When we were undergraduate students, a teacher used to urge us, Read the classics. Thats remarkably good advice, because unlike the present crop of economists, classical economists were well-grounded in political economy and appreciated the real world better, since the real world hadnt been replaced by equations and a clutch of Greek symbols. In the 20th century, one of the best political economists, and not just an economist, was John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946). The inter-war years, between the two World Wars, were a period of protectionism and trade wars, eventually leading, through Bretton Woods, to the establishment of GATT in 1948. In 1933, Keynes wrote a paper in The Yale Review. The paper was titled National Self-Sufficiency. I dont think this paper has been translated into Indian languages, say Hindi. Were self-sufficiency to be translated into Hindi, what would you call it? Atmanirbhar, I guess. To quote Keynes, I was brought up, like most Englishmen, to respect free trade not only as an economic doctrine which a rational and instructed person could not doubt, but almost as a part of the moral law. I regarded ordinary departures from it as being at the same time an imbecility and an outrage As lately as 1923 I was writing that free trade was based on fundamental truths which, stated with their due qualifications, no one can dispute who is capable of understanding the meaning of the words. Looking again today at the statements of these fundamental truths which I then gave, I do not find myself disputing them. Yet the orientation of my mind is changed To begin with the question of peace But it does not now seem obvious that a great concentration of national effort on the capture of foreign trade, that the penetration of a countrys economic resources and the influence of foreign capitalists, and that a close dependence of our own economic life on the fluctuating economic policies of foreign countries are safeguards and assurances of international peace Let goods be homespun whenever it is reasonably and conveniently possible, and, above all, let finance be primarily national. The circumstances in which these words were written should sound very familiar. There is a statement attributed to John Maynard Keynes. Evidently, one of his detractors once accused him of being inconsistent and Keynes retorted, When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir? Sometimes, a different combination of words is used, but the purport remains the same. There is no actual record of Keynes ever having said anything of the sort. But it does sound like the kind of thing Keynes might have said. Indeed, in 1970, Paul Samuelson said, Well when events change, I change my mind. What do you do? and in 1978, he attributed the words to Keynes. Two famous economists, both articulating virtues of not being consistent. Given whats going on in the world today, we should become inconsistent and parrot the virtues of free trade a little less. To get back to the Keynes paper, A considerable degree of international specialisation is necessary in a rational world in all cases where it is dictated by wide differences of climate, natural resources, native aptitudes, level of culture and density of population. But over an increasingly wide range of industrial products, and perhaps of agricultural products also, I have become doubtful whether the economic loss of national self-sufficiency is great enough to outweigh the other advantages of gradually bringing the product and the consumer within the ambit of the same national, economic, and financial organisation. Experience accumulates to prove that most modern processes of mass production can be performed in most countries and climates with almost equal efficiencyNational self-sufficiency, in short, though it costs something, may be becoming a luxury which we can afford, if we happen to want itThus, regarded from this point of view, the policy of an increased national self-sufficiency is to be considered, not as an ideal in itself, but as directed to the creation of an environment in which other ideals can be safely and conveniently pursued. That last sentence is especially worth thinking about. In 1933, Keynes had Russia (not so much Germany) in mind. The intended country has of course changed. Bibek Debroy Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the PM. Views are personal (Tweets @bibekdebroy) Ghanaian actress and Showbiz personality, Rosemond Brown, popularly known as Akuapem Poloo, has been cautioned by the police for sharing nude photo of herself kneeling in front of her seven-year old son, on social media, to celebrate his birthday. Akuapem Poloo was cautioned on publication of obscene material, behaviour of conduct that undermines somebodys privacy and also distract of somebodys dignity. The Director of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU)of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Superintendent of Police (Chief Supt) Owusuwaa Kyeremeh, disclosed this to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday, stating that Akuapem Poloo has been cautioned on both the criminal and domestic acts. She said the showbiz celebrity has honoured an invitation to the police and statement taken from her. Chief Supt Kyeremeh said investigation in the case was ongoing. A picture of Akuapem Poloo kneeling in front of her son went viral on social media a month ago. The social media post has since received backlash from the public. The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, civil society group organisations such as Child Right International have also condemned the act. They called on the security agencies to investigate the matter, because it infringes on the right of her child. Akuapem Poloo is reported to have apologised over the publication of nude picture with her child. 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. Featured Video A Scottish pilot who was Vietnams most critical Covid-19 patient has been discharged from hospital, less than a week after doctors said he was virus-free and healthy enough to return home. The man was taken by ambulance from Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to the citys airport. He was scheduled to take a flight to Hanoi, Vietnams capital, where he will depart on a flight to London, with a stop in Frankfurt. He is scheduled to land in London on Sunday morning. Im overwhelmed by the generosity of the Vietnamese people, the dedication and professionalism of the doctors and nurses 'Patient 91' Vietnam has gone all out to save the 42-year-old man, who was working for national carrier Vietnam Airlines when he tested positive for the coronavirus in March. The pilot had been critically ill and spent 65 days on life support. Im overwhelmed by the generosity of the Vietnamese people, the dedication and professionalism of the doctors and nurses working at Cho Ray Hospital, the man said on Saturday morning in a video released by the hospital, where he was last treated. I can only thank everybody here for things that they have done, the man said as he was sitting in a wheelchair next to a group of doctors. Im going home with a happy heart because Im going home, but it is sad that Im leaving so many people here that Im friends with. The pilot is known in Vietnam as Patient 91, as he was the 91st person in the country confirmed to have the coronavirus. He was Vietnams last patient in the ICU, and his recovery means the country has still not had any Covid-19 deaths. The patients recovery has been like a very long flight, said Dr Tran Thanh Linh, the deputy head of the ICU ward at Cho Ray Hospital, during a meeting between hospital officials, the British Consulate and Vietnam Airlines representatives just before the discharge. But he made it, Dr Linh said. All of the health workers are overwhelmed with joy to see him fully recovered and being discharged from the hospital today. Expand Close A doctor attends to Patient 91, a British pilot who survived Covid-19, at Cho Ray Hospital (Handout via AP) AP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A doctor attends to Patient 91, a British pilot who survived Covid-19, at Cho Ray Hospital (Handout via AP) After the meeting, the man was handed a certificate stating that he is virus-free and healthy enough to travel on a long-haul flight. The pilot was scheduled to be flown on one of Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787s the same aircraft he used to pilot when he was flying for the carrier. We want to make him happy, to make him feel like coming back to his second home on the aircraft, said Luu Hoang Minh, deputy head of Vietnam Airlines flight crew Division 919, where the man used to work. Its going to be a long night tonight, but he will have his colleagues with him on the flight. He will feel like being a pilot again, Mr Minh said. The pilot had been so sick with Covid-19 that doctors said at one point they considered a lung transplant, with the mans lungs 90% damaged and non-functional. But he now breathes normally without any support. He sleeps well and can sit up and walk a few steps with a walking frame, Dr Linh said. Vietnam has reported 370 coronavirus cases. It has not found a local transmitted infection in nearly three months. All recent cases are people who were infected abroad, and the patients were placed in the governments centralised quarantine facilities upon their arrival in Vietnam. Overtaking one million downloads, this week's launch in Ireland of Covidtracker has been widely hailed as a success. It has also been delivered at 850,000, compared to the more than 11m (12.2m) spent on the stalled UK effort. The challenge for contact tracing apps isn't only budgetary, but also finding the balance between efficacy, privacy and usability. A risk is rolling out a state-sponsored technology which becomes a tool of surveillance or a leaky pipe for sensitive data. The reward is a technology with the potential to supercharge a country's virus-fighting effort. With all these challenges, understandably there are sceptics but what is the alternative? A University of Oxford analysis has shown that the contagion outpaces the current manual contact tracing regime. Covidtracker has three functions: contact tracing, monitoring symptoms and information updates. Its launch was told it has been built "with privacy by design at its core" and campaigners have welcomed transparency measures such as publishing its code and documentation in an open repository. Developed using Apple and Google kits, the app uses Bluetooth to "handshake" with other app-installed devices with which it comes into contact. The list of "contacts" is anonymised. If you receive a positive diagnosis, you give the app permission to contact this list of contacts. At no stage is there any disclosure of identity. It is fully opt-in. However, not all jurisdictions are quite so privacy-aware. Some have employed a wide, and sometimes unsettling, array of information gathering tools ostensibly in the service of greater accuracy. In South Korea, a combination of credit and debit card transactions, GPS (not Bluetooth) phone data and surveillance cameras are used. Justin Fendos, professor of cell biology of Busan's Dongseo University told the BBC's Tech Tent that the app had "taken information methods that are normally used by enforcement to catch tax evaders or to track criminals, and they've repurposed those for public health use." South Korea's measures appear to have dramatically flattened the curve, going from over 900 daily cases in February to single digits in March. In May, officials tracked down and tested 46,000 individuals who had been in the orbit of infected clubbers in Seoul within two weeks of the event. The app regularly sends alerts about new local infections but some argue their precise nature threatens anonymity. It was reported that the app could issue an alert along the following lines: "Male, 58, was a banker, passed in this area, visited this hotel between these times..." There were some cases where it emerged someone was cheating on someone else. Last month, Amnesty International's Security Lab published its technical analysis of 11 apps rolled out in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. It cited Norway, Bahrain and Kuwait as having "run roughshod over people's privacy", carrying out what it described as "live or near-live tracking of users' locations". In early June, Norway's data protection authority said the app, Smittestopp, posed a disproportionate risk to user privacy and the rollout was paused shortly after. An early version of BeAware Bahrain also automatically enrolled users in a competition entitled, 'Are You At Home?' Ten phone numbers of app users were chosen at random and called live on TV. There were prizes for those who were. Both Bahrain's and Kuwait's apps pair with Bluetooth bracelets which submit data that can be used to monitor quarantine. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has reported that the Bahraini government can request selfies of the patient, showing both the phone and the bracelet in the frame. Failure to comply, or attempts to remove or tamper with the bracelet can result in at least three months' imprisonment or heavy fines. In Israel, a product originally used by the state's security agency, the Shin Bet, has been deployed in the contact tracing project despite the protestations of the agency itself. Known as "the Tool" it is a classified database assembled using phone network data and collected over 18 years. The health ministry submits the details of patients who have received positive diagnoses to Shin Bet, who produce a list of names every person has been in contact with during the previous two weeks. Use of "the Tool" for this purpose has been subject to legal challenges in the country. Tom Poupard, director of development and planning services for the village, also speculated that the reason Northbrook tops the list of PPP reception in Illinois may have something to do with the fact that one ZIP code covers all of the towns employment areas, whereas other communities with large employment bases might be split up into more ZIP codes. Imperial Valley News Center Woman Admits to Willful Retention of Top Secret National Defense Information and International Parental Kidnapping Washington, DC - Elizabeth Jo Shirley, of Hedgesville, West Virginia, has admitted to unlawfully retaining a document containing national defense information and committing international parental kidnapping, the Department of Justice announced. Shirley, 47, pled guilty to one count of Willful Retention of National Defense Information and one count of International Parental Kidnapping. Shirley admitted to unlawfully retaining a National Security Agency (NSA) document containing information classified at the TOP SECRET/SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION (TS/SCI) level relating to the national defense that outlines intelligence information regarding a foreign governments military and political issues. Shirley also admitted to removing her child, of whom she was the non-custodial parent, to Mexico with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of the custodial fathers parental rights. When Shirley took classified information from her work with the Intelligence Community and later fled to Mexico, she violated the confidence placed in her by the American people, said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. She doubled down on this betrayal when she sought to offer classified information to the Russian government. We are grateful for our law enforcement partners timely work to locate and arrest the defendant in Mexico. Given Shirleys troubling conduct after fleeing the United States, the damage to national security could have been far greater had law enforcement not acted swiftly. Shirley will now be held accountable for betraying the trust of the American people. High level security clearance requires a commensurate level of trust. Shirley breached that trust and attempted to put our country at risk. National security is one of our highest priorities and always will be. Shirley will now face the consequences of her actions, said U.S. Attorney William J. Powell. "Federal government employees and contractors with high level security clearances pledge to protect classified information from foreign adversaries. It's an essential responsibility in guarding our countrys national security," said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman. "Ms. Shirley had a duty to safeguard classified information. Instead, she chose to break the law and trust placed in her and made plans to pass national defense information to Russian officials, which could have put our citizens at risk. The FBI does not take these violations lightly and will work to hold wrongdoers accountable to keep our country safe." Shirley served on active duty with the United States Air Force, and in August 1994, the Air Force granted Shirley her first TS/SCI security clearance. After leaving active duty, Shirley served in the United States Air Force Reserves and later in the United States Navy Reserves. While serving in the Air Force, she worked on assignments with the NSA. From May 2001 to August 2012, Shirley held various positions with the United States Navys Office of Naval Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, and at least five different cleared defense contractors. In connection with these positions, Shirley held TOP SECRET/SCI security clearances at various times. In July 2019, Shirley took her six-year-old daughter to Mexico with the intent to make contact with representatives of the Government of Russia to request resettlement in a country that would not extradite her to the United States. Shirley took with her to Mexico national defense information, which she had unlawfully retained. While in Mexico, Shirley prepared a written message to Russian Government officials, referencing an urgent need to have items shipped from the USA related to [her] lifes work before they are seized and destroyed. On Aug. 13, 2019, the United States Marshals Service and Mexican law enforcement located Shirley and her daughter at a hotel in Mexico City. Mexican immigration authorities arrested Shirley pursuant to lack of legal immigration status. The FBI subsequently executed search warrants on numerous of Shirleys electronic devices, including devices she took to Mexico in July 2019 and devices the FBI seized from her Martinsburg storage unit in August 2019. Pursuant to the search of the storage unit, the FBI located the NSA document underlying the Willful Retention of National Defense Information offense. In addition, pursuant to searches of the electronic devices, the FBI found an Office of Naval Intelligence PowerPoint presentation containing information classified at the SECRET level and messages Shirley had drafted to Russian Government officials while in Mexico, the latter of which the Central Intelligence Agency has determined to include information classified at the SECRET level. Shirley faces up to ten years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000 for the national security charge and up to three years of incarceration and fine of up to $250,000 for the kidnapping charge. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarod J. Douglas and Lara K. Omps-Botteicher and Trial Attorney Evan N. Turgeon with the Department of Justices Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, National Security Division, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI and WVSP investigated. The Webster County Prosecuting Attorneys Office cooperated in the investigation and prosecution of the case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided. In his 21 years of health care executive experience, HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress CEO Jim Brown has never experienced a time like this. He doubts he will again. Four months have passed since local officials announced the first confirmed case of community spread COVID-19 in the greater Houston area. Even as the number of statewide cases spike to record highs, health care professionals continue serving on the front lines of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Nonprofit serves during pandemic: Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries works through challenges to meet needs amid pandemic As CEO of the North Cypress hospital, Browns responsibilities include guiding emotional response, organizational culture and community engagement. The circumstances of the ongoing pandemic may be continuously changing, but two constants Brown can rely on have been his pride in the hospitals team and his gratitude for the communitys support. On HoustonChronicle.com: Record number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Texas Friday Brown discussed his background and the experience of being a health care professional during the COVID-19 pandemic. What positions have you held throughout your career in health care leading up to your role as CEO of HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress? The role that I am in now I assumed in September of 2018. Prior to that, I served as the chief development officer of HCAs Gulf Coast Division, which is based here in Houston. I spent 10 years in the Memorial Hermann Health System, most recently as chief executive officer of Memorial Hermanns outpatient services, which is all of their outpatient businesses citywide. And then prior to that I was the CEO of Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital. Ive also served in two stints as a chief operating officer one in Dallas, Texas; one in New Mexico and I began my career in Paris, Texas, which is my hometown and ascended from an administrative residency post-masters program to being the vice president of a two-hospital system that served that community. In what ways has the pandemic affected what your day to day operations look like for you and for your colleagues the medical staff at HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress? It has been evolving over the last four months. The chief challenge early in this before lab testing was refined is that many people presenting to our hospital emergency room were what we would consider persons of interest. Persons of interest had to be managed as if they were a COVID-positive patient. It turned out that it was about 10% of those presenting with COVID-like symptoms were COVID-positive patients. But because testing was taking at that time probably 72 hours on average, it made it difficult to manage demand. Testing was then refined and we now have access to point-of-care testing where we have a result in 15 minutes to on-site lab testing with a greater turnaround, and our health system here in Houston has a unit that continues to process lab work for many of our hospitals. With the acceleration of results, that made this population much more manageable. The next wave of change that we saw is with the governors executive order to cease all elective business all elective procedures and treatments. That was very difficult for most hospitals just because we were at a point where we were still successfully managing that book of business alongside the treatment we were providing to COVID patients. As a result, that meant that we werent using our full capacity and that we had people at home. We were able to take care of them and our company was very generous in how we accommodated the members of our team who were at home, but we were functioning with significant excess capacitydoing what was needed to be most prudent in preserving hospital beds and personal protective equipment. That order was relaxed some time ago. Since that time, we have resumed some of our elective business. We are presently compliant with the current executive order from the governors office and we are not performing elective inpatient surgeries and procedures that would limit our ability to serve our COVID-positive population. As of today (July 10), I am staffing 48 beds for COVID-positive patients and the vast majority of my emergency department is set up to treat COVID-positive patients. With that allotment of space, we can still comfortably handle the elective business that we are performing. In the event that incident rates continue to increase, we can continue to increase our capacity to meet the needs of the COVID-positive patient base thats seeking our care. What have you found to be some of the most challenging aspects serving as a health care professional during these times? I think the greatest challenge in this is being mindful of the situation in which we are placing our staff as well as our physicians to make sure that we are safely treating these patients. This condition is very taxing on our emergency department personnel, our intensive care nursing staff, general nursing staff that are caring for those COVID-positive patients who are less ill, and our respiratory therapists. So, not only making sure that those people stay safe, but also that we help them in preventing burnout and are mindful of their total wellness. What do you feel inspires you and your colleagues to continue serving on the front lines in the health care profession during the pandemic? I am a believer that the vast majority of people who work in health care do so to serve a calling. This is a time unlike any other that Ive experienced in my career, and presume that I will in my career to come, where were called to serve. And I have seen so many of my colleagues step up and bravely serve. This, as you well know, has created hardship for many families with economic loss and theres been the challenge of managing home school and closure of daycares amidst all of this, which compounds the complexity here, and still this team comes to work and serves our patients extremely well. Im extraordinarily proud of my team; Im humbled to be a part of them. Just seeing their positive attitudes, their flexibility, and even their understanding that we as leaders in some cases are learning as we go because there was not a playbook per se for managing this, is very inspiring. Is there any COVID-related information pertaining to your field that you feel is particularly important for people to understand maybe something that people have a misconception about, or something that not many people know about? One of the misconceptions that I believe is out there is that we are seriously constrained in our ability to serve this population. I would tell you at present while this is taxing, while it is not an easy task, we are still well within our ability to serve this population. And we are prepared if need be to step back some of our typical day to day work in order to meet the needs should those needs arise On a more individual levelI try to convey to people that while you may not believe yourself to be at risk, you are indeed at risk of infecting someone who is more vulnerable. That could be a spouse, that could be a parent, that could be a grandparent. And as I protect my own self by wearing a mask, with hand hygiene, by not socializing unnecessarily, that is my thought its quite honestly less from a stance of personal vulnerability, just more so that I would not want to make my parents or my in-laws ill. Have there been examples of support that you or the medical staff members at HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress have received from people in the community or other health care professionals that have helped encourage you and your staff during this time? Absolutely. We have been provided countless meals by area restaurants who wanted to support our staff. We have been showered with thank you notes and artwork from schools and congregations that wanted to provide us encouragement. Additionally, we have had an artist build a commemorative piece to our hospital in recognition of this event and we have been host to a (parade) that was coordinated by KSBJ and that was extraordinarily powerful to have our community out in cars do a parade with their lights on and have posters for our team. Are there any other ways in which people in the community can help support professionals in health care during the fight against COVID-19? Its as simple as ongoing encouragement. Thoughts and prayers. As a neighbor or a family member, just for recognition of how hard our front-line workers are working to manage this crisis. Just a simple task like helping a child with homework or running an errand or just something to help with people so that when theyre not here on the front lines that theyre able to rest or have less stress in their personal lives is a huge gift. mfeuk@hcnonline.com We must put the lives and well-being of our citizens first. Any incarnation of the staging of Carnival 2022 must make that statement paramount to its planning, says event promoter Randy Glasgow. Glasgow, CEO of Randy Glasgow Productions (RGP), said recent calls by promoters and artistes to stage safe zone concert events around next months originally scheduled Carnival dates is premature at best and irresponsible at worst. Carnival 2022 was scheduled to be held on Monday, February 28 and Tuesday, March 1. Chris "Smokey" Madden (# 44) of Gray Court, SC didn't miss a beat switching teams in mid-season just two weeks ago, winning Friday's Southern Nationals mini series opener at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville. Bringing with him his Team Drydene sponsorship to the Millwood Plumbing stables in Kingston, Ga., Madden worked past fellow SC racer Ross Bailes for the lead on lap nine of the race and would hold off Chickamauga's Dale McDowell for the $10,053 payday. Local racer Cory Hedgecock would finish third behind McDowell with hard charging Brandon Overton rallying from 17th to fourth at the finish, just ahead of Bailes. The race was broadcast live on DirtonDirt.com to subscribers. Saturday the series heads to Virginia for another $10,053 / 53 lapper. At Crossville Speedway in the Cumberland Plateau Friday local hot-shoe Randy Weaver (# 116) pocketed the Crate Late Model: Thunder Thru the Mountain's $1,500 to-Win feature. In the Late Model feature Brandon Overton's lil' brother Cody (# 97) took the checkers in the 25 lap feature. Dunlap's Andy Miller was fourth. Brandon Sheppard (# 1) of Illinois won the $10,000 World of Outlaws Late Model series feature in Wisconsin. Tennesseean Scott Bloomquist was 9th. In Kentucky, Jimmy Owens crashed while leading the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model series race Friday. The series leading Tennesseean will get another shot Saturday as the series wraps up a double-tap weekend in Union, Ky. with a second $12,000 Main Event. Florida's Earl Pearson Jr. got the win. Lucas Oil Racing TV aires the races live for subscribers on the internet. No racing Saturday night in Sweetwater, Tn. or Fort Payne, Al. The only on track action around will be Mountain View Raceway in Dayton/Spring City, north of Chattanooga. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) There are currently not enough beds for COVID-19 patients at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila, an official said Saturday. Dr. Jonas del Rosario, PGH spokesman, told CNN Philippines Newsroom that this situation resulted from the "steady increase" in patient admission for the past seven to 10 days due to more tests and community transmission brought about by increased contact among the population as movement restrictions are eased. A total 176 patients are admitted in PGH, 148 of whom are confirmed cases while the rest are suspected to have the viral infection. Del Rosario noted it takes time for them to clear patients to go home, citing the slow discharge process at the PGH. Del Rosario said that they were at nearly full capacity a few days ago, with all of their beds at the intensive care unit occupied.Medyo fluid po ang aming sitwasyon sa beds. So dahil napuno na nga po ang ICU, at halos puno na 'yung aming COVID-19 wards, the spokesman pointed out. [Translation: In terms of beds, our situation is fluid. This is because our ICUs are all occupied, while our COVID-19 wards are almost full.] To decongest PGH, and admit patients in the waitlist, they refer the individuals in temporary treatment and isolation facilities, he said. The healthcare provider also rarely accepts walk-in patients, he added. How Books and Buckets program in Long Beach aims to keep kids away from gang violence In the Midwest, this week brought a phenomenal amount of celebration, likely shared by a majority of the country. We may have celebrated the most consequential and important Independence Day in a generation. This is much to the chagrin and anger of the woke revolution. The foolishness, violence, and over-the-top America hating is officially backfiring. The backlash has been simmering, but now a fuse has been lit. And the fireworks shows, public and private across the nation, highlighted festivities the hard leftists can only wish were celebrating them; instead the celebrations, disparaged them. And no, this was not a celebration forced by Trump at Mt. Rushmore. Although he harnessed deep and patriotic feelings in the nation there, this did not begin with him. He has often said this is not about him; this movement is simply one that he has been able to join, and connect with, to bring about a better America to return America to its roots of greatness. That was the slogan. But this is the story of the Midwest and its response to celebrating the Fourth. Let me describe a visual of one such celebration. On Friday, we visited a spot we have visited often, on a shallow sand bar, to anchor a boat where swimming and just hanging in one of the more pristine, beautiful spots in the world for boating; where enjoying the water, along with the awesome view, is simply the norm. We arrived, eight of us, four below the age of ten. We were the second boat on the sand bar. We anchored, then ate lunch at about one, and the kids began to swim off the sand bar. Last year in July, we visited the same sand bar (we visit annually), and it got really crowded; I think six boats hung there last year to enjoy the excitement (more than witnessed in two decades). But this year, the party started with an enthusiasm not seen before. Boat after boat arrived, and within an hour, there were twenty boats anchored, most with more than six passengers per boat. Ultimately more than twenty-five boats were tied up together that afternoon. Surveying the groups, these were 95 percent young people, mostly thirty-somethings, with a lot of twenty-somethings there as well. Many of the boats had American flags displayed, prominently, often more than one. Many of the younger crowd were sporting bathing suits that were clearly meant to celebrate our country's independence, in red, white, and blue stars and stripes, the clear sign of America and its freedoms being exalted. I'm sure there were some there who did not share a pro-freedom, pro-America sense of patriotism. Even so, none wore masks, so maybe, just maybe, the vast majority of the silent non-patriots on the sand bar were celebrating freedom in a way they couldn't understand. But quite clearly, they all participated in the spontaneous and great celebration anyway. That's what it was: one of the finest impromptu mini-celebrations of life anyone has had the good fortune of witnessing and participating in. Frisbees, water dogs, swimming, a tent erected in the water. Boats moored, and anchored side by side, crowds socializing, enjoying each other's company, along with the serendipitous moment. That's what it was. A glorious moment of celebrating life. A genuine peaceful celebration. A life-affirming burst of light, mostly coming from a younger generation, clearly desiring normalcy and beyond. The embodiment of living the American dream. The next day was the Fourth. We attended a local, private fireworks show that had a bonfire on a beach. There were at least six other fireworks celebrations we could see down the beach, ours had about fifty people, little kids to grandparents, with multiple thirty-something couples helping celebrate. The fire lasted well into the next morning. Anecdotally it was as fine an Independence Day celebration as possible during what appears to be the death knell of Covid. John and Abigail Adams would have been ecstatic a new generation of Americans participating in the great celebration of freedom our Independence Day stands for. They would have lauded this group in the new generation that had come to enjoy the fruits of the country we call America. God bless the USA. Our wonderful news media were not there. Our wonderful news media didn't report on anything like what we experienced. We all know why. They were busy preparing themselves to report how divisive, dark, racist, and awful our president was at Mount Rushmore. The transformation they reported on was in their dreams, part of the ongoing attempt to take down Donald Trump and his awful, deplorable, terrible, no-good supporters. The transformation the media exalted would be the tearing down of the American flag, or demonstrators complaining about something, anything, so they could report just how bad everything really is...well, according to them. After all, nothing good could come from Trump or his supporters. That is the self-serving observation of most reporters today, as well as the self-serving obligation they feel compelled to report, or should I say make up? It is a sad transformation of a once prodigious fourth estate, which came from a still great First Amendment. The shame is recognizing just how far the fourth estate has fallen. It has transformed itself into the self-inflicted brand "fake news," meaning that these people manufacture a narrative that has little truth, little good to it, and is profoundly false. So they didn't report the actual celebrations of our Independence Day rather, they reported that the celebrators were, like Trump's speech, dark, divisive, racist, and ugly. Two Americas (thank you, John Edwards!). Two transformations. The one America (hard-left media) just yelled at everyone to get off their lawn. The one America made up just how awful everything is. The one America had become a caricature of every bad villain, of every movie known to the human race. Think Scar from The Lion King, or Gollum, or the Joker, Riddler, Lex Luthor, Potter the banker, Scorpio of Dirty Harry fame, the Grinch, Black September. Of every villain in every novel or play ever written. Iago, Lady Macbeth, Nurse Ratched, Hannibal Lecter, Uriah Heep, Dr. Frankenstein. You think I'm exaggerating? Just consider the nastiness of every press conference since Donald Trump was elected. Then ask yourself just how long it has been this bad. Almost the exact same bunch fawned over Barack the Sainted One, sending syrupy, sappy questions, virtue-signaling goodwill toward him, totally unaware of who they are. Self-unawareness to the max. Yep the transformation is complete from teddy bears to jackals without knowing it, in a few short years. In the real world another transformation continues. It's not all sand bars and celebrations of the Fourth. But it's real. Transformation two is in front of the eyes of the hard left, the jackals from transformation one. Transformation two is people living their lives productively. Exalting and forwarding their families. Furthering a good career. Adding to their communities and churches. Helping out where they can and when they can. They celebrate the country they live in, appreciate their freedoms; they celebrate life as Americans. America is becoming great again, climbing out of the COVID hysteria, and moving on to better things. To God be the glory. It's why this past Fourth of July was so awesome. The transformation continues. Meanwhile, the jackals bay and snarl. They can't help themselves. It's who they are. Islamabad, July 11 : The Aviation Division has cleared 95 per cent licences of Pakistani pilots serving in different airlines in seven countries, while the process of verification of the remaining will be completed next week, the media reported. The issue of 'dubious' licences drew world attention after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan revealed in the National Assembly that there were 860 active pilots in the country and 260 pilots had not sat their exams themselves and almost 30 per cent of the pilots had fake or improper licence and did not have flying experience, Dawn news reported. Shortly afterwards, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) grounded 107 pilots suspected of having fake licences and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) started verification of their licences. Khan also announced that five senior officials of the CAA had been sacked over the scandal and they could be prosecuted. The issue also caught the attention of other countries and airlines where Pakistani pilots were employed. The countries which grounded the Pakistani pilots and asked the Aviation Division to verify their credentials included the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkey and Bahrain. On Friday, Ethiopia also asked the Pakistan government to verify the licences of Pakistani pilots serving there. The European Union Air Safety Agency has also announced suspension of PIA authorisation for six months. Washington: President Donald Trumps intervention into a criminal case connected to his own conduct drew fierce rebukes Saturday from Democrats and a few lonely Republicans, with calls for investigations and legislation. But it remained to be seen if Trumps most recent defiance of the conventions of his office to commute the sentence of political confidant Roger Stone, just four months before Election Day, would matter to voters grappling with a deadly COVID-19 surge and a national discourse on racial justice. Roger Stone., pictured here in November 2019. Credit:AP Shortly before heading out Saturday morning for his Virginia golf club, Trump made unfounded accusations against his political foes while taking another swipe at special counsel Robert Muellers investigation, which led to convictions for six Trump aides or advisers, including Stone, a larger-than-life political character who embraced his reputation as a dirty trickster. Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place, Trump tweeted. It is the other side that are criminals, including Biden and Obama, who spied on my campaign - AND GOT CAUGHT! Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 03:06:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Video: Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, says on July 10, 2020 that it is of utmost importance to further promote multilateralism in counter-terrorism efforts, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua) "We must strengthen, instead of weaken, our firm support for international mechanisms, and continue to support the UN to play a leading role in counter-terrorism," says the ambassador. UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Friday that it is of utmost importance to further promote multilateralism in counter-terrorism efforts, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. "Facts have proved that no country can stand alone in the face of pandemic situations, which also shows the growing threat from non-traditional security issues. We must redouble our efforts and enhance our responses," Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said at the meeting on "Member States' Counter-Terrorism Priorities in the Post COVID-19 Environment" during the Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week. "Terrorism knows no borders, and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes threat to international peace and security. Double-standard should be avoided in fighting against terrorism," he said. Soldiers take part in the "Dragon Gold 2020" joint drill in Cambodia's southwestern Kampot province, March 28, 2020. Cambodia and China launched the fourth joint drill on counter-terrorism and humanitarian rescue at the Techo Sen Chumkiri live-fire field in Cambodia's southwestern Kampot province on March 15. (Xinhua) "We must strengthen, instead of weaken, our firm support for international mechanisms, and continue to support the UN to play a leading role in counter-terrorism," said the ambassador. "Adhering to multilateralism, and strengthening international cooperation, is the only option for responding to the challenges. Strengthening counter-terrorism efforts must be a priority when we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN," he added. Speaking of the new approaches and ways in dealing with terrorism, Zhang said that facing the new and evolving challenges of terrorism, "we must be equipped with new tools, technologies and take more prompt actions in fighting terrorism." "Terrorism will not stop due to the pandemic. On the contrary, it may even utilize and exploit the opportunity and gaps caused by COVID-19, to incite and advocate terrorist activities, to use cyberspace to spread extremism ideologies and poison our youth, etc.," he said. Soldiers of the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) perform an anti-terror drill on the opening ceremony of the 11th annual Warrior Competition at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center (KASOTC) in Amman, Jordan, April 14, 2019. (Xinhua/Lin Xiaowei) "While the link between COVID-19 and terrorist activities needs further studies and analysis, we should keep high alert on the impact of the pandemic. The spread of the virus also reminds us of the low cost and disastrous impact of bio-terrorism," said the envoy. "We should further strengthen the legal framework and actions, internationally, regionally and domestically, in all fronts of counter-terrorism. Utilization of information technology, intelligence sharing and judicial cooperation should be further enhanced," he added. "Relevant international instruments, including relevant Security Council resolutions, should be strictly implemented. We welcome the recent adoption of Security Council Resolution 2532, concerning COVID-19, which will help strengthen the framework of counter-terrorism. Actions are needed to implement these resolutions," Zhang said. The American dentist who sparked global outrage when he killed an endangered black-maned lion in 2015 has been sighted hunting again. Walter Palmer, 60, from Minnesota, is reported to have made his return to the blood sport by travelling to Mongolia to slaughter the Altai argali -the largest wild sheep in the world. In an image which has recently emerged on social media, the dentist, whose face is edited out of view, is seen showing off the dead animal next to another trophy hunter, The Mirror reported. The scenes come nearly five years after the dentist sparked protests across the world for killing Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe with a bow and arrow. An image on social media showed the American dentist (left), whose face was edited out of the picture, holding a sheep in Mongolia The American dentist sparked global outrage in 2015 when he killed an endangered black-maned lion The dentist is reported to have paid 32,000 to his Zimbabwean guides to be able to shoot Cecil the lion (pictured) Palmer is believed to have paid up to 80,000 to kill the wild animal in Mongolia last year, according The Mirror. Following the revelation Dr Teresa, wildlife vice-president at Humane Society International told The Mirror: 'For trophy hunters to travel to Mongolia to kill a beautiful and endangered ram is an absolute outrage. 'The argali ram is a species in danger of extinction, so the idea that these animals can be killed for pleasure is abhorrent. 'The killing of Cecil the lion five years ago caused international shock. But clearly the killing for kicks continues.' During his trip to Mongolia, Palmer and his friend Brent Sinclair are believed to have climbed the hills in the Altai region and come as close as 20 yards to sheep. Following the trip in 2019, Mr Sinclair shared a post on Facebook which read: 'Another great adventure has come and gone, one to be put in the memory book for sure. Just back from Mongolia, and it's almost like it was only a dream. 'We saw rams every day and climbed around the hills in the Altai region getting as close as 20 yards one day to sheep bigger than I could imagine. 'Sheep hunting isn't sheep hunting without a mid day nap in the sun on a mountain side, but its hard to relax and count sheep when all you can see through the scope are horns on rams bedded 200 yards away that carry twice the mass I have ever seen on sheep here in North America. 'I have booked more hunting trips with this guy over the past 20 years than I can count. Together we have traveled to many far reaches of the world. We've seen some pretty amazing places. 'In the years that have passed we've made camp in some rough country, we've challenged mountains and elevation that almost beat us but we never quit...we've waited out weather for days in the remote reaches of the Arctic. Palmer (pictured next to a sheep he killed in Nevada previously) admitted to killing Cecil the Lion in 2015 Pictured: Trophy hunter Dr Walter Palmer with a leopard he shot in Zimbabwe Palmer's friend Brent Sinclair shared a post on Facebook about the trip in Mongolia 'I've felt my heart beat in my ears when an 8000 lb + bull elephant looked down his trunk at us as we stood in the thorn brush a mere 31 yards from those tusks and all you had was a bow in your hand..... you drew back those 95 limbs and I thought to myself theres now way it's going to do the job of harvesting that massive bull, but you placed the arrow perfect and the rest is history. 'This may however be the one that will be at the top of the pinnacle and hard to beat. 'The Altai Argali of Mongolia is the largest of the worlds wild sheep and humbling is the only word one can use when you walk up to a ram like this for the first time.. Thanks Amigo for the adventure...look forward to our next one.' In 2015, Palmer sparked months of outrage and protests across the world when he paid 32,000 to his Zimbabwean guides in return for a chance to shoot Cecil the lion. Following the creature's death a book by lion researcher Dr. Andrew Loveridge, who looked into the killing, showed that Cecil lived on for 10 to 12 hours after he was shot by Palmer. In his book, 'Lion Hearted: The Life and Death of Cecil and the Future of Africa's Iconic Cats, Dr Loveridge wrote: 'Clearly, although the wound was severe, the arrow had missed the vital organs or arteries that would have caused rapid blood loss and a relatively quick death. 'Certainly, the lion was so incapacitated that in all those hours he'd been able to move only 350 meters from the place where he was shot.' It's known to all that actor Abhishek Bachchan is a family man. Before marriage, he always spoke with regards to his parents- Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and after marriage, he always mentioned in interviews that how his wife, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and daughter Aaradhya mean the world to him. Currently, the actor is all enthralled with the premiere of his first web series, Breathe: Into The Shadows, wherein he plays a father, who is willing to go to any extent to save his daughter! In a recent tete-a-tete with Mid-day, when Abhishek Bachchan was asked how far he would go for his loved ones, he said, "I'll do whatever it takes. My family means the world to me. I'll do anything for them." In the same interview, Abhishek also shared his experience of shooting some intense scenes for the web series and said, "Everyday is different. Some days you're able to switch off and go back home and on somedays, you carry a bit back. Actors are very temperamental, very sensitive people." Abhishek Bachchan Wonders Why There's Still A Stigma Around Mental Health! "It's an emotional show, it's the story of a couple whose daughter is kidnapped. And what all they are made to do to get their daughter back. So obviously there's a huge emotional upheaval in that," added Bachchan. Abhishek also revealed how he agreed to come on board for Breathe. He shared, "When Mayank and Vikram, the creators of the show, met me, they just narrated me the basic idea of what they were planning. I really liked that, I thought it had all the requisites for the kind of genre they were attempting to make. And I remember saying yes immediately after that." Chennai, July 11 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palanniswami has urged the central government to arrange for the repatriation by air of 40 fishermen from the state stranded in Iran. Palaniswami in a letter to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday thanked for bringing back 681 fishermen safely to the state by Indian Navy Ship INS Jalashwa on July 1. "Further, around 40 fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been left behind due to inadequacy of space in the ship. Therefore, I request you to arrange for their repatriation at the earliest to Tamil Nadu in a special flight," Palaniswami said. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun has emphasized Washington's readiness to engage in dialogue with North Korea, the State Department said Friday. Biegun, who doubles as the top U.S. envoy for North Korea, delivered the position in meetings with Japanese officials during his visit to Tokyo on Thursday and Friday, the department said in a press release. "Deputy Secretary Biegun emphasized continued U.S. readiness to engage in dialogue with the DPRK," it said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Biegun expressed a similar position during his trip to Seoul earlier in the week, saying North Koreans will "find us ready at that very moment" that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appoints a negotiator empowered to discuss the country's nuclear weapons program. Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled due to differences over the scope of North Korea's denuclearization and sanctions relief from the U.S. North Korea has rejected the idea of resuming talks before the U.S. changes its positions. On Friday, Kim's sister, Yo-jong, called for the "withdrawal of hostility" from the U.S. (Yonhap) A respected former Russian finance minister said the nation's economy is stagnating and the government needs to invest more in education and health in order to drive growth. Aleksei Kudrin, who served as Russian finance minister through the 2000s, said if gross domestic product (GDP) falls 5 percent this year as expected, then the national economy would have averaged just 1 percent annual growth over the past decade, he said on July 11 during a speech in Moscow. "That is very low. It's historically low that during a decade we grew so little," he said. Russia has the potential to average annual economic growth of 3 percent to 5 percent a year, but the government hasn't taken the steps needed, he said. "And despite the fact that we have been talking about this for years, unfortunately, no decisions in this sense are being made [and] we are in stagnation," said Kudrin, who now heads the audit chamber. Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval ratings have declined in recent years and protest sentiment inside the nation has increased amid anger over stagnant living standards. Putin's decision last month to raise income taxes on the upper middle class and wealthy from 13 percent to 15 percent will have no major impact on the economy, he said. "It was politically almost inevitable. It had to happen at some point," he said about the tax increase. Kudrin said Russia needs to increase current spending plans on "human capital" such as health and eduction by 1 percent of GDP, which implies nearly $20 billion. He also said the nation suffers from poor state administration and high regulatory barriers and needs to reform how government workers are trained and motivated. With reporting by TASS and Interfax A British man has died after falling from a hotel balcony in southern Spain, killing another person on the ground below, according to local reports. The man is said to have plunged from the seventh floor of the five-star Melia Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella, landing on top of another man. Emergency services rushed to the scene in at around 2am on Saturday, but there was nothing they could do for either victim, news outlet ABCandalucia reported. Spanish police are now investigating to determine the circumstances behind the incident. One of the victims is said to be 46 years old, while the others age remains unknown. A Foreign Office spokesman said officials were supporting the family of a British national in Spain after a death at the Costa del Sol hotel. The spokesman said: We are supporting the family of a British man following his death in Spain, and are in touch with the local police. Four men were arrested in Philadelphia and charged with a gunpoint robbery in Bergen County in which the victims were beaten and tased with a cattle prod, authorities said Friday. The attack occurred Dec. 8, 2019 at the Riello Apartments on Gorge Road in Edgewater, according to Prosecutor Mark Musella. The suspects held the victims at gunpoint, physically assaulted them, and tased them with a cattle prod taser, Musella said in a statement. The victims were each robbed of cash and personal items, the prosecutor said. After a months-long investigation by Edgewater police and the prosecutors Special Investigations Squad, four suspects were arrested Tuesday in Philadelphia after police executed search warrants at their homes, Musella said. Derrick Felder, 39, Tarik Driver, 44, Stephen Driver, 42, and Aburbarka Ham, 42, were each charged with two counts each of kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated assault by using a stun gun, along with weapons and other charges. The men were held Friday in a Philadelphia jail awaiting extradition to New Jersey, according to Musella. Derrick Felder, 39, Tarik Driver, 44, Stephen Driver, 42, and Aburbarka Ham, 42, all face kidnapping, aggravated assault and other charges.BCPO Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. (Natural News) More than a month has passed since the George Floyd incident, and the message to America from Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender is this: Calling the police is a form of privilege that needs to stop in order to end racism. Even as many cities are still trying to pick up the pieces from all the looting, rioting and lawlessness, Benders concern is with everyday white people who continue to contact law enforcement whenever they need assistance, which she finds offensive. I think in Minneapolis, watching George Floyds death and the actions of the four police officers that were involved has been a huge wake-up call for so many in Minneapolis to see what many already knew, which is that our police department is not keeping every member of our community safe, Bender is quoted as saying. And so, I think step one for us is to tell the truth, she added. Nine council members from communities all across the city of all different backgrounds, standing together, to tell the truth, and say, this system isnt working for too many of our neighbors for too long. In Benders opinion, all of the citys reform efforts have failed, despite repeated attempts at reform and new leadership in the department. Consequently, she now wants to engage the hard work of trying to rebuild systems that really work to keep all of our communities safe, which to her means having no police at all. In the following episode of The Health Ranger Report, Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, explains how the push to eliminate police is part of a larger anti-gun agenda: George Floyd was the excuse, not the reason, for all the rioting As she continued to delineate what this all means to her, Bender explained that the focus needs to be more on things like stable housing and health care, as opposed to a militarized police force. I know the statement was bold, and I stand by that bold statement, but the work ahead of us will be long, she added. It will include every member of our community. It has to. When asked as a follow up what people are supposed to do if, say, their houses get broken into in the middle of the night, Bender immediately got on the defensive. Being able to call the police comes from a place of privilege, she contends, referring specifically to white people who expect their tax dollars to go towards keeping them safe from intruders and other criminals. Because for those of us for whom the system is working, I think we need to step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm is done, she said, inferring that black people cannot be helped by calling the police. Even though evidence has emerged to suggest that at least some police brutality incidents are staged to fuel anti-police sentiment, Bender stands by her position that the police are unnecessary. And if white people do not like it, well, tough. Zero wisdom or common sense is coming from this mouth, wrote one Breitbart News commenter about Benders position and statements. Attacking police is a classic communist maneuver to undo law enforcement, wrote another. Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote in his book Two Hundred Years Together that Bolsheviks staged widespread attacks against police in the run up to the October Revolution. Deja vu all over again. In a chilling conclusion, this same commenter noted that the riots and looting over George Floyd were not a reason but rather an excuse to implement a chaos agenda, which aims to take down our country from within. To keep up with the latest news about the chaos agenda, check out Chaos.news. Sources for this article include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com On the heels of the Joint Trade Union Movement calling for an independent third party to eva Murray, 27, said he and his wife had discussed going to live in South Korea or maybe Canada, where she has relatives. He spoke on condition that his wifes name not be used because she is trying to obtain a green card that will let her work and reside in the U.S. after she finishes her studies. Over the last few months, we have lived through a generation-defining crisis. The impact to our economies, livelihoods and collective well-being cannot be understated as we have seen the effects a global event can have on our local communities. This interconnectedness reinforces the need for us to move forward, together, with a common goal. The pandemic can be a learning moment for us all. While we were unprepared for a global crisis of this scale, there is another crisis we know is happening climate change. As we rebuild from the pandemic, we must do so in a way that takes climate change into consideration and builds on the progress we have made to achieve our global emission-reduction goals. We have an opportunity to set ourselves on track towards a sustainable future for all. But this future cannot be achieved without critically reflecting on how we live, work and play. More than 80 per cent of Canadians live in cities, and around the world cities account for 70 per cent of carbon emissions. Our ability to achieve a low-carbon economy rests on our ability to drastically reduce the impact our cities have on the environment. Rebuilding our post-pandemic world and making our cities smarter and more sustainable is an important first step. The concept of a smart city one that leverages technology to gather data that can be used to improve operations, efficiency and the overall experience for citizens is not a new concept. But it has yet to be realized in a meaningful way across Canada. While individual cities have started to embrace smaller scale projects, collaboration between cities and across the country to create a connected smart city ecosystem will drive even greater impact on emission reductions. To get there, we need to transform two major components of a smart city: the buildings that make up the city, and the infrastructure that supports, connects and powers it all. The digital transformation of buildings leads to increased efficiency and connected technology allows building managers to make intelligent decisions on energy consumption and optimize the buildings assets in real time. Beyond making our buildings more energy efficient, the pandemic has caused a rethink in how we use these buildings. Smart, sustainable practices can, and should, be a part of redefining these spaces. Office buildings are one clear example. While return to office efforts are underway, how we utilize buildings will be different, with remote working becoming a bigger part of the new work environment. Business owners and building managers must evaluate how to best use the space moving forward. Will they transform into multi-purpose spaces as companies look to consolidate real estate? Will there be an increasing need to understand when and how spaces are being used, to keep occupants safe? Smart technologies can provide clarity into many of these unknowns as we plan for post-pandemic building usage. Industry reports cite that a smart building with integrated systems can see 3050 per cent in energy savings. While these results are significant on their own, they become exponentially greater when you have large-scale adoption in buildings across a city. Smart buildings play an important role in a low-carbon future. But our infrastructure must also be modernized and digitized. Our energy grids, for example, must meet our growing demand for power while supporting and incorporating new power generation, including renewables. Doing so will reduce our reliance on centralized energy producers and allow for small-scale power generation and storage technologies to offset the growing demand placed on utilities. Or in the instance of a major outage, provide power to critical infrastructure such as hospitals and airports that cannot afford downtime. Truly smart cities need smart buildings and smart infrastructure to work in harmony and enable efficient and reliable energy consumption. Though many cities and communities may have been hesitant to implement what can feel like major projects, now is the time to explore, test and model these solutions. Among the many lessons that will be learned in the wake of the pandemic, one point is clear: we need leaders in business, industry and government to work together and equip themselves with the resources necessary to mitigate our other global crisis, climate change. By the end of the month, though, with case counts surpassing 3,000 and states across the country battering down, Abbott finally took statewide action: He ordered Texans to remain in place except for essential activities like grocery shopping. Was this the stay-at-home order Democrats and health experts had been agitating for? He didnt call it that. Asked to clarify, the governor dithered, using language that experts said confused the public and undermined the seriousness of the situation. Well candidly, when people talk in terms of shelter in place, what shelter in place really means as a term of art, would mean that wherever you may be at a particular time, you need to take shelter immediately right there. Whether you are at your home or some other location or in a roadside ditch, wherever you may be, youre supposed to take shelter because of something like a tornado would be coming. ... 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, he told reporters. "We have seen city centres become ghost towns and mass transit without mass," Dr Williams says. "Barangaroo without crowds and without full occupancy of offices cannot work." Some of the 25,000 people who normally work at Barangaroo have returned. Sean Gregory, PwC's chief strategy, risk and reputation officer, says the firm reopened its Barangaroo office on June 1 but with "significantly reduced" capacity due to social distancing requirements. Up to half of the firm's 2500 employees at Barangaroo can now attend work. "The use of public transport has been a significant concern for many of our people," Gregory says. "To help manage this we have negotiated reduced daily rates for parking nearby all of our offices, including Barangaroo, and we have encouraged off-peak travel where possible." Barangaroo is slowly coming back to life with visitors outnumbering office workers. Credit:James Alcock Gregory says the use of lifts presented another challenge. "To manage the flow of people in and out of our buildings weve introduced staggered start times and an advance registration process." he says. For now, those who do go to Barangaroo can dine, work-out and have their nails buffed and hair blow dried. But forget about shopping at David Jones, picking up flowers or adjusting trousers at MJ Bale. "Many of the specialty shops and restaurants are open and welcoming customers and diners alike, and the precinct is starting to feel alive," says Leanne Boyle, executive development director of Barangaroo South. Construction work on One Sydney Harbour and the Crown $2 billion casino tower has continued throughout the pandemic. Boyle says new public spaces would open later this year. The buyers of luxury apartments at Barangaroo will also be wondering whether splashing out $3 million for a one-bedder in One Sydney Harbour was a good idea given the closure of some shops and deserted streets. And will James Packer be keen to sleep in his $60 million penthouse in Crown Resorts' One Barangaroo Tower if the precinct remains subdued by the pandemic? And if COVID-19 dulls Barangaroos future, it may also affect the NSW governments plans to turn land around Central Station into a technology hub, which Transport Minister Andrew Constance touted last year as "the next Barangaroo, but on a bigger scale, literally on the top of great public transport". Ghost town "The moment all the offices in Barangaroo closed, it turned into a ghost town," says Mark Berkelmans, marketing manager of restaurant Bel & Brio, which sits in the middle of the precinct near some of the largest corporate headquarters. "It was very strange to see a normally busy and buzzing office district, now completely deserted." Shirt Bar in Barangaroo's Scotch Row closed for several weeks at the beginning of the pandemic, reopening in April with a takeaway and home-delivery service. "The whole of the city was a ghost town as the majority of our customers were working from home," says the bar's director Louka Marmot. "It has only been since the beginning of June that the streets of Barangaroo are resembling any sort of normalcy." While it was closed, Bel & Brio set up a delivery service for meals, groceries and alcohol. The venue has been given rent relief, but Berkelmans says it would take time to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, especially if workers stay away from offices until 2021. "I think it is safe to say it will take a while before it will go back like it used to," he says. "However, we have definitely seen a shift from corporate to leisure visitors to Barangaroo." On recent Fridays, Bel & Brio has had decent traffic. But venues such as The Meat & Wine Co and Beerhaus remain closed. A sign outside Banh Meats & Co last week said the Vietnamese eatery was closed due to the "dramatic drop in foot traffic". Berkelmans also expressed hope that Crown tower would entice visitors to Barangaroo. A Crown spokeswoman says it was too early to speculate on a recovery in tourism. "However, we are confident that Sydney will bounce back as one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.'' Uncertain future The continued closure of major retailers such as David Jones suggests an uncertain future for the precinct. A David Jones spokeswoman says its Barangaroo store was closed in March because of difficulties in ensuring social distancing. Loading "The Barangaroo business precinct remains disrupted, with fewer office workers and commuters visiting and working in the area," she says. A Westpac spokeswoman would not say how many employees had returned to its Barangaroo offices. "We are currently trialling hundreds of employees returning to CBD locations across Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, including our Barangaroo office," she says. Temperature checks, hospital-grade cleaning and limits on the number of people in lifts and meetings rooms were among measures that had been implemented," the spokeswoman says. However, "we are being guided by Safe Work Australia on physical distancing in workplaces, and do not expect our Barangaroo office to be at full capacity for some time". Loading Look to Asia Nicky Morrison, professor of planning at Western Sydney University, says people will come to expect the new social-norm of hand sanitisers, physical distancing in offices and retail spaces. She says the fear of infection had put the future in doubt for dense urban locations such as Barangaroo. Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in Edo State, has accused the state Governor, Godw... Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in Edo State, has accused the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki of bribing his way to emerge as the partys flag bearer in the upcoming poll. Ize-Iyamu alleged that Obaseki paid the PDP N15 billion to emerge as its governorship candidate. He made the allegation in a statement signed and sent by John Mayaki, his campaign Director of Communications. The APC governorship candidate charged the state governor to explain to people of the state how he came about such a huge fund. He also expressed optimism that he would defeat Obaseki at the poll on September 19. He is also yet to explain to the people of Edo State where he got the 15 billion Naira he paid the PDP tax-collectors to facilitate his imposition as the partys emergency-hour candidate. It is no surprise, given the nature of Obasekis administration and sharp practices of both governor and appointees that such an agency is missing in Edo State. The rise in Covid-19 cases has hit the family planning campaign of the health department, with residents reluctant to visit the hospital due to the fear of catching the infection. The health department is suggesting the residents avail temporary contraceptives for birth control. Dr Rajesh Kumar Bagga said that Punjab health and family welfare department is celebrating Population Stability Fortnight in the state from July 11 to 24. This fortnight aims to promote reproductive health, and reduce maternal, neonatal and child morbidity and mortality. Dr Bagga said, As patients are reluctant to visit the hospital for permanent treatment due to the spread of Covid-19, we have offered them a bucketful of alternatives for birth control. He emphasised on adopting new methods of family planning like Chhaya pills, antra injection and IUCD. He said that this years theme stressed the need for stabilising population in the times of Covid. He added that the basis of a strong nation and family depends upon bringing stability to a growing population even during pandemic like this. He also encouraged eligible couples to adopt permanent family planning methods such as tubectomy and incisionless sterilisation for males also known as vasectomy and persons adopting these permanent methods are given adequate monetary compensation by the government. District family welfare officer Dr SP Singh said that every year July 11 is celebrated as World Population Day. This day is celebrated to raise awareness about the worlds growing population. At present, the total population of the world is 7.8 billion (780 crore). China is the most populous country in the world while India is the second-most populous country. Deputy Culture and Information Policy Minister of Ukraine Svitlana Fomenko and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania Danut Sebastian Neculaescu discussed topical issues of Ukraine-Romania relations to protect the rights of national minorities. The co-chairs of the Joint Ukraine-Romania Intergovernmental Commission on ensuring the rights of persons belonging to national minorities held a video conference meeting, the press service of the Culture and Information Policy Ministry of Ukraine informs. "Romania is our reliable political partner. We are happy to work together for the sake of our common European future," Svitlana Fomenko said following the meeting. It was noted that the parties agreed to continue a constructive dialogue in the field of protection of the rights of national minorities on the basis of mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as to launch bilateral talks at the expert level in video conference format to agree on draft minutes of the VII Commissions meeting. The Ukrainian side supported the proposal of the Romanian partners to hold a regular meeting of the Commission in November-December 2020. ol Syracuse, N.Y. Ragin Mickens lay on the sidewalk Friday outside of the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central to take a break. Hed earned the nickname Spiderman for climbing bridges to film the daily police reform protests in Syracuse by Last Chance for Change. Forty-plus days of marching had exacted its toll. The last daily protest, a 5.8-mile, 10,339-step hike to Syracuse Mayor Ben Walshs house in 95-degree heat, had just finished. And Mickens cycled the checklist hed have to go through in the next week: how to make Last Chance for Change last and who the group would work with. Anybody in power who has not been getting the real work done, they should feel insecure, Mickens said. Protests against police brutality started in Syracuse on May 30, when a caravan of hundreds of people marched from Syracuse to Solvay and back. After the march ended, some people broke windows at police headquarters and riot police responded. Vandalism and looting followed later that night at some businesses. Last Chance grew out of the desire for peaceful protests the next day. Now, after more than 40 straight days, the leaders of Last Chance promised more work Friday. They see now as the time to get the change they demand and Mickens views them as the muscle of the movement. At least 40 people each day have protested perceived local injustices. We had a lot of naysayers, a lot of people said we wouldnt, organizer Nate Flagg said of the group reaching 40 days of protests. Were just showing and proving that we can do it. As protesters trekked through the South Side on Friday, organizer Dramar Felton belted out a new chant, 40 days, 40 nights. We demand our rights, protesters yelled back. Curtis Chaplin, one of the original organizers, has been careful as the group concluded its daily protests by seeking out the houses of public officials. In the last week, he allowed the group to march past the houses of the mayor, Police Chief Kenton Buckner and Superintendent Jaime Alicea. But he would not let them stop out of fear that it would be perceived as intimidation. On Friday, even as they walked past the mayors house in the Strathmore neighborhood, a neighbor asked the protesters if theyd come to damage his property. A protester dumped out his water bottle on the sidewalk in front of the mayors house and the neighbor, whod told protesters she supported Black Lives Matter, pointed it out to an officer who was escorting the protesters. That pressure has helped to keep police reform a topic of conversation. Quite frankly, without the fact that there are people in the streets there wouldnt be as much attention on these issues as is being garnered right now, said Yusuf Abdul-Qadir during a meeting with Last Chance. Abdul-Qadir, the director of the local chapter of the NYCLU, has also helped push the Peoples Agenda for Policing, a set of reforms presented to local leaders July 2. Disagreements on tactics and how best to support reforms has separated the group at least once. On their 31st day, Hasahn Bloodworth and Mered Billue broke off to create their own group, named Rebirth. Both groups have since said they are focused on the same goal: reforming the police. They both support the Peoples Agenda for Policing, which was presented to the mayor in a four-hour meeting July 2. Bloodworth and Billue helped Last Chance clean up Richmond Avenue on Thursday and Last Chance encouraged its protesters to attend Rebirths event later that day. As Dramar Felton laid under the porch of a vacant house, digging out all the trash he could, Bloodworth tapped people on the shoulder and asked them to move out of the way as he needed to take care of family business. The split separated Felton and Bloodworth, who have known each other for about 20 years. When Felton was young, his mother introduced him to Bloodworth and told Felton that Bloodworths house, on Elk Street at the time, was a safe place to go if he ever had any trouble. Bloodworth pulled Felton by the back of his shirt and embraced him once he stood up. Last Chance has created a method to its protests. On Thursday, protesters blocked off streets when the police escort couldnt. Members jumped in the back of a moving SUV to grab waters and run them back to protesters. As the protesters reached South West and West Onondaga streets, a group of at least 20 cars stopped at the lights. Many of the cars beeped in support and others either rolled down their windows or opened their doors to clap and yell. When the protesters returned to ITC on Thursday night, Chaplin and Felton spoke to the group. Mickens laid on the sidewalk, off to the side. Hed set a deadline for himself and Last Chance. By Wednesday, the groups website has to be finished and he wants the group to make a final decision on whether it wants to be a non-profit. He has to approach Rebirth, which is planning to occupy City Hall on Monday and Tuesday, about how closely the two want to work. When Chaplin spoke to the group, he said the group would hold events on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and was contemplating civil disobedience. Now, the real work begins, Chaplin 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. Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Slovakia, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Slovakia and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Slovakia (issuer rating A2) is supported by the country's "baa1" score for economic strength, reflecting its medium-sized economy and relatively high GDP per capita levels. Slovakia's "a2" score for institutions and governance strength is underpinned by the significant institutional improvements made since Slovakia's EU and EMU accession but constrained by relatively high levels of perceptions of corruption. Slovakia's "aa3" fiscal strength score reflects a moderate government debt ratio and highly affordable debt burden. Slovakia's "baa" susceptibility to event risk is driven by banking sector risk. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. The principal methodology used for this review was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. 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Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 18:18:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Xinhua writer Ma Qian BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Washington's controversial new rules regarding international students have met with stiff opposition and sparked outrage worldwide. These rules not only represent an unscrupulous disregard for public health but also risk harming the country's educational appeal in the international arena. Under the newly-modified guidelines of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to international students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall 2020 semester, nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States. Upon their announcement, the new rules were immediately blasted as cruel, reckless and xenophobic for blatantly putting human life at risk, when the global COVID-19 caseload broke a striking level of 12 million and U.S. single-day confirmed cases surpassed 63,000 on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The ICE's arbitrary new policy is irrational and xenophobic, and risks the health of students, faculty, and staff, nearly 100 U.S. lawmakers said Thursday in a letter to the the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Given the plenty of previous political interests-oriented acts of the Trump administration, the ulterior motive behind such cruel rules is not hard to decode -- to pave the way for the full reopening of the country and return to normalcy in all fields for the sake of the approaching presidential election in November. Eager to cover up its incompetence in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House has blamed it on foreign factors such as immigrants and international travelers. Desperate to recover the economy, the Trump administration has constantly played down the pandemic, urging businesses, schools and campaign rallies to resume despite the huge lag in measures of pandemic prevention and control. And now it is for the domestic universities and international students to dance to the music, only to serve Washington's short-sighted and self-defeating political purposes. International students definitely bear the brunt of the cruel rules, which, once imposed, will leave them few choices between departing the country and transferring to schools with in-person instruction, which thus aggravates their confusion and panic about future personal development. Renowned U.S. universities will also lose big due to the inevitable ensuing damage caused by the rules. First of all, rash reopening of in-person classes amid the deteriorating pandemic will increase health and safety hazards for faculty and other service providers in universities. What's worse, as overseas students are discouraged from choosing U.S. institutions of higher education, U.S. universities will not only suffer from heavy economic damage but also incessant brain drain in the long run. According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, international students contributed 44.7 billion U.S. dollars to the U.S. economy in 2018, an increase of 5.5 percent from the previous year. The Institute of International Education finds that more than 1 million international students enrolled in various graduate and undergraduate programs in 2018-2019 in the United States. Slamming the door on international students through administrative measures during a ravaging pandemic also smacks of discrimination and xenophobia. CNN said it is "another disgusting, transparent Trump administration attack on foreigners and immigrants," which further diminishes the U.S. influence and reputation on international issues. Shutting international students out will only erode the country's educational appeal. Calling the rules as "mean-spirited, arbitrary and damaging to America," the University of California (UC) has announced plans to sue the government over the new rules, joining the legal fight led by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is high time that the White House stopped indulging in political tricks and woke up to the fact that only a caring heart for people's health and safety can win popular support at the time of a raging pandemic. Enditem India's government has petitioned the Rajasthan High Court to stop any of the Chinese companies whose 59 apps it recently banned from obtaining an injunction to block the order, according to two sources and the legal filing. India last month outlawed dozens of Chinese apps including ByteDance's popular video-sharing app TikTok, Alibaba's UC Browser and Tencent's messaging app WeChat, saying they posed a "threat to sovereignty and integrity". Chinese firms have faced hostility since a border clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers, with Delhi intensifying ... With 140 new Covid-19 cases, Chhattisgarhs overall count increased to 3,806 on Friday while the number of fatalities rose to 17, as the samples of two who died earlier tested positive for the virus during the day, health officials said. So far, 3,028 patients have been discharged, he said. Of the new cases, 34 were from Raipur, 22 from Narayanpur, 17 from Dantewada, 13 from Bilaspur, 10 each from Rajnandgaon and Balodabazar, nine from Surguja, seven from Raigarh, three each from Durg, Balod and Janjgir-Champa and two each from Balrampur and Kondagaon, he said. Besides, two persons hailing from other states have also tested positive while one case each came from Korba, Bemetara and Mahasamund. Fourteen personnel of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and one from Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) are among the new cases detected in Dantewada, he said. While CRPF is deployed in Bastar region for anti-Naxal operations, the CISF guards mines and other facilities of the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) in Kirandul and Bacheli areas of Dantewada. A 26-year-old man from Janjgir-Champa district who was admitted to Raigarh Medical College Hospital on Wednesday died this morning after which his samples tested positive, a health official said. Besides, a man in his mid 30s from Karnataka died of heart attack on Wednesday in Rajnandgaon, while being admitted to a hospital. His sample has also tested positive, he added. Earlier in the day, 125 people, including an 89-year- old man, were discharged from different hospitals, he said. The octogenarian, a native of Durg district, was admitted in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Raipur on July 2 after testing positive, and he is now the oldest person in the state to have recovered, a spokesperson of the institute said. The number of active cases is 761, as 3,028 people have been discharged after recovery while 17 have died so far, an official said. Chhattisgarhs Covid-19 figures are as follows: positive cases 3,806, new cases 140, deaths 17, discharged 3,028, active cases 761, people tested so far 2,00,006. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ramadani Saputra (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 08:19 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40665861be 1 National #millenials,millennials,millennial-workforce,#Survey,survey,COVID-19,#COVID19 Free No one would have thought that the year of 2020 would bring such a dramatic change to almost everyones lives, and 26-year-old Surastini is no exception. In February, she made the big decision to quit her job in marketing. She left Cirebon, West Java to search for new opportunities in hopes of improving her career prospects. She was in the final stage of job interviews with several companies outside of Cirebon when the COVID-19 outbreak began in Indonesia and brought activities to a virtual standstill. Four months have passed and the outbreak has shown no signs of ending. Staying positive despite all of the hurdles is the only option Surastini has now. She said she was glad the situation had led her back to her parents house in Bandung after living away from them for almost three years in Cirebon. "I am getting used to the whole pandemic thing. To some extent, I still feel a sense of insecurity, particularly with regard to whatll happen next. But, I still have faith; I know this [difficult time] will eventually pass," she said. We are the young generation. We are striving for our careers. We are thinking about doing things that can lead us to a better future. It is just that time seems to have stopped during the pandemic. New job opportunities are very rare today. That makes me feel insecure, she said. While Surastini quit her job for new opportunities right before the epidemic, former flight attendant Ajeng Kartika Ayu, 26, was hit hard by the fact that she was laid off. The epidemic forced the airline she had been employed by to furlough and lay off some of its employees. Im still recovering from the fact that I was laid off from my first job. I did not expect the pandemic to affect my career, said Ajeng, who joined millions of Indonesian workers who lost their livelihoods during the epidemic. The Manpower Ministry recorded in April that more than 1.2 million workers from 74,439 companies in both the formal and informal sectors had either been told to stay home or were laid off as a result of the epidemic. Recruitment is also shrinking as companies focus more on how to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on their finances, forcing jobseekers like Surastini to postpone submitting applications. Ajeng and Surastinis concerns are reflected in a global survey on millennials launched by audit and consulting firm Deloitte late last month. It found that millennials -- people born between January 1983 and December 1994 -- and Generation Z -- born between January 1995 and December 2003 -- were likely to find the roots of their stress or anxiety from thinking about the welfare of their family, their longer term financial future and their career prospects. The survey polled 18,426 millennials and members of Generation Z from 43 countries, including Indonesia, India, Japan, Nigeria and the United States between November 2019 and January, in the first batch of interviews. The second batch of interviews was held between April 28 and May 17, after the pandemic began, involving 9,102 respondents from 10 countries, with Indonesia being excluded. It found that pandemic-related shutdowns had dealt a hard blow to Generation Z and younger millennials -- between 25 and 30 years old -- with almost 30 percent of respondents having reported job losses or unpaid leave. Despite this, Deloitte found that stress levels had decreased as the pandemic went on compared to previous months before the pandemic. Having more time with family and less commuting in traffic jams as a result from the work from home policy had resulted in lowered stress levels experienced by millennials and Generation Z, the survey said. Fajar Purnomo Adi, 26, who works at an e-commerce firm in Jakarta is a prime example. Of course, at the beginning I was afraid of getting infected by the virus since I work with people with high mobility, he said. Then, many start-ups began laying off their workers; but my company was still going strong. Now I have no real anxiety but to maintain a safe physical distance and limit my interactions with people. Fajar, who has been working from home, said he had no problem if the WFH policy became the norm in the post-pandemic world given that he would have more time to spend with family. His opinion was in line with 69 percent of millennials in Deloitte's study who said that they would like to have the option of working from home in the future to relieve stress. Despite being hit hard by the pandemic, millennials and Generation Z are still able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the survey said, describing them as resilient generations. Ajeng and Surastini, for example, refused to be trapped in misery. Ajeng has been thinking of starting a small clothing business, while Surastini has applied for a masters program using the savings she collected from her previous job. The COVID-19 pandemic has radically shifted our way of life -- how we work, socialize, shop, and more -- and younger generations have been especially impacted, Michele Parmelee, chief people and purpose officer at Deloitte Global, said in a statement. However, despite uncertain and discouraging conditions, millennials and Generation Z express impressive resiliency and a resolve to improve the world. As we rebuild our economies and society, young people will be critical in shaping the world that emerges. LGBT pride month was largely marked in a virtual capacity this summer, with only small scale events taking place due to Covid-19. The community still found unique ways to show solidarity and unity. Some members also got involved with the Black Lives Matter protests, with many promoting the message that 'Black Trans Lives Matter'. The 't' in LGBT stands for transgender, and the umbrella term 'trans' is used to capture all non-conforming gender identities within the community. Gender identity refers to a person's deeply-felt identification as male, female, or some other gender and this may or may not correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender can be expressed through mannerisms, grooming, physical characteristics, social interactions and speech patterns. Those who identify as non-binary or gender fluid, can fluctuate with their gender expression or identity. At times, they may present themselves differently and even not identify as either male or female at all. Those who are not transgender are termed 'cisgender', which acknowledges that everyone has a gender identity and a 'cis' person's gender identity and gender expression is aligned with the sex that was assigned at birth. In recent years, the trans community has become more visible and found its own voice as part of the LGBT community, and even got involved in separate Pride parades and protests. It has become clear the that challenges faced by trans people can differ greatly from others within LGBT circles, such as gay, lesbian or bisexual people when it comes to freedoms and self expression. It's important to note that being trans does not define a person's sexual orientation. Veronica and Nick are both transgender and live in county Wexford and although there are 20 years between them, some of their experiences being out as trans here are similar. While Alexandra, moved to Wexford during her teenage years and has since left Wexford to live elsewhere. VERONICA Veronica (39), is a trans woman originally from the United States who is living in rural county Wexford with her husband. She began transitioning later in life, but has always considered herself an activist particularly around LGBT issues, anti-racism and animal rights. Veronica sits on the board of TENI (Transgender Equality Network Ireland) and runs a support group for trans people in Waterford. Living here, she explains that she feels as safe as anybody in her position. 'Whether you're in the city or the countryside, you always feel your difference. I can't say that the country is any less accepting than what I've seen in the cities. I feel as safe as I did before my transition, when I was presenting as a masculine queer person. 'I don't have any neighbours here in Wexford that I know of who are in the LGBT community, so you're very much in a hedero-cis world. People knew who I was before I transitioned, and I don't see that much has changed those relationships. I've never experienced negative reactions here in my home or neighbourhood. However, I have in certain towns and cities. 'There's a lot of factors that go into that, it's a density issue, but in that sense I don't think that me being trans has changed how the people around see me. Especially in the country, it's impossible to not be visible. People know who you are even before you know them. It's really bizarre for me as an American who is not used to that'. Veronica said that she experienced transphobia during the early stages of her transition here two years ago. 'In those early days, it was difficult to be out and comfortable in the world. I got a lot of stares, comments, nasty looks and laughs. These were mostly from younger people, which I found quite shocking. 'Everyone likes to pretend that all the world's problems are going to die off with the next generation but of course that's not true. When you think about the younger generation and all of the awareness they're growing up with, you wouldn't expect that kind of treatment but it certainly exists. 'It got to a stage where I would just avoid groups of kids or teenagers, or if I had to pass them I'd just kind of armour up and hope they didn't notice me passing them on the street. There were a couple of incidents with adults as well, but it's just an extreme amount of ignorance on a lot of peoples' part. 'There's this sense that they have the right to say what's on their mind to somebody that they don't know. Like a child who is young enough for me to be their mother outright disrespecting me relating to my gender expression or an elderly man who is old enough to be my grandfather, saying "is that a man or a woman" and laughing in my face, that kind of thing makes me think about the safety they must feel in a group of people to behave this way. 'It never occurs to them that the people around them, the general public, may not agree with their statement. They feel confident that most people would agree that I'm a 'freak' or whatever. We haven't reached that point where societies views are strong enough to give somebody like that a moment's pause before they open their mouth'. Speaking about feeling different, Veronica said that there is unity being within a minority group. 'I knew I was different and queer from a young age, but I wasn't open to transitioning until very recently. For most of my life I would have considered myself gender-queer, and my gender expression fluctuated throughout my life. I would always have been very dedicated to the LGBT struggle and involved in the community. 'Being involved in TENI or support groups to varying degrees allows me to know what's going on, to insert myself in the centre of it and have an idea of what's coming down the pipeline. I would have always been very vocal about my beliefs. 'The trans community is really unique, because it cuts across every label and strata of society. I'm a white trans woman but you'll find trans people who are of all sexual orientations, all income levels, ethnicities, backgrounds and family make-ups. 'What has surprised me coming from a primarily queer gay space is seeing that actually finding a common ground within the trans community outside of our trans identity, can be kind of challenging in terms of finding people you can relate to on a personal level. 'I've enjoyed seeing people make connections based on more than just the fact they're trans in the support groups. It's kind of like you've to find your tribe within the tribe, which is the same for cis [people who are not trans] people. 'I grew up in the southern United States, I may have privileges and particular advantages that others wouldn't have and talking to a trans woman in Ireland who may have been married with kids before transitioning and living their life as a woman, I can't really relate to that as I was never married to a woman. 'I would like that the trans community become so large, robust and visible that people are able to connect on more than just being trans, and then maybe they could mobilise on other issues. But as a trans person, I would steer clear of America now. My husband is Irish but he lived in Poland for years. He's eager to take me there and show me what his life was like but we aren't going any time soon. Some of the new policies and LGBT-free zones, it's terrible and we would never feel safe there. There are other places as well but those are just the two on the top of my list at the moment'. Challenges exist for trans people simply being out in the world, but some strong opposing views can be heightened in press as well as social media. Veronica said that countering some of the anti-trans narrative can be exhausting. 'A lot of these cases are coming out of these pseudo-feminist movements, and you start to notice that they have close ties to extreme alt-right groups. Somehow they have laid down the true meaning of what they're fighting for, to pick up these beliefs that could be used against them a women. You can't kill an ideology, and people with opposing beliefs tend to dig their heels in deeper but we have to remember that these people are a very small and vocal minority, and they speak out in these extremely violent ways that mirror historical oppression of other groups. 'The way I see it, they are very small, pre-occupied and unhappy people but it's difficult because sometimes it's hard to remind yourself and it's easy to feel like the whole world is against you. But you have to follow the money trail back to its root and ask yourself, who is benefiting from any given narrative and who is profiting from perpetuating any particular stance? 'When you look at their arguments scientifically, not one is based on fact and they need to be held accountable for what they put out into the world. 'It can be picked apart but the onus gets put on us as a minority to do that and it's exhausting. Sometimes you have to just swallow your pride and walk away and other times you bite their heads off and it doesn't get very far. Through subtle words that are used, that's how we internalise these things and that's how we betray the people at the other end of those stories,' she said. In terms of how Irish people can treat people in the transgender community better, Veronica said that it comes back to simply thinking before you speak. 'I see a lot of freedom with words and reactions, and not that conscious intelligent reflection on 'what I'm saying, does it mean what I think it means?' and that's learned life-long. In Ireland it comes down to the idea of questioning your assumptions. 'For example, you see a little girl and you think it means something about who she is, her life and who she'll grow up to become, marry, what car she'll drive and what clothes she'll wear, the life she's going to have. We have to stop assuming these things. 'When you see me on the street, whatever you perceive or think I'm presenting as or it says about me as an individual, if you just took a moment to think before opening your mouth, a lot of harm would be reduced. 'The other thing is to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and be willing to ask questions. Introduce yourself with your own pronouns and normalise pronoun declaration because in doing that, you open the door for the other person if you're not quite sure. 'That simple act of awareness and kindness will allow that trans person to breathe a little bit easier around you as a cis person. Asking that question is never ever going to be worse than assuming. The other thing is that you should never be sure on someone's gender as there are non-binary people, but a cis person needs to be aware that they are coming from a position of power. 'They need to understand the history that they bring to an interaction with a trans person as we come from different worlds'. NICK Nick (19), from Gorey identifies as a trans-man and came out to his peers when he was a teenager in fifth year of secondary school. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he has been staying at home in Gorey but in normal times he's away from home for college in Dublin from Monday to Friday. He explained that, in his experience, there is a rural and urban divide when it comes to transgender issues and acceptance. 'Gender-neutral bathrooms make the world more transgender-inclusive, it's something that should be recognised. It is in place, but at the moment that's only in Dublin, Limerick and the bigger cities but it's not in rural communities. There's definitely a rural and urban divide in terms of understanding. 'Usually the gender-neutral bathrooms that are there, they're the disabled bathrooms and that's not really a good thing when other people need to use them. We as trans people nearly feel like we're doing something wrong using them,' he said. Speaking about healthcare for transgender people, Nick said there's a need for more doctors that have an understanding of trans issues. 'More needs to be done for trans people in Ireland going forward. There needs to be more doctors for trans healthcare. For a physical transition, the reality is that you'd have to go abroad and it presents a challenge, especially if you're independent, living by yourself and trying to raise the money. 'I've many friends who are trying to raise money to go abroad at the moment and it's difficult'. Nick said that being trans and experiencing transphobia has an impact on mental health, certainly in his own experience. 'I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression even before I came out. But being out as trans has definitely made it a bit more of a challenge. Going to therapy and friends are helping though. 'I remember going through secondary school, the reception I was given wasn't the best, especially by those around my age and older. The transphobia was fairly obvious to me at that stage. People would call me names like "freak" and stuff like that. But it's a mixed kind of thing, I've experienced the bad side and the good side many times'. Nick spoke about finding support from trans-specific and LGBT+ support groups. 'Going to those groups made up of other trans and LGBT+ people for support was very important. Meeting up and getting to know other people who are like you, it gives you the drive to disagree with those who would have been critical towards me and see that it was wrong, but it also gives you that push to be proud of yourself and to be yourself. 'Hearing other peoples' stories gives you a little bit of hope,' he says. Although the national Pride event took place in a virtual capacity this year, Nick said that going to a positive gathering like this means a lot to the community. 'Going to big Pride events is amazing, especially coming from a rural place like Wexford. You go up to Dublin and see so many different people who are like you and you feel like you're not the only one experiencing this. I have support from other people in that way. 'Sometimes the media can promote negativity towards trans people, and petitions are a big thing at the moment. My friends and I try not to get too involved with it, but we feel if it's something we need to get involved with, then we do'. 'What I would say to someone reading this article is that to show support and respect to trans people, education is really a big thing. If we had trans issues taught to people early-on in life and be something that is recognised and not be given prejudice towards. Even from as early as when children are old enough to comprehend it. 'The message is: we are people, just like you. Being trans in Ireland has been a long and difficult road for me, but in other ways it has been great and I'm glad to be out'. ALEXANDRA Alexandra (29), is originally from Wicklow but spent her teenage years in Carnew and Gorey before coming out as transgender at the age of 23. The journey was a difficult one, as Alexandra said that she felt like an outsider particularly in a rural setting. 'I'm originally from Bray so when I moved to Wexford as a teenager, the family were kind of already outsiders because we weren't from the local area. Even in school, insecurity was a bit of a thing for me but coming out was difficult. 'For a long time I didn't want to step foot outside my door, because I didn't know what reaction I was going to get. I stuck very local, especially early on in my transition, I'd stay close to home because, if I did need to retreat, I'd have that space to do it. 'Mentally, it was quite difficult and it was a very isolating experience. Most of the people that I ended up being friends with in Carnew and Gorey were also not from the local area, mostly closer to south Dublin. 'Even without the trans element, you still feel like you're this "other" when you want to belong and you don't want to stick out. You want to fit in and make friends with people, but it just never really felt like I was on the same wave-length with people when I was in my teenage years. I didn't feel like I had much in common with people from the area. Some people got it and we were friends but a lot of people didn't really understand and just took an attitude towards this part of my personality, and made sure I stood out. 'I spent the first 23 years of my life as one person, by name and the way I see it now, a body that didn't fit with who I was. I felt like I either had to come out then or I didn't know what I was going to do, so I decided in third year of college to come out. I felt like I was heading towards a crossroads in my life and I said to myself I can come out and be Alex or Alexandra, or I can keep living this life and never really truly be happy with myself. Even though I knew there might be a push back from people and I might need to find another place to live, I knew I had to be myself'. Things became a lot lighter for Alexandra when she began to link up with trans and LGBT support groups. 'Finding support and an outlet like a support group is absolutely vital for a trans person in rural Ireland, it can save a person's life. 'I see it as a lifeline and I was the moderator of a group locally for about a year, and that experience of getting to hear other peoples' stories and their lives and journeys, it was an incredibly humbling experience but raw at times. People go to support groups to be open and say what they may not be able to say in their everyday lives. 'There are groups in cities like Dublin but it's the rural areas that really need them because we exist everywhere, whether we're visible or invisible, we are in your community. 'There's a social aspect too because you may not be aware of the community around you, especially when you first come out but by getting involved, you find a way in. 'Through it, you meet people who might have had similar experiences to you or completely different experiences, but you still get on as great mates because they know what you've gone through. 'It's critically important and I've seen this with the medical side of things. There are trans people that the only time they get to be around other trans people is when they go to the hospital and see others at the gender clinic. In my view, that's really just not good enough and there has to be more of a push and demand for rural LGBT people to have access to resources. 'Not everyone has the money to go to Dublin for a support group, and that's why it's so important for these local groups to grow and for there to be more of them, it's vital for that support to be there in the community'. Alexandra said that the new government must keep trans issues on the table. 'I worry a lot about what this government is going to do. I don't necessarily feel there's an anti-trans stance, but what might be more likely is that our rights, especially legally, might just go ignored by this government. There are some new ministers in positions that wouldn't exactly be liberal in their views. 'Trans matters are on a long list of topics and issues that need to be addressed by this government but we have really made great strides in this country, but recognition is only binary-trans people. 'If this government can do one thing, they should be looking to places like Canada where they have introduced non-binary gender options and recognition. Here, we're got half of our community not recognised which is damaging. There's the other issue of those aged 16 and up not being let go through the medical system and start that very lengthy process, to become the person that they want to be. 'I don't know if we'll get both of them from this government but it would be incredible if we saw non-binary recognition by the Irish government because then all Irish citizens would be recognised in the way that they want to be'. Even though Ireland has taken important steps for trans and LGBT rights up to this point, transphobia remains consistent. 'Worldwide, it's always existing but to experience it as an individual, that comes and goes. Sometimes you can go weeks without having someone say something to you, but other times you can have a flare up of incidents. 'I've had people burst into laughter at me, some have attempted to spit at me and I've definitely had a few slurs thrown around. Even if it's not directed at me, I have two ears and I can hear them as I walk past. 'To give Wexford credit, there's a lot more people who would support trans peoples' right to live their lives truthfully however they want to be, but there are pockets of people who are vocally transphobic or feel like they have the right to comment on somebody's gender presentation. It's in every county in Ireland and that's the ugly side to it, because some people feel like they can lash out at trans people as if we're an easy target and they've a right to make a nasty comment or in some cases, throw a punch at them. I haven't had any physical altercations, but the verbal stuff sticks with you and stays with you. 'We live in a very gendered and binary world, and I've seen the abuse that non-binary people get because they don't present in the way that people might find acceptable'. In terms of being kinder to trans and non-binary people, Alexandra said it simply comes down to compassion. 'It's heartening to know that there are people out there that will support us even if they may not be directly involved in trans right or LGBT activism. 'The number one thing is just to take people as you find them. I and my sister were taught that by my parents as kids, to be empathic. 'The easiest thing is to ask if you're not sure about someone's pronouns, because we love that. Most people are not going to explode at you for asking if you're not sure. 'Also not closing yourself off to someone if they have a different gender presentation. If someone really wants to take this further, they can always educate themselves and read up on it. There are a lot of books and resources out there to help people, especially cis people. 'It comes down to the fact that people are brought up with an innate sense of gender, and we're conditioned by society to have a set idea about what a boy is like, what is girl is supposed to be like and I think that's where the reading comes in. As you can discover that it is more complex than that binary and that people contain a multitude, it's easy to see that people are complex and they can surprise you. 'More than anything else it's just to be open and compassionate to trans people as there's a lot of hostility out there in the world towards us as a group, as well as misunderstanding. Kindness can go a long way, you don't know who's day you could brighten up'. To find out more about trans issues, visit the Transgender Network of Ireland's website, www.teni.ie. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade have held a two-day conference with a view of helping firms understand more about commitments in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). As part of activities within MoITs plan for implementation of the agreement this year, the July 9-10 event offers a chance for businesses to find solutions to the difficulties they face on the threshold of deeper integration. According to ministry figures, less than 40 of Vietnams 63 cities and provinces have trade relations with CPTPP member countries. Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Head of the MoITs Multilateral Trade Policy Department, said the CPTPP opens up huge opportunities for Vietnams exports but the country is yet to make full use of them. Trade between Vietnam and CPTPP member countries hit 77.4 billion USD last year, up 3.9 percent year-on-year. Vietnam posted a surplus of 1.6 billion USD overall but a deficit of 900 million USD with these countries. Participants at the conference have already focused on overviews of import and export taxes and instructions on how to identify and meet import and export tax commitments, rules of origin, and customs commitments in order to enjoy preferential taxes under the agreement. Nguyen Son Tra, Deputy Head of the WTO and Trade Negotiation Division at the MoIT, told the gathering about CPTPP member countries import tax commitments. Member countries have committed to eliminating tariffs on about 78-95 percent of the tax lines Vietnam is subject to. For common commodities, the roadmap will take five to ten years. At the end of the roadmap, 98-100 percent of tax lines will have been eliminated. Many of Vietnams key export items to the CPTPP are entitled to zero percent tax rates right after the agreement comes into effect or after three to five years, Tra said. Participants have also focused discussions on services and investment, especially the obligations and basic principles of market opening, removing barriers facing services and investment, and commitments concerning investment promotion and protection. The CPTPP, one of the largest trade pacts in the world, covers 13.5 percent of global GDP and a market of about 500 million people. It gathers 11 countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. It officially took effect in Vietnam on January 14, 2019./. VNA Project to preserve Black churches gets $20M donation; Mayfield church first to receive funds Shelby Houlihan of the Bowerman Track Club smashed her own U.S. record in the 5,000 meters Friday night in an intrasquad meet at Jesuit High School. Houlihan crossed in 14 minutes, 23.92 seconds, bettering her previous record time of 14:34.45. Karissa Schweizer was second, also under the listed record, finishing in 14:26.34. Canadian Olympian Mohammed Ahmed won a fast mens 5,000 in 12:47.20, a Canadian record. Lopez Lomong also finished under 13 minutes, in 12:58.78. The U.S record of 12:53.60 is held by Bernard Lagat. The meet was held without a crowd, very little advance notice and live-streamed on USATF.TV, a pay site. -- Ken Goe Myriam Borzee/iStockBy ELLA TORRES, ABC NEWS (SAN ANTONIO, Texas) -- "I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it's not." Those were the final words of a 30-year-old patient who died at a San Antonio, Texas, hospital this week after attending a so-called "COVID party," according to the hospital's chief medical officer. Dr. Jane Appleby said in a recorded statement that the unidentified patient told nurses about the party, which she said is hosted by someone diagnosed with coronavirus. "The thought is people get together to see if the virus is real and if anyone gets infected," Appleby said. Appleby said she shared the story not to scare people, but to make sure they understand that the virus can affect anyone. Bexar County, where San Antonio is located, currently has 18, 602 confirmed cases, with an increase of 923 on Friday, according to the Department of Health. The age range with the most cases were in people aged 20 to 29, making up 24%, and 30 to 39, making up 20%, according to the department. Appleby said her hospital is seeing more cases in people in their 20s and 30s. She said while some can be treated and discharged, others become seriously ill. Appleby warned that the virus "doesn't discriminate" and encouraged the public to wear a mask and stay home as much as possible. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. The Rs 99 and Rs 129 plan bring with them 1GB data and has a validity of 24 days. The Rs 199 plan comes with 1GB data per day and a validity of 24 days. The plans are apparently still not available in circles including Andhra Pradesh and more If you are an Airtel prepaid subscriber, then there is some good news for you, depending on the state you live in. Airtel has reportedly expanded three of its prepaid plans to more circles. The plans include the Rs 99 plan, the Rs 129 plan and the Rs 199 plan. The three plans are not new and have been available for some time now. According to the source, the Airtel Rs 99 plan is now available in Bihar & Jharkhand, and Odisha. The plan was earlier available in Kolkata, West Bengal, Rajasthan, UP East, and MP & Chhattisgarh. The Rs 129 and Rs 199 plan is now available in Delhi NCR, Assam, Bihar & Jharkhand, Mumbai, North East, and Odisha. The plans are also available in Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Goa, Rajasthan, UP East, UP West and Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. Interested users can recharge for the above plans using the Airtel App or the website. Airtel Rs 99 prepaid plan details The Airtel Rs 99 prepaid recharge brings with it 24 days validity, 1GB data overall, 100 SMS per day and unlimited local/national calls to all networks. Users also get free access to Airtel Xstream, Wynk Music, and Zee5 Premium. Airtel Rs 129 prepaid plan details The Airtel Rs 129 prepaid recharge brings with it 24 days validity, 1GB data overall, 300 SMS per day and unlimited local/national calls to all networks. Users also get free access to Airtel Xstream, Wynk Music, and Zee5 Premium. Airtel Rs 199 prepaid plan details The Airtel Rs 199 prepaid recharge brings with it 24 days validity, 1GB data per day, 100 SMS per day and unlimited local/national calls to all networks. Users also get free access to Airtel Xstream, Wynk Music, and Zee5 Premium. In other Airtel news, the telecom operator says that its Platinum customers will get Priority 4G Network. The telecom company claims to have deployed advanced technologies that give its Platinum mobile customers preference on the network. You can read more on how to be an Airtel Platinum customer here. Airtel also recently introduced a Rs 289 plan giving users 1.5GB data per day and a validity of 28 days. You can catch all the details of the plan here. Click here to know more about Airtel mobile recharge prepaid plans. SRINAGAR: The Indian Army on Saturday warned that close to 250-300 terrorists are waiting at their launchpads across the border for an opportune time to infiltrate into the Indian side. The Army also warned that infiltration attempts by Pakistan-baked terrorists might see a surge in the days to come. While briefing the media persons about infiltration bid foiled today near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Naugam Sector in Kupwara border district, General-officer-Commanding (GoC), 19 Infantry Division, (Baramulla), Major General Virender Vats said, "Inputs indicate that their launch pads are fully occupied. If we have to guess, it could be anything between 250-300 terrorists presently occupying the launch pads.'' He informed that two terrorists were killed in the operation in Naugam and ''a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including 1.5 lakh of Indian and Pakistani currency, was recovered from them." He said the cache of arms recovered from the slain terrorists comprises 2xAK and 1x Pistol with magazines, ammunition, and some grenades and medical supplies. Major General Virender Vats warned that Pakistan is trying hard to push more and more terrorists into the Kashmir Valley to disrupt the peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Launchpads across the Line of Control are fully packed with terrorists, and as per inputs, some 250 to 300 terrorists are ready to infiltrate fully supported by Pakistan, the Indian Army officer reiterated. The GoC, while briefing media about todays foiled infiltration bid, said two heavily armed terrorists were killed along the Line of Control in the Nougam sector. Their identity and group affiliation was being ascertained. The terrorists, who were trying to infiltrate into the area by cutting the anti-infiltration fence, were dressed in combat fatigues. They had taken the route through Pakistani forward posts in the area, which clearly indicates that Pakistan is pushing terrorists to this side, he added. The timely action by the alert security forces ensured the killing of two heavily armed terrorists. However, a massive search and cordon is still on in the area. Earlier terrorists had made several unsuccessful attempts to infiltrate in the Kupwara sector of North Kashmir and South Kashmir in past. The Army has gathered actional inputs which suggest that infiltration bid by Pakistan trained terrorists may go up in the coming three to four months and the security agencies have been asked to remain on alert mode. According to the input, "There is likely presence of armed terrorists in Bhimber Gali and Naushera sectors with an intention to infiltrate to carry out BAT (Border Action Team) action." Sources in intelligence agencies said that the inputs have been shred with armed forces and the Border Security Force (BSF) has been asked to keep a close watch on activities in these areas. Forces suspect that the BAT of Pakistan Army is facilitating terrorists to carry out action soon. There have been movements of terrorists towards the Indian side. Pakistan`s BAT consists of its army commandos and terrorists belonging to various terror outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba etc. BAT has started targeting civilians as well. In January, the group killed a civilian identified as Mohammad Aslam whose headless and mutilated body was found near the LoC in Poonch district. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is expected to announce the results of class 10 and 12 board examinations 2020 any time now. CBSE had earlier informed the Supreme Court that the results of both CBSE class 10 and Class 12 examinations will be declared by July 15. Once the results are declared, students can download their digital marksheet online. CBSE provides the marksheets on various digital platforms including DigiLocker and UMANG app. Read More: List of mobile apps to check CBSE 10th, 12th results 2020 DigiLocker CBSE will provide digital academic documents of class 10th and 12th students like Marksheets, Migration Certificate and Pass Certificate through its own academic repository Parinam Manjusha, which is integrated with DigiLocker at digilocker.gov.in. The DigiLocker account credentials are sent to students via SMS on their mobile number registered with CBSE. DigiLocker is a flagship initiative of Ministry of Electronics and IT under Digital India programme that aims at Digital Empowerment of citizen by providing access to authentic digital documents to citizens digital document wallet. Students can download the DigiLocker app from Google Play Store and key in the login credentials sent to them through SMS. UMANG App Students can also view and download their results on UMANG Mobile Platform which is available for android, iOS and Windows based Smart Phones. UMANG or Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance has been developed by ministry of electronics and IT, government of India. It is an evolving platform designed for citizens of India to offer them access to the pan-India e-Gov services from the Central, State, Local Bodies, and Agencies of government on app, web, SMS, and IVR channels. The author tweets @ NandiniJourno Racial injustice has been put in the spotlight nationally since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, prompting protests, rallies and discussions seeking solutions. In an effort to bring to light how these issues can be solved, Capital Rebirth organized a roundtable of community leaders Friday night to discuss what the next steps will look like. The organization is a nonprofit based in Harrisburg devoted to uplifting the central Pa. region, The panel, moderated by PennLive opinion editor Joyce Davis, featured state Rep. Patty Kim, Board of Pardons Secretary Brandon Flood, state senatorial candidate and pastor George Scott, psychiatrist Dr. Salman Majeed, former congressional candidate Tom Brier, Friends of Midtown President Annie Hughes, school board member Carrie Fowler, community advocate Gillian Sumpter and Harrisburg City Council members Danielle Bowers and Westburn Majors. Originally scheduled to take place on the Capitol steps, rain from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Fay forced the panel members to stay in their homes and participate via a Zoom session. The panel discussed what government and nonprofit leaders can do in addition to how members of the community can help bring about change in the region. The talk focused on the impact of elections, education, criminal justice reform and mental health resources. Local government officials shared how important voting can be in election years which are held every year in Pennsylvania and how it is vital for members of the community to familiarize themselves with whos on the ballot to make informed decisions before they vote. There also were conversations about what can be done to address concerns with law enforcement and additional services that can be changed or added. Harrisburg City Council over the past month has discussed the creation of a police advisory board and agreed to talk more about guidelines regarding use of force as well as how resources can be shifted to provide police with more education and mental health services. The group also discussed how the education system needs to improve in highlighting the full history of race relations in the United States. Scott said that the government needs to help teachers not be driven to teach towards test results. Majors added, America has centered white men in the stories we tell about our history. He said even in Black History Month, often the focus is only on Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, while the country doesnt hear about other important stories about Robert Smalls, Harriet Tubman and Black Wall Street and all the work that communities of color throughout this country have done in spite of unimaginable odds to continue to get to where we are and thrive. Its being willing to digest history from another view, Majors said, that isnt one of white men, and I think it goes for everyone. Reading stories about the Asian folks that worked on the railroads in the western part of the country. When you censor other people in those stories and are willing to read those stories and hear about them, then you get a fuller, robust knowledge of history in this country and around the world. The panel concluded by answering questions submitted on Facebook from viewers of the live stream. To watch the full discussion, click here or on the embedded video below. Mr. David Oppong, Kumasi Metropolitan Director of Education, has advised parents and guardians of pupils who would be writing the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to assist them in their studies. They should work closely with their teachers to facilitate their learning, especially, while at home in order to prepare them adequately for the task ahead. What we expect parents to do is to collaborate with teachers to draw up timetable for their wards to keep them busily learning, because time is not on their side. The pupils have missed a lot of academic work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which kept them at home for a long time, Mr. Oppong told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi, This was on the sidelines of the inspection of facilities at the Kumasi Senior High Technical School (KSTS) - to identify learning challenges for prompt redress by the government and educational authorities. Projects inspected included; a completed 18-unit classroom block constructed with sponsorship from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND), and the Schools Administration Block, dormitories, amongst others. The programme, which had in attendance the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah, and Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr. Osei Assibey-Antwi, also saw the delegation inspecting a deteriorating drainage system at the KSTS. Mr Oppong said ensuring adequate preparation of the Junior High School (JHS) final-year students towards the BECE was a shared responsibility. Parents should, therefore, not leave that burden on the teacher alone. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Bombay High Court last week rejected the bail application of a woman accused of "passively supporting" her husband, who allegedly raped his two young daughters for years, and sexually assaulted the third in Maharashtra's Beed District. Single bench of Justice Kankanwadi said the story narrated by the daughters was "shocking" and "consistent", while rejecting the woman's bail plea who claimed the accusations against her were untrue, a report by the Hindustan Times states. Kaji Police in Beed had booked the man and his wife on April 2, after their eldest daughter filed a complaint. The man is the headmaster of a school, and the complaint was filed after the three sisters were badly beaten up and locked in a room by the parents. They were rescued by the police. The man had attempted to molest his 20-year-old daughter on March 31, after which her sisters raised a hue and cry. The parents beat them and locked them inside a room. The sisters managed to contact a friend who informed the police and they were rescued on April 2. The eldest daughter said in her complaint that she was raped by her father in 2012. She had even told her mother about the incident, but was instead badly beaten up. She alleged that her father kept molesting her intermittently. He also sexually assaulted their younger sister, who is now 18-years-old, when she was in fifth standard. Whenever they had informed their mother of the incident, they were warned not to tell anyone about their father's crimes. The complainant also alleged that their father even attempted to rape their 15-year-old youngest sister in 2018. Their mother remained silent despite being told about the incident. Based on the complaint lodged, police arrested the headmaster for rape, and his wife for abetment, for "passively supporting" her husband, on April 2, the report states. However, the woman had sought bail from the high court. She claimed the complaint by her daughter was false, because she was "scolded for having bad company". Her lawyer argued that it was "highly impossible" for the woman to keep quiet while her daughters were being molested and raped for years on-end. The plea was rejected, as the judge noted that the entire story which was narrated in the FIR appeared "consistent" with the sisters' statements, in which serious allegations were levelled against the mother. Calling the entire incident "shocking", Justice Kankanwadi said the defence by the woman appeared "baseless". In a response to the defence, the judge stated that instead, no daughter would level such serious allegations against her own parents simply because they were opposed to her relationship with a boy they deemed bad. Kankanwadi added that even if the eldest daughter did go that extent, the younger sisters would not support her if the allegations were false. The novel coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 564,000 people worldwide. Over 12.6 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their nations' outbreaks. The United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 3.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 134,764 deaths. Saturday's headlines: More than 10,000 new cases in Florida Trump wears mask in public on visit to Walter Reed Record high hospitalizations in Arizona Army heading to Houston Here is how the news developed on Saturday. All times Eastern. 10:05 p.m.: Several 4th of July partygoers at Michigan sandbar test positive Several people who attended a Fourth of July party at Torch Lake sandbar near Rapid City, Michigan, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Health Department of Northwest Michigan. The popular hangout spot on Houghton Lake in northern Michigan had been flagged by police as problematic in a press release on July 8. Michigan State Police said it saw an increase of 26% in call volume over the previous 10 years at the so-called Torch Fest. Seven people were arrested for drunk and disorderly charges and nine were charged with operating while intoxicated. Photos released by police showed hundreds of people and boats crowded into close quarters. PHOTO: Several people tested positive for COVID-19 after attending Torch Fest at the Torch Lake sandbar near Rapid City, Mich., on July 4, 2020. (Michigan State Police) "If you were at the Torch Lake Sandbar party over 4th of July weekend, you should monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and seek testing if symptoms should develop or if you were at high risk for exposure due to being in close proximity with others or not wearing a cloth facial covering," the health department said in a statement. Story continues PHOTO: Several people tested positive for COVID-19 after attending Torch Fest at the Torch Lake sandbar near Rapid City, Mich., on July 4, 2020. (Michigan State Police) 7:15 p.m.: 9 Maryland athletes, staff test positive, football practices halted The University of Maryland has halted its football program's offseason training after nine athletes or staff tested positive for COVID-19. The school said it had tested 185 students and staff, but did not specify how many of those who tested positive were staff or athletes -- or even if those nine were part of the football program. "Contact tracing is ongoing through the Prince George's County Health Department and all identified individuals will follow a mandated 14-day self-observation period, under the supervision of university health officials," the university said in a statement. "Under guidance from the Prince George's County Health Department, we have temporarily suspended voluntary, individual training for the football program." MORE: Big Ten moving to conference-only model for all sports this fall Maryland, which is part of the Big Ten Conference, said it tested 105 people in June and no one tested positive. The Big Ten announced earlier this week it would be canceling all nonconference games for fall sports, including football. 5:46 p.m.: Trump visits Walter Reed hospital; wears mask for 1st time President Donald Trump wore a mask for the first time in public on a visit to Walter Reed Medical Center on Saturday afternoon. Trump briefly answered questions before departing the White House to visit troops at the medical center and said that he would wear a mask. "I think when you're in a hospital, especially in that particular setting where you're talking to a lot of soldiers and people that in some cases just got off the operating tables, I think it's a great thing to wear a mask," Trump told reporters. "I've never been against masks, but I do believe they have a time and a place." It was more than three months ago that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended people wear masks in public, but the president always said he was regularly tested so it was not necessary he wear one. PHOTO: President Donald Trump wears a mask as he walks down the hallway during his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Saturday, July 11, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP) The mask included the presidential seal. Face coverings are required at Walter Reed Medical Center, per its policy. "President Trump is at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to visit brave combat wounded service members and their families as well as healthcare staff who have been caring for COVID-19 patients during the pandemic," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. Trump did wear a mask at a behind-the-scenes tour of a Ford plant in late May, but not in front of the media, saying he "didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it." Trump has regularly come under criticism for not wearing a mask, including last week from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo: "He is enabling the virus. How did this become a political statement? ... I've been asking him to do it for weeks. Just wear the mask and say to the American people, 'This is real. And it's a problem.'" 5:16 p.m.: Texas sets new record for cases Texas set a new record of COVID-19 daily cases with 10,351 in the last 24 hours, according to the Department of State Health Services. Gov. Greg Abbott told local news outlets Friday he thinks the situation will only get worse and is willing to consider further restrictions if necessary. There have now been 250,462 cases to date. Of those, 119,470 are active, while an estimated 127,800 have recovered. In the Rio Grande Valley, an area especially hard hit, there are only four available ICU beds and 353 available hospitals beds, according to officials. The Rio Grande Valley has a population of about 1.3 million. The total death toll in Texas rose to 3,112, with 99 deaths reported since Friday -- four more than yesterday, but six shy of the daily record set Thursday. More than 2.7 million tests have been administered, with the positivity rate today of 15.81%. PHOTO: In this Friday, July 10, 2020 file photo, lab technicians work with COVID-19 testing sample at the UT Health RGV Clinical Lab on the UTRGV campus in Edinburg, Texas. (Denise Cathey/AP) 4:55 p.m.: Louisiana to mandate masks, close bars after rise in cases Louisiana will require the public to wear a mask when social distancing can't be observed, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced. When outside in close proximity to others, youre going to need to have your mask on. ... We know that face masks work," he said. The mandate comes a day after the state reported 75 new cases, its highest number to date. It will go into effect Monday after midnight. MORE: Faces of some of the more than 130,000 lives lost in US to coronavirus All bars without food permits will also be closed. Edwards said 36 outbreaks, which affected more than 500 people, were due to bars. Edwards added that these steps were not ones he wanted to take. However, he said, "We have no reason to believe that the numbers we reported today are going to get better over the next week." About a month ago there were 542 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. On Friday, there was a total of 1,182 confirmed cases. 4:41 p.m.: Wisconsin sets another case record Wisconsin has set a record for most daily cases for the second day in a row, according to its health department. The state reported 926 cases in the past day to bring the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 35,679. There were also seven more deaths in the state yesterday to bring the total to 821 since the start of the pandemic. 3:15 p.m.: Boston moves to phase 3 reopening Boston joined the rest of Massachusetts in moving to its phase 3 of reopening from COVID-19 lockdown, reported the Boston Globe. In phase 3, gyms, movie theaters, casinos and other activities are allowed to resume, with restrictions. As of Friday, the state's death toll reached 8,081 and the number of confirmed cases was 105,290. 932,796 people have been tested in Massachusetts. The state is offering free, no-symptoms required testing in its hardest-hit communities including Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Lawrence, Lynn, Lowell, Marlborough and New Bedford, the Boston Globe reported. 2:31 p.m.: DeSantis would like to see anything else 'in modern times' tested like Florida In a press conference Saturday, Florida Gov. DeSantis insisted his state is a leader in coronavirus testing. "Florida had more tests yesterday than the country as a whole did in March." He added that he'd like to see anything else "in modern times" tested like Florida is currently testing for coronavirus. Senate President Bill Galvano said Florida is "frankly better than most states in the union." PHOTO: The Kash & Karry Supermarket gift shop located near the Walt Disney World theme park is selling masks and hand sanitizers for customers on July 11, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images) The governor said the state reported 95,000 tests on Friday and that it was getting shipments of remdesivir, the anti-viral drug being used to fight COVID-19. New York Gov. Cuomo announced Friday that he was sending a shipment of the drug to Florida. "There are definitely areas where we think we may be seeing some declining positivity [rates] and some other areas where they're consistently 20%," DeSantis said. "We may be seeing some decline in this part of the Tampa Bay area," he said but said there's more positivity in Pasco County. "We have a much better idea now versus March about what the viruses likes versus doesn't like," DeSantis said. The governor said he's working with the White House to get more Lab Reagents in Florida. "The U.S. is testing more than any country by far and the lab resources are backed up." He said the state signed contracts with companies that could provide tests in 48 hours and said that's just not happening anywhere in the country. embed code: 1:41 p.m.: Arizona reports record high hospitalizations There are 3,485 people currently hospitalized in Arizona due to COVID-19, a record high, according to the state's Department of Health. There were 3,038 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 119,930, the department reported. There were also 69 deaths, pushing that sum to 2,151. PHOTO: A heath care worker has her blood drawn for an antibody test for COVID-19 at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, July 10, 2020. (Cheney Orr/Reuters) 1:19 p.m.: South Carolina sets new record of daily cases South Carolina set a new record of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 2,239, according to the state's Department of Health. The state's previous record was more than 1,800 cases. There are now 54,538 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 940 deaths in South Carolina, according to officials. The total number of individual test results reported to the Department of Health on Friday was 10,083, with 22.2% of those being positive. The department also confirmed the first pediatric death linked to COVID-19. 12:25 p.m.: North Carolina reports more hospitalizations, another daily increase in cases North Carolina set two somber records over the last 24 hours, with the state recording its highest number of hospitalizations and highest daily increase in cases to date. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,093 hospitalizations and 2,462 new cases Saturday. PHOTO: Medical personnel handle test samples at a community coronavirus testing site operated by Cone Health and the county Health Department in Burlington, N.C., July 9, 2020. (Gerry Broome/AP) "Record-high numbers like today are concerning," NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D., said in a statement. "We all have a responsibility to one another to wear a face covering, avoid crowds and wash our hands often to get our trends going back in the right direction." North Carolina has 83,793 confirmed cases from among more than 1.1 million tests. 11:23 a.m.: University reverses course, will be remote this fall West Chester University, one of Pennsylvania's largest state-owned universities, with 18,000 students, has reversed course and said it no longer plans to bring students back in the fall. Christopher Fiorentino, the university's president, said in a statement that learning will continue remotely through the fall semester. "WCU cannot ignore the potential danger of bringing thousands back to campus," Fiorentino said. Some classes will be taught in a hybrid format, meaning both in-person and remote learning for students with clinical placements, student teachers and certain internships, according to Fiorentino. Chester County, where WCU is located, is currently in the Green Phase of reopening, meaning that some of the university's public buildings -- a library, a recreation center, the student union -- will be open but limited to 50% capacity. "The University understands that students' lives have been turned upside down by a relentless pandemic that continues to sweep across the globe," Fiorentino said. "Our support for our WCU community will not waiver." 10:19 a.m.: New York hospitalizations drop below 800 for 1st time in four months New York recorded 799 COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last 24 hours, the lowest number since March 18, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The state also posted the lowest three-day average death toll since March 16, with six over the last 24 hours, Cuomo said in a statement. New York was among the hardest-hit states in the early stages of the pandemic, with New York City especially devastated. Cuomo applauded the good news, saying New Yorkers who practiced social distancing and wore masks "are central to our ability to slow the spread and save lives." However, Cuomo also urged people not to become complacent. "I urge residents to stay 'New York tough' and not give up the ground we've worked so hard to gain together, particularly in the face of rising cases throughout the country and compliance issues here at home," he said. 8:39 a.m.: Clusters of US soldiers test positive for COVID-19 in Japan A "few dozen" U.S. Marines stationed at two different bases in Okinawa, Japan, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to The Associated Press. After months of no confirmed coronavirus cases, the Marine Corps said it had two clusters of soldiers who tested positive for the virus this week, according to a statement from Marine Corps Installations Pacific. The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force on Okinawa prefecture have now re-imposed strict limits on personnel movements and activities after the new coronavirus cases appeared, according to an internal FEMA memo obtained by ABC News. Everyone who tested positive is in self-isolation and local commanders have initiated "soft shelter-in-place" orders for Camp Hansen and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. All orders are in place until further notice. Officials said cleaning the base and contact tracing are ongoing. "As we navigate the current environment we will continue to assess the situation and provide updates as frequently as permissible. We ask everyone to follow the social distancing and health protection measures to help us #KillTheVirus," Marine Corps Installations Pacific wrote on its Facebook page. 5:28 a.m.: Army medical task force heading to Houston as hospitals fill up Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced late Friday night that the United States Army is sending a medical task force to Houston to help with the city's COVID-19 battle. The additional resources, Abbott said, include an Urban Area Medical Task Force from the U.S. Department of Defense that will arrive on Monday and a Disaster Medical Assistance Team from U.S. Health and Human Services that has just been deployed. "Texas is grateful to the federal government as well as the President and Vice President for working swiftly to provide additional resources to the state as we work to mitigate COVID-19 and care for our fellow Texans," Abbott said in a statement Friday. "We will continue to work with our local and federal partners to ensure all resources and needs are met throughout the state." Houston has seen a significant rise in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, which caused many public health officials and hospitals to issue warnings that ICU bed availability is running low. Houston's Texas Medical Center is at 105% capacity. The city reported 670 new diagnosed COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing Houston's total to at least 26,682. The coronavirus death toll for the city increased by nine to 259. Numbers are just as jarring throughout the Lone Star State. Texas' statewide COVID-19 death toll reached a single-day high of 105 Friday. The state had a 15.56% positivity test rate, according to an internal Federal Emergency Management Agency memo obtained by ABC News. Nearly 14% of all new U.S. coronavirus cases in the past seven days have been identified in Texas, the memo said. The rise in cases also led to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to cancel the in-person Republican Party convention in the city, prompting a lawsuit by the state GOP. What to know about coronavirus: How it started and how to protect yourself: Coronavirus explained What to do if you have symptoms: Coronavirus symptoms Tracking the spread in the U.S. and worldwide: Coronavirus map PHOTO: A specimen is secured at a drive-thru coronavirus testing site at South Mountain Community College, July 9, 2020, in Phoenix. (Ross D. Franklin/AP) ABC News' Elizabeth Thomas, Josh Margolin, Scott Withers, Joshua Hoyos, Jason Volack, Chris Donovan and Gina Sunseri contributed to this report. Trump wears mask in public for 1st time on visit to Walter Reed originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A key witness has sensationally revealed he saw a body that 'looked like jelly' being bundled into a car, who may have been murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio. Mr Falconio's body has never been found after he went missing in the dead of night on a lonely Northern Territory highway in July 2001, while on holidays with his British girlfriend Joanne Lees. Truck driver Vince Millar, who rescued Ms Lees from the Stuart Highway, has revealed a shocking new detail about what he saw which throws doubt on the outback murder mystery. Joanne Lees (left) and partner Peter Falconio (right). The pair were driving an orange Kombi van on the Stuart Highway to the Devil's Marbles in July 2001 when they were ambushed L-R: Barrow Creek publican Les Pilton, truck driver Vince Millar, and co-driver Rodney Adams arrive at the NT Supreme Court in Darwin to give evidence in 2005 at the trial of Bradley John Murdoch. Mr Millar (centre) has now revealed he saw a 'jelly man' being bundled into a car The road-train driven by Mr Millar the night he rescued Joanne Lees on the Stuart Highway. Joanne Lees jumped out in front of the truck in a desperate attempt to be rescued, forcing Mr Millar to swerve and then stop Before Ms Lees jumped out at his truck with her hands tied, Mr Millar had been driving his road train up the Stuart Highway. As he was driving near Barrow Creek, about 280km north of Alice Springs, Mr Millar said he saw headlights circling and flashing on and off. In explosive new details revealed on the four-part documentary, Murder in the Outback: The Falconio and Lees Mystery, Mr Millar said he slowed his vehicle and saw something extraordinary. Mr Millar revealed he saw a red car on the side of the highway with two men standing beside it. Slowing to give assistance if needed, he saw the men bundling a man who looked 'like jelly' into the car. 'There was something they didn't want me to see. I am pretty sure that guy in the middle very well could have been Peter Falconio,' Mr Millar says on the documentary made by Britain's Channel 4 which screens in Australia on Sunday. Pictured: Peter Falconio with his girlfriend Joanne Lees before they were ambushed on a lonely Northern Territory highway in the dead of night on July 14, 2001 Vincent James, stepfather of Joanne Lees, pictured in Alice Springs in 2001. Mr James now thinks Bradley John Murdoch is innocent of killing Peter Falconio after watching the TV series Mr Millar said it was right after this encounter that Ms Lees leapt from the verge where she had been hiding in bushes, in a desperate bid to be rescued. Police took Mr Millar's statement after he had rescued Joanne Lees and driven back to Barrow Creek. However, in the documentary he said police lost the first two pages he had written just before the trial and asked him to sign a replacement two pages that did not mention the little red car. Disturbingly, he said he hadn't wanted to sign the new version but felt pressured to. It has been almost 20 years since the killing of backpacker Peter Falconio. Bradley John Murdoch was convicted in a 2005 jury trial of his murder. Mr Falconio, 28, and Ms Lees, 27, had been driving their orange Kombi van up the Stuart Highway heading for the Devil's Marbles on the night of July 14, 2001. The pair felt they were being followed after passing a Barrow Creek roadhouse. L-R: Mr Falconio's father Luciano, his brother Paul Falconio and Ms Lees' stepfather Vincent James attend a press conference in 2001. Mr James has said he believes the man convicted of killing the 28-year-old backpacker is innocent Bradley John Murdoch (pictured) was found guilty in 2005 of the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio after his DNA was found on Joanne Lees' clothing 'I think he's innocent': Joanne Lees' stepfather in stunning turnaround Vincent James, stepfather of British backpacker Joanne Lees, now believes Australian killer Bradley John Murdoch is innocent of killing Peter Falconio - after watching a controversial documentary on TV. 'At the time when I was there I thought he was guilty but now I don't,' he told NewsCorp from his home in Huddersfield, UK. It is a sensational turn-around in the outback mystery. Mr Falconio's body has never been found but Mr Murdoch was convicted in a jury trial after his DNA was found on Ms Lee's clothing. Mr James said he had changed his mind after seeing the four-part documentary Murder in the Outback: The Falconio and Lees Mystery. The television program aired in Britain last month and begins on Seven this Sunday. In it, experts raise questions about the DNA evidence and the small amount of Falconios blood at the scene. Advertisement When a white Toyota ute pulled up alongside, the driver gestured to them to pull over, claiming he had seen sparks from the back of their van. Then they were ambushed. Ms Lees said she heard a bang, possibly a gunshot, after Mr Falconio got out of the van. Ms Lees was punched and bound at gunpoint with cable ties. When her attacker was distracted she made a run for it, hiding in the scrub for hours as the gunman searched for her. With her hands tied above her head, she leapt out in front of Vincent Millar's road train in a desperate attempt at rescue. Mr Millar swerved to avoid her then stopped and took her to safety. Pictured: Peter Falconio with his girlfriend Joanne Lees. Bradley John Murdoch was convicted of murdering Mr Falconio, 28, and assaulting Ms Lees, then 27, on a remote stretch of highway in outback Northern Territory in 2001 Bradley John Murdoch, a mechanic from Broome in northwest Australia, pleaded not guilty to the outback murder and has maintained his innocence despite being convicted in 2005 after his DNA was found on Ms Lees' T-shirt. He went on the run when he first became a suspect in the case but was caught in South Australia. Murdoch, now 62, is believed to have hidden Mr Falconio's body, which has never been found despite extensive searches. Murdoch was sentenced to life in jail with a minimum of 28 years to serve. Last year, Murdoch was diagnosed with cancer, triggering a last-ditch attempt from police to elicit a confession in exchange for moving him to a prison closer to his family. His earliest release date is 2032 however the Northern Territory passed a 'no body, no parole' law in 2016 preventing him from being released on parole unless he reveals where Mr Falconio's body is. Murdoch has unsuccessfully appealed his case and exhausted all avenues of appeal. Bradley John Murdoch, 62, surrounded by police as he arrives at Darwin airport following his arrest in 2003. He now has cancer and will not have any chance of parole unless he reveals where Peter Falconio's body is In June's episode of Murder in the Outback, a disgraced former defence lawyer aired a shocking claim from one of Peter's friends who said the backpacker was 'capable of faking his own death and committing life insurance fraud'. Police in Australia have rejected suggestions Mr Falconio faked his own death. The lawyer, Andrew Fraser, who was convicted in 2001 over cocaine importation, said a person claiming to be a friend of Mr Falconio's suggested he had committed life insurance fraud. He told the cameras: 'One such theory that came to our attention is that Peter Falconio may have faked his own disappearance. Murder in the Outback: The Falconio and Lees Mystery screens on Channel Seven at 7pm on Sunday BSP MP Kunwar Danish Ali on Saturday suggested that Uttar Pradesh be divided into smaller states for better governance and overall development of the region. The Mayawati-led BSP government in 2011 had passed a proposal in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly to divide the state into four parts -- Bundelkhand, Purvanchal, Awadh Pradesh and Paschim Pradesh. The proposal was later sent to the then Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. "Proposal for division was passed by Uttar Pradesh Assembly during BSP government under Behn Mayawati ji was sent to government of India. Let BJP governments at centre and Uttar Pradesh takes call on it (sic)," Danish Ali tweeted. Danish Ali, who is an MP from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, said people of western UP will be happier and more comfortable with this division. He said the division of the state into smaller parts will help in better governance and overall development of the region. Meanwhile, he has urged Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to intensify the search operation to find Indian Engineering Services (IES) officer Subhan Ali missing since June 22 in Ladakh. The vehicle in which Subhan Ali was travelling fell into a deep gorge and was swept away in the Drass river, he said. There is no data, board member Gina Harris said. Theyve been in the building for 20 years. Im highly concerned about that. This is not a new subject. There may have not been formal complaints filed against the SROs, but repeatedly students have come to us and said they feel threatened, intimidated, targeted and policed. That is not a new statement. Im highly concerned weve had someone in the building for 20 years and we dont have any data on how they fall into our code of conduct. A mother-of-two has revealed how she's made 7,000 a month in lockdown by printing companies logos on face masks. Dani Turner, 31, from Yateley in Hampshire, was working two or three days a week before the Covid-19 pandemic, taking home around a 1,000 a month as a freelance graphic designer. But when the pandemic hit she saw a chance to pick up some extra cash working from home, and increased her monthly income sevenfold, while looking after her three-year-old daughter Mila and 10-month-old Paige. She told FEMAIL: 'I noticed everyone was wearing surgical masks when I was in the supermarket. I thought how scary they looked and clinical. Dani Turner, 31, from Yateley in Hampshire, was working two or three days a week before the Covid-19 pandemic, taking home around a 1,000 a month as a freelance graphic designer. She set up DCT designs and is taking home 7,000 a month by making masks for businesses (pictured in one of her designs) The mother-of-two has revealed has now worked with estate agents, hairdressers and make-up artists. Pictured are hairdressers wearing masks branded with their salon's logo 'I also thought about what would happen to the demand for masks if they were to become a part of everyday life. Would the NHS have enough? 'I thought about how masks could be the new normal, perhaps a uniform staple for companies. It was from there Dani came up with the idea to print logos onto company masks, and soon was taking home 7,000 a month, charging 56 for a pack of four reusable masks. 'I have to work around my daughters and work really late nights when they are asleep. I have toys in my spare bedroom set up as my office as a little place for them to play while I work. I pray for naps in the day!' Dani said she got the idea when she realised masks were going to be 'the new normal' and 'a uniform staple for companies'. It was from there Dani came up with the idea to print logos onto company masks, and soon was taking home 7,000 a month, by charging 56 for a pack of four reusable masks When the pandemic hit Dani (pictured) saw a chance to pick up some extra cash working from home, and increased her monthly take home seven-fold while looking after her three-year-old daughter Mila and 10-month-old Paige. The designer has since worked with Hun Wines, a canned wine brand that's a favourite of Amanda Holden. Pictured are Hun Wines employees wearing the masks Dani said she started the designs because she saw the chance for companies to advertise their brand and protect their employers at the same time. She realised it would be a way to 'slow the spread of Covid-19 and to support the NHS by sourcing their own face coverings instead of using surgical masks'. 'All companies advertise,' she said. 'This was a way they could do it free of charge protecting their employees, and those around them, walking around and travelling and at the same time being less intimidating to the clientele. 'I can make the mask any colour with any logo. So each mask can completely match a company's branding. Dani says she can match the exact hue of the company's logo and print on a design of their choice. Pictured is a Beauty Emporium employee wearing a mask The designer has since worked with Hun Wines, a canned wine brand that's a favourite of Amanda Holden, and Make Up By Carmen, a beautician who works with celebrities including Meghan Barton-Hanson. 'I have made masks for estate agents, personal trainers, hairdressers, make-up artists, receptionists, plumbers, electricians and restaurants,' she said. 'I wanted to provide masks that were good quality/comfortable and that lasted.' Dani added that she was worried at the start of the pandemic, but her business idea quickly saw her luck turn around. Dani said: 'I have made masks for estate agents, personal trainers, hairdressers, make up artists, receptionists, plumbers, electricians and restaurants. Pictured beauty salon employees wearing the mask 'In the beginning, because my partner and I are both self-employed with no holiday or sick pay and two small children not in school, we had no idea how we were going to pay our mortgage, bills, and do the food shop. 'My partner works on a building site which was closed due to Covid. I had no design work coming in and we did start to panic. 'I had to think of a way to change the way I worked to adapt to what was going on around us. 'I started off just selling them to friends who owned salons and as they received their masks, they put them on Instagram,' Dani added. Adam Pigott, an estate agent said that he 'couldn't resist a bit of branding' and bought masks from Dani 'Then it spiralled from there, with more and more orders coming in. Some single orders, some in the hundreds. I targeted larger companies with established branding with lots of employees. 'Some celeb make-up artists contacted me and they also posted on their Instagram accounts with large followings, so that really did help. More and more orders kept coming in. 'I have had to get a friend to help me with my invoicing and accounts to keep up with the order process.' Dani said at the moment she just has her friend Daniela Meluzzi working as virtual business PA for her. 'I have had to get really organised with the amounts of orders coming in, so I design to make the masks look great with a company's branding, logos and colours, and Daniela streamlines the order process. Dani added that she was worried at the start of the pandemic, but her business idea quickly saw her luck turn around. Pictured are two clients wearing her personalised logo masks Do you believe in thought crime? In picking people off, one by one, till everybody agrees with just a single point of view? Each week, we see this world come a little closer. Many of the victims are famous. But people who are not remotely well known are writing to me every week to say that they, too, now fear for their livelihoods. Still more are keeping their heads down, fearing what will happen if they dare to speak out against the dogmas of the time and the new totalitarians who promote them. Killing Eve actress Jodie Comer is pictured with new boyfriend James Burke. Mr Burke is alleged to be a registered Republican and a Donald Trump supporter. Cue an internet meltdown and a demand by activists that Comer be prevented from working again. Its ludicrous Theres been a steadily rising tide of conformity in recent years. Increasingly, we have been told what we are allowed to say, hear, see and know. Swarming over the internet, the Left-wing mob is waging a campaign to silence dissenting voices and get free-thinking people removed from their jobs. And they have succeeded. Now the wokerati want to enter the bedroom and say who we may sleep with, too. Take last weeks attempt to cancel the Killing Eve actress Jodie Comer. Her crime? Nothing she has said or thought. Instead, the online trolls had been enraged to discovered who she is dating. The supposed culprit is an American lacrosse player called James Burke. Daly competes in the full-blooded series run by Nascar the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing which is much-loved in the southern USA. Yet consider this: Daly was not alive at the time of the alleged offence. How had he mis-spoken before hed even been born? The answer is he hadnt. Daly lost his sponsorship because his racing driver father was alleged to have made a racial slur three decades earlier. The pair are pictured above His crime? Mr Burke is alleged to be a registered Republican and a Donald Trump supporter. Cue an internet meltdown and a demand by activists that Comer be prevented from working again. Its ludicrous. How can anyone demand that we restrict ourselves to partners who are in 100 per cent ideological alignment with the views of a Left-wing sect? The bullying of inoffensive Jodie Comer might be a new low, but Ive seen it coming for some time. Two years ago, a 26-year-old racing driver called Conor Daly lost his sponsors because of something said in the 1980s. Daly competes in the full-blooded series run by Nascar the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing which is much-loved in the southern USA. Yet consider this: Daly was not alive at the time of the alleged offence. How had he mis-spoken before hed even been born? The answer is he hadnt. Daly lost his sponsorship because his racing driver father was alleged to have made a racial slur three decades earlier. And there was no reprieve. This totalitarian instinct has crept up on us with amazing ease. It is the product of a vindictive Leftism which used only to reside on certain US university campuses. Yet today, boosted hugely by the internet, this half-baked ideology, tribal and dogmatic, obsessed with the language of racial, sexual and gender politics, is running riot. All decent attitudes, not least the British idea of fair play, have been driven out. It is perfectly normal to have a point of view and argue it. It is perfectly fine to dislike and even disdain some ideas. Who doesnt? But no one has the right to get people fired or made unemployable because of views that differ from their own, let alone because of their partners views. That is neither democratic nor acceptable. It is fascism. Red fascism, but fascism all the same. It is important we face up to this. Extremism can occur on all political sides. Every political and religious movement can become a focus for bitter people and radical malcontents. But in our age, the bullying totalitarians come from an ever-more assertive political Left. Take last weeks letter to Harpers magazine, signed by 153 artists, writers, and scholars. The letter called for an end to cancel culture which sees online mobs trying to intimidate and de-platform people simply because of their views. As it happens, the letter was Left-leaning, including the compulsory attack on President Trump. The signatories, likewise, were almost all from the Left, suggesting little interest in reaching across the aisle. But the sentiments were hard to disagree with or so you might have thought. The luminaries named at the bottom of the letter were picked off one by one. Did they know they were signing their name alongside the appalling transphobe J. K. Rowling? Did they know a solitary conservative, George W Bushs former speechwriter, David Frum, had signed the letter? Soon enough, some signatories were apologising for signing in the first place. At a certain stage of growing up, most of us come to understand that worldwide agreement with our own set of personally held views is not achievable, even if it were desirable. Which it isnt. Today, however, we are dealing with an army of overgrown babies who never did make that realisation. They never did learn that the world is diverse in its opinions. At university, they were told something positively dangerous: that people who disagree with them are not merely wrong, not merely ignorant, they are ill-informed bigots. And that, in order to achieve justice, these people must be cleared out of the way. At one stage the female comedian declared 'free speech is now basically a way adult people can say racist stuff without any consequences'. There was no hint of irony. Wrong-headed certainty like this is ruining comedy like much else, as Ricky Gervais (above) said just a few days ago The world these activists are creating is vengeful and vicious, and increasingly dull. Last week, a clip from a recent BBC comedy show, The Mash Report, was posted online. Even for those of us who long ago gave up bothering trying to find anything funny on the BBC, it was jaw-droppingly awful. It included a segment of two unfunny comedians agreeing with each other in an unfunny manner. At one stage the female comedian declared free speech is now basically a way adult people can say racist stuff without any consequences. There was no hint of irony. Wrong-headed certainty like this is ruining comedy like much else, as Ricky Gervais said just a few days ago. Who would dare to make a dangerous joke today? Much safer to make political sermons on the BBC under the guise of humour. Some people especially if they are white and male think the best way to get through this madness is to shut their eyes and swear allegiance to the big lies and presumptions of the time. They have seen how the mob comes for anyone who says something controversial. Today, charities, public sector bodies and whole corporations are increasingly filled with people who have been told what to say and what to believe. Some have been told by their bosses what books they should read a sinister development. Last month I received a leaked letter sent out by an NHS boss in Birmingham. She had told those working under her to read four books on white privilege so they could correct their attitudes. This is wrong, and people should stand against it while we have the chance. The woke warriors might like it were we to live in a dictatorship run by them. But we dont not yet, at any rate. We live in a democracy. One in which people have the right to voice their opinions and still have the right to date free-minded individuals who disagree with the mob. The bullies want to stop the rest of us talking or thinking. Its time the rest of us answered back. The developer building the National Children's Hospital has confirmed it will resume work on the site on Monday. BAM confirmed in a statement last night it intends to resume works on the site of the 1.7bn hospital project following "robust" communication with the hospital's development board. A BAM spokesman said: "BAM has confirmed to the hospital board that it intends to resume works on site from Monday next. Safety "It does this in good faith, following robust communication with the board and in the interest of completing the project as quickly and economically as possible." It said work will recommence with the safety of all stakeholders as the top priority and with full implementation of the Government's mandatory Covid-19 restrictions. "We look forward to a successful resumption and getting this vital project moving, notwithstanding all of the challenges that are not of our making". It comes after Taoiseach Micheal Martin expressed his anger over the stalling of work on the new NCH. Mr Martin demanded that builders be returned to the site, after work on the NCH paused. He branded the situation as "unacceptable" and said: "I'm angry about this and I think they should get back on the site." Mr Martin added he's "fed up of claim and counterclaim", and said: "The children of Ireland deserve better than this." A massive dispute arose over who should pay for the extra costs of reopening the site after the coronavirus lock-down, as well as the cost of new safety measures needed due to the pandemic. BAM, had said it was "anxious" to get back on site but claimed it has been excluded from payments the State has been making to builders on other public sites. The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) had told BAM it expects workers back on site without further delay and for the costs issue to be resolved through the agreed dispute management process while work on site continues. RTE reported last night the NPHDB was preparing to take legal action if work doesn't resume by next week. It's understood BAM resumed work on other projects, including the Children's Hospital satellite site at Tallaght. In an earlier statement the company insisted BAM and its subcontractors were "most anxious" to proceed with the "vital works" on the main NCH at the St James's Hospital site "as expeditiously and economically as possible within the new mandatory Covid-19 requirements". It said: "The consequences of these public health restrictions are significant delays which will continue until there is a vaccine widely available, as well as additional costs on a once-off and ongoing basis." BAM said the Government has recognised this by confirming it will make ex-gratia payments to contractors on public works contracts elsewhere. Major concerns have been raised over an apparent growth in popularity of the recreational use of laughing gas or 'hippy crack' as it is known, after several used cannisters of the drug were discovered discarded on Arklow's South Beach by members of the public. Local Fianna Fail councillor Pat Fitzgerald has expressed 'major concerns' over the discovery and has vowed to write to his party colleague and the new Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly expressing his consternation at how freely available the potentially deadly substance can be, with users able to buy cannisters online to be delivered to their door. The drug - nitrous oxide or laughing gas - is not an illegal substance and can be inhaled to get a high. Also known as 'whippets', the pressurised gas cannisters, which are commonly used in the medical field, particularly dentistry, and commercial industry, can be ordered for as little as 20 for ten cannisters, including delivery. The gas is often inhaled through balloons and when used in large quantities can cause the user to faint or pass out. 'This is the first time I've come across this and I would have major concerns about it,' said Cllr Fitzgerald. 'Around 20 empties were discovered by a member of the public on South Beach. People can legally have this stuff delivered to their doors, but the negative impact it can have on your health is huge. I intend to discuss the matter further with the gardai, but as it's a legal substance, there's very little they can do in law.' 'I'm also going to get in touch with the Minister for Health to express my concerns over how people can legally order this stuff over the internet.' While users report that 'hippy crack' can cause feelings of euphoria and fits of giggles, there have also been reports of hallucinations, severe headaches and dizziness, with prolonged use reportedly leading to paranoia and users not being able to think straight. Like with any substance, it also carries a risk when mixed with any other drugs such as alcohol. Heavy use of Nitrous Oxide can cause nerve damage and increased risk of falling unconscious or suffocating. In Dublin, the use of nitrous oxide was suspected as being a factor in the death of teenager Alex Ryan-Morrissey, who passed away in Crumlin Children's Hospital after being found slumped over a wall in May. 'I don't know who it was that was doing this down on South Beach,' Cllr Fitzgerald said. 'You'd assume it's youngsters, but you don't want to stigmatise them either. Whoever it was, I'd urge them to read up on the dangers of what they're doing and have a think about it.' A group of presidents belonging to the Patriot League on Friday announced their opposition to the federal governments new rules restricting access and opportunities for international students attending colleges and universities in the United States. We join colleagues across the League and throughout higher education in stating our strong opposition to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements newly announced immigration restrictions for students with F-1 and M-1 visas at schools planning to take all their classes online in the fall, they said in a press release. While many of our institutions are planning to offer in-person classes for the fall semester, the national situation related to COVID-19 makes this an uncertain time that could result in changes at any one of our institutions. This is even more apparent in recent days as COVID-19 infection rates have soared in many states. Guidelines issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday said that international students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall. Under the updated rules, international students must take at least some of their classes in person. New visas will not be issued to students at schools or programs that are entirely online. And even at colleges offering a mix of in-person and online courses this fall, international students will be barred from taking all their classes online. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a lawsuit this week to block the decision, and California became the first state to seek an injunction against enforcing the new visa policy. Shame on the Trump Administration for risking not only the education opportunities for students who earned the chance to go to college but now their health and well-being as well, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Thursday. The Patriot League presidents, minus those representing the U.S Military Academy and U.S. Naval Academy, said Friday that the decision announced by immigration officials creates an unnecessary, and potentially dangerous situation in which schools and their international students will face undue hardship should a college be forced to transition to remote learning. They added: Given the unpredictable nature of this pandemic, and the health risks of COVID-19, the federal government should be working to help colleges and universities increase access to higher education, rather than making difficult public health decisions play out as punitive measures. We are also opposed to President Trumps Executive Order suspending the H-1B visa program. This move also hampers our collective ability to hire the most qualified faculty who are dedicated to educating the next generation of leaders from around the world. Each of our schools rely on the presence of international students on our campuses to help foster a spirit of global citizenry, and to encourage all students to learn and live in a place that offers rich multicultural communities and global perspectives. They said in the release that it is critical for the federal government to support that work, which has led to the U.S. being one of the most attractive destinations for higher education in the world. We are committed to supporting legal and lobbying efforts to oppose this damaging and irresponsible policy, including the recently announced Harvard and MIT lawsuit, as well as to fully supporting the international students and faculty on our campuses. The group included Sylvia Burwell, American University; Robert A. Brown, Boston University; John Bravman, Bucknell University; Brian W. Casey, Colgate University; Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., College of the Holy Cross; Alison Byerly, Lafayette College; John Simon, Lehigh University; and Brian Linnane, S.J., Loyola University Maryland. The fields of Haldimand-Norfolk could use a drink. The way this year has gone, so could the farmers. A late frost gave way to heat waves in June and July. Add in the lack of available farm labour due to the pandemic and farmers are faced with smaller yields and shorter harvests. It has been an adventure this year, said Sharon Judd, who grows strawberries at Meadow Lynn Farms in Simcoe. A normal pick-your-own season at Meadow Lynn lasts 30 to 32 days. But the recent heat caused the berries to ripen more quickly, and then, as the mercury kept rising, fried the plants. The berry season has come crashing to a halt. The weather this weekend has cooked them in the field, Judd said on Monday, announcing the end of pick-your-own operations after just 18 days. At Heritage Lane Produce in Langton, Greg Boyd said the June heat wave kinda screwed things up for his spring vegetable crops, shortening the harvest by two weeks. Its the combination of persistent heat and dryness, Boyd said. Our spring crops spinach, lettuce, peas theyve really been hit hard. While losing about 15 per cent of his total harvest is not a significant amount, it has meant some shortages at Boyds table at the Simcoe Farmers Market. The lettuce goes bitter, the spinach doesnt germinate, he said. They eventually dry up. Unlike his burnt-up spinach, summer crops like broccoli, squash, beans and potatoes welcome the heat. As a bonus, Boyd said, the sunshine kills pests and suppresses weeds, further aiding the crops. Dealing with temperature swings, even the current mild drought, is old hat to farmers. Boyd said anyone in the vegetable business has an irrigation system in place to cope with excess heat and ensure a marketable crop. The biggest thing is the moisture keeping up with irrigation. If you dont have adequate irrigation capacity, youre not going to do well, he said. Grain crops feeling the heat For grain farmers, the rising temperatures mean rising anxiety. Theyre going to be crying for rain, Boyd said. The corn crop is going to suffer. Its been too hot and too dry for too long. Norfolk farmers have an advantage since the countys sandy soil can more quickly rejuvenate after a rainfall than the heavy clay soil found in neighbouring Haldimand. When that clay does dry out, it basically turns into concrete, Boyd said. Thats the challenge for grain farmers like Aaron McQueen, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat on 130 acres in Fisherville. Weve long ago run out of moisture, McQueen said. This year, doesnt matter what kind of soil you have, youre dry. As the soil dries out, it shrinks and eventually cracks, which can sever the crops root systems. McQueen said he could stick his hand down a 10-inch crack he found while recently inspecting his land. Thats an issue, he said. You wont see corn plants toppling over tomorrow, but it definitely impedes growth. With a few exceptions such as Snyders Sweet Corn, a major commercial operation in Caledonia, grain crops in Haldimand arent irrigated because of lack of access to water and the prohibitive cost of installing an irrigation system to support crops with small economic margins. Adding water to clay soil, which acts like a sponge and holds moisture near the surface rather than having it permeate quickly, is also risky, since a subsequent rainfall could leave the land waterlogged. The concern right now is specifically corn, McQueen said. Without rain in the next two to three weeks, theres going to be a significant yield loss. Soybeans, which need moisture when they flower in August, have a better chance at survival, but McQueen said some soybean fields are already in bad shape because the early June heat wave coincided with planting season. The scorching June temperatures also didnt do Haldimands wheat crops any favours. Throughout the month, some wheat fields lost 10 per cent of their potential yield or 10 bushels each week because of the heat. Harvest started on Tuesday, and McQueen isnt encouraged. Were actually extremely disappointed in the wheat, he said. Some fields are 40 per cent lower than expected. The quality also isnt amazing. The parched grain is lighter, which means a lower price at the processor and potentially a negative effect on the quality of products like flour. Definitely isnt a positive, McQueen said. No matter what they grow, every farmer in Haldimand-Norfolk has their fingers crossed that the forecasted rain this weekend turns up. Im hoping it rains a lot, Boyd said. But well take anything. METEGHAN, N.S.RCMP in Nova Scotia say they have laid more than a dozen charges related to a shooting that damaged several vehicles and a home. Meteghan RCMP say the 13 charges stem from a June 29 police report of a man shooting at vehicles from his front porch as they drove past on Highway 1. Police say eight people reported their vehicles had been damaged. One persons home was also damaged. A man from Meteghan River, N.S., has been charged with eight counts of mischief under $5,000, and a number of charges related to the possession and use of firearms. The investigation is ongoing. Read more about: The ruling party, in power since independence in 1965, secured 61.24 per cent of the total votes cast in the election Singapore's Prime Minister and secretary-general of the ruling People's Action Party Lee Hsien Loong (C) and his wife Ho Ching (R) leave the party's office after delivering the speech live on facebook to citizens during the counting of votes of the general election in Singapore, in the early hours of July 11, 2020. (AFP) Singapore: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has secured a clear mandate with his ruling People's Action Party (PAP) winning 83 of the 93 contested parliamentary seats in the general election held amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Opposition gaining ground by winning a record 10 seats. The ruling party, in power since independence in 1965, secured 61.24 per cent of the total votes cast in the election, down from 69.9 per cent in 2015. About 2.6 million Singaporeans voted on Friday. "We have a clear mandate, but the percentage of the popular vote is not as high as I had hoped for," 68-year old Lee told a PAP's post-results press conference on Saturday morning. The opposition Workers' Party secured 10 seats and defeated a team in the Group Representation Constituency of Sengkang led by former Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Ng Chee Meng who is also the Secretary-General of the power National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). The Prime Minister assured it is "only right" that Workers' Party's Indian-origin secretary-general Pritam Singh be formally designated as the Leader of the Opposition, and that he will be provided with appropriate staff support and resources to perform his duties. Lee took the results in these circumstances as an endorsement of the party's policies and plans as he had called the elections amidst COVID-19 pandemic. "We'll take this forward and work with Singapore to realise those plans and solve the problems which we have," Channel News Asia quoted the premier as saying. Lee, who leads the PAP as secretary-general, said, "Singaporeans understand what's at stake and why we must come together to uphold our national interests." He pledged to use this mandate "responsibly" to deal with the COVID-19 situation and economic downturn, to take Singapore "safely through the crisis and beyond". "The results reflect the pain and uncertainty that Singaporeans feel in this crisis, the loss of income, the anxiety about jobs, the disruption caused by the circuit breaker and the safe distancing restrictions," he said. "This was not a feel-good election," said Lee, Singapore's third prime minister who faces the city state's worst recession with economy projected to shrink between 7 and 4 per cent. Lee acknowledged that the result also showed a "clear desire" for a diversity of voices in Parliament. "Singaporeans want the PAP to form the government, but they, and especially the younger voters, also want to see more opposition presence in parliament," he noted. Lee added that he looks forward to the participation and contribution of the Opposition in parliament. Singh, whose Workers' Party team retained Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), will have 10 elected MPs now, up from six previously. His fellow member also retained the Hougang single member constituency seat. "Whether it works out and whether it's seen as a strengthening of Singapore will depend not only on what the PAP does, but also on what the Opposition does because the Opposition now has 10 MPs elected from constituencies," said Lee. He assured that the ruling party will listen to Singaporeans and do its best to address their concerns, and "try to win" their support, whether or not they voted for the PAP. When asked by the media if the party had lost the youth vote, he noted that different generations have different life experiences, and the young have significantly different life aspirations and priorities compared to the older generations. "That'll have to be reflected in our political process and in the government's policies, because in the end, the government's policies must be to achieve the aspirations of every generation of Singaporeans," Lee said, assuring Singaporeans. He hoped that the new generations of Singaporeans look critically, but with an open mind at what previous generations have done, examine what's relevant and what continues to make sense to them in a new environment and learn from these experiences hard-won by their parents and grandparents. "This is so that they do not have to learn them all over again and pay a high price which has already been paid." Lee added that he was, naturally, disappointed at the loss of the newly formed Sengkang GRC, which the Workers' Party won with 52.13 per cent of the valid votes. "Ng Chee Meng and his team -- Lam Pin Min, Amrin Amin and Raymond Lye -- always knew it was going to be a tough fight," he said. "They gave it their all, but Sengkang voters have spoken, and we respect their decision." Lee described it as a major loss to my team and to the fourth-generation leaders, especially as Ng is the secretary-general of the Labour Movement, the NTUC. Singh, 43, told a press conference following the results that his team would continue to endeavor for good outcomes on the ground and to represent voters faithfully in parliament. "Today's results are positive, but we have to hit the ground running. We should not get over our head with the results. There's much work to do. And I can assure you this Workers' Party team is committed to serve Singapore," he stressed. The PAP contested all 93 seat and the Workers' Party 21 seats. Nine other political parties also contested the elections. A total of 192 candidates contested for seats through 17 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). Pepsi's (NASDAQ:PEP) status as a bedrock beverage and snack food seller usually makes it a favorite stock for investors during tough economic times. But its shares have underperformed so far in 2020, along with those of rival Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drinking occasions for brands like Pepsi and Gatorade have plummeted due to the postponement of sporting events, concerts, and most other large social gatherings. That sets up a potentially painful earnings report from the company later this month. Yet shareholders are also due to receive some positive updates in areas like direct cash returns on July 13, when Pepsi announces its results and looks ahead to the second half of fiscal 2020. Let's take a closer look. The spring selling months Pepsi's last announcement showed strong growth, with organic sales jumping 8% as core earnings expanded 10%. That report covered only through mid-March, though, and so it captured almost none of the social distancing efforts that clamped down on the U.S. economy at that time. Coca-Cola's report included an additional week of demand data, and those results might be more useful for investors. The soda giant said sales volumes dove 25% during the first few weeks of April as consumers stayed closer to home. Pepsi might see a similarly sharp drop in its beverage business in markets like the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. Its snack segment should pick up some of the slack thanks to soaring demand for home food products at grocery stores and convenience shops. Overall, investors are expecting sales to fall by just around 6% to $15.4 billion in the fiscal second quarter. Still, consumer demand changed rapidly with each week during March, April, and May, and so Pepsi's actual results could differ materially from that projection. Cash flow CEO Ramon Laguarta and his team in late April sounded a confident tone about Pepsi's cash position, and this upcoming report is their chance to add support for those comments. The company affirmed its plan to return as much as $7.5 billion to shareholders in 2020 through a mix of stock buybacks and dividend payments. Investors will see if that goal is still achievable by following metrics like operating cash flow. Pepsi had plenty of cash heading into the quarter, mainly thanks to an extra $6.4 billion of long-term debt that pushed holdings up to $11.3 billion from $5.3 billion a year ago. Ideally the company can show that it won't need more debt to keep its operations humming and that it is quickly returning to its cash-positive growth position. Second-half projections The odds are good that Pepsi will decline to offer a detailed operating projection for the rest of 2020. Demand will depend on unpredictable variables like global economic growth rates and the path of further COVID-19 outbreaks. But investors will still hang on Laguarta's comments about how shoppers are behaving as parts of the U.S. economy reopen and the COVID-19 threat lessens in places including Europe and China. Heading into the report, most investors are hedging their bets and predicting that 2020 sales will be flat or slightly lower compared to a 4.5% spike in 2019. Pepsi's discussion of the latest snack and beverage demand trends could move that number significantly in either direction on Monday. County School Board members said an unexpected price jump from developers for the Sears portion of Northgate Mall as a school site put a damper on the "out of the box" idea. At a facilities committee meeting on Saturday, board members were told developers Bassam Issa and John Woods said they had paid $3.5 million for the Sears section, but that other expenses had moved the overall asking price to $6.4 million. Justin Robertson, county schools chief operating officer, said the developers said add-on costs included having to buy a 20 percent interest from CBL & Associates that brought their costs to $4,375,000. They said there were also $300,000 in closing and interest expenses and $650,000 to secure all the parking rights for the section near the old Sears. Their total became $5,325,000, and they built in a profit of around $1.1 million to get to the $6.4 million, it was stated. The amount does not include the Penneys section of the mall. Board member Karitsa Mosley Jones said, "I was excited at first - CSLA being a non-traditional school - until the new price point came up." Joe Smith said, "It kind of shocked everybody." He said that earlier he had been excited about the prospect of bringing new energy to the troubled mall. Rhonda Thurman stated, "We were kind of misled in the beginning. In reality, it cost a whole lot more. We were not told all of that." Steve Highlander noted that is $24 million available for a new school project, but he said the $6.4 million would eat into a substantial portion of that. He said, "My concern is we don't need to proceed if we don't have the money." He said Northgate Mall and Hamilton Place Mall appear to be emptying. "We may be getting a bargain in the near future." Jenny Hill said, "I am still uncomfortable about the $1.1 million profit, but I weigh it as an overall savings to the county." The plan would move CSLA from K-8 to a K-12 with capacity for 1,300 students. Ms. Thurman argued against adding another high school magnet school. Ms. Hill said she thought the board had decided that issue earlier. Mr. Robertson said pluses about the mall deal included "the walls are already in place. All the infrastructure is already up." There was discussion about moving CSLA to the Lakeside School and the nearby Washington Alternative School building. Those two buildings are going out of use. Ms. Thursday said one of those buildings could house the CSLA elementary and the other the middle school. Ms. Jones said neighbors would not welcome another school at the site. Tucker McClendon, chairman of the facilities committee, asked the administration to come back with recommendations on three different options for CSLA. Northgate Mall, Lakeside/Washington) and a third of building at the current school site on East Brainerd Road. Ms. Lennon said, "CSLA is my number one priority. It's been on the table since 2014, and it keeps getting pushed back." He said he hopes the board will reach a decision on the future of CSLA at the August board meeting. Supt. Bryan Johnson said with several elementaries overcrowded in East Brainerd that the current CSLA site may be needed for a new elementary. In other discussion, Dr. Johnson said significant progress had been made in placing a construction academy at the old Mary Ann Garber School, "then the pandemic struck." That project is now on hold. Ms. Thurman argued against a project combining several elementary schools in the Rivermont/Red Bank/Hixson area. She said Rivermont Elementary had already undergone a renovation, and she said Alpine Crest was a successful neighborhood school and the only school actually located within the city limits of Red Bank. Dr. Johnson said an overall aim had been to consolidate some schools and gain new efficiencies. He said Hamilton County has some 30 more schools that Rutherford County, though both are about the same size. Ms. Lennon said the topography in Hamilton County is much different than the Murfreesboro area. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 15:06:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People mourn for deceased Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at the Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, July 10, 2020. The 64-year-old mayor was found dead in the woods of Mount Bugak near his residence around midnight Friday local time. No sign of foul play was found, but the police was investigating the exact cause of his death. (Seoul Metropolitan Government/Handout via Xinhua) The heartbroken mother of a child who died when she became trapped after a car rolled down a driveway has said she will "never get over" the loss of her daughter. On Tuesday, little Chantelle Keenan's family unveiled a stunning princess-themed castle headstone and surrounding grave at Glasnevin cemetery in north Dublin to mark her first anniversary. The child's devastated parents Kathleen and John Keenan spent months designing it, saying they wanted it to be perfect because it was their "last gift" to their little girl. The seven-year-old was rushed to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, on July 7 last year, after she got trapped between the car and a wall outside a house in nearby Boyle O'Reilly Terrace while visiting relatives. Speaking publicly for the first time, her devastated mother Kathleen (28) from Finglas West in north Dublin said: "There are no words to describe the pain of losing a child. It destroys you from the inside out, and it's hard when you have other kids because I have to try and be strong for them. "It was just a freak accident that could have gone in a lot of different ways, but it didn't, it went in the worst way possible. "When I got the phone call, they told me that she had broken her arm because at the time, I wasn't there with her, she was having a sleep over with family for a few days. "But I had a bad feeling that it was much more. Call it a mother's instinct. "I just knew that my baby was not OK and that's what kills me. It's that I was not there with her when it happened. I might not have been able to help her, but at least I could be there with her, to hold her hand. "But by the time I got to her, she had already passed". Little Chantelle was playing with friends in her extended family's driveway in Drogheda when a car in the driveway began to roll unexpectedly. "Chantelle had been sitting in the back of the car when it began to move. She got scared and tried to get out and when she did she jumped out the back door and she got trapped between the car door and a small wall," mother-of-three Kathleen said. "She passed away so quickly in the hospital. She went into the hospital around 1.40pm and she passed at 2.02pm, so it was really fast. "I would like to thank the man who came to help her. His name is Andrew, I don't know his second name, but he is from Drogheda. "He released her from the car and carried her in. All the neighbours from the area tried to help. I am really grateful". Kathleen praised family, neighbours and friends who tried to help Chantelle that day. In the year that has passed, Kathleen said her family continues to suffer as they try to come to terms with their huge loss. "My husband John is a broken man, never to be the same," she said. "Of our three kids, Chantelle was a daddy's girl. He is not a man to talk or show emotions, but anyone that knows him knows he is not the same man. "We have two other children, Michael is nine and Chelsea is three. "I had Michael first and then I had Chantelle only 11 months later. I had them close in age so they could be company for each other, they are very, very close. "Even though Chantelle was younger than Michael, she would be always looking out for her big brother and he would follow her around everywhere. "Michael is lost without her, you wouldn't see one without the other. "I try to be strong, but at times it can't be helped, I do have my breakdowns. "It's very hard at times, but like any child, they don't like to see their mammy crying. "So I know when I cry it hurts them, so I try to stop, but I know they understand that I can't help it at times." Kathleen described Chantelle, who attended nearby St Bridget's school in Finglas, as a "lovable chatterbox". She said: "Chantelle was a chatterbox, she would talk the ear off a donkey. Everything seems so quiet without her because from the moment she woke up in the morning until she went to bed, she'd find something to talk about. "I'd say to her, 'do you ever stop talking, Chantelle?' and her reply would be 'but, Mammy, I love to talk' with a big cheeky smile." Animated Kathleen and John loved this favourite saying of Chantelle's so much that they had it engraved on one of the many plaques on her princess grave. The little girl was also laid to rest in a bright pink coffin carried by John. On Tuesday, Chantelle's family gathered in Glasnevin to unveil her headstone, while the family wore T-shirts with Chantelle's face printed on them with the words, "Daddy's girl" and "We love you" printed on them. The grave has several animated images of Disney characters, including Snow White, Cinderella, Elsa from Frozen, and Belle from Beauty And The Beast. "I designed the grave myself" said Kathleen. "I just thought of everything she was about and that's what she was, a bright, colourful person. "There are pink crystal chippings (stones). As you can tell by her castle, she really loved pink. I just hope she loves it as much as we do. "It was the last thing I could do for her, so I wanted to give her the best." Kathleen also revealed that it was not the first time her family has been struck by tragedy. Her two-year-old nephew Michael Mongan died after he was trapped in a blazing caravan in Dunsink Lane in Finglas July 6, 2010 - almost nine years to the day before his cousin Chantelle died. Other children who had been inside the mobile home managed to escape but tragically little Michael lost his life. "My sister Anne-Marie lost her son. It was just nine years after, another tragedy happened again to Chantelle. Two freak accidents just one day off each other," Kathleen said. "My son is named after him, we have put his photo and Chantelle's photo in a frame together. It is just too much for one family to go through." By PTI BENGALURU: The Karnataka government on Friday announced its decision to promote all intermediate semester students pursuing degree and post-graduation courses including engineering and diploma for the academic year 2019- 20 without examinations, due to prevailing COVID-19 situation. It said examinations for the final semester students would be conducted before the end of September 2020, as per UGC guidelines and Governor Vajubhai Vala has given his assent for the same. However, it clarified that the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET)- 2020 examination for admissions to Engineering, Pharmacy, Pharma D and other courses will be held on the decided dates of July 30 and 31. The government has taken this decision to promote students after consulting educationists and university vice chancellors, taking into consideration students' health, well- being and future, also UGC guidelines have also been duly taken into account, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan's office said in a release. The decision will be limited to the academic year 2019-20 only, it said. "COVID-19 has disrupted the education system - classes could not be held on time. Online learning introduced during the lockdown has received good responses and the government promptly tried its best to reach the last person in the chain," Narayan said. Stating that the government mulled conducting offline classes and examinations too, he said, "but owing to the increase in the viral spread those thoughts have been dropped and it has been decided to pass and promote all intermediate semester students. Concerned Universities have been intimated to conduct examinations for all the final year/ semester students." The Deputy Chief Minister said intermediate semester students will be assessed based on a comprehensive evaluation scheme with internal assessment marks and previous year's/ semester's marks considered in a 50:50 ratio, and for students in their first semester/year, the evaluation will be completely based on internal assessment marks. If students feel to better their scores, provisions will be made for them to face examinations during the next semester and students who fail to succeed in the comprehensive evaluation process shall face examinations for respective subjects during the next semester, he said adding that backlog subjects will be allowed to be carried over as well. Further noting that the final semester exams will be conducted with due consideration given to students' academic evaluation and their future lives, Narayan said academic evaluation forms the core of the higher education system and hence academic performance of students needs to be considered. "Companies too will base their assessments on an individual student's academic excellence and grades he/she secured. Thus, it would be pushing the students to danger in the future if examinations were not to be conducted now," he said. All universities have been informed to prepare themselves and make suitable arrangements for the conduct of final semester examinations, he added. The Deputy Chief Minister made it clear that online classes for the academic year 2020-21 will begin from September 1 and offline classes from October 1, and all universities and affiliated colleges have been directed to make suitable arrangements in that regard. The top Vietnamese leader lauded the Cambodian governments management, and the solidarity of the Cambodian people in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and in socio-economic development. He thanked Cambodia for its close coordination with Vietnam within the bilateral framework as well as the ASEAN cooperation framework, and suggested the two countries tighten their cooperation in the pandemic combat, while maintaining border trade. As for the issue relating to people of Vietnamese origin in Cambodia, the Party and State leader expressed his hope that Cambodia will continue to create favourable conditions for them to stabilise their lives in the country, thus contributing to the development of Cambodia and enhancing the bilateral ties. For his part, Hun Sen congratulated Vietnam on successfully organising the 36th ASEAN Summit in the form of a teleconference, saying Cambodia will actively support Vietnams ASEAN and AIPA 41 Chairmanship in 2020 and non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for 2020-2021. The Cambodian leader said he believes that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Vietnamese people will reap new, greater achievements in the renewal process, and successfully organise the 13th National Party Congress. Praising Vietnams efforts and successes in the fight against COVID-19, he thanked Vietnam for sharing its experience with and supporting Cambodia in this sphere. Cambodia will continue to create conditions for people of Vietnamese origin to settle in the country, he pledged. Both leaders spoke highly of the intensive and extensive development of the cooperation between the two Parties and the two countries across areas, bringing practical interests to people of the countries. They agreed to continue joining hands in implementing joint statements and agreements, along with preparing for the 18th meeting of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee, and the 11th meeting on cooperation and development between border provinces of Vietnam and Cambodia when possible. The leaders also consented to take specific measures to remove difficulties to boost economic ties sustainably. They shared the view on the historical significance of the signing of two documents recognising the achievements of land border demarcation and marker planting, and concurred to push ahead with necessary procedures to put the documents into place. The two sides will also continue negotiations to deal with the remaining border work, thus building a common border line of peace, stability, cooperation and development. They will closely and effectively coordinate and support each other in regional and international issues, especially within the ASEAN cooperation framework and ASEAN-led mechanisms, the UN, the WTO, the ASEM and Mekong Sub-region cooperation mechanisms. BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- China has decided to take reciprocal measures against U.S. agencies and individuals with egregious practices on Xinjiang-related issues, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Friday. Zhao told a daily news briefing that the decision was made in response to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's statement that the United States has imposed sanctions on multiple Chinese officials in Xinjiang. Zhao said the U.S. practice constitutes serious interference in China's internal affairs, severe violation of basic norms governing international relations, and grave harm to China-U.S. relations. "China firmly opposes and strongly condemns that," he said. Zhao said Xinjiang affairs are entirely China's internal affairs, and the United States has no right and is in no position to intervene. The Chinese government is determined to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, combat violent terrorism, separatism and religious extremism, and oppose foreign interference in Xinjiang affairs and China's other internal affairs. "We urge the United States to immediately rescind its wrong decision and stop making any remarks or moves that interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's interests," Zhao said, adding that the Chinese side will firmly fight back if the United States obstinately pursues such agenda. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek have both tested postive for COVID-19 and have been hospitalised. The actor, 77, and his son, 44, revealed the news to their fans via Twitter on Saturday, sharing that they were awaiting tests following their hospitalisation. Amitabh wrote: 'I have tested Covid positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited.. Announcement: Bollywood royalty Amitabh Bachchan (pictured in 2016) and his son Abhishek revealed on Saturday that they have been hospitalised after testing positive for coronavirus 'All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested !' Amitabh's followers flooded his social media with their well wishes, hoping for a speedy recovery after he announced the diagnosis. Following the announcement it was also revealed his son Abhishek had tested positive for coronavirus, his wife Aishwarya Rai has tested negative. Tested positive: The actor, 77, revealed the news to his fans via Twitter on Saturday, sharing that he was awaiting tests following his hospitalisation Also tested positive: Following the announcement it was also revealed his son Abhishek had tested positive for coronavirus Bollywood royalty: Amitabh pictured with actress wife Jaya (far right), actor son Abhishek and his film star wife Aishwarya Rai (centre) in 2014 Abhishek wrote on Twitter: 'Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. 'We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you.' Amitabh is married to actress, and current Member of Parliament, Jaya Bachchan (nee Bhaduri), the pair wed in 1973 and they share daughter Shweta and their son. He rose to fame in the 1970s with films like Zanjeer and Sholay, and has been lovingly called 'Big B' and the 'Star of the Millennium' by fans. Icon: The Indian star rose to fame in the 1970s with films like Zanjeer and Sholay, and has been lovingly called the 'Star of the Millennium' by fans (pictured in 1976 film Kabhi Kabhie) Huge influence: Widely seen as the King of Indian cinema, Amitabh has appeared in 200 films over the course of his career, which has spanned over five decades Widely seen as the King of Indian cinema, Amitabh has appeared in 200 films over the course of his career, which has spanned over five decades. Amitabh's work has earned him a number of accolades over the years, including four National Film Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Bollywood cinema. The Shahenshah star was honoured with a Padma Shri in 1984, a Padma Bhushan in 2001, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015, some of the highest civilian awards to be provided by the Government of India. In the family: Abhishek (pictured with his father and wife Aishwarya Rai) followed in his mother and father's footsteps, making his debut as an actor in 2000 with war film Refugee Amitabh's filmography doesn't stop in Bollywood, as the actor also made his Hollywood debut in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. In 1982 Amitabh suffered a near-fatal injury while filming Coolie, the actor had been doing his own stunts and got a splenic rupture following a jump that went wrong. He had to have an emergency splenectomy after the injury, and remained in a critical condition for several months before finally making a recovery. Amitabh went into semi-retirement in 1992, becoming a producer during the five year break before his return to the silver screen in the late 1990s. Accolades: Amitabh's work has earned him a number of accolades over the years, including four National Film Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award (pictured in 2014) Family: Amitabh is married to actress, and current Member of Parliament, Jaya Bachchan (nee Bhaduri), they wed in 1973 after appearing in Zanjeer (pictured in 2018 with Aishwarya Rai) The actor rose to prominence once again in the 2000s with several commercially successful films, and he has also appeared on TV and done voice-acting work. Abhishek followed in his mother and father's footsteps, making his debut as an actor in 2000 with war film Refugee before going on to star in over a dozen more films. He met his wife Aishwarya Rai on the set of Dhoom 2, three years after calling off his engagement with actress Karisma Kapoor, and the pair wed in 2007. Aishwarya Rai, who shares a daughter with Abhishek, is also a prominent actress in India after she began acting following her win as Miss World 1994. Romance: Abhishek met his wife Aishwarya (pictured in 2007) on the set of Dhoom 2, three years after calling off his engagement with actress Karisma Kapoor, and the pair wed in 2007 by Melani Manel Perera The Sri Lanka Medical Association criticised the lifting of restrictions on public gatherings, uncontrolled public transport, the opening of recreational activities, and many other questionable activities. So far, 2,454 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the country. Yesterday saw the highest number of infections in a single day with 300 new cases. Colombo (Asia News) Yesterday, the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) said it was gravely concerned about the current COVID-19 situation in the country, pointing out that the necessary measures to control the spread of the disease are being blatantly disregarded. The head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOVPCO) clarified the details pertaining to the latest situation following the detection of a new cluster of coronavirus cases. As of this morning, 2,454 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the country with yesterday recording 300 new cases, the highest number of infections in a single day. According to the SLMA, "Sri Lanka as a country has managed to successfully control the spread of COVID 19 with a technically correct approach and prompt measures in the initial stage. This is something that we can be proud of and the country and the population should be grateful to the government for the excellent handling of the situation up to the present time. In fact, Sri Lanka's approach of Trace, Test, Treat has been the envy of the world in that respect. However, the SLMA went on to say that We are of the view that key measures are not adequately applied and monitored at present, thereby increasing the vulnerability of the country to a resurgence of COVID 19. It is now clearly observed that the country is shifting back to the behaviour of the pre-COVID era. It is tremendously disheartening to see that what was achieved by a massive campaign to take the country to a new normal situation is being reversed." Unfortunately, the situation seems to be complicated by some regressive set of steps that have been taken which could contribute towards dragging the entire country towards the catastrophic status that is akin to that faced by many other nations the world over. Over relaxing of restriction for public gatherings, operation of uncontrolled public transport, widespread opening of recreational activities and many other questionable manoeuvres have probably paved the way to change the mind-set of the people to abandon the very necessary control measures. Keeping the much-needed physical distancing, frequent hand washing, etc, are largely disappearing; thereby increasing the risk of viral spread in the community. Even proper wearing of masks in public places is not strictly adhered to. The disappearance of those healthy behaviours seems to be largely due to fast relaxation of control measures, indicating that the risk of COVID 19 is no more. This false notion is extremely harmful and it will be hard to revert back to healthy behaviours in the case of a resurgence of cases." "We need to be alerted by the increasing caseload of neighbouring countries and an unprecedented resurgence of cases in countries which earlier claimed to have controlled the pandemic. We need to learn very important lessons from what has happened in the very recent past. Therefore, the SLMA is appealing to the government to enhance the campaign to strengthen the behaviour towards the new normal, through the continuation of strict application of control measures and making it a mandatory requirement on the part of the general public to conform to the advice provided by the health professionals who are conversant on the subject." Meanwhile, the head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva (picture 2), yesterday provided details about the latest developments, following the detection of new clusters of coronavirus cases. Lt Gen Silva said that about 375 people were tested yesterday and the day before out of 1,150 inmates and staff members at two drug rehab facilities in Kandakadu and Singapura, Polonnaruwa district. When comparing with the results received thus far, it is most likely that even more COVID-19 infected persons will be identified," Lt Gen Silva said. The remaining test results will be released later. In the meantime, all the necessary steps have been taken to control the situation in these two rehabilitation facilities. Some sections of the public were disturbed by unconfirmed reports stating that the curfew would be re-imposed and the country would return to lockdown, Lt Gen Silva explained. The public should not be misled by unconfirmed and misleading comments and reports. Only official notices issued by the Presidential Secretariat or Government Information Department should be heeded. On Friday, President Trump commuted Roger Stones sentence on the ground that Stone was an unfortunate victim of the Democrats Russia hoax. Democrats and other leftists responded with the usual outrage. This outrage seems absurd when one considers the recent report that one of the leading Black Lives Matter fundraisers is Susan Rosenberg, a convicted domestic terrorist who was once on the FBIs most-wanted list. Rosenberg is relevant to a discussion about Stone because Bill Clinton, on the last day of his presidency, commuted her 58-year-prison sentence after only 16 years. Roger Stone, 67, was tried for the crime of being a rather obnoxious Trump supporter who made theatrical threats at someone who didnt take them seriously and made statements to Congress that were deemed false. The FBI, which is even more obnoxious, armed itself to the teeth and made a dawn raid to arrest this aged, non-violent offender. Worse, someone in the FBI tipped off CNN about the raid. Low-level DOJ operatives, after agreeing with DOJ management on a proposed sentencing term, then submitted to the court an out-of-left-field demand that Stone be sentenced to 7 to 9 years in prison. DOJ leadership instead submitted a sentencing memorandum asking for a sentence closer to three years at which point the original prosecutors theatrically resigned. The left went into hyperdrive, but the judge no friend to Trump agreed with the more modest recommendations and sentenced Stone to 40 months (or slightly over three years) in prison. On Friday, President Trump commuted even that sentence: Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency, McEnany said in a statement Friday night. There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia. Such collusion was never anything other than a fantasy of partisans unable to accept the result of the 2016 election. The collusion delusion spawned endless and farcical investigations, conducted at great taxpayer expense, looking for evidence that did not exist. McEnany added that Muellers office resorted to process-based charges leveled at high-profile people in an attempt to manufacture the false impression of criminality lurking below the surface. These charges were the product of recklessness borne of frustration and malice, she said. Matt Margolis has put together a helpful list of the lefts over-the-top reaction to this commutation. Here are just a few examples: Donald Trump has abandoned the rule of law and made a mockery of our democracy. He truly is the most corrupt president in history, tweeted Elizabeth Warren. There are no limits. This President will do anything and everything to flaunt the law, echoed Amy Klobuchar. Does @realDonaldTrumps corrupt commutation of Roger Stone piss you off? asked Congressman Ted Lieu. Then take your anger and put it to good use. Leftists were more mellow when it came to Susan Rosenberg, a member of the May 19th Communist Organization, a far-left terrorist group that engaged in bombings and assassinations from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Rosenberg was charged for her roles in the 1983 bombings at the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. National War College, and the New York Patrolmens Benevolent Association. On January 20, 2001, right before walking out of the White House, Clinton commuted Rosenberg's 58-year sentence after only 16-years. You can watch Tucker Carlsons interview with Bernie Kerik about Rosenberg, during which Kerik details just how dangerous Rosenberg was to America and Americans. Rosenberg matters today because shes a board member at the primary fundraiser for the Black Lives Matter movement: Thousand Currents, the California-based charity that manages fundraising operations for the national arm of Black Lives Matter, includes on its board a convicted terrorist whose sentence was commuted by former President Bill Clinton on his last day in office. [snip] Financial statements prepared by Thousand Currents reveal that 83.3% of BLM Global Foundations total spending during its 2017, 2018 and 2019 fiscal years was spent on travel, consulting and payroll, while only about 6% was put toward grants to outside organizations such as the local BLM chapters, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported. BLM, of course, is an avowedly Marxist organization that aims to overthrow the United States government. Democrats are comfortable with backing a Marxist revolutionary group that funnels its financing through an organization headed, in part, by an unrepentant terrorist. Democrats therefore have no moral high ground from which to complain about Trumps decision to commute Stones sentence. Image: YouTube screengrab Guided by ex-Pak army officials, operating in buddy pairs: Why the Poonch encounter has dragged so much Tire, track eliminate: Why has the Poonch encounter dragged on for so long Was Vikas Dubey handcuffed: The past precedents on this issue India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 11: The issue of dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey not being apparently handcuffed has kicked up dust after his alleged encounter killing on Friday since the Supreme Court has provided for exceptions while disapproving of the inhuman practice. Dubey was shot dead by police, who claimed he was trying to flee after the car carrying him on an overnight journey from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh turned turtle on an isolated stretch of the highway on the outskirts of Kanpur in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday morning. The distance between Ujjain and Kanpur is about 700 km. As questions remained whether he was handcuffed or not, Police said the gangster, said to be in his 50s, snatched a pistol from one of the policemen injured in the accident and was shot when he opened fire while trying to flee. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News Vikas Dubey, five others dead, 12 criminals still on the run say UP police With this incident, the debate over whether or not to handcuff undertrial prisoners while taking them from one place to another has erupted once again. The Supreme Court in its previous orders in multiple cases has described handcuffing of undertrials and convicts as inhuman, unreasonable, over harsh and arbitrary. It also had categorically stated that handcuffing of prisoners without judicial consent was illegal. The court had, however, said that in cases where the police or the jail authorities have well-grounded basis of drawing a strong inference that a particular prisoner is likely to jump jail or break out of the custody then the said prisoner be produced before the Magistrate concerned and a prayer for permission to handcuff the prisoner be made before the said judicial officer. The magistrate may then consider the prayer and grant permission to handcuff the prisoner, it said. We clearly declare -- and it shall be obeyed from the Inspector General of Police and Inspector General of Prisons to the escort constable and the jail warder -- that the rule, regarding a prisoner in transit prison house and Court house, is freedom from handcuffs and the exception, under conditions of judicial supervision we have indicated earlier will be restraints with irons to be justified before or after, the court added. The top court has from time to time issued a slew of directives on the procedure to be followed while handcuffing an undertrial, maintaining that the insurance against escape does not compulsorily require handcuffing. The police, however, has all along been supporting handcuffing at various judicial fora on the ground that the practice has been quite helpful in ensuring that a dreaded accused or convict does not flee their custody. Plea in SC seeking CBI probe into killing of Vikas Dubey's aides The apex court in 1995 held that minimal freedom of movement cannot be cut down by application of handcuffs or other hoops. In another case -- Prem Shankar Shukla vs Delhi Administration, the top court in 1980 made important observations on the issue and said that there were other measures whereby an escort can keep safe custody of a detenu without the indignity and cruelty implicit in handcuffs or other iron in contraptions. It said: Handcuffing is prima facie inhuman and, therefore, unreasonable, is over harsh and at the first blush, arbitrary. Absent fair procedure and objective monitoring to inflict irons' is to resort to zoological strategies repugnant to Article 21. Surely, the competing claims of securing the prisoner from fleeing and protecting his personality from barbarity have to be harmonized. The top court has observed that to prevent the escape of an undertrial is in public interest, reasonable, just and cannot, by itself be castigated. But to bind a man hand and foot, fetter his limbs with hoops of steel, shuffle him along in the streets and stand him for hours in the courts is to torture him, defile his dignity, vulgarise society and foul the soul of our Constitutional culture, it said. Referring to Articles 14 (Equality before law) and 19 (Freedoms of speech), the top court had said that when there is no compulsive need to fetter a person's limbs it is sadistic, capricious, despotic and demoralizing to humble a man by manacling him. Hit by three bullets on the chest, one on the arm: How Vikas Dubey was killed Such arbitrary conduct surely slaps Article 14 on the face. The animal freedom of movement, which even a detained is entitled to under Article 19, cannot be cut down cruelly by application of handcuffs or other hoops. "lt will be unreasonable so to do unless the State is able to make out that no other practical way of forbidding escape is available, the prisoner being so dangerous and desperate and the circumstances so hostile to safe keeping", it had said. Boris Johnson is under pressure to strip IAG SAs British Airways of valuable landing slots at UK airports amid concern about the airlines plan to cut 12,000 jobs, according to a report in the Daily Mail. More than 100 British members of parliament from various political parties are asking the prime minister to reconsider British Airways right to slots at airports such as Heathrow, the newspaper said. The mounting political pressure comes after British Airways revealed it would cut about 28% of its 42,000 workers as it struggles to survive amid the coronavirus pandemic. The airline holds more than half of the slots -- which give planes the right to take off and land at a certain time -- at Heathrow. The slots, particularly the ones at peak times, can be worth several million pounds each. Union Unite and politicians are pressuring the prime minister, saying that airlines should only be able to keep the slots if they also demonstrate they are being socially responsible and internally investing in the business, the newspaper reported. A British Airways spokesman said in a statement to the Daily Mail: We are acting to protect as many jobs as possible. We call on Unite and GMB to consult with us on our proposals as pilot union, Balpa, is doing. Blast Reported In Western Tehran, Officials Deny By RFE/RL July 10, 2020 An explosion was heard in western Tehran early on June 10, Iran's state broadcaster IRIB and the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported, citing social media. However, officials denied there was any blast in that part of the Iranian capital. IRIB said power was cut in the area of the city suburbs where the blast allegedly occurred. The report did not provide any information about the cause of the explosion. The governor of Qod city, Leila Vaseghi, dismissed the reports as "rumors." "Security bodies do not confirm the sound of an explosion in Qods city and Garmdareh," Vaseghi told the semiofficial Fars news agency. Vaseghi acknowledged that there was a power outage, but she said it lasted only five minutes and was caused by works at a hospital, according to the official government news agency IRNA Lawmaker Hossein Haghverdi, who represents Qods city and Shahriar in parliament, said there was no explosion in Qods, Lamard, and Shahriar -- three areas located in the west of Tehran. A power outage was caused by activities by the electricity department to fix a problem, according to Haghverdi. The semiofficial ILNA news agency quoted an official at the Ministry of Energy as saying that the temporary power cut was due to work in the city of Qods. There have been several explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear, and industrial facilities in the past week. With reporting by IRNA, Mehr, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/blast-reported -in-western-tehran-officials -deny/30719243.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gurteen native John Shannon reflects on the loss of his community's local post office in light of the formation of a new Government that sees no senior minister in the West, North West or Mid West. John is a member of a new group Rural Youth Coalition and is presently studying Law and Arts in NUI Maynooth. "Rural Ireland places a major importance on community, that much is a fact. "It is in essence the glue that allows us to look out for each other. Oftentimes it is this sense of unity that provokes a steadfast reaction when the community finds itself under attack. "As a resident of Gurteen I witnessed first-hand this reaction in early 2019 when our local post office was amongst those selected for closure. "The community came out in unified confusion and disgust at the decision, and a stringent fight ensued. "Despite that, sadly, it was eventually closed, another slap in the face for rural Ireland from Dublin. "When Gurteen P.O. was added to the list of proposed closures the community rallied to demand why, since it is no small village. "An Post's only excuse was that our post office was no longer financially viable for use and that its customer basis was no more than two hundred, far below their viability threshold of five hundred. "The survey carried out by An Post included only the village itself. Families like my own who used the post office weekly for basic bill payments, etc, were completely ignored by the surveyors, seemingly in an attempt to ensure Gurteen didn't meet the criteria. "The community then took it upon itself to carry out another assessment and discovered the amount of people that used the post office regularly was circa 514 and many hundreds more on occasions. "Even with these contradictory numbers An Post failed to listen and closed the post office with little remorse or thought to the countless businesses and individuals who would find themselves negatively impacted by the decision. "It was largely felt that An Post was attempting to make an example of a small rural village that stood up to their 'urban agenda'. The new 'local' post office is now located in Ballaghaderreen Co. Roscommon, in the next county, 15 kilometres away.leaving a large tract of South Sligo is without one. "Regardless of the blow to our village's pride what is worse is the impact on the local economy. "Whether we like it or not much of rural Ireland has an aging population and every Tuesday up until a year ago local pensioners would collect their pensions, visit the local hairdressers and the local shops to do the week's shopping as well as the local pub or restaurant that evening. "Now with the post office gone, the people that were so eagerly anticipated on a Tuesday choose, for no reason other than convenience, to spend their money elsewhere. "This is not to begrudge the gains made in another rural town like Ballaghaderreen, but when it comes at the detriment of another local community, especially when that community is already struggling, one knows that post office closures are a disinvestment in rural Ireland. "The outburst that occurred on a communal level was severe, with many residents of Gurteen choosing to cancel their accounts with An Post and go elsewhere. "What upset many isolated members of the community was that certain social elements of their lives had suddenly disappeared. "In a time where we are increasingly more aware of those of us who finds themselves isolated either due to ill-health, mental health challenges or old age, it is chilling that the corporate drive is that of solely a commercial function and not partly a social one. "The fact successive governments have allowed a semi state body to systematically close rural post offices with relative ease and allowed the holders of a monopoly to remove vitally important services of communities across the west on the grounds that they were no longer 'economically viable' with ensuring they could be viable, by bringing real competition to the banking sector is inexcusable. "There used to be a time when semi state bodies were the drivers of employment, opportunity, and social cohesion in rural Ireland. "Now, they are destroyers of all that. Besides in an era where it is proven that Irish banks are fleecing borrowers and short changing depositors, after being rescued, I cannot for the life of me understand why the post office network was not given full banking licences to be able to not only survive but thrive. "It is not too late to undo decisions taken. Gurteen could then not just get back it's post office, but gain a bank too. "This would give the present 'rescued' banking cartel a run for their money, boost rural Ireland and offer mortgage holders and small businesses, urban and rural competitive lending rates, leaving a bit more money in the pockets of many. "Is the State shareholding in the banks the reason for this not happening? "Perhaps it is another issue that our youth coalition could raise with the E.U. Commission? "If there is one disturbing truth I have learned from all this it is that despite lobbying all our public representatives, from all parties, despite passionate speeches from many of them, they could do nothing." This new rule also applies to products like software or GPS trackers that are marketed for their ability to spy on people without their knowledge and surveillance equipment like audio recorders, cameras, dash cams, nanny cams etc. In an ad policy update, Google has announced that it will no longer support ads for any product or service that tracks or monitors users without their authorisation. Google said they will apply this new rule to spyware and technology used for intimate partner surveillance including technology that is used to monitor texts, calls and browsing history. This new rule also applies to GPS trackers that are marketed for their ability to spy on people without their knowledge and surveillance equipment like audio recorders, cameras, dash cams, nanny cams etc. Essentially any technology or device that is marketed for their spying prowess. However, the company added that private investigation services and products or services used by parents to monitor their underage children will not be banned for ads under this new policy. Titled Enabling Dishonest Behavior, the new policy be enforced beginning August 11. This policy and the update stems from a 2018 study conducted by researchers on the ecosystem of intimate partner surveillance spyware. The study found that there were thousands of Google ads that appeared when search terms related to explicit intention to spy were used. According to reports, these ads included the likes of - How to catch a cheating spouse with this cell phone, Track My Wifes Phone, Want to Spy on your Wife? Etc. Google had started to restrict ads that appeared for these types of search terms, according to the study and ads were not being shown on explicit search terms for intimate partner surveillance when the study was published. A Google spokesperson said in a statement that they routinely update their language with examples that help clarify what counts as a policy violation and that spyware technology for partner surveillance has always been against their policies concerning dishonest behaviour. Google added that it has now updated its policy further with new search words. Popular for keeping the pandemic at bay in Austria, Health Minister Rudolf Anschober is preparing for a "major challenge" in an anticipated second coronavirus wave in the autumn. If all goes well, he will consolidate the Green Party's place in the Conservative-led government and prove it is an indispenable ally that can also advance some of its own interests on the environment. The Green minister has seen his profile rise rapidly during the crisis, even eclipsing the popularity of his boss, conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, according to one recent poll. But speaking to AFP this week, Anschober -- also known by his nickname "Rudi" -- said the ratings did not impress him. "Now comes the difficult... stabilisation phase after the reopening," the 59-year-old said, adding this was also the "phase of preparation for the autumn, which we see as another major challenge". He added virologists in Austria said the infection risk would "massively increase" when people head indoors again once summer is over. - Awareness decreasing - The country of some nine million people, which began easing its strict lockdown in mid-April, has so far seen fewer than 20,000 infections and just over 700 deaths. Even a recent uptick in cases can be traced to specific clusters, making a widespread undetected transmission unlikely, Anschober said. But he warned that "risk awareness has markedly decreased in the population," just as it has in other countries. He cited the example of Israel, which had been deemed successful in fighting the virus but which has recently seen infections surge. To avoid such a scenario, Austria is developing a "traffic light" system. If signals shift to red or orange in a district, certain restrictions could be re-imposed. Decisions will be based on factors such as healthcare capacity and the percentage of positive results during random tests. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the government has carried out more than 650,000 tests. This month it also launched a screening programme offering up to 30,000 tests per week for at-risk groups, such as health care workers and undocumented immigrants. "The goal is simply to look under the carpet, to see that we don't miss anything out," Anschober said. - 'Crisis binds together' - Anschober admitted helping steer the country through the pandemic had been "quite a challenge", including curtailing freedoms normally defended by the Greens, such as those of movement and assembly. But he said the teamwork within the unlikely government coalition of conservatives and Greens had worked "surprisingly" well, adding: "It seems a crisis binds together." Heading four ministries, the Greens have been the junior partner in a government led by Kurz since January. The 33-year-old chancellor's previous coalition with the far-right imploded last May when the far-right leader became engulfed in a corruption scandal. Anschober admitted it was "difficult" to stick up for asylum seekers' rights -- which Kurz's party opposes. He had managed to defend them as a lawmaker in Upper Austria province under a conservative-Green coalition there. However, he insisted he is "not someone who leaves his political convictions at the government cloak room". - Mistakes made - Anschober, who recalled how he took three months off from politics in 2012 because of burnout, said he tried to relax now during walks with his dog -- and without his mobile -- and daily qi gong exercises. In terms of what could have been done better, Anschober says that "managing a pandemic without mistakes is impossible". He said he was "very glad" that a commission was set up to look into what happened in ski resorts, such as in Ischgl in the western province of Tyrol, at the beginning of Austria's outbreak. Thousands of international holiday makers became infected there around early March, taking the virus back home. Many of those have filed legal complaints, blaming local authorities for not acting quickly enough -- a charge which they deny. Austria's health minister Rudolf Anschober at a recent meeting in Vienna. Austria's health minister Rudolf Anschober One of the many consequences of the coronavirus pandemic is that it is leading organizations to find innovative ways to leverage technology whether its to support work-at-home strategies, enhance customer service, or help combat the virus itself. Robotic process automation (RPA) provides a good example. The technology is designed to speed up and improve the accuracy of repetitive tasks such as data entry, by using bots to perform these types of functions. More organizations are deploying RPA platforms to help address challenges related to the pandemic, said Craig Le Clair, vice president and analyst at Forrester Research. The psychology and roadmap for automation has changed overnight, Le Clair said. Enterprises now need to prepare for a burst of investment activity that targets [cost reduction] and resilience but maintains necessary guardrails. Priorities have shifted to automation tools that can be rapidly deployed to decrease costs, support the remote execution of business processes, and build resilience. RPA helps in all three areas, Le Claire said. Enterprises across many industries impacted by spikes in demand or special situations associated with COVID-19 that already know how to use RPA are adapting to support the excessive loads, said Maureen Fleming, program vice president and analyst at International Data Corp. (IDC). The use cases for RPA during the pandemic are broad, Fleming said. They include network traffic monitoring, exchange of COVID-19 data, bank processing of government loans, managing the cancellation or purchase orders associated with cancelled orders, managing cancellations and refunds for air travel, and onboarding systems for remote workers. [ Inside AI ebook: Artificial intelligence in the enterprise ] RPA is also used to speed up information collection and reporting to dashboards, customer portals and Web sites, Fleming said. Whether a new form is created in response to the pandemic or an existing process, RPA is being used, she said. An example is registration to take a drive-through COVID-19 test. In this case, the robot is able to perform the registration faster than a human, allowing healthcare providers to administer tests rather than fill out forms, Fleming said. The technology can also be used by nurses for filling out infection reports that go to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). RPA can replace workers who perform certain tasks in front-or back-office positions, in many cases freeing them up to take on more interesting types of work. The automation capabilities can enable companies to complete projects much more quickly than they otherwise would. For example, Le Claire said, one major airline received more than 120,000 cancellation requests in the early weeks of the pandemic, an increase from the typical 3,000 cancellations per month. A three- or four-minute manual review of each request was required. The airline hired a company to build an RPA bot in just six days, with four all-night sessions, that could clear 4,000 refund requests per day. Thats more than would have been cleared in a month using manual processes, Le Claire said. RPA is ideally suited to help organizations handle large jumps in data entry needs, such as in the case of having to quickly process healthcare data during a pandemic. Data entry tasks are some of the easiest steps to record, analyze, and design a bot to replace, Le Claire said. County leverages automation in COVID-19 battle Suffolk County in New York, one of the hardest hit areas in the country, is a case in point. The county in March 2020 deployed an RPA platform from UIPath with help from technology services provider SVAM. [ Coronavirus Crisis: COVID-19 coverage on Insider Pro ] The system includes licenses for up to three robots, and the county is using the technology to automate the processing of lab results, said Scott Mastellon, commissioner at the Suffolk County Department of IT. The county uses a New York State health system that provides it with lab information related to communicable diseases. This system provides each county in the state with COVID-19 lab results both positive and negative. Suffolks health department was retrieving lab results from the system, printing out the lab results, sorting through the results for positive cases, writing a sequence number on each positive result, batching up positive cases, scanning those paper batches, and securely emailing batched lab results to public health nurses to process. After all the paper records were scanned, batched and securely routed to the public health nurses, the paper records were then routed to a data entry team to enter into the countys case management system. The initial retrieval of the lab results required one or two public health nurses, who along with administrative support printed, collated, scanned and distributed the lab results. This typically took about four hours. A team of data entry staff, ranging from six to 12 employees, were tasked with manually entering the positive test cases, from the paper lab results, into the case management system. This could take as much as 12 hours to complete, and involved employees working multiple shifts. When the number of positive cases received on a daily basis from New York State exceeded 1,000, the process became unmanageable and we were typically scrambling to find employees who could be added to the data entry team for that particular day, Mastellon said. In addition, the number of hours worked had an impact on the quality of the results, Mastellon said. On March 20, the first day the IT department engaged UIPath, the county had a total of 459 positive cases. Within a week, it had 3,385 cases and was averaging close to 400 positive cases per day. The county implemented an RPA robot to automatically retrieve test results from the state and load them into a secure database within the county. All attribute information available from the state heath system were pushed to the secure database. The automation continued as the robot then selected positive cases, logged into the countys case management system and added them automatically. Now, test results are retrieved every 30 minutes from the state system, loaded in the secure database, and loaded into the countys case management software. Suffolk implemented the other two robots to perform the work as the total number of tests increased. We implemented the RPA robots on April 1, and after one week of quality review were able to reassign our data entry team to other value-added activities in our COVID-19 response efforts, Mastellon said. Once all positive cases were being automatically entered into the case management system, the county was able to leverage the system to electronically assign cases to nurses without having to print, batch, scan and email paper records to public health nurse staff. The county averaged about 1,025 case per day in the 22 days following the RPA implementation. Mastellon estimates the manual data entry work needed would have taken about 1,500 hours. This equates to about $33,000 in pay for just three weeks, he said. Over a three-week period during the height of the pandemic in the area, the county loaded 75,973 lab results into its secure database, and entered 24,799 positive cases into its case management system. Since having the positive cases automatically loaded in our system, we have had the ability to assign cases for patient interviews on the same day, and reduced our time to contact to approximately one day, Mastellon said. Previously, since everything was in paper, we were unable to determine how long it was taking to initially reach out to the patients. By reaching out to patients as soon as possible, the county was able to educate them on what do to and how to avoid the spread of the disease. We feel that this has had a significant impact on reducing the overall spread within the county, Mastellon said. Given the success achieved with the RPA project and the ease by which the county was able to implement the system, we will absolutely look to expand our use of RPA within the health department and many other departments within the county, Mastellon said. While the tragedy of COVID-19 will go down as one of the worst in the countys history, if I was to take away one positive from this tragedy, it would be that it has challenged us to develop innovative solutions using technologies such as RPA, Mastellon said. That will only benefit the county and our government in the long-term. Related: Connected RPA Delivers A Digital Workforce Best practices for effectively deploying RPA Organizations planning RPA implementations would be wise to create a center of excellence (CoE) and a clear litmus test for what to automate, said Frances Karamouzis, research vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. The CoE would cover areas such as understanding existing business processes and tasks, identifying where RPA could help, testing automation tools, and redesigning the structure of a task to be automated. Its a good practice to use RPA in conjunction with other technologies, Karamouzis said. Many of Gartners clients are deploying RPA and other automation tools in order to make the shift to what the firm is calling default digital. Related: 4 steps to RPA success The important point is that very few clients are currently using RPA alone; its often used in what we call complemented RPA, Karamouzis said. Its basically complementary technologies such as machine learning, analytics, process mining, UX/CX [user experience/customer experience], ingestion engines. Many enterprises have needed to move their employees to be fully digital in a work-from-home environment, Karamouzis said. They needed to automate as much as possible as fast as possible, she said. RPA is so ubiquitous that it can be used in tons of tasks and processes. If the idea is to get automated processes up and running quickly to address an immediate need, organizations dont need to be overly focused on long-term goals. Quickly putting up a software robot is not necessarily focused on long-term resilience and manageability, Fleming said. The job is primarily focused on just getting it done. Once in production, the software robot may be improved to increase throughput. In this case, building a viable but less efficient robot makes the most sense. Performance improvements, a focus on resilience and ongoing change management can be added incrementally, Fleming said. This is easier when the enterprise and team have a program and skills in place with existing conventions, governance, and pre-automated elements that can be readily leveraged [in] an emergency, Fleming said. Front-end automation that controls interactions with a library of application UIs [user interfaces] and pre-built capabilities that access back-end applications can be helpful, and it is far more likely that the robots will be built well to begin with. To effectively deploy and maintain RPA platforms on an ongoing basis, companies should make efforts to simplify and standardize processes before expecting an automation payoff, Le Claire said. Humans just find too many ways to get the job done, Le Claire said. Different short cuts, tools, or task order are adopted, even when the desired outcomes are the same. So before RPA automation, understand where variation in a task can be reduced through training and elimination of steps. Keep in mind that people are critical to the success of automation, Le Claire said. Human insight, labor, and support is often required to plan for, scope, deploy, and stabilize automations, he said. Straight-through processing is just not viable in all use cases. Scenarios where bots and humans interact need to be carefully designed. In addition, companies need to align RPA automation with the right use cases. Technology teams are eager to experiment with RPA and often forget the adage, to a hammer, everything looks like a nail, Le Claire said. Other tools within the intelligent automation toolbox may achieve a more durable result, or with a path to greater intelligence. By Echo Wang and Krystal Hu (Reuters) - In the span of a few hours on Friday, Amazon.com Inc banned and then unbanned the TikTok video sharing app from employee mobile devices, calling the move a mistake. The news generated widespread attention for the Chinese-owned social media platform coming the same week U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States is "certainly looking at" banning TikTok, suggesting it shared information with the Chinese government. It was not immediately clear what led to the initial ban by Amazon. One person familiar with the matter said senior Amazon executives were unaware of the request to delete TikTok from employee devices. The ban was reversed after TikTok and Amazon representatives discussed the matter, according to an email sent to TikTok employees. Earlier this week, Wells Fargo sent a note to employees who had installed TikTok on company-owned mobile devices telling them to remove the app immediately. "Due to concerns about TikTok's privacy and security controls and practices, and because corporate-owned devices should be used for company business only, we have directed those employees to remove the app from their devices," Wells Fargo said in a statement. "We have not been contacted by Wells Fargo, but as with any organization that has concerns, we are open to engaging with them constructively and letting them know about the actions we have taken to protect data security for our users," a TikTok spokesman told Reuters in a statement. The attention underscores the hotseat that TikTok's owner, China-based ByteDance, has found itself in over recent days. The Chinese ownership of TikTok, among the fastest growing digital platforms ever, has come under heavy scrutiny on issues including their handling of user data. India banned TikTok and other Chinese apps in June. The company has said user data is stored in the United States with a backup copy in Singapore. One person familiar with the matter said TikTok's user data is primarily stored in the Google Cloud in its Virginia-based data center. Story continues TikTok declined to comment. Google could not immediately be reached for comment. That did not stop Pompeo from floating a possible ban of TikTok in the United States. Asked if Americans should download it, he told Fox News: "Only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party." On Friday, the Republican National Committee asked its members via email not to download TikTok. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Friday also reiterated its guidance from December to stop downloading the app. A person familiar with the matter said the DNC has been advising campaign staff for months not to use TikTok on their personal devices and to use a separate phone and account if they use the platform for campaign work because of the amount of data it tracks. A spokesman for the DNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Two Republican senators in March introduced a bill aimed at banning federal employees from using TikTok on government-issued phones, citing national security concerns around the collection and sharing of data on U.S. users with China's government. Last year the United States Navy banned TikTok from government-issued mobile devices, saying the app represented a "cybersecurity threat." Last November, the U.S. government launched a national security review of TikTok owner Beijing ByteDance Technology Co's $1 billion acquisition of U.S. social media app Musical.ly, Reuters first reported last year. SECURITY CONCERNS To address concerns over its Chinese ownership, ByteDance has taken steps to shift its center of power away from China, Reuters previously reported. It is also looking to make changes to TikTok's corporate structure for the same reasons, a company spokesperson said this week. But concerns persist. Last month, when Apple released to developers a test version of its iOS operating system with new privacy features, developers showed images of TikTok's app triggering notifications that it was copying data from users' clipboards, where data is temporarily stored while copying and pasting from one app to another. TikTok said the notifications were caused by an anti-spam feature but that it would end the practice. Apple has not restricted TikTok use by employees, one of them said. Some U.S. semiconductor companies have been reluctant to consider a ban on TikTok because ByteDance is a customer, according to people familiar with the matter. Some firms providing security services to big companies have added TikTok to their lists of banned apps on managed devices. (Reporting by Echo Wang and Krystal Hu; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis and Joseph Menn in San Francisco, Trevor Hunnicutt in New York and Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia; Editing by Kenneth Li, Chris Reese, Richard Chang and Daniel Wallis) Haiti - Justice : The new Minister had been dismissed in 2017 for unproductive ! Prime Minister Jouthe installed Rockefeller Vincent on Friday as the new Minister of Justice and Public Security. He replaces Lucmane Delile who was dismissed of this post Thursday https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22306-haiti-flash-architecture-competition-for-the-reconstruction-of-the-national-palace.html In his remarks for the occasion, the new Minister declared "I come to ensure that the values that characterize justice can have priority, to the detriment of the excesses and deviances which kill the Nation [...] I take charge of the Ministry with the firm resolution to serve my country with this craze pressing to contribute. And above all with this sense of civic duty which must characterize any authentic citizen. The projects dictated by my superiors will be launched very quickly." Let us hope that these declarations are followed by effective acts, because we must not forget that Rockefeller Vincent had been dismissed as Deputy Government Commissioner near the Court of Appeal of Cap-Haitien in September 2017 by the Minister of Justice of tht time Heidi Fortune, and approved by Prime Minister Lafontant, for his unproductivity during the period from October 2015 to July 2017. In his letter of revocation Minister Fortune wrote "[...] as part of the sanitation policy implemented by the Government since its installation, it was decided to terminate your functions, for which You are remunerated without justification, as Deputy Government Commissioner at the Court of Appeal of Cap-Haitien, this, for Absence of performance[...]" PI/ HaitiLibre Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Friday his second pick to head the education ministry in 11 days, naming a college professor and church pastor to the post. Milton Ribeiro, a former deputy dean of Mackenzie University in Sao Paulo who preaches at a Presbyterian church in Santos outside the metropolis, will be in charge of one of the governments most desired jobs. Religious groups supporting the president say the education ministry is key to boosting Christian values in Brazil and casting aside what they contend is leftist influence in the schools. Ribeiros predecessor, economist Carlos Alberto Decotelli, left June 30 after only five days on the job amid multiple allegations that he had embellished his academic credentials. Decotelli was Bolsonaros first Black minister and replaced Abraham Weintraub, who has been targeted in an investigation into a network that purportedly spread defamatory and threatening social media posts about Supreme Court justices. Weintraub resigned June 18 and went to the United States. Last Sunday, a candidate interviewed by Bolsonaro said he had rejected the education minister job, without giving more details. Renato Feder, an education secretary in the state of Parana, said he appreciated the offer. Feders decision highlighted the difficulty the far-right president has faced in naming members of his administration. An interim health minister, Gen. Eduardo Pazuello, has led the countrys efforts against the coronavirus pandemic since May 15. Bolsonaro took office in 2019 with promises to appoint Cabinet ministers with technical expertise rather than dole out positions to curry political favor. Evangelical conservatives are a key support to Bolsonaro, who has faced headwinds and political isolation due to his handling of the Covid-19 crisis, which has killed more than 70,000 people in Brazil. The president announced Tuesday he also has the virus. Real Madrid can win LaLiga Santander on Thursday LaLiga Santander Title is within sight Real Madrid need just five points to become LaLiga Santander champions, with their win against Alaves on Friday night leaving them within touching distance of the title. As such, Zinedine Zidane and his players can afford to win one match and draw the other two, or they could even lose one game if they won the other two. In the worst-case scenario, Real Madrid would go into the final matchday with a chance to win LaLiga Santander. Should Los Blancos beat Granada at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on Monday, they could secure the title on Thursday if they are victorious against Villarreal at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, with Barcelona playing at home to Osasuna at the exact same time. If Real Madrid slip up in one of their next two matches and Barcelona pick up six points from six, LaLiga Santander would be decided on the final matchday, when Zidane's side visit Leganes, who will most likely have been relegated by then. Barcelona, meanwhile, will visit Alaves. London, July 11 : UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has been urged by former judges and politicians to grant asylum to an 11-year-old Sudanese girl who would be at high risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) if taken abroad. Around 300 people including politicians, judges and activists have signed an open letter to Patel. The case of the Sudanese girl, Jasmine, gathered enormous support since it was reported by the The Guardian newspaper last week that she remained at risk of deportation to Sudan via Bahrain despite being the subject of an FGM protection order. Labour MP Helena Kennedy, former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal and more than 30 MPs have added their names to the letter published by the the Good Law Project, a not-for-profit membership organisation. The letter is spearheaded by activist Hooda Ali who herself is a victim of FGM and has witnessed life-changing consequences after being cut aged seven. Ali said: "Jasmine will be aware of FGM because her mother has been cut, her aunties died after being cut. She will have been taught in school that her body belongs to her... But at home she hears of risk of FGM, that is incredibly confusing and scary." Patel mounted a legal challenge around the case, which was dismissed at a hearing last month in the court of appeal. Kennedy said: "This case has been fought hard by the Home Office because it lives in terror that if it becomes too easy to flee FGM and get asylum, the UK will be flooded with applicants. But every case should be decided on its own merit. It is very important our courts take a tough position on Female Genital Mutilation, which is a form of torture." Jasmine was brought to the UK at the age of three by her mother, who is also a victim of FGM and whose two sisters died after being cut in their native Sudan. The single mother's claim for asylum failed but inquiries by the family court into her daughter's welfare led a judge to conclude: "It is difficult to think of a clearer or more serious case where the risk of FGM is so high." FILE PHOTO: A palm oil seed is seen at a plantation in Pulau Carey By Mei Mei Chu KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's palm oil inventories fell 6.3% at end-June from a month earlier as a leap in exports amid an easing of coronavirus curbs outpaced a surprise jump in production, official data showed on Friday. Stockpiles at the world's second largest producer eased to 1.90 million tonnes, according to data from industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). Crude palm oil production last month rose to a 20-month high, growing 14.2% from May to 1.89 million tonnes, the MPOB data showed, the highest since October 2018. "Production was 2-5% higher than earlier estimates. We are likely to see a stronger production trend until September," Marcello Cultrera, institutional sales manager and broker at Phillip Futures in Kuala Lumpur. However, June palm oil exports, including crude and processed palm oil, surged 24.9% from May to 1.71 million tonnes, the highest since August 2019, as countries restock on the edible oil after weathering lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. MPOB data showed June imports by top buyer India were 4.5 times the level of the previous month, while China's imports rose 56%. In particular, exports of crude palm oil alone jumped 159% after Malaysia cut its export tax to zero for the period from June to December, noted Sathia Varqa, co-founder of Singapore-based Palm Oil Analytics. However, traders expect the pace of exports to slow down in July. Benchmark crude palm oil prices, currently about 2,366 ringgit ($554.23) a tonne, should hold between 2,200 ringgit and 2,500 ringgit for the rest of 2020, said Azila Abdul Aziz, chief executive officer of Kenanga Futures. "Nevertheless, the fear of a second wave of COVID-19 which could cause further undue stress on the global economy might limit the upside potential," Azila said. Concerns about a resurgence of U.S.-China trade tensions over Hong Kong national security law could also weigh on prices, she added. ($1 = 4.2690 ringgit) (Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; editing by Richard Pullin) A study has found that found that young children from dog-owning households have better social and emotional well being than children from households with no dog. A recent research found that young children from dog-owning households have better social and emotional well being than children from households with no dog. The research was published in the Pediatric Research journal. A team of researchers at the University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute utilised questionnaire data from 1,646 households that included children aged two to five years. The researchers found that, after taking childrens age, sex, sleep habits, screen time and parents education levels into account, children from dog-owning households were 23 per cent less likely to have overall difficulties with their emotions and social interactions than children who did not own a dog. Children from dog-owning households were 30 per cent less likely to engage in antisocial behaviours, 40 per cent less likely to have problems interacting with other children, and were 34 per cent more likely to engage inconsiderate behaviours, such as sharing. Also Read: Immunity boosting tips to stay healthy during monsoon Also Read: First Monday of Sawan 2020: Devotees throng Lord Shivas temples Associate Professor Hayley Christian, the corresponding author said: While we expected that dog ownership would provide some benefits to young childrens wellbeing, we were surprised that the mere presence of a family dog was associated with many positive behaviours and emotions. Among children from dog-owning households, those who joined their family on dog walks at least once a week were 36 per cent less likely to have poor social and emotional development than those who walked with their family dog less than once per week. Children who played with their family dog three or more times per week were 74 per cent more likely to regularly engage inconsiderate behaviours than those who played with their dog less than three times per week. Associate Professor Hayley Christian said, Our findings indicate that dog ownership may benefit childrens development and wellbeing and this could be attributed to the attachment between them and dogs. Stronger attachment between children and their pets may be reflected in the amount of time spent playing and walking together and this may promote social and emotional development. To examine childrens social and emotional development and its possible association with family dog ownership, the authors analysed data collected between 2015 and 2018 as part of the Play Spaces and Environments for Childrens Physical Activity (PLAYCE) study. During the study, parents of children aged between two-five years completed a questionnaire assessing their childs physical activity and social-emotional development. Out of the 1,646 households included in the study, 686 (42 per cent) owned a dog. The authors caution that due to the observational nature of the study they were not able to determine the exact mechanism by which dog ownership may benefit social and emotional development in young children or to establish cause and effect. Further research should assess the potential influence of owning different types of pets or the influence that childrens attachment to their pets may have on child development. Also Read: Nag Panchami 2020 Date & time: Shubh Muhurat, Puja Vidhi and Significance Company cars and work mobiles are perks of corporate life for many employees. But could there soon be such a thing as company broadband to use at home? Tristia Harrison is betting there will be as 'working from home' becomes the new normal for many Britons. The chief executive of internet provider TalkTalk has just launched a new service that allows employers to splash out on 'business grade broadband for the home' for staff stuck in their houses. She says the plan eliminates the risk of freezing in the middle of an important Zoom call. Call of duty: Tristia Harrison says children gaming can slow work down While Britain's broadband network has coped pretty well with millions of people logging on at home, many have experienced problems not least because homebound children clog up the connection by playing online video games or by streaming movies on Netflix. Business speeds, high security, and access to round-the-clock support from TalkTalk's IT gurus could be attractive to smaller businesses now reconsidering the money they spend on a trendy office. 'Traditional working is a thing of the past,' declares Harrison, who says she believes this will be how many companies operate in future, not just the next few months. 'Up to 20 per cent more people are expected to now work from home. What is interesting is the UK has managed remarkably well at working from home during this period. And most places will be thinking how to learn from this. I think looking forward there will be a much more flexible culture.' She says in the few weeks since launch there's already been an 'amazing amount of interest for it'. 'We're talking to some large organisations,' she says. 'You've seen all the announcements by companies saying they're not going back till next year, not going back at all or partially going back.' She says the huge surge in internet usage through lockdown was driven by demand for video streaming, adding: 'Gaming's been enormous through lockdown. And then you add to that everybody working from home and everybody trying to homeschool their kids as well.' Harrison is talking from personal experience. Her two teenage sons have been learning from home, and she says they have been good at getting on with their schoolwork, as well as trying to get her into video games such as Call Of Duty. 'I've tried, but I'm terrible at it,' she laughs, adding of her boys: 'They're quite hilarious. They've done the usual things like giving each other buzz cuts.' We're doing a video call, with Harrison back in TalkTalk's former headquarters in west London for the day, having moved its base up to Salford last year. One of the downsides of working from home, she says, is that she's had to hide away in the bathroom for video calls to get some peace and quiet, so this makes a nice change. Harrison has led TalkTalk since 2017, taking over from Dido Harding after the company's infamous cyber-attack in 2015, which damaged its reputation. She has effectively been at TalkTalk since 2003, when it was part of Carphone Warehouse, where she was marketing director. In 2008, she moved to TalkTalk, which officially separated from Carphone Warehouse in 2010, and helped it forge sponsorship deals with hit TV talent show The X Factor. Her promotion to chief executive in 2017 coincided with a return to the fold for TalkTalk's founder and its largest shareholder Sir Charles Dunstone, who became executive chairman. Harrison explains their plan was to simplify TalkTalk and take it back to its roots by offering no-frills broadband so that 'we're not cluttered up or distracted by doing anything else'. It has left its mobile business and recently sold its new fibre broadband firm FibreNation for 200million. The sale was put on hold last year when Labour unveiled plans to nationalise the entire industry if elected. Harrison said the announcement on the eve of the unveiling of the deal came as 'quite a shock'. While she says nationalisation is not the answer to the UK's slow broadband speeds it lags behind most other developed countries for full-fibre coverage she agrees with the need for change. 'The UK cannot hope to compete if it stays so far behind any other European or global market on full fibre. We desperately need it. The period through lockdown has only shown that to be even more the case,' she says. She praises Boris Johnson's ambition to connect Britain to full-fibre broadband by 2025, but warns that the industry will need to be smart to entice customers to switch to even faster speeds when the network is ready or else there will be no point building it. The row over Huawei does not directly affect TalkTalk and Harrison manages to tiptoe around the issue, merely saying she will be watching the Government's decision closely on whether to strip the Chinese firm's equipment from the new 5G mobile network. Despite being one of the few women running a major listed company in Britain, Harrison says she is 'not a big fan of lots of targets'. But she hopes more home working will help women climb the career ladder more easily. 'I hope that this trend towards a much more flexible approach to work will really help,' she says, referring to part-time female workers or women returning to work after having children. 'It isn't just about women. It's about having flexibility for everyone. It's good to be able to get back to the kids and have a flexible work experience.' Penn State student Zaniya Joe wears a piece of tape over her mouth that says "Black Lives Matter" as she participates in a demonstration reacting to the events in Ferguson, Missouri. (Nabil K. Mark / Associated Press) It was Tuesday afternoon when I first stumbled across a letter published in Harper's Magazine decrying a cancel culture that leads to job terminations, book cancellations and pariahship among intellectuals who say the wrong thing. I remember the day because I was about to meet with Los Angeles Times management, 12 of whom have the power to cancel my career, to discuss the ways in which they've failed Black journalists. It's no secret The Times has for nearly two months endured a sustained rebellion among staffers over embarrassing diversity numbers, a toxic culture that runs Black journalists out the door and allegations of deplorable pay disparities. And so, when I read this vaguely worded letter signed by 151 journalists, academics and authors that griped at the internet's novel ability to surface critiques of their work, citing a "stifling atmosphere" that "will ultimately harm the most vital causes of our time," I kept thinking about all the voices that have been stifled at this institution over the last 138 years. The authors of the Harper's letter say they want to protect the free market of ideas, an idea the 151 signers believe underpins our democracy. I kept thinking about how unfree that market really is. I later learned the letter was conceived by five cis men including expatriate writer Thomas Chatterton Williams, who told me he is deeply concerned by institutions' responses to internet outrage. "People can be arbitrarily punished by social media mobs," Williams said. "The crowdsourcing of the HR department doesn't serve anyone well." It is true that institutions' abrupt reactions to fervent digital criticism can be hasty and illogical (as when media companies de-platformed their 21st century Blackface episodes with no clear strategy in mind). But it is also true that bosses can make terrible choices for many reasons, and have been doing so for generations. I and other Black staffers during that Tuesday meeting reminded the 12 managers of their terrible decisions for over an hour. Story continues For centuries the bad decisions bosses make have often penalized the most marginalized. Now, the repercussions of these bad decisions are experienced in a new normal in which the silenced are silent no more. Furthermore, the lack of those marginalized voices in the upper echelons can force said companies to move hastily to rectify wrongs the people who might have been able to address blind spots before they caused harm have for too long been denied access and decision-making power. Now public platforms like Twitter can exponentially magnify criticism of these bad choices due to the sheer number of people who can amplify critiques with just their fingers. These marginalized people have, for the first time, had unfettered access to talk back to institutions that for far too long were the gatekeepers defining acceptable discourse. "People are innovative and use the tools and technology they have available to levy critiques," Sarah Jackson, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, told me. "The current media ecosystem makes these critiques more visible to the mainstream than ever before, which may be why people feel surprised or threatened." Jackson added that social media has, if anything, expanded the idea of American democracy because it allows Black, Indigenous, trans and queer people to amplify their causes instead of having to rely on a roaming journalist to bring it to the mainstream. The signers of the Harper's letter seem to believe that cancel culture, stemming from the angry young internet wokes who demand to dominate the direction of the public discourse, is new. That is false. Instead, for the first time in American history, institutions are forced to finally listen to those they've canceled. For years, Black people were kidnapped from the shores of Africa and forced with violence to toil on American land, being denied a legal right to fight back. Even so, when legal slavery was abolished, the government enabled white people to systemically terrorize and lynch Black people who dared to speak their minds and vote. It was not until the 1960s that the law enabled Black people to engage in the most democratic thing of all time voting. And still, suppression of this constitutional right persists to this day. That is cancel culture. But the letter did not reference this. Nor did it reference the current industrywide calls and public actions that media leadership long elitist and lily white be inclusive of those who look nothing like them. Williams told me the letter intentionally left out references to recent flaps so it "can stand on its own" after this moment passes. "This isn't about one person," Williams said. "This is about the entire climate." Still, the imprecise letter seemed to refer to the ex-New York Times editorial page editor James Bennet, who resigned after publishing an op-ed by a sitting U.S. senator who called for the military to violate Americans' right to free speech and expression. It was in this mindset I read the letter and stumbled upon a flurry of exchanges in a closed journalists of color Slack where a discussion surrounding it was growing. A suggestion was made by MinnPost's Washington correspondent Gabe Schneider that we do something. "Harper's says it will publish responses," Schneider wrote. "What if we all got a large number of JOCs to cosign a counter letter?" That message spawned a crowdsourced effort to address these elites in a meaningful way. Released Friday morning, "A More Specific Letter on Justice and Open Debate" amassed over 160 signers, including University of Pennsylvania professor Jackson, Washington Post opinions editor Karen Attiah and Kerri Greenidge, a Tufts University scholar whose name initially appeared on the Harper's letter but later was removed at her request. The response noted a free speech violation the Harper's letter did not. "It seems at best obtuse and inappropriate, and at worst actively racist, to mention the ongoing protests calling for policing reform and abolition and then proceed to argue that it is the signatories who are 'paying the price in greater risk aversion,' the response said. "Its particularly insulting that theyve chosen now, a time marked by, as they describe, 'powerful protests for racial and social justice,' to detract from the public conversation about who gets to have a platform." I was involved in the early stages of organizing this response. I pushed for it to be published on the Objective, a collective "focused on how journalism has interacted with historically ignored communities in terms of hiring and retention in newsrooms," instead of Harper's magazine. Why? Because Harper's is a 170-year-old institution that doesn't pay interns. "Why are we giving them clicks," I asked on Slack. I joined the effort in part because I am currently risking cancellation to speak back at my bosses and the industry at large about their repeated failure to create diverse and inclusive newsrooms here at the L.A. Times and elsewhere. I did not feel the need to pen a letter like the one in Harper's, whining about the potential reactions the social media mob may have, in part because I do not have the energy or the time to performatively rehash a reality I and my ancestors have lived for 400 years. Instead, I am doing the work that needs to happen to save this newspaper from financial ruin and to create a space where people who look like me are not whimsically canceled by managers who cannot conceive an America that is not their own. Instead, I'm working with my Black colleagues, demanding top editors and our owner stop putting out fuzzy statements and start shining a light on this newspaper's racist underbelly and working to transform what we do, how we treat the people who work here, and how we serve the Greater Los Angeles area. Schneider said he initiated the response because he was disturbed by the endorsement from the "most prominent writers" who penned a letter that "erased all the problems trans journalists and writers of color experience." "Even though the industry suggests we operate under objectivity when everyone in power is a white man," he told me. "There aren't black people in the newsroom. They are shut out because they haven't been hired." That is cancel culture. The imprecision of the Harper's letter made it confusing even to some signatories. For writer and trans activist Jennifer Finney Boylan, the words were a "well-meaning, if vague, message against internet shaming." Boylan, who later said she regrets signing it, seemed to be unaware her name would be alongside novelist J.K. Rowling, who has freely deployed transphobic rhetoric. In the vague words of the letter, Rowling found shelter in the notion that the existence of trans people should be an "open debate." The fact that people are even debating the existence of trans people is the epitome of cancel culture. The letter deploys transphobic dog whistles throughout, and they exist in a context signors willfully ignored, said Cordelia Yu, a content strategist who contributed to the response. "The context is the language they are using, which is language that is used by transphobic people," Yu said. "To not have noticed that, that's unconscionable. "Curious ignorance is learning," Yu added. "This sort of ignorance is willful. When it's willful, it's an intent and a decision and that's something I can't take." Most of the people who signed the Harper's letter still have their prominent platforms. Bari Weiss, who once tried shaming media outlets into cutting ties with a freelance journalist, is still a New York Times opinion staffer. And Rowling will always be the successful novelist behind the billion-dollar Harry Potter franchise. These 151 signers still have access to elite institutions to espouse their beliefs, I told Williams. "For now," he replied. "I don't have any guarantee that next month I'm not gonna be on Patreon because that's where everyone is for not getting in line with whatever the whims of the new orthodoxy are," Williams added. He's right in a sense. The gatekeepers are the deciders of what is en vogue. And if you are not in step, you risk cancellation. But the accepted belief that objectivity sits in the white gaze is still prized in this industry. Any deviation from it is deemed activism and those who talk back are often exiled. That is cancel culture. So while it may be true people lose opportunities for getting caught being transphobic, sexist and racist, that is the exception. Not the rule. I know far too many Black journalists who on a daily basis tell me the ways in which their managers chastise them for challenging the so-called objective white gaze and demanding their outlet be less racist. That is cancel culture. I've frequently and publicly chastised the L.A. Times for the abysmal funding received by the fellowship I am a part of. I've called out senior editors over Slack for their blind spots on our recent looting coverage, and our masthead and executive editor for their failure to attract and retain Black reporters, editors and photographers. I am literally putting the trajectory of my career at risk. Why? Because I've decided I'm not working in an industry that keeps canceling its Black journalists who hold it to a higher standard. Tweeting generalities about our racist industry is bold. It may move the needle. But speaking up to management is brave. That's courage. Cancel culture is not about to go anywhere anytime soon. It's as American as apple pie. Black people are still being killed on a daily basis by the law enforcement charged with protecting them. Trans people are being murdered simply because they exist. This is cancel culture. You being upset about no longer being able to disrespect and discount people for fear someone is going to say something back to you is not cancel culture. It's accountability. While it is true that companies need a more thoughtful, inclusive approach to their daily operations, they should not discount righteous critiques as this is an unavoidable growing pain of an America that for the first time is forced to seriously consider the voices of the oppressed. And to the elites who complain about their inability to say whatever they want without scorn get over it. It's 2020. The people are allowed to call out your dumb, lazy ideas. If you have something to say, say it with your chest. That's what I'm doing. And I'm only 25. For the record: 5:25 AM, Jul. 11, 2020: This column originally misstated the terms on which James Bennet left the New York Times. He resigned. After more than three hours of private deliberation, the Lincoln University board of trustees on Friday voted narrowly against retaining president Brenda A. Allen, despite a campaign that drew much support from faculty, alumni, and students to keep her. No explanation was given for the boards decision, which was made in executive session while more than 250 people waited during a Zoom meeting Friday night. Upon returning from the private session, board president Theresa Braswell said the vote had been 52% against negotiating a new contract with Allen, and 48% in favor. A board secretary had said earlier in the meeting that 21 of 23 trustees were present. A board member then made a motion to move forward with identifying and selecting an interim president. That motion carried 14-7; one member who voted no in protest objected to the lack of discussion. The meeting adjourned after the 14-7 vote and there was no opportunity to question board members over their decision. Furthermore, Braswell has not respond to requests for comment this week. Before the vote, more than 14,000 people signed an online petition backing the renewal of Allen, whose contract ran out June 30, three years after she took over the historically Black university in Chester County. Supporters say she has improved student retention and alumni giving, among other areas, and argued there was no reason she should not remain president. Faculty and staff members said this week that the uncertainty surrounding Allens position had come as a shock, and said they learned of the issue only recently through alumni on Facebook. Lincoln has lacked consistent leadership in recent years. Allen had succeeded an interim president tapped to replace Robert Jennings, who resigned in 2014 while facing backlash for comments about sexual assault. Supporters of Allen a 1981 Lincoln graduate who previously served as provost at Winston-Salem State University said she has been an engaged leader and has backing from a wide variety of groups in the Lincoln community. The love that Dr. Allen has for the students, staff, faculty and alumni of Lincoln University has been proven time and time again, Alisa Davis, a 2009 Lincoln graduate and president of the Philadelphia alumni chapter, said at the start of Fridays meeting, when Braswell announced that nine members of the public would be allowed to comment. Davis and other alumni called on the board to unite behind Allen and expressed worry about continuing a revolving door of leaders at the state-related university, particularly during a pandemic. Well survive this challenge with the right leadership, said Ray Jeter, a 1979 Lincoln graduate, who credited Allen with bolstering the schools reputation in her three years and ushering it through reaccreditation. A house divided against itself cannot stand. WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio says he wont attend next months Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, because of coronavirus pandemic concerns. And he expects very few delegates from Ohio and elsewhere in the country will be there. While former Vice President Joe Biden will attend the event, Brown said it will be moved to a small arena, and its few attendees will follow social distancing precautions. Not being able to experience a full-blown convention will disappoint some delegates, but Brown said its a small matter compared to the many deaths around the country from COVID-19. Vice President Biden and I and others dont want to do mass events that put people at risk, Brown said in an interview on Friday. Thats the right thing to do. Brown, who is spending much of his free time campaigning for Biden and other Democrats because he wont be up for re-election until 2024, said the pandemic is causing major changes in how campaigns are conducted. Instead of having mass events to rally the faithful, much of Bidens campaigning is being done via online events. Everybodys got to adapt and adopt and adapt and it doesnt give an advantage to either party, because weve all got to do it, said Brown, who has delivered speeches at past Democratic conventions. Its not ideal, most of us would rather go and talk to people. We all miss contact. Brown contrasted Bidens hesitance to hold public events during the pandemic with President Donald Trumps decision to hold a rally in Tulsa, where many attendees didnt wear masks, and with the reluctance of Trump and many other Republican politicians to wear masks in public settings. He said Trump has made mask wearing a partisan issue. He has basically said, If you wear a mask, youre really saying youre not for me.' Its pretty stupid on their part, its pretty tragic for the public health of our country because theyre not just infecting themselves, theyre infecting their families and their neighbors and their friends and their coworkers, too often, Brown continued. He argued that Republicans who dont wear masks model behavior that puts others at risk. He said he wears a mask on the Senate floor, because people in positions like mine need to say, This is serious.' We should wear a mask whenever were out .. This campaign is going to model what responsible people do. Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, who wore masks at several Northeast Ohio appearances last week, says that whether he attends next months Republican National Convention events in Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida, will depend on the COVID-19 situation closer to the convention date. He said he hopes that people who attend gatherings where convention goers listen to speeches would be encouraged to wear masks. We need to take precautions, and I will continue to do that, said Portman. We ought to be careful, because no-one wants to see the spread and these masks dont just protect you from somebody else, they protect you if you are asymptomatic but have the virus from hurting other people. So I think thats the appropriate thing to do. In a Friday conference call with reporters, Trumps son, Donald Trump Jr., ridiculed Biden for conducting his campaign from his basement, contending hes doing so to avoid scrutiny from the American people. He said his father has allowed every state to make its own decisions about wearing masks and taking other precautions to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Trump Jr. said hes currently in quarantine for two weeks because his girlfriend, Kimberly, tested positive for the disease although she is not showing symptoms. He said people who object to potential disease spread in mass gatherings of Republican Trump supporters are hypocritical if they dont have similar concerns about mass gatherings to protest and to riot, where people are not observing social distancing practices. I think we can do this in a safe and responsible manner, Trump Jr. said. We dont want to bring any danger there ... I think its gonna be obviously a little different than what would be typical of other conventions, given the circumstances, and I think thats totally reasonable and understandable. Trump campaign spokesman Rick Gorka said his organization is very cognizant of the health situation and making sure that were doing everything to make (the GOP convention) a healthy and safe event. Were talking about having an outpouring of support for Donald Trump, with his supporters that come out here to celebrate his renomination, said Gorka. Scarcely anythings written on Joe Biden and whatever theyre going to do in Milwaukee. Itd be interesting to see how the Democrats are going to try to put forward any kind of celebration, if nobody wants to show up for their nominee that no ones excited for. More coverage: Donald Trump and Joe Biden backers spar as Biden unveils his economic plan Ohio Democrats pleased with U.S. Supreme Courts decisions that Trump cant withhold his financial records from investigators Rep. Tim Ryan leads charge to remove Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol Sen. Sherrod Brown wants Clevelands baseball team renamed the Buckeyes Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur tries to block Trump administration from conducting nuclear tests Ex-Cleveland mayor and congressman Dennis Kucinich still riffs on the he was right theme President Donald Trump slams possible Cleveland Indians name change in tweet President Trump plugs Christina Hagans congressional campaign on Twitter Presidential electors must vote as their states dictate, U.S. Supreme Court decides Coronavirus outbreak at Elkton prison is waning, says U.S. Sen. Rob Portman Ohios U.S. Senators back renaming Confederate-named military bases, despite Trump veto threat Sen. Rob Portman calls for sanctioning Russia if outrageous bounty reports are true U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion law, similar to Ohios, requiring doctors to have agreements with nearby hospitals Senate Democrats including Ohios Sherrod Brown thwart consideration of GOP police reform bill Ohios U.S. Senators urge support for Asian tire dumping complaint Vice President Mike Pence to visit Lordstown on Thursday Ohio Congress members introduce bill to help hospitals financially hit by coronavirus Can he do that? Local health experts question President Trumps decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization President Tayyip Erdogan declared Istanbul's Hagia Sophia a mosque on Friday with the first Muslim prayers to begin in two weeks, after a top court ruled the ancient building's conversion to a museum by modern Turkey's founding statesman was illegal. Erdogan spoke on Friday just hours after the court ruling was published, brushing aside international warnings not to change the status of the nearly 1,500-year-old monument that is revered by Christians and Muslims alike. The United States, Russia and church leaders were among those to express concern about changing the status of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, a focal point of both the Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman empires and now one of the most visited monuments in Turkey. Greece's culture ministry described the court decision as an "open provocation" to the civilized world, while UNESCO said it regretted it was not notified ahead of time and would now review the building's status. Erdogan has sought to shift Islam into the mainstream of Turkish politics in his 17 years at the helm. He has long floated restoring the mosque status of the sixth-century building, which was converted into a museum in the early days of the modern secular Turkish state under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. "With this court ruling, and with the measures we took in line with the decision, Hagia Sophia became a mosque again, after 86 years, in the way Fatih the conqueror of Istanbul had wanted it to be," Erdogan said in a national address. In a telling of history at times critical of the Byzantine Empire and the modern republic's founders, Erdogan said Turkey could now leave behind "the curse of Allah, profits and angels" that Fatih - the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II - said would be on anyone who converted it from a mosque. "Like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be open to all, locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims," said Erdogan, who earlier on Friday signed off on the Religious Affairs Directorate managing the site. The U.S. State Department, which had urged Turkey to maintain the building as a museum, said in a statement it was "disappointed" by the decision but looked forward to hearing the plans "to ensure it remains accessible without impediment for all." APPLAUSE The association which brought the court case, the latest in a 16-year legal battle, said Hagia Sophia was the property of Sultan Mehmet II who captured the city in 1453 and turned the already 900-year-old Greek Orthodox cathedral into a mosque. The Ottomans built minarets alongside the vast domed structure, while inside they added panels bearing the Arabic names of God, the Prophet Mohammad, and Muslim caliphs. The golden mosaics and Christian icons, obscured by the Ottomans, were uncovered again when Hagia Sophia became a museum. In its ruling the Council of State, Turkey's top administrative court, said: "It was concluded that the settlement deed allocated it as a mosque and its use outside this character is not possible legally. "The cabinet decision in 1934 that... defined it as a museum did not comply with laws," it said, referring to an edict signed by Ataturk. Erdogan, a pious Muslim, threw his weight behind the campaign before local elections last year which dealt a painful blow to his ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party. Members stood and applauded in parliament on Friday when his decree was read out. In Istanbul, hundreds of people gathered near Hagia Sophia to celebrate the ruling. "Those who built this did it to worship God as well," said Osman Sarihan, a teacher. "Thank God today it reverted to its main purpose. Today God will be worshipped in this mosque." REVERSING ATATURK STEP By reversing one of Ataturk's most symbolic steps, which underlined the former leader's commitment to a secular republic, Erdogan has capped his own project to restore Islam in public life, said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Hagia Sophia is the crowning moment of Erdogan's religious revolution which has been unfolding in Turkey for over a decade," he said, pointing to greater emphasis on religion in education and across government. The Russian Orthodox Church said it regretted that the court did not take its concerns into account and said the decision could lead to even greater divisions, the TASS news agency reported. Previously, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide and based in Istanbul, said converting it into a mosque would disappoint Christians and would "fracture" East and West. Turkish groups have long campaigned for Hagia Sophia's conversion, saying it would better reflect Turkey's status as an overwhelmingly Muslim country. A few weeks ago, The New York Times ran an article noting that with the U.S. preoccupied by the coronavirus pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, and massive unemployment, its competitors are moving to fill the vacuum, and quickly. Russia, China, North Korea, Iran all are testing how far they can go, seeking to exploit our weaknesses and fill the vacuum they perceive in world leadership. Our allies, meanwhile, are expressing dismay at the U.S.s inability to come to grips with the pandemic symbolized most acutely by the prospect that Americans will be barred from traveling to a partially reopened Europe this summer and at our withdrawal from world organizations, treaties, and involvement in places where we have traditionally been central to keeping the peace. There are good reasons we have turned inward. As a nation, we have botched the response to the coronavirus, as its recent sharp upward trajectory illustrates. We are still feeling our way through the economic impact, with every likelihood that millions of people will be struggling for a long time. And, of course, street protests, concern about policing, and turmoil over the nations racial practices are preoccupying many peoples attention. Any one of these things would have been enough to try us as a country; all together make this a desperately difficult time. Weve been through times like this in the past, and no doubt will again in the future, but at this moment, our mettle is being tested as it rarely has been. Oddly, I find something bracing about this. Not long ago I was meeting with a group of young graduate students, who asked what troubled me most about the problems we confront, and the word that instantly came to mind was complacency. As Americans, we have a tendency to feel that weve always come through hard times and always will. The result is often a sense that we can leave things to others: to our leaders, to our nonprofits, churches, and community groups, to our more involved neighbors. We ourselves dont set out to do the things we know need to be done. But heres the thing about a representative democracy like ours: it doesnt work unless citizens do their part and I include our leaders in this. At its heart, it asks of us that we find a niche where we can improve things. Its disheartening to see recent polls that suggest huge percentages of Americans believe things in the country are out of control80 percent of respondents in a recent NBC News/Wall St. Journal poll but its heartening to know theres something we can do about it: the country wont be out of control if each of us steps up to the challenges we see in our own neighborhoods and our nation. I began my political career because I felt like I needed to do something to help my community in southern Indiana and didnt know where to start. So, I asked my precinct committeeman, who enlisted me to go door to door to try to get voters involved. That led eventually to Congress, and ultimately to a committee chairmanship trying to resolve some of the countrys knottiest foreign affairs challenges. You never know where these things are going to lead. My point in saying this is that we can all start somewhere. We are divided as a nation on political, economic, and racial lines. We face the existential challenge of climate change. Many of us on both the right and the left worry about a lack of moral perspective in how we approach our problems. All of these are ripe for actions that we, as individuals, can take. If youre white, for instance, how much time have you spent talking to Black people or Latinos about the hostility and difficulties they face? Making the effort to understand as best you can is an important step toward recognizing how deep-seated these problems are, and at the same time how they might be overcome. This time of testing is an opportunity. Its a chance to shake off the complacency wed settled into, and to exercise the gift that our system gives us: the ability to make a difference. Lee Hamilton is a senior adviser for the Indiana University Center on Representative Government. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years. The Government Railway Police (GRP)s special investigation team (SIT), which was constituted to fix criminal responsibility in the Dussehra train tragedy, filed a chargesheet against seven organisers of the event, including a close aide of Navjot Singh Sidhu, without making their arrests. The SIT has diluted charges against the accused besides giving clean chit to the police, railways and the municipal corporation employees, who were indicted in magisterial and judicial probes, in the chargesheet, which was filed before duty magistrate Harpreet Singh on June 6. On October 19, 2018, a speeding train had mowed down 61 persons and injured more than 100 people who had gathered for Dussehra celebrations at Dhobi Ghat near Jaura Phatak in Amritsar. The GRP had registered a case under Sections 304, 304 (A), 337 and 338 of the IPC against unidentified persons. In the chargesheet, the SIT named Dussehra committees president and Congress councillors son Saurabh Madan alias Mithu Madan, general secretary Rahul Kalyan, cashier Deepak Kumar, secretaries Karan Bhandari and Kabal Singh, press secretary Deepak Gupta, and executive member Bhupinder Singh as accused under Sections 304 (A), 337 and 338 of the IPC. GRP Amritsar SHO Sukhwinder Singh, who is a member of the SIT, said, During the investigation, the SIT had found that the accused didnt commit the crime intentionally. So, Section 304 was removed. Section 304-A of the IPC simply consists of imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or both. Contrary to it, Section 304 of the IPC contains imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to fine. According to law experts, the chargesheet filed in court without arresting the accused will be helpful in getting early bail. The court had summoned the accused on July 30. In the chargesheet, the SIT told court that all accused are influential and possess political status. With arrest of the accused, disruption of law and order situation cant be ruled out. Advocate Sarabjit Singh Verka of the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) said, The chargesheet was filed secretly with a clear motive of saving the accused. To make the case strong, the SIT should have arrested the accused and interrogated them before filing the challan. Even, the chief guest of the Dussehra event Navjot Kaur Sidhu was not questioned in the probe. It shows that the accused are more powerful than the SIT. He said, The chargsheet, which appears to have filed in favour of the accused, has also not added any criminal charge against the police, railways and MC employees, who were held responsible for negligence in the magisterial probe. A SIT member, on condition of anonymity, said, Departmental action against seven policemen who were responsible for giving security clearance to the organisers, the then GRP SHO Balbir Singh, and four employees has already been initiated. They were not found to be criminally accused during the probe. The bold raid by Union soldiers along the Combahee River in South Carolina in 1863 was intended to punish slaveholding plantations and recruit for the Unions Black regiments. The raid freed more than 700 enslaved people, some of whom enlisted, and wreaked havoc on the area by burning crops, bridges and other property. By actualizing Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation which proclaimed freedom for the enslaved in the rebel states the raid helped to define the meaning of the war at a time when the outcome was in doubt. The Civil War surgeon and spy Dr. Mary Walker the only woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor is certainly worthy of consideration. At a time when only a handful of American women held medical degrees, Walker left the comfort of her private practice in New York to treat sick and wounded troops. As the journalist Cate Lineberry wrote several years ago in The Times, Walker was repeatedly denied a formal commission as an Army surgeon because of her gender. She directly petitioned Abraham Lincoln for help, to no avail. She eventually landed what Ms. Lineberry describes as an unofficial civilian contract and was sent to Chattanooga, Tenn. As Walkers reputation grew, families sought her out to treat kinfolk injured in battle. She served as a spy for Shermans Army and saw her health damaged by several hard months in a Confederate prisoner of war camp. That Generals Sherman and George H. Thomas both recommended her for the Medal of Honor should be testament enough to her bravery. Nevertheless, the medal was unjustly revoked in the early 20th century though it was restored under President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Racism in the Greatest Generation Pentagon officials in search of honorees from the World War II era face an embarrassment of riches among white, male candidates. The marquee names include: Gen. Omar Bradley, a plain-spoken, highly effective tactician whose caring attitude toward infantrymen earned him a reputation as the G.I.s general. He received four of his five general stars by distinguishing himself during World War II. And Gen. George C. Marshall, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who served as Army chief of staff, secretary of state and secretary of defense. Hes mainly known for the U.S.-sponsored Marshall Plan, which helped to rebuild Europe after the war. His influence extends well beyond the military into international diplomacy. Institutional racism has left the face of military heroism whiter than it would otherwise be. This problem dates to an early 20th century Army advisory that declared Black servicemen as a class unfit for military leadership. This stereotype was reinforced by the formal segregation of the military, which lasted until 1948. By separating troops and even the wartime blood bank by race and confining most African-Americans to support roles, the Army licensed white commanders to think of Black soldiers as inferior human beings and to overlook acts of heroism by African-Americans in battle. A glaring case of justice delayed is that of a World War I veteran, Cpl. Freddie Stowers, who was mortally wounded while leading his men in a heroic attack on the enemy in France. His 1918 nomination for the Medal of Honor had languished for more than 70 years when President George Bush awarded the honor in 1991. By Associated Press SEATTLE: Roughly five hours after an internal email went out to employees telling them to delete the popular video app TikTok from their phones, Amazon appeared to backtrack, calling the ban a mistake. "This morning's email to some of our employees was sent in error. There is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok," Amazon emailed reporters just before 5 p.m. Eastern time. Spokeswoman Jaci Anderson declined to answer questions about what happened. The initial internal email, which was disseminated widely online, told employees to delete TikTok, a video app increasingly popular with young people but also the focus of intensifying national-security and geopolitical concerns because of its Chinese ownership. The email cited "security risks" of the app. An Amazon employee who confirmed receipt of the initial email but was not authorized to speak publicly had not seen a retraction at the time of Amazon's backtrack. Amazon is the second-largest U.S. private employer after Walmart, with with more than 8,40,000 employees worldwide, and moving against TikTok would have escalated pressure on the app. It is banned on employee phones by the U.S. military and the company is subject to a national-security review of its merger history. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this week that the government was "certainly looking" at banning the app. Chinese internet giant ByteDance owns TikTok, which is designed for users outside of China; it also makes a Chinese version called Douyin. Like YouTube, TikTok relies on its users for the videos that populate its app. It has a reputation for fun, goofy videos and is popular with young people, including millions of American users. But it has racked up concerns such as censorship of videos, including those critical of the Chinese government; the threat of sharing user data with Chinese officials; and violating kids' privacy. TikTok said earlier in the day that Amazon did not notify it before sending the initial email around midday Eastern. That email read, "The TikTok app is no longer permitted on mobile devices that access Amazon email." To retain mobile access to company email, employees had to delete the TikTok app by the end of the day. "We still do not understand their concerns," TikTok said at the time, adding that the company would welcome a dialogue to address Amazon's issues. A spokeswoman did not immediately reply to a request for comment Friday evening. TikTok has been trying to appease critics in the U.S. and distance itself from its Chinese roots, but finds itself caught in an increasingly sticky geopolitical web. It recently named a new CEO, former Disney executive Kevin Mayer, which experts said could help it navigate U.S. regulators. And it is stopping operations in Hong Kong because of a new Chinese national security law that led Facebook, Google and Twitter to also stop providing user data to Hong Kong authorities. Pompeo said the government remained concerned about TikTok and referred to the administration's crackdown on Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE. The government has tried to convince allies to root Huawei out of telecom networks, saying the company is a national-security threat, with mixed success; Trump has also said he was willing to use Huawei as a bargaining chip in trade talks. Huawei has denied that it enables spying for the Chinese government. "With respect to Chinese apps on people's cell phones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too," Pompeo said, and added that if users downloaded the app their private information would be "in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party." A US national-security agency has been reviewing ByteDance's purchase of TikTok's precursor, Musical.ly. Meanwhile, privacy groups say TikTok has been violating children's privacy, even after the Federal Trade Commission fined the company in 2019 for collecting personal information from children without their parents' consent. Amazon may have been concerned about a Chinese-owned app's access to employee data, said Susan Ariel Aaronson, a professor at George Washington University and a data governance and national-security expert. China, according to the U.S. government, regularly steals U.S. intellectual property. Part of Amazon's motivation with the ban, now apparently reversed, may also have been political, Aaronson said, since Amazon "doesn't want to alienate the Trump administration." Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, are frequent targets of President Donald Trump. Bezos personally owns The Washington Post, which Trump has referred to as "fake news" whenever it publishes unfavourable stories about him. Last year, Amazon sued the U.S. government, saying that Trump's "personal vendetta" against Amazon, Bezos and the Post, led it to lose a USD 10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon to rival Microsoft. Meanwhile, federal regulators as well as Congress are pursuing antitrust investigations at Amazon as well as other tech giants. WASHINGTON -- The former head of the CIA said the United States may need to respond with bold action against Russia, including imposing harder-hitting sanctions, should a report prove true that Moscow offered Taliban-linked militants money to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. Leon Panetta, who served as CIA director and secretary of defense during the administration of President Barack Obama, told a congressional hearing on July 10 that such an action by Russia would cross a line and require a response that could include diplomatic isolation, sanctions, and, if necessary, military force. Panetta said Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to carry out aggressive actions around the world because the United States has failed to take a tough stance against him and his nation in the past. I think we may have to do something bold in order to get Putins attention. I think, right now, Putin does not really believe that the United States is going to respond in a way that is going to really undermine Russia and undermine him, he told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The hearing was at least the third this week in the Democratic-controlled House on the topic of whether Russia paid Taliban militants to target U.S. soldiers and how the United States should respond. The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on July 9 with four military and foreign policy experts on how to respond to Russia, while the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the same day with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley. The issue has become a hot, partisan topic since The New York Times first reported at the end of June that President Donald Trump was briefed on the bounty but did nothing in response. The White House has said Trump, a Republican who is seeking reelection in November, was not briefed on the intelligence because it was unverified. Should the intelligence report prove accurate, Panetta said the Trump administration should consider imposing the type of hard-hitting sanctions on Russia that it imposed on Iran. Those punishing sanctions have cut into Irans economy, including its oil industry, as it seeks to stop its suspected nuclear-weapons program. Irans oil production has tumbled, starving the government of cash. Russia is among the worlds top three oil producers and sanctions on its energy industry could potentially impact global supply and prices. If we did [that to Russia], it would send a clear signal to Putin that we are serious about making sure they stop the aggression that they have been involved in, he told the hearing. Panetta pointed out that Russia has forcibly annexed Crimea, carried out suspected assassinations in Europe, and interfered in U.S. elections, among other aggressive actions. Panetta said the United States needs to strengthen NATO and build new alliances, including in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America to promote stability and counter the influence of Russia and China. Moscow and Beijing cant form alliances. They fear alliances. So our ability to develop and maintain alliances is one of our best weapons against those adversaries, he said. Panetta criticized Trumps plans to withdraw nearly 10,000 U.S. military personnel from Germany, saying it would send a message of weakness to Russia. This is the wrong time to be moving forces out of Europe, he told the hearing. Panetta, who served in the House of Representatives from 1977 until 1993, said he is concerned about the growing divide between Republicans and Democrats in Congress on such issues, saying it plays into Putins hands. We have got to restore a sense of bipartisanship when it comes to our national security interests. Right now, Putin looks at the United States and looks at the polarization and the partisanship and the divide that has taken place in our country and has seen that as weakness, he said. Panetta's son, Jimmy Panetta, is a Democratic member of the House, representing California. The Fingal In It Together Charter was launched recently by Fingal County Council, three of the county's Chambers of Commerce and Shop Malahide. The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. David Healy, and the Chair of the Economic Enterprise and Tourism Development Strategic Policy Committee, Cllr Tony Murphy, were joined for the launch by Fingal County Council Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly; Fingal County Council Director of Economic Enterprise and Tourism Development, Emer O'Gorman; Bill Kearney, President of Fingal Dublin Chamber; Derek Fowler, President of Malahide Chamber and Richard Berney, President of Balbriggan Chamber and the Chair of Shop Malahide, Aine McCabe. The purpose of the Fingal In It Together Charter is to unite businesses across the county in supporting each other as part of the #FingalInItTogether initiative which is being driven by the Council, the Chambers of Commerce and Shop Malahide. Those businesses signing the Charter commit to a series of pledges under the headings of Safe Access, Shop Local, Collaborate, Social Media Support and Understanding. All Charter members can display the Fingal In This Together logo at the entrance to their business, on their website and social media channels, and on their correspondence. The logo will providence reassurance to consumers that they are shopping local and supporting Fingal businesses.. Businesses interested in signing up to the Charter can sign up online for free at https://www.fingal.ie/fingal-it-together-charter. They will receive a PDF copy of the Charter, a digital image of the logo and a #FingalInItTogether membership sticker. Charter members will be listed on the Fingal In This Together Directory which will also be available at https://www.fingal.ie/fingal-it-together-charter. Mayor of Fingal, Cllr David Healy, said: 'I am delighted to be here to sign the Fingal In It Together Charter. We came together as a community during the worst days of the pandemic to look after each other and now we need to come together to rebuild our local economy.' Cllr Tony Murphy, Chair of the Economic Enterprise and Tourism Development Strategic Policy Committee, said: 'Our local businesses need all the support they can get at the moment and I would encourage everybody in Fingal to support those businesses displaying the Fingal In This Together logo as that is going to really help in retaining jobs in our local communities.' AnnMarie Farrelly, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, said: 'Our local businesses are central to rebuilding Fingal's economy following the Covid-19 pandemic. But it is not going to be easy as we all must adapt to a new way of life while still having to contend with the virus.' Signs of a weakening jobs picture suggest a turnaround from last weeks jobs report for June, which showed a solid gain of 4.8 million jobs and an unemployment rate that fell to 11.1% from 13.3%. But the June jobs report reflected surveys of Americans that were conducted in the middle of that month before the pandemic flared up again. And even counting that hiring gain, the economy has regained only about one-third of the jobs that vanished in March and April. LONDON Ever since the coronavirus emerged in Europe, Sweden has captured international attention by conducting an unorthodox, open-air experiment. It has allowed the world to examine what happens in a pandemic when a government allows life to carry on largely unhindered. This is what has happened: Not only have thousands more people died than in neighboring countries that imposed lockdowns, but Swedens economy has fared little better. They literally gained nothing, said Jacob F. Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. Its a self-inflicted wound, and they have no economic gains. The results of Swedens experience are relevant well beyond Scandinavian shores. In the United States, where the virus is spreading with alarming speed, many states have at President Donald Trumps urging avoided lockdowns or lifted them prematurely on the assumption that this would foster economic revival, allowing people to return to workplaces, shops and restaurants. In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously hospitalized with COVID-19 reopened pubs and restaurants last weekend in a bid to restore normal economic life. Implicit in these approaches is the assumption that governments must balance saving lives against the imperative to spare jobs, with the extra health risks of rolling back social distancing potentially justified by a resulting boost to prosperity. But Swedens grim result more death and nearly equal economic damage suggests that the supposed choice between lives and paychecks is a false one: A failure to impose social distancing can cost lives and jobs at the same time. Sweden put stock in the sensibility of its people as it largely avoided imposing government prohibitions. The government allowed restaurants, gyms, shops, playgrounds and most schools to remain open. By contrast, Denmark and Norway opted for strict quarantines, banning large groups and locking down shops and restaurants. More than three months later, the coronavirus is blamed for 5,420 deaths in Sweden, according to the World Health Organization. That might not sound especially horrendous compared with the more than 129,000 Americans who have died. But Sweden is a country of only 10 million people. Per million people, Sweden has suffered 40% more deaths than the United States, 12 times more than Norway, seven times more than Finland and six times more than Denmark. The elevated death toll resulting from Swedens approach has been clear for many weeks. What is only now emerging is how Sweden, despite letting its economy run unimpeded, has still suffered business-destroying, prosperity-diminishing damage and at nearly the same magnitude of its neighbors. Swedens central bank expects its economy to contract by 4.5% this year, a revision from a previously expected gain of 1.3%. The unemployment rate jumped to 9% in May from 7.1% in March. The overall damage to the economy means the recovery will be protracted, with unemployment remaining elevated, Oxford Economics concluded in a recent research note. This is more or less how damage caused by the pandemic has played out in Denmark, where the central bank expects that the economy will shrink 4.1% this year and where joblessness has edged up to 5.6% in May from 4.1% in March. In short, Sweden suffered a vastly higher death rate while failing to collect on the expected economic gains. The coronavirus does not stop at national borders. Despite the governments decision to allow the domestic economy to roll on, Swedish businesses are stuck with the same conditions that produced recession everywhere else. And Swedish people responded to the fear of the virus by limiting their shopping not enough to prevent elevated deaths but enough to produce a decline in business activity. Here is one takeaway with potentially universal import: It is simplistic to portray government actions such as quarantines as the cause of economic damage. The real culprit is the virus itself. From Asia to Europe to the Americas, the risks of the pandemic have disrupted businesses while prompting people to avoid shopping malls and restaurants, regardless of official policy. Sweden is exposed to the vagaries of global trade. Once the pandemic was unleashed, it was certain to suffer the economic consequences, said Kirkegaard, the economist. The Swedish manufacturing sector shut down when everyone else shut down because of the supply chain situation, he said. This was entirely predictable. What remained in the governments sphere of influence was how many people would die. There is just no questioning and no willingness from the Swedish government to really change tack, until its too late, Kirkegaard said. Which is astonishing, given that its been clear for quite some time that the economic gains that they claim to have gotten from this are just nonexistent. Norway, on the other hand, was not only quick to impose an aggressive lockdown, but early to relax it as the virus slowed, and as the government ramped up testing. It is now expected to see a more rapid economic turnaround. Norways central bank predicts that its mainland economy excluding the turbulent oil and gas sector will contract by 3.9% this year. That amounts to a marked improvement over the 5.5% decline expected in the midst of the lockdown. Swedens laissez faire approach does appear to have minimized the economic damage compared with its neighbors in the first three months of the year, according to an assessment by the International Monetary Fund. But that effect has worn off as the force of the pandemic has swept through the global economy, and as Swedish consumers have voluntarily curbed their shopping anyway. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen gained access to credit data from Danske Bank, one of the largest in Scandinavia. They studied spending patterns from mid-March, when Denmark put the clamps on the economy, to early April. The pandemic prompted Danes to reduce their spending 29% in that period, the study concluded. During the same weeks, consumers in Sweden where freedom reigned reduced their spending 25%. Strikingly, older people those over 70 reduced their spending more in Sweden than in Denmark, perhaps concerned that the business-as-usual circumstances made going out especially risky. Collectively, Scandinavian consumers are expected to continue spending far more robustly than in the United States, said Thomas Harr, global head of research at Danske Bank, emphasizing those nations generous social safety nets, including national health care systems. Americans, by contrast, tend to rely on their jobs for health care, making them more cautious about their health and their spending during the pandemic, knowing that hospitalization can be a gateway to financial calamity. Its very much about the welfare state, Harr said of Scandinavian countries. Youre not as concerned about catching the virus, because you know that, if you do, the state is paying for health care. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Mali's capital Bamako witnessed another day of violence Friday after unrest broke out during a large anti-government demonstration. The protesters support an opposition group that rejects Mali's president's promises of reforms. They pushed their way into the ground of the parliament and state television offices, burned tyres and barricaded roads in the capital. Police fired tear gas and gun fire was heard. Amid increasing calls for his resignation, embattled President Ibrahim Keita late Wednesday promised to reform the constitutional court. But the June 5 Movement, known as M5, has more demands. M5 and opposition leaders also seek the dissolution of parliament and the formation of a transitional government in the west African nation. And although M5 recently backed down from requests for Keita's resignation, some demonstrators on Friday still called for it. (Image Credit Pixabay) President Trump on Friday continued to put pressure on American schools, charging that too many universities are about radical left indoctrination rather than education. As a result, the president said, he was instructing the Treasury Department to re-examine" the tax-exempt status and funding of universities. Most colleges and universities are exempt from taxes as 501(c)(3) organizations. In a pair of tweets sent while on his way to events in Florida, Trump said: "Too many Universities and School Systems are about Radical Left Indoctrination, not Education. Therefore, I am telling the Treasury Department to re-examine their Tax-Exempt Status... and/or Funding, which will be taken away if this Propaganda or Act Against Public Policy continues. Our children must be Educated, not Indoctrinated!" Earlier in the week, Trump had threatened to cut federal funding from schools if they don't reopen this fall. What Trump is doing: This is an old issue for conservatives that the president is now tapping into as part of his broader culture war conversation he's been stoking in recent days and weeks," Peter Baker of The New York Times said. What Trump could do: It would fall to the IRS, a bureau of the Treasury Department, to conduct the review that Trump described. However, federal law prohibits the IRS from targeting groups for regulatory scrutiny based on their ideological beliefs, The Hills Morgan Chalfant reports. Bloombergs Jordan Fabian further explains: Trumps power to drastically alter universities tax exemption is limited, but he could make policy changes that could hurt their bottom lines. For example, the Treasury Department could make changes through regulations, such as the Unrelated Business Income Tax, which pertains to profits earned through a part of the school that is not substantially related to the non-profit or educational part of the university. Universities also rely on federal research grants and theyll need emergency coronavirus response funds, which the administration reportedly may be able to curtail, but broader changes would require congressional action, which is highly unlikely. Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter. Some 450 people who recently tested positive for the coronavirus will be unable to vote in elections in the Spanish regions of Galicia and the Basque Country on Sunday, authorities said on Friday. "People with active coronavirus infections, i.e. PCR positive in the previous 14 days ... cannot attend activities in person," Basque regional health chief Nekane Murga told reporters. "They cannot go to vote." There are around 200 such cases across the region, she said, while those awaiting results of a coronavirus test are also barred from leaving their homes until they can rule out infection, she said. In Galicia, there are 259 people with active cases of the virus who cannot leave their homes to vote, local authorities said. "This is extremely problematic, and what's more, it is quite infuriating because it could have been anticipated," political scientist Pablo Simon wrote on Twitter. Galician and Basque authorities did not specify what mechanisms, if any, were in place to prevent infected people from turning up to vote. While a postal ballot is an option in both elections, authorities could not say how many people in isolation had made arrangements to vote by mail. Both regions had previously scheduled their elections for April but postponed them to July 12 shortly after Spain entered lockdown in early March. National restrictions were eased on June 21, but a sudden uptick in fresh outbreaks has spooked authorities and triggered local lockdowns in the Basque Country, Galicia and Catalonia. With more than 2,600 cases diagnosed in the last week, compared with 632 in the second-worst hit region of Madrid, Catalonia has become the new epicentre of the virus in Spain. Regional leader Quim Torra on Wednesday announced compulsory mask use even when safe distance can be guaranteed, a move followed by similar regulations in the Balearic Islands and Extremadura. Amid the racial justice movement, protesters in the US territory have called on leaders to rethink its monuments. Statues, street names, plazas and even the body of conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon himself: Spain left a nearly indelible legacy in Puerto Rico that attracts hordes of tourists every year, but some activists are trying to erase it as they join a United States movement to eradicate symbols of oppression. Dozens of activists marched through the historic part of Puerto Ricos capital on Saturday, some wearing traditional Taino clothing as they banged on drums and blew on conch shells to demand that the US territorys government start removing statues, including those of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. These statues represent all that history of violence, of invasion, of looting, of theft, of murder, said an activist who goes by the name of Pluma and who is a member of Puerto Ricos Council for the Defense of Indigenous Rights. These are crimes against humanity. Columbus landed in Puerto Rico in 1493 accompanied by Spaniard Ponce de Leon, who later became the islands first governor and quelled an uprising by the native Tainos, a subgroup of an Indigenous people called the Arawak. Historians and anthropologists believe that up to 60,000 Tainos lived in Puerto Rico at the time, but they were soon forced into labour and succumbed to infectious disease outbreaks. Centuries later, local government officials honoured both explorers by erecting statues and naming streets and plazas after them across Puerto Rico. The Columbus Plaza is located at the entrance of Old San Juan and bears a statue of Columbus unveiled in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of his arrival. Meanwhile, a nearby statue of Ponce de Leon stands facing south with his left hand on his hip and right finger pointed toward the first settlement he founded. The ruins still mark the spot of the islands first Spanish capital and are a US National Historic Landmark. The statue, made of melted steel from British cannons, also points in the same direction of the nearby San Juan Bautista Cathedral that bears Ponce de Leons remains and is a popular tourist spot. Activists on Saturday demanded that both statues be removed as the first step in taking down symbols of oppression across Puerto Rico. No, it wont be easy, acknowledged activist Francisco Jordan Garcia, who helped organise the march. Its going to be a long process. But he quickly offered alternatives: We can melt them and create a different statue of someone who truly deserves it. Activists recently contacted the office of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz and said an assistant told them officials would evaluate the cost of taking down the statues. A Cruz spokesman did not return a message for comment. Interest in Indigenous past The march comes as Puerto Ricans interest in the territorys Indigenous past continues to grow. In the 2010 Census, some 42,000 of the 3.7 million people living on the island at that time identified themselves as at least partially Taino. Statues of Columbus have been removed or toppled elsewhere on the US mainland following an uproar over racism after the police killing of George Floyd on May 25. Protesters in Baltimore threw a Columbus statue into a harbour, while others in Boston beheaded a second statue there. Meanwhile, officials in states including New York, Ohio, California, Missouri and Connecticut have removed similar statues. However, one colossal statue of Columbus remains upright and rooted in US soil. The creation, titled Birth of a New World, rises defiantly along Puerto Ricos north coast, a 660-tonne statue that is more than twice the size of the Statue of Liberty without its pedestal. It was once homeless for two decades as several US cities refused to accept it for reasons ranging from cost to appearance until Puerto Ricos government accepted it as a gift in 1998, using $2.4m in public funds to bring it to the island. China's two first-generation ocean-going landing ships decommissioned PLA Daily Source: China Military Online Editor: Huang Panyue 2020-07-10 17:36:28 ZHANJIANG, July 10 -- Two first-generation homemade ocean-going tank landing ships, namely the Yuntaishan and Zijinshan, were officially decommissioned from the PLA Navy on July 7. A combat support ship flotilla attached to the navy under the PLA Southern Theater Command held a grand decommissioning ceremony at a military port in Zhanjiang City of China's Guangdong Province. The navy ensigns were dropped from the two landing ships in the background of resounding military song. With the equipment advancement of PLA Navy, the first-generation homemade vessels have been retreating from public view gradually. The landing ship Yuntaishan (Hull 927) was commissioned in 1979 and has served for 41 years, being reputed as the "No.1 landing ship in China", while the landing ship Zijinshan (Hull 929) was commissioned in 1982 and has served 38 years, being known as the "fluttering flag on the South China Sea". Both ships were the first-generation ocean-going tank landing ships independently designed and built by China in the 1970s. They were manufactured by the Shanghai-based Zhonghua Shipyard with the capability of beaching, landing and cargo carrying. Serving in the East China Sea for a long time, the landing ships Yuntaishan and Zijinshan have superbly performed a variety of urgent, dangerous and difficult tasks, including combat readiness patrol, safeguarding maritime rights and construction in the South China Sea. In recent years, they have been transferred to the South China Sea due to the needs of naval defense development, where they have witnessed the construction and development of the region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address (Natural News) In the latest edition of its Transgender Safer Sex guide, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a powerful and well-funded LGBTQ activist group, has changed the definition of the type of person who has female sex organs to only include biological males who have had bottom surgery to install fake vaginas. In other words, biological females no longer even have vaginas, according to the HRC. Only biological males pretending to be women have vaginas, the group now claims, and this is only true when biological males have their penises surgically removed and replaced with artificial front holes that supposedly resemble real vaginas. While the definition of vagina in previous iterations of HRCs Transgender Safer Sex guide at least made a nod to natural female biology, this latest guide completely eliminates women from the picture and assigns their natural-born bodily characteristics exclusively to mentally ill transgenders. Now, the word vagina is used to talk about the genitals of trans women who have had bottom surgery and nothing else. Biological women, on the other hand, have front holes, not vaginas, according to the guide. Trans mafia convinces Merriam-Webster dictionary to add new definition for trans woman As for the definition of a penis or what the HRC guide crudely calls a dick this word is used to describe external genitals. Dicks, the guide goes on to explain, come in all shapes and sizes and can belong to people of all genders. In other words, just like the altered definition of a vagina, this altered definition of a penis has been expanded to include anyone with external genitals, real or fake. The only difference is that, on the surface, biological men are not excluded from having dicks in the same way that biological women are excluded from having vaginas. The trans mafia has also been successful in convincing the Merriam-Webster dictionary to include a new definition for trans woman that describes such a person as a woman who was identified as male at birth. This is meant to officialize the existence of a so-called trans woman so that she can participate in female sports. Keep in mind that the HRC hosted a town hall event alongside CNN last year, and is now endorsing Democrat Joe Biden for president. In others words, a vote for Biden is a vote for more of this type of insanity, which seems to be a never-ending phenomenon that continues to upend society. Far too many LGBTQ people, and particularly those who are most vulnerable, face discrimination, intimidation, and violence simply because of who they are and who they love, claims HRC President Alphonso David. But rather than have our backs, Donald Trump and Mike Pence have spent the last three and a half years rolling back and rescinding protections for LGBTQ people. David went on to add in a statement that he and his group are fully supportive of Biden, and believe that he will be a president who stands up for all of us. HRC and our more than three million members and supporters will work day and night to ensure he is the next President of the United States, David declared, sending shivers down the spines of all decent Americans everywhere who are sick and tired of the cultural damage being inflicted upon us all by the trans mafia. It remains unclear how the Trump administration, should it persist past 2020, plans to handle this never-ending onslaught of LGBTQ propaganda and aggression against normal society. We can only hope that at least some restraint will hold back the floodgates of total cultural destruction at the hands of the trans mafias mentally ill tyrants. To keep up with the latest news about the trans mafias crusade against natural human biology, be sure to check out Gender.news. Sources for this article include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com Murshidabad (West Benga) [India], July 10 (ANI): A team of the 141 battalion of Border Security Force (BSF) has arrested five Bangladeshi nationals on the intervening night of July 8 and 9 allegedly while they were trying to smuggle five cattle to Bangladesh, in Murshidabad. Police said that they were trying to investigate for whom they were working for. The smugglers have been identified as Alangir Ali, Mithun Ali, Baghu Mandal, Litan Ali and Anand Ali. (ANI) UN Rights Expert Describes 'Dire' Situation In Belarus Ahead Of Presidential Vote By RFE/RL July 10, 2020 The UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus says the country's "already dire" human rights situation has deteriorated further over the last year, amid a widening crackdown on civil society ahead of a presidential election. "The systemic and systematic human rights violations remain, both in law and in practice," Anais Marin said on July 10 as she presented her annual report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Marin expressed concerns that the Belarusian government uses restrictive laws and arbitrary administrative and judicial measures to penalize dissent. On July 1, Marin joined other UN independent experts in urging the Belarusian government to abandon its "policy of arbitrary arrests, violence, and intimidation" against political activists, rights defenders, journalists, and bloggers ahead of the August 9 presidential election, in which President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is seeking a sixth term. They said at least 200 representatives of civil society had been arrested during demonstrations across the country since June 18. In her report, which covers the period from April 2019 to March this year, Marin pointed to "disproportional and discriminatory restrictions" on freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly, and freedom of association. She said that "suppressive tactics" such as arbitrary detention continued to target civil society activists, peaceful protesters, independent journalists, and bloggers. According to the UN expert, ethnic and religious minorities, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, and families of detainees are stigmatized while no anti-discrimination law exists to protect them. Marin also said that speakers of the Belarusian language are discriminated against in higher and secondary education and in the media, which she said threatens the language's survival and negatively impacts cultural life in the country. She deplored that Belarus continues to apply and implements the death penalty -- the only country in Europe to do so and expressed concerns about the lack of efforts to fight torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement authorities. By systematically compelling students, employees of state-owned enterprises, army conscripts, and detainees to work without pay, the government violates the country's own law against forced labor, according to Marin. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/un-rights-expert- describes-dire-situation-in-belarus-ahead-of- presidential-vote/30719294.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address ROME (AP) Pope Francis has long lamented that he can't walk around town unnoticed like he used to before becoming pope. But he seems to have nevertheless kept his sense of humor after he was caught on camera making an unannounced visit to a Rome record shop this week. Usha Bant, 38, earned a living by collecting segregated dry waste from hotels and restaurants in Santacruz. But in the last three months, her livelihood took a hit as the lockdown ravaged the hospitality sector. With hotels locking their doors, Bant found herself in dire straits. The pandemic has hit the informal waste collection sector harder than most. From a 90% drop in daily wages, fear of segregating contaminated mixed waste, and witnessing relatives walk miles to go back to their states, to being barred from entering societies and landfills, ragpickers in the city have had a tough four months. Bants story is no different. Prior to the lockdown, the Andheri slum resident would take the local train to Santacruz to collect waste, sell it, and earn around 200 per day. From March to May, I could not earn anything. Neither was there any transport, nor waste available. I managed to segregate waste outside societies, earning 5 per day. NGOs helped or else I would have died of hunger, said Bant. Vile-Parle resident Bharti Sukaya, 49, a ragpicker at MIDC Andheri for 12 years, would earn 150 per day to support her three children, before the lockdown. She was forced to change her daily route after some areas were declared as containment zones. I began following civic sanitation workers, resorting to scavenging for valuable plastic that they missed, and making 5-10 per day, she said. Three major NGOs in the city that run 15 of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations (BMC) waste segregation centres explained that the entire dry waste supply chain collapsed during the lockdown. Ragpickers income dropped to one-tenth of what they normally make. Stricter regulations restricted their movement since they dont collect waste around the area they live in. Segregation in Mumbai from March onwards fell to zero, with contaminated waste being discarded alongside daily garbage. This scared them, but they had no option, said Jyoti Mhapsekar, president, Stree Mukti Sanghatana (SMS), a Dadar-based organisation that assists 3,500 women waste-pickers from across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). BMC had banned the entry of ragpickers at city landfills after fires were reported at Deonar dumping ground in 2015 and 2016. An order to reverse this was never implemented, said Mhapsekar. Haider Ali Sayyed, founder, Aasra Welfare Association, with 450 registered ragpickers, said the informal sector had collapsed due to lack of transportation of waste, and most of it was hoarded by local dealers. This happened as the majority of transporters who were from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar left Mumbai. Transportation of waste stopped and major waste dealers dropped rates of scrap collected. Local dealers are now selling that scrap at much higher prices, he said. Aasra provided 700 PPE kits, 5,500kg of ration (including rice, oil, lentils, etc.), 13,500 food packets, and 3,700 sanitary kits (soaps, toothpaste, sanitary pads, etc.) to ragpickers, with support from private companies and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Besides PPE kits, temporary identification (ID) cards and training on Covid-19 precautions were provided, said Alpita Rathod, project associate, UNDP. While doctors have been hailed for their efforts, this lowest segment of Covid-19 warriors has remained ignored. Ragpickers are responsible for segregating 60% of Mumbais waste, even during this pandemic, said Jidnyasa Arondekar, president, Aakar Mumbai, with 1,550 registered ragpickers employed across six segregation centres in the western suburbs. Many would have contracted the virus without realising it. Despite repeated reminders to BMC to provide ID cards, a majority of ragpickers dont have them, Arondekar said. From March 25 to April 14 (Lockdown 1.0), none of Mumbais 46 waste segregation centres were functional. However, operations resumed from April 15. BMC officials said owing to mixed waste containing Covid protective equipment that could be potentially hazardous, workers at these segregation centres were also at risk. 70% of ragpickers are illegally associated with the informal sector, where help cannot be provided. The matter will be considered after Covid-19 cases are reduced, said a senior solid waste management department official. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Young Offenders - The next screening in An Tain Arts Centre's virtual film club is 'The Young Offenders', which tells the story of two Cork teens who set off on stolen bicycles to find a missing bale of cocaine worth 7million with the gardai in hot pursuit. The film is set around the real event of Ireland's biggest cocaine seizure in 2007 after a drug-trafficking boat sank off the west Cork coast. To view, simply join An Tain's film club and you will be instructed on how to join Netflix party (you must have a Netflix account for this). The screening with be followed by a Q&A with a key talent associated with the film after the screening via ZOOM. Shadow brief for Munster Louth Sinn Fein TD Imela Munster has been appointed as the party's frontbench spokesperson on Media, Tourism, Art, Culture and Sports. Artists in residency Now that we have moved into an accelerated Phase 3 of re-opening, Creative Spark has announced that two new artists have taken up residencies at the creative hub at Clontygora Drive. They are Jane Campbell, a ceramicist from Drogheda and Mei Lynn Cheung from Banbridge, who will be working in the print studio. Summer School From The Top Theatre school are returning to Blackrock Community Centre from July 27 to 31 with their Dundalk Dance Works su mmer camp .This camp, which is suitable for 12 to 18 year olds, is an intensive dance week fill with different styles of dance and teachers. Due to Covid-19 restrictions there is a very limited number of places available so early booking is advisable on www.fromthetop.ie or phone 085 7674681. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: Since the start of its operations in Turkmenistan, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invested 272 million euros through 70 projects in a wide range of countrys sectors, the representative of EBRD Anton Usov told Trend. In particular, these investments enabled more than 200 small and medium-sized enterprises in the country to access business advice, Usov added. Talking about EBRD's future investments, Usov said the bank will allocate a loan to Turkmenistans Ak-hunji company, which is engaged in the production of building materials. "The loan will be allocated at the end of July 2020," the representative said while not specifying the loan amount. Usov added that EBRD may provide similar loans to other Turkmen companies if the right opportunities emerge. Earlier this year, EBRD and the European Union have supported the growth of Turkmenistans dry cleaning business. Furthermore, the bank allocated a loan worth $1.3 million to support a private Rysgally El company that produces hygienic goods. Usov added that EBRD plans to continue supporting private sector development, both directly and indirectly via local partner banks including provision of funds to privately-owned companies focusing on food processing and distribution, logistics, transport services, packaging, furniture, and hospitality. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development pays special attention to expanding private sector activities in Turkmenistans corporate and financial sectors, he noted. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva A 14-year-old Menlo Park boy is on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout, thanks to his twin sister, his grandmas sewing machine and 40 yards of bright pink fabric. I didnt really want pink, said Parker Brown, but it was the only color they had left. Parker, an eighth-grader at Hillview Middle School, was trying to dream up a service project that would help him qualify for the top rank in scouting when he heard that the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford Childrens Hospital had run out of face masks for its clients. I had to do something, Parker said. He talked his twin sister, Madison, into showing him how to use the sewing machine. He crowd-funded enough money for an online fabric order. He recruited five dozen friends and neighbors to help. He copied the sew-it-yourself face mask patterns from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. And he and his small army started sewing. At first Parkers masks didnt look like the ones in the pictures. The straight lines were curved and the thread was all bunched up and messy, Parker said. Those are the masks I kept for myself. You cant donate those to people. Courtesy Parker Brown Madison showed her brother what he was doing wrong. Shes one minute older than he is, Parker said, and she doesnt let him forget it. Pretty soon Parker got the hang of things, and he and his pals sewed on. One hundred pink masks, then 200, then 500. When he had run out of fabric and volunteers, he had a grand total of 1,280 mostly pink masks. Not just pink but, as it said on the fabric label, bubble gum pink. Thats OK, Parker said. The virus cant read. The other day, he and his father, Brent, dropped off the masks at the Ronald McDonald House, and a funny thing happened. Parker said that making the masks turned out to be a much bigger deal to him than making Eagle Scout. I dont really know how to explain it, he said. Helping the community when it needs help. Thats important. And it makes you feel good. I never felt anything like that before. Hold the chicken lips: A 75-year-old veteran educator had to move out of her house for two months to make it happen, but a long-standing San Francisco summer school enrichment program has been saved. But theres no chicken lips and lizard hips this year. Rebecca Cherny has run the SummerGATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program every summer for 40 years, holding kid-friendly classes in such topics as chemistry, math, theater, cooking, fencing, paper airplanes, belt making and chess. She usually rents a San Francisco elementary school to do it. This year, the San Francisco Unified School District told her with only days to spare that because of the pandemic she would need a new spot. It all happened at the last minute, Cherny said. I was on the phone for days, making hundreds of calls to every school I could think of. With time running out, Holy Name School in the Sunset District agreed to host the program providing Cherny cut the enrollment to about one-tenth its usual size and make it available only to the children of essential workers. She also had to agree to have someone stand at the front door of the school every morning and take the temperature of every arriving kid. That someone turned out to be her. Because of the increased risk, Cherny figured she had better move out of her own house for two months and rent a nearby apartment to reduce the chance that she might transmit the virus to her 78-year-old husband, Robert. It was a small sacrifice, the couple agreed, to save a program that has served more than 20,000 kids over the years. What about the chicken lips and lizard hips? Those are lyrics of one of countless sing-along songs that started each SummerGATE day. The smaller size of the program meant the music and the chicken lips had to go. but theyll be back next summer, Cherny vowed. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. For $2.10, anyone can be a robber baron: Riding BART used to mean hoping for an empty seat. Now it means riding in an empty car. After avoiding BART for months, this reporter and his bicycle boarded a train at the Dublin/Pleasanton Station. BART was expected to lose $600 million by the end of the next fiscal year and has two brand new South Bay stations bereft of paying customers, so the agency could use any fare it can get. A mask is required, and disinfectant is a good idea. Traditionally, many BART riders have carried small bottles of alcohol for medicinal purposes. Now more than ever. BART is eerie as a Twilight Zone episode. Leaving the station, the last car in the train was empty. No acrobats or dancers. Nobody pulling up seat cushions to check for wayward coins. No one else at all. The lone passenger and his bicycle felt like a 19th century robber baron in his own private railroad carriage. All the way to Castro Valley, autos whizzed by outside the window. Speed limits still apply on BART, even if they have become matters of opinion on Interstate 580. In Castro Valley, another passenger boarded the car. Glances were exchanged, eyes visible just above mask level. All these empty seats over here are mine, his glance said, and all those over there are yours. In San Leandro, a third passenger got on, wiped down his seat and sat exactly in the middle of the car. This was serious stuff, so why did it feel like grade-school classmates trafficking in cooties? At every station came the announcements directed at nonexistent passengers: Transfer. Board the Oakland airport shuttle. Cross over the platform. Nobody did. A lot of people talk to themselves in public these days. No reason a BART operator cant do it, too. The car emptied out for the ride beneath San Francisco Bay. Usually its impolite to speak on the phone while riding BART, but not if no one else is around. Its one of those if-a-tree-falls-in-the-forest things. All alone, 135 feet beneath the bay, yelling through a face mask over the various BART squeals and shrieks to a friend on the other side of the country. Only in the remarkable year of 2020. In downtown San Francisco, at the height of the afternoon rush hour, three people boarded. They spread out the way a capful of bath oil spreads out in the tub. Still, it was a good enough reason in 2020 to get off the train, grab a squirt of hand sanitizer from the dispenser and go outdoors where all the social distances were. Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF A television doctor who believed he caught coronavirus through his eyes on a plane, and was left fighting for his life in the hospital, has tested negative for COVID-19, he confirmed. Dr Joseph Fair, an infectious disease expert who spent his life studying deadly viruses, including Ebola, documented his struggle on social media and on NBC, where he works as a contributor. The 42-year-old said he was severely sickened by something, but it was not COVID-19. His illness 'remains an undiagnosed mystery', he said in a tweet on Tuesday. Dr Joseph Fair, pictured June 17, flew to New Orleans April 24 when he believes he got infected On Tuesday he tweeted that his illness was not, it seems, caused by COVID-19 'I had myriad COVID symptoms, was hospitalized in a COVID ward & treated for COVID-related co-morbidities, despite testing negative by nasal swab,' he said. 'I was severely ill for 2 weeks, 4 days of it in critical condition, resulting in pneumonia, diffuse lung injury & 18lbs of weight loss.' He said he would now have a second antibody test to confirm the results, and work with other specialists to find out the source of his infection. His doctor has ordered another antibody test from a different manufacturer to confirm the negative result. The infectious disease expert said that he was incredibly ill in May with an unknown condition Fair will also meet with a pulmonologist again as well as a tropical medicine doctor, since he has spent time in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 'My path forward is a 2nd AB test, & follow-up with a pulmonologist & tropical medicine specialist in an effort to diagnose what made me so ill,' he said. Fair believes he contracted an illness on a plane to New Orleans on April 24. He said he took all possible precautions - wearing a mask and gloves, wiping down the area surround him - but passengers were 'packed in like sardines'. 'Instinctively I probably should have gotten off the flight when I saw that,' he told NBC's Today. He concluded that he caught a virus through his eyes. 'Obviously you can still get it through your eyes,' he said. Fair announced that he was in hospital on May 13, tweeting that he believed it was COVID-19 Fair spoke to the Today show on May 14 from his hospital bed, describing his ordeal The 42-year-old ended up hospitalized in critical condition and relying on oxygen CORONAVIRUS INFECTION THROUGH THE EYES Scientists have claimed the coronavirus can enter the body through the eyes after finding they contain a protein used by the infection to bind to cells. A team was led by Lingli Zhou of the Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore analysed ten human post-mortem eyes from people who did not die of COVID-19 for the expression of ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2). They found the eyes produce ACE-2, making them a target for the virus. Scientists have claimed the coronavirus can enter the body through the eyes after finding they contain a protein used by the infection to bind to cells. Pictured: Healthcare worker in Ukraine Scientists found ACE-2 was expressed in the cornea (A and B, magnified in C) and the limbus (E, magnified in F), which is the border between the cornea and the white of the eye ACE-2 is understood to be the entry point for the virus. Its spiky surface binds to the receptors and, from there, infects the cell and replicates. The coronavirus - scientifically called SARS-CoV-2 - latches onto ACE-2 receptors, known as the 'gateway' into cells inside body. These receptors are found in the respiratory tract and the lungs, which is where the virus first infiltrates cells, as well as other organs. ACE-2 receptors have a shape which matches the outside of the coronavirus, effectively providing it with a doorway into the bloodstream, scientists say It's suggested that someone with more ACE-2 receptors may be more susceptible to a large viral load - first infectious dose of a virus - entering their bloodstream. The team also looked for TMPRSS2, an enzyme that helps viral entry following binding of the viral spike protein to ACE2. ACE2 and TMPRSS2 must both be present in the same cell for the virus to effectively replicate. Dr Zhou noted that viral particles can be found in tears that 'could result in transmission to other individuals'. It means if droplets from an infected person's sneeze or cough were to land on the surface of the eye, the virus could begin infiltrating cells there. It may explain why 30% of patients have suffered conjunctivitis - an inflammation of the eye which causes it to become red and infected. Advertisement 'You know, that's one of the three known routes of getting this infection that we don't pay a lot of attention to. We tend to focus on the nose and mouth because that's the most common route. 'Droplets landing on your eyes are just as infectious and of course I wasn't wearing goggles on the flight.' FAIR'S FIGHT April 24: Fair flies from NYC to New Orleans. Around April 28: Fair begins to feel ill. Around May 5: Fair's fly symptoms progress to 'kind of a walking pneumonia'. May 13: Fair tweets that he is in hospital with COVID-19. May 14: The doctor appears on NBC's Today show to discuss his condition, and explain he thinks he caught COVID through his eyes. May 15: Fair again on the show, saying he is 'almost normally breathing' and can walk. May 18: Fair leaves hospital. May 19: Fair updates the show, saying he's slowly getting better. July 7: Fair says he has no antibodies for COVID and so his doctors do not know what was making him so ill. Advertisement Fair is certain he caught something on the plane because he went directly home but developed symptoms three to four days later, which is typical for the infections. He said it felt like a moderately severe flu for the first week but after four days he realized he had developed 'kind of a walking pneumonia' - a secondary infection as a result of the virus. Fair said that the pneumonia progressively got worse over a few days. A week after he first experienced symptoms he was only able to breathe about a quarter of the air he was trying to take in, he said. Fair said when he arrived at hospital he chose to have a high volume of oxygen over being intubated, which was a last resort. Fair was tested four times for the coronavirus during his stay in hospital, and every time it came back negative. The doctor, who typically ran up to 10 miles per day before he got sick, urged young people to be careful and used himself as an example of someone physically healthy who could be severely affected. 'I was a very healthy person,' he said. 'I can run. I exercise five to six days a week. 'And if it can take me down it can take anybody down. 'That doesn't mean to say it's going to kill you. But it just really - you don't want to have it. That's all I can tell you. 'And you don't want to spread it onto anyone that has at any point at a high risk.' Sochi could be the first race of 2020 that is watched trackside by spectators. Formula 1 on Friday announced two additions to its 'corona calendar' - Mugello on September 13, and Russia two weeks later. "Both races will be a huge boost for fans with more announcements on the next races in our calendar coming in the weeks ahead," said F1 CEO Chase Carey. It brings the tally up to 10 races so far, but it is expected that Imola, Portimao and Hockenheim will soon join in as well. Dates are yet to be set, according to Auto Motor und Sport. Formula 1 says the goal remains 15-18 races in total, with Hanoi, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi also expected on the final calendar. "Very good to see," said Haas boss Gunther Steiner. "I hope they keep on pushing to have a few more and then we should be good." Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Chernyshenko revealed that Sochi will also be able to welcome spectators. "Russia is ready to receive teams and spectators for the Russian round of Formula 1," he announced. Race promoter Alexey Titov confirmed: "We are carefully preparing for a safe reception for spectators." (GMM) A disqualified driver who smashed up four police cars in a nail-biting chase has been jailed for sixteen months. Officers were called to East India Dock Road in east London following sightings of a Mercedes linked to a gang member, a court heard. Police signalled for the driver Shuahan Uddin to stop, leading to a chase. Officers tried to stop the Mercedes with tactical manoeuvres, but footage shows how Uddin rammed past them on several occasions as the chase moved into Essex on the M11 motorway. At one stage, Uddin appears to have been shunted to one side of the road. While officers got out of their cars to arrest him, he managed to drive away again. Shuahan Uddin attempts to evade police / Met Police Police eventually boxed in Uddin's car against the central reservation of the M11 and Tasered him as he tried to run away. The chase lasted 20 minutes in total. Four police cars were damaged, as well as a car belonging to a member of the public. One officer suffered "minor" injuries, police said. Uddin appears to evade arrest temporarily after seeming boxed in / Met Police Uddin pleaded guilty on April 17 at Thames Crown Court to dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance and causing criminal damage to motor vehicles. He was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment at Snaresbrook Crown Court on July 3. He has also been banned from driving for four years and 11 months. Ruddin is shunted into the central reservation of the M11, ending the chase / Met Police Police also discovered he had previously also been hit with a driving ban, as well as sitting in the front seat of a car. Police Constable Josh Haase, the officer in the case, said: "Uddin was intent on evading arrest at all costs and showed a complete disregard for the safety of police officers and other road users. A damaged police car after the chase with Uddin / Met Police "The considerable damage caused to the police vehicles means several police cars are off the road for a considerable time whilst they are repaired. "This was a sustained period of dangerous driving that was extremely fortunate not to cause a serious injury so it is right that Uddin will now spend a period of time in jail. Road traffic officers will continue to deny criminals the use of our roads and will continue to put themselves at the forefront of protecting the public A police officer has been forced to lockdown a pub at after discovering a diner had contact with a coronavirus case. Pub goers at the venue in Bordertown, South Australia were left stunned when the officer broke the news to them on Friday. A truck driver who had earlier eaten a meal at the pub close to the Victorian Border had potentially exposed patrons to the virus after being deemed a close contact of a person with the deadly virus interstate. It is understood that he had flu-like symptoms a week previously and that health authorities called him during his meal to alert him to his potential exposure. A patron filmed as the police officer wearing a facemask revealed that all customers and staff would need to give their contact details and self-quarantine for 14 days in case the truck driver tested positive. The venue was shut for several hours during the process, Nine News reported. Neither staff nor patrons were able to leave during the investigation during, which police tried to ascertain where the truck driver had been inside the pub. The Bordertown Hotel had been booked out for Fabulous Friday where they serve Espresso Martinis, and many patrons had already eaten dinner and departed. 'That's going to be our next step, we're going to have to pull CCTV and work out who was in here at the time,' the police officer said. Pictured: the Bordertown Hotel, South Australia, near the border with Victoria. Staff and patrons were locked down for hours on Friday night after a truck driver from interstate who had a meal there was deemed a close contact of a confirmed coronavirus case Patrons sit in stunned silence as SA Police explain they must self-quarantine for 14 days. Luckily the exposed man tested negative and they were given the all-clear on Saturday Although patrons have to sign a covid tracing register to play pool, one staff member said: 'we've all touched the bar'. The ordeal did not end at the Bordertown Hotel. As some customers had moved on to the nearby Woolshed Inn, police had to advise patrons there they would have to self-quarantine for 14 days or until test results confirmed whether the truck driver had the virus. More than 60 people had been at the Woolshed Inn for a work function and patron Shaun Taylor told Nine News that police advised they would have to take extra precautions with social distancing and limit their social interactions until the test results were in. 'It actually seemed a bit like a joke, until it actually sunk in,' Mr Taylor said. South Australian health authorities prioritised the truck drivers' coronavirus test and results were confirmed on Saturday: he was all clear. The Bordertown Hotel took to FaceBook with the happy news on Saturday morning. 'Just thought we better put the gossip to rest - yes the local police shut us down at 9.30 last night due to a suspected corona incident but at 12:30 we got the all clear,' the Bordertown Hotel post said. 'It's business as usual again today and we will be maintaining our strict cleaning regime. ' Australian Army personnel depart for Mount Gambier, South Australia, to help block the border crossing on Saturday The Woolshed Inn was also warned after it was found that patrons had gone from the Bordertown to the Woolshed on Friday after their potential exposure An Australian Army soldier departs for Mount Gambier, South Australia, to help with the coronavirus border closures. Only South Australian residents returning home or commercial truck drivers carrying freight are allowed over the border from Victoria Staff from the Woolshed Inn also announced their relief at the negative coronavirus test and posted a photograph of a rollercoaster to show how they were feeling. 'Whilst the last 24 hours have been been about as full of emotion as this picture we are happy to say that as per the news we are all clear here in Bordertown!!!' wrote staff member Lauren. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement 'We are not in quarantine - Tests have come back negative ... To our patrons last night I appreciate and thank you for your compliance and willingness cooperate. To my team the way you handled the situation as it was as stressful for you as it was for the patrons. Thank you for your support and kindness!' South Australia shut its border to Victoria this week amid Victoria's worsening outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. South Australia had no new coronavirus cases as of Saturday night, while Victoria recorded an increase of 216, revised down from 251, and has now surpassed New South Wales as the state with the most confirmed cases in total. Defence Force personnel arrived at the Victoria-South Australia border on Saturday, and will help police checkpoints from Sunday. Both sealed and unsealed roads across the border will have a checkpoint or hard road blocks to prevent people crossing into South Australia. South Australian residents will be allowed to cross back in, but they will have to self-quarantine for 14 days. The only exception is for truck drivers carrying commercial freight. They are required to wear a facemask at all times in public and must self-quarantine when not on duty. Treatment of Covid-19 patients at the now overcrowded Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) Central Hospital in Dhanbad crippled on Friday as doctors skipped duty following completion of 21-day quarantine. These doctors were to resume duty on Friday at the dedicated Covid-19 hospital after they completed home quarantine on Thursday. Covid-19 hospital nodal officer cum senior medical officer of the districts health department Dr Alok Viswakarma admitted that doctors of the BCCL Central Hospital did not report for duty in the first shift, which starts from 6am. One doctor and nurses are deployed in each shift for Covid patients, he informed. The first shift ends at 2pm, the second starts from 2pm and ends at 10pm, while the third shift lasts from 10pm to 6am. Since the number of patients has increased, additional doctors have been deployed in each shift at the hospital, said the nodal officer. In the last four days, no doctor has visited the ward, patients at the Covid hospital, including 24 media persons admitted on Tuesday, said. Only a nurse come and gives us medicines in a packet. However, district Indian Medical Association (IMA) secretary Dr Sushil Kumar Singh visit wards of admitted media persons twice a day for voluntary service, said one of the admitted media persons. The dedicated Covid-19 hospital of BCCL has a capacity of 100 beds, which, however, got overcrowded with a total of 104 patients at the hospital till Thursday . Following this, eight patients, including a doctor, were shifted 20km away to Jamadova Hospital of Tata Steel, Jharia colliery division. No quarantine facility for doctors in Dhanbad Doctors of Dhanbad treating Covid patients on Friday complained of not being provided special quarantine facility. After a week of treating patients, we have to be in 21 days quarantine but at home and not at an institution. However, doctors in Ranchi and other districts are put in institutional quarantine , said a doctor. Civil surgeon Dr Gopal Das could not be reached for comments as his mobile phone was switched off.. San Joaquin County public defenders protest outside the county courthouse last month in Stockton, Calif. (Michael Brooking / For The Times) Christine Kroger, a deputy public defender in San Joaquin County, did an "inventory" last week to see how many people were wearing face coverings in the countys courthouse. She toured every Superior Court department that was open. In 7A, she reported: Judge and court clerk had masks, court reporter had mask around nose, bailiff, no mask, D.A., no mask. In 7C, judge and court clerks wore masks; one bailiff had a mask, the other did not. Although Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a statewide mask order, compliance in some California courthouses has been spotty, particularly among sheriff's deputies, public defenders and court officials say. Kroger made it her mission to ensure that masks were worn in the San Joaquin County courthouse. I am angry that my co-workers are being put in peril and potentially bringing the virus back to the office because we have a bunch of idiots over there who don't want to follow the rules, Kroger said in an interview. Since the pandemic began, the sight of law enforcement officers without masks has drawn criticism and controversy. Those who failed to wear face coverings during the Black Lives Matters protests drew particular attention. But inside buildings, there's an elevated risk of spreading the coronavirus. Since courts began reopening, presiding judges have ordered those entering to mask up, but making sure everyone does has been challenging. Going to court for most people is compulsory. Jurors are being seated once again, lawyers must represent their clients, prosecutors must prosecute, judges must preside, court staff must be on hand to interpret and report proceedings. Sheriff's deputies serve as bailiffs in county courts and escort jail inmates in and out for hearings. Kroger, angry about what she was seeing, wrote a letter that was sent to the county Board of Supervisors. She contacted her City Council member and the state Judicial Council, which Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye heads and which sets court rules. Her office wrote a letter to the presiding judge, and she called her local newspaper. Story continues She said she was angered that criminal defendants face penalties for violating societys rules and cannot enter courtrooms without masks, yet law enforcement and the judiciary seem not to have to follow the same rules that my clients have to follow. The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department finally took notice last week, ordering all deputies to wear masks. The order came after The Times inquired about the departments mask policy. Brandon E. Riley, the executive officer for the San Joaquin County Superior Court, said staff members take the temperature of everyone who enters the courthouse and distribute masks. We dont have enough staff to follow them around the courthouse, but we expect them to wear it, he said. He said that court staff wear face coverings, except those who have medical reasons for not donning them. In that case, Kroger said, they should be wearing face shields. I do understand the concern, said Riley, himself a mask wearer, but we have applied the guidance to the fullest extent that we can." Oscar Bobrow, who heads the California Public Defenders Assn., surveyed his members to determine which courts were complying with the mask rule. Most who replied, including public defenders in Riverside, Yolo, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Ventura, San Diego, Sacramento, Napa, Nevada, Monterey, Los Angeles and Orange counties, said bailiffs were wearing masks, with some lapses. Bobrow, who is chief deputy public defender for Solano County, said some sheriff's deputies and court reporters there still do not wear masks, though compliance improved after the court's presiding judge issued an order on June 18 mandating face coverings. In the Tehama County Superior Court, some sheriff's deputies wear masks, others dont, said Chief Court Executive Officer Kevin Harrigan. The Sheriffs Department has cited an exclusion for mask wearing, he said. After a June 18 court order directing all people entering the Tehama County Courthouse to wear face coverings, Sheriff-Coroner Dave Hencratt developed a written policy. The purpose of this policy is to mitigate extreme peril to Deputies, which may result from the States Guidance Document for the use of face coverings and the order of the Tehama County Superior Court mandating face coverings/Masks, the sheriff wrote. The policy says a mask severely hampers deputies' command presence, reduces the senses of smell and taste needed to detect smoke, chemicals or alcohol, causes fogging when worn with glasses and may restrict breathing. In addition, the sheriff wrote, prolonged wearing of a mask could trigger anxiety and claustrophobic reactions." The dangers deputies face are much more imminent and by far outweigh the risk of exposure or transmission of almost any airborne pathogen," he said. But in a memorandum to the court, the sheriff said deputies in the court should abide by state guidance. The Sheriffs Department did not respond to a request for an interview. In Fresno County, a sheriff's spokesman said all deputies were required to wear masks in the courtrooms unless they were alone. But Fresno County Deputy Public Defender Stephanie Negin said some deputies in courtrooms still do not wear them, even though more than 600 people at the Fresno County Jail have COVID-19, including more than two dozen correctional officers. Negin said one of her colleagues contracted the disease from a client, an inmate. Jail inmates wear masks made with a material she likened to a light T-shirt. She said clients have told her they wash the masks at night if they can obtain soap. Unlike sheriff's deputies, Fresno police have been wearing masks, she said, which she has seen from reviewing video of body cameras. Kroger is pleased that San Joaquin County deputies have been told to cover their faces in court, but knows compliance is likely to be a challenge. When she did her "inventory" last week, she said, she walked into a courtroom and saw a bailiff who was not wearing a mask. When he saw her, he quickly put one on, she said. "Several security guards had their masks not covering their noses," she said. "One had his hanging from his ear when I was leaving." A 65-year-old North Cork farmer has spoken of the hugely positive response she has received after going on RTE's Liveline to tell the country how she has started to transition from male to female, and how accepting and supportive her neighbours and local community have been. Erica Coates, who was born Eric, said she has received a fantastic response since telling her story to Joe Duffy, after hearing how a young man was having difficulty transitioning to female due to appointments with his endocrinologist being cancelled due to COVID-19. "I was surprised at the response I've got - to be honest I was surprised that Liveline wanted me on in the first place - I would be a very private, shy kind of person and I was as nervous as hell, but Joe Duffy is very professional, and it was just like having a chat, one to one, with someone," she said. "I decided to ring in after hearing about that other person, and it would be bred in me from my ancestors that if somebody has a problem, you help them out, and the way I looked at it, if you could save one life by putting out a positive message, it would be worth it. "But since I came off the radio that afternoon, the phone didn't stop between calls and texts and emails - all these people ringing up to say 'Fair play' and 'Well done' and 'Congratulations' - it's all been positive so I'm delighted,," said Erica. Erica, who lives with her three dogs - Sydney, Jacob and Kirstie - at the family farm at Kildinan, midway between Rathcormac, Watergrasshill, Glenville and Ballyhooly, told how she only realised she was trans-gender when she saw a trans-gender person on the Late Late Show some years ago. "All my life since I was a child I knew there was something a bit different about me - I always wanted to leave my hair long and loved the idea of having earrings and jewellery, but I never knew anything about transgender," said Erica, who is involved in tillage and rears beef cattle on her farm. "Growing up a boy in a rural area, these things weren't talked about that time. Years afterwards I heard about gays and lesbians and I knew I wasn't going down that road - I had heard of men becoming women and women becoming men, but I didn't think about the whys or the reasons. "It's a good few years ago now, but I was watching the Late Late one night, and there was a person came on and told their story about making the change - I was in my 50s at the time and listening to them, that ticked all my boxes - I had just kept it to myself totally for years and years." Erica took the plunge in July 2019 when she went into Debenhams in Cork city and met an assistant on the Lancome counter to ask about make-up, and the woman was so friendly and helpful that she announced to her that she was transgender. "She was the first person in the world that I said it to - a complete stranger - I was getting that way, slowly but surely, more feminine, bit by bit, but that was the day the gate opened, and from then on, I was just going across that bridge, and I wasn't going to go back and that was it. "It was like a sentence over me, my body was free but my mind was inside in solitary confinement, sentenced for life, and the sentence came off and the gate was opened that day," said Erica, who now wears dresses and skirts in female colours and pink wellies around her 65-acre holding. Erica, who has one brother and one sister, admitted to Joe Duffy that she would have found it difficult to come out as a trans-gender person while her late father, George, was alive, but he died in 2017 and it was only after he passed away that she felt comfortable in coming out. "I've been a farmer all my life - it is probably easier for me to do it since my father died three years ago, he was a very conservative-type person - may be if I came out and said it, I might have been able to go that road years ago but I couldn't really do it. "I just told my brother one day, 'I don't know whether you suspect or not but I've come to the conclusion that I'm transgender and I'm going with it, no ifs or buts about it' - the mind was in such a state, I just had to do it in the end." Erica, who has been diagnosed as having gender dysphoria or the distress a person feels due to a mismatch between their gender and sex assigned at birth, has not undergone any surgery or taken any hormones but does take natural products rich in oestrogen so her body has begun to change. With support from her GP, psychologist and the Cork Transgender Peer Support Group, Erica has continued on her journey to become her true self, and she is full of praise for her neighbours in Kildinan for the support that they have given her. "I thought it was my dark secret but I'm the same person I always was - one of the neighbours said 'We knew that for years, but we couldn't say it to you'. He said to me 'You are probably the most honest person I've ever dealt with in my life and to be true to yourself, you had to go with it." "Some of them came around and hugged me - another person sent me a voucher for 100 for a beauty treatment - I thought it was a very kind thing. Even down at the mart and dressed that way, I felt so right and no embarrassment at all, people were looking at me, it made no difference. "All the neighbours know I am dressing totally female now, jewellery and nails are done all the time now - I have my name changed officially on my driving licence, insurance, bank - everything is changed now so the old me is left behind. "A lot of people have said to me that from the time I came out and crossed that bridge:'You've totally changed completely - you're always happy now'. "I wake in the morning and see my nails done, and I wear a dress or a skirt or something and I can't explain it, but it just feels so right." BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11 By Tamilla Mammadova Trend: Some 1.4 tons of cheese (except for blue, processed, grated and young cheese) were exported from Georgia to Azerbaijan from January through May 2020, Trend reports referring to National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat). In monetary terms, the export of cheese from Georgia to Azerbaijan amounted to $8,300. This year, blue, processed, grated and young cheeses were not exported from Georgia to Azerbaijan. Last year, Georgia exported 100 kg of cheese (except for blue, processed, grated and young cheese) to Azerbaijan in the amount of $500 to Azerbaijan. In 2019, 6.5 tons of grated cheese were exported from Georgia to Azerbaijan in the amount of $28,002, as well as 1.2 tons of young cheese in the amount of $4,900. From January through May 2020, trade turnover between Georgia and Azerbaijan amounted to $409.1 million. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356 Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission Governance as a continuous process must be demonstrated by leaders through action rather than mere words. As part of the government agenda to finish uncompleted projects by the previous administration, the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly has completed handed over a 1NO CHP Compound, a COVID 19 mechanized borehole with two overhead tanks at the cost of over GHC 472,000 to the people of Yebongo, a community in Sumbrungu in the Bolgatanga Municipality. The Common fund project initiated by the erstwhile Mahama administration in 2016 had to be continued by the current NPP government from April 16, 2020, and completed in January this year, with its ancillary facilities. The CHPS compound has a large open space for OPD, Records room, 2 consulting rooms, dispensary, dispensary store, labour ward, and a resting room as well as a separate three-bedroom self-contained accommodation for the staff. Speaking at the commissioning and handing over of the CHPS compound The Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive, Joseph Amiyuure Atura, at Yebongo, expressed his commitment to equipping the facility with the needed logistics including a radio warmer to improve maternal health delivery in the area. While commending the Chief of Yebongo, the Assemblymember and the contractor for their commitment to the project, Mr. Amiyuure urged the people to pay particular attention to the facility and see it as their own. The MCE also expressed government commitment to provide a CHPS compound at Yipaala before the end of his tenure to make health service delivery accessible to the people of the area. On his part, the Municipal Health Director, Dr. Edmond Mohammed Nyanwura called for provision for motorbike, Vaccine fridge, freezer, and other logistics to enhance service delivery. He stresses the need for a place of convenience for patients who visit the facility. The Municipal Engineer, Ing Samuel Kwame Tettey commended the contractor, Gaspard Ayore of Yornasco Enterprise for executing the project despite funding constraints as common with the Common Fund project. He disclosed that the total cost for the CHP compound was valued at GHC 453, 061.00 while the COVID 19 mechanized borehole was valued at GHC19,748.50. This facility is the thirteen out of the thirty-eight demarcated CHP zones in the Bolgatanga Municipality. Patients with Covid-19 and high blood sugar levels are twice as likely to die from the coronavirus than those with lower levels - even without a diabetes diagnosis, a study shows. Researchers working in China looked back at patients admitted to different hospitals in Wuhan with high blood sugar levels who later died of the Covid-19. Previous studies have shown a link between abnormally high blood sugar and a greater risk of death from pneumonia, stroke, heart attacks, trauma and surgery. A link has also been shown between diabetes and a greater risk of death from Covid-19, according to the Huazhong University of Science and Technology team. And the researchers say their findings show that, even without a diabetes diagnosis, high blood sugar is linked to a raised risk of dying from coronavirus. They recommend hospitals introduce blood glucose level screening when patients are admitted with coronavirus symptoms. A link has also been shown between diabetes and a greater risk of death from Covid-19, according to the Huazhong University of Science and Technology team. They recommend hospitals introduce blood glucose level screening (above, stock image) when patients are admitted with coronavirus symptoms Naveed Sattar, Professor of Metabolic Medicine, University of Glasgow, not involved in the study, said the reports findings are in line with expectations. 'We know, for example, that those with higher blood sugar levels will have more severe disease, because more severe disease will stress metabolic pathways more, leading sugar levels to rise in the sickest patients,' Sattar said. The Chinese team looked at fasting blood glucose levels at admission from January 24, 2020 to February 10, 2020 in two hospitals in Wuhan, China. They also examined demographic and clinical data, 28-day outcomes, in-hospital complications and the severity of pneumonia in patients with the condition. A total of 605 COVID-19 patients were covered by the study, including 114 who died in hospital - with an average age of 59 years. Thirty-four per cent had one or more underlying conditions, but had not been diagnosed with diabetes, with high blood pressure being the most common. Almost one third of patients had blood sugar levels so high that if they were constantly at that level they would be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The results showed that patients in the highest blood sugar level group were 2.3 times more likely to die than those in the lowest, a statistically significant result. Those in the middle group were 71 per cent more likely to die than those in the lowest group, although this result only had borderline statistical significance. The data also showed that men admitted with higher blood sugar levels were 75 per cent more likely to die than women with similar levels. The authors said they have shown high blood sugar levels are an indicator of a greater chance of dying from coronavirus or suffering complications from the virus. 'These results indicate that our study included both undiagnosed diabetic patients and non-diabetic patients with hyperglycaemia caused by an acute blood-glucose disorder,' the authors wrote. 'Patients with conditions not related to diabetes, such as severe sepsis, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and traumatic brain injury tend to have abnormally high blood sugar.' There were limitations to the study, for example the team didn't have data on measures taken to lower blood sugar levels such as insulin and its impact. 'What the authors cannot confirm is whether differential targeting of blood sugar levels in those admitted leads to differences in outcomes,' Professor Sattar said. 'It would be a step too far to assume from this study that targeting blood sugar more aggressively to lower levels than currently practised in hospitalised patients would make a difference. 'Doctors are already testing sugar levels in such patients so this is not new either but whether these levels help determine outcomes when more clinical data are factored in, is also not certain.' Based on their findings, the researchers say there is a link between increased risk of dying from coronavirus and high blood sugar even without a diabetes diagnosis The authors suggest that possible mechanisms for this increased mortality include changes to the way blood clots form and the function of the walls of blood vessels. The other major suggestion is the overproduction of inflammatory cytokines (small proteins important in cell signaling) produced by the immune system - the so-called cytokine storm. 'In conclusion, a fasting blood glucose level of 7.0 mmol/l or higher at admission is an independent predictor for 28-day mortality in patients with Covid-19 without previous diagnosis of diabetes,' the team wrote. 'Blood sugar testing and control should be recommended to all Covid-19 patients even if they do not have pre-existing diabetes, as most Covid-19 patients are prone to glucose metabolic disorders. 'During a pandemic of Covid-19, measuring fasting blood glucose can facilitate the assessment of prognosis and early intervention of hyperglycaemia to help improve the overall outcomes in treatment of Covid-19.' The findings have been published in the journal Diabetologia. The Army will soon hire four civilian consultants to lead a review of the command climate at Fort Hood, Texas, amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and Hispanic advocacy groups looking for answers about the murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillen. "I want to express my condolences to the Guillen family," Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Friday in a news release, after meeting with leaders of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). "We are saddened and deeply troubled by the loss of one of our own, Specialist Vanessa Guillen." Read Next: Army Secretary Orders Command Climate Review Amid Vanessa Guillen Investigation McCarthy ordered the independent review to determine whether the command climate and culture at Fort Hood, and the surrounding military community, "reflects Army values, including respect, inclusiveness, and workplaces free from sexual harassment," the release states. As soon as the Army hires the four civilian consultants, they will form a panel and spend up to 10 days at Fort Hood. "They will review historical data, such as command climate surveys, Inspector General reports, criminal/military justice reports and sexual harassment and sexual assault response program statistics," according to the release. "Additionally, they will conduct interviews with military members and members of the Fort Hood community." Guillen, a 20-year-old 3rd Cavalry Regiment soldier, disappeared April 22 from Fort Hood. Army officials announced Monday that her remains had been identified after being discovered in Bell County. An investigation revealed that Spc. Aaron Robinson allegedly murdered Guillen on the day she disappeared, according to a July 2 criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas. Robinson allegedly told 22-year-old Cecily Aguilar that he killed Guillen "by striking her in the head with a hammer" while on post and then smuggled her body to a remote site in Bell County, the complaint states. Aguilar, a civilian and the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier, allegedly helped Robinson mutilate and dispose of Guillen's body, according to the complaint. Federal authorities charged Aguilar with conspiracy to tamper with evidence in Guillen's disappearance, according to the complaint. Several lawmakers, as well as Hispanic advocacy groups such as LULAC, have called for separate investigations into Fort Hood's handling of the case. Under Secretary of the Army James E. McPherson and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Joseph M. Martin will co-chair an implementation team, which will consider every recommendation from the panel and make changes as appropriate, the release states. "The Army's strength comes from our diverse force, and we must increase our efforts to ensure that we are representative of the nation," McCarthy said in the release. He added that he wants to ensure the service is a more inclusive organization and to "strengthen the Army's relationship with LULAC and the Hispanic community as a whole." -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Related: Female Vets Call for Closure of Fort Hood Amid Reports of Vanessa Guillen's Murder People's Action Party Secretary-General and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong waves as he leaves a polling centre during the general election on 10 July 2020 in Singapore. (PHOTO: Getty Images) By Vernon Lee and Chia Han Keong SINGAPORE The ruling Peoples Action Party (PAP) has suffered its worst electoral performance since independence in terms of the number of seats lost to the opposition, as the Workers Party won Sengkang GRC and retained Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC. The PAP won 61.24 per cent of the votes cast and 83 seats out of 93 at the General Election (GE) held amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Its vote share was a sharp drop from 69.9 per cent in GE2015. The results come after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged Singaporeans last month following the dissolution of Parliament to give the PAP a strong mandate in order to empower the government to continue dealing with the severe impact of the pandemic. Speaking at a media conference after the GE results were announced, Lee said the percentage of the popular vote for the PAP was not as good as we hoped for. The results reflected the pain and uncertainty of Singaporeans. The loss of Sengkang GRC was a major loss to the PAP team, said Lee, adding that he has called to congratulate the Workers Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh. The PAP GRC team was anchored by Ng Chee Meng, Minister in the Prime Ministers Office and labour chief. Lee said he would recognise Singh as a leader of the opposition at the next Parliament and looked forward to working with him. With 10 seats in the next Parliament, the WP will further cement its position as the leading opposition party in Singapore. At the close of poll for GE2020, a total of 2,535,565 votes were cast in Singapore including 45,772 rejected votes, the Elections Department said. This made up 95.63 per cent of the 2,651,435 registered electors, it added. The GE was called nine months before the deadline for the election. Lee said previously when he called for the election that Singapore has been fully focused on dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak since the beginning of the year. The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on livelihoods and the economy, while the government unveiled a slew of measures to curb the spread of the virus, he added. Story continues To mitigate the economic impact, the government announced four budgets with a total injection of about $100 billion to help workers, businesses and households. While Singapore is progressively reopening, Lee said the country was only at the beginning phase of the battle against COVID-19 and that a long struggle lies ahead. Lee and other PAP leaders have forecast that there would be more business closures, more retrenchments and a rise in unemployment in the coming months as economies around the world continue to reel from the COVID-19-led downturn. They stressed during campaigning that the government is determined to not only save as many jobs as possible, but also create new jobs. At the same time, businesses and industries receive help to ride out the crisis and restructure themselves. Among the initiatives, the National Jobs Council, helmed by Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, has pledged to create 100,000 jobs and training opportunities over the next year. In a PAP booklet distributed to every Singaporean household, Lee said in a message to Singaporeans, In the coming months and years, we will face many tough situations and difficult decisions. To see ourselves through safely, we need a capable and committed leadership team, working closely with a resolute and united people, enjoying full trust and confidence in one another...Please vote for me and my PAP team. Together, we will overcome COVID-19 and secure a brighter future for our children. During a lunchtime e-rally by the PAP on Monday, Lee committed himself to ensuring a smooth leadership transition and underlined his deep personal responsibility to make Singapore succeed amid the pandemic. You have my word: Together with my older colleagues like Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, as well as the 4G ministers, I will see this through. I am determined to hand over Singapore, intact and in good working order, to the next team, Lee said. On the opposition, Lee said at the e-rally that Singaporeans should not to be taken for a ride by opposition politicians who say that it is important just to have more choices. The opposition campaign During the GE, opposition parties have campaigned on issues such as making the government more accountable and responsive to peoples needs, bringing down the high costs of living, as well as prioritising jobs for Singaporeans. They had wanted voters to vote them into parliament so as not to give the ruling PAP a blank cheque on future policy decisions. Most of the parties were unhappy at the decision to hold the election amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as they felt it had put the more vulnerable citizens under undue risks of infection. Some parties, such as the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and Progress Singapore Party (PSP), criticised the governments management of the pandemic, blaming it for the high number of COVID-19 cases among the migrant workers dormitories as well as sending confusing messages over the wearing of face masks in public. Another key contention was the PAPs assertion that its Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) scheme guarantees opposition voices in parliament. Opposition parties argued that the scheme prevents the opposition from sinking roots in a constituency, and was a ploy used by the PAP to entice voters not to vote for opposition candidates. Key opposition figures who were in the spotlight during the campaign include PSPs secretary-general Tan Cheng Bock, a former PAP Member of Parliament; WPs Pritam, who was leading his partys GE campaign for the first time since taking over Low Thia Khiang; and SDP chairman Paul Tambyah, a prominent expert on infectious diseases, who led the criticism on the governments handling of the pandemic. For a brief period, media attention was diverted to Raeesah Khan, WP candidate for Sengkang GRC, who was embroiled in a police investigation over her social media posts. Raeesah had purportedly made remarks that attempted to sow racial enmity and cast aspersions on the integrity of the judiciary. While she has apologised for her posts, her party had to endure calls by the PAP to clarify its stance on the serious matter. Another opposition member who was in the news was Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of PM Lee, who joined the PSP a few months ago but only made public his decision days before Nomination Day. The brothers were estranged due to an ongoing legal tussle over their old Oxley Road residence after the death of their father, Singapores first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, in 2015. While the younger Lee did not contest in the GE, his presence at several PSP walkabouts, as well as his online speeches in support of the party, drew heavy media attention. This was also the first GE in which the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) had been invoked to issue correction directions to articles and videos with statements of falsehood. While opposition parties have strongly criticised the controversial law, they have complied when issued the correction directions. Follow Yahoo News Singapores GE2020 coverage here. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore General Election 2020 stories Live: GE2020 polling draws to a close, Singaporeans await results GE2020: PAP's Liang Eng Hwa wins Bukit Panjang vs SDP's Paul Tambyah with 53.74% of votes GE2020: Opposition parties outraged by last-minute extension to voting hours to 10pm GE2020: Voting hours extended to 10pm, first time ever; higher turnout vs GE2015 Investing in companies that are part of the new digitalised world has proved a sound strategy for many investors in recent years as well as in the past few months as the world has gone into lockdown and is only now slowly emerging from its mothballing. Look at the US stock market and it is the technology giants that continue to drive it forward the likes of Apple, Alphabet (owner of Google), Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. It is difficult to see how their dominance of both the stock market and world economy is going to recede, though for sure there will be hiccups along the way. Traditional: Experts say there is big money to be made in Japanese firms that embrace the digital age, given 80 per cent of payments are still made in cash Yet the digital story is not exclusively an American one. Companies across the world are emerging that make possible the new digitalised age we all live in where payments are made by phone rather than in cash, shopping is done online rather than on the high street, and where an array of services (everything from medical advice to buying a home) embraces new technology. One stock market where a raft of technology-focused companies is beginning to emerge and excite some of the UK's investment houses is Japan. According to experts, Japanese technology companies provide UK investors with the opportunity to make solid returns over the next five to ten years because Japan is way behind the US in digitalising its economy. So innovative businesses, developing industry-leading technologies, could grow rapidly as the economy modernises. Nicholas Weindling manages the 1billion investment trust JPMorgan Japanese from offices in Tokyo. His investment record is exemplary, delivering returns for shareholders of just under 100 per cent over the past five years. However, his fund and record have not registered on the radar of most UK investors. He believes this is because Japan is seen from the outside as a country with an ageing and shrinking population and where economic growth is being held back by a culture of thrift rather than spending. It is therefore not considered a 'sexy' investment, when in fact some companies that make up parts of the stock market are appealing. 'If you look at Japan's stock market, it is dominated by banks, car makers and office equipment manufacturers: the likes of Canon, Sony and Panasonic,' says Weindling. 'They are all operating in what I consider to be old-style industries. But as an investor, that is not where you are going to make your money. The key is to find the next generation of company ideas and that usually means concentrating on companies with a digital bent.' Among JPMorgan Japanese's 60 holdings is the electronic payments company GMO Payment Gateway. 'Its growth runway is long,' says Weindling. 'It's at the equivalent of metre ten in a hundred-metre race, which means the opportunity for investors to make money as the business grows is huge. 'Eighty per cent of payments in Japan are still made in cash.' Other key stakes are in robotics specialist Keyence and Base, Japan's answer to the music streaming company Spotify. 'Japan leads the world in robotics,' says Weindling. 'Automation of production is a theme that is not going to go away. As for Base, subscription numbers have soared during the coronavirus pandemic.' Weindling's view is not an isolated one. It is shared by Praveen Kumar, manager of investment trust Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon, which invests in smaller Japanese firms. 'There are more than 4,000 stock market listed companies in Japan,' he says. 'There's lots of rubbish out there, but there is also a number of fast-growing disruptive businesses that are exciting from an investment point of view but overlooked by overseas investors. 'They're the growth companies I'm interested in.' The trust's biggest stake is in legal information website Bengo4. com. Other top ten holdings include GMO Payment Gateway and Monotaro, an online retailer of factory clothes and industrial products. The trust has no holdings in oil and gas companies, banks or insurers. 'There is underlying change going on in Japan,' says Kumar. 'This is providing investment growth opportunities as young, dynamic companies emerge to take advantage of the situation.' Investment advisers are also keen on Japan as a stock market to make money from. Teodor Dilov is a fund analyst at the wealth manager Interactive Investor. He says that the Japanese stock market is in better shape than it has been for a long time buoyed by a stronger economy (not affected as badly as others by the coronavirus pandemic) and reforms spearheaded by prime minister Shinzo Abe to make companies more shareholder-friendly. These include better corporate governance and a greater emphasis on dividend payouts. But, like Weindling and Kumar, Dilov is most excited by the Japanese digitalisation theme. = He says: 'Japan has quickly become a market that investors cannot afford to ignore because of the advent of companies that are well positioned to profit from the digitalisation of Japanese society. 'Large parts of Japan's society are behind the digital curve compared with the rest of the developed world. That means exciting growth opportunities for Japanese companies involved in digital transformation.' One other attraction of investing in Japan is that many of the smaller listed companies including many digitally focused companies are woefully under-researched. This provides smart fund managers, such as Weindling and Kumar, with the chance to unearth investment gems early and before others. It explains why Weindling is based in Tokyo with the rest of JP Morgan's Japanese investment team. Brian Dennehy is managing director of investment research firm FundExpert. He has long recommended Japanese smaller company funds to clients and says the investment case remains robust. 'Smaller firms in Japan represent good value and are under-researched,' he says. 'Three-quarters of the 1,900 listed smaller firms in Japan are either covered by just one investment analyst or none at all. 'By comparison, 70 per cent of US smaller companies are tracked by at least three analysts. For an active Japanese fund manager prepared to do some digging, investment opportunities abound.' Dennehy believes that as Abe pushes through more economic and corporate reforms, the case for investing in Japan will become stronger. He also likes the fact that Japan is 'politically stable with great social cohesion', asking: 'Is that unique in today's world?' Which investment trust is the best way in? Both investment trusts JPMorgan Japanese and Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon are seen by investment experts as good ways into the Japanese stock market. David Coombs is head of multiasset investments at asset manager Rathbones. He uses JPMorgan Japanese to get exposure to the Japanese stock market for the various multi-asset portfolios he runs on behalf of investors. 'Japan is a stock market where good active fund managers can thrive,' he says. 'JPMorgan's Nicholas Weindling concentrates on identifying out and out growth companies and it's a strategy that has proved increasingly successful.' Interactive Investor's Teodor Dilov is a fan of Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon, describing it as 'adventurous'. He adds: 'The manager focuses on a concentrated number of exciting, emerging and disruptive growth companies typically run by young, dynamic entrepreneurs.' Baillie Gifford's expertise in Japan is reflected by the fact that a number of its other Japanese funds are liked by experts. They include Japanese Smaller Companies run by the same manager (Praveen Kumar) that oversees Shin Nippon and Japanese, which has a focus on companies that are global leaders (the likes of games company Nintendo). Other recommendations include Lindsell Train Japanese and AXA Framlington Japan. Japan is also an option for income seekers, although dividend yields are low at around 2.5 per cent. But coronavirus has not been as disruptive from a business point of view as elsewhere in the world and Japanese companies are notorious hoarders of cash, which means they have the ammunition to pay dividends if they want to. Preferred funds include Jupiter Japan Income and Morant Wright Nippon Yield, with respective dividend yields of 2.3 per cent and 2.8 per cent. Anyone looking to buy a Japanese investment fund should ensure it fits into a well-diversified portfolio. It should also be viewed as a long-term investment only. - Angel Locsin took to Instagram to share a critical social media post by writer and director Arden Rod Condez - The said post is addressed to Kapamilya artists who were not vocal and visible in standing with ABS-CBN - The Kapamilya actress echoed his statement by sharing his post in the form of an Instagram story - Angel is among the Kapamilya stars who were spotted rallying in front of Batasang Pambansa Complex on July 10 to call on Congress to vote in favor of the ABS-CBN franchise renewal PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Angel Locsin could not help sharing a social media post by writer and director Arden Rod Condez about Kapamilya artists who were not vocal and visible in standing with ABS-CBN. Angel Locsin shares a directors post about artists who did not show support to ABS-CBN Source: Instagram In a Facebook post, Arden asked, Sino sinong mga artista ang di man lang nagpapakita ng suporta sa ABS-CBN ngayon?" He also bravely wrote, Kung Star Magic Ball 'to kanina pa kayo nagsilabasan. Angel then echoed his statement by sharing his post in the form of an Instagram story. PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback Angel, Piolo Pascual, Kathryn Bernardo, Vice Ganda, Ion Perez, Carla Estrada, Jolina Magdangal, Melai Cantiveros, Gerald Anderson, and Nikki Valdez are among the Kapamilya stars who were spotted rallying in front of Batasang Pambansa Complex and outside ABS-CBN complex as well. They call on Congress to vote in favor of the ABS-CBN franchise renewal on July 10 which lawmakers later on denied. Other artists who are also active in defending their home network like Coco Martin and Kim Chiu, on the other hand, are currently following new taping protocols for their ongoing series, FPJs Ang Probinsyano and Love Thy Woman respectively. PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! ABS-CBN is one of the leading broadcast networks in the Philippines. Its 25-year franchise expired on May 4 and the Committee on Legislative Franchises of the House of Representatives officially rejected on July 10 its bid to secure another franchise. ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigbak then issued a statement an hour after the House committee finally announced the result of the voting on the fate of the network. Kapamilya stars likewise expressed gratitude to the 11 lawmakers who voted for ABS-CBN to return on air. Please like and share our amazing Facebook posts to support the KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinions about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts and views on different matters! Source: KAMI.com.gh Like many of the actions President Donald Trump has taken since entering the White House, his decision Friday night to commute the sentence of former campaign aide Roger Stone was immediately polarizing. Republicans and Democrats were quick to react, some congratulated Stone and Trump, while others decried political favoritism and a disregard for the rule of law. "With Trump there are now two systems of justice in America: One for Trump's criminal friends and one for everyone else," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in a tweet. What were seeing today is an appalling overture ... from the president saying, If you lie for me, if you cover up for me, I will reward you. On the other hand, if you are a rat and you cooperate then like a Mafia boss, I will come after you," he told Rachel Maddow on MSNBC on Friday night. Schiff, who led much of the impeachment hearings against Trump earlier this year, condemned the president's actions, saying that Stone lied and intimidated witnesses to hide Trumps exploitation of the Russian hack of his opponents campaign. Stone was sentenced in February to 40 months in prison for lying to Congress during its investigation into whether Russia interfered with the American presidential election. He was spared that fate Friday. Roger Stone has already suffered greatly, the White House said in a statement. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man! Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, said the commutation was another example of Trump acting as though he is above the law. "Still true," Biden tweeted about a comment from 2019 in which he named Stone and others as Trump associates "who flout our laws." "We shouldnt be surprised that he thinks he is above the law. We deserve better as a country," Biden said in the original tweet. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., labeled the commutation of Stone's sentence the work of "a lawless president who regards the Justice Department as his personal plaything." Story continues By refusing to hold President Trump accountable, the Republican Party bears responsibility for his lawlessness," Schumer said in a statement. Image: House Judiciary Committee Interviews Former US Attorney Geoffrey Berman (Alex Wong / Getty Images) But congressional Republicans praised the move. Ranking House member Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio tweeted that Stone's prosecution by "overzealous prosecutors was an outgrowth of the Obama-Biden misconduct. "Like every president, President Trump has the constitutional right to commute sentences where he believes it serves the interest of fairness and justice," Jordan wrote in a tweet. "I support President Trump's decision to commute Roger Stone's sentence." Former New York Mayor-turned-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said Stone's prison sentence was "horrendous in comparison to the proven acts." "Ignore the Corrupt Media, this achieved justice," Giuliani tweeted. NetOne chief executive officer Mr Lazarus Muchenjes turbulent tenure at the helm of the State-owned mobile telecommunications company ended dramatically yesterday after he was fired barely 24 hours after he was reinstated to the position. Mr Muchenje, who was suspended earlier this year, to pave way for investigations into suspected criminal abuse of office and fraud, was notified of the boards decision to sack him early yesterday morning. He had successfully challenged his suspension in court, leading to his reinstatement on Thursday evening, but the board immediately followed due process and terminated his services a few hours later, citing provisions of the Labour Act. A letter from the board said the company had decided to exercise its right in terms of the Labour Act (Chapter 28:01) and it terms of common law to terminate the contract of employment on notice. NetOne acting board chair Mrs Susan Mutangadura could not be reached to comment on the development last night. Communication from the board, however, stated that Mr Muchenje had been dismissed on three months notice in terms of Section 12 (4) of the Labour Act which required either party to give three months notice in the event that a party wished to terminate the employment contract. The notice period would end on October 31, 2020 and Mr Muchenje would immediately be paid his salary and benefits for the duration, but without him having to report for work. Mr Muchenje was ordered to surrender all company property in his possession to the enterprise risk manager. He has a pending court case along six other NetOne executives and a former legal trainee in which they are facing eight counts of criminal abuse of office and fraud. Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Engineer Sam Kundishora has clarified that Mr Douglas Mamvura is not a member of the NetOne board. Mr Mamvuras status was shrouded in confusion following reports that he had been appointed to the board. Two directors, Mrs Mutangadura and Mr Ranga Mavhunga were recently arrested for perjury after they stated that Mr Mamvura was not a member of the board. This serves to confirm that at no stage did the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services advise NetOne Cellular Private Limited not the companys board of directors that Mr Douglas Mamvura had been appointed to the board of directors of NetOne. The Ministry is seized with the appointment of directors for NetOne and is the only authority that can advise the company when such appointments are made. All board appointments are formally communicated to NetOne by the ministry. It has come to the ministrys attention that some members of the board of directors of NetOne are being charged with perjury because they stated that Mr Mamvura was never appointed to the board of NetOne. Their statement is correct as articulated above, said Eng Kundishora in a letter dated July 6. The letter was copied to the Ministry of Justice, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, the Attorney General, the Police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the NetOne board and the Corporate Governance Unit of the Office of the President and Cabinet. Herald Imperial Valley News Center American Man Charged with Exploiting Children in Laos Boston, Massachusetts - An American citizen was arrested and charged Tuesday in connection with exploiting teenage boys in Laos. Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt for the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling for the District of Massachusetts and Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta of the FBIs Boston Field Division made the announcement. Michael Sebastian, 52, was charged by criminal complaint with engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places and sex trafficking of children. Sebastian was arrested yesterday in Lynn, Massachusetts, where he has been living with his mother. Following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston today, Sebastian was detained pending a detention and probable cause hearing scheduled for July 13, 2020. According to the charging documents, Sebastian has been living in Laos, where he teaches English to Laotian youth. During at least the past two years, Sebastian provided housing to at least three boys, aged 13 through 18, to whom he taught English. In lieu of paying rent to live with him, Sebastian allegedly allowed the boys to pay off their rent by performing chores. According to allegations in the complaint, these chores included giving Sebastian massages which, in turn, included masturbating Sebastian. The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Trial Attorney Leslie Fisher with the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti for the District of Massachusetts are prosecuting the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices and the CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. New Delhi, July 11 : Life in lockdown and home-sheltering has brought the focus back on the good things in life-- good food, good alcohol and great conversation. In this article we try and capture the essence of good alcohol over even better conversation with Tom Jones, Diageo Global Scotch Whisky Ambassador. Jones has an unwavering passion for fine spirits and in a career spanning more than 30 years, he has delved into the world of whisky with relentless detail, exploring craftmanship, flavour and heritage with precision, a commitment that is recognised in his status as a Keeper of the Quaich. With the launch of new limited-edition expressions - Johnnie Walker Black Label Speyside Origin and Johnnie Walker Black Label Lowlands Origins, Jones gives us an expert view on the gentleman's drink. Read Excerpts: Japanese brands cannot compete with the legacy of blended scotch in Scotland. Do you agree? Jones: With a legacy that spans over multiple centuries, Scotch was born in Scotland around 1494 and is made with the same traditional methods even today. This liquid sells more in terms of both value and volume as compared to any other international whisky. Its footprint stretches from the romantic west coast through the whisky heartland of Speyside, to the vibrant urban central belt. What's unique to scotch whisky is that it is tightly regulated and hence most trusted. One such regulation that makes scotch special is that the liquid must be matured in oak casks in Scotland for a minimum of three years. The timelessness and well matured scotch in over 100 distilleries, scattered all over Scotland, makes it the most loved dram in the world. Blended Scotch can potentially contain over 100 different Scotch whiskies giving the consumers a wider range of tastes, textures and flavours than any other spirit produced in the world. What is the importance of the region's impact on ingredients and the resultant product? Jones: Scotch whisky is exported from the region to millions of bars everywhere. Scotland has five legally recognised whisky producing regions and they were defined by the style they make their whisky. In Speyside, they would lean towards fruity flavours. In the Lowlands, it can be lighter and lean towards sweet notes. In the Highlands, whiskies can have rich characteristics and on the Island of Islay they tend to be smokier and more full-bodied. These days many factors may affect the final flavour and character of the liquid - the type of grains and yeast used, to the shape of the still, to the cask and the duration of maturation. One such example which adds a differentiator is the type of cask it has been matured in. The two main species of oak used to make casks are the American Oak, which tends to give vanilla and caramel sweetness, and European Oak, which tends to give richer fruity notes. Millennials have taken to scotch like fish to water, why the resurgence and does it have anything to do with the evolution of tasting notes? Jones: The generation-Y seem to have made a move by trading their chilled beers for a dram. It is a progressive move, but can you really call it a sudden change? If you ask me, it does not come as a surprise that whisky has finally captured the millennial's fancy. The spirit has mainly piqued their interest as it offers varied flavours that range from a sweeter taste to a very smoky taste at the base of it. Millennials today favour the liquid because there is no set way or rules to savour a scotch whisky. It gives the consumer freedom to enjoy the spirit the way they like it - whether neat, on the rocks or in a cocktail. A refreshing Johnnie Walker Highball can lean into more tropical, fruity, spicy, or smoky flavours depending on which label of Johnnie Walker you choose. This coupled with the freedom to choose a multitude of mixers makes scotch a more flavoursome choice. The new normal means more entertaining at home, which is why the focus on a well-stocked bar and a cellar is imperative; do you agree? Jones: I do agree, as people now more than ever are interested in setting up a bar like experience at home. From collecting the right glassware to making their own syrups and shrubs, consumers have started to better their mixology skills. They have also started paying attention to the right mix of spirits they would want to feature in their well curated home bars. If one stocks up on basic additives such as ice, mixers, fruits, bitters and syrup/ sweetener, they can try their hand at a variety of easy cocktails like a tall Highball or the Old Fashioned. Tell us a little bout the two new limited-edition expressions - Johnnie Walker Black Label Speyside Origin and Johnnie Walker Black Label Lowlands Origins Jones: Johnnie Walker Black Label Speyside Origin and Johnnie Walker Black Label Lowlands Origins are the two limited edition expressions under the Johnnie Walker Black Label Origin Series. The series is born out of a sense of exploration and a thirst to discover the best flavours that Scotland has to offer. It gave us the opportunity to take people on a guided tour of the whisky producing regions that give the signature notes of Johnnie Walker Black Label. These two great tasting Scotch Whiskies give consumers the opportunity to taste not only wonderful Blended Malt Scotch Whisky in the Speyside edition, but also get a glimpse into the world of flavour our whisky masters work in every day. Both of these Whiskies show the flavours we can collect from the two regions and how they can come together to form Johnnie Walker Black Label, possibly the most Iconic bottle of Whisky in the world. The Speyside edition is a light and fruity whisky with hints of cut green apples and orchard fruit. It is made exclusively from quality single malts from the Speyside region of Scotland, with Cardhu whisky and Glendullan whisky at its heart. Enjoy Speyside Origin as part of a Lowball Jones: The fresh fruity notes of Johnnie Walker Speyside Origins are perfectly complimented with light and vibrant elderflower or apple cordial and brought to life with a splash of soda. The lowland Edition has a sweet, creamy vanilla character and notes of toffee. It is made from a variety of exceptional single malt and grain whiskies from the Lowlands, including Cameronbridge whisky and Glenkinchie whisky. Enjoy Lowlands Origin as part of a Honey Old Fashioned Floral honey harmoniously combines with the vanilla and caramel flavours of Johnnie Walker Lowlands Origins in this silky-smooth Old-Fashioned twist. (IANSlife Features can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in) Jeddah-based Saudi German Hospital, one of the largest private healthcare provider groups in the Mena region, said it has successfully performed a surgical procedure on a newborn suffering from a rare congenital condition called Congenital Thoracoschisis. This is the Arab world's first ever surgery dealing with this critical condition, which is a congenital malformation characterised by herniation of the abdominal content through a defect detected in the thorax that developed during the fetal stage, said a statement from the Saudi German Hospital. According to the hospital's senior officials, the infant was born with a portion of the colon, stomach and liver outside of its body. "Upon being admitted to the hospital, a team of surgeons assessed the situation and condition of the infant and immediately prepared for surgery. The objective was to place the internal parts to its normal location while also repairing the chest and the diaphragm," stated the officials. "After performing the operation successfully, the infant's condition has greatly improved. He is thankfully now off the ventilator machine and can be orally fed. Given the excellent recovery, the baby was soon discharged to go home to be with his family," they added. The Jeddah hospital authorities described Congenital Thoracoschisis as a very rare condition with only 15 known cases around the world so far. The pediatric surgery department at Saudi German Hospital in Jeddah is one of the pioneering medical institutions in Saudi Arabia that is able to treat and address rare medical cases such as Congenital Thoracoschisis, said the statement from the healthcare group. The hospital is equipped with advanced technologies and manned by a highly experienced and qualified world-class team of medical experts and professionals, it added.-TradeArabia News Service (Natural News) The media is at war with the natural health world right now. The Lancet is at total war with the world on hydroxychloroquine. Social media is at war now, crushing posts, videos and discussions about anything that works against Covid, prevents it or beats it, including chlorine dioxide, vitamin D, elderberry, chaga mushrooms, reishi mushrooms, lions mane mushrooms, cordyceps mushrooms, licorice root, garlic, and of course, vitamin C. Bill Gates and Fraudulent Fauci are clearing the way for a dirty vaccine. The FDA is clearing the way. The CDC is clearing the way. All medical doctors and nurses are clearing the path for the dirtiest vaccine ever concocted. The devil wears a white lab coat, folks. And now he uses microchips, mercury and human abortion cells to make that vaccine you want so badly. Get ready, its coming. This extortion is nothing new, the FDA and CDC have been playing this card for a century Even when the man (Big pharma and the CDC) tested hydroxychloroquine against coronavirus, they purposely left zinc out of the equation. The hydroxy is just a catapult to get the zinc where it needs to go. So as it goes, mainstream conventional medicine, in all their shame, tested hydroxychloroquine without zinc, so they could screw over every American who wants to be sure to survive through this covid crisis. We know you know that it had to be the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that led the way to their consensus to deny 330 million Americans a cheap, effective, simple way to whip corona. People, realize that if you take hydroxycholorquine with zinc, and supplement with vitamin D3 and vitamin C, theres about a zero percent chance of zero that you die from this genetically modified flu virus. Plus Trump touted it, so it had to be zeroed out, fake studied, and crushed. Cant have Americans beatin down Bill Gates Disease with a simple supplement. No way. Fauci doesnt make millions like that. The FDA has been crushing anyone who cures cancer since way back in the early 1900s. Currently, if any medical doctors so much as mention natural cures, they get their medical license suspended. Theyre all crooks and hucksters from the start the FDA-Fraudulent Drug Association and the CDC-Center for Disease Continuance Thats right, clear the way for the deadly Covid-19 vaccine from hell. Why not, right. Vaccines were corrupt from the start. The polio vaccine was faked. The autism-vaccine link is real and the CDC has covered it up for three decades. Todays blood-thinning medications are made from a combination of rat poison and pig intestines. Our crops in America, if theyre not organic, are doused with Zyklon B pesticide, the same chemical used by Hitler to gas Jews to death in the showers of the concentration camps. Got cancer? Check the facts. Check the REAL history of medicine. The history of hidden medicine, and that includes natural remedies and cures that work, plus all the way Big Pharma ruined natural cures by leaving out key ingredients, running clinical trials, and then publishing peer reviewed science that they dont work. Theyve been doing this for 100 years everybody. Its time the world knew it. The FDA readily admits that prescription drugs, taken as directed by the doctors, kill one million Americans every 10 years. And you thought the George Floyd riots were bad. Know the true history of the USDA and how they sold out all Americans by colluding with biotech, the chemical-industrial division of US agriculture that pollutes all the crops with deadly pesticides, plus genetically modifies the produce down to the seeds DNA. Theyre clearing the way everybody, to eliminating one third the population of the United States and yes, thats ONE HUNDRED MILLION people Notice how Covid is only really a threat to the immune-system-compromised masses? Guess who they are. Go ahead, well wait. Theyre the ones who eat GMO food, drink fluoridated tap water, take prescription medications, and do exactly what the FDA and CDC tell them to do. They get their yearly flu shot too, laced with baby-killing mercury. These are the people who, whether they know yet or not, are fighting cancer, diabetes, heart disease, brittle bones, depression and anxiety. Thats why pharma invented SSRI drugs, for the people who like aspartame, MSG and mercury, the latter two of which are found in many vaccines, as listed on the CDC vaccine website in black and white! Once upon a time, the head of the American Medical Association (AMA) was a monopolistic, criminal thug who sought to destroy all knowledge of natural cures and plant-based remedies. Nothing has changed. The American Medical Establishment has spent 100 years actively and aggressively suppressing information about nutritional therapies, mineral cures and natural cures. They know what works and, if its cheap or natural or both, they shut it down, daily. Censored, deleted, blacklisted, banned, shadow-banned, funding-voided, and disappeared from Google and history in general. Heck, Fauci approved hydroxy with zinc 15 years ago. What a fraud that little troll has been revealed to be. The FDA doesnt want anyone taking supplements, eating superfoods, or sucking down mineral-loaded water, cause thats what puts them out of business. Tune your internet dial right to Vaccines.news and see how Fauci actually lies to your face everyday about Covid-19. Listen to him and you probably will catch it and spread it. Hes just one big germ bucket full of stinking, rotting contradictions. Avoid the Covid-19 vaccine like your life depends on it, because it just might. It should be renamed the Covid-Euthanasia-Final-Vaccine. BREAKING NEWS: Get ready, here comes COVAXIN! Its only the deadliest, most experimental, haphazard, super-fast-tracked vaccine containing human abortion cells and multiple strains of genetically mutated coronavirus (plus a GPS/medication delivery tracking chip), about to go into the muscle tissue of hundreds of millions of stupid sheeple people. Sources for this article include: NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com CDC.gov Vaccines.news NaturalNews.com FoxNews.com Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory groundbreaking ceremony in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 7, 2019. (Aly Song/Reuters) Elon Musks Net Worth Zooms Past Warren Buffetts, Bloomberg Reports Elon Musks net worth soared past Warren Buffett on Friday as the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc became the seventh richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musks fortune rose by $6.07 billion on Friday, Bloomberg News said, following a 10.8 percent jump in the electric carmakers stock. Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk speaks during the unveiling of the all-electric battery-powered Teslas Cybertruck at the Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, Calif., on Nov. 21, 2019. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images) Buffetts net worth dropped earlier this week when he donated $2.9 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to charity, the report added. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, attends the 2019 annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb., on May 3, 2019. (Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images) Teslas shares have surged 500 percent over the past year as the company increased sales of its Model 3 sedan. The blistering rally also puts Musk in reach of a payday potentially worth $1.8 billion, his second jackpot from the electric car maker in about two months. The stock is up about 38 percent since the close on July 1, a day before the company reported its quarterly delivery numbers. Teslas solid delivery numbers heightened expectations of a profitable second quarter, which would mark the first time in its history that it would report four consecutive quarters of profit. By Shubham Kalia Newly leaked police documents reveal how the video sharing app TikTok shares information about its users with law enforcement under certain conditions. The information covered a range of personal and technical details, including the specific model of phone the account holder owned, the number of different IP addresses they had connected through, and the phone number attached to the account. The company also provided information about what other social media accounts the user had, as well as the Facebook account used to sign up for their TikTok account. Leaked police documents show that TikTok sometimes provides law enforcement with information about its users, including their phone numbers, Facebook ID, other linked social media accounts, and specific phone model used The Facebook account information also includes a 'Binding ID,' an alphanumeric code used to identify specific Facebook accounts that connect with outside services or apps, according to a report in Business Insider. The documents were dated from 2020 and were obtained as part of Blue Leaks, a collection of more than a million documents taken from hacked police servers from around the US. TikTok has been open about its cooperation with requests from law enforcement agencies in the past. In a 2019 transparency report, TikTok said it had received 100 requests from law enforcement over a six-month period, asking for information on 107 accounts. The company says that it filled 82 of those requests, though the exact nature of the information and the specific circumstances of the requests remains unclear. Under US law social media companies are obligated to share information with law enforcement when requested through a subpoena or court order. In 2019, TikTok said it had received 100 requests for user information from law enforcement during a six month period, and complied with 82 of those requests TikTok has come under particular scrutiny in recent months both from government officials and celebrities uncomfortable with the company's privacy policies. In a recent interview with Fox News, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration was considering banning the app. 'I don't want to get out in front of the president, but it's something we're looking at,' Pompeo said. High profile video game streamer Ninja, who rose to international fame playing Fortnite on Twitch, recently announced he has deleted the app over privacy concerns. The US Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice are also reportedly investigating TikTok over allegations it violated a 2019 agreement focused on children's privacy. TikTok has denied charges that there's anything illegal or inappropriate about its data collection, and disputes charges made by some government officials that it is spying on behalf of the Chinese government. 'We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users,' a TikTok spokesperson said in a recent statement. 'We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked.' Getting teens and children to care about their private information is a challenge. Booth says its important to start young. He also notes TikTok has an age restriction of 13, but there are still users that are younger. For me, part of the solution is we need to teach digital literacy at, like, kindergarten, said Booth, adding that adult social media users may also not know how their apps use their data. We seem lonely but afraid of intimacy. Siri, the social network, digital assistants, all of these give the illusion of companionship without the demands of relationship. The path we are on seems fraught with paradox and about the most important human matters. by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne Writing from Montreal Human interaction is the key force in overcoming resistance and speeding change. Atul Gawande, Surgeon During this pandemic period we are going through, the question on everyones lips is what is the new normal going to be? In the context of air transport this question has given rise to diverse views, ranging from: over time, people will forget the crisis ever occurred and its horrendous claim on hundreds of thousands of life and eventually get back to what the world was in 2019; to air travel will be different from what it was. No one has adduced any cogent proof of either premise. Hovering over these two scenarios is the shroud of reality that there is an innate desire, almost an obsession, in the average human mind to travel to distant places; breathe different air; swim in different lakes and see different exhibits in museums in their natural state. There are certain incontrovertible factors to be considered which admittedly are platitudes but nonetheless true. The first is that the human being is a collective animal. This is brought to bear not merely by the recent outcries and vociferous protests demanding the right to gather together in public by people in places like Serbia and Brazil, and even in the United States but also by the fact that people thronged bars, restaurants, beaches and other public places the moment the lockdown was lifted in various countries. This is an implicit recognition that technology cannot replace human physical interaction. Sherry Turkle, Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology once said: We expect more from technology and less from each other. We create technology to provide the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship. The second truth is that people travel for different reasons: to conduct business; to see places and experience what the world has to offer; to receive education in a foreign country; to experience live music at music festivals; go to the theater; and to visit their friends and relatives. There could be other reasons as well. We are now globally destitute of all these privileges and, in keeping with our innate and relentless obsession with ingenuity and creativity, we have come up with virtual travel. In this context, the first thing that comes to mind is: what is the purpose of travel? I expand this further to my own persuasion which is the study of air transport: what is the purpose of international air transport. The answer, in simplistic terms is to bring the world together by connecting the world and its people. If one were to be more specific and technical, one could quote the international treaty that addresses international aviation - the Chicago Convention on 1944 - of which the full title is Convention on International Civil Aviation which says inter alia in its Preamble that the future development of international civil aviation can greatly help to create and preserve friendship and understanding among the nations and people of the world. Our present discussion hinges on the words friendship and understanding among the nations and people of the world. The question then becomes: would virtual travel succeed in furthering friendship and understanding among us globally? For instance, how could virtual travel allow us to befriend another at the poolside in a foreign hotel? Would we be able to chat with another tourist from a foreign country while travelling in a train from Budapest to Prague? Would we be able to talk to the owners of a Mom and Pop deli in Chianti about their homemade spaghetti? And speaking of conducting business, what about chit chat at a cocktail reception that could lead to a good deal? Or what about compromises reached at the coffee break at a United Nations? Those who are proponents of virtual travel claim that there are already 150 million users of Google Maps and many millions using Google Earth as well which reflect that virtual reality is already popular among people. There are highly attractive virtual tours from places such as the Feroe Islands and the Bahamas which are calculated to be popular among potential travellers and virtual tourists. They also claim that under the circumstances of constrained air travel people will make informed decisions on the minimum loss of experience of being physically there as against the significant advantages of avoiding queues at museums and being able to gape at paintings and artifacts as long as they want to without being rushed to keep moving on in a queue past the Mona Lisa at the Musee du Louvre. It is also predicted by some that the travel industry will eventually realize that travel is not really only about physical travel only but also about selling experiences without physical travel. It is claimed that with the rapidly advancing technology this could be made possible with augmented reality. It will be an experience without being there. My take is that virtual travel, with all that technology has to offer as mentioned above, could be a useful tool for airlines to firstly entice travellers to their route network with pre travel experiences of digitally prepared promotions. This way airlines could amplify their networks and encourage and enhance advance bookings. Secondly, airlines can have their own data and use it to their competitive advantage. They could give virtual reality tours to attract potential tourists by showing favourite destinations and places of interest, favourite cafes and restaurants etc. One expert commented at a recent webinar conducted on the subject that every crisis has an opportunity and virtual travel could well be that opportunity. In other words, this could be a win-win situation where even the customer would benefit as virtual travel would augment customer experience at low cost. Of course, it is difficult to envision an era where virtual travel will completely replace air travel.. This would be like imagining having food when one is hungry without having real food. It would not allay a persons hunger. The bottom line is the human experience. Will the businessman lose an opportunity that would have presented itself at a tete-a-tete in a bar or pub after working hours? Would students not be able to benefit anymore of the feeling of studying in a foreign environment? Would staring at a screen in a lonely basement room watching virtual people drinking coffee at a busy cafe be the same as being there? As Sherry Turkle said at a recent Ted Talk: We are at a moment of temptation, ready to turn to machines for companionship even as we seem pained or inconvenienced to engage with each other in settings as simple as a grocery store. We want to instrumentalize daily life with real people and accept fantasies of "intimate" conversations with robotic personal assistants who have no real understanding of what we are saying to them in terms of what things mean to us. We seem lonely but afraid of intimacy. Siri, the social network, digital assistants, all of these give the illusion of companionship without the demands of relationship. The path we are on seems fraught with paradox and about the most important human matters. After all, air transport became the force it is today because it was meant to promote friendship and understanding among people. Would virtual travel change this? Russian environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor is exacting NORILSK Nickel with US$2.1bn fine as 'voluntary compensation" for the repair of damages in the waterways and soil that the company's oil spill has caused in May this year. A spill of 21,000 t of diesel found its way into the Ambarnaya and Daldykan rivers near Norilsk, Russia, on May 29. This happened after an aging fuel tank at a Norilsk subsidiary power plant of Norilsk Nickel collapsed. The collapse of the tank is believed to be due to the melting permafrost brought about by abnormally warm conditions in the Arctic. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a state of emergency in a region of Siberia following the spill. Norilsk Nickel engaged in the clean-up of the spill and reported that 33,237 m3 of contaminated water and 185,102 tons of contaminated soil had been cleared from the area as of July 6. The First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sergey Dyachenko said the company is part of an interregional commission set up by the government and is "working closely with Rosprirodnadzor to development and implementation of relevant site rehabilitation plans." The Rosprirodnadzor fined the company almost 148 billion roubles (US$2.1B) as a "voluntary" contribution of Rbs147bn for repairs of Artic waterways that have been damaged, and an additional Rbs738m for the damage of the oil spill to the soil. The Ecology Minister, Dmitry Kobylkin, said, "the scale of the damage to Arctic waterways is unprecedented. The fine is proportional to it. If you recall the Exxon Valdez disaster off the coast of Alaska, the fine for the damage was more than US$5B." But Norilsk Nickel is not amenable to the severity of the fine. The company said that the amount was based on the assumption of maximum damage. It also did not take into consideration the clean-up activity that was done. They will, however, pay the environmental cost that the company has incurred. The amount of the fine is equivalent to a third of the company's net profit for 2019. The fine is substantially larger than the Rbs10bn cost of the clean-up estimated by Vladimir Potanin, Russia's richest man. Potanin is also the controlling stakeholder and chief executive. The fine also dwarfed the Rbs27bn penalty against Russian Railways in 2016. The said penalty was the most substantial levy against a Russian company. The Russian Railways, however, were able to lower its fine to insignificant penalty. The average fine last year was below Rbs20,000. Local media reported that the spill had found its way to Lake Pyasino, which is from the Ambarnaya and Daldykan rivers as the boom that was supposed to contain the spill were damaged by drifting ice. In mid-2000, Norilsk Nickel, one of the worst sulfur emitters in the world, thwarted paying any fines for four years following the country's supreme court ruling. According to Boris Morgunov, dean of the ecology faculty at Moscow's Higher School of Economics, the fine against Norilsk is unique. Russian companies lack environmental risk strategies in place, and most of these companies do not have the finances to address disasters like this. According to Evgeny Shvarts, an independent member of Norilsk's board, the company will most likely seek a lower fine through courts. Google is testing a new feature that shows users the locations of traffic lights in its Maps navigation app. The feature was first spotted by a US-based reader of Droid Life, who was using Google Maps build version 10.44.3. The reader provided the publication with screenshots of the app showing traffic light icons placed on roads and at intersections when browsing on a map or while in navigation. Google has since confirmed to The Verge that it is testing the feature in several cities in the US including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, and that it plans to expand it over time. The benefit of such a feature is obvious drivers using the app may be able to avoid routes with many traffic lights if they are pressed for time. Already in Apple Maps Apple has been showing the locations of traffic lights and stop signs in Apple Maps since the rollout of iOS 13 in September 2019. The feature also integrates with voice directions given by Siri. For example, instead of being told to turn right after a certain distance, Siri will instruct the user to make a right turn at the next traffic light or stop street sign. According to the Droid Life reader, Google Maps version of the feature currently doesnt adapt route instructions or voice notifications in the same way. Below are images of the Google Maps feature as published by Droid Life. Google Maps Plus Codes Google recently added its Plus Codes feature for users of its Android Maps app. A Plus Code is a digital address derived from latitude and longitude coordinates which mimics a street address for people who dont have one. The code appears as a simple alphanumeric code which can be combined with a locality (for example, 7656+5G, Pretoria, South Africa). Google said the feature will make it easier to locate around two billion people across the world who dont have an official living address or one which is hard to locate. This could be particularly valuable in a country like South Africa, where a large number of people live in informal settlements in rural areas without easily-definable locations. Now read: Google wins Renault cloud contract The ministries of education (MoE), local government and rural development (MLGRD) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) on Friday, June 10, underwent disinfection against the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The exercise, which was carried out by Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL), was part of steps to sanitize the three state institutions, following reports that some of their staff members had tested positive for Covid-19. At the MoE, Zoomlion disinfection crew sprayed the entire ministry, its open spaces, and various offices. The same was done in the other institutions which are all located within the same enclave. Speaking to a cross-section of journalists on the sideline of the exercise, the Head of Communications, MoE, Vincent Assafuah, explained that the exercise had been necessitated by the countrys Covid-19 caseload which kept soaring. Before we re-opened the basic schools, senior high schools (SHSs) and tertiary institutions, the ministry of education ensured that they were fumigated. Now it has also become necessary for us to fumigate our ministry, basically, because we feel that the [Covid-19] numbers are growing high, and we need to protect our ministry. For that reason, he said the leadership of the ministry in collaboration with the GES resolved that their premises be disinfected to protect especially the staff members from the coronavirus pandemic. Against this backdrop, Mr Assafuah stated that all the inner circle staff members of the minister for education who had contracted the virus were doing well, adding that they were not showing any signs of the coronavirus disease. He added that in no time these staff members will resume work for mother Ghana. He further disclosed that so far about thirteen (13) SHS students across the country had contracted the virus, stressing this number of Covid-19 cases did not warrant the closure of all SHSs in the country. For her part, the Coordinator for the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Disinfection Exercise of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Mrs. Lola Asiseh Ashitey, said in addition to the disinfection it was crucial that staff members of these ministries observe all the Covid-19 safety protocols. She further advocated for the need for regular disinfection. So we are doing disinfection again because we have the logistics and personnel to carry out any disinfection exercise, she said. She assured that her outfit will continue to support the central government in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic. Source: daily guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video New Delhi, July 11 : In a major relief to students, the Delhi government on Saturday announced cancellation of all examinations, including final semester examination, in the state universities due to the coronavirus crisis. The national capital has a score of universities such as Delhi Technological University (DTU), National Law University (NLU) Delhi, Ambedkar University, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, among others. In a press briefing, Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia said, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary decisions and that is why we have decided to cancel examinations in all the state universities. Semester as well as terminal exams stand cancelled." He, however, underscored that degrees will be awarded to students based on evaluation parameters decided by the universities. "Universities have been directed to not conduct the written examination and evaluate students on the basis of old examinations, semester, or by adopting any other assessment or progressive technique," Sisodia added. He said that it is necessary to give final year students their degrees as some of them have to take up jobs, give interviews, or apply for other courses. "Universities have been directed to devise evaluation parameters or formulas and award them degrees." Besides this, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to adopt the same route for Central universities across the country, said Sisodia. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Washington, July 11 : The US has planned to impose 25 per cent additional tariffs on about $1.3 billion worth of French products in response to the country's digital services tax that impacts major American technology companies, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced. "In determining the level of trade covered by the additional duties, the US Trade Representative considered the value of digital transactions covered by France's DST (Digital Services Ttax) and the amount of taxes assessed by France on US companies," the USTR's Office said in a notice on Friday. "Additional duties of 25 per cent on the products of France covered by the trade action should result in the collection of tariffs on goods of France at comparable, though somewhat lower amounts." The USTR has also determined to suspend the additional tariffs on French products for up to 180 days, a period ending on January 6, 2021, to "allow additional time for bilateral and multilateral discussions that could lead to a satisfactory resolution of this matter". The US had launched and completed a Section 301 probe into France's digital services tax regime but agreed to delay the imposition of tariffs on the country, as the two sides were negotiating a multilateral deal on international taxation at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But in a letter to four European Finance Ministers in June, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Washington will not continue with the negotiations on digital taxation at the OECD as discussions had reached an "impasse". In response, French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that "this letter is a provocation towards all the partners at the OECD when we were centimetres away from an agreement". France will apply taxes on digital giants this year "whatever happens", he said. The US has also launched Section 301 investigations into digital services taxes considered by 10 US trading partners, including the European Union (EU), Brazil and India. The so-called Section 301, under an outdated US trade law adopted in 1974, allows the American President to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions on foreign countries. The global trading community has become increasingly concerned that the US government's frequent use of Section 301 would go against the World Trade Organization rules, undermine the multilateral trading system and disrupt the global supply chain. Lionel Messi entered LaLiga record books as Barcelona edged Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday to close the gap on leaders Real Madrid. Messi provided the assist for Barcelonas goal scored on 15 minutes by Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal. The Argentines assist made him the first player in LaLiga history to score 20 plus goals and provide 20 plus assists in a single season. Also Read: Lampard: Sheffield United Better, Stronger Than Chelsea Barcelona are now just one point on 79 points behind title rivals Madrid who will be guests to Granada on Monday. The Catalan giants have now won their third consecutive game with two games left to play in the league this season. Copyright 2020 Completesports.com All rights reserved. The information contained in Completesports.com may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the prior written authority of Completesports.com. California will release up to 8,000 more prisoners to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in its crowded jails, according to authorities in the US state, one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. The inmates could be eligible for early release by the end of August -- joining 10,000 prisoners already freed in similar initiatives since the start of the virus crisis, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. "These actions are taken to provide for the health and safety of the incarcerated population and staff," the department's secretary Ralph Diaz said in a statement Friday. The announcement, welcomed by prison reform advocates, follows a surge in COVID-19 cases in one of California's oldest prisons, San Quentin. State Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said the outbreak there was a "deep area of focus and concern" after more than 1,000 inmates tested positive. The San Quentin facility this week made up half of the active coronavirus cases in jails throughout the state, which has a total prison population of about 113,000. Friday's statement said the prisoners to be freed, who include inmates from San Quentin, would be tested for COVID-19 within a week of their release. California, the most populated US state with a population of around 40 million, has confirmed more than 300,000 coronavirus cases and over 6,800 deaths from the disease. San Quentin State Prison in California has seen a major outbreak of coronavirus Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao said two religious shrines were inadvertently damaged during the demolition of the old Secretariat buildings. (DC Photo: SSR) Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has expressed regret and pain over the damage cause to a temple and a mosque during the demolition of buildings in the Secretariat complex, and promised to build a temple and mosque in the new admin hub that will come up there. In a statement, the chief minister said: I came to know that while demolishing the multi-storeyed old buildings, the temple and mosque adjacent to the old buildings were damaged as debris fell on them.I feel sorry about the incident. It should not have happened. The governments intention was to build a new complex by demolishing the old building osque. We will construct a temple and m s without causing any damage to the temple or the mosque in the Secretariat premises in a more spacious way even if it means spending of crores of rupees. We will construct the temple and mosque at government cost and hand them over to the people concerned. Chandrashakar Rao said he would discuss the reconstruction with the groups that maintained the temple and mosque. This is my promise. Telangana is a secular state. We will continue the secular spirit come what may. This incident happened unexpectedly, he said. Everyone should understand this properly without prejudice. After the demolition/damage to the shrines was reported in the media, opposition parties have piled on to the issue. The BJP has demanded a replacement temple at the exact spot where it stood , while Congress leaders said the government has succeeded in making a Babri Masjid-like issue. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Hope Iliceto, a registered nurse with more than three decades experience in home health care, has been named president and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association of Staten Island. Iliceto, 59, of Princess Bay, a lifelong Staten Islander and mother of two, holds both a bachelor of science and master of science degree in nursing from Wagner College. She started her nursing career as a visiting nurse with VNASI in 1984. She did patient care and evaluations for several years and served as client services administrator before leaving VNA in 1992. She then went on to a career with multiple leadership roles in the home health care management industry. She served as vice president of home health and hospice for St. Vincents Catholic Medical Centers of New York Home Health Care; as senior vice president and chief administrative officer for St. Marys Healthcare System for Children, as well as chief nursing officer for New York City Health and Hospitals home care agency. I was proud to be asked to serve as the leader of VNASI, which has a committed board of trustees who feel very responsible and focused on providing home-care well into the future, Iliceto said. VNA is known as part of the fabric of Staten Island health care and my career has come full circle as a Staten Islander returning to service my own community, she added. We are fortunate to have secured a seasoned health care professional for VNASI, said VNASI board chairman Roy Danischewski. Hopes long list of accomplishments in all aspects of post-acute care have been significant. One of her immediate accomplishments for VNA was improving our technology, especially in light of the COVID-19 situation, Danischewski said. Under Iliceto, VNASI has begun using tele-health services for their clients. By utilizing the latest technologies, the agency established the technical capability to conduct virtual calls with clients as well as virtual visits through computers. Staff members have been eager to adapt to a technology that keeps them in touch with their patients, Iliceto said. In response to the large influx of COVID-19 patients in the emergency department of Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, VNASI created its COVID Telephone Program, which is presently being used to follow up on care for coronavirus patients who were treated and released from RUMC. According to Iliceto, the program enhances the care of patients suspected to have, or who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, who may not require in-person care, yet benefit from symptom management and clinical follow-up. A nurse evaluates each patient by telephone and through video as an option. Each call includes a review of the patients symptoms, their general health and a medication review. The call is intended to focus on the patients concerns for discussion and to educate the patient and family regarding social-distancing and any other topics regarding infection transmission. If the patient requires a face-to-face visit with a nurse, a visit is then scheduled. VNASI was founded in 1917, and is the only in-home nursing service devoted exclusively to serving Staten Islanders. Its offices are located at 400 Lake Ave., Mariners Harbor. For more information about VNASI and its services call 718-816-3500, or access the website at www.vnasi.org. Tesla Inc will hold its annual shareholder meeting in person on Sept. 22 at its Fremont factory in California, the electric carmaker said on Friday. The company's "Battery Day", where it is expected to reveal significant advances in battery technology will also be held on the same day, Tesla said. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said last month the shareholder meet would tentatively be held on September 15. The meeting was originally scheduled for July 7, which was pushed to a later date following stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tesla has been facing pressure from shareholder advisory firms, Glass Lewis and ISS, against the re-election of Chairwoman Robyn Denholm over concerns of corporate governance and her leadership. Traditional high school proms were canceled or rescheduled this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Friday night, some East Shore schools were able to gather for a nontraditional prom at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Harrisburg. Students from these high schools were able to attend the event: Central Dauphin East, Harrisburg, Steelton-Highspire, Susquehanna, Central Dauphin, Dauphin County Tech, Middletown, Milton Hersey and Harrisburgs Sci Tech. The number of attendees was limited to allow for social distancing. More: Coronavirus didnt stop these central Pa. students from getting dressed up for prom Harrisburg High Schools 2020 prom walk: photos Camp Hill boutique will host proms for nine high schools Seamless coordination ensured that there are just 38 local terrorists active in Kashmir Army guns down 6 NSCN (IM) terrorists in Arunachal Pradesh India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 11: The Indian Army has gunned down 6 terrorists in Arunachal Pradesh. Based on specific intelligence inputs regarding presence of armed insurgents, two columns were launched by the Assam Rifles in general area Khonsa (approximately 50 Km East of Tinsukia), Tirap district, Arunachal Pradesh. At around 4.30 am, operational contact was established with the NSCN (IM) insurgents in the general area. J&K: 2 Hizbul terrorists killed in Kulgam encounter test positive for COVID-19 In the ensuing firefight, six insurgents were neutralised and six weapons along with war like stores were recovered. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News One Assam Rifles soldier was injured in the operation. The individual is stable and was evacuated to the nearest Military Hospital. California officials on Friday said 8,000 more inmates would be released early from the state prison to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among both inmates and prison staff. This came after more than one-third of the inmates and staff at the San Quentin State Prison in the San Francisco Bay Area turned out to be positive for coronavirus. A report from the USA Today said the inmates could be released by the end of August, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced. The pending release of inmates marks the largest release effort the state has taken since news of COVID-19 began to spread in prisons. Who Can be Released? According to a report from The Hill, an inmate should have a year or less left on his sentence to be eligible for release. They have to be serving for crimes that are not violent like domestic violence. They have to be free from sentences that require a sex offender registration and have not been considered at high risk for violence. Inmates aged 30 years or older will be considered right away, while those of ages 29 and under will have to be considered on a case-to-case basis. Inmates at "high risk" like those 65 years old and over or those with chronic health conditions can also be considered for release. Those who will qualify for early release has to be tested for COVID-19 within seven days after their return to society, the department said in a report from NPR. The department further noted that it is also reviewing the list of inmates, who need to serve 180 days or less for their sentence. About 4,800 people may qualify for release by the end of July. Health and Safety in Prisons There had been calls to address the coronavirus outbreak at San Quentin prison. More than 200 staff work in San Quentin and over 1,300 inmates have active cases. Local news reports said, at least six inmates have already died due to the coronavirus. The number of prisoners had been reduced by 10,000 since mid-March to also prevent the spread of COVID-19. The officials were met with intense pressure to do a large-scale release to avoid a bigger infection bubble inside prisons and nearby places. "There are many people kept in these places that 'spread poor health'," said Jay Jordan of Californians for Safety and Justice in a press release. For Jordan, supporting the Californian population also includes the health and safety in prisons. Meanwhile, Anne Irwin, Smart Justice California Director, believed that the state made a right decision in order to protect the lives of people inside the prisons and the communities that surround them. Apart from San Quentin, other prisons that are part of the plan for early release of inmates are California Institute for Men in Chino, Folsom State Prison, and five others. California has set a new record of deaths in a day from the coronavirus last Thursday with 149 deaths and more than 7,000 new COVID-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic, the state saw more than 300,000 cases in total. Want to read more? Check these out! Late Friday evening, President Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of his longtime political operative Roger Stone. The president's friend was convicted of impeding a congressional inquiry into Russian interference in the U.S. election. Senior administration official confirms to Politico that President Trump has commuted Roger Stone's sentence Betsy Woodruff Swan (@woodruffbets) July 10, 2020 BREAKING WH Press Sec: "Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Grant of Clemency commuting the unjust sentence of Roger Stone, Jr." pic.twitter.com/UCTMG5spKd Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) July 10, 2020 The move comes just days before Roger Stone was supposed to go to prison. House Intelligence Committed chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) said of Trump's move tonight: "Commuting the sentence of Roger Stone, a crony who lied and obstructed to protect Trump, is among the most offensive to the rule of law." Schiff: "Trump makes clear there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else. Trump, Barr, and those who enable them pose the gravest of threats to rule of law." Trump just commuted Roger Stone's sentence. Stone lied and intimidated witnesses to hide Trump's exploitation of the Russian hack of his opponent's campaign. With Trump there are now two systems of justice in America: One for Trump's criminal friends and one for everyone else. Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) July 11, 2020 More at the New York Times: In a lengthy statement released late on a Friday evening, the White House denounced the prosecution against Mr. Stone on what it called "process based charges" stemming from "the Russia Hoax" investigation. "Roger Stone has already suffered greatly," the statement said. "He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!" Punctuated by the same sort of inflammatory language and angry grievances characteristic of the president's Twitter feed, the official statement assailed "overzealous prosecutors" working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and the "witch hunts" aimed at the president and his associates. It attacked the "activist juror" who led the panel that convicted Mr. Stone and went on to complain about the show of force used by federal law enforcement agents when he was arrested. "These charges were the product of recklessness borne of frustration and malice," the statement said. "This is why the out-of-control Mueller prosecutors, desperate for splashy headlines to compensate for a failed investigation, set their sights on Mr. Stone." The statement did not argue that Mr. Stone was innocent, only that he should not have been pursued. "The simple fact is that if the special counsel had not been pursuing an absolutely baseless investigation, Mr. Stone would not be facing time in prison," it said. Read more:Trump Commutes Sentence of Roger Stone in Case He Long Denounced Currently outside Roger Stone's Fort Lauderdale rat hole: a big party with Jessi Melton, repugnant rice baiting Republican conspiracy theorist running against @TedDeutch. There's a big banner for her, flags and a big "FUCK CNN" banner hanging from his house. No masks on anyone. Lesley Abravanel (@lesleyabravanel) July 11, 2020 Joseph Arpaio, Scooter Libby, Dinesh D'Souza, Michael Milken, Bernard Kerik, Rod Blagojevich, and now, Roger Stone. David Gura (@davidgura) July 11, 2020 #STONE A source familiar w/discussions said of the announcement that POTUS had "actively considered" commuting Stone's sentence for sometime, not a "rush" decision READ: Secretary Regarding Executive Grant of Clemency for Roger Stone, Jr. | The White House https://t.co/Q7kGXkKmsM Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) July 11, 2020 Biden spox @Billr on Roger Stone: "President Trump has once again abused his power, releasing this commutation on a Friday night, hoping to yet again avoid scrutiny as he lays waste to the norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world" Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) July 11, 2020 If this was a Tuesday during a normal time, I'd be staking out Republican senators to get their thoughts on the commutation of Roger Stone's sentence. If past is prologue we won't hear much from them. Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) July 11, 2020 Roger Stone outside his home tonight. Guess his face mask message worked.https://t.co/oRGQkq8v6S pic.twitter.com/9SGaVfSrFi Dan Linden (@DanLinden) July 11, 2020 Tank troops in Afghanistan - PA More than three years inside Afghanistan's most secure prison have done little to weaken Sher Agha Muhammad Khan's links to the Taliban. When the 33-year-old was freed last month in a prisoner swap, one of the first things he did was visit his former militant commander. I was warmly welcomed, got some financial support and the Taliban promised us that due to my sacrifices, they would give me agricultural land, he told the Telegraph last week by telephone. His capture, a brutal interrogation and then sentence inside Bagram prison north of Kabul have taken their toll and he wants to return to a simple life on the land, he said. Yet if he was called on to rejoin his former comrades, he would not hesitate, he claimed. Before jail I was not an ideological Talib. Now I am, he said. I was in Karachi to visit a doctor, because I feel psychological stress. I will start working as a labourer to earn for my family, but if the Taliban need it, I will be more than happy rejoining them again. We suffered for the sake of Islamic law in Afghanistan and that should be accomplished at the end of the day. Taliban prisoner Sher Agha Muhammad Khan garlanded as he is greeted by relatives in Quetta Sher Agha is one of some 4,000 Taliban prisoners freed by the Afghan government since April, in return for around 750 policemen and soldiers released from militant jails. The swap laid out in February's accord between Washington and the militants will eventually see Kabul free 5,000 insurgents and the Taliban free 1,000 government forces. That will pave the way for the foes to sit down for the first formal talks to try to find a political end to Afghanistan's four-decades of war. What men like Sher Agha do next will be closely watched by Kabul. Each has signed a pledge they will not return to the fight. Sher Agha says he was forced into the Taliban by a local dispute in the Khawajah Bahawodin district of Takhar province. His ancestral land was seized by a local warlord called Malik Tatar, who has faced many similar accusations and denied them. The courts and government were no help and for years Sher Agha had no recourse to justice until the resurgence of the Taliban offered the chance of vengeance. Story continues We had no other option except to join the Taliban and take revenge, he said. He said he spent a few months with the Taliban, but claimed he had taken part in no attacks. When he was seized at a road checkpoint, police who beat a confession out of him had photographs of him posing with other Taliban, suggesting they had an inside informant. Sher Agha says he wants a peace process to succeed. I love peace and I would love to see a regime in Afghanistan after a Taliban and Afghan government deal, I would like to go back to Afghanistan in peace and dignity, he said. He, like other freed prisoners, says he wants an Islamic government however. What that means and how far the Taliban's goals have moved from their repressive theocracy of the 1990s is still unclear. I am firmly against the foreign invaders and support anyone who stands for pure Islamic rules, said Muslim Afghan, another recently freed militant. Muslim Afghan (left) shaking hands with a fellow prisoner in Kabul's Pul-e-Charkhi prison The 27-year-old from Paktia province was a student at a Kabul university when he was seized six years ago and given a 15-year sentence. Prosecutors told the Telegraph he was linked to two bomb attacks south of the capital. He claimed he was framed and never took part in attacks. His time inside Kabul's high security Pul-e-Charkhi prison was spent surfing the internet on his phone, he said, and he now wants to resume his studies. He said there was a clear direction from the Taliban that freed prisoners must not return to fighting. Many Afghans are sceptical. Bartering over the releases has now reached a hardcore rump of prisoners that Kabul refuses to free because it says they are either plain criminals, or guilty of particularly horrific atrocities like the 2017 bombing of the German embassy that killed 150 civilians. Muslim Afghan said the insurgents did not need the released prisoners to join their military efforts. The Taliban has enough men, he said. San Francisco, July 11 : After reports surfaced that Amazon told its employees to delete the Chinese short-video making app TikTok from their smartphones, the e-commerce giant has said that the email in this regard was 'sent in error'. According to a report in The Hill on Friday, Amazon which has over 840,000 employees globally said there "is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok". A TikTok spokesperson said that the e-commerce giant "did not tell the social media company about its request prior to sending out the email to employees". A Wall Street Journal report earlier quoted an internal Amazon memo as saying that "employees must delete TikTok to be able to continue accessing their email from their phones". A TikTok spokesperson said that user security is of the utmost importance for the company. "We welcome a dialogue so we can address any issues they may have and enable their team to continue participating in our community," a TikTok spokesperson was quoted as saying. The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this week that Washington was looking at banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTok. In a Fox News interview, Pompeo said that "we're taking this very seriously". "With respect to Chinese apps on people's cell phones, I can assure you the US will get this one right too... I don't want to get out in front of the President (Donald Trump), but it's something we're looking at," he said in the interview. India has already banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, saying these apps opened the way for "elements hostile to national security and defence" to exploit them to "ultimately impinge upon the sovereignty and integrity of India". Pompeo said people should only download the app "if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party". -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Posmysz rightly stresses that no work of art can capture what happened in Auschwitz or across the bleak landscape of the Holocaust, but "it can bring it closer" to us, she says. After Posmysz wrote "Passenger," "I stopped having nightmares," she says, but of course scars remain. Because of the toxic materials she was exposed to, she says, she was left unable to have children, "which made my life so much poorer." (TNS) Four months after the first big COVID-19 layoffs, Washington state has yet to hit bottom in pandemic-related job losses, even as federal benefits are set to expire and health concerns slow the reopening of the economy.New claims for unemployment insurance are gradually slowing: For the week ending July 4, the state received 28,393 initial claims, an 11 percent decline from the prior week, the state Employment Security Department (ESD) reported Thursday. Nationally, new weekly claims fell 7 percent to 1.3 million, the U.S. Labor Department reported.But workers in Washington are still filing more than five times as many weekly claims as they were a year ago. The total number of people currently seeking jobless benefits is now above 736,000 thats up nearly 6 percent from the prior week and almost twice the highest level seen in the Great Recession.And while the backlog of unpaid claims and suspended benefits has fallen substantially since this spring, when ESD was hit by historic layoffs and a massive fraud scam, nearly 35,000 people have yet to see their claims resolved. During a Thursday press conference, ESD Commissioner Suzi LeVine said the agency was on target to resolve those remaining [claims] by the end of the month at the latest.In the meantime, the states decimated job market is rapidly approaching a series of what could be critical inflection points.The $600 weekly federal pandemic benefit, in place since March, which has significantly boosted regular state benefits, will expire the week ending July 25 unless Congress extends it. At the same time, many Washington employers have reopened, but the slow pace of rehiring means many workers who have lost their jobs since March may not be called back for months or may be given reduced hours.Some economists have warned that in hard-hit sectors such as retail, many jobs may never come back, and that seems to fit a recent pattern of closures and cuts.On Thursday, employees at REI, the Kent-based outdoor retailer, learned the company would be laying off about 5 percent of retail staff on July 15. That came a day after Seattle-based kitchenware retailer Sur La Table announced it was shuttering nearly half its locations as it prepares to be sold in bankruptcy court.Furloughs are also expected for tens of thousands of state employees due to pandemic-related budget cuts.ESD officials say workers who have been called back with reduced hours or have seen their current hours reduced can apply for the states SharedWork program, which pays partial unemployment benefits to workers whose hours are cut.Eligible workers will also qualify for the $600 weekly federal payment.But applicants must brave an ESD claims system that still suffers problems. Although ESD has increased staff to review delayed claims, some workers say they are still unable to contact the agency to discuss stalled claims.Others trying to file for benefits are still being stymied because their identities have been used by fraudsters to file bogus claims. And some fraud victims say theyre still getting ESD notices demanding repayment of benefits they never received.LeVine blamed those notices on an automated message [that] got out before we could stop it, and said the agency is contacting fraud victims who receive those notices to explain that they do not have to pay.LeVine said the agency has recovered $361 million of an estimated $550 million to $650 million that was stolen during a fraud scheme disclosed in May.ESD officials have been reluctant to discuss how the agency was able to recover the money, or how fraudsters were able to file so many bogus claims before they were detected in part, officials say, to avoid tipping off future criminals. There are many criminals who are still working the system, LeVine said.In the meantime, workers fortunate enough to have kept their jobs or to have been called back face their own uncertainties.Wednesdays closure of Dukes Seafood on Alki Beach by Public Health Seattle & King County after seven employees tested positive for COVID-19 is a stark reminder of just how quickly the reopening could be reversed. Some workers there said managers were exceeding state re-opening guidelines for phase two that allow restaurants to operate at 50 percent capacity.Even at businesses that havent been hit by outbreaks, some workers fear it may only be a matter of time before theyre laid off again if a surge in COVID-19 cases leads to another local or statewide lockdown.Others worry about the health risks of coming back to work, especially in public-facing jobs like retail or restaurants.Most realize they may have little choice. To refuse an offer of work can mean losing unemployment benefits, even if the refusal is based on concerns around workplace safety. Such concerns would not automatically qualify workers to refuse work unless those concerns could be verified by health authorities.Just having a fear of the COVID-19 virus wont be a sufficient reason to refuse work, Levine said Thursday. One needs to have demonstrable proof that workplace is unsafe.Thats unlikely to assuage workers who are being called back to work or are already working and are worried about exposure as businesses try to bring in more customers.Ultimately, I need to have some sort of income I cant just coast, said Jason, a bartender who didnt want to give his full name or the name of his Eastside employer.But Jason was frustrated by the possibility that many non-essential businesses were re-opening before the pandemic was actually under control. It bothers him that he and workers like him were facing heightened health risks simply to allow people to just go out and get cocktails or go on their Tinder dates. Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, on Friday inaugurated the states health insurance scheme aimed at ensuring that all residents of the state have access to quality and affordable health care services. Speaking at the official launch of the scheme in Ado-Ekiti, Mr Fayemi said his administration would continue to ensure that all residents of the state have direct and unbridled access to quality healthcare at an affordable price. The governor also disclosed that his administration had commenced renovation of 16 primary healthcare facilities across the state in order to ensure effectiveness of the insurance scheme. He urged Ekiti indigenes to prepare for the future by keying into the programme saying the act of insurance simply implies getting ready or prepared for future unforeseen happenstances, that is saving in readiness for unforeseen losses even though nobody prays for one. Mr Fayemi said he was confident that the programme would ensure the protection of Ekiti families from financial hardships of huge medical bills with the aim to ensure sound health of children and safe delivery of pregnant mothers. He assured that nobody would be denied any health services on account of poverty, adding that money has been released to take care of specific vulnerable group especially pregnant mothers and children under five years to participate in the scheme at the point of care. The governor stated further that the other groups would be gradually incorporated into the scheme as they register and fulfil the requirements. He said, The launch of this scheme is very important, considering the prevailing precarious health situation human race is facing worldwide, the launch of Ekiti state Health Insurance Scheme today shows our continued quests to strengthen and sustain quality healthcare delivery in our dear state. We are therefore gathered here to prepare for qualitative healthcare for our people even though we do no pray to fall sick, our actions today show that we as a government and people are making provisions for accessible, qualitative, effective and efficient healthcare delivery through the launch of the Ekiti state Health Insurance Scheme. Many of you here would recall that Ekiti state Health Insurance scheme was initiated and piloted under our maternal child health programme in my first term in office, this was eventually passed into law as part of this administrations dynamic and sustained health financing system. As we all know, health insurance guarantees unlimited healthcare funding with the view to achieving universal healthcare coverage with little or no financial burden on both the government and the people of the state. The mission of this scheme therefore is to put in place appropriate health plans and programmes that will ensure continuous access of all Ekiti residents to qualitative and affordable healthcare services through collective pulling and redistribution of our financial resources As a responsible government, we have also commenced the renovation of primary healthcare facilities across the state starting from here at Okeyinmi Comprehensive health Centre as well as fifteen others to prepare adequate infrastructural facilities for the provision of basic healthcare services at selected locations. The governor noted that his administration had recorded successes especially in the area of women protection and empowerment; in construction and industrial development, knowledge economy; security of lives and property; restoration of values as well as the health sector. He explained further that his administration was committed to supporting the health sector to ensure quality healthcare delivery with the aim of boosting the health status of the state and its entire population. The highpoint of the event was the distribution of medical kits to some registered expectant mothers at the Okeeyinmi Primary health centre. The distribution was made by Erelu Fayemi, whom also urged the women to take full advantage of the new initiative. Also speaking at the event, the State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, commended Governor Fayemi for restoring values and worth of lives of Ekiti residents adding that the scheme would provide them with easy access to healthcare with no discrimination to financial status or class. The commissioner restated that the scheme was introduced to provide universal healthcare and improve access to preventive care as well as provide early effective diagnosis and quality treatment. She congratulated Ekiti residents who would no longer need to wait for 30 days before maturation of the insurance policy as Dr Fayemi administration had reduced it to 14days. In their goodwill messages, the representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and National Health Care Development Agency (NHCDA) all commended that state government for the launch of the scheme which they described as being long awaited. They urged residents of the state to key into the scheme as a way of bringing better improvement to the health status. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 09:14:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JOHANNESBURG, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The premier of Gauteng, which is the smallest but the most populated province in South Africa, became the third provincial leader who tested positive for the COVID-19 this week. "Today, Friday, I received my test results confirming that I have tested positive for COVID-19," David Makhura announced, "I am now in self-isolation, in line with the WHO protocols and will work from home over the next 14 days whilst monitoring my health." His positive test comes at a time when Gauteng, South Africa's economic hub, has seen a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. The provincial health department earlier announced that Gauteng has over 80,000 COVID-19 cases and 515 deaths. The province continued this week preparing more field hospitals in Johannesburg and Pretoria as more people are expected to test positive. Makhura urged residents to work with the government to adhere to social distancing regulations. Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and North West Premier Job Mokgoro had tested positive for COVID-19 this week. Enditem In reading the recent Cal Thomas column, Are Republicans really divisive? July, 10, page A4, he claims it is liberalism and its ideology that is causing all our problems. Mr. Thomas, before you accuse liberalism of all our problems you might want to look in the mirror. Was it liberalism that caused the red lining of minority neighborhoods in the 50s and 60s, taking away any chance of minority homeownership, or opportunity to fund the development of small businesses to strengthen those neighborhoods, neighborhoods that even today have never come back? No, it was the Republicans and banking supporters. Was it liberalism that made every effort to block any increase to the minimum wage over the past 50 years, a wage that tends to be for low paying jobs held by minorities? A wage that was about 55% of the median income in the 60s, a wage that you could actually live on. No, it was the Republicans who again and again obstructed any efforts to raise it, to protect their corporate constituency. Today, it is now less than 35% of the median income. Just think if we had a minimum wage equal to 55% of median income today, like in the 60s, literally millions of people would not even qualify for any type of government assistance. Is it liberalism that refuses to provide reasonable health care to all its citizens, especially for poorer minorities, like every other developed country in the world? No, it is Republicans. They want a for-profit system where if you get sick chances are your financial well being will also take a major hit and could well spell financial ruin. Think about these two points: One, we have the most expensive healthcare in the world, and we do not even rank in the top ten for health outcomes. Second, in the EU, 2% of personal bankruptcies are due to medical bills, in the U.S. its 20%, or ten times higher. That is the health care system the Republicans want, because they have never put forth any other plan. Because Republicans especially conservatives have done a good job of supporting structural racism, inequality, and staying silent as their leader tries to divide this country at every turn, I would say, no, Mr. Thomas, you are wrong, Republicans are the ones who are divisive. Jon A. Reske, West Springfield Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday commended Maharashtra chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray for deciding to ease the curbs during the Covid-19 lockdown at the right time in his cautious style of functioning. Pawar, in an interview with the Shiv Senas mouthpiece Saamana, insisted there was no difference of opinion between him and Thackeray over the way the government brought in the relaxations during the lockdown. This is the first time Saamana has published a three-part interview of a politician who is not Senas top leader. The newspaper had previously only carried such interviews of late party founder Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray. In the interview with Saamanas executive editor and Sena MP Sanjay Raut, Pawar said he came to the conclusion that curbs should be gradually lifted to revive the economy, after discussions with several people, and then brought it to the notice of the CM. During this entire situation, I have been in touch with the chief minister, and am even today... During this time, I had discussions with labour bodies, business-owners, etc. I formed an opinion based on that and brought it to the notice of the CM, Pawar said. The Maharashtra government under Mission Begin Again started relaxing lockdown norms from June. There were speculations that Thackeray was earlier unwilling to open up the state, but Pawar intervened to get the curbs eased. Pawar refuted reports of differences between him and Thackeray on lifting the lockdown. He also categorically denied that there were any differences between Sena and its ruling partners, the NCP and Congress. This is not called a difference of opinion. Delhi and Karnataka allowed relaxations, and there were consequences, but economic activities started again. Such steps have to be taken. If the entire state and the countrys economy are disrupted, then the ill-effects will be far greater than coronavirus, he said. The decision that came was true to the nature of the chief minister. Meaning, a decision should be taken but with caution to take a step by seeing all sides, so that there is no need to go back on it, Pawar added. He pointed out that three parties with different ideologies have managed to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak in the state. The Maratha strongman denied that he is either the remote control or the headmaster of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, amid a buzz that Pawar has been directing Thackeray from behind the curtains, and running the government. I am neither. If headmaster, he would have been part of a school. In a democracy, governments or administration do not function with remote control, he said, giving an example of the political scenario in Russia. The veteran leader denied that the alliance between the member parties of the MVA the Sena, NCP, and Congress was an accident. Pawar pointed out that in the Lok Sabha elections last year, there was no change of government, but before the state assembly polls, the people had decided to bring about a change. He said Senas voters and supporters were uneasy during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Sena government between 2014 and 2019, and the party paid a heavy price for its association. The BJP continuously took a stand to sideline Sena and, keep it quiet. They functioned as if it was only a BJP government. Earlier too, there was a Sena-BJP government under Manohar Joshi, but the atmosphere was not like this then. The BJP sidelined the Sena; this did not go down well with the people of Maharashtra, Pawar said. Without naming former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Pawar said, No political leader should take the people for granted saying I will come back again. He said that voters do not tolerate it if they are taken for granted. Powerful leaders with a mass base like Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had been defeated. It means that in terms of democratic rights, the common man is wiser than the politicians. If we politicians cross the line, he teaches us a lesson. Pawar added the Sena made a major contribution to the BJPs assembly tally of 105 seats in 2019. Had it not been for the Shiv Sena, that number would have been around 40-50. Pressing on about the incompatibility of the BJP and Sena, Pawar claimed that Bal Thackerays functioning style and ideology were not similar to that of the BJP. He respected leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, and Pramod Mahajan, he said. The Sena had struggles with the Congress, but it was never permanent, I think. Shiv Sena was never at loggerheads with the Congress, Pawar added. Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Saturday advocated the creation of a 'resolution corporation' with legislative backing for resolution and revival of stressed financial firms. The government in August 2017 had introduced the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill in Parliament which, among other things, proposed setting up of a resolution corporation. However, after a year, the government decided to withdraw the bill as there were concerns raised about the protection of depositors' money if it was passed with the controversial "bail-in" clause, under which a bank's liabilities could be cancelled/modified to shore up its finances. "Going forward, we need the legislative backing to have some kind of a resolution corporation, which has to deal with resolution and revival of stressed financial firms," Governor Das said at the 7th SBI Banking and Economics Conclave. He said the regulator can issue early warning signals and flag the emerging risks. "The regulator will continue to take necessary measures, continue to engage with the management of the bank or NBFCs to identify the vulnerabilities, but there has to be a legally-backed arrangement," he noted. The governor said setting up a resolution corporation was earlier part of the FRDI Bill which the government withdrew because there were certain issues which needed closer examination. He further said the notification issued under Section 227 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has given additional powers to the RBI to deal with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs). By using those powers, the RBI had appointed an administrator for Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) and that has been referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), he said. DHFL, the third-largest pure-play mortgage player, is the first NBFC/HFC to face the corporate insolvency resolution process. Das said the resolution of DHFL is on stream now. "That is going on fairly well. We review it, we do monitor it from time to time," he added. The Reserve Bank Governor said as far as banks and other financial institutions are concerned, the approach traditionally has been to merge a failed bank with a larger lender. "While that definitely protects the depositors' interest but it also tends to pull down the balance sheet of the larger bank to which the smaller bank or the failed bank is merged," he noted. Giving the example of Yes Bank, Das said initially a market-based resolution was tried out for the lender where investors had shown interest. It was thought as the best way of going ahead with the process wherein a new investor would come in, put money and take it forward but it did not materialise, he said. "We then, without adversely impacting the balance sheet of any participating bank, worked out this arrangement of public private partnerships," the Governor said. Under the bailout plan, Yes Bank had received around Rs 10,000 crore from eight financial institutions, including Rs 6,050 crore from SBI. "The Yes Bank reconstruction scheme forged a unique public private partnership between leading financial entities of India, and it was implemented in a very quick time, which helped the bank's revival, successfully safeguarded the interest of the bank's depositors and ensured financial stability," Das said. With regard to the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank, the RBI is engaged with all stakeholders to find out a workable solution as losses are very high, eroding deposits by more than 50 per cent, he added. Das further said the RBI's focus now is to identify the vulnerability from a very incipient stage, and then engage with the management of a bank or financial entity to ensure that the problem does not become larger. "Having said that, I must say that a bigger responsibility lies with the banks and the financial entities themselves," he emphasised. He added that many banks, both in the public and private sectors, have improved their internal risk management systems and procedures, and are able to take pre-emptive action. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) The Bureau of Immigration has recommended the deportation of a Chinese woman who recently went viral online for attacking traffic enforcers in Makati City. "Yung ating intelligence division, nag-recommend sa legal division na magkaroon ng kaso ng deportation kasi nakita natin na itong Chinese na ito ay turista lamang," BI Spokesperson Melvin Mabulac said in Saturday's Laging Handa virtual briefing. "At di pa siya nakakapag-comply sa requirement ng pag-update ng kanyang status." [Translation: Our intelligence division recommended to our legal division a deportation case because we discovered she is just a tourist and has not complied with requirements on updating her status yet.] On Tuesday afternoon, the 27 year-old Dong Li was arrested after "having an altercation while badmouthing" traffic enforcers in Makati Avenue corner Jupiter Street, read the city police's report. Li also approached the complainant afterwards and hit him with her umbrella and punched him in the face. Police charged her with physical injury and disobedience to persons of authority. The incident was captured on video, which eventually made the rounds in social media. "Klarong-klaro naman po doon sa social media, naging viral pa nga yan, yung disrespect sa ating authority. Bawal na bawal po yan," explained Mabulac. [Translation: Her disrespect for our authorities was very clear in the social media (upload), which even went viral.] Mabulac added that the bureau is looking into charging her for overstaying and undesirability. The official likewise emphasized during the briefing that all foreigners who violate any laws in the country must be held accountable by the state before being deported. "Mahirap naman po na sila ay papaalisin agad natin at di sila nakapag-serve sa kanilang sentence kung na-convict sila sa ibang kaso kasi baka makalusot din sila," explained Mabulac. [Translation: It will be difficult for us if we deport them immediately and it turned out they haven't served their sentence yet if they were convicted, because this means they could evade accountability.] CNN Philippines' Dessy Bautista contributed to this report. Center Parcs Longford Forest has confirmed plans to reopen its Subtropical Swimming Paradise to guests from Monday, July 27. In line with updated government guidance, the Subtropical Swimming Paradise will reopen with new safety measures in place. The new measures are designed to track guest visits, manage occupancy and keep guests and staff safe. The changes include: - Advanced booking - Limiting the number of guests allowed in the pool area at any one time - Limiting the frequency of visits allocated to guests per break - Temperature checks and regulation before entry In addition, there will be a nominal 10c charge per person on each visit to the Subtropical Swimming Paradise, which will be donated to Center Parcs charity partner Barretstown. Center Parcs is also delighted to announce the reopening of Aqua Sana Spa, guests staying at the resort from July 27. CEO Martin Dalby said: We are absolutely thrilled to be able to reopen our Subtropical Swimming Paradise, we know that it is such a key part of the Center Parcs experience for our guests. Rest assured weve been working hard to make the Subtropical Swimming Paradise as safe as possible for everyone and we have a great plan in place, so getting the green light to reopen feels fantastic. Following the updated government guidelines, Center Parcs will now be able to offer even more of indoor activities, to ensure that no matter what the weather, guests will be able to choose from an unrivalled range of both indoor and outdoor activities. Center Parcs Longford Forest is also delighted to announce that they have signed up to Failte Irelands Covid-19 Safety Charter, the government-endorsed initiative designed to reassure employees and customers that businesses have reopened with best practice hygiene and social distancing measures in place. To be eligible for the Failte Ireland Safety Charter, businesses have to meet a high standard, including ensuring all employees have been trained in COVID-19 safety and hygiene measures. All Center Parcs employees are currently undergoing a comprehensive training programme ahead of Longford Forest reopening this Monday , including training on safety measures as well as guidance for their own wellbeing and recognising and acknowledging the concerns of both colleagues and guests. Center Parcs Longford Forests Village Director, Daragh Feighery, said: We are thrilled to today announce our Subtropical Swimming Paradise and Aqua Sana Spa are opening from the July 27. Failte Irelands COVID-19 Safety Charter provides reassurance for both our staff and guests that we are reopening our village in a safe way, while still retaining the Center Parcs experience. These have been challenging times for everyone, but we cant wait to open our doors on Monday morning and welcome our guests back to the forest. 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. Story continues 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. We are not working already nearly five months and unfortunately most of us have not received any compensation from the Israeli government and this is really a tragedy, said Daniel Tieder, a protester. In every country all over the world people have received compensation and support from their government. Unfortunately, here in Israel, nothing yet. The Danfo Driver in All of Us, a collection of commentaries and opinion pieces by Nigerian writer, Niran Adedokun, published in national newspapers and magazines in the last eight years, is set for release. Narrative Landscape Press, a Lagos-based independent publishing company, made the announcement in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday. The Danfo Driver in all of us, is the second book by Mr Adedokun who is also a lawyer, public relations practitioner, and columnist with The PUNCH and The Cable newspaper. Commenting on the reaction to his articles, Mr Adedokun said, Even though I practiced as a journalist for over a decade I never imagined that I would write commentaries about anything and gain attention for doing it. His publishers say The Danfo Driver in All of Us attempts to deconstruct Nigeria and the people that inhabit it, the proclivities that set us back, the opportunities that go to waste, the potential that we never realise and the future for which we fail to prepare. Testimonials Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of Premium Times, described the book as keen insight in depicting the Nigerian condition. Only a few books, using the genre of commentary journalism in recent times have come this close to this convincing testimony. Cover page Layi Babatunde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and editor-in-chief of Supreme Court Reports, said the new book offers simple but imaginative recipes to save ourselves and country from the looming scourge of two for a kobo emotional and physical death. It is certainly worth reading. For Azu Ishiekwene, editor-in-chief, The Interview, the prose is compelling, and it will amuse the reader. By the time you get off this danfo ride you cant help laughing most of the time. READ ALSO: Victor Ehikhamenor, founder/artist director, Angel and Muse, said the new book will make you discover and rediscover yourself no matter who you are. Mr Adedokuns first book, Ladies Calling the Shots, a profile of 17 top female film and television directors in Nigeria, was published in 2017. Since 2012, when his first article was published in The PUNCH, he has continued to write about social, political, and religious issues with humour, passion and insight. The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday announced a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe local polices connivance with slain gangster Vikas Dubey, according to an official statement. The SIT which will be headed by Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy will submit its report by July 31. The SIT has been asked to find out what action was taken in the cases lodged against Dubey, the statement said. Dubey was killed Friday morning by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police when he allegedly tried to escape after snatching a handgun of a police officer when the vehicle carrying him overturned. The STF had come under fire with the opposition alleging that the encounter was staged to eliminate a criminal who could have possibly revealed uncomfortable details of a police-criminal-politician nexus in the state. The STF claimed that Dubey was shot dead after he opened fire and refused to lay down the weapon. He had been arrested in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday morning, a week after he and his gang members ambushed a police team killing eight policemen. On Wednesday, police arrested suspended Chaubeypur station officer Vinay Tiwari and sub inspector KK Sharma on the charge of conspiring for the attack on the police team by tipping off Dubey. Kanpurs senior superintendent of police Dinesh Kumar P said the investigation found that Tiwari and Sharma leaked information about the raid to Dubey. Earlier on Tuesday, former Kanpur SSP Anant Deo Tewari and the entire staff of the Chaubeypur police station comprising 68 police personnel, were transferred. Anant Deo Tewari allegedly did not take action on complaints of slain DSP Devendra Mishra against Vinay Tiwari. Mishra had led the police raid against Dubey. Yonhap South Korea and the United States appear increasingly likely to scale back or even call off a major combined exercise again due to the new coronavirus, after indefinitely postponing their annual springtime drill earlier this year, sources said Saturday. The repeated skipping of annual exercises, if realized, is feared to affect the joint combat posture between the two countries, as well as South Korea's planned takeover of the wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from the U.S. "Both sides share the need to stage the summertime exercise as planned, and we've continued consultations on the matter. But things are highly flexible due to the COVID-19 situation," a defense ministry official said. Seoul and Washington usually carry out major combined exercises twice a year -- in around March and August. But they postponed this year's springtime exercise due to COVID-19, and it has not been held to date, as the health crisis continues. They have yet to fix the schedule and detailed programs for the upcoming exercise. "It already seems practically impossible to push for the summertime exercise normally, given that the U.S. has not taken action for the troop deployment to South Korea necessary for the exercise," a source said. "Most of the U.S. members mobilized for an exercise are reserve forces, which means they have their jobs. Putting them in weekslong isolation is far from easy," he said. "The adjustment or cancellation seems to be a plausible option." All overseas visitors to South Korea are required to be quarantined for two weeks due to the coronavirus. Another factor that needs to be taken into consideration is the tenure of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman. No official term of office is set, but the JCS chairman is supposed to serve for around 18 months to two years, and the incumbent Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki took office in October 2018. The Seoul government is expected to announce Park's successor around September. "It would not be easy to carry out such a major exercise at the time of changes of command," another source said. Seoul and Washington also differ over the program of the summertime exercise. The South Korean authorities stressed that it should focus on the assessment of Seoul's capabilities to retake the operational control of its troops from Washington, just as they agreed earlier. But the U.S. military maintains it should be meant to boost their joint posture as a replacement of the springtime training, rather than preparations for the OPCON transfer, according to the sources. On July 1, U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams, who also commands the Combined Forces Command, stressed that their semiannual theater-level combined exercises, as well as live fire trainings based on rigorous scenarios, should take place to maintain a staunch readiness posture in the face of evolving threats by North Korea. To verify whether Seoul is on course to meet the conditions for the transition, the two sides carried out an initial operational capability (IOC) test in August last year, and their defense ministers decided to move on to the next step of carrying out the Full Operational Capability (FOC) test. "If the two sides had staged an exercise earlier this year, they could have been able to do a kind of run-through for the FOC test," the source said. The Seoul authorities believe that the two sides earlier decided to conduct an FOC test and Seoul has been fully prepared for the event. But the U.S. appears to be wanting to fully comply with due procedures for the complete verification, he added. Seoul and Washington have been working for the conditions-based OPCON transfer. No specific deadline has been set, though many see the two sides eyeing 2022, or thereabouts, as the target date. The combined exercise issue appears to affect their decision on when to have the planned South Korean and U.S. defense ministers' meeting. In May, the defense ministry said the two sides are working to set up a videoconference call between their defense ministers in June to discuss pending issues. But the date has not been fixed yet. "Chances are that the top-level talks would be held when the two countries reach a consensus on this sensitive matter," the source said. (Yonhap) State regulators have allowed the Amsterdam-based telecommunications company VEON to sell Armenias oldest fixed-line and mobile phone networks to a recently established Armenian firm. VEON asked two Armenian regulatory bodies to clear the sale in early June one month after pulling the plug on the planned takeover of its Armenian subsidiary by one of its two local rivals, Ucom. The latter is also the countrys largest cable TV and Internet service provider. Ucom was on course to buy VEON until being thrown into turmoil in April following the sncdalous resignation of its chief executive, Hayk Yesayan, and his deputy and brother Aleksandr. The brothers, who hold a nearly 6 percent stake in Ucom, tried unsuccessfully to buy the rest of the company controlled by the extended family of Gagik Khachatrian, a former finance minister arrested last August on corruption charges denied by him. Gurgen Khachatrian, the ex-ministers son heading Ucoms board of directors, claimed later in April that the Armenian authorities are illegally trying to force the family to sell its controlling stake at a cutdown price. Khachatrian went into hiding in early May shortly after the National Security Service brought new criminal charges against him. He strongly denied them. A few days later, VEON informed anti-trust regulators that it is pulling out of the planned deal with Ucom. The telecom company went on to reach a similar deal with the Yerevan-based tech firm Team set up by the Yesayan brothers. The two entities asked the State Commission on the Protection of Economic Competitition (SCPEC) and the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) to clear VEON Armenias sale to Team. Both regulatory bodies approved the deal in separate decisions made on Thursday and Friday respectively. I think that we will bring the deal to an easy conclusion very soon, Hayk Yesayan told RFE/RLs Armenian service. He again refused to reveal how much his newly created company will pay for VEON Armenia, formerly called ArmenTel. VEON paid $376 million to buy ArmenTel from a Greek firm in 2006. The company was headquartered in Moscow and known as VimpelCom at the time. Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridmans LetterOne fund remains VEONs largest shareholder. VEONs Beeline mobile phone network has the second largest number of subscribers in Armenia after the VivaCell network owned by Russias MTS operator. VEON Armenia is also a major Internet service provider. The anti-trust regulators approval of the proposed acquisition was conditional on Team pledging not to lay off more than 10 percent of VEON Armenia employees for at least six months. Many of those employees are reportedly worried about losing their jobs as a result of the takeover. Some of them protested outside the PSRC offices in Yerevan on Friday. Yesayan insisted that the new owners are not planning staff cuts or other layoffs. We need them, he said, referring to the telecom operators current workforce. The regulators gave the green light for the deal despite strong objections voiced by the Ucom management. In a statement issued earlier this week, the company said that for almost a year the Yesayan brothers had negotiated with VEON in their capacity as top Ucom executives and exploited that experience to negotiate a similar deal for their new company in a matter of weeks. It claimed that this amounted to unfair competition. Yesayan shrugged off the Ucom objections when he spoke to RFE/RLs Armenian service on Tuesday. He also said he and his brother have yet to decide whether to sell their minority stake in Ucom. The head of the Danville branch of the NAACP wants to remove the names of Woodrow Wilson Intermediate School and see Mayor Harry Wooding's statue gone from the front of the Municipal Building. "I want this to happen now," Danville NAACP President Tommy Bennett told the Danville Register & Bee. Wooding fought for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Confederate statues are coming down in other cities and Princeton University announced June 27 that it would remove Woodrow Wilson's name from its school of public policy. It's only appropriate that Danville takes similar steps, Bennett said. "Everything around the world is happening now why wait?" he said, adding that he would like to see the names changed before the upcoming school year starts. Bennett said he would take his request for the name changes to the Danville School Board. Danville School Board Chairwoman Crystal Averett Cobbs said the topic has not been discussed among board members. "We haven't talked about it," Cobbs said Thursday. "It's not something that's been brought up to the board." Whether the names would be changed should be up to the community, she said. "We are always open to people coming to us and giving us their thoughts," Cobbs said. Such a question would be in the hands of the school board, said City Attorney Clarke Whitfield. "That would be a decision of the school board, " Whitfield said. "The city doesn't have any control over the schools' properties." Woodrow Wilson Intermediate School principal Tonya Steele would not comment for this story. However, a request to remove the Wooding statue would be under Danville City Council. Woodrow Wilson served as 28th president of the United States from 1913-21. Wilson, a Democrat, was considered a racist who once threw a civil rights leader, William Monroe Trotter, out of the White House when Trotter met with Wilson to discuss segregation in Wilson's administration and across the country. Wilson also held a private screening of the notorious 1915 D.W. Griffith film, "The Birth of a Nation," at the White House. The movie glorified the Ku Klux Klan. Born in Staunton, Wilson attended Princeton University in New Jersey, became a professor there and served as the school's president. While there, he would not allow Black students to attend and erased earlier admissions of Black students from the university's history, according to a July 6 article in The New Republic. Harry Wooding fought for the Confederate Army from 1863-65 during the Civil War. Wooding once held the record for serving the longest continuous time as mayor in the U.S. at 46 years, from 1892 to 1938. Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones said he would prefer to hear citizen input on whether to rename the schools or remove the Wooding statue. "It's an issue that Danville is going to have to deal with," Jones said. "I think the citizens should have a part in it as well." Cobbs and Jones have expressed support for changing the name of Stonewall Therapeutic Center, as well. The facility is named after Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, the Confederate general. Jones also said he supported changing the name of Woodrow Wilson Elementary School and removing the Wooding statue, but was trying to learn more about O.T. Bonner. The removal of statues of Confederate figures and changing of school names have increased recently amid Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. Such statues have come down recently in Richmond. Protesters toppled a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the city removed statues of Stonewall Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart. Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered the removal of a bronze equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee, but that has been delayed because of a court challenge. In addition, Northam wrote a letter to school boards across the state Monday requesting that names of schools and mascots recognizing Confederates be changed. "When our public schools are named individuals who advanced slavery and systemic racism, and we allow those names to remain on school property, we tacitly endorse their values as their own," Northam wrote. "This is no longer acceptable." Crane reports for the Register & Bee. He can be reached at (434) 791-7987. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Jiangxi province in southern China issued its highest flood warning on Saturday, predicting a big overflow from a lake on the Yangtze River as torrential rain continues to batter much of the country, state media said. The Jiangxi government raised its flood-control response level to I from II, the People's Daily said, the top level on China's four-tier scale, signalling disasters such as dam collapses or extraordinary floods simultaneously in several rivers. Provincial authorities expect severe regional flooding in Poyang, China's largest freshwater lake which connects to the Yangtze, state television said. The water level in the lake, rising at an unprecedented pace, was 2.3 metres (8 feet), exceeding the alert level, CCTV said in a report around noon (0200 GMT). The government of the province's Jiangzhou county, an isolated island on Asia's longest river, issued a call on social media for everyone from the town aged 18 to 60 to return and help fight the flood, citing a severe lack of hands to reinforce dams. With downpours continuing to wreak havoc across vast swaths of China, several other cities along the Yangtze have declared highest-level flood warnings, as incessant rain triggers landslides and inundates roads and farmland, with parts of the river threatening to burst its banks. China's national observatory on Saturday renewed its yellow alert for rainstorms, warning of heavy of weekend rain in places including Sichuan and Chongqing in the southwest, the central province of Hubei and Hunan province in the south. Authorities in Jiangsu province in the Yangtze Delta issued orange flood alerts on Saturday - the second-highest - and forecast huge, long-lasting volumes of water would pour from the river. Indonesian doctor Susana Somali and her staff cut tightly-bound plastic ropes off dozens of whimpering dogs rescued from the butcher's block after being sold or abandoned during the coronavirus pandemic. Somali's sprawling Jakarta complex, home to about 1,400 canines, has become a refuge for at-risk animals as cash-strapped owners sell them into the Southeast Asian nation's controversial dog meat trade. Mostly acting on tip-offs, Somali and her team hit the streets looking for stray dogs and butcher shops where more and more doomed animals are spending their last days howling in cramped cages. Somali -- who juggles a day job testing COVID-19 samples at a local hospital -- started the shelter in an upscale Jakarta neighbourhood more than a decade ago. Back then, she rescued one or two dogs from a butcher each week. But that number has soared to as many as 20 in recent months as strays are snatched off the streets for their meat. The 55-year-old mother of two negotiates with often unfriendly butchers, sometimes paying them cash or supplying other meat to secure the animals' release. "The real battle isn't rescuing them from butchers, although that is always scary. The challenge is taking care of these dogs during the pandemic," Somali said. - 'Tears in her eyes' - Somali and about 30 staff at Pejaten Animal Shelter are struggling to care for a huge number of animals as donations plunge in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. The money is crucial to help cover upwards of $29,000 in monthly expenses, including employee salaries and the daily cost of half a tonne of meat for the animals. Myriad breeds, including huskies, pit bulls, and German shepherds, roam the 5,000 square metre (54,000 square foot) shelter, which Somali started in 2009. She started confronting butchers after seeing a video of a pregnant dog about to be slaughtered. "Someone posted images of this crying dog on social media and I saw the tears in her eyes," she said. "That's when I became aware of the butchers." Somali and her team rescued dozens of puppies bound for a local Korean eatery this month, but they don't always make it in time. "I tried to reach the area but was told that the dog had already been (killed)," she said of one recent dash to a butcher's shop. "It was a minute too late." Animal welfare groups estimate as many as one million dogs are killed annually across Indonesia, with more than 100 restaurants in Jakarta alone serving their meat, according to government figures. Dog is often a culinary speciality among Indonesia's non-Muslim minority groups. The animals are considered unclean in Islam and rarely kept as pets in Muslim-majority countries. Indonesia is relatively relaxed by comparison, but working at the shelter can still be tricky for Muslim volunteers like Ria Rosalina. "Many people have asked me why I take care of dogs but also wear hijab," she said, referring to the religious head-covering worn by many Indonesian women. "But I don't care. I just tell them that dogs were created by God, just like humans." - Snatched and killed - The plight of Indonesia's dogs isn't limited to the megacity capital. Animal welfare organisation Four Paws has warned that thousands of strays in Bali were at risk of starving or being snatched by dog meat traders, as a plunge in tourism hammers the holiday island. It is also a growing problem in other parts of Southeast Asia as traders prey on owners facing hard economic times, said Katherine Polak, a veterinarian with Four Paws. "Animals are at a very heightened risk," she said. "Some low-income people might be tempted to sell their pets." For years, activists have called on the government to halt Indonesia's dog meat market -- a goal shared by Somali. "Ending the dog meat trade may sound like a dream but everything starts from a dream," the shelter owner said. "I'll always keep fighting." Indonesian doctor Susana Somali started confronting butchers after seeing a video of a pregnant dog about to be slaughtered Somali's sprawling Jakarta rescue complex is home to about 1,400 dogs Somali and her team rescued dozens of puppies bound for a local Korean eatery this month With Klein ISD scheduled to start the 2020-21 school year August 19, Superintendent Jenny McGown said via a video message that theyve been hard at work amid challenging circumstances to design the best possible roadmap to reopening the district. McGown announced Friday, July 10, plans to reopen schools by offering two choices Klein On-Campus and Klein Online amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Students will either attend school five days a week in person at in their zoned campus or at home in a virtual learning environment. Q&A: Jenny McGown celebrates one-year anniversary as Klein ISD superintendent In preparing for the new school year, weve taken the lessons we learned from our rapid response last spring and refined them to face the persisting challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, McGown said in an emailed statement. We have listened to the concerns of our families, employees, and community members and have consulted with health and local officials to ensure that we successfully reopen for every student and employee in our care. According to the Klein ISD support website, new and returning families must indicate their choice of online or on-campus for each of their students in the Annual Student Information Update in the Family Access Center of the Skyward system, between July 14-24. Doing so will commit the student to either the online or the on-campus option from Aug. 19 to Oct. 7 for the first quarter of the school year. On HoustonChronicle.com: State officials: Public schools must reopen campuses in August with few exceptions Families must also specify their accessibility of home internet access and devices for elementary students, which will help Klein ISD prepare support for Klein Online. Regardless of the challenges we may face as a community and as a district, we are committed to the health and wellness of staff and students, and the options we are providing will ensure that students will have excellent learning experiences this year, McGown said. Both options will be alike in grading guidelines, but on-campus students will be required to follow health and safety regulations, for instance wearing face coverings when not able to stay six feet apart inside and outside of school and bus settings. Students who choose the on-campus option this fall will attend school from 8:00 a.m.3:30 p.m. for elementary; 8:50 a.m.4:20 p.m. for intermediate; and 7:15 a.m.2:46 p.m. for high school. As far as attendance for on-campus students, the website states that the district will not award perfect attendance certificates during the upcoming school year and attendance related exemptions will not be in effect. The health and safety of our students, staff, and community is of the utmost importance in Klein ISD, Klein ISD Health Services Director Yvonne Clark said in an emailed statement. We will continue to work closely with local, state, and federal health officials to ensure that we are implementing all necessary precautions for Klein On-Campus Learning so that our students and staff remain safe. The online option will look different from the at-home model that students went through at the end of the 2019-20 school year, according to the website. Courses will be attainable through digital access of Schoology where students can engage in independent learning and virtually with teachers for periods of live instruction or facilitating coursework. Schedules for daily instruction will be provided to online students, with attendance taken every day. Theyll also have the option through Schoology to participate in extracurricular activities on campus, which will follow updated UIL guidelines. I am so pleased with the work that the staff under the outstanding leadership of Dr. McGown has done to prepare for an excellent start to this school year, James said. McGown said for more information about the both selections, parents and students can visit support.kleinisd.net. Furthermore, preliminary plans may continue to be adjusted based on conditions and as new information from local health officials and the Texas Education Agency is released and made available, according to the website. We know youll have lots of questions, so please let us help you as we work through this moment together, McGown said in the video message. As a Klein ISD parent, educator, and community member, I empathize with what were all going through, but I also know weve thought hard times before, and we will get through this, as always, together. alvaro.montano@chron.com A small group of visitors waits eagerly at the entrance to a single-storey building in Ghana's capital Accra, looking to explore the literary treasure inside. This is the Library of Africa and the African Diaspora -- a passion project launched by Ghanaian-British writer Sylvia Arthur. Based around Arthur's personal book collection, the library provides a remarkable opportunity to bring literature from the global black community to a country considered a cradle of African civilisation, and which was once a hub of the transatlantic slave trade. "Our work has been neglected, it's not been showcased, it's not been respected, it's not been archived and that's the purpose of this library," Arthur said as she guided her visitors around. The library was founded in 2017 when Arthur moved to Ghana after working in Europe. It was renamed and relaunched this year, welcoming its first guests again in July as restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus were eased in the west African nation. The library boasts around 4,000 books, from almost every country on the African continent. Many names will be familiar to those who have seen the growing international acclaim for African writers such as Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ben Okri, Mariama Ba and Ngugi wa Thiong'o. But this collection is a rarity in Africa. It not only spans the entire continent, including authors such as Assia Djebar from Algeria and Naguib Mahfouz from Egypt, as well as white authors from southern Africa such Doris Lessing, Nadine Gordimer and J.M. Coetzee -- it also includes black writers from across the world including the US, Caribbean and Europe. It also has a special collection of rare and out-of-print books, drawing historical links between the works of African and diaspora writers, and offers residences for authors from abroad. "We started off in one room and now we are in a whole house," Arthur said. - Black Lives Matter - The library's aims have been made even more relevant by the Black Lives Matter protests that have swept the globe and sparked renewed debates on history and equality. "I definitely think what we do is very empowering," said Arthur. "It shows people that no matter what they've been taught in schools, and in Western schools, we actually come from a race of people who are intelligent, smart, literate." Ghana -- a beacon in Africa's struggle for independence -- has long played a role as a hub of thought and memory for the broader black community. American writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou lived in Accra in the early 1960s and the government has tried to attract black people to move to the country. In 2019 the authorities staged the "Year of Return" -- four centuries after the first slave ship landed in what is now the US -- urging African Americans to "come home". - 'Don't lose our identity' - But despite those official efforts, there is often little knowledge of writers from across Africa and the black community. Visitors said that the library, while small in the numbers of books it has compared with others, is a seed that can grow, filling those gaps. For an annual fee of 600 cedi ($100, 90 euros), members can borrow books or simply peruse the shelves lined beneath portraits of renowned writers of African descent. "I'm truly overwhelmed by the trove of materials I've seen here, especially such a brilliant and classical collection of pan-African writers," said Appiah Kusi Adomako, who works on regional integration. "These are great materials everyone should come and read to add to their knowledge of African history so we don't lose our identity." Young writer Nasirudeen Jabbaru agreed the collection offered a fantastic window into an often-neglected area. "Having all these books together in one place is special," he said. "Most of them are scarce on the market and this is a whole inspiration for me." Researcher Jeffrey Boadu described the library as a "good foundation for future writers". "I've really been inspired and I'll definitely come back to read some more," he said. Sylvia Arthur founded the library in 2017 Books by author Kwame Nkrumah are displayed on a shelf in the Library of Africa and the African Diaspora (LOATAD) in Accra A rare book by author Micheal Dei-Anang is among the collection of out-of-print texts Hanoi People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung handed over the symbol of medical supplies to US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink on June 1st. (Photo: VNA) Ms. Penny Abeywardena, member of the New York city Council in charge of foreign affairs, asked Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Chief Representative of the Vietnamese permanent mission at the UN, to convey the sincere thanks of New York to Hanoi authority and people. According to Ms. Abeywardena, this is a very practical help as New York is still struggling to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Ambassador Quy expressed his wish that the gift of Hanoi people will contribute some small part to help New Yorkers overcome the difficult period of time. He added he expected that New York and Hanoi cities would have many opportunities for cooperation in the future, especially between businesses to promote economic and social development and overcome the consequences of the pandemic. The masks are produced in Vietnam, receiving the CE mark of the European Union (EU). Earlier, on June 1st, Hanoi City President Nguyen Duc Chung presented symbolically the masks to New York city through US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink. Up to now, New York city has reported more than 220,000 COVID-19 cases, accounting for 50% of all cases of New York state, claiming the lives of 22,000 people. Social distancing is still applied in New York city and mask wearing is compulsory at public places./. Astronomers have spotted four distant objects in deep space they say are unlike any astronomical object theyve seen before. According to LiveScience website, the objects look like distant ring-shaped islands and have been named odd radio circle or ORCs. Scientists are yet to figure out exactly how far these objects are but believe the ORCs could be linked to distant galaxies. Three of the objects were spotted using the the radio telescope Autralian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) while mapping the night sky in radio frequencies as part of a pilot survey for a new project called the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) from July to November 2019. The fourth ORC was found in archival data collected by the Giant MetreWave Radio Telescope in India. This helped the astronomers to confirm the objects as real, rather than some anomaly caused by issues with the ASKAP telescope or the way in which the data was analysed, says the article in LiveScience website. [The objects] may well point to a new phenomenon that we havent really probed yet, Kristine Spekkens, an astronomer at the Royal Military College of Canada and Queens University, who was not involved with the new study, told LiveScience website. It may also be that these are an extension of a previously known class of objects that we havent been able to explore, he added. Seeking explanations for what these ORCs actually are, astronomers have ruled out supernovas, star-forming galaxies, planetary nebulas among other things. They believe that the objects could be shockwaves leftover from some extragalactic event or possibly activity from a radio galaxy. But the EMU survey is just beginning, and astronomers expect it to reveal more unusual objects. The paper, which is available on the preprint site arXiv, has been submitted for publication to the journal Nature Astronomy, where it is still under review. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON It was discovered earlier this month that the LinkedIn app was silently reading clipboard data thanks to Apples name and shame approach in iOS 14. A company executive was quick to point it out as a bug in its app, but that has not stopped an iPhone user in New York from filing a lawsuit against it. Adam Bauer has filed a lawsuit against LinkedIn in the San Francisco federal court for reading clipboard data of iPhone users without informing them about it. The company has not responded to the lawsuit yet. LinkedIn has not only been spying on its users, it has been spying on their nearby computers and other devices, and it has been circumventing Apples clipboard timeout, which removes the information after 120 seconds, according to the suit. LinkedIn is just one of the many apps that were found to be silently reading clipboard data of iPhone users. Other popular apps include TikTok, Reddits official client, and more. All of these apps have been updated or will soon be updated to remove clipboard snooping. It was actually reported back in February itself that a number of iOS apps were silently reading clipboard data. This included TikTok which promised to fix the issue but never got around to doing so. iOS 14 will notify users whenever an app reads clipboard data via a banner notification. After the first beta of iOS 14 was released, it was discovered that apps like TikTok, LinkedIn, and others were reading the clipboard data after every keystroke. Reddit, in its case, confirmed that it was doing this for the post suggestion feature in its app and confirmed that it did not send or share the clipboard data with its servers. Our Take It is quite common for iPhone users to copy the password or login credentials from a password manager and then paste it into an app. In other cases, the clipboard can contain other sensitive content as well which is why apps silently reading its data is a major privacy risk. As for the claim in the lawsuit that LinkedIn has been spying on nearby computers and devices, it is completely baseless. The app uses Bluetooth LE to find LinkedIn users nearby and it takes the required permission for this as well. [Via Bloomberg According to intelligence reports, three members of Russia-led forces were killed and another three were wounded on July 10. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another three were wounded as Russia-led forces mounted 17 attacks in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, on Friday, July 10. "The Russian Federation's armed formations violated the ceasefire 17 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 July 11. "Unfortunately, as a result of enemy shelling, one Ukrainian serviceman was killed in action and another three were wounded in action." Read alsoJFO Commander elaborates on Russian army grouping deployed in occupied Crimea The enemy opened fire from proscribed 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, anti-tank missile systems, and small arms. Under attack were Ukrainian positions near the town of Avdiyivka, and the villages of Prychepylivka, Orikhove, Troyitske, Khutir Vilny, Novotoshkivske, Novoluhanske, Katerynivka, Vodiane, Nevelske, and Lebedynske. The Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy shelling. According to intelligence reports, three members of Russia-led forces were killed and another three were wounded on July 10. In addition, according to updated data, the enemy's casualties on July 9 included two killed fighters. "Since Saturday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions once near Vodiane, using 120mm and 82mm mortars," the update said. No casualties have been reported among Ukrainian troops since Saturday midnight. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe In March, when Los Angeles Apparel first began manufacturing and selling face masks made of French terry cotton, CEO Dov Charney -- who previously founded American Apparel -- was praised for his ingenuity and business savvy. Despite having been fired from American Apparel after numerous allegations of financial mismanagement and sexual abuse, The New York Times included Charney in an article about American fashion industry leaders stepping up to fill the in the gaps of America's medical supply shortage. Los Angeles Magazine categorized him as one of the city's business and thought leaders, noting his quick response to the COVID-19 crisis, which included ramping up production at his South L.A. factories and doubling the size of his staff. By mid-May, the company had reportedly sold half-a-million masks. The entreprenuer told Los Angeleno Magazine that his company had enacted a number of safety procedures in his factory, including social distancing and temperature checks at the start of each shift. "Ideally, I don't want one COVID case in here," Charney said in the interview, taking his temperature with a laugh. Two months later, more than 300 employees of Los Angeles Apparel have contracted COVID-19 and four garment workers have died from the disease. The Dept. of Public Health issued a press release on Friday that said Los Angeles Apparel "flagrantly" violated mandatory health guidelines. The department had ordered the company to shut down on June 27, after it failed to cooperate with an investigation of a reported coronavirus outbreak. Now the department is mandating "continuous closure" of the factory. "Our paramount concern is for the safety of all employees and their families, and the department will continue to actively monitor Los Angeles Apparel and other manufacturing work sites to fully implement the infection control and distancing safety requirements at work environment for all employees," said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the director of the public health department. Screenshot from Los Angeles Apparel's website AN OUTBREAK AND AN ATTEMPT TO HIDE IT The Dept. of Public Health was notified about the outbreak at the factory on June 19 and immediately opened an investigation. The first thing officials did was request a list of all employees from the company, so that contact tracers could compare employees' names with those who had tested positive and negative for COVID-19. According to public health officials, the leadership of Los Angeles Apparel declined to provide that list, despite multiple requests. A Los Angeles Apparel employee (screenshot from Los Angeles Apparel website) On June 26, public health inspectors conducted a site visit to the three factory locations and witnessed several health violations, including a lack of social distancing and infection controls for workers. In lieu of physical distancing, the company was reportedly using cardboard barriers between employees. A week later, the company sent an incomplete employee list to DPH, reporting 198 positive results. When health officals examined the data, however, it became clear that there were actually more than 300 positive cases of infection. Officials told the company that employees could only return to work if they were fever-free for at least three days and had no additional symptoms. According to the press release, Los Angeles Apparel then violated that health order by reopening with new employees. They even tried to stop DHP inspectors from entering the factory. Now, Los Angeles Apparel is under orders to remain closed until they show compliance with public health mandates. The DHP website has a list of business with major coronavirus outbreaks at the bottom of its coronavirus statistics page. Los Angeles Apparel has three locations on that list, all on East 59th Street. Two of those locations have more than 60 confirmed cases of COVID-19; the other location has 23. Screenshot from Los Angeles Apparel's website NOT THE FIRST TIME DOV CHARNEY IS IN HOT WATER Dov Charney has long been at the center of multiple controversies, ever since the height of American Apparel's popularity in the early 2000s. Over the years, he has settled multiple allegations and five major lawsuits brought against him for sexual harrasment and rape. Los Angeles Apprel owner Dov Charney in his South L.A. factory (screenshot from the Los Angeles Apparel website) Charney was eventually outsed from his own company after the board of directors terminated him in 2014, citing his misuse of company funds and violation of policies prohibiting harrasment and retaliation against former employees. According to court filings, the company discovered "voluminous evidence of Mr. Charney's sexual liaisons with employees and models," adding that at least one of those encounters took place at his office. Shortly thereafter, leaders of the company accused him of using ethnic slurs against workers and keeping videos on a company server of himself in sex acts with models and employees. In 2016, American Apparel declared bankrupcy. Charney has said the allegations against him are false and that the reasons the company gave for ousting him were based on false information. A man walks past an American Apparel store in 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) Screenshot from Los Angeles Apparel's website When Charney launched Los Angeles Apparel in 2016, several publications pointed out that he was essentially just starting the same company over again, with a new name. His new factory was only four miles away from his old one. Like American Apparel, Los Angeles Apparel claims to care deeply about the wellbeing of its workers. UCLA invited Charney to lecture students in 2017, where he spoke about his passion for fair wages. A big selling point of the company's business model, brand identity and marketing strategy is its support for a fair living wage. "We strive to pay our workers a living wage and we support the fight for $15 an hour," the values section of the website reads. "We believe in local manufacturing from an efficiency and an ethical point of view." DHP has a hotline for reporting unsafe working conditions. The number is (888) 700-9995. Reports can be anonymous. Shah Rukh Khan has been missing from the big screen for a long time now. He was last seen in the 2018 starrer Zero. Since then it's been all quiet on his front. So much that he'd even refused to announce his next project. But it seems he has finally given the nod for a movie. Rumours are rife that Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumar Hirani will collaborate for the first time with their next film. According to a leading daily, the film revolves around immigration issues and hence it will be shot extensively in Punjab and Canada. The ongoing lockdown due to the corona virus pandemic has delayed things a bit. The makers are waiting for normalcy to return and for travelling rules to ease out., before they can start shooting. In this social comedy Shah Rukh Khan will play a man from Punjab who faces immigration issues. Speaking to the daily, a source close to the film revealed, Like all Raju films, it revolves around a serious, globally relevant issue and is treated with gentle humour. The story moves between Punjab and Canada. This guy is jovial, hell make you laugh and will get you emotional. Shah Rukh is growing his hair for the part. The source also spoke about the shooting schedule saying, The film requires a long outdoor shoot abroad and they will wait till travel restrictions are eased. If things get back to normal soon, it should kick off before the year ends. Now let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope that King Khan sreturns to the big screen soon. We've also heard that Shah Rukh Khan might do Krishna and Raj DKs action flick. God willing. Camille Crittenden, PH.D., is the Executive Director of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, and co-founder of the CITRIS Policy Lab and the Women in Technology Initiative at UC. Before joining CITRIS in 2012, she was Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at Berkeley Law, where she helped to develop its program in human rights, technology, and new media. Delhis deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday announced all examinations, including final exams, to be conducted in universities under the city-states government stand cancelled in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. The minister added that degrees will be awarded to students on the basis of evaluation parameters decided by the universities. In light of the major disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Delhi govt has decided to cancel all Delhi state university exams including final exams, Sisodia tweeted. The move will apply to semester as well as terminal exams at various state universities across Delhi. During a press briefing, Sisodia - who also handles Delhis education ministry - said that schools and colleges have been shut throughout amid the Covid-19 crisis. In light of the major disruptions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, Delhi govt has decided to cancel all Delhi state university exams including final exams https://t.co/g4SFLqaBQK Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) July 11, 2020 For schools in Delhi, we had decided not to conduct examinations for classes 9th and 11th and promote them based on other evaluation parameters, Sisodia stated. We requested the Central government to follow the same pattern for the CBSE board exams in the national capital and it is finally happening, he added. The minister added that while the matter with schools was sorted, universities posed another challenge as this entire semester no practicals, field or lab research could be carried out. Keeping this mind, the Delhi government believes there is no point conducting university examination for a semester where no studies took place, he said. The education minister added that students who already have job offers need to get their degrees to start working and support their families at the time of an economic crisis created by the pandemic. Extraordinary times like these call for extraordinary measures, Sisodia said quoting chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi has several state universities such as Ambedkar University, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi Technological University, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW), National Law University Delhi, among others. This comes after the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Monday announced that universities must conduct exams for final-year students by September. Sisodia said that the government was planning to approach the Centre on the matter. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will write a letter to the Prime Minister requesting him to cancel exams for students across all central universities as well, he said. Delhis coronavirus cases have crossed the one-lakh mark and stand at 109,140 of which over 80,000 people have recovered from the infection. Covid-19 death toll in the national capital has jumped to 3,300. As the pandemic continues to affect the way society functions, Spring ISD officials will be hosting virtual town hall meetings to inform parents of the options they have for when school begins in August. Houston coronavirus updates: What you need to know for July 10 One virtual town hall in English is scheduled to be held at 6 p.m. Monday July 20 and one in Spanish at 6 p.m. Tuesday July 21. Families will be able to take the time at these town halls to ask district leaders questions so they can know the learning options they have to fit the needs of their children. We know families want more details on all options so we really hope they will join us for these virtual town halls, Spring ISD Chief of Communications and Innovation Tiffany Dunne-Oldfield said in an emailed statement. It will be a great opportunity to ask questions and address any concerns so our parents are able to choose when we send out the commitment forms. The virtual town halls were originally scheduled for the week of July 13 but were postponed after the Texas Education Agency released guidelines for returning to school days ago. Two learning options provided to students by the district were detailed during a special board meeting June 30the safety-first hybrid model, which would include both at-home and in-school learning, as well as the empowered learning at-home model, which entails only virtual at-home learning and was used during the spring semester after the pandemic began. District preps back to school plans amid pandemic: Spring ISD planning to offer remote and in-person learning next school year The guidelines released by the TEA on July 7 include making daily on-campus learning available for parents who want their students in school each day, as well as providing the option of remote learning, which they can switch to at any point during the school year. The one-week postponement of the Spring ISDs virtual town halls will allow time for the school district to develop an option offering daily on-campus learning for students in all grade levels, stated Spring ISD Director of Communications Karen Garrison. TEA guidelines also detail mandatory health screenings for students, staff, teachers and visitors coming to campus before being allowed in, as well as requiring masks in school buildings should Gov. Abbotts order still be in place. The virtual town hall meetings will be held on Zoom, with login information available at www.springisd.org/townhall-reopen, and will also be streamed live on YouTube. Both platforms have a chat feature for those listening to submit questions. Commitment forms, providing the back-to-school options for parents to choose for their children, will be emailed to all families later this month. paul.wedding@hcnonline.com During Thursday nights confrontation, a deputy struck in the chest was saved by his bulletproof vest while another was hit in the head by shotgun pellets and the third was wounded in the arm, the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office said in a statement. European hamsters are now critically endangered and could go extinct within 30 years without action to save them, conservationists have warned. The rodents, a different species from hamsters commonly kept as pets, were once abundant across Europe and Russia but have suffered severe population declines across their range, leaving the species one step away from extinction. The warning comes in the latest update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)s Red List of Threatened Species, which also highlights a worsening situation for Madagascars lemurs. Expand Close Madame Berthes Mouse Lemur has become critically endangered (Russell A. Mittermeier) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Madame Berthes Mouse Lemur has become critically endangered (Russell A. Mittermeier) A third of lemurs, which are found only in the African island nation, are now critically endangered judged to be at the highest risk of extinction and almost all species are under threat. Among 13 species which have seen their conservation status worsen in the latest update to the Red List is Madame Berthes mouse lemur, the smallest primate in the world, which is now critically endangered. It has suffered loss of its forest home to slash-and-burn agriculture and logging for charcoal and wood fuel. The update also shows more than half of all primate species in the rest of Africa are under threat, including all 17 species of red colobus monkey, with hunting for bushmeat and the loss of their habitat among the major threats they face. Expand Close All species of red colobus monkey, including these Temmincks red colobus are under threat (Mic Mayhew) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp All species of red colobus monkey, including these Temmincks red colobus are under threat (Mic Mayhew) IUCN acting director-general Dr Grethel Aguilar said: This IUCN Red List update exposes the true scale of threats faced by primates across Africa. It also shows that Homo sapiens needs to drastically change its relationship to other primates, and to nature as a whole. She went on: At the heart of this crisis is a dire need for alternative, sustainable livelihoods to replace the current reliance on deforestation and unsustainable use of wildlife. These findings really bring home the urgent need for an ambitious post-2020 biodiversity framework that drives effective conservation action. Some 120,372 species have now been assessed for the IUCN Red List, with 32,441 put into the three categories which means they are considered threatened with extinction critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable. Expand Close European hamsters are giving birth to fewer young (Mathilde Tissier/IPHC LIFE Alister) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp European hamsters are giving birth to fewer young (Mathilde Tissier/IPHC LIFE Alister) They include the worlds most expensive fungus, the caterpillar fungus, which is highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine and has been listed as vulnerable to extinction in the new update due to over-harvesting. And the North Atlantic right whale has gone from endangered to critically endangered, with estimates of fewer than 250 whales left alive. They are suffering entanglement with fishing gear, being hit by vessels, and lower reproduction rates, with climate change pushing the whales to areas where they are more likely to be harmed by human activity. Lower reproduction rates are also driving the population declines in the European hamster, with mothers giving birth to just five or six pups a year compared with more than 20 in the 20th century, research shows. It is not clear what is causing the fall in reproduction rates, but experts said the expansion of monoculture crops, industrial development, global warming and light pollution are being investigated as possible causes. More research into the various possible drivers of the European hamsters disappearance is urgently needed to save it from extinction Dr Mikhail Rusin The rodent has vanished from three-quarters of its original habitat in Alsace, France, at least a third of its range in Germany, and from more than 75% of the area it was once found in Eastern Europe, the IUCN warned. Dr Mikhail Rusin, an author of the new Red List assessment, said: While conservation measures including hamster-friendly field management and reintroductions have slowed down the population decline in some areas, they have failed to reverse the trend. In addition to these measures, more research into the various possible drivers of the European hamsters disappearance is urgently needed to save it from extinction. Six suspected members of National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) were killed while an Assam Rifles jawan was injured in a gunbattle in Longding district in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday morning. Security officials said a joint team of Assam Rifles and Arunachal Pradesh police launched an operation based on intelligence inputs near Nginu village, close to Myanmar border and six rebels died in the encounter that took place at around 4.30am. "There were not less than 250 rounds of firing from both sides. But we managed to kill six who were hiding in a paddy field. Six long range weapons such as AK 47 and two Chinese MQ 81 rifles, ammunition and IEDs have been recovered from them," security officials told DH. Sources said the Assam Rifles jawan, who received bullet injuries in the gunfight was shifted to a military hospital. His condition is stable, it said. NSCN (IM) is a rebel group based in Nagaland and is in ceasefire with the government since 1997. They signed a "broad framework agreement" with the government in 2015 and concluded negotiations in October last year for signing a final agreement soon. Killing of the rebels amid the talks process, although surprised security analysts, army officials suspected that the rebels could belong to Myanmar-based group of the outfit, which is not part of the negotiations. But NSCN (IM) rebels has a strong hold in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh. Their activities has become a worry for security forces in the state that shares border with Myanmar, China and Bhutan. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is still in operation in the districts in view of the rebel group's activities. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 03:36:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close File photo taken on March 9, 2012 shows trainees warm up in a Kungfu class at Stanford University in California, the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Yilin) "With this lawsuit, California is standing up for the 21,000 international students who attend our community colleges and standing up for our right to continue teaching and learning in a safe and responsible way during the pandemic," says California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley. LOS ANGELES, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Top universities in U.S. state of California have joined the nation's higher education community in challenging the Trump administration's rule that would imperil international students if their universities switch to online-only courses in the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Monday that international students will be barred from staying in the nation if their school's classes are entirely online in the fall semester. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued in federal court Wednesday to try to block the Trump administration's new directive. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, and California State University Chancellor Timothy White announced in a joint statement on Thursday that California is filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's "unlawful policy that threatens to exacerbate the spread of COVID-19 and exile hundreds of thousands of college students studying in the United States through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program." "At a time when COVID-19 cases are surging across the state, the policy requires international students to take classes in person - putting themselves, teachers, other students, and the community at large at risk of getting and spreading the coronavirus - or be subject to deportation," said the officials in the statement. "Beyond the myriad significant direct harms to individual students, the mission of California's higher education institutions would suffer if international students are forced to disenroll because of the Trump Administration's arbitrary actions. It will also likely further burden educational institutions at a time when the state faces significant budget shortfalls and schools are already struggling to confront the economic and public health impacts of COVID-19," they added. People attend the Cal Day event at the University of California, Berkeley Campus in Berkeley, California, the United States, on April 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) California is the state with the largest university systems in the nation. Officials pointed out that with new COVID-19 cases averaging more than 7,500 a day in the most populous U.S. state over the last week, the Trump administration's policy threatens to turn California's colleges and universities into "super-spreaders" of the disease. "With this lawsuit, California is standing up for the 21,000 international students who attend our community colleges and standing up for our right to continue teaching and learning in a safe and responsible way during the pandemic," said Oakley. White also noted that the university stands in the strongest opposition to the policy guidance. "It is a callous and inflexible policy that unfairly disrupts our more-than 10,300 international students' progress to a degree, unnecessarily placing them in an extremely difficult position. And it deprives all of our students - and the communities, state, and nation we serve - of the remarkable contributions of these international students," White noted. The University of California (UC) announced plans to file suit against ICE over the rule earlier this week. In a press release issued by the university on Wednesday, UC President Janet Napolitano called the rule "mean-spirited, arbitrary and damaging to America." Students congregate at the University of California's Los Angeles campus in Los Angeles, the United States, on June 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Yang Lei) UC Board of Regents Chair John A. Perez was quoted by the statement as saying that UC has increased online instruction and decreased in-person classes in order to protect students' health amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "It is imperative for UC to file this lawsuit in order to protect our students." The UC's 2019 fall enrollment data showed that 27,205 of the university's 226,125 undergraduate students are non-resident international while 13,995 of the university's 58,941 graduate students are non-resident international. The 10-campus UC system enrolled about 38 percent of the state's over 68,000 Chinese international students, who primarily attended San Diego, Irvine, Davis, Berkeley and UCLA, according to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times. Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne wrote in a Wednesday email that he had sent a letter to the acting secretary of homeland security in opposition to new immigration regulations. He added that the university in the San Francisco Bay Area will file an amicus brief in support of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Two Chinese students walk on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, the United States, June 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ying) The University of Southern California (USC) announced on Wednesday that the university has joined an amicus brief strongly supporting the lawsuit filed by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The highly rated private research university located in Los Angeles also noted that it is actively considering all other legal options. "We are also working with our Congressional delegation and fellow universities on legislative and other solutions to this terribly misguided decision," USC President Carol Folt said in a statement. "Given the broad range of courses being offered, both in person and online, we are optimistic we will be able to support our international students to study in person safely if they wish, but it may take a few days," the university noted. "To our international students: If you need to add an in-person course to your schedule to maintain visa status this Fall, it will be provided at no additional cost to you," tweeted USC Office of the Provost on Thursday. USC is extremely popular with international students. A total of 12,265 international students were enrolled at USC during the 2019-20 academic year, with around 7,000 from China, according to the university's website. WASHINGTON - A lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of illegally profiting from foreign and state government visitors at his hotel in downtown Washington is on hold after a ruling this week from a federal appeals court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit granted the Trump administration's request to temporarily stay its ruling against the president while the government asks the Supreme Court to review the novel case testing the anti-corruption emoluments provisions of the Constitution. Most immediately, the order issued Thursday blocks more than a dozen subpoenas aimed at learning more about Trump's closely held private business transactions and which foreign and state governments have paid the Trump Organization. The subpoenas from the attorneys general of Maryland and the District target federal agencies and business records related to hotel stays and restaurant expenses. "We are disappointed that we will not be able to resume discovery immediately because of President Trump's continued delay tactics," said a joint statement from D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh. "We want to get to the truth about President Trump's constitutional violations and that is what the President is attempting to prevent. "We are prepared to defend the Fourth Circuit's [May] ruling and the uncontroversial principles of law on which it relies, and we believe that the Constitution will ultimately prevail." In May, a divided appeals court refused to dismiss the case. The attorneys general are relying on the Constitution's emoluments provisions intended to prevent foreign and state officials from exerting undue influence on U.S. leaders, including the president. Fourteen judges backed the president's requested stay "pending further proceedings at the Supreme Court." One judge, James Wynn Jr., voted to deny the motion, according to the court's brief order. "We're pleased that the Fourth Circuit recognized that this unprecedented litigation against the President should not proceed until the Supreme Court has an opportunity to review," a Justice Department spokeswoman said in an email. The case centers on the president's hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in Northwest Washington. Foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, have booked rooms and events there since Trump entered the White House. Trump's Justice Department lawyers say the president is not violating the emoluments clauses, because the language bars only payments in exchange for official action or as part of an employment relationship. In the 9 to 6 ruling in May, the majority said it would not intervene at this early stage in the litigation. The court found a genuine dispute over the definition of an "emolument," writing that "we can hardly conclude that the President's preferred definition of this obscure word is clearly and indisputably the correct one." The majority also said subpoenas targeting the president's business would not interfere with Trump's official White House duties. "The President has not explained, nor do we see, how requests pertaining to spending at a private restaurant and hotel threaten any Executive Branch prerogative," wrote Judge Diana Motz. The dissenting judges portrayed their colleagues on the other side as "partisan warriors." "The majority is using a wholly novel and nakedly political cause of action to pave the path for a litigative assault upon this and future Presidents and for an ascendant judicial supervisory role over Presidential action," wrote Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III. In a separate emoluments case led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said individual members of Congress do not have legal grounds to enforce the foreign emoluments clause. The Democratic lawmakers in July asked the Supreme Court to review the decision. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia July 4, 2020 Monrovia, the capital city of the Republic of Liberia, is named in honor of President James Monroe, the fifth president of the United Statesand a slave owner. This honoring of a slave owner is a travesty to the autochthonous and should be an abomination to the children of the settlers (the Americo-Liberians). The 1810 census record shows that 49 enslaved individuals lived at Monroes Plantation in Highland, Virginia. This made Monroe one of the countrys largest slave owners (National Archives and Record Administration). Today, we are experiencing an epiphany from the lynching of George Floyd and must join the chorus to bring down and eviscerate the legacy of the symbols of slaverythe anathema of our humanity. It is time to change the name Monrovia. The lynching of George Floyd by a Minneapolis White Police Officer has shed new light on the 17th-century African enslavement by Europe and the United States as its ugly legacy continues todayracism and bigotry. Globally, the symbols commemorating slave traders and slave owners are being toppled or eviscerated, e.g., Edward Colston (Bristol, England), Confederate statues in the American South and Congress, the Confederate Flag, the statue of Christopher Columbus (at the State House of Columbus, Ohio), etc. This psychological trauma of black enslavement is being caught up in a vortex of the rapture of liberal Awakening. To the Members of the Liberian Senate and the House of Representatives and the People of Liberia: We cannot in good conscience continue to honor a slave master with the name of our capital, Monrovia. If we do, we validate a racist maxim that White is superior to Black. Others may argue that as president of the United States, James Monroe was able to get Congress to appropriate $100,00.00 (David Lamb) to fund the American Colonization Society (ACS) to facilitate the settlement of Liberia in 1820. I suggest that Monroes action was not motivated by the love of humanity or his disdain for the subjugation and bondage of the African slaves. Rather, like the majority of members (slave owners) of the ACS, he was fearful of a slave uprising . In the course of human events comes a moment when a society with an ugly past must reckon with it. I believe, WE THE PEOPLE OF LIBERIA, must seize this moment in history to amend this ugly chapter of our history the naming of our capital city in honor of a slave master. Liberia is said to be the land of liberty for the free slaves from America and captured slaves on the high seas. It is confounding and incomprehensible that the settlers and the PEOPLE OF LIBERIA today will continue to honor a man associated with the abomination of humanity called slavery. I think the time has come for us, the PEOPLE OF LIBERIA, to join the rest of the civilized world to desecrate the symbols of Black subjugation. It will be unconscionable and abhorrent if we do not seize upon this awakening of Americas and Britains original sin slavery and the continued institutionalization of racism to remove the name of a slave master (James Monroe) from our capital city. This moment calls for a vigorous civil debate. I believe it is fitting and proper that WE THE PEOPLE OF LIBERIA change the name of our capital city. Amen. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 21:44:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic has not only brought health challenges but economic challenges as well. The pandemic, which has ravaged various countries of the world, has forced countries to embark on various measures to contain it which includes lockdowns. The lockdowns, which included the closing of international airports and borders, have had debilitating effects on economic activities. Zambia has not been spared from the negative effect of the pandemic as the country introduced measures that hurt its economy. For instance, the closing down of the Victoria Falls, the country's main tourist attracting site, resulted in a slump in tourism, forcing the government to reopen it. In ordered to ascertain the real effects of the pandemic on businesses, the Zambian government commissioned a study which was meant to assess the real impact of the pandemic. The survey, commissioned in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), was also aimed at providing evidence-based data to inform government on the necessary measures required to help businesses respond during and beyond the pandemic. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Christopher Yaluma said during the launch of the report that the report also focused on understanding the possible socio-economic repercussions in order to propose policy recommendations aimed at mitigating the impact on the economy. "It is my expectation that the report has generated sufficient information indicating the areas that need improvement in terms of policy interventions for private sector development," he said in the preamble to the report. UNDP Zambia Resident Representative Lionel Laurens said the United Nations in Zambia is ready to assist in identifying committed technical and financial partners to join the efforts to mobilize the required expertise and financial resources that could be used to design and implement some critical recommendations of the report. According to the findings of the report, the pandemic has adversely affected business operation with 71 percent of respondents, indicating that they were partially closed while 14 percent of businesses were totally closed. The education, transport, catering and accommodation sectors were impacted particularly hard compared to others, with 85 percent of organizations working in the education sector reported to be completely closed, the report added. However, the report indicates that the majority of enterprises are determined to continue their operations by adhering to the new normal requirement during the COVID-19 outbreak. The businesses believe that it is of uttermost importance for government to come up with policy decisions that will support the business environment to economically re-activate business operations. Enditem Despite the double hit of catastrophic flooding and COVID-19 restrictions, Farmhouse 50 in Minnedosa reopened for business Friday, and owner Meaghan Cann and staff were run off their feet. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us Meaghan Cann, co-owner of Farmhouse 50, at the reopened Minnedosa eatery on Friday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun) Despite the double hit of catastrophic flooding and COVID-19 restrictions, Farmhouse 50 in Minnedosa reopened for business Friday, and owner Meaghan Cann and staff were run off their feet. The combination cafe and specialty store serves fresh baked goods, as well as lunch and dinner at its licensed restaurant and patio. The Canns also sell Manitoba-made products, such as jewelry, cosmetics, clothing and home decor. Finally, the owners and their staff of 10 cater and host events. "My staff is really excited. They were really excited to come back to work," Cann said by phone on Friday. "Weve been busy. We sold out of all my baking in our first hour and I just finished my second round which I think weve maybe done one other time. Its really nice to see the community coming out and supporting us." That doesnt mean its been an easy go for the young business, which opened in June 2018. General business knowledge states it takes two to three years for a business to either succeed or fail. Farmhouse 50 was proving successful, but COVID-19 was hard. "The last few days we were open, the Friday and Saturday leading up to the flooding, our staff and I had just said, Wow, this actually feels like things are getting back to normal," Cann said about the COVID-related restrictions lifting recently. Business was brisk. "We knew severe weather was coming our way," she said about Sunday, June 28, when, all told, 155.5 millimetres of rain came down on Minnedosa. Early in the evening, the business was fine, and the Canns focused on ensuring their home was safe. "Once we had the flooding controlled at home, we came back to the Farmhouse and we turned onto Main Street and we could not even drive down the street to get to our business," Cann said. "Once we got to our business, it was even a struggle to get inside. It (the water) was definitely over my rubber boots, almost to my knees." The Farmhouse 50 basement, at 2,000 square feet, houses all the business stock, five freezers and four fridges, as well as the event decor. Because of Sundays rainfall and flooding, all but the appliances were lost. Then came Tuesdays rainfall, which produced a foot of water in the basement and the appliances were lost. "The second bout was kind of like kick you when youre down," Cann said. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into ensuring Farmhouse 50 reopened Friday, she added. Staff came in to help and a volunteer crew showed up to help haul out all the destroyed stock and appliances. The local Home Hardware, just across the street, managed to provide new appliances and a supply truck brought in food and other necessary items. "A lot of around-the-clock work, and here we are," said Cann. At the same time, Cann and her four siblings have been spending time with their father, who is in palliative care. "Hes experiencing his final stages of life right now, so thats been a bit of an added stress," she said. Cann did make the point that despite enhancing their insurance to "include everything possible" after a pipe burst at their business, their policy does not cover overland flooding and sewage backup, according to the fine print. "Thats unfortunate. I did apply for the disaster financial assistance program with the (provincial) government. I did receive a letter back just saying that they were reviewing it and somebody would be in contact with me," Cann said. "Im hopeful, but from what Ive read up on it, it would basically cover the cleanup. I dont have much hope of having anything damaged or lost in the flood replaced with that. But if it can help we had to have a humungous dumpster brought here That adds up." Cann has been encouraging other community members to apply for the disaster financial assistance. As The Brandon Sun reported Friday, that program is a numbers game and the province needs to declare the disaster. "Thats pretty much all we can do at this point, encourage people to apply for that and have them (the province) recognize whats going on here," Cann said. Ultimately, Cann is grateful to have a minimally damaged home to return to. She knows many others have not been so lucky. "A lot of people in town dont have the pleasure of returning to their homes right now," she said. "Which is really sad." mletourneau@brandonsun.com Michele LeTourneau covers Indigenous matters for The Brandon Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia needs migrants in the post-pandemic period. It is balanced and studied carefully decision, the analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza, Marina Lagutina said in the National Question program on Vesti FM. In his speech, Vladimir Putin clearly outlined his position stating that Russian migrants are needed, especially in the post-pandemic era. It is not just a loud statement, but studied carefully and balanced decision. Since before the introduction of the self-isolation regime in the country, proposals had been worked out to improve migration legislation that will enhance the quality of labor resources coming to Russia and more effectively regulate their number, the expert said. She added that Putin, inviting foreigners to work in the country, understands the regulation mechanism of this process. The influx of labor from abroad is not dangerous for Russian citizens. The expert recalled the prerequisites for this speech by the president. The decree "On the Concept of State Migration Policy of the Russian Federation for 20192025" was signed on October 31, 2018, it updated the goals, objectives and directions of migration policy. If the 2012 concept emphasizes that very little is done to attract compatriots and foreigners, the new concept focuses on improving legislation and marks a positive influence on the influx of migrants and internal migration. The purpose of the concept is to make the rules of migration as simple and clear as possible. "A working group was formed in March 2019 to implement the Concept. Its leader became the head of the Presidential Office for the Constitutional Rights of Citizens Maxim Travnikov. So far, 11 meetings of the working group have been held. Its work has resulted in a number of proposals for improving migration legislation that was reflected in a key document - the list of instructions on the implementation of the concept of migration policy, signed by the president at the beginning of March this year, the expert added. Among the presidential instructions is the reform of migration regimes. It was necessary to make migration rules clear and uniform; apply more information technologies in this area; simplify bureaucratic procedures, due to the complexity of which it is easier for migrants to illegally make documents on entry, work, registration; provide greater awareness about areas and enterprises where migrants are needed and already involved. These errands led to real actions. The issuance of a temporary residence permit as a step towards obtaining a residence permit and further obtaining citizenship is canceled. This is an extra bureaucratic red tape, Lagutina said. There will be three types of admission to citizenship: general, simplified or special. In general, the existing procedures and criteria will be retained, plus the introduction of a commission assessment of applicants at the level of the subject of the Russian Federation is additionally proposed. A simplified procedure will be applied to people from countries socially and culturally close to Russia, the expert explained. In addition, purely economic criteria are removed for simplified admission. The decision on admission to citizenship in a special mode is made by the president of the country, separate cases will be considered by a special commission. It will also consider the issues of canceling previously granted citizenship and admitting to citizenship if a person has previously been refused. The White House statement came soon after Trump, in an interview with Telemundo News channel, said he is working on an executive order on immigration that will include a "road to citizenship" for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme. Responding to a question, Trump said his action on the DACA is going to be part of a much bigger bill on immigration. "It's going to be a very big bill, a very ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. [music] So far, the debate over school reopenings has been dominated by a president who is determined to send students back into classrooms archived recording (donald trump) We want to reopen the schools. Everybody wants it. The moms want it. The dads want it. The kids want it. Its time to do it. michael barbaro and by local school officials, who are answering that call. archived recording (donald trump) So were very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools. michael barbaro Today: My colleague Dana Goldstein on why teachers and their unions are defying those plans. Its Thursday, August 13. archived recording (ron desantis) Good evening. I stand here tonight not only as governor of Florida, but as a husband, a father, a son and a friend to have a conversation about how we as Floridians approach these challenging times. As a parent of three, I know that my fellow parents here in Florida want nothing more than to provide a bright future for their children. And heres the hard truth. While the risks to students from in-person learning are low, the cost of keeping schools closed are enormous. michael barbaro Dana, tell me about this situation with schools in Florida. dana goldstein In early July, just as the Trump administration from Washington was pushing schools to reopen their physical campuses across the country, Florida was the state that really leaned heavily in that same direction under their Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. archived recording (ron desantis) The important thing is that our parents have a meaningful choice when it comes to in-person education. Lets not let fear get the best of us and harm our children in the process. dana goldstein The state issued this executive order. archived recording The state is announcing its requiring all schools to reopen for in-person classes next month, August. dana goldstein Telling schools that they had to reopen five days a week. archived recording 1 So that announcement coming today, given where Florida is. Your analysis. archived recording 2 I mean my analysis is that that is insane dana goldstein And this was shocking to superintendents and school boards. You know, they had spent the months of May, June, into July mostly planning for a hybrid model of education. Kids would go to school two or three, or maybe even just one day a week in person, and be home learning online the rest of the time. School districts all of a sudden were being told you have to offer parents and families the option of five days a week in the building. archived recording So we are not ready to open schools in four weeks. We need to slow down and take a pause and get this right around the state first. michael barbaro And what would happen if schools didnt physically reopen five days a week? dana goldstein You know, I think the kind of underlying threat was that you would lose state dollars if you dont provide families with this option for in-person learning. And this threat to them was quite scary. Because state funding for education is the main funding that funds our school system in the United States. michael barbaro And what was the state of the pandemic when the state of Florida makes this demand? dana goldstein So these numbers were so shocking to us when we did reporting on this that we actually fact checked them many, many times to make sure they were correct. archived recording Florida shattering its daily record, recording more than 15,000 cases, accounting for a quarter of the total new daily cases in the United States. dana goldstein In some south Florida counties in the month of July archived recording South Floridas Miami-Dade has seen a staggering daily positivity rate of 33 percent. dana goldstein between 20 and 30 percent of coronavirus tests were coming back positive. And the World Health Organization, the state of California, the state of New York have tended to use a range of about 5 percent to 10 percent test positivity rates as something to look at when deciding whether or not to open schools. So here you might see, you know, four times that number in a city like Miami. archived recording Here in Miami-Dade, according to county data released yesterday, the goal for the county is not to exceed 10 percent. They have exceeded that for the past 14 days. dana goldstein A strong indication that the virus is completely unchecked in that region. In fact, it was one of the most dangerous cities for the virus in the United States. michael barbaro Right. So what was the reaction across Florida to this executive order? dana goldstein Anger. archived recording If the governor wants to open schools publicly, how about we invite him to come and teach in the classroom? [CHEERING] dana goldstein A lot of teachers and educators were angry. archived recording If he wants to open schools, how about he provide teachers with hazard pay? Because thats exactly what youre doing. Youre on the frontlines of a pandemic that you didnt start, you didnt call for and we dont have control for. [CHEERING] dana goldstein Because they felt that their safety and, in some respects, safety of the entire community from a public health perspective was nowhere in this conversation. archived recording I teach my students the history of America, how this government has run, how it works. This is a democracy. Our voices need to be heard. dana goldstein And my inbox and social media were filled with messages from teachers. archived recording So I want everyone to hear my voice that if I die from catching Covid-19 from being forced back into Pinellas County Schools, you can drop my dead body right here! Leave my body right here! [CHEERING] [music] dana goldstein And it was just this sense that the question of whether we should go back did not pay enough attention to teachers health risks. archived recording 1 Do you feel ready to return to your classroom? archived recording 2 I do not. I personally have lost sleep over it. Ive cried over it. I cry over it a lot. Its very, very scary. And the one thing Im going to say, I will say online learning is not ideal. But it will keep our children safe. archived recording Im a teacher. Ive been with Duval County for 23 years. I have a mother at home that is sick. And if I am to get the coronavirus, I dont want to bring it back to her. dana goldstein Yes, its really important that kids get educated. Its really important that parents be able to work during the day and children have the basic childcare that schools provide. However archived recording 1 We teachers love our students. And we agree that the best place for students is in school. But thats only if theyre safe. If going to school is more dangerous for students or for their families, then we should hold off and do some sort of distance learning or a hybrid model until its safe for them. archived recording 2 I think theres no way to social distance in our already crowded classrooms. There is not enough money to provide for the extra staff that we would need and the extra P.P.E. that we would need. I dont think that its worth the risk. dana goldstein We are used to going into schools that sometimes dont have soap in the bathrooms, that sometimes have broken windows that prevent us from circulating fresh air, that have dated heating and ventilation systems. And where is our health in this equation? archived recording This is not how I want to go back. And I want to go back so bad. Because I love teaching. I miss my classroom. I miss my kids. michael barbaro So what did teachers in Florida do? archived recording The largest teachers union in Florida is suing the state over its executive order mandating that schools reopen next month with in-person instruction. dana goldstein So a bunch of the local and national union groups that represent teachers came together and they sued the state of Florida. archived recording In the lawsuit, the union says the state is unconstitutionally forcing millions of students and teachers into unsafe schools. dana goldstein Saying that this executive order requiring schools to reopen five days a week in person actually violated Floridas own state law that also calls for schools to be safe. archived recording The suit says children are at risk of contracting and spreading the virus and of developing severe illness, resulting in death. And the state mandate to open schools is impossible to comply with C.D.C. guidelines on physical distancing, hygiene and sanitation if schools are operating at full capacity. dana goldstein Its really very simple what they were arguing, that going back five days a week is not safe and therefore, cannot be legal. michael barbaro Huh. I have to think that its a pretty unusual act, you know, teachers suing to stop their own schools from reopening. dana goldstein Yes. Its definitely unusual and notable. And interestingly, it paved the way for similar threats to sue across the country, including in northern cities like Chicago and New York. And shortly after this Florida suit came down archived recording The American Federation of Teachers has told its 1.7 million members that if they choose to strike, the union will have their back. dana goldstein The American Federation of Teachers, which is one of the two national unions, authorized any of their locals across the country to plan a strike in the event that safety precautions are not being met to reopen schools. michael barbaro Wow. So a national teachers union is saying, a grounds for striking which traditionally weve always thought of as wages, health care, those kinds of issues theyre now saying you may decide to strike over unsafe school conditions in the middle of this pandemic? dana goldstein Exactly. The threat to strike is very powerful and pragmatic. Because once teachers threaten to strike over the safety measures and questions of funding, it really puts pressure on the local school districts to give them a big seat at the table. And just the core decision, which is, are we even going to try to have in-person school this fall? michael barbaro Well be right back. So Dana, as teachers are seeking a place at the table and threatening to strike if they dont feel like schools are safe, what exactly are they asking for in order to feel ready to return to the classroom? dana goldstein Were seeing a very broad range of demands from teachers. And it runs the spectrum from very specific and achievable requests, to ones that are hugely ambitious, time consuming, expensive, or maybe even impossible to achieve while were still experiencing any transmission of Covid-19. michael barbaro What do you mean? dana goldstein So for example in Orlando, when I spoke to teachers there in July, the requests were really quite reasonable. They wanted face masks to be required. They wanted temperature checks in all school district buildings. And then, the American Federation of Teachers, the national union that authorized strikes, had a very specific set of demands that they were looking for nationally. They wanted to see test positivity rates for the virus below 5 percent, transmission rates below 1 percent, effective contact tracing for the entire region, the school to require masks, update ventilation systems, and put in place procedures to maintain six feet of distance. michael barbaro Wow. dana goldstein So very much sort of in line with C.D.C. guidelines for being as safe as possible. michael barbaro So the union is making demands of an entire community, and level of infection and transmission and contact tracing beyond the school? dana goldstein Exactly. Theyre expecting those things to work in the whole region before you sort of even get to the question of what sort of P.P.E. is available to teachers or something like that. michael barbaro What about less practical requests from teachers? dana goldstein So there you see this big movement bubbling up on social media under the hashtag #14daysnonewcases. And this is really quite a radical demand for schools not to reopen physically until there are no new cases in a region for 14 days. Now many nations have been able to reopen their schools safely without achieving that standard. And when Ive spoken to public health experts about this, what they say is, you know, 14 days no new cases is not just a controlled pandemic, its essentially the end of the pandemic in that region. And it might require a vaccine to get to that standard. Not just a vaccine that exists and works, but that has actually been deployed widely. When will that occur? Will that occur six months from now, 12 months from now, two years from now? We just dont know the answer to that. And those start to be very big numbers when youre thinking about children being out of school. michael barbaro I wonder what these demands from teachers look like to parents in this moment. I mean, Im mindful that many parents want their kids to return to school for a variety of very understandable reasons. dana goldstein Thats right. I mean, I think the really hard thing is that there is no consensus or even strong majority opinion among parents. One recent national poll found about 60 percent of parents at this moment believe its smarter to delay reopening physical schools until the virus subsides somewhat and there are more safety measures in place. But in some big cities, where the virus has been relatively well-controlled, like New York and Chicago, polls have found that a majority of families do have some willingness to send their kids back to school. And to add another layer of complication, it tends to be parents of color and low income parents that are the most scared of the health threats to their children of congregating in school buildings. But those families are also the most concerned about their kids falling back socially and academically because schools are closed. So there is just no consensus among parents as to what they feel is safe. It would in some ways be easier if American parents all agreed with each other about what was right here. michael barbaro Mhm. And of course in the absence of physically returning to schools, were left with online learning. And we have covered on the show the problems with how teachers and school districts are approaching that. dana goldstein Yeah. So in the spring, only a small segment of American school districts actually required teachers to teach live lessons over something like Zoom video. And here I think there is actually more risk of tension between parents and teachers. Because were starting to see from polls what parents are asking for in a situation of continued remote learning. They were not happy that in the spring, many of their kids did not see teachers live over video. Many teachers were interacting with their students primarily over email at sort of random times per day. And thats not what parents want. They want their students to log on at very specific times and be in something like an online class, where they would have small group breakout sessions and discussions and have the opportunity to ask the teacher questions and get individualized feedback. And teachers unions are still, in some cases, resisting some of these practices, including even showing their faces on live video. michael barbaro And Dana, why would that be? I guess Im confused. If teachers are deeply reluctant to return to schools for very understandable reasons that you just outlined, and they dont feel school districts are meeting them halfway, why would they simultaneously be resisting a more enriched online remote teaching experience? dana goldstein Well, some of them make the argument that its not fair to provide too much live instruction, because students who dont have an adult to supervise their online learning at home, say, at exactly 10:00 a.m., might just miss out on the live lesson. So they think that that mode of education is not effective. But Ive also heard some arguments much simpler than that, that they dont want their homes to be shown. Theyre not comfortable in that medium. And they believe its a violation of their own privacy to be shown from home in that way. So its a range of different arguments there. michael barbaro That would seem to raise a real crisis. I mean, teachers both not wanting to be in classrooms, but also not wanting to teach online the way parents want them to. dana goldstein Well, this has been the sort of crux of these very tense latest negotiations across the country between teachers and school district leaders. michael barbaro Dana, I know a bunch of school districts around the country have actually started classes in schools. And I wonder how that has played out. dana goldstein Well, there have been some horror stories, unfortunately. archived recording In Georgia, this photo of a crowded hallway, no mask in sight, from North Paulding High School went viral after the school opened for in-person learning on August 3. dana goldstein You know, for one of the first school districts to reopen, which was in Georgia, hundreds of staff were told to stay home because of potential exposure to the virus. archived recording Today the school remain closed, a week after that reopening. dana goldstein In Indiana archived recording One student at Greenfield Central Junior High tested positive on the very first day of school. dana goldstein right away this junior high school was having to call teachers and call students families and ask them to stay home for two weeks. archived recording Students at Elwood Junior Senior High now have to go remote after staff members there tested positive for Covid-19. dana goldstein Now thats extremely alarming. But I want to say that nobody whos a public health or education expert believes that were going to reopen schools without students and teachers showing up from time to time positive for Covid-19. Thats not a realistic expectation. But what we do need is procedures in place to deal with that when it happens. I mean, it needs to be clear who is getting told to stay home for two weeks. And, is their access to testing for anyone who came in contact with that positive individual? So in many ways, I think these anecdotes that were hearing of kind of first-day-back crises in towns and cities that are trying to reopen physically do show that many of the concerns that teachers have brought to the table here are quite legitimate. michael barbaro So those are a small number of districts that have already reopened. But of course, many of the nations largest school districts Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., among others, are now firmly saying that they will not physically reopen schools at least initially. And that represents millions of students. So do teachers unions and teachers see that as a kind of victory? dana goldstein They do see it as a victory, absolutely. They believe that its not only whats necessary to protect their health but to prevent schools emerging as potential hot spots for spreading Covid-19. But I think within that victory, there is also a real tragedy for American children and actually for our country. Because to be in a place where the needs of public health and safety are really juxtaposed against our ability to fully educate our kids, is to be in a place that very few other developed nations are in right now. And it is because of our failure to control the pandemic itself. We are looking at the real likelihood that millions or tens of millions of children do not attend school for an entire year. A full year of no school. And we just know that its going to lead to big problems. Its going to make kids less likely to learn to read. Its going to probably lead to higher high school dropout rates. Its going to lead to students who dont have enough to eat, because school is where they are fed. And to students that dont have access to the mental health counseling and the special education services that they get at schools. So the fact that were having to choose between everything crucial that the physical school provides and public health, its stunning. Its stunning to me as a 15-year veteran on the education beat and just also as a parent. You know, my daughter is going to come through this pandemic just fine. She has access to a great childcare and we have a lot of resources in our home and family to bring her through this. But still, its really sad for our family that shes missing the preschool experience that we really wanted her to have. Its been months since she was with teachers and socializing with a group of students. And shes started even to become more timid around other kids, weve noticed when we do take those walks out to the playground. And you know, its sad for our family. And its just a tiny microcosm of how sad it is for our country. michael barbaro Dana, thank you very much. dana goldstein Thank you so much, Michael. michael barbaro Starting this week, several Florida school districts began holding in-person classes, even as the lawsuit filed by the states teachers union moves ahead. A court hearing in that case is scheduled for later today. Meanwhile, in New York City on Wednesday, the influential unions representing principals and teachers called on the city to delay starting in-person instruction by several weeks. In a statement, one of the unions leaders said that the city had failed to address teachers safety concerns and had failed to give them enough time to implement complicated safety protocols. Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today. archived recording (joe biden) Good afternoon, everyone. To me and to Kamala, this is an exciting day. Its a great day for our campaign and its a great day for America, in my view. michael barbaro During their first joint appearance as a ticket on Wednesday, Joe Biden praised Kamala Harris for her record as the attorney general of California and as a United States senator, calling her an unapologetic advocate for justice. archived recording (kamala harris) Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. As I said, Joe, when you called me, I am incredibly honored by this responsibility. And Im ready to get to work. I am ready to get to work. michael barbaro In her remarks, Harris immediately delivered a stinging indictment of President Trump as a self-absorbed leader who has repeatedly failed America, above all, during the pandemic. archived recording (kamala harris) America is crying out for leadership. Yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him. A president who is making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve. But heres the good news. We dont have to accept the failed government of Donald Trump and Mike Pence. In just 83 days, we have a chance to choose a better future. michael barbaro And archived recording (dr. anthony fauci) I hope that the Russians have actually definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective. I seriously doubt that theyve done that. michael barbaro The Trump administrations top adviser on the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, expressed deep doubts about Russias rushed plan to distribute a vaccine for the coronavirus. The vaccine, called Sputnik V, was approved by Russias government without evidence that the largest and most important phase of human testing had ever occurred. archived recording (anthony fauci) So if we wanted to take the chance of hurting a lot of people or giving them something that doesnt work, we could start doing this, you know, next week if we wanted to. But thats not the way it works. michael barbaro A fire we had was out of town at a tavern at Higgins and River Road, Bishop said. We had the Lil Pirsch and we got over there and we almost had it out with our 100 gallons of water, but then we ran out of water. So we had to go back into Park Ridge to a fire hydrant, but when I came back, we had lost the whole building. The Director-General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP), Mr. Isaac Ken Yeboah, Friday charged personnel of the Service to be professional before, during and after the December general election. He asked them to rise above partisan politics and ensure that the impending parliamentary and presidential elections were free, fair and credible. Mr Yeboah was speaking at the closing session of an eight-week Detective Training Course 1/2020 of 90 personnel from the CID and other security services at the Detective Training Academy (DTA), Accra. Parties you belong to should not show in your work. Set good examples as products of the DTA, he stressed. The beneficiaries include police detectives, military police, personnel of the Bureau of National Investigations, Economic and Organised Crime Office, Immigration Service, Prisons Service and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority. The Director General advised the participants, especially police detectives, to maintain the network built with other security institutions to improve their work because they would be better when they worked together. Give in your best, let us see a change in you, prove you were at the DTA, exhibit professionalism and you will be held accountable for every action and inaction. Take your work seriously, he added. Mr Yeboah asked them to be vigilant in the wake of the COVID-19 and be guided by skills acquired at the training. Ms Grace Ansah-Akrofi, Superintendent of Police, Commandant of the DTA, commended the participants for not giving up when the programme, which started in January, this year, was suspended due to the COVID-19. Mr Clement Konadu Yiadom, Detective Inspector, in a valedictory message, said acquiring skills in customer care, crime scene management, human rights, domestic violence, anti-human trafficking, law of evidence, financial crime investigations and criminal laws would help them work with confidence. Mr Francis Aboagye of the BNI was adjudged the Overall Best Trainee with Ms Victoria Imoru, Deputy Narcotic Analyst, being the Best Behaved Student. Mr Isaac Frimpong, a Detective Inspector, received DTAs Special Award. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video By Trend The volume of foreign trade operations between Azerbaijan and Malaysia amounted to $61.3 million from January through May 2020, which is almost 2 times more compared to the same period of 2019, Trend reports citing the State Customs Committee (SCC) of Azerbaijan. Over the mentioned period, value of export of Azerbaijani products to Malaysia exceeded $38.9 million, while a year earlier it was $172,000. Malaysia's share in Azerbaijan's total exports increased from 0.47 to 0.54 percent Import from Malaysia to Azerbaijan decreased by 22.1 percent over the year, from $27.3 million to $22.3 million. The share of Malaysia in Azerbaijan's total imports increased from 0.47 to 0.54 percent of the total volume. Thus, the balance of foreign trade between the two countries for the reporting period was positive and totaled over $16.6 million. The overall foreign trade turnover of Azerbaijan amounted to $11.1 billion in the reporting period, showing a 22.9 percent growth year-on-year. At the same time, the balance of foreign trade turnover increased by 0.9 percent over the year and remained positive, amounting to $2.8 billion. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) Authorities on Saturday said they had filed a complaint against a thermal energy company for the oil spill incident in Iloilo City over a week ago. The Philippine Coast Guard said that it sued Ayala-owned AC Energy, Inc., its president John Eric Francia and Power Barge 102 plant manager Roberto Gambito. The case was filed with the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutors Office on Friday for violation of Section 107 of the Fisheries Code. Under Section 107, those found administratively liable for aquatic pollution may face closure of their business and be ordered to pay up to P500,000 and an additional fine of P15,000 per day until the violation ceases and the fines are paid. The coast guard said in a statement that Commander Joe Mercurio of the Coast Guard StationIloilo, and their legal affairs team found sufficient evidence to prove the negligence of the firm and the two other respondents over the July 3 incident where around 48,000 liters of oil spilled into waters after AC Energy's Power Barge 102 in Lapuz district's Barrio Obrero exploded. The PCG reported that the explosion contaminated the coastal areas of approximately 23 communities in Iloilo City, municipality of Dumangas, and Guimaras as well as a one-hectare mangrove forest. The blast also displaced hundreds of families or 400 residents, the PCG added. PCG Commandant, Vice Admiral George Ursabia, Jr. said that rehabilitation of the affected forest and communities is still ongoing. About 72 percent of the oil has been recovered while the shoreline cleanup is 15-percent complete. Dr. Rex Sadaba of the University of Visayas advised PCGs marine protection unit to wait for the spilled oil at the mangrove stems to dry first, the agency said. Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said that the new cases were detected through the ministrys investigation and contact tracing protocols Egypt's health ministry said in a statement on Saturday that it recorded 923 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed infections nationwide to 81,158 cases since the detection of the first case on 14 February. Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in the statement that the new cases were detected through the ministrys investigation and contact tracing protocols. This is the third day in a row that the health ministry records fewer than 1,000 daily cases. The country recorded its highest single-day rise of infections of 1,774 cases on 19 June. The ministry said in the statement that it also reported 67 new deaths on Saturday, bringing the total number of fatalities from the respiratory virus to 3,769. The first coronavirus fatality announced in Egypt was on 8 March, with the highest single-day death toll to date recorded on 15 May, with 97 fatalities. The statement added that 602 patients have been discharged after recovering from the virus on Saturday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 23,876. Last Wednesday, the ministry said that the recovery rate for coronavirus patients in isolation hospitals has risen to 28.1 percent, marking the highest level since the epidemic hit the country. The country is currently witnessing a stable death rate of 4.5 percent from the virus, the ministry said in a statement sent to Ahram Online. Driven by economic concerns, Egypt began on 27 June to ease lockdown measures more than three months after they were imposed, lifting a nighttime curfew and allowing more businesses to reopen, including restaurants, coffee shops and cinemas. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 09:27:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KAMPALA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The water level of Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, has started falling towards normal after rising to a record high, a hydropower company in Uganda said Friday. Eskom Uganda Limited tweeted that the water level has tremendously reduced to 13.24 meters after months of water spilling at Nalubaale and Kiira Power Plants in the eastern Ugandan district of Jinja. The water spilling, authorized by the government to normalize the water level, started on Feb. 28. The company said the water spilling will continue until the level normalizes. The water level of the lake shared by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania on May 7 rose to 13.42 meters compared to its previous high of 13.41 meters recorded in 1964. The high water level has affected residents living near the shores and cut off businesses for entities there including some luxury hotels. Experts attributed the rise to torrential rains, environmental degradation and urbanization. Enditem WASHINGTON - The White House and congressional Republicans are exploring whether to restrict the number of Americans receiving the next round of stimulus payments, as conservative lawmakers face internal pressure to limit the size of the next relief package. In March, Congress approved $1,200 stimulus payments for individuals that have since been sent to as many as 159 million U.S. households. The size of the benefit diminished or disappeared entirely for those who earned more than $75,000 in 2019. As Congress begins to take up the next stimulus package, congressional Republicans and White House officials are weighing proposals to drop that number below $75,000, according to four people aware of internal discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The exact number they will seek is unclear, as talks are fluid. One person cautioned that Republicans may ultimately revive the original proposal because of the difficult administrative challenges created by trying to narrowly target the checks. At two events this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the payments should be sent out primarily to help those earning under $40,000, but it was not clear whether he was suggesting that would be the new cap. An aide to McConnell declined to comment. Several Senate Republicans have expressed opposition to sending out another round of checks altogether, while others, including Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., have said they would support doing so if targeted for "the people who are hurting the most." "The people that I think have been hit the hardest during this whole episode have been people making $40,000 a year or less. Many of them work in the hospitality business, hotels, restaurants - we're going to be acutely aware of that particular segment of our population going into this next package that we'll be putting together in the next few weeks," McConnell said Wednesday in Winchester, Ky. McConnell added, "These folks who've been in the hospitality field who've been hit so hard - I think those direct checks were particularly significant for them." The move to limit the scope of the stimulus payments comes as Republican leadership seeks to balance pressure from conservatives to restrain spending in the next bill with the pressing economic and health needs throughout the country still in the grip of the pandemic. Numerous conservatives in both Congress and the White House have expressed concern that they have already spent too much taxpayer money fighting the virus. Lawmakers so far have already thrown more than $3 trillion at the pandemic response. Earlier this week, a top aide to Vice President Pence told Bloomberg News that the administration is aiming to limit spending on the package to $1 trillion. That is similar to the target sought by McConnell. Asked about a potential $40,000 income cutoff for the checks on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declined to comment on the specifics of ongoing negotiations with ongressional lawmakers. But the treasury secretary confirmed that GOP lawmakers are trying to figure out how to structure another round of stimulus payments. "We can get that into hard-working Americans' bank accounts very quickly. The level and the criteria, we'll be discussing with the Senate," Mnuchin told CNBC. Keeping the cost of the legislation below $1 trillion could prove very difficult, congressional aides of both parties say. President Donald Trump, who faces political pressure to stabilize the economy months ahead of his reelection bid, has demonstrated little concern about the growing budget deficit. One of Trump's top economic aides, Peter Navarro, said only a few weeks ago that the president wants the package to cost $2 trillion. House Democrats approved legislation costing more than $3 trillion, and Mnuchin, the president's point person in negotiations with Congress, has thus far agreed to large bipartisan spending deals. And restricting the extent of the aid could prove unpopular during a national emergency. Limiting the next round of stimulus checks to those earning under $40,000, for instance, would save lawmakers about $200 billion compared with the first round of checks, according to Ernie Tedeschi, who served as an economist in the Obama administration. It would also mean that 20 million fewer middle-class Americans would not receive the financial lifeline. The plan to scale back the benefit poses another challenge because the Treasury Department bases eligibility for the checks off taxpayers' 2019 income statements. Americans who earned more than $40,000 last year but have seen their incomes drop dramatically or disappear since then would not receive a stimulus check, despite their suffering, if the new threshold is adopted. At least 4 million private-sector workers have seen pay cuts during the pandemic, according to a previous Washington Post analysis, and many of them are likely to slip below the income threshold. The unemployment rate initially jumped to nearly 15% in April, up from 3.5% in February. In June, it was 11%. One Republican tax expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, predicted the GOP would probably back off plans to curb the payments because of the administrative hurdles in effectively targeting the funding. The GOP will also face political pressure not to curb stimulus payments during an election year for middle-class households. "To the extent they make it a lower income cutoff than the last time, it will hurt more people," said Dorothy Brown, a tax expert and professor at Emory University School of Law, who noted that many Americans will face the lifting of eviction moratorium. "This will have drastic human consequences." Republican lawmakers have been divided on whether to send out another round of checks at all. Trump, Mnuchin and some Senate Republicans have expressed support for another round, believing they offer both political and economic upside. Some senior White House officials remain skeptical and believe many Americans will simply pocket the money rather than spend it in the economy - a view shared by some economists. Sens. Mike Rounds (S.D.) and Mitt Romney (Utah) are among the Senate Republicans who have expressed opposition to the idea. The lower income threshold could represent a compromise between the camps, although it would require Democratic support. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., approved legislation that included another round of $1,200 stimulus checks, as well as $1,200 per child. (The original round of stimulus checks provided only $500 per child.) Some more-liberal congressional Democrats have called for providing every American with a $2,000 check every month until the pandemic abates. But leading congressional Democrats are primarily focused on pushing for an extension of the $600-per-week increase in unemployment benefits approved by Congress in March and set to expire at the end of this month. Jared Bernstein, who served as an adviser to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, said he would support cutting the threshold from $75,000 a year to $60,000 - around the national median income. "What's essential is getting that sort of help out the door quickly. But I'd be careful not to set the bar too low," Bernstein said. Last-minute British holidaymakers have embraced the new normal travel experience by heading to Ibiza on the first weekend of the relaxation of UK quarantine rules. More than 500 sun-seekers travelling on flights from Manchester and London to the Spanish island on Saturday were among the first guests with TUI, the UKs largest tour operator, which has restarted limited operations. It follows amendments to the Governments blanket travel quarantine rules, which mean people visiting or returning to the UK from certain countries, including Spain, no longer have to self-isolate for two weeks. Katy De Freitas, 33, a pensions administrator from Surrey, booked her seven-day trip with her boyfriend on Friday night. Expand Close Katy De Freitas, 33, from Surrey, who flew to Ibiza on Saturday with her boyfriend Bart Dwurczuk, 29 (Tom Pilgrim/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Katy De Freitas, 33, from Surrey, who flew to Ibiza on Saturday with her boyfriend Bart Dwurczuk, 29 (Tom Pilgrim/PA) The change to the quarantine basically made us rethink our holiday options, she told the PA news agency. We were quite worried because a lot of our close friends or colleagues at work, they thought it was too risky to travel abroad and they didnt think it was a good idea to make a rash decision and go away any time soon. But Ms De Freitas said the pressures of working from home during lockdown meant she needed a change of scenery. The very fact that they are allowing flights to run and they lifted the restrictions makes me think its OK, she argued. Expand Close Around 500 British holidaymakers have returned to the Balearic island (Tom Pilgrim/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Around 500 British holidaymakers have returned to the Balearic island (Tom Pilgrim/PA) We did have initial worries and we wanted to make sure we read the Government rules correctly and that we didnt do anything wrong. On the newly running TUI flights, currently just to limited Spanish destinations, passengers are required to wear face masks, but gaps are not placed between seated customers. However, some holidaymakers found that observing social distancing on the plane and at the hotel had at times been difficult. Youve just got to have your wits about you and be as careful as you can, said Graham Milne, 55, from Newcastle. The taxi driver and grandfather added: As for social distancing, I think sort of, on the plane, that goes out the window to be honest. You wear a mask when you are on the plane but youve just got to be careful and wash your hands as much as possible. Ms De Freitas said a queue for the toilet had formed on the plane next to her aisle seat, despite passengers being asked to avoid doing this. Expand Close Many holidaymakers accepted their break would be a little quieter than the norm (Tom Pilgrim/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Many holidaymakers accepted their break would be a little quieter than the norm (Tom Pilgrim/PA) But she added: I didnt feel worried about contracting the virus in that environment. Meanwhile, Mr Milne claimed it had been a disgrace that it took buses 45 minutes to collect disembarking passengers at the airport. Olivia Lockie-Hardwick, an 18-year-old student from Preston, said of her flight: There wasnt a lot of social distancing really, but that was to be expected. Under new rules being imposed by the Balearic Government on Monday, face masks, already required in shops, will be mandatory in all public places on the islands except on beaches, by pools and when doing sports. Breaches could see people hit with a 100 euro (90) fine. Ms Lockie-Hardwicks mother, Sharon Lockie, 48, a social worker, who booked their break just a week ago, said: We are of the view that its got to move forward at some point and for us its safer in Spain that it is in Britain because you have to wear a mask out and about, whereas you dont in Britain. Expand Close Quarantine restrictions have been eased (Tom Pilgrim/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Quarantine restrictions have been eased (Tom Pilgrim/PA) Laying by a pool, she added: Youve got to live your lives and be sensible about it, and if youre taking precautions while in Britain or here, thats all you can do. Laura Berry, 30, from Devon, travelling with her husband, their two children and her brother and sister, said wearing a mask on the plane was not a problem but if it was longer haul it would be a bit harder. She said social distancing would be a bit tricky at times, citing as an example the new crowd of new arrivals at their west coast hotel lobby. Lee Peacock, 41, a gas engineer from Manchester, who had come away with his wife and three children, said he did not have health concerns. I dont agree with the masks. I dont think they do anything but Ill wear them to help get the economy going again, he said. Commenting on arriving to a quieter than normal Ibiza, he added: We knew the super clubs werent going to be open and it wouldnt be quite the same, but as long as the kids are happy Ms Berry, who booked her holiday as soon as she heard quarantine rules were changing, said: I think youve got to have a bit of normality in life, its like the new normal it could be like this in a years time. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) Limited manpower and medical supplies are some of the concerns raised by the Filipino Nurses United-San Lazaro chapter after 40 hospital employees tested positive for COVID-19. "We were trained to handle infectious diseases for decades but apparently we are now becoming the victims," the group said in a statement on Friday. "As of today, San Lazaro Hospital has more than 40 cases of positive COVID-19 personnel: doctors, nurses, admins, aids and staff." FNU said due to the limited number of isolation beds, half of the hospital staff confirmed to be COVID-19 positive and who show symptoms are admitted and confined. According to one of the nurses from San Lazaro that CNN Philippines spoke to, they are facing strong pressure from the health department to accommodate all COVID patients who come to the facility. We are pressured by the Department of Health to meet yung expectations sa public na we are prepared, na we have enough rooms to accommodate, na if the infection breaks out, people have somewhere to go to, said a nurse who is also a member of the FNU. Because of this, she said the safety of the medical staff including nurses is compromised. According to FNU, since the start of the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila, patients have been pouring into the facility. But then nagka-surge ng patients ever since nag-declare ng ECQ. Doctors and nurses were already getting sick pero di kami nabo-broadcast unlike sa mga ibang hospitals like the Heart Center or other private hospitals, one nurse told CNN Philippines. [Translation: There was a surge of patients ever since the ECQ was declared. Doctors and nurses were already getting sick but it was not being reported in news outlets, unlike other hospitals like the Heart Center or private hospitals.] Instead of having a one is to one nurse-to-patient ratio in the COVID ward, one nurse should now cater to as much as three COVID-19 patients. The group also complained of being instructed to reuse personal protective equipment. In a 12-hour shift they are only given one N95 mask. The nurses also said facilities in the hospital are also insufficient. One nurse said the elevator used to transport patients to upper floors has not been working for months. They have to manually assist patients and carry medical supplies to upper floors using a ramp. According to the Chief of San Lazaro Hospitals adult infectious diseases division, Dr. Rontgene Solente, the hospitals COVID-19 ward was nearing full capacity. He said 60 out 65 beds are already occupied. In reaction to FNUs statement, he said, the groups statement came as a surprise to them. In a previous meeting, medical staff were asked to voice out their sentiments but none of the issues mentioned in FNUs statement was brought up. For now, they will amplify the working relationship among medical personnel. He also said that not all nurses in San Lazaro share the same sentiments with FNU. Yung mga psychosocial na debriefing sessions. Dalas dalasan namin yun. Pangalawa, we really have to communicate with the nurses and the doctors para lang alam natin yung working relationship within the hospital kasi hindi naman lahat ng nurses na yon ay nagsulat. [Translation: We need to have more frequent psychosocial briefing sessions. Second, we really have to communicate with the nurses and doctors so that we know the working relationship within the hospital.] In a separate statement on Sunday, the hospital acknowledged the dedication of its nursing staff and said it has responded to the issues they have raised. On the issue of personal protective equipment (PPE), the hospital said it has sufficient supply to last for a month, and that management is monitoring and doing daily inventory to make sure PPEs are always available. "Moreover, we follow the guidelines on the appropriate use of PPEs depending on the healthcare workers' risk exposure activity or procedures in the care of COVID-169 patients," the statement said. The hospital said it was also providing for the physical, emotional and mental health of workers by having regular psychosocial and debriefing sessions. A work schedule has also been arranged to make sure the staff is able to get enough rest, it said. "We would like to assure the hospital staff that their safety and welfare is an important concern of the hospital management in the fight against COVID-19," the statement added. Mitt Romney has slammed Donald Trump for commuting the sentence of his close friend Roger Stone just days before he was scheduled to enter federal prison. The Republican senator - who has been a vocal critic of the President on previous occasions - posted a savage message to Twitter on Saturday morning, which read: 'Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president.' Stone, 67, was set to spend 40 months behind bars after a jury found him guilty of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements in connection with Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump commuted Stone's sentence on Friday afternoon, describing his friend of 40 years as 'a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history.' Stone was seen outside his Florida home Saturday morning in slippers and a customized mask as he celebrated swerving time in the slammer. Romney - who was the lone Republican to vote to convict Trump during his Senate Impeachment trial in February - joined a chorus of prominent Democrats outraged by the move. Mitt Romney has slammed Donald Trump for commuting the sentence of his close friend Roger Stone just days before he was scheduled to enter federal prison. The Republican senator - who has been a vocal critic of the President on previous occasions - posted a savage message to Twitter on Saturday morning Stone, 67, was set to spend 40 months behind bars after a jury found him guilty of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements in connection with Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He is pictured outside his Florida home on Saturday morning Trump's 2020 Presidential opponent, Joe Biden, released a statement through his spokesperson claiming the Commander-in-chief had 'once again abused his power' and was 'laying waste to the norms and the values that make our country a shining beacon to the rest of the world.' Biden further urged voters to boot Trump out of office at the November election, saying: 'He will not be shamed. He will only be stopped when Americans make their voice heard at the ballot box this fall. Enough.' Biden's shortlist of Vice Presidential picks were also quick to vent their outrage publicly. Senator Elizabeth Warren took to Twitter, stating: 'Donald Trump has abandoned the rule of law and made a mockery of our democracy. He truly is the most corrupt president in history.' Florida Rep. Val Demings blasted: 'Roger Stone was sentenced to prison for an illegal cover-up of the pro-Trump Russian attack on our 2016 election. For the president to now commute his prison sentence is pure authoritarian corruption.' Stone was certainly in a celebratory mood as he posed at the doorstep of his home Saturday. The convicted conservative political strategist is still on house arrest, so was unable to go further than his front gate Stone spoke with local reporters outside his Florida residence She added: 'Regardless of our political parties or differences, we all know this is disgraceful. Pray that our republic will endure.' Meanwhile, Senator Kamala Harris also chimed in, referencing current outrage over the death of black woman Breonna Taylor in her remakrs. 'Trump commutes the prison sentence of Roger Stone while the officers that killed Breonna Taylor are still free. The two systems of justice in this country must end,' she railed. In a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described Trump's actions as 'appalling'. High-profile Democrats were quick to blast Trump for commuting Stone's sentence However, Trump supporters have taken an opposing view. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany called Stone a 'victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency.' 'Not only was Mr. Stone charged by overzealous prosecutors pursing a case that never should have existed, and arrested in an operation that never should have been approved, but there were also serious questions about the jury in the case,' she said in a statement. Last month, Trump tweeted that Stone was 'a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt, one which will go down as the greatest political crime in history.' Trump and Stone have been friends for 40 year.s The pair are pictured with Nydia Stone in this undated file photo Following news of the commuting of his sentence, Stone stepped outside his Florida home to celebrate with well-wishers. 'The president has saved my life, and he's given me the opportunity to fight for vindication,' he stated. Stone said that entering prison would have been a death sentence in light of the coronavirus pandemic. 'I'm 67 years old. I had very, very severe asthma as a child. If you look at the profile of those who are most at risk, I think I fit that,' he said. 'This is a horrific, horrific nightmare when you realize that ... this investigation never had any legitimate or lawful beginning,' he said. 'It was a witch hunt. There's no question about that.' Stone told the New York Post that the president spoke to him by telephone and informed him of his decision to commute his sentence. 'I told him I was grateful,' Stone said. 'He protected my health.' Stone added: 'He believes in justice. I felt pretty confident that if he heard the facts of my case, he would make the right decision.' Stone credited the president with 'saving my life' because entering a federal prison would have exposed him to the risk of contracting coronavirus 'Well I was, I was elated,' he said. 'Obviously I was somewhat relieved, but I was not surprised.' Stone was glad that his legal troubles, which he described as a 'nightmare' and 'witch hunt,' were over. 'This is a horrific, horrific nightmare when you realize that ... this investigation never had any legitimate or lawful beginning,' he said. 'It was a witch hunt. There's no question about that.' Stone told the New York Post that the president spoke to him by telephone and informed him of his decision to commute his sentence. 'I told him I was grateful,' Stone said. 'He protected my health.' Stone added: 'He believes in justice. I felt pretty confident that if he heard the facts of my case, he would make the right decision.' Stone, 67, was prosecuted as an offshoot of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe which Trump repeatedly has cast as a 'witch hunt' designed to take him down. A jury convicted the former strategist of seven felony counts in November, which included five counts of making false statements to the FBI and congressional investigators, one count of witness tampering, and one obstruction of justice count. According to prosecutors, Stone lied during testimony and failed to turn over documents to Congress in 2017, showing he had attempted to make contact with the radical pro-transparency group WikiLeaks a year earlier. He lied about five facts, obscuring his attempt to use intermediaries to get information that could help then-candidate Trump in the election against Hillary Clinton. Prosecutors were initially seeking a prison term of seven to nine years, but Attorney General William Barr later retracted that recommendation shortly after Trump called it 'harsh' and 'unfair' on Twitter. Park District officials say they do not believe the individuals had close contact, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with any member of the public. The CDC defines close contact as being within 6 feet of someone for at least 15 minutes, with varying factors. Just a matter of time for 9 day encounter in Rajouri-Poonch jungles to end Guided by ex-Pak army officials, operating in buddy pairs: Why the Poonch encounter has dragged so much Tire, track eliminate: Why has the Poonch encounter dragged on for so long He was wrong, deserved this fate, says Vikas Dubey's wife India oi-Briti Roy Barman New Delhi, July 11: The wife of slain gangster Vikas Dubey, Richa Dubey said at that her husband did wrong and deserved this fate at his funeral after Dubey was killed in a police encounter on Friday morning. When the last rites of Vikas Dubey were being performed at Bhairoghat in Kanpur, reporters asked her whether Vikas deserved this fate. In an agitated tone, Richa Dubey said "Yes yes yes. Vikas did wrong and he deserved this fate". Was Vikas Dubey handcuffed: The past precedents on this issue Angry over the reporters, she accused them of being responsible for Dubey's encounter and asked them to leave the place. According to the reports, the last rites were performed by Dubey's brother-in-law Dinesh Tiwari at the electric crematorium in the presence of his wife and son, Superintendent of Police, Rural, Brijesh Srivastava and a heavy police force was deployed around Bhairoghat. Vikas Dubey was killed on Friday morning after being critically injured in an alleged shootout with STF officials. He was shot when he reportedly tried to flee, following a road accident in which the vehicle he was travelling in overturned. Dubey was taken to the emergency ward of the Hallett Hospital in a blood-soaked condition. He received a bullet injury on the chest which proved to be fatal. Vikas Dubey has been killed in police encounter on Friday morning after being shot dead by STF officials as he allegedly tried to snatch a weapon and escape when the police vehicle carrying him overturned. Four policemen were injured in the accident. The encounter reportedly took place at the Sachendi border in Kanpur. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News Vikas Dubey encounter: UP Police arrest two men for helping gang members He was arrested in Madhya Pradesh yesterday and had been handed over by Madhya Pradesh police to their Uttar Pradesh counterparts in the evening. Dubey was arrested outside the Mahakal temple in Ujjain on Thursday days after a manhunt following the Kanpur ambush in which eight policemen were gunned down. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, July 11, 2020, 11:50 [IST] External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday predicted a post-Covid world where differences and issues of trust between countries will sharpen along with a rise in nationalistic approach leading to an acceleration of a trend seen before the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. The comments made by the external affairs minister came during the three day India Global Week 2020 event which is an attempt to trace Indias role and place in a post-Covid world order on all fronts, including economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had highlighted Indian governments policy of self-reliance combined with compassion for the entire world, as a possible solution to challenges presented by exigencies like coronavirus, while delivering the opening address at the event on Friday. Jaishankar said that a post-Covid world could pose several challenges including questions on resilient supply chains. I see a world where arguments will sharpen. I think there will be issues of trust which have been raised. There will be questions on resilient supply chains. It is going to be a more difficult world, he was quoted as saying by ANI. Jaishankars comments come close on the heels of a protracted border conflict with China which led to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in clashes with the Chinese Army, along with an unspecified number of Chinese casualties. While the militaries of the two countries are now engaged in disengagement and deescalation from the conflict zones, the clashes have led to a popular sentiment of mistrust of Indias neighbour. Amid the heightened intension between the two countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had cautioned that the era of expansionism was over. The comment was widely interpreted to be directed at China. Commenting on the ever evolving global dynamics, Jaishankar added that several trends seen before Covid 19 outbreak could become even stronger in the post-Covid world. A lot of trends that we saw before coronavirus, they could accelerate in the post Covid world. Even in response, in six months, for example, we have seen a lot of countries behaving more nationalistically, ANI quoted Jaishankar as having said at the summit. His comments come in the backdrop of friction seen on issues of trade and protectionism between the United States and several other countries including China and India. The US under President Donald Trump has also been accused of tightening immigration norms citing his governments America First policy. The bird watching community is fighting about whether a bird named after an amateur ornithologist-turned-Confederate army officer needs to be renamed. McCown's Longspur - named after John P. McCown - is the bird at the center of the debate that focuses on issues of honorific bird names and their ties to colonialism, and racism, according to Audubon. The bird was named for army officer McCown in 1851, after he shot a group of larks he saw on a Texas prairie while stationed there. McCown fought in the Mexican-American War and the Seminole War. Ornithologists and birdwatchers are putting pressure on the American Ornithological Society to rename McCown's Longspur (pictured), over its ties to a Confederate army officer Among the kills were a pair of pale grey longspurs with a spot of chestnut on their wings and white patches on their tails - markers he'd never seen before in the species, which prompted him to send their remains to an ornithologist friend. The species was then named for McCown, a not unusual practice at the time when it came to recognizing explorers who 'discovered' animals they'd never seen before. About 10 years later, in 1861, McCown, a Tennessee native, left the US Army and joined the Confederate Army, where he was eventually prompted to Major General. At a time when statues of prominent Confederate figures are being taken down and the Confederate imagery is being removed from state flags and banned from use in some military environments, as well as sporting events, there's now renewed pressure to rename the bird in light of McCown's connection to the Confederacy. The longspur species was named after John P. McCown (pictured), who 'discovered' the bird after shooting it down on a Texas prairie in 1851, 10 years prior to joining the Confederate army The idea of renaming McCown's Longspur was first raised in 2018, in a bid to be more welcoming to birders of color, in the wake of the deadly clash between white supremacists and protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 In response, the American Ornithological Society has now said that it will consider renaming the McCown Longspur for the second time in just two years. The renaming of the longspur species first made waves in the ornithography community in 2018, the year after the violent clash between white supremacists and protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, during the first wave of Confederate monument removals. In 2018, East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, ornithology graduate student Robert Driver was looking into the backgrounds of the people who birds were named after, when he realized McCown's connection to the Confederacy, as well as having fought in wars against Native American tribes. Driver then decided to petition the AOS to formally change the bird's name. 'The AOS once again has an opportunity to pioneer inclusion and lead the way by changing this English name,' Driver wrote at the time. 'All races and ethnicities should be able to conduct future research on any bird without feeling excluded, uncomfortable, or shame when they hear or say the name of the bird.' The AOS' North American Classification Committee declined Driver's proposal in July 2019, stating that McCown's established interest in bird watching, plus the fact that the honorific name was doled out before the Civil War as the primary reasons. They also noted that they are not responsible for judging past figures. At the same time, the NACC decided that derogatory names could be directly challenged and that 'active engagement in reprehensible events' might be sufficient grounds to change a bird's honorific name going forward. In light of the Black Lives Matter protests and push to remove symbols celebrating the Confederacy across the US, birders and ornithologists alike have put more pressure on the AOS to rename McCown's Longspur through public pressure, Audubon reported. More than 200 birders and scientists have signed a petition asking the NACC to rename birds that were given 'eponymous honors and other potentially derogatory, oppressive, or simply irrelevant holdovers in English common names.' Major nature organization social media accounts - including Audubon, American Bird Conservancy and the American Birding Association - have also engage their Twitter accounts to support the issue, while hashtags including #BirdNamesForBirds have also gained a foothold. The increased public scrutiny, combined with current events, has led to the NACC stating on June 30 that although they stand behind their original reasons for rejecting Driver's 2018 petition, they are now working on a 'more complete proposal' to change the bird's name. Although the NACC has also invited other proposals to rename birds that might have now-inappropriate names, it appears as if the organization is not interested in a wide-scale renaming of birds with honorifics. To do so, the NACC told Audubon on June 24, would result in 'massive instability' and would be 'poorly received' the birdwatching and scientific community as it would need a major rewriting of field guides, overhauling of scientific records and other issues. 'Finally, most eponyms of North American birds recognize the ornithological contributions of important figures of the past, many of them members of the AOS,' the committee said in their statement to Audubon. 'These names are reminders that ornithology has an important history and that we are not independent of that history.' Refusing to rename McCown's Longspur, Jason Ward, a Black birdwatcher and host of Birds of America, says, to birdwatchers of color that 'Our history as ornithologists is more important than your sensibilities.' 'That doesnt exactly swing the door open for more people to rush into this hobby,' Ward noted to Audubon. Birdwatching has long been a notably white-leaning activity, with the AOS taking steps to encourage more birder diversity in recent years. McCown is the only member of the Confederate armies who has a bird named after himself. For more than a thousand years, different generations have told their own versions of the Arthurian story. In the earliest tales Arthur was a powerful and bloodthirsty leader who defended Britain against Saxon invaders. Twelfth- century French writer Chretien de Troyes saw him as a virtuous king who was cuckolded by Lancelot. The Victorian Romantics focused on his quest for the Holy Grail, and by the time of the Second World War, radio play The Saviours had him as the embodiment of heroic British resistance against the odds. In the last few decades weve seen him relegated to a cosy story of magic in shows such as Merlin. Ten-part Netflix series Cursed, focuses on the Lady of the Lake as it imagines the period before Arthur became King. Pictured: Katherine Langford as Nimue with the sacred sword But now comes the latest take on the legend, Cursed, arriving on Netflix this week, and its very much a King Arthur for the 21st century by way of Game Of Thrones. Theres romance, mysticism, battles, religious extremism, genocide, refugees... and a mixed-race Arthur. The protagonist is a woman named Nimue, who until now has only had a tiny part in the legend as the Lady of the Lake who hands Arthur his magical sword Excalibur. The stories of King Arthur are the original sacred text for lovers of fantasy, says Tom Wheeler, who co-created Cursed with graphic novel writer Frank Miller, based on a bestselling book they wrote together. Some of my earliest memories are of running around play-fighting with a toy sword with my brother to the songs of the musical Camelot, which my mum would play in the house. There are so many characters who spoke to me as a little boy Merlin the magician, King Arthur, the knight Galahad and I thought it would be nice to have a legend that spoke to my daughter. The women in the stories tend to be mainly witches or seductresses, so it seemed like a good idea to create a heroine for these tales. The story of the Lady of the Lake has always interested me. She was so puzzling. Who was this woman offering the sword? It feels like shes a tragic character but also magical, and thats what made it exciting and challenging. The ten-part series imagines the period before young Arthur became king and established his Knights of the Round Table. Series begins with Nimue discovering the Red Paladins have ransacked the place, after she meets handsome stranger Arthur. Pictured: Devon Terrell as the young Arthur It starts with Nimue (played by Australian actress Katherine Langford, who stars in the Netflix hit 13 Reasons Why) being teased by her fellow villagers. Although shes part of the magical Fey people, the dark power of her magic means shes seen as cursed. The Fey are being wiped out by extremist monks, the Red Paladins, who aim to rid the world of the unclean through fire and blood. One afternoon, after she leaves her village and bumps into a handsome stranger called Arthur, Nimue returns home to discover the Red Paladins have ransacked the place. Her dying mother hands Nimue a sword and demands that she take it to Merlin. And thus begins a coming-of-age quest that will see Nimue become a rebel leader trying to protect the Fey from their most vicious enemy, The Weeping Monk. Along the way she finds Arthur again and meets a brave nun-in-training, Igraine. At the same time we see a nation in flames while Merlin, so long seen as a wise mentor for Arthur, has taken to drink because hes so disillusioned with the world. The legend is always about the king and the knights, while the Lady of the Lake is overlooked, says Katherine. So its been spectacular to tell her story. Its the beginning, before Arthur is king, and theres turmoil. Nimue and everyone on her side are fighting for anyone who is different. At the same time we see a nation in flames while Merlin, pictured, so long seen as a wise mentor for Arthur, has taken to drink because hes so disillusioned with the world. Theres a reason this story has lasted centuries it resonates with us. The things theyre struggling with are universal and still relevant. Katherines fellow Australian Devon Terrell, best known for playing a young Barack Obama in biographical film Barry, plays Arthur in a way weve never seen before. Instead of the innocent young squire, this Arthur is a charming mercenary. Hes a young man whos made mistakes in life and hes learning from them, says Devon. This is also a journey for him. Thanks to Nimue, he discovers theres more to himself than he ever realised. We know hes going to be king, but whats interesting is how he gets there. Its the first time this ancient British king has been played on screen by a non-white actor and for Devon whose father is African-American and mother Anglo-Indian the role is a dream he never thought possible. Ive always loved fantasy and the TV series Merlin was one of my favourites as a kid, but as a person of colour I never saw myself being in a show like this, he says. I never saw someone who looked like me being on screen in fantasy. As its a myth, I dont see why stories cant be told with a different perspective. Co-creator Tom Wheeler, revealed he incorporated elements of The Hunger Games in the series, which was filmed in Wales and at the Langley Studios in Slough. Pictured: The vicious Weeping Monk 'Theres magic and strange creatures, so I dont know why an actor who doesnt look like the Arthurs who came before him would offend anyone. Its exciting for me to think there are children who will be inspired about getting into the industry because of this. Sometimes you have to be the first. The show is about learning that anything is possible its more than just a knight in shining armour. The series, which was filmed in Wales and at the Langley Studios in Slough, will be compared to Game Of Thrones, but Tom Wheeler has also incorporated elements of The Hunger Games. The violence and the emotion feel real, says Tom, who would love to make five series. I also see it as a fantasy version of The Fugitive. Nimues on the run and has this immense pressure and so many obstacles in the way of her fulfilling her mission. I have an issue with fundamentalism of all kinds and we see how the old world of magic collides with the church, and how so many things dont change. 'Bigotry and blame and dispossessed people still exist, and that can be incorporated into the Arthurian canon. Characters have always been added to this mythology. Were testing the flexibility of it. Cursed is on Netflix from Friday. Just off Ozumba Mbadiwe Street in Victoria Island, immediately behind a cluster of residential apartments popularly known as 1004 flats, and directly opposite a quaint one-storey building on the other side of Adetokunbo Ademola Street, lay a row of bungalows finely spruced up with middle-class taste. It was in one of these bungalows that the fortuitous encounter with the Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka took place in the early 90s. The one-storey building was the residence of Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, the first indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria, while the bungalow was the official abode of Maxwell Nemadzivhanani, a South African diplomat, now departed, who was then the representative of the Pan Africanist Congress, PAC, a left wing to far left political organization founded in 1959 by an Africanist group which broke away from the African National Congress, ANC, and thrust itself on the frontline of the intense struggle to dismantle the horrid apartheid regime in that country. I met Maxwell in Lagos while doing the rounds covering for my magazine a circle of diplomats from the southern African region at about the time Nelson Mandela was close to being released from prison, and it was obvious that the glowing embers of the apartheid system was petering out as evidenced by reports seeping out from the negotiations for a democratic South Africa. He was a free spirit authentic, genuine, and as upfront as they come. Above all, Maxwell was a lifelong comrade who was suavely unapologetic for his hardline views on issues of equity and justice; a redoubtable apostle of African nationalism and an unwavering ambassador of the PAC with its taunting slogan, Izwe Lethu, an isiZulu phrase which means Our Land, or The Land Is Ours. That is an audacious rallying cry erected on the concrete platform of a gutsy militancy espoused by the Azanian Peoples Liberation Army, APLA, the armed wing of PAC. Although I also befriended George Nene, the ANC representative whose office was in the same building as Maxwells on Mosalasi Street, Obalende, I had a closer relationship with his PAC counterpart. Maxwell and I usually cruised about town sometimes into the wee hours before parting. I met many notable Nigerians and other nationals in his house who shared similar perspectives in global affairs. It was in his house that I met and became friends with S. O. Wey, the first secretary to the government of the federation whose tenure was terminated by the 1966 coup. Maxwell and I were together in his house one day with some other comrades when the phone rang and the caller from South Africa informed him that Chris Hani, leader of the South African Communist Party and a well-known anti-apartheid activist, had been assassinated outside his house in Boksburg, on the East Rand of the Gauteng Province. Hani was also then the chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the ANC. Then one morning shortly before noon, I walked in to see Maxwell as usual and he said we should stroll down to Pa Ademolas house where, in a secluded section of the vast compound housing the boys quarters, one of the occupants sold alcoholic drinks. That spot was the choice rendezvous for us any time of the day, but mostly at dusk. As we walked back to his place after about one hour, he casually mentioned that he was expecting Soyinka that afternoon. Which Soyinka? I asked, looking him straight in the eye. The same Soyinka you know, he replied quietly. The Nobelist? I pursued. Yes, he answered firmly. The information dropped like a thunderclap. And my eyes lit up. Some of his books I have read, even if with crushing mental exertion. But Soyinka himself, the man of many parts, the unflagging social crusader and literary giant, I hadnt met. So not only was I excited at the news that Soyinka was visiting and I would have the rare chance of meeting him physically for the first time, I was also immensely thrilled by the prospect of being handed a scoop for TELL magazine where I worked then. I had reasoned that at the end of the day, by the time Soyinka left, I would have had a top-drawer exclusive story. Thus, no matter how long it took, I was determined to stay put until his arrival. About seven of us were in the living room expecting the august visitor. After about another hour Soyinka walked in, dressed casually as he is wont to do and accompanied by a male associate. Everyone stood up to greet the visitors. After the pleasantries, a strange hush suddenly fell over the room. Maxwell broke the ice by asking what drink the visitors would like. Soyinka asked for a beer, specifically the Star brand. He told Maxwell not to bother serving two bottles as he and his friend would split one bottle. Split one bottle of beer? On hearing this, everyone in the room, except Soyinka and his friend, instantly exchanged curious glances and returned just as quickly to fix their gaze on the duo. Yes, split was Soyinkas exact word, and for the rest of us that was the first time of hearing the word being used in relation to that particular social activity. For me, it has sunk since then, and I would readily admit applying the word in a similar context a couple of times. After two, three sips at intervals, some jokes and hearty laughter, Soyinka was ready to delve into the essence of his visit. I also was eager to hear him, assuring myself that a story was in the making, whether about Nigeria or South Africa. Just then his eyes swept across the room and he asked if any journalist was in the gathering. Silence everywhere. Except Soyinka and his friend, everybody in that gathering knew me as a journalist but none gave me away. No one answered him, not even Maxwell whom I had already told that I had never met Soyinka and desperately wanted a story from the encounter. As the silence persisted, Soyinka threw his gaze towards me and pointed at me, saying with a tone of finality that the gentleman in glasses (referring to me), is a journalist. I was frozen in my seat, and utterly stunned, speechless. So, too, were Maxwell and the others. I had no pen and paper in sight, nor was a tape recorder visible anywhere around me. And nobody whispered anything or gave any clue that could have given me away. So how then was Soyinka able to figure out that I was a reporter? Politely, he asked that I excuse the meeting. I had no choice, having been unmasked in a most disconcerting manner. Quietly I got up, took my drink, and walked out of the living room into an inner room, where not even the littlest eavesdropping was possible. Not until the talks ended and Soyinka left was I ushered out from the temporary imprisonment. That was how the hope of a scoop one had excitedly nurtured was blown into smithereens. It is almost 30 years since this incident. I have not had the opportunity of meeting Soyinka since then. But whenever I do have the chance to meet him again, I would put the question that I have always longed to ask him: Prof, sir, how were you able to identify me in that gathering as a journalist knowing yourself that you neither knew me nor met me anywhere before? I have not been able to understand why I chose his 86th birthday to narrate this encounter. Perhaps because, on account of my confounding experience, there has to be a special moment such as this to acknowledge a rare feat of astonishing clairvoyance by a towering figure who has rendered, and continues to render invaluable service to the growth of his country and humanity, and also to truly establish him, like his famous cousin Fela, as the irrefragable Abami Eda (mysterious creature). Here is wishing Prof Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka happy birthday and many happy returns. Godwin Onyeacholem is s journalist. He can be reached through [email protected] Bamako (AFP) - A Malian protest leader called for calm Sunday after four more people were killed during demonstrations calling for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's resignation, the West African country's worst civil unrest in years. Bloody demonstrations rocked the capital Bamako on Friday and Saturday, with witnesses saying that security forces fired live rounds during clashes with protesters. The atmosphere remained tense on the streets of Bamako on Sunday, as hundreds of people converged on the Badalabougou district for the funerals of four people killed in the violence. In the face of the heightened tensions, Keita had announced he would dissolve the poor Sahel country's constitutional court, the focus of anger since it overturned provisional results for parliamentary elections earlier this year. Protests in several cities on Friday descended into violence in which at least three people were killed. Fresh clashes broke out on Saturday as protesters took to the streets of Bamako, angered by a long-running jihadist conflict, economic woes and perceived government corruption. Four civilians -- including a 15-year-old and 17-year-old -- were killed overnight Saturday, a hospital official told AFP on condition of anonymity. An emergency official at a large hospital in Bamako, however, told AFP the actual death toll since Friday stood at 11 not seven. Six opposition figures have been detained in recent days, of whom one was released late Saturday, as the government cracked down on the June 5 Movement, an opposition alliance tapping into the deep-seated nationwide frustration. But lawyer Alfifa Habib Kone said around 20 opposition members had been arrested since Friday. - 'Calm down!' - The movement's leading figure, influential imam Mahmoud Dicko, tried to tamp down the tensions on Sunday. "I once again call on the youth of Mali to show restraint and calm," Dicko told AFP shortly before speaking at a funeral. Story continues "We can truly find and obtain what we want (through) patience (and) good behaviour," he said. "But the struggle continues," Dicko said, adding that Mali's "endemic corruption (is also) bringing our country to its knees." In a video broadcast earlier on social media, Dicko said: "Do not set fire to petrol stations or this district. Calm down, please! Calm down!" He had recorded the video at his mosque, the scene of especially violent clashes at the weekend. While the known death toll is currently seven, Dicko's supporters, echoing the emergency official, have said the total is higher, posting videos resembling scenes of war. In the videos, at least two dead men can be seen lying in pools of blood, while others have bullet wounds. Shots can be heard at regular intervals in the distance. "You are killing Malians in the mosque with live ammunition. The mosque is on fire," said a man in one the videos, which could not be independently verified. On Sunday, hundreds crowded around the mosque, walking over spent bullet shells, rubble and the remains of torched tires. Opposition leaders who have not yet been arrested now appear to be in hiding. Fearing that Dicko might be arrested like other leaders of the movement, his supporters erected barricades on Sunday "in case the police return," one of them said. Clashes have also been reported outside the home of the constitutional court's president Manassa Danioko, a focus of public anger. - Civil disobedience - Following a long-delayed parliamentary poll in March -- which Keita's party won -- the court overturned the provisional results for about 30 seats, which meant several members of Keita's party were elected. This ruling is widely believed to have ignited the crisis. The 75-year-old president, in power since 2013, said Saturday he had revoked the nominations of all remaining members of the constitutional court so that new judges could be appointed from next week. Since the outrage that followed the parliamentary election, a disparate group of religious leaders, political and civil society members have joined forces to ramp up pressure on Keita. Its leaders have called for "civil disobedience", including the non-payment of fines and blocking entry to state buildings. It blames those in power for the violence, a rarity in Bamako. The former French colony has struggled to contain an Islamist insurgency that first emerged in the north in 2012 before spreading to the centre of the country and to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes. French Defence Minister Florence Parly said Sunday that a joint EU special ops force formed to back Mali's fight against jihadist groups would begin to deploy on Wednesday. A first batch of around 100 French and Estonian troops will be joined later by contingents from the Czech Republic and Sweden, Parly told the French daily La Croix, adding that Italy may also take part. Face masks will be required for all teachers and students more than 10 years old when schools re-open in August as long as Gov. Greg Abbotts mask order remains in place, according to new guidelines released by The Texas Education Agency. In terms of other health and safety rules, the guidelines offer recommendations and general advice and leave policy decisions about social distancing requirements on buses and in classroom to district officials now working to implement large-scale online learning programs to accommodate parents who arent yet comfortable sending their child back into the classroom. The TEAs guidelines, for example, instruct districts to screen students and parents before they enter schools with temperature checks neither required nor prohibited. Schools should attempt to have hand sanitizer at the school entrance and hand washing stations with soap and water in classrooms and districts should consider requiring students and staff to use hand sanitizer when boarding school buses, according to the new guidelines. Related: Fort Bend ISD superintendent gives new TEA guidelines low marks Overall, the lack of infection control standardized measures along with Abbotts and the TEAs mandate that schools must re-open despite a recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the state drew criticism from area superintendents and teachers association officials including Texas Associated Federation of Teachers president Zeph Capo, who shared his opinion with a group of member teachers Thursday, July 9. Im sorry that we have a government that doesnt put your safety above their desire to make an extra buck. Im sorry they dont put the safety of our students above the idea of making an extra buck because what this has come down to be is a decision based on economics not necessarily based on the science, not necessarily based on the best interest of our students and our faculty and our staff, Capo said during a zoom teleconference. If we could close schools at the levels of COVID-19 that we did in March, who the hell thinks its safe enough to open schools at the level of COVID-19 were experiencing in the State of Texas right now, particularly in the urban areas where we know many of our members are? Capo said and vowed to demand changes from state officials. We will continue to fight this issue and we will continue to push back against TEA. On HoustonChronicle.com: With schools ordered to open next month, teachers ask, It is worth risking our lives? Officials from the Association of Texas Professional Educators responded to the new safety rules in a statement saying, the responsibility for ensuring student and educator safety has been placed squarely on school administrators. Too many questions are left unanswered in TEAs guidelines, Shannon Holmes, ATPE executive director, said in the release. We urge school district leaders to step in and fill this leadership vacuum to keep Texas children and educators safe, particularly as pockets of our state face rising COVID-19 outbreaks. All Texas students, parents, and educators deserve to be safe and have a firm understanding of the steps being taken to provide a safe learning environment. TEA guidelines require districts to re-open schools for full-time in-classroom learning next year and allows virtual learning for students not comfortable returning to the classroom yet. The guidelines were released Tuesday, July 7. knix@hcnonline.com London:The battle between Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and a top British tabloid is heating up. Meghan's legal team has filed an application seeking to prevent Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, from publicly naming five friends who anonymously defended her against bullying in a US publication over a year ago, a source close to the Duchess told CNN. The names of the women were contained in a confidential filing provided to the judge and the defense in a lawsuit Meghan filed against the publisher after the Mail on Sunday printed excerpts of a letter the Duchess wrote to her father following her marriage to Prince Harry, the source said. "We vehemently believe that the Mail's threat to publish has nothing to do with the case, and is only being done so the Mail can target five innocent women through the pages of its newspapers and its website," the source said. A spokesman for the newspaper said in response: "To set the record straight, The Mail on Sunday had absolutely no intention of publishing the identities of the five friends this weekend. But their evidence is at the heart of the case and we see no reason why their identities should be kept secret. That is why we told the Duchess's lawyers last week that the question of their confidentiality should be properly considered by the court." CNN has learned the women spoke to People magazine, which published an exclusive cover story on the backlash against the Duchess in February 2019. The article, 'Meghan Markle's Best Friends Break Their Silence: 'We Want to Speak the Truth,' quotes five women from her "inner circle." The source close to the Duchess said Associated Newspapers is attempting to "intimidate" her and her friends before the case is heard at London's high court, when the women could be called as witnesses. Prince Harry and Meghan previously accused the Mail on Sunday of selectively editing the letter to disguise "lies" the paper had told about the Duchess a claim that the tabloid specifically denies. The Mail on Sunday and Associated Newspapers previously said they stand by the decision to publish excerpts from the letter and will defend the case vigorously. The company will argue that there was "huge and legitimate" public interest in members of the royal family and their "personal relationships." As part of the court filing on Thursday, provided to CNN by the source, the Duchess of Sussex said in a witness statement: "Associated Newspapers, the owner of The Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, is threatening to publish the names of five women five private citizens who made a choice on their own to speak anonymously with a US media outlet more than a year ago, to defend me from the bullying behaviour of Britain's tabloid media." "These five women are not on trial, and nor am I. The publisher of the Mail on Sunday is the one on trial. It is this publisher that acted unlawfully and is attempting to evade accountability; to create a circus and distract from the point of this case that the Mail on Sunday unlawfully published my private letter." "Each of these women is a private citizen, young mother, and each has a basic right to privacy," she added. "The Mail on Sunday is playing a media game with real lives." Iraqi Health Ministry on Saturday confirmed 2,734 new COVID-19 cases, as the total number of infections climbed to 75,194, Trend reports citing Xinhua. A statement issued by the ministry also confirmed 95 more deaths during the day, raising the death toll from the virus to 3,055 in the country. It also said that 1,699 people recovered, bringing the total recoveries from the disease to 43,079. The new cases were recorded after 10,377 testing kits were used across the country during the past 24 hours, and a total of 671,478 tests have been carried out since the outbreak of the disease, the statement added. Meanwhile, Sayf al-Badr, spokesman of the Health Ministry, said in a statement that dozens of workers at the ministry's health institutions were infected with COVID-19 due to their direct contact with patients. Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi has arranged several health institutions across the country to test the health personnel, in addition to one of the hospitals in the Medical City complex in downtown Baghdad to treat them, al-Badr said. "A large number of infections of the ministry's personnel would never stop them from doing their duty toward the citizens," he added. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, Iraq has been taking measures to contain the pandemic. 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody Badass Family Sedan Review by Larry Nutson Driving THE Badass Family Sedan! By Larry Nutson Executive Editor and Bureau Chief Chicago Bureau The Auto Channel LEARN MORE: Dodge Charger Content Archive (1993-Present) The Dodge Charger is the most powerful and fastest mass-produced family sedan in the world. Sedans are not dead. People are buying family sedans of various sizes from various brands. Matt Huber, the Dodge//SRT brand manager, says that Dodge is a three-percent brand. Theyre not looking to sell to 97% of the market but looking to satisfy and resonate with performance enthusiasts. The Dodge Charger 4-door muscle car has sold more than 80,000 units the last seven consecutive years. Chris Piscitelli is the manager of Dodge//SRT exterior design. He and his team set out to make the 2020 Dodge Charger Widebody badass. They wanted to make it bold, aggressive and even offensive. They wanted kids to want to hang a poster of the Dodge Charger Widebody on the wall in their bedroom. On the invite of Dodge a cadre of auto writers got to be the first to drive the new Charger Widebody around the twisty roads near Napa, California and then to pilot this beast around the 2-mile race course at Sonoma Raceway. This is not our first Charger Hellcat drive but the first with the new Widebody setup. Now the wider and fat-tired Hellcat will be something new to experience. The Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody still uses the 707-HP supercharged 6.2-L Hemi V8. New front and rear fascias with integrated fender flares adds 3.5 inches of width. The mail slot in the grille feeds air to the Hemi. Theres new 20-inch by 11-inch forged wheels mounted with 305/35 Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer tires. Now you can really put the power down. New competition suspension tuning, Bilstein three-mode adaptive dampers, and new sway bars all work to make this beast fly around a race track. Aero work has resulted in more rear downforce and reduced front end lift. And yet at the same time the Hellcat can be as docile as its sibling V6 Charger on the open road. The performance from the Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody is not for the faint of heart With a top speed of 198 mph, a 0 to 60 mph dash in 3.6 seconds, and a trip down the quarter mile drag trip in 10.96 seconds, hold on. Yes, you can drive it off the showroom floor and do this. We also drove the new Charger Scat Pack Widebody with its 485-HP naturally aspirated 392-cubic inch Hemi V8. The Scat Pack also gets the same huge wheels and tires as the Hellcat. Springs, shocks and sway bars have been modified. Front spring rates are 27-percent stiffer; the rear sway bar is up-sized from 19mm to 22mm. The Scat Pack Widebody will knock out the quarter mile in 12.4 seconds at 111 mph. Zero tp 60 mph is in 4.3 seconds and itll pull 0.98 gs on the skid pad. For the first time ever we saw the new Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition of the Dodge Charger Hellcat Widebody. Paying tribute to the winged Charger Daytona from 1969, the supercharged 6.2-L Hemi Hellcat V8 is tuned a bit more to an output of 717-HP. Only 501 units of the Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition will be produced. This because back in 1969 only 501 units of the original Dodge Charger Daytona were built for homologation in NASCAR racing. A sequentially numbered plaque will be mounted on the dash of each. A Daytona decklid and rear-quarter decal with matching spoiler add uniqueness. If you want a Charger finished in Dodges B5 Blue, you only can get it on this model for 2020. The 2020 Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody has an MSRP of $69,645. The 717-HP limited production Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition will run you $74,140. And, the Charger Scat Pack Widebody starts at $45,995. Around the winding roads of Sonoma, whether it be driving the Hellcat or Scat Pack, these two sedans are as docile as can be. They are comfortable and refined on the inside. They are quiet, unless of course you happen to step a bit deep into the throttle. On-street driving over various road surface DOES NOT remind you that you are in a high performance track-capable car. My wife would NOT be prompted to say to me why is this thing so bumpy? And on the track at Sonoma Raceway! Wow. Be ready and look far ahead! Accelerate, lift, brake hard, wait, turn in, wait, wait, unwind the wheel, step into the throttlemore, more. Repeat! Under the hood the Hellcats supercharger whines, balanced by the exhaust note coming from the active exhaust cutouts in the rear. The Scat Pack is a bit easier to manage for the occasional race track driver that I am. But still, it scoots very fast. The Brembo brakes can pull you down fast, repeatedly. The wide track, wide wheels with 305 tires carry you through the turns without any squealing outcry. Whats not to like. You need to try it yourself. Go get yourself a track-ready sedan. Check out www.dodge.com and see the full lineup of Chargers from the $30K SXT on up to the Hellcat. Dealers are taking orders for Widebody models for delivery early in 2020. You too can be badass. Heres a factoid. Since Dodge brought the Charger and its cousin the Challenger back to market, Dodge has put 485 million horsepower into the hands of loyal enthusiasts. This report comes from an invitation-only Dodge launch event that allowed special access to the vehicle and executives. Dodge provided my overnight accommodations, meals, and transportation. 2019 Larry Nutson, the Chicago Car Guy Donald Trump says his executive order would involve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - Getty US President Donald Trump's planned executive order on immigration will not include amnesty for migrants who are in the United States illegally but arrived in the country as children, a White House spokesman said on Friday. "This does not include amnesty," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement, after Mr Trump said in a television interview his planned order would include a road to citizenship for such immigrants, known as "Dreamers". In the interview with Spanish-language TV network Telemundo, Mr Trump said his executive order would involve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the program that protects hundreds of thousands of such immigrants from deportation. "I'm going to do a big executive order. ... And I'm going to make DACA a part of it," Mr Trump said. "We're going to have a road to citizenship." The US Supreme Court last month dealt a major setback to Mr Trump's hardline immigration policies, blocking his bid to end DACA, which was created in 2012 by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. The ruling did not prevent Mr Trump from trying again to end the program. But his administration may find it difficult to rescind it - and win any ensuing legal battle - before the Nov. 3 election in which he is seeking a second term in office. The White House statement said Mr Trump's executive order would establish a merit-based immigration system and reiterated that Mr Trump would work with Congress on a legislative solution that "could include citizenship, along with strong border security and permanent merit-based reforms," but no amnesty. There is ZERO constitutional authority for a President to create a road to citizenship by executive fiat. It was unconstitutional when Obama issued executive amnesty, and it would be a HUGE mistake if Trump tries to illegally expand amnesty. #TellTheSwampNO #RuleOfLaw https://t.co/RLWuCgcNU6 Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 10, 2020 Roughly 644,000 people - mostly Hispanic immigrants born in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras - are currently enrolled in DACA, which protects them from deportation and provides them work permits. Their average age is 26. It does not offer a path to citizenship. Story continues Mr Trump's remarks to Telemundo drew an immediate rebuke from his fellow Republican, Senator Ted Cruz, who wrote in a Twitter post that "it would be a HUGE mistake if Trump tries to illegally expand amnesty." "There is ZERO constitutional authority for a President to create a 'road to citizenship' by executive fiat," Mr Cruz wrote. Mr Trump gave the interview to Telemundo as part of his outreach to Hispanic voters, who will be crucial to the outcome of his Nov. 3 election showdown with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. WASHINGTON States can require members of the Electoral College to cast their votes for the presidential candidates they had pledged to support, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday, curbing the independence of electors and limiting one potential source of uncertainty in the 2020 presidential election. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have laws requiring electors to vote as they had promised, but recent court decisions had come to opposite conclusions about whether electors may disregard their pledges. The Supreme Court resolved the dispute Monday in a pair of cases concerning electors in Washington state and Colorado, by saying that states are entitled to remove or punish electors who changed their votes. In states without such penalties, electors remain free to change their votes. The Constitutions text and the nations history both support allowing a state to enforce an electors pledge to support his partys nominee and the state voters choice for president, Justice Elena Kagan wrote for seven members of the court. Election law scholars welcomed the ruling. The courts decision strikes a blow for legal and political stability and sanity, said Richard H. Pildes, a law professor at New York University. Every American understands themselves to be voting for the persons running for president, not for members of the Electoral College, and it is now clear that states can enforce that understanding. Members of the Electoral College cast the actual votes for president four weeks after Election Day. Among the states and the District of Columbia that have laws requiring electors to vote as they had promised, 15 states back up their requirements by either removing rogue electors or subjecting them to financial penalties. Since the Constitution gives states the power to appoint electors, Kagan wrote, that power allows them to impose conditions on their appointment. A state can require, for example, that an elector live in the state or qualify as a regular voter during the relevant time period, Kagan wrote. It can also, she wrote, insist that electors vote for the candidate they had promised to support. And it can demand that the elector actually live up to his pledge, on pain of penalty, she wrote. Recent court decisions had come to opposite conclusions about whether electors may disregard their pledges. Last year, the Washington state Supreme Court upheld fines of $1,000 on three Democratic electors who had cast their electoral votes in 2016 for Colin Powell rather than for Hillary Clinton. Kagan explained the electors thinking. The three hoped they could encourage other electors particularly those from states Donald Trump had carried to follow their example, she wrote. The idea was to deprive him of a majority of electoral votes and throw the election into the House of Representatives. The effort failed. Only seven electors across the nation cast faithless votes the most in a century, but well short of the goal, Kagan wrote. Candidate Trump became President Trump. In addition to the three Democratic electors in Washington state who cast their electoral votes for Powell, a fourth Democratic elector in the state voted for Faith Spotted Eagle, a Native American tribal leader and prominent opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline. A Democratic elector in Hawaii voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Republican electors in Texas voted for John Kasich, then the governor of Ohio, and Ron Paul, a former representative of Texas. On election night in 2016, the electoral vote was expected to be 306 for Donald Trump and 232 for Clinton. In the end, though, it was 304-227. The majority in the Washington Supreme Court decision said the Constitution allows states to insist that electors vote for their parties candidates. In dissent, Justice Steven C. Gonzalez disagreed. The Constitution provides the state only with the power to appoint, he wrote, leaving the electors with the discretion to vote their conscience. A few months after the Washington Supreme Court ruled, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Denver, rejected its reasoning in a case involving Colorado. The federal appeals court said that Colorado had been wrong to discard a vote from a Democratic elector who had wanted to cast a ballot for Gov. John Kasich of Ohio. Electors, once appointed, are free to vote as they choose, Judge Carolyn B. McHugh wrote for the majority of a divided three-judge panel. While the Constitution grants the states plenary power to appoint their electors, it does not provide the states the power to interfere once voting begins, to remove an elector, to direct the other electors to disregard the removed electors vote or to appoint a new elector to cast a replacement vote. Some framers of the Constitution seemed to contemplate that electors would use independent judgment, the Supreme Court has said. Doubtless it was supposed that the electors would exercise a reasonable independence and fair judgment in the selection of the chief executive, Chief Justice Melville Fuller wrote in an 1892 Supreme Court decision. Over time, he added, the original expectation may be said to have been frustrated. Alexander Hamilton described his expectation in the Federalist Papers. Men chosen by the people for the special purpose of selecting the president, he wrote, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations. Kagan said remarks like that one did not establish the meaning of the Constitution. Even assuming other framers shared that outlook, it would not be enough, she wrote. Whether by choice or accident, the framers did not reduce their thoughts about electors discretion to the printed page. McHugh of the 10th Circuit said the text of the Constitution also supports elector independence. The words of the relevant provisions, including elector, vote and ballot, she wrote, have a common theme: They all imply the right to make a choice or voice an individual opinion. Kagan rejected that analysis. Those words need not always connote independent choice, she wrote. Suppose a person always votes in the way his spouse, or pastor, or union tells him to. We might question his judgment, but we would have no problem saying that he votes or fills in a ballot. For that matter, some elections give the voter no real choice because there is only one name on a ballot (consider an old Soviet election, or even a downballot race in this country), she wrote. Yet if the person in the voting booth goes through the motions, we consider him to have voted. Justice Clarence Thomas, joined in part by Justice Neil Gorsuch, agreed with the majoritys bottom line but did not adopt its reasoning. He said he would have relied on general principles of federalism to reach essentially the same result. Over the years, members of the Electoral College have cast about 180 faithless votes for president or vice president, Kagan wrote, and Congress has accepted all of them. But she discounted those examples. The history going the opposite way is one of anomalies only, she wrote, noting that there have been more than 23,000 electoral votes cast for president or vice president. And more than a third of the faithless votes come from 1872, when the Democratic Partys nominee (Horace Greeley) died just after Election Day. Putting those aside, faithless votes represent just one-half of 1% of the total. Kagan said the possibility of a candidates death after Election Day raised important questions. We do not dismiss how much turmoil such an event could cause, she wrote, adding that because the situation is not before us, nothing in this opinion should be taken to permit the states to bind electors to a deceased candidate. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Karnataka which again witnessed a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases, especially in Bengaluru, on Saturday announced a week-long lockdown in Bengalurus urban and rural districts starting 8 pm on Tuesday, or 14 July. The restrictions will continue till 5 am of 22 July. In a late-night decision by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa after consulting experts, the government said essential services including hospitals, pharmacies, milk, vegetables, and grocery stores would continue to operate. Other establishments would have to remain closed. However, exams scheduled for medical students and those in the final semester of their graduation courses during this period will be held as usual. Karnataka recorded 2,798 new cases on Saturday, taking the cumulative tally to 36,216 which includes 613 deaths and 14,716 patients who were discharged. Bengaluru continued to account for the bulk of the new cases with the city reporting 1,533 fresh cases, pushing the total active cases in the city to 12,793. Several legislators including tourism minister C T Ravi have also tested positive for the virus. The government has also released detailed guidelines to establish Covid-care centers by resident welfare association (RWAs) and apartment owners associations, as well as companies in their own premises as the number of cases continued to rise in the state. Leader of opposition in the assembly Siddaramiah on Saturday again attacked the government for its handling of the Covid situation and hurled six questions at the chief minister. In a video released on his social media account, the former chief minister asked the government to provide details of the money spent by the state government in fighting the virus, and the amount contributed by the Centre. Which ministries have spent how much on what all measures are taken to fight the pandemic? What is the market rate for PPE kit, gloves, sanitizer, thermal scanner, and other equipment brought and how much has the state government paid for each one of them and the companies from whom they have purchased? How many food kits have been provided and to whom and at what cost? Similarly what was supplied to migrant laborers returning to their native places and at what cost? How much has been spent on Covid patients till date, the Congress leader asked. Deputy chief minister CM Ashwath Narayan said the government would provide all details on the money spent on a later date since the focus right now was to fight the pandemic. He, however, stressed that all the purchases made by the state government are above board and transparent. Janine Wissler, chairwomen of the Hesse state parliamentary faction of the Left Party, has repeatedly received email death threats signed NSU 2.0. Her personal data had earlier been retrieved on a police service computer. NSU 2.0 is a reference to the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU), whose members were responsible for the murder of at least nine people with an immigrant background and one policewoman between 2000 and 2006. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality PartySGP) and the World Socialist Web Site strongly condemn these attacks, which, according to current knowledge, are based on a right-wing extremist conspiracy within the Hesse police force. On Saturday, the Frankfurter Rundschau reported the death threats made against Wissler and described the results of its own research. According to the report, a police computer in the state capital, Wiesbaden, had retrieved private data of the Left Party politician in February. Shortly thereafter, Janine Wissler received two letters containing abuse and threats, as well as personal data that is not publicly accessible. The letters evinced similarities to threats made against Frankfurt lawyer Seda Basay-Yldz, who represented the family of an NSU murder victim in court. Since the summer of 2018, Basay-Yldz has received several threatening letters containing coarse insults, which were also signed NSU 2.0. In response to the Frankfurter Rundschau article, Wissler again received a death threat by email. On Thursday, Hesse State Interior Minister Peter Beuth (Christian Democratic UnionCDU) was forced to issue a press release in which he admitted that a right-wing network in the police force could no longer be ruled out. The signature NSU 2.0 raised this suspicion, Beuth said. He announcedas he had done beforea thorough investigation. He said he would appoint a special investigator to relentlessly probe the threats against Wissler and the lawyer Basay-Yldz. The investigations carried out so far, which have all come to nothing, indicate what all this means. The NSU murders took place under the eyes of the domestic secret service and at least two dozen of their Confidential Informants. However, despite years of legal proceedings and numerous committees of inquiry, the close involvement of the secret service in this series of murders has been suppressed. This cover-up has strengthened the right-wing terrorist networks in the state apparatus. After the first NSU 2.0 letter to Basay-Yldz threatening to slaughter her then two-year-old daughter, a right-wing extremist chat group was uncovered in the Frankfurt city police. The police officers exchanged pictures of Hitler and swastikas. A policewoman from this group had retrieved the data used in the threatening letter about Ms. Basay-Yldz family and her home address from the internal police computer. In December 2018, six police officers, five of them in Frankfurt's Precinct 1, were suspended from duty. In response, NSU 2.0 sent a second threatening letter to Basay-Yldz. The right-wing terrorists felt so secure that they openly expressed their connection to the Hesse police. They wrote, You [vulgar insult] are obviously not aware of what you have done to our police colleagues. Even then, it was clear that these were not individual cases, but a far-reaching right-wing terrorist conspiracy in the police force. Interior Minister Beuth is now following the same pattern as that pursued by his predecessor, Volker Bouffier (CDU), the current Hesse state premier, in the case of the NSU. When Halit Yozgat was murdered by the NSU in Kassel in 2006, Bouffier concealed for as long as possible the fact that Andreas Temme, an officer from the Hesse state Office for the Protection of the Constitution (as the secret service is called), responsible for overseeing the Confidential Informants, was present at the scene of the crime. When the matter could no longer be concealed, he granted Temme only limited permission to testify. The relevant files are still under lock and key and are to remain so for another 30 years. As a result, the right-wing terrorist conspiracy within the state apparatus remained undisturbed. Its next victim was Kassels district president, Walter Lubcke (CDU), who was shot in cold blood on the terrace of his house on June 2 of last year. The suspected murderer, Stephan Ernst, frequented the same Kassel neo-Nazi circles as the NSU and had for three decades been known to the police and secret service as a violent right-wing criminal. The murder of Lubcke was the prelude to a whole series of right-wing terrorist assassination attempts. On 9 October 2019, more than 70 participants in a Yom Kippur celebration in Halle escaped mass murder only by luck. The right-wing extremist assassin Stephan Balliet shot two passers-by after he failed to gain entry to the synagogue. On 19 February of this year, a right-wing extremist terrorist shot dead nine people in the Hesse city of Hanau and injured six others, some of them seriously. The massacre took place in two shisha bars, which are mainly frequented by immigrants. The investigating federal public prosecutor general spoke of the perpetrators deeply racist attitudes. A few days earlier, the police had arrested 12 right-wing extremists on suspicion of preparing simultaneous massacres in several mosques. Right-wing extremist conspiracies in the Army have long been known. Last week, Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) was forced to partially dissolve the Special Forces Command (KSK) because more and more details about right-wing terrorist networks have come to light. However, as with the police, the restructuring of the KSK does not serve to combat and eliminate the right-wing networks, but to cover up and maintain them. Now the right-wing terror is being directed against a politician of the Left Party. This is a serious warning. Representatives of the government and all parties in the Bundestag (federal parliament) have expressed great concern about the death threats against Janine Wissler and have declared their support. They did the same thing after the massacre in Hanau, the assassination in Halle and the cold-blooded murder of Walter Lubcke. As usual, they stressed their horror, their consternation and their sympathy with the relatives of the victims. In truth, there is no institution within the entire political establishmentamong the parties, the investigating authorities and the judiciarythat is willing and able to stop the right-wing conspiracy in the state apparatus. The same politicians and parties that are now warning of the dangers to democracy have created the ideological climate and political conditions for the right-wing terror. This is directly linked to the return of German great-power politics and a frenzied program of military rearmament, which is being massively promoted by the grand coalition of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats, supported by all parties in the Bundestag. To implement this policy, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and other extreme right-wing forces have been systematically promoted by the ruling elite. The AfD functions as the political wing of right-wing terrorism. The security apparatus, which is riddled with right-wing networks, is its state wing, and the grand coalition government is its protective umbrella and enabler. The only way to stop right-wing terror is to mobilise the working class based on an international socialist programme. Despite its deep political differences with the Left Party, the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei calls for the defence of Janine Wissler and active political opposition to the attacks against her. It is high time to stop the conspiracy between the grand coalition, the state apparatus and the extreme right. No return of Germany to aggressive great-power politics! For a socialist programme against fascism and war! Covid-19: Dakshina Kannada reports 186 new cases, 90 new cases in Udupi, Mysuru 83 Mangaluru/Uudupi, Jul 11(UNI) Dakshina Kannada on Saturday reported 186 new cases of coronavirus, 29 discharges and three Covid -19 related deaths. A total of 2,034 positive cases have been confirmed in the district till date. Of this, 782 patients have recovered while 1,211 cases are active. The new cases reported today includes 13 who tested positive during random sampling, 37 primary contacts, 64 ILI cases, 17 SARI cases, 10 people with travel history to Qatar and Dubai, 2 Bengaluru returnees. Four people tested positive in the pre-delivery sample while 7 during pre-surgery samples. Contact tracing is on for 32 persons. The World Council of Churches expressed grief and dismay over the decision to revoke Hagia Sophia's 80-year-old museum status. WWCs interim general secretary Rev. Prof Dr Ioan Sauca wrote a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging him to 'reconsider' his decision. The letter comes as Turkey's top court on July 11 revoked the museum status paving way for it be converted back to a mosque. The World Council of Churches chief expressed hope that Hagia Sophia will not become once again a "focus of confrontation and conflict". He noted that the decision to convert the museum reversed positive sign of Turkeys openness. The interim general secretary of WCC asserted that Hagia Sophia has been a powerful expression of the Republic of Turkeys commitment to secularism and inclusion and of its desire to leave behind the conflicts of the past. Geneva, 11 July, 2020: #WCC letter to President Erdogan to keep Hagia Sophia as the shared heritage of humanity https://t.co/KJQ97KETuy #OneHumanity pic.twitter.com/kcsYm18330 World Council of Churches (WCC) (@Oikoumene) July 11, 2020 Read: Turkey calls on EU to be 'honest' in dispute with members Hagia Sophia: World Council of Churches opposes decision The World Council of Churches chief, writing on behalf of 350 member churches in more than 110 countries, representing more than half a billion Christians around the world, conveyed regret over the fact that the decision was taken without prior notice or discussion with UNESCO "regarding the impact of this decision on Hagia Sophias universal value recognised under the World Heritage Convention." He noted that the decision has "overturned a commitment that since 1934." Earlier today, UNESCO had also expressed deep regret over the decision of the Turkish authorities, "made without prior discussion." Read: Hagia Sophia: Why Istanbul's 1500-yr-old crown jewel is Turkey's new political battlefield "The decision to convert such an emblematic place as Hagia Sophia from a museum back to a mosque will inevitably create uncertainties, suspicions and mistrust, undermining all our efforts to bring people of different faiths together at the table of dialogue and cooperation. Moreover, we greatly fear that it will encourage the ambitions of other groups elsewhere that seek to overturn the existing status quo and to promote renewed divisions between religious communities," the letter read. Hagia Sophia: UNESCO deeply regrets the decision of the Turkish authorities, made without prior discussion, and calls for the universal value of #WorldHeritage to be preserved. Full statement: https://t.co/WiZpjyagqF pic.twitter.com/klcMR9pmxC UNESCO (@UNESCO) July 10, 2020 Further, the WCC chief urged the Turkish President to "reconsider and reverse your decision" in "the interests of promoting mutual understanding, respect, dialogue and cooperation, and avoiding cultivating old animosities and divisions." Sauca concluded the letter with "fervent hope and prayer that Hagia Sophia will not become once again a focus of confrontation and conflict." He urged that the museum should continue to play the "emblematic unifying role that it has served since 1934." Geneva, 11 July, 2020: In a letter to H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey, WCC interim general secretary Rev. Prof Dr Ioan Sauca is expressing his fervent hope and prayer that Hagia Sophia will not become once again a https://t.co/FC6sRivLYO #WCC World Council of Churches (WCC) (@Oikoumene) July 11, 2020 Read: Hagia Sophia: Istanbul's Iconic Monument To Be Turned Into A Mosque After Court Ruling Read: Cyprus: EU partners aim to rein in Turkey's 'expansionism' The Bombay high court last week rejected the bail plea of a woman accused of passively supporting her husband who allegedly raped two of their daughters and tried to sexually assault the third in Maharashtras Beed district. A single bench of Justice Vibha Kankanwadi took note that the entire story as was narrated by their daughters in the FIR was consistent and shocking, and rejected the womans bail plea which claimed that the accusations against her were false. On April 2, 2020, Kaij police in Beed district had booked the man who is a headmaster of a school, along with his wife after the eldest daughter registered a complaint with the police after all the three sisters who were badly beaten up and locked in a room by the parents were rescued by police. On March 31, 2020, the man tried to molest his 20-year-old eldest daughter that led to all the three sisters raising a hue and cry. But the parents beat them up and locked them inside a room. The sisters, however, managed to communicate their condition to a friend who then informed the police which then rescued them on April 2. The eldest daughter then narrated her ordeal to the police officials and in her complaint stated that she was raped by her father in 2012. She told police officials that she was badly beaten up by her father after she informed her mother about the incident. The complainant further alleged that while her father kept molesting her intermittently, her father sexually had also assaulted her younger sister who is now 18-years-old since the time she was in fifth grade. All the three sisters were badly beaten up after the matter was reported to their mother and all of them were warned not to disclose the acts of their father to anyone. She further alleged that their father tried to rape their youngest sister, who is now 15-year-old, in 2018, and again their mother remained silent even after the incident was brought to her notice. Acting on the complaint lodged by the 20-year-old, the police on April 2 arrested the headmaster for rape, and his wife for abetment, for passively supporting her husband. The woman had moved the high court seeking bail claiming the complaint was false and that the 20-year-old had made wild allegations because she was reprimanded for moving around in bad company. It is highly impossible that the mother would keep quiet when her husband was molesting their own daughter and would allow such activity to be continued for years together, her lawyer had argued. The judge rejected the womans bail plea primarily noting that, The entire story that has been narrated in the FIR, appears to be consistent with the statements of the sisters, in which serious allegations are levelled against her. Justice Kankanwadi said the entire story was shocking and the defence put forth by the applicant mother appeared baseless. The judge felt that no daughter will go to the extent of making such serious allegations against her own parents simply because they were opposed to her relationship with a particular boy having bad antecedents. The judge also said that even if the complainant went to that extent, the other two sisters would not have supported her against their parents, if the allegations were false. The judge also took note of the allegation of the complainant that on the night of March 31, 2020, when they were at their native place, their father tried to molest her, and the next day when the sister raised a hue and cry, they were badly beaten by both their parents. The sisters were locked up in a room, and were rescued by police after they succeeded in contacting one of their friends, who in turn sought police help in freeing them. As Gov. Murphy tightened the rules around mask wearing this week, the obedient continue to ask, What in the heck can we do about the maskless? Weve covered whether you should confront someone (answer: its complicated), and now a doozy: Is it legal to make a citizens arrest of a person who isnt wearing a mask? Chennai, July 11 : Pointing to decision of many states against holding final semester examinations in colleges, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami urged the Centre to give states the freedom to design their own assessment metrics of students. In a letter to Union Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Friday, Palaniswami said, "Many states have taken decision not to conduct the final semester examinations. To ensure career opportunities, future prospects and to safeguard the principles of health, safety, fair and equal opportunity for students, the states may be given the freedom to work out their assessment methods, without compromising on the quality and academic credibility." Palaniswami also requested Nishank to ask the apex authorities, like the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education, the Council of Architecture, the Pharmacy Council of India, the National Council of Teachers Education and the National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology, to endorse the state governments' decisions, which would be based on the local Covid-19 conditions. "This would go a long way in rendering justice and fairness to parents and students during these distressful times," Palaniswami said. Pointing to the new UGC guidelines, mandating all education institutions across the country to conduct examinations by September for the final semester students, he said it had many constraints and difficulties, which included students reaching the examination centres, as many of them were outside the district, the state and some even outside the country. Palaniswami said many public and private institutions, including their hostels, in the state had been converted as the Covid Care Centres for housing asymptomatic persons under quarantine. They might continue as the Covid centres for some more time, he added. Talk show host Serena (de Comarmond) DC created FYIs new series Hollywood Disclosure after a painful reality television experience. Like many reality television cast members, DC discovered that fame can carry negative and sometimes tragic consequences. After appearing on the reality series Instant Hotel, she was subjected to online bullying, which left her in a dark place. However, her experience inspired her to reach out to controversial figures, including Caitlyn Jenner and Corey Feldman, to find out how they deal with negativity. Serena DC | Photo courtesy of Hollywood Disclosure DC dives into the dark side of fame in Hollywood Disclosure. The series gets raw and real as celebrities like Jenner and Feldman share how they found a way to the light. DC opened up to Showbiz Cheat Sheet about the journey she took to create Hollywood Disclosure. She revealed that it was Jenner who helped her through the negativity. Instant Hotel began as a fun experience DC took part in the series Instant Hotel, which first aired in 2017 and is now available on Netflix. The show followed teams of rental homeowners in Australia who compete to win the best property or instant hotel. RELATED: Instant Hotel: Netflixs New Hit Show Is Like HGTV and MTVs Real World Combined While DC had a blast making the show, she was surprised when it finally aired. So when I was on Instant Hotel it was a really negative experience, DC said. Filming it was amazing, it was so much fun. The series debuted with significant fanfare throughout Australia, with many people hosting watch parties, she recalled. Serena DC shares the devastating impact of online negativity However, When [the show] came out we knew straight away, Oh sh*t, she recounted. The way producers portrayed us was really negative. So for every 10 beautiful things you said they would throw them in the bin and just save the negative ones. So when theres only snark, youre an a**hole. Basically thats what happened. I got trolled so badly when the show came out. While the hate was painful for DC, she says the negativity was devastating for cast member Shay Razaei. So she was trolled so badly that three and a half weeks ago she overdosed and is now dead, DC revealed. The experience was absolutely horrific. Razaeis Instant Hotel partner, Mikey Gelo confirmed she had died to Daily Mail Australia. Yes, its true and very sad. She had her funeral last Wednesday, and her death was the week before, he said. RELATED: Below Deck Viewers Cant Seem to Stop Trolling Rhylee Gerber But out of that became a rainbow, DC said. She was determined to find something positive from the experience. I decided after being on that show I wanted to create positive reality TV. I believe people put reality stars on a pedestal and people emulate their actions. And so I thought itd be nice if we actually had some stars on TV giving good positivity and trying to inspire people instead of trying to tear them down and make them feel inadequate, she said. Caitlyn Jenners book was a shining light DC initially turned to Jenners book, The Secrets of my Life for help. She was the shining light for me when I was being trolled, DC said. Going through a really terrible situation, I happened to have picked up her book. Just randomly picked up her book for a read. And it sort of saved me and acted like a real guide on how to compartmentalize trolls from the fans. Her story was just filled with courage, DC continued. And I thought, Wouldnt it be cool if we could show the world these celebrities that you love so much, who have been through hell as well. This is what happened to them and this is how low they felt. But then this is what they did to survive, she said. I just thought it would be really beautiful to help people to know even though stuff gets really bad, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You can come out stronger and you can still have an amazing life. Hollywood Disclosure is about overcoming obstacles In addition to a gripping interview with Jenner, DC talked to actors Tara Reid and Colin Egglesfield. She says Egglesfield witnessed 9/11 firsthand. He recounted the horrific moments and shared a video he took from his bedroom window that morning. In the interview you actually you hear it and you see the video, DC says. Its spine-tingling. Like many eye-witnesses, Egglesfield had PTSD from the event. But he discussed how hes moved forward to live a happy life. RELATED: Ladies of London: Caroline Stanbury Didnt Think the Bravo Series Was Healthy for Annabelle Neilson DCs interview with Jenner addresses the alarming suicide rate in the transgender community. The series also features Deepak Chopra and actor Daniel Goddard. Hollywood Disclosure premieres on Saturday, July 11 at 10:30 a.m. on FYI. How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357. Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia said that final year students will be awarded degrees on the basis of assessment methods decided by their respective universities The Delhi government has decided to cancel all upcoming semester and final exams in universities that come under its jurisdiction due to rising cases of COVID-19. In light of the major disruptions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, Delhi govt has decided to cancel all Delhi state university exams including final exams, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia wrote on Twitter. In light of the major disruptions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, Delhi govt has decided to cancel all Delhi state university exams including final exams https://t.co/g4SFLqaBQK Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) July 11, 2020 Sisodia, who is also Delhi's education minister, said that all students will be promoted to the next semester, while final year students will be awarded degrees on the basis of assessment methods decided by universities. In an attempt to explain the reason behind his governments decision, Sisodia said, "Delhi government believes that unprecedented times require unprecedented measures." He added that students who already have job offers need to get their degrees to start working and support their families amid the coronavirus pandemic. Follow Latest Updates on Coronavirus Outbreak here There are several universities that come under the jurisdiction of the Delhi government. These varsities are Ambedkar University, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi Technological University, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW), National Law University Delhi (NLU), among others, according to a report in Hindustan Times. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to cancel final year exams for Delhi University and other Central universities. For the sake of our youth, I urge Honble PM to personally intervene and cancel final year exams of DU and other central govt universities and save the future. pic.twitter.com/V7iinytR9O Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 11, 2020 However, Delhi government's decision comes despite the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) guidelines that exams should be held for final year students in higher education institutes. HRD Ministry had on 7 July said that terminal semesters/final year examinations in all universities will have to be conducted by the end of September. The University Grant Commission (UGC) had issued guidelines in this regard, stating that the exams could be held in online, offline or "blended" mode. But Delhi is not the only state to have objected to the higher education regulator's guidelines. West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Punjab have objected to the UGCs guidelines and have expressed their inability to comply. Now Tamil Nadu has also joined the list of states. Chief Minister E Palaniswami has written to HRD minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank stating that holding final-year or end-semester exams in Tamil Nadu, online or offline, is "not feasible". Earlier, Punjab Higher Education Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa wrote to HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. He said that the MHRD/UGC guidelines that make the conduct of final term examination mandatory has unnerved all the stakeholders and urged the ministry to think of the larger public interest. The Directorate of Higher Education (DHE), Odisha had also tweeted that the state government has requested to be allowed to adhere to its decision of cancelling the University exams. Representative image Katie Thomas In January, as a frightening new virus filled hospital wards in Wuhan, China, Stephanie Giordano, a 25-year-old researcher at the drugmaker Regeneron, in a suburb of New York City, began working on a treatment for the disease. By March, the deadly coronavirus had hit home. Fearing she would get infected on the train that took her to the lab every day, she moved from her apartment in East Harlem to an Airbnb five minutes from the companys headquarters in Tarrytown, in Westchester County. Then her mother, a nurses assistant who cared for newborn babies at a Long Island hospital, was reassigned to a COVID-19 ward where she tended to older people struggling to breathe. No drug could help these patients or her, if she were to get sick, too. I had somebody on the line that I really cared about, Giordano said recently. And I wanted to see her make it through this. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show Giordano, the youngest member of the companys five-person rapid response team for infectious diseases, helped develop what many consider one of the most promising new treatments for COVID-19, which has now infected more than 12 million people around the world and killed more than 549,000. Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here She worked in the lab until 10 many nights and through weekends, screening thousands of antibodies the weapons of the immune system that seek out and destroy viruses in search of the most powerful ones. The result was a cocktail of two antibodies that might not only treat the virus but prevent it by giving the body the same natural defenses that people infected with it produce on their own. The Trump administration this week gave a major boost to Regenerons treatment, awarding the company $450 million to manufacture and supply as many as 300,000 doses as treatments or 1.3 million doses to prevent infection. Thats in addition to $160 million in federal money the company had already received to run clinical trials and ramp up manufacturing. After the treatment passed an initial safety study, Regenerons broader trials to evaluate the products efficacy got underway. Dr Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently singled out the treatment as the most likely to pan out soon. If I had to pick one, I think the monoclonal antibody cocktails have a lot going for them, Collins said at a Senate hearing last week. Theres all kinds of reasons to think this is the kind of virus it should work for. If the trials are successful, company executives have said the treatment could be available by the end of the summer. The hope is that it could serve as a stopgap until a vaccine arrives by providing temporary protection to people at high risk of getting infected. Regeneron is making a significant gamble, ramping up manufacturing of the antibody cocktail before clinical trials have even proved that it works. The most lucrative drugs it makes for other diseases have been relocated to a factory in Ireland. Regeneron is one of several companies pursuing monoclonal antibody treatments. Drug giant Eli Lilly has also begun clinical trials, and others working on antibody treatments include partnerships of Amgen and Adaptive Biotechnologies and also Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline. Its unclear which of these projects if any will succeed. Drug development is notoriously unpredictable: Just last week, Regeneron announced that an older monoclonal antibody drug, the rheumatoid arthritis treatment Kevzara, had failed to help patients critically ill with COVID-19. Still, scientists and investors alike are closely watching Regeneron, which developed a treatment for Ebola with this same technology. That treatment was tested during the most recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which began in 2018 and ended in June. Together with a new Ebola vaccine, the treatment was credited with reducing the deadliness of the outbreak. Regenerons track record of developing a similar treatment for Ebola doesnt mean they will have a better product, but it does make me relieved that they will not fumble, said Ronny Gal, an analyst for Bernstein, a Wall Street firm. And Regeneron has taken this all-hands-on-deck approach to COVID-19 in one of the hardest-hit areas of the country. In Westchester County, more than 35,000 people have been infected, and more than 1,500 people have died. Its just a remarkable and unfortunate coincidence, said Dr. Leonard Schleifer, Regenerons chief executive. Giordano, a research and development associate with a bachelors degree in chemistry from Fordham University, had just transferred to Regenerons viral infectious disease group in January when the researchers noticed a report about a new virus in Wuhan on an international alert system known as ProMED. Christos Kyratsous, the companys vice president of research for infectious diseases, said his team ordered a synthetic genome of the virus from an outside company, but while they waited for it to arrive, the number of infections simply exploded. While Kyratsous team closely watches any new viruses, the way it spread across Wuhan convinced us that this was something worth spending our resources and our time on. Regeneron has built its business on what Schleifer, one of the companys founders, calls its magical mice animals that have been genetically engineered to have human immune systems. The mice are infected with harmless viruses that trigger the animals to produce human antibodies. Those antibodies can then be screened for the ones that work best, and then mass-produced in stainless steel vats known as bioreactors. The technology drove one of the companys biggest blockbusters, the eczema drug Dupixent, as well as the treatment for Ebola. Schleifer said he realized the company would need to turn its full attention to developing a treatment in late January when a news program showed construction vehicles breaking ground on a vast hospital in Wuhan. They said they were going to build a hospital in five days, he recalled. I said to myself, Holy cow, OK, this doesnt happen just for the fun of it. In early February, Regeneron expanded a collaboration with the federal government to begin working on the coronavirus treatment. It also started ramping up manufacturing of the antibodies. Usually, you dont scale it up until youve got something thats proven, Schleifer said. We knew that the ordinary course of business could not work here. We knew that we needed to get as much capacity as possible. Schleifer said the company decided to move its existing products to its plant in Ireland to ensure that the antibody treatment would be made in the United States and available to treat Americans. The pandemic has already led some countries, such as India, to limit exports of drugs that might treat COVID-19, and the United States has snapped up the global supply of another treatment, remdesivir. There was scary stuff going on in the world about, you know, countries closing borders, he said. We wanted to manufacture as much as we could as close to where the processes were being developed. The company started its work by collecting as many coronavirus antibodies as possible, both through infecting its magic mice and from the donated blood of coronavirus survivors. Those antibodies were handed off to Giordanos team, which identified the ones that fought off the virus most powerfully. Giordanos role was to help develop a phony coronavirus to test against the companys antibody candidates one that, though not harmful, would stand in for the real thing. It was, like, three years of work in I want to say maybe like a month and a half, she said. By the end of February, she was clocking 90 hours a week. In March, as the coronavirus arrived in Westchester, she moved to the Airbnb apartment in White Plains; the owners gave her a significant discount when she explained what she was working on. As her mother began caring for COVID-19 patients, the two exchanged photos of each other in their protective gear. You guys are heros!!!!!!! Giordano texted in April to her mother, who had sent photos of herself and her co-workers in protective gowns, gloves, face shields and masks. Love ur double glove technique. Giordano said that thinking about her mother and her colleagues being at risk of infection kept her going during the grueling days, because otherwise I think I would have broken down and cried a lot. As the cases in Westchester County mounted and the state locked down, officials at Regeneron scrambled to keep their labs open without putting employees in danger. We were truly petrified that we would have this cure that we knew we had to develop, but all of our scientists would get sick and we wouldnt be able to do it, Schleifer said. Like many other businesses, the company sent nonessential workers home including Schleifer, who did conference calls and television appearances from a bedroom in his home. They redirected some cars used by sales representatives to workers who would otherwise rely on public transportation. They staggered researchers shifts so fewer people were in the labs at once. In late April, the company set up a drive-thru testing site in its parking lot and now requires all employees to get tested at least once every two weeks. Giordano and her colleagues, working long hours, took turns grocery shopping at Whole Foods, taking orders for the group. She recalled getting home late one night, eating a bag of defrosted broccoli and carrots for dinner, then collapsing. In April, the scientists selected their lead candidates for the two-antibody cocktail that would eventually enter clinical trials. Giordano turned 25. The group celebrated with a chocolate cake covered in sprinkles. She cut her own bangs. She downloaded the new album by the Strokes and played it on tiny speakers next to her lab station. (Lana Del Rey was in heavier rotation earlier in the pandemic, she said, because I needed something melodramatic and just kind of soothing in the background.) Giordano was listed as an author on two articles in the journal Science describing how Regenerons researchers had selected the antibody cocktail, including their reasoning that, by using two antibodies, they could help prevent resistance to the treatment. So proud of you!!! her mother wrote in a text. Now, like everyone else, Giordano is waiting to see if the antibody treatment will succeed in clinical trials. While antibody treatments have shown promise in the past, the real question is, how well will they work for COVID? said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University. And thats something thats really hard to say, because weve only known about this virus for seven months. The clinical trials will test how well the antibodies work for three groups: people who are hospitalized, those who are mildly ill and those who have been exposed to someone with the virus. The product will be given as an infusion for people who are sick and as a lower-dose injection when it is used for prevention. The preliminary results are expected by late summer. The most intense phase of Giordanos work on the treatment is now over, and her work schedule has mainly returned to normal. She moved to a new apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and as the outbreak ebbed in New York, her mother went back to caring for babies. She knows the treatment may not ultimately work. Its so scary, she said. But she tries to focus on the science, not her fears. We did our best, and we tried everything that we could to make something that works, she said. And I think thats enough for now. c.2020 The New York Times Company The security agencies owe the nation a responsibility to maintain law and order as well as consolidate the gains made ever since Ghana adopted the multi-party democracy in 1992. Another general election is here again and come December 7th 2020, Ghanaians will vote to elect a president and parliamentarians. It is against this backdrop that the Director-General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Commissioner of Police (COP), Mr. Isaac Ken Yeboah is urging his colleague police personnel to be very professional in dealing with electoral-related cases and should not fall for partisan politics. He further counseled them to rise above partisan politics and ensure that the impending parliamentary and presidential elections were free, fair, and credible. Mr Yeboah was speaking at the closing session of an eight-week Detective Training Course 1/2020 of 90 personnel from the CID and other security services at the Detective Training Academy (DTA), Accra. Parties you belong to should not show in your work. Set good examples as products of the DTA, he stressed. The beneficiaries include police detectives, military police, personnel of the Bureau of National Investigations, Economic and Organised Crime Office, Immigration Service, Prisons Service and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority. CID Boss advised the participants, especially police detectives, to maintain the network built with other security institutions to improve their work because they would be better when they worked together. Give in your best, let us see a change in you, prove you were at the DTA, exhibit professionalism and you will be held accountable for every action and inaction. Take your work seriously, he added. Mr. Yeboah asked them to be vigilant in the wake of the COVID-19 and be guided by skills acquired at the training. Ms. Grace Ansah-Akrofi, Superintendent of Police, Commandant of the DTA, commended the participants for not giving up when the programme, which started in January, this year, was suspended due to the COVID-19. Mr. Clement Konadu Yiadom, Detective Inspector, in a valedictory message, said acquiring skills in customer care, crime scene management, human rights, domestic violence, anti-human trafficking, the law of evidence, financial crime investigations and criminal laws would help them work with confidence. Mr. Francis Aboagye of the BNI was adjudged the Overall Best Trainee with Ms. Victoria Imoru, Deputy Narcotic Analyst, being the Best Behaved Student. Mr. Isaac Frimpong, a Detective Inspector, received DTA's Special Award. ---GNA UNSC Fails to Adopt Russian Draft Resolution to Deliver Syria Aid via 1 Crossing for One Year Sputnik News 22:46 GMT 10.07.2020(updated 23:29 GMT 10.07.2020) The previous resolution submitted by Russia was also blocked in the UNSC, with the United States, UK, Germany, France, Estonia, Belgium, and the Dominican Republican voting against the measure. The UN Security Council has failed to adopt a Russian-drafted resolution that seeks to authorise the cross-border humanitarian aid delivery mechanism in northwestern Syria from Turkey through one crossing for a year. "The result of the voting is as follows: four votes in favor, seven votes against, four abstentions. The draft resolution has not been adopted, having failed to obtain the required number of votes", UN Security Council President Christoph Heusgen said. A Security Council resolution requires nine votes and no veto from any of the five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Earlier in the day, the members of the council could not agree on another resolution sponsored by Germany and Belgium that aimed to extend the UN humanitarian mechanism for six months using two border crossings from Turkey - Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam. Russia joined China in vetoing the draft, and in the new resolution proposed to keep only Bab al-Hawa checkpoint. "The Security Council decides to renew the decisions in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Security Council resolution 2165 (2014), for a period of twelve months, that is, until 10 July 2021, excluding the border crossing of Al-Ramtha, Al Yarubiyah and Bab Al-Salam", the text of the document obtained by Sputnik said. The resolution also would have required UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to report no later than August 31 to the Security Council regarding the impact of unilateral sanctions on the socio-economic situation in Syria and humanitarian deliveries from outside the country. Besides, the document would have asked UN humanitarian agencies to improve monitoring of the delivery of aid supplies and their distribution within Syria. Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia had previously stated that with the transfer of northwestern territories under the control of Damascus and the progress reached in delivering aid from within the country, the council should return to providing assistance from within the Arab Republic. In January, the Security Council reduced the number of border crossings from the initial four, including al-Ramtha from Jordan and al-Yarubiyah from Iraq, to only two checkpoints from Turkey. Russia has argued that the cross-border mechanism established in 2014 is outdated and used to politicise relief aid by favouring some groups over others. The current mandate of the cross-border mechanism expires Friday. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address As India and China attempt to lower weeks of border tension in eastern Ladakh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said a disengagement and de-escalation process has been agreed upon between the two countries and it is "very much a work in progress". "What just happened is that we have agreed on the need to disengage because the troops on both sides are deployed very close to each other. So there is a disengagement and de-escalation process which has been agreed upon," he said during an video interactive session at the India Global Week. "It has just commenced. It is very much a work in progress. At this point, I really would not like to say more," he said. Jaishankar's comments came a day after India and China held another round of diplomatic talks during which both sides resolved to push ahead with "complete disengagement" of troops in eastern Ladakh in a timely manner for "full restoration" of peace and tranquility. At the meeting, it was decided that senior commanders of the two armies will meet "soon" to discuss further steps to "ensure complete disengagement and de-escalation". People familiar with the development said the fourth round of Lt General-level talks will be held early next week with an aim to finalise modalities for withdrawal of troops from rear bases of the two militaries besides exploring ways to restore peace and tranquility in the region. The formal process of disengagement of troops began on Monday morning after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday. Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on June 17 during which both sides agreed that the overall situation would be handled in a responsible manner. The Indian and Chinese armies were locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control(LAC) for the last eight weeks. The border tension escalated manifold after violent clashes in Galwan Valley on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35. In the last six days, the Chinese military has withdrawn troops from all major friction points in line with a disengagement understanding with Indian Army. Both sides have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks in the last few weeks to ease tension in the region. Tensions had escalated in eastern Ladakh around two months back 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. New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday reviewed the situation in Ladakh with top military brass as Indian and Chinese troops completed their initial phase of disengagement by moving out of the flash points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The security review meeting on China was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria besides several other senior military officials. General Naravane gave a detailed account of the implementation of the first phase of mutual disengagement of troops from Galwan Valley, Gogra, Hot Springs and Finger 4 areas in Pangong Tso. He gave details about the measures taken by the Indian Army to prevent any aggression by the Chinese troops. Sources said that status quo has been maintained at the LAC after the completion of the first phase of disengagement and further movement of troops will depend on the outcome of the Corps Commanders meeting between India and China next week. While Indian and Chinese troops have moved slightly away from flash-points, the bigger concern is the presence of a large number of troops from both sides with heavy weapons, including artillery and tanks, in the forward areas along the LAC in Ladakh. Till these troops move from the LAC to their peace-time locations, tension between India and China will remain high. On Friday, Singh also held a telephonic conversation with his US counterpart, Mark T Esper, during which Indias standoff with China in Ladakh and the overall security scenario in the region was discussed. In a boost to the Indian Air Forces firepower, US aerospace major Boeing said on Friday that it has handed over the final five of the 22 Apache attack helicopters to the IAF in June at Air Force Station, Hindan. The company said that in March, Boeing had handed over the last five of 15 CH-47F(I) Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to the IAF. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 19:50:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People mourn the death of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in Seoul, South Korea, on July 11, 2020. The 64-year-old mayor was found dead in the woods of Mount Bugak near his residence around midnight Friday local time. No sign of foul play was found, but the police was investigating the exact cause of his death. (Photo by Seo Yu-Seok/Xinhua) On July 9, the US Supreme Court has ruled that US President Donald Trump's financial records can be examined by the prosecutors in New York, which is the state where his businesses are located. Tax records Although the financial records can be seen by prosecutors, the court ruled that it does not have to be seen by Congress. President Trump has been by the public since the start of his presidential campaign because he refuses to show his tax returns. Trump's lawyers had argued that President Trump should have immunity while he is in office and that Congress does not have any valid reason to seek his financial records, as reported by BBC. The House of Representatives committees, which are controlled by Democrats, and the New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who is also a Democrat, has demanded that President Trump show his tax documents in order to know whether the current conflict-of-interest laws on a US president were tough enough. President Trump, a Republican, denies any wrongdoing and he has called the investigation a witch hunt. He wrote in a series of tweets after the court rulings that the Supreme Court sends the case back to Lower Court, and that arguments are to continue. He added that what the Supreme Court is doing now is a political prosecution. Also Read: Seoul Mayor Park Won-Soon Found Dead, Suspected Suicide The meaning of the ruling According to The Guardian, the Supreme Court ruled 7:2 that President Donald Trump does not have immunity from criminal investigation, despite what Trump's lawyers insisted. The court stated that 200 years ago, the US Court was established and its jurist is that no citizen is above the duty to show any evidence when they have a criminal proceeding, and that includes the President. The two cases regarding the committees in the Congress were watched. It showed how US lawmakers could follow the activities of a sitting President. According to the Supreme Court, Congress had the power to request for Trump's personal information, but the said power has limits, as reported by CNN. The importance of Trump's tax returns The House Intelligence had been asking Deutsche Bank and Mazars USA, President Trump's accounting firms, to show his tax and financial documents. The committees stated that they need the records to know whether current conflict-of-interest laws on a US president were rigorous. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance had argued that President Trump's documents were needed to know if financial records had been doctored in order to cover up under the table payments and hush-money payments to two women back in 2016 who claimed they had affairs with President Trump. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she would continue to go after Trump's financial records to be handed over to Congress. She told reporters that Congress will continue to conduct oversight for the people, upholding the separation of powers that is the core of the US constitution. However, it is still not clear whether the Congress will be able to see Trump's tax returns. Even if President Trump's financial records are turned over to prosecutors in New York, they may remain hidden from public view until charges are filed. Related Article: Statue of First Lady Melania Trump Set Ablaze in Her Hometown in Slovenia @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Boubou Sangare, his face blank, points at a patch of ground beneath the entrance to an adobe house. It was here that he discovered his brother Bakary's severed head, on the morning of June 10, lying next to his body. The 40-year-old former soldier had become the latest victim in a spate of unsolved grisly murders that have plagued the remote town of Fana, in southern Mali, since 2018. Police arrived on the scene 40 minutes after Boubou Sangare found his brother's mutilated remains and cordoned off the area. Officers found an iron bar at the scene, and drops of blood leading behind the house and to motorcycle tyre tracks in the dirt. But police investigators remain bewildered by the killings. The murder spree in Fana, a town of some 36,000 people, is all the more unusual for occurring in an area far from the violent hotspots in the vast West African country. - Slaughtered children - Mali, a poor Sahel nation of some 19 million people, has been struggling to contain a jihadist uprising that first emerged in the north in 2012, before spreading to the centre of the country, claiming thousands of lives. But Mali's south has been relatively spared. And Fana is an unremarkable market town in a sleepy cotton-growing region, whose outer districts melt into lush green bush. Boubou Sangare stands in the house of his brother, a former soldier who was brutally murdered / AFP The murders appear to follow the same script. Victims are likely decapitated with a knife or axe, investigators say. Then dead bodies are usually found in the morning, without a pool of blood around them -- suggesting that the killers collected the blood. Traditional chief Adama Traore, sitting in his home surrounded by elders, was at a loss. "Only God knows, we can't point to anyone," he said of the perpetrators. Locals wonder whether Fana is under a curse. According to police investigators, the beheading victims often live in isolated areas and have few social ties. Police investigators are bewildered by the killings / AFP Six out of eight victims were from one neighbourhood in Fana, called Badialan, which skirts the bush. But otherwise, a pattern has been difficult to establish. Victims have included a housewife, a phone-mast assistant, a five-year-old albino child and a two-year-old girl. - Ritual killings? - Investigators have ruled out revenge as a motive, as well as money disputes. Boubacar Diarra, the lead investigator, said that although there is no solid proof that the murders are ritual killings, the motive is a "working hypothesis". Police have detained 11 men since 2018 -- on charges which Diarra would not divulge -- yet the beheadings have continued. Fana inhabitants are losing patience. Diarra added that investigators do not have access to modern equipment such as video surveillance cameras. "We can't be expected to investigate at the same pace as elsewhere in the world," he said, while adding that he was confident investigators would crack the case. But first, residents must overcome their fear of reprisals and talk to the police. An official close to the investigation, who declined to be named, said that many "are afraid of being killed if they denounce someone". - 'Human abattoir' - Facing a deepening mystery, investigators are pursuing all possible leads. But Traore, the traditional chief, is pessimistic about their chances of success. He was among the townspeople that demanded a police station in Fana after the first few murders, which triggered protests and looting. Personal objects that belonged to one of the victims are laid out by family in his home / AFP A police station was duly opened in Fana last year, adding to the national guardsmen and gendarmes already present. "Nothing worked and it continues," the elderly man said, referring to the murders. One of the elders sitting beside him, teacher Bakary Bagayoko, suggested that poor street lighting and a closed checkpoint at the town's limits were also insecurity-inducing problems to be solved. "Fana has become a human abattoir," he said. "Everyone suspects everyone. When a family member goes out on an errand, we ask ourselves: Is he coming back?" Advertisement Cat Deeley has given a sneak peek of life inside her stunning 2.1 million mansion in Los Angeles with her husband Patrick Kielty. The TV presenter, 43, has uploaded a number of snaps to Instagram of their exclusive family home. The former Stars in their Eyes host lives there with her two sons Milo, four, and James, two. Stateside couple: Cat Deeley has given a sneak peek of life inside her stunning 2.1 million mansion in Los Angeles with her husband Patrick Kielty (pictured in 2017) The TV personality moved stateside in 2006 to try to make it Los Angeles after a successful career in the UK. Cat, who married fellow presenter Patrick in 2012, has since created a lovely home in the Golden State. Snaps show off the family's gym, lavish outdoor swimming pool and spa in the well-equipped mansion. Home life: The former Stars in their Eyes host moved to the States in 2006 with her two sons Milo, four, and James, two, and has created a lovely family home Stylish: The 2.1 million home's living room features a number of stylish details including a curved grey sofa, house plants and a fireplace Luxury: The family home even offers an outdoor swimming pool where Cat loves to play with her young sons in the lavish mansion Cat's photos showcase the plush living room furnished with a grey curved sofa facing towards a fire place and a grand piano. It also offers a glass balcony with a view over the city, with wall art and statues throughout the property. Cat, who made a name for herself in the US as the host of So You Think You Can Dance?, recently revealed she is 'done' with children and has no desire to try for a girl. Making memories: The mansion, shown as they celebrated Christmas together, also has a grand piano and a large outdoor space Space for entertaining: On the family's glass balcony is plenty of space where they can invite friends for parties and intimate gatherings Cosy: Dog Lily also lives with the family as the TV stars try to crack the US after their success in the UK Happy families: Cat, who made a name for herself in the US as the host of So You Think You Can Dance?, recently revealed she is 'done' with children 'No, I think I'm done. I love my boys. I can't believe how lucky I am to have them,' she told Closer magazine. 'I'm good, I think. Ask me again in 12 months' time!' 'Being a working mum of two is kind of like a massive juggle, where you throw all the balls up in the air and you try to keep them all up there.' On their doorstep: Cat, Patrick and their sons have been enjoying the various pleasures Los Angeles has to offer Cat and Patrick were friends for 10 years before their relationship turned romantic. The pair met when they presented Fame Academy together in 2002 and remained pals for almost a decade before making their debut as a couple in March 2012. They tied the knot just six months later in a traditional Catholic ceremony in Rome, Italy, in September 2012, which was an intimate affair with just six family and friends each. Gov. Phil Murphy has hinted in recent days that tax hikes and other revenue raisers will be necessary in New Jersey to help the state government recover from billions in lost tax dollars thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. I think everything has got to be on the table, when said during an interview Friday morning with the Washington Post when asked if hes prepared to raise taxes. So which taxes might go up? Its too early to tell, Murphy said later in the day during his latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton. The governor made the remarks on the same day he and his fellow Democrats who lead the state Legislature revealed they have agreed on a plan allowing the state government to borrow up to nearly $10 billion to help fill an expected multi-billion-dollar gap in the state budget in the wake of the pandemic. Republicans immediately said theyll sue to stop the borrowing plan, saying its not only unconstitutional but would saddle the state with debt for generations. Murphy said the state will likely also need revenue raisers such as taxes, fees, and tolls as well as spending cuts and more federal aid to help balance the budget and avoid large-scale layoffs of public workers and drastic changes to programs. We need our legislature to give us the right to borrow from the Fed program, which gives me no joy, but we have no other choice, Murphy said in the Post interview. We need the federal cash, and we are likely gonna need revenue raisers. So the answer has to be everything is on the table. New Jersey @GovMurphy says the state plans to reopen schools with in-person learning this fall, adds a comprehensive plan is in place to help manage capacity and social distancing. https://t.co/eHf4SQRas3 #postlive pic.twitter.com/OOuwVBLE8H Washington Post Live (@postlive) July 10, 2020 State Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio had predicted a $10 billion loss in tax revenue through next summer. But Murphy said Friday that could grow to as much as $20 billion thanks to the pandemic. That comes in the wake of widespread business closures to help protect against the virus, which has slammed collections of personal income taxes, the state sales tax and taxes on corporate income. The administration also forecasts tax collections will be $7.2 billion lower through June 30 than the $41.2 billion included the state budget Murphy proposed earlier this year. The gap is smaller by billions of dollars if the new estimate for next year is compared against this years $38.7 billion budget. Both houses of the Democratic-controlled state Legislature would have to agree to any tax hikes. The most obvious revenue raiser on the table is the millionaires tax that Murphy has long sought. The governor pushed to raise taxes on income above $1 million in New Jersey in each of his first two state budget proposals. But legislative leaders balked both times. Murphy included it again in his proposed budget plan for the next fiscal year. Its possible the pandemic could finally push it across the finish line. I personally like the notion of the folks, both individuals, companies, certain purchases, that reflect folks who have succeeded, helping us to pay ... toward shrinking the inequities in our state, he said Friday. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Murphy also included a proposal to return the sales tax to 7% in his first budget plan which lawmakers rejected. He has not included it in subsequent budget proposals, but that could be part of the conversation. The sales tax is now 6.625%. Plus, the corporate business tax is set to go down a bit this coming year, and pausing that stepdown could be considered. State Republican Committee Chairman Doug Steinhardt criticized Murphy on Friday for suggesting tax hikes. Governor Murphy is a multi-millionaire from Massachusetts and its clear he has a hard time speaking the language of New Jerseys hard working families, Steinhardt said. But I can help. When Phil Murphy says revenue raisers, thats con-man for tax hikes. Lets be clear, the chairman added. The last thing New Jersey needs is more taxes. Murphy also Friday he is asking each department in state government to find 15% in cuts. Thats never been done before, the governor said. This is a moment in history unlike any other. New Jersey on Friday reported 31 more deaths attributed to COVID-19 and 367 new positive tests. Also, hospitalizations dropped and the states rate of transmission fell to 0.98 after recently jumping back over 1 the point where every newly infected person passes the virus to at least one other person. The state of 9 million people has reported 15,479 deaths related to COVID-19 13,532 lab-confirmed and 1,947 probable with 174,628 known cases in the little more than four months since its first case was announced March 4. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. In a recent interview, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan gave a broad insight into the settlement process of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and accused the OSCE Minsk Group for its inaction on Armenia's illegal occupation of Azerbaijani lands. As Caspian News reports, President Aliyev said Azerbaijan's position is fair and any change in its position is not and will not be subjected to discussion. Because our position is the position of justice. Our position is based on both historical justice and international law, he said in an interview with local media on Monday, according to President.Az. Therefore, there can be no changes in our position, the conflict must be resolved within the territorial integrity of our country. The establishment of a second Armenian state on Azerbaijani lands will never be allowed. All occupied lands must be liberated from the occupiers, and Azerbaijani citizens must return to the lands of their ancestors. This is a principled position, and the world community supports this position. The Azerbaijani president went on to highlight two contradictory statements voiced by the Armenian leadership in violation to the international law and the main point of the decades-long political talks the statement about Nagorno-Karabakhs belonging to Armenia and the proposals for changing the format of talks. He said despite such conflicting assertions by Armenian authorities, the OSCE Minsk Group did not react adequately. The prime minister of Armenia says, Karabakh is Armenia. I answer this, and answer properly. But why doesnt the Minsk group respond to this? Why doesnt it answer that this expression violates the essence of the negotiations formed by the Minsk Group and actually makes them meaningless. Did the Minsk Group co-chairs respond adequately to this? They did not! President Aliyev said. For two years now, the Armenian side has been trying to change the format of negotiations, stating that Azerbaijan should negotiate with self-styled and fictitious leaders of the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh. Is there an adequate answer to this? There is not! he added. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in South Caucasus in the early 1990s. Following a rise in anti-Azerbaijan rhetoric, Armenia launched a full-blown military campaign against its eastern neighbor in 1991. Azerbaijans internationally acknowledged Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts fell under Armenias occupation in the wake of the war that stopped in a ceasefire in 1994. Armed forces of Armenia killed over 30,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis, including 613 that was massacred in the city of Khojaly, and displaced one million throughout the four-year bloody war. The United Nations adopted four resolutions at the height of the war in 1993 demanding immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenias forces from the occupied lands. However, Armenia has been passing over the fulfillment of the documents to date, which hinders the resolution of the conflict paving the way for regular, sometimes full-fledged skirmishes. The Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been conducting a mediation role for the conflict since 1994. Diplomats from the US, France, and Russia have been serving as the co-chairs of the group to spearhead international efforts for finding a durable solution to one of the most dangerous regional conflicts. Despite the decades-long shuttle diplomacy conducted by the group co-chairs, the resolution process did not gain a significant pace. President Aliyev said Azerbaijan expects concrete statements from the OSCE Minsk Group that would serve as a response to the contradictory addresses by the authorities of Armenia. The fictitious president of the bogus Nagorno-Karabakh republic who was not elected as a result of fictitious elections holds an inauguration ceremony in Shusha. Is there an adequate answer to this or not?! he said in the recent interview. After all, this is an open provocation. Why is there no adequate reaction to this? Why isnt it stated that this is a provocation for which Armenia will be held responsible? I am the one talking about this, but it should be them [OSCE Minsk Group] doing that if they want the issue to be resolved peacefully." What is the main thesis of their statement? A military option is impossible. Who said that? Open the UN Charter and see if countries have the right to self-defense or not? Who do you think you are?! Are you above the UN?! Are you above the UN Charter?! In this case, they should say: we, the co-chairs of the Minsk Group, believe that the thesis reflected in the UN Charter is wrong. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs issued the most recent statement on June 30 following their separate online meetings with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the joint online conference with the ministers. They voiced the traditional no military settlement address in the statement and called on the sides to beef up the ceasefire and prepare the population for peace. The separatist regime in Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region held illegal presidential elections in March and April. The inauguration of the newly elected so-called bogus president took place in May, which was participated in person by Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Despite these illegal activities in the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, the OSCE Minsk Group did not hold Yerevan accountable for violating its obligation taken as part of the negotiation process. It has just condemned the fake elections in a regular statement published to the groups website. There are almost no negotiations now. The video conferences of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have no meaning whatsoever. This simply shows that the Minsk Group is doing something. But how much longer can this last? President Aliyev said. They have now come up with the expression of substantive negotiations. They came up with this expression themselves, its essence is clear yes, without changing the format of the negotiations and without supplementing the subject of negotiations on the table. In this case, of course, we will participate in the negotiations. Otherwise, there is no need for meaningless negotiations. New Delhi: The spread of COVID-19 has not been contained in India yet, and kids in India have now been contracting a new mysterious disease known as Kawasaki Syndrome. The disease also called as the 'Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome' reportedly results in a fever and the blood vessels in the body become inflamed. The eyes also get swollen, skin gets reddish along with abdominal pain. The symptoms also show the blood pressure of children starts decreasing and they start feeling tired. Dr Rachna Sharma, Pediatrician in BL Kapoor Hospital said that there are few children in Delhi and Mumbai who have also complained of this disease's effect on their hearts. "Although the spread of this disease in children is still low, people need to be careful as this disease weakens the immune system of the body." Earlier on May 15, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a preliminary case definition and case report form for multisystem inflammatory disorder in children and adolescents. The preliminary case definition reflected the clinical and laboratory features observed in children reported till May 15 and served to identify suspected or confirmed cases both for the purpose of providing treatment and for provisional reporting and surveillance. "The case definition will be revised as more data become available," said WHO. Preliminary case definition: Children and adolescents 019 years of age with fever > 3 days and two of the following: - Rash or bilateral non-purulent conjunctivitis or muco-cutaneous inflammation signs (oral, hands or feet). - Hypotension or shock. - Features of myocardial dysfunction, pericarditis, valvulitis, or coronary abnormalities (including ECHO findings or elevated Troponin/NT-proBNP), - Evidence of coagulopathy (by PT, PTT, elevated d-Dimers). - Acute gastrointestinal problems (diarrhoea, vomiting, or abdominal pain). - Elevated markers of inflammation such as ESR, C-reactive protein, or procalcitonin. - No other obvious microbial cause of inflammation, including bacterial sepsis, staphylococcal or streptococcal shock syndromes. - Evidence of COVID-19 (RT-PCR, antigen test or serology positive), or likely contact with patients with COVID-19. Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Romania, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Romania and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The Baa3 rating of Romania is underpinned by Moody's assessment of "baa2" economic strength, balancing strong economic growth and structural weaknesses that constrain the country's potential (public infrastructure); "baa3" institutions and governance strength, balancing strong public opinion support to improve the anti-corruption framework and diminished fiscal credibility; "baa2" fiscal strength, taking into account a still relatively low debt burden and deteriorating fiscal metrics, with a widening of both the headline and the structural deficit; and "baa" susceptibility to event risk, driven by the external vulnerability risk due to a widening current account deficit. Story continues This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period. 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The 77-year-old iconic Indian actor and his son tested positive for COVID-19 and have been moved to hospital in Mumbai. Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan confirmed he has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been moved to Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai despite having mild symptoms. His 44-year old son, Abhishek, also tested positive of the virus and is admitted in the same private hospital. Irans President Hassan Rouhani said it was not possible to shut down the countrys economy despite the surge in coronavirus cases. Indias coronavirus cases surged past 800,000 with the biggest single-day spike of 27,114 cases, causing multiple states to impose lockdowns in high-risk areas. More than 12.5 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and more than 559,000 have died, according to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University. More than 6.8 million patients have recovered. Here are the latest updates. Saturday, July 11 20:00 GMT Lockdown on the cards as Kashmir virus cases top 10,000 Cases of the novel coronavirus in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir passed 10,000, as according to a government update, 268 more infections were recorded over the past 24 hours, raising the overall count to 10,156. Ten more COVID-19 patients died over the same period, bringing the death toll to 169. Official data showed that infections and fatalities have picked up over the past 10 days, with almost 3,000 cases and 69 deaths recorded since July 1. Amid rising concern among residents, authorities are now considering imposing a lockdown in the Himalayan region. 19:30 GMT Lebanon records new coronavirus infection high Lebanons number of new coronavirus infections increased for a third consecutive day to a record 86, the government said. Lebanon has recorded 2,168 infections and 36 deaths since February. Health Minister Hamad Hassan told Reuters the spike was partly due to expatriates who came after the airport was reopened on July 1. One infected 12 people at a wedding and another infected 12 at a funeral, he said. A second cluster of infections had appeared among nurses and doctors and a third among refuse collectors, he said. 19:00 GMT Disney theme parks reopen in Florida A view of Mickey Mouse sign at the Walt Disney World theme park entrance in Lake Buena Vista, Florida [Octavio Jones/AFP] Walt Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom have both reopened after nearly four months, while Epcot and Disneys Hollywood Studios will follow four days later. The reopening comes as a huge surge of Floridians have tested positive for the new coronavirus in recent weeks, with 10,000 new cases reported on Saturday. All of Disneys Orlando parks closed in mid-March in an effort to stop the viruss spread. Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando closed around the same time but reopened several weeks ago after instituting similar rules to protect employees and customers from the virus. 18:30 GMT Turkey: Coronavirus recoveries approach 200,000 A total of 1,334 people recovered from the novel coronavirus in Turkey over the past day, bringing the current total number to 193,217, said the countrys health minister. The rate of cases turning into pneumonia is decreasing in Turkey, said Fahrettin Koca. Turkey saw 1,016 more cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 211,981, the health ministry data showed. The countrys death toll from the virus rose to 5,344, with 21 daily fatalities reported. 18:00 GMT Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan tests positive for COVID-19 Iconic Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan has tested positive for COVID-19 and been moved to hospital, the actor said in a tweet late on Saturday. I have tested COVID positive shifted to hospital hospital informing authorities family and staff undergone tests, results awaited, the 77-year-old actor said in the tweet. His son Abhishek Bachchan, 44, also confirmed that he had tested positive. T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested ! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 11, 2020 17:45 GMT Brazil: Bolsonaros wife, two daughters tested negative for COVID-19 Michelle Bolsonaro, the wife of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who is sick with the new coronavirus, said she and her two daughters had tested negative for the virus. The president announced that he had tested positive on Tuesday, and said he was quarantining while also taking the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine. Michelle Bolsonaro, whose grandmother was rushed to hospital and intubated last week, made the announcement on Instagram. She has two daughters, one of whom she had with the president. 17:15 GMT US breaks own daily record for number of virus cases for third day People prepare to go tubing on Salt River amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Arizona, US [File: Cheney Orr/Reuters] The number of new confirmed coronavirus infections in the United States has gone up by about 69,000, the third day in a row the country reported its highest daily new cases. The rising numbers come amid a surge in new cases that has affected most of the 50 states in the US. As of Saturday, 3.18 million infections were recorded with more than 134,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Overall, coronavirus cases are rising in 44 states, according to a Reuters news agency analysis of cases for the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks. Read more here. 17:00 GMT Coronavirus disease kills 5 more people in Palestine, bringing total to 35 Palestinian security forces in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah create checkpoints within measures taken against the coronavirus pandemic due to increase of cases [Anadolu Agency] The Palestinian health ministry has announced five more deaths caused by the novel coronavirus on Saturday, along with 436 infections. In a statement, the ministry said four Palestinians from Hebron city and another from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank died from the disease. Palestinian authorities had reported 35 deaths of the disease and 829 recoveries among 5,827 confirmed cases. 16:45 GMT US Tribes want flexibility on virus relief funds Tribes across the United States are wrestling with competing needs, restrictive laws and inadequate staffing as they try to meet a tight federal deadline on spending billions of dollars in virus relief funds. Congress has set aside $8bn for tribes that must be spent by the end of the year and meet strict federal guidelines. Otherwise, the tribes risk having to send it back. Officials on the vast Navajo Nation have received $714m in aid but approved just $60m for healthcare, protective equipment and front-line workers against the virus. Rifts between the tribal governments legislative and executive branches have delayed putting more of the money to use. 16:00 GMT Israeli police brace for rally against corona cash crisis Israeli police officers in Tel Aviv stand guard as people gather to stage a demonstration in accordance with social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic [File: Anadolu Agency] Israeli police said they had flooded central Tel Aviv with officers and closed main thoroughfares, ahead of a rally by critics of the governments handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Hundreds of police will be deployed in a number of security cordons, a police statement said. The mission is protection of the participants and preservation of public order. Organisers of the protests said they expected thousands of Israels self-employed to turn out in protest at what they say is the governments abandonment of them after forcing their businesses to close under coronavirus regulations. 15:30 GMT Berlins football Union club plans virus tests for fans to refill stadium General view during the Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt match at the Allianz Arena in Munich, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease [File: Andreas Gebert/Reuters] Top-flight German football club Union Berlin is so keen to see its stadium filled with fans once again that it is prepared to pay for coronavirus tests for all of its staff and 22,012 season ticket holders so that they can safely pack the stands. Germanys top-flight Bundesliga resumed playing matches in May, but with strict distancing rules that restricted attendance to just a handful of officials, reporters, and camera operators. Coronavirus tests cost around $40 in April, but prices have been falling. Our stadium experience doesnt work with social distancing, and if we arent allowed to sing and shout, then its not Union, club chair Dirk Zingler said, adding that the club is prepared to carry out the costs of implementing the necessary measures ourselves. 15:00 GMT Indias Biocon secures approval use drugs on COVID-19 patients Indias Biocon Ltd has received regulatory approval for its drug Itolizumab to be used on coronavirus infected patients suffering from moderate to severe respiratory distress, the biopharmaceutical company said in a statement. The drug, which is also used to cure the skin disease psoriasis, was cleared by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for usage in India. The randomised control trial indicated that all patients treated with Itolizumab responded postively and recovered, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the firms executive chairperson. 14:44 GMT Parma staff member becomes first virus case since Seria A restart A member of the first team staff at Parma has tested positive for COVID-19, the Serie A club said, adding that all squad staff and players have returned negative results. It was the first case of the new coronavirus at any of the 20 football clubs since Seria A restarted on June 19. The person is completely asymptomatic and was promptly isolated according to federal and ministerial directives, the club said in a statement, without giving the persons identity or area of work. 13:55 GMT Bill Gates optimistic about coronavirus battle US billionaire Bill Gates said he was optimistic about the battle against COVID-19 and called for medicines and vaccines to be distributed to those who need them rather than to the highest bidders. Gates foundation pledged $7.4bn to global vaccines alliance Gavi in June to help immunisation programmes disrupted by coronavirus. If we just let drugs and vaccines go to the highest bidders, instead to the people in the place where they are most needed, we will have a longer and more unjust, deadlier pandemic, said the Microsoft founder in Saturdays video message to a virtual international conference on COVID-19 and AIDS. Hello, this is Linah Alsaafin in Doha taking over from my colleague Usaid Siddiqui. 12:42 GMT Dubai announces new economic support package, worth over $400 million Dubai has announced a new package to help the economy cope with the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, worth 1.5 billion dirhams ($408 million), the crown prince of the emirate, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum, said on Twitter. The package is the third announced by Dubai, the second-largest and wealthiest member of the United Arab Emirates federation. The three packages are worth a total of 6.3 billion dirhams, Sheikh Hamdan said. 12:20 GMT Vietnams most critical patient leaves hospital A British pilot, known as Patient 91, who was Vietnams most critical COVID-19 patient was discharged from hospital after being declared virus free. Accompanied by a group of doctors, the Scottish man left Cho Ray Hospital for Ho Chi Minh city airport, where he is set to fly back to Britain via Hanoi and Frankfurt. Im overwhelmed by the generosity of the Vietnamese people, the dedication and professionalism of the doctors and nurses, the man said in a video released by the hospital, where he was last treated. Vietnam has reported a total of 369 coronavirus cases, and has not found a new local transmitted infection in nearly three months [Manan Vatsyayana/AFP] 11:55 GMT Serbia arrests 71 over virus protest violence, including Briton Serbian police said they have arrested 71 people, including a Briton and a Tunisian, after violence broke out during a protest in Belgrade against the governments management of the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of people demonstrated in several Serbian cities on Friday for a fourth day in a row, with protesters hurling stones at police in front of parliament in the capital. Fourteen police officers were injured in Fridays clashes, and 130 since the protests began on Tuesday, the police chief said. No figures have been given for the number of injured protesters. 11:32 GMT Irans president calls for ban on weddings, wakes to halt virus spread Irans President Hassan Rouhani called for big gatherings such as weddings and wakes to be banned to stem a rise in coronavirus infections, but insisted the countrys economy had to stay open. Shortly after Rouhanis televised speech, a police official in Tehran announced the closure of all wedding and mourning venues in the capital until further notice. 11:10 GMT FC Zurich football club finds several positive tests for COVID-19 Swiss top-flight football club FC Zurich found a number of COVID-19 cases among their squad and staff after defender Mirlind Kryeziu tested positive, the club said, raising questions about whether they will be able to complete the season. The club had said on Friday that the 23-year-old defender had tested positive and that, after discussions with the local health authority, the squad had been quarantined until July 17. The teams next two games have been called off. 10:30 GMT More infections in Syrias overcrowded rebel enclave emerge At least two doctors in Syrias opposition-held northwest have been infected with the coronavirus, according to a monitoring group, raising the total number of cases in the overcrowded rebel enclave to three. The Syrian opposition and rebel groups control the Idlib area, which is home to more than three million people, most of them displaced by the war and living in camps and overcrowded facilities. 09:55 GMT Iran says cannot shut down economy despite worsening virus outbreak Iran said it cannot afford to shut down its sanctions-hit economy, even as the Middle Easts deadliest coronavirus outbreak worsens with record-high death tolls and rising infections. Iran must continue economic, social and cultural activities while observing health protocols, President Hassan Rouhani said during a televised virus taskforce meeting. The simplest solution is to close down all activities, [but] the next day, people would come out to protest the [resulting] chaos, hunger, hardship and pressure, he added. 09:20 GMT Philippines confirms 12 new coronavirus deaths, 1,387 more cases The Philippines health ministry reported 12 new coronavirus deaths and 1,387 additional infections, taking the total to 54,222 cases. The Southeast Asian nation has reported record daily high infection numbers on three of the past eight days. 08:57 GMT Bill Gates calls for COVID-19 medicines to go to people who need them Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates called for COVID-19 drugs and an eventual vaccine to be made available to countries and people that need them most, not to the highest bidder, saying relying on market forces would prolong the deadly pandemic. If we just let drugs and vaccines go to the highest bidder, instead of to the people and the places where they are most needed, well have a longer, more unjust, deadlier pandemic, Gates, a founder of Microsoft, said in a video released during a virtual COVID-19 conference organised by the International AIDS Society. Gates said efforts 20 years ago to battle the global HIV/AIDS crisis can serve as a model for making COVID-19 medicines widely accessible [File: Takaaki Iwabu/Bloomberg] 08:32 GMT Bulgaria postpones league season start amid increase of COVID-19 cases The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) postponed the start of next seasons domestic top flight by two weeks after the Balkan country saw the biggest increase of COVID-19 cases in a week. The BFUs Medical Commission submitted a proposal on Friday to the BFUs management to postpone the championships kick-off in view of the complicated epidemiological situation. 08:08 GMT Emirates to cut up to 9,000 jobs: Report Emirates has cut a 10th of its workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic in layoffs that could rise to 15 percent, or 9,000 jobs, its president said, according to a report. The Middle Easts largest carrier, which operates a fleet of 270 wide-bodied aircraft, halted operations in late March as part of global shutdowns to stem the spread of the virus. The International Air Transport Association has said airlines are in line to make a combined net loss of more than $84bn this year in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the biggest in the industrys history [File: Emirates Airlines /AFP] 07:45 GMT Russia reports 6,611 new coronavirus infections Russia reported 6,611 new coronavirus cases, taking its nationwide tally of infections to 720,547. The countrys coronavirus crisis response centre said 188 people had died from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 11,205. 07:17 GMT 4,000 volunteers to help test vaccine in Germany Some 4,000 volunteers have registered as subjects for a coronavirus vaccination study at the University Hospital in Tuebingen. Its a real luxury situation, unlike usual clinical trials, study director Peter Kremsner told DPA news agency on Friday. Normally we have trouble coming up with enough test subjects. Germanys reported death toll rose by seven to 9,118 on Saturday [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters] 06:45 GMT Bangladeshi coronavirus sufferers shun hospitals Thousands of beds for coronavirus patients in Bangladesh are lying empty despite the country struggling with a rising caseload as people are too scared to enter hospitals, officials and sufferers say. Some patients have bluntly told health workers they would rather die at home than die in a hospital, an official for a medical charity told AFP news agency. Bangladesh has registered about 180,000 COVID-19 infections, and about 3,000 new cases are being added each day, while the death toll stood at 2,275 by Friday. 06:15 GMT NHL, players approve plan to resume season, extend CBA Hockey became the latest sport to finalise a return during a global pandemic after NHL owners and players approved an agreement on Friday to resume the season and with it an assurance of labour peace through September 2026. Games are scheduled to begin on August 1 in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, with coronavirus cases in the US pushing the league into Canada for the summer and fall until the Stanley Cup is awarded in late September or early October. 05:45 GMT Panama hospitals on verge of collapse as virus cases surge Hospitals in Panama are on the brink of collapse as coronavirus cases spike in the Central American country worst hit by the pandemic, where doctors are already exhausted. With a population of four million, Panama has gone from 200 cases a day to 1,100 over the last few weeks. Our daily number of infected patients has been increasing in a sustained way to the point of passing 1,000 cases, David Villalobos, head of the intensive care unit at the Arnulfo Arias Madrid Hospital in Panama City, told AFP news agency. Hello, this is Usaid Siddiqui in Doha taking over from my colleague Zaheena Rasheed. 04:57 GMT Indias case-load surpasses 800,000 Indias coronavirus cases passed 800,000 with the biggest spike of 27,114 cases in the past 24 hours, causing nearly a dozen states to impose a partial lockdown in high-risk areas. The new confirmed cases took the national total to 820,916. The Ministry of Health also reported another 519 more deaths, taking the total to 22,123. A surge in infections saw the cases jumping from 600,000 to more than 800,000 in nine days. Eight of Indias 28 states, including the worst-hit Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, account for nearly 90 percent of all infections. Health workers arrive to screen people for COVID-19 symptoms at a slum in Mumbai, India [Rafiq Maqbool/AP] 04:32 GMT Poll shows broad disapproval of Trumps coronavirus response Nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of US President Donald Trumps handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new ABC/Ipsos poll. Some 67 percent of those surveyed said they disapproved of Trumps efforts the highest level of dissatisfaction with his response since the pandemic began. The drop was driven by plunging support among independents and even waning support among Republicans, ABC News said. 03:39 GMT French bus driver dies after attack over mask-wearing rules A French bus driver who was badly beaten by passengers for asking them to wear face masks in line with coronavirus rules has died, his family said. Philippe Monguillot, 59, was left brain dead by the attack in the southwestern town of Bayonne last weekend and died in hospital on Friday after his family decided to switch off his life-support system. Two men have been charged with attempted murder over the attack and prosecutor Jerome Bourrier told AFP news agency that he would ask for the charges to be upgraded following Monguillots death. Frances Prime Minister Jean Castex led tributes to Monguillot, calling him an exemplary citizen. 02:51 GMT Australias Victoria records another day of high cases Australias second-most populous state reported one of its highest daily increases in new coronavirus infections as it began its first weekend under a six-week lockdown. Victoria state recorded 216 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from a record 288 cases the previous day. It will get worse before it gets better, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews told a televised news conference. We will see more and more additional cases. This is going to be with us for months and months. There were 100 separate outbreaks in Victoria, the states chief health officer, Brett Sutton, told the news conference. 01:43 GMT Unexplained pneumonia in Kazakhstan likely to be COVID-19 Dr Michael Ryan, the WHOs emergencies chief, said the agency believes an unexplained pneumonia outbreak in Kazakhstan is likely due to the coronavirus. Were looking at the actual testing and the quality of testing to make sure that there havent been false negative tests for some of those other pneumonias that are provisionally tested negative, Ryan said. Ryan said the WHO was working with local authorities to review X-rays and look at the pattern of pneumonia cases to see if they were consistent with COVID-19. While we believe that many of these cases will be diagnosed as COVID-19, we keep an open mind, he said. 00:37 GMT US welcomes WHO inquiry into virus origins in China Andrew Bromberg, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said Washington welcomes the WHOs probe into the origins of the novel coronavirus in China. We view the scientific investigation as a necessary step to having a complete and transparent understanding of how this virus has spread throughout the world, he told reporters. The United States, the WHOs largest donor, this week notified the agency that it was withdrawing in a years time after accusing it of being too close to China and not doing enough to question Beijings actions at the start of the crisis. 00:20 GMT Brazils death toll surpasses 70,000 Brazil exceeded 70,000 coronavirus deaths on Friday, the health ministry said, though the number of daily fatalities appears to be stabilizing. The ministry said there had been 45,000 new infections and 1,200 deaths over the last 24 hours, taking the totals to 1.8 million cases and 70,400 deaths. Brazil is the second-worst affected country in the world after the United States. 00:02 GMT California to release 8,000 prisoners to slow pandemic The US state of California will release up to 8,000 inmates early from state prisons to slow the spread of COVID-19 inside facilities, state authorities said. Prisoners with a year or less left to serve will be eligible for release. Among prisoners excluded from early release are those convicted of violent felonies and sex crimes, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday that nearly 2,400 people in Californias 35 prisons have tested positive for the coronavirus, including 1,314 at San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco. 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, July 10, here. A 28-year-old man is accused of breaking into a woman's apartment twice in one night to sexually assault her, according to an arrest affidavit. Daniel West Rendon was charged with burglary of habitation with intent to commit felony force after his arrest on Wednesday. Police said that the victim was sleeping in her apartment on July 4, when she awoke to find an unknown man, later identified as Rendon, with his pants down and sexually assaulting her, the affidavit said. Her two children, who were in the room with her, woke up when she started screaming. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox The woman got out of bed and was able to overpower Rendon and push him out of the apartment. According to the affidavit, she did not call the police because she did not have a phone inside the apartment and returned to sleep. A short time later, she awoke to again find Rendon inside her apartment, the affidavit said. This time, he pinned her to the bed by her neck and told her he was going to sexually assault her, the affidavit continued. The victim once again overpowered Rendon to get him out of the apartment. She told police she believes Rendon got into her apartment through a patio door she later discovered was wide open. After the second incident, she used her laptop computer to video call her sister, who notified the police. During the investigation, a traffic ticket belonging to Rendon was found inside the victim's apartment, allowing police to ID Rendon, who is a registered sex offender and lives 3 miles from the woman's residence. Rendon is in the Bexar County Jail with a bail amount set at $100,000. Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway Mysuru all set to capture PM Modis Science and Technology mantra for nation Parl panel on Science and Technology meets for first time since lockdown India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 11: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Climate Change on Friday met for the first time since the lockdown due to COVID-19 was enforced on March 25, with Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu expressing happiness over the development. The panel headed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh held its first meeting since Parliament was adjourned on March 23, ahead of its scheduled time. Naidu said the delay in the resumption of parliamentary committee meetings was forced by circumstances beyond control. India may see 2.87 lakh COVID-19 cases a day by winter 2021 if no vaccine or drug treatment: MIT study "I am glad that Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committees have resumed functioning, three and half months since the last sitting of Parliament on March 23rd," he wrote on Twitter. The Rajya Sabha chairman said everyone was keen on resumption of work by these committees, "but the delay was forced by circumstances beyond our control". "Corona pandemic did cast a shadow on the working of these committees, which function on behalf of the Parliament," the vice president said. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News Naidu said all possible measures were taken to enable the committee meetings by complying with the norms of social distancing, wearing of masks etc. "I am hopeful these committees would now go about examining important issues concerning respective domains," he said. Urging Naidu for the holding of virtual meetings, Ramesh, in a tweet, said, "I would still request you Sir to allow virtual meetings given that Parliament is unlikely to meet for the next month at least." During the meeting of the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, the members held a detailed discussion over the government's preparedness and handling of COVID-19. While six members attended the meeting, presentations were given by the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), besides the principal scientific adviser to the government, on the Centre's COVID-19 preparedness, sources said. They said the members present at the meet also sought virtual deliberations. "Our Parliamentary Standing Committee is having a most informative and useful meeting with @DBTIndia @IndiaDST @CSIR_IND & @PrinSciAdvGoI on the issue of Science & Technology & COVID-19. Too bad we are not allowed to have virtual meetings so that more MPs could have participated," Ramesh wrote on Twitter. Coronavirus Vaccine: Cipla's remdesivir Cipremi launched in India, lowest priced drug for COVID-19 The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs is scheduled to meet on July 15. While the members of the panels are demanding virtual meetings, the presiding officers of both Houses of Parliament have said this requires a change of rules and endorsement by the Rules Committee of Parliament as also a nod from Parliament. 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Ashutosh Singh, divisional forest officer (DFO) for Badrinath division said that the leopard was declared a man-eater on June 30, a day after its second kill. This is the first man-eater leopard killed this year in Badrinath forest division. On June 29, when the leopard made its second kill, I wrote to the chief wildlife warden requesting the leopard to be declared a man-eater. The permission for this was received on June 30. On Saturday, the leopard was shot by shooters hired by the forest department at Narayanbagar range of Badrinath forest division, Singh said. The leopard had first killed a person on May 28 in Gairbaram area of the division, the DFO said. On July 8, a leopard which killed a two-year-old child in Udal area of Almora forest division, was also declared a man-eater by the state forest department. The department has roped in two hunters from Uttar Pradesh to hunt down the man-eater leopard that killed two people in two days this week, said forest officials. 60-year-old attacked by leopard in Nainital dies In a separate incident, a 60-year-old woman from Nainital district died in a leopard attack on Saturday morning, forest officials said. This is the second incident in Kathgodam area within 20 days when a leopard killed a woman who went to the forest to collect fodder. Earlier, on June 23, a woman who gone to the forest to cut grass in Kathgodam area was killed by a leopard. BS Mehta, ranger of Manora forest range of Nainital forest division said the recent incident happened in Goula Barrage area. The woman was identified as Pushpa Sangudi. She had gone to the forest collect fodder with four other women when the leopard suddenly pounced on her and dragged her towards the forest area. Her body was later recovered from the nearby bushes around 1.5 km away from the spot, he said. He added that officials are now planning to set up a cage near the place where the incident happened in an attempt to capture the leopard. The victims family will be given Rs 3 lakh as ex-gratia from the state forest department. So far a cheque of Rs 1 lakh has been provided to her family members, added Mehta. This is not the first such incident in the state in recent months to be reported from the Kumaon region. An 18-month-old boy was killed by leopard in Almora on July 6. On June 23, a 54-year-old woman was mauled death by a leopard in Nainital district. On June 7, a teenage girl, who was listening to music on her headphones, was attacked and mauled to death by a leopard in Ramnagar area of Nainital district. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON US 'trilateral negotiations' a 'political trick' Global Times By Huang Lanlan Source: Global Times Published: 2020/7/10 21:03:40 China is opposed to the US idea of "China-US-Russia trilateral arms control negotiations," which is neither serious nor sincere, and is no more than a political trick, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday. The remarks were made responding to the US State Department's statement on Thursday in which it "welcomed Beijing's willingness to engage in arms control talks." Fu Cong, head of the ministry's Department of Arms Control, had said on Wednesday that China has no interest in joining the negotiations. The statement reflects the US' tendency to feign innocence, said Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday. China's opposition to the negotiations is clear to the US, but the US continues to push for trilateral negotiations, and is even distorting China's standpoint, Zhao said. "We urge the US to respond positively to Russia's call for an extension of the New START [Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty], and to further reduce its huge nuclear arsenal to create conditions for other countries with nuclear weapons to join international nuclear disarmament," Zhao said. The noise the US has been making about China joining the negotiations is a tool it utilizes to hype the China factor in terms of nuclear disarmament, Chinese observers said. "Obviously, the US is eager to look for an excuse to divert the attention of the international community, and to get rid of the New START plausible," said Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute. "The US should reduce its nuclear arsenal to the Chinese level first if it really wants sincere negotiations," Zhang told the Global Times Friday. The US has a huge nuclear arsenal, with 5,800 warheads, about 20 times that of China's, according to data from international think tanks, including the Federation of American Scientists and SIPRI. China needs to improve its military capabilities, given the huge gap between the nuclear arsenal of China and those of the US and Russia, Fu said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 22:29:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Pankaj Yadav NEW DELHI, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The total number of COVID-19 cases surpassed the 800,000-mark in India on Saturday, reaching 820,916, as the total deaths stood at 22,123, according to the data released by the federal health ministry. Experts attributed the rise mainly to intensified tests nationwide and people's carelessness. According to the ministry data, 519 new deaths due to COVID-19 besides fresh 27,114 positive cases were reported during the past 24 hours across the country. This is the highest single day spike in terms of new cases in the country so far. At the present pace, the total COVID-19 cases in India are expected to cross the one-million mark in the next week, experts said, who attributed the sudden increase in the number of cases to an increase in daily testing, and also because the country decided to open up the manufacturing and trading activities, following the lockdown beginning March 25. As per federal health ministry's record, so far as many as 11,307,002 COVID-19 samples had been tested through the collective public and private labs under a diagnostic network of 1,180 labs in the country. Besides 841 government-run labs, there are 339 private labs. The per day tests are demonstrating a steep upward trend, even as over 282,500 samples are tested every day. As on date, the test per million (TPM) for the country stands at 8,193, according to the federal health ministry. Dr. Dhruv Chaudhary, the nodal officer for COVID-19 in northern state of Haryana, told Hindustan Times that the increased tests are vigorously conducted for active surveillance. "For this the central government conducted the sero-survey," he added. "Sero-survey" involves testing blood serum of people to check for the prevalence of antibodies against coronavirus infection. Another reason cited for the sudden spurt in cases is carelessness among the people in adopting precautions like wearing face-masks, maintaining social distancing, and regular use of hand-sanitizers. Only on Friday, a large religious congregation was reported from the western state of Gujarat where social distancing norms were thrown to the winds. In a bid to make it compulsory for people to wear face masks, the government of northern state of Uttar Pradesh increased the fine from 100 Indian Rupees (1.43 U.S. dollars) to 500 Indian Rupees (7 U.S. dollars) on anyone found roaming at a public place without face mask. Presently the country has entered the Unlock 2.0 phase, though restrictions remain in full force inside the COVID-19 Containment Zones. Due to the reopening of several manufacturing and economic activities across the country, people have started moving out of their houses, even as usual crowds are once again visible at the market places. Meanwhile, according to the federal health ministry, across the country the fatality rate has improved to 2.72 percent, which though is said to be lower than that observed in many other countries. A day ago, federal health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan was quoted as saying that community spread of the virus hasn't been reported yet from any part of India. The focus of COVID-19 management in India has been to keep the fatality rate low. Last week, the country's civil aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), announced that commercial international flights to and from India shall remain suspended until July 31. Uttar Pradesh, the country's biggest state in terms of population, is observing a weekend lockdown from Friday night till Monday morning, to cut the chain of transmission of the virus. Local governments at several other areas have too decided to impose a lockdown amid increasing incidence of the virus cases. Patna, the capital city of eastern state of Bihar, will be observing lockdown from July 10 to July 16, and Pune, one of the major cities in southwestern state of Maharashtra, decided to observe lockdown from July 13 to July 23. Enditem Ashwini M Sripad By Express News Service BENGALURU: The race has begun for the Youth Congress presidents post in Karnataka. In the true spirit of dynastic democracy, senior leaders are lobbying hard for their progeny, and knocking on the doors of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar. The post fell vacant in March 2020, when Basana Gouda Badarlis term ended. Four months on, the AICC is yet to decide whether to conduct elections to the post, or appoint a president for the partys youth wing in Karnataka. The list of leaders eyeing the post includes former MLA KN Rajanna, who is lobbying for his son Rajendra. Soumya Ramalinga Reddy is also a strong contender. MLA NA Haris for his son Muhammed Nalapad. National Students Union of India (Karnataka President) HS Manjunath is also said to be in the race. Manjunath is close to Shivakumar. Chances of Sowmya being appointed cannot be ruled out. She is a sitting MLA, articulate, and will be the first woman to occupy the post, if chosen, sources said. Though the age bar for the youth wing presidents post is said to be 38, the party could relax that condition, sources said. KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed told The New Indian Express that apart from Karnataka, many other states are yet to elect their youth wing presidents. The AICC will intimate the Indian Youth Congress of its decision. Right now, no decision has been taken either to nominate a leader or conduct elections, he said. The other working president, Eshwar Khandre, said that at present, the appointment of office-bearers has been put on ice by the AICC. We will wait and proceed, he added.A senior Congress leader, on condition of anonymity, said that former Congress President Rahul Gandhi is in favour of an election, while many Congress leaders, both in the State and at the Centre, are keen on nomination. We will speak with AICC to allow nominations. Moreover, during the pandemic, elections are not advisable, said the leader. Radiyah Chowdhury is the winner of the 2020 Dalton Camp Award, a prize for the best essay on the subject of media and democracy, presented by Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. She is a writer, producer and poet from Scarborough with a bachelors degree in journalism from Carleton University and currently works as Assistant Editor at Chatelaine. Ive been grappling with the decision to leave journalism for a while now. After four years of journalism school and nearly four years in the field, I cant help but think of the 17-year-old me who started this journey with the best intentions. The first time the notion of absolute objectivity was introduced to me, I sat with clammy hands and looked around the room to see if anyone else looked anxious. It was the first year of my journalism degree program at Carleton University, a mostly theoretical year when we sat in large lecture halls and absorbed the traditional values of this field. Journalism school reflected the industry at largemost of my peers were white. Objectivity as it was presented to us seemed to be tailored for a specific type of person, one whose capacity to be dispassionate about certain issues came from a place of privilege that was unfamiliar to me. As my education went on, I internalized it as a personal failing, that inability to dissociate from myself when I was on the job. These days, it feels like Canadian journalism asks something almost impossible of people of colour. It asks them to set aside the traumas they face on a daily basis for the sake of an industry largely created by white people. To legitimize viewpoints that denounce their very existence in the name of balance. To be less human in the most important ways they know how. And I dont know how to do that. As a student, I understood that a story was about the truth. I agreed with the golden tenets of fairness and accuracy, of presenting true accounts and letting readers decide for themselves. I coveted the title of journalist, seeing it as an honour and a responsibility. But anytime I tried to fit myself in the apolitical box I heard about from professors and acclaimed guest lecturers, I started to sweat again. To be racialized is to be politicized. I could walk into any room as a journalist, but by virtue of my headscarf Id be recognized as a Muslim woman first. I was taught to present both sides of a story, but what would I do in situations where one of those sides threatened my ability to live peacefully in a democratic society, like the secularism law passed in Quebec? How could I give vitriol and racism a platform when covering political movements that aimed to effectively legislate Islamophobia, like Stephen Harpers 2015 Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, which legitimized unfounded fears of Islam? It seemed like at some point, the sacrifice Id make to be a mainstream journalist would be to quiet the human side of myself. In fact, I would have to work twice as hard to be considered a fair journalist, lest I be accused of bias by way of my ethnicity and faith. I struggled with this, fearing I could never be a good journalist because I would never be able to achieve the objective lens my white peers seemed to don effortlessly. It didnt help that I rarely met other journalists from racialized backgrounds who could offer the support I was unable to get from my white professors, and later co-workers, because they simply never had to consider this reality. Earlier this year, the Canadian Association of Black Journalists and Canadian Journalists of Colour released a white paper on Canadian media diversity, along with calls to action. According to the document, there hasnt been research on Canadian newsroom demographics since the mid-2000s (a 2004 study by Ryerson University professor emeritus John Miller found that people of colour made up 3.4 per cent of staff at Canadian newspapers). A 2010 study of media organizations in the Greater Toronto Area found that people of colour occupy just 6.1 per cent of all seats on their boards of directors, even though they represent approximately 40 per cent of the GTAs population. More recently, an academic study led by Ryerson University professors Asmaa Malik and Sonya Fatah on the demographic makeup of columnists at Canadas major newspapers found there was no representation of Black women, Indigenous people, Latin Americans, Middle Eastern people, North Africans or non-cisgender people from 1998 to 2018. In the last census done by Statistics Canada in 2016, it was revealed that more than a fifth of Canadians are people of colour. By 2036, those numbers are projected to be about a third of the population. Malik and Fatahs research showed these demographic changes were not reflected in the makeup of Canadian columnists. Conversely, in the 21 years of columns from major newspapers that they studied, they found that as the population of white people in Canada declined, the representation of white columnists actually increased. Journalism has long been called the fourth estate, a democratic cornerstone. But democracy is for all people. And if journalists, and media by extension, are meant to be representative of the public, that should extend to representation within journalism itself. I would venture further and say that the pervasive lack of diversity in newsrooms and journalism institutions is a continuous failure on our part to uphold a true Canadian democracy. While hiring more Indigenous, Black, and people of colour at news organizations is important, its not nearly enough. Are any of these hires board members with the power to decide what gets covered and how? Are they temporary, casual, contractual? After all, hiring is one thing, but retention is another. My close friends in journalism school were people of colour, but I am the only one who remains in this industry. I dont blame them for leaving. In a post written in 2018, former Globe and Mail reporter Sunny Dhillon addressed why he quit his job after a disagreement with his editors over the way a local election story was framed. Dhillon conducted interviews and prepared to tell the story of a nearly all-white council being elected in a city where 45 per cent of people are of Asian descent, and not a single such person was on the council. It was only after he began writing that he was instructed to focus less on race and more on the fact that eight of the 10 councillors elected were women. When he pushed further, the bureau chief said something very telling. The newsroom, she told him, was not a democracy. To be a journalist of colour can be to walk a tightrope, Dhillon wrote. On which issues do you weigh in? On which issues do you not? To appeal to mainstream journalism is to appeal to a white audience, as the gatekeepers of this industry are still hegemonic. BuzzFeed writer Scaachi Koul touched on this after many prominent Canadian newsroom managers voiced their support for an appropriation prize. This came after Hal Niedzviecki resigned as editor of The Writers Union of Canada magazine, Write, shortly after writing a piece in which he said he didnt believe in cultural appropriation, and that writers should aspire to win the Appropriation Prize. As Koul pointed out, this was in an issue dedicated to Indigenous writing. Niedzvieckis resignation is what prompted these managers to take up the cause of a hypothetical appropriation prize, many of them pledging money from their own pockets to help create it. I remember watching this unfold on Twitter in real time, noting the organizations these folks came fromCBC, Macleans, The National Post, Rogers Media and feeling the return of that familiar anxiety Id come to expect in my time as a journalist. Niedzviecki recognized that most of Canadian literature comes from white, middle-class writers. But rather than calling for more diverse voices, he told them to continue writing about what you dont know. Forget the people who can actually speak to these experiences because they come from these varied cultures and identities. Instead, white writers should try harder to appropriate realities theyll never knowand those newsroom managers supported this sentiment. What does that mean for the organizations they influence? What does that mean for their hiring practices? We know this is how white editors sometimes talk about us, that were aggressive, or irrational, that we ask for too much or were SJWs trying to maintain PC cultures, Koul wrote. This Twitter thread, though possibly glib, told all of us that we were right the whole time: They do talk about us like this when were not listening. The uncomfortable truth many news organizations are unwilling to accept is that the Canadian media frequently perpetuates racism and discrimination. Objectivity, quite frankly, doesnt existat least not the utopian version taught to fresh-eyed rookies. Everyone brings themselves to the job. Its just easier to appear objective if the norm is white and the people doing the work are white. The truth about Canadian media is that fairness and accuracy, while honourable things to aspire to, arent being upheld. If you come from a place of privilege, one where your identity and community arent regularly disparaged in mainstream media, the oversight in coverage is inevitable. Take, for example, the way ideological violence by Muslim and non-Muslim perpetrators is covered in Canadas national news media. Acts of violence by Muslims received 1.5 times more coverage, on average, than those by non-Muslims. Where a Muslim was involved, the word terrorism was more likely to be used, and Muslim perpetrators were likely to be labelled more by their religion and ethno-racial identities. Then theres the racialization of crime. Sociologist Dennis Rome wrote that contemporary news media have given crime a black face. A common practice is using mugshots as feature images in articles about Black perpetrators of crime, but family photos when the perpetrator is white. Studies show that in high-profile cases involving Black offenders and white victims, Canadian newspapers suggested a link between Black criminality and immigration, stoking anti-Black and anti-immigration sentiment. It was also found that newspapers were more lenient with white offenders, attributing their behaviour to mental health issues and individualized rationalizations a luxury not given to racialized offenders. Fighting against entrenched modes of operation is exhausting, as any journalist of colour will tell you. It doesnt help that when we speak out against prejudice or racism, we risk losing our jobs. In this muzzling of what we know to be true for the sake of objectivity, to retain our jobs or to uphold a legacy of traditional journalism taught to us, we are asked to erase ourselves. We are asked to pick a side. I often think about an event I attended in journalism school. Kathy Gannon, who was wounded while reporting from Afghanistan for Associated Press, was taking questions from the audience. A man went up to the microphone and asked her a question: How do you go about managing your values in relation to the Afghan people? When prompted, he elaborated, Religious values. I sat in that auditorium with clammy hands, glancing around the room to see if anyone else looked anxious. At that moment, a very clear distinction between us and them was made. I didnt realize it at that time, but Id be living in that distinction for the rest of my career. I remember wondering if I could be considered part of us because I was there as a journalist, or if I was part of them, discussing a country where the majority of people share my faith. Journalism needs to change and adapt. It asks an impossible task of people of colour. It drives us away, to industries where we dont feel the need to justify what we know to be wrong and harmful to a democratic society. Where we dont have to hide. As long as this industry fails us, it fails to uphold its role as the fourth estate. In Dhillons piece, he poses a question: How many battles do you have in you? The truth is, I wish I could say. But I dont know how many I have left. Joe Biden laid out plans to revive the economy and slammed President Trump in a speech in Dunmore, Pa., on Thursday. (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press) Joe Biden laid out a populist economic vision on Thursday, starting with a $700-billion proposal to reinvigorate the nation's manufacturing sector, and laced into President Trump for being out of touch with the challenges facing the American public. Speaking at a metal works plant in Dunmore, Pa., the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said the barrage of crises pummeling the nation the coronavirus pandemic, the subsequent economic fallout, the turmoil over racial injustice offer an opportunity for sweeping improvement to "build back better," as he dubbed his recovery plan. "This is our moment to imagine and to build a new American economy for our families and for our communities an economy where every American has the chance to get a fair return for the work they put in, an equal chance to get ahead," he told his socially distanced audience of about 50 people. By turning his focus to the economy, Biden aims to chip away at one of the few advantages the president still has. Polls have shown voters continue to trust Trump more to handle the economy than Biden, though overall the former vice president has built steady advantages in the national matchup, battleground states and key demographics such as women and senior citizens. The manufacturing proposal, the first plank of four initiatives Biden is planning to roll out in the coming weeks, includes spending $300 billion on research and development projects in clean energy, telecommunications, artificial intelligence and other fields. He would also commit to $400 billion in his first term for federal procurement of American-made products ranging from clean vehicles to construction materials. The promise of government purchases, the campaign said, will give businesses confidence to hire additional workers. The campaign did not specify how it would pay for the new spending, but Biden has broadly endorsed rolling back some of the Trump administration's tax cuts and said in his speech he would increase the corporate tax rate to 28%. (Trump and Republicans cut that rate from 35% to 21% in 2017.) Story continues The Biden plan also aims to boost domestic production by tightening rules on what products can be designated "made in America" and updating international trade rules around government procurement. It also includes previously announced measures to manufacture more medical equipment and other critical supplies to battle pandemics, after the U.S. reliance on international supply chains proved to be faulty in the current coronavirus crisis. For months, the former vice president has signaled a shift in his economic thinking spurred by the public health and financial crises gripping the country. Instead of promising a return to normalcy which defined his message during the presidential primary Biden began talking up bold, transformational change as necessary to address the upheaval brought by the coronavirus. The manufacturing proposal offers a glimpse at how Biden is translating that rhetoric into policy. Much like Trump in his 2016 campaign, Biden struck a populist tone, promising to advocate for the American worker who has seen manufacturing job prospects decline in the globalized economy. But Biden used that line to draw a contrast with his opponent, painting Trump as siding with elites and showing little interest in learning about the stresses faced by everyday Americans. He promised "an economy that says investing in American people and working families is more important than the nearly $2 trillion in tax breaks, predominantly handed out to the super-wealthy. "Donald Trump loves to talk and talk and talk, but after 3 years of big promises, what do the American people have to show for all the talk?" he said. Never shy to use his biography to punctuate a point, Biden referenced chapters in his own life his middle-class upbringing in nearby Scranton, his experience as a single father raising two young sons after his first wife died in a car accident to show his familiarity with the challenges many are facing. Trump, he said, couldn't relate. "It's unconscionable that he doesn't even try to understand or empathize with the struggling of so many millions of people out there," he said. He excoriated Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 130,000 people in the U.S., and accused him of stoking tensions in the current reckoning over racial justice. "Thats the tragedy of Donald Trump being our president today," he said. "He is exactly the wrong person to lead us at this moment." In a sign of how crucial Pennsylvania, a longtime blue state that flipped to Trump in 2016, will be in November, Vice President Mike Pence was also in the state on Thursday, meeting with business leaders in Malvern to discuss reopening the American economy and schools. Pence spoke optimistically about the country's economic prospects, saying he sees this country coming back because of the solid foundation that was put in place by the White House's pre-coronavirus accomplishments, such as tax cuts, rollbacks of regulation and negotiations of new trade deals. He repeatedly knocked Biden, warning that the Democrat would hike taxes and carry out a "government takeover of healthcare." Biden's speech came one day after his campaign, in a joint effort with his former rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, released policy recommendations for the Democratic Party policy platform. Like Biden's manufacturing proposal, the recommendations embrace robust government action but steer clear of some of the more sweeping, and controversial, items on progressives' wish list, such as "Medicare for all," a Green New Deal or defunding the police. The framework was created by six task forces composed of Biden and Sanders allies, which was meant to smooth over lingering tensions from the Democratic primary. Biden commended their work as "helping build a bold, transformative platform for our party and for our country." "And I am deeply grateful to Sen. Sanders," he said in a statement, "for working together to unite our party, and deliver real, lasting change for generations to come. Sanders, acknowledging the policy disputes he had with Biden, also complimented the outcome. "Though the end result is not what I or my supporters would have written alone, the task forces have created a good policy blueprint that will move this country in a much-needed progressive direction and substantially improve the lives of working families throughout our country," he said. Some in the party's left flank say they're heartened by the moves Biden has made so far to follow through on his pledge for aggressive action. "Bidens bold moves recently seem less like a political hat tip to progressives and more him rising to this moment were living in," said Adam Green, co-founder of Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a left-leaning group allied with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Green applauded Biden's manufacturing plan for drawing inspiration from Warren's proposal to use federal procurement to plow money into American-made products. The other pillars of Biden's economic plan, to be detailed in future speeches, include developing clean energy and sustainable infrastructure, building up a workforce of caregivers and educators, and advancing racial equity. Naya Rivera's Glee castmate Matthew Morrison looked somber while spotted out on Saturday. The actor, 41, kept his head down during a trip to Home Depot and though his face was covered with a mask, it was clear his emotions were weighing heavy. Morrison's outing comes amid fears that Rivera is dead after disappearing while out boating at Lake Piru in Ventura with her 4-year-old son Josey on Wednesday. Somber: Naya Rivera's Glee castmate Matthew Morrison was seen out amid fears the actress is dead after four days missing Anxious: Morrison's outing comes amid fears that Rivera is dead after disappearing while out boating at Lake Piru in Ventura with her 4-year-old son Josey on Wednesday Morrison and Rivera starred on the musical hit Glee from 2009 to 2015, both core members of the cast. The search for the Glee star, 33, entered its fourth day Saturday following her Wednesday disappearance. Son Josey was found alone in a rental boat that evening with no sign of his mother, who is now presumed dead. Ventura County Sheriff's Department shared footage of the 'difficult' search for the missing actress on Twitter Friday night, which has been hampered by the poor visibility of the lake's murky waters. Low-key: The actor, 41, kept his head down during a trip to Home Depot and though his face was covered with a mask, it was clear his emotions were weighing heavy Co-stars: Morrison and Rivera starred on the musical hit Glee from 2009 to 2015, both core members of the cast Unclear: The search for the Glee star, 33, entered its fourth day Saturday following her Wednesday disappearance Footage has been released in the underwater hunt (pictured) for Naya Rivera's body as authorities warn she could be found 'five minutes from now or five days from now' Missing: The search for the Glee star, 33, (pictured) entered its fourth day Saturday. She's seen in September 2019 above The video shows the imagery picked up around 30 foot deep in the water. In it, authorities point to a tree limb which looks like nothing more than a long dark shape given the water's poor visibility, highlighting the challenges divers are facing in trying to find the missing mother-of-one. 'Here's an example of the underwater visibility at a 30-foot depth in Lake Piru,' the Sheriff's Department tweeted. A second social media post shows footage of the a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) being lowered into Lake Piru and details that specialized equipment including sonar, divers and dogs have also been deployed in the hunt. 'Here's the ROV used by @TulareSheriff in the search for Naya Rivera at Lake Piru today,' the Sheriff's Department wrote. The video shows the imagery picked up around 30 foot deep in the water A second social media post shows footage of the ROV being lowered into Lake Piru Crew drop the ROV into the water in the hunt for the missing mother-of-one With almost zero visibility, human divers are resorting to search by feel, meaning it could take several days before crews can locate her body, Eric Buschow, Ventura County Sheriff's Office spokesman said at a press conference Friday evening. 'We don't know if she's going to be found five minutes from now or five days from now, so we're still going to be continuing this effort,' he said. 'The visibility in the water is one to two feet,' Buschow added. Buschow said 'promising' images had shown up on the sonar Thursday night but when the ROV was dropped into the water the objects turned out not to be Rivera. 'What they do is they go out and they tow these devices in the water that scan the bottom of the lake for any objects that might look like a body. 'Last night, they had a couple of images that showed up on the sonar that they thought might be promising to investigate,' he said. Ventura County Sheriff Department senior deputy Larry Hanson looks at the surface of the Lake Piru from a boat as the search continued Friday A search boat out on the lake, where the Glee star vanished Wednesday With almost zero visibility, human divers are resorting to search by feel The Sheriff's Department continue their hunt for Rivera Friday (above) before it resumed at 6a.m. Saturday 'This morning, they sent an ROV, or a small robotic device, down into the water to examine those objects. Unfortunately, they did not locate Naya Rivera. They are still searching.' Buschow admitted the conditions of the lake made the search 'difficult' but said he is confident Rivera's body will be recovered. 'It's very effective,' he said of the sonar system. 'They get a really detailed image and they can go down and focus on specific things rather than putting divers in the water where they're literally feeling around because they can't see.' The search resumed at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, with authorities now focusing on the north and east sides of the lake, based on where the boat was found and the currents of the water. It could take several days before crews can locate her body, Eric Buschow, Ventura County Sheriff's Office spokesman said at a press conference Friday evening (pictured) A search helicopter is seen over the lake. Buschow said 'promising' images had shown up on the sonar Thursday night but when the ROV was dropped into the water the objects turned out not to be Rivera This diagram shows where Naya Rivera and her son rented a boat on Lake Piru before the four-year-old was seen alone. The map in the top left shows the location of the lake in relation to Los Angeles where Rivera lives A specially-trained dog is also being used in the search to sniff above the water's surface and alert handlers to a body beneath. Authorities confirmed the mission had shifted to a recovery Thursday as hope of finding Rivera alive vanished. The actress's distraught family said they just 'wish' she could be found so they could get some 'closure' over what is believed to have been a tragic drowning accident. A man thought to be 65-year-old Arnold Dorsey, the father of Rivera's ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and the grandfather to Josey, told The Sun the whole family was 'sad' and were rallying around Rivera's son. The actress's distraught family said they just 'wish' she could be found so they could get some 'closure' over what is believed to have been a tragic drowning accident. Rivera pictured with son Josey A man thought to be 65-year-old Arnold Dorsey (pictured above with Josey), the father of Rivera's ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and the grandfather to Josey, told The Sun the whole family was 'sad' and were rallying around Rivera's son 'We are sad, we just wish they could find her so we can have some closure,' he said outside Rivera's mother Yolanda's home in Valencia. He said Josey was having some 'good days' after the four-year-old's terrifying ordeal. 'We still have good days [with him], I can't make any other comment at this time.' Josey was found asleep and alone on the rental boat Wednesday evening. He told police his mother had 'jumped' into the water to go swimming and never came back, but police admitted it was 'challenging' to interview a four-year-old. The lake was said to be a sanctuary for Rivera and somewhere she had been going to for years. However, the waters are also known for their rip currents and for being full of debris, and eight people have drowned there since 1994. Authorities have said there is no evidence of foul play or suicide and that everything points to the young star accidentally drowning. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office released CCTV footage showing Naya Rivera and her four-year-old son arriving at the dock on Lake Piru on Wednesday (Newser) Roger Stone won't be going to jail after all. On Friday evening, President Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime confidant, a move that came just days before the 67-year-old was to report to prison in Georgia. Stone was sentenced in February to three years and four months in prison for lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. He was set to report to prison by Tuesday, per the AP. story continues below "Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Grant of Clemency commuting the unjust sentence of Roger Stone, Jr," said a White House statement, according to Politico. The statement said Stone was "a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years." The move, short of a full pardon, is sure to anger critics who have railed against the presidents interventions in the nations justice system. (Read more Roger Stone stories.) A private hospital company that aided the NHS during its battle with Covid-19 is set to be sold after the collapse of its former owner earlier this year. City sources said the administrators to NMC Health, which folded amid allegations of fraud, have appointed advisers from US firm Perella Weinberg to find a buyer for Aspen Healthcare as part of a break-up of the stricken company. Gulf-based NMC Health bought Aspen Healthcare in 2018 for 10million from Tenet Healthcare as part of its expansion into the UK. It runs eight private hospitals in Britain which have provided support to the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic. On the front line: NMC Health runs eight private hospitals in Britain which have provided support to the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic NMC Health was set up in 1975 by Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, an Indian pharmacist, who emigrated to the United Arab Emirates. Initially, the company focused on running private hospitals in the UAE. Shetty floated NMC Health on the London Stock Exchange in 2012. It grew to become one of the world's largest privately-owned hospitals through a series of mergers and acquisitions, including fertility clinics in Spain. NMC Health was promoted to the FTSE100 index in 2017 and grew to have around 20,000 medical staff across almost 20 countries. However, in April this year NMC Health collapsed into administration when it emerged it had amassed a debt pile of $6.6billion (5.2billion) far bigger than previously disclosed. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank is owed around $1 billion (800 million) and launched a criminal complaint against several members of the group's senior management and some shareholders in Abu Dhabi. Shetty was forced to step down as chairman amid the allegations. The collapse of NMC Health came after Muddy Waters, the US short seller run by Carson Block, issued a critical report on the company and its finances. Recent reports suggested Alvarez & Marsal, administrators to NMC Health, hired Perella Weinberg to run a separate sale of the company's international fertility business which could be worth more than $500million. NMC Health acquired a controlling stake in Spain-based fertility business Clinica Eugin in 2015 and has IVF operations in several other countries, such as Sweden, Latvia and Colombia. A spokesperson for NMC Health and the administrators at Alvarez & Marsal declined to comment. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-12 05:03:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Peter Mertz DENVER, the United States, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Some 180 academic institutions in the United States joined the avalanche of opposition to the Trump administration's controversial visa policy for int'l students, according to an amicus brief document filed to the Massachusetts federal district court and released to the public on Friday. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a new visa policy for international students and this move prompted Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to launch a legal action against it. The 22-page document issued by the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration representing 180 higher education institutions showed a nationwide support for rescinding the guidance. "ICE's new policy serves only to severely disrupt international students' educational attainment, and our country is worse off for it," said Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration in a statement posted on the group's official website. "This quasi-international student ban represents another unfortunate assault by the administration against immigrants and higher education," she added. The Alliance is composed of over 450 presidents and chancellors of public and private colleges and universities, representing over 5 million students in 41 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. The extraordinary number of colleges and universities pooling together so quickly is indicative of the serious nature of the opposition to the brash move, academic pundits said. The ICE announced on Monday that students currently in the United States on F-1 and M-1 visas must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status, if their schools' classes are entirely online in the fall semester. The measure also stipulated that those in violation would risk "immigration consequences, including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings." The White House defended the action Wednesday. In academic circles, the decision hit a stone wall. As of Saturday, hundreds of thousands of signatures have been collected online from supporters of several open letters and petitions that slammed the Trump administration's decision. The University of Southern California (USC), where a total of 12,265 international students were enrolled during the 2019-20 academic year with around 7,000 from China, announced on Wednesday it had joined an amicus brief strongly supporting the lawsuit filed by Harvard and MIT. The University of California (UC) also announced plans to file suit against ICE. The UC's 2019 fall enrollment data showed that 27,205 of the university's 226,125 undergraduate students are non-resident international, while 13,995 of the university's 58,941 graduate students are non-resident international. "I am deeply concerned about the timing, motivation, and substance of this government action," said Alan W. Cramb, president of Illinois Institute of Technology in the statement released by the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. "Our university, our city, and our nation are profoundly enriched by the contributions of international students. We stand with them and higher education institutions across the nation to ensure that America continues to be a place where all are welcomed and encouraged in their pursuit of educational excellence." The public health danger was highlighted by Danny J. Anderson, president of Trinity University, in the statement. "While so many people in the United States are suffering and recovering from COVID-19, it is even more important that campuses protect and ensure the health and safety of their students," he wrote. "By issuing such ill-advised guidance, the administration is in effect pressuring campuses to reopen prematurely, thereby endangering their students' health; or to deport their international students, placing their international students' health in danger. " "This ICE policy will have far-reaching detrimental effects on our students and communities," noted Wake Forest University President Nathan O. Hatch, who urged more schools to join the movement and to "resist new federal restrictions that threaten the education and wellbeing of international students." The harshest assessment of the new restrictions came from Dwight A. McBride, president of The New School, who was quoted by the statement as saying "The proposed ICE guidelines are cruel, unnecessary and deeply flawed - for students, for higher education, and for the country." "Caught in the crosshairs of politics, dedicated scholars and future leaders who contribute mightily to U.S. culture and the economy could be exiled from the country they have seen as a haven. We need to be building educational bridges for our students right now, not bureaucratic trap doors." he concluded. Enditem Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed for providing real-time national-level monitoring and guidance to all Covid-19 affected states of the union of India with special focus on areas with a high positivity rate for the disease. PM Modis intervention was made during a high-level meeting he chaired on Saturday to review the status of the coronavirus pandemic situation in India. PM Modi is also reported to have praised the authorities for their coordinated efforts to contain the pandemic in Delhi and asked for the adoption of a similar approach in the national capital region (NCR) comprising several districts of UP, Rajasthan and Haryana adjoining the national capital. PM appreciated the concerted efforts of the Centre, State & local authorities in containing the pandemic in Delhi. He further directed that a similar approach should be adopted with other State Governments in containing Covid19 in the entire NCR area, an official communication by the PMO said. Watch | PM Modi lauds Delhis approach during review meet for Covid preparedness With record 27,114 new Covid-19 cases in a day, Indias tally tops 8.20 lakh The review meeting was also attended by union home minister Amit Shah, union health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, member, NITI Aayog, cabinet secretary and other senior officials of the government of India. While taking stock of the situation in various parts of the country, the prime minister directed for a renewed emphasis on the need to observe personal hygiene and social discipline in public places. This he indicated should be done through renewal of awareness campaigns about Covid and methods to prevent its spread. He said that there is no room for any complacency in this regard. During the meeting, the Ahmedabad model of home-based care through Dhanvantri Rath and surveillance was picked up for special commendation for its success in containment of the disease and it was directed that it may be emulated in other places. The review meeting came on a day when Indias Covid-19 tally went past the eight-lakh mark with a record single-day increase of 27,114 cases. The rapid rise in cases can be gauged from the fact that it took just four days to record one lakh new cases after the seven-lakh mark. Also Read: Share inspiring anecdotes that have changed lives: PM Modi calls for ideas for Julys Mann Ki Baat The total coronavirus caseload in the country now stands at 8,20,916 including the death toll of 22,123. Over 500 patients of the disease succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours. This was the eighth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases in the country increased by more than 22,000. Florida Police Department to Send Social Workers to Non-Violent Calls A police department in Florida is opting to send city employees to respond to 911 calls that dont involve violence. The employees will work for a new division within the St. Petersburg Police Department called the Community Assistance Liaison. It was described by the police department as a social service agency. Starting Oct. 1, instead of sending a police officer, a member from the new agency will respond to a range of issues, including drug overdoses, suicide calls, and panhandling. Homeless complaints, disorderly juvenile calls, and calls for an intoxicated person are among the other issues the unarmed social workers will respond to instead of armed officers. These are non-violent calls. These are calls that people are asking for help, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said at a press conference this week. What will happen is, when people call 911hopefully effective Oct. 1, when we find someonethose groups will go to those calls. They will go and assist those people that are in need. And the best thing about that is, theyll be able to follow up the next day with that child. Holloway said the death of George Floyd, a black man, in police custody death in Minneapolis on Memorial Day sparked discussions among officials on how to change the Florida department. Our common goal is very simple: our citizens are asking for change. The city of St. Petersburg, and the police department, is ready for that change. The liaison workers are being paid with funds that were previously allocated for hiring more police officers, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, a Democrat, said at the briefing. Police cars in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sept. 9, 2017. (Brian Blanco/Getty Images) The program will free officers to spend more time walking around communities, Kriseman said. The new group will have 18 to 20 people who work from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., police officials said. According to data released by the police department, 12,700 calls for the issues that will now receive a response from social workers took place in 2019. Thats 4 percent of the total 911 calls. The department will monitor the new protocol for one year to determine if the new approach is successful. Its possible officers will be dispatched with Community Assistance Liaison members, depending on the results. A police officer will always be dispatched to violent or life-threatening situations, the department emphasized. Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association, the police union for the region, came out in support of the move. We believe this will reduce strain in police resources, reduce risks to our member officers, and better outcomes for our most vulnerable citizens that we serve, Jonathan Vazquez, president of the union, said in a statement to news outlets. St. Petersburg officers are also undergoing increased training in de-escalation and self-defense training while a civilian is being added to the hiring board from either the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Urban League, Faith Leaders, and Leadership St. Petersburg. Damascus, July 11 : Battles between the Syrian army and the Islamic State (IS) terror group have renewed in the desert region in the eastern part of the country, a war monitor reported. The battles renewed in the town of Sukhneh in the remote eastern countryside of Homs province near the administrative border of Deir al-Zour, Xinhua news agency quoted the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying on Friday. The UK-based watchdog group said Russian warplanes were raiding the IS positions while the battles were ongoing with no reports on casualties yet. On July 7, the observatory said the IS militants were launching attacks on the Syrian army positions in a triangle of areas combining countryside areas of Aleppo, Hama, and Raqqa provinces. It said 601 Syrian and pro-government soldiers have been killed in the battles with IS militants in the desert since March. It added that 256 IS militants have been killed as well. After losing key areas across the country, the IS now has a presence in the Syrian desert region in Homs and Deir al-Zour. After the great recession, the American economy rebounded faster and stronger than the euro zone, raising doubts over the effectiveness of the European social model. As Europe emerges from the first wave of the Covid-19 epidemic in better shape than the U.S., its combination of welfare states and strong public health systems suddenly seems appealing again. The U.S. is still struggling to contain outbreaks in several states from Texas to Florida, whose health-care systems are being pushed to the brink. The federal government has failed to articulate a unified message for the country, as state governors have taken conflicting decisions on the length and strictness of their lockdowns. Meanwhile, in most European countries, the situation appears under control. From Germany to Greece, countries are dealing with a handful of flare-ups, but theyre being contained by localized restrictions. Governments have reopened their economies steadily, without causing a new surge of infections. The sacrifices of months of lockdown appear to be paying off for now. Europes economy also appears to be improving. The euro zone is in the middle of a very steep recession, and the European Commission expects the blocs gross domestic product to fall by nearly 8% in 2020. The difficulties in other parts of the world in managing the pandemic will weigh on exports and especially on tourism. But restaurants, bars and shops dont seem to be heading for a mass round of fresh lockdowns, unlike in the U.S. Domestic demand, from consumers and governments, should keep recovering as long as the pandemic is kept in check. Europes labor market institutions are cushioning the blow. Countries from Germany and France to Italy and the U.K. have generous furlough schemes, where governments are subsidizing workers for the hours theyre not employed. Companies can keep more employees on their payroll without triggering a downward spiral of unemployment and falling demand. As the economy restarts, businesses arent having to go through the long and costly process of rehiring workers. The biggest problem for Europe will be making sure this doesnt turn into never-ending life support for unviable companies and industries. The experience of the euro zone and U.S. labor markets since the pandemic shows the difference of the two approaches. The U.S. unemployment rate stood at 11.1% in June, up from 3.5% in February. The actual number was probably worse. Jason Furman and Wilson Powell III at the Peterson Institute of International Economy believe the realistic unemployment rate was 13% in June, correcting for misclassification errors. The data dont take into account the worsening medical crisis in the second half of June, which has prompted a number of states to reverse their reopening plans. The euro area unemployment rate has risen much less: It climbed to 7.4% in May, up from 7.2% in February. This divergence is the result of the euro zones use of furlough schemes, which have covered more than 35 million people in the blocs five largest economies. A group of economists at the European Central Bank found that these salary-support programs buffered the impact of the epidemic on households disposable income. In the absence of these benefits, the drop of worker income across the euro area would have been 22% during the lockdowns. Thanks to the governments measures, it was only 7% although there were differences between member states, with Germans receiving the most help. The problem for Europe is that these schemes are very expensive and provide perverse incentives for companies and workers, who may be in no hurry to return to the their jobs. Employers will still need to adapt to the new economic reality post-Covid, whether thats downsizing to reflect lower demand or changing their business models. The longer the furloughs last, the more this process will be delayed. Thats especially true in countries such as Italy, which have banned companies from firing workers. This doesnt mean furloughing is a bad idea. But governments need to accompany them with active labor market policies, such as retraining those who are likely to become unemployed. In the past, these areas of spending have been neglected in those countries that have been worst affected by the crisis, such as Italy and Spain. Their reopenings might be especially tough. The euro zone deserves two cheers for its health-care and labor institutions, which have helped it to weather the pandemic better than the U.S. However, it needs to ensure it doesnt merely prop up zombie companies. Freezing the jobs market makes sense in the short term, but its not a viable long-term strategy. Ferdinando Giugliano writes columns and editorials on European economics for Bloomberg View. He is also an economics columnist for La Repubblica and was a member of the editorial board of the Financial Times. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 19:34:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAMASCUS, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of six Syrian soldiers were wounded on Saturday by a land mine explosion in the country's northwestern province of Idlib, a war monitor reported. The land mine ripped through a group of Syrian soldiers in the village of Mardabseh in the southeastern countryside of Idlib amid reports of casualties, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. On July 8, two pro-government fighters were killed in a similar explosion in the eastern countryside of Hama province near Idlib. Meanwhile, the observatory said the Syrian army shelled rebels' positions in the southern countryside of Idlib after midnight. It added that both the rebels and the Syrian army exchanged fire northwest of Hama on Saturday morning. Areas in Idlib and Hama provinces are included in a cease-fire agreement brokered by Turkey and Russia in March. However, activists report daily violations by both sides without airstrikes. Enditem (Photo : Shapr / Facebook) Amazon is changing their minds on the TikTok ban. Within a few hours last Friday, online selling marketplace Amazon prohibited, then unbanned the video sharing platform TikTok from mobile devices of employees. The latest: Amazon officials called the decision a "mistake," Epoch Times reported. During the decision to ban, the news gained media attention for the social media app after the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the United States wants to, once and for all ban TikTok, since it seems to be sharing information from Chinese authorities, particularly government information. The initial decision had tech specialists baffled about the reason why. However, the media have reported that this was due to "security reasons." Eventually, the decision to prohibit TikTok in the workplace was reversed, an email forwarded to the company employees clarified. Confused business partners Earlier during the week, Wells Fargo has already sent a memo to employees asking them to uninstall the app from their devices because of the issue and the decision. "Due to concerns about TikTok's privacy and security controls and practices, and because corporate-owned devices should be used for company business only, we have directed those employees to remove the app from their devices," Wells Fargo released the statement. According to a TikTok spokesman, they have not been contacted or coordinated with by Wells Fargo, "but as with any organization that has concerns, we are open to engaging with them constructively and letting them know about the actions we have taken to protect data security for our users." Handling of data issues TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a firm based in China, and has recently been situated under scrutiny for data handling across its worldwide users. It is one of the fastest growing platforms across the globe. It could be remembered that India also banned TikTok last month. In particular, the app said their user data is stored in the U.S., and while this is the case, it had a backup copy located in Singapore. In Virginia state, the user data is within the data center in the Google Cloud. With regards to this, TikTok has not commented. As of press time, Google has not issued a statement, either. Is this an issue? Yes, if data handling will be looked at closely. "Only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party," Pompeo added. In previous reports, TikTok users were recognized and upheld in the media to be the participants in the Trump campaign rally at Tulsa. Now, the government is taking a stance against TikTok. For instance, the Democratic National Committee on Friday requested for its members to avoid downloading the app. Amazon will not be banning TikTok from employees' phones. However, the industry is in tune for possible changes and updates. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The family of Prijin A, who died by suicide last year, said he had sustained minor injuries in the incident and had later fallen into depression Kochi: The family of a man who died by suicide has claimed that he was on a fishing boat that came under fire from Italian marines eight years ago when he was 14 years old and has appealed to the Centre to get Rs 100 crore compensation from Italy. After witnessing the firing by the marines from oil tanker "Enrica Lexie", which killed two fishermen on 15 February, 2012 off the Kerala coast, Prijin A was terrified and had sustained some minor injuries, the family claimed in its 6 July plea addressed to the Union Cabinet Secretary. They said Prijin became very disturbed and subsequently fell into depression and eventually ended his life in July last year. According to the family, hailing from Kanjampuram in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, Prijin was a victim of the Enrica Lexie incident. The eight-member family, comprising Prijin's 59-year old mother and sisters, appealed to the Centre to take steps to obtain compensation "for the violation done against him" from Italy under the terms of the findings of an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the UN Convention on The Law of The Sea. Prijin was "not provided the protection entitlements of being a child aged 14 years as per International child rights law and Indian Constitution by the Republic of India and Republic of Italy," the family said in their petition to the Secretary, submitted through an advocate engaged by them. He was engaged as a crew member on board the fishing vessel "St Antony" by its owner Fredy so as to help other fishermen and also for cooking. After the incident, he was rushed to the shore in another Indian fishing boat, the family said. On reaching the Kerala coast, Prijin, as directed by the boat owner, went to his house. Thereafter he seemed very disturbed without having proper sleep and used to hurriedly wake up and also shout while asleep. Fredy had visited Prijin several times and assured that necessary measures were being taken for getting justice for him, the family claimed. There was neither medical assistance nor psychological counselling to the child, who had witnessed "cold-blooded murder" of Ajeesh Pink, (also his friend and neighbour) and another fisherman, Jelastine. The move by the family has come nearly a week after the Hague-headquartered Permanent Court of Arbitration Tribunal upheld the conduct of the Indian authorities in the Enrica Lexie case, in which the marines were accused of killing two Indian fishermen. While stating that India was entitled to get compensation in the case, the tribunal had held that the marines cannot be prosecuted due to the official immunity enjoyed by them. The counsel for the family said the compensation amount claimed by his clients is "by keeping liberty to approach appropriate forum (domestic and international) for the gross violation of natural justice and international human rights law done against Prijin," and the family's "is reasonably calculated as Rs 100 crore." Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-12 00:05:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Babatunde Ahonsi (C), the representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in China, attends a press conference of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council held in Beijing, capital of China, July 11, 2020. The UNFPA representative in China on Saturday applauded the country for battling the COVID-19 outbreak, working with the global community, and sharing its experience. "China has made great efforts in containing the COVID-19 outbreak, and is watchful of its resurgence," said Babatunde Ahonsi at a press conference held in Beijing. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in China on Saturday applauded the country for battling the COVID-19 outbreak, working with the global community, and sharing its experience. "China has made great efforts in containing the COVID-19 outbreak, and is watchful of its resurgence," said Babatunde Ahonsi, a UNFPA representative in China, at a press conference held in Beijing. The UNFPA provided the government of China with assistance in the fight against the epidemic in China's Hubei Province, including offering diapers and sanitary pads, to assure the dignity of women and female health workers, Ahonsi said. Speaking of the collaboration with China's National Health Commission, Ahonsi said the UNFPA also organized two online seminars on sharing China's experience in helping with sexual and reproductive health and newborn care and services in areas affected by COVID-19. The seminars were well-received by more than 400 professional participants from around the world, he said. Saturday marks the 31st World Population Day, and the global theme this year is "Putting the brakes on COVID-19: How to Safeguard the Health and Rights of Women and Girls Now." Enditem Residents of Sissala East Municipality in the Upper West Region have been advised to take advantage of the many dams, streams, and valleys to cultivate and consume more vegetables to help boost their immune systems against COVID-19. Mr Hussein Elyasu, the Sissala East Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) gave the advice during various engagements with tailors and dressmakers, business centres, religious groups, youth and women groups as well as community members within the Municipality. The focus of the various engagements was on the need for them to protect themselves from contracting the virus and also help to prevent its spread in the country. Mr Elyasu said consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits was effective and efficient in boosting the immune system according to health experts and advised the people to take full advantage of their water bodies to ensure their cultivation to make it available for all. Some of the vegetables could be sold and the proceeds used to buy Personal Protective Equipment such as face masks since many people are complaining of not having money to buy the face masks, he said. Mr Elyasu cautioned the people to also endeavour to observe the safety protocols by washing their hands regularly with soap under running water, observe social distancing at their workplaces and worship centres. He also encouraged them to visit the nearest health facility if they experience any of the symptoms of COVID-19 for early treatment and admonished them to stop any form of stigmatization of persons infected with the disease. The Director noted that the seven cases of COVID-19 recorded earlier in the municipality should be a wakeup call on all and sundry to take personal responsibility in safeguarding themselves and others from the disease. He expressed profound gratitude to the COVID-19 Trust Fund for making resources available to the NCCE to educate Ghanaians on the worlds most deadly pandemic. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Donald Trump has demanded the extradition of Christopher Steele, the British former MI6 officer who compiled the infamous dossier on the presidents ties with Russia. On Saturday morning, the president tweeted: This man should be extradited, tried, and thrown into jail. A sick lier [sic] who was paid by Crooked Hillary & the DNC! Mr Trump shared a news report from Wednesday regarding a British court ruling that the former British spy had violated a data privacy law by failing to check information on the Presidents Russia connections. A few minutes later, Mr Trump wrote: Bring back Steele!!!, and retweeted a link to a book on the Russia investigation by Fox News legal and political analyst Gregg Jarrett. Earlier this week, the UK High Court ordered Mr Steele to pay damages of $23,000 (17,900) each to two Russian businessmen that he claimed had made payoffs to Vladimir Putin in the 1990s. Judge Mark Warby said that Mr Steele had not take reasonable steps to verify the allegations. Mr Steele had accused Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman of facilitating the transfer of large amounts of money to Mr Putin when he was deputy mayor of St Petersburg. In addition to Mr Steele and Russia, the president began the weekend with a stream of tweets on a variety of topics. Related to the Russia investigation, he tweeted: New documents just released reveal General Flynn was telling the truth, and the FBI knew it! He accused the New York Times of making up the Russia bounty story, saying: This was just another phony hit job by the @nytimes. They had no source, they made it up. FAKE NEWS! On commuting his longtime confidant Roger Stones sentence, he wrote: Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place. It is the other side that are criminals, including Biden and Obama, who spied on my campaign AND GOT CAUGHT! He congratulated attorney general William Barr on a new federal crackdown on violent crime in US cities, while urging Alabama voters to choose his former attorney generals opponent in Tuesdays election, calling Jeff Sessions a disaster. He again pushed for the reopening of schools, referencing a report that argued keeping them closed was a greater public health risk, and decried the failures of virtual learning. The Lovings plead guilty to violating the states Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which prohibited the marriage of whites and non-whites. Given the choice of serving a year in jail each or leaving the state for at least 25 years, the couple chose exile and moved to Washington, D.C. Eventually, the longing to return to their home state became too much to bear. The Union government on Thursday handed over the gold smuggling case to the National Investigation Agency. KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday deferred considering the anticipatory bail plea of Swapna Suresh, the key accused in the Thiruvananthapuram airport gold smuggling case. The High Court will now hear the plea on Tuesday. The Union government on Thursday handed over the gold smuggling case to the National Investigation Agency. Swapna Suresh, a former employee of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, is allegedly to be a member of the gold smuggling racket. Since the case has been taken over by the NIA, the HC cannot consider the bail plea and the matter has to be taken up by NIA special court, said Ravi Prakash, Centres counsel, reported regional media. It was on Thursday that Swapna, who is still absconding, submitted the bail plea online. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has handed over the case to the NIA considering the chances for its serious ramifications on national security. The NIA informed the Kerala High Court that a case has been registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Swapna Suresh, Sandeep Nair and Sarith, who are members of the gold smuggling racket. Sarith has already been taken into custody by the Customs. The investigation agencys counsel strongly opposed giving bail to Swapna. However, Swapnas counsel submitted before the court that NIA has not provided the copy of the FIR. Swapna Suresh released an audio message to the media on Thursday in which she said that she is not involved in the smuggling and she contacted the Customs officials as per the request of UAE Consulate officials. The scam, worth Rs 15 crore, came out when the Customs officials at Thiruvananthapuram international airport seized 30 kilograms of gold from an air cargo baggage addressed to UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. The gold was smuggled in a chartered flight. The officials inspected the baggage after getting prior permission from the Ministry of External Affairs as they are not authorised to check baggage addressed to consulates and consulate officials as it has diplomatic immunity. The inspection was based on a tipoff. It is for the first time that smuggled gold is being seized from diplomatic baggage. The case turned into a political controversy and the Kerala government has removed principal secretary to chief ministers office and IT secretary M Sivasankar, who is allegedly shared close links with Swapna Suresh. A divided UN Security Council failed for a second time Friday to agree on extending humanitarian aid deliveries to Syrias mainly rebel-held northwest from Turkey as the current UN mandate was ending, leaving nearly 3 million people at risk of losing aid. Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution backed by the 13 other council members that would have maintained two crossing points from Turkey for six months. A Russian-drafted resolution that would have authorised just one border crossing for a year failed to receive the minimum nine yes votes in the 15-member council, with only four countries voting in favour while seven voted against and four abstained. Diplomats said Germany and Belgium, who insist two crossings are critical especially with the first Covid-19 case just reported in Syrias northwest, circulated a new text. That resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, would extend the mandate through the Bab al-Hawa crossing for a year and the mandate for the Bab al-Salam crossing which Russia wants to eliminate for three months to wind up its activities. Council members continued discussions Friday night and diplomats said a meeting was possible Saturday to vote on the German-Belgium draft as well as likely Russian amendments. German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen said the Russian vote should be a last-minute wake-up call for Security Council members to resolve their differences. He said Germany, which holds the rotating council presidency, was ready to work around the clock, and he urged council members to think of the millions of Syrian waiting for them to decide their fate. To leave this weekend without a solution would send a signal of disappointment and despair to the people in the region, Heusgen said,. The actions Friday capped a week of high-stakes rivalry over cross-border aid. Russia, Syrias closest ally, has argued that aid should be delivered from within Syria across conflict lines. But the UN and humanitarian groups say aid for 2.8 million needy people in the northwest cant get in that way. The initial German-Belgium resolution authorising two crossings for one year won support from 13 of the 15 council members on Tuesday but was vetoed by Russia and China. A Russian draft resolution authorising one crossing for six months failed to get the minimum nine yes votes on Wednesday. And a similar Russian amendment to the latest German-Belgium resolution was dramatically rejected Thursday, getting only two yes votes from Russia and China. In January, Russia scored a victory for Syria, using its veto threat to force the Security Council to adopt a resolution reducing the number of crossing points for aid deliveries from four to two, from Turkey to the northwest. It also cut in half the yearlong mandate that had been in place since cross-border deliveries began in 2014 to six months. US Ambassador Kelly Craft tweeted Friday: Russia & China are using politics to prop up the Assad regime while more than 3 million people are in desperate need of aid. We cannot allow the Bab al-Salaam border crossing, where 30 per cent of UNICEFs aid enters Syria, to close. The lives of 500,000 children are at risk. The president of the International Rescue Committee, David Miliband, said reducing aid deliveries to just one crossing point would cut essential health supplies to one million people, and leave the UN unable to scale up in response both to Covid-19 and deteriorating food security. Today is yet another example of the age of impunity, where two countries can veto with full knowledge, but utter disregard, for the impact it will have on civilian lives, all against the backdrop of an unprecedented and devastating global pandemic, Miliband said. Without waiting for Fridays announcement of the result of voting on the German-Belgium resolution and signaling its intent to use its veto, Russia announced late Thursday that it had circulated a new resolution that would authorise just one crossing from Turkey for a year. Russias deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, tweeted that Bab Al-Hawa accounts for more than 85% of total volume of operations. We categorically reject claims that Russia wants to stop humanitarian deliveries to the Syrian population in need, he wrote, urging Western nations to seize this opportunity and support the Russian draft which adapts to the situation on the ground. If they block our compromise proposal they will be responsible for the consequences, the Russian envoy said. The White House press secretarys job differs fundamentally from that of a spokesperson for a candidate or political party. The White House press secretary serves at the pleasure of a president but is also a public servant whose salary is paid by taxpayers. The job is to inform the public: to be an intermediary between the president and a press corps the public relies on for information. As former White House press secretary Mike McCurry has pointed out, this intermediary role is embedded in the layout of the West Wing; the press secretarys office is midway between the Oval Office and the briefing room. Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Vikas Dubeys close aide arrested from Thane by Maharashtra ATS team Arvind Ramvilas Trivedi (46), alias Guddan, an associate of slain gangster Vikas Dubey, was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad from Kolshet road in Thane, along with his 30-year-old driver Sushilkumar Suresh Tiwari alias Sonu. Read more. PM Modi calls for real-time national monitoring and replicating Delhi strategy in NCR Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed for providing real-time national-level monitoring and guidance to all Coved 19 affected states of the union of India with special focus on areas with a high positivity rate for the disease. Prime ministers intervention was made during a high-level meeting he chaired on Saturday to review the status of the coronavirus pandemic situation in India. Read more. I am not a remote control, Sharad Pawar tells ally Shiv Senas mouthpiece NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Saturday Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray took the decision to ease the curbs during the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown at the right time and in his cautious style of functioning. Read more. Zaheer Khan behind MS Dhonis success as Indias Test captain: Gautam Gambhir on former left-arm quicks impact Gautam Gambhir has credited Zaheer Khan for being one of the biggest factors behind MS Dhonis rise as Indias Test captain. Gambhir lauded Zaheer as Indias best world-class bowler and acknowledged Sourav Gangulys role in bringing the former left-arm quick through the ranks, without which Dhoni wouldnt have tasted the success he did in Tests. Read more. A Suitable Boy trailer: Ishaan Khatter, Tabu are engaged in a forbidden romance. Watch The first trailer for BBC Ones A Suitable Boy TV adaptation, directed by Mira Nair, has been released. The series is based on the novel by Vikram Seth, and stars Ishaan Khatter, Tabu, Ram Kapoor, Tanya Maniktala and Rasika Dugal, among others. Read more. HT Salutes: Bangalore initiative that helps women make reusable sanitary pads World Hunger Warriors (WHW) in Bangalore has been distributing reusable sanitary pads for women. The initiative, started by Kiran Soans, is also empowering women by providing them with job opportunities. Women are employed to stitch the reusable cotton napkins. The initiative plans on distributing free sanitary napkins in the city. Watch the full video for more details. Watch video. Grandparents stop by grandsons home while hes away to leave this sweet surprise. Watch Grandparents usually hold a very special place in a childs life. From their endless love to unconditional support, for most people, they become the first BFFs. That is probably why this video showcasing a mans grandparents is making so many people smile. It shows them leaving a surprise message for their grandson while hes away. Watch video. Coronavirus Updates: Tourists must have confirmed hotel bookings, return tickets and shall get tested for COVID-19 upon arrival, according to guidelines. Auto refresh feeds It took 64 days for COVID-19 cases in India to rise above one lakh from 100, and another fortnight to cross two lakh on 3 June. It took 10 days for the case count to touch the three lakh-mark and another eight days for the cases to climb above four lakh on 21 June. In another six days, the total tally raced past the five-lakh mark. Then it took 10 days to cross seven lakh. According to news agency PTI, India recorded an increase of more than 22,000 new cases for the eighth consecutive day, on Saturday. It took 110 days for the number of cases in the country to reach one lakh but just 53 days more to cross eight lakh. Even at the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital (KMCH) where Subhrajit Chattopadhyay died on late Friday night, admitted him only after his mother threatened to commit suicide if he was not treated there, the class 12 students father claimed. When contacted, Director of Health Services Ajoy Chakraborty said that the matter would be definitely looked into. The parents of an 18-year-old man, who was diabetic and tested positive for COVID-19 before his death in a government hospital in Kolkata, on Saturday alleged that he succumbed because of negligence as he was refused a bed by three medical facilities. The megastar had yesterday said that he had tested positive for COVID-19. His son and actor Abhishek Bachchan has also tested positive and been admitted to the same hospital on Saturday. Mumbai's Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital's PRO told ANI Amitabh Bachchan's condition is stable. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 and is currently kept in the isolation unit of the hospital. The Maharashtra government on Saturday transferred Pune Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad and replaced him with Vikram Kumar who is currently CEO of Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority, reports PTI. Pune is among the worst-hit cities in the state and, as on Friday evening, had 25,893 cases, with the rise particularly sharp and worrying over the past few days. The visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center marked Trumps first public appearance with a face-covering since the virus began sweeping across the United States earlier this year. President Donald Trump, who has avoided wearing a mask in public even as the coronavirus pandemic spread, donned one on Saturday at a military medical facility outside Washington where he was to meet with wounded soldiers and front-line health-care workers, reports Reuters. In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi said, "The WHO has praised our country's Dharavi model for preventing the spread of coronavirus infection. The entire team responsible for this achievement of Dharavi, especially the residents, deserve applause." A day after the World Health Organisation lauded Mumbai's Dharavi for breaking the chain of COVID-19 transmission, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday congratulated all those responsible for the achievement. According to initial media reports , he has been admitted to Sanjay Gandhi PGI hospital. Also his family members will be tested for the virus now. Former India opener Chetan Chauhan has tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday. Chauhan, who is also a minister in Yogi Adityanath's cabinet was tested for the virus on Friday. After Bollywood actors Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan test positive for the coronavirus, reports say that Jaya Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya have tested negative for it. People will now have to show their Aadhaar card, COVID-19 test certificate, doctor's prescription and phone number to get their hands on the medicine, authorities told NDTV. Documents including Aadhar card, doctors prescription, consent form, a COVID-19 positive report and the contact details of the purchaser was made mandatory by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration to buy antiviral drug, Remdesivir, anti-inflammatory medicine Tocilizumab, reports Times Of India. ANI reports say that the staffers took the test on their own. Now Mumbai's civic body BMC is to test them again. He will be tested in a few days. It is the staff working in close proximity to him who have been infected. Around 100 Raj Bhavan staff members took the Covid-19 test, according to NDTV report. Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari, is in isolation after at least 18 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Raj Bhavan on Saturday, reports News18. Sanitisation workers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation arrive at the residence of actor Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai, reports ANI. Union minister Pralhad Joshi says monsoon session of the Parliament will be certainly held, reports ANI. He adds that the government will take all precautions amid the coronavirus crisis. India on Sunday reports a rise of 28,638 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 8,49,553. The toll is now at 22,674. The reported active COVID-19 cases in India stand at 2,92,258, according to the Union Health Ministry. As many as 5,34,620 COVID-19 patients have been cured and discharged so far, the health ministry has said in its latest update. Such patients have to ensure that their neighbours and housing societies have no objection to their home quarantine, there are no elderly persons in the family and they have a private physician to check their health condition every three hours, he said. The Assam government would allow non-symptomatic COVID-19 positive patients to go for home quarantine only if they sign an undertaking agreeing to certain conditions, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah says Indias efforts to tackle the coronavirus crisis is one of the most successful battles, reports ANI. India is one of the most populous countries, he said. Everyone thought how will a country like India battle Covid-19, there were apprehensions but today the whole world is witnessing how one of the most successful battles against Covid-19 has been fought here. They have proved that they not only know how to fight terrorism but also against Covid-19 with help of people. The home minister made the comments while participating in the All India Tree Plantation Campaign run by the Central Armed Police Forces, in Khadarpur, Gurugram. Amit Shah on Sunday said that the security forces are playing a huge role in Indias battle against the coronavirus, ANI reports. Today, I salute these corona warriors, he said. Odisha reports 595 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total number of infections in the state to 12,121, ANI reports, quoting the state health department. The toll stands at 64. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sealed Bollywood actress Rekha's bungalow after her staff tested positive for COVID-19. The number of recoveries stands at 5,34,620, while there are 2,92,258 active cases of the infection currently in the country, data updated on the Union health ministry website showed. "Thus, around 62.93 percent of patients have recovered so far," an official told PTI. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials put a banner outside 'Jalsa', the residence of actor Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai, to define it as a containment zone, reports ANI. Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan tested positive for COVID-19 on July 11. They both have been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai. While the mother has been taken to Kokilaben Hospital, the other relatives are self-isolating at home. The actors mother, brother, sister-in-law and niece have contracted coronavirus. He added that all of them are stable and have been found mildly COVID positive. Veteran actor Anupam Kher's mother has tested positive for COVID-19. The actor took to Twitter to announce the news on Sunday and said that she has been admitted to Kokilaben Hospital. Rajasthan reported four more COVID-19 deaths on Sunday, taking the toll to 507 as 153 new cases of the infection pushed the total in the state to 23,901, reports PTI Jharkhand on Sunday reports 162 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 3,680, reports ANI. There are total 1,393 active cases and 24 deaths. Over 2,000 people have recovered from the disease. Contact-tracing was also being done, the official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. Mumbai civic authorities were sanitising the residential and office premises of Amitabh Bachchan in Juhu area here after the megastar and his son Abhishek Bachchan tested positive for coronavirus, reports PTI. The state has already imposed a 55-hour mini lockdown till Monday, where except for essential and some other services, everything else is closed. The curbs will lift at 5 am on Monday. The lockdown will be implemented on every Saturday and Sunday, reports News18. Economic activities will continue to work as normal and banks will open, however, all non-essential offices, shops for non-essential items, malls, and restaurants will be shut. The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to implement a 'mini' lockdown in the state twice every week to deal with the increasing number of coronavirus cases every week, reports Hindustan Times. "This is being done basically to stop the spread of infection through unwanted physical movement. Economic activities will, however, not suffer," he added. The lockdown will remain effective in both urban and rural areas of the state. "It (lockdown) will be in place for the month of July at least," Awasthi said. "The lockdown on weekends will be implemented from the coming Saturday and Sunday especially in the crowded areas. The markets and offices will remain closed on these days. However, the banks will remain open," Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Information) Awanish Awasthi told PTI on Sunday. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari says he is fine and not in self-isolation after 18 people tested positive for the coronavirus at Raj Bhavan, reports ANI. I underwent relevant tests, the result of which came negative, he adds. There are no symptoms of COVID-19. However, there was no need for any panic and people should follow the COVID-19 related regulations to stay safe, he said in a series of tweets. The number of coronavirus cases in Karnataka may double in the next 15 to 30 days and the coming two months would emerge as a big challenge for the government in tackling the pandemic, state Health Minister B Sriramulu has said. "The report on Sunday morning stated that Tiwari has tested positive for COVID-19," he told PTI. Uttar Pradesh Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Sports and Youth Welfare Upendra Tiwari has tested positive for COVID-19, his representative said. Rakesh Chaubey 'Bhola, the representative of the minister said, "Tiwari felt feverish almost two days back and his COVID test was done on Saturday." The Uttar Pradesh government released revised guidelines for the Unlock 2 phase. All markets will be allowed to remain open from Monday to Friday but will be closed on the weekends. "I am perfectly alright, and not in self-isolation. I underwent relevant tests, the result of which came negative. There are no symptoms of COVID-19 either," Koshyari said in a statement. Sixteen personnel at the Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai have tested coronavirus positive, a civic official said on Sunday. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari denied reports that he is in self-isolation, a Raj Bhavan official told PTI. Authorities on Sunday ordered a partial lockdown in Srinagar by designating over 60 containment zones amid a surge in coronavirus cases over the past week, officials said. The lockdown will be imposed in 68 containment zones of the city from Monday and no movement would be allowed in these areas without permission, they said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Sunday directed officials to conduct 50,000 coronavirus tests in the state per day. On Sunday 1,933 COVID-19 cases were reported in Andhra Pradesh in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state is now at 29,168, including 13,428 active cases, 15,412 discharged and 328 deaths. Early detection of COVID-19 cases through widespread testing, surveillance and clinical management has resulted in India having one of the lowest fatality rate at 2.66 percent, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday. The minister, who visited the Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre (SPCCC) at Chhattarpur to review its COVID-19 management status, also said that "our success" can be seen in the recovery rate which is almost 63 percent at present. The 10,200 bed SPCC has been developed at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas as part of coordinated efforts of the Centre and the Delhi government to bolster containment measures, the health ministry said in a statement. 1,263 #COVID19 cases, 1,441 discharged & 44 deaths reported in #Mumbai today. Total number of cases in the city is now at 92,720 including 64,872 recovered, 22,556 active cases & 5,285 deaths: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation pic.twitter.com/Ojf6F7KEyX Total number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai climbs to 92,720 and toll mounts to 5,285 as city records 1,263 new infections and 44 fatalities, reports ANI quoting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) 2,627 new #COVID19 cases and 71 deaths reported in #Karnataka in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 38,843 and death toll to 684: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/w5FZtNWDB5 2,627 new COVID-19 cases and 71 deaths were reported in Karnataka in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 38,843 and toll to 684, reports ANI quoting the state health department West Bengal's COVID-19 tally crossed 30,000 on Sunday with record 1,560 new cases reported from different parts of the state, according to a bulletin issued by the health department.With the fresh infections, the total number of cases in the state has risen to 30,013, it said. Twenty-six patients also died, taking the death toll to 932, it added. At present, there are 10,500 active cases in the state. Kolkata accounted for most of the latest fatalities at 13, while neighbouring South 24 Parganas reported four. Tourism in Jammu & Kashmir to open in a phased manner from 14th July; Govt of J&K issues guidelines for entry of tourists. In this phase, tourism limited to those arriving by air only. RTPCR testing of all tourists compulsory on arrival &tourists to have confirmed hotel bookings. pic.twitter.com/YeRmMjVDHH The Jammu and Kashmir administration issued guidelines for re-opening the tourism sector in a phased manner from 14 July. According to the guideline, only air travellers with confirmed hotel booking and return tickets will be allowed. Tourists will have to compulsorily undergo RTPCR test for COVID-19 upon arrival, stated the guidelines. The number of COVID-19 cases in Ahmedabad mounted by 172 to 23,095 on Sunday, state Health department said. With four more patients succumbing to the viral infection, the death toll in Ahmedabad district has gone up to 1,519, it said. A total of 133 patients were discharged in the day, taking the number of the recovered cases to 17,822. As many as 1,269 new cases were reported in Telangana today, pushing the total number of cases to 34,671 including 11,883 active cases, 22,482 discharged and 356 deceased, reports ANI quoting the state health department. Early detection of COVID-19 cases through widespread testing, surveillance and clinical management has resulted in India having one of the lowest fatality rate at 2.66 percent, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday. The minister, who visited the Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre (SPCCC) at Chhattarpur to review its COVID-19 management status, also said that "our success" can be seen in the recovery rate which is almost 63 percent at present. The 10,200 bed SPCC has been developed at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas as part of coordinated efforts of the Centre and the Delhi government to bolster containment measures, the health ministry said in a statement. COVID-19. Also, there will be a night curfew in force in Thiruvananthapuram from 9 pm to 5 am. However, certain relaxations have been allowed including playing of taxis and autorickshaws following strict COVID protocols. The Thiruvananthapuram district administration on Sunday extended the lockdown in the city Corporation limits till 20 July to contain the spread of The decision about the lockdown in rural parts of Latur district will be taken after a meeting of public representatives on Monday, he said. According to him, further guidelines about the lockdown will be shared on Monday evening. following the norms is higher than what was during the previous lockdown," Shreekant said. Latur city in Maharashtra's Marathwada region will be placed under a fortnight-long "strict" lockdown from the midnight of July 15, a senior official said on Sunday. The lockdown will help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the district, Collector G Shreekant said. According to the authorities, the district has so far reported 682 coronavirus positive cases and 33 deaths. "The lockdown will start from July 15 midnight and end on July 30. The essential and emergency services will continue to operate. However, liquor shops will be shut from Monday itself," the collector said. "The lockdown will be strict and the fine for not With 150 new COVID-19 cases, 32 of them CRPF personnel, Chhattisgarh's overall count increased to 4,081 on Sunday, while the number of fatalities rose to 19 after two more patients succumbed to the infection, a health official said. So far, 3,153 patients have been discharged in the state, he said. Coronavirus Updates: The Jammu and Kashmir administration issued guidelines for re-opening the tourism sector in a phased manner from 14 July. According to the guidelines, only air travelers with confirmed hotel booking and return tickets will be allowed. Tourists will have to compulsorily undergo RTPCR test for COVID-19 upon arrival, stated the guidelines. Maharashtra's COVID-19 cases rose by 7,827 to 2,54,427 on Sunday, state health department said. With 173 more patients succumbing to the infection, the number of fatalities has gone up to 10,289, the department said in a statement. Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, daughter Aaradhya have also tested positive for COVID-19, confirmed Abhishek Bachchan adding that they will be quarantining at home. He also said that the rest of the family, including his mother Jaya have tested negative. "As more people are recovering due to all-round efforts, the recovered cases exceed active cases by 2,42,362," said the health ministry on Sunday. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday directed officials to conduct 50,000 coronavirus tests in the state per day. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Sports and Youth Welfare Upendra Tiwari has tested positive for COVID-19. To stop the spread of COVID-19 infection, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to implement strict lockdown across the state on weekends, a senior official said on Sunday. The markets and offices will remain closed on these days, however, the banks will remain open, said an official. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials put a banner outside 'Jalsa', the residence of actor Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai, to define it as a containment zone. India on Sunday reports a rise of 28,638 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 8,49,553. The toll is now at 22,674. Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari, is in isolation after at least 18 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Raj Bhavan on Saturday, say reports. Mumbai's Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital's PRO told ANI Amitabh Bachchan's condition is stable. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 and is currently kept in the isolation unit of the hospital. With a record single-day increase of 27,114 cases, India's COVID-19 case count surged to 8,20,916 on Saturday, while the toll climbed to 22,123 with 519 people succumbing to the disease in the past 24 hours, said the health ministry in its morning update. Lockdown restrictions were announced or extended in many areas across the country for differing time periods as many states reported record jumps in daily cases. Veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek tested positive for the coronavirus infection late on Saturday night and were admitted to Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital. Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you. Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) July 11, 2020 "The BMC has been in touch and we are complying with them," said Abhishek in another tweet. Lockdown in several places The Karnataka government in the evening announced complete lockdown in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts for one week from 14 July. "As COVID-19 cases are increasing in the state day by day, based on the advice of experts complete lockdown will be imposed in Bengaluru urban and Bengaluru rural for one week from 14 July 8 pm to 5 am on 22 July," Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said in a statement, adding that detailed guidelines will be released on Monday. All essential services including supply of milk, vegetables, fruits, medicines and groceries will continue uninterrupted. I appeal to people to cooperate with the government, follow all guidelines, take all precautionary steps and help us contain the pandemic. (2/2) B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) July 11, 2020 As of Saturday evening, cumulatively 36,216 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 613 deaths and 14,716 discharges, a government bulletin said. Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 16,862 infections. In Assam, the ongoing lockdown in Kamrup Metropolitan district, under which Guwahati city falls, has been extended for a week from 12 July due to large-scale spread of the respiratory infection. Assam chief secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna said the 14-day lockdown in the district was scheduled to end at 6 pm on Sunday but the district magistrate reported that rising cases may be a major threat to public health, hygiene and safety of the general population. "Due to extensive testing, isolation and other restrictive measures, community spread of COVID-19 has been contained to some extent and this necessitates further extension of prohibitory measures to contain the spread of the pandemic," he stated. A complete lockdown was imposed in the district on 28 June as Guwahati city reported a surge of positive cases with 6,221 patients recorded since 24 June. The lockdown in Arunachal Pradesh's capital complex too was extended for another week in view of the spurt in COVID-19 cases in the region, a top official told PTI. The state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Pema Khandu took the decision to extend the total lockdown in the capital region for another week till 5 am on 20 July, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar said. The previous lockdown was imposed in the capital complex comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa on 6 July was scheduled to end at 5 pm on 13 July. Strict lockdown restrictions were also reimposed on Saturday in parts of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district following a spike in coronavirus cases. The entire Rajouri city and adjoining areas were sealed and people were asked to stay indoors as part of the efforts to slow the spread of the infection, said officials. "The restrictions were re-imposed as a precautionary measure after some locals were tested positive for COVID-19. While in most cases the source of the infection is known, there are some cases where the source is unknown," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Rajouri, Sher Singh, said. Rajouri recorded the highest single-day spike of 51 cases on Friday. In Uttarakhand, a three-day lockdown was imposed from Saturday in Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district, which alone accounted for 41 of the 68 cases reported in the state on Friday. Nagaland, too, decided to extend the ongoing lockdown, which was supposed to end on 16 July, till 31 July. Planning and Coordination Minister Neiba Kronu said the decision was taken after reviewing the existing measures and the rising cases of coronavirus infection in the state. Till Friday, the number of actives cases in Nagaland was 428 while 304 patients have recovered from the disease. The Meghalaya government announced a two-day total lockdown in capital Shillong from Monday. Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said the decision was taken to contain the spread of COVID-19, besides ensuring behavioural changes among citizens to follow coronavirus-related guidelines. Earlier in the day, the state reported 76 new cases, taking the total to 312. There are 215 active cases in the state at present, officials said. A lockdown with minimum exemptions in place in Thane district, excluding the city limits, was extended till 19 July due to rise in coronavirus cases over the past few days. The order for Thane district was issued by Collector Rajesh Narvekar and Municipal Commissioner AB Misal announced an extension for Navi Mumbai, said officials. The "total" lockdown in Ulhasnagar municipal corporation (UMC) limits, also part of Thane district, has been extended by civic chief Raja Dayanidhi till 22 July. A record spike of 2,232 COVID-19 cases took Thane district's count to 53,152 while 53 deaths caused the overall toll to rise to 1,560, an official told PTI. The rise was sharpest in Kalyan-Dombivli which added 615 cases during the day, he said. On Friday night, a 10-day lockdown was announced in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and a few other parts of the district starting 13 July. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. In West Bengal, a seven-day lockdown was clamped from Thursday on the state's containment zones, spread across 20 of the 23 districts. The Uttar Pradesh government had re-imposed restrictions in the state from 10 pm on Friday to 5 am on Monday. Chief Secretary RK Tiwari said the curbs have been imposed to check the spread of COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. Recovery rate rises to 62.78 percent, says health ministry According to news agency PTI, India recorded an increase of more than 22,000 new cases for the eighth consecutive day. It took 110 days for the number of cases in the country to reach one lakh but just 53 days more to cross eight lakh. It took 64 days for COVID-19 cases in India to rise above one lakh from 100, and another fortnight to cross two lakh on 3 June. It took 10 days for the case count to touch the three lakh-mark and another eight days for the cases to climb above four lakh on 21 June. In another six days, the total tally raced past the five-lakh mark. Then it took 10 days to cross seven lakh. With effective implementation of containment zones, surveillance activities, timely diagnosis and effective clinical management of cases, the total number of recovered patients has crossed five lakh on Saturday, the Union Health ministry said. A total of 5,15,385 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far with 19,870 COVID-19 patients having been cured and discharged in the last 24 hours till 8 am. "The recovered cases outnumber the COVID-19 active cases by 2,31,978. With this progressively widening gap, the recovery rate has further improved to 62.78 percent," the ministry said in a statement. There are 2,83,407 active cases and all are under medical supervision, with severe cases being admitted in hospitals and pre-symptomatic patients and those showing moderate symptoms in home isolation, it said. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 1,13,07,002 swab samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to 10 July, of which 2,82,511 been tested on Friday. Of the 519 new deaths reported on Saturday, 226 are from Maharashtra, 64 from Tamil Nadu, 57 from Karnataka, 42 from Delhi, 27 from Uttar Pradesh and 26 from West Bengal. Andhra Pradesh reported 15 fatalities, Gujarat 14, Telangana eight and Rajasthan six. Of the total 22,123 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra accounts for the highest with 9,893 fatalities followed by Delhi with 3,300 deaths, Gujarat 2,022, Tamil Nadu 1,829, Uttar Pradesh 889, West Bengal 880, Madhya Pradesh 638, Karnataka 543 and Rajasthan 497, said the health ministry in its morning update. Maharashtra has also reported the highest number of cases at 2,38,461,followed by Tamil Nadu at 1,30,261, Delhi at 1,09,140, Gujarat at 40,069, Uttar Pradesh at 33,700, Karnataka at 33,418 and Telangana at 32,224. "Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said, adding that 3,416 cases are being reassigned to states. Narendra Modi lauds Centre, state govt for efforts in Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated the efforts of the Centre, state and local authorities in containing the COVID-19 situation in Delhi and directed that similar approach be replicated in checking the pandemic in the entire National Capital Region (NCR) area. He made these remarks at a meeting to take stock of the COVID-19 situation in various parts of the country and the preparedness of various states, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said. The review meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and the Cabinet Secretary among others. Modi also directed that real-time national-level monitoring and guidance should be provided to all affected states and places with high test positivity rate. Had an extensive meeting to review the COVID-19 situation across the nation. Took stock of the ongoing efforts to contain the infection. Priority is close monitoring and guiding the containment works in regions where the infection rate is high. https://t.co/iOLuK2IJF6 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 11, 2020 Modi said awareness about the pandemic should be disseminated widely and a continuous emphasis on preventing the spread of the infection should be laid. He said there is no room for any complacency in this regard, according to the statement. Delhi recorded 1,781 fresh coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking the total to 1,10,921 while the toll from the disease climbed to 3,334 with 34 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the Delhi health department bulletin. Maharashtra, West Bengal report record spikes in cases Meanwhile, many states including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal registered record increase in cases. Maharashtra recorded another highest single-day spike with 8,139 new patients found on Saturday which took the case count to 2,46,600. With 223 fatalities reported during the day, the toll crossed 10,000-mark to reach 10,116, said a statement from the state health department. Madhya Pradesh too registered its biggest single-day rise of 544 new COVID-19 cases, taking the infection count to 17,201, health officials said. With six more people succumbing to the viral infection, the toll has risen to 644, they said. West Bengal's COVID-19 count surged to 28,453 on Saturday as 1,344 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the highest single-day spike in the state so far. With 26 new fatalities, the toll rose to 906 in the state, the state health department said. The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose by 872 to 41,027 while the toll mounted by 10, including four fatalities in Ahmedabad, to 2,034, state health department said. There are now 10,308 active cases in the state, out of which the condition of 73 patients is critical, the health department said in a release. Activist Akhil Gogoi tests positive in Guwahati jail In Assam, peasant leader Akhil Gogoi, who was arrested by the NIA for his alleged role in violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act last year, tested positive for inside the Guwahati Central Jail on Saturday, an official said. "Akhil Gogoi tested positive in the antigen test this evening. He will be shifted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) now," Inspector General (Prisons) Dasarath Das told PTI. The health officials did three tests of Gogoi two antigen and one swab test (RT-PCR) and only the last antigen sample came positive, Das said. A total of 55 inmates, including Gogoi, have tested positive at the jail, forcing the authorities to issue orders for taking samples of all the 1,069 prisoners. Two others Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leaders Bittu Sonowal and Dhairjya Konwar have also tested positive and are being treated at the GMCH, while Gogoi's fourth associate, Manash Konwar, has tested negative, Das said. With inputs from PTI Jemulpo port in the late 19th century. Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection By Robert Neff Harakin Hotel in Jemulpo in the late 19th century. Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection On the sultry morning of July 3, 1886, the Tsuruga Maru, a Japanese steamship, sailed into Jemulpo (modern Incheon) harbor. Along with its normal cargo, it also had five Americans aboard: Messrs. Dalzell Bunker and Homer Hulbert; Miss Annie Ellers and Mr. and Mrs. George W. Gilmore. The men were the first American teachers hired by the Korean government and Ellers was recruited by the Presbyterian mission as a nurse in the government hospital. Jemulpo was not an attractive port especially in the 1880s. Because of the severe tides, larger ships were forced to anchor a fair distance from the shore and goods and passengers had to be transported by sampans. Years later, Ellers recalled: "They were manned by strange looking specimens of humanity, some fierce looking, with long braids of black hair down their backs and but little clothing on. They propelled their boats with a long stick in the back of the boat. A peculiar twist to this stick would send the boat forward with speed. Some of the men had queer knots tied on the top of their heads. "All were talking, motioning and calling. Their clothing may have been quite white once, it was so no longer. They were bare-foot and looked like strong, wild men. Some boats were loaded with supplies for the ship, others were loading goods to be taken ashore." Throughout the morning the Americans watched the port's activities from the safety of the steamer but after tiffin (lunch), the three men decided to go ashore and arrange for transportation to Seoul. Of course, precautions were taken one of the men had slipped a revolver into his pocket before going ashore. The main street of the Korean settlement, circa 1901. Robert Neff Collection A dangerous heat wave that pushed the feels-like temperature well into triple-digits on Saturday is not going away soon. The mercury remained in the 90s for most of Jefferson, Orange, Hardin and Jasper counties on Saturday. But the heat index a figure that combines temps and humidity levels to calculate what the heat feels like to people soared to 110 degrees across most of Southeast Texas. That triggered a heat advisory from the National Weather Service. Meteorologist Chanelle Stigger in Lake Charles, said to expect more such warnings over the next couple of days, at least. It is a little less likely for most of Louisiana, but we should expect more of the same for Texas until about the middle or end of next week, she said. The spell is part of a prolonged, historic heat wave that has gripped large parts of the U.S. In Amarillo, for example, the forecast calls for 10 consecutive days of temperatures in the 100s. The Weather Service expects to see 75 or more record highs met or exceeded by Tuesday. Southeast Texas has so far not broken any records, but Stigger said the hottest temperatures of the year are fast approaching. Stigger said it is important for the public to be aware of the heat and to take precautions. Conditions could pose a danger to those who are sensitive to the heat or anyone working outside. More Information SYMPTOMS OF HEAT-RELATED ILLNESS Heat exhaustion: Increased thirst; muscle cramps; weakness or fainting; irritability; headache; skin turns cool and clammy; nausea or vomiting. Heat stroke: Severe headache; weakness or dizziness; confusion; rapid breathing and heartbeat; loss of consciousness or coma; seizures; flushed, hot, dry skin; sweating stops; body temperature exceeds 103 degrees. Source: Beaumont Health Services, beaumonttexas.gov/departments/health-services PROTECT YOURSELF Beaumont Health Services recommends the following to guard against heat-related illness or tragedy: Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, whether thirsty or not Dress properly: Choose light-colored, loose-fitting clothing Limit exposure: Go indoors if you feel overheated Protect people and pets: No person or pet should be left alone in a parked vehicle Heed warning signs: Look out for symptoms of heat-related illness See More Collapse The baking heat didnt stop a group of runners in Bridge City that gathered in small teams for a socially distanced 10K relay run to help raise money for Pour Brothers Brewery in Beaumont. Chris Auster, owner of CrossFit Bridge City, said the morning event filled up quickly despite the weather. The 8 a.m. group was pretty popular, and I dont blame them, he said. We were pretty surprised with the turnout. Auster said a dearth of running events due to the COVID-19 pandemic might have helped draw runners to Bridge City. Plus, he said, it was a fundraiser for a business recently closed again by a state mandate issued in late June. By the time teammates Conner Lenze, Allison Gonzales, Joslin Sellers and Scott Duncan finished their relay just before 11 a.m., the heat index had reached the 108-degree level to trigger the advistory. Sellers said the heat was a bit of a struggle, but the runners paced themselves and had fun. It was just a good way to spend a Saturday morning, Lenze said. Mary Poole with Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas reported that the Beaumont emergency department had two heat illness patients earlier in the week, but none on Saturday. Emergency cooling shelters are usually handled by organizations like the Red Cross and Salvation Army, Jefferson County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike White said. Both organizations didnt post about any cooling shelters on their respective social medias Saturday, and could not be reached for comment. A nugget of good news buried in the Weather Service advisory was the lack of storms in the area. When combined with the high humidity levels, heat index readings will range between 105 to 110 degrees, forecasters wrote. Otherwise, no other hazardous weather is expected at this time. jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/jd_journalism St. Paul's Presbyterian Church The following appeared in Sunset Magazine's October 1907 issue. The words and photos describe how St. Paul's Presbyterian Church arose in the sand dunes of "Oceanside," today's Outer Sunset District. Owned by the powerful Southern Pacific Railroad, which had more than a casual business interest in San Francisco's recovery, Sunset Magazine loved to highlight the determination and ingenuity of San Franciscans rebuilding their great city. St. Paul's Presbyterian church still stands on the corner of 43rd Avenue and Judah Street, but with a "new" new building. OCEANSIDE'S EXAMPLE How willing workers built the First Permanent Church in San Francisco after the Big Fire By Lynn Townsend White Pastor of Saint Paul's Presbyterian Church of Oceanside, San Francisco There has been no more characteristic expression recently of that subtle, intangible and quite indescribable something which goes by the convenient name of "the Spirit of '49" than the manner in which Saint Paul's Presbyterian church of San Francisco was built. It was the first permanent church erected in the city after the great fire. This little sanctuary stands by the sea, in the heart of a thriving settlement of homemakers, once "Carville," now Oceanside. By some divine alchemy love of home and love of church are usually found in close affinity, and the people here having made their homes, the making of their church followed logically and naturally. But it required the greatest disaster in history to reveal how much these people really desired to have a church. The "before the fire" method of building it was the novel one: raise the money by solicited subscriptions, let the contract and on an appointed day open the sanctuary with debt-raising, thanksgivings and congratulations. This method was in use and gave promise of success when the disaster came, and the building fundwhich was as yet on paperwent up in smoke. Less brave hearts would have seen in that calamity unanswerable argument against proceeding with the church building project, and would have put themselves to sleep with that too carelessly used anesthetic labeled "providentially hindered." Not so these stalwart souls. It was a marine engineer who first said "Lets build the church ourselves." Being a seafaring man, he had weathered storms before and by sheer perseverance had reached the harbor. The fact that the building enterprise had been struck amidship and seriously damaged, was not a sufficient reason in his mind why the vessel should be abandoned. His confidence was contagiousas confidence always isand all hands set to work. The Presbyterian Reconstruction Committee, which had received some money from eastern friends for such help, was appealed to and enough ready money was granted to pay for the first load of rough lumber. The word rapidly spread that volunteers were wanted to build "the first church at Oceanside." And volunteers came. Literally, from every direction, representing nearly every shade of belief, and from nearly every trade and profession, help came. Men and women, boys and girls joined hands and hearts in the work. Many times the men worked until the near approach of midnight. Those who could not work brought money for the material. The smallest subscription calculated in a purely financial way was fifteen centsthe entire savings of a tiny member of the Bible school. After ninety daysor, better, nightsthe work was done and the church was opened. There was no debt-raising, for there was no debt to raise. Cheerful giving of that which each one had to givemoney, or brain, or brawnhad paid the bills before they were made, and the treasurer had about twenty dollars left. Here endeth the first chapter of this story, but the second is like unto it. The congregation that filled the little church at that first service betrayed no sign of fag. The successful completion of the building was a matter of congratulation, to be sure, but no sign of relief showed itself. These people were determined not to be "weary in well-doing." It would have been too bad to let this good spirit "die young" for want of something to feed on. Besides, there was a need for something more than a house of worship. The boys of this settlement by the sea ought to have a place where their boyishness could find clean and rational expression. Somebody had blundered by buying twenty thousand shingles more than were needed for the church. But this blunder was soon seen to be a blessing in disguise. There were the shingles, there was the vacant space back of the church and there was the logic of the situationa gymnasium ought to stand there. The boys caught the fever; a dozen of them called at the minister's house one evening and asked if they could help. Of course, they could help. Every boy subscribed what he could then and there, and pledged the strength of his right arm and his left, tooto the work. He pledged something elsea young boy's irresistible power of persuasion in a systematic campaign to raise money for the lumber. Every boy was armed with a subscription paper and assigned a clearly prescribed territory. Not a house was passed by, not an unsuspecting pedestrian was overlooked. Mirabile dictuthere was a demand for subscription papers by the boys. After the first distribution, an exceptionally miniature specimen of the genus biy knocked at the minister's door before breakfast and asked that he be given a paper and assigned a territory. Before the minister could frame a diplomatic refusal, he surrendered unconditionally to this half-plea and half-command: "You'd better give me one. I'm lucky and I bet you I'll make a raise." And he did! That very evening he returned with a pocketful of moneytwenty nickelsand the next day with twenty more. When this gleaning was done, he induced his grandmother to make him a carpenter's apron, and with a discarded hammer properly hanging in the hammer strap of his apron, he took his place among the boys who had already set to work after school to raise the walls of the gymnasium. Not quite that, for a carpenter laid out the frame and raised it with the help of the boys. The roof and the walls were covered with shingles, which was just the opportunity the boys were looking forthere were thousands of nails to drive! Two weeks before the work was done, November 30 was set for the opening night. To get ready for this, night work was necessary, but the young builders did not hesitate at this. By the free use of large lamps the opening night found the building finished. What a happy night it was! The rough interior had been made surprisingly attractive by a profusion of greens and flags. The building was filled with the parents and the friends of the energetic and persevering fellows who had worked hard to make their dream real. The Columbia Park Boys' Club Band was present and the Oceanside Boys' Club was launched to the strains of martial music! But what of the aftermath? When the chairs and the flags and the greens had been cleared away there remained an empty buildingwhich by faith was called a gymnasiumand an empty treasury. But the boys were not far away. Some fellow suggested that the place would make a good skating rink until it could be fitted up with gymnastic apparatus. It was an inspirationand a skating rink it became for boys and girls. After a period of wondering and planning about how that much coveted apparatus could be boughtfor that couldn't be madetwo liberal friends of all good works who had made the boys' hearts glad before in their building enterprise, made them shouting happy by furnishing the gymnasium. To secure the intelligent use of this, the churchwhich had been steadily growing all the whileguaranteed the salary of a physical director for a weekly class. So steady has been the growth of interest, that it has recently become necessary to establish a waiting list of applicants for admission to this class. And then a class of girls under a trained woman director was organized, to which are admitted the faithful ones in the sewing school established and conducted by Saint Paul's Guild of Womenthe wide-awake women's organization of the church. And that is the story of how the first permanent church was built after the fire in San Francisco. In San Francisco mind you, where if "there ain't no ten commandments" there are at least two: "Thou shalt love thy Lord thy God" and "thy neighbor as thyself." Note: Mills College alumna Cindy Price suspects the author of this article was likely the father of Lynn Townsend White, Jr., Mills College president from the 1940s and 1950s. Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places! 10 July 2020 Type Media Article In seasonal production systems, demand for semen from young genetically elite bulls often exceeds supply. As part of a large Science Foundation Ireland funded project researchers are examining the role of both early life nutrition and genetics in regulating sexual development and subsequent semen quality and fertility in young bulls. In seasonal production systems, demand for semen from young genetically elite bulls often exceeds supply. However, compared with their mature contemporaries, both the quantity and quality of semen from young bulls is relatively poor, gradually improving in the months following onset of puberty. Thus, there is a requirement to expedite the onset of sexual maturation in young bulls in order to ensure the timely availability of consistently high quality semen. Sexual development in the bull is regulated by both genetics and nutritional status, particularly during early life. As part of a large Science Foundation Ireland funded project we are examining the role of both early life nutrition and genetics in regulating sexual development and subsequent semen quality and fertility in young bulls. Key fertility traits including those related to sperm production capacity and quality are known to be heritable and thus hold potential for genetic selection. On-going research at Teagasc Grange is aimed at identifying key genes/genetic variants associated with early onset of sexual maturation and improved semen quality in young bulls. In a large on-farm experiment, intensive reproductive measurements including scrotal characteristics and electronically measured sperm kinetics and morphology traits are being recorded on 1,000 Spring born early post-pubertal Holstein-Friesian bulls. In addition, these young bulls are being genotyped and their DNA profile interrogated for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), small changes in their DNA sequence of their gene, that are associated with improved semen availability and quality during the early post-pubertal period. Preliminary results to-date show, as may be expected, large variation in semen quality characteristics amongst individual young bulls. Once semen sampling is complete on participating herds, a genome wide association study will be undertaken to determine genetic biomarkers associated with earlier sexual maturity and improved semen quality. It is expected that the work will yield a panel of SNP, which, following appropriate validation, could be exploited within current genomic selection assisted breeding programs for beef and dairy cattle. This will facilitate earlier availability of semen and subsequent propagation of genetically superior animals, thus increasing genetic progress and shortening the generation interval for both beef and dairy cattle in Ireland. This collaborative project, funded by Science Foundation Ireland (16/IA/4474), is led by Teagasc in partnership with University College Dublin, the University of Limerick and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation. Paris, July 11 : French President Emmanuel Macron has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to drop any plan to annex parts of the West Bank and elsewhere, the French presidency said in a statement. In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Macron reminded Netanyahu "of France's commitment to peace in the Middle East and asked him to refrain from taking any measure to annex Palestinian territories," the Elysee said in the statement on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported. Macron said that "such move would be against international law and would jeopardize the possibility of a two-state solution and the establishment of a fair and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians." Netanyahu had previously set July 1 as the starting date for his plan to annex the Jordan Valley and some other settlements in the West Bank. On July 1, Netanyahu did not make any statement about delaying or calling off the plan. His office only said the prime minister will continue to hold discussions with the US teams "in the coming days." On July 6, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told Kan Bet Radio that the annexation of the occupied West Bank is currently not on the government's agenda. Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with the party's Lok Sabha MPs through video conferencing on Saturday and is learnt to have discussed with them the COVID-19 situation in the country. According to sources, she also discussed the current political situation and the key issues that would be raised by the Congress in the next Parliament session where the party will seek to corner the government on the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the Sino-India standoff at Ladakh. The Congress has been critical of the BJP-led government over various issues, especially its handling of the pandemic as COVID-19 cases have risen exponentially after the easing of the lockdown, and the situation at the border with China in eastern Ladakh where 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent standoff with Chinese troops on June 15. The Congress has also been slamming the government not granting financial relief to the poor. It has demanded cash transfer into bank accounts of the poor and deprived sections. The party has also been raising the issue of rise in petrol and diesel prices and demanded reduction in fuel charges after slack in global crude oil price. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 12:18:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NANJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, an international research team led by Chinese scientists has developed a rapid and accurate screening model to detect lymph nodes, which can assist doctors in cancer treatment. Lymph nodes are the human immune system's first line of defense, protecting people from illnesses and virus infections. In the human body, lymph nodes are hundreds of small, round or bean-shaped glands that gather in the neck, armpit, abdomen and groin. Cancer that starts in another part of the body and spreads to the lymph nodes is called metastasis, which is important for clinicians to judge the development of cancer. However, the current MRI screening methods are time-consuming and can not identify all the lymph nodes in the scan regions, lowering the detection accuracy. A single lymph node occupies less than one-thousandth of an MRI sample, and it is easily confused with blood vessels and other tissues, said lead researcher Gao Xin, of the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "Even an experienced radiologist has to spend three to 10 minutes examining lymph nodes on one sample, and each case needs approximately 20 samples." "For small lymph nodes with a diameter of less than 5 mm, the detection accuracy is always less than 70 percent," Gao added. Based on MRI image data selected from 293 patients with rectal cancer at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University from 2013 to 2016, researchers developed the AI-assisted screening model. This turned detection experiences, accumulated by experts, into algorithms. The AI can detect the lymph nodes by a higher percentage, with only 1.37 seconds on each sample. This is 100 times faster than human detection. The researchers tested the AI model in patients at four medical centers in Guangzhou, Beijing, Suzhou and Guizhou, and compared its results with those of four Chinese radiologists, specializing in gastrointestinal diseases. The results showed that it can accurately identify 3-mm-diameter lymph nodes with a detection accuracy of 80 percent. The results were recently published in the journal EBioMedicine under The Lancet. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health also participated in the study. The AI model can also be used to detect metastatic cancers in other human organs or tissue, according to Gao. "We believe the AI-assisted screening model can save a great deal of manual labor and improve clinical efficiency, which will benefit more patients," said Gao. Enditem Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has secured a clear mandate with his ruling Peoples Action Party (PAP) winning 83 of the 93 contested parliamentary seats in the general election held amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, with the Opposition gaining ground by winning a record 10 seats. The ruling party, in power since independence in 1965, secured 61.24 per cent of the total votes cast in the election, down from 69.9 per cent in 2015. About 2.6 million Singaporeans voted on Friday. We have a clear mandate, but the percentage of the popular vote is not as high as I had hoped for, 68-year old Lee told a PAPs post-results press conference on Saturday morning. The opposition Workers Party secured 10 seats and defeated a team in the Group Representation Constituency of Sengkang led by former Minister in the Prime Ministers Office Ng Chee Meng who is also the Secretary-General of the power National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). The Prime Minister assured it is only right that Workers Partys Indian-origin secretary-general Pritam Singh be formally designated as the Leader of the Opposition, and that he will be provided with appropriate staff support and resources to perform his duties. Lee took the results in these circumstances as an endorsement of the partys policies and plans as he had called the elections amidst Covid-19 pandemic. Well take this forward and work with Singapore to realise those plans and solve the problems which we have, Channel News Asia quoted the premier as saying. Lee, who leads the PAP as secretary-general, said, Singaporeans understand whats at stake and why we must come together to uphold our national interests. He pledged to use this mandate responsibly to deal with the Covid-19 situation and economic downturn, to take Singapore safely through the crisis and beyond. The results reflect the pain and uncertainty that Singaporeans feel in this crisis, the loss of income, the anxiety about jobs, the disruption caused by the circuit breaker and the safe distancing restrictions, he said. This was not a feel-good election, said Lee, Singapores third prime minister who faces the city states worst recession with economy projected to shrink between 7 and 4 per cent. Lee acknowledged that the result also showed a clear desire for a diversity of voices in Parliament. Singaporeans want the PAP to form the government, but they, and especially the younger voters, also want to see more opposition presence in parliament, he noted. Lee added that he looks forward to the participation and contribution of the Opposition in parliament. Singh, whose Workers Party team retained Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), will have 10 elected MPs now, up from six previously. His fellow member also retained the Hougang single member constituency seat. Whether it works out and whether its seen as a strengthening of Singapore will depend not only on what the PAP does, but also on what the Opposition does because the Opposition now has 10 MPs elected from constituencies, said Lee. He assured that the ruling party will listen to Singaporeans and do its best to address their concerns, and try to win their support, whether or not they voted for the PAP. When asked by the media if the party had lost the youth vote, he noted that different generations have different life experiences, and the young have significantly different life aspirations and priorities compared to the older generations. Thatll have to be reflected in our political process and in the governments policies, because in the end, the governments policies must be to achieve the aspirations of every generation of Singaporeans, Lee said, assuring Singaporeans. He hoped that the new generations of Singaporeans look critically, but with an open mind at what previous generations have done, examine whats relevant and what continues to make sense to them in a new environment and learn from these experiences hard won by their parents and grandparents. This is so that they do not have to learn them all over again and pay a high price which has already been paid. Lee added that he was, naturally, disappointed at the loss of the newly formed Sengkang GRC, which the Workers Party won with 52.13 per cent of the valid votes. Ng Chee Meng and his team -- Lam Pin Min, Amrin Amin and Raymond Lye -- always knew it was going to be a tough fight, he said. They gave it their all, but Sengkang voters have spoken, and we respect their decision. Lee described it as a major loss to my team and to the fourth-generation leaders, especially as Ng is the secretary-general of the Labour Movement, the NTUC. Singh, 43, told a press conference following the results that his team would continue to endeavor for good outcomes on the ground and to represent voters faithfully in parliament. Todays results are positive, but we have to hit the ground running. We should not get over our head with the results. Theres much work to do. And I can assure you this Workers Party team is committed to serve Singapore, he stressed. The PAP contested all 93 seat and the Workers Party 21 seats. Nine other political parties also contested the elections. A total of 192 candidates contested for seats through 17 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). British tourists are having to resort to sleeping on beaches and booking new rooms in Europe after paying for hotels that are still closed due to coronavirus lockdown. Craig Fletcher, 38, booked his trip to the Canary Island of Tenerife through Loveholidays, who have already been criticised for failing to tell customers that their bookings are no longer available due to lockdown. The 38-year-old arrived at the Hotel Blue Sea in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife where a lady was, 'freaking out saying "you can't come in, we're closed".' She told Mr Fletcher, who works as a product manager, that he was not allowed to enter because of coronavirus restrictions. The woman advised him to take a taxi to the Blue Sea's sister hotel, the Costa Jardin, which is roughly a mile away. On arrival, Mr Fletcher was disappointed at the vast difference in accommodation. 'I booked a hotel with a huge pool, but (the Costa Jardin) had a pool maybe the length of an average backyard,' he told the Mirror. Pictured: Product Manager Craig Fletcher, 38, who turned up to his Loveholidays pre-booked hotel in Tenerife, only to find that it had been closed due to coronavirus lockdown He added that the room's furniture was not up to a suitable standard and that it looked like they 'got it on the cheap'. 'The restaurant is nice but there is a single bar. There are also 48 sun loungers for 300 guests,' he said. 'I'm basically in lockdown on holiday.'. Mr Fletcher, who believes the taxis and price difference between hotels have cost him 286 in total, said he tried to contact Loveholidays but was unable to get through. A loveholidays spokesperson told the Mirror: 'We wholeheartedly apologise to Mr Fletcher for the inconvenience and distress this has caused. 'Our customer services 'in-resort' team is urgently contacting Mr Fletcher to try to resolve this to his satisfaction and ensure that he can enjoy the rest of his holiday. 'We can confirm that Mr Fletcher will be compensated for the inconvenience.' British tourists are having to sleep on beaches in Europe after paying for rooms in hotels abroad that are still closed due to coronavirus lockdown Scenes outside the Regina Hotel in Spain, where customers arrived to find the resort had been locked down Pictured: A sign tells customers that the door to the hotel is closed Other British tourists have reported having to sleep on beaches in Europe after paying for rooms in hotels abroad that are still closed due to the lockdown. Consumer watchdog Which? reported the findings and said that the travel agency Loveholidays has been the main offender, according to the Times newspaper. One tourist resorted to paying 600 for an apartment for her son because she was scared he would have to 'sleep on the beach'. The man had already paid 1,500 for a hotel that was locked down when he arrived. Another, who set off for a break in the Spanish sun, arrived with his partner and 10-year-old son, only to find that the hotel was closed. The family were forced to seek out and pay for new accommodation. Paul Davis, 48, from Lincolnshire, booked a holiday in Salou on the Costa Daurada in Spain on the 1 July to arrive just three days later on 4 July. The trip, which cost over 1,500, was booked the day the Foreign Office relaxed its international travel advice, allowing Britons to take a hard-earned break in the sun. British tourists are find that they have to sleep on beaches or even returning home after they paid for rooms in hotels that are still closed On arrival, the 4R Regina Gran hotel was shuttered and Mr Davis was left with no other option than to book a new room. Eventually, he was able to transfer to a hotel run by Loveholidays, but he lost his 250 deposit for cancelling the second resort. 'When we pulled up I thought we must have the wrong hotel: it was all shut and hadn't been opened for a good while,' he told the Times. 'It's disgusting. We were fortunate enough to have the money to stay somewhere else but lots of other people probably aren't in that position.' The original hotel was still available to book yesterday through Loveholidays. A queue of guests stand waiting to check in at the Hotel Cimbel in Benidorm British tourists seen walking along the beach in Benidorm today as lockdown is eased British tourists seen relaxing at the Hotel Cimbel in Benidorm today as lockdown is eased One social media user tweeted at Loveholidays: 'My family is leaving for Gran Canaria shortly and i called hotel and they are closed and so i need new hotel booked and any other changes done asap'. Another ranted to On The Beach: 'You lot are p*** takers. My son has been trying to get in touch with you for 16 days but you leave it to the day before he is due to fly knowing his hotel is closed, then say his hotel has been changed'. According to Which?, the majority of complaints of rooms being sold at locked down hotels involve Loveholidays, but that there were some others. Pictured: The Hotel Pantheon in Rome closed due to the coronavirus pandemic on 24 June. Tourists have been arriving to their holiday destinations only to find that hotels are still closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic Some Britons are resorting to sleeping on the beach, while others have returned home (pictured, tourists arrive at the Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on July 8, 2020) A passenger wearing a protective face mask, carries her luggage as she gets off an Eurostar train at Amsterdam Central Station, on July 9, 2020 Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel magazine, told The Times: 'It is beyond belief that holidaymakers have been left in a position where they have either had to fork out hundreds of pounds for alternative accommodation or risk being left with nowhere to sleep.' A Loveholidays spokeswoman said: 'We are aware of a few instances where customers have arrived at hotels that are closed and our in-resort emergency assistance team are working with those customers to find them suitable alternative accommodation.' She insisted that in some cases the hotel had not informed the agent of its closure, adding: 'We apologise for any inconvenience or distress this may have caused our customers. We will of course refund the cost of his hotel booking.' Britons land in Ibiza as 'air bridges' come into force but will have to wear masks or face fines as Costa del Sol joins growing list of Spanish destinations where face coverings are mandatory By Sam Blitz and Rita Sobot for Mailonline Around 500 British tourists arrived in Ibiza via air bridges on Saturday as the first holidaymakers to travel to the Balearic Islands since quarantine restrictions were lifted. On the first weekend since the air bridges were announced by the UK Government, sun-seekers from London and Manchester airports took flights via travel agency company TUI. However, British tourists travelling to Spain's most popular destinations, including the Costa del Sol, Mallorca as well as Ibiza, will have to wear masks in most public areas - or face fines of up to 100 (90). Around 500 British tourists travelled to Ibiza on Saturday as the UK's first travellers to the Balearic Islands, including Katy De Freitas (pictured left) and boyfriend Bart Dwurczeuk (right) Quarantine rules were lifted by the UK Government earlier this month and Brits do not have to self-isolate upon their arrival in Ibiza nor when they return to Britain Travel agency company TUI arranged the flights from London and Manchester airports over the weekend The Balearic Government ruled on Monday that face masks must be worn by everyone in shops and other public places, but not on beaches and by swimming pools. A similar rule has been adopted by the Andalusian Government which will see the Costa del Sol conform to these regulations, while city of Barcelona will also follow this policy following an announcement by the Catalonia government. Juanma Moreno, president of the Andalusian Government, revealed that the Costa del Sol is not in a critical health state, saying: 'All cases are being controlled and isolated, but this can change at any time. 'Therefore, the best we can do is prevent and adopt with all rigor all the measures within our reach. We all have to work together until there is no effective treatment or a vaccine.' Some Britons were initially fearful of travelling to places on holiday due to fears of contracting the virus. Katy De Freitas, who travelled to Ibiza with her boyfriend over the weekend, said: 'We were quite worried because a lot of our close friends or colleagues at work, they thought it was too risky to travel abroad and they didn't think it was a good idea to make a rash decision and go away any time soon. 'We did have initial worries and we wanted to make sure we read the Government rules correctly and that we didn't do anything wrong.' In Ibiza, the need to wear masks is being followed by British tourists, even though some do not agree with the decision. Britons travelling Ibiza will have to wear to wear face masks in public areas but not on beaches and next to swimming pools Similar rules have been adopted in the Costa del Sol in Andalusia (pictured), as well as in Barcelona and Mallorca Some Ibiza holiday resorts have been taking extra precautions to make sure visitors are safe during what is likely to be the first weekend abroad for tourists Some Brits believe that this way of holidaying is the 'new normal' and that wearing face masks on holiday could stay over the next year Lee Peacock, a 41-year-old gas engineer who travelled to Ibiza from Manchester, told PA: 'I don't agree with the masks. I don't think they do anything but I'll wear them to help get the economy going again.' Other Britons have found social distancing to be difficult while travelling to and spending time in Ibiza. Graham Milne, 55, from Newcastle said: 'You've just got to have your wits about you and be as careful as you can. As for social distancing, I think sort of, on the plane, that goes out the window to be honest. 'You wear a mask when you are on the plane but you've just got to be careful and wash your hands as much as possible.' Despite gaining a reputation amongst Brits for being a party island, Ibiza's main nightclubs are still shut in order to maintain social distancing rules. In Ibiza and Mallorca, tourists do not have to wear masks on beaches (pictured) and next to swimming pools Bengaluru/Guwahati/Lucknow Karnataka, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya on Saturday imposed or extended lockdowns for varying periods in areas reporting alarming surges in cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), moves that were aimed at containing clusters and preventing the emergence of fresh hot spots in high-risk areas. The Karnataka government announced a complete week-long lockdown in Bengaluru from Tuesday, while Uttar Pradesh enforced curbs for the weekend to check the spread of the infectious disease. In the North-east, the Assam government extended the Covid-19 lockdown in Guwahati by another week. Assam chief secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna said the 14-day lockdown in the district was scheduled to end at 6pm on Sunday but the district magistrate reported that rising cases may be a major threat to public health, hygiene and safety of the general population. Due to extensive testing, isolation and other restrictive measures, community spread of Covid-19 has been contained to some extent and this necessitates further extension of prohibitory measures to contain the spread of the pandemic, he stated. Guwahati city has reported a surge of positive cases with 6,221 since June 24 following which a complete lockdown was imposed in the entire district on June 28. While the Meghalaya government announced a two-day total lockdown in capital Shillong from Monday, the restrictions in Arunachal Pradeshs capital complex were extended for another week in view of the rising cases. The previous lockdown which was imposed in the capital complex comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa on July 6 was scheduled to end at 5 pm on July 13. State governments have been enforcing localised lockdowns amid rising Covid-19 cases even as the Centre issued guidelines around a fortnight back for the second of a three-phase plan to lift restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the disease in March. The Covid-19 cases in the country climbed past the 800,000 mark on Friday. Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Saturday announced the week-long hard lockdown in Bengalurus urban and rural districts from 8pm on July 14 to 5am on July 22. He said everything would be shut except essential services such as hospitals, pharmacies, milk shops and vegetable and grocery stores. Bengaluru has reported a sharp spike in cases in the recent days, fuelling the outbreak in the southern state. The Karnataka government also released guidelines allowing Resident Welfare Associations, Apartment Owners Associations, as well as companies, to establish Covid-19 care centres. As of July 11 evening, cumulatively 36,216 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 613 deaths and 14,716 discharges, a government bulletin said. Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 16,862 infections. In Uttar Pradesh, roads, markets, commercial establishments and offices were empty across the state as it implemented a lockdown from 10pm on Friday for the weekend. The lockdown will end at 5am on Monday. Expect essential services, everything else will be barred during this period. Municipal bodies across the state also launched a three-day cleanliness drive. A sanitisation drive was carried out in Lucknows containment zones and nearby areas. We have deputed over 600 staff with backpack kits for the sanitisation purpose..., said Lucknow municipal commissioner Indramani Tripathi. In Bihar, 17 out of 38 districts have enforced three- to seven-day lockdowns. The state has reported half of its total cases this month. A lockdown was imposed in Bihars capital Patna from Friday. A weekend lockdown began in Odisha in 23 of the 30 districts. The weekend lockdown was imposed in the states 11 districts in June. Odisha has reported 57% of its total Covid-19-related deaths this month. The ongoing 14-day lockdown was also extended in Guwahati and rest of Kamrup Metro district by another week beginning Sunday evening. The region has been under total lockdown since June 28. Officials said the lockdown has helped contain community spread to some extent and the numbers are showing encouraging downward trend, which necessitates further extension of the lockdown. Meghalaya also announced a two-day lockdown in capital Shillong from July 13. Nagaland has also decided to extend the ongoing lockdown in the state till July 31. The ongoing lockdown in the state was supposed to end on July 16. With inputs from PTI Lawmaker Denies Online Reports Of Explosion West Of Tehran Radio Farda July 10, 2020 Following social media reports saying an explosion was heard west of Iran's capital city Tehran, a member of parliament has denied it. Iran's official IRIB and state-controlled Mehr news agencies, as well as Jamaran website quoted the social media reports, saying they believe the explosion was in the Garmdareh and Qods regions. But none of these media outlets confirmed the news. The social media reports also claimed that a part of the area in question lost electricity. However, Fars news agency close to the Revolutionary Guard sent reporters to the area at night to interview residents, trying to dispel any talk of an explosion. Friday morning, the area's representative in the Iranian parliament denied any explosion took place or problems with electricity. ISNA news agency quoted Hossein Haqverdi who said "There were no explosions in these areas and only due to work by the electricity company we had interruptions in Qods township". Experts say there are at least two military installations in the area in question. There have been a series of explosions and mysterious fires in Iran in recent weeks, some occurring around sensitive military installations. One major even took place one week ago when an apparent explosion destroyed a uranium enrichment centrifuge assembly building in the Natanz nuclear facility. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/breaking--- media-in-iran-quote-online-reports-of-explosion -west-of-tehran/30717083.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - The Beninese government intends to revise its public procurement code through the transmission to the Assembly of a draft related to this code, parliamentary sources told PANA on Saturday Its ironic, as well as fitting, that Ayad Akhtar, the Pulitzer-winning playwright and author of 2012s American Dervish, began writing his new novel in Italy. Homeland Elegies (Little, Brown, Sept.) is narrated by a Pakistani American writer and chronicles, through the story of himself and his family, what Akhtar calls the decay of our country over the last half-century. Its a book about America, in other words. But its also a story about alienationabout what he calls the insider-outsider experience of immigrants and first-generation citizens. And it took being halfway across the world, during a stay at the American Academy in Rome, for Akhtar to gain the perspective his story required. Donald Trump has been in office for just under a year, Akhtar, 49, says of that time. I got up one morning after reading a poem by Leopardi, which is entitled To Italy. Hes addressing the Italian people. I thought to myself, Would it be possible today to just address the American people? Would that even make sense? Could you even do something like that? Homeland Elegies is Akhtars attempt to do just that. The weight of politics in our country had coalesced and summoned a response out of me, he says, speaking via Zoom from his house in a town south of Albany, N.Y., where hes been waiting out the Covid-19 pandemic with his fiancee. The novel, Akhtars first since American Dervish, consists of eight long but fast-moving chapters, as well as an overture and a coda. Eschewing linear chronology, the narrator, who shares many biographical details with Akhtar, including his last name, moves between past and present, documenting, among other things, his immigrant parents uneasy acclimation to the U.S., his own struggles and eventual success as a writer, and his involvement with a Muslim hedge fund titan whose respectable political objectives are overshadowed by his financial skullduggery. Linking the chapters are several preoccupying themes: the double consciousness inherent in the minority experience, the contest between allegiances to ones country and ones culture, the strictures of identity, and the broken promises of America. The narrator finds himself suspended between his father, who embraces his adopted country with sometimes myopic optimism (and who supports Trump), and his mother, who views the U.S. as hypocritical and racist, and whose animus toward it drives her, at one point, to express something like sympathy for Osama bin Laden. The narrator finds it impossible to escape fully his sense of his own difference. At one point, on seeing his reflection, he thinks, My likeness in the mirror was a reminder of something about myself I always chose to forget, something never available to me except when confronted by my appearance: that though I didnt feel other in any meaningful way, I clearly appeared only that wayat least to myself. Readers of Akhtars previous work will be familiar with these themes. American Dervish focuses on a young boy growing up in suburban Milwaukee who struggles to reconcile his Muslim heritage and his American identity. A subsequent play, Disgraced, which won a Pulitzer in 2013, depicts a dinner party that gives rise to explosive conversations about Islamophobia. Akhtars double identity as a novelist and playwrighthes also made a film, The War Within, and has spent the past five years developing series for TVis of a piece with his upbringing. Hybridity is an important part of my consciousness, he says. That may have something to do with growing up Pakistani and being American. Ive been toggling between various kinds of craft and various ways of thinking about story my whole life. Its always felt organic to do that. Akhtar was born on Staten Island in 1970. In his early childhood, he moved with his parents, both doctors, to Milwaukee, where they lived first in the city and then in two suburbs, Brookfield and Elm Grove. (In Homeland Elegies, the narrators hometown is Elm Brook.) Akhtar graduated from Brown in 1993 with a degree in theater and, in 1997, matriculated at Columbia to pursue an MFA in film directing. But he believes pivoting between disciplines has been a boon, not a hindrance, to his artistic development. Each of them has taught me how to do the other, he says. When Akhtar returned to fiction with Homeland Elegies, he did so with a desire to push the novel form. In its liberal use of the authors own life, in its brazen blurring of the line between fiction and autobiography, the book seems destined to attract the du jour label autofiction. But Akhtar bristles at that term. This, to me, feels much more like a literary attempt at reality serial television, he says, where the narrator is staging his own self, in the way that dramatic self-staging has become the dominant mode of discourse. By way of explanation, Akhtar invokes Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and the solipsism those platforms enable. He also notes that the America he writes about is presently governed by a former reality TV star given to acts of sensational self-staging. In a way, the book critiques its own mode of discourse. I might be suggesting that narrative is not a very good way of knowing things, Akhtar says. And that part of our philosophical confusion in our crumbling republic may have to do with the fact that everyone has now become a storyteller. It also has to do, Akhtar believes, with money. In Homeland Elegies, as in his 2016 play Junk, he takes on greed, capitalism, and the grim fact that much of American life at all levelscorporate, educational, municipal, personalis fueled by debt. Finance, he says, is the great untold story. Its really what drives so much of American life, in ways that people dont understand. For the narrators father, the promise of America is inextricable from the promise of wealth. But over the course of the novel, his dreams of enrichment elude him, and he descends into gambling addiction and insolvency. I knew it was always going to be about money, Akhtar says of the book. I knew it was going to be about my fathers relationship to money. I knew it was going to be about America as a kind of casino, where me and my dad are marks. By flirting with autobiography in the novel, Akhtar leaves unclear which of the narrators and his familys disgraces are fictional. For Judy Clain, Akhtars editor at Little, Brown, this ambiguity is a source of the books strength. I started out wanting to dissect the novel and find out what was truly autobiographical and what was not, she says. I concluded that it didnt actually matter. The essence of the book, the form, the playfulness, the gray area is the reward. Akhtar sees his unflinching honesty as part of his artistic, and moral, purpose. In writing this book, he says, I knew I was going to have to use my family, use my personal life, to the end of creating this particular portrait of our country. It had to be a work that really engaged, and also implicated, my own flesh and blood. And if I was going to subject my parents to the kind of portrayal that they end up having, especially my father, I knew I couldnt spare myself. Daniel Lefferts is a writer living in New York City. Actor Amitabh Bachchan with son Abhishek Bachchan (AFP File Photo) The Covid-19 outbreak continues to be in the grim condition as it raged across the world. The United States remained the worst affected country as it recorded at least 62,500 new Covid-19 cases on Friday in a record daily increase for the third consecutive day. Brazil registered 45,048 additional cases of the novel coronavirus over the last 24 hours taking its tally to 1,800,827. While in Japan, the threat of second wave of Covid-19 loomed as Tokyo detected 243 new cases of the coronavirus, surpassing 200 for a second day in a row and setting a new record. Click here for full Covid-19 coverage While countries continue to brave the unprecedented virus outbreak, World Health Organisation headed for China to organise an investigation into the origins of Covid-19. Meanwhile, India continued to see a daily spike in Covid-19 cases as various state governments reimposed intense lockdown restrictions in the containment zones in their respective states. Follow the live updates here At a furniture store in Ho Chi Minh City some years ago, I saw colorful satin-upholstered sofas whose sides were drab black polyester. This, I was told, was because the sides would take dirt from motorbike tires and must be easy to clean: A Vietnamese family would park the two-wheeler, its most precious possession, next to the living-room furniture to keep it safe at night. Societies that value and make things that workers themselves use lift living standards and labor productivity. No wonder Vietnam, now a hub for Samsung Electronics Co., is winning investments from Inventec Corp., Apple Inc.s main assembly partner for AirPods, as well as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., better known as Foxconn. SPRINGFIELD Western Massachusetts legislators believe a more equitable solution is necessary after the region was left out of a push to open free coronavirus testing sites. I think its good to have the strategic ability to surge, but it has to be equitable, said Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton. The states Stop the Spread initiative has placed free sites in eight eastern Massachusetts communities with 8% positive test rates, in comparison to the 2% state average. The cities are Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Marlborough and New Bedford. Gov. Charlie Baker cited higher COVID-19 rates and lower testing levels in those areas. One of the things the Western Massachusetts delegation has done repeatedly throughout this crisis is call attention to, demand more resources for and drive state focus to the four western counties in an effort to demonstrate the inequities in testing, ask for clarification and evidence around personal protective equipment and ask for accurate counts so that we can have the best and highest public health standards for our people, Comerford said. State Sen. Eric P. Lesser, D-Longmeadow, said he supports the free testing initiative but questions why there are no Western Massachusetts communities included in this first round of sites especially when the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker shows that Hampden County has a fatality rate of 9.73%. The statewide fatality rate is 7.66%. The effort to test the communities in this first round are laudable and have my full support, but it is simply inexcusable to exclude a geographic area spanning 4,280 square miles and a population of over 1.65 million, Lesser said in statement Friday. Other members of the Western Massachusetts delegation supported Lessers comments. Sen. James Welch, D-West Springfield, said the western part of the state has to advocate for itself. We cant sit around and wait for the administration to focus on Western Massachusetts. Sometimes we have to step up and direct money and state resources directly to our communities, he said. When the administration puts out a list of sites thats intended to be statewide and there is not one thats west of Worcester, do I think its intentional? No, but thats the bigger problem. Welch said Hampden County has large Latino and Black communities, which are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus, according to data released by the state Department of Public Healths COVID-19 Health Equity Advisory Group. The data found that Black and Latino residents have a positive coronavirus case rate three times higher than white residents. We have seen the statistics that show our Latinx and African American communities have been hit the hardest. Thats why in our supplemental budget last week I secured $100,000 for the New North Citizens Council to expand personal protective equipment related resources including testing, Welch said, referring to the nonprofit in Springfields North End that serves a large Latino population. Its critically important to get resources into those community agencies that are on the ground so they can administer the testing process, because sometimes when we allocate money on the top end it doesnt always get to the community we are trying to focus on, Welch said. State Rep. Aaron Vega, D-Holyoke, said he wants easier access to free testing. If Im a farm worker, or I work at the grocery store or if Im thinking of going away for the weekend with my family and I want to be sure, I still might not be able to get the test, he said. Despite the fact that they (the administration) say they want to have more testing available, they are still putting a lot obstacles in peoples way. While it is important to focus on essential workers, many people have had to work throughout the pandemic and have not been made a priority, Vega said. What about our grocery store workers and the FedEx delivery guy? They have been working this whole time and they deserve a simple, streamlined process to get tested, he said. Since the pandemic started, Comerford said she has worked with state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, to advocate for farmers and farm workers in the western part of the state. We were minimally successful in having our farmers and farm employees qualify as essential workers, Comerford said. We have a disproportionate number of farms in the four western counties and these are essential employees who are not being afforded the same kind of fast-track testing as other employees doing the same kind of public-facing work. She said the data cited by the state, which shows a 2% average positive case rate statewide, may not reflect the actual number of cases in rural communities. Residents of rural areas struggle with public transportation, making it difficult for them to access testing. We know there have been hot spots out here and that there are challenges to accessing rural residents, Comerford said. We have hundreds of square miles to cover and our numbers may not be the same as eastern Massachusetts, which is why we need equity. She also supports Lessers argument that Hampden County has significant racial and economic disparities that make it more susceptible to the coronavirus. Why is Hampden County not getting the kind of attention that some of the more urban places out east are getting? she said. It has to do with people needing to remember that Western Mass. needs its fair share and that we have the right to the same kind of public health access and resources as our Eastern Massachusetts counterparts. Related Content: WHO admits that coronavirus can be airborne: The WHO had described this form of transmission as doubtful and a problem mostly in medical procedures. But growing scientific and anecdotal evidence suggest this route may be important in spreading the virus, and this week more than 200 scientists urged the agency to revisit the research and revise its position. In an updated scientific brief, the agency also asserted more directly than it had in the past that the virus may be spread by people who do not have symptoms: Infected people can transmit the virus both when they have ... BEARDSTOWN The Cass County states attorney has formally charged a Beardstown man with three counts of possession of child pornography and one count of sexual contact with an animal following the mans arrest Tuesday. Dalton M. Gallaher, 22, of Beardstown was arrested after a four-month investigation by Illinois State Police and the Office of the Illinois Attorney General Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The Indian economy needs major reforms in areas like land, labour and banking, in addition to the measures already undertaken like the GST and bankruptcy law, KKR Global Institute chief David Petraeus said on Friday. "I think there is...really a need for additional reforms in addition to the GST, bankruptcy law, banking for the unbanked. "Other reforms that have been made and have been impressive and did propel India's growth for a number of years until the gradual slowdown about a year or two prior to the pandemic," he said during a virtual session of the India Global Week 2020. Petraeus, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), added there is also a question of how India can implement some of its reforms like GST effectively. "But then what about these other areas? And these are huge areas -- we are talking about labour and land reforms. And then again, the bad bank (loan) problem is not a trivial issue," he said. "India has to figure out what to do about these structures that are essentially where various degrees of insolvency separates the bad banks from the good banks. It needs to take another variety of measures in the financial arena," he added. If India can do all of that, given the demographics, market size, advantages and skills, it can pull itself forward very impressively, he emphasised. The IMF on June 24 projected a sharp contraction of 4.5 per cent for the Indian economy in 2020, a "historic low", citing the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, but said the country is expected to bounce back in 2021 with a robust 6 per cent growth rate. Meanwhile, a top IMF official on Friday said there is room for more fiscal support in India in the near term, particularly for vulnerable households and small and medium enterprises, given the severity of the country's economic situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vitor Gaspar, Director of the International Monetary Fund's Fiscal Affairs Department, told PTI that a complete and successful implementation of the existing support measures (in particular, food provision to households) is of paramount importance. "Given the severity of the economic situation, in the near-term there is room for more fiscal support, particularly for vulnerable households and SMEs (small and medium-enterprises)," he said. LOUISVILLE, Ky. New York City shifted $1 billion from its police budget. Los Angeles' city council approved $150 million in cuts to police. And Minneapolis officials have pledged to begin the process of ending the city's police department. But in Louisville a city in the national spotlight following Louisville Metro Police's fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor the Metro Council reallocated no city dollars for police. Council members, in interviews with The Courier Journal, gave a host of reasons for their approach to police funding: low pay, staffing reductions in Louisville Metro Police, rising violent crime, timing and a lack of alternative response models, among others. Even those open to the idea of shifting some police responsibilities to outside agencies or "co-responders," such as behavioral health specialists, said they were reluctant to move quickly without a plan in place. "I, and I think many others, would be in favor of using funds in that way," said Councilman Bill Hollander, D-9th District. "But there are no programs in place right now to do that. "The council did not support 'defunding the police' if that means having fewer officers, without alternatives to deal with the things officers are asked to deal with mental illness, drug addiction or people without homes." The council's vote didn't sit well for some who were disappointed to see the police budget grow, not shrink, in the final document, even as a rallying cry for defunding police departments across the country grew among protesters and progressives. "They really need to look at what is happening in this moment," said Chanelle Helm, an organizer with Black Lives Matter. "They have to listen to people in the streets right now." Others, like Robert LeVertis Bell, a former candidate for Metro Council who made police funding a focal point in his campaign, were not surprised. Story continues "Anybody who's watched the Metro Council since merger knows that they have been very resistant to social pressure for fundamental changes to the police," Bell said. July 9: Police interviews say Breonna Taylor's home was a 'soft target,' suspect already located He added that there's a "lack of vision" on Metro Council, calling it a "go-along-get-along" kind of body. The 26-member Louisville Metro Council has a 19-member Democratic majority led by Council President David James, a former police officer and Fraternal Order of Police president, and Councilman Markus Winkler, the Democratic caucus chairman, who was first elected in 2018. The budget was ultimately approved with the exception of one no-vote: Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin, D-2nd, who said the spending plan didn't send enough money to her district. Josh Poe, a researcher with the Root Cause Research Center, a Louisville-based grassroots research organization, called the budget vote a "tone-deaf" stance that shows the council doesn't understand that "the whole world is watching Louisville." "They're used to doing things in this way that's very isolated, very provincial, without really any context of where they land nationally in these sorts of decisions," Poe said. Here's what led up to the vote: A very different police budget conversation Mayor Greg Fischer issues his budget cuts proposal during a meeting of the Louisville Metro Council. Apr. 25, 2019 Mayor Greg Fischer presented his budget proposal to the council in late April, jump-starting several weeks of budget hearings prior to the council's final vote on the spending plan in late June. Then-Chief Steve Conrad appeared before the council's budget committee on May 18, a week before George Floyd's death sparked a national conversation around racial justice and 10 days before protesters first took to Louisville's streets. At that meeting, the conversation focused more on the potential to increase the police budget, to pay officers higher salaries, than making any cuts. "We can't go another year without addressing (pay). Full stop," Councilman Anthony Piagentini, R-19th District, said in May, before asking officials about how council would go about budgeting for salary increases. "If we all have to take furloughs to get LMPD paid properly, then we'll start talking about it." Other council members also expressed concern about LMPD being "outbid" on potential officers by other departments, and Conrad noted that both firefighters and code enforcement officers within Louisville Metro Government earn a higher starting salary. LMPD provided council with data showing Louisville's base pay for entry-level police employees about $39,000 is lower than than several nearby areas. July 7: Breonna Taylor's mother endures national spotlight to make sure Black women's lives matter LMPD officials and Metro Council members have expressed concern for months, if not years, over the number of police officers leaving the department due to resignation or retirement. And a canceled recruit class last fiscal year, amid citywide budget cuts that touched nearly every agency, left the department with fewer officers on the street in June 2020 than a year ago. "What I fear worse than the mass exodus is the failure of young men and women interested in coming in to be their replacement," Councilman Mark Fox, D-13th, a former LMPD major, said in an interview, calling LMPD "already defunded, demoralized and dejected." Public outcry demands council 'revisit' police funding National dialogue shifted in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as protests swept American cities, including Louisville. The idea of "defunding" the police, or reallocating dollars into other social programs or community priorities, began to gain traction, and activists in Louisville made a case for it locally. The city, by that point, had reached national prominence as protesters around the nation called for justice for Breonna Taylor, who was shot to death by Louisville police in March. Poe said he called for defunding the department last year with "very few voices in that space." From then to now, he said the conversation has expanded widely, showing it's "not going anywhere." "An entire generation coming up sees it this way," Poe said. "We've never had a problem defunding all these other programs," said Shawnte West, a social worker who pushed Metro Council to cut the police budget. "Every day the dial turns in other cities, we just look even worse." Just over a week before the council's June 25 budget vote, Councilman Brandon Coan, D-8th, published a plan to cut LMPD's budget by 15% over the next three budgets. Protesters, from young to old, took to the Louisville streets Friday to demand justice for slain EMT Breonna Taylor, who was shot eight times by LMPD during a botched 'no-knock' raid. The officers involved have not been fired. Coan said he'd tried to negotiate up until the final vote including suggesting that if people weren't interested in a 5% reduction, just $1 million could be shifted to pay for 10 public or behavioral health specialists. His efforts got no traction among his colleagues, he said, calling it a "disappointment." "A large part of the public was so vocal and clear about the need to revisit the police budget," Coan said after the vote. "Council's failure to send any signal that it heard them was really troubling to me." Ryan Nichols, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police chapter representing LMPD officers, said the idea of defunding the police was "outlandish" from the police's viewpoint: "You should want the best trained and best qualified person to be the police officer for your municipality. ... To get that person, you have to pay that person." The final version of the budget redirects the agency's state forfeiture funds about $1.2 million toward exploring "deflection," the idea of moving people away from the criminal justice system, and the use of co-responders, like behavioral health specialists, along with recruitment efforts and training on using force, de-escalation and implicit bias. Other changes include: $3.5 million for a community grocery intended to address a Louisville food desert; $763,500 set aside for forthcoming civilian review of LMPD, potentially for an inspector general, civilian review board or hybrid model; $5 million more for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund; $1 million for a new Homeowner and Rental Repair Loan Fund; and $2.5 million for programs that support home repair and support home ownership. After the vote, Hollander told The Courier Journal that increased funding in the budget for disadvantaged neighborhoods was done "in large part because of the racial equity issues that have really risen to the fore." June 19: Louisville police is firing officer Brett Hankison involved in Breonna Taylor shooting "The urgency of dealing with some of those issues did change in the last few weeks," he said. What if there had been more time to examine the police budget? Some council members in interviews with The Courier Journal appeared to suggest that, had there been more time for public discussion, it's possible that more substantive changes for the police budget could have seen wider support. Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith, D-4th, for instance, said last week she would have been open to a smaller police budget, in theory, if it were aligned with what officers provide the community. Timing played a role, she said, because there wasn't "robust discussion until very late." "It carried with it a framework of being more reactionary than strategic thinking for a sustainable future," Sexton Smith said. Councilwoman Nicole George, D-21st, a social worker, also expressed willingness to reevaluate police responsibilities and explore alternative response models. But she suggested there are "all kinds of questions" to be answered first. Others, however, doubted whether such a proposal would've gotten support regardless of when it was pitched. Many council members said they heard from constituents who wanted more police or who demanded they not cut funding. One described very different calls coming from constituents inside and outside the Watterson Expressway. "We can take another look at what the role of officers are, and are there other programs that can help relieve some of their burden. I am open to those conversations. But there's no amount of mental health support that is going to solve the violent crime wave," Piagentini said. LMPD's final budget is more than $190 million, though the general fund appropriation the city's dollars, rather than state or federal grants is slightly smaller than years prior. Fischer recommended $178,850,500 from Louisville's budget, compared to a revised budget of $179,056,400 the prior year and an actual budget of $176,806,600 in fiscal year 2018-19. (The uptick in the overall budget is partially attributable to a larger projected state grant amount and slightly more expected in agency receipts.) Fact check: Louisville Police had a 'no-knock' warrant for Breonna Taylors apartment What happens next? Many Metro Council members say they hope to explore response models in the coming months. Fox, the former police major, said "based on what our community is saying," something like a co-responder model should "absolutely" be explored. Hollander, too, said he hoped for a "serious discussion" moving forward about co-responder and diversion models. "What people want to know is, if you're taking away money from the police officers, what responsibilities are you also taking away? And who would fulfill those responsibilities?" Hollander, the budget chairman, said. "There wasn't time to figure that out." Even Nichols, the FOP president, said the union is supportive of programs that could help to ease the responsibilities of LMPD, such as programs to help the homeless population or mental health treatment though he stressed those dollars shouldn't come from an "understaffed, underpaid" police department. For community advocates, the council is going to have to adapt or risk losing their seats. "They should be aware that folks are not looking at them as the solution anymore. We're finding our own solutions," said Helm, the BLM organizer. "If they want to be more community-minded, they have to listen to the people in the streets right now." West, too, said activists plan to "keep the pressure up." "To me, it's embarrassing for Louisville not to make any significant changes regarding the police budget," the social worker said. "They have a lot of power, to be able to get the ball rolling on making really transformational changes in Louisville, instead of just things that work at the surface." Follow Darcy Costello on Twitter: @dctello. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Breonna Taylor death: Why Louisville didn't defund its police Johns Hopkins University has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration's decision to make international students leave the US if they intend to take classes entirely online starting this fall. The Baltimore private institution filed the lawsuit on Friday against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in federal court in the District of Columbia, the Baltimore Sun reported. It argues that the agency's decision "completely upended" the university's reopening plans for the upcoming semester. ICE notified colleges Monday that international students will be forced to leave the US or transfer to another college if their schools operate entirely online this fall. New visas will not be issued to students at those schools, and others at universities offering a mix of online and in-person classes will be barred from taking all of their classes online. The guidance says international students won't be exempt even if an outbreak forces their schools online during the fall term. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have also filed a lawsuit to prevent federal immigration authorities from enforcing the rule. Neither school plans to offer in-person classes this fall. About 5,000 international students are enrolled at Johns Hopkins. The school has plans for hybrid semesters with a mix of in-person and online classes. It also intends to shift to online-only classes after the Thanksgiving break. The lawsuit characterizes the Trump administration's decision as "arbitrary and capricious" and argues it puts the university in the "untenable dilemma" of either following its reopening plans or attempting to offer in-person instruction to allow international students to remain enrolled. "The adverse consequences of this sudden displacement are devastating financially and personally," according to the complaint. ICE did not respond to a request for comment from the newspaper. In a statement earlier this week, the US State Department said international students are welcome in the US, but the policy "provides greater flexibility for non-immigrant students to continue their education in the United States, while also allowing for proper social distancing on open and operating campuses across America". CLAYTON It was a shot across the bow, as one area leader called it. The day after the largest company by revenue in the region, Centene Corp., announced it would build a $1 billion eastern headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, and hire as many as 6,000 people there over the next decade, CEO Michael Neidorff gave several interviews to local media outlets. He offered a sharp critique, which he said was intended to be constructive, and one concern was clear: his efforts at recruiting top-notch talent to the region were being hurt by crime and the image it gives St. Louis. Google St. Louis, he said, and murder capital comes up. He needed something different, if he hoped to continue growing his company here. I believe in being honest and candid, Neidorff said during an interview on KMOX (1120 AM). Charlotte is an alternative and a viable alternative if we cant fix things here. And I believe we can. Its not something that has to happen in one day or one month. Its a process. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 18:08:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LA PAZ, July 11 (Xinhua) -- President of the Bolivian Senate Monica Eva Copa said Friday that she was infected with COVID-19. "I am informing Bolivia that my COVID-19 tests turned out to be positive. I am following the epidemiological protocols and will remain in isolation for the necessary time. My condition is stable, and I will not refrain from performing my duties in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (parliament), (and I) will continue to work remotely," Copa tweeted. Other Bolivian officials diagnosed with COVID-19 include Interim President Jeanine Anez Chavez, the minister of health, the head of the Central Bank and the head of the presidential administration. Bolivia has tallied over 44,000 COVID-19 cases so far, with more than 1,600 fatalities. Enditem President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Friday, June 28, 2019. Trump claimed in a July 2020 interview to have authorized a clandestine military cyberattack against Russia's internet access during the 2018 mid-term elections. Read more WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has acknowledged in an interview with a Washington Post columnist that he ordered a clandestine military cyberstrike against Russian trolls in 2018 to disrupt their Internet access during the midterm elections. Asked by columnist Marc Thiessen whether he had authorized the operation, Trump said "Correct," according to a piece posted Friday. Until now, neither the White House nor the Pentagon had publicly confirmed the operation, which had been classified. Trump sought to frame his action as an example of being more aggressive than his predecessor in countering the Kremlin. President Barack Obama, he said, "knew before the [2016] election that Russia was playing around. Or he was told. Whether or not it was so or not, who knows? And he said nothing." In fact, the Obama administration publicly called out Moscow in October 2016 for its hacking of Democratic computers, and Obama directly raised the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In December of that year, Obama imposed sanctions on Russia over its interference in the presidential election. Still, the admission is a rare instance of Trump acknowledging that Russia had malign intent with respect to American democracy. He even seemed to brag about his role in deterring such efforts. "Look, we stopped it," the president told Thiessen. The admission comes as U.S. intelligence officials have warned that Russia will seek to disrupt this year's presidential election. For the most part, Trump has avoided acknowledging such warnings and that Russia has sought to sow discord in the United States, even siding with Putin in his denials that Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential elections - despite his intelligence agencies' conclusion to the contrary. The Washington Post last year reported on the U.S. Cyber Command operation against the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg, a company underwritten by an oligarch close to Putin. IRA trolls were active during the 2016 campaign, posing as Americans to post material online in an effort to stoke conflict by exploiting racial and other societal tensions. The operation was part of the first offensive cyber-campaign against Russia designed to thwart attempts to interfere with a U.S. election, officials told The Post. It marked the first use by Cybercom of new authorities granted by Trump and Congress in 2018 to bolster offensive capabilities. The attack began on Election Day and lasted several days, preventing the Russians from mounting a disinformation campaign that cast doubt on the election results, officials said. The Russian Embassy did not respond to a request for comment. The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service. Follow this story and more by signing up for national breaking news email alerts. Just six months ago, the number of passengers flying nonstop between San Antonio International Airport and Mexico was growing fast. Increasing travel to Mexico had been a dream of airport officials for years, and it was finally coming to fruition. The volume of passengers traveling to Mexico surged 26.8 percent in January from a year earlier despite what airline officials said in a report were economic and political uncertainties that continue to strain (passenger) demand between the U.S. and Mexico. The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to that progress in March. Service to Mexico has gradually resumed at San Antonio International over the last few weeks, but passenger demand has plummeted and not all carriers have returned. In the meantime, the airport is nearing completion of a $26 million renovation and expansion of the U.S. customs terminal to handle more international travelers. When its finished, customs officials will be able to process 800 travelers an hour, more than double the terminals previous capacity. The City Council approved the project in February 2017 as part of the citys efforts to build international travel at the airport, which has struggled to offer domestic and international nonstop service to key cities. The expansion, increasing the customs terminal from 26,000 square feet to 39,000, is scheduled to be completed next month. Mexico is currently the only international destination served by the San Antonio airport. Air Canada ended its short-lived Toronto service last year. Right now, we dont have that many flights, said Chief Customs and Border Patrol Officer Jose Mendiola Jr. I think if we come back to the numbers we had, it will alleviate some of the wait time. AeroMexico relaunched service from San Antonio to Mexico City on June 18, with one flight a day, six days a week. Volaris began service to Guadalajara, Mexicos third-largest city, three times a week July 2 but then dropped one of the flights for the rest of the month because of a lack of customer demand. A third airline, VivaAerobus, started twice-weekly service from San Antonio to Monterrey on July 3. Last summer, Southwest Airlines launched daily seasonal service between San Antonio and Cancun, and United Airlines flew twice a week to the beach destination. Neither airline plans to resume service this summer. Interjet had offered daily service from San Antonio to Guadalajara and flights six times a week to Monterrey before the pandemic. It hasnt resumed service at San Antonio International. The airline announced this month that it would resume flights from Houston and Dallas, but it didnt mention San Antonio. We are in full dialogue with Interjet, working with them as they firm up their resumption of service plans, said Brian Pratte, the San Antonio aviation departments chief airport service development officer. They fully intend on returning to (the airport) just a matter of aligning aircraft resources and timing. In January, 21,739 passengers boarded flights to Mexico, according to the citys Aviation Department. Thursday afternoon, most of the passengers interviewed at the boarding gates for the AeroMexico flight to Mexico City and the Volaris flight to Guadalajara were visiting friends and relatives. None were going on vacation or were business travelers. The absence of business travelers is troublesome, said Robert Mann, a New York-based aviation consultant. Business travelers tend to buy higher-priced fares, boosting airlines profitability. Without those higher fares in the mix, it is difficult to justify initiating or maintaining service, he said. Another problem: Mexican carriers, like their U.S. counterparts, are in deep financial trouble. And while the U.S. government is providing the industry with billions of dollars in stimulus funds, the Mexican government has refused to bail out large companies. AeroMexico filed for bankruptcy reorganization in U.S. bankruptcy court at the end of June. It says it will continue to fly while it seeks to reorganize. Some travelers at San Antonio International were thankful for any service. Rene Robles drove more than seven hours to the airport from Oklahoma City after his flight to Guadalajara was canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Volaris San Antonio flight to Guadalajara was the only one he could find. Flying from San Antonio was my only option, said Robles, a 27-year-old trucker who was on his yearly trek to visit his family. Javier Lopez de Obeso, president of the San Antonio-based US-MX Business Association, was also flying to Guadalajara, but not on a business trip. He was with his wife, Pauline, and their children to visit his spouses parents. Lopez de Obeso said he used to travel to Mexico on business for the association six to seven times a year, but not since the pandemic started. Actually, they have suspended all my business travel, he said. Given travel restrictions related to the pandemic, a lot of Americans are confused about travel to Mexico so theyre not going, said travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt, who runs San Francisco-based Atmosphere Research Group. He said traveling by car or on foot across the U.S.-Mexico border, except for essential travel, is banned until July 21. But airline travel was never officially suspended. randy.diamond@express-news.net Despite COVID-19 disruption in Q2 at many mines worldwide, Eldorado Gold (TSE:ELD) reported production gains this week during the quarter. Preliminary production was 137,782 ounces of gold, a 50% increase over Q2 2019. Gold output even beat the last quarter, which hit 115,950 ounces. Gold production at Kisladag increased by 130% over Q2 2019, and 19% over Q1 2020. Increased production in Q2 2020 was due to higher grade and tonnes of stacked ore and increased solution grades due to drier weather in June. Gold bearing solution levels remain high and are expected to decrease over the summer months, which will allow for processing of the gold currently in solution. Production at Olympias increased by 159% over Q2 2019 and 18% over Q1 2020. This reflects the work completed at Olympias over the past year to increase underground development and backfilling, which has resulted in increased tonnes processed. Production at Efemcukuru for Q2 2020 was slightly higher than Q1 2020 due to higher grades processed during the quarter. Operations at Lamaque resumed on April 15, 2020 following a three-week mandated shutdown by the government of Quebec to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Production was higher in Q2 2020 compared to Q1 2020 due to higher grades and an increase in tonnes mined per day enabled by the recently received Certificate of Authorization from the Quebec Ministry of Environment. Three doctors and nurse are first cases to contract COVID19 amid fears of rapid spread at IDP camps in northwest Syria. Syria-Turkey border Three doctors and a nurse tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Syrias northwest Idlib governorate, the first cases to emerge in the region, raising fears it could rapidly spread through densely populated camps for internally displaced Syrians. The number of people living in the sprawling camps has increased in recent months after Russian-backed Syrian government forces launched a campaign to regain control of the last rebel-held bastion in the war-torn country. The first case of the new coronavirus was confirmed on Thursday night. He is a doctor working in Bab al-Hawa border hospital, Emad Zahran, media manager at Idlibs health directorate, said on Saturday, adding the physician appeared to have contracted the virus during a visit to his family in Turkey last month. The patient developed symptoms including a dry cough and a high temperature last week. He was tested in Idlib and the results came back as positive. He has been quarantining since, Zahran told Al Jazeera. The health directorate said it immediately asked all doctors, patients, and other staff at Bab al-Hawa hospital to quarantine as tests for the coronavirus were conducted on people who visited the facility since June 25. Maram al-Sheikh, the minister of health in Syrias interim government, told Al Jazeera a couple of days after the first infection was confirmed, three more people tested positive. Two were doctors and one was a nurse working in Idlib. The new patients include two doctors who had interacted with the first case a neurosurgeon at Bab al-Hawa hospital. The other cases are an oral surgeon and a paediatric surgeon who work at a hospital in the nearby Atmeh village. They tested positive on Friday, he told Al Jazeera. The latest case emerged on Saturday a nurse working at the emergency department in Bab al-Hawa hospital who had interacted with the first case, he said. The patients are all in good condition and remain under quarantine, he added. Containment Al-Sheikh explained that measures were already in place to ensure the coronavirus does not spread across northwest Syria. We have organised response teams across all of the opposition-controlled areas to ensure the containment of the virus. We are also counting on people to adhere to precautionary measures and instructions issued by local and World Health Organization in order to protect themselves and their families, he said. According to al-Sheikh, seven specialist health centres were set up in Idlib and Aleppo to respond to the health crisis. She said the ministry was also working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to carry out systematic testing with more than 2,000 tests conducted so far. The news came amid repeated failed attempt by members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to extend approval which expires on Friday for humanitarian aid to be delivered across two border crossings into Syria from Turkey for the next six months. The 15-member council has been split, with most members pitted against Syrian allies Russia and China, who want to halve the number of border crossings to one Bab al-Hawa crossing which serves Idlib. They argue that areas in Aleppo near the second crossing, Bab al-Salama, can be reached with humanitarian help from within Syria. Syrian children living in Atmeh camp, near the Turkey-Syria border [File: Khalil Ashawi/Reuters] Fears of rapid spread Despite efforts to contain the coronavirus across IDP camps in Syrias northwest, Mohammed Hallaj, who heads a coordination committee responding to the crisis, said concerns remain high. We are very worried that the number of cases in the area will rise, especially that all three confirmed cases were doctors who tend to interact with people on a daily basis, whether at hospitals or clinics, Hallaj told Al Jazeera. The fact that the two last cases emerged in Atmeh hospital, which serves the sprawling IDP camps in northwest Syria, adds to our concern, he said. If a single case is confirmed at the camps, the spread of the virus will be rapid and very difficult to control. With most tents separated only about one metre (three feet) apart, social distancing measures are difficult to practice, making a potential spread of the virus quicker and more aggressive than elsewhere. There is a severe lack of clean water and sterilisation at the camps due to poor drainage and lack of sanitation facilities. It is a real disaster, said Hallaj. Idlibs population doubled to about three million people from 1.5 million before Syrias war broke out in 2011, as opposition forces lost territory to President Bashar al-Assad over the last few years and relocated there. Were scared Like many fleeing the fighting, Ibrahim Darwish, a former resident of Idlibs suburbs, settled with his family in one of the IDP camps. He told Al Jazeera it has been difficult to adhere to health precautions since the pandemic hit. When the coronavirus reached neighbouring countries like Turkey, I took it upon myself to ensure that my family remained safe, said Darwish, who now lives in Deir Hassan in northern Idlib. My wife, two children and I quarantined in our tent for several weeks and washed our hands five times a day. But after about a month, it became difficult to carry on. We went back to our normal ways, he explained. But now that the coronavirus has reached us in Idlib, we are back to quarantining again and trying to find masks and gloves. Were scared it will reach us at the camps. It will be a disaster, said Darwish. Idlib has been the target of a fierce battle for control since Syrian government forces launched a Russian-backed offensive to regain control of the opposition stronghold in late 2019. The offensive left one million people displaced and more than 500 civilians dead before Moscow and Ankara brokered a truce in early March. Idlib continues to suffer a wide-scale humanitarian crisis. In an investigation last week, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said war crimes were committed by pro-government and opposition forces during the battle for Idlib. Mohamed Karkas reported from the Syria-Turkey border. Arwa Ibrahim reported from Doha. Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell filed court documents on Friday asking for their client to be released on bail as she awaits trial on sex-trafficking charges. Her lawyers said despite the media's focus on Maxwell, she hadn't spoken with Jeffrey Epstein her former associate and boyfriend for more than a decade before his August death. Her lawyers also cited COVID-19 as a concern in requesting her release from jail. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell said she hadn't been in contact with Jeffrey Epstein for more than a decade before he died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges last year. Maxwell, a former girlfriend and associate of Epstein, was arrested last week on charges including inciting minors to travel to engage in sexual acts and the transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual acts. Prosecutors say she helped lure at least three girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. In court papers filed on Friday requesting Maxwell be released on bail, her lawyers, Mark Cohen and Jeffrey Pagliuca, said the media tried to "substitute her" for Epstein in the wake of the disgraced financier's death. "The simplest point is the most critical one: Ghislaine Maxwell is not Jeffrey Epstein," they wrote in the filing. In the filing, Maxwell's lawyers deny the charges against her and try to distance her from Epstein. "On August 10, 2019, Epstein died in federal custody, and the media focus quickly shifted to our client wrongly trying to substitute her for Epstein even though she'd had no contact with Epstein for more than a decade, had never been charged with a crime or been found liable in any civil litigation, and has always denied any allegations of claimed misconduct," Maxwell's lawyers wrote. "Many of these stories and online posts were threatening and harassing to our client and those close to her." Story continues The lawyers said Maxwell wasn't named in the 2019 Epstein indictment, "despite the fact that the government has been investigating this case for years." "Far from 'hiding,' she has lived in the United States since 1991, has litigated civil cases arising from her supposed ties to Epstein, and has not left the country even once since Epstein's arrest a year ago, even though she was aware of the pending, and highly publicized, criminal investigation," they wrote. "She should be treated like any other defendant who comes before this Court, including as to bail." Maxwell's lawyers also cited concerns over the novel coronavirus as one of the reasons Maxwell should be released while awaiting trial, saying that if she remains detained, her "health will be at serious risk and she will not be able to receive a fair trial." Maxwell is being held at New York's Metropolitan Detention Center, just 5 miles from the jail where Epstein died last year. An official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that the jail has taken special measures to ensure Maxwell doesn't take her own life while behind bars. Read the full court filing below: Read the original article on Insider Lieutenant General Wu Jieming, Political Commissar of the NDU, delivers the opening speech in the 3rd International Defense Forum on July 9, 2020. By Li Wei BEIJING, July 10 -- The 3rd International Defense Forum hosted by the National Defense University (NDU) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) kicks off in Beijing on July 9, 2020. Foreign senior military officers, experts and scholars from 84 countries attended the forum via online and offline channels to exchange views on international and regional security cooperation in the context of the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-day forum, which features the theme of "Global Anti-pandemic fight and International Security Cooperation", involves three sessions including "The Impact of the COVID-19 on National/International Security", "Experience and Practice of Anti-pandemic Fight in Countries in the World" and "The Future of International Security Cooperation in Post-coronavirus Era". Sixteen experts in economy, science and technology, medical, military affairs, international politics and other fields, were invited to give individual speeches. Rear Admiral Cao Jianqi, Political Commissar of International College of Defence Studies of the NDU, hosts the opening ceremony of the 3rd International Defense Forum on July 9, 2020. Lieutenant General Wu Jieming, Political Commissar of the NDU, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. "I hope we can gather the voice of reason, discuss ways of cooperation, and seek win-win strategies through this dialogue and exchange," he said. All participants at the forum analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on national security and international situation, actively shared their experience in combating the pandemic, in an effort to contribute to the global security cooperation in the post-coronavirus era. Many Chinese experts believe that the pandemic will significantly accelerate the change of the world, including the influnce of the international powers. Many countries are also accelerating the innovation and application of science and technology during the pandemic. One representative makes a keynote speech in the 3rd International Defense Forum on July 9, 2020. As for the impact on national security to individual countries, representatives from home and abroad held that the pandemic directly impacted a country's economic development, health system and political security, causing a series of social problems, such as unemployment, insufficient food supply, public health crisis and increased criminal activities. In this regard, countries should deepen international cooperation in pandemic prevention and control, share experience in combating the pandemic, strengthen communication and exchange, and provide global solutions to global problems. By Online Desk Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor condemned the alleged attacks on health workers and the alleged discrimination against the residents of Poonthura, the latest COVID-19 epicentre in Kerala where up to 119 people have tested positive for the virus. The fishing hamlet had recently seen residents pouring into the streets without masks protesting against the government for lack of access to essentials. People living in the area, which is under triple lockdown, had demanded re-opening of shops selling necessary food items to meet their needs. Over 100 residents of the fishermen hamlet had skirmishes with the police and special commando officers deployed at the spot. There were also reports of health workers who had visited the town to collect samples of COVID-19, reportedly being threatened, attacked and spit on by some locals. Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, on Saturday, condemned the alleged attacks on health workers and the alleged discrimination against the city's residents in this time of crisis and appealed to the Kerala government to follow a five-point action plan to bring down the unrest. As per the statistics released by the state government, 119 of the 600 tests conducted in Poonthura, a coastal area in Thiruvananthapuram, had come back positive, as of July 10. Tharoor took to Facebook and wrote that it was "wrong to discriminate against or isolate our fellow citizens in Poonthura, mostly fisherfolk who braved their lives to save many during the 2018 Kerala floods. We need to support them in order to help them cope with the stress& pressure of the current situation." Currently, around 1000 people have been placed under isolation in Poonthura, a densely populated area. The New Indian Express had earlier reported that the lack of volunteers for delivering essential goods to the residents in the critical containment zones was becoming an issue. Though the state government had announced free ration, the unavailability of other essential goods had left people in the lurch. The 5-point appeal: 1. Segregate the positive cases ward-wise (Poonthura, Manikyavilakom, Beemapalli, Ambalathara etc). 2. Provide proper care for patients according to the COVID-19 protocol. Communicate with the people effectively to clear misunderstandings. 3. Compassionate behaviour and supportive approach from the Police. 4. Supply of essential items using mobile Maveli Stores during specified timings, including facility for mobile ATMs. 5. Distribution of provision kits for people who live on daily subsistence. The MP added, "rather than pointing fingers at those suffering from pandemic restrictions, I appeal to the state govt to ensure the following urgently." Education Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, aka Napo, is up in arms against politicians who are trying hard to make political capital out of the Covid-19 pandemic. He observed that some politicians who are fit to be labelled as nation-wreckers were trying to use the virus, which is wreaking havoc on the globe, to score cheap political points. The minister, who recently recovered from the virus, having been hospitalized for two weeks, spoke about the devastating effects of Covid-19, saying you would not wish it for your enemy. According to him, the virus has brought untold hardship and, therefore, it would be inhumane for anybody to try to use Covid-19 to gain political advantage. National Unity Napo, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South, stated that Covid-19 is a critical national health issue, which should be tackled with a collective effort. He said the virus does not discriminate on political lines or social status, therefore, everybody is at risk, for which reason all hands should be brought on deck to effectively deal with the virus. Virus Real Napo said the virus is real so the public should adhere to health protocols to stay safe. According to him, his heart always bleeds whenever he sees people behaving as if the virus does not exist, stressing the need for people to practice social distancing and also adhere to other protocols. Personal Experience The Education Minister, who wanted to use his personal encounter with the virus to educate the masses, said at a point he endured so much pain that he feared that his life would end abruptly. I thought I would not live again because of the extreme pains and agony that I endured on the night of my admission at the hospital, Napo said on Accra-based Peace FM. He said even though he is a medical doctor, he has never been admitted to a hospital in his 52 years of life, adding that due to Covid-19, he was admitted together with five of his family members who were all being attacked by the virus. My horrifying experience should be enough to every Ghanaian about the need for us to support the governments efforts and adhere to health protocols to defeat the disease in the country, the MP said. Covid-19 Source According to him, it would be extremely difficult for him to trace where he was infected with the virus, indicating that he has always adhered to health protocols from day one, yet he got infected. Napo was of the view that his experience speaks volumes about the tricky nature of the virus; therefore, all and sundry should come together to help eliminate the virus from the country. I had tested negative for the virus but in my body, I felt something was wrong, he said. I underwent additional tests and on Thursday, I was informed that I had tested positive for the virus, whilst on admission, he added. Media Intervention Napo also stated that the media has a crucial role to play to enable the country to defeat the dangerous virus, saying that journalists should continue to use their mediums to create awareness about the virus. The media should use their powerful platforms to preach about the deadly nature of Covid-19 in order to create awareness in the minds of our people, the Education Minister humbly suggested. According to him, the active roles of the media would help to effectively explain the virus and its negative impact to the people so they would begin to strictly adhere to health protocols given by experts. He stressed that complying with health protocols was the only way to prevent the people from being infected by the disease so the public should take note. Source: daily guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday detained two key accused in Kerala gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, from Bengaluru in a swift operation after tracking some of the calls they made from their phones, said officials privy to the development. The two accused were on the run for the last six days after the Customs Department seized 30 kg of gold from an air cargo consignment that had arrived from the United Arab Emirates and was marked to the countrys consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, last Sunday. They will be brought to Kochi in the early hours of Sunday, said an official. It is, however, not clear how the duo slipped out of Thiruvananthapuram, which is under a triple lockdown with an aim to contain the spread of coronavirus disease, and reached Karnataka. The NIA had taken up the case on Friday and filed first information reports against four persons in the case. In the FIRs, Sarith Kumar, a former employee of the consular office, who is now in the custody of the customs, is named first accused; Swapna Suresh is the second; elusive UAE-based smuggling-kingpin Fazil Pareed is the third; and Sureshs friend Sandeep Nair is the fourth accused. The FIRs were filed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). It is the first time that the premier agency, which handles cases related to national security and terror, is investigating a gold smuggling case. In the FIRs, NIA said the accused were part of a well-entrenched smuggling racket and that the first accused and Suresh were actively involved in arranging the diplomatic papers for the delivery of the consignment. It also said a good portion of money generated through smuggling was used to fund some anti-national activities. Also Read: 88 new Covid-19 cases take Keralas tally to 7,438, hike in locally-infected patients worrying Suresh, who was working as the operational manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited under the state IT ministry, had gone underground after the seizure. Later, the CM had transferred his principal secretary M Sivasankar, who was reported to be close to Suresh. The issue has taken a political tone after opposition Congress and the BJP hit the streets, saying chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was aware of the shady dealings that took place right under his nose. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Vivarium: An interview with Director Lorcan Finnegan One of the advantages that the world of film has seen during the COVID-19 pandemic has been the number of more alternative films that have been given a voice as cinema chains and streaming platforms have scrambled for material. World-Entertainment By David Griffiths Saturday 11 July 2020, 11:00AM With Hollywood very unlikely to produce any content until late this year, film lovers have seen a large number of films screen that normally would be hidden away into obscurity. One such film is the award-winning thriller Vivarium, which first came to international attention when it joined the list of winners at last years Cannes Film Festival. With cinemas starved for content Vivarium, which stars Hollywood A-Listers Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots, has suddenly found itself on screens in Thailand, Australia and across Europe. The good news is that if you havent been able to see it on the big screen, it is also now available on streaming services as well. The Phuket News was lucky enough to recently sit down with Vivarium director Lorcan Finnegan to discuss the film. Its hard to pinpoint the exact moment, says Finnegan laughing when he is asked where the initial idea came from to make a film that literally shows the horrors of modern day suburbia. The writer, Garret Shanley, and I worked on a short film together in 2011 called Foxes. That film was a reaction to what was happening politically in Ireland at the time there were all these housing developments springing up everywhere. The economy was doing really well it really was the time of the Celtic Tiger because Ireland was doing so well with the economy. But then the crash came in 2008, Finnegan says, continuing. That resulted in a lot of these houses in those developments being left abandoned. Now they are called ghost estates, so we set our short film in one of these locations but when we made that film we realised that we were really only scratching the surface for some of the themes that we were exploring, so when we finished we wondered how we could explore those themes a little bit more in-depth. We wanted to explore those ideas in a sci-fi way and make it a much more universal story. Hence the idea for Vivarium was born and the result was a film that sees Eisenberg and Poots portray a young couple who literally become trapped when they try to purchase their dream home. With such brilliant performances from the films leads it comes as a bit of a surprise to learn that they were not upstarts for their roles. There was actually a bit of a process there, explains Finnegan as we begin to talk about Poots and Eisenberg. Imogen became involved first. We met and got on really well and she loved the script. We realised that she was perfect to play Gemma but then we were wondering who we could get to play Tom. There are not many male actors around that age who are willing to play second-fiddle to a female lead, because it really is her story. So we got this list together that had various actors on it and we began to talk about Jesse Eisenberg, says Finnegan as his tone noticeably becomes more excited. Imogen had worked with Jesse before, so she knew him and she knew the kinds of films and material that he would respond to, and she thought he would like this and I found that really interesting. As a film, Vivarium has won over a legion of fans right around the world and Finnegan laughs when our discussion makes him realise that for some people they will be experiencing it for the first time while in lockdown. I guess after watching the film they will realise that lockdown is not so bad, he says laughing hard. It is a weird, surreal story it was funny, creepy, sad and you are going to have to be a little bit open-minded to come out the other side of it because it is a little unconventional. Vivarium is now available on a range of streaming platforms. It has been classified 15 in Thailand. David Griffiths has been working as a film and music reviewer for over 20 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. You can follow him at www.facebook.com/subcultureentertainmentaus A Texas man has died after attending a 'COVID party' because he thought coronavirus is a hoax, authorities said. The man was 30 years old at the time of his death, according to Methodist Healthcare Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jane Appleby. Appleby told news organizations that the patient, who has not been named, had attended a so-called COVID party prior to contracting coronavirus. The man, 30, who died from coronavirus after attending a 'COVID party' told his nurse at Methodist Hospital that he thought the virus was a 'hoax' shortly before dying 'This is a party held by somebody diagnosed by the COVID virus and the thought is to see if the virus is real and to see if anyone gets infected,' Appleby told News 4 San Antonio. The man who attended the party then became critically ill. While in the hospital, Appleby said that just before he died, he looked at his nurse and said, 'I think I made a mistake, I thought this was a hoax, but it's not.' Appleby also told KSAT that, 'He didnt really believe. He thought the disease was a hoax. He thought he was young and he was invincible and wouldnt get affected by the disease.' Appleby said that she decided to go public about this particular coronavirus death because the spike in COVID-19 cases has been continuing in Bexar County, where San Antonio is located. She said that the coronavirus positivity rate has increased from five per cent just a few weeks prior to 22 per cent. Appleby called it a 'concerning increase'. Methodist Healthcare Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jane Appleby (pictured) said she was speaking out about this case because of increasing coronavirus case rates in the county Appleby added that she wasn't being an 'alarmist,' but wanted to share a real-world example in an effort to help the 'community realize that this virus is very serious and can spread easily'. She said that coronavirus 'doesn't discriminate and none of us are invincible.' Appleby directed her comments at the younger adult demographic in particular, noting that some of these patients have no idea how sick they actually are. 'People will come in initially and they dont look so bad,' she said, but their oxygen levels and lab tests tell a different story. She said that she has been seeing more coronavirus cases in people in their 20s and 30s recently. 'My plea to our community and especially all of our young folks in the community is to take it seriously. Wear your mask,' Appleby said. Bexar County has more than 18,600 confirmed coronavirus cases. The Department of Health said Friday that 923 new cases were reported, according to ABC News. Texas, Florida and California are among numerous states experiencing a second wave of coronavirus infections. Magu, who has been in detention since his arrest on Monday, requested to be granted bail through a letter. Ibrahim Magu Mr Ibrahim Magu, the suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, who is being investigated over corruption allegations by a special presidential panel, has applied to the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to be released on bail, The PUNCH reports. Magu, who has been in detention since his arrest on Monday, requested to be granted bail through a letter sent on his behalf by one of his lawyers, Mr Oluwatosin Ojaomo, on Friday. He has been appearing before the panel from the detention of police facilities in Abuja since his arrest. His lawyers letter dated July 10 with the IGP offices acknowledgement stamp bearing the same date, and obtained by The PUNCH on Friday, requested that Magu be granted bail on self-recognisance. Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Lithuania, Government of Global Credit Research - 10 Jul 2020 Frankfurt am Main, July 10, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") reviews all of its ratings periodically in accordance with regulations -- either annually or, in the case of governments and certain EU-based supranational organisations, semi-annually. This periodic review is unrelated to the requirement to specify calendar dates on which EU and certain other sovereign and sub-sovereign rating actions may take place. Moody's conducts these periodic reviews through portfolio reviews in which Moody's reassesses the appropriateness of each outstanding rating in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. Since 1st January 2019, Moody's issues a press release following each periodic review announcing its completion. Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Lithuania and may include related ratings. The review did not involve a rating committee, and this publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future; credit ratings and/or outlook status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history. The credit profile of Lithuania (issuer rating A3) is supported by the country's "baa2" economic strength score, reflecting its relatively high wealth levels and an economy that remains flexible and diversified although it is small and exposed to external economic shocks. Lithuania's "a1" score for institutions and governance strength reflects a demonstrated track record strong policy effectiveness. The country's "aa3" score for fiscal strength reflects a low level of government debt, broadly in line with single A rated peers, and very strong of debt affordability. Lithuania's "baa" susceptibility to event risk reflects geopolitical risks related to the occasionally tense relationship with Russia. 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Lawmakers are outraged over a recent story alleging that Vladimir Putin may be paying off Taliban soldiers to kill U.S. troops. But why are those troops still in Afghanistan? by Sonali Kolhatkar The New York Times in late June published an explosive revelation about the longest official U.S. war in modern history. According to high-level sources, Russia had been paying cash bounties to Taliban forces to kill U.S. soldiers. The leaked information also included the fact that President Donald Trump was briefed about the situation more than a year ago and chose to ignore it. Predictably, a political battle has ensued between Trump and those he perceives as his rivals over his inaction on the issue. But the broader question remains of why U.S. troops are vulnerable to such types of attacks. If Russia is paying the Taliban to kill American soldiers, it is because they remain in Afghanistan nearly two decades into a pointless and destructive war. Unfortunately, this crucial point has been lost amidst the frenzied responses to the story about Russian bounties. Instead, the revelations have fed the tempting narrative that Trump is a stooge of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utahwho is now apparently a stalwart of the GOPs left flanksounded like a centrist Democrat frothing at the mouth to get tough on Russia. He declared in response to the story, What we do know is Russias been helping the Taliban, the Talibans been killing Americans, and thats all I need to know to know that we should be tough on Russia. Khury Petersen-Smith, Middle East fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, reflected to me in an interview that while Romney may feel that he only needs to know about Russia offering bounties for U.S. soldiers, it is important to talk about the history of U.S. violence in Afghanistan, and the context from which the Taliban emerged. Petersen-Smith explained that, in a nutshell, It was the United States that funded Islamist fundamentalist fighters when the Soviet Union was occupying Afghanistan in the 1980s and funneled weapons and wealth. The crisis that the U.S. played a crucial role in gave rise to the Taliban, and if Russia has indeed offered cash rewards for the lives of American troops, Putin would simply be taking a page out of the CIAs Afghanistan playbook. Like Romney, many Democrats have feigned outrage at Russias supposed tactics, with Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) asking, How dare Trump still call himself our commander in chief? The Iraq War veteran went on to say that Trumps inaction has, made it more likely that other hostile powers will work with other terrorist networks to exchange other American lives for stacks of cash. Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, who served under President Barack Obama, was similarly angered, saying, We have a president who is doing our arch-adversarys bidding, it would seem. Both Duckworth and Ricewho are vying to be Democratic presidential candidate Joe Bidens running matefailed to raise the broader issue of why the U.S. remains in Afghanistan at all. In fact, most Democratic and Republican lawmakers have been united in their determination to continue the Afghanistan Warwhich means keeping American troops in harms way. This unity was most glaringly on display when the House Armed Services Committee voted to pass a resolution 45-11 to prolong the Trump-led withdrawal of U.S. forces, bizarrely using the story of Russian bounties as justification. Representatives Jason Crow (D-CO) and Liz Cheney (R-WY) introduced the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requiring several milestones to be met in order for U.S. troops to return home. A years-long U.S.-led effort to sign a peace deal with the Talibanwhich Trump abruptly pulled out of last yearwas revived earlier this year and signed. And while the deal did not result in a reduction of Taliban violence especially toward civilians, it did set the stage for the U.S. to remove its troops so that neither Russia nor anyone else could pay to have them killed. By placing conditions on troop withdrawal in the NDAA, Congress is standing in the way of that peace deal. It seems counterintuitive that lawmakers would be opposed to the Trump administrations push to end the longest American war in modern history. But historically, leaders from both parties have gone out of their way to be hawkish on Afghanistan and other wars. The Senate version of the NDAA includes, according to Military.com, a sense of the Senate expressing concerns about the risks of a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. military, diplomatic, and intelligence personnel from Afghanistan and the need to ensure such decisions are conditions-based. If U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan, the story of Russian cash rewards is a moot point. Even the New York Times Editorial Board understands this, saying recently about their own story that, Allegations of bounties paid for the deaths of U.S. soldiers are serious. But the White House ought to stay the course toward a peace deal. Erik Edstrom, an Afghan War veteran, wrote a powerful and moving book about the war entitled Un-American: A Soldiers Reckoning of Our Longest War, in which he demanded in visceral terms that we imagine what it is like to die as a U.S. soldier on the Afghan battlefield, as well as what it is like to view U.S. troops through Afghan eyes. In an interview, Edstrom told me, If youre not willing to personally die in the conflict, my encouragement to the American public is not to encourage anyone else to die in that conflict either. In general, Afghan civilians have paid a far heavier human cost than U.S. soldiers have. From an Afghan perspective, American soldiers might as well be getting paid to kill Afghans. But lawmakers appear to care little about Afghans. Since 2013, fewer than 100 U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan each year, with a total of approximately 2,400 deaths since 2001. In contrast, according to one tally, more than 150,000 Afghans have died in the same period, at least 43,000 of them civilians. The United Nations recorded a much higher figure of, over 10,000 civilian casualties for the sixth year in a row, last year. American-led troops directly killed at least 559 Afghan civilians last year, according to the same report. The Trump administration, with congressional complicity, dropped more bombs on Afghanistan in 2019 than any other year since the Pentagon started keeping track in 2006. As the U.S. struggles with the coronavirus pandemic and a collapsing economy, it ought to shock the public that Congress is set to pass a defense budget that continues to fund wars like those in Afghanistan. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has introduced an amendment to divert just 10 percent of the militarys funding toward education, housing, and jobs in the U.S.s poorest regions, saying on the Senate floor, if there was ever a moment in American history when we needed to fundamentally alter our national priorities, now is that time. But given Congress propensity for flooding the Pentagon with cash year after year, such an amendment is unlikely to pass. For nearly two decades, U.S. officials misled the American public on the war, as the Afghanistan Papers published by the Washington Post last year revealed. Year after year, Congress has poured money into a war that results in death and destruction with no end in sight and no promise of progress. To fixate on Russian cash rewards to the Taliban over the far more important issue of the wars continuation is to deliberately miss the forest for the trees. This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of Rising Up With Sonali, a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations. Singapores ruling party retained a firm grip on power but suffered its weakest performance in 55 years in office in an election on Friday, with the economy badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The result could shake up politics in the city-state, leading to more populist policies. The opposition Workers Party won a record 10 seats and secured two group representation constituencies. The ruling party won 83 seats -- or 89% of those up for grabs, according to an official count by the Elections Department. That allows it to amend the constitution, pass laws and set policies without major obstacles. Even so, its a setback for the Peoples Action Party, which has always won at least 93% of parliamentary seats since Singapore became an independent nation in 1965. The result could potentially disrupt Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loongs succession plan. It may also spur the government to adopt more reactive policies as it did in the wake of the 2011 election, when the opposition tripled its seats to six. It is not as strong a mandate as Id hoped for, but its a good mandate, Lee said in a media briefing early Saturday. The results reflect the pain and uncertainty that Singaporeans feel in this crisis. The outcome is a warning to other governments which have faced questions over their handling of a pandemic that has crippled economies around the world. Increasingly administrations are under pressure to provide greater safety nets for workers and spend more on things like health care and aged care. That means taking on higher levels of debt for longer in countries which have historically been wary of doing so. This signals a new normal in Singapore politics, that the previous narratives of voters responding largely to bread and butter concerns may no longer hold water, said Leonard Lim, Singapore country director for regional consultancy firm Vriens & Partners. Its a much more sophisticated electorate, one that isnt afraid to send a signal to the PAP about its displeasure over the governments performance even when economic worries weigh heavily on their minds. Lim said the remarkable results show many voters cast ballots motivated by a desire for diverse and credible parliamentary representation. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, who has been tipped to succeed Lee, won a tight race in the East Coast group constituency. In the briefing, Lee again reaffirmed an earlier promise to hand over Singapore intact and in good working order to the so-called fourth generation of party officials, who have helped spearhead the governments response to Covid-19. The prime minister has signaled he would step aside by the time he turns 70 in 2022. Lee spoke about the loss of income, anxiety over jobs, and disruption caused by more than two months of restrictive measures to curb the pandemic. This was not a feel-good election, but one where people are facing real problems and expect more rough weather to come, he said. Sobering Reality Check Its a flight from the status quo rather than a flight to safety -- a vote for change, said Eugene Tan, a political analyst and law professor at Singapore Management University. The 4G has their work cut out for them. They have little time to rebuild the trust and confidence of Singaporeans. They are not in a comfortable position and how they respond to this sobering reality check is crucial. The next government will face the task of leading Singapore through one of its most tumultuous periods after it became one of Asias hardest-hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic with more than 45,000 cases, mostly migrant workers. Officials project Singapores gross domestic product will contract as much as 7% this year while employment fell in the first quarter by the most on record. Thats despite the government earmarking about S$93 billion in special budget support. Besides the Workers Party, which won six seats in the last election, others struggled. Progress Singapore Party, a newcomer led by former PAP stalwart Tan Cheng Bock and supported by the prime ministers brother, Lee Hsien Yang, failed to win any seats. Tan lost narrowly in his West Coast district, getting 48% of the vote. Along with the 10 elected seats, the opposition will get two additional representatives under a designation called the non-constituency member of Parliament, or NCMP. Lawmakers approved the scheme via a constitutional amendment passed in 1984 after the PAP swept the previous four elections. It was increased to 12 from nine in 2016, when NCMPs were given the same voting rights as elected MPs. Social Inequality Campaigning has been vigorous despite one of the shortest election cycles in the world at just nine days. The PAP has sparred with the opposition on everything from housing issues to the standard of living and goods and services tax, to the use of non-elected members of parliament. Some polling booths saw long lines amid a high turnout as election officials took special precautions such as temperature screenings, the use of disposable gloves and safe distancing rules. It shows us that there is dissatisfaction about some things that Singapore has done -- whether it be the leadership renewal, the way the virus was managed, or holding the election in the midst of a pandemic, said Felix Tan, associate lecturer in international relations at SIM Global Education. Its a changing landscape. Young voters are not necessarily concerned with job security, they are also concerned with issues such as social inequality. A few years ago, NASA senior space scientist David Morrison debunked an apocalyptic claim as a hoax. No, there's no such thing as a planet called Nibiru, he said. No, it's not a brown dwarf surrounded by planets, as iterations of the theory suggest. No, it's not on a collision course toward Earth. And yes, people should "get over it." TRENDING: Trump lawyers spill beans after terrible choice of restaurant - next door to the NYT But the theory has been getting renewed attention recently. Added to it is the precise date of the astronomical event leading to Earth's destruction. And that, according to David Meade, is in six days - Sept. 23, 2017. Unsealed, an evangelical Christian publication, foretells the Rapture in a viral, four-minute YouTube video, complete with special effects and ominous doomsday soundtrack. It's called "September 23, 2017: You Need to See This." Why Sept. 23, 2017? Meade's prediction is based largely on verses and numerical codes in the Bible. He's honed in one number: 33. "Jesus lived for 33 years. The name Elohim, which is the name of God to the Jews, was mentioned 33 times [in the Bible]," Meade told The Washington Post. "It's a very biblically significant, numerologically significant number. I'm talking astronomy. I'm talking the Bible . . . and merging the two." ALSO: Best and worst dressed celebrities at the 69th Emmy Awards More for you Rapture preacher Harold Camping dies And Sept. 23 is 33 days since the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse, which Meade believes is an omen. He points to the Book of Revelation, which he said describes the image that will appear in the sky on that day, when Nibiru is supposed to rear its ugly head, eventually bringing fire, storms and other types of destruction. The book describes a woman "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head" who gives birth to a boy who will "rule all the nations with an iron scepter" while she is threatened by a red seven-headed dragon. The woman then grows the wings of an eagle and is swallowed up by the earth. The belief, as previously described by Gary Ray, a writer for Unsealed, is that the constellation Virgo - representing the woman - will be clothed in sunlight, in a position that is over the moon and under nine stars and three planets. The planet Jupiter, which will have been inside Virgo - in her womb, in Ray's interpretation - will move out of Virgo, as though she is giving birth. To make clear, Meade said he's not saying the world will end Saturday. Instead, he claims, the prophesy in the Book of Revelation will manifest that day, leading to a series of catastrophic events that will happen over the course of weeks. "The world is not ending, but the world as we know it is ending," he said, adding later: "A major part of the world will not be the same the beginning of October." Meade's prediction has been dismissed as a hoax not only by NASA scientists, but also by people of faith. Ed Stetzer, a pastor and executive director of Wheaton College's Billy Graham Center, first took issue with how Meade is described in some media articles. "There's no such thing as a Christian numerologist," he told The Post. "You basically got a made-up expert in a made-up field talking about a made-up event. . . . It sort of justifies that there's a special secret number codes in the Bible that nobody believes." Meade said he never referred to himself as a Christian numerologist. He's a researcher, he said, and he studied astronomy at a university in Kentucky, though he declined to say which one, citing safety reasons. His website says he worked in forensic investigations and spent 10 years working for Fortune 1000 companies. He's also written books. The most recent one is called "Planet X - The 2017 Arrival." Stetzer said that while numbers do have significance in the Bible, they shouldn't be used to make sweeping predictions about planetary motions and the end of Earth. "Whenever someone tells you they have found a secret number code in the Bible, end the conversation," he wrote in an article published Friday in Christianity Today. "Everything else he or she says can be discounted." That is not to say that Christians don't believe in the Bible's prophesies, Stetzer said, but baseless theories that are repeated and trivialized embarrass people of faith. "We do believe some odd things," he said. "That Jesus is coming back, that he will set things right in the world, and no one knows the day or the hour." The doomsday date was initially predicted to be in May 2003, according to NASA. Then it was moved to Dec. 21, 2012, the date that the Mayan calendar, as some believed, marked the apocalypse. Morrison, the NASA scientist, has given simple explanations debunking the claim that a massive planet is on course to destroy Earth. If Nibiru is, indeed, as close as conspiracy theorists believe to striking Earth, astronomers, and anyone really, would've already seen it. "It would be bright. It would be easily visible to the naked eye. If it were up there, you could see it. All of us could see it. . . . If Nibiru were real and it were a planet with a substantial mass, then it would already be perturbing the orbits of Mars and Earth. We would see changes in those orbits due to this rogue object coming in to the intersolar system," Morrison said in a video. Doomsday believers also say that Nibiru is on a 3,600-year orbit. That means it had already come through the solar system in the past, which means we should be looking at an entirely different solar system today, Morrison said. "Its gravity would've messed up the orbits of the inner planets, the Earth, Venus, Mars, probably would've stripped the moon away completely," he said. "Instead, in the intersolar system, we see planets with stable orbits. We see the moon going around the Earth." And if Nibiru is not a planet and is, in fact, a brown dwarf, as some claims suggest - again, we would've already seen it. "Everything I've said would be worse with a massive object like a brown dwarf," Morrison said. "That would've been tracked by astronomers for a decade or more, and it would already have really affected planetary objects." Some call Nibiru "Planet X," as Meade did in the title of his book. Morrison said that's a name astronomers give to planets or possible objects that have not been found. For example, when space scientists were searching for a planet beyond Neptune, it was called Planet X. And once it was found, it became Pluto. Stetzer, the pastor, encouraged Christians to be critical, especially in an information era marred with fake news stories. "It's simply fake news that a lot of Christians believe the world will end on September 23," Stetzer wrote. "Yet, it is still a reminder that we need to think critically about all the news." He took issue with a Fox News story with a headline that appears to give credence to the doomsday theory - and was published in the Science section under the label "Planets." "Every time end-of-the-world predictions resurface in the media, it is important that we ask ourselves, 'Is this helpful?' " Stetzer wrote. "Is peddling these falsehoods a good way to contribute to meaningful, helpful discussions about the end of times?" - - - The Washington Post's Julie Zauzmer contributed to this story. A North Carolina man who told a 911 operator that he took cold medicine and woke up to find his wife fatally stabbed appeared in court Tuesday. Matthew Phelps, 28, was arrested last week and has been charged with one count of murder in the death of his 29-year-old wife, Lauren Phelps. He did not enter a plea and is being held without bond at the Wake County jail, according to court records. Phelps' attorney Joseph Cheshire did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but he spoke with local media after the Tuesday hearing. He asked that people reserve their judgment until more about the case becomes clear. "We're just at the beginning of understanding what is happening here," Cheshire said. "It's a very tragic situation, sad and tragic," he added. "There's a lot to this story I believe that will be told in the future." If convicted, Phelps could face the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole, according to the judge. His next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 25. In a disturbing 6-minute call, made just after 1 a.m. Friday, Phelps appears to confess to killing his wife, Raleigh police said. "I think I killed my [wife] . . ." a man's low voice says on the phone. The 911 operator asks him to elaborate: "What - what do you mean by that? What happened?" "I had a dream and then I turned on the lights and she's dead on the floor," the man says. "Um, I have blood all over me and there's a bloody knife on the bed and I think I did it." Phelps also said he took cough medicine before he went to bed, according to the call audio published by the Raleigh News & Observer. "I took more medicine than I should have," Phelps says. "I took Coricidin . . . because I know it can make you feel good. So a lot of times I can't sleep at night, so I took some. . . . She's not moving. Oh, my God." The dispatcher repeatedly asks Phelps to check to see if his wife is breathing. Phelps tells him she is not, and that he's scared to get too close to her. "There's all this blood," he says. "She didn't deserve this." When police arrived at the home in northeast Raleigh, they discovered his wife with multiple stab wounds. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, a police spokeswoman told the News & Observer. The couple's Facebook pages indicated that they shared a love for Star Wars and had just gotten married in November. Online albums for both of the Phelpses were filled with photos of the two of them together: at their fall wedding, posing with light sabers, holding a dog and goofing off for the camera. Matthew Phelps worked at a lawn service company and had studied missions and evangelism at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville, Ky., according to the News & Observer. He was studying to be a pastor while Lauren Phelps was a Sunday school teacher, ABC News reported. Coricidin is marketed as a line of cold and cough medicine for people with high blood pressure. Bayer, the pharmaceuticals company that makes Coricidin, told ABC News in a statement that it extended its "deepest sympathies" to the family. "Patient safety is our top priority, and we continually monitor adverse events regarding all of our products," Bayer told the network. "There is no evidence to suggest that Coricidin is associated with violent behavior." Cheshire offered condolences to the victim's family while also saying that Phelps is grappling with the death. "I know this is difficult for people to understand, but he is going through a terrible trauma," Cheshire said. "You know there are all kinds of stages to these things and he's at the beginning of those stages. So there's a lot of trauma to go around in all of this, in all of these cases, always." Meanwhile, a YouCaring fundraising page and a Facebook memorial page were set up for Lauren Phelps. "My heart sank yesterday when I heard the passing of Lauren. I am in disbelief," one friend wrote Saturday on her Facebook remembrance page. "She was one of the purest souls one could ever meet. Her kind heart and sweet nature are an extremely rare find. She was a great friend to anyone lucky enough to call her one." A memorial service for Lauren Phelps was held Monday in Wake Forest, North Carolina, according to a post on her Facebook page. Terry Mosher, known professionally as the cartoonist Aislin, says this book is his contribution to keeping alive the memory of the great Toronto Star cartoonist, who worked for the paper from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. In this excerpt from Professional Heckler: The Life and Art of Duncan Macpherson, the cartoonist has just been lured away from Macleans. Macphersons starting salary in 1958 was $11,500, an enormous sum in those days. He instantly became the highest-paid cartoonist in Canada, and possibly in North America. (The cartoonist known as Herblock at the Washington Post may have been making more in total, but he took much of his pay in stock options. Herblock died with $35 million in the bank.) Although he was pleased about the salary, Duncan was definitely not impressed by the antiquated set-up in the Stars newsroom: It was out of the set of a pre-sound movie. The art department was a barricaded corner of wooden fencing and chicken-wire walls. Inside this compound was a group of men in shirts, ties and vests, peering silently at me like a collection of trapped orangutans. None of them had even heard about me coming to the newspaper. Duncan had reluctantly parted with his Rosedale studio, accepting that he would have to set up shop at the Star, but not with a group of caged artists. The building manager found him three rooms on the top floor a corner suite where he could set up his drawing board and art supplies. This was perfect for him, since it was well away from the newsroom. Macpherson had a verbal agreement with (editor-in-chief Beland) Honderich to try out the job for one year. His cartoons were getting immediate, positive results for the newspaper, but in many ways, it was a difficult 12 months for Macpherson. He found himself working eight to 10 hours a day, five days a week, on cartoons that didnt always satisfy him. Toward the end of that first year, Macpherson strolled into Honderichs office and handed him a box of Cuban cigars. When the publisher asked what the occasion was, Macpherson said he was celebrating his departure from the Star for a new job back at Macleans. Pierre Berton recalled: I was away on my first holiday and I came back and there was no Macpherson cartoon in the paper. So I called Honderich and said, Whats happened to Macpherson is he sick? And he said, No, he quit. I said, What do you mean he quit? He is the hottest thing youve got at this point. Macpherson had apparently asked the Star to allow him to cut back from five cartoons a week to three, and to let him travel, specifically to Cuba, where he wanted to sketch for the newspaper. Berton remembered Honderich explaining he had told Duncan that he couldnt have everything. Berton continued: And I said why not? If he does three cartoons a week, its still better than no cartoons a week. Editorial executives at the Star suddenly began pestering Macpherson about negotiating a new deal. The newspapers circulation was increasing rapidly, and it had become clear that his cartoons were instrumental. So Duncan asked his friend, lawyer Bruce Palmer, to be the one to present the contract demands to the paper. The meeting between Palmer and Star executives took place at the Lord Simcoe Hotel. To impart a little cachet to the affair, Macpherson rented a suite, complete with bar and deli. The word got out about my renegotiation, and by four in the afternoon, much of the newsroom was in my suite having a picnic! Macpherson said that at about 6:00 in the evening, Palmer burst through the negotiating room doors, yelling that his client would never work for the Star again! His brash negotiating style seems to have been effective. In a day or two, Honderich contacted me, and said that we could come to an agreement if we could leave Palmer completely out of it. Bruce Palmer had cleared the way for his friend. The agreement Duncan eventually reached with the publisher contained very favourable conditions, including a considerably higher salary. (Macpherson said that, in an unguarded moment, editor-in-chief Bob Neilsen complained that he was getting paid less than the cartoonist.) Macpherson was required to produce only four cartoons a week, and he would be paid even for cartoons that were rejected. He retained ownership over both the original drawings and the copyright, with the Star buying only first rights. Further, he would have six weeks of holiday, and the Star would cover all expenses related to research and business-related travel. There was more: I would receive 50 per cent of money earned from syndication of my cartoons, an unheard of rate at that time. Also, I would never have to attend editorial meetings. Duncan really hated editorial meetings. So the Star met Macphersons demands, and the cartoonist returned to the newspaper to continue doing what he did best. This episode illustrates just how influential Duncan was, even at the outset of his career. He had used his popularity to bargain for a greater degree of independence than had ever been achieved by a Canadian newspaper cartoonist. Despite some initial misgivings about the new business arrangement, the Star was well aware of his value to the paper Editorial cartoonists started to take notice of the possibilities opened up by Duncan Macphersons approach. Until his unprecedented contract, most cartoonists were part of an editorial-page team. They attended meetings of the editorial board and frequently illustrated ideas that had been proposed by other people. Macphersons successful campaign to become more independent meant he could be recognized not just as an illustrator of the newspapers editorials but also as a contributor to the editorial page in his own right. Editorial writers dont sign their work, whereas columnists have always done so and have therefore been at liberty to express their own views. Duncan believed that political cartoonists should have that same freedom. This was a new attitude at the time, but one that most Canadian cartoonists have since adopted. With the newspaper now allowing Macpherson more free time, Pierre Berton arranged for the talented Sid Barron to fill in whenever Macpherson wasnt around. (Barron and Berton had studied art together in Victoria in 1937.) Barron had already established a solid reputation as a cartoonist at the Victoria Times. Each panel of his cartoons was a pastiche of jokes on urban and suburban life. Robert Fulford admiringly called Barron the poet of the mundane. Macpherson and Barron made a successful tag team and they admired each others work. Mac has a magnificent eye, said Barron. The eye is not a reliable instrument until its trained, and his eye is trained. He learned to draw how clothes hang on people; all the folds and the creases are done perfectly. I never learned that. I envy him. In Macphersons early days at the Star, some readers were taken aback by his style. The first reaction to his cartoons was that they were cruel, Bee Honderich later recalled. Once the public got used to Macphersons style, however, his work became extremely popular. No other Canadian cartoonist before or since has achieved the same prominence. Duncan Macphersons first workspace at the Toronto Star was on an upper floor of the old Star building at 80 King St. W. The 22-storey Art Deco office tower was the headquarters of the Star from 1929 to 1970, when the newspapers offices moved to a brand new building at One Yonge Street. Comic book artist Joe Shuster used the old building as inspiration for the Daily Planet offices in his Superman comic strip. Toronto-born Michael Enright is a radio broadcaster and longtime host of CBC Radio Ones Sunday Edition, but one of his first jobs as a young man was at the Toronto Stars offices. He remembers Duncan Macpherson very well. I was hired in the old Star building at 80 King Street West as a mail boy and messenger. My job was to deliver the bulldog (early) edition of the paper to employees around the building. I hated delivering to Macpherson; he scared me. He was a very intimidating man tall, bulky, always with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. I do remember that he smiled a lot, showing a bottom row of fearsome teeth. He was always very pleasant to me, but I was in awe of him. Enright notes that his very first published work came when he was 13 or 14 years old. He wrote a letter to the editor of the Star defending Macphersons right to lampoon. The paper printed it, so he clipped the piece and carried it in various wallets for a very long time. Macphersons Toronto Star editors rarely took issue with cartoons that lampooned the cynicism and hypocrisy in Torontos municipal politics. His biting commentary on international events, however, sometimes made them nervous. Because of their satirical nature, cartoons tend to be rejected by editors more often than other newspaper features. In fact, some political cartoonists have their work cut multiple times a month. Macpherson estimated that no more than 20 of his cartoons had been declined in his 33 years at the Star. Thats a very low number. In truth, he often agreed with the editors after a period of reflection. He never identified specific cartoons that were killed, and none of his editors who did the rejecting are still with us. However, a former Star employee does recall one instance. In early November 1963 Duncan drew a bloodstained American flag in reaction to a brutal coup in Vietnam to which the Americans had turned a blind eye. Honderich thought the drawing was too extreme and refused to print it. However, that cartoon soon became particularly apt, just in a new context. Linda Sergiades (nee Wright) worked as a secretary in the Stars editorial suite during the early 1960s. She recalls the scene outside the office of the Stars editorial-page editor, Bob Neilsen, on 22 November that year. Bob walked out of his office and leaned up against the door jamb. His face was ashen, as he announced: Kennedy has been shot. In the wake of President Kennedys death and the subsequent killing of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, the Star decided to print that cartoon after all. A quarter of a century after the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the remains of nine more victims were laid to rest at the Potocari memorial cemetery. The 25th anniversary was marked on July 11 in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the main memorial ceremony to be scaled back. In July 1995, more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were rounded up and killed by Bosnian Serb forces in the eastern town of Srebrenica -- the worst mass killing in Europe since World War II. The massacre was labeled as genocide by international courts, but Serbian and Bosnian Serb officials refuse to accept that wording. The episode came at the end of the 1992-95 Bosnian War pitting the Serbs against Bosniaks and Croats that claimed some 100,000 lives. The remains of the nine recently identified victims were reburied at the Potocari memorial center, the final resting place for more than 6,640 people killed in the massacre. About 1,000 are still missing Ahmo Ibisevic, whose son was buried on July 11, told RFE/RL: "My wife and I decided to bury the incomplete body, to know where to come. His son, Salko, was 23 when he was killed, and parts of his body were found in a mass grave in Liplje, near the town of Zvornik. His family has tried to find the rest of his body, without success. The family is also searching for the remains of Salko's younger brother. Normally, thousands attend the main ceremony in Potocari, but the coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible this year. Many who planned to attend as part of a big international presence, including Britain's Prince Charles, canceled. Srebrenica, a Muslim enclave on Serb territory, fell to Bosnian Serb forces on July 11, 1995. Its Muslim population fled the town, which had been declared a UN "safe haven" for civilians. They rushed to the UN compound in hopes that the peacekeepers would protect them. When forces led by Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic arrived at the UN compound, the Dutch peacekeepers handed over the base. The Bosnian Serb forces then separated out men and boys for execution and sent the women and girls elsewhere in territory under their control. Thousands of men and boys were executed in less than two weeks, and those who tried to flee through the woods were hunted down and killed by Bosnian Serb forces. The bodies of the victims were tossed into mass graves. The United Nations' war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague established that the killings constituted genocide, and convicted Mladic and his political mentor Radovan Karadzic of genocide and other war crimes in Srebrenica. But many Serbs deny the extent of the killings, adding to the suffering of the survivors. Last year, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik called the genocide a fabricated myth. "The message to our politicians in the country and the region is: Build peace, respect, and trust. Without truth and justice, there is no peace," Munira Subasic, president of the Association of Mothers of the Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves, told the ceremony in Potocari. The chairman of Bosnias tripartite presidency, Sefik Dzaferovic, called on the Serb political, religious, and intellectual elite to face the truth without reservation [and] distance themselves from the ideology that led to the genocide in Srebrenica. In a video message marking the 25th anniversary of the massacre, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for "genuine reconciliation," saying that peace in Bosnia "is still fragile." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the United States pledges never to forget that tragedy, while EU leaders called the anniversary "a painful reminder" that Europe failed in its promise to avoid such tragedy on the continent. "We must confront the past with honesty and look to the future with determination to support the next generations," said a joint statement by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, and the bloc's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas noted that the killings took place "at the end of the 20th century in the middle of Europe, almost under the eyes of the global public," adding: "We must oppose nationalist tendencies wherever we encounter them." Police form a line near St. Johns Episcopal Church as demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd, near the White House in Washington on May 30. The church is often referred to as the Church of the Presidents for having hosted every leader since James Madison at least once. Reports: Lebanese Hezbollah Opening Unofficial Border Crossing With Syria By Sirwan Kajjo July 10, 2020 The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is intensifying efforts to open a new border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, local sources and Arab media reported this week. The Iranian-backed Shiite group has been constructing an unofficial crossing along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria, according to pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. Workers commissioned by Hezbollah have been working intensively in recent days to pave a road for the crossing, said a local source in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley region. The source, who insisted on anonymity for fear of retribution from Hezbollah, told VOA that militants affiliated with Hezbollah have been using the route for years to transport fighters and weapons between the two countries, "but it looks like they want to prepare it for civilian use as well." Backed by Iran Hezbollah has been a major actor in Syria's civil war since 2012, siding with the government of President Bashar al-Assad. With support from Iran, the group has deployed thousands of fighters to Syria in recent years. A voice recording about the development was widely circulated on social media last week. In the clip, a Hezbollah commander purportedly said the construction of this border crossing "is a message to the enemies inside and outside [Lebanon that] soon convoys will pass through here." VOA couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the recording. Hezbollah officials have not made any public statements about these reports. Two pro-Hezbollah members of the Lebanese parliament did not respond to VOA's request for comment in time for publication. Jerry Maher, a Lebanese political analyst, said Hezbollah and its networks have long been using illegal routes for smuggling between Lebanon and Syria, but the opening of an "actual border crossing" would likely facilitate further activities by the militant group that violate international sanctions. "Hezbollah benefits from such activities by smuggling certain foodstuffs and medicine from Syria into Lebanon and selling them to its supporters [for] relatively cheap prices," he told VOA. Caesar sanctions' impact Lebanon has been going through a major economic crisis because of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued political turmoil. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Hezbollah, which largely controls the Lebanese government, has accused the United States of preventing the flow of dollars to the tiny Middle Eastern country. U.S. officials, however, accuse Hezbollah of hoarding and smuggling dollars. The U.S. considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Through illegal border crossings such as the one being constructed now, analyst Maher said, "Hezbollah smuggles out fuel and U.S. dollars to help the Syrian regime and by extension the Iranian regime." "In the past, Hezbollah's use of such illegal routes was to benefit its allies in Syria and Iran," Maher added. "Now, however, these activities will boost up Hezbollah's finances as it goes through difficulties." The U.S. last month introduced new economic sanctions against the Syrian government under a measure known as the "Caesar Act." The new sanctions are named after a Syrian military photographer who fled Syria in 2013 with thousands of photos documenting torture of people by security forces in government prisons. Experts believe Lebanon's dependence on Syria's economy will exacerbate its financial crisis. Hence, Hezbollah has begun looking for ways to increase its revenue. "In terms of commercial needs, [illegal border crossings] serve Hezbollah's drug smuggling and handle some of their trading going on in Syria," said Phillip Smyth, an expert on Shiite militias at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "I'm not saying it's not easy for them to use more official transit routes, but this way they can manage them much better and pay fewer kickbacks to Syrian or Lebanese authorities," he told VOA. Avoiding watchtowers The newly paved road, which would be used for the crossing, is reportedly outside the reach of 30 watchtowers set up by the British military in support of the Lebanese military. Britain has helped install watchtowers along Lebanon's border with Syria to prevent potential infiltration by Syrian-based extremist groups, including Islamic State. "The Lebanese army can easily control these borders and stop the smuggling if there is a serious political decision to control the borders, especially since there are observation towers provided by the U.K. that have been installed along the eastern borders," Khalil al-Helou, a retired Lebanese army general, told the Dubai-based al-Arabiya news channel on Thursday. "Four U.K. ground regiments have been formed for the Lebanese army to monitor these borders." Al-Helou added that Hezbollah militants have used about 160 illegal routes and border crossing points between Lebanon and Syria over the years. Contacted by VOA, the Lebanese Ministry of Defense declined to comment. Israeli stance Israel considers Hezbollah a major threat to its security. Since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, Israel has frequently carried out airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Syria. In recent months, Israeli officials have voiced concerns that Hezbollah is seeking to build production facilities to make precision-guided missiles. Smyth of the Washington Institute said the new border crossing would be "very important for [Hezbollah] due to weapons smuggling, particularly pieces for their rockets and guidance equipment." But Jonathan Spyer, a researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said Israel should be able to observe the area effectively since "Israel's intelligence coverage of Lebanon and Syria is generally considered good." "If weapons and guidance systems are in the vicinity, they will be as vulnerable to Israeli air power as other sites in Syria," Spyer told VOA. "I think Israel's interest in the area will be limited to the issue of weapons." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Elections Department (ELD) has asked voters to vote within the recommended time bands. Younger voters were encouraged not to vote between 8:00 a.m. and 12 at noon local time unless they have been allotted specific time bands within this window, as the morning voting hours have mostly been allotted to senior voters aged 65 years and above. ELD has announced the approach for voting by certain groups of voters in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation. Voters on Stay-Home Notice or medical certificates for acute respiratory infection, or are having a fever, are advised to vote between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time. The COVID-19 patients and voters who are on Quarantine Order for COVID-19 are not allowed to vote. Besides, ELD has said that there are 6,570 overseas voters in the general election, and 10 overseas polling stations have been prepared for them in Beijing, Canberra, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo and Washington DC. Local media reported that some overseas voters had cast their votes before Friday. ELD has also said temperature screening is conducted to detect those with fever or respiratory symptoms at the polling stations. It has asked the voters to take their temperature and check online the queue situation before going to vote, wear masks and comply with safe distancing measures at all times in the polling stations. A total of 191 candidates from 11 political parties and an independent candidate are competing for 93 seats in the general election. Crowds drinking and mingling in Temple Bar. Bad. Black Lives Matter protests. Bad. House parties. Bad. A funeral for a former Sinn Fein politician. Really, really bad. And when the leader of the opposition makes it her business to attend and is pictured embracing fellow mourners, well that just seals it; everyone involved in Bobby Storey's funeral, from the priest, to the lads playing the bagpipes, to Gerry Adams, especially Gerry Adams, should be before the courts, asked why they're so intent on provoking a second surge of the coronavirus and then preferably told to self-isolate up in the North for 14 years. Because it was reckless of them wasn't it? Reckless and feckless. These supposed figures of authority acted with all the nonchalance of those revellers in Dublin, they thumbed their noses up at convention and, in the process, caused great upset to the hundreds of people who have had to bury loved ones from afar. And who knows what Mary Lou and the lads did when the cameras were off them, maybe they all piled back to Gerry's, 70 of them in the house; skulling cans, tunes blaring out the window, just daring the police to come and break things up. A couple of weeks ago another funeral was held on the island of Ireland, one for a man who was taken much too soon, killed in the line of duty, leaving a young family behind and the entire nation united in sympathy. Det Garda Colm Horkan, who was shot and killed in Roscommon last month, 'epitomised' what members of the force should be, and had 'all the values you associate with a good and decent human being'. His was a funeral befitting such a man, a solemn affair where fellow Gardai lined the streets and scores of mourners quietly trailed the 49 year-old's coffin. Indeed, if you take out the two men wearing kilts at the front, the images from that day in County Mayo are strikingly similar to those from Bobby Storey's funeral. But the reactions couldn't have been more different. The degree of condemnation levelled against all those at the latter, and in particular the Sinn Fein politicians, contrasts starkly with the wall of silence in response to Mr Horkan's funeral. I'm aware of how sensitive an issue this is; judging anyone on how they mark the passing of a loved one is not something I do lightly. Furthermore, no blame can be placed on the doorstep of Mr Storey's family members nor those of Det Garda Colm Horkan. Indeed, I would go as far as to absolve all those attending the respective funerals, regardless of their profile, from any blame; I have lost a loved one during the pandemic and I'm aware of easy it is to abandon those rules and regulations in the face of grief and loss. No, the real issue here is public perception and the double standards being preached by certain sections of the media. We are constantly being reminded that this virus does not discriminate, that it takes the young and the old, the male and the female, the Catholics and the Protestants, without bias. However, in the case of Bobby Storey and Det Garda Horkan it would appear that one was more worthy of a large send-off than the other; that the procession which accompanied the slain garda was one worthy of a hero, the one organised for Mr Storey a glorification of his time with the IRA. Let us hope the coronavirus received the memo and scheduled its attendance accordingly. And these are just two of many examples. I know I've seen social distancing rules openly flouted at the funerals of people regarded as prominent members of their community, in much the same way as I've seen Traveller families gather en masse to pay their respects following the loss of a loved one. Yet invariably it is only the Traveller funeral which receives censure, the bad funeral which we choose to be offended by. We would never dream of complaining about the funeral of a local GAA figurehead, that of a former councillor, a much-loved committee member of a community group, or anyone embedded in local life. Because those people were heroes, they deserved a good send-off. And to say otherwise is just downright disrespectful. A meeting of Congress Lok Sabha MPs called by party president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and the political situation in the country was dominated by calls for Rahul Gandhi to take over as the party chief on Saturday. The demand was first raised by party chief whip in Lok Sabha K Suresh and seconded by a majority of MPs who attended the virtual meeting that lasted over three hours, sources said. Suresh is learnt to have said that Rahul Gandhi, who has been at the forefront of espousing people's issues during the pandemic, needs to take over the reigns of the Congress at this critical time. The demands were raised with Rahul Gandhi in attendance at the meeting, even though neither he nor Sonia Gandhi said anything on this issue, the sources said. Manickam Tagore, Gaurav Gogoi, Anto Antony, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, and some others backed the demand. Rahul Gandhi resigned as Congress president after the party's 2019 Lok Sabha poll debacle and Sonia Gandhi was installed as interim chief on August 10 by the Congress Working Committee, the party's highest decision-making body. On Saturday, she had convened a meeting with party Lok Sabha MPs to discuss the current political and COVID-19 situation in the country. According to the sources, the MPs also raised the demands for convening the Monsoon Session of Parliament and how the government was evading parliamentary scrutiny. The India-China standoff was also raised by many MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, who said the government continues to mislead the country on Chinese incursions and the current situation in Ladakh. All the MPs demanded restoration of MPLADS funds which have been discontinued due to the pandemic. The Congress members said since they were public representatives, they were unable to fulfil their responsibilities in view of the suspension of the scheme. The Central Government suspended the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for two years in view of huge funds requirement to fight COVID-19. The funds under MPLADS for the next two years will be part of the Central pool to fight the pandemic. The Congress parliamentarians also raised the issues of economic downturn, agriculture distress, high petroleum prices. Many suggested the party should raise the cause of the middle class, who have been the hardest hit due to the slowdown and job losses. Rahul Gandhi said the Congress was not playing politics on the issue of Chinese incursions and the party did not want India to be seen as a "weak country" by ceding its land to China. He also accused Prime Minister Narendra modi of "misleading" the country on the border issue, the sources said. On COVID-19, the former Congress chief said the central government has "mishandled" the situation and highlighted its apathy in handling the crisis. Now, he said, when the situation has gone out of hand, the Centre has left it to states to fend for themselves. He also demanded that the PM-CARES Fund be audited as it has accepted public money and raised the issue of donations received from some Chinese companies into the fund which, he added, needs to be probed. The Congress is likely to raise the issues discussed on Saturday during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which may take place next month. The Congress has been critical of the BJP-led government over various issues, particularly its handling of the pandemic as COVID-19 cases have risen exponentially after the easing of lockdown, and the situation at the border with China in eastern Ladakh where 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent standoff with Chinese troops on June 15. The Congress has also been slamming the government for not granting financial relief to the poor. It has demanded cash transfer into their bank accounts. The party has also been raising the issue of rise in petrol and diesel prices and demanded a reduction in fuel charges after a slack in global crude oil prices. Karl Marx wants you to seize the means of production, and the World Health Organization wants you to seize the opportunity to control the global pandemic - They are not the same. The WHO has strongly recommended use of face-masks to protect both yourself and others from catching the disease. Most states in India, too, have made the wear of masks compulsory in public places. However, there are still people flouting this rule. In essential services which have public exposed places, this becomes a huge risk, as someone without a mask coughing, sneezing or even breathing can lead to transfer of the virus over significant distances. In a bank in Kolkata, however, an advisory which asks people to wear a mask, has a tiny misspelling - changing the entire meaning of the advisory. The sign, which reads "Marx na porey bank-e probesh korben na," literally translates to 'Don't enter the bank unless you have read (Karl) Marx.' The word, 'Masks' and 'Marx' have been replaced by a tiny 'r' in the word. In Bengali, the word 'porey' means both 'read' as well as 'wear,' further causing the confusion. The sign has an address of the Bank of India branch in Michael Nagar, in Madhyamgram area of Kolkata. A photo of the sign was shared on Twitter. Through a historically necessary misspelling (mask as Marx) this sign in Calcutta reads: Do not enter the bank without having read Marx pic.twitter.com/F6CtZXQc0u Sandipto Dasgupta (@sandiptod) July 10, 2020 People couldn't help but wonder if it was a deliberate misspelling or a freudian slip. The words read and wear are homonyms in Bangla. Sandipto Dasgupta (@sandiptod) July 10, 2020 Love this!!!! Freudian Slip? Debjani Bhattacharyya (@itihaashtag) July 10, 2020 It was intentional I feel otherwise should've been modern rice (@biryani_stan) July 10, 2020 Even if people take it seriously it is good Seema Yadav (@Seema_Yadav_) July 10, 2020 Lmao shout out to all my Bengalis. This is iconic. https://t.co/CQjxKUtFbE Shom Mazumder, Ph.D. (@shom_mazumder) July 10, 2020 Finally! Someone got it right! (Unintentionally though ) https://t.co/yYMbLKVcxo Amitangshu Acharya (@amitangshu) July 10, 2020 While we're unsure whether Karl Marx would be 100% behind supporting the centralized banks of today, we do know for sure that he would advocate wearing a mask, in times of pandemic. An Upper Egypt criminal court handed on Saturday a 15-year imprisonment sentence to a man for "sexually assaulting" a woman in the conservative governorate of Qena. The case dates back to February 2020 when the 22-year-old woman filed a complaint accusing a worker of sexual assault and harassment as she walked in a street at a Qena village. The worker, who groped the woman, was charged with sexual assault and harassment by the prosecution. The sentence is not final and can be appealed at the Court of Cassation. According to the Egyptian penal code, rape and sexual assault can be punished with jail terms of up to a life sentence. The addition of aggravating circumstances could lead to the death penalty. Saturdays sentence comes as Egypt ups efforts against sexual harassment amid an ongoing investigation by the prosecutor-general into allegations of rape, sexual harassment and blackmail made by dozens of women and girls against a young man by the name of Ahmed Bassam Zaki. The controversial case has pushed the cabinet to approve last week a bill proposed by the justice ministry to keep the identity of victims of sexual assault and harassment confidential. According to the draft law, the identities of the victims of sexual crimes are not to be publicly disclosed, and can only be revealed to the court and to defendants upon request. Search Keywords: Short link: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media NEW HAVEN Police released the name Saturday of a city resident shot and killed in the Hill neighborhood earlier this week. Ricky Newton, 36, was wounded on Rosette Street Friday afternoon, Capt. Anthony Duff said in a release. Istanbul, July 12 : The World Council of Churches has called on Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse his decision to turn the celebrated Hagia Sophia museum back into a mosque. In a letter to Erdogan, the Council, which counts 350 churches as members, said the move would sow division, the BBC reported. The Unesco World Heritage site in Istanbul has been a museum since 1934. The president announced his decision on Friday following a court ruling which annulled its museum status. The Hagia Sophia was built 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral, but was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453. It was converted to a museum on the orders of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of modern, secular Turkey. Since then religious services have been banned at the site, but devout Muslims have long campaigned for worship to be allowed. The Geneva-based World Council of Churches says it represents more than 500 million Christians. The letter is from Ioan Sauca, interim general secretary, who says the Council feels "grief and dismay". "By deciding to convert the Hagia Sophia back to a mosque you have reversed that positive sign of Turkey's openness and changed it to a sign of exclusion and division." He writes that the decision "will inevitably create uncertainties, suspicions and mistrust, undermining all our efforts to bring people of different faiths together at the table of dialogue and co-operation". "In the interests of promoting mutual understanding, respect, dialogue and co-operation, and avoiding cultivating old animosities and divisions, we urgently appeal to you to reconsider and reverse your decision," the letter read. The case was decided by the Council of State, Turkey's highest administrative body, following a petition from an NGO - the Association for the Protection of Historic Monuments and the Environment. It argued that the building had been the private property of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed, responsible for turning the church into a mosque. The issue has highlighted the clash between those who want Turkey to remain secular, and President Erdogan's conservative religious base. The case was decided by the Council of State, Turkey's highest administrative body, following a petition from an NGO - the Association for the Protection of Historic Monuments and the Environment. It argued that the building had been the private property of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed, responsible for turning the church into a mosque. The issue has highlighted the clash between those who want Turkey to remain secular, and President Erdogan's conservative religious base. He defended his decision on Friday by stressing that the country had exercised its sovereign right in converting the building back to a mosque. The first Muslim prayers would be held on 24 July. "Like all our mosques, the doors of Hagia Sophia will be wide open to locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims," he said. Today Turkey had "435 churches and synagogues open for worship", while "few buildings our ancestors built in Eastern Europe and Balkans stand today". The HAGUE:--- Although Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten (hereinafter: the countries) have barely known new infections for weeks, the impact of the Corona crisis on the Caribbean parts of our Kingdom is enormous. Tourism, the main source of income, has almost completely disappeared, leaving the economies of the countries in deep crisis. Tens of thousands of residents have lost their jobs or lost income and many are now dependent on food aid. With Dutch money, the countries have been able to alleviate the worst need, but there is no prospect that they will survive in the foreseeable future without this help. Financial support and assistance from the Netherlands will, therefore, continue to be needed in the coming months and probably even years. The cabinet is prepared to provide this support. But the socio-economic and financial situation in which the countries find themselves compels us to take a different approach, which guarantees concrete results. The most vulnerable people deserve our unconditional support. That is why we assist the countries with generous humanitarian aid. In the longer term, it is important to make the economies of the countries resilient and to offer more security to the inhabitants. There is no longer any room for further postponement of reforms that have long been needed but have never been implemented for various reasons. That is why conditions are set for budget support from the Netherlands, to ensure that the governments achieve results with regard to financial management and good governance. The Netherlands is also prepared to support the countries in implementing the necessary reforms and realizing investments. If the Netherlands guarantees a lot of taxpayers' money in the coming years, we want to make sure that we make the countries more resilient and resilient with the resources made available. In the interest of all residents. During the Kingdom Council of Ministers of 10 July, an integral proposal was made for further liquidity support, reforms and investments, including an attached package of conditions. During the General Consultation on 1 July last, I undertook to inform you about the results of this discussion. As an attachment to this letter, I, therefore, share this information with your House. Curacao and Sint Maarten have not accepted this proposal. Aruba has asked for a few days postponement to be able to organize more solid support within the country. The discussion about this proposal will, therefore, continue with Aruba in the coming days, aimed at finalizing the decision-making in the coming week. Humanitarian help In addition to financial support, the Kingdom Council of Ministers also discussed extending humanitarian aid. The Dutch government considers it of great importance that the vulnerable groups in the countries are supported. Therefore, 16 million had previously been made available for humanitarian aid. The Kingdom Council of Ministers has decided to continue this aid until at least the end of the year and to make another 25.2 million available for this. Food aid is provided under the coordination of the Dutch Red Cross and in collaboration with local partners. This method will be continued. With the funds previously made available by the Dutch government, approximately 5,000 households are provided with food aid in Aruba, 10,000 households in Curacao and in Sint Maarten 3,200. Humanitarian aid is a gift without conditions. The budgetary consequences of this extension are presented to you in a supplementary budget law. New policies are normally put into effect after the States-General has authorized the fiscal law. Since, due to the urgency of these measures, an extension can not wait for formal authorization by both Houses of the States-General, the Cabinet will start implementing this measure. This acts in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 2.27 of the Government Accounts Act 2016. Finally, The countries have said they no longer want to be dependent on the Netherlands for years. That is a healthy goal and we are happy to help with that. To achieve this, we can expect drivers in the countries to have a sense of reality and decisiveness. It is precisely by making the countries more resilient than their dependence is reduced and autonomy is increased. I would like to do the right things together with the countries for all people in not only Aruba but also in Curacao and Sint Maarten. I therefore sincerely hope that the hand that the Dutch cabinet has extended the present proposal Curacao and Sint Maarten will be adopted later. In this regard, Curacao has, among other things, drawn attention to the publication of documents for consultation in the country. Objections were raised for Sint Maarten the proposal is decisive. My hope is that agreement can be reached with both countries, for example, next month, when the Kingdom Council of Ministers will discuss the advice in which the College of Financial Supervision will determine whether both countries have fulfilled the conditions for the second tranche of liquidity support. But that choice is of course up to Curacao and Sint Maarten. The Secretary of State for the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Raymond Knops He shocked the world when he announced his coronavirus diagnosis while on the Gold Coast filming Baz Lurhmann's Elvis Presley biopic back in March. And now, Tom Hanks has revealed what it was like to be the 'canary in the coalmine' along with his wife Rita Wilson, when it came to COVID-19. On Saturday, the Castaway star, 64, told The Daily Telegraph that medical professionals at the hospital had to explain to the celebrity couple what it meant to have the deadly virus. 'I was the canary in the coal mine': On Saturday, Tom Hanks revealed what it was like to be diagnosed with COVID-19 while in Australia with wife Rita Wilson. Both pictured 'When we were told we were found positive, we thought, "What? What did we win?",' Tom recalled. He added: 'Then you're given the facts. We were told, "Here's the reason why you have got to be careful; here's the reason why it's very important that you do your part".' While Tom and Rita partially went into isolation to maintain their own health, they felt they the 'twin responsibility' to 'not give the virus to anybody else'. 'It's very important that you do your part': While Tom and Rita partially went into isolation to maintain their own health, they felt they the 'twin responsibility' to 'not give the virus to anybody else'. Rita is pictured before her diagnosis in front of the Sydney Opera House The Hollywood couple remained in hospital for three days before returning to their rented home on the Gold Coast to continue quarantining. 'I was the canary in the coal mine for some of this, for sure. But now we are once again at the place where there is no guarantee of immunity, from the information that I've read,' he said. Tom, who has since returned to his home in Los Angeles, went on to remind his fans that they were still 'smack-dab in the middle' of the pandemic. Speaking out: Tom, who has since returned to his home in Los Angeles, went on to remind his fans that they were still 'smack-dab in the middle' of the pandemic Earlier this month, the Forrest Gump actor had a few choice words for anyone refusing to wear a mask or practice social distancing to help contain the spread of COVID-19. 'There's really only three things we can do in order to get to tomorrow: Wear a mask, social distance, wash our hands,' the A-list Hollywood star told People. 'Those things are so simple, so easy, if anybody cannot find it in themselves to practice those three very basic things I just think shame on you.' Libya's National Oil Company announced Friday the resumption of crude production and exports after a nearly six-month shutdown due to conflict dividing the country. But the state oil giant said that it would take time for output to return to previous levels because of major damage to energy infrastructure. Libya, which sits atop Africa's largest proven crude oil reserves, is torn between the rival powers of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar. Since January, groups loyal to Haftar, who was pushing an offensive to seize the capital, have been blocking the production and export of oil from the country's most important fields and terminals, claiming they want a fair distribution of the oil revenues managed by Tripoli. The NOC had invoked force majeure in response -- a measure used in exceptional circumstances that allows it to be exonerated from liability in the event of non-compliance with oil delivery contracts. The company said Friday that it had "lifted force majeure on all oil exports from Libya". "The increase in production will take a long time due to the significant damage to reservoirs and infrastructure caused by the illegal blockade imposed on January 17," it said in a statement. NOC chief Mustafa Sanalla welcomed the resumption of oil production, saying: "We are very glad finally to be able to take this important step to national recovery." The US embassy, which relocated to Tunis after its 2014 closure in Libya, also hailed news that the NOC had lifted force majeure "and resumed its vital work on behalf of all Libyans." It vowed to cooperate with the UN mission in Libya to ensure "revenues are not misappropriated but rather preserved for the benefit of the Libyan people". France's embassy, also from Tunis, stressed on Facebook it rejected "the militarisation of oil installations" and stressed "the importance of preserving NOC neutrality". Negotiations The NOC said a first ship was due to start loading crude from the oil port Al-Sidra in the east of the country. Libya produced 1.22 million barrels per day (bpd) before January and had planned to increase production to 2.1 million bpd by 2024, the NOC said this week. But due to infrastructure damage caused by the months-long blockade, production could drop to 650,000 bpd in 2022, it said. Earlier this month, the NOC had reported talks, "supervised by the United Nations and the United States", to allow the resumption of production, the halt of which caused losses of more than $6.5 billion, according to the company. Oil exports are the source of almost all state revenue in Libya, which has been mired in chaos since the ouster and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising. Supported by Turkey, pro-GNA forces scored important victories in June, regaining control of the northwest and driving out forces loyal to Haftar, who had launched an abortive offensive in April 2019 to seize Tripoli. Haftar is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. On July 1, the NOC said negotiations were under way "between the GNA, NOC and regional countries who stand behind this blockade" to resume production. It said that "all oil revenues will continue to be deposited into the same accounts of the corporation", pending the establishment of measures along "two parallel tracks". "One track will ensure financial transparency as well as equal opportunities and social justice among all Libyans," the statement said. "The other track will focus on the restructuring of security arrangements to protect oil facilities, in a way that ensures they are never used as a military target or a political bargaining chip again." The distribution of Libya's oil income is regularly the source of tension in the country, particularly in the east, which has repeatedly said the shares are inequitable. Guwahati/Agartala, July 11 : In view of surge in Covid-19 cases, the Assam government is likely to extend the lockdown in the Kamrup (Metro) district for one more week after the 14-day shutdown ends on Sunday. "The Chief Secretary as the Chairman of the executive committee of the disaster management in consultation with the citizens' forum and MLAs of the Kamrup (Metro) district would take the decision on the extension. "Though the health department has said one-week extension will be enough, others are advocating two more weeks in view of the rising infection," Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday. With a population of 11.20 lakh, northeast's main commercial hub Guwahati is the headquarters of the Kamrup (Metro) district. With some strict restrictions, Guwahati was likely to re-open in the fourth week of the month, he said and added, around 10 per cent population of the city had been tested for Covid-19. But for Guwahati, no major city in the country had done co much testing, he claimed. With discharge of 9,848 patients of the 15,536 cases, the Assam's recovery rate was 63.39 per cent against the national average of 62.78 per cent, he said. "In terms of recovery, Assam is fourth position after Delhi (recovery rate 77 per cent), Gujarat (70 per cent), West Bengal (63.99 per cent). After the rapid antigen test, it was found that the infection was on decline in Guwahati," he said. The Minister said Delhi topped in per million tests with 39,000 tests, followed by Tamil Nadu (19,000), Andhra Pradesh (18,000) and Assam (15,744). "Next week, Assam will be in second position in per million tests. In Assam, 525,485 samples have been tested," he claimed. In the past 10 days, on an average 700-900 cases are being found in Assam and 450 patient recovering, Sarma said. With 16 deaths in the past two days, the Covid-19 toll increased to 36. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) A new report published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that solid fuel burning (SFB) accounts for 82% of the air pollution in Enniscorthy. Furthermore, the authors of the report, which is entitled 'Source Apportionment of Particulate Matter in Urban and Rural Residential Areas of Ireland (SAPPHIRE)', contend that even the introduction of the smoky coal ban in the town in September won't necessarily eradicate an issue which last year saw it christened 'The New Dehli of Ireland'. Carried out between April 2014 and March 2017 the project tested air quality in Enniscorthy, Birr in County Offaly, and Killarney. And it found that coal only attributed to 17% of air pollution in Enniscorthy, with wood (21%) and peat (27%) posing a larger problem. However, complicating the issue were a set of particles indistinguishable to researchers, an 11% which was thus categorised as being an amalgam of peat and coal. Reporting on their findings, researchers said: 'The results presented here indicate that particles from the combustion of all three fuel types were present in all three towns. 'As there was no one clearly dominant solid fuel combustion emissions source, measures such as a smoky or low-smoke coal ban in these areas may be only partly successful in reducing particle concentrations. 'Future efforts to improve air quality in these towns, and others like them, will need to address how domestic residences are heated in general, rather than attempting to discourage the use of one specific fuel.' Unsurprisingly, given recent reports, of the levels of air pollution recorded in the three towns Enniscorthy was the highest. Measured by microgrammes of chemical vapours, fumes or dust per cubic metre in the ambient air, Enniscorthy averaged 29.2 with a high of 236.6. To put this into context the World Health Organisation (WHO) 24-hour mean guideline value is 25. This figure was exceeded on 16 out of the 38 days recorded and every one of these days the highest hourly average was 50. In addition to coal, peat and wood, 6% of air pollution was attributed to 'amine and ammonium containing particles' which, the authors said were 'strongly associated with domestic solid fuel combustion and agricultural emissions'. A considerable contribution to air pollution (approximately 5%) consisted of chemically processed combustion particles said the authors: 'These were characterised by a peat-like combustion particle containing trimethylamine (TMA), ammonium and ammonium nitrate. TMA and ammonium are present as gases in the atmosphere and they probably originated from agricultural activities in the surrounding areas. 'This important result indicates that agricultural emissions can combine with combustion emissions to further particle growth and increase levels of pollution.' Traffic accounted for less than 1% of pollution during the three-year period, sea salt particles accounted for 4%, with 13% of the particles examined by researchers being labelled as unidentifiable. Solid fuel burning accounted for 72% and 60% of air pollution in Killarney and Birr respectively. Professor John Wenger was one of the authors of the report and he said that the ban on smoky coal may lead to people switching to more harmful solid fuel burning. 'Peat and wood contribute to air pollution more than coal. They produce more pollutants when burnt. When the smoky coal ban comes in it will have some benefits but it may make things even worse if people decide to switch to wood and peat,' he said. 'I know everyone loves the home fire, the warmth of the flames, watching the wood burning, but if you walk around Enniscorthy in the winter you can actually taste the pollution in the air.' Citing the array of health problems associated with air pollution and explaining that its geographical location makes Enniscorthy particularly susceptible, Prof Wenger said those living in the town needed to be incentivised to install renewable heating in their homes. 'We need to provide incentives for people living in Enniscorthy, reward them for installing renewable heating, give them grants,' he said. 'The new programme for Government includes lots of measure to combat climate change and home heating is a big challenge. But a nationwide ban on smoky coal won't be enough. We need to move away from burning anything in the home. We need to start now and bring in renewable heating.' 'The analysis of the economics of this shows that by reducing heart attacks, strokes, you're then reducing hospitalisations, there's a cost benefit in the long run. But it costs money to make changes, and there's a cost of effort too.' The Wexford Environmental Network (WEN) was established in 2018 to give people a platform to discuss ways to protect the county in the face of climate change. And it said this report offered an opportunity to reassess the way we heat our homes. 'WEN welcomes this report and we're really pleased that Enniscorthy is included in the detailed study,' read the WEN statement. 'Understanding what pollutes our air and what we can do about it is the first step in improving Wexford's air quality. 'Anyone who lives in any of Wexford's larger towns has probably noticed the smog that worsens once our weather starts to cool and householders start to light fires. 'Surely we can do better for our elderly residents in particular and come up with better home heating solutions that mean they don't have to move heavy fuels and deal with the mess they make? 'We think there is an opportunity here to look at how we heat our homes and solve an air quality problem and a greenhouse gas emission problem at once. As part of our post Covid recovery why not examine incentives and schemes for building retrofits that move our houses to clean energy, so that we don't need to rely on burning solid fuels? 'Cleaner solutions - like improved insulation and heat pumps - would make our houses warmer, more efficient and make our air cleaner. There's so much opportunity in moving away from solid fuels - let's use the findings of this report to really think about how we want to have warm homes and clean air. Let's move towards that.' Burning smokeless coal in household stoves is a major source of air pollution despite its apparent clean credentials. There is little difference between smokeless and smoky coal and the pollution is worsened when firelighters are used, the University College Dublin study found. Read More The finding is worrying for many thousands of householders who converted open fires to stoves or installed free-standing models over the last 20 years because they were believed to be more energy efficient and cleaner. Scientists found that burning just 2-3kg of coal, briquettes, peat sods or wood produced the same amount of particulate matter (PM) as driving a typical, modern diesel car for several thousand kilometres. PM such as soot, smoke and other dirt is the main cause of premature deaths from air pollution here. Around 1,200 people die prematurely from air pollution in Ireland each year while many others suffer a worsening of chronic respiratory conditions. The scientists say smoky coal bans "while laudable in principle" are ineffective and that all solid fuels in urban areas should be discouraged instead. Solid fuels provide 20-25pc of home heating and while their use has been slowly decreasing, the proportion burned in stoves has increased. Sod peat, bituminous coal and smokeless fuels each account for about 30pc of the solid fuels used while the remainder is mainly wood. In the Environmental Protection Agency-backed study, Dr William Smith and Dr Cian Quinn concluded: "All solid fuels tested, including fuels categorised as 'smokeless' under Irish law, were found to generate very substantial levels of particulate emissions. "Combustion of just two to three kilogrammes of any of these fuels produced a mass of particulate matter equivalent to driving a typical, modern diesel car for several thousand kilometres. Firelighters contribute a disproportionately high fraction of PM emissions, relative to their energy content and mass. "Because those emissions are generated in residential areas, they have the potential to impact appreciably on human health. "The combustion of solid fuels in manually operated, domestic-scale appliances should therefore be discouraged in urban areas. Mandating the use of so-called smokeless fuels, while laudable in principle, is unlikely to reduce particulate emissions to an acceptable level." They said emission standards should be set for firelighters and moisture standards for wood as wet wood was worse. They also said if stoves were to continue in use, they should have electronically controlled air inlets to improve efficiency. It is the second study in recent weeks to cast doubt on the efficacy of the smoky coal ban that is being extended to all towns with populations over 10,000 from September. Research by scientists at University College Cork showed that in three towns, Killarney, Enniscorthy and Birr, where solid fuel use is high for home-heating, all had air pollution problems over the winter. That study questioned the impact of banning smokeless coal from the towns if the use of peat and wood were not tackled too. The Programme for Government pledges to move towards a full nationwide ban on smoky coal. It also promises to retrofit 500,000 homes with an emphasis on moving away from solid fuel use by 2030. Fines and warnings to be issued for lack of face covering External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Saturday described as work in progress the disengagement and de-escalation process with China in East Ladakh. Discussing the India-China face-off in Ladakh at India Global Week 2020, organised by India Inc, a UK-based media house, Jaishankar said the process had been mutually agreed upon and just commenced. Whats happened is that we have agreed on the need to disengage because the troops on both sides are deployed very close to each other. On-ground verification in East Ladakh has shown that Indian and Chinese troops have moved back from positions where they were in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation by at least 600 metres at the four stand-off points as well as all along the 1597 km Line of Actual Control in the western sector, top military and diplomatic officials said on condition of anonymity. According to the officials, the two sides have decided to temporarily halt patrolling at the four friction points, Galwan, Gogra, Hot Springs and Pangong Tso but without prejudice to their patrolling rights so that temperatures are reduced on the border and any chance of an accident is avoided. This is not the first time that India and China have agreed to such measures, they pointed out; it was done at Finger 8 in Pangong Tso in 2008 and at Depsang Bulge in 2013 after similar stand-offs were resolved. The officials denied that there was a buffer zone. There is no buffer zone. All we have done is that both sides have withdrawn to rear positions so that no accident or flare-up takes place. The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is dismantling structures and moving vehicles back at the stand-off points in daylight to maintain transparency. It also wants Indian troops to move back the same distance as there is trust deficit between the two sides... it only requires a spark to catch fire and undo all the dialogue, said a senior military commander. During the third virtual meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs on Friday, India and China said they would push forward efforts aimed at complete disengagement and easing of tensions along the LAC even as differences remained over issues such as Beijings insistence of claiming ownership of Galwan valley. A date for the meeting of senior military commanders next week is being worked out, and the situation on ground reveals a complete disengagement at Galwan with neither of the forces sitting on or next to the LAC. Jaishankar also emphasized that there is bipartisan consensus in the US to strengthen the relationship with India. Think back of the last four US PresidentsDonald Trump, Barack Obama, George Bush and Bill Clintonand you would agree that you cant find four people in world less similar.... Yet one thing on which they agreed is importance of India.... Maybe some of it is our charm but I think a lot of it is also their thinking. We have a very strong political, strategic, security, technology, economic cooperation and defence cooperation with United States, he said. (Rezaul H Laskar contributed to this article) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON WATERLOO REGION Students across the region are on the lookout for milkweed as they work to protect monarch butterfly populations. The outdoor and environmental education department with the public school board has launched a summer project called Monarch Madness, which asks students to document locations of milkweed and monarchs in the region. It is a citizen science opportunity for students to become leaders in conservation for a threatened species, said Nathan Mantey, an outdoor education specialist with the Waterloo Region District School Board. I think students are really inspired by the opportunity to report monarch and milkweed sightings. Monarch populations have been in decline for more than two decades and are classified as endangered in Canada. The goal of the Monarch Madness project is to track monarchs in the region and document what life stage they are in whether an egg, larva, pupa or butterfly. Information collected will be compared to future years of the project, said Mantey. The outdoor education department also wants to identify milkweed deserts. Mantey explains that agricultural practices including the use of herbicides have caused a decline in milkweed, posing a threat to monarchs. The plant offers up a nourishing meal for hungry caterpillars, and a place for monarch butterflies to lay their eggs. As part of the Monarch Madness project school yards located in milkweed deserts will be selected for a monarch waystation in the fall. Waystations are areas planted with milkweed as well as other flowering plants that provide nectar for monarch butterflies. Since the project began in mid-June, students from 48 public schools have participated. More than 2,600 milkweed plants have been counted and nearly 230 monarchs have been observed in various life stages. The project runs until late September and anyone in the community is welcome to participate and submit their findings on the school boards website: www.wrdsb.ca/monarchmadness Dumebi Adigwe, a rising sophomore studying mathematics at Harvard University, has no idea where she is going to live. This week, Harvard announced it would allow only up to 40 percent of its nearly 6,800 undergraduates on campus in the fall, the vast majority of them freshmen, and that all classes would be held online. Ms. Adigwe, 18, is on a full scholarship and recently moved in with a friend, where she planned on staying only through the summer, hoping that Harvard would reopen its doors in some capacity. Now there is no going back to school, I dont have anywhere to go actually, she said. For all college students, including and especially those from low-income backgrounds, the coronavirus has unraveled years of hard work and extracurricular hustle. Life on Harvards campus was meant to offer students the possibility of forming relationships with well-connected peers and professors, a social environment that could multiply opportunities. Now, the experience has narrowed into what is possible through a computer screen. Princeton, Stanford, Johns Hopkins and other universities also announced reopening plans this week in which most classes would be held online. (According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, about 60 percent of colleges and universities are planning to allow all students back in classrooms.) During the commemoration programme of the July 10 massacre in Obafemi Awolowo University, discussants decried Nigerias poor criminal justice system. On July 10, 1999, five students of the University were gruesomely murdered by members of the Black Axe Confraternity, while some others were left injured. Amongst those killed was a 21-year-old 400-Level law student and then Secretary-General of the Students Union, George Iwilade, popularly referred to as Afrika. Others were Eviano Ekeimu, 400-Level Medicine; Yemi Ajiteru, an extra year student; Babatunde Oke, 100-Level Philosophy, and Godfrey Ekpede. According to a survivor of the attack, Lanre Adeleke (Legacy), who was the then students union president, the then vice-chancellor, Wale Omole, was the sponsor of the deadly attack. Mr Omole has repeatedly denied being responsible for the attack. Although several events have thwarted all efforts to bring the perpetrators to book, survivors, families of the deceased and major actors are still confident that justice will be served. Meanwhile, on Friday afternoon, the current students of the university in their hundreds held a virtual conference to discuss the delay in justice, putting the July 10 event into perspectives. Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters; Destiny Adodo a former speaker student union and a practicing lawyer; Akinkunmi Olawoyin, a former President of the union; Tayo Iwilade, a brother of the late Iwilade; were amongst the speakers invited. Justice still feasible? Mr Adodo posited that it may be difficult to get justice, considering the poor administration of criminal justice and the unavailability of the said evidence. The legal practitioner noted that the only way such a criminal case can be revived is to get the principal actors, like the police officers in-charge of the case, to provide written statements, indicting the culprits. He said the presiding judge then discharged and acquitted the perpetrators and ruled that all exhibits be destroyed. This was one of the bad precedents set in the history of our judicial system, Mr Adodo said. The former union leader stated that Mr Omole, who was initially suspended by the federal government as a result of the unfortunate incident, was supposed to be made to appear in a court of law to prove his innocence if he is. Instead, years after, he (Omole) was compensated with appointments from states and the federal government. This speaks volume of how our system celebrates criminals. On the other hand, Mr Iwilade, currently a lawyer and rights activist, said the July 10 commemoration is beyond the anti-cultism fight, explaining the essence of the ideologies Afrika fought for until death. He spoke about the system that encourages corruption and impediments to social justice, adding that until these problems are solved, the country is not safe for anyone. Way forward Other speakers, in their various submissions, advised the current generation of students to uphold the ideologies behind the commemoration of the July 10 massacre. Mr Sowore called on Nigerian students to stand against oppression by university authorities in their respective campuses. I hope these discussions will not end here. We need more people to fight like Afrika did, he said. Mr Olawoyin spoke extensively on the need to revitalise the Nigerian students movement that Afrika was part of before his death. He added that students should organise themselves to demand proper funding of the education sector in order to improve welfare of students and workers in the University community Also, Mr Adeleke, in his remarks, challenged students to see beyond the yearly remembrance of the murdered students, and begin to play historical roles that would continue to justify the struggle of the fallen heroes. Advertisements FM spox says too early to comment on cause of Natanz incident IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Isfahan, July 10, IRNA -- Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Mousavi commented on the claims by certain enemy media bout the incident which recently happened in Iran's Natanz nuclear facility and said it was too early to decide about its main cause. Mousavi told reporters at Isfahan Municipality Conference Center on Thursday that the Natanz incident and the role of the Zionist regime in it. He said the Zionist regime is presenting itself in whatever happens, but it is too early to talk about the cause or the main causes of this incident or to get to any conclusions. One of the halls under the construction in Martyr Ahmadi Roshan Enrichment Complex (Natanz) was damaged on Thursday morning, July 5, according to Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization, the site was inactive and did not contain radioactive materials. Mousavi stated that the security agencies are investigating all the details of the incident, adding that if they conclude that foreign agents were involved, then enemies will have to face consequences. He added that it is too early to judge the cause of the Natanz incident and said all have to wait for the work of the security and monitoring team to be completed. Mousavi said the media outlets that attribute this incident to the Zionist regime are clearly trying to promote its image and introduce it as a show of empty by the hollow regime. The spokesman further commented on Iran's foreign policy pillars and said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is implementing the decisions taken by the governing system, noting that the country's foreign policy has the support of both the elite and the law. He said that it is necessary for the country to witness a national consensus in the field of foreign policy, far from diverse political tendencies and partisan disputes. The official stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as a state body, does not consider itself as affiliated to any particular political faction because Iranian diplomats are the executors of the decisions that are determined by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The spokesman stressed that anyone who wants to break this unity, synergy and integration in foreign policy, which is approved by the whole system, will not be serving national interests. We have always tried to be a good listener and executor of the policies that the system is communicating to us, and keep the field of foreign policy away from party disputes in order to protect and secure our national interests, Mousavi said. Mousavi added that the foreign policy of the country is not determined by an institution, but by a set of opinions that are reviewed and discussed and decided on, and approved by the highest authorities and communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for implementation. The diplomat went on to say that in some cases, some people may not be aware of the details, but we are not worried that foreign policies will be halted because we will work in clear interaction with all pillars of the states. Mousavi pointed out that if the parliament makes a decision and approves a law, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be subject to it as an executive body, stating that we hope to see the synergy and mutual cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the wisdom of the parliament. The spokesman also explained the draft strategic document with China that this document is being finalized and it is honorable despite the speculations and lies that are being spread about it in cyberspace. Mousavi also referred to legal actions taken about the assassination of Martyr Lieutenant General Gassem Soleimani and said a special task force has been assigned in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with a number of other related bodies, such as the judiciary, who are also following up the case. He reiterated that some international organizations have also acknowledged the US' act against international laws and norms. The official noted that the United States should be aware of the dangers of its measure which has global consequences and stated that the world owes to Martyr Soleimani, and the world must unanimously condemn this illegal act of the United States, which was carried out In a cowardly and malicious manner in a third country while Martyr Soleimani was on a peacekeeping mission. Mousavi noted that the illegal announcement of US work in an international forum was the result of part of the legal and diplomatic efforts of various Iranian elements, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry also spoke about the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) and stressed that after Trump took office in the United States, his actions in the face of international organizations and treaties are chaotic and heretical. He noted that Trump, in addition to the JCPOA, had withdrawn from many bilateral or multilateral international treaties, which is surprising noting that what the United States has done against the World Health Organization is in the direction of health and medicine terrorism, while the people of the world are facing the problem of the spread of COVID-19. The official underscored that the US medical terrorism has gone beyond countries and reached the international level, and the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization is condemned and should be condemned by all independent countries in the world. Elsewhere in his remarks, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Iran voluntarily cooperates well with the International Atomic Energy Agency, but this approach is not permanent and. They should note that Iran's cooperation with the IAEA is good and constructive within the framework of the law, but if the IAEA takes a non-constructive approach under the influence of insinuations from outside the IAEA and based on distorted and inaccurate information and allegations that it is obtained through espionage, raises a statement against Iran or an illegitimate and illegal request from the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran will also respond accordingly. The official underscored that lawmakers could also take action under the existing law in this regard and if a law is passed, the Foreign Ministry will be subject to it, this will have consequences for countries and individuals who have diverted the IAEA's main route, prompting Iran to take action. The Foreign Ministry spokesman also noted that a series of limitations on arms embargo were to be lifted in October, noting that if this does not happen for any reason, and Iran will enjoy this right and the advantage seen in the resolution and the UN Security Council for the Islamic Republic of Iran, it will demonstrate a very strong and proportionate reaction. Noting that we have to wait for the decision to be implemented, he underlined that our perception is that the Americans will not succeed because the main weapon is pressure, and we hope that the countries will not succumb to this illegitimate pressure and will not allow the law of the jungle to spread more and more in the international system. Regarding Iran's policy towards Libya, Mousavi stated that the principled policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, and although it is concerned about the instability and the people of this country, it preferred not to interfere. The Foreign Ministry spokesman added that it is important for Iran that the people and the various groups in Libya reach a consensus and start talks on this issue to come up with solutions that would reflect the will of the Libyan people. This is what Iran will support, he added. Commenting on Iran's policies about Syria, he said the basis of Tehran's work on Syria is the mechanism that the three countries who act as the guarantors of the ceasefire in Syria, namely Iran, Turkey and Russia, employ in this regard. Mousavi concluded that the most important solution for Syria is the agreement of the guarantor member states of the Astana process, and stressed that all countries must adhere to their commitments in this regard in order to ensure a secure, stable, and independent Syria free from terrorist groups. 9455**1424 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) Rapid antibody test kits still cannot be sold in drugstores, not even those approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Health clarified. I stand corrected, Rapid Antibody Tests CANNOT be bought in pharmacies as it cannot be self-administered. Only facilities with the guidance of a doctor can provide the tests, Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a text message to CNN Philippines on Saturday. Vergeire cleared up an earlier statement in an online media briefing when asked about the governments policy on rapid antibody test kits. The government also prohibits their sale online. FDA Director Eric Domingo earlier told CNN Philippines that the test kits can be sold only upon the request of a physician. Licensed distributors can be fined or have their licenses revoked if they violate the rule. The FDA has so far approved 77 rapid test kits for commercial use. Rapid test kits have been widely used as more industries reopen following the easing of community quarantine measures across the country. A rapid test detects the presence of antibodies in a persons body. However, these antibodies may not be produced during the early stages of infection, making it less accurate. An RT-PCR or real-time polymerase chain reaction test is considered as the gold standard for coronavirus testing because it can detect the actual presence of the virus, even when the patient is asymptomatic or not showing any symptoms. A total of 71 PCR-based test kits are registered with the FDA. A Stockholm court on Friday cleared Sweden's former ambassador to Beijing of charges of overstepping her mandate by trying to negotiate the release of a Chinese dissident. Anna Lindstedt, who was envoy to Beijing between 2016 and 2019, was accused of brokering and attending an unauthorised meeting in January last year to get a Chinese-Swedish publisher freed from custody in China. The case of dissident Gui Minhai -- a five-year-saga beginning when he vanished while on holiday in Thailand -- has strained ties between Sweden and China. The meeting was between the publisher's daughter Angela Gui and two businessmen with alleged ties to Beijing. Angela Gui wrote on her blog a few weeks after the meeting that the businessmen claimed they could help to get her father released if she stopped talking to the media. She later described the tone of the meeting as "threatening". A day after the blog post, the Swedish intelligence service confirmed it had opened an investigation into the meeting. Lindstedt faced a charge of "arbitrariness during negotiations with a foreign power" which carries a maximum jail term of two years, although the prosecutor had only asked for a suspended sentence. It was the first time since the 18th century that an ambassador has faced trial in Sweden. The court said for someone to be convicted of the crime they would have had to falsely pose as a representative of Sweden and engage in actual negotiations with a representative of a foreign power. Judge Anna Flodin said the court did not believe it had been proven that Lindstedt entered into any negotiation with someone representing the Chinese state. "The court also found that if she had, she would have been within her right as Sweden's ambassador to China," Flodin told a press conference. - 'Kafkaesque' - During the trial, Lindstedt denied the charges and described the experience as "Kafkaesque." "As a Swedish diplomat you have to be able to turn every stone when trying to get a detained person released," she told news agency TT following the verdict. "I have always acted in Sweden's best interest," she said, adding that the verdict was not only important for her but also for "diplomacy". Gui Minhai, known for publishing gossipy titles about Chinese political leaders in Hong Kong, disappeared while on holiday in 2015 and resurfaced in China, where he served two years in prison. A few months after his October 2017 release he was again arrested, this time while on a train to Beijing with Swedish diplomats. He was hit with a 10-year jail term earlier this year on charges of illegally providing intelligence abroad. China insists the matter is an internal affair and has been stung by criticism from Sweden. The Swedish foreign ministry removed Lindstedt from her post but she has stayed on at the ministry without an assignment. The ministry has maintained it had no prior knowledge of the meeting, saying Lindstedt acted on her own initiative. Ministry representatives told the court that Lindstedt had been instructed to handle Gui Minhai's case through Stockholm. In turn, Lindstedt maintained she had not received those instructions and that she had told her superiors of the meeting, according to public broadcaster SVT. Fellow diplomats had rallied to Lindstedt's defence, arguing that she had acted well within her remit. "I don't think that the ambassador has committed a crime, absolutely not," former envoy Sven Hirdman told AFP on the first day of the trial. "She tried to do what she should do as a Swedish ambassador -- to solve a complicated consular case between Sweden and China." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) Another cadet died at the Philippine National Police Academy, prompting the temporary suspension of all activities for plebes, authorities said Saturday. Cadet Fourth Class Jiary Jasen Papa succumbed to electrolyte imbalance or hypokalemia, caused by low potassium intake early Friday, the PNP said in a statement. Papa woke up at around 3:30 a.m. to prepare for the early morning activity but suddenly collapsed. She was brought to the academys Health Service for first aid treatment, and then brought to the QualiMed Hospital in Sta. Rosa, Laguna where she was declared dead at 4:30 a.m. The Health Service said Papas remains will undergo swab test as part of protocols amid the COVID-19 crisis. Papa is the second plebe to die due to health reasons in a week. On Wednesday, Cadet Fourth Class Kenneth Alvarado succumbed to heat stroke. Since two deaths of new cadets were recorded in the past three (3) days, all activities for the members of the PNPA Class of 2024 will be suspended until further evaluation and assessment, the PNP said in a statement, citing PNPA Director Police Major General Jose Chiquito Malayo. This was upon the orders of PNP chief General Archie Gamboa. Gamboa also ordered the PNPA to immediately submit to him the results of its investigation and inquiry. Financial assistance will be given to the families of the late cadets, the PNP said. Universal Health Services Inc.'s holdings include Chicago's Hartgrove Hospital, which was among those included in the $127 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. Read more Universal Health Services Inc., a King of Prussia hospital operator, has reached a final agreement on its $127 million settlement of a long-running civil False Claims Act investigation of billing practices at about 30 of its psychiatric facilities, federal authorities and UHS said Friday. Starting in 2015 or earlier, the company was also under criminal investigation, but those probes were closed a year ago when the company announced a civil agreement in principle with the U.S. Department of Justice and numerous state attorneys general offices. The amount of money at stake hasnt changed since then. The government alleged that between January 2006 and December 2018, UHS facilities admitted as patients federal health-care beneficiaries who were not eligible for inpatient or residential treatment because their conditions did not require that level of care, while also failing to properly discharge appropriately admitted beneficiaries when they no longer required inpatient care, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain. The governments investigation involved 19 whistle-blower lawsuits, some involving multiple plaintiffs. The resolution calls for 36 whistle-blowers to split $15.9 million from the federal governments $88.1 million share of the settlement. States will receive an additional $28.9 million. The government withheld $9.7 million in payments, bringing the total settlement to $127 million. UHS denied wrongdoing. UHS unequivocally disputes any allegation that it engaged in wrongdoing of any kind and the agreement is not an admission of liability but merely a resolution of a civil claim, the company said in a statement Friday. The companys shares closed Friday at $89.76, up $1.15, or 1.3%, but the stock is well off its 2020 peak of $147 in January. In the quarter ended March 31, UHSs revenues were $2.83 billion, slightly better than they were in the same period of 2019, but its net income fell 39% as it dealt with COVID-19. To save money, the company suspended its quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share. In the Philadelphia region, UHS owns Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital in Fort Washington, Foundations Behavioral Health in Doylestown, the Horsham Clinic in Ambler, and Keystone Center in Wallingford, as well as Fairmount Behavioral Health System and Friends Hospital in Philadelphia. In the United States, UHS operates 185 inpatient psychiatric facilities. Its also operates 26 acute-care hospitals, but none are in the Philadelphia area. Iran's customs spokesman announced resumption of trade relations with all neighboring countries except for Turkmenistan and Iraq. "The common land borders with Turkmenistan, including Sarakhs, Bajgiran, Lotfabad and Incheh Borun are closed, but the rail connection between two countries through Sarakhs and Incheh Borun terminals is operated, Roulollah Latifi said, Trend reports citing IRNA. Noting that seven border markets at Kurdistan Region are open, Latifi added: "Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, there was no closure in these borders, but the amount of trade had decreased. "We will also resume trade at the Soumar border with Iraq in the next few days, he said. "The permit to reopen the border has been issued in recent days, but practical steps have been delayed to implement health protocols. Referring to the other common land border with Iraq, the official noted that within the first four hours of reopening of the Shalamcheh border, 250 trucks were transited via the border. He expressed hope that Iraq will facilitate the reopening of the Khosravi and Chazabeh borders in the near future. Since an inmate at the federal detention center in Sheridan tested positive for the coronavirus on July 2, the center has tested all but two inmates in the past week, a federal prosecutor reported late Friday. The two inmates refused testing and were placed in isolation. On July 2, 218 inmates at the federal detention center were tested, yielding all negative results. Five days later, a remaining 40 inmates were tested, and the results are pending, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Hager reported to a federal judge Friday. U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon had ordered the government to detail the steps taken by the federal Bureau of Prisons in response to concerns raised by Oregon Federal Public Defender Lisa Hay. Hay is representing John P. Stirling, 66, who was sentenced in May for drug smuggling and filed a petition arguing this his custody is unlawful considering the lack of safeguards to protect him from contracting coronavirus behind bars. Hay has argued that the prisons bureau is increasing the risk of infection for all inmates by transferring inmates between facilities without testing for the disease, allowing guards to enter without being tested and failing to provide sufficient cleaning materials. One inmate Donte Hunt wrote in a letter from the federal detention center that while in lockdown the last two weeks, theres been no new cleaning supplies, trash pick-up or showers for six days and inmates were fed cold bologna sandwiches for a week, morning, noon and night. The federal complex in Sheridan consists of three separate facilities: the detention center that houses 258 inmates, including pretrial defendants and is the intake facility; the federal correctional institution that holds 894 inmates, and the federal prison camp with 449 inmates. Only inmates housed in the detention center were tested after one tested positive for COVID-19, according to the prosecutor. The person who tested positive remains in isolation. Hager, in his report, described the testing of all the detention centers inmates to the creation of a prison staff contest with a prize for hand hygiene.' Its unclear how that winner would be determined. All staff at the prison receive temperature checks and symptom screening before entering. Any staff member with a fever, who fails any COVID-19 related health questions, or who exhibits any COVID-19 related symptoms, is not permitted to work. Staff who exhibit signs of illness are not permitted to return to the facility until their symptoms have resolved and they have been medically cleared to return to work, according to Hagers report. All Sheridan inmates also receive regular nurse and paramedic evaluation to check for COVID-19 symptoms, Hager wrote. So far, the prison has offered voluntary mass testing for staff over five sessions in June and July, with 172 staff choosing to participate. All tests yielded negative results, except for two insufficient results due to a broken test tube and insufficient nasal fluid obtained. While testing is voluntary for staff, daily temperature checks and symptom screening is required for staff and anyone entering the prison. Inmates who are new to the prison are quarantined for 14 days before being released into the general population, the prosecutor wrote. All inmates leaving the prison are quarantined before entering the community for 14 days, if possible,' Hagers report said. If a 14-day quarantine is not possible, the prison informs community public health officials. In addition, the prison is conducting serial testing of inmates in the detention center, like Stirling, who may have been exposed to the inmate who tested positive. This serial testing consists of a random sample of five tests per day until 14 days pass from the last exposure. The prison is using two laboratories: the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory, a state public health lab that has returned test results to the prison by the next day, and a private lab, Quest Diagnostics, which has returned test results within three to five days, but sometimes up to seven days. In addition, local public health officials visited the prison on Thursday to plan for and consider future mass testing of all inmates at the prison and a prison camp on site, Hagers report said. The prison has offered mass testing for staff over five sessions in June and July, with 172 staff choosing to participate. All staff tests have yielded negative results, except for two that were inadequate because of a broken test tube or an inadequate sample. Though testing has been voluntary for staff, daily temperature checks and symptom screening is mandatory for all staff and anyone else entering the institution. Staff are now working 12-hour instead of 8-hour shifts to limit staff movement. Any staff transferred from one prison with COVID-19 cases to another prison must be quarantined for two weeks. Nationally, 94 federal inmates and one staff member have died from the coronavirus, and 2,666 inmates and 248 staff have confirmed positive test results for COVID-19, according to the Bureau of Prisons website. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212 Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Subscribe to Facebook page Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. BALTIMORE, July 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Johns Hopkins University filed suit in federal court Friday in an effort to stop a Trump administration rule change that would severely impact nearly 5,000 international students at the university. The decision to abruptly rescind accommodations for online learning during the COVID pandemic is unlawful and fails to consider the many complexities of meeting our educational mission while also protecting the health of our community. The suit was filed in the Federal District Court for Washington, D.C., which has significant expertise in handling challenges against unlawful action by the federal government, and it joins other litigation related to the new rule filed by Harvard, MIT and the University of California. Johns Hopkins' plans for a hybrid, online/in-person model for some of its divisions presents the broadest array of issues for the courts to consider. "The administration's decision is gratuitous, cruel and inimical to what this country is about," says Johns Hopkins President Ronald J. Daniels. "The university was left with no option but to bring an emergency lawsuit in federal court to stop the administration from pushing ahead with an illegal and unconstitutional directive that, if permitted to stand, would fundamentally undermine the educational freedoms and humanitarian values that animate higher education in our country." In the spring, when the pandemic was first taking hold and universities including Johns Hopkins were forced to swiftly pivot to online education, the Trump administration appropriately responded by relaxing visa restrictions so that foreign students could remain in the United States while taking classes remotely. But on Monday, even as new coronavirus cases were hitting record levels in the United States, the administration reversed itself without warning, saying such students would not be allowed into the country if their course load was entirely online. Those already in the country could be required to leave within 10 days of beginning online-only education a burden under any circumstances but much more so now given the heavy restrictions on international travel. In its complaint, the university alleges that the administration's actions are unlawful in several ways: The rule was made in an arbitrary and capricious manner in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act; It rescinds a rule the administration had indicated would stay in place through the end of the COVID emergency in a manner that is contrary to law; The government did not provide required notice or opportunity to comment; It failed to provide due process; and It violated universities' constitutionally protected academic freedom. Johns Hopkins spent months meticulously planning for the fall semester based on the expert guidance of its leading authorities in medicine and public health, seeking to balance the best opportunities for our students to continue their education and research with an unwavering commitment to safeguarding their health and safety. Our approaches vary by program, with some planning entirely online courses and others, including our undergraduate program, planning a hybrid approach mixing online and in-person elements. The Trump administration's sudden announcement upends that careful consideration. It accounts neither for the risks associated with switching to an all in-person approach, nor for the possibility that we may have no choice but to revert to all online classes if the pandemic takes a turn for the worse. Importantly, the administration's actions may force students to choose between increased exposure to a deadly virus and maintaining their visa status. Johns Hopkins University has both the responsibility to protect the health and safety of its students, faculty, and staff and the scientific expertise to determine how it will execute its mission of research and education safely without government intervention. Johns Hopkins has a century-long commitment to international collaboration in scholarship and research. The mix of students and faculty of different backgrounds and outlooks advances knowledge and discovery in our laboratories and contributes to the intellectual growth of all our students. "This unjust and discriminatory attack on international students cuts to the core of our mission of education and research," says Provost Sunil Kumar. "It cannot be allowed to stand." Johns Hopkins University news releases are available online, as is information for reporters. To arrange a video or audio interview with a Johns Hopkins expert, contact a media representative listed above or visit our studio web page. Find more Johns Hopkins stories on the Hub. CONTACT: Karen Lancaster Assistant Vice President, External Relations [email protected] 443-997-9909 SOURCE Johns Hopkins University A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Aircraft start-up Boom Supersonic is one step closer to bringing back supersonic passenger travel with its flagship Overture jet. The Overture's prototype and demonstrator, the XB-1, will be unveiled in October and plans to take to the skies in 2021. If the XB-1 has a successful test flight program, the Overture could fly within the next 10 years, bringing back supersonic travel to the public. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. It's been 17 years since the last supersonic passenger flight and the wait for the next is almost over. For over three decades, supersonic commercial travel had been dominated by the Concorde, the only successful supersonic passenger jet. It was considered the pinnacle of luxury air travel. Concorde was known for swiftly shuttling passengers across the Atlantic in record time. That era of supersonic flight, unfortunately, is over and at the time of Concorde's demise, nobody knew when it would return as high costs and a public relations disaster scarred Concorde's legacy. One company is working to end the supersonic hiatus with a new high-speed aircraft to pick up where Concorde left off. Boom Supersonic is among those seeking to restore commercial travel to its former supersonic glory with its new jet, the Overture. The $200 million aircraft aims to stake to the skies with passengers within the next 10 years and use alternative fuels. The firm just announced that Overture's demonstrator, the XB-1, will roll out in October. The prototype will then take to the skies in 2021 in preparation for Overture's aerial debut scheduled for the mid-2020s. Take a look at the Overture and its upcoming prototype, the XB-1. Supersonic travel was not uncommon from the 1970s into the early 2000s as the world-famous Concorde shuttled passengers faster than the speed of sound. A British Airways Concorde aircraft. MIKE THEILER/AFP/Getty Images Once the era of the Concorde ended in 2003, travelers were left only with sub-sonic aircraft, though the dream of supersonic commercial flight lived on. Story continues A British Airways Concorde aircraft. AP Source: History Boom Supersonic is one of the companies leading the charge to return supersonic passenger jets to the skies. A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic The Colorado-based builder is currently working on Overture, which mirrors the Concorde in many ways including its long, slim design. A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic The jet will dominate the upper altitudes, with supersonic jets able to travel miles above sub-sonic aircraft in the realm of 60,000 to 70,000 feet. A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Just like the Concorde, it will be filled with premium seating as renderings show the aircraft in a 1-1 configuration. A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic The company states that fares will be comparable to currently long-haul business class tickets, though the Concorde was known to fetch first class fares. A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic And unlike the Concorde, the Overture aims to have oversized windows, though passengers won't have too much time to focus on any specific point below as the jet will be moving faster than the speed of sound. A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Here's a look at what life was like on board a British Airways Concorde. Note the incredibly small windows. A British Airways Concorde aircraft. M. McKeown/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images The company has investors in Japan Airlines, A Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner. shutterstock And Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. Hollis Johnson/Business Insider Source: Quartz Both companies have pre-ordered a total of 30 aircraft, putting them at the forefront when the Overture is ready to take passengers. A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic But before the Overture can take to the skies, its prototype must clear a path. A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic That's where the XB-1 comes in. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Boom Supersonic is officially unveiling the XB-1 on October 7, 2020. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic It's then scheduled to take to the skies in 2021. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic Also unlike the European Concorde, the XB-1 and Overture will be built in the US. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft in the making. Boom Supersonic It's not the passenger jet the Overture will be as the XB-1 has the appearance of a rocket with wings, a tail fin, and a cockpit, much like military fighter jets. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic The XB-1 is around one-third the size of the Overture and will be used to test the technologies used on the larger plane. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft in the making. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic One pilot will fly the XB-1, also like a fighter jet, with no room for passengers. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft in the making. Boom Supersonic Here's the simulator that XB-1 pilots are training on in preparation for the flight. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft simulator. Boom Supersonic Powering both aircraft also are General Electric J85-15 engines offering 12,300 pound-force. Here's what one looks like in action. A General Electric J85-15 engine. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic Flight testing for the XB-1 is planned to be fully carbon-neutral, with sustainability a focus of the entire program. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft in the making. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic Both the XB-1 and Overture will be built using low-weight carbon-composites, which aids in fuel efficiency. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft in the making. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic The onus on Boom is not only to build the jet but to assure the public that it's safe. Boom Supersonic Boom Supersonic The Concorde suffered a major public relations disaster when an Air France flight crashed just after take-off from Paris after hitting debris on the runway, contributing to its retirement. A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft in the making. Boom Supersonic "With XB-1, we're demonstrating that we are prepared to bring back supersonic," Boom CEO Blake Scholl said in a press release. "We're ensuring that the supersonic future is safe and environmentally and economically sustainable." A Boom Supersonic XB-1 aircraft in the making. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic Once the XB-1 proves the concept and technology to be viable, the Overture will then take to the stage. A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Boom says the larger jet will take to the skies in mid-2020s and carry passengers by 2030. A Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft rendering. Boom Supersonic Source: Boom Supersonic And it just may be the first worthy successor to Concorde. A British Airways Concorde. AP Read the original article on Business Insider Parker Solar Probe has now completed its fifth encounter with the sun. It marks the missions Longest Observation campaign to date. Now, according to reports, the NASA spacecraft would turn its focus to Venus today on July 11, 2020. Its critical flyby would pass through the planets 'tail'. NASA spacecraft set for Venus flyby for the third time According to NASAs blog, the spacecraft will perform its first outbound flyby of Venus on July 11, 2020. It will pass approximately 516 miles above the surface while curving around the planet. The Venus gravity assists in playing an integral role in the Parker Solar Probe mission. The spacecraft depends on the planet to free itself from orbital energy, which allows it to travel even closer to Sun after every Venus flyby. The missions previous two Venus flybys moved past the Sun-facing side of the planet. So, this will be Parker Solar Probes first pass on the planets night side. Hello again, Venus! Overnight, #ParkerSolarProbe performs its third flyby of Venus in order to shed orbital energy, allowing the spacecraft to travel even closer to the Sun on its next orbit. More info: https://t.co/u0LQJLxjIY pic.twitter.com/2rVT2B0ign NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) July 10, 2020 Parker Solar Probe will perform its third Venus flyby on July 11, 2020, UTC for setting the spacecraft up for another record-breaking close approach to the Sun in September 2020. It will witness an 11-minute solar eclipse during the manoeuvre while passing through the shadow of Venus. The Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, Lick Observatory in California, and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii will use powerful telescopes to search for Venus aurora from the ground in coordination with Parker Solar Probes pass around the planet according to the weather. This version of the image from Parker Solar Probe has been processed to increase contrast and remove excess brightness from scattered sunlight, revealing fine detail in comet #NEOWISEs two tails: the dust tail (lower) and the ion tail (upper). pic.twitter.com/fyGMfKnFc0 NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) July 10, 2020 So, scientists will combine ground-based observations with data that the Parker Solar Probe would collect during its flyby. They would take an unprecedented look at the interactions between Venus and the solar wind. The Venus flyby sets Parker Solar Probe for its sixth close pass by the Sun for September 27. During the same, Parker Solar Probe will travel even closer to the Sun and set a new record while passing approximately 8.3 million miles from the solar surface. It would be more than 3 million miles closer than the previous perihelion at 11.6 million miles from the same. The spacecrafts seventh encounter would take place on January 17, 2021. Also read: NASA Photos: Here Are 5 Breathtaking Pictures Captured In The First Half Of 2020 Also read: Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission: NASA Shares 7 Things About The Red Planet Expedition NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe in August 2018. They designed it to swoop through the Suns outer atmosphere and assist scientists in understanding the way the star shapes the solar system. However, to complete its seven-year mission, the spacecraft needs to adjust its speed by moving past Venus seven times. It will do that for the third time at 11:22 pm on July 11, 2020, EDT. Also read: Could NASA's Revolutionary Device On Perseverance Rover Find Traces Of Life On Mars? Also read: NASA Unveils New Interim Directives To Protect Moon And Mars From Contamination Migrants throw objects at French police officers in a cloud of tear gas as police dismantle a makeshift shelter camp in Calais, France, on July 10, 2020. (Pascal Rossignol/Reuters) French Police Dismantle Makeshift Migrant Camp in Calais CALAIS, FrancePolice forces dismantled a makeshift shelter camp in the northern French port of Calais on Friday, removing hundreds of migrants in one of the biggest operations of its kind in the last several months. Since the easing of the coronavirus lockdown and the reopening of the borders within the European Union, migrants have begun to flock to Calais again, hoping to reach Britain via the Channel Tunnel. On Friday, some 519 people living in the camp were taken by bus to various reception centres. Another 20 people deemed to have irregular immigration status were arrested and taken to detention centres, local authorities said in a statement. The dismantling started at around 5 a.m. and was over by noon. Authorities said it went calmly. According to a charities helping refugees, there are about 1,200 migrants in Calais, mainly of Sudanese, Eritrean, Afghan, and Iranian origin. Since the dismantling of the huge Calais Jungle in 2016, where up to 9,000 people lived, migrants are now scattered in several camps, most on the outskirts of Calais. By Pascal Rossignol and Benoit Van Overstraeten We know why Trump won the 2016 election. Apart from Hillary Rodham Clinton's frivolous itinerary for snowflakes, the Republican elite had willfully ignored offshore manufacturing's corrosive desolation of local communities and underrated the ricochet effect of Obama's radicalism. Can this political critique by Trump's forsaken middle of the nation build a new conservative narrative, or will Trumpism be a mere four-year flash in the pan? The viability of the Republic may be at stake. According to political scientist Piero Ignazi, abandoned conservatives typically depend on a single charismatic leader, emerging beyond the party structure. This leader attracts support through outspoken populist language (in Trump's case, his tweets). Mobilization via mass rallies rather than grassroots participation is its defining characteristic. Ignazi warns that seldom does the movement survive the leader's exit from the political arena. The party exploits the charismatic leader it often disdains to retain power for itself. Recently, I received a request for money from the local Republican branch. Instead of writing a check, I politely inquired why the people in charge had not organized street marches promoting Trump's agenda. Where are the Republican-sponsored demonstrations for "Freedom of Speech and Peaceful Streets," for "All Lives Matter" and "Restore the Constitution," for "Drain the Swamp," "Cancel the Propaganda Curriculum," and "Prosecute the Slanderous Media"? Not a peep in response. Even more alarming than the party's tepid support for the president is the disloyalty of disaffected NeverTrumps. They are grievously offended and have barricaded themselves in the Lincoln Project, which is currently airing television advertisements hostile to the president. Their aim "to defeat Donald Trump and Trumpism." Following the lines of the left's demolition schedule, they plan to bulldoze Congress and the Senate (in order to save them), sparing only the RINOs. Democrats, the MSM, and fatuous retired generals are applauding. Consequently, Trumpism cannot trust the Republican Party. However, all major Western political parties have become increasingly hierarchical and remote from their bases. They are indistinguishable from the State's expanding apparatus of power. They nominate its mandarins and pander to its clients (for a price), snubbing the sheep below. A powerful corrective to this malaise of being passed over by political elites sprang up in the mushrooming of radical grassroots activist movements on the left, from feminist to green to Antifa to BLM. Grassroots organizing surmounts that frustrated desire for direct political participation. It provides a renewed sense of identity amid the chaos of tumbling institutions the very institutions the grassroots activists have been directed to pull down by the post-truth "wokeness" of university professors! Thus, the politicized NGO is both weapon and remedy. Its most outstanding success was the 9/11 attack. The Twin Towers were not only office space, but monumental statues memorializing American capitalism. Organized Islamic cadres have furnished a state-of-the-art revolutionary model for insurrectionists to emulate, from toppling statues to proclaiming independent no-go zones to Ilhan Omar's call for the "dismantling" of entire economic and political systems. The Democrat Party is now hostage to these deranged malcontents for its very survival. It cannot move to the center. Globalists, such as George Soros and GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon), have taken full advantage of this phenomenon. They have gilded anti-conservative NGOs to the hilt, handing over to them supervision of permissible speech, the purgation of civil institutions, and more recently swarming the streets with staged revolutionary pantomime and homicidal live theatrical events. Why are there so few political mass organizations on the right? Because moderate conservatives are guardians of historical heritage. They wish to preserve the Republic's longstanding institutions and assumed they were already protected. Wrong! The left is hell-bent on razing them to the ground. The Hill advises, correctly, that "[t]he conservative challenge is to activate [its] citizens. As the Left proved ... this requires more than just television ads or digital campaigns. Grassroots infrastructure is the crucial factor. This, more than anything, is where conservatives need to invest." During Obama's presidency, we saw the beginning of a viable grassroots conservative political movement in the Tea Party. By weaponizing the IRS, Obama butchered that nascent movement (for which unconstitutional act he suffered no legal pain). We cannot allow this to recur. Heritage Action (affiliated with the conservative Heritage Foundation) is an exemplar of how to rescue Trump's conservatism from annihilation. It combines inside-the-Beltway lobbying with outside-the-Beltway grassroots pressure through its Sentinel program. Check it out. There are others. Find one and participate! Under brutal daily attack, Trump has championed an existential defense against the left's heinous program of "tearing down the system." Bravely, he has sown a fresh field of conservative seeds, but he cannot singlehandedly guarantee the crop. The left has militarized its grassroots. Therefore, without a regiment of militant, conservative NGOs, we lack the necessary weapons to fight those who wish to despoil our crops and turn our Republic into a weed-choked wasteland. Remaining for any longer "the silent majority" raises a white flag and loudly proclaims our surrender. Image: Ninian Reid via Flickr. First Minister warns of future spikes unless we all go on playing our part every day and in every way we can This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jul 11th, 2020 The First Minister has said he will not hesitate to close visitor and tourist attractions in Wales if reopening them causes a spike in coronavirus. This weekend marks the first weekend since the stay local travel restrictions have been lifted in Wales, meaning people can now travel to see friends and family or visit beauty spots for the first time since March. However there have been concerns that scenes of crowded beaches and visitor attractions in England could be repeated here in Wales. Asked if he would close down areas that see high volumes of visitors followed by a spike in coronavirus cases, the first minister said he would. Mr Drakeford added: Yes, its a very easy answer. If you can see that there is a direct cause and effect between the way in which something is happening and coronavirus spiking again, then we would take action to make sure that those things were closed. The First Minister also noted that although cases have continued to fall in Wales, the lockdown restrictions that have been reintroduced in Melbourne, Australia, show how fast that the virus can spiral out of control. He said: We can only continue to lift restrictions if coronavirus cases remain under control. On June 9th, the City of Melbourne in Australia recorded a day when they were only two new confirmed cases of coronavirus altogether. Today, only a month later, five million people are in full lockdown again. Thats how quickly things can go wrong. This virus has not gone away. We could find all our hard work undone unless we all go on playing our part every day and in every way we can to go on keeping Wales safe. Ahead of the weekend North Wales Police have issued issued a plea to walkers and climbers who are considering heading to the regions hills and mountains to stay safe. With the forecast predicting dry and sunny spells, North Wales Police, Mountain Rescue colleagues and the Snowdonia National Park are urging anyone who is planning on visiting the area to do so safely and responsibly. Detective Superintendent Gareth Evans, North Wales Police Search & Rescue Lead said: Over recent months the majority have complied and stayed away, and we know many are looking forward to returning to our beautiful region to enjoy the outdoors. However if you do intend on visiting the mountains please ensure you stay safe, be responsible and that you have the correct equipment and clothing. Park carefully so access to gateways and driveways are clear for emergency access. Leave gates and property as you find them and follow paths but give way to others where its narrow. Please also dispose of your litter responsibly or take it home with you. Coronavirus remains a real threat. Please remember that our Mountain Rescue Teams are all volunteers, and because of Covid-19, their numbers may be reduced due to many being employed as key workers. Follow the rules, enjoy the region safely and respect local communities. Chris Lloyd, Press Officer for the North Wales Mountain Rescue Association added: We would like to thank all those who have taken heed of notices not to venture onto the hills or mountains during the strict lockdown period. However if you are planning on heading into the hills and mountains to take advantage of the good weather this weekend we urge you to be responsible and to stay safe. We will have fewer team members to carry our kit. They will also be dressed in PPE including wearing waterproofs (whatever the weather) and will be wearing surgical face masks, surgical gloves and eye protection. Of course no one sets off for a day in the hills or mountains expecting to be rescued. However experienced and knowledgeable you may feel you are most rescues are the result of simple slips and trips. Reduce the need to call for assistance by taking fewer risks, keeping to familiar routes, being suitably equipped and be more self-reliant. Carry additional clothing and sustenance in case the rescue team takes longer to get to you. Maintain battery life on at least one mobile phone in the group. Take a face mask of your own to protect others and hand sanitiser to protect yourself. Do not be over-ambitious. You may have not been on the hills for a few months and may not be as fit as before. Please also remember that footpaths have not been used so nature may have started to reclaim them. Rocks and steps may be greasy and there may be loose rocks and even rockfalls. Consider self-rescue. Shout to others in the area. If you really are lost, stuck or injured and cannot self-rescue do call 999. Ask for the Police and ask for Mountain Rescue. The team leader may be able to locate your mobile phone and be able to guide you to safety. Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Vikas Dubey encounter brings politics-crime link under lens In the mid-1980s, two independent candidates, Hari Shakar Tiwari and Virendra Pratap Shahi, walked into the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha straight from jail. They had comfortably won their seats with the tacit support of the Congress. Read more Laying fibre cable tops PMs job plan An unusual but necessary and apt (given the times) activity has emerged the source of the most work in the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojna, the ambitious jobs-for-migrants scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 20 -- the laying of optic fibre cables. Read more Have a safe flight soon: Mumbai Police rescues injured bird, hands it over to doctor Mumbai Police often takes Twitter, to share different kinds of posts. From creatively sharing essential messages to applauding their brave officials, their tweets never fail to strike a chord with people. Case in point is their latest post involving a bird. Read more Uttarakhands famous stone pelting fair cancelled due to Covid-19 Uttarakhands famous stone-pelting fair in Champawat in which two groups hurl stones or fruits on each other will not be held this year. Read more Adhyayan Summan praises ex-girlfriend Kangana Ranaut: She has been through a lot and worked hard to earn respect Actor Adhyayan Summan says he respects his ex-girlfriend actor Kangana Ranaut a lot. His stance on her is quite a turnaround from his earlier statements in which he called her violent and abusive and also accused her of practising black magic. Read more On The Record | 10 million tests till now is a joke: Adar Poonawalla On this episode of On the Record, Adar Poonawalla of the Vaccine Manufacturers Association of India speaks to Hindustan Times National Political Editor, Sunetra Choudhury. Read more Apple silicon-powered MacBook Pro, MacBook Air to launch this year: Kuo Apple at WWDC announced its transition from Intel to its own silicon chips. The first Apple silicon-powered Mac is expected to arrive by the end of this year. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared more details about the first Apple silion-based Mac. Read more New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday created ripples by alleging that there is a widespread fear that the phones of judges are being tapped and said if it is true, then it is the biggest assault on the independence of the judiciary. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad promptly denied the allegations, saying the independence of judiciary is fundamental and uncompromising for the Narendra Modi government. Kejriwal claimed during his meetings with judges he has overheard them telling each other that they should not talk on phones because they could be tapped. The Chief Minister said when he told them the phones of judges cannot be tapped, they retorted by saying that all phones could be tapped. ALSO READ: (Delhi CM raises questions over alleged taps on judges phones; Law min denies it) I dont know whether it is true or not but there is a widespread fear. If it is true that phones are tapped then judges can be influenced..., he said. Addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of Delhi High Court here in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice of India T S Thakur also participated, he said even if there has been a wrong-doing by a judge then phone tapping should not be allowed. There are many other ways to gather evidence for wrongdoing, otherwise it will be the biggest assault on the independence of the judiciary, he said. Prasad, who spoke after Kejriwal, said, I deny with all authority at command the allegations that phones of judges have been tapped. He said right from the prime minister to other ministers and the government, all have fought for the independence of judiciary and individual liberty and freedom of media during emergency. Independence of judiciary is fundamental, impeachable and uncompromising for the government, he said. Kejriwal also referred to the actions of judiciary as well as the executives which may take away the rights of the people. If any action of the executive snatches the power of the people, if any judicial interpretation of the Constitution takes away power of the people then it is not good for democracy, he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. India is set to reinstate mandatory lockdowns for cities as medical facilities across the country are strained due to a recent surge in new coronavirus infections, the New York Times reports. Why it matters: Roughly four months ago, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a national lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus, hoping to avoid the large-scale crisis it's now experiencing. By the numbers: New COVID-19 cases have rapidly increased since the federal government and regional governments began easing restrictions in May. Indias total case count rose to the third highest in the world this week, with more than 820,000 confirmed infections and 22,123 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. With 1.3 billion people, India is the second-most populated country in the world. Details: City officials in the town of Pune plan to shut down next week after several days of high new case numbers, according to NYT. Officials in Aurangabad extended their curfew, while the state of Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous, ordered almost all businesses to close for the weekend. The city of Bengaluru is set to implement a complete lockdown from July 14-23, according to the Times of India. Go deeper: India reports third-highest coronavirus case count in the world sonreir es gratis/iStockBy WILLIAM MANSELL, ABC NEWS (NEW YORK) -- Over 12.5 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding the scope of their nations' outbreaks. The United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 3.1 million diagnosed cases and at least 134,097 deaths. Here is how the news is developing today. All times Eastern. 3:15 p.m.: Boston moves to phase 3 reopening Boston joined the rest of Massachusetts in moving to its phase 3 of reopening from COVID-19 lockdown, reported the Boston Globe. In phase 3, gyms, movie theaters, casinos and other activities are allowed to resume, with restrictions. As of Friday, the state's death toll reached 8,081 and the number of confirmed cases was 105,290. 932,796 people have been tested in Massachusetts. The state is offering free, no-symptoms required testing in its hardest-hit communities including Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Lawrence, Lynn, Lowell, Marlborough and New Bedford, the Boston Globe reported. 2:31 p.m.: DeSantis would like to see anything else 'in modern times' tested like Florida is currently testing for coronavirus, he says In a press conference Saturday, Florida Gov. DeSantis insisted his state is a leader in coronavirus testing. "Florida had more tests yesterday than the country as a whole did in March." He added that he'd like to see anything else "in modern times" tested like Florida is currently testing for coronavirus. Senate President Bill Galvano said Florida is "frankly better than most states in the union." The governor said the state reported 95,000 tests on Friday and that it was getting shipments of remdesivir, the anti-viral drug being used to fight COVID-19. New York Gov. Cuomo announced Friday that he was sending a shipment of the drug to Florida. "There are definitely areas where we think we may be seeing some declining positivity [rates] and some other areas where they're consistently 20%," DeSantis said. "We may be seeing some decline in this part of the Tampa Bay area," he said but said there's more positivity in Pasco County. "We have a much better idea now versus March about what the viruses likes versus doesn't like," DeSantis said. The governor said he's working with the White House to get more Lab Reagents in Florida. "The U.S. is testing more than any country by far and the lab resources are backed up." He said the state signed contracts with companies that could provide tests in 48 hours and said that's just not happening anywhere in the country. 1:51 p.m.: Florida records 10,360 new cases Cases continue to rise in Florida, with the Department of Health reporting 10,360 new cases, pushing the state's total to 254,511. There were also 95 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the state's total to 4,298. Testing has increased, with 82,737 tests being conducted. Gov. Ron DeSantis touted the state's testing in a press conference and said some of the cases included asymptomatic people. 1:41 p.m.: Arizona reports record high hospitalizations There are 3,485 people currently hospitalized in Arizona due to COVID-19, a record high, according to the state's Department of Health. There were 3,038 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 119,930, the department reported. There were also 69 deaths, pushing that sum to 2,151. 1:19 p.m.: South Carolina sets new record of daily cases South Carolina set a new record of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 2,239, according to the state's Department of Health. The state's previous record was more than 1,800 cases. There are now 54,538 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 940 deaths in South Carolina, according to officials. The total number of individual test results reported to the Department of Health on Friday was 10,083, with 22.2% of those being positive. The department also confirmed the first pediatric death linked to COVID-19. 12:25 p.m.: North Carolina reports more hospitalizations, another daily increase in cases North Carolina set two somber records over the last 24 hours, with the state recording its highest number of hospitalizations and highest daily increase in cases to date. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,093 hospitalizations and 2,462 new cases Saturday. "Record-high numbers like today are concerning," NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D., said in a statement. "We all have a responsibility to one another to wear a face covering, avoid crowds and wash our hands often to get our trends going back in the right direction." North Carolina has 83,793 confirmed cases from among more than 1.1 million tests. 11:23 a.m.: University reverses course, will be remote this fall West Chester University, one of Pennsylvania's largest state-owned universities, with 18,000 students, has reversed course and said it no longer plans to bring students back in the fall. Christopher Fiorentino, the university's president, said in a statement that learning will continue remotely through the fall semester. "WCU cannot ignore the potential danger of bringing thousands back to campus," Fiorentino said. Some classes will be taught in a hybrid format, meaning both in-person and remote learning for students with clinical placements, student teachers and certain internships, according to Fiorentino. Chester County, where WCU is located, is currently in the Green Phase of reopening, meaning that some of the university's public buildings -- a library, a recreation center, the student union -- will be open but limited to 50% capacity. "The University understands that students' lives have been turned upside down by a relentless pandemic that continues to sweep across the globe," Fiorentino said. "Our support for our WCU community will not waiver." 10:19 a.m.: New York hospitalizations drop below 800 for 1st time in four months New York recorded 799 COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last 24 hours, making it the lowest number since March 18, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. There was also the lowest three-day average death toll since March 16, with six recorded in the last 24 hours, Cuomo said in a statement. New York was among the hardest-hit states in the early stages of the pandemic, with New York City especially devastated. Cuomo applauded the good news, saying New Yorkers who practiced social distancing and wore masks "are central to our ability to slow the spread and save lives." However, Cuomo also urged people not to become complacent. "I urge residents to stay 'New York tough' and not give up the ground we've worked so hard to gain together, particularly in the face of rising cases throughout the country and compliance issues here at home," he said. 8:39 a.m.: Clusters of US soldiers test positive for COVID-19 in Japan A "few dozen" U.S. Marines stationed at two different bases in Okinawa, Japan, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Associated Press. After months of no confirmed coronavirus cases, the Marine Corps said it had two clusters of soldiers who tested positive for the virus this week, according to a statement from Marine Corps Installations Pacific. "Preserve the force. Protect our families and the community," the statement continued. The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force on Okinawa prefecture have now re-imposed strict limits on their personnel's movements and activities after the new coronavirus cases appeared, according to an internal FEMA memo obtained by ABC News. Everyone who tested positive is in self-isolation and local commanders have initiated "soft shelter-in-place" orders for Camp Hansen and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. All orders are in place until further notice. Officials said cleaning the base and contact tracing are ongoing. "As we navigate the current environment we will continue to assess the situation and provide updates as frequently as permissible. We ask everyone to follow the social distancing and health protection measures to help us #KillTheVirus," Marine Corps Installations Pacific wrote on its Facebook page. 5:28 a.m.: Army medical task force heading to Houston as hospitals fill up Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced late Friday night that the United States Amry is sending a medical task force to Houston to help with the city's COVID-19 battle. The additional resources, Abbott said, include an Urban Area Medical Task Force from the U.S. Department of Defense that will arrive on Monday and a Disaster Medical Assistance Team from U.S. Health and Human Services that has just been deployed. Texas is grateful to the federal government as well as the President and Vice President for working swiftly to provide additional resources to the state as we work to mitigate COVID-19 and care for our fellow Texans, Abbott said in a statement Friday. We will continue to work with our local and federal partners to ensure all resources and needs are met throughout the state. Houston has seen a significant rise in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, which caused many public health officials and hospitals to issue warnings that ICU bed availability is running low. Houston's Texas Medical Center is at 105% capacity. The city reported 670 new diagnosed COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing Houston's total to at least 26,682. The coronavirus death toll for the city increased by nine, which now stands at 259. Numbers are just as jarring throughout the Lone Star State. Texas' statewide COVID-19 death toll reached a single-day high of 105 Friday. The state had a 15.56% positivity test rate, according to an internal Federal Emergency Management Agency memo obtained by ABC News. Nearly 14% of all new U.S. coronavirus cases in the past seven days have been identified in Texas, the memo said. The rise in cases also led to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to cancel the in-person Republican Party convention in the city, prompting a lawsuit by the state GOP. ABC News' Josh Margolin contributed to this report. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. The Conservatory is now open in Yountville, the company said in a news release. The boutique, which debuted in March 2019 with its 7,000 square-foot gallery in New Yorks Hudson Yards, has since opened two locations in Highland Park Village in Dallas. This marks The Conservatorys fourth location. The Conservatory is located at 6450 Washington St., steps from Chef Thomas Kellers The French Laundry and Bouchon. Conceived as the intersection of brick and mortar and e-commerce, The Conservatory is a 900 square-foot boutique that will serve as a gallery for its website, theconservatorynyc.com, home to over 175 brands and 2,000 different products, said the release. Categories include womens and mens clothing and accessories, jewelry, well-being (beauty/treatment, bath/body and candles/fragrance) and living (decor/objects, books/paper and gifts). Business founder Brian Bolke has curated the assortment especially for the Napa Valley, with its discerning, but laid-back clientele, catering to locals, Bay Area visitors, and an international clientele drawn to the area famous for its food and wine offerings, the release stated. Bolke was also the creator of former Yountville retail store Forty Five Ten. The Conservatory has taken over the Forty Five Ten space. The Conservatory will also welcome more than 40 collections that are new and exclusive to the region, including Georg Jensen, Saved Cashmere, Rosetta Getty, Zero Maria Cornejo, Another Tomorrow, Leret and Leret, Salle Privee, Maison dEtto, Costa Brazil, Votary, Lisa Eisner, Irene Neuwirth, and Metier London. The items on display are constantly being rotated with new items to discover, creating a new experience each time a client visits, the boutique said. Built on a belief system of considered luxury, which guides every practice of the brand, Bolke said he understands the evolving direction of retail. While most others are starting to embrace the tenets of sustainability, slow fashion and a shared economy, Bolke has been implementing these principles since conceiving The Conservatory almost three years ago, long before they became an urgent wake up call to the industry. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when consumers may be hesitant to enter physical stores, The Conservatory is following established protocols, said the release. The gallery offers a low-touch/high-service model featuring visible product tags with thorough descriptions and prices under washable plastic or glass, and links on all products make item exploration or the ability to purchase later from home seamless. We are providing the ultimate luxury in shopping today...plenty of space, plenty of natural light, and the store was designed with a feeling of calm, Bolke said. We want our clients to have a high level of comfort and feel relaxed. The Conservatory is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily except Tuesday and Wednesday. For details, call 707-415-5015 or visit theconservatorynyc.com Watch now: the dos and donts of wearing a mask You can reach reporter Jennifer Huffman at 256-2218 or jhuffman@napanews.com This was supposed to be the Summer Festival weekend at Armstrong Valley Winery in Halifax, Dauphin County. Its one of the winerys signature events, with music and vendors and, of course, plenty to drink and eat. But with the number of COVID-19 cases rising across the state and nation and the worries about social distancing and masks, owners Jake Gruver and Dean Miller said they just didnt want to put people in that predicament. Losing festivals isnt unique this year to Armstrong Valley, tucked up in the hills north of Harrisburg on a gorgeous property with historic roots that can be traced back more than 250 years. The pandemic has either canceled or shrunk (in the case of Nissley Winery in Lancaster County) both individual events and the bigger ones that the Pennsylvania Wine Association annually puts on. That goes for the ones in bordering states, from New York and New Jersey to Maryland and Ohio. I lost a quarter of a million dollars this year, said Donniella Winchell, the executive director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association, blaming both the loss of festivals and wine trail events. Winchell has served on a number of wine and travel/tourism boards in Ohio and nationally and speaks regularly at wine and tourism conferences, often with advice on marketing and promotion. Her expertise has never been more valuable than now, as wineries cope with losing so many of the things that draw customers. Not only have the events disappeared for now, but so have those one-on-one tastings that cushion the bottom line and enhance the experience. Looking at a PowerPoint slide that Winchell assembled during a recent presentation to a group in New Jersey: Its largely the experience that pulls customers in. In order of importance: Good wine 20% [either a given or they can find one] Good hospitality 22% Good environment/viewshed - 20% Good experience 26% Price of wine 12% Winchell said that one of the more vigorous discussions among the New Jersey group revolved around maintaining engagement with your customers. As I share with my guys all the time, the grocery stores are open, she said. If you are not being careful and people are not comfortable coming out, as they go through the grocery store theyre going to pick up Barefoot, and once they pick up Barefoot and see how easy it is, and if they are drinking it as libation vis a vis supporting local, its going to be a long road home when things pick up. The reopening transition from red to eventually green has allowed wineries such as Armstrong Valley to at least welcome customers back, albeit with fewer tables in the tasting room and on its grounds. Tastings have turned into flights, with customers allowed to pick the wines they want to sample, usually a group of either dry or sweet wines. We hear a lot of wineries are doing that, Miller said. It has worked well for us. You dont quite have that one on one to describe the wines or its characteristics. Still, he said, during a time when social distancing is being encouraged, these iterations of the tastings are serving their purpose. They also have been posting occasional discounts on their Facebook page, as you can see below. From today, Fri July 10, thru Sun July 12, we will have some wines on sale by the case. $100/case for Polecat sweet &... Posted by Armstrong Valley Vineyard & Winery on Friday, July 10, 2020 People like a bargain, Miller said. They always like a deal, a discount, always search for those things. That trip to pick up a discounted case can often lead to additional sales, he noted. For some wineries, a series of virtual tastings has been helping to keep them engaged with customers. The Maryland Wineries Association took that idea even further, assembling and selling four-packs of wines from its members across the state that catered to tastes such as dry red, dry white and fruit to, as they called one group, weird and wild. They then held virtual tastings that included the winemakers and winery owners, allowing customers to ask questions and understand more about the wine and the process. All of those one-hour sessions, which also included wine writers from throughout mid-Atlantic, were posted on their Facebook page. Not only are wineries sharing ideas, but industry groups such as Wine America and the Wine Institute are providing lists of best practices and suggestions. Dr. Kathy Kelley is a professor of horticultural marketing and business management at Penn State, where she also is part of a team that contributes to the always informative Wine & Grape U blog. She writes on alcoholic beverage trends, wine consumer attitudes and behaviors, tasting room layout and design, and promotional strategies. She was part of a webinar in May that addressed the coronavirus and dealing with its impact in the tasting room. The information gathered from that presentation was captured in a podcast and also broken into three posts: one on e-commerce during the pandemic and beyond, one on how the pandemic might alter consumer and product trends, and a third one that provides more insight on the potential effects on wineries. That final blog post concluded with this bit of analysis: During this time, it is important for wineries and tasting rooms to keep the connection to their customers strong. According to Nielson data, consumers willingness to experiment has decreased with the overall uncertainty. In a survey of 10,000+ alcohol consumers, 69 percent of the respondents said that they prefer to buy an alcohol brand they already know. All of this is being followed up by a free webinar that will tap into a panel of tasting room personnel, including winemaker Ethan Brown from Shelton Vineyards in North Carolina, Bellview Winery (N.J.) founder Jim Quarella, and Nate Walsh, the co-founder of Walsh Family Wine in Loudoun County, Virginia. It will run from 3 to 4 p.m. July 22. and you can register at this link. Winchell said they have learned a couple of things from the get-go in Ohio. One is getting to know and work with local health departments, that while decisions are being made two or three steps above them, its the local departments that are paying attention to the details of whats happening. The courtyard at Armstrong Valley Winery, which is open seven days a week. Bi-weekly Zoom meetings with Ohio members have not only contributed various ideas but answered some universal questions that so many wineries, or businesses overall, have had such as how do you enforce social distancing when friends meet friends and how does a business deal with violators. Another is what do you with a health department person who has a dogcatcher mentality? Mitigating that in advance, she said, and making sure local health departments are on the same page while wineries are clear about what they are promising to promote social distancing have alleviated a lot of problems. That has been helpful for everybody, she said. One thing no one can suggest adequately is how to make up for lost events. Armstrong Valley erected an events building a few years ago that made the venue even more attractive for weddings and other larger events, with bookings extending more than a year in advance. Those all were canceled from March through May, and even now those are difficult to hold with everyone from caterers to dress shops either closed or working with reduced staff. Miller and Gruver said they have restarted their Friday night courtyard concerts, where they usually draw 100 or so people, safely within the current COVID mitigation guidelines. In following another bit of advice of looking for different partners, they have hooked up with Harvest Hosts, a membership for RVers that provides free RV camping at wineries, breweries, distilleries, farms, museums, and other unique locations across the country. Club members have been pulling up for an overnight stay at the large parking lot across the street from the winery, where the owners have installed a couple of charging stations. At no cost to them but a couple of bucks for the electricity, Armstrong Valley is drawing customers from New York south to North Carolina who are popping in to purchase wine before they settle in for the evening. What has been fully documented since the shutdown of the Pa. Liquor Control Board (PLCB) stores has been the impact on craft wine, beer and liquor producers across the state. By mid-April, distillers told PennLive writer Sue Gleiter that they were selling an unreal amount of booze and a number of wineries have talked about the necessity, and abundant success, of turning to local home delivery and online sales to maintain distribution. Armstrong Valleys owners said they had 160 online orders all of last year. This April alone, they totaled 745 orders, they said, and that number continues to remain well above past averages even with the state stores back open. Gaining that many new customers also has added 3,000 names to their email list. Grocery store sales are complementing all of the above. Its interesting. January and February were strong months for us overall, Gruver said. Were not sure why. Then came the pandemic and that threw everything out the window, shifting the business model as he put it. Still, he said, even without the weddings and events, our sales are still up from a year ago. The key is continuing to finding unique ways to maintain that. Armstrong Valley Winery's line of dry whites. Other recent wine stories on PennLive Who makes the most wine and cider in Pa.? Heres the top 25 Pittsburgh company that sells only Pa. craft beverages sees growth on the horizon New tropical lines heat up sales for winery on Marylands Eastern Shore North Carolina winery friends, neighbors roll out 4th vintage of their red blend collaboration Atomic Dog owner excited about what were going to do as restaurant, production areas near completion East Coast wineries planted a mix of vines this spring, from Chardonnay to Petit Verdot Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. A Jacksonville man is hoping to build a legacy by establishing a foundation that will help support the establishment or expansion of music programs in the region and eventually the state. Scotty DeWolf is establishing a chapter of El Sistema USA a foundation that brings musical instruction to vulnerable communities that would several several west-central Illinois communities. We want to give them a chance to shine to feel they can accomplish something, DeWolf said. DeWolf said the program will establish a satellite system where instructors would work with existing programs and create new programs in communities throughout the region. The programs would teach music to all children enrolled, regardless of ability to pay or purchase an instrument, DeWolf said. I want to level the playing field, DeWolf said. There wont be an emphasis on anyones financial status. Itll all be about the performance. It will also connect students with mentors in the musical field. He said part of the program, he hopes to establish, will include trip to see musical performances or rehearsals and work with professional musicians. While most El Sistema USA programs establish on local school, DeWolf said this program will travel to the various areas. In places like Chicago, its easier to get to one locations, he said. When you are in rural communities like these, it would be harder for parents to get their children to Jacksonville, so we are going to take the school to them. DeWolf said a musical education lead to other benefits, including leadership, responsibility and self-confidence. He wants it to be his legacy, as he doesnt have any family outside of his recently found sisters to whom to leave any of his assets. Im shifting gears from earning for myself to earning for this program, DeWolf said. While he has already established the foundation, he still has to create a board of directors for the program and free up funding to get it started. DeWolf said he is looking for a partner to take over a large portion of his investment into the Ayers Mansion Bed and Breakfast, which would free up his funds to help establish the original fund for the foundation. Once established, DeWolf said he plans to start an endowment fund that will earn money through the stock market for the programs, as well as fundraising and donations. He said he has a few people interested in the bed and breakfast, but said nothing has been finalized. Once he has money freed up and a board of directors, DeWolf said they will be able to get the programs started. He has already received donated instruments to start the program. DeWolf said he cant wait to see the foundation establish and program come to fruition. I hope I live long enough to see one or more of these students go on to become famous musicians, he said. Russian Governor Charged With Ordering Murders Sent To Pretrial Detention By RFE/RL's Russian Service July 10, 2020 MOSCOW -- Sergei Furgal, the detained governor of Russia's Far Eastern Khabarovsk region, has been sent to pretrial detention on charges of attempted murder and ordering the killing of two local businessmen. The Basmanny district court in Moscow on July 10 ruled that the 50-year-old, who has pleaded not guilty, must be held under pretrial arrest until September 9. His lawyers, who asked the court to choose a more lenient pretrial restriction for their client, said they will appeal the ruling. Furgal, a member of Vladimir Zhirinovsky's nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) won a surprise victory over the Kremlin favorite in a vote two years ago. He was arrested on July 9. A court in Moscow is expected to decide on Furgal's possible pretrial detention later on July 10. Meanwhile, police in Khabarovsk on July 10 detained two regional lawmakers, also members of LDPR, party faction leader Sergei Zyubr said. According to Zyubr, Sergei Kuznetsov and Dmitry Kozlov, deputy chairman of the regional parliament, were detained after their homes, garages, and vehicles were searched. Police also searched the properties of three other LDPR members in Khabarovsk, Zyubr added. The TASS news agency quoted a source as saying that the detention of Kuznetsov and Kozlov was not, "at this point," related to Furgal's case. The two lawmakers used to run the Amurstal steel plant. The daily Kommersant reported that the two are suspected of large-scale fraud. Zhirinovsky said in the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, that Furgal's detention might be politically motivated. "We are ready to resign in protest. If need be, the LDPR faction will give up its mandates and leave this place. Let the whole world learn what a mess this country is," Zhirinovsky said. Without naming President Vladimir Putin, Zhirinovsky mentioned that his party supported recently adopted constitutional amendments that, among other changes, allow the president to seek two more terms after his current term ends in 2024. "You wanted a constitution? We gave you a constitution. And you put cuffs on our hands! Shameless! You are sitting in high office and start acting like [Soviet dictator Josef] Stalin!" Zhirinovsky said. Media reports said that Furgal's arrest was part of a wider investigation into an organized criminal group operating in the region. The charges relate to events in 2004-05, RIA Novosti reported. Furgal beat incumbent Vyacheslav Shport in the 2018 election in a major upset of the ruling United Russia party. With reporting by RBK, Kommersant, TASS, and RIA Novosti Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-regional -governor-charged-with-ordering-murders -pleads-not-guilty/30717894.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Brits have reportedly been sleeping on beaches after finding out hotels are closed (Picture: Getty) British tourists have resorted to sleeping on beaches because hotels they booked are still closed, according to a new report. The unlucky travellers were left disappointed when they turned up to their destinations and discovered some hotels were still closed following the coronavirus lockdown. Consumer watchdog Which? said travel agency Loveholidays was one of the main culprits for booking hotels that were not open, the Times newspaper reported. Brits who decided not to sleep on beaches or return home had to find alternative accommodation. Paul Davis, 48, booked a 1,500 trip to Spain on 1 July when international travel advice was relaxed in the UK. But when he arrived three days later in Salou on the Costa Daurada, the 4R Regina Gran hotel he was meant to stay in was closed and he had to arrange an alternative. Read more: Holiday bookings surge as travel rules are relaxed Costa Daurada beach in Spain (Picture: Getty) He lost a 250 deposit when he later transferred to a Loveholidays hotel, according to the report. Davis, from Lincolnshire, told the Times: When we pulled up I thought we must have the wrong hotel: it was all shut and hadn't been opened for a good while. It's disgusting. We were fortunate enough to have the money to stay somewhere else but lots of other people probably aren't in that position. Another Brit Sammy Liperis was also left disappointed when she arrived in the Canary Islands and found the Sol Fuerteventura Jandia hotel was closed. A couple who arrived in Spain with their son, 10, also said their hotel was not open. Read more: UK travellers hope to salvage holidays as government eases quarantine rules A Loveholidays spokesperson said: We wholeheartedly apologise to the affected customers for the inconvenience and distress this has caused. Our customer services team is in contact with them to resolve matters to their satisfaction and ensure that they can enjoy the rest of their holidays. We are not aware of customers sleeping on the beach and would be horrified if this was the case as we have a 24/7 in resort helpline number that customers can - and should - call if they face issues at their destination using the number set out in their booking documentation and on our website. They added: We are working closely with all our suppliers to understand which hotels are open for customers but unfortunately some closures were not communicated to us prior to customers travelling to those hotels. Coronavirus: what happened today Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Actor Amitabh Bachchan, 77, on Saturday said that he has tested positive for the coronavirus infection. Taking to Twitter, Bachchan said he has been admitted to Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. "I have tested Covid positive, shifted to hospital, the hospital is informing authorities. Family and staff undergone tests, results awaited," he said in a tweet. "All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested!" T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested ! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 11, 2020 Amitabh Bachchan also posted the news on Instagram. Amitabh's son Abhishek has also been tested positive for the coronavirus. He also tweeted the news. Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you. Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) July 11, 2020 The BMC has been in touch and we are complying with them. Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) July 11, 2020 Hospital sources told News18 that both the Bachchans were showing mild symptoms before testing positive. Their health is stable now without any complications. This comes a day after Amitabh Bachchan shared a couple of throwback pictures on his Instagram account. One of the pictures shared by the actor was a collage of a childhood photograph of his children Abhishek Bachchan and Shweta Bachchan Nanda, placed with a relatively recent one. The throwback picture happens to be from the sets of Amar Akbar Anthony (as revealed by Mr Bachchan in one of his posts earlier), while in the other photograph, the trio can be seen happily posing for the camera. Bachchans upcoming movies include Chehre, Brahmastra and Jhund. He was last seen in Shoojit Sircars comedy-drama Gulabo Sitabo alongside Ayushmann Khurrana. While the film was initially scheduled for release in theatres, it premiered on Amazon Prime Video due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Bachchan will also return to host the 12th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati -- the show's auditions concluded in May. The Bollywood veteran also shared a throwback picture of himself from his early days in the industry and wrote: "Kuchh zamane aise bhi the, ab zamane beet gaye, bas ab kuchh hi bache rehte hain." Actor Rajkummar Rao wished Bachchan a speedy recovery. Other actors are also praying for the Bollywood superstar. Prayers sir !! Sending you lots of love and strength. https://t.co/9LsFvbZIXq Rajkummar Rao (@RajkummarRao) July 11, 2020 Praying for your speedy recovery, sir https://t.co/Dy9CkWgdjU Yami Gautam (@yamigautam) July 11, 2020 Get well soon Amitji, all the positivity. https://t.co/XnuXgAdJzK arjun rampal (@rampalarjun) July 11, 2020 TOKYO - The government plans to increase the number of people who can receive PCR tests for the novel coronavirus at airports to about 10,000 per day in September, aiming to gradually resume international travel. It will hold talks with 10 countries and regions, including China, South Korea and Taiwan, as early as the middle of this month to adjust the number of visitors. Currently, daily testing capacity for arriving passengers at Japanese airports is limited to 2,300 people, but the government plans to increase that to 4,000 by the end of August, through measures such as increasing outsourcing to the private sector. In September, it plans to set up PCR testing centers for Haneda, Narita and Kansai airports to handle 6,000 more travelers and bring the total capacity to 10,000. A US judge said on Friday two Massachusetts men pose too great of a risk of flight to be released on bail given "spectacular" allegations that they helped orchestrate former Nissan Motor Co Chairman Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan. US Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell said US Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, had also failed to show they would likely succeed in fighting the charges underlying Japan's recent request for their extradition. Ghosn fled to Lebanon, his childhood home, after being charged with engaging in financial wrongdoing, including by understating his compensation in Nissan's financial statements. He denies wrongdoing. Cabell cited allegations that the elder Taylor, a private security specialist, "used his skills and experience to plan and execute a most intricate, sophisticated, and deceptive scheme" to smuggle Ghosn out of Japan in a box on Dec. 29, 2019. He said the Taylors also appeared to have "substantial resources" they could exploit to potentially flee, including about USD 860,000 that Ghosn appears to have wired to a company co-managed by Peter Taylor two months before the escape. The Taylors had argued that the charges against them were fatally flawed, as Japanese penal code does not make it a criminal offense to help someone "bail jump" or escape unless that person is in custody. But Cabell said that argument ignored other "unambiguous" language in the penal code that allows people to face charges if they enable someone's escape, "without regard to whether the criminal was or was not in confinement." Paul Kelly, a lawyer for the Taylors, said in a statement they did not commit an extraditable offense and "should not be held in custody during a pandemic while these issues are being litigated." A different judge will consider further bail arguments on June 28. Also Read: Tesla CEO Elon Musk's net worth surpasses Warren Buffett's Also Read: Coronavirus impact: Zomato reinstates salaries; aims to make complete recovery in 3-6 months San Franciscos adoption of the strictest hotel and office cleaning standard in the country is sparking controversy. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the emergency Healthy Buildings ordinance, which mandates multiple daily cleanings and the disinfection of common areas in hotels and office buildings over 50,000 square feet. Daily hotel room cleanings and disinfection are required unless the guest declines. This legislation is going to boost customer confidence in San Franciscos hotels and help our economic recovery, said Supervisor Aaron Peskin, sponsor of the ordinance, which exempts government buildings because of legal jurisdiction issues. The Hotel Council of San Francisco and the California Hotel and Lodging Association, which both represent owners, oppose the measure, calling it an additional financial burden for an industry already devastated by the collapse of travel. More cleaning requirements will expose workers to more health risks and delay hotel reopenings, they said. This ordinance does little to serve the public good, harms the No. 1 industry in San Francisco and further delays the return of more than 25,000 San Francisco hotel employees to work, Kevin Carroll, CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco, said in a statement. The group supports cleaning rooms after a guest checks out, unless the guest requests cleaning earlier. When asked whether hotel groups planned to sue, Carroll said in an interview that all options are on the table. Nick Otto / Special to The Chronicle The Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco wrote in a letter to legislators that the ordinance was redundant given state guidelines, and that office owners cant afford the additional cleaning. The increased costs that will result from this unnecessary ordinance will likely force further layoffs, as the reduced occupancy of buildings continues across 2020 and into 2021. Put simply, there is not enough cash flow to afford the increased operating costs, and owners will seek to reduce that cost burden, the letter stated. Hiring one additional porter who is a union member to clean costs around $8,000 per month, according to the group. The average 250-room hotel would pay an additional $220,000 per year to comply with the measure, according to a study by Hotel Asset Value Enhancement, an advisory firm. In addition, a 250-room hotel will pay an estimated $498,000 per year to comply with state and national coronavirus safety guidelines. Carroll of the Hotel Council said the expenses are significant. Anand Singh, president of Unite Here Local 2, a hotel workers union that supports the measure, said the ordinance would add $3.80 per open room in daily costs, based on the hotel study, a minimal amount that would likely be passed on to guests. The reduction of cleaning services is all about profit, he said. What this does is set the nations strongest standards for hotel reopening, Singh said of the ordinance. It positions San Francisco as the top destination for travelers who are concerned with safety. He said COVID-19 cases at hotels elsewhere demonstrate that the industry wont adequately protect workers without additional regulations. Nick Otto / Special to The Chronicle The fight over daily housecleaning predates the pandemic. Marriotts Make a Green Choice program allowed guests to opt out of daily housekeeping in exchange for rewards. Workers unions opposed the program, which they said made housekeepers work more difficult. Larrilou Carumba, a housekeeper at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, said not cleaning a room for days is a bigger safety risk during the coronavirus. Its really hard to sanitize rooms without cleaning for days, said Carumba, who is a member of Unite Here Local 2. John Swartzberg, a clinical professor emeritus of diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley, declined to comment on the San Francisco ordinance, but said coronavirus transmission from surfaces is a secondary risk compared to the spread from droplets and possible airborne particles, and the focus for cleaning needs to be on the areas that people touch. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes State guidelines for hotels call for thorough cleaning in high-traffic areas like lobbies, front desks and entryways without requiring a specific frequency. The San Francisco ordinance requires multiple cleanings per day. Cleaners could risk infection in rooms without appropriate ventilation, said Mark Nicas, an emeritus professor of environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley. An infected person can leave behind virus particles that arent immediately circulated out, he said. State guidelines call for hotel workers to turn on ventilation systems and open windows when possible while cleaning. Stanley Chen, regional manager at sanitation company BerryClean, worries about coronavirus exposure risks for his staff and tells them to get tested frequently. Cleaners wear single-use equipment including latex gloves, shoe covers and cloth masks. They usually scrub with a bleach solution, or hydrogen peroxide or hydrochloric acid when customers ask for a non-bleach disinfectant. Theres a lot of misinformation out there or debate on which product should be used, Chen said. We just stick with bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and hydrochloric acid. Some groups have expressed concern that frequent use of cleaning supplies may come with their own risks. Health risks include neurological, dermatological, and reproductive problems as well as an array of respiratory ailments, according to InnuScience, a company that makes cleaning products it says are eco-friendly. Anna Kramer and Roland Li are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: anna.kramer@sfchronicle.com, roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @anna_c_kramer, @rolandlisf Dear Reader, The global stock rally paused a bit this week, as the virus continued its ravages in the new hotspots of the US and Latin America and, increasingly, in India. US bond yields fell and gold prices raced to an eight-year high. Global holdings in gold-backed exchange traded funds hit a record. Is this one of those rare moments of lucidity when investors suddenly become aware of the dangers lurking in the background, or is it just a pause that refreshes in the onward and upward march of the stock market? The OECD said its leading indicators for June for most major economies are finally seeing a recovery. Unfortunately, its indicator for India is still very weak. And our COVID-19 death rate, while lower than in the US, Europe, the UK and Latin America, is higher than many of the countries in our region. Our recovery tracker continues to show improvement, though it appears to have stalled a bit recently. Thats true for the US as well, because of a renewed surge of infections. The Bank for International Settlements warned that a recovery was more likely to be a U or a W, rather than the fervently hoped for V. In India, credit rating agencies continue to merrily downgrade corporate debt and they have even sought to withdraw ratings, on the plea that the issuer is not providing them enough information. Thats a red flag for banks. Bankers know the risks, which is why they prefer to park their funds in safe government securities rather than lend. But its not just hope of a quick recovery that is pushing up stocks. In the US, Mohamed A El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, said tech stocks were doing well because they were seen to be defensive, with their strong balance sheets, as well as being growth stocks. Back home, this IT stock is likely to be a beneficiary of an expected strong surge in technology spending. On the other hand, even a good defensive stock such as HUL may have some hiccups. Some investment in stocks is simply because returns from fixed income, especially bank deposits, have become too low for comfort. But perhaps the biggest factor moving stocks now is the rise of the retail investor, or rather the retail trader, who has taken to playing the market with gusto. Analysts have pointed out that the percentage of shares traded on the NSE for delivery is very low. Its a global trend---consider the army of Robinhood traders in the US. The Chinese stock markets have been on fire this week, prompting the authorities to intervene to cool down the euphoria. Shares of QuantumCTek, a developer of quantum communications products, surged 924 percent higher than the initial offer price on its market debut. On the flip side, Chinese government bonds saw a brutal sell-off. Is this what will happen to Indian stocks and bonds once the recovery gathers steam? At present, though, investors seemed to be worried whether markets have got ahead of themselves, leading to hefty redemptions from equity funds in June. The rally has led to premium valuations for good stocks, which is why it may be time to book profits in some of them. The opportunity from the attempt to curb imports from China continues, although, at least in 5G technology, we need to tread cautiously, keeping our own interests in mind rather than US pressures. The airlines industry is one of the worst affected by the lockdowns and the pandemic. Will it prove to be an opportunity for the Tatas, in buying out the Malaysian groups Air Asia stake? They will of course, take into account the Economists story that 2015-19 was the first time since 1903 when the airline industry covered its cost of capital. Indeed, Warren Buffet, commenting on the epoch-making flight of Orville Wright, had said, if a farsighted capitalist had been at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a favour by shooting Orville down. The markets will no doubt continue to surprise us, as seen in Hong Kong, where there were concerns of capital flight after China imposed restrictions on democracy and free speech. Well, guess what, global investors are pouring cash into the city, as they gear up to subscribe to the 20 IPOs there this month. In fact, Hong Kongs monetary authority had to step into the currency markets to weaken the local currency after the gush of funds. Thats not all. Despite all the talk of a US-China decoupling, foreign buying of mainland China stocks has had to be suspended in some cases as they reached the limits on overseas ownership. The moral of the story: business and politics dont mix; and beware of simple narratives. And while theres absolutely no doubt that China should respect the rights of Hong Kong citizens and indeed mainland Chinese citizens as well, its worth recalling that, as ex-banker and economist Tony Norfield points out, the British stole Hong Kong from China after the first Opium War and Kowloon after the second Opium War. Whats more, democracy in Hong Kong began with partial elections to the Legislative Council in 1985, with full elections in 1995. Before 1985, the members of the Council were government officials reporting to the British governor of Hong Kong. In 1984, Margaret Thatcher agreed to hand over Hong Kong and its neighbouring regions to China, after it agreed to have One country, two systems for 50 years after 1997. To be sure, China has reneged on its promise. But where was the British respect for democracy in Hong Kong before 1984? Cheers, Manas Chakravarty Mumbai: A 28-year-old woman, who was hunting for an accommodation, was allegedly raped by eight persons in suburban Jogeshwari, police said. Seven of the accused were arrested on Tuesday. The incident occurred at Amboli last night when the victim and her husband were searching for an accommodation at Shamnagar slum with the help of a woman. Since, it got late in the night, the couple chose to stay at the womans house, they said. After sometime, eight persons barged into the house and gangraped the victim in front of her husband before fleeing. After the incident, the woman and her husband reached Amboli Police Station to lodge a complaint. Police registered a case against eight persons, one of them had criminal records, Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe said. A case has been registered against eight persons in this connection under relevant sections of the IPC with Amboli Police Station. Seven accused were held today while one person is still at large, the official said, adding all of them fall in the age bracket of 20-25. The woman was admitted to a hospital and is stated to be stable, police said. Lets hope this time is the charm for the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor. There may even be some room for optimism, given new financial, organizational and social influences. Previous efforts have been disappointing, but its possible that Buffalo will finally begin to acknowledge its rich African American history in a serious way. The story is compelling: the scourge of slavery; the role of the Underground Railroad; the struggle for freedom and the continuing fight for equality. Some of that story is inspiring, some of it horrifying. All of it is important to tell. Thats why the failure to make notable progress on the corridor is so frustrating. This is an integral part of Buffalos history. We should be shouting it to the world. The task has a new leader. Terry Alford began work as executive director in March after 18 years at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Not only is he a native of Buffalo, but of the Michigan Avenue corridor itself. He understands the challenge: Making its history well enough known that it becomes a must-see. We need to get people to want to come here, he told The News. Jaipur, July 11 : As Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday accused the BJP of trying to topple his government, claiming it was "buying MLAs the same way as goats are being bought in the goat market", the opposition party hit back strongly, seeking he clarify if he considers the state's MLAs to be goats. BJP state President Satish Poonia said that the Chief Minister, after "horse-trading" and "elephant-trading", has now started talking of "Bakra Mandi" in terms of MLAs which is strongly condemnable. "CM has insulted the state MLAs by using such terms," he said. Poonia alleged that the Congress had tried to topple the state's Bhairon Singh Shekhawat government (1993-98) via horse trading "as Congress leader Bhajan Lal had come with a suitcase". "Similarly, in 2008 and 2018, it went for elephant trading by merging BSP MLAs with Congress," he said, in a reference to the BSP's election symbol. The BJP press meet came soon after Gehlot's press conference on Saturday afternoon where he opened a scathing attack on BJP, accusing it of trying to destabilise his government. "When our government is battling the Covid-19 crisis in state, the BJP is fighting hard to topple our government, which is the height of their shamelessness, he said, but added that his government "shall complete its five year tenure and shall win the next term too". However, Poonia said that Rajasthan, in 2023, shall become "Congress mukt", adding that Gehlot is dreaming of winning another term when internal fights have become a daily routine in the party and he is unable to handle it. He also attacked Gehlot for using the word 'gaddar' (traitor) for MLAs. Earlier, the Chief Minister has said that when a party has given opportunity to a person to become MLA, MP and minister and if the person still turns out to be a "gaddar", then what can be done, while answering a question if there are chances of the Madhya Pradesh events being repeated in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria, who was also present at Poonia's press meet, said the Chief Minister should set his own house in order and should stop making false charges against the BJP. He challenged Gehlot to prove his charges or leave politics, adding that if they were proved, he would himself leave politics. Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore said that many MLAs have publicly spoken against Gehlot in the last few months and now he should clarify who is a traitor. Lisa Hyde's daughter Myja-Jae celebrated her first birthday on Friday. And just days earlier, the toddler was christened in a beautiful ceremony at St Brigid's Church in Marrickville. The former Bachelor star, 33, wore a stunning ruffled Zimmerman dress for the milestone event. Special day: Former Bachelor star Lisa Hyde and partner Damon Collina christened their daughter Myja-Jae earlier this week The designer ensemble seemed to match Myja-Jae, who was dressed in a similar white tulle dress. She was joined by partner Damon Collina, who looked stylish in a casual grey blazer and camel coloured chinos. 'Myja-Jaes christening,' Lisa wrote on Instagram. 'A special day celebrating you my angel.' Perfect place: The one-year-old was christened in a beautiful ceremony at St Brigid's Church in Marrickville this week Lisa first shot to fame back in 2014 on the controversial second season of The Bachelor with Blake Garvey and Sam Frost. After placing second on the series, she bowed out of the spotlight and spent the next few years building her brand. She briefly returned to reality TV in 2018 on the first season of Bachelor In Paradise, where she had a brief romance with Luke McLeod. Daddy's girl: Damon looked stylish in a casual grey blazer and camel coloured chinos A helping hand: Lisa helped tie the bow on Myja-Jae's shoe before they headed inside the church Shortly after her split with Luke, Lisa found love with general manager Damon Collina. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Myja-Jae, in July, 2019. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia back in May, Lisa opened up about balancing motherhood with being a businesswoman. Lovely: The former Bachelor star, 33, wore a stunning ruffled Zimmerman dress for the milestone event How cute! The one-year-old flashed some cute smiles to the camera as Lisa took a few selfies 'I used to think I was busy before I became a mum [laughs]. I had no idea!' the Shevoke founder said. 'In the first three months of having MJ, I was lucky enough to find time in the day to shower or do anything for myself really - that part they dont tell you. 'For me, the key to juggling mum-life and running a business is having a good routine and surrounding yourself with people you can trust and rely on,' she added. A teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student at a Sydney school was just weeks away from marrying her boyfriend of six years, as she is pictured for the first time. Monica Elizabeth Young, 23, did not apply for bail when she fronted Parramatta Bail Court just before midday on Saturday via videolink. Young is charged with ten offences - including multiple counts of aggravated sexual intercourse of a child aged between 14 and 16 over a span of weeks. Teacher Monica Elizabeth Young, 23, (pictured) is alleged to have sexually assaulted a young student on school grounds A female school teacher (pictured) has been arrested and charged over allegations a 14-year-old student was sexually assaulted Her fiancee has revealed the couple had been in a relationship for six years. Young was also charged with two counts of intentionally sexually touching a child, intentionally inciting a child to sexually touch and two related offences. The teenage student was allegedly assaulted on and off school property over the course of a month, though it has not been confirmed if the student was a pupil of the female teacher. Police launched an investigation earlier this week before descending on a suburban Greenacre home in Sydney on Friday. It is understood the investigation was sparked when the 14-year-old student made the allegations. Officers were filmed escorting Monica Young out of the Greenacre premises before seizing a car and electronic devices Young is accused of sexually assaulting the teenager on five occasions at locations associated with the Sydney school. Magistrate Karen Robinson on Saturday ordered the names of any witnesses, potential witnesses, and the name of the school could not be published. She did not, however, order Young's name be suppressed despite an application from her defence lawyer. Young remained silent throughout the hearing, speaking only to confirm she could hear proceedings via videolink and to confirm her name and when directly asked by the magistrate. 'No worries, thank you,' she replied after being told her matter was adjourned until Monday at Bankstown Local Court. She did not apply for release and will remain in custody. Detective acting superintendent Michael Haddow described the alleged crimes as 'abhorrent' Young's phone and computer were seized as detectives attempt to establish if there was any communication between the accused and the teenager. Her car was also seized as part of ongoing police investigations. 'This is a very quick response we have taken in relation to this matter, very serious allegations,' Detective Acting Superintendent Michael Haddow said following her arrest. 'Ultimately, teachers have a significant responsibility, there's a significant power shift between a teacher and a student, and suddenly the amount of trust that we put in our teachers, and certainly the allegation before the courts are a significant breach of that trust.' He also advised parents to communicate openly with their children about their activities. 'With the number of online communication applications increasing, it is very important to reaffirm the dangers associated with online conversations,' he said in a statement. 'If [children] encounter something or someone they are not comfortable with, we encourage them to speak to a person they trust, who can then let our investigators know.' The teacher was taken to Bankstown Police Station where she was charged with ten offences The NSW Department of Education said in a statement it was aware of an alleged incident involving a staff member The NSW Department of Education said in a statement it was aware of an alleged incident involving a staff member. 'The safety and wellbeing of students is the number one priority of the department. 'The department is aware of an alleged incident involving an employee. 'As police are investigating this matter, it is not appropriate for us to comment.' B elgium has told its citizens to avoid Leicester after the British city went back into lockdown at the end of June amid a spike in coronavirus case numbers. The Belgian foreign affairs department says that travel is currently not allowed and quarantine is mandatory upon your return from the east Midlands city. Other European regions in Belgium's "red zone" include parts of Spain and Portugal, where coronavirus infections are also relatively high. The travel advice is based on currently available information, according to a note on a Belgian government website. It also gives Belgians the green light to travel to other areas of the EU, the Schengen zone and other parts of the United Kingdom Leicester became the UK's first city to go back into coronavirus lockdown on June 30 after a sustained increase in coronavirus cases in the area, which appear to be driven by outbreaks in clothing factories and food processing plants. Local lockdown in Leicester during Coronavirus pandemic 1 /41 Local lockdown in Leicester during Coronavirus pandemic Leicester has seen 866 cases in the past two weeks PA A city council worker carries rubbish from a coronavirus testing centre at Spinney Park which will be incinerated Getty Images Leicester could be the site of the UK's first local lockdown PA The Government says it is supporting officials in Leicester in their battle against Covid-19 PA Members of the military set up a walk-in mobile Covid-19 testing centre at Spinney Hill Park in Leicester PA A worker for Leicester City Council disinfects public toilets PA A man cleans the windows of a launderette in Leicester PA A member of military personnel uses a tub to collect used a self-test kit from a member of the public at a COVID-19 drive-through mobile testing unit set up at Evington Leisure Centre in Leicester, AFP via Getty Images Members of the military operate a walk-in mobile Covid-19 testing centre at Spinney Hill Park in Leicester PA People queue at walk-in mobile Covid-19 testing centre at Spinney Hill Park in Leicester PA A man wearing a protective visor crosses the road on mobility scooter in Leicester PA Members of the military operate a walk-in mobile Covid-19 testing centre at Spinney Hill Park in Leicester PA People walk by an electronic billboard displaying a government message AFP via Getty Images Robin Dignall and Maria Demetriou-Clamp disinfect chairs at their hair salon Hair@1RD in Leicester as the city may be the first UK location to be subjected to a local lockdown after a spike in coronavirus cases PA A woman wearing a PPE mask walks past social distance advisory singns in Leicester's North Evington neighbourhood Getty Images People walk by an electronic billboard displaying a government message AFP via Getty Images Soldiers from the Royal Logistics Corp operate a mobile coronavirus (Covid-19) testing site at Evington Leisure Centre Getty Images A youth cycles past a sign telling local residents to "Social Distance" and advising on how to help "Prevent the Spread" of coronavirus, in the North Evington district of Leicester AFP via Getty Images Gallowtree Gate in Leicester after the Health Secretary Matt Hancock imposed a local lockdown following a spike in coronavirus cases in the city. PA A man sits on a bench, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Leicester Reuters A worker disinfects a bin following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Leicester, Reuters A worker disinfects a McDonald's restaurant Reuters A police car on Gallowtree Gate in Leicester PA Shops open their shutters in Leicester after the Health Secretary Matt Hancock imposed a local lockdown following a spike in coronavirus cases in the city PA AFP via Getty Images Reuters PA AFP via Getty Images Getty Images PA PA The Sunday Times reported allegations that workers in Leicesters Jaswal Fashions factory, which makes clothes for Boohoo brand Nasty Gal, were operating without social distancing measures in place while being paid as little as 3.50 an hour. Speaking on Skys Sophy Ridge show last week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: Well weve seen outbreaks in food factories and in clothing factories. There are some quite significant concerns about some of the employment practices in some of the clothing factories in Leicester. Social distancing measures in place in Leicester / PA They are important problems to deal with, but the number one problem that weve got to deal with is getting this virus under control. The new restrictions in Leicester will be in place until at least July 18. - The Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey unveiled that majority of adult Filipinos agreed that Congress should renew ABS-CBN's franchise - The survey found out that 75 percent of respondents said that lawmakers should renew the 25-year franchise of the media giant - Only 13 percent disagreed on the franchise renewal, while 10 percent of them were undecided - It also revealed that 56 percent agreed that denying the network's franchise was a "major blow to press freedom" PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed The Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on Saturday, July 11, unveiled that majority of adult Filipinos said that Congress should renew the 25-year franchise of media network ABS-CBN. SWS survey results show most Filipinos stand on ABS-CBN franchise renewal Source: Facebook According to the survey conducted from July 3 to 6, 75 percent of respondents agreed to the question: "Congress should renew the franchise of ABS-CBN so that it can broadcast its programs again." Only 13 percent said they disagreed on the ABS-CBN franchise renewal, while 10 percent of them were undecided. PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedbacks. The SWS survey also revealed that 56 percent agreed that Congress non-renewal of ABS-CBN franchise is a major blow to press freedom. Some 27 percent of respondents thought otherwise while 15 percent are undecided. The survey was done using mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviews with 1,555 adult respondents; 306 of them are from Metro Manila, 451 from Balance Luzon, 388 from Visayas, and 410 from Mindanao. PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! ABS-CBN is one of the leading broadcast networks in the Philippines. Its 25-year franchise expired on May 4 and the Committee on Legislative Franchises of the House of Representatives officially rejected on July 10 its bid to secure another franchise. ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigbak then issued a statement an hour after the House committee finally announced the result of the voting on the fate of the network. Kapamilya stars likewise expressed gratitude to the 11 lawmakers who voted for ABS-CBN to return on air. Please like and share our amazing Facebook posts to support the KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinions about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts and views on different matters! Source: KAMI.com.gh Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tauvik Muhamad and Dede Shinta Sudono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 09:14 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406658a1e8 3 Opinion skilled-workers,skills-gap,ILO,labor-issues,unemployment Free In its most recent update, the World Bank officially upgraded the status of Indonesia from low- to upper-middle income country. While the upgrade offers a positive impact by building trust and attracting better investments, improving the quality of Indonesias human resources through skills development is a critical requirement. This is in line with the ILOs Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work in 2019, which calls on governments to create a set of measures addressing the challenges of unprecedented transformational change in the world of work, focusing on the human-centered economic agenda. The declaration focuses on three areas of action, namely increasing investments in peoples capabilities, the institutions of work and decent and sustainable work. However, this will not be an easy job as the country is facing an unexpected economic downturn because of the COVID-19 outbreak. In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that the Indonesian economy would grow by a mere 0.5 percent in 2020, but this growth rate is only applicable if the pandemic passes and the economy goes back to normal in the second half of the year. Many analysts even foresaw a contraction. Furthermore, the demographic dividend is seen as a two-edged sword. In one hand, having a larger productive population (ages 15 to 65) than a nonproductive one will help the countrys savings and productivity. In contrary, failing to reap the benefits of the golden window opportunity of the demographic dividend will keep the country stuck in a middle-income trap. Worse, increasing unemployment in the long term may lead to social tensions and unrest. Due to the outbreak, many businesses have laid off their employees. According to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), 6 million workers have been dismissed. To address the issues, the government has corrected the markets failure by allocating a stimulus package worth US$17.2 billion for the private sector. The increasing number of new COVID-19 cases along with the relaxing of partial lockdowns has burdened the governments efforts to tackle unemployment, particularly among the youth, of whom there are many. Although the youth unemployment rate has declined in the past decade from 18.87 percent to 17.04 percent, the current figure is still higher than the global average of 13 percent. It is imperative that the government address youth unemployment. Taking into account the increased unemployment rate of last year, which was 5.3 to 7.5 percent, the impact of the outbreak is a more pressing challenge for the labor market. From the supply side, labor forces are mostly made up of low-educated and unskilled workers. Moreover, technical vocational education and training (TVET) requires more improvement in line with in industry demand. From the demand side, a skills gap and mismatches exist as result of the industrial sectors lack of involvement in skills development and developing labor market information (LMI) capturing anticipated skills for the mid and long terms (between five and 10 years) that are needed by the industry in the future. The Sector Skills Council (SSC), which focuses on the industry sector, is vital in developing competency standards for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and addressing the skills gap and mismatches. To address those challenges, first and foremost, the government must engage the SSC in formulating robust and coherence strategies integrating health, fiscal, education, investment and employment policies to build a responsive mechanism for skills development during and beyond the pandemic. This will work if strong coordination is established between relevant ministries, such as the ministries of education, manpower and industry, as well as the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), KADIN and the SSC representing the industrial sector, including trade union. In Singapore, the option of merging the ministries of manpower and education is being proposed to establish a stronger link and match between TVET and industries. Further action needed is to accelerate the distribution of the governments stimulus packages to help the private sector, including by helping micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in their recovery and to implement training-based enterprises and apprenticeships. This includes providing a major tax deduction for up to 200 percent of those enterprises that implement enterprise-based training or apprenticeships. Priority should be given to sectors that are able to employ large numbers of workers, especially youths. This includes manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, creative industry, services and health care, the digital economy (ICT), as well as logistics businesses which are surviving during the pandemic and will be dominating future of work driven by Industry 4.0 and other sectors indicated as new investments by the BKPM. Furthermore, building a public private partnership (PPP) between TVET and the industry sector to sustain school-to-work transition mechanisms through on-job training, internships and apprenticeships is required to institutionalize the engagement of the industrial sector through the SSC to ensure job absorption and program sustainability. Lessons learned from South of Africa and the Philippines show that the SSC helps in addressing skills gaps and mismatches. The ILO and Grid Network of Kompas Gramedia assessment screened 2,442 young people (Age 18 to 24) in 2019 and suggested that 80 percent of them are confident they will get a decent job after completing tier on-job training or internships. Lastly, online and offline distance-learning development in Indonesia is crucial and timely to address the issue of geographic obstacles and the urban-rural divide in accessing TVET opportunities and to tackle the pandemic. It is crucial to engage industries in improving the quality of modular content and learning methodologies, in addition to sharing information on distance learning systems, pedagogical and soft-skills for teaching materials, secured platforms, assessments and certifications for TVET development. *** The authors are project manager and project officer, respectively, for industry skills for the Inclusive Growth Phase-2 Project, International Labor Organization (ILO) Jakarta. The opinions expressed are their own. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. The US is normally secretive about its cyberattacks against Russia, but it just acknowledged one of them. President Trump confirmed to the Washington Post in an interview that he authorized an attack against the Internet Research Agency (a troll team key to Russian interference with US elections since 2016) that started on the day of the 2018 US midterm elections and lasted several days. Trump characterized the move as effective. Look, we stopped [Russia], he told the Post. He also incorrectly claimed that former President Obama said nothing about Russian interference during the 2016 election. Obama publicly criticized Russia in October 2016 for targeting the Democrats, and imposed sanctions in December. Reports also surfaced of Obama launching a secret cyber operation in August of that year after learning of Russian attempts to hack American election systems. The 2018 US attack on Russia was reportedly meant to disrupt efforts to cast doubt on the legitimacy of midterm results, which saw the Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives. The confirmation is a change of tune for Trump. He previously claimed that Russia had stopped cyberattacks agains the US and has supported Russian President Vladimir Putins denials of interference in the 2016 election despite evidence. Here, Trump is directly confirming at least one Russian interference attempt. Its not certain how Russia will respond to Trumps statement, although history suggests its unlikely to acknowledge the IRAs activities. As it stands, American intelligence agencies and internet giants have shifted much of their attention to potential Russian actions during the 2020 election those officials and companies will want to know if Trumps statement will lead to a similar crackdown. Bosnian Muslims on Saturday mark 25 years since the Srebrenica massacre, the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II, with the memorial ceremony sharply reduced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Organisers said the number of people attending the anniversary usually in the tens of thousands is likely to be lower than usual because of lockdown measures aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19. Proceedings are scheduled to start in the morning. Then, at 1100 GMT, the remains of nine victims identified over the past year will be laid to rest at the memorial cemetery in Potocari, a village just outside Srebrenica that served as the base for the UN protection force, FORPRONU, during the conflict. On July 11, 1995, after capturing the ill-fated town, Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in a few days. The episode labelled as genocide by two international courts came at the end of a 1992-1995 war between Bosnias Croats, Muslims and Serbs that claimed some 100,000 lives. So far, the remains of nearly 6,900 victims have been found and identified from more than 80 mass graves. Bosnian Serb wartime military chief general Ratko Mladic, still revered as a hero by many Serbs, was sentenced to life in prison by a UN court in 2017 over war crimes including the Srebrenica genocide. He is awaiting the decision on his appeal. Radovan Karadzic, another Bosnian Serb wartime political leader, was also sentenced to life in prison in The Hague. War against denial The Srebrenica massacre is the only episode of the Bosnian conflict to be described as genocide by the international community. And while for Bosnian Muslims recognising the scale of the atrocity is a necessity for lasting peace, for most Serbs leaders and laypeople in both Bosnia and Serbia the use of the word genocide remains unacceptable. In the run-up to the anniversary, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic described Srebrenica as something that we should not and cannot be proud of, but he has never publicly uttered the word genocide. Several thousand Serbs and Muslims live side by side in impoverished Srebrenica, a lifeless town in eastern Bosnia with just a few shops in its centre. On Friday, the towns Serbian mayor Mladen Grujicic who was elected in 2016 after a campaign based on genocide denial said that there is new evidence every day that denies the current presentation of everything that has happened. Bosnian Serb political leader Milorad Dodik has also described the massacre as a myth. But on Friday, the Muslim member of Bosnias joint presidency, Sefik Dzaferovic, said: We will tirelessly insist on the truth, on justice and on the need to try all those who have committed this crime. We will fight against those who deny the genocide and glorify its perpetrators, he said at the memorial centre where he attended a collective prayer. In order to avoid large crowds on Saturday, organisers have invited people to visit the memorial centre over the whole month of July. A number of different exhibitions are on display, including paintings by Bosnian artist Safet Zec. Another installation, entitled Why Arent You Here? by US-Bosnian artist Aida Sehovic, comprises more than 8,000 cups of coffee spread out on the cemeterys lawn. We still havent answered the question why they are no longer here, she told AFP. How could this have happened in the heart of Europe, that people were killed in such a terrible way in a UN protected area? Not to mention the fact that the genocide is still being denied. A Democrat has not won an election to Alabamas 1st congressional district seat in 60 years, and it will be an uphill battle to do so again: Cook Political Report rates the district a +15 for Republicans. But in a rarity for Democrats in South Alabama, primary voters will get a chance to decide who should face the Republican nominee on Nov. 3 during Tuesdays runoff election. Kiani Gardner, 34, of Daphne, and James Averhart, 52, of Mobile, are in a clash for the partys nomination. The two advanced to the runoff on March 3, when a mere 1,940 votes separated them: Gardner finished with 22,962, and Averhart with 21,022. Rick Collins finished third with 8,119 votes. Since none of the candidates earned more than 50% of the overall vote, the top two finishers must square off during the runoff. The district includes Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Escambia and Monroe counties and parts of Clarke County. 6 takeaways from Democratic Alabama 1st congressional forum Impeachment, abortion and free college: 6 takeaways from Alabama Democratic congressional debate Averhart said he is the better choice than Gardner because of his diverse background. He said he is familiar with the rural areas of the district, having grown up with in Washington County. His professional career, which involved active duty service in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1987-2017, also includes experience as a hostage negotiator. I came in with a very diverse background in leadership, and led the Marines in the battlefield, and I know what leadership is all about, he said. Gardner said what makes her the better option is that I have policies and I show up. She said that the candidates running in the congressional district race support vague policies, but she noted that her platform includes specifics on issues. As a person who lives in this district, as a mom and as an American, I dont want to vote against something, I want to vote for something for once, said Gardner, a mother of two young children ages 3 and 6. Gardner is a research specialist and community college professor, said her three biggest priorities are education, infrastructure and health care. Averhart said the focus of his candidacy is on criminal justice reform. Gardner said there should be an increase in awareness in climate change with a federal infrastructure program. She said the coastal Alabama congressional district is especially vulnerable to sea level rise and powerful hurricanes, and that a representative should be fighting for infrastructure that can withstand a changing climate. When you look at climate change legislation, you push for funding in that legislation that can shore up roads and four-laning evacuation routes and bridges, said Gardner. With climate change and sea level rise being of topic of concern, we have to have the right person pushing the discussion forward. Averhart said he would like to see all corrections facilities accredited through the American Jail Association. He is also pushing for more accountability of police officers, saying he would like to see a task force created to oversee incidences of police brutality. Its another level of accountability I would like to see as far as law enforcement is concerned, said Averhart. Gardner said she would like to see the federal government invest in gathering more data about police mistreatment of Black people. She also supports a national registry of police who have violated their ethics and standards of the job. She is also supportive of a residency requirement, in which police cannot live in a city far removed from the one in which they patrol. Seeing your officer at the grocery store would go a long way toward increasing trust and we are really seeing a broken system of trust on all levels, said Gardner. Averhart said he supports local governments deciding the fate of Confederate monuments and symbols, but with a buy-in from the people as well. Averhart is supportive of the monuments being displayed in local history museums. History is history, he said. You cannot erase history, but you need to know where you came from. Gardner, a native Hawaiian where she noted there are no Confederate monuments, said there is no purpose for them and stressed the need for increased education funding. Monuments are not what is preserving history, she said. Its textbooks. If people are concerned about preserving history we should be funding education. Its that simple. Averhart and Gardner both support the extension of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which is set to expire at the end of the month. Gardner said she would be supportive of five to six packages with a narrower scope than the one approved in March. Given New Orleans status as one of the worlds culinary capitals, its been no surprise to see local chefs and food-related businesses working to help feed food-insecure residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is New Orleans at its best. But while those were mostly small-scale operations, a group of chefs and city officials have begun thinking bigger, launching the COVID-19 Meal Assistance Program earlier this month. The ambitious, $18-million pilot program a collaborative effort between the city, Chef's Brigade, Revolution Foods, the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute, local food delivery startup dLivery NOLA, FEMA and others aims to provide free meals to tens of thousands of people by the end of July. Heres how it works: participating restaurants cook large batches of food using their staff and facilities, NOCHI manages and coordinates food storage, and dLivery will do, well, the delivering. If all goes according to plan, the program could serve up to 1.8 million meals. Those eligible for the program include seniors, people with special medical needs or high-risk health conditions (COVID-19 or those exposed to it), homeless people and children under age 18. Persons who receive other food-related government assistance, are ineligible but sponsors hope to expand the program after this initial phase to bring more people to the table. On the one hand it represents the very best of our community: it harnesses the talents and workforce of local restaurants; and it could potentially provide healthy, delicious food to tens of thousands of New Orleanians in need. By putting to work local kitchens and delivery drivers, itll end up keeping most of the money in the city and in the pockets of these small businesses and their employees. The restaurant industry has been hit particularly hard, and as weve seen this week with establishments that had tried reopening once again shutting their doors, even partial easing of economic restrictions arent enough to sustain most businesses. We hope the program could be just the sort of evidence officials need to begin exploring other ways to create short-term jobs programs that provide vital services to our community by tapping into the talents and resources of other sectors of the economy. All that said, we have some concerns. The programs rollout has been underwhelming. The city announced it only a few days before it was set to begin, and despite extensive coverage in the media, signups could use a boost. Capping the programs life to one month even if it's extended means any kinks in the system will have to be sorted out on the fly. Limiting the deliveries to people who do not already receive federal food assistance a rule imposed by FEMA makes little sense, particularly for families with children who typically get school lunches. The lack of up front transparency about how the money will be spent is also troubling. While theres been no hint of impropriety, $18 million is a lot of money, and New Orleanians have a right to know where its being spent, and weve seen in the past how relief money can get mismanaged, even by the most well intentioned. Thats not to say the program isnt a good idea. We know nobodys coming to help us but us, so local control is welcome. Even if this program only delivers on a fraction of its promise, itll mean many more New Orleanians dont go hungry. We encourage all eligible residents to sign up which can be done by calling 311 or by visiting this website. We hope city officials will expand this program and expand their thinking to identify other projects that will fill needs and get people back to work. Just do a better job of rolling it out next time. Commentary: Cantrell should bring Metro, strikers to the table Since early May, a labor dispute between striking hoppers and Metro Service Group has threatened to disrupt sanitation services across large s The owner of Wagamama has warned that one in 10 of its restaurants will not reopen this year as it battles its way out of lockdown. The Restaurant Group (TRG) which has closed nearly 200 sites since the pandemic struck with the loss of 4,500 jobs said it has started a 'phased reopening' of its remaining 400 venues. The group which also owns Frankie & Benny's plans to have around 100 open by the end of this month, 240 by the end of August and 360 by the end of September. Off the menu: A Frankie & Benny's waitress. The Restaurant Group has closed nearly 200 sites since the pandemic struck with the loss of 4,500 jobs The 40 remaining sites primarily in airports where visitor numbers are likely to be lower than normal for some time are not expected to resume trading before 2021. The decision raises questions over the future of staff who work at those sites, as the Government's job retention scheme only supports the wages of furloughed workers until the end of October. TRG declined to say how many jobs were affected. Shares in the business fell 2.2 per cent, or 1.2p to 52.3p. Like many other casual dining chains, TRG has been hammered by the pandemic, putting its Chiquito's and Food & Fuel sites into administration and closing 125 other restaurants, including many in the Frankie & Benny's chain. Burger King this week revealed it may close one in 10 of its UK outlets, putting 1,600 jobs at risk, while Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia owner Casual Dining Group followed Carluccio's into administration. TRG said it has secured a 50million loan through a Covid business lending scheme set up by the Government to shore up the finances of struggling firms. TRG's board took a 40 per cent pay cut at the start of April as they tapped into Government furlough money. They have now upped their pay, but will still take 20 per cent less than normal until it stops accessing the scheme. If the cut remains in place to the end of October, chief executive Andy Hornby is likely to have given up around 100,000 of his 630,000 base salary. Downing Street is considering York for a possible second centre of government as senior Whitehall staff leave the capital en masse. Departments must file plans to move thousands of officials from London into new sites across Britain, and York - which is the site of a push to relocate the House of Lords - was identified as a potential site to base senior civil servants. A source told The Times it was 'pretty serious', with some officials looking to buy property in the area. They added: 'It's not just the House of Lords. Senior civil servants who are close to decision-making are already looking at Rightmove to see what they can buy for the cost of a terraced house in East Dulwich. And they like it. They are looking at substantial Edwardian villas in Harrogate.' Departments must file plans to move thousands of officials from London into new sites across Britain, and York - which is the site of a push to relocate the House of Lords - was identified as a potential site to base senior civil servants No final decisions have been made yet but ministers plan on establishing several regional 'hubs' of civil servants, another source said. Senior figures have said that moving the House of Lords to York was still 'very much on the agenda' - along with the possibility of a significant Whitehall presence. A source said: 'The Lords is a major thing. But there could be lots of stuff. You could put the Home Office there. The step change will be to move everything other than the secretary of state and private office or an entire directorate.' One government official said the Prime Minister was 'really, really keen' on ideas of decentralising officials from the capital. Departments must now submit preliminary plans in the next two weeks outlining how many staff they could move out of London ahead of detailed work to find out the best locations for various hubs. Plans to move the House of Lords to York were reveled in January following Boris Johnson's major breakthrough among constituencies in Labour's northern 'Red Wall' in the December election Plans to move the House of Lords to York were reveled in January following Boris Johnson's major breakthrough among constituencies in Labour's northern 'Red Wall' in the December election. Ministers had hailed efforts to 'connect with the whole of the country' after the PM ordered detailed work on the practicalities of putting the Lords in Yorkshire. MPs and peers are already due to move out of the building for around six years in 2025 while the multi-billion pound overhaul takes place. If York is chosen as a new seat, the city would become a centre of political power for the first time since the English Civil War - when it played host to the Council of the North. The three-hour travel time is seen as manageable, with technology deployed to minimise the need to be in the same location as MPs and ministers. Significant flooding in Toronto earlier this week means that three of the citys beaches are currently unsafe to swim. As of Friday afternoon, Marie Curtis Park East Beach, Sunnyside Beach and Hanlans Point have all been deemed unsafe for swimming due to increased levels of E. coli. After major rainfalls, conditions are ripe for bacteria. So whats happening to our waterways when it rains? According to Roberto Quinlan, an associate professor of biology at York University, major rain events in urban areas lead to a big pulse of debris and nutrients into the waterways. These nutrients fuel bacterial growth, which in turn lead to water conditions that arent safe for swimming, Quinlan said. In some cases, after a heavy rainfall the sewage system becomes overwhelmed and you just get to release the raw sewage directly into Torontos waterways. Thats a big health concern especially for those hoping to swim and cool off in the lake this weekend. Unless there is increased capacity for storm runoff, were going to see more of these type of events where youre going to have sewage overflows into waterways, Quinlan said. Beaches could be closed more often due to poor water quality as extreme storms become more frequent. With temperatures rising, conditions will be ripe for blue-green algae, which is highly toxic to humans and animals alike. (Algae) are expected to bloom more frequently in warmer water temperatures, even if you dont change the amount of nutrients that goes into water, Quinlan explained. So even if we do a really good job of keeping the water quality the same as it always is, just because of temperature increases alone, we would expect to see more frequent cyanobacteria blooms in the future. Miriam Diamond, a professor of environment science with the University of Toronto, said that Ontarios developed shoreline means more waste heading to the lake after major rainfalls. Were dirty. We drive cars, we have pets that poop, we create a lot of waste. It collects on the street, and especially when it hasnt rained a lot ... it gets flushed into the lake. While the lake can clean itself to some extent, it cant when theres too much rain, she said. Normally, animal feces would usually sink into the forest floor something that isnt as possible in an urban environment. We have some trees, but there are vast swaths of lawns that are terrible at taking up these kinds of contaminants. That means that waste that would typically break down into the soil is flushed down into the late especially when theres a storm surge, Diamond said. Both Diamond and Quinlan urged Torontonians that are hoping to take a dip this weekend to check for water advisories before they go. People should be looking out for signs and either the OK or not OK to go into the water, Diamond said. Toronto Public Health updates lake water conditions every 24 hours following E. coli samples. Swimmers should check their local beach before heading out. In an email, Torontos associate medical office of health Vinita Dubey said that while the health department is still encouraging folks to get outside during the weather, we are still advising to avoid public gatherings and large crowds where physical distancing cannot be maintained, including beaches, due to COVID-19. The senior citizens who populate Texas nursing homes were not jammed into bars or packed onto beaches on Memorial Day, but officials there now fear that coronavirus that began spreading among younger people over the past month is imperiling the lives of the states most vulnerable. It was a grim but predictable development for a state with more nursing homes 1,218 than any state in the nation, experts told ABC News. Some said they already suspect a link between the recent spread of the virus and a rise in deaths in the state's nursing homes over the past weeks, and said they fear the worst could be yet to come. Back in mid-May, nursing homes in the state had reported 561 deaths from COVID-19, according to an ABC News review of state data. By last week, that number had nearly doubled at 1,035 deaths. As [the infections] continue to grow in numbers in the community, we would expect it to continue to grow in numbers in nursing facilities, said Amanda Fredriksen, the Associate State Director for Advocacy for AARP Texas. MORE: Families of those who died from COVID-19 at nursing facility still looking for answers PHOTO: People gather on the beach for the Memorial Day weekend in Port Aransas, Texas, May 23, 2020. (Eric Gay/AP Photo) While nursing homes nationwide are continuing to experience casualties from the virus, some states that have seen decreases in their case rates are also seeing fewer nursing home deaths. Connecticut, for example, was reporting over 80 probable deaths in congregate care facilities daily in April, when the state was at its peak number of coronavirus cases. Now, Connecticut is reporting fewer than five deaths in these facilities daily as case counts decline. Derrick L. Neal is the executive director of Williamson County and Cities Health District in Texas, near Austin. That district is home to Trinity Care Center, the facility in Texas that has reported one the highest number of fatalities to the federal government. In mid-June the facility had reported 138 resident deaths. The region has also seen a rise in cases in the wider community, which he attributes to the states late-April opening and Memorial day festivities. Now, Neal said, hes fearful that what he described as a continued failure by residents to adhere to social distancing guidelines could have a devastating impact on those living in congregate care facilities. Story continues The overarching concern is really a community, not everyone, but a large segment of society refusing to care for their neighbor by masking up and social distancing, Neal said. The same things that kept me up in March keeps me up in July. MORE: Nursing homes got masks that 'probably should have never gone out': Official PHOTO: A healthcare worker in a protective suits helps an elderly person to get off an ambulance on April 4, 2020. (Go Nakamura/Reuters) Since the beginning of the pandemic, nursing homes have been at the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis. Nationwide, those whove died in nursing homes account for nearly a third of all COVID-19 deaths, according to a recent survey of state-by-state data by ABC News a figure that advocates believe may actually be undercounted. In part, that is because national statistics have not fully accounted for some of the fatalities during the early days of the pandemic. Local news outlets in Texas also report that nursing homes in Texas have been among the worst in reporting conditions to federal officials tracking the outbreak. The official count of the federal agency responsible for regulating nursing homes and tracking coronavirus cases in nursing homes says that 35,517 nursing home residents have died nationwide. That number has continued to grow despite an evolving toolkit of preventative measures that began in March with the federal guidance to nursing homes to restrict visitors, isolate the sick, and require staff wear protective equipment. In June, Texas followed the lead of Maryland and other states in forming strike teams, which could mount a rapid response when a nursing care facility showed the early signs of an outbreak. Representatives for the Texas Department of State Health Services did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment for this report. The Texas governor has previously stated that protecting seniors in nursing facilities is a priority and earlier this month encouraged nursing homes to apply to receive parts of over $9 million in federal funding being allocated to Texas nursing homes. "We know that older Texans are more susceptible to COVID-19, and Texas is committed to ensuring that nursing facilities have the tools they need to keep their residents and staff safe, Abbott said in a press release. We must continue to protect our most vulnerable populations, mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Texas, and protect public health. But last month, when the state started seeing a rise in infection among young people, advocates for the elderly began to worry that their defenses would not be strong enough to prevent the virus' spread into nursing homes. That, said Patty Ducayet, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman for the Texas Health and Human Services Department, appears to be happening now. We are still seeing new cases identified in both our nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, Ducayet said. Neal said hes also concerned that staff, many of whom are low paid and lack the luxury of social distancing in their own living situations, are proving to be a vulnerability in the chain of transmission. It's really extremely difficult to stabilize a group of patients when you have a lower pay individual going in there to support them, Neal said. Organizations that advocate on behalf of nursing homes are urging that the rise in cases be met with a surge in testing and personal protective equipment for nursing homes. According to a survey by the Association for Health Care Associations, nursing homes report that they are still struggling to get tests processed in a timely fashion, and many report they do not have adequate access to protective equipment. Testing is once again becoming a challenge nationwide as some facilities report being overwhelmed by the recent surge in cases. Jo Lynn Garing, a spokesperson for a leading high-volume test manufacturing company Roche Diagnostics, said the company is focusing on vulnerable states like Texas. Garing said the company not only has been expanding its production capacity but also continues to be very intentional on its allocation and distribution of supplies, prioritizing labs with the broadest geographic reach and highest patient impact. Garing said the current priority areas are the same areas seeing surges, including Florida, Arizona, Texas and California. On Friday, Governor Abbott announced a new partnership with Omnicare, a CVS health company, to provide COVID-19 point-of-care testing for assisted living facilities and nursing homes throughout the state. A release states that this partnership will help the state meet its goal of processing up to 100,000 tests in the first month it is operational. "Our collaboration with public and private entities is crucial to ramping up testing in Texas and mitigating the spread of this virusespecially among our most vulnerable populations," Gov. Abbott said in a statement provided to ABC news after an inquiry for this report. Aggressive use of preventive measures now could help, advocates say. But while community spread continues, nursing homes remain vulnerable. As long as those cases keep rising and as long as they're active in the community where these facilities are, it's going to be a concern for all of these nursing home residents, Fredriksen said. What to know about coronavirus: How it started and how to protect yourself: Coronavirus explained What to do if you have symptoms: Coronavirus symptoms Tracking the spread in the U.S. and worldwide: Coronavirus map Experts fear for elderly amid virus surge in state with most nursing homes originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G will come with the Snapdragon 865 under the hood and the same design elements as we have seen on the 4G Z Flip. Samsungs Galaxy Unpacked event is scheduled for August 5 and we are expecting the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series, the Galaxy Fold 2 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G to be unveiled at the event. As we move closer to the date, the support page for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G has been spotted on the Samsung Hungary website by GSMArena with the model number SM-F707B, making the way for the new 5G version of the flip phone to be launched soon. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G support page. (GSMArena) So far we know that the Galaxy Z Flip 5G is going to come with the Snapdragon 865 chipset and a slightly smaller battery than the 4G version. This is to make space for the chip and modem combination the 5G smartphone will need. No other design changes are expected from the 5G version Samsung is all set to launch. We also know that the Galaxy Z Flip 5G is going to go up for sale in three colours in Hungary but there is going to be four colours of the smartphone in total. The purple, silver and black (we have seen the purple and black ones already). And there is also the copper, or as Samsung calls it - Mystic Bronze thats going to be seen on the Z Flip. This Mystic Bronze colour is expected to be seen across all of Samsungs Fall 2020 flagship devices. We got a little look at this new colour on the Z Flip 5G thanks to Evan Blass - you can check it out here. Besides this we know the Z Flip 5G will come with a 12MP and 10MP dual camera setup on the back with an LED flash and the 1.05-inch secondary AMOLED screen and a 6.7-inch Infinity-O AMOLED Full HD+ display when open and a 12MP selfie camera. Over 12 years since commercial fishermen left Greystones Harbour, they are permitted to fish out of their home port once again. Agreement was reached last Wednesday afternoon, in a meeting between fisherman Ivan Toole and Brendan Sheehy of Sisk. Ivan, and fellow fishermen Tim Storey and Eric O'Riley have been able to land their catch there since then. There were protests last summer with the fishermen, their families and supporters demanding that they be allowed to work from the local harbour. They left the area to fish from Dun Laoghaire as work started on the new harbour, with assurances that they would be coming back. Subsequent plans and construction made no provision for fishermen to be able to land catch in or work from the area. A boat yard is situated at the area they expected to be allocated. The last meeting they had with stakeholders, including BJ Marine, the council and developers, took place before Christmas. Agreements were made that they would be allowed land their catch, with some restrictions, in a compromise to bring the dispute to an end. 'We had about seven meetings over the winder and thrashed out a deal,' said Ivan. 'It wasn't ideal, but in the interest of getting it across the line we said we'd agree and figure out the rest. 'They said we could land, they were giving us the fishing huts, but they weren't giving us the wall, rather swinging moorings at the outer part of the harbour.' Ivan said that they would have to row out in a small rowing boat each day. He said this wasn't suitable for commercial fishing boats, particularly one the size of his. Proposals for them to use the Marina at a fee of 16,800 per year for the three boats were dismissed. 'That was ludicrous,' said Ivan. 'Between the three of us it's 1,800 per year in Dun Laoghaire.' During the Covid-19 crisis, while they were still working throughout to provide essential food, they didn't push the Greystones harbour issue. When building sites re-opened they tried to open communication once again with Sisk to no avail. Feeling the agreement had been made for them to use the area, Tim Storey began to fish at Greystones. ' He said he wanted to pay for a week or two, and they wouldn't take his money and sent him away.' Two Saturdays ago, exactly a year from when he left the harbour to give the stakeholders time to sort it out, Ivan went back to landing at Greystones. 'We landed no problem that day. On Monday we went out fishing and in the afternoon got a call saying the entrance to the pier was being blocked up. I thought, here we go again!' The fishermen and their supporters took to social media to bring this to the attention of the public. Since then. Brendan and Ivan met up and he was assured that they are permitted to fish from the harbour. Currently, they are tying the boats up at the north pier, inside the harbour. 'I said we have to stay here, unless they can come up with something better,' said Ivan. He said that the quality of life for he and his colleagues will be significantly better, with the commute to and from Dun Laoghaire now a thing of the past. 'I spent 13 years driving the N11 at 5 in the morning and again at 6 in the evening' said Ivan. 'Most days you'd get into your boat and steam back to Bray Head to fish.' He said that the situation caused plenty of stress. 'You'd wake up at four in the morning, your head melting,' said Ivan. 'We all slept easier on Wednesday night, I hope it stays that way.' Since last week's talks, they have been able to use the facility, and have been told they can keep doing so. Cllr Mags Crean congratulated the Save Greystones Fishing Fleet campaign, and the local community for supporting them to get to this point. 'As a public representative actively engaged on this issue since my election, I will continue to keep the pressure on to ensure that this access is maintained and sustained on a long-term basis.' She said that she will hold Wicklow County Council to account so that proper facilities and arrangements are in place to remain a permanent feature of the harbour. At last week's meeting of Greystones Municipal District, a day before the talks on Wednesday, district administrator Myra Porter said that while moorings were meant to be installed, they weren't because of Covid-19. 'They may not be at all this year as they're seasonal,' she said. She confirmed that the request to close the pier in the previous week had been made by gardai, not to block fishermen. Cllr Mags Crean said that young people could very easily get across the wall. 'Aside from that, I don't think a public pier should be blocked,' she said. Cllr Tom Fortune welcomed the forthcoming meeting, and said that the way the fishermen had been treated was 'abominable'. He said that the fishing huts and landing facility were part of the original planning permission. 'It's a disgrace that Greystones is probably the only harbour in Ireland where fishermen couldn't land, because when the planning was being put together it was wrongly left out. They were treated grossly unfairly.' Neo-nazi and far-right groups are now instructing their followers to infect Muslims and Jews with the coronavirus. A UK government counterterrorism agency warned on July 9 that the said groups want to infect the minorities deliberately as they spread conspiracy theories around the coronavirus pandemic. Conspiracy theories The UK's Commission for Countering Extremism published an article stating that it has received reports of hate groups of all kinds, from Islamist extremist, far-right and far-left, using the pandemic to create division in communities, according to The New York Post. The report warned that they have heard reports of British Neo-Nazi groups and British Far Right activists promoting narratives that attack minorities by encouraging their followers to infect the minorities deliberately, especially and the Muslims and Jews. One conspiracy theory that is reported claims that the coronavirus is fake and it is just a part of a plot of the Jews to mislead the public. Another conspiracy theory claims that Muslims are responsible for the pandemic and it is spreading because the mosques are open even during the lockdown. Meanwhile, another group stated that Islamists are spreading anti-Western and anti-democratic narratives. They also stated that the pandemic is punishment set by God on the West for degeneracy, or the pandemic is a punishment on China for its mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims. Also Read: Fact Check: Dr. Fauci Allegedly Married to Ghislaine Maxwell's Sister? Sara Khan, the government agency's commissioner, wrote in a blog post that groups from the far right, far left and Islamist groups have created conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic to promote hate and dangerous disinformation. Extremists even went as far as using 5G as a conspiracy theory, which then led to the public burning down 5G towers in London. According to the report, the dangerous conspiracy led to 50 incidents back in April where 5G towers were vandalized and burned. The report has also criticized social media platforms for not doing enough to stop the spread of false information and to debunk conspiracy theories that are spreading online. There were 649 posts that were flagged for misinformation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The flagging happened between April 20 to May 26 during the height of the coronavirus lockdown. However, only 9.4% were acted upon and 6.3% were eventually removed, according to data from the London nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate. The report said that far-right politicians and news outlets have played a role in normalizing hatred against ethnic groups and religious groups by pushing their anti-immigrant messages. Creating division According to a report, the State Department in the UK found last month that the threat of ethnically and racially motivated terrorism from neo-nazis and far-right groups is increasing and is spreading around the world. In the United Kingdom, the commission is calling for the government to create an effective and concrete plan to discontinue any racist views and to counteract violence. They are also calling for the existing laws to be strict on the hatred that is posted online. Khan stated that they need to be on the front line to counter the hateful activity of extremist groups who seek to create division in the community and to know everything that the country stands for. Related Article: Statue of First Lady Melania Trump Set Ablaze in Her Hometown in Slovenia @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Following the announcement of 15 per cent increase in transport fares, taxi fares in the Koforidua Municipality in the Eastern Region are to be increased with effect from Saturday, July 11, 2020. In an interaction with the Koforidua Taxi Branch of the GPRTU, the Chairman, Mr John Boateng informed the Ghana News Agency that taxis operating within Koforidua township from the central business area to Adweso, Gallaway, Old Estate, Asokore, Effiduase, Magazine, and Ada, Srodae and Betome would on Saturday July, 11 take GH2.00 which is an increase of 30 pesewas. He said taxis operating from Koforidua to Oyoko, Jumapo and other towns outside Koforidua would charge GH2.50p which is an increase of 50 pesewas. At the Kumasi station, transport fare from Koforidua to Kejetia Market in Kumasi increased from GH35.00 to GH40.00. Koforidua to Asamankese fare is to increase from GH12.00 to GH15.00, while Koforidua to Swedru fare is to increase from GH20.00 to GH25.00 and Koforidua to Akim Oda is to increase from GH20.00 to GH2.00. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Hong Kongs opposition camp has set up polling booths across the Chinese-ruled city for primary elections aimed at selecting pro-democracy candidates to run in the Legislative Council elections in September. Saturdays primaries came less than two weeks after Beijing imposed sweeping national security legislation on the Asian financial hub, stoking concerns that wide-ranging freedoms not seen in mainland China will be crushed. The law punishes what China describes broadly as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with up to life in prison and allows mainland security agents to operate officially in Hong Kong for the first time. The primary election is our first time to let Beijing know Hong Kongers never bow down to China, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said. 200708032647026 Gwyneth Ho, an independent pro-democracy candidate, said she will run for elections despite the fact that she had concerns about her future. Even though we are concerned we also know that if we do not do something, if we do not resist the authoritarian rule there is no future for us to be concerned about, she told Al Jazeera from Hong Kong. Pollster raided On Saturday morning, Hong Kong police raided the office of a prominent opinion pollster that was helping the citys pro-democracy opposition to conduct the primary election. Robert Chung, the president of Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI), an independent pollster that regularly conducts surveys on public opinion, said officers copied files from computers, monitored by PORIs lawyer, but did not remove the machines. The primaries come less than two weeks after Beijing imposed sweeping national security legislation [May James/AFP] Police claimed they were responding to a report that PORI computers had been hacked, resulting in an unlawful leak of personal information. Chung said he got a verbal promise from the police that they would not use information unrelated to the suspected leak. Al Jazeeras Divya Gopalan, reporting from Hong Kong, said the polling, which was supposed to start at noon (04:00 GMT), was delayed by a few hours after the police raid on PORI. There are many questions from the democratic camp over the time of this raid as it took place on the first day of the primaries, Gopalan said. Test for opposition While the primaries are only for the opposition camp, observers are watching closely as they say the turnout at the election will serve as a litmus test of a broader opposition to the national security law. The election seeks to bolster the chance for democracy candidates to achieve a 35-plus majority in the 70-seat legislature in polls on September 6, potentially giving them the power to block government proposals. Hong Kongs opposition camp secured a landslide victory in district council elections in November, riding on support for an anti-government protest movement triggered by a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial. Protests that escalated in June last year and evolved into calls for greater democracy have fizzled since police arrested more than 300 people on July 1, the day after Beijing introduced the national security law. Elon Musk is now officially wealthier than Warren Buffett and Tim Cook, reports revealed. The increase of the Tesla founder increased $6.1 billion on Friday based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This refers to the daily ranking of the world's richest people. The stocks of Tesla Inc. surged 11 percently over this week, making its leader, Elon Musk, the world's seventh richest person, Apple News reported. The 49-year-old likewise owns around a fifth of Tesla, Inc.'s outstanding stocks, which comprise most of its $70.5 billion wealth. Majority of the ownership include Space X accounts at $15 billion. Stocks rising The shares of Tesla are also rising at more than 250 percent this year. This valuation has helped Musk have his $595 million pay day during the first quarters of the year, earning him the spot of being the highest-paid CEO in the United States. He is also making history as the first entrepreneur from the tech industry who has surpassed Warren Buffett in the ranking of the world's richest. Likewise surpassing Buffet were former Microsoft Corporation CEO Steve Ballmer and Google co-founder Larry Page. Small investors are warned to stay away from the tech market for now out of the fast surging, and this range has the possibility to crash. This is based on the statements from Mike Novogratz, financial manager and now with Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. "We are in irrational exuberance-this is a bubble," he said on Friday. "The economy is grinding, slowing down, we're lurching in and out of COVID, yet the tech market makes new highs every day. That's a classic speculative bubble." Buffett's wealth further decreased when he donated almost $3 billing in Berkshire Hathaway stock for charitable purposes. This 89-year-old has been giving away fortune to Berkshire since 2006. Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook came in second in the listing of highest paid CEOs in 2019. Cook has reported a yearly compensation at more than $130 million last year. Coming in at the third spot is Tom Rutledge of Charter Communications, Inc. Also Read: Elon Musk Blames Throttle Valve Response For SpaceX Rocket Landing Failure Tesla Model Y Meanwhile, Musk is also hyping up the forthcoming Tesla Model Y, which he said will be "a revolution in automotive body engineering." These are among the vehicles that will find its market in China and Europe, and also going to be produced in these locations. These ventures will provide Tesla the opportunities to enhance the features of the SUV, currently being produced in the brand's factory in Fremont for the market in North America. According to the CEO, this will just be the start. There was a patent application filed last year revealing how the new casting machine from Tesla will be utilized to construct Model Y. The company seeks to create more extensive usage of the mega casting technology with the lineup of its EV The Gigafactory in Shanghai is hinted to be where the production of the Model Y cars will happen, primarily catering the Chinese clientele. Also Read: Elon Musk Wants To Fuse Artificial Intelligence And Your Brain Together With His New Company Neuralink 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. SEOUL/SINGAPOREChina is forging ahead in the race to develop a vaccine to help control the COVID-19 pandemic, with Sinovac Biotech's experimental vaccine set to become the country's second and the world's third to enter final stage testing later this month, Reuters reported. It has brought the state and private sectors together in a quest to combat a disease that has infected more than 11,874,000 people worldwide and killed more than 545,000 of them. Meanwhile, many other countries, including the United States, are coordinating closely with the private sector to try to win the vaccine development race, and China faces many challenges. In China, an entity, for example, completed two vaccine plants at what it called the "wartime speed" of a couple of months, while some researchers of state-owned enterprises and the military have volunteered to take experimental shots. The People's Liberation Army's medical research unit, which has been a driving force in China's efforts to fight infectious diseases, is also working with private firms including CanSino to develop vaccines. Challenging the West's traditional dominance of the industry, China is behind eight of the 19 vaccine candidates in human trials, with Sinovac's experimental shot and one jointly developed by CanSino and the military among the front-runners. It is also focused mainly on inactivated vaccine technologya technology that is well known and has been used to make vaccines against diseases such as influenza and measlessomething which could raise the chances of success. "It's a tried and true strategy," said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, about inactivated vaccine technology. "If I had to pick a vaccine that I think would be the most likely to be safe and effective, it would be that one," he said. Offit is also co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, manufactured by Merck& Co. By contrast, Western companies such as US-based Moderna and Germany's CureVac and BioNTech are using a new technology called messenger RNA that has never before yielded a product approved by regulators. Four of the Chinese candidates in human trials are inactivated vaccines, including Sinovac's and two vaccines from China National Biotec Group, or CNBG, a unit of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group, or Sinopharm. Phase III trials There are only two experimental COVID-19 vaccines in final Phase III trialsone from Sinopharm and another from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. Sinovac's is set to become the third later this month. To speed up the process, Sinopharm and Sinovac combined Phase I and Phase II trials for their vaccine candidates. For CanSino's experimental vaccine, the PLA research institute played an important role, with the two working on a method using an adenovirusa similar approach to AstraZeneca's. The PLA has its own approval process for "military specifically-needed drugs", and approved the military use of the candidate developed by its research unit and CanSino last month. Chen Wei, the PLA's lead scientist who has been the face of its vaccine development effort, was among the first to take the experimental COVID-19 shot developed by her team, as well as its potential SARS treatment years before, according to state media. China has challenges, though, as the epidemic has petered out in the country, hampering efforts to conduct large trials. It has since shifted its focus overseas, and a handful of countries have shown willingness to collaboratethe United Arab Emirates, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico. The new voter registration exercise by the Electoral Commission (EC) has begun smoothly in second cycle schools and other institutions in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region. When the Ghana News Agency visited some schools and institutions within the Municipality at 1200 hours on the first day of the two-day exercise, it was observed that students and staff were going through the process under strict COVID-19 safety protocols. There were Veronica buckets containing water, soap and tissue at each entrance for the applicants to wash their hands before entering their various Assembly Halls where the registration exercise was taking place. Apart from the fact that social distancing protocols were strictly adhered to, all students and staff who came to register wore nose masks. At the Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School (BOGISS) where two registration centres were created, Ms Rubama Zakaria and Ms Faustina Bugre, registration officers for centre one and two respectively said 42 and 38 persons had registered respectively. At the Bolgatanga Technical Institute (BOTECH), Mr Anthony Apambila, a registration officer, said the two centres at the school had registered 111 persons with 51 from centre one and 60 from centre two. Mr Apambila said about 90 per cent of the staff had already registered while the students were allowed to go through the process in batches according to their various houses to ensure the safety measures were being followed. He said the school provided the hygiene materials while the Electoral Commission brought along with its alcohol-based hand sanitizers. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr William Obeng Adarkwa, the Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, explained that the two-day exercise was taking place in 23 institutions in the Region. The Regional Director said the number included other institutions such as the Zuarungu Nursing Training College, Police Training Academy and other facilities, which had high numbers of people. Mr Adarkwa clarified that those schools and institutions, which already had registration centres of the EC were not included in the two-day exercise. The Regional Director explained that potential voters who might not be able to register during the phases would be registered during the mob up exercise after all the phases were completed. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Gal Pissetzky, lawyer to Nigerian suspected international fraudster, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, popularly known as Ray Hushpuppi, has said that his client was kidnapped by the FBI from Dubai and taken to the US. Hushpuppi and another cyber-heist suspect, Olalekan Jacob Ponle, also known as Mr Woodberry were arrested in Dubai, where they lived, in June. They were later taken to the US where they appeared in a Chicago court on 3 July. The US and UAE have no existing extradition treaty but Dubai police said the two suspected fraudsters were extradited to the US. The BBC quoted a spokesman for the US Department of Justice as saying that Hushpuppi was expelled from Dubai and was not extradited. Speaking with the BBC, Hushpuppis lawyer Pissetzky, said, In my opinion, the FBI and the government here acted illegally when they kidnapped him from Dubai without any legal process to do so. There was no extradition, there were no legal steps taken, there were no court documents filed, it was simply a call to the FBI. He is not a citizen of the United States, the US had absolutely no authority to take him. Gal Pissetzky had earlier told Forbes that Hushpuppi, is not a fraudster. Pissetzky said that the internet celebrity is a legitimate businessman who deals on real estate, according to Forbes. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 15:46:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HANOI, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A car accident has killed three people and injured another in Vietnam's northern Quang Ninh province, Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday. The car carrying five people plunged into the sea in Ha Long city of Quang Ninh province on Friday night, said the news agency, noting that only the driver could get out of the car and the rest four were stuck inside the vehicle. Among the victims, a 32-year-old woman, her 3-year-old child and another 9-year-old child have been diagnosed to have died due to drowning before being sent to the hospital and the other woman is in critical condition, according to the report. In the first six months of this year, 6,790 traffic accidents occurred in Vietnam, killing 3,242 people, severely injuring 1,931 and lightly hurting 3,008 others, according to the country's Traffic Police Department. Enditem Hyderabad: The opposition in Telangana is laying into chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) over the demolition of a Muslim place of worship and a Hindu shrine within the Secretariat complex, which is being demolished to make way for a brand new administrative hub. Right after the damage to the places of worship was reported in the media, the chief minister issued an apology--which is untypical of him--promising to build new structures to appease both communities involved. The Muslim side of the matter, represented by Asaduddin Owaisis Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), accepted the KCRs apology and his offer to make ample amends. The BJP on the other hand, looking for a toehold in Telangana, seized the issue and demanded a temple right at the very spot where it stood. The opportunity of creating a Babri-Ram Janmabhoomi-like controversy was not lost on Telanganas political parties, and soon enough the Congress joined in, condemning the demolition and affecting hurt to religious sentiments. State Congress president Uttam Kumar Reddy said the mosque and temple were held sacred by government employees working in the Secretariat. The old Secretariat itself was dear to Hyderabadis. If the Secretariat demolition was bad enough and a Tughlaq-like decision, the damage of the temple and mosque has hurt the sentiments of people belonging to all communities, he said. Uttam Reddy found fault with the chief minister for not consulting the heads of the temple and mosque before carrying out the demolition. KCR is trampling upon the religious sentiments of those people who made him what he is today. He will get a befitting reply from Hyderabadis at an appropriate time, he said. Congress Shabbir Ali referenced the Babri Masjid dispute and pointed out that the chief ministers apology did not make a specific commitment that the demolished mosque would be rebuilt at the very spot. Shabbir Ali said the demolition of the mosque and temple was carried out with the full knowledge of the chief minister. Even Owaisi, an ally of the TRS, was aware that the mosque was being razed but chose to make a round of the citys hospitals on Thursday to divert peoples attention. TPCC working president A. Revanth Reddy said the demolition would be remembered as Black Day. He said building on the Hussainsagar shore was disallowed and he would be moving the top court. He was addressing the media with ex-MP Konda Vishweswar Reddy and Shabbir Ali. BJP demands temple at the same place BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and BJP chief spokesperson K. Krishna Sagar Rao warned of a backlash from Hindus across the state for demolishing a temple. Destroying a temple is blasphemy. The KCR government has committing the insulting act of demolishing a Hindu religious place of worship unilaterally, they said. They demanded that the Chief Minister visit the site and apologise for the demolition, and build a temple at the very same site. BJP general secretary P. Muralidhar Rao told a virtual rally for Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda districts that the days of the TRS government were numbered. He said the curse of the temple goddess would haunt the Chandrashekar Rao government. He also criticised the demolition of the Secretariet building in the middle of a global pandemic. KCR has failed to lead the state from the front during the coronavirus crisis and it has led to death, fear and pain for the people, Muralidhar Rao said. - Jinkee Pacquiao's photos in the province together with her daughters have recently trended online - The said photos went viral after Agot Isidro called Jinkee out for posting her luxurious bikes on social media - The viral photos showed Jinkee and her children enjoying a simple life in the province in spite of their wealth - This prompted various netizens to react and laud the celebrity mom and her children for staying humble PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Jinkee Pacquiao and her children have been trending on social media after their recent photos went viral. KAMI learned that Jinkee and her children were seen riding a carabao in the province of Sarangani. It can be recalled that Jinkee and her family have finally returned to their hometown in General Santos City last month, June 25. PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback Her photos went viral after Agot Isidro criticized her for posting about her luxury bikes amid the pandemic. Agot's statement prompted Jinkee's camp to respond to the actress as well afterwards. The said photos elicited comments and praises from netizens as well. "Masayang balikan ang nakaraan talaga." "Salute to Pacquiao family despite sa lahat ng yaman nanatiling humble." "Wow ingat kayo sa pagsakay ma'am..Yan Ang tunay na nagbalik tanaw sa buhay nila noon." "I love it madam Jinkee, napakasimple. Alam niya kung saan siya galing." "Yan ang tunay na mayaman simple at marunong lumingon sa buhay mahirap. I'm sure may maiinsecure na naman diyan." PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Jinkee Pacquiao worked as a sales attendant for a cosmetics brand before she met Manny Pacquiao. Her uncle introduced her to Manny, who happened to be the latter's trainer at that time. They got married in 2000 and they have five children Emmanuel Jr., Michael Stephen, Mary Divine Grace, Queen Elizabeth, and Israel. The prices of Jinkee's controversial luxury bikes were recently revealed online and caught the attention of netizens. Her cryptic online post also went viral after Agot Isidro criticized her post about the luxury bikes. POPULAR: Read more news about Jinkee Pacquiao 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 Residents hoping to enjoy the day with their pets at the citys first pet dog park will have to wait longer, as the municipal corporation (MC) has stalled the project due to severe financial crunch. Announced in February, the facility, touted as a dog recreational facility, was to come up on 1.5 acres in Sector 42 at a cost of around Rs 50 lakh. But, with the civic body running a deficit budget and struggling to meet even its establishment costs, it has decided that no funds can be spared for the ambitious project. Confirming this, MC commissioner KK Yadav said, MC doesnt have adequate funds to start any new project. MC will not be taking up the dog park project because of financial constraints. The facility, which would have been north Indias first dog park, was mooted by Punjab governor and UT administrator VPS Badnore. As per the 2019 animal census of the UT animal husbandry and fisheries department, there are around 11,100 pet dogs in Chandigarh, up from 9,800 in the 2012 census. Figures collected from MC reveal that it has so far registered around 8,000 pets ever since the bylaws came into force in 2010. Though the city has 1,800 small and big neighbourhood parks, pet dogs are not allowed there. Hence, the dog park was planned as an exclusive park for them. The parks concept, based on one in Hyderabad, incorporates a number of facilities, like swimming pool and swings meant for pets, equipment to train pets and veterinary doctor for vaccination, besides the facility for pet dog registration. Depending on the success of the first dog park, MC had planned more in other sectors of the city. MC, however, has not permanently junked the idea. The project is still workable, but not in this fiscal, unless, additional funds are allocated for it, Yadav said. MC FLOATS TENDER FOR DOG STERILISATION To restart dog sterilisation in the city after a gap of nearly eight months, the civic body has floated fresh tenders for the animal birth control programme with a few changes to elicit better response. Since August last year, MC has floated tenders thrice, inviting private companies to undertake sterilisation of dogs. The tender floated in August last year found no takers. The one in December 2019 got only one bidder. Similarly, only one applicant qualified in the tender floated in February this year. Stating that tender conditions had been tweaked to attract more applicants, Dr Amrit Warring, head of the sanitation department and medical officer of health (MoH), said, Earlier only NGO recognised by the Animal Welfare Board of India could participate in the programme. But now, veterinary doctors with degrees can also participate. Meanwhile, as per an MC General House resolution, MCs in-house staff has been deputed to carry out the sterilisation programme till a private entity is roped in. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Crazy in the middle of the night texts led federal experts to wrongly admonish weather officials for contradicting Donald Trump during the Sharpiegate episode of Hurricane Dorian, according to a new watchdog report. A statement criticising the National Weather Service in Alabama after the exchange could undercut public trust in warnings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Commerce Department Inspector General Peggy Gustafson said in findings reported by the Associated Press. By requiring NOAA to issue an unattributed statement related to a then-5-day-old tweet, while an active hurricane continued to exist off the east coast of the United States, the department displayed poor judgment in exercising its authority over NOAA, the inspector general report said. The rebuke from agency heads came days after the Birmingham office contradicted Mr Trumps comments that Alabama would most likely be hit harder than anticipated. Mr Trump also presented a map depicting a projected course for the hurricane that had been modified, based on outdated information, with a black marker. Known in common parlance as a Sharpie, the convoluted affair became dubbed Sharpiegate. According to the inspector generals report, Alabama was previously in the hurricane centres warning cone but was no longer at risk when the two tweets were posted. Alabama forecasters said they were responding to enquiries from the public and were unaware of the presidents tweet, according to the reporting. The report said acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney sent an after-hours email to commerce secretary Wilbur Ross saying it appears as if the NWS intentionally contradicted the president. And we need to know why. He wants either a correction or an explanation or both. What followed was a series of texts, emails and phone calls from 1am to 3.43am between Mr Ross and staff including Department of Commerce chief of staff Michael J Walsh Jr about a statement that came the next day. NOAA acting chief Neil Jacobs told the inspector generals office that things went crazy in the middle of the night. Instead of focusing on NOAAs successful hurricane forecast, the Department unnecessarily rebuked NWS forecasters for issuing a public safety message about Hurricane Dorian in response to public inquiries - that is, for doing their jobs, the report concluded. The White House declined to comment. The Portuguese police have searched according to media reports, in the three wells after for more than 13 years of missing Madeleine "Maddie" McCann. In the past few weeks, the officials of the criminal police were there with the help of divers in the municipality of Vila do Bispo in use, reported the newspaper "Correio da Manha" and the TV channel RTP on Friday night, citing police circles. No trace of the British girl had been discovered, it said. In Braunschweig, Germany determined the competent public Prosecutor's office for several weeks against a 43-year-old German on suspicion of murder. The man who is imprisoned on an unrelated matter, suspected the then-three-year-old on 3. To may 2007 from a holiday resort in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz kidnapped. Vila do Bispo is located approximately 15 kilometres to the West of Praia da Luz. investigators in Germany are convinced that the child is dead. To Express this assumption by the authorities in Portugal. The British police continue a missing persons case. In the investigation of the case, the Portuguese police have interviewed in the past weeks, including numerous residents of the Region. Portuguese media reports that you have collected evidence of the alleged involvement of the suspect in German, has not commented on the Portuguese police so far. Updated Date: 11 July 2020, 12:19 In a history-making decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump cannot claim "absolute immunity" from criminal investigation while in office and may need to comply with a New York grand jury subpoena seeking his personal financial records. "The court found that the president is not above the law. He is not immune to ordinary criminal process," said Claire Finkelstein, director of the Center for Ethics and Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania. The decision is a major legal defeat for Trump, although it remains highly unlikely the public will see the president's tax returns or financial records before Election Day. If the records are turned over in the grand jury probe, by law they must remain secret. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing the 7-2 majority opinion, concluded that "no citizen, not even the President, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding." Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is seeking 10 years of tax returns for Trump and his businesses as part of a probe into possible state tax fraud. "The President is neither absolutely immune from state criminal subpoenas seeking his private papers nor entitled to a heightened standard of need," Roberts said. But in a nod to the unique position of the presidency, Roberts returned the case to a lower court to allow Trump to "raise further arguments as appropriate," such as claims about the subpoenas' burden on his official duties. "The president may raise constitutional and legal objections to the subpoena as appropriate," wrote Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, the president's two appointees to the high court, in a concurring opinion. PHOTO: President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn after arriving on Marine One at the White House in Washington, June 25, 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP, FILE) "The court suggests the president is just like anybody else when it comes to certain kinds of legal actions," said ABC News legal contributor and Cardozo law professor Kate Shaw. "And here, just because he's the president, doesn't permit him to block this investigation from going forward." Story continues Given the further proceedings, it was not immediately clear how soon the New York grand jury could potentially receive the documents. This is a tremendous victory for our nations system of justice and its founding principle that no one not even a president is above the law," Vance said in a statement. "Our investigation, which was delayed for almost a year by this lawsuit, will resume, guided as always by the grand jurys solemn obligation to follow the law and the facts, wherever they may lead. MORE: Chief Justice John Roberts injured head in fall during walk, Court says Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito both filed dissenting opinions, suggesting President Trump deserves greater deference from subpoenas given the nature of his job. "The court's decision threatens to impair the functioning of the presidency and provides no real protection against the use of the subpoena power by the nation's 2,300+ local prosecutors," Alito wrote. Trump tweeted shortly after the decision came down that the matter is a "political prosecution." The Supreme Court sends case back to Lower Court, arguments to continue. This is all a political prosecution. I won the Mueller Witch Hunt, and others, and now I have to keep fighting in a politically corrupt New York. Not fair to this Presidency or Administration! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2020 Courts in the past have given broad deference. BUT NOT ME! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2020 But the president's attorneys said they were "pleased." MORE: With pivotal votes, Chief Justice John Roberts confounds conservatives and liberals PHOTO: Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 29, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP) "The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked both Congress and New York prosecutors from obtaining the Presidents tax records. We will now proceed to raise additional Constitutional and legal issues in the lower courts," Counsel to the President Jay Sekulow said in a statement on the New York case and on a second case involving four congressional subpoenas, also sent back to a lower court. Three Democratic-led House committees are seeking a sweeping array of Trump personal and business records predating his time in the White House, including bank statements, engagement letters, personal checks, loan applications and tax returns -- information the lawmakers have called critical to drafting of new federal ethics and anti-corruption laws. "Both of these cases involve short-term political wins for the president," said Shaw. "But they actually also both involve long-term wins for state authorities and congressional committees that try to hold the president accountable." Later Thursday, Trump, speaking at a White House event, said he is partly satisfied with the rulings. "The court rulings were basically starting all over again, sending everything back down to the lower courts and to start all over again, and so, from a certain point, Im satisfied," Trump said during a roundtable with Hispanic leaders. "From another point, Im not satisfied because frankly, this is a political witch hunt." When Trump's personal accounting firm and three financial institutions used by him and his business were initially subpoenaed for the information, in both cases, Trump intervened to block the third parties from complying. He lost at every level in lower federal courts. Trump is the only modern American president to have not publicly released tax returns or divest from major business interests while in office. The Supreme Court today confirmed that the president is not above the law. The court ruled that President Trump must follow the law, like the rest of us. And that includes responding to subpoenas for his tax records," said ACLU national legal director David Cole. Finkelstein said the decision did not mean the public would immediately get to see the president's tax returns because grand jury proceedings are kept secret. "It is possible that they would come out as part of trial if the president were, in fact, tried for crimes for which his financial records were available," Finkelstein told ABC News Live. "The Court has now said, guess what, it is constitutionally permissible to investigate a sitting president," said Finkelstein. "And that has the backward implications that it is also potentially constitutionally permissible to indict a sitting president." ABC News' Elizabeth Thomas contributed to this report. This report was featured in the Friday, July 10, 2020, episode of Start Here, ABC News daily news podcast. "Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts. Supreme Court rejects Trump claim of 'absolute immunity' from grand jury subpoena for tax returns originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The COVID-19 pandemic, indeed, has changed the way of life of all and sundry since the outbreak at the Wuhan Province in China last year. The effect has been dire and the educational sector has not been spared as more than three million pupils have had to stay home as part of measures by the Government of Ghana to contain the virus. These have been difficult times for children who rely solely on classroom education. There have been pockets of online educational initiatives including Ghana Learning Radio with support from donors. Specifically, these e-Learning studies have been developed in response to the closure of over 25,000 primary schools nationwide due to the Covid-19 global pandemic. However many more children in rural areas are, unfortunately, left behind due either to lack of access to electricity or telephone reception. In areas where there is electricity, some parents do not own a television or radio set for children to use to monitor lessons. Just like many developing countries, not all communities in Ghana have access to the required facilities to harness the power of information technology to meet economic, social, educational and development objectives. However the Community Information Centres (CICs) have come in handy to bridge the gap. CICs are shared information and communication facilities for people in rural and isolated areas. They range from a one-room facility providing a narrow range of services to facilities that provide training and development-oriented services. Generally, CICs can be classified into two broad categories - those with a purely commercial orientation, and those with a community/education service orientation. Mr Andrew Ofosu-Denkyi, the Educational Technical Programme Manager at World Vision Ghana, speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the COVID-19 pandemic has curtailed the education of about three million children living at the fringes of the country who depend on schools for learning. Most of the children who live in rural areas do not have the full complement of teaching and learning materials and the right teachers due to their location. COVID-19 has made their situation worse, he stated. To bridge the gap, the World Vision Ghana (WVG) has taken a number of initiatives and one of them is the use of the Community Information Centres to reach pupils with lessons just as was done in the classroom. As a typical reading lesson for class four, children are seated at home at exactly 1000 hours with their books and listen to a teacher read stories to them. Mr Ofosu-Denkyi noted that the WVG is implementing the Library in the Box project, which some 30,000 children in 23 districts including Afram Plains in the Kwahu North, Krachie West in the Oti Region, and Upper Dankyira in the Central Region, are benefiting from. Volunteers have been trained to assist the children in reading lessons. As a measure to respect the social distancing protocol, the children are divided into clusters and take turns to visit the premises of the CIC aside listening in at home. The Ghana Education trained and accredited teachers go through reading, writing and arithmetic programmes with the children. Under this innovation, parents have agreed to allow their children a specific period in the morning and afternoon to participate in the lessons. That aside, parents support their children and monitor them to ensure they are seated and follow through to the end of the lessons. Benedicta Boahemaa, a class four pupil at Monkra, a community in the Krachi West District, is happy to have gotten the chance to take lessons again after a long break. I was worried when our teachers asked us not to come to school again. Now I have the opportunity to learn. My reading skills have improved since I began studies, she said. Forty-five year old Catherin Kosoe, a resident of Monkra, says; Since it began, I noticed that this method is very good and I can see improvement in my childrens learning. I have set up a table and a chair in the house so as soon as the learning time is up I call them to go and sit. Madam Kosoe, Benedictas mother, expressed satisfaction with the sit-in sessions at the CIC, adding that teaching and learning were always effective. As a result of some challenges, I did not get the opportunity to go through the formal education but realizing the importance of education, I have made it a point to ensure that all my children are educated to the highest level, she added. The World Health Organisation is urging leaders to take steps to be innovative and live with the virus as efforts are underway to get a vaccine. Mrs Joyce Larnyoh, Country Director for International Child Development, says to progressively transition into the new norm and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals Four, government, as a special intervention to reach children, should scale up the CIC learning initiative. She suggested to the Government to explore the option of supporting poor people with radio sets to enable their children to participate in learning sessions. For community members, Mrs Larnyoh who is the Convenor for SDG Goal Four, is of the view that community members should volunteer their television and radio sets to be used by children in rural communities to learn. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Even with those current resources, mental health and bullying arent being addressed, Powers said, adding that they need to be the focus of either a new youth center or of a collaborative effort with the existing organizations. She said Kids Ranch was amazing for one of her children. Another of her children tried the Boys & Girls Club but found the environment exacerbated her anxiety. The Boys & Girls Club does an amazing job at what they can handle. They do. But obviously something else needs to be done, Powers said. Doss said she contacted the club about enrolling her daughter, who is low-end autistic and has ADHD, but was told it didnt have the staffing needed to care for someone with her needs. Powers acknowledged that the best and easiest avenue to addressing the problem may be working through one of the existing organizations, just so long as it gets done. New Zealands Labour Party-led government, like its neighbour in Australia, is ramping up military spending and recruitment as part of the US-led preparations for war against China, which have accelerated in response to the global economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The US ruling class is determined that the war drive will be the means to reverse its economic decline and to divert working class opposition to unprecedented levels of social inequality. The Trump administration, backed by the Democrats, views China as the main obstacle to US hegemony, and has enlisted its allies support in the growing military build-up. Ministers from the Five Eyes countriesthe top-level intelligence-sharing network that includes New Zealand, Australia, the US, Britain and Canadaissued a joint statement on June 24 promising to advance defence and security cooperation to defend the global order that is increasingly being challenged. Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns government, a coalition between Labour, the Greens and the right-wing nationalist NZ First Party, is committed to spending $20 billion on military upgrades. This money is being diverted to the military during the worst economic and social crisis since the Great Depression and at the expense of the working class. Unemployment is expected to exceed 10 percent and nothing is being done to stop hundreds of thousands of people being plunged into poverty. The healthcare system is starved of resources, leaving the country highly vulnerable in the event of another outbreak of COVID-19. On June 26, the NZ Navy received its new fleet tanker, the Aotearoa, purpose-built for $500 million by South Koreas Hyundai Heavy Industries. The Aotearoa is the biggest ship ever to serve in the Navy and can operate in the Pacific and the Antarctic. On July 8, Defence Minister Ron Mark, a member of NZ First, announced the purchase of 43 new Australian-designed armoured vehicles for the army. Stuff noted that the Bushmaster vehicles are already used by the elite NZ Special Air Service (SAS) and other members of the Five Eyes. The number of regular soldiers in the NZ army is to increase from 4,500 to 6,000 by 2030. The Defence Force has already reported a 21 percent increase in applications to enlist between March and May, compared with the same period last year, fuelled by heavy job losses among young people. Significantly, Mark praised the $270 billion military spending program announced by Australias government this month that includes new long-range missiles. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made clear it is aimed at preparing for war against China. Morrison told the media tensions between the US and China meant the world was in a dangerous period comparable to the 1930s and 1940s, i.e. the Second World War. He emphasised that all of our defence force and defence strategy is built on the alliance with the United States. Defence Minister Mark solidarised New Zealand with this strategy, telling Stuff: What is good for Australia and the defence of Australia is ultimately good for New Zealand. Canberra, he said, had shown a clear commitment to the defence of not just its own interests, but also to our Pacific partners, and a full realisation of the range of challenges that were all facing. Mark added that he was very pleased that the door is wide open to New Zealand defence industry players to tender for Australian military contracts. The statements by Mark and Morrison expose the NZ governments fraudulent humanitarian pretexts for military spending, including claims by the Green Party that new warships, planes and other military hardware are needed to provide relief in climate change-related disasters. In reality, New Zealands ruling elite is preparing to join what would be a catastrophic war involving nuclear-armed powers. It has strengthened the alliance with US imperialism, including by joining the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in exchange for Washington supporting New Zealands neo-colonial activities in the South Pacific. In 2018, the Ardern government backed the US in labelling China and Russia the biggest threats to global stability. It has also called on Washington to send more military forces to the Pacific, to push back against Chinas economic and diplomatic presence. Sections of the media and academia, including supporters of Labour and NZ First, have for years sought to create a climate for war by stoking anti-Chinese sentiment. These efforts have been ramped up in recent weeks, with renewed attacks on Chinese-born opposition National Party MP Jian Yang. Under intense pressure, Yang announced on Friday that he will retire from politics after the September election, after previously saying he would stand. Jamil Anderlini, Financial Times Asia editor, asserted to TVNZ on June 28 that Yang was part of the extension of Chinese power into New Zealand. This echoes claims made by pro-US academic Anne-Marie Brady, without any evidence, that Yang is a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agent. The fascist group Action Zealandia has similarly attacked Yang and accused the National Party of treason. A key role in this campaign was played by the Daily Blog, which is supported by Unite and other trade unions. The blog organised a petition calling for Yang to be removed from parliament because, decades ago, he taught English at a Chinese military intelligence training academy. Editor Martyn Bradbury wrote on July 7 that the National Party was a front for Chinese business interests and a danger to national security. Referring to party leader Todd Muller as Beijing Muller, Bradbury dismissed his statements that Yang left the CCP 26 years ago and is a loyal NZ citizen. The Daily Blog, reflecting the nationalism of the trade union bureaucracy, advocates turning New Zealand into a fortress with a large military and a ban on immigration. The National Party represents sections of the bourgeoisie that support the alliance with Washington but remain nervous about the economic impact of alienating China, New Zealands largest trading partner. On the other hand, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, leader of NZ First and also foreign minister, has called for New Zealand to reduce its reliance on trade with China. Peters announced on July 9 that New Zealand will join the other Five Eyes countries in reviewing its engagement with Hong Kong following Beijings imposition of a repressive national security law. The bloc of NZ First, which has a long history of promoting anti-Asian xenophobia, with the Labour Party, the Greens and the trade unions, is based on the support of all these organisations for New Zealand imperialism. The wealth of the bourgeois and upper middle class layers they represent depends, in the final analysis, on the military alliance and financial ties with the US and Australia. On Thursday, the Supreme Court in Washington ruled that Donald Trump cannot withhold his tax returns from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance and will at some point, be obliged to hand over his financial documents whether he does so before Novembers presidential elections is another matter Vance is investigating Trump's business dealings and alleged hush-money paid to two women who allegedly had affairs with the president in 2016. Donald Trump has been under pressure to reveal his tax returns since he was elected in 2016 but despite saying on record that he would make his tax information publicly available, he has regularly skirted the issue or made promises that he hasnt kept. Nixon's tax irregularities Income tax returns are considered confidential information and are protected from public disclosure by law. However, in the United States, successive presidents have elected to voluntarily release their tax information under the Freedom of Information Act since the late-1960s. Richard Nixon filed his tax returns for the first four tax years during his time in office 1969-1972, and on examination, it was discovered that he had been paying an unusually low rate of income tax, around 7% - much lower than many ordinary citizens who were earning far less. Despite earning a salary of over $200,000, Nixon had paid just $800 and $900 for the tax years 1970 and 1971. Since Nixons books were audited in the early 1970s and up to 2012, each successive U.S. president had opted to voluntarily release his tax returns as a show of transparency and to restore trust in government. The American public and media were eager to know that presidents were not benefiting from preferential treatment from the IRS so all of suddenly, everything was out in the open. Until recently, only Gerald Ford, Nixons successor, did not do reveal his complete tax returns, instead he offered a 10-year summary which included gross income and federal tax deductions. The tradition of presidents voluntarily providing income and tax information stopped in 2017 when Trump declined to do so, stating he will not release his fiscal information while his tax returns are being audited by the IRS a practice which has been compulsory since 1977. See also Why does the Supreme Court say Trump is not immune? When will United States withdraw from the WHO? Within ten days after the ban on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights by the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom, ticket prices for flights to Pakistan from the United Kingdom have tripled, as per international reports. United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority on July 1 banned PIA from operating flights in and out of the country. The decision by UK came soon after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) announced a similar ban. PIA operates six routes to the United Kingdom: one to Birmingham Airport (BHX), three to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and two to Manchester Airport (MAN), all of which are now banned. Ticket prices surge by 300% According to the rates at Opodo, a UK-based travel agency website, the cheapest return ticket from London to Lahore is being offered by Emirates and British Airways at a 3,410 equal to almost Rs 641,097. The return tickets from the Islamabad to Lahore offered by Emirates on travel website kayak.co cost over 1156 equal to almost Rs 242881. As per reports, return flights from London to Lahore, Islamabad used to cost an average of 500-650, but it has increased three times due to the ban on PIA flights. READ | US bans Pakistan International Airlines flights after reports of 'dubious licenses' US banned PIA flights The United States has revoked the permission for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate charter flights to the US over alleged dubious licenses of pilots. The US Department of Transportation reportedly cited the concerns raised by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over Pakistani pilot certifications. European Union banned PIA flights The European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate in Europe for six months following fake license issue. The move was taken after Pakistan itself announced that 262 pilots have dubious licenses. EASA has temporarily suspended PIA's authorisation to operate to the EU member states for a period of 6 months effective July 1, 2020, with the right to appeal against this decision, a PIA statement said. READ | PIA to beg EU to suspend ban on its flights after Pakistan pilots emerge frauds en masse 262 pilots grounded On June 26, Pakistan's Civil Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said 262 pilots in the country 'did not take the exam themselves' and had paid someone else to sit it on their behalf. He informed that the pilots have zero flying experience and that PIA has grounded all its pilots who hold fake licenses with immediate effect. Taking cognisance of the matter, CEO, PIA, Air Marshall Arshad Malik, had written a letter to the Secretary of Aviation to immediately ground 141 names which were listed, while remaining names produced by the government were allegedly not a part of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) anymore or has fabricated details. Washington, July 11 : US President Donald Trump has downplayed chances of a new China trade deal as he slammed the Asian giants handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the media reported. Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, the President said that the US' relationship with China has been "severely damaged", adding that he has "other things in mind" than a second trade agreement, known as phase two, Politico news reported. "They could have stopped the plague, they could have stopped it, they didn't stop it," he said, referring to the pandemic, which had first emerged in China's Wuhan city last December. "They stopped it from going into the remaining portions of China from Wuhan... They could have stopped the plague, they didn't," the President was quoted as saying in the Politico news report. In January, Trump had signed the phase one trade deal with China that focused on increasing US exports of agricultural, energy and other products. This is not the first time Trump has slammed China over the pandemic. In recent weeks, Trump has described COVID-19 "kung flu" and the "Chinese virus". Top administration officials like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have called it the "Wuhan virus". -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Divisive, fear mongering President Donald Trump hijacked a national holiday to deliver a divisive and fear-mongering speech targeted to his most zealous supporters. Rather than striking a unifying tone normally associated with Fourth of July oratory, Trump rhetorically stoked the flames of an alleged culture war. In the shadow of Mount Rushmore, a monument to four of Americas greatest patriots, Trump advanced a Joseph McCarthy-like red herring argument attacking his political foes for trying to erase history by removing monuments emblematic of racial oppression. Trumps message was dark and unsubstantiated: As we meet here tonight there is a growing danger that threatens every blessing our ancestors fought so hard for. Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children. He asserted that there exists a far-left fascism which is the very definition of totalitarianism. While previous presidents typically used this holiday to present a narrative bringing the country together, once again Trump sought the less noble path of dividing the nation. What made Trumps speech insidious is that embedded in his ad hominem attacks were references to heroes including Martin Luther King, Elvis Presley, Muhammed Ali, Louis Armstrong, among others whom a wider audience might find palatable. Moreover, in sharp contrast to previous rally speeches, the president sounded sane; his speech was delivered with a cool, calm demeanor, lacking the usual silly talk and strange nonverbal gestures. From a rhetorical perspective we witnessed a wolf in sheeps clothing: Trumps dark side attempting to present a message potentially appealing to a less extremist audience. Richard Cherwitz, Austin Proud to be an American I am going to vote for Wesley Hunt to be the next congressman for Texas 7th District because he seems to be the only person running for office in this city who has pride in the fact that he is American. Across the country we are seeing attempts to tear down monuments of George Washington, disrespect our flag, question our national anthem, and even call Mount Rushmore a symbol of white supremacy. Throughout all of this chaos, few leaders are speaking up to restore calm and reason. As Hunt has pointed out, we are not perfect and our history is filled with flawed leaders. But our country is still characterized by a constant effort to evolve and move forward. We should be proud of the progress we have made, and use our past to inform an even better future. But to accomplish this, we dont need to tear down the fabric of our country. We need leaders who understand this, who want to build America up, not bring her down. Craig Hagedorn, GOP Precinct 0438 chair More foreigners from ECOWAS countries are targeting the new voter identification cards, with all of them abusing the guarantee system with the connivance of willing Ghanaians. A couple of days ago, news about the arrest of a Nigerian by the Aflao Sector Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) of a certain Emmanuel Phillip has prompted worry about the rate at which foreigners are flouting local citizenship laws. The suspect was arrested on Monday as he tried to enter the country through the Aflao border in spite of the arrests of other defaulters. The Ketu South portion of the Volta Region has gained notoriety for such breaches in recent times. It was during a search on him that revealed the new voter ID card and upon interrogation by the Aflao Sector Commander of the GIS, Chief Superintendent Frederick Baah Duodu, the suspect said he lives with one Jerry Azametsi, a native of Aflao, and his wife, Abigail Togbor. He confessed that it was the couple who persuaded him to register standing in as guarantors for him during the registration process. After invitation to assist in investigations, Mr. Azametsi confessed that he aided his Nigerian friend who lives in Togo but visits regularly to take advantage of the registration exercise and get the card. The Aflao Sector Command of the GIS has since handed over the prime suspect and the two guarantors to the Aflao District Police for further investigation and subsequent prosecution. Kpone Arrest THE KPONE District Police Headquarters is also probing the nationality of a 35-year-old suspected Togolese who attempted to register in the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency of the Greater Accra Region. Elvis Kokou Segla was said to have gone to the Assemblies of God Church registration centre at Saki in the Kpone-Katamanso District to obtain a voter identification card when he was arrested. The suspect who was holding an old voter ID card was reported to have admitted to be a Togolese but wanted to register because he said he had resided in Ghana for more than a year. The Crime Officer of the Kpone District Police Headquarters, DSP Herbert Sosu, explained to DAILY GUIDE that the suspect was arrested on Wednesday, July 7, after three men who lodged complaint against him. According to him, the suspect was spotted at the centre at about 4:00 p.m. trying to register for the voter ID card, and he was arrested. He said police had initiated investigation into the matter because the suspect claimed his father hails from Togo, but his mother is a native of Anloga in the Volta Region. Najong I In Najong I in the Bunkpurugu Constituency of the North East Region, immigration officials have arrested yet another Togolese, whose name was given as Duut Laabik, for attempting to register for the new voter card. He has since been handed over to the Bunkpurugu police for the necessary action. The District Immigration Officer, Deputy Supt Edwin Adjetey Doku, who confirmed the arrest to DAILY GUIDE, said military personnel who were on patrol at some unapproved routes near Najong 1 in the Bunkpurugu District realized that there was some confusion at a registration centre. According to him, the military went to the scene and they were told that a Togolese was attempting to register, and they arrested and handed him over to the immigration officers. Deputy Supt. Daku disclosed that during interrogation, the suspect admitted that he was a Togolese and that he only came to Ghana to register for health insurance card but upon his arrival, he saw people in a queue and when he asked, he was told they were registering for the voter card which he joined to register. The suspects statement has been taken and has been handed over to the police, he said. Escaping Arrest A number of Togolese who he said were in a queue in a place called Kambatiak, also in the Bunkpurugu Constituency, to register took to their heels when they heard immigration officials were approaching. We are told they were many and when they had a hint that we were coming, they ran away from the registration centre, he said. The District Immigration Officer has warned foreigners in the region that they will be dealt with severely when they attempt crossing the borders illegally or attempt to register, adding that immigration and military personnel will intensify their patrols within the area. The foregone is just a tip of the iceberg of foreigners infiltrating the country to register often upon the requests of Ghanaians acting for a political party. Several suspects are awaiting the completion of investigations into their cases prior to their appearance before court. Observers think the delay in the completion of such investigations and subsequent sentencing has not provided the necessary deterrent. Source: daily guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Illustration: Matt Golding Credit: Maybe its time again to rethink extending from three to four years the time an elected federal government stays in office with no ability to call an early election. Liam Byrne (Lessons in leadership from 75 years ago, Opinion, The Sunday Age, 5/7), biographer of John Curtin, often cited as our greatest prime minister, indicates that politics mired in cynicism and chronic short-term thinking cannot successfully honour the big-picture vision of purpose and change. Voters need a longer period of time before an election to observe which party is genuinely on track. Ailene Strudwick, Mornington We all saw it I am a retired secondary school teacher of environmental science. In the mid-1980s I was driving our school bus into the Parwan Valley south of Bacchus Marsh on a field excursion guided by a local farmer. A 70-acre estate with multiple buildings in Chilmark, MA, on the vacation island of Marthas Vineyard has come on the market for $8.95 million. The holding was the longtime summer retreat of the legendary actor James Cagney. The listing maintains that it could be the last time a real estate asset of this scale ever becomes available on Marthas Vineyard. Cagney, who died in 1986 at the age of 86, bought the farmland in 1936 in what was then a rural part of the island. He owned the large parcel until a few years before he died. Cagney was also a trailblazer in these parts, before the Clintons, Obamas, and countless other celebrities made their way to the island off the coast of Massachusetts. The property is now known as the James Cagney Estate, but is no longer owned by Cagney's family. It was sold in the 1980s, and was apparently later occupied by a commune, according to Mansion Global. Two Boston restaurateurs, Patrick Lyons and Sean Gildea, bought the property for $4.1 million in late 2012, Mansion Global reported. In 2017, the prized property bounced back onto the market for $13.5 million. Three years later, the price has been lowered by 33%, and the possibilities for development are limited only by a buyer's vision, the listing notes. The Cagney Estate is a microcosm of the Vineyard, says the listing agent, Andrew McElhinney. From water views and acres of open meadows, to paths leading to the historic brickyard beach, this property has it all." McElhinney added that the estate harkens back to a simpler time on the popular island. "The Cagney Estate takes you back in time to the mid-1800s, when so much of the island was untouched and undeveloped," he says. "This rare estate is truly a refuge from the exigencies of modern city living." James Cagney's former Massachusetts estate on Martha's Vineyard realtor.com The 70 acres include multiple buildings. realtor.com Antique barn realtor.com Pond realtor.com Beach access realtor.com It took just one visit to the Vineyard in the 1930s for Cagney to fall for the area. He subsequently bought up acres of land, with a 1720s farmhouse and meadows, surrounded by stone walls, according to an article in MV magazine. For 35 years, he returned during the summer monthsnot as an actor, but as a farmer, tending to his horses, pigs, cows, chickens, and turkeys. In his 1976 memoir, the actor acknowledged that he loved the place beyond words. And theres a lot to love here. The private and picturesque property offers water views, beach access, sun-dappled meadows, shaded forests through which streams and brooks wend, surrounded by acres of meadows and stone walls, the listing description notes. The grounds include the Cagney house, along with a second house, studio, and barn. The older buildings on the property may require some renovation. A buyer could also opt to add more homes on the land. A prime home site is completely private, surrounded by stone walls, views of the Vineyard Sound, and the mainland. Another possible spot for building is set in open meadows. The multitalented Oscar winner could both sing and dance, and starred in movies including Yankee Doodle Dandy, Angels With Dirty Faces, and Love Me or Leave Me. Andrew McElhinney with Wallace & Co. Sotheby's International Realty holds the listing. The post 70-Acre Martha's Vineyard Estate Once Owned by James Cagney Is Listed for $8.95M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 18:10:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Iran reported 2,397 new cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total confirmed novel coronavirus cases to 255,117 on Saturday, according to official IRNA news agency. Sima Sadat Lari, the spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said during her daily update on Saturday that out of the new cases overnight, 1,739 have been hospitalized. Since Friday, 188 people have died from the disease, taking the total fatalities over the virus to 12,653. So far, 217,666 have recovered and 3,338 remain in critical condition, said Lari. According to the health spokeswoman, 1,947,114 lab tests for COVID-19 have been carried out in Iran. The Iranian health official said that 16 provinces are still in high-risk or alert condition over the virus resurgence. Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19. Iran and China have offered mutual help in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 The minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, Abubakar Malami, has denied allegations that he purchased a house worth N300 million for his son in Abuja. Mr Malami also disowned pictures and videos showing ceremonies linked with the wedding said to have been observed without observance of social distancing. The minister son, Abdulazeez Malami, tied the knot on Friday in Kano. Read the full statement issues by Malamis spokesperson, Dr Umar Gwandu: The wedding fatiha of the eldest son of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abdulazeez Abubakar Malami took place under strict observance of the protocols and guidelines of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19. Honourable Attorney-Genral of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami,SAN thanked friends, well-wishers and the general public for their prayers, goodwill for the wedding fatiha which took place Saturday, 11th July, 2020 in Kano. Malami expressed appreciation for the understanding demonstrated due to COVID-19 pandamic the wedding fatiha was low-keyed. Earlier the Minister has communicated in writing notifying friends and colleagues that due to current situation of COVID-19 he only solicited for their prayers and goodwill. It is important to note that the wedding fatiha took place in Kano on Saturday 11th July, 2020 in the morning. Any other activity before or after the wedding fatiha is not connected with the marriage and we therefore disassociate ourselves from it in its entirety. The attention of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has been drawn to amischievous, deceitful and perfidious publication by the notorious factory of fake news in Nigeria, the Sahara Reporters with an intent to spread lies. It is regrettable that the information communication technology tools have been hijacked by disgruntled elements in spreading fake news and blatant lies. READ ALSO: The report by the media is a clear violation of ethical journalism practices on verification of facts and authentication of claims. It evinces lack of professionalism and exposes rash and reckless presentation of figment of imaginations shrouded with bigotry and bundled with sentiments of unscrupulous questions. For instance, who is the vendor of the purported house bought for the son of the Minister in Abuja at N300m? Where is the so-called mansion located in Abuja? Where are the title documents? While refuting the claim, Malami said God knows that I did not purchase any house for him in Abuja. Not even a rented house was secured for my son in Abuja, because he has no plan to live in Abuja. The allegation of hiring private jets for the marriage was preposterous. It is common knowledge that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice had neither a father nor mother anywhere in Nigeria to be conveyed to Kano for the wedding. Who, then the Attorney-General is using the chartered flight to convey? Which jets are chartered? Who paid for the charter? Through which means was the money paid? It is one of such libelous publications of which Sahara reporters is commonly known for targeted at selected few for unsubstantiated fabricated allegations while overlooking more serious reasonable allegations visibly open against its favoured sectional kingsmen. Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu (Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice) Saturday 11th July, 2020 Click here to read the full article. A cigar is never just a cigar where Sigmund Freud is concerned. The father of psychoanalysis serves as a supporting character in The Tobacconist and none other than the great Bruno Ganz embodies the iconic smoker, making this one of the German actors last (and least bombastic) performances. Ganz, whom many will recognize from his role as Adolf Hitler in Downfall, now plays one of the Fuhrers many victims, a Jewish-born atheist forced to flee his comfortable Viennese home during the Anschluss of 1938, when Germany annexed Austria and occupied its capital, meeting with enthusiastic support from National Socialists and anti-Semites who agreed with his policies. This was an undeniably shameful time in Austrias history, seen through the eyes of a naive young gentile whos more concerned with falling in love and losing his virginity than with the rise of fascism, at least in TV director Nikolaus Leytners somewhat treacly telling. More from Variety Based on Robert Seethalers best-selling novel, The Tobacconist makes for the sort of satisfying middlebrow art house-friendly movie that, in a time before COVID-19, would have done well with elderly, educated patrons drawn to stories of World War II and the Holocaust. Whether those same audiences are able to find The Tobacconist on streaming is another question though its worth the effort, as this German-language melodrama amounts to It doesnt take a professional shrink to recognize what the film is doing by introducing Morze, who plays a country boy named Franz, sitting nude or nearly at the bottom of Attersee moments before lightning strikes the lakes surface. Handsome in an unsettling Hitler Youth sort of way, Morze isnt shy about showing skin, and the film lures in viewers with this strapping lads sentimental education in order to deliver its critique of far uglier human behavior. Story continues Following a family tragedy, Franzs mother sends him to Vienna to work for an old lover, tolerance-minded tobacconist Otto Trsnjek (Johannes Krisch, whos since appeared in the Freud TV series). But in his dreams, Franz frequently returns to Lake Atter, where chintzy visual effects serve to represent this otherwise uncomplicated young mans subconscious anxieties. By day, hes prone to fantasies, too, prompting jarring cutscenes in which he acts out forbidden impulses, only to have the film abruptly rewind and find him frozen passively in place (a device that quickly wears out its welcome). What could possibly trouble such an inexperienced teen? Turns out, inexperience itself is his chief concern. Franz has questions of women on the mind, and the adult magazines Otto keeps under the counter only intensify his curiosity. When it comes to love, Franz fears he knows nothing of the subject, to which Freud a frequent customer at the shop retorts, You dont need to understand water to jump in it. This is late-career Freud, who would flee to London and die a year later. For such a complex figure, Ganz depicts him as a benevolent but slightly pervy old codger, quick to dispense fortune-cookie relationship advice to a boy who, in return, volunteers updates on his libidinous pursuits. At a local street fair, Franz falls for Anezka (Emma Drogunova), a gap-toothed Bohemian girl who speaks broken German but seems to know a thing or two more than he does about what men want from women. She kisses him on the cheek and disappears with her friends, leaving Franz despondent while giving Freud a more interesting case to focus on than the spoiled housewives who pay him to complain on his couch. While Franz is thus distracted with finding Anezka again, things start to change around Vienna although the movie, with its very limited locations, seems somewhat challenged to convey the scale of the citys transformation under German occupation. Scenes tend to take place in one of three or four courtyards, if not off camera altogether, giving the movie an almost theatrical feel. And yet, certain period details including a shooting game in which contestants shoot Black faces for fun and a cabaret act involving an S&M Hitler suggest the movies view of history isnt quite as vanilla as it looks. In the end, what makes The Tobacconist effective despite its limitations is the way it focuses on the experience of a typical Austrian that is, a citizen without political convictions. Franz isnt a hero, not by conventional terms, but an earnest stand-in for all those caught up in a society that preys on hate and division. Rather than standing idly by, he slowly comes to recognize that he must find a way to protest in his own way a situation that has become relevant once again, both in Austria and the United States, as current events reveal disturbing echoes of the nationalism and bigotry The Tobacconist depicts. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Information trickling in from highly reliable sources on the Ladakh stand-off about Chinese forces withdrawing should come as great relief and as a victory for the Narendra Modi governments efforts to diffuse the situation. The partial disengagement, after nearly nine weeks of stand-off between the Indian Army and an intruding PLA along the LAC, and the clashes on the night of June 15, in which we lost 20 soldiers, is the worst incident in several decades. The withdrawal symptoms will be severe for the Chinese as they are not used to easily giving up usurped territories. While India continues to repose faith in resolving the present conflict through diplomatic channels and structured talks, military preparedness cannot be lowered. Experts and citizens alike have warned the government about the treacherous behaviour of China in 1962, when withdrawal of forces was followed by a renewed attack leading to disastrous consequences for India. New Delhi will have to explore all other options to counter Chinas expansionism under Xi Jinping, like using the Tibet issue as leverage, joining the nascent global anti-China coalition, extending support to the gathering anti-China momentum in Hong Kong, scaling up economic, military and diplomatic engagement with Taiwan, increasing our naval capabilities in the Indian Ocean Region, stepping on to the next level of action plan on the Quad and Indo-Pacific trade and security architecture, to list a few. The present area of conflict is of great strategic importance to India as the Galwan Valley is close to Aksai Chin, which was one of the major conflict zones since 1959 when China usurped Tibet completely, forcing the Dalai Lama to flee and take refuge in India. The PLA is holding on in many other crucial positions all along the LAC close to the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDB) road that links Leh to Siachen Glacier and Karakoram Highway. For China, this Indian territory is at the southern tip of Xinjiang, which Mao annexed in 1955. There are reports of Chinese maps showing Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Bhutan (bordering Arunachal Pradesh) as part of China and laying claim to the Russian territories of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. In fact, China has a boundary dispute with Bhutan in the western and middle sector of their boundary but this is the first time that Beijing is picking up a fight with Bhutan on the eastern sector of their border as well. Chinas expansionist agenda started with Mao in 1949 and is continuing today, with scant respect for world opinion or the very principles of co-existence that they have been flashing before the world since the 1950s. It is no secret that Mao fashioned his Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on the premise that modern China is the resurrection of the centuries-old Zhou Empire, Middle Kingdom or Zhongguo, that lived under the illusion that it was the centre of the world and all else outside it were uncivilised and must know-tow to the Chinese emperor. Zhonghua renmin gongheguo, the official Chinese name of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), has come to symbolise the idea of ethnocentrism, the notion of superior race with an exceptional right to make rules and not merely follow them. Once such a template is set and an indelible blueprint is decided and handed out for action with no exit plan, the working tools become irreplaceable and indispensable. That is what has happened to the Chinese Communist Party. Chinas expansionist agenda is the ultimate mandate for the CCP, with a clear political aim of gaining military and economic supremacy by seizing global institutions and resetting the global architecture. The veneer of Communism came off after Maos death and the disintegration of the USSR but Beijing continues to hang on to the fiction because it is convenient for the CCP to remain in control of 1.4 billion people. China is thus a country with religious people governed by a totalitarian Communist oligarchy powered by the Capitalist economic model. Chinas top leaders have to necessarily ride the tiger, nay dragon, they have mounted to remain relevant and to keep the centuries-old Zhonghua era philosophy of the Chinese dream alive. But the philosophers of that era like Confucius advocated humanity and kindness as social glue to keep the society cohesive and to avoid conflicts between states. In todays China, a leader who combines all the authority in one seat and prefers to remain unanswerable and unaccountable, is following in the footsteps of many other fascist dictators, exhibiting the qualities of a megalomaniac presiding over a cult rather than over a country which can boast of lofty philosophical traditions and a glorious civilisational past. A rising China cannot invest its future in one individual, the failed dogma of Communism and emerging as a bully on the world stage. If it continues on this path and unifies the rest of the world against it, far from becoming the worlds centre of gravity, China will over the next decades find itself marginalised and written off as a Jurassic park of withered dragons. A woman who lost 36 members of her family at Srebrenica has taken part in a ceremony at Stormont to mark the 25th anniversary of the massacre. Bosnian Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Muslims who were meant to be under UN protection. The July 1995 massacre was the worst in Europe since the Second World War. A tree-planting ceremony was held ahead of Srebrenica Memorial Day, held on July 11 each year, which remembers those who died. Mevlida Lazibi, who lost 36 family members in the genocide, including her father, grandfather and brothers, travelled from London to take part in the event. Junior Ministers Declan Kearney and Gordon Lyons, Finance Minister Conor Murphy and representatives of Remembering Srebrenica - a charitable organisation which raises awareness about the genocide - were also present. Ms Lazibi, who presented Ministers with a Flower of Srebrenica to thank them for hosting the event, said: "I hope that the tree serves as a living reminder that genocide like Srebrenica can still happen in Europe. "I hope also that as a living memorial to the thousands of innocent victims who lost their lives in Srebrenica, it grows a bond between Northern Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina as two regions coming out of conflict supporting each other in their pursuit of peace and reconciliation." Speaking at Thursday's ceremony, Mr Kearney said: "Today, we honour the resilience of Mevlida and all the people of Bosnia. Their work in contributing to rebuilding a country still living with the consequences of hatred is an example to us all." Mr Lyons added: "Today gives us all an opportunity to reflect upon the genocide that took place in 1995 and remember all the victims and those who were left behind." Mr Murphy said: "This memorial within the grounds of Stormont Estate is a lasting tribute to those who lost their lives in the Srebrenica genocide and to the Mothers of Srebrenica who have tirelessly campaigned for justice and reconciliation." Srebrenica remains the only massacre on European soil since the Second World War to be ruled a genocide. During the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995, the Serb army was engaged in an ethnic-cleansing operation. Thousands of Muslims sought safety in Srebrenica, which the UN was protecting with Dutch forces, but the area fell in July 1995 during a Serb offensive led by General Ratko Mladic. Reports of massacres start to emerge on July 14 1995. In the five days after Bosnian Serb forces overran Srebrenica, more than 7,000 Muslim men are thought to have been killed. New Delhi: India and China on Friday (July 11) resolved to push ahead with complete disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh in a timely manner for full restoration of peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). As Chinese troops continued to withdraw from Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh, the two countries held another round of diplomatic talks, and decided that senior commanders of the two armies will meet soon to discuss further steps to ensure complete disengagement and de-escalation in a timely manner. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with his US counterpart Mark T Esper during which the border row with China figured prominently, sources told PTI. China's aggressive posturing along the LAC in eastern Ladakh was discussed, the sources said, adding Singh apprised the US defence secretary about India's position on the row. After the online diplomatic meeting under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs said the two sides agreed that maintenance of enduring peace in the border areas was essential for overall development of bilateral ties. In line with the first phase of the disengagement process from friction points, Chinese military on Thursday completed moving back its troops from the face-off sites in Gogra and Hot Springs, days after withdrawing all its personnel from the Galwan Valley, people familiar with the development said. They said the withdrawal of troops from Finger 4 area in Pangong Tso is also gaining traction, paving the way for holding of another round of Corps commander level talks in the next few days to further de-escalate tension in the region. In a related development, Chinese envoy to India Sun Weidong underlined the need for India and China to be partners rather than rivals, and both the countries have a history of friendly exchanges of more than 2,000 years. He also said that during the Wuhan Informal Summit in 2018, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stressed that the two countries provide each other with development opportunities instead of posing threats, which the two sides should adhere to. America is at present deeply divided, a situation thats simply unsustainable long term. To understand this, one need look no further than our justice system and two ongoing investigations that illustrate the wide divide between Right and Left. On one hand, we have General Michael Flynn, a decorated war veteran and briefly President Trumps national security adviser. Anyone who follows politics is aware that the Obama administration ran an elaborate scam to try to ruin Flynn. Not content with mere financial and reputational ruin, the Obama cabals ultimate goal was to put Flynn behind bars, a quest that continues to this day thanks to rogue federal judge Emmet Sullivan. This case has everything a best-selling suspense novel could want, the highly unusual unmasking of American citizens, a conspiracy between corrupt actors in the FBI, CIA and DOJ, a federal judge trying to simultaneously be judge, jury and executioner, and a rare successful request for writ of mandamus. That would be the title of our fictional pot-boiler, The Writ of Mandamus! Despite recently discovered evidence that Mike Flynn was set up by a DoJ thats rightfully withdrawn the original charges, the case is now scheduled for an en banc hearing in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, a process that promises to drag on past the next election. Should the walking non-sequitur Joe Biden somehow get elected in November, his attorney general and DoJ will surely reinstate charges against Flynn and continue the shameless persecution of an American hero. On the other hand, we have the enigmatic John Durham, the federal prosecutor from Connecticut with the fashionable suits and bartender goatee. Durhams the Great Right Hope, entrusted by Attorney General William Barr with investigating the baseless Russia Collusion investigation into President Trump and the predication-free spying that went on both before and after Trumps election. Americans of integrity are surely appalled to learn that the 2016 election was interfered with, not from without but from within. The wide-ranging Democrat plot against Donald Trump makes Watergate look like the Houston Astros stealing signs. A condensed roster of conspirators includes various Obamaites, the Deep State, the mainstream media, the DNC, and of course, Hillary Clinton. There simply arent enough jail cells for all the people who tried to undermine first a Republican presidential candidate and then a duly elected president. A.G. Barr has promised that justice will be served, that Durham is going to name names and potentially return indictments. But, as the days dwindle down till Election Day, what has John Durham accomplished? Zip. Nada. Nihil. Nothing. Not a word has been heard from Durham as more than a few alleged co-conspirators enjoy gigs with CNN or write op-eds in the Washington Post. If nothing happens soon, Durhams sure-to-be shocking revelations will be put off until after the election. And should Dems and their media lapdogs somehow drag a senescent Joe Biden across the presidential finish line, Who is John Durham? will become an answer on Jeopardy. The clue will be In Jan., 2020, he was abruptly reassigned by President Biden to investigate salmon poaching in the Yukon. Barring a last-minute miracle, the next election will determine whether or not the crucifixion of General Flynn continues, and whether or not the vile leftists who conspired against President Trump skate. Vote accordingly. Tarion Warranty Corp., the Ontario agency that provides new home warranties and regulates the builders of those homes, will have to deliver stronger consumer protections to regain the publics confidence following scathing criticism of its failures to protect new homeowners, says its CEO Peter Balasubramanian. His comments Friday came with the release of a plan detailing how the agency is addressing last years blistering report by Ontarios auditor general. There is a theme in the AGs report that there werent sufficient resources aimed at consumer services so I think thats going to be an ongoing focus of the organization, Balasubramanian said. Eleven of 25 recommendations to correct those issues have been completed, including clearing a backlog of investigations into illegal building and homeowner complaints, he said. Eight recommendations will be completed by the end of this year and the remaining six recommendations will be addressed by the end of 2021. Balasubramanian said one of Tarions priorities making its claim process clearer has not yet been completed although consultations on how to correct the problem have begun. Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk found that between 2014 and 2018, nearly 10,000 consumer complaints about building defects failed to be addressed simply because forms werent submitted on time. Tarion is looking at creating a grace period for those submissions but the provincial governments COVID-19 emergency order has suspended those deadlines. COVID-19 has also stopped in-person home inspections, said Balasubramanian. In January, Tarion began consultations on interim measures to make its processes more effective and transparent, which included the introduction of a grace period for the deadline to submit some forms. By the end of the year, Tarion expects to have third-party mediation in place for consumers who dispute its decisions. Tarion has deployed more resources, invested in new technology and stepped up the quality control of its call centre, after the audit found consumers were being given inaccurate information on the phone. Still in the works is a new targeted inspection program designed to look at homes still under construction. Its also a way of addressing builders issues before they are repeated, said Balasubramanian. Were not going to inspect every house thats built but were going to try and target risk or claims experience so we can ensure we do it in a way that balances the cost and the benefit, he said. Although the government has ordered Tarions new executive and board compensation be public, Balasubramanian, who was chief operating officer before being named CEO, did not say what he is earning, only that it is less than his predecessor Howard Bogach who made $769,410 before he left the agency. Executives will still receive bonuses, but they will be more in line with those of other public agencies, Balasubramanian said. Consumers, who have complained for years that Tarion was more responsive to its builder members than new home purchasers, said Fridays update lacks urgency and government oversight. It is unacceptable that a number of recommendations will take at least two years (from the date of the auditors report) to complete, said Canadians for Properly Built Homes (CPBH), a non-profit group of homeowners that has been pushing for years for Tarion reform. It remains unclear how many homeowner disputes have been resolved and how many were cases of homeowners, who simply gave up the fight to be compensated for builder defects. Tarion is a wealthy organization and it has ample financial capacity to hire additional resources such as consultants and/or part-time staff to expedite the implementation of these recommendations, said CPBH in a statement. It remains unclear when the province plans to activate the Home Construction Regulatory Authority it previously announced as a means to separate the warranty program from the building regulation functions of Tarion. The government does not fund Tarion. Its revenue comes from the licensing fees of more than 5,500 builders. The Republican governor also directed the board of elections to send all eligible voters an application to request an absentee ballot, instead of sending a ballot straight to voters, as was done in the primary. That would require voters to mail in the application in order to get an absentee ballot sent to them, instead of simply receiving the ballot right away in the mail. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 The Ahanta West Constituency recorded 1,458 registrants made up of 582 male and 828 females at the end of the first phase of the Voter Registration Exercise. The Electoral Commission was able to register 20 first time registrants who had attained 18 years, a total 28 people who attained age 19 were captured, while those who had attained 20 years and above were 1,410. The number of persons that supported their registration with Ghana Cards was 1,217, the number of persons that supported their registration with Passport stood at five while those who registered through guarantors were 236. Mr Randy Kofi Nlorlodi Sokpe, Municipal Officer of the Electoral Commission in an interview told the Ghana News Agency that the exercise was very successful with the people complying with the requirements and protocols covering the registration exercise. He mentioned that all the preventive protocols to stem the spread of COVID-19 were observed accordingly with people wearing nose masks at registration centres, usage of thermometer guns by EC officials, and provision of Veronica buckets, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, tissue papers and liquid soaps. He disclosed that the machines being used have been configured to enable the political parties to keep track of the number of voters being registered each day at the various centres, hence, no political party had issues with the process. He said though the exercise was generally successful, there were some few hitches like bad roads making it difficult to transport equipment to the centres, problems with the printers and machines, but with technical interventions, things normalised. Mr Sokpe explained that the exercise was held in 16 clusters, made up of five registration centres each and expressed happiness with the turnout hoping that the second phase would be much better. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Dear Yale President Peter Salovey and Law School Dean Heather Gerken, First and foremost, I pray each of you and your families are safe during this pandemic. I am a 2003 graduate of Yale University. As a Bridgeport native, it was always a dream to attend Howard University and Yale. These schools were the epitome of the finest education a young person could secure, so we thought. But recently, I learned about a very sad footnote in Yales prestigious history: the horrific blocking of a Negro College. I attended Yale to earn a masters degree after completing two degrees at Howard while raising four children. I had a wonderful experience. But while attending Yale, I also noticed two New Havens: One of incredibly decent, hard-working low- to moderate- income people. The other New Haven: members of the Yale community living great successful lives, but seemingly out of touch with the Elm City around them and almost removed from the rampant violence, poverty and poor school systems. I always wondered how Yale could sit in the epicenter of such urban blight and struggles, yet be one of the richest and best-known universities on the planet with $30.3 billion in its endowment. This is greater than the gross national product for many developing countries and enough money to build several strong schools, including a Negro College. Whats more telling than the amount of the endowment is the history of the school and its financial windfall from Black labor. Yale was founded in 1701, during the first century of slavery, and survived for over 164 years on the backs of African-Americans, whose masters used the profits, free labor and benefits of the slave trade in their kind financial gifts to Yale. In return, Yale established endowments and professorships, allowed the sons and daughters of slave owners to attend and, sadly, even named numerous buildings after slave owners. The Negro College, Yale and the slave trade But, more important and for purposes of this open letter, Yale and its leadership played a leading role to ensure the continuation of the slave trade and seemingly met extensively to subvert any desire by abolitionists to better the lives of Blacks with a Negro College. Specifically, in the early 1800s, Yales leadership blocked formation of a Negro College. Courageously, Roger Sherman Baldwin, the great lawyer and former Connecticut governor known for his legal work on the Amistad case, pushed hard with abolitionist Simeon Jocelyn to establish a Negro College, similar to an HBCU like Howard University, Morehouse, Hampton or Spelman. But New Haven Mayor Dennis Kimberly, himself a Yale graduate, convened a committee to draft resolutions against the idea. This 13-member committee consisted of Yale leaders and New Havens political elite. The committee drafted two resolutions to be voted on Sept. 10, 1831, at a town meeting. With Yale representatives running things, the first resolutions claimed that the existence of a Black college would harm Yale College and other area white schools. The committee, in raising the fears of the white citizenry, wrote the establishment of a (Negro) College in the same place to educate the colored population is incompatible with the prosperity, if not the existence of, the present institutions (i.e. Yale) of learning and will be destructive to the best interests of the city. The committee of privileged, racist Yale faculty, alumni and staff then shamefully vowed in two resolutions adopted by a 700-4 vote to use every legal means possible to block the college and called it unwarrantable and a dangerous interference with slavery in the other states and ought to be discouraged. America would not see a Black college any time in the near future. Yales leadership role and duty to make this right As an attorney and graduate of the Howard Law School, I was taught that in the spirit of our alum Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, we are social engineers of change for the good of the community; not social engineers of injustice, as these lawyers above and fellow Yale alums clearly united to accomplish. Sadly, the Yale committee members had one common immoral goal: to make sure slavery maintained and that Yale College continued to flourish. This, they decided, included withholding education and empowerment from Black people. Indeed, we know Yale is not alone. Last month, Princeton University eliminated the name of former President Woodrow Wilson from its buildings. And, everyone knows Georgetown University acknowledged that the Jesuit school sold 272 slaves to stay afloat financially two centuries ago. This all leads me to the demand that it is time for Yale to join that group of institutions acknowledging the atrocities, pains and gains made on the backs of the African-American to rectify our dreadful past. In the wake of George Floyd and the mood of America, it is urgent that the Yale president, the law school dean and overall leadership show unequivocally in actions and substantial money allocated that Yale will not sit silent and, as the No. 1 university on the planet, be accountable and set the example. Removing a name from a building does not go far enough. When Yales leadership voted against establishing a Negro College, the damage was insurmountable and caused severe long-term damages to thousands of Blacks and other groups who could have benefited from this institution. We did not see an HBCU come along for another 25 years. Please consider the thousands of lives of people of color that could have been changed and the impact on communities nationwide where those graduates could have gone too and made change. As a result, I write this demand letter asking for Yale to commit all of its resources, staffing, training and financial investment to the establishment of Roger Sherman Baldwin College or a similarly fitting name, a Negro College established as the first historically black college in the state of Connecticut and probably in New England. And, commit a minimum billion dollars to saving several struggling HBCUs, including Morris Brown in Georgia. With Yales $30.3 billion dollar endowment reportedly making over a million dollars daily, the annual interest made off this endowment alone could be leveraged to fund a new school similar to what the Rockefellers did. Lastly, it is with great pain and after much thought that I must consider returning my Yale degree as the first action, among others, if we cannot take the steps necessary to remedy this horrible past. I look forward to hearing from you as the leaders and hope you will make Yale the great role model and real community corporate citizen that I heard about as a kid growing up just down the road. If not, this becomes a part of your legacy and silence! James L. Walker Jr. is an attorney in Atlanta and a native of Bridgeport. He has represented the likes of Aretha Franklin, Grammy Award Winner Hezekiah Walker and countless others. He also negotiated the deal for the Coretta Scott King autobiography, among many other high profile books. He can be reached at www.walkerandassoc.com or via email at jjwalker@walkerandassoc.com. Brazil's Draft 'Fake News' Bill Could Stifle Dissent, Critics Warn By Eric Neugeboren July 10, 2020 A proposed law in Brazil to counter misinformation and false news is being criticized by journalists, privacy activists, social media networks and even President Jair Bolsonaro, who's been among the harshest media critics. Bolsonaro has vowed to veto the measure, which the Senate passed last week. The so-called fake news bill proposes monitoring and collection of data, including IDs and phone numbers that users would have to provide to access social networks and messaging apps. It would require social media companies to keep a database of messages that are forwarded in high numbers and make the information accessible via court order. A new council of politicians and representatives from media and civil society would make recommendations on internet freedom, responsibility and transparency. Online harassment Brazil has experienced a surge in online harassment and disinformation campaigns since its 2018 presidential election, often directed at Bolsonaro's critics, members of the opposition and even members of Congress. Journalists have also come under attack: the Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters said the media received an average of 11,000 attacks every day on social networks in 2019, many of which appeared to come from the president's supporters. Bolsonaro was responsible for over 100 attacks on the press the same year, the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas reported. The president often uses social media to try to discredit or verbally assault critical reporters and outlets, referring to journalists as "rotten" and "scoundrels" and posting a video depicting himself as a lion being attacked by hyenas. While some provisions in the bill were welcomed, including a ban on elected officials blocking people online and a requirement for platforms to identify bots, critics warned the legislation could have dangerous implications, including making it easier for the government to identify sources. 'Bad precedent' "Having a country like Brazil, which is a major player in the world, do this, it would be a bad precedent," Cesar Munoz, a Brazilian researcher for Human Rights Watch, told VOA. "There is a lot of abuse online I'm not denying that," Munoz added. "But the way to respond to that is not restricting everybody's freedom." Critics noted that the bill was passed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted debate. Groups including the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI) attempted to delay the proceedings, but without much success. "We're basically creating a law that goes against the global advances in favor of privacy," Natalia Mazotte, who is on the board of directors for ABRAJI, told VOA. She added that the proposed council to advise on social media guidelines "would open the floor for political interference." Facebook, Twitter, Google agree In a joint statement, Facebook, Twitter and Google said the proposed bill was "a project of mass collection of data from individuals, resulting in worsening digital exclusion and endangering the privacy and security of millions of citizens." Press freedom advocates also warned that the monitoring of users' data and messages could make it harder for journalists to protect the identities of sources. Munoz said Brazilian judges have previously attempted to compel journalists to reveal the identities of their sources. Article 5 (XIV) of Brazil's constitution safeguards the confidentiality of sources. Concerned for sources Investigative journalist Patricia Campos Mello said that while the level of misinformation in Brazil is "unsustainable" and needs to be addressed, the bill could make journalists and their sources more vulnerable. Campos Mello was the target of mass harassment campaigns after reporting on disinformation campaigns around Bolsonaro's 2018 election. She and her family received threatening messages and calls, and attackers shared doctored photos and false stories of her online. "Journalists are very concerned about the environment and the prevalence of disinformation campaigns and professional networks of disinformation," Campos Mello said. "Everybody uses WhatsApp in Brazil, and all journalists use WhatsApp to communicate with sources." She added that if the bill passes, it could make it easier for the government to identify sources. The bill is due to go to the lower house of Congress, the Chamber of Deputies, but it is unclear if it will be passed. In a Facebook Live video July 2, Bolsonaro who has been widely criticized for his use of social media said he would veto the bill's current version if it reached his desk, adding that he supported "total freedom of the media." "In this particular case, most of the social movements are agreeing with Bolsonaro," Mazotte said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested two men from Gwalior city of Madhya Pradesh for allegedly harbouring slain gangster Vikas Dubey's two accomplices, a senior official said on Saturday. The UP police detained the two Gwalior residents -- Omprakash Pandey and Anil Pandey -- on July 7 and took them to Kanpur the same day, said Raja Babu Singh, Additional Director General (ADG) of police (Gwalior range). "They were arrested for allegedly harbouring two accomplices of gangster Dubey," he said. Police sources said that the two Gwalior residents were formally placed under arrest by Chaubepur police in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. "The Kanpur police didn't seek any assistance from the Madhya Pradesh police when they took the duo into custody on July 7," the ADG said. While the state police have been helping their Uttar Pradesh counterparts in the investigation, the local police were not informed about their arrest, he added. According to him, the duo has been arrested under the Indian Penal Code section (IPC) section 216 (harbouring offenders). Police sources said that the Gwalior residents had allegedly harboured Shashikant Pandey and Shivam Dubey, who were involved in the Kanpur ambush, in which eight police personnel were killed in Bikru village last week. Gangster Dubey was shot dead by the Uttar Pradesh police in an encounter on Friday morning after a police vehicle carrying him from MP's Ujjain to Kanpur met with an accident and he tried to escape from the spot in Bhauti area near Kanpur. Dubey had been arrested outside a temple in Ujjain on Thursday morning. While the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Istanbuls Hagia Sophia a mosque on July 10, the European Union expressed concern about changing the status of the UNESCO World Heritage site and reportedly called the decision regrettable. Turkeys top court revoked the 80-year-old museums status and paved a way for it to be converted back to a mosque. While Erdogan brushed aside international warnings against changing the status of the monument, countries including the US, Russia, and Greece criticised the recent top ruling. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell reportedly said that the ruling by the Turkish Council of State to overturn one of modern Turkeys landmark decision and Presidents decision to place the monument under the management of the religious Affairs Presidency is regrettable. On the other hand, Greeces culture ministry described the court decision as an open provocation to the civilised world. According to an international media outlet, UNESCO also said that it regretted that it was not notified ahead of time. READ: Turkey Amends Laws To Allow Multiple Lawyer Associations World leaders criticise Erdogan's move The Turkish President has sought to shift Islam into the mainstream of Turkish politics in his 17 years at the helm. While the UNESCO site was a focal point of both the Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman empires, critics believe that Erdogans move of turning the monument into a mosque as discriminatory and regressive. In recent years, Erdogan has also been criticised for brushing aside global concerns against the restoration of Hagia Sophia's mosque status. Turkish Council of State, the country's top administrative court, in it's ruling noted that Hagia Sophia's settlement deed foregrounded it as a mosque and therefore, it's status as a museum was deemed illegal. Soon after the announcement, the Russian Orthodox Church reportedly expressed concerns over the decision stating that it could lead to even greater divisions. READ: UN Fails Again To Agree On Syria Aid From Turkey The proposal has been heavily criticised by religious and political figures alike. From US Secretary of State of Mike Pompeo to Turkey's orthodox Christian groups, leaders around the globe have urged president Erdogan to consider keeping the building a museum. Meanwhile, experts believe the Turkish president headed this cause purely to strengthen his position in the party and project himself as a stronger leader for the 2023 elections. Hagia Sophia could present as the perfect distraction and also mean to revive the hard-hit economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Image: @ApostateRidvan/Twitter) READ: Plea For Turkey Syria Border To Be Kept Open READ: Turkey: Istanbul Residents Celebrate, Criticise Court Decision Rome mayor paid tribute to Ennio Morricone at Pantheon. Rome illuminated the Pantheon with a new lighting system on the evening of 10 July in a ceremony attended by the city's mayor Virginia Raggi. During the inauguration the mayor paid tribute to the late Italian composer Ennio Morricone, who died in Rome this week, with the maestro's music played by the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia and the local police band. Raggi also confirmed during the ceremony that the Auditorium Parco della Musica will be named after Morricone, following a motion brought forward by the city council within hours of the maestro's death. Raggi said the 150 warm LED lights will "enhance, even at night, the grandeur and charm of one of Rome's symbolic monuments" in a "symbol of rebirth" after the covid-19 lockdown.The mayor said that the illumination of the Pantheon would serve to relaunch the city's tourism sector "in this delicate phase." The Pantheon is the latest in a series of Roman landmarks to be illuminated by the capital's energy provider ACEA, from the Trevi Fountain to the Basilica di S. Maria in Trastevere. Photo credit: Ufficio Stampa Roma Capitale It would be foolish not to take advantage of the most undisciplined president in modern history, said Stuart Stevens, the chief strategist on Mitt Romneys 2012 presidential campaign, who joined the Lincoln Project in May. Its really a national conversation and one guy Trump has a pulpit unlike anything, and to get him to enter into the conversation amplifies the conversation like nothing else. Never Trump operatives also say they learned lessons from their failures in 2016, and believe the political landscape is more favorably disposed to their efforts this time. Trump now has a record for them to assail, and Biden is a more palatable candidate for some Republicans and independents who voted for Trump four years ago because they so disliked Hillary Clinton. Sudan's highest governing body Friday ratified a law criminalising female genital mutilation, a widespread ritual in the African country, the justice ministry announced. The sovereign council, comprising military and civilian figures, approved a series of laws including criminalisation of the age-old practice known as FGM or genital cutting that "undermines the dignity of women", the ministry said in a statement. The reform comes a year after longtime president Omar al-Bashir was toppled following months of mass pro-reform protests on the streets in which women played a key role. Sudan's cabinet in April approved amendments to the criminal code that would punish those who perform FGM. "The mutilation of a woman's genital organs is now considered a crime," the justice ministry said, punishable by up to three years in prison. It said doctors or health workers who carry out genital cutting would be penalised, and hospitals, clinics or other places where the operation was carried out would be shut. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok hailed Friday's decision. "It is an important step on the way to judicial reform and in order to achieve the slogan of the revolution -- freedom, peace and justice," he tweeted. The premier vowed that Sudan's new authorities would "forge ahead and review laws and make amendments to rectify flaws in the legal system". Long decried as barbaric Nearly nine out of 10 girls in Sudan fall victim to FGM, according to the United Nations. In its most brutal form, it involves the removal of the labia and clitoris, often in unsanitary conditions and without anaesthesia. Sudanese women lift national flags by burning tyres as they take part in a demonstration on Sixty Street in the capital Khartoum, on May 23, 2020. By Ashraf SHAZLY (AFP) The wound is then sewn shut, often causing cysts and infections and leaving women to suffer severe pain during sex and childbirth complications later in life. Rights groups have for years decried as barbaric the practice, which can lead to myriad physical, psychological and sexual complications and, in the most tragic cases, death. The watershed move is part of reforms that have come since Bashir's ouster. "It is a very important step for Sudanese women and shows that we have come a long way," women's rights activist Zeinab Badreddin said in May. The United Nations Children's Fund has also welcomed the move. "This practice is not only a violation of every girl child's rights, it is harmful and has serious consequences for a girl's physical and mental health," said Abdullah Fadil, the UNICEF Representative in Khartoum. The UN says FGM is widespread in many countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, affecting the lives of millions of girls and women. In Sudan, rights campaigners say the custom has over the past three decades spread to remote regions where it was previously not practised, including Sudan's Nuba mountains. A doctor gives medical advice about female genital mutilation to a woman in Egypt, where the practice is already banned. By Mohamed el-Shahed (AFP/File) In neighbouring Egypt, as in several other countries, genital cutting is now prohibited. A 2008 law punishes it with up to seven years in prison. Sudan's anti-FGM advocates came close to a ban in 2015 when a bill was discussed in parliament but then shot down by Bashir who caved in to pressure from some Islamic clerics. Yet many religious leaders have spoken out against genital cutting over the years. Lisa Rinna from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is not a Lisa Vanderpump fan. Both of the Bravo stars clashed when they were on the reality series together. Rinna always seemed to see through Vanderpump, which was not good for the latter. When Sarah Paulson threw shade at the restauranteur, Rinna could only find herself sending love to the American Horror Story actress. Lisa Vanderpump and Lisa Rinna | Isabella Vosmikova/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images / Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images How did Sarah Paulson shade Lisa Vanderpump? The feud between Paulson and Vanderpump started when the former recalled an incident with the latter. It was during a Vanity Fair interview in October 2019 that the Miss America actress said Vanderpump was not so nice to her. You know, I dont want her coming after me on Twitter, but I wont miss her, she said at the time. I miss the dynamic she brings to the group, which is, you know, the fear of God she instills in everyone. Paulson then added, I met her once at a party and she wasnt that nice to me. Am I going to get in trouble for that? She wasnt that nice. RELATED: RHOBH: Lisa Rinna Throws Shade at Lisa Vanderpump and Her Crown When asked by fans on Twitter, Vanderpump claimed to not know who the award-winning actress was. I am sorry, not sure I know her, and I dont believe or remember meeting her I try to be nice to everybody lol, Vanderpump tweeted. Sarah Paulson doubles down Paulson was asked about her encounter with Vanderpump during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live. The Leap of Faith alum recalled the backlash she received after making those comments. Bless the fans, bless the people who have their back, thats great, she said. But theres a kind of vitriol that was like wow. I didnt say she was a terrible person, I simply said she wasnt that nice to me. She wasnt and thats ok, it wasnt a character assassination. She wasnt that friendly. Fans pointed out that they didnt believe Vanderpump was not nice to Paulson as the former allowed the latter to hold her precious dog Jiggy. Yeah, I probably grabbed the dog out of her hand anyway. I was with other people that I think she liked, she didnt know who I was. I didnt expect her to know who I was but, she wasnt that nice, she added. If youre a Lisa Vanderpump fan, you may not want to watch this because Sarah Paulson brutally goes after Pinkie and her stans. To everybody else, this is the funniest thing ever #RHOBH x #RHONY pic.twitter.com/HBs84iecau Queens of Bravo (@queensofbravo) July 10, 2020 As reports about Paulson calling out Vanderpump surfaced, some Housewives were a little too excited. That Bravo star that couldnt contain herself was Rinna, who added a funny tidbit. I love Sarah Paulson, Rinna wrote on Instagram. RELATED: RHOBH: Is Lisa Rinna Subtly Shading Denise Richards on Instagram? Lisa Rinna goes after the Karens Rinna recently revealed that her QVC clothing line could be in trouble because shes been supporting social causes on her social media. The RHOBH star said that Karens were calling the home shopping channel to cancel her. I am sad to report [that] it would now seem I cant use my platform to inform or question or say how I feel politically, she wrote in a since-deleted post. The Karens have bombarded QVC begging them to fire me and saying they will no longer buy my clothes. The Veronica Mars alum said that she would step back from sharing things to not risk her job. It is a shame that I must be muzzled in order to support my family but that is just what it is, she continued. Remember, you know how I feel. Use your voice and vote. However, a day later Rinna had a change of thought and said that she was going to stand by her advocacy. I have decided not to shut up. Ever, Rinna posted on Instagram Stories. And I will take whatever consequences come with standing in my truth, she said in a second post. And fu** off Karen. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. RELATED: RHOBH: Lisa Vanderpump Reacts to Lisa Rinnas Shade for Clapping Back at Kyle Richards The Pope to donate 100,000 to help migrants on border of Belarus and Poland What kind of illness does sleep disorder indicate? Fourth vaccine against COVID-19 is not enough for Omicron PSG and Zidane reach final agreement World is on verge of country defaults French Foreign Ministry considers unacceptable Azerbaijan statements about Pecresse US to return two valuable artifacts over 4,000 years old to Iraq Germany may consider halting Nord Stream 2 if Russia attacks Ukraine Israel successfully completes test of anti-ballistic missile system Plane landing in Sochi struck by lightning Dembele's agent: Barcelona only threaten Russia wants to host Euro-2032 Putin and Aliyev discuss Ukraine situation Greek PM Mitsotakis threatens Turkey with sanctions Handelsblatt: US and EU abandon idea of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT international payment system Federico Chiesa's surgery postponed due to health problems Artsakh President meets representatives of non-governmental organizations Avalanche kills person in Iran Erdogan says he is pleased with decline in volatility of lira NEWS.am daily digest: 18.01.22 Newcastle to offer around 50 million euros for Eden Hazard Turkey and Azerbaijan to start laying gas pipeline to supply Nakhichevan UK begins to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons Armenian PM holds meeting on Armenia's Transformation Strategy until 2050 Nagorno-Karabakh: Remains of another Armenian soldier found in Jrakan region Tehran to not accept any border change in South Caucasus Everton owner ready to sell club Dollar holding relatively steady in Armenia Armenia special representative: Future process depends on Turkeys constructiveness degree Rangnick looks forward to Pogba's return Erdogan: Gas from Mediterranean to Europe can only be pumped through Turkey Iranian Consul General discusses customs cooperation in Nakhijevan Inecobank brings Apple Pay to customers Parliament vice-speaker says he is familiar with Armenia proposals on border demarcation commission work US Secretary of State to visit Kyiv Russia, Iran and China to hold joint naval drills OSCE Chairmanship on Aliyev statement: We reiterate our full support to Minsk Group Co-Chairs Artsakh NSS denies rumors about penetration of Azerbaijanis into Karabakh villages Will Smith dances with his mother on her 85th birthday Tuchel: Its a team sport, not about ten players serving one player Indonesian parliament approves bill to relocate capital Armenia PM to Bulgaria colleague: Our interstate relations are marked by continuous development of cooperation One in three rapid tests for coronavirus can give false-positive result Armenian President meets Abu Dhabi Crown Prince 6 Armenian athletes to take part in Beijing Olympics Azerbaijan to ban foreigners from visiting Nagorno-Karabakh occupied part European Parliament new speaker elected Armenian National Interests Fund participates in Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week summit Marks 30th anniversary of Armenian Football Federation North Korea fires missiles for fourth time this year ECHR recognizes violation of Armenian PM's rights after 2008 elections The National publishes article on Egyptian Armenian painter Chant Avedissian Turkey reveals plans to produce combat aircraft Karabakh official: Azerbaijan presidents impudent behavior is due to OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs silence Azerbaijan special services force Artsakh resident to intelligence work Robbie Williams says hitman tries to kill him Copper price is stable Minister of State: OSCE MG Co-Chairs must accept exercise of Karabakh people's right to self-determination Armenia President, UAE Minister of State discuss possibilities of cooperation in science and technology Investigation into criminal case of several Armenia soldiers returned from Azerbaijan captivity is over Canada sends detachment of special forces to Ukraine NBA: LA Lakers win, LeBron James sets record Drake named the most popular artist of 2021 Armenia ex-President Kocharyan, former deputy PM now MP Gevorgyan case trial resumes 2 more persons die of coronavirus in Artsakh Armenia family has 10th child Converse Bank brings Apple Pay to customers Gold is getting weaker Lacote: French institute to operate in Armenia (PHOTOS) Australian Open: World no. 2 Daniil Medvedev advances to second round Ardshinbank Brings Apple Pay to Customers Armenia President in UAE, meets with Emirati environment minister COVID-19 may affect brain more than Alzheimer's disease Armenia legislature approves changes to several laws Differences in data on coronavirus deaths in Armenia are corrected 360 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Ronaldo announces when he will retire from professional football Norway to begin Breivik early release hearing Economy minister to head Armenia side of commission on economic cooperation with Kazakhstan Mexico crime photojournalist killed The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved a Rs 2,700-crore bid by Deccan Value Investors (DVI) for the debt-ridden Amtek Auto Ltd. The Chandigarh bench of the NCLT has approved the resolution plan by DVI for the auto components maker, which has a total debt of around Rs 12,700 crore. The tribunal observed that the resolution plan submitted by DVI fulfils all the requirements of regulations of the corporate insolvency resolution process and has been approved by the Committee of Creditors (CoC). "In view of the above, we accept and approve the Committee of Creditors approved resolution plan of Resolution Applicant-DVI," said a bench of NCLT members Pradeep R Sethi and Ajay Kumar Vatsavayi in its order passed on July 9, 2020. It has also directed to create a committee of five persons for implementation of the plan. "It is stated therein that from the NCLT approval date, an implementation and monitoring committee comprising of 5 persons of which one will be Dinkar T. Venkatasubramanian, three will be nominated by the key lenders, and one will be a nominee of the resolution applicants, to be constituted... "...the said committee shall continue to function until the effective date and shall stand dissolved upon acquisition of the corporate debtor by the resolution applicants," the 46-page-long NCLT order said. The tribunal further said its order is binding on the corporate debtor and its employees, members, creditors, including the central government, any state government or local authority. "The Resolution Applicant shall furnish the balance Performance Bank Guarantee within 15 days from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order," it added. The corporate insolvency resolution process of Amtek Auto was initiated on July 24, 2017 by the NCLT. It was among the first list of 12 companies sent to the NCLT by the RBI in 2017 for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). In 2018, the UK-based Liberty House Group's Rs 4,025 crore bid was approved by the NCLT. However, the group later backtracked and did not furnish the performance guarantee. Then in August 2019, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) ordered liquidation of Amtek Auto, declining the lenders' request for extension of the insolvency resolution process deadline after they had failed to find a buyer within the stipulated time. The NCLAT order was later challenged in the Supreme Court, which on September 24, 2019 stayed the liquidation proceedings of Amtek Auto. The apex court had permitted the Resolution Professional to invite fresh offers from prospective resolution applicants within 21 days. The CoC, after evaluation of offers by four prospective resolution applicants, declared DVI as the preferred/H1 bidder as per the evaluation criterion. DVI put in a bid of Rs 2,700 crore, out of which Rs 500 crore is upfront cash payment and rest future receivables. DVI's resolution plan dated January 17, 2020, was approved by the CoC by a majority of 70.07 percent votes at its meeting held on February 7, 2020. President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday directed the EFCC Director of Operations, Mohammed Umar, to take charge of the Commission, followin... President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday directed the EFCC Director of Operations, Mohammed Umar, to take charge of the Commission, following the suspension of Ibrahim Magu as Ag. Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Ibrahim Magu who has spent four days at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) was suspended to allow unhindered inquiry by the Presidential Investigation Panel under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act & other relevant laws. Magu was accused of corrupt practices and insubordination by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. He is also alleged to have been unable to account for billions of recovered loots. Here are five things to know about Mohammed Umar 1. Until his new appointment, Umar was the director of operations at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) 2. He is also a Deputy Commissioner of Police 3. Umar is from Kano State. 4. He has represented Ibrahim Magu at several events in the past. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 06:12:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close OTTAWA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian opposition Conservative Party on Friday called for a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to hand almost a billion-dollar program to a charity group, which reportedly paid his family a large amount of money for their speaking at charity events. "Not only did Justin Trudeau not recuse himself from the decision to hand almost a billion dollars to WE Charity, we know now that the organization paid his family almost $300,000. It is clear that a criminal investigation is warranted. As such, Conservatives will be writing to the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) to encourage them pursue this case," said the opposition in a statement. The Conservative Party alleged that Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act that "prohibits public office holders from making any decision or participating in the making of a decision that furthers their private interests or improperly furthers the private interests of another person." The call came a day after media reported that WE Charity had financial dealings with Trudeau's family members. Trudeau's mother and brother have reportedly been paid a total of 282,000 Canadian dollars (about 207,610 U.S. dollars) to appear at WE Charity events, according to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). CTV reported that Trudeau's wife received 1,400 Canadian dollars for participating in a WE Charity event in 2012, before Trudeau became leader of the Liberal Party. She currently hosts a podcast for the charity group. Trudeau and his government have been under fire since the charity was announced as the manager of the Canada Student Service Grant program. Canadian Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion announced last week that he was investigating into a possible breach of federal conflict of interest act by Trudeau after his government's decision to award the WE Charity the contract to administer a summer student grant program of 900 million Canadian dollars. In a statement, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said Friday that the hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to the trio of Trudeau's family members are "more than disturbing," and illustrate a "pattern of behavior." Meanwhile, Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet called on the prime minister to "step aside" until the completion of the ethics commissioner investigation. WE Charity announced last week that it was pulling out of administering the program. Some 35,000 students and recent graduates have applied for the program, which connects them with volunteering opportunities in exchange for payments of between 1,000 and 5,000 Canadian dollars, depending on the number of hours worked. Enditem Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, July 11, 2020 10:32 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406658e587 1 Lifestyle Social-Bella,Sociolla,makeup-artist,Beauty-trend,beauty-industry,Archangela-Chelsea,makeup Free Jakarta-based beauty technology company Social Bella has appointed renowned Indonesian makeup artist Archangela Chelsea as the makeup director of its beauty e-commerce site, Sociolla. As the websites beauty guru, Chelsea will share inspiring content about beauty trends, including tips and tricks about unique makeup. Chelsea, who is an alumna of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, has a long list of prominent clients, including Hollywood celebrities Olivia Munn, Olivia Culpo, Leighton Meester, Chriselle Lim, Jeannie Mai, Elizabeth Olsen and Alexandra Daddario. Chelsea said that makeup had had a steady presence in her life, as she started her career at the age of 16. Ive always been amazed with colors. When I was 15, I was introduced to makeup and its all about colors. Its my turning point, Chelsea said in her introductory video. She also explained about what it takes for beauty enthusiasts to launch a career in Tinseltown. My career in Hollywood has taught me that its not only about what you know, but also about who you know through the connections that you build, hard-work and persistence, she said. Upon her return to Indonesia in 2016, Chelsea met Social Bella cofounder and CMO Chrisanti Indiana. For me, its a suitable platform for beauty enthusiasts and now Im a part of this ecosystem. Im in and Im very excited about my role, Chelsea said. Chrisanti stated that Chelsea has a unique and bold personality. With her extensive knowledge, shell be able to give inspiring content and insights for Indonesian women, Chrisanti said in a statement. Chelsea will also become a makeup guru of Pink University, an annual program on Sociolla that allows users to learn about makeups and skincare routines. Established in 2015, Social Bella evolved from a beauty e-commerce platform to a large-scale, sustainable beauty ecosystem both online and offline. The company currently has several business units, including Sociolla, online platform for consumer reviews SOCO, lifestyle and beauty online media Beauty Journal and e-commerce site for mothers and families Lilla by Sociolla. (wir/wng) If I there was a magic lamp, I would wish that Vietnam has more capacity to carry out educational development activities, said the US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink during an online exchange with VietNamNet readers on July 8. Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink and Editor-in-chief Pham Anh Tuan (centre) at VietNamNet's studio. Following is the online exchange: Journalist Dieu Thuy: Twenty-five years ago, on the night of July 11, 1995, US President Bill Clinton declared the normalization of relations with Vietnam. On the next morning of July 12, Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet read the statement on establishing diplomatic relations with the US. Over the last 25 years, leaving behind hatred and suspicion, the US-Vietnam relationship entered a completely new period with outstanding developments in many fields. The two sides have been looking for a common voice on many issues, including sensitive issues that are barriers in bilateral relations, to strive for mutual benefit and development. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishment of Vietnam - US diplomatic relations, VietNamNet invited to the online exchange a very special guest, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink. Dieu Thuy: Tuan Anh, a reader from Hanoi, has a question. What were you doing when US President Bill Clinton declared the normalization of relations with Vietnam? Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink: At that moment, I had just started my diplomatic career. I joined the US State Department to work as a diplomat in 1994. At the time of normalization, I was serving at the US Consulate in Japan and I remember watching the news on normalization in the media. This was really a historic event. Dieu Thuy: Many readers have been interested in Vietnam-US relations over the last 25 years and the future of relations. Nguyen Kien Dung, a reader, has a question: Do you think that Vietnam-US relations will be upgraded to a strategic one in the near future? Daniel Kritenbrink: I totally agree with the readers that the current relations between the two countries are the best ever and are better than expected. I believe that the relations we have now are not some miracle, but are the result of the great efforts we have made over many years. I am very proud and believe we can celebrate what has been achieved. Vietnam is a good friend Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink and journalist Dieu Thuy. Dieu Thuy: A friend in need is a friend indeed. Your words at a recent event really touched me. And the US can be confident that you now have a very good friend, Vietnam. Daniel Kritenbrink: Now we know that Vietnam is a good friend. We feel touched as thousands of Vietnamese organizations and people have donated protective masks and medical equipment for the US. I believe that Vietnam has been doing very well in fighting against Covid-19. So, we can meet directly and celebrate the 25th anniversary of our establishment of relations in the second half of the year. Covid-19 is really a big challenge for us. However, the pandemic shows how close our cooperation is. Dieu Thuy: How has Covid-19 had an impact on trade relations between the two countries? Daniel Kritenbrink: I can see that medical cooperation between the two sides is very positive. The Covid-19 period shows how well the two countries have cooperated. The challenge for us is how to restart the regional and global economy. We have had many discussions, and I hope we will overcome all challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Wishes for prosperity for Vietnam Dieu Thuy: Vietnamese people highly appreciate your historic visit to the Truong Son Martyrs Cemetery and Hien Luong Bridge in Quang Tri province. Could you please tell us about your feelings? Daniel Kritenbrink: I had a very emotional and profound experience both personally and as an ambassador. My goal in carrying out these activities is to show respect and honor for those who have sacrificed for the fatherland. We want to show the efforts made for reconciliation. We should let go of the past and promote our relationships in the future, contributing to the building of the future for the next generations. We are actively dealing with the dioxin issue and together building trust together. We cannot change the tragic past we have, but we are committed to work together to build a better future. I really love Vietnam. My family and I are always warmly welcomed everywhere we go. I have met many Vietnamese leaders and we have discussed many issues. But the most important thing is that we need to strengthen exchanges between the two sides. We always aim to support Vietnam to gain prosperity and independence. Dieu Thuy: A question from Regina, a reader: Could you please talk about the ideas to promote cooperation between the two countries and settle the consequences of the war? Daniel Kritenbrink: We are committed to handling the problems left by the war. The search for the missing in the war is the fundamental issue in building cooperative relations between the two countries. We are grateful to Vietnam for the finding of 727 remains of American servicemen missing in the war. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper visited Vietnam last year. And I am about to witness the signing ceremony between US and Vietnam cooperation agencies. We have been cooperating with Vietnam on dioxin remediation. In 2018, I participated in a dioxin cleansing event in Da Nang City. We are also proud of our cooperation with Vietnam in mine and UXO removal. In 2019, the US began extending support to treat people affected by dioxin. Vietnam is very beautiful Dieu Thuy: This is a question from a reader, Hoang Chuong: Is there any difference in the impression of Vietnam among American people before 1995 and after that time? Daniel Kritenbrink: I think there is a huge difference in Americans perception of Vietnam 25-30 years ago compared with today. Before 1995, the majority of US people would think of war when they heard about Vietnam. But they dont now. I think what they know about Vietnam is the same as I know Vietnam today, a beautiful, peaceful country. They have such information because hundreds of thousands of businesses and travelers come to Vietnam, and 30,000 Vietnamese students are studying in the US. The American and Vietnamese people dont think about the past anymore. The American people think of Vietnam as a wonderful country. Vietnam was the host country of the US- Democratic People's Republic of Korea Summit in February 2019. You had impressive diplomatic achievements. The summit changed the worlds thoughts about Vietnam. Many friends of mine then wrote to me that Vietnam is really beautiful and they want to come to Vietnam. My friends really like Vietnamese food. We are proud that we have 2 million Vietnamese-born American people. They are the ambassadors of Vietnamese cuisine in the US. My home is in Virginia, which is very near to a Vietnamese center. I really like bread and pho, and in Hanoi, I really like bun cha and cha ca. Dieu Thuy: A question from reader Bui Thanh Mai: You may know that the War Invalids and Martyrs Day, July 27, is very significant to Vietnamese veterans and their families. Do you have any plans to meet veterans on this day or to take part in any activities with Vietnamese veterans? Daniel Kritenbrink: Thank you for telling me about July 27. I find meeting with veterans a good idea. Three years ago, many officials advised me to contact veterans. And I met some veterans, including those from provincial veterans' associations. During the meetings, we shared our thoughts to promote healing. In the latest event which took place in Thanh Hoa, we went to Ham Rong Bridge, including Vietnamese and US veterans, and me. The US also has activities to support veterans. I visited the Friendship Village and donated equipment. We will continue to interact with veterans. Dieu Thuy: Among the fields of cooperation between the two countries, the relationship in education has been given special attention. Vietnam is the Southeast Asian country with the highest number of students in the US. What would you wish for if you had a magic lamp like Aladdins? Daniel Kritenbrink: I think educational cooperation activities are very important and they contribute to the US-Vietnam relationship in general. I am impressed by the contributions of students in the US and when they return to Vietnam. The exchange in education makes a great contribution to bilateral friendship relations. The 30,000 Vietnamese students in the US are 30,000 Vietnamese cultural ambassadors. We encourage students to study in the US and this is really a wonderful experience. We also encourage US students to study in other countries, because this will help a lot. It is the experience of studying abroad that motivated me to strive to become a diplomat. I was also an exchange student and this changed my life for the better. Regarding the question about a magic lamp, I really look forward to the development of Fulbright University in Vietnam. This is a way for Vietnamese people to access world-class education right in Vietnam. The US will fulfill the commitment to help Vietnam develop education, including teaching English. If I had a magic lamp, Id love to see Vietnam develop more capability for hosting international exchanges in education. There are 30,000 Vietnamese students in the US, but there are fewer than 2,000 American students studying in Vietnam, Though the figure is growing, it still is modest and I want to increase it further. And Id love to see Vietnam receive 30,000 US students every year, who act as US ambassadors to Vietnam. Last night I had the honor to host four former Vietnamese Ambassadors to have dinner at my home. They said when we better understand each other, we will respect each other more. I think that education exchanges would help promote that friendship for mutual understanding. Dieu Thuy: A question from reader Pham Xuan Quy: What is your view about Vietnams role in the USs Indo-Pacific strategy? Daniel Kritenbrink: We think that Vietnam is central to our strategy. Its important to know that in November 2017, during his first visit to Vietnam, US President Donald Trump delivered a speech in Da Nang that outlined the USs vision for the Indo-Pacific. If you look at our foreign policies historically, you may see the belief that the US can be stronger, more prosperous, and more secure if we have strong, successful and independent partners and friends around the world. That is why we are interested in Vietnams success. A strong sovereign Vietnam will help develop our relations. And not only Vietnam, but all 10 ASEAN countries. We also have other partners in the region, including Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. We believe that when working together, we will promote common interests and ensure respect for international laws. Dieu Thuy: Vietnam wants to be a friend to all countries. Will the US be a best friend of Vietnam? What should the international community do to ensure security, safety and freedom in navigation in the South China Sea? Why is the US, the worlds largest economy, still not the largest investor in Vietnam? This is a question from Nguyen Minh Duc, a reader. Daniel Kritenbrink: We are now best friends. Following what we have achieved in the last 25 years, we will gain more achievements in the next 25 years. There is no limitation for relations between the two sides. This is an interesting question. Maritime security plays an important role for each country and the whole region. It is important that we respect and adhere to international laws, and that all nations respect each other's interests. We protest against the countries behaviors of using force to bully other countries for their own interests. We also oppose the efforts by some countries in the region to interfere in the long-standing oil and gas exploitation activities of other countries. We would like to explain the US's strategy in the East Sea. The first main element is diplomacy. The US will cooperate with countries in the region to solve international disputes to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight in the region. The second focus is that we will help countries in the region strengthen their monitoring capacity and ensure their rights. The third one is to continue developing our capabilities and implement our rights in the region. That's why you see the US Navy presence in the region. These activities are designed to demonstrate our commitments in the region. Vietnamese language is beautiful Dieu Thuy: Our reader Tran Tuan wants to know how you learned to speak Vietnamese and what the most difficult thing was when learning Vietnamese. Daniel Kritenbrink: Let me say a couple of things. First of all, my Vietnamese is very bad. I really hope my Vietnamese will be better in the future. Since I began working in Vietnam, I haven't had much time to learn Vietnamese, and this is a challenge. However, I find Vietnamese a beautiful language. The pronunciation is the most difficult thing for me when learning Vietnamese. Sometimes the staff at the embassy often suggest that I speak Vietnamese, but when I say it aloud, they say no, wrong. Sometimes when I am out, I try to speak Vietnamese, but people dont understand. I hope my Vietnamese skills will be better as I stay longer in Vietnam. VietNamNet Vietnam, US war veterans meet on Ham Rong Bridge War veterans from Vietnam and the US get together on Ham Rong Bridge, northern Thanh Hoa province in celebration of the 25th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations. The U.S. State Department warned American citizens on Saturday of the heightened risk of arbitrary law enforcement in China including detention and a ban from exiting the country. "U.S. citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime," the State Department said in an email to its citizens in China, adding that U.S. citizens may face "prolonged interrogations and extended detention" for reasons related to "state security". "Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government," it added. Search Keywords: Short link: By Express News Service PUDUCHERRY: AIADMK legislature party leader A Anbazhagan on Saturday urged Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi to ask the Congress government led by V Narayanasamy to prove its majority on the floor of the Legislative Assembly. Briefing newsmen, the AIADMK leader claimed that the Congress-DMK government in the Union territory has been reduced to a minority following the disqualification of Congress MLA N Dhanavelu on Friday. However, he was quick to add that the AIADMK doesn't have any intention to topple the government. But due to its own conflicts, the government will get toppled on its own, said Anbazhagan. The crisis is due to the inner party struggle in the Congress, he said, adding that the government has lost the support of its own party MLAs. Hence Chief Minister Narayanasamy should come forward to resign owning moral responsibility, he said. The AIADMK MLA charged that the government failed to do anything for the people during the COVID-19 pandemic, but disqualified Bahour Congress MLA Dhanavelu. The government could not even present the budget, said Anbazhagan and faulted it for not sending the budget proposal to the Centre in March. The Chief Ministers version of having prepared the budget proposal in February and the Lt Governor sitting on it and returning with queries is contrary to facts, he added. Anbazhagan also charged the Peoples for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) with unnecessarily intervening in the religious faith of Tamil people and functioning against Tamil culture. Because of its intervention, the elephant of Sri Manakkula Vinayagar temple was removed from the temple to the premises of Krishi Vigayan Kendra, which is far away from the temple. There the elephant is living in an unsafe condition and no treatment is being provided to it, he said. Anbazhagan said on a complaint by PETA to the Lt. Governor, a few officials who are in no way connected with the Union territory shifted the elephant. The administration should take steps against PETA and bring back the elephant to the temple, he said and added that if the government failed, the AIADMK will plunge into agitation within a couple of days by mobilizing the people. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 22:24:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOSCOW, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Russian fighter jets chased away an RC-135 reconnaissance plane belonging to the U.S. Air Force over the Sea of Japan on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry has said. Russian airspace control detected an air target over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan flying towards the Russian state border, the ministry said in a statement. Russian Su-35S and MiG-31BM fighters took off and identified the target as an RC-135 plane, before escorting the U.S. aircraft at a safe distance until it flew away from the Russian border. The defense ministry said its jets carried out the flights in strict compliance with international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters. Enditem NSW Teacher in Court on Child Sex Charge A Sydney teacher accused of sexually assaulting a teenage pupil will remain in custody until at least July 13. Monica Elizabeth Young, 23, did not apply for release when she faced Parramatta Bail Court on July 11 on 10 offences, including multiple counts of aggravated sexual intercourse of a child aged between 14 and 16. Her lawyer applied unsuccessfully to suppress her name after arguing publication would cause embarrassment, unfairly impact any future trial and could lead to the identification of her alleged victim. Magistrate Karen Robinson rejected the application after opposition from journalists and considering the open justice principle. But she ordered the name of the high school and all witnesses actual and potential not be published anywhere in Australia. In my view, were that order not made, if the names of the (adult witnesses were published) there is a real possibility that the identity of the complainant would then be determined and the child witnesses would be determined, magistrate Karen Robinson said. Young remained quiet throughout the proceeding, except to confirm her name and when directly addressed by the magistrate. No worries, thank you, she said after being told her matter was adjourned to Bankstown Local Court on Monday. She was arrested at a home on Friday and accused of sexually assaulting the teenager on five occasions at the Sydney school. Young was also charged with two counts of intentionally sexually touching a child, intentionally inciting a child to sexually touch and two related offences. Following her arrest, Detective Acting Superintendent Michael Haddow advised parents to communicate openly with their children about their activities. With the number of online communication applications increasing, it is very important to reaffirm the dangers associated with online conversations, he said in a statement. If they encounter something or someone they are not comfortable with, we encourage them to speak to a person they trust, who can then let our investigators know. Police say investigations are continuing. Luke Costin in Sydney It was a flicker of hope for Donald Trump in an otherwise dismal summer. Late last month, the Democratic data firm TargetSmart found that while new voter registrations had plummeted amid the coronavirus pandemic, those who were registering in competitive states tended to be whiter, older and less Democratic than before. When he saw the numbers, Ben Wessel, executive director of NextGen America, said he "got nervous," and other Democratic-leaning groups felt the same. The report seemed to confirm what state elections officials and voter registration groups had been seeing in the field for weeks: Neither Democrats nor Republicans had been registering many voters during the pandemic. But Democrats were suffering disproportionately from the slowdown. Last month in Iowa, where the race between Trump and Joe Biden is surprisingly close, Republicans nosed back ahead of Democrats in active registrations after ceding the lead to Democrats for the first time in years. In some states, before the pandemic, you were seeing a net edge for Democrats, said Page Gardner, founder and president of the Voter Participation Center, which works to register young people, people of color and unmarried women. Now, she said, in some states the advantage has shrunk substantially. For months last year and in early 2020, Democrats had been registering voters at a faster clip than Republicans in many competitive states that register by party, including Iowa, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, Arizona and Nevada. That was in part a function of the Democratic Partys competitive presidential primary, and in part a reflection of animosity toward Trump. But the effect of the pandemic on voter registrations was severe. Department of moter vehicles closures, stay-at-home orders and restrictions on large gatherings limited opportunities for new registrations. In a report on the decline last month, the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research concluded that the steep decline in new registrations may prove to be a sizable obstacle to what was set, pre-pandemic, to be a record election for turnout. Story continues In-person registrations ground nearly to a halt as people stopped congregating and college campuses closed. For people of color and other marginalized communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic, Gardner said, it was a perfect, horrible storm in terms of undercutting registration efforts, and undercutting peoples ability to get registered. The study from TargetSmart was especially alarming for Democrats because it spotlighted not only falling registrations, but which party was damaged most in battleground states. In a majority of 10 states TargetSmart studied, registrations skewed older and whiter than before the pandemic. And in the states included in the study that register by party Florida, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina and Pennsylvania Democrats made up a smaller share of new registrants than before. Before the coronavirus, said Tori Taylor, co-executive director of the grassroots Democratic group Swing Left, we were seeing spikes in voter registration that really pointed to a strong spring and summer. But by March, she said, We really felt the decline across the country. Because overall registration numbers have been so low across the board during the pandemic, Republican gains during that period have been too small in most cases to make up for months of pre-pandemic Democratic advances. Tom Bonier, TargetSmart's CEO, compared the registration shift to a footrace that was suddenly forced into slow motion. During that time, Republicans, though still behind, got a couple of extra steps closer to Democrats. Its not like theyve built the lead, Bonier said. Its really something where neither side should be celebrating or panicking about. Looking at newer data this week, Bonier found Democrats increased their share of registrations in June over the previous month in several states that have reported registrations for that month. He also noticed an uptick in registrations after the George Floyd demonstrations began. In California, a heavily Democratic state, overall registrations spiked after the first weekend of demonstrations in late May and early June. Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, June 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) But the monthslong lull in registration, at a minimum, has added an additional measure of uncertainty to the fall campaign, muddying the likely composition of the electorate. In some areas of the country, a swing of even several hundred voters could tilt the registration balance on Election Day. We talk about [registration] at every meeting, said Sarah Mahler, chairwoman of the Democratic Party in Nevadas Washoe County, a swing county where Democrats outnumber Republicans by just over 100 voters. Republicans, she said, are watching the same numbers that we are. Democrats widely expect registrations to pick up before Election Day, and they have reason for optimism. Democrats have opened advantages in vote-by-mail, Trump's support has been eroding across the battlegrounds, and many young people appear activated after Floyd's death and eager to engage in the election. In addition, some Democrats expect registrations may be slightly higher than reported because the coronavirus has also slowed the process of adding new voters to the rolls. Wessel, of NextGen America, said his group downgraded its voter registration projections for the year after the coronavirus hit. People like us cant be out in the street with clipboards the way that we normally would be, and also DMVs are closed, he said. Theres a natural clip of this that happens when the economy functions normally thats not happening now. But Wessels group and others have begun working in other ways to reach potential voters. With organizers unable to register young voters at many college campuses and other gathering places, they are reporting higher rates of return on direct mail appeals than in previous years. And NextGen is recruiting influencers on social media in college towns to include registration messages in their Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube channels. I dont want to sugarcoat the situation, Wessel said. We have work to do. But young people while theyre not able to register the same way they normally are, I think theyre expressing how excited they are about politics and whats going on in other ways. He said, People dont go into the streets and protest if they dont want to have their voices heard I think theyll register and vote. Republicans point to their improved standing in registration compared to 2016 in Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania all states Trump won that year despite Democrats holding a wider registration advantage than they do now. And Trump still has a financial and organizational advantage over Biden that could help with a registration sprint in the fall. But in some ways, Republicans have just as much if not more reason to worry about voter registration. This was the year Republicans finally fell behind not only Democrats, but independent voters in registration in the 32 states and the District of Columbia that register voters by party, according to Ballot Access News, which tracks registrations. Trump is polling far behind Biden nationally and in most swing states. And if he has any chance of catching the presumptive Democratic nominee, it will likely hinge on registering and turning out more white, noncollege-educated voters, a key part of his base. But the coronavirus has disrupted Republicans registration efforts as well, by depriving Trump until recently of the massive campaign rallies that Republicans have relied on as a source of new registrants. Rob Stutzman, a Republican political strategist who has long been critical of Trump, said it is possible that there are more base voters for Trump "who are going to come up through the floorboards and register this year. But if they dont have them registered by now, Im skeptical that they exist," he said. Another prominent Republican strategist involved in voter registration efforts described the Republican Partys work in the area as lagging behind. The TargetSmart report, the person said, suggested that Republicans had an opening they failed to fully exploit. Thats why we need to press the f------ advantage," he said, "and were not. Delhi Traffic Police on Saturday issued an elaborate traffic management plan for Ashram Chowk, one of the busiest intersections in the capital, with the work on an underpass that will connect the Nizamuddin railway overbridge and Mathura Road resuming after a prolonged lull first in the wake of Shaheen Bagh protest and then the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19. The 750-metre underpass which was conceived in December 2015 aims to provide a signal-free ride from Nizamuddin to New Friends Colony on Mathura Road. According to the traffic police advisory, the construction work would affect commuters between East Delhi, South Delhi, Faridabad and Noida for at least a year. The diversions will be implemented from Saturday between 7am and 10pm. The Ashram chowk is an important link between central and south Delhi with the satellite towns of Noida and Faridabad. The intersection connects Mathura Road, National Highway-2 and the Ring Road (linking Lajpat Nagar-Sarai Kale Khan and DND flyover). While releasing the traffic diversion plan for the Ashram intersection, traffic police advised commuters to avoid the intersection because of the ongoing construction work. The construction work is expected to last until next year, so traffic management will be a problem here. There are hardly two lanes available for the movement of vehicles now, said a senior traffic police official, explaining the situation on the stretch. According to the traffic plan, private vehicles coming from Sarai Kale Khan and Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) Flyway going towards Badarpur or Faridabad, will now be directed towards CV Raman Marg before Ashram Flyover. From there they can take the Mata Mandir Marg, MA Jauhar Marg or Modi Mill flyover loop to reach Mathura Road. Similarly, commuters coming from Dhaula Kuan side will be diverted towards Captain Gaur Marg under Lajpat Nagar flyover, from where they can take the Modi Mill Flyover via the Outer Ring Road and reach Mathura Road. Goods vehicles destined towards Badarpur or Tughlakabad, from Sarai Kale Khan, will now have to take the Ashram flyover and make a left turn on Captain Gaur Marg from the Lajpat Nagar flyover crossing. Those coming from the other side (from Dhaula Kuan) will also have to use Captain Gaur Marg. Traffic cops said that the Ashram crossing gets a daily load of nearly 4 lakh-4.5 lakh vehicles. In fact, from December last year, when the traffic movement towards Kalindi Kunj was blocked because of a sit-in protest at Shaheen Bagh, this number to 6 lakh vehicles every day, according to a traffic police estimates. Ashram has remained a traffic management nightmare for us. From 2015 to the end of 2018, the stretch was dug up for Delhi Metro work and then when that opened and traffic jams were finally easing, the PWD has taken over, another senior official of the local traffic circle said. The underpass was to be completed by March 2018, but the expenditure finance committee of the Delhi government approval it in November 2018. After 2018, the project faced delays because of the delayed permissions, protests at Shaheen Bagh and then the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown. The work resumed by May end and we will require a year to complete the work, the PWD confirmed. Dr S Velmurugan, senior principal scientist at CRRI said the underpass will ease the perennial snarls on the Ashram intersection. The construction period will be a problem, but that can be dealt with, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy agreed Friday to launch an independent review of the command culture at Fort Hood and the surrounding military community in the wake of the slaying of a 20-year-old Houston soldier at the post, according to a statement. The announcement came shortly after McCarthy met Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, Rep. Gil Cisneros, a California Democrat, and leaders from the League of United Latin American Citizens to discuss concerns raised by the investigation into Vanessa Guillens reported sexual harassment, as well as her murder while on duty at the post. I want to express my condolences to the Guillen family. We are saddened and deeply troubled by the loss of one of our own, Specialist Vanessa Guillen, he said in a news release. I would like to thank the League of United Latin American Citizens for meeting with us today and their continued commitment to honor the memory of Specialist Guillen and in helping the Army identify and address challenges Hispanic service members face. Additionally, Id like to thank Rep. Sylvia Garcia and Rep. Gil Cisneros for their support for our troops and their special interest in ensuring justice for Vanessa. McCarthy said he would appoint four civilian experts to a panel that will spend five to 10 days at Fort Hood reviewing historical data, command climate surveys, inspector general reports, crime reports, and data related to the militarys response to sexual harassment and sexual assault. The panel will conduct interviews with military personnel and others in the Fort Hood community. The aim, he said, is to ensure that the post reflects Army values, including respect, inclusiveness and workplaces free from sexual harassment. Garcia said she and LULAC officials would be involved in recommending experts for the panel. This is a good step in the right direction, Garcia said. She said McCarthy told the group that all the panels findings would be available to Congress in full to make sure their investigation is thorough, transparent and can answer so many questions that not only the Guillen family has but so many soldiers across the country have. Last week U.S. lawmakers Jackie Speier of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York asked the Pentagon to initiate an independent investigation of what happened to Guillen. Garcia said she specifically asked McCarthy to launch an independent investigation into the sexual harassment and slaying of Guillen while she was stationed at Fort Hood. A release issued before the meeting said they wanted the Army to support the call for the Defense Department Inspector Generals Office to conduct a full and independent investigation into Fort Hoods handling of Guillens case. In addition, other cases of Latino soldiers who have reported sexual harassment and/or been victims of still unresolved homicides and other abuses are being presented to the Army. The remains of Guillen, a Houston native, were recovered months after she went missing. A suspect in her death, Aaron Robinson, died by suicide as police were preparing to arrest him. A second suspect, Robinsons girlfriend Cecily Aguilar, has been charged in federal court with conspiracy to tamper with evidence. gabrielle.banks@chron.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 15:06:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Undated photo handed out by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Dec. 31, 2019 shows Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), addressing the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the WPK in Pyongyang, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). (KCNA/Handout via Xinhua) "Especially with the (U.S. presidential) election coming up in November, the DPRK is not the party on a timeline, and they have no reason to rush into another meeting," an expert said. by Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Despite Washington's expressions of optimism over re-starting stalled talks with Pyongyang, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has shown a lack of interest. But it remains unclear whether negotiations will pick up down the road. In a statement published Friday by the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo Jong, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and the younger sister of the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un, said another summit with U.S. President Donald Trump was "useless" as it would only benefit Trump politically and "we have nothing to gain." "It is still my personal opinion, however, I doubt that things like the DPRK-U.S. summit would happen this year," she said. However, she added that it "does not necessarily mean the denuclearization is not possible. But what we mean is that it is not possible at this point of time." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) That followed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's statement on Thursday that the United States is "very hopeful" about resuming talks with the DPRK. "Realistically, there's really no point to having a high-level meeting until there is a lot more progress on the working level or a significant change in concessions that the Trump administration is willing to put on the table," Jenna Gibson, a Korea expert at the University of Chicago, told Xinhua. "The Kims likely know this, and may be reluctant to engage in the summit process all over again until they are guaranteed to get concrete benefits out of it," Gibson said. At the same time, Pyongyang is not known for making negotiations easy. It's entirely possible they are playing hard to get as a tactic to feel out how serious the Trump administration is about meeting again, and see what Trump is willing to put on the table if he is indeed serious about getting another summit this year, Gibson said. "Especially with the election coming up in November, the DPRK is not the party on a timeline, and they have no reason to rush into another meeting," Gibson said. U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), meet at the Freedom House, a South Korean building in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, June 30, 2019. (Xinhua/NEWSIS) Trump and the DPRK's top leader have engaged in person three times since 2018. But talks have stalled since their second summit, which took place in February 2019. Some experts believed the DPRK is waiting until the U.S. elections have concluded, as U.S. policy toward Pyongyang could change if contender Joe Biden is elected president in November. The DPRK "likely realizes that any agreement it reached with the Trump administration might not survive a Biden administration," Troy Stangarone, senior director of congressional affairs and trade at the Washington-based non-profit Korea Economic Institute, told Xinhua. Meeting with Trump prior to the U.S. elections is not to the DPRK's advantage. For a summit to be successful, the two sides would need to avoid the failure of Hanoi and Trump would need to leave with clear DPRK concessions to make the summit domestically beneficial in the United States. "Something Pyongyang would be reluctant to do," Stangarone said. Kim Jong Un (C), top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in meet at the truce village of Panmunjom on June 30, 2019. (Xinhua/NEWSIS) Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua that Pyongyang is "trying to get out of the current rut by provoking attention without being too belligerent towards Trump. They feel he has forgotten them, which is probably true." The Trump administration in recent months has been in overdrive, in a battle to defeat the COVID-19, to revive the economy after the nationwide lockdown, and to restore law and order after rioters and protesters have run wild. Still, Stangarone said while a summit may be unlikely, it is not unreasonable to expect a resumption of working-level talks. "Both sides would benefit from resuming dialogue. It would provide a means for discussing technical issues that could help advance the talks more quickly once the U.S. elections have settled who will lead the next U.S. administration," Stangarone said. When it comes to a trip to the chippy, British tastes have always been pretty conservative. Most opt for cod or haddock, while the more adventurous might order skate or swordfish. Lockdown, however, has forced a change in the market and a surge in interest in native species that are among the ugliest beasts youre ever likely to net. Whiff, also known as megrim, is increasingly making its way on to British plates along with gurnard, weever and spider crab. British tastes in fish are changing in lockdown - species such as the weever (left) and the gurnard are making its way onto UK plates IT'S THE CATCH OF THE DAY GURNARD Three types found in UK waters red, grey and yellow. Prehistoric-looking fish with lean, white flesh. Has six leg-like feelers and plate-like scales that look like armour. Grows up to 16in. Often used in soups. WEEVER Two types found here lesser and greater. The greater, also known as viper fish, is mainly sold to eat. An ugly, drab fish with upturned mouth and eyes at the top of its head. Grows up to 14in and has venomous dorsal fin spines. Tastes like sole and can be fried in butter. WHIFF Also known as megrim, fluke or Cornish sole. From the same family as turbot, grows up to 24in. Has a large head and mouth on oval body. Meat is tender and flesh slightly oily. Popular in Spain where it is called gallo, meaning rooster. Advertisement Rodney Anderson, a former Defra head of fisheries, said: For decades, celebrity chefs have been telling consumers to enjoy more British fish. It turns out the silver lining of Covid-19 is the public have seized the chance and are loving our home-caught fish. The UK exports around 70 per cent of fish caught in its waters but lockdown effectively closed this market. This, combined with the shutdown of the hospitality industry, triggered a demand for local fish, and home deliveries soared by 950 per cent. Alison Raynsford, a business consultant from Plymouth, now regularly buys a 19 box. She said: Its like a treasure trove youre never sure whats inside. She baked the weever fish she received and served it with spinach and tomatoes. An early effort to keep the UK seafood industry afloat in lockdown was the launch of listings website Call4Fish. Run by Mr Anderson, it linked customers with individual fishermen and boats and demand remains high. John Molnar, owner of Cods Scallops in Nottingham, which was recently crowned the UKs best fish and chip shop, sells gurnard and chips for 7.50. He said: When I first opened nine years ago, 95 per cent of fish was cod and haddock. Now they are 65 per cent, as underused fish are getting very popular. Whiff, also known as megrim (pictured) is also on the up due to a growing demand for local fish Special types of fish such as John Dory (pictured) is helping to keep the British fish industry afloat The UK imports about 70 per cent of the fish we eat, with the majority of retail sales being for cod, salmon, haddock and prawns. In 2018, we imported 674,000 tons of fish, mainly from Iceland, China, Germany, Denmark and Vietnam. By contrast, we exported 448,000 tons, mainly to France, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and the US. That included most of the 18,000 tons of gurnard and 34,000 tons of whiff landed by UK fishermen. Eating domestic fish is also green. Charles Clover, of Blue Marine Foundation, which campaigns to protect seas, said: If we ate all the fish landed locally we would take pressure off species such as tuna, which is caught far away and rather unsustainably. A state district judge on Friday denied a request by Harris County Clerk Christopher Hollins to allow thousands of voters who recently tested positive for coronavirus, and now are quarantined, to vote online in the primary runoff election. The novel voting method never has been used in Harris County, but was permitted for the small-scale North Texas Ebola outbreak in 2014. Judge Larry Weiman, however, said he shared concerns raised by the Harris County Republican Party that online voting was not secure. Weiman, a Democrat, also said at the emergency telephone hearing that the county clerk had not produced an example of a voter being disenfranchised by exposure to coronavirus. The plaintiff hasnt shown any injured party, Weiman said. Hollins sought to allow the estimated 10,000 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 after the July 2 deadline to apply for a mail ballot. Forcing infected residents to vote in person would put thousands of other voters at risk, County Attorney Vince Ryan wrote in the clerks court filing. The effect of this is to leave thousands of Harris County voters with a choice: 1, violate their quarantine and risk exposing poll workers and other voters to a deadly virus, or 2, become disenfranchised and lose their constitutional right to vote, Ryan said. That is a choice no Texan should be forced to make. Hollins said before the hearing he has a responsibility to help every eligible voter cast a ballot safely. Since March, COVID-19 has infected 40,900 Harris County residents and killed 423, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis. The average daily number of new cases has risen steadily since Memorial Day. Sick voters, those who have COVID, or have been exposed to COVID, certainly fall into the category of people whose right to vote we need to protect, Hollins said. If email voting was successful in the July primary runoff, Hollins said he would seek to employ that method for ill voters in November, if the pandemic still poses a serious threat to the public. The Harris County Republican Party and Texas Attorney Generals office argued against the plan. Assistant Attorney General Anne Mackin said Hollins proposal amounted to a rewrite of the Texas Election Code, which already provides ill voters a method to vote by mail after missing the application deadline, so long as they are able to physically produce a doctors note. Hollins sought to have that requirement waived in favor of an emailed statement certifying a voter has been exposed to COVID, saying infected residents or members of their household risk infecting county employees by delivering a form to a public building. Its inappropriate to substitute a new process, Mackin said. The Election Code permits counties to receive emailed ballots from some active duty members of the military stationed overseas. Attorney and state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Baytown, and attorney Kevin Fulton argued on behalf of the Republicans that method requires service members to use secure email addresses which allow elections administrators to verify their identities. Weiman said he shared these concerns about security. He invited the Texas Legislature to make changes to the Election Code if lawmakers feel they are needed. Hollins said Harris Countys request follows COVID-19 elections guidance issued in April by Secretary of State Ruth Hughs, which said counties may want to consider seeking court orders to expand voting options for quarantined voters. A spokesman for the secretary of state did not respond to a request for comment. The Harris County Democratic Party supported the vote-by-email idea. I think that its a great step in the right direction of ensuring no voter has to choose between their health and their right to vote, party Chairwoman Lillie Schecter said. Since taking office last month, Hollins has pledged to improve how Harris County runs elections after mistakes made by his predecessor. His office sent out mail ballot applications to every voter over 65 in the hopes of encouraging more voters to avoid polling places during the pandemic. Early voting for the primary runoffs ended Friday. Election Day is Tuesday. zach.despart@chron.com School districts are taking it upon themselves to help families get connected to the internet as they face down a long future of virtual learning. Why it matters: In the COVID-19 era of education, broadband is an essential service that families need to stay connected and that school systems require to equitably educate children in their districts. The biggest hurdle: Most schools don't even know which students are lacking internet service, and the neediest families are often the hardest to reach. Driving the news: The Trump administration is pushing schools to fully reopen in the fall despite surges of COVID-19 cases in multiple states. At the same time, many districts including the country's largest in New York City are working on hybrid plans that combine limited classroom instruction with virtual learning. Perhaps the most ambitious initiative is a $50 million, public-private partnership in Chicago, which aims to provide 100,000 public school students with home internet service for four years. Thats a big undertaking in a city where, in some neighborhoods, nearly half of households with school-aged children do not have in-home broadband, according to Kids First Chicago. How it works: Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is using students' addresses to determine who lacks internet, then gives families a unique code to sign up directly with an assigned service provider. United Way of Metro Chicago will handle paying the bills for the households. Philanthropy donors, including Citadel CEO Ken Griffin and Crown Family Philanthropies, are providing bridge funding for the first two years of service. CPS will cover the costs for the last two years. Local organizations will help families understand how to use the broadband service and hook up the devices needed for online education. Other efforts are also underway: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced last week that the state would use $10 million in CARES Act funding to reimburse schools for improving internet connectivity for K-12 students, about 20% of whom were not able to access online coursework during the spring. announced last week that the state would use $10 million in CARES Act funding to reimburse schools for improving internet connectivity for K-12 students, about 20% of whom were not able to access online coursework during the spring. In North Dakota , state agencies worked with local internet providers to connect 1,762 homes to broadband service. , state agencies worked with local internet providers to connect 1,762 homes to broadband service. The Racine, Wisconsin, school district mobilized secretaries and teachers this summer to call or visit families including those in temporary housing and shelters to identify those who do not have adequate internet service or devices. Between the lines: The most successful districts have maximized their purchasing power by partnering with other nearby districts or municipalities, said Ellen Goldich, program director at EducationSuperHighway, a nonprofit that is working with school districts on data collection and procurement. TDT | Manama Bahrain yesterday called for more efforts to promote Arab cooperation in the educational, scientific and cultural fields during the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisations (ALECSO) general congress. Representing Bahrain at the virtual congress was Ahlem Al-Amer, the Assistant Undersecretary for Curricula and Educational Advisory, as delegated by Education Minister Dr Majid bin Ali Al-Nuaimi. Al-Amer told the meeting that the pandemic has swept across the entire world, including the Arab countries, posing extraordinary challenges. To cope up with the situation, she said, countries have enhanced the use of information and communication technology in education, higher education and scientific research, and even in remote work. There is a need for more support to achieve common goals, to promote Arab cooperation, she told the congress highlighting education, science and culture as the pillars of development in the race towards social and economic progress. She expressed Bahrains pride in ensuring the continuation of online learning at various educational levels, despite the closure of schools and universities due to the disruptive pandemic. Bahrains further expressed pride in the pan-Arab organisation, which celebrates its 50th anniversary. Toronto has been rocked by six shootings within a 12-hour period, including a drive-by shooting that injured five late Friday violence deputy police chief Shawna Coxon called very concerning. Dozens of people were put at risk when a vehicle drove up and at least one suspect opened fire on a crowd congregating in a parking lot near Jane Street and Woolner Avenue, north of St. Clair Avenue West, just after 10:15 p.m. More than a dozen rounds were fired, injuring five people, Coxon told reporters at the scene of the shooting Saturday. One victim, a 21-year-old man, remains in life-threatening condition while four others suffered minor injuries, Coxon said though she noted, I hate using the term minor when were talking about a shooting. The reason that this is so concerning is its a brazen shooting, Coxon said, noting five people were injured but it could have been much more. Police are in the preliminary stages of the investigation securing surveillance footage from the scene and seeking witness information meaning Coxon could not provide information on whether the shooting was targeted, but she said innocent bystanders were definitely at risk. Late Friday night, Toronto police Insp. Norm Proctor said the drive-by shooting showed no regard for human life. Police said they are looking for two suspects seen speeding away in a dark grey sedan. The drive-by shooting was just one of six reported in Toronto throughout the day Friday and early Saturday. Officers with the Toronto police guns and gangs unit are current investigating whether any are connected, regardless of where they took place in the city, Coxon said. Definitely the last 24 hours have been violent, she said. At around 2:20 p.m. Friday, Toronto police responded to reports of multiple gunshots outside the Scarborough Town Centre. Officers found a 26-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds to the abdomen. He was rushed to hospital in serious but non-life-threatening condition. Police say the suspects left in a dark SUV. Shortly after 4 p.m., Toronto police said they received reports of multiple gun shots heard near Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East. Investigators said they located a vehicle with numerous bullet holes. While they said there were multiple crime scenes, no injuries were reported. Late Friday night, there were reports of multiple shots near Kipling Avenue and Kidron Valley Drive. While numerous shell casings were found, there were no reports of injuries. Also late Friday night, police reported that a home was shot at in the Parma Court and Victoria Park Avenue area and that there was broken glass. There were also no reported injuries. At about 1:20 a.m. Saturday, Toronto police said a shooting took place at Cassandra Boulevard and Whitefriars Drive., near York Mills Road and the Don Valley Parkway. Police said shell casings were located, but there were no reported injuries. There was also a fatal shooting in Burlington on Friday afternoon. Shortly after 1 p.m. long-time Hamilton mobster Pasquale (Pat) Musitano was fatally shot in broad daylight, on Plains Road East, west of Waterdown Road. Halton police said another man, who has not been identified, was also shot and taken to hospital. A suspect fled the scene heading west on Plains Road in a grey sedan. According to Toronto police statistics updated earlier this week, shootings are up 18 per cent in the city over this time last year. So far in 2020, there have been 220 shootings in the city, leaving 23 people dead and 73 others injured. At this time last year, there had been 186 shootings, with 18 people fatally shot and 88 others injured. Coxon noted current shooting levels are comparable to 2018, when the city saw a record-level number of shootings. Year-to-date in 2018, there had been 25 people fatally shot and 80 others injured. Although shootings sometimes increase during the hot summer months, so far in 2020, March saw the most shootings, with 48 recorded by police, followed by 42 shootings in May. In 2019, September and October saw the most shootings, with 57 each, followed by July with 56 shootings and August with 55. With files from Raneem Alozzi, Tom Yun and Peter Edwards India is applauding its health workers for their frontline battle against Covid-19. However, 63 families out of the total 82 healthcare workers who lost their lives engaged in coronavirus efforts, are yet to have their insurance claims processed for want of necessary paperwork. About 22.12 lakh healthcare workers were given a cover of Rs 50 lakh under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. But families continue their wait, prompting the Union Health Ministry to flag this as an issue during video conference with states, a report by the Indian Express states. A source told IE that states have been asked to provide the paperwork for the 63 healthcare workers by July 14 for the timely processing of their insurance claims. The Union Health and Family Welfare ministry has not yet received the paperwork for 63 health workers including nurses and doctors, sources said. Nineteen from the total have been processed and cleared. State governments have not submitted the required documents, an official source told IE. According to the report, Maharashtra has the highest number of pending claims with 25 out of 63, followed by 11 pending claims of Delhi. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Telangana are also yet to submit the entire documents for their Covid-19 heathcare worker fatalities. Families were under shock, which resulted in delay of completing their documentation, said state government representatives. However, the health ministry has told states that delays would set a wrong precedent for health staff engaged in efforts against the pandemic. The source said states were advised to pay "special attention" to families on "compassionate grounds". However, police personnel are not covered by the insurance scheme under the PMGKY. Right after the first lockdown which began on March 24, the insurance scheme for health workers was announced as part of the PMGKY. Initially started for three months until June, it has now been extended till September amid rising virus cases across the country. N aya Rivera's four-year-old son told police he saw his mother "disappear beneath the water" at the California lake where she is feared to have drowned. The alarm was raised after Rivera's four-year-old son Josey Hollis was found alone on a rented boat at Lake Piru on Wednesday afternoon. Police said a huge search operation was launched, but the actress was not found. It resumed on Thursday morning and officers later said that the missing Glee star was presumed dead. Police said that Josey, who is safe and well, watched his mother disappear under the waves during their boating trip on Wednesday. A file photo of Naya Rivera and son Josey Hollis Dorsey at a movie premiere in California / AFP via Getty Images Ventura County Sheriffs Office sergeant Kevin Donoghue said there is no evidence to suggest Rivera, 33, left Lake Piru. He was speaking in response to an online petition, which has gained more than 27,000 signatures, and calls for the search be extended beyond the lake. Sgt Donoghue said: Our first day was a rescue effort, it was a life saving effort. We searched with people on the ground, on the shoreline. A Ventura County Sheriff's helicoptor returns to base as search efforts continue to find actress Naya Rivera on Sunday / AFP via Getty Images "We were looking not just for her physically, we were looking for any clues, any evidence that suggested she made it to shore. We didnt find any clues, any evidence that suggested she made it to shore. The most conclusive piece of evidence were really holding on to right now is the statements from her son, the only witness. He observed his mother disappear beneath the water. So we are very confident she is in the water and that at some point in time we will recover her from the lake. Police said Naya Rivera had previously visited Lake Piru / AFP via Getty Images Josey was found asleep and alone on the boat while wearing a life jacket. An adult-sized life jacket was also found on board. Sgt Donoghue added: If we thought for a moment that there was any chance she could be on land somewhere, if we had any other clues or corroborating information that led us in that direction, we would do that and we would be out there searching and looking. Sadly, its just not the case. People want to hold onto hope, I totally understand it but at this point thats just not the reality of the situation. Rivera, best known for playing a high school cheerleader on musical-comedy series Glee, is feared to have drowned at Lake Piru, which is a popular spot for swimmers about 56 miles north-west of central Los Angeles. CCTV from the dock shows her rented boat departing at about 1pm and it was later found drifting in the northern area of the lake at around 4pm, where the focus of the search remains. Naya Rivera starred in Glee alongside Dianna Agron (Glee) On Friday, the recovery operation continued. Side-scanning sonar systems, which are towed along the water by boats, have been scanning the bottom of the lake for any objects that resemble a human body. During a press conference, Ventura County Sheriffs Office captain Eric Buschow revealed they had two images that may have been Riveras body but when they sent a small robotic device into the water, there was nothing found. Investigators have stressed the many difficulties posed by the search, including strong currents, dangerous underwater debris and visibility of between 1-2ft. Rescuers believe Rivera will be found at the point she went under. Capt Buschow said: Im told by some of the divers, that even with that current, wherever she went down, theyre confident that thats where shell be found. Its just finding that spot. Thats the difficult part. About 40 rescuers were at the lake on Friday, Mr Buschow said, adding divers are not searching the water in the same numbers as earlier in the week. They are instead relying on the sonar to guide them. Missing Glee star Naya Rivera now presumed dead, police say Celebrities shared prayers and messages of hope after it was revealed that the Glee star was missing last week. Rivera was engaged to the rapper Big Sean in October 2013 but they ended their relationship in April 2014. She then began dating actor Ryan Dorsey and they were married in Mexico in July that year. The couple had Josey together in September 2015. Rivera filed for a divorce after two years of marriage but later called off the separation. The couple finalised their divorce in June 2018. Additional reporting by the Press Association. Religious discrimination. Its an accusation we hear with increasing frequency. Indeed, discrimination on the basis of religion is one of the few common concerns our divided society has left. But even here, political polarization has left its mark. As conservatives use it, religious discrimination carries a meaning that is largely lost on the broader public. Now, with three new decisions from the Supreme Court, we can see how that conservative conception of religious discrimination intrudes on some of the most basic principles of the American democratic tradition. One case decided last week, Espinoza vs. Montana, ruled that a state constitutional provision limiting state-subsidized scholarships only to secular schools discriminates against religious schools and the parents who choose them, and thereby violates the Free Exercise Clause of the 1st Amendment. On Wednesday, the court handed down two more decisions, further eroding principles of religious freedom that require the separation of church and state. Heres my marriage proposal Church and state should each stick to what they're good at, author and journalist William L. Rukeyser says In the case of Our Lady of Guadalupe School vs. Morrissey-Berru, the court dramatically expands the ministerial exemption, which protects church autonomy by barring ministers from suing their employers. The court broadened this exemption by classifying any teacher who performs religious functions as a minister, even if those functions are as minimal as joining children in a religious service or even if the employee is not a practicing member of the religion governing the school. The teachers worked at two Los Angeles-based Catholic schools, and their primary responsibility was secular education. They had not undergone religious training, but the schools contended that they should be classified as ministers and claimed that to decide otherwise would impermissibly discriminate among religions. The Supreme Courts decision, without using this language itself, upholds the claim promoted by religious conservatives that requiring religious schools to abide by the principles of anti-discrimination law is itself an act of religious discrimination. The court supported an even broader version of the conservative view of religious exemptions in another case decided on Wednesday, Little Sisters of the Poor vs. Pennsylvania. This case involves a challenge to the Trump administrations policy on religious exemptions from the Affordable Care Acts rules that require employers to provide contraception coverage in employee health plans. That policy, pushed through by conservatives, deemed the exemption allowed by the Obama-era policy to be discriminatory because it required employers claiming the exemption to go through a simple self-certification process which ensured that employees would continue to receive coverage for contraception. The Trump administration got rid of that process and expanded the exemption to apply to any employer claiming a moral or religious objection to providing contraception coverage in employee health plans. What the deadly 1918 flu epidemic can teach us about our coronavirus reaction With the coronavirus now on the move around the world, it's worth resurrecting the 1918 pandemic to study ourselves then, know how we reacted to it, how we learned and didn't learn from it, columnist Patt Morrison says. Although the decision was based on a narrow determination of whether the Trump policy conformed to administrative law requirements for the rule-making process (the court ruled that it did), the consequence of upholding the policy is that between 70,500 to 126,400 women will lose coverage for cost-free contraceptive services. The results of all three cases support the idea that any law applied to a religious group amounts to unconstitutional religious discrimination if the group opposes the law. But the premise behind this conception is false. There is ample room for disagreement over when religious objections should be accommodated, or whether supplying public funding for religious education on equal terms with nonreligious education is necessary to religious liberty or threatens it. Many conservatives hold that it is necessary. Thats not unreasonable. But to claim that refusing to provide public funding is discriminatory is specious, as is the claim that progressive policies are discriminatory just because they reject conservative beliefs. These arguments show an inability to distinguish between disagreement and discrimination. Using the democratic process to resolve moral and policy disagreements is not discrimination, so long as every group gets due consideration. What took Christianity Today so long to confront Trump? Beginning with Ronald Reagan in the late 1970s, evangelicals turned their backs on their own best traditions of caring for the poor and welcoming the stranger to embrace a series of deeply flawed politicians and policies inimical to the teachings of Jesus. This false view of discrimination has led to a complete reordering of the two key religion clauses of the 1st Amendment. It has diminished the Establishment Clause principle that prohibits state support for religion and has overinflated the Free Exercise Clause by suggesting that people have the right to do anything their religion requires them to do, even if it poses a risk to public health. The ascendancy of this position represents the culmination of a movement, strongly backed by evangelical Protestants, conservative Catholics and Orthodox Jews, that has been steadily gaining ground over the last several decades. This movement not only accounts for the Supreme Courts recent decisions; it also holds the key to President Trumps unshakable support among religious conservatives. The Trump administration has made the restoration of religious liberty and protection from religious discrimination a top priority, appointing justices, judges and agency heads who firmly adhere to this point of view. For religious conservatives, these recent decisions deliver on his promise to protect them from discrimination. For the rest of us, they confuse the notion of religious discrimination, while eroding both the principle of equality and the wall of separation between religion and state. Watch Now: More time for adult victims of child sexual abuse to sue Nomi Stolzenberg is the Nathan and Lily Shapell Professor at the USC Gould School of Law. She wrote this for The Los Angeles Times. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) Solicitor General Jose Calida, who had previously filed a quo warranto petition against ABS-CBN, praised the House of Representatives for its decision to deny a franchise renewal to the media giant. Calida said on Saturday the lawmakers did their job well, describing the hearings as "fair, impartial, comprehensive and thorough". "Justice has been served," he said in a statement. With a 70-11 vote and three inhibitions, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises adopted its technical working group's resolution not to grant ABS-CBN a fresh franchise. The resolution cited various issues such as the dual citizenship of ABS-CBN Chairman Emeritus Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III, alleged tax-avoidance, and biased reporting, among others. Calida also mentioned that the committee's resolution upheld the arguments of the petition the petition he had filed with the Supreme Court against ABS-CBN. This includes the company allegedly violating the terms of its franchise by launching KBO pay-per-view channel without the National Telecommunications Commission's permission and allowing foreign investors to "take part in ownership of a Philippine mass media entity" through issuing Philippine depository receipts. He thanked the 70 congressmen who voted for the franchise denial and maintained that the move does not restrain press freedom amid enraged criticisms from the public and other solons. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Kaori Kaneko (Reuters) Tokyo, Japan Sat, July 11, 2020 22:06 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406659f5e5 2 Lifestyle Tokyo,Japan,coronavirus,COVID-19,nightclub,nightlife Free Authorities will conduct coronavirus testing in Tokyo's nightlife districts, where infections have surged again, and are urging nightclub hosts and hostess to follow advice on safely interacting with customers, officials said on Friday. Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who leads Japan's pandemic response, said after meeting Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and experts in the evening, that the government would carry out tests "strategically" in the nightlife districts. He did not give details of what such testing would involve but said it would be an aggressive program. Guidelines for nightclubs include providing customers with enough space with good ventilation and avoiding speaking loudly, Nishimura told reporters earlier. Tokyo reported a record daily high of 243 new infections on Friday. Infections in the capital have crept up since the government lifted a state of emergency about a month ago, with the Kabukicho red-light district becoming a major source of cases. Clusters have been found among Kabukicho's many host clubs, where young men entertain women customers over drinks, and also at the female equivalent hostess or "cabaret" clubs. Outbreaks have also occurred in similar clubs in Ikebukuro's red-light district, as well as in some cafes where women dress up as maids to entertain customers in the Akihabara electronics town. Read also: Japan's izakayas, once a staple of after-work socializing, crippled by pandemic "Infections are coming out of host and cabaret clubs and it's important to take firm measures there," Nishimura said. "We need to make sure they thoroughly follow guidelines." Separately, Koike said the metropolis would step up efforts to educate nightlife workers, including with a new video that will be available on its website next week. Koike showed reporters a clip of the video in which a young host sits at a night club in one frame asking a doctor in the opposite frame, via video chat, what kind of symptoms young people could expect if they contracted the virus. "In this way, they can pose whatever questions they have directly to a doctor and get easy-to-understand explanations," she said. Questions range from how to safely greet customers to where to go to take a test. The current coronavirus situation in Tokyo is different to April, when the government imposed a state of emergency and asked people to stay at home and businesses to close. Japan has had about 20,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 980 deaths. Hokkaido University Professor Hiroshi Nishiura, a member of the government's coronavirus response team, said Japan is at a turning point and it would be too late if no measures are taken appropriately. San Francisco, July 11 : Facing intense criticism from all quarters, Facebook is planning to ban political ads on its platform like Twitter does as the US inches closer towards the presidential election in November, the media reported on Saturday. According to a report in CNN Business citing sources, the potential ban on political ads to reduce the spread of disinformation has been under consideration since last fall. "It is only one of many options being considered by the company and that no final decision has been reached," said the report, citing sources. Facebook was yet to officially comment on the reports. A highly-anticipated audit of Facebook practices revealed this week that the company's decision not to remove controversial posts by President Donald Trump was "deeply troubling". In the auditors' view, the emphasis Facebook placed on free expression has not been adequately balanced by the critical value of non-discrimination. "The auditors also strongly disagree with our policy to not fact-check politicians, and believe that the end result means more voice for those in positions of power," said Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer at Facebook. The civil right groups leaders were left disappointed after meeting Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg over their concerns related to the spread of hateful content on their platforms. Hundreds of companies have halted advertising on Facebook and Instagram against the unchecked spread of hateful and disinformation. Concerned at advertisers' pulling out from its platform, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said late last month that the social network will put warning labels on all posts that break its rules but are deemed newsworthy. Twitter in October banned all kinds of political ads on its platform. Actor Salman Khan and Disha Patanis next film, Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, will be shot against a green screen inside a studio, says a new report in Mumbai Mirror. An approximate 10-12 days shoot remains, it added. Before the coronavirus-related lockdown came into force, the team was to fly to Azerbaijan to shoot an action sequence and a song. However, it had to be called off due to the pandemic. A source told the daily, But with the new travel restrictions, flying abroad for the shoot is ruled out and the team is contemplating shooting it against a green screen now with visual effects making it appear like its been shot abroad. The action sequence will also be shot in a city studio. Theres 10-12 days of work left on the film. The same source also spoke about the tentative release date. If the cinemas open by October-November and draw an audience, Radhe could arrive during Diwali. For several years now, Salmans films have released during festivals. Also read: After Thandie Newtons disparaging remarks about Tom Cruise, his ex-wife Katie Holmes follows her on Instagram In early March, reports had emerged that the team decided against going to Azerbaijan due to the pandemic. A source had then told Mid Day, Considering the coronavirus outbreak, its scary to travel with a large number of unit hands abroad. It doesnt make sense. Now, it will have to be shot elsewhere. It had added that the crew, sent earlier to the country for prep work, had been called back. Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai is being co-produced by Salman Khan, Sohail Khan and Atul Agnihotri under the banners Salman Khan Films, Sohail Khan Productions and Reel Life Production. The film was earlier scheduled to hit theatres on Eid this year. Follow @htshowbiz for more The case brought by Team Mueller in the name of the United States against Michael Flynn constitutes a sidebar to the biggest political scandal in American history by far. While the United States now seeks to dismiss the case, Judge Sullivan resists. His resistance now extends to the The D.C. Circuit opinion granting Flynns petition for a writ of mandamus ordering him to dismiss the case. While the D.C. Circuit mulls over Sullivans petition for en banc review of the courts mandamus order, the government continues to produce previously undisclosed exculpatory material to General Flynn. Reminder: Attorney General Barr assigned United States Attorney Jeffrey Jensen the task of reviewing the governments file in the Flynn matter. Jensens review has resulted in several productions of exculpatory evidence that prosecutors acting on behalf of the United States should previously have turned over to Flynn. What we have here is a sickening disgrace from which the press averts its eyes like Victorians confronting a public display of sex. At every step along the way, the press acted as a co-conspirator with the perpetrators inside the FBI and the Obama administration. You can understand why they might not be inclined to look back or confess and repent their wrongdoing. They look forward to the Biden Ministry of Truth depositing it down the memory hole. New Flynn Documents Thread. 1/30/17 DOJ(?) Memo: "FBI advised that they believed Flynn believed what he was saying was true." FBI determined "Flynn was not acting as an agent of Russia." pic.twitter.com/ZwID3tHJPF Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) July 10, 2020 Flynn counsel Sidney Powell filed Flynns Second Supplement In Support of Agreed Dismissal yesterday. It is accessible here. The newly produced exculpatory evidence was attached to the memo as Exhibit A. The memo explains the circumstances underlying the production and itemizes the governments previous productions of undisclosed exculpatory evidence. This is a scandalous sidebar to the scandalous sidebar. I have embedded the newly produced exculpatory evidence below via Scribd, where it is posted at the moment. NR reports on the material here. Conservative Tree Houses Sundance helpfully explicates it here. US v Flynn DOJ July 2020 by Techno Fog on Scribd New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated his Singaporean counterpart and leader of the People's Action Party Lee Hsien Loong for securing a clear mandate in the general elections. Singapore Prime Minister Loong's party won 83 of the 93 contested parliamentary seats in the general election. "Congratulations to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for success in the General Elections. Best wishes to the people of Singapore for a peaceful and prosperous future," Modi wrote on Twitter. The ruling party, in power since independence in 1965, secured 61.24 per cent of the total votes cast in Friday's election. PTI NAB IJT The Electoral Commission as part of its mandate to update Ghanaians on the ongoing voters registration exercise has released comprehensive figures it gathered in all 16 regions on the ninth day of the exercise. During the commissions second Let the Citizens Know media encounter, Deputy Chairman in charge of Operations at the Commission, Samuel Tettey, announced that over three million eligible Ghanaians have been duly registered in nine days. Adding that over two million of the applicants presented Ghana Card as proof of their identification while about one million applicants got their voters ID through the guarantor system; representing 66.3% and 32.2%, respectively. Only about 60,000 (1.5%) of the registrants presented their passport. In an info graphics released by the commission, 399,107 eligible Ghanaians were registered on the ninth day of the exercise moving the already existing figures to 3,442,954. Per the details, 2,264,207 persons were registered in the first phase of the process while 1,178,147 persons have been registered in the second phase, so far; giving a tally of 3,442,954. Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission is still in the second phase of the exercise and in the eleventh day. Regional breakdown after 9th day as follows; Western Region 26,906 Western North 10,693 Central Region - 36,642 Greater Accra Region 87,819 Volta Region 22,814 Oti Region - 8,207 Eastern Region 35,772 Ashanti Region 69,744 Bono Region 14,747 Ahafo Region 7,286 Bono East 14,484 Savannah Region - 7,189 Northern Region - 25,545 North East 7,743 Upper East 13,960 Upper West - 9,556 Click 'PHOTOS' for more Source: ghanaweb Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Only Normandy Four leaders can change the format of the Minsk talks. The decision on the birth of the Minsk format was made at the level of the Normandy format, so any other decisions related to Minsk can be made only within these consultations. Trilateral Contact Group is a technical and logistical center. Its task is to touch upon the emerging issues, but all decisions should and can only be made by the leaders of the Normandy format," Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov said, RBC news agency reports. According to him, the Normandy format meeting can be held at a distance, if the leaders of the participating states agree. At the same time, it is realistic to hold consultations in September after fulfilling the obligations of the Paris summit, but only "if there is mutual will of all participants in this process." Reznikov also noted that a number of provisions of the Minsk agreements of February 2015 did not correspond to today's realities. It is implied that the document outlines the already irrelevant dates of implementation of the agreements, the contact line and the procedure for holding elections in the occupied areas of Donbas until the restoration of Ukraine's control over its border. "There are a lot of things that no longer work and, therefore, the parties in Minsk cannot agree a priori. This is what our European partners are talking about, starting with the phrase of German Chancellor Merkel that Minsk is not carved in stone. I did not say anything new," the Vice Prime Minister added. As a reminder, Russia waits for the official comment of Ukrainian authorities on the statement made in Minsk about the need to revise the Minsk agreements. Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov also stated that Kyiv had rejected the agreements, which had been reached at a meeting of political advisers in Berlin, during the meeting of Trilateral Contact Group. ol The effects of the coronavirus pandemic threaten to reverse the limited progress made on gender equality and women's sexual and reproductive health, an NGO said. The Population Foundation of India (PFI) has recommended timely measures to ensure women and girls remain central to COVID-19 response planning and recovery efforts. On the occasion of World Population Day, the NGO released a policy paper 'Impact of COVID-19 on Women' which takes a comprehensive look at the different impacts of the COVID-19 crisis across the country, specifically on women and girls. It said that evidence from past epidemics, as well as the existing evidence around the impact of COVID-19, suggests that the disruption of essential health services puts women and girls at risk of decreased access to services as resources are diverted from routine health services, including pre- and post-natal health care, family planning and contraceptive supply and other reproductive health services. The limited availability of essential health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, will be detrimental in the long run, PFI said. "The COVID-19 crisis has placed unprecedented demands on our social services and the health care system. Women are increasingly at greater risk of sexual and domestic violence, disruptions to their healthcare services, stock-outs of supplies of contraceptives and menstrual hygiene products and mental stress and anxiety," Poonam Muttreja, the executive director of PFI said. "It is critical to reassess our emergency response policies through a gender lens to improve planning and programming," she said. UNICEF has estimated that in the nine months span dating from when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, the countries with the highest numbers of forecast births are expected to be India (20.1 million), China (13.5 million), Nigeria (6.4 million), Pakistan (5 million) and Indonesia (4 million), PFI said in its paper. Given the evidence, the NGO has recommended applying a gender lens using gender disaggregated data and evidence to address programmes and policies around COVID-19, and increasing investments in family planning as the most cost effective public health measures. It also has sought investment in the 3.3 million female frontline health workers who are the face of the Indian public health system and in many parts of the country the only health-care support. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 19:13:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUWAIT CITY, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait on Saturday reported 478 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 54,058 and the death toll to 386, the health ministry said in a statement. Currently, 9,711 patients are receiving treatment, including 150 in ICU, the statement added. The ministry also announced the recovery of 747 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 43,961. Kuwait started on June 30 the second phase of restoring normal life, which will last three weeks. 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. On April 27, a team of Chinese medical experts visited Kuwait to assist the Gulf country's anti-coronavirus fight, through sharing their experience and expertise in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Enditem By Ritsuko Ando TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Fast Retailing Co <9983.T>, owner of casual clothing brand Uniqlo, lowered its outlook for the year as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on its global fashion business. But it also reported a strong rebound in Uniqlo's domestic same-store sales for June and said business in China was recovering faster than previously expected, suggesting it may weather the crisis better than many global peers. Store closures and weak consumer spending around the world has brought a halt to years of growth at the company, now Asia's biggest fashion retailer and the world's No. 3 after Zara-owner Inditex and H&M . It forecast operating profit of 130 billion yen (961 million) for the year through August, down 50% from a year earlier rather than a previously expected 44%, following a surprise loss of 4 billion yen in the March-May quarter. It also forecast annual sales to fall 13 percent to 1.99 trillion yen, ending 16 straight years of growth. "We have seen a large decline in both revenue and profit across the business," CFO Takeshi Okazaki told reporters. The company said markets such as South Korea, the United States and several others including Indonesia had been particularly hard-hit, while adding that its two key markets, Japan and China, were recovering faster than expected. Uniqlo's domestic same-store sales, including online purchases, rose 26% in June from a year earlier, after falling 57% in April and 18% in May. Okazaki said items such as stretchy jogging pants and oversized t-shirts proved popular in the past quarter in Japan. Analysts have said Uniqlo's focus on practical, everyday wear rather than more trendy styles may work to its advantage as more consumers are spending time at home. Fast Retailing also depends heavily on Asian economies, especially China, where Uniqlo's mix of affordable basics and occasionally trendy items proved a massive hit among the burgeoning middle class. Story continues Its struggle to gain market share in the United States, previously considered a major weakness, has spared it from a bigger hit from the virus outbreak. Of Uniqlos 2,260 stores globally, just 51 are in the United States, which has reported the highest number of coronavirus infections in the world. Okazaki said the company was not retreating from the U.S. market, although it would step up its "scrap and build" strategy of concentrating on profitable locations and shutting down low-performing stores. He declined to comment when asked whether it would consider buying Brooks Brothers, which on Wednesday joined a list of U.S. brands that have filed for bankruptcy. (This story corrects paragraph 5 figure to trillion from billion) (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Raju Gopalakrishnan) Politics is not a game for the faint-hearted or so they say... . . it is a field of combat and only the mentally, psychologically, and physically fit survive, Kweku Baako Jnr. has advised the recently appointed Running Mate of the largest opposition NDC. The Managing Editor of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Kweku Baako Jnr has advised Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang to have the ability to take in all the jabs from her opponents because 'politics is not for the faint-hearted. After John Mahama announced Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as his running mate, she has been at the receiving end of criticisms and casting of aspersion from various angles of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). The NDC and other women advocates have however come to her defence. However, Prof Opoku-Agyemang is yet to utter a word. Reacting to this on Joy FM's Newsfile programme Saturday, Kweku Baako said: she's a decent woman, I respect her, she deserves the selection and all that but she should be ready . . . her profile at the Ministry of Education, her delivery, all that will come on board". According to him, "her track record in government will be examined and to a large extent it will be minus; not because she is incompetent but that the entire administration could not deliver". Kweku Baako wants Chairman Wontumi reprimanded In a recent attack, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi have made some unsavoury comments. "Just look at her face . . . take many pictures of her. When you take many pictures of her and examine her thoroughly from hair to toe, you examine what she wears on her body and her hairdo, you will realize that the lady herself is disappointed in herself, the family and Ghanaians and the women as well. Just examine her well, he said on his radio station in Kumasi. Kweku Baako has called on the leadership of the New Patriotic Party to reprimand the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the party for comments made against Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang. Describing the comments as unfortunate, Mr. Baako said some form of sanction at the national level must be meted out to the outspoken politician. Meanwhile, Communications Minister and Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West Constituency, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful believes the party has no role to play in this. Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful argues that Chairman Wontumi spoke in his capacity as an individual and was not speaking on behalf of the party therefore calling on the party to apply sanctions is inappropriate. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video In yet another instance of negligence towards cremating the bodies of deadly coronavirus outbreak victims, a photograph of Covid-19 patient who succumbed to the infected being carried to the graveyard in autorickshaw in Telangana has surfaced. The incident, reported to have occurred on Friday, came to light on Saturday when the photograph of the body being transported in autorickshaw was shared on the social media and was played up in the local television channels. The picture shows the body placed horizontally at the bottom of autorickshaws rear seat, protruding from either side of the vehicle, as it was driven through the streets of the locality. Neither the driver of the autorickshaw, in which the body was transported, nor the person sitting beside him in the front seat were sported wearing personal protection equipment (PPE), which is mandatory for the people disposing the bodies of Covid-19 patients. According to the guidelines issued by the state government, two GHMC vehicles with supporting staff in full PPE gear are liable to accompany the transportation vehicle, with COVID safety material and power spraying cans. A COVID Liaison Officer (CLO) of the designated coronavirus hospital is delegated to interact with the family and make required provisions, the state guidelines read. District collector C Narayana Reddy said he has ordered an inquiry into the incident and terminated the services of contract municipal employee, who took the body of Covid-19 victim to the graveyard in an autorickshaw. There are only two ambulances in the Nizambad hospital which are meant for disposing the dead bodies. On Friday, four people, including three Covid-19 patients, died. While two ambulances had already left with two bodies, the other two bodies completely packed were kept ready for disposal, the collector said. Reddy said the hospital had informed the relatives of the patient to wait for one hour for the ambulance arrive, but they preferred to carry the body in their own autorickshaw. So, the hospital authorities arranged for contract municipal employee to accompany the body to the graveyard, Reddy said. Nizamabad hospital superintendent Dr Nageshwar Rao was not available for comment. Terming the violations in the process of cremation as serious issue, director of medical issue Dr Ramesh Reddy ordered a detailed enquiry in the matter . The hospital superintendent has been instructed to file criminal cases against those employees who were involved in handing over the body. All the hospital superintendents are instructed to strictly follow the guidelines and such incidents should not be repeated in public interest, Reddy said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The United States on Friday unveiled heavy import duties on France in retaliation for the country's tax on American tech giants, but will hold off on collecting the fees to allow time for the dispute to be resolved. The office of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer found France's digital services tax was discriminatory and "unfairly targets US digital technology companies," and will impose 25 percent punitive duties on $1.3 billion in French products. However, it will suspend the tariffs until January 6, 2021 while discussions continue over the disagreement. France approved the tax last summer on tech firms like Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google, which were accused of moving their profits offshore to evade taxes. But in January, Paris suspended collection of the tax through the end of the year. French cosmetics and handbags will be subject to the US tariffs, but champagne, camembert and Roquefort were spared, according to the final product list after USTR collected thousands of public comments on the retaliation plans. The sides have been trying to a negotiate a deal through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that would address the policy dilemma of taxing profits earned in one country by a company based in another with a more favorable tax policy. But the talks have not made much headway and were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, more countries are considering following France's example. Lighthizer said Thursday that the US "won't tolerate" unfair treatment, although he acknowledged that there is a problem with multinational corporations offshoring profits to avoid paying taxes. But he said the French tax "didn't even do a clever job of veiling the fact that they were just trying to get into the pocket of US companies." A USTR investigation in January ruled the tax was "unreasonable" and threatened 100 percent duties on a potential list of $2.4 billion in French goods. Vitor Gaspar, head of the IMF's fiscal affairs department, told AFP on Friday that there is "a perception that firms that are extremely profitable, that act in the global sphere, are not paying their fair share of taxation," and called for an international agreement. "It's very important to avoid trade wars, it's very important to avoid tax wars," Gaspar said in an interview. A "cooperative approach is in the best interest of everybody," he said, noting it would be "a signal of the capacity of the global community to work together if a deal on international corporate taxation would be struck." Matt Schruers, the president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, welcomed the US move. "Today's action sends a strong message that discriminatory taxes aimed at US companies are not a path to modernizing the global tax system," Schruers said in a statement. "Changes to international tax rules must be negotiated in good faith through a consensus-based approach at the OECD that addresses the changes of the digitalized global economy." US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Washington 'won't tolerate' taxes in France or elsewhere that target US firms NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP >> In the wake of several pedestrian fatalities, the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors is moving forward with a multi-pronged plan to improve safety along Sycamore Street, the townships downtown commercial corridor. At its Jan. 13 meeting, the board voted unanimously to follow the short term and long term recommendations of its traffic engineer, Derek Kennedy, who was... WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will sign three executive orders on lowering prescription drug prices, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said on Thursday. "This president is going to do three different executive orders that will substantially make sure that the average American gets to pay less for their prescription drugs," Meadows said in an interview on Fox Business Network. Meadows did not give details and did not say when the executive orders would be signed. On Monday, Meadows told Fox News the White House was looking to get something done on prescription drug prices after Congress failed to act. Trump is trailing Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election and the cost of healthcare is a major issue in the campaign. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Monday passed a healthcare bill that includes provisions to cut prescription drug prices. The legislation is expected to be blocked in the Republican-controlled Senate. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) The US Supreme Court has recognised about half of Oklahoma as Native American reservation land and overturned a tribe member's rape conviction because the location where the crime was committed should have been considered outside the reach of state criminal law. The justices ruled five to four in favour of a man named Jimcy McGirt and agreed that the site of the rape should have been recognised as part of a reservation based on the historical claim of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation - beyond the jurisdiction of state authorities. The decision means that for the first time much of eastern Oklahoma is legally considered reservation land. More than 1.8 million people live in the land at issue, which includes the city of Tulsa. Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the ruling, joining the court's four liberals in the majority. He referenced a complex history that includes the forced relocation by the US government of Native Americans to Oklahoma in the 19th century. At the time, the US government pledged that the new land would be theirs in perpetuity. "Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law. Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word," Mr Gorsuch wrote. In a joint statement, the state of Oklahoma and the "Five Tribes" of Oklahoma - the Muscogee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole tribes - said they were making "substantial progress" toward an agreement on shared jurisdiction that they would present to the federal government. Unless changes are made, tribe members who live within the boundaries would now become exempt from certain state obligations such as paying state taxes, while certain Native Americans found guilty in state courts would be able to challenge their convictions on jurisdictional grounds. The tribe also may obtain more power to regulate alcohol sales and expand casino gambling. The ruling voided McGirt's jail sentence of 1,000 years for the rape of a four-year-old girl. But he could face a new trial in federal court. Under US law, tribe members who commit crimes on tribal land cannot be prosecuted in state courts and instead are subject to federal prosecution, which can be beneficial to defendants. New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio, unarguably the worst mayor in NY history, is so immature he is spending money his city does not have to paint Black Lives Matter on 5th Avenue in front of Trump Tower. Because of COVID, he has now banned all public gatherings except BLM protests! He is a child in the throes of a tantrum. The mayor of D.C. did the same thing; and she did it first. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared the area in front of the White House "Black Lives Plaza." Cute. Then there's New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is legitimately responsible for the deaths of thousands of his states elderly, by ordering COVID patients into nursing homes with the highly contagious -- and lethal for the elderly -- illness. After bitterly whining that he needed hospital beds, ventilators, PPE, etc., and seeing how Trump delivered everything he asked for, like a child he refused to use the ship or field hospitals Trump had provided. It is this puerile, bad-tempered behavior that characterizes all of the left. Since Trump was elected president, they have thrown a perpetual tantrum, betraying the emptiness of their agenda. What is their agenda? They want what they want when they want it. When they dont get what they want, they act out like crazed toddlers whose toys have been taken from them. Then, like the bullies they are, they spend every waking moment determined to get their way, no matter the cost or damage done. They tried to effect a coup, to overthrow President Trump with a carefully orchestrated plan to frame him for collusion with Russia. That has blown up in their faces. They tried impeachment over a phone call. Another fail. Not a day has gone by in four years that the left in coordination with the media has not been actively trying to destroy the man. Since the brutal death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the man whose name neither House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nor Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer could remember, the Democrats have continued to be on the side of the nation-destroyers. Pelosi, when asked about the destruction of statues, said, People will do what they do." Not a single Democrat has spoken out against the violence of BLM or Antifa. They all are apparently onboard with the defund the police campaign. The Democrats seem to believe that their support of these mobs will win them votes. Whose votes? MS13? The members of that criminal organization would certainly support the Breathe Act proposed by Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Presley in support of BLM. It calls for the shuttering of all federal prisons and immigration detention centers. How is that for magical thinking? Only children too young to reason would think such an act would reduce crime and increase the safety of law-abiding citizens. Cuomo and California's Gov. Gavin Newsom keep releasing violent criminals from their prisons and then wonder why gun sales and the crime rate in their states have spiked more sharply than cases of COVID. Like every anchor on CNN and MSNBC, these moonbats are spoiled, miseducated foolish persons in position of power and may well be the death of America. Reason and logic are mysteries to them. Another egregious example of childlike behavior is Judge Emmet Sullivan, another leftist who has been exhibiting a months-long fit of infantile rage over the DOJs dismissal of the case against Gen. Michael Flynn. He has refused to abide by the order and continues to try every trick he can think of to keep Flynn trapped in the legal limbo set in motion by the cabal of corrupt traitors who sought to use Flynn to take Trump down. The president commuted the prison sentence of Roger Stone on Friday night, which has sent the inane leftist media into a frenzy of indignation. Stone was not guilty of anything but the left media are melting down while confirmed criminal liars like James Comey, Andrew McCabe, James Clapper, et al walk around free as birds. If and when any of them are indicted, the media will suffer a collective apoplectic seizure. Then there is the 1619 Project, the entirely fictionalized version of Americas founding meant to assuage black Americans who have chosen to embrace the culture of victimhood with which theyve been so carefully taught. Its author, Nikole Hannah-Jones, is the ultimate spoiled child bent upon destroying not only America but her fellow black Americans. The far left that has an iron grip on American education is pushing it into our schools to further mis-educate American youth. Any and all legitimate historians can and have invalidated her work with ease but does anyone care? She won a Pulitzer for her nonsense project that only a child could take seriously. Our left for decades now has promoted a host of false narratives meant to deceive and thus control a mesmerized populace. Back to Black Lives Matter, so deferential to them is the left, their overt anti-Semitism is being normalized. The vandalization and looting in Los Angeles included swastikas on synagogues and Jewish businesses. Did any on the left denounce this? Not one. Not even those who are Jewish. BLM is viciously anti-Israel as well. Has Schumer said a word? Of course not. He is as fearful of this mob of benighted thugs as Republicans are fearful of our savage media and the beyond-childish cancel culture. God forbid a leftist be confronted with an opposing view. Like all those screaming, screeching young white women we see shouting at police, the lot of them are just spoiled, pampered children who have been given free rein to lay waste to the country that has provided them with the unfettered freedom to behave so abominably. There can no longer be any doubt that the Democratic Party is now a thoroughly radicalized, anti-American left bent upon transforming this country. Since the 1960s, the Alinsky radicals have made enormous headway. They have seen to it that at least two, perhaps three generations of young people have been carefully taught not to feel immense gratitude for their good fortune of being born and/or raised here but to condemn and despise this great nation. The ancient goal of teaching our young to think critically has been cancelled; now they are taught to almost mindlessly comply with whatever edicts are issued by their teachers or those of the elected and unelected bureaucrats. The media and Dr. Anthony Fauci-hyped hysteria over COVID has proven to those powers that be just how successful the left has been. Orwell would be shocked; he thought he was writing fiction. The witless submission of so many citizens to social distancing and compulsory wearing of face masks is a case in point. Too many Americans believe whatever the media spew. The destruction of the most successful economy thanks to Trump had to be sabotaged at any cost. The successful rendering of so many to a permanent childhood characterized by identity politics, stage-managed victimhood, and submissive compliance to an authoritarian left is the disease that those of us who support President Trump have long sought to reverse. He is truly the last man standing between the disaster that has befallen Venezuela most recently but countless other nations throughout history. This nation that was built on freedom and the equality of opportunity that has made U.S. citizenship the most valued in the world. Image credit: Pixabay public domain It has been a rollercoaster ride this year for shareholders in investment trust BMO Global Smaller Companies. Over the past six months, the shares have fallen by more than 20 per cent, but they have bounced back sharply in the past 12 weeks by nearly 9 per cent. Investment manager Peter Ewins, currently running the 810million fund from his attic at home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, says the past four months have been a 'difficult and challenging times' for investors. Furthermore, although he likes to be optimistic as a fund manager, he accepts that the future remains fraught with investment danger. 'We've got a serious recession ahead,' he says, 'and as a result we need to be cautious in the near term. The glimmer of hope on the horizon is that smaller companies tend to do well when economies come out of recession.' The trust is in defensive mode. It has a diversified portfolio of more than 180 holdings spread across the globe, but with an emphasis on North American and UK smaller companies. By way of comparison, the 1.8billion Smithson a rival global smaller companies fund run by Fundsmith has only 31 holdings. BMO Global also prefers to access smaller companies in the Far East or listed on emerging markets via investment funds managed by rival asset managers funds that in turn have diverse smaller company portfolios. Indeed, the trust's five biggest stakes are all in funds, run by Aberdeen Standard, Eastspring (part of Prudential), Pinebridge, First State Investments and Utilico. The final damage-limitation tools stem from the trust's decision in March ahead of the coronavirus pandemic to get rid of all its borrowings, thereby limiting exposure to falling markets and Ewins' thorough lockdown review of the trust's holdings to see if any of the companies 'were financially compromised'. The result of this portfolio review has been the disposal of a number of holdings, including companies operating in the energy sector and vulnerable to a sliding oil price the likes of US- listed Core Laboratories and Norwegian-based TGS Nopec. It has also prompted the building of stakes in a number of defensive stocks, and companies whose share price had fallen sharply therefore providing Ewins with a 'valuation opportunity'. Among the 'defensive' purchases are shares in US company Nomad Food, owner of classic brands such as Findus, Birds Eye and Aunt Bessie's. 'Lockdown has resulted in more people eating frozen food,' says Ewins. Other new holdings include Stock Spirits, a UK-listed drinks business operating in Poland and HelloFresh a provider of meal kits to cook at home. Although the trust's overall long-term performance record is bettered by rival trusts such as Edinburgh Worldwide (managed by Baillie Gifford) and Herald, it has a record of delivering a steady increase in dividend income. It has pushed up its dividends every year for the past 50 and with the equivalent of more than a year's income in reserve, it is well placed to continue growing it. But the income is modest, equivalent to just 1.5 per cent a year. Fund Calibre a scrutineer of investment funds includes BMO Global in its list of 'elite' global equity funds. It says the trust 'could be an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to smaller companies who are aware of the additional risks in this part of the market'. A New York City priest who was accused by parishioners of embezzling nearly $1 million to pay for male prostitutes and buy a house in Ocean County has been found dead, his brother said on Saturday. The Rev. Peter Miqueli, 57, who resigned in 2015 as pastor of St. Frances de Chantal parish in Throggs Neck, apparently died at the single-story home he owned on Cornell Drive in Brick, according to police and his brother, Joseph. The former Catholic priests body was found by police in the home on Thursday, said his brother, adding that investigators notified him of the death. I dont know anything else. The police were supposed to call me back but they never did, Joseph Miqueli told NJ Advance Media. Miqueli was found deceased. This is a county medical examiners case, so we are not commenting further on it at this time, a spokesman for Brick Township police said in an email. Peter Miqueli made headlines nearly five years ago when a lawsuit filed by a group of Bronx parishioners accused him of funneling church donations for personal use buying the house in Brick, taking lavish vacations and paying for drugs. The home in Brick Township where Peter Miqueli's body was found on Thursday.File The lawsuit charged that Miqueli paid a male companion $1,000 for role-playing sessions that included acting out "sexual fantasies" and "bondage/discipline/sadism/masochism" activities. Miqueli, who according to the lawsuit never earned a salary of more than $31,000, also used the money to assist with rent payments so the man could live in a Park Avenue apartment in Manhattan. The status of the 2015 lawsuit is unclear online records show the original complaint but no disposition. The Archdiocese of New York several years ago said it could not substantiate any of the allegations contained in the lawsuit. The New York Post reported the archdiocese contacted the Bronx District Attorneys Office, which found that Miqueli stole more than $22,450 from the Throggs Neck church. No criminal charges were filed. Joseph Miqueli, who lives in another state, said he has not spoken to his brother in years but texted him on his birthday, July 7 something he does every year. I texted him and said, Happy Birthday. He didnt respond, but that wasnt unusual, Joseph Miqueli said. He never responds. Joseph Miqueli said he never had a falling out with his brother, but the two just stopped talking nonetheless. I love my brother, he said. Hes my little brother no matter what. My heart is breaking and theres nothing I can do. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Gen. Paik Sun-yup Paik Sun-yup, a famous Korean War hero and South Korea's first four-star general, died Friday at age 99, military officials said. Born in 1920, Paik graduated from a military academy in Manchuria in northeastern China in 1941, and became an officer of the Manchukuo Imperial Army. Manchukuo was a puppet state established by Japan in Manchuria. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45. Upon the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Paik was assigned to lead the 1st Infantry Division. Under his leadership, the division played a critical role in deterring North Korean troops from taking over the entire South in what is known as the Battle of Tabu-dong, one of the fiercest battles of the war. During the battle, Paik famously persuaded fleeing soldiers to stay by telling them: "I will be at the forefront of the fight. If I retreat, shoot me first." He later recalled the battle as his fiercest ever. When South Korean and U.N. forces charged northward to Pyongyang, he arrived there before the U.S. troops and planted a South Korean flag. "The day we entered Pyongyang was the best day of my life. I was never able to forget that day," Paik later said in a media interview. "I commanded 15,000 South Korean and U.S. troops and retrieved my hometown (near Pyongyang)." The following year, he became a two-star general to lead the Army corps. In 1952, he was named the top officer in the Army and became a four-star general the following year, the first in Korean history. In December 1952, when then-U.S. president-elect Dwight Eisenhower visited South Korea, Paik briefed him on the need to increase the South Korean forces, ultimately leading to an expansion from 10 Army divisions to 20. A recording of Paik telling his stories of the Korean War can be found at the National Infantry Museum in the U.S. state of Georgia. In 1959, he served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and then retired from the military in 1960. After his retirement, the general was appointed ambassador to China in 1960; to France, the Netherlands and Belgium in 1961; and to Canada in 1965. He also served as transportation minister from 1969 to 1971. In honor of his service, South Korea created the General Paik Sun-yup Award in 2013, which has been awarded to U.S. service members considered to have contributed to the nation's security and the bilateral alliance. Paik was also the subject of controversy when he was accused in 2009 of being pro-Japan for his service in the Manchukuo Imperial Army. In accordance with relevant laws, Paik's body will be buried at the national cemetery in Daejeon, central South Korea. A funeral will be held on Wednesday. (Yonhap) Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment On July 1, a statue of Christopher Columbus is removed from Columbus City Hall in Ohio, where it had been for more than sixty years. July 4, a statue in Baltimore of the celebrated Italian explorer, which had stood for 36 years, is torn down by rioters and thrown into the citys Inner Harbor. July 6, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, a statue of Columbus is quietly removed from the memorial in Seaside Park, with other statues of the same moved in Norwalk, New Haven, Middletown, and New London. Statues of Columbus have become a part of recent protests about racism brought on by the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. But the debate over Columbus as a racist, a slave trader, and a plunderer, has actually been around for a while. In fact, various localities across the country recognize Indigenous Peoples Day as a counter celebration to the U.S. federal holiday of Columbus Day. The late Dr. D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe in their book, What If the Bible Had Never Been Written, cite a quote from columnist Garry Wills, who once wrote: A funny thing happened on the way to the quincentennial observation of Americas discovery: Columbus got muggedHe comes now with an apologetic air. He comes to be dishonored. Kennedy and Newcombe contend, Its not politically correct to praise Columbus for his revolutionary voyage, yet he changed the world. And no amount of politically correct denial, denigration, or historical revision can change that fact. Columbus did change the world. Although its not entirely correct to credit him with being the first to discover America, nevertheless, he was the intrepid sailor who opened the way, as none other, for the exploration and colonization of this country. Kenneth C. Davis, in his book, Dont Know Much About History, says of Columbus: It would be unthinkable to downplay the importance of Columbus voyage or the incredible heroism and tenacity of character his quest demanded. Even the astronauts who flew to the moon had a pretty good idea of what to expect; Columbus was sailing as Star Trek puts it, where no man has gone before. Moreover, as Rev. Benjamin F. Morris wrote during the 19th century about the initial settlement of the American continent: No era in human history is more signally and sublimely marked with the manifest providence and presence of God than that of the discovery and Christian colonization of the North American continent. In other words, without Columbus, there would be no America, no liberty, no law, no government, no Constitution, no new heights of science, medicine, and the arts. By his achievements, Columbus lifted the entire planet. There are indeed a few rude facts about the man, which shows he wasnt sinless or a saint. Yet it is also true, he cant be blamed for much of what his critics say, and neither do they give him proper credit for what he did. In Columbus defense, Kennedy and Newcombe, contend: If he [Columbus] brought disease to the Western World, which the sailors and the settlers did, we must realize that the people living at that time had no understanding of the germ theory of disease. By the way, its never mentioned that the explorers also carried back to Europe New World diseases that decimated Europe We are told that innocent natives were slaughtered. Columbus never slaughtered any native. He not only never committed genocide, he didnt kill anyone. In fact, he was very kindly toward the natives. Furthermorethe natives were not all the simple idyllic, gracious people that the defenders of the multicultural view would have us to believe. Carol Delaney of Stanford Universitys Department of Cultural and Sociological Anthropology rightly concludes that to criticize and excoriate Columbus, as so many have done and continue to do, ignores the cultural context in which he moved and the religious ideas that informed it. Matt Malone made another excellent point in the great explorers defense in American Magazine. Malone argued, Columbus Day was partly born in response to what was during the 19th and early 20th centuries 'a pervasive ethnic prejudice [against Italian Americans], which also involved a virulent strain of anti-Catholicism' that it was believed 'should have no place in American life.' Thats interesting. So statues of Columbus and Columbus Day were established, in part, as a statement repudiating racism and religious bigotry against Italian-Americans, and now people are pulling down those statues and calling for an end to Columbus Day because of racism. Can you say the word irony. Unbeknownst to many, Columbus was unquestionably a devout Christian man. His name means Christ-bearer, and he believed it was his calling from God to take the Gospel of Christ via his voyages to the far ends of the earth, and thereby unify the whole world under the banner of Christ. He was responsible for naming such places as San Salvador, which means Holy Savior, Vera Cruz, which means true cross, La Navidad, which means the Nativity, and Trinidad, which is a reference to the Trinity. Could it be that secularists and now socialists, who are determined to remove every vestige of Americas Christian heritage, have made getting rid of Columbus a part of their overall efforts? To answer in the affirmative seems obvious. Racism is indeed a terrible thing, but what is happening is not merely a reexamination of our nations racist past. It is something more. It is an effort to kick out from beneath us our very foundations. Beware America! There is sufficient reason to believe something as impious, or worse, than the alleged crimes of Columbus is plotting an insidious coup. It is a hidden epidemic that has hit more than two million Britons and left them struggling through each day with debilitating pain. Chronic wounds ulcers and cuts, usually on the legs and feet, that fail to heal cost the NHS 5 billion every year. And they are far from a minor affliction, often leading to infections with thousands of patients ultimately facing limb amputations each year. Zoom calls with GPs are helping medics manage problems such as chronic wounds on legs and feet which fail to heal and cost the NHS some 5bn a year With the help of video-call appointments many patients are finally healed, quite possibly for good But, according to new figures, the tide may finally be turning as new home-management methods, adopted during lock-down, are rapidly revolutionising treatment for these stubborn injuries. With the help of video-call appointments many patients are finally healed, quite possibly for good. This week, the UKs leading charity for leg and foot problems, Legs Matter UK, estimated that half a million sufferers are now treating themselves effectively at home, using guidance given via video or phone calls from specialist nurses. Waiting times to speak to a nurse or doctor have dropped from eight weeks to just seven days in some areas. Dr Leanne Atkin, vascular nurse consultant at the Mid-Yorkshire NHS Trust, says the pandemic has forced medics to try new approaches to patient care. She said: We receive photographs of wounds by email and phone messaging, which allows us to judge instantly if theres an infection that needs treating or if dressings need changing. Then we give step- by-step advice about how to do so over the phone or via video calls. This frees up time in clinic for the more severe cases, which can be seen far quicker than ever before. This revolution is well-timed, given that the toll of chronic wounds is predicted to increase in the coming years. The risk of developing a non-healing wound is worsened by illnesses that affect the circulation, including diabetes and heart disease, both of which are on the rise due to spiralling obesity levels and an ageing population. Experts estimate that wounds become chronic in two-thirds of patients with these conditions. In diabetes, high blood sugar levels can also lead to nerve damage, which means patients are often unaware of a foot injury and will continue to walk on it, compounding problems. Unless treatment is given rapidly, to both cover the wound and improve the circulation in the legs, the ulcer may not heal. Such is the growing concern that, last year, an all-party parliamentary group commissioned a report on the crisis. In October, MPs on the committee for vascular and venous diseases warned that organisational barriers within the NHS were hindering speedy treatment. Scores of patients were found to be waiting two months for an initial referral to a nurse specialist, by which time amputation may be the only option. This is despite expert advice to stick within the 14-day window of opportunity to save limbs. Previously, once patients were referred by a GP, theyd visit a specialist nurse for compression therapy tight bandages that squeeze the legs to encourage blood flow. After that, face-to-face sessions with healthcare professionals were needed to change dressings frequently, possibly at a GP surgery or specialist clinic. But soaring patient numbers and staff shortages have left patients waiting for months on end, both for an initial appointment and check-ups. When Covid-19 hit, clinicians rapidly redesigned services, leading to a dramatic improvement in treatment for patients. Now, after a referral is made from a GP, which can be done following a phone appointment, specialists can intervene within 48 hours. After assessing photographs, clinicians decide how quickly each patient needs to be seen. If a visit isnt needed straight away, patients are provided with video tutorials to guide the changing of dressings, or in-depth guidance over the phone. Family members are involved too partners and children are given step-by-step instructions for changing and cleaning dressings over the phone. Bureaucratic constraints have also been torn down, with specialists such as Dr Atkin able to prescribe pain medication or antibiotics to treat infections outside of a GP clinic. She says: We had this the wrong way round. Covid has given us the opportunity to go back and see where we should be focusing things. One useful result of the pandemic is that many older people have become more familiar with technology, having used it to stay in touch with loved ones. One patient to benefit from the new routine is retired lorry driver Peter Hilton, 78, who has suffered with leg ulcers for 30 years. He also has type 2 diabetes and has been shielding with wife Pat, 77, at their home in Leeds. Despite being a bit squeamish, former dental nurse Pat admits she has excelled herself in changing the dressing on her husbands left foot, where an ulcer had developed. During lockdown, Pat underwent two hours of training by phone with Kate Williams, a wound clinical nurse specialist in Leeds, and has been able to clean and redress the wound more frequently than was possible at their busy GP surgery. As a result, the wound that stretched from Peters heel to toes is healing rapidly. Pat sends weekly images via email to Kate to check on his progress. At first, I wasnt confident, but Kate told me what to do, Pat says. At first, it needed daily dressing. But its healing well so its every other day now. And her grateful husband adds: It only takes her 30 minutes. Shes absolutely first-class! Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 07:36:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The logo of a Wendy's restaurant is seen in Plano, Texas, the United States, on July 2, 2020. NPC International, the biggest U.S. franchisee of Pizza Hut, filed for bankruptcy on July 1. The company operates more than 1200 Pizza Huts and nearly 400 Wendy's restaurants. (Photo by Dan Tian/Xinhua) "If we do not slow the spread of COVID-19 ... the next step would have to be a lock-down," says the governor. HOUSTON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned Friday of another economic shutdown if the fast spread of COVID-19 is not contained. "The worst is yet to come as we work our way through that massive increase in people testing positive," Abbott told local TV station KLBK. Texans will also likely see an increase in new coronavirus cases next week, Abbott said, urging people to abide by his face mask mandate to avoid another economic shutdown. File photo of Governor of the U.S. state of Texas Greg Abbott. (Photo credit: Office of the Texas Governor) "I made clear that I made this tough decision for one reason: It was our last best effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. If we do not slow the spread of COVID-19 ... the next step would have to be a lock-down," the governor said, referring to his mask order. According to Texas Health and Human Services, the state added 9,765 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, making the total number of cases exceeding 240,000. Ninety-five deaths were also reported on Friday, a day after a record high of more than 100 deaths reported. At a moment of national reckoning over systemic racism brought to light by both the impact of the COVID-19 and police brutality, former Vice President Joe Biden is facing increasing calls to pick a woman of color as his running mate. Much of the attention has focused on the black women on his short list, but some strategists and Latino leaders want to make sure that the campaign is also seriously considering qualified Latina candidates. While Bidens reported shortlist for vice president is arguably the most diverse in presidential history, his campaign only appears to be vetting one prominent Latina candidate for the role. (MORE: Biden campaign focuses on diverse coalition building with new senior leadership) In interviews with ABC News, more than half-a-dozen Latino activists, Democratic Party leaders, and operatives said that tapping a Latina running mate would put Biden in a strong position to win the overwhelming support of voters poised to become the largest nonwhite voting bloc in November. They argue it will improve his importance with a key demographic with whom he struggled in the primary and is the second-fastest growing group in the United States. And regardless of who Biden picks to join his ticket, they want to ensure that the diverse Latino population also has a strong voice in his campaign. The Latino vote is the road to the White House, said Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, a prominent Biden supporter. Its going to be a very important and critical part of his campaign strategy. Room to improve with Latinos While Biden has a wide lead over Trump among Latinos - 59%-39%, according to a June PBS/NPR/Marist College poll - he still trails Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama, who won 66% and 71% of the Latino vote in 2016, and 2012, respectively, according to Pew. He also lost their vote to Sanders in the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and Texas primary, but improved on his numbers in Florida and pulled even with Sanders in Arizona as the party coalesced around his campaign. Story continues With 32 million Latinos eligible to vote in November, Latino leaders say the selection of a Latina running mate could help Biden improve both his share of the Latino vote and propel more Latinos - for years considered a sleeping demographic giant by pollsters - to the polls. Roughly 48% of eligible Latinos voted in 2016, compared to 59.6% of blacks and 65.3% of whites, according to Pew. Overall, 12.7 million Latinos voted in 2016, compared to 11.2 million in 2012. (MORE: With help from Latino voters, Bernie Sanders hits the Nevada jackpot) We registered a lot of Latinos in 2016, but we took for granted that people were going to come out, said Nathalie Reyes, the president and CEO of Latino Victory. When Latinos are on the ballot, Latinos do come out and vote, and so obviously that would be really important to mobilize the Latino community around Vice President Biden. Latino voters, who are also among the youngest racial and ethnic groups in the country, could shape the results in a number of battleground states. PHOTO: People wait in line to vote in Georgia's primary election, June 9, 2020 in Atlanta. Voters in Georgia, West Virginia, South Carolina, North Dakota, and Nevada are holding primaries amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) These are new voters, these are voters who have come up through a lot of hard hardship, they've experienced a lot of alienation, particularly with this current administration and they're galvanized to do something about it, said Paul Cuadros, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-founder of the Universitys Latino educational and cultural center. In Arizona and Florida, Latinos make up between 20-25% of all eligible voters, and could also play a key role in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Trump won in 2016 by less than 80,000 votes combined. Capturing the Latino vote is of course not a one size fits all approach, in Arizona, for example, Biden performed better with older Hispanic voters while Sanders did well with younger ones. And Republicans have traditionally enjoyed the support of the Cuban-American community in Florida, where Trump lost the Latino vote but won 54% of the Cuban vote in 2016. Nationwide, Trump received roughly 29% of the Latino vote in 2016, in line with Romneys 27% in 2012. New Mexico governor under consideration New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham, a border state governor, former member of Congress and New Mexico health secretary, is being vetted by the Biden campaign for vice president, according to sources familiar with the process. But she may be the only Latina under consideration, after Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada withdrew her name from the process in May. Grisham's executive experience and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, criminal justice reform and immigration would make her a well-rounded pick, experts and her supporters told ABC News. That's a nice balance of experience being an executive and running a state and dealing with all kinds of issues in terms of running a state, said Cuardos. As well as being a fresh face for a particular community. Grisham, who declined an interview request through a spokesperson, has been less public about her interest in the role than some of the other candidates. Shes been in conversations with the campaign about how she can best support the campaign, boost turnout and ensure a Democratic victory, and those conversations are ongoing, press secretary Nora Meyers Sackett told ABC News. Domingo Garcia, the president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said her selection would be a game-changer with Latino voters, and expressed frustration that her potential candidacy had not gained more attention. Its almost like a token name to make sure that theres at least one Latina in the mix, he said. For Tania Unzueta Carrasco, co-founder and political director of progressive Latino organizing group Mijente, Biden picking a Latina for vice president isnt a priority. She said stances issues like immigration and criminal justice reform are more important. I actually would much rather have someone who's good on positions than someone who was Latina that doesnt have the values we need them to have, said Unzueta Carrasco. I would be excited for someone like Stacey Abrams, I'd be very disappointed with someone like Kamala Harris. And I've been paying attention more to that than whether the person is Latino or not. (MORE: Latinos shoulder disproportionate coronavirus cases: CDC data) Bidens campaign is also vetting, among others, Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, along with Reps. Val Demings of Florida and Karen Bass of California. Susan Rice, who served in the Obama White House as the presidents national security adviser, is also thought to be under consideration. Prominent Black Democrats have argued that naming an African-American woman as his running mate could help Biden improve his standing even further with Black voters, who resuscitated his primary campaign in South Carolina and boost turnout in several key Midwestern and southern states in November. This choice is going to be taking place in a moment of racial reckoning regarding this countrys treatment of African-Americans, and thats just a reality that hes going to have to speak to, Steve Philips, a Democratic donor and founder of Democracy in Color, told ABC News. PHOTO: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham confirmed a new coronavirus infection that has no apparent link to travel, March 18, 2020, during a news conference on the floor of the state House of Representatives in Santa Fe, N.M. (Morgan Lee/AP, FILE) The Biden campaign declined to comment on the vice-presidential selection process. It's the smartest strategic move that could be made with the vice presidential pick just based out of pure need, Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist who served as a senior adviser to Bernie Sanderss presidential campaign, told ABC News about a Latina running mate. Henry Cisneros, who served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton, and was vetted by Walter Mondales presidential campaign in 1984, said Biden should also consider how the selection of a running mate could impact every part of his coalition. You have to think about what would African-Americans voters say about that, progressive voters say about that, depending on the person, he said. Campaign staff and policy can also help reach Latino voters Outside his selection of a running mate, Latino leaders told ABC News that Biden can also galvanize voters by focusing on issues important to their communities, and by putting together a diverse campaign staff. There are other ways that the vice president can make the case to Latinos and they are speaking to the specific issues related to immigration, related to education, related to jobs and wages that really are the top priorities for the Latino community, said Cisneros, the former HUD secretary. Rep. Tony Cardenas, the chairman of BOLD PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus campaign arm, pointed to Rochas role on the Sanders campaign as one reason why the Vermont senator outperformed Biden with Latino voters early in the primary. Bernie Sanders proved its not rocket science, its real simple. You hire and empower a culturally competent individual, and that person continues to hire and empower others who are culturally competent when it comes to the Latino vote, Cardenas said. Whos in the room [where] the actual power sits, like I was with Bernie? said Rocha. That's when you know you can really make social impact and change in a campaign. I do think that there needs to be more Latinos in his campaign in positions of power and I would urge the campaign to work with Latinx people who are doing community organizing, said Unzueta Carrasco. In an interview with ABC News, Biden senior adviser Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the granddaughter of the late labor and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez who also served in the Obama White House, said she and senior adviser Cristobal Alex are in the room with campaign leadership and the former vice president, and that the campaign has worked to include Latino staff at every level. More than one-third of Biden's staff are people of color, and a majority of his team are women, according to data released by the campaign last month. We are growing the organization in ways that, frankly, during the primary there were a lot more limited resources and a limited ability to do that, she said, noting that the campaign has named Latina state directors in Arizona and Nevada. PHOTO: Board of Election employees and volunteers wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) assist voters at the Brooklyn Museum polling site for the New York Democratic presidential primary elections on June 23, 2020 in New York City. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images) Biden recently launched a Latino Leadership Committee, led by former Colorado senator Ken Salazar, that includes former Obama Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Cardenas, and other prominent Latino surrogates. His campaign has also started outreach to Hispanic voters with highly sophisticated ads, tailored to certain areas based on ethnicity and specific communities. Understanding all the sort of complexities and diversities of our community is going to be so key to really tapping into what is going to motivate them to vote, said Chavez Rodriguez, who joined the campaign in May. She said the campaigns decision to organize a coalitions department - focused on outreach to different groups of voters, including ethnic and religious groups - together with its digital organizing would also help the campaigns Latino outreach. We all are approaching this, even in the COVID era, with some cautious optimism and a vision for ways that we want to not just win an election, but empower our communities in the process, she said. How a running mate, diverse campaign could help Biden with Latino voters originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Troy The Rensselaer County Health Department issued an advisory Friday asking anyone who was on a recent flight to Albany from Georgia to immediately contact their local county health department. Three passengers on the Delta Air Lines flight 4815 from Georgia to Albany have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the department said. The flight took place Monday and the passengers all Troy residents in their 20s began feeling sick the next day, the department said. Test results came back Friday. While the three infected passengers are Rensselaer County residents, the department is warning all other passengers of the flight to contact the county health department where they live. Rensselaer County residents can call 518-270-2655. "The Rensselaer County Health Department will be working with the New York State Health Department and local health departments as this case develops," the department posted on Facebook Friday. "Updates will be provided when new information is available." Georgia is one of 19 states on New York's travel advisory list, which requires those who have traveled to New York from states with surging coronavirus cases to quarantine for 14 days. It's unclear whether the infected passengers took this step, but a number of local counties are monitoring recent travelers who have proactively called their health departments to advise them of their travel and subsequent quarantine. The quarantine applies to anyone arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average. As of Friday, that included travelers coming from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. A number of new virus cases that have emerged in the region recently had ties to out-of-state travel. Warren County on Friday confirmed yet another case of the virus in a person who had traveled to the area from Florida. Others in their household have tested positive as well, the county said. The county's Health Services department was monitoring 61 people Friday who were placed on precautionary quarantines as a result of the travel advisory, an increase of 12 from the day before. "We would like to thank the travelers who have proactively reached out and are working with us during the travel quarantine process," said Warren County Health Services Director Ginelle Jones. Irked at big retailers Also Friday, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy slammed Walmart and other big box retailers for what he says is their ongoing failure to enforce the state's mask guidelines. McCoy said the issue has come up repeatedly on his 2 p.m. calls with members of the state-appointed Regional Control Room, and said he witnessed the lack of enforcement himself on a recent visit to the Walmart store in Glenmont. He said Walmart which has remained open for the entirety of the pandemic because of its classification as an essential retailer only recently came to an agreement with the state to hire so-called "health ambassadors," who would educate customers on mask use. "They've been open for the whole 18 weeks," McCoy said Friday. "You have closed mom and pops businesses that could have stayed open through this whole crisis and could have done the right thing, and weren't allowed to because what? They weren't smart enough? They weren't healthy enough? But the fact that we're still talking about Walmart and Target and Sam's Club and it's 18 weeks into it, and now they're gonna do this? Where were they 18 weeks ago? Making profits when the little stores, the backbone of our community, were struggling." Other county executives, including Rensselaer County's Steve McLaughlin, have expressed similar frustrations about the high standards that small businesses were expected to meet to reopen while reports of lax enforcement at big box retailers have been an ongoing issue throughout the pandemic. "I just find it ironic," McCoy said. "I can't even comment anymore on it when they bring it up because it's just, it's not even laughable. The fact that, you know, they're going to do all this stuff 18 weeks later? Thanks Walmart. Thank you for rolling up your sleeves and doing the right thing." McCoy's office later told the Times Union that the state has been getting reports of inconsistent enforcement at Walmart stores across the state. "Two of our Walmarts had far more complaints to our office than any other single business in the county," said Cameron Sagan, a spokesperson in the county executive's office. "From what we understand, Walmart came to an agreement with the state to address this by hiring 'health ambassadors' as well as hiring third-party security who would be tasked with reminding customers of the mask requirements. They also discussed utilizing single points of entry and exits. The changes were supposed to go into effect yesterday." The governor's office and Walmart did not respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon. Store employees across the country, including those at big and small retailers, have been threatened, harassed and even assaulted for trying to enforce mask compliance from customers. Despite resounding endorsement by public health experts and scientists as a way to meaningfully reduce potential virus transmission, public mask-wearing has become the latest flash point in America's increasingly divisive culture wars. Region's latest cases Twenty-eight new virus cases were confirmed in eight counties across the Capital Region on Friday, bringing the total number of virus cases in the region to date to 5,340. The number of active cases in the region was 190, down three from the day before. In the eight counties Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington 25 residents were hospitalized Friday, up three from the day before. There were no new deaths Friday. The region's known death toll from the virus remains at 310. bbump@timesunion.com 518-454-5387 @bethanybump Punjab-origin politician, Workers Party chief, Pritam Singh, 43, was elected as the leader of opposition by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who won 83 out of the 93 seats in the recently concluded Singapore general election. Workers Party chief, Pritam Singh Singh is a Singaporean with Punjabi ancestry and a practicing Sikh. He is married to Loveleen Kaur Walia, a Singaporean theatre practitioner, and the couple has two daughters. In a statement on Facebook, Singh said: I refer to PM Lee Hsien Loongs press conference early this morning. I look forward to serving as the leader of the opposition and will carry out my duties to the best of my abilities. I will endeavour to ensure that The Workers Party under my leadership will remain loyal to Singapore and all Singaporeans. On behalf of all WP candidates at GE2020, and on a more personal note, thank you to all our families and loved ones, who have marched in step with us, through all the highs and lows over many years. Singh has been in active politics since 2011. Pritam has spoken on a wide range of issues, including foreign affairs and defence, and job disruption faced by PMET workers. In 2020, he called for giving seniors above 60 greater access to their Medisave to settle inpatient and outpatient bills, the Workers Party website says, adding that he assumed chairmanship of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council and oversaw significant improvements in estate and compliance matters. Singh joined the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1994, and served as an officer from 1997 to 2002 having achieved the commissioned rank of Major. Earlier, Singapores Prime Minister assured it is only right that Workers Partys Indian-origin secretary-general Pritam Singh be formally designated as the leader of the opposition, and that he will be provided with appropriate staff support and resources to perform his duties. Singh, whose Workers Party team retained Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), will have 10 elected MPs now, up from six previously. His fellow member also retained the Hougang single member constituency seat. It was Singhs first outing as party chief, and he had entered the election aiming to defend the partys home turf, but by the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, it became clear that he had led his party to another breakthrough. Police in Cambodia block activists from attending ceremonies on the fourth anniversary of Kem Leys death, July 10, 2020. Police in Cambodias Takeo province Friday set up roadblocks to stop a group of about 100 activists from the capital Phnom Penh from joining in ceremonies commemorating the life of political commentator and social activist Kem Ley on the fourth anniversary of his murder. Kem Ley was shot to death in broad daylight on July 10, 2016 while having a morning coffee at a Caltex gas station mini market, days after publicly criticizing Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family for abuse of power and unexplained wealth. A trained physician who also held a doctorate, he was 45 and left behind four children and a pregnant widow. Police stopped members of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA) and the Cambodian Youth Network, citing COVID-19 concerns and conducting drivers license checks. I am very sad. As a citizen, I want to pay gratitude to the late Kem Ley, but the police stopped us, Vorn Pao, president of IDEA, told RFAs Khmer Service. He said that although the police stopped his group of activists, they did not actually check them for COVID-19. They did not allow some in the group to continue their journey, instead taking them to a police station for questioning about the drivers licenses. Sar Mory, the Cambodian Youth Networks program director, told RFA police followed him from the capital and took pictures of his license plate number, finally stopping his bus, which was carrying 20 passengers. The youths then walked six kms (3.7 mile) before catching a ride with friends. All of the supporters from both groups eventually made it to the ceremony, but most were late, arriving at different times because of the delays. The actions of the police are a restriction against our freedom as citizens to take part in a religious ceremony. We only wanted to express our gratitude and pay our respects to the late Kem Ley, said Sar Mory. Stopping the supporters to check drivers licenses is illegal according to Soeung Sen Karuna, the spokesman for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), a local rights organization. He told RFA that the police action aimed simply to restrict the freedom of people wanting to participate in the ceremonies. Police deny wrongdoing National Police Spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun told RFA that the Takeo police told him that the activists were travelling in an overloaded bus that was further weighed down by heavy luggage. He said that police have the right to check people and stop them from using the ceremony as a political event to protect security. Police have the right to stop them from joining the ceremony because the family [of Kem Ley] filed a complaint asking us to maintain order, said Chhay Kim Khoeun People are taking advantage of the event for political reasons, with some disturbing the solemn event to broadcast it live [on Facebook], he said. The spokesman said that the police had no issues with the event itself. Vorn Pao rejected Chhay Kim Khoeuns assertion that the police did not break any laws, Kem Leys sister said the family had no complaints about visitors. Family welcomed supporters Kem Leys family was aware that supporters wanted to join the ceremony and they did not ask police to prevent them from joining, according to Kem Leys sister, Kem Thavry. She told RFA that police had Kem Leys mother sign a statement, but her mother did not know what it said. The statement was already written. My mother only thumbprinted over her name, she said. Meanwhile in Stung Treng province, police stopped 30 monks and villagers from organizing their own ceremony to commemorate Kem Ley. Their ceremony was interrupted because local authorities and a provincial prosecutor came to the event to stop it, according to the Venerable Bo Beth. He told RFA that youths taking part in their event were removed and not allowed to stay at the event through the night. [The authorities] are afraid of Kem Leys shadow. They violated peoples freedom, said Bo Beth. Before I organized the event, I read the constitution and laws about demonstrations. I didnt see any law that prevents us from organizing a Buddhist ceremony to commemorate the life of someone like Dr. Kem Ley, who is still in our hearts, said the monk. Widow still suffering Kem Leys widow, Bou Rachna told RFA she is still suffering four years after her husbands death. I try to forget my suffering by spending my time taking care of my children. I lie to myself that Kem Ley is still working on his mission and will return home one day, she said from Australia on an RFA call-in show Friday. Bou Rachna said she welcomed a new initiative to end impunity in Cambodia launched Friday by the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party and asserted the man currently serving time for the crime is not really the killer of her husband. The govt. has the duty to find the real killers and prosecute them, she said. Authorities charged a former soldier named Oeuth Ang with Kem Leys murder and sentenced him to life in prison in March 2017. In May last year, court authorities rejected his appeal and upheld his sentence, but many in Cambodia do not believe the governments story that Kem Ley was killed by the man over a debt. Cambodia has imprisoned a scapegoat while allowing the masterminds to remain free, so it's clear the domestic investigation has failed and an independent, international effort must step in to ensure accountability, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. Acting CNRP President Sam Rainsy told RFA that they chose the anniversary of Kem Leys death to launch their new campaign. More people are falling as victims. The last one was Kem Ley. This is our final campaign to end impunity, he told RFA. We have a massive number of supporters around the world. And we will make sure that victims receive justice very soon, said Sam Rainsy. He added that the party would provide travel expenses and security in a third country for witnesses, should they come forward. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. The ambassador also reiterated that China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity". New Delhi: Reaching out to India in a long video address that indicates a considerable softening of stand by Beijing, Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong on Friday said that China is neither a warlike state nor an assertive country and that both countries should be partners, maintain peace, build trust and have win-win cooperation instead of rivalry, confrontation, suspicions and a zero-sum game. He also warned that any move to boycott Chinese goods or throw out Chinese companies would only end up economically hurting India instead. Admitting that Sino-Indian ties are currently facing a complex situation, the Chinese envoy said both countries should together overcome and turn it around as soon as possible by meeting each other half way, by being open and inclusive, by respecting and accommodate mutual core interests and major concerns, ... not imposing one's will on the other and adhering to the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Sun also said both sides should honour our commitment, walk the talk, and ensure implementation of the leaders' consensus in letter and in spirit to be able to address challenges we are facing and bring the bilateral relations back on the right track. Sounding a note of caution, he said this was the only way in which both nations can avoid any strategic miscalculation. The term is broadly seen as a Chinese euphemism for any military conflict that Beijing sees as being initiated by India. Nevertheless, the Chinese envoy reiterated his countrys foreign ministrys recent views that the right and wrong of what recently happened at the Galwan Valley is very clear and that China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and ensure the peace and tranquility in the border areas. It may be recalled that both nations have accused each other of being responsible for the deadly clash between troops of both sides at the Galwan valley in the Ladakh sector in mid-June which saw bilateral ties sharply deteriorating. In a veiled warning to each other, both nations have also vowed to safeguard their territorial integrity. I have noticed some emerging opinions in recent days which repudiate the essence of China-India friendship due to the border-related incidents, make false assumptions about China's intentions, exaggerate conflicts and provoke confrontations, and regard a close neighbour over thousands of years as enemies and strategic threats. It is not the fact. It is harmful indeed and not helpful, the Chinese Ambassador observed. The envoy advised that both countries should put their differences in "an appropriate place" and not allow them to interfere with bilateral relations. In what is being seen as a veiled reference to the United States, China apparently termed Washington as a disrutor and foe. Sun said, "At the backdrop of what recently happened at the Galwan Valley, some quarters in India raise doubts about the consensus reached by the two leaders, and have wrong perception of the direction of China-India relations. These have brought disruptions to the bilateral relationship ... Why should we fight against each other that will only hurt those close to us and gladden the foes?". The Chinese envoy advised, First, China and India should be partners, rather than rivals. Second, China and India need peace rather than confrontation. Third, China and India need to pursue win-win cooperation instead of zero-sum game. Fourth, China and India need to build trust, rather than suspicion. Fifth, China-India relations should move forward rather than backward. Sound a warning in an obvious reference to Indias recent action of banning 59 Chinese Apps and the push to boycott Chinese products, the Chinese envoy said that such move would only harm Indian consumers and the economy. "Some people have been trumpeting the so-called decoupling of China-India economic and trade relations, with an attempt to completely exclude Made in China. One basic fact they ignore is that the current global industrial and supply chains are formed in a process of natural selection by market optimization over the past decades. The business community and people of India are the beneficiaries of China-India economic and trade cooperation. Any self-protection, non-tariff barriers and restrictive measures against China are unfair to Chinese enterprises, unfair to Indian employees who lost their jobs as a result, and unfair to Indian consumers who cannot get access to the products and services they deserve," he said. For the past 25 years, Chuck Searcy has cleaned up explosives and helped disabled children in Quang Tri Province, a prime Vietnam War battleground. Chuck Searcy is no stranger to the employees of Project RENEW, a Vietnamese organization that deals with unexploded ordnance left from the Vietnam War. His thin stature and silver hair are a stark contrast to his gregarious, lively persona. Traveling back and forth between Hanoi and Quang Tri Province, a major former battlefield in central Vietnam, Searcy has done all in his capacity to mend wartime wounds. After all, Searcy had helped launch Project RENEW in 2001, now serving as its international advisor. At 75, Searcy joked hes actually 76 in Vietnamese perception and didnt speak the language well since he was lazy and not too bright. Yet for the last 25 years, Searcy, a Vietnam War veteran, has done all he could to heal what the war had destroyed, from disarming unexploded ordnance to helping disabled Vietnamese, one bomb, one child at a time. Chuck Searcy (R) participates in a Project RENEW field visit. Photo by VnExpress/Ngo Xuan Hien. Searcy first came to Vietnam in June 1967 as an officer for an intelligence unit in Saigon. For a year, he had collected all the information he could about the Vietnam War. Thanks to his job, which required him to deal with daily reports, Searcy had gained much insight into local politics, history, and culture. He said Americans came to Vietnam to win the war. But they understood neither Vietnam nor the Vietnamese people. He realized so many of them had come to Vietnam for nothing, that it was a bad decision none had wanted in the first place. When he returned to the U.S., Searcy joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), telling people of the horrible things he had seen and calling for the war to stop. He returned to Vietnam in 1992 with other veterans, this time as a tourist. For a month, he had visited several provinces in the Mekong Delta, then traveled to Hanoi and moved southward from there, just so he could experience the country in its entirety. He saw Vietnam like he never did before. Talking with locals along his journey, Searcy experienced how Vietnamese were friendly, open and hospitable to him as a tourist. Unlike their much more hostile attitudes upon learning he had been a U.S. soldier who had fought in the war. He also saw how poor Vietnam had been back then. There were no tourists, no hotels and no electricity. There were, however, bombs. A lot of bombs. He saw many locals taking the bombs apart so they could salvage the explosives and metal. Searcy was aghast, shocked at how dangerous it was. After his trip to Vietnam, he was a changed man. Thoughts about how he could help Vietnamese scarred by the war always occupied his mind. The next time he returned to the country was in 1993, and then in 1995 when Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) organized its first activities in Hanoi to help rehabilitate and employ disabled children. Searcy came along as a representative for the fund. Since then, he has never left. Chuck Searcy (L) talks with a group of Project RENEW personnel. Photo by VnExpress/Ngo Xuan Hien. In Vietnam, Searcy continued to help disabled children, while learning more about local life during the war. He started to realize that even after the war had ended, thousands of Vietnamese still lost their lives to its instruments, the numerous bombs and other unexploded ordnance left behind in battle. So Searcy called on anyone he could find: U.S. government officials, military officers and fellow veterans, telling them they had to take responsibility for the explosives the U.S. left behind in Vietnam. At first however, it was difficult convincing them as both parties still lacked much-needed trust. But his efforts paid off in 1996, when the U.S. government sponsored Vietnam a $3 million bomb disposal device. Then in 2001, Searcy helped found Project RENEW with Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) as a primary partner in Quang Tri. The project aims to cleaning up unexploded ordnance as well as provide medical assistance, rehabilitation and income for bomb and mine victims. Over two decades, RENEW and other NGO projects have helped remove dozens of tons of explosives to keep Quang Tri locals safe. Since 2018, the province has recorded no casualty due to unexploded ordnance. Besides providing assistance to NGO projects, Searcy also brought U.S. veterans and students to Vietnam so they could learn about life here after the war. Nguyen Hieu Trung, coordination manager of RENEW, said Searcy has been a long-time friend of Quang Tri. He was the one who had helped expand RENEWs staff from four in the organizations earliest days to around the current 250, and extend the organizations reach to other localities like Quang Binh and Quang Ngai provinces, said Trung. "With numerous connections in the U.S. Congress and government, Chucks voice has helped build a bridge between the U.S. and Vietnam," Trung said. Drew Bazil, from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, said Searcy represented the best of America. Searcy came to Vietnam as an ambassador to heal the wounds of war, not as a soldier, he said at a Wednesday meeting in Quang Tri to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the U.S. and Vietnam normalizing relations. Today, Searcy, the chairman of the Vietnamese branch of Veterans for Peace (VFP), lives in Hanoi and often drinks coffee with his friends. He also goes to the cinema to watch classic Vietnamese films. He said many have tried to introduce him to a women out of worry he lives alone. But hes old now, and has already been married twice before coming to Vietnam. He has had enough, he joked. But one thing is for sure, Chuck Searcy is here to stay, he pledged. He would continue to help both the people of Vietnam and the U.S. to relieve post-war pain, and to bridge the gaps between the two countries as he always does. Environment Canada has issued a weather advisory for Toronto and much of southern Ontario, cautioning the public of funnel clouds which in rare cases may develop into a landspout tornado. Funnel clouds were spotted in the Niagara Region and a waterspout was reported over Lake Nipissing late Saturday morning. Environment Canada also issued a special weather statement due to heavy rain in the afternoon. Rainfall rates of 25 to 50 millimetres per hour are expected, which could lead to localized flooding. Total rainfall amounts will vary significantly, however local amounts of 50 to 100 millietres are possible. Treat any funnel cloud sighting seriously, the advisory said. Should a funnel cloud develop nearby, prepare to take shelter. These funnel clouds usually appear with little or no warning. Durham Region, Western Northumberland County and Peterborough are also under a rainfall warning, with torrential rainfall over 50 mm per hour expected. A drug dealer who was caught with over 76,000 worth of cocaine, cannabis and Xanax is still receiving threats from the people he was storing them for, Sligo Circuit Criminal Court has been told. Eamon Dolan of Avondale, Ballytivnan was before the court for a sentencing hearing where it was detailed that on February 8th, 2019 at Avondale, Dolan was stopped by gardai and two bags of cannabis were found in the back seat of his car. Garda Kevin Donegan told the court a warrant was later executed at his property resulting in the discovery of a quantity of cocaine, Alprazolum (Xanax), a 'tick list', a digital weighing scales, spoons and other drug paraphernalia. Dolan was in possession of 19,894 worth of cannabis, 55,419 worth of cocaine and 1,170 worth of Xanax, the total being 76,483. When questioned by gardai in relation to how he got the drugs, the 26-year-old father of one failed to comment. Later he told gardai someone had put the cannabis in the back of his car for him to drop off somewhere. The gardai were told he did not have enough money to pay off debt and he was told to hold drugs for a while and he was then intimidated. Dolan was charged with three drug possession charges for each of the drugs, three possession of drugs for sale or supply charges, all of these were taken into consideration and one overall charge of possession of drugs for sale or supply was pleaded to by Dolan. The court was told Dolan had forgot the cocaine was at his house. Garda Donegan said the majority of the drugs found were being stored for someone else but he said Dolan may have been 'chipping off at the cocaine' to sell it. He said the evidence suggested Dolan was a 'low level drug dealer' who was given drugs to sell but also some to hold on to. Representing Dolan, Mr Desmond Dockery, SC, instructed by Mr Keith O'Grady, BL, and solicitor, Mark Mullaney, said his client had no previous convictions. He said Dolan was told if he did 'a few jobs' and 'a few runs' the debt would be written off. The court was also told Dolan had other financial debts of approximately 7,000. Garda Donegan confirmed to the court that he was aware Dolan was afraid of the people he had stored the drugs for and had received threats since being charged on these offences. Mr Dockery outlined that his client had a history of mental health issues and the threats had added to these issues. He added that Dolan had developed an addiction to Xanax for his anxiety issues and Garda Donegan was asked about this. The garda said the Xanax found may have been for his own use. Mr Dockery outlined that Dolan was a father of one child who was now three years old and was in a stable relationship for six years. The court was told he works full time for a cleaning company and a reference was handed into the court. Dolan's brother in-law, Tony Stewart told the court Dolan was a dedicated family member and a very hard worker who represented Sligo Rovers at under age level. Mr Dockery said Dolan apologised to the gardai for wasting their time and held his hands up for the mistakes. He said Dolan realised a sanction would have to be given, but hoped it would be one that could be undertaken within the community. Mr Dockery said Dolan came from a 'good upstanding family' and that his current employer was aware of the charges he was pleading guilty to, but was still happy to continue employing him into the future. A character reference from Councillor Gino O'Boyle was also read into the court. Cllr O'Boyle described Dolan as 'courteous and polite' and the councillor said he had a good rapport with Dolan. The court was told Dolan had previously given up a job to take up online learning, however, when his partner became pregnant he became under financial strain and was drawn into the situation. "He regularly receives threats and his partner receives them," said Mr Dockery, adding that he had ceased all involvement with the drugs trade despite the threats. He said Dolan was stressed at the time his partner became pregnant and was abusing drugs. Mr Dockery said his client was a young man 'with a lot of living left to do' and would not thrive in a custodial environment. Judge Francis Comerford described the case as 'very serious' and said the quantity and value of the drugs was very high. He said Dolan was providing a very useful service to these people by storing the drugs for them. The judge said Dolan did work as a drug dealer also, though this was a grey area he had admitted the equipment was his. "The organisers insulate themselves from the risks. The court has to recognise the damage done to society," said the judge. He noted the presumptive minimum sentence was 10 years and said he would be considering one considerably less than that. Judge Comerford said aggravating factors of the case were the amount of drugs, the level of involvement from storing, transporting and to some level, dealing. However, the judge noted Dolan was a person entering into the situation in a weak position given his addiction issues and owed money to dealers and was then subjected to threats. "His involvement was founded on that," said the judge. Indicating a headline sentence of four years in prison, the judge said Dolan was entitled to significant mitigation. He said a sentence did have to give an indication of the seriousness of the crime. "I accept Dolan himself was harmed and caught in the cycle. "The first time you buy from a drug dealer you hurt yourself, but you also enter a sphere where they can threaten you." Judge Comerford said the value of the drugs warranted a prison sentence, but said gardai believe Dolan is no longer involved in drug dealing and he had a supportive family. The judge adjourned the matter to October 6th for sentencing and indicated that providing there was no convictions recorded in the interim he may consider community service. A destruction order was made for the drugs by An Garda Siochana. But the right of Australians to return from overseas is now butting up against the need to protect the safety of the nation while managing our stretched police and health resources for hotel quarantining and COVID-19 testing and tracing. So far, 350,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents have returned to Australia since the start of March. The volatility of the coronavirus pandemic has been felt throughout the world. Thousands of Australians remain stranded in other countries, anxious to get home as borders close and travel restrictions tighten. It is understandable that Australians are clamouring to return home from overseas at a time of huge uncertainty. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has acknowledged that the national cabinet's decision on Friday to more than halve the number of international arrivals will make it harder for Australians to return home. He says the decision, which equates to 4000 fewer arrivals a week from Monday, was made in the national interest "to protect the health of Australia and Australians first". Consideration will be given to expanding that capacity in coming weeks, but that will depend on how well the pandemic is being managed. The surge of infections in Victoria shows that Australia, while doing better than most other countries in controlling the spread of the virus, is on the same roller-coaster ride when it comes to dramatic spikes in infections. The mismanagement of the quarantining system in Victoria has not only delayed Australian citizens from returning home, it has also put plans on hold for the return of international students. Universities and the federal government had a plan in place to test the safety of bringing thousands of international students back on a trial basis. Delaying the start of that trial will cost the international student sector billions of dollars. The NSW government is concerned about the optics of bringing in hundreds of international students a day at a time when thousands of Australian citizens are prevented from returning. While the origin of coronavirus still has questions marks over it, a scientist from Hong Kong has made an extraordinary claim revealing that China knew about the deadly virus well before it claimed it did. The deadly coronavirus has wreaked have across the world and has infected over 12 million people and left more than 5,60,000 people dead. Fox News In an exclusive interview to Fox News on Friday, Li-Meng Yan, who has specialised in virology and immunology at the Hong Kong School of Public Health, said that China likely had an obligation to tell the world, given their status as a World Health Organisation (WHO) reference laboratory specialising in influenza viruses and pandemics, especially as the virus began spreading in the early days of 2020. She added that her supervisors, renowned as some of the top experts in the field, also ignored research she was doing at the onset of the pandemic that she believes could have saved lives. Agencies Yan, who says she was one of the first scientists in the world to study COVID-19, was allegedly asked by her supervisor at the University/WHO reference lab, Dr Leo Poon, last year to look into the odd cluster of SARS-like cases coming out of mainland China at the end of December 2019. The Chinese government refused to let overseas experts, including ones in Hong Kong to do research in China, she said. Yan said very soon she and her colleagues across China discussed the peculiar virus but that she soon noted a sharp shift in tone. Doctors and researchers who had been openly discussing the virus suddenly clammed up. Those from the city of Wuhanwhich later would become the hub of the outbreak went silent and others were warned not to ask them details. The doctors said, ominously, We cannot talk about it, but we need to wear masks,' Yan said. The numbers of human-to-human transmission cases then began to grow exponentially, according to her sources. Reuters Yan made the decision to leave. She packed her bags, sneaked past the censors and video cameras on campus, and boarded a Cathay Pacific flight to the United States, on April 28. She had her passport and her purse and was about to leave all of her loved ones behind. If she was caught, she knew she could be thrown in jail or, worse, rendered one of the disappeared. Yan, now in hiding, claims that the government in the country where she was born is trying to shred her reputation and accuses government goons of choreographing a cyber-attack against her in hopes of keeping her quiet. Reuters Yan believes her life is still in danger. She fears she can never go back to her home and lives with the hard truth that she will likely never see her friends or family there again. Still, she says, the risk is worth it. The reason I came to the US is because I deliver the message of the truth of COVID, she told Fox News from an undisclosed location. She added that if she tried to tell her story in China, she will be disappeared and killed. Meanwhile, the University of Hong Kong has also taken down her page and apparently revoked access to her online portals and e-mails, even after she says that she was on an approved annual leave. (Natural News) With the lunatic Left now running anti-White indoctrination training camps in Seattle, while left-wing socialists call for the complete destruction of the United States of America (followed by a communist revolution), many people are seeing their anger boil over. The most common question being asked among rational, patriotic observers today is, Why isnt anyone stopping all the treason? To many Americans, it seems were already in a hot civil war, with radical left-wing militants having seized downtown Seattle (CHAZ / CHOP) with heavily armed militant extremists, followed by the door-to-door raping and robbery of residents (i.e. prisoners of war) who were ensnared in the Black Lives Matter terrorist dry-run attempt at a national revolt. Left-wing militants across the nation are now toppling statues, setting fire to retail stores, assaulting police officers and even running literal highway robbery schemes in broad daylight, walking up the vehicles driven by White people and demanding reparations at gunpoint. Black Lives Matter terrorists are beating Christian men in public, while Marxist Ilhan Omar openly calls for the dismantling of the United States of America, to be replaced with her radical left-with authoritarianism. Under FEMA, the left-wing government is also pre-positioning tens of thousands of guillotines across America in preparation for mass executions of Christians, conservatives, Trump supporters and White people. As Ive asked in my own articles about the civil war thats now under way, do the patriotic, law-abiding American citizens have to stand by and watch their nation be surrendered to militant left-wing socialists, communists and Marxists? (See Terrorism.news for daily updates on the assaults on America by the terror-promoting Left.) Radio host Hal Turner may be voicing what many other Americans right be thinking right now: That perhaps its time for the treasonous traitors and enemies of America to be identified and eliminated, Turner argues. Sadly, the ONLY way this is all going to stop is if the American people, in righteous rage, grab-up E V E R Y Communist, Marxist, Bolshevik, and Socialist in this country, line them up against a brick wall and machine gun them to death, he writes on his radio show web page. Just look at the cities where anarchists from Commie Groups like ANTIFA and Black Lives Matter have had free reign to riot, loot, burn and kill, he explains. THOSE CITIES are the epicenters of this cancer. And, for those who havent noticed, those cities . . . are already dying from it. Hal Turner isnt calling for any violent action against any specific individual. He seems to be venting from a place of frustration for the lack of any willingness of law-abiding Americans to stand up and stop this nation from being deliberately plunged into chaos and civil war by the deranged, militant Leftists (socialists, communists, Marxists) who are the product of a corporate-run fake news media combined with a university system that has been infiltrated and overrun with communist professors for at least a generation. We dont condone the instigation of aggression and violence, but when the radical Left is now openly using violence, shootings, arson, hate-filled bigotry, extreme racism, intimidation, kidnapping and rape to carry out their desired political goals, dont law-abiding citizens have the right to use lawful force to defend their families, homes, communities and nation? Havent Black Lives Matter and Antifa already crossed the threshold of organized terrorism and open insurrection against the United States of America? Dont the American people have the right to use justified force in halting the continued march of these militant extremists who despise the rule of law and seek the complete destruction of the very nation we call home? Below is the full text from Hal Turner. We print it because we think his venting of frustration is newsworthy and indicative of what many other Americans are now feeling or thinking. We dont condone every demand uttered in this letter, but we publish this as a warning of awakening for all Americans, pointing out that if the DOJ, local law enforcement and federal law enforcement officials wont do their jobs to take down the terrorists who are waging a kinetic war across America, sooner or later the citizens of America are likely to invoke their own right to self-defense as a last resort. People like Hal Turner wont just sit back and watch their nation be overrun by Marxists lunatics, it turns out. And the day that millions of Americans take up arms against the enemies of this nation is likely not far away unless something changes for the positive soon. Heres the full text from Turner, reprinted with the above disclaimers: The Problems Inside the USA are Not Going to Stop Until the American People Grab-up EVERY Communist, Marxist and Socialist, line them up against a wall, and Machine-Gun them to death by Hal Turner, HalTurnerRadioShow.com Americans like me, 58 years old, married for 29 years, a father, homeowner, good credit . . . . are aghast at what has been taking place in our country for the past few years. It is utterly unimaginable to us that so many of our fellow citizens especially college kids are so completely stupid, so utterly ignorant, and so irredeemably polluted with the propaganda of Socialism, that were seeing our nation tearing itself apart. Yet, thats what happening. Sadly, the ONLY way this is all going to stop is if the American people, in righteous rage, grab-up E V E R Y Communist, Marxist, Bolshevik, and Socialist in this country, line them up against a brick wall and machine gun them to death. ALL OF THEM. Heck, were so polluted by this human garbage, we might actually need all-night-firing-squads to clean their cancer out. Make no mistake, that is precisely what Communists, Marxists, Bolsheviks, and Socialists actually are: CANCER. They eat-away at the body politic, demanding THEY control what EVERYONE ELSE says, thinks, earns, and the like, until either the body politic kills them, or they kill it. There is no middle ground. If you have cancer, either you kill it, or it kills you. You cannot reason with cancer. You cannot peacefully co-exist with cancer. You cant try to get along with cancer. In the end, either you kill it or it kills you. PERIOD. Communism, Marxism, Bolsheviks, and Socialists have infiltrated their demented and sick selves into very many positions in this land; at the federal, state and local levels. Worse, these dysfunctional ego-maniacs also infest Corporate America. Corporations are seeing vast policy changes that would make Vladimir Lenin proud. These companies have become sick, and most of them will not survive because their grandiose social values have been placed ahead of the sole reason for corporations to exist: To earn a profit for shareholders. THAT is the sole reason corporations exist. Some CEOs are so mentally deluded, they actually think their companies should exist for social justice. Morons; all of them. Want to know where this cancer is worst? Just look at the cities where anarchists from Commie Groups like ANTIFA and Black Lives Matter have had free reign to riot, loot, burn and kill. THOSE CITIES are the epicenters of this cancer. And, for those who havent noticed, those cities . . . are already dying from it. New York City is already terminally ill from the retards running that city. Their Mayor, Bill DeBlasio, is such a loser in his personal life, he actually had to marry a black woman. Likely because no self-respecting Italian girl would marry him! And the dingbats who cast ballots in New York City are so mentally weak, so caught in an echo chamber of their own stupidity, they actually elected this creep as Mayor . . . twice. Well, those New Yorkers are getting EXACTLY what they voted for: Skyrocketing crime, rioting, looting, arson attacks, a several-hundred-percent increase in shootings within the past few weeks, robberies, muggings . . . because the bad guys in NYC know: the cops have been handcuffed by the Bolshevik Mayor and his useful idiots on the City Council! I have ZERO sympathy for New Yorkers because theyve done this to themselves. I wonder how many of them, as theyre getting mugged, or raped, or as they fall in pain, dying after having been shot, realize it was THEIR VOTE that caused it to happen? Given the retarded political thinking so many of them adhere to, theyre probably not even smart enough to draw a line from what is happening to to them, back to their own vote, but thats where the line goes! What makes it all the worse, is that these politically retarded people actually think theyre right! They are so deluded, so incapable of logical thought, so egotistical, they flatly refuse to even HEAR another point of view. Theres nothing left to work with in such cases. The human that was, is no more. TRAITORS A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.) Roman Statesman, Philosopher and Orator CIVIL WAR The Traitors that Cicero spoke of two thousand years or so ago, are the Communists, Marxists, Bolsheviks, and Socialists here in America today. They are, in every factual way, Traitors to America. Traitors to liberty. Traitors to free markets. It is they who are engaged in overt censorship; deciding what YOU can say, deciding what YOU can read, and demanding to decide how much YOU earn, and where your profits go . . . None of which is any of their business, but they demand it all anyway. So get yourselves primed for the ugly reality that appears to be coming, folks. America is heading into Civil War. Actual, bloody, war. Those on the right should be prepared to do what is actually needed when the war starts. Brush up on your shooting skills. Remember: the more who volunteer for the all-night-firing-squads, the quicker the nation can purge its cancer. ### See more from Turner at HalTurnerRadioShow.com. And pray that peace and sanity may be restored in America. SCHENECTADY Union College's chief diversity officer is leaving the college for another opportunity at a time when a heated conversation between Union's administration and a group of current and former students aiming to create a safer environment for Black and brown students on campus is underway. After 22 years in various leadership positions at the Schenectady private school, Gretchel Hathaway, who also serves as dean of diversity and inclusion, will be leaving Union for a senior-level position at Franklin & Marshall, a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pa. She will assume the role of vice president of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, a new position at Franklin & Marshall. This is an exciting opportunity for Gretchel and one she could not pass up, both professionally and personally, Union President David R. Harris said. Based on her experiences at Union, she is uniquely qualified to lead in this new position. As a member of senior staff, Hathaway has led strategic campus-wide diversity initiatives, helping to create a number of innovative and impactful programs, according to the college. This includes a diversity and inclusion course offered to all employees that is designed to expand ones knowledge of issues related to diversity, and broaden the campus learning environment beyond the classroom. Hathaway supervises the Office of Intercultural Affairs, which focuses on designing programming and workshops for students. She has also been instrumental in implementing the colleges affirmative action policy and developing procedures for grievance and mediation settlements. She serves on the review board of all faculty tenure and promotion cases. I have appreciated Gretchels counsel, her professionalism and her ability to connect with people across campus, Harris said. She has been a mentor to many students, offering them guidance and a shoulder at times when they most needed it. We will all miss her greatly. After a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, Harris, who is Black, released a statement about his own experience with racism and announced a new Presidents Initiative on Race, Power, and Privilege to promote anti-racist programming and policies at the college. He also led two virtual town halls taking questions and feedback from students about their experiences with discrimination on campus. A group of alumni and current students at the largely white college responded by creating the Instagram handle @blackatunion to amplify the experiences of students of color on campus, part of a grassroots push at colleges in the region and around the nation to counter racism and discrimination through social media. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "Being Black at Union is especially difficult and isolating and this is the only means we have had of telling our stories without being gaslit or victim shamed," organizers behind the "Black at Union" Instagram account said. The students have pressed the college to do more to support Black students. One of group's key demands, outlined in a letter to Harris, was for Union to cut ties to the Schenectady Police Department, noting its history of disproportionately targeting minority communities for low-level offenses and in light of a video that recently surfaced showing an officer kneeling on Black man's neck. Hathaway joined Union in 1998. She has served in a number of roles, including director of Affirmative Action, Community Outreach, and the Science and Technology Entry Program. In 2008, she became the first African American to join senior staff, as senior director for Campus Diversity and Affirmative Action. Hathaways new position brings her closer to family. Her son is a member of F&Ms class of 2007. Following Hathaways departure, Union will proceed with a team approach to diversity and inclusion leadership and several new members will be brought into the discussions. I look forward to working with this group to identify and implement meaningful and sustainable change in how we teach, learn, reflect and act on matters of race, power and privilege, Harris said. Hathaways last day at Union is Aug. 3. For more than 130 years, the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA) has delivered on their promise to strengthen bodies, relationships, and communities around the world. While programs have come and gone, the mission for the Y remains, even in the middle of a world-wide pandemic that affects how they have operated for those decades of service. Steve Ives, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Houston, gives some insight to the state of the YMCA. It begins with their Respond and Reinvent Campaign to raise money for much-needed projects to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Q&A: HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress CEO Jim Brown discusses working in health care during COVID-19 Thank you, Steve for visiting with us. What prompted you to do renovations during coronavirus? Were making lemonade out of lemons. Weve had association-wide real estate plan in place. Weve identified centers that we anticipated making investments in and some good ideas about what those would be. Certainly when our Ys were shutdown, it created the opportunity for us to get some projects done while our members werent there so we wouldnt be inconveniencing them. We just accelerated a few of the projects that were in our timeline. On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston Food Bank, the nation's largest, seeks to fill volunteer gaps with National Guard leaving Where are some of those projects taking place? Langham Creek, Monty Ballard at Cinco Ranch, Brenda and John Duncan on Clay Road are all receiving larger internal projects. Lake Houston YMCA and Vic Coppinger in Pearland and a few others are going to get the pavilion upgrades. Those have been a great hit for our communities. The outdoor concept is safe and comfortable particularly right now. Its an idea thats here to stay. Our members really like it and our staff feels comfortable teaching out there. The fans, the turf, and sound system just makes it more comfortable and inviting. How much are these projects going to cost the Y? The Langham Creek project was around $1 million. We started a campaign in April where we identified all these projects we intended to do as well as some programmatic support we were going to need. Our food distribution was going to need subsidy if we were going to continue to do that as well as emergency personnel childcare that we ran, plus camps that were running this summer with social distancing all needed additional funding. The campaign so far has raised in excess of $8 million. Our hope is to reach the $20 million mark by the end of the year. Our donors are pretty excited about the vision that we have, the creativity and innovation around the projects like Langham Creek and the good strategy of using the down time well. $1M renovation: Langham Creek Family YMCA ushers in new era with renovation How has the mission of the YMCA changed over the years? Our mission remains the same, strengthening the mind and body for all. Contributing to strengthening and building connections in the community is also a part of that. In the early years, temporary housing for particularly men coming into the city during the industrial revolution was an important need to be served and thats how it became manifested. Now fitness is a thing, theres indoor swimming at our Ys, expanded childcare, our involvement with refugee resettlement back in the 70s and we continue to do that today. Whats changed I would say in the last two months is for the first time weve not been able to operate like we have in the last two decades particularly with wellness programs, swimming and youth programs. It required us to step back for a minute and evaluate whats our place in the community. Within a week, we reorganized our team and set ourselves up to do food distribution, essential childcare, and outreach to our most vulnerable population. We had two food pantries before and at one point we reached 25 sites we were managing with the Houston Food Bank and Brighter Bites to make sure the distribution system could handle the need of the community. Were still continuing to operate 16-18 food sites and will do so until we are no longer needed. Its an example of how the Y adjusts to stay relevant and meet the most important needs. How has the coronavirus changed your procedures? We are operating with much tighter restrictions around safety. I want to make sure that every program they do with us is safer than anything else theyre doing. We have a reservation system for the pool, the fitness center, and were keeping the social distancing policy and abiding by all the protocols and then some. Its clear that were not a gym. Were a community impact organization. Our numbers indicate that. We have 24 centers around the area. (That makes them the largest and serving approximately a half million residents.) Has that forced you to be more creative with the use of your properties? Weve been building our innovation muscle since Ive been here. Thats reimagining and thinking outside the box. This was a massive disruption, but it rapidly moved that work forward. Membership fees that people pay for the use of our facilities has significantly dropped. People are under financial distress and so weve adjusted our rate structure. Were also offering a new category of membership that doesnt include the fitness equipment. Next week well also roll out another category of support that isnt necessarily connected to any use of the facilities. Were always thinking of ways to support our community with innovation. Did you have to make a significant investment to train your staff to use online and virtual learning? There was some investment that was built into our case for Respond and Reinvent, but nothing significant. We found some talent! Theres some people on our staff that we found had some videography chops and were hobbyists that were former program directors and they volunteered to work on that project. Theyve been doing a fantastic job to pull that together. We purchased equipment and set up a studio where we can film these virtual classes. Theyre here to stay. Well have one recording studio, but well also have some classes on demand. You can go into the center on the hour and jump on a spinning class. Its virtual, on a screen and theres an instructor on there to lead and you can still maintain social distancing. Weve done that in a number of our centers. How has pickleball changed the vision of your centers? We knew that was a great desire and need from our members at Langham Creek. Its a great way to be active and still social distance from other members. Those are state-of-the-art courts. Its set up perfectly and they stay busy. Generally, each community is going to have a little different nuance so this summer were going to be in conversation with our communities to find out their future wishes, expectations, and wants. Thats changed in the last three months with COVID-19. Do you get any kind of pushback from having the Judeo-Christian principles? Its who we are. Its part of our roots and our heritage. One of the great guides for Christianity is openness and inclusion. We are for all and welcome all. dtaylor@hcnonline.com New Delhi, July 11 : The Supreme Court has asked the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which is not functioning after detection of a Covid case among its staff, to explore avenues to begin online hearings. A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, S. Abdul Nazeer and Indira Banerjee said: "The doors of justice cannot be closed. Let NCLAT find out a way for online hearing in such a situation." The apex court made this observation while hearing a special leave petition where the petitioner's counsel contended that he had filed an appeal against a National Company Law Tribunal order, but the NCLAT is not functioning after one of its employees was found Covid-19 positive. The top court, while disposing of the petition, said: "We request the NCLAT to start the hearing of the matter on interim stay, immediately on reopening. The Special Leave Petition is dismissed accordingly." The NCLAT had suspended work after one of its employees was found Covid-19 positive on June 26. Before this, it was hearing urgent cases through video conferencing, which began from June 1 onwards. It had also issued Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for advocate or authorised representative for 'mentioning' the matter for hearing through video conferencing. On 2nd July, the NCLAT informed, through a notice, that the virtual hearing and filing etc. would remain suspended till July 10. And, matters listed between July 6-10, in the court of chairperson and court-II would not be taken. New Delhi: Based on clinical trials data, India's drug regulator has approved itolizumab, used to treat skin condition psoriasis, for restricted emergency use on COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. Considering the unmet medical needs in COVID-19, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr V G Somani had on Friday approved itolizumab injection for use in the treatment of coronavirus patients. Biocon, a domestic biopharmaceutical company, has been manufacturing and marketing Itolizumab, a monoclonal antibody drug, for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis since 2013 under the brand name Alzumab, the health ministry said. "This indigenous drug has now been repurposed for COVID-19," it said in a statement. The firm presented the phase II clinical trial results to the drug regulator which were deliberated upon by the Subject Expert Committee of the DCGI's office. "After detailed deliberation and taking into account the recommendations of the committee, the DCGI has decided to grant permission to market the drug under restricted emergency use for the treatment of cytokine release syndrome in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome patients due to COVID-19," it said. The use of the medicine is subject to some conditions including requirement of informed consent of patients, a risk management plan and usage only in hospital setup. The average cost of treatment with this indigenous drug Itolizumab is lesser than other medicines which are part of investigational therapies indicated in the health ministry's Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Another former employee from SBS has written an opinion piece criticising the public broadcaster for shortcoming in its workplace culture. Nick Bhasin, who was culture editor at SBS, has detailed in the Sydney Morning Herald how he was subjected to racial profiling by colleagues. I pleaded for some kind of action. An email sent to all staff. Something that acknowledged that making insulting comments like that at SBS with all its banners advocating for diversity and inclusion and meetings about cultural sensitivity and the importance of representation in media there was a zero-tolerance policy towards that kind of thing. I was told that no email would be sent thats what the online code of conduct test was for. I was offered therapy services and a senior executive encouraged me to put the episode behind me while congratulating me for not making a scene. Basically, the prejudice I faced wasnt a network problem it was mine. I felt unvalued and unwelcome. Weak. Embarrassed and ashamed of my powerlessness. I withdrew from my team, sitting as far away as possible. I was silent in meetings. And when I sat with the loneliness of my anguish and looked around at all the (very nice, very well-meaning) predominantly white people at different levels of power, to me, the message was clear: this place was not for people who looked like me. He also adds, If there were more diversity at SBS, maybe there would be a different approach to making content. Maybe every show commissioned wouldnt have to scream obvious stuff like racism is bad and feature diverse casts led by a white star for marketability purposes. Maybe there would be fewer documentary series featuring white British presenters leading us on cultural adventures. Maybe there would be more shows like The Family Law. Maybe instead of having to acquire the US comedy-drama Atlanta, Australia could make its own. Maybe wed find the Aussie Never Have I Ever. Last week former SBS managing director Michael Ebeid said, I wouldnt judge any media organisation by just looking at the executive team. To me, whats on screen, whos on screen and the stories they tell are far more important than who is running the company. He noted Sunshine, set in a South Sudanese community in Melbourne, had a white production crew but was informed by advisers from the Sudanese community. Just because a director or producer happens to be white it doesnt mean they cant tell diverse stories. Yet current managing director James Taylor has taken a pro-active approach to addressing criticisms which emerged first through former SBS cadet journalist Kodie Bedford. The Guardian reports central to his plan is the appointment of two Indigenous elders in residence to provide support and cultural empowerment to staff and the training of a number of SBS inclusion champions. I see this as our moment in time to enhance those attributes that make SBS an extraordinary place, with an extraordinary team, and implement some positive changes to make us a leading inclusive workplace not just in the media sector, but across all industries, Taylor said. You are here: China China's National Cultural Heritage Administration has required more efforts to protect cultural relics against floods as heavy rainfall has lashed large parts of southern China since June. Relics departments and museums across the country are asked to make contingency plans to prevent relics and rare trees from being destroyed by floods and geological disasters, according to a circular issued on Friday. Relics administrations should supervise and guide related departments and museums in screening and addressing safety hazards, the circular said. It also requires museums and relics protection sites that have major safety hazards to shut down to ensure the safety of personnel as well as cultural relics. Hyderabad, July 11 : A Telangana government employee allegedly committed suicide on Saturday, 10 days after his five-year-old daughter was murdered by one of the two paramours of his wife. Kalyan jumped on to the tracks before an approaching train near Bhuvanagiri railway station. He was working as a village secretary in Atmakur in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district. His daughter Aadhya was murdered by Karunakar, who was angry over her mother's friendship with Rajasekhar, at Pocharam in Medchal district on the outskirts of Hyderabad on July 2. Karunakar had visited the woman at her house, but got angry over Rajasekhar's presence there. Karunakar subsequently slit the girl's throat and attacked Rajasekhar and the woman identified as Anusha before injuring himself on the neck. The grievously injured girl was shifted to hospital, where she succumbed. Police later arrested Karunakar for the murder. DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran is determined to develop its oil industry in spite of U.S. sanctions imposed on the country, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in a televised speech on Saturday. "We will not surrender under any circumstances ... We have to increase our capacity so that when necessary with full strength we can enter the market and revive our market share," said Zanganeh. The minister was speaking before the signing of a $294-million contract between the National Iranian Oil Company and Persia Oil & Gas, an Iranian firm, to develop the Yaran oilfield that is shared with neighbouring Iraq's Majnoon field. The agreement aims to produce 39.5 million barrels of oil from the Yaran oilfield in Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran, the Iranian Oil Ministry's news agency SHANA said. Hit by reimposed U.S. sanctions since Washington exited Iran's 2015 nuclear deal in 2018, Iran's oil exports are estimated at 100,000 to 200,000 barrels per day, down from more than 2.5 million bpd that Iran shipped in April 2018. The Islamic Republic's crude production has halved to around 2 million bpd. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi. Editing by Jane Merriman) (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The accelerating resurgence of Covid-19 in the U.S. is filling me with dread. But whats even scarier is the propensity of Americans to ignore or downplay a malaise that is generating tens of thousands of entirely preventable deaths. It makes total sense that the rest of the world wants to keep Americans out these days. Thanks at least in part to mostly young people socializing in bars and nightclubs, the country has been setting records for daily case counts, now nearing 3 million. In states that reopened early Arizona, Florida, Texas new Covid-19 cases have been increasing faster every day, suggesting that the disease is spreading exponentially. The horrible data suggest that we have learned nothing from the tragic experience of the past several months, that things are spinning out of control and that wishing for the best is folly. When I, as a data scientist, see numbers like this and recognize that even they are vastly understating the reality I automatically extrapolate to the worst case scenario, in which millions of people die. I start to actually smell death. Apparently, though, other humans are capable of avoiding such dreadful feelings. Somehow, they manage to look at the data differently, or to not look at the facts at all. Some people, for example, put a positive spin on the death rates, which havent increased in tandem with the cases. They say that were recording more cases because testing has improved, that were treating patients better, that the afflicted are younger and hence more likely to survive. Im not seeing it. Yes, testing has roughly tripled in Arizona, but so has the percentage of people testing positive (from about 7.5% to about 25%). This suggests that more of the people coming in to get tested have a major reason to think theyre sick, and that the tests are missing even more of the people with mild or no symptoms. In short, positive rates tripling means testing should have increased by 9-fold at least. The numbers in Florida (positive rate 19%, up from 4%) and Texas (positive rate 14%, up from 6%) suggest the situation in those states is similar. As testing capacity fails to meet demand and the process gets increasingly arduous, more and more people will stay home rather than wait in line for hours to confirm what they already know. Were losing data coverage by the day, along with our grasp on reality. Story continues True, treatments are better, but I havent heard any medical professional say that they can turn a fatal case around. They mainly help get non-terminal patients out of the hospital sooner. Medications such as Remdesivir dont actually claim to have improved mortality rates. The story with the death statistics is a time lag: The young people who are getting sick first tend to survive, and older people can take a while to die. This obvious fact is making my dread worse, not better. As society gets increasingly crowded with sick people, theyll be more likely to infect the elderly and people with underlying conditions. Its just a matter of time before the disease again seeps into nursing homes, rehabs and prisons. At the far end of optimism comes outright denial. Some people claim that contact tracers automatically count all contacts as positive cases (not true), or use methodological issues as an excuse to assume overcounting. This is disingenuous skepticism of statistics, intentionally courting confusion to avoid bad news, to foment fear and passivity rather than action. None of this bodes well for the human species. If we can ignore and obfuscate a threat that is staring us right in the face, how will we navigate more distant dangers such as climate change or water supply? Sure, a rosy outlook can be psychologically helpful at times, but this is one of those moments where we have to be realistic about bad news, rather than throw up our hands and pretend its not happening. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Cathy ONeil is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. She is a mathematician who has worked as a professor, hedge-fund analyst and data scientist. She founded ORCAA, an algorithmic auditing company, and is the author of Weapons of Math Destruction. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Education and training of high-quality human resources in tourism and hospitality is key to improve productivity and the competitive capacity of Vietnams tourism sector, tourism experts have said. The Vietnam Association of Tourism and associations of tourism in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, HCM City, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh and Tay Ninh provinces sign agreements on training and development of human resources in hotel management with the Imperial International Hotel College and the Finance Marketing University. Nguyen Huu Tho, chairman of Vietnam Association of Tourism, said labour productivity remains low compared with other countries. Singapore productivity is 15 times higher than Vietnam, Japan 10 times, and Thailand 5 times, Tho said. The persistence of theory-focused education and little practical application in Vietnam requires enterprises to offer workplace-based retraining programmes for their employees, he said at a conference held on Wednesday in HCM City. The labour turnover rate in the tourism and hospitality industry, which is struggling with a lack of qualified human resources, is relatively higher than other industries, he said. Education and training of high-quality human resources in tourism and hospitality needs to offer 50-70 per cent of practice time and the remaining 30-50 per cent for theory, he added. Dao Manh Hung, chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Education Association, said Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing travel destinations in the world. However, the training of high-quality human resources in tourism and hospitality has failed to keep up with the increasing demand for employment. The tourism sector needs about 40,000 more labourers a year, particularly skilled workers and qualified professionals, while the number of graduates is around 15,000 a year, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. In HCM City, around 50 colleges and universities offer training courses on tourism and hospitality. But only 60 per cent of employment demand is met. The robust development of upscale hotels and resorts has widened the gap between education and employment, Hung said. There is an abundant supply of students with academic and theoretical education but a shortage of skilled personnel, he said. New training model The Vietnam Association of Tourism has partnered with the Imperial International Hotel College to develop a 16-week quality training model of international standards as part of an effort to bridge the gap between abundant supply of university graduates and shortage of skilled workers at four to five-star hotels. The hotel school model where students are taught and practice at the five-star Imperial Vung Tau Hotel, with 70 per cent of practice time, has been chosen as a pilot model for training of qualified professionals in the hospitality and tourism industry. Luu Thi Huong Hoai, deputy head of the Administration of Tourisms Hotel Department, said the hotel school model aims to develop a better trained workforce in the hospitality and tourism industry. At the conference, the Vietnam Association of Tourism and associations of tourism in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, HCM City, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh, and Tay Ninh provinces signed agreements on training and development of human resources in hotel management with international standards with the Imperial International Hotel College and the University of Finance Marketing. VNS VN tourism industry needs internationally qualified staff The government has adopted policies and mechanisms to improve the training of tourism personnel and enhance cooperation between training institutions and businesses. Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon will not feature in the upcoming Best of Love Island series which starts next week. ITV bosses made the difficult decision to leave out the two stars who both tragically took their own lives since their appearances on the show. The move is likely to divide fans who believe the pair deserve their own highlights and were key personalities in the villa. Out of respect: Mike Thalassitis (pictured) and Sophie Gradon will not feature in the upcoming Best of Love Island series which starts next week With no Love Island taking place this summer, ITV decided to air a 'best of' series featuring the biggest moments from its six series. Yet bosses have reportedly decided not to include any clips of Mike or Sophie in the series out of respect to their families. A source told The Daily Star: 'The specials feature some of the most romantic, hilarious and memorable moments from the show. Heartbreaking: ITV bosses made the difficult decision to leave out the two stars who both tragically took their own lives since their appearances on the show (Sophie Gradon pictured) 'Out of respect for Mike and Sophie's families, they don't appear in these programmes.' It was recently revealed that ITV have axed the winter series of Love Island, with the show returning to screens in summer 2021. 'Love Island UK will return bigger and better than ever with an extended run in summer 2021,' ITV announced in a statement to MailOnline. It will be back...eventually! ITV have axed the Winter series of Love Island, with the show returning to screens in Summer 2021 The axing of both the summer 2020 series and a winter series in early 2021 is in large part down to the coronavirus pandemic, with restrictions on travel and filming causing huge issues for the show. Pre-production on the winter 2021 series was scheduled to take place at the moment, but with so many quarantine and social distancing measures still in place, it's thought it wouldn't be possible to fly cast and crew to location and work safely. Instead producers are keen to focus on one bumper season of the show next summer, which will likely return to Mallorca, after the winter 2020 series took place in South Africa. The first ever winter series of the show gave ITV2 its best ever January and February ratings with an average 3.1m viewers. On hold: The Summer 2020 series was cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (host Laura Whitmore pictured in January) It was announced last month that there will be no Love Island this summer, but the channel is instead repeating the first series (2018) of Love Island Australia from Monday 15 June at 9pm. ITV bosses pulled the plug on the summer series after casting had already begun, revealing it was a logistical impossibility to safeguard 'the wellbeing of everyone involved'. Kevin Lygo, Director of Television at ITV, said: 'We have tried every which way to make Love Island this summer but logistically it's just not possible to produce it in a way that safeguards the wellbeing of everyone involved and that for us is the priority. Memories: Love Island last aired on screens at the beginning of this year when ITV2 commissioned the show's first ever winter series, filmed in South Africa 'In normal circumstances we would be preparing very soon to travel out to the location in Mallorca to get the villa ready but clearly that's now out of the question. 'We are very sorry for fans of the show but making it safely is our prime concern and Love Island will be back stronger than ever in 2021. In the meantime Love Island fans can still enjoy all six series of Love Island on BritBox.' Host Laura Whitmore weighed in on the cancellation, saying it was the right decision. She tweeted: 'Like with a lot of things because of restrictions with travel, social distancing and unable to plan ahead, Love Island is postponed until 2021. 'Great news is that there have been more applications then any other series! Next year is going to be BIG. Stay safe.' If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org. Kanpur: Wife of the dead gangster Vikas Dubey, the notorious gangster who was killed in a police encounter on Friday (July 10), said that her husband was wrong and he deserved this fate. "Yes yes yes. Vikas did wrong and he deserved this fate" said Dubey's wife Richa, in an agitated tone when media asked her whether her departed husband deserved this fate. Richa Dubey said this at the time when last rites of the gangster were conducted in Kanpur amid tight security. Richa, who came at the Bhairoghat to attend the cremation, also expressed her anger at mediapersons and asked them to leave the place. She also accused them for being responsible for Dubey's killing in the encounter. Superintendent of Police, Rural, Brijesh Srivastava told reporters that Dubey's brother- in- law Dinesh Tiwari performed the last rites at the electric crematorium in the presence of his wife and son. The police had arrested Dinesh Tiwari from Kanpur's Bikru village after the July 3 massacre outside Dubey's residence. The cremation was performed amidst heavy police presence. Heavy police force headed by SP city East, Raj Kumar Agarwal, was deployed around Bhairoghat . Dubey, who was carrying a bounty of rs 5 lakh on him, was gunned down when he tried to escape when police officials were taking him to Kanpur from Ujjain. Dubey snatched police officials pistol and made a bid to escape. He opened fire at the police who then reacted in self defence and returned fire at the gangster, injuring him. He was taken to a hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. According to police, Dubey sustained four bullets on him, three in chest and one in the hand. Dubey's other relatives and neighbours shunned the gangster in his death and did not turn up for cremation, despite police request. Chinese vaccine developer CanSino Biologics is in talks with Russia, Brazil, Chile and Saudi Arabia to launch a Phase III trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, its co-founder said on Saturday. China's success in driving down COVID-19 infections has made it harder to conduct large-scale vaccine trials, and so far only a few countries have agreed to work with it. "We are contacting and Russia, Brazil, Chile and Saudi Arabia (for the Phase III trial) and it's still in discussion," Qiu Dongxu, executive director and co-founder of CanSino, told an anti-viral drug development conference in Suzhou, in eastern China. He said its Phase III trials were likely to start "pretty soon," and the company plans to recruit 40,000 participants for the tests. Its COVID-19 candidate Ad5-nCov became the first in China to move into human testing in March but is running behind other potential vaccines in terms of trial progress. Two experimental vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech and a unit of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) are already approved for Phase III trials. Qiu said its Phase II trials involving 508 people have yielded "much better" results than Phase I about the vaccines safety and ability to trigger immune response. He did not disclose specific evidence. He said its new factory under construction in China will allow it to produce 100-200 million doses of coronavirus vaccines per year by early 2021. China's military, whose research unit is co-developing the vaccine candidate, approved its military use last month, while Sinopharm's two experimental shots are offered to employees at state-owned firms travelling overseas. Zeng Guang, former chief epidemiologist at Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the conference that Chinese construction groups overseas in particular are keen to take experimental vaccines. He also said discussion should start whether to launch emergency inoculation of experimental vaccines "right now." There are no approved vaccines yet for COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, which has killed more than half a million people globally. Millions of swabs made by a local manufacturer will be on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 after receiving official approval from Health Canada late last month. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 11/7/2020 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Millions of swabs made by a local manufacturer will be on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 after receiving official approval from Health Canada late last month. Winnipeg-based Precision Advanced Digital Manufacturing (ADM) had long been a major producer of medical products, but during the pandemic, the company engineered a 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swab design that quickly took off. Called Canswab, the company says its product is the first Canadian-made COVID-19 testing product to receive federal health approval. "Weve signed a letter of intent with Precision ADM," tweeted federal minister of innovation, science and industry Navdeep Bains Friday. "With a current capacity of 120,000 swabs per week, the company is heavily supporting our testing efforts." With the need for swabs expected to stay high, the company said it has secured an additional 20,000 square-foot facility in order to properly mass-produce the Canswab. In a release, the company said it has received orders from a number of provincial governments, in addition to the federal governments letter of intent. To meet that demand, the company is scaling up production with the goal of manufacturing between two and four million swabs per month. Supplied Precision ADM says Canswab is the first Canadian-made COVID-19 testing product to receive federal approval. The company uses additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, to manufacture its products, including the Canswab. "We have been manufacturing surgical products such as spine devices and joint replacements for a long time, but during this pandemic, we have taken steps to make sure we are doing all we can to support a secure domestic supply chain for our health-care system in Canada," said Precision ADMs CEO Martin Petrak in a release. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Adding additional 3D printing capacity to our operations will enable us to produce essential testing equipment in North America and help our communities faster," he added. The company, which has an FDA-registered facility, said in its release that it aims to not only produce the swab for Canadian governments, but also for other countries. Earlier in the pandemic, many provinces, U.S. states and hard-hit countries like Italy faced a shortage of nasopharyngeal swabs, which led to an increased effort by manufacturers to keep up with demand, along with applications by new manufacturers for approval. On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that some U.S. testing sites continue to run low on both swabs and the equipment needed to process them. Precision ADM is headquartered at 1595 Buffalo Pl., near Winnipegs Linden Woods neighbourhood. Aside from medical products, the company also manufactures devices for the aerospace, energy and industrial sectors. ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca CHANDIGARH: PSEB Engineers Association has urged the Chief Minister Punjab to review the transfer of Bhatinda thermal plant land to PUDA and instead set up solar and biomass generation plant at that site. The Association in a letter to CM has stressed that setting up a biomass plant & solar plant at the site of Bathinda thermal is more technically feasible and economically viable in view of available infrastructure and site conditions. It may be mentioned that PSPCL has proposed to convert existing Unit No 4 to 60 MW biomass plant and to set up 100 MW solar plant at GNDTP Bathinda. The proposal was sent to the government in 2018 and instead of considering the proposal it has been decided to set up an industrial park. The government of India is stressing the need of setting up of solar, hydel, and other renewable energy sources and forcing the states to use a minimum quantity of renewable energy otherwise state has to purchase RE certificates for a shortfall in meeting its obligation worth crores of rupees without purchasing any power. In 2017-18 & 2018-19, the net shortfall was about 848.42 million units & 557.88 million units respectively. For this state paid about Rs. 90 crore for 2017-18 and 2019-20 there was a proposal to purchase RE certificates of Rs. 316.52 crore. The purchase of RE certificates means that we are paying to other state generators without receiving any power. The Association urges that in view of state's commitment to providing low-cost renewable energy & obligation to the environment Punjab should accord approval For this about 600 acres of land will be required, which already has the requisite infrastructure in place. This will ensure proper utilization of the land for the purpose for which it was originally acquired. Park was a huge figure in South Korean politics. As a former human rights lawyer, he led two of South Korea 's most influential civic groups and was mayor of Seoul, the South Korean capital city with 10 million people, since 2011. He was widely considered a leading liberal candidate for president when his political ally and current President Moon Jae-in 's single five-year term ends in 2022. "I feel sorry to everyone. I thank everyone who has been with me in my life," the note shown on TV said. It continued with a request that his remains be cremated and scattered around his parents' graves. Police said there was no sign of foul play at the site though they refused to disclose the cause of death. On Friday morning, Seoul officials said they were releasing what they called Park's "will" found at his residence at the request of his family. Park Won-soon was found dead on a wooded hill in northern Seoul early Friday, about seven hours after his daughter reported to police he had left her a "will-like" verbal message and then left their home. Authorities launched a massive search for the 64-year-old Park before rescue dogs found his body. The sudden death of Seoul's mayor, reportedly implicated in a sexual harassment complaint, has prompted an outpouring of public sympathy even as it has raised questions about a man who built his career as a reform-minded politician and self-described feminist. People pay tribute at a memorial altar as they make a call of condolence in honor of the deceased Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at the Seoul City Hall on July 11, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. Seoul Mayor and presidential hopeful Park Won-soon was found dead at a Seoul mountain on Friday, hours after his family reported him missing, police said. His supporters wailed and shouted slogans like "We love you" and "We are sorry" when his body arrived at a Seoul hospital. His name was the most popular search word on main internet portal sites, and condolence messages flooded social media. On one TV program Friday morning, a panelist choked up and couldn't continue talking about Park. "I really respected him ... I hope he can realize all his dreams in heaven," Kim Young-hyun, a small business owner, said near Seoul City Hall. But anti-Park sentiment also erupted amid media reports that one of his female secretaries had lodged a complaint with police on Wednesday night over alleged sexual harassment over an extend period. Police only confirmed that a complaint against Park had been filed but cited privacy issues in refusing to elaborate, including about whether the complaint was about sexual behavior. The Associated Press made numerous calls to police, who declined to provide more details about the complaint. Some critics questioned the image of a man who had portrayed himself as "a feminist mayor" dedicated to gender equality and a vocal supporter of the "#MeToo" movement. During his days as a human rights lawyer, Park won South Korea's first sexual harassment conviction in 1998, following a yearslong legal battle in which he represented a Seoul National University research assistant who accused a professor of making sexual advances and firing her after she rejected them. As mayor, he appointed a special adviser on gender equality issues and introduced policies aimed at designing safer urban environments for women and providing affordable housing for working single women. "I think Park did something wrong. It's also regrettable for anyone in public service to be embroiled in such an allegation regardless of whether it's true or not," said Lee Ji-hye, a resident near Seoul. "As a former human rights lawyer, he was accused of doing something bad but we cannot directly ask him about his position because he's gone now. That's very disappointing, too." Professor Yi Han Sang at Korea University criticized the Seoul city government for planning to establish a public mourning area near its building and use official funds for Park's funeral next week. He said the city government must stop acts that could lead to public criticism of the alleged victim and focus on thinking about how to protect her and find the truth about the allegation. A stream of Park's fellow politicians affiliated with the governing Democratic Party and senior presidential officials visited a private mourning site at Seoul National University Hospital. Media photos showed sympathy flowers bearing President Moon Jae-in's name placed there. Presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min told reporters at the hospital that Moon called Park's death "very shocking," Yonhap news agency reported. When Lee Hae-chan, the Democratic Party chief, confronted journalists there, one asked him how the harassment allegations should be handled. Lee scolded the journalist for asking a "rude" question that he said shouldn't be raised in that place. There are worries that the public mourning for Park could lead to criticism of the alleged victim, whose identify is largely unknown. Ryu Ho-jeong of the small liberal opposition Justice Party wrote on Facebook that she won't pay respects to Park, saying she doesn't want the alleged victim to "feel lonely." Her message drew both strong support and opposition online. Though women's rights have gradually improved in recent years, South Korea largely remains a male-centered society. The #MeToo movement that began in 2018 in South Korea successfully targeted many male celebrities, but the women who raised allegations sometimes faced strong online attacks and other backlash from supporters of the alleged abusers. The most prominent South Korean man caught in the #MeToo movement was South Chungcheong Province Gov. Ahn Hee-jung, a liberal who is now serving a prison term of three and a half years for raping his former secretary. Earlier this year, Oh Keo-don, the former mayor of Busan, the country's second-largest city, stepped down after a female public servant accused him of sexually assaulting her in his office. Vikas Dubey, the main accused in an encounter in Kanpurs Chaubeypur area in which eight policemen were killed, was arrested in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain after absconding for almost a week On Saturday, Richa Dubey, the wife of Uttar Pradesh gangster Vikas Dubey, said her husband "deserved this fate." Yes, yes, yes. Vikas did wrong and he deserved this fate, an agitated Richa, asked about if her husband deserved such an end, told the media ahead of his last rites at Kanpur's Bhairoghat. Police said Dubey, the main accused in an encounter in Kanpurs Chaubeypur area last week in which eight policemen were killed, died in an encounter Friday morning after the car transporting him from Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain to Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur overturned while trying to avoid cattle. The last rites were performed by Dubeys brother-in-law Dinesh Tiwari, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Brijesh Tiwari said. Before leaving the crematorium with her son, Richa also allegedly shouted at media, even holding them responsible for the encounter killing of her husband, PTI reported. A heavy police deployment, headed by SP city East, Raj Kumar Agarwal, was positioned around Bhairoghat. 'Unforgivable sin' Dubeys father Ram Kumar refused to attend the last rites. "The Uttar Pradesh administration has done the right thing by taking action against my son. It is the chief minister's duty to protect every individual. The police is an extension of that. He attacked them which cannot be forgiven," Ram Kumar said. Ram Kumar said that his only appeal to the government is to allow him entry to his ancestral property. "Had he listened to us, his life would not have ended this way. Vikas never helped us in any way. Due to him, even our ancestral property was razed to the ground. He also killed eight policemen, which is an unforgivable sin. The administration has done the right thing. Had they not done so, tomorrow others would have acted similarly," Ram Kumar told ANI. Dubey was among a group of assailants who had opened fire at a police team that had gone to arrest him. He was arrested on Thursday after a security guard at an Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain temple identified him. Principal of Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi Medical College Dr RB Kamal had told media Dubey was brought dead to the hospital. "Dubey sustained four bullet injuries, three in the upper part (chest) and one in the hand," Kamal said. With inputs from agencies Melburnians have been issued a stern warning against fleeing the city to stay in their holiday homes as they could be putting coastal communties at risk. Victoria recorded 218 coronavirus cases on Saturday as the state battles through a second wave of infections. Premier Daniel Andrews ordered Melbourne and Mitchell Shire in the state's north back under stage 3 restrictions. He also strictly specified those with a holiday home in regional or coastal areas are not allowed to relocate to those areas. An empty Spring Street is seen with a a lone taxi and tram on July 09, 2020 in Melbourne People are seen wearing face masks while shopping at the Queen Victoria Market on July 11 However, there are fears some Melburnians have already escaped to their holiday homes, which could trigger a spike coronavirus cases in parts of regional and coastal Victoria. Victorian Senator Sarah Henderson labelled regional areas as a 'true safe haven' and urged locals to report any holiday home owners who are not doing the right thing. 'We can't afford to see that compromised. I urge local residents living in regional Victoria to report all suspected breaches of restrictions to police,' she told Herald Sun. Queenscliff Council, on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, informed all Melburnains who have decided to stay in their holiday home that they are subject to the same stay-at-home rules. People are only allowed to leave their homes for four reasons: work, education, essential shopping and medical attention. Queenscliff businesses can also refuse service to those whose main address is in Melbourne, a spokesman told the publication. Bass Coast Council chief executive Ali Wastie has encouraged locals to report Melbourne residents who fail to leave or arrive at their holiday home particularly in Phillip Islands (pictured) Bass Coast Council chief executive Ali Wastie has encouraged locals to report Melbourne residents who fail to leave or arrive at their holiday home particularly in Phillip Islands. 'School holidays are ending and it will not be acceptable for people to extend their holidays. We should be seeing a significant drop off in numbers . . . there's no reason for people to be at their holiday homes,' she said. Geelong council, which includes Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove, and the Surfcoast Shire, which includes Torquay, Anglesea and Lorne, and East Gippsland with Lakes Entrance and Mallacoota, have also been informed to report any Melbourne residents. Police are seen outside the Alfred Street public housing tower which remains under tight lockdown in North Melbourne, Saturday, July 11 There are currently 1,249 active known cases in the state. Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, in the state's north, have since gone back into stage 3 lockdown and as the state battles through a second wave. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement Residents are only allowed to leave their homes for four reasons which include: exercise, work, to buy essential items and for medical attention. Premier Daniel Andrews reminded all Victorian's that 'we're in this together' as they work on containing the virus. 'As inconvenient and as challenging as it is, we cannot deny the reality of the situation we face, and we cannot pretend that doing anything other than following the rules will get us to the other side of this,' he said. People in lockdown are also encouraged to wear face masks if the safe 1.5metre distance cannot be maintained. 'Through an abundance of caution, through the fact it is relatively easy, we should request of all Victorians when they are out of their home, and this relates principally to metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire ... it is our request of you (to wear a mask),' Mr Andrews said on Friday. 'It's not compulsory, we are simply asking that if you can wear a mask where you can't distance, that is exactly what we would like you to do. 'That's a relatively small contribution but one that could make a really big difference.' The state government has already ordered two million reusable masks and one million single use masks for the communities to slow the spread of the deadly virus. Reporter Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk). Nigerias new broadband policy has increased broadband penetration by five per cent, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has said. Mr Pantami, in a statement signed by the agencys spokesperson, Henry Nkemmadu, on Thursday said the increase occurred in less than one year. Broadband is a term synonymous with a high-speed connection to the internet. While noting that the implementation of the new policy had started fully, the official said the policy resulted in broadband penetration currently at 40.1 per cent, up from 35.1 per cent in August, 2019. The National Bureau of Statistics had published a report that indicated the ICT industry contributed 14.07 per cent to Nigerias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2020. The official said the increased broadband penetration will help Nigeria achieve increased GDP growth. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is saddled with the responsibility of leading the team that will ensure effective monitoring and steering of the overall implementation of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020-2025. Inauguration Meanwhile, Mr Pantami inaugurated NCCs Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Ubale Maska, as the Chairman of the Broadband Implementation Steering Committee (BISC) While inaugurating the committee in Abuja on Thursday, he said they are to ensure effective monitoring for implementation of the National Broadband Plan (NBP), 2020- 2025. Mr Pantami said the committee was part of the ongoing journey for a Digital Nigeria, which had received a boost since his assumption of office in August, 2019. The journey started with the approval for the transformation of the ministry and its parastatals in October, 2019 from mere ICT institutions to digital economy institutions by the President. READ ALSO: This was followed by the unveiling of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) in November, 2019 and the development of a new NBP 2020-2025, which was launched by the President in March 19, 2020, he said. He said all the efforts were meant to put Nigeria on the global digital economy map, supported by robust broadband infrastructure. He noted that under the NDEPS, solid infrastructure components which is the 3rd pillar will provide the bedrock for the realisation of the countrys digital economy vision. In the new National Broadband Plan, there are many targets. Principal of which are to cover 90 per cent of Nigerian population with broadband access and 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2025. We also plan to achieve a broadband speed of 25 megabits per second (mbps) in urban areas and 10 mbps in rural areas by the end of implementation of the new Broadband plan, Mr Pantami said. He said the problems of right of way, protection for telecom infrastructure and multiple taxations, are critical to fast-track broadband infrastructure deployment and these are being addressed from all fronts. He added that the efforts are already yielding positive results with the engagement of relevant stakeholders including state government and the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF). The committee draws membership from the ministry and agencies under its supervision, including the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), World Bank, Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), among others. Under the Federal Death Penalty Act, executions should be carried out under the law of the state where the sentence in the case occurred in this case, Arkansas, which gives significant rights to victims family members, the judge wrote in her 14-page order. Magnus-Stinson also wrote that the public had an interest in treating the relatives with fairness, respect, and dignity and said that it appeared the Justice Department gave no consideration to their rights whatsoever. In a relief to thousands of farmers who feared losing the opportunity to cultivate crops during the ongoing Kharif season, a division bench of the Bombay high court (HC) has directed the Aurangabad District Central Cooperative Bank to disburse loans to farmers with immediate effect. The bank had refused to disburse fresh loans as it was waiting to recover interest on loans that were waived off by the government under the Mahatma Phule Karj Mukti Yojana. The waived loans were disbursed by the bank between January 1, 2019, and October 1, 2019. The court held that the issue of interest could be decided in a later hearing. The division bench of justice SV Gangapurwala and justice RG Avachat of the HC at its Aurangabad bench, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by agriculturist Kishore Tangade through senior advocate SB Talekar, was informed that the sowing season had commenced in June. Talekar submitted that thousands of agriculturists were eligible for loans but only 49.62% had been approved by the bank after they paid interest on loans taken the previous year. The bench was informed that though loans of the previous year had been waived off by the state government, the bank insisted on collecting interest accrued, and only those agriculturists who had paid the amount some by selling their gold ornaments had been disbursed a fresh loan amount. Talekar submitted that though the state government, under section 79A of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, had directed the banks to disburse loans to eligible agriculturists on January 17, 2020, the bank had not complied. As a result of this, thousands of agriculturists were unable to undertake sowing activities, which would result in no crops and future losses. The state, through government pleader DR Kale, reiterated the petitioners submissions and said that though the bank had already been compensated for the waived amount, it had held back disbursement of fresh loans. Kale further submitted that the bank was bound to comply with the January order of the government. The bank, however, submitted that it was considering challenging the January order of the government. Representing the bank, advocate RS Deshmukh submitted that the decision not to disburse fresh loans was taken by the board of directors. He claimed that if the interest was not collected and fresh loans were disbursed, the bank would suffer financial losses. After hearing the submissions, the court observed that as the January order was in force, the bank was bound to comply, even if it planned to challenge it. HC directed the bank to disburse the loans to eligible agriculturists, sought a compliance report and posted the matter for hearing on July 20. Roughly 150 years old, the Manhattan is easily one of the most popular and enduring cocktails of all time. That said, its popularity has been subject to the usual ups and downs associated with drink trends and, from about 1970 to 2010, it was a little less common, since many people had turned to vodka, rum and tequila cocktails like the Margarita, Pina Colada and Cosmopolitan. And, as often happens with drinks that arent in regular circulation, the quality of the Manhattans started to decline as a lot of bartenders simply forgot how to make one properly. Its an easy drink to makewhisky, sweet vermouth, bitters, stirred over ice and served in a cold glass with or without a cherrybut a lot of things can go wrong if you dont understand a few basics. First, like all drinks that are made with straight spirits, it needs to be stirred, so that it doesnt wind up watery. Second, the bitters are essential. Third, splurge on a good Amarena cherry. Fourth, vermouth goes bad relatively quickly if it isnt stored in the refrigerator. Finally, dont be stingy with the vermouth. Unless, that is, youve left your vermouth on a counter for a month, which was exactly what happened at a lot of bars in the vodka/tequila era. On top of that, a lot of people forgot the bitters since, even though a bottle of Angostura bitters sat on the back bar of many venues like a talisman or something, few of us understood how to use them. Bitters are often called the salt and pepper of the cocktail world and bartenders say that, quite often, if something is just a little off on a drink and they cant figure out what, a dash of bitters will fix it. These problems have largely been fixed in the past 10 to 15 years, thanks to the revival of traditional methods amongst bartenders who have been bringing back the classics. Speaking of tradition, the first Manhattans would almost universally have been made with American rye whiskey but, since were doing 100-mile cocktails here and supporting local distilleries, were using a Canadian alternative, Stalk and Barrels Three Barrel Whisky ($34.95; LCBO 13323). Since its made just north of Toronto, we named it after the distillerys locationin Concord. The Concord 2 oz Stalk and Barrel whisky oz Haberdasher sweet vermouth (made in Prince Edward County) 2 dashes Angostura bitters 1 Amarena cherry (for garnish) Method: Stir all ingredients (except the cherry) together over ice in a mixing glass for 45 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass. Add cherry. NOTE: If you have trouble tracking down Haberdasher, Dillons Vermouth (also made in Ontario) is an alternative thats available at the LCBO. And there are plenty of Ontario craft whisky options, but we wanted to shine a light on Stalk and Barrel, the provinces oldest micro-distillery, because its celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. They have several different expressions, including a rye and a single malt. Do you reckon it's time for a big change in your life but you need some help? Baz Ashmawy is always a good guy to have on your side. Now, as we emerge from sitting in during lockdown, have you pondered those opportunities that you might have let past. As we get out of the traps, are those dreams and unfulfilled ambitions waiting to be unleashed, albeit with a little helpful nudge - in the form of Baz Ashmawy! Now this is your chance! Seize the moment and do something extraordinary for yourself - or for someone close to you in your life! We all know someone who is in need of a WINGMAN. Having guided farmer Jimmy onto the stage in front of a local sell-out crowd, helped Emma overcome her fear and battle her way into the octagon, and brought Conor and Joe on the Ultimate Lads Lads Roadtrip, Baz is looking for new participants to take under his wing and fulfil their ultimate dream in a new series of Baz Ashmawy: Wingman. The series is about helping people to achieve a dream / ambition, to do the thing they always wanted to do before life got in the way. It might be to learn a skill or experience something they have always wanted to do. Maybe it's dating, a crazy adventure, a childhood dream they never forgot. It might be something you want to do with a sibling, or a friend. It might be a totally new ambition. Or maybe you dont know what you want, but you just know that you need a wingman. Wingman Baz now wants to help make those lockdown ambitions come to life. This isnt about something you can do yourself, but that burning dream ambition that has been out of arms reach until now! Baz will be with you every step of the way to encourage you, to mentor you, to push you across that achievable finish line! Has lockdown let you wanting to pack up to run away with the circus, learn something new? Do you know someone who can make you laugh and belongs on the stage? Have the last few months left you reckoning it's time for a big change? No dream is too big or too small. Tell us what your dream is and why you need help making it happen. The casting team will be making a road trip around Ireland shortly to meet people and hear about these dreams. Keep an eye out on Bazs social media for dates, times and venues! Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, the new series of Wingman will be filmed in Ireland in accordance with Government and HSE guidelines for travel and filming. For more information on the series or to apply to take part on the series and have Baz take you under his wing, log onto rte.ie/wingman or e-mail info@mahymedia.com Apple Studios has acquired the rights to adapt the thriller Snow Blind, a thriller based on a graphic novel of the same name that will star Jake Gyllenhaal, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap. Gustav Moller (The Guilty) will direct the film based on the story by Ollie Masters and published by BOOM! Studios in 2017. Patrick Ness (A Monster Calls, Chaos Walking) is writing the screenplay. Snow Blind tells the story of a high school student in Alaska whose life is turned upside down when he posts a photo of his dad online. He soon thereafter learns that he and his family are in the Witness Protection Program and are now being hunted by not only the FBI but also a man out for revenge who invades their small town. Also Read: How John Mulaney Got Jake Gyllenhaal for 'The Sack Lunch Bunch' (Video) Gyllenhaal is producing along with his partner at Nine Stories, Riva Marker. BOOM! Studios Ross Richie, Stephen Christy and Adam Yoelin are also producing. Noah Stahl is executive producing, and Mette Norkjaer is co-producing. The project was acquired by Apples head of worldwide video Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht. Gyllenhaal was last seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home and is a producer on the indie horror film Relic that was just released. Hes also producing The Devil All the Time and Breaking News in Yuba County, which are both in post-production. Apple has been busy of late, having just released the Tom Hanks World War II movie Greyhound after picking it up from Sony. Apple also recently acquired the Will Smith-led Emancipation from director Antoine Fuqua, and Martin Scorseses Killers of the Flower Moon starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Gyllenhaal is represented by WME and Carlos Goodman. BOOM! is represented by UTA and attorney Matt Saver. Deadline first reported the news of the project. Read original story Apple Acquires Jake Gyllenhaal Graphic Novel Adaptation Snow Blind At TheWrap A promotional `prank by an online streaming platform confounded several residents of Mumbai on Friday, leading to a slew of calls to the police control room. Late in the evening, the cyber cell of Maharashtra police said it had asked Sony LIV, the streaming service, to stop the promotional activity. The main control room of Mumbai Police started getting calls from people in the afternoon that they had received strange calls from numbers starting with 140 or 40. What a ridiculous #promotional call trick by #Undekhi #SonyLIV Do U even realise what this can cause to a person if they miss out the last few words in panic. Get a better way to promote your series #webseries #advertisement #ScamAlert #murdercall #unethical #worldpremiereseries pic.twitter.com/8CzUhTkVti Suvrata Bhati (@BhatiSuvrata) July 10, 2020 Vaibhav Pawar, who owns an advertising agency, said around 4 pm a man who identified himself as `Rishi called him, begging for help and saying that he had witnessed a murder and recorded the incident on mobile phone. The killer was now trying to kill him, `Rishi said. This is a totally horrific way to pitch a promotional call (+140) for #Undekhi @SonyLIV . Please avoid such tricks as people are very much stressed and nervous already owing to the #pandemic and such frightening calls may lead to some unfortunate incidents.@PIB_India Ved (@v_barai) July 10, 2020 Many others received similar calls, not realising that it was a gimmick to promote Sony LIVs new series Undekhi. Some also tweeted about it, tagging the Mumbai Polices Twitter handle. In reply, Mumbai Police tweeted, Please do not share any sensitive details over a call and visit the nearest police station for further support. Finally, Sony LIV tweeted that it was a promotional activity. If you have received a call for our show Undekhi & it has disturbed you we would like to sincerely apologise to you. This was a test activity which has gone out accidentally & our intention was not to cause any kind of discomfort or panic. We sincerely regret any inconvenience. SonyLIV (@SonyLIV) July 10, 2020 Also read: Breathe Into the Shadows review: Inept and illogical, Amazons strangest show lets Abhishek Bachchan, Amit Sadh down If you have received a call for our show...and it has disturbed you, we would like to sincerely apologise to you. This was a test activity which has gone out accidentally, it said. Maharashtra Cyber tweeted that people should not panic and spread rumours if they had received these calls. We have instructed the channel to cease this promotional activity immediately, it added. Follow @htshowbiz for more Bindi Irwin wed her long-time partner Chandler Powell during a secret ceremony at Australia Zoo on March 25. And on Sunday, Bindi revealed that she celebrated her honeymoon at the sprawling premises amid the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to Us Weekly, the Australian wildlife advocate said: 'Our honeymoon certainly wasn't what we had originally planned.' Plans: Bindi Irwin has revealed how COVID-19 forced her and husband Chandler Powell to ditch their honeymoon plans. Pictured on their wedding day at Australia Zoo on March 25 Instead, Bindi, 21, and Chandler, 23, were forced to cancel their honeymoon to help with Australia Zoo's $400,000 weekly payroll crisis. 'We spent our honeymoon doing our best to care for our animals and zoo team hoping that things would get brighter,' she told the publication. 'Our first few months of marriage have been a whirlwind to say the least,' Bindi added. Speaking to Us Weekly, the Australian wildlife advocate said: 'Our honeymoon certainly wasn't what we had originally planned' Bindi went on to say that she couldn't think of a better time to get married then when she did. Telling the publication, 'it feels so much better' to tackle the world together as husband and wife. The newlyweds were forced to cancel their honeymoon in March as the coronavirus pandemic threatened their family financially. Changes: 'We spent our honeymoon doing our best to care for our animals and zoo team hoping that things would get brighter,' she told the publication. Pictured with her mum Terri, and brother Robert, right One day after their wedding, the family held crisis talks to discuss how to keep their business, Australia Zoo, afloat, on 'skeleton staffing'. In an Animal Planet special set to air in August, titled Crikey! It's the Irwins: Life in Lockdown, the couple will discuss how they addressed the zoo's payroll problem. Crikey! It's the Irwins: Life in Lockdown will air on Foxtel's Animal Planet on Saturday, August 1 from 7:30pm The large refrigerated trailer suddenly appeared one day near the loading dock at HCA Healthcare Northwest, taking some on staff by surprise. But soon its purpose became clear. When a patient died last week in the hospitals intensive care unit nearly full these days of critically ill COVID-19 patients the body was packed in ice and moved into the trailer. The hospitals morgue was full. HCA officials confirmed the trailer was used as temporary storage until the body could be picked up by a funeral home. As other hospitals prepare to follow suit or have already done so, there is a stark new reality in Houston. In the early months of the pandemic, it seemed as if Texas as a whole, and Houston specifically, was mostly spared the worst of the crisis, especially compared with the Northeast. In a city and state so big, the number of cases remained relatively small. So, too, did the number of dead, with about 3,100 reported in Texas so far. Overrun hospitals and makeshift morgues happened elsewhere not in a city with the largest medical center complex in the world. But Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows Texas is one of 24 states that publicly reports only confirmed COVID-19 deaths, not probable ones. And with rampant testing shortages in Texas, many patients likely died without being screened for the disease, experts said. Texas ranks 40th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in deaths per 100,000 population on the CDC COVID-19 tracker. But that is potentially misleading since it compares Texas with 27 states that include probable cases. Nearly 1 in 5 deaths reported in New York City, the national epicenter for COVID-19, was reported as a probable. The surge of cases has left doctors, nurses and first responders in Houston overwhelmed, and scores of patients wait for 12 hours or more for emergency room care or ICU beds. On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott warned that the death toll will rise. What were seeing now in states like Texas is comparable to what we saw in New York City, said Bob Anderson, chief of mortality statistics for the CDC. It remains to be seen what we will see with the rate of death. The numbers may be smaller, but the pattern is there. Deaths are the ultimate lagging indicator, sometimes not occurring for many weeks after a person is first infected. And then it can take several more weeks until that death is recorded and shows up in the statistics, distorting public perception and the true scope of the crisis. For instance, on Thursday, Mayor Sylvester Turner, announcing the citys latest toll during a news conference, included the death of a woman who died nearly seven weeks ago on May 24. The steep rise in cases that started about mid-June in many states will likely be seen in rising deaths very soon, said Jen Kates, director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. It is hard to see how they wont come. Waiting on stretchers The trajectory is now a nearly straight line heading north. On Tuesday, a milestone was reached as the daily count of new cases in Texas topped 10,000. Two days later, the number of statewide cases reached 10,214 a tenfold increase from mid-May, when officials were alarmed that the number of cases was rising by 1,000 per day. As of Saturday, there were 255,763 confirmed cases in the state, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of state data. In the Houston region, the number of confirmed cases reached 62,268 on Saturday, up more than 2,400 from the day before, the analysis shows. Houstons two safety net public hospitals are straining. On Friday, Ben Taub Hospitals ICU was at 66 percent capacity and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital was at 113 percent. The surge is showing up in other ways as well. Sam Pena, Houstons fire chief, said in a recent interview with the Chronicle that his department is overwhelmed. In the past three weeks the calls for help have jumped 30 percent, the majority being respiratory distress. When the state shut down in March, the fire chief said, his department was averaging about 800 calls per day. Now it is 1,100. And once at a hospital, if there is no bed immediately available, he said the patient waits on a stretcher in the emergency room hallway. It will go up Researchers recently reported that a mutated coronavirus strain, the main one circulating in the Houston area, is more contagious than the original virus in China. But they have not found it to be more deadly. On Saturday, there were 3,156 confirmed deaths in Texas, translating into a fatality rate of about 1.23 percent. In the Houston region the death count stands at 642, or slightly less than the statewide rate. The current death rate in Texas has, in fact, gone down since April and May, when it was 2.4 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively. That has fueled critics of mandated precautionary measures such as masks and social distancing. The White House, too, has pointed to a decline in overall death rates as proof that the recent spike in new cases is not a big deal and that the country is winning its war with the virus. And it is true the demographic of the virus is now shifting to younger patients who may be better able to fight off the disease. Increased testing has also meant that the virus is caught earlier and treatment in hospitals is proving more successful as doctors better understand the coronavirus. But health experts caution that the virus can be slow to develop. The CDC estimates it can be up to 14 days after exposure for symptoms to appear. Once sick, it can be another two weeks to a month or longer before a case results in death. One of the big things that people who dont want to implement social distancing say is, Hey, so what if cases and ICU admission are going up, so long as mortality is not going up? said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Houstons Baylor College of Medicine. Well, No. 1, it will go up, he said. It may not go up as steeply as it did in New York because were better prepared to handle it we know how to provide better ICU care now but it will go up. And in fact, Wednesday and Thursday had 218 new deaths statewide in just 48 hours, according to a Chronicle analysis of state data. The growing deaths have now triggered emergency measures across Houstons hospitals. HCA Houston Healthcare said the refrigerated trailer at Houston Healthcare Northwest was needed briefly last week because the hospital morgue is small. But the hospital system said it was likely the same preparedness measures will be used at its other hospitals. Similarly, Memorial Hermann Health System said it has used such makeshift morgues in the past and is deploying them as needed across its system, while Baylor St. Lukes Medical Center said it has a refrigerated trailer on site that has not been used yet. Other hospital systems said the potential use of the temporary morgues is part of an overall strategy should the situation worsen. Even if the death rate remains steady or rises only slightly, Dr. David Persse, Houstons chief medical officer, said the math is not on the citys side amid such dramatic increases in cases. One percent of a big number is still a big number, he said. Its a lot of people dying. It may never be counted Health experts also worry that the true scope of the local crisis may never be measured accurately. For instance, if an ambulance crew arrives and a person is already dead or dies on the way to the hospital they will not be tested for the virus. We have a team that weve deployed with the health department to conduct testing at nursing homes, but we dont do a test for patients in the field during emergency responses, Pena said. And if a patient dies in the emergency room from a heart attack or organ failure but there is not clear indication that the death was caused directly or indirectly from the virus, they also may not be tested, health officials acknowledge. Admitted patients are now routinely tested, doctors said. If they are not tested in the ER or a doctor does not write that it is COVID-presumed, it may never be counted, Persse said. Anderson at the CDC said that unless COVID-19 is specifically listed as cause of death or as a contributing factor on the death certificate, it will not be included in that agencys data. It is absolutely possible we are missing some, he said. In Texas, a death can be certified by medical professionals or government authorities, depending on jurisdiction. In Harris County, if a body is turned over to the medical examiners office, it will be tested if there is suspicion of the virus, said Michele Arnold, public information manager at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. Of the 1,990 deaths certified by that agency since March 1, a little more than 10 percent, or 253, have been tested for COVID-19, she said. Of those, roughly half came back positive. Still, not all who test positive will have COVID-19 listed as the cause of death if they died from something unrelated, she said. Front-line doctors are skeptical that all of the deaths they see are being accurately counted. The death certificate I signed on June 30 with a confirmed lab test is still not being reported as a COVID death, said one HCA Healthcare Northwest physician on Thursday. We see the death rate is rising every day. All day we are hearing code blue called overhead for a different bed in the intensive care unit, he said, describing the signal that a patients heart has stopped. We know those are COVID patients fighting for their lives. The numbers being reported are lagging behind what is happening on a daily basis. Persse said he understands that reporting lags or gaps can be frustrating to the public and damaging to those trying to beat back a crisis. But what is truly distressing, he said, is that it could have been prevented. What people do, how vigilant they remain, the precautions they take, are the true predictors of the virus toll on the city. Its hard to predict because it is totally up to us, he said. The death rate depends on us. Lisa Gray and Matt Dempsey contributed to this report. jenny.deam@chron.com twitter.com/jenny_deam zach.despart@chron.com twitter.com/zachdespart With the World Health Organisation lauding the efforts taken to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in Mumbai's Dharavi, one of the world's largest slums, the local civic body said proactive screening with the assistance of private doctors and community support helped it in the fight against the disease. IMAGE: Health workers wearing PPE kits conduct door-to-door medical check-up of the residents of Dharavi slum in Mumbai. Photograph: Kunal Patil/PTI Photo WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had said during a virtual press conference in Geneva on Friday that there were many examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control. "And some of these examples are Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi -- a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai," he had said. The Asia's largest slum, which was once declared a COVID-19 hotspot, has managed to flatten the curve of the viral spread. Talking to PTI on Saturday, Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner of the G North ward of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the civic body had to change its traditional approach of waiting for patients, contact tracing, isolation and home quarantine to begin proactive screening instead. "Proactive screening helped in early detection, timely treatment and recovery," he said. "At least six to seven lakh people have been screened in Dharavi, while 14,000 persons were tested and 13,000 were placed in institutional quarantine with medical facilities and community kitchen for free," the senior official said. The efforts taken by the civic authorities and the local participation is evident from the doubling rate of the virus in Dharavi, which is spread over 2.5 sq km and has a population of 2,27,136 per sq km. According to the official data, while in April, the doubling rate was 18 days, it gradually improved to 43 days in May and slowed down to 108 and 430 days in June and July respectively. As many as 2,359 COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Dharavi so far, of which 1,952 patients have recovered from the deadly infection, while there are only 166 active cases at present. However, achieving this monumental feat was not easy for the local authorities, who had to overcome their fair share of challenges. "At least 80 per cent of Dharavi's population depends on 450 community toilets and the administration had to sanitise and disinfect these toilets several times a day," Dighavkar said. Social distancing was next to impossible in Dharavi, where families of eight to 10 people live in 10x10 hutments and residents have to walk along narrow lanes lined with crowded tenements on either side, he said. Apart from the congested slum pockets, Dharavi, is also home to several small-scale leather, pottery and textile manufacturing units. The area has 5,000 GST-registered enterprises, 15,000 single-room factories and is a hub of international exports with an annual turnover of $1 billion. "Our approach to tackle the virus was focused on four Ts -- tracing, tracking, testing and treating," he said. Doctors and private clinics, as part of proactive screening and fever camps, covered as many as 47,500 houses, while 14,970 people were screened in mobile vans, the official said. Apart from this, special care was taken for the elderly residents and 8,246 senior citizens were surveyed, he said. Manpower was a major issue for organising fever camps and proactive screening in high-risk zones, Dighavkar said. "We mobilised all private practitioners. At least 24 private doctors came forward and the civic body provided them with PPE kits, thermal scanners, pulse oxymetres, masks, gloves, and started door-to-door screening in high risk zones and all suspects were identified," he said. Later, all medical practitioners were asked to open their clinics and alert the civic body about suspected patients, he said, adding that all private hospitals were also acquired for treatment. The civic body also had to ramp up institutional quarantine facilities and used schools, marriage halls and sports complexes to house suspected patients, he said. "Under the guidance of municipal commissioner I S Chahal, a 200-bed hospital was set up in record 14 days with oxygen supply," Dighavkar said. There was a strict enforcement of lockdown in the containment zones, during which only critical patients were moved out of the area to other hospitals and 90 per cent were treated in Dharavi itself, he added. Community participation was crucial to contain the spread of coronavirus in Dharavi and local community leaders were appointed as 'Covid yoddhas' (warriors) to address the concerns, the senior official said. According to him, grocery kits and food packets were distributed in containment zones to prevent the movement of people and this helped in a big way. Taking to Twitter, the civic body thanked the WHO for acknowledging 'Mission Dharavi'. 'We partnered with citizens to chase the virus from one of the most populous blocks of the city. With your guidelines and community efforts, we will beat COVID-19 one block at a time by tracing, tracking, testing and treating,' the BMC tweeted. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Michael Holden (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Sat, July 11, 2020 11:02 556 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406658efbf 2 Entertainment johnny-depp,amber-heard,divorce,Court,Hollywood,Celebrities,united-states,film,actor,Britain Free Movie star Johnny Depp told London's High Court on Friday that his ex-wife Amber Heard or her friend had defecated in their bed in what he described as a "fitting end to the relationship". Giving evidence over four days in his libel action against Britain's Sun newspaper, which labelled him a wife-beater, Depp has faced allegations that he physically attacked Heard on at least 14 occasions during a three-year period from 2013. The court was told on Friday that one such incident followed a party to celebrate Heard's 30th birthday party in April 2016, the Sun's lawyer Sasha Wass said. The Pirates of the Caribbean star was late because he had been at a meeting with his business manager, where he had received bad news about his finances. At their home, Depp was accused of attacking Heard when she criticized him for being late, throwing a magnum bottle of champagne at her, which missed, and grabbing her hair. The following day, the cleaner found feces in their bed, something Wass said Depp had said in text messages he thought hilarious. However, he told the court this "absurd" moment was when he decided they had to end their marriage. Read also: Johnny Depp severed finger during three-day row with ex-wife, UK court told Absurd "I was convinced it was Miss Heard herself or one of her cohort involved in leaving human feces on the bed," he said. "I thought it was a strangely, oddly fitting end to the relationship." When the couple next met up in May when Depp went to collect some possessions from their home, a row erupted over the feces incident, which Heard blamed on one of their dogs. Depp denied he had been spoiling for a fight and said Heard had brought up the issue, telling the estate manager in a phone call it was a "harmless prank". In an ensuing argument, Depp was accused of throwing his phone at Heard, striking her on the cheek, a charge he rejected. Days later she sought a restraining order against Depp and the court was shown pictures of Heard with a bruise on the cheek. However, a police officer who was called to the scene, Melissa Saenz, told the court she had a clear look at Heard's face and saw no sign of injury, nor any damage to the home as she and her friends alleged. Depp said the wife-beater accusations meant he had gone from "Cinderella to Quasimodo in 0.6 seconds". Read also: Johnny Depp denies 'wife-beater' claim in London libel trial "Global humiliation" The court heard he sent a text to his business manager in August 2016 in which he called Heard a "50 cent stripper" who was "begging for total global humiliation". "I have no mercy, no fear and not an ounce of emotion, or what I once thought was love for this gold digging, low level, dime a dozen, mushy, pointless dangling overused flappy fish market," said the text, read by Wass. During four days so far in the witness box, Depp has been accused of repeatedly attacking Heard, whom he met in 2011 and married four years later, during rages when he was drunk or had taken lots of drugs. The court has been told that during these rages he repeatedly slapped her, kicked her, headbutted her, pulled out clumps of her hair, trashed a house where she kept her clothes, and threatened to kill her. According to Wass, Depp had an alter ego, which both he and Heard referred to as "the monster", who he turned into after heavy drinking or drug-taking. "Every time I didn't comply with her... she could call it the monster," Depp said. "The monster grew into whatever she wanted it to be." Depp has rejected all the allegations and says Heard is lying, telling the court she physically assaulted him, hurling a bottle at him on one occasion and severing the tip of a finger. "I have slept on many bathroom floors as a result of trying to avoid any violent confrontation," he said. He says Heard's claims are a hoax and part of a dossier she had been collecting as "an insurance policy". The trial is due to last three weeks. Heard, who has also been in court for Depp's appearances in the witness box, is due to give evidence herself next week as is Depp's former long-term partner Vanessa Paradis and his ex-girlfriend, actress Winona Ryder. Incumbent County Commissioner Arne Mortensen caught flak from two challengers Thursday for his failed attempt to contract out the county landfill and letting his personal biases interfere with working cooperatively with cities. As current mayor for the city of Woodland thats been one of my struggles is that communication and partnership and collaboration between our city leadership and the county leadership, Will Finn, a Republican, said at a virtual League of Women Voters primary election forum. I believe that governments role is here to facilitate, not dictate how things go. We shouldnt be bringing our personal feelings and our hidden agendas into government when we lead. Democratic challenger Rosemary Siipola, a former Kalama councilwoman, added: I think were leaving a lot on the table when we walk off and refuse to do things collaboratively. I dont think were doing everything as well as we possibly could. Mortensen said he is available to talk with anyone and reaches out for the interests that are intersecting. But he said he doesnt interfere with the business of the municipalities. "I have been surprised at times when I reach out to some of the municipalities to find out ... they have a dim view of the county, but once we meet and chat we get a pretty warm handshake out of that and pretty much a sharing of ideas," he said. And Mortensen rebuked his challengers for bringing up an "emotional issue" about the landfill. Siipola and Finn are contesting Mortensen's bid for a second four-year term as a commissioner for the district that represents Kelso and the south county. The Aug. 4 primary will whittle the field down to two who will face off in the November general election. The forum was generally non confrontational, but Mortensen, a libertarian-leaning conservative, found himself on the defensive, mainly for his 2018 support for contracting out the county landfill to a private operators. The idea was unpopular and opposed by a slew of former commissioners. Mortensen said the current operation of the Headquarters Landfill is in good hands and the countys Public Works Department has been improving management. However, he said there are a couple dangers, including making a $2.5 million annual bond payment that would put the county in trouble if something cut landfill revenue. By contracting out operation, the company would have taken 100% of the liability, he said. Public works is on the right track to protect the landfill, which is one of the biggest revenue generators in the county, Siipola said. The communities and citizens said really loud they dont want to sell that landfill and it doesn't seem like he (Mortensen) is listening to what the communities, what the cities were fighting for. Mortensen fired back during his closing statement that the assertions that he tried to sell the landfill are incorrect. I dont know why my opponents and others find this is an emotional issue they can pry people with, but all the data is out there and hasnt been challenged yet, he said. While all three candidates voiced support for Northwest Innovation Works proposed $2 billion Kalama methanol plant, Mortensen disagreed with the other candidates insinuations" that the county hasnt advocated for the project strongly enough. The commissioners have written several letters to Gov. Jay Inslee and the Department of Ecology urging project approval and calling out the agency for holding it to a higher standard than other industrial projects. Finn said the county needs to be louder and push back on the governor and Department of Ecology. However, Mortensen said the project is unlikely to go forward if Ecology and the governor continue to hamper its progress. Weve done everything we know how to do, he said. As the two Republican candidates, Mortensen and Finn agreed on many issues. But Siipola differed with Mortensen on social policy. Mortensen and Siipola took opposing stances on the countys role on dealing with the homeless problem, specifically in the south part of the county. The commissioner said the problem has been ongoing for decades and the county is unlikely to make progress because it may be approaching it in the wrong way. Siipola said the county had resources to help and should do a better job working with the community and agencies. Finn fell in the middle, agreeing with Mortensen that the county shouldnt be in the business of social services but that it does have a role as a facilitator of conversations among leadership. The county should send experts into the field to find out what the actual needs are, get the nonprofits and other agencies involved and step away, he said. All candidates voiced support for law enforcement but took varying positions on the role of county government in law enforcement reform. Siipola said officers need more training. And the county could shift some law enforcement funding to train or hire specialists to respond to mental health or domestic crises instead of sending police to those calls. Finn, a Washington State Patrol public information officer, said at times there can be a disconnect between law enforcement and the community. Holding a conversation between law enforcement and communities affected by racism would help address that, he said. "Defunding" the police is not the way to go, Finn said. Mortensen said typically theres too much asked of police. The county already spends a lot on law and justice, he said. Mortensen and Finn took similar stances on what the county has learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and how it could inform the countys next response to an emergency or economic downturn. Both said while the initial response was appropriate, the governor has overstepped his authority and the restrictions are causing problems for small businesses. On the other hand, Siipola said the governor has operated within his powers and virus concerns continue. The pandemic has shown vulnerabilities in the economy, including fragility of day care centers and the low pay most essential workers receive, she said. Love 1 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Oakland's historic amusement park, which once inspired Walt Disney to build Disneyland and has entertained families on the north shore of Lake Merritt for 70 years, is in uncertain times. "We don't have a reopening date. We don't have endless money. We don't have any reserve at Fairyland," the park's Executive Director Kymberly Miller told SFGATE. The treasured amusement park which has served as a petting zoo, a theme park, an educational hub and a green space for young families to enjoy since 1950, closed its iconic shoe-house entrance in March due to the COVID-19 shutdown. At that time 46 employees were furloughed, losing their income. In April the park received $400,000 in the first round of the government's $660 billion U.S. Paycheck Protection Program. On receiving the money, Miller immediately brought the furloughed employees back into employment and got them paid. "The PPP money was all spent on payroll, it enabled us to bring everyone back, even those who couldn't physically come back to work. That was my priority, to help people in such difficult times. We kept them close and talked to them every week. We chose that route, we used the PPP for what it was intended." Fairyland has lost over $1 million in revenue during the shutdown. The animals alone cost the park approximately $20,000 per month. (The menagerie includes miniature horses, Nigerian dwarf goats and a bearded dragon). But on Tuesday of last week that money ran out, and Miller was forced to re-furlough 33 workers. "We ran through that dough this week. We had to re-furlough our staff on Tuesday," she said. During that period the leadership at the park remained hopeful and strategized ways to reopen safely, targeting July for reopening. "We've been spending the last two months tightening down our protocols on a COVID-safe reopening, lowering capacity from 2,500 to 700 and closing down indoor aspects of our park, including the rides and music tunnel," Miller said. "Focus will instead turn to the small zoo at the park and educational areas." But then came the recent surge in COVID-19 infections across California and the country, forcing an indefinite postponement to that plan. Miller believes there is some incongruity in the county on what is being allowed to reopen. "There's some confusion on what's considered low-risk. We're an outdoor facility that can provide some respite for our constituents, with protocols in place, while other indoor places cannot. There's a little bit of a rub there," she said. If and when the park gets back in business, opening hours will adapt, too, with a morning session and afternoon session, allowing time for a cleaning of the site during the midday break. "The majority of the site is outdoors, and we feel like we could give people a great benefit during the COVID crisis. That hasn't happened yet. We just want to see how we can get back to supporting the little ones," Miller said. Fairyland has been able to hold a smaller summer day camp over the last few weeks by turning its processes "upside down" to comply with the county mandates calling for smaller cohorts and kids signing up for a three week "bubble," that Alameda County defines as "a group of 12 or fewer people who may socialize together but only outside." Miller is still hoping that an August reopening is possible. When asked if she has thought about the possibility of closing Fairyland for good, "Oh sure. Every day," Miller said. "If we don't open in August we're going to have to think very differently about what that means." A relief fund has been set up to help the park here. MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. San Francisco releases guidelines for schools Coronavirus cases increasing at UC Berkeley due to frat parties Bay Area coronavirus hospitalizations continue to rise - but there's a catch America is running short on masks, gowns and gloves. Again. Health official: Trump rally 'likely' source of virus surge Andrew Chamings is an editor at SFGATE. Email: Andrew.Chamings@sfgate.com | Twitter: @AndrewChamings A team of Brazilian researchers announced on Friday that they discovered a 115-million-year-old fossil that belongs to a species of dinosaur not known in the northeastern state of Ceara. The bone fragment, which was presented at Brazil's National Museum, was identified as the right hind limb of a young sample. It was found 12 years ago in a quarry near the town of Santana do Cariri in Ceara, said a report from La Prensa Latina. The species "Aratasaurus museunacionali" is a medium-sized theropod. This means it had hollow bones and its limbs had three toes. The first part of its name is a combination of two words from the indigenous language. "Ara" means "born" and "ata" means "fire." The Greek work "saurus" means lizard. The second part of its name was a nod to Brazil's oldest scientific institution, the Museu Nacional. In a report from Deutsche Welle, paleontologist Juliana Sayao said the fossil came from a dinosaur that died young. It is believed to have weighed around 34.25 kilos (75.5 pounds) and was 3.12 meters high (10.24 feet). After the fossil went through analysis at universities in Pernambuco and Cariri, it was brought to the National Museum of Brazil in 2016. Two years later, the museum suffered a fire that consumed a large portion of its 20 million items, more or less. Fortunately, the area, where the fossil was kept, was not reached by the fire. Further Study on Carnivorous Dinosaurs Sayao said the discovery of the new theropod will help scientists in understanding the history of the carnivorous species. It is also a sign that other types of carnivorous dinosaurs lived in the area millions of years ago. Before the fossil could be studied, they had to chip away the rock surrounding it, which is a long and tedious process. The scientific report from Nature said the fossil was preserved and found in a slab of dark shale. They recovered the creature's partial femur, tibia, and pes. Even if it's just a part of the species, it turned out to reveal many differences between Aratasaurus and other Coelusaurs, the scientists said. During fossilization, the external bone surface of the femur and tibia was cracked because of compacting. The pes still showed most of its original shape. The fossil was determined to be part of the evolutionary line that led to the Tyrannosaurus. "Among the theropods, we discover that the Aratasaurus is part of the group called Coelurosaurs, which includes the Brazilian dinosaur found in the same reason, called Santanaraptor, Sayao said. Sayao added that the Aratasaurus is also part of the "famous Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptors and even the birds of today." The Potential of the Region The Nature report said the fossil was found at the base of the Romualdo Formation. It is known to hold well-preserved dinosaur fossils, but the records about it are very few. It is one of the most fossiliferous places comprising most of fossil vertebrates in the Araripe Basin. The diverse and well-preserved fossil and fauna found in it gave it the designation of Lagerstatte. The report noted how records on dinosaurs are far less than the potential of the Brazilian region as a whole. Want to read more? Check these out! The owner of Merit Publishing House Mohamed Hashem was arrested on Saturday over allegations that he sexually harassed a number of women at his publishing house, a security source told Ahram Online. The source said that an official police report has been filed against Hashem at Abdin police station in downtown Cairo, and that several allegations have been made against him by women on social media. The victims have said that they were subjected to harassment by Hashem while they were inside his publishing house, the source said. Hashem's arrest comes amid a wider discussion in the country over the issue of sexual harassment and abuse, which was sparked by tide of accusations of rape, sexual harassment and blackmail made by dozens of women and girls against a young man named Ahmed Bassam Zaki. Zaki has been arrested and is under investigation by the prosecutor-general. Last week, the cabinet approved a bill proposed by the justice ministry to keep the identity of sexual assault and harassment victims confidential, in a bid to encourage victims to come forward without fear of being stigmatised. In 2014, in an effort to crack down on the problem, harassment was criminalised for the first time. Perpetrators faced up to five years in jail and EGP 50,000 in fines. Search Keywords: Short link: Northampton County officials announced that as of Friday the county-owned nursing home had 0 positive COVID-19 cases among its residents. The good news for the hard-hit nursing home in Upper Nazareth Township comes as the number of COVID-19 cases across the state nears the 95,000 benchmark. On Saturday, the state Department of Health said there were 813 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 94,689 people. Saturdays total was better news, after 1,009 new cases were reported Friday, the biggest single-day spike in cases in the past in two months. But Allegheny and Philadelphia counties continue to report high case numbers, 215 new cases and 105 new cases respectively as of Saturday morning. So far, 817,634 people have tested negative for the virus in Pennsylvania. There were also 17 more deaths, bringing the Pennsylvania death toll to 6,897 people during the pandemic. On Friday, Northampton County officials announced there were no positive resident COVID-19 cases at Gracedale and the nursing homes isolation unit in Tower 10 was empty. All the residents being treated were returned to their regular units at Pennsylvanias largest nursing home under one roof. Three weeks ago, officials announced the homes virus caseload was down to single digits. Our long coronavirus nightmare at Gracedale is not over, a news release said. Again, this is a testament to the great infection control efforts, including universal masking, instituted at Gracedale by its staff, that has lead to this respite. Statewide, 21,669 cases were in nursing homes or longterm care facilities -- 18,216 residents and 3,453 employees. In Lehigh County, 29 facilities have COVID-19 cases, with 1,066 residents and 267 employees testing positive. In Northampton County, the state Department of Health reported 20 facilities have COVID-19 cases, with 911 residents and 243 employees testing positive. The death toll for nursing homes residents is at 4,703 people; 233 in Northampton County and 254 in Lehigh County. State officials continue warning of an increase in cases in younger people, between the ages of 19 and 24. An alert on the new trend was sent last weekend to healthcare providers. In the Northeast, that age group represented almost 6% of COVID-19 cases in April, but now represents 16% of cases so far this month. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Following the death of a Member representing Kosofe Constituency II , Hon Tunde Braimoh, the Office of the Clerk of the House Mr Azeez Sanni, announced that all Committee Meetings, Assignments and Visits to the House is hereby suspended. He however notes that all activities resumes on Monday July 20 2020. Hon. Braimoh, who died in the early hours of today (Friday July 10 2020) was the Chairman, House Committee on Information,Security and Strategy. He was also a former Chairman at Kosofe Local Government for two terms. The lawmaker has since been buried today at the Ikoyi Cemetery, Ikoyi, Lagos, according to Islamic rite. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 19:43:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAMASCUS, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Four people were wounded on Saturday when a car bomb went off in the rebel-held city of al-Bab in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, state news agency SANA reported. The car bomb went off near a market in the city of al-Bab, which is controlled by the Turkish forces and Turkey-backed rebels. The explosion also left property damage in the area. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said the car bomb was detonated behind a mosque in the city. Activists and pro-government media reports said the areas controlled by the Turkish forces and Turkey-backed Syrian rebels live in a state of lawlessness and rebels' infighting. Enditem An American Airlines flight attendant who alleged she was harassed by a co-worker has won a $15.6 million verdict in federal court. A judge found Jamie Abrams, 43, was entitled to past and future lost wages, pain and suffering and punitive damages. He also ordered former American Airlines Fleet Service clerk Tim White, 43, to not have any contact with Abrams or her family. U.S. District Judge Terry Means said Thursday that it's unlikely White could pay the amount but called the figure symbolic. In the suit, Abrams said she, her family and friends received depraved and violent phone calls from White. In them, White mimics the voice of Karl from the movie "Sling Blade" and threatened to kill Abrams and cut her up. The calls began in February 2001 and continued through 2003, sometimes totaling 15 a day. Dallas/Fort Worth Airport police arrested White in October 2003. He was later sentenced to 10 years probation in Tarrant County and ordered not to contact Abrams. A few weeks before Thursday's hearing, the phone calls started again. Abrams' lawyer, Raul H. Loya of Dallas, played answering machine recordings of the threats in court. Abrams and her husband, Darren Abrams, 42, testified the voice was White's. Abrams has been grounded for medical issues associated with the harassment. Her husband also works for American. White resigned from American in November 2003, moved to Tennessee and later to Indiana. A man who answered a phone listed to White declined comment Friday. Jamie Abrams also had sued American Airlines and American's corporate security chief, Henry Moore, alleging a hostile workplace and gender discrimination. But the judge dismissed the claims. She plans to appeal the judge's decision. ___ Information from: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, http://www.star-telegram.com Islamic terror group confiscating Christians' properties in Syria, watchdog reports Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Syrian Islamic rebel group has been confiscating Christian-owned properties in Idlib, according to a new report released by a Syrian human rights watchdog. Christians in Idlib province face the injustice of jihadist organizations and violations by Islamic factions, in terms of applying Islamic Sharia law to members of different religious communities, an April 25 report released by the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reads. The group warns that Islamic factions in the war-torn province in northwestern Syria are clamping down on Christians and imposing Jizya, a hefty tax imposed on non-Muslims. SOHR warns that the imposition of Jizya, which was imposed by the Islamic State during its reign of terror in Iraq and Syria, is an attempt by Islamic groups to force Christians to leave their homes to regime-controlled areas. According to SOHR, Idlib has been administered by different Islamic factions ranging from Al-Fateh Army to Salvation Government, the civilian wing of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). HTS is a Sunni militant group that formed in 2017 as a merger of militant factions including Al-Nusra Front. HTS has clamped down on the Christians of Idlib city, pursuing the landlords and occupants of their properties, the report states. The office of Christians properties of HTS, which considers as spoils, has notified tenants to check with the administrative offices, to renew the contracts and set new terms, including raising the rents of houses and shops. According to SOHR, the factions have informed the tenants that the office has the right to rent, acquire and dispose of property at any time. Civilians within the Christian community in Idlib who have fled from their homes are barred from appointing someone to change a ruling made by the Sharia courts regarding their property, according to the watchdog. Similarly for the civilians of the Christian community in western countryside of Idlib, in the city of Jisr al-Shughour and the villages and towns of Yaaqubiya, Al-Qunaya, Al-Jadida, Al-Ghassania and Halauz, where HTS and the office of the spoils, are disposing of properties in order to support the fighters families, the report concludes. The issue of the property of Christian families remains under the control of radical groups of Tahrir Al-Sham Organization despite their attempts to change their policies to exploit the Syrian peoples revolution. This week, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its annual report. In the report, the commission called on the U.S. State Department to label Syria as a country of particular concern, the agencys worst designation when it comes to the issue of religious freedom. The CPC designation carries with it the potential for crippling sanctions for countries that systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. Additionally, USCIRF recommended in the report that HTS be designated by the State Department as an Entity of Particular Concern, a designation given to non-state actors. USCIRF contends that HTS persisted in religious repression, including the assault and stoning of an Armenian woman in July. According to USCRIF, HTS is engaged in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act. The State Department already recognizes HTS subsidiary Al Nusra Front as an EPC and as a designated foreign terrorist organization. USCIRF stresses, however, that the EPC designation should not be limited only to al-Nusra Front. Syria is ranked on the 11th on the Open Doors USA 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians are most persecuted. According to Open Doors, the yearslong Syrian civil war has left the country in turmoil and Christians have not been spared from suffering as they are caught in the crossfire between government and rebel forces. Additionally, Christians are at risk if forces antagonistic to Christianity rule their home regions, an Open Doors fact sheet explains. In areas controlled by radical Islamic groups, most historic churches have been either demolished or used as Islamic centers. Public expressions of Christian faith in these regions are prohibited and church buildings or monasteries cannot be repaired or restored irrespective of whether the damage was collateral or intentional. NEW MILFORD A judge has dismissed all charges for two men who spent decades in prison for a murder they say they didnt commit. The Connecticut Superior Courts ruling on Friday comes about a year after the state Supreme Court overtured the felony murder convictions of Ralph Ricky Birch and Shawn Henning in the Dec. 1, 1985, slaying of 65-year-old Everett Carr in his New Milford home. Incorrect testimony from Henry Lee, the states top criminologist at the time and world famous forensic expert, was the main reason for last years decision for a new case. In dismissing the charges, Judge Dan Shaban ruled there is no need for any further investigation of Birch and Henning, who wore T-shirts Friday reading I didnt do it, and I am innocent, according to the Associated Press. / Associated Press Birch and Henning, who were 18 and 17 at the time of the incident, were taken in as suspects. While they confessed to stealing a car and committing four other area burglaries, they steadfastly insisted they were not involved with the Carr murder. Andrew OShea, Birchs attorney, said that despite an extremely bloody crime scene, no DNA evidence was ever found linking the pair to Carr, who had been stabbed 27 times, had his throat cut and suffered seven blows to the head. Despite being identified as suspects shortly after the crime, no blood was found on Birch or Hennings clothes or in their car. During their trials, prosecutors presented evidence from forensic expert Henry Lee, who would later gain fame as a witness in the O.J. Simpson murder case, that it was possible for the assailants to avoid getting much blood on them. The biggest piece of evidence that came under fire in the new hearings were towels hanging in the bathroom that Lee said were tested and shown to contain blood. However, that ended up being incorrect. / Associated Press The state proffered two theories, one of which the respondent now concedes was predicated on Lees incorrect testimony, the Supreme Court ruled last year. If the jury had known that Lees testimony about finding blood on the bathroom towel was incorrect, that knowledge might well have caused it to question the reliability of his other testimony. If that had occurred, the states entire case against the petitioner could very well have collapsed. After the state Supreme Court ruling for new trials, Lee said the testimony was not false. Birch served more than 30 years of a 55-year sentence for felony murder. Henning was granted probation in 2018 under new rules for teenage offenders. I feel good, its about time, Birch said when he was released last year. Its been a long time coming. It seems like it took a lot longer than it should. But Ive got a lot of good people on my side, in my corner, and they fought for me. Hennings attorneys applauded the decision for the new case last year, saying the court affirmed the points they made. Shawn Henning was wrongly imprisoned for nearly 30 years on the false and misleading testimony of Henry Lee, one of Hennings attorneys, Craig Raabe, had said . It has taken 30 years to correct this injustice and we are very pleased with the courts thoughtful decision. The Associated Press contributed to this report. In the immediate aftermath of last years election, Justin Trudeau said that Canadians had given him a lot to think about. Bob Rae, the man Trudeau named this week as the next ambassador to the United Nations, has turned out to be a significant part of the prime ministers thinking. For all the ways in which their lives have intersected over the years, Rae and Trudeau were never particularly close. They both have strong ties to Ontario politics Rae as a former New Democratic Party premier, Trudeau as a politician who surrounded himself with veterans of Queens Park from the days of Liberal power there. Nine years ago, Rae was holding the reins of the federal Liberal party on an interim basis after the disaster of the 2011 election, when what was once Canadas natural governing party was knocked back to third place in the Commons. A dispirited Trudeau, having served one rookie term as a member of Parliament, was thinking of abandoning his career in politics. Had Trudeau gone ahead with that escape plan, Rae might well have ended up turning that temporary job into the full-fledged one as leader of the Liberal party. But thats not how the universe unfolded. Trudeau took the leaders job and it was Rae, the former Ontario premier, who went off to post-political life: teaching, doing some legal work, some international diplomacy, even a lively podcast. Rae, who will be turning 72 next month, also got to spend time fishing, playing the piano and enjoying his grandchildren and his family cottage on Big Rideau Lake. Something changed, though, after last falls election, which saw Trudeaus power cut down to size and doing all that thinking. Rae started being pulled back again into the orbit of Trudeaus government, starting with polite, deferential requests for advice. The first subject was minority government Trudeaus new reality after the votes were counted on Oct. 21. Rae has a rich history with them. It was Raes proposed amendment to a 1979 budget when he was an NDP MP in the Commons that brought down Joe Clarks Conservative minority government and paved the way for the return of Pierre Trudeau to power in 1980. In Ontario, Rae helped negotiate an accord that put David Petersons Liberals in power at Queens Park in 1985. Through his five decades in elected office, Rae has seen minorities come and go, at the federal and provincial level. Dont get discouraged, Rae said this week, when asked what he said in those initial, post-election conversations with the current prime minister. You know, this is not the end of the world and theres a chance to rebuild Its a good chance to listen and figure out what happened. Trudeau was, in fact, listening. It was a good conversation, Rae said. He was very friendly and it was very direct. Then again, right after the Christmas break, Raes counsel was sought once more; this time because of Ukraine International Airlines crash in Iran that killed 138 people with ties to Canada. Trudeau and his advisers wanted to know what Rae had learned when doing his major report into the 1985 Air India crash. It was in part because of Raes counsel, PMO officials said at the time, that Trudeau spent so much time in January with the families of the victims. A couple of weeks later, Rae headed to Winnipeg to be part of Trudeaus winter cabinet retreat, talking to ministers about the work he had been doing as a special adviser on the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, also known as Burma, and Bangladesh. For a man who had left politics, Rae was spending an awful lot of time around Trudeau and his team in those first months after the election. Then came the call for lunch a one-on-one conversation between Rae and Trudeau themselves. It was, incredibly, the first time the two men had sat down together without other people in the room or on the phone. That was the first meeting Id had with him alone, Rae said. He used to rely a lot on having other people there in the room. Thats not true anymore. The prime minister asked Rae outright: would he be interested in a diplomatic appointment? I said, sure what you do have in mind? Rae recalled. Trudeau told him that some posts might be coming up in the summer, as the decks were changed at Canadian missions abroad. Rae said hed consider one if it was offered, and then Trudeau asked Rae if he would also be willing to pitch in with some help trying to win Canada a seat on the UN Security Council. Canada didnt win that security council seat despite best efforts from Rae and Trudeau and others but Rae did get a new job. Several weeks ago, Rae was quietly offered the post of ambassador to the United Nations, and Trudeau made it official last Monday. This is a milepost not just in the relationship between these two politicians, but also in Canadas history and foreign policy. A global pandemic is shaking the world order, which was already being rocked by great powers such as the United States, China and Britain turning more boldly nationalist. In some ways, the pandemic has accelerated that trend toward nations putting themselves first. COVID-19 has slammed borders shut including the one between the U.S. and Canada and citizens around the world have had months to dwell on the perils of a highly interconnected world. Canada, in the midst of this, is facing the same choice as other nations: turn inward or double down on internationalism. Trudeau has very clearly chosen the latter, and hes put one of Canadas most senior political statesmen as his representative at the global crossroads of the United Nations. It is a significant shift between Trudeau in his first term and in his second term, Rae said. The number-one priority for the government in the first term was managing the relationship with the United States and in particular, the free-trade issue, Rae said, but more broadly, just trying to manage the relationship with the (Donald) Trump administration. Its not like that relationship has become unimportant, Rae said, but Trudeaus sights are set wider now, to the larger sets of alliances that Canada needs to build in the world. COVID is a global event. Its not a Canadian event or a U.S. event, Rae said. I think theres a tendency to underestimate the truly global nature of this pandemic Its forcing everyone to realize that there are a lot of ways in which the world is changing. The COVID-19 pandemic has often been compared to a war. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said early in the lockdown that she hoped this crisis would yield another greatest generation, the name given to the citizens who helped rebuild after the Second World War. Rae is a son of that generation, which also helped create the United Nations, and his father, Saul Rae, was one of Canadas leading diplomats in this era. In the 1970s, Raes father served in the post that his son will take up in August, as Canadas ambassador to the United Nations. Rae is touched, of course, by the chance to honour his fathers memory by following in his footsteps. In a way, he says, just as age has made him recognize how much he is like his father, the pandemic has made him recognize the similarities between the challenges of that century and this one. He was very much part of the generation of diplomats who realized coming out of the Second World War they had worlds to try to build and they werent alone, Rae said. Were rebuilding after COVID. This cant just be a domestic exercise, Rae says. I dont think we can afford the luxury of ignoring whats going on in the rest of the world, he says. There are a number of countries that are on the verge of financial collapse and that will come to the attention of everybody pretty quickly, Rae says. In fact, when he was being asked this week how he foresaw his main job at the United Nations, Rae was saying: thats issue number one thats staring us in the face. Thats what we have to talk about in New York and wherever else we do business multilaterally. Beyond that, the UN could well turn into an important place to negotiate the global rollout of a vaccine, he says, whenever that does arrive. That same tension, between nations looking out for themselves and a co-ordinated, global approach, will play out with the vaccine, Rae says. The UN is one of the places where these conversations need to happen and do happen. The Stars Martin Regg Cohn wrote this week how Raes entire career had prepared him for the role he is about to take on at the United Nations. While Rae is a little too down-to-earth to talk in terms of destiny, he does have a lifetime of experience accumulated to help him pull off what this job demands. He attended a UN school in Geneva as a child when his father was posted there, and some of the friendships he forged in those days still endure. As premier from 1990 to 1995, Rae was intensely involved with constitutional negotiations in Canada and labour negotiations in Ontario; skills he will need at the UN. His legal and political work has taken him from Indigenous communities at home to refugee outposts around the world. Rae, in short, specializes in complicated situations and the UN is going to be a complex place in a pandemic-wracked world. When asked to predict what hed enjoy most about the new job, Rae says: the scope and diversity of it . I mean, there are very few jobs where you have as many different forces and countries and people at play. Hes looking forward to living in New York too, as is Arlene Perly Rae; the two celebrated their 40th anniversary earlier this year. Ive never lived there before, he says. New York City itself is an interesting place. But it does mean leaving the rather pleasant life that Rae created for himself after leaving politics he thought for good. He laughs when asked whether hed be doing a tone change of his social-media posts, which are often politically pointed; also funny. Rae says hell be diplomatic, but he wont stop being himself. One of his friends joked to him this week that he was voluntarily putting the harness of duty back on. I know what thats like: your schedule is no longer your own, youve got to turn up and youve got to be here, youve got to be there . Im reporting to people and people are reporting to me and youre part of a bigger system, Rae says. He takes that on willingly, eagerly it is now, in retrospect, where things were heading from the moment that Trudeau started doing all that thinking after the election and pulling Rae into that process. Saying no was not really an option. I know there are people who are going to say youre getting pretty long in the tooth, he says. I actually think as long as Ive got my health and Ive got my marbles, I think its worth making the effort. This really is a significant global crisis and to not be engaged in it would be wrong. Susan Delacourt is an Ottawa-based columnist covering national politics for the Star. Reach her via email: is an Ottawa-based columnist covering national politics for the Star. Reach her via email: sdelacourt@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @susandelacourt Read more about: "The fourth stage of the resumption of economic activities is expected to be conducted in August to operate at 100% capacity but always putting public health first. If, at some point, the situation makes us take a decision, the health of Peruvians must prevail," he affirmed. The Cabinet chief regretted the loss of jobs caused by the pandemic, but affirmed the Government is working on measures to stimulate the generation of employment. The first measure, he explained, constitutes the second stage of the Reactiva Peru Program . "We have approved the second stage of Reactiva Peru and provided a State guarantee to leverage credits for a total of S/30 billion (around US$8.51 billion)," he explained. Principals are also wary of the politics of Covid-19. My fear is that the public will be looking at each measure as a political statement, and some will ignore the advice of health officials in regards to their kids just to prove a point, one respondent said. Im not looking forward to arguing with those who dont take this seriously, another said. And there are practical problems for which there are no real answers: How do you tell a four-year old to social distance? one principal asked. In California, where coronavirus cases are resurgent, officials are now in full retreat from school openings. Every single school district at this point needs to have plans in place to continue distance learning for 100% of the time, Los Angeles Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told administrators this week. Principals and health officials are not the only ones lacking confidence. In a USA Today/Ipsos poll in May, when the pandemic outlook was brighter than it is today, 87% of teachers said they expected difficulty enforcing social distancing among students. A robust 18% said they would quit working if their school were to reopen. Among teachers over age 55, that rose to 25%. New Delhi: Concerned over burning down of several schools in Kashmir, the Centre has asked the Mehbooba Mufti government to check such attempts and make efforts for reopening the schools which have been closed for more than 110 days due to unrest in the Valley. In a communication, the Home Ministry conveyed to the Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure protection of schools, especially those which are vulnerable to attacks, and make all attempts for reopening all educational institutions across the Valley. The central government is deeply concerned over the incidents of setting ablaze of schools and worried about the future of the children who are the worst sufferers due to the prolonged turmoil in the state, a senior Home Ministry official said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also said to be worried that the closure of educational institutions for such a long period is affecting thousands of students and feels that if schools reopen, it would be a great step towards restoring normalcy in Kashmir, officials said. At least 26 schools in various parts of the Valley were set ablaze in recent past. The Home Ministry is said to have persuaded the Jammu and Kashmir government to direct the state Board of School Education to notify over 500 schools to conduct regular examinations. Examinations for Class X will commence from November 15 and will culminate on November 28 while examinations for Class XII will commence from November 14 and will culminate on December 3. Educational institutions in the Valley are closed since July 9 afer outbreak of clashes and a strike call by separatists following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani. Sources said the assessment of security forces is that radical forces are trying to force children in rural areas to join religious schools or madrassas and not opt for modern education so that youngsters could be radicalised easily. Amid outrage over increasing number of schools being burnt in the Valley, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court yesterday stepped in, directing police and civil administration to ensure their protection besides unmasking the mysterious enemies of education and deal with them with an iron hand. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. TORONTO, July 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Captor Capital Corp. (Captor or the Company) (CSE: CPTR; FRANKFURT: NMVA; USOTC:CPTRF) today announced that its annual financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2020 and accompanying managements discussion and analysis, and related CEO and CFO certifications (the Annual Filings) which were due on July 29, 2020 and initially scheduled for release on July 29, 2020, will now be delayed by approximately one month. The Company expects to file its Annual Filings on or before August 31, 2020. In accordance with Ontario Instrument 51-505 - Temporary Exemption from Certain Corporate Finance Requirements with Deadlines during the Period from June 2 to August 31, 2020 of the Ontario Securities Commission (and similar exemptions provided by the securities commissions of other provincial regulators) (collectively, the "Exemption Orders"), which was adopted for the purpose of providing certain filing and other relief to issuers in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, that the Company will be delaying the filing and delivery of certain of its continuous disclosure documents due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, issuers were provided a 45-day filing extension for filings required during the period from June 2 to August 31, 2020. The Company is relying on the Exemption Orders with respect the delay of the Annual Filings. In the interim, management and other insiders of the Company are subject to a trading black-out policy that reflects the principles in section 9 of National Policy 11-207 Failure to File Cease Trade Orders and Revocations in Multiple Jurisdictions, such that they are in a black-out period until the end of the first trading day after the Annual Filings have been disclosed by way of a news release. Other than as set out below, there have been no material business developments since the date of the Company's interim financial statements and managements discussion and analysis for the third quarter of fiscal 2020. As announced on March 31, 2020, the Company has made several adjustments to its retail model, chiefly an increased focus on delivery service and online orders, and its business strategy, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Companys CHAI retail operations released an updated e-commerce site featuring several enhancements and improvements, most notably on the user interface and experience. The Company is currently evaluating a number of advertising and marketing options to increase customer awareness surrounding the new and improved website, platform. The Company also announced that due to mid- to long-term uncertainties in the financial markets and retail sector that it will no longer be pursuing the Michigan Joint Venture with Green Buddha Co. For the foreseeable future the Company intends to focus exclusively on the established and stable California market. As a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Captor has decided to delay its AGM until the fall, assuming circumstances related to the pandemic improve by that time. Captor will provide further communication regarding its delayed AGM in due course. In addition, Dene Rogers, CEO of the Companys wholly owned subsidiary, Captor Acquisition Corp., tendered his resignation. On May 5, 2020, the Company announced its intention to commence a normal course issuer bid ("NCIB" or the "Bid") to expend up to an aggregate of CDN $5 million on the purchase of common shares of the Company (the "Shares"). Pursuant to the NCIB, the Company may, if considered advisable, purchase the Shares through the facilities of the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") and/or alternative trading systems, from time to time over the next 12 months, and shall not, in any event, exceed 5% of the issued Shares. The Company has appointed Foster and Associates Financial Services Inc. to coordinate and facilitate its NCIB purchases. Litigation Update The Company is aware that it has been named in a lawsuit commenced by Matt Longo in connection with his prior contractual dealings with a subsidiary of the Company. A civil Complaint was filed by the claimant in the Los Angeles, California Superior Court on July 2, 2020 in respect of this lawsuit. The Company has not yet been served with the Complaint. This Company believes that this lawsuit is without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself against it. About Captor Capital Captor Capital Corp. is a Canadian cannabis company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, the OTC, and the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges. Captor provides recreational cannabis, as well as other high demand cannabis-based goods for consumption. The Company follows a strategy of acquiring cash flowing established companies and organizations with growth potential that require capital to scale. Captor currently has a number of revenue generating cannabis assets including the CHAI Cannabis Co. dispensaries in Santa Cruz and Monterey, CA and the related e-commerce and deliver assets. The Company also owns Mellow Extracts, based in Costa Mesa, CA (launch date to be determined). Contact Gavin Davidson, Communications, Captor Capital Corp. gavin@captorcapital.com NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli security forces Thursday after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at them. On Thursday, the Palestinian Authoritys Health Ministry said in a statement that a man was shot in the neck and died near the West Bank village of Kifl Haris in Salfit governorate. He died from bullets of the occupation, the ministry said. The Israeli military said it shot one Palestinian who, along with another person, was throwing Molotov cocktails at an Israeli military post in the West Bank, The Times of Israel reported. But Salfit Gov. Abdallah Kmail said the two were walking when Israeli troops opened fire for no reason." The dead man, identified as Ibrahim Abu Yakoub, was buried in the village today. The death follows a series of protests in Israel against the treatment of Palestinians by security forces. In late May, Israeli border police shot and killed an autistic Palestinian man named Iyad Halak in Jerusalem. While police said they believed Halak had a weapon, he was unarmed. This sparked a massive outcry among Palestinians and also Israelis, prompting Jerusalems chief rabbi to visit the grieving Halak family and offer condolences. Halaks killing led to a series of Palestinian Lives Matter protests against Israeli police treatment of Palestinians in June. The demonstrations were inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. A tuberculosis vaccine routinely given to children in countries with high rates of that bacterial disease might be helping to reduce deaths from Covid-19, researchers reported on Thursday in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. After accounting for differences in factors that might affect vulnerability to the virus - such as income, education, health services and age distribution - the researchers found that countries with higher rates of Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccinations for tuberculosis had lower peak mortality rates from Covid-19. For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here A good example was Germany, which had different vaccine plans before East Germany and West Germany were unified in 1990, the researchers said. Covid-19 mortality rates among senior citizens are nearly three times higher in western Germany than in eastern Germany, where more older people received the vaccine as infants, they found. Study co-author Luis Escobar of Virginia Tech said in a press statement that BCG vaccines have been shown to protect against other viral respiratory illnesses. Escobar cautioned that the new findings are preliminary. The BCG vaccine is currently being tested for preventing Covid-19 in healthcare workers. Weekly dorm screenings would not contain COVID-19 outbreaks Avoiding coronavirus outbreaks in college dormitories would require screening tests for residents at least every three days, according to Yale University researchers. Weekly screening would not be sufficient, they concluded. Their calculations, based on a computer model of 5,000 students and an 80-day semester, accounted for students' on-campus exposures to the virus as well as imported infections from students traveling, wandering about town to restaurants and bars, or from visitors. Frequent testing would interrupt transmission of the virus only if infected students are isolated, the researchers said. CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH "Students must comply with infection control, social distancing, test scheduling and (if testing positive) isolation requirements for the repeat testing system to work effectively," the researchers said in a paper posted online on Thursday ahead of peer review. Also, the tests must be reliable, testing laboratories must guarantee timely results, and efficient communications and supports must be in place so students who test positive can be isolated quickly, they said. The researchers said universities must be prepared to close their residence halls if repeated testing fails to contain the spread of the pathogen on campus. Molecular study finds multiple types of Covid-19 There are many "flavors" of Covid-19, according to new data that may someday allow coronavirus treatments to be targeted at the specific molecular changes making a person sick. To learn more about why only some coronavirus patients become severely ill, researchers studied patients' "blood transcriptome," the complete set of genes that are activated in immune cells in the blood. They found at least five different types of immune response against the coronavirus - not just "mild" and "severe," according to a paper posted online ahead of peer review. "In other words, there are different flavors of the disease," just as there are different types of cancer, study co-author Dr. Joachim Schultze of the University of Bonn told Reuters. Understanding the molecular mechanisms at work in a given patient could help doctors tailor the therapy to target those mechanisms, Schultze said. The findings also helped his team predict which drugs would likely benefit Covid-19 patients. One "prominent" candidate cited was the steroid dexamethasone, which has already been proven effective in some Covid-19 patients. Another "surprising" discovery they cited involved granulocytes, a type of white blood cell. "Granulocytes, cells that are not really known to be major players in the fight against viruses, play a major role in severe Covid-19 disease," Schultze said. The new findings "will help us to find better therapies and also will guide vaccine development," he added. Months later, recovering patients still have symptoms More evidence is emerging that severe Covid-19 has lingering after-effects. Nearly 90% of recovering Covid-19 patients discharged from a hospital in Rome were still not back to normal an average of two months after becoming ill, researchers said. Doctors there studied 143 adults who had been hospitalized on average for two weeks. Most had been diagnosed with pneumonia, and one in five had needed help to breathe. An average of 60 days after their first coronavirus symptoms, 87.4% still reported at least one symptom - particularly fatigue and shortness of breath - and 55% had three or more, researchers reported on Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. About one in four still had joint pain, and about one in five had chest pain. Roughly 44% said their quality of life was worse now than before they got sick. The researchers did not have information on patients' pre-Covid-19 medical problems and did not compare this relatively small group to patients discharged for other reasons. But they said their findings suggest more research is needed on the long-lasting effects of coronavirus infection. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More People's Bank of China (PBOC) has sold a part of its stake in Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), lowering its holding to less than 1 percent. China's central bank was not listed in HDFC's shareholding disclosure for the June quarter, which identifies shareholders owning more than 1 percent of the company. PBOC had raised its holding in the housing financier to slightly over 1 percent during the quarter that ended on March 31, 2020. The Indian government was reportedly not pleased with the fact that PBOC was able to raise its stake in HDFC without setting off any alarm bells. "They are an equity investor like any other institutional investor," Keki Mistry, vice-chairman and chief executive of HDFC told Business Standard. Mistry added that PBOC had trimmed its stake in April or May and their holding is now less than 1 percent. Also read: How Chinese central banks move in HDFC alerted New Delhi to tighten rules "I don't know exactly how much. It is a normal thing, the controversy (which was created) was unnecessary," Mistry said. Market players said, as per the report, that PBOC might have cut its holding in HDFC to avoid the public glare. PBOC hiking its stake in HDFC had increased scrutiny of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from neighbouring countries. It had also raised fears that China was trying to take advantage of a plunge in stock prices following the COVID-19 outbreak. The Lagos State Ministry of Health on Friday sealed a private laboratory for carrying out COVID-19 tests against the regulation of the state government. The private laboratory identified as Acouns Medical Laboratory and Diagnostic Centre is located at Banana Island, Ikoyi area of the state. Giving the update on its Twitter handle, the ministry disclosed that the laboratory was situated in a pharmacy and lacked the required government approval to carry out COVID-19 tests. The health commissioner, Akin Abayomi, earlier listed the names of the approved private laboratories that are allowed to carry out COVID-19 tests. The seven approved laboratories, which formed a consortium of private laboratories went through a rigorous process to ensure they meet the required standard to carry out COVID-19 tests, the commissioner said. The approved private laboratories are; Total Medical Services, SynLab, 54 Gene, Medbury Medical Services, Biologix Medical Services, 02 Medical Services, and Clina Lancent Laboratory. Mr Abayomi earlier announced that it is illegal for any private laboratory to manage COVID-19 patients or conduct tests without the approval of the government. Following the sealing of the lab, the ministry said it will continue to ensure the adherence of hospitals and laboratories to government regulations to guarantee the well-being of Lagosians. laboratory for illegally conducting COVID-19 tests Citizens are advised to desist from patronizing Health facilities not accredited by Lagos government for testing or management of COVID-19 cases as this poses danger to the community and staff of such facilities. It is illegal to manage COVID-19 cases outside of an accredited facility. As a public, we implore you not to go for test or treatment in a private facility that has not been accredited by government. It is dangerous and you might certainly put you at risk, the ministry wrote The ministry urged residents to cooperate with the government and help contain the spread of the coronavirus. Victorian school children will not have to wear masks when they return to classrooms but most are still waiting to hear when that will happen after the state government insisted it was yet to make a call on home learning. In areas affected by the current stage three restrictions, year 11 and 12 students will return to school on Monday along with year 10 students doing VCE subjects. The Premier said it's business as usual for regional Victoria. Premier Daniel Andrews said a decision had not yet been made on what would happen with schooling for the more junior years. Groups representing education leaders praised the document, saying after months of mixed messages from the federal government, the inclusion of specific plans could serve as a blue print for schools and families to help navigate the uncertainty that the fall will bring. What it tells us is left to its own devices, the C.D.C. can do a pretty good job in compiling a comprehensive document that shows the complexity of what institutions are facing, said Terry W. Hartle, a senior vice president of the American Council on Education, which represents 1,700 college and university presidents and higher education executives. The good news is, this is very thoughtful and complete, he added. The bad news is, its never been released. A breakdown of state plans included in the briefing also identified state and university proposals that the task force appeared to see as models. The document identified as examples of consistency with C.D.C. guidance institutions like Arizona Western University, which will offer virtual services to students and staff members throughout the fall, and Hampton University, where in-person class sizes and gatherings will be reduced to 50 percent. It also highlights a number of states, like Georgia, where families are offered an option of in-person and virtual classes. And as Mr. Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos were trying to pressure local schools to comply with their reopening vision, the document was expressly saying the federal government should not override local judgment. These C.D.C. considerations are meant to supplement not replace any federal, state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which schools must comply, the packet states in bold lettering. Implementation should be guided by what is feasible, practical, and acceptable and be tailored to the needs of each community. The document was among material for federal response teams that are being dispatched to hot spots around the country for short periods of time. The teams are charged with helping local public health officials address the outbreak, including identifying the source, if possible, and what additional support from the federal government might help. In doing this, the team could field questions about school safety plans. After hearing the positives about temporarily closing sections of Centre Street and Queen Street, Niagara Falls city council is now receiving stern opposition. A letter to the city from a lawyer representing the owner of a parking lot on Centre Street claims the recent closure between Victoria and Ellen avenues is harmful to his clients business. In a letter dated July 6, included in Tuesdays council agenda, Robert Di Lallo, of Daniel Partners LLP, said the firm is representing the owner of 5055 Centre Street. The owners name is whited out, but the letter states the owner operates a parking-lot business from a property beside Jacks Cantina. During councils June 23 meeting, council approved a request from the Victoria Centre Business Improvement Association to close part of Centre Street to vehicle traffic to help restaurants in the area create and/or expand their patios during Stage 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our client was surprised that council approved the road closure, considering that it stands to benefit only two restaurants while it is to the detriment of many local businesses located beyond Ellen Avenue, including restaurants and hotels, much of whom voiced their opposition to the proposal, reads the letter. The road closure blocks all vehicle traffic coming from Clifton Hill and Victoria Avenue from accessing the businesses located on Centre Street. The letter states the decision to close the section of Centre Street is certainly damaging to our clients business because most of his business comes from vehicles travelling up Clifton Hill, crossing Victoria Avenue, and continuing onto Centre Street. Unlike those who would suggest otherwise, our client knows for a fact that this is where his business comes from because he is standing on the street every day, literally watching his business come and go. Di Lallo asks council to withdraw its approval of the street closure during Tuesdays meeting, or, at the latest, immediately upon the commencement of Ontarios Stage 3 reopening strategy. Any decision to the contrary would be seriously harmful to our clients business. In a recent interview with The Niagara Falls Review, Victoria Centre BIA chair Eric Marcon said the Centre Street closure is intended to benefit all businesses. Were trying to come up with a way where we can all benefit. Were very hopeful that the restaurants are busy and the parking lots and motels in that area are busy. Also included in Tuesdays agenda is a petition with 65 lines of signatures opposed to the closure of Queen Street, between Buckley and Crysler avenues. The petition was submitted to the city by Tony Barranca from The Hair Lovers Place on Queen Street. The petition claims the street closure was done to accommodate seven businesses that requested a patio, which could have been done on the sidewalk. There are many complaints from merchants and customers with this partial closure that causes them to circle around these blocks and less parking spaces available. The street looks like a crime zone cordoned off. We demand that these blocks reopen as soon as possible. In a recent interview with The Review, Matt Guarasci, marketing consultant with the Downtown Board of Management, said the Queen Street closure is intended to cater towards both locals and business owners. Obviously with Stage 2, since dining is not available inside, we wanted to make sure that they had that proper space to have as much business as possible during this time. Mayor Jim Diodati said council generally follows the will of BIAs because they are elected bodies representing business districts. He said hes been to Centre Street almost every night since the closure earlier this month. Ive been down there watching, eating, observing. Ive been talking to all the businesses. I go up and down the street in that area and overall this has been a very successful experiment. He said the reason numbers are down is because of COVID-19, not the street closure. Ive seen the parking lots very full, proportionate to how many people are here. Theyve put up signage to direct people to the parking lots. I will look to the BIA for further updates on how they feel about it. UN report finding US attack on Iranian general unlawful has stoked debate over responsibility in the new drone age. In a move that caused a ripple effect across the Middle East, Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdads international airport on January 3. On that day, the Pentagon announced the attack was carried out at the direction of the president. Iran retaliated with a ballistic missile attack targeting American troops in Iraq on January 7. In a new report examining the legality of armed drones and the Soleimani killing in particular, Agnes Callamard, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial and arbitrary killings, said the US raid that killed Soleimani was unlawful. Callamard presented her report at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday. The United States, which is not a member after quitting the council in 2018, rejected the report saying it gave a pass to terrorists. In Callamards view, the consequences of targeted killings by armed drones have been neglected by states. Her report said the world is at a critical time and a possible tipping point when it comes the use of unmanned aerial vehicles. Second drone age A second drone age has now emerged, she wrote, with states employing ever more advanced technology. One of the greatest concerns with the increased use of armed drones noted in the report is the number of civilian casualties it causes. The attack on Soleimani, for example, resulted in far more casualties than the direct targets. Soleimani was killed along with eight others including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraqs Popular Mobilisation Forces. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Callamard said: The international community must now take stock of the evolution, expansion and escalation of drone use. She noted the killing of Soleimani was the first case of a drone attack against a representative of the armed forces of a state. It was also the first known incident in which a nation invoked self-defence as a justification for an attack against a state actor in the territory of a third country. Previous UN special rapporteurs on extrajudicial killings have lamented the lack of clarity among states about their obligations regarding drone warfare and the absence of accountability. Experts agree drones are not necessarily illegal, but it remains unclear under which circumstances their use violates international law. The coffins of General Soleimani and others killed in Iraq by a US drone attack are carried on a truck during a funeral procession in the city of Mashhad, Iran in January [Mohammad Hossein Thaghi/Tasnim news agency via AP] Self-defence Callamard said under international law, killings by drone could be justified in certain circumstances most importantly in the case of self-defence. The criteria of imminent threat are crucial in determining whether the US acted in self-defence, she noted. Under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the use of deadly force is allowed in two scenarios: When it is authorised by the UN Security Council (UNSC) and when a country acts in self-defence. Callamard has emphasised the test for anticipatory self-defence is very narrow: It must be a necessity that is instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means and no moment of deliberation. This standard, she stated in a tweet issued right after Soleimanis killing, is unlikely to be met. Washington had accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by Iranian-aligned fighters on US forces in the region. No evidence has been provided that General Soleimani specifically was planning an imminent attack against US interests, particularly in Iraq, for which immediate action was necessary and would have been justified, Callamard said. I mmediacy of threat According to Kevin Jon Heller, professor of international law at the University of Copenhagen, the legality of an attack depends on the immediacy of the threat that it aims to avert. Wim Zwijnenburg humanitarian disarmament project leader for the Dutch peace organisation PAX told Al Jazeera: Mr Soleimani should have been held accountable for his crimes and the right course of action would have been to present clear evidence, arrest him and put him in front of a court. Rachel van Landingham, a retired lieutenant colonel in the US military, said: Callamard is judging this drone strike based almost purely on the effects caused by the strikes and not factoring in the data sets the facts that commanders who ordered such strikes considered at the time they ordered the strike. To make a rigorous legal assessment of the drone strike, one needs to know what the decision-makers were considering as imminent. And here the US isnt fully sharing such information, hence she cannot make a supportable characterisation based on the facts she does have, van Landingham told Al Jazeera. But, she added: The US embarrassingly bungled its public justification for this attack and hence lost soft power, degraded US legitimacy, and thereby weakened US national security, even if the attack was ultimately justified by the facts. Arresting Trump? Callamards report calls for greater accountability for targeted killings, as well as greater regulation of the weapons used. Heller said the US incurred state responsibility for the strike because it violated jus ad bellum, the law pertaining to the conditions under which states may resort to war. The US should apologise, promise not to launch further unlawful strikes, and likely provide Iran with some kind of compensation. But of course it wont, said Heller. In June, Iran issued an arrest warrant for US President Donald Trump and others for their role in the killing of Soleimani and the other victims of the attack. The right legal course of action to hold people suspected of serious war crimes, like Mr Soleimani, accountable for their actions would be arresting them and putting them in front of a court and serve justice to his victims, Zwijnenburg said. Unilaterally deciding to target suspected terrorists outside areas of armed combat risks setting a precedent that could undermine existing application of international legal principles designed to protect people from state violence. Recommendations The report recommends UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres set up an international fact-finding mission to investigate targeted killings by drones. Callamard also called on states to robustly investigate allegations of harm to civilians during such attacks and to release their findings. The planning for each operation for using drones for targeted killing must ensure in advance that each of the relevant bodies of law are examined, both international humanitarian law and human rights law, Dapo Akande, a professor at Oxford University, told Al Jazeera. And every country that engages in such operations should have a system that reviews each operation after the fact to check that the rules of international law have been complied with. Chandigarh, July 11 : The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), here on Saturday, demanded probe by a central agency or a sitting high court judge into the fake Covid-19 report scam. The Chief Secretary's latest order to take back the inquiry from the Vigilance Department and entrust it to the police had shaken the faith of the people, the SAD said in a statement. Bikram Singh Majithia, a former minister, said it was shocking that efforts were being made by Congressmen to save Tuli Diagnostic Centre and EMC Hospital (both in Amritsar) that committed crime against humanity by declaring Covid-19 free people positive and keeping them with coronavirus patients at isolation centres with the sole aim of extorting lakhs of rupees from them. "This criminal act has sent shock waves in Amritsar. The people are expecting exemplary action against the guilty. The Vigilance Department was entrusted with the probe after the Amritsar police failed to make any headway in the case due to political pressure," he said. A case of attempt to murder has been registered against the owners of Tuli Diagnoistic Centre and its two technicians. A case of fraud has case been filed against the owner as well as a doctor of the EMC Hospital. He said people were shocked that instead of taking the case to its logical conclusion efforts were being made to dilute it and give the guilty a clean chit. "It's being done at the behest of Congress leaders who have all along provided political patronage to owners of Tuli Lab and EMC Hospital and not allowed any arrest in the case," he said. Majithia said the about turn in the case occurred after EMC Hospital owner Pankaj Soni had a meeting with high officers two days back. Sandeep Bawa Sandhu, an OSD to the Chief Minister, also played a big role in this turn of events, he said. Asking Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to intervene in the matter, Majithia said the suffering caused to innocents by Tuli Lab and EMC Hospital were unimaginable and they should not be let off under any circumstances. Citing an example of the horrendous deed, he said a 9-month pregnant woman was wrongfully shown Covid-19 positive by Tuli Lab and kept in an isolation ward with positive patients, endangering her as well as her child's lives. (CNN) The director-general of the World Health Organization has condemned a "lack of leadership" in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and made an emotional plea for global unity, as cases soar in multiple countries and the world struggles to contain the devastating virus more than six months after it was first identified. "My friends, make no mistake: The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a passionate speech in Geneva on Thursday. "Rather, it's the lack of leadership and solidarity at the global and national levels." His intervention will be seen as a thinly veiled swipe at leaders including US President Donald Trump, who has waged a public battle against WHO while failing to suppress the world's worst Covid-19 outbreak in his own country. "This is a tragedy that is forcing us to miss many of our friends, losing many lives. We cannot defeat this pandemic as a divided world," Tedros said, his voice trembling as he spoke. The US is regularly reporting single-day record rises in cases and topped three million confirmed infections earlier this week, throwing its early attempts to reopen the economy into chaos. The situation is almost as bleak in other regions. Brazil's President, Jair Bolsonaro, has contracted Covid-19 after playing down its severity for months. India announced its biggest single-day rise in cases on Thursday, and the spread of the virus is picking up pace in Mexico. Australia, hailed as an early success story in the fight against the pandemic, has been forced to seal off more than 6 million people in the state of Victoria after a renewed surge in the disease in Melbourne. "How is it difficult for humans to unite to fight a common enemy that's killing people indiscriminately?" Tedros asked during his plea, made during a WHO meeting. "Are we unable to distinguish or identify the common enemy? Can't we understand that the divisions or the cracks between us actually are the advantage for the virus?" He urged a coming-together of global powers, telling attendees: "Covid-19 is a test of global solidarity and global leadership." Tedros' words come days after the Trump administration told Congress and the United Nations that the US is formally withdrawing from WHO. The withdrawal, which goes into effect next July, has drawn criticism from bipartisan lawmakers, medical associations, advocacy organizations and allies abroad. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden vowed Tuesday to reverse the decision "on (his) first day" if elected. Tedros himself has drawn the ire of the US President, who has accused the organization of being too China-centric and failing to contain the pandemic in its early days. But the leaders of virtually every other major nation, including Germany, France and the UK, have stood by the agency during the crisis. And on Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the pandemic has exposed the dangers of "fact-denying populism" around the world. "We have seen lies and disinformation, and that is no way to fight the pandemic," she told the European Parliament in Brussels. This story was first published on CNN.com, "WHO chief blasts 'lack of leadership' and calls for global unity as coronavirus cases mount worldwide." A family who returned from Delhi to their home in West Bengal's Howrah district had to spend a night at a crematorium after locals stopped them from entering the area, fearing they might spread coronavirus, officials said on Saturday. Mohua Mukherjee and her son Rohit returned from Delhi by Rajdhani Express on Friday. Mohua, who lost her husband a couple of years back, lives in the national capital with her son who has a jewellery business there. As their business was not doing well due to the pandemic, the mother and the son decided to return to her father's place, located in Raghudebpur-Dakbunglow in Rajpur police station area. As they reached the area, locals stopped them, saying they have returned from Delhi and they might be infected with coronavirus. Mohua said that she spoke to a local panchayat member and had informed her about their return. Failing to convince the people, Mohua along with her son went to Sahapur in Panchala police station area where her father has another house. The people of that area too did not allow them, leading to a war of words. Finally, Mohua along with her son, father and a brother went to the nearby Basudebpur Agunkhali crematorium where they spent the night in a room in which bodies are kept during bad weather. As police officials got to know of the incident on Saturday morning, they took the family to their Raghudebpur- Dakbunglow house, officials said. Mohua Mukherjee and her son, who heaved a sigh of relief after being able to return home, were asked by district officials to stay in home quarantine for 14 days. Imperial Valley News Center Two Defendants Charged for Their Role in Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme Involving Former High-Ranking Government Official in Panama Washington, DC - A criminal complaint was unsealed Monday in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares (Luis Martinelli Linares) and Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares (Ricardo Martinelli Linares) for their roles in a massive bribery and money laundering scheme involving Odebrecht S.A. (Odebrecht), a Brazil-based global construction conglomerate. On Dec. 21, 2016, Odebrecht pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to a criminal information charging it with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for its involvement in the bribery and money laundering scheme. The overarching Odebrecht scheme involved the payment of more than $700 million in bribes to government officials, public servants, political parties, and others in Panama and other countries around the world to obtain and retain business for the company. The two individual defendants are alleged to have participated in the scheme by, among other things, serving as intermediaries for approximately $28 million in bribe payments made by and at the direction of Odebrecht to a then high-ranking government official in Panama (Panama Government Official), who was a close relative of the defendants. Luis Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Luis Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares were arrested at el Aeropuerto Internacional la Aurora in Guatemala on July 6 pursuant to a provisional arrest request from the United States. As alleged in the complaint, between approximately August 2009 and January 2014, the defendants facilitated the payment of bribes from Odebrecht to or for the benefit of the Panama Government Official by taking a number of steps that included opening and managing secret bank accounts held in the names of shell companies in foreign jurisdictions. These secret bank accounts were used to receive, transfer, and deliver the bribe payments. The defendants served as the signatories on certain of the shell company bank accounts, and personally sent and caused to be sent wire transfers through the structure of shell company bank accounts to conceal and spend bribery proceeds. Many of these financial transactions were in U.S. dollars and were made through U.S. banks, some of which were located in New York. The charges in the complaint announced today are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The FBIs International Corruption squad in New York investigated this case. Trial Attorney Michael Culhane Harper of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section, Trial Attorneys Barbara Levy and Michael Redmann of the Criminal Divisions Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alixandra Smith and Julia Nestor of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Divisions Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance. The Brazilian Ministerio Publico Federal, Departamento de Policia Federal, law enforcement authorities in Guatemala including the Public Ministry of Guatemala and Specialized Unit for International Affairs, and law enforcement authorities in El Salvador provided significant cooperation. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to make arrangements for the repatriation of around 40 fishermen from the state who had been left behind in Iran. They were left behind while 681 other fishermen were taken home due to lack of space in the ship. Recalling his earlier letter dated May 19 wherein he had requested for repatriation of stranded fishermen, the Chief Minister said 681 fishermen from Tamil Nadu were repatriated safely via INS Jalashwa on July 1. "Therefore, I request you to arrange for their repatriation at the earliest to Tamil Nadu in a special flight," Palaniswami added. With security personnel comprising a substantial chunk of the Covid-19 cases in Sikkim, the state government has decided to allow only those jawans to enter the Himalayan state who test negative for coronavirus, a senior health official said on Saturday. Rapid antigen tests will be conducted exclusively on security personnel, including those from the Army and the paramilitary forces, at the Rangpo border check-post from Saturday onwards, he said. The Rangpo check-post along the Sikkim-West Bengal border is one of the major entry points to the Himalayan state. Those testing positive for Covid-19 during the rapid antigen tests will not be allowed to enter Sikkim and will be sent back to quarantine centres from where they came, said Director General-cum-Secretary of the Health Department, Dr Pemba T Bhutia. The measure comes after more than three dozen security personnel posted in the Himalayan state, bordering China, tested positive for Covid-19. Earlier, thermal screening was conducted on everyone including security personnel entering the state through the border check-posts. The rapid antigen tests, that give results faster, will be conducted for free for the first 15 days, he said. Meanwhile, eight more people have recovered from Covid-19 in the state, the official said. Of the 121 Covid-19 cases in the state, 41 are active and 13 patients (Army personnel) have migrated to neighbouring West Bengal, while the remaining people have been cured of the disease, he added. Sikkim had reported its first Covid-19 case on May 23 after residents started returning to the Himalayan state from other parts of the country. The number of cases has been rising since then. By Online Desk The Delhi government has been making repeated appeals to Delhiites who have recovered from the coronavirus to come forward and donate plasma to COVID-19 patients in order to curb the spread of the deadly virus in the national capital. Newspapers, radio, social media platforms are filled with plasma donation ads encouraging more and more people to come forward and donate. This appeal was heard by a popular YouTuber from New Zealand, Karl Rock, who has been living in India for almost three years. Karl Rock, who recovered from coronavirus in Delhi, shared a vlog in which he talks about his experience of plasma donation in New Delhi's newly opened 'Plasma Bank' at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (IL&BS). It feels amazing to be able to donate Plasma and help my fellow Indians. If you need or want to donate call 1031. My Plasma is there and I'll donate every 2 weeks. Jai Hind and no need to thank me, this is my duty and it's a privilege to serve others #covid19 @ArvindKejriwal pic.twitter.com/HhbYKuK0z5 Karl Rock (@iamkarlrock) July 8, 2020 The Delhi-based New YouTuber from Zealand shared 'I hate needles, they make me feel sick. But this was painless and an incredible experience as you'll see. A really great job has been done at this Plasma Bank.' on his Twitter account. Inaugurated by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the capital opened India's first plasma bank in July at the state-run IL&BS in Vasant Kunj to facilitate plasma therapy treatment for coronavirus patients. Karl Rock, a New Zealand origin Delhiite donated plasma at Delhi govt's plasma bank You must watch his video about his experience. I am sure this will encourage many more to come forward to donate their plasma and help save lives. @iamkarlrock pic.twitter.com/VySSg0P0yV Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 10, 2020 Appreciating Karl, Chief Minister Kejriwal also took to Twitter and thanked the 'New Zealand origin Delhiite' for donating plasma. He shared Karl Rock's experience as 'an encouragement to save lives.' Describing the process painless and quick, Karl Rock said 'It feels amazing to be able to donate Plasma and help my fellow Indians. If you need or want to donate call 1031. My Plasma is there and I'll donate every 2 weeks. Jai Hind and no need to thank me, this is my duty and it's a privilege to serve others.' Here's my #plasmadonor experience from what I'd call a world-class plasma bank! I was very impressed by the cleanliness, service, and the professionalism & friendliness of the doctors. It was a great experience, please donate, call 1031 @ArvindKejriwal https://t.co/RhxCZGICss Karl Rock (@iamkarlrock) July 9, 2020 'Rs 1,500 transportaton reimbursement' Showing a small glimpse of South Delhi, on his way to the hospital, Rock also stated that the government is reimbursing transportation cost for donors, however, he wasn't going to claim the money as he took his own transport. But he was suggested by a doctor at the hospital to take the money and give it to someone who has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and is in need of cash. It is important to note that for anyone who wishes to donate plasma, he/she must have tested COVID-19 positive and then should wait for 14 days after recovery. The Government officials will organise for a negative test. Once the result comes negative, the person can donate plasma. Signing off by saying 'Jai Hind,' Rock shares a break-up of how he distributed the money he got as a reimbursement. A devastated dog owner is calling for the return of her beloved Cavoodle puppy named Tigerlily after she was allegedly snatched by her petsitter. The pet owner, known only as Natasha, was paying an elderly woman to look after her dog while she worked. Natasha is a healthcare worker and her workload has increased since the coronavirus pandemic began. Natasha believed her beloved pet was being cared for while she was at work but when she returned to her granny flat on the central Gold Coast on Tuesday, Tigerlily was gone. Dog owner Natasha (pictured with Tigerlily) allegedly had her dog stolen by her landlord who believed her tenant was not qualified to own a dog as she had a job She hired a team of investigators named Arthur & Co. Pet Concierge to track down her beloved pooch. Pet detective Anne-Marie told Daily Mail Australia the part-time petsitter may have snatched Tigerlily as she was concerned for the dog's welfare. 'We have been told over the last couple of months the petsitter became quite oppressive towards our client, she said. 'She was quite insulting and she said things like "you are too selfish to own a dog" and "you shouldn't own a dog unless you are prepared to be home with them 24/7".' Anne-Marie said Tigerlily was not neglected and was 'very loved'. She said Natasha was very concerned about Tigerlily who had recently undergone a de-sexing surgery and has had other procedures done to her paws which require further attention at the vet. Natasha and Anne-Marie have asked that the dog be dropped off at a local vet as soon as possible. After growing tired of her landlord's treatment Natasha put in her two weeks notice to leave at which point they allegedly demanded 'custody' of Tigerlily OTTAWA Manitobas grand chief says he was a vaccine skeptic until his ailing son needed a major medical procedure. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/7/2020 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Manitobas grand chief says he was a vaccine skeptic until his ailing son needed a major medical procedure. "You vaccinate animals; I wouldnt immunize my kids," is how Grand Chief Arlen Dumas characterized his past thinking about immunizations, urging families to get the flu shot in the fall. "I used to have sort of principled positions on how I felt about immunizations," he said Friday during an Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs COVID-19 webcast. "Unfortunately, you have to go learn and educate yourself and find out this stuff." Dumas's eldest son, Achahk, died in March 2019 at age 18 from complications related to cystic fibrosis. Before that, he required a lung transplant, changing his father's world view. "Because it was so important for him to receive (the transplant), I really had to do a lot of research, and I had to do a lot of thinking on that whole idea of immunizations," he said. "I, too, would encourage anyone: if you can, please immunize your babies. Lets keep everyone as healthy as possible," Dumas said. CF is a genetic disease that cant be prevented, though medical experts recommend vaccines including annual flu shots to keep up general lung health. The Manitoba government offers the chickenpox vaccine to anyone with high-risk medical conditions including CF, and strongly recommends people living with CF get the annual flu shot, as well. Vaccines came up during the livestream in the context of an anticipated second wave of the coronavirus in the fall. Dr. Marcia Anderson, a medical officer of health, said she was concerned about Indigenous people not getting the flu shot when it becomes available, leading to worsening outcomes and the health-care system grappling with both COVID-19 and the flu at the same time. "Vaccines are not perfect but there is a ton of evidence about their effectiveness," Anderson said, noting that measles is resurgent in parts of North America where immunization rates have dropped. Studies show 20 to 30 per cent of Canadians are "vaccine hesitant," meaning they tend to delay or outright refuse to have their children immunized. It's less common for parents to forgo any vaccines, though refusal rates have been rising, which experts have linked to anti-vaxxer websites and conspiracies on social media. Anderson said the focus on COVID-19 has added to the difficulty in making sure children get their shots. "There are a lot of kids who got behind on their vaccines in that time where we were really shifting to virtual care for only really necessary things, because of the risks of being in the health-care setting," she said. "Nows a great time as well to get caught up on those vaccines." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. In 2009, the H1N1 swine flu impacted First Nations people to a greater extent than any other group in Manitoba. However, University of Manitoba health professor Michelle Driedger has documented how the rollout of the H1N1 vaccine in Winnipeg was hampered by communications challenges. Officials had expedited safety tests and selected Indigenous people as a target population, likely because they have a higher rate of other health conditions. But the term "adjuvanted vaccine" referring to one with added substances to boost immune response confused some people, and the sped-up testing stoked conspiracy-style fears that Indigenous people were being used as guinea pigs. Researchers are already preparing for how to publicize a COVID-19 vaccine if it comes along without isolating the most vulnerable people. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca The execution of Daniel Lee was delayed after family of his victims raised concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The United States Justice Department filed an emergency motion with an appeals court seeking to move forward with the first federal execution in nearly 20 years. Daniel Lee, 47, had been scheduled to die by lethal injection on Monday at a federal prison in Indiana. He was convicted in Arkansas of the 1996 killings of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife Nancy, and her eight-year-old daughter Sarah Powell. But Chief District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson ruled on Friday in Indiana the execution would be put on hold because of concerns from the family of the victims about the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 130,000 people and is ravaging prisons nationwide. The Justice Department is seeking to immediately overturn that ruling. In the emergency motion to the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday, it argued the judges order misconstrues both federal and state law and has no basis in equity. The motion asks the appeals court to permit the government to carry out the execution on Monday afternoon. The capital sentence at issue here imposed for the murder of an eight-year-old and her parents during a robbery to fund a white supremacist movement has been repeatedly upheld by federal courts, and the inmates own efforts to halt its implementation have very recently been rejected by this Court and the Supreme Court, prosecutors wrote in the filing. The Justice Department also argues while the Bureau of Prisons has taken measures to accommodate the family and implemented additional safety protocols because of the pandemic, the familys concerns do not outweigh the public interest in finally carrying out the lawfully imposed sentence in this case. The relatives would be travelling thousands of kilometres and witnessing the execution in a small room where the social distancing recommended to prevent the viruss spread is virtually impossible. There are currently four confirmed coronavirus cases among inmates at the Terre Haute prison, according to federal statistics, and one inmate there has died. Delay until after pandemic threat Attorney General William Barr told The Associated Press news agency this week he believes the Bureau of Prisons could carry out these executions without being at risk. The agency has put a number of additional measures in place, including temperature checks and requiring witnesses to wear masks. The injunction imposed late Friday delays the execution until there is no longer a health emergency. The court order applies only to Lees execution and does not halt two other executions scheduled for later next week. The decision to resume executions has been criticised as dangerous and politically motivated. Critics argue the government is creating an unnecessary and manufactured urgency around a topic that is not high on the list of American concerns right now. The federal prisons system has struggled in recent months to stem the exploding coronavirus pandemic behind bars. As of Friday, more than 7,000 federal inmates had tested positive. There have also been nearly 100 inmate deaths since late March. I feel like crying. It certainly is not as open as I would like, but my gosh, it has been almost four months. and Ill take what I can get, Schmeidler said. Daniel Tracy Sr., whose 42-year-old son Daniel Jr. is a resident in Elderwood at Hamburg, said he too is grateful, but questioned the wisdom of banning relatives in the first place. Family members should have never been considered visitors. We should have been able to see our loved ones. It was particularly hard on them, the father said. Tim Swan, who had regularly visited his friend Gary Newman at Buffalo Community Healthcare Center before the ban, expressed relief. It has been a long four months. I think a lot of people will be relieved and happy, said Swan, who hopes to arrange a visit as soon as he finds out if the Buffalo nursing home meets the requirements. Gary will be very excited for a visit. Swan added that nursing homes and visitors need to strictly comply with the state Health Departments requirements to protect residents and staff. I will be wearing a mask, Swan said. The Ghana Health Service has declared Hon. Carlos Ahenkorah, the MP for Tema West and former deputy minister for trade and industry COVID-19 negative. Mr. Ahenkorah recently resigned as a deputy minister after he was accused of breaching the COVID-19 protocols even when he had tested positive but Asymptomatic. In a letter written to the Tema East MP dated Friday 9th July 2020 and signed by the director-general of the Ghana Health Service Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye disclosed that Mr. Ahenkorah has obtained two consecutive negative laboratory test results for COVID-19. " For this reason, you are deemed to have recovered from COVID-19 infection and so can return to work" the letter added. The GHS has however cautioned the former deputy minister to continue to observe the precautionary measures since he is not immune from contracting the virus. These include the use of a face mask at all times especially in public places, frequent washing of hands with soap under running water and covering of mouth and nose with tissue paper when coughing or sneezing and disposing of the used tissue properly. Attached is a copy of the letter from the GHS boss to Hon. Carlos Ahenkorah. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Patients can still hear what is being said to them when they are nearing the end of their life, a study has found. Even when the patient is unconscious and close to death, they still have their sense of hearing and can hear what their loved ones are saying to them. The study by the University of British Columbia focuses on patients transitioning from life to death, when the body begins to shut down, rather than people in a coma, The Times reported. It is the first study to run tests into unconscious hearing at the end of life. Even when the patient is unconscious and close to death, they still have their sense of hearing and can hear what their loved ones are saying to them (file photo) Researchers measured electrical activity in the patients's brain with a hat containing 64 electrodes. They identified brain signals generated in response to complex tonal changes by playing a series of tone patterns to a young and healthy control group before replicating the test on a small number of hospice patients. The researchers checked for the same signals when the patient was both responsive and unresponsive and found brain activity between the two were very similar, as well as to the activity found in the control group. Some patients showed brain activity which was a little more complex. It is not known whether the patient can understand what they're hearing or whether they can simply hear the words. Lead author Elizabeth Blundon said that patients transitioning from life to death might recognise their favourite piece of music. The study could explain stories of patients 'waiting' for their loved ones to arrive at their bedside before dying. Hilary Jordan would chat to her husband Ian for almost 31 years after he suffered a head injury in a crash. He was working as a police officer in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1987 at the time. She told the Canadian Press news agency that she said something to let him know it was OK if he left them. She had never said it before and shortly afterwards he passed away. Another important area for further study is whether patients also keep their sense of touch until the end of their life. Jenny Bone fell into a coma after falling ill with Guillain-Barre Syndrome in 2015 and heard a doctor asking her husband about switching off her life-support Ms Blundon added that it's not possible for a patient to be able to smell or taste anything after they lose consciousness. Jenny Bone fell into a coma after falling ill with Guillain-Barre Syndrome in 2015. While she lay in a medically-induced coma, she heard a doctor asking her husband about switching off her life-support. She said: 'I was aware of conversations around me. The most frequent one was being turned in the bed. A familiar "ready, steady, turn" would come from the nurses. 'The most alarming was between a doctor and my husband enquiring as to my wishes surrounding being kept alive on a ventilator and that they were unsure whether my mental ability had been impaired due to lack of oxygen while they were attempting to restart my heart.' AIADMK senior and Tamil Nadu fisheries Minister D Jayakumar on Friday said Sasikala, a close aide of late J Jayalalithaa, or her family will have no place in the party or in the government. As Tamil Nadu's political landscape hots up over a tweet by a BJP leader over the release of V K Sasikala from the prison, Jayakumar asserted: "Sasikala or her family will have no place in AIADMK or in the government. The party's stand is consistent." Sasikala, who surrendered before the prison authorities on February 15, 2017, a day after she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case, is currently serving four-year jail term in Bengaluru. On June 25, Aseervatham Achary, Coordinator of the BJP's Documentation and Library Department, tweeted that Sasikala is likely to be released in August. "Mrs. Sasikala Natarajan is likely to be released from Parapana Agrahara Central Jail, Bangalore on 14th August 2020. Wait for further update," he tweeted. Thereafter those close to Sasikala started claiming her release was imminent and this triggered a political speculation. While trying to maintain that the ruling AIADMK was not rattled by her possible release from the prison in Karnataka, Jayakumar when asked to spell out his party's stand, reiterated that there was no room for Sasikala family's domination in the party. "The party's view is based on the decision already taken (on the issue). Our stand is consistent yesterday, today and tomorrow, it will hold good.. Sasikala or her family have no place in the AIADMK or the government. There's no change ( on this stance)." When reporters sought his comments on handlooms Minister O S Manian claiming earlier in the day that only the AIADMK leadership will decide on whether Sasikala will lead the party after her release from the prison, Jayakumar said that it might be Manian's personal view. "I don't wish to say anything further.." he said. When reporters in Nagapattinam posed a question on who will lead the party post Sasikala's release, Manian said, "I am only a district secretary.... The party leadership will decide on whether Sasikala will lead the party after her release." Nearly nine months after Sasikala was unanimously appointed interim general secretary of the AIADMK following then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's death, she was removed from the post on September 12, 2017, by the AIADMK's general council. And in June 13, 2019, the AIADMK resolved to continue with dual leadership under its coordinator and deputy chief minister O Pannerrselvam and co-coordinator and chief minister K Palaniswami. The US did not say what prompted the new alert, which comes as tensions continue to rise between the two super powers. The United States has warned citizens of heightened risk of arbitrary detention in China as tensions between the two countries have been on the rise over issues including the coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong, and allegations of human rights abuses of the minority Muslim population in Xinjiang and residents of Tibet. The state department did not specifically say what prompted the new security alert, which was issued to US citizens in China on Saturday. US citizens may face prolonged interrogations and extended detention for reasons related to state security, the alert said. Security personnel may detain and/or deport US citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government, it added, without citing specific examples. The alert comes as bilateral tensions have intensified between Beijing and Washington over issues ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, trade, and allegations of human rights violations against Uighurs in the Xinjiang region and communities in Tibet. On Friday, US President Donald Trump said the relationship between the US and China has been severely damaged in recent months. Meanwhile, Beijing has repeatedly accused the US of meddling in its internal affairs. Adding to the enmity is a controversial security law pushed on the semi-autonomous region of Hong Kong by Chinas central government in June that has caused international concern. The law bans subversive acts and speech against the Chinese government made anywhere in the world. Deteriorating relations The most recent move comes days after Washington imposed visa bans on Chinese officials it accused of restricting foreigners access to Tibet. Beijing responded by saying it was banning US individuals with egregious conduct related to Tibet issues. Australia and Canada have also recently issued travel warnings over fears of arbitrary detention by Beijing. Last year, China arrested Australian-Chinese writer Yang Hengjun, who was indicted earlier this year for espionage. China has also arrested two Canadians after Canada arrested a high-profile executive of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in late 2018. Beijing has not commented on the US travel warning, but on Wednesday called Australias alert about the risk of arbitrary detention in China completely ridiculous and disinformation. The Indian Armed Forces recovered weapons and Pak currency from the ambushed terrorists, warn of presence of hundreds of terrorists at launch pads across LoC waiting to infiltrate into North Kashmir. Two terrorists were killed in an ambush by the Indian Army at Nougam sector in north Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC) on Saturday. The Army recovered arms and ammunition, along with Pakistani currency. The terrorists were trying to infiltrate by cutting an anti-infiltration fence, said Major General Virendra Vats, GOC 19 Infantry Division, Baramullah. Today, our troops along LoC in the Nougam sector detected suspicious movement originating from Pakistani post in the area. Apt response was taken to eliminate two terrorists who were trying to infiltrate by cutting an anti-infiltration fence, Major Vats said at a press conference here. Recoveries from the dead terrorists include 2 AK assault rifles with 12 filled magazines, a pistol, magazines and some grenades. We have also recovered about 1.5 lakhs in Indian and Pakistani currency. The search operation is still underway in the area to sanitise, he added. Also read: Ashok Gehlot lashes out at BJP for playing politics, offering MLAs 15 crores Also read: Kanpur Encounter: MP Police nabs 2 for hiding wanted criminals On the present status of infiltration along the LoC, the top Army official said that 250-300 terrorists presently occupying the launchpads are waiting to infiltrate. Inputs indicate that their launchpads are fully occupied. If we have to guess, it could be anything between 250-300 terrorists presently occupying the launchpads opposite, Major Vats said. Also read: Rajnath Singh dials South Korean counterpart to discuss security concerns For all the latest National News, download NewsX App US sells Patriot upgrade package to Taiwan to deter 'regional threats' Iran Press TV Friday, 10 July 2020 9:29 AM The United States has approved a request from Taiwan to modernize the self-ruled island's Patriot surface-to-air missile systems to counter what it claims as "regional threats", amid escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington. The US State Department said on Friday that Taiwan had requested to buy an estimated $620 million upgrade package for its Patriot missiles "in order to support an operational life of 30 years." The Department said Lockheed Martin would be the main contractor and explicitly announced that the sale would not only serve US interests but strengthen Taiwan's military in the face of "regional threats" in a veiled rebuke of China. "This proposed sale serves US national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient's continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability," the US State Department said. "The recipient will use this capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen homeland defense. The recipient will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces," it added. Taiwan's defense ministry confirmed the report and said the arms sale the seventh by the US administration to the island is expected to take effect within the next month. China has sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan, and under the "One China" policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty, saying the island is part of China's territory awaiting reunification. The US, too, recognizes Chinese sovereignty over the island but has long courted Taipei in an attempt to counter Beijing. Washington, which has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei by law, is the island's largest weapons supplier and an avid backer of Taiwan's secessionist president Tsai Ing-wen, causing increasing tensions with Beijing over trade and a host of other issues. Washington almost regularly makes provocative moves around the self-governed island, particularly by sailing its warships through the sensitive and strategic Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from China. The provocative moves draw angry reaction from China, which has never ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its full control. Beijing is also at odds with Washington over its support for riots in the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong, which has been the scene of unrest over the past months due to a now-revoked extradition bill and a new security law. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo held their first talks in 18 months on Friday to try and end their longstanding territorial dispute in a video summit hosted by France and Germany. Belgrade has refused to recognise Kosovo's independence but is under pressure from the West to resolve the impasse. Kosovo's Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic took part in a virtual summit led by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to pave the way for their first face-to-face meeting since November 2018. Paris and Berlin are leading fresh efforts to restart stalled dialogue between the two sides, but statements from both leaders after the summit suggest they remain far apart. We had really tough negotiations, Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic said Friday. He told Macron and Merkel that if Kosovo's independence "is what they want to talk about, then these talks are completely meaningless. Belgrade has refused to recognise Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence after the province broke away in the bloody 1998-99 war that was ended only by a Nato bombing campaign against Serb troops. More than 13,000 people died in the war, mostly Kosovar Albanians, who form a majority in the former province. Difficult process Despite the longstanding differences between the neighboring countries, a French presidential adviser said the dialogue is picking up. "There are very difficult perspectives for the outcome of this dialogue, but there is a commitment by everyone to proceed step by step," said the official, who asked not to be named. Both Kosovo and Serbia have been facing mounting pressure from the West to resolve the impasse which is as seen as crucial to either side joining the EU. Kosovo's Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti told the online summit the normalisation of relations "can be achieved only if Kosovo and Serbia respect each other's statehood". "We believe that the dialogue has no alternative. We are ready and committed to engage on the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue on an equal footing." New talks The new push for the talks made by Macron's office comes after Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci was charged last month with war crimes by prosecutors in The Hague. The indictment led to the postponement of a White House summit between Serbia and Kosovo due to be held at the end of June, which had raised eyebrows in Brussels as European officials have spent years in efforts to resolve one of Europe's most intractable disputes. EU-backed talks broke down in November 2018 after Kosovo's government imposed an import tax on all goods produced in Serbia in retaliation for it blocking its membership bid to join Interpol. In June, Kosovo's new Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti removed all barriers to trade with Serbia, paving the way for a resumption of negotiations with Belgrade. The renewed talks will resume on 12 July with a video conference hosted by the European Union. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has shot off a letter to the DGP Loknath Behera with a copy marked to the Valiyathura SHO urging the police to register an FIR under CrPC 154 in the gold smuggling case. Chennithala lamented that the police inaction has led the second accused in the gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh, to file for anticipatory bail. At a press meet held at Cantonment House, the Opposition leader came down heavily on the Chief Minister alleging that he tried to make the gold smuggling case a mere Customs case. Chennithala alleged that the image built up by the Chief Minister has come down like a pack of cards with people now convinced of the corruption allegations raised by the Opposition. He urged that the police should file an FIR under Section 154 of the CrPC which gives a choice to the informant to furnish information orally or in writing. If the information is disclosed orally, then the report must be generated in writing by the police officer himself or under his direction. The report must be read out to the informant. Chennithala reminded the police force that it functions as per the CrPC and IPC which reveals the LDF governments lapse in taking up the case. Pinarayi Vijayan and the LDF government failed to file a FIR against the culprits behind the gold smuggling case as they wanted to save the tainted former IT secretary M Sivasankar and the second accused, Swapna Suresh. Moreover, by not filing the FIR, the accused, Swapna got the protection against forging of documents and impersonation. There has been a concerted effort from the government to protect the culprits, said Chennithala. He also blamed the lapses of the health department for the spurt in COVID-19 cases. The Opposition leader rued the lack of institutional and home quarantine facilities which enabled the pandemic to shoot up. If not for the apathy of the health department officials, people in Poonthura would not have ventured out into the streets demanding food and essentials. Chennithala said he spoke to the CM over phone urging him to provide essential food items to the people in Poonthura. The Opposition had always held protests against the LDF government keeping in mind the safety protocols of COVID-19. If there had been a lapse from our side, we had corrected our party workers. Pinarayi is not going to walk away from the gold smuggling case by putting the blame on the spurt in the COVID-19 on us. As Opposition, we will fight against the LDF government on the gold smuggling case with safety protocols in place, added Chennithala. Thiruvananthapuram MLA, VS Sivakumar, also attended the press meet along with the Opposition leader. He highlighted the issue of CPM party workers instigating the crowd in Poonthura on Friday which saw them protesting against the government. DES MOINES (AP) Six more people have died in Iowa from COVID-19, state health officials reported Saturday. As of Saturday afternoon, the toll for coronavirus-related deaths reached 748 in Iowa, health officials reported on their website. The state also reported 34,647 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Black Hawk County reported 19 new cases Saturday for a total of 3,087 cases and 59 deaths. Officials suspect the actual number of people with COVID-19 is much higher than the state-released statistics indicate because many people with mild or no symptoms do not get tested. Health officials reported 178 coronavirus patients were hospitalized on Saturday, up from 169 who were hospitalized a day earlier. On Friday, Iowa registered its largest daily jump in coronavirus cases since May, leading health officials in the worst-affected parts of the state to warn people to take the threat more seriously and to stop congregating in bars and other places in large numbers. Among the 10 counties with the largest jumps was Scott County, on the states eastern border, where a local health official said the increase correlated with the states lifting of the final restrictions on bars, restaurants, casinos and mass gatherings in early June. Many who tested positive acknowledged that they had been to bars. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iowa jumped by 744 on Friday, to 33,756. Its the highest one-day jump since May 26, when there were 796 new cases. Iowa has increased testing, with more than 8,000 people getting checked on Thursday, and the data shows that 9.3% of the states tests are coming back positive, which is the highest rate since late May. The number of deaths rose Friday by three, to 742. The duality of Tupac Shakur remains a fascinating subject. On one hand, he was a conscious performer who cared deeply about racial and societal injustices. The other side to him exuded misogyny in hip hop and a personification of violence. But what many are unaware of is that Shakurs first run-in with police resulted in him being a victim of police brutality. His mother once told BET in an interview that the beating forever changed him. Tupac Shakur 1992 | Tim Mosenfelder/ImageDirect A recap of Tupac Shakurs beating by Oakland police Shakur was a rising rapper when he had his first encounter with the police. While living in Oakland in 1991, Shakur was stopped by officers for jaywalking. He was asked for his ID, which he handed over. From there, Shakur said officers questioned his name. He exchanged words with the officers and according to him, he was placed in a chokehold. While trying to free himself, he says the officers slammed him into the concrete ground, hit and stomped him repeatedly. Related: Journalist Ed Gordan Says He Warned Tupac Shakur Of His Thug Friends Two Weeks Before Shakur Was Murdered Instead of being taken to a hospital, Shakur was arrested for resisting arrest and spent seven hours in jail before being released. He also noted that he was knocked unconscious during the beating. As a result, he missed his appearance on YO! MTV Raps for the debut of his music video. Shakur held a press conference in the aftermath of the beating, announcing his decision to sue the Oakland police department for $10 million. Thats harassment to me. That I have to be stopped in the middle of the street and checked like we in South Africa, he famously said at the time. Source: YouTube The lawsuit was eventually settled for a reported $42k. The rapper revealed in a later interview that he only settled because he grew tired of going to court. Tupac Shakurs mother says his beating from the police forever changed him The incident with the Oakland police department had a lasting effect on Shakur, which he spoke about openly. He admitted his rage during a 1994 interview with journalist, Ed Gordan. I had no [police] record all my life, until I made a police record. As my video was debuting on MTV I was behind bars getting beat up by the police department, he said. But nobody cared about that, that wasnt blew [sic] up all over the news. They did not see me on the news with my eye busted, my head busted, theres pictures of those but you dont see those pictures. You see pictures of Tupac coming out of jail. His mother, Afeni Shakur, said that her sons demeanor changed as a result of the incident. When his first record was appearing on MTV, Tupac was beaten in the head very badly, she said. After he had been beaten by the Oakland police, that changed Tupac. Young Black men who go through that process get great anger at the reality of life for a young Black male. Shakur would have several other encounters with police throughout his brief life. KYODO NEWS - Jul 11, 2020 - 13:54 | All, Japan The public will be able to observe the reassembling of Japan's first postwar mass-produced passenger plane from Saturday at a theme park, three months after parts of the aircraft were transported from a hangar at Haneda airport. The process will be shown free of charge at Hirosawa City theme park in Ibaraki Prefecture until July 26. The very first YS-11 propeller plane ever made is expected to go on display in complete form next spring. The fuselage and other parts of the plane were transported by trailer to the theme park in March from the Tokyo airport, where the aircraft had been stored by the National Museum of Nature and Science for about two decades. "It's amazing that such a large fuselage was transported. I was thrilled to see the real thing," said Chieko Saito, 56, a businesswoman living in the city of Tsuchiura in the prefecture. "It made me feel very nostalgic. I want to come back and see this again when it is completed," said Hidetsugu Kikuchi, 72, from Mito, adding that he flew on YS-11 planes many times when they were in service. The plane being reassembled did not itself see commercial service and was delivered to the transport ministry in 1965 for use as a plane to inspect the safety of flight routes. It was decommissioned in 1998. The plane has been designated as part of the country's "machine heritage" by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. Japan was banned from making any aircraft for seven years after its defeat in World War II. Development of the propeller plane began in the 1950s and a total of 182 YS-11 planes, including two experimental models, were produced and used to carry passengers in Japan and abroad. Jiro Horikoshi, who designed the Zero fighter planes used by the Japanese military during the war, took part in the development of the passenger plane. The museum will use crowdfunding to raise money for the reassembly and display as its revenue has been impacted by the spread of the coronavirus. Cutting DeAndre Baker will be the easy part for the Giants. Clawing back the remainder of his contract wont be as simple. The Giants are expected to cut Baker, according to an explosive report by the New York Daily News Pat Leonard, after he allegedly paid off victims in a $55,000 cover-up for his armed robbery case, according to a search warrant obtained by the News. Baker and Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar are charged with armed robbery in connection with a May 13 incident in Miramar, Fla. Introducing Giants Extra: Sign up for a free trial now. Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text directly with reporters A Giants spokesman declined to comment on any aspect of the report. According to the warrant, one witness to the alleged crime Dominic Johnson, who has known Baker and Dunbar since they were kids helped pay off the four alleged victims on May 15. The pay-off happened at the office of Dunbars attorney, Michael Grieco. The warrant is reported to rely on video footage and an incriminating Instagram direct message from Johnson. Those words corroborate a robbery had occurred and those who were charged were the participants, according to the warrant. Plus, the four alleged victims have said in sworn statements that they took the payoff $55,000 combined at Griecos office, according to the warrant. Buy coronavirus face coverings: MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA Baker could be placed on the commissioners exempt list and removed from the Giants 90-man roster before a roster move occurs. If that happens, the Giants would be forced to carry his $2.3 million cap hit for 2020. If the Giants release him, they would move to void his remaining salaries - $973,000 in 2020, $1.45 million in 2021 and $1.9 million in 2022 - but those voids would not be immediate. The team could also fight back to recoup some of Bakers $5.6 million signing bonus. But initially, the Giants would have to carry the dead cap. (NJ Advance Media reporters Matt Lombardo and Darryl Slater contributed to this report.) Get Giants text messages from reporters: Cut through the clutter of social media and text directly with the Giants beat writers. Plus, exclusive news and analysis every day. Sign up now for a free trial. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. The driver is still in the intensive care unit. The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) in Ukraine has reported that four suspects in a bomb attack on an Ukrposhta cash-in-transit van in Poltava region have been detained. "The National Police have identified four individuals suspected of an Ukrposhta vehicle robbery, attempted murder of employees of the company and the stealing of UAH 2.75 million, or US$102,117," the PGO whose Poltava unit provided the procedural guidance of the investigation said on its website on July 10. Read alsoFive people injured in hand grenade blast in Odesa region (Photos) The suspects are facing the punishment from 10 to 15 years in prison under Part 4 of Article 187, Part 2 of Article 15, clauses 1, 6, 12 of Part 2 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. "Three men were traced in Kyiv, another one in Lubny. All of them are residents of Poltava region. They have been served with the notice of charges and are facing a preventive measure in the form of police custody," it said. As UNIAN reported earlier, unidentified persons blew up a cash-in-transit van near the village of Tyshky in Poltava region on the morning of July 7, seized over UAH 2.7 million and a security guard's gun. An improvised explosive device had reportedly been planted on the vehicle and exploded above the driver's head. Two men in the car were injured; the driver is currently in the intensive care unit. The GAZelle van belongs to Ukrposhta, Ukraine's national postal operator. The Pension Fund of Ukraine told UNIAN that the van was to transport cash to pay pensions to residents of Poltava region's Chornukhy and Lokhvytsia districts. On Friday, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that a 1500-year-old Orthodox Christian Cathedral in Istanbul named Hagia Sophia would be converted into a mosque. The decision was made at the backdrop of a court order nullifying the earlier status of the cathedral as a museum. It was concluded that the settlement deed allocated it as a mosque and its use outside this character is not possible legally. The cabinet decision in 1934 that ended its use as a mosque and defined it as a museum did not comply with laws, the top administrative court order noted. As per the report, Erdogan has stated in a press conference that the conversion of the UNESCO World Heritage site was well-within Turkeys sovereign right. He informed that the first Islamic prayer would be read inside the premises of Haga Sophia on July 24. Besides, he reiterated that the historic monument would be open to locals, and foreigners including non-Muslims. Crying foul after the international backlash, Erdogan claimed that those who do not agree to his decision were attacking Turkeys sovereignty. Reportedly, a call to prayer was recited at Hagia Sophia and was televised on news channels. Meanwhile, the social media channels of the cultural site were taken down. The Turkish authorities have clarified that the mosaics of the Virgin Mary on the golden dome of the cathedral would not be removed. The historic side reportedly attracts 37 lac visitors every year. Erdogan, hailing from a conservative Muslim background, had presided over the gradual dismantling of Turkeys secular traditions in recent times. Many believe that Erdogans latest gambit to convert the historical site of Hagia Sophia into a Muslim worshipping site is in line with his broader goal of progressive Islamisation of the Turkish society and designed specifically to gain political mileage by catering to his followers fundamentalist views which entails that once a mosque is sanctified, it should never be unconsecrated. The History of Hagia Sophia Originally built as a cathedral in 537 AD by Byzantine emperor Justinian I, it was believed to be the largest church in the world. The Byzantines held it for centuries before it was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman rule in 1453. The city of Istambul, earlier known as Constantinopole, was captured by Sultan Mehmed II. He had then performed Friday prayers within the cathedral. Four minarets were added to the original structure and Christian mosaic was covered with Islamic calligraphy. It was assigned the status of a museum by the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, in 1453. But, all is set to change now. However, the Hagia Sophia has long been the symbol of Muslim-Christian rivalry. For about 900 years, Hagia Sophia was considered as an unrivalled pilgrimage centre for the Eastern Christians. The artefacts housed at the pilgrimage destination included alleged pieces of the original cross of Jesus Christ, along with the lance that impaled the Nazarenes side. For centuries, Christian pilgrims found healing from these and other items. UNESCO criticises move Following the decision to convert the 1500-year-old church to a mosque, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) expressed deep regret and urged Turkey to initiate dialogue without delay, to preserve world heritage and not to alter the status of the site without discussion. Reportedly, the decision was also criticised by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Greece and Church in Russia. Hagia Sophia: UNESCO deeply regrets the decision of the Turkish authorities, made without prior discussion, and calls for the universal value of #WorldHeritage to be preserved. Full statement: https://t.co/WiZpjyagqF pic.twitter.com/klcMR9pmxC UNESCO (@UNESCO) July 10, 2020 While Kemal Ataturk with the museum status to Hagia Sophia tried to ascertain a secular legacy, Erodgans Islamism has reportedly threatened the founders vision. As per reports, an unapologetic Erdogan has stirred up the controversy through his decision to appease the Muslim hardliners in the country and deviate public discourse from the mishandling of the Coronavirus pandemic in the country. 10:40 Taking aim at the Bharatiya Janaata Party, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar has said that politicians should not take voters for granted as even powerful leaders like Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had been defeated in elections. Criticising former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over his 'Mi punha yein' (I will come back) slogan during the last year's assembly polls, Pawar said that voters thought that this stance smacked of arrogance and felt that they should be taught a lesson. Pawar also said that that there was not an "iota of truth" in reports about differences in the three ruling allies -- the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress -- that are part of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi. The former Union minister said this in an interview by Shiv Sena leader and executive editor of party mouthpiece 'Saamana'. The first of the three-part interview series was published in the Marathi daily on Saturday. This is for the first time that a non-Shiv Sena leader has featured in a marathon interview series in the party mouthpiece. It has so far published marathon interviews of late Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray. Replying to a query over BJP's defeat in the last assembly polls in the state, Pawar said, "In a democracy, you cannot think that you will remain in power eternally. Voters will not tolerate if they are taken for granted. Powerful leaders mass base with like Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had been defeated. "It means that in terms of the democratic rights, the common man is wiser than the politicians. If we politicians cross the line, he teaches us a lesson. Therefore, people do not like the stand that 'we will come back to power'," he said. "No politician should take people for granted. Nobody should take a stand that he would return to power. People thought that this stand smacks of arrogance and hence feeling grew among them that they should be taught a lesson," Pawar said. He said the change of government in Maharashtra was not an accident. "People of Maharashtra voted in line of the sentiment prevailing in the country during the national elections. But the mood changed during the assembly polls. Even though BJP did well in the Lok Sabha polls, it fared poorly in assembly elections in different states. Even people of Maharashtra voted for a change," he said. Replying to a query over his reported differences with CM Thackeray on the lockdown in the state, Pawar said, "Absolutely not. What differences? For what? During the entire period of lockdown, I have had excellent communication with the chief minister and continue to do so." Pawar, who played a key role in bringing together the Sena, the Congress and the NCP for formation of government in the state in November last year, blamed the media and said sarcastically that the news gathering activity had been hit by the coronavirus-induced lockdown and they had the responsibility to fill the pages of newspapers. "I have been reading reports of growing differences among the three allies, but there is not an iota of truth in that," he said. Speaking about the style of functioning of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray, Pawar said, "Although Balasaheb was never in the seat of power, he was the driving force behind the power. He got power in Maharashtra due to his ideology. "Today, the government is not because of the ideology. But the responsibility of implementing that power now lies with Uddhav Thackeray," he said. -- PTI The Chinese authority hasnt entirely sold its stake but just trimmed it below 1 per cent. Stock exchange shareholding disclosure captures names of public shareholders who own more than 1 per cent stake. Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) has sold a part or its entire stake in HDFC, according to the June quarter shareholding disclosure made by Indias largest mortgage company. The development comes following a furore in April when it emerged that Chinas central bank had upped its holdings in the Mumbai-based financial services behemoth, taking advantage of the market meltdown. The Chinese authority hasnt entirely sold its stake but just trimmed it below 1 per cent. Stock exchange shareholding disclosure captures names of public shareholders who own more than 1 per cent stake. They are an equity investor like any other institutional investor. They had invested in some point and their holding crossed 1 per cent during the March quarter when the disclosure was made. In April or May, they have reduced a little bit and now they are less than 1 per cent. I dont know exactly how much. It is a normal thing, the controversy (which was created) was unnecessary, Keki Mistry, vice-chairman and chief executive of HDFC, told Business Standard. During the quarter ended March 2020, PBOC held 17.5 million shares, or 1.01 per cent stake, in HDFC, valued at Rs 3,300 crore at the current market rate. Whatever maybe the stake sale quantum, PBOC would have made a neat profit on the investment in matter of months. During the March quarter, shares of HDFC had plunged more than 40 per cent. From March lows of Rs 1,473, the stock had rebounded 30 per cent in April. After a chopping June quarter, shares of HDFC are currently trading 30 per cent higher compared to their 2020 lows. PBOC buying and selling price cant be ascertained. Market players said the Chinese central bank could have trimmed the exposure to avoid public glare. While the investment quantity was small, it had sparked a debate on whether Chinese investment firms were taking advantage of the fall in the domestic markets -- triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic -- to lap up shares of Indian companies. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had even increased scrutiny of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from neighbouring countries. Currently, Life Insurance Corporation is the biggest shareholder in HDFC. The State-owned lender increased its stake by 72 basis points (bps) to 5.39 per cent during the June quarter. Invesco Oppenheimer, the second-biggest shareholder, also increased its stake in HDFC by 21 bps to 3.54 per cent. Meanwhile, the government of Singapore trimmed its take by 9 bps to 3.14 per cent. Vanguard and Government Pension Fund also pruned their holdings. By Express News Service BHOPAL: Ten days after being sworn as cabinet and ministers of state in Madhya Pradesh, the 28 newly inducted ministers will finally have portfolios allocated to them on Sunday. Ending nine days suspense over the issue, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Saturday that the portfolios will be allocated on Sunday. "Allocating portfolios is my job, dont worry, I am saying this in Gwalior, the portfolios will be allocated tomorrow," Chouhan told journalists, after holding the meeting of the local COVID-19 Crisis Management Group meeting in Gwalior on Saturday. The Gwalior-Chambal region, particularly Gwalior and Morena districts of the region have emerged as the new hub of the COVID-19 pandemic in the central Indian state, with 159 out of the 544 new positive cases in the state being reported from the two districts over the last 24 hours. Importantly, the much awaited second cabinet expansion of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government had happened on the government's 102nd day on July 2 with the swearing in of 28 new ministers, including 20 cabinet ministers and eight ministers' of states. The second cabinet expansion was dominated by the Jyotiraditya Scindia-loyalists former Congress MLAs. More than a dozen new ministers came from the Gwalior-Chambal region only. But since the swearing in of the 28 new ministers, suspense was continuing over when they would be allocated portfolios. The CM had spent two long days in Delhi discussing the issue with the BJP national leadership, but the portfolios allocation couldnt be finalized reportedly due to the Scindia camps insistence on getting the plum portfolios. The delay in allocation of portfolios to the new ministers had not only brought the BJP and the state government on the continued target of the opposition Congress, but even BJP leaders, including ex-minister Ajay Vishnoi and former MLA Parul Sahu had indicated over social media helplessness of the CM in finalizing the portfolios of his ministers. In January, Kathryn Licata and her fiance Martin were preparing for a wedding with more than 100 guests. Then COVID-19 arrived, and the couple had to do what so many others planning to marry this year were forced to: cut their guest list to the bare bones, or postpone to next year. After COVID hit in March, we initially had to go down to five people, and then lifted it to 20 once the restrictions eased, Ms Licata says. Kathryn and fiance Martin are due to get married on August 29 in Melbourne. Credit:Wayne Taylor But as of Tuesday, were again looking at five people, which means having to choose between having my sister as a witness, being walked down the aisle by my dad, or having a photographer during the ceremony. Despite their wedding not being until August 29, the couple is erring on the side of caution after being caught in the crosshairs of an ever-changing state of laws. Maharashtras death toll due to Covid-19 on Saturday breached the 10,000 mark with 223 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, as the states case tally also registered its highest single-day spike of 8,139 infections first in excess of 8,000. The toll stands at 10,116 and the tally at 246,600, according to data released by state health department, which also stated that active cases rose close to 1 lakh at 99,202. The state reported its first Covid-19 death on March 17, which means it took 117 days to cross the grim 10,000 mark Saturday was also the second consecutive day the state reported its sharpest single-day spike after it recorded 7,862 cases on Friday. Meanwhile, Mumbai maintained a sort of stability in the number of fresh cases. On Saturday, it reported 1,284 new cases, taking the tally to 91,745. Of them, active cases are 22,782. Mumbais toll stands at 5,244 after 39 more deaths were reported. The number of recovered patients in the state also increased to 1,36,985 after 4,360 patients had recovered in the past 24 hours. The recovery rate has improved to 55.55%. Maharashtra is looking at a surge as the tally of new cases has crossed the 8,000-mark. The cases are going up across the state, whereas the situation in Mumbai appears to be slightly under control when compared to last month. Mumbais contribution to total cases has reduced to 37.20% (with 91,745 cases) from 58.09% (with 43,492 cases) on June 3. Everybody is agreeing that Mumbai is seeing a plateau, in the sense that cases are not coming down, but they are not rising either. Most people are predicting that it will stay so for a while. We are keeping our fingers crossed, said a senior BMC official. In contrast, the number of daily cases in other eight cities of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) looks like spreading at a rapid speed. Their contribution in total cases has been increased to 25.56% (63,039 cases) from 15.49% on June 3 (11,594 cases). The cities are Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Ulhasnagar, Panvel, Vasai-Virar and Bhiwandi-Nizampur. On Saturday, Kalyan-Dombivli recorded 640 fresh infections, Thane 455, Navi Mumbai 256, Ulhasnagar 304, Mira-Bhayander 260, Vasai-Virar 305, Panvel 169 and Bhiwandi-Nizampur recorded 63. Amid the rise in number of cases in MMR, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with commissioners of civic bodies in the region on July 9 and termed the situation a concern. This was Thackerays second interaction with the civic chiefs in under two weeks. Expressing dissatisfaction over the health infrastructure in many cities in MMR, Thackeray has directed them to follow the example of Mumbai and ramp up health facilities for Covid-19 cases. The CM, during a video conference, also asked to set up field hospitals to treat patients. The areas that are not in red zone (apart from 19 cities) are also experiencing a surge in cases. Their contribution in total cases rose to almost double in more than a month. It has now gone up to 17.56% from 9.32% on June 3. This indicates a rise even in rural areas of the state. Dr Archana Patil, director, Directorate of Health Services, said they are working only on enhancing healthcare facilities and cannot say that the peak has started. Currently, we are monitoring the growth rate of fresh infections and based on that, making projections for the coming weeks. I cannot say that the peak has started. Our priority is to augment healthcare facilities because more cases need more medical facilities. We will have to match the health infrastructure with the rise in fresh cases in each and every district of the state, Dr Patil said. As number of Covid cases is rising, stricter lockdown restrictions have been imposed in several cities and districts by the local administration. On Saturday, Solapur municipal corporation also declared that lockdown will be imposed between July 16 and 26 to break the chain. Solapur municipal commissioner Milind Shambharkar made the announcement after 77 fresh cases were reported in the city. The case count went up to 3,085. On Friday, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic bodies had decided to impose a 10-day lockdown from July 13, while Mumbais neighbouring Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli civic bodies, too, have extended their ongoing lockdown for seven more days till July 19. Along with spike in cases, the state is also facing large number of deaths on daily basis. In the past 11 days (since July 1), it has recorded 2,110 Covid-19 casualties. With 9,893 deaths, the case fatality rate (CFR) of the state was recorded 4.15% on Friday. It is second highest in the country after Gujarat, where the CFR is 5.05% with 2,022 deaths (40,069 cases) till Friday, according to the statistics shared by the state medical education department. Maharashtra still has highest number of deaths across states in the country. After forming a task-force of expert doctors in all districts and the state has now decided optimum use of the testing infrastructure and also start rapid testing to bring down CFR. In a letter from the health department earlier this week, all district collectors and municipal commissioners have been directed to bring down the positivity rate to less than 10% and reduce CFR to less than 1%. State health minister Rajesh Tope said that they are focussing on reducing CFR and for this they have decided to increase daily number of testing in the state. We have decided to conduct more testing so that more people can be traced and CFR as well as positive rate against total testing can be reduced and be brought under 10%, Tope said. Currently, the positivity rate against total tests is 19.17% as 246,600 tests were found positive, out of the total 1,285,991 samples tested so far. Currently, 47,376 people have been kept in institutional quarantine and 6,80,017 people have been put under home quarantine across the state. The health minister said the existing institutional quarantine facilities in metro cities need to be augmented, considering aggressive tracing in slum areas. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Sadhwani said he enjoyed the day when people were asked to share their favorite positive song, like 1612 by Vulfpeck. Not only did he like the choices, he learned a bit about others through their posts, he said. Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, a leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has celebrated the birthday of his wife, Nana Adjoa Hackman in a special way to make her birthday. In a post sighted by Peacefmonline on Facebook, Gabby expressed his love through a message to his wife. His post read Today is my wife, Nana Adjoa Hackmans birthday. More intelligent and organised than me, she is the Managing Partner both at home and in our office, Africa Legal Associates. So, fellow Ghanaians, I am willing to let her celebrate this day. Join me to offer her the freedom to celebrate! Happy birthday, Nana Adjoa! From your Running Mate, Yaw Asare. Check post on Facebook below; Today is my wife, Nana Adjoa Hackmans birthday. More intelligent and organised than me, she is the Managing Partner... Posted by Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko on Thursday, July 9, 2020 Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Anjela Taneja India has the third-largest number of COVID-19 cases in the world and we are scrambling to curtail its spread, conduct tests and treat those infected. However, we should also take the time to look back and introspect on how things got this bad. As we highlight the population issues on World Population Day, it is also important to put Indias healthcare system under the scanner and address the barriers to delivering quality healthcare services for its people. Legacy of neglect of India's healthcare systems For a country with a population of 1.3 billion, India continues to make one of the lowest investments in healthcare. According to Indias National Health Profile 2019, the country spends only 1.28 percent of its GDP on health care. By comparison, Brazil spends- 3.9 percent, South Korea-4.8 percent, Japan 9.2 percent and Germany 9.5 percent. This is not just a function of it meeting some sort of arbitrary figure - spending is extremely low in real terms. India spends Rs. 1,657 on public health per capita every year, which is Rs 138 per month or Rs 4.5 per day per person. This is abysmal. As a result, people are forced to pay for their healthcare, out of their own pockets, which pushes nearly 63 million Indians below the poverty line in a year. And this figure is likely to increase this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The low health spending for the population is reflected in the poor quality of healthcare access in India. It is ranked 145 out of 195 countries in Healthcare Access and Quality Index. It ranks lower than its neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Myanmar. The scramble for hospital beds in the pandemic is a reflection that India has only 0.7 beds per 1000 population. In contrast, Japan has 8.5 beds for 10,000 people and South Korea has nearly 100 beds for every 10,000 people. India is fighting the pandemic without basic public health facilities. As per Rural Health Statistics 2018, 26,360 sub-centres and 1,313 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in rural India lack a regular source of water. Over 70 percent PHCs in Bihar, function without a medical officer and a nurse. Because of the rapid COVID-19 response and due to the lockdown - essential healthcare services, that are not directly related to the coronavirus pandemic, have been curtailed. This has adversely affected the poor, who are dependent on the public system. Indias infant immunisation, treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including chronic ailments, have all faltered. Consequences of private-sector dependence Indias health system is highly privatised with 74 percent of hospital beds in India being private. At this critical time of need, the private health sector failed to deliver not just COVID-19 treatment, but also non-COVID-10 services; some news reports suggest that private hospitals have carried barely 10 percent of the critical load. Official data also suggest that there has been a 50 percent decrease in the procedures availed under the Ayushman Bharat scheme due to the pandemic. Bihar, in fact, witnessed an almost complete withdrawal according to the then Bihar Principal Secretary (Health) Sanjay Kumar. In contrast, the headlines have been dominated by incidents of critically ill patients being turned away, overcharging of patients and gross violations of their rights. The pandemic has, so far, been a victory of Indias embattled public health system which has borne most of the burden of the healthcare response. Strong public health system This pandemic has created an unprecedented, once in a century, public health, social and economic emergency. It starkly reminds us that a robust public health system is a core social institution necessary for our sheer survival. At the end of the day, it is the public health system which will stand by our side in times of crisis. We must give the highest priority to strengthening it to ensure that India is ready for future health emergencies. At the same time, given the failure of the private health sector to deliver universal, equitable healthcare to Indias citizens, we should consider regulating it, to ensure that it acts in the interest of the citizens and not in the quest for profits. Health issues need to be prioritised over profits, especially in times like these. The commitment would need to start with the passage of a national legal framework for universal access to healthcare, a commitment often articulated by the Government of India on international platforms. Indias citizens need to receive health services from the government as a right, not merely in the form of schemes and programs. In the absence of fair legislation, poor people and those from marginalized communities may not gather the courage to claim their health rights from the government. At the same time, adoption of the Patients Rights Charter by Indian states and providing this provision with teeth through the Clinical Establishment Act or other measures is critical to minimize some of the most egregious abuses. However, it is only the introduction of a universal right to health which will bridge the gap of healthcare between the rich and poor and provide a set of uniform standards for every Indian citizen of India. It is time for citizens to come together to demand the strengthening of the public health system and regulation of the private health sector to ensure a healthier population and future. The author works with Oxfam India in the field of education, health, and inequality. She also coordinates the Fight Inequality Alliance in India. Travel and hospitality is one of the primary industries to have been in the line of fire during the pandemic. With losses that may steep into billions, it may be difficult to gauge how long will take for the industry as well as the travelers to get back in business. YouTube, of course, has been almost a means of living for travel influencers and advisors, and now, some struggle to stay afloat on the video platform with the death of the sparkly, shiny, wanderlust-y content while some are switching their content strategy to not only make a living but stay relevant in the minds of their viewers. While social media has been integral in keeping travelers and influencers audience as intact as possible, those who relied on the adventure parts of their travel are forced to innovate now. There have been significant changes in the kind of approach some adventure junkies have taken while being confined within four walls. Republic World spoke to four travel influencers and advisors who gave an insight into how they have adapted to a settled life in these months, and how travel after coronavirus as we know will change. Jasminder Singh Biker, adventurer, founder of JS films The summer months are when the routes to every bikers dream trip to Ladakh open. Jasminder Singh has already been there several times and cannot seem to get enough of it and had plans for his trip and his bike all set until the COVID-19 pandemic broke. Singh has had travelling as a part of his lifestyle for several years now, so much so that his video travelogue channel JS Films has a following of 2.28 million. While things have been challenging for Singh, his spirits are anything but dampened. Ive started to make videos about gaming now. And so far, I have had an overwhelming response to it, he said. While Singh has a dedicated fan following of bikers and travelers, his other channel called Jaysn Nation features him playing games such as PubG Mobile, GTA and Call of Duty. Of course I miss travelling, in fact, I have my itinerary for future trips planned already. But as of now, I want to connect with my followers in all possible ways, and it seems that gaming is another interest that connects me to them, he said. Also Read | Interstate Travel Quarantine Rules & Guidelines, Issuing E-pass & Other Requirements Singh has come a long way from running an IT agency that built websites for brands, to becoming a traveler and a full-time YouTuber his success story now also brags of an e-commerce store that sells merchandise for travelers. And Singh intends to make his journey longer, taking his bike 'to a nice secluded village that has scenic beauty that he can ride through'. "I will be taking precautions once travel after coronavirus opens up again like carrying a sanitizer, and own toiletries instead of relying upon the hotel I am staying at regardless of the safety measures taken. I want to even be safe food-wise where I will carry home-cooked food for the rides that are shorter, he said, also pointing out to the fact that riders may not be able to travel together in a large number for a while or even sharing their biking gear, so staying cautious is the only way ahead. Nothing will deter me, or any other travel enthusiast. Travel after coronavirus will happen slowly, but I would suggest they carry gloves, masks and sanitizer as a minimal necessity, he said while explaining that he will be following the mandates set by the government. Once we have a vaccine, there may not be a need to fear. I plan to even throw a party at my house once things are safe enough because I have missed spending time with family and friends as much as I am missing travelling now. My perspective here is to see the positive because even travelers get homesick and this has made me spend a lot more time with my family and explore gaming as an interesting video-making avenue too, Jasminder Singh said. Also Read | 5 Monuments To Visit In India During Unlock 2.0: Golden Temple, Red Fort, And More Roxanne Bamboat, Founder, The Tiny Taster Roxanne Bamboat had been to lots of places before COVID happened. And to her, it seems like a lifetime away. Having been to wet markets of Japan and Korea, Bamboat feels like pointing to them as a potential cause for an outbreak of this virus may not be impossible to believe, but it feels like its straight out of a sci-fi movie. It has been difficult to stay in one place, caged in longer than I would have liked, but I would definitely go back once this is over she said. But perhaps anyone who has been travelling as a part of their lifestyle for about six years now, trip cancellations to happening, exotic destinations such as South Africa and Morocco by Tiny Taster Tours do seem heartbreaking. However, any of the present circumstances have not deterred her from creating content. Shes resorted to cooking and her dishes seem delicious and tempting, especially because one can make them at home. Her latest videos like Pad Krapao Gai and eggless chocolate pudding happen to be like a comfort blanket for her followers who look forward to her travel videos. Im going out only when I need. But otherwise Im a big foodie so making videos of my recipes is also fun, she said. I shall be taking precautions for sure when I travel after coronavirus pandemic. There is a lot of uncertainty, as there may be no travel for the foreseeable future. All my plans for the year have tumbled like a pack of cards, but health comes first, she explained while talking about how domestic travel may be more comfortable for her as well as other travelers initially. She travels personally and professionally and is concerned about how the tourism industry will cope, someone I know had a jobs for two decades in a hospitality company and was asked to leave. Now the person has to sell masalas because he has mouths to feed, she explained. Also Read | Coronavirus Safety Measures To Follow For Safe Travel To European Countries But she does seem optimistic, expressing that those who really want to travel after coronavirus, will do so even with all the regulations that have to be followed. Initially people may go out of their way to take precautions like carry their own toiletries and sanitize their AirBnbs and rooms instead of relying on only the staff. But Indians contribute largely to the travel industry as currently, even the Vande Bharat flights are going choc-a-bloc, she said. While she does seem audibly upset with the current scenario, that has been channeled into her passion for food on her channel that one can have a look at just in case they feel they want to get an exotic feel to their meal. While Bamboat strongly feels that nothing will happen until the first quarter next year, she listed down a few precautions that she would like to take when hopping onto a plane next to travel after coronavirus. While one may want to carry a lot, people will have to pack light because there may be restrictions on the cabin luggage. So people will have to carry one pair of shoes instead of four for their Instagram pictures, she jokes, adding that packing essentials will be the only priority. Id carry a disinfectant, a pair of gloves and a reusable mask, a few disposable masks too for trains and flights. Perhaps a face shield but I will be wearing that not carrying it, she said, explaining the details of her next set of tours for The Tiny Taster Tours. Also Read | Socially Distant Road Trips: Travel Tips To Help You Plan Well Amid COVID-19 Scare Rahul Jagtiani, Founder, Plush Living One can see Rahul Jagtianis videos and simply envy that they are the real-life personification of Ranbir Kapoors role in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. But things have not been that rosy after the COVID-19 pandemic. But Jagtiani has come up with a rather viable and entertaining solution. He said that he has not switched to anything else in terms of making videos, but instead now narrates his travel experiences in Hindi. I started doing videos about three years ago and then an airline company and few other OTT platforms began to show interest in my work. Im an entrepreneur and I produce content for companies. My business just expanded into another vertical which is now seen on my channel, he said, explaining that he has mixed feelings about life currently coming to a standstill. Jagtiani almost dodged the pandemic as he was in Milan just a few days before it became a global emergency. But this has not stopped his optimism or his basic instinct to travel. He elaborated on how currently, people are looking at China differently, but my travels there have been most fruitful and enjoyable experiences. People are now looking at China in a negative light which should never be the case for any country. Yes, we all stand with our government and army and support them, considering the recent events at the border. We must distinguish people from the actions of their government for any country. Their politics and actions does not reflect how the people are, he said, urging people to calm down and not hate the people from any other country where the virus would have potentially originated. Also Read | Air Travel Bubble: Here Is What You Need To Know About India's Plans On Foreign Travels And perhaps that seems to be his motive as Jagtiani has switched from English to Hindi while narrating his travel experiences. My YouTube initiative of Ghar Baitho Duniya Ghumo is only to bring people closer to different countries, people, and their stories. While it will probably take as long as a year for things to slowly begin moving back to normal, I believe that having my videos entertain a larger mass for even five minutes is a win for me, he said. And his videos are a lot more than entertaining his latest ones on how to spend times with wolves in the Scotland wilderness and his polar plunge into the freezing waters of Antarctica offer a lot more information about the lesser explored places to travel after coronavirus pandemic ends. Jagtiani highlights how people in the coming months will take travel advisors seriously no matter if the travel is budget or luxury. Hygiene and sanitation was a luxury and now has become a necessity. People will not want to crowd around an omlette counter anymore, so perhaps the number of people travelling next will be affected but those who wish to travel will once there will be a vaccine. A mask and sanitizer will accompany me wherever I go, he said, elaborating on his list of countries like Greenland, Iceland, New Zealand and South Africa that he seems super excited to visit post travel resumes. Also Read | Iceland's Bubble Hotel Offers Perfect 'socially Distant Stay' Amid COVID-19 Fears Nirav Vithalani Founder and Travel Advisor, Travel Factory Having travelling as a lifestyle for seven years and then suddenly being confined to one place has taken a toll on Nirav Vithalani too. Hes been enjoying his time with his family, learning new skills and even loving the joy of doing nothing. I am also expanding into other avenues of entrepreneurship, but health comes first. Yes, it is a huge challenge for the entire tourism industry, I am not alone in this. But I feel jaan hai toh paisa wapas aa jaayega, he joked. He has also been spiraling down the YouTube rabbit hole, but they have also been travel videos. In this time I have been studying some domestic destinations like Kerala and Uttarakhand. Earlier, travel used to be far behind in everyones priority list. But people are so tired of sitting at home that now they will travel, Vithalani said, explaining how once the vaccine is out, people will still have to take precautions, but should not stop travelling as livelihoods globally are affected. Vithalani too, is of the opinion that people need to avoid crowded places once travel after coronavirus resumes. One can go easy on the overly popular destinations and explore some lesser-known ones. In the end what matters is that people get a new place to visit even if for the time being it may not be what they initially would have visualized. There needs to be a strong mutual trust between a client and a travel advisor for the times that lie ahead, he explained. Also Read | Interstate Travel Rules To Be Followed At Delhi Airport Amid COVID-19 Pandemic Being a foodie himself, Vithalani advises that it is best to ask an expert for a list of restaurants and joints that they trust before visiting a destination. Even when it comes to adventure, it is best to take precautions for a while like carrying ones own sanitizers and washing hands periodically before one can go snowboarding in the Alps or quad biking in the dunes, he said. He himself cannot wait to go back to Europe to travel after coronavirus and please his inner nomadic self. [Image Courtesy: jsfilmsindia, thetinytaster, rahul.jagtiani, neev1208] President Muhammadu Buhari has broken his silence on the ongoing investigation of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu. In a statement by Garba Shehu, his senior special assistant on media and publicity, Mr Buhari also explained why he approved the suspension of the anti-corruption fighter from office. Read the full press statement below. PRESIDENCY STATEMENT ON THE SUSPENSION OF MR. IBRAHIM MAGU A series of documented allegations were made against the Ag. Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Following a preliminary review of the allegations leveled against the Ag. Chairman and several other members of his staff, there were grounds for a detailed investigation to be conducted. Hence, an investigative panel was constituted in compliance with the extant laws governing the convening of such a body. As is the proper procedure, when allegations are made against the Chief Executive of an institution, and in this case an institution that ought to be seen as beyond reproach, the Chief Executive has to step down from his post and allow for a transparent and unhindered investigation. The EFCC does not revolve around the personality of an individual, and as such cannot be seen through the prism of any individual. Therefore, the suspension of Mr. Ibrahim Magu, allows the institution to continue carrying out its mandate without the cloud of investigation hanging over its head. The EFCC has many good, hardworking men and women who are committed to its ideal and ensuring that the wealth of our country isnt plundered and wherein there is an act of misappropriation such person(s) are brought to justice. Meanwhile, Mr. Magu is being availed the opportunity to defend himself and answer the allegations against him. This is how it should be, as is the fact that under the Laws of Nigeria every citizen is presumed and remains innocent until proven guilty. We must realize that the fight against corruption is not a static event, but a dynamic and ever evolving process, in which the EFCC is just one actor; and as we continue to work towards improving our democratic process so shall every institution of ours also embark on that journey of evolution. What is however important is that there must be accountability and transparency and our people must realize that they would be held to account. This is the building block in the fight against corruption, the establishment of the concept of Accountability and the recognition of the Rule of Law. Those who see Mr. Magus investigation, as a signal that the fight against corruption is failing, have unfortunately, missed the boat. Suspended EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu There is no better indication that the fight is real and active than the will to investigate allegations in an open and transparent manner against those who have been charged to be custodians of this very system. Under this President and Government, this is our mantra and guiding principle. There are no sacred cows, and for those who think they have a halo over their heads, their days are also numbered. Mr. Magu was not immune and regardless of the obvious embarrassment that potential acts of wrongdoing by him, given the office he held, may appear for the government. No other administration in the history of Nigeria would have moved to bring into the light and public domain such an allegation. Garba Shehu Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) July 11, 2020 U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and the White House press secretary released two separate statements on the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Vietnam on Saturday. The United States and Vietnam celebrated 25 years of diplomatic relations on July 11, 2020. In his statement to mark the occasion, Secretary Pompeo said that the two countries have built a partnership and friendship founded on shared interests, mutual respect, and people-to-people ties over the last quarter century. The bilateral everyday interactions are highlighted by increasing trade and investment ties, strategic cooperation, and collaboration on humanitarian and legacy of war issues, including the solemn duty of accounting for the countries' wartime missing, Pompeo said. In recent years, the two nations have strengthened and expanded their comprehensive partnership based on a shared vision of a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacific region, as well as respect for each others independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political systems, he added. The ties between the American and Vietnamese peoples grow deeper every year. Americas vibrant and engaged Vietnamese-American community makes our country strong and prosperous, the statement reads. The statement also affirmed that the U.S. values the cross-cultural role played by the nearly 30,000 Vietnamese students studying in the United States and more than 1,200 Americans studying in Vietnam annually. We look forward to Fulbright University Vietnam graduating its first class of undergraduates in 2023, the statement reads. We also look forward to the imminent conclusion of an agreement that will bring Peace Corps volunteers to Vietnam for the first time ever, fostering stronger ties between our peoples. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo (second right) and U.S Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink (second left) go for a walk in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam, July 2018. Photo: Viet Dung / Tuoi Tre Pompeo said that the U.S. commend Vietnam for its outstanding chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, especially in coordinating ASEANs response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and issues related to economic recovery. The secretary of state also recalled the two times when the people of Vietnam welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump to Hanoi. He stated that the U.S. is committed to making the next 25 years of bilateral ties a model of international cooperation and partnership, bringing about a new era of prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. Meanwhile, a statement from the White House press secretary released on the same day revealed that President Trump and Vietnam's Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong exchanged letters on the occasion, noting the two nations shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific and respect for each countrys sovereignty. Both leaders committed to continuing to expand the two countries comprehensive partnership by increasing people-to-people ties; partnering to ensure that trade and investment is free, fair, and reciprocal; collaborating on humanitarian and legacy of war issues; and growing bilateral strategic cooperation through expanded military ties. The United States also reaffirmed it will stand alongside Vietnam in support of the peaceful resolution of disputes, the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded commerce, the statement reads. At the end of the statement, the White House press secretary stated that following the close ties forged over the last quarter century, the U.S. looks forward to marking the next 25 years of partnership, friendship, and a brighter future for our peoples. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! But some of the protests in the early days of the movement were violent and included direct actions on police targets. Among Meusers clients are officers who were inside the citys 3rd Precinct police station, which was abandoned and subsequently burned during the May protests here. At least 13 officers were inside the building at the time, Meuser said, and some wrote what they thought were final texts to family members and loved ones fearing they would be killed. Ordered to stand down to protesters, some of the officers had fearfully counted their ammunition to make sure they would have a bullet for themselves to avoid being beaten to death, he said. Based on the government-to-government deal, the proposed SEZ, spread over 1,000 acres in port city Chattogram, is being developed by Indian conglomerate Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. The Bangladesh Prime Minister's Office approved Adani as a developer early this year. The BEZA, which comes under the PMO, had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian government for developing the zone in June 2015. Mohd. Moniruzzaman, the Joint Secretary and General Manager, Investment Promotion, of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), confirmed the development to IANS. New special economic zones in Bangladesh have already attracted a good number of foreign investors, Moniruzzaman said. He also revealed that Indian investment has also been confirmed for another SEZ at Mongla port. The Indian government has recently given approval in principle for financing the zone for its investors on June 11. The ongoing SEZ, to be developed as part of Bangladesh's flagship industrial city Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar in Mirsarai of Chattogram, was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in April last year. It was scheduled to be implemented between April 2019 and June 2021. Moniruzzaman said the finalisation of some essential infrastructure facilities, including a 24-km-long embankment, seven sluice gates, and power plants at the industrial city has made it a coveted investment destination. Currently, the final negotiation is taking place involving the joint venture agreement between the BEZA and the Indian zone developer, he said. According to BEZA documents, a move is now underway to employ project management consultants under the project. To this effect, necessary documents were sent to India's Exim Bank on June 23. The total cost for the zone's infrastructure development has been fixed at $109.74 million or nearly 9.19 billion takas. Of this, $109.11 million will be mobilised under the third package. India has extended three lines of credit to Bangladesh amounting to $8 billion since 2010, according to official data. During Bangladesh Prime Minister's visit to India in April 2017, India extended the third credit line worth $4.5 billion, meant to cover projects in the areas of port construction, railways, roads, airports, power and energy, telecommunications, shipping, etc. For FY 2020-2021, Bangladesh's annual development programme has allocated 403.4 million takas for the zone's construction. Of the allocation, 395.1 million takas will be mobilised under the third lending package. The source said, once operational, the proposed country-specific zone is expected to create employment for nearly 0.1 million people and attract more than $2 billion investment. The Indian zone will receive good response for its suitable location next to Sandwip Channel and connection, via a four-lane road, with the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, which is considered to be the economic lifeline of Bangladesh. --IANS sumi/vd The reopening of the Berkshire Museum comes as part of Phase 3 of the state's four-phase Reopening Massachusetts plan, which began Monday, July 6, as announced on July 2. Berkshire Museum Will Reopen Saturday, Aug. 1 PITTSFIELD, Mass. After being closed for more than four months, the Berkshire Museum will once again welcome visitors through its doors in downtown Pittsfield. The museum, which will open in phases, plans to open exclusively to its members for two weeks during its first phase beginning Saturday, Aug. 1, before inviting the whole community in phase 2 starting Monday, Aug. 17. The reopening of the Berkshire Museum comes as part of Phase 3 of the state's four-phase Reopening Massachusetts plan, which began Monday, July 6, as announced on July 2. The museum intends to meet or exceed all state-mandated health and safety guidelines through each reopening phase. Beginning Aug. 1, guests will be welcomed back to the museum with a series of new health and safety protocols in place, including new and improved cleaning procedures, time-based advance ticketing that reserves each exhibition for one "family unit" a group that has been quarantining together at a time, mandatory face coverings, social distancing between visitors and staff, and more. "Throughout the pandemic, the Berkshire Museum has prioritized the health and safety of our guests and staff," said Jeff Rodgers, executive director. "This remains our primary concern, especially as we watch states across the nation suffer rising rates of infection. To ensure that we are acting responsibly, we're taking a phased approach to reopening that will allow us to adjust to changing conditions." From Aug. 115, the Aquarium will open for Berkshire Museum members with timed reservations. Members can enjoy private, 45-minute, self-led explorations of the Aquarium on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The museum will close from 1 to 2 p.m. daily for cleaning. The same operating hours will continue during phase 2 from Aug. 17-31, with timed reservations available to the public. In this phase visits will expand to include both the Aquarium and a last chance to see the Art of Warner Bros. Cartoons for all visitors. Timed tickets must be reserved in advance at berkshiremuseum.org or by calling 413-443-7171, ext. 360. Berkshire Museum members, children under 18, and EBT cardholders always visit free. During phase 2, adult regular admission will be $5. Reservations can be made starting July 23 for dates between Aug. 1 and 31. The Berkshire Museum staff will continue to monitor conditions locally and around the country. Phased reopening plans are subject to change in keeping with any modifications to state or local guidelines. It was confirmed last month that she is expecting her first child with actor beau Garrett Hedlund, 35. And Emma Roberts was clearly being led by her pregnancy cravings on Friday afternoon as she ventured to multiple grocery stores in the Los Feliz area with Garrett. The 29-year-old American Horror Story star remained in her range rover, while Hedlund ticked off the items on the couple's grocery list. Grocery run: Emma Roberts was clearly being led by her pregnancy cravings on Friday afternoon as she ventured to multiple grocery stores in the Los Feliz area with beau Garrett Hedlund Loading up: Garrett braved the public with a floral patterned mask on his face and hid his lengthy quarantine hair beneath a black backwards cap Emma's blonde hair was parted neatly to one side and she was without a face mask as she waited patiently in the driver's seat of her vehicle. Garrett braved the public with a floral patterned mask on his face and hid his lengthy quarantine hair beneath a black backwards cap. The Four Brothers actor rocked a navy blue blazer that he layered over a plain white tee. As for his lower half, Hedlund wore some black skinny jeans and slipped his feet into some stylish suede boots. Chilling: The 29-year-old American Horror Story star remained in her range rover, while Hedlund ticked off the items on the couple's grocery list Casual: The Four Brothers actor rocked a navy blue blazer that he layered over a plain white tee The couple - who have been dating since March of 2019 - made two stops on their grocery run. Garrett was seen carrying multiple shopping bags in his hands and he loaded them all into the backseat of Emma's Range Rover. News of Emma's pregnancy broke on June 25, when the actress' own mother Kelly Cunningham confirmed it on Instagram. Multiple stops: The couple - who have been dating since March of 2019 - made two stops on their grocery run Got it covered: Garrett was seen carrying multiple shopping bags in his hands and he loaded them all into the backseat of Emma's Range Rover Cunningham replied in the affirmative to a fan who explicitly asked if Emma was expecting. 'Yes,' replied the grandma-to-be, followed by a heart emoji. When another fan congratulated her, Kelly replied: 'Thank you so much! Very excited.' Emma - who is the niece of Julia Roberts - was first linked to Garrett after they were spotted on a date in Silver Lake last March. Cat's out of the bag: News of Emma's pregnancy broke on June 25, when the actress' own mother Kelly Cunningham confirmed it on Instagram; Emma pictured on Instagram on July 3 She moved on with Garrett after she split from her on/off fiance Evan Peters, 33, last year after seven years together. A source told UsWeekly at the time that it was not a bad breakup between the pair and that they were 'just friends.' Meanwhile, Garret split from Kirsten Dunst, 38, in 2016, after more than four years of dating. Kirsten is now engaged to actor Jesse Plemons, 32. Between 3 and 5 am on Tuesday, purportedly as per Brahma muhurtam (anointed auspicious time), the state government of Telangana began demolition of existing Secretariat buildings and released a design of a palatial replacement resembling the palace of Versailles to cost over `400 crores. The focus on demolishing an existing building, which according to most experts had a structural strength and life for another 30 to 40 years at the very least, during a week when coronavirus cases have been increasingly at an alarming rate of over 1,800 a day, with a total official tally of over 28,000 cases and a new lockdown was to be announced is in congruence with the maverick style of chief minister K.Chandrashekar Rao. Shortage of oxygen, crippled hospital infrastructure, collapsed management of containment zones, low testing inviting the chiding of the high court, restless hospital staff, a pandemic spreading to villages and increasing number of deaths would push a lesser leader to think it would be a great priority over a new building as a gift to posterity to mark his legacy, or align astrological for forces to his overvaulting ambition. Even as the state government is conspicuous in a phantomlike absence, leaving the governor to rise to the occasion to manage the fight against Covid, people are reacting with disbelief at this surreal situation, not too unlike the Shakespearean observation on Denmark. In Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too is striving similarly with a legacy-marking architectural creation, grandiose, immortal and wrongly timed. Not long ago, in Tamil Nadu, proving that no political party has a monopoly on wasting public money, while M. Karunanidhi spent over `1,200 crores on a new Assembly building, his arch-nemesis J. Jayalalithaa converted it into a multi-speciality hospital. Surely peoples lives should matter more. Alas, they dont. Alarmed over activities of the organised gangs of oil thieves, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), nations largest public-sector oil corporation, is set for aerial surveillance of the underground pipelines in the strategically significant Mathura-Jalandhar region. Official familiar with the development say that the initiative would be the first of its kind in the country where drones would be used for monitoring the security of the underground network of petroleum pipes. On July 6, the ministry of civil aviation authorised the IOC to use remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) for the pipelines. Officials say the IOC had mooted the plan of aerial surveillance in August 2015, but the project was marred by the bureaucratic hurdles. General manager, corporate communications of IOC (pipeline divisions), N Shiva Kumar said on Saturday that in the first stage unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be used on Bijwasan (Delhi)Panipat corridor for four months. He said drones would be pressed into service within a fortnight. Drones would help in giving real-time information in case of pilferage or any untoward situation in the pipeline network for prompt action. Since the cases of oil thefts are more in the National Capital Region (NCR), it was decided to roll out the pilot project in Delhi-Panipat to ascertain its efficiency. On the basis of the success of the project, aerial monitoring will be extended on the entire Mathura-Jalandhar belt, said Kumar. The petroleum products to defence installations along the international border with Pakistan and China are met through the Mathura-Jalandhar pipeline. Any interruption in the supply of petroleum products for civilian and defence requirements would be drastically hampered in case of any damage to the supply line, said an official. The IOC suffered huge losses due to incidents of pilferage. However, undermining the financial losses incurred in oil thefts, the public sector company said the safety of human lives and the environment was of much higher importance for them. Plugging oil pilferage is certainly significant, but any incident of leakage and sabotage can lead to losses beyond imagination. There were instances in Haryana when gangs dug a tunnel and stole oil. The IOC wants to give a firm answer to such instances, said Kumar. Most of the pilferage sites in the NCR were located in agriculture fields, near abandoned water drains, panchayat grounds and forest lands. The IOC said that if pilferages go wrong, they could be a great safety and fire hazard and create environmental pollution, damage to water bodies, spoil natural drinking water facilities, soil and could be harmful to even public property and human life. Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield pose with the award for Live Magazine Show for 'This Morning' in the winners room attends the National Television Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena on January 28, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) With a much-deserved summer break on the horizon, This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby has taken to social media to post an emotional thank you and farewell message to viewers and colleagues. The star and co-presenter Phillip Schofield have been a near constant on our screens amid the coronavirus pandemic which has seen the country go through a nationwide lockdown. And while many shows we are used to seeing have disappeared from our screens, This Morning has remained with Holly and Phill at the helm. Read more: Emotional Holly Willoughby chokes up watching family reunion videos on This Morning But the pair made their final appearance on the show yesterday (10 July) before they take a two month break. Posting on Instagram, Willoughby said: "Thank you .... thank you for staying with us over the last 109 days... "When we began this new way of broadcasting, we had no idea how long we would be able to come in, or whether it would be our last time broadcasting from the studio during lockdown. "The team have adapted and had plan a, b, c and d in place just in case... "Some days we didnt know if wed have the content to fill the show, but somehow we always managed it and even had a few laughs along the way. "You see us, but we feel that you are there with us, every single show... @thismorning holds a mirror up to life and reflects the mood of what we are all feeling." Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield, Ruth Langsford, Eamonn Holmes, Rochelle Humes of "This Morning", pose in the winners room after winning the Live Magazine Show award during the National Television Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena on January 28, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage) She added: "I cant thank our team enough! @martinfrizell1, Emma, all the production who came in. "The production team who worked from home, crew, the TM family and fellow presenters who are consistently brilliant. "But mostly to @schofe for metaphorically holding my hand and reliably being socially distanced shoulder to shoulder with me... "What a strange time... Feeling incredibly grateful... Huge love, thank you again... See you in September." Story continues Read more: Phillip Schofield has written 'deeply emotional' tell all book in lockdown The pairs last show saw an ice cream van brought on set, as they took part in some wine tasting and watched back the best bits from this years show. Schofield joked to his co-host: Hopefully in September I can give you a bloody hug!" Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, who normally present the show on Fridays, will step in to replace Phill and Holly from Monday. Jaipur: At least 24 state Congress MLAs have alleged that the BJP is trying to topple the Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan by "luring" legislators, and that the top leadership of the saffron party was involved in the "conspiracy". The Congress MLAs issued a joint statement on late Friday night, alleging that the BJP leadership is trying to "mislead" the Congress and supporting party MLAs by contacting and luring them in different manners. "But Congress MLAs and legislators who are in support of the government will not let this attempt be successful," said the joint statement issued on behalf of 24 MLAs, and signed by chief whip Mahesh Joshi and deputy chief whip Mahendra Chaudhary. The MLAs condemned the alleged attempts and expressed commitment that such forces will be defeated. The statement read: "The MLAs have said that no one can shake their integrity by giving any temptation. The Congress government in Rajasthan will complete its five-year term." In the 200-member ASsembly, the Congress has 107 MLAs and has the support of independent MLAs and legislators of other parties like Rashtriya Lok Dal, CPI (M) and Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP). Ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections for two seats in the state last month, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and government chief whip Mahesh Joshi had alleged that the BJP was trying to poach Congress and other MLAs to destabilise the government. Adding to the confusion, medical experts have sent mixed messages about when and how masks should be worn. While the World Health Organization has recommended masks in general, it said last month that theres no direct evidence on the effectiveness of mass mask-wearing among healthy people. Other health officials say that while a mask wont protect the person wearing it, it can help stop sick people from infecting others. The award of 11,000 to a woman who sued Cork City Council after a fall has prompted Gearoid Murphy, a Fianna Fail County Councillor and barrister, to issue a warning to Cork County Council. "While there is nothing ground-breaking about the principles used in the judgement itself, it does serve to highlight an important issue which we have been raising with the Council again and again - that prevention is better than cure, and we need to invest more to make our roads and footpaths safer," he said. "It is much better to spend money upgrading our footpaths now than having to pay out the same money or more in the future in compensation for accidents." In the court case, the judge had ruled that the condition of the ground on which the fall occurred left the council open to be sued. The members of Enniscorthy Retirement Association were saddened recently following the passing of one of their most respected members. Patricia Mulvey, from Glenbrien, was originally from Dublin and moved to Wexford upon her retirement and settled in Glenbrien. Speaking to this newspaper a spokesperson for Enniscorthy Retirement Group described Mrs Mulvey as a person who had 'a friendly outgoing personality'. 'She soon became involved in her community at Glenbrien, and in Enniscorthy, where she was a popular figure, always ready to assist in local projects and events,' said the spokesperson. She was a founder member of the Enniscorthy Retirement Association and was a proactive and energetic committee member. She served two terms as Chairperson, and her contribution to the organisation and to the community in general was very much appreciated. 'Pat had many talents,' said the spokesperson. 'She was both creative and practical [and] she organised and led club trips to America, South Africa and United Kingdom, very successfully,' she added. Mrs Mulvey also organised and participated in many of the associations activities. 'Her baking skills were renowned and her produce much sought after at our fund-raising events,' said the spokesperson. 'She also served on the Hope Foundation Events Committee,' she added. 'She was never too busy to lend a hand.' A happy, cheerful lady, her passing was a great loss to the Retirement Association and to the wider community. 'Her passing has left many people saddened,' said the spokesperson. Mrs Mulvey is survived by her husband Patrick, who supported her in all her undertakings, her children, Jennifer, Damian and Dara, her sister, Carmel, sons-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, extended family, relatives and large circle of friends. May she rest in peace at the right hand of God. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has told the National Assembly the anticipated COVID-19 storm has arrived in South Africa with a surge in confirmed cases. Last night, Mkhize announced that there were now 224,665 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa a daily increase of 8,810. He also announced 98 new COVID-19 related deaths, which brings the total deaths from the pandemic to 3,600. Mkhize told Parliament his department has started implementing a surge strategy in anticipation of the peak. This will ensure that the department increases capacity for COVID-19, while at the same time continuing to deliver other health services to the health care users, said Mkhize. The department repurposed a total of 27,467 beds for COVID-19, which has increased to 40,309 beds as the provinces started to experience a sudden increase in the number of cases. He urged South Africans to take the necessary precautions to ensure that they protect themselves and the lives of those around them. Mkhizes words were echoed by Professor Shabir Mahdi, who is leading South Africas first COVID-19 vaccine trial. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Mahdi said the rapid growth of COVID-19 cases in Gauteng is nothing less than irresponsible behaviour by the majority of citizens. People are simply not taking this virus seriously until someone close to them actually passes away or ends up in hospital. For the country to lower the rate of infection and bring about some level of control requires everyone to adhere to the non-pharmaceutical interventions listed below: Maintaining physical distancing. Wearing of face masks in public. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use hand sanitiser. Avoiding overcrowded situations. Ensuring adequate ventilation in closed spaces. Mahdi said unless people adhere to these rules, the healthcare system will become overloaded and more people will die. Latest COVID-19 statistics The latest COVID-19 statistics revealed that Gauteng is the countrys new epicentre having overtaken the Western Cape in total number of recorded cases. While the focus has shifted to Gauteng in recent days, it does not mean the cases in other regions are low. The Western Cape and Eastern Cape are still seeing a high number of new COVID-19 cases each day. The charts below, courtesy of Hydra and Media Hack, provide an overview of the latest COVID-19 numbers in South Africa. Daily Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in South Africa Daily Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in Gauteng Daily Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in the Western Cape Daily Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in the Eastern Cape COVID-19 Deaths in South Africa COVID-19 Provincial Breakdown South Africa versus other countries We got the idea into our heads that once we'd got through a couple of months of lockdown, we'd revert blissfully back to life as we'd known it. There were only two states of being. Locked down or set free. Serving time or party time. A bit like the concept of earthly life followed by entry into heaven. The sufferings and tribulations of this life will give way to eternal happiness. Likewise, we got the idea that there were only two states of economic existence. Shut or open. Hibernating and awake, as Scott Morrison put it earlier. The virus has other plans. Victoria's bungling has been a spectacular setback. It has demonstrated how quickly the disease can surge back to plague proportions. Australians are dying of the virus. Again. The defence forces checking drivers on the Geelong highway on June 10. Credit:Jason South Returning to a shutdown would be "the very worst thing" Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said in May. He was right. It's disruptive, depressing and costly. He's now living his own worst case, in company with 5 million fellow Victorians. The Economist magazine describes Victoria's situation as: "Lock, unlock, repeat." And it's not the only case. New outbreaks and "second waves" of COVID-19 infection are emerging around the world. Even in some of the countries most successful in containing the first. It's Victoria today but could be Queensland or NSW next week. "All you need is a couple of cases to get away and all of a sudden you have a hell of a problem on your hands," says Peter Doherty, patron of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. "The other premiers will be looking at what's happened to the Andrews government and say, 'There but for the grace of God go I'." BJP leaders engaged in toppling govt in Rajasthan: Gehlot India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, July 11: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday slammed the BJP of playing politics and buying over MLAs to destabilise the Congress government in the state, even as the deadly coronavirus outbreak continues to affect the country. Addressing a press conference, Gehlot said that BJP leaders have "crossed the limit of shamelessness" and were doing politics like "bakra-mandi" (goat-market). Rajasthan crisis: Here is how the number stack up "The government in Rajasthan is stable, will remain stable and will last five years," Gehlot said at a press conference here. J&K: Pakistani infiltration attempt foiled, 2 terrorists eliminated | Oneindia News He alleged that Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria, Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore and BJP state president Satish Poonia were executing the agenda of their party''s central leadership. "Amid the crisis posed by the coronavirus pandemic, BJP leaders have gone beyond humanity and are engaged in toppling the government," the chief minister said. The BJP has sabotaged governments in several states. It now wants to play the same game in Rajasthan, that it did in Madhya Pradesh, Gehlot said. "But they have been exposed and people will give the BJP a befitting reply at the right time," he added. NASA has signed a new agreement with Japan that lays out plans for the two nations to cooperate on the International Space Station (continuing existing partnership between the countries there) as well as on NASA's Artemis program, which includes missions in lunar space and to the lunar surface. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine signed the agreement with Government of Japan Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Koichi Hagiuda on July 10. It's a Joint Exploration Decoration of Intent (JEDI), which essentially commits the two countries to laying the groundwork for more concrete plans about how the two nations will work together on projects that will extend all the way to include both robotic and human exploration of the moon. Japan was one of the earliest countries to express their intent to participate as an international partner in NASA's Lunar Gateway project, all the way back in October 2019. Since then, a number of countries and agencies have expressed similar support, including Canada, which will contribute by building a third version of its Canadarm, the robotic manipulator that has been used on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, and the European Space Agency. This new agreement formalizes that arrangement, and from here you can expect both parties to begin to detail in more specificity on what kinds of projects they'll collaborate. Japan has plans to launch a robotic space probe mission to the moons of Mars and return samples from Phobos, its largest natural satellite, with a launch schedule for 2024, and it has launched a lunar orbiter exploration spacecraft called SELENE, and is planning a lunar lander mission dubbed the "Smart Lander for Investigating Moon" (SLIM) for 2022 that will be its first lunar surface mission. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 02:29:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISTANBUL, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Some municipalities belonging to the main opposition party in Turkey on Friday banned the use of fireworks at celebrations following two explosions that recently rocked the northwestern part of the country. The municipalities, including Istanbul, the capital Ankara, and the western city of Izmir, declared the decision one by one on their social media accounts. Speaking to reporters at an event, Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of Turkey's biggest city of Istanbul, announced that the firework shows are now over in the city. On July 3, a massive blast occurred at a firework factory in Sakarya province, killing seven people and injuring 122. In less than a week, on Thursday, another explosion happened on a truck, which was transferring some explosive materials loaded from the same factory, leaving three Turkish gendarmerie forces killed, and 12 people wounded. "Fireworks celebrations from now on would remind us of our painful losses in Sakarya," Imamoglu said. "Therefore, we will no longer use any fireworks at any of our events. " Imamoglu added that he would discuss the issue with the governor of the city for a more widespread resolution. The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality also announced that the use of fireworks and pyrotechnic items in various openings, social events, special days, and celebrations are banned. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 15:29:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Peter Mertz DENVER, the United States, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Voices against the Trump administration's recent visa restriction for foreign students continued loudly, as hundreds of thousands of Americans had signed petitions by Friday night, condemning the move. "This is the real American silent majority," Washington policy analyst Dave Richardson told Xinhua. "They are educated, informed, and good citizens -- and they have had enough of (President Donald) Trump's xenophobic tactics targeting foreigners." VOLATILE ACADEMIC WEEK On Tuesday, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that students currently in the United States on F-1 and M-1 visas "must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status," if their school's classes are entirely online in the fall semester. Anyone found violating the rules, ICE said, would risk "immigration consequences, including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings." White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the lawsuit on Wednesday by saying, "the policy speaks for itself." "You don't get a visa for taking online classes from, let's say, the University of Phoenix, so why would you if you were just taking online classes generally?" she said at a press conference. In academic circles, the decision received swift condemnation. "The order came down without notice -- its cruelty surpassed only by its recklessness," Harvard University President Lawrence S. Bacow wrote in an email to affiliates on Wednesday. Less than a day after the Trump administration decision, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) filed a lawsuit in the District Court in Boston against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE. The lawsuit was quickly supported by all of America's elite top academic institutions. The University of Southern California (USC), where a total of 12,265 international students were enrolled during the 2019-20 academic year with around 7,000 from China, announced on Wednesday it had joined an amicus brief strongly supporting the lawsuit filed by Harvard and MIT. The University of California (UC) also announced plans to file suit against ICE. The UC's 2019 fall enrollment data showed that 27,205 of the university's 226,125 undergraduate students are non-resident international, while 13,995 of the university's 58,941 graduate students are non-resident international. "There's absolutely no reason for this underlying rule. What is the issue? They are paying tuition, they are enrolled in the school program, they're doing the exact same thing their counterpart students are doing," said immigration lawyer Greg Siskind on Twitter, noting that the rule was essentially a new travel ban for F-1 students. THE GROUNDSWELL On Wednesday, sociologist Heba Gowayed, a Princeton Ph.D. whose research includes the underrepresentation of Arabs and Muslims in academic work, posted an open letter to President Donald Trump condemning the new maneuver. The letter began with "Dear President Trump, your administration just issued a policy that forces foreign students studying in America into a gut-wrenching dilemma." "The Trump administration's new policy is counterproductive, particularly when it comes to promoting safety amid the coronavirus outbreak and helping the U.S. economy recover from the pandemic," Gowayed's letter read. In one day, Gowayed's letter accumulated 15,000 signatures. It also triggered an avalanche of similar open letters to the 45th president, who ironically has encouraged such citizen statements. By Friday night, an Open Letter Against the Student Ban posted on Google had topped 30,000 signatures from faculty at institutions across the country. Another petition, addressed to the White House, had received 175,584 signatures by Wednesday morning, Time reported. Over the past 48 hours, hundreds of thousands of more Americans have signed a number of petitions denouncing Trump targeting international students. "This Trump attack on academia is just another diversionary tactic to distract people from the fact that his presidency is going down the drain -- so he goes after the academic world -- the smartest and wisest people in the land," Washington policy analyst Richardson said. "Desperation politics." THE NUMBERS Financially, the Commerce Department puts international student contributions to the U.S. economy at 45 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. A 2019 report shows that 62 percent of all international students receive the majority of their funds from sources outside of the United States. International students effectively subsidize higher education, making substantial contributions to the costs of public universities and their domestic students. Concerning brainpower, international students make up the majority of graduate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) enrollment, a crucial field in which the United States aims to become a "global leader." "In STEM fields, foreign students account for an astonishing 54 percent of master's degrees and 44 percent of doctorate degrees issued by American universities. Many of these degree recipients choose to stay in the U.S. after they graduate, working for American companies and helping protect American economic dominance," Gowayed's letter said. His letter also hammered the Trump administration's immigration policies. "The United States is a country that was built on immigration. Your administration is turning its back on centuries of tradition," the letter said. "Each person who comes to America, whether they immigrate or just stay a while, contribute in their own unique way. They bring their food, their culture, their ideas, they start businesses, they pay taxes, and they pursue the common American dream that we all share," it added. Sheriff Jim Hammond said "several suspects" are under investigation in an incident in which a Sheriff's flag was taken down at the County Jail on Walnut Street and later burned at Miller Park. He said, "The incident started at the jail and continued on to Miller Park. Rather than involve two agencies, the Sheriff's Office will take the lead on it." The sheriff said city police are cooperating in the investigation with Assistant Chief Zac McCullough overseeing its role. Marie Mott, a protest leader, went on Facebook Live to acknowledge taking the flag and burning it. Cameron Williams, another leader of nightly protests, is seen in a video burning the flag. Sheriff Hammond said an American flag was also taken, but was not burned. It was found in some bushes. He said members of the protest group surrounded a county patrol car at the jail sallyport and began kicking it. He said, "They did some slight damage." Britain's most powerful hedge fund boss has launched a blistering attack on fund managers over their failure to challenge corporations on issues from climate change to corporate scandals. Billionaire Sir Chris Hohn whose firm TCI Fund Management was the world's best performing hedge fund last year said it was 'time to call bulls***' on City rhetoric which failed to materialise into action. Fund managers that fail to hold boards to account on key issues should be fired, said Hohn, the former boss of Rishi Sunak from the Chancellor's hedge fund days. Tough talk: Sir Chris Hohn said it was 'time to call bulls***' on City rhetoric which failed to materialise into action Hohn has put $7trillion asset manager BlackRock whose boss, Larry Fink, sent a letter to boards in January warning investors will begin to avoid climate damaging firms and other fund giants in his sights. The City veteran is riding high after TCI's $250million bet against German payment company Wirecard, which collapsed last month after saying 1.7billion of cash on its balance sheet probably does not exist. TCI had already filed a criminal complaint against Wirecard in May following allegations of accounting fraud going back years. Hedge funds and short-sellers have been vilified for preying on the misfortunes of corporations and their shareholders. But there is growing acknowledgement that their contrarian approach and reluctance to accept the company line could serve as an early warning system on major strategic missteps or wrongdoing. Activists such as TCI, as well as Elliott, Paulson and Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners, have become both more visible and vocal in recent years. Hohn, who takes both equity stakes as well as short positions, said: 'There's a lot of passiveness in the fund management industry. 'We were very public about [Wirecard]. We were short 1.5 per cent of the company, $250million. But we were very public. We filed a criminal complaint saying this was a fraud, needs to be shut down. We were active. We wrote to the board, said you have to fire the CEO.' He said because TCI's Wirecard investment was 'short' City shorthand for borrowing stock to sell and buying it back later when the price drops it was unable to force change. He added: 'Everyone chose to ignore us. But we took action. And where you're a large shareholder, you can force it. We think it's really quite simple.' Hohn is a powerful voice in the industry and last year became the world's top hedge fund manager after a stellar performance by TCI. His fund grew $8.4billion last year more than any other taking its assets under management up 39 per cent to $30billion. Hohn urged major shareholders to table motions for other investors to vote on at annual shareholder meetings to force change. He said: 'It's about time investors call bulls*** on the asset management industry and say, 'What do you actually do?' It's all right to have some vague thing and say 'we engage'. Well, what does that mean? 'What we've learnt as an activist is it's very easy for a company to ignore you. But when you put an AGM motion [forward], I can assure you the laughter stops.' The 53-year-old, who has donated to climate change group Extinction Rebellion, said fund managers have already acted on pay and created a 'strong precedent' for other issues. Hohn, who wants all companies to reveal their emissions and their plans to reduce them, argues companies which fail to tackle climate change will expose themselves to future financial penalties and costs from increasing regulation, taxation and litigation. He added: 'We don't even need this stuff to be regulated by governments. 'It just takes one or two of the large asset managers to adopt this policy and overnight tremendous pressure would occur on companies to change.' Hohn singled out BlackRock the world's largest asset manager, whose boss Larry Fink has spoken out about pollution by companies of 'greenwash'. He added: 'They have all the votes to table on every single portfolio company they own. 'They can call an AGM motion for a sustainability plan and vote on it. Not every shareholder has enough votes to do so. 'But the big index funds, the big active managers like BlackRock and Vanguard they have enough votes. 'If asset managers are just passive, our position is they should be fired, because not caring about the pollution of a company is like not caring about the balance sheet of a company.' Weve had a lot of conversations with officials demanding change, said Sydelle Moore, an advisory neighborhood commissioner who represents the neighborhood. There is support for these requests. But I want to see more immediate action. For those of us who live here, the agencies that serve us have to do a better job listening to us. A growing number of countries have recently listed Luxembourg as an "at-risk country" and restricted access for Luxembourgish residents. Last Saturday, Denmark put Luxembourg on their blacklist and has completely closed its borders for residents from the Grand-Duchy. Only Portugal and parts of Sweden are also on this list of "banned countries", every other EU member state including Italy and the UK are listed as "safe". Lithuania closed its borders for residents from Sweden, Portugal, and Luxembourg on Monday. Lithuanian residents must also self-isolate if they return from any of the aforementioned countries. While Luxembourgish residents can still travel to Estonia and Latvia, they must go into quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. Slovakia has also put restrictions for Luxembourgish travellers into place: 5 days of quarantine as well as a mandatory test for Covid-19 upon arrival. Slovenia and Romania have chosen a different approach: both of these countries have "green" lists. Residents from countries that are on those lists may travel to Slovenia or Romania without going into quarantine upon arrival. As of 7 July 2020, Luxembourg is on neither of those lists. Luxembourgers must go into quarantine in Slovenia, while in Romania self-isolating is recommended. Cyprus demands a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours before arrival from tourists from Luxembourg and a number of other countries, e.g. the Netherlands and Belgium. While Finland decided to open its borders for a majority of countries from the Schengen area, they will remain closed for Luxembourgish travellers. Norway also announced on Friday afternoon that travellers from Luxembourg must go into quarantine for 10 days upon arrival. Other countries on their blacklist are Sweden, Portugal, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Bulgaria. Luxembourg's Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean Asselborn has addressed the restrictions in an interview with RTL Radio. By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York City prosecutors are very likely to obtain President Donald Trump's tax returns after a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling, but it may not happen before the Nov By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York City prosecutors are very likely to obtain President Donald Trump's tax returns after a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling, but it may not happen before the Nov. 3 election if he argues in lower courts as expected that their request was too broad and made in bad faith, legal experts said. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is seeking eight years of Trump's business and personal tax returns and other financial documents as part of a criminal investigation involving a grand jury into the Republican president and the Trump Organization, his family's real estate business. "I believe the district attorney and the grand jury will get the requested documents, but not right away," said Jessica Roth, a professor at Cardozo School of Law in New York and a former federal prosecutor. "We have many weeks and months of further litigation ahead." The Republican president, a wealthy real estate developer who refused to give up his holdings in the family business after taking office, has fought hard to keep details of his finances secret. Trump has refused to release his tax returns as other presidents have done and sued to try to block enforcement of subpoenas by Democratic lawmakers and prosecutors for his financial records. The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against Trump's bid to block Vance's subpoena to Trump's accounting firm Mazars USA for the financial records, rejecting the president's claim of absolute presidential immunity from criminal proceedings. But the justices sent the matter back to lower courts for further litigation, giving Trump the opportunity to object to the subpoena on other grounds. The ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, said Trump "can challenge the subpoena as an attempt to influence the performance of his official duties. And he can argue that compliance with a particular subpoena would impede his constitutional duties." "We're evaluating the appropriate next course of action," Jay Sekulow, Trump's personal lawyer, said on Friday. Trump could argue that the subpoena is too burdensome or was issued in bad faith because of political motivations, said George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, who testified last year as a Republican witness in House of Representatives Trump impeachment hearings. 'REALLY HARD ARGUMENT' Trump is unlikely to convince a court that the subpoena is too burdensome because it seeks information from Mazars, a third party, and not the president himself, said Harry Sandick, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan. "Burden is a really hard argument to make," Sandick said. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero, who is presiding over the case, said last October he had seen little evidence of political bias in Vance's pursuit of the financial records. Roth said evidence that has been public, including congressional testimony by Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, provides a "reasonable basis" for Vance's investigation. Cohen told lawmakers that Trump had inflated and deflated certain assets on financial statements between 2011 and 2013 in part to reduce his real estate taxes. A loss for Trump before Marrero could still be appealed to the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, likely delaying production of the documents until after the presidential election in which Trump is seeking a second four-year term in office against Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Sandick said he expects that prosecutors will obtain the tax returns from Mazars in late 2020 or early 2021. Roth said prosecutors could get hold of the documents by November if Marrero rules quickly, which he has shown a tendency to do so far, and his ruling is quickly upheld on appeal. Even if the financial records are turned over before the election, they likely would not be made public quickly barring an illegal leak to media, Sandick said. Under U.S. law, grand jury materials must be kept secret, though they could eventually end up in publicly available court filings if a criminal case is brought in the investigation against Trump or someone else. "This process is going to be frustrating for many members of the public," Sandick said. "But it is just the price we pay for having a legal system that lets people make arguments." Vance's investigation was launched after disclosures of hush payments to two women who said they had past sexual relationships with Trump, pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal - relationships he has denied. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Will Dunham) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. [July 11, 2020] Chandigarh University Is Offering Unique 'Computer Science & Business Systems' Engineering Programs in Collaboration With India's Top IT Company TCS Chandigarh, India, July 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The 4 years Undergraduate Engineering Program offers exposure in advanced computer technologies along with learning of management sciences, humanities and human values With changing times, the academic learning all over the world is also witnessing paradigm shift towards the inter-disciplinary approach where students undergo study of courses which has syllabus cut-across the traditional barriers of disciplines. To keep pace with the changing dimensions, Chandigarh University has also joined hands with top notch industry giants to offer such cutting-edge elite programs to the Indian Youth so that their career prospects can be enhanced. It is in this context that Chandigarh University is offering an unique engineering program in the field of 'Computer Science & Business Systems' which offers blended learning opportunity to the students. The 4 year Under-Graduate degree is being offered in joint collaboration with India's top IT Company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The entire course curriculum of the program has been designed by TCS and which is aimed to ensure that the students graduating from the program not only know the core topics of Computer Science but also develop an equal appreciation of humanities, management sciences and human values. The students are exposed to emerging topics such as Analytics, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things etc. to make them industry ready at the end of four years of study. This curriculum has been approved by the Executive Committee of AICTE and is available in the AICTE drop-down menu of nomenclatures for engineering course. Chandigarh University, Mohali has signed a MOU with TCS to offers CSBS program to the students under which TCS will support Chandigarh University by training and developing the university faculty for the subjects offered in the program, organising guest lectures by expert practitioners from the industry, and by engaging in continuous assessment of the students. Additionally, TCS will also offer internship to selected number of students who are undergoing this program and involve them in meaningful projects to provide first-hand exposure to the real-life business problem. "TCS has a long history of partnering with academia to create industry relevant course" said Ranjan Bandyopadhyay, Global Vice President, Human Resources, TCS. He further added that, "Though this program, we are confident to develop bright, committed and ethical Computer Science graduates to address the future human resource needs of Indian IT industry in the era of Business 4.0". Prof. (Dr.) R S Bawa, Vice Chancellor said that, "This tie up with TCS will be benefit the students in enhancing their employability skills by making them capable of using latest computer technology in developing business management system". Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FFiGGC2aFc Media Contact : Prabhdeep Singh, [email protected], 8360473392, Chandigarh University [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] When her father died of covid-19 last month, Kristin Urquiza minced no words assigning blame. Mark Urquiza, 65, should still be alive, his daughter wrote in a scathing obituary, published Wednesday in the Arizona Republic. "His death is due to the carelessness of the politicians who continue to jeopardize the health of brown bodies through a clear lack of leadership, refusal to acknowledge the severity of this crisis, and inability and unwillingness to give clear and decisive direction on how to minimize risk," she wrote. The searing tribute encapsulates the fury of critics who say governments at multiple levels are failing at their most basic duty: keeping citizens safe. The obituary also nods at the outbreak's disproportionate impact on black and Hispanic communities, who have been devastated by higher rates of coronavirus-related hospitalization and death. Among the leaders whom Kristin Urquiza feels disregarded her father, a Mexican American Phoenix resident who worked in manufacturing, are Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, and the Trump administration. Ducey, she said, "has blood on his hands" for beginning to reopen the state in early May, roughly three weeks before new infections started to rise quickly. Patrick Ptak, a spokesperson for Ducey, said in a statement: "Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of Mark Anthony Urquiza. We know nothing can fully alleviate the pain associated with his loss, and every loss from this virus is tragic." A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mark Urquiza rarely left the house while Arizona's stay-at-home order was in place except to do his job, which was deemed essential, his daughter said. He started to go out with friends after Ducey and Trump said people could safely resume their normal lives, even as his daughter begged him to stay home. Kristin Urquiza remembers that as the state continued to reopen, her father told her the governor was encouraging residents to go out in public again. Why would he do that if it were still dangerous? Mark Urquiza asked his daughter. "Despite all of the effort that I had made to try to keep my parents safe, I couldn't compete with the governor's office and I couldn't compete with the Trump administration," Kristin Urquiza said. Inspired by the famous AIDS quilt meant to humanize victims, Kristin Urquiza wrote to Ducey, asking him to attend her father's funeral to see a result of what she called his "inaction and active denial" of the pandemic's effects. Ducey's office, she said, did not reply. Ptak declined to say whether the governor received the letter and whether anyone from his office responded. About three weeks after Arizona's stay-at-home order expired, Mark Urquiza developed a cough and a high fever, according to his daughter. His family arranged for him to take a coronavirus test the next day, but Kristin Urquiza said he never received the result. By June 16, Mark Urquiza felt sick enough that he asked to go to a hospital. There, his daughter said, he tested positive for the virus. Kristin Urquiza said she struggled to get news about her father's condition from his doctors and nurses, who were stretched thin by a surge of patients. Sometimes, she said her family spent hours on the phone with hospital employees, trying desperately to get information. Mark Urquiza died on June 30, four days after entering the ICU. His family never determined how he got infected. A GoFundMe page raised money for his funeral. Since then, Kristin Urquiza said she has felt like a storm is forming inside her body, preparing to bear down on the desert of her home state. She started an ofrenda, a traditional Mexican display to honor the dead, for her father outside the state capitol. When it came time to write his obituary, Kristin Urquiza said, "there was no question in my mind that I wouldn't just say the truth." She has also channeled her rage into a social media campaign called "Marked by Covid," which uses a play on her father's name to spread information about covid-19 in hopes of preventing other families' suffering. She said the Trump administration, for its part, should create an enforceable federal mask requirement and stop downplaying the advice of its health experts. The nation's leaders, Kristin Urquiza said, have failed to lead. "This entire tragedy is the fault of a terrible policy," she said, "and on top of that, inconsistent and embarrassing leadership." A ring in the northern Vietnamese province of Lao Cai earned over VND10 billion (US$429,100) in profit a month by smuggling counterfeit products from China and selling them across the Southeast Asian country via livestreams. The ring was previously busted on Tuesday after officers raided its 10,000-square-meter warehouse in Lao Cai City, the capital of the namesake province. The provincial market surveillance unit has been asked to make a detailed report on the case before transferring it to competent authorities for a comprehensive investigation. Information acquired by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper showed that Tran Thanh Phu, 28, began smuggling fashion and beauty products from Guangzhou, China and storing them at a warehouse at 145 Hoang Dieu Street in Lao Cai City in 2018. Local residents were not aware of what was going on inside the facility as it was securely fenced off and guarded. The warehouse was divided into two main areas. The first area was used to store all smuggled products, where they are sorted into different categories and moved into the second area, where products under different brands are kept in separate, organized sections. The ring conducted its online business in the second area, with dozens of employees tasked with running livestreams using different Facebook accounts to advertise the products, while others are in charge of processing orders and packaging. Trucks of delivery services then entered the warehouse to pick up the goods and deliver them to buyers across the country. The ring processes about 1,000 orders, each containing an average of two to three products, on a daily basis, said Nguyen Ky Minh, an official from the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Approximately 90,000 products were sold every month, bringing in a monthly profit of more than VND10 billion ($429,100). According to Do Duc Bac, head of the Lao Cai market surveillance unit, officers are currently unable further verify the case as Phu the owner of the facility has yet to present himself at the agency for a working session. Preliminary information indicated that the smuggled products were counterfeits of many famous brands, namely Nike, Adidas, LV, Chanel, Gucci, and others, Bac elaborated. The official admitted that the Lao Cai market surveillance unit was not aware of business operations inside the warehouse, citing local officers lack of experience in monitoring online activities. Bac suggested that the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance should establish a specialized division to prevent the online sale of smuggled and counterfeit goods. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Whats concerning during this pandemic is we dont know how effective some of those strategies and measures (to combat heat deaths) can be, said Olga Wilhelmi, a research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research who is studying the intersection of COVID-19 and extreme heat. Do cities make them available to use, and are people willing to use them? On Sept. 23, 2015, Father Keith Chylinski and I drove to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., to attend the canonization of the Franciscan missionary, Father Junipero Serra. At his canonization, Pope Francis observed that Padre Serra always lived by the motto: Siempre Adelante! Always Forward!. The Pontiff recounted that He kept moving forward, because the Lord was waiting. He kept going, because his brothers and sisters were waiting. He kept going forward to the end of his life. According to his writings, this saints dream was to evangelize to those who do not know Jesus. Recently, protestors vandalized and toppled statues of this saint in San Franciscos Golden Gate Park and in the downtown center of Los Angeles. Instead of this violence, a respectful and peaceful debate based on history and facts between indigenous leaders and the Catholic Church would be welcomed by me. Those vandalizing and tearing down statues of this saint do not really know Father Junipero Serras true character and his place in history. St. Junipero did not come to conquer but to be one among the children of God in California. His purpose was to lead them to salvation. This priest was a gentle man who never imposed Catholicism upon the indigenous people but offered them an encounter with Christ by founding nine missions in what is today the state of California. He was a true evangelizer bringing the Word of God to the world. These established missions would become the center of many major cities in the United States as in the Mission District in San Francisco. Father Junipero Serra converted thousands of native Californians to Catholicism and even taught them agricultural techniques and new technologies. Critics have condemned Padre Serra for being a part of an enforced colonization and for engaging in forced labor to build his missions, even accusing him of being abusive. Many blame him for the beating and enslaving of Native Americans. In fact, Father Junipero Serra actually pleaded for the merciful treatment of Native Americas. He protested against colonial oppression and violence. He was a true missionary learning the different languages and cultures of the different indigenous people in the western part of the United States in order to evangelize, protect and live among the people. The many crimes and abuses against indigenous people were easily placed on St. Junipero Serra. He has become the scapegoat for all of the wrongdoings of the colonial period in the western part of the United States. However, when the saint lived in California only 10-20 percent of native people voluntarily decided to live in the missions. Self-sufficient communities were formed in these missions based on Catholicism, but there was also a learning of farming and trades. This saints goal was to create a community based around his mission in which native peoples would gradually come to know the truth of the Gospel. Junipero Serra died in 1784, but it was in 1851 when the first governor of California, Peter Hardeman Burnett, called for a war of extermination against the indigenous people of California and called in the U.S. Calvary. This was decades after the death of Saint Junipero Serra. Unfortunately, there was corporal punishment in the missions as also practiced in the 18th century. Also, some indigenous people died of diseases in the missions. These sicknesses would become the cause of great sorrow for Father Serra. However, the saint realized the anger and the frustration of the native Californians due to their mistreatment, diseases and atrocities. In 1775 a group of indigenous persons attacked and burned a San Diego mission and murdered a priest, Father Luis Jayme, a friend of Padre Serra. The saint called for forgiveness and pardon for the killers, who had been condemned to death. Padre Serra wrote, this mercy would return good for evil and pardon our enemies. Actually, this is the first moral argument against the death penalty in American history. There were many problems in the missions, but there were also problems in the many communities on the eastern coast of the United States at that time. The missions were in fact the living and working together of indigenous people and Spaniards making handicrafts and also farming. Therefore, a new and exciting mestizo culture arose out of these missions with new art, architecture, music, poetry and above all prayers. At his death on August 28, 1784 many friars and indigenous people attended the mass to honor lovingly Padre Viejo, el Santo (the Old Priest, The Saint), On that September day in Washington D.C. in 2015, the day of his canonization, indigenous people danced and sang to celebrate St. Junipero Serra. His feast day is celebrated on July 1st. The canonization of a person does not mean that he or she is perfect or that everything after his or her death, even some perhaps unforeseen or unintended consequences, were necessarily good. If those were the criteria, no one would ever be a saint. I do understand fully of Father Junipero Serras willingness to sacrifice the comforts of a being a priest in Spain and to travel halfway around the world in order to live his life among people he had never seen but whom he loved and to go without many advantages he could have had, are qualities that are consistent with what the church has long held to indicate sanctity. On his feast day the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Most Reverend Jose Gomez, wrote that this great saint Father Junipero Serra preached Gods compassion as he fought for the dignity of women and the rights of Americas native peoples. Our lesson is to learn our history honestly, understand it deeply and celebrate it joyfully. Prayer to St. Junipero Serra O God, who by your ineffable mercy have been pleased through the labors of your priest Saint Junipero Serra to count many American peoples in your Church, grant by his intercession that we may so join our hearts to you in love, as to carry always and everywhere before all people the image of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Saint Junipero Serra, pray for us! Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 14:26:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. decision to quit the World Health Organization (WHO) violates U.S. law and put its health and security at risk, according to a comment published on The Lancet's website Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump announced in May that his country would sever ties with the WHO and terminate funding for this organization. On Monday, the United States notified the United Nations secretary-general of its withdrawal from the WHO. The U.S. exit is unlawful, "because it does not have express approval of Congress to leave WHO," the article said, quoting a Supreme Court precedent as saying that "when the President takes measures incompatible with the expressed or implied will of Congress, his power is at the lowest ebb." Departure from the WHO "would have dire consequences for U.S. security, diplomacy and influence," the comment pointed out. Noting that U.S. agencies, pharmaceutical corporations and labs depend on the WHO Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework to get new influenza virus samples for research and development, it said the withdrawal could make it difficult for the country worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic to develop biological countermeasures to influenza, as the novel coronavirus, besides seasonal influenza, will pose a serious challenge for health system capacities worldwide this autumn. More than 100 countries have joined the Solidarity trial for COVID-19 treatments launched by the WHO, which also leads the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator for COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. "Americans could have limited access to scarce vaccine supplies and are likely to be barred from travel to foreign destinations," as a result of the withdrawal, the comment said. After leaving the WHO, "absent treaty obligations, in a multipolar world, mean there are no guarantees that countries will cooperate with the USA," it said. "The USA cannot cut ties with WHO without incurring major disruption and damage, making Americans far less safe," the comment warned. As for U.S. politicians' blame on WHO for not investigating the COVID-19 outbreak in China and their buck-passing and criticism of China's supposed early COVID-19-related failings, Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet tweeted Wednesday that "Indeed. China should not be 'blamed.' In my view, we should thank Chinese scientists and health workers for their incredibly selfless commitment to attacking this outbreak. They deserve our unconditional gratitude." Enditem - Travellers are enjoying themselves in one of the most amazing hotels in the world, Manta Resort - The resort is on Pemba Island, off the coast of Zanzibar in Tanzania, and it has an underwater room - The room is the most luxurious way to spend time under the ocean Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana! Manta Resort on Pemba Island off the coast of Zanzibar in Tanzania has an underwater room which is regarded as first of its kind. The Manta resort underwater rooms landing deck is the most luxurious way to spend time under the ocean. It has an exquisite lounge area and bathroom facility. There is a step ladder that leads up to the roof which has a lounging area where people can enjoy the stars at night or sunlight during the day. The hotel, which is located 3.9624 metres below sea level, is one of the most amazing hotels in the world, How Africa reports. Manta Resort. Photo credit: How Africa Source: UGC The resort is on Pemba Island, off the coast of Zanzibar in Tanzania, and it has an underwater room. Photo credit: How Africa Source: UGC YEN.com.gh notes that the hotel provides three levels which can only be accessed by going down a step ladder. Manta Resort. Photo credit: How Africa Source: UGC In other news, Chefchaouen, Morocco, is regarded as the bluest city in the world. The city is a popular tourist destination because of its proximity to Tangier and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. It is this beautiful atmosphere of the town that makes Chefchaouen very attractive to visitors. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a Nigerian man who arrived Canada as a student five years ago took to Twitter to share his success story. The man identified as Tunde Omotoye said he arrived Canada five years ago as a student who was unsure of what the future had for him in the North American country. Despite the uncertainty, he revealed that he has launched his own company five years after leaving the shores of Nigeria. According to Omotoye, his company's aim is to help immigrants like him navigate their immigration and career journeys confidently and swiftly. He tweeted: "5 years ago, I arrived Canada. A student, unsure of what the future had for me in Canada. "Today, I launched a Canadian company that will help immigrants like me navigate their immigration and career journeys confidently and swiftly. "Pay close attention to my journey." Faces of Ghana: 21-year-old female boxer's dream of becoming a world champion: Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh KITCHENER Three Kitchener defence lawyers fully support the call by police chiefs to decriminalize personal possession of illicit drugs in Canada. The reality is that the criminal justice system is a blunt instrument that is ill-equipped to deal with addiction issues, Ryan Heighton said in an email on Friday. Judges have a limited tool box with which they can handle cases of simple possession. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police made the decriminalization recommendation on Thursday, saying police should view substance abuse and addiction as a public health issue not a criminal issue. Jailing an addict convicted of possession fixes nothing, Heighton said. In some cases, it can present an even bigger risk because when individuals are forced to stop using (particularly opiates) cold turkey, their tolerance declines, and if they return to using the same dosage as before they were in custody, the risk of overdose is drastically heightened, he said. Defence lawyer Sean Safa agrees. Incarcerating offenders (for possession) has no benefit or deterrence effect, he said. Once the accused is released from custody, without immediate access to treatment, they will resort to street drugs with deadly consequences. Most publicly funded treatment centres have waiting lists of six to nine months, Safa said. Instead of prosecuting simple possession, we should fund education and treatment programs, he said. The police chiefs are calling for boosting access to health care, treatment and social services. If youre down and out and homeless on the street and putting opiates in your body that can kill you, I think youve been punished enough why repunish them? Kitchener defence lawyer Hal Mattson said. Jail does not deter people struggling with addiction, Heighton said. Social and medical supports are the only meaningful way of addressing the problem, he said. Putting money into diversion programs that can help treat addicts could offer great social benefits and reduce the strain on the court and correctional institutions. This has happened elsewhere in the world (Portugal is the most notable example), and it works. With COVID-19 creating a backlog in the court system, there is no better time to meaningfully address these changes. The association of chiefs believes helping drug users get treatment will not only reduce fatal overdoses but also cut property crime and the demand for drugs. Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin, co-chair of the association of chiefs committee on the decriminalization of illicit drugs, said decriminalizing personal possession will allow police to focus on drug traffickers and importers. Tunde Buraimoh According to a report by The PUNCH, the remains of the late lawmaker representing Kosofe Constituency II at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Tunde Buraimoh, was buried at the Ikoyi cemetery on Friday afternoon. Braimoh, who died early Friday after a brief illness, was buried at the Ikoyi cemetery according to Islamic rites. He died at the age of 60. It was learnt that Buraimoh, who was the Assemblys spokesperson, had been absent from the Assemblys Complex for two weeks. The lawmaker representing Kosofe Constituency 1 in the Lagos Assembly, Sanni Okanlawon, had confirmed Buraimohs death. When contacted, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Lagos State, Tunde Balogun, said, It is very sad. It is a great loss to us as a party, his family, Lagos State, and Nigeria as a whole. He is a very eloquent member and a great asset. We lost him at a point when men of his calibre are needed. The lawmaker representing Ojo Constituency I, Victor Akande, also confirmed his demise. He said, It is true that we lost Tunde Braimoh, I could not sleep since 1 am when I learnt about his demise, he is one of those who never toyed with his health. The late lawmaker was the Chairman of Kosofe Local Government between 1999 and 2002. He was also the Bamofin of Ketuland. Born September 30, 1960, Buraimoh attended Ogun State University, Ago-Iwoye where he studied law and graduated in 1988. He was reelected for a second term as a lawmaker on Saturday, March 9. New Delhi, July 11 : The mining industry has once again sought the government's intervention to prevent denial of mining rights to existing mineral explorers under the new reform initiative that seeks to establish a seamless Composite Exploration-cum-Mining-cum-Production License (CEMPL) regime by amending the MMDR Act, 1957. In a letter to Mines Secretary Sushil Kumar, the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) has sought the ministry's intervention to ensure policy certainty and security of existing vested rights under Section 10A(2)(b) of the MMDR Act as it would go a long way in restoring the investors' confidence in the Indian mineral sector. In this regard, the federation has asked the Mines Ministry to immediately organise a stakeholders meeting where all those affected by the repealing of Section 10A (2)(b) can make their submissions. Immediately after the announcement of new reform initiative as part of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat package' by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in May, the FIMI had shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking similar relief for existing miners. "...we gather from media reports that Government intends to do away with Section 10A(2)(b) of the MMDR Act, 1957 wherein existing concessionaires (RP/PL holders or reconnaissance permit and prospecting license holders) have already been guaranteed seamless transition to the mining stage. This would amount to 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'," it had said in its letter to the PM. "...we request you to kindly advise the Ministry of Mines to ensure/protect the rights of existing concessionaires by not removing or tweaking Section 10A(2)(b) and in fact bring in provisions where existing concessionaires covered under Section 10A(2)(b) are immediately granted mining rights seamlessly," the letter signed by FIMI Secretary General R.K. Sharma had said. As part of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package announced by the Finance Minister, she had also announced a structural reform initiative for the mineral sector that allows offering composite mineral exploration licences to bidders. About 500 mineral blocks would be offered to companies under this regime. The FIMI has said that while the reform initiative for the mineral sector was welcome, it should not come at the cost of existing investors and explorers who have have invested huge resources and long years to undertake risky exploration activities and have helped India to discover valuable mineral deposits. "Hundreds of PL and RPs have been issued to mineral companies in India. The 2015 amendment to the MMDR Act gave them hope of getting mining leases of mineral bearing areas that have been explored and prospected by them. But, if changes in the legislation makes every thing available prospectively without benefit being extended to existing license holders", the FIMI had said in its letter to the PM, "it will lead to irreparable loss of investor confidence in the Indian mineral sector, apart from multiple litigations in courts". Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD)(NYSE:EGO) announced on Friday a Q2 2020 preliminary production of 137,782 ounces of gold, a 50% increase over Q2 2019. Gold production at Kisladag mine in western Turkey increased by 130% over Q2 2019, and 19% over Q1 2020. Increased production was due to higher grade and tonnes of stacked ore and increased solution grades due to drier weather in June, the company said. Production at Olympias gold-silver-lead-zinc mine in northern Greece increased by 159% over Q2 2019 and 18% over Q1 2020. This reflects the work completed at Olympias over the past year to increase underground development and backfilling, which has resulted in increased tonnes processed, Eldorado said in a release. Production at Efemcukuru underground mine in Turkey was slightly lower than Q1 2019 due to higher grades processed during the quarter. Eldorado resumed its Lamaque gold mine on April 15, following a three-week mandated shutdown by the government of Quebec to address the covid-19 pandemic. Production increased in Q2 2020 (33,095 ounces) compared to Q1 2020 (27,353 ounces) due to higher grades and an increase in tonnes mined per day enabled by the recently received Certificate of Authorization from the Quebec Ministry of Environment. Midday Friday, Eldorados stock was up 3.3% on the NYSE. The company has a $1.82 billion market capitalization. By Mining.com More Top Reads From Safehaven.com: Climate change will leave some farmers with a difficult conundrum, according to a new study by researchers from Cornell University and Washington State University: Either risk more revenue volatility, or live with a more predictable decrease in crop yields. As water shortages and higher temperatures drive down crop yields in regions that depend heavily on seasonal snow, the choice to use more drought-tolerant crop varieties comes at a cost, according to model projections detailed in the paper "Water Rights Shape Crop Yield and Revenue Volatility Tradeoff for Adaptation in Snow Dependent Systems," published June 10 in Nature Communications. The study examined the Yakima River Basin in Washington, where a complex combination of snow, reservoirs and water rights controls the availability of irrigation water. That water dictates the success of some of the U.S.' largest producers of wheat, corn, potatoes, pears, cherries, grapes, apples and hops. With proper snowfall and melt, total agricultural productivity in the basin can reach more than $4 billion a year. The research team sought to quantify climate change's direct and indirect effects on irrigated agriculture in the basin. Researchers also wanted to know if drought-resistant crop varieties could help recover productivity during times of drought. Climate risk modeling is a specialty of Patrick Reed, the Joseph C. Ford Professor of Engineering at Cornell's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. In this collaborative study, Reed's group built on prior research at Washington State University that developed a modeling platform connecting crop growth and development, land-surface hydrology and river-system processes. The model simulates dam operations and prioritizes the allocation of water among different sectors within the Yakima River Basin. The team found that higher water stress and temperatures led to lower crop yield, as anticipated, said Keyvan Malek, a postdoctoral researcher in Reed's group and lead author of the study. advertisement "However, the models show that year-to-year variability in expected crop yields goes down because the difference between the best and worst case yields is reduced," said Malek. "While this is not a positive result, year-to-year fluctuations in crop yield revenue are strongly important in how crop insurance programs balance revenue fluctuations." The team then used its model to explore the potential of new drought-tolerant crop varieties, which are expected to improve annual yields under climate change. The results showed that although those varieties could significantly improve the average yield, farmers could also experience much higher revenue volatility from crop production. "Typical and best-case annual yields are much higher," said Jennifer Adam, Berry Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Washington State University and co-author of the study. "But climate change still is likely to cause severe droughts where current water management institutions in the Yakima River Basin simply cannot provide enough water, and there are severe worst-case crop failures." The researchers argue that the best outcomes for crop yield and revenue volatility must be through a simultaneous improvement in crop varieties -- for example, by preserving agrobiodiversity -- and in water systems, such as through improvements in water-governing institutions and infrastructure. It is important to carefully capture a snow-dependent region's specific management constraints while being innovative with climate adaptation strategies, the researchers said. "Otherwise, systems may unintentionally strike the wrong balance as they trade off improving average yields and farmers' revenue volatility," Reed said. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation's Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems program. Since effectively securing the Democratic nomination in April, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has focused his low-profile campaign on hammering President Trumps handling of the coronavirus epidemic. We rounded up some inaccurate claims in his recent remarks. Mr. Biden misleadingly suggested he had recommended specific interventions that would have saved tens of thousands of lives. What Mr. Biden Said Theres a study out of Columbia University and a disease control center up there. They pointed out that if he had listened to me and others and acted just one week earlier to deal with this virus, thered be 36,000 fewer people dead. in an interview in May on the radio program The Breakfast Club This is misleading. A study by infectious disease modelers at Columbia University did find that about 36,000 deaths could have been prevented through early May had social distancing measures been enacted by March 8, rather than in mid-March. But there is no record of Mr. Biden urging adoption of those measures before March 8, nor does Mr. Trump have the power to compel their nationwide enforcement. The study estimated the combined effects of all intervention practices including mask wearing, travel restrictions, business and school closings and shelter-in-place orders as they were varyingly applied and complied with over time on a county-by-county basis, said Jeffrey Shaman, a professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University and a co-author of the study. Pompeo says "very hopeful" to continue U.S.-DPRK dialogue People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 08:55, July 10, 2020 WASHINGTON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the United States is "very hopeful" to continue dialogue with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at various levels, though the latter has signaled its unwillingness to do so. "We're very hopeful that we can continue to have this conversation, whether that's at levels beneath the summit, or if it's appropriate and there is a useful activity to take place, to have senior leaders get back together as well," Pompeo said during a press briefing when asked whether another U.S.-DPRK summit is possible before the U.S. presidential election in November. "As for who and how and timing, I just don't want to talk about that today," he added. President Donald Trump suggested earlier this week that he is open to another summit with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un. "I understand they want to meet and we would certainly do that," Trump said in an interview with Gray Television's Greta Van Susteren. "I would do it if I thought it was going to be helpful," added Trump. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and special envoy for DPRK Stephen Biegun also noted that Washington is ready for talks with Pyongyang. "When Chairman Kim appoints a counterpart to me who is prepared and empowered to negotiate on these issues, they will find us ready at that very moment," Biegun said Wednesday in Seoul. "I believe this is very much possible. President Trump has given us his full support to continue this effort," he noted. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said last week that his country would make all-out efforts to let the DPRK and the United States hold talks before the U.S. presidential election. Pyongyang, however, has expressed its unwillingness for more talks with Washington. Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the Department of U.S. Affairs of the DPRK's Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday that the DPRK was unwilling to talk face to face with the United States, urging South Korea to stay away from meddling in Pyongyang's affairs. Denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since the Hanoi summit between the two leaders in February 2019 ended with no agreement. Tensions escalated on the peninsula as the DPRK demolished the inter-Korean liaison office building in the DPRK's border city of Kaesong last month in protest against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent across the border by South Korean civic group activists, mostly defectors from the DPRK. Pyongyang has cut off all communication lines with Seoul. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Javicia Leslie will soon become a household name as the star of The CWs Batwoman. She is taking over for Ruby Rose, who left the show. But youve likely seen Leslie in a number of other projects before her superhero debut. Javicia Leslie | Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Vivienne Hu Javicia Leslie is the new lead of Batwoman, replacing Ruby Rose In May, news broke last month that Rose was leaving the show. While it was shocking information, it wasnt all that surprising to most fans. Rose had was injured early in the shows production, and overall, it just seemed to make sense that she possibly may not be gelling with the show. She also had a rough bout on social media, having to leave for a bit after she was bullied and harassed by fanboys when she was first cast in the role. I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season, she said at the time. This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew, and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles. It soon surfaced that the network would not be replacing Rose in the character of Kate Kane. Instead, it would introduce a new character, Ryan Wilder. This week, it was announced Javicia Leslie had been tapped for the new lead role, becoming the first Black actress to play Batwoman. As Leslie identifies as bisexual, It is also keeping with the shows interest in having an LGBTQ actress play the character. RELATED: Ruby Rose Hated the Hectic Batwoman Schedule, Source Reveals In a statement, Leslie said, I am extremely proud to be the first Black actress to play the iconic role of Batwoman on television, and as a bisexual woman, I am honored to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community. You likely know her from God Friended Me Leslies first major role on television was in the CBS light drama series, God Friended Me. She was one of the series regular, starring alongside Brandon Micheal Hall, Violett Beane, Suraj Sharma, Joe Morton, and Erica Gimpel. The series followed Miles Finer (Hall), a staunch atheist who receives a friend request on Facebook from God. The account changes his life, giving him friend suggestions for people who need his assistance in some way, shape, or form. Leslie played Miles sister, Ali Finer. The show, which developed a following, was canceled after two seasons on the network, running from 2018-2020. She also had main roles in this movie and this television show Leslie can also be seen in the BET series, Carl Webers The Family Business. The first season of the show aired on BET and the second season is currently airing on BET+. Based on the book series, the show follows the Duncans, a prominent family from Jamaica, Queens who are an upstanding family by day and live a dangerous secret life by night. In the series, she plays Paris Duncan. The actress also played the lead role in Always a Bridesmaid, a recent BET movie written by Yvette Nicole Brown. The film also starred Leslies God Friended Me co-star Brandon Michael Hall, Jordan Calloway, Michelle Mitchenor, Meagan Tandy, Bernard David Jones, and more. Five killed as bus careens off cliff in Central Highlands A bus has been upturned after plunging off a cliff in Kon Tum Province, July 11, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Tran Hoa. At least five people died and 35 others were injured when a bus plunged off a cliff in Kon Tum Province on Saturday morning. At around 4 a.m. the sleeper bus with 40 passengers including nine children was driving up the Ngoc Vinh mountain pass in the Central Highlands province when it went off the road and fell into a ravine 20 meters below. Five killed as bus careens off cliff in Central Highlands Oto giuong nam lao xuong vuc, 6 nguoi chet Officials check a bus that plunged off a cliff in Kon Tum Province, July 11, 2020. Video by Tran Hoa. By 11 a.m., officials confirmed that five people had died and of the 28 injured, 26 had been taken to a medical center in Ngoc Hoi District while the other two were admitted in critical condition to the Kon Tum General Hospital. "The bus was smashed so badly, so rescue forces had to cut it into two to get the victims out," said Nguyen Xuan Huong, a spokesman of Kon Tums Traffic Safety Department. The bus was traveling from Thanh Hoa Province, around 1,000 km to the north. Its driver said the bus's brakes had failed and led to the fall. Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, who is also the chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, instructed local authorities to quickly rescue the trapped victims and test the driver for alcohol and drugs. Road crashes are a major cause of death in Vietnam. They've killed an average 17 people every day this year. [UPDATE] The casualty was raised to six on Sunday morning as a 72-year-old man succumbed to brain injuries. Sometime in the next few days, Justin Trudeau will promise to consult the ethics commissioner about any future plans to let charities hand out government money. This is not a leak of the prime ministers intentions; it is a prediction, based on how he has handled ethics transgressions of the past. The newest one is Trudeaus connection to the WE charity, hand-picked by his own government to dole out nearly $1 billion in pandemic-relief efforts for students: a choice that has since gone from reversal to regrets to really big trouble. Its not the first time things have gone so badly this way for Trudeau and thats the baffling thing. If this was a binge-watching series, viewers would have seen the hints in previous seasons. First there is the denial and doubling-down. Then there is the retraction, accompanied by revelations that things are worse than originally reported. Then comes the prime ministers promise to do better. After more than four years in power, this shouldnt have become a habit. Trudeaus ethical problems with the WE charity were magnified exponentially on Thursday when it was revealed that his mother and brother had enjoyed financial benefits from their association with WE. Thanks to revelations by CBC and Canadaland, we now know that Margaret Trudeau received $250,000 in honorariums for speaking at 28 WE events between 2016 and 2020. Alexandre Trudeau, or Sacha, as hes known, was paid $32,000 in speaking fees between 2017 and 2018. The fact that this is news to Canadians is one thing. The fact that it is news to the Trudeau government or seems to be is a clear sign that little has been learned from previous ethical lapses. While the payouts to Trudeaus family date back to his time as prime minister, this particular controversy has echoes of his past, even before he gained power. Trudeau, many will remember, came under significant political heat for his own time on the charity speaking circuit back in 2013, when it was revealed he had been accepting money for speeches while he was an MP. As is the pattern, first Trudeau defended it, then offered to repay the fees. So there was the first red flag in this current controversy: did the PM, or anyone around him, ask whether there was a speaking-fee problem here? As it happens, there was: nearly $300,000 of it. (Oddly enough, thats roughly around the same amount $277,000 that Trudeau had offered to pay back on his own speaking-circuit controversy back in 2013.) Then there was the ethics problem with his trip to the Aga Khans island in 2016; a trip that came about because of longstanding relationships with Trudeaus wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, as well as Margaret Trudeau. Is this starting to sound familiar? Then, as now, the trip was vigorously defended by the PMO, until it was revealed that the Aga Khan runs a charity that receives millions of dollars from the government. The ethics commissioner ruled the trip was a violation of the rules. Trudeau said: It is important that as we move forward, we learn from this mistake. One of the mistakes was not doing the due diligence beforehand. Another one was refusing to acknowledge it as a mistake when the initial questions were asked. But it seems to be a perpetual Trudeau impulse; perhaps best illustrated by his initial statements when the SNC-Lavalin scandal of 2019 first hit the news. The story was, in Trudeaus now memorable words, false. It wasnt false, but this also seemed to be news to Trudeau and his team throughout the weeks and months that the new facts emerged about the political-legal knot of pressure surrounding a favoured Canadian corporation. The ethics commissioners findings after that controversy had Trudeau vowing to do better, too. We recognize the way that this happened shouldnt have happened, Trudeau said. The WE charity fiasco has all the ingredients of ethics lapses past. Theres the troubling closeness of his wife and his mother to a charity-turned-government contractor. Sophie and Margaret Trudeau, lets not forget, were in London for a WE charity event that brought the COVID-19 pandemic literally to the PMs home in early March. Shades there of the too-close relationship with the Aga Khan. Throw in trouble with speaking fees and what rules the government is willing to blur for the sake of jobs (SNC or student jobs) and it feels like weve seen this movie before. Critics of the government love when history repeats itself; it establishes patterns easy for the public to understand. Trudeau, it seems, cant resist them either. Next comes the promise to do better. Correction July 10, 2020: This column was edited to note that while Justin Trudeau offered to repay $277,000 in speaking fees he earned in 2013, its not known how much he actually did pay back. As well, Trudeau has been prime minister for more than five years, not four as previously stated. For all the hysterical clamour the last four years about building a wall in North America, it turns out the most important one, the one keeping a nation free from pestilential invaders from the south, is the border between Canada and the United States. To the north of that now-closed line, Canada is as CNN recently reported crushing the curve of coronavirus cases. To the south, the richest, most powerful, most technologically developed nation on Earth leads the world in COVID-19 cases and death. In Ontario, there were no new deaths on Monday. In the U.S. especially the south and southwest, in Florida and Texas and California, reopenings have been halted and closures reannounced as numbers of those infected surged. To add insult to mounting American injury, the European Union has reopened to Canadians, but not Americans. There can be gratitude in all this, but certainly no gladness or gloating. Its a terrible thing for an old, dear friend to watch America as a result of its wilful blindness, contempt for science and gross mishandling of the pandemic descend to the status of a pariah state. Just as it was jarring though hardly wrong to see the Irish commentator Fintan OToole say recently that the world now looks on the U.S. of President Donald Trump with a new emotion. Pity. The Atlantics George Packer described in one searing paragraph recently just how pitiful the former promised land of the planet had become. When the virus came here, it found a country with serious underlying conditions, and it exploited them ruthlessly. Chronic ills a corrupt political class, a sclerotic bureaucracy, a heartless economy, a divided and distracted public had gone untreated for years. The crisis demanded a response that was swift, rational and collective, Packer said. Instead, it got Donald Trumps singular ignorance, delusion and pathological instinct to see everything, even matters of life and death, in political terms. In his 2018 book, The Fifth Risk, which warned of perils the Trump government might face, Michael Lewis said the United States government might be the most complicated organization on the face of the Earth. Yet it has been run as if it were a one-man corner store. And with coronavirus, the bill for that failure came due. The last sentence in Lewiss book explained why attention to the world beyond ones own experience and instincts and borders is essential. Its what you fail to imagine that kills you. With Trump, there has been delusion, but little imagination. There is also endlessly recurring petulance, as illustrated in a pithy headline this week on a New York Magazine piece on the pandemic: United States, World Leader in COVID-19 Deaths, to Leave WHO. So, why has Canada done better? Part values, part experience, part humility of people and their leadership, part consistency of government messaging. At core, our national DNA favours the collective during a crisis that has demanded collective action, mutual sacrifice, looking out for the other rather than insistence on personal liberty and pursuit of happiness. Many of the characteristics frequently cited as negatives in comparing Canada to the U.S. our smaller size, our humility, our greater trust in government, our commitment to community and social services, no sense of our own mythic exceptionalism have become assets in this crisis. As well, there was the experience with SARS in 2003, which hit Canada hard, was almost unfelt in the U.S., and served as a warning on the nature and threat of novel infectious diseases. After SARS, Canada redesigned the federal-provincial relationship on public health and infectious diseases. Our public systems are more amenable to coherent reaction to widespread crisis than the private institutions in the U.S Perhaps most important, the prime minister while inevitably imperfect has appeared calm, measured, appropriate, while chief public officers of health have become leading voices. In Canada, unlike the United States, the partisan cudgels were put aside mercifully avoiding the vexation of states forced to deal with what Washington wouldnt, and governors putting political affiliation and loyalty to the president ahead of science and medical expertise. On CNN, for instance, there was astonishment that Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland had become confidants during the crisis. It was as if, the reporter sputtered, a Democratic governor had praised the vice-president. Canadian success has engendered confidence. This week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a pass on meeting in Washington with Trump and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to discuss the new trade agreement among the three countries. Also this week, the Star reported on economic experts saying escalating infections in the U.S. mean the border must remain closed to non-essential travel. A Nanos poll found that, for all the economic cost attached to the measure, and all the disruption to summer vacation plans, more than 80 per cent of Canadians agreed. Its pretty sad but we can understand why the border is closed and cant open right now, Beth Potter, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, told the Star. How practically and rationally and unselfishly Canadian. Burlington County Freeholder Latham Tiver (left), Freeholder Deputy Director Balvir Singhand (center) and Freeholder Director Tom Pullion (right) standing for a prayer at the beginning of a meeting in January of 2019. Read more New Jersey lawmakers want to replace the title of county freeholder, a slave-era term rooted in racist attitudes and practices and offensive to Black people and women, and change it to commissioner. Two powerful Democrats announced Thursday that lawmakers will consider legislation next week to abolish the title and require county governments to stop using the term to describe their top elected officeholders. Gov. Phil Murphy expressed support also, saying the word is outdated. New Jersey is the only state that still uses the odd, centuries-old title chosen freeholder for officials that in most states are called commissioners. Previous attempts to change it fell short. Lawmakers say they were prompted, in part, to reintroduce a bill sponsored by State Sen. Joe Pennacchio, (R., Morris), in light of the civil rights movement ignited by the slaying of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. We are committed to forever ridding from our state, long past overdue the word freeholder, Murphy said at a Friday briefing. It is high time this name went into the dustbin of history, and Im very happy were going to do it. READ MORE: Is the term 'freeholder' offensive? Some N.J. lawmakers say it is. According to Senate President Stephen Sweeney, (D., Gloucester), the title is derived from an old-English term that referred to free land owners at a time when only white men could own property. The property could include enslaved people. Sweeney, a former Gloucester County freeholder, said the title is mired in the language of slavery. When the term was first used in the 1500s, it described who was eligible to hold public office white males who owned land and were free from debt. Black people and women could not own property, thus barring them from holding elected office. Its very offensive, Loretta Winters, president of the Gloucester County chapter of the NAACP, said Friday. The change is long overdue. To be called a freeholder is an insult today. Burlington County Freeholder Director Felicia Hopson, the first Black Democrat to hold the position in the predominantly white county, called the possible change refreshing. She said she was surprised to learn about the origin of the word when she ran for office in 2018. For it to happen now and in this Black lives movement speaks volumes, said Hopson, of Willingboro. We really need to look at all facets of systemic racism. Several other freeholders, including Jeff Nash, a longtime member of the Camden County Board of Chosen Freeholders, agree with the proposed change. Nash opposed the bill in 2018, saying then that the Legislature had more important issues to tackle. READ MORE: The Democrats take charge in Burlington County. They want to dump the Pinelands chairman, stop the pipeline. If it represents something that is not viable today or meaningful, it should be changed, said Nash, a Democrat, who has been a freeholder for nearly three decades. Its not going to change my passion for the job. Previously, the bill received pushback from other freeholders, including the Southern New Jersey Freeholders Association, which objected because the change would cost thousands of dollars to replace signs, ballots, and stationery. Others said the word commissioner is too common in the state. Voters in each county elect freeholders; typically five to seven members who serve three-year terms. They manage taxpayer-funded budgets, oversee property, parks, jails, roadways, and govern county affairs. Changing the title would help alleviate confusion outside New Jersey and among residents because not many know what their elected representatives do, Pennacchio said. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, (D., Middlesex), expressed support in a joint statement with Murphy and Sweeney. Its the right thing to do, said Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli. Its a very strange term. If enacted, the legislation would require New Jerseys 21 counties to change the title of chosen freeholder to county commissioner and board of chosen freeholders to board of county commissioners. It would also require counties to update their letterheads, stationery, websites, and other documents within a year, but not if replacing them would cost county taxpayer funds. The bill, S-855, will be considered by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee at its July 16 meeting. Staff writer Rob Tornoe contributed to this article. Its going to be a long, hot summer made even more difficult to maneuver thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Houstons restaurants and bars are doing their part to shake and stir our spirits as the city continues to negotiate how it eats and drinks. Here are some ideas for classic cocktails and inventive new libations for the summer. The Dunlavy at Buffalo Bayou Park has morphed into a summerlong pop-up called Daddys Burgers that includes a lineup of refreshing cocktails such as the Lost Lake Margarita; Pineapple Express, made with Bulleit Bourbon; the Rose Spritz; mimosas; and Daddys G&T, concocted with muddled cucumber and mint. 3422 Allen Parkway, 713-360-6477; daddysburgershouston.com Turners The luxe jewelbox restaurant tucked under the Annie Cafe & Bar offers up a slate of classic cocktails including Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, Negronis and Martinis to sip with chef Robert Del Grandes indulgent menu of Dover sole, Lobster Thermidor, shellfish towers and caviar. 1800 Post Oak, 713-804-1212; turnershouston.com Backstreet Cafe Travel boldly through the cocktail menu at Hugo Ortegas popular patio restaurant that boasts a list of drinks including the Passport, Please Daiquiri, made with Diplomatic rum, pineapple brandy, lime and prickly pear syrup. 1103 S. Shepherd, 713-521-2239; backstreetcafe.net Hugos Tequila and mezcal rule the cocktail menu at Hugos iconic Mexican restaurant, which features new summer libations including Smoke on the Vine, made with Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, violet liqueur, blackberry, lemon and lavender. 1600 Westheimer, 713-524-7744; hugosrestaurant.net Verandah Progressive Indian Restaurant For summer, the chic Indian restaurant has begun a Teas and Toddies menu that includes afternoon tea and happy-hour food and drink specials including cocktails such as Mirchi Mumtaz, made with vodka, mango juice and spicy chile. 3300 Kirby, 281-501-0258; verandahrestaurant.com Red Dwarf This new music venue, coffee shop and cocktail bar in the former Mongoose Versus Cobra space in Midtown offers a wide selection of craft cocktails from owners Shan Pasha, Sarina Pasha and James Koby Boren. 1011 McGowen; reddwarfhtx.com Hungrys Cafe Refreshing cocktails aplenty at Houstons popular Hungrys restaurants, including Just Beet It, made with infused tequila, beet, lemon and ginger. 2356 Rice, 713-523-8652 and 14714 Memorial, 281-493-1520; hungryscafe.com Monkeys Tail This neighborhood bar and restaurant excels at imaginative craft cocktails such as Jalapeno Mouth, made with mezcal, liquid smoke and jalapeno saline water garnished with blue cheese and bacon. 5802 Fulton, 713-842-7188; monkeystailhou.com Goode Co. Armadillo Palace Let the Goode times roll at the iconic Armadillo Palace with summer sippers such as the Feisty Sandia, made with gin, fresh watermelon juice, chile liqueur, lime and prosecco. 5015 Kirby, 713-526-9700; thearmadillopalace.com With barely six months to the general elections in December, political leaders who intend to contest for the presidency have begun making promises to the electorate but none has so far outdoored a manifesto. In one of her streaks of promises, the founder and leader of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Madam Akua Donkor has said every journalist in the country would be given a car to aid them in their very essential duties should she win the election to become president in 2021; teachers and personnel of the Ghana Police Service would also benefit from the car package but the policemen would have to pay for the vehicles on installments. Journalists would also have their cars fueled for free by the state in the period that she would be president, she said in an interview with Kumasi-based Angel FM. This country will collapse should journalists decide not to do their work in just two days; so journalists are very important and that is why I have promised to give each of them a car when I become the president; I will also give cars to teachers but if I give cars to the policemen, they would have to pay for them on installments, but that of the journalists and teachers would be for free because their work is very difficult and essential, she explained. She was commenting on the choice of Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as the running mate to the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama when she made the promise. It doesnt matter that she was once the head of a university, Ghanaians will vote against them; she was there and endorsed Mahamas decision to cancel the Teacher Trainees Allowances so she must not expect to get any votes from teachers, she said. Madam Akua Donkor has since 2012 expressed her interest to become the President of Ghana but she has never had the chance to be on the ballot paper; in both 2012 and 2016, she was disqualified by the Electoral Commission from contesting in the polls, but she has since been unperturbed. I am coming and very prepared to win the elections this year, she told Nana Kwame Adjei Bohyen in the interview when she was asked about her intentions for the December 2020 polls. Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission has set October 2, 2020 to begin receiving nomination forms from eligible presidential and parliamentary aspirants from all political parties and independent candidates for the December polls. 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 Seven people, who allegedly attempted to disrupt ongoing voter registration at the Bethel registration centre on Tuesday, at Accra New Town, have been arrested by the police. The suspects, (names withheld for security reasons) who allegedly were wielding cutlasses invaded the registration centre and scared away potential voters, were arrested by the security personnel deployed there. They are currently in police custody assisting with investigations. The Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Frederick Adu Anim, who confirmed the arrest to the Ghanaian Times in Accra on Thursday, said the suspects were in police custody assisting in investigations. He said that while the voter registration exercise was going on at the Bethel registration centre, two young men (names withheld) were seen with cutlasses at the place. According to DCOP Anim, the policemen on duty arrested the suspects and handcuffed them. He said while the suspects were being escorted to a waiting Kotobabi district patrol vehicle to be taken to the police station, a group of young men numbering about seven believed to be sympathizers of the suspects attacked the police and freed the suspects. DCOP Aim said the two suspects were re-arrested and the handcuffs retrieved, adding that five of the suspects were also apprehended. 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. Featured Video This month, some local Boy Scouts have partnered with the Hudson County Genealogical and Historical Society to clean headstones within Soldiers Circle at Arlington Cemetery in Kearny. Leading the clean-up effort is Kearny resident Eliot Jablonski, 15. Eliot, who goes by the name Eli, is working towards his Eagle rank and is running the clean-up as his Eagle project with Scout Unit 305 of St. Stephens Roman Catholic Church in Kearny. Other Scouts helping out earn service hours to use towards other goals, but for them and for Eli, its much more than a project. The reason we remember people is because theyve done something great for us, Eli says. These men and women have shown their patriotism by serving in the military, and its only right that we show our respect by cleaning these gravestones to give them honor. If we let them remain dirty, its like were throwing them away. The stones are telling a story and we need to help tell the story by cleaning them. Altogether, it will be more than 700 stories being told, encompassing burials from the Civil War to Vietnam. Over last weekend, the Scout, along with members of the HCGHS and other volunteers, had cleaned more than 500 headstones. In order to clean the headstones, Eli says, they are first sprayed down with water and then volunteers apply a bio-friendly solution called D/2 (also used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Park Service for monument cleaning) that is not harmful to plant or animal life. After allowing the solution to work its magic, tongue depressors are used to scrape some of the grime and lichen that tends to grow on the stones surfaces and the entire surface is scrubbed with a brush. Finally, toothbrushes are used to clean lettering and detail work before the markers are rinsed by cascading water over the stone. The project was sponsored by the Hudson County Genealogical and Historical Society after HCGHS President Doreen Bloomer approached cemetery officials asking about restoring the Soldiers Circle gravestones and was referred to officials from the N.J. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, who has oversight over that part of the cemetery (Note: Danny Klein is a founding member of the HCGHS). After getting the go ahead from DMAVA, the HCGHS recruited Eli, who took the lead on the project from there. Soldiers Circle is overseen by the Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Cemetery in Wrightsville. Bloomer says she would like to thank N.J. DMAVA Acting Deputy Commissioner for Veterans Affairs Col. (Ret.) Walter R. Nall, Acting Director of Veterans Services Patty Richter and Iven Dumas, superintendent of Doyle Cemetery for their assistance with the project. Despite the division running through our country today, it is heartening to see these teens pitch in to honor those who served our country. It gives one hope for the future Danny Klein is a librarian at the Jersey City Free Public Librarys New Jersey Room and a founding member of the Hudson County Genealogical and Historical Society. He can be reached at hudsongenealogy@gmail.com or @HudsonGenealogy on Twitter. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 23:27:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KATHMANDU, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A downward trend of new COVID-19 cases in Nepal continued as the Nepali government reported less than 100 newly confirmed cases on Saturday. "The number of new COVID-19 cases in the country in the last 24 hours stood at 70," said Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson of Nepal's health ministry at a press briefing on Saturday. Officials said the decreasing number of the inflow of Nepalis from abroad was behind the rapid decline in new cases. "The number of Nepalis coming from abroad in a day has come down to around 3,000 a day from over 25,000 a day when the cases were surging," Gautam told Xinhua. According to the country's health ministry, over 95 percent of the cases are imported ones. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said the Nepali government has been preparing to conduct tests among 45,000 people, who work in high risk areas such as hospitals and bank counters. Enditem Stunned: Carmel Sheehan with her daughter Kerri Dowling near their home in Kilcock, Co Kildare. Photo: Frank McGrath A mother of a child with Down syndrome has criticised the HSE, saying she was told her daughter would have to wait until 2029 for an MRI with general anaesthetic. Carmel Sheehan (39), from Kilcock, Co Kildare, is a full-time carer for her daughter Kerri (15), who has Down syndrome and juvenile arthritis. Read More If Kerri was to wait until 2029, she would be 24 and no longer in child health services. On Thursday, the mother took to social media to write to the new Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, after she was told it would be a nine-year wait for the procedure. Yesterday, Ms Sheehan still hadn't received a response. She wrote: "@DonnellyStephen so I've just been on to Crumlin Hospital wondering when my daughter's MRI will be done, which we had a date for (August) pre Covid... To be told our new date is 2029!!!! "This better be addressed ASAP. There is no way I will stand for this, no way." Ms Sheehan told the Irish Independent Kerri takes the drug Humira to help with the pain associated with arthritis. But this medication can cause serious side-effects, including cancer, she said. Kerri has to be regularly monitored with blood tests to ensure her health isn't negatively affected. She was also meant to undergo MRIs every six to nine months, to help monitor the drug, Ms Sheehan said. "The drug is really important for Kerri, it controls the arthritis," Ms Sheehan said. "She's meant to get an MRI to see if the drug is working or not. She's been on it since last September. And we don't know if it's working, or not. "Kerri is non verbal and puts up with so much pain, we need this MRI to know if the drug is working because she can't tell me. "We were told in January the MRI would take place in August. "I totally understood a bit of a delay was likely, due to Covid-19, but a nine-year wait. "It's appalling. I am actually stunned." Children with Down syndrome are at an increased risk of developing arthritis and Ms Sheehan said the general anaesthetic was a necessity for Kerri, as she could not cope with the procedure unless she was put in a sleep-like state. "It's a mess, we have two paediatric rheumatologists in Ireland, the lowest rate in Europe; we need six for a country our size," Ms Sheehan said. "There's no full-time pain consultant specialist in Crumlin. If Kerri is in pain, I've no one to refer her to. "It's a case of she has to just stay in pain. We were seen in January and Kerri was assessed. "They suspected the arthritis was more in her joints than they'd previously thought. "I asked for a date for the MRI and they told me it would be around nine months, so that should have been the end of August. "I couldn't believe it when I rang Crumlin on Thursday and was told it would be 2029. "I couldn't believe my ears. I got off the phone and rang the MRI section, they repeated it - 2029. "Kerri is 15 now, so she won't be in Crumlin then - she'll be an adult. In the meantime I'm expected to pump the drugs into her without knowing if they are working. "The drugs suppress her immune system, so she picks up colds or viruses very easily. Right now during the pandemic, she can't leave the house." A spokesman for Children's Health Ireland (CHI) said: "CHI regrets the cancellation of any in-patient and day case procedure that patients and their families endure. "CHI is working closely with the HSE in relation to planning and delivering care in the new normal and in the context of the overall service continuity plan for the health system. "CHI cannot comment on individual cases. Maintaining a client's confidentiality is an ethical requirement for CHI. "When a client or family makes personal information public, this does not relieve the hospital of its duty to preserve/uphold client confidentiality at all times." Meanwhile, the Irish Independent also asked the Department of Health for a response and mentioned the mother's social media message to Mr Donnelly. "The minister is not in a position to comment on individual cases," a spokeswoman said. Ms Sheehan added that she believed children with special needs were discriminated against and she was angered that 1.7bn was being ploughed into the new National Children's Hospital. "I don't know when Kerri is in pain, her pain threshold is so high but I sometimes see her biting and I think it's a sign she's in pain," Ms Sheehan said. "I'm appalled at this. We need a dedicated consultant for children with Down syndrome and a rheumatologist, and I'm sure that would reduce any backlog." CLEVELAND, Ohio - Here is our regular roundup of coronavirus facts, figures and numbers regarding Cleveland, Ohio and the United States July 4-10: July 4: Ohio Department of Health reports 926 new coronavirus cases in the previous 24 hours. That brings the total to 56,183 cases since the initial cases were confirmed March 9. The state also reports a total of 2,907 deaths. Ohios record daily high for new cases is 1,380. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo announces that, effective immediately, face coverings are required in the park. Nationally, The Washington Post reports that 18 states record new average highs, hospitalizations in Arizona set a record, and the intensive-care unit capacity at the worlds largest medical center, in Houston, was exceeded for a time. July 5: Tony-nominated actor Nick Cordero ("Bullets Over Broadway," "Waitress," "A Bronx Tale the Musical") dies after a battle with coronavirus. The 41-year-old had a leg amputated and was awaiting a double lung transplant. (Cordero is on the far left of the top left photo above.) July 6: Ohio sees 837 coronavirus hospitalizations, the most on any one day since 885 on May 27. One in 202 Ohioans are known to have contracted the virus. Summit County has reported 2,143 cases and 206 deaths. New York's State Fair is cancelled. July 7: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announces a new public health order to require people wear masks in the seven red counties that are worst hit by coronavirus infections. The order includes Cuyahoga County. More than half of Ohio residents who reported developing coronavirus symptoms in the past three weeks are under 40, with the biggest percentage in their 20s. Cleveland sees 49 more cases, raising the city's total confirmed cases to 2,747. The State Fair of Texas is cancelled for the first time since World War II. July 8: Cleveland records 100 new cases of coronavirus, topping its record of 84 set less than a week ago. The cases raise Clevelands total confirmed cases to 2,846. In Ohio, 1,277 new cases are reported with 890 people hospitalized, and one additional death. Michigan records 610 new cases today alone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is revising its guidance on reopening schools after President Trump Tweets his opposition, Vice President Mike Pence says in a USA Today story. The Washington Post says healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic are encountering another shortage of critical protection gear - masks, gowns, face shields and gloves. July 9: Coronavirus cases in Ohio reach 61,331. Deaths increase 15 between Wednesday and Thursday to 3,006. For the second day in a row, Cleveland reports that 100 new cases of coronavirus involving residents were confirmed by the state health department. The 100 new cases match Clevelands single day high, set Wednesday. Clevelands total confirmed cases moves to 2,946. After a delay, Cedar Point opens with social-distancing and other cautious measures in place. DeWine adds counties to the red-alert threshold, which now includes Summit and Lorain. Residents in the level-3 counties will have to wear masks in public gatherings. Hamilton, Butler and Cuyahoga counties reach criteria for the highest risk rating and are on a watch list to be designated purple. Within minutes of DeWines announcement regarding masks, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan says he added his name to legislation that would require masks in the city. Horrigan is sponsoring an ordinance drafted by Ward 5 Councilwoman Tara Samples. July 10: Ohio breaks its record with 1,525 new coronavirus cases. Previous coverage Coronavirus timeline: Restrictions mount throughout Northeast Ohio Coronavirus timeline March 21-27 Coronavirus timeline March 28-April 3 Coronavirus timeline April 4-10 Coronavirus timeline April 11-17 Coronavirus timeline April 18-24 Coronavirus timeline April 25-May 1 Coronavirus timeline May 2-8 Coronavirus timeline May 9-15 Coronavirus timeline: May 16-22 Coronavirus timeline: May 23-29 Coronavirus timeline: May 30-June 5 Coronavirus timeline: June 6-12 Coronavirus timeline: June 13-19 Coronavirus timeline: June 20-July 3 I am on cleveland.coms life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, heres a directory on cleveland.com. A three-alarm fire burned three multi-story buildings in Pacific Heights on Friday night, with flames and thick smoke pouring from the rooftops. The fire in the 1900 block of Washington Street broke out shortly before 7:30 p.m. By 9 p.m., the San Francisco Fire Department said it had the fire under control. This is a monumental decision, but its important to relay to citizens of the broader public that doesnt mean the sky is falling, said Chuck Hoskin Jr., the chief of the Cherokee Nation, the largest tribe in the United States. Theres no immediate impact beyond criminal jurisdiction. It does raise questions, but they are not insurmountable. There shouldnt be any instability or uncertainty in our court or regulatory system. These are things that can be worked out. (Newser) Facebook has been struggling lately over a massive advertiser boycott, partly driven by the company's refusal to address political ads spreading misinformation on the platform. Now, people familiar with Facebook's thinking say the company is considering banning political ads in the days leading up to the November election, per Bloomberg. The outlet's sources say the idea is only in the discussion phase, and Business Insider notes it's not clear what exact timeline the term "days" would encompass. Nixing political ads, campaigning, or political reporting in the time period right before elections happens elsewhere around the globe, including in the UK, Israel, and Spain. Twitter, meanwhile, has already banned political ads. story continues below Still, critics of the idea, including Democratic political operatives, worry such a ban would help Trump, as he could keep tweeting and using other methods of spreading iffy info, while those trying to push back may not have the same resources. "Eliminating online political ads only benefits those with money, incumbency or the ability to get media coverage," tweeted Alex Stamos, ex-chief security officer for Facebook. "Who does that sound like?" Last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed the same, adding it could get murky if ads about such topics like immigration or health care were allowed by everyone but candidates. Joe Biden's digital director, Rob Flaherty, also notes an ad ban wouldn't completely address misinformation spread, especially via posts in private Facebook groups, per Reuters. "Requisite reminder that Facebook's problems are 80% about unpaid content," he tweeted. (Read more Facebook stories.) Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of Lok Sabha MPs to discuss issues facing the nation. Congress sources say the issues which will be deliberated are mainly the Chinese border transgressions and economic situation arising due to Covid-19. Sonia Gandhi has written many letters to the Prime Minister regarding issues to handle the Covid situation and Chinese transgressions. The meeting comes in wake of government tightening noose around foundationss related to the Congress on which the party has reacted sharply. The government has constituted inter-ministerial committee to investigate the funding of RGF and other trusts. Rahul Gandhi in a tweet said, "Mr Modi believes the world is like him. He thinks everyone has a price or can be intimidated." "He will never understand that those who fight for the truth have no price and cannot be intimidated," added Rahul. The Congress has also issued a statement saying that the party and its leadership will not be intimidated by the "cowardly acts and blind witch-hunt by a panicked Modi government". Party spokesman Randeep Surjewala said, "Will the Modi government hold an enquiry into the donations and the amounts received by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from all sources including foreign sources, individuals, entities, organisations and governments?" Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-10 22:41:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People are seen at a bus stop in Yangon, Myanmar, on July 10, 2020. The number of COVID-19 infection cases has risen to 326 as of Friday, according to latest figures by the Ministry of Health and Sports. (Xinhua/U Aung) YANGON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 infection cases has risen to 326 as of Friday, according to latest figures by the Ministry of Health and Sports. A total of five new imported cases were reported in Yangon region and Rakhine state on Friday night. According to the ministry's release, five people tested positive for COVID-19 while being under quarantine after their recent arrivals from India and Bangladesh. With fewer number of local transmissions, 256 patients have recovered with six deaths so far, the ministry's figures said. As of Friday, Myanmar's laboratories tested 89,913 samples for COVID-19. Enditem Two more Karnataka Congress legislators tested Covid-19 positive, while the party's state unit office in the city has been shut after three employees were infected with the virus, an official said on Saturday. "Our party MLAs Ajay Singh from Jewargi Assembly segment in Kalaburagi district and Prasad Abbayya from Hubli-Dharwad East seat tested positive on Friday and are under treatment at the designated hospitals," party's spokesman M.A. Saleem told IANS. The party's office on Queen's Road in the city centre has been shut till Monday after three staffers tested positive for the corona virus symptoms. "As the party's office is located in a containment area, we have shut it after the three staffers had contracted the symptoms and tested positive," said Saleem. Singh, son of former Congress Chief Minister Dharam Singh, tweeted that he was asymptomatic and would be in quarantine for two weeks in Bengaluru. "I request all those people who were my primary contacts to take precautions and stay safe," Singh said in the tweet. Abbayya got admitted to the state-run KIMS hospital at Hubli in the state's northwest region after his throat swab tested positive. Singh and Abbayya attended the oath-taking ceremony of the party's state unit president D.K. Shivakumar at the party's office in the city on July 2. Another party MLA H.D. Ranganath from Kunigal Assembly seat in the neighbouring Tumakur district, who also attended the Shivakumar function, tested positive and is under treatment at a private hospital in the city. Party's MLA T.A. Raje Gowda and Chikmagaluru MLC Bhoje Gowda also tested positive and are under treatment in designated hospitals in Chikamagalur. Chikamagalur is 240km northwest of Bengaluru in the southern state. BJP's MLA Rajkumar Patil Teklur from Sedam in the state's northern Kalaburagi district also tested positive and is under treatment at a private hospital in Bengaluru. Independent MLA Sharath Bachgowda from Hoskote Assembly segment in Bengaluru Rural also tested Covid-19 positive and is under treatment at a private hospital in the city, an official from his office said. BJP's MLA Bharat Shetty from Mangaluru North segment and its MLC M.K. Pranesh also tested positive and have been under treatment since July 5-6. Veteran state Congressman B. Janardhana Poojary also tested positive for the virus and is under treatment at a private hospital in Mangaluru. "Poorjary, 83, is under treatment at a private hospital here after he tested positive for Covid on Sunday," party official Ravi Gowda told IANS earlier. Mangaluru is about 360km west of Bengaluru in the southern state. Poojary's son J. Santhosh said his father's condition was stable and no cause for worry as he was asymptomatic. Karnataka's Independent Lok Sabha member and multi-lingual South Indian actress Sumalatha Ambareesh tested positive and was under home quarantine. Sumalatha, 56, is a parliamentary member from Mandya, about 100km from Bengaluru on way to Mysuru. The celluloid heroine developed symptoms of headache and throat irritation on July 4. Hence, she decided to get tested, as she might have been exposed to the virus during the course of her duty and tour in her constituency. The senior government official was speaking at a conference held in Hue City in the central province of Thua Thien Hue on July 10, discussing ways to improve access to public e-services for citizens via the NPSP. The event was held jointly by the Government Office and the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province, in collaboration with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Speaking at the event, Dung, who is also the chairman of the Prime Ministers Advisory Council on Administrative Procedures Reform, said that right from the beginning of his term, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued a message of his determination to build an active government that puts citizens and businesses at its centre. The relevant ministries, agencies and localities have taken on that goal, aiming to redirect their administrative management, both ensuring effective State management while better serving the people and businesses. According to Dung,, with the participation of the whole political system together with the solidarity and consensus of the people, Vietnam has controlled the COVID-19 epidemic and entered a new normal state, ready to implement the "dual goal" of fighting against the epidemic and restoring its economy. The government has directed the implementation of multiple strong solutions to remove difficulties for businesses, while ensuring social security and social order and safety, by drastically transforming the working methods of State administrative agencies, focusing on processing documents in the electronic and non-paper environment. According to the minister, the portal has so far provided more than 750 public e-procedures since its launch seven months ago. It has registered over 189,000 user accounts and seen more than 49.6 million visits. Some 176,000 applications and enquiries have been lodged to date. An overview of the seminar. (Photo: VGP) The chairman of the Government Office said that the goal of the NPSP is to serve both people and businesses with transparency as well as saving on both time and cost. However, it is important for citizens and businesses to understand the benefits brought about by the portal, as well as the responsibilities of civil servants and officials in answering, responding and resolving online administrative procedures. UNDP Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen said the launch of the portal marks an important step in Vietnams moves towards e-Government. It has proven effective, helping Vietnam maintain the non-disrupted provision of public services to its citizens and businesses while the country imposed social distancing measures to contain COVID-19, she said, adding that public participation plays a key role in promoting and improving the quality of online public governance. Robyn Mudie, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, said that Vietnam is bringing the portal into a new and important stage, showing its relentless determination to improve and innovate to help people and businesses have more access to online procedures. The Australian Government is committed to continuing to support Vietnam in this process, as well as sharing any relevant experience Australia has, the diplomat emphasised. The Ringsend treatment plant in Dublin, which treats 40pc of the entire countrys sewage, is expected to need around 500m to boost its overloaded capacity. Costs for the upgrade of the country's largest wastewater treatment plant increased by almost 25pc over three years. The Ringsend treatment plant in Dublin, which treats 40pc of the entire country's sewage, is expected to need around 500m to boost its overloaded capacity. It had previously been costed at around 400m but the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) reported the forecast expenditure had increased by 89m. The CRU's latest monitoring report on Irish Water's capital expenditure programme accepted that costings could change over time. "The CRU recognises that as the projects pass through various stages of project development, for example where planning decisions require refinements to the scope of a project, the cost forecasts may be refined accordingly. These projects tend to be progressed and costed in phases," it said. Irish Water said work on the structure of the plant began in 2018 but the nature of the installations had not been finalised then. In 2019, An Bord Pleanala granted permission for additional works. "Through the planning process, the forecasts have been reviewed and updated," Irish Water said. "For all the works at Ringsend wastewater treatment plant, investment approval is sought for each project phase through the Irish Water Board in line with the public spending code." The CRU examined just under 2bn worth of capital spending by Irish Water from 2017-2019 and said there was evidence of "optimism bias" as the utility had not managed to achieve all it set out to do. "There is evidence that Irish Water's under-delivery in the period has resulted in failures to reduce the risks to water supply quality," the report said. It acknowledged Irish Water "faced challenges in terms of data and understanding its asset base" when developing its investment plan. "The CRU has required that Irish Water carries out an external review of its approach to capital investment planning including its approach to costing and prioritising its projects and programmes," it said. Two days after Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for Covid-19, he said the looming economic crisis is worse than the virus and urged mayors and governors to reopen their states, again. With a premature reopening of the country and the oncoming winter, experts are concerned that the coronavirus will spread in the country unabated. The president has been fighting virus-related restrictions since the beginning of the pandemic, which he has called a small flu. The country is now a hotspot in Latin America and with more than 1.7 million registered cases since the pandemic began, Brazil is also the second-worst affected country in the world. There is a false dichotomy between the economy and health, Dr Leticia Kawano Dourado, a respiratory physician at Hospital do Coracao, Sao Paulo, tells HT. Many cities have now reopened without fulfilling the WHO criteria for it. ALSO READ | Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for Covid-19 WHO Americas director Carissa Etienne had warned in June, as Brazilian cities, including the capital, Brasilia, reopened that coronavirus cases Latin America had yet to peak, recommending that Brazil and other countries in the region continue strengthening social distancing and reopening of the economy be done slowly and carefully. The capital is now seeing an explosion of cases. It now has more infections per capita than any other major city in Brazil, with 2,133 confirmed cases per 100,000 people. That is more than two times higher than metropolitan Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, according to health ministry statistics. Theyre reopening everything without a clear plan, saying that getting sick is inevitable, according to Brasilia resident Ana Lustosa da Costa. With her two of her two nephews testing positive, she is worried about her elderly parents who are in the at-risk group. Despite the epidemic spreading through the country, the economy has been reopened. Social distancing measures are declining and people are moving around carrying the virus. No state has seen an infection rate lower than 1, says Dr Paulo A Lotufo, professor of medicine at the University of Sao Paulo. According to a team of researchers at the university, Brazil has sixteen times more cases than the official numbers indicate. Meanwhile, Researchers at the Federal University of Minas Gerais have suggested it has eight times more cases, Washington Post reported. Nonetheless there is a general consensus that the official figures do not reflect the real cost of the epidemic in the country. Testing is lacking big time, especially among the less privileged, says Dr. Dourado. Add to this, the onset of winter in South America has PAHO worried that serious cases of Covid-19 will rise further. Winter fuels respiratory infectionslike seasonal influenza and pneumoniathat can rapidly spread in colder climates, Etienne has said. Winter is a cause for concern because people spend more time in closed spaces. Plus, the cold weather also brings other viruses, Dr. Elnara Marcia Negri, a pulmonologist at Hospital Sirio-Libanes in Sao Paulo, tells HT. A potential spike in seasonal flu could overwhelm hospitals already straining under the coronavirus pandemic. Health ministry officials said on Wednesday that there are confirmed virus cases in 96.4% of Brazils municipalities and the country is still far from reducing the pandemics spread. Brazil is paying the price for the governments inadequate response to the crisis, Dr Negri adds. Lynn Lorenz, a retired teacher and prolific writer of letters to the editor, advocates for greater mask use and social distancing in Newport Beach. (Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times) Lynn Lorenz, a retired teacher who lives on a bluff above the Newport Beach harbor, emerged from her home Thursday morning wearing a mask. Nobody turned and stared, as if she were wearing a lampshade over her head. But Lorenz definitely stood out. On the first 15 minutes of her daily stroll, we saw more than a dozen people, and nobody was wearing a face covering. Not walkers, not runners, not dog owners, not a woman headed to the park with three kids. Lorenz said shes gotten dirty looks from people for being masked. As if shes the one whos a bad neighbor. Theyre thinking either that Im a liberal, or that in Newport Beach, having to wear a mask is an infringement on their rights, Lorenz said. Jumping into the fray is nothing new for Lorenz. I met the former French and history teacher several years ago when she was one of the activists campaigning against a proposal to turn the open spaces of Newport Banning Ranch into a massive development. She was drawn into the coronavirus culture wars from the beginning, fearing that residents would pay with their lives for a refusal to heed the warnings from experts about masking and distancing. Lorenz told me that recently, in the post office near her house, she confronted two women for ignoring signs directing customers to mask up. They kind of looked at me, stared at me, and I got out of there real fast, Lorenz said. But in what feels at times like a lonely crusade, she does manage to exact a small measure of revenge. Lorenz fires off scalding emails to public officials, and she is a prolific writer of letters to the editor. As I look around our city and see the lack of social distancing and lack of serious concern for the coronavirus, I have become very fearful for our future, said a Lorenz letter to the Newport Beach Independent. When the Orange County public health officer resigned after county supervisors rejected her call for people to wear masks in public, Lorenz went to her keyboard and blasted the supervisors. Story continues I am outraged, she said in a letter published by Stu News Newport, adding that she was taking her business from Ralphs in Newport Beach to the Ralphs in Costa Mesa because of a stricter mask policy at the latter supermarket. I, for one, regrettably will not be doing business with any indoor environment that does not require masks and I urge others to do the same for their protection. I called Tom Johnson, publisher of Stu News Newport, and told him I wanted to inquire about one of his more prolific letter writers. Lynn Lorenz, Johnson said before I could say her name. Lorenz submits at least one letter a week to him, Johnson said, and shes a good writer, though he sometimes has to trim a few words. In Newport Beach, registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by about 2 to 1. (Lorenz is a D.) Johnson said he tries to publish different views and appreciates Lorenzs contributions. Lorenz and I masked, and keeping six feet between us walked down the hill and past a park to a little shopping center across the street from the Rusty Pelican. The mask wearing count was close to 50-50 in the shopping center, but at one restaurant with outdoor seating, tables and customers were far too close together, in my opinion. In one storefront, a clerk told us she gets three or so customers a day who ignore posted signs and refuse to wear masks. Sometimes, she said, masked and unmasked patrons air their grievances with each other. In one case, said the clerk, a customer argued that she refused to cover her face because she wanted to build up her immunity. That strategy, by the way, hasnt worked too well in Sweden. But everyone seems to be an epidemiologist these days. As I read various letters to editors published in Orange County, I came upon one that reminded me of readers who have pushed back against columns in which I've suggested well all get back to normal much sooner if we play it smart. Whats worse than an infection? asked a letter to the editor published June 9 in the Register. Government intervention. Hmm. I thought the problem was the scandalous lack thereof, beginning at the top. But for some people, its all about rights rather than responsibilities. And for some, the right to resist trumps the right of others to not be needlessly infected. Orange County isnt the only place in California where theres resistance to masks and distancing, even as the number of COVID-19 cases statewide has exploded following attempts to partially reopen for business. But after weeks of going after her local public officials for underplaying the threat, Lorenz is looking like both a scold and a sage. Orange County public health officials said Thursday that hospitalizations had surged 97% in three weeks, and they predicted the toll on the healthcare system will get worse in coming days and weeks. The number of confirmed cases is now doubling every 13 days, according to a Times analysis. In Newport Beach on Thursday, I wandered beaches and the commercial strip near the pier, where some people wore masks and distanced while others did neither. One young woman, visiting from Redlands with friends, told me shell wear a mask where its required. But she doesnt think they work, though she couldnt explain how she arrived at that conclusion. Lorenz blames some of the resistance on President Trump, who finally wore a mask Saturday after months of defiance and more than 134,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States. But in her published letters, she goes after closer targets. She did get attacked by another letter writer a while back for lauding Gov. Gavin Newsoms early attempts to corral the virus. Her critic accused Lorenz of having fawned over Newsom while ignoring his failings. Lorenz, undeterred, has kept her pen sharp, saving her sharpest critiques for Newport Beach city officials and county supervisors. In this jabberwocky world of Orange County politics, where down is up and up is often down, dont be surprised if our local leaders try to start blaming someone else for the upsurge in coronavirus cases. They will undoubtedly shift the blame for opening the economy too soon, Lorenz wrote in a letter published July 6 by the Daily Pilot. Lets not forget their failure to support science and health leaders and their continuous rebellious nature against those who are working to do the right thing, Lorenz wrote. Lets not let them get away with it. I dont know if, in the end, enough people will heed her warnings. But Lorenz, the masked crusader, said she intends to keep writing. steve.lopez@latimes.com Twenty-year-old Hakim Littleton was shot and killed by police near Detroit, Michigans northwest side at 12:35 p.m. on Friday. Shortly after the shooting, hundreds of protesters gathered at the spot near San Juan and McNichols where the incident occurred. Videos shot at the scene showed a large presence of police in riot gear, clashing with demonstrators and throwing tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowd. Around 300 of the protesters marched to the 12th Precinct police station in Detroit where several organizers were arrested. Protesters chanted Let them go, threatening to stay until the organizers were released. Tensions are high in the city after weeks of protests against police brutality in which hundreds have been arrested and police have rammed into protesters with their vehicles. Protests began in Detroit in the days after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota by four police officers on May 25 and have continued nearly every day since then. Shortly after the shooting Littletons uncle, Asar Amenra, spoke with WWJ Newsradio, declaring, Police think they can do whatever the hell they want, and I'm telling you all we can't allow it no more. It's time for self-defense! We have a right to defend our lives, and we should do that. Detroit Police Chief James Craig held a press conference at 7:30 PM reporting that the victim was armed and fired at police after an altercation with officers. He released video footage of the incident, under obvious pressure from the protesters. According to Craig, police were investigating a shooting that occurred at a block party near San Juan on July 4th when they encountered Hakim. Officers from the 12th Precinct were arresting Darnel Sylvester, a suspect who surrendered immediately. Hakim was standing next to the officers as the arrest occurred. Dash and body camera footage showed Hakim pulling a small caliber pistol from his pocket and firing at the officers at close range. The officers shot Hakim four times as he was turning away and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital. No officers were injured. During the press conference, Craig cited the thirteen months it took for the Chicago police department to release the bodycam footage of the 2014 police murder of Laquan McDonald, saying the release of body cam footage within hours of the incident by the Detroit police was unprecedented. Craig also railed against social media for promoting false information and commended the use of tear gas against the protesters. However, it is clear the only reason the footage was released so quickly was due to the immediate protests at the scene and at the police district, demanding answers in the killing and accountability. In most cases, bodycam footage is withheld for weeks or months before being shown to the public, if it is released at all, under the guise of protecting the integrity of an ongoing investigation. The situation remains on a knifes edge with protests continuing across US to demand an end to police brutality and racism. Even in the face of repeated assaults by the police forces and the deployment of the National Guard, multi-racial protests are continuing. Even with the unprecedented wave of protests there has been no letup in the pace of police killings and assaults. So far this year, according to a database maintained by the Washington Post, police have shot and killed 511 people in the United States. Since 2015, 5,442 have fallen victim to the police. For each person killed many hundreds more are victims of non-fatal shootings, tasing and assaults. The Supreme Court said it is not inclined to interfere at this stage and the petitioners may withdraw the plea and approach the high courts. New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday refused to entertain a plea by parents from different states seeking deferment/moratorium on school fees for the COVID-19 lockdown period and asked them to approach the high courts for relief. The top court said it was a fact-intensive situation as problems in each state are different and observed that it would a stroke of genius if petitioners can solve everybody's problems. A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and justices R Subhash Reddy and AS Bopanna said: Fee hike issue should have been raised before the state high courts. Why has it come to the Supreme Court? It's a fact intensive situation Problems in each state are different. Parties are involving jurisdiction of this court as an omnibus case. But these are fact intensive situations in each state and even each district. Advocates Balaji Srinivasan and Mayank Kshirsagar said the Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed schools to charge higher fees. The bench then told counsel the petitioners can file an appeal against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order. It would be a stroke of genius if you can solve everybody's problems, the bench said. The top court said that it is not inclined to interfere at this stage and the petitioners may withdraw the plea and approach the high courts. Parents of school going children from different states have moved the top court seeking declaration of moratorium or deferment of payment of school fees during the COVID-19 lockdown. The plea also sought that the Centre and all states be asked to direct the private unaided/aided schools to only charge the proportionate fees based on actual expenditure towards the conduct of the online virtual classes and no other fees from the students since 1 April till the commencement of physical classes. The petitioners belonging to different states of the country have come together being constrained to approach this court seeking inter alia the protection of fundamental right to life as well as education guaranteed under the Constitution of India, 1950 which the children & students enrolled up to the Class XII of various Indian states are being deprived of due to supervening factors namely, the ongoing pandemic- COVID-19 period..., the plea said. It said that due to the lockdown, financially incapacitated parents have to bear the brunt of the fees, which may leave a few of them with no option but to withdraw their children or students from seeking institutional/school education for an unforeseeable period. The parents through the petition filed through Kshirsagar and drawn by advocate Pankhuri said that they are highlighting various factors leading to creation of hostile discrimination of children and parents of various states as some protection may be available for children or students in some states but not others. Parents of the school going children who have moved the top court hail from Rajasthan, Odisha, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Maharashtra. In their plea they said that considering the adverse impact of online education, ban has been imposed by Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh while other states have not considered its impact. It said that after COVID-19 disease was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, on 25 March, 2020, a country wide lockdown was announced whereby all the activities including the educational sector were shut down completely having a catastrophic effect over the economy of the country with many people losing their jobs or getting a deducted or nil income and facing immense sufferings in their daily life. It added that many of the schools hiked their fees and/or started harassing parents to pay the entire quarterly fees in advance despite the non-functioning of the schools and the students not availing any of the services provided by the schools. New Delhi: Assets, including flats in London and New York, with a market value of Rs 2,800 crore of Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and the Wadhawan brothers of DHFL company have been attached in connection with the Yes Bank money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate said on Thursday. The central probe agency said it has issued a provisional order, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), for attachment of properties worth Rs 2,203 crore but the "present market value of these assets is more than Rs 2,800 crore". "The assets include immovable properties in India and abroad, bank accounts, investments, luxury vehicles, among others," it said. "These assets belong to Rana Kapoor, Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan and the entities controlled by them," the ED added. Kapoor, 62, and the Wadhawans were arrested by the agency in this case early this year and they are in judicial custody at present. Kapoor's frozen assets include a bungalow (no 40) located at the upmarket Amrita Shergill Marg in Delhi that is worth Rs 685 crore, an independent residential building 'Khursidabad' at Cumbala Hill in south Mumbai, three duplex flats at Napean Sea Road in Mumbai, a residential flat in NCPA, Nariman Point and eight flats in India Bulls Blue in the Worli area of Maharashtra's capital city, the ED said. "These attached assets relating to Rana Kapoor and linked entities have a total value of Rs 792 crore but their present market value is Rs 1,400 crore," the agency said. In the case of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) promoter brothers Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, the value of the attached properties is Rs 1,411.9 crore that includes a dozen flats in Khar (West) area of Mumbai, a flat in New York, two flats in London, two land parcels in Pune and nearby Mulshi, a commercial property in Australia, five luxury vehicles and 344 bank accounts, the ED said. The agency had filed a PMLA case against the three men early this year and has accused Kapoor, his family members and others of laundering proceeds of crime worth Rs 4,300 crore by receiving alleged kickbacks in lieu of extending big loans through their bank that later turned into non-performing assets (NPA). An alleged dubious link between Yes Bank and DHFL is under the ED's probe scanner. "During April-June 2018, Yes Bank Limited had invested Rs 3,700 crore in short term debentures of DHFL, a company belonging to the Wadhawans, for which kickback of Rs 600 crore was paid to Rana Kapoor and his family members in the garb of loan," the ED alleged. "In addition, Yes Bank had also sanctioned a loan of Rs 750 crore to a RKW Developers group company beneficially owned by the Wadhawans and their family members for their Bandra Reclamation Project in Mumbai but the whole amount was siphoned off by the brothers through their shell companies and was never used for the declared purpose," the probe agency has alleged. The Amrita Shergill Marg property attachment stems from another money laundering FIR lodged by the ED, on the basis of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) complaint, against Rana Kapoor and Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar. "The (CBI) FIR alleges that Rana Kapoor, then MD and CEO of Yes Bank Ltd, obtained illegal gratification in the form of a property in a prime location in Delhi at much less than the realisable market value belonging to Avantha Reality Ltd for sanction of a loan to ARL and for extending concessions, relaxations and waivers in the already existing credit facilities provided to Avantha Group companies and for advancing new and additional loans to them by Yes Bank Ltd," the ED said. The agency earlier had attached bank deposits to the tune of Rs 115 crore of various Rana Kapoor companies and had seized jewellery worth Rs 22.87 crore and seven expensive cars worth Rs 12.58 crore belonging to the Wadhawan family. A total of 44 companies belonging to 10 large business groups, including the Anil Ambani Group, Essel Group, ILFS, Cox & Kings and Bharat Infra, reportedly accounted for bad loans of Rs 34,000 crore of Yes Bank. Corporate bosses like Anil Ambani, Essel Group, Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra have been questioned by the agency in the past. The ED also filed a charge sheet in this case in May and a supplementary complaint is soon expected to be filed before a special PMLA court in Mumbai. KAMPALA The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received US$1 million from the Government of Denmark on Friday July 10 to assist refugees in Kampala struggling because of the socio-economic impact of lockdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19. WFP began delivering cash assistance to an initial group of Kampala-based refugees on 5 June. Thanks to this contribution, WFP can continue rolling out assistance in coming weeks. Each refugee receives the equivalent of three months worth of cashwith this funding supporting almost two months of that. The people of Denmark are aware of how desperate the situation for refugees living in Kampala could become without assistance, said Henrick Jespersen, the Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Denmark in Uganda. We hope that this contribution can help stem the dire economic situation of refugees in Ugandas capital while acting as a symbol of our solidarity and partnership with the people of Uganda and its government during this global crisis. Jespersen acknowledged the strategic and effective measures that Uganda have taken to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in the country while at the same time continuing its progressive refugee policy. The way you welcome your neighbours in your country is a testimony to Ugandan hospitality and is what makes Uganda the leading country in the world in delivering on the global Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework, he said. Kampala hosts over 81,000 refugees who sought refuge from conflicts in neighbouring countries. Unlike refugees in designated refugee settlements in Uganda, refugees in Kampala are not normally given food or cash assistance from WFP because they can access markets and services. Before the pandemic, most refugees in urban centres worked day-by-day in the informal sector for instance as casual workers and were expected to be self-sufficient. COVID-19 and measures to contain its spread however forced tens of thousands out of work and deeper into hunger and poverty. In a WFP survey in April, 87 percent of refugees said that the pandemic had negative impacts on their livelihoods, with at least 50 percent saying they had lost 75 percent of their income due to lockdowns. Refugee families headed by women, the elderly and the disabled were hardest hit. Market food prices in Kampala increased by as much as three percent in the first week of the lockdown, making it even more difficult for people to afford enough food for their survival. This is an unprecedented emergency and as such, WFP came up with innovative ways to reach those most in need, said El-Khidir Daloum, Country Representative for WFP in Uganda. Despite this global health emergency, the basic needs of refugees in Uganda remain and, in many cases, have deepened, he added. We were ready to help when the Government asked for our assistance with Kampala-based refugees. We are extremely grateful to those new donors who came forward to support this urban response. WFPs cash assistance is delivered through mobile phones, which means people dont have to gather in large crowds. WFP works with the Office of the Prime Minister and the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to check the identities of Kampala-based refugees. WFPs cash assistance complements cash transfers by UNHCR to help refugees meet their non-food basic needs. With or without COVID, our approach to the way we respond to refugees will not change, said Minister of State for Emergency Preparedness and Refugees Musa Ecweru. When people have food in their bellies, they are more likely to cooperate with government safety guidelines. Generous donations from the Government of Denmark and assistance from WFP is actually keeping both refugees and Ugandans safe from COVID-19. The United Nations World Food Programme is the worlds largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies, building prosperity and supporting a sustainable future for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. Related Nepal's COVID-19 cases jumped to 16,719 after 70 new infections were reported, while three more people succumbed to the coronavirus, taking the number of fatalities to 38, a senior health official said on Saturday. A total of 431 COVID-19 patients have recovered from infection in the last 24 hours. The number of patients recovered from the disease has reached 8,442, said health ministry spokesperson Jageshwor Gautam. The death toll due to COVID-19 has gone up to 38 as three men aged 60,54 and 45 years died of the disease on Saturday. The deceased were from Kathmandu and Sindhupalchowk, the official said. The health ministry has recorded 70 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number of active COVID19 patients to 16,719, the official said. The number of active patients currently undergoing treatment at different health facilities across the country has reached 8,239. Nepal's COVID 19 recovery rate is 50.50 per cent, the ministry said. So far, 279,599 people have been tested for the disease. The novel coronavirus which originated from China in December last year has claimed over 5.6 lakh lives and infected more than 12 million people globally, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Thailand, US plot post-outbreak future THAILAND: Thailand and the United States have pledged to strengthen military ties and cooperate in boosting their economies in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. CoronavirusCOVID-19military By Bangkok Post Saturday 11 July 2020, 10:48AM US army chief of staff Gen James McConville, left, pays a courtesy call on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at Government House yesterday during a two-day visit. Photo: Government House US army chief of staff Gen James McConville and Ambassador Michael George DeSombre met Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at Government House yesterday (July 10) to discuss cooperation between the two nations. After the meeting, government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat said the prime minister had thanked the US for facilitating repatriation trips and helping Thailand combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Gen Prayut expressed his condolences over the thousands of deaths caused by COVID-19 in the US and gave his moral support to those vigorously fighting the pandemic, according to the spokeswoman. The prime minister also said he believed that the US would win its battle with the virus and develop a vaccine soon, Ms Narumon told media at a press briefing yesterday. The US army chief of staff commended Thailand for its successful handling of COVID-19, according to Ms Narumon. The prime minister was quoted as reaffirming Thailands readiness to work with the US to restore the Thai economy. The prime minister also said that Thailand would facilitate investment by the US private sector in the country, according to Ms Narumon. Gen McConville also met Thai army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong to discuss Thai-US military relations and signed the Thailand and United States Army-to-Army Strategic Vision Statement. The statement outlines the vision and objectives the two army chiefs have as they work to deepen the 65-year-old US-Thai military alliance and prepare it for the future. The signing follows on the heels of the Joint Vision Statement signed between US Secretary of Defence, Mark Esper, and the prime minister during Asean meetings in November 2019. Our alliance has a long and productive history, and now we are taking on 21st century challenges together, said Gen McConville. Our two nations typically have hundreds of military trainings and events each year, and we are working in unison with the Royal Thai Government to ensure that all of our training scenarios will be done with the utmost care with regards to the pandemic, the general continued. Gen McConville also visited the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (Afrims), a joint US-Thai infectious disease centre that has been on the cutting edge of pandemic research for decades. Thai and American scientists at Afrims are working side by side to try and defeat the worlds most deadly viral diseases, such as malaria, dengue and COVID-19. Gen McConville arrived in Thailand on Thursday for a two-day visit, the first since the government began lifting COVID-19 control measures. Scientists are baffled by the origins of a recently discovered species of red algae, which are threatening and smothering coral reefs in Hawaii discovered during a 2016 routine marine wildlife monitoring trip. Last summer, they saw how the algae had grown exponentially, with vast areas of corals covered by mat-like algal colonies. These are the corals of the uninhabited and remote Holoikauaua or Pearl and Hermes Atoll. This prolific algal species was previously undiscovered, said the University of Hawaii researchers who published their findings last Tuesday in the online journal Plos One. The researchers said it is a threat to the corals and the other marine organisms in that area. Lead study researcher Alison Sherwood says that this has never been seen before in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. She says that it is very alarming to observe how it is taking over the area in such a short time. The scientists named the alga Chondria tumulosa, and although its behavior is similar to that of an invasive species, they could not consider it as invasive because they have not so far determined if it originated from an external source. Instead, the researchers call it a nuisance species. Algae covering corals block the sun, which essentially kills living organisms that are beneath them, says Dr. Sherwood. Such a species also takes over the space of seaweeds and other algae that naturally occur in the area and which serve as food for the herbivores there. She says the alga is altering the reef community, causing ripple effects throughout the food chain. The Holoikauaua or Pearl and Hermes Atoll is part of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, the largest protected marine reserve in the world, and part of the World Heritage List. NOAA Deputy Superintendent and Research Coordinator of the monument Randall Kosaki was the chief scientist of the expedition which discovered the algae. He says the species can potentially overrun the entire atoll or a whole island, and the only way to keep them from becoming a problem is to prevent their foothold. Kosaki and the research team treated their diving gear with bleach to make sure they do not bring the red algae to the other islands, which, according to Kosaki, will be an economic and ecological disaster. The economy of Hawaii is heavily dependent on tourist revenue. The researchers also observed that surgeonfishes and other local grazers did not eat the red algae, which could indicate that it isn't native to the area because native algae usually have natural predators. Kosaki said they do not know if it was merely an overlooked native species. According to Dr. Sherwood, it is the first algal species whose origins they failed to track, saying currents could have moved the algae and drifted here, or their spores may have helped them spread. Great Barrier Reef Foundation chief scientist and University of Queensland Professor Peter Mumby speculated that unusual chemistry of the water or the absence of natural algal consumers might have caused the algal bloom. Dr. Sherwood concludes that the situation does not have a good outlook for the corals. Actor Amitabh Bachchan shared with his followers on Saturday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus. Now, several of his co-stars and industry friends have tweeted, praying for his good health. I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited ..All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested, he wrote in a tweet. Praying for your good health and a speedy recovery sir. @SrBachchan https://t.co/XKMFvg6dvO Lara Dutta Bhupathi (@LaraDutta) July 11, 2020 Dear Amitabh ji, I join the whole Nation in wishing you a quick recovery! After all, you are the idol of millions in this country, an iconic superstar! We will all take good care of you. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!@SrBachchan @juniorbachchan #AmitabhBachchan #COVID https://t.co/NHeY7e2mjC pic.twitter.com/CsVKlvCJeG Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) July 11, 2020 And you shall be back to health n happiness soon! champ ! https://t.co/CgpoHvlgqe taapsee pannu (@taapsee) July 11, 2020 Also read: Amitabh Bachchan tests positive for Covid-19, admitted to hospital Union health minister Harsh Vardhan wrote, Dear Amitabh ji, I join the whole Nation in wishing you a quick recovery! After all, you are the idol of millions in this country, an iconic superstar! We will all take good care of you. Best wishes for a speedy recovery! Actor Taapsee Pannu, who has worked with him in Pink and Badlaa, wrote, And you shall be back to health n happiness soon! champ. Actor Sonu Sood wrote, Get well soon sir. Prayers for your super speedy recovery Sir. Youll be fighting fit soon!! The worlds wishes and collective strength are with you. https://t.co/e85DngJslx Nimrat Kaur (@NimratOfficial) July 11, 2020 Praying for your speedy recovery Sir! plsss get well soon! Lots of love.. https://t.co/tfkq1TR0kM Kriti Sanon (@kritisanon) July 11, 2020 Get well soon amit uncle. All my love and prayers.. Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) July 11, 2020 Yami Gautam tweeted, Praying for your speedy recovery, sir. Raveena Tandon wrote, Sending you , prayers love hugs and wishes for a speedy recovery! Neha Dhupia wrote, Sending you tons of love and best wishes ... please take care ... you ll be okay very soon! while Hansal Mehta said, Prayers sir. Praying for your early recovery. Arjun Rampal, Arshad Warsi, Nimrat Kaur also wished Amitabh a speedy recovery. According to sources at the hospital, he was experiencing breathlessness. On Saturday, around 10pm, he was rushed to the hospital. He is stable with minor breathlessness. But considering his age and previous illnesses including tuberculosis, his condition might deteriorate, said a doctor from the hospital. Amitabh Bachchan was last seen in Shoojit Sircars comedy-drama Gulabo Sitabo alongside Ayushmann Khurrana. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The wife of gangster Vikas Dubey, who was killed in a police encounter Friday, said her husband was "wrong" and deserved "this fate", as his last rites were conducted here amid tight security. IMAGE: Police and media at the encounter site where gangster Vikas Dubey was killed when he allegedly tried to escape from the spot following an accident near Kanpur. Photograph: PTI Photo Richa, who came at the Bhairoghat to attend the cremation, also expressed her anger at mediapersons, at times allegedly shouting at them. Superintendent of Police, Rural, Brijesh Srivastava told reporters that Dubey's brother- in-law Dinesh Tiwari performed the last rites at the electric crematorium in the presence of his wife and son. Dubey was shot dead Friday morning by police, who claim he was trying to flee after the car carrying him from Ujjain overturned on an isolated stretch of the highway on the outskirts of the city. Dubey had allegedly masterminded the killing of eight policemen on July 2 when they were going to arrest him at his Bikru village. When asked about these incidents and if she thought her husband deserved such an end, an agitated Richa said, Yes, yes, yes. Vikas did wrong and he deserved this fate. She also allegedly shouted at mediapersons and asked them to leave the place. She also allegedly misbehaved with them and used foul language, even holding them responsible for the encounter killing of her husband. After the last rites, policewomen took Richa and her son in their vehicle and left for an undisclosed location. No police official was ready to speak whether they were let off. Vikas' father Ram Kumar Dubey had distanced himself and had justified police action. Whatever police did was right, he had said earlier in the day. When asked if he would attend the cremation, he had said, I will not attend the last rites. Dinesh Tiwari, who performed the last rites, was earlier detained for questioning by the police immediately after the killing of eight policemen, including deputy SP Devendra Kumar Mishra. The cremation was performed amidst heavy police presence. Heavy police force headed by SP city East, Raj Kumar Agarwal, was deployed around Bhairoghat . Principal of Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi Medical College Dr RB Kamal had told mediapersons that Dubey was brought dead to the hospital. "Dubey sustained four bullet injuries, three in the upper part (chest) and one in the hand," Kamal had said. Dubey's other relatives and neighbours shunned the gangster in his death and did not turn up for cremation, despite police request. Two years after releasing his debut single, American rapper Eminem finally cracked the top ten in the US and reached the UK (and Irish) number one spot for the first time with 'The Real Slim Shady'. The lead single from his third album 'The Marshall Mathers LP', the track was put together just in time for its inclusion on the album in response to pressure from record company Interscope for a hit song that would guarantee radio play and fuel album sales. On 'The Real Slim Shady' Eminem's alter ego blasts pop culture, boy bands and a multitude of celebrities, including Christina Aguilera who reacted angrily to the reference, calling Eminem a 'pig'. An edited version of the song was released for radio play, but two radio stations in Wisconsin and Colorado were each fined $7,000 for playing the 'offensive', unedited version. The fines were rescinded after the rap industry argued this was a violation of free speech. 'The Real Slim Shady' was a multi-award winner, claiming MTV Video Music Awards gongs for Best Video and Best Male Video, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. 'The Marshall Mathers LP' also won for Best Rap Album. In the 20 years since his first UK number one, Eminem has topped that chart eight more times. In the US he's topped the Billboard Hot 100 on five occasions. He has had estimated worldwide sales of more than 220 million records. At the age of just 17 Samantha Mumba had the world at her feet back in 2000. Her first four singles were huge hits in her native Ireland, two topping the charts and two peaking at No. 2. She never reached number one in the UK but debut single 'Gotta Tell You' came within a whisker. If it wasn't for Eminem, who knows... The song from Mumba's debut (and only) studio album also did well in the US where it soared to number 4. 'Gotta Tell You' has since been listed in Billboard's 100 Catchiest Choruses of the 21st Century. While her music success was short lived, Mumba, who now lives in LA, has sold over 15 million records around the world. 1 The Real Slim Shady Eminem 2 Gotta Tell You Samantha Mumba 3 Spinning Around Kylie Minogue 4 Yellow Coldplay 5 Sandstorm Darude 6 Uncle John From Jamaica Vengaboys 7 You See The Trouble With Me Black Legend 8 Summer of Love Lonyo 9 Babylon David Gray 10 It Feels So Good Sonique Hoping for a chance to heal Those who are homeless with mental illness or addiction may have an even harder time finding help Hoping for a chance to heal Those who are homeless with mental illness or addiction may have an even harder time finding help For DeRon Cary, a treatment counselor in San Francisco, the thought of people trying to kick drug addictions in the outside world where they would be isolated and on the streets is unimaginable during this pandemic. But inside a rehab facility where he works, he feels his clients at least have a chance. They have routines, three meals a day and a community looking out for them. Its not pretty out there, Cary said on a recent afternoon, sitting inside the facility run by nonprofit HealthRight 360. A lot of clients who were living on the streets say that if it wasnt for this place, they dont know what they would do. In a city where thousands struggle with debilitating drug addictions and often, homelessness and mental illness as well treatment beds, shelter beds and case managers can be hard to come by. Cary says many of his clients consider themselves the lucky ones, able to get help when so many others are stuck outside. But legislators, advocates and medical professionals are deeply worried about those still out on the citys streets, especially now that a projected $1.7 billion deficit over the next two fiscal years will likely make it harder for City Hall to fund the extra resources needed to help them. HealthRight 360 staff member DeRon Cary monitors social distancing in the dining room of the residential drug treatment program in San Francisco. HealthRight 360 staff member DeRon Cary monitors social distancing in the dining room of the residential drug treatment program in San Francisco. Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Mentally ill homeless may have a harder time finding help 1 / 1 Back to Gallery San Franciscos behavioral health care system offers a spectrum of services, from HealthRight 360s drug treatment programs to locked psychiatric wards at San Francisco General Hospital. Pre-pandemic, City Hall was intensely focused on reforming and increasing capacity within nearly every aspect of the system. There were new ideas like a meth sobering center, a safe injection site and plans for many new behavioral health beds around the city. Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors were also focused on a sweeping initiative called Mental Health SF that would overhaul the entire system and pump $100 million more into spending on behavioral health, which already amounts to $400 million annually. But now, many of those reforms have been delayed or put on hold all together, as the Department of Public Health shifts resources to respond to the pandemic. And looming over public health officials, along with every other city department, are the dramatic budget cuts they will face over the next few years. That leaves officials caught balancing problems brought on by the pandemic record joblessness and shuttered offices and stores and those that have long persisted: homelessness, drug use, mental illness and a housing shortage. Last fall, the Department of Public Health launched a project to focus on 237 of the citys sickest homeless people, who also suffer from mental illness and drug addiction. The point of the initiative, the shared priority project, was to have several city departments work together to get the 237 housed. Ten months later, 111 of those people are in permanent supportive housing. But, according to data shared with The Chronicle, as of June 5 many remain in perilous positions: 68 are on the streets; 10 are missing; 37 are in temporary shelter. Eleven have died. As a team works round-the-clock to help this small group, the project reveals just how hard it is to help those suffering from extreme mental health and medical problems within the citys fractured system and how important it is to plug the holes. Dr. Anton Nigusse Bland, appointed the citys director of behavioral health reform in 2018, said improving behavioral health services is still a major focus. He pointed to a bond measure Breed introduced for the November ballot that would give the city $107 million to spend on mental health and substance use disorder treatment facilities. He also said the department has been able to reach more people than it normally would because mental health and drug treatment service providers are regularly going to the shelter-in-place hotels. But he stopped short of promising that existing programs and initiatives wouldnt see eventual cuts. To help close the anticipated $1.7 billion deficit over the next two years, each city department has to slash its budget by 10% in the upcoming fiscal year with an extra 5% identified that can also be cut if need be. For this first round of cuts, Greg Wagner, the health departments chief financial officer, said the department may be able to weather at least part of the year without service cuts. But if we do need to meet that additional 5%, we will not have the ability to move forward without making some of those harder choices, he said. Already, the pandemic has hobbled some plans to reform and boost capacity in the citys system. Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Matt Haney, who wrote the initial Mental Health SF plan, are working on a way to make it more feasible like implementing it in phases instead of all at once. Meanwhile, other plans like the new meth sobering center have been put on hold; a planned psychiatric respite facility on Valencia Street had to cut its bed count from 50 to 20 so there would be enough room for clients to social distance; implementation of a new law to mandate treatment for those considered extremely mentally ill and addicted to drugs has been delayed; Breeds hopes of adding more than 100 behavioral health care beds around the city have been slowed. Steve Fields, CEO of Progress Foundation, which runs programs around the city for those struggling with mental illness, said he was looking forward to the commitments City Hall had made to improving the system before the pandemic. We were on the right track, he said. His foundation had to put on hold plans for two new residential treatment programs, realizing the health department likely couldnt commit to acquiring a new site and funding it. Fields said his existing residential programs have cut capacity by 10% to 20% for social distancing. It will be an interesting discussion about what we cant afford to lose, and what we can grow back up when things get better, he said. But if we are looking at a ($1.7 billion) deficit, we know there are going to have to be some draconian cuts. At the beginning of the pandemic, HealthRight 360 scrambled for weeks to figure out how to continue its services. When Chris Summers, 35, joined the program from jail at the end of March, he was immediately placed into a two-week quarantine where he was mostly confined to his room. The rules in treatment are rigid as it is, so to have even more imposed on him mandatory masks, social distancing, no visitors has been difficult. But, he said, its better than being in jail or out on the streets. Its a hard time to be in rehab, he said. But in a weird way, its also the best time. I mean, if someone is going to get their life changed, now is the time. Vitka Eisen, CEO of HealthRight 360, said there have even been some beneficial changes due to the pandemic: like the ability to do more telehealth visits with those who can access them, and new state guidelines that allow people to stay longer in each program if they have nowhere else to go. Its a welcome change for the existing residents, but also means theres less room for new people to come in. She said shes concerned about impacts the budget cuts could have in the future. Theres a possibility that we have to rethink the direction that we were going in, she said. Since the pandemic hit, conditions on San Franciscos streets have dramatically worsened. The number of tents citywide grew 71% until early June when the city started bringing more people inside. The surge in tents came as shelters limited how many people they could let in. Case managers say more clients are relapsing as they struggle with the pressures of job loss, isolation and uncertainty. The number of homeless deaths increased more than threefold from 14 to 48 in an eight week period between March and May, as overdoses increased and services were trimmed. But inside the rehab center, Cary said hes glad the men can largely ignore the realities outside at least for now. As long as this place is open and as long as Im working here, Im going to do everything I can to try to help them, he said. Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani C Shivakumar By Express News Service CHENNAI: The lack of thoroughness on the part of authorities who were tasked with shifting the vegetable and fruit markets to Thirumazhisai and Madhavaram became apparent when makeshift tents got damaged and traders struggled to unload their wares in knee deep water, following heavy showers on Friday. With the situation getting worse every passing hour, Thiruvallur Collector and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority member secretary rushed to the spot and ensured that the water was sucked out. Measures required to resume market activities soon were also initiated. Traders thanked the officials for the timely help, but expressed concern if the new measures were enough to shield the market activities from heavy rain. Traders struggling in knee-deep water at Tiruvanmaiyur vegetable market after lashed the city during the wee hours of Friday | Ashwin prasath The traders urge the government to reopen Koyambedu fruits and vegetable wholesale market. The government has done a lot to support us in this new market. Senior officials come here and ensure that the works are carried out on a war footing. However, we want the government to reopen Koyambedu market. We sell vegetables here in the price range of Rs 15 -Rs 20 per kg, but the retailers in Chennai are selling everything to final consumers at Rs 40 - Rs 80 per kg. We are risking our lives here to feed the city, while retailers there are fleecing the public, Market Management Committee Licensed Merchants Association president and Anaithu Sangankalin Kootamaipu general secretary S Chandran said. The traders at the Thirumazhisai market have sent a representation in this regard to Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, and they also plan to take the matter to the notice of the Chief secretary. Meanwhile, officials say that it will be difficult to shift the market back with the number of Covid-19 cases rising in the city. It is learnt that the officials are working out a strategy to ensure that the temporary markets can brave any torrential downpour in the future. President Donald Trump is criticizing former President Barack Obama's efforts to lift some sanctions against Cuba and warns that the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, would even embrace socialism domestically. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 23:29:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has opened two key trade routes with neighbor Afghanistan that will help boost bilateral trade, Pakistani officials said on Saturday. Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistani Prime Minister's Special Representative for Afghanistan, said the Angor Adda crossing with Afghanistan in South Waziristan tribal district was opened on Friday, two days ahead of its scheduled opening. Meanwhile, officials in Kurram tribal district said that the Kharlachi border crossing was opened on Saturday. Sadiq had earlier announced that the Angor Adda and the Kharlachi border crossings would be opened on July 12 for trade with the neighboring country. Both border crossings were closed in March due to COVID-19. While congratulating the team working at the Angor Adda border crossing to open it for trade ahead of the proposed date, Sadiq said in a tweet on Saturday that "trade should be the mainstay of Pak-Afghan relations and prosperity of regions on both sides of the border." Last month, Pakistan opened the Ghulam Khan crossing in North Waziristan tribal district with Afghanistan. Besides these crossings, Pakistan has also opened Torkham crossing in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Chaman crossing in southwestern Balochistan province for trade with Afghanistan. Earlier this month, Sadiq said Pakistan had shared Torkham and Chaman border terminal master plans with Afghanistan to enable concurrent development on the Afghan side in the spirit of brotherly cooperation and regional connectivity. He said an enhanced compatibility in trade infrastructure on both sides will help realize the shared goal of optimum trade, connectivity and people to people facilitation between the two countries. Afghan traders currently use Torkham and Chaman border points for transit trade and both countries are exploring ways to use other crossings for transit trade. Pakistan announced in October last year to open the Gwadar port for the Afghan transit trade as the trade related infrastructure at the port was already to handle bulk cargoes to and from Afghanistan. The first ship carrying containers for Afghan transit trade arrived at the Gwadar port on Jan. 14, 2020. Enditem But Smith thinks a lot of hard work on the ground (as much as pandemic strictures allowed) almost paid off. I was told we had no shot in hell of support in Genesee County, and that there would be no union support because my opponent (Berger) was associated with the unions, she said. But we worked hard and got the endorsement in Monroe County and Genesee County. An organizer for VOCAL-NY (Voices of Community Activists and Leaders) in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, Smith put those skills to work. And she did just fine in places such as Genesee, where she was told she would fail because she is a woman and Black. Not only did I get the endorsement, but numbers are going my way there, she said at the end of a most surprising campaign. ... Speaking of Zellner, the chairman is crowing that headquarters three endorsed candidates for the State Legislature Berger in 61st Senate, Bill Conrad in the 140th Assembly and Jon Rivera in the 149th Assembly, all triumphed. The suspended boss of Nigerias anti-graft agency, the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has complained about the unfortunate handling of his investigation for alleged corruption, saying he has consequently been paraded like a common criminal. Mr Magu, 58, was arrested in Abuja on Monday by a team of police officers, who dragged him to the State House to appear before the Justice Ayo Salami-led Presidential Investigative Committee. As PREMIUM TIMES now understands, with documents obtained, the police officers were led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Gabriel Elaigwu. They acted on the instruction of the investigative committee. The police team held a letter from the committee telling Mr Magu he had featured prominently in certain offences and that the need to obtain clarification from you has become very urgent and necessary. President Muhammadu Buhari set up the committee, chaired by Mr Salami, a retired Justice, to investigate alleged mismanagement of recovered assets by the EFCC between May 2015 and May 2020. A petition by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who announced Mr Magus suspension on Friday, is believed to have triggered the investigation. Since Monday, Mr Magu, originally a police officer, has been in detention at the Force Criminal Investigation Departments Area 10 Abuja headquarters from where he had throughout the week been appearing before the investigators sitting at the State House. The investigative committee is set up based on the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, a government statement said on Friday. Not given petitions against him However, speaking through his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, in a letter directed to the investigative committee on Friday, Mr Magu said he had not seen the petitions containing the allegations against him, nor had the committee availed him with their terms of reference. Mr Chairman, since the 6th of July when our client honoured your invitation, he has been consistently applying to the Committee to be given the petitions containing the allegations of CONSPIRACY, CORRUPT ENRICHMENT, ABUSE OF POWER/OFFICE, which request has not been honoured or obliged till date, read the letter, seen by PREMIUM TIMES. Our client has also informed us that he remains unaware of the terms of reference of this distinguished Committee. The letter also related Mr Magus discomfort with his continued detention at the FCID without being informed of the allegations against him and the deserved opportunity to timeously study and respond to same. The letter further contained a complaint that, witnesses are called and examined by the Committee behind his back and without allowing him and counsel of his choice to participate in the proceedings involving these witnesses. Common criminal He said he had been a target of campaigns of calumny by the media taking advantage of his detention to spread damaging, false and prejudicial allegations. Among such unfounded allegations which never featured in the proceedings of the Committee thus far, the letter said, were that Mr Magu gave Vice President Yemi Osinbajo four billion naira (an allegation Mr Osinbajo has denied); that he ran secret accounts; procured cronies to front for him;, and that he acquired properties in Dubai. These campaigns of calumny have greatly affected the morale of our client and damaged his hard earned reputation and that of the Commission (EFCC), the letter read. It continued, that our client as a result of this campaign of calumny has been paraded like a common criminal and subjected to all manners of insults and embarrassment just for serving his nation diligently and efficiently as the arrow-head of the anti-corruption campaign of this administration. This unfortunate development is happening even before the determination of the petitions before this Honourable Committee with prejudicial consequences. Failed integrity test Mr Buhari, who rode to power on a promise to fight corruption which fuels Nigerias barely changing development crises appointed Mr Magu acting EFCC chairman in November 2015 following the removal of Ibrahim Lamorde. And twice, late 2016 and March 2017, the president requested the Senate to confirm his appointment. On both occasions, Mr Magu was rejected by the Senate, following repeated State Security Services reports that he had failed the integrity test and will eventually be a liability to the anti-corruption fight of the present administration. But Mr Buhari brushed aside the SSS reports and kept Mr Magu to continue leading the EFCC in acting capacity. Mr Magu had then denied the allegations in the SSS reports and also most of the allegations were fact-checked and found inaccurate by PREMIUM TIMES at the time. Prayers to the Salami-led committee Back to his Fridays letter; Mr Magu, then made seven requests from the committee, including its terms of reference; access to the petitions against him to enable him study and prepare a robust defence; intervention of the committee to facilitate his release from the FCID detention; and adequate time to respond to the allegations against him with necessary materials and evidence. He also sought an opportunity to confront the petitioners with his own defence; and requested that witnesses be examined in his presence and his counsel. He then asked the committee to guarantee his right to fair hearing including his right to liberty in the course of the proceedings of this distinguished Committee. The investigative committee could not be reached to comment on Mr Magus complaints as it does not have any known person with a responsibility for public relations role. Advertisements In the most likely event of a failure to return to his position, Mr Magu, the fourth chief executive of EFCC, will be leaving the anti-graft agency rather unceremoniously, suffering a similar fate as his three predecessors Nuhu Ribadu, Farida Waziri, and Ibrahim Lamorde. The attorney-general, Mr Malami, said in a statement on Friday that Mr Magus suspension, approved by Mr Buhari, was to enable an unhindered investigation. Mohammed Umar, the director of operations under Mr Magu, has been appointed to act as the chairman of the commission. Security operatives attached to Mr. Magus private and official houses were withdrawn Friday evening, a family source told PREMIUM TIMES, expressing fears over the safety of the immediate family of the embattled anti-corruption fighter because of enemies made in the course of his job. Floods Sweep Away Cars and Homes; Virus Relief Money Went to China-Linked Companies Millions of dollars in loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) went to companies linked to the Chinese Communist Party and state-owned enterprises. The National Pulse published an exclusive story on this, noting that some were tied to the CCPs Confucius Institute. And the Justice Department announced the arrest of a professor and researcher named Song Guo Zheng, who it said has strong ties to China and is being charged with illegally using US grant funds to develop scientific expertise for China. Similar to Dr. Charles Lieber, the former Harvard chemistry professor who is also facing charges, Zheng was allegedly tied to the CCPs Thousand Talents Program. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement Yet again, we are faced with a professor at a U.S. University, who is a member of a Chinese Talent Plan, allegedly and deliberately failing to disclose his relationship with a Chinese university and receipt of funds from the Chinese Government in order to obtain millions of dollars in U.S. grant money designed to benefit the health and well-being of the people of the United States not to be hijacked to supplement the research goals of the Chinese Communist Party. 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_Josh State-run may soon need government support as the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic could render many borrowers unable to pay back loans, increasing the bad loan burden. Only few such as State Bank of India (SBI) have the capacity to raise money from the market. Fitch Ratings estimates that under a moderate stress scenario, Indian are around $15 billion short of the capital required to meet a 10 per cent weighted-average common equity tier 1 ratio. The gap rises to about $58 billion in FY22 under a high-stress scenario, where economic growth fails to sustainably recover despite a phased opening up of the economy. State-run are likely to account for the bulk of the capital shortfall, as large private banks should stay above the minimum requirements, despite some capital erosion in a high-stress scenario, Fitch says. Loan recast Public sector bank executives say a clear picture would emerge only after the six-month moratorium on EMI payments ends in August. Also, the Reserve Bank of Indias decision on one-time restructuring would be critical to banks, helping them manage burden to a certain extent, say bankers. ALSO READ: Coronavirus will result in high NPAs and capital erosion: RBI Governor Many of the banks SBI, Canara, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda are working on plans to hit the market to raise capital this year. While SBI has approved the plan to raise up to Rs 20,000 crore, PNB will take shareholders nod for raising up to Rs 7,000 crore. Prior to consolidation in the public sector banking space, an assessment was made about the amount of capital the banks would need, says Sunil Mehta, chief executive at the Indian Banks Association (IBA). Based on that exercise, the government infused capital into banks in FY20. But that was before Covid-19 struck. A nationwide lockdown imposed in March-end to stem the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic crippled the economy, and banks see the situation worsening on the bad loan front. A one-time restructuring of loans, if allowed by the RBI, would limit the capital requirements of banks in the current financial year. The government may need to infuse capital in the next financial year, Mehta says. The bright side However, there are some unlikely bright spots, such as the higher provision coverage ratio (PCR) for bad loans. As stressed cases get resolved, banks would be able to deploy that money better. Also, learning from past mistakes, banks have tightened monitoring to ensure better governance. This should help ask the promoters to chip in funds in times of stress to ensure there's enough skin in the game and limit the burden. Lenders also stand to benefit from the recent mergers which have led to economies of scale. It is true for Punjab National Bank, which took into its fold Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India; Union Bank of India, which merged Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank into itself. Indian Bank which amalgamated Allahabad Bank, and Canara Bank which merged Syndicate Bank into itself will also benefit, said a senior banker with a Mumbai-based PSB. Injection is critical The government has cumulatively injected around $43 billion in fresh capital into banks over the past five years (FY15-FY20). However, these failed to meaningfully improve state banks core capital, as they were piecemeal and preceded large losses, which were often 2-3 times higher than the capital infused. In real terms, around 60 per cent of the above injected capital came in the past two years most of which went towards bridging capital shortfalls. State banks are also under tremendous pressure to support distressed sectors, both within and outside the governments announced stimulus measures. This ultimately puts the onus on the government to address capital shortfalls, bankers say. Fitch says it does not think a capital injection of $15 billion would significantly pressure Indias sovereign rating. But, the pandemic has already raised the states public-debt burden and has led to deterioration in its fiscal metrics. A well-functioning banking sector is needed for achieving sustained economic growth of 6-7 per cent, barring which Indias economic uncertainty will continue, it pointed out. HANDOUT / National Institutes of Health / AFP via Getty Images The Midland Health Department reported Friday that it is conducting an investigation on 34 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Midland County. The 34 cases is the fewest this week, but still brings the overall cases count 1,104. The Health Department reported that are 715 active cases, 370 that have recovered and 19 that have died. The Barbados government is considering giving people the chance to relocate to the tropical islands sparkling beaches and work from there remotely for up to a year. If you changed the word Barbados to Majorca it would certainly give you some food for thought and it is not a bad idea for the island as it battles to secure some revenue in these hard times. The Barbados Welcome Stamp, is the brainchild of the islands Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, who came up with the scheme after saying short-term travel and the requirements for testing have become more difficult during the pandemic. The move comes as Caribbean tourism has been decimated by the pandemic. The industry accounts for 40% of Barbados gross domestic product with 30% of its workforce directly employed by it. One thing is clear; it is going to take a long time for Majorca to recover from the coronavirus outbreak. This sumer at best we will get 30 percent of the tourists who visited us last year and the prospects for the future also look rather unsettled. So Majorca needs to start thinking outside the box. The Barbados proposal could just work for Majorca and already many people do work remotely from the island. As I mentioned in an earlier Viewpoint the island needs to try and start diversifying its economy. The days of mass tourism as we know it could be numbered. Majorca has plenty to offer and it is alot more than just a package holiday destination. Police personnel are checking IDs of commuters near Noida-Delhi border, following the imposition of lockdown in the state from 10pm on July 10 to 5am on July 13. Security has been tightened across the state as the lockdown in Uttar Pradesh began from Friday night. In view surge in COVID-19 cases, Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday imposed lockdown in the state, which will come into force from Friday night. "This is not lockdown. Some restrictions have been imposed for a purpose. We will implement the order. We are alert. We do this daily. But for three days we will it with more activeness," Lucknow Police Commissioner Sujeet Pandey told ANI. Police have up barricades and cops are out in the night to ensure strict compliance of lockdown rules. The administration also warned that a fine of 500 will be slapped each time for non-compliance if people are found without face cover or masks outdoors. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics GENEVA (AP) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticized an independent U.N. human rights expert's report insisting a American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January was a watershed event in the use of drones and amounted to a violation of international law. The report presented by Agnes Callamard to the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council on Thursday chronicled events around the death of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and the legal implications of his killing as part of a broader look on the use of drone strikes. Callamard, the special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions who has been commissioned by the council, called the January strike in Iraq the first known incident in which a state invokes self-defense as justification for an attack against a government official outside a declared armed conflict." Pompeo said in a statement late Thursday that the U.S. rejected her report and opinions. Ms. Callamards conclusions are spurious, he said. The strike that killed Gen. Soleimani was in response to an escalating series of armed attacks in preceding months by the Islamic Republic of Iran and militias it supports on U.S. forces and interests in the Middle East region. Pompeo said the strike on Baghdad International Airport was carried out to deter Iran from launching or supporting further attacks against the United States or U.S. interests, and to degrade the capabilities of the Qods Force. He said Callamard gives more cause to distrust U.N. human rights mechanisms. The Trump administration pulled the United States out of the rights council two years ago, accusing it of an anti-Israel bias and alleging that it is too accepting of autocratic regimes that regularly abuse human rights. Callamard is perhaps best known for leading an investigation into the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi national, and issuing a scathing report on the actions of Saudi officials. Story continues In her new report, Callamard acknowledged in her report that international humanitarian and human rights law can provide diverging answers on the legal validity of some drone strikes, and the one against Soleimani raised genuine uncertainty as to how to interpret its lawfulness. She said the United States had not engaged with her as she drafted the drone report. But based on the evidence the U.S. provided, the targeting of Gen. Soleimani, and the deaths of those accompanying him, constitute an arbitrary killing for which, under (international human rights law), the U.S. is responsible, she said. Callamard wrote that the strike targeting Soleimani was qualitatively different from other drone strikes that targeted non-state actors. This is the primary reason the Soleimani strike is considered a watershed change in the conduct of extra-territorially targeted strikes and killings, she stated in the report. It is hard to imagine that a similar strike against a Western military leader would not be considered as an act of war, potentially leading to intense action, political, military and otherwise, against the state launching the strike, she added. Among other recommendations, the report calls on the United Nations to examine the legal framework on the use of drones and for the U.N. Security Council - which Callamard called missing in action on the subject of drone strikes - to take up the issues. The report's release came as the United States mounts an increasingly intense diplomatic offensive to try to depict Irans Islamic Republic as the worlds most rogue regime. Tehran has countered by issuing an international arrest warrant and asking Interpol for help in detaining President Donald Trump and dozens of others it believes carried out the drone strike on Soleimani. Trump faces no danger of arrest, and Interpol said it would not consider Iran's request. ___ Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. Bengaluru, July 11 : The Karnataka government has roped in resident welfare associations (RWAs) and other community organisations to run Covid Care Centres (CCCs) to isolate and manage coronavirus patients, an official said on Saturday. "Every hand makes a difference in the fight against the pandemic. RWAs and other community organisations will facilitate home isolation of mild and asymptomatic (cases) within their premises," said Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey. A number of RWAs have already come forward to facilitate home-isolation of Covid-19 patients, for which the Health Department has issued the guidelines. To set up a CCC, Pandey said, the RWA/organisation must choose a vacant houses/flat/community hall within the residential premises, with separate accommodation for women and children. "Individual occupancy in a room of 10 x 10 feet, preferably with attached bathroom and toilet. In the absence of individual rooms, 4-6 positive persons shall be accommodated in a hall with attached bath and toilets," he said. If a group of individual homeowners in a street or neighbourhood are willing to arrange an independent unoccupied home as CCC, they will be encouraged to do so. Similarly, he asked the RWAs to arrange for temporary partitions of either PVC or side screen for individual privacy and to maintain a physical distance of six feet between two beds. "Beds, mattresses, furnishings and linen, uninterrupted water and power supply shall be made available. Homemade food either from the patient's house or from a common kitchen shall be arranged," said Pandey. Likewise, garbage management, sanitation and logistics should be managed exclusively and separately for the Covid block. Biomedical waste especially must be treated with 1 per cent hypochlorite solution, assuring a contact period of one hour before the final disposal. To ensure medical attention to the patients lodged in the RWA-run CCCs, they should tie up with a medical team or a doctor should be housed within the premises for triaging and regular clinical support. These CCCs should also have a linkage with an affiliated private hospital, dedicated Covid health centre or hospital for referring the Covid patients. Similarly, support staff should be present round the clock in two or three shifts for the care of patients in the ratio of 1:12, apart from supervision and arrangement of food. Daily reporting of admissions and the health status of patients should be shared with the government. Likewise, most other guidelines applicable to a normal CCC are also applicable to those run by RWAs. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Prosecutors are on board with the decision to convene grand juries next month in felony criminal cases on Staten Island and in the city. So are the Staten Island Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and a number of other private criminal defense attorneys. It was unquestionably a rough week for Barry Cowen. The Agriculture Minister found himself under an "intense spotlight ... and on the shame, more importantly the shame, of drink-driving". Still, it could have been worse for him politically. He's being driven around as a Cabinet minister this weekend. The allegations about his drink-driving ban, provisional licence and speeding were being pursued weeks earlier before the new Cabinet was appointed. The chilling effect of our defamation laws meant it was exceptionally difficult to verify the story. Taoiseach Micheal Martin did his best Claude Rains impression when hearing of Cowen's woes. Like Captain Renault in 'Casablanca' who was "shocked, shocked" to find gambling in Rick's Cafe as a croupier handed him his winnings, Martin says he first became aware of Cowen's drink-driving ban last Friday afternoon when contacted by this newspaper. "I am disappointed that I learned about it in this way and have made that clear to him," the Taoiseach said. After a week of internal rancour about ministerial appointments, by all accounts, the Taoiseach was taken by surprise by the revelation. The dogs on the streets supposedly knew about Cowen's drink-driving disqualification. His supporters in Offaly admit it was on the grapevine. "I heard a rumour at the time but I thought that's all it was, a rumour," Fianna Fail councillor Eamon Dooley told the 'Offaly Express'. Expand Close Minister O'Gorman says he will bring forward proposals to Cabinet about a reformed operating model next yea Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Minister O'Gorman says he will bring forward proposals to Cabinet about a reformed operating model next yea Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire Several attempts were made by this newspaper - and others - over recent years to prove it, but to no avail. The rumour first popped up on the radar sometime in the late part of 2017 and early 2018 and again in the latter part of 2019 and into the general election campaign. Serious allegations about politicians during an election campaign are frequent and rarely stack up. A legitimate question has been asked this week about why a case from four years ago only emerged now? The straightforward answer is because Cowen didn't declare it and it was difficult to prove. The unique circumstances of Cowen's case was a factor. The rumour was he was banned off the road. Therefore, the assumption was he was prosecuted in court. He wasn't. The reason Cowen was banned, rather than just issued with penalty points, was because he was on a Learner permit. The side story about his provisional licence was unusual and served as a quirky obstacle to getting at the truth. There was a rake of time spent in June on a wild goose chase through searches of court listings and newspaper archives from Offaly, Meath, Kildare, Laois and Westmeath looking for a phantom court case. Moreover, you can't just go around accusing public figures of breaking the law without the full proof. The draconian defamation laws in Ireland are arguably the most stringent in Europe. You need belt, braces, shoelaces. The lot. There is a public interest in bringing a Cabinet minister's drink-driving ban into the public domain. However, that's no guarantee a jury will agree with you if you end up in court. Defamation cases are often settled by media organisations - even if they have a good defence - who find themselves in a commercial situation where defending the case overwhelmingly outweighs the costs of standing by their own journalism. Indeed, legal concerns meant this story needed additional checks. Get any detail wrong and you get sued. Simple as that. Hence the story took the month of June and into July to get across the line with certainty. Gossip and the grapevine are not much use when a legal letter arrives. Politicians don't have a good record of putting their hands up and confessing all. Former Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey was less than co-operative when first contacted about her infamous swing-gate compensation claim. When votegate happened, Fianna Fail's Niall Collins and Timmy Dooley first claimed ignorance and said they didn't know about it. The drink-driving ban was a Government issue. Therefore, the Taoiseach was contacted instead of the minister. A week later, there are still many outstanding questions about Cowen's driving record. This week, the Taoiseach spoke about the vital role the media played during the Covid-19 crisis. "I would like us all to note that in a free democracy such as ours, the independent media is the principal channel of communication with the public during a major emergency such as this. I want to acknowledge the commitment of journalists to covering this crisis in often stressful circumstances and also for asking the tough questions essential to challenging us to be more effective," he said in the Dail on Tuesday. The independent media is important in a free democracy so, says the Taoiseach. His party seems to have a different view. On Monday, when this newspaper reported that Cowen would be making a Dail statement, a party activist from Offaly called this newspaper's coverage "gutter journalism". This view was endorsed by Fianna Fail Senator Fiona O'Loughlin. On Tuesday, when Cowen's speeding on a learner permit being up in court three months before his drink-driving ban, Fianna Fail TD Padraig O'Sullivan said he didn't think "it warrants another front page". Fianna Fail Senator Lisa Chambers concurred about it not being front page news, yet admits "fair questions" are still being posed by road safety campaigners about how exactly Cowen was on a provisional licence all those years. Those same road safety campaigners also want to know if he picked up points for speeding as a learner driver - and, if so, how many? Also, when exactly he "regularised" his licence? No answers are forthcoming from Cowen to the "independent media". Fianna Fail general election candidate Caitriona McClean wanted RTE to "explain the focus" on the Cowen story. The piece de resistance came from the self-proclaimed "former Fianna Fail local election candidate" Robert Kellaghan, a Cowen supporter from Offaly, who colloquially labelled yours truly "some f*****g prick". What a charmer. Fianna Fail wants an "independent media", just not covering their misdeameanours. Nobody doubts Barry Cowen's remorse about his drink-driving is sincere, but the incident wouldn't be known, even by his own party leader, the Taoiseach, if it wasn't for an independent media, which operates constantly with one hand tied behind its back due to defamation laws. Meanwhile, over in the Wild West, the social media giants operate under no rules at all. In an unprecedented move, a Cabinet minister had to deny ridiculous allegations made about him this week. Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman was targeted for almost 10 days by trolls over a photograph of him marching alongside British LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell at Dublin's Pride march two years ago. Tatchell was criticised for a 1997 letter to 'The Guardian' newspaper about sex between adults and children. He says he was misquoted and has sought to clarify his remarks. O'Gorman wasn't aware of the views and wasn't supporting them by being photographed with Tatchell. O'Gorman stood firm and hit back at the attempts to link him to views, which seem to condone paedophilia. "The accusations are rooted in homophobia, stoked by anonymous, far-right Twitter accounts," he said in a well-crafted statement. The Green Party minister tried to ignore the hurtful comments but had to respond as supporters of his were defending him, which was inadvertently amplifying the allegations. Welcome to the new normal. The playing pitch is not level here. Social media and online posting sites are given carte blanche, while traditional news publishers are punished for any error. The fawning over the tech sector by senior government figures is comparable to the relationship with the Catholic Church in decades gone by. Executives have direct access to the top of government and can ring the leaders directly and their calls will be taken. Taoiseach Micheal Martin pays lip service to the importance of independent journalism for society, while he lets his own minister dodge questions. The Government claims it is going to reform the defamation laws and tackle the social media trolling. Don't hold your breath. But on the latter, they are now seeing the social media monster is out of control. The Cowen Conundrums: The questions left unanswered Despite delivering a personal statement to the Dail, Barry Cowen left many questions unanswered. Utahs junior Republican Senator Mitt Romney on Saturday morning pulled absolutely no punches in his response to President Donald Trumps decision to commute the sentence of his longtime adviser and confidant Roger Stone. Describing it as an Unprecedented, historic corruption. The question of whether there was a quid-pro-quo demanded by President Trump during his impeachment over his extortion of Ukraines President was a central issue. We now know thanks to Howard Finemans interview of Roger Stone that his withholding the truth about the Russian efforts via WikiLeaks to help him win the election in 2016 was a quid pro quo that has led to Stones receiving a commutation for the conviction of 7 felonies. We want to point out there is a difference between a commuted sentence and a pardon. A pardon is an order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offense from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed while commutation of sentence the change to a lesser penalty or punishment by the state. The depth of the corruption hasnt escaped the attention of the 2012 Republican nominee for President Mitt Romney, now a U.S. Senator from Utah. The president did not immediately respond to Romneys comment. Romney was the only Senate Republican with the integrity, independence, and honesty to vote to convict Trump in his Senate impeachment trial. Instead, Trump spent Saturday morning tweeting and retweeting dozens of posts, many attacking the presumptive Democratic 2020 nominee Joe Biden. This after, the number of coronavirus infection on Friday soared over 71,800 and as the number of deaths continued resurgence with over 800 yesterday. We are now returning to a fatality rate that will bring the number of deceased from COVID-19 to 250,000 by November 3, 2020, Election Day. In a statement released Friday, the White House press secretarys office said Stone had been a victim of the Russia Hoax that the left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency. Senator Romney has no doubt the Russians not only interfered in the 2016 election but coordinated their efforts through Julian Assange and Roger Stone. This is a crime neither has been charged with and which they could be charged should former Vice President Biden is elected president. Roger Stone & Trump's Banana Republic The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston recently appointed Janice Bond as their new Deputy Director. Working alongside Executive Director Hesse McGraw, Bond will oversee all of the museums operations and work to expand CAMHs external partnerships. According to a news release, Bond will also, further advance the museums commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion for a healthy internal and external culture. Born and raised in Houston, Bond worked as an artist, curator, and gallerist in Chicago where she also founded Bond Creative Advisors a consulting practice that led artists and institutions in realizing large-scale projects and programs across Chicago. From 2013 to 2015, Bond served as Director of Arts and Culture at Chicagos Inner-City Muslim Action Network, a nonprofit that focuses on using art as a foundation and pathway for social justice and restorative healing within Chicagos marginalized communities. Bond also traveled to Dakar in 2014 where she became a supporter of Association Colombin, a nonprofit artist founded organization that teaches pottery and sculpture to deaf and mute Senegalese. And in 2016, Bond was an artist-in-residence and lecturer at the Mark Rothko Art Centre in Daugavpils, Latvia. It is a true joy to join the leadership to evolve CAMHs historic and renowned institutional legacy, Bond said in a news release. For a museum to sustainably realize its vision, the endeavor must be rooted in the spirit of aligned conscience, service, and investment. As CAMH continues to travel this path, it is imperative that we recalibrate our internal and external operational models to purposefully foster equity and expanded vision. The physical CAMH building is currently closed to the public to help limit the spread of COVID-19, but the museums digital gallery and social media are active. Bond assumed her role at CAMH on June 23. ryan.nickerson@hcnonline.com Over six months into the coronavirus pandemic and the number of infected has crossed 12 million across the globe. Covid-19 has claimed more than 5 lakh lives globally while 7 million people have recovered from the deadly contagion worldwide. With a rapid surge in coronavirus cases across the globe, scientists and researchers are also ramping up effort to arrive at the potential Covid-19 vaccine. Gilead Sciences Inc., Oxford experts and American biotech company Moderna are at the forefront of vaccine development for Covid-19. In an interview with HT, Oxford University professor Sunetra Gupta had said that by the end of this summer, we should have proof that the vaccine works. Here are the latest developments on Covid-19 vaccine On Friday, Gilead Sciences Inc said an analysis showed its antiviral remdesivir helped reduce the risk of death in severely ill Covid-19 patients. It, however, added that rigorous clinical trials are needed to confirm ita benefit. Germany-based biotechnology company, BioNTech SE, could seek approval for its coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year, Wall Street Journal reported. The experimental vaccine, BNT162b1, showed promise against coronavirus in early-stage human testing and is expected to move into a large trial involving 30,000 participants this month, pending regulatory nod. Also read: Psoriasis injection okayed for limited use to treat Covid-19 patients Moderna Inc is expecting to begin late-stage trials of its vaccine later this month. Its vaccine was among the first to be tested in humans in the US. In a small trial conducted on a group of healthy individuals, the vaccine was found to produce protective antibodies. The company has signed an agreement with Spains Laboratorios Farmaceuticos Rovi SA to scale up the manufacturing and production of its potential Covid-19 vaccine for markets outside the US. A tuberculosis vaccine routinely given to children in countries with high rates of that bacterial disease might be helping to reduce deaths from Covid-19, researchers reported on Thursday. The findings were published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A parliamentary panel on Friday informed the government of India that a vaccine for Covid-19 is expected only by early next year. Presentations were given by the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the principal scientific adviser to the government before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Climate on the Centres Covid-19 preparedness. (With inputs from agencies) On Friday, April 10, at 5 p.m., Californians learned I had resigned as chief economic and business adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom and chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The news release stated I was leaving to focus on family and personal business. In corporate speak, this usually means someone got fired. I was not fired, and I approved this news release, even though I hate 5 p.m. Friday news releases. I am sharing additional information because I faced a challenge one of every three people in America has: depression and anxiety. Far too often, people suffer these illnesses with shame and without support. As our country wrestles with massive unemployment, widespread economic uncertainty, the continuation of coronavirus and ongoing fights for racial and social justice, it has never been more urgent for business and economic leaders to move beyond platitudes on mental health. Leaders must ensure people can find vital care and acceptance for mental health challenges without punitive professional or personal impact. That includes me and starts with this column. Three weeks before my resignation, I had an emergency overnight stay at the hospital. After a battery of tests, I received a diagnosis of severe depression and anxiety. Against medical advice, I dove right back into coronavirus response. This was late March. The crisis was all-consuming, and my local businesses and family also needed attention. At the time, I told myself and my team that we all have to operate at 120%. For me, this meant 80-hour workweeks and barely sleeping. I realize now that not only did I put my own health at risk, but also I was a bad role model for my team. It became clear I couldnt keep serving the people of California with my health challenge. I resigned, and the day after the announcement, my wife and a close friend took me back to the hospital. I was diagnosed with an even deeper depression. It felt like a 350-pound lineman had slammed me to the ground and hit me hard against the head. The doctor told me if I intended to see my granddaughters grow up, I needed to press the restart button. That is what Ive done. For the last three months, Ive been in recovery. This includes hospitalization, individual counseling, medication and mandatory prioritization of sleep and exercise. To protect both my family and my own health, I am recovering in place at home. I will reassess next professional steps with my family and doctors after Labor Day (and the birth of my second granddaughter). Im sharing my story because we have too few business and public leaders making public space to discuss mental health, destigmatize professional shame and protect against the resulting economic impact it can have on peoples careers and our economy as a whole. The conversation is overdue and urgent. Well-meaning friends discouraged me from sharing my diagnosis of anxiety and depression. They said in so many words that it would end my career. While I respect their counsel, I categorically reject it. I talk about my mountain biking injuries and the metal plate in my left leg as a badge of honor. Why should I hide a similar injury to the most important and yet vulnerable and least understood organ in my body, my brain? What does it say about me that I have a mental health issue? It says that I am human. As Dr. Brene Brown writes, shame is destructive. Hiding my diagnosis breeds shame. At the same time, I am the first to say I had the opportunity to get treatment and can write this column because of privilege. I have great health care insurance and access to quality care. I have doctors who helped me find treatment that worked for me. I have executive seniority that reduces the potential professional harm of speaking out, and a safety net to take my prescribed medical recovery. The majority of people suffering with anxiety and depression do not have these privileges. As 2020 progresses, anxiety and depression are intense and acute national health challenges. In April, nearly half (45%) of adults across the country said worry and stress related to the coronavirus pandemic was hurting their mental health. The killing of George Floyd and our destabilized democracy further increased depression and anxiety. Rates of both have tripled. Black and Asian Americans report outsize impact. Worry about suicide is up. Community mental health services are down. Physicians are calling on Congress to tackle comprehensive mental health care support. Even before 2020, anxiety and depression were endemic in the workplace. As Jeffrey Pfeffer writes, 61% of employees said that workplace stress had made them sick. Job stress costs U.S. employers more than $300 billion annually. We need executive leadership to walk the talk when it comes to mental health, especially in Type A hot spots like professional firms and Silicon Valley, in workplaces that have built-in expectations of 24/7 availability, and among frontline essential workers and health care professionals. Culture change starts at the top. We must do more than give lip service to eradicate the shame and stigma associated with having and treating mental health. Historical models and current economic outlooks put America on a trajectory for mental health to get worse before it gets better. Long term, we need a health care system and policies that protect and prioritize mental health. But business and economic leaders have the ability to step up now, speak up about their own anxiety and depression, and prioritize tangible mental health care support for employees and staff. My hope is sharing my story here encourages others to do the same. I did resign to focus on family and personal business and my mental health. Like past biking injuries, I intend to make this recovery process a learning moment, not a lifetime stigma. It will be a lifelong journey. My determination to work for a better future for all of us remains unchanged. Im privileged to be on the path to recovery. But neither privilege nor luck should have to be part of anyones mental health equation. Lenny Mendonca was the chief economic and business adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom and is now recovering in place at home in California. He wrote this piece for CalMatters, a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias state Capitol works and why it matters. While many of us prepared for lockdown by stocking up on food, others panicked about the state their locks would soon be in without professional haircare help. Our salon reprieve was supposed to be a "couple of weeks" but now, four months in, we've had to adapt to flying solo, with a whole new way of accessing beauty. But there's nothing like a period of isolation to make you appreciate what you had, with many of us realising the significance of the beauty industry for ourselves and the economy. In the words of Joan Crawford, "The most important thing a woman can have - next to talent, of course - is her hairdresser." It may seem superficial but salons have proved important for our appearance and our happiness, especially for those sporting home-haircut botch jobs, with recent studies showing that nearly 50pc of people cited salon visits as top of their to-do list post-lockdown. "We have a short memory," says Jennie Hingston, owner of Elysian Therapy in Sandyford, Dublin. "Everything will eventually go back to the way it was but in the few days that we have been open, we've been inundated with booking requests from people who really value the expertise of a professional. I think lockdown has made people realise the difference between doing it yourself and having a well-trained professional at the helm. It's not just about the treatments, it's a really personal business; we have some clients who come as much for the connection, the chats and the social aspect. They've really been missing that." No doubt, 2020 is a year of "new normals"; our lifestyles, work and routines are under threat. But while many couldn't wait to get back to their respective salons, there are plenty that have embraced the bad-roots, casual breast-swinging natural look, relieved at the prospect of not having to get "made up". Others have had the challenge of keeping up appearances, with everything from the shoulders up being thrust into the limelight thanks to a steady stream of Zoom meetings. In desperation, people have turned to DIY solutions in an effort to maintain their beauty regime (and their dignity). Between March and April alone, the number of Google searches for DIY beauty treatments quadrupled. Not surprising, since Irish consumers, pre-Covid, were spending a cool 700,000 a day on beauty products (apparently we use more fake tan than any other country in the world bar two) and hair salons around the country were taking in 1m a day in revenue. Of the whopping 473bn global beauty economy, Europe takes a sizeable 78bn chunk - that's one colossal grooming habit, and one that has hit a major stumbling block in the last few months as people were forced to stay at home. Expand Close Domestic beauty: When salons closed, Aisling Kinsella used home lash and brow tints / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Domestic beauty: When salons closed, Aisling Kinsella used home lash and brow tints But it will take more than a global pandemic to sink the beauty ship, with the industry pivoting its attention to the digital platform. For the last few months, social media has been flooded with makeup artists, hairdressers and beauticians demonstrating the latest try-on tools, gadgets, products and beauty routines. Even former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman took to her own bathroom with an at-home hair-colour kit championing the virtues of "30 years' worth of expert advice all available online". And now, as we emerge from lockdown, it's likely many will continue to work from home and, as a consequence, will forgo the usual beauty effort or enjoy the continuing merits of DIY treatments, having reassessed their convenience and their own discretionary spending. Karen Jackson, owner of WearWith organic cashmere, was just one of many who adopted the do-it-yourself approach to her hair. Initially she was happy to hold off for "a few weeks" but after realising she might be in it for the long haul, she turned to the internet for help. "I own a fashion business so I really felt I couldn't completely let myself go," she laughs. "I'm representing my brand and, while I wasn't out and about, I was doing consultations online. I felt that if I was wearing one of my cashmere jumpers, I had to look a little groomed, even if I was just popping to the shops," she admits. "Not to mention, I'm really small, so it's fine for someone who's 6ft but everyone looks down at me, so they can all see my roots." About a month into lockdown, she took fate into her own hands and started researching home hair-highlighting kits, but it seemed everyone had the same idea and everything was sold out. "I'd never done my own hair before and I was really apprehensive. I didn't want something that could go drastically wrong as I'd have to dye all my hair dark and then reapply blonde again - and that terrified me," she says. Slim pickings meant having to resort to a sun-lightening product, which promised a "gradual blonde" look - even that terrified her. "My experience of that still haunts me," she laughs, recalling an episode 25 years ago when her hair turned orange. But desperate times call for desperate measures. "All the online threads were saying that it was nothing like the old [products] but the fact that it didn't work as well on dyed blonde hair and better on naturally blonde gave me some comfort as I'm not naturally blonde so I could see it developing." Instructions were vague so Karen watched some YouTube videos on how to apply the gel to her hair and then blow-dry it to activate the colour. She's been using it every three weeks while at home and is so happy with the results, it's encouraged her to cut a fringe. "I blame Jane Birkin for that. I'm slightly obsessed with 1970s style icons and between that, wanting to hide my wrinkles and just being bored, I decided to go for it." She bought a professional hair scissors online but it wasn't a cold cut; instead she followed tutorials by Irish hairdresser and owner of the Raven beauty app Trudy Hayes, whose how-to hair demonstrations have caught the attention of thousands looking to improve their hair-cutting skills or simply learn damage control. Using her own hair, she demonstrates a step-by-step fringe cut, twisting a triangular section of hair at the front and cutting at a diagonal to create texture and avoid a heavy line. "I followed her tutorial to a T," says Karen. "But I did a coward's fringe. It's not quite as brave as I'd hoped, but it's out of my system now." Will she go back to her hair salon? "I'll be skipping back," she answers quickly. "I had heard of hairdressers going to people's houses and I really was tempted but decided it wasn't safe. Plus, I really believe we should be supporting small businesses like my hairdresser who have rents and staff to pay." Expand Close To dye for: Karen Jackson cut and coloured her own hair during lockdown / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp To dye for: Karen Jackson cut and coloured her own hair during lockdown But hairdressing salons are not the worst hit. Due to its face-to-face nature, the professional nail sector will struggle to get back on its feet, forcing people to invest in their own long-term solutions - evident in the surge of nail-polish sales, which are said to be up 24pc since lockdown. Orna Holland went a step further to maintain her two-week manicure and invested in a home manicure kit. As head of recruitment for online payments company Stripe, working from home involved daily Zoom meetings where she had to "show up ready for work". According to research from L'Oreal, 25pc of personal-care occasions such as putting on makeup, washing hair or wearing perfume rely on circumstantial triggers like getting ready for work or school. And despite us all wearing less makeup thanks to lockdown, a survey by No7 showed that 45pc of us still apply makeup for Zoom or conference calls. "I may have had shorts on underneath the desk but I always had my hair, nails and makeup done," laughs Orna. As a regular client of a Dublin salon for the last 10 years, she was used to dropping in every two to three weeks for various treatments. Getting a salon-worthy look at home was the aim. "I was literally texting the girls [in the salon] asking them what the hell I was going to do," she laughs. Once the panic subsided, she found a 14-day manicure nail kit complete with UV machine, four polishes, two coats and acetone remover for 49.99. It might not have the bells and whistles of a salon treatment but, considering she was spending 120 a month on nails, she couldn't ignore the cost-saving factor. "It was really easy to use once you prepped your nails and hands first and learnt the quantities. The only challenge was doing your right hand with your left and removing the polish with one hand. But I'm pretty proud of the fact that they looked like I had them done professionally, even after two weeks," says Orna. And while she admits that you can't beat the "salon experience", for the first time ever she appreciated the convenience. "You can wake up at 6am and do your nails if you want to, or chill out with a glass of wine in front of the TV while you're doing them. There's no looking for parking or having to schedule it in between meetings, plus I've saved a chunk of money. I'm not saying I'll never go back but I've realised there's a lot you can do at home yourself." While some treatments - such as manicures and pedicures with regular polish - are fine for people to attempt at home, some professionals advise against DIY shellac and gel treatments, along with tints. "Above anything else, it's dangerous," says Jennie Hingston of Elysian Therapy, who deliberately didn't sell any home kits during lockdown or agree to the countless requests from clients to do "isolation treatments". "I can't tell you the amount of calls I got from clients begging for us to do house calls," laughs Jennie. "We didn't, obviously. And we didn't sell home kits because I believe a lot of them aren't safe to use at home. Tints have peroxide in them, which is harmful and when not used correctly can be damaging. It's why you go to a qualified professional." Expand Close Orna Holland did her own manicures during lockdown / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Orna Holland did her own manicures during lockdown It hasn't stopped the masses intent on fixing their chipped nails, dark roots and patchy lashes. Keeping up appearances was important for Aisling Kinsella, who tried her hand at a few DIY treatments, most notably a home eyelash and eyebrow tint kit. She would previously have enjoyed monthly salon visits for her nails, tints and waxing but when lockdown hit, it forced her to not only rethink the frequency with which she visited the salon but how much she really needed those treatments. "Normally I'd say my beauty routine was fairly high-maintenance but now I'm just maintaining and that's fine." She admits to getting a manicure and an eyelash and eyebrow tint every three weeks. The pampering is gone but she still wants to look presentable, not least for her daily Zoom work meetings. "I was happy to give my nails a break for a while and ditch the lash extensions as they were both getting weak. When I realised we might be at home for quite some time, I buckled and bought a home manicure kit along with the eyelash and eyebrow tinting kit." She honed her skills with numerous YouTube videos on how to apply the tint, using plenty of Vaseline on the top lid and under the lower lashes before she applied it. "It's peroxide so you do have to be careful, read the instructions and do a test patch," she advises. "Once I was happy that I knew what I was doing, I went for it. I was a little nervous so I only left it on for six to seven minutes at first, which was nowhere near long enough, I didn't notice any difference. So I did it again. It's important to note that you only leave the tint on the brows for one minute, whereas the lashes need about 10 minutes." The result was salon-worthy. "The tint lasted much longer than I thought. I'm really happy with it and I've loads left, so for 12.99 I'll get a lot of tints." In the face of a pandemic, grooming might seem like a superficial issue but for many it is a source of comfort and reassurance: at a time when our foundation feels like it's cracking, if we can look good, then we might feel better and in control. "It definitely boosts your confidence when your nails look polished or you've trimmed your own hair," says Aisling. "But also, it sort of distracts you from what's going on out there and there's a huge sense of achievement from doing it yourself." She hasn't kicked her salon habit but will likely return only for "special occasions". "I've actually really enjoyed doing it myself, being at home relaxing, listening to music, all at my own leisure. Just the other day, I was at a friend's house and she asked if I had already been back to the salon, having seen my nails, brows and lashes - you can't get a better endorsement than that." Many of our new home-beauty habits are likely to continue post-lockdown but there's also likely to be a hybrid of pre- and post-Covid behaviours: those who are happy to do it themselves for the most part, while saving up for special salon treatments. Karen Burke, owner of Ebano salon in Ballinteer, Dublin, agrees. "There's a huge amount we can maintain at home, which is brilliant, but there's a luxury factor to a salon, not just for the results aspect but from a well-being point of view." The increased attention on self-care and video conferencing has seen the focus shift dramatically towards skincare, with a rise in the sale of facial masks, moisturisers and serums. Although Ebano's home-facial kits have reached record-level sales over the past few months, they don't compare to a professional facial, says Karen. "You can control your own skincare routine at home easily - and I think that's great; we try to educate clients to help themselves at home - but nothing compares to the salon experience, which is so much more than the treatment." Julie Millen, a regular client of Ebano, who happily travels across the city for her appointment with the renowned salon, opted for a home-facial kit in the absence of her monthly facial treatments. "I was heavily pregnant during lockdown and not feeling fantastic, and the home facial was a lovely treat." As someone who's used to the salon experience, how did it compare? "It doesn't and I do miss the treatment you get: the massage, the oils, the music and chatting to the therapist, but when I saw Karen talking about it on her Instagram and the tutorial she gave, I thought it looked easy enough. There are four kits geared for different skin types and what I loved was that, because I was pregnant, Karen ensured some ingredients were swapped out. It wasn't complicated and while it was more work for me since I was mixing the ingredients myself, I still felt pampered, far more than using a 15-minute sheet mask. My skin felt amazing for days after," says Julie. As a yoga instructor, her workload increased while in lockdown, with a glut of extra online yoga classes. The early morning was fine, she explains, but as the day went on, she was more conscious of how she looked. "I just wanted to feel fresh. I wasn't spending hours on my makeup but even a 10/15-minute skincare routine made a big difference. Taking care of myself is really important for my mental well-being and for 35 I got two facials, compared to 150 at a salon." To enhance the experience, Julie sent her husband off with her newborn, ran a bath, prepped her skin prior to using it and then relaxed for half an hour. It won't replace the professional treatment but she'd be happy to use it again in conjunction with a salon facial. "It shouldn't beat the salon experience," says Julie. "If you could do it at home, what's the point? Spending that money gives you something extra and that comes at a deserved price." It's hard to know what the long-term effects of Covid-19 will be, but for the beauty industry it's clear priorities have changed, forcing us to reassess our routines and throw a spotlight on what really matters. And while haircuts and polished nails aren't the most pressing needs in this devastating time, they have their place within our collective well-being. With budgets shrinking, DIY at-home treatments are likely to continue as people reconsider their regular MOT spending habits. But our beauty reset is also about our mental health and if going to a salon means being "looked after" following a long stretch of isolation, then maybe beauty isn't just skin deep. Saving face The police in Nigeria are advocating for the establishment of special courts to handle rape cases. The special court will help ensure accelerated hearing, provide an enabling environment to ensure privacy for survivors and encourage them to speak out freely when they present their cases during hearing, according to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of force intelligence, Ibrahim Lamorde. Mr Lamorde said this while receiving the executive secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu, in his office in Abuja on Friday. Recent reports of rape incidents have left many Nigerians enraged over incessant savage attacks, especially on young girls and women. PREMIUM TIMES has reported several rape cases across Nigeria in the past few weeks, some leading to the death of the victims. #JusticeForUwa became one of the most trending hashtags on social media after Vera Uwaila Omosuwa, a 22-year-old student, died two days after she was reportedly raped in a church in the southern city of Benin. Also, this newspaper reported the rape and murder of Barakat Bello, a 19-year-old student of the Institute of Agriculture, Research and Training, Ibadan, Oyo State, in her fathers house. A few weeks ago, Joy Adoki, a 400-level student of the Department of Management Science, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was also reportedly raped, murdered and buried in a shallow grave by her assailant. A 13-year-old girl also stunned Nigerians when she narrated how her father raped her on a daily basis. The police in a statement last month said it ordered the immediate deployment of additional investigators to specialist gender violence desks. Stigma During Fridays courtesy meeting, Mr Lamorde said the delay in justice had a psychological impact on survivors, which emboldens the perpetrators, hence the need for special courts to fast track the judicial process. Stigmatization makes rape cases thrive. This needs to be addressed from the point where survivors report the incident to the police. Officers need to understand the magnitude of the problem they create when they discourage survivors due to their unprofessional conduct. Theres need to check the threshold of dealing with rape cases which are usually delayed due to the ambiguity surrounding the evidence to prove such cases, he said. The senior police officer said it is important to retain professional police officers trained in dealing with rape cases to stay on their beat for at least three years to ensure continuity in the capacity to deal with cases as well as share knowledge with other officers on how to deal with such sensitive cases. Also speaking, Mr Ojukwu, the rights commission chief, said the commission is partnering with the police to end the incessant rape and sexual violence across Nigeria. The commissions work to effectively discharge its mandate in dealing with certain violations cannot be complete without relating with the police. We need the police to coordinate the timely response to save lives. Mr Ojukwu said there was an urgent need to build the capacity of Human Rights and Gender Desk Officers in all the police commands across the country to ensure professionalism and efficiency in dealing with numerous cases generally and rape/SGBV cases in particular. He said most survivors of rape were deflated in spirit on arrival to make complaints at the police station. The official attributed this to the unprofessional conducts in handling the cases by police officers who stigmatize survivors through dismissive comments. It is highly unacceptable. A crop of professional police officers dealing with Human Rights and SGBV can provide accurate data on SGBV cases. Data is key in addressing these cases because it will help us to get a rundown of cases across the country by knowing how many cases we have at hand; how many are prosecuted and so on, he said. Advertisements Kashmir: An alert has been sounded for north and central Kashmir as intelligence inputs suggest that terrorists are planning a Pulwama-like suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir. According to sources, security forces received an input that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is planning a big attack on the the Srinagar-Baramulla highway. The attack could happen with a car bomb and is suspected to happen on the way from Pattan area of Baramulla to HMT (outskirts of Srinagar). The input claims that a recce of the place has been done and the whole plan has already been hatched by a foreign terrorist named Rahman Bhai. It is also being said that an ambulance might be used to ferry the terrorists to carry out the attack. After the information, security forces have been put on high alert across north Kashmir in areas like Pattan, Sopore and Handwara. An officer said that its also learned that terrorists may use moving vehicle IEDs to cause maximum damage. Army's road opening parties have been asked to remain vigilant and to conduct thorough checking before any convey starts movement on the highway. Meanwhile, one Alto was reportedly stolen from DPS colony in Delina Baramulla. And its been said that foreign terrorists have been looking for a vehicle to carry out the attack. Police is on the lookout for the vehicle. An officer said that the terrorists are frustrated as they have suffered big losses in the previous months. Atleast 124 terrorists, along with top commanders, have been killed in Kashmir since January 2020 and more than 50 terrorists have been killed in north Kashmir. Chinese military further thinned down its presence in the ridgeline of Finger Four and removed some boats from Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh ahead of another round of Lt General-level talks between India and China aimed at finalising modalities for complete disengagement along the Line of Actual Control(LAC), people familiar with the development said on Saturday. The escalation in tension in eastern Ladakh was triggered by a violent clash between the two countries' armies in Pangong Tso on May 5 in which a sizeable number of personnel from both sides were injured. Following the incident, both sides were locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation in three other locations in the region. At the military talks, the two sides are expected to specifically focus on completing withdrawal of troops from Pangong Tso and Depsang besides laying out a detailed roadmap for disengagement of large numbers of troops from the rear bases by the two sides in a time-bound manner. Both sides had significantly ramped up troops and weaponry including tanks and artillery guns in eastern Ladakh. The formal process of disengagement of troops began on Monday morning after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday. The Chinese military has already completed moving back its troops from the face-off sites in Galwan Valley, Gogra and Hot Springs in line with the first phase of the disengagement process from the friction points on the LAC in eastern Ladakh, sources said. The main focus now shifts to Pangong Tso. India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight. The mountain spurs in the area are referred to as Fingers. There has been further withdrawal of Chinese troops in the ridgeline of Finger Four and they have removed some boats from Pangong lake, the sources said. On Friday, India and China held another round of diplomatic talks during which both sides resolved to push ahead with "complete disengagement" of troops in eastern Ladakh in a timely manner for "full restoration" of peace and tranquility. At the meeting, it was decided that senior commanders of the two armies will meet "soon" to discuss further steps to "ensure complete disengagement and de-escalation". After the online diplomatic meeting under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) said the two sides agreed that maintenance of "enduring peace" in the border areas was essential for overall development of bilateral ties. The MEA said the two sides reaffirmed to ensure complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC for "full restoration" of peace and tranquility in the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements and protocols. Both sides have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks in the last few weeks to ease tension in the region. However, there was no visible sign of any end to the standoff till Sunday evening. On June 30, the Indian and Chinese armies held the third round of Lt General-level talks during which both sides agreed on an "expeditious, phased and step wise" de-escalation as a "priority" to end the standoff. The first round of the Lt General talks was held on June 6 during which both sides finalised an agreement to disengage gradually from all the standoff points beginning with Galwan Valley. However, the situation deteriorated following the Galwan Valley clashes as the two sides significantly bolstered their deployments in most areas along the LAC. Twenty Indian army personnel were killed in the clashes on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35. Tensions had escalated in eastern Ladakh around two months back 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. When Dharyl Auguste was 3 years old, he and his parents packed all of their belongings and left their home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to immigrate to the United States. The family settled initially in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before moving to nearby Sunrise. When it was time for Mr. Auguste to attend middle school, he and his parents relocated again, this time to Plantation, Fla. Mr. Auguste welcomed the move, he said, because it was easier for him to see his friends and access public transportation. But something was not right in Plantation. It often came up as a topic between me and friends, and we all had the same feeling that its not a welcoming name, Mr. Auguste, 27, said. In the weeks since the George Floyd protests began, neighborhoods and subdivisions across the country have removed the word plantation from their names. In June, Rhode Island known formally as the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations announced that it would drop the second half of its official name from state documents and websites. (State lawmakers have introduced legislation that would put a name-change referendum on the ballot in November.) Tucker Carlson on the set of his show in New York in 2017. (Richard Drew / Associated Press) Blake Neff, a writer for "Tucker Carlson Tonight," has resigned from the top-rated Fox News show amid reports he posted racist, sexist and homophobic comments to an online forum under a pseudonym. According to a report from CNN, Neff has been posting in AutoAdmit, an online forum also known as Xoxohth, a largely unregulated message board for law school students. Using the pseudonym CharlesXII, an apparent reference to the late Swedish king known for his military leadership and abstemious personal life, Neff shared an array of bigoted opinions on Black and Asian people, the Mormon church and immigrants. A former reporter at the Daily Caller, the conservative news site co-founded by Carlson, Neff also created multiple discussion threads where he mocked women he was friendly with on social media for sharing details about their personal lives, and engaged with posts that included even more starkly racist vitriol. In a statement to staff Saturday, Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott and Fox News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace condemned Neff's remarks, calling them "horrendous and deeply offensive." "We want to make abundantly clear that Fox News Media strongly condemns this horrific racist, misogynistic and homophobic behavior. Neff's abhorrent conduct was never divulged to the show until Friday, at which point we swiftly accepted his resignation. Make no mistake, actions such as his cannot and will not be tolerated at any time in any part of our work force." The memo also said that Carlson would address the matter on his show Monday. Neff's resignation is only likely to heighten the growing controversy surrounding "Tucker Carlson Tonight" and the host's inflammatory rhetoric on issues of race and immigration. In June, a number of high-profile sponsors, including T-Mobile, Papa John's and Walt Disney Co., moved to distance themselves from the show after Carlson made comments about the Black Lives Matter movement and protests over the killing of George Floyd. He said the movement may be a lot of things, this moment were living through, but it is definitely not about Black lives. Remember that when they come for you, and at this rate, they will. (Fox News later issued a clarification of Carlson's remarks, stating that he was referring to Democratic politicians, not Black people.) Story continues This week, he was again criticized after questioning the patriotism of Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who lost both of her legs serving in the Iraq war in 2004. He called the Illinois Democrat, who recommended having "a national dialogue" around depictions of George Washington and other historical leaders, "a deeply silly and unimpressive person" and suggested she and other Democrats "actually hate America." He also called Duckworth, an Asian American who is also the first woman to give birth while serving in the Senate, a "moron," "fraud" and "callous hack." According to Nielsen, Tucker Carlson Tonight was the most-watched program in cable news during the second quarter with an average audience of 4.33 million viewers a night, but the program has had trouble retaining advertisers over the years as it has become a target of liberal watchdog groups such as Media Matters and Sleeping Giants. Sponsors fled in 2018 when Carlson said that immigrants make the country poorer and dirtier, and again in 2019, when he suggested that white supremacy in the United States was a hoax. Staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report. Over 100 F-35 Fighter Jets to Be Sold to Japan for More Than $23.1 Billion, Pentagon Says Sputnik News 01:20 GMT 10.07.2020 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US State Department has approved a possible $23.11 billion sale of 105 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Japan, the Pentagon's Defence Security Cooperation Agency said in a press release. "The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Japan of one hundred five (105) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $23.11 billion", the release said on Thursday. The government of Japan has requested 63 F-35A variant aircraft and 42 F-35b variant aircraft, 110 Pratt and Whitney F135 engines, and related equipment, the release added. This potential sale will "help support US foreign policy interests" in the Asia-Pacific region by improving Japan's security capabilities, according to the statement. In December 2011, the Japanese government announced its decision to buy 42 F-35A fighter jets. In December 2018, the National Ministry of Defence decided to obtain 147 F-35 fighters - 105 F-35As and 42 F-35b short take-off and vertical landing aircraft. The F-35A stealth fighters have been assembled in Japan from US components at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' F-35 Final Assembly and Check Out facility in Nagoya. In January, two other nations purchased F-35 from the US - the Polish government bought 32 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets for the cost of $4 billion in total and Singapore paid $2.75 billion to buy 12 F-35B aircraft. Lockheed Martin's F-35 aircraft is a fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter. It is considered the most expensive weapons program in history, with a projected life cycle cost of between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Global efforts are being made to cut down carbon emissions that cause our planet to warm up. While the efforts are being made in the right direction, scientists warn that we may not see the desired results as soon as we think. A new research published in the journal Nature Communications maps the change in temperature of the Earth in response to the different levels of emission cuts. Conducted by the scientists at the Center for International Climate Research in Norway, the research points out that even in the best case scenario, the Earth might not see a visible drop in temperature for about 25 years. In fact, this is the best case scenario hinted at by the study. The 25-year period is mentioned for an emission cut of 5 percent every year. Such a high level of emission cut is too good to be true, as most of the countries around the world still have an emission graph that is increasing per year. The humongous time scale Part of the reason for this is the gigantic timescale on which the Earths climate is nurtured. Humans have been pumping in CO2 into the atmosphere for centuries now. The resulting global warming is set to become worse in the near future. To turn this ship around, the Earth will follow a similar timeline of decades and centuries. The study warns that getting in accordance with the Paris climate agreement (i.e. around 2 Celsius above pre-Industrial temperatures) may take a century, or longer. "The climate system is operating on timescales of multiple decades to centuries to even thousands of years," Matthew Lachniet, a climate scientist at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas told Mashable in an interview. Since it took us over a century to reach the level of CO2 in the atmosphere as it is today, "It will take at least as long to get out of this mess," Lachniet said. The constant addition (Representative Image: Reuters) There is another reason for this slow stabilisation of the climate in the years to come despite the emission cuts. It is one of simple math - we are lessening the emissions, not eliminating them altogether. That means, every year, we are still adding carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The emission cuts mean that less and less CO2 will be released but it will be released nonetheless. In the atmosphere, it is all still adding up. "Much of the CO2 we emit initially piles up in the atmosphere, so even if we reduce emissions, were still adding to the cause of the warming," explained Bjrn Samset, an author of the study and a climate scientist at the Center for International Climate Research. "A five percent cut per year means five percent less of an increase annually, but an increase all the same." Not very visible healing The research also points out the centuries of environment degradation by humans and that it might come back to haunt us. Earths natural processes capture the existing carbon dioxide in forests and water bodies. The study notes that the CO2 levels already trapped by the Earths oceans will keep releasing this heat into the atmosphere even if there are no new emissions made. Meaning, a constant heating up of Earth for the time to come. Patience is key (Representative Image: Reuters) The study recorded substantial differences in annual temperatures, thus making it difficult to pinpoint exactly when Earth will start cooling with lower emissions. Climatic phenomena such as the El Nino also caused disturbance in these readings. Based on the data, the researchers concluded that the first cooling signal would be visible around 2033 with zero greenhouse gas emissions from now on. If we follow the Paris accord, the cooling signal would be visible around 2047. Through the study, the researchers highlight that seeing the results of the constant endeavour will take time and hence it is important that political leaders understand this. "Given time, the reduction will of course be visible, but 'time' in this case means at least a couple of election cycles," noted Samset. Face masks, like any article of clothing, get dirty with wear. They can also carry the coronavirus if an infected person comes in contact with you. So how often should you wash them? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that cloth masks worn during the pandemic "should be routinely washed depending on the frequency of use, a recommendation thats less than precise. A study published as a research letter in April in Lancet The Microbe found that SARS-CoV-2 was detectable on the inner layer of a mask for up to four days and the outer layer up to seven days. Since then, the CDC has downplayed fomite transmission as not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. That doesnt mean it cant happen though. Claudio Cruz/AFP via Getty Images My recommendation would be to wash your mask every day, Dr. Cassandra Pierre, an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center, told Reviewed. If youre using it and going out to run errands, you run the risk of having droplets collect on the surface of the mask. If someone were to cough or sneeze on you, you should clean the mask as soon as possible, Pierre says. Be sure to wash your hands before and after handling a used mask. In general, treat your mask like a biohazard dont leave it lying around the house where others might touch it. Cloth masks can be safely washed in a washer and either air-dried or, if possible, tumbled dry in a hot dryer. If no washer is available or if its not time to run a load of laundry, washing by hand with soap and water will do the job nicely. The CDC recommends the public wear only cloth masks. Due to ongoing shortages of personal protective equipment, surgical masks and N95 respirator masks should be reserved for health care workers and first responders. But if you already have a surgical mask, can you reuse it? hsyncoban/Getty Images According to the Food and Drug Administration, surgical masks are not intended to be used more than once. Solid advice for normal times, but these are not normal times. With PPE in limited supply, nurses at the Biocontainment Unit at Johns Hopkins Medicine and their coworkers were placing surgical masks in paper bags or other clean, ventilated receptacles that allow them to air out, unit nurse educator Jade Flinn, told Today in May. Flinn suggested storing a mask for a few days before using it again. If the surgical mask is damaged or soiled, it should be discarded. Like surgical masks, N95 masks are designed for single use. But they also can be reused after isolating them in a breathable location such as inside a paper bag, Kirsten Koehler, an associate professor of environmental health and engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told USA Today. Koehler said the bag should be kept at room temperature for seven days. In medical settings, the CDC says respirators like N95 masks should be stored for more than 72 hours before being reused. A fabric mask can also be decontaminated by leaving it in a paper bag. The recommended duration is two days. MLADEN ANTONOV // Getty Images Surgical and N95 masks should neither be washed nor sprayed with bleach or a disinfectant like Lysol. To do so would weaken the mask structurally and make it less effective. In addition, breathing in disinfectant or bleach could be harmful to the wearer. MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. San Francisco releases guidelines for schools Coronavirus cases increasing at UC Berkeley due to frat parties Bay Area coronavirus hospitalizations continue to rise - but there's a catch America is running short on masks, gowns and gloves. Again. Health official: Trump rally 'likely' source of virus surge Mike Moffitt is an SFGATE Reporter. Email: moffitt@sfgate.com. Twitter: @Mike_at_SFGate TUCSON, Ariz. As one of the city's largest hospitals battles to save its largest-ever number of critically ill patients, its COVID-19 intensive care unit is eerily quiet. The only sounds are the beeps of machines and the shuffle of staff in protective gear entering and exiting rooms of people who lie sedated, eyes closed, with multiple tubes coming out of their mouths. These patients at Tucson Medical Center are different from those who fell ill with COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. Those first cases were mostly patients in their 70s and 80s coming from nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Patients now arrive from the community at large, including younger, working-age people. There are no get-well cards in the patient rooms, no balloons, no flowers and no visitors. There's no indication of who the patients might be aside from a few details a pair of fuzzy, bright yellow socks on one man and french braids in one woman's hair. The hallways, patient rooms and the COVID-19 operations center at Tucson Medical Center provide an inside look at what hospitals struggle with around the state: not enough ICU beds, a higher-than-usual number of sick employees, intense staffing challenges and frustrating delays in COVID-19 testing. Months into the fight against COVID-19, there's no end in sight. US coronavirus map: Tracking the outbreak Masks: As coronavirus surges in Republican territory, so does rage over masks The silence masks a life-and-death struggle, as well as tension and desperation. As health care workers gear up to battle a mercurial disease inside those rooms, debates on mask-wearing and social distancing continue outside. So do debates on how aggressive Gov. Doug Ducey's policies should be to try to slow the virus's spread in a global hot spot. The most recent spike in cases at TMC began in early June, when the hospital got 20 COVID-19 patients within 10 days from Santa Cruz County. That was about two weeks after Ducey's stay-at-home executive order expired and about a week after reports of Memorial Day weekend revelry. Story continues "We opened up too fast," said Judy Rich, the hospital's CEO and a registered nurse. "We in the health care community were surprised, I think, at the speed with which everything opened up the bars, the restaurants, the hair salons. It was all at once. There was no phasing here." Last week, Tucson Medical Center had 75 patients with COVID-19. Twenty-eight of those patients were in the ICU, 25 of them on ventilators. "We never expected that we would be at these kind of numbers in July," Rich said. "We have expanded our ICU by more than 50%. ... I think we're all adding as many beds as we can possibly push the system to add." At Tucson Medical Center, caring for patients in the COVID-19 unit takes increased manpower; their stays are longer than other patients'. At this time of year, the average daily census in the ICU is typically 18 patients, said Mimi Coomler, the hospital's chief operating officer and a registered nurse. Right now, the ICU has 41 patients. COVID-19 is not taking up the most beds in the hospital; a total of 428 patients were in TMC on Wednesday. But the COVID-19 patients take increased manpower and stay for long periods of time. The record is 59 days. "Staffing, which was not a problem in March and April and May ... is now the No. 1 issue. We are all being asked to open beds that we would not have staffed," Rich said. The hospital, which has 4,500 employees, is dealing with an unprecedented number of workers who are sick or in quarantine. Last Wednesday, 66 people across the organization called in sick because they'd either tested positive or had symptoms. Coomler said, "We've never had this many people out for the length of time that they need to be out of work because of an illness." Hospitals are accustomed to being busy during flu season, but COVID-19 is different because of how sick some of the patients become, hospital officials said. The staff is exhausted. They've seen this level of patients before, but not this level of need. Inside the ICU: 'Fewer people are dying' Outside the hospital's chapel is a wall of hearts, representing the people who survived COVID-19. There are 130 cardboard hearts on the wall, and hospital officials said there are 30 to add. An ICU nurse talked about making a similar wall of hearts just for the COVID-19 ICU patients. "I think we are learning how to take care of them better. We are shortening our length of stay in the (COVID) ICU," Rich said. "More people are surviving a really terrible course in the ICU. ... Fewer people are dying here, without a doubt." Paper hearts on a wall outside Tucson Medical Center's chapel represent patients who survived COVID-19. There are 130 hearts on the wall and 30 to be added soon. Inside one of the hospital's two COVID-19 ICU units on Wednesday, it was difficult to see who was making progress and who wasn't. In one room, a patient on a ventilator was lying still on her stomach a medical therapy called proning. "It takes a team of about six or seven people, including respiratory therapists, to safely roll the patient onto their stomach. We have a lot of tubes and lines that we work really hard not to dislodge," clinical nurse specialist Angie Muzzy said. "They are at very high risk for injury to their eye, to their skin. So we have to be very diligent about preventing injury to them." Proning improves COVID-19 patients' oxygenation, Muzzy said. When patients lie on their front, the blood supply can get to the clearer parts of the lungs, she explained. "They stay on their stomach for 16 hours, and every two, you tilt them just a little bit," she said. "Sometimes within the first 20 minutes, you watch a person whose oxygen levels were 88%, barely 90%, and suddenly they will be 95% to 100%. It's phenomenal. We know it helps significantly; it's just labor-intensive." Muzzy was in good spirits on Wednesday. A COVID-19 ICU patient who had been taken off a ventilator the day before was about to be discharged from the hospital to go home. Another patient had just been discharged to a lower level of care. The ICU unit, behind doors with red signs on them that say "STOP," is for the sickest of COVID-19 patients. Tucson Medical Center's sickest coronavirus patients are in the hospital's COVID-19 unit. The patients, in their own rooms behind glass, are each connected to a catheter and to a medication IV, and they wear specialized leg braces to prevent blood clots. One man, who appeared to be in his late 60s or early 70s, had three tubes coming out of his mouth a feeding tube, a suction tube and the tube for the ventilator. The man was surrounded by pillows and tilted to his left side. He must be turned every two hours to maintain his skin integrity, since he's not moving around on his own, Coomler said. In addition to ventilation, oxygen and proning, doctors prescribe the antiviral remdesivir and dexamethasone, a steroid, to treat COVID-19 patients. Sometimes blood thinners are used if the patient has clotting complications. They also use convalescent plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 more like TB than the flu The isolation needed for a COVID-19 patient is similar to treating a patient for tuberculosis, Coomler said. Hospital staff members treat everyone with symptoms as if they have COVID-19 until it's certain they don't. "Here we treat every COVID patient like they could give it to someone else," Rich said. "The contagiousness of COVID is exponentially so much greater than the flu. We don't isolate people when they get the flu." In the emergency department, staff members attending to a patient who was coding on Wednesday wore head-to-toe protection, including goggles and masks (an N95 covered by a regular medical mask for a few people). One staff member wore an advanced respiratory protection system that looked like a helmet with a plastic face shield. There's an entire suit and head gear, designed for treating Ebola patients, that's used to intubate patients with confirmed and suspected COVID-19, said Dang Huynh, assistant medical director of the TMC emergency department. Often it's the emergency room staff who first see the COVID-19 patients who can't breathe and intubate them. A tube is inserted into patients' airways, so they can be connected to a ventilator. Who are the patients? COVID-19 patients tend to be in their 50s and 60s, hospital officials said. TMC has one patient in the 30s in the ICU and another in the 40s. In April and May, TMC's COVID-19 patients skewed older, typically 75 years or older, Rich said. "We had a lot of hot spots in nursing homes here," she said. "But that seems to be under control. We get maybe one or two a day." Younger patients who end up in the ICU often have underlying health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension or obesity, Muzzy said. "We have people with a variety of different illnesses. Maybe they already have renal failure, and the virus just overwhelms them and they have no wiggle room to bounce back," she said. About 80% of people who contract COVID-19 will get better on their own. For those who get sick, the illness is devastating, causing not just lung problems but cardiovascular issues and a host of lingering challenges, from confusion to breathlessness and fatigue. Photos: World struggles to stop spread of coronavirus Risk: How much coronavirus risk is there in common travel activities? TMC has treated multiple patients from hard-hit Santa Cruz County near the U.S.-Mexican border, which has the highest rate of COVID-19 cases in the state. It has treated patients from Yuma County and the White Mountain Apache Tribe, two other areas with spikes in COVID-19 cases. What 'surge' mode looks like Tucson Medical Center has been in what's known as "surge" mode since the first week of June, using beds and staff above normal capacity. Coomler said, "Our challenge is, how do we sustain that? How do we sustain our staff, our nurses, our respiratory therapists and our doctors knowing that this isn't going to just be for a week or two?" What once was a smooth hospital routine has been upended. More time is needed to put on and take off protective gear, and more time is needed to take calls from patients' families who need updates. Issues with testing and test results continue. It takes time for Tucson Medical Center's staff to put on and take off the protective gear needed to keep them and patients safe. Patients miss the visitors. The staff misses the visitors, too. A federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team set up headquarters in a hospital conference room. Nurses are asked to work four 12-hour shifts per week instead of three. The hospital has added ICU beds as fast as possible since cases began to increase. The hospital is ready to go up to 45 ICU patients. That has required adding staff, pulling in physicians and nurses from other areas of the hospital, using health care providers sent from a federal disaster assistance team and bringing in travel nurses for the ICU. COVID-19 rooms, whether inside our outside the ICU, have been upgraded with large tunnel-like tubes that protrude out the back of the hospital rooms to create a negative-pressure environment for maximum infection control. The hospital had 33 negative pressure rooms before the pandemic and upgraded rooms to add 100, said Richard Parker, director of facilities and construction at TMC. Parker upgraded six rooms on Wednesday and was scheduled to upgrade 10 more to keep pace with patient need. The negative pressure pulls the air out of the room, filters it and sends it outside. That keeps whatever that patient has in the room instead of letting it get out into the corridor where it could endanger the staff and anyone else walking through the unit. The negative pressure equipment in COVID-19 patient rooms at Tucson Medical Center pulls the air out of the room, filters it and sends it outside. That keeps whatever that patient has in the room instead of letting it get out into the corridor where it could endanger the staff and anyone else walking through the unit. The hospital had 33 negative pressure rooms before the pandemic and has since upgraded rooms to add 100. "It's also an isolated exhaust. It makes sure that we don't recirculate the air from the rooms we just made negative with other patient rooms," Parker said. Parker said his staff constantly checks the rooms for mechanical problems. "I have guys that will go through every one of those and inspect to make sure the fan is still running, that the duct work is still intact. The sun is pretty brutal, so we want to make sure the duct work is intact, and we seal any leaks with it," he said. "We also go through on the inside. We have a little puffer smoke test, and we put that at the door and make sure the room is truly negative. If it's not, then obviously, we've got a problem someplace. Just setting it up was a big task, and maintaining it to make sure we're protecting everyone in the building, that's another big task." The hospital makes some exceptions to the no-visitor rule, but that's difficult in the ICU, Rich said. "We try to stay connected to the family. We've got stories of our nurses on the front line, with families outside the window, holding the hand of a patient who is dying," Rich said. The hospital is one story, so some families are able to see their loved ones via window visits. Last Wednesday, in the midafternoon heat, a middle-age man and two young adults stood under a ramada near the windows of the COVID-19 unit, wearing fluorescent green visitor stickers. The young man in the group was crying. Surge line used 'constantly' Hospitals across the state, including TMC, use a surge line that was created by the Arizona Department of Health Services. It is a 24/7 statewide phone line for hospitals and other providers to call when they have a COVID-19 patient who needs a level of care they can't provide. An electronic system locates available beds and appropriate care, evenly distributing the patients, so no one system or hospital is overwhelmed by patients. We didn't know what the surge line was until we accepted 20 patients from Holy Cross in June. Finally one day, we started pushing back and saying, Why isn't anyone else taking these patients? Rich said. That was in one of our weekly calls, and everyone started saying, We've got to use the surge line. The statewide COVID-19 "surge" line is for hospitals and other providers to call when they have a patient who needs a level of care they can't provide. From June 28 to July 4, Tucson Medical Center accepted 25 patients from the surge line. The hospital had to decline 12 patients for ICU care from surge line calls. Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital is in hard-hit Santa Cruz County. "As much as we've been disappointed with the state's response, they did a really good thing when they opened up the surge line," Rich said. "A lot of states didn't do that. ... We are using the surge line constantly." From June 28 to July 4, TMC accepted 25 patients from the surge line, took a total of 40 calls and transferred seven patients to other facilities. The hospital had to decline 12 patients for ICU care from surge line calls. These are very urgent calls, Rich said. They are calling and saying, I've got somebody in my ED (emergency department), we just intubated them. They are crashing, and I need to get them into an intensive care unit. As of last Wednesday, there were 181 ICU beds available statewide out of 1,672 total. 'Take good care of them' Rich did not welcome Ducey's news briefing June 11 claiming that Arizona hospitals had adequate capacity. "What was disappointing was after we knew we were getting into a surge situation, the governor was still saying we were OK. ... We knew we were not. We knew we were preparing for some pretty tough stuff to come," she said. "That was the biggest disappointment." Rich said she wrote a letter to Ducey, and the two spoke. The governor asked what TMC needed, and she said that's why the hospital received help from a federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team, as well as medical personnel from the National Disaster Medical System Trauma and Critical Care team. The state plans to pay for health providers to work in hospitals that need them for six-week periods, and it will provide financial incentives for hospitals to take acute COVID-19 patients, Arizona Department of Health Services Director Cara Christ announced. On June 30, Christ declared that hospitals in the state could activate "crisis care standards," which guide the allocation of scarce resources to patients based on factors such as their likelihood for survival. Arizona coronavirus: These teachers shared a classroom for summer school. All 3 contracted COVID-19. 1 died. No care is being rationed at Tucson Medical Center, officials said. "We are so grateful to have a document that offers guidance that we have not had to employ," Coomler said. "At this point, we continue to add resources instead of figuring out how to ration them." TMC needs more COVID-19 testing supplies and a faster turnaround for getting test results, officials said. "We have had to expend so many resources directly because we couldn't rapid-test people," Rich said. "The worse it gets in Arizona, the longer we're waiting for results. We overuse resources to make sure we don't miss anything." Rich wants people to know her staff members are exhausted, people are dying and wearing a mask makes everyone safer. "To get through this as a state, we have to marginalize the people who don't believe that it's spreading, and we have to support the people who do believe that it's spreading," Rich said. "The future of this disease is still so unknown to us that we have to act on what we know for sure," she said. "What we know for sure is that masks are the No. 1 most important thing we can do." She said her staff feels the pain of all the community members who have to bring loved ones to the hospital yet can't be with them. "We're going to take good care of them," Rich said. "We're really going to be there for those family members and be there for those patients." Follow Stephanie Innes on Twitter at: @stephanieinnes This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona coronavirus: Inside an ICU in global COVID-10 hot spot It may not be possible to race in Hungary. According to Alexander Wurz, Liberty Media is therefore looking to race three times in a row on the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The teams received a frightening note about the Hungarian Grand Prix today. There are strict coronavirus restrictions in the country and these will also apply to the teams and staff. For example, persons from the UK and outside the EU are only allowed to stay in their accommodation. If they do not comply, they can risk a hefty fine and even imprisonment. Of course, this is certainly not ideal for Formula 1. According to Alexander Wurz, Liberty Media is therefore looking for an alternative. "Chase Carey asked me what the drivers would think of doing three Grand Prixs in Austria", Wurz told the Austrian ORF. Rather racing than no racing "I said to him, if that's the only solution, we can drive the Grand Prix ten times. We'd rather drive the Red Bull Ring more often than not being able to race at all. This option is possible and you can also change gears quickly. After all, all the equipment and personnel is already here," the former F1 driver explains. "It will probably be an option to organise. You only need to know before Sunday evening. If the Hungarian Grand Prix cannot take place then it is definitely an option that we will race here again next week", the Austrian concluded. UPDATE Sunday 12 July 10:30 A spokesperson for Formula 1 has told GPblog the following: "The suggestion that we stay in Austria for a third race is not correct. The whole Formula 1 community has started the season well in Austria and they are all very excited to go to our next race in Hungary - a circuit that is a big favourite with all our fans and the teams". Police have launched a manhunt after a prisoner due in court today escaped custody after claiming he was ill then fled hospital. Officers swooped on Reddish Vale Country Park in Stockport, Greater Manchester, during searches this afternoon. A police helicopter has also been scrambled to the scene to search for a 21-year-old man due to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court. The prisoner claimed he was feeling poorly and was taken to Tameside General Hospital under guard before managing to escape. Police have launched a manhunt after a prisoner due in court in Manchester today escaped custody after claiming he was ill then fled hospital Officers swooped on Reddish Vale Country Park in Stockport, Greater Manchester, during searches this afternoon The suspect from Ashton-under-Lyne is charged with two counts of burglary, three counts of theft of motor vehicle theft, shoplifting, a public order offence and possession of a bladed article. A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said: 'A search is currently ongoing in Reddish Vale Country Park. 'Earlier today, a 21-year-old man was due to appear in court in relation to eight offences, including burglary and theft. 'After consultation with medical professionals, he was taken to hospital with concerns for his welfare. 'A short time ago, he absconded from hospital. A search is ongoing.' 10.07.2020 LISTEN As excerpt of Audrey Assads song It is well with my soul wasawas being played the start of an interview on the Ovation Magazine Breaking with former Nigerian Presidential candidate and Publisher of Ovation International Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu, Liberias First female Vice President Chief Dr. Jewel Howard Taylor took several deep breaths and released sighs as she struggled to restrain her emotion for the death of Liberias youngest female to be elected to the National Legislature Munah Pelham Youngblood. The deceased was Representative of Montserrado County Electoral District #9 on the ticket of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). With repeated sighs, Chief Dr. Howard Taylor said the passing of young Liberian female lawmaker is a serious hit to the struggle for gender equality and women empowerment in Liberia. Munah was bold. She always took a stand on national issues and would provide analytical insights into issues in defense of her position. Unlike the regular politicians who would shift their position on a particular issue, Munah Pelham would stick to her stance, the Liberian Vice President said. Munah touched many lives and everyone is in awe of her passing. She was the youngest female ever to be elected. Everywhere she went, she was a star. She was very outspoken on issues. She believed in women being heard at the decision-making table. She was a strong voice for gender equity that we [women] have been clamoring for over the years, VP Howard Taylor recounted. She said it would interest everyone to know that Munah Pelham was so interested in filling the void of low women representation at the national legislature and she was considering a decision to contest for the Montserrado County senatorial seat giving the fact that Liberia has one female senator. Munah was also interested in ensuring more women are considered to contest on the ruling CDC ticket in the upcoming December 8 midterm senatorial election. The late lawmakers WhatsApp message a few days before her passing: Your Excellency, I will like to inform you that I have an interest in contesting in the upcoming Senatorial election come December 2020. One Party, one Nation. I feel it is unfair to the women of the coalition for all 15 seats in the midterm election to have no female from the ruling party. The County must be gender balance. To God be all the glory. Let God be God. Just an update on my activities. For his part, former Nigerian Presidential candidate and Chief Executive Officer of Ovation Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu said he met Munah Pelham in Nigeria during the heyday of the war in Liberia when she was seeking refuge. He said Munah Pelham pulled herself by the bootstraps to become a supermodel in Nigeria who performed at many events. She was a daughter to me, Chief Dr. Momodu said. The Ovation Special Live Instagram platform is hosted by Chief Momodu and brings on prominent individuals from across Africa to discuss critical issues that affect their respective countries and the continent. Wisconsin Emergency Management Hazard Mitigation Supervisor Katie Sommers said in addition to the eight properties, three alternate properties were listed in the approval for Rock Springs, which are also eligible for potential buyouts if money is left over from a project coming in under budget. Its sort of like a waiting list, Sommers said of the alternates. Sommers said Rock Springs was approved for over $1.2 million in FEMA funds, with state and local contributions in the hazard mitigation grant program at over $205,000 each for a total amount of more than $1.6 million. The federal funds make up 75% with the other 25% coming from state and local government. Sommers said all eight properties and two of the alternate properties are in the flood way of the flood plain and one of the alternates is in the flood fringe. The flood way is the part of the flood plain where water is moving faster during a flood and the flood fringe is where the water is in a pool or not moving as fast, she said. The property owners have been notified, Roloff said. Rock Springs is the first community affected by the 2018 floods in the area to receive notification its been approved for buyouts through FEMAs voluntary program. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 13:53:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CHANGSHA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China's Shibadong village, the birthplace of "targeted poverty alleviation," has lifted all families out of poverty, sending a heartening message as the nation scrambles to eradicate absolute poverty by 2020. The village in central China's Hunan Province has seen the poverty headcount ratio drop to zero, down from 57 percent in 2013, said Shi Jintong, Party chief of the village, in an interview with Xinhua. Home to 225 families and 939 villagers, Shibadong's per capita net annual income increased more than eight times, from 1,668 yuan (238 U.S. dollars) in 2013 to 14,668 yuan in 2019, Shi said. The once-impoverished village has been closely watched as a testing ground for "targeted poverty alleviation," first put forward there in 2013. This concept of designing relief policies to suit different local situations later became a guiding principle in China's fight against poverty. Faced with rugged terrain and scarcity of arable land, the village has substituted traditional crop planting with more profitable kiwi farming and developed other businesses that suit local conditions, including the tourism and embroidery industries that prosper on the local ethnic Miao culture. China's target year for the eradication of absolute poverty is 2020, which means that around 5.51 million people who remained impoverished at the end of 2019 will be lifted out of poverty by the end of this year. Enditem MELBOURNE Australia (AP) The beleaguered Australian state of Victoria received some good news Saturday with health officials reporting 216 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from the record 288 the previous day. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said a man in his 90s died overnight while 49 remained hospitalized, including 15 in intensive care. He warned of more difficult days ahead, saying, We will see more and more additional cases, thats the nature of this. Victoria has recorded 3,560 confirmed cases, and Australia overall has had more than 9,000 with 107 deaths. Victoria, Australias second-most populous state after neighboring New South Wales, has been cut off with border closures by other states. All states and territories except New South Wales had eradicated community transmission of the virus, but Victoria-linked infections are spreading. Victoria hopes a second lockdown in Melbourne, Australias second-largest city with a population of 5 million, will curb the spread. It was imposed Wednesday and will last six weeks. As inconvenient and as challenging as it is, we cannot deny the reality of the situation we face, and we cannot pretend that doing anything other than following the rules will get us to the other side of this, Andrews said of the extended lockdown. Meanwhile, Australias Therapeutic Goods Administration has given provisional approval to the drug remdesivir, an experimental medicine that has shown promise in the recovery time of the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Authorities say remdesivir will be available only to patients who are severely ill, require oxygen or high-level support to breathe, and are in hospital care. It is the only drug licensed by both the U.S. and the European Union as a treatment for people with severe illness from the coronavirus. In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region: Indias coronavirus cases have passed 800,000 with the biggest spike of 27,114 cases in the past 24 hours, causing nearly a dozen states to impose a partial lockdown in high-risk areas. The new confirmed cases took the national total to 820,916. The Health Ministry on Saturday also reported another 519 deaths for a total of 22,123. A surge in infections saw the cases jumping from 600,000 to more than 800,000 in nine days. The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at more than 62%. Eight of Indias 28 states, including the worst-hit Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi, account for nearly 90% of all infections. The most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, with nearly 230 million people, imposed a weekend lockdown while several others announced restrictions in districts reporting major spikes. New coronavirus cases have dropped sharply in China, and authorities are turning their attention to concerns that the virus could spread through imported food. Those worries have risen since a June outbreak in Beijing that was linked to the citys largest wholesale market. Testing has been stepped up on incoming food shipments, and on Friday customs officials said they are halting imports from three Ecuadorian shrimp producers after tests showed the virus present in recent shipments. Authorities say the coronavirus was detected on the outer packaging of the shipments July 3. The inner packaging and the shrimp themselves tested negative. Products from the three companies received after March 12 have been ordered to be returned or destroyed. Story continues South Korea has reported 35 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its caseload to 13,373 infections and 288 deaths. South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday that 13 of the new cases came from the densely populated Seoul area, which has been at the center of a virus resurgence since late May. Infections were also reported in other major cities such Daejeon and Gwangju, tied to places including churches, a Buddhist temple, nursing homes and a sauna. Fifteen of the new cases were linked to international arrivals. ___ Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak Andrew Burki, a South Jersey drug-recovery advocate, was sentenced during a virtual live-streamed hearing on Friday to three years' probation after having pleaded guilty in April to a count of criminal coercion in a sex-offense case involving his wife. Read more A South Jersey drug-recovery advocate was sentenced Friday to three years probation after pleading guilty to criminal coercion in a sex-offense case involving his wife. Andrew Burki, 39, of Collingswood, was the founder and chief executive of Life of Purpose Treatment, a substance-abuse recovery center in Boca Raton, Fla., and an official at a now-shuttered treatment center by the same name in Cherry Hill. He also served as chief public policy officer of the Florida-based Hanley Foundation, which focuses on preventing substance-abuse disorders. After his February arrest in Camden County on charges of sexual assault, he was placed on leave from the foundation and from the board of Philadelphias Bridge Way School, a recovery high school in Holmesburg, officials at both organizations said. Burki was charged with aggravated sexual assault after he was accused of forcing himself on his wife in November and causing her severe injury. He also was charged with sexual assault and aggravated assault in a January incident after he was accused of again forcing himself on her and causing bruising on her arms as he held her down. After a grand jury heard evidence in the case, it indicted Burki on a charge of aggravated sexual assault in connection with the November incident. In an April amended indictment, signed by Acting Assistant Prosecutor Erin Deitz, the first-degree charge against Burki was changed to fourth-degree criminal coercion, a lesser offense that carries a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison. The Camden County Prosecutors Office has declined to comment on why the charge was amended. Two days later, Burki pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of criminal coercion during a virtual hearing before Camden County Superior Court Judge David Ragonese. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Burki, who had spent 2 months behind bars, was released that day from the Camden County Correctional Facility. The prosecutors office agreed to recommend a sentence of probation, the term of which was to be up to the judge. Under the deal, Burki must have no contact with the victim and undergo anger-management counseling. During Fridays virtual sentencing hearing, the victim, 37, who is in the process of getting a divorce from Burki, asked the judge to sentence him to the maximum for the fourth-degree offense: 18 months in prison. In a victim-impact statement, she told the judge she had suffered severe mental, physical, and emotional abuse at the hands of [her] husband over the past several years. What happened behind closed doors is my word against his. No one saw what happened, she said, telling the judge that Burki brutally raped me and needs power and control. Burki told the judge that he never had nonconsensual sexual relations with my wife during the five years of our marriage or the five years preceding. He said he was very saddened and ashamed that his inability to resolve differences with his wife resulted in this criminal case and said he views accepting this plea deal as a first step in finding resolution to those differences so that I can move on with my life. When he pleaded guilty in April, Burki admitted under questioning by his attorney, Stanley King, that he had restricted his wifes freedom during the November incident, had sex with her after she complained of pain, and had threatened to inflict continuing pain. Both Deitz and King on Friday asked the judge to accept the plea agreement. King told the judge he and the prosecutor went through an extensive negotiation period in crafting this negotiated agreement. In an emailed statement Friday, the Camden County Prosecutors Office said it takes all reports of sexual assault seriously. While we cannot comment on our prosecutorial methods and discretion, our assistant prosecutors diligently considered every aspect of this case, leading to the conviction and sentencing, it said. 11.07.2020 LISTEN In the days when the Ghana railway system was a going concern, there used to be a big red warning some yards from a level railway crossing, ordering motorists who were going towards the crossing to STOP!... LOOK!....LISTEN! So deadly did the authorities of the time realize would be the result of a collision between a train and a motor vehicle that they wanted the motorist to heed their warning with every faculty of the human body: first of all, apply the brakes to stop the vehicle. Then look to see whether there was a puff of smoke in the distance anywhere along the railway line. Next, listen to any noise that marked the progress of a train. It was only when the motorist had satisfied himself on all three counts that he could proceed. The reasons for the triple were these: a motorist might not see any sign of a train approaching. But he could hear the sound of the train. In any case, if he had stopped, there would be no danger of the train running into his vehicle, even if he neither saw, nor heard it coming. But even so, many level crossings had A MAN HOLDING A RED FLAG standing by A GATE across the motor road that could be opened and closed. However, in spite of all these precautions, collisions between trains and motor vehicles sometimes actually occurred! But in general, the system put to practical use, the old adage that prevention is better than cure! In my view, Ghana has reached a stage in its handling of Covid-19 that requires our Government to STOP! LOOK AND LISTEN!, or else face a catastrophic collision with the pestilence that will make a collision between a train and a motor vehicle look like child's play. Listen: NAPO, the doctor who is our Minister of Education, says that 90 percent of the staff at his Ministry have tested positive for Covid-19. What would have happened had he not got them tested? They would be walking amongst the populace, wouldn't they, passing the disease on? No-one would have been able to trace ALL their contacts, even if adequate testing equipment had been available. Since the disease often shows no visible signs of its presence in a person in other words, it can be asymptomatic in nature the more people it infected, the more people it could continue infecting without anyone noticing! Until they were TESTED! The Ministry of Finance, too, has sent many of its personnel home, for fear that they have been infected. Finally, have you heard of what happened at Accra Girls' High School and the KNUST high school at Kumasi? Have you heard of the numerous reports emanating from public institutions complaining that some of their staff have contracted the disease? With the best will in the world, our Government simply cannot tackle the disease in its entirety, head-on. We don't have enough testing equipment. Neither do we have enough Personal Protection Equipment. Nor are our hospitals equipped with enough ICUs to handle every possible case of Covid-19 infection referred to them. These are the factors that are putting undue pressure on our health authorities. Hear what the Health Minister had to say about the situation currently facing the country [after he had himself been discharged from hospital, where he had successfully recovered from Covid-19]: QUOTE: ....Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has stated that the Government is fatigued by the increasing cases of Coronavirus in the country, despite numerous interventions and public education on the disease. According to the Minister, many of the positive cases could soon turn into critical conditions if care is not taken. He said both the President and Health officials at the forefront are already tired, adding that Ghanaians must take personal responsibility to protect themselves from contracting the virus. If we dont do that, the virus will continue to spread. Our positive cases continue to increase, if we are not careful the positive cases will turn into critical illness. [The President] Nana [Akufo-] Addo is tired. Those of us leading the fight are fatigued because we have done all that we could to defeat the virus, but people are not adhering to the preventive protocols. So, I am begging everyone to adhere to hand washing, social distancing and [the directives on the] wearing of masks. UNQUOTE Now, the Minister was candid about the condition of those in the front-line of the battle against Covid-19. But, unfortunately, he was not so forthcoming about some of the measures which his tired Government had either instituted or which have been instituted by other organizations and whose implementation the Government has condoned, and which can only help Covid-19 to fester within the Ghanaian community. First in importance is the registration of voters for the 2020 elections. Everyone in Ghana is aware or should be aware by now that the congregation of large numbers of people in any particular spot helps spread Covid-19. And also, that not all Ghanaians take the disease seriously enough to wholeheartedly obey the guidelines laid down for preventing its spread. Yet the Government, whilst knowing this, has allowed the Electoral Commission to use the law to create a situation in which these two deadly factors have co-mingled to pose a threat to the lives of whole swathes of our populace. Added to this is the reopening of schools populated by students who may have acquired bad habits from their homes, but who are now housed in facilities without adequate resources to take care of them if the disease strikes their schools. Surely, there are too many risky factors in our lives, right now, to persuade our Government to STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN? Joe Biden laid out a populist economic vision to revive and reinvest in American manufacturing on Thursday (US time), calling for major new spending and stricter new rules to "Buy American" as part of an effort to more aggressively challenge President Donald Trump on two of his signature issues: the economy and nationalism. In a speech in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Biden slashed at Trump for a bungled response to the coronavirus pandemic that has deepened the economic crisis and a misplaced focus on the stockmarket, while framing his own economic agenda around a new campaign tagline, "Build Back Better." Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden adjusts his mask during a tour of McGregor Industries, a metal fabricating facility Credit:AP Biden said his plans would leverage trade, tax and investment policy to spur domestic innovation, reduce the reliance on foreign manufacturing and create 5 million additional American manufacturing and innovation jobs. "I do not buy for one second that the vitality of American manufacturing is a thing of the past," Biden said, speaking at a factory in Dunmore, not far from his childhood home of Scranton, a place where Biden often returns rhetorically to emphasise his blue-collar roots. The General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. John Boadu has said the largest opposition party, National Democratic Congress (NDC) has never been fond of Ghanaians students over the years. According to him, the NDC is opposing the move by the Electoral Commission (EC) to register final-year Senior High School students because they see the beneficiaries of President Nana Akufo-Addos Free SHS policy as a threat to its electoral chances in the December 7 polls. The truth of the matter is, NDC hate Ghanaian students. They know students will vote against them, he said in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie. The EC announced at the end of an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on Thursday, 9 July 2020 that it will start registering the final-year students on their various campuses. But, the NDC, has, however, kicked against it - describing the move as illegal. Mr. John Boadu however told host Mac Jerry Osei Agyeman that The agenda by the NDC to kick against the registration of SHS student will fail. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Healthcare workers wait for patients at the COVID-19 drive-thru testing site at the Duke Energy for the Arts Mahaffey Theater on July 8, 2020 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The U.S. continues to report record breaking new coronavirus cases as outbreaks surge in states in the South and West. The country reported a record 66,627 new cases on Friday, the second day in a row new cases have exceeded 60,000. The rise in cases is due partly to expanded testing that is uncovering more infections. However, many states that re-opened after the nation saw a lull in infections have since experienced a significant resurgence of the virus. Florida, a major epicenter of U.S. outbreak, reported 10,383 new cases as of Saturday morning after logging more than 11,000 cases the day prior, according to the state health department. A total of 19 states reported record daily new case averages Friday. Even as cases have more than doubled since mid-May, the daily death toll from Covid-19 in the U.S. declined or remained stable for weeks. However, the daily fatality count now appears to be on the rise again. Arizona, California, Florida and Texas -- hotspots for the virus -- have all seen their average daily death tolls hit record highs in recent days. Epidemiologists in Florida and Texas say they expect deaths to continue to rise for at least several weeks. In Texas, which has seen continued records for new virus deaths and hospitalizations throughout the week, Gov. Greg Abbott has warned of a second lockdown if people keep flouting the statewide mask mandate and cases keep rising. "The worst is yet to come as we work our way through that massive increase in people testing positive," Abbott said in a local television interview. In Georgia, where cases surged by more than 4,000 on Friday, Atlanta officials are reverting back to Phase 1 guidelines, in which residents are required to stay home except for essential outings. "Georgia reopened in a reckless manner and the people of our city and state are suffering the consequences," Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said on Friday. The Atlanta mayor's guidance directly clashes with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who has pushed an aggressive reopening and dismissed mask mandates as "unenforceable." At least 134,130 people in the U.S. have died since the start of the outbreak in March, and more than 3 million cases have been reported across the country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Students of state-run colleges and universities in West Bengal might not have to sit for their final semester exams this year as vice-chancellors said the process of evaluation is almost over and there is no scope to incorporate the UGC guidelines and the Centre's advisory to conduct the tests by September-end. The vice-chancellors of the state-run universities will write to the University Grants Commission (UGC), stating the reasons for not following the July 6 guidelines that mandated final semester examinations by September 30. The decision on the matter was taken at a meeting of the West Bengal Vice-Chancellors Council on Friday evening, in which the latest guidelines of the UGC were discussed. "Resolved that all the Vice-Chancellors of the state-aided universities of West Bengal will communicate individually to the Chairman of UGC stating the reasons for not following the revised UGC guidelines dated 06.07.2020 in this respect immediately," a statement issued by the council said. The state-run universities will, however, follow the guidelines issued by the UGC on April 29 and the subsequent state Higher Education Department advisory, which gave approval to a process of evaluation for publication of results in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. "The evaluation is almost in the process of completion," the statement said. The state Higher Education Department has recommended parameters for the evaluation of scores based on the last semester aggregate, home assignments, and internal assessment for final semester students. The state-run universities are broadly following this formula for publication of results by July 31. "We are in no situation to follow the MHRD advisory. We are already in the process of publishing the results by this month. We cannot start campus activities in the present situation," the vice-chancellor of a university in Kolkata told PTI. The decision by the vice-chancellors followed a letter to the Human Resource Development Ministry by Principal Secretary of Department of Higher Education and School Education Manish Jain, urging it to re-examine the matter in the interest of the well-being of students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Jain said the state should be allowed to implement its own decision by not making the guidelines mandatory. Also Read: Tesla CEO Elon Musk's net worth surpasses Warren Buffett's Also Read: Coronavirus impact: Zomato reinstates salaries; aims to make complete recovery in 3-6 months A lawyer representing Prince Andrews accuser Virginia Roberts has sensationally claimed that the Duke of York may have been secretly caught on video visiting convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. There is no doubt Prince Andrew would have been captured on footage filmed in rooms and private areas of Epsteins property, said David Boies. The disclosure will raise more concerns for Andrew, who has vehemently and repeatedly denied all allegations against him, including that he had sex with Ms Roberts three times, the first when she was just 17. A lawyer representing Prince Andrew (left)'s accuser Virginia Roberts (not pictured) has claims that the Duke of York could be caught on video visiting Jeffrey Epstein (right) Mr Boies, who represents more than a dozen of Epsteins victims, told The Mail on Sunday: We know there were cameras throughout the New York mansion and in Epsteins other properties. We know there were a multitude of cameras and very large quantities of tapes. Prince Andrew would have been included. He would certainly have been included among the people who would have been captured on the tapes. Many of Epsteins victims have reported seeing surveillance cameras in private areas of his properties, including bedrooms. One woman recalled accidentally stumbling through a hidden door in the disgraced financiers New York home to find several men looking at banks and banks of monitors which showed activity in every room of the house, including the bedrooms and where the massages took place. Maria Farmer, who claims that Epstein assaulted her and her sister in the 1990s, claimed to have seen a media room which had TVs set up with feeds from pinhole surveillance cameras dotted around the Manhattan mansion. David Boies, who made the claim, has formally written to the Prince (pictured)s legal team at least three times asking that he provide any and all correspondence with Epstein It was all videoed all the time. I asked him [Epstein], What do you do with all this? And he said, I keep it all in my safe, she alleged. Despite Mr Boiess suspicion, there is no evidence that any footage exists or existed of Prince Andrew involved in any wrongdoing during visits to Epstein or his properties. The Prince adamantly denies any wrongdoing. The FBI raided Epsteins Manhattan home shortly after he was arrested on child sex charges last summer and found diamonds, fake passports and money. They have repeatedly declined to comment on whether they found any surveillance tapes. Mr Boies has formally written to the Princes legal team at least three times asking that he provide any and all written or electronic correspondence between Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew. Mr Boies said that he was 'quite confident' that Epstein's tapes did exist at one point but is not sure if they still do. They could have been destroyed or somebody could be concealing them, Mr Boies said. There are emails to be sure. Perhaps other communications, he claimed. We have evidence on that related to the PR co-ordination and we have bits and pieces that sort of came up in an unstructured way and what were trying to do is get a complete inventory. The Prince (pictured at Windsor), who admitted visiting Epstein at his homes in New York, New Mexico and Little Saint James, adamantly denies any wrongdoing Andrew has admitted visiting Epstein at his homes in New York, New Mexico and his private Caribbean island, Little Saint James. He met Epstein in 1999 and went to New York to see him in 2010, when they were photographed walking in Central Park together. When FBI agents raided Epsteins Little Saint James home last year, they were photographed hauling off bin liners full of evidence. It was later revealed the bags contained evidence including an Apple laptop, along with telephone logs and photo albums. It is unknown if any video tapes were seized during the raid although numerous victims have claimed the island was covered with surveillance cameras inside the main house and a sex temple. Last night, a spokesman for Andrew declined to comment. How DID the BBC fall for this Ghislaine Maxwell fantasist? Convicted stalker appeared on Today Show to defend her friend but Maxwell claims she has never met the woman By Caroline Graham for the Mail on Sunday When Laura Goldman appeared on BBC Radio 4s flagship Today programme last Sunday, she confidently predicted her friend Ghislaine Maxwell would never betray Prince Andrew. She always told me she would never say anything about him. She really felt that in the 90s, when her father died, Prince Andrew was there for her in many ways, Goldman told listeners, adding that she had spoken to Maxwell only three weeks ago. Goldman has made something of a profession as a full-time Maxwell defender, receiving TV and newspaper coverage around the globe including in The Guardian and Telegraph. Laura Goldman (pictured), who is believed to be a close acquaintance of Ghislaine Maxwell, revealed on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that her friend would never betray Prince Andrew There is, however, just one problem: Ghislaine Maxwell has apparently never met her. She is a fraudster and a fantasist, a source close to Maxwell said. Ghislaine doesnt know this woman. Goldman is understood to have met one of Maxwells sisters at a business event for Jewish leaders in Israel in 2001, but the sister rebuffed attempts at friendship. After Epsteins arrest in 2019, Goldman again contacted the sister who had minimal contact with her. She is a convicted stalker with a prison record, the source added. But it now transpires that Maxwell has never met Goldman. The confidante is simply understood to have met one of Maxwells sisters at a business event in 2001 When she was pretending to know Ghislaine before Ghislaine was arrested, we let it go because there was so much rubbish being said. But now that Ghislaine is in custody some things she has said could put Ghislaines life at risk. It is baffling that prestigious news outlets like the BBC would put her on air without even the most cursory checks. The Mail on Sunday has seen court documents and statements from the FBI which show Goldman, a former stockbroker, was charged with stalking and harassing Thomas Lee, an ex-lover who sold drinks firm Snapple for $2 billion. Federal prosecutors said: Goldman engaged in a lengthy campaign of harassment, threats and extortion against Lee and members of his family from 1994 until 2002. A source described Goldman as a 'stalker' who pleaded guilty to harassment that took place in the late 1990s and early 2000s Goldman pleaded guilty to harassment. She was given five years of probation but during that time was arrested for threatening to kill Mr Lee and his children and for making threats against her probation office. Court documents show she was re-arrested after threatening to kill a judge and later sent to jail for four months before being released in January 1999. In 2000, she tried to blackmail Mr Lee by demanding $10 million in war reparations but the FBI began to listen into calls and an arrest warrant was issued. Goldman fled to Israel where she met Maxwells sister but she was extradited and pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted extortion. She was sentenced to five years probation. When the MoS approached Goldman and told her Maxwell had described her as a fraudster, she responded: Your reporting in inaccurate and flawed. When asked to provide proof that she had ever met Maxwell, she fell silent. TDT | Manama Mukta Cinemas will open doors to Bahrains first drive-in Cinema on July 20. Akshay Bajaj Chief Executive Officer of Mukta Cinema told Al Ayam in a statement. The project, he said, is being implemented in cooperation with Pico Exhibitions at Bahrain Bay. The facility with a single screen, Bajaj told Al Ayam, is capable of accommodating up to 100 cars. The movie will broadcast sound using an FM frequency to which the viewers will have to tune in using their car radio. A lot of drive-ins use FM radio to deliver the movie sound these days. Experts, however, warn it would simply drain your cars battery. So, it is better to bring a battery-powered portable radio or a boombox instead, in case you are not running your engine to use your car AC. The Coordination Committee, headed by His Highness the Crown Prince, had earlier announced that drive-in cinemas would be allowed to operate following health requirements and the rules of social distancing, with the continued closure of cinemas. The idea of drive-in cinemas first came to compensate for the closure of cinemas in line with the precautionary measures adopted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. UAE is a front runner in this regard, with people there now enjoying drive-in at Dubais Mall of the Emirates. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Click here to read the full article. An American Pickle In the 1920s, Herschel Greenbaum (portrayed by Seth Rogan) makes a vow to his wife that in 100 years, their immigrant family will prosper thanks to the American Dream. What at first appears to be a prophecy Herschel will never live to see in fruition takes an unexpected turn thanks to a factory accident involving lots and lots of pickle brine. Herschel falls into a vat of brine and re-emerges 100 years later, perfectly preserved. But instead of finding a thriving family, his only remaining relative is his introverted great-grandson, Ben (who is also portrayed by Rogan). Now, Herschel takes a second stab at his old promise and his pickle recipe. (August 6th) More from Rolling Stone Endless For Riley (Alexandra Shipp) and Chris (Nicholas Hamilton), their summer of romance is cut short by tragedy. A fatal car crash leaves Riley alone, only moving on from Chris is near impossible for her when so many moments point to his sprit still being present. Riley goes from hearing his voice and catching glimpses of his face to sharing full-on experiences with him. While their lasting connection seems inexplainable, a friend in the afterlife has an answer for Chris: You know what you did, right? You left somebody behind. (August 14th) Love Sarah After the passing of her mother, Clarissa (portrayed by Shannon Tarbet) is left with little more than her mothers distant dream of opening up a bakery in Notting Hill. With hardly any options available to her, she reconnects and moves in with her once distant grandmother (portrayed by Celia Imrie), and together they bring Sarahs vision to life. At first, the bakery seems to have more potential as a crack den than a destination for fine pastries, but its not long before it becomes home for the women. (September 7th) Story continues The One and Only Ivan For Ivan the 400-pound silverback gorilla voiced by Sam Rockwell the wild only exists in his memory. However, Ivans happy life spent being cared for by Mack (Bryan Cranston) as if he were part of the human family keeps him from wanting anything more. That is, until he meets a newly captured baby elephant (voiced by Brooklynn Prince) that makes him question his situation. Ivan tires of pretending to be an angry gorilla for the crowds he entertains and begins painting scenes from the wild instead, which sparks his journey towards freedom and tests the bonds of family. (August 14th) Pen15 The Hulu comedys second season finds Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine back in the thick of their struggle to survive middle school. In the middle of gym class, a classmate confronts the duo, saying, Youve changedlike, a lot. The two adults portray themselves as thirteen-year-olds in 2000, which means chugging soda, making questionable fashion choices, and spending their phone conversations examining their vaginas in mirrors from their respective bedrooms. (September 18th) Radioactive In the new teaser for the upcoming biopic on Marie Skodowska Curie, Rosamund Pike silences a room full of chattering men. I want to tell you about radium, she announces, going on to explain that it does not behave as it should. The following clips highlight Curies groundbreaking discoveries as well as her efforts to change the minds of leading scientists in the era. However, a devastating moment reveals that when her work was first nominated for the Nobel Prize, it was attributed to her husband. Despite the lack of respect she encountered as a woman, Curie doesnt waver. In the teasers final moment she says, This is my fight, and I will win it. (July 24) The Umbrella Academy, Season Two The new season finds the group of sibling heroes fighting the arrival of another apocalypse. This time, theyre taking root in 1963 Dallas, Texas. Not only do they have the end of the world on their consciences, but the clip hints that the events the family have set into motion are also linked to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In addition to getting a glimpse into the stakes of this season, but the scenes are accompanied by a new song from the shows creator, Gerard Way, titled Here Comes the End. (July 31st) See where your favorite artists and songs rank on the Rolling Stone Charts. Sign up for Rolling Stones Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Samples are taken for people in a quarantine centre. Illustrative image. (Photo: VNA) According to the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, he arrived in the country on July 9th at Da Nang International Airport onboard a flight from Oman and was immediately quarantined upon arrival. His samples were taken the same day and the result turned out as positive the next day. The 29-year-old patient is being treated at a quarantine centre at Dung Quat Industrial Zone in Quang Ngai province. Among the confirmed cases, 230 were imported and quarantined immediately after arrival. Up to 350 patients have recovered from the disease, and there are no deaths. Of the active cases, two have tested negative for the virus once, and two others at least twice. At present, 9,988 people having close contact with confirmed cases or coming from pandemic-hit areas are in quarantine, including six in hospitals, 9,509 in other quarantine sites, and 414 at home or accommodation facilities./. A former school principal convicted of sexually abusing seven of his pupils has been sentenced to three years in jail. Patrick Harte (78) was convicted of 11 counts of indecently assaulting seven pupils at the Sancta Maria Christian Brothers primary school in Synge Street, Dublin, between 1968 and 1970. Afterwards Fr Tony Conlon, one of the victims and who is now a Catholic priest, said he "hoped and prayed" this day would come. Outside Dublin's Criminal Courts of Justice, Fr Conlon said they had fought the case for seven years and that "finally vindication has come for all of us". He said he had not thought they could ever get justice and it shows that no matter how long ago it was "that there is justice". The priest called on people to come forward "if you have been abused or hurt in anyway". He urged people not to be ashamed and said that if they come forward "you will get the best help and support". Fr Conlon thanked his solicitor, his counsellor, the One in Four support group, and his friends and family. He also praised the "wonderful and dedicated" staff of the DPP, the prosecuting barristers, and the detective unit in Kevin Street who "worked tirelessly to bring the investigation to its successful completion". Harte's trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court had heard that when gardai put the victims' allegations to him in 2015 the former teacher claimed they had "a vendetta against him". Anne Rowland SC, prosecuting, told the court there is no evidence any of the victims were ever in contact with each other since the offending took place. Detective Garda Garvan Ware said "as far as I'm concerned, they are all independent". Harte, of Glendown Park, Templeogue, Dublin, had denied the charges and in a speech to the court he claimed the State had "validated" his teaching at the time and could not now "invalidate it". He said: "I abhor all forms of child abuse, discrimination and social injustice". He told Judge Martin Nolan he would go to the High Court if his sentence reflected a "sectarian" motivated prosecution. Passing sentence, Judge Nolan said that at the time of the offending Harte was the victims' teacher and that they found him cruel and "too fond of punishment". The judge said the evidence disclosed seems to indicate "a pattern of misbehaviour". He said the victims were "particularly courageous" in coming forward to give their evidence and the court thanks them. He sentenced Harte to two years' imprisonment for the first count of indecent assault on the indictment and one year of imprisonment for the second count on the indictment, which he ordered to run consecutive to the former sentence. Judge Nolan sentenced Harte to one year of imprisonment on each of the remaining nine counts of indecent assault, but ordered that they run concurrent to the other sentence, resulting in an effective sentence of three years' imprisonment. At an earlier sentencing hearing, the court heard Harte repeatedly and continuously molested the children amid an atmosphere in his class of severe corporal punishment and verbal abuse. Victims testified at the trial last March how he would find reasons to call them up to his desk, sometimes for praise and other times for correction of minor misbehaviours. He would warn the class to look at their books and not raise their heads before abusing the boys. Sex Sells Kevin Kwan returns to our lists at #3 in hardcover fiction with Sex and Vanity, which our review described as an intoxicating, breezy update of E.M. Forsters A Room with a View. Its a standalone follow-up to the trilogy that began with 2013s Crazy Rich Asians, and his first novel since the 2018 movie adaptation. Winners Circle After successful hardcover runs, a pair of prizewinners get their trade paperback releases. Debuting at #3 in trade paper, The Nickel Boys, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in May, is Colson Whiteheads brilliant examination of Americas history of violence, our starred review said, inspired by horrific events that transpired at the real-life Dozier School for Boys, where the boysespecially the Black boyssuffer from near-constant physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. In November, Sarah M. Broom won the National Book Award for Nonfiction for The Yellow House, centered on the New Orleans East home her mother bought in 1961, which did not survive Hurricane Katrina. It lands at #12 in trade paper. Brooms memoir, we noted in our review, serves as a touching tribute to family and a unique exploration of the American experience. Love Is Love Debuting at #10 in childrens frontlist fiction, Love, Creekwood by Becky Albertalli is a novella set in the world of the authors debut, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, a coming-of-age/coming-out YA story. In addition to Creekwood, Simon has spawned two related novels, as well as a movie, Love, Simon, and a Hulu series, Love, Victor, which premiered June 17. Love, Creekwood acts as an epilogue to the three novels, which together have sold 581K print copies. With Simon and his friends now in college, the TV series focuses on new characters at Simons alma mater, Creekwood High. NEW & NOTABLE BEGIN AGAIN Eddie S. Glaude #8 Hardcover Nonfiction Princeton University professor Glaude presents an erudite take on the election of Donald Trump, our review said, that looks to James Baldwins post-1968 writings for lessons in navigating the current political moment. FRIENDS AND STRANGERS J. Courtney Sullivan #10 Hardcover Fiction Our review praised the Saints for All Occasions authors intimate, incisive latest for its authentic portrait of modern motherhood as depicted through the evolving friendship between a new mother and her babysitter. THE EMPIRE OF GOLD S.A. Chakraborty #18 Hardcover Fiction Chakraborty concludes her fantasy trilogy set in an alternate 18th-century Egypt by pulling off an astonishing balancing act, our review said, as her multifaceted characters navigate the complex politics of her beautifully painted world. New York, July 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Autonomous Train Technology Market Research Report by Train Type, by Area, by Component, by Technology - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913500/?utm_source=GNW On the basis of Train Type, the Autonomous Train Technology Market is studied across GoA1 + GoA2, GoA3, and GoA4. On the basis of Area, the Autonomous Train Technology Market is studied across Long Distance, Monorail, Suburban, Subway or Metro, and Tram. On the basis of Component, the Autonomous Train Technology Market is studied across Antenna, Infrared Camera, LiDAR Module, Odometer, Optical Sensor Camera, and RADAR Module. On the basis of Technology, the Autonomous Train Technology Market is studied across Automatic Train Control, Communications-based Train Control, European Rail Traffic Management System, and Positive Train Control. On the basis of Geography, the Autonomous Train Technology Market is studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region is studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region is studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region is studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Company Usability Profiles: The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Autonomous Train Technology Market including Alstom S.A., Ansaldo STS, Bombardier Transportation, CRRC Corporation Limited, General Electric, Hitachi Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric, Siemens AG, and Thales Group. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Autonomous Train Technology Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on sulfuric acid offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Autonomous Train Technology Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Autonomous Train Technology Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Autonomous Train Technology Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Autonomous Train Technology Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Autonomous Train Technology Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Autonomous Train Technology Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913500/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Tip ONeill was given a rapturous welcome when he visited his ancestral home of Mallow in 1987 Tom ONeill and Rosemary ONeill, the son and daughter of the late Tip ONeill, with the then Mayor of Mallow, Noel OConnor, at the unveiling of a plaque in memory of their late father at Tip ONeill Memorial Park in Mallow in 2012 The memory the celebrated former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, 'Tip' O'Neill, is to be enshrined in a high-profile event staged in his ancestral home of Mallow. The inaugural Tip O'Neill International Summer School was to have been held in Mallow this month. However, it has now been re-scheduled for next summer as a result of the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The president of the Summer School organising committee, Mallow native Michael O'Neill, who is a relative of Tip O'Neill, said the principal aim of the initiative was to "further strengthen the Irish links between the US and Europe". "The school will set out to define itself as an evolving bridge that will span Ireland's historic connections with Europe and subsequent links with the US", said Mr O'Neill. "Through the global Irish diaspora network, it will seek out and explore avenues to be a progressive and active medium of re-connecting the USA with its Irish and European roots," he added. It was Tip O'Neill who once famously said that "all politics is local", something that Michael O'Neill said would be a key element of the Summers School's guiding ethos. "Building relations between nations must also have their foundations in local communities and the need for these communities from different nations to interact and understand one another," said Mr O'Neill. He said the long-term goal will be to make the Mallow event Munster's "premier summer school". "It will be a bridge of people, ideas and reflections. It will not just be an annual weekend event, but an ongoing active process of engagement in all facets of social, cultural, economic and political life, facilitating interaction between people from Ireland, Europe and the USA," said Mr O'Neill. "The Summer School will aim to imbue the life and times of Tip O'Neill - his many achievements as an elected representative, his quest for equality and fairness and last, but not least, his and other Irish Americans commitment and contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland and the maintenance of good relations between Ireland and the United States," he added. The school will lay its initial foundations by drawing its speakers from a pool of academia and experts from Mallow and North Cork, with a view to engaging national and internationally renowned speakers as it evolves in the future. It is also proposed that it be held in tandem with a junior Summer School, which will invite senior-cycle pupils from local schools to form a North Cork Youth Forum that will set the agenda for discussion each year. Given Tip O'Neill's Donegal ancestral links, it is envisaged that pupils from schools in the Inishowen Peninsula will also be invited to participate in the junior Summer School. Mr O'Neill said that the inaugural Tip O'Neill Summer School would take place over a weekend between July and September of next year, with the actual date to be finalised following an international consultation process. "A lot of hard work has gone into bringing this initiative from the kernel of an idea through to fruition, and it was with a great sense of disappointment that we had to cancel the inaugural Summer School this year," said Mr O'Neill. "However, we believe we have set in motion a process that will be an incredible force for good in helping to being together communities in Ireland and the US to work for the common good for many years to come," he added. To find out more about the Tip O'Neill International Summer School, one can get in contact with Michael O'Neill on (086) 376 2212. Tip O'Neill was 'a most prominent, powerful and loyal champion of the working people' - former President Bill Clinton Patrick O'Neill, 'Tip' O'Neill's grandfather, one of five children, was born in Mallow to John and Johanna (Julia) nee Fox in 1832. 'Tip's' maternal grandparents, Eunice Fullerton and James Tolan, hailed from the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal. Born in 1912 in North Cambridge, Massachusetts, Thomas Phillip 'Tip' O'Neill (Jnr) had a keen interest in politics from an early age, volunteering for Al Smith's campaign in the 1928 presidential election. After graduating from Boston College, he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, taking over as speaker in 1949. Three years later he was elected to the US House of Representatives, taking over the seat vacated by John F Kennedy. He represented Massachusetts for 16 consecutive terms, serving as House Majority Whip and Leader before being elected the 47th Speaker of the House in 1977, a position he held until his retirement a decade later. In 1991, President George HW Bush presented to him the Presidential Medal of Freedom - America's highest civilian award, which is given for especial meritorious contributions to the national interest of America and of world peace. Following his death in 1994, President Bill Clinton described Tip O'Neill as "the nation's most prominent, powerful and loyal champion of the working people... He loved politics and government because he saw that politics and government could make a difference in people's lives. And he loved people most of all." Fiercely proud of his Mallow roots, Tip made his first stop-over visit to the town in 1985 while on a Congressional Delegation to Cork, where he was granted the freedom of the city. Such was his affinity for the town, on exiting from the train at Mallow station he kissed the ground in memory of his ancestors. In July 1987 he returned to Mallow, where a civic reception was hosted in his honour by the then Mallow Urban District Council. During that trip to Ireland, he was also awarded the honorary degree of LL.D by Trinity College Dublin. The oration in his honour was delivered by the then chancellor, Francis (Frank) O'Reilly, who said of Tip, "he acquired an unrivalled knowledge of parliamentary procedure, assisting in the passage of much social legislation". "He was the first public representative to propose the ending of the war in Vietnam, for it has been his abiding conviction that political problems must be solved by discussion, not violence." That ethos was also highlighted by Mallow-born Professor Margaret Kelleher, chair of Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama at UCD, during a speech at the opening of an exhibition on Tip O'Neill's life and career in Cork in 2017. Organised by the Tip O'Neill Committee of the Mallow Development Partnership (MDP), the exhibition used a mixture of documents, personal correspondence, photographs and other memorabilia to paint a vivid and colourful portrait of the man and his times. "His contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland was immense and was widely recognised by his peers in the USA and elsewhere," said Professor Kelleher. "This exhibition is a precious opportunity to recognise not only the North Cork roots of Tip O'Neill but also to celebrate his and his family's lives of distinguished public service and his landmark contribution to Irish and Irish-American history," she added. More than six million Britons could be forced to pay an average annual levy of 2,500 to the Treasury if Labours Left wing wins an internal battle to introduce a wealth tax, the Tories claimed last night. The row was sparked after Sir Keir Starmers Shadow Financial Secretary Dan Carden wrote on Twitter: We are following very closely the academic research on how a UK wealth tax would work. He added that the party thought the cost of the Covid-19 crisis should be borne by those with the broadest shoulders and dismissed as false reports that Labour was moving away from the idea. Labour Shadow Financial Secretary Dan Carden (pictured right) revealed that Labour's Left wing are planing an internal fight to introduce a wealth tax in Britain Mr Carden, a protege of Len McCluskey, leader of the Unite trade union, is one of the last remaining close allies of Jeremy Corbyn on the partys front bench. It reflects a widening split in Labour over the issue, coming after Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds told the Commons on Wednesday that Labour is not calling for tax rises. We are calling for growth. Mr Cardens remarks have been seized on by the Conservative Party, which claims that Labour is eyeing the system in operation in Norway where everyone with savings and property worth more than 126,000 is hit with an annual charge of 0.85 per cent above that amount. Under the scheme, even the value of assets such as cars and furniture are taken into account when calculating the levy. More than half a million Norwegians currently pay the tax, according to the latest official data. If the same type of system were applied in the UK, at least six million workers could be eligible. On average, Norwegians face a bill of about 2,500 on top of other taxes such as income tax and VAT. British workers would probably see similar bills under Labour. A YouGov survey in May suggested that 61 per cent of the British public would support a wealth tax for those with assets of more than 750,000. Last night, a Labour Party spokesman added to the confusion by saying that Mr Cardens view was not that of the party, and pointed back to Ms Doddss assertion in the Commons that new taxes would damage demand and inhibit our recovery. Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds (pictured) told the House of Commons on Wednesday that Labour is calling for growth, not tax rises It is a further flip-flop from earlier this month, when Ms Dodds said that the wealth tax was something the Government does need to look at because for the very, very best-off people quite a bit of their money coming in is derived from wealth. Sir Keir himself said on July 6 that we certainly support the principle that those with the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden. Amanda Milling MP, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said: Sir Keir Starmer has admitted a tax raid on homes and savings has got to be something we look at. This new analysis reveals just how much hard-working people could be hit by Labours plans. Labour need to be honest about what theyre calling for, rather than just saying what they think people want to hear without giving any details. A Labour source said that despite Mr Cardens words, Labour has not proposed this or anything like it and has no plans to. A teenager from New York who disappeared Friday in rough surf at the Jersey Shore is presumed to have drowned, according to police. The 18-year-old, whose name was not released, was swimming with two others at the beach off Victoria Avenue in Ventnor City when he went under the waves, according to police. The beach south of Atlantic City had been closed for about an hour and there were no lifeguards, said Ventnor City Police Capt. Joe Fussner. We received a 911 call about a swimmer in distress, Fussner said. Ventnor City Police arrived first on the scene and spotted the man, who appeared to be unconscious, about 50 yards off the Oxford Avenue beach, but could not reach him before he disappeared under the water. The two other swimmers, which Fussner described as young adult women, were able to make it safely back to shore. The ocean was extremely rough, Fussner said of the shoreline, which was pounded by Tropical Storm Fay Friday morning. There were rip currents and the conditions were extremely dangerous. Fussner said the skies had cleared by the evening and that dozens of people were walking on the beach, possibly giving the false impression that the ocean was safe for swimming. Fire department, beach patrol units and helicopters from Ventnor, Margate and Atlantic City searched the waters with the assistance of the New Jersey State Police Marine Unit and the U.S. Coast Guard until about 8:58 p.m. when the rescue operation was suspended by the fire and beach patrol units. Police said they do not expect to find the missing swimmer alive. Unfortunately, this has turned into a recovery operation, Fussner said. Rescuers have been kept busy this week. A 77-year-old man was pulled from the water in Atlantic City and pronounced dead Thursday. And a 17-year-old died after being pulled from Raritan Bay Thursday. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Guests wearing masks wait outside the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World on the first day of reopening after it was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic Disney World is known as "The Most Magical Place on Earth" but as the Florida theme park reopened Saturday, it was counting on a bit of science -- masks, social distancing, hand sanitizer -- to stave off the coronavirus. The state of Florida is one of the hardest-hit by a new wave of cases and deaths in the United States, already the most affected country in the world in terms of infections and fatalities. On Saturday, Florida reported its third-highest daily increase in cases, with 10,360 new infections, as well as 95 deaths. Overall, the US has seen nearly 135,000 deaths out of 3.2 million cases. In Orlando, Disney World reopened two of its four parks -- Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom -- after four months of closure. Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios will open on Wednesday. Disney World reopened two of its four theme parks in Orlando, Florida on June 11, 2020 after the coronavirus forced them to shutter Several hundred people queued in the Florida heat ahead of the park's reopening -- some sporting Mickey ears but all wearing masks, part of the park's new guidelines requiring them for both guests and employees. Saturday's visitors had reserved their tickets in advance, allowing Disney to control the number of people in the park and accommodate for social distancing. Tickets are already sold out through July. The park was carrying out temperature checks at the entrance and hand sanitizer was widely available. Disney said it was enforcing social distancing of six feet (two meters) at attractions and inside shops. "By visiting Walt Disney World Resort you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19," the park said on its website. Gone are the park's famous parades which allow mingling with Disney characters; also absent are the evening fireworks shows. On social media, many criticized the park's reopening as Florida experiences an accelerated number of cases. The state's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis began reopening Florida's economy in phases in May and June. Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said Thursday that Florida had begun reopening before meeting the criteria that would have enabled it to do so safely. DeSantis disputed the remarks, saying his decision to reopen was justified by figures at the time. At the end of June the governor took a step backwards, ordering the closure of bars in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus, but cases have continued to climb. Florida is not the only state grappling with a serious spread of COVID-19. In Georgia, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Friday ordered a return to the southern city's Phase 1 lockdown, telling nearly all residents to wear masks, a retreat after having partially reopened the city. Bottoms herself has tested positive. Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, registered 435 new cases of the disease in the latest 24-hour period. Arizona has seen a steady rise since March in the use by hospital intensive-care units of artificial breathing machines. In Texas, several hospitals -- including in Houston's huge medical complex -- say their coronavirus wards are at or near capacity, amid fears of a further influx of patients in coming days. And some states that had largely been spared up to now -- including Idaho, Oklahoma and North Dakota -- have been setting new virus records almost every day. HE comes from a region forming the heel of Italys boot, and Giuseppe Giordano is preparing to kickstart a programme of guided walking tours in his adopted hometown. A multilingual guide, travel consultant and destination specialist from Puglia, Italy, Giuseppe, who is currently living in Kilmallock, has more than 15 years experience in the tourism industry. During the lockdown, Giuseppe created several videos with the aim of bringing Italy and his home region Puglia, to Ireland, through a programme called "Where Ireland Meets Puglia". His next step is to start guided walking tours in the town of Kilmallock. He is currently putting the finishing touches to another video about promoting Kilmallock to attract visitors to the area. I came to Kilmallock for the first time, for a visit in 2015 while living in London with my partner Louisa Deady from Kilmallock who I met at a friend's wedding in Calabria, Italy in 2014. She was part of the bridal party. Her cousin from Cork married an Italian friend and colleague of mine from Calabria. I knew this colleague from when I worked in Cork from 2001 to 2003, Giuseppe explained. And his opinion of Kilmallock? Its an historical town. There is a lot of history around but it is not so well promoted - there are not a lot of people coming here. There is a lot of history to discover in the area. The abbey is my favourite spot and I like to walk in Dromin, it is nice and quiet and there is a nice graveyard with an older church there. Giuseppe is a member of ATGI (Approved Tourist Guides of Ireland) and Councillor of Federagit Terra di Bari, The Association of Tour Guides and Escorts of Puglia, in Italy. Last December he graduated from Tralee ETB as a National Tour Guide, approved by Failte Ireland. The tour of Kilmallock will start at the car park near Kings Castle and take in a number of key sites in the town. We will cross the road to the cross to commemorate the three men who died during the Fenian Uprising and then from there to the Abbey, the Collegiate Church, the courthouse and then back to the car park. Depending on the speed of people it will take a couple of hours, said Giuseppe who has created his own policy for Covid-19 as there is nothing specific for tourist guides. There was only something for hotels, restaurants and historical sites, nothing for walking tours. As Im also a councillor in Italy in my area for the tourist guides association, I have used some of the guidelines we have used there and the ones implemented by the Irish government to create my own rules. The price of the tour will be in the region of 8 to 10. They will have to book online because of Covid-19. It will not be possible to have cash handling so they will have to pay online or by card when they arrive. For more details see Giuseppes website. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-11 22:37:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BAGHDAD, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Health Ministry on Saturday confirmed 2,734 new COVID-19 cases, as the total number of infections climbed to 75,194. A statement issued by the ministry also confirmed 95 more deaths during the day, raising the death toll from the virus to 3,055 in the country. It also said that 1,699 people recovered, bringing the total recoveries from the disease to 43,079. The new cases were recorded after 10,377 testing kits were used across the country during the past 24 hours, and a total of 671,478 tests have been carried out since the outbreak of the disease, the statement added. Meanwhile, Sayf al-Badr, spokesman of the Health Ministry, said in a statement that dozens of workers at the ministry's health institutions were infected with COVID-19 due to their direct contact with patients. Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi has arranged several health institutions across the country to test the health personnel, in addition to one of the hospitals in the Medical City complex in downtown Baghdad to treat them, al-Badr said. "A large number of infections of the ministry's personnel would never stop them from doing their duty toward the citizens," he added. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, Iraq has been taking measures to contain the pandemic. China has been helping Iraq fight the COVID-19 pandemic. From March 7 to April 26, a Chinese team of seven medical experts spent 50 days in Iraq to help contain the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and install an advanced CT scanner in Baghdad. Since March 7, China has also sent three batches of medical aid to Iraq. Enditem We stay in a country where even humans are deprived of a good life so thinking about animals is far fetched. However, some understand early on age that animals are precious. People especially in India can be seen shooing away street dogs, pressing charges against animal activists or calling the vet van to throw the animals who are creating a menace in their locality. Some would even prefer a world free of animals or desi dogs per se and in this battle, there are a few good souls who have taken the responsibility on themselves to look after the unspoken and stand up for the voiceless. Whether it's banning animal fighting festivals, animal testing to heartwarming rescue efforts, the hard work of animal lovers is finally paying off. However, there is still a long way to go. The recent case of Ayesha Christina, an animal activist, who was beaten for looking after dogs, is proof the battle is far from over. Instagram/The Modern Mowgli We spoke to an animal rescuer Anoushka Mehta, who has a charity spread across Delhi and Haryana by the name of The Modern Mowgli and she took us through the obstacles she faces looking after Indie dogs, cats or any animal on a daily basis. And despite that, the 23-year-old has been feeding 190 dogs everyday and has gotten 90+ Indian dogs adopted, all rescued from perishable conditions, in India, US & Canada. An animal rescuer's life in India is extremely challenging Anoushka points out why the animal charity is termed problematic. "One has to make do with very few resources. Not just that, we fail to receive the same amount of respect and appreciation unlike other NGOs and non profit agencies. The recent animal activist attack is an indication of that. Also, we belong to a poor nation and people fail to understand why we would want to spend our time, energy and money on animals or another species that communicate differently. They fail to feel that connect with them that's why it makes our lives challenging because for us, pain, hunger, thirst sees no languages, it just transcends everything. It's important to update our charity pages so that we don't lose out on our donor and adoption base Instagram/ The Modern Mowgli Anoushka clears the charity and Instagram updates are not to get famous. Explaining a day in her life, she says, "My day starts at 6am when my feeder staff reach college. I graduated from a University in Harayana for five years and had been feeding my strays and animals there. So it was my responsibility to look after them even after I graduated. I couldn't abandon my dogs since I made them so dependent on me. So I employed two people who come along with me to feed them every single day. Then I take my dogs for the vet visits in the evening. I get back home and then start preparing food for my 200 dogs in Delhi. " "By 10, I go with my feeder bhaiya to give food to all the dogs in and around South Delhi. Apart from that I give them medicines, dress up, tend to their injuries. Around midnight, I get back home and update my Instagram page because its very important to grow my community. If I don't reach out to people and show them what we're doing, I feel i will lose out on my donor base, my followers, people who help fostering and adopting. It's important for me to make this charitable sustainable." We need the govt and conservationists to look for humane methods and alternatives to tackle this issue of wild boars Twitter "It was heartbreaking and gut wrenching to see the elephant finding respite in the water after the cracker burst in her mouth. Later, I read it was for a wild boar, but aren't they animals too? It would have pained him the same way. We should feel the same amount of empathy for the wild boar and all those who suffered till now just like we felt for the elephant. Hence, its important to work extensively with those communities which stay in those villages. There cannot be conservation without their help. We're only a handful of us working towards animal welfare and the last thing we want is that people quit Instagram The lockdown has been difficult for humans but it has also been difficult for strays who relied on people to give them food. However, even during the time of the pandemic there have been volunteers and NGOs taking care of strays and rescuing those in need. But not everyone seems to appreciate the effort such selfless people put in. "It was horrifying to watch the video of the animal activist who was beaten along with her group. She was doing a big service to our community by sterlising the dogs. And anyone with brains would know that the only way to tackle rabies and over population of animals is effective sterlisation. Yet people fail to understand our views and fail to step down from their high egos. And when they see a vet van, all they want to do is dump the dogs in those vehicles and throw them away. It's all illegal. They just don't understand who co-existence means. She adds, "I follow Aisha Christina and I know she's strong. She will not quit but there will be many people who will feel threatened and it will dissuade them, only deter them from helping animals in future. We don't want people to quit on this. We're only a handful of us, working towards it and the last thing we want to people quit. It has happened with me too. A couple came when I was feeding my dogs and twisted my arm, threw away my phone, pushed me. I was so scared for my life as the whole colony was out. I had to call the cops but it didn't help and the bit about physical assault was neglected. I too didn't press charges because I didn't have the bandwidth to deal with it since I had dogs to feed." Grateful that we have now stricter laws for animals and animal feeders If you want to feed stray animals, then here's what you should know. "It is illegal for any stray dog to be removed from their territory, the one they were born into, for them to be culled, for any act of violence that is carried out against them or against the feeders. Anybody harassing and threatening the feeder is seen as a punishable offense. If you see an injured dog, there are several first aid treatments u can give to the animal yourself till the ambulance doesn't come. Immediately get in touch with people who look after dogs in your area through Facebook and Whatsapp groups and ensure they get the care they need." Dogs should not be viewed as trophies - So please adopt, don't shop "People are obsessed with pedigree dogs. They're insecure about their social status and resort to buying dogs. Most people who see dogs as dogs would/should be more than okay adopting any dog as long as they can provide for them. If you reject a dog based on their colour, breed or sex, it makes no sense to me. Dogs should not be viewed as trophies. People jump from breed to breed. They bring dogs home without understand what work it entails. I will never send my desi dogs to a home that see them as a compromise, that see them lesser than any other dogs because they are just as good, just as smart as any other dog and they deserve a fair chance too. And if somebody is unwilling to give them a chance, then its truly their loss because dogs are just perfect." If you love dogs and animals, you are already halfway there Instagram/The Modern Mowgli If you love dogs and your family is not sure of getting one home or helping you with strays, then remember what this 23-year-old has to say, "Please be passionate, have perseverance and have a purpose. These are the 3Ps to get you anywhere in life and if you love dogs and animals, you are already halfway there, just have a clear direction. Initially I was only feeding dogs outside my home, then I gradually started taking the sick ones to the vet and then sterlising them and that's how the charity became what it is today. So just take small steps and help the voiceless." Anoushka aka Modern Mowgli maybe a one man army but she has a lot of supporters and friends pumping her up and helping her charity grow. The influx on her Instagram is huge but she is always available to speak to anyone regarding animal rescues and her love for them on her email - Anoushkamehta19@gmail.com Two U.S. Marine bases in Okinawa have been put on lockdown by the military with 61 coronavirus cases confirmed this week, the prefectural government said Saturday. The U.S. forces told the Okinawa government the cases were confirmed between Tuesday and Saturday at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Camp Hansen, and the two bases have been locked down, prefectural government officials said. Lt. Gen. Stacy Clardy, commander of the III Marine Expeditionary Force and head of U.S. forces in Okinawa, explained the infection situation at the military facilities to Gov. Denny Tamaki by phone, they said. The Marine Corps said it "experienced two localized clusters of individuals who tested positive for the virus" and that all personnel who tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, are in isolation. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and various actors expressed concerns about the Bachchans' health Within minutes after reports of Amitabh Bachchan being hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19 surfaced online, the get well soon wishes began pouring in, flooding Twitter and other social media platforms. Fans and his colleagues from the film industry expressed concerns over the health of Amitabh, one of India's most loved and best-known actors. "Get well soon sir", said veteran Malayalam actor Mammootty. "Take care sir. Love you. Awaiting your tweet when you say you're fine and going back home, wrote filmmaker Kunal Kohli. Actor Bipasha Basu said she was praying for his speedy recovery. South superstar Mahesh Babu and Dulquer Salmaan as well as actors Pankaj Tripathi, Nimrat Kaur, Rahkummar Rao and director Hansal Mehta were among those who sent him their wishes. "Get well soon Amit uncle. All my love and prayers," actor Sonam Kapoor replied on his tweet. Senior actor Anupam Kher said he was confident that Amitabh would win the fight against coronavirus just as he had faced life's challenges with strength and courage. @SrBachchan !! https://t.co/i6hSmMY2gy Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) July 11, 2020 Union health minister Harsh Vardhan assured that the iconic actor will be well looked after and wished him a speedy recovery. Dear Amitabh ji, I join the whole Nation in wishing you a quick recovery! After all, you are the idol of millions in this country, an iconic superstar! We will all take good care of you. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!@SrBachchan @juniorbachchan #AmitabhBachchan #COVID https://t.co/NHeY7e2mjC pic.twitter.com/CsVKlvCJeG Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) July 11, 2020 Expressing her sadness on hearing the news, West Bengal chief minister Banerjee, who shares a great rapport with Amitabh, prayed for his speedy recovery. Extremely saddened to hear the news of Shri #AmitabhBachchan Ji testing COVID Positive. Praying for his strength & speedy recovery. @SrBachchan please get well soon! Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 11, 2020 Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane too wished speedy recovery to Senior Bachchan. I join the whole Nation in wishing Shri @SrBachchan a quick recovery. All of India will be praying for your speedy recovery from #COVID19 Get well soon! VishwajitRane (@visrane) July 11, 2020 "Take care Amit ji. Praying for your good health and quick recovery," said Sachin Tendulkar. Several fans too wished for the megastar's speedy recovery. People also shared Bachchan's 8 July tweet, where he shared an image of himself saying: "This too shall pass...". T 3586 - This too shall pass .. pic.twitter.com/sjx3UV13c6 Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 8, 2020 Later on, after the actor's son Abhishek Bachchan to shared news of being tested positive for COVID-19, actor Riteish Deshmukh wished a speedy recovery to him. "Get well soon my brother - @juniorbachchan< - praying for the familys well being and good health- love you man," the actor tweeted. Get well soon my brother - @juniorbachchan - praying for the familys well being and good health- love you man Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) July 11, 2020 Deshmukh also wished speedy recovery to Amitabh. Get well soon sir @SrBachchan - praying for your good health & speedy recovery. https://t.co/HPwhH9HNdO Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) July 11, 2020 Actors Neha Dhupia, Sonam Kapoor, Dulquer Salman, Chitrangada Singh, Preity Zinta and Esha Deol were among those who replied with get well soon wishes on Abhishek's tweet. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said he was certain that both the Bachchans would recover soon. My best wishes for a young, brilliant actor with a most charming smile ! Take good care of yourself dear @juniorbachchan & of your father Sh @SrBachchan ji too ! Am sure both of you will bounce back to perfect health soon The Bachchans rule our hearts. Our prayers for you ! https://t.co/WCSrrBB8ff pic.twitter.com/Y7gjjZbbEQ Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) July 11, 2020 Actor Shahid Kapoor sent his wishes to Abhishek, Amitabh, and the entire family. Wishing you the speediest recovery Amitji and Abhishek. Wishing the entire family the best of health. Much love. https://t.co/AOZTpju2lM Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) July 11, 2020 Amitabh has been active on social media through the lockdown, which began on 25 March to curtail the spread of COVID-19. The actor, who was roped in by the government in March to help spread awareness about the pandemic, has been frequently posting on Twitter and Instagram as well as his blog, sharing advice on a range of issues. He has also been sharing throwback pictures with family and friends, motivational quotes, anecdotes about his cinema journey and celebrating anniversaries of his various films. He was last seen in Shoojit Sircar's Gulabo Sitabo , which released on streaming platform Amazon Prime Video last month. With inputs from PTI We know you love Ranch Water, the refreshing three-ingredient cocktail with deep West Texas roots. But may we present: Ranch Water in a can. 'It's heartbreaking': Houston bar owner keeps fighting to survive after second shutdown Emma Balter with the Houston Chronicle took a deep dive into three brands offering canned Ranch Water: Lone River Beverage Co., Ranch Rider Spirits and Shotgun Spiked Seltzer, all available in the Houston area. If Topo Chico, tequila and lime was too much effort for you, enjoying a Ranch Water just got even easier. All you have to do is crack open a can. However, only one of these has actual tequila in it. Ranch Rider Spirits sourced reposado tequila from a distillery in Jalisco, Mexico for its version. The other canned options might be more comparable to a hard seltzer, which isn't a bad thing at all if you're ready to move past White Claws this summer. While it might be hard to capture the crispness of a true Ranch Water in a can, it's hard to knock the convenience of just throwing the six-pack in a cooler for an afternoon in the pool. Plus, you don't have to lug any glass bottles anywhere. Either way, these canned Ranch Waters are still genuine Texan summer drinks. Now owns largest known fully licensed cannabis facilities in California Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 11, 2020) - TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FSE: XETR) ("TransCanna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lyfted Farms, Inc. ("Lyfted"), was successfully granted a Type 11 'Distributor' license by the California Bureau of Cannabis Control for its 196,000 square foot Daly Avenue Facility. This long-anticipated milestone marks the completion of all state and local licenses required for the Company to begin operations at its flagship cannabis processing facility in Modesto, California. This state-wide license represents Lyfted's most major milestone to date in meeting the distribution and production capabilities needed to meet the escalating demand for its products in the world's largest cannabis market. The license was granted after three levels of approvals were achieved at the county and state level and will allow for the commencement of packaging, transport, wholesale, pre-roll assembly, labeling, testing, contract packaging (white-labeling), and of course distribution of cannabis products to all licensed retailers across the state. "This is the most exciting development in our history and what everyone has been working towards," says Bob Blink, TransCanna CEO. "Being granted a license at the state level is a long, costly, and complex process, and one that requires navigating and understanding a complex regulatory process. It's a significant barrier to entry for most companies, so this marks a huge turning point for us. We are delighted to have achieved our biggest goal to date and excited to be able to better serve the demands of the California cannabis market." The Company is currently completing upgrades to the flagship Daly Facility. Commercial cannabis activities are expected to commence at Daly August 2020, via the deployment of a 16,000 square foot cannabis distribution center (Phase 1). To date, Lyfted has been able to process in excess of $1M USD/month in wholesale cannabis transactions out of a distribution space of 1,000 square feet from its Jerusalem Court facility. These upgrades will mean the Company now has 16,000 square feet of distribution space at its disposal as of August 2020. Story continues "This exponential increase in capacity is incredibly exciting for investors," says Blink, adding the Company has been focused on building out its wholesale and distribution business while awaiting its final license. "Having processed a million dollars' worth of product out of a single one-thousand square foot facility, we are anticipating significant growth now that our 196,000 square foot operation is online." Lyfted anticipates hiring up to 250 full-time employees at the flagship site with a strong focus placed on social equity and a diverse workforce that is reflective of the communities it serves and operates in. About TransCanna Holdings Inc. TransCanna Holdings Inc. is a California based, Canadian listed company building cannabis-focused brands for the California lifestyle, through its wholly-owned California subsidiaries. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.transcanna.com or email the Company at info@transcanna.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors Bob Blink, CEO 604-349-3011 Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws or forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs regarding future events of management of the Company. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations for growth and the commencement of operations of the Company's Daly facility. The forward-looking information in this press release is based upon certain assumptions that management considers reasonable in the circumstances, including that operations will commence at the Company's Daly facility in Modesto, California, as and when expected. These forwardlooking statements involve numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties associated with the forward-looking information in this news release include, among others, dependence on obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, including state, local or other licenses and any inability to obtain all necessary governmental approvals licenses and permits to complete upgrades to its Daly facility in a timely manner; engaging in activities which currently are illegal under U.S. federal law and the uncertainty of existing protection from U.S. federal or other prosecution; regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations, including U.S. state-law legalization, particularly in California, due to inconsistent public opinion, perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry, bureaucratic delays or inefficiencies or any other reasons; any other factors or developments which may hinder market growth;; reliance on management; and the effect of capital market conditions and other factors (including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic) on capital availability; competition, including from more established or better financed competitors; and the need to secure and maintain corporate alliances and partnerships, including with customers and suppliers. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/59555 Plans to re-open schools for all pupils in Wales from September welcomed by senior councillor This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jul 11th, 2020 News that all pupils will be able to return to school in September has been welcomed by a senior Wrexham councillor. On Thursday Education Minister Kirsty Williams announced that schools that can do so will safely reo-pen from the first week of September, with all schools re-opening from September 14th. It will be the first time all pupils have had the opportunity to return to school full-time since the pandemic broke out in March. Plans and preparations are underway between the council and local schools to review risk assessments, processes and systems to ensure pupils can be welcomed back safely, and inline with guidance from Welsh Government. Schools which can, will reopen from the first week of term. Some specific groups of learners might need to be prioritised during this week, such as Year 7, 12, 13 and Special Units for Secondary, Special Units for Early Years and Year 6. The minister also announced that: Schools will return to full capacity, with only limited social distancing within contact groups. At full operations, a contact group should consist of around 30 children. Some direct or indirect mixing between children in different contact groups will also be unavoidable, such as on transport, receiving specialist teaching or due to staffing constraints. Social distancing for adults should remain in line with regulations and guidance. Schools will be required to minimise the risk of transmission by taking other mitigating measures using the hierarchy of risk controls. Every school should continue to be Covid Protected having carried out risk assessments and mitigated them with a combination of controls such as hand and surface hygiene, one-way systems and so forth. If early warning information shows a local incident or outbreak then nearby schools should implement appropriate restriction measures. Each school will be provided with a supply of home testing kits. From September 14th, school attendance will be compulsory, with parents asked to contact their school if a pupil is unable to attend to discuss further. The decision to re-open schools has been welcomed by councillor Phil Wynn, lead member for education in Wrexham, who said that pupils learning has been severely impacted by the crisis. Cllr Wynn said: Over the last few months, many children will have felt anxious about not being able to learn at school, and not being able to see their friends. I welcome the Ministers plan to allow schools to safely welcome pupils back in September in line with all necessary safety measures and Welsh Government guidance. We know hard working staff in schools, learners and their families may well be under additional emotional, financial and psychological pressure during this incredibly challenging period. We will continue to work closely with schools to consider how best to support the ongoing well-being needs of all learners during these challenging times. Pupils learning has been severely disrupted by the crisis. We welcome the 29m pledge by Welsh Government to recruit extra staff to support the recovery phase, minimise the impacts on pupils, and continue the ongoing work to raise school standards. WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal Paycheck Protection Program loan that the Ohio Democratic Party accepted is drawing interest from Republicans in the state who argue a partisan political organization shouldnt receive tax dollars intended to help small businesses. Democrats said they followed proper procedures in getting the loan and were transparent about it. The loan came to light last week, when the U.S. Treasury Department and Small Business Administration released data on the 4.9 million loans issued to help businesses keep workers on the payroll during the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus. Tens of thousands of Ohio businesses and organizations were on the list, including Clevelands Great Lakes Brewing Company, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Elyria Invacare and Lordstown Motors in Warren. SBA data showed the Ohio Democratic Partys government-backed loan for less than $350,000 was approved on April 30 through First Merchants Bank. State campaign finance records indicate the party got a $333,867 loan on May 6. On its Twitter account, ODP on May 13 questioned how the loans were disbursed, writing that many small businesses were left behind while the program gave more than $1 billion to more than 300 publicly traded businesses. Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken said it was hypocritical for her Democratic counterparts to take the loan while the party and its members including U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown questioned whether the programs loans were reaching small businesses. She said they should fully repay the loan. (Ohio Democratic Party Chairman) David Pepper and Ohio Democrats owe Ohios voters an explanation as to why their money should be used for Democrat campaigns instead of helping small businesses, said a statement from Timken. Spokespeople for Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman and Holmes County GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform also criticized Ohio Democrats for accepting the loan. The senator doesnt believe that taxpayer dollars should be used to pay for political operatives or campaigns, said a statement from Portman spokesperson, Emily Benavides. Every taxpayer-backed dollar they took to run political campaigns was a dollar that didnt go to a small business that needed it, agreed Gibbs spokesman Dallas Gerber. While the Florida Democratic Party returned a PPP loan of at least $780,000 in small-business loans at the request of several prominent Democrats in the state, including U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, a Cleveland native who served as Health and Human Services secretary during the Clinton administration, thats not happening in Ohio. Ohio Democratic Party communications director Kirstin Alvanitakis said her organization was guided by attorneys, the private financial institution who provided the loan to us and the Small Business Administration, which approved it with full transparency, throughout the loan application process. Ohio Republicans are desperate to distract from their own issues and talk about anything other than the fact that Donald Trump is utterly failing to lead during a public health crisis, amid which we as a party worked hard to retain all our employees and preserve their health care, said a statement from Alvanitakis. A statement from Brown said his office wasnt involved with the loan to the Ohio Democratic Party and that he doesnt know details about it. What we do know, and what the released numbers underscore, is that too many small businesses in Ohio are hurting and not receiving the help they need, especially businesses owned by Black and brown Ohioans, Browns statement said. My office and I are focused on making sure these Ohio small business owners have the support they need and that program is working as Congress intended it. A statement from Griffin Anderson, a spokesman for Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, said the Small Business Administration approved the loan, which preserved the jobs of Ohio Democratic Party employees during a very uncertain time. That is what the PPP program was designed to do, said Anderson. The state party should follow the law and guidance from its lender with regard to its SBA approved loan. Taxpayer watchdog groups said its legal for political organizations like the Ohio Democratic Party to get the loans. I dont see anything that suggests that this was not within the bounds of the law, said Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Policy Director Jennifer Ahearn, whose organization got a PPP loan of less than $1 million to preserve 35 jobs. Taxpayers for Common Sense President Steve Ellis, whose organization got a $173,800 loan that helped it retain 9 jobs, said nothing in the program would prohibit a loan to political organization, but every group that accepts the money needs to think about how it appears. Nobody forced anybody to take this money, said Ellis. You had to apply for it. You had to jump through a bunch of hoops. There is nothing that said they couldnt do it. They should have realized it would blow back on them, and figured out how important it was to them. More coverage: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown to skip Democratic convention over COVID-19 concerns Donald Trump and Joe Biden backers spar as Biden unveils his economic plan Ohio Democrats pleased with U.S. Supreme Courts decisions that Trump cant withhold his financial records from investigators Rep. Tim Ryan leads charge to remove Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol Sen. Sherrod Brown wants Clevelands baseball team renamed the Buckeyes Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur tries to block Trump administration from conducting nuclear tests Ex-Cleveland mayor and congressman Dennis Kucinich still riffs on the he was right theme President Donald Trump slams possible Cleveland Indians name change in tweet President Trump plugs Christina Hagans congressional campaign on Twitter Presidential electors must vote as their states dictate, U.S. Supreme Court decides Coronavirus outbreak at Elkton prison is waning, says U.S. Sen. Rob Portman Ohios U.S. Senators back renaming Confederate-named military bases, despite Trump veto threat Sen. Rob Portman calls for sanctioning Russia if outrageous bounty reports are true U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion law, similar to Ohios, requiring doctors to have agreements with nearby hospitals Senate Democrats including Ohios Sherrod Brown thwart consideration of GOP police reform bill Ohios U.S. Senators urge support for Asian tire dumping complaint Vice President Mike Pence to visit Lordstown on Thursday Ohio Congress members introduce bill to help hospitals financially hit by coronavirus Can he do that? Local health experts question President Trumps decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization The Office of Public Works is to take up a new residence at Balbriggan Business Campus. The OPW is to occupy a 24,300sq ft property on the business campus. The new lease is a 20-year full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease with a break option at year 10. The rent equates to 15 per sq ft GIA (gross internal area) or 18.50 NIA (net internal area) and 250 per car space. The property, which extends to 20,000sq ft, is currently in shell-and-core condition and ready for landlord CAT A fit-out. The Brenta Group is also offering a turn key CAT B option to prospective occupiers should that be required. Block A has three flexible floor plates and a large terrace balcony, and can be branded and named as it is a standalone property. The landlord's specification will include air conditioning, a raised-floor system, LED lights, and fully-fitted lobbies and bathrooms. Paramount Place where the property is located, is well-situated within the Balbriggan Business Campus, and is just 22 minutes drive from Dublin Airport on the M1 motorway. The scheme also offers occupiers quick access to Dublin city centre by rail thanks to its proximity to Balbriggan train station. The Dublin to Belfast train service is widely used with an estimated 2,200 passengers availing of the route each day. The growth of Balbriggan in its own right continues apace meanwhile thanks to the relative youth of its population compared to the rest of the country, and the relative affordability of its housing stock compared to the rest of the capital. MINNEAPOLIS - At least 150 Minneapolis police officers say they are suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or other injuries resulting from the protests that broke out after George Floyd's death, and they have started the process of filing disability claims that could allow them to permanently leave the force. Half of those officers are no longer on the job because they have exhibited symptoms of PTSD, according to Ron Meuser Jr., a Twin Cities personal injury attorney who is representing the officers. The other half likely will quit working in coming days as they formalize disability claims with the city, Meuser said Friday. "While law enforcement is a high-stress career, the last two months in Minneapolis have pushed many officers to their breaking point," Meuser said. The officers say the protests - which came in response to Floyd's death during an encounter with police, who pressed down on top of him while he pleaded for help and said he couldn't breathe - have deeply affected them. Protesters have alleged a long pattern of abusive behavior and violence against minorities in Minneapolis, and most of the protests in the city and across the country have been peaceful actions aimed at changing that culture. But some of the protests in the early days of the movement were violent and included direct actions on police targets. Among Meuser's clients are officers who were inside the city's 3rd Precinct police station, which was abandoned and subsequently burned during the May protests here. At least 13 officers were inside the building at the time, Meuser said, and some wrote what they thought were final texts to family members and loved ones fearing they would be killed. Ordered to stand down to protesters, some of the officers had fearfully counted their ammunition to make sure they would have a bullet for themselves to avoid being beaten to death, he said. The trauma "has brought them to this point where they are no longer able to continue on within the police department," Meuser said. The numbers Meuser presented have not been confirmed by Minneapolis officials or the police department, which did not respond to requests for comment. Last month, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo denied rumors of widespread departures within the ranks, telling reporters that just seven officers had left the force in the weeks since Floyd was killed on Memorial Day. Minneapolis police have said there were no serious injuries to officers during the protests; authorities have said there was an estimated $500 million in property damage. The 150 officers represent about 20 percent of the Minneapolis Police Department's force of approximately 800. Meuser warned Friday that the number of officers seeking to file disability claims is likely to grow based on the inquiries his office has received. Speaking at an afternoon news conference near City Hall, Meuser, who regularly represents police and firefighters in disability claims against the city, called the numbers "unprecedented" and said he was publicizing the trend out of concern for public safety. "The city has to address the issue of manpower and how they're going to safely protect the community," Meuser said. The development comes as Minneapolis battles what city officials have described as an unprecedented surge of violence since Floyd's death. More than 240 people have been shot, 13 fatally, since May 25, according to police. On Thursday evening, nine people were shot and one was killed in a span of six hours. One of the wounded was a pregnant woman. More than 1,500 instances of gunfire have been reported across the city, nearly double the number during the same period a year ago, according to police data citing 911 calls and ShotSpotter technology. Police scanner traffic has been jammed with reports of other violent incidents, including robberies and carjackings. In an effort to contain the violence, Mayor Jacob Frey called in additional law enforcement assistance from several regional and federal agencies, including the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Secret Service. On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Erica McDonald announced she was forming a Twin Cities Violent Crime Task Force to bring in even more state and federal resources in an attempt to "bring an end to the crime." The surge in shootings led Minneapolis residents into the streets Friday, as hundreds gathered in at least two hard-hit neighborhoods to urge an end to the gun violence that many worry could portend a bloody summer. "Guns down, love up!" they chanted. Some participants have openly complained about a lack of police presence on the streets in recent weeks, arguing it has fueled a sense of lawlessness. The spike in violence joins a raging debate over the role the Minneapolis Police Department should play in addressing crime in the city. A majority of the City Council has pledged to dismantle the agency, citing the lack of public confidence in officers. Some residents have accused officers of purposefully curbing response to crime, which police deny. Others have decided to stop using the agency's services altogether, worried that a phone call to police could put the lives of people of color at risk. At the same time, police have decried the rhetoric against officers. Lt. Bob Kroll, the head of the Minneapolis police union, said during a Facebook Live interview this week with local activists that morale among officers is at an all-time low and that many officers are seeking to leave the force. "Our numbers are shrinking. Our retirements are coming en masse," Kroll said. "With the culture towards police, how they're viewed right now, who wants to do this job anymore?" On Friday, Meuser strongly denied that any of the officers he represents is seeking to purposely retaliate against the city of Minneapolis for the tenor of public debate about the police. He described his clients as men and women who had served the city "for years and decades" and did not want to leave but had no choice. "Nobody chooses to have PTSD," Meuser said. "None of them wanted to leave this way . . . To lose their identity, to leave the job that they love and they have cared for. . . . This is heartbreaking." Roger Stone Joe Raedle / Staff / Getty Images President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of the former Republican strategist Roger Stone, the White House announced Friday. In a statement, the White House said Stone was "a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency." The president's move came after he and his allies complained for months that Stone and others were mistreated by prosecutors as part of the FBI's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. A jury convicted Stone of seven felony counts last year: five counts of making false statements to the FBI and congressional investigators, one count of witness tampering, and one count of obstruction of justice. Earlier this year, a federal judge sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison for his crimes, as well as a $20,000 fine, four years of probation after his prison term, and 250 hours of community service. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump on Friday signed an "Executive Grant of Clemency" commuting the "unjust" sentence of the former Republican strategist Roger Stone, the White House said. "Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency," the statement said. "There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia." A jury convicted Stone of seven felony counts in November, none of which included collusion or conspiracy. The former strategist was convicted of five counts of making false statements to the FBI and congressional investigators, one count of witness tampering, and one count of obstruction of justice. Earlier this year, a federal judge sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison for his crimes, as well as a $20,000 fine, four years of probation after his prison term, and 250 hours of community service. Story continues The White House's statement announcing the commutation of Stone's sentence went on to say that allegations of "collusion" were "never anything other than a fantasy of partisans unable to accept the result of the 2016 election. The collusion delusion spawned endless and farcical investigations, conducted at great taxpayer expense, looking for evidence that did not exist." "As it became clear that these witch hunts would never bear fruit, the Special Counsel's Office resorted to process-based charges leveled at high-profile people in an attempt to manufacture the false impression of criminality lurking below the surface," the statement continued. "These charges were the product of recklessness borne of frustration and malice." (Fact check: the FBI's Russia investigation began in July 2016, before Trump won the presidential election. It resulted in indictments against 34 individuals and three Russian entities on charges including but not limited to conspiracy, lying to the FBI, computer hacking, tax fraud, bank fraud, and illegal foreign lobbying. Some of those indicted or who pleaded guilty included Trump's former national security adviser, campaign chairman, deputy campaign chairman, and foreign policy aides.) Saturday morning, Trump reiterated the White House statement, tweeting, "Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place." Trump, prior to granting Stone clemency Friday, repeatedly implied that he would show leniency to Stone before ultimately deciding to commute his sentence. And Friday's statement emphasized Stone's "outspoken" support of the president. "Roger Stone is well known for his nearly 50 years of work as a consultant for high-profile Republican politicians, including President Ronald Reagan, Senator Bob Dole, and many others," the statement said. "He is also well known for his outspoken support for President Donald J. Trump and opposition to Hillary Clinton." In an interview with the talk radio host Howie Carr earlier this week, Trump complained about Stone's alleged mistreatment by prosecutors, saying he was "framed" and "treated horrible." He also praised Stone's character, saying the former strategist and self-described dirty trickster was a "good person." "He was treated so badly," the president added. When Carr told Trump that Stone was "praying" for a pardon before having to report to prison on July 14, Trump answered, "If you say he's praying, his prayer may be answered. Let's see what happens." It wasn't the first time the president hinted that he would grant Stone leniency. After US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson first announced Stone's sentence, Trump said he was "following this very closely" and that "Roger has a very good chance of exoneration, in my opinion." The charges against Stone were linked to his contacts with the radical pro-transparency group WikiLeaks and subsequent efforts to suppress witness testimony. Stone's indictment from the former special counsel Robert Mueller's office contained a slew of details about his false statements to Congress about interactions involving WikiLeaks; his extensive communications with the far-right commentator Jerome Corsi and the radio host Randy Credico about WikiLeaks' document dumps in summer 2016; and his prolonged efforts to prevent Credico from testifying to Congress or turning over information to the FBI. Four career prosecutors involved in Stone's case initially recommended a sentence of seven to nine years based on federal sentencing guidelines. But after Trump excoriated the recommendation on Twitter, senior DOJ leadership made the unprecedented decision to publicly overrule te prosecutors and seek a more lenient sentence. The intervention prompted all four prosecutors to withdraw from the case or resign from the DOJ altogether. One of the prosecutors, Aaron Zelinsky, testified to Congress last month that DOJ leaders sought a weaker sentence for Stone at the direction of Attorney General William Barr because they were "afraid of the president." Barr, meanwhile, told ABC News after senior officials overrode the prosecutors that he had already decided to request a lighter sentence for Stone before Trump tweeted, but he said the president's constant public comments made it "impossible" for him to do his job. Still, the timing of the DOJ's announcement raised questions and rankled former officials who accused the attorney general of catering to the president's public demands and allowing Trump to weaponize the DOJ for political purposes. Read the original article on Business Insider One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another three were wounded in Donbas on July 10. Founder of the Maidan Search Initiative, officer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Taras Matviiv was killed in enemy shelling in Donbas on July 10. Read alsoRussia continues to supply military hardware, weapons to occupied Donbas Ukraine intel "I consciously chose the path of constant upheavals and challenges, rejecting my previous lifestyle, media career and even long-standing dreams... I staggered but did not fall. Still in dusty army boots and in the service. I hope till the last breath Ukrainians will not exchange freedom for money and will not be afraid of responsibility for their actions," Matviiv earlier said, as reported by the Maidan Museum's press service on Facebook. As UNIAN reported earlier, one Ukrainian soldier was killed and another three were wounded as Russia-led forces mounted 17 attacks in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, on Friday, July 10. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-12 04:00:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW YORK, July 11 (Xinhua) -- COVID-19 hospitalizations and the three-day average death toll in the U.S. state of New York dropped to the lowest level since March, the state governor's office said on Saturday. Total hospitalizations on Friday was 799, the first time to drop below 800 since March 18; The three-day average death toll dropped to 7, the lowest since March 16, the office said. "As we allow ourselves to celebrate some good news ... I urge residents to stay New York Tough and not give up the ground we've worked so hard to gain together, particularly in the face of rising cases throughout the country and compliance issues here at home," said Governor Andrew Cuomo in a press release. Of the 69,203 tests conducted across the state on Friday, 730, or 1.05 percent were positive, bringing the statewide COVID-19 case to 401,029, the governor said. In an interview on WAMC Northeast Public Radio late Friday, Cuomo said that despite a 14-day quarantine for people coming to New York from high-risk states, he was still concerned about a resurgence here. "How do you catch somebody driving in, right? I mean, it's very very difficult, it's trying to catch water in a screen," he said. "It rises up in the other states and then is going to come back here from the other states. That's what's going to happen. The only question is how far up our rate goes. But you can't have it all across the country and not come back," he added. Starting on Sunday, concessions will be allowed to open with restrictions at state ocean and lakefront beaches, the governor said late Friday. "As always, New Yorkers and visitors must adhere to social distancing guidelines and wear face masks as appropriate, and local governments will be actively monitoring to ensure compliance," said Cuomo in a press release. Enditem The World Bank has approved $200 million in aid to help Afghanistan tackle economic losses from the coronavirus pandemic, as confirmed cases top more than 34,000 in the conflict zone. The country's war-ravaged economy has been severely impacted due to a months-long lockdown, with thousands of people losing their jobs in the economic fallout. Afghanistan has also grappled with increased militant violence in recent months that has diverted vital attention and resources away from the fight against the disease. "The program will provide vital fiscal resources to manage the impacts of the pandemic in the context of rapidly slowing economic growth and declining government revenues," Henry Kerali, the World Bank head for Afghanistan said in a statement on July 9. Afghanistan has so far declared just over 34,000 cases of COVID-19, with nearly 1,000 deaths. "In the cities, the cases are steady but we are worried the cases may spread in rural areas," Abdul Qadir, a senior official at the health ministry told AFP on July 10. Qadir said the World Bank funds will be used to help mitigate the impact on healthcare, social and business sectors. The virus first spread to Afghanistan as infected migrants returned from neighboring Iran, the region's worst-hit country. Stakeholders in the Akuapem North Constituency have vowed to expose Lawyer Phillip Addison in his attempt to destroy the peace and development of the constituency, as he sponsors eight disgruntled members of the party to go to court over a decision of the National Executive Committee. The former unsuccessful parliamentary candidate in the 2016 parliamentary elections in the Korle Klottey Constituency is alleged to have teamed up with a section of his supporters to send the NPP to court, a move that seeks to annul the decision of the Vetting and Appeals committee of the NPP and to prevent the duly elected parliamentary candidate from contesting. It must be recalled that before the 2016 elections, it is alleged Addison used similar style of politics to cause disaffection and estrangement for the party in the Korle Klottey Constituency which led to the NPP losing woefully to the NDC. To prevent similar fate, leading stakeholders in the Akuapem North Constituency have vowed not to allow lawyer Addison to have his way this time around. The stakeholders have unanimously vowed not to allow lawyer Addison to bring such incoherent action on the development of the constituency, which has since time immemorial seen a peaceful political environment. In a bid to relaunch his political fortune after a defeat to Zenator Rawlings of the NDC in Korle Klottey, Philip Addison made an audacious switch to the Akuapem North Constituency. He was disqualified from contesting after failing to make the mark during vetting. Addison, however, saw his appeal turned down by the Appeals Committee, an affirmation of the previous decision by the Vetting Committee. Unsatisfied by the outcome of both decisions, Philip Addison has through his supporters resorted to the law court. Leading figures in the constituency have thus vowed not to allow what happened in Korle Klottey repeat itself in Akuapem North. According to the stakeholders, they are content with the developmental projects ongoing and will maintain President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the MP for the area, Hon Ama Dokua. Source: Emmanuel Appienti/Akuapem North 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 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 11) There are diseases that can be transmitted through infected blood, Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire warned Saturday amid reports that the convalescent plasma of COVID-19 survivors are now being sold. The plasma of those who have recovered from the coronavirus disease is believed to contain antibodies that can help others fight the infection. However, Vergeire said donors should be screened properly in qualified blood centers. May mga sakit na maaaring maisalin galing diyan sa mga dugo na binebenta natin. Ito po 'yung mga transmissible infections through the blood. This is very risky, Vergeire said during an online media briefing. [Translation: There are diseases that can be transmitted through blood that are being sold. These are the transmissible infections through the blood. This is very risky.] Kaya nga ayaw natin na pinagbebenta o ayaw nating pinababayaran ang dugo. Gusto natin na inii-screen muna natin ang mga pasyente bago sila makapagbigay ng dugo para maiwasan yung mga ganitong risks, she added. [Translation: That's why we don't want blood to be sold or bought. We want patients to be screened first before they can give blood to avoid these risks.] Vergeire called on COVID-19 survivors to refrain from selling their plasma and donate it instead, and appealed to the public not to patronize commercial blood. READ: More hospitals launch convalescent plasma programs for COVID-19 patients Earlier this week, the DOH-Central Visayas ordered hospitals in the region not to process the convalescent plasma being sold by unauthorized individuals. Reports from social media showed that plasma is being sold at 80,000 per bag at coronavirus-hit Barangay Luz in Cebu City. The citys health department has reported that hundreds of patients from the barangay have recovered from COVID-19. "Ang dugo should be voluntary and should not be sold. In these times (of the pandemic), if we allow that and we purchase blood and use them for our patients, what will happen to those who are in need and cannot afford?" said Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH-7 spokesperson. Cebu City-based stringer Dale Israel contributed to this report. D onald Trump's former adviser Roger Stone will avoid jail time after the president commuted his prison sentence. Stone had been set to serve 40 months in prison for the crimes of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering. His conviction was linked to a justice department probe into allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential elections. But Mr Trump said that Stone, the sixth of his associates to be found guilty on charges linked to the investigation, had been the victim of a "hoax." Roger Stone, former campaign adviser to US President Donald Trump / REUTERS The White House said in a statement: "Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency." The statement said that the Russia investigation switched to focus on "high-profile people" in the president's circle out of frustration that it couldn't prove the "fantasy" that Mr Trump's campaign colluded with Russia. The White House went on: "These charges were the product of recklessness borne of frustration and malice. This is why the out-of-control Mueller prosecutors, desperate for splashy headlines to compensate for a failed investigation, set their sights on Mr. Stone." Mr Trump also suggested that the FBI had told CNN about the raid on Stone's house ahead of time, noting that a camera crew was present. Roger Stone leaves court on the second day of his trial / Getty Images The statement added: "Roger Stone has already suffered greatly. He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!" Stone has long appealed for help from the president, begging for clemency in a series of social media posts. He has always denied any wrongdoing and said his conviction was politically motivated. Mr Trump has commented publicly on Stones case several times, including just before sentencing, when he suggested that Stone was being held to a different standard than several prominent Democrats. He said in a tweet that the conviction should be thrown out and called the Justice Departments first sentencing recommendation horrible and very unfair. Roger Stone earlier this year / Getty Images Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice! he added. Mr Trump's intervention came after a court of appeal said Stone, 67, could not delay the start of his sentence. The move to commute Stone's sentence, which stops short of a full pardon, has outraged Mr Trump's political opponents. House of Representatives Intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff, a Democrat, hit out at the president's intervention. He said: "With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else." And Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez said: "Is there any power Trump won't abuse?"